In the year of our lord Beyonce 2023, Buckingham Palace needs to stop trying to force the “comparison” between Prince Andrew and Prince Harry. It’s offensive and it’s indicative of the larger tone problems with palace communications. Prince Andrew has been credibly accused of rape and human trafficking. He’s on the record as a close friend of two traffickers and abusers, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Prince Harry… married a beautiful Black woman and left his toxic, racist, abusive family. There is no comparison. But, you know, palace courtiers keep trying to make it happen. They’re totally going to seat Harry and Andrew together at the coronation, you know. Not only that, the palace is openly briefing Camilla Tominey about how King Charles will openly seek to reconcile with Andrew and Harry. Both. Because to Charles, they’re the “same.”

The King is using the Coronation to heal family divisions, including bringing the Duke of York in “from the cold”, say sources. Prince Harry’s attendance following the fallout from his autobiography Spare, has sparked hope of a royal truce with the King. He is said to have been pleased by the decision because he is keen to have the support of both sons at what Prince Harry has acknowledged as the “biggest day” of his father’s life.

As a non-working royal, Harry is not expected to take part in the procession after the service or join other members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace or for other celebrations. It is not known whether he plans to attend a private family gathering after all the festivities on the Saturday, to which the Duke of York’s ex-wife, the Duchess of York is thought to have been invited.

Contrary to reports that there has been a row over what Prince Andrew should wear on his brother’s big day, one friend told The Telegraph that “there’s a warmth around the place and a proper rallying around the King, who in turn is showing some serious EQ (emotional intelligence) by ensuring the family is given the opportunity to pull together”.

Pointing to the fact that Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York, both spent Christmas and Easter with the King and Queen, the friend added: “All four siblings spent most of the Easter weekend together with assorted children and plus-ones – including the Duchess. I suspect some palace staff and parts of the media are well behind the curve in their understanding of this private family unity. The Duke stands four-square behind the King.”

Prince Harry has long complained about being “briefed against” to the press by palace staff. It appears to be a concern that is shared by his uncle and fellow non-working royal, Prince Andrew, 63, who stepped back from royal duties in November 2019 over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile. The friend added: “The family aren’t briefing against one another. If it’s palace officials going off-piste and providing hostile press briefings on who wears what and when, who lives here or there, then they should think on. If it damages an individual royal, it damages the institution and it doesn’t reflect the private unity of the family.”

While the King’s mood is described as “generally quite forgiving” towards Harry, the Prince of Wales is understood to still feel betrayed by the revelations in the book. Such is the gulf between the once-close brothers that several sources have said they cannot see how their relationship can ever be repaired.

[From The Telegraph]

The optics between Charles and Andrew have been “warm” for a while now – Andrew was allowed to walk with the family on Christmas Day, and Charles gave the Yorks the use of Wood Farm as well. Then Andrew was front and center on Easter Sunday. So… Charles and Andrew are negotiating and it’s going well. Charles is maintaining (privately) that Andrew will always be taken care of as long as he keeps his mouth shut. Charles is publicly signaling that he’s totally fine with Andrew’s perversions and crimes, simply because Andrew hasn’t done something truly unforgivable, like try to break the cycle of generational trauma. So how in the world is Harry’s situation in any way comparable? Charles is going to do the most for his media masters to create narratives about “Magnanimous King Charles the Peacemaker welcomes the prodigal son home with open arms.” Meanwhile, Harry is going to fly in for a matter of hours and be out of there so fast.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

You can just tell that the British media and Buckingham Palace are all so happy that they get to write about and talk about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week. Like, there’s genuine glee from all of the old-fart commentators and reporters – they’re drunk on Sussex coverage, which belies the fact that the Sussexes’ attendance was always the most interesting, newsworthy and gossip-worthy part of this whole coronation fiasco. The palace is pleased that they get to leak like a sieve about what was going on behind-the-scenes when it came to Prince Harry negotiating his appearance. While he wanted to attend the Chubbly to honor his father, he obviously wanted to get some guarantees in advance. I would imagine security was a big part of the negotiations, but right now, no one is saying that. They’re just leaking – without context – that Harry was immensely preoccupied with the seating arrangements.

Prince Harry delayed replying to the invitation to the Coronation because he was engaged in ‘transatlantic ping pong’ and was ‘preoccupied’ by where he would have to sit, sources have indicated. It was one of the reasons he was so late in confirming his decision to attend the crowning of his father King Charles III at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor a legal representative for the Duke of Sussex responded to a request for comment today. But more than one source has confirmed to the Mail that there have been ‘extensive discussions’ between London and California over the issue.

One said: ‘Harry’s side was keen to find out, presumably because they wanted to rubber-stamp it, what the seating plan at the Abbey is. There’s been extensive back and forth about who they [Harry and Meghan] would be sitting behind if they came. And who would be behind them.’

Harry was apparently quite preoccupied by this particular detail, the source said.

Another source added: ‘This is true. There has been a lot of questions on detail for the Abbey.’

Publications with links to the Sussexes have suggested that Harry had a list of questions for the palace about what would happen if he attended and wanted certain ‘assurances’, but did not detail what they might be.

[From The Daily Mail]

The palace isn’t leaking Harry’s list of questions or detailing the assurances he needed because it would make the palace and King Charles look even worse. Harry knows his father and the institution well – Harry knew that he had to put it in writing that if he was being seated next to Prince Andrew, Harry would not come. Harry knew that if wasn’t diligent in the negotiations, they would “forget” to give him security during the visit. The fact that Harry knows Charles is a dogsh-t father who will screw him over constantly… yeah, it doesn’t make Charles look good.

I also wonder if Harry cared so much about the seating because he didn’t want to be anywhere near his brother. I think that would make a lot of sense, and go a long way towards explaining why William is furiously briefing the rota about how he won’t even look at or speak to Harry.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

In late March, the judge dismissed Samantha Grant/Markle’s defamation lawsuit against her half-sister, the Duchess of Sussex. Samantha’s lawsuit was full of the kind of stupid and unhinged conspiracies you find on Deranger sites and on royalist Twitter. Samantha was really trying to sue Meghan for… what Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote in Finding Freedom. While the judge dismissed the bulk of the case, the judge also gave Samantha and her lawyers a 14-day extension to refile without all of the lies and misinformation. Samantha quickly announced that she would do so. Crash-cut to Thursday, and Samantha refiled, this time using Netflix’s Harry and Meghan docuseries as evidence of “defamation.” In that series, Samantha’s own daughter Ashleigh was featured in interviews, describing her friendship with her aunt Meghan and describing her estrangement from Samantha.

Samantha Markle accused her half-sister, the Duchess of Sussex, of wielding her six-episode Netflix miniseries as a weapon to spread “malicious, hurtful, and damaging lies” about her on a global stage, she claimed on Thursday.

The new allegations are part of an amended version of Markle’s defamation lawsuit against Meghan, filed within hours of a two-week deadline a judge had set for her—after granting Meghan’s motion to dismiss the original claim. In a statement at the time, Markle’s attorney swore they’d be returning with an “even stronger” case.

As opposed to focusing on Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the amended complaint zeroes in on Harry & Meghan. In the series, Samantha Markle claimed, Meghan made statements seeking to “demonize” her, portraying her as “a liar,” “a fame seeker,” and “a racist.”

She even alleged that some of Meghan’s fans launched “hate-filled smear campaigns” against her as a result of the show, saying she’d been the target of “death threats” and “trolls” who hacked her Twitter account.

She launched her original case just over a year ago, in March 2022, suing Meghan for “defamation and injurious falsehoods,” among other things.

[From The Daily Beast]

If you care – I do not – you can see the actual filing here, and I’m also including some tweets from Buzzfeed’s Ellie Hall, who has covered Samantha extensively. From a purely legal standpoint, I think Samantha’s refiled lawsuit at least has more standing, just because Meghan and Harry were executive producers on the Netflix show. The problem is, you know Netflix’s lawyers went through everything, and nothing made it to air without a full check by legal. It’s also just… embarrassing for Samantha. Her own daughter – whom Samantha did not raise – basically called Samantha a nutcase obsessed with Meghan.

BREAKING: Samantha Markle has filed an amended complaint in her defamation lawsuit against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Samantha has added allegedly defamatory statements made in the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” to the lawsuit: https://t.co/adk3XteIdi

— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) April 13, 2023

Here’s Part 2 of Samantha Markle’s allegations of defamation from the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan”: pic.twitter.com/pHEVxzEWFo

— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) April 13, 2023

Photos courtesy of WENN, Netflix.

I see it now – it takes me a minute to see all of the moving pieces of the various royal courts’ briefing operations and who is saying what to whom. In this particular case, Kensington Palace went on a briefing spree in the hours after Buckingham Palace confirmed Prince Harry’s attendance at the coronation. Those “royal sources” wanted everyone to know that the Princess of Wales is very pleased that she won’t have to deign to interact with a Black woman. Those royal sources also emphasized to multiple commentators and reporters that William is making big-boy plans to ignore his brother! Seriously. The Daily Beast got a quote about how William despises Harry and won’t even make eye contact with him, much less go have a pint with Harry. It looks like Rebecca English at the Mail got the same call. Some highlights from the Mail’s coverage:

The cold shoulder: Prince Harry will get the cold shoulder from most of his family at the Coronation with Prince William having no plans to speak to his younger brother after his attacks on him in Spare and his Netflix documentary, it was claimed today. Sussex supporters said Harry understood that the coronation is the biggest day of his father’s life and felt it was right to be present, despite his attacks on the family. But sources have suggested that other family members – with the possible exception of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – have no interest in talking with Harry beyond the most basic of greetings, suggesting the event will be even more awkward than Harry clearly feared.

William won’t speak to Harry: The Mail has reported that while William would never have stopped his brother from attending the Coronation, he had no plans to speak to him. It is understood that his opinion hasn’t changed, although no one is ruling out the possibility – however unlikely – that there could be a gesture of goodwill for their father.

No pandering: Prince Harry has publicly called on his family to apologise to himself and Meghan for what they see as slights. He also demanded that his father and brother sit down with him before May 6 to thrash their issues out. But insiders have told the Mail that Charles and William are both hurt and angry at Harry’s behaviour – and neither man has been inclined to pander to him.

No contact during the Jubbly last year: Even those who had once hoped William and Harry could be reconciled feel this is unlikely now. William had no contact with his brother when he came over with Meghan and the children for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year.

Harry’s demands: Sources described the negotiations as a game of ‘transatlantic ping pong’, and Harry was said to have wanted numerous assurances about arrangements. Such is the sensitivity at Buckingham Palace over anything to do with Harry and Meghan, only a tiny group of senior officials were party to the conversations between the Royal Family and the Sussexes.

Eggshells: Courtiers have been treading on eggshells for fear of being accused by the couple of ‘leaking’ information about their presence and sparking another round of attacks on the King in the run up to his historic day. And, while many in the royal household contest much of what the couple have alleged, all are keen not to make things more difficult for the 74-year-old monarch.

[From The Daily Mail]

“Courtiers have been treading on eggshells for fear of being accused by the couple of ‘leaking’ information about their presence” – while the palace hasn’t leaked much about the negotiations with the Sussexes, let’s be clear: the palace has leaked like a sieve ever since Charles became king. It’s no longer “never complain, never explain.” Charles’s official motto is “complain, explain, brief, leak, defame and whine constantly.” It sounds more like Harry told his father’s people “if you leak anything about these negotiations, I’m out.” I also think the negotiations were along the lines of security issues, not balcony appearances.

As for the cold shoulder and diaper-baby William threatening to not even SPEAK to his brother… keep in mind, William thinks this is a good look, the fact that he’s constantly raging, screaming and threatening everyone, and that he’s too childish, damaged and off-kilter to process his emotions as a nearly 41-year-old man. He is literally telling people that he won’t look at Harry or speak to Harry… after Harry wrote the truth about William assaulting him.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Cover Images.

Spring is in the air, the temperature is rising and celebrities are going to begin to unveil their Hot Girl Summer hookups. I’m still waiting to see who’s on Leonardo DiCaprio’s yacht in the French Riviera next month, but there are other hookup stories getting more attention at the moment. So, I really thought the rumors about Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner were 100% bullsh-t. I mean, they don’t run in the same circles, they’re not going to the same events, their vibes are totally different. But Kylie is single and Timothee is single too. Deuxmoi’s tipsters claimed that Kylie and Timmy have been seeing each other quietly in recent months, and there’s now a growing body of evidence to suggest that they at least know each other and are pretty friendly. Now TMZ has an exclusive update: Kylie was seen pulling into Chalamet’s LA estate yesterday.

Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet are adding to rumors about their supposed romance … because her car is in the driveway of his Bev Hills home! The billionaire’s black Range Rover SUV pulled up to Timothee’s sprawling estate Thursday afternoon … and it’s sure to drive the internet into a frenzy.

Kylie wasn’t sightseeing either … her car pulled in from the road and drove straight up the winding driveway … in other words, she knew exactly where she was going.

Dating rumors have swirled around Kylie and Timothee recently … but there’s been no official confirmation from either side about a relationship.

Kylie and Timothee were spotted chatting each other up at Paris Fashion Week in a video that’s going viral online … but this is the first time she’s been photographed at his place. As you know, Kylie has two kids with rapper Travis Scott, daughter Stormi and son Aire, and she’s previously been in a long-term relationship with Tyga.

[From TMZ]

This is the first time I’ve even hearing about Chalamet’s “sprawling estate” in LA. I thought he was entirely New York-based? Maybe he’s renting? I guess. Well, anyway – I guess this is happening. I believe in the evidence. They’re hooking up or they’re friends-with-benefits or something. Lord knows what they talk about though??

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Tom Bower is a nasty old fart and a “royal biographer.” He regularly appears on TV shows as a royal commentator, giving us gems like the accidentally truthful admission that the Sussexit “destabilized the monarchy,” and that he’s openly targeting the Duchess of Sussex no matter what. Bower always has crazy sh-t to say about Meghan and Harry in particular, and the royalist/Deranger fans lap it up and spread his crap all around. Well, those royalist fans are kind of mad this week, because Bower credited the Princess of Wales for being the reason why Meghan isn’t going to the coronation. It’s like Bower flew too close to the Deranger Sun – he made Kate sound like a miserable racist obsessed with punishing her sister-in-law. AND I OOP-

The Princess of Wales “prevented” Meghan Markle from attending King Charles III’s Coronation, according to royal biographer Tom Bower.

Royal biographer Tom Bower hinted on GB News that this was not Meghan’s desire, and she was in fact prevented from attending by Kate Middleton. Speaking to Nigel Farage, he said: “I think it’s an ugly compromise. We must all be grateful that Kate in the end prevented Meghan from coming, saying she ‘wouldn’t have her there under any circumstances’. She said that if she does come, she will have to sit at the back.”

“I do think that for the Royal Family, Harry’s presence is constitutionally important. If, God forbid, the Cambridges all died, we’d have King Harry on the throne after Charles, so he’s got to be there.”

[From GB News]

I mean… I have no doubt that Kate would have “prevented” Meghan from coming if Kate had any power. I have no doubt that Kate wants to create an all-white seating chart at the front of the coronation. But the truth is, Kate has no power for any of that – she can’t even stop her rural rival and William’s long-rumored side chick from attending the coronation. Regarding Meghan in particular, Kate would have been screwed either way – if Meghan had come, she would have effortlessly pulled focus and been the center of attention. Now that Meghan’s not coming, Kate won’t have new entries in her Meghan lookbook and there will be more focus on… Rose. Where is Rose sitting, what is Rose wearing, is Rose’s tiara bigger than Kate’s? I love that for Kate.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid, Instar.

Jennifer Garner has a new Apple TV+ mini-series out based on the Laura Dave book, The Last Thing He Told Me. I was going back and forth on reading the book. Now I’m debating if I read it or just watch Jen’s series instead. It’s got a great cast with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aisha Tyler and Angourie Rice (Siobhan from Mare of Easttown). But Jen’s the lead and she’s out promoting it. She said the project spoke to her because it’s so much about becoming a parent (she plays a stepmom to Angourie). While on Today, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie asked how Jen was able to keep her kids off social media. Jen said she requires them to submit a scientific argument of the benefits if they want to log on. However, she acknowledges that while it’s worked to keep 17-year-old Violet off, she’s got “a few more to go” and who knows if she’ll hold out on her decision.

The 50-year-old actress served as a guest on Tuesday’s installment of Today and told hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager that she challenged her teenagers to show her how social media can be beneficial.

“I just said to my kids, ‘Show me the articles that prove that social media is good for teenagers, and then we’ll have the conversation,’” said Garner, who shares daughters Violet, 17, and Seraphina Rose, 14, along with son Samuel, 11, with her ex-husband Ben Affleck.

She added that she also told her three children to “Find scientific evidence that matches what I have, that says that it’s not good for teenagers. Then we’ll chat.”

As for how they’re coping without social media, Garner said, “My eldest is grateful.”

The Yes Day star added that only time will tell if she has a change of heart with her two younger children.

“We’ll see. I mean, it’s a long haul,” she shared. “I have a couple more to go, so just knock on wood. We’ll see if I really hang in there.”

[From People via Today]

The article said it was Hoda and Jenna Bush Hager but that’s not correct. Jen came back on in the fourth hour and hung out with those two, but the social media discussion happened with Hoda and Savannah. I love Jen’s ‘submit an article to support your request’ approach. I’m all for making kids do their own research for what they want. My oldest was getting some of his political information from Discord servers and other spurious outlets. So we started asking him to cite sources for his more dubious claims. It’s forced him to look up information before he brings it into discussion. Jen’s article research would have the same effect. By having to find the information, the kids will read up on the pros and cons of social media. She’s said before her kids have more to worry about because both her parents are famous. Now they have a famous stepmom. I think Jen’s doing this right.

As far as holding out, I hear ya’ Jen. If Violet is “grateful” to not be on social media, it makes it easy to stick to her guns. But if Seraphina or Sam get vocal, she might change her mind. It’s the Law of Multiples – we just don’t recognize who we are as parents by time we get to the last one! But seriously, parents change the rules/minds for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they just change, sometimes it’s because of who the kid is, sometimes it’s circumstances. I appreciate Jen acknowledging this about parenting.

Photo credit: CoverImages and Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon

You know it’s bad when even the “royalist” commentators are calling out King Charles for being full of it. Following the announcement that the Duchess of Sussex, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet would stay in Montecito for the coronation, Buckingham Palace has been doing the most to emphasize how Charles is “pleased” at that at least Harry would come, but Charles is terribly disappointed that he won’t get to see his grandchildren. For weeks, the palace has emphasized that Archie and Lilibet were not invited to the Chubbly, nor were they welcome. They also openly briefed that Meghan’s presence – Charles’s daughter-in-law and mother to his grandchildren – would only be barely tolerated. Charles hung the “Whites Only” sign outside of Westminster Abbey, so he doesn’t get to act like the victim. Which has led to some interesting call-outs, like this one at the Daily Beast:

Amid the wave of relief that swept Buckingham Palace on Wednesday as it was finally announced that Prince Harry would attend the coronation of King Charles, insiders told The Daily Beast that the king was “saddened by the estrangement” from his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, who, along with their mother, Meghan Markle, will not be there.

“The whole thing with Harry is just desperately sad,” a friend of King Charles told The Daily Beast. “And [Charles] is also very saddened by the estrangement from the children. But at least Harry attending the coronation is a chink of light. The door has not been totally slammed shut.”

The friend said, however, that Charles is not given to self-pity (students of his interviews, speeches and his portrayal on The Crown and in a multiplicity of other books and memoirs may beg to differ) and is not “wallowing” in the grief of the breakdown of the relationship with Harry. “He is the king. He has plenty to occupy him,” said the friend.

Although Charles met Archie, 3 several times when the Sussexes were still living in the U.K., he is believed to have only met Lilibet, 1, once, when Harry and Meghan came en famille to England for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. The “very emotional” first meeting left Charles “absolutely thrilled” the BBC reported at the time, citing a royal source.

Speaking to friends of the king, you get the impression there is little doubt that in a perfect world he would like to be a part of Archie and Lilibet’s life. Of course, one way Charles might have got his American grandkids to attend the coronation would have been to offer them a role in proceedings. Lilibet might be too young to be included, but Archie, who turns 4 on the day, could easily have been given a symbolic task alongside William and Kate’s children, and Camilla’s grandchildren, who have all been given roles.

Incredibly, however, The Daily Beast understands that the Sussex children were not invited to attend even fringe family events, let alone the coronation itself. Supporters of Charles argue that to offer the Sussexes a role would have been to risk the family drama overshadowing the solemn celebration of the day.

But critics of the king might well respond that if he really wanted to see more of his grandchildren, he maybe shouldn’t have evicted their parents from their British holiday home, Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate.

There is no doubt that obliging the Sussexes to vacate that house has not only made them feel very unwelcome, but has also made it considerably harder on a practical level for the family to plan to spend any time in the U.K. Indeed, most observers now believe that sightings of Meghan and her children on British soil over the next decade will be somewhere between few and none, and there is little prospect of Charles dropping in on Harry and Meghan in their Montecito home either.

[From The Daily Beast]

Exactly. For all of King Charles’s self-pitying briefs about how he longs to see Archie and Lilibet, he didn’t invite them whatsoever. Invitations were not extended to the children, Charles never made a point of saying he wanted his entire family there, including all of his grandchildren. Instead, he basically argued that if both Harry and Meghan came with the children, they should leave the kids at Frogmore (on Archie’s birthday) while they attended his coronation. He even tied the coronation invitation to the Frogmore Cottage eviction, saying that they should come for the coronation, spend one last time in Frogmore and use that time to move out of the home for which they paid over $3 million in renovations and rent. Charles is absolutely evil. Diana would be so disgusted with how he’s treated Harry and Harry’s children.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Netflix and Misan Harriman/The Sussexes.

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As briefly covered in my last post, Tom Sandoval of the Vanderpump Scandalhump appeared on Howie Mandel’s podcast and gave a bunch of half-truths and excuses for his affair in an hourlong interview. Tom honestly came off like a real jerk, sharing a lot of what should have been personal information about Ariana Madix, and basically blaming her for him cheating. He completely shirked responsibility and sounded 14 instead of 40. But Howie Mandel didn’t come off too well either. He gave Tom way too much grace and is facing backlash for how easy he made it for Tom to tell his side. But Howie thinks it’s fine that he didn’t challenge Tom or even really know what he was talking about.

Howie Mandel has found himself in the middle of the cheating scandal captivating the nation.

Mandel recently had Tom Sandoval on his “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. During the episode, Tom spoke out publicly about his relationships with Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss.

On Wednesday, “Extra’s” Billy Bush spoke with Howie, who was dragged on social media after the episode.

Howie commented, “I’m so beside myself. Listen, I don’t watch… and I made this clear. I don’t watch ‘Vanderpump Rules.’ I know what it is. I met Tom at a wedding. He’s a friend of a friend… I saw this Scandoval thing going into all this normal news cycle… and it was big! I didn’t know what it was and I asked my daughter to explain and she said, ‘It’s that guy you met at the wedding,’ and he seemed like a very nice guy… My whole take from it was: ‘I don’t understand why this is as huge as it is.’”

As for claims by Andy Cohen that he “didn’t do his homework,” Mandel responded, “I don’t need to do homework. I know who he is… I wasn’t gonna weaponize his information and kind of, you know, challenge him on each thing. Those people that watch Bravo, you could challenge any piece of information you get from my podcast, but it’s just amazing how it has blown up everywhere.”

[From Extra]

First of all, Billy Bush knows a thing or two about not challenging comments made by the interviewee. Anyway, the backlash Howie faced was well-deserved and it’s disappointing that he’s doubling down. I hate to say it, but Andy Cohen is right! Regardless of what Howie thinks, he should have done his homework. Knowing Tom vaguely as a guy he met at a wedding was not enough for him to understand the nuances of the situation. And sure, maybe Howie didn’t want to weaponize the information so his guest would feel comfortable and actually share, but he went so beyond that. Howie actually said that Tom deserved empathy and compassion and didn’t challenge or even really ask thoughtful follow-ups about anything! He was basically just providing a platform of sympathy for a sh-tty dude. It’s fine that Howie doesn’t watch Vanderpump Rules, but he should have at least done some research about why it’s such a big deal before just having Tom on the podcast to get more listeners. But I guess he achieved his goal of inserting himself into the VPR drama news cycle.

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