Who Is Uncle Johnny? Beyonce Emotionally Pays Tribute to Her Late Uncle in Grammys 2023 Speech

Beyoncé is paying tribute to her late uncle.

The 41-year-old “Break My Soul” superstar, who just broke the record for the most Grammy wins of all time, emotionally thanked her late Uncle Johnny in her acceptance speech at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday (February 5) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

But some people are wondering: who was her late uncle, and why was he so important to Bey?

Keep reading to find out more…

The singer’s Grammy-award winning album Renaissance is a loving home to Black and queer culture, much of which was introduced to the superstar by her gay uncle, who she dedicated the album to, along with the LGBTQ community.

Bey‘s mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, revealed more about the dedication in a post on social media.

“Johnny was the closest human being in the world to me. We were inseparable growing up! Later, he was my nanny/housekeeper/designer/dance partner/confidant and bestie. I laughed constantly with him and trusted him unconditionally! When he died, a piece of me went with him. Solange and Beyoncé worshiped him. He helped me raise them. And influenced their sense of style and uniqueness! He made Beyoncé‘s prom dress. Last night, she told me to listen closely at the end of the song ‘Heated’ and I heard for the first time her saying, ‘Uncle Johnny made my dress’ and I got so teary eyed.”

The Grammys will be hosted by Trevor Noah for the third year in a row. Beyonce leads the nominations with nine nods and you can check out the full list here. The show will be broadcast live on CBS starting at 8pm ET / 5pm PT and you can stream live and on demand on Paramount+.