After wrapping up her Cowboy Carter Tour, Beyoncé surprised her backup dancers with luxury gifts, a Louis Vuitton Horizon 55 rolling suitcase, which retails for about $3,500. Sounds like a flex, right? Well, not everyone’s impressed.
Dancers tagged both Beyoncé and her company, Parkwood Entertainment, in thank-you posts, proudly showing off their new LV carry-ons. Each gift came with a handwritten note from Parkwood:
“Congratulations on the completion of the Cowboy Carter Tour! Thank you for all your hard work and dedication the last couple of months. We hope you enjoy your gift and know that we greatly appreciate all your contributions to this tour and its success.”
The bag itself is a sleek carry-on with cowhide leather trim, adorned with Louis Vuitton’s signature monogram. Multiply that by the 29 dancers who reportedly got one, and you’re looking at more than $100,000 worth of luggage.
However, when clips and photos of the gifts surfaced on social media, the conversation became heated. Some fans applauded Bey’s generosity, while others criticized the move as a PR stunt.
According to the critique, a bag doesn’t pay bills.
“Pay them, not PR them,” one person wrote, echoing a chorus of voices who argued that luxury gifts mean little if dancers aren’t being paid fairly. To be clear, there’s no official report that Beyoncé underpaid her team, but that hasn’t stopped the debate from spiraling online.
The backlash also comes in the context of Beyoncé’s ongoing relationship with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH). Earlier this year, she launched her SirDavis whiskey brand with Moët Hennessy, complete with a custom Louis Vuitton trunk. She even posed in an LV monogram bikini and leather chaps.
Still, the internet is split. Some fans are defending Beyoncé, pointing out that $3,500 luggage is far from “cheap” and that many artists don’t give their crews anything beyond a thank-you. Others argue that luxury branding doesn’t always equate to genuine appreciation.
What do you think, is Beyoncé being generous, or tone-deaf?
