Beyoncé pauses concert after car prop mishap left her dangling over crowds

Beyoncé performs on the opening night of her Cowboy Carter Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Monday night, April 28, 2025. Beyoncé gave thousands of fans a scare during a concert in Houston on June 28, as a car prop in which she sang high above the crowds suddenly tilted sharply to one side in an apparent malfunction; she was slowly lowered to safety afterwards. (The New York Times)

By JOHNNY DÍAZ

Superstar singer Beyoncé gave thousands of fans a scare during a concert in Houston on Saturday, as a car prop in which she sang high above the crowds suddenly tilted sharply to one side in an apparent malfunction.

The moment, which was caught on video, showed Beyoncé wearing a white cowboy hat with an American flag by her side performing her song “16 Carriages” from the back of a red convertible when it slanted in the air over the crowds.

“Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop. Stop,” Beyoncé calmly announced as she paused the performance over the roaring crowd, which called for her to be brought down.

The car and Beyoncé were harnessed to cables and she could be seen gripping one as the vehicle continued to dangle over concertgoers, who held up their illuminated smartphones like candles.

Beyoncé, 43, was slowly lowered to safety, much to the joy and relief of her fans who cheered her.

“OMG, she scared me,’’ one fan shared in a video.

In another clip when she was back onstage, Beyoncé told the crowd, “If ever I fall, I know y’all would catch me.”

It was not clear what led to the mishap. Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé’s management company, said in an Instagram post that “a technical mishap caused the flying car, a prop Beyoncé uses to circle the stadium, and see her fans up close, to tilt.” The company said, “She was quickly lowered and no one was injured.” A representative for NRG Stadium, where the concert took place, did not give further details.

In a compilation of images from the show, the company also included one of Beyoncé performing from the dangling prop.

The concert, in her hometown, was the first of her two shows at NRG Stadium this weekend.

The concerts are part of her international Cowboy Carter Tour, which opened in April in Los Angeles, to support her 2024 album, “Cowboy Carter,” which won album of the year at the Grammys this year.