Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy is given encouraging pep talk by dad Jay-Z after feeling shy

On Sunday night while Beyoncé stayed at home with twins Sir and Rumi, two, Jay-Z took their firstborn Blue Ivy, eight, for a special evening out. The father-daughter duo went to watch Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Centre, and after the game, the pair went to congratulate basketball player LeBron James on his team’s win. In adorable footage shared by ESPN, the little girl was given some words of encouragement by her dad after feeling shy approaching LeBron for an autographed basketball. The rapper told his daughter: “I can’t do it. If you want it, you gotta tell him. You almost got it out. Yeah, just do it.”

Luckily for Blue, James noticed that she was a little nervous asking for her signed basketball, and said to her: “You want a ball from me? Okay, I got you.” Blue nodded her head, and James promised her that she would receive the ball by the time she had finished school on Monday. “You got school on Monday? By the time you get out of school on Monday, you’ll have it,” he told her. The news pleased the little girl no end, who smiled as she walked away with her dad.

As ever, Blue looked stylish during her day out with her dad, dressed in a personalised denim jacket with the words “Blue is my name” emblazoned on the back. The statement piece was teamed with black leggings, a sparkly T-shirt and Fendi combat boots. The eight-year-old has her own stylist, Manuel A. Mendez, who creates the perfect age-appropriate looks for Blue to go out in. The stylist also worked his magic during Blue’s day out at the Superbowl in February, and dressed the little girl in a custom-made tulle top, paired with studded boots and a leather jacket.

While Blue was a little shy at the basketball game, the eight-year-old has proved that she has incredible star potential, having made several public appearances with her parents, including at red carpet events and glitzy award ceremonies. She even featured in Beyoncé’s music video for her single, Spirit. Her younger siblings Rumi and Sir, meanwhile, are still too young, as Jay-Z recently explained to Prince Harry while on the red carpet at The Lion King premiere in London. When the royal asked where they were, he replied: “They are not here. They don’t come on every trip. We left them at home.”