Jay-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, got married to her longtime partner Roxanne Wilshire in New York City over the weekend, surrounded by a star-studded group of family and friends.
Of course Jay-Z, Beyonce and Blue Ivy came to celebrate with the newlyweds; also on the guest list was Kelly Rowland, Tyler Perry, Robin Roberts, Tina Knowles-Lawson, and Corey Gamble. Many surrounded the couple to celebrate their love and union.
In 2017, rapper Jay-Z told the world about his mother coming out to him in the song “Smile.” The lyrics in “Smile” say: “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 . . . Cried tears of joy when you fell in love/Don’t matter to me if it’s a him or a her/I just wanna see you smile through all the hate/Marie Antoinette, baby, let ‘em eat cake.”
Before releasing “Smile”, Jay-Z obviously showed the song to his mother to get her approval of the publicity of such a personal part of her life. Gloria Carter admits that she was very hesitant at first, but agreed with her son that the message behind it was too important to keep the world from hearing.
“Smile” went on to win a Special Recognition award at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2018. Gloria accepted the award on behalf of her son and made a beautiful speech about her experiences and coming out to her family as well as meeting and falling in love with Roxanne Wilshire.
Their wedding marks the next chapter of their lives together, one that we can all hope is filled with nothing but love and happiness. Congratulations to Gloria Carter and Roxanne Wilshire!