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A video clip that allegedly shows Chaka Khan calling Beyoncé a ‘b*tch’ quickly notched up viral levels of attention after a Hollywood gossip site published it on YouTube with a cunningly damning title (scroll down to watch the video ).
Sure enough, the funk singer-songwriter, 60, can be seen rolling her eyes at a reporter during a red carpet interview at the 7th Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon after she is told that she looks “flawless like Beyoncé”.
What isn’t clear is exactly what she mutters under her breath. Is it an insult? It couldn’t possibly be proven.
But that hasn’t quietened the backlash from angry Beyoncé fans.
"Chaka, I love you dear but you are 60 years old hating on a 32 year old woman shame on you! Chaka is critical of other chic singers, always has been , the only female singer she will never hate on is Queen Aretha ," one viewer wrote.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has doneShow all 15 1 /15Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé admits lipsynching at Barack Obama's inauguration The 'Crazy In Love' singer performed US national anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner' at the president's Inauguration Day in January 2013, but lipsynched to a pre-recorded track. She blamed the decision on her being a 'perfectionist' and wanting Obama's day to be memorable. 'Due to no proper sound check I did not feel comfortable taking a risk,' she told a press conference.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé attacked by PETA for Super Bowl outfit In February 2013, Beyoncé was publically attacked by animal rights organisation PETA for wearing a Rubin Singer-designed leotard made of 'python, iguana and cow' for her Super Bowl Half Time performance with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé makes people cringe in sickly sweet documentary It's the sickly-sweet Bey-and-Z love-in that was her Life is But a Dream documentary. Released in February 2013, just after Valentine's Day, the autobiographical TV film was directed and produced by the singer herself. Her marriage to Jay Z, her miscarriage, the birth of Blue Ivy (not literally)...it's all here.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé breaks US trade embargo and visits Cuba The pop star sparked a small furore in April 2013 when she holidayed in Communist island Cuba with Jay Z to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. A long-standing US trade embargo against Cuba prevents most Americans from traveling their without a government license. It is unknown whether they had obtained a license or not.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Feminist icon Beyoncé refuses to say she is a feminist Leading women's magazine Vogue asked the pop star whether she considers herself a feminist in April 2013. Her non-committal response? 'That word can be very extreme but I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality but why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? I'm happily married. I love my husband.' Because you can't be a feminist and love your partner too Bey?
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done 'Independent Woman' Beyoncé names her world tour after her husband She is hailed as a feminist icon around the world for tracks such as 'Independent Women', 'Survivor' and 'Run The World (Girls)'. But Beyoncé chose to name her 2013/14 world tour after her husband, Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter instead. She values her marriage - great - but what message does this send to young women who look up to her as a symbol of self-empowerment?
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé bans photographers from world tour After the press published 'unflattering' snaps of the singer during her Super Bowl peformance in February, her publicist was brought in to put an end to such disrespectful behaviour. To prevent a repeat, no photo credentials were granted for her Mrs Carter Show World Tour and instead, Beyoncé's own photographer Frank Micelotta was hired to capture her best angles.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé banned from Pyramids by 'Egypt's Indiana Jones' Controversial archaeologist Dr Zahi Hawass was upset when Beyoncé arrived late to his tour of the Pyramids, booked when visiting Egypt. Hawass banished the 'rude' star from the ancient site, claiming she never apologised for being impolite. 'I said Beyoncé was stupid and I left,' he said.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé goes vegan with rapper husband Jay Z In December 2013, the high profile couple decided to take part in the 22 Days Challenge, which aims to change people’s dietary and exercise habits by encouraging them to omit all animal-based products from their diets.
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Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé dines in a vegan restaurant decked out in fox fur Newly vegan Beyoncé no doubt ruffled a few feathers when she wore a fox fur coat to a meat-free organic restaurant. The singer was spotted in the £2,915 Christopher Kane parka with a real fur collar as she accompanied husband Jay Z to a vegan meal at Native Foods in Los Angeles before Christmas 2013.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé guerilla releases album Comprising14 original tracks (including a collaboration with her daughter Blue Ivy, husband Jay Z and Frank Ocean) and 17 videos, Beyoncé randomly released her self-titled fifth studio album on iTunes as a mid-December Christmas surprise in 2013.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé shops for her new album in Walmart Not only did Beyoncé play the politician’s game at the US store (yes, she did stop to kiss a baby’s forehead on the way round), but she played Santa as well, showering shoppers with 750 gift cards worth $50 each. Presumably so they could spend them on her new album. Or a bottle of her perfume. Or something.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé is 2013's most searched for celebrity on the internet Beyoncé Knowles beat the headline-grabbing competition to be named the world’s highest ranking human being of 2013 according to Bing, leaving the rest of celebdom trailing in her warbling wake. Controversial pop star Miley Cyrus only manged number 9 on E! Online's list.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé samples space shuttle disaster in pop song The singer's decision to use a six-second audio clip from the 1986 Challenger catastrophe in which seven astronauts lost their lives was deemed 'inappropriate in the extreme' by NASA representatives at the end of 2013. Words breaking news of a 'major malfunction' open her song 'XO' from fifth album Beyoncé.
Un-Bey-Lievable: Ridiculous things Beyonce has done Beyoncé poses in the middle of Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' replica Closing 2013 in distinctly dubious style, the singer posted a series of pictures on her Instagram account showing her plonked in front of the Italian artist's masterpiece. She is pictured posing in a bright green skirt and pink bustier in the middle of the painting, right in front of Jesus.
“The envy of beyonce is real. What she said under her breath, if but she definitely rolled her eyes at the ‘beyonce’ song comparison. Why?? B gets so much hate from her own ppl, but yall realize how many black ppl she employs? Women?” another said.
“We can show love and respect for each other. What an hypocritical person. Show respect for what Beyonce has achieved. She's done more than Chaka has ever done in her career and that's fact,” the comments continued.
But Khan wasn’t without a few cheerleaders of her own: “If you ask me I think Chaka was having fun,” wrote one Chaka supporter. “If you look at the way she rolled her eyes it seemed to me that she was emulating the video flawless with a quick gesture kind of like the girls were in the video and not insulting Bey!”
In a perhaps ill-advised move, Khan drew attention to the whole debacle by tweeting the following, before deleting it a few hours later: