Last week, Beyonce fans all around the world united to help fellow Beyhive member Jon Hetherington go to his first Beyonce concert. In a viral TikTok video, Hetherington, who uses a wheelchair, lamented about how ableism on the part of the airline he was supposed to fly to see Beyonce was preventing him from achieving his ultimate dream- seeing the artist perform live in concert.
Hetherington, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair because of it, was able to attend the concert thanks to the Beyhive - who saw his Tiktok video and tagged Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles, and her team, who, in turn, got in touch with Hetherington, according to his post on Instagram.
Hetherington's Story
For nearly 25 years, Jon Hetherington, a super-fan of Beyonce, dreamt of seeing the famous artist live, performing in concert. This year, he finally got the chance- he booked tickets to Seattle to see Beyonce at Lumen Field during her Renaissance tour.
After months of preparation, when he was prepared to fly, an employee of Alaska Airlines- the airline he was going to fly, informed him that he would not be able to fly on their plane, as "his wheelchair exceeded the requirements to fly" by four inches, according to a post by The Today Show. Hetherington, who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair for the same, had flown on an Alaska Airlines flight before, with no issues.
Disheartened, Hetherington took to TikTok to share his experience, saying that he was not able to see Beyonce that night because of ableism. The video later went viral, garnering more than 3,60,000 likes and 1500 comments, according to Billboard.
The Beyhive
A popular term used to describe Beyonce's fans in the collective, it was the Beyhive who came through to help Hetherington. Flooding his social media accounts, members of the Beyhive tagged Beyonce, her mother, her Parkwood Entertainment management company, and Columbia Records, to draw attention to his cause.
Thanks to the massive outpouring of support and offers of help for Hetherington, an Oregon native, a member of Beyonce's team reached out to him. They helped arrange a new flight for him to see the show, got him a seat suitable for his wheelchair on the floor, at the very front; and made it possible for him to meet both Beyonce and her mother, Tina Knowles. The Beyhive pulled through and helped him achieve his ultimate dream- he got to see her live at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, according to the New York Times.
In an Instagram post, Hetherington discussed how honoured he felt meeting Beyonce and Tina Knowles.
In another Instagram post, he thanked the members of the Beyhive who helped get Beyonce's team in touch with him, writing "Beyhive, you made this happen, you pushed and tagged like the internet has never seen."
Suggested Reading: Exploring Friendships Through Fandoms: Power Of Shared Passions
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