People are accusing Mathew Knowles of having selective memory and throwing serious shade during a recent interview. While chatting with New York’s PIX 11 anchor Kendis Gibson for the “Kandid with Kendis” segment, Knowles, known for bringing Destiny’s Child, and of course, Beyoncé, to the world, had some questionable things to say when ex-wife Tina Knowles’ contributions to the group’s success was mentioned.
“You’ve earned your flowers. I said the same thing to Ms. Tina Knowles. You guys put in the work, and obviously the talent was there, with your kids and your grandkids,” Gibson said.
Mr. Knowles asked, confused, “What work did she put in?”
Gibson, apparently flabbergasted, responded, “The hair.” Tina owned her own hair salon at the time and was best known for creating the group’s costumes when designers wouldn’t dress them during their early years.
“Ok, you’re absolutely right, and the styling. The imaging. You’re right,” Mathew agreed.
“It’s a joint effort,” Gibson added. “We’ll stop now,” Knowles said, standing up to end the interview.
“Did I say something wrong?” Gibson asked, to which Mathew said, “No.”
When Mathew was later asked why he left abruptly, he accused Gibson of straying from the focus of the interview and focusing too much on Tina, “when the interview was supposed to be about Destiny Child’s tribute concert.” He also accused the journalist of being tardy.
“How it starts is how it ends. It started on a bad note, and obviously ended on a bad note for him,” Mathew said.
“I politely ended the interview, shook his hand, and took a photograph,” he added.
An insider debunked Mr. Knowles’ claims, telling Page Six that Gibson did indeed come on time for the interview and that there weren’t excessive questions about Tina.
“He was giving them their flowers. He was praising them for the work they’ve done,” the source said.
Tina and Mathew have been divorced since 2011, but they were married for 31 years prior to splitting up. They both moved on and eventually remarried. Mathew tied the knot with Gena Avery in 2013. Tina married Richard Lawson in 2015, but they eventually divorced in 2023.
In Tina’s memoir Matriarch, she went into detail about why their longtime relationship unraveled despite consistent efforts to make it work.
“There were already problems in our marriage that first year,” Knowles wrote, detailing that he had a continuous problem with fidelity. “But the suspicions I had would get washed away by the fact that our love was stronger than a misstep…It was us against the world, taking on what life brought us.”