Arts & Entertainment

Jay-Z says he cried with joy when his mother came out to him

Gloria Carter admitted she was in love while the rapper was working on his album

Published

8 years ago

April 4, 2018

Mariah Cooper

Jay-Z (Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)

Jay-Z got candid about his mother coming out to him during an interview on David Letterman’s Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.”

Gloria Carter came out to the public on Jay-Z’s track “Smile” from his latest album “4:44.”

“Living in the shadow/Can you imagine what kind of life it is to live?” Carter says in a monolugue. “In the shadows people see you as happy and free/Because that’s what you want them to see/Living two lives, happy, but not free.”

Jay-Z also detailed his mother’s trauma from being closeted rapping, “Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian/ Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian/ Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/ Society shame and the pain was too much to take.”

The rapper also explained to Letterman that when his mother came out to him he cried tears of joy.

“For her to sit in front of me and tell me ‘I think I love someone’ – I mean, I really cried,” Jay-Z says. “That’s a real story. I cried because I was so happy for her that she was free.”

Jay-Z went on that while he knew his mother was gay she had never discussed her sexuality with him.

“This was the first time we had the conversation,” Jay-Z says. “And the first time I heard her say she loved her partner. Like, ‘I feel like I love somebody.’ She said ‘I feel like.’ She held that little bit back, still. She didn’t say ‘I’m in love,’ she said ‘I feel like I love someone.’ And I just, I cried. I don’t even believe in crying because you’re happy. I don’t even know what that is. What is that?”

Jay-Z’s full interview with Letterman premieres on Netflix on April 6.

Watch below.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival

LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town

Published

16 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Michael Key

A scene from the 2026 Fredericksburg Pride March. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Egypt

Iran, Egypt play in World Cup ‘Pride Match’

FIFA allowed Pride flags inside Seattle stadium

Published

2 days ago

June 28, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

(Screen capture via KOMO News/YouTube)

Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.

Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.

Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”

Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.

FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.

“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”

Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.

“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”

“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.

“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.