Tina Knowles apologises for liking post that criticises Janet Jackson

‘What I am guilty of is liking posts, going through when I’m in a big hurry,’ Knowles says

Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, has issued an apology for liking a post that criticised Janet Jackson.

The 70-year-old business woman took to Instagram on 23 January to address how her recent Instagram activity has been making headlines. Her video came after fans pointed out that she’d liked a post where someone was upset about expensive prices for Jackson’s concert. The post in question read: “What a joke. You want Beyoncé prices, have real production.” The post also included screenshots of the VIP packages for Jackson’s show, with “the Gold Janet Jackson VIP Lounge Package" priced at $839.95.

In the Instagram video, Knowles started off by acknowledging that she’d received a phone call about “trending” on social media for “liking a post about ticket prices”. She then clarified that she understands what it costs to make certain concerts happen, given the work that her daughter did for her Renaissance tour.

“First of all, being on the other side of that, I know better than anyone what a great production costs, and that it’s expensive,” she said. “And I would never criticise another artist, let alone Janet Jackson, who is the queen of production. And her family.”

After emphasising that she loves Jackson’s music, she then expressed that she “stays away from negativity” on the internet. She also acknowledged that she regrets liking the Instagram post in the first place, noting that she didn’t initially see how Jackson’s ticket prices were being scrutinised.

“If you follow me, then you know that I’m not involved in the mess,” she said. “What I am guilty of is liking posts, going through when I’m in a big hurry, and I don’t have time to really read and liking things because I trust that these are people that I follow. That was a big mistake. I will never do that again.”

She concluded: “So I just want you to hear it from my mouth that I would absolutely never do that.”

In the caption, Knowles expressed how she was “saddened” by the speculation that she didn’t support Jackson, after liking the Instagram post about the concert prices. She then continued to praise Jackson, before revealing her daughter is also a huge fan of the “Scream” singer.

“Janet Jackson is an icon and I would never question another artist. I took Destiny’s Child to see Janet when they were 15 years old,” Knowles wrote. “They always looked up to her and she opened doors for Beyonce. Why would I hate on her?”

She concluded her caption by acknowledging that she’s going to learn from her mistake and be more mindful of what she likes on Instagram.

“I know now not to be in a rush and to be very careful. (I learned my lesson)! Especially when I have so much going on... I just wanted to clarify,” Jackson wrote. “I do know that you can see people’s likes so I would be pretty dumb to do that.”

In the comments, many fans praised Knowles for shutting down the speculation that she supported the criticism over Jackson’s concert ticket prices. Other Instagram users also expressed how they could relate to the business woman’s mistake.

“I love that Momma Tina be clearing folks and getting things straight, because Bey gonna leave yall on ‘READ’!” one wrote, while another added: “I just be liking posts too Mama Tina! I understand.”

A third added: “No explanation needed Mama! They can stay mad, we dgaf. We know you and we love you, you look AMAZING btw, glowing and all!!!”