If you’re reading this, congratulations: Your internet is still functioning despite the momentous meeting of two attractive celebrity couples. On Monday night Prince William and Kate Middleton headed to the Barclays Center to watch the Brooklyn Nets play the Cleveland Cavaliers, and as luck would have it, Beyoncé and Jay Z were seated across from them. “Bey and Jay got up out of their seats during the break before the fourth quarter and walked across the court to say hi,” an eyewitness told E! News. “Everyone was standing up and gawking. It’s a mob scene around them.”
Meanwhile, there was an actual mob protesting outside, and players including LeBron James showed their support for the Eric Garner demonstrations. Here’s a look at what happens when the most fun and frivolous news of the day meets a story that could not be more opposite.
During pregame warm-ups players on both teams, including LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Kyrie Irving, and Deron Williams, wore “I can’t breathe” shirts. “Obviously, as a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another,” James told reporters on Monday. “It doesn’t matter what race you are. It’s more of a shout-out to the family more than anything, because they’re the ones that should be getting all the energy and effort.”
As this was an event involving the royal family, James also had to participate in awkward posed photos:
Finally, Kate got to sit down and enjoy watching her husband point at things:
This is the moment she realized she wore the wrong outfit for downing hot dogs in cramped arena seating.
On the other hand, it was the right outfit for looking fabulous on the jumbotron.
Then, across the court, Bey gave Jay that look …
And he knew it was time to make every tabloid editor’s dream come true. (In case you were not aware, Beyoncé is sometimes referred to as Queen Bey. Insert your own dumb royalty joke here.)
Take your time with that loop of pretty people talking to each other, because the next few photos will bring us crashing back to reality.
A few hundred protesters gathered outside Barclays Center during the game, referring to the event on social media as the #RoyalShutdown.
At 7:30 p.m., they staged a “die-in” at Fort Greene Place and Atlantic Avenue.
The rally then continued, with protesters blocking traffic on Atlantic and Flatbush avenues.
By the time the game concluded, protesters had taken over the Atlantic Terminal Mall. Many people were arrested as police tried to clear the area, but according to the Brooklyn Eagle, the exact figures have not been released.
Protester Katrina Pecorella said she hoped William and Kate heard their message and would bring attention to their cause. “If they could come out for this, like so many athletes have over this past week, using that platform to support a good cause can always be helpful to what we’re doing,” she told CBS News.
