Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Charlotte McLaughlin

Beyonce warns mother ‘not to spill the tea’ in her memoir

Beyonce gave a message of her support ahead of the launch of her mother’s book (Gareth Fuller/PA) - (PA Archive)

Beyonce has praised her mother Tina Knowles for releasing a memoir, but warned her to not “spill too much Mama tea”.

Knowles worked as a stylist for superstar girl group Destiny’s Child and has helped Beyonce with outfits during her solo career along with running a fashion brand with her daughter.

The 70-year-old revealed on Tuesday she will release Matriarch as a “chronicle of family love and heartbreak, of loss and perseverance, and of the kind of creativity, audacity, and will it takes for a girl from Galveston, Texas, to change the world”.

Shortly after the announcement, Beyonce wrote on Instagram: “Mama, I couldn’t be prouder. My love for you goes beyond what I can say.

“You put your heart into this book. I’m happy for you to share some of the stories that shaped you into who you are. To know you is to love you. But please don’t spill too much Mama Tea.”

Spilling the tea is a term used to describe gossip or private information shared with someone else.

Matriarch will also touch on “one brilliant woman’s intimate and revealing story, and a multigenerational family saga — and the wisdom that women pass on to each other, mothers to daughters, across generations”.

Knowles said: “When I had a family of my own, I believed that my daughters needed to know where they came from to know where they were going.

“I am calling this book Matriarch, because what inspires me is the wisdom that women pass on to each other, generation to generation — and the inner wisdom we long to uncover in ourselves.

“Even at 70 I am still learning valuable lessons — revelations that I wish that I would have had at 40 or even 20. So, I have decided to tell my story, because I know what it means to me and my daughters and future generations of women.”

She recently appeared with Beyonce at a Kamala Harris campaign event in Texas as they endorsed the vice-president and Democrat presidential  nominee to become the next leader of the US.

Knowles was married to Beyonce’s father and former manager Mathew Knowles up until her filing divorce papers in 2009.

She was recently in a relationship with Beauty In Black actor Richard Lawson, until 2023 when she reportedly filed for divorce.

Knowles put out lifestyle book Destiny’s Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty, And Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny’s Child in 2002.

Matriarch will be released on April 22 2025.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.