I haven’t worn makeup in years, much to the chagrin of my mother. It’s not a protest, just laziness combined with always being in a rush in the morning. I used to have a lot of fun with it though, and liked to think that my painting background led to bold color choices. Some called it edgy, others clownish. Luckily very little photographic evidence survives. But I’m still enthusiastic when someone takes a risk with their red carpet look. I loved Florence Pugh’s futuristic Edie Sedgwick eye makeup at the New York Dune 2 premiere, and then I was excited to hear that Austin Butler donned some as well. The interwebs were likewise in favor:

Zendaya has been absolutely eating everyone up at the Dune: Part Two red carpets. From London… to Seoul… to New York. She’s been making her male costars look boring and basic. The men have, quite simply, not been putting in the work!

But now it seems that we have a glimmer of hope at the Dune 2 New York City premiere, where Austin Butler took the tiniest of fashion “risks.” He wore white eyeliner, and people seem to really, really like it.

A post about the eyeliner has over 30,000 likes on X. “Please save me Austin Butler with white eyeliner,” this fan said. “[T]hank you Jesus for giving us make up,” another fan said. Other people pointed out, well, his Elvis accent.

Either way, I know it’s extremely small, but baby steps are baby steps. Progress is progress!

Now, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled program of anticipating what Law Roach dresses Zendaya in next…

[From BuzzFeed]

Either the interwebs are in a collective effort to gaslight me, or I need another eye exam. Where is his eyeliner?!?! The only hint I get is in a close up shot where it looks like there’s kind of a highlighting line on his bottom lids (a trick I used to do myself). Is that what we’re talking about? With all the hype, maybe I was expecting something bigger. I know this ages me, but I feel like when Ewan McGregor used to wear eyeliner on the red carpet, you really knew he was wearing it. Ah, me. Assuming the white underlid liner is what everyone is talking about, good for Austin! I hope it gave him the feels he was aiming for! I just wish I could see it… I’ll give him this, though — he didn’t sound like Elvis to me in the interview clip.

Meanwhile, Austin met Sting at the premiere, who played the same role (Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen) in the 1984 David Lynch Dune film. Apparently, Sting offered to dry clean his codpiece from filming and loan it to Austin. Yes. The answer is yes, Austin.

OHHH the white eye pencil ate so bad pic.twitter.com/8xrzU61IHG

— lay (@saoirdaya) February 26, 2024

Embed from Getty Images

we must truly appreciate the moments ewan mcgregor unabashedly wore eyeliner and we mustn’t forget it pic.twitter.com/rHGlGnOffQ

— miranda (@hisgirlfridays) January 10, 2020

Photos credit: celebrityphotos uk / Avalon, Julie Edwards / Avalon

Kate Winslet suited up for The Regime premiere (I cannot wait to see this show, it looks funny and bonkers, plus I love Matthew Schoenaerts). [JustJared]
Zendaya will present at the Oscars this year! [LaineyGossip]
Miles Teller is just pure American bro. [OMG Blog]
Monica Lewinsky teamed up with Reformation. [Jezebel]
Bradley Cooper’s interview with Bernstein’s children is so cringe. [Pajiba]
This story is odd. They’re doing Mardi Gras parades in second grade? [Buzzfeed]
PETA is mad at Bad Bunny. [Socialite Life]
Zendaya canceled her GMA appearance after losing her voice. [Hollywood Life]
Why did Oprah stop booking Richard Simmons? [Seriously OMG]
More photos from the Spirit Awards. [RCFA]

In 2022, Jennifer Lopez: Halftime came out. It’s worth a watch – J.Lo is very raw in the documentary, and there are some genuinely intimate moments caught on camera as she’s promoting Hustlers and preparing to perform at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime show. She’s upset that Hustlers didn’t get any awards-season love, but she tried to just eat the pain and keep moving, and there’s a really sweet moment where she’s rehearsing for the Halftime show and Emme comes in and convinces Jennifer to check out the kids’ dance class next door (and that moment inspired an incredible visual in the halftime show).

I bring up Halftime because it’s one of my favorite celeb-documentaries in recent years, and I’m genuinely looking forward to watching her new doc, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. It’s supposed to be a companion piece to her new album (This Is Me… Now) and her musical film (This Is Me… Now: A Love Story). The musical was hilariously bad to me but others feel differently and so be it. But I will devour this doc, which comes out today. Jennifer let cameras into the home she shares with Ben Affleck and their kids, and cameras follow her around as she’s making the album and the musical film. It should be chaotic and TMI. Speaking of, here’s a little preview of coming attractions:

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s past relationship strife is water under the bridge. In her new Amazon Prime documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, the “Waiting for Tonight” singer, 54, opens up about the ways in which she and the Air star, 51, have found harmony together after pressing pause on their relationship for nearly 20 years.

At one point, Affleck asks Lopez if she’s forgiven him, or is angry at him.

“I think I was angry at you for a long time,” she tells him in the doc. “But that heartbreak set both of us on a course to figuring ourselves out to being better people. I think I’ve forgiven you all the way. I think I need to forgive myself [for] some things.”

After meeting on the set of their movie Gigli in 2002, the pair were engaged later that year, and were set to be married in September 2003. But days before, they postponed the wedding, citing “excessive media attention.” After briefly splitting in the wake of the canceled nuptials, they officially called it quits in January 2004.

In the documentary, director Dave Meyers — who helmed This Is Me…Now: A Love Story — says that when Lopez and Affleck broke up, it was “catastrophic” — and the “On the Floor” artist explains that losing him was hard because he wasn’t just the love of her life, but her best friend.

[From People]

In that sliding-doors situation of Ben not sabotaging the engagement and going through with the 2003 wedding… it would have been a completely different kind of heartbreak for both of them. They wouldn’t have survived as a couple for very long, and Ben would have had to scratch the sabotage itch in many other ways. As Jennifer Garner knows. There was always something to be said for coming back together in their late 40s/early 50s, at a point in their lives where the biggest self-sabotages are behind them. Hopefully. I guess I’m saying that I understand why J.Lo was mad at him for a while and why she’s not mad at him now. They both had to figure out a lot of their sh-t separately. And I’m still not convinced that they’ve figured everything out, but whatever. God bless. I’ll watch it.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.

After Good Morning America aired their exclusive interview with Prince Harry on February 16th, some ABC producer was like “hey, we’ve got this amazing thing with a popular and charismatic prince, we should milk this for all it’s worth.” So they combined this month’s GMA interview with the one Harry did last year (with Michael Strahan), and added more archival footage and some new commentary, and bam, there’s an ABC News special called Prince Harry’s Mission: Life, Family and Invictus Games. It started streaming on Hulu over the weekend and the British media has been crying about it for days. Hilariously, one of the new “commentary” interviews conducted for the special was with Robert Jobson, who is more of a King Charles guy than a Harry or William guy. Jobson admitted something quite funny:

There was “jealousy” from Prince William over the success of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, according to a British journalist.

The ABC News special “Prince Harry’s Mission: Life, Family and Invictus Games,” now streaming on Hulu, used footage from the Duke of Sussex’s recent interview with Good Morning America’s Will Reeve during his trip to Canada with Meghan Markle for the Invictus Games’ one-year countdown celebration with past sit-downs to explore the event’s history as well as Harry’s relationship with the royal family.

Robert Jobson spoke about the adaptive sports competition for veterans and service personnel being the Duke of Sussex’s “number one passion project.”

“It’s been very successful since its outset,” Jobson said. “It doesn’t come cheap, it costs a lot of money, and he’s been able to continue to raise that money throughout this period, which is impressive.”

“But I think there was a degree of jealousy about how well it had gone. I do think that William was surprised how much this had been such a success and how much money was being thrown into it and how many governments were getting involved,” Jobson added.

Prince William, King Charles (then known as the Prince of Wales) and other members of the royal family attended the first Invictus Games, which took place in London in 2014. Queen Elizabeth helped support the second cycle of the event, appearing in a comedic sketch with Barack and Michelle Obama alongside her grandson. But in recent years, the royals haven’t been involved in the event.

Royal commentator Victoria Murphy said on the ABC News special, “Harry is no longer a working royal. Invictus no longer sits under the umbrella of organizations that the royal family officially are part of and therefore, they haven’t mentioned it at all since Harry stepped back as a working royal.”

[From People]

It’s always nice when one of those Salt Island commentators admits the obvious, which is that William is insanely jealous of his younger brother generally, and specifically about the Invictus Games. Peggington the Dull has been trying to create his own fancy, expensive, international showcase event, only William always gets everything wrong. William wants everything to be centered on William, and Earthshot is all about how William is an environmentalist and how William is keen to be a statesman. Invictus has always been about the veterans and the military community.

I’ll also say this: William remains deeply shocked that Invictus is still thriving even though Harry is outside of the royal tent. William is so stupid, he cannot conceive of Harry’s post-royal success in anything, much less a global event which is respected across the board. I still remember William’s tantrum when NATO Joint Force Commander General Guglielmo Miglietta brought a NATO delegation of 1100 personnel, military family members and students to the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf. I still remember William’s rage that Harry was invited to speak at the United Nations, and William told everyone that HE had meetings at the UN too… at the British consul’s residence across the street from the UN.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

Given the fact that Prince Harry cannot smile, frown or breathe without every royal reporter throwing up and writing 10,000-word screeds about him, it’s definitely strange that Prince William’s sudden absence today is not causing more speculation. As we discussed, William pulled out of his appearance at his godfather’s memorial service in Windsor. King Constantine’s funeral was held in Athens in January 2023, and William skipped that as well. This memorial service was held in Windsor, within walking distance from Adelaide Cottage, and William was still too lazy/drunk/something to get off his ass and attend. If William is even IN Windsor at the moment, because no one knows and apparently, no one in the press corps asked.

The reaction to this has been bizarre, just as it’s been completely bonkers to watch the British media actively refuse to report on anything having to do with the Princess of Wales’s medical situation, whereabouts and current condition. It’s clear that the royal rota WhatsApp group all got the same message from Kensington Palace: William’s “last-minute” cancelation, citing personal reasons, but no, Kate is “doing well” and it’s not about her. Kensington Palace also told reporters that William personally called the Greek royals to say that he would not or could not attend his godfather’s memorial.

So the people out here in the cheap seats are left speculating as to what all of this is about. I’ve seen some people suggest that William didn’t want to represent the family alongside his stepmother (Queen Camilla)…? Who knows. The Mail noted that “Another royal source said there was no connection between William’s personal matter and the King’s health.” Meaning what, exactly? That William’s personal matter has nothing to do his father’s cancer? That William hasn’t crawled into a bottle now that he’s expected to pick up the slack as heir?

The GB News reporter said that whatever is ailing Peggington won’t affect him longterm – meaning, I suppose, that William is still scheduled to make one or two public appearances next month, if they can keep him sober for a few hours. Richard Palmer called the news “curious” on Twitter, and he also noted: “I think we’d have been told if he was sick.”

Prince William’s future engagements are not expected to be affected by this ‘personal matter’.

— Cameron Walker (@CameronDLWalker) February 27, 2024

Re Prince William, we are not being told anything more than it is for personal reasons, but it is clearly last minute as he was due to give a reading as he was King Constantine’s godson. pic.twitter.com/T8Cnz8FP1Z

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) February 27, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

We’ve passed the two-month mark for the last time anyone saw the Princess of Wales in public. While the timeline was always centered around Easter – still a month away – the weirdness around Kate’s disappearance will be studied for how badly Kensington Palace has bungled everything. Even if Kate wanted to be completely away from public view for months, it’s ridiculous that KP can’t provide simple updates or release statements like “of course Kate appreciates the notes of support as she continues to convalesce in Adelaide Cottage.” Instead, it’s unnamed sources telling us that Kate was moved to Norfolk for the kids’ school break, and then those same sources are radio silent about whether Kate even returned to Windsor following the break.

A few weeks ago, Prince William finally got a new private secretary, and buried in that news was the gossip that Kate finally has a new private secretary too, because she’s been without one since the fall of 2022. It sounded, to me, like both private secretaries had been appointed rather than hired personally by William and Kate. William was “given” a serious diplomatic figure (who promptly f–ked up) and Kate was given one of QEII’s aides. That Spanish royal expert (the one who claimed Kate had been in an induced coma) pointed out that the private secretary news is hinky and that the speculation won’t stop until a photo of Kate is released.

Lastly, people are still talking about how William released a solo statement about Gaza and didn’t put Kate’s name on it at all. Katie Nicholl tried to do some damage control on the rumor mill churning away on that:

‘I think people are reading too much into [William’s Gaza statement], Catherine is off work at the moment recovering from a major operation,’ says Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals. ‘The most important thing about the statement is that it was unusual because yes, it’s a humanitarian appeal but it can also be deemed political. William would’ve known this statement was going to cause attention, and by bringing his wife into that statement he wouldn’t brought attention onto her at a time when she’s privately recuperating and has made it very clear that she’s taking much-needed respite from the public stage.

‘My understanding is that William, behind the scenes, is being incredibly supportive,’ Nicholl continues. ‘He’s doing everything he can to be there for his wife and their three young children, while keeping the royal roadshow on the road with his father also going through cancer treatment. William is in one of the most difficult circumstances of his life at the moment. So much, both at home and in terms of duty, is falling on his shoulders and he’s stepping up as we would expect him to. We may even see him representing the King at next month’s Commonwealth Day service. That’s where the attention needs to be, how William is stepping up is supporting his wife, father and young family, not on malicious gossip about the state of his marriage.’

[From Grazia]

I actually agree with Nicholl in this narrow case about William’s statement – he signed it solo because it was all about him and how HE feels and how HE is a big fancy statesman. His statement wasn’t indicative of his marriage issues, it was indicative of William’s ego and his jealousy towards Harry. That being said, I think we’re underestimating how “overwhelmed” William is at the moment and how that might explain the bizarre messaging from Kensington Palace. William has surrounded himself with lazy sycophants and morons – they are useless in a crisis, as is William. Whatever is happening behind the scenes, you’ve got to imagine that run-of-the-mill incompetence is playing a role here.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Taylor Swift wrapped on the Sydney leg of her Eras Tour on Sunday night, and she has several days off before her shows in Singapore. I sort of forgot that Taylor usually tours with her parents in tow – her father, Scott Swift, is especially active in Taylor’s career, and he’s currently with her on tour. Well, apparently, Taylor, her father and some members of the Swift inner sanctum went out partying in Sydney after the Sunday night show. Scott Swift allegedly got into it with a paparazzo:

Taylor Swift’s father has been accused of assaulting a photographer on Sydney’s north shore as he and his daughter celebrated the end of her Australian tour in the early hours of Tuesday morning. NSW Police have confirmed they are investigating after Mr Swift, 71, allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf about 2.30am.

It’s understood he left the scene before the photographer went to police. Police said the 51-year-old did not require medical treatment. Inquiries are now underway into the alleged assault, with an investigation launched by North Shore Police.

Taylor Swift wrapped up her fourth and final show at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Monday night. It is understood Swift and her team, which included her father, went out onto the Harbour to celebrate the end of the Eras Tour’s Australian leg. They reportedly partied the night away on a luxury superyacht. They had travelled from the concert venue in Homebush on the luxury superyacht Quantum after Tuesday’s concert, Daily Mail Australia reported.

[From Sky News]

Well, Taylor’s spokesperson (likely Tree Paine) immediately pushed back on the idea that Scott Swift is out there, man-handling paparazzi:

A spokesperson for Taylor Swift is addressing reports the pop superstar’s dad Scott was involved in an altercation with an Australian photographer early Tuesday morning.

“Two individuals were aggressively pushing their way towards Taylor, grabbing at her security personnel, and threatening to throw a female staff member into the water,” Swift’s rep tells PEOPLE in a statement.

On Tuesday morning local time, Australia’s Sky News reported that Scott, 71, had been accused of assaulting a photographer on Sydney’s North Shore hours after her latest performance.

In a statement to PEOPLE, police — who could not confirm the identities of those involved — said they were investigating an “alleged assault after a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf” around 2:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

The younger man reported the incident and inquiries are now underway by officers attached to North Shore Police Area Command. The man did not require medical treatment,” according to police.

[From People]

I have no idea if Aussie paps are more or less aggressive than American paps, but if this statement is true, it sounds less like Scott Swift attacked a paparazzo and more like a larger altercation between several people. Like, a genuine scuffle between photographers, security, Taylor’s team and Scott. Imagine claiming that a 71-year-old father of a pop star is running around, attacking paps.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Cover Images.

When Prince Harry was in Canada two weeks ago, many media outlets sent reporters to Vancouver and Whistler to cover the Invictus “One Year To Go” events. The preview events in Whistler were especially popular, with Harry and Meghan walking around openly and allowing photographers and videographers to document their activities. As we soon learned, ABC sent Will Reeves and Good Morning America’s cameras to Canada too, where Harry gave them an exclusive interview. The interview aired on GMA two Fridays ago and it must have been a big success, because ABC/Disney used that exclusive to put together a quick, short documentary, which aired on Hulu over the weekend. This is why the British media spent all weekend screaming about the Sussexes’ Netflix contract – because of the Hulu documentary.

A documentary featuring Prince Harry has appeared on the US streaming service Hulu, a rival to Netflix, with which the Sussexes reportedly signed a $100 million deal four years ago. The 20-minute one-off programme contains no new material and is in effect a combination of an interview with ABC News, which he did earlier this month to promote the Invictus Games, and archive footage.

It includes an interview the duke did with Michelle Obama in 2016 and a video in which the late Queen Elizabeth appeared to promote the games. The prince established the games for wounded veterans a decade ago.

The film does have some contemporaneous elements, including the ABC News interview filmed on February 16 when Harry was asked about the King’s cancer. “I love my family,” he said. “The fact that I was able to get on a plane and spend time with him, I’m grateful for that.”

Given the lack of new material on the Sussexes’ life in California, perhaps the most controversial aspect of the documentary is the fact that it exists at all.

The duke and duchess signed what was reported to be a five-year deal with Netflix in 2020. The money was due to be paid in instalments and while against a set of targets that needed to be met before funds were paid. Hulu, which is owned by Disney, was set up to rival Netflix, and is cheaper than its rival.

It was reported last year that the couple’s deal with Netflix would not be renewed. Executives at the company are thought to have concluded that the couple are not as marketable as they had been in the past.

[From The Times]

Keep in mind, the Sussexes did not produce the Hulu documentary whatsoever. Harry gave interviews to GMA’s Will Reeves in Whistler, and in January 2023, he gave an interview to GMA’s Michael Strahan, and both of those interviews (owned by ABC/GMA) were used in the Hulu doc. If anything, it shows that Harry and Meghan are absolutely marketable, more marketable than the British media would have people believe (as they too obsess over every little thing the Sussexes do). ABC was so pleased that they own exclusive interview footage of Harry that they threw together a short documentary and put it on Hulu, and now the media is giving the doc all kinds of free press. Besides all that, Netflix knows exactly how marketable the Sussexes are – their docuseries was one of the most successful series in Netflix’s history.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.

King Constantine of Greece passed away in January 2023. King Charles did not attend his friend and cousin’s funeral in Athens, and neither did Constantine’s godson Prince William. Charles and William both sent family members in their place (Princess Anne and Lady Gabriella Windsor). While I understood why Charles skipped the funeral (he didn’t want his first overseas trip as king to be a family funeral in Greece), there was never any reason given for why William was too lazy to attend his godfather’s funeral. Then, last week, we heard that Charles would also skip the memorial service for Constantine, which is being held today in Windsor. Charles’s absence once again makes sense – he’s being treated for cancer, he needs his rest, etc. I wondered aloud last week if Prince William would once again skip out on showing his respect for his godfather. Well, it looks like William was scheduled to appear at the memorial… but now he’s pulled out, citing a “personal matter.”

The Prince of Wales has pulled out of attending a memorial service at Windsor Castle for Constantine, the former king of Greece, due to a personal matter.

Kensington Palace would not elaborate further but said the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, continued to be doing well.

William, who was due to deliver a reading, called the former king’s family who are attending the service in St George’s Chapel to let them know he was unable to attend.

Constantine II of Greece, who died in January last year, was William’s godfather.

Kate is away from official royal engagements until after Easter following major surgery in January. King Charles is also missing the service as he continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. Charles was close to his second cousin, the former Greek monarch.

[From The Guardian]

“A personal matter” could be anything. If it was about the fakakta school run, they would have said that, that William has too much on his plate because he’s a father. It sounds more like William couldn’t crawl out of a bottle in time to look sober-ish for a memorial service. What’s weird is that I was under the impression that the memorial service is private, as in, it won’t be televised, it’s for extended family and friends. William couldn’t handle being around HIS family, away from the cameras. It’s definitely weird. He can attend the BAFTAs and an air ambulance gala but not his godfather’s memorial service?

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson and their daughters are attending the service. They’re explaining Andrew’s presence as “it’s a private family event,” plus the Greek royals invited him. Queen Camilla will play hostess at a reception in Windsor Castle after the service, but Charles will not attend (Charles left Windsor before the service). Just… weird.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

American icon Billy Dee Williams released his memoir earlier this month. In the book, titled, What Have We Here?, the 86-year-old Star Wars actor shares anecdotes about his considerable career, including some wild stories about experiences with fellow stars. Well, back in the 1970s, there were rumors that Williams was gay. These rumors have followed him for years and although they began during a time when it could have ruined his career, Billy Dee didn’t care. So when Page Six asked him about them in a recent interview, BDW had an epic response.

Billy Dee Williams — who rose to fame as Lando Calrissian in the original “Star Wars” trilogy — never cared that people thought he was gay in the 70s.

While speaking to Page Six about the rumors that could have jeopardized his career at the time, he said, “I’ve been called a ‘Closet Queen.’ But, I don’t pay much attention to any of that.”

Earlier this month, the actor released his rollicking memoir “What Have We Here?” which covers not only his 7 decades-long career but also stories of the many famous people he met along the way, such as Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, Laurence Olivier and Angela Lansbury.

The Harlem native — who is turning 87 in April — writes that he was always comfortable hanging out with members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and even attended secret gay parties in the Metropolitan Opera’s basement when he was an extra.

“It all seemed very normal to me,” he shares. “I was around it all of my life, so I never really gave it much thought.”

In his book, the “Brian’s Song” actor recalls a recent conversation with his daughter (he’s been married 3 times) in which he discussed Carl Jung’s theory of anima and animus. The famed psychoanalyst believed that animus is an unconscious masculine side to women, while anima is the unconscious feminine side to men.

“I told my daughter about it,” he recalls. “I was talking about why men should get more in touch with the female side of themselves and then my daughter told me — the first time I ever heard the phrase — gender fluid. My daughter was very happy to think that I was gender fluid!”

The “DWTS” alum notes that he finds the current wars over gender “really amusing, to say the least.”

[From People]

Billy talked about the gender fluid thing in an interview back in 2019, too. It’s neat that the topic had such an impact on him that he included it in his memoir. I understood what he meant at the time about gender being fluid in terms of everyone having both masculine and feminine qualities that they should get in touch with. I know BDW’s had more roles than just Lando Calrissian, but as we’ve talked about before, the Star Wars fandom has such a toxic subset that it’s really great to hear one of the actors speak so openly and positively about the LGBTQIA+ community. This man is so freaking cool. I would love to meet him at a convention one of these days.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

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photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon and Getty, James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon, B2820 / Avalon and Getty