“REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY”…
Beyoncé has paid tribute to O’Shae Sibley, the gay man who was killed in a homophobic attack after voguing to her songs at a gas station in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, July 29. Posting on her website Beyoncé touchingly wrote: “REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY.”
The murder has gripped headlines in the last few days and is currently being investigated as a potential hate crime by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force. Sibley, a 28-year-old gay man who was a professional dancer, and some friends were reportedly dancing and voguing to Beyoncé’s music at the gas station when a group of men approached them. The group of men allegedly called Sibley and his friends antigay slurs. After a scuffle, one of the men from the other group stabbed Sibley. He died after being taken to a local hospital. The suspect, who police say is 17 years old, ran from the scene. The entire incident was captured on the gas station’s surveillance camera.
Sibley was active in the ballroom scene. It’s that exact music and dance scene that inspired Beyoncé’s most recent album Renaissance, which also featured a variety of queer producers and creatives on its tracks. The legendary performer even dedicated the album to her late Uncle Johnny, an out gay man.
Family and friends have been left devastated by the violent attack. Public officials have also spoken out against Sibley’s death.
“They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends,” Otis Pena, one of Sibley’s friends who was with him when he was killed, said in a video posted to Facebook. He added, “His name was O’Shae and you all killed him. You all murdered him right in front of me.”
“O’Shae has always been a peacemaker. All he wanted to do was dance,” Sibley’s aunt, Tondra Sibley, told the New York Times. “It was a senseless crime,” she said.
A GoFundMe set up by Sibley’s father has raised more than $31,000 dollars to go toward covering the costs related to his unexpected death.
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