But protesters hit out when Beyoncé spoke up.
Protesters against police brutality say that on Tuesday night in Lagos men in army fatigues closed in on them and shot at them while they sang the national anthem, something the army denies as "fake news".
South African comedian Trevor Noah said: "Just like we've seen in the US, the police in Nigeria are responding to protests about police brutality with more police brutality.
Just like we've seen in the U.S., the police in Nigeria are responding to protests about police brutality with more police brutality.
A host of international A-list of celebrities showed their support for protesters.
Standing with & praying for the brave young people of Nigeria who are on the front lines of this senseless violence.
That certainly wasn't how the Nigerian press described the people who started the protests online.
In the early days of the protests, the BBC's Nduka Orjinmo described the people marching on the streets as "mostly comfortably-off young people, some with dyed hair, pierced noses and tattooed bodies".
BBC Nigeria correspondent Mayeni Jones notes that, while now she is now seeing a more socially mixed crowd at protests in Lagos, the people who started the protests online were "middle-class kids".
They were people like media strategist Rinu Oduala, who had persuaded other protesters to spend the night outside government house in Lagos on 7 October.
So at this point, the protesters only really wanted their message against police brutality amplified.
The protests started two weeks ago and we never heard from you publicly.
The protests had started weeks before and she was in the second wave of celebrities showing their support.
I stand with my Nigerian brothers and sisters to end police brutality, the government must answer to the peoples cries #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeria.
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