LONDON, Feb 21 — Beyoncé and Jay-Z paid tribute to Meghan Markle during the Brit Awards yesterday, by swapping her with one of art history’s most recognisable figures: The Mona Lisa.
The couple, who could not attend the ceremony in London, accepted the award for best international group via video message.
In the clip, they referenced a scene reminiscent of their Apes**t music video.
The original video saw them famously pose in front of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.
However, last night, the famous painting was replaced with an image of Meghan, or as Beyoncé later put it on Instagram: A “Melanated Mona.”
“Thank you so much to the Brit Awards for this incredible honour,” Beyoncé says in the video. “You guys have always been so supportive. Everything is love. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jay-Z jokingly replies, before the pair turn to admire the image of the Duchess of Sussex.
Well played @Beyonce & @S_C_ 😂
— BRIT Awards (@BRITs) February 20, 2019
Watch The #BRITs 2019 live here: https://t.co/qj4KiENtGs pic.twitter.com/rGnmq0RUlr
CNN reported that the image of Meghan in regal attire is by American artist Tim O’Brien.
He originally created the work in 2018 for the alumni magazine of Meghan’s sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.
An illustrator for publications like Time and Rolling Stone, O’Brien has previously produced magazine covers depicting figures including Barack Obama, Saddam Hussein and David Bowie. His portraits have also appeared on US postage stamps.
