Lainey correctly breaks down the gossip about Jennifer Lopez flying economy-class out of Paris this week. She didn’t even fly business class! [LaineyGossip]
Multiple people could be charged in Matthew Perry’s death. [Socialite Life]
Congrats to the Florida Panthers, they won the Stanley Cup! [Go Fug Yourself]
The Nosferatu trailer is very good. [OMG Blog]
Are you guys watching House of the Dragon Season 2? I’m not. [Pajiba]
The teaser for Joan – this is what Sophie Turner was working on when Joe Jonas filed for divorce. Like, he was mad that she was working. [Just Jared]
Emma Stone wore The Row (normcore). [RCFA]
A very strange Taylor Swift lookalike situation. [Seriously OMG]
Did Amber Portwood dump a guy after he went missing? [Starcasm]
Paris Hilton gushes over her daughter. [Hollywood Life]
Project 2025 is no joke and everyone needs to get out the vote. [Buzzfeed]

On last week’s New Heights podcast, Jason and Travis Kelce’s conversation turned to royalty, given they were (at the time) both in Europe. They were in the South of France, and then Jason joined Travis at an Eras concert in London. Jason Kelce is like most red-blooded Americans, in that his gut-level feeling on royalty is “whatever, I’m not bowing to anyone.” Jason actually said: “Listen, we’re Americans. We don’t do royalty. F–k kings.” A few days later, Travis Kelce met Prince William backstage before Taylor’s Friday concert. Trav didn’t listen to what his brother said about not doing royalty. This is what Travis had to say about meeting the heir to British throne:

Travis Kelce got the royal treatment at girlfriend Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour in London on Friday, June 21 — and he’s spilling all the tea about meeting Prince William.

“Dude, he was the coolest motherf–ker,” Travis, 34, said on his and brother Jason Kelce‘s “New Heights” podcast on Wednesday, June 26. “He was so cool!”

“I didn’t realize this because obviously we’re backstage meeting him because he was there with little George and Charlotte, and they were an absolute delight to meet,” Travis continued.

However, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end admitted to being unsure about royal protocol.

“Wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like bow to them, curtsy, just be an American idiot and shake their hand,” he said.

Jason, 36, then explained that he and his brother “did get [a] warning” about how to greet the royals. “But they said that because we weren’t at like an official royal event, we didn’t need to bow or curtsy. If it would have been like an official meeting of royalty event, then it would have been that. But I did still address him as Your Royal Highness,” Jason said.

Travis concluded that William was “very genuine, very cool.”

[From Us Weekly]

LOL. Well, there’s your answer about whether Taylor Swift is Team Windsor. Her boyfriend is all about embiggening royals. As for royal protocol, it’s genuinely confusing to many Americans and it is different if you’re actually meeting the king or queen. Like, if Travis had been invited to Buckingham Palace, he would have gotten a protocol sheet or a briefing about how to address people and what to do. When you’re just meeting a prince backstage at a concert, it’s fine to do whatever. Americans are not “expected” to bow or whatever. This isn’t a state visit. Shaking hands is fine and even if it’s not fine, f–k kings, we’re Americans. Also: all of Travis’s sucking up and Kensington Palace still didn’t include him in the photo they posted on social media.

Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour pic.twitter.com/NFSi8hAl1o

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 22, 2024

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.

King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted a Buckingham Palace state dinner for the emperor and empress of Japan last night. Princess Anne is still being hospitalized, so she wasn’t there. Neither was the Princess of Wales (who was never scheduled for the state dinner). So it was left to the Duchess of Edinburgh to bring the under-60 royal glamour. Interestingly, there are very few photos of Sophie, even though I think she genuinely looked nice in her emerald-green Suzannah London gown. But what was really interesting about her styling was the tiara!

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh is sparkling in one of Kate Middleton’s top tiaras at the state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

On June 25, the Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, shimmered in the Lotus Flower Tiara at the diplomatic dinner held in honor of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan’s state visit to the U.K. The style choice was significant as Sophie’s first time wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara, expanding her royal rotation.

Prince Edward’s wife has previously glittered in two aquamarine tiaras and her all-diamond wedding tiara made up of four detachable diamond anthemions, which were reportedly sourced from one of Queen Victoria’s crowns.

[From People]

My first thought was “Waity, you in danger, girl.” But it’s possible that under King Charles’s reign – or more importantly, Queen Camilla’s reign over the Royal Collection jewels – the rules around tiaras have changed. Back in Queen Elizabeth II’s day, once she “assigned” a tiara to a royal wife, that was “your” tiara to wear to state events. That’s why Sophie always wore – for decades! – the same two aquamarine tiaras to state events, because those were the tiaras assigned to her by QEII. Apparently, Camilla is loosening up the tiara assignments, because now Sophie gets to wear the Lotus Flower Tiara, which the Princess of Wales has worn several times over the years? That was supposed to be “Kate’s” for a while. But with Kate still recovering and absent from events… well, I guess Sophie didn’t want to wear the same old aquamarines. Now that I’m looking closely at Sophie’s necklace and earrings, my guess is that this whole jewelry set up was set aside for Kate, but in Kate’s absence, Sophie was like “MINE!”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

I’m still thinking about and absorbing Vanity Fair’s new cover story about the “fragile” British monarchy. While I think some of the larger talking points are accurate, there was a huge emphasis on how the Princess of Wales’s six-month absence showed her value, and that if she was gone, the monarchy would be “reduced to a shadow of itself.” Accurate or not? Not to be morbid, but it would depend on the explanation for Kate’s disappearance or absence. I don’t want to go on and on about it, but I’ve never believed that Kate wants a divorce or that she would ever willingly “leave” the monarchy in any way. She has always been in it for the grand prize: being queen. While Kensington Palace plays fast and loose – even throwing Kate under the bus during her absence – it’s also clear that King Charles sees Kate’s usefulness and that much is being done behind the scenes to “manage” what is happening with Kate and the conversations around her health and missing months. Speaking of:

Many royal watchers are hoping for a new update on Kate Middleton’s cancer treatment – but one royal expert says the royal family is determined to keep “tight-lipped,” avoiding any harmful leaks.

“The reality is nobody really knows how Kate is,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner claimed to Fox News Digital. “There are many whispers by those who wish to further their careers. But in reality, when the royal family wishes to close the doors on the world, they have had centuries of practice in the art. In the past few days, Kate has been stated by the global press as the royal family’s jewel in the crown,” he shared. “She [is seen as] the number one royal… stabilizing the monarchy’s future.”

Still, some palace insiders have been sharing tidbits about what Kate’s recovery looks like to royal experts following her appearance at this year’s Trooping the Colour.

“These days, Kate is playing a waiting game – following doctor’s orders religiously and praying that future tests will show the chemo has done its job,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital.

“It’s a stressful, debilitating time for Kate, magnified that much more by the fact that the world is holding its breath along with her,” Andersen added.

[From Fox News]

This is something you guys brought up in previous posts, especially the recent one where we discussed the weirdness around Kate releasing a photo and statement before Trooping: why hasn’t Kate ever thanked her doctors and medical staff? Why was there a refusal to provide proof-of-life for months and beside that, a refusal to provide timely health updates? I mean, I have my theories, but the whole thing is still so ridiculously weird. It also feels like the “Kate’s back, she appeared at Trooping” story had such a short halflife – the world isn’t waiting with bated breath anymore. We saw her, we got proof of life.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Here are some photos from Tuesday, the first day of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s state visit to the UK. This was on the schedule before Rishi Sunak called for a general election, and reportedly, the palace made some adjustments to ensure that this state visit wouldn’t look like a Tory convention (too late). Queen Camilla and King Charles did the formal greeting at Buckingham Palace, with the Emperor and the King doing a troop inspection and there were some carriage rides and more. For the carriage ride, Empress Masako wore a face mask, because she’s allergic to horses. No comment on whether she was worried about the horse-drawn carriage or her neighing carriage companion.

Tuesday night, Camilla and Charles rolled out the red carpet for a state dinner, also at Buckingham Palace. For the dinner, Camilla wore a baggy white gown and the Burmese Ruby Tiara. She wore the same tiara last November, for the state dinner for South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeo. I wonder why she’s now chosen the same ruby-and-diamond tiara for state dinners with Asian heads of state. Perhaps it was just as simple as “Japan’s flag is red and white, I know, I’ll wear the ruby tiara!” I wonder if the Royal Collection includes any big jewelry pieces with a chrysanthemum theme, because that would have been perfect here. Speaking of, Empress Masako wore the Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara, which can only be worn by the empress of Japan.

Additionally, Camilla debuted her new Family Order. She received QEII’s Family Order brooch/honor in 2007, but they’ve made new ones with little portraits of King Charles. Camilla is the first person to wear KCIII’s Family Order badge.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

In this week’s Gossip with Celebitchy podcast, I asked CB a question which has been bugging me for days. Two Fridays ago, the Princess of Wales released a statement in which she spoke about how she has good days and bad days but she’s doing a bit better and she would attend Trooping the Colour the next day. It was basically a long-awaited health status update with an announcement that she would appear at Trooping, which had been the big conversation in the weeks beforehand. My question was: why did Kate and Kensington Palace release the Matt Porteous photo of Kate standing against a tree? The whole point was that Kate would appear at Trooping, so we would see her in public for the first time in nearly six full months. Why release the photo, and even more specifically, why release a photo which had been so obviously edited? It was bizarre across the board. I could understand releasing a “proof of life” photo if you were announcing that you still weren’t ready to do public events, but it felt like the statement plus the photo were done to center Kate and to make Trooping all about her. Anyway, People Magazine still seems stuck on the photo too. They ran this exclusive about it:

Kate Middleton acknowledged that she is not yet “out of the woods” in her cancer treatment, but it’s there she finds her strength. In a personal message released on June 14, the Princess of Wales, 42, shared her first health update since announcing her cancer diagnosis accompanied by a new photo. The solo snap by photographer Matt Porteous was taken in Windsor, where she lives with Prince William and their three children, showing Kate dressed casually in jeans and a blazer with her arms folded as she poses outdoors against a tree.

A proponent of “forest bathing,” the Japanese practice of immersing oneself in nature to recharge, Princess Kate has long advocated for the benefits of the outdoors for both children and adults. “I really feel that nature and being interactive outdoors has huge benefits on our physical and mental well-being,” she said in 2019.

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, “There she is in nature, which has fortified her, and looking upward in a sign of real hope and encouragement for everybody.”

Adds Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, “She could have posted an image of her with William or the kids. Even though she has a huge amount of support from others, it is a journey you have to do on your own. [The photo] was her on her own; it was reflective.”

[From People]

“She could have posted an image of her with William or the kids.” Yeah, she could have. Why didn’t she? She could have posted real, authentic, non-edited and non-manipulated photos at any point in the previous six months to let her supporters know that she’s alright. Why didn’t she? The fact that the palace was releasing a stream of questionable photos – if not blatantly manipulated photos and media – is still a huge question and criticism for Kensington Palace to deal with.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Matt Porteous/Kensington Palace.

I spent too much time trying to figure out exactly what happened to Princess Anne, and what was the “incident” which led to Anne being hospitalized for head injuries and a concussion. No one has the answer, but I think I know why – whatever happened, it went down when Anne was alone with one or more of her horses, and she’s so concussed, she has no memory of exactly what happened. That’s what the Mail said – that she was walking alone on her Gatcombe Park estate and “because of the injuries she sustained, she appears unable to recall exactly what happened.” While she was alone at the time of her injury, her husband was somewhere on the estate, as were her two kids, Zara and Peter. Tim was the one who traveled with Anne to the hospital. Everyone’s assuming that the horses did something to her because they were nearby at the time of the accident, but those f–kers aren’t admitting sh-t. They called for a solicitor! Meanwhile, Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl had more about Anne’s hospitalization:

The Princess Royal is in hospital after sustaining a head injury from a horse at her Gloucestershire estate yesterday. Buckingham Palace described Princess Anne’s condition as stable, but she is not expected to be discharged until later this week.

The 73-year-old royal has been busy standing in for her brother King Charles during his cancer battle, but now she will be forced to cancel forthcoming engagements including a trip to Canada later this week on the advice of her medical team.

The princess was walking in the grounds of Gatcombe Park, where she and her grandchildren regularly ride, when she was injured by a horse, which caused ‘“minor” wounds to her head and a concussion, according to the Palace. Anne’s husband Sir Tim Laurence and her children Peter and Zara were at the family home at the time of the accident.

An air ambulance was called to the scene and treated the princess, who was later taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol (accompanied by her husband, but not by air ambulance), where she is now under observation. The palace said the princess is expected to stay at Southmead Hospital until she is able to go home.

The Princess was expected to be at tomorrow’s Japan State Visit, but has had to postpone all forthcoming engagements. “Her Royal Highness sends her apologies to any who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” a palace spokesperson said.

The aide added that the princess was “recovering well” and in a “comfortable condition.”

[From Vanity Fair]

She’s going to spend several days and nights in the hospital, which tells you more about the severity of the head injury and concussion than whatever the palace is trying to say. Yes, it’s likely that they’re being extra-cautious because she’s a princess AND a woman in her 70s, but it says a lot that she’ll probably spend four days or so in the hospital and that no one knows exactly what happened to her. And that she can’t remember what happened to her.

As for her schedule, the Mail made a list of all of the stuff she was supposed to do this week, all of which has now been canceled. Beyond Anne’s appearances during the Japanese state visit, she was supposed to fly to Canada on Friday. She was supposed to be in Edinburgh today, Tuesday, for an agriculture conference, and throughout the week, she was supposed to go back and forth to the conference in between events in England. On Wednesday, she was supposed to open up “Warsash Sailing Club’s renovated clubhouse in Hampshire as the president of the Royal Yachting Association.” On the same day, she was also supposed to do an appearance at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. On Thursday and Friday, she had several events planned too. All of that stuff has to be canceled, because I guess no one thought to ask one of the other working royals to cover for her? The slimmed-down monarchy is not giving much bang for the buck.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The Vogue World Paris 2024 event was held on Sunday and… I kind of think last year’s London event was more A-list. Also: Jared Leto is a try-hard. [Just Jared]
I wonder what Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker 2 promo tour will look like. [LaineyGossip]
Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie sounds great, honestly. [Hollywood Life]
Here’s more about Tom Cruise going to Taylor Swift’s concert. [Socialite Life]
Review of Thelma (which CB is raving about). [Pajiba]
Naeem Khan’s Resort collection is very cocktail-party intensive. [Go Fug Yourself]
Brandy made another horror film! [OMG Blog]
Details on Fan Bingbing’s Vogue World look. [RCFA]
Jerry O’Connell comes across like such a normal dude. [Seriously OMG]
Ree Drummond is going to be a grandmother. [Starcasm]
Democrats talk about what it’s like living in red states. [Buzzfeed]

The Princess of Wales’s reappearance, after nearly six months, should have been a turning point for the Windsors and the royalist media. They could have and should have kept it entirely positive and centered on the left-behind Windsors. Instead, over the past three or four days, it’s felt like the palace briefings and the British media is back to focusing a sh-t ton of ire, hate and weirdness on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. For what reason? Your guy just took a selfie with Taylor Swift? Why isn’t the Mail doing wall-to-wall coverage of THAT? Instead, the Mail published yet another interview with Toxic Thomas Markle. While it’s entirely possible that our archives are incomplete, Toxic Tom seemingly hasn’t given an interview since last September? A pretty long time to stay quiet. And honestly, he barely said most of these words – most (if not all) of these quotes were ghostwritten for him by someone in the British media. I’ve said that’s been happening for years and I still believe it. Some lowlights:

He’s turning 80 next month: ‘I never expected to make it to 80 because Markle men never do,’ he said last night. ‘My father died at 61. I’ve had a good life and I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, but everything has been overshadowed by what has happened in the last six years. I’ve never been one for birthdays, but I know the one person I most want to hear from, Meghan, won’t be in touch. I would love to meet my grandchildren, but I would be happy with a photograph at this stage.’

He’s still yammering about how he’s never met Prince Harry: ‘When I reflect back on my life, as you do when you are approaching 80, that’s one of the questions I cannot find an answer for. Why didn’t Harry ever come to meet me? He has the resources to fly around the world – and does – but why didn’t he come to see me, particularly when people in the royal household like Jason Knauf [Harry and Meghan’s former communications secretary] were urging him to do so? That has never made sense to me. What man gets married without meeting his wife’s father?’

He’s in the same boat as King Charles! Mr Markle feels ‘deep empathy’ for King Charles, who is ‘in the same boat’ as far as not seeing his grandchildren is concerned. ‘I would love to speak to him because I am sure he has as many unanswered questions as I do. Neither of us deserves the treatment we’ve received…I have so many questions I’d like to ask Meghan and Harry. The main one being, why have they treated not only me but the Royal Family and the King so badly.’

On Trooping the Colour: ‘It struck me as very sad that Meghan and Harry’s kids are being denied the right to know their cousins, who look like fantastic children. The relationship between cousins is a special one. There’s a unique bond. I feel sad that Lilibet and Archie don’t have the chance to get to know their cousins and take part in things like Trooping The Colour, which is their birthright. They are getting to the age where they will start asking questions, as all kids do. At some stage it’s inevitable that they will ask their parents why they have cut them off from both sides of the family? They have two grandpas who want to see them, one of whom is the King of England. I never in my 80 years thought I’d be in the same boat as the King.’

He’s still harping on about the photos before the wedding: ‘The one thing I never imagined was Meghan turning against me at this point in my life. I thought she would always be there for me. Meghan was mad at me because I posed for some paparazzi pictures before the wedding. I was totally alone and being hounded. A photographer went to my daughter Samantha and convinced her that the pictures would improve my image. It was a mistake and I have apologised for it repeatedly. When you look at what Harry and Meghan have done since, like accusing the Royal Family of racism, it’s far worse than anything I’ve done. I don’t want pity and I don’t want this episode to define my life. I don’t want to be a footnote in history.’

Meghan is entitled: ‘The person she’s become isn’t the girl I raised, but I wonder if they blame the Markle family for everything that has gone wrong. She started to change when she lived in Canada filming Suits and was hanging out with the Soho House [an exclusive members’ club and hotel chain] crowd. She began acting entitled. Things escalated after she met Harry. It upsets me that the Markle name is now associated with negativity. People talk about being ‘Markled’ when they get dumped for no reason. That saddens me.’

[From The Daily Mail]

As I said, these are all British media talking points. One of the biggest and dumbest tells is “people talk about being ‘Markled’.” That’s just some dumb Meghan-obsessed thing made up by the Mail and the Sun – it’s not an actual thing that people talk about when discussing the Sussexes. This is also a gigantic tell: “When you look at what Harry and Meghan have done since, like accusing the Royal Family of racism, it’s far worse than anything I’ve done.” Nothing like a white father siding with his Black daughter’s racist abusers and then publicly gaslighting her about it. Anyway, I hope we eventually learn who is ghostwriting all of Toxic Tom’s interviews at some point. I also hope we figure out why the British media and the Windsors are backsliding into all of this Sussex stuff right now.

Photos/screenshots courtesy of 60 Minutes Australia.

This Justin Timberlake stuff has gotten crazy. One week ago, Justin got sh-tfaced at a hotel bar in Sag Harbor, then he got behind the wheel. A cop pulled him over, Justin refused a breathalyzer but he was so visibly intoxicated that the cop arrested him for a DWI and other traffic violations. Justin spent the night in jail and he’s due in court next month. He quickly hired a lawyer and a crisis management team. The crisis management team is horrible!! They’re so bad, they have people siding with Southampton POLICE. Justin’s team is clearly going after the arresting officer, and certain media outlets are happy to go along with it:

The rookie Sag Harbor cop who pulled over pop superstar Justin Timberlake for alleged drunk driving is well-known in the ritzy town, according to a report. Officer Michael Arkinson, who turns 24 this month, stopped the “SexyBack” singer Tuesday morning after allegedly seeing him blow a stop sign and swerve in the right lane.

In just three months on the force, Arkinson has earned a reputation among Sag Harbor’s wealthy residents, earning nicknames like “the Sag Harbor Nazi” and “little red-headed dips–t” for his strict enforcement of traffic laws.

Despite Timberlake’s global fame, Arkinson, who wasn’t even born when Timberlake joined NSync in 1995, had no clue who he was dealing with. By the time Timberlake’s hit “Bye Bye Bye” topped the charts in 2000, Arkinson was just a toddler.

A writer from Shelter Island who identified himself as Spencer recounted an unpleasant encounter with Arkinson while searching for a parking spot in Sag Harbor and making a U-turn.

“I was surprised he pulled me over,” Spencer told the Daily Mail. “It was off-season, and no one was around. It was a d–khead move. I felt like he pulled me over just for the sake of doing it.”

Although Spencer received a warning, his next run-in with Arkinson wasn’t so lenient. Pulled over for talking on his cell phone, Spencer protested that he was using speakerphone.

“He told me I should have been using Bluetooth,” Spencer told the outlet. Despite his explanations, Arkinson slapped him with a $145 ticket. “I thought he would give me a break… It really interrupted my workout and lunch plans. ‘I think Justin Timberlake was a victim of over-aggressive Sag Harbor police,” he added.

[From The NY Post]

The NY Post and the Daily Mail are also running photos of the cop, they’re publishing details about his life (where he went to school) and his salary. Like… am I supposed to hate a cop who arrested a drunk driver? Am I supposed to be in my feelings about a cop who cites rich Hamptonites for violating the law? As I said previously, it’s ACAB most days, but this guy got a drunk driver off the road and that’s a good thing. Justin could have hurt someone. This is how bad it is for Justin Timberlake – people are siding with the cop and saying outright that it’s f–ked up that Timberlake’s team is doxxing the arresting officer.

A few more things – this same cop had already given Justin a warning several minutes before the arrest. The cop told Justin he shouldn’t be driving and let him go without any arrests or citations. Minutes later, the cop observed Justin behind the wheel, driving drunk on the wrong side of the road. Justin is such a dumbass, my god. Last thing: Justin’s team likely paid off the bartender to claim, to People Magazine, that Justin only had one drink at the bar. Sure.

Rookie Sag Harbor cop who arrested Justin Timberlake already well-known by locals for strict enforcement of traffic laws after just three months on the force https://t.co/cbaVdbwMmP pic.twitter.com/6Olv5uipy7

— New York Post (@nypost) June 22, 2024

Sag Harbor cop who didn’t recognize Justin Timberlake during DWI arrest is unmasked as rookie Michael Arkinson… and he’s been infuriating the Hamptons elite for months https://t.co/QNgzeDtomY pic.twitter.com/3RUuJaPNl5

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 22, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.