ARLINGTON, Texas — Say what you want about fandoms, but one thing's for sure: For better or for worse, they know how to make things happen. And Beyoncé's Beyhive made a huge thing happen for one fan who just wanted to see her in concert.
A few weeks ago, Jon Hetherington shared on social media that he wouldn't be able to get to Beyoncé's Renaissance concert in Seattle, which would've been his first Queen Bey concert ever.
Hetherington has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair. He shared on TikTok that he was trying to board his flight when the crew told him that his chair was 4 inches too tall for the plane.
"So they checked every possible flight, every airline, and nothing is available," said Hetherington. "So after 25 years of waiting, I'm not seeing Beyoncé tonight. So ableism strikes again."
Jon Hetherington's story started buzzing within the Beyhive on social media as fans shared their support for him. Some of them even tagged Queen Bey in his Instagram comments in hopes that she would see it.
Fortunately, the queen heard the buzz and her team found a way to make it up to him!
One week later at Beyoncé's Arlington concert, Hetherington was there with a floor seat for the show.
Hetherington also got to meet Beyoncé herself, her mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, and her performers. He posted a photo of each meetup saying it was an honor to meet everyone.
"To the Queen herself, [Beyoncé], I will treasure those words you said and the hugs you gave. I meant every word I said. No, for anyone and everyone reading this, I will not ever share with you what was said to me, don’t even try it. That moment is between the two of us," he shared on Instagram.
And PS: Hetherington gave the North Texas Beyhive its props for their attempt at Beyonce's Mute Challenge, even quoting the Queen's approval: "Dallas, y'all did that!"
Jon Hetherington's story has made him viral on social media, and he's using his newfound platform to continue to raise awareness on ableism, or discrimination against people with disabilities.
"Address the issues to the root causes of ableism. This is a day-to-day experience," he said in an interview with fellow TikTok influencer Lyn Ventimiglia.