Jay-Z’s Mom: I was not free until I came out to my son
Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, was greeted with a standing ovation as she accepted a special recognition award at the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards in New York. “For me, this was the first time that I spoke to anyone about who I really am,” she recalled in her acceptance speech, which can be viewed below. “My son cried, and said, ‘It must have been horrible to live that way for so long.’ My life wasn’t horrible. I chose to protect my family from ignorance. I was happy, but I was not free.”
Carter devoted much of the speech to her partner, who helped her free herself “from being in the shadows.”
“Love gave me the courage to take the power that I allowed other people to have over my life for fear of them revealing my secret that wasn’t really a secret. Here I am,” she said. “I’m loving, I’m respectful, I’m productive, and I’m a human being who has a right to love who I love. So everybody, just smile, be free.”
