If you don’t know the name Rachel Roy, you’re either not a Beyonce fan, or you’re such a big Beyonce fan that you’ve blocked the accused side chick from your memory.
Either way, allow us to bring you up to speed:
Shortly after the release of Queen Bey’s “visual album,” Lemonade, Roy seemed to out herself as Jay Z’s cheating partner with an Instagram post alluding to some accusatory lyrics.
Roy tried to clarify her comments shortly thereafter, but the damage had already been done, and she’s been under attack from Mrs. Carter’s devoted “Bey Hive” ever since.
Now, the 42-year-old designer has clearly had enough of the online harassment, and this morning she issued a statement to People magazine accusing the obsessive Hive-minders of cyber bullying:
“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,” Ray 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.”
By appealing to the compassion of all mothers, Roy may be subtly imploring Beyonce to call off her dogs.
Obviously, Bey never instructed her fans to behave in this fashion, but there’s a good chance she could stop the madness by encouraging them to cool it on the attack campaigns.
In addition to the insults they’ve hurled at Roy, the Bey Hive has also gone on the offensive against Rita Ora, another former associate of Jay’s who’s been on the receiving end of mistress accusations.
There’s no iron-clad evidence against either woman, but that hasn’t stopped the Hive from playing judge, jury and executioner on Instagram.
The irony of the fact that Beyonce is a prominent feminist figure who advocates women lifting one another up rather than tearing them down seems to be lost on her fans.
