Beyoncé was accused of stealing some of the most eye-catching designs from her blockbuster Renaissance Tour in a social media post from Monday.
The Japanese artists Hajime Sorayama claimed on Instagram that the 42-year-old hitmaker — whose concert film tumbled at the box office in its second weekend — had swiped some of his designs for a metallic body suit and helmet that she wore during recent tour stops.
He shared photos from her concerts showing her in a shimmering silver helmet with antenna-like spikes jutting out over her ears, along with illustrations that 76-year-old artist had previously created.
Sorayama’s illustrations evoked classic mid-20th century science fiction drawings and featured women clad in silver suits and wearing similar helmets with nearly identical needle-like spike sticking out at the ears.
However, the artist was lambasted by BeyHive members in the comments, with several pointing out that his own designs were appeared to be heavily inspired by earlier science fiction conceptual artwork, which could have also inspired Beyoncé.
The Japanese illustrator Hajime Sorayama accused Beyoncé, 42, of stealing his designs in an Instagram post from Monday; she’s pictured in one of the offending costumes on the artwork for her single My House
Sorayama, 76, wrote that Beyoncé ‘should have asked me “officially”‘ to use his designs. He added that he could have made her ‘much better work’ and referenced his collaborations with The Weeknd
‘Yo @beyonce. You should have asked me “officially” so that I could make much better work for you as like my man @theweekend,’ Sorayama captioned his Instagram post.
He had previously collaborated with The Weeknd to design a new cover for the 10th anniversary reissue of his 2011 mixtape Echoes Of Silence. The new cover featured a silver android figure in profile with it’s neck arched back, though the figure appeared to be completely robotic, unlike some of the other designs he shared on Monday that featured human women’s faces.
To make his case, Sorayama included a photo of the massive video screen at one of Beyoncé’s concerts that showed her in closeup.
Her monumental-sized face was surrounded by a sleek helmet with a sloping hairline and bell-like cups over her ears, including the metal nails sticking out like the figures in Sorayama’s artwork.
She also had a striking bit of jewelry dangling from her lower lip.
Beyonce appeared to wear a similar look — sans the lip decoration — for the artwork to her single My House, which is featured over the end credits of her Renaissance Tour concert film.
A follow-up photo showed a closeup of a gray T-shirt that was presumably sold at one of Beyoncé’s shows.
That particular design doesn’t appear to be currently available on the Break My Soul singer’s website, but other similar designs featuring the same costume are for sale for around $60.
The shirt photo was key, as it implied that not only had Beyoncé appropriated Sorayama’s artwork, but she was allegedly making money from his designs with her merchandise.
Sorayama has been active and making science fiction–inspired designs since the early ’70s. He began making erotic humanoid robot illustrations in 1983; seen in 2018 in Tokyo
To make his case, Sorayama included a photo of the massive video screen at one of Beyoncé’s concerts that showed her in closeup
A follow-up photo showed a closeup of a gray T-shirt that was presumably sold at one of Beyoncé’s shows. He included one of his designs, which had similar ear cups and antenna-like spikes on the sides of the head
Not all of Sorayama’s designs fit Beyoncé’s costume, including one of his featuring more elf-like metallic ears
In addition to his illustrations, Sorayama has made installations of his erotic figures, and he has collaborated on a statue and an album cover with The Weeknd; his Sexy Robot Floating installation pictured in Tokyo in 2020
The post also laid to rest fan assumptions that singer–songwriter had collaborated with Sorayama, or at least gotten his permission to use his designs.
However, it wasn’t clear from his short caption if he was planning on pursuing legal action against her, or if he merely wanted to vent online.
While Beyoncé’s costume bore strong similarities to some of the designs Sorayama shared, not all of them fit with her look.
For instance, one illustration he posed featured a robotic woman with ahead piece with pointy, fairy-like metallic ears, rather than the striking spikes that Beyoncé wore, which were similar to some of his other illustrations.
Some of her overzealous fans took to insulting the iconic artist in the comments, but other made more substantive criticisms noting that Beyoncé could have been influenced by other artwork from the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
The period, loosely defined from the 1920s to the 1950s, featured classic science fiction stories that focused more on adventure and exploration than scientifically accurate details, and many artists from the period depicted exotic worlds and beautiful women needing to be rescued by attractive space travelers.
Some of those women were depicted in fantastical space suits that bear a resemblance to Beyoncé’s look.
But the metallic design is also somewhat reminiscent of the Maschinenmensch (German for ‘machine-human’) featured in Fritz Lang’s classic 1922 silent science fiction epic Metropolis.
The robot is given a woman’s proportions, though it is later covered with a skin that allows it to impersonate a human woman.
The iconic design has been widely copied in the world of science fiction, and it has inspired countless future designs from later in the 20th century and beyond.
Images from Metropolis appear to have been a major inspiration for the conceptual artwork leading up to 1977’s Star Wars, and the golden droid C-3PO was inspired by the Maschinenmensch from Metropolis.
‘Like you didn’t take direct inspiration from Metropolis?’ read one accusatory comment directed at Sorayama.
‘Quick unfollow, he stole the idea and then tried to drag mother? The NERVE,’ wrote one particularly dramatic Beyoncé fan.
Beyoncé’s rabid fans defended her in his comments, and several mentioned that Beyoncé could have been inspired by older sources, including the 1922 German silent epic Metropolis (pictured)
The iconic science fiction film features a highly influential robot with female proportions. It has served as the inspiration for numerous robots and androids over the past century, including Star Wars’ C-3PO
‘You’re the Director of (1927)Metropolis Film?…’ joked another fan.
Others pointed out that Beyoncé had worn designs from the late Thierry Mugler that were inspired by Metropolis, suggesting that the inspirations were more diffuse that Sorayama indicated.
Others claimed that Sorayama ‘didn’t own’ the robotic ‘hyper femme’ designs that he was well known for.
So far, Beyoncé has not responded to the artists complaints. It’s also unclear if she was personally involved in creating or selecting the design Sorayama objected to, or if one of her stylists or designers crafted the look.
