Lil’ Kim Refers To Her Fans As ‘Beehive’ At BET Hip Hop Awards & Beyoncé Fans Are Furious

Lil Kim’ gave a shout-out to her ‘Beehive’ while accepting her trophy at BET’S Hip Hop Awards on Oct. 8, and Beyoncé’s Beyhive now thinks the rapper is guilty of being a copycat! This calls for a history lesson.

A one letter difference set off a Beehive vs. Beyhive war on Twitter. The two fan bases went head-to-head after rap legend Lil’ Kim, 45, accepted the “I Am Hip Hop” award at BET’s Hip Hop Awards in Georgia on Oct. 5, which was broadcast three days later. “This is for you, Beehive!” Lil’ Kim gushed at the podium, thrusting her trophy into the air. The shout-out didn’t bode well with Beyoncé’s Beyhive.

“I’m sorry but did Lil Kim say thank you #BeeHive ??? Girrrll, just cus we call you Queen B does not mean you can call ya fans the beehive. That territory has already been claimed sis #HipHopAwards,” one such fan tweeted on Tuesday night, while another Beyhive member wrote, “Did Lil Kim just say ‘This Is for you Beehive’ 💀.” But a Beehive member interjected, tweeting, “She [Lil’ Kim] literally has been calling us that since the 00’s.”

Indeed, Lil’ Kim addressed herself as the “Queen Bee” in her 1996 track, “Crush on You.” She went on to drop a track called “Tha Beehive” in 2003, in which she rapped, “Rappers better run and hide ’cause here comes the Beehive.” Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s team didn’t trademark “Beyhive” — a play on her name — until 2011. So, let’s drop this feud — both ladies are talented artists whose fan bases happen to share similar names! Regardless, some BET viewers were just confused. “So Lil Kim is Queen Bee and her fans are the Beehive and Beyoncé is Queen Bey and her fans are the Beyhive… I’m sorry but someone is getting sued lol,” one such fan tweeted.

The BET Hip Hop Awards was a big night for Lil’ Kim — so much so, it called for three outfit changes. The “Lady Marmalade” rapper marked her arrival on the red carpet in a custom pink tuxedo dress from Dapper Dan x Gucci, and changed into a bedazzled catsuit designed by Angel Brinks for her performance. Finally, Lil’ Kim swapped that outfit for a black mini dress, stockings and fur-lined shrug to accept her award and thank the BEEhive!