Here's Mrs. Carter on the cover of British Vogue's May issue.
Commenters on The Fashion Spot, the most thorough fashion forum on the internet, are not impressed.
And inside the magazine...
Or maybe, just like she has to pee.
And then there's the matter of the article accompanying the images itself, in which Beyoncé states, "I guess I am a modern-day feminist:"
When asked if she considers herself a feminist, she shys away from an immediate endorsement of the term and replies: 'That word can be very extreme...
'But I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality. Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? I'm just a woman and I love being a woman.'
So then, why does she have to label herself "Mrs. Carter"? Is "Beyoncé" not label enough? Or is this like that time she said she was all about female empowerment and then came out with "Bills Bills Bills"? Or when she said her alter ego was Sasha Fierce, though Sasha Fierce's baddest message was, as so clearly stated in "Single Ladies," "why didn't you marry me, fool!"?
The mounting Beyoncé backlash isn't just stemming from the boring photo shoot — the mounting contradictions that her increasingly public persona represent are stoking the flames on all levels.
True Beyoncé fans know to go elsewhere for messages of feminist empowerment (and fashion statements) and just ignore all tangential Beyoncé nonsense that has nothing to do with her live performances, which remain truly awesome.