Beyonce and Jay Z are catching heat for their “embarrassment of riches” pose with a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting in an ad campaign.
Tiffany & Co. launched a modern love campaign featuring Beyonce and Jay Z, according to Eurweb.com.
The luxury jewelry retailer included a never-before-seen Basquiat painting in the campaign.
In one image, Jay Z, who has an obsession with the late painter, is sitting in an armchair while Beyonce poses in a curve-fitting black dress.
Tiffany’s executive vice president Alexandre Arnault stated:
“The investment will be pretty impressive. It’s our biggest campaign. Also, it’s the only year-long campaign that we have. It marks a clear evolution of what we’ve been doing from a creative standpoint.”
READ ALSO: Jean Michel Basquiat Painting Sells for Record $110 Million
Jay Z and Beyonce are known for their champagne tastes and vulgar displays of material wealth.
Black Twitter slammed the couple for posing with a Basquiat painting — since the painter was an anti-capitalist who loathed pretentious displays of riches.
One Twitter user wrote:
“Jay Z (a venture capitalist) ironically rocking a Basquiat (famous anti-capitalist, anti-colonial artist) look while investing in ankle monitors, while Beyonce rocks Tiffany (Blood) Diamond is Neo-Colonialism in Blackface.”
Another user wrote: “Ohhh so Jay Z is tryna look like Basquiat. Ok…..”
A third person tweeted:
“Basquiat would hate Jay Z. or at least talk some f*cken sense into the guy. anyway not my problem.”
I now see and understand why y’all can’t stand Jay z and him cosplaying as Basquiat.
— Yandy Luther King (@johnnyaintshit) August 24, 2021
I don't think it's far fetched that jay z aligns himself with basquiat. but when he brings up fred hampton, I be like pic.twitter.com/8ELJEk9ZTB
— ll cool dij (@DijahSB) August 24, 2021
No matter how hard Jay Z tries to look like Basquiat, he will never be him (5)
— Madison Payton (@MadisonPayton2) August 24, 2021
Plus the art was owned privately for decades with no one to see it so shouldn’t this be a good thing that we can admire it now? basquiat literally made the painting to be sold privately so the Tiffany CEO (not even jay Z and Beyoncé) has the right to buy it??
— santana douglas (@santanaadouglas) August 24, 2021
But the point of the ad is “their love story” and it’s known that jay Z admires basquiat so I don’t really see the issue with them incorporating basquiat’s painting in the narrative.
— santana douglas (@santanaadouglas) August 24, 2021