Jay-Z has spoken out about the 2014 elevator fight with his sister-in-law Solange Knowles after the Met Gala for the first time, more than three years after the incident took place.
“We had one disagreement ever. Before and after we’ve been cool,” Jay-Z said in a recent interview with Rap Radar hosts Elliott Wilson and Brian “B.Dot” Miller. “She’s like my sister. I will protect her. That’s my sister, not my sister-in-law. My sister. Period.”
He added, “We’ve always had a great relationship. I fought my brothers and argued with my brothers my whole life. It just so happens, who we are, these things go into a different space. But it ain’t nothing.”
In May 2014, a video was released that showed Solange Knowles apparently attacking her brother-in-law verbally and physically in an elevator at the Standard Hotel after the Met Gala. There was no audio. Beyonce present as well, only intervening once for a brief moment.
After the video went viral, the family released a joint statement, which said “As a result of the public release of the elevator security footage from Monday, May 5th, there has been a great deal of speculation about what triggered the unfortunate incident. But the most important thing is that our family has worked through it.”
They also denied that Solange was drunk or displayed any “erratic behavior” that night and said the dustup was a family problem like any family has.
Jay-Z stayed silent about the incident since then, although seemed to reference the brawl in his song, “Kill Jay-Z,” off of his new album “4:44.”
“You egged Solange on / Knowin’ all along, all you had to say you was wrong / You almost went Eric Benét,” he rapped. “Let the baddest girl in the world get away / I don’t even know what else to say / N—a, never go Eric Benét.”
Watch the interview above.