Beyoncé, Queen B, Bey, however you put it, is musical royalty, mega-rich, and married to billionaire rapper Jay-Z. She started performing as a child, morphing into one of the members of the iconic diva group Destiny's Child, before embarking on a solo career that has gone from strength to strength.
For much of her early career, she was managed, coached, trained by her father Matthew Knowles. Her mom Tina Knowles pitched in as her stylist.
That came to a screeching halt around 10 years ago, amid some not-so-nice rumors of what Matthew had been getting up to.
So, Bey ditched Matthew as her manager. But what is really going on between the two these days?
Let's have a look at Beyoncé and her relationship with her dad, Matthew Knowles.
A Child Star
Queen B was performing with the group that was to become Destiny's Child when she was all of 8-years-old. Pretty early on in the history of the group, Matthew ditched his sales job in order to manage the group. No, he was not greedy, taking half the going rate in management fees. He saw Beyoncé as the star of the group. Well, he would, wouldn't he?
Matthew didn't so much "manage" as command the group. It was his way or the highway.
By mid-2003, Bey has decided to launch a solo career, releasing her first album Dangerously in Love.
The album closes with the song "Daddy". It's kind of cringeworthy, but it's clear how the 20-something Beyoncé feels about her dad. And we quote: "I want my unborn son to be like my daddy / I want my husband to be like my daddy / There is no one else like my daddy / And I thank you for loving me."
Five or six years later, things started to turn sour. After Matthew was caught playing away and named in a paternity suit, his wife Tina filed for divorce. Queen Bey was torn. Up until then, she had been a daddy's girl. Now, she was left to deal with her hairstylist mom Tina. Matthew's influence decreased, increased, and then decreased again.
And don't forget that by 2008, she was married to rapper Jay-Z. Word is the rapper was not number one on Matthew or Tina Knowles' list of top husband candidates. Love 'em or hate them, Jay-Z and Queen Bey are a force to be reckoned with.
In 2011, the event promotions company Live Nation told Beyoncé that Matthew might have been stealing money from her. Bey's reaction? She cans daddy and demands an audit of her accounts. Matthew is out in the cold, professionally and personally. Soon after his split from Bey, his divorce from Tina was finalized.
Beyoncé issued what many considered a gracious statement in the circumstances.
She said "I’ve only parted ways with my father on a business level. He is my father for life, and I love my dad dearly. I am grateful for everything he has taught me."
In 2012, Bey gave birth to her first, Blue Ivy, and staged a "tearful" reunion with her dad. Still, Beyoncé told Oprah that in the past her dad could be a tad bit overbearing, making decisions for her when she was an adult. It's clear that she was (and is) torn between the love for her father and her career. Jay-Z had considerable influence on getting Beyoncé to make her own way. And it's paid off.
Matthew Out In The Cold
When Matthew remarried in 2013, guess who didn't show up? Yep, Beyoncé was a no-show. But in 2015 when mom Tina married actor Richard Lawson, Bey was front row center.
Matthew, pretty much left out in the cold, got his own back in 2016 when he discussed Bey's career after he was forced out, saying she had made many mistakes, "but she's learned from them".
And that same year when Beyoncé released her album Lemonade (which allegedly was about Jay-Z's infidelity), many thought she was targeting her father as well. He was a real pro at affairs and playing away. In fact, paternity tests have proven that he fathered two children while he was married to Tina Knowles.
Matthew has said: "I can only speculate like everyone else. And I think the genius in this body of work that Beyoncé has done is she has us all speculating and she has us all letting our minds expand on her words and the expansion of them."
And Now?
Well, the best that can be said for Beyoncé's relationship with her dad Matthew is that it is, on one level, friendly, if distant.
He's around for the big moments, like the birth of her children, but pretty much is nonexistent in Queen Bey's day-to-day life.
Beyoncé has become closer to her mother Tina. And, let's face it, Jay-Z is not Matthew's biggest fan.
Asked about his relationship with Beyoncé he has said: "It's not a daily dialogue. Daughters tend to always gravitate to their moms more than their dads. I think it's pretty standard in the universe, my relationship."
Sorry dad, life's moved on without you.
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