Chappell Roan was recently profiled by Rolling Stone, and I personally thought she came across as very immature overall, and quite uninformed about politics. She heavily implied that President Biden would come after her and her family for speaking about Palestine, she spoke lovingly about her Republican family and she refused to endorse any candidate. Then, a few days ago, she spoke to the Guardian and this section got a lot of attention:

…And even though Kamala Harris used her deliriously goofy Femininomenon in a campaign video (“What we really need is a femininomenon!”) and seemingly copied the design of an official Roan baseball cap, Roan hasn’t endorsed her. And, in June, while dressed as Lady Liberty, Roan told the crowd at Governor’s Ball festival in New York that she had declined an invitation to perform at a White House Pride event: “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”

“I have so many issues with our government in every way,” she says. “There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city.” The change she wants to see in the US in this election year, she says instantly, is “trans rights. They cannot have cis people making decisions for trans people, period.”

[From The Guardian]

I cannot even adequately put into words the contempt I have for people saying “There’s problems on both sides.” If you, like Roan, consider trans rights the most important issue of this election and YOU STILL WON’T VOTE FOR HARRIS-WALZ, then you’re just an attention-seeking a–hole. Well, people have been talking sh-t about Roan all week, and now she’s made a new TikTok about all of this:

Chappell Roan explains her political beliefs in a new TikTok video, offering clarification on what she meant in previous statements. pic.twitter.com/auoFuOpohe

— Pop Flop (@PopFlopHQ) September 25, 2024

All of what she says about critical thinking reminds me so heavily of the “do your own research” anti-vaxxer talking points. Like, that whole section really resonated with Aaron Rodgers. “Actions speak louder than words and actions speak louder than an endorsement.” I never thought I’d say this, but damn, Taylor Swift endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket really was a profile in courage, right? Taylor’s endorsement was thoughtful and mature, even more so when confronted with a wannabe LGBTQ advocate who thinks “both sides” have problems. And: “Hear it from my mouth, no, I’m not voting for Trump and yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people.” Another Jill Stein voter.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

As I was looking through the photos of Prince Harry speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative, it struck me that CopyEgg is probably screaming down the phone at Mike Bloomberg, demanding that Bloomberg arrange a meeting or a photo-op with Bill Clinton. You know it’s probably already happened. The call, I mean. Anyway, Harry was at CGI on Tuesday, speaking about Archewell’s newly formed Parents Network. The Parents Network’s aim is providing tools and resources for parents trying to navigate their kids’ online lives and the dangers of social media:

Prince Harry said today’s youth is in the midst of an “epidemic” of anxiety, depression and social isolation due to negative experiences online, as he brought his campaign to help children and their parents navigate cyberspace to this week’s Clinton Global Initiative.

“These platforms are designed to create addiction,” Harry, 40, said in remarks Tuesday in New York City. “Young people are kept there by mindless, endless, numbing scrolling — being force-fed content that no child should ever be exposed to. This is not free will.”

Beyond supporting parents and youth throughout this advocacy, The Duke of Sussex stressed the need for corporate accountability. He asked why leaders of powerful social media companies are still held to the “lowest ethical standards” — and called on shareholders to demand tangible change.

“Parenting doesn’t end with the birth of a child. Neither does founding a company,” said Harry, who revealed that his smartphone lock screen is a photo of his children, five-year-old Prince Archie and three-year-old Princess Lilibet. “We have a duty and a responsibility to see our creations through.”

[From AP]

I’m including one of the videos of his speech below – nearly every British outlet ran a live stream of CGI so that their viewers and readers could watch Harry. The Daily Beast’s coverage focused on Harry saying that his lockscreen is of his two children, and then they suggested that Harry “publicly reinforced his status as a family man and his commitment to his children… pushing back against narratives by some critics hinting that he was happy to be spending a week away from his family.” As in, the British media is trying to make “Harry’s business trip to New York” into yet another hyped-up narrative that there are problems in the Sussex marriage. Please. Unless those same people are prepared to do a similar dive on the Wales marriage, they need to zip it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

On September 12, the Hollywood Reporter published an incredibly bizarre “Rambling Reporter” piece called “Why Hollywood Keeps Quitting on Harry and Meghan.” This was not the first time THR launched a broadside against the Sussexes, but this piece was particularly strange and bile-filled. Unnamed sources insisted that the Duchess of Sussex was a hellish boss who ran around the office, screaming at people and creating low morale. THR wrote that Meghan has a “reported penchant for noisy tantrums and angry 5 a.m. emails [which] has earned her the in-house moniker ‘Duchess Difficult.’” One source told THR: “She’s absolutely relentless. She marches around like a dictator in high heels, fuming and barking orders. I’ve watched her reduce grown men to tears.” A day later, the NY Post picked up the story, and then last week, the Mail ran a version of the story too.

As I was covering this stuff, I said once again that these are the kinds of stories which need pushback. The British media throws sh-t at the wall on a daily basis – I understand why the Sussexes give the silent treatment to outlets like the Mail and the Sun. But THR is a trade paper and their “reporting” mimicked those British smears in an American accent. It needed to be dealt with, and dealt with in a smarter way than “ignoring it and hoping it goes away.” Some people yelled at me for suggesting that the Sussexes need to be more proactive about these kinds of things, but I maintain: they need to fight back especially because it involves their business. These crazy conspiracies about who “ordered” THR’s story and why H&M should continue to be silent weren’t working either – that’s absolutely the wrong way to deal with it. And finally, the Sussexes have done something. They authorized their former and current staffers to speak to Us Weekly. Some highlights:

Ben Browning, their former head of content: He says his experience at the company and with Meghan and Harry in general “was positive and supportive… we all continue to be friends. The narratives we’ve seen suggesting the contrary are untrue.” Onetime chief of staff Catherine St-Laurent tells Us she and the couple have also “remained close” and says, “The time I spent working with Prince Harry and Meghan was incredibly meaningful to me.”

Josh Kettler spoke to Us: While Josh Kettler’s August departure as Harry’s chief of staff sparked more negative press, he says he was “warmly welcomed” by both Harry and Meghan and the Archewell team during his stint. “They are dedicated and hardworking,” he tells Us of the pair. “It was impressive to witness.”

Ashley Hansen, Archewell global press secretary: “When I told them [I needed surgery], I was met with the kind of concern and care a parent would express if it were their own child. I was asked what I needed, how and if they could help, and told to take as much time as I needed.” Hansen says Harry and Meghan sent flowers and care packages, “but most profoundly to me, Meghan would personally reach out to my husband daily to make sure that we both were OK and had support. It meant so much to him and even more to me. You don’t realize how much that kind of kindness and thought means until you need it.”

Growing pains: There’s little doubt the company — which employs a small team of roughly 16 full-time employees and is comprised of the Archewell Foundation (their charitable nonprofit), a production side (which deals with audio work like podcasts and their Netflix deal) and communications (Markle’s new lifestyle brand is a separate entity) — has had some growing pains. “Archewell is not unlike a start-up; it’s relatively young,” says Hansen, adding, “Two things can be equally true: you can be a great leader and still have turnover. No boss or company is immune to that.”

An anonymous staffer: “People leave at any company — they get new opportunities, change their careers or feel their role isn’t the right fit. They also sometimes get let go. Those decisions are part of doing business.” The current anonymous staffer says colleagues have been “dumbfounded by the claims… It’s clear where this type of commentary is coming from. It’s likely made up from someone who’s disgruntled.” Browning tells Us the narrative is “simply a predictable attempt at creating intrigue through sewing false conflict.”

The office culture is positive. “This is the first company I’ve worked [where I] liked every person,” says the source. “Harry and Meghan picked the best of the best from every field and watered the seeds for them to flourish. We have an enormous microscope on us. But good things are happening.”

Acts of kindness from the Sussexes: “When I adopted my dog, the next day, I had a luxury brand leash and new collar on my doorstep,” says the former staffer, who adds that parents-to-be are given brand-new gifts and top-notch secondhand stuff from the couple themselves “like unused car seats and baby items they no longer need.” During the Colombia trip, the duke and duchess texted a team leader to take everyone out for drinks. “They want to take care of us,” the current employee says. “Meghan will do things like, ‘You mentioned on the call your skin is bothering you, I put together a kit for you.’” And during team visits to the couple’s Montecito home, no one departs empty-handed. “Whenever staff goes to their house, they leave with a basket with fresh flowers, fresh fruit, fresh eggs,” the staffer says.

Meghan is not tantrum-prone: As for rumors of Meghan’s penchant for tantrums, the current staffer says they have “never” heard her yell, explaining that the duchess “gives clear direction and is solution-oriented.” And those reports of firing off demanding emails at 5 a.m.? Meghan’s official email signature reads: “My working day may not be your working day. Please do not feel obliged to reply to this email outside your normal working hours.”

Mandana Dayani speaks: “Part of the profound injustice of having to speak publicly on this in light of these endless and damaging narratives is that so much of the kindness, mentorship, and support that Prince Harry and Meghan share with others happens quietly behind closed doors,” says Mandana Dayani, who served as the president of Archewell for 18 months in 2021 and 2022. “I’ll never forget sitting on the floor in their kitchen while Meghan was feeding Princess Lily and cold-calling a dozen senators — their reactions were unbelievable — to ask them to advocate for paid leave.” Dayani and Meghan traveled to Uvalde, Texas, after the tragic 2022 school shooting. “For hours, [Meghan] sat in a room with grieving families, going one by one to each person — hugging them and crying with them,” she recalls to Us, noting that Meghan has since kept in touch with the families affected by the tragedy.

[From Us Weekly]

I said before that I wish the Sussexes had pushed back in one of the other trade papers, but I get the strategy now. They wanted a softer focus and space to share their staffers’ first-hand accounts of what it’s actually like to work at Archewell. I also wonder if People Magazine was offered this rebuttal first and they declined, because Us Weekly still wouldn’t have been my first choice for this? In any case, bookmark this story or screenshot it for the receipts. People are going on the record: Meghan is a lovely boss, they’re nice to their team, she’s not marching around the office making men cry. Case closed. It’s like pulling teeth to get the Sussexes to push back on these racist and sexist smears. This should have happened years ago.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of Us.

Sometimes I truly wonder whether or not Elon Musk wakes up each day and wonders, “What terrible ideas should I implement today?” While I do think he’s purposely ruining Twitter, sometimes I wonder if he just likes to f-ck with people. Eh, who am I kidding? It’s probably both. Anyway, Elon’s latest genius business move is to have Twitter no longer hide any of your public posts from any account that you’ve blocked. In the past, if you blocked someone, they had to log out or create a new account in order to see any of your public posts. Now, the workaround has been removed, so whatever creeper you’ve blocked will still be able to stalk you. They just can’t “engage” with you anymore.

X will soon change the functionality behind its block button so that if you block an account, they will still be able to see your public posts, according to changes to X’s website spotted by independent app researcher Nima Owji. Elon Musk confirmed these changes on Monday, noting that blocked accounts will still not be able to engage with users who have blocked them, but they will soon be able to see their posts.

“The block function will block that account from engaging with, but not block seeing, [a] public post,” said Musk in a tweet on Monday.

Owji says users soon may not see the “You’re blocked…” message when visiting an account of a user who has blocked them, he tells TechCrunch via a DM (direct message) on X. Instead, blocked users will see the account’s public posts, like they were any other user. There will likely still be limitations in reposting, quoting, replying, or engaging with blocked accounts. It’s unclear at this time when the change will take place.

Musk said in his tweet on Monday that it was “high time this happened.” Previously, if a public account blocked a user, that user could simply log out and view the public account’s tweets all the same. There was an easily avoidable workaround, but now X appears to be removing that function altogether.

Roughly 10 years ago, when X was still called Twitter, the platform made similar changes to the block feature that were swiftly reversed. In 2013, Twitter updated its policy to allow blocked users to see content, follow, and even engage with those who have blocked them. The account that blocked them would not be able to see these engagements, but others would. At the time, Twitter reportedly called an emergency meeting due to backlash about the blocking update, and quickly reversed its policy to keep stronger blocks in effect.

Today’s update from X does not go this far — engagements are still not allowed under blocks, according to Musk — but some may not be thrilled about the changes. Social media users often use the block feature to distance themselves from harassers, abusers, or stalkers. Under these new changes to blocking, those barriers will be softened.

[From Tech Crunch]

I mean, at this point, he has to be tanking Twitter on purpose, right? Is there really no one over there that can tell him something is a bad idea? What does Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino do all damn day? We block people for a reason and that’s usually because of harassment, safety, or the general desire not to engage. Legal bitches, is there some sort of right to privacy law being violated here? Or does it not matter because of some stupid terms of agreement loophole? Elon has consistently made the platform slower and more dangerous, and it’s all for his own sick enjoyment. I bet part of it is ego, too, because now he’s forcing people who’ve blocked him to see his Tweets and he theirs. And yet, the one thing he does protect is letting people see what posts a user has “liked,” which we all know is so that all of the absolute worst people on his platform can like the most hateful, disgusting posts, free from any accountability. Ugh. You can set your profile to private, friends. That’s still safe until Space Karen somehow figures out a way to take that away, too.

Elon found out that most of us had him blocked.

— Randi White (@RandiWhite) September 23, 2024

some engineer showed elon that he was the most blocked account on the platform and he got mad https://t.co/Y8KIYj2ySe

— QuoProQuid (@TNOQuoProQuid) September 23, 2024

so if someone blocked their stalker, the stalker can still stalk them? wow this is a great feature https://t.co/5YXW2wj3iB

— taylor (@wishescametrue) September 23, 2024

Photos credit: IMAGO/Juergen Hasenkopf / Avalon and Olivier Huitel / Avalon

The Thunderbolts trailer is here… interesting use of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” and Florence Pugh seems to be carrying the movie. [Pajiba]
Christine Baranski looks amazing in Oscar de la Renta. [RCFA]
Tracee Ellis Ross’s powerful statement about childfree women. [LaineyGossip]
Donald Trump claims that women will no longer think about abortion soon enough. Given how many women are dying because of the lack of reproductive care, there won’t be many women left to think about abortion anyway. [Jezebel]
People are raving about The Substance’s body-horror. [Buzzfeed]
Is Travis Kelce struggling this season? [JustJared]
Check out Madonna’s latest face. [Socialite Life]
What is Kristen Bell’s new movie about? [Hollywood Life]
Beyonce looks bootilicious in this photo. [Seriously OMG]
Andrew Scott with a mustache… no thanks. [OMG Blog]

I was going to say something about how Prince William’s new beard seems universally despised, but I honestly don’t think most people are paying attention to William or his struggle beard. William soft-launched his beard in August, in a video at the end of the Olympics. Then he shaved in time for a visit to Balmoral, but in September, he seems to be trying to grow out the ugly beard. It’s so blatantly about copying his brother, it’s sort of embarrassing. But here we are. It doesn’t even feel like William is making any secret about trying to one-up Harry (by copying him). But according to In Touch’s sources, William is simply enjoying the newly loosened beard protocols AND he’s on a self-improvement kick.

Prince William is getting rave reviews from fans for his smooth new beard, but that’s just the start of his midlife makeover that’s been masterminded by Princess Kate Middleton and left him feeling younger and sexier than ever.

“William really loves how he looks with a beard, he always has,” a source exclusively tells In Touch. “He’d have been wearing one for years now if it weren’t for royal protocol. It might sound silly, but [Prince] Harry wasn’t lying in his memoir when he wrote that he and William fought about his wedding day beard. Harry had to get special permission for his beard, and that did aggravate William since he’s always followed royal protocol out of respect for the Queen.”

However, In Touch’s insider points out that “certain protocols are loosening” since King Charles was crowned after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022. “William is taking full advantage and growing out his beard,” the source adds. “It’s looking like he’ll probably keep it there for a while. He might even grow it out thicker.”

“He’s been on a bit of a self-improvement kick lately,” In Touch’s source says. “With Kate doing so much better health-wise, he’s had a little more time to focus on things like fitness and his overall appearance. He’s lost a little weight and had a whole new set of custom suits made. You can see how smart he looks these days and that’s very intentional.”

Kate, 42, was diagnosed with cancer this year and announced earlier this month that she finished her chemotherapy treatments and would be returning to work. Amid her health issues, William took on a lot of public-facing work by himself while also being there for the pair’s three children at home.

“The stress this past year took a huge toll on William,” the insider explains. “He looked haggard for a while, but he’s now turning that around by seeing a dermatologist. For the first time in his life, he’s got an actual skincare routine. He’s very pleased that people are taking notice because he’s certainly putting in effort.”

[From In Touch Weekly]

“He looked haggard for a while” suggesting, perhaps, that he no longer looks haggard? LOL. This is one of the few mentions I’ve seen of William’s weight loss as well – in recent photos, it’s extremely noticeable. Keep in mind, William is pretty tall, he’s like 6’3” – meaning, he has to have lost a lot of weight to see it on his frame and face. Which you can, the beard is trying to hide how gaunt his face looks now. Also: it feels like people are saying to William “oh, you’re growing a beard” and William says “thank you, I do look great!” I guarantee that’s happening. He surrounds himself with sycophants, so of course they’re not going to tell him that he still looks haggard as hell and the copykeen beard isn’t helping. Last thing… can the dermatologist somehow convince him to moisturize his dry-ass skin and perhaps use a good overnight eye cream?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

Prince Harry is currently in New York, without his wife but with some Archewell staffers. From what we can tell, he’s kept most details on his itinerary and schedule pretty buttoned up, but we know he’s doing multiple events a day throughout the week and then he’ll be flying to London in time for the WellChild Awards next Monday. Harry has made plenty of solo trips around America and abroad in recent years. Every single time he steps out of the house without Meghan, the British media starts up though. They start questioning the Sussex marriage, they suggest that Harry is “unhappy” and “desperate” to “come back.” They say outright that Meghan is the only thing keeping him in America, and if only someone could stick a wedge in between them, then everything would be perfect. This is just the latest:

Next Monday Prince Harry is scheduled to host the WellChild awards in London. It is the second time in weeks that Harry has returned to England alone after he attended a memorial service for his uncle Lord Robert Fellowes at the end of August.

Royal expert Phil Dampier said: “It is significant that he is doing so much on his own now. They are living more separate lives as it looks like Harry is trying to carve out what exactly his future is. I suspect Harry has been feeling very much like a spare part. He wants more fulfilling roles for himself so we may well be seeing more of him here.”

[From The Sun]

“I suspect Harry has been feeling very much like a spare part” – to whom, Meghan? Harry literally has a busy itinerary full of fulfilling work in New York, including the Clinton Global Initiative and meetings and events around Travalyst and more. That, to me, is more “fulfilling” than what, running back to the UK to be his brother’s doormat? But these terrible people have come back to their favorite subject: how everything would be so much better if Harry abandoned his wife and children.

Royal historian Hugo Vickers told the Sun: “The real problem here is that Prince Harry is not going to come back without Meghan, unless, for some reason, they separate, or something goes badly wrong. I don’t think she shows any wish at all to come to this country, because she’s not actually very popular in this country.”

He added that Harry himself has “been complicit” in a lot of “quite unpleasant” remarks aimed at the Royal Family made by the Sussexes.

“But I’ve always felt that he was acting rather on instruction,” Mr Vickers continued. “I would think it was more likely that he would come back on his own at some point, but I don’t see that in the immediate future. And in fact, I think it would be a distraction, because, you know people are always talking about Harry and Meghan the whole time.”

He argues that as a nation we “need to concentrate” on the King and the working royals and “all the things that they’re achieving” – with Harry and Meghan having stepped down in 2020.

“If Prince Harry came back,” Mr Vickers continued, “you know, the chances are that people would be wondering why he was back and what he was really up to.”

[From The Sun]

All of this seething because they can’t admit that they’re mad that Meghan won’t visit them in the UK. They’re mad that they can’t figure out a way to force Harry to come back, they’re mad that the Sussex marriage is strong and healthy, they’re mad that Harry doesn’t actually give a sh-t about them or their nonsense, and on and on. It’s also curious to me that there’s so much energy towards “Harry makes a solo work trip, that must mean his marriage is in trouble” and yet the Wales marriage never gets one iota of scrutiny.

Incidentally, People Mag revealed that Harry Facetimed with Meghan before he stepped on stage at The Diana Award event yesterday. Such separate lives, you guys.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid.

On Sunday, royalists were surprised to see Prince William driving his wife to church in Scotland, on the Balmoral estate. William and Kate already took their kids to Balmoral in August, before the kids’ school began, and it’s widely believed that the Wales family prefers to keep their trips to Balmoral relatively brief, usually less than a week, just enough time to put in an appearance and check that box. So why did Will and Kate go back to Balmoral in September, when their kids’ school has already started? Well, apparently, it was a rare kids-free weekend for them. They left their kids with the Middletons.

Prince William and Kate Middleton enjoyed a private trip to Balmoral this weekend, enjoying some downtime without their three children. William and Princess Kate were photographed on their way to church on Sunday, where they joined King Charles and Queen Camilla for the weekly service.

William drove his wife to Crathie Kirk and Kate, who has not been photographed since announcing that she has completed her course of preventative chemotherapy, looked radiant in a feathered hat and a pair of Cassandra Goad gold earrings.

Sources in Scotland said that Kate, who featured in the Court Circular last week for the first time this year, looked remarkably well and that Charles was on “fighting form.”

“The Prince and Princess had a private weekend and appeared to be on good form,” said the source. “The King was also in very good spirits.”

Palace sources would not comment because the trip was private, however, it is believed to be the first solo trip William and Catherine have made to Scotland without their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, for some time.

Every year, the family spends a long weekend at Balmoral at the end of August. The late Queen began the tradition and loved to host her grandchildren and great-grandchildren at the castle, a tradition King Charles has continued. This weekend, it was just William and Kate who traveled to Aberdeenshire for the short break. According to the Daily Mail, the couple’s three children stayed in Berkshire with Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.

[From Vanity Fair]

This pinged my radar, honestly. Something’s up. Something’s happening. As I said, historically, William and Kate don’t hang around Balmoral for very long. My suspicion is that they were called up to Balmoral for a specific reason by King Charles. A special meeting, perhaps? Over the summer, there were several reports about a planned “Balmoral summit” in which they would discuss their most pressing issue: what to do about the Sussexes. Who knows though – maybe this had nothing to do with the Sussexes and everything to do with Will and Kate’s marriage and work plans. It’s interesting though.

The photos in this post are from last year – they made a day-trip to Scotland to do some events together.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Janet Jackson’s QAnon chaos dominated the weekend gossip. The whole thing was bizarre. It started when the Guardian released their interview with Janet, the bulk of which was about her career’s ups and downs. The Guardian journalist then tagged on some political questions at the end, and that’s when Janet beclowned herself. She started saying crazy sh-t about human trafficking and then said that she “was told” that “they discovered” Kamala Harris’s father and he’s white. Kamala Harris’s father is a Black man from Jamaica. It was also like Janet could not comprehend how Harris could be biracial, Black and Indian. Weird considering Janet is the mother of a biracial child. But I digress. After the Guardian piece dropped, a guy named Mo Elmasri claimed to be Janet’s manager and issued a few apologies for the interview on Janet’s behalf. A short time later, Janet and her manager-brother Randy disputed the apologies and said Elmasri does not represent Janet and she’s not apologizing. You can always count on the Jackson family to be messy as hell. Well, there’s more.

Janet Jackson sings about control. But some people in her circle worry she’s handing it over to someone else. Amid the fallout from her comments about Kamala Harris’ race and her camp’s chaotic attempts to manage the situation, insiders are pointing fingers at her brother and manager, Randy Jackson. Sources say that the PR disaster proves that Randy is too inexperienced to handle her affairs and has become too loud a voice in her ear.

The criticism on social media was swift and devastating, while comedian DL Hughley blasted the interview as sounding like a “Trump rally” and even took a shot at the singer’s plastic surgery. “It’s a little ironic to question whether someone is black while you’re breathing through the nose of a white woman!,” he wrote on X.

We’re told that her inner circle was perplexed by the interview, and fear that the fallout could be more severe than that of “N–plegate” after her infamous Super Bowl performance 20 years ago — because her comments could tarnish her sterling reputation as a champion of marginalized groups.

“How can she sing about ‘Rhythm Nation’ and make comments like that?,” said an insider, “It doesn’t even sound like her. She’s so methodical. I don’t know what made her do this.” The source adds that Jackson, who lives in London, “doesn’t really watch the news anymore. She does live in a bubble,” they added.

We’re told Janet learned of the outrage while partying with her crew, including designer Christian Siriano, in Paris. “Janet and Randy’s attitude was to just let it blow over. They weren’t planning to address it,” another source told us.

Meanwhile, a man named Mo Elmasri, claiming to be her manager, issued an apology on her behalf to Buzzfeed — only for her publicist to walk it back in Variety, and declare Elmasri doesn’t work for Janet. They further said the Jackson siblings would not be commenting on the interview as they are mourning their older brother, Tito, who passed away last week. Things got even more confusing after People magazine published another apology, which it updated after the rep told them he does not represent Janet in any capacity, according to the article. Elmasri later alleged Janet and Randy fired him “after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve.”

This isn’t the first time Elmasri has claimed he managed Janet. In August, he announced the singer’s upcoming Las Vegas residency as her manager. Janet’s publicity team later sent out an official announcement, but curiously didn’t address Elmasri speaking on the singer’s behalf then. But multiple sources insists, “No one [in her camp] knows who he is!” Another source told us they’ve “never heard of this guy’s name in my life,” and believes, “Randy brought him on.”

“[Randy’s] sabotaging her legacy because he’s not saavy. She’s giving Randy control, and no one understands how he’s managing her, when he’s never had a career. She pays for everything,” they claimed.

They further told us Janet listens to Randy, who is a “Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist. Janet’s bubble is small, and she listens to Randy. She does peddle in conspiracy theories,” they added.

[From Page Six]

“Janet’s bubble is small, and she listens to Randy. She does peddle in conspiracy theories.” Then why are you letting Janet sit down with the Guardian?? Like, what is she doing in London? She’s been isolated by Randy, who keeps spewing MAGA conspiracies at her, and then he puts her in front of a journalist? I also worry that we’re infantilizing Janet – she’s a grown woman, she’s responsible for being an informed citizen. She’s 58 years old, she absolutely knows better than to spew lies and conspiracies in general and in an interview.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Embed from Getty Images

Prince Harry arrived in New York over the weekend, in time to attend a WHO reception on Saturday evening. On Monday, he did two big public appearances. One, he attended the Concordia Summit alongside the Diana Award’s CEO Dr. Tessy Ojo. They spoke as part of a larger discussion about empowering young people and Princess Diana’s legacy. Harry also appeared and spoke at an event for The HALO Trust, an NGO which was supported by Diana in the final year of her life. Harry became a patron of The HALO Trust many years ago, and he’s done very similar work as his mother.

At the HALO Trust event, Harry and the trust celebrated Angola’s leadership on clearing landmines and conservation. The president of Angola was there, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, as was Sen. Chris Coons. I’m including the video of the HALO Trust event below, and I cued it to Harry’s speech. Sidenote: Harry did a good job pronouncing all of the African names. Sen. Coons also spoke and gave Harry so much credit for his work and for carrying on Diana’s legacy.

Anyway, a wonderful day. I’m pretty sure Harry will speak at the Clinton Global Initiative today, as will Dr. Jill Biden. Y’all know that Dr. Biden loves Harry, right? Now that the Bidens will leave public life in four months, I hope Dr. Biden makes a point of posing with Harry and talking about him. I still believe that Buckingham Palace and the British Home Office have thrown tantrums for years to convince the Bidens to not cozy up to the Sussexes.

Prince Harry thank u for your leadership, for your heart, for your vision, for sustaining the legacy of your mother,& for inspiring a whole new generation around the world to be engaged in this critical work against the scourge of landmines. -Senator Coonspic.twitter.com/NBSWg9fqMo

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) September 23, 2024

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

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