The current wildfires raging in Los Angeles are being called the most destructive in LA history. Acres and acres of land, thousands of homes and businesses, all up in flames. Celebrities haven’t gotten special treatment from the fires either. Mandy Moore, Diane Warren, Paris Hilton and many other celebrities have lost their homes (or their second homes) in the fires. I saw that Harrison Ford had a police escort to check on what was left of his home too, although I don’t know if his house burned down. Meanwhile, it looks like Ben Affleck had to flee his new home in the Palisades. Throughout 2024, there was a lot of real estate drama between Ben and Jennifer Lopez. They bought a home together but Ben decided he hated it, and he moved out in the spring. He rented a house in Brentwood close to Jennifer Garner, then he ended up purchasing a $20 million Pacific Palisades home as his new bachelor pad. According to TMZ, he was forced to evacuate and he raced to Garner’s home.

Ben Affleck was forced to evacuate the shiny new $20.5 million Pacific Palisades, Calif., mansion that he purchased just five months ago as deadly wildfires continued to scorch Los Angeles. The luxurious home, which the Oscar winner snapped up on July, 24, 2024, is situated in the evacuation area, Page Pix can confirm.

Affleck purchased the five-bedroom, six-bathroom abode after separating from his now-ex-wife Jennifer Lopez — a downgrade from their $60 million marital home in Beverly Hills that is currently up for sale. The bachelor pad has gorgeous vaulted ceilings, separate breakfast and dining spaces and a media room, while the lush property boasts a pool, a guesthouse and horse stables.

A source previously claimed the “Good Will Hunting” star, 52, was more than happy to leave his love nest with J.Lo, 55, after they split.

“Ben never liked the house,” the insider shared last June. “It’s too far away from his kids.”

Affleck was photographed fleeing his residence Tuesday and driving to his ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s house in nearby Brentwood just hours after the treacherous blaze broke out. He was seen driving in a black SUV as black smoke filled the sky while en route to see the “13 Going on 30” star, also 52, and their three kids: Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 12.

Garner, who was married to Affleck from 2005 to 2018, and their children reportedly have not yet been ordered to evacuate. However, all residents in the area are on standby.

[From Page Six]

I can’t even imagine spending $20.5 million on a home and five months later, it’s probably just ash and smoke. People are lucky to be getting out with their lives, but the sheer volume of homes and businesses lost is stunning and overwhelming. I hope Garner’s house is okay. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in California too – the destruction is devastating.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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I was yesterday years old when I learned that the Hershey Bears — Hershey, PA’s ice hockey team — have been holding an annual, teddy bear-centric charity drive for nigh on 25 years. The delightful event goes down like this: fans are alerted in advance which game will be the Teddy Bear Toss and come to the venue armed with large trash bags filled with stuffed animals accordingly. Upon the Bears scoring their first goal of the game, the madness ensues, with fans gleefully hurling their fuzzy friends into the rink. Really, watch the video the team posted to their Instagram and you’ll see that nobody waits for a formal invitation; as soon as the goal is made it’s raining bears. And unicorns. And dogs and cats and frogs and a menagerie of cuddly creatures. Last year’s Teddy Bear Toss made a world record with 74,599 stuffed animals collected from the rink. This year? Hershey broke its own record at last Sunday’s game with a whopping 102,343 teddies that will be donated to charity.

The Hershey Bears are getting quite a bit of mascot support!

On Sunday, Jan. 5, the ice hockey team hosted their annual Teddy Bear Toss, which saw 100,000 bears flying into the ice rink, breaking their previous world record of 74,599 last year.

In a video shared on Instagram by the Hershey, Pa. team, numerous stuffed animals were thrown over the glass to celebrate the team’s first goal against the Providence Bruins.

“The world-famous event, held during today’s game against the Providence Bruins, sees fans throw stuffed animals onto the ice following Hershey’s first goal of the game in what is a spectacle that truly must be seen,” a press release from the Hershey Bears reads.

The club added, “Hershey forward Mike Sgarbossa scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal at 14:45 of the first period to tie the game against Providence at 1-1 and ignite the downpour.”

Piles of teddy bears were then collected on the ice rink, with many players such as right winger Pierrick Dubé and goaltender Clay Stevenson jumping on top of the stuffed animals.

The early celebration preceded the Hershey Bears’ 5-1 victory at the end of the game, which was attended by a sold-out crowd of 10,514.

The Teddy Bear Toss, which has taken place for charity since 2001, has collected a total 566,450 teddy bears.

Sunday’s stuffed animals will be donated “to over 35 local charities as part of the club’s Hershey Bears Cares program.”

The club’s numerous local and regional charities include Vista Autism Services, Schreiber Pediatric, Central PA Food Bank, Off the Streets, Gigi’s Playhouse Lancaster, Milton and Catherine Hershey Schools and Autism Society Greater Harrisburg Area.

[From People]

Who knew that the sight I deeply needed to see this week was a big, burly pro athlete launching himself with abandon into a mountain of stuffed animals. Let alone two big burly athletes doing it! It’s a life-affirming, heartwarming image. (Though a bit of a slippery slope as I quickly devolved into envy in wanting my own teddy bear mosh pit to dive into, like Daffy Duck swimming in piles of gold. Sigh…) I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that the Teddy Bear Toss has collected a total of 566,540 stuffed animals over the 25 events they’ve held since 2001, and that 102,343 of that amount is from this year alone. I’m not the best mather, but that’s about a fifth of the total all from one game, right? At this rate, I’m envisioning the Bears being completely buried in the mounds of bears at next year’s Toss. Thank you Hershey Bears for bringing us such a charming act of charity. Man, chocolate and hundreds of thousands of teddy bears? Hershey, PA is really pulling their weight in joy output.

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Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater attended the National Board of Review Awards together (they only posed inside the event though). [Just Jared]
Elle Fanning wore Valentino to the NBR Awards. [RCFA]
Nikki Glaser nixed a lot of ribald jokes from the Golden Globes. [Socialite Life]
This piece on the Duchess of Sussex really undersells her career. [LaineyGossip]
Ariana Grande should not be allowed anywhere near Audrey Hepburn. [Pajiba]
Demi Moore is really attending every event this awards season. [Go Fug Yourself]
Xenomorph Kermit the Frog exists. [OMG Blog]
Wait, is it already Girl Scout Cookie Szn?? [Seriously OMG]
Do y’all watch Dubai Bling? [Starcasm]
More on the Girl Scout Cookie situation! [Hollywood Life]
Disturbing societal trends in 2025 – too much AI & people are illiterate. [Buzzfeed]

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Around the Princess of Wales’s birthday, we usually get these “state of Kate” pieces, where “sources” embiggen her meager accomplishments and make promises to be especially keen in the year to come. One year ago, there were promises to be keen in 2024, buzz of a trip to Italy and a general tamping down of expectations beyond that. Then came Kate’s abdominal surgery, then her months-long disappearance, and you know the rest. The lesson has been learned – no more keen promises for the year to come. Over the weekend, the Mail’s Rebecca English got a comprehensive briefing about how poor Kate will simply never go back to “work” in the same way – no more 90 events in a year, no more briefings about how Kate is a credible expert on the Early Years, no more expectations to see Kate more than once a month, if that. Well, do you need Ingrid Seward to lay it on thick?

It’s set to be a special week for the Princess of Wales, who turns 43 on Thursday. After spending the festive period with her family in Norfolk, her children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – are preparing to return to school. This year’s birthday carries a deeper significance following the health challenges Kate has faced in what her husband the Prince of Wales recently described as a “brutal” year.

The royal couple will be keen to make the most of their family time while they can before William becomes King. However, with this change on the horizon, both William and Kate will be making sure they make the transition smooth for the sake of their young family.

“Kate knows there is a looming, massive responsibility coming, but she can’t do anything about that, so she just needs to make sure that the family she’s bringing up are able to deal with it,” says Ingrid Seward, whose book My Mother and I examines the relationship between the King and his mother.

“It must have been very difficult for her to deal with her family and her illness at the same time, and she obviously realises that the children have been through a hard time too. I think the illness has made her keen to prioritise her family even more, because they are the future. Obviously, she wants to support her husband and the monarchy, but she’s going to make sure that she does it in such a way that it doesn’t take her away from the family too much.

“She is very embedded in the future now, and the things that are really important in life, like her children and her charity work, really resonate and become even more important. Being so ill teaches you to enjoy each day as it comes, so I think she has a new appreciation of What’s going on around her, and what she can do to make life better for other people as well.”

[From Hello]

Because I’ve been writing about Kate and the Keen Machine around her for so many years, I feel I’m qualified to say that Kate has always had a bizarre perspective about her future roles. When she was the Duchess of Cambridge, she always positioned herself as “future queen” rather than “future Princess of Wales,” almost like she expected to leap-frog over Camilla when the time came. Alongside that positioning, the consistent message from Kate was that she would only “step up” when Queen Elizabeth died. QEII has been dead and buried for nearly two-and-a-half years and it’s been nothing but wheel-spinning and clownery. Now that she’s Princess of Wales and one gin-soaked mishap away from being queen, Kate still can’t commit to doing anything. Now it’s “She is very embedded in the future now” – meaning what? She sees her role as Princess of Wales and eventually queen consort as nothing more than child-rearing?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Donald Trump gave a particularly senile press conference on Tuesday, in which he rambled on and on about international affairs. I saw some political journalists had the audacity to act like the press conference was a referendum on American voters alone, like the entirety of the American media didn’t spend the past four years doing everything they could to ensure that Trump got back into office. First off, Trump claimed that he has the authority to rename the Gulf of Mexico, which is the body of water shared by the US, Mexico and Cuba.

Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the president-elect seemed to tie the prospective renaming to his long-standing grievances with Mexico’s handling of immigration, drug trafficking and trade.

“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” Trump said at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. “ … What a beautiful name, and it’s appropriate.”

The president-elect subsequently decried the Mexican government for allowing migrants to “pour” into the United States, saying Mexico “can stop them and we’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada because Canada, they come through Canada, too.”

[From WaPo]

News outlets are now busying themselves with trying to figure out if Trump could actually rename it. What’s worse is that I’m sure many people halfway understand his reasoning, but no one cares that much about it to actually make the change. While this was spectacularly unhinged part of his rant, he also doubled-down on his threats to take Greenland and the Panama Canal by force.

President-elect Donald J. Trump refused on Tuesday to rule out the use of military or economic coercion to force Panama to give up control of the canal that America built more than a century ago and to push Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States.

In a rambling, hourlong news conference, Mr. Trump repeatedly returned to the theme of American sacrifice in building the canal and accused China, falsely, of operating it today. When pressed on the question of whether he might order the military to force Panama to give it up — in violation of treaties and other agreements reached during the Carter administration — or to do the same with Greenland, he said: “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two.”

“We need them for economic security — the Panama Canal was built for our military,” he said. Asked again if he would rule out the use of military force, he said: “I’m not going to commit to that. You might have to do something.”

Mr. Trump’s statements propelled his repeated calls for expanding American territory to a new level, one that is bound to roil three American allies — Panama; Denmark, which handles Greenland’s foreign and security affairs; and Canada, which he has mocked as America’s “51st State.” On Tuesday he made clear, though, that he was not joking, suggesting that if Canada remained a sovereign state the financial cost to its trading relationship with the United States could be crushing.

[From The NY Times]

I really feel like this man’s brain is Swiss cheese at this point. Something’s got to give, right? Will JD Vance’s handlers allow Trump to “operate” like this for much longer? That was always the conspiracy theory, that wealthy Republican fascists used Trump to attain power, then as soon as he won, they would dispatch with him quickly. Anyway, I’m sure Putin is smiling this week.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Sometimes, I really do believe that the Princess of Wales and the Middleton family have Prince William over a barrel. He’s stuck in some sense. Stuck in a miserable marriage because (in my opinion) the Middletons hold too much kompromat on him. Then again, they always say that however William feels about Kate nowadays, he likes that he has a wholesome family-man image and he enjoys lording it over his father that his first marriage hasn’t ended in divorce. All that being said, I’m not sure many people are buying these attempts to hard-sell the public on the Waleses’ rosy marriage. “Being stuck with one another” does not equal happiness and success. Still, they keep trying. The latest is a report that William plans to take Kate away on a vacation without their kids. I’m sure William goes on vacations without the kids, I’m just not sure Kate is there. There’s also a suggestion that William and Kate might renew their vows.

Following a ‘brutal’ year for the Royal Family, a source has claimed that Prince William is planning a ‘second honeymoon’ and may even renew his wedding vows with Kate Middleton.

The family also joined together on Christmas Day for the annual Sandringham Church Service and now, as the Royal Family pull together more than ever, insiders say Prince William, who recently described this year as the ‘hardest’ of his life, is determined that the New Year rings in a new chapter for Kate by whisking her off her feet for a second romantic ‘honeymoon’. As reported by Closer, a source recognised that the last year has left them “closer than ever”.

The source said: “Wills is ever the romantic – Kate values their alone time, nothing is more special than having her prince to herself. So he’s planning a romantic getaway – just the two of them – Wills has set the wheels in motion to whisk Kate away.”

Not only this, but the source claimed that a vow renewal wouldn’t come as a surprise too, as they added: “And those close to them wouldn’t be surprised if the royal couple took this time out to reaffirm their wedding vows in a private blessing.”

The source continued: “This has been a tough year for Kate and Wills and a complete emotional rollercoaster. He’s confided to friends that everything has been thrown in their path, but he is proud of how they have weathered the storm. However, he has watched on as Kate has had to operate on autopilot this year to put on a normal show for the children and to get by – so an MOT for the soul is much needed for them both to reconnect.”

And while the family spent this Christmas at Anmer Hall, their home close to a secluded beach in Norfolk, the insider revealed how Africa could be just the place for William and Kate to unwind as a couple. Subsequently, the source recognised: “They want to go somewhere secluded – Wills has employed a trusted family friend in assisting with this very special private getaway to a place of extreme importance – Africa and the wildlife reserves are a love for them both. To have their wedding blessed there after 14 years would be really special.”

[From The Sun]

The vow renewal…lol. The whole thing is absurd – William will what? Drop the kids off with Carole Middleton, then take Kate down to Jecca Craig’s estate in Kenya, where they’ll do vow renewal? Absolutely none of that will happen. It’s far more likely that William would go solo to Kenya for some rest-and-relaxation without Kate and the kids, and that no one will be informed of it until after the fact. I don’t even think Mustique is in the cards these days – the Middletons are too broke-ass, and William doesn’t want to go on vacation with them anyway.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

I loved Jeremy Strong’s bonkers ensemble at the Globes. I was genuinely not prepared for the resurgence of bucket hats in recent years. [LaineyGossip]
I learned something new a few days ago: Latin Americans overwhelmingly despise Emilia Perez and find the film offensive. [Buzzfeed]
Aubrey Plaza asked for privacy after her husband’s passing. [JustJared]
The Washington Post is a shell of what it was just a few years ago. [Pajiba]
Mike Johnson managed to get reelected as Speaker of the House. [Jezebel]
The Vivienne passed away at the age of 32. [Socialite Life]
Party photos from the Golden Globes. [Hollywood Life]
People love Doechii’s “Denial Is a River” music video. [OMG Blog]
The Last of Us will be back in April. [Seriously OMG]
Who wore Valentino at the Globes? [RCFA]

This was supposed to be a big year in Canadian politics. A general election was already on the books for October 2025, and it was widely assumed that Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister for the past decade, was facing a serious referendum on his leadership not only in Canada, but on the world stage. The fact that Americans f–ked up our presidential election so badly hasn’t helped either – Trudeau wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Donald Trump, on top of everything else on his plate. And after ten years, there were significant cracks in Trudeau’s power base. Canadians are restless, and it’s likely that Trudeau was looking at a major defeat in this election. So Trudeau chose January 6th to announce that he would step down as prime minister and leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada announced on Monday that he would step down as Liberal Party leader and prime minister, a decision that will install new leadership in Canada by late March, after his party picks a new head.

“Every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians,” Mr. Trudeau said as he announced his decision in Ottawa, the capital. His resignation sets off a succession battle to replace him after he spent roughly a decade at the helm of both the party and the country.

The upheaval comes as the country is grappling with how best to deal with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pledge to impose crippling tariffs on all imports from Canada on his first day in office. Canada and the United States are each other’s biggest trading partners. Mr. Trudeau visited Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, in late November, and his government had been in talks to address the president-elect’s concerns about border security in hopes that he would reconsider his tariff threat.

Mr. Trudeau has faced weeks of mounting pressure from inside his party’s ranks. In December, Mr. Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, abruptly stepped down in a stinging rebuke of his leadership and stewardship of the country. Her resignation incited a growing chorus of voices from Liberal parliamentarians asking him to step aside for the sake of the party, and let someone else lead the Liberal Party against the Conservatives in the next general election, which must be held by October.

Mr. Trudeau shut down Parliament until March 24 to allow his party to pick a new leader. The action wipes out all pending legislation but does not affect the government’s day-to-day operations.

[From The NY Times]

I feel like the people who were around for Trump’s first term can see which way the wind is blowing and they’re all having existential crises. Except for Macron. President Macron seems to revel in buttering up Trump and manipulating Trump. But everyone else is doing breathing exercises and day-drinking. Obviously, I’m sure Trudeau has many other political problems beyond Trump and Canadian-US relations. But choosing to announce his resignation on J6, two weeks before Trump’s inauguration, is a huge choice.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

I’m really happy about the Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix cooking/entertaining show, With Love, Meghan. The trailer was released last week and it already has millions of views on YouTube and social media. It remains to be seen if Meghan will actually do some press to promote the show, or if she’ll just let word-of-mouth do its thing. Once again, I will say this… I would enjoy seeing Meghan do some interviews and some media around the show. The lack of any promotion around Polo was disappointing and it played into the worst and most toxic narratives. Granted, those toxic narratives are going to happen anyway… which is why Meghan and Harry should be proactive. As for that toxicity… a lot of outlets in the UK and even some in America have published pieces mocking Meghan and the idea of Meghan doing a cooking show. Eater was one of those sites rolling their eyes at Meghan. But something interesting happened – Texas chef Adrian Lipscombe posted a fascinating clapback:

So this has been going around for a minute, and I have to say, @eater—what are y’all thinking? I get it—sensationalism gets clicks, but shame on you. I’m really trying to be nicer in 2025, but this? This isn’t it.

How are you going to criticize someone or judge a TV show before it has even aired? @eater, there was a time we looked to you for thoughtful reporting, a pulse on food trends, and some real insight into the food world. But now? This feels like a step down.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting @meghan over food, and let me tell you, she and her well-known significant other are some of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met. We talked about our families (mostly about our daughters being in their princess phase and the movies they love) and, of course, about food. She didn’t rush the conversation, even though I was taking up her time. She was gracious, engaged, and kind.

What frustrates me most about this piece is how easily it falls in line with the tabloid noise surrounding her. Instead of offering a professional critique, interviewing her, or asking thoughtful questions, you’ve chosen to sensationalize for clicks. That’s not the journalism or standard many of us want from you.

And let’s talk about the bigger picture here—where are the Black female-led shows and roles in the food world? Representation is already so scarce, and now, a show that has the potential to spotlight food, culture, and storytelling is being torn apart before it even has a chance. This isn’t just about Meghan Markle. It’s about a systemic issue in media and entertainment that continues to dismiss or belittle efforts by women, especially women of color, to create something meaningful.

I really hope you’ll consider retracting this piece and, more importantly, taking a moment to reflect on the impact of this type of writing. Take the time to get to know the people you’re covering, their intentions, and the context behind their projects. The food world deserves better. Meghan deserves better. And frankly, we all do.

[From Adrian Lipscombe’s IG]

This clapback actually inspired me to find the Eater post being discussed. It’s just as nasty as Lipscombe suggests – and it was written by a white woman, Amy McCarthy. It’s a tantrum about a minute-long trailer in which McCarthy spews venom at the idea that anyone would want to watch Meghan cook, bake or entertain when they could just watch a white woman like Martha Stewart or Ina Garten. “This isn’t just about Meghan Markle. It’s about a systemic issue in media and entertainment that continues to dismiss or belittle efforts by women, especially women of color, to create something meaningful.” Exactly. There was a feeding frenzy of negativity as soon as the trailer dropped, with people tripping over themselves to denigrate Meghan for… cooking and making a light lifestyle show.

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Photos courtesy of Netflix.

Death, taxes and princess feuds – the only things we can count on anymore. By all accounts, the Duchess of Sussex has not spoken in person to Prince William and Kate since September 2022, during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral period. Meghan left that island and she’s never come back. Reportedly, she’s possibly spoken on the phone with King Charles but that’s probably the only communication she’s had with anyone in the family in over two years. Royal sources are constantly raging about how Prince William would never “allow” Harry and Meghan to do this or that, and how Kate feels the same way. But now there’s a report that Kate would like to bury some hatchets in the new year.

Kate and Meghan Markle will never be friends but the Princess of Wales is considering reaching out to the Duchess of Sussex, according to a source. Kate now wants to heal the feud between her husband Prince William and Prince Harry as well as her own rift with Meghan, a source has claimed.

An insider told Closer: “With all the water under the bridge and everything she’s been through this past year, she’s come to a place where she wants peace in every aspect of her life. Not just for herself, but for the sake of William and Harry, she’s very worried about what this long-running feud is doing to the both of them.”

A second source said: “This isn’t so much about wanting to be friends with Meghan – that’s never going to happen.”

They added: “A lot of people still think Kate would be justified to hang onto a grudge after the way Meghan has behaved, but she has no interest in that. Sure, there were hurt feelings a while ago but she’s ready to let it go – time has been a great healer.”

Meghan Markle has not travelled to the UK since September 2022 when she attended Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The Duchess of Sussex opted not to attend King Charles’s Coronation in May 2023. Prince Harry has frequently returned to the UK over the last two years during solo appearances without his wife.

[From GB News]

“A lot of people still think Kate would be justified to hang onto a grudge after the way Meghan has behaved.” Meghan hasn’t done sh-t to that woman. Meghan only corrected the record after Kate and her terrible mother spread racist lies about Meghan for years. Notice that even in this keen fantasy, it’s more about Kate wanting to see or speak to Harry more than anything else. She wants to bury the hatchet with Harry and once again try to convince him to abandon his wife and children so he can be his brother’s scapegoat. They’re still going to be doing versions of this story when William is king, you know.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.