Becoming Beyoncé

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

  Mathew’s Deposition

  Mathew Knowles’s deposition would begin on January 29, again in the office of Dwight Jefferson.

  Under oath, Mathew took full credit for Destiny Child’s Columbia/Sony record deal, though he conceded that the contract was signed during his co-partnership arrangement with Andretta. As the hours wore on, he seemed vague as to what Andretta’s role had actually been with Destiny’s Child. Seeming extremely frustrated, opposing counsel Benjamin Hall asked him in very precise terms, “At the time that she died, when God took her last breath away from her, at that moment just before that breath was taken, was she or was she not the co-manager of Destiny’s Child?” Mathew answered simply, “Yes.” He also testified that Andretta was a trustworthy person (“very much so”) and that she never did anything he thought was contrary to the best interests of the group. “Ann and I never had a real argument,” he testified. He also testified that he never threatened to pull Beyoncé from Girls Tyme if he could not co-manage the group. “I would never threaten Ann,” he insisted. “I had a good relationship with her.” When pushed though, Mathew admitted, “I don’t recall saying that. I am not going to guarantee I never said that. I just don’t recall saying it. I could have said it, but I don’t recall saying it.”

  He testified that after Andretta’s death he’d tried in vain to contact Armon and Chris “to see how they were doing. And I wanted to let them know that their mother and I had made an agreement that they would get 50 percent of that royalty point. Ann made it very, very clear she wanted to make sure that they got it because she had major concerns that her family would take the money from them, and they [the sons] would never get it.”

  Mathew also testified about the amended contract he had renegotiated with Andretta, the one that excluded the Tillman heirs from all but 1 percent of Destiny’s Child’s royalties—$175,000. He continued to insist that he and Tina had been looking for it but could not find it.

  As far as LaTavia and LeToya (who were not present) were concerned, Mathew said that their actions had “left Beyoncé feeling disappointment, sadness, betrayal, anger and fed up, if that’s a feeling. I was sad for her. She was deeply depressed.” He said that LaTavia and LeToya clearly had no idea of “the kinds of sacrifices that had to be made in order to be stars, and I don’t blame them,” he added. “Not everyone can do it. Some people just don’t have what it takes. I mean, you can’t expect everyone to be able to rise to the occasion like Beyoncé and Kelly.”

  When it came time to ask Mathew about his personal challenges and whether or not he had spent company money on them, the deposition turned particularly contentious. At his lawyer’s advice, Mathew declined to answer all questions having to do with whether he spent partnership money on “chemical dependency,” “illegal substances such as cocaine,” “addictions, sexual or otherwise,” or “counseling or medical treatment in a rehab center.”

  In an even more uncomfortable line of questioning, Mathew was also asked to identify by name certain strippers, lap dancers, and prostitutes whom opposing counsel had located and who they now claimed would testify against him in court. Again, acting on the advice of his attorney who felt that this line of questioning was “nothing more than a fishing expedition,” he declined to cooperate. Benjamin Hall then produced receipts from bars and strip clubs that had allegedly been made out to Knowles, and asked for explanations. Mathew was instructed not to respond. Hall was told he would have to go back to the judge presiding over the case and ask her to compel Mathew to answer those questions at a future time.

  Mathew’s deposition took more than twelve long, arduous hours. By the time it was over, he was exhausted. “But you do what you have to do within the law,” he concluded. “It’s not like you have a lot of choice.”

  Tina’s Deposition

  Tina Knowles showed up at the offices of Maloney, Jefferson & Dugas at 12:30 p.m. sharp on March 22, looking as gorgeous as ever in black jeans with five-inch stiletto heels and a white wool sweater. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders, carefully parted in the middle. She wore long, dangling gold earrings, as well as a matching, glistening necklace. She seemed abundantly happy and at ease, eagerly answering in anecdotal fashion the first hour’s questions from Warren Fitzgerald about the forming of Destiny’s Child, as if telling folksy tales by a warm fireplace. Her southern charm and down-home graciousness was on full display. “I’m so bad with dates,” she kept saying, apologizing for her occasional lack of specificity.

  The climate changed dramatically, though, when the questioning became personal and Benjamin Hall tried to get Tina to admit that the Knowleses were “strapped” in 1996 and 1997. His point was that it was “inconceivable” that they could have contributed very much money to the eventual success of Destiny’s Child, as they had claimed. He suggested that Andretta had contributed far more. Tina insisted, though, that “we were not strapped,” despite the fact that, she conceded, they did have to sell their beloved home on Parkwood Drive in the Third Ward.

  “But you couldn’t even pay your Blockbuster bill!” Benjamin Hall exclaimed.

  “Oh yes we could!” Tina insisted. “We were able to pay for movies from Blockbuster. Now, whether the movies were returned in our lifestyle with all those girls coming in and out and taking them home with them is another subject, but yes, I could pay a dollar for a rental. Please! I worked!”

  The lawyer then began going over the Knowleses’ list of creditors in painstaking detail, and, sure enough, Tina had long ago listed Blockbuster Video as a debt owed but not paid, for the amount of $344.25. “What about that?” he charged in what he may have perceived as a “gotcha” moment.

  “I guess if it’s on there,” Tina said.

  “Well, it’s right here,” he said, pointing to the entry.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “The point is . . .” he began.

  “What is the point?” she snapped.

  “The point is that at the time of the 1993 bankruptcy filing,” he pressed on, “your financial situation was such that you needed protection in the bankruptcy court from a $344 invoice from Blockbuster.”

  Left with no choice, Tina conceded as much, but she wasn’t happy about having to do so.

  She then talked in depth about Denise Seals and Deborah Laday, saying that she didn’t feel comfortable with them, “because I wasn’t sure they knew what they were doing. Their hearts were in the right place, but in this business that’s usually not enough.” She also recalled in great detail the day she met Andretta Tillman on Beyoncé’s ninth birthday and how Andretta had intervened when Deborah—“who I felt was very controlling”—would not allow her access to the backstage area to greet her daughter. “I liked Ann right away,” she said.

  A great deal of time was then spent trying to determine if Tina had asked Andretta to sign a document relating to Destiny’s Child on her deathbed. “Absolutely not,” Tina said. The amended contract Andretta signed wasn’t executed in a hospital at all, Tina testified. In fact, she said it was signed “seven months” prior to Andretta’s death in the Knowleses’ home. She confirmed that it was now lost. However, she specifically recalled the document as having stipulated that Andretta would abandon all of her management commissions at the time of her death, thereby preventing her sons, Armon and Chris, from ever inheriting them. The amended agreement called for the Tillman sons to get nothing more than their half-point royalty, she testified. She speculated that the document had somehow gotten lost when the Knowleses moved their files from their home office to the Music World headquarters. “We are looking high and low for it,” she added. They’d even tried to find the person who notarized it, she said, but had no luck there either.

  Finally, after six and a half hours, Tina’s deposition ended at 7 p.m. By that time, she was emotionally and physically exhausted. Unfortunately, she was instructed to return in six days for more questioning.

  When Tina returned for her second deposition on March 28, the day started with an intense in
terrogation about her husband’s private issues. Had Mathew ever been treated for drug abuse? For sexual abuse? Tina’s attorney instructed her not to answer either question. Was it true that Tina once told Cheryl Mitchell (LaTavia Roberson’s mother) that Mathew was a drug addict? “Absolutely not,” Tina said. When asked if she recalled writing a note to Mathew in front of Cheryl in which she criticized him for his drug use and for embarrassing her with his sexual improprieties, Tina insisted she would never have written such a note in front of another person. By this time, she was livid. However, she was also determined to not be intimidated. The attorney then brought forth three income tax statements in which Kelly Rowland was listed as “Kelly Knowles.” How had that happened? The attorney asked if she and Mathew had been trying to suggest that Kelly was actually their secret biological daughter? And if not, were they looking for an illegal tax break? Tina chalked it all up to a clerical error. “I get the deduction anyway because she’s living with me,” she said with indignation. “So, please. Don’t be ridiculous.”

  Following a couple more hours of heated interrogation, it was time for a much-needed break. Upon their return, Benjamin Hall started off by brusquely sliding a document before Tina and saying, “Page 15, ma’am.”

  “Be a gentleman,” she chastised him. “Just show a little manners. I know that’s hard for you.”

  After apologizing, the attorney tried to impeach Tina’s oft-told story about how she came up with the name Destiny’s Child. “I’ve looked for the word ‘destiny’ in the King James Version [of the Bible] and it just doesn’t exist,” he said. Tina explained that it might have been in one of the newer editions of the Bible. “Ma’am, do you have any specific biblical reference that you can cite as to where destiny comes from in Destiny’s Child?” the attorney then asked impatiently.

  “I can bring my NIV Bible up here and show you,” Tina snapped back at him, “or the Women’s Study Bible. That’s the best I can do for you.”

  “Ma’am, did Ann Tillman have any participation in the selection of the name Destiny’s Child?” the lawyer demanded to know, finally getting to his point.

  “No.”

  “Have you heard that Ann Tillman had a niece that was born just one month before the group’s name was changed to Destiny’s Child, and that this niece was named . . . Destiny?”

  The attorney was referring to the fact that in 1991, four years before the girls were rechristened Destiny’s Child, Andretta Tillman’s niece Kimberly Stewart gave birth to a daughter she named Destiny. Andretta’s sister Jan Stewart-Langley says that she and Andretta were at the home of their sister Glenda in Tyler, Texas, when Andretta, who was admiring the baby, said, “Destiny! I’m gonna name my group after you. It’s gonna be . . . Destiny’s Child.” In other words, according to this account, it was Andretta who came up with the name. However, this was a full year after Denise Seals and Deborah Laday had already made use of it, so it was a moot point anyway.

  “No,” Tina answered. She seemed to have no idea what the attorney was talking about. Truly it would have been surprising if she had known anything at all about this particular Tillman family fact.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Benjamin Hall then said in a very abrupt fashion. “I’m finished with you.”

  It wasn’t over yet, though. Before the interrogation could end, Warren Fitzgerald—LeToya’s and LaTavia’s lawyer—had one more question for Tina: “Have you ever advised Kelly Rowland, who you claim is not your daughter,” he clarified in a mocking tone, “to seek legal counsel?”

  Just as Tina began to answer, Benjamin Hall cut her off and, addressing Warren Fitzgerald with equal sarcasm, said, “Hold on, now, Ben. You don’t know that Kelly Rowland is not her daughter. After all, Mrs. Knowles has her all over her tax returns, doesn’t she?”

  By this time, Tina was fed up. “You know what?” she said, turning to her attorney, Dwight Jefferson. “Mr. Hall is really aggravating me right now with his cynical comments.” Then addressing Hall, she demanded, “Keep them to yourself.”

  Once again chastised by Tina Knowles, Benjamin Hall said, “I will. I apologize, ma’am.”

  “Fine,” Tina concluded. “Let’s just be professional here now, shall we?”

  Austin Powers in Goldmember

  In January 2002, while the ever-troubling lawsuits were being litigated against her family, Beyoncé Knowles flew to Los Angeles to complete work on her second acting job, in Austin Powers in Goldmember, starring Canadian comedic actor Mike Myers in the title role. She had actually started work on the movie in the fall of 2001, but now she was back on the West Coast for more filming.

  While working on the film, Beyoncé found an elegant penthouse in Los Angeles in which to live with her cousin Angie Beyincé. This time, the freedom actually felt good to her. Whereas she’d been somewhat lonely while working on Carmen: A Hip Hopera, she’d now become friendly with many people in Los Angeles and had begun to relax into a new, more independent lifestyle She also took up painting at this time. She was particularly proud of an abstract work of art and enjoyed showing it to her friends. However, when Lonnie Jackson laid eyes on it, he asked, “Why does that woman have a beak on her neck?” It wasn’t a beak, of course—even if it looked like one. Beyoncé, who took her painting almost as seriously as her music, was offended. “She kind of shut us down for a while after that,” said Taura Stinson, who was married to Lonnie.

  On her own in Los Angeles, Beyoncé could handle herself if need be. A telling story about her is that she was in a bar in West Hollywood enjoying a (nonalcoholic) drink with Angie when a handsome man caught their attention. The two cousins whispered in each other’s ear, probably commenting on the man’s appearance. Seeing this, his date began to eye Beyoncé suspiciously. For the rest of the evening, she didn’t take her eyes off her. Finally, Beyoncé and Angie threw some money onto the bar, rose, and, in leaving, walked right past the woman. The stranger muttered under her breath, “Heifers!” Beyoncé is said to have stopped, stood before her, and, looking down at her, said, “Excuse me?” The woman rose to face her, nose to nose. Beyoncé sized her up, looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, and exclaimed, “Honey, don’t nobody want your man!” They stared at each other for a moment, until finally the woman sat back down. Beyoncé and Angie walked out the door, heads held high. “The Houston girl comes out in me every now and then,” Beyoncé would later say, laughing. “And you don’t want to see her, that’s all I’m sayin’.”

  The producer of Austin Powers in Goldmember, John Lyons, felt that Beyoncé was perfect for the role of the sassy Foxxy Cleopatra character when he saw her work in Carmen: A Hip Hopera on MTV. Foxxy was a coveted role—Liz Hurley and Heather Graham had played Myers’s female foils in the two previous Austin Powers movies—and word had already been leaked that Jennifer Lopez was being considered. “I felt strongly that Beyoncé was our girl from the very beginning because she lit up every frame of Carmen, and that was just her first acting role,” he recalled. “She has this Streisand-like quality, where you just know she can have this amazing career in both music and film, if she wants it.” Director Jay Roach wasn’t as sure as Lyons. He knew he wanted Beyoncé to sing the movie’s theme song, but was holding out for a more accomplished actress to play opposite Myers.

  Mike Myers called Beyoncé personally to ask if she would be interested in auditioning. She was bowled over. The timing was right, though. It just so happened that Destiny’s Child had been scheduled to tour Europe—this was in the fall of 2001—but then the tragedy of 9/11 happened, and that itinerary was canceled. It was decided that a good way to fill Beyoncé’s spare time might be with a movie. Her initial meeting with Myers and Jay Roach was nerve-racking, though. She found herself tongue-tied and bashful. “My heart was beating fast,” she recalled, “my mouth was dry, my palms were clammy. I had to wipe my hands on my pants before I shook hands with Mike Myers.” Thankfully, Tina was at her side. Actually, Tina was so personable, it was impossible for Myers and Roach no
t to be swept away by her. Roach was completely taken by her, as was Myers. In fact, Myers joked that maybe they should give her the role!

  At the meeting, when asked if she’d like to do comedy, Beyoncé regretted her answer even as it was tumbling from her lips. “I don’t think I’m very funny,” she said, “so I’m not sure I can make people laugh. I’d like to try, though.” She later said she realized in that moment that a better answer, one that might have instilled more confidence, would have been a simple “Yes.” When the director looked at her with skepticism, she was sure she’d blown it. It was true, though: Beyoncé wasn’t an inherently comedic person. Lyndall Locke recalled, “We used to laugh because she really could not tell a joke to save her life.” That didn’t mean she didn’t have a sense of humor, though. She could certainly appreciate comedy. “But actually being funny?” Lyndall asked. “No, that wasn’t Beyoncé’s thing at all.” (In all fairness to her, though, she can be pretty goofy when she wants to, crossing her eyes for friends, for instance; she can even cross them one at a time!)

  The actual audition with Mike Myers went much better. In the interim, Beyoncé did some homework, including watching some of the movies on which the character Foxxy Cleopatra was based. The role was an homage to the tough but sexy female characters who had appeared in a string of 1970s “blaxploitation” films as portrayed by iconic actresses such as Pam Grier in Foxy Brown, Tamara Dobson in Cleopatra Jones, and Teresa Graves in the made-for-television movie and then cult series Get Christie Love! The genre began in 1970 and was pretty much over by 1979. Beyoncé and Tina watched quite a few of those movies in preparation for her audition.