Las Vegas Sphere Threatens Beyoncé

Posted on: May 2, 2025, 04:39h. 

Last updated on: May 2, 2025, 04:39h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

Don’t expect that long-rumored Las Vegas Sphere residency from Beyoncé anytime soon … or maybe ever. The Sphere just slapped Queen Bey with a cease-and-desist letter over a video clip featuring on her current tour.

In a video shown on her current tour, a giant Beyoncé picks up and plays with the Las Vegas Sphere. (Image: Threads/@sobaditsgoodwithryanbailey)

In the video — which premiered during the launch of the music superstar’s “Cowboy Carter” tour in LA on Monday, April 28 — Beyoncé is depicted towering over the Strip in a scene reminiscent of the 1958 horror movie “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.” At one point, she stops to pick up and play with the Sphere, which is roughly the size of a bowling ball to her.

This was interpreted by many of those who saw the clip and posted about it on social media as a confirmation that Beyonce would end her tour this summer by transitioning it into a Sphere residency. However, unless this is all somehow an elaborate hoax perpetrated by Sphere CEO James Dolan in collusion with Queen Bey, that scenario is not in the Vegas cards.

The Fine Print

The cease-and-desist letter — from Sphere CEO James Dolan’s attorney’s to Beyoncé’s production company and first obtained by the New York Post — alleges “impermissible use and violation” of Sphere Entertainment Group’s (SEG) intellectual property and gives the tour until Monday, May 5 to drop the clip.

SEG “was never asked and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG’s Sphere™ venue in the video is unauthorized,” the letter reads, arguing that it “has resulted in significant speculation that Beyoncé will end her tour with a Sphere residency.”

From 2023 through June 2024, Beyoncé was reportedly in talks with Dolan to make a Sphere residency happen, and even starred in a 2024 Verizon Super Bowl commercial featuring a depiction of the globular spectacle.

Those negotiations allegedly fell apart over Beyoncé’s request for the venue to go dark for two weeks of rehearsals. That was apparently a dealbreaker for The Sphere, which earns more income from screening films than it does hosting concerts. (Approximately 50–54% of the Las Vegas Sphere’s 2024 revenue was generated by “Postcard from Earth” and “V-U2,” based on quarterly data from the Sphere Experience.)

According to The Post, after her Sphere negotiations sputtered, Beyoncé reportedly explored a 100-show residency with MGM Resorts.