Beyonce has helped thousands of people gain confidence and equipped them with empowerment and self-love.
It was that self-love and confidence that dancer O'Shae Sibley brought with him every day, as well as that fateful day when he died after being stabbed in a New York City gas station.
According to reports, Sibley was voguing to a Beyonce song when a group of men approached him and his friends. The altercation, which involved insults against the queer community, resulted in the dancer being fatally stabbed.
Beyonce Pays Tribute to Late Dancer
Beyonce took to her official website to pay tribute to Sibley with a simple message, "Rest in Power, O'Shae Sibley."
According to reports, Sibley was a professional dancer in New York as well as Philadelphia.
He was rushed to the hospital after the incident, but he was eventually pronounced dead. Police have identified the suspects, but as of this writing, they have not been caught yet.
Police also think that the crime might have been motivated by the suspects' discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community.
"He had a problem with them dancing, he wanted them to stop dancing, he started arguing with them. And then after a few fights and back and forth arguing, he pulled out a knife and stabbed him," said a witness.
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LGBTQIA+ Hate Crimes Still Rampant
Sibley's death is one too many that is a result of hate crimes against the queer community.
"This young man's death is horrific and really just shows the state of being an LGBTQ person in America today," said Tony Morrison, the senior director of communications at GLAAD.
"We've seen harassment, vandalism, and it's now manifesting in physical harm -- in this case death."
According to a study by the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, queer people are nine times more likely to be victims of violent hate crimes than people who are not members of LGBTQIA+.
"The rise of extreme anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and behaviors may embolden individuals to carry out hate crimes against LGBT people, so it will be important to track how our findings may change after 2019," said the lead author of the study, Andrew Flores.
"It is vital that law enforcement and anti-violence programs are trained and prepared to effectively serve the unique needs of LGBT victims."
Artists like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and more strive to create a safe space for their LGBTQIA+ fans, however, danger still lurks, especially outside these safe spaces.
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