Has the mystery of Solange Knowles’ elevator attack on Jay Z finally been solved? One newspaper now has a theory of the case.
Citing two anonymous sources, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday that the haymakers heard ‘round the world came after Jay Z snapped at his sister-in-law because her non-famous friends were name-dropping the hip-hop mogul in an attempt to crash the Met Gala on May 5 — despite the fact that they were neither invited to nor dressed for the star-studded event at the Standard Hotel in New York City.
That touched off tensions that boiled over in the hotel elevator when Jay Z insisted he would attend Rihanna’s after-party a few blocks away — without his wife Beyoncé or sister-in-law Solange.
Publicists for Beyoncé and Jay Z did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Mashable; Solange does not have a publicist, but her agent at ICM Partners also did not immediately respond to messages left Tuesday.
The spat began when Solange’s friends reportedly told security that they were Jay Z's guests, at which point Jay Z "snapped at Solange, saying, 'don't use my name,'" the Daily News reported. As they were leaving the Standard Hotel, Jay Z said he was heading to Rihanna’s post-bash bash, and that's when things got physical. According to the newspaper:
Jay's camp had called ahead of time to say he would be coming alone and "didn't need extra security" because Beyoncé wouldn't be attending, the source said. Apparently, that didn't sit well with Solange.
"She seemed drunk and irritated," said a second source. "She said, ‘Why can't you go home?' and to Beyoncé 'Why does your husband need to go to the club right now?'"
An incensed Jay Z didn’t back down. “You're one to talk," he replied, the source said.
Those were fighting words. Solange then started attacking Jay Z once the elevator doors closed, which security cameras caught on video that was obtained by TMZ and published Monday.