How Blue Ivy Carter’s One-Off Renaissance Tour Cameo Became A Regular Highlight

You can’t take Blue Ivy Carter’s power. Though the 11-year-old’s cameos on Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour provided one of the most viral, show-stopping moments, her dance break wasn’t originally part of her mom’s meticulous plan.

In an early review of Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, The New York Times reported that Blue Ivy’s performance was only supposed to be a one-off — and took some negotiating. “She told me she was ready to perform, and I told her no,” Beyoncé says in the film, per the paper.

After making her debut as a dancer on “My Power” and “Black Parade” at the Paris stop in May, Blue Ivy convinced her mom to let her continue on through the North American leg of the tour. Her motivation? Blue Ivy read social media comments that criticized her so-called lackluster moves.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The Times reported that Beyoncé was thrilled that her and Jay-Z’s eldest daughter decided to put in the work and train even harder for future shows. Many Beyhive members similarly praised Blue Ivy’s “true queen behavior,” while others vowed to “protect Blue Ivy Carter at all costs.”

Meanwhile, some fans also felt sad for the tween, especially considering her young age. “Blue Ivy knowing & reading you all’s comments about her breaks my heart,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “She’s just a kid. I know y’all are twisting this to show that she’s ‘resilient,’ but we do need to realize that no child should have to be resilient. The way y’all discuss & treat kids are disturbing.”

Added another, “I’m happy that Blue Ivy used it as motivation but children shouldn’t have to use trauma as a fuel when they should be allowed to just be.”

Blue’s Proud Family

Even so, the Renaissance film’s behind-the-scenes moments reportedly show a typical mother-daughter relationship, too. Blue Ivy didn’t sugarcoat her opinions on stage design, song choices, and more, per the Times. According to Kalen Allen, who attended the Nov. 25 premiere in Los Angeles, “Bey wanted to cut some of our favorite songs and Blue was not having it.”

Blue Ivy ultimately made Jay-Z — who said on CBS Mornings in October that he “still [gets] goosebumps seeing her walk on stage” — “super proud” by how she navigated the experience. The rapper especially loved “watching [Blue] grow” over the course of the tour, revealing that she was nervous, but still wanted to perform anyway. He recalled watching Blue Ivy “work hard,” noting that she even “had a little icy pack thing on her back” some days.

“She’s been born into a life she didn’t ask for. So since she was born, she’s been in scrutiny and the public eye and everyone having an opinion of even a little girl, how she keeps her hair,” Jay-Z added in the CBS interview. “So for her to be on that stage and reclaim her power, and the song is called ‘My Power,’ you can’t write a better script.”