Beyoncé faces criticism for letting her daughter skip her childhood and receive “adult looks” at a public event
Jay Z and Beyoncé recently attended The Lion King premiere with their 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, amid serious allegations against the rapper. Jay Z has been named in a civil lawsuit alleging he raped a 13-year-old girl with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2000. Despite the gravity of these allegations, the focus shifted to Blue Ivy’s attire at the event, which some critics deemed inappropriate for her age.
Blue Ivy wore a dress that sparked controversy online. Critics quickly took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express their disapproval. One user commented, “Honestly, the way Blue Ivy, a 12-year-old, is oversexualized by her parents needs to be studied. She’s still a child, but they’re dressing her like she’s 17-18 years old.”
Another added, “At the Mufasa: The Lion King premiere, why was a 12-year-old dressed like a mature woman?” Some users were even more critical, with one saying, “I have a daughter her age, and there’s no way I’d be allowing cleavage and heels. The agenda is to normalize this and make parents think it’s okay for kids to dress this way. It’s a predator’s dream world.”
However, many defended Blue Ivy, arguing that there was nothing inappropriate about her appearance. One woman noted, “There are literally princess dresses made like this. Kids dressed like Snow White wear similar gowns. The problem is not the dress, but how some are sexualizing it instead of letting a child be a child.”
Another supporter added, “Blue Ivy looks older because she’s tall and has a mature demeanor, but she’s not engaging in sexualized behavior. If you think she looks 17-18, it’s because of how you view 17-18-year-olds. She’s just wearing a ballgown, which is stereotypical for princesses.”
In response to the allegations against him, Jay-Z expressed his concern for his family: “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at an age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people.” Despite these challenges, the Carter family appeared united at the premiere, posing for pictures outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The event was significant for Blue Ivy as well; she voices Kiara in the movie, while Beyoncé voices Nala. The film is set to be released on December 20. Beyoncé shared her pride on Instagram with a heartfelt message: “My gorgeous baby girl. This is your night. You worked hard and did such a beautiful job as the voice of Kiara. Your family could not be prouder. Keep shining.”
Design Miami 2015: traditional automotive brands “don’t need to be scared” of upstarts including Tesla and Apple – and the cars of the future may not be electric, according to Audi’s head of experiential marketing. Other power sources including fuel cells may turn out to be more effective than batteries, Bernhard Neumann told Dezeen, although he said “the end of the combustion engine will come for sure.” When asked whether brands like Audi felt threatened by the hype around battery-powered electric vehicles being developed by American companies, Neumann said: “I don’t think we need to be scared. We are very aware and we are adapting very fast.” Californian company Tesla has led the charge towards electric cars, launching the Tesla Roadster in 2008, and Apple is widely expected to follow suit.
Mainstream rivals have since raced to catch up and develop battery-powered vehicles. BMW launched its first electric car, the i3, in 2013 while Porsche unveiled its first all-electric sports car in September.
But while petrol is on its way out as a fuel source, its replacement is not yet certain, Neumann added. “That is the million-dollar question. Everybody is thinking now that it is electric, but I also see alternatives. For example the fuel cell.”
Neumann spoke to Dezeen at Design Miami in Florida last week, where the brand presented its forthcoming E-tron Quattro electric sport-utility vehicle. This will be the German car brand’s first all-electric car when it goes on sale in 2018. Yet Audi is hedging its bets, and will also next year showcase a version powered by fuel cells, which convert energy from fuels such as hydrogen into electricity via a chemical reaction rather than combustion.
Audi is also joining Tesla, Google, Apple and others by developing concepts for driverless cars, adapting its RS 7 performance cars to travel at speed around race tracks without a driver. Sven Schuwirth, vice president of brand strategy and digital business at the brand, told Dezeen last month that autonomous vehicles could “disrupt the entire business of domestic flights” as business travellers sleep in their cars rather than fly.
