R&B legend Stephanie Mills doubled down on her description of music icon Diana Ross as “classy” and studio singer Beyonce as “Hip-Hop.”
Stephanie sparked outrage amongst Beyonce’s BeyHive (stans) who objected to her describing Diana Ross as “glamorous, classy” and “royalty”, while Beyonce is just “Hip-Hop.”
“I don’t think you can compare Beyonce to Diana Ross,” Stephanie said in a recent interview with VladTV. “In terms of stardom? It’s still different… Diana is glamour … It’s just different.”
Stephanie added that she attended Diana’s shows in Las Vegas, and “they were always so wonderful and classy. Diana Ross is the epitome of beauty and class to me.”
Stephanie, a music icon herself, doubled down on her comparisons in an appearance on The Breakfast Club.
She suggested that Beyonce is OK by today’s music standards, but Diana Ross is the Queen. Motown founder Berry Gordy would’ve passed on signing Beyonce if she was around in the ’60s. Motown didn’t sign singers who yodel or relied on gimmicks to stay relevant.
Stephanie said Beyonce’s last album proved her point.
“What I meant by that is with this album, and the last couple of years of Beyonce, I feel like she’s been like a rapper like Hip Hop. Diana Ross is glamorous and the epitome,” Stephanie told Charlamagne.
“I am a Diana Ross fan. I’ve always wanted to be Diana I would go to her shows when she’d play Caesar’s Palace. It was always wonderful and fabulous. So, to me you can’t compare nobody to Diana — not Beyonce — I don’t care if they don’t like what I say, I said it. I’m not gonna apologize for it.”
“Diana is the epitome of glamour and grace, and I didn’t say that Beyonce wasn’t, so y’all don’t like it I’m sorry,” she said, retracting her claws.
“Did I say hip-hop was beneath? No I did not. Go back and look at that interview and pay attention to what I actually said and not what you want to think I said.”
Watch the video below.
