AceShowbiz - Beyonce Knowles has put to rest long-running rumours suggesting she and her Destiny's Child bandmates were stoned when they named their spirit animals in an awkward 2001 interview.

The "Independent Women" hitmakers famously giggled their way through an on-camera chat with Netherlands outlet Toazted almost two decades ago, when Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (II)" were asked to name the kind of animals they would like to be.

A clearly-exhausted Kelly struggled to provide an answer, but Beyonce replied, "I know what I'd be. A whale... I've loved whales since I was a little girl."

Michelle then remarked, "She wants to touch one one day," as Kelly then named her ideal animal as a bird "because they can fly", before stifling a laugh.

Things took another turn as Michelle declared she would be a "black panther", and began mimicking the big cat's movements, much to her bandmates' amusement, leading viewers to assume they had indulged in a little marijuana prior to the sit-down in Amsterdam.

The video chat resurfaced via social media in 2016 and went viral, but in a new Elle magazine question and answer session with fans, Beyonce sets the record straight, and insists they were simply delirious from a lack of sleep.

Asked if she would "still be a whale" if she could be an animal for a day, the mother-of-three said, "I still love whales. And I love being in the ocean."

Then, referencing the popular 2001 chat, she explained, "And that video was after a 16-hour press day. Not marijuana!!".