In the wake of Beyonce’s Instagram-shattering announcement earlier this morning, the internet has understandably gone a little bit insane. A byproduct of that however, is about as entertaining as it is scary.
The #BeyoncePoseChallenge calls everyone on the net to find their inner Queen B and strike a pose similar to the recording artist’s Instagram post this morning. If you missed that post, check out our quick explainer here.
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Ultimately, it does involve Beyonce’s pregnant underwear-clad body, and a sheer piece of fabric draped over her head. Essentially, it’s a recipe for a viral meme.
‘Beyonce pose’ what?
The hashtag appeared in select South African tweets around midday Thursday, but the conceit seems to have stemmed from comedian Ellen DeGeneres on Twitter. “Me too!”, Ellen comments, attaching a photoshopped version of Beyonce’s famous image:
Me too! pic.twitter.com/4ERcCd8NSn
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) February 1, 2017
Another tweet by British user @Noddy_Taylor was posted in the same reply thread as Ellen’s initial tweet. It has garnered over 305 likes at the time of writing. The image itself has been retweeted by a South African Twitter user @Mbali_Magongo, with the hashtag #BeyoncePoseChallenge.
#BeyoncePoseChallenge
I’m done ka Internet pic.twitter.com/3SqGY11bzg — UNoqatiko
(@Mbali_Magongo) February 2, 2017
Additional examples
Other celebrities have also been involved. BBC radio presenter Nick Grimshaw also joined in, posting his version to Instagram.
I’m not pregnant, I’m just fat
A photo posted by nicholasgrimshaw (@nicholasgrimshaw) on
Not quite hitting the heights of Beyonce’s post, Gimshaw’s has only topped 29 000 likes since it was published.
Even some puppers are getting in on the fun.
We see your #BeyoncePoseChallenge @grimmers @TheEllenShow and we raise you… #beyoncetwins pic.twitter.com/uhFbKQk9ag
— Dogs Trust (@DogsTrust) February 2, 2017
Some Twitter users are arguably having a little too much fun with the idea.
@TrendingSAon3 Why mara?? #BeyoncePoseChallenge #tsaon3 pic.twitter.com/6iyEh1Vf42
— Sankara (@Allan_Tshuma) February 2, 2017
#BeyoncePoseChallenge pic.twitter.com/20FFta2uce
— Mawande (@War2ren_) February 2, 2017
Oh, and then there’s this one from social commenter Josh Ostrovsky:
BEYONCÉ AND I ARE BOTH PREGNANT AS FUCK. MAZEL KWEEN. (@tank.sinatra @adam.the.creator)
A photo posted by thefatjewish (@thefatjewish) on
Will this become a thing though?
That’s really too early to tell.
Judging by relatively subdued Google Search data, and the relatively limited use of the hashtag, it probably won’t become anything more than a “remember in 2017” talking point.
With that said, Beyonce has been enjoying an excellent few months in terms of career success and social media coverage, with the debut of her visual Grammy-nominated album Lemonade, and now seemingly retaking Twitter back from the likes of Donald Trump.
The singer-songwriter has also since published new images of her pregnancy on her official website, which will no doubt filter through social media in the coming hours.
