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Home • 2019 ESSENCE Festival

WATCH: 'The Lion King's' Youngest Stars Had The Cutest Reaction To Meeting Beyonce For The First Time

Shahadi Wright Joseph and JD McCrary—aka Young Simba and Young Nala—chat with us about their first time meeting Queen Bey.
WATCH: 'The Lion King's' Youngest Stars Had The Cutest Reaction To Meeting Beyonce For The First Time
By Rachaell Davis · Updated December 6, 2020
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Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that the live-action remake of Disney’s The Lion King is the hottest topic in entertainment right now.

From the movie’s star-studded cast that includes the likes of Donald Glover, Alfre Woodard, Chance The Rapper, Chiwetel Ejiofor and of course, Beyonce, to the magical Beyonce-produced album inspired by the film, there’s simply no shortage of reasons to love everything about this production.

We caught up with the Lion King’s youngest stars, Shahadi Wright Joseph and JD McCrary, at the 2019 ESSENCE Festival just ahead of the film’s release and they gave us the cutest play by play of how they reacted to meeting Queen Bey for the first time.

Check out the video clip above to see hear their heartwarming story in full and then be sure to visit our ESSENCE Festival content hub HERE for more of everything you missed at the 2019 ESSENCE Festival.