Influencer Madison Beer responds to accusations of staging protest photo shoot

Madison Beer has responded to claims that she staged a photo shoot at a Black Lives Matter protest on Twitter.

The Instagram influencer and singer initially received criticism last Thursday after she posted a live video sharing her struggle with being perceived as “the beauty standard.” At the same time, her fellow popstars, including Ariana Grande and Halsey, were urging their followers to call for justice in the murder of George Floyd.

After a lengthy apology on Twitter, where Beer stated her video was in “poor timing,” the 21-year-old wrote, “I stand with the Black Lives Matter movement over ANYTHING, and THAT’S what’s important right now.”

In the days since, Beer dedicated her Twitter to sharing resources to support the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as daily updates from the protests she was attending in Los Angeles to show her support.

But some people on social media became suspicious of Beer’s motives after photos of her posing on a car for a professional photographer during a protest were released.

“This is what we call performative activism,” one person wrote on Twitter, sharing video footage of Beer holding up signs as she posed for pictures.

Other people pointed out that A-list celebrities who had been attending protests managed to do so without paparazzi photos.

Beer addressed the issue after one person alleged that the photographer admitted Beer’s photos had been planned. In a DM conversation, the photographer, who has previously photographed Beer, wrote, “Okay, it was planned, so what?”

Sharing her own messages with the photographer on her Twitter, Beer responded, “I did not lie. This photographer is spreading unclear information about me. These are our messages. I will not allow anyone to make me protesting day after day into something it is NOT. I am out here for one reason only.”

Beer and the photographer appear to be on the same page now, as he posted one of the pictures he took of her to his Instagram and as Beer requested, clarified the situation.

“These rumors are 100 percent untrue. I was taking pictures at the event and ran into Madison while also marching at the event,” he said, adding, “Since she’s a famous public figure and she’s in Los Angeles there’s almost nowhere she can go and not run into paparazzi.”