Tina Knowles claims white couple was allowed to cut her in line at ‘racially-charged’ Kentucky Derby event

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Tina Knowles says a worker at the Kentucky Derby let a white couple move ahead of her in line on the red carpet.

71-year-old Knowles has been to the event at least twice, but she remembers one gathering in particular – which she discussed on Peacock’s High Horse: The Black Cowboy – as being a real eye-opener.

‘It was a very big wake-up call for me to attend the Kentucky Derby and to see this closed-off culture,’ she said. ‘I mean, just blatant, on the red carpet, someone came up and said, “Oh, Tina Knowles is next.” 

Then another young woman came over and started to say, “Oh no, because we need a…” before accidentally bumping into me.

Knowles jumped in, completing the staffer’s thought: ‘You mean a white person?’

She stated that the staff member then simply moved behind her, brought another couple forward, and began assisting them.

‘It’s racially charged there,’ she further alleged. ‘There’s a lot of racially charged energy.’

The Daily Mail reached out to the Kentucky Derby and Beyoncé’s team for a response, but they haven’t received one yet.

Knowles has attended the event at least two times – once in 2018 and again last year.

High Horse: The Black Cowboy is a three-part documentary series available on Peacock that shares the largely unknown history of Black cowboys, a story that has been overlooked and forgotten for too long.

The Kentucky Derby began in the late 1800s and has become one of the most famous and important horse races globally.

The race was started by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., whose grandfather was the famous William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clark was inspired to create the race after attending horse races in Europe.

The very first Kentucky Derby took place on May 17, 1875, and it has become increasingly popular ever since, drawing visitors from around the globe.

Getting dressed up for the Kentucky Derby is a beloved tradition that makes the event even more exciting and glamorous.

Every year, people attend dressed in bright, elaborate outfits, and they always make a statement with their incredible hats.

This documentary appears shortly after Beyoncé Knowles publicly shared her private struggle with cancer in a heartfelt interview.

Knowles recently learned she has Stage 1 breast cancer. Doctors found two tumors during a routine mammogram.

The fashion designer, and mother of Beyoncé and Solange (whose father is Mathew Knowles), shared that her daughters were a huge support during a very difficult time, cheering her up during trips to the hospital.

‘I was nervous,’ she told Gayle King on CBS Mornings. ‘And so they started just joking with me.’

Knowles mentioned that Solange even showed her a popular online video about the word ‘demure’ to lift her spirits.

She began to laugh, feeling a release from her own thoughts. Then, overwhelmed with emotion, she told everyone how happy she was that they were there.

Knowles shared that Solange and her niece, Angie Beyincé, performed the song ‘Walk With Me’ for her before she had surgery.

Knowles, visibly emotional, explained that it felt like God was with her, guiding and protecting her through a difficult situation. She entered the experience with a strong sense of divine support.

Knowles mentioned that while she has recovered from cancer, the journey was very challenging.

She revealed to CBS Mornings that a severe infection after surgery nearly prevented her from attending Glamour’s 2024 Women of the Year event in October.

Knowles shared that Beyoncé specifically encouraged her to prioritize rest and skip the event, but Knowles felt it was important enough to attend anyway, so she went despite feeling tired.

For much of my life, I avoided recognition. I wouldn’t accept awards or seek attention, and accepting this one felt like finally acknowledging my own worth, like saying, ‘I deserve this,’

Knowles shared that her cancer could have been detected earlier if she hadn’t put off getting a mammogram.

Doctors explained that if she had continued getting regular screenings – recommended every one to two years for women over 55 – her cancer might have been detected earlier, at Stage 0, instead of progressing to Stage 1.

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2025-11-20 22:38