IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Beyonce's 'Lemonade': Who Is 'Becky With the Good Hair'?

Beyoncé fans sought the identity of "Becky with the good hair," the mistress of featured on "Lemonade" album.
Image: Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show
Left: Rachel Roy attends World Of Children Award 2016 Alumni Honors at Montage Beverly Hills on April 12 in Beverly Hills. Right: Beyonce performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show at Levi's Stadium on February 7.Getty Images

Of the myriad talking points from Beyoncé's surprise visual album "Lemonade," perhaps the most intrigue has centered around the identity of "Becky with the good hair."

Beyoncé unveiled the project Saturday night as an hourlong collection of videos on HBO. Immediately after, the music was available exclusively on Tidal, the music streaming service owned by her husband, Jay Z.

"Lemonade's" themes confront racial tension, gender politics and the personal hurt of infidelity. On the latter, its lyrics detail the journey of a woman whose partner has cheated on her — transitioning through suspicion, anger and finally resolution.

It's unclear whether Beyoncé is singing autobiographically or assuming the voice of a fictional character but in one line she says: "He only want me when I'm not on there / He better call Becky with the good hair."

Hours after "Lemonade's" release, fashion designer Rachel Roy, the ex-wife of Jay Z's former friend and business partner, Damon Dash, posted a message on Instagram that many took as a reference to Beyoncé's lyrics.

"Good hair don't care, but we will take good lighting, for selfies, or self truths always," the post said, according to a screenshot taken by the Daily Beast before Roy's account was made private following a torrent of abuse.

Many Beyoncé fans angrily posted to Roy's social media accounts using bee and lemon emojis. On Monday, Roy's Wikipedia was also listed as being "semi-protected … due to vandalism" until Tuesday.

After Roy's Instagram account was made private, she tweeted what appeared to be a response to the vitriol.

And — because the internet can always be trusted to calamitously misdirect its fury — some of the outraged chose to foist their ire on TV cooking personality Rachel Ray.

Whether "Lemonade" was autobiographical or not, rumors have swirled around Beyoncé and Jay Z's marriage over the past few years, fueled in no small part by an incident at at New York's Standard Hotel in May 2014.

Beyoncé's sister, Solange Knowles, was filmed attacking Jay Z in an elevator following the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala. Most notable was Beyoncé standing by, seemingly doing little to help her husband.