Despites Kelly Rowland's loyal insistence that it's not true, the Beyonce-is-pregnant rumor persists. Page Six has a "confirmation" of the pregnancy from "pals" of Beyonce and Jay-Z and a smart-aleck non-denial from Bey's rep.

But pals of the tight-lipped newlyweds say the songbird is expecting the couple's first child. "She has gained a lot of pregnancy weight," a source said. "When she gains weight, she normally does the Def Jam detox, but not now." A rep for Beyoncé said, "I don't know if she's pregnant. Let me perform an ultrasound and get back to you."

IS KIMORA CARRYING A HOUNSOU? Rumors are swirling that Kimora Lee Simmons is pregnant by her Oscar-nominated boyfriend Djimon Hounsou, who is seemingly very normal and sane. Kimora's rep says that he "has no comment at that time," which I think we can all take to mean, "Yes, she's pregnant, but can you leave us the hell alone until she's deeper into her second trimester, please?"

Halle Berry, one of the many Hollywood moms-to-be that are about to burst, talks about how fabulous her pregnancy is in the new In Style. What else is new?

Berry, who is due in March, tells February's In Style magazine, on stands Friday, that "it's a perfect time to be pregnant, because everything in fashion is loose-fitting with an Empire waist."

The 41-year-old mother-to-be even jokes about her situation. "Did you know that they call this a geriatric pregnancy? I cringe when I hear that. I'm like, 'Take that off my chart!' "

In reality, she says the pregnancy has made her look and feel better. "My skin is aglow from all the hormones. I actually wear less makeup now, which is really good. I want to stay pregnant forever."

Never having been pregnant, I can't really judge. But just from anecdotal evidence, I doubt that most women really want a human child inside of their stomach in perpetuity. These celebs are so eccentric.

CONTINUED »

Halle Berry, looking ridiculously fabulous and thin for a woman in her third trimester, attended the Palm Springs Film Festival Awards Gala, where she was honored for her work in Things Lost We In The Fire. Berry recently expressed interest in working with Denzel Washington in the future.

She says, "I still want to work with Denzel Washington. I'm hoping that one day the right script will come along and Denzel will give me a call."

You and every other actress, H.B. [PR]

CONTINUED »

While Jamie Lynn Spears has identified her on/off boyfriend Casey Aldridge as the father of her fetus, rumor has it Spears has recently been dating Lil' Romeo, her fellow Nickelodeon star. Look, we all know that he's probably not the daddy. Even a member of the Spears clan knows that's not the sort of thing that remains a secret after the child is born. [DL]

Page Six reports that Fantasia, who is seeing rapper Young Dro, is pregnant with his baby, and speculates that the 50+ Color Purple performances she's missed this year (although I know she was present and not-pregnant-looking at last Saturday's, since I was there) might have something to do with it. But the gossipers lost me with this statement: "[Fantasia is pregnant], say several reliable* bloggers including MediaTakeOut.com and celebrity writer Jonathan Jaxson." Not sure if I agree with the choice of words, there.

*emphasis mine

UPDATE Despite the assertions of a couple of bloggers known for their super reliability, Fantasia's spokesperson had this to say about the pregnancy rumors:

"Fantasia is not pregnant and the internet rumors are entirely untrue."

The representative adds, "It is true that she has missed some performances because she has gotten sick from time to time over the nine months, but doing eight shows a week is a lot so she missed a few."

• In real life, Carrie Bradshaw's not exactly Mr. Big's type, know what I'm sayin'? [MG]

• Robin Roberts goes G.I. Jane on GMA to be an inspiration to other women undergoing chemotherapy. [CL]

• Just say no to camel toads. [TAN]

• Donda West is eulogized. Dr. Jan Adams is sought by the authorities. [MTV]

• Congressman Keith Ellison calls voter photo ID requirements a modern-day poll tax. [IHT]

I certainly both understand and participate in "baby bump" speculation when it's not 100 percent clear whether or not a star is pregnant. But at this point, with Jennifer Lopez's belly protruding like she's in the latter part of her second trimester, is there really a reason to keep discussing it? Were we really waiting with baited breath for some sort of confirmation on her part? I wasn't, but apparently a lot of people were.

She announced that she is with child last night at the last show of her El Cantante tour. She said she wanted to wait until the tour was over because she didn't want her audience to be distracted by anything while she was performing. Good thing she covered up her bump so well.

Remember all that talk about Nicole Richie making a complete behavioral 180 for her unborn child? Maybe it was more like a 90 degree change.

According to the New York Post's Cindy Adams, Richie was seen smoking in public not once but twice in the past few days. If Nicole Richie is really smoking-while-pregnant, I'm more shocked that she has the balls to do it in public than the fact that she's doing it at all.

[NYP]

UPDATE: It turns out Nicole Richie was in Australia when the Post informant supposedly saw her smoking cigarettes on two occasions in New York City. Cindy Adams owes Nicole Richie a beer. Well, a few sips of one.

• Rachel Roy and Damon Dash actually still have sex? [Bossip]

• I hope they burn, too, Megan Williams. [BV]

• Authorities are officially classifying the California fires as arson. [CBS]

• Let's hope that the contestants on College Hill: Interns keeps the ignorance to a minimum. [CL]

• Microsoft paid $240 million for a stake in Facebook. A 1.6 percent stake. [NYT]

Some prospective grandparents buy their expecting children things like cribs, strollers, and high chairs. Others buy them a house to put all of their new baby stuff in. Lionel Richie is part of the latter group.

A source says, "She recently leased out her West Hollywood condo, and, while she likes living at Joel's bachelor pad in Glendale, she doesn't want to raise her baby in the Valley. Nicole wants to live close to both of her parents while she gets ready to have the baby.

Lionel wants Nicole to be safe, and he thinks a gated community is best." Reports suggest the Richies are currently looking at a $7 million villa in Century City, Los Angeles.

Just like Oprah getting the 21 pairs of Christian Louboutins from Jessica Seinfeld, all I can really say is, "it must be nice."

[SP]

• You know 50 Cent's finally finished sulking when he starts manufacturing beef again. [Bossip]

• Oh, jeez. Now we're talking eco-friendly diapers? [People]

• Happy Birthday, Ashanti! Too bad Nelly can't give you some hit singles as a gift. [C&D]

• Lily Allen's secret black half-sister doesn't look very happy, for obvious reasons. [MG]

• Ann Coulter sucks, and I'm joining my fellow Jossip Initiatives editors in never writing about her ever again! Search "Ann Coulter" on Stereohyped, and you'll see that this isn't much of a sacrifice. [Jossip]