Kelly Rowland applauds Jay-Z’s Grammys speech: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of him’

The ex-Destiny’s Child singer praised Jay-Z for calling out the Recording Academy for its history of snubbing his wife, her former groupmate.

Kelly Rowland has nothing but good things to say about friend Jay-Z’s speech at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

The 42-year-old ex-Destiny’s Child singer praised the rapper for his notable speech — which addressed Beyoncé’s Album of the Year Grammy snubs — during an interview at the “Bob Marley: One Love” movie premiere on Tuesday. 

“Shawn Carter is one of the greatest men I know, and his words ring so loud to me,” Rowland told Entertainment Tonight. “I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

“I’m just really happy for a lot of things that he said,” Rowland added. “I think that he made a lot of artists feel very seen and very heard in those minutes that he took on stage.”

Jay-Z was honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at this year’s 66th annual Grammy Awards, where he took the opportunity to call out the Recording Academy for never awarding Beyoncé — his wife of nearly 26 years and Destiny’s Child’s former lead vocalist — its Album of the Year trophy, despite her many accolades and chart-topping singles. The rap icon noted in his acceptance speech that Bey is the most-decorated Grammy winner, yet has never won Album of the Year. 

“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady [Beyoncé], but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won Album of the Year,” he said, their eldest daughter, Blue Ivy, standing aside him. “So, even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys … Never won Album of the Year. That doesn’t work.”

“Some of you gonna go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed,” he continued. “Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in a category. Now, when I get nervous, I tell the truth.”

Beyoncé has not commented on her husband’s speech, but she did smile during the broadcast while he was speaking.

The 42-year-old singer has been nominated for Album of the Year four times, but has never won the award. She was first nominated in 2010 for her 2008 album, “I Am…Sasha Fierce,” followed by a 2015 nomination for 2013’s “Beyoncé” and a 2017 nomination for “Lemonade,” which was released the year prior. She was most recently nominated last year for Album of the Year for her critically acclaimed 2022 album, “Renaissance,” which lost to Harry Styles’ LP, “Harry’s House.” 

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