Tina Knowles Recounts Near-Death Scare for Daughter Beyoncé, Details Own Cancer Battle
Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles, shared anxieties over her daughter's aerial performance and discussed her own stage one breast cancer diagnosis during a recent television appearance.
Tina Knowles, mother of superstar Beyoncé, detailed a frightening moment when her daughter’s aerial stage prop malfunctioned during a performance. Knowles recounted the incident, which occurred last June while Beyoncé was singing "16 Carriages" in Houston, during an appearance on the morning television show "This Morning."
Knowles described her panic as the car-shaped prop tilted precariously mid-air. "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 said. She noted that Beyoncé, despite the danger, continued to sing while "literally holding herself in it" to prevent falling. Knowles expressed her ongoing worry about Beyoncé’s aerial performances, especially in adverse weather conditions.
"That night, I fought my way to her and by the time I had got there, they had gotten her down, but she was holding herself in - she's an athlete, she's very strong," Knowles stated. "She had to hold herself in to keep from falling out. It was so dangerous. She drives me crazy. Stop flying."
Knowles also shared her personal health journey, revealing her diagnosis with stage one breast cancer in July 2024. She attributed the delay in her routine screening to the COVID-19 pandemic, which she believes may have allowed the cancer to progress further than if caught earlier. "As women, we nurture everyone else and take care of them and I missed my mammogram because of Covid. I thought I had it," she explained.
"If I had gone earlier, I would have had stage zero. And if I had gone later, I would have had stage four," Knowles said. "It's the gift of God that I finally went and had the time." She emphasized the importance of women prioritizing their health and attending regular screenings. "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, from Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Daniel, from her daughter Solange. She commented on her grandchildren's unfiltered nature, stating, "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."