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I am completely a cat person and believe they truly should be the ones who occupy dogs’ exalted place in our society. And when I find out someone else is also a cat person, it makes me like them more. So as if I didn’t like Lil Nas X enough, he’s now a cat dad since he adopted two kittens: Desani and Zephard. Both look to be tabbies, one orange and one gray, and both are completely adorable.

Lil Nas X is expanding his family.

The “That’s What I Want” singer, 23, announced he adopted two cats on social media by sharing photos of their adorable photo shoot and tweeting, “i’m not their step father, im the father who stepped up!”

In the photos, the two-time Grammy winner posed in a brown striped single-breasted blazer with matching trousers from Moschino’s pre-fall 2023 collection and accessorized the look with a large brown striped turban. The two cats were also dressed in matching brown outfits with large white lace collars.

The rapper holds up the cats in various images, showing them to the camera, and even shared a shot of one of the cats placing a paw on his nose and scratching him — with his reaction afterward. He teased the photo on Instagram, writing, “swipe to watch one of my cats scratch tf out of my nose.”

The cats — named Desani and Zephard — have opposite colorings, with one having dark gray fur with tufts of orange, white and light gray and the other orange and white fur.

Lil Nas X also uploaded a cute closeup of the two felines napping in a car side-by-side on his Instagram Story, though he didn’t give any information on how he came across the felines and adopted them.

[From People]

I love that he did a cute little photo shoot with his children. Though I do wonder how long those little lace collars lasted before those two little cats tore them to shreds. Anyway, I’m glad Lil Nas X got cats! They’re great companions and I always feel terrible that they seem to be a lot harder to home and are adopted at a much lower rate than dogs. It’s also great that he got two so they can keep each other company when he’s traveling. Although, some cats do have the disposition for travel. My cat is pretty easygoing about new places and since the pandemic/remote work she prefers to travel with me rather than staying behind. Maybe these little guys will be the same. And it is definitely a lot easier to travel with pets when you have celeb resources. Lil Nas X expressed some lukewarm views on cats in the past, but it appears he’s changed and I think he’ll be a great pet parent.

i’m not their step father, im@the father who stepped up! pic.twitter.com/eEnidj8NBW

— i am reading all that (@LilNasX) February 16, 2023

until you become a mother like me you’ll never understand

— i am reading all that (@LilNasX) February 16, 2023

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Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski have an interesting interview in Wired to promote John Wick 4, which opens in March. I love Keanu and Chad’s story because Chad was Keanu’s stunt double for The Matrix and then went on to direct Keanu in the John Wick series. I learned about them when Chad, who was also Brandon Lee’s stunt double, said he did the John Wick gun blasts in post-production for safety’s sake. And while they lean heavily on special effects for gunfire, Keanu and Chad are not that wild about AI taking over. Keanu is fine working with it, but not letting AI dictate how a scene or script will look. He also doesn’t want to be surprised by what is done with his image in post-production, so much so that he had a clause put into his contract that says they can’t manipulate his image without his consent.

He has final say over his image: I don’t mind if someone takes a blink out during an edit. But early on, in the early 2000s, or it might have been the ’90s, I had a performance changed. [He won’t say which.] They added a tear to my face, and I was just like, “Huh?!” It was like, I don’t even have to be here.

Why deepfake scares him: What’s frustrating about that is you lose your agency. When you give a performance in a film, you know you’re going to be edited, but you’re participating in that. If you go into deepfake land, it has none of your points of view. That’s scary. It’s going to be interesting to see how humans deal with these technologies. They’re having such cultural, sociological impacts, and the species is being studied. There’s so much “data” on behaviors now. Technologies are finding places in our education, in our medicine, in our entertainment, in our politics, and how we war and how we work.

AI can be used in conjunction with art: Which is cool, because that’s what artists do, right? We take our influences and we synthesize them. But what’s the intention behind that synthesis?

On being the internet’s boyfriend: It’s nice when it’s nice, but I’m sure it’s super horrible when it’s horrible.

People made mods to have sex with his character in Cyberpunk 2077: Getting it on with Johnny Silverhand?! I hope it was good. I’m sure Johnny tried hard.

He doesn’t have a favorite Keanu meme: I don’t seek them out. Once in a while people show ’em to me when they’re fun.

[From Wired]

It’s interesting to hear subjects from different perspectives. My husband who teaches with much of this technology is fascinated by deepfakes and AI. But nobody is threatening to put his face in a performance he didn’t turn in. Actors make choices with their performances along with following a director’s orders. I understand why an unscripted tear would upset Keanu. It breaks the unspoken contract. To add an element like that would be like someone painting a dog into a portrait without the artist knowing until the unveiling. It’s a fascinating feature if you’re involved. But having a little cyber-Keanu being manipulated by someone else would be scary as all get out. Just look what they’re doing with poor Johnny Silverhand.

I like Keanu’s point about the intent behind the synthesis. This is where I fall on AI as well. It’s a tool and can be a valuable one. But why it’s being used and who is using it are important details to using it. Keanu and Chad talk a lot more about AI through the interview and how it could take over. The interviewer seems a little more worried than Keanu or Chad, but they recognize it’s getting good enough that their work will get manipulated. I think it’s smart for people like Keanu to be embrace that the technology is here but to remain skeptical enough to keep an eye on it.

Photo credit: Yuri Murakami/Fotoarena/Avalon and Cover Images

Rest in peace, Richard Belzer. Det. Munch has passed away at the age of 78. [Dlisted]
Review of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. [Pajiba]
The latest dumbf–kery from Elon Musk. [Buzzfeed]
Rebel Wilson is engaged! [Seriously OMG]
Will fans of the book enjoy Amazon’s Daisy Jones and the Six? [LaineyGossip]
I really love that Drag Race is an international franchise. [OMG Blog]
Tadashi Shoji’s collection looks so… mall style. [Go Fug Yourself]
How did I completely miss this awful look on Maya Rudolph? [RCFA]
Mariska Hargitay’s statement on the death of her friend Richard Belzer. [Just Jared]
Don Lemon is a huge sexist, right? [Jezebel]
Demi Lovato did a single for the new Scream movie. [Egotastic]
A preview of Netflix’s Next in Fashion. [Starcasm]
President Jimmy Carter is receiving hospice care. [Towleroad]

Richard Belzer was one of the most kindest and welcoming actors when I guested on two episodes of Law and Order: SVU. His passing is truly a loss for Hollywood and I will miss him dearly. RIP Richard Belzer. pic.twitter.com/oI4PzLr04I

— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) February 19, 2023

It’s pretty late in the awards season for so many categories to be so unsettled. Most people believed that the Best Actress race would be the biggest question mark, but Cate Blanchett keeps picking up all of these awards for Tar. Is there a consensus on Best Picture or Best Director? I don’t think so, although the Directors Guild Awards seemed to clarify some things. The DGAs were also held this weekend in LA. The big winners: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, directors of Everything Everywhere All at Once. But… most of the talk at the event was about Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans and Top Gun: Maverick. I could totally see the Daniels feeling like the consensus pick for the directing Oscar, but then Spielberg ends up picking up his millionth Oscar. I really don’t know!

So, I’m including some photos from the DGAs. Lots of celebrities avoided the trip to London for the BAFTAs and just went to the DGAs. I’m including photos of Michelle Williams, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Bateman (and his wife Amanda), James Marsden, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, Anna Kendrick, Christina Ricci and the Daniels. It wasn’t a huge night for fashion – Michelle’s dress is meh (that is one sad peplum) and I thought Anna and Christina looked the most pulled-together.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Embed from Getty Images
Selena Gomez must get body-shamed a lot because she seems to feel that she constantly has to justify and explain her weight/appearance, which really sucks. She recently posted a TikTok where she talked about how her medication causes her to gain weight and retain water weight. Alongside her explanation, Selena had an encouraging message for fans that they shouldn’t feel shame about their bodies, but rather feel healthy and take care of themselves.

Selena Gomez is opening up about how lupus medication affects her body.

In a clip from a recent TikTok livestream that’s since been shared on Twitter, the 30-year-old singer and actress told fans that her taking the medication often causes her to gain weight and vice versa.

“[When I’m taking it, I] tend to hold a lot of water weight, and that happens very normally. When I’m off of it, I tend to lose weight,” said Gomez on the video-sharing platform. “I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they’re going through, and no one knows the real story.”

The Only Murders in the Building star continued, “I just want people to know that you’re beautiful, and you’re wonderful. Yeah, we have days where maybe we feel like s—, but I would rather be healthy and take care of myself. My medications are important, and I believe that they’re what helps me.”

Gomez then spoke further about her experience with body image. “Not a model, never will be. And I think they’re awesome, mind you. I’m just definitely not that,” she added. “I just wanted to tell you I love you guys, and thanks for supporting me and understanding. And if not, go away, ’cause honestly I don’t believe in shaming people for [their bodies] or anything.”

[From People]

Selena definitely gets unfair body-shaming criticism like many female celebrities do, and she clearly feels very self-conscious about it because she gives it a lot of oxygen when she makes videos like this. It sucks that she’s being criticized and made to feel bad about normal body fluctuations. But while Selena has an explanation for it — the medication she takes for her lupus or bipolar disorder — weight gain/loss/fluctuations are completely normal and that’s where I feel her message is a little bit off. Yes, her medications are important and necessary and help her physically and emotionally and that goes with her whole “My Mind & Me” messaging, but the whole “I gained weight because of my meds, thanks for understanding” just irks a bit. Her holiday indulgence comment last month was better. She doesn’t have to justify or explain her weight gain at all, but I think the message should just be a blanket “don’t body shame people or talk about their weights at all.” I think that would be the kinder message, and isn’t her whole thing about being kind?

Selena Gomez opens up about weight gain side effects from her Lupus medication on TikTok Live due to body-shaming comments.

pic.twitter.com/1LbdrOJTam

— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 16, 2023

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Whenever there’s a big royal event, the Windsors ask Adele to sing. She always refuses them. I think she’s something of a low-key republican, especially as she gets older and especially as she lives full-time in America now. But Ed Sheeran? He seems somewhat cozy with the Windsors, and last year, he performed at the Jubbly concert. Well, apparently Ed and Adele were both asked to perform at King Charles’s coronation concert. They both turned him down. Hilarious.

King Charles’s Coronation concert has been dealt a huge blow after both Adele and Ed Sheeran turned down invitations to take part. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the pair were asked to perform after the monarch discussed with organisers his hopes that they would appear. But both Sheeran and Adele have said they were busy and unable to play at the Windsor Castle event on May 7, the day after the King is crowned at Westminster Abbey.

A source involved with the project said: ‘The King has suggested a number of people he would like to perform and Adele and Ed were on that list. He was very keen that they were part of the concert. There is a team set up to get the talent signed up so they approached the two of them, but got replies saying that they were unavailable, which was a massive disappointment. They are titans of the showbiz industry and are quintessentially British but also known across the globe. It’s such a shame.’

Shape Of You star Sheeran, 32, is scheduled to appear at a show in Texas the day before the Coronation gig. While this would make it difficult for him to get to the Windsor show, insiders say it would be possible to make the nine-hour journey in time by private jet. He has previously used this method of transport.

Sheeran closed the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant last June with his hit Perfect, which was chosen as a tribute to the then monarch and her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Adele, 34, has nothing publicly listed for May 7 – or, indeed, after March 25 when her Las Vegas residency concerts come to an end. It is not yet known if Harry Styles will be part of the line-up, although it is understood the King wants him to take part. Meanwhile, Lionel Richie is close to agreeing, as are the Spice Girls, although the organisers have yet to confirm whether Victoria Beckham will appear. She has vowed never to sing in public again after suffering years of ridicule over her voice.

[From The Daily Mail]

Oof, the Mail is looking through Adele’s schedule and trying to determine what diary constraints she might have – because they don’t want to admit that Adele simply doesn’t want to sing at the Chubbly. Sheeran at least has an okay excuse, although it’s funny that the Mail is like “well, he should fly to London by private jet because the king demands it!” These people are not at Charles’s beck and call, for the love of God. I hope Harry Styles turns them down too, but who knows. I don’t have a good enough read on Styles to say whether he would participate in this mess.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Lily James is a British actress who plays Americans so well you can’t really tell where she’s from. Like if you told me she was American and just really good at accents I would believe you. There’s something so carefree about her that she gives an American, specifically Californian, vibe. She was at the BAFTAs in a cool looking white Tamara Ralph gown with a cage bodice made of pearls. I’ve seen so many gowns at this point in my career that I’m impressed with a novel detail that isn’t horribly fug. This dress doesn’t need the giant bow at the back, that’s too much, but the split neckline with the nautical cage is theatrical and awesome. Props to the designer. It also fits her like a glove. She looks great with dark hair too.

Julianne Moore was in a black strapless Saint Laurent gown with a white feather shrug. I follow her on Instagram and she posted on her stories that she had her hair done but did her own makeup with Hourglass cosmetics! She’s a brand ambassador. I checked and that’s way out of my price range but she looks amazing. I also like this take on the black and white trend. It’s much better than a white dress with black gloves for instance. Her jewelry is Bvlgari! She’s 62 and I’ll have what she’s having.

Nominee Jamie Lee Curtis was also in Saint Laurent, and she’s having fun this awards season. I hope she ups her style at the Oscars. This looks like someone threw a velvet jacket over a white dress as an afterthought. At least make it fitted.

Hong Chau was also nominated in Curtis’s category, Best Supporting Actress (that went to Kerry Condon). She did the black and white trend expertly in this incredible Erdem gown with one of the coolest prints I’ve ever seen. I’m assuming that’s digitally printed and I love how it merges thin geometric lines with large floral details. This is a thoughtful cool looking gown that’s a work of art.

Hayley Atwell was a miss for me in Cong Tri. Maybe this would work without the threaded top. It’s like some junior designers had a brainstorming session for new ideas. “What if we took tassel trim and made a shirt out of it?”

Photos credit: Julie Edwards/Avalon

Michelle Yeoh didn’t win a BAFTA, because Cate Blanchett keeps picking up all of the Best Actress awards. While I loved Tar, it would have been nice to see Yeoh pick up some awards too. In any case, we’ve entered the phase of the awards season where women are grabbing tuxedos and suits because they don’t want to wear one more f–king piece of shapewear. Yeoh wore this fantastic Dior suit to the BAFTAs, which was taken to the next level by Michelle’s insane drip, as the youths would say. Look at her incredible jewelry – her rings, her bracelet, her earrings. She borrowed pieces from Moussaieff – a natural Burma pink sapphire ring, diamond earrings and a pink sapphire and diamond bangle.

Danielle Deadwyler was snubbed for an Oscar nomination, but she came out to the BAFTAs looking amazing in this rich-looking Armani. Stunning.

Carey Mulligan in Dior. I get that Carey is a “real actress” and not a fashionista, but jeez, this is such a snooze. Maybe Dior gave their best look to Yeoh.

Emma Thompson in a white suit and sneakers. She looks like a gangster (compliment).

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Stuart Heritage is a journalist for the Guardian, mostly covering film, music and television industry news. He was one of two Guardian reporters tasked with the Guardian’s live-blog of last night’s BAFTAs, which was attended by Prince William and his be-gloved wife. Halfway through the Guardian’s live-blog, Heritage dropped in to tell this amazing story about witnessing William’s behavior at last year’s royal premiere of Top Gun: Maverick:

Here’s a fun little story that I think I’m allowed to tell. Earlier this year I went to the Top Gun: Maverick premiere, and Prince William was there. And he did this big long meet and greet with all the film’s stars, who are all American and therefore all automatically a bit iffy on the idea of a monarchy in the first place.

Anyway, during this meet and greet, Prince William kept pointing at his shoes, and the film’s cast all responded by doing this weird noncommittal ‘Oh’ face in return. This is because, it turns out, Prince William was wearing special shoes that had fighter jets embroidered on them.

Imagine that for a moment. You’ve made a film. The film is going to single-handedly revive the global theatrical experience. And here you are, in London, watching the future king of England point at his special aeroplane shoes. Like a child would. Imagine being Jon Hamm trying to think of something to say to a literal prince who is determined to show you his special little aeroplane shoes, because he thinks they will somehow delight you. Imagine it.

Anyway, Prince William is wearing normal shoes today. Good.

[From The Guardaian]

I mean… this is pretty bad. We kind of knew it real time, because the British papers kept talking about William’s special embroidered airplane slippers, but I didn’t know he actually pointed at his shoes repeatedly as he was being introduced to the stars of Top Gun: Maverick. That royal premiere wasn’t even the first time he saw the movie – Tom Cruise gave William and Kate a private screening before the royal premiere. William was so excited to see the movie again that he had special embroidered slippers made for the royal premiere, then he made all of the Americans admire them. Wow.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Instar.

The Duchess of Sussex hasn’t been seen in public since the Ripple of Hope Awards on December 6th. She hasn’t given any interviews in months, not since her promotion for her podcast, Archetypes. Meghan did not participate in her husband’s book promotion, because that’s not the way book promotion works – John Grisham’s wife isn’t sitting beside him for all of his interviews and appearances either. All of this to say, the British media is absolutely desperate for news about Meghan. They’re so desperate, they’re going through old blog posts on The Tig, and trying to hype Samantha Markle’s sad lawsuit. Enter Camilla Tominey at the Telegraph. Tominey has a new article called “Meghan is reinventing herself – and will be laughing all the way to the bank.” It’s about how Tominey thinks Meghan is making money moves behind-the-scenes and Meghan is maybe coming back to Instagram.

Tominey thinks Meghan is already back on Instagram: For months now, mystery has surrounded what appears to be the Duchess of Sussex’s new Instagram page. Last summer, a new @Meghan handle appeared on the social media site, accompanied by a previously unseen childhood photograph of the mother of two…Yet with no one other than a celebrity able to secure a handle on first-name terms, it was assumed that @Meghan would be the vehicle through which the social media-savvy Duchess relaunched her online persona. After Meghan fans began flocking to follow the page, its profile picture was changed to a pink dahlia – the symbol adopted by members of Harry and Meghan’s “Sussex Squad” of online devotees. (The emoji is a nod to Meghan’s mother Doria still referring to her daughter by her childhood nickname, “flower”). No posts and just 195 followers later, however, and the Duchess’s re-emergence on the social media scene appears to have stalled. But why?

What’s next for Meghan: So what is the next stage of the Duchess’s own journey? The appointment of a Hollywood venture capitalist who is famed for making millions of dollars for celebrities would appear to hold the clue. Adam Lilling founded Plus Capital in 2012, which says it aims to partner “the world’s top influencers – those who can affect more change in a day than most can in a lifetime – with the best entrepreneurs and operators in the world”. The Sussexes have been working with Mr Lilling for some time, having been introduced to him by mutual friend Ellen DeGeneres, a US television host, who is said to have worked with him “forever”.

Another important contact? It comes as Meghan has also been linked to Gordon Getty, following unconfirmed reports the pair were spotted having lunch together. The San Francisco billionaire is the scion of the late J Paul Getty, whose oil fortune made his family among the richest in US history. So while she may have taken a step back from the spotlight, behind the scenes, Meghan appears to once again be on manoeuvres.

Tominey quotes Tom Bower: According to Tom Bower, author of Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors, both potentially lucrative alliances suggest the Duchess is “building up to something big”. He told GB News: “The question is, how will she make a lot of money in a short period of time in the end to make sure that she doesn’t need always to parade herself as the victim of the royal family? She’s always looking for other business opportunities. What’s interesting is the people she goes to. Who is going to maximise Meghan’s popularity, who’s going to make her really big and very rich? She’s very shrewd and clever in that. She’s always looking for opportunities and for people who can help her.”

[From The Telegraph]

Tominey then suggests that Meghan is about to relaunch herself on Instagram where she’ll start doing spon-con and earning millions of dollars…? Tominey also claims that Meghan will totally write her own memoir, and that Meghan is perhaps too busy to come with Harry to the coronation. Basically, it’s a whole lotta nothing much, and I doubt that’s really Meghan’s IG handle too. The real story is: Meghan hasn’t been seen for two-and-a-half months and the British media is desperate for any kind of Sussex content. Another part of the story is that the jig is up on the British media’s stupid games – they look like what they are, a group of vindictive, abusive harassers obsessed with an American woman who moved back to America three years ago.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.