Tina Knowles has accused a Kentucky Derby employee of allowing a white couple to cut her in line on the red carpet.
Knowles, 71, has attended the soiree at least two times, but recalled one particular event during an appearance on Peacock’s High Horse: The Black Cowboy which served as a ‘big wake-up call’ for her.
‘It was a very big wake-up call for me to attend the Kentucky Derby and to see this closed-off culture,’ she said. ‘I mean, just blatant, on the red carpet, someone came up and said, “Oh, Tina Knowles is next.”
‘And the other young lady walked up and said, “Oh no, because we need a -” and ran right into my face.’
Knowles then added as if she was finishing the staffer’s sentence for her: ‘And I said, “a white person?”
She claimed the staffer in question then ‘just went behind me, got the couple behind me and got them on.’
Tina Knowles has accused The Kentucky Derby of allowing a white couple to cut her in line at the red carpet
‘It’s racially charged there,’ she further alleged. ‘There’s a lot of racially charged energy.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for the Kentucky Derby and Knowles for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Knowles has attended the event at least two times – once in 2018 and again last year.
High Horse: The Black Cowboy is a three-part docuseries on Peacock which reveals ‘the story of the Black cowboy, whose history has been stolen, erased and left untold.’
The Kentucky Derby dates back to the late 19th century, and is now one of the most prestigious horse races in the world.
Founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the race was inspired by horse racing events Clark witnessed in Europe.
The first Kentucky Derby was held on May 17, 1875, and its attendance continues to grow year after year, attracting spectators from all over the world.
Dressing up for the derby has become a longstanding tradition that adds to the excitement and glamour of the exciting event.
Each year, attendees show up in colorful outfits and decadent dresses – as well as their most head-turning hats.
The documentary comes just months after Knowles revealed her secret cancer battle in a candid on-camera interview.
Knowles said she was recently diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer after doctors discovered two tumors during a mammogram appointment.
The fashion designer, who is the mother of Beyoncé and Solange with ex-husband Mathew Knowles, said her daughters supported her through the horrific time by lifting her spirits at hospital appointments.
Knowles attended the derby with her then-husband Richard Lawson in 2018
Knowles pictured at the 2018 derby alongside the now-disgraced Diddy
‘I was nervous,’ she told Gayle King on CBS Mornings. ‘And so they started just joking with me.’
Knowles said Solange also played a viral video about the word ‘demure’ to cheer her up at one point.
‘I start laughing. I get out of my head… Then I said, “I’m just so happy that y’all are here”,’ she said about the touching moment.
Knowles said Solange and her niece Angie Beyincé also sang the song ‘Walk With Me’ to her before one of her surgeries.
‘It’s about God walking with you into something and protecting you,’ Knowles said through tears. ‘And I went in there feeling just like God has got me.’
Knowles added that although she’s recovered from the cancer, she suffered significant hurdles along the way.
The documentary comes just months after Knowles revealed her secret cancer battle in a candid on-camera interview; pictured October 2025
She told CBS Mornings she contracted a post-surgical infection so bad that she almost bailed on Glamour’s 2024 Women of the Year event in October.
Knowles said Beyoncé in particular urged her to rest rather than attend the event – but she pushed through because it was important to her.
‘A lot of my life, I just refused to be recognized. I would never take an award. I would never want the attention to me … and this was my saying, “I deserve this,”‘ she said.
Knowles also revealed that her cancer might have been caught sooner if she hadn’t delayed her mammogram appointment.
Doctors told her that if she maintained regular screenings, which are scheduled every one to two years for women over the age of 55, the cancer may have been caught at Stage 0 instead of Stage 1.
