Photographers forbidden from taking photos of Beyoncé at Kobe Bryant’s memorial

The ceremony which was held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday saw thousands of mourners and performances from top stars but Beyoncé was exempted from being captured by photographers and paparazzi.

Editors at the Associated Press and Getty Images told The Post that organizers of the livestreamed event prohibited them from taking photos of the “Already” hitmaker or Bryant’s children, Page Six website reports.

The pop superstar kicked off the memorial to the Lakers legend and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, by performing her hit songs “XO” and “Halo.”

“It is so offensive to Kobe’s family and the fans,” an insider told Page Six. “Beyoncé is so controlling of her image — she usually only allows approved selected images of her to be released — so no photographers at the Kobe memorial were allowed to take her picture. Really, at a memorial? Not even the family of Michael Jackson did that.”

“A Staples Center staffer was dispatched to make sure not a single camera was focused on the stage. The photographers couldn’t believe it. This doesn’t help Beyoncé’s image at all, it hurts her. It makes her look like a diva. The memorial wasn’t about her. The only shots of Bey that did emerge were screen grabs from TV. None of the other artists at the memorial asked for this, not Christina Aguilera, not Alicia Keys.”

Representatives for Beyoncé did not immediately return a request for comment.

Beyoncé’s publicist has previously targeted media outlets, demanding that “unflattering” pictures of the singer be removed online.

After her Super Bowl halftime show in 2013, her spokeswoman Yvette Noel-Schure emailed BuzzFeed, asking it to remove shots from a post titled “The 33 Fiercest Moments from Beyoncé’s Halftime Show.”