Natalie Portman slams tabloid for false pregnancy story

Natalie Portman was not impressed with the fabricated news story.

Actress Natalie Portman arrives for the premiere of the film "Vox Lux" presented in competition on September 4, 2018 during the 75th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
(Image credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)

Natalie Portman has criticized a tabloid newspaper, urging its writers to ‘do better’ after it wrongfully claimed she was pregnant. 

The New York Post’s Page Six stirred rumors that the Oscar-winning actress is expecting her third child on Thursday, publishing an article with the headline, ‘Natalie Portman steps out seemingly with a baby bump in Sydney.’ The piece, which included paparazzi shots of Natalie emerging from the gym, failed to provide any evidence for the allegations. 

It didn’t take long for Natalie, who is currently filming Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder in Australia, to respond to the baseless story. 

“Hey, so I’m totally not pregnant,” she clarified on Instagram. “But apparently it’s still ok in 2021 for anyone to speculate and comment on a woman’s body shape whenever they want?” 

Natalie may not be pregnant, but she’s still got a lot on her plate. The busy actress is currently based in Sydney, where she is shooting the fourth installment of the Thor film franchise alongside Chris Hemsworth. When she’s not playing a superhero on-set, Natalie is raising her two kids, Aleph and Amalia, with choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied. 

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“When I’m not working, I’m pretty much exclusively with my family, so my rituals have to do with school, meal preparation, playdates [and] bedtime,” she told The New York Times Magazine in 2016. 

It’s not all work and no play for the A-list movie star. Natalie has been spotted enjoying the Australian sunshine with her family recently, attending outdoor birthday parties and surfing lessons. 

And it looks like the Israeli-American native isn’t coming up from Down Under any time soon. She has reportedly enrolled her nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter in an elite Sydney school attended by the children of fellow actors Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher.

And while many parents would worry about their kids settling into a new school in a foreign country, it seems that Aleph and Amalia have already adjusted to their new environment. 

In a recent virtual interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Natalie revealed that her children are even learning the Aussie dialect, using words like ‘lollies’ instead of ‘candy.’ 

“When you want what you want, you gotta say it like the locals," she explained. 

Thor: Love and Thunder is set for release in February 2022 - by which point we expect Natalie to be rocking a full-blown Aussie accent. 

Emma Dooney
Lifestyle News Writer

Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, Emma mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.

Emma holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London, and a BA in English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.