Beyoncé, the highest-paid woman in the music industry, a 20-time Grammy winning artist, and one of the most beloved artists living right now, was spotted in a Target, of all places, on Thursday night. The Target store in San Clemente, California was graced not only with Beyoncé’s presence but also her mom, Tina, and Bey’s oldest daughter, Blue Ivy (who can be seen in one of the photos with her back to the camera riding in the shopping cart, because who hasn’t done that while accompanying their mom on a long shopping trip?)
It’s not everyday you see @Beyonce at target 🤩🤪 pic.twitter.com/3nI8bVqONh
still looks like it was taken with a potato but pic.twitter.com/LE3dBJioiQ
Some shoppers caught Bey browsing the toy aisles and walking past some children’s bikes too. Their family did grow by two this year and with the holiday season coming up, it’s no wonder that the family is looking for toys. But it is pretty cool to see the Queen Bey herself picking out toys rather than just shopping online or having an assistant do it.
As soon as the photos started going viral, people went predictably bonkers on Twitter.
Sis I would have passed out pic.twitter.com/A8JM1BmxJ6
Bitch I can’t even find my damn family when I’m in Target and you found Beyoncé . https://t.co/nR4s3Xmro9
She’s out here wearing a mommy backpack and pushing the kiddie cart through a Target, @Beyonce you’re doing amazing sweetie pic.twitter.com/Dpx3E53Wog
why Beyoncé out here shopping in target like she human or somethin
you couldve ACKNOWLEDGED mama tina
But for some, once the initial shock wore off of seeing Queen Bey in such a quotidian setting, many became concerned for her privacy. After all, she goes to great lengths to keep her life private—even reportedly switching up her email every single week—so she probably wasn’t thrilled that she couldn’t even stop by Target in peace.
If you happen to see Beyoncé at Target, you should...Be a decent human being and let her shop in peace.
y’all need to let beyoncè live ha life. she obviously ran to target to get some fruit snacks for blue and y’all got cameras in her face pic.twitter.com/ttxmqUiJfP
She clearly is motioning no pics YET you continued to follow her and take more. This disrespect is why she’s always in hiding. pic.twitter.com/NxsgUpabJ3
Exactly! She’s not onstage or doing an interview. She’s in TARGET. People have no boundaries and that’s the sad part. Smh
Can she shop in peace pic.twitter.com/X4vdbtEtjg
But shrewd fans will remember that this isn’t the first time Beyoncé has been spotted at huge store the likes of Target: she’s even used the fact that she’s so rarely seen at stores like this as a means of marketing one of her albums. Back in 2013, when she single-handedly invented the secret album drop with her self-titled visual album Beyoncé, Amazon and Target both refused to sell the full album. Instead of fighting the decision head-on, Beyoncé decided to show up to a Walmart in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and gave every customer at the store a $50 gift card. Marketing, honey—have you ever heard of it?
Of course, her trip to Target in San Clemente doesn’t look like it had anything to do with marketing or business of any kind. She could genuinely just be buying some toys for her kids. But no matter what, it’s so rare to see Beyoncé in public that it’ll probably always be a huge event for anyone who manages to sneak a peak.
