Prince Harry will receive the Living Legend of Aviation Award on Friday, the 19th. No one has confirmed whether he’ll show up in person to the ceremony, but I suspect he will. When the news came out last week, I honestly thought “well, that’s nice, but it’s probably not the most serious award ever.” I looked up the site and how it’s organized and I came away somewhat impressed, but I still say that this isn’t, like, the Nobel Prize of Aviation or anything like that. It’s basically like “hey, you’re a pilot or you have something to do with aviation AND you’re really cool, so here’s an award.”

It has been shocking to watch the meltdown though – the British media and the royalist derangers are treating this award like it’s everything all at once: a sham award; an important award for which Harry is unworthy; something anyone could get if they paid for it; something they should give to every pilot; something which Prince William should have gotten. I still say that this award basically blew up the British media’s January talking point of “the Sussexes are desperate, broke and unpopular” and that’s why everyone seems to be freaking out. Speaking of:

Prince Harry’s Living Legends of Aviation Award comes across as ‘needy’, Richard Eden has told Palace Confidential. Speaking on the Mail+’s weekly talk show, the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor said it’s unclear why the Duke of Sussex, 39, is being honoured at this year’s 21st Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards in Beverley Hills.

‘Frankly, I think it’s a bit needy. Perhaps the organisers of these award ceremonies know that they will turn up if they give them an award, but there’s something slightly pathetic,’ Mr Eden said.

In conversation with the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor at Large Richard Kay and show host Jo Elvin, Mr Eden added that he did a ‘double take’ when he heard the news of Harry’s award.

While Harry ‘knows how to fly a helicopter’, for Mr Eden, it’s ‘not clear why he’s being given this award’ at this time.

Prince Harry undertook two tours of duty in Afghanistan as a forward air controller and an Apache helicopter pilot. His work as a British Army veteran and pilot is set to be honoured at this year’s 21st Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards. The decorated event – which will be hosted by John Travolta in Beverly Hills, California next Friday – will see the royal inducted alongside other aerospace icons including Fred George and Steve Hinton.

It is understood that his work with setting up the Invictus Games Foundation will also be celebrated, according to the awards’ website. It is not clear whether Harry, or his wife Meghan Markle, 42, will attend the ceremony.

For Richard, the award is just the latest in a long list for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. He joked: ‘The one great thing about Harry and Meghan moving to California is that they seem to be garlanded with awards, and every now and then, there’s another one.’

[From The Daily Mail]

“Frankly, I think it’s a bit needy. Perhaps the organisers of these award ceremonies know that they will turn up if they give them an award, but there’s something slightly pathetic.” Is it more or less needy and pathetic than a prince who sets up his own awards scheme, refuses to invite the nominees and instead blows through millions of dollars to hang out with celebrities and inflate his own ego? Honestly, Harry should get more awards for what he did with Invictus. The fact that Harry’s CV includes stuff like “founder of Sentebale, Invictus and Travalyst,” board of directors of African Parks, chief impact officer of BetterUp AND bestselling author… give him more awards.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Over the weekend, the “story” broke: in royal historian Robert Hardman’s new biography of King Charles, royal sources insist that Queen Elizabeth II was incandescent with rage over Prince Harry naming his daughter “Lilibet.” We went through all of this in 2021 – Harry made it clear that he spoke to his grandmother and told her of his plans to give his daughter the Queen’s family nickname. At the time, royal sources screamed to everyone that QEII was not informed, oh wait she was informed but she hated it, oh wait she didn’t tell anyone about the conversation actually but still! Less than a year later, QEII and the Sussexes had a quiet meeting at Windsor Castle with zero leaks, and she personally invited them to her Jubbly. That June, Meghan and Harry brought their children to England for a days-long visit and QEII met her namesake.

Taking the larger view, it certainly feels like poor form for Charles’s supposed biographer to write stories smearing QEII as somehow enraged or inconsolable about her grandson naming his daughter “Lilibet.” At best, the story is true and it makes QEII seem petty, racist and ridiculous, especially given that her favorite son Andrew has been mired in controversy for years for rape and his associations with pedophiles. At worst, King Charles’s court is weaponizing his dead mother to badger and smear the son he exiled. Well, trust that Becky English at the Mail is on the case! English wrote a first-person account of all of this ridiculous bullsh-t, because I guess none of the royal rota want to write about Prince Andrew.

The Lilibet name: In fact, I understand the Queen was so upset by the Sussexes’ decision that she told aides: ‘I don’t own the palaces, I don’t own the paintings, the only thing I own is my name. And now they’ve taken that.’

The Sussexes were too Californian to understand how evil their actions were: Harry and Meghan would not have intended to cause her grief – over this, at any rate. Barricaded in their Californian cocoon, blanketed by the cosy schmaltz of their new showbiz life, it simply wouldn’t have occurred to the couple that such a gesture would cause offence. But it seems that it did – as well-placed sources made clear to myself and others at the time.

The BBC report: The national broadcaster’s royal correspondent, Jonny Dymond, reported being told by a ‘Palace source’ that the Queen was ‘never asked’ by Harry and Meghan about the use of her childhood nickname. Dymond said his source ‘disputed’ reports in the wake of the announcement of the name that Harry and Meghan had spoken to the Queen to garner her blessing. It’s what a lot of us were saying, one way or another, back in 2021.

Becky said the Queen wasn’t angry: In all honesty, I was not told at the time that the Queen was ‘angry’. That was not a word that was ever used to me, personally. But what at least two sources made clear – reluctantly, I might add, since in the wake of their score-settling Oprah interview, everyone at Buckingham Palace was treading on eggshells for fear of further hostilities with the Sussexes – was that the suggestion they had sought the Queen’s approval was a rather one-sided interpretation of what had actually occurred.

The Queen was merely taken aback: As it was described to me, the then 95-year-old monarch was taken aback when she was told by her grandson of his intention to give his daughter the name Lilibet in her honour but didn’t feel, given the circumstances, she could say no. You might describe it as being pushed into an impossible corner. And that certainly makes sense when you now consider her remark about ‘palaces and paintings’ which, as well as most of her jewels, cars and even furniture, were never hers to own. She was, in most respects, simply the conservator of them for future generations on behalf of the nation. However her pet name, Lilibet, which sweetly stuck after she could never pronounce her own name correctly as a toddler, was hers – and hers alone.

This makes zero sense: As someone who had enjoyed a faultless career as an international stateswoman, the elderly Queen, it seems, was still willing to bite her lip (publicly that is) – until she saw her name being weaponised by lawyers in a fight against the British public service broadcaster. And according to Robert Hardman, despite posting their good wishes on social media Buckingham Palace flatly refused to be ‘co-opted’ into ‘propping up’ Harry and Meghan’s version of events. They firmly ‘rebuffed’ their requests to do so, which ultimately, it seems, led the Sussexes’ threats of legal action to quietly dissipate.

It’s all the Sussexes’ fault! In truth, it is really rather sad that the name of a child continues to cause rancour. Little Lilibet deserves none of this. But the fact that loyal staff speak about it even now shows that many consider the Sussexes’ behaviour towards the late Queen to have been at best misguided and at worst unforgivable in the twilight of her reign.

[From The Daily Mail]

This is so utterly asinine, I barely have words. “Buckingham Palace flatly refused to be ‘co-opted’ into ‘propping up’ Harry and Meghan’s version of events…” The BBC lied, or rather, a palace source lied to the BBC and the BBC printed the lie that QEII was never asked. As English herself admits, Harry did ask. QEII “was taken aback when she was told by her grandson of his intention to give his daughter the name Lilibet in her honour but didn’t feel, given the circumstances, she could say no.” She’s admitting that Harry DID ASK. So the BBC lied, the palace lied, and Harry was telling the truth the whole time, huh? So English is admitting in her rancid way that the palace authorized and engineered a years-long public tantrum over an American baby’s name, and the palace is still blaming all of it for the Sussexes’ “unforgivable” crime of reusing a family nickname.

Incidentally, the whole “the name Lilibet is the only thing of her own” stupidity was said back in 2021, although they didn’t dare put those asinine words in QEII’s mouth. While the monarch is the “guardian” of all of those castles, paintings and jewels, let’s not forget QEII’s enormous personal wealth, private art, private jewelry and private homes. “The name Lilibet is all she had of her own, minus the billion-dollar personal fortune, millions of dollars of inherited jewelry, a huge Scottish estate and a huge Norfolk estate. POOR LILIBET!”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Robert Downey Jr is cleaning up this award season as Best Supporting Actor in Oppenheimer. I really liked the movie and think he did a great job as Louis Strauss. (I do hope that Ryan Gosling gets some recognition for Ken, though!) RDJ won again during Sunday night’s Critics Choice Awards. During his acceptance speech, he decided to quote some of the more creative criticism he’s received throughout the years. He even went back 36 years to quote the late Michael Wilmington’s March 1988 review of his performance in Johnny Be Good, in which Wilmington said he sounded “like Pee-wee Herman emerging from a coma.”

Robert Downey Jr. won a Critics Choice Award for best supporting actor in “Oppenheimer” on Sunday. He took the opportunity to remind the critics who voted for him that they haven’t always loved his work.

“The Critics Choice Association, they’ve given me such beautiful feedback, really just so many great moments,” Downey Jr. said at the start of his acceptance speech. “And some of it’s so poetic, I just want to share some of their thoughts with you over the years.”

He went on to quote several unflattering critiques he’s received throughout his career, starting with one review Downey Jr. described as haiku: “sloppy, messy and lazy.”

Another critique he cited compared his performance in an unnamed project to “Pee Wee Herman emerging from a coma.” Downey Jr. also quoted a British critic who once called him “a puzzling waste of talent.”

The final review “lingered” with him, Downey Jr. said, when a critic wrote that he was as “amusing as a bedlocked fart.”

While Downey Jr. didn’t specify which performances he received such colorful feedback on, he appeared to enjoy himself as he quoted each review. As did the audience, who laughed along with him.

[From CNN]

This isn’t the first time that RDJ quoted Wilmington’s Pee-wee line, either! He also mentioned it in a May 1988 Rolling Stone interview. While I am a believer in the whole “Don’t feed the trolls” mentality, I think RDJ’s speech was all in good fun. There’s something cheeky about poking fun at the people who make a living criticizing you. It’s that whole “embrace it so it loses its meaning” mentality. Sometimes what critics say can be fair and constructive, and other times, it’s just jumping on the bandwagon for views or clicks or whatever. If you’re going to respond, there’s a difference between coming off as bitter and making it into something that is all in good fun, and I think RDJ did a good job at making it the latter. Pick the sillier ones, with a bonus if they’re somewhat fair.

That said, it’s also somewhat bonkers to hold onto criticisms from decades ago! For context, when that 1988 review came out, RDJ was still dating Sarah Jessica Parker! Can you imagine if an actress got up there and gave that speech? Would their delivery have gone over as well as RDJ’s did? I wonder if he had those quotes living rent free in his memory bank for decades or if he had the idea for such a speech and (had an assistant) research ridiculous quotes ahead of time. Either way, it made for a fun, quirky out-of-the-box speech in an awards season that has hit the ground running without looking back. Also, the phrase, “Amusing as a bed-locked fart” totally sounds like a line out of Ted Lasso. I can literally hear any one of those characters saying it right now in my head.

Robert Downey, Jr. has been holding a grudge against the late Michael Wilmington at the LA Times for 36 years for saying he sounds “like Pee-wee Herman emerging from a coma” in Johnny Be Goodhttps://t.co/uPGQVRxFXY

— celebitchy (@celebitchy) January 15, 2024

Robert Downey Jr reads out what critics have said about him this year at the #CriticsChoiceAwards

“The first one’s like a Haiku, ‘sloppy, messy & lazy.’ Next one’s more metaphoric, ‘like Pee Wee Herman emerging from a coma.’”

See the full winners list: https://t.co/o7EgopRYqJ pic.twitter.com/QoLsuQQe8d

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 15, 2024

Photos credit: Avalon.red

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I have mixed feelings about Suki Waterhouse’s crazy cutout Valentino gown at the Emmys. On one hand it’s bonkers that she’s so pregnant and she wore that, on the other she’s a damn model/actress and she looks phenomenal. Why should she cover up for the Emmys just because she’s pregnant? I was floored when I first saw this gown on video (I tweeted about it) but when Suki talked to Laverne Cox I thought she looked adorable. She said that her gown had to be accommodated for her pregnancy, of course. Suki told ET that the dress had to be taken apart and put together several times and that she wasn’t sure it would be ready.

I like it, I don’t care! It’s making me smile so hard like “damn that’s daring!” Also it looks better on camera than it does in still photos. Suki is in Daisy Jones and The Six, which unfortunately didn’t take home any Emmys. I would have liked to have seen Robert Pattinson with her on the carpet.

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Laverne Cox was in vintage Thierry Mugler from her own collection. Laverne loves asking people what they’re manifesting and there’s something poetic about her saving a dress for over twenty years and wearing it on the Emmys red carpet. She looks incredible and I love how well it fits her and the witchy vibes she’s giving. So many people complimented her makeup too. I appreciate Laverne but she seemed like she was phoning it in last night, like she’s got too much happening in her professional life and she’s tired. That’s relatable.

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Nominee Keri Russell was in this black Alexander Vauthier that had a pencil skirt and a giant bubble cape. At first glance I don’t like it, but I see what they were going for. It doesn’t quite work, but it’s a cool concept.

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I’m including nominee Sharon Horgan here because not enough people know her. I watched a couple of episodes of her show, Bad Sisters, on Apple. It was fun but it wasn’t enough to keep me watching! She’s a standout though. I don’t have an ID on Sharon’s dress but she said on the CW red carpet that it was heavy and vintage, and that she was having a wardrobe malfunction because her double sided tape wasn’t holding up and her boob was in danger of popping out! The CW hosts tried to hand her some tape and it didn’t seem like they were successful because she looked at it and said a deflated “gee thanks.”

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There are always so many rules about what colors redheads can wear, but ladies like Julianne Moore and Jessica Chastain always flout them. I’m always left with questions like “oh, so redheads do look good in red?” and “who knew a redhead would look good in chartreuse?” Well, Jessica Chastain had a feeling she would look good in chartreuse, so she turned up to the Emmy Awards in this Gucci. It could either way, depending on the lighting and the shade, but she actually makes this work?

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Love Issa Rae to pieces, but this Pamella Roland feathered-and-beaded sack/poncho dress is NOT the look. Even Laverne Cox couldn’t muster up a compliment about it. The one nice thing I’ll say is that Issa is so pretty, she elevates this.

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Katherine Heigl in Reem Acra. The elements were all there, but it ended up looking really cheap. I think the bust was the problem.

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Monica Bellucci & Tim Burton attended their first award show together as a couple. Monica rocked that tuxedo and they seem to enjoy each other. Hm.

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Tyler James Williams wore Dolce & Gabbana – he said on the carpet that he felt like he was doing sort of an homage to Eddie Murphy’s leather-jumpsuit era. I can see that.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Instagram.

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It seems like Niecy Nash has been on the awards circuit for two seasons now for Dahmer, right? According to her Wiki page it’s all the same awards season, 2023, and I guess it’s just skewed due to the strikes. Niecy won her first Primetime Emmy Award last night, and she already has a Daytime Emmy, for Clean House. I used to love that show! Niecy gave my favorite speech last night. She got the crowd roaring when she thanked herself for believing in herself. She ended by saying “I accept this award on behalf of every Black and Brown woman who has gone unheard yet overpoliced like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor.”

Niecy was in custom Greta Constantine. I love how formfitting this dress is and her gloves make the look. Niecy’s wife, Jessica Betts, is so supportive and I love to see them together.

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Claire Danes was also nominated in this category, for Fleishman Is In Trouble. She was in a pink vintage Balmain gown with a draped crossed back and rhinestones on the shoulders. This looks better from the back actually. It’s pretty, but I would like it in a darker color. Her styling is lovely. I remember watching her on My So Called Life when I was in college! I used to tape that on my damn VCR.

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Maria Bello won in this category at the Globes, for Beef. I’m glad Niecy took home the Emmy. Maria was in a Georges Hobeika top and skirt featuring draped strands of crystals. It’s not my taste, but it’s unique. She was there with her fiance, French restauranteur Dominique Crenn. They were sweet together in their red carpet interview on The CW. Maria said they live in LA and Paris.

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Nominee Juliette Lewis was in a red Moschino sequin tank dress with a neck bow. I’m not digging this gown or her styling. Her half bun is a bit too severe. Juliette was nominated for Welcome to Chippendales. I haven’t seen that yet but she’s great in Yellowjackets despite my issues with that show.

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Juliette’s Yellowjackets costar, Christina Ricci, was in black velvet Saint Laurent. She looks like a goth queen I love this! This look is so much better than her dress and styling at the Critics Choice Awards. Her emerald and diamond jewelry is perfect.

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Riley Keough attended the Emmys because she was nominated for Daisy Jones and the Six. She attended with her husband (who is very cute) and her grandmother, Priscilla Presley. Priscilla and Riley’s legal issues are over, they made some kind of deal and Riley ended up giving Priscilla a settlement from Lisa Marie’s estate. I’m a little bit surprised that Riley would even go public with Priscilla at the Emmys, but I guess they really did bury the hatchet. Riley wore this Chanel dress which isn’t great, but whatever. It’s not the worst.

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Camila Morrone, also from Daisy Jones, attended the Emmys as well. She wore Versace and she looked great. I said this last night on Twitter, but it’s insane that Camila got “too old” for Leo.

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Rachel Brosnahan also got a very good Versace. This was lowkey one of my favorite dresses of the night.

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Quinta Brunson became the SECOND Black woman in history to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy and the first to do so in forty years. Quinta is also winning all of these awards for a show she created, pitched, produced and writes – Abbott Elementary. Not only that, but Quinta got so emotional last night because comedy legend Carol Burnett presented the award. Quinta was super-emotional!

Quinta also got to be one of only a handful of women wearing Dior at the Emmys. At recent events, Quinta has been killing it with her style, but I wasn’t really crazy about this look, honestly. People had strong feelings about the “wrinkled” fabric. That’s the design, but I get it. It wasn’t what I would have chosen for her, but you could tell that she loved it.

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Jenna Ortega also got a Dior look, which is fine. It’s not the right color for her, but it’s a cute dress and I like that she and Quinta didn’t feel the need to wear giant ballgowns.

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Elizabeth Debicki wore Dior as well – I saw her on the red carpet show and I didn’t even realize that her dress is velvet! It’s okay… it looks surprisingly flat, you know?

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Behold, the women of The White Lotus’s Season 2. For my money, Season 2 was so much better than Season 1! I loved almost all of the actors in the second season, especially the two Italian hookers/con artists/party girls, played by Simona Tabasco and Beatrice Grannò. They were so much fun! Simona even got an Emmy nomination for her role! She decided to go all out and wear this Marni dress straight from the runway. Beatrice wore Armani – a more traditional Emmy look. Simona and Beatrice just seem like they’re having so much fun with their newfound fame!

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Meghann Fahy wore this “sweet” Armani – it looks like something Margot Robbie would wear. It’s pretty, but it reminds me of a bridesmaid’s dress.

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Aubrey Plaza wore Loewe – I know I’m not stylish enough to “understand” Loewe, but jeez, this is such a weird look.

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Jennifer Coolidge wore Etro and she won an Emmy for her role in The White Lotus. I actually kind of like this? It suits her.

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Ayo Edebiri has been cleaning up this awards season and I’m here for it. She won the first award last night, for supporting actress in a comedy for The Bear of course. The Bear also won for supporting and lead actor, for directing and for best comedy series! Ayo was in this incredible Louis Vuitton leather strapless gown which was custom made for her. She told Laverne Cox that she felt snatched and she definitely was. In Ayo’s acceptance speech she joked that it probably wasn’t her parents dream to emigrate to this country and have your child do improv. Ayo’s parents are from Barbados and Nigeria. I thought she might be from Ireland, but that’s a joke she started. I needed to read this explainer to get it!

I love her styling, her jewelry and her shoes!
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Presenter Sheryl Lee Ralph was also nominated in this category. Remember when she won last year and sang her acceptance speech? She’s said that it took her 40 years to be an overnight sensation. Sheryl was in this white Christian Siriano tuxedo mermaid gown that fit her perfectly. Also she was there with her husband, Vincent Hughes! I was hoping we’d see him.

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Nominee Janelle James was in red Rodarte. I could have sworn that she’s won an Emmy, but she has two nominations and she won a SAG last year. She’s also up for a SAG this year. Abbott Elementary is back on February 7th! I’ll probably wait a couple of weeks to watch it though as the episodes go too fast so I save them up for when I’m sad.

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I wanted to include Jessica Williams, she was also nominated in this category. I didn’t finish season one of Shrinking as I couldn’t get into it, but she’s a standout as a therapist in Jason Segel and Harrison Ford’s practice. She was in a black gown with a tiered white tulle cutout. This is a little fug but her styling elevates it.

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