Beyoncé’s dad, Mathew Knowles, is choosing to not speculate about the narrative of her new visual album, Lemonade, but wants listeners to be sure of one thing — he has never physically hurt his daughter.
During an interview with Mark Thompson’s Sirius XM show Make It Plain on Monday, April 25, Knowles, 64, addressed the spoken poem that Beyoncé recites during the “Accountability” segment of her hourlong feature.
Prior to belting out the track “Daddy Lessons,” Beyoncé, 34, reads a few lines written by Somali British poet Warsan Shire: “Did he convince you that he was God? … Are you a slave to the back of his hand? Am I talking about your husband or your father?"
According to Knowles, the track isn’t about him.
“I can say I have never in my life hit my daughter," Knowles said. “So she has never been a slave to the back of my hand because I didn't believe in that."
Bey’s dad also declined to join in on the debate about who the album is about. (The narrative of Lemonade revolves around Beyoncé coming to terms with her unfaithful lover, which her biographer argues is not about husband Jay Z.)
"There's no way we can get into the mind of Beyoncé," he responded when asked if the album has to do with his relationship with ex-wife, Tina. "Only Beyoncé can answer specifically who she was talking to. … I would rather not get into speculation. My answer is I don't know."
Knowles concluded that he’s “very proud” of Beyoncé and that Lemonade is “probably” her “best body of work.”
