Tina Knowles-Lawson is defending her daughter. The matriarch responded to critics of Beyoncé wearing the Tiffany diamond in her latest campaign with Tiffany & Co.
As theGrio previously reported, this week Beyoncé and Jay-Z launched their “ABOUT LOVE” campaign for Tiffany & Co. In the photoshoot by Mason Pool, Beyoncé and Jay appeared as in love as ever in front of a painting from Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s private collection, entitled Equals Pi. Beyoncé also wore the Tiffany Yellow Diamond in the photos, making her the fourth person to ever wear the iconic jewelry piece.
As theGrio‘s Biba Adams previously reported, “The stone is 128.54 carats and is said to be priceless, discovered over 140 years ago in South Africa by Charles Lewis Tiffany, the co-founder of the iconic jewelry brand. It is set in a necklace and surrounded by over 100 carats of white diamonds.”
The wearing of the stone garnered some backlash as the campaign was launched, with many fans accusing the “Diva” singer of wearing a blood diamond.
In a tweet that took off, one user wrote, “Tiffany’s put Beyoncé in a diamond —“discovered” in a colonial mine in Kimberly in 1877—that no black woman has ever worn before in an ad with a never-ever-before-seen Basquiat and then pledged $2 million in scholarships & internships to HBCUs.”
A post on theGrio’s Instagram account shared various tweets like this that criticize the use of the diamond.
Knowles-Lawson, saw the post and defended her daughter’s decision. “How many of you socially conscious activist own diamonds ? I thought so ! Well guess what did you go to try to check to see where the diamond came from? Probably not,” she said.
She continued: “So when you guys get engaged you won’t have a diamond you gonna put on a sterling silver band And you better check out where it came from and the origin of where came from and why you add it check out the calls for the Leather that you weird because they made it came from another country to to ban and not buy diamonds right because your righteous !!”
As theGrio previously reported, Tiffany & Co. has committed $2 million toward internship and scholarship programs for HBCUs as a part of their partnership with the Carters.
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