R&B legend Stephanie Mills has expanded on her previous comments claiming legendary singers Beyonce and Diana Ross cannot be compared because Diana is “classy” and Queen Bey is “Hip Hop.”
During her new interview on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God and Jess Hilarious, Mills clarified but did not walk back, the statement she made in her recent appearance on VladTV.
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Around the 16-minute mark of the 30-plus-minute conversation, Mills explains how her sentiments are rooted in her belief that Ross represents glamor.
“What I meant by that is with this album, and the last couple of years of Beyoncé, I feel like she’s been like a rapper like Hip Hop — Diana Ross is glamorous,” Mills started off.
The “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” vocalist continued, explaining how she became a fan of Ross and her belief that there no one can be compared to her.
“And first, let me preface this by saying this; 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,” Mills said.
She continued, adding that even though she feels as strongly as she does about Ross, that doesn’t mean she’s discrediting Beyoncé.
“Diana is the epitome of glamor and grace and I didn’t say that Beyoncé wasn’t so y’all don’t like it I’m sorry,” she said.
Mills went on to address the backlash she was unknowingly receiving as a result of her comments being misconstrued as a slight to both Beyoncé and the genre of Hip Hop as a whole.
“Did I say hip-hop was beneath, no I did not,” Mills said. “Go back and look at that interview and pay attention to what I actually said and not what you want to think I said.” In another statement, Mills added, “Everybody has the right to the opinion and I respect that but I have the right to mind and I’m going to say it — so respect that I said Diana is royalty. There’s no doubt that Beyonce is a queen but Diana Ross is everything to me and there’s no comparison, they are two different eras.”
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Mills, who is an 11-time Grammy Award nominee, originally expressed her opinion that Beyoncé and Ross can’t be compared based solely on their stardom in her VladTV interview. However, when looking at the data associated with both Beyoncé and Ross’ careers, there is a fair amount of common ground between the pair. Both vocalists have sold over 100 million records worldwide, with Ross accumulating 12 to Queen Bey’s record 22 Grammy Awards throughout her career. Beyoncé became the first female artist to record six consecutive Billboard 200 Chart-topping albums and Ross was the first to notch six consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits. And while Queen Bey holds the record for having the most No. 1 songs on the Dance Club Songs Chart, with a total of 22 chart-topping singles, Ross holds the record for having the longest run at No. 1 spot on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs Chart, with eight consecutive weeks at the top spot.
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Watch the full interview below.