Jay-Z, Beyoncé present a united front with Blue Ivy at 'Mufasa' premiere amid lawsuit

                                     

LOS ANGELES − The Knowles-Carters sent a statement loud and clear at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King" amid potential legal issues for Jay-Z: The family that sticks together, stays together.

Mother-daughter duo Beyoncé and 12-year-old Blue Ivy Carter posed for photos on the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre, notably home of the Oscars, on Monday night. The first two dazzled in metallic gold gowns and were later joined by Jay-Z, clad in a chocolate brown suit.

The family arrived without much fanfare among hundreds of guests and staff roaming the tented red carpet that took over a block of Hollywood Boulevard. After doing the step and repeat, the Carters left seemingly as quickly as they came − without walking the rest of the carpet or speaking to the media.

More:Who is Blue Ivy Carter's character on the upcoming 'Lion King' prequel 'Mufasa'?

Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, also joined the trio for a red carpet photo. Beyoncé and Jay-Z were not listed as anticipated guests prior to the premiere of the film, which arrives in theaters Dec. 20.

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Other "Mufasa" stars spotted on the red carpet yesterday were Aaron Pierre (Muafasa), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Taka, aka Scar), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa), Billy Eichner (Timon), director Barry Jenkins and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Inside the theater, the "Beautiful Liar" singer and Blue Ivy joined Jenkins, Miranda and the rest of the cast onstage to introduce the film. As the the group stepped down from the stage to return to their seats, Beyoncé and Blue Ivy exited side stage while holding hands.

Beyoncé keeps the spotlight on daughter Blue Ivy

On Instagram, following their red carpet premiere appearances, Beyoncé gushed over her "gorgeous baby girl."

She wrote, "This is your night. You trained hard, and you did such a beautiful job as the voice of Kiara. Your family could not be prouder. Keep shining."

"Mufasa," the prequel to 2019's "The Lion King," tells the backstory of Mufasa and Scar – how they befriended each other as cubs and grew up together, then faced down a foe. Rafiki (John Kani, and voiced by Kagiso Lediga for young Rafiki) narrates the saga to Kiara (Blue Ivy), who is Mufasa's granddaughter.

Beyoncé essentially reprises her role as Kiara's mom, Nala − as does Donald Glover, who plays Kiara's dad, Simba.

The Carter brothers were pulled into legal drama this weekend when a woman, who had anonymously filed a lawsuit claiming Sean "Diddy" Combs raped her at a MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2000, amended the complaint to allege Jay-Z was the other celebrity who'd raped her. 

Jay-Z responded with a scathing statement that described the allegations "heinous in nature" as well as "a blackmail attempt."

He emphasized the "heartbreak" this has given his family of five: "My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and confront the cruelty and greed of people."