Tina Knowles breaks silence on ‘disgusting’ rumor Beyonce faked first pregnancy: ‘Worst times of my life’

Tina Knowles recounted how the rumors about Beyonce faking her first pregnancy impacted their entire family
PUBLISHED APR 23, 2025
Tina Knowles opened up about the deep pain caused by false rumors surrounding Beyonce's 2011 pregnancy with Blue Ivy (Amy Sussman/WireImage)
Tina Knowles opened up about the deep pain caused by false rumors surrounding Beyonce's 2011 pregnancy with Blue Ivy (Amy Sussman/WireImage)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Tina Knowles is proud to be a grandmother to Beyonce’s three children, but she still carries the pain of a moment that clouded one of their biggest family milestones.

The designer recently spoke about how hurtful it was when conspiracy theories swirled online around Beyonce’s first pregnancy with Blue Ivy.

Tina Knowles-Lawson attends the DesignCare 2022 Gala benefitting The HollyRod Foundation at RJ's Place Vocational and Family Support Services Center on June 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Tina Knowles-Lawson attends the DesignCare 2022 Gala benefitting The HollyRod Foundation at RJ's Place Vocational and Family Support Services Center on June 18, 2022, in Los Angeles, California (Getty Images)

Tina Knowles recounts 'horrendous' rumors about Beyonce's pregnancy

Tina Knowles opened up about the speculation that Beyonce had faked her pregnancy in 2011, in an interview with People on Tuesday, April 22. That same day, her memoir 'Matriarch' hit shelves.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 09: Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Disney's
Beyonce and Blue Ivy Carter attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Disney's 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at Dolby Theatre on December 9, 2024, in Hollywood, California (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

"My family is so precious to me and babies are so sacred," Knowles said while slamming rumor mongers for having fun over something quite unimaginable.

"So to hear people say the most horrendous things and call my whole family a lie, because we would all have to be part of that conspiracy and lie about something so sacred," she continued.

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Recording artists Beyonce, Jay Z and daughter Blue Ivy Carter attend the
Beyonce and Jay-Z, and Blue Ivy Carter attend the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018, in New York City (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS) 

"It was one of the worst times of my life because I couldn’t say anything. My daughter was saying, ‘No, you’re going to make the story bigger.' But it didn’t go away for a long time. It’s one of the most painful things for me, that people could be that disgusting," she added.

Why Beyonce was accused of faking her pregnancy

The rumors began after Beyonce appeared on an Australian talk show in fall 2011. As she sat down for the interview, her dress folded in a way that some people thought it looked like a fake baby bump caving in on itself.

That solitary appearance prompted intense scrutiny, meticulous frame-by-frame online analyses, and prolonged speculation spanning years.



 

Even after Blue Ivy’s birth in January 2012, some continued to believe that Beyonce and Jay-Z used a surrogate, reported Billboard.

Beyonce’s publicist at the time labeled the conspiracy theories “stupid, ridiculous and false".

Later, the 35-time Grammy winner told People, “That was crazy. It wasn’t hurtful, it was just crazy.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14:  Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z attend the European Premiere of Disney'
Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z attend the European Premiere of Disney's 'The Lion King' at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 14, 2019, in London, England (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney) 

Beyonce and Jay-Z later welcomed twins Rumi and Sir on June 13, 2017.

Tina Knowles says Beyonce’s past miscarriages made rumors even more painful

Tina Knowles wrote in 'Matriarch' that the experience was even more painful considering what her daughter had been through while trying to conceive.

Tina Knowles and Beyonce Knowles at The Launch Of House Of Dereon By Beyonce And Tina Knowles at Selfridges on September 17, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images)
Tina Knowles and Beyonce Knowles at the launch of House of Dereon at Selfridges on September 17, 2011, in London, England (Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images)

“The worst thing is that people had no idea how hard it was for Beyonce to go through multiple miscarriages, and then when finally blessed to carry a baby to term, the world starts heckling you as you both try to make it to the finish line,” Knowles, wrote per Independent.

“This child was prayed for and prayed over — a wanted, cherished, real baby, and people were making a living off saying she was a lie,” she said in the memoir.

“I wanted to curse some people out and scream at these losers to set the record straight,” Knowles added in the book. “They had no idea what she and Jay, and our whole family, had been through.”

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