Prince Harry’s Spare really reset the narrative on Prince William and Kate’s behavior towards Meghan when he first introduced them. William and Kate were huge Suits fans and they already knew who Meghan was. Harry absolutely insinuated that William was a particularly big fan, and that William likely had a crush on Meghan. In Spare, Harry recalls introducing Meghan and William, and Meghan leaned in to hug William and he “recoiled.” Harry also mentioned that William seemingly wanted to meet Meghan alone, without Kate around – that Kate was out with the children when Harry brought Meghan over to their Kensington Palace home. This whole time, we’ve never actually heard the story of Meghan and Kate’s first meeting though. Even Omid Scobie’s Endgame didn’t have much of anything about it (Finding Freedom did, but who knows if that version was true), but the Mail is still trying to make “mistranslations” into a bigger thing. This whole thing is so f–king weird.

The publication of Omid Scobie’s Endgame has caused a huge fallout after two ‘royal racists’ were named in the Dutch version of the book – and now it seems another translation issue in Prince Harry’s memoir months earlier could have wrongly painted the Princess of Wales in a bad light. After the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, it was widely reported that Kate chose to remain outside in the garden at Kensington Palace with her children rather than meet Meghan on the first day she came over to be introduced to William.

However, Spare was accidentally released in Spain days before the official publication date in January 2023, and Harry’s words, translated from Spanish to English, have been widely misinterpreted as Kate being nearby in the garden, rather than away from home altogether. According to Prince Harry’s own words in the English language version, he asked William where Kate was, to which his brother replied: ‘Out with the kids’.

In Spare, released in January this year, the Duke of Sussex recalled the first time he brought Meghan over to William and Kate’s home so they could meet each other. The book described the scene with Meghan giving William a big hug, something which took ‘Willy’ by surprise because he’s not much of a hugger, according to Harry. The pair exchanged pleasantries and Harry then asked William where Kate was, to which his brother replied: ‘Out with the kids’. It didn’t seem like a big deal with Harry responding, ‘Ah, too bad. Next time.’

Although he recalls Meghan’s first meetings with the Queen, Charles, Camilla and William in the book, he never actually mentions what happened when she was first introduced to Kate. But later in Harry’s memoir, he describes an evening between the four where Meghan cooked dinner and everyone appeared to get along.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yeah, Spare makes it clear that the first time Kate and William invited the Sussexes into their home was after the wedding, after Harry and Meghan had repeatedly invited W&K to dinner at Nottingham Cottage. But it’s definitely weird that no one really knows, for sure, what happened when Meghan and Kate first met and that Harry never described it.

I’ve started to develop a theory about Harry, actually – even though he’s sensitive and empathetic, he’s still a dude and there were several moments where he blundered around, not realizing that his decisions and behavior were going to boomerang back on Meghan. He was saying “no” to things on Meghan’s behalf and instead of Harry taking the hit for it, Meghan took the hit. He didn’t realize that Will and Kate would treat Meghan so poorly, he didn’t understand for months, perhaps years, that Will and Kate were absolutely a huge part of the campaign against Meghan.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar.

The Crown’s final episodes dropped today, and it looks like I’m getting something on my wishlist: a somewhat accurate portrait of how Carole Middleton stage-managed her daughter’s relationship with Prince William. Keep in mind, even Kate’s sugary biographers can’t avoid that historical reality, that Carole groomed Kate to do whatever was necessary to secure that specific ring. Katie Nicholl has written about it, so has Tina Brown, all of the royalist, palace-approved media knows it for a fact: without Carole’s management, Kate and William would have been a short college fling and nothing more. Once Carole and Kate got their claws into William, they never let him go. Well, at least some of that makes it to The Crown:

Carole Middleton is portrayed in The Crown as a meddling “Mrs Bennet” figure who carefully masterminded her daughter’s relationship with Prince William. The mother-of-three features heavily in the second part of the sixth and final series, released on Thursday, orchestrating the Princess of Wales’s switch from Edinburgh University to St Andrews as well as a place on the same gap year expedition to Chile as the future King.

When a newly single Kate tells her mother that the Prince will attend the fashion show in which she is due to take part, Mrs Middleton replies: “Heels not flats, you still want to show off those legs. It’s our duty to make use of the assets God has given us. Does he know you’re back on the market? Maybe find a way of letting him know.” Her daughter replies: “Honestly, you’re worse than Mrs Bennet.”

Mrs Middleton had earlier encouraged her to buy a specific glittery dress because “it’ll show off your figure, which the boys will love”. Elsewhere, when the Princess of Wales tries to tell her mother to back off, pointing out that he is a “royal prince”, Mrs Middleton gives her a pep talk. “When I first met your father he was way out of my reach, I was just a lowly stewardess. Trolley dolly,” she said. “I felt like the luckiest woman in the world … Then I realised that maybe it was the other way around, that he’d been lucky to have me. Never underestimate yourself. Never think there’s anything in this world you’re not good enough for.”

Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the episodes but sources close to the Middleton family suggested the portrayal of Mrs Middleton was unlikely to be well received. One said it was important to note that The Crown was a work of fiction.

Peter Morgan, the show’s creator, produced one scene in which Mrs Middleton and her daughter met Princess Diana and Prince William during a shopping trip in 1996. When the late Princess asks Kate’s name, Mrs Middleton answers for her, saying: “Catherine”. Her daughter replies: “Kate’s fine,” and her eyes meet the Prince’s.

At home in Bucklebury, the future Princess is shown cutting out pictures of the Prince and sticking them in a scrapbook. She also has a Prince William magazine. But years later, she chastises her mother for encouraging her to sign up for an art course in Florence which the Prince was expected to join as well as the gap year Raleigh expedition to Chile. “I thought you’d thank me. You said you liked him,” Mrs Middleton responds, insisting her reasons were not sinister.

“Yes but then I grew up,” Kate replies. “Once you had the idea fixed in your head you never stopped.” She adds: “You don’t know him. What if William isn’t right for me? What about what I want?”

[From The Telegraph]

“You don’t know him. What if William isn’t right for me? What about what I want?” Yeah, Kate never said or felt this. She was single-minded in her pursuit of William, and it was an effort she shared with her mother. I wonder if the recent attempts to cover up that historical reality are an effort to spare William, honestly – the whole thing makes him seem so dumb, like he was too stupid to understand that he was preyed on by this grifter family and he got conned and honey-trapped by Carole and Kate.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix.

From Rosie: If anyone is looking for a Ring video doorbell, Amazon currently has a limited-time sale where they’re $55 instead of the usual $100. We have a Ring doorbell and really like it. It works with our Alexa, too. Other people who have it like the interface and find it user-friendly. “The ring app has a very nice interface, it is very user friendly and you can easily save clips if needed.” “I love the added security of knowing who’s outside our door. I like the interface with Alexa.” Here are some of the other things that CB and I are looking at on Amazon this week.

A face cream and makeup primer that works for all skin types

From Rosie: Embryolisse’s Lait-Crème Concentré is a rich, multi-task moisturizing face cream for all skin types. It can be used as a face cream, makeup primer, and face mask. It has a shea butter-based formula that gives it a rich texture that helps smooth fine lines. At $16, it would make a great gift or stocking stuffer (or, treat yo’self!). This cream has a 4.6 star rating, more than 25,000 reviews, and a B on Fakespot. People love how soft, smooth, and hydrated it makes their skin feel. “I was amazed how it applies really light and dries nicely on the skin. I also noticed that my skin has never been this soft and smooth after applying it and it lasts until it’s time I need to wash my face.” “I’m 37 with combination skin. I have to be very careful choosing face moisturizers/ primers, many tend to break me out. All I can say is, wow! [M]y face is loving it! The hydration under my make up is my favorite, especially now with this cold weather.” “This is perfect if you have sensitive skin, it is fragrance free and so pure.”

A gadget that makes your drink cold in minutes

From Rosie: This portable cooling device boasts that it can turn your 12 oz canned drinks from room temperature to cold within minutes. You just add ice and it runs on AA batteries. You can buy this portable drink-chiller in either black or white. It has a 4.1 star rating, more than 1,200 reviews, and a B on Fakespot. In reviews, people marvel about how well it works. “It was pretty cool (pun not intended). I don’t understand the science, but it totally works and the soda does not explode or flatten.” “I took a normal room temperature 7UP can (78 F) and set the timer for two minutes. In the end, the thermometer read the liquid as 44.4F.” “If you’re hosting a party and don’t want to worry about rolling a cooler around full of melting ice and drinks that barely get cold, this is definitely worth the money.”

An affordable, sulfate-free shampoo that smells so nice

From Rosie: I love OGX’s Coconut Milk shampoo. It has a nice scent that isn’t too strong and makes my hair feel soft. I used to buy it from Target but they raised the price earlier this year, so now it’s cheaper for me to buy it through Amazon. It has a 4.6 star rating, more than 12,500 reviews and an A on Fakespot. Users love how it makes their hair look and feel. “This shampoo smells so good and is so nourishing when it comes to moisture. I feel like it also adds density because my hair looks and feels fuller.” “Awesome product. I am always looking for products that will not trigger my migraines due to the overwhelming scents, and this was just perfect. It also makes your hair feel very moist and soft.” “The OGX Coconut Milk Shampoo nourishes my hair, leaving it feeling moisturized and smelling tropical. The formula is thick and creamy, creating a luxurious lather.”

A skincare set would make a great gift

From CB: The honey glow kit by trusted brand Cosrx comes with travel sizes of the propolis light cream, toner and ampoule. It’s formulated with propolis extract, honey extract and panthenol. This set is good for dry skin and mature skin. There’s also another set on this listing for sensitive, younger skin. Both are reasonably priced at under $24. This listing has 4.5 stars, over 400 ratings and a B on Fakespot. Reviewers say they leave their skin soft and dewy and that they reduce fine lines. “I love this kit. I wanted to try the essence and toner but wasnt ready to commit to the full size bottle. So far, I just love it. Very soothing and nourishing to my sensitive skin, makes it feel plump and smooth with a dewy finish.” “Hydration and glow with no overpowering smell or tackiness. I can really see improved glow and radiance in my skin after a couple weeks.”

A baklava gift box that anyone would love to receive

From CB: I love baklava and always order it when we eat at our local Greek restaurant. Good baklava is just slightly crunchy and flaky and melts in your mouth. This baklava box would be an awesome gift for just about anyone on your list. There are three different sizes, 4, 8 and 16 pieces that range in price from $20 to $50. This baklava has 4.4 stars, 319 ratings and a B on Fakespot. People say it’s fresh, delicious and that they didn’t share any because it’s so good. “I have been searching for some amazing Baklava. This was delicious! I did not share it was so good! I will be ordering again! It is worth the money if you are looking for a gift or just looking for yourself!” “Bought it for my Greek friend as a birthday gift and it was a huge hit! He commented on the amazing taste, how moist the baklava was, how high-quality the ingredients were and was generally blown away by the presentation! The packaging was beautiful, very professional and perfect. It makes an amazing gift!”

This assorted baklava gift box also looks very good and has a B on Fakespot.

Vacuum sealed food storage for longer lasting fruits, vegetables and more

From CB: This vacuum sealer starter kit from trusted brand Zwiling comes with a sealer, a glass container and four reusable bags. You can also buy additional glass containers and sets for wine and cheese sealing or sous vide. Any of these would make an awesome gift. This listing has over 1,300 ratings, 4.4 stars and a B on Fakespot. People say it’s easier than traditional vacuum sealers and helps food last much longer. “This system is the best of the four similar brands I have previously had. Overall it is 2-3 times faster than the rest. This will be on my Xmas shopping list for everyone.” “This system has already saved me money in the short time that I’ve had it as I’m not throwing so much food away.” “Total game changer for me! Absolutely love this system. Use the containers for berries and salad greens mostly. Bags for freezing protein. I have fresh berries for 2 weeks. Raspberries 1 week. Normally raspberries are toast within 3 days because they’re so delicate.”

A slasher card game you’ll want to add to game nights

From CB: Don’t Get Stabbed is a party game for adults that’s based on horror movie tropes. One player is the killer while the others fight to survive. It’s under $20 and would make a fun addition to your game library. This has 4.6 stars, over 1,700 ratings and an A on Fakespot. Reviewers say it’s a blast, relatively easy to learn and has become part of their game night rotation. Please note that it’s not for kids at all. “Our family (adult children) had so much fun playing this game. It took a round of play to really figure it out, but then it was so fun. We liked that the victims work together to defeat the killer.” “This game was a lot of fun after the first few rounds. The first round we weren’t sure how to play, so it seemed kind of boring, but once we started being more malicious with our carss, it was a lot more fun. I murdered my entire family when I was the killer, but no one was able to kill me when I was the victim… little bit of luck of the cards, little bit of strategy, lot of fun.”

Mug cozies are a cute inexpensive gift that people will appreciate

From CB: I love finding gifts that people wouldn’t buy for themselves. These mug cozies are just $12 for four and can be given separately or together. They fit most mugs and come in pink, white, gray and black. These have 64 ratings, 4.4 stars and an A on Fakespot. People say they’re cute, make their mugs less hot to the touch and help keep drinks warm longer. “So cute, got as a Christmas present and I am still using one every day. Makes it easier to hold your cup with out burning your hands.” “Very easily fits on large mug, washes well and adds to the coziness feel of a mug when giving as a gift. Highly recommend.”

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The Duchess of Sussex has been seen! Well, these are weeks-old photos, but still! On November 15th, Meghan moderated a discussion between Misan Harriman and David Oyelowo, all to promote Misan’s short film The After, which streams on Netflix. Misan is one of the Sussexes’ favorite photographers – he was invited to Princess Lili’s first birthday party at Frogmore Cottage last year, and Misan snapped Lili’s first-birthday portrait. Misan has also been a very good and loyal friend to the Sussexes, so it’s cool that Meghan acted as moderator for this discussion. The event was the LA Tastemakers.

People have been trying to pin down the IDs for Meghan’s ensemble here. There’s agreement on her shoes, at least – those are Armani. Hello Mag says her turtleneck is from Reiss. Some people think it might be a rewear of her Massimo Dutti sweater? Hm. People are guessing about the suit as well – maybe Ralph Lauren, maybe Max Mara? Who knows. Her jewelry includes her wedding band, her diamond eternity band, her diamond pinkie ring and her Logan Hollowell gold Constellation Ring.

Meanwhile, the British media is still running blaring headlines and obsessive reporting about Meghan and Harry’s money, their foundation and their “make or break 2024.” It’s genuinely bizarre to watch a national press obsess over two people who left that island four years ago and who are not taking one penny of taxpayer money.

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It’s been a full week since the news dropped that Andrew Shue, Marilee Fiebig, Amy Robach, and T.J. Holmes are in a ‘Shania Twain’ situation. Just as Amy and T.J. were making minor headlines for their new podcast, the news dropped via Page Six that Andrew and Marilee are dating now too. The former couple, who won’t stop talking about how in love they are, were livid to have had their press cycle commandeered. I think everyone is in agreement that Marilee and Andrew both upgraded in the partners department.

Rather than take the high road and say, “We’re happy they’re happy. Best of luck to them!” and make some dumb joke about how they could all just house swap now, T.J. and Amy threw a little hissy fit on this week’s episode of their podcast. T.J. accused Andrew and Marilee of having an agenda and hilariously said, “We are not going to get into that back and forth game because gossip is toxic.” Well, let’s see how long that resolution lasts because a new report from US Weekly insists that Andrew and Marilee are in a “true relationship” with genuine feelings for each other.

Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig are “happy together” as they move on from respective exes Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. The blossoming romance is more than just “a rebound,” the insider adds, telling Us that Shue and Fiebig’s “feelings for each other are genuine.”

Per the source, Shue and Fiebig “knew each other” from going on double dates when they were still married to Robach and Holmes. “They always got along,” the insider notes.

Holmes filed for divorce from Fiebig, with whom he shares 10-year-old daughter Sabine, in December 2022. Nearly one year later, Us confirmed in October that the former couple reached a settlement. Robach and Shue, meanwhile, were declared legally single earlier this year. (Both Robach and Shue welcomed children with their first spouses before tying the knot 2010.)

Following their departure from GMA3, Robach and Holmes teamed up for a new project as they continued to give fans glimpses of their romance. The first episode of their “Amy & T.J.” podcast dropped on December 5, during which the pair asserted that they were both already separated when their relationship began. They didn’t inform anyone at ABC at the time — or even their families — that they were dating.

“I’m still saying I’m sorry [to my daughters] … and it’s just been a really hard, hard journey that will continue,” Robach confessed. “We’re all in therapy.”

News broke of Shue and Fiebig’s relationship hours after their exes shared their side of the affair story. Despite being “hurt” by the way her marriage to Holmes ended, the insider tells Us that Fiebig is ready to “put the past in the past.”

“She’s willing to move on and let go of the anger because she feels she has found a true relationship with Andrew, and he feels the same way,” the source adds.

While the relationship came as a shock to fans, a second insider tells Us that Holmes and Robach have been aware of their exes’ connection for a few months. “It was surprising, but they didn’t think it was anything serious or worth a lot of energy,” the second source says, adding that Holmes and Robach were “annoyed” by the timing of the relationship reveal. “It seemed planned … and so petty.”

[From Us Weekly]

I truly love this for them. Getting involved with the spouse of the person that your partner cheated on you with is definitely not a conventional start to a relationship, but as long as they’re in a healthy one, who cares? I’m glad they’re drying each other’s tears and all that. They both deserve to be happy. I’m pretty sure they’re going to last a lot longer than T.J. and Amy will. And speaking of, y’all, there is no way that Robach and Holmes are going to be able to resist saying or doing something catty about this report. They’re the gift that keeps on giving. At this point, it’s the only reason anyone is paying any attention to them or even showing any remote interest in their podcast.

Udo Salters/startraksphoto.com, Walter McBride/INFphoto.com, Ivan Nikolov/Wenn/Avalon and via Instagram

Exactly four years ago Kaiser noted that Annette Bening was “One of the most famously Oscar-snubbed actors out there.” Still true! The situation has not been rectified. Will this be her year? I don’t think so. Not because she isn’t superb as Diana Nyad in Nyad, now on Netflix. She’s physically incapable of delivering anything less than flawless performances of brilliantly flawed women. It just feels like she hasn’t been part of the Best Actress conversation much, at least not compared to the younger actresses in contention. Then again, all bets are off this year, what with the strikes delaying the usual promo campaigns, and no one knowing exactly who the voting body is at the Golden Globes since the Hollywood Foreign Press Association disbanded. Speaking of, Annette did nab a Golden Globe nomination for Nyad, and she has a new interview out in This Guardian this week. I’m excerpting one section here, but the whole piece is worth a read.

She [Bening] took the role of Nyad because it was “such a great story”, but she hadn’t thought through what playing the swimmer would mean – the “oh, it’s me in the water; oh, I’m in a bathing suit; oh, I’ve got to really pull off the swimming”, she says. It took a year of training, with the Olympian Rada Owen. Bening reckons she is a better swimmer now than when she shot the film, because she has fallen in love with the sport. “What I’ve come to understand about Diana, what I admire, is not only the fact that she swam 54 hours; it was that she found the ability to think enough of herself to say: ‘I have the right to say I’m going to do this thing.’ I think that is what a lot of us struggle with.”

Nyad has written a number of books about her career, which the film picks through judiciously. “She had a coach who abused her when she was a kid,” says Bening. “We didn’t want to make the movie about that, but it is part of who she is. And what happened to her as a teenager, with this coach, did inform her swimming and it did inform her 20s. Just like all of us, right? All these things that we’ve gone through, they inform us in the present.”

Bening is keen to underline that the film amps up a spikiness in Nyad’s character. Nyad is delightful, says Bening. In her on-screen portrayal, however, she is often a pain in everyone’s neck, especially Jodie Foster’s (Foster plays her ex-girlfriend and best friend). “When women have complexity, when women are difficult, our metric for being able to accept them is so different,” she says. “It’s like politicians: there’s always this sense that they have to be likable. There’s a quality that a woman has to have that’s non-threatening and pleasing. Either that, or they have to be very conservative. Like Thatcher. We can accept a woman if she’s very conservative, but the idea of a liberal woman is much scarier.”

[From The Guardian]

“Spikiness” is a great way to describe Annette’s version of Diana Nyad, and she’s so good at playing that quality (remember her in 2009’s Mother and Child?). I mean really, the Diana of the film cannot stop talking about herself or her “destiny.” She’s the kind of person that you know you would find insufferable in real life but delight in watching as a movie character. (Again, we’re talking about the heightened film depiction, not Diana Nyad in real life.) And that gets at exactly what Annette talks about with the expectations on women. In Nyad, Annette is a woman out to please herself first and foremost, and is unabashedly unlikable, at times even to her dearest friends and supporters. But she has an ambition — to swim the open ocean from Cuba to Florida, 103 miles — and as the movie unfolds we see how a woman fulfilling her goal can be threatening to those around her. Why? Because it forces anyone watching her to reckon with their own dreams, and whether they’ve honestly done everything they could to fully realize them.

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Sometimes I still think about Heather Graham claiming that she stayed so youthful because she tries to sleep eleven to twelve hours every night. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with 20-year-old tennis player Holger Rune talking about how he tries to get nine to thirteen hours of sleep every night. These people are bonkers! My body physically would not “let” me sleep that long every single night, plus I have no desire to spend half the day in bed, asleep. WTF? Well, I’m adding Dakota Johnson to the list of people who regularly sleep for a crazy amount of time.

Dakota Johnson loves her beauty sleep. The Fifty Shades of Grey alum told the Wall Street Journal that if she gets less than 10 hours of sleep a night she can’t function properly. She added that she can easily sleep for 14 hours straight.

“Sleep is my number one priority in life,” the actress, 34, said.

Johnson also explained that she doesn’t have a scheduled wake-up time every day. Instead, she plans her sleep routine on a day-by-day basis. “If I’m not working, if I have a day off on a Monday, then I will sleep as long as I can,” she said.

In addition to getting enough sleep, Johnson said she works out five days a week – a mix of hot yoga, pilates and body weight training. She also meditates twice every day.

“I do transcendental meditation,” she continued. “I’ve been really into breathwork recently and that’s been helping me a lot with anxiety.”

[From People]

Do these people really not wake up at 3 am and check the clock? Do they not wake up at 5 am and start thinking about all of the sh-t they have to do that day? That’s what I don’t understand – if I’m tired, I’ll sleep hard but I’ll still wake up a couple of times and look at the clock and at some point (usually after seven or eight hours of sleep), my body just refuses to go back to sleep. There’s probably a caffeine issue too – as in, these are people who are not hopelessly addicted to caffeine to the point that they’ll wake up just to get coffee. The last time I got more than eight hours of sleep a night was probably about a year ago, and I still remember it – I got like ten hours of sleep and my whole day was thrown off.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

The casting for James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy has been a whole ass event. Casting their Clark Kent and Lois Lane was so much a thing that there were even articles written about the finalists. There’s a lot of pressure on this movie, which stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, to help reinvigorate DC Studios’ struggling franchise. Written and directed by Gunn, it’s supposed to be the first film released under his new, rebooted DC Universe. It’s been called a “workplace origin story” that will explore Superman’s heritage by both his Kryptonian birth parents and his adoptive parents in Kansas. A few weeks ago, news leaked that Nicholas Hoult was cast as villain Lex Luthor. Earlier this week, Gunn finally confirmed the rumors via a post on Threads.

James Gunn took a moment to confirm that Nicholas Hoult will, in fact, be playing Lex Luthor in Superman: Legacy and gave a bit of insight into what fans can expect from his take on the villain. The co-chair and co-CEO of DC Studios posted a photo of him and Hoult on Threads and shared that the two had dinner to celebrate the official casting.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Gunn wrote. “We went out to dinner last night to celebrate & discuss how we can create a Lex that will be different from anything you’ve seen before and will never forget. ‘But, James, we heard this weeks ago, why didn’t you tell us it was true?’ Because, although we were discussing it, it wasn’t final until a couple days ago and I don’t want to tell you all something that isn’t certain.”

News broke in November that Hoult was in talks to portray the classic villain in Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie, which will follow the Man of Steel as he balances his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing.

Superman: Legacy is expected to hit theaters July 11, 2025.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Look, I’m a giant nerd and although I may grumble, I generally can’t resist anything superhero-related. But even I’m like, “Do we really need another Superman movie?” He’s like the most overdone superhero outside of Batman at this point. However, I also said that about the Robert Pattinson Batman movie and ended up really enjoying it, despite it being 75 hours long. (Seriously, if it’s not a Lord of the Rings, it does not need to be more than 120 minutes, TOPS. You can tell good stories in under two hours!)

Anyway, I am very intrigued by this Nicholas Hoult casting. I mean, it’s less random than when Jesse Eisenberg played Lex, so there’s that. I grew up with two different Lex Luthors: John Shea in Lois and Clark and Michael Rosenbaum in Smallville. They’re always the ones I see in my mind. When I picture Hoult and ‘superhero,’ I can’t help but picture him as Beast from X-Men. I like Hoult, though, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he can do with the role. Honestly, I don’t know whether or not I even want to invest more hours of my life on another DCU movie. They’ve been hit or miss for me, but mostly miss.

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Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon, Robin Platzer / Twin Images / Avalon, Getty and via Threads

Hilary Duff is pregnant with her fourth, and she’s already got a lil’ bump. [Just Jared]
Does Taylor Swift read LaineyGossip? [LaineyGossip]
Review of Netflix’s A Nearly Normal Family. [Pajiba]
Jessica Chastain goes “mildly Mrs. Roper.” [Go Fug Yourself]
Sydney Sweeney wore Balmain on the Tonight Show. [RCFA]
David Tennant returned to Doctor Who & he was hot. [Jezebel]
Baby Josh Groban looked like Channing Tatum. [Seriously OMG]
Erdem’s pre-fall collection is gorgeous. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Travis Kelce’s friends could see Trav marrying Taylor Swift. [Hollywood Life]
Pop culture moments which absolutely happened in 2023. [Buzzfeed]
Andy Cohen said that Anderson Cooper is open to threesomes. [Socialite Life]

A lot of publications are already running their “best and worst of the year” listicles, which I think is too early. The year-end listicles should go up around Christmas, and no, I will not explain. The Hollywood Reporter released their “Biggest Hollywood Winners and Losers of 2023” list several days ago, but it’s only getting picked up now by the British media. Guess why? The listicle reporter, James Hibberd, included the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as one of his “losers” of the year. You can see the piece here – the winners are Taylor Swift, Greta Gerwig, the Vegas Sphere, Fran Drescher, Margot Robbie, horror films, Jenna Ortega and silver foxes. Losers included: Bob Iger/Disney, AI, Yellowstone, the Scream franchise, Marvel, Twitter and the Sussexes. Here’s THR’s blurb about the Sussexes:

Lost — Harry and Meghan
In 2020, the royal duo fled a life of ceremonial public service to cash in their celebrity status in the States. But after a whiny Netflix documentary, a whiny biography (Spare — even the title is a pouty gripe) and an inert podcast, the Harry and Meghan brand swelled into a sanctimonious bubble just begging to be popped — and South Park was the pin. The show’s 20-minute “World-Wide Privacy Tour” takedown in March was savage, and was followed by Spotify dropping Archetypes, with a top executive labeling the duo “grifters.” Still, all the scorn and mockery beats otherwise having to attend 200-plus official royal family engagements a year, which sounds hellish.

[From THR]

… The Netflix docuseries came out in 2022, as did Archetypes, and both were very successful (last year). The one big thing on the Sussexes’ plate this year was Harry’s memoir, which was a bestseller and one of the biggest publishing success stories of the year. I actually agree that the Spotify/Bill Simmons thing was awful – and the Sussexes completely mishandled it from a PR/communications perspective, and this is further evidence of that, that it’s being included in the “worst of the year” lists. What should have been a larger story about Spotify’s business model changing became solely about the Sussexes. The fact that the Sussexes didn’t push back and let Bill Simmons’ “grifter” remark sit out there, unchallenged, is the biggest mistake they made this year. As for South Park… my god, how much are Trey Parker and Matt Stone paying these people?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.