Less than two weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, it seemed the only news from here on out would be political.
The new president and his flurry of executive orders and swift-moving, substantive changes to US policy and procedure seemed to leave little oxygen for any other headlines.
But even President Trump lacks the star power of Queen Bee.
Prior to the inauguration, some fans joked that Beyonce should drop an album as Trump was being sworn in, and in doing so steal the spotlight from the new commander in chief.
Beyonce did one better: she announced, via a resplendent photo on Instagram, that she would be dropping something else – two something elses, in fact.
That’s right – Beyonce is having twins. And the news has been welcomed by more than eight million of her followers – making it Instagram’s most-liked post of all time.
“I literally tripped and fell at a formal Fulbright dinner because I found out Beyonce was pregnant with twins,” wrote one woman on Twitter.
Other social media users were less articulate, relying on gifs and emojis to showcase their elation.
The photo showed Beyonce kneeling in front of a giant hedge of roses, wearing blue satin knickers and a maroon bra. She is covered with a long green veil, and is already heavily pregnant.
“This pic is a powerful statement on bodies, maternity & the sacred. Beyonce continues to push us to reimagine womanhood. A feminist icon,” gushed writer Laura Rankin.
It’s fitting that Beyonce used Instagram to relay her news.
Twitter has become an all-out war zone between alt-right egg accounts and the professional left.
Facebook is full of posts from friends and relatives begging people to call their Senators, sign a petition, or attend the next march.
Instagram has remained a social media Switzerland: there, it’s nothing but home-decorating photos, artfully staged food and cute babies – an apolitical oasis in these troubled times.
Beyonce’s news was powerful enough to bring some of the Insta-tranquility over to the rest of social media, and for a brief hour or so political Twitter was tempered with jokes about Beyonce’s baby shower and several plays on “Betwice”.
Possible name suggestions included Yellow and Red Ivy – her five-year-old daughter with Jay Z is Blue Ivy Carter.
It was almost like 2016 again.
That’s not to say her announcement was strictly apolitical.
As one comedian on Twitter noted, “there are more black people in Beyonce right now, than in Trump’s entire cabinet team.”
Some also saw a hint of politics in the timing: the news came on 1 February, the first day of Black History Month.
Big deal who cares