Beyoncé Explains Why She Likes To Keep Her Private Life Private

Beyoncé is back, and she’s gone country, y’all! Well okay, technically she’s always been country; she is from Houston, Texas, after all. Specifically speaking, Beyoncé’s clothing line, Ivy Park x Adidas, has gone country. And to promote the line, Beyoncé gave one of her signature rare interviews, this time to Harper’s Bazaar. In it, she spoke about why it is that you don’t see her popping up on Instagram every three seconds with a face full of filters, with a wonderful #ad she’d like to tell you all about. First, because she’s Beyoncé, and unattainable mystery is her brand. But also, it’s because she’s a Virgo.

A little less than a month before Beyoncé turns 40, she sat down with Kaitlyn Greenidge of Harper’s Bazaar to discuss her life so far. Beyoncé says that she used to be shy, silent, and reserved, but all that quiet gave her time to dream big. She also says she spent her teen years focused on Destiny’s Child getting a record contract, and because of that, she never really got to hang out and just be a kid. Essentially, it turned Beyoncé into the flawless person you see today:

“I sacrificed a lot of things and ran from any possible distraction. I felt as a young Black woman that I couldn’t mess up. I felt the pressure from the outside and their eyes watching for me to trip or fail. I couldn’t let my family down after all the sacrifices they made for me and the girls. That meant I was the most careful, professional teenager and I grew up fast. I wanted to break all of the stereotypes of the Black superstar, whether falling victim to drugs or alcohol or the absurd misconception that Black women were angry. I knew I was given this amazing opportunity and felt like I had one shot. I refused to mess it up, but I had to give up a lot.”

She adds that her 20s were about achieving commercial success, winning awards, and taking charge of her career (like creating Parkwood Entertainment, her multipurpose management company. And her 30s have been all about her family, healing past trauma, improving herself, and Beyoncé competing against nobody but Beyoncé. As such, Beyoncé has had to establish a whole lot of boundaries to maintain a healthy perspective on life (so, probably not going to find her lurking around Trick Daddy’s Twitter mentions in an alt account called @NotBeyoncé). Those boundaries have made Beyoncé a mysterious presence online, which would be a very intentional choice on Beyoncé’s part.

“We live in a world with few boundaries and a lot of access. There are so many internet therapists, comment critics, and experts with no expertise. Our reality can be warped because it’s based on a personalized algorithm. It shows us whatever truths we are searching for, and that’s dangerous. We can create our own false reality when we’re not fed a balance of what’s truly going on in the world. It’s easy to forget that there’s still so much to discover outside of our phones. I’m grateful I have the ability to choose what I want to share. One day I decided I wanted to be like Sade and Prince. I wanted the focus to be on my music, because if my art isn’t strong enough or meaningful enough to keep people interested and inspired, then I’m in the wrong business. My music, my films, my art, my message – that should be enough.”

And it’s also why the Beyoncé us peasants know is the perfectionist that gives off unapproachable android vibes. She doesn’t want us to know the real Beyoncé, because that’s Beyoncé the person, not Beyoncé the ultra-famous entertainer, business mogul, and fashion designer.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been intentional about setting boundaries between my stage persona and my personal life. My family and friends often forget the side of me that is the beast in stilettos until they are watching me perform. It can be easy to lose yourself very quickly in this industry. It takes your spirit and light, then spits you out. I’ve seen it countless times, not only with celebrities but also producers, directors, executives, etc. It’s not for everyone.

Before I started, I decided that I’d only pursue this career if my self-worth was dependent on more than celebrity success. I’ve surrounded myself with honest people who I admire, who have their own lives and dreams and are not dependent on me. People I can grow and learn from and vice versa. In this business, so much of your life does not belong to you unless you fight for it. I’ve fought to protect my sanity and my privacy because the quality of my life depended on it. A lot of who I am is reserved for the people I love and trust. Those who don’t know me and have never met me might interpret that as being closed off. Trust, the reason those folks don’t see certain things about me is because my Virgo ass does not want them to see it….It’s not because it doesn’t exist!”

Beyoncé’s explanation for why her social media activity is limited to promotions and modeling expensive outfits also debunks the myth that Beyoncé suffers from social anxiety. She’s not nervous about showing her true self, she just doesn’t want to! She’s a Virgo, damn it, with a privacy rising sun. So does Beyoncé relax around the people she’s closest with? Who knows! We won’t. It’s Beyoncé’s choice to be mysterious and secretive. Every celebrity who spent the past week blabbing about their bathing habits is like “Wait, we have the option to say nothing?”

Here’s more of Beyoncé for Harper’s Bazaar:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZQ76Dr-iv/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSZUXtqLQ8T/

Pic: Campbell Addy/Harper’s Bazaar