Beyoncé wears fur, cowskin, leather, etc... to a series of vegan restaurants

[Drunken Housewife]

Jay Z announced that he was going to try eating as a vegan for a month as a spiritual quest and wrote, as a postscript in his announcement, that his wife Beyoncé would join him in this. 

However... whether she intends to be photographed or not (sometimes celebrities have the paparazzi tipped off), Beyoncé has subsequently been photographed going to vegan and vegetarian restaurants wearing outfits which seem at best thoughtlessly chosen and at worst aimed at offending the other patrons.  She's worn fur, leather, cowhide (leather with the cowhair still in place), etc..       Normally wearing this sort of clothing is not an etiquette faux pas, but to a vegan restaurant it is.

I've never had an issue with her before but am finding this pretty appalling.  There has been coverage of this, so if the first incident of being photographed wearing inappropriate-for-a-vegan-restaurant outfits was a mistake, one would think she would have caught on.  (Beyoncé is famously very interested in controlling the pictures of herself which are in the public).  Here's a link discussing this (note:  although this entry I am linking to is unoffensive, other entries on the linked-to blog contain rough language and discussions which not all eHellions will appreciate):  http://dlisted.com/2013/12/08/beyonce-wore-a-cow-to-vegan-lunch-with-jay-z/    Another link, to her wearing fur to a vegan restaurant:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2519211/Beyonce-makes-unconvincing-vegan-steps-lunch-Jay-Z-new-plant-based-diet.html#ixzz2mi1Sf8bj

[katycoo]

How does the media know that those items are not faux?

[Drunken Housewife]

The jacket with the fur trim is an extremely distinctive coat by a designer.  As the paper said, it's "a £2,915 Christopher Kane wool-blend parka with real fur collar." 

Even when not wearing fur, leather, cowskin, etc.., she appeared to be dressing either very thoughtlessly or with an intent to offend.  She went to a vegan restaurant wearing clothing with a loud print of meat on it on another day. 

It's really bizarre.  I can see someone wearing leather shoes or a leather coat to a vegan restaurant out of simply not thinking (or out of not owning other shoes), but Beyoncé's behavior seems extreme and weird.

[JenJay]

It certainly seems deliberate. Surely she can't be that clueless? Even if you don't know that much about being vegan wouldn't you realize hey, maybe don't wear a big ole animal skin into a vegan restaurant? I'm not even vegetarian but even I'd know better just out of respect for the other diners regardless of whether I shared their diet.

Reminds me of a protest once up in Portland, OR where people were marching against outsourcing and a reporter pointed out that a man was wearing Nike shoes. Don't these people have friends to give them a heads-up?!

[greencat]

I saw one of the several articles about this myself.  My first thought is that her hubby's decision to become vegan for three weeks and the announcement of her intent to join him were made without her input, or at least against her wishes, and this is her way of passive-aggressively protesting.  There is absolutely no way she isn't intentionally wearing all the clothing she owns made out of real animal. 

[Twik]

I saw one of the several articles about this myself.  My first thought is that her hubby's decision to become vegan for three weeks and the announcement of her intent to join him were made without her input, or at least against her wishes, and this is her way of passive-aggressively protesting.  There is absolutely no way she isn't intentionally wearing all the clothing she owns made out of real animal.

Yes, that was my first thought, that it was a protest against a decision she hadn't been given a choice in.

[JenJay]

I saw one of the several articles about this myself.  My first thought is that her hubby's decision to become vegan for three weeks and the announcement of her intent to join him were made without her input, or at least against her wishes, and this is her way of passive-aggressively protesting.  There is absolutely no way she isn't intentionally wearing all the clothing she owns made out of real animal.

Yes, that was my first thought, that it was a protest against a decision she hadn't been given a choice in.

I wondered about that too. Does she not consider that in addition to thumbing her nose at him she's being incredibly disrespectful to every other person eating and working in each of those places? A grown up should be able to say "Um what? Thank you, but no. I fully support what my husband is doing but I won't be joining him." If she doesn't have the spine to be frank with her husband she should feign a headache and stay home.

[JoieGirl7]

Unless vegan restaurants are turning into churches, I don't know that etiquettely speaking, it is anybody else's business what one wears in one as long as they are adequately dressed.

Certain types of religious people who run restaurants could not tell gay couples not to hold hands over a cup o joe because homosexuality offends them.  I would expect that a vegan restaurant does not get to impose what amounts to a moral rule upon its customers.  Would you assert that it is rude for a gay couple to show affection in a restaurant they know is run by religious people who believe that homosexuality is wrong?

I don't see that she did anything rude.   It seems like people just want to make a big deal out of things that a celebrity does.

[Hillia]

Unless vegan restaurants are turning into churches, I don't know that etiquettely speaking, it is anybody else's business what one wears in one as long as they are adequately dressed.

Certain types of religious people who run restaurants could not tell gay couples not to hold hands over a cup o joe because homosexuality offends them.  I would expect that a vegan restaurant does not get to impose what amounts to a moral rule upon its customers.  Would you assert that it is rude for a gay couple to show affection in a restaurant they know is run by religious people who believe that homosexuality is wrong?

I don't see that she did anything rude.   It seems like people just want to make a big deal out of things that a celebrity does.

it's not just that the owners of a vegan restaurant disapprove of animal products, that moral stance is  the whole premise of the restaurant.  So yeah, I vote rude.

[JenJay]

Unless vegan restaurants are turning into churches, I don't know that etiquettely speaking, it is anybody else's business what one wears in one as long as they are adequately dressed.

Certain types of religious people who run restaurants could not tell gay couples not to hold hands over a cup o joe because homosexuality offends them.  I would expect that a vegan restaurant does not get to impose what amounts to a moral rule upon its customers.  Would you assert that it is rude for a gay couple to show affection in a restaurant they know is run by religious people who believe that homosexuality is wrong?

I don't see that she did anything rude.   It seems like people just want to make a big deal out of things that a celebrity does.

I think that going into an establishment that is known for strongly advocating X*, and deliberately making a Big Deal of doing anti-X, is rude. To me it's the same thing as a vegan choosing to go to a steakhouse and then spending the entire meal rolling their eyes, sighing loudly, and muttering comments about murder and dead flesh while the people around you are trying to enjoy their prime rib. Nobody is making you go so if you find it objectionable or choose not to participate - don't go.

I can appreciate that vegan people to want to have a few places where they know they can order anything off the menu and not have to worry about it. Why should anybody feel they have the right to walk in there wearing furs? It may not be illegal but I think it's crass and disrespectful.

*I'm referencing general places where there's no intent to harm, not KKk rallies or something extreme like that

[C0mputerGeek]

All of my shoes are leather. Every last pair.

I have a friend that is Vegan. From time to time, we'll dine at a vegan restaurant. When I am there, I am wearing my leather shoes (and carrying my leather purse).  I don't have any plans to run out and get some plastic shoes for when I meet her to eat, so I won't condemn Beyonce for wearing leather.

However, the fur and the cowhide seem a bit over the top. I would agree that this seems like a passive-aggressive jab at her husband.

[Sharnita]

Mixed feelings.

I do think it is probably ill advised, especially once she got attention the first time.

OTOH, there are so many vegans that have and do say the food is healthy and tasty for nonvegans that I think we should apply these standards to the situation.  The restaurant might not actually have that many people who are offended.  Maybe a lot of the other patrons were just trying to get in a healthy meal or had a craving for a menu item found at that restaurant.

[Hmmmmm]

I would say wearing overtly animal product to most vegan restaurants would be in bad taste.

But I've had experience with Native Foods. IMO, true hard core vegan's would be bothered by the restaurant's menu because many items reference chicken tenders, taco meat, portabello and sausage burger, and chicken wings. Even knowing these were meat substitutes, many vegans would not eat something that was supposed to represent eating of an animal. So I'm guessing many patrons at this restaurant would not have their sensibilities offended by the fox fur collar if they even noticed it.

I do not know anything about Crossroads so it could have been very bad form to wear cow print to that restaurant, real or not.

[Winterlight]

I don't know if it's rude, but it does strike me as tone-deaf.

[lady_disdain]

Unless the restaurant makes it clear that such items are not welcome, she is fine. Going to a vegan restaurant doesn't mean you embrace the lifestyle. In her case, it looks like she is going to support her husband. Someone else might go to meet a vegan friend or, like me, simply because the food is good.

A restaurant is not a church or a public announcement of a lifestyle. It is a place of business. They are welcome to make their rules but, unless they do so, I assume they are open to the general population.