"She looks like Wendy Williams" — Internet reacts to Beyoncé smoking a cigarette and then setting a piano on fire at Cowboy Carter tour
A video of Beyoncé smoking a cigarette and lighting a piano on fire amid her SoFi Stadium show has gone viral on social media. For the unversed, the singer opened her global Cowboy Carter stadium tour in Los Angeles on April 28, 2025, performing over 35 songs spanning three hours.
During her performance of YA YA, a track from her Grammy-winning country album Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé, sitting in front of a piano in a white outfit, took a drag from a lit cigarette, puffing the smoke out of her mouth. She then flicked the lit cigarette on the piano, which caught on fire, as she continued singing and the pianist continued playing.
The clip from Beyoncé's new tour, posted by X user @beyoncegarden, went viral, amassing over 1.3 million views and 36K likes as of this article. Meanwhile, one X user likened her appearance to former television host Wendy Williams, writing:
"She looks like Wendy Williams."
One other user seemingly agreed with the sentiment, while others wished she would recreate the scene with Lady Gaga for the highly anticipated sequel to their 2009 hit song Telephone.
"For a sec, I thought it was Wendy Williams," one user posted.
"I'm terrified for her hair omg," a person added.
"I wanna see this done again w Gaga in the Telephone part 2 music video," someone else commented.
"Oh she’s bringing the theatrics fr fr," another netizen said.
However, others seemed more curious about the cigarette she was smoking, wondering if it was real or not.
"Oh i know queen isnt gonna waste her health like that it gotta be one of these fake cigs they use for movies," one person tweeted.
"You can tell she’s not a Smoker by the way she is holding the cigarette. I love her," another user added.
"She could at least rehearse how to smoke," a netizen commented.
"That’s not a joint?" an X user questioned.
Exploring other viral moments from Beyoncé's tour
The three-hour-long first show of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour was full of viral and memorable moments for fans. The singer kicked off the opening show in Los Angeles with her track Ameriican Requiem, followed by a mix of songs from Cowboy Carter and her previous hits like Diva and Formation.
Furthermore, the singer recreated her viral moment from the Renaissance World Tour performance of Diva, pointing out to a concertgoer while singing the line, "She ain't no diva."
Another Renaissance World Tour callback was the robots, who made a comeback in the new tour to pour the singer a glass of whiskey onstage, as reported by The Mirror on April 29.
Meanwhile, during an onstage montage that highlighted Beyoncé's career, the video included the singer's shocked expression from the 2025 Grammys, which became a meme online. For the unversed, the moment occurred after Cowboy Carter was announced the winner of Best Country Album.
Another viral moment occurred when Beyoncé's daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi, came on stage to join their mother for the track Protector. This marked Rumi's first time on stage, with the seven-year-old cheerfully waving at the crowd while her mother sang.
On the other hand, Blue Ivy made multiple appearances throughout the first show of the Cowboy Carter Tour, performing and dancing to songs like America Has A Problem, Déjà Vu, and Sweet Honey Buckiin.
During the show's penultimate song, 16 Carriages, Beyoncé flew around the stadium on a red convertible, holding on to an American flag. Further, the final track of the night was Amen.
As per Rolling Stone on April 29, the singer thanked fans for supporting her and "letting [her] make this album," continuing:
“I want to thank all of those who came before me that allowed me to be on this stage today. I want to thank my fans for letting me make this album. Thank you for giving me the creative liberty to challenge myself.”
The next show on Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour is scheduled for May 1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
