A famous mom bundled up her eldest child and ventured out onto the streets of London, England this week for a little stroll. Apparently, said mom was also in the mood to be all bundled up herself because she stepped out of her flat lookin’ like this:

Yes … this mysterious woman has deffo got a Palpatine vibe going on in this photo … more in his Emperor years rather than his Senator years. Can you guess who is hiding under this mysterious shroud? Find out if you are right after the jump …

Some break-up news to pass along today … Beyoncé‘s parents, Tina and Matthew Knowles, are officially going splitsville now that Tina has filed for divorce. I understand that things have not been good between Tina and Matthew for some time now (and I imagine that the paternity suit slapped on Matthew back in October didn’t help matters very much) so I guess it was time to make it official. Beyoncé‘s folks are dunzo!

Beyonce Knowles’ mom — the original costume designer for Destiny’s Child — has filed for divorce from her husband Mathew Knowles. Tina Knowles filed divorce papers in Harris County, Texas last month, in an attempt to end their 29-year marriage. Back in October, Mathew was hit with a paternity lawsuit from a woman who’s not his wife — no word if that affected Tina’s decision to pull the plug. Mathew has been Beyonce’s manager for years, so there could be a ton of cash up for grabs in the split. The couple has two children together: Beyonce and Beyonce’s younger sister.

Yikes! As far as big break-ups go … this one is a doozy. Not so much because of the break-up itself but because of the money that is involved. The Knowles’ together are hugely responsible for all the financial success that Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé herself have and still enjoy. I imagine they are very rich … together. But, if Tina is divorcing from Matthew due to infidelitous behavior, she might come out on the better end of this divorce. It totally sucks that something like this has to happen around the holidays but, well, these things happen. Here’s hoping it all works out in everyone’s best interests.

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Earlier this year, Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps got himself into a bit of controversy when a photo surfaced of Phelps puffin’ on a big ass water pipe or bong, if you will, which is traditionally used for the smoking of marijuana. For weeks after, Phelps endured the fallout from that controversy and managed to soldier thru and move on. Now that fellow professional athlete Tiger Woods is dealing with his own pile of mess (ie. the Tiger Woods Cheating Scandal), Phelps is offering his sympathies and a few pearls of wisdom to Woods in a show of support:

Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps expressed sympathy on Thursday for the plight of fellow American Tiger Woods and said he fully understood what it was like to make mistakes. World number one Woods has taken an indefinite break from golf
after admitting he had been unfaithful to his wife. Phelps, speaking on the eve of a two-day meeting between the United States and a European team, said: “He (Woods) is going through a hard time right now. “It can’t be easy but I just wish him the best for himself and his family,” the swimmer told a news conference at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. The 24-year-old American, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics last year, was forced to apologise early this year after being photographed inhaling from a pipe used to smoke marijuana. No charges were laid. “I’d be the first to admit I’ve made a lot of mistakes both in and out of the pool,” said Phelps. “But of the mistakes I’ve made I’ve never made the same mistake again. I’ve become a much stronger person and I’ve helped other people not make the same mistakes.” Phelps, who will be competing for the first time in a British pool, confirmed he planned to take part in the 2012 London Olympics but would not reveal what schedule he was planning. “The goals I have for London are very high and they are going to be very challenging,” he said. “I think there is something there that excites me and I know what I want to achieve and if I achieve those then I can look back and say I’ve done everything in the sport that I wanted to do.”

Michael Phelps is a great example of what could happen for Tiger Woods if he manages to successfully weather the shitstorm he has gotten himself into … if he does it properly. Sure, Phelps gettin’ caught with a bong is much different than Woods allegedly gettin’ caught with at least 14 different women but the end result can be the same … people forget in time. Tiger could very well end up just like Phelps … competing again — and single! Yeah, I bet Phelps really can identify with Tiger on many levels … at least Woodsie knows he’s got one person on his side.

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Rihanna, who recently got herself a new tattoo after performing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and who is featured on the cover of the new issue of GQ magazine right now, has released her third music video (after Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova) and Russian Roulette) from her new album Rated R … which was just released last month. Yes, folks, Ri Ri is really kickin’ out the vids. Here are a few screencaps from her latest effort Hard:

Of the 3 music videos released from this new album, this track is the most up-beat … and yet, it still is not a club banger. It occurs to me that all the yeah yeah yeahs in the track hearken back to the ella ella ellas in her biggest hit song Umbrella … like she was trying to score another massive hit song. As much as I do like Hard, it’s really not on par with the awesomeness of Umbrella. That said, the music video is pretty kick ass. After the jump, check it out in full …