Jay-Z has spoken out against critics who think his daughter Blue Ivy didn't work hard to become a backup dancer on his wife 's recent world tours.
with GQ magazine, during which he defended 14-year-old Blue's work ethic.
The teenager joined mom Beyonce, 44, on stage for her back-to-back in 2023 and 2025.
Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, explained that his daughter blossomed between the first and second tours.
'On the first tour there was a lot of conversation around her first performance, and she worked really hard to get to that point, but she still wasn’t going for it. She still was going through the motions,' he recalled.
'And then she just started fighting back. I saw her fight maybe for the first time in her life – like, not everything is just given to her and everything is easy. She fought for it.'
Jay-Z, 56, has spoken out against critics who think his daughter Blue Ivy didn't work hard to become a backup dancer on his wife Beyonce's recent world tours; Pictured in February 2024
The rapper sat down for a rare interview with GQ magazine, during which he defended 14-year-old Blue's work ethic
The proud dad also noted that he was protective over which songs he felt comfortable with her dancing to.
'She's almost on every number. I had to take her off some, like, “Man, you can’t be on that stage when [Beyonce's] singing "Six-inch heels…"; are you crazy?”' he added.
'Not everything is just given to her and everything is easy. She fought for it,' he said about his teenage daughter; pictured in February 2025
The teenager joined mom Beyonce, 44, on stage for her back-to-back Renaissance and Cowboy Carter tours in 2023 and 2025
The Brooklyn-bred rapper was interviewed by GQ to mark 30 years of his music career; Seen with Beyonce in 2024
Elsewhere in the magazine profile, Jay-Z spoke about the value of parenthood and family: 'It gives everything meaning, everything. I’ll go cross-country, do what I have to do, and I’m back on the plane that night.'
