New York police are investigating the dancer’s death as a possible hate crime
Beyoncé paid tribute to O’Shae Sibley after he was stabbed over the weekend. The New York City Police Department is investigating his death as a possible hate crime.
“REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY,” Beyoncé, 41, wrote on her official website.
On Saturday night, Sibley, 28, was killed at a Brooklyn gas station with friends. One of his friends, Otis Pena, filmed the night out for a Facebook Live post.
Sibley, a professional dancer, was voguing to a Beyoncé song and became the target of a vicious attack. In Pena’s footage, several men were seen approaching the group and began to shout gay slurs at them. The situation grew hostile, and Sibley was stabbed.
The dancer was transported to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn for stab wounds to his torso but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
“The incident is being investigated as a possible biased incident,” a spokesman for the New York City Police Department told PEOPLE. No arrests have been made.
“The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night,” the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation’s Ailey Extension, said on Monday. “O’Shae was a cherished and devoted Ailey Extension student. He had incredible energy in the studio and was loved by instructors and fellow classmates.”
“Heartbroken and enraged to learn about O’Shae Sibley’s death this weekend in New York. Despite homophobes’ best efforts, gay joy is not crime,” New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Signal, who is openly gay, tweeted Monday. “Hate-fueled attacks are.”
On Tuesday, GLAAD released a statement regarding Sibley’s death, calling attention to other issues plaguing the LGBTQ community. While calling Sibney’s death part of a “disturbing rise in violence and harassment,” the organization added that “this cannot continue.”
“No one should have to fear for their safety just for being themselves,” GLAAD continued. “Politicians spewing lies and proposing policies filled with disinformation, and media repeating their false and dangerous rhetoric unchallenged, are creating an incredibly hostile environment that endangers all LGBTQ people and all queer people of color.”
Beyoncé has been a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community. She dedicated her album Renaissance to her Uncle Jonny, whom she affectionately dubbed her “godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album.”
The album featured collaborations from queer artists including Ts Madison, Honey Dijon, Syd, Moi Renee, MikeQ, Kevin Aviance and Big Freedia. In March 2019, Beyoncé and her husband JAY-Z were honored as LGBTQ Allies at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. At the time, the company’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis referred to the power couple as “global icons and passionate defenders of human rights and acceptance for all people.”
Anyone with information about Sibley’s death is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
