Another ‘Lemonade’ Denial: Beyoncé’s Dad Says He Never Hit Her & Doesn’t Know If The LP Is Autobiographical

Beyoncé‘s fiery breakup-to-make-up album Lemonade has the world convinced that it’s based on her marriage and Jay Z‘s alleged infidelity. And now the star’s father and former manager, Matthew Knowles, is the latest potential Lemonade character to deny that he was depicted in the project, saying he never abused his daughter.

In the Lemonade film, Beyoncé recites poetry by Somali-British poet Warsan Shire, and one line in particular reads “Are you a slave to the back of his hand? Am I talking about your husband or your father?” Knowles has come out ahead of a trial-by-Twitter by flatly denying that he ever hit his daughter.

'Lemonade' Review:: We give Bey's latest visual album a perfect score

“I can say I have never in my life hit my daughter,” he told Sirius XM radio, according to Us Weekly. “So she has never been a slave to the back of my hand because I didn’t believe in that.”

As for whether the album contained literal references to Matthew Knowles’ own infidelity or to Jay Z’s rumored cheating, he couldn’t say. “Only Beyoncé can answer specifically who she was talking to…I would rather not get into speculation. My answer is I don’t know.”

Of course, the assumption that the album alludes to actual events and people has caused listeners to parse lyrics and search for their real-world inspirations, which has led to a witch hunt for the real “Becky with the good hair.”