Yahoo News Beyoncé Invites Fan To Renaissance Show After ‘Ableist’ Plane Incident
A man named John Hetherington finally got to see Beyoncé perform live last night after an airline failed to accommodate his wheelchair last week, forcing him to miss the singer’s concert in Seattle.
On Friday, Hetherington, who has cerebral palsy, expressed his gratitude to Beyoncé and her online fanbase, known as the BeyHive, for getting him to her Renaissance World Tour show in Arlington, Texas.
“We partied, we sang, we danced… HARD,” he wrote in a caption. “BeyHive, you made this happen. You pushed and tagged like the internet has never seen. Tonight for the first time ever, I had a seat on the floor of a concert.”
In a TikTok that went viral this past week, the 34-year-old says he was trying to board a flight out of Oregon when he was told by crewmembers that his electric chair was too tall to load onto the plane. The only other option was an AirBus that would get him to Seattle 12 hours late, he later told The New York Times. “After 25 years of waiting, I’m not seeing Beyoncé tonight,” Hetherington said in the video. “So ableism strikes again.”
At that point, the BeyHive leaped into action, tagging Beyoncé and her management company Parkwood Entertainment in the comments section. Representatives quickly reached out to Hetherington and provided him with a ticket to Thursday’s Arlington show and also reportedly arranged for his transportation.
On Instagram Thursday night, Hetherington said that he got to meet Beyoncé but said that he wouldn’t reveal their exchange. In the caption for a selfie he posted with Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, he wrote, “There is much that I will say in the coming days about what tonight means to me. There are some things I’ll keep for myself. Truly an honor to meet you, @mstinaknowles! Thank you for all that you’ve done and given the world. We’re so grateful.”
Maybe the Beyoncé stans aren’t as bad as Donald Glover thinks they are.
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