Is There a "New Beyoncé" on the Horizon?

A subtle rumbling from deep within the Earth just caused the beloved celestial body we all call home to shift slightly on its axis, leaving my equilibrium off-kilter. No, I'm not drunk, and as far as I know, an earthquake has yet to hit. BUT! Beyoncé. Has. Acknowledged. Whathappenedontheelevator. In her first statement regarding the infamous elevator beat down issued by Bey's sister Solange to Jay Z, Beyoncé officially declared that her husband and sister both take responsibility for their roles in the incident, have apologized and "moved forward as a united family." Upon retrieving the bottom half of my face from its comfortable resting spot in my lap, I immediately wondered if this atypical Beyoncé move of releasing a public statement regarding a personal affair means the arrival of a new era, one in which Beyoncé becomes more and more open about her personal life. Throughout her career, she's steadily maintained a "mind ya business" type image that only recently softened with the release of her latest album, which was markedly more overt in nature.

Everyone figured that she and Jay were a couple, but she refused to confirm it despite what she eventually admitted was a 10-year courtship. We all knew when they got married, but still she took her time in releasing wedding pics-- three years after the ceremony. And amid the controversy surrounding the authenticity of her pregnancy (which she strategically announced), she resisted the celebrity trend of plastering her fresh-out-the-womb offspring on magazine covers for an astronomical amount of money. She routinely posts personal pics on Instagram (her account's less than two years old) and 'til this day she's still not too keen on releasing photos of Blue Ivy's face, which is completely understandable. Even though this statement was clearly PR-maneuvered and constructed in the most PC manner, does it mean that Beyoncé will become less guarded with the public? Much like everyone is doing in regards to what caused the elevator fight, we'll have to wait and see-- without holding our breath. Some would argue that her image saturates our TV screens and radio airwaves enough as it is, but judging by the way this elevator fiasco has consumed the masses, it's safe to say that whether she continues to bird-feed the public with a carefully managed image or allows herself to be photographed with unkempt bedhead, looking less than fabulous, people will still scramble to steal a peek at whatever she offers, even if they don't belong to The Beygency.