Beyonce and Jay-Z were on stage when a man from the audience rushed on stage, where he allegedly made some sort of physical contact with Jay-Z.
Security whisked Beyonce away and rushed to help, but not before Beyonce"s backup dancers rushed into action.
We"ve merged a few fan videos of the incident so that you can see what went down from multiple angles.
A man later identified as 26-year-old Anthony Charles Thomas Maxwell allegedly raced onto the stage on Saturday night during Beyonce and Jay-Z"s performance.
Remember their joint album? The couple is doing their "On The Run II Tour."
TMZ reports that Maxwell made some sort of physical contact with Jay-Z, but did not appear to be able to reach Beyonce.
Eyewitness reports from the audience (which we should always take with a grain of salt) say that the man punched or otherwise struck Jay-Z.
Whatever the man was expecting … what happened next was probably not it.
Going by what various eyewitnesses reported on social media, it sounds like a bodyguard whisked Beyonce away immediately, leaving Jay-Z behind.
People have joked about this, but we would speculate that this is the standing order with their security team. If they"d had their children with them, getting the kids to safety would certainly be the priority.
Before numerous black-shirted security members could rush onto stage, it looks like a score of backup dancers rushed in.
When you see someone charge onto the stage, you don"t know if they"re an obsessed fan who wants to touch someone or an obsessed fan who wants to stab someone.
It looks like these dancers weren"t taking any chances with Beyonce or Jay-Z, and it appears that they totally clobbered Maxwell in order to protect the stars.
Police arrived and, TMZ reports, merely detained Maxwell and wrote up a ticket for disorderly conduct.
He was then reportedly released, with a hearing scheduled for Monday.
Since Jay-Z was reportedly not injured, Maxwell may have gotten very lucky and avoided assault charges — but that remains to be seen and will ultimately be up to prosecutors.
A rep for Beyonce shared that this will not halt the tour, but that they may have tighter security going forward.
That sounds like a good plan. Sometimes, these scary incidents invite copycats.
People who are already unbalanced and considering doing something drastic can draw inspiration from other people"s bad behavior.
What really makes this is the video — or, rather, the series of videos — that fans have of the backup dancers breaking formation.
We"re sure that Beyonce and Jay-Z"s security team is as good as it gets, but no one can plan for every contingency.
And, unfortunately, the "lone lunatic with nothing to lose and no plan to escape" is considered all but impossible to counter unless you want to live in a bunker.
Thankfully, it does not appear that Maxwell was in any way armed.
Thanks to that and the quick reaction of both the dancers and security people, this story has a happy ending.
Beyonce"s rep, Yvette Noel-Schure, shared a photo of the couple on stage
"Thank you to all the fans for your concern," she wrote in her captions.
Her captions continue: "They are fine and looking forward to the show tomorrow."
It is great to have confirmation of their well-being.
