Beyoncé Collaborator Speaks Out About Singer—'Don't Cross Her'

Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler has shed light on her experiences working with Beyoncé—and has warned that people should never "cross her."

Beachler, whose collaborations with Beyoncé includes the 2016 TV special and visual album Lemonade, took to Twitter on August 1 to say that while the star is "kind and protective," she is not to be messed with.

Grammy winner Beyoncé is currently in the middle of her Renaissance World Tour, from which several fan videos have been shared on social media, including one in which she was seen discreetly instructing her crew onstage while performing.

Beachler, who won a Best Production Design Academy Award for her work on the 2018 hit Black Panther, weighed in on life behind the scenes with the star.

Responding to a since-deleted Twitter post, she wrote: "Working with Beyoncé over the years, I have said this each and every time. It's not just on stage. She is tentacles of light, and those tentacles wrap you in power, love and confidence. She is kind and protective and she's a girls girl. This is her presence daily."

Beachler also shared her thoughts on Beyoncé's work ethic, while heaping praise on the "Break My Soul" singer's rapper and entrepreneur husband, Jay-Z.

"She is a true Mama to her babies too," Beachler added. "And she works, not to perfection but until it's right. She is in love with her husband and he's (a comedian and kind) in love with her. But be clear don't cross her."

When one Twitter user asked if Beachler's warning not to cross Beyoncé was an indication that the star is "vindictive," the designer responded: "Under no circumstances. She has boundaries. She will give her kindness and love, and as with anyone you should hold that trust. She is a Virgo LOL! She is honestly a kind person, a real person, who sees and thinks of others. She uses her power to lift people."

Beachler also told Twitter users how Beyoncé made special mementoes for her crew, after her documentary and concert movie Homecoming failed to win any of the six Emmy Awards for which it was nominated in 2019.

Introducing the vignette as "one last little story," Beachler recounted: "When I started on Black is King & went to the L.A. offices [there] was a bunch of little plastic Emmy Awards [with] handwritten names on them. They told me [because] they didn't win for Homecoming, B stayed up after & made everyone their own special one [with] a note."

The posts received an overwhelmingly positive response from fans, one of whom wrote that working with Beyoncé "is like the biggest accomplishment I can think of."

"It is a moment," Beachler responded. "I will never ever forget it, I will always be honored to have had that experience. Hopefully again. She is brilliant and kind. I can't explain it, it's other worldly. She was called to do what she does."

However, there were a number of detractors, with one writing in response to Beachler's glowing words about Beyoncé: "Y'all sound like straight cult members."

"No," Beachler wrote back. "Just after working in an industry that treats people like s***, a la the [actors and writers] strike. When you encounter someone who is the exception it truly is life altering. 2 people like that for me. Beyoncé and [director] Ryan Coogler. If you're not in that position then no you wouldn't understand."

Seemingly unconvinced, the Twitter user insisted that Beachler's take sounded "wild cultish," before taking aim at Beyoncé over her net worth. "[There] is not one billionaire that's a good person," they tweeted. "But that sounds like book [learning] stuff you're not in the position to understand."

"And you seem to understand being rude and mean," Beachler retorted. "You know nothing of her businesses, or her life. Book learning? You mean my several degrees? Sir....be blessed, and stay gracious. Karma out on these streets lately. Next rude comment is a block."

Beyoncé's work ethic was on full display in a recent viral TikTok post that showed her calling on the help of a crewmember in the most discreet of ways while performing onstage in Chicago in late July.

In the clip, she appeared to be struggling with the heat and repeatedly signaling for a fan to be turned on in front of her. In the video, Beyoncé was sat on a podium onstage, singing the track "1+1" from her 2011 album 4. For more than half the video, she could be seen subtly directing her team and pointing to a fan in front of her. The captions on the clip read: "You. Fan. Now" and "bombastic side eye."

Beyoncé even sang "turn the fan on" in a low register before getting into another verse. Eventually the fan was turned on as Beyoncé signaled an "OK" to her team.

The person who captured the footage, @camilabice, wrote that surely "somebody's getting fired" for the mishap, possibly referring to an incident at a previous concert. In a video uploaded to YouTube in 2010, Beyoncé was shown dancing at a live show and shouted "lights" into the microphone mid-dance, then also sang to the beat "somebody's getting fired. Hey!"

Beyoncé is in the middle of something of a banner year. The musician scooped four Grammy Awards at February's ceremony: Best R&B Song for "Cuff It"), Best Dance/Electronic Recording ("Break My Soul"), Best Dance/Electronic Album (Renaissance) and Best Traditional R&B Performance ("Plastic Off the Sofa").

She won the most awards at this year's ceremony, tied with the worship music collective Maverick City Music. Beyoncé's haul saw her walk away with a career total of 32 Grammy trophies, passing Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti's previous record.

Beyoncé had broken records before even arriving at the ceremony. She was not only the top nominee for the year, with nine nods, she also increased her career nomination total to 88, tying her with her husband, Jay-Z, for the most Grammy nominations received by any artist.

Update 8/3/23, 5:05 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.