Apple’s iOS 18.5 update won’t include emojis of the world’s biggest pop stars like Beyoncé, in news sure to devastate legions of pop fans.
A viral social media post by Drop Pop claimed that Beyoncé, who made history as the first Black woman to have a number-one album on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, with Cowboy Carter, would be turned into an emoji alongside the likes of Lana del Rey, Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.
The post, which went viral, turned out to be a joke.
‘Nothing on this account represent factual news’
Drop Pop’s “About” section points out that it’s a “parody/satirical pop culture news outlet, solely and only meant for entertainment purposes. Nothing on this account represents factual news”.
Despite this, many people believed the post was legitimate, although they weren’t happy with the actual emojis. “Who the hell is this?” one person asked of a close-up of the supposed Grande artwork.
Apple has introduced eight new emojis for users of its iOS 18.4 version and above, but none of them are celebrity related.
The latest emojis include an exhausted face, a blue fingerprint, a purple splat, a radish, a leafless tree, a harp, a shovel and the flag of Sark, the self-governing island off the coast of Normandy in the English Channel.
These are the new emoji available today with iOS 18.4
Which one is your favorite? pic.twitter.com/nyMy1dSxCU
— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) March 31, 2025
In January, Apple’s board of directors asked shareholders to vote against a proposal to end the tech giant’s diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programmes.
Apple’s stance comes as other big US businesses have distanced themselves from such policies, in the face of a campaign led by right-wing pundit Robby Starbuck and Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
Amazon and Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, rolled back DEI initiatives, citing changes to the “legal and policy landscape” and the “charged” nature of the term.
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