Megan Thee Stallion pulls out of Global Citizens Fest, prompts theories about Renaissance Tour appearance

Announced less than two weeks before the event, Megan Thee Stallion has cancelled her headlining set at Global Citizen Festival 2023. The festival is set to take place on New York City’s Great Lawn, Central Park next Saturday, September 23.

The news of the rapper’s removal from the festival was shared on Global Citizen’s X/Twitter account in a post which reads, “Due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, Megan Thee Stallion will no longer be available to perform at the 2023 Global Citizen Festival.” Her management team states that the scheduling mishap was an error.

Hi there — due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict, Megan Thee Stallion will no longer be available to perform at the 2023 Global Citizen Festival.

— Global Citizen ⭕ (@GlblCtzn) September 10, 2023

Global Citizens is a free, ticketed event broadcasted live. The festival calls attention to world leaders over immediate action concerning extreme poverty, the climate crisis and equity for women.

Other headliners of this year’s Global Citizens Fest include Ms. Lauryn Hill and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with performances from Jung Kook, Conan Gray, the Stray Kids and more. Concert-goes can find free tickets and sign up to carry out action via the Global Citizens’ website.

There seems to be suspicion online that Megan’s withdrawal from the festival might be due to a surprise appearance at Beyonce’s concert in Houston, Texas, scheduled for the same day as Global Citizens. The two Houston natives have collaborated before for a remix of Megan’s ‘Savage’ anthem, released in 2020.

An X/Twitter account dedicated to Bey’s Renaissance World Tour tweeted about the speculative surprise, prompting fans to respond with anticipation.

Megan Thee Stallion has pulled out of Global Citizen, which is scheduled to take place the same day as Beyoncé’s Houston show.

Megan at thee #RENAISSANCEWorldTour 👀 what do you think? https://t.co/FrzUP9N0FW

— RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR (@RenaissanceWT) September 10, 2023

“I’ve been saying this has to happen. No way they wouldn’t both give H-Town what they deserve,” reads one fan response.

The rapper has also previously expressed her admiration for Beyonce, once sharing during an Instagram live, “It's really crazy 'cause, like, my mama was a really huge fan of Beyoncé, and she used to make me watch a lot of Beyoncé's stuff. ... I didn't wanna be like, 'Oh, my God, Beyoncé, me and my mama love you!'" A possible surprise performance has yet to be confirmed or denied by the rap artist’s team.

The rapper also joined Cardi B at last night’s MTV VMAs to perform the WAP duo’s recent collaboration, ‘Bongos,’ for the first time, winning the crowd over with their dramatic, fiery stage command.

An announcement regarding whether Megan’s Global Citizens set will be replaced by another act has yet to be confirmed.