Beyonce: ‘I’m already a star’

“These rumors that I’m in a catfight with Jennifer are just absolutely ridiculous,” she says. “I’m already a star. I have my Grammys. I know I can sing. I wanted people to know I can act.”

Hudson is getting early raves for her role in “Dreamgirls” opposite Beyonce, who also is getting good reviews for her less showy role.

“These rumors of a rivalry between me and Jennifer hurt my heart. It’s so cliched.”

Beyonce, 25, has one more thing to say about this so-called rivalry.

“I wish I could have gained 20 pounds and played Effie,” she says. “I absolutely would have done it. But our director Bill Condon didn’t even believe I could do Deena.

“I knew the character I was playing wasn’t the star,” she says. “She wasn’t the underdog like Effie, with all the pain and the dramatic scenes.”

Beyonce sighs. “The press only created this feud because we’re two women and I’m a star,” she says. “They did the same thing with Destiny’s Child and always said we were fighting when we loved each other.

“They just automatically assume I’m not humble enough to take a back seat which just isn’t true.”

Doing a big-screen musical was a dream come true for Beyonce, but playing the quiet Deena was a true acting challenge.

“The dancing and singing was so easy,” she says. “The hardest thing was playing a character that doesn’t have a strong voice.

“Deena’s role is to hold back. It was just like me dressing up with no makeup on.

The hardest thing was I couldn’t depend on my voice. I had to work with my dialogue coach and think about my inner dialogue,” she says. “That’s how I had that pain and hurt behind my eyes. I wanted to still be entertaining, but Deena was so controlled and how she reacted was so subtle. It was really hard to make it still interesting. I feel like an actress now.”

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