Despite her and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter's nominations, Beyoncé opted not to spend some of her time at the MTV VMAs on Sunday night. Instead, Beyoncé was spotted on vacation in Cannes, France.

Blue and Beyoncé are nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Cinematography (“BROWN SKIN GIRL”), respectively, while Beyoncé is nominated for Best Art Direction (“ALREADY”)—smaller categories compared to Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, and so on. Beyoncé gave a rare interview to Harper's Bazaar for its September issue about her life as she turns 40. She reflected in it about how she processes the changing world of celebrity culture and protects herself.

She said:

We live in a world with few boundaries and a lot of access. There are so many internet therapists, comment critics, and experts with no expertise. Our reality can be warped because it’s based on a personalized algorithm. It shows us whatever truths we are searching for, and that’s dangerous. We can create our own false reality when we’re not fed a balance of what’s truly going on in the world. It’s easy to forget that there’s still so much to discover outside of our phones. I’m grateful I have the ability to choose what I want to share. One day I decided I wanted to be like Sade and Prince. I wanted the focus to be on my music, because if my art isn’t strong enough or meaningful enough to keep people interested and inspired, then I’m in the wrong business. My music, my films, my art, my message—that should be enough.

Throughout my career, I’ve been intentional about setting boundaries between my stage persona and my personal life. My family and friends often forget the side of me that is the beast in stilettos until they are watching me perform. It can be easy to lose yourself very quickly in this industry. It takes your spirit and light, then spits you out. I’ve seen it countless times, not only with celebrities but also producers, directors, executives, etc. It’s not for everyone. Before I started, I decided that I’d only pursue this career if my self-worth was dependent on more than celebrity success. I’ve surrounded myself with honest people who I admire, who have their own lives and dreams and are not dependent on me. People I can grow and learn from and vice versa. In this business, so much of your life does not belong to you unless you fight for it. I’ve fought to protect my sanity and my privacy because the quality of my life depended on it. A lot of who I am is reserved for the people I love and trust. Those who don’t know me and have never met me might interpret that as being closed off. Trust, the reason those folks don’t see certain things about me is that my Virgo ass does not want them to see it...It’s not because it doesn’t exist!

MTV VMAs 2021: Justin Bieber Bags Artist of the Year, Best Pop Song Trophies

Road accident in Karnataka's Chintamani, Eight persons killed on the spot

Taylor Swift was taken to his local pub by Ed Sheeran, but nobody noticed