The internet exploded when Beyoncé and Jay-Z stepped out for the latter's acceptance of the "Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Award" at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy Gala last night. Per usual, their outfits were on-point, their power couple poses slayed, and they seemed to be the very embodiment of a superstar fairy tale.
But it's important to recognise the hard work and turmoil behind the easy smiles and coordinated ensembles. In fact, Jay-Z spent the first part of the day speaking frankly about fixing the fissures in his high-profile marriage — so famously documented on both Lemonade and 4:44 — in an interview for CNN's The Van Jones Show.
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Calling Beyoncé his "soulmate, the person I love," the "Family Feud" rapper explained how the couple struggled to get back on track following his infidelity.
"You can be in love with someone, and if you haven't experienced love and you don't understand it and you don't have the tools to move forward, then you're going to have complications, period," he told Jones. "You can either address it, or you can pretend until it blows up at some point.
"For us, we chose to fight for our love," he continued. "For our family. To give our kids a different outcome. To break that cycle for black men and women, to see a different outcome. We were never a celebrity couple — we were a couple that happened to be celebrities. We are real people."
Things took a topical turn when Jay-Z addressed the ongoing #MeToo movement, Colin Kaepernick — "Would you rather be playing football getting your head dinged in, or would you rather be an iconic figure for the rest of your life?" — and Donald Trump's presidency.
The father of three called #MeToo a "learning experience" and proof that society had "normalised" men's abuse of power.
"This had to happen for everything to purge itself," he noted.
Hip hop legend Jay-Z tells CNN's @VanJones68 that #MeToo "needed to be uncovered for the world to correct itself" #VanJonesShow https://t.co/3140xI6kNt https://t.co/t9IgKmO9DQ
— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2018
And if you're wondering why President Trump is tweeting about Jay-Z this fine Sunday morning, it's because the Grammy winner spoke out against his treatment of the Black community, and called his comments about "shithole" countries "hurtful."
Jay-Z also dismissed Trump's claims that his policies, specifically a record-low Black unemployment rate, were beneficial to the community. Strangely, Trump must have fast-forwarded through that part of the interview, hence this tweet.
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Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018
Jones was quick to point out that Jay-Z obviously had already addressed the unemployment rate. Stay tuned for the next salvo in the Hova vs. POTUS beef, which will hopefully ultimately culminate in some sort of Hamilton-style rap battle.
Someone needs to inform @realdonaldtrump that I ALREADY asked Jay Z whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency. And Jay’s answer last night on the #VanJonesShow was POWERFUL !!! ... Watch the VIDEO for yourself: https://t.co/7Sv3rHKkmW https://t.co/jbHpkKOM5o
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) January 28, 2018
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