WATCH: Matthew Knowles speaks on Solange and Jay-Z’s infamous elevator fight
The Knowles-Carter clan have been in the spotlight for years but few instances have caused as much chatter and speculation as the infamous fight between Solange and Jay-Z in 2014.
In case you forgot, video footage of the Solange going postal on her brother-in-law Jay-Z in an elevator after the Met Gala surfaced online and fans couldn’t wait to find out what caused Beyonce’s little sis to go H.A.M.
READ MORE: Mathew Knowles says colorism made him think ex-wife Tina Lawson was a white woman
The celebrity couple never completely confirmed the reason behind the brawl, but they issued a joint statement to the Associated Press shortly after alerting fans that all was well between them.
“As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, 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.
“The reports of Solange being intoxicated or displaying erratic behavior throughout that evening are simply false. At the end of the day families have problems and we’re no different. We love each other and above all we are family. We’ve put this behind us and hope everyone else will do the same.”
Now that Jay-Z has opened up about his infidelity both on his album and in recent interviews, some have speculated that the elevator fight was about his philandering.
Jay-Z has also made it clear that there’s no bad blood between him and Solange.
“We had one disagreement ever. Before and after, we’ve been cool. She’s like my sister. I will protect her. That’s my sister, not my sister-in-law. My sister. Period,” Jay-Z told E! News.
Now, Matthew Knowles, 66, is speaking out about the infamous dustup.
During an interview with Good Morning Britain, he was asked, “When you witness things like Solange, 31, in the elevator seemingly attacking Jay-Z and reported marriage problems – is it hard as a parent to step back?”
Matthew Knowles responded, “It’s always hard for a parent to let go. I felt the same way when I was growing up, I didn’t want to be under my parents’ nest so I understand that. I hope, and I feel very calm and comfortable about this, that they’ve been given the tools to be successful. Are they going to make mistakes? Absolutely. But mistakes are a reason to grow. I’m more concerned about the racism and colorism.”
Knowles was being interviewed about his new book, Racism: From the Eyes of a Child, and doubled down on his recent comments about his daughters’ success being due, in part, to their light complexions.
READ MORE: Mathew Knowles says Beyoncé and Solange’s light complexions helped their music careers
“I’ve been in the music industry for 25 years. When I made that statement, I was speaking specifically as our radio is in America. We have urban radio and we have pop radio. When we look at pop radio we can look, I don’t use Beyoncé or Solange my younger daughter, I really talk about Mariah Carey and others, Rihanna, that it’s just a known fact, if we look over the last ten years, and we look at colorism – which is discrimination based on the shade of color – it’s a fact,” he said.
“It’s a fact that Beyoncé or any of the other artists, Alicia Keys, I can go on and on, a shade of color does make a difference in pop radio.”
Check out the interview below:
