Tina Knowles opens up about early run-ins with Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson

Tina Knowles in her memoir Matriarch which was released on April 22, 2025, recalled her and her daughter Beyonce's early run-ins with Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. Knowles mentions that her and the Destiny's Child members were treated differently behind the scenes for being black, as compared to Britney and Jessica.

Tina Knowles revealed that when bandmates, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and Farrah Franklin went to Disney World in Orlando, Fla, for a show in 2000 where Jessica was also present, the latter got a larger dressing room, which Simpson "thought was strange too."

In the book, she writes that the event organizers made "an assumption that we were trouble" and felt that they spoke to Simpson in a "singsong Disney voice" but "were very rigid with the girls, repeating themselves as if they were dumb."

In one incident, Tina Knowles's then-husband and group's manager, Matthew Knowles, "saw a goofy costume backstage and decided to put it on to make the girls laugh" and was "scolded" for his action.

Tina Knowles used to create outfits for the members due to budget restrains and Sony, where the band was signed at the time, mentioned that she could no longer make the costumes after the success of their second album, The Writing's on the Wall. She also recalled Matthew noting that executives felt the band's style was "too Texas" and also described their look as "Motown."

"Matthew and I both knew what this was code for. They were Black, and any kind of Black was too Black. Butthe girls are black."

However, Britney Spears acknowledged her skills for costume making when she ran into the star at one of the shows in Germany and said, 'One day, Miss Tine, you've please got to do something for me."

Destiny's Child was a R&B and Hip-Hop group that gained popularity after they initially formed in 1997 before separating in 2007.

"We were big Motown fans," - says Tina Knowles about the inspiration behind Destiny's Child's outfits

While speaking to Washington Post in August, 2020 in a recorded conversation, Tina Knowles, revealed that she was pressurized to change Destiny's Child's look.

Destiny's Child had a signature style, including over-the-top colorful and sequined outfits. While speaking about the inspiration behind the style, Tina said,

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"We were big Motown fans."

She mentioned that the girls looked at tapes of Motown, and the costumes they wore. She added the label had a meeting with her then-husband, Matthew Knowles where they told him that Tina was "the problem" and the reason "why the girls would be limited in their crossover appeal." They also allegedly implied that the girls were a "little too flashy, a little too Motown" which Knowles thinks is translation for "a little too Black."

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