Basquiat, Beyoncé and Blood Diamonds?

Beyoncé and Jay-Z launched their “ABOUT LOVE” campaign with Tiffany & Co. earlier this week featuring a rare Basquiat piece and a HUGE diamond necklace… only worn by four people. Ever.

1957 – Mrs. E. Sheldon Whitehouse / Event: charitable “Tiffany Feather Ball”
1961 – Audrey Hepburn / Event:
Promotion of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” cult movie
2018 – Lady Gaga / Event: “91st Academy Awards” (A Star Is Born)
2021 – Beyoncé / Event: “Tiffany’s ABOUT LOVE campaign”

The stone is 128.54 carats and is said to be priceless, discovered over 140 years ago in South Africa by Charles Lewis Tiffany, the co-founder of the iconic jewelry brand. It is set in a necklace and surrounded by over 100 carats of white diamonds.”

The wearing of the stone of course garnered some backlash as the campaign was launched, with many fans (and haters) accusing Queen Bey of wearing a blood diamond. You can search “beyonce blood diamond” on Twitter to see what the people are saying.

Of course, Beyoncé’s mom was the first to come to her defense, saying:  “How many of you socially conscious activist own diamonds ? I thought so ! Well guess what did you go to try to check to see where the diamond came from? Probably not,” she said. “So when you guys get engaged you won’t have a diamond you gonna put on a sterling silver band And you better check out where it came from and the origin of where came from and why you add it check out the calls for the Leather that you weird because they made it came from another country to to ban and not buy diamonds right because your righteous !!”

Yikessssss

As part of the Carters’ partnership with Tiffany & Co., the brand has committed $2 million toward internship and scholarship programs for historically Black colleges and universities.

In November, when Beyoncé teamed up with Peloton to license her music to the popular fitness company, she also pledged her support to HBCU students, offering two-year digital memberships to the Peloton app. At the time, she said she was “proud to celebrate the students at HBCUs with this donation, to encourage them to find and embrace their own wellness regimens.” 

The pop icon’s 2019 concert film, Homecoming, was also a celebration of HBCU culture. Its music director, Derek Dixie, was nominated for an Emmy award for outstanding music direction. 

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