Britney Spears is really on one lately. After delivering the world’s most perfect PSA for Pride Month earlier this week, Spears took to Instagram again on Wednesday, June 24 to further delight and confuse the masses, by jokingly (?) claiming that her fans refer to her as “Queen B.†Spears wrote the following caption for an Instagram post from artist Jenna Paddey of a bejeweled bee and a crown: “To all my fans that call me Queen B … I believe this would be more accurate.†[record scratch] Say what now?
If you’re scratching your head wondering who the hell refers to Britney Spears as Queen B, and whether or not this Beyoncé erasure was intentional, you are not alone. While Spears included a few bee emoji in her caption, there was no direct mention of nor tag of the “Black Parade†singer, who has proudly worn the moniker of Queen B (or Queen Bey) for the better part of the last decade. It’s hard to tell whether Spears is being facetious or if she truly isn’t aware of the Beyoncé of it all. Yes, most people know that Beyoncé is commonly referred to by her fans as Queen B, but most people do not inadvertently burn down their home gym with a Yankee Candle. Whether or not Britney was intentionally making a joke or not, news got back to the Beyhive (it always does) who flooded Spears comments defending their one true queen, Beyoncé a.k.a. Queen B a.k.a. Bey a.k.a. Mrs. Carter a.k.a. Sasha Fierce (remember that phase?). We may never know the true intention behind Spears’s Instagram and that is okay. In this house, we do not participate in stan culture and have nothing but love for both Queen Bey and Britney Spears, the Princess of Pop.