Beyoncé Draws Heat For Posing With Tigers And Riding Elephants In Thailand

Queen B is the latest pop star to draw controversy while vacationing in Thailand.

January 07, 2015

If you're a pop star vacationing in Thailand, you probably shouldn't be sharing any pictures you take with the local wildlife, unless you're ready for the backlash. That's a lesson Rihanna learned last year when her Phuket selfies with the endangered primate, slow loris, led to the arrest of two individuals, and one Beyoncé is learning now. After photos surfaced of Queen B riding an elephant and posing with a baby tiger alongside Jay Z and Blue Ivy, Mrs. Carter has come under scrutiny. According to World Animal Protection, what looked like an innocent (and adorable) pic of the Carter-Knowles clan was actually a miserable time for the tiger. "When you look behind the scenes, vacation snaps like these support an industry that relies on animal cruelty," the organization's Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach said in a statement. One Green Planet also had some words for Beyoncé on the topic of that elephant ride: "there is an incredible amount of suffering involved in Thai elephant tourism."

Beyoncé, Jay Z & Blue #Thailand
Een foto die is geplaatst door Beyoncé Lite (@beylite) op

Photo credit: Kevin Winter/Getty

Beyoncé Draws Heat For Posing With Tigers And Riding Elephants In Thailand