I have a magnet proudly displayed on my fridge that’s a sketch of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, with the caption: “Give me that old time… separation of Church and State.” So my hackles are constantly being raised at the ever-increasing sway organized religion lords over our politics. It’s such a profound, deliberately mistaken understanding of our constitution. That being said, there was a genuine exception this week, when Episcopal bishop Mariann Budde led a prayer service at Washington Cathedral on Tuesday. In the most gracious way possible, Bishop Budde addressed the new president seated in the first row, asking him “to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” The president’s social media-issued response hours later was predictably full of vitriol, but it hasn’t cowed Bishop Budde. Instead, she has spoken to several news outlets, including All Things Considered on NPR, reaffirming that she believes in what she said, she believes she spoke appropriately, and no, she will not be apologizing. Amen, sister! I mean bishop!

Blessed are the merciful: “I decided to ask him as gently as I could to have mercy,” Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, said of her plea to Trump, telling All Things Considered, “how dangerous it is to speak of people in these broad categories, and particularly immigrants, as all being criminals or transgender children somehow being dangerous. … To be united as a country with so many riches of diversity, we need mercy. We need compassion. We need empathy. And rather than list that as a broad category, as you heard me say, I decided to make an appeal to the president.”

Blessed are the peacemakers: Despite the backlash, Budde told NPR that her remarks were sincere, and she did not have any regrets in bringing them to the president’s attention. “I don’t hate the president, and I pray for him,” Budde said. “I don’t feel there’s a need to apologize for a request for mercy. … I regret that it was something that has caused the kind of response that it has, in the sense that it actually confirmed the very thing that I was speaking of earlier, which is our tendency to jump to outrage and not speak to one another with respect,” she continued. “But no, I won’t, I won’t apologize for what I said.”

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness: “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some of who fear for their lives,” Budde said. “The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they — they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.”

Blessed are you when people insult you: Trump criticized Budde’s remarks, writing after midnight Wednesday morning on his Truth Social platform: “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. … She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.”

[From NPR]

I’m not a religious person myself, but “so-called Bishop” was a low blow from the so-called president. Although, I’d bet $5 that Trump didn’t even know there were women bishops until that service. Most of Bishop Budde’s comments are excerpted here, but I beseech you to watch the scene in motion. For one thing, you immediately get a feel for what a gentle spirit the bishop is. Her voice is sure but not bombastic, her manner ever so delicate because she knows the gravity of the moment. You get the sense that she’s the last person in the world who wants to stir up even the slightest whiff of trouble, but her conviction compels her to. Then of course there’s the other half of this equation, the fascinating reaction shots of the Trumps and Vances. Here’s my take: Donald, Melania, and Eric have no discernable responses, to the extent that to me they looked like they were listening to someone speaking to them in another language. JD kept turning to his wife with a snicker on his face, and to her credit, Usha kept her gaze on the bishop and was the only one maintaining a passingly sincere gaze. Lara looked pissed, and Tiffany was serving fish face.

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photos via Episcopal Diocese of Washington and Instagram/YouTube

One of the things driving me crazy about the PR and statements from the Princess of Wales is that she clearly didn’t think any of this was anyone’s business originally. She went missing for months in 2024, took the fall for a manipulated frankenphoto and refused to give any kind of honest medical updates for several months. It was only after the “missing princess” story turned into an international sh-tstorm that anyone thought “hey, maybe we actually do need to provide proof of life on Kate.” I was thinking of this again as I read this new excerpt from People Magazine’s “Kate in Remission” cover story. Now they’re saying that Kate’s journey was “lonely” because… she had to sneak around for months while people wondered where she was?

Kate Middleton shared that she faced her cancer treatment “quietly and privately” during a visit to the London hospital where she received care, offering insight into the isolating experience.

“Going through the back door unseen while going through the treatment must have been pretty lonely,” a close royal insider tells PEOPLE in this week’s exclusive cover story. “When you see these other people when they’re having their chemotherapy, they were doing it as a group, with a support mechanism.”

The Princess of Wales, 43, contrasted her own experience while visiting The Royal Marsden Hospital in London on Jan. 14, which coincided with the confirmation that she previously received treatment there during her cancer journey.

Admitting the difference, Kate said, “I had to do it privately and quietly, but being on a ward like this has to be reassuring in a way.” She shared the sentiment while speaking with Katherine Field, who was in the midst of her fourth chemotherapy session for breast cancer during the princess’s visit. For Field, the camaraderie among patients sharing chemotherapy sessions has been a source of comfort. “There is a real sense of community,” she tells PEOPLE, drawing a contrast to Princess Kate’s private ordeal, but said speaking with Kate was “just like talking to a friend.”

For much of 2024, the Princess of Wales slipped through a secluded door at the Royal Marsden Hospital and attended regular chemotherapy sessions away from the public eye. It was a lonely path during the most challenging year of her life. One year after her abdominal surgery, Kate walked confidently through the Royal Marsden’s front entrance for the first time. She returned not only as a woman in remission, but also as an advocate for those still in the midst of their fight.

Initially scheduled to be there for an hour, the princess extended her visit by 20 minutes as she met with patients and staff, offering hugs and sincere advice.

[From People]

One, I guess everyone is in agreement that Kate’s husband, mother and/or sister never came to her chemo sessions to keep her company and provide moral support? Weird. Secondly, I understand someone’s desire for privacy or discretion when dealing with any medical issue, but it still feels notable that we can compare Kate’s situation side-by-side with what King Charles has done. While he’s never emphasized it, it’s no secret that his schedule changed significantly because he always had to be in London mid-week for his treatments. He might have entered the hospital through a side door or private entrance, but he regularly goes back and forth from the hospital in his Bentley, so photographers can see him out and about. I guess my point is that Kate made her cancer journey “lonely” by her own choice. She made these choices to hide away, and now she’s using those choices for sympathy?

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, cover courtesy of People.

Prince William worked (“worked”) more this week than he had in the previous three months combined. Funny timing, right? I still believe that the Windsors really thought that Prince Harry would be flying into London for the start of his NGN trial. As it is, Harry stayed in Montecito, negotiated a substantial settlement from NGN over the phone and protected his peace. So the Windsors were all dressed up with no one to thunder-steal. They played themselves, so now they just look randomly busy, like they scheduled a bunch of sh-t this week out of nowhere (because it’s genuinely rare for them to be out this much in any given January). Anyway, William was out on Thursday, doing back-to-back events in Liverpool. The photos indicate that William was fully in his Lurch Era in Liverpool.

Prince William visited Liverpool to spotlight community groups in the area working to support young people.

The Prince of Wales, 42, visited the Toxteth area of Liverpool on Thursday, Jan. 23, stopping by Cycle of Life, a nonprofit cycling organization that helps young people from diverse backgrounds improve their physical and mental health and boost their employment opportunities. The organization, which launched in 2020, was originally founded to provide equal access to cycling and has expanded its reach to help improve young people’s confidence, build relationships and improve access to the city as a whole, according to William’s office at Kensington Palace.

Cycle of Life is based in the Kuumba Imani Millennium Center, and William learned more about the multipurpose, multicultural building upon his arrival. He then joined Cycle of Life participants to take part in building and learning about maintaining bikes with them, and learned about how entrepreneurial cargo bikes worked in action.

Later on Jan. 23, the future king visited Tiber, where he met members of the Tiber Young People’s Steering Group to learn how they came together to lead the construction of a lively community hub — which has seen over 200 young people become a part of the project since its creation in 2005.

Upon his arrival, Prince William met members of the Steering Group and heard about their experiences, including the funding applications, design and construction of a new community building. He then met young men and women on the pitch of the adjoining Football Centre, which Kensington Palace said brings together over 1,200 children and young people weekly. He then took part in a walkabout with members of the community.

[From People]

It feels like People Mag just cut-and-pasted this from Kensington Palace’s email. Honestly though, we always say that Huevo should do more of this kind of easy-breezy work, and now he is. He’s 42 years old and finally doing the sh-t everyone expected him to do since his 20s. Now, I still believe that he was only out and about this week because of Harry. I wonder how much sh-t the family scheduled for the next month to “distract” from Sussex headlines? Also: at least this Liverpool trip didn’t come with more headlines about how William is “channeling Diana.” Those were super-convenient this week, right?

These photos are a MESS.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The New York Times published a surprisingly balanced and fair assessment the day after News Group Newspapers settled with Prince Harry in their years-long legal battle. The NYT piece was written by Mark Landler, the paper’s London Bureau chief, not some wannabe royalist. It’s called “What Prince Harry’s Settlement Means for Him and for Britain’s Royal Family,” but really, it’s about how the Windsors and their symbiotic partner, the British press, are grumpy and fuming about Harry’s astounding victory. The biggest tell is the flat refusal by all parties to acknowledge that the Murdochs had to admit partial liability to save themselves from getting reamed in the trial. The British press is trying and failing to make the story into “Harry didn’t want to fight” rather than “The Murdochs blinked and backed down to save their own asses.” Some excerpts from this NYT piece:

How the British press covered Harry’s victory: Prince Harry’s last-minute settlement of a long-running suit with Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids was on the front page of a handful of London papers on Thursday, though conspicuously, not on any owned by Mr. Murdoch. The Sun, which admitted illegal activity by private investigators it hired more than a decade ago to dig up personal information on Harry, didn’t get to the story until Page 6. The Times of London, Mr. Murdoch’s broadsheet, covered it at the bottom of Page 12, next to a report about the failing eyesight of the actress Judi Dench. The Daily Mail, whose publisher, Associated Newspapers, is also being sued by Harry for hacking his cellphone and invading his privacy, reported the news on an inside page, as did The Daily Mirror, whose publisher, Mirror Group Newspapers, lost a phone hacking lawsuit to Harry in 2023.

Dismissive of Harry’s win: Even papers that are not in litigation with Harry, like the right-wing Daily Telegraph, treated the deal dismissively. The Telegraph, in a front-page article, said “Harry climbs down after eight-figure payout,” adding, “His quest to bring down part of the Murdoch empire has ended in a fizzle rather than a bang.” Critics of the press coverage said it played down the significance of what Harry had extracted. Crucially, that included the first admission by News Group Newspapers that unlawful activity had occurred, not just at The News of the World, a tabloid Mr. Murdoch shut down in 2011, but also at The Sun, his flagship British tabloid.

What Harry actually achieved: “If you’re interested in an accountable media, Harry’s was actually an act done in the public interest, at considerable cost to himself,” said Peter Hunt, a former royal correspondent at the BBC. “He’s gotten them to accept something they’ve refused to accept for years. The dispiriting thing for him is that the public don’t appreciate that,” Mr. Hunt added. “A lot of their understanding of what Harry’s up to is through the lens of a media that is implacably hostile to him.”

The years-long smear campaign on the Sussexes: “The blackening of Prince Harry’s name and his wife by large chunks of Fleet Street has been really awful to watch,” Alan Rusbridger, a former editor of The Guardian, said to Channel 4 on Wednesday, referring to London’s traditional thoroughfare for newspaper publishing. “It seems like an almost deliberate tactic to destroy the credibility of somebody who is a threat to them.”

The settlement money: Harry has not said what he plans to do with the money. His legal bills will be formidable, though Daniel Taylor, a media lawyer, said these are usually covered by the party offering the settlement in a separate payment. He has not commented beyond a statement that was read out for him by Mr. Sherborne.

Will the settlement ease Windsor tensions? In one respect, however, Harry’s decision to settle could ease tensions with his family. He said last year that his campaign against the tabloids was a central cause of the rift with his brother, William, and his father, King Charles III. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, where William has his office, declined to comment on the settlement. By joining his brother in taking a deal, Harry will avoid another embarrassing spectacle for the royal family. But Mr. Hunt and other royal watchers cautioned against concluding that this alone will heal a rift that includes painful issues like the family’s treatment of Meghan and the airing of dirty laundry in his memoir, “Spare.” “The damage runs so deep that one court case is not going to be enough to resolve it,” Mr. Hunt said. “The fissures run wide.”

[From The NY Times]

I’m constantly irritated by the framing of Spare as “Harry airing out the Windsors’ dirty laundry” or “Harry telling his family’s secrets.” Spare was his own story, a memoir of profound grief, sadness, neglect and redemption. These people are not just dismissive of Harry’s legal victories, they’re dismissive of one of the bestselling memoirs of all time. As for the reaction of the Windsors and the British press… the NYT is right to suggest, in a way, that the reactions are connected. I’m not sure if I believe that the Windsors have ordered the press to frame Harry’s victory in this sullen, butthurt way, because I think that reaction is completely organic – they’re mad that the Prince Who Got Away is the one who stood up to them and got one of the most powerful press barons to capitulate. That just happens to scare the sh-t out of the Windsors too. Anyway, the Windsors’ silence is deafening…and hilarious.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

This awards season has not panned out the way I was expecting back in November. No Oscar nominations for Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Denzel Washington, Challengers, Margaret Qualley and on and on. But I did get one thing I really wanted: Isabella Rossellini has scored her first-ever Oscar nomination at the age of 72. She was recognized for her work in Conclave, where she played a grumpy nun who revealed a vital piece of information to the cardinals at just the right moment. Rossellini’s screen time was limited, but I think people are so used to “category fraud” that they forget that… this is actually what a “supporting performance” looks like, this is what it’s supposed to be. They gave Judd Hirsch a supporting actor Oscar nomination for eight minutes of screen time in The Fabelmans! Rossellini’s Conclave nom is similar.

Throughout the awards season, Isabella has been soaking in the experience and bringing a lot of heart and levity to the party. She’s enjoying herself, and this must be such a treat, to get an Oscar nom at this stage of her life. Like most nominees, Isabella released a statement thanking everyone for helping her along the way, and reminding everyone of her incredible pedigree:

“When I was young, I was always identified as the daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini. As I’ve gotten older, this doesn’t happen as frequently; and, I miss it, especially today. I wish my parents were alive to celebrate with me this great honor. And, also, today, with this joy, my mind can’t help lingering in the beyond to David Lynch. Our collaboration was key to my understanding of the art of acting. It is my past, all that I have in me, that I brought to my interpretation of Sister Agnes in the film Conclave, working under the clear, sharp direction of Edward Berger, his incredible cast and crew, especially the incomparable Ralph Fiennes. Thank you to the Academy. I am very honored.”

[From EW]

Isabella also released a video, filmed in her home, thanking everyone and the Academy and referencing her parents. I love all of this, and honestly, I would love nothing more for Isabella to win the Oscar. Let’s make it happen, Oscar voters!

Isabella Rossellini on her first Oscar nomination, highlighting her parents, David Lynch, Edward Berger and Ralph Fiennes pic.twitter.com/EHMteGsFQj

— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) January 23, 2025

The funniest thing about people being mad at Isabella Rossellini for mentioning her mother is…wouldn’t you? Your birth was an international scandal that was condemned by US Congress AND The Vatican and nearly derailed Ingrid Bergman’s career? I would never shut up about that! pic.twitter.com/zF6cOcBILy

— Brandon Lewis @ Sundance 2025 (@blewis1103) January 15, 2025

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Before I saw Wicked, I was fully prepared to say “this is not for me.” But then I watched it and… yeah, I enjoyed it. Was it the best thing ever? Eh, that’s an impossible standard, but it was fine-to-good. What really surprised me was how much I enjoyed both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Both women really worked their asses off and you could see it on screen. Well, now both women are Oscar-nominated for their performances, Cynthia as the lead actress category and Ariana in supporting. To celebrate her first Oscar nomination, Ari posted this on her social media:

picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition. i cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise. i’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. i’m so proud of you, tiny.

thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for this acknowledgement @theacademy.

thank you @jonmchu for taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader, human being, and most fierce friend. i am so deeply proud of my beautiful Wicked family. i am so proud of my Elphie, my sister, my dear @cynthiaerivo. your brilliance is never ending and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. i love you unconditionally, always.

i don’t quite have all my words yet, i’m still trying to breathe. but thank you. oh my goodness, thank you. Universal, Marc, my family, my heart.

lemons and melons and pears, oh my.

[From Ariana’s IG]

Real talk: if Ariana was a less messy person or she had a less scandalous romantic life, I actually think she would be a major contender. I’m not even joking, she was really good in Wicked and she absolutely deserves this nomination. I’m just saying, she probably could have won if she and Ethan Slater didn’t have an affair and wreck both of their marriages (ON THIS FILM!). Alas, my guess/hope is that Lilly Jay’s well-timed essay last month was the final word on Ariana’s Oscar chances. As it should be.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Best performance by an actor in an Oscar campaign goes to Timothee Chalamet, hands down. He’sbeen a pure delight while promoting the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Although it wasn’t an event related to the film, I think Timmy’s campaign really began with his lookalike contest in late October. You remember, the contest that started them all, where the organizer didn’t get a permit for NYC’s Washington Square Park, so police shut down the proceedings, then 1,001 Chalamets traversed to a backup park, and Timmy himself crashed the party just long enough to come in 13th place? Good times. Well, fast forward to this week, where Timothee secured his second Best Actor Oscar nomination just days before he’s hosting SNL. Only, he’s not just hosting, he’s also the musical guest. So in an inspired move, the angle for Timmy’s new SNL teaser is how he’s deploying his lookalikes to aid him in preparing for Saturday’s show:

Timothee Chalamet is enlisting his lookalikes for help pulling off double duty on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

In a promo skit for the episode, for which he’ll be both host and musical guest (playing songs from Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown”), Chalamet confesses: “I’ve never done this before. I’m having to be ‘SNL’ host and musical guest in the same week, so it’s a lot of work. And I want to focus on the songs, so I brought in some help to cover all the hosting duties.”

Four Chalamet doubles then appear, seemingly from the New York City lookalike contest that Chalamet himself crashed back in October. Each is dressed in a different Timmy era — there’s “Wonka” Timmy, Timmy at the Paris premiere of “A Complete Unknown” (where he rocked a pink skinny scarf), everyday Timmy and, of course, Bob Dylan Timmy.

The lookalikes are shown taking on some of Chalamet’s “SNL” workload, including meeting with the writers, working on his monologue and listening to Mikey Day bragging about hosting “Is It Cake.” And, when he forgets to show up for a “Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” interview, the Paris lookalike goes in his place — much to Fallon’s dismay.

“He’s good. He’s really good,” Chalamet says to the other lookalikes backstage. “You guys should learn from him.”

Twenty-one-year-old Miles Mitchell won the lookalike contest in October — which took a turn when, not only did Chalamet arrive, but so did the NYPD, leaving one of the doppelgangers in handcuffs.

[From Variety]

Excellent. Brilliant. No notes! Timmy just gets the assignment, as the kids say. Yeah, he’s promoting a high profile awards-baity movie, where he plays arguably the most consequential singer songwriter of the 20th century, no less. But Timmy isn’t taking himself so seriously that he can’t embrace a fun, somewhat silly fan-driven event, and end up making it a prominent feature in his repping of the film. While contest winner Miles Mitchell already experienced the perk of attending the Golden Globes, it’s very generous of Timothee to include even more of his clones for this SNL bit. And yes, at this point I am absolutely expecting that the extra Timmies will have cameos in the live show. A great nod to Hollywood history would be if they riffed on the classic Lucille Ball–Harpo Marx mirror routine (are you listening, SNL writers?!). But whatever they do, Timmy has given these kids such great exposure! Mensch, thy name is Chalamet.

PS — Mikey Day and the cake gag killed both me and CB!

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Photos credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages, Anna Maria Tinghino/Future Image/Cover Images, Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF Foto/Avalon, Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF Foto/Avalon, IMAGO/Steve Vas/Avalon

More James Bond rumors for Sam Heughan? Or is he trying to make those rumors happen? I don’t think they’re anywhere near choosing the next 007. [JustJared]
Taylor Zakhar Perez looks hot in Lacoste underpants. [Socialite Life]
Damn, Nicholas Hoult looks great in Bottega Veneta. [RCFA]
A new Tori Amos interview! [OMG Blog]
Crybaby Donald Trump threw a tantrum over Right Rev. Mariann Budde politely asking him to show mercy to marginalized people. [Jezebel]
What happened during the RHONY finale? [LaineyGossip]
The Simpsons will remain on Sundays. [Pajiba]
Chris Pratt said that Anna Faris’s house burned down. [Buzzfeed]
Jesus, this is an irresponsible headline & story at HL. [Hollywood Life]
David Eigenberg, before he was famous. [Seriously OMG]

Gwen Stefani and Blake Sheldon have been together for 10 years and married for three-and-a-half. Gwen has always been a devout Catholic, and for the last month or so, she’s promoting two things: her new album, Bouquet, and a prayer app called Hallow (Insert the lame “hallow-back girl” joke of your choosing here). Gwen started writing Bouquet when she and Blake got engaged and dedicated it to him and their “love story.” Gwen sat down for an interview with Today, in which she talks about the album, her musical journey, her favorite memory from No Doubt, her life’s purpose, and more.

Everyone has a purpose: “We all have a purpose. One of the purposes of my life is to be a wife and a mother. But the only time I feel like I’m really contributing to the world is when I’m writing songs.”

On the “magical” collabs on Bouquet: “Yes, yes! This album was magical and special and a miracle. It’s a pure miracle I received these songs. I was like, ‘What? Again? I get more?’ There was one really unexpected collaboration and that was that Blake Shelton hopped on a song called “Purple Irises.” That was pretty special because, you know, everybody wants him. The other huge collab was this producer called Scott Hendricks who is more of a country producer. But it’s not a country record. It’s a Gwen record.

How her dreams have grown throughout her musical journey: “The longer I get to be part of the world and try to fulfill the purpose — my purpose — of making songs, you want it more and more and more. Because it’s got to be over soon. It’s got to be. Once you get that love, once you got to share your life with people, it’s hard to stop. The dream just keeps getting bigger in a way, and the gratitude keeps getting more as well.”

She really loves collaborating with other artists: There’s never been a time where I haven’t like absolutely enjoyed collaborating. Collaboration is when I feel like I shine the most. That’s when like I feel like I’m the best. I would definitely go back in the studio with any collaborator that I’ve ever worked with and write a song. I love writing music. It is the one thing that makes me feel like I’m worthy of something to be on this planet for. I need to keep pressing that button and try to write songs. You want to collaborate, I’m right here, guys.

Her favorite memory from the No Doubt days: “I was sitting on the tour bus, and we had been on tour for a while. I was actually making a baby blanket for my sister. I was like sewing this blanket by hand, everyone else was like doing other stuff — I won’t say what — and I looked out the window and I see all these girls coming to the concert. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that girl, she’s dressed like me.’ It was just this amazing … how is that happening right now? It just made me feel like impossibly good.”

What music she’s listening to now: “I think there’s a lot of good music out there. I kind of went backwards in the last couple of years. As I’ve been writing this record, I rediscovered a lot of the music I was listening to when I was a kid. Back in the station wagon, going to church, listening to soft rock. One of my favorite new artists that my son turned me on to is Zach Top. I love that record so much; such good lyrics and voice and melody. I’m going to come and see the concert.”

[From Today.com]

At first, it was kind of jarring to reconcile that the woman who co-write “Just a Girl” was gushing so hard about her purpose being “a wife and a mother,” but then I remembered that this is what Gwen has always wanted. She tells us in several No Doubt songs. In “Simple Kind of Life,” she sings about wanting a simple man so she could “be a wife” and wanting to be a mom so badly that she sometimes wishes “for a mistake.” “Marry Me” is all about how she likes “tradition” and wants to get married and cook dinner. She’s in a happy marriage and a good place in her life, so I’m glad that she got what she’s always wanted. Good for her.

What she says about really wanting to keep making more music as she gets older because she’s realizing her own mortality is pretty poignant. I feel that sentiment hard. I also love the way she tells the story about her favorite memory from No Doubt in which she’s sewing a blanket by hand while the male bandmates are doing “other stuff” that she can’t say. It paints a picture of her sewing while all sorts of debauchery is going down around her. I don’t know if it’s being stuck inside all day because of the snow or what, but for some reason, this imagery is so funny to me right now.

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On Tuesday, Justin Baldoni’s team released “raw footage” from It Ends With Us, a ten-minute clip of Baldoni and Blake Lively shooting a “slow dancing” scene at a crowded bar. The scene was supposed to be used in a montage about their characters falling in love. Blake cited the filming of that particular scene in her sexual harassment complaint and her lawsuit against Baldoni. Baldoni added context for what actually happened within his lawsuit, then he released the footage to prove his point. There were obviously a lot of interpretations about what the video actually showed, but that didn’t stop Blake’s team from claiming that her visible discomfort (within the 10-minute video) proved that this was one instance of Baldoni sexually harassing her. Team Lively must have been unsettled by the fact that so many people actually watched the video and debated what it really showed about her dynamic with Baldoni though, because it looks like Team Lively is trying to make sure that Baldoni isn’t allowed to provide any more context or evidence of Lively’s misrepresentations or exaggerations.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds want a judge to gag Justin Baldoni’s lawyer … claiming he’s making false statements about the case.

The megastars filed a letter in court Tuesday … and, in it, they ask the court to issue a protective order to stop Baldoni’s lawyers — led by Bryan Freedman — from engaging in “improper conduct” including going on an alleged “harassing and retaliatory media campaign” against Blake and Ryan.

They say he’s violating court rules that stop a lawyer from making statements to the press that are irrelevant to a case and might prejudice the jury. In it, Blake and Ryan specifically mention the release of unedited footage from “It Ends With Us” filming … which Blake’s team claims “corroborates, to the letter, what Ms. Lively described” in her initial complaint back in December.

Remember, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and engaging in a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation. Baldoni has since filed his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively … accusing her of defamation, civil extortion and other allegations.

Baldoni’s team released the behind-the-scenes footage from the movie to prove he never made harassing comments … while Blake’s team pushed back and said Baldoni never discussed or choreographed the intimacy here — and, it made her uncomfortable.

Sources connected to JB tell TMZ … they believe it’s grossly unfair to impose a gag order after Justin has been defamed by the New York Times in an article that they say has cost him three jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. All Justin wants to do, the source says, “is release videos and text messages to prove the allegations are false.”

The source adds, it is “unbelievable” that Blake Lively would go on a takedown campaign against Justin and then immediately turn around and say she wants a gag order so that Justin can’t defend himself.

[From TMZ]

I actually understand Team Lively’s point – Baldoni and his legal team are absolutely waging a trial in the court of public opinion, and given the multiple lawsuits involved, I’m sure gag orders will eventually be issued (hopefully to all sides). That being said, Team Lively is mad that they’re losing in the court of public opinion, let’s be clear. Blake, Ryan and their team have been waging their own campaign to win over the public, establish their narrative and rebrand Blake. They’re the ones who went to the New York Times, they’re the ones who immediately ran to People Mag for a sugary, sympathetic cover story about poor Blake, they’re the ones who have loudly screamed “DARVO” every time Baldoni pointed out an inconsistency or provided receipts to dispute Blake’s story. All of their efforts have been hampered by Baldoni refusing to just roll over. I’ve been asking this for weeks, but it’s still so striking to me – did Blake honestly think that Baldoni wasn’t going to fight back? Did she really think that he would not defend himself?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, cover courtesy of People.