Julius de Boer has been Beyonce’s bodyguard for the past decade. Media Take Out confirmed that he gets paid close to seven figures a year, to keep Beyonce and Jay Z safe.
BEL AIR, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: Julius de Boer poses as Audemars Piguet hosts a special evening with John Mayer to Celebrate latest collaboration at a private residence on April 16, 2024 in Bel Air, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Audemars Piguet)
But Julius is slowly coming out of his shell. We confirmed that yesterday Julius attended a private celebrity and socialite event at the home of Beverly Hills socialite Ginny Wright, the CEO od Audemars Piquet.
BEL AIR, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 16: (L-R) Julius de Boer, Ginny Wright and John Mayer pose as Audemars Piguet hosts a special evening with John Mayer to Celebrate latest collaboration at a private residence on April 16, 2024 in Bel Air, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Audemars Piguet)

It seems like Julius had quite the night at the event sponsored by luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet. As a guest, not in his security role, he received the generous gift of a brand new watch from the brand. Standing tall at 6 foot 9 inches, Julius was a noticeable presence at the event, where he spent much of the night engaging with executives from Audemars Piguet, presumably discussing his new timepiece.

When he wasn’t conversing with the representatives from the watch brand, Julius was seen mingling with some of the wealthiest individuals in Hollywood. It’s unclear if this indicates that we’ll be seeing more of Julius at similar social events in the future, but it certainly seems like he made a memorable impression at this one.

 

Black Twitter TURNS On Beyonce … For Not Featuring Black Country Artists On Album

Last night Beyoncé kicked off her country music era with the release of the Renaissance Act II: Cowboy Carter album. The album was amazing, with top level vocals (of course) and equally great production.

Beyonce also used cameos and vocals from some of the top country music artists, including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Miley Cyrus.

It appears that Beyoncé’s latest actions have sparked criticism from some members of Black Twitter. According to these voices, Beyoncé missed an opportunity to use her platform to highlight the vocal talents of emerging Black stars within the country music genre. Instead, reports from Media Take Out suggest that Beyoncé incorporated songs from established Black artists into her album, utilizing their music without featuring their vocals. While she did include some lesser-known Black artists, critics argue that she could have done more to uplift rising talent in the genre.

Here are a few Black country artists whom Beyoncé could have potentially featured on her album:

Mickey Guyton
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 13: Mickey Guyton attends the Michael Kors A/W 2024 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in Chelsea on February 13, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage)
She was the first black woman to be nominated in the Best Country Solo Performance category at the Grammy Awards and in 2021 became the first black woman to co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards. Never one to take a backwards step, Guyton released Black Like Me in the wake of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Rissi Palmer

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 21: Rissi Palmer attends the ‘Three Chords And The Actual Truth’ hosted by Black Music Action Coalition & Live Nation on March 21, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
American country singer Rissi Palmer became the first black woman in twenty years to appear on the Billboard Country Charts in 2007. An amazing feat that kicked the door back open for artists to follow, the song Country Girl was a chart success, but unfortunately the album that followed was her last until she re-emerged in 2015 after legal issues with her label. Speaking in 2021 when the video made its way back online, Palmer said “All I can say is, artists…own your masters, and business owners, pay and give credit when it’s due.” We’ve clearly still got a way to go. Luckily Palmer is back with a new single Still Here released earlier this year.

Brittney Spencer

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – FEBRUARY 10: Brittney Spencer performs at Iron City on February 10, 2024 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by David A. Smith/Getty Images)
Brittney Spencer is one of the new guard of American country. Getting a shout out from Maren Morris in 2020 after Tweeting a video of herself performing, the amazing young artist has since released two EPs and received CMA and CMT nominations. She signed a major label deal in late 2022 with Elektra and the world is keenly awaiting her debut album.

 

Beyonce also didn’t feature Jimmy Allen, probably the most popular Black artist in country music.
NAPA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: Singer Jimmie Allen performs on Day 3 of Live In The Vineyard Goes Country at Regusci Winery on April 27, 2023 in Napa, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images)