Imagine: You’re meeting your old friend for drinks after years apart. You both graduated college with degrees in finance, but she quickly fell in love with a British actor who soon proposed. After the wedding, he asked that she move back to his home country, since he and his family were still very close. She’s said yes, since being an orphan meant she had no family tying her to America. Now, he’s promoting a movie here in the States, and you’re excited to finally link up again, and can’t wait to hear about her many adventures abroad. When she finally bursts into the entrance of your once-favorite bar, she comes bounding up, gives you a hug, then backs up a few paces. You look down, and she’s rubbing her stomach—excessively. And like any sane person, you immediately assume she’s pregnant.
Yesterday, photos surfaced of Halsey and new boyfriend Evan Peters strolling around Santa Monica, California in which both, turned to face the paparazzi, rubbed her stomach playfully. In everyday human body language, this means someone is having a baby. In celebrity vernacular, this is also commonly understood to mean “baby bump!” Beyoncé employed the gesture to announce her first pregnancy with Blue Ivy, but these days, it’s mostly used by actors on red carpets wanting to attract the flashing lights of photographers. It’s also frequently featured on tabloid covers of Jennifer Aniston, where any similar motion is seen as confirmation she’s finally pregnant (again) with Brad Pitt’s secret love child.
In photos, Halsey and Evan Peters rubbed her stomach a lot. Like, enough to be flagrantly signaling a pregnancy. And it would make sense! Halsey has been publicly enamored with Peters since his time on American Horror Story in 2014, when she would tweet things like:
Seeing as her six year fantasy has finally come to fruition, who would blame her for wanting a kid with the dude? But that’s not the entire story! Shortly after the photos were passed around the gossip circuit, Halsey shut the rumors down on Twitter:
In a pop culture ecosystem that still exalts a woman’s supposed “place” as being married, pregnant, and drowning in children—it’s easy to see why outlets would jump at any small rumor or hearsay. But Halsey wasn’t just scratching her stomach, or even patting it gently. The two of them were turned towards photographers and rubbing. Which is an excellent troll, truth be told! Especially during her ongoing press tour for her new album Manic.
Anyways, imagine you’re still in that dingy bar with your friend. You exclaim: “Oh my god, you’re pregnant!” She looks at you, extremely confused, and quietly responds: “What are you talking about, I was just showing off how bloated I am. Do you know where I can take a shit?” [Us Weekly]
No one is worried, but just in case—Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson have not broken up, allegedly. E! News reports that a source “close to the pair” are “still dating,” and that Miley’s disappearance from the public is because she “has been resting from her vocal surgery but has been in touch and seen Cody recently.” They continue:
“Miley always made it clear to Cody that she likes to have freedom and he always understood the dynamic of the relationship. They have been friends for years and will always be, and are currently fine and on great terms.”
A separate source also claims that Simpson has been spending lots of time at Miley’s new Los Angeles house, but “She has a busy schedule and a lot of work commitments that have kept them apart.” Too bad! I was really looking forward to what new series of mountain ranges she would pose in front of to announce the breakup. [E!]
- Vicki Gunvalson and the Real Housewives are never, ever, ever getting back together. [Hollywood Life]
- Post Malone partied at Hooters in the wee hours of the morning. [TMZ]
- Rosie O’Donnell is “hoping for the best” after cutting ties with fiancee Elizabeth Rooney. [People]
- Camila Cabello flashed her bra to paparazzi. [Hollywood Life]
- Wilmer Valderrama is still dating noticeably younger women. [Just Jared]