Pamela Anderson might be a contender in the Best Actress Oscar race because of Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. The first trailer was just released! [OMG Blog]
Jonathan Majors & Meagan Good are engaged… this will end badly, and I wish Good had better people around her. [Just Jared]
Behold, Tilda Swinton at the Governors Awards! [RCFA]
Joe Rogan: Hippies thanked me because of censorship. [Pajiba]
Kiernan Shipka is all grown up, and I don’t even want to admit about how many times I’ve wondered what Sally Draper would have done in the 1970s. [Go Fug Yourself]
Fox News’ trans-panic over every little story is bizarre. [Socialite Life]
I genuinely want to see A Real Pain (mostly for Keiran Culkin). [LaineyGossip]
USPS will release a Betty White stamp next year! [Seriously OMG]
Jana Duggar is a Mennonite now. [Starcasm]
What is Mike Tyson’s net worth? [Hollywood Life]
Elmo had a Chicken Shop Date (Rocco was there too). [Buzzfeed]

Martha Stewart has very discerning tastes. That’s what she built her billion-dollar empire on and covered in the 100 books she’s published. And it doesn’t stop at lifestyle and business either, as she recently told Andy Cohen that she wouldn’t appear on Golden Bachelorette because “the guys aren’t hot enough.” So in the midst of People Mag’s selection of John Krasinski as 2024’s Sexiest Man Alive, a choice that wasn’t controversial so much as it was befuddling, the magazine is thrilled to tout that Martha approves of their selection. While answering questions at a Louis Vuitton event in NYC last week, Martha gave the gushing comment: “John is pretty sexy.” And then things got a little weird, as Martha jokingly threatened John’s wife Emily Blunt, and suggested that her tween-age grandson should’ve been Sexiest Man Alive instead.

Martha Stewart is giving PEOPLE’s 2024 Sexiest Man Alive her seal of approval.

“John is pretty sexy,” the lifestyle expert told PEOPLE about this year’s champ John Krasinski at Louis Vuitton’s opening of its temporary New York City base on East 57th Street on Nov. 14. “He’s been over to my house and he’s pretty sexy,” Stewart, who recently released her 100th cookbook Martha: The Cookbook, reiterated.

But the celebrity chef also gave the Office alum props for his talents: “He’s pretty good at all the work he does too,” she said.

“Watch out, wife,” she quipped with a smirk about Krasinski’s wife of 14 years, Emily Blunt.

When asked about how she characterizes “sexy” lately, Stewart said it comes down to being “Gorgeous, talented, clean, fun.” If the A Quiet Place star hadn’t been crowned as 2024’s winner, Stewart has a biased and youthful choice as to who should be PEOPLE’s SMA.

“I think my grandson, Truman. He’s only 12,” she joked.

Stewart recently told PEOPLE about some “especially attractive actors” who were guests on her TV shows over the years that left her starstruck.

“When Russell Crowe came on, he was still fit and gorgeous, just having done maybe Gladiator. He was pretty attractive. Matthew McConaughey, he is still pretty attractive. Tom Cruise in his first movies was so cute and attractive,” she said.

The Golden Bachelorette is one place that Stewart won’t be meeting romantic prospects any time soon.

During a Oct. 20 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Stewart told host Andy Cohen that she wouldn’t join the ABC dating show if asked because she’s unimpressed by the male contestants.

Stewart replied that she would “absolutely not” join the show.

The Bravo star asked Stewart if she could be persuaded to join the show for $1 million an episode, to which she shook her head. She responded, “No, the guys aren’t hot enough.”

[From People]

I guess it’s all in the delivery, because “pretty sexy” can be read a lot of different ways. I still hear everything Martha says in the tone of Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, that soft-spoken yet biting put-down quality. So “John is pretty sexy” sounds to me like, “yeah, he’s kind of good looking, I suppose.” Especially when Martha repeats the refrain when talking about his work. “I guess John is good at the work he does,” an endorsement I’m sure John has long been after, lol. To be fair, though, it is possible (if highly improbable) that Martha meant it like, “He’s pretty damn sexy!” But then we’re right back in Miranda Priestly territory with the “Watch out, wife,” comment. I feel like there’s a very specific categorization in Martha’s head for determining whose names are worth remembering, and it doesn’t bode well for those who get reduced to functions like “Wife” or “NY Post Lady.” Plus, there’s the fact that Martha has said in the past how she’d like for her friends to die so she can date their husbands. Hahaha? We won’t let anything happen to you, Emily Blunt! Also, I know in some ways it’s a cute, proud grandmother thing for Martha to suggest her (12-year-old) grandson for SMA, but it’s a little creepy too, right?

Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com / Avalon, IMAGO/MediaPunch/Avalon, IMAGO/Barbara Hine/Avalon

It looks like royal biographer Robert Hardman was tasked with a desperate rewrite – if not a complete reimagining – of the past year for the Windsors. 2024 was the year the wheels truly came off the Windsor bus, although one could argue that same thing with the year 2020 and 2021 (and 2022 and 2023). Look, maybe it’s been a slow-motion trainwreck for five years, okay? Back to Hardman, he’s added chapters to his biography of King Charles, and in addition to Hardman clutching his pearls over what he thinks was the media’s “performative” outrage over Kate Missington and the Curious Case of Manipulated Photos, he also wants everyone to quake with sympathy for poor Charles. Poor Charles and his profiteering from public services, poor Charles and his emotional abuse of his first wife, but no – poor Charles and his health. Apparently, Charles had a never-before-disclosed “cancer scare” years ago.

Charles went to his Highgrove chapel when he was diagnosed with cancer: In good times and bad, as both Prince of Wales and now as King, Charles III likes to retreat to his ‘sanctuary’, his tiny chapel in the grounds of Highgrove, to gather his thoughts. ‘He was feeling his mortality,’ says his old university friend, Lord Chartres, former Bishop of London, who had been invited to the King’s Gloucestershire home to celebrate Holy Communion with a congregation of just three: the King, the Queen and Lady Chartres. Even if the tiny Hobbit-style refuge had been able to accommodate more that day, they would not have been welcome. It was February 25 this year, just three weeks since the King had received a diagnosis of cancer. With his treatment still in the early stages, his doctors wanted the risk of infection kept to a minimum. That meant no crowds.

Charles’s relationship with God: He was certainly not praying for some sort of miracle, Richard Chartres reveals. ‘Quite a lot of religion is bargaining with God: ‘You do this and I’ll continue to pay attention to you’ and so on,’ he says. ‘The King doesn’t have that sort of relationship.’

The statement about the king’s prostate: ‘The King and Clive [private secretary Sir Clive Alderton] thought carefully about how open he was going to be. They agreed very quickly that it would make sense to be open, though, of course, this is a house that hasn’t traditionally done that. So this was definitely a ‘change point’ in that regard,’ says a senior member of staff. The King’s candour was driven, primarily, by medical data. ‘We looked up the number of people who suffered from this and it’s something that affects so many men over 60. The King wanted to encourage other men to seek treatment.’

Kate & Charles left the London Clinic on the same day, they swear: The King, accompanied by the Queen, left through the front in the State Bentley – designed for optimum visibility – waving cheerfully at onlookers. The Princess left unobserved through a back door. The two royal patients then returned home – the King to Sandringham, the Princess to Adelaide Cottage at Windsor – to convalesce. The rest of the family, meanwhile, started to resume regular engagements.

Why Charles publicly spoke about his cancer: Says a senior aide: ‘Cancer is a very scary word if you’re a king or anyone else. It’s a big shock. But he is a great one for taking things on the chin and then saying, ‘Right. How are we going to get on with this?’ He was very clear that he would carry on doing all of the constitutional stuff in exactly the way that he did before.’

He previously had a cancer scare: Besides, one former member of the team from his Prince of Wales days reveals that the King had actually undergone a cancer scare some years before. As for announcing the news of the King’s condition, there had been very little internal debate. ‘After the earlier announcement about his prostate, it was actually an easy decision to say, ‘Well, that’s what we do these days’,’ says a member of the King’s staff. ‘We didn’t hang about because we all felt that the country does have a right to know about this – though not in forensic detail.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I’ve gone back and forth for months about whether the smarter play for Charles would be identifying what kind of cancer he has and explaining his treatment. I think his initial statement – leaving out the type of cancer – was an okay first step, PR-wise. But the longer this goes on, it feels strange that Charles hasn’t just come out and said, I have bladder cancer (which is the rumor going around London) and this is what my treatment entails, information is power, etc. The constant squirreliness and obsessive secrecy of the Windsors leaves a lot of people cold. Especially now that we’ve started to get glimpses past the gilded lily – these people are slumlords bilking taxpayers and public services, and they want to keep a lot of sh-t secret because they know it will destroy the monarchy. But sh-t like their health issues? I honestly don’t understand why Charles and Kate haven’t both disclosed a lot more.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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I’m sorry to do a big photo dump from Getty, but the Academy really limited the photo agencies’ access to the Governors Awards red carpet. Angelina Jolie bringing her 16-year-old son Knox as her date was maybe the biggest news from the carpet, but this event was exceptionally well-attended. A lot of the actors who are just starting their Oscar campaigns attended. I don’t think Jennifer Lawrence is campaigning for anything in particular, but as an Oscar-winner, she always enjoys attending these kinds of events. She wore a stretchy Bottega Veneta gown to suit her pregnancy. The gown is fine, but her hair is not great (BANGS) and her makeup is “off.”

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Nicole Kidman and Demi Moore. Nic wore Celine. Meh, right?

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Lupita Nyong’o wore Chanel – she has a brand-new Chanel ambassadorship and this is, in my opinion, kind of a bad match of celebrity and brand. I thought that about Margot Robbie and Chanel too. Chanel wants to be hip and cool and it’s just not.

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Jennifer Lopez wore Zuhair Murad, one of her favorite designers. I like the optical illusion aspect of this dress, honestly.

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Kerry Washington in Elie Saab. Out: tailoring. In: boob-belts.

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Mikey Madison wore Prada – it’s very prim and it’s not the right color for her, but I’m looking forward to her campaign for Anora.

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Elle Fanning in Valentino. Kind of my favorite look of the night, tbh.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

This story is so strange, but I think we should just sort of sit back and watch it play out. It feels like there’s a hell of a lot more to the story. More than a month ago, it appears that two men broke into the Windsor Castle estate. The men broke one of the gates to the enormous property, and they stole a few “farm vehicles” and they got away with it. No one knew this happened, nothing was announced when it happened weeks ago. But now they’re making a big deal about how burglars broke into the estate just yards away from Adelaide Cottage, where Prince William, the Princess of Wales and their three children slept peacefully, unaware of what was happening. Hm.

Burglars raided the Windsor Castle estate while the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children reportedly slept nearby. Two men are said to have climbed a 6ft fence at night and stolen farm vehicles during the raid last month, The Sun reported. They used a stolen truck to break through a gate said to be the nearest exit for the Prince, Princess and their children before targeting Shaw Farm, a working farm inside the estate. The pair, who remain at large, stole a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike before making off, police said.

On Sunday night, a Thames Valley Police spokesperson told the newspaper: “At around 11.45pm on Sunday October 13, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor. Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.”

Kensington Palace did not comment to the newspaper on Sunday night.

The Prince and Princess are reported to have been at Adelaide Cottage, which they bought in 2022, at the time. The King is said to have been in Scotland, while the Queen is said to have been in India before the royal couple’s tour of Australia and Samoa.

A source told The Sun: “They would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught. So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while. There are alarms at Windsor Castle but the first time anyone knew there was a break-in was when they crashed through the security barrier at Shaw Farm Gate exit. The barrier has needed to be replaced as it was so badly damaged. It was a Sunday night on a school week so the young princes and princess would have been tucked in bed at Adelaide Cottage, just around the corner but still in the grounds.”

[From The Telegraph]

Yeah… what the hell is going on at Windsor Castle and the larger estate? Where are the guards? It’s very weird. Maybe that’s what the burglars discovered when they cased the joint – there were several entry points with minimal-to-no security, and all it would take is ramming the gate to break in. As for all of the talk about “William, Kate and the children slept through it all,” it’s also very interesting. Did they not hear the gate being rammed? They did not hear the Isuzu pick-up and quad bike in the middle of the night? And were William, Kate and the children actually IN Adelaide? Because I seriously doubt all five were together on a Sunday night.

Also: the Waleses did not “buy” Adelaide Cottage. It was given to them in 2022 by QEII and then-Prince Charles because William and Kate suddenly decided that they didn’t want to live in Kensington Palace anymore, that they didn’t like living in London. They were given some kind of vague lease on Adelaide, and I’m convinced that the whole thing was setting up Kate at a small separation cottage. They didn’t want HER to have one of the grander royal homes.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Kensington Palace.

A worm ate part of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s brain, and it’s widely assumed that the man takes steroids. He also loves to decapitate dead whales and leave random dead bear bodies in Central Park. He is also anti-vaccine and a years-long advocate of dangerous junk science. He is personally responsible for a deadly outbreak of measles in Samoa. He is not what I would consider a “healthy” man. But Kennedy is Donald Trump’s choice to lead Health and Human Services. Kennedy’s motto is apparently “Make America Healthy Again.” That’s what Don Trump Jr. posted alongside this photo – Don Jr., Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Robert Kennedy and Speaker Mike Johnson all eating some McDonald’s on a private plane (probably the plane which once belonged to Jeffrey Epstein).

This photo-op with what was probably cold-as-hell McDonald’s food was making a point, many people believe. Donald Trump is a huge fan of fast food, and he’s also a very unhealthy person. While Trump likes Kennedy a lot (birds of a feather), Trump doesn’t actually want Kennedy to do everything the brain worm tells him to do. Kennedy apparently wants to eliminate processed food from public schools, wants to force everyone to drink raw milk, wants to eliminate food dye, and most significantly, he wants to eliminate high fructose corn syrup and seed oil. You know, the seed oil used to fry McDonald’s food. Apparently, Kennedy wants people to go back to frying sh-t in beef tallow and lard (because that worked out so well for McDonalds last time). He says that will make people healthier. To be fair, people will die of preventable diseases (for which we have vaccines) before the lard will kill anyone.

So was this McDonald’s photo-op some kind of hazing? Was this Trump’s way of telling Kennedy to cool it with the talk of banning corn syrup and seed oil?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Don Jr’s IG.

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I think it was Camilla Tominey who mocked the Duchess of Sussex for being friends with her hair colorist and makeup artist. The royalists are of the opinion that a royal woman should not be so friendly with “the help,” and that having close relationships with one’s glam squad is somehow tacky. Beyond the classism of that perspective, it’s stupid from a personal and business level. When Meghan and Harry moved to California, she got a recommendation to see colorist Kadi Lee, and it was not only the start of a beautiful friendship, it was the start of a business. Kadi Lee’s Highbrow Hippie salon/brand is now making a hair product and wellness line, and Meghan has invested in it. We learned that last week, when Meghan attended the launch party and gave some comments about Kadi and the business.

Meghan Markle shifted her beauty routine in a relatable way during the COVID pandemic: boxed hair color. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, made the relatable revelation at the Nov. 15 launch party for her close friend and hair colorist Kadi Lee’s new Highbrow Hippie Haircare and Wellness line at Gjelina restaurant Venice, California, showing support for the female-founded venture she backs as an investor.

After Lee spoke about how her friendship with Meghan influenced the evolution of her business, the Duchess of Sussex said, “I was using boxed dye when I met her!” eliciting laughs from those in attendance.

At the launch party, Meghan presented Lee with a thoughtful gift—roses from the garden of her Montecito home, where she lives with Prince Harry and their children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.

Meghan’s glossy tresses have long been one of her signature style features, and she ordered her hair color online for just a few dollars during the pandemic. Celebrity hairstylist Serge Normant, who did Meghan’s hair when she married Prince Harry in 2018 and has remained a friend, told her that she only needed to know one person in California: “Kadi Lee.”

PEOPLE understands that the pair struck up a friendship following the introduction, and Meghan has turned to the celeb colorist for the past four and a half years. Lee is a strong supporter of BIPOC businesses, and Meghan is one of the lead investors in her brand.

The celebrity hair colorist runs Highbrow Hippie with her business partner, Myka Harris, and the two are introducing the new namesake range to curb the root causes of hair loss to promote the healthy aging of hair. The hair pro has highlighted her work with Meghan on Instagram several times this year, from the Invictus Games 2025 countdown in February to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala in October.

“She was in a joyful mood,” a source tells PEOPLE of Meghan’s infectious energy at the event. “She was dancing and celebrating with her friends.”

[From People]

That answered some of my questions about Meghan’s investment – People Mag describes her as “one of the lead investors in her brand.” That’s so cool, and Meghan is getting in at the ground floor. Clevr Blends was already a brand (a small, local brand) when Meghan invested. Cesta Collective was already a brand when Meghan invested. Now Meghan is part of the start of Highbrow Hippie’s first product line. Meghan also invited her friends to the product launch party – she was there with Daniel Martin (her longtime friend and former makeup artist) and Vicky Tsai.

As for Meghan’s box-dye comments… I use box-dye. I have ever since I started dyeing my hair in my early 30s. I get compliments on my hair all the time too! But yeah, I totally understand why Meghan would want to go to a real colorist. I’m fascinated by Meghan’s hair journey and I sort of want to know which brand of hair dye she used before she met Kadi!!

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Instagram.

The Duchess of Edinburgh has been sucking up to Prince William and Kate for years. It’s similar to the way she sucked up to Queen Elizabeth II, and Sophie made sure to milk her relationship with her mother-in-law for all it was worth. Currently, Sophie’s PR is that she’s a loving aunt and “big sister” figure to both William and Kate. William even took Sophie as his date to a documentary screening last year, and Sophie and Kate are often paired together for formal events. Sophie’s PR always lays it on so thick, and you would think that she and Kate are regularly confiding in each other, which I strongly suspect that basically only see each other at events like Remembrance Sunday. That was where Sophie was seen putting a supportive hand on Kate’s shoulder, which launched Becky English’s weird new story about how Sophie and Kate bonded over how much they hated Meghan Markle or something. Some highlights:

Kate and Sophie support each other’s work: While the future Queen has focused on domestic issues such as mental health and the well-being of under-fives, Sophie has travelled solo to Chad, Ethiopia and even war-torn Ukraine – campaigning on women’s rights and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. And yet there is no competition between them, as was sometimes claimed in the early days of Diana and Sarah. Both respect each other’s work and they are mutually supportive of their approaches to their royal roles.

Kate admires Sophie: I am told Catherine also has ‘enormous admiration’ for Sophie as mother to Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 21, and the Earl of Wessex, 16 – both of whom have been brought up to value their privilege while having freedom away from the royal radar. It’s an approach Catherine is trying to adopt with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis within constrictions of their higher profiles and future roles. Catherine is said to be especially fond of level-headed Lady Louise, studying English literature at her alma mater St Andrews.

Sophie is pushing Louise to become a working royal: Louise is a member of the University Officers’ Training Corps and keen to pursue a career in the military, diplomacy or law. Some in royal circles suspect that, under a future King William V, Lady Louise could be called on to support the family at an increasing number of royal engagements – and shore up their dwindling ranks. ‘She’s an absolutely delightful young woman and would be a real asset,’ says a family friend.

Sophie & Kate’s issues with Meghan: Interestingly, I am told, both ‘repeatedly’ reached out to Meghan when she joined the Royal Family – Sophie particularly so as the late Queen valued her wise and steady counsel. They continued to do so even after the Duchess of Sussex first publicly voiced her unhappiness in 2019, telling journalist Tom Bradby that few people had asked if she was ‘OK’ as she struggled to adapt to royal life. Both women were ‘shocked’ (and probably slightly angered) at the suggestion – not least because they felt it was Meghan who had rebuffed them. But I know they were concerned enough at the apparent strength of the Duchess of Sussex’s feelings that they continued to offer their support. Needless to say, it was not taken up. There is no doubt the ensuing ‘Sussex saga’ brought Sophie and Catherine even closer as they defended Queen Elizabeth, their own families and the institution they had worked so hard to support.

Sophie wants to be Kate’s closest advisor: ‘There have been some really kind and wise people along the way who have helped the princess over the years, and Sophie is very much one of those,’ one royal insider says. Mark Foster-Brown, the Edinburghs’ close friend, has also echoed this, previously telling me: ‘Sophie has been a very positive reference point and sounding board for the Duchess of Cambridge. Their relationship has really strengthened. It will be absolutely critical for [the princess] to have a female backup. And she simply couldn’t get better than someone like Sophie.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Again, this is all written by Becky English, which means that one of the royal comms offices is pushing this narrative really hard, that Kate and Sophie lean on each other and that Sophie is an advisor/girlfriend/steady hand. I guess it’s all coming from Sophie, who continues to work with little attention, and she knows she can get a quick hit in the Mail if she briefs about her closeness to Kate and her “anger” towards Meghan. That alone with strengthen her bond with the Waleses – Will and Kate were never closer than when they were bullying the Sussexes, and Sophie has always tried to get a piece of that action.

As for the Meghan stuff… Kate and Sophie were not super-supportive at any point of Meghan’s brief, horrible time on that island. What did Sophie say when Kate and her mother were circulating endless stories about “Meghan making Kate cry?” What did Sophie advise when Kate was regularly freaking out about Meghan saying “baby brain” or not giving her an Easter gift? Was Sophie around when Kate was apparently regularly making disparaging comments about the skin color of Meghan’s baby?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

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If you can believe it, Angelina Jolie’s twin babies, her youngest children, turned 16 years old over the summer. Vivienne Jolie (as she calls herself) is a theater geek who was part of a Tony Award-winning production, The Outsiders musical. Meanwhile, Knox hasn’t been involved in much of anything of Angelina’s public life. He’s gone to some of his mom’s premieres over the years, but even Angelina’s biggest fans have no idea what he’s up to or what his interests are. Well, it looks like Knox is like all of the other kids in one way – happy to support his mom on a red carpet! Angelina brought Knox as her date to the Governors Awards last night.

The Governors Awards are where the special, pre-announced Oscars are handed out, like the lifetime achievement (honorary) Oscars and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (which Jolie won in 2013). Angelina was there because the Governors Awards are huge for Oscar campaigners, and Angelina is definitely campaigning for Maria. The fact that she gets to show up to premieres and events with her kids is a huge statement too. Knox is a cutie – I’ve seen some sites claim he looks more like Brad, but I don’t see it. As they kids have gotten older, they’ve gotten more of a Jolie/Marchand/Voight look.

Per WWD, Angelina wore a vintage gown which she bought at The Knit Vintage. The Knit Vintage praised Jolie on their social media for choosing a vintage look for an awards show, and they praised her low-key way of stopping into the shop on her own and picking out her own looks without input from a stylist or friend: “What makes this moment the most meaningful for us, is that we know what a true vintage lover, fan, and supporter she is. Every time Angelina shops with us, she comes in on her own. She is very present, engaged, and chooses each piece. There has not ever been a stylist with her to hold her hand or a FaceTime to a friend. It is her surrounding herself with vintage, inspired by what she puts on next.”

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Republicans are making a big show of being “shocked” by Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, and many of them are tut-tutting the choices of Robert Kennedy Jr, Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth in particular. Kennedy is going to give everyone polio, measles and covid. Matt Gaetz is going to make the Department of Justice a haven for sexual predators. Pete Hegseth is going to ban women and people of color from the Pentagon and the armed services, all so he can create an ultra-right-wing white Christian army. But that’s not all – as it turns out, Gaetz won’t be the only sexual predator in Trump’s cabinet. Pete Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of drugging and raping her.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement, though he maintained that their encounter was consensual, according to a statement from his lawyer Saturday and other documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said that Hegseth was “visibly intoxicated” at the time of the incident, and maintained that police who were contacted a few days after the encounter by the woman concluded that “the Complainant had been the aggressor in the encounter.” Police have not confirmed that assertion. Hegseth agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the woman because he feared that revelation of the matter “would result in his immediate termination from Fox,” where he worked as a host, the statement said.

The statement came after a detailed memo was sent to the Trump transition team this week by a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser. The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Post, alleged he raped the then-30-year-old conservative group staffer in his room after drinking at a hotel bar. The person who sent the memo to the transition team did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.

The accuser, whose identity has not been made public, filed a complaint with the police alleging she was sexually assaulted days after the Oct. 7, 2017, encounter in Monterey, California, but the local district attorney did not bring charges. Police confirmed that they investigated the incident. After she threatened litigation in 2020, Hegseth made the payment and she signed the nondisclosure agreement, his attorney said.

The detailed four-page memo about the incident has set off debate among senior Trump transition officials, but so far Trump has stood behind Hegseth. Spokesman Steven Cheung earlier this week said: “President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.”

[From The Washington Post]

In the letter to the Trump transition team, the victim’s friend described in detail what happened, which is that Hegseth likely drugged her and she lost about nine hours in the night in question, and what she does remember is struggling to find her way out of Hegseth’s hotel room. She had a panic attack and felt certain that he had raped her, so she went to the emergency room and got a rape kit. The whole thing sounds like it could be a pattern. I doubt it was the first time for Hegseth, let me just say that.

Oh, and there’s also an issue about his tattoos. Several of his tattoos are, like, known white nationalist and Christofascist symbols.

And, sure enough, Hegseth has 2 Crusader tattoos: a Jerusalem Cross, the symbol of the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem on his chest, & “Deus Vult” the Crusaders’ theological cri de coeur (“God wills it”) on his bicep.

“Deus Vult” means God mandated Crusaders’ violence. 13/ pic.twitter.com/kAGwqjToyE

— Matthew D. Taylor (@TaylorMatthewD) November 13, 2024

Photos courtesy of Hegseth’s IG, YouTube videos.