In an example of icons supporting icons, Zendaya owned a Beyoncé poster when she was a teenager.
“I did have a Beyoncé poster on my wall, because I went to her concert for my 13th birthday,” the Challengers actress told W magazine for their annual “Best Performances” issue (it’s a great performance). “I was devastated that she didn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me, because I guess it was close to her birthday and she was singing to the audience.” (Zendaya was born on September 1st; Beyoncé’s birthday is September 4th.)
When her dad offered to lift her up so she could see Beyoncé better, Zendaya replied, “No, that’s so embarrassing.” After she didn’t give her birthday serenade, however, she thought, “Damn, I should have let him put me on his shoulders so she would’ve seen me.”
But Beyoncé eventually saw Zendaya when they met years later. “I’m proud of myself for speaking at all because I was very nervous,” she previously shared The Hollywood Reporter. “But when I met Beyoncé, that was the only time I’ve ever acted like, real not cool. I just lost my cool. My dad even said it because I was with him at the time and he was like, ‘Dude, you nerded out just then.’ And I was like, ‘I know, I’m being weird.’ Usually I can keep it together.”