Caitlyn Faces Off With… KIM’S BUTT!
Just as Caitlyn Jenner releases her new book slamming the Kardashians, Kim steals the spotlight with her ample derrière
Caitlyn Jenner was on a mission: Get the public interested in her new memoir. She kicked off an aggressive press tour for The Secrets of My Life — the book in which she claims ex-wife Kris Jenner, 61, knew thenhusband Bruce was struggling with gender issues before and during their marriage — with an emotional Diane Sawyer 20/20 special on April 21. Interviews with outlets from Good Morning America and Live With Kelly to Late Night With Seth Meyers and Andy Cohen’s Sirius XM show followed.
But Caitlyn was vying for headlines with an unlikely competitor: former stepdaughter Kim Kardashian’s butt. (Yes, her butt!) On April 25, the day Caitlyn’s book came out, instead of talking about the memoir people were staring at jaw-dropping new — and totally un-airbrushed — photos of Kim’s behind after the reality star stepped out in a series of thongs and teeny-tiny bikinis while on vacation in Tulum, Mexico. “The pics of her un-photoshopped butt from her vacation were the talk of the world,” says an insider. “Kim’s butt definitely trumped Caitlyn’s book.”
And Kim’s buns weren’t going anywhere. She donned a black thong that left nothing to the imagination. Then a blue-and-orange string bikini. Then a white two-piece and pink crop top. Each look set off a new round of internet-breaking buzz just as Caitlyn, 67, was trying to promote her book. The Kardashians’ reputation for being ruthless led some to conclude that Kim, 36, did it on purpose to tank sales of the book to punish Caitlyn for slamming Kris in the tome. ( Who knew a butt could be a weapon?) But revealing her un-retouched butt — cellulite and all — to the world would be taking it too far, even for Kim, insists the insider. “Making herself look bad isn’t the way she’d go about it. I can tell you that she’s not happy that what her butt really looks like is making headlines.”
Still, Kim and her derrière stole Caitlyn’s thunder. Kim sucked up even more attention hours after Caitlyn’s book came out when she delivered a series of bizarre headline-grabbing tweets about her wild getaway to celebrate sister Kourtney’s 38th birthday. “[Kourtney] threw up in her bed 4 times and slept in it,” Kim wrote on April 24, while other tweets focused on skinny-dipping, “special” brownies, naked cartwheels and nipple clamps.
Kim took Caitlyn on more directly when she appeared on Ellen Degeneres’ talk show. “My heart breaks for my mom...and I just feel like it’s unfair. [Caitlyn’s saying] things [that] aren’t truthful,” Kim told Ellen on April 27. “I feel like it’s taken [Caitlyn] a really longtime to be honest with herself, so I don’t expect her to be honest about my mom now.”
Ouch! “The real winner here is Kris,” explains the insider, “because Kim made news all week, and that meant people were not talking about Caitlyn’s book.” ◼
She couldn’t stop posing. In one Instagram picture after another in late April, Beyoncé proudly showed off her baby bump at every angle imaginable. “She’s really embracing this pregnancy,” explains an insider. “The first time around when she was expecting Blue, she wanted to hide and kept it under wraps as much as possible. This time, with the twins, she’s celebrating with photo shoots. She is just far more open and willing to let her fans in.”
But behind the happy facade, there’s drama. “Beyoncé had a lot of fear about this pregnancy because it’s high risk, and she wants control over everything around her,” the insider tells In Touch. And after getting skewered in the press for her diva demands when she gave birth to Blue at NYC’S Lenox Hill Hospital in 2012, Bey, 35, has chosen to welcome the babies at LA’S famed — and more celebrity-friendly — Cedars-sinai Medical Center. But she’s still stressing out over everything from security to surprise visitors. She and husband Jay Z, 47, “were a nightmare with Blue. She took over and demanded a lot,” says the insider. “This birth will be much worse.”
Privacy has been the biggest issue during planning. “They scheduled the C-section and prepared an A and a B team as decoys to confuse photographers and fans, and everyone signed confidentiality agreements,” explains the insider. “Jay and Beyoncé have also been arguing with the hospital about the use of security cameras. Jay doesn’t want cameras in the room, hallways or elevators, which is an impossible request.”
Beyoncé is demanding more than just the usual celebrity treatment. Far in advance, “they had everything in the hospital room upgraded,” says the insider. That includes replacing the bed with a comfortable real one and adding guest seating, blackout drapes and a special area for Blue. “They also made a plan to have everything fully catered so they don’t have to socialize in the hospital,” adds the insider, noting that Bey’s mom put together a menu featuring comfort foods. Tina will be the one to keep hospital staff on their toes, says the insider: “She isn’t easy to get along with, and she will be even more demanding than Beyoncé. Jay knows to let her take over and stay out of her way.”
That’s been his general strategy in the weeks leading up to the delivery. “He’s been spending a lot of time at
the studio just to get a break,” says the insider. “Being pregnant with twins wasn’t easy, and Beyoncé has been tough to be around. She’s just been antsy and nervous leading up to the birth.”
Her biggest worry? A surprise visit from her estranged father and ex-manager, Mathew Knowles, who admitted in February that he found out about her pregnancy at the same time as the rest of the world. “She is fearful that he’ll show up uninvited like he did with Blue,” says the insider. “She doesn’t want him anywhere nearby on her special day. She fully expects everything to be perfect as they become a family of five.” ◼