Beyonce shared sweet phone call with Australian fan before losing cancer battle
Beyonce paid an emotional farewell to an Australian teen battling cancer by treating the fan to a special phone call shortly before her death.
The superstar first met Chelsea James while on tour in Sydney in 2009, when she invited the then-11 year old up onstage so she could serenade her with her hit song Halo.
Beyonce organized a second meeting with young Chelsea when her Mrs.
Carter Show World Tour headed Down Under in 2013, and promised to
visit her every time she returned to Australia.
However, the teenager's health took a turn for the worse just four
months later in early 2014, and when Beyonce learned Chelsea had
been given just two weeks to live, she set up a time and date to
call the young fan on her cell phone so they could enjoy one last
conversation together.
Chelsea, who had battled the disease for a decade, died in April,
2014, and Beyonce paid her respects by sending 100 white roses to
her funeral in Newcastle, New South Wales, along with a sweet note
addressed to her grieving mom, Donna.
The message read: "Donna, love and prayers to you and your family.
Chelsea was a beautiful girl and I am so happy I was able to meet
her. She touched my heart and I will never forget her.''
The news of the secret phone call was only made public on Monday
(02Nov15), when Gary Nunn, who previously worked with children's
cancer charity Camp Quality, which helped to reconnect the pair,
penned a piece about the bond Beyonce shared with Chelsea for Vogue
Australia's website.
In the article, he writes, "On that special phone call, nobody
knows what was said. It was an intimate moment between two women.
Chelsea's mom texted me afterward saying, 'You've made one of
Chelsea's last days with us one of her happiest. Thank you - and
keep being you.'
"Just under two weeks later, Beyonce sent one hundred white roses
to Chelsea's funeral in Newcastle. 'Can we do anything else for the
family?' Beyonce's manager asked me. 'Just ask them never to forget
Chelsea,' her mom told me. It's clear she truly won't."