"She wasn't even supposed to be in a club" — Gene Deal criticizes Jay-Z for dating a young Beyoncé when he was in his 30's

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former head of security, Gene Deal, recently opened up about Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and criticized him for once dating a young Beyoncé. Deal’s remarks came during his recent appearance on The Art of Dialogue podcast, the video of which was uploaded on YouTube on January 5, 2025.

“I know people in the industry, been around for a long time, was there when he first started dating Beyoncé at 17, 18, he was 30 something. You didn’t know his age. When I look back and see how old Jay-Z was, I think Jay-Z was born in like ’69 or ’67, something like that… Beyoncé, they say, she was born in ’81,” Gene shared.

He further continued:

“Back then in ’81 when we was in a club together, ’98, ’99, she wasn’t even supposed to be in a club. But she was in a club, it was Club Eugene. And Jay was dating her. And at that time if you look at Jay’s age, he was about 30 years old, so, isn’t she still somewhat a child? To me, she is.”

Gene Deal sarcastically added that maybe it was HOV’s way of protecting a “child” by dating her when she was 17 or 18 and he was in his 30s. Diddy’s ex-bodyguard also mentioned that one couldn’t be sure about Beyoncé’s “true age” as Gabrielle Union once reportedly claimed to have attended junior high with her. However, Union was “considered six, seven years older than Beyoncé’s age.”

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In brief, exploring when Jay-Z met Beyoncé

According to People Magazine, Jay-Z and Beyoncé met somewhere between September 1999 and August 2000. While he was 30, an established rapper and record executive, she was 18 and starting her career as part of Destiny’s Child.

During a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey for OWN Magazine, Beyoncé shared how she and her husband “were friends first for a year and a half before we went on any dates.”

“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 just like is so important, and someone [who] is honest,” Beyoncé added.

Before that, during a 2008 conversation with Seventeen Magazine, she shared dating Jay-Z at 19, and he was 31. However, as per Daily Dot, the Roc Nation boss once told Charlie Rose in a 2007 interview that he met Beyoncé in 1997 when she was 16 and he was 28, and they began dating two years later. He also mentioned noticing his wife after she released her debut album for Destiny’s Child at 15.

The couple tied the knot in April 2008. At the time, she told Seventeen Magazine that Beyoncé waited to get married until she turned 25 because she wanted to “get to know” herself and what she wanted, spend time by herself, and be “proud” of who she was before sharing it with “someone else.” They are parents to a 13-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, and 7-year-old twins, Rumi and Sir.

Over the years, the pair has continued as a power couple despite the rumor that Jay-Z reportedly cheated on Beyoncé with Rachel Roy. From altercating with his sister-in-law Solange in an elevator at the 2014 Met Gala afterparty to being indirectly called out by Beyoncé in her songs Sorry, Jolene and Bodyguard for allegedly being unfaithful – Jay-Z has faced both personal and public criticisms.

In a November 2017 sit-down with the New York Times, he addressed the infidelity rumors.

“The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused and then have to deal with yourself. You have to survive. So, you go into survival mode, and when you go into survival mode, what happens? You shut down all emotions,” he shared at the time.

Later, he also extensively discussed his marital problems in the album, 4:44.

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Fans called for the couple’s divorce in December 2024 after Jay-Z was caught up in a lawsuit where he was accused of drugging and r*ping a 13-year-old girl at the 2000 MTV VMAs afterparty with the host, Sean “Diddy” Combs, while an unnamed female celebrity reportedly watched. The rapper has since refuted the claims.

“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,” Jay-Z shared in his statement.

Beyoncé has yet to comment on the lawsuit or its allegations against Jay-Z.