Actor Omari Hardwick, star of the 50 Cent hit series POWER, is trending on social media this morning for kissing Beyonce on the lips.The incident occurred at the NAACP Awards last night, and Omari smooched Beyonce's lips - right in front of her husband Jay Z. Entertainment; 50 Cent clowns Omari Hardwick after awkward Beyonce kiss at NAACP Image Awards. While the rapper had jokes for his 'Power' co-star, fans of the Queen Bee were none too pleased about.
Updated 11:37 PM EST Dec 15, 2019
Omari Hardwick's interaction with Beyonce at Saturday's NAACP Image Awards was not exactly 'Flawless,' according to some. Critics are saying the actor got too close for comfort.
In footage shared by website The Shade Room to Instagram, Hardwick, who portrays James 'Ghost' St. Patrick on 'Power,' can be seen posing with Jay-Z before greeting Beyonce with kiss on the cheek and hug. He then gives her another kiss that appears to land toward the corner of her mouth before walking away.
Hardwick's kisses got mixed reviews on Twitter.
Some thought Hardwick overstepped.
'A respectable handshake would have worked just fine from Omari Hardwick,' one person expressed. 'Women don’t need to be grabbed, hugged and kissed unless its your wife/girlfriend.'
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Similarly, another directed: 'Fellas, take this Omari Hardwick with Beyoncé situation and apply it to your interactions with women. Handshakes are the answer. You never know if something you’re doing with the hug and kisses on the cheek will make a woman feel awkward so just don’t do.'
Writer Rebecca Theodore-Vachon also made a case for the handshake.
'So this Omari/Beyoncé thing - as a general rule when greeting someone, I keep it at a handshake. Kisses and hugs have to be consensual with BOTH parties...while we think we may know these celebrities, they are not property and they don’t belong to us. They are still people with boundaries - please act accordingly,' her tweets read.
'There are boundaries and he encroached... it's disconcerting,' wrote another.
Another felt 'that second kiss was sooooo uncalled for and disrespectful.'
Others on Twitter were less bothered by the interaction.
'Omari kissed beyoncé twice... and?' reacted one user who added the eye roll emoji.
'Oh please. Folks assuming things again,' another posted. 'Celebs kiss each other all the time. Like a ridiculous amount. Beyonce could turn her head and cheek to avoid a kiss. She not new.'
'If i was omari ida kissed Beyoncé twice too,' one person posted, adding a laughing emoji.
Some on Facebook were less upset. It was a 'Hollywood kiss,' ' a person wrote on a posting on the occurrence by comedian Reese Waters. 'What’s the big deal? She was right next to her husband.'
'There was nothing disrespectful about that kiss although he did get two kisses,' another person posted. 'He was not out of line'
The Beyhive was rocked, and swarmed Hardwick's Instagram, leaving bee emojis on his posts.
'We get it you’re a Beyoncé fan but respect her space?????????' read one comment.
'STAY AWAY FROM BEYONCÉ ???????????????????' a person advised.
'Forget the 2nd kiss, that was too close to her mouth????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????' another person posted.
'Just so you know, everyone is mad cause you violated her personal space and you clearly made Beyoncé uncomfortable. It’s just not cool, you wouldn’t like if someone did it to you,' a user stated. 'As a woman that’s been in a situation where I feel violated by a man by something 'simple' he did. I’m just saying it was uncalled for. She felt the love the first time the second time made it weird.'
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Updated 11:37 PM EST Dec 15, 2019