14 DAY TRIAL // It’s been months that we’ve been hearing rumors that one of the most successful couples in showbiz, Beyonce and Jay Z, are about to file the divorce papers, for a variety of reasons, including infidelity and spending too much time apart because of their busy schedules. Beyonce’s performance at the MTV Video Music Awards 2014 and especially the little stunt at the end of it were supposed to put an end to that.
They didn’t.
Beyonce was honored with the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award at the VMAs 2014 and she delivered a 16+-minute performance to confirm that, indeed, there was no better recipient for such a distinction. It was mind-blowing, no ifs and buts about that. At the end of said performance, Jay Z walked up on stage, with daughter Blue Ivy in his arms, to hand her the award.
The moment was a very touching one, precisely because it’s not something which us regular folks are privy to that often. Because, make no mistake, if there’s something we do know about Beyonce, that is that she’s fiercely protective of her personal life, and because of it, she exercises very strict control over what gets out in the media.
That’s not to say that the moment wouldn’t have been touching otherwise. Seeing a woman’s work recognized with what is the MTV equivalent of a Lifetime Achievement Award, and the two people she loves most in this world hand it to her, and seeing her moved to tears, would have been touching no matter the circumstances.
Let’s not forget though that we’re talking about Beyonce, the same Beyonce who countered every breakup story with a perfectly timed photo of her happy family on tumblr, Instagram or her official website. This is the same Beyonce who admitted in an interview to keeping a record of everything she appears in, from video to magazines, and perhaps even tabloid stories. She basically has an entire room dedicated to herself, which helps her manage her image in a way that few artists do.
In other words, I believe that the most recent rumor, about how the touching moment at the end of her performance was just a PR stunt, is true. I’m not trying to say that the tears and emotion she must have felt were fake, but only that she had Jay and Blue up on stage to do damage control, to stop the bleeding for a short time, while they continue with their On the Run Tour and wrap it up.
Beyonce is now in a position in which she can do anything and not be torn apart in the press. The same goes for Jay. They have the talent and the money to not have to rely on media buzz to sell albums or, oppositely, fear a dent in sales if the media attention is negative.
She could have just chosen to ignore the rumors from the start and see about her daily work, continue to make music, perform, handle her business. The scandal would have died down eventually because nothing keeps the fire going than fuel, no matter the shape in which it presents itself. By posting all those photos all these weeks, Beyonce kept it going.
By having Jay and Blue up there with her on stage at the VMAs, she didn’t rubbish rumors of divorce “for good,” as was probably her intention, but silently admitted that something was wrong and that it was serious enough for her to make a stand and issue a denial about it.
You may call me a skeptic for saying these things and I wouldn’t even dream of contradicting you. However, I’ve been covering celebrities and celebrity scandals for many years now, and I know how these things work and the part media plays in it.
This kind of unspoken denial is oftentimes the very piece of evidence celebrities are trying to avoid offering to the public. As William Shakespeare so beautifully put it in “Hamlet,” “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” That lady was Beyonce at the VMAs on Sunday night.
