Beyonce & Jay-Z’s Cuba trip was properly licensed as an ‘educational exchange’

So much Beyonce information, so little time. Let’s dive in, shall we? Do you remember how Beyonce was a total disaster at last year’s Met Gala? That was when she wore that feathered nonsense and it looked like hell on her (it had really awful lining too). Well, Beyonce is definitely scheduled to make an appearance at this year’s Met Gala, which makes sense. But Anna Wintour has sweetened the deal by making Beyonce “honorary chair” of the event. All Met Galas have co-chairs and chairs, usually it’s the It Girl of the moment or someone involved with that year’s theme. Like, Sienna Miller & Christopher Bailey were co-chairs one year for a Britannia-themed gala. This year’s theme is “Punk: Chaos to Couture”. Beyonce = Punk?! Well, this just makes me look forward to whatever monstrosity Beyonce decides to wear this year!

Next up: Beyonce and Jay-Z’s Cuba trip. As we discussed two days ago, a handful of Cuban-American politicians are trying to make political hay out of Bey & Jay’s trip, like Pres. Obama plotted with them and decided to give his BFFs extra-special treatment. Now an assistant secretary at Treasury has sent a letter to the Florida politicians, explaining that Bey and Jay did get properly licensed to travel to Cuba on an “educational exchange”. Now Marco Rubio is throwing a hissy too – you can read more about the ongoing political BS here. I imagine Ted Cruz will demand a special prosecutor any second now.

And here’s the teaser video/Pepsi commercial for Beyonce’s video for “Grown Woman”. Eh. The song is kind of boring. And the blonde wigs are crazy (in love).

Photos courtesy of Beyonce’s Tumblr.

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56 Responses to “Beyonce & Jay-Z’s Cuba trip was properly licensed as an ‘educational exchange’”

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  1. Daahling says:

    Shouldn’t you know how to spell education before you take an educational exchange? What is that exactly, because you know Jay and Bey are not over there trying to get University of HOVA Dynasty implemented.

    I used to love Beyonce. The pregnancy and the Gwynethisms have really killed my love for her. I don’t have an opinion on Mr. Beyonce.

    • marie says:

      ha! damnit, you probably just gave them an idea.

    • V4Real says:

      I’ll say it again. Jay Z just recently got into the sports agency business and he has already signed a New York Yankee baseball player to his agency. Jay went to Cuba to scout baseball players. He is selling his share of ownership of the Brooklyn Nets so he can focused on his sports agency.

      Educational exchange my ass is right; it was business.

      • Daahling says:

        I guess on their application there were only so many choices to choose from. Business does not equal education exchange to me, but that’s why they have amazing lawyers and business people to this for them.

      • su says:

        INCORRECT. do your homework if you insist pretending you know what you are talking about. NBA rules do not allow those involved in team ownership to be involved with player representation. So wrong AGAIN.

      • The Original Tiffany says:

        No, you are wrong. V4Real is correct. Jay-Z is selling his interest in the nets to become a sports agent.

        He only owned 1% of the team and will continue owning the building (or part of it) that the nets now play in. Cool looking stadium, I drove by it on Tuesday.

        Go Lakers!

      • V4Real says:

        Su please read comment throughly before replying. I said Jay is selling his share of The Nets; therefore that frees him to scout baseball players for his agency. As I said on yesterdays post Jay has already signed Yankee player Robinson Cano to his agency; looks like somebody else need to do their homework.

        Thanks Original.

      • The Original Tiffany says:

        @V4Real, no problem! If sports news comes onto CB, I’m always current. I’ve got a sports addiction, bad.

        That said, my man Kobe is out for a while, hope he can get back on the court and it doesn’t end his career.

        I’m curious to see who Hova is repping besides Cano. I bet he does well at sports agency. You got to be a little shady and cut throat. Yeah, he will do well.

  2. GossipG says:

    Yuuuup they needed to learn HOW to roll cigars..No worries…

  3. Kim says:

    Love to my homegirl B proving the critics wrong yet again.

  4. Tessa says:

    Educational exchange my ass. They went on holiday and pulled some strings to get there. Why try to cover up what obviously went down? They think they’re above the rules, and apparently, they were right. They’re getting away with it.

    • Nicolette says:

      +1

    • Inconceivable! says:

      Yes. They are celebrities that wanted to travel to a country that us normal folk cannot go to. Seriously, WHAT was their educational mission? Spread the word on Pepsi? Her new music? What a joke!!

      • Jenny says:

        Um, -1. Regular people, aka not celebrities, can also sign up for these same sorts of trips if they truly desire to go to Cuba. This is not something special reserved for celebrities or a situation where they are skirting laws that others cannot. On a different note, it is pretty ridiculous that we have still have an embargo against Cuba, but half of the imports in the US are from China. Oh the irony.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Tessa, the actual process is a lot simpler than you may think. You need to fill out forms, but that is about all that is needed to do a general license ( educational is a type of general license). You do not need federal permission/authorization to get a general license.

      • prairiebitch says:

        so….are they now working at a university or public school, or, wait, are they going to present a thematic research project to the public. can’t wait!!

    • su says:

      and HOW do you know this? oh thats right, you dont? AS reported, they have broken NO laws and are exercising their ability to travel to the beautiful country of Cuba JUST LIKE OTHER AMERICANS. remain pressed.

    • Rikki says:

      Cover up what? What are they getting away with since they went there legally? It’s not against the law to travel to Cuba. The rules say you can go to Cuba under one of the licenses they give out. Do some research. Ugh

  5. Cazzee says:

    So, so overexposed.

  6. SydneySpy says:

    What an insult. I identify as a punk. Punk is nothing to do with couture or any kind of fashion. Punk is about being yourself, about the music, about learning, questioning, improving, making a better life for yourself and others. It’s about being a good person. It’s not about riches, vanity, fame, exhibitionism, marketing and, especially, posing. It’s not about jumping on the bandwagon of anything, especially this kind of fakery. Boooooo!

    • Jen says:

      I’m sorry, you “identify” as punk? WTF does that even mean?

    • ds says:

      Agree. I just can’t imagine all those people trying to hommage punk; or whatever they are going to do. There was this trend in my country when all the so called celeb girls started wearing bohemian rock combinations. It was really a sad thing to see; poor things. You don’t wear a lifestyle you live it.

      • Leen says:

        Well Vivienne Westwood one of the most famous designers in the world is Punk royalty. So yes you can pay homage to punk.

    • Leen says:

      But punk was linked to fashion. Remember how Vivienne Westwood got her start? She opened the sex shop with Mclaren who was the manager for the sex pistols. Sex pistols band members as well as other punk bands used to wear Westwood’s designs and that’s how she got famous. Fashion was walking hand in hand with punk music at some point. So no, punk is not solely about music.

  7. The Original G says:

    I dunno. Maybe they were thinking of buying Cuba?

  8. ds says:

    wow, they are turning it into a “philosophical” thing with all this “artistic” search… and the result is so cheap. There’s a difference between art and show business.

  9. andy says:

    Have you heard Jay-Z’s new rap song about this mess?

    “Politicians never did sh-t for me / except lie to me, distort history,” Hov raps after boasting that he “done turned Havana into Atlanta.”

    “They wanna give me jail time and a fine — Fine, let me commit a real crime,” he says, referencing conservative politician’s efforts to investigate his trip to Cuba. “Obama said, ‘Chill you’re going to get me impeached’ / You don’t need this sh-t anyway, chill with me on the beach.”
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/jay-z-open-letter-havana_n_3059874.html

    • Garvels says:

      “Politicians never did sh-t for me”…what a load of garbage. He is just aligned with the top Democrat..the president of the US…..and this hasn’t elevated Jayz’s and Beyonce’s status?

      After beyonce sang for the Qudaffes in Libya…I wrote her off. That is why I rolled my eyes when they visited Cuba.

      These two seem to have an obsession for power over others and I really have a problem with people who claim to be “queen of the world”.

  10. Bijlee says:

    I’m annoyed and I do think pres Obama was involved somehow in them getting approval. I don’t think that’s necessarily a terrible thing, but neither d I think this good. He’s really disappointing me with this bey and jay association. To those of you saying “why would he care and he’s president gdammit, it’s honestly not worth his time”… Come on. This man took the time to comment on the Kanye Taylor swift scandal, talks about jay z and beyonce and what great family they are, his wife goes to their concerts and publicly endorses beyonce, bey sang at their inauguration, etc etc etc. so there is no doubt in my mind he gave some sort of nod of approval or some other crap like that. It’s honestly just disappointing me because I dislike jay and bey so much. Why would Obama friend evil????

    • Jen says:

      Umm…birds of a feather?

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Many average Americans go to Cuba for the same reasons . Here is more info from a Cuban travel site:

      The General License is a simple do-it-yourself process. You do not submit an application or request approval from Washington. You produce a couple documents which together serve as your license to travel to Cuba legally. It’s that easy. It is fast and free.

      Eligibility and preparation of a General License.

      Professional Research Travel License for individuals going to Cuba to conduct thematic research for public dissemination. Preparation time is less than an hour.

      Educational Travel License for college and university faculty, staff and students going to Cuba for academic purposes. Preparation time is less than an hour. (K-12 teachers, staff and administrators must travel on a Professional Research Travel License. K-12 students must travel on a Specific Travel License.)

      Religious Travel License for groups and individuals hosted by a U.S. church, synagogue, mosque or other religious organizations going to Cuba for religious and spiritual activities. Preparation time is less than an hour.

    • bravocueen says:

      “Why would Obama friend evil”

      Obama always surrounds himself with evil. Start with long pastor for over 20 years (who baptised his kids), and move on to his tight friendship with Bill Ayers. Fast forward to his funding of the Muslim Brotherhood (quarter of a million dollars to them just a few weeks ago) in Egympt and you’ve got yourself an evil-doer President.

      • Leen says:

        Um no offense but there is a reason why he extended aid to Egypt. It’s to keep the peace treaty with Israel, not because Obama loves MB. Ugh it annoys me when people who barely know anything in the Middle East make misinformed comments.

  11. Nev says:

    forget her….all I wanna see is Kim K and some Supermodels at the gala!!!!!

    can’t wait! hahahahahaha

  12. Andrea says:

    Ok, you guys know you can go there right? All you have to do is go to Canada or Mexico first. They don’t stamp your passport. Its technically illegal for you to spend money there, but Americans are there all the time!

    This is not that big of a deal.

    • SW says:

      Right? I don’t understand all this fuss! People go there all the time. Yes, you can’t go direct,y from the US. However, you can go elsewhere are then go to Cuba. Seriously? Why is this a deal at all?

      • Garvels says:

        The question to me is why would anyone want to go there to spend their money to support a government that oppresses its people. It is like Communist China,if you have a job connected to the state you are fine,if not you are just garbage.

        Do you think people risking their lives in shark infested waters to escape Cuba are doing it for the fun of it!!

        I also mock those people who go around wearing the Che T shirts……do they realize he murdered thousands of innocent freedom loving Cubans in order to install the Communist government??

    • Tiffany :) says:

      You don’t even have to do that. You fill out a General License ( which you do not have to get approved by Washington) and bring other documents.

      • sunnyinseattle says:

        Jeez @Tiffany:), pushing this a bit? Trying to look smart or are you trying to make someone look innocent? 😉

      • Tiffany :) says:

        I am not pushing anything, I am just trying to calm down the people who are freaking out and creating conspiracy theories. It isnt difficult to go to Cuba. I don’t know why some are acting as if it takes Presidential action to make it happen. If there is something legitimate to freak out over, I will join in…but this is not that.

  13. mel says:

    I really don’t care if they went or not..I just hope they saw the level of poverty and donated to some causes.

  14. MJ says:

    Some US friends of mine recently went to Cuba on an educational/cultural exchange with their band. None of them are rich and they aren’t well-known. It’s really not that hard.

  15. Claudia says:

    All this hoopla makes me want to go to Cuba 🙂

  16. Lamont says:

    Jay Z has released a single vis a vis the situation.
    Le Sigh. Poor President Obama.

  17. bowers says:

    Because they’re intellectuals of course.

  18. Jennykins says:

    On a different note, what’s up with bandeau dresses? Every time I see one I just want it to connect so I can wear it without under boob or weird super high muffin top, which is what I assume is what would happen.

    • Andrea says:

      Haha, yes. How does that dress look sitting down? Lol, i just got this image in my head now.

  19. TheOneAndOnly says:

    Agree with just about everyone; this makes perfect sense since beyonce is a well known Oxford scholar multi-lingual and a humanist scholar as well as a scientist.
    Narcissism is a debilitating trait, and i’m disappointed the Obama’s have anything to do with these disgusting narcissistic one percenters.
    Garvels good point about Che – does idiotic Jay Z realize when he was wearing his stupid Che t-shirts that the real Che would execute Jay Z as a filthy capitalist expropriate his wealth and send bouncy to a labor camp.
    THis is just another example of westerners playing at violence and revolution and it has a long intellectual/political history going back to John Reed and the Bolshevik revolution. Not that camel would know anything about this.