Phoenix won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for his portrayal of the mentally unstable loner Arthur Fleck in comic book drama "Joker".
The actor got a standing ovation when his name was announced. The 38-year-old singer's decision to remain seated at that moment at the event, held at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Sunday, has caused quite a stir, reports dailymail.co.uk.
The singer, who arrived an hour late to the ceremony, made a silent statement about her views about the win.
A Twitter user shared a picture of the moment, writing: "'Beyoncé sitting during the standing ovation for Joaquin Phoenix's win is the type of energy I want to see from everyone in 2020."
Beyonce was also up for Best Original Song - Motion Picture, for her "The Lion King" track "Spirit". She lost out to "Rocketman", for the song, "(I'm gonna) love me again, Rocketman".
The singer also failed to walk the red carpet during the ceremony and turned up one hour late.
One user wrote on Twitter: "@Beyonce You're a joke for not standing up for Joaquin Phoenix. Understandable to make a statement. But that's just poor sportsmanship for someone that actually deserved recognition. You're entitled and arrogant. And as an actress you're a joke. Smh. You ought to apologise to him."
"Beyoncé sitting during the standing ovation for Joaquin Phoenix's win is the type of energy I want to see from everyone in 2020," wrote one, and another said: "Beyoncé isn't anyone important. I'm happy Joaquin won!".
"'Yes, that is Joaquin Phoenix, who won a Golden Globe tonight for his role as the Joker in 'Joker', something Beyoncé did not do," said another.
( With inputs from IANS )