Page Six published a curious story on Thursday, all about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their feelings towards the left-behind royals. According to Page Six’s sources, Prince Harry and Meghan obviously have zero plans to go to the UK over Christmas, but Harry is planning to “reach out” over the holiday. This will actually mark the FIFTH Christmas Harry has spent away from the UK and away from the Windsors. Harry became a father and said he wasn’t going to take the Windsors’ bullsh-t anymore. Except Page Six’s sources say that “Harry and Meghan’s new strategy is reconciliation,” and that Harry is particularly aware of “the shifting sands of time,” especially as his 40th birthday approaches next year (no one from his family contacted him for his birthday this year, but sure). In case you need me to spell it out, Page Six’s stories are coming from palace briefings, because it looks like Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair got one too. Some highlights from her new piece:

The Susexes aren’t going to Sandringham: Despite rumors that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hope to travel to the UK for the holidays, Vanity Fair has learned they will not be coming to England to join King Charles and the royal family for the festive season. According to one royal insider, there is “no chance” of Harry, Meghan, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, being invited to join the royal family because there is still so much “hostility” toward them.

The Sussexes & Charles haven’t spoken since his birthday: Last month, Harry and Meghan spoke with King Charles for his 75th birthday, with Archie and Lilibet sweetly singing “Happy Birthday” to the monarch in a video recording, which led to speculation about the possibility of a reunion. Yet VF has learned there has been little communication between the Sussexes and the king since then.

Charles would love to have his family together, but not really: The source added that while King Charles “would love” to have all of his family together at Christmas he is “nervous” about inviting Harry and Meghan into the inner sanctum. “The king would love nothing more than to have Christmas with his sons and all his grandchildren, but it’s not that simple and there is no chance the Sussexes will be coming. It would make things very difficult because there is still so much hostility towards Harry and Meghan, particularly from the Prince and Princess of Wales,” they said. “Charles is also deeply nervous about the risks of conversations being leaked by the Sussex camp, which is why there have been very few of them.”

Royal racists: One source who recently spent time with senior members says, “The king finds these suggestions about racism extraordinary and frankly unbelievable. It is all so far removed from the truth and what was actually said.”

Will & Kate are bitter: Sources close to Prince William and Princess Kate say they would not want to be in the same room as Harry and Meghan “let alone spend Christmas with them.”

The Middletons are coming to Norfolk: In keeping with a tradition they started shortly after their wedding, William and Kate will enjoy Christmas day with the royal family, and then a second Christmas at Anmer Hall with the Middleton family.

A Very Camilla Christmas: And in a break with tradition, Queen Camilla’s children Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, along with their families, have been invited to join the royals this Christmas. In previous years, Camilla has left Sandringham after Christmas dinner to host her own family dinner at Ray Mill, her home in Wiltshire. Camilla is very close with her children and five grandchildren. Her sister Annabel Elliot, who serves as one of Camilla’s personal aides, will also attend the celebrations.

Charles isn’t going to Scotland for New Year’s: Charles, who is overseeing an extensive refurbishment of Sandringham’s gardens, will also stay in Norfolk for New Year’s Eve. Usually, the king welcomes the New Year in Scotland, but sources say he will extend his Norfolk break and head to the Highlands later in January.

[From Vanity Fair]

LOL, “the Sussexes won’t be here because we didn’t invite them, we hate them, they leak everything,” said the palace courtiers, openly briefing Katie F–king Nicholl. Nevermind the fact that the Sussexes have never, ever asked for a Sandringham invite in the past five years. As for Will and Kate being too immature, too childish to even be “in the same room” with Harry and Meghan… completely on-brand. William would throw a hissy fit and rage-shriek all the way to Norfolk if the Sussexes were invited. Well, at least he’ll get to spend Christmas with his grifter in-laws. I wonder if Carole will try to get some money out of him.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Last year, Hugh Jackman was back on Broadway with the revival of The Music Man. He was nominated for another Tony Award and the revival was successful. His costar in the show was Sutton Foster, another well-loved stage actress. They had to do a million photocalls and appearances with one another, and they were very friendly and affectionate in front of the cameras. Perhaps away from the cameras too. In September of this year, Hugh and Deborra Lee Furness announced their separation. Now In Touch Weekly suggests that Hugh had Sutton waiting in the wings.

Movie superhero Hugh Jackman is separated from — but still married to — longtime wife Deborra-Lee Furness, but insiders say the Wolverine hunk has sunk his talons into his former Broadway costar Sutton Foster, who’s also got a hubby!

“Their romance is an open secret on Broadway,” tattles a snitch, who says Hugh and Sutton grew close when they costarred in the revival of the classic musical The Music Man for more than a year until January 2023. Another source insists the 55-year-old hunk “has been besotted with Sutton from the moment he met her. He followed her around like a puppy!”

And the leggy 48-year-old Tony Award winner, who also costarred for six years with Hilary Duff in the TV sitcom Younger, is “absolutely giddy around” Hugh, says the source. She even raved that meeting the 6-foot-2 movie muscleman was “the greatest thing that came out of the whole experience.”

During their time together on Broadway, the big shot Hollywood actor “had a lot of power and approval over casting and billing, but he always treated Sutton like SHE was the star — and she was moved by that!” notes the source. “He insisted that they share equal billing above the title of the show.”

Previously divorced Sutton confesses they became “really close” when they shared a rehearsal space for the show and admitted arranging to “come together” a half hour before every performance to bond. But they were then, and still are, married to others. She’s been wed since 2014 to second hubby, Ocean’s Eleven screenwriter Ted Griffin, father of their adopted daughter, now 6.

[From In Touch Weekly]

Wait, Sutton is married?? I really never paid attention to her at a gossip level, so this really is news to me. If all of this is true and Sutton and Hugh are, um, spending time together… I would imagine that Sutton has already separated from her husband too and they simply didn’t announce it. Also: I hate the way In Touch Weekly frames the whole “Hugh wanted Sutton to have equal billing” issue – what they’re describing is Hugh Jackman being a mensch and treating his female costar like an equal partner, and making sure she gets the recognition she’s due. He likely would have done that regardless of whether he had a crush on her.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Another day, another controversy surrounds one of Elon Musk’s companies. This time, the issue involves Elno’s S3XY cars. Tesla has had to recall nearly all of the cars that they’ve sold in the US in order to update its autopilot software system to make sure that drivers are paying adequate attention whenever they are using it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating accidents that have occurred while being driven in autopilot. The report said that its investigation found that the system’s inadequate method of making sure the drivers are paying attention could lead to “foreseeable misuse of the system.” Tesla will be updating all of the recalled cars to routinely check to make sure drivers are paying attention. If they don’t respond properly, the feature may disengage. It could also limit the areas where basic versions of autopilot can operate.

Tesla is recalling more than 2 million cars sold in the U.S. due to issues with its autopilot software system, according to multiple reports. The electric car company will update the system to make sure that drivers are paying adequate attention when their vehicles are engaged in the autopilot function, according to the Associated Press, CNN and The New York Times.

The recall was disclosed in a letter by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to the car company regarding its ongoing probe related to accidents in which drivers were using autopilot. Among the models recalled according to the letter are Model 3/2017-2023, Model S/2012-2023, Model X/2016-2023 and Model Y/2020-2023.

Tesla did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the recall.

NHTSA found that many drivers are not taking adequate action to avoid crashes when the autopilot system is engaged and warning lights are triggered, the AP reported. After the software update, Teslas with Autosteer will routinely check on the driver’s attention level and may disengage the feature should driving conditions warrant, per CNN.

One such accident occurred last July in Virginia when a 57-year-old man was killed when the Tesla he was driving on autopilot crashed into the side of a tractor-trailer. The Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office tells PEOPLE that its investigation found no indication that the autopilot feature directly led to the crash but noted that the car had been on autopilot.

“The Tesla was in ‘autopilot’ mode, which is a lower level of automobile driving assist that requires active driver supervision,” the sheriff’s office told PEOPLE in a statement. “The vehicle’s electronic data recorder further indicates that the Tesla safety system was aware of something in the roadway.”

The sheriff’s office initially charged the truck driver with reckless driving, but the charge was later dropped when it was determined that the Tesla driver was traveling at about 70 miles per hour — 25 mph over the posted speed limit.

Earlier this year, Tesla announced a voluntary recall of 362,758 vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving Beta (FSD) software. NHTSA announced in the recall that the FSD “increases the risk of a crash” due to several alleged bugs in the software, which Tesla was set to remedy with a free over-the-air update.

[From People]

On one hand, Tesla was marketing safe cars with the autopilot feature to its customers. I guess I can see how someone could have a sense of complacency with their $100k+ car, in which they assume that just because it was expensive, it *must* mean it’s safe. But the problem with relying on the warning systems is that people tend to tune that stuff out, like the lane assist feature that beeps when you cross over a line without using a turning signal. And, as experts point out, the recall doesn’t fix the problem Teslas have with spotting and stopping for obstacles in their path.

On the other hand, I cannot understand why, even with autopilot, the driver of a moving vehicle would not pay attention to what is going on! When I’m driving on the highway, I use the cruise control on my car all of the time. It’s adaptive, so it adjusts its speed whenever it senses a car in front of me, but I am always on alert to shut it off or do a hard break just in case it fails or the cars in front of me suddenly stop short. It feels like the autopilot system should have been thought out better rather than just rely on human beings to always do the right thing. As for what Tesla’s fearless leader has to say, he’s too busy being big mad about that Tesla scene in Leave the World Behind.

Teslas in line for the recall pic.twitter.com/q3OtUNsW2O

— celebitchy (@celebitchy) December 14, 2023

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The High Court in London has ruled in favor of Prince Harry in his hacking case against the Mirror Group, the media company which owns the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror. The judge ruled that Harry proved several parts of his case – 15 out of 33 articles related to hacking or unlawful methods of newsgathering. The Mirror Group had asked for Harry to be awarded £500, while Harry was asking for an award of £440,000. The judge awarded Harry £140,600.

Britain’s High Court ruled that Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was the victim of phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror tabloid, on Friday. He has been awarded 140,600 pounds, which is about $180,000 in damages.

The presiding judge in the case at Britain’s High Court, Justice Timothy Fancourt, said in a statement that he had awarded Harry the “modest” sum, as the case had shown the Mirror Group “only played a small part in everything that the Duke suffered” and “was not responsible for all the unlawful activity that was directed at the Duke, and that a good deal of the oppressive behaviour of the Press towards the Duke over the years was not unlawful at all.”

The judge said he’d found that only 15 out of the 33 articles that were scrutinized in the case were the product of phone hacking or other illegal information gathering.

“I consider that his phone was only hacked to a modest extent, and that this was probably carefully controlled by certain people at each newspaper,” Fancourt said. “There was a tendency for the Duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time. But phone hacking was not the only journalistic tool at the time, and his claims in relation to the other 18 articles did not stand up to careful analysis.”

He said he’d determined the award for the prince “in respect of each of the articles and invoices where unlawful information gathering was proved” and “to compensate the Duke fully for the distress that he suffered as a result of the unlawful activity directed at him and those close to him.”

In a statement read by his lawyer after the judgement, Mr Sherborne quotes Harry as saying that since the claim was brought: “Defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family’s expense.”

The prince wrote he has learnt patience is a virtue “in the face of vendetta journalism”.

“I am happy to have won the case, especially as this trial only looked at a quarter of my entire claim.”

“I respectfully call on the authorities, financial regulator, police to do their duty and investigate bringing charges against Daily Mirror Group,” Harry said in his statement. “Today’s ruling is vindicating and affirming. I have been told that slaying dragons will get you burned, but in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay.”

[From CBS News & Sky News]

“There was a tendency for the Duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time. But phone hacking was not the only journalistic tool at the time…” I mean, tabloid journalists were also stalking and harassing people, bribing people, hacking into email accounts, breaking into doctor’s offices and private homes and more. Sure, it wasn’t all “hacking” in Harry’s case – some of it was leaking from his father’s office as well. Harry’s statement is great – and I hope that this changes the view of years of hacking – this was criminal behavior. So much said in that simple statement. Anyway, I’m very proud of Harry. I thought everything was being lined up for a defeat for Haz.

“The court has found that Mirror group’s principal board directors, their legal department, senior executives and editors, such as Piers Morgan, clearly knew about or were involved in these illegal activities.”pic.twitter.com/0FOpXJL74v

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) December 15, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Obviously the current dominating story with Taylor Swift is her budding romance with Travis Kelce. But that’s no excuse to let up the attention on how she’s a certified billionaire, is breaking all kinds of box office and concert ticket records, and has earned a Golden Globe nomination in a brand new category for her self-distributed Eras Tour concert film. As a birthday gift to Taylor, Guinness World Records announced that Eras Tour had become the highest-grossing music tour of all time. It feels incorrect to call this news, since we know she owns us all at this point. So let’s call it confirmation of an inherent truth. E! News rounded up some more facts and figures about this milestone:

Taylor Swift’s uber-popular Eras Tour has officially broken the record for the highest-grossing music tour of all time, Guinness World Records announced Dec. 12.

The Grammy winner’s concert series has reportedly become the first to make more than $1 billion in revenue — specifically, it has earned $1.04 billion in just nine months after opening in March 2023, Guinness notes, citing Pollstar. (Bloomberg also crowned Swift personally a billionaire in October.)

Before Swift’s achievement at age 33, Elton John, 76, held the record for highest-grossing tour thanks to his farewell concert series, which ended in Sweden in July 2023 after five years, reportedly making $939 million.

So, while there’s only so far new money goes, it’s clear Swift is going the distance. And she has more shows left, returning to the stage in Tokyo in February 2024, before heading to Australia, Singapore and then Europe.

For fans not able to make the trek (or score a stub on Ticketmaster), Swift also brought the experience to the big screen in October with the release of her Eras Tour movie. The concert film has brought in nearly $250 million worldwide in two months and will be available to rent on Prime Video Dec. 13.

[From E! News]

Oh man, rub it in more, E! News. 33-year-old Taylor Swift + 9 months of touring = $1 billion whereas 76-year-old Elton John + 5 years of touring = $939 million. But it’s not like Taylor doesn’t work hard for her money. Later on the article quoted some parts of Taylor’s TIME Person of the Year interview where she talked about her training for the tour:

“I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot,” she told TIME magazine in an interview published Dec. 6. “Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud. Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs.”

The “Anti-Hero” singer then had three months of dance training, “because I wanted to get it in my bones,” she added. “I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought.”

[From E! News]

I love when artists talk shop about preparation and processes. And I especially love it when the method turns out to be “practice, practice, practice!” There’s often a magical notion out there that someone successful simply has something ineffable that makes them destined for achievement. Sure, people can have an “it” factor. But success comes down to doing the work, even when it’s repetitive or unglamorous. Even when it’s spending three hours everyday running on the treadmill while singing. And since I haven’t been on a treadmill in REDACTED years, that is the (one and only) reason why I am not as successful as Taylor Swift.

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This past weekend, I watched Jennifer Garner’s new holiday movie, Family Switch. I thought it was cute and laughed at a lot of the scenes that Ed Helms was in. Was it kinda dumb? Sure, but I always love a good Freaky Friday switcheroo. I even liked the boring 2020 Vince Vaughn slasher flick, Freaky. I didn’t find it scary at all, so it was a win/win for me. Speaking of scary, something that Jen Garner finds scary is the Met Gala. In a recent video for Vogue’s “Beauty Secrets” series, Garner shared some of her favorite beauty products and explained why she’s only been to the gala once, back in 2007. That one frightening experience was enough for her.

No more Met Galas for Jennifer Garner. The actress explained in Vogue’s “Beauty Secrets” series why she has only attended the annual event “exactly one time” in 2007.

“I found it a little scary, so I haven’t been back,” the “13 Going on 30” star admitted while applying makeup in the candid video Monday.

However, she clarified that had a great experience at the “Poiret: King of Fashion”-themed evening in a “magical red Valentino gown” as the designer’s date.

“That was really, like, majestic and special,” Garner, 51, recalled.

Garner isn’t the only celeb who has sworn off the annual Anna Wintour-helmed event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Lovato, Amy Schumer and more have all said the A-list event “sucked” in various ways.

The Golden Globe winner previously reflected on the night out in a 2018 Instagram post highlighting her strapless, floor-length dress and up-do.

“You will never appreciate using the bathroom alone until you’ve been sewn into a dress,” Garner captioned the throwback red carpet photo.

“#TrueFriendsHelpYouPee,” she concluded, tagging producer Nicole King Solaka in the social media upload.

[From Page Six]

I didn’t realize how many celebrities were against going to the Met Gala! I can understand why people would consider it to be a scary or intimidating experience. There’s a lot of rules, pressure to dress within the theme, and opinions about whatever outfit that you end up wearing/having to wear. It’s really fun for us to pick through the good and especially the bad fashion, but probably not a lot of fun for most of them. And socially, a lot of stars have talked about how awkward it is or how it’s like a cool kids club and they were lonely not having anyone to talk to. It sounds like for so many attendees, the night is basically, “Fashion, but make unfun.” Jennifer’s red Valentino dress from 2007, however, was stunning. I’m a sucker for that color red, though. Also, she is correct. When you’re stuck in a fancy dress that requires a lot of effort to put on and take off, true friends do help you pee.

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Angelina Jolie covers the latest issue of WSJ. Magazine. It’s a surprising piece, written by Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, which largely ignores the tabloid version of Jolie and barely touches the divorce from Brad Pitt. Jolie spent years healing with her children after the Pitt marriage went t-ts up in 2016, but slowly and steadily, she’s been rebuilding her life. She’s back to taking acting roles with some regularity. She’s directed another movie (Without Blood), and she’s filming the Maria Callas bio-pic. She also confirms, in this piece, that she’s signed on to a third Maleficent movie (no additional details). While she’s still being sued by and countersuing Brad Pitt over the sale of her half of Miraval, she’s already using the money from the sale to start Atelier Jolie. Which seems to be the main point of this WSJ. piece – Jolie is hyping, in her hilariously awkward way, her new thing, this fashion collective she’s dreamt up. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

Playing Maria Callas: “I’m a little terrified to do it. I’m the one who whispers ‘Happy Birthday’ at the party. My body reacts very strongly to stress. My blood sugar goes up and down. I suddenly had Bell’s palsy six months before my divorce.”

The past seven years, where she was mostly at home in LA: “We had to heal. There are things we needed to heal from.”

On Hollywood today: “I wouldn’t be an actress today,” says Jolie. Maybe theater, she caveats, but not Hollywood. “When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.”

Winning an Oscar at 24: “Because I grew up around Hollywood, I was never very impressed with it. I never bought into it as significant or important.”

Her closest friends are refugees: “There’s a reason people who have been through hardship are also much more honest and much more connected, and I am more relaxed with them. Why do I like spending time with people who’ve survived and are refugees? They’ve confronted so much in life that it brings forward not just strength, but humanity. I realized my closest friends are refugees. Maybe four out of six of the women that I am close to are from war and conflict.”

No social life: Meanwhile, in L.A., “I don’t really have…a social life,” says Jolie. She says she isn’t currently dating.

Her children are the people closest to her: “They are the closest people to me and my life, and they’re my close friends. We’re seven very different people, which is our strength.”

The public gave her a career: “They’ve also chosen how they want you. Since I was young, people liked the part of me that’s pretty tough and maybe a bit wild—that’s the part that I think people enjoy. I’m not the one [who] you want to hear about my pain or my sadness. You know, that’s not entertaining.”

Jolie plans to eventually leave L.A. “It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can,” she says, and spend more time at her home in Cambodia. “I grew up in quite a shallow place,. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”

On Atelier Jolie: She also seems to have an almost compulsive need to work. “I can’t stop. I always think there’s like a fight coming.” Jolie says people around her laughed when she told them about her new venture: “You, in fashion? No.” “I’ve never been to a fashion show or Met Ball my entire life.”

She has so many ideas for Atelier Jolie, but she knows it will run at a loss: “I’ll probably lose money, maybe even for a while,” says Jolie. The 6,600-square-foot space was advertised at $60,000 per month for a minimum 10-year lease; a representative for the brand declined to share the terms of the lease but said Jolie is paying less and isn’t committed to 10 years. “If I can eventually put into practice some things that I think are improvements and I just break even, that’s a huge victory.”

She consulted human rights lawyers before consulting designers: “What would be an ethical business? We are trying to reverse-engineer it a little bit. I don’t know the answers. Can we avoid doing real damage—not only to the earth, but the garment workers? … Is it possible that I could go somewhere and enjoy making clothes, enjoy wearing clothes and not hurt anybody? And actually maybe treat people well?”

Her style: “My daughter jokes that I wear too many trench coats. It’s just like a hiding thing.”

She’s comfortable with her body now: “It’s like I see my scars and my things, and I feel like I’ve lived. And I’m having these big experiences, and I have this map of this complex body that’s changed over time. You and I both know that a woman with a full life is very sexy.”

[From WSJ. Magazine]

I want her to get back with Jonny Lee Miller so badly, my god. I feel like they would be so good together now, at this age. I know that’s far from the point of this interview, but I honestly feel like she needs to let one good man in for a weekend and build from there. As for Atelier Jolie, WSJ. Mag lists all of the smaller projects she’s building within the Basquiat studio, not just full fashion design, but a cafe and sewing lessons and classes that people can take. It sounds really cool, like a modern fashion-based commune. She’s also already on her way out of LA – she’s reportedly apartment-hunting in New York as we speak, and now that the kids are older, I would imagine she’ll be traveling a lot more.

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For the first time ever, Netflix has released an engagement report, which lists the hours that each of its more than 18,000 titles were streamed during the first half of 2023. The top titles streamed globally this past January through June are The Night Agent, Ginny & Georgia (season 2), The Glory, Wednesday, Queen Charlotte, and You (season 4). Other notable streamers within the top 20 include telenovela La Reina del Sur, Outer Banks (season 3), Love is Blind (season 4), Firefly Lane (season 2), Luther: The Fallen Sun, and Manifest (season 4). That last title surprised me because I honestly thought Dustin at Pajiba was the only person in the world still watching it, lol. Non-English stories accounted for 30% of all viewing.

Netflix has released its first-ever engagement report, providing more viewership data transparency than ever before. Among the streaming platform’s most popular shows are global hits, teen shows and female-fronted stories.

The FBI thriller “The Night Agent,” the first two seasons of “Ginny & Georgia,” Korean drama “The Glory,” Jenna Ortega’s “Wednesday,” “Bridgerton” spinoff “Queen Charlotte,” the fourth season of Penn Badgley’s “You,” the third season of Spanish telenovela “La Reina del Sur,” the third season of “Outer Banks” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “FUBAR” rank as the ten most-viewed shows or movies on Netflix from January to June 2023, according to the streamer.

The top 100 – among more than 18,000 titles available on Netflix – includes the fourth season of “Manifest,” the second season of “Firefly Lane,” Jennifer Lopez’s thriller “The Mother,” Eddie Murphy’s “You People,” both seasons of the now-cancelled “Sex/Life,” reality shows including “Perfect Match” and the fourth season of “Love Is Blind” and award season breakouts “The Diplomat” and “Beef.”

Netflix has historically been highly selective about revealing audience viewing habits, highlighting high-performing content in “Top 10” lists or “Most Popular” lists in lieu of more robust consumption figures. The newly released data publicly discloses the least-watched shows and movies for the first time.

According to Netflix, non-English language programming like “The Snow Girl” (Spain), “The Empress” (Germany) and “Fauda” (Israel) comprised 30% of viewers’ most-watched content. Original series and films accounted for 55% of viewing time, while 45% was licensed content – like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Suits,” both of which have found new audiences on the platform.

[From CNN]

I don’t know what I was expecting, but I’m surprised at some of the results. I’ve only seen a handful of the shows in the top 100 and out of the top 10, I’ve only seen Wednesday! I wonder if that will change when the second half comes out. Honestly, my biggest takeaway here is that I really don’t watch Netflix as much as I think I do. This list has reminded me of some movies and shows that I want to watch, but with streaming services raising prices nonstop, I think it may also be helping me put it in the “cancel” column on list of discretionary expenses. Not until I’ve finally watched Better Call Saul, of course.

And, because I know some of you are probably wondering, Suits placed 67th in the rankings, which, again, only show data from January through June 2023. It didn’t really take off until the summertime. Netflix says it’s going to release the viewer data for July through December 2023 sometime in the new year, which makes sense since technically, they’re still counting what we’re streaming up until 11:59 p.m. on the 31st. I’m guessing Suits is going to be at the top of that list. If you’d like to see the full list, you can download a full spreadsheet of it here.

Photos courtesy of Netflix Press

Shailene Woodley wore Valentino to the Ferrari premiere in LA. [RCFA]
I didn’t go to high school with a murderer, but I did go to college with a girl (she was even on my floor in my freshman dorm) who later got married and killed a few women with her husband. That bitch was always a freak, even in college. [Buzzfeed]
SCOTUS will hear a case about abortive medication mifepristone. [Jezebel]
Trevor Noah will host the 2024 Grammys. [JustJared]
Why IS May December being billed as a comedy? [LaineyGossip]
Spoilers for Leave the World Behind’s ending. [Pajiba]
More photos of Sydney Sweeney’s promotional fashion. [GFY]
Snoop Dogg & Lil’ Wayne performed at Art Basel. [Hollywood Life]
Will you watch Lifetime’s Prison Brides? [Starcasm]
Matt Bomer was on Guiding Light! [Seriously OMG]

Last week, Oprah attended the big premiere of The Color Purple, the latest (musical) adaptation. Her transformation was remarkable, and many people had conversations about Oprah’s weight loss and how she looks really great. There were other conversations too, about whether she’s on Ozempic or another weight-loss drug, and whether she should talk about it. Well, guess what? She’s talking about it. Oprah covers this week’s People Magazine, and she talked about the changes she’s made with her diet and fitness, and then she admits that she had an “aha moment” over the summer, when she did that panel discussion about weight loss, obesity and how weight isn’t a matter of pure “will power.” While Oprah sounded somewhat close-minded about weight-loss drugs then, she changed her mind and in true Oprah fashion, she’s talking about all of it pretty openly:

Conversations about Oprah’s weight: “It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself.” One hurtful moment came early in her career, when she landed on acerbic fashion critic Mr. Blackwell’s list. “I was on the cover of some magazine and it said, ‘Dumpy, Frumpy and Downright Lumpy.’ I didn’t feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault.”

No more: Weight fluctuations “occupied five decades of space in my brain, yo-yoing and feeling like why can’t I just conquer this thing, believing willpower was my failing,” says Winfrey, whose dogged rehabilitation after knee surgery in 2021 kick-started what has been steady weight loss over the last two years. “After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years.”

Her new regimen: “I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the WeightWatchers principles of counting points. I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way….I was actually recommending it to people long before I was on it myself.”

The turning point: Itcame in July during a taped panel conversation with weight loss experts and clinicians, called The State of Weight and part of Oprah Daily’s Life You Want series. “I had the biggest aha along with many people in that audience,” she recalls of the discussion, which posted online in September. “I realized I’d been blaming myself all these years for being overweight, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control. Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain.”

How she uses the medication: Once she reconciled the science, Winfrey says she “released my own shame about it” and consulted her doctor, who went on to prescribe a weight-loss medication. “I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she says, opting not to name the specific drug she takes. “The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”

Weight-loss drugs are not the magic bullet: Winfrey is aware of the buzz around her body size, especially as the use of medications like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro for weight loss has surged in popularity. But she stresses it has not been a magic bullet or singular solution. “It’s everything,” she says of her all-encompassing health and fitness routine. “I know everybody thought I was on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I’m not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn’t work for me.”

Thanksgiving eating: She took the medication before Thanksgiving “because I knew I was going to have two solid weeks of eating,” she says, and “instead of gaining eight pounds like I did last year, I gained half a pound . . . It quiets the food noise.”

Goal weight: Though she’s seven pounds away from her goal weight of 160 lbs., Winfrey says “it’s not about the number.” Instead, she’s content building on the progress she has made during the two years since her surgery. “It was a second shot for me to live a more vital and vibrant life.”

[From People]

I’m glad she’s talking about it and I’m glad she’s putting her decision in context, with how her mindset changed over time, how she understands that it’s not about willpower for her or millions of other people. The thing that depresses me though is that Oprah is almost 70 years old and so much of her brain-space is still occupied with thoughts about her weight. While she puts that in context too, and talks about her health and wanting to feel strong and resilient, it still feels like she should just give up the whole concept of a “goal weight.” She’s set goal weights for herself before, and she’s reached that goal weight, only to back slide and gain it back and the whole miserable cycle started up again. Like, you’re 70 years old. Just live a happy, rich and healthy life and stop weighing yourself. Release yourself from the prison of having a “goal weight.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of People Magazine.