Wow, Us Weekly Photoshopped the crap out of this photo of the Duchess of Sussex. Like… Meghan’s beauty regularly takes my breath away, so it’s odd that anyone would try to completely change her makeup and skin this drastically. Anyway, I hope this Us Weekly cover story is part of a larger strategy to hype Meghan’s new projects, including her Netflix cooking/entertaining show. We still don’t have a release date on that, nor have we been able to buy one single item from American Riviera Orchard. Still, I enjoy any kind of positive energy towards Meghan from the tabloids. Some highlights from Us Weekly’s cover story:

Meghan is back: In recent months, Meghan’s been back in the game full throttle. She’s set to launch her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, and her new Netflix series, centered around cooking, entertaining and gardening, has finished filming. In July, she joined a slew of Hollywood heavyweights, including Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow, at the Hamptons home of power broker Amy Griffin for a one-day business summit. “Meghan was there to network,” says an insider. “She was very kind and humble and eager to learn.”

Meghan’s chapter of joy: “Meghan has transitioned from actress to royal to entrepreneur,” says a second insider. “She’s worn many hats, but she believes age and experience have [prepared her] for a bigger purpose in life. She’s very happy with the role she’s carved out.”

She’s ready to look forward. “After Spare, [Harry and Meghan] realized, ‘OK, we’re ready to move on. We want to focus on our future,’” the family friend tells Us. “‘We can have meaning and importance separate from the lives we had previously.’” Adds the family friend: “Meghan doesn’t harbor any negative feelings. She just wants peace, and knows you can’t find peace if you harbor resentments.”

She’s not interested in that family: The family friend says they are otherwise moving on from royal headlines. “Meghan’s team gets asked daily to comment on stuff that has nothing to do with their lives now. They have left it behind.”

Meghan’s friend group: A source close to the Sussexes says Meghan “has a great group of friends who are all successful in their own ways who she really trusts.” In addition to famous pals like Serena Williams and Ellen DeGeneres, she has a group of local moms she sees regularly. The first insider says the duchess has become “very close” with neighbor and Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, and a second source says she’s tight with entrepreneur Jamie Kern Lima, cofounder of IT Cosmetics.

Harry’s friend group: Harry, meanwhile, “has a small [group] of close friends,” says the second source, noting that he keeps his inner circle tight for “understandable reasons.” Moving from the U.K. has been an adjustment for Harry, though he’s come to love his situation in the States. “He’ll always be fond of his home country, but the way he views it, his wife and kids are his priority. If that means making sure they’re safe and happy in Montecito, then he supports that.”

The Sussexes do the school run too: The family friend says Meghan and Harry are hands-on parents to Archie and Lilibet and want them to have normal childhoods: “They take the kids to school, they pick them up, and they are very active and present with them throughout the day.” The friend says that the Sussexes keep Archie and Lilibet out of the spotlight for their own safety. “I think every parent wants to share their kid with the world, but they just can’t,” explains the friend, referencing Harry’s battle for enhanced security in the U.K. “William’s kids, for example, have way more safety, even though they’re recognizable. And the same doesn’t apply to Meghan and Harry’s children. They know the world wants to see [them but] I would expect them to live smaller lives until that gets sorted, if it ever does.”

How Meghan feels about Thomas Markle: Says the first insider: “Meghan still has no contact with her dad. She does not plan on having a relationship with him, and he has not met his grandkids. That ship has sailed.”

Launching ARO: She couldn’t be more excited about ARO, which sources tell Us is likely to launch around her Netflix series, which reportedly will be released early next year. “[ARO] will likely be very much in line with who Meghan is as a person,” says the second source. “She loves hosting events, and she’s very thoughtful about how she treats her guests whenever they come over.” Her Netflix series “is going to be a take on her and the joy of living,” reveals the third source, adding that the show will include “little things she’s learned in terms of being a modern-day hostess.” There are rumors of cameos from Harry, and the source promises fans can expect to see familiar faces from pop culture to culinary to beauty.

She’s not writing a memoir: Not currently on the duchess’ radar: running for office, returning to acting or writing a memoir. Adds the third source: “Meghan’s in the middle of her story right now.”

[From Us Weekly]

Meghan has been forward-looking for a while now. I think she was probably more retrospective back in 2022, when she and Harry still believed that they could travel to the UK and visit with his family and when they still maintained their home at Frogmore Cottage. But Meghan’s been done with the UK since QEII died. She’s been done since Charles’s first act as king was to ban her from Balmoral. Anyway, I believe that she’s very happy right now and I can’t wait for all of her projects to launch.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images. Cover courtesy of Us Weekly.

Last week, my husband came home from work and told me that his Gen Z coworkers were making fun of some of his more Millennial traits, like watching TikTok videos on Instagram instead of the TT app. Our 10-year-old heard us talking about being “old” and started dropping phrases using Gen Z/Gen Alpha vernacular and I was just completely lost. My husband, who was more familiar because of his younger coworkers, had to explain it all to me. I responded using Millennial speak and everyone just rolled their eyes.

Each generation just has their own way of doing certain things, and so far, Gen Z has come for older generations by canceling skinny jeans, ankle socks, and side parts. There’s also the Great Top Sheet Debate from earlier this summer. I did not realize that this was controversial, but apparently, one of those things that we Millennials are now being made fun of for doing is making large purchases on our computers. I guess buying expensive items through your phone is all the rage nowadays.

Gen Z is at it again. First, they came for your skinny jeans. Then, they blasted your side parts. They even had the audacity to cancel your sweet, sweet ankle socks!

And now, they’re coming for “laptop purchases.”

In case you didn’t know, there’s a widespread belief that big purchases must be made on a laptop. Examples of “laptop purchases” are plane tickets, hotel rooms, expensive electronics, or furniture. For clarity’s sake, let’s say a “laptop purchase” is anything over $300.

As [one] person said, “The millennial urge to make a big purchase on a laptop instead of a phone is very real.”

Well, I’m here to tell you that Gen Z apparently doesn’t agree with the “laptop purchase” mentality. A tweet from Jessie Frazelle says, “Apparently, Gen Z is making fun of older generations for never buying big ticket purchases on their phone and always using a desktop.”

The generational divide is real.

“How are you gonna open multiple tabs and carefully cross-compare offers??” [one] frantic millennial asked. Another millennial said they needed a “real keyboard for this serious business.”

And [another] person straight up said the anti-laptop purchase mentality was “wrong,” explaining, “Sometimes, websites are not properly designed to show all of the information you need to make a purchase on a phone.”

Other millennials seem to agree with Gen Z. “I use my phone all the time to buy stuff,” this person said.

[From Buzzfeed]

Umm, I absolutely prefer to make big purchases from my computer. One exception is if I’m buying concert or show tickets. Even that is on a case-by-case basis, which is generally if tickets go on sale at a certain time and I just am not going to be around a computer and have no other choice but try to navigate Ticketmaster’s app on my phone. Like, how do you so confidently buy plane tickets or book a vacation without having multiple tabs open in a regular browser AND an incognito browser just to make sure that you’ve got the best price? Or don’t mess up something innocent like a date of birth and not notice on your tiny phone screen? I agree with the Millennial that pointed out that a lot of websites aren’t designed to show you all of the info you need to make a purchase through the phone.

Have I had to occasionally book a hotel room for a night through the Hilton Honors app? Sure, but it’s not my preferred method of doing things. Apps are for social media, playing music, and nosily looking at the inside of a house that’s for sale in your neighborhood. Bah, the thought of making a big purchase on my phone is honestly stressing me out right now. Team Laptop Purchases all the way!

Photos credit: Pavel Danilyuk/Mizuno K/Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels, Christin Hume/Unsplash

King Charles apparently decided to cut off Prince Andrew’s privately-funded security this month, and Charles basically announced that to the British media (via the courtiers) as a way to deflect from Charles being a terrible father. He was like: no, I’m also a terrible brother, pay attention to that too. The reaction from Prince Andrew’s side has been especially funny, because it’s always been clear that Andrew knows where the bodies are buried and he’s constantly threatening Charles to get his way. Soon after Andrew’s security was cut off, one of Andrew’s “friends” told the Daily Beast that Charles is childish and jealous of Andrew, and that Andrew still isn’t planning to move out of Royal Lodge, since that is the latest “thing.” Now Andrew’s “friends” are saying: no, really, Andrew will not move out and he’s simply going to outlive Charles. Ice cold.

Prince Andrew will defy his brother King Charles’ insistence that he moves out of Royal Lodge, the 30-room historic Windsor mansion he has called home for the past 20 years, a friend of the prince has told the Daily Beast. The friend told The Daily Beast: “Andrew can sit tight and run out the clock.”

Asked if they were suggesting that Andrew thought Charles might die before he could evict Andrew, the friend said Andrew simply intended to stay in the property, which he is legally entitled to do, having a lease on it that will not expire for over 50 years and can be bequeathed to his children, until his brother accepted he had the legal right to stay there.

They added: “Andrew wants his brother to live long and prosper. He is intensely loyal to the monarchy. But it’s not exactly a state secret that Andrew is more than a decade younger than his brother, and that Charles has cancer. Quite why Charles wants this distraction at this moment in his reign is a great mystery to Andrew’s friends. It looks childish and vindictive as I don’t think anyone except Charles would give a damn where Andrew lives if they stopped briefing the newspapers about it.”

It was recently reported that Charles has told Andrew’s 10-strong security team, which he pays for privately, that their contract will not be renewed this fall. He believes this will put pressure on Andrew to move. A friend of King Charles, who is 12 years older than Andrew, said the monarch remains “utterly determined” that Andrew will be obliged to vacate Royal Lodge.

The friend of King Charles scoffed at Andrew’s defiance and said, “It’s been compared to a siege and that is accurate in one respect because Charles will starve Andrew out. Security is just a first step. He will cut all financial support if he has to. It’s Andrew’s choice how this goes. Charles is the king, and if he wants Andrew gone, Andrew will be gone in the end.”

The fresh insight into Charles’ renewed efforts to kick his brother out of Royal Lodge, a 10-bedroom home in Windsor Great Park that was once the home of the famously extravagant Queen Mother, came days after Sarah Ferguson suggested she and Andrew would not be vacating the property. Sarah told an interviewer for HOLA TV not to believe media reports that they were moving to Harry and Meghan’s former home, Frogmore Cottage. “Don’t always believe what you read,” she said, when asked if it was accurate that they were moving, adding: “I take every day as it comes.”

A former courtier told The Daily Beast: “The whole thing is a mess and arguing about it publicly is not helping the king. Ultimately, Andrew will have to be given something to surrender the lease.”

[From The Daily Beast]

That last part is what shocks me too – if it’s so important to get Andrew out of Royal Lodge, surely Charles could move some money around and buy Andrew out of his lease. Various royal sources have said the same for the past year – it’s not that Andrew refuses to leave Royal Lodge, it’s that he refuses to vacate with nothing in exchange. Which makes me believe that this is all about Charles using Andrew as a convenient target to deflect from larger royal issues. It also seems like the Windsor brand IS punishment, targeted harassment and childish beefs. The stuff about Andrew outliving Charles is… particularly nasty work. Then again, Prince William’s mindset is basically the same, actively rooting for the king to keel over.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

This week, the WHOOP Podcast released their interview with Brittany Mahomes. I have no idea when this interview was conducted, but it feels pretty recent and she talked about being pregnant (she’s expecting her third) and her marriage to Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback. The Mahomes fam is tight with the Kelce fam, and Patrick and Travis Kelce show up to each other’s events outside of football quite often. They are friends on and off the field, and it’s not surprising that Travis’s girlfriend Taylor Swift made an effort to befriend Brittany Mahomes. In fact, Patrick, Brittany and their kids were just in Rhode Island, vacationing at Taylor Swift’s Watch Hill mansion. That vacation came amid Brittany suddenly making several MAGA moves online, liking a MAGA Instagram post and then liking a “Trump-Vance 2024” comment. She’s absolutely a Republican and she’s absolutely a Trump supporter. Not only that, she doesn’t give a sh-t what you think, or at least that’s what she said on this podcast:

Brittany Mahomes has been in the middle of a social media firestorm since she appeared to like a Donald Trump post on Instagram containing the “2024 GOP platform” earlier this month. Mahomes has appeared to even defend herself with cryptic messages and liking comments of support amid the backlash she’s received, and if it seems like she’s been exuding a newfound confidence on social media, it’s because she is.

She recently appeared on an episode of the “WHOOP” podcast and said she’s leaned on her three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback husband to get her through the whirlwind of attention that social media has brought her.

“Having him to help me get through it has helped a lot, because he is very good at managing those things and blocking people out and doing all that type of stuff,” she said. “Having him beside me and kind of guiding me, coaching me through it has helped a ton. I think that’s kind of gotten to where we are at now.”

The best piece of advice she’s gotten? Block out the haters.

“I think the main thing he always told me is like, ‘Stop caring about what people think, especially the people that don’t even know you,’” she said. “And so I think social media used to get me a lot, and now it’s just like honestly I don’t give a f— about what people have to say about me anymore, and I think he has helped me get to that point where I’m strong in who I am, I’m confident in who I am, and I’m confident in mine and his relationship — and I’m confident in our life. So, why does what other people say have to matter at all?”

[From Fox News]

I never get tired of MAGA morons’ martyr syndrome, that they feel the weight of history on their shoulders and they feel they’re being crucified for their beliefs. Beliefs like mass deportations, zero reproductive rights, white nationalism, cruelty, antisemitism, racism and a crashed economy. Brittany believes that she’s some brave truth-teller and that she has to block out the haters, haters who are like “oh, you’re voting for the ticket of hate, I didn’t know that.” The thing is, if Brittany was actually this bold, confident person, surely she would openly endorse Trump and Vance instead of playing these stupid social media games? Say it with your whole chest: I’m in a cult and I’m proud of it!

The Taylor Swift aspect of this… I find myself in the weird position these days of giving Taylor the benefit of the doubt, but here I go again. Taylor is stuck because Travis and Patrick are tight and they’re teammates. Do I think Tay should distance herself from the Mahomes fam? For sure, but again, it’s difficult because of Travis. Taylor is also dealing with a lot of other sh-t right now (terrorists were literally planning a huge attack at her concert). Maybe I’m delusional, but I believe Taylor will end up endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket at some point, even if her silence right now reads as complicity.

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

Kamala Harris sat for her first TV interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. She not only did her first interview since late June, she folded it into the “first interview with her running mate.” MAGA dumbasses were trying to make that into a thing, like VP Harris couldn’t handle being interviewed solo, except that running-mate dual interviews happen every election cycle. They’re so common that Donald Trump and Mike Pence did a few back in 2016, years before Trump sent his cult members to hang Pence.

The interview itself was nothing special from CNN and Dana Bash. Bash used MAGA talking points as her guideline for questioning Harris and Walz, and Harris and Walz handled everything very well. The interview was conducted a few days ago, I think, and CNN hyped the f–k out of it. MAGA-ville hyped it too, so much so that JD Vance thought this tweet would land:

BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview. pic.twitter.com/c6nfcJrFJy

— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 29, 2024

That’s the infamous “such as/the Iraq” clip from 2007, where Miss Teen South Carolina Caite Upton completely malfunctioned during the interview portion of the Miss Teen USA pageant. After that disaster, Upton was soon signed to Donald Trump’s modeling agency. These days, Upton is a MAGA Republican and an anti-vaxxer, at least according to online reports. Nevermind the fact that the Republican vice presidential nominee suggested that the sitting Democratic vice president was as dumb as a MAGA Republican pageant princess – this is simply how Trump and Vance see all women. They see women as jokes, as bimbos, as pieces of ass and as breeders. That’s it. It’s wildly misogynistic.

Here’s a long clip from Harris & Walz’s CNN interview:

It’s genuinely really heartbreaking to think about Miss South Carolina—who is a Trump supporter—finding out that Trump’s campaign running mate is using her most embarrassing moment in life to mock and attack his opponent.

It’s just misogyny with a side of gratuitous cruelty. https://t.co/IupoKDikaP

— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) August 30, 2024

This is exactly what they have in store for women. Belittle us. Ridicule us. Reduce us to second class citizenship. A candidate for VP who says this should be removed, but it’s precisely what Trump thinks too. pic.twitter.com/gvt4ec6Q2l

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) August 29, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, screencap from CNN.

Hands on your knees, Angelina Jolie! Angelina stole the show and perhaps the hearts of all Italians last night in Venice. Pablo Larrain’s Maria got its splashy Venice Film Festival premiere on the second night, and the reception was rapturous. Every critic who watched the screening has raved about the film and Angelina’s performance. If the critics have their way, she will be guaranteed an Oscar nomination and she’s likely the front-runner to win. They’re calling it a career-best performance from Jolie. They’re saying she’s the only one who could have played Maria Callas. They’re saying Angelina is one of the few movie stars left in the world.

Angelina’s look at the premiere was dramatic… for beige. Truly, the most dramatic beige I’ve ever seen. Angelina’s gown is a custom look from Tamara Ralph, one half of Ralph & Russo. Jolie used to wear a lot of Ralph & Russo back in the day, and I kind of love that she went back to Tamara Ralph. She paired the gown with a faux fur stole and Cartier jewelry. Earlier in the day, she wore a Cartier brooch, a vintage piece which once belonged to Maria Callas. Perhaps her brooch at the premiere also had a Callas connection. I would assume that Angelina’s blood-red lipstick is courtesy of Tom Ford Beauty, since she recently became the face of the beauty company.

After the premiere, Angelina and Pablo Larrain received an eight-minute standing ovation. Angelina cried, she was so moved by the reception. The critics have been moved as well – I’ve seen a couple of critics admit to weeping at parts of the movie. Basically, Angelina has fully achieved goddess status this year. Italians camped out overnight for a glimpse of her. One man sang in Italian to her at the photocall. Journalists were asking for her autograph. One of her fans has brittle-bone disease and he asked to be transported by gurney to the premiere so he could possibly meet Jolie. She dutifully stopped, knelt down and spoke to him. She really is Saint Angelina now.

Angelina Jolie weeps through an 8-minute #Venezia81 standing ovation for ‘Maria,’ which will be a major Oscars contender. pic.twitter.com/PMiu4RWJ09

— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) August 29, 2024

Angelina Jolie tears up during the 8-minute standing ovation for #Maria. https://t.co/Wg4J4cVGp5 pic.twitter.com/mwctbzu4Me

— Variety (@Variety) August 29, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Embed from Getty Images
It’s only been about six weeks since President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down and endorsing VP Kamala Harris. That’s crazy! Somehow it feels like it’s simultaneously been a lifetime and yet gone by in a flash. There’s been so much enthusiasm for Kamala, which has thankfully helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars in record time. A good chunk of those funds have come from the wildly successful Zooms for Kamala. Black Women for Kamala set the bar, and soon Black Men, South Asian Women, South Asian Men, LGBTQ, White Women, and White Dude iterations followed. So the next logical demographic to organize their own Zoom was… Swifties for Kamala! The call raised over $140,000 and featured Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, and singer-songwriter Carole King — she sang “Shake It Off!”

Left-leaning Taylor Swift fans joined artists like Carole King and politicians, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for a Zoom call organized by the group “Swifties for Kamala” in an effort to mobilize fans of the pop superstar to vote for Kamala Harris.

Swift herself has no affiliation with the group and was not involved in the call on Tuesday. CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment on the event.

“Swifties for Kamala” has amassed roughly a quarter of a million followers across multiple social media platforms since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term and endorsed Vice President Harris.

More than 26,000 participants registered to join the Tuesday evening call, which raised more than $138,000 for the campaign and featured remarks by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) and chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Anderson Clayton.

Irene Kim, the co-founder of “Swifties for Kamala,” had previously told CNN the group was hopeful Harris or her running mate, Tim Walz, might join the call, though neither were present.

“Hello Swifties!” is how Warren, the first speaker of the night, greeted the group as heart, thumbs up and party emojis flowed through the Zoom stream.

“You are resilient, and you know how to take on bullies and you know how to be your most authentic, most joyful selves,” Warren said. “You come together hand-in-hand, friendship bracelets on your wrist, and you overcome pretty much anything that life throws at you. And that is what the Kamala Harris campaign is all about. It’s about standing up for what is right in the face of bullies, like Donald Trump.”

King sang her favorite Swift song, “Shake It Off,” on the call, telling those gathered not to be afraid of standing up and using their voice in the lead-up to the election.

“I’ve been a political activist for years, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a doorknocker, even as a famous person,” King said.

“I am a Swiftie, and Taylor and I are actually friends,” the music legend also said. “We’ve had conversations backstage, and I see her as sort of my musical and songwriting granddaughter, and we have a lovely relationship and I’m so proud of her.” King added, “I’m so excited about Kamala because so many people are excited about Kamala.”

Gillibrand told a few Swiftie jokes … and also referenced the now-infamous cat lady remarks made by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.

“I think it’s important that we, as single cat ladies, as independent women, as women who know every lyric that Taylor Swift has ever written, that we are part of this campaign and part of this election,” Gillibrand said. “I think she can be a voice for this generation that is really profound, as someone who values women’s words, who values women, who values our independence.”

[From CNN]

Gosh I love Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She’s so earnest! I thought she did a great job making the pitch of the shared themes between Taylor’s songs and the ethos of Kamala’s campaign. And then Sen. Gillibrand waltzes in and nails her “As single cat ladies,” intro. But of course the big, billionaire, sold-out-global-tour elephant in the room is… where is Taylor herself? Politically speaking. Other outlets even noted how strange it was that Taylor couldn’t be bothered. I could understand Taylor waiting until after the European leg of the Eras Tour, then again until she was cleared to speak about the terrorist threat that was thwarted in Vienna (and caused her shows there to be canceled). And I also thought it was appropriate to show respect for the tragedy that occurred in Southport, England. But at this point, isn’t it more and more conspicuous the longer she stays mum? While hosting a pro-MAGA white nationalist at her home? The Swifties showed up for Kamala, now it’s time for Taylor’s version.

Photos credit Getty and via YouTube/Access Hollywood and Billboard News

Robert Fellowes passed away one month ago. Fellowes was married to Lady Jane Spencer, one of Princess Diana’s older sisters. Prince Harry is very close to the Spencer side of his family, and there was a lot of talk in the British media about whether Harry would fly in for his uncle’s funeral. Two weeks ago, the Daily Beast reported exclusively that Harry would not go to the funeral, mostly because his security situation in the UK is still FUBAR. For what it’s worth, I believed the Daily Beast’s exclusive and I believed Harry would not make an attempt to go to uncle’s funeral. I was wrong. Harry flew into England, stealth-mode, this week and the British media is only finding out now.

Harry and William were together yesterday to say goodbye to their uncle — but were not seen talking to each other. The princes both “discreetly” attended the funeral for Lord Robert Fellowes, who was their mother Diana’s brother-in-law.

They were said to have sat apart at the back of the church in Snettisham, Norfolk.

Sources close to US-based Harry, 39, had previously claimed he would not attend. But a close family friend said they were “very happy to confirm both princes were there”.

Another source told how they saw them only at the end of the service in St Mary’s Church.

They said: “I didn’t know they were there. They arrived very discreetly.”

One local added: “William and Harry were both there but we never saw them speak to each other and they were keeping their distance.”

The brothers have barely ­spoken to each other since Megxit, when Harry and wife Meghan quit royal duties for a new life in the States. Harry and William, 42, went on a walkabout at Windsor after the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022 but have not been in the same room since the King’s Coronation more than a year ago.

[From The Sun]

It’s honestly just as big a surprise to me that William went to the funeral too. This seems like just the kind of Spencer family event which William would have skipped. I would also assume that Harry’s presence at the funeral was not a surprise to the Spencers, who likely helped facilitate his secret trip. Harry might have even stayed at Althorp (the Spencer estate) while he was there for all we know. Oh God… I bet he did just that and paid a visit to his mother’s gravesite ahead of the anniversary of her death. He hadn’t been to Diana’s grave since 2022, when he brought Meghan.

As for all of this… the family friend is William, correct? He must have been so surprised to see Harry there. It strikes me that there were several announcements this week about Harry – the Spare paperback and his upcoming trip to New York – which were probably timed out as a distraction to Harry’s secret trip. The Daily Mail was throwing tantrums about New York and the memoir, and they completely missed “stalking the Spencers at a family funeral.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Al Roker just turned 70 years old, and Oprah Winfrey turned 70 back in January. Oprah tends to have huge realizations around her biggest birthdays, and we have to go through it all with her. I still remember how mad she was when she turned 50 (she hated that birthday). Well, Al Roker is more easy-going but even had to pause for his 70th. He asked Oprah if she would do an interview for the Today Show on aging and the wisdom that comes with age. The interview was actually really good! She really opens up to people she’s known for years.

What she felt on her 70th birthday: “There is a sense of knowing that there isn’t as much time left and I am at peace with that knowing. There’s a sense of urgency for me about living well.”

Her 2021 knee surgery: “I had been becoming more and more debilitated to the point where it was hard to walk down even two steps just to get into the car. You know that pain. When I finally went to the knee doctor and I said, ‘I don’t know, is it time?’ He goes, ‘It’s time if you want to continue walking. You like walking? It’s time.’ I’d never been through surgery, was intimidated by it. The best thing I’ve ever done. I really felt like I’ve had a new opportunity to live inside my body in a way that I hadn’t been able to for years because being overweight, and being overweight causing the knees to be even worse.”

Whether her edges have softened over time: “I think I have just aged into a form of myself that is wiser, that is certainly stronger, that is more vibrant and aware and conscious than I’ve ever been. I don’t feel that my edges are softening.”

Her biggest regret: “I would not have taken on the responsibility of trying to build a network [OWN] while still ending the show. That is my one regret. I should have handled all of that differently, I think. I should have completed one thing, taken a year to do nothing, and then decided what was the next thing for me to do. I’d made a decision that it was time for the show to end, I don’t regret that. What I do regret is trying to do multiple things at the same time. I would have done the thing that I tell everybody else to do: ‘When you don’t know what to do, do nothing. Get still with yourself and do nothing.’ I would have given myself that time.”

She loves rainy days: “If it’s a rainy day, I’m in love with life. You know why? No expectations. Nobody expects you to go out on a rainy day. If it’s bright sun everybody’s like, ‘Come on, let’s do that that that.’ I love myself a rainy day. Rainy day, a fireplace, a blanket, and a dog at your foot and a great book? That’s it. That’s it for me.”

[From People Magazine]

In recent weeks, I feel like the universe is trying to tell me to get my bad knee looked at by a doctor instead of just ignoring it and saying “that’s my bad knee.” As for Oprah’s sense of peace and urgency with her 70th birthday… I hope she genuinely feels some sense of peace, but I doubt it. I think she’s still got a long list of sh-t she wants to do and it probably drives her a little bit crazy to think that she won’t have time to get to it. But maybe that’s a great way to live too, always yearning and striving and doing. And yeah, she probably should have held off on launching OWN for a few years. I remember the chaos of that launch too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Taylor Swift had three concerts scheduled in Vienna in early August that had to be canceled last minute when Austrian authorities uncovered a planned terrorist attack. Taylor did not make any public statements at the time, which was the safe and soundest thing to do while law enforcement worked to apprehend the suspect. Taylor ended up not commenting on what happened until a few weeks later, after she’d completed the European leg of the Eras Tour with her second stop in London. Now the CIA is confirming just how serious the situation was. While speaking at a security summit this week, the deputy director characterized the terrorist plot as “serious” and “quite advanced,” and that it had the potential to kill tens of thousands of people. Thank goodness everyone took the right steps to ensure that it didn’t.

The planned terrorist plot at Taylor Swift’s shows in Vienna earlier this month was intended to kill “tens of thousands” of fans, according to the deputy director of the CIA.

“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said on Wednesday after revealing at the Intelligence and National Security Summit that the information Austrian authorities used to stop the terror plot was given to the CIA.

He also noted at the summit held in Maryland that those who planned the attack “were quite advanced in this.”

On Aug. 7, Austrian authorities arrested two people accused of plotting a terror attack, with additional arrests made in subsequent days. Some of the individuals arrested were found with bomb-making materials and had access to the concert venue, where several shows were scheduled to take place in the days following the arrests.

Austrian officials said the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian man, was inspired by the Islamic State group. He allegedly planned to attack outside the stadium, where upwards of 30,000 fans were expected to gather, with another 65,000 likely to be inside the venue. Investigators discovered chemical substances and technical devices during a raid of the suspect’s home.

Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, previously stated that help from other intelligence agencies was necessary because Austrian investigators, unlike some foreign services, cannot legally monitor text messages.

The main suspect’s lawyer claimed the allegations were “overacting at its best,” arguing that Austrian authorities were “presenting this exaggeratedly” to push for new surveillance powers.

Swift had been planning to hold three concerts in Vienna beginning Aug. 8, with 200,000 people expected to attend. Last week, in a social media post, the singer broke her silence about the cancellations after concluding her London shows at Wembley Stadium.

“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”

“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”

[From Hollywood Life]

Further on in Taylor’s Instagram post she made it very clear that her silence had been intentional. “My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.” That’s absolutely right. Canceling the shows, cooperating with law enforcement, and not commenting until the entire tour leg was over protected the lives of her fans and everyone who works on the tour. And it sounds like the CIA stepped in fairly quickly to assist the Austrian authorities. This is a whole other conversation, but I find that detail on Austrians not being allowed to monitor their citizens’ text messages rather fascinating.

Photos credit: Mike Gray / Avalon, Justin Ng / Avalon. Photos of fans are from Wembley Stadium in London in June