Matriarch and designer Tina Knowles revealed that her granddaughter Blue Ivy Carter offered sage counsel to her younger sister Rumi Carter as Rumi made her debut performing on tour with their mother, global superstar Beyoncé.
Knowles said her 13-year-old granddaughter Blue Ivy, who already has stage experience alongside Beyoncé, stepped in as a mentor when Rumi, age 8, began performing in the recent Horse & Cowboy-themed “Cowboy Carter” tour. “And listen, she would come out, and the first night, she was so excited. People were making all these crazy comments. And Blue was like, ‘Rumi, you might need to calm it down,’ ” Knowles recalled.
Knowles added that the scene changed quickly: “So by maybe like the third or the fourth [show], she would pick out her own outfits at night… I said, ‘What are you going to do tonight?’ … And she said, ‘Be myself.’ So she was!” This shift, Knowles said, was “really good for her confidence.”
The Preparation and Permission from Beyoncé
Knowles explained that Rumi had wanted to join the tour for years. “Rumi, for the last tour, just every day, said, ‘I want to go out there. I want to,’ ” she told ELLE UK. “And so Beyoncé is allowing her to do it this time. And I’m really happy about it, because she has fun out there. She gets to be a kid. And when she gets off-stage, she’s right back to being Rumi, the little kid, you know, the little seven-year-old, adorable.”
Knowles emphasised that the experience was not only about performance, but also about character and growth. She referenced Blue Ivy’s earlier tour appearances, saying the older sister had “danced for 70,000 people per night” and learned resilience along the way. “You have to be taught that. Kids don’t learn it from just accident. You have to say to them, ‘It’s more important to be a good person.’ And that you got to work for what you get,” she said.
For Knowles, the journey of both granddaughters reflects more than show business. “Nobody’s going to just hand it to you because you are somebody’s daughter or because they like you. You have to work hard,” she said. The grandmother said that seeing Rumi gain composure and express herself on stage — while still being comfortable off stage — was deeply rewarding.
Blue Ivy’s sibling role, Knowles suggested, was part of a healthy dynamic. She noted that Blue had shared her expertise with Rumi in practical ways — from outfit selections to stage presence. “She doesn’t just want to join the legacy… she wants to SLAY it too!” Knowles posted of Rumi’s development on social media.
As Beyoncé continues to bring the Carter family into the spotlight, Knowles appears content that the girls are being guided not just as performers, but as young women learning poise, family values and self-expression. “And that’s the most important thing to me,” she said of watching Blue Ivy grow confident and poised.