Beyonce‘s latest move is being heavily scrutinized in light of the damaging accusations levied against her husband, Jay-Z. Following accusations that the rapper raped a 13-year-old alongside his pal Diddy, Beyonce’s foundation made a big move. However, fans think the charitable deed is nothing but damage control.
On Thursday, the University of Houston Law Center announced that the singer’s BeyGOOD Foundation gave them $100,000 in support of its Criminal Justice Clinic. Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center, confirmed the generous donation in a press release.
“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center. Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.
The donation will help UHLC provide a full-time faculty and director to increase student enrolment numbers. Although philanthropy is usually celebrated, fans didn’t feel that way about Beyonce’s gesture, calling it a publicity stunt.
“This damage control isn’t going to help with the actual court case btw,” wrote one fan.
“Tell me you’re creating a distraction without telling me you’re creating a distraction,” another comment read.
“This is just a smokescreen to all the evil the Carters do and have done…we can see through it,” a third fan slammed.
However, some eagle-eyed fans interpreted the donation to be more than just a damage control move.
Did Beyonce Try To Silence Lawyer Tony Buzbee?
Upon closer look, fans noticed that the receiving institution, UHLC, is the same university, lawyer Tony Buzbee, who filed the lawsuit, graduated from. According to his website, Buzbee enrolled there after leaving the Marine Corps and was the managing editor of the Houston Law Review.
As expected, it didn’t take fans long to come up with insane theories.
“This why Tony said what he said. They are trying to intimidate & sway their way through this,” one fan observed.
“Apparently, the lawyer taking them on, Tony Buzbee, went to law school at UH. It seems like an intimidation tactic,” a second fan suggested.
“Trying to buy dirt on the attorney,” accused a third user.
“They donated to the university where the lawyer representing the girl graduated from. That’s disgusting, and it shows how they usually operate,” blasted this fan.
Recall that the rapper’s name became officially entangled in Diddy’s scandal earlier this week. In a civil lawsuit, an anonymous plaintiff accused the pals of drugging and raping her when she was 13. She alleged the assault went down at an after-party of the 2000 VMAs while an unnamed female celebrity watched. Jay-Z has since denied the allegation, calling it “heinous.”
Given that Beyoncé is from Houston and set to perform in her hometown on Christmas day, the donation doesn’t appear strange. However, the timing of the donation undoubtedly raises eyebrows.