Beyoncé Accused Of Copying South African Artist in ‘Spirit’ Video

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Source: Disney / Disney

Beyoncé snatched our souls when she dropped the soundtrack to Disney’s film Lion King entitled, The Gift.

However, the queen is now being accused of stealing visuals from a South African musician just one week after releasing the music video for the album’s single, ‘Spirit.’

The 37-year-old songstress is suspected of copying Petite Noir’s short 17-minute musical film called La Maison Noir: The Gift and the Curse. Sounds Familiar?

Not only does the similarity within titles raise suspicion. Fans are also suggesting that Beyoncé stole a vast majority of the scenes from Noir’s video released May of last year.

A post from the Diet Prada Instagram account shows a side-by-side comparison of the two bodies of work where both artists are striking similar dances while also wearing the same colorful clothing.

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It looks like those 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘢 costumes were just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s a side by side comparison of @Beyonce ‘s “Spirit” + “Bigger” extended cut directed by Jake Nava vs. South African musician @petitenoirkvlt ‘s “La Maison Noir: The Gift and The Curse”, directed by artist @rharha_nembhard and released in May 2018. With almost 2 million views on YouTube, the 17-minute film revolves around a cosmogram from Petite Noir aka Yannick Illunga’s native Congo, referencing the four elements of fire, earth, water, and air. It also symbolizes rebirth. In the visual journey through the formative stages of the musician’s life, themes of resistance, migration and women’s rights are also explored. As founders of the Noirwave movement, husband/wife duo Illunga and Nembhard’s work seeks to write a new narrative of the contemporary experience, uniting all people of African descent, across the continent and beyond. Dieters and Beyhive that are about to go off in the comments, please remember to be constructive ❤️. • #beyonce #spirit #bigger #rharhanembhard #petitenoir #noirwave #southafrica #congolese #cosmogram #musicvideo #visualalbum #thelionling #jakenava #cinemtography #director #creativedirector #film #costumedesign #havasupaifalls #landscape #desert #waterfall

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Jul 21, 2019 at 8:32am PDT

Petite Noir and his wife, Rharha Nembhard, originally created the short film to give a political depiction of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

While neither of the artists has released a statement about the situation, Gabrielle Kannemeyer, who worked on the film as fashion and art director tweeted:

A few more near identical frames that Beyoncé’s team lifted from The Gift and the Curse. The film I worked on with @PETITE_NOIR pic.twitter.com/KqcumIBKZS

— Gabrielle Kannemeyer (@GabbiKannemeyer) July 20, 2019

Fans also took to Twitter to share their mixed reactions about the accusations:

The ridiculousness of how bluntly @Beyonce chopped @PETITE_NOIR work is beyond my comprehension. Frame for frame 🥺💔 pic.twitter.com/nrQqvSNIHQ

— Justice Mukheli (@justice_mukheli) July 20, 2019

Let’s talk about what you lifted from Lemonade pic.twitter.com/GMsjrLEOf8

— Phatty La Belle (et la Bête) (@ToBeyOrNoToBey) July 21, 2019

‘A love letter to Africa’ should not involve pillaging the work of leading African creatives. @___RHARHA___ & @PETITE_NOIR are visionaries. Their work ain’t a free buffet. @Disney, last year this already happened with @LinaViktor. @Disney, do better. Cc @Beyonce https://t.co/TdDOq7y8lS

— monika bielskyte (@monikabielskyte) July 18, 2019

Despite accusations, Beyonce’s music video for ‘Spirit’ has reached over 21 million views on Youtube since its release.

Check out both bodies of work below to come up with your own conclusion.