Here are some new photos that Beyonce just added to her Tumblr. She’s reorganized her Tumblr so you can now see photos and videos from her Mrs. Carter Tour too. Some of the pics that she’s put in the “My Life” area are from her trip to Cuba with Jay-Z last month, the same trip that caused all of that controversy. I like the photos of Beyonce and Jay-Z posing together, just because we rarely get to see those coupled-up, tourist-y photos.

As for Beyonce and her Bump of Secrets, yesterday we discussed whether or not Beyonce was trying to shut down speculation about her womb in the wake of two major media outlets (E! News and Page Six) claiming that she is definitely maybe pregnant. Now comes word that Jay-Z is trying to shut it down:

Babyoncé confusion reigns! On Friday, E! News reported that Beyoncé and Jay-Z were expecting their second child citing multiple trustworthy sources. The report appeared to confirm rumors that had been building in the less-confirmation-dependent zone of the Internet ever since Queen B wore a dress cinched high above her waist at a New York gala earlier this month. The speculation accelerated when Mrs. Knowles-Carter canceled a May 14 show in Belgium citing dehydration and exhaustion.

The only problem: According to Hot 97, Jay-Z has denied reports that he and Beyoncé are expecting a second child. The New York radio station reported this morning that Jay, responding to a congratulatory e-mail, wrote back: “It’s not true. The news is worse than blogs.” Blue Ivy’s sibling might not be on the way just yet, after all.

Still due to be born soon, though, as far as we know, is Beyoncé’s forthcoming album. She has performed new song “Grown Woman” live and offered peek after peek. But her reps have gone to bizarre lengths to control photographs of the singer, a situation that prompted Garbage’s Shirley Manson to launch some on-the-money criticisms.

Look, Beyoncé has only tweeted four times and she has more than 8 million followers — almost as many as MTV, CNN, and The New York Times. She and Jay-Z are entitled to their privacy, of course. But they’re bigger than “the news,” and it’s disingenuous for them to pretend otherwise.

[From Spin]

I agree with Spin. And here’s what I don’t understand about Beyonce’s locked-down, compulsive, 24-hour-archivist shenanigans – why not just issue a straight denial? It wouldn’t even have to come from Beyonce’s mouth, although Spin is right, Beyonce could just tweet three simple words: “I’m not pregnant.” But why not get her rep to issue a specific denial to People Magazine? That’s what I don’t understand. Beyonce lost her ability to claim “privacy” for these questions a while back, when she gave interview after interview about her pregnancy and what childbirth was like and all of that.

Photos courtesy of Beyonce’s Tumblr.

I’ll save you a lot of time and energy: Joel Edgerton. Joel Edgerton is the only dude worth banging at last night’s NYC premiere of The Great Gatsby. I just covered the ladies’ fashion (which was a snoozefest), and the men weren’t really bringing it either. To be fair, I don’t think we were ever supposed to think Tobey Maguire was or is “hot”.

Anyway, here are the photos of the dudes from the premiere. I’m really falling for Joel these days – he was sexy in Zero Dark Thirty, he got great reviews in Warrior, and he seemed really happy to score the role of Tom Buchanan in Gatsby. He’s a big, strapping Aussie sweetheart, or at least that’s his vibe. He’s like the next big Aussie hope after the Hemsworth brothers. Think of it this way: Joel Edgerton is the new Sam Worthington.

I’m also including pics of Tobey (who plays Nick Carroway and NO I do not know why his wife was wearing a child’s babydoll dress), Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby) and Jay-Z (who produced the soundtrack). Leo looks okay, I guess, but his face seems to be getting wider every time I see him. Yesterday I read this article about Leo and I was stunned to learn that he’s about to turn 40 years old. I didn’t realize that – I guess I thought he was mid-30s. Oh, and I’m including some pics of Baz Luhrmann because – although I wouldn’t swear to it – I think he’s had a facelift. Right?!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I’ve never really understood the significance some people have put on seeing Blue Ivy Carter’s face. Beyonce and Jay-Z showed her face in baby’s first photos, released just a few weeks after Blue was born. And since then, we’ve had glimpses of Blue in various candid photos. What’s the big deal? Is it just so we can see which parent Blue takes after? Well, enjoy. These are some pics of Blue, Bey and Jay in Paris yesterday. They went to eat at Septime. Blue wore a “Pump up the volume” t-shirt and a binky. And a ‘tude. Look how she’s all “NOT THE FACE” when her dad tries to kiss her. It’s cute.

Anyway, I think Blue looks like a blend of her parents, quite honestly. Maybe I’m a bad judge of babies and who they look like. Like, while I definitely see Heath Ledger in Matilda Ledger, I also see a lot of Michelle Williams in there too, but no one ever says that. I think Blue will end up looking a lot like Beyonce as she grows up. She seems to have her dad’s world-weary eyes though.

And can I just say? From all of the photos we’ve seen of Jay-Z with his daughter over the past 15 months, I do think he’s a reasonably hands-on dad. I’m sure they have nannies and all of that, and it’s not like he’s got the same daddy-baby bonding that other first-time fathers would have, but I’m just saying that Jay looks very comfortable holding his daughter and she looks very comfortable with him too. You know he’s going to spoil the hell out of her too. He’s going to just get drunk on spoiling his princess.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

I was prepared to throw an absolute hissy fit at Today’s Savannah Guthrie for asking some asinine questions of Pres. Obama during an exclusive interview, but then I discovered that the interview was pre-taped BEFORE the Boston Marathon bombings. So, while Guthrie is still kind of idiotic for asking questions about Beyonce and Jay-Z, she’s not AS idiotic as I originally thought.

As we discussed previously, Beyonce and Jay-Z went to Cuba for their fifth wedding anniversary. While there, Bey and Jay happened to be photographed walking the streets of Havana and generally looking like they were having a good time, being touristy in Cuba. Since 2011, the restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba have definitely been loosened, and the average Joe Citizen basically just has to get a special waver or pass from the Department of the Treasury to fly to Cuba. The Average Joe Citizen also has to explain why he or she is going to Cuba, and it can’t be “to do tourist things”. It has to be “educational” or something.

But! When the photos of Bey and Jay in Havana came out, Republicans threw a fit and demanded to know whether or not Pres. Obama sent Air Force One to pick up Jay and Bey so that they could spend their anniversary in a communist paradise on the taxpayer’s dime. Or whatever. It was mostly the Cuban-American GOP contingent making all the noise, and the Treasury Dept. released a statement basically saying that Bey and Jay traveled to Cuba as part of an “educational exchange” and everything was perfectly legal. The White House press secretary fielded some questions about it too, and he basically said, “Dude, seriously? Obama didn’t have anything to do with it.” Then Jay-Z released this song, “Open Letter”:

Jay seems to be challenging his critics with typical Jay-Z ‘tude. The song includes the line: “Boy from the hood but got White House clearance/Obama said, Chill. You’re gonna get me impeached./You don’t need this s— anyway, chill with me on the beach.” So… that’s where we were when Savannah Guthrie sat down with Pres. Obama, and of course she asked him about the trip. Of course. Obama’s answer was simple:

“I wasn’t familiar that they were taking the trip. My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba. This is not something the White House was involved in. We’ve got better things to do.”

[Via Us Weekly]

Seriously. If this whole “Beyonce in Havana” kerfuffle doesn’t end with GOP Congressmen asking for a special prosecutor, I will eat my hat. All this shows is how our Cuba policy is just some dumb Cold War relic that should have ended more than a decade ago.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last week, Beyonce and Jay-Z flew to Cuba to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. We didn’t have access to the photos, which is probably why I never wrote about their trip. When I first heard about it, I did have a moment of “Huh, I wonder if they had to route their trip through Canada to avoid some State Department regulations” but at the end of the day, I didn’t really care. Americans have been traveling to Cuba for a while, sometimes by exploiting loopholes in America’s completely FUBAR Cuba policies, and sometimes by just traveling there with approval from the government. As it stands right now, an American can’t just decide they want to fly to Cuba on a whim, just to be a tourist. If you are an American, you have to get a special license to travel to Cuba under the auspices of “academic, religious, journalistic or cultural exchange visits.”

But! Things are getting interesting, politically speaking. Two Cuban-American House members are throwing a FIT about Beyonce and Jay’s trip and wouldn’t you know, I think the GOP found their newest scandal! Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (both Floridians) are calling for an investigation as to what kind of travel visas and special permissions were granted to Bey and Jay for their Cuba trip. The representatives have already written a letter to the Treasury Department requesting information as to whether Bey and Jay broke any laws, or whether Pres. Obama pulled some strings for his BFFs (and fundraisers).

Now “sources” from the Treasury Department have gone to media outlets to insist that no rules or laws were broken. These sources insist (to Reuters, the NYDN, etc) that Beyonce and Jay were legally and properly credentialed and their license was in order and everything. So, is the scandal over? Probably not. I would imagine that there will be some kind of House committee or sub-committee hearing on this and the Cuban-American lobby will try to make some political hay.

Photos courtesy of Beyonce’s Tumblr.

As I grow older, I’ve noticed that I’ve grown more and more wary of wealthy people. Maybe it’s a reaction to the 2008 financial meltdown, or maybe my suspicion was always lurking in the shadows, and it’s just come out to play recently. But whenever I see ridiculous conspicuous consumption these days, it disgusts me more than it used to. I have to remind myself, “It’s their money. If they want to spend on ridiculous things, so be it.” Speaking of, the past few years have been filled with a litany of conspicuous consumption from Beyonce and Jay-Z, from overpriced baby clothes for Blue Ivy,to buying “baby’s first diamonds.” This one might take the cake though:

Nice crib! When Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z watches basketball games at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, their daughter, Blue, 12 months, chills downstairs in a nursery!

“Jay rents a luxurious basement suite for $1 million a year,” a source says in the new issue of of Us Weekly, on stands now. “It has an area for Blue filled with toys.”

Jay’s VIP space — the priciest of 11 spreads for rent (average cost: $550,000) — also serves as an adult playground. “It’s all glass with a champagne bar and TV screen,” says the source. “Jay lets friends use his digs when he’s not there.”

In October, helped Jay-Z close out his eight performances at the Barclays Center as a surprise guest. Blue’s parents, who wed in April 2008, performed “Crazy in Love” together, and shared a kiss on stage.

“Of course I had to let BK touch the stage in BK,” Jay-Z joked to the audience. “Well, BKC now.”

Beyonce kicked off the new year with a private performance in Las Vegas. “In our perfect ways, in the ways we are beautiful, in the ways we are human — we are here,” she wrote in a handwritten note on her Tumblr blog. “Happy New Year’s. Let’s make it ours.”

[From Us Weekly]

I kind of understand the idea behind “sky boxes” and courtside seats, but I don’t understand paying a million bucks to have a basement lair – a lair devoid of good views or close action – just so you can bring your baby to a game and have her chill out with a nanny. Nor do I understand the basement lair thing for “hanging out with friends” – for $1 million?!? Bitch, go to the 40/40 Club!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Can you believe that early January is finally here? Not only is it the New Year, but we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop-branded colon cleanse! This is a momentous occasion, and I’m really crossing my fingers that not only will Goop publish next week’s newsletter with a new “collaboration” with a Dr. Junger, but finally, she’ll see the light and offer the Crispy Carrot Ginger and Luxardo Maraschino powder flavors that I previously suggested. If anyone knows anything about peasant life, it’s me, and Goop needs to listen to my suggestions. Make it happen.

At the moment, however, Gwyneth’s newsletter has been on hiatus since December 20, which is completely understandable considering that it’s the holidays, and Goop probably wants to Goop it up in the kitchen for her family and attend some fancy parties. Also, she has been videotaped dancing onstage at Jay-Z’s recent New Year’s Eve gig in Brooklyn, and the video has now gone viral. Naturally, the Mail has labeled Gwyneth’s moves as “cringeworthy” and “mum dancing,” but I’m inclined to take it easy on her because this vid is actually kind of cute. Check it out:

I don’t know. I think Goop’s little jiggle is dumb, but her little display of entitlement (“Look, I’m on stage with Jay-Z! His wife, Beyonce, is totally my BFF, and we drink wine together in bed while our children frolic in the fields adjacent to my wood-burning pizza oven”) is no where near as embarrassing as Chris Martin’s overenthusiastic “hip-hop” dancing as he shouts “Yeah!!!” I will never understand what Gwyneth sees in that guy — well, besides the posh accent and all of that money.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Here are some photos of Beyonce and Jay-Z doing some very last-minute Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. Why does Jay look so pissy? Is it because they’re being pap’d and he just wanted to get his Bergdorf on? That’s where they were – Bergdorf-Goodman. Global Grind says that Beyonce and Jay might have met up with Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin at the department store too, which is kind of cute. Double-date shopping spree on Christmas Eve? Or maybe they were just getting food or something.

Did you know that Beyonce is going to be on the cover of Vogue in a few months? Rumor going around is that Annie Leibovitz photographed Beyonce for the March cover… which is Vogue’s annual “Power Issue”. Beyonce deigning to cover the Power Issue? Yeah. I could see that. I hope the interview is good too – Vogue has some good celebrity interviewers these days (unlike Vanity Fair – has anyone else noticed a marked decline in the quality of VF’s celebrity interviews?), so I hope we’ll have a lot of good/weird/interesting Beyonce quotes to analyze. Bey will probably be covering the March issue because: A) she’s the Super-Bowl half-time show, and B) she’s dropping a new album… soon.

Last thing: Note the prominent BLUE all over the place in Beyonce’s outfit. Little Blue Ivy will be 1 year old on January 7th. Cough. It feels like longer, right? It feels like Blue Ivy has been around for longer than a year, but maybe that’s because Blue’s early months were overanalyzed and nitpicked. I wonder what kind of birthday party Bey and Jay will throw for their daughter?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

For the American Thanksgiving holiday, Beyonce deigned to release some new photos on her Tumblr. If that came across as bitchy or Goop-y… well, I guess I meant it slightly, although I don’t think Beyonce is as passive-aggressively patronizing as Gwyneth Paltrow. I actually enjoy it when Bey releases new photos on her awesome Tumblr.

I’m including all of the “top” photos from Bey’s Tumblr, but the newest of the new pics are the two featuring Blue Ivy, although you can’t really see Blue’s face clearly in either of them. I’m not quite sure why that’s such a thing with Beyonce and Jay-Z. I mean, I guess they’re trying to say to the world: “We know you want to see baby photos, but we’re being so super-careful about showing her face because PRIVACY!” It seems like a weird place to draw the line, though – I mean, Beyonce shilled every part of her pregnancy (side-eye) and we have actually seen Blue’s face a few times, and since Beyonce is already posting photos on her Tumblr…? Still, I guess I understand.

I really don’t think this is a “Beyonce doesn’t want to show the baby’s face because Blue looks like Jay” situation – from what I’ve seen of Blue, she’s a very pretty, normal-looking baby. Meaning the Carter genes aren’t overwhelming or anything, so I don’t get why everyone is so mean about “the baby looks like Jay-Z, that’s why we don’t see Blue’s face!” Stop making fun of babies!!!!!!

Photos courtesy of Beyonce’s Tumblr.

There are certainly people you simply don’t mess with, even if you’re Jay-Z and you’re the Boss of all you survey. One of those people? Robert DeNiro. DeNiro may be 69 years old and spend most of his days in a state of sleepiness/grumpiness, but no one should ever dare f—k with him. Jay-Z messed with the wrong godfather! What’s funny is that Jay-Z didn’t really actively do anything to Bob DeNiro – DeNiro had called Jay-Z and left a message or something about Jay-Z possibly performing at Bob’s Tribeca Film Festival, and Jay-Z just never called him back. And then when they saw each other at a party, DeNiro SCHOOLED Jay about phone etiquette. For real.

Robert De Niro and Jay-Z got into a tense beef at Leonardo DiCaprio’s birthday bash the other night, when De Niro called the rapper disrespectful, Page Six can exclusively reveal.

Spies say “Godfather II” and “Taxi Driver” star De Niro gave Jay a dressing-down in a roomful of celebs including Martin Scorsese because the rap mogul had refused to return De Niro’s calls.

Sources add that Jay tried to joke his way out of the situation, and even his wife, Beyoncé, tried to intervene, but De Niro wouldn’t back down.

“Bob was sitting at a table, and when Jay-Z went over to say hello, De Niro told Jay that he never called him back,” a source says.

A spy then overheard De Niro complaining to the rapper, a fellow TriBeCa resident, about a song Jay-Z agreed to record for the Tribeca Film Festival. De Niro had reached out to discuss further details, but Jay never returned his calls.

“Bob wasn’t in any mood to make polite conversation,” the spy says. “He told Jay that if somebody calls you six times, you call them back. It doesn’t matter who you are, that is just rude.”

When Jay-Z tried to make a joke of it, saying he is terrible on the phone, a source says, “De Niro kept telling him that he thinks he’s the man, but that he was disrespectful.’ ”

“Beyoncé came over, but that didn’t calm Bob down,” the source said, adding that afterward, “It was the talk of the party. Everyone was saying there’s only one star in New York bigger and badder than Jay-Z, and that’s Robert De Niro. He can be quite scary when he’s angry.”

But a source close to De Niro told us, “It was a low-key private conversation between two people that was apparently overheard. It was not a heated discussion.”

The Darby bash, which sources say ended at 5 a.m. with a tab of nearly $3 million, much of which went to the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, drew Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, Jonah Hill, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo and Emma Watson.

Reps for both De Niro and Jay-Z declined to comment.

[From Page Six]

I think it’s a good sign that the two men didn’t get into a screaming match. DeNiro was pissed off, and Jay was man enough to let DeNiro vent, and Jay even tried to diffuse the situation with humor and lightness. DeNiro comes off as a bit temperamental and crotchety, and Jay comes across like a busy guy who doesn’t always answer his phone messages, even if he gets a call from DeNiro. That’s just the way I read it – and I bet Jay never ignores a call from DeNiro again!

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.