Tina Knowles Recounts Daughter Beyoncé's Mid-Air Scare and Her Own Cancer Battle

Tina Knowles, mother of global superstar Beyoncé, recently shared accounts of a frightening near-death experience her daughter faced during a concert and her own personal battle with breast cancer. Knowles discussed these events during an appearance on the television show "This Morning" to promote her new memoir, "Matriarch."

During the interview, Knowles recounted a moment last June when Beyoncé was performing the song "16 Carriages" while suspended above a crowd in a car-shaped prop. The prop tilted precariously mid-air, and Knowles described her panic as she rushed through the audience. "It was terrible," Knowles said. "I was on a platform, so I had to fight my way through the crowd because I knew what was going on but other people didn't."

She noted Beyoncé's professionalism in continuing to sing despite the dangerous situation. "She kept singing and the car was turning and she was literally holding herself in it – because she would have fallen out," Knowles explained. She also expressed ongoing anxiety about Beyoncé's aerial performances, especially in inclement weather. "Every time [she flies at her shows], I am like, 'Are you crazy? And it's raining...' and she's flying in a horseshoe and it's pouring down with rain."

Knowles was relieved when her daughter was safely brought down, stating that Beyoncé had to use her strength to prevent falling. "She had to hold herself in to keep from falling out. It was so dangerous. She drives me crazy. Stop flying," Knowles urged.

Knowles also disclosed her own health struggle, having been diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in July 2024. She attributed the delay in her routine screening to the COVID-19 pandemic. "As women, we nurture everyone else and take care of them and I missed my mammogram because of Covid. I thought I had it," Knowles said. She emphasized that an earlier screening might have detected the cancer at stage zero, while a later one could have meant stage four. "It's the gift of God that I finally went and had the time," she reflected.

She shared her diagnosis in her memoir to encourage other women to prioritize their health. "I want people to understand, especially women, that they need to go get their scans, they need to go and take care of themselves and make themselves a priority," Knowles stated. "Not making yourselves a priority, your kids can lose you, you're not even around for them, so it's really important."

Knowles is a grandmother to four children: Blue Ivy, and twins Sir and Rumi, with Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Daniel, aged 21, with her daughter Solange. She described her grandchildren as being liberating influences, appreciating their unfiltered honesty. "They have no filter, they are very blunt, they say things just as they are, which makes me more free, not to have shame about certain things," Knowles said.