"She definitely got paid to say that" — Internet reacts to SZA calling Beyonce a "generous queen," adding she owes half her publishing to her
On April 29, 2025, influencer and TikToker Zuhaila posted a video imitating Beyoncé, which received a comment from SZA, whose real name is Solána Imani Rowe. The video of the influencer boasting over 80K followers was a take on how Queen Bey credits every person contributing to her songs, only for her to be discredited by some people.
The influencer seemingly referred to Coldplay discrediting Beyoncé for her contribution to the 2015 track Hymn For The Weekend. Commenting on the Instagram reel, SZA wrote:
"I literally owe her half my publishing off interpolation alone on SOS and she never pressed me lmao a generous QUEEN"
X page @PopCrave posted SZA's screenshot, mentioning that the singer's album SOS features an interpolation of Queen Bey's track Listen. The former owes the Single Ladies singer half of the publishing rights. However, Beyonce hasn't forced Rowe to pay her.
Netizens were quick to express their opinions on Rowe's revelation about Queen Bey, wherein an X user accused the statement of being paid for tweeting:
"She definitely got paid to say that — we all know Beyoncé is the queen of greed."
"The day jay z needs money she will see their true colors lmao" an X user commented
"To summarize, sza is in roc nations back pocket— she’s a puppet akin to robotcè" another X user mentioned
"SZA slow! She might not press you, her lawyers will" an internet user stated
On the other hand, some internet users appreciated the understanding between Rowe and Beyonce:
"Talented queens supporting each other’s art!" an X user tweeted
"That a beautiful gesture! Beyoncé's generosity and support for fellow artists is truly inspiring. 👑" a netizen commented
SZA revealed she was starstruck to talk to Beyoncé at the 2024 Grammys: Details explored
The latest comment on an influencer's Instagram post concerning Beyoncé is not the first time SZA has expressed her admiration for the Halo singer. In February 2024, Rowe talked to E! News about being too starstruck to communicate with Queen Bey at the 2024 Grammys.
The Saturn singer said:
"I was scared to go over to Beyoncé. I can't speak unless she wants to speak, in my brain, because I don't want to bother her. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. just admire her. She's a masterclass on poise, grace, artistry, beauty and kindness."
Additionally, in November 2023, Access Hollywood posted a throwback interview of SZA from 2017, when she had received 5 nominations for her debut album, Control. In the interview, Rowe expressed how she wasn't expecting to be nominated and that she didn't plan on becoming a singer initially.
Reflecting on the advice Queen Bey gave her at the beginning of her career, Solána Imani Rowe mentioned:
"Yeah she just too me to be consistent no matter what and like to fight through any kind of moment cuz people like try to take her off her game on stage or anything else and you just have to fight through it and that's cool it's mad times and I feel like no I want to quit but like that's not it"
In other news, as per AOL's report dated April 28, 2025, SZA's album SOS has returned to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart for the 13th week non-consecutively.
Additionally, Rowe's collab with Kendrick Lamar called Luther has also reached a milestone of topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the 10th consecutive week.
