Tina Brown made it clear in her 2022 book The Palace Papers that she has no love for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. She’s especially bent out of shape about Meghan. Brown believes, as so many British people believe, that Meghan was an American upstart who didn’t understand “the rules” and wanted to be “the star” of the royal family. Brown consistently blames Meghan for the abuse Meghan suffered and the smear campaign waged against her. Brown constantly blames Meghan for “forcing” Harry to leave the UK, and Brown has made it clear that she believes Harry must come back to Britain because “there’s a Harry-shaped hole in the monarchy.” Well, Tina has a new Substack and she promoted it on the Ankler podcast. Wouldn’t you know, Brown once again trashed Meghan.

Tina Brown says “all of [Meghan Markle’s] ideas are total crap,” and thinks Prince Harry is a “naïve” “lamb to the slaughter. The former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor dished on the couple to promote her new substack, “Fresh Hell.” The Ankler’s Janice Min asked the Brit wunderkind editor who took over New York in the ’80s about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the latest episode of the Ankler podcast.

Brown said of Harry’s defection from the royal family: “In England, they’re going to constantly make a career out of trashing Harry. But actually, the thing about Harry is he’s very good at being Prince Harry. And that’s the tragedy of all of this, is that he is the most talented member of the royal family, without doubt, in terms of being a prince, which is all he does know how to do… he’s really sort of flawless at it.”

As for Markle, she added, “I think he’s pretty much in the thrall of Meghan. The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She’s flawless about getting it all wrong. She really is.”

Brown said of the “Suits” star turned American Riviera Orchard entrepreneur, “She’s a perfectionist about getting it all wrong. Her issue is that she doesn’t listen. She has all these people, asks them their opinion, and then doesn’t follow it. She does what she wants to do. And all of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.”

She reckons of Harry’s worldview, “he’s so naïve and really unschooled in the ways of the world. Being Prince Harry means that I doubt if he ever booked a table in a restaurant. The army was great for him, and he was extremely good and competent in there. That really helped turn him into a real person.”

But with Markle, “he’s the lamb to the slaughter in this situation,” Brown said. “He was terribly impressed by Meghan. He thought that she knew all, she persuaded him that she was the savvy Hollywood wheeler-dealer who could come in and make them stars and all the rest of it. And he just sort of blindly followed her like a child, really.”

Brown says of Markle’s moves — and future, “unfortunately, she made every mistake in the book, and she’s kind of run out of road. I don’t know where Meghan goes. Harry could still, as I say, make a comeback. He’ll always be Prince Harry. He’ll always be the grandson of the Queen and the son of Diana.”

[From Page Six]

The narrative of “Harry is an innocent child manipulated by his Black wife” is ridiculous and blatantly racist at this point. It’s especially galling because we’ve all read Harry’s memoir. Spare made me realize how thoroughly Meghan followed Harry’s lead on all things royal. He was constantly giving her the wrong advice and she fell into several traps because Harry was trying to manage Meghan and everyone around her. Tina Brown refuses to admit the obvious, which is that Harry and Meghan make decisions together, and that they’re doing really well. Especially considering the Windsors and the media have worked together for five-plus years to destroy the Sussexes – Harry and Meghan are living their best lives in California, they have money and security and they’re raising their kids out of the spotlight. Brown makes it sound like they’re destitute and social pariahs. They are not.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Earlier today, I covered the quotes from Tina Brown’s interview on The Ankler podcast. Brown has written many books and articles about the Windsors and she’s considered some kind of expert. I’ll admit that I found some of her interviews and articles interesting, but her years-long denigration of the Duchess of Sussex is where Brown has really jumped the shark. Obviously, every outlet is running Tina’s quotes about how Meghan “is flawless about getting it all wrong,” and how Prince Harry is “in thrall” with his terrible wife. But Tina also threw in some slams of Prince William. Obviously, those quotes are not getting the same kind of attention:

On the Sussexes’ foreign tours, Tina Brown said, “When he goes on these much mocked foreign trips, he’s just really good at it. He’s charming, he’s funny, he’s sweet, he’s authentic again. He has a real sense of being true and real, and he’s flawless at it. So it’s actually very sad that he can’t go back to England and play that role, which is desperately needed, because now the monarchy is a skeleton of itself. It’s so ironic that Prince Charles, for all those years, talked about the slimmed down monarchy. It’s been so slimmed down now that it’s anorexic.”

“You’ve basically got Charles, who’s got cancer. You’ve got Kate, who’s been through this terrible cancer bout herself and had to leave the stage for nearly a year, and William, who’s so curtailed by all the anxiety on his shoulders—his wife and his father and the whole thing—that they could use, an upbeat, joyful ambassador to the world who would be Harry.

“The problem is very much the same problem that I talked about with Princess Diana and Charles, which was known as the ‘upstage problem.’ I mean, he does upstage William. There’s no doubt about it.”

Asked if Harry would “remain in the U.S., and be married to Meghan in ten years time,” Brown said: “I think he’s pretty much in the thrall of Meghan… He’s the lamb to the slaughter in this situation. I mean, he was terribly impressed by Meghan. He thought that she knew it all. She persuaded him that she was the savvy Hollywood wheeler dealer, who would come in and make them stars and all the rest of it. And he just sort of blindly followed her like a child, really. And unfortunately, she made every mistake in the book, and she’s kind of run out of road, actually. I mean, I don’t know where Meghan goes.”

“I think that Harry could still, as I say, make a comeback. He’ll always be Prince Harry. He’ll always be the grandson of the Queen and the son of Diana. You can’t take that from him, whatever happens.”

Asked if the British people would welcome Harry, she said, “I think if he came back alone, they would… unfortunately, I think that the hostility between Harry and William is such that I don’t think that William will ever want Harry back.”

[From The Daily Beast]

It amuses me that all of these years later, these dumb people still think of it in such simplistic terms: “we need Harry to go back to the UK so we’re going to smear his wife and that will hopefully encourage Harry to divorce Meghan and go crawling back to his abusive family.” That’s the big plan and they haven’t deviated from it for six-plus years. As for Tina’s admission that William is anxious and dull and terrified that Harry will upstage him… that’s all true. But it’s even worse than that. It’s worse than Tina Brown or any royalist will admit: William and the rest of the left-behind clan are so obsessed with the Sussexes that they trying to copy everything Harry and Meghan do, while also screaming about everything Harry and Meghan do. It’s unsustainable.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Cover Images.

For months now, the British tabloids have been trying to make one particular story happen. That story? “Angelina Jolie is dating British rapper Akala.” Nevermind that Akala seems to have a long-term partner, Chanelle Newman, who is also in business with Akala. Nevermind that Angelina seems to be friends with both Akala and Chanelle. Akala has stepped out to support Angelina frequently in recent months – he went to Venice when she was there to premiere Maria. He’s also come out to support Angelina in LA and other cities, and he went to the BFI London premiere of Maria late last week too. Well, because Akala walked the carpet at the London film festival and because his friendship with Jolie is well established, now the tabloids claim that Jolie and Akala spent two nights together in London.

Angelina Jolie’s rumored romance with British rapper Akala is reportedly heating up. The “Maleficent” star, 49, reportedly snuck the 40-year-old musician up to her hotel suite at The Corinthia in London last week, sources told the US Sun Monday.

“The pair spent Wednesday and Thursday night together inside the hotel and did not leave,” the insider shared, explaining Akala joined the actress two hours after she arrived. “Akala was snuck out of the hotel via one of Angelina’s cars on Friday — a couple of hours before the [British Film Institute] premiere for her new movie,” the source added, referring to Jolie’s forthcoming movie, “Maria,” which was showed at the London Film Festival.

“They are using separate cars and secret entrances to keep their relationship under wraps, but it’s the real deal,” the insider continued.

The “Eternals” star and Akala both attended the film festival, though they were photographed arriving separately. After the premiere, they cozied up for a romantic dinner at the exclusive Soho House, per the outlet. Reps for Jolie weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.

The “Girl, Interrupted” star and Akala have been romantically linked since May 2024 when the latter attended the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica alongside Jolie and her daughters Zahara, 19, and Shiloh, 18. The singer, most recently, accompanied the “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” star to a party at her Atelier Jolie art room in New York City on Sept. 28. That same week, Akala also tagged along to the premiere of “Maria” at the New York Film Festival hosted at Alice Lincoln Center’s Tully Hall. While InTouch reported that the duo had been seeing each other for at least a year, a source told People in August that they are not dating.

[From Page Six]

Yeah, I have no idea. For months, I’ve believed that the tabloids were making mountains out of molehills, not to mention being disrespectful towards Chanelle. But who knows. Given the way Akala has been showing up for Jolie for months now, it does feel like more than a friendship. I’ll also say that given the way Akala has been showing up for Jolie, it feels like his situation with Chanelle might be different than “they’re together/they’re partners.” Like, if your boyfriend/partner is flying all over the place to support Angelina Jolie, that’s probably a red flag? I really don’t know.

Update: People Mag has a new story emphasizing that Angelina & Akala are just good friends. This whole thing is so strange.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Almost one month ago exactly, Olivia Nuzzi’s affair with Robert Kennedy Jr. was outed. Nuzzi, a New York Magazine reporter, had been carrying on a very bizarre affair with Kennedy ever since she profiled him last fall. She was covering the election while she was carrying on with Kennedy, an independent presidential candidate. She was having phone sex with that whackjob while she was writing about Joe Biden being too old and decrepit for the presidency. The kicker is that Nuzzi not only failed to disclose her affair with Kennedy for nine months, she also lied to her editors when asked about the affair directly. She also blew up her engagement to Politico’s Ryan Lizza, although Kennedy’s marriage to Cheryl Hines still seems to be going strong. In any case, New York Mag is now done with Nuzzi. Here’s NY Mag’s announcement:

Last month, the magazine enlisted the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine to review Olivia Nuzzi’s work during the 2024 campaign. They reached the same conclusion as the magazine’s initial internal review of her published work, finding no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi agreed that the best course forward is to part ways. Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer and we have been proud to publish her work over her nearly eight years as our Washington Correspondent. We wish her the best.

[From NY Mag]

It’s worth noting that NY Mag basically has to say that they found no bias in Nuzzi’s writing, otherwise they’re opening up a huge can of worms about Nuzzi’s unethical behavior. Meanwhile, Nuzzi’s lawyer released a statement on her behalf:

In a statement, Ari Wilkenfeld, an attorney for Nuzzi, said the journalist was “gratified though not surprised that two different investigations have determined that her reporting on the 2024 campaign was sound and that she did nothing wrong.”

“For nearly eight years, she consistently produced critically celebrated and hugely popular journalism in her capacity as the Washington Correspondent for New York Magazine,” Wilkenfeld said. “She is grateful for the editors, fact checkers, and artists with whom she worked and to the readers who have supported her with their time, subscriptions, and engagement. She looks forward to the next chapter of her career.”

[From CNN]

“…And that she did nothing wrong.” No one said that. No one said: Olivia Nuzzi did nothing wrong. There was a whole lot of “wrong” all up and down this scandal. It’s wrong for a reporter to sleep with a subject or a source (or both). It’s wrong to carry on an affair with a married man. It’s wrong to keep your inappropriate sexual relationship with a source/subject a secret from your editors and then LIE to your editors when they find out about the affair. It’s wrong to pull the FBI and the court system into your psychodrama because you’re a white woman who can’t own her mistakes.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, NY Magazine’s YouTube video, screenshot from Bill Maher’s HBO show.

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Jenna Fischer recently shared that late last year she had been diagnosed with Stage 1 triple positive breast cancer. After a lumpectomy and months of chemotherapy and radiation, she was finally declared cancer free. She’ll still be treated with infusions of two other medications. Jenna said that she was sharing her story because she wanted to urge other women to stay on top of their mammograms and because she has lost all of her hair during chemo and was tired of wearing wigs. Now, Jenna is sharing more info with us about her diagnosis and treatment plan, in the hopes of giving hope and comfort to other women who are fighting breast cancer. She sat down with Hoda Kotb for an interview on the Today Show, which aired on Monday.

“The appointment that won’t end”: The actor told Hoda that in October 2023, she went in for her routine mammogram appointment that she had been putting off. “Three weeks later, they said, ‘Oh, your mammogram was fine. There were a few spots that were difficult to see. You have very dense tissue. We would recommend that you do another mammogram and maybe follow up with a breast ultrasound,’” she said of the conversation with her doctor. “I was like, ‘This is the appointment that won’t end.”

She didn’t think there was anything to worry about: She explained that she felt “no level of concern” when she went back for her breast ultrasound. However, they then asked her to do a biopsy, saying it likely was a “10% chance it’s cancerous.”

She found out through the patient portal: Fischer said she was on a hike by herself when she received the results via her patient portal. “I checked the portal on the hike, and that’s when I saw words like ‘invasive,’ ‘ductal,’ ‘carcinoma,’ ‘malignant,’” she said. “And I was like, ‘Those words sound like cancer words.’” She then called her husband, Lee Kirk, to tell him the results, though she wasn’t sure it was cancer until her doctor confirmed it later that same day.

Hearing about chemo made it real: When her doctor told her of her diagnosis, Fischer said she just felt “disbelief. I think the word that really got me was when we found out that I was triple-positive and my oncologist said chemotherapy. That was when I really lost it,” she said.

On losing her hair: “I started by having just a big bald patch down this side of my head. And I would kind of do a real elaborate comb-over,” she said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Oh, I understand why the gentlemen do this now. Yes, I can sort of pretend like that isn’t there for a while.’” Although Fischer said she considered it, she never had a “big shave-your-head moment.” Aside from styling her new part, she said she also opted to wear more hats and wigs during treatment.

Christina Applegate was really supportive: “I called [Christina Applegate], and she answered the phone, and she said, ‘Which one is it?’ And I said, ‘It’s breast cancer.’ And she said, ‘I effing knew it.’” Fischer recalled of their conversation. “She’s salty. Salty language that one. I love her for it.” Fischer said Applegate put her in touch with fellow survivors and that they took on her journey “together.”

Humor helped get her through treatments: “Humor helped through all of this. And working helped. And staying in the world helped,” she said. “My oncology nurse, Ron, was an amazing man. … When I started chemotherapy, he said to me, ‘Listen, I want you to get up every day, and I want you to walk. Every day. I want you to drink a ton of water. Walking and water. That’s what I want you to do. And I want you to take care of those kids. The women who get up and at it are the women who do better in my experience.’”

The best advice she got: Fischer said some of the best advice she received was to “live your life during this process,” while also listening to her body. “I did that,” she said. “And some days I just walked circles in my own living room. Some days I walked all around the block. But I did every day get up and do those things. And I think it made a really big difference.”

With a little help from her friends: “So many people took care of me, and my family, and my children, and I am so grateful for it — in so many small ways,” she said. “And the thing is, is that everybody had the right way or the perfect way to do it.” Fischer explained that some friends put her chemotherapy schedule on their calendars, while others sent thoughtful texts and picked her kids up from school. She said her mother-in-law recorded prayers that she would send before treatments.

The importance of normalcy and those “charming” annoyances: “I liked that people were annoyed if I was late with an email,” she said. “I liked being regarded as my old self, so to speak. All of the most important things became so clear so quickly. And the cool thing is that that focus never leaves. So I will get to carry that with me now. … I’ll say I find the world to be such a beautiful place in all of its quirkiness.” Fischer added that everyday annoyances have suddenly become “charming” to her. “Like, you know, just traffic. ‘Oh, look at you, cute traffic. Look at all the people just goin’ places,’” she said. “How great that I get to sit in traffic. How cool.”

Get the girls checked out: “Please don’t skip your mammogram appointment. Please get all the extra screenings that the doctor wants you to get. If I had waited six more months, it could have been much worse. It could have spread. It was a very aggressive form of cancer. I’m really lucky that my cancer had not spread into my lymph nodes. It hadn’t spread anywhere else in my body. My tumor was still very small, too small to feel That’s the thing. A self-exam would not have (caught the cancer). It really was that routine mammogram that started all of this. And I’m so grateful that I went to that appointment.”

[From Today]

I’m really glad that Jenna is sharing her story. It’s so important to talk about these things. If she can inspire someone to stop putting off getting a mammogram or encourage even just one woman who feels like something is “off” to make an appointment to get checked out, then she could save a life. I got my first mammogram last weekend and also was told I have dense breast tissue and need to go back for an ultrasound. The technician warned me that it may not be covered, but Jenna’s story was at the top of my mind, so I told them that was fine and went ahead and scheduled it for later this week. (I did call my insurance and it’s covered under my plan but it is insane that some plans do not cover this!)

I love what Jenna had to say about how it was important for her to live her life while going through all of this, and how the mundane and the annoyance were welcomed to maintain some semblance of sanity, normalcy, and perspective. She’s also really lucky to have such a great support system. Christina Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, when she was 36 years old. Since then, she’s been a big advocate, setting up a foundation to help women pay for MRIs and paying it forward by doing what she can to call and support breast cancer patients. That’s so admirable. I have no doubt that Jenna will pay it forward as well.

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Personally, I’m still angry about what was done to President Biden and the implicit and explicit ageism with the attacks on Biden over the summer. In retrospect, the media and the party’s disgust with Biden’s age is so even more hypocritical given the fact that Donald Trump is absolutely losing his mind on the campaign trail. He waddles from event to event, lying and rambling and talking about the late, great Hannibal Lector. He keeps canceling interviews and events, with his staffers privately confirming that he’s exhausted. He’s clearly in terrible health and his cognitive decline has been evident for years. And yet, there’s barely any media appetite to cover any of that or do anything but sanewash this very ill man. That’s why Kamala Harris has begun really pressing the issue as she campaigns, and she’s basically challenged the media to give Trump the “full Biden treatment.” Few media outlets have done so, but at least the Associated Press is trying:

Still, Trump’s public appearances are often marked by rambling. He regularly confuses timelines, events and people.

At a town hall-style forum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Trump seemed to have no recollection of meeting with a severely injured veteran and his family. The veteran’s wife noted that “you visited with him many times” and “you just saw him this summer.”

Trump has also confused Republican rival Nikki Haley with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He confused the location of a major military base. He mistakenly said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán led Turkey.

During a meandering news conference riddled with false and misleading statements in August, Trump recalled riding as a passenger in the chopper with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown when it was forced to make an emergency landing. Brown later said he had never shared a helicopter with Trump. Instead, it was likely a Los Angeles city councilman, who is also Black, who shared a rocky helicopter ride with Trump decades earlier.

And more recently, at a rally in Wisconsin, he seemed to squint at teleprompters as he lurched from subject to subject. He described the country as a “third-world hellhole.” He then told his audience, “Remember, there’s a hat that’s made that sells like crazy,” before interrupting himself to comment on a fly. “Oh there’s a fly, I wonder where the fly came from. See, two years ago, I wouldn’t have had a fly up here. You’re changing rapidly,” Trump said.

He has begun boasting about his “beautiful body” and describes his often long-winded speeches as “flawless.”

Trump regularly acknowledges questions about his age and health during public appearances. On Sunday in Arizona, Trump mocked critics who declare him “cognitively impaired” because he “mispronounced a word.”

“They say, He’s cognitively impaired!” Trump teased. “No, I’ll let you know when I will be. I will be someday — we all will be someday. I’ll be the first to let you know.”

[From The AP]

The AP also consulted various doctors who were like: yeah, I don’t treat Trump, but I can tell you that he’s cognitively impaired. It’s that obvious to everyone, especially from his public behavior and his speech patterns. I also have a theory that not only is Trump exhausted, he’s bored. He’s tired of campaigning. He finds it boring nowadays. He’s not getting the same rush he used to get, possibly because his rallies are poorly attended and he can see his “supporters” leaving early. He doesn’t want to make those speeches anymore.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Kaley Cuoco and her fiance Tom Pelphrey are mega animal lovers. So much so, that they said yes to adopting a toothless senior chihuahua named Red last December when their daughter was eight months old, and a cane corso mix named Dolly just this June. They have a handful of dogs now, it’s hard to confirm how many, but it’s a full pack! Now daughter Matilda is 18 months old, and Kaley is admitting that she and Tom completely and utterly spoil their fur babies equally as much as their human baby. Kaley even carves out time to have one-on-one play dates between pup and parent (something I’m sure the dogs in Demi Moore’s pack not named Pilaf would be interested to learn). Kaley talked about parenthood, including watching her daughter interact with the big brood, to People Mag while supporting her partnership with Subaru for National Make A Dog’s Day today, on Tuesday:

“Our dogs are so spoiled, it’s a total problem,” Cuoco — who has partnered with Subaru to celebrate National Make a Dog’s Day on Oct. 22 — jokes. “Whenever anyone comes over, they say they want to come back in their next life as one of my dogs. It’s basically their house, we just live here.”

“A couple of days a week, what I’ve been doing recently to make them feel special is I bring them out to my ranch, it’s 40 acres enclosed, … and I let [them] completely run wild,” she continues.

“And because we have so many, I treat them like kids,” adds the Based on a True Story star. “I try and take each of them out by themselves with me so that they feel like they have special one-on-one time, especially my seniors.”

According to Cuoco, pinpointing her favorite part of being a dog mom is impossible. “I love everything about it. I love coming home to my dogs. I like waking up to them,” she says.

“And I have a daughter, by the way, who I love more than life, but waking up with that dog in my face, it never gets old,” continues the star of her 18-month-old Matilda.

“Also, it’s endless laughter, endless joy, and now being a parent of my daughter and seeing the dogs interact with her, that [brings it to] a whole new level,” continues Cuoco.

She adds, “I’ve been a dog parent and an animal parent my entire life, but now, being able to integrate that with my kid and show her how to treat animals and live with them and treat them right, it is such a cool thing.”

Next week, Cuoco is planning to celebrate National Make a dogs Day — as she does every day — through her partnership with Subaru.

Calling their team up a “no-brainer,” The Big Bang Theory alum says, “It was just a perfect collaboration. It totally made sense, and anyone who knows me knows I am a big animal lover.”

“It’s obviously very authentic to me and makes total sense for me to partner with a company that shows support for rescue dogs and animals,” adds Cuoco.

“There are so few very large companies out there that acknowledge animal rescue, and it’s really cool that Subaru is doing this,” continues the mother of one, citing how the company also actively invests in their Subaru Loves Pets program.

“I think animals, they get overlooked, and it takes a big company like this to step up,” Cuoco also says. “It sets them apart for me from other brands.”

[From People]

I’m so tickled by the fact that Kaley takes her many dogs, separately, to a ranch to run free. I don’t know how she’s able to do it — with a career and almost-toddler and other dogs at home! — but I love that she somehow finds a way. (Please, nobody tell my new rescue My Guy that he wound up with a mama who doesn’t have a 40 acre ranch.) So yeah, it’s obvious why Kaley is a natural fit to partner with Subaru, a company that really does do right by all pets. As previously discussed, October is “Adopt a Shelter Dog Month,” and Subaru has long helped the ASPCA hold events to find pets their forever homes. If you’re not teary already, you might want to have the tissue box handy for this next part. This will be the sixth year that Subaru has celebrated National Make A Dog’s Day, an initiative designed to shine a light on “Underdogs,” the older and/or disabled dogs who often get overlooked at shelters. They hope people will consider adopting, fostering, or supporting an Underdog to honor the day. We’re all crying now, right? #MakeADogsDay

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Alright, let me get a show of hands for all of my fellow Supernatural fans out there! This one goes out to y’all. After what felt like an eternal off-season, Tracker finally came back for its second season on Sunday. Jensen Ackles has a recurring role on the series as Colter Shaw’s brother, Russell. If you haven’t watched it, Tracker follows a format where Colton solves a new case a week while also trying to figure out the mystery behind his father’s death. His brother is central to this storyline and was introduced towards the end of season one.

Jensen appeared on the season two premiere and during the episode, the Powers That Be threw Supernatural fans a little Easter egg. His character, Dean Winchester, drove a 1967 Chevy Impala all 15 seasons. It was his true love and there’s a series-long running gag that Dean would never let his brother, Sam, drive his “Baby.” The car was basically a lead character on the show. So, on Tracker, not only does Russell drive a ‘67 Impala, but there’s also a scene in which Russell won’t let Colton drive it.

Jensen Ackles’ first Tracker episode of the season is sure to get Supernatural fans pretty revved up. When Ackles first appeared as Russell, the brother of Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) in season 1 of the hit CBS series, he was spotted patting a 1967 Chevrolet Impala before getting into Colton’s truck. And in the new season, Ackles, 46, drives a similar car throughout the second episode.

As Supernatural fans well know, that handsome muscle car wasn’t used by accident. Ackles’ character, Dean Winchester, drove the Impala, nicknamed Baby, throughout all 15 seasons of the fantasy series.

In the Sunday, Oct. 20 episode, Russell helps to get Colter, who was looking for a man who went missing while seeking answers about aliens, out of a strange government black site. Towards the end of the episode, Colter asks about driving the car one day, and Russell responds, “That’s never going to happen.”

Moments later, when Russell drops Colter off to go find his own vehicle, Colter seems miffed that Russell won’t keep driving off the paved road.

“This baby doesn’t drive on gravel,” Russell quips — an obvious nod to the Supernatural car’s nickname. When Supernatural ended in 2020, Ackles famously kept the iconic car. In fact, he has said it was written into his contract for season 15 of the show.

“As far as taking something on the final day, I will definitely be taking something that I’ve had my eye on since day one of Supernatural,” he told Digital Spy of the car in 2020. “But it’s okay, I’m not stealing it. I got permission. I begged and begged and pleaded for years, but I finally got it this year. They’re going to let me drive home the Impala.”

Hartley has always been excited about working with Ackles on the show.

“We got him, he’s coming back,” Hartley, 47, said San Diego Comic-Con this summer. “We’re having fun with that. It’s a great story.”

Earlier this month, Hartley told PEOPLE, “Jensen and I have known each other for a long time, we just never had a chance to work together. Jensen is the perfect guy to play Russell. It’s such a well fleshed-out character in the book and even more so with what we’ve done on the show. And then Jensen just brings it to the next level.”

[From People]

I had completely forgotten that Jensen was able to take the Impala with him. That’s so awesome. I can’t ever hear the song “Carry On My Wayward Son” without thinking of that show. I rewatch the first five seasons every couple of years because I think the culmination of that storyline is perfect. Anyway, I love love love this callout! At this point, it’s going to feel weird to see Jensen drive any other type of car on screen, ha. I’m really excited for this season of Tracker, too. It was my (and a whole lot of other people’s) favorite new network show last year, and I looked forward to watching new episodes each week. I can’t wait to see where this season goes and hope we get to see more of Russell and his Impala.

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Saoirse Ronan wore Louis Vuitton to the Academy Museum gala over the weekend. Lots of people wore LV, but Ronan is the new LV ambassador. [RCFA]
More fashion pics from the Academy Museum gala – I wish we had good photos from this event, but they limit most photo agency access to the carpet. [Just Jared]
Cooper Koch wants to play Patrick Bateman. [Socialite Life]
What is Rumours, the absurdist film about the G7? [LaineyGossip]
A rave review of Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut. [Pajiba]
Lashana Lynch is pregnant! [Go Fug Yourself]
New music from FKA Twigs! [OMG Blog]
Vanna White remains low-key. [Seriously OMG]
A 90 Day Fiance feud? [Starcasm]
I loved all of the birthday messages for Kamala Harris yesterday! [Hollywood Life]
Suki Waterhouse prank-called Robert Pattinson. [Buzzfeed]

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It’s perfectly possible that the “Prince Harry & Meghan bought a home in Portugal” report is some British-media fiction designed to produce a Sussex soap-opera storyline. But what’s strange about the story is that it’s not playing out like the usual Salt Island fictions. Usually, when they’re making something up, it’s a story designed to make Harry and Meghan look bad or broke or on the verge of divorce. Saying that Harry and Meghan bought a $4 million villa in Portugal (close to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank) makes the Sussexes sound rich, successful and uninterested in the UK. Which makes me wonder if the story is actually true. Anyway, the Mail has yet another column about the Sussexes’ possible Portuguese real estate and what it all means. This piece is overwrought, so here’s the section I wanted to discuss:

So the fact that Harry and Meghan are also looking to set up a home in the region is a fascinating development. Why? Because it reveals much about the significance of Eugenie and Jack – and their two children – to their lives. Professionally, socially and emotionally, the two couples and their young broods have become entwined. It would be no exaggeration to say that, in the chilliness of their life since leaving the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan have found a rare familial solace in the company of Eugenie and her family.

One could easily see how Harry’s sense of loss could be partly assuaged if he and Meghan could live, at least part-time, near Eugenie and Jack. Perhaps the biggest attraction will be the knowledge that his own children – Archie, five, and Lilibet, three – will be able to spend time with Eugenie’s children. A royal source says: ‘Harry must know his children are not going to grow up as friends of William’s children, George, Charlotte and Louis. A bond for Lilibet and Archie with Eugenie’s kids will be the only royal friendship they will have. Most likely, August and Ernest are the only cousins they are going to ever spend time with. So time in Portugal, even just for holidays, means that Harry is keeping the only door to the Royal Family just a little bit open for himself and for the next generation, and raising them as royal children, at least in some way.’

The royal source continues: ‘The cousin bond is strong between Harry and Eugenie and they have grown up together to some extent. Both have suffered with an at-times difficult relationship with their parents.’

A local estate agent who has been working in the area for decades told The Mail on Sunday that the couple were likely to have spent in excess of four million euros for a property on one of the exclusive resorts. ‘In recent years we have seen A-listers from the States buying homes or plots which are essentially closed environments. It’s very high-end and homes range from four to 20 million euros. There have been rumours in recent months that Harry and Meghan are among the latest buyers. But it’s unclear if they have bought a home that is already built or if it is yet to be built.’

Locals, though, are unlikely to be laying out red carpet for the Duke and Duchess, the agent said. He added: ‘We have much richer and much more famous people buying here for sure. I think they will have zero impact, to be honest. If someone like Jeff Bezos [the Amazon boss] bought here then, yes, there could be some impact – but not Harry and Meghan.’

[From The Daily Mail]

“So time in Portugal, even just for holidays, means that Harry is keeping the only door to the Royal Family just a little bit open for himself and for the next generation, and raising them as royal children…” Ah, yes, everyone knows that royal children are typically raised in America and Portugal, with next to no contact with the Windsors except for Harry’s favorite cousin. I get the feeling that we’re about to witness yet another anti-Eugenie press cycle, where we’re suddenly getting quotes about how Prince William is ordering Eugenie to “choose” and that obviously, she’ll want to stay close to the future king. It never fails to amuse me that the Mail and other outlets manage to get their “royal sources” to chat freely about the Sussexes’ activities, real estate, tours and businesses. It’s almost as if the entire institution is still solely focused on whatever Harry & Meghan are doing.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.