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Beyoncé may have just accidentally unlocked a new — and unlikely — fan base in Malaysia.
A photo of the pop superstar posted by a fan account on X sparked a flood of reactions on Malaysian Twitter and Reddit over its resemblance to the flag of a prominent Malaysian political party.
The photo, which is from Beyoncé‘s photo book for her ongoing Renaissance World Tour, depicts her holding a white circular orb in front of a green background.
The flag of the Malaysian Islamic Party, known as PAS, uses a white circle with a green background as its flag.
Ironically, the right-wing party has a history of protests against Beyoncé on moral and religious grounds, forcing her to scrap at least two planned concerts in Malaysia.
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The replies to the tweet were quickly filled with photos of the party’s president. Others appeared to joke that Beyoncé was getting involved in Malaysian politics and endorsing the party.
“Apparently, PAS is the one that runs the world,” one Reddit user said, a reference to the hit Beyoncé song.
One meme remade the photo as an advertisement for the party’s coalition.
The memes leaned into the irony of the association because, as one Malaysian news outlet put it, Beyoncé is “quite possibly the very antithesis of PAS ideals.”
The right-wing party supports Islamic fundamentalism, has backed laws enforcing “modest” dress codes for women, and generally opposes Western influence.
Focus Malaysia pointed out that the party and its leaders didn’t embrace the tongue-in-cheek promotion because it has a history of opposing concerts by Western artists, including Bey herself. In 2009, the party said the concert should be canceled because it would promote ”Western sexy performances.”
People joked that Beyoncé was trying to win favor with the Islamist party and finally play a show there.
The party currently governs in several Malaysian states, and is part of the opposition coalition government. It saw a significant rise in support in last year’s general elections and holds the most seats of any individual party in the Malaysian House of Representatives.
