Beyoncé reportedly made a fortune for every minute she performed at her recent gig in Dubai - despite coming under fire for the show.
The singer, 41, performed her first live show in almost five years this month, to celebrate the opening of a new hotel in Dubai.
She was reportedly paid a whopping $24 million for the show - during which she sang 19 songs over just 85 minutes - but received criticism from fans for choosing a country that has issues with LGBT rights.
In the UAE (United Arab Emirates) homosexuality is illegal and is even punishable by death under Sharia law, though as of 2021, there have not been any known arrests or prosecutions for same-sex sexual activity in the UAE since at least 2015.
Despite the controversy, Beyoncé went home with a significant boost to her already abundant bank balance, having been paid a reported $24 million for the gig.
... which works out at a cool $282,353 per minute.
The 'Lemonade' star has not performed live in over four years, so her decision to take the big-money gig in Dubai as her first performance did not go down well with many fans.
Her latest album Renaissance, which was released in 2022, had been described as a 'love letter' to the Black queer community, however, her choice to perform a gig in the UAE for a massive paycheck - leaving out any songs from the record in her set - has been seen as a 'money grab' by some.
Fans tweeted: "Beyonce being paid $25 mil to perform at an invite-only party in Dubai. Which shows you how much she really gives a s**t about the queer culture she appropriated (yes, appropriated) for Renaissance. Which is a great f**king record. But.... Bey, what the f**k."
Another added: "beyoncé releasing an album heavily influenced by queer culture just to perform in dubai doesn’t sit right with my soul idk."
A third wrote: "there is absolutely no way to defend or praise beyoncé performing in dubai btw (and that goes for another artist who takes money from a government who systematically oppress and kill its queer citizens)."
One fan also pointed out that Beyoncé already has a net worth so colossal that she could have easily turned down $24 million on principle.
They commented: "No beef but I’m struggling to understand why Beyoncé, who has half a billion dollars, would accept 20 million dollars to make her debut performance of the Renaissance album, a record which lifts heavily from queer culture, in Dubai, a country where LGBT rights aren’t recognised."
Despite backlash for whether it was morally right to take the gig or not, other fans were over the moon to see Bey back in action and hoped for a tour to be announced soon.
Her father, Mathew Knowles, told TMZ that it could be on the cards, teasing: "She’ll announce it when she’s ready."
He also addressed the fury around the Dubai show, adding that the singer "always stood for inclusiveness" and would never do anything to "deliberately hurt someone."