Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles defended the pop star after online commenters claimed she lightened her skin ahead of a recent public appearance. The controversy arose after Beyonce attended the premiere of her new movie The Renaissance while sporting a platinum blonde hairdo.
Beyonce's mother Tina Knowles has defended the pop star after she was accused of lightening her skin
"Came across this today and decided to post it after seeing all of the stupid ignorant self, hating racist statements about her, lightening her skin, and wearing platinum hair wanting to be white," the star's mother wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
The note was posted alongside a video clip with some of the alleged comments. "She’s not a Black woman!" one said. "She’s white now???" said another. "She whitens her skin," a different comment reportedly said.
"She does a film, called The Renaissance, where the whole theme is silver with silver hair, a silver carpet, and suggested silver attire and you bozos decide that she’s trying to be a white woman and is bleaching her skin?" Knowles said. "How sad is it that some of her own people continue the stupid narrative with hate and jealousy. Duh, she wore silver hair to match her silver dress as a fashion statement clown."
The second part of Knowles' clip included several pictures of Beyonce's where her complexion appeared darker. The slideshow played over the singer's track "Brown Skin Girl." Knowles also noted that the singer is far from the first Black star to don a blonde wig.
"Black women have worn platinum hair since the Etta James days," the mother said. "I just went and looked at all the beautiful talented black celebrities who have worn platinum hair and it has been just about everyone of them at one time or another. Are they all trying to be white?"
Knowles also bemoaned the intense scrutiny her daughter faces: "I am sick and tired of people attacking her. Every time she does something that she works her ass off for and is a statement of her work ethic, talent and resilience… you sad little haters come out the woodwork. Jealousy and racism, sexism, double standards, you perpetuate those things."
Beyonce first rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the R&B group Destiny's Child. The band was managed by the singer's father Mathew Knowles. Beyonce released her first solo album Dangerously in Love in 2003 and went on to record several chart-topping singles including "Crazy in Love," "Single Ladies" and "Break My Soul."
The singer married rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z in 2008. The pair had three children, including their daughter Blue Ivy Carter. The 11-year-old regularly performed on stage with Beyonce during the pop star's most recent global tour.
