Beyoncé's Fans Attack Rachel Roy, But Fail To Blame Jay Z For Cheating
Society always feels the need to attack "the other woman," but this is the opposite of what "Lemonade"—and feminism—stands for.
The BeyHive is attacking Jay Z's rumored lover Rachel Roy (not to be confused with Rachael Ray) after the fashion designer alluded to being the "Becky with the good hair" from Beyoncé's song "Sorry."
Beyoncé's visual concept album "Lemonade," released on April 23rd, is the singer's most vulnerable album yet. In it, she exposes the troubling turmoil of her marriage to Jay Z. She takes us through the heartbreaking journey of finding out her lover is cheating while she experiences betrayal, rage, apathy and sadness, before realizing that their love deserves a new shot to move "Forward."
The song "Sorry" raised a lot of eyebrows in the BeyHive. In addition to its being one of the better songs on the album, it also provides the most insight into those rumors that Jay Z cheated on Beyoncé with New York fashion designer Rachel Roy. Despite the name of the song, Beyoncé isn't the least bit sorry. In fact, the song just serves as one giant "fuck you" to her husband. "He only want me when I'm not there, he better call Becky with the good hair," she sings.
This left everyone wondering, who is Becky? Rachel's "close" relationship with Jay Z was blowing up the media right around the time Solange Knowles got into the elevator brawl with him, leading everyone to believe Jay Z was cheating on Beyoncé with Rachel. And Rachel's comments after "Lemonade" did not help those rumors. But are we placing the blame on the wrong person?
Rachel posted and later deleted an Instagram referring to her "good hair" right after "Lemonade's" debut.
She also posted this cryptic picture which features—you guessed it—lemons.
Queen Bey's fans trolled Rachel's Wikipedia page and updated her information, calling her "Becky with the good hair."
Trollers called her mean-spirited names like "Rachel Roach" and "Dusty Side Hoe that died under a lemonade stand."
Meanwhile, Rachel took to Twitter to say she respects love and marriage, and later made her Instagram private.
I'm not *at ALL* saying Rachel was right to taunt Beyoncé fans with those Instagram pictures. In fact, I think what she did was very petty—the opposite of "not being a drama queen."
But fans attacking the designer are neglecting the fact that Beyoncé's HUSBAND cheated. Why are we shaming her and not him?
Rachel's comments were trolled with bee and lemon emojis, while others called her a homewrecker. However, people didn't seem to call out Jay Z for actually cheating on his wife and causing her pain and heartbreak.
These negative and bullying comments towards Rachel actually defeat the purpose of "Lemonade" and "Sorry." In fact, people placing blame on her are missing the whole damn point.
1. "Sorry" is about female empowerment
In "Sorry," Beyoncé is surrounded by women, including the fabulous Serena Williams, and she's singing about how she's not sorry. She's not sorry for being the way she is and making her own mistakes. She acknowledges that her lover may have a side chick, but in no way does she call her out or tear her down. She's too busy slaying.
2. She's singing the song directly to her cheating lover as a way to say "fuck you"
"Middle fingers up, put them hands high,/Wave it in his face, tell him, boy, bye,/Tell him, boy, bye, middle fingers up/I ain't thinking 'bout you."
These lyrics are now ICONIC. Beyoncé is placing the blame on her husband and telling him to fuck off. Bye, Felicia.
3. She doesn't have time for him if he can't be committed to loving her back
While "Lemonade" provides an eye-opening glimpse into the cheating scandal, "Sorry" reveals something even more fascinating—that Beyoncé, too, made some mistakes in her marriage. It's evident in this revenge-heavy track. She sings:
"Now I'm the one that's lying/And I don't feel bad about it,/It's exactly what you get,/Stop interrupting my grinding,/I ain't thinking 'bout you."
Once again, the song is about herself and her husband, and she doesn't have the time or patience for anyone interrupting her fabulousness.
4. "Lemonade" is an ode to feminism
Can we talk about all of the amazing women who have cameos in the video? Serena Williams, Zendaya, Amandla Stenberg, and more. If anything, "Lemonade" shows the powerful ways women throughout generations have come together and been strong for one other. Bey says that she wanted to be like her mother when she was a little girl, and now she's being strong for Blue. She doesn't aim to bring anyone down, and instead believes women should come together, be uniquely themselves, and celebrate one another.
So while Rachel's comments might have been totally rude and unnecessary, let's stop making her the bad guy. If anything, we learned that Bey isn't sorry for the way she is and the mistakes she made. She owns them. She wants all of us queens to own who we are and never apologize for what feels right to us.
Bow down.
Note: Beyoncé has not revealed how true actually "Lemonade" is. There is no public confirmation that Jay Z actually cheated on her.