Beyoncé’s mum, Tina Knowles, has hit back at critics who suggested Beyoncé lightened her skin for the premiere of the Renaissance film.

The singer paired a metallic silver dress with platinum blonde hair at the premiere on Saturday. Some social media users commented that she looked “white”.

In an Instagram post, Tina Knowles defended her daughter and argued that the comments were “racist”. The post has been liked nearly 300,000 times.

“She does a film, called the Renaissance, where the whole theme is silver with silver hair, a silver carpet, and suggested silver attire and you bozos decide that she’s trying to be a white woman and is bleaching her skin?” Knowles wrote. “How sad is it that some of her own people continue the stupid narrative with hate and jealousy.” She added that Beyoncé wore platinum hair to match her silver dress as a “fashion statement”. 

“Black women have worn platinum hair since the Etta James days,” she continued. “I just went and looked at all the beautiful talented black celebrities who have worn platinum hair and it has been just about everyone of them at one time or another. Are they all trying to be white?”

She went on to say that she is “sick and tired” of people “attacking” her daughter. “Every time she does something that she works her ass off for and is a statement of her work ethic, talent and resilience [...] you sad little haters come out the woodwork. Jealousy and racism, sexism, double standards, you perpetuate those things instead of celebrating a sister or just ignoring if you don't like her.”

“I am sick of you losers. I know that she is going to be pissed at me for doing this, but I am fed up,” she added. “This girl minds her own business. She helps people whenever she can. She lifts up and promotes black women and underdogs at all times.”

Knowles posted the caption alongside a video montage of Beyoncé set to her song “Brown Skin Girl”. The song, released in 2019, champions Blackness and features vocals from Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy. “When I see fathers singing ‘Brown Skin Girl’ to their daughters, to know that my daughter can have the same opportunities and feel confident and feel like she doesn't have to take her braids down and she can comb her afro out and she can glisten in her brown skin... that is why I make music,” she said following the song’s release.