Gloria Carter appeared on her son Jay Z’s 4:44 track, “Smile.” The cameo, where Gloria came out, earned her a Special Recognition Award at the 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Carter thanked God and also thanked GLAAD for recognizing her and Jay Z, who rhymed about the pride and support he felt for his mother on “Smile.”
“Thanks to my family, for loving me unconditionally no matter what,” Carter said. “Thanks to my partner for loving me and helping me free myself from being in the shadows. Thanks to all of the people whose lives I’ve touched for your support for just telling my truth.”
Jay Z has previously gone on record saying he cried tears of joy upon finding out his mother was in love.
During an appearance on the D’Usse Friday Podcast, Ms. Carter explained the balance between how being closeted impacted her while also living a fulfilled life.
“I just finally started telling Jay who I was,” Carter said. “‘Besides your mother, this is the person that I am. This is the life that I live.’ So my son started actually tearing. He’s like, ‘That had to be a horrible life, ma.’ I was like, ‘My life was never horrible. I was never ashamed of me.’”
You can view Gloria Carter’s full acceptance speech in the video above.
