Who is Becky?
Recently Beyoncé dropped her latest
album Lemonade on Tidal and along
with it came a one-hour visual album. One of her song attracted a lot of
attention because of her lyrics that hinted that Jay Z, her husband, might have
cheated on her with a woman she referred to as “Becky with good hair”. Being
that Beyoncé is a popular hip-hop and R&B icon, her fans instantly when
crazy attempting to find out this “Becky with good hair” actually is. Her fan
or the “beehive” as they refer to themselves, went on the attack and accuses
Rita Ora, Rachel Roy, and as humorous mistake they went after Rachael Roy the
famous Food Network star. The media over exaggerated the validity of Beyoncé lyrics
and it lead to the social media attack of the possible Becky suspects and also
led to a negative connotation to the name Becky.
The song “Sorry” in Beyoncé’s new
album is getting a lot of attention in particular because of the part in the
song when she says, “He only
want me when I’m not there. He better call Becky with the good hair”. This
instantly sent the world into a frenzy, who is Becky? If the rumors are true
that Jay Z really did cheat on Beyoncé, then the bizarre fight back in 2014
when Solange, Beyoncé’s sister, attacked Jay Z was surely over this “Becky”
character. After that attack in the elevator it was speculated that it was over
Rihanna, so when the Becky lyrics came out she was an instant suspect. That
incident was during the Met Gala in 2015, this year it was Rita Ora that was in
the center of the drama as she was also a Beck suspect. She instantly shut
those rumors by first posting a mystory on snapchat of her wearing a bra with
lemons on it. She then added to her mystory later on in the night videos and
pictures of her and Beyoncé at the Met Gala throughout the night. Their
friendly companionship easily dismissed he rumors of Rita being Becky. The only
person left in the rumor mill was Rachel Roy.
Rachel Roy was married to Jay Z’s former best friend
Damon Dash from 2005-2009. Together they have two daughters Ava Dash and
Tallulah Ruth Dash. Rachel Roy posted on Instagram with the caption “Good hair
don’t care., but we will take good lighting, for selfies, or self truths,
always. Live in the light #nodramaqueens” (Rachel Roy Instagram)”. This instantly sent the beehive into frenzy.
Not only was her instagram attacked by Beyoncé fans, but also her daughter’s
social medias too. They posted bee and lemon emojis on al of her recent photos
and left rude nasty comments accusing her of being Becky. Her daughter actually
received physical threats on her Instagram. Roy released a statement to People
to clear her name from the rumors. "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 said in a statement to People. "There is no
validity to the idea that the song references me personally. There is no truth
to the rumors” (Hollywoodtake.com). She had to come to her defense because the
social media attacks were turning into cyber bullying. Most of the aggressive
comments were aimed at her being the one Jay Z cheated on her with. “The early
stages of infidelity disclosure as an emotional “roller coaster” (Softas-Nall,
334). This has definitely been a roller coaster for not only Beyoncé, but also
all those involved in the drama. I personally saw her Instagram before she made
it private and the comments on her photos were malicious and unnecessary. On a
lighter note, Food Network start Rachael Ray was mixed into the drama because
of the how similar her name was to Rachel Roys. Beyoncé fans comment on her
latest photo at the time of a BBQ pulled pork burger and left rude remarks and
lemon and bee emojis like they did on Rachel Roy’s Instagram. Many also
speculate that there really is no Becky and this was all a ploy by Beyoncé to
get more sales in her album and gain more publicity.
Aside from the drama surrounding whom this Becky with
good hair really is, singer Iggy Azalea had something to say about Beyoncé
using the name “Becky” to describe the mystery women. Iggy went to Twitter to
voice her opinion, “Don’t ever call me a Becky,” the 25-year-old wrote in a
series of tweets on Wednesday, April 27. “WE ALL KNOW ‘becky’ started because
you all think white girls just go around slobbing on everyones d--k. Im good on
being called that.” (usmagizine.com). She then was instantly attacked on
twitter by Beyoncé fans; they were tweeting rude remark and claiming that she
was calling Beyoncé a racist. Iggy followed up with another tweet, this time
aimed at Beyoncé’s fans, “No I dont think Beyonce is racist nor do i think
calling someone ‘BECKY’ is the same as a racial slur. I actually like her and
the project,” she tweeted. “BUT, no I dont think its great to use stereotypical
names to describe ANY race. I think we can all agree on that” (usmagazine.com).
Iggy Azalea has a good point, it seems unfair that Beyoncé drops the name Becky
and instead gets no backlash but if a white artist were to use a stereotypical
name that had a negative connotation with African Americans like Shanaynay or a
name that would be deemed “ghetto” by society. It is ironic because rumors are
that “Becky” is actually Rachel Roy, the former wife of Jay Z’s old best friend
Damon Dash. She is not even Caucasian, she was born in Monterey, California but
her mother is of Dutch decent and her father was born in Bengali, India.
Ultimately, the world may never know who “Becky with good
hair”. Whether it was a publicity stunt to get more album sales, or Rachel Roy
really did have a relationship with Jay Z and Beyoncé found out. From this
drama it was observed that Beyoncé fan base, the beehive, can be overprotective
of her and are not to be messed with. Also, using stereotypical name to
describe someone
This drama also led to hilarious memes and tweets:
Work Cited
Marquina, Sierra. "Iggy Azalea Chimes in on Beyonce's
'Becky' Lyric, Doesn't Think
It's 'Great to Use Stereotypical
Names'" Us Weekly. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.
Siegel, Melissa. "Jay Z Cheated With Rihanna, Rita Ora,
Rachel Roy, Mya Or None Of
The Above? Beyhive Goes Crazy,
Attacking Multiple 'Becky' Possibilities." Hollywood Take.
N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.
Softas-Nall, Basilia, et al. "Spousal disclosure of
extramarital relationships: Attitudes
of marriage and family
therapists." The Family Journal 16.4 (2008): 328-337.
I still live under a rock and haven't heard the song yet, but I really do think it's amazing how much of an impact Beyonce can have on our society. People were actually going crazy over this and it just blew my mind how quickly everything escalated on social media. It really makes me feel bad for her and her family in a way because I don't think there will ever be a time where they can just relax and not have their family issues all over the media. I really enjoyed your blog and how much knowledge you had on the subject...also the memes were hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog and I love Beyonces new album Lemonade too! I feel as though Beyonce isn't known to talk about herself in the media a lot and instead of talking about it on the news, she was able to talk about her life through music, which is amazing. When I listened to Sorry i never thought Becky as a name was ever intended to be a racist jab at all, what did people want Beyonce to say instead the actual name of the women who was sleeping with her husband? I think the album Lemonade will keep people talking for many years to come, not just because of Becky, but because of the other powerful messages that Beyonce is telling through her songs and the hour long music video movie that went along with Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteLove this blog! I find it comical how much people panicked over Beyonce's new hit songs. I personally think that Beyonce decided to make this album for more publicity, but I would love to know the actual truth on what is going on! I don't know why a celebrity would want everyone to know that their husband is cheating though? Anyways, I love this blog it was an awesome current media topic!
ReplyDeleteIt's really funny because as soon as I did hear this song I actually looked up who "becky" was because I wanted to know who Beyonce was talking about. She created such a stir and I think that has a direct relation to why she is so successful, she knows how to get people talking. I think its really interesting that a lot of artists have actually used Becky in their songs before and I never would've know this was a type of stereotypical name at all. This blog was really awesome I thought you did a great job highlighting such a current media topic!
ReplyDeleteThis topic is awesome! I think it shows how much people become involved in celebrities lives. I think Beyonce's new album is brilliant from a marketing standpoint. She is getting people talking and word if mouth is very effective. People are so intrigued by who Becky is and why Beyonce decided to bring her up in a song when she is happily married makes me question why she actually did it. It is crazy to see how defensive fans get over celebrities lives. With social media people are able to not only give positive feedback but also express how they feel about celebrities lives. People are able to create buzz and controversy online in hopes someone will see what they are saying. I think this is a great topic and I liked how you tied in tweets and memes at the end!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great topic to choose! I almost wrote mien on the Lemonade documentary, which is amazing and just explains so much about her new album! I think it is crazy how quick people judge someone. It also reminds me of that game telephone that was played as children. One minute someone says Rachel Roy and the next poor Rachel Ray is getting attacked by social media from all angles. I think it was a great way for Beyonce to say what she wanted to in a sly sneaky way. I also think its great how many people have now become more in love with Beyonce because they almost feel bad for her. Great way to make her album get known!
ReplyDelete