Hairspray star Sarah Francis Jones reveals she went into labour while attending Beyoncé concert

‘Turns out we were having a whole baby at [Beyoncé’s] bday show,’ actor writes

Hairspray actress Sarah Francis Jones has revealed that she went into labour while attending Beyoncé’s concert.

In a video shared to Jones and her husband, actor Marcel Spears, Instagram accounts earlier this week, the Honey star spoke candidly about her experience at the show, which took place on 4 September at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The post started off with the couple watching Beyoncé on stage, before the video transitioned to Jones in the hospital, as she appeared to be giving birth to her daughter.

“POV: you go into labour at Beyoncé’s bday concert,” she wrote, referring to the show taking place on the singer’s 42nd birthday.

Jones, who was featured in the 2007 Hairspray movie, went on to describe the unexpected experience of going into labour during the show.

“We thought it was just Braxton hicks or gas,” she wrote in the caption. “Turns out we were having a whole baby at @beyonce bday show.”

In the comments, many famous faces and fans congratulated Jones, while also poking fun at the timing in which started she going into labour.

“CONGRATS SARAH!!! I love you so much!!!” Demi Lovato wrote, while comedian Malik Sanon added: “Your baby wanted to watch the show. Congrats bro.”

“Baby girl dancing her way out at the concert!!!” a third wrote. “She said MOMMMM I NEED TO SEE QUEEN B WITH YOU WITH MY TWO EYES.”

The new parents shared another joint Instagram post about the experience, which included a video of Jones at the concert and hospital, with text that read: “Beyonce induced my baby.” In the caption, Spears also added: “….stranger than fiction. God is good.”

During an interview with KTLA, Jones recalled feeling contractions during the middle of the show.

“I think it was right after the mute challenge,” she said, referring to concert guests pausing after Beyoncé sings the line “everybody on mute,” from her song “Energy”.

“Everybody went mute. LA did very well … and then I started having contractions,” Jones continued.

She emphasised that she thought the contradictions were a form Braxton Hicks, which are pains during pregnancy that are often mistaken for true labour contractions. According to Jones, as the pain continued, she took a break from dancing during show.

“I said ‘Something’s happening,’” she recalled. “Usually I like to dance at the concert and I was like ‘Okay, I need to sit down for a second.’”

Spears added that he first thought the contractions would “pass,” since the baby’s due date wasn’t for a few days. But as Jones’ labour pains continued, he started to time them, and noticed that the contractions were 20 to 30 minutes apart. From there, he said he and his wife made their way out of the stadium.

“As the concert went on we were like ‘I don’t know about this.’ By the time we got to the car into the parking lot it was full-on intense,” he explained.

The couple revealed that their newborn baby, Nola, arrived later that night on 5 September. While the baby’s first name is a reference to Spears’ hometown, the pair also noted that they haven’t decided on her middle name yet. However, they are open to a name that’s “Beyonce-like”.

Spears also opened up about his and his wife’s decision to document the concert experience, sharing his belief that if they “didn’t record it,” he didn’t think “anybody would believe” what happened.

“It’s just one of those things that it’s so convenient you’re like ‘Nah that’s not happening,’ but the baby definitely pulled through,” he said.

The Independent has contacted Jones for comment.