Jay-Z's mum: ‘I was not free’ until I told son I was gay - BBC News
The rapper's mum has said how supportive her son was when she told him she was gay.
Jay-Z's mum has spoken of how supportive her son was when she told him she was gay.

Gloria Carter told an audience at the GLAAD Media Awards that it was the first time she's spoken to anyone about who she really was.

The mother-of-four was presented with a special recognition gong for her contribution to his song Smile, released last year.

She said: "Smile became a reality because I shared with my son who I am."

The GLAAD Media Awards recognise people and organisations for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.

"My son cried and said: 'It must have been horrible to live that way for so long.'"

"I chose to protect my family from ignorance. I was happy but I was not free."

Jay-Z has previously told how he cried with joy when his mother spoke to him about being a lesbian and of being in love with her female partner.

In the song on the rapper's latest 4:44 album he says: "Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian/Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian. Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take."

He told US talk show host David Letterman: "For my mother to have to live as someone that she wasn't and hide and like, protect her kids — and didn't want to embarrass her kids... for all this time.

"For her to sit in front of me and tell me, 'I think I love someone'. I mean, I really cried," he told the David Letterman Netflix show.

This YouTube post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on YouTube The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. YouTube content may contain adverts. Skip youtube video by Netflix This article contains content provided by Google YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Google’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. YouTube content may contain adverts.

He said he had long known she was gay, but the pair only had their first conversation about it last year.

Their chat came about while Jay-Z was making his latest album 4.44.

"This was the first time we had the conversation, and the first time I heard her say she loved her partner," he said.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.