Were not exactly sure how to feel about the magazine cover that is making waves around the blogosphere. It’s for the French mag L’Officiel, and it features the undeniably gorgeous Miss Beyonce Knowles… in black face. Now, on one hand we’re sort of confused cause like, her arms are still light, so one might be concerned that the black face and African imagery is a teeny bit insensitive UNTIL YOU REMEMBER BEYONCE IS BLACK. Not even half black. Her parents are African American and Creole– so what’s the problem?

Some are saying that because the magazine’s theme was “African Queen” and paid homage to Nigerian activist Fela Kuti, they should have found a darker skinned model or celebrity to play the part. As one commenter said, “if they wanted to pay homage to Marylin Monroe, they wouldn’t have hired Naomi Campbell, (and) paint[ed] her in white face…”

However, we still stand by the fact the BEYONCE IS BLACK. Just because she has a lighter skin tone does not detract from the fact that she is of African-American descent and has just as much right as any darker-skinned woman to represent African culture. That’s just our opinion…

What do you think? Was it racially insensitive to let Beyonce, as a light skinned black woman, play the part of a Nigerian queen? Should they have chosen someone with darker skin? Or is Beyonce a proud enough black woman to play the part?