Sideshow: Beyoncé, feminist heroine!

"Gender Equality is a Myth," writes Beyoncé in a new essay on The Shriver Report (http://shriverreport.org). Yes, B! B, the pop star and glamour puss. "We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality," opens the piece, which opines that true economic equality won't be attained until men demand their "wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more - commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender." Old patterns of behavior, old attitudes must be broken, says B. "We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect" until "gender equality becomes a natural way of life."

Nadya "Octomom" Suleman  has been charged with welfare fraud in California for failing to report $30,000 in earnings while on public assistance, prosecutors said Monday. She's due Friday in court.

Fleetwood Mac is all the rage. Again. American Horror Story last season paid homage to the '70s rockers through LiLy Rabe's character, a witch obsessed with Stevie Nicks.

Formed in '67, the band got another boost with an announcement by Mick Fleetwood that keyboardist Christine McVie is rejoining the act after a 16-year absence.

Rumors of her return have clotted the blogosphere ever since McVie joined the band for a number at a September show in London.

Partridge Family alum David Cassidy, 63, was arrested Friday in Southern California on suspicion of drunken driving. . . . The Golden Globes hit a 10-year high in ratings Sunday night, drawing 20.9 mil viewers, up from 19.7 million last year, according Nielsen figures. . . . Outkast will regroup not only for the Coachella festival in April, but also for a tour of 40 musicfests around the world.

Acting powerhouse Meryl Streep, 64, got on so well on set with her Given costar Katie Holmes that the older woman wants to set up the Tom Cruise survivor with her son, Henry Wolfe Gummer. Or so say the London tabs. Katie, they say, finally is ready to date again.

TMZ says the late Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown, may have been fibbing when she said her gran, Whitney's mum Cissy Houston, gave her blessing before the youngster last week wed her beau, Nick Gordon. Nick grew up as part of Whitney's family as a quasi-brother to Bobbi.

Anonymous Source tells TMZ that Bobbi, 20, didn't even tell Cissy she planned to wed the dude. There's been bad blood between the two Houston women for some time: Last year, Bobbi called for a boycott of Cissy's book, Remembering Whitney, which delves extensively into Whitney's drug use. . . . HBO said Monday that Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom will end after its third season this fall. It will join Boardwalk Empire, closing after Season 5 in the fall.

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