Rapper Jay-Z’s mother has told of the support she received from her son over her sexuality.
Gloria Carter spoke as she was presented with a special recognition gong at the GLAAD Media Awards, for her contribution to Jay-Z’s song Smile.
She told the audience: “Smile became a reality because I shared with my son who I am. For me, this was the first time that I spoke to anyone about who I really am.
“My son cried and said, ‘It must have been horrible to live that way for so long’. My life wasn’t horrible. I chose to protect my family from ignorance. I was happy but I was not free.”
Jay-Z spoke to David Letterman about his mother (Yui Mok/PA)
She thanked her partner for “helping me free myself from being in the shadows”.
Jay-Z has previously told how he cried with joy when he had his first conversation with his mother about her sexuality.
“For my mother, to have to live as someone that she wasn’t and hide and protect her kids for all this time, and for her to sit in front of me and tell me, ‘I think I love someone’ – I really cried,” he told David Letterman on his Netflix talk show.
Jay-Z’s mother tells of son’s support over sexuality
