Diane Warren makes it clear she wants no beef with the Beyhive

Warren appeared to subtweet Beyoncé before issuing a quick corrective.

August 02, 2022
Diane Warren makes it clear she wants no beef with the Beyhive Mike Coppola/Getty

There are a few core rules to remember when engaging online and pretty near the top of the list is to never, ever do anything to anger Beyoncé's passionate Beyhive fanbase.

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Songwriter and perma-Oscar nominee Diane Warren learned this the hard way on Monday when she posted a simple question: "How can there be 24 writers on a song?" The query is open-ended enough to give Warren plausible deniability but the timing here is key. Tweeting that out mere days after Beyoncé dropped Renaissance is essenitally a Bat-signal for the hive to assemble and defend their queen. Clearly, they deduced, Warren was tweeting about Bey's "Alien Superstar" and its 24 credited writers (including Jay-Z, Mike Dean, Honey Dijon, and Right Said Fred).

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Many fans were quick to point out that the list of credits runs that long because it includes many artists who are sampled on the song, which makes use of the 2008 song "Moonraker" by Foremost Poets, and the 1973 speech "Black Theater" by Barbara Ann Teer. The-Dream, himself a credited writer across Renaissance, pointed out the historical context of sampling, too.

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Warren acknowledged the explanations sent her way and soon brought an end to the conversation. Lesson learned, the Beyhive remain undefeated.

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Diane Warren makes it clear she wants no beef with the Beyhive