It takes very little to start a rumor on social media these days. It probably never took much to begin with, but thanks to platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, one person’s private joke can spread like wildfire. Case in point: All it took to start the rumor that Nigerian Afrobeats star Tems was pregnant was a video of the star gripping the front of her coat.
Wait Tems is pregnant??
— 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐊 (@TheMahleek) September 18, 2023
TEMS PREGNANT BY FUTURE oh don’t piss me off pic.twitter.com/tZh7QaYAvt
— papa (@leoxvieiraa) September 20, 2023
Is that Tems with baby bump? pic.twitter.com/oTvdCAQK0Z
— BASITO (@itzbasito) September 18, 2023
The video, which appears to have been posted on her Instagram Story, sees the star greeting fans at an event, but observers online attributed the way she held the coat closed in front of her to hiding a baby bump. This quickly spun into some fans speculating that the father was her “Wait For U” collaborator Future.
future got tems pregnant? pic.twitter.com/3PZ8hInn93
— nicole (@roseinharlem) September 20, 2023
streets saying tems pregnant by future pic.twitter.com/i30HZWWCVa
— tre (@trectrl) September 20, 2023
Is Tems Pregnant With Future’s Baby?
The answer is very likely “no.” While Tems herself didn’t directly address the wild rumor (which seems mostly to be the result of several blogs reposting the same story quoting a handful of comments on the original video), she did subtly shoot it down on both Twitter and Instagram. “In conclusion, you people are all mad!!!” she wrote on Twitter (not X, which is a dumb name and no one should take it or its owner seriously). The star, who is used to criticism of her sartorial choices, clearly isn’t sweating the speculation.
In conclusion, you people are all mad!!! pic.twitter.com/YpPgMBOxg7
— TEMS (@temsbaby) September 22, 2023
Meanwhile, on Instagram, she posted a string of side profile photos in the same outfit — ostensibly taken on the same day — that show no bump to be seen. The star also reposted a supporter’s epic clapback at one skeptical commenter’s insistence that she’s lying. To be fair… he kinda asked for it. Just goes to show: Never stick your nose into conversations where it doesn’t belong.
So…..when you sef dey born abeg? https://t.co/ZPrvNVisXA pic.twitter.com/CqiTYMOuB1
— Muyiwa Awoniyi (@IAmDonawon) September 22, 2023
And if there’s any big takeaway here, it’s not to believe everything (or anything, really) you see online. People just be making stuff up sometimes.