‘Hate That This Happened to Her’ : Tina Knowles Says She Was Embarrassed After Red Carpet Handler Rudely Told Her to Step Aside
The 71-year-old matriarch of Beyoncé is finally opening up about a tense, unsettling moment she says she experienced at one of the most high-profile gatherings in the South Tina Knowles claimed mistreated by staff during a red carpet for an event — a move she described as “blatant” and hard to ignore. She didn’t spell out what she felt was really happening, but her tone carried the weight of a deeper slight — the kind of quiet disrespect many viewers instantly recognized without her having to name it. Tina Knowles shares her racist experience at the Kentucky Derby. (Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images) In Jordan Peele's new documentary "High Horse: The Black Cowboy," centered on Black cowboys, Knowles claimed she was mistreated by staff at the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky, last year. "It was a very big wake-up call for me to attend the Kentucky Derby and to see this closed-off culture," she recalled, according to People. "I mean, just blatant, on the red carpet, someone came up and said, 'Oh, Tina Knowles is next.' And the other young lady walked up and said, 'Oh no, because we need a…' And ran right into my face, and I said, 'A white person?'" Knowles went on to say that the employee then "just went behind me, got the couple behind me, and got them on. It’s racially charged there. There’s a lot of racially charged energy." https://twitter.com/michaelharriot/status/1991494311331131517 The Kentucky Derby was founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. in 1875. The annual horse racing event brings in people from all over the world as they dress to the nines. Black men were originally allowed to participate in the horse races. African-American jockey Oliver Lewis won the first Kentucky Derby, a race in which 13 of the 15 jockeys were Black. However, as Jim Crow laws and customs took hold after Reconstruction, Black jockeys were gradually forced out of the sport in America by the early 1900s, leaving African-Americans in horse racing relegated to cleaning horse stalls and horse grooming positions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Showupkalvin (@showupkalvin) "She not wrong," said one Facebook reader, while another wrote, "Horse racing is historically a white sport. Not saying that’s right, but it’s fact." Still many were not completely convinced of Knowles' story, casting doubt on the details. "Was she alone or with a group of people?" asked one person. "Maybe they wanted a couple next for pics or something, and not a single person. Yes, racist people are still out there, but that doesn't mean this was about race." Another said, "It does sound like the Kentucky Derby was racially charged that day. It also sounds like she's the one who was creating that problem." Many accused Knowles of feeling entitled because her daughter is a global superstar, suggesting her name could get her into any and every room smoothly and quickly. A more sympathetic believer exclaimed, "I hate that this happened to her, but just imagine the privilege he and her family receive; his many lines they've been placed in the front of. I love the Knowles- Caters, but this is a hmmmmm. But by no means am I excusing racial profiling." That set the stage for others to lean into long-running jokes about her lighter complexion and the constant chatter surrounding her daughter’s features. "Tina has always looked white to me herself," said one person, while another wondered, "A white couple whiter than her??" The conversation then drifted, as it often does, to Beyoncé. Her evolving glam has sparked commentary for years — from lighter-toned makeup to bright platinum phases — spawning an ongoing mix of teasing, questioning, and eyebrow-raising from social media. The BeyHive always jumps in to shut it down, blaming the jokes on lighting, glam choices, or top-tier skincare, but the commentary never fully disappears. Meanwhile, Peele’s documentary pulls back the curtain on the forgotten history of Black cowboys — a story long written out of America’s mythology. Rick Ross, Pam Grier, Bun B, and Blanco Brown also appear in the project, broadening the conversation far beyond Knowles’ viral moment. The documentary was directed by Jason Perez, who previously discussed Beyoncé being booed at the CMAs during an interview with The Texas Standard. He also noted how that moment helped inspire her to create the album “Cowboy Carter.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Atlanta Black Star (@atlblackstar) "This is a woman who’s actually from Texas, from Houston," Perez reminded readers. "And so she has been in this country space, this cowboy space. She was born into it. Now, whether she chooses to do an album or not is on her. But when she was shunned at the CMAs prior to making her album, I believe that that was the fuel for making it, and also for representing what her people have done for decades in this country." "So she’s kind of like dismantling the idea of erasure in Black people in country music and showing that we have the right to be there, we have a right to be recognized in that category because we are a part of it," he added. "High Horse: The Black Cowboy" is currently available to stream on Peacock.
