There are a whole lot of arguments around whether or not smartphones and social media have made our lives better or worse, and even more still about just how appropriate it is to use your devices while at a concert. But for Beyoncé fans who were unable to secure tickets to her phenomenally popular Renaissance world tour, they can at least be consoled by the fact that so many videos of her performances have been posted online by audience members that you could probably stitch together the entire concert and watch it at home.
The prevalence of footage from the Renaissance shows has also led to some pretty funny viral moments. First, there were the clips of Beyoncé’s aghast reaction to just how bad other people are at singing the key change in “Love on Top.” Since then, during her live rendition of “Energy,” it has become a running joke that when Queen Bey commands “everybody on mute,” people in the crowd are incapable of shutting up.
And that meme has now birthed yet another. Sharing a TikTok video of various clips from the tour, Twitter user Hermiden pointed out one “everybody on mute” moment—and the reaction of one member of Beyoncé’s security detail in particular. “The security looked so impressed with that ‘Mute,'” they wrote.
This being Twitter, it was a matter of mere moments before the thirsty “can I say something” comments started pouring in, and it wasn’t much longer before the identity of the smirking security guard was revealed.
Here’s everything we know about Beyoncé’s security guard
James Plaza isa freelance close protection officer who has been working in private security with VIPs since 2010. However, his résumé not only includes “bodyguard to Beyoncé,” but also “competitive bodybuilder.”
Plaza’s Instagram—whose followers have quadrupled since the video dropped—notes his accomplishments as a physique pro athlete, which include medals from the GBO, FMC and NFMUK federations. He also frequently shares videos from his training sessions as he gets competition-ready.
He is taking time away from bodybuilding to protect Beyoncé on tour
Members of the Beyhive can stand down; Plaza’s top priority is his responsibility to his job.
In April this year, Plaza wrote in an Instagram post that he is not competing in any events in the 2023 season due to work commitments—remember, his boss is literally Beyoncé—but that he is still working hard to maintain his award-winning gains, saying: “This physique will have to do for now.”
While traveling with the singer and her crew on the Renaissance tour, Plaza has kept up with his fitness routine, training like a true legend: during a recent stop in Philly, he ran up the famous “Rocky steps” to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, emulating his hero Sylvester Stallone in the 1976 classic.
“Like a kid in a candy store, I grew up watching these movies,” Plaza wrote, “so don’t mind me I’m just living a dream.”
Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men’s Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
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