Jay-Z’s got “99 Problems” — and his comparison of wife Beyoncé to late King of Pop Michael Jackson is one.
The “444” rapper is at the forefront of intense Twitter turbulence between fiery fans of the fallen “Thriller” star and diehard members of the ever-buzzing #BeyHive tribe. And the cyber chaos ensued when Jay, 52, dubbed Beyoncé, 40, an “evolution” of Jackson — who died in 2009 at age 50.
“Bey’s gonna be mad at this for saying this but Michael Jackson never had a Coachella,” Jay-Z said during a recent Twitter Spaces chat with his “Empire State of Mind” collaborator Alicia Keys and host Rob Markman.
“She’s an evolution of him because she watched him at 9. And the kids are the same,” the Brooklyn emcee added.
Jay-Z went on to praise his “Run the World (Girls)” crooning bride for her world-stopping “Beychella” performance at the 2018 Coachella music festival.
“Find me a concert that’s as culturally relevant and thrilling as Coachella,” he urged. “Beyoncé is gonna be one of the best singers we ever heard because she is such a student.”
The Queen Bey’s undeniable reign notwithstanding, social media soldiers immediately took to their keyboards, arguing that the “Sorry” singer should not be named in the same sentence as Jackson.
“I Love Beyoncé but don’t take it too far saying she’s better than Michael Jackson,” one MJ fanatic wrote.
“Respectfully Michael Jackson never needed anything like Coachella throughout his lifetime. Michael Jackson has had double the audience of anything Beyonce ever had. mj had people literally fainting and being transported on stretchers…no offense but MJ is unmatched,” penned another.
Bey buffs struck back with tweets like: “Beyoncé was pregnant & singing upside down at FWT, pregnant & throwing up when she did Glastonbury, sick when she sang her face off at Oprah’s show. Michael Jackson sprained his ankle & did an entire performance sitting down & lip-syncing for his life. the bar is SO low for men. TUH.”
“Beyoncé is more talented than Michael Jackson. y’all just love to demote her talent because she is a woman. If Beyoncé was a man y’all wouldn’t be saying this,” said another Bey devotee.
Jay-Z previously crowned Beyoncé — who in March earned her 28th Grammy and became the most Grammy Award-winning female artist of all time — “the second coming” of Jackson during a 2011 interview with Miami’s 99 Jamz.
“What I’ve learned from her is similar to what I learned from Mike [Jackson],” Jay said of the “Love on Top” luminary. “I know that’s blasphemy to compare the two because Mike was such an innovator — but I think she’s like the second coming.“
So far, neither Beyoncé nor the members of Jackson’s music-making family — including baby sister Janet Jackson, 55 — have openly commented on Jay-Z’s most recent comparison of the two.
