Jay-Z Changes Lyric Mentioning Kanye West During Paris Performance With Beyoncé

Beyoncé knows how to keep fans talking, and during her Cowboy Carter Tour stop in Paris on June 22, she delivered a surprise nobody saw coming: Jay-Z. The couple lit up the stage at Stade de France during the final night of her Paris shows, giving fans an unforgettable performance filled with energy, love, and one sly lyric switch that had everyone buzzing.

The crowd roared as Jay-Z stepped out in an all-black look to join Beyoncé who rocked a sparkling crop top, crystal-covered pants, and country-style chaps. Together, they performed Crazy in Love and Drunk in Love, and blended it with the steamy track Partition, creating a fresh mashup that was pure magic.

But the biggest mic-drop moment came when Jay-Z stayed on stage to perform N—– in Paris from his Watch the Throne album with Kanye West. As fans recorded and sang along, Jay flipped the lyrics in real time, rapping, “Ball so hard, bitch, behave / Just might let you meet Bey.”

Originally, that line referenced “Ye,” but this time, Jay made it all about his queen.

The lyric change wasn’t just a crowd-pleaser, as it came just months after Kanye made an offensive and since-deleted post on X (formerly known as Twitter) about Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s twins, Rumi and Sir. In that post, Kanye used disrespectful language while questioning the public’s visibility of the children. He later deleted it, reportedly saying he didn’t want to risk losing his account. Still, the damage was done, and many saw Jay’s on-stage line as a subtle but sharp clapback.

Beyoncé continues her Cowboy Carter Tour, with her next stop in Houston on June 28. The tour has been a beautiful blend of spectacle and heart largely thanks to her daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi, who’ve been a part of nearly every show.

Blue, 13, has taken center stage as a principal dancer, proving once again that she’s a star in the making. Rumi, 8, shares a more tender moment each night as Beyoncé sings PROTECTOR. One now-viral clip from the Paris show captures Beyoncé holding both daughters onstage. In it, Rumi suddenly points offstage and starts excitedly waving at something. That something turned out to be a life-sized plush Stitch doll from Lilo & Stitch, a character Rumi loves deeply.

Even Blue and Beyoncé turned to look, smiling as they spotted the giant plush bouncing above the crowd. 

“Rumi loves Stitch so much!!!!” Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, later gushed. “She walked into the dressing room with this big Stitch hugging it almost every day! How did this person in the audience know??????? Wow, it made her very happy!”