The Sphere is mad that Beyoncé lifted it

The letter specifically describes the offending clip (which you can watch in a fan video here) as follows: “Beyoncé—many orders of magnitude larger than the Sphere venue—leans over, picks up the venue, and looms over it.” While this wording makes Beyoncé sounds like some kind of mythic, invincible titan (arguably fitting, but perhaps not the impression the SEG meant to convey), the company nonetheless mounted its offensive. “SEG was never asked and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG’s Sphere venue in the video is unauthorized,” the letter continued, specifically noting that the clip “has resulted in significant speculation that Beyoncé will end her tour with a Sphere residency” (as can be seen in the linked video above). 

According to SEG, Beyoncé’s team has until May 5 to stop using Sphere imagery on stage. If they don’t comply, SEG will take “further action as SEG deems appropriate without notice.” 

SEG’s ire didn’t come out of nowhere. Consequence notes that Beyoncé was in talks for a residency at the venue, but the conversation allegedly fell apart when the pop star requested a freeze on other programming so she could complete two weeks of rehearsals. She’s also reportedly been in negotiations with MGM—a rival venue to the Sphere—for a potential residency there.

While that’s a big hypothetical as of this writing, what we do know is that Beyoncé will be on the road for at least the next two months. Her tour is currently scheduled to end on July 26 in the Vegas-adjacent town of Paradise, NV, where she’ll be performing at Allegiant Stadium. We’ll see if any more venues get picked up and/or angry in the weeks to come.