Childish Gambino’s psychological thriller series, Swarm has been making headlines since its premiere on Tuesday, March, 14. Considering its many references in visuals, artistry, style, and more, fans are now wondering if the show is based on a true story about Queen Bey.
Since the steamy scene involving Chloe Bailey and Damson Idris went viral, Swarm has been causing a non-stop buzz among fans.
According to Vanity Fair, Childish Gambino, real name Donald Glover, teamed up with Atlanta writer and producer Janine Nabers to create a thriller series about a young woman who was obsessed with a pop star. “We were really interested in creating an antihero story,” Nabers said.
Is It A True Story?
Starring Chloe Bailey, Paris Jackson, Billie Eilish, and Dominique Fishback— who plays the show’s lead character Dre. Dre’s life revolves around the fictional singer Ni’Jah. A large portion of the new viral series is fictional based but is also inspired by true events.
Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers revealed,
“The pilot episode is based on a true event that existed on the internet. We started the story from there and kind of built off it with real events that happened in America between about 2016 and 2018.”
Fans have flooded social media, saying they believe the film is about Beyoncé. One fan compared ticket prices from the movie, “$4000? Yea it’s Beyoncé.”
SOHH, Is It About Beyonce?
Swarm is heavily inspired by Beyoncé. It also makes major references to the BeyHive and real-life events. The fictional singer Ni’Jah’s fandom in the show is called the Swarm, which is a play of Queen Bey’s BeyHive.
Janine Nabers added,
“In April of 2016, Lemonade was released. On the same night, there was a rumor about a woman named Marissa Jackson who committed suicide after watching this visual album because it basically confirmed that a very powerful man was cheating on one of the most incredibly beautiful and successful pop stars of our time.”
The rumor spread like wildfire, with many Houstonians asking the big question: “Yo, who is this Marissa Jackson? Is this a true story?” Actress and singer Chloe Bailey, who is signed to Beyoncé’s label Parkwood, and expected to drop her debut album soon, stars in the new thriller as Marissa.
It has since been debunked that the story was untrue. However, it was used as a spin on factual events many already knew about, such as a crazed fan running onstage after Beyoncé during the OTR II tour, who was walking away with her husband, Jay-Z.
Despite the many connections to Beyoncé, the 32-time Grammy-winning artist had no personal involvement in Swarm.
The Return Of Gambino—The Jack Of All Trades
Childish Gambino, a.k.a Donald Glover, is clearly a jack of all trades. The rapper/TV producer and director have been on a hiatus from music since finishing his hit series, Atlanta. In a trailer for his new series Swarm, he also previewed new music along with other artists.