Jay Z compared Beyonce to Michael Jackson, and the internet is divided

Jay-Z recently said that Beyonce was an “evolution” of the late pop icon Michael Jackson - and fans on social media are divided over the comparison.

In a recent Twitter Spaces conversation on Tuesday with singer Alicia Keys, the musical artists spoke on what it was like to collaborate on projects with their children.

In March 2019, Keys released a video of herself performing a song while her son Egypt played the piano ( which he began at 4-years-old) at the iHeart Music Awards that same year.

Jay-Z and Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy had her song “Blue’s Freestyle / We Family” on her dad’s 2017 album 4:44.

“It goes back to evolution. If we don’t think that people gonna be better than what we created, then we don’t believe in evolution,” Jay said.

He then addressed his praise for his wife for her 2018 headline performance. The performance marked her as the first Black woman to headline Coachella.

“Bey’s gonna be mad at [me] for saying this, but Michael Jackson never had a Coachella. She’s an evolution of him because she watched him at nine. And the kids are the same,” Jay continued.

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People had mixed reviews of the comparison between the artists.

“Jay-Z is comparing Beyonce to Michael Jackson when it comes to Coachella, but Michael left before various ave of digital streaming were created. He was pulling Coachella’s reaction at any given concert without social media and entertainment platforms,” someone wrote.

“You really are reaching HARD. The Motown 25 moment is STILL being talked about and is seen as an iconic moment in TV and music history. While Beyonce made history as the first black woman headliner for Coachella, ain’t nobody talking about that sht outside the Beyhive,” another added.

A third, presumably a Beyonce fan, said: “Beyoncé been passed MJ level babes.”

Check out other reactions below.

Beyonce penned an open letter that was cited by Metro in 2014 that detailed her appreciation for the iconic singer.

“Michael taught me that sometimes you have to forget technique, forget what you have on,” she wrote, in part.

As of yet, neither Beyoncé nor Jackson’s family members have commented on Jay-Z’s comparison of the two.