Is Vin Diesel’s Beyoncé tribute a ‘guy code’ violation?
OPINION - Vin Diesel is more than an action star. A recent video suggests he might also be a KatyCat and member of the Beyhive...
Vin Diesel is more than an action star. A recent video suggests he might also be a KatyCat and member of the Beyhive. But will a little pop karaoke and choreography hurt the actor’s tough-guy image?
Diesel has an active social media life. The actor often updates his fans via Facebook, which he has dubbed his VinBook, and Twitter. But no update caused as much of a stir as a seven-minute video he posted Tuesday. It starts slow. Diesel is standing in a room, seemingly recording from a webcam and singing along and dancing to Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse.” Then he makes an announcement to his fans.
“Guys, I’m just, I’m excited, I’m happy and calling you guys or shouting out to you guys to say thank you,” Diesel says. “Universal just called me and told me that Riddick is number one on the DVD charts. There’s no way in the world Riddick would have been made without you guys … and it’s a win for all of us, and really, really, really, thank you so much. Yeah, I’m excited. And, of course, Universal is also saying they want to develop the next one!”
How did Diesel celebrate the news? He danced and sang to Beyoncé’s “Drunk In Love,” even improvising a complex “surfbort” dance move that has gone on to become a popular gif.
So far, the video, captioned “You know I love music,” has received nearly 900,000 likes and has been shared more than 200,000 times on Facebook.
Terrence Colby Clemons is a Los Angeles-based actor, fan of Diesel’s work and admitted fan of Beyoncé. As such, he says the video doesn’t make him take the action star any less seriously.
“In the age of social media, people want to know what you do when you’re home alone. His female fans probably loved it and he basically made it okay for his male fans to listen to Katy Perry and Beyoncé,” says Clemons. “I think it a win-win.”
Clemons – who appears on MTV’s Guy Code series, says Diesel’s recorded performance presents a complex challenge to the rules of guy code, however. “In your house, alone or with your girl? Yes. Recording it and putting it on YouTube? No.”
Still, others seem to have thoroughly enjoyed Diesel’s display. Grantland’s Rembert Browne wrote, “I’ve been there, Vin. I relate to every second of your soon-to-be Tony Award–nominated one-man show. I just never had the courage to film it for everyone’s eyes to see” in praise of the actor’s “self-inflicted invasion.”
Diesel has yet to give a comment on the attention his home video has received. Via Twitter, singer Katy Perry said simply, “YES VIN DIESEL.” There’s no word yet from Beyoncé.
It’s not likely that the video will be the last the public will see of Diesel’s talent for song and dance. He was a breakdancer as a teen. Last Valentine’s Day, he serenaded his fans with a recorded rendition of Rihanna’s “Stay.”
And, with the holiday just around the corner, Diesel might have another performance up his sleeve.
Follow Donovan X. Ramsey at @iDXR
