Corporate journalists are fixated on the murder of O’Shae Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer, to feed a narrative of growing “anti-LGBTQ+ extremism” in the U.S. — while hiding the fact that the accused killer is reportedly a Muslim teen.
CNN, for instance, posted a story about Sibley’s murder, who was shirtless and performing a dance called “vogueing” when he heard a Beyonce song at a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday.
Sibley and several of his friends were soon confronted by a group of men who reportedly demanded that they stop dancing in such a suggestive manner. Words were soon exchanged — some of which was said to be anti-gay — and one of those in the opposing group allegedly stabbed Sibley in the side of the chest, striking his heart.
The dancer died at the hospital and the attacker fled, but the New York Police later said they identified the suspect from information supplied by witnesses, tracked him down, and arrested him.
The suspect — who police said will be the only one charged — is facing charges of a hate crime, but since he is 17, his name has been withheld from the public.
ABC News covered the story by hitting all the same notes, adding that New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “Parents lost a child, a child to something clearly that was a hate crime.” The mayor insinuated: “The killing comes at a time of growing anti-LGBTQ+ extremism across the U.S.”
For its part, the New York Times published a long article on the outpouring of shock and support for Sibley from among the Big Apple’s LGBTQQIAAP2S+ community and performing artists who flooded the streets near the scene of the attack. The supporters performed dances, held signs, and marched against “hate” to protest homophobia.
Like the New York Times, the L.A. Times also played up the LGBTQQIAAP2S+ angle of the story and featured an article about the type of vogue dance that Sibley was reportedly performing ahead of being attacked.
Many other news outlets followed that same template of detailing the attack, pushing the “hate crime” angle and discussing the outrage among the LGBTQQIAAP2S+ community.
While not every news outlet did so, there was one important part of the story that many seemed to leave out of their coverage. Witnesses said that the men who confronted Sibley said they were Muslims, and that was why they were offended by the display of sexualized dancing in public.
As the Gothamist reported, gas station employee Summy Ullah told the media that the attackers were Muslims.
According Gothamist: “These people were like ‘we’re Muslim, I don’t want you dancing’…He said that the initial instigators were friends of a man who works at a nearby smoke shop and frequently comes by the gas station to use the restroom.”
The Daily Mail also included the religion angle in its report, noting that one of the attackers of the dancers was heard demanding that Sibley stop dancing, and loudly yelled, “I’m Muslim!”
The pop culture world is blazing ahead with the media’s simplistic, intersectional narrative, similarly ignoring the complication of an alleged Muslim perpetrator. Pop star Beyonce placed a tribute on her website, declaring: “Rest In Power O’Shea Sibley.” Director Spike Lee echoed the sentiment on Instagram, lamenting the “DEADLY GAY HATE CRIME HERE IN BROOKLYN.”
Disgraced former talk show host Ellen DeGeneres wrote on Instagram: “O’Shae Sibley was a dancer. Last Saturday he was dancing with his friends while they were getting gas until a group of men approached them, yelled gay slurs at them, then killed him. Until we are all free to be who we are, none of us are free.”
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