Happy Veterans Day! The trailer for Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce is here! “You are the visual,” lmao. She heard the Beyhive fussing about the visuals. [OMG Blog]
All about next year’s Met Gala theme, “Sleeping Beauties.” [Socialite Life]
The trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is pretty boring. [LaineyGossip]
Tim Scott really has a girlfriend! [Pajiba]
You guys… is Kelly Clarkson on Ozempic? [Go Fug Yourself]
It’s so amazing to me that Deacon Phillippe is a DJ. [Just Jared]
I hope Jezebel comes back, sob. [Jezebel]
Marcus Epps lost his mayor’s race. [Starcasm]
ABC canceled The Rookie: Feds and The Good Lawyer. [Seriously OMG]
Gisele Bundchen is having fun in a bikini. [Hollywood Life]
What’s the most shocking thing you’ve ever seen at a wedding? [Buzzfeed]

This has been a minor drama for more than a year – what would happen to all of King Charles’s charitable organizations, the ones he started as Prince of Wales? The Prince’s Trust, the Prince’s Foundation and Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund were all sort of in limbo, unsure if a name change was needed following Charles’s accession. It wasn’t the most pressing concern, obviously, which is why it’s taken this long for Charles to do something about it. Well, now it’s finally here – all of Charles’s organizations are getting renamed and rebranded.

A series of charities founded by the King when he was the Prince of Wales, including his flagship Prince’s Trust, have been renamed to reflect his accession. The Prince’s Trust will become the King’s Trust, the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund will become King Charles III Charitable Fund and the Prince’s Foundation will be renamed the King’s Foundation. The rebranding was done in part to draw a distinction between the King and his son, the new Prince of Wales.

“There is sometimes confusion about whose organisations they are,” admitted a palace source. “Prince William has his own foundation and so the name change makes it clear that these are organisations affiliated with the King.”

The renaming comes despite the charities insisting last September that they would retain their original names. John Booth, chairman of the Prince’s Trust, said at the time that there were “no plans” for a rebrand, noting that the organisation had “built a reputation” under that name and had developed a strong record over 46 years. “It is our full intention to continue this vital work under the name of the Prince’s Trust,” he said.

Sources said the decision had not been taken lightly but was the result of several months of discreet consultation. Although the King was consulted, it was ultimately a decision made by the directors and trustees of the various organisations.

“This has been under consideration for some time,” one said. “There have been months of polling and consultation as well as due diligence around risk and opportunity. Ultimately, everyone is very happy. The changes mark a new chapter which happens to coincide with the King’s birthday.”

The King once spoke of his hope his two sons would take over the Prince’s Trust, which he set up with his £7,400 Navy severance pay in 1976. But both have since gone their own ways and the switch in name means that he will be keeping this charity, as well as the two other organisations, firmly under his wing, despite the demands of his role as King.

[From The Telegraph]

Charles spoke publicly about his desire for his sons to show more of an interest in taking over some of this stuff. Given what we know now, I kind of wonder if Harry was even offered the chance to take anything over. If the Sussexes had stayed (and been treated better), The Prince’s Trust would have been a natural fit for them. Which is why I think they were never offered the chance. I suspect that Charles always hoped that William alone would show an interest. Unfortunately, William has always been much too lazy. Charles had been making plans for people outside the family to operate these charities long before he became king too – as the Telegraph says, Charles was merely consulted, because he has teams in place running all of this stuff. Anyway, it’s funny from the perspective of “the king’s heir is too lazy to actually take on the big, signature work and instead the heir just promises to be keen.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

I could take or leave Carine Roitfeld as a magazine editor or style guru, but as a fashion industry insider and gossip? She’s great. Roitfeld recently chatted with the Times of London about leaving Vogue, starting her own magazine (CR Fashion Book), style rules and what she thinks of royal style, specifically for the Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla. I enjoyed this interview probably more than I should – she’s very quotable.

She started smoking at the age of 64: “I like it. It’s better than smoking at 20, you know? I started doing tattoos at 68. I have tattoos on my fingers, all the first initials of people I love, dead or alive. And I have a piercing here that I didn’t before, so I keep young, you know? I’m more fun than I was before. And I smoke. My children say stop. I say give me a break.”

How she decorated her new Paris apartment: “Black. Everything is black. The ceiling is beautiful, it’s black too. Black floor, black curtains. All the doors are mirrored with gold, ’ow you say? A bit like Chanel. A lot of pictures of my work, some art that I like. Mostly Seventies. And black.” She eats dinner in bed, “even Indian food, very spicy and bad smell after”, and says she feels 18 years old.

On Kim Kardashian: “No one wants even now to give Kim Kardashian outfits. Why? Because people think she was cheesy, reality person, but she is more than nice and so well educated, and I like her. The mother I think is hilarious and very smart, and I’ve met all the sisters, but mostly my favourite will be Kim.”

The dominance of TikTokkers and influencers in fashion these days: “I understand it’s very important for sales — if Chiara Ferragni [the Italian influencer] wears a dress you sell millions — but there are too many.”

A little Anna Wintour story: Nor is she impressed by the fact that at a dinner last month at the Élysée Palace to celebrate French fashion, President Macron sat next to Anna Wintour. Roitfeld says it was seen by the French as an insult. “She’s important, but if you want to celebrate French fashion you don’t invite Anna Wintour. She still has this power and I don’t understand why. Every time I do a TV show they say, ‘You are the French Anna Wintour,’ and I say, ‘I’m not.’ She is more in politics than me, I’m in fashion. I respect her work very much, and she’s a very good mum, which is important to me, but I’m not like her. I’m totally different. I don’t like to be compared to Anna Wintour.”

Her personal style: Black is generally held to be unforgiving, especially as you get older, but 90 per cent of her wardrobe is black (“I think black makes me beautiful”). The only colour is a smattering of khaki and her shoes, the only print is leopard, and there’s surprisingly little of any of it for a fashion editor: she has five coats, eight jackets, 10 or 15 skirts, a handful of black sweaters. Mainly, though, being stylish at 69 is about having neat nails, clean hair, black mascara and matching lingerie.

On Princess Kate: She once said she’d like the Princess of Wales to be a bit more rock’n’roll but has evidently thought better of it. Today she praises her as beautiful but in a classic way, a woman who dresses well for her body shape and champions British design. She’s very polished, she adds thoughtfully, in fact a bit too polished for her taste … So how would she style her, then? “Black,” she says firmly. “More black. A lot of black. She only wear black at the funeral, maybe it’s a law in the royal family, but I would dress her more in black. Black eyeliner. More Saint Laurent, more Chanel, more French.”

On Queen Camilla’s style: “Ouf, that’s difficult. I think she would be more chic in pant suits rather than long gowns because you don’t believe her. She’s a woman who likes to ride horses, to go in nature. A pant suit would be fantastic on her. Tell ’er, if you know ’er.”

[From The Times]

I think Camilla prefers dresses because she thinks she has nice legs, and because the cut of her customized dresses hides the fact that she’s gained weight in her midsection. It happens to most women and I’m not criticizing Camilla – she has every right to wear what makes her feel comfortable. I actually like Cam’s housedresses and admire the way she’s found some flattering silhouettes. But that’s why she doesn’t wear pantsuits. As for Kate… I don’t actually think Kate looks all that great in black? Kate looks good in bright canary yellow, burgundy and any kind of purple-reds (but not yellow-reds). And Kate’s style is all over the place these days because she doesn’t know who she’s trying to cosplay at any given moment.

A few more things… I think most designers want to dress Kim Kardashian at this point? She’s doing collabs and campaigns with Fendi and Balenciaga, every designer would love for Kim to go to their runway show, etc. As I get older, most of my wardrobe is black as well, but I mix it up with navy and grey. That’s about 95% of my wardrobe.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Last night, the South American leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour began in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She’s performing three nights in a row in Argentina, so she has concerts at Estadio River Plate tonight and Saturday night as well. The big gossip ahead of her first show was “where is Travis Kelce?” The Kansas City Chiefs have a week off – their next game isn’t until November 20th. Outlets like NBC News and Page Six had sources claiming that Travis was absolutely going to South America to see his girlfriend’s concerts. But… he wasn’t in the audience last night in Buenos Aires.

There was a “Blank Space” in the Buenos Aires crowd Thursday night. It seems that Travis Kelce was absent from Taylor Swift’s first Eras Tour concert in Argentina, despite eagle-eyed fans searching the crowd all night.

Page Six confirmed Wednesday that Kelce would be traveling to the South American country to support the 12-time Grammy winner.

Swift still has two shows to perform in Buenos Aires on Friday and Saturday, respectively, so the NFL star still has the chance to support his girlfriend.

Although Kelce was seemingly not in attendance, Swift still put on a flawless performance in front of over 70,000 fans as she kicked off the international leg of her record-breaking tour.

An insider close to the NFL star, 34, told Page Six Wednesday that he was definitely traveling to see the pop star, 33, perform over the weekend — yet they didn’t specify which show he planned to attend.

[From Page Six]

If sources are saying “weekend,” I bet Travis makes it to the Saturday concert. I wonder if that’s what Taylor prefers as well – it’s probably quite an ordeal to get all of her concert setpieces to South America and making sure the crew and her team are all prepared and everything. She’s busy, is what I’m saying. After Saturday, Taylor doesn’t have another concert until another three-nights-in-a-row situation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, starting November 17th. I wonder if Travis is going to spend a few days – Taylor’s “off days” – with Tay in Argentina or Brazil.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The story broke in the Spanish press this week, a story about an alleged affair between Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and a Mexican actress (based in Spain) named Genoveva Casanova. My first exposure with the story was through Casanova’s denial, where she claimed that she was merely an expert in Picasso, and a friend asked her to take Frederik around Madrid, so they could look at Picassos. Casanova said she was getting her lawyers involved and she was making news about suing. The problem? Well, there are several. Frederik’s solo trip to Spain was a secret, and no one even knew he was in Spain on those dates before now. The Spanish outlet Lecturas also published a detailed timeline with photo evidence of Frederik and Genoveva spending the day together, going back to her apartment to change, then going out for a late-night romantic dinner, then returning to her apartment… where he apparently spent the night.

Even more questions lingered – if you accept the evidence that Frederik had an affair with this woman, how did all of this come about, how long has this been happening, and did his wife have any idea? Well, a Spanish journalist named Susanna Griso dropped another bombshell: Frederik and Genoveva likely met a while back on a very exclusive big-game hunt for European royals and elites.

The Mexican socialite and reality star linked with the married future King of Denmark met him on a luxury hunting trip, it was claimed today. Glamorous Genoveva Casanova, 47, has been at the centre of furious speculation since it emerged that she has formed a friendship with Prince Frederik of Denmark – who is married with four children. So intense has the interest been in Casanova, who is based in Madrid, since photos of her on an outing with the Prince were published, that she has now gone into hiding and turned her phone off to avoid further attention.

Fresh revelations about Casanova were made today by the presenter of Spanish TV show Espejo Público by presenter Susanna Griso – who said that she had been in touch with a number of Casanova’s close contacts. Griso alleged that Casanova had become close to the heir to the Danish throne after they met on a high end mountain hunting trip.

The presenter explained: ‘These are exclusive meetings, where you have to pay a lot of money to attend. All of the royals and children of the major families are there. The trips are organised mostly in Germany and Austria.’

On trips of this kind, usually in mountainous regions, guests pay thousands of Euros to be able to hunt European big game animals like red deer, Alpine Ibex, wild boar and mouflon wild sheep.

Griso added: ‘Her friends have told me that she is having a very bad time of it. She is in hiding right now and has turned off her mobile phone because she doesn’t want anyone to call her.’

It was the publication of photos in Lecturas magazine that sparked huge media interest in Spain, and the story has been dominating television news and chat shows in recent days.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yeah, here’s the thing – you don’t fly from Denmark to Spain and suddenly expect to spend the night with a socialite you just met that day. Even if you’re the crown prince, that’s ridiculous. It makes much more sense if Frederik’s affair began months ago, maybe even years ago. It makes more sense if Frederik had been making furtive trips to Spain for a while and he just happened to get caught this time. Which brings up a whole other set of questions: why was he caught this time? Was he being careless? Or did certain Spanish outlets get a tip?

¡EXCLUSIVA! Genoveva Casanova y Federico de Dinamarca, juntos. La portada del año solo y en exclusiva en Lecturas. Las fotografías de las que todo el mundo habla #ExclusivaLecturas pic.twitter.com/R97KOHB7fp

— Lecturas (@Lecturas) November 7, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Prince William and his wife did jacksh-t for two weeks during their kids’ school break, then there was a sudden blitz from William as he traveled to Singapore last weekend and spent four days doing Earthshot things. His trip did not garner much attention domestically or internationally, mostly because William is a charisma-vacuum. In fact, the most attention he got throughout the entire trip was on his final day, when he spoke to the reporters traveling with him and said that he has zero plans to take on more patronages because he’s more interested in “social leadership” and making “change” in bigger, keener ways. William’s Singapore trip also happened in the middle of King Charles’s attempted to dominate the newscycle by A) briefing lies to the Times about Prince Harry snubbing his birthday party invitation, only for Harry to correct the lies and B) doing his first-ever Parliament opening with the “king’s speech.” Hilariously, both Charles and William got overshadowed by the Sussexes going to a Katy Perry show and Harry doing a video for veterans. Still, it’s clear that William and Charles are absolutely engaged in a PR war with each other. Without the Sussexes to gang up on, the rats are eating each other. From The Daily Beast’s Royalist:

Friends of the king are sending a warning to William: Friends of the royals have cautioned that competition between King Charles and his son and heir Prince William could trigger Charles’ well-documented jealous streak, after William appeared to criticize his family’s habit of taking on “loads of causes that you sort of turn up and keep an eye on.” The friend of the king and Queen Camilla said: “William is entitled to make these comments, which, frankly, are pretty unremarkable, but part of the reason the marriage with Camilla has worked so well is that she understands that Charles is the star. William has to be careful not to wake the green-eyed monster.”

William wants to make it clear that he’s simply too lazy to overshadow his father: A friend of William’s, however, denied the comments would spark conflict with the king. The friend of William’s told The Daily Beast: “William is in no hurry to be king. This is not him parking his tanks on his dad’s lawn. William and Catherine have three children, the eldest of them is ten, and that’s very much their priority. They are totally focused on maximizing impact and always have been. He was just saying that having 500 patronages isn’t how he is going to do things, which I think is fair enough. Any idea that he is attacking his dad is just rubbish.”

The King’s Speech clashing with Earthshot: On Tuesday, the signs were that William, in Singapore, had accepted that this was just the way the cookie had crumbled on this occasion. His event received some coverage, but arguably less than it might have done were it not for that iconic royal first unfolding on the same day back home. He certainly did nothing to upstage his father (unlike Harry, who released a video in support of veterans just hours before his father started speaking—but Harry’s unpredictable interventions are largely priced into royal calculations these days).

The palace isn’t mad about William’s interview?? Palace sources sought to play down the [interview] While the king’s office and William’s office did not respond to requests for comment, one courtier said the comments were not designed as a headline-grabbing intervention, but were in fact made as part of a casual meet and greet with the print media. This is a carrot that is often afforded media traveling on foreign trips to encourage attendance.

Charles’s people insist he’s no longer seething with jealousy: While William’s comments stirred up the prospect of a jealous Charles for some, another friend of King Charles denied William’s comments would annoy Charles, telling The Daily Beast: “The model is his mother [Queen Elizabeth II]. His mother allowed Charles the freedom to do what he wanted as Prince of Wales and, especially in the last years of her life, he was king in all but name. That model worked very well as it ensured continuity between the reigns. People will no doubt want to suggest he is jealous of William, but that’s just media rubbish. He wants nothing more than for William to start thinking about what his reign is going to look like. What matters more than anything to Charles now is the strength of the institution.”

Whether Charles has, historically, been jealous of his family: Asked whether they thought there was any truth in the well-known accusations of jealousy made against Charles by Princess Diana and Prince Harry, the friend said: “Yes, but it’s not his personal ego. The problems have arisen when he feels the work is overshadowed. I don’t think, looking at the first year of Charles’ reign, anyone could say the collaboration between William and Charles has been anything other than a massive success.”

[From The Daily Beast]

“Part of the reason the marriage with Camilla has worked so well is that she understands that Charles is the star.” I would go so far as saying that the reason why Charles married Camilla is because he knew that nag would never be more popular than him. What has always fascinated me about the Windsors is that none of them have ever taken a remedial business or economics class and they truly believe that the entire “royal project” is zero-sum. That if William gets attention, it’s “taking away” something from the king. That there’s only a limited amount of attention/press, there’s only one pie and they’re all fighting over who gets the biggest slice. That’s not how any of this works or should work, but it just shows that all of these people are idiots. And Charles and William are definitely at war with each other. I would even go so far as to say that Camilla has her knives out for both William and Kate. The fall of the House of Middleton didn’t just happen accidentally – there was and is some palace orchestration happening there.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was treating the British media’s criminal surveillance of citizens and royals as a “privacy issue.” The argument of “it’s illegal to tap my phone and surveil my text messages” isn’t a privacy issue, it’s a criminal issue. Just something to keep in mind when you’re reading all of the headlines about how Prince Harry’s “privacy case” can move ahead. The news came out this morning – Prince Harry, Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and others can take their case against the ANL/The Daily Mail to trial. ANL sought to have their case dismissed back in March. Prince Harry, Elton and others went to court for the hearings, and now the judge has made his ruling that their cases will not be dismissed.

Prince Harry and stars including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley have won their bid to take the publisher of the Daily Mail to trial over alleged phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.

Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) stood accused of carrying out or commissioning unlawful information gathering, such as hiring private investigators to placing listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records, and accessing and recording private phone conversations.

The publisher “firmly” denied the allegations. At a preliminary hearing in March, its legal team asked Mr Justice Nicklin to rule in its favour without a trial, arguing the legal challenge had been brought “far too late”.

But in a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin said ANL had “not been able to deliver a ‘knockout blow’ to the claims of any of these claimants”.

In his 95-page judgment, he said each of the seven people have a “real prospect” of demonstrating ANL concealed “relevant facts” that would have allowed them to bring a claim against the publisher earlier.

“I consider that each claimant has a real prospect of demonstrating concealment by Associated that was not — and could not with reasonable diligence have been — discovered by the relevant claimant before October 2016,” Judge Matthew Nicklin said in his ruling. “What was deliberately hidden from the claimants – if they are correct in their allegations – were the underlying unlawful acts that are alleged to have been used to obtain information for subsequent publication.”

Actor Hugh Grant, who is a board director for Hacked Off, a press reform campaign group, described the ruling as a “significant blow to the Daily Mail”. He added it is “great news” for anyone who “wants the truth about allegations of illegal press practices to come out”.

Harry brought the privacy case along with six others, including Sir Elton’s husband David Furnish, actress and designer Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Simon Hughes.

[From Sky News]

It’s great news for Harry, Elton, Elizabeth and everyone else involved in what amounts to a larger class-action suit against ANL. The fact that the judge believes that they can prove that ANL used criminal methods to surveil them is a big deal. There’s still a long way to go though. This too is part of Harry’s mission – to change the practices of the British media, to get some form of accountability and justice.

Update: Prince Harry’s lawyers made a statement about the judge’s decision, saying: “We are delighted with today’s decision which allows our claims over serious criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy by the Mail titles to proceed to trial. The High Court has dismissed ‘without difficulty’ the attempt by Associated Newspapers to throw these cases out. Indeed, the Judge found that each of our claims had a real prospect of showing there was concealment of unlawful acts by the Mail titles and that this could not have been discovered until recently. Our claims can now proceed to trial.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Over the summer, Keke Palmer went to Las Vegas with some girlfriends and they caught Usher’s show. Usher brought Keke on stage and serenaded her and it was a really cute video. The video went viral, as did Darius Jackson’s reaction to it. Darius was, at the time, Keke’s boyfriend/partner. They welcomed their son earlier this year and Darius and Keke lived together, but let’s be clear: Keke was paying all the bills and Keke is extremely famous. The first time I even paid attention to Darius was when he basically went on a misogynistic rant about Keke wearing a “revealing” dress to Usher’s show. Black Twitter read Darius for filth, and for a few months, everyone crossed their fingers that Keke had dumped Darius. It went back and forth – some weeks, it seemed like they were together, some weeks it looked like she dumped him. They finally seemed done by the start of autumn.

Most women assumed that Darius was emotionally abusive towards Keke (because he was doing that openly online). Turns out, it was much, much worse. Darius was physically abusing her, breaking into her home and terrorizing her. Keke filed for a protective order and some screenshots were released from the security cameras she had installed in her home.

Keke Palmer is requesting sole custody of her 8-month-old son Leodis, whom she shares with Darius Jackson after alleging the child’s father has been physically abusive on multiple occasions. On Thursday, the Nope actress, 30, filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order in Los Angeles, according to documents reviewed by PEOPLE.

In the California Superior Court filing, Palmer alleges that on Sunday, “Darius trespassed into my home without my knowledge or consent, threatened me, then physically attacked me — lunging for my neck, striking me, throwing me over the couch, and stealing my phone when I told him I was going to call the police.”

She also includes screenshots of what appears to be security footage of a man striking a woman over a sofa. Palmer alleges that Jackson, 30, has abused her multiple times over a 2-year period.

Another incident was allegedly recorded on “home security footage [from] February 13, 2022 when Darius body slammed me onto the stairs by my neck.”

In the declaration, Palmer alleges there were “many instances of physical violence, including striking and grabbing me around the neck, descriptions of Darius destroying my personal property, including diaries and prescription eyeglasses, throwing my belongings into the street, throwing my car keys to prevent me from driving away, hitting my in front of our son, spewing profanities about me to our son, threatening to kill himself with a gun if I left him, harassment, and other physical and emotional abuse.”

Palmer went on to state that during the incident on Sunday, Jackson came to her home to take Leodis to a football game, but the 8-month-old was not home because he’d gone with Palmer’s sister to visit family. After a verbal disagreement, Jackson allegedly “knocked me backwards over the couch, stole my phone out of my hands, and then ran out of the house.” Palmer maintains that the entire incident was “captured by my home security camera, which will be played for the Court at the time of the hearing.” She said she followed him outside to retrieve her phone and “he nearly hit me with his car.”

Palmer’s filing states that on or around April 21, 2022, the former couple went out to eat at a restaurant in Santa Barbara when Jackson allegedly became upset after accusing Palmer of flirting with a woman, causing the parents to head back to their hotel early. “Darius grabbed my prescription eyeglasses away from me, threw them on the ground and stomped on them. He then opened my bag, threw all of my belongings onto the pavement in the rain, and threw my car keys across the parking lot before he got into his own car and drove off,” the document reads.

She alleges that he would also “love bomb” her. “The abuse during our relationship was not just physical, but emotional and manipulative,” the filing for the restraining order reads. “Darius would ‘love bomb’ me and make me feel like I was the most important woman in the world, only to get extremely distant and cold over a perceived insult to him. If we were at a party or event, and I spoke with one person too long or looked at someone a “certain way”, he would storm off in a rage – telling me I was ‘slut’ and a ‘whore,’ accuse me of cheating on him, and that I did not love him. Darius had a way of gaslighting me to make me feel like I was doing something wrong even though I wasn’t.”

[From People]

I believe her and I feel so sorry for her. Darius Jackson is a complete POS, a violent abuser and dumb as hell. My guess is that Keke didn’t have security cameras in her house originally, that she had them installed at some point when she broke up with him. It’s heartbreaking to think that Keke had them installed because she knew that Darius would continue to terrorize her and menace her after their split. Darius clearly didn’t know about the physical evidence she compiled either, because before Darius and his sister knew about the video footage, they were on social media, calling Keke a liar. They apparently deleted all of that stuff last night, but Darius left one tweet up which reads like a threat, like he’s going to kidnap their son to “punish” Keke. I hope this f–ker goes to prison.

pic.twitter.com/pIKFXngOdj

— v (@ViralContentz) November 10, 2023

I love you, son. See you soon. pic.twitter.com/uRe6N1RYqL

— Darius. (@dvulton) November 10, 2023

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.

It’s so funny to watch Kensington Palace try to go another keen blitz, where they’re briefing to their favorite outlets all about Prince William and Kate’s big, major, significant plans to be keen. There is never any pot of gold at the end of this keen rainbow, but I do enjoy watching KP staff try. If anything, William and Kate are doing less now that they have the Wales titles, and yet they need more staff and more hype to tread water and be completely unimaginative. Well, Victoria Ward at the Telegraph was tasked with writing yet another “no really, William and Kate are on the forefront of changing the monarchy” piece. The fact that the Caribbean Flop Tour is cited as the start of all of this “change” is amazing, as is the fact that the Telegraph used some of the worst photos from last year’s disastrous tour (so I’ll do the same!). Some highlights:

Will & Kate will not do traditional royal events: Rather than the traditional “away days” that for decades have involved members of the Royal family sweeping into towns and villages across the UK, greeting crowds and unveiling plaques before leaving, they instead launched a fundraising drive during a visit to Scarborough to galvanise long-term support for young residents’ mental health. It was a pilot project but one that has since been repeated in towns and cities across the UK and will continue to be rolled out.

Will & Kate have been working on these changes for years! Yet this was no knee jerk, last-minute change in tack; William and Catherine had been working up to this change in approach for years. Both laser-focused and determined to use their roles to instigate change, they recognise that today, we live in a different world to that of their predecessors. Their attitude is no comment on the approach taken by William’s grandmother, the late Queen, who successfully navigated 70 years on the throne by saying very little, acknowledging that she simply had to be seen. They understand, aides say, that times have changed. The public wants more from its figureheads-from the Royal family – and they believe they have more to give. They want to be more relatable. They want to use their time to create something more tangible, something that will actually change society for the better.

William is not like his father!! Of course, William’s approach is not wholly unique. His father spent decades as Prince of Wales campaigning on issues such as the environment, and continues to strive for change as King. But whereas Charles has often been criticised for his approach, his son and heir is savvy enough to know that times are changing.

The Caribbean Flop Tour haunts them: We only need to look back to the couple’s ill-fated Caribbean tour of March 2022 to see the origins of this approach. As William reacted to criticism that the tour, with its colonial overtones, was “tone deaf” and “out of touch”, he acknowledged that the royal world was shifting on its axis. With several Commonwealth realms demanding independence and slavery reparations, he made it clear he believed his family’s fabled “never complain, never explain” mantra was outdated. Aides said then that he had thought deeply about what kind of King he wanted to be when the time came, what needed to change and how certain protocols must evolve. That tour, he admitted, “brought into even sharper focus” questions about the past and the future and they are questions that William has mulled over ever since. He is keen to have his own voice.

The Kensington Palace CEO: Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September, his new model has been slowly unveiled. The Prince and Princess are recruiting a new chief executive that will answer directly to them, rather than their private secretaries. The message was clear. Kensington Palace was, if not reinventing the wheel, then certainly shaking things up.

No abrupt changes: The shift in tone is being introduced slowly and carefully. The couple cautioned their staff against abrupt change. They are determined to be perceived as authentic voices within the small number of key spaces in which they work; the early years, the environment, mental health and homelessness. These themes are the focus of long-term projects that will last years, if not decades, each rooted in their Royal Foundation. The Prince and Princess are absolutely hell bent on doing this their own way. And they have never felt more ambitious.

[From The Telegraph]

Kensington Palace sources insist that if everyone could go back in time, the Duchess of Sussex would have put William and Kate on the cover of the British Vogue “Forces for Change” issue she guest-edited. We are told that William and Kate came up with the word “change” themselves, that it is wholly their own initiative to say “change” endlessly, and that they needed a year and a half to mull over questions of whether the British commonwealth was ready for the British royals to stop with their colonialist and racist nonsense. William has insisted to sources that he must be referred to as handsome, single, and a change-making heartthrob who has his own voice and is keen to be a global statesman. Seriously though, I love how stupid this is.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

Pixar films have the reputation of being gut-punching tearjerkers so I generally avoid them. That being said, I’ve seen Inside Out a few times and I cry every time. It’s a really beautiful movie about growing up and being a kid and trying to figure out your own sh-t. The first film featured voice work from Amy Poehler (Joy), Mindy Kaling (Disgust), Bill Hader (Fear), Phyllis Smith (Sadness) and Lewis Black (Anger). The trailer for the sequel was just released this week:

It’s basically like… okay, this girl has to navigate puberty now, with some new emotions and anxiety. It should be great and moving. We’ve known for more than a year that Mindy and Bill Hader were not returning for Inside Out 2, but until this week, I had not heard why that was. Mindy especially was so proud of Inside Out and she was so moved by the story. So what happened? Pixar only offered Hader and Kaling 2% of what they offered Amy Poehler.

If you watched the trailer for Inside Out 2 released on Thursday and wondered why the voices of Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader were nowhere to be heard — here’s the answer. A report from Puck News published in 2022 revealed that Kaling and Hader, who played Disgust and Fear in the first film, were offered just 2% of Amy Poehler’s salary for voicing Joy.

“Star Amy Poehler is making $5 million (plus additional fees and bonuses), but Disney originally offered the other main voice cast just $100,000 (with no bonuses) to return, an insult that was politely declined,” the outlet explained.

Disney reportedly tried to up their initial offer after it was declined but Hader and Kaling still said no. As for Fear and Disgust? Tony Hale stepped in to replace Hader, and Liza Lapira will be taking over Kaling’s role.

Kaling confirmed that she would not be reprising her role in the film while speaking to TheWrap in January. “I had a great time working on Inside Out and am sure Inside Out 2 will be great,” the actress said. But I’m not working on it.”

[From The Messenger]

This really should have made more news at the time because WTF??? I get that you can make a solid argument that Amy is the “star” with her voice work as Joy, but the first film was truly an ensemble and it’s insane that Pixar thought they could get away with making such a low-ball offer to Hader and Kaling. If it had just been Kaling, I would say racism was at play (and maybe it is), but they treated a white guy like sh-t too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.