Pregnancy speculation, one of the most pestersome (and persistent) aspects of existing as a celebrity woman, has hooked its claws into Beyoncé once again.

But while baby bump patrol is usually spurred by little more than a bloated stomach or unflattering angle, in this case, it actually stems from a more substantiated source: Queen B herself. Patrons of the "Apes--t" singer's ongoing On the Run II tour picked up on a subtle clue during her recent stop in Rome, and, because it' 2018, uploaded the video to Twitter, subsequently kicking the rumor mill into high gear.

In the clip, Beyoncé is seen closing out the tail end of "Bonnie and Clyde" before lightly rubbing her belly. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big deal, except that the last time Bey made that gesture on stage it was to reveal she was pregnant with her first child, Blue Ivy, during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Sure, that was a much more obvious announcement (she literally unbuttoned her jacket, stuck out her stomach, and smiled directly into the camera). But Beyoncé rarely does anything without purpose, so it's not entirely unwarranted.

On the one hand, she and Jay-Z, who already share three children together, have a documented affinity for the number four: Beyoncé, Jay, and Beyoncé's mom were all born on the 4th, Bey and Jay were married on the 4th in 2008, and Blue Ivy has the name "Ivy" because IV is the roman numeral for...yup, the number four. So that's a maybe-kind-of reason to believe they'd want to have a fourth kid, aside from the mere fact that we could definitely use more of their mega-talented genes in the world.

On the other, Beyoncé posted a photo of her and Jay-Z to Instagram last week in which she's sitting beside an open bottle of beer, which could either be confirmation that she's not pregnant, or a deliberate red herring to throw fans off the scent.

Judge the moment for yourself, above.

Celebrities Expecting in 2018

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