Beyonce Responds to ‘Countdown’ Plagiarism Claims

Boy has it been a rough couple of days on Planet Beyonce. After she faced down accusations of faking her pregnancy, the singer dealt with the claims that dance routines in her 'Countdown' video were lifted from a Belgian choreographer. Poor Bey! Everyone's got something to say about her this week, but through it all, she keeps her head up like a self-respecting diva should!

Bey acknowledged that she was inspired by that Belgian choreographer's particular work, as well as the works of others. The co-director also suggested that Bey's homage could generate even more publicity for the source material. That's certainly a valid point.

The choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has threatened to sue, saying Bey borrowed a bit too heavily from her ballet production 'Rosas danst Rosas.' That prompted a reply from the singer.

Bey's statement read as follows:

"Clearly, the ballet 'Rosas danst Rosas' was one of many references for my video,' Countdown.' It was one of the inspirations used to bring the feel and look of the song to life … I was also paying tribute to the film, 'Funny Face' with the legendary Audrey Hepburn. My biggest inspirations were the '60s, the '70s, Brigitte Bardot, Andy Warhol, Twiggy and Diana Ross."

There you have it. The singer isn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes and to her credit, she does address it when she is inspired by other works. Remember, her Billboard Awards performance was accused of the very same thing.

But back to 'Countdown.' The video co-director Adria Petty supported her partner's claims, saying, “I’ve always been fascinated by the way contemporary art uses different elements and references to produce something unique. The video already has close to two million views so hopefully the fans will look at all the tributes and then discover Audrey Hepburn, Warhol, Bardot, 'Rosas danst Rosas' and all the works that inspired me and shaped this video.”

Hopefully this is enough to make Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker feel better! To put it in another perspective, it was her work who inspired a major A-list diva. That's nothing to sneeze at. It's almost impressive that Bey is so culturally informed and finds all these cool dances!

Watch the Beyonce 'Countdown' Video