Beyoncé Fan in Wheelchair Will ‘Treasure’ Kind Words, Hugs From Singer After Long Odyssey to Attend Houston Gig
Beyoncé fan Jon Hetherington posted a video last week in which he lamented that he would not be able to achieve a lifelong dream of seeing Queen Bey in concert in Seattle at Lumen Field because he said the airline he was flying on was unable to accommodate his wheelchair. In a TikTok video, Oregon native Hetherington said he got the airport and was told by the unnamed airline that his chair was four inches too tall to be loaded onto the plane.
“They checked every possible flight, every airline, and nothing is available. So after 25 years of waiting, I’m not seeing Beyonce tonight. So ableism strikes again,” he lamented in the video that went viral and racked up more than 360,000 likes and 1,500 comments.
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He was quickly flooded by comments from the Bey Hive, with some offering to give him their tickets for upcoming shows, and many others tagging Beyoncé, her Parkwood Entertainment management company and Columbia Records. “I’ve waited so f–king long for this,” Hetherington said in a follow-up video in which he said was demoralized, frustrated and sad about missing the show; two weeks earlier he said he was left stranded in Seattle for hours after a Janelle Monáe show because he could not find an accessible taxi in Seattle.
The groundswell of support and offers of help for the Oregon native turned into a dream come true on Thursday night (Sept. 21) when Hetherington, 34 — who has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair — was able to attend Bey’s Renaissance tour date at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX after a member of the singer’s team reached out to him, according to the New York Times; at press time a spokesperson for Beyoncé could not be reached for confirmation of the report.
The Times reported that Bey’s team arranged for a new flight and after the show Hetherington reported that not only did his dream come true, but he met Beyoncé’s mom — Tina Knowles-Lawson — as well as the singer herself. “Beyhive, you made this happen, you pushed and tagged like the internet has never seen. Tonight, for the first time ever, I had a seat on the floor for a concert. Welcome to the RENAISSANCE,” he wrote alongside a shot of him awaiting the beginning of the concert.
In a second photo, next to a smiling Knowles-Lawson, Hetherington was elated about his magical night and told his followers that he planned to keep the special words Beyoncé shared to himself. “There is much that I will say in the coming days about what tonight means to me. There are some things I’ll keep for myself. Truly an honor to meet you, @mstinaknowles! Thank you for all that you’ve done and given the world. We’re so grateful,” he said.
“To the Queen herself, @beyonce, I will treasure those words you said and the hugs you gave,” he added. “I meant every word I said. No, for anyone and everyone reading this, I will not ever share with you what was said to me, don’t even try it. That moment is between the two of us.”
See Hetherington’s posts below.
Billboard
Billboard
