John Oliver Addresses 'Lion King' Photoshop Conspiracy About Beyonce
By Paris Close
July 24, 2019
John Oliver just spilled the beans on that cast photo for The Lion King.
As you know, Oliver, who voices the character Zazu in Disney's live-action remake, appeared in a promotional image (see below) alongside the film's star-studded cast. Among his famous co-stars to feature in the group shot include Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and of course, the one and only Beyoncé.
However, there's been a conspiracy going around alleging Queen Bey's presence in the photograph was a product of photoshop. So what gives, was she ever really there?
Believe me, it felt even weirder to be in this photo than it is for you to look at it right now. #LIONKING is out next Friday! pic.twitter.com/rvukM5vqLp
— John Oliver (@iamjohnoliver) July 9, 2019
Well, Oliver, who was positioned next to the musician herself, officially put the rumor to rest during his recent guest spot on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“She wasn’t there,” Oliver admitted. “I think almost everybody else was there. I remember Chiwetel [Ejiofor, who voices Scar] — we were setting up the shot and Chiwetel was sitting in the front and he said, ‘You need to be careful where your foot is.' I looked down and there was just this piece of tape on the floor with Beyoncé’s name written on it.”
“Just the future presence of Beyoncé was so intimidating — if you look at my face in there, I look really intimidated,” Oliver joked. “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.”
Well there you have it!
Photo: Getty Images