Chloe Sevigny lists all the reasons why she hates LA and drag artists are already performing their versions of this video. [OMG Blog]
All of a sudden, ageless vampire Paul Rudd looks his age! [Hollywood Life]
This was my first thought as well when I saw Beyonce’s Act ii announcement video – that we’re finally getting a “Telephone” sequel with Lady Gaga. [Just Jared]
The Bear’s Season 3 will come out in June. [Socialite Life]
The Oscars will add a category for casting directors. [LaineyGossip]
I actually think Naomi Watts is great as Babe Paley in Feud. [Pajiba]
Michael Cinco’s intricate gowns. [Go Fug Yourself]
Timothee Chalamet looks perfect in these photos. [RCFA]
My nemesis was in a Super Bowl commercial. [Seriously OMG]
A Summer House star endorses NARCAN. [Starcasm]
I’ve never heard of any of these except for Golden Retriever energy. [Buzzfeed]

Over the weekend, there was a lot of “cleanup” following a pretty chaotic week in royal news. Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’s cancer diagnosis one week ago, and what followed was a quick visit from Prince Harry and a lot of weirdness around Prince William. In all of the cleanup pieces about the Windsors, they made it clear that Charles wants to be seen as much as he can, to reassure the country that he’ll recover and that everything will be fine. Charles won’t be doing public events, of course, but he will look for ways to be photographed in the coming weeks and months. As if on cue, Charles and Camilla set up yet another church-stroll photo-op in Sandringham on Sunday, just like they did the Sunday before they announced Charles’s cancer. Reportedly, Charles will probably release photos of himself, working from Highgrove or Sandringham during his treatment too.

On Saturday, Buckingham Palace also released a statement from Charles, thanking people for all of their well-wishes and prayers.

In a statement released by Buckingham Palace on Saturday, the 75-year-old monarch expressed his thanks for all of the well-wishes he has received in the wake of his health news.

“I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” the King said in the statement. “As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.”

“It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organisations which support cancer patients and their families across the U.K. and wider world,” the statement continued. “My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”

[From People]

A nice thank you and an acknowledgement that Charles’s health disclosures have moved the needle on “men talking about and seeking medical care,” as well as more conversations about cancer, in general. The palace has said that they’re not going to give many updates on Charles’s treatment or condition, but I actually believe that if things take a turn for the worse, the palace probably will warn us or prepare people. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

A thank you message from His Majesty The King.

Link to full message on the website: https://t.co/BPvxagD179 pic.twitter.com/wAY5XWLLEo

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 10, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

A few days ago, Prince William announced that the next Earthshot Awards ceremony would take place in Cape Town, South Africa. I genuinely winced at the news – poor South Africa, I’m sorry you have to host William’s ego and his busywork. If we’re lucky, William will once again talk about how Africans need to stop having children because their African children are ruining his royal safaris. He’s said sh-t like that multiple times over the years and given his “environmentalist” branding, you know he’s dying to say it again. There’s no mention of whether Kate will come to Cape Town later this year, but I would guess that no matter what happens between now and then, she will absolutely not go.

Speaking of the Kensington Palace clownshow, people seem to have forgotten that William’s private secretary, Jean Christophe Gray, announced he was quitting that bitch last October. Gray did not put a strict time table on his resignation and I think he wanted to stay on until William appointed the keen Kensington Palace CEO. In fact, the “KP CEO” was cited as the reason for Gray’s resignation – he wanted no part of William’s lazy scheme, nor did Gray want to answer to whatever business-world hack hired by William. Well, it looks like William finally found a new private secretary… but there’s still no Top CEO.

The Prince of Wales is to hire a former diplomat who was made an MBE for work on international peacekeeping as his private secretary as he takes on more royal responsibilities. Ian Patrick, who has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and as a geopolitical consultant, will join the Kensington Palace team as part of a restructuring to support the Prince and Princess of Wales.

For some years, the Prince has been taking on an increasingly global role, representing King and country on overseas diplomatic visits and travelling for his Earthshot environmental prize. This week, he has faced questions about stepping up to support his father in the aftermath of the King’s cancer diagnosis. He is understood to be taking on select public duties while the King continues to conduct all essential business of state. On Wednesday, he performed an investiture before making a speech at an air ambulance fundraiser.

Changes to the Kensington Palace team, put in place before the King’s diagnosis, will give the Prince and Princess their own private secretaries, with a newly-created role of chief executive yet to be filled. The Princess is recuperating from abdominal surgery and is not expected to return to work before Easter at the earliest.

Mr Patrick spent eight years in the Foreign Office and worked in international peacekeeping in Bosnia and Herzegovina for four years. He is a trustee of the charity Crohns and Colitis UK.

[From The Telegraph]

I hope Gray left KP with good recommendations, because lord, did he ever oversee a complete sh-tshow. He tried to babysit William for years and now Gray has left KP in the middle of one of their biggest crises – which says a lot, that Gray didn’t even want to stick around in this moment to see William through to the other side. As for this new guy… he will also have to babysit the heir and it already feels like the wheels have well and truly come off the bus. In one of William’s recent appearances, he was visibly under the influence and dropping things. Buckingham Palace is letting it be known that they’re “bewildered” by William’s recent behavior too. Oh well!

By the way, Kate didn’t have a private secretary from September/October 2022 to present day. In a separate Telegraph story, they reported that “the late Queen’s equerry Lieutenant Colonel Tom White” has basically been appointed as Kate’s private secretary, although that news seems to be flying under the radar, given Kate’s abdominal surgery and absence from public view since Christmas. It really does sound like they just gave this guy an assignment and he probably hasn’t even met Kate.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Ingrid Seward is still promoting her latest royal book, My Mother and I, which is supposedly about King Charles’s relationship with his mother. Of course, all of the excerpts are about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Princess Diana. C-Word lives in a delusional bubble alongside all of the other royal reporters who are stuck with the left-behind Windsors. Her latest interview appeared in the Telegraph and it was conducted by none other than Camilla Tominey. My head was spinning as I read some of these quotes, and I think it’s safe to say that C-Word lives every day like it’s Opposite Day. Every single one of her bold pronouncements is completely wrong and the opposite of what actually happened. Some highlights:

Dangerous Prince Harry: “I think Harry spells danger for the King. The trouble is that whenever Harry’s around, there’s a certain amount of animosity. Not from Charles, but people have to remember that this is someone who has been extremely rude about the current Queen. As much as Charles loves Harry, he’s not going to be all over him like a rash.”

Seward thinks Harry was in love with Kate: According to Seward, the Prince of Wales cannot forgive Harry for repeatedly throwing Kate under a bus in his autobiography, Spare, with claims that the “formal” Princess made Meghan cry, winced at the notion of sharing her lip gloss with her sister-in-law and berated her for mentioning her hormones. Seward says: “Unfortunately, it points to Meghan doesn’t it? Maybe Harry was a little in love with Kate….No, no, no – I don’t mean physically but mentally. Remember when it was just the three of them? He always longed for a sister, he told Diana that. Psychologically I think he just adored her and he was always there, at Kensington Palace, in their fridge, you know, ‘What’s for supper?’.

Meghan was jealous of Kate: “I think that Meghan must have been incredibly envious and then jealous of Kate. I heard Meghan actually thought she was going to be a princess and live in Windsor Castle. Instead, there’s William and Kate with this beautiful house, while they are stuck in Nottingham Cottage which Harry used to call ‘my hovel’.”

William must choose duty ahead of family: “The Firm has to come before the immediate family. It’s a case of duty first which is something his grandmother, the late Queen always instilled into William. I remember Charles said that he was determined that William should enjoy his family before he took on too much royal work. He feels that’s the least William should have – he’s got to be able to enjoy his family before he’s thrown into this role. I think Charles said to William: ‘Look after your wife, first and foremost. She’s very important to you’. Camilla wanted to be at her husband’s bedside when he underwent his prostate procedure because she’s a real person. That’s rubbed off on the King. I think it’s acknowledged that the Royal family haven’t always handled these matters that well in the past.”

Are William and Kate happily married? “I think they are, yes.” Describing the princess as “determined”, she adds: “She’s strong like her mum. You couldn’t do it otherwise, you’d be miserable. You’ve got to have some steeliness.”

Kate is the new Diana: “It‘s terrifying. She’s got three kids and a job and she’s never left alone. I think it must be absolutely awful. But I think William is very aware of the pressure on them which is why he took the time out to be with Kate. Carole Middleton tells people that William is incredibly supportive of her daughter.”

Harry is like both of his parents: “Harry is quite like both his parents in that nothing is ever his fault. He was quite naughty as a child but never properly disciplined which perhaps explains a lot. I last saw him at a press event at Kensington Palace. This was just before he met Meghan. I came out of the loo and bumped straight into him on his way up to meet the assembled journalists. And we chatted for about 20 minutes. He looked at me and said: ‘I don’t want to go up there.’ And I said: ‘You have to, Harry.’”

[From The Telegraph]

So, the opposite is true in every case: Charles is dangerous to Harry (not the other way around); Kate was in love with Harry; Kate was jealous of Meghan; Charles cannot believe that William isn’t stepping up with a duty-first attitude; William and Kate are not happily married; Harry is more like his mother than his father. The “Meghan was jealous of Kate” is something very specific to Kate’s insecurities too – Kate was and is desperate to believe that Meghan wanted her life, her coatdresses, her sh-tty marriage. Meanwhile, Kate was sick with jealousy from the jump and that’s why Kate behaved the way she did, from being a complete a–hole to Meghan to copying her clothes to copying Meghan’s work and on and on. Kate was in love with Harry too, because Harry was probably the only man in the institution who treated her with kindness and respect. I’ve believed for years now that Kate’s toxicity and jealousy about Meghan was a major reason for why everything went to hell.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

I usually do a Super Bowl commercials post, but it’s a lot of work and I’m in my toad era. We have coverage today of Beyonce’s Verizon commercial and Ben Affleck’s Dunkin commercial. You can see a more comprehensive list of the commercials here. I wanted to talk about Cardi B’s commercial for NYX’s Duck Plump lip gloss. It was originally a one minute commercial with the first half featuring Cardi and some dancers and the second half a joke about dudes putting the lip gloss on their d*cks while women experts tell them that’s dumb. The people at CBS decided the second half was too suggestive and so NYX cut it down to 30 seconds with a QR code to access the full ad. I’m embedding the full version below and here’s a link to the ad that aired live. Here’s more, from NPR:

When I spoke with Shayne Millington about the cheeky Super Bowl ad she was planning with Cardi B., the advertising executive was excited about the prospect of tweaking male sports fans in a way Big Game ads often don’t do.

But the NFL threw some cold water on her plans Sunday, preventing makeup brand NYX from airing part of their ad suggesting that men may have mistook the name of their Duck Plump lip gloss and used it in a certain private area. Instead, they aired 30 seconds featuring Cardi B and displayed a QR code viewers could use to access the full ad.

Millington, the Chief Creative Officer at McCann New York, told me before the game that the ad was an attempt to turn the tables on traditional Super Bowl advertising.

“You have to really look at how women have been portrayed in Super Bowl ads and in the past, and it’s not great,” she added. “So, on a platform as big as the Super Bowl where men have [traditionally] had the upper hand with humor…[this time] women will have the last laugh with Cardi B.”

Turns out, Millington’s ad was among the sauciest in a Super Bowl where brands played it safe even more than usual, perhaps due to the mammoth, $7-milion-per-30-seconds fee for airtime.

[From NPR]

Of course this ad was cut. They can’t offend their target audience. It was a fun, memorable ad and it should have been aired in full. I don’t consider it too racy for the Super Bowl, but I guess I don’t have little kids or whatever excuse they’re using. I remember some of the sexist ads the Super Bowl has aired in the past, and I’m glad we’re moving away from that. NYX is an excellent brand, I own a lot of their products, and I hope they end up getting more publicity after this. Duck Plump retails for $13, it’s vegan, and NYX is giving free shipping when you order it through their site.

Incidentally, Uber Eats also edited their intended ad after backlash from allergy awareness groups. The ad focused on people forgetting things, including Jelly Roll forgetting his face tattoos and Jennifer Aniston forgetting David Schwimmer. The original version featured a man allergic to peanuts eating peanut butter, but it’s not funny to make fun of people’s allergies and Uber wisely took that out.

Ben Affleck is the brand ambassador for Dunkin Donuts. It’s been happening for more than a year, after Ben repeatedly went viral for all of his Dunkin Donuts stops and deliveries. Ben has turned the brand ambassadorship into something cute, directing his ads and roping his wife and his friends into appearing in the ads. Last year’s Super Bowl commercial was very cute, showing Ben “working” the Dunkin drive-thru, then Jennifer Lopez surprises him. For this year’s Super Bowl ad, Ben went even bigger, bringing in Jack Harlow, Tom Brady, Matt Damon, Fat Joe and of course J.Lo.

I mean… it’s cute and cringe at the same time. Jennifer Lopez supporting her husband’s Dunkin Donuts brand ambassadorship will always be funny to me, and if you look closely, they added a sneaky little promo for “This Is Me… Now,” her new album and Amazon Prime film. Ben finding a way to bring in Tom Brady, Jack Harlow and Matt Damon though? I’m curious if those guys are getting paid the big bucks for a Super Bowl ad or if they’re just doing it because they’re friendly with Ben. This certainly beats Matt’s last appearance in a Super Bowl ad, when he tried to convince bros to invest in crypto. Remember, Tom Brady also did a Super Bowl ad for FTX a few years ago too. Good times. Dunkin is a much safer bet.

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Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

During last year’s Dusseldorf Invictus Games, the Windsors and their media handlers pouted, cried, lied, screamed and tried to pretend that Prince William and Kate’s sad events were in direct competition to the global headlines the Sussexes were getting. The Windsors also refused to acknowledge Invictus entirely, and they blanked the entire British Invictus team. No tweets of support, no well-wishes from the king, nothing. There were even a few pieces about how the British Invictus team thought the Windsors were being petty and mean-spirited (true story). The whole thing became even funnier when NATO Joint Force Commander General Guglielmo Miglietta turned up in Dusseldorf and he brought a NATO delegation of 1100 personnel, military family members and students. The Sussexes did a photo-op with General Miglietta and the NATO group, and you can guess who was incandescent with rage about all of that.

Interestingly enough, the UK’s Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer did turn up in Germany halfway through the games. He even sat with Harry and Meghan for the volleyball final, and Mercer and Harry were seen deep in conversation several times. Mercer also went on the record about how Invictus is “genuinely life changing” and “You can’t underestimate or underplay the huge impact [Harry has] had on veterans’ care in the UK over many years. As a veteran myself, I’m incredibly grateful, but I know that the nation is incredibly grateful for everything he’s done so far.” Mercer didn’t even play both sides for the domestic audience – he said Harry is doing amazing work and Invictus is wonderful. I bring up Johnny Mercer because I think he’s largely behind a new effort to bring the 2027 Invictus Games to Britain. Oh, and Harry will attend an Invictus event in London in May.

The Duke of Sussex is expected to return to Britain in May for a service at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games. The milestone has prompted an effort by the government to bring Prince Harry’s sporting competition for wounded servicemen and women back to Britain. A multimillion-pound government bid, backed by private finance, has been made to host the event in Birmingham in 2027.

The team at the Cabinet Office who are behind the plan hope to finance a four-year programme, which would improve rehabilitation prospects and sporting opportunities for veterans and civilians. The scheme has won the support of the Ministry of Defence and the Royal British Legion. Leading the bid is Johnny Mercer, the minister for veterans’ affairs, who was flown to Birmingham for treatment after being medically evacuated from Afghanistan.

He said: “It feels like the right time and the right place. The biggest power of recovery has always been in sport, has always been in Invictus and the Duke of Sussex led the way when he set these Games up ten years ago. It feels like a natural rounding of the circle to come back to the UK and we’re going to do everything we can to win the bid.”

Mercer will host a symposium at the NEC in Birmingham on March 21 to discuss the plan with potential donors. Among those speaking at the event will be JJ Chalmers, the television presenter and Invictus Games medallist who was injured in a bomb blast while serving with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan in 2011.

Harry, who this week made a 25-hour trip to Britain to see his father after the King’s cancer diagnosis, is expected to announce the winning city for the 2027 Games later this year.

A source close to the project said: “Harry has indicated that he is comfortable coming back for a British-based Invictus Games and we understand that the Games have always had the support of the rest of the royal family.”

Others hope that Britain hosting the Games could help to soothe tensions between the duke and his family. A supporter of Birmingham’s bid said: “I and many others very much hope that this could provide a timeline for a way in which the duke and the rest of the royal family might find a way to come together in support of a worthwhile cause.”

If Birmingham beats its US rival bidder of Washington, it will bring Harry and Meghan back to the UK together for the first time since the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022.

[From The Times]

So it’s between Birmingham and Washington? Didn’t New Zealand plan to make a bid as well? In any case, I absolutely hope that Harry rejects any and all efforts to bring Invictus back to the UK. This is so obviously a trap – the press, the government and the royals are all salivating at the idea of three years of “what will happen when the Sussexes come in 2027” storylines. Harry would be giving them too much lead time to plan out how they could hurt Meghan and everyone else. It’s fascinating though, to watch as the British government openly longs for the Sussex sparkle. Remember how all of those royal reporters and photographers ran to Dusseldorf to cover them? Yeah. As for the Invictus service in May… it would be funny if Meghan skips it. God, the tantrums, I can hear them now.

PS… I was trying to do the math on the games, traditionally the games are 14-16 months apart – wouldn’t the next games, after Vancouver (Feb. 2025), be held in the late summer of 2026?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Roya Nikkhah at the Sunday Times must have gotten full briefings from Kensington Palace AND Buckingham Palace after a particularly chaotic week. Last Monday, BP announced that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. On Tuesday, Prince Harry arrived and had a 45-minute meeting with his father. On Wednesday, Prince William stepped out for the first time in weeks and appeared visibly under the influence. KP also briefed the media that William would not be stepping up or stepping out much in the coming months, and he would likely be out through Easter too, just like Kate. Throughout the week, there was an open briefing war between the royal courts as Camilla and William both screamed and raged about Harry and Charles’s meeting. It was a lot. Currently, we’re to believe that Charles and Camilla are staying at Sandringham and now the Waleses are staying at Anmer Hall (on the Sandringham estate). So, that’s the backdrop for this fascinating piece from the Times. Some highlights:

Charles will wave from cars: Charles, 75, will divide his time between Sandringham and Highgrove, and travel privately to London every week for his cancer treatment. Those close to him say “he is keen to be seen”, and will be driven in the state Bentley with its large windows wherever possible when he is in town. He may also release photos and video clips of his weekly audiences with Rishi Sunak, which will take place at Buckingham Palace and which he hopes to continue in person.

William refuses to be deputized: William remains determined to continue to put his family first, with aides making it clear he will not “deputise” for the King, who is fully supportive of his oldest son’s commitment to his family. The official palace line is that “the Prince of Wales may step in for His Majesty, nothing is scheduled currently, Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace are in constant communication and should the need arise, appropriate arrangements will be made”. But in such radically changed circumstances, will the heir to the throne realistically be able to maintain that stance? The coming weeks and months will test William’s resolve and his “unwavering commitment to duty” that aides often speak of.

Bewilderment in the royal court: Palace sources stress there is “no sense he is being pressurised” to increase his workload, and it is understood Charles has not asked William to pick up a raft of his cancelled engagements. In some royal circles, however, there is a slight sense of bewilderment at William’s determination to so fiercely protect his boundaries when it comes to his diary.

William is frozen with shock: Those close to him say that he is still digesting the shock of his father’s diagnosis so soon after his wife of almost 13 years — his partner since they were both students at the University of St Andrews — having major surgery, while also contemplating what the shifting sands mean for his role and his family’s future. A royal source says: “At times like this, it is a reminder that as well as being the future head of state, he is also a human being. He is processing the news of his father having cancer as a human being. Given the seriousness with which he takes his role, of course it is something he will be thinking about.”

Charles & William will meet in Norfolk: Time in Norfolk will give him space to think and talk things through with the King. It helps that a father and son relationship that was previously tricky, particularly when Charles controlled William’s purse strings for his household which is funded by the Duchy of Cornwall income, has matured in the right direction in recent years. Those who see them together say that the occasional petulance on both sides, though not gone completely, has shifted, and they are much more aligned “on what needs doing and what doesn’t”.

Who will go to the Commonwealth service? The first big set piece where the new royal order will swing into action and things will look different is the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 11, which is usually led by the monarch. Charles broke with tradition last year and read out his Commonwealth message at the abbey (the late Queen used to issue a written statement). Camilla, who is expected to attend as the most senior royal, will represent the King and lead the royal family in the procession. Still under discussion is whether Charles will remotely record his Commonwealth message or whether William might read it aloud.

William isn’t skipping a memorial service for his godfather: William is also expected to attend a memorial service later this month in London for his late godfather and the King’s great friend, King Constantine of Greece, though if Camilla decides to attend, once again, she would be officially representing Charles.

Oh, now William expects to go back to work in late February? After the week-long holiday, William will be back to his regular diary of engagements, though his attendance at the Baftas on the final night of his children’s half-term — February 18 — will depend on how things are at home. “After spending half-term with the children, you can expect to see the Prince of Wales return to work in a more normal way, in the knowledge that he will still be supporting his wife and still be doing the school run and pick-ups,” a royal source said.

William doesn’t want to overshadow his father: He is also mindful of not being seen to step prematurely into Charles’s shoes, an issue he and Catherine have long been conscious of, particularly with their media coverage which historically, before Charles and Camilla were King and Queen, tended to be more positive, an issue that Charles has long been sensitive about. A friend of William’s said: “He’s very attuned to the fact that he doesn’t want to tread on any toes — the King is still the King.”

All evidence to the contrary: While a close friend of William’s has said he is “fully accepting of doing his duty and fulfilling what the public expect of him, without paying too much attention to what he would like to have done in another world,” he has never been a hurry on the path to kingship.

[From The Times]

There are several mentions of William resisting “being swallowed whole by duty,” as if asking him to do three events a week while his dad has cancer is the most disgusting and crass thing anyone would have suggested. Like, everyone is well aware that William is deeply lazy, incapable and unprepared. From the look of it, Charles wants his heir nowhere near state business or anything important. Instead of just leaning into his severe limitations and just doing a handful of bread-and-butter events a week, William is now paralyzed with a well-earned sense of imposter syndrome. He isn’t even trying to play catch up or working behind-the-scenes to become more prepared, should the worst happen. All he’s doing is hiding and day-drinking (by the looks of it). Also: William skipped his godfather’s Athens funeral and it would be bonkers if he skipped the London memorial for King Constantine. But no BAFTAs! LOL.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

Embed from Getty Images

Many Halftime performers prerecord their vocals and mostly lip sync through their Halftime performances. Not Usher – he was singing live, Alicia Keys was singing live, and it definitely felt like Ludacris and Lil Jon were doing it live. The one exception was probably H.E.R., who came out with her electric guitar for “Bad Girl” – that was prerecorded, I’m sure. In any case, we knew ahead of time that Alicia would come out with Usher, but Ludacris, H.E.R., Lil Jon, Will.i.am and Jermaine Dupri were surprises, or at least they were not announced ahead of time.

Usher was given more time than previous Halftime acts and he used it well, showcasing his decades-long catalog and putting on a real show – colorful, full of dancing, roller skating, stripper poles, costume changes and so much energy. Here’s the video:

Random, but I loved Usher’s first outfit, the white and silver ensemble which he gradually removed. The black-and-blue ensemble was really cool too, especially since he got Luda and Lil Jon to coordinate. Honestly, this whole thing was Usher reminding everyone that he’s a Beyonce-level entertainer – the live vocals, the dancing, the catalog, the setpieces. It was all really well done and so much fun. My one complaint is that I wish we heard more of “My Boo” and “Bad Girl,” but seeing the whole show, I understand how he wanted to organize the flow. Also: the Alicia Keys tweets were so funny – her voice broke on the very first note!

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 5:45
I cut my finger and needed stitches. I saw the movie Chandra recommended in our last episode, Anatomy of a Fall, and loved it. May December was OK. I really liked Nyad and it inspired me to work out. We’re looking forward to seeing Poor Things and American Fiction. You can listen below!

Royals: Minutes 5:45 to 24:00
While we were off, Kate was hospitalized for abdominal surgery. We heard that the surgery was successful and she would need months of recovery. Right after the news broke about Kate’s surgery, we heard that Charles was scheduled for treatment for an enlarged prostate. Kate’s medical condition is unclear.

We heard that William’s focus was on his family, that he was visiting Kate and taking care of his kids. However he was only seen at the London clinic where Kate was recovering once. We didn’t hear about the Middletons or Kate’s children visiting her. Charles’ prostate procedure was at the same hospital, and Camilla was seen visiting several times. There was a story that photographers were only allowed outside the hospital for a day during Kate’s hospitalization but Camilla showed that wasn’t true. We heard that Charles visited Kate when they were in the same hospital, but not that William visited Charles.

Camilla was happy to be representing the royal family and did a few events when Charles was hospitalized. There were stories about how she’s the power behind the throne and the last one standing.

William reportedly picked Kate up from the hospital on Monday January 29th at 11 am. She is said to be recovering at home. There weren’t any photos of William at the hospital. Just a few hours later Camilla picked up Charles from the same hospital and they were photographed walking out together.

On Monday February 5th in the afternoon our time we heard that Prince Charles has cancer! At that point he had known for a week. So Camilla’s appearances after his diagnosis and before the announcement to the public looked cold, especially considering the messaging around that.

Stories in the Spanish press claimed Kate’s condition was dire despite the reporting that she was fine and recovering. Palace sources denied that she had been in a coma. The Spanish reporter who broke that story, Concha Calleja, said in an interview after that she trusts her sources and stands by her reporting.

Starting around the time of the King’s prostate procedure, the rota was griping “where’s Harry?” Right after the announcement of Charles’ cancer diagnosis, it was reported that Harry would travel to England. Harry arrived in London on Tuesday, and he went straight to Clarence house. He only met with Charles for 45 minutes, tops, at Clarence House. They met alone, and Camilla was not there. Charles left in a helicopter for Sandringham afterwards. Harry stayed at a hotel Tuesday night and left Wednesday morning.

There’s been a steady chorus of “Harry should come back, and maybe Meghan too” They’re trashing Harry for visiting his dad and making it very clear what they’ll do to the Sussexes.

We know that Harry didn’t see William because we heard that William refused to meet with him and doesn’t trust him. Of course there were stories attacking Harry for daring to come to the UK to see his father.

William stood in for Charles at an investiture service on Wednesday. He did not look sober. That night William went to an air ambulance charity event. A reporter asked a question and he said “We really appreciate everyone’s kind messages.” A source told the Daily Mail that’s about all the work we can expect from William for a while. William does not seem willing to do the work to be king and Charles does not want to cede any power to him. Here are links to the stories criticizing William from Hardman’s book. William is so focused on hating Harry.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 24:00 to end
Chandra’s COTW is from Harper on the post about Prince William not wanting to take on extra responsibilities.

My COTW is from Jais on the post about Tracy Chapman’s performance at the Grammys. Thanks for listening bitches!

Photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images