Beyonce covers the new issue of the New York Times’ T Style Magazine. The photoshoot is by Juergen Teller, who seems to be adhering to the Terry Richardson School of Editorial Photography (blank background, p0rn lighting). But what’s really, really interesting to me is that the entire article – “The Woman on Top of the World” – features absolutely NO quotes from Beyonce. This is not a celebrity profile. This is not a Q&A. Beyonce will not deign to speak to The New York Times. Instead, the piece reads like the fever-dream of some Beygency lackey. You can read the piece here.
I guess the premise is simple enough: Beyonce rules the world. She’s materialistic and postfeminist. She is a cypher of the modern world. She is everything. She is flawless. She is fierce. She is drama. She is immoral, the embodiment of anti-feminism, so say her critics. And how does Beyonce answer them? She doesn’t. Because she won’t even deign to speak to the NYT, why would you think she would respond to someone calling her “immoral”?
Meanwhile, 50 Cent claims that he and Bey once had a run-in because she thought she was running interference between 50 and Jay-Z. 50 explains it this way:
“One time [Beyoncé] jumped off of a ledge and came running over cause she thought me and Jay had issues. And I’m like, ‘What the f–k? Did she really just jump and run up on me like that?’ She jumped out and I was like this, ‘What?! That Bonnie and Clyde for real! You try this or what, boy?! I’m here!’ She bugged out at me. I looked and Jay starts laughing. He’s like, ‘Yo, you know what it is.’”
While I have my doubts about the authenticity of this story, I did laugh at “That Bonnie and Clyde for real.” You know that will make Beyonce and Jay happy. They love all things Bonnie and Clyde.
Photos courtesy of Juergen Teller/T Magazine.
This makes me want to buy a bird, so I can line its cage with this magazine article.
*snort*
If you put enough cat litter to cover it, the magazine is the right size for a litter box
It can nest in that fugly wig.
I think she doesn’t want to answer because she is not articulated enough to answer to some real -not worshipping- journalist.
As I’ve said before after DC she is a good J-Z product. Without him she wouldn’t have lasted as a singer.
She is a good performer and a tough worker but she can’t write a decent song on her own, she is not Mariah.
This. The only print interviews I’ve seen where she came off as reasonably articulate were those that were conducted via email. In person, being asked questions that haven’t been pre-screened, she can barely string a coherent sentence together.
Mariah does not write songs on her own. She has songwriters she works with and I think Beyonce would have lasted w/o Jay Z. I always thought she could have done so much better than him
I agree Ashley, it makes me laugh when folks try to knock her and give Jigga the STAR POWER in the relationship…the old “she’d be nothing if she were not hooked on to him” Please I laugh.
She is talented, a hardworker and a loving mom, I truly believe that those things matter to her. She is not afraid to go w/o false eye lashes, foundation and a bunch of other crap and be regular…she shuns all of the cameras and actually is not trying to be papped and crap.
Its the same old tired lines “she can’t read, she can’t talk” but she can cash those checks and she does not have to do anything crazy to get them..like a bunch of stunt queens that have huge fan bases–(side eye Lady BlahBlah/Madonna)
folks get soo huffy about this chick, heehee
She could have done MUCH better than Jigga
Even during DC she was clearly the star, add to the fact that she is one of the best contemporary performers, I beg to differ she wouldn’t have lasted without Jay-Z. You acknowledge her hard work and talent yet it’s a man that kept her at the top? She was already there before him.
Let me remind me that she consistently makes MORE money than him. That she heads her OWN company, she’s the boss, not Jay. He’s lucky that he has his other business ventures because Beyoncé beats him on the music front too, which is saying something.
Also Bey-Z nearly broke up around 2006 as Jay rapped about her love for work trumping her love for him and that he couldn’t fault her for that as he would’ve been the same at her age. Why do you think it took her so long to have a child? She wanted her career first, to achieve HER goals first. Jay wanted babies since forever and people were saying Beyoncé would never have them because she’s such a workaholic. But sure, she’s a product of Jay-Z. She could’ve had anybody and people think Jay-Z is not enough for her so she would most definitely last. She has garnered a star status that does not require a man to keep her there (just like Madonna, Rihanna etc…)
Rihanna can’t write for shit either, can’t sing or dance and she’s more successful and popular than Beyoncé. Mariah’s latest album flopped with only 56k sold, maybe in her heyday you could’ve compared but now? Even Madonna can sell more.
This! Beyonce would definitely have lasted on her own.
Meh. Beyoncé needs a rapper on her track, she asks Jay Z; Jay Z needs a female singer on his and he asks, erm… Alicia Keys.
Let’s not forget that even with the colossal hype a Beyoncé album isn’t going to sell much over 3 million these days or that she hasn’t had a US no.1 or serious worldwide hit since, what, 2008? If it wasn’t for her sleb marriage she’d have fallen well behind Taylor, Katy & Rihanna.
And if B’s current level of success exploded, Adele wouldn’t hear the bang for three days…
Well said Artemis, I agree.
I definitely agree Artemis, she was to Destiny’s Child what Justin Timberlake is to N’Sync. She’s always had star power and she’s an amazing performer.
Artemis: I’m ALWAYS in agreement with your comments 👍
Artemis + 1
@Tapioca Or Andre 300, or Drake, or J Cole, or Slim Thug or Frank Ocean or Kanye West… I could go on. I think diminishing her achievements to her being nothing without Jay Z is just so ridiculous. She was the star of one of the biggest selling girl groups of all time before she even met Jay. She didn’t even feature him on her album before this recent one. Rihanna has only just achieved her first #1 album, Beyonce made Taylor’s tour total plus a 1/3 and Katy Perry… really? The only one who’s had her sustained level of success is Mariah, Madonna, etc as we all know how their latest albums have done. The others either fall down on tours or album sales. Adele is incredible, but one juggernaut of an album does not a career make. She doesn’t have to be your cup of tea, but her success is not dependent on her marriage, considering they only started talking about since they had their daughter,
Thanks girls 😉
@Tapioca:
see Karen’s comment and I’ll raise hers with Big Boi, Sean Paul, Sleepy Brown, Luther Vandross and Missy Elliot from her debut solo album Dangerously in Love. Of course, if one only follows her radio hits, one cannot know every collaboration. But you tried it as usual. Jay-Z also worked with Beyoncé on his albums and with Rihanna.
I also agree with the rest of Karen’s comments and I feel as if you don’t realise how hard it is for a singer like Beyoncé to still be relevant considering there have been many black artists who have fallen behind due to ‘black music’ not being mainstream. Rihanna is popular because she makes mainly pop R&B music and she has great producers/collaborators, She jumps on every trend and cashes in because she releases albums every year! Beyoncé’s latest album is more R&B and less pop than usual and she killed it in sales. That’s pretty amazing considering most R&B singers are popular due to collaborations with other more famous singers and mixing genres (see Frank Ocean who was able to crossover into mainstream). A lot of R&B singers are not relevant despite being huge successes in the beginning such as Ciara and Ashanti and both had relationships with famous rappers in their prime!
Mary J. Blige, a legend, had to make cash by singing about chicken for Burger King. Do you even know about the difficulties of urban music?
Is she articulate? Not Really, But let us not sit here and really act like we don’t know how an Opinion Thinkpiece works ya’ll! Ffs I understand most of the Celebitchians dont Do Beysus Christ but let’s not grasp at bs straws
I like her, love her music, but I am getting annoyed by how much she acts like she is the best thing in the world. Calm down girl.
Makes me think of Rihanna, who is way funnier and cooler, and I like her personality more than Beyonce, who just seems kind of formulaic… But Rihanna is just as narcissistic, but she does it in a way that plays with perception- like she’s in on the joke.
I wish Beyonce would be a little more playful with her public image like that.
I’m not a Beyonce fan, the Queen Bey overfawning annoys me to no end, but at least she is a good singer. Rihanna only has her image, nothing else.
+1 to everything you said!
I don’t like her anymore
Love the cover
I don’t get this whole: Beyone is flawless, perfect-thing.
Richard Simmons needs to knock a girl down STAT.
Same here there are better singers out there but I must be old school because a show is more important than real music these days
I don’t believe 50 because he would have said this years ago. Plus he really hates Jay. Something about it seems false.
She looks great in the cover and leather pants photos
What is TweenFiminsm?
My one wish for the world is that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have a seat. For about a year.
seriously.
Or 2.
If they could take Kim and Kanye away too would be amazing.
I have red some fan magazine articles from the 30s about some movie stars that sound similar to this.
My husband and I took pics in front of the B&C ‘death car.’ That’s all I can muster for a Beyonce post.
Glad I’m not the only one who is over the whole “Beyoncé rules the world” gushing. Ugh. She’s no different than any other over privileged, self indulgent, narcissistic celebrity.
Yes, exactly, I believe a poster on a recent Bey thread put it best (paraphrasing) She’s a one-dimensional, tacky, unintelligent narcissist.) Her music (which she doesn’t write or arrange) isn’t that good, and this media fawing is disgusting. I get this magazine, and it will go straight to recycling, this twit is not interesting – self- absorption seldom is. Her marriage is every bit a pr/business relationship as kanye and kimmie kakes.
I read the article and I don’t get why it’s so bad for Beyonce. It’s not all honey and kisses but it’s not bad either.
I think Beyonce, as a product, is the closest thing to Madonna, although they share little to no physical traits, they both sell SEX and only SEX. Although, like the article states, Bey sells marriage sex, while Madonna sells all kinds of sex. And people who sell sex all the time are not good at talking, nor should we ever be subjected to listening to them.
That cover is gorgeous, I’m looking for something that could give me a golden glow, I may try a self tanner or some kind of highlighter for my upper cheekbones.
I think Juergen Teller was doing this style of photography before Terry Richardson. I certainly saw a lot of Teller’s work around the late 90’s/early 00’s.
He’s a better photographer than Uncle Terry in my opinion. I think he uses this style to greater effect.
Great pics! She looks amazing as usual.
She’s everything! Love her.
Her face looks really different.
Her face and makeup in these pics are are beautiful! I find it weird to do a photoshoot for the magazine but not give an interview or at least small snippets.
Ugh, not a fan. Will not read the magazine article. I can’t admire or follow someone who has a 24/7 photographer to constantly shoot pix of “ME ME ME ME ME” …
She was set to do an interview for this but bailed last minute.
Beyonce’s first solo song flopped. She was gyrating in a gold minidress singing about honeybees. Jay Z produced much of her chart topping debut album Dangerously in love and sister Solange has written many of her lyrics. Jay Z is credited in the production notes as,Shawn Carter. People forget that he is also a producer. Beyonce had star quality, looks, talent and drive. Jay Z provided the beats that were hot at the time. Very similar to the situation when DC first began and the song No No No was not a banging club hit until WYCLEF JEAN retooled it. Bey needed Jay then as much as he needs her now.
I remember thinking Kelly Rowland was going to be the star to make it solo out of that group because she had a number one hit with rapper Kelly called Dilemma which was played in heavy rotation….while beyonce’s honeybee song while cute funky and brass heavy barely made a dent.
God, I am so tired of her.
Why words? She only wants us to know that she’s got money, sexyness, and that her husband has a big cock.
She seems to have lost all that made her likable. Her music isn’t even as fun as it once was.