Rachel Roy speaks: 'There is no truth to the rumors' that she's Jay Z's 'side chick'
From the moment Lemonade debuted Saturday, the Beyhive's been buzzing incessantly: Who is "Becky with the good hair," the "side chick" Beyoncé so fiercely calls out in the visual album's fourth track, "Sorry"?
Though the mystery remains, at least one celebrity is saying she's not the Becky you're looking for: Designer Rachel Roy, who released a statement to People Tuesday that says, in part, "There is no validity to the idea that the song references me personally. There is no truth to the rumors."
You May Also Like
It's possible, of course, that there is no "Becky." The name's been used as a metonym for "basic white girl" since at least the "Baby Got Back" era.
Even so, speculation quickly seized on a specific person: Roy, whose history with Beyoncé, Beyoncé's husband Jay Z, and Jay's former business partner Damon Dash is, unlike Becky's hair, long and tangled.
It didn't help matters that shortly after Lemonade premiered, Roy appeared to make a reference to the album on Instagram -- writing "good hair, don't care" and "#nodramaqueens" next to a picture of her and a friend.
Roy eventually deleted the photo, made her Instagram private, and tried to refute the raid fans flooding her social media accounts with a tweet -- but the damage had been done.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Now Roy is speaking out directly, attempting to shoot down the rumors with a clear statement. Here it is in full, via People:
"I want to put the speculation and rumors to rest. My Instagram post was meant to be fun and lighthearted, it was misunderstood as something other than that," she said. "There is no validity to the idea that the song references me personally. There is no truth to the rumors.
"Consequently, online haters have targeted me and my daughters in a hurtful and scary manner, including physical threats. As a mother – and I know many mothers would agree – I feel that bullying in any form is harmful and unacceptable.
"I would hope that the media sees the real issue here – the issue of cyber bullying – and how it should not be tolerated by anyone."
Your move, Rita Ora.
Topics Music
Hillary Busis was Mashable's Deputy Entertainment Editor. Her coverage focused on the film and television industry. A graduate of Columbia, Hillary previously worked as a digital news editor at Entertainment Weekly, where she also cohosted a weekly show on EW's Sirius XM Radio channel. Her work has been featured in Vulture, Slate and the Wall Street Journal, among other publications, and she's also appeared as a guest on the 'Today' show and HuffPost Live.
