Jay Z and Rachel Roy: The alleged affair that may have inspired Beyoncé's 'Lemonade'

Bey isn't messing around when she says, "Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks."
 By 
Tricia Gilbride
 on 
Jay Z and Rachel Roy: The alleged affair that may have inspired Beyoncé's 'Lemonade'
Credit: mashable composite. david livingston/getty. kevin mazur/getty.

So who is Becky?

That was one question unanswered by Lemonade, besides, "How is Beyoncé even real?" Well, until it seemed that perhaps Becky herself answered the question. 

In "Sorry," Bey accuses her husband of cheating on her with, "Becky with the good hair." After Lemonade premiered, Rachel Roy, the fashion designer who has been rumored to have had an affair with Jay Z for years, Instagrammed what appeared to be shade at Beyoncé after Lemonade's debut. 


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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

“Good hair don’t care, but we will take good lighting, for selfies, or self truths, always. Live in the light #nodramaqueens,” she wrote. 

Roy previously interned at Rocawear, the fashion label started by Jay Z and producer Damon Dash, who also co-founded Roc-a-Fella records. Roy eventually became creative director of the women's and children's lines. 

In 2005, Jay Z bought Dash out of his share of Rocawear, Roy and Dash married and Roy started her own fashion label.

In 2009, Dash and Roy divorced, a year after Beyoncé and Jay-Z were married. Rumors that Roy and Jay Z had an affair came to a fever pitch after Solange attacked Jay Z in an elevator at the 2014 Met Gala. Fans speculated Solange was angry about Jay Z's relationship with Roy, who also attended the event. 

Now fans are pissed at Roy, writing furious comments on her Instagram and updating her Wikipedia page to reflect their rage. The BeyHive takes it as an order when Beyoncé says, "ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks."

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

They even mistakenly went after Rachel Ray.


Eventually, Roy made her Instagram account private and tweeted a message to her haters.



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Tricia Gilbride

Tricia Gilbride was a Reporter for Mashable Watercooler. Tricia focused on the intersection of celebrity culture and the Internet. Previously, she worked as a fashion writer and a social media manager. She also edits Women-Artists.org, a blog and annual print publication, and looks exactly like her cat.

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