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Mathew Knowles Says If Beyonce Had Darker Skin, It Would Have 'Affected Her Success'

Mathew Knowles Says If Beyonce Had Darker Skin, It Would Have 'Affected Her Success'

Beyonce‘s father, Mathew Knowles, is discussing colorism in the music industry.

The 67-year-old record executive and talent manager sat down for an interview on SiriusXM’s The Clay Cane Show on Wednesday (June 19).

During the interview, Mathew talked about the perception of lighter and darker skin tone.

“In the music industry there’s still segregation. Programmers, especially at pop radio, [have] this imagery of what beauty looks like. They wanted that imagery to be the same as singing those records,” he explained.

“If you look back, even like Whitney Houston, if you look at those photos, how they lightened her to make her look lighter in complexion…there’s a perception, colorism, the lighter that you are, the smarter, the more economically…there’s a perception all around the world about color, even with black folks.”

When asked whether he thought Beyonce would have been affected if she had darker skin, he said: “I think she would have had – I think it would have affected her success. And I use Kelly Rowland as an example. She’s a great example. But you know, the great thing is Kelly did exceptional outside of America, especially in Australia. Kelly sold over four million records. She just got off script.”

SiriusXM’s The Clay Cane Show airs weekdays from 12-1 p.m. ET on SiriusXM Urban View channel 126.

Listen to his interview…

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Photos: Getty Images
Posted to: Beyonce Knowles, Mathew Knowles