From CB: I ordered this SunBum vegan fragrance free face sunblock and it’s excellent. It doesn’t leave a film on my skin and absorbs nicely. Plus it’s under $13. Here are some more things Rosie and I are looking at on Amazon.

A hydrating K-Beauty serum that will leave your skin glowy

From CB: Beauty of Jocelyn serums come in four varieties and a multi-pack of smaller versions. The full size serums are under $14. Most of the reviews are for the glow serum, which is formulated with niacinamide and propolis. This listing has almost 3,500 ratings, 4.5 stars and a B on Fakespot. People say this serum reduces acne and scarring and that it makes their skin look noticeably smoother. “I’ve been using it for just a month, and the results are seriously jaw-dropping. It’s like they sprinkled pure magic into this bottle. Not only is it super easy to incorporate into my skincare routine, but it also gives my face an enviable glow.” “I did not expect the drastic change that this made in just a few days! I use it morning and night and the bumps under my skin on my chin and forehead and cheeks have seriously improved! Highly recommend!”

An ice cream scoop that gets through the hardest pints

From CB: I bought this ice cream scoop over four years ago and it still works great! It has no moving parts that can break like a traditional ice cream scoop and it’s stronger with a wider shape. This dishwasher safe ice cream scoop by Spring Chef is under $12 and has over 38,000 ratings, 4.8 stars and a B on Fakespot. People wish they’d bought it sooner. “I live with two ice cream addicts. I’ve yet to find a scoop that could take the abuse they give them. They either bend, chip, something always happens. Until this one! This is the perfect shape, perfect material, just all around the best dang ice cream scoop I’ve ever found.” “This scoop is awesome! It is ergonomic and very well balanced. It makes perfect scoops every time. I highly recommend it.”

A grocery bag carrier so you don’t have to make multiple trips

The Click and Carry is a hands free grocery bag carrier that works with both reusable and plastic bags. You just hang your bags from the interior hooks and it fits in your hand or on your shoulder. This has 4.5 stars, over 4,700 ratings and a B on Fakespot. People say it’s easy to use and make carrying multiple grocery bags a breeze. “I was pleasantly surprised by how simple and easy these handles worked. I’d highly recommend these to anyone who hates making multiple trips to the car.” “This product is amazing! I buy a lot of groceries and using this makes it so easy to carry all of them. I have a sore bicep and using this, I can carry all my bags with my other arm. Makes my life so much easier!”

A mouse mover to keep you looking active at work

From CB: I saw this on Buzzfeed and it seems to solve a problem a lot of people have. This is a mouse mover that keeps your computer from snoozing and makes you look active online. It comes in eight different colors and patterns, all under $30, and is said to be realistic and undetectable. It has over 11,500 ratings, 4.7 stars and a B on Fakespot. People say it’s quiet, discreet, gives them freedom at home and that it solves the annoying problem of their computer going to sleep. It works with most mice, wired and wireless. “With this device, I can go about my business without the annoyance of being tied to my laptop even more than if I was working at an actual office building. I don’t have to fear that my status is falsely showing me as unavailable to my colleagues because it keeps my mouse moving across the laptop screen as well as my external monitor.” “My Teams shows me as away so quickly. I’m always being accused by micro managers of not working when I’m actually just going to the bathroom, getting a drink, or going through written material in binders. This has saved my sanity.”

Comfortable, fashionable linen overall shorts

From Rosie: I’ve tried several times to make it happen but I just don’t have a body type that looks great in rompers or denim overalls. I impulse-purchased these looser linen overall shorts for my trip to San Diego last week and crossed my fingers that they’d look cute…and they did! I got them in deep gray but they come in 10 different colors. These overalls have a 4.3 star rating and 78 reviews on ReviewMeta. Reviewers point out how comfortable and flattering they look. “This romper is the perfect summer outfit. The fabric is good quality, it is a loose fit, and it is perfect for a warm summer day.” “Love it!! It’s so comfy and cute. Just got it yesterday and already received multiple compliments. The material isn’t super soft, but it’s comfortable and hides my problem areas very well.”

Reusable facial sponges for cleansing, exfoliating, and makeup removal

From Rosie: These facial sponges are $10 for a pack of 50 and come with a container, too. They’re great for washing your face, exfoliating, and makeup removal. There are 8 different buying options. They have a 4.5 star rating, more than 200 reviews, and a B on Fakespot. People love how well they work, especially for sensitive skin. “I used to purchase these exact facial sponges from another popular brand and you only get five for 10.00 – these hold up and come with a container for such a steal price. They work amazingly and have become a staple in my nightly skincare routine.” “These have changed my life! I will never use a washcloth again. These sponges work amazingly to clean and exfoliate without damaging or drying my skin out.” “[T]hey are soft and work well with my sensitive skin, would recommend and purchase again!”

Hydrating under eye patches to help reduce dark circles and puffiness

From Rosie: I don’t think I’ve met an under-eye patch I haven’t wanted to try, and these refrigerated rosé gel patches caught my eye (pun intended). They’re made with antioxidants and hyaluronic acid, which help with reducing dark circles, lessening the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and calming inflammation. They have a 4.5 star rating and more than 900 reviews on ReviewMeta. In reviews, people mention how soothing they feel. “I put mine in the refrigerator & when I am ready to use before bed. It feels so amazing & I can tell the difference in the morning that my under eye circles have lightened up & my eyes look more refreshed.” “I’ve noticed less discoloration and less swelling under my eyes when I am using these. They feel so soothing. Great for a ten minute pick-me-up after eye strain from [the] computer.”

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Vanity Fair recently published a piece called “From Handshakes Instead of Hugs to Prince Louis’s Adorable Antics: The Peculiar History of Royal Parenting.” I thought it was just going to be praise for Prince William and Kate for not being sh-tty parents like so many of William’s ancestors, because the bar is (as always) in hell for the Windsors. Much of the article is just that, but there are some interesting stories about how royals all around the world, throughout history, have always been awful parents. King Charles is even criticized, not for being a dogsh-t father (it’s true) but for having the kind of childish arrested development typical of people sent off to boarding school. Some highlights:

The royal absentee parent: “Royal parents traditionally had nothing to do with their children’s day-to-day care when they were very young—George V, the late Queen’s grandfather, once saw a maid pushing a pram along a corridor at Buckingham Palace,” Tom Quinn, author of Gilded Youth: A History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, tells Vanity Fair. “He said to the maid: ‘Whose baby is that?’ The maid replied, ‘It’s yours, sir.’”

Royal children were sent off to become mini-adults: “In medieval times, royal princes and princesses were sent away aged just eight or nine to live in other aristocratic households—the idea was to make the child into an adult as soon as possible,” Quinn says. “The modern version of this is the royal obsession with boarding schools: sending princes and princesses to schools where they live and work 24/7 and only return home every couple of months. The royal obsession with making princes and princesses as mature as possible as early as possible actually has the opposite effect and many royal children (especially boys) never really grow up. They behave like children when they grow up because they were not allowed to be children when they were young. This applies to Edward VII, George V and VI, Edward VIII, and especially King Charles.”

QEII was a cold & distant mother: “Elizabeth…inherited the idea that the young Charles and Anne must be looked after by nannies and governesses—they had nothing to do with Charles’s and Anne’s daily routine when they were babies,” Quinn writes. “All the work was done by paid staff and Elizabeth and Philip saw their children just once each day for a very formal meeting. One member of staff told me that, ‘Queen Elizabeth would no more visit the nursery than fly—instead we took the children to see her each day.’”

Princess Diana shook things up: In many ways, she started a royal parenting revolution that was adopted by many European ruling houses. She was demonstratively affectionate in private and public, took them to McDonald’s and amusement parks, and made sure many harsher aspects of royal life were not imposed on “her boys.” It is a legacy of involvement her sons are attempting to follow, expand, and refine (no McDonald’s for Kate’s children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis).

Middle-class Kate: “William and Kate—but especially Kate—are determined to do things differently,” Quinn says. “William was brought up partly by Charles (who was embarrassed by physical affection) but also by Diana who loved to hug her children. But despite their slightly more modern outlook, both Charles and Diana still relied on paid staff—nannies—to do most of the work. Old habits die hard!”

Will & Kate are still restricted in how much control they have over their children’s lives. According to Quinn, when William and Kate discussed sending their children to state schools, there was pushback from “The Firm.” And the family still has a huge staff, including super nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo. “When [Kate] demurred and suggested she would like to do a little more the nitty-gritty part of the childcare,” Quinn writes in Gilded Youth, “it was made very clear to her that this was best left to the professionals, and Kate is nothing if not obedient to the rules of life in the royal family.”

Prince Louis’s antics. “Old school royal parents would have felt Louis’s behaviour was undignified for a royal child of any age,” says Quinn, “because elements of the old obsession with royal princes behaving like adults even when they are still children still persists, but Kate and William are acutely aware of how much good publicity comes from having a charming child!”

[From Vanity Fair]

“It was made very clear to her that this was best left to the professionals, and Kate is nothing if not obedient to the rules of life in the royal family…” LOL. You guys, Kate HAS to employ a big household staff, because the Windsors dictated that to her! Please. While I agree that Kate changed up the royal-parenting rules (much like Diana), let’s also be clear – Kate wishes she could have even more staff. And a bigger house. And a husband who viewed her as something more than his children’s main childcare provider. “Kate and William are acutely aware of how much good publicity comes from having a charming child.” More like Kate and William use the children as buffers and distractions from their own bullsh-t.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Instar.

Spoilers for Barbie.

New York Times columnist Jessica Bennett organized a special outing and wrote about it in a column this week. The outing? Taking noted feminist author Susan Faludi to a matinee of Barbie and asking Faludi what she thought about it. Faludi seemed to enjoy it, and she even has some theories about the feminism and backlash politics contained within the film. As I read through the (overwritten and overwrought) column, I sort of agreed with her? Faludi thinks that the film is about abortion and the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. I agree that I think it was really pointed that much of the third act of the film hinged on voting, the Barbieland constitution, patriarchal overreach and, in the final moment, a trip to the gynecologist. Some highlights from this NYT column:

Faludi’s immediate reaction: “I mean, you couldn’t write the script without 30 years of women’s studies,” Ms. Faludi said as the lights came up. “It seems to me that a big theme underlying the movie is shock and horror over what happened to us — what happened to women — from 2016 on, with the double whammy of Trump and then Dobbs. And in particular, I thought abortion was the subtext to a lot.”

Ms. Faludi explains. “I mean, it begins with little girls playing with dolls learning the origin story of Barbie — and the rejection of the idea that women can just be mothers. It ends with her going to the gynecologist.”

Ms. Faludi went on to outline a series of other allusions to our present moment: In an early montage introducing viewers to Barbieland, lawyer Barbie speaks before the Supreme Court about the idea of personhood — “which immediately made me think of attempts to create the unborn as ‘persons,’” Ms. Faludi said. Later, the Kens attempt to change the Constitution, amid Barbie lamenting how hard they had worked to create Barbieland, and “You can’t just undo it in a day.” (To which Ken responds, “Literally — and figuratively — watch me.”) Ms. Faludi’s take? “I mean, that’s what happened on Election Day of 2016.”

The Midge problem: And then there’s Midge, the doll once marketed as Barbie’s best friend, and the one pregnant doll in the Barbie universe, before she was discontinued. (You could remove Midge’s belly and baby intact from her body and then magnetically reattach it. It was weird.) Midge and her bump are in the film, too, repeatedly — a ghost that the fictional Mattel executives, and everyone else, just wish would go away. She’s there for laughs, but squint hard enough, Ms. Faludi suggested, and you could also see her as “the specter of Dobbs.”

Barbie ofers genuine catharsis. “Perhaps what’s going on,” Ms. Faludi wrote me in an email a few days after the screening, “is that women are finding a way to explore their anger about recent history without feeling like they have to drown themselves in the bathtub (in real water)….Only Barbie could say, ‘By giving voice to the cognitive dissonance required to be a woman under the patriarchy, you robbed it of its power!’ and turn it into a laugh line.”

[From The NY Times]

Yeah… as I said, I think Faludi makes a very good case. Is every part of the movie about abortion and feminism? No, but there’s tons of subtext (and just plain upfront text) about personhood, feminism, bodily autonomy, women’s right to “choose” and the political realities of being a woman in a modern society. I also noted, as I watched the film, that Ken’s line of “Literally — and figuratively — watch me” was actually frightening. They play it off later on, but making Ken drunk on his own patriarchal power and hellbent on achieving a completely male autocracy, a Kenocracy, was a huge f–king choice.

Photos and posters courtesy of Warner Bros/Barbie.

If you choose to briefly forget about King Charles and Queen (Consort) Camilla’s overwhelming awfulness for a moment, you might actually enjoy these photos. Like, I really can’t stand either of them at this point, but even a bitter hag like me thought “wow, they looked kind of cute at this event.” On Wednesday, the king and queen attended the Sandringham Flower Show. They arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. Charles wore a snazzy summer suit complete with a coordinated tie and pocket square, a cute boutonnière, two small brooches, a Panama hat and a pair of plastic-rimmed sunglasses. Imagine Tom Wolfe as a British king… I think it would have looked like this.

As for Camilla… I’ve admitted this before, but I like Camilla’s housedresses. That’s what they are, they’re old-school housedresses, like women used to wear in the 1950s. Simple silhouettes and material (cotton), usually a knee-length A-line, sometimes a half-shirtdress, with a built-in cloth belt. She has a lot of them in various florals and those housedresses are her preferred look for daywear. Wednesday’s housedress was from Fiona Clare and it was a custom look. She’s absolutely getting Fiona Clare and other designers to just make the same dress in different fabrics.

Page Six also noted that Camilla wore her Sole Bliss (orthopedic) heels, which she’s worn more than 80 times. She also accessorized with her favorite Van Cleef and Arpels Alhambra bracelet in blue, which retails for $4800. She has a lot of Alhambra pieces in all different colors, but that blue bracelet is one of her faves. She also wore a Kiki McDonough blue topaz pendant ($1,937) and carried a nude Bottega Veneta tote ($5,200).

I think C&C looked so happy because Kate wasn’t there, trying to steal their thunder…like she did at the Chelsea Flower Show. Where was Kate, btw? Isn’t the cover story that Kate and William are spending the summer in Norfolk? Shouldn’t they attend the Sandringham Flower Show too?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Back in March of this year, Senate Minority Leader “Moscow” Mitch McConnell had a “fall” at a “hotel” in Washington. No one really nailed down the circumstances of the fall, and to this day, I’ve never heard the names of anyone with McConnell when he fell or the circumstances of the fall. Did we even learn why he was in a hotel in the first place? No, I don’t think we did. Everything about the “fall” was hushed up, and Moscow Mitch was not seen or heard from for weeks afterwards. At first, he was recuperating at home, and then they said he was doing in-patient physical rehab. Moscow Mitch returned to the Senate in April/May and I guess I wasn’t paying attention. This man looks like ten kinds of hell, but he’d had that sickly look for a while, honestly. Well, Moscow Mitch was trying to do his weekly press conference on Wednesday and the man just froze in front of the cameras:

First of all, before he froze, he already sounded and looked like he was recovering from a stroke. As for the deep freeze… experts are saying it could have been a stroke or a seizure. I’ve watched the video a few times already – look at the Republican senators behind him. Senator Thune was the one who took over the press conference after Sen. Barrasso escorted Mitch away from the podium. About twelve minutes after McConnell was escorted away, he came back and spoke off-the-cuff to some reporters, telling them that he’s “fine” and he just “felt light-headed.”

The cable news networks had some doctors on air to consult and they were all like “yeah, he should see a doctor, he should go to a hospital.” If the Republican Party is fine with having cold, clammy, half-dead Mitch McConnell out there, so be it. Instead of worrying about that despicable old man’s health, think about all of the disgusting things he’s done with his power: shoved a sexual predator and a Quiverfull dipsh-t princess onto the Supreme Court; expressed his desire for a national abortion ban; used his office to try to make Barack Obama a one-term president; does everything to cut and end Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; never supported equal pay; pledged absolute fealty to Donald Trump and on and on. Let this motherf–ker rot.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Ariana Grande has had an enormous amount of public sympathy in recent years. The turning point was the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, where terrorists set off pipe bombs during Ariana’s 2017 concert. Twenty-two people died and over a thousand people were injured. Ariana was beyond devastated, and she was extremely brave to return to Manchester after the bombing, to raise money for the families and support the community. Ariana had so much goodwill after that. And… it’s kind of over. Ariana dumped her husband Dalton Gomez and carried on with Ethan Slater, a man with a wife and baby at home. Ari blew up this guy’s life just because she was bored in London, working on Wicked. Speaking of, Ethan Slater has now filed for divorce:

Ariana Grande’s boyfriend wants a totally clean slate going into his new relationship with the singer … filing to divorce his estranged wife. According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Ethan Slater decided to legally end things Wednesday with Lilly Jay … filing divorce papers in New York. We don’t yet know the specific reason Ethan’s listed for the split.

Ethan and Lilly were high school sweethearts — getting hitched back in 2018 — and welcomed a son together last year.

[From TMZ]

The divorce news came just hours after TMZ posted this story, where Ethan’s wife Lilly Jay is refusing to go quietly. Lilly is telling people that she feels like Ethan abandoned his family as he’s entered a full-blown relationship with Ari:

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater’s romance came as a surprise to the Broadway actor’s now-estranged wife who feels he abandoned his family … TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Lilly Jay — who married Slater back in 2018 — tell us she’s devastated her family’s been torn apart. She’s also upset their young son, who was born in August 2022, won’t have both his mom and dad around constantly, now that they’ve split.

Our sources say Lilly and Ethan aren’t on good terms now that the Ariana relationship is full steam ahead. We’re also told, for her part, Lilly feels like he’s completely turned his back on his family.

What’s more, we’re told Ariana actually used to hang out with both Ethan and Lilly while they were still a happily married couple, and she even liked his Instagram tribute to Lilly on Mother’s Day this year. Remember, we’re told Ariana and Ethan’s romantic relationship started several months ago. The whole thing has left Lilly feeling betrayed and heartbroken … according to our sources.

Additional sources close to the situation tell us, “It’s understandable that emotions are high and it’s hard seeing your ex move on, especially in such a public way, and her friends are trying to protect her. But Ari and Ethan are just trying to lay low and be respectful of their exes as they pursue this new relationship.”

[From TMZ]

Other people were making this point on Twitter (X): Ethan blew up his marriage for a woman who barely stays in relationships for a year at a time. It could be that Ari will pull a Full Miranda Lambert and make a big show of sticking this one out for a while. But I doubt it. Ethan also sounds like a total douchebag, my god.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Prince Harry is involved in so many lawsuits against the British tabloids, even I get confused. This update is about Harry’s lawsuit against the Sun, which is part of News Group Newspapers, Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the UK. Harry is alleging the same thing across the board, which is that all of these media outlets hacked his phones, spied on him, gathered information about him illegally, stalked and harassed his girlfriends and friends, blagged, and on and on. Harry’s case against the Sun was of particular interest because Harry revealed that the Sun had secretly paid Prince William a seven-figure settlement in 2020, and that QEII had some kind of arrangement with the tabloids to not pursue legal action circa 2010-12. Well, here’s the update:

The Duke of Sussex’s claim over allegations of unlawful information gathering against the publisher of the Sun will go ahead to a trial, after a high court ruling. Harry, 38, alleges he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, and has launched a claim for damages.

At a hearing in April, NGN asked Mr Justice Fancourt to throw out the duke’s case, arguing it was brought too late because he should have known sooner he had a potential claim. In a ruling on Thursday, the judge concluded that Harry could not bring his claim relating to phone hacking, but that his claim over other allegations – including use of private investigators – should go ahead to a trial, which is due to take place in January next year.

The judge also refused to allow the duke to rely on an alleged “secret agreement” between the royal family and senior executives working for media mogul Rupert Murdoch as part of his claim.

In his written ruling, the judge concluded: “I am satisfied that there is no reasonable prospect of the duke proving at trial that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have discovered facts that would show that he had a worthwhile claim for voicemail interception in relation to each of the News Of The World and the Sun. He already knew that in relation to the News Of The World, and he could easily have found out by making basic inquiries that he was likely to have a similar claim in relation to articles published by the Sun.”

Harry’s lawyers previously argued that NGN’s challenge to his claim was an attempt to go behind the alleged “secret agreement”, between the royal family as an institution and the publisher, which the duke was told of in 2012. Fancourt said in his ruling that the duke had not “provided any evidence from those in the palace who would have been aware of a secret agreement if there was one”.

At a hearing in London earlier this month, lawyers for the duke said there was evidence to support the existence of the agreement, including emails between senior executives at the Rupert Murdoch-owned parent companies of NGN and palace staff in 2017 and 2018. David Sherborne, for Harry, also said in written arguments the fact the Prince of Wales settled a claim against NGN “for a very large sum of money” in 2020 also “supports the contention that there was a secret agreement in place”.

[From The Guardian]

While I’m glad Harry’s case will go to trial – and this one is a solo venture, he’s not part of a case with multiple plaintiffs on this one – it does feel like the judge is kneecapping Harry’s lawsuit significantly. Harry’s argument was always: back then, in 2010-12, I didn’t ask questions, I did as I was told, and I was told that the palace had an agreement with NGN to avoid litigation and quietly settle. The judge is saying that Harry can’t make that argument because he doesn’t have evidence of a secret palace agreement. Like… the fact that William took a secret settlement in 2020 is the evidence. The fact that no royal before Harry openly sued the Sun for phone-hacking and criminal activities is the evidence of the secret agreement.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

While I find most of Blake Lively’s red carpet looks goofy, she usually does a good job at the Met Gala. To me, the Met Gala isn’t a costume ball, to borrow from red carpet bloggers Tom and Lorenzo. The “theme” should influence how people look but it shouldn’t always be super literal (except the one year when the theme was camp). You know, when Jared Leto showed up this year wearing a whole ass cat mascot costume, dressed as a six foot tall Choupette, I rolled my eyes so hard I almost gave myself an ocular migraine. I like that Blake’s looks reference the themes and are still dramatic without being completely costume-y. Her preferred aesthetic is also a bit “trophy wife” but if I looked like that I too would show off my hotness. Her 2022 look, which referenced the Statue of Liberty, featured a dramatic reveal on the stairs where the skirt got changed around. Now that gown is in an exhibit at Kensington Palace called Crown to Couture. It’s supposedly about how contemporary red carpet looks reference the 18th century Georgian period, an era between 1714 – roughly 1830. I don’t know that much about Georgian fashion so I’ll have to take their word for it, but it features dresses worn by everybody from Audrey Hepburn to Beyonce to Lizzo, so it’s probably worth seeing if you’re in London. When Blake visited the exhibit, she apparently thought the curators had made a mistake with how they displayed the dress. So she jumped over the rope and adjusted it herself!

On Tuesday, the Gossip Girl alum posted an Instagram story of her jumping over the ropes at the Crown to Couture exhibit in London’s Kensington Palace to quickly alter the display of her famous gown.

“When you’re the clown who hops over the rope at the museum to fix the exhibit,” Lively, 35, captioned over her video. “Happy almost Virgo season folx.”

“So that you see what the transformation was,” the actress added, while crouched down, before turning the inside of the dress to face outwards on its center part with some assistance from jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz.

Lively’s dress appears alongside 200 other pieces at the exhibit inside Princess Diana’s former home, including Lizzo’s 2022 Met Gala Thom Browne look and Lady Gaga’s 2020 MTV Awards dress by Christopher John Rogers.

The exhibition also features a number of historic gowns as it tells the story of how rock and red carpet fashion has been influenced by the royals of the Georgian era in the 18th century.

The mom-of-four also took time to admire the crown Schwartz created for her to wear with the dress at the 2022 Met Gala.

“This was absolutely surreal. Seeing this crown that we made in Kensington Palace,” Lively captioned a follow-up post of her smiling beside a display cabinet. “I still feel like a kid playing dress up every time I get to wear a gown and borrowed jewels out. To see it memorialized like this… just. Wow. Something I’ll never forget.”

[From People]

There isn’t context in the clip from Instagram and it’s not on her stories anymore so I’m guessing she asked the exhibit staff for permission before she did this? The dress was custom-made for Blake and it’s not like she messed with one of the gowns from the 18th century. But still, it comes off a little bit rude to me. I’m sure whoever dressed that mannequin did it with great care. People who work as museum curators or conservationists typically have the most incredible attention to detail. They probably looked at dozens of reference photos and arranged the dress in a certain way on purpose. Plus, the exhibit space is different from the Met Museum steps, so it won’t look exactly like it did in that moment when the skirt changed around. I guess it is a Virgo-like thing to do. One of my friends is a Virgo and I lovingly refer to her as an Australian shepherd because she is always herding people and attempting to organize things according to her extremely high standards. But calling it “almost Virgo season” when it’s Leo season until the 23rd of August is…well, kind of something I’d expect from a fire sign like myself. We can’t stand not being in the spotlight.

As an aside, because this story involves Kensington Palace: I lived across the street from Kensington Palace when I studied abroad. We had a few sightings of the princes and Kate. One day my American classmate came home from the high street overjoyed because she’d just seen Prince Harry with his protection officer in TK Maxx buying underwear and socks. That was over ten years ago, so when he talked about shopping at TK Maxx in his book, I knew he was telling the truth, however implausible it seemed! (He preferred boxers, in case anyone wondered.)

photos credit: Backgrid and Instar

When SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher announced in mid July that the union was going on strike against AMPTP, she gave a barn-burner of a speech in a press conference. She laid it out clearly that this fight was about protecting labor against greedy corporations. Since that turning point actors have been organized and showing up on the picket lines and at rallies. On Tuesday Bryan Cranston joined a rally in New York’s Times Square, where he gave a passionate speech of his own, in which he name-checked Disney CEO Bob Iger and decried the use of AI to replace actors (all the more timely given Netflix’s latest job listing for an AI manager, annual salary $300 – $900K). Yahoo! Entertainment covered highlights of his speech:

Bryan Cranston delivered a fiery speech at a SAG-AFTRA strike rally in Times Square on Tuesday, which included a message directed at Disney head Bob Iger.

“We’ve got a message for Mr. Iger,” Cranston said from the stage of the “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” rally. “I know, sir, that you look [at] things through a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are. But we ask you to hear us, and beyond that to listen to us when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots. We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living. And lastly, and most importantly, we will not allow you to take away our dignity! We are union through and through, all the way to the end!”

Cranston began his remarks by saying that there is one thing that all the guilds and the AMPTP fundamentally agree on: “Our industry has changed exponentially.”

“We are not in the same business model we were even 10 years ago,” he said. “And yet, even though they admit that is the truth in today’s economy, they are fighting us tooth and nail to stick to the same economic system that is outmoded, outdated! They want us to step back in time. We cannot and we will not do that.”

[From Yahoo! Entertainment]

I highly recommend watching the video of his speech below. There isn’t much more than what’s quoted above, but he delivers it so, so well. There are a few reasons why I think he’s an effective speaker for the striking actors. For one, he’s finally shaved. Go ahead and laugh at me, but before you do, imagine that Lorax mustache he was sporting at Cannes and tell me he would have had the same gravitas saying “we will not allow you to take away our dignity!” I rest my case.

Second, Cranston straddles a fine line that needs to be heeded from a pr standpoint. On the one hand it’s the successful minority of actors who attract visibility to the cause, but on the other hand, they have to guard against people thinking “oh it’s just rich celebrities wanting more money.” No, the celebrities are there in solidarity with the majority of their guild who are jobbing actors. Cranston is an excellent ambassador here, because while he’s undoubtedly “made it” now, it wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he landed the recurring role on Seinfeld. Which led to more bit parts in TV and film, which a few years later led to his break in Malcolm in the Middle. He knows what it is to be a jobbing actor, and he knows that career path is untenable now with the way streaming has upended the industry.

One final reason I find Cranston an intriguing advocate here: he’s also a director, with a nice resume of TV episodes under his belt. The DGA is the only one of the three guilds to have signed a new contract with AMPTP, a decision that is very rapidly living in infamy. As a union the directors have been conspicuously quiet since the actors joined the writers in striking. Et tu, DGA?

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Snoop Dogg canceled his Hollywood Bowl shows in solidarity with the WGA and SAG strikes. He also thinks the music industry needs to do something. [Just Jared]
Tom Cruise is winning the battle of striking stars. [LaineyGossip]
Doja Cat has lost 250K followers since she bitched out her fans. [Socialite Life]
Cheyenne Jackson is “swole” in a new thirst-trap. [OMG Blog]
Jeopardy might go on hiatus because of the strikes too. [Pajiba]
Robin Roberts outfit looks like it was done on a greenscreen. [Go Fug Yourself]
Would you eat mustard-flavored Skittles? Hork. [Seriously OMG]
I’m left with the impression that Alessandra Ambrosio just posts bikini photos on her social media, all day, every day. [Egotastic]
Funny tweets from women this summer. [Buzzfeed]
Again, everything about that SCOTUS case legalizing LGBTQ discrimination was a lie. It was some bigoted fever dream cooked up by the Federalist Society. [Towleroad]
What was your favorite Halle Bailey promotional look? [RCFA]