Beyonce’s parents have reacted to Lemonade, the visual album that continues to attract acclaim and fuel debate.
An exploration of race, black female identity, and infidelity, Lemonade has been heralded for bringing the issue of black womanhood, subjugation, oppression and sisterhood to the fore while also touching on a number of crucial political and social issues, particularly the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality. HBO has confirmed its plans to submit the hour-long project for an Emmy in the Variety Special category.
Lemonade has also sparked furious speculation over who the references to cheating allude to. In a piece of spoken word from "Daddy’s Lessons", Beyonce asks: “Mother dearest’ […] Did he convince you he was a God? Did you get on your knees daily?
“Do his eyes close like doors? Are you are a slave to the back of his hand? Am I talking about your husband or your father?"
Beyonce’s father Mathew Knowles has responded to the comments on themes of adultery running through the album, telling Radar Online: “First thing is, I am so proud of Beyonce for sharing this body of work. We all experience betrayal. This is not about some one individual.”
Beyonce’s mother Tina celebrated her daughter’s achievement on Instagram with a post showing her drinking a jar of lemonade. She divorced Mathew after 31 years of marriage in 2011.
In her own reaction, Tina praised the compelling video for proving that it is always possible to heal and overcome, regardless of the situation.
“Toast to Lemonade,” she wrote. “B worked so hard on this project day and night! It was soo important to her to offer something that would bring about healing and hope to the universe! No matter what you've gone through in life you can always come out on the other side!”
While widely celebrated by critics and fans alike, Lemonade’s arrival was not without controversy. The assumption that Beyonce is referring to rumours Jay-Z was unfaithful during their marriage in songs such as “Apathy”, with the line 'Better call Becky with the good hair", has seen the Beehive swarm the Instagram accounts of designer Rachel Roy and the Rita Ora, with a number sending threatening and abusive messages in the belief the song could refer to them.
Meanwhile, the rapper Azealia Banks branded Lemonade the “antithesis of feminism” and blasted Beyonce for trying to push a “heartbroken female black narrative”. Fellow rapper Iggy Azalea warned followers not to call her a Becky, claiming the name is used as a generalised stereotype of white women.
