Beyoncé Had To Be Photoshopped Into The Lion King Promo Images

When you hear one of the world’s biggest celebrities next to the word “Photoshop,” your mind can go to a few dark places. Years ago, magazines were notorious for photoshopping women to be thinner or more poreless and wrinkle-free than they were in person, creating unrealistic body expectations for the rest of us. These days, photoshopping has gotten a lot funnier. Especially when it involves The Lion King.

As you know, Disney released The Lion King on July 19, 2019. Much like the animated original, the remake is set to be a huge success for the company. And a lot of that success has to do with the cast. Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver, Billy Eichner, and Eric André would have made for an impressive list of participants alone, but Disney managed to score Beyoncé as well.

Not only did Beyoncé provide the voice of Simba’s best gal pal Nala, but she worked on a tie-in soundtrack that she titled The Gift. And, it’s definitely a gift for fans. Not only is it a perfect way to celebrate the movie, but it shows that Queen Bey really thought long and hard about how to make this remake unique and special in its own way.

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B0QqmWqo74V/”]

But that doesn’t mean she has the time these days to help promote the film. She’s a busy woman!

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Gqf3WnrUg/”]

As co-star John Oliver claims, she wasn’t even available for the big cast photo.

Instead, there was a piece of tape in her place that said “Beyoncé.” That’s the closest Oliver got to her.

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BzqWXFVF2WI/”]

Oliver, who hosts Last Week Tonight, talked about the ordeal on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

And, at least he has a good sense of humor about it.

[fm_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqWSMAoQOVg”]

“I’m a gigantic movie star as of today, and things are going to change around here,” Oliver joked to Stephen Colbert. But next to Beyoncé, maybe not so much.

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B0HvxN4lKeK/”]

“Chiwetel [Ejiofor, who plays Scar] was sitting in the front and he said, ‘You need to be careful where your foot is,’” Oliver then explained to Colbert. “I looked down and there was just this piece of tape on the floor with Beyoncé’s name written on it!”

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/B0WWi9khqzm/”]

“It was like an electrical reaction,” he continued. “Just the future presence of Beyoncé was so intimidating.”

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BzurByoH076/”]

So, even though Oliver looks great in the photo, he feels like his expression was caused by the fact that Beyoncé’s spirit was almost looming around him. He actually went on to refer to her as “the real queen.”

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BvlTDzAA_Lx/”]

“If you look at my face in there, I look really intimidated and that’s because what I’m doing is imagining that I am about to be put into a photo with Beyoncé one day, and that was nerve-wracking enough!” he exclaimed.

Wouldn’t you feel the same way? We totally get it.

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt4dSXqAMU1/”]

You have to think — with that many celebrities in the cast, it only makes sense for one of them to have a scheduling problem. But, the big gap between Beyoncé and Oliver is kind of a dead giveaway that something in the photo wasn’t organic.

[fm_twitter url=”https://twitter.com/MissKira_J/status/1152680738216644608″]

Oliver believes that the rest of the cast was actually there. So really, they did the best they could.

[fm_twitter url=”https://twitter.com/THISisLULE/status/1148262632023056384″]

Sure, the Bey Photoshop isn’t as funny as some of the others. Remember that Vanity Fair cover?

[fm_twitter url=”https://twitter.com/petapixel/status/997142673592016902″]

Trying to spot bad Photoshop is almost like a hobby for some. Even Reese Witherspoon went public “apologizing” for the third leg that Vanity Fair gave her.

[fm_twitter url=”https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/956908069195337728″]

So, at least Beyoncé should be lucky that her Photoshop isn’t bad. It’s just awkward.

[fm_instagram url=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BtnCiERgizi/”]

Fingers crossed that Beyoncé and John Oliver will meet for real someday. Jokes aside, he seems to have a lot of respect for her.

[fm_twitter url=”https://twitter.com/silenciomoronio/status/1152237624171479041″]

Since Oliver is such a huge movie star now, their paths will likely cross again. But for now, at least he’s come face-to-face with Beyoncé’s placeholder tape.