Beyoncé was caught in a terrifying technical malfunction during the first of her two shows in Houston, Texas, for the Cowboy Carter tour.
On June 28, the 35-time Grammy winner was performing the song “16 Carriages,” where she rode in a red car suspended high above the audience at Houston’s NRG Stadium, when the prop was slanted while airborne.
While suspended, Beyoncé said, “Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,” as she calmly smiled at the roaring crowd. A moment later, she told the crowd, “Thank y’all for your patience,” before the car was safely set down in the stadium.
Here’s a video I captured from her Los Angeles stop, which shows what the car should look like during the performance of the song.
It took a moment before the crew could lower the car to the ground so Beyoncé could safely exit the prop vehicle.
Another clip posted on X shows Beyoncé acknowledging the technical mishap. “If ever I fall, I know y’all would catch me,” she said to the cheering audience.
While the specific cause of the malfunction is uncertain, Parkwood Entertainment did release a statement via Instagram. “Tonight in Houston, at NRG Stadium, a technical mishap caused the flying car, a prop Beyoncé uses to circle the stadium, and see her fans up close, to tilt. She was quickly lowered and no one was injured. The show continued without incident.”
Beyoncé also included a photo of the tilted car on her Instagram in a carousel following the show.
While Queen Bey managed to calmly recover from the incident, her fans had a lot to say about it:
“OH HELL NO. I KNOW SHE VALUED BEING CLOSER TO THE AUDIENCE A LOT BUT IF THEY CAN’T *GUARANTEE* THIS WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN IT NEED TO BE CUT,” one X user wrote.
Another person said, “omw to houston to talk to the crew. they about to hear me.”
This person said, “Oh baby someone is getting fired tonight after this Beyoncé concert! I know mother is gonna be pissed. What do you mean the car she rides in the air during 16 carriages got stuck in the air????”
Someone else acknowledged how cool, calm, and collected Beyoncé appeared to be in the scary situation.
But, there were definitely fans who were done with the car stunt altogether after this mishap.
And finally, this fan said what most of the Beyhive was probably thinking.
So glad Beyoncé and everyone are safe!