Beyoncé’s Father Says He’s Evaluating All Legal Remedies After Uncomfortable Interview Clip Goes Viral
Beyoncé’s father and former manager, Mathew Knowles, says he is “evaluating all legal remedies” after footage leaked online of him abruptly ending an interview when a reporter asked him about his ex-wife, Tina Knowles, and her relationship with his daughter’s pop group, Destiny’s Child.
On Monday, the New York Post’s Page Six shared a never-before-seen clip of Mathew Knowles’ interview with New York television news outlet PIX11 on January 30. Toward the end of the talk, host Kendis Gibson said that both of Beyoncé’s parents have “earned their flowers” regarding the success Destiny’s Child has enjoyed over the years.
“I said the same thing to Ms. Tina Knowles. You guys put in the effort and obviously the talent was there,” Gibson said, after which Mathew Knowles asked, “What work did she do?”
At first, Gibson credited Tina Knowles for “the hair, the clothes” worn by Beyoncé and her bandmates, to which Mathew Knowles responded, “You’re absolutely right. The style, the image.” However, when Gibson went a step further and suggested that Destiny’s Child “was a joint effort,” Mathew Knowles quickly shut him down.
“We’ll stop now,” he said as he stood up from his chair.
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News contacted PIX11 for comment on the footage, which does not appear in Gibson’s full interview with Mathew Knowles on YouTube, but did not immediately receive a response.
Although it’s unclear how Page Six was able to access the clip, it quickly went viral online, with Sherri Shepherd discussing it on her daytime talk show and rapper 50 Cent sharing a sarcastic response on Instagram. Meanwhile, viewers responded to comments on Page Six’s YouTube page by calling Mathew Knowles a “bitter, selfish” person and a “true narcissist.”
On Wednesday night, Mathew Knowles attempted to quell the backlash in a new interview with Page Six, telling the outlet that his words were intended as “a question,” after which Gibson “downplayed” Tina Knowles’ contributions to Destiny’s Child.
Tina Knowles, he said, “did the hair, she built the image of Destiny’s Child. Wouldn’t you agree that’s a lot more than saying someone just did the hair?”
Noting that he and Tina Knowles “have a wonderful relationship,” he added: “People try to provoke us all the time into being against each other. There was a complete misrepresentation here, and I am evaluating all legal remedies at this time.”
When Page Six’s Carlos Greer pressed for details, Mathew Knowles had no additional comment.
Mathew and Tina Knowles divorced in 2011 after 31 years of marriage. That same year, Mathew Knowles ended his professional relationship with Beyoncé after serving as manager of both Destiny’s Child and the initial phase of her solo career.
Following the publication of her memoir, “Matriach,” last year, Tina Knowles gave an interview to Gayle King on SiriusXM in which she acknowledged “really tumultuous and terrible times” in her relationship with her ex-husband.
Still, she added, “I never questioned whether he loved me or my children, and we got along well.”