During an episode of ESPN’s “The Jump” on Thursday, ESPN reporter Nick DePaula relayed a story he had heard in which Beyoncé left a meeting with Reebok representatives because of a lack of diversity. “They had a whole presentation of everything — potential products, how this would all look,” he explained.
“And she kind of took a step back and said, ‘Is this the team who will be working on my product?’ And someone said ‘yes.’ And she said, ‘No one in this room reflects my background or skin color and where I’m from and what I want to do.’ So she kind of took a step back and left and then did not come to terms.”
Beyoncé is no stranger to social justice and equality issues. She and husband Jay-Z were recently honored at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards with the Vanguard Award. Beyoncé is known to hire LGBTQ dancers for her videos and tours and held a concert dedicated to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Beyoncé recently partnered with Adidas. [More U.S. News] ‘Suspicious’ fires rip through three historically black churches in same Louisiana parish over course of 10 days » Reebok denied the allegation in a statement on Friday.
“The report that Beyoncé walked out of a meeting with Reebok due to lack of diversity is categorically false,” the brand told TMZ. “Our discussions with Beyoncé and her team continued for several months after our initial meeting. We are disappointed that false information is being reported as fact.”