Jay-Z and Beyonce photo raises eyebrows

The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter and who is 12 years older than his Grammy Award-winning wife, was 28 at the time the photo was taken, on the set of Destiny’s Child’s ‘No, No, No’ music video in 1998.

While there is no suggestion that anything happened between the pair at the time, the image seemingly disputes past remarks by Beyonce that their friendship began when she was 18.

“We were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any dates,” Beyonce told Oprah in a 2013 interview.

“We were on the phone for a year and a half, and that foundation is so important for a relationship. Just to have someone who you … like is so important, and someone (who) is honest.

“I would not be the woman I am if I did not go home to that man. It just gives me such a foundation. (He’s helped me) on so many levels.”

Another photo making the rounds shows Carter at the Prime Time 21 nightclub in North Dallas on January 31, 1998 – where Destiny’s Child performed live for the first time in the city.

In a 2007 interview with Charlie Rose, the now-55-year-old revealed he and Beyonce had met 10 years prior after being pressed by the former TV host.

Asked by Rose how long he’d known Beyonce, Carter responded: “A while, a long time.”

When he was prompted again by Rose, he ceded: “However long she’s been recording, that’s when I met her … I met her 10 years ago.”

He added that his first impression of Beyonce was that she was a “fantastic talent”.

Interest in the couple’s early relationship comes after Carter was hit with a civil lawsuit over the weekend that claimed he and Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl after the MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2000.

Carter vehemently denied the allegations, issuing a statement via Roc Nation’s X account that described them as a “heinous … blackmail attempt”.

“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?” part of the statement read.

“These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

He went on to address the fact that his family – Beyonce and their three children – may be affected by the filing of the unnamed accuser, who is seeking unspecified damages.

“My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people,” Carter wrote.

“My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.”

Combs was charged in September with racketeering, sex trafficking, and other offences.

The disgraced producer is currently behind bars at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre.

He has repeatedly denied all accusations against him, and is scheduled for trial on May 5, 2025.