Rachel Roy Denies She’s ‘Becky’ From Beyoncé’s Lemonade

3 minute read

The hunt for “Becky with the good hair” continues: Rachel Roy says she’s not the other woman that Beyoncé sings about in Lemonade, after fueling speculation by posting an Instagram picture referencing the line.

“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 told People magazine in a statement. “There is no validity to the idea that the song references me personally. There is no truth to the rumors.”

Here’s how this all began: On Saturday, Beyoncé dropped a new album in which she croons about being betrayed by a man. It’s up for debate whether these songs are fictional or based on her real-life experiences with husband Jay Z, but she asks, “Are you cheating on me?” and says, “You gonna lose your wife” while throwing her ring at the camera. (The later chapters of the album feature Jay Z and speak of reconciliation.)

During the song “Sorry” Beyonce sings, “Better call Becky with the good hair,” possibly alluding to one of the “side chicks” she talks about in the album. Ever since, Beyoncé’s fans, the Beyhive, have been on the hunt for this so-called Becky.

Their main target has been Rachel Roy, a fashion designer and the ex-wife of Jay Z’s former business partner, Damon Dash. After the visual album premiered on HBO Saturday, Roy posted a now-deleted Instagram picture captioned, “Good hair don’t care.”

The Beyhive swarmed, flooding Roy’s social media accounts with vitriol. (Meanwhile Rachel Ray, the cooking titan, took some abuse from fans who confused her with Roy.)

Roy walked back the Instagram post on Sunday, tweeting:

Now Roy wants to officially dispel rumors that she and Jay Z had an affair. She went on to say in her statement to People that she and her family have suffered from cyber bullying since the incident.

“Consequently, online haters have targeted me and my daughters in a hurtful and scary manner, including physical threats,” she said. “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.”

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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com