Jon B. Under Fire Over Beyoncé Comments After Old Interview Resurfaces

BY Erika Marie 26.6K Views
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Jon B, Beyoncé
The R&B crooner is facing a bit of backlash.

Cancel Culture is coming for Jon B. The singer gained prominence back in the 1990s and went on deliver his hit singles like "Someone to Love," "They Don't Know," and his Tupac-assisted "Are You Still Down." Jon B continues to consistently tour and release music, but the singer has become a target of Cancel Culture after an interview clip resurfaced of him speaking about touring with Destiny's Child at the beginning of their career.

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"My first major tour was with Destiny's Child as the opening act for me and Jagged Edge as the opening act," he said. "So, we're all labelmates and we're all going to the radio stations to promote our records together all as a unit. I love that, because we don't do that anymore. You think about it, it was Beyonce in the beginning of her career, so I was looking at a little 16, 17-year-old Beyoncé just like [wide-eyed and mouth open]," he said as he laughed.

He continued to chuckle nervously. "I'm sorry but...'cause I'm a grown man at the time, it's kinda wrong, but you know. You already know," he added with a finger point. Quickly, he moves on to another subject. "It was awesome to be able to like, come up on the side of the stage while they're performing, Destiny's Child was doing the...back then it was 'Bills, Bills, Bills' and all these records and just watching them do their thing then come off the stage and be like 'Yay, that was really good. Kill it Jon!' Beyoncé telling me to kill it. That'd be huge now. If I could open up for Beyoncé now. Switch it around. It's definitely something fun to look back at."

People were not happy with hearing Jon speak about a teenaged Beyoncé in that fashion, especially following the accusations that recently made headlines regarding Jagged Edge and Destiny's Child. While the criticism is thick, there were some who didn't know why he would ever admit this on camera and others who don't believe that he did anything wrong. Watch his clip and check out a few mixed reactions below.


About The Author
Since 2019, Erika Marie has worked as a journalist for HotNewHipHop, covering music, film, television, art, fashion, politics, and all things regarding entertainment. With 20 years in the industry under her belt, Erika Marie moved from a writer on the graveyard shift at HNHH to becoming a Features Editor, highlighting long-form content and interviews with some of Hip Hop’s biggest stars. She has had the pleasure of sitting down with artists and personalities like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Salt ’N Pepa, Nick Cannon, Rah Digga, Rakim, Rapsody, Ari Lennox, Jacquees, Roxanne Shante, Yo-Yo, Sean Paul, Raven Symoné, Queen Naija, Ryan Destiny, DreamDoll, DaniLeigh, Sean Kingston, Reginae Carter, Jason Lee, Kamaiyah, Rome Flynn, Zonnique, Fantasia, and Just Blaze—just to name a few. In addition to one-on-one chats with influential public figures, Erika Marie also covers content connected to the culture. She’s attended and covered the BET Awards as well as private listening parties, the Rolling Loud festival, and other events that emphasize established and rising talents. Detroit-born and Long Beach (CA)-raised, Erika Marie has eclectic music taste that often helps direct the interests she focuses on here at HNHH. She finds it necessary to report on cultural conversations with respect and honor those on the mic and the hardworking teams that help get them there. Moreover, as an advocate for women, Erika Marie pays particular attention to the impact of femcees. She sits down with rising rappers for HNHH—like Big Jade, Kali, Rubi Rose, Armani Caesar, Amy Luciani, and Omerettà—to gain their perspectives on a fast-paced industry.