And then there’s Solange’s infamous elevator fight with Jay-Z, a moment that exposed the deep tensions between them. It seems the bad blood hasn’t gone away, as Solange is said to still harbor strong resentment toward Jay-Z. She allegedly wishes Beyoncé would break free from his influence and leave him. Meanwhile, there are reports that Jay-Z has banned Beyoncé from speaking to Solange altogether.
Recently, Solange has started sharing more about her rocky relationship with Jay-Z, and it turns out their feud is even more intense than we thought. Jay-Z’s well-known history of infidelity has not only embarrassed Beyoncé but also strained his relationship with her family, especially Solange. Adding to the drama, Solange reportedly believes that Jay-Z groomed Beyoncé, making the situation even more complicated and fraught with tension.
To give you some background, Jay-Z revealed in a 2007 interview with Charlie Rose that he met Beyoncé when she was 16, but he waited until she turned 18 to pursue a relationship. At that time, Jay-Z was 28. Many of us know that Beyoncé had a pretty sheltered childhood. With strict parents and a career that started in her teens, she didn’t have much of a social life or experience with men. She only had one boyfriend in high school, so when she met Jay-Z, she was quite inexperienced.
A lot of people think this power imbalance in their relationship is why Beyoncé didn’t divorce Jay-Z after he cheated. He’s been the only man in her life since she was a teenager. Sources close to the family say that Solange believes Jay-Z has been taking advantage of this power imbalance from the beginning, molding Beyoncé to fit his image. It feels like she never got the chance to experience life with different people, and considering their age difference, it seems like the only way she expresses herself is through her music.
And if you think these allegations are just wild conspiracy theories, remember that this isn’t the first time Jay-Z has been accused of manipulating someone underage. Even before he met Beyoncé, there were accusations that he was involved with Foxy Brown when she was just 15 and he was about 27. While these claims are alleged, many people believe there’s some truth to them.
Many people have overlooked the situation between Jay-Z and Dame Dash, with some claiming that Jay-Z threatened Foxy Brown into staying silent to keep her from exposing him as a creep. But it’s not just Foxy who seems scared to speak out. Jay-Z’s longtime friend and business partner, Dame Dash, got very defensive when asked about Jay-Z and Foxy’s relationship. When someone asked about Foxy Brown’s age when she was signed, Dame snapped back, “Oscar, don’t ask me these questions. Y’all keep asking me questions y’all want to ask him because he ain’t here. Ask him. I got nothing to do with that, and I don’t even know nothing about that, and now I don’t even want to remember nothing about that.”
Dame went on to share more about Jay-Z’s troubling behavior, mentioning that he chose to distance himself from Jay-Z when he realized Jay-Z had no plans to cut ties with R. Kelly, even after R. Kelly was exposed for being a predator to Aaliyah. R. Kelly had actually married Aaliyah when she was just 15 years old by using forged documents to make her seem older. Despite this, Jay-Z teamed up with R. Kelly to release their joint album, “The Best of Both Worlds.”
“I’ve been upset about this for years,” Dame said. “So to be honest, if you remember ‘The Best of Both Worlds,’ you don’t see my name on that, you know what I mean? And your name is not on either album? Hell no, I never had any part of that. When someone was doing that, I was like, bro, you know our homie violated, and he violated my girl. He violated a friend, though.”
The cheating allegations against Jay-Z began in 2005 when Rihanna’s publicist claimed Jay was having an affair with Rihanna, who was just 17 years old at the time, in exchange for a recording contract. Over the years, several reports have suggested that Jay-Z was also allegedly involved with Rita Ora, who was signed to his management company, Roc Nation, at the time. Amid these rumors, other women also accused Jay of trying to hook up with them, including rapper Liv, who revealed that Jay had hit on her and tried to get her number.
“For the most part, Jay contacted me with a ‘I will reach you when I’m in town’ attitude. He wanted me to be his girl Friday, someone to be with him whenever he was in town. This was clearly while he was with Beyoncé, and for me, I wasn’t interested. I could have done many things behind people’s backs, hoping it would never come out, but I believe in karma. I have a lot of respect for Beyoncé as an artist, a woman, a wife, and a mother. At the time, I realized I could do a lot of grimy things to get where I wanted to be, but I would have to look at myself in the mirror afterward. I decided it was better to work for my success rather than compromising my integrity. I walked away from many opportunities because I didn’t want to compromise my values in this industry. So, it’s like, I’m not going that route, and I deserve respect for that. I don’t want to work with those who don’t respect me, so that’s why I’m like, ‘forget you,’ because I don’t care, I don’t want to work with you.”
But things got even worse. In 2013, Jay-Z found himself in hot water again when he was caught partying in a nightclub in Antwerp with model Claudia Scheelan. According to The Mirror, Jay-Z splurged £5,000 on a massive champagne bottle for him and Claudia. Claudia shared in an exclusive interview with The Mirror, “I was with my girlfriends, and he sent over a drink to us. He had this huge bottle of Ace of Spades Champagne. It must have been six or ten liters.” She also mentioned that Jay-Z never brought up his wife or his one-year-old daughter during their encounter.
Then, just a year later, TMZ leaked a shocking video of Solange physically confronting Jay-Z at the 2014 Met Gala while Beyoncé stood by and didn’t intervene. After the incident, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Solange released a joint statement to address the situation. It read, “As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it. Jay and Solange each assume their share of responsibility for what has occurred. They both acknowledge their role in this private matter that has played out in the public. They both have apologized to each other, and we have moved forward as a united family.”
However, a source later revealed that their attempt at damage control was just a cover-up, spilling the real tea about what happened in the elevator. The insider told E! News that Jay and Rachel Roy, the ex-wife of Dame Dash, were flirting all night at the gala. “Rachel was being flirtatious with Jay. Beyoncé approached Rachel to tell her that behavior was disrespectful and that she wanted her out of their lives for good,” the source said. “Solange stepped in to support her sister, and things heated up between her and Rachel. Jay said some disrespectful things to Beyoncé and Solange during the confrontation. That’s why all hell broke loose in the elevator, and Beyoncé stood back and let Solange hit Jay.”
Since then, the relationship between Beyoncé, Solange, and Jay has been tense. Although Jay and Beyoncé managed to work through their problems and even had two more children, Solange still sees Jay as the issue. She believes he has broken Beyoncé’s heart multiple times and changed her fundamentally. Over the years, Beyoncé has become increasingly private, rarely giving interviews or promoting her own work. Allegedly, Solange thinks Beyoncé would be better off without Jay, which has strained her relationship with Beyoncé. They are rarely seen together, and when Beyoncé made history by becoming the artist with the most Grammy wins ever, Solange didn’t congratulate her and was noticeably absent from the celebration party.
Most fans are supporting Solange in this situation. One fan said, “Solange should be worried about Beyoncé. She’s just protecting her. Beyoncé is blinded by love, and Jay-Z is a narcissist who loves controlling his family. Beyoncé doesn’t seem to have a mind of her own.” Another fan added that Beyoncé has lost her spark since marrying Jay-Z, saying, “Beyoncé has gone downhill spiritually since marrying Jay. He has a very dark influence, and unfortunately, Beyoncé is on that dark path with him.”
As for Beyoncé, sources say she’s not picking sides and hopes Solange and Jay can work things out. But now I want to hear from you. What do you think about Solange exposing Jay for being a serial cheater and banning her from talking to Beyoncé? And how do you feel about Beyoncé staying with him despite his constant disrespect? Share your thoughts in the comments below.