As I mentioned in passing last week, Madonna sat down for Us Weekly’s “25 Things You Don’t Know About…” feature. I almost always enjoy this feature, no matter the celebrity, but I was surprised that Madonna agreed to it. Because… don’t we already know everything about Madonna? Turns out, she still has a few surprises. Some people think that her answer about wanting to meet Pres. Obama is shady. As in, people think she was throwing shade at Beyonce and/or Pres. Obama. I’m not sure…but here are my favorite items:

2. My favorite city is Rome. It’s so beautiful. The light is soothing and calming to me, and the architecture is splendid and the food is incredible. I totally love it.

3. I can’t stand mushrooms. Or escargot. Yuck! It’s like snot. Expensive snot.

5. The last time I went grocery shopping was a year ago.

6. I miss absolutely nothing about growing up in Michigan. Nothing at all.

7. The person I most want to meet is President Obama. When the heck am I going to meet him? He just needs to invite me to the White House already. He probably thinks I’m too shocking to be there. I’m serious. If I was a little bit more demure…or if I was just married to Jay Z. Hey, if Jay would only take me as his second wife, then I’d score an invitation.

8. The one thing I’d never be caught dead wearing is a fur bikini.

9. My happiest moments were when my children [Lourdes, 18, Rocco, 14, David, 9, and Mercy, 9] were born and when I got married both times [to Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie].

10. My favorite part of my body is my eyes. My least is my dancer’s feet. They are pretty disgusting.

11. I have found marriages don’t last if you share bathrooms. The best thing about being single is there’s no one to throw out of the bathroom when I want privacy.

12. The thing I miss least about marriage is being called “the wife.” The worst.

13. My most fattening indulgence is either pizza or french fries. Or potato chips, actually. Love them all.

18. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen was my daughter [Lourdes] playing the ukulele and singing “La Vie en Rose” for me.

19. My secret beauty ritual is to put ice on my eyes every morning. Ice, ice baby.

23. I have major claustrophobia. I don’t like being stuck in small, enclosed spaces or in crowds. They freak me out.

24. My ideal day off is spent lying in bed all day — sleeping for a few hours, then waking up and watching old movies, like my favorite, Breathless. I eat in bed, have my children come hang out with me, and then I fall back asleep. I never leave the bedroom.

25. My favorite memories of Michael Jackson were getting him to let down his guard. He was so shy. The time I succeeded most was after I got him drunk at the Ivy in Beverly Hills. I was driving my Mercedes and dared him to throw his sunglasses out the window. We couldn’t stop laughing.

[From Us Weekly]

It’s a good list! So, was she throwing shade at Beyonce and/or President Obama? I can’t really decide. It’s true, if she was more demure, she might have gotten an invite to meet Pres. Obama. You know what else would have made the difference? If Sasha and Malia were into Madonna like they’re into Beyonce. But who is more into Beyonce: Sasha, Malia or Michelle Obama? I think it might be FLOTUS. Anyway, I’m not mad at the Obamas for not inviting Madonna over. They’re allowed to have Bey and Jay over without having to invite all the pop stars, you know?

Two more things. I think the “fur bikini” thing was shade at Kim Kardashian. And I think the “being called ‘the wife’” thing was shade at Guy Ritchie.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet and Madonna’s Instagram.

This is barely a story, but since it involves our Dragonfly Overlord, I expect this will probably be the most popular post of the day (don’t disappoint me). Tom Hiddleston has begun filming the AMC/BBC miniseries adaptation of John le Carré’s The Night Manager. He’s filming in view of the Matterhorn, the mountain that straddles the Swiss-Italian border. Tommy has posted a photo of the famed Matterhorn on his Twitter, as did Hugh Laurie.

I guess Tom and Hugh Laurie and the rest of the cast only recently arrived at the Swiss Alps a few days ago. I have no idea how long the production will be, but considering it’s supposed to be a six-part miniseries and it’s being produced by the BBC, I would expect they’re on a fast schedule and hopefully this will be wrapped up in three months, maximum. Is that a pipe dream? Eh.

The Night Manager also added some newish people to the cast! The series will also feature Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander and Elizabeth Debecki (I know her from Baz’s version of The Great Gatsby and I wasn’t very impressed).

I’m including some new Twitter photos below, like Tommy’s tweet and producer Rob Bullock’s shot of Tommy filming in the snow. I wonder if Tom has someone around to keep him warm at night. Calling all dragonflies: head to the Matterhorn to warm up Lord Dragonfly.

The walk to work. #TheNightManager pic.twitter.com/WaZaTq1gFh

— Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) March 21, 2015

#TheNightManager pic.twitter.com/frharSRl35

— Rob Bullock (@rob_bullock) March 21, 2015

Photos courtesy of Twitter, WENN.

Bethenny Frankel, 44, has a new relationship book coming out. She’s still not divorced, her last relationship was a flash-in-the-pan with a guy 10 years younger than she is, and she has a relationship book coming out. Sure. Why not? At least Bethenny’s book has a somewhat self-aware title. It’s called I Suck at Relationships So You Don’t Have To: 10 Rules for Not Screwing Up Your Happily Ever After and is out April 7.

In a new interview on Watch What Happens Live, Bethenny called herself “single”. She also went into detail about her plans for the future, and what she’s learned from her divorce. Later, when outlets asked, she confirmed that she split from Michael Cerussi, 34. Here’s some of what she told Andy Cohen on WWHL and People Magazine when they asked about her breakup:

Her dating plans
I’m not dating now. I mean I’ve been. I wish that my dating life were as colorful and exciting as it’s written about, but right now I’m kind of at a standstill. I’ve been — I’ve dated this year. I’ve had a lot of different experiences, but I have a daughter and I am still married.

I’ve never dated anyone in this crazy world that I live in now and I don’t think I would want to. I would only want to date someone low-profile. – From People

I’ve been through a lot with exposing all my personal life so I’m not making any grand statements anymore – From People

What she’s learned from relationships
I’ve learned that you need to go with your gut. As smart as I am in business…. it’s really why I wrote the book [I Suck at Relationships So You Don’t Have to]… I’ve learned more from my mistakes than from my successes. Women have this biological clock, you want things to be a certain way and you have this idea of how things are supposed to be.

How relationships get soured
I write about mutual respect. People should be in relationships with people that really accept them and understand them.

The power struggle between men and women [exists], and [it is hard] when the woman is the breadwinner. I think fame, attention, and money does not bring out the best in everybody. I think that money, in many ways, is the root of all evil.

On problems in her now-over marriage
We brushed them under the rug,. Cracks become craters. Little things that you see in your relationships and your friendships… I feel like in our personal lives, we don’t [acknowledge them]. I think men are just better about that than women.

I don’t want to come in here and start trashing the situation. It’s not good for anyone and it doesn’t help anyone. My daughter’s the most important one… I made an important decision to really just not dive in the mud.

On if she would get married again
If anybody would ever want to get married to me on television, I would run like a thief in the night. I will never get legally married again, I will never ever be legally married again. Marriage is the ‘Hotel California’: You can check out anytime, but you can never leave.

[From WWHL via US Weekly except where noted From People]

So Bethenny had a several month relationship with a guy she flaunted for the paps on multiple photo ops yet she won’t give a direct quote confirming their split because she’s “been through a lot with exposing all my personal life.” She’s also going through a divorce that’s not yet finalized, she’s clearly not even communicating with her ex over custody issues and yet she’s about to publish a book about relationships. I should write a book about baseball. I’ve been to a couple of games, I’ll know what I’m talking about. I can just write in general terms about throwing the ball and running around the bases and such.

Bethenny and Michael Cerussi are shown in January, 2014 and October, 2014. Credit: FameFlynet. Bethenny is also shown at an event in March. Credit: WENN.com

Angelina Jolie has dropped another bombshell New York Times op-ed on all of us, just like she did two years ago when she announced that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy. At that time, she explained that she carried the same faulty BRCA1 gene that likely runs in her family (her mother, grandmother and aunt all died from cancer). Jolie announced her double mastectomy in May 2013, at the tailend of her surgical process, and explained that she had undergone the preventative measure because doctors told her that her breast cancer risk was much higher than her risk for ovarian cancer, and that more preventative surgeries could wait. Well, in this morning’s op-ed, Jolie describes getting a bad blood test back and deciding to go ahead with the surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes.

You can read Jolie’s new op-ed here. It’s emotional and well-written, and you can tell that she’s making all of her decisions with not only her mother in mind, but her children too. She talks candidly about making the decision to undergo the surgery that will put her through menopause. It sounds like Brad was there for her through every step, yet again:

Then two weeks ago I got a call from my doctor with blood-test results. “Your CA-125 is normal,” he said. I breathed a sigh of relief. That test measures the amount of the protein CA-125 in the blood, and is used to monitor ovarian cancer. I have it every year because of my family history. But that wasn’t all. He went on. “There are a number of inflammatory markers that are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer.” I took a pause. “CA-125 has a 50 to 75 percent chance of missing ovarian cancer at early stages,” he said. He wanted me to see the surgeon immediately to check my ovaries.

I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt. I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.

I called my husband in France, who was on a plane within hours. The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful.

That same day I went to see the surgeon, who had treated my mother. I last saw her the day my mother passed away, and she teared up when she saw me: “You look just like her.” I broke down. But we smiled at each other and agreed we were there to deal with any problem, so “let’s get on with it.”

[From NYT]

Angelina spends some time repeating this too: “There is more than one way to deal with any health issue. The most important thing is to learn about the options and choose what is right for you personally.” I think she was unfairly slammed for “encouraging” women to undergo mastectomies two years ago when really she was just trying to talk about the personal choices she was making and encouraging a larger conversation about women’s health. She finishes her essay by writing that she had undergone the final part of her surgery and she is now in menopause:

Last week, I had the procedure: a laparoscopic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. There was a small benign tumor on one ovary, but no signs of cancer in any of the tissues. I have a little clear patch that contains bio-identical estrogen. A progesterone IUD was inserted in my uterus. It will help me maintain a hormonal balance, but more important it will help prevent uterine cancer. I chose to keep my uterus because cancer in that location is not part of my family history.

It is not possible to remove all risk, and the fact is I remain prone to cancer. I will look for natural ways to strengthen my immune system. I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family. I know my children will never have to say, “Mom died of ovarian cancer.”

Regardless of the hormone replacements I’m taking, I am now in menopause. I will not be able to have any more children, and I expect some physical changes. But I feel at ease with whatever will come, not because I am strong but because this is a part of life. It is nothing to be feared.

I feel deeply for women for whom this moment comes very early in life, before they have had their children. Their situation is far harder than mine. I inquired and found out that there are options for women to remove their fallopian tubes but keep their ovaries, and so retain the ability to bear children and not go into menopause. I hope they can be aware of that. It is not easy to make these decisions. But it is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue. You can seek advice, learn about the options and make choices that are right for you. Knowledge is power.

[From The NYT]

I remember reading pieces from women who had undergone mastectomies and how they said it was so powerful that Jolie had said that she still felt feminine and beautiful. I imagine the same thing will happen with this – she’s still the same woman, just in early menopause and with a significantly decreased cancer risk. Jolie is so badass. I love her.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

The April issue of Vogue (the one with Serena Williams on the cover) includes an interesting feature called “The New Brat Pack.” This editorial includes Kendall Jenner, Justin Bieber, Ansel Elgort, and Gigi Hadid, along with Dylan and Hopper Penn. All were photographed by Mario Testino in flashy California settings. At least for a few of them, Vogue got the “brat” attribute correct.

Vogue describes all of these model/actor/singers as “the Instagram aristocracy.” Make no mistake, Kendall is the star of this shoot. She poses with Swaggy, Ansel Elgort, and Gigi Hadid. The full issue hits newstands on sale Wednesday. In the meantime, little snippets of the interview have surfaced. Ansel raves about LA’s amazing sushi. Bieber says, “I”ve been kind of on the low, just working on the new album.” Kendall raves about how she and Gigi first met at Nobu Malibu and “clicked right away.” As Lainey points out, the original 1980s Brat Pack didn’t enjoy their label at all. But these new ruffians seem flattered by the editorial. Surely they were aware of the brat-pack theme.

Several of the models (obviously Bieber) also feature in Mario Testino’s “Towel Series.” This feels like another excuse for Swaggy to show off his pseudo-ripped bod again. Both of these shoots feel hollow, perhaps by design.

This photo of Gigi and Kendall is the best shot of the bunch. Gigi is wearing a Burberry Prorsum leather jacket and an Alexander McQueen dress. Kendall is wearing a Givenchy lace-and-goatskin coat and Tommy Hilfiger pants. They look like they’re having fun. You can see the rest of the photos here.

More Kendall news. Here’s her brand new Estee Lauder commercial for the limited edition Courrèges line (they’re going very young with this campaign). I’m also including some photos of Kendall with Gigi Hadid at Paris fashion week. They fastened BFF love locks on the Pont des Arts bridge.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & Vogue/Mario Testino

View image | gettyimages.com

Rob Kardashian never gets papped anymore, so I’ve been digging up dated Rob photos for these new stories. From about 2009-2011, Rob was a social butterfly. He attended all sorts of functions with his sisters and had a great time. Now he’s at odds with most of his family. I think he’s only close to Khloe now, right? We talked yesterday about how Rob lashed out at Kim, comparing her to “that bitch from Gone Girl“. Several different outlets have competing stories about how the Kardashian family reacted to Rob’s declaration.

People magazine is firmly in the Kardashian family clutches, which has been an ongoing process. Their bias grows daily and was very apparent in their “adorable” description of the Kylie Jenner and Tyga romance. So People’s take is probably endorsed by Kris Jenner:

It seems there’s no cause for alarm. “[Rob] has a funny sense of humor and posts weird things and then deletes them,” a source close to the Kardashian family tells People. “It’s just him.”

Indeed, as a source previously revealed to People, nobody is particularly bothered or insulted by the bizarre slam, calling the whole thing “so dumb.”

That said, some of the family are concerned about his behavior. “He’s been depressed and just a bit off in general,” says the source of Rob, who has struggled with his weight. “But he has always been this way. He just can’t lose the weight and he doesn’t try — he just sits around.”

[From People]

These quotes are typical of the insensitive Kardashian family vibe. If someone is depressed, they often lack the drive to pull themselves out of a depression (or do anything at all). The source is picking on Rob for sitting on his tush. I know he’s an adult; he’s got a college degree and should be able to rip himself away of the family cycle. Rob seems like he’s more than a little depressed and “just a bit off.”

A more defensive take comes from Radar, which says the family wants a Rob intervention: “No one can believe that Rob would do such a thing as he did this weekend … Kim would never do such a thing to Rob, or to any of her other siblings for that matter.” Come on! Kim would totally pick on Rob in public and has done so on KUTWK. In a 2013 episode, she tried to get him sick on junk food and said, “I really needed a pregnant friend … you eat like one.” She bashes his weight and has no sympathy for him. Yet the Radar source tried to make Kim seem innocent in this feud. They’re both awful to each other.

Hollywood Life has another reaction to this mess. Their source says Kris called “an emergency family meeting” to handle the Rob dilemma. She roped in Kim, Kanye, Bruce, and Khloe, and the rest. (Kanye, really?) The source says the family believes, “Rob has become more anti-social.” His little outbursts are officially “a joke,” but people are starting to worry: “They just can’t afford to ignore him anymore.” Rob needs help, and he’s not going to find it with his family.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet & WENN

True story: back in 2013, Oscar-winning actor and grope-happy dirty old man Jeremy Irons stepped in a major controversy. He was asked about his feelings on gay marriage, and instead of simply saying “I’m all for it, love is love,” Irons tried to play devil’s advocate (I think?) and began thinking aloud during an interview, theorizing that gay marriage would totally lead the eventual legalization of incest, and fathers marrying their sons (for tax purposes). Go here to recap. Irons was called out (justifiably) and when he tried to clarify, he totally made it worse by arguing that it’s only incest if someone gets pregnant (headdesk). He made an another attempt to roll back his comments a few weeks later, but it was still really bad.

That’s all background for this Out Magazine cover profile of Jeremy’s son, Max Irons. Max was asked specifically about this two-years-old controversy and I kind of love Max’s reaction. Poor Max:

[Irons] thinks people should be able to keep things private if they want to or “shout it from the rooftops.” He thinks it would be wonderful if everyone could be honest about themselves, yet he doesn’t think coming out is a moral imperative, and he thinks forced outings are “f–king foolish and dangerous.” He says, “You never know someone’s circumstances.”

He anticipates a question about the controversy his father stirred up in April 2013, when, while discussing gay marriage with host Josh Zepps on HuffPost Live, the Oscar winner mused that legalization of same-sex marriage might open the door for interfamilial unions, and that he could, in theory, marry his son to “pass on my estate without death duties.” Smirking, Irons says he googled this eyebrow-raising story about six months before our interview and found himself with his head in his hands.

“I remember thinking, You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Irons says. “You’re thinking through a problem out loud. I know my father, and his views are similar to mine: As long as you don’t harm anyone else, what you do and who you love are nobody’s business. He has since clarified as far as I understand, and truth be told, if you pushed him to explain what he was talking about, I don’t think he’d actually know.”

What Irons doesn’t quite remember are the precise details of his father’s statements, which put Irons himself in a rather awkward position. When given the full recap, Irons drops his head in his hands again.

“Well, my father hasn’t proposed to me recently,” he eventually quips, before letting out a big, half-amused, half-bewildered laugh.

[From Out Magazine]

Eh, that’s good enough for me. For Max, I mean. I don’t think we should “punish” Max for his father’s terrible arguments, and he seems to speak the LGBT-tolerance language well enough. And Max is probably right – his dad was thinking aloud, making a terrible argument just for the sake of it. Not that we should give Jeremy Irons a pass. But don’t take it out on Max either.

Speaking of… Max is 29 years old and he’s still doing the “up-and-coming actor” thing, trying to play it like no one in his generation has done much so far. You know, except Robert Pattinson (28), Eddie Redmayne (33), Miles Teller (28), Liam Hemsworth (25), Jonah Hill (31) and many more. I’m just saying!

Photos courtesy of Out Magazine.

When Israeli actress Gal Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman in Batman vs. Superman back in 2013, I wrote that she “She looks deceptively cute and spunky, but I bet she kicks major ass.” I didn’t – and still don’t – really know much about her, so I just judged her on her “look” and whether she looked like she could kick some ass as Wonder Woman. My guess is that this version of Wonder Woman will be more about martial arts, because Gal is a pretty small, lithe young woman. Some people even criticized the casting choice just because Gal doesn’t really look like she could physically take on anyone (especially wearing stripper boots). And that’s where we are now. Gal gave an interview to an Israeli publication a few days ago where she discussed the criticisms of her body and whether she was big enough, curvy enough, athletic enough to play Wonder Woman.

Gal on the body criticism: “Don’t be shy. They said that I was too skinny and my boobs were too small.”

Whether she was offended by the criticism: “I’m really lucky nothing in my life was instantaneous. When I was younger I would take criticism really hard. But now it mostly amused me. The true amazons had one boob so it won’t bother them in their archery. So it’s not going to be like real amazons. We always try to make everyone happy but we can’t.

Whether she was embarrassed at the breast-talk: “No. After they asked me here, In Israel, if I have eating disorders and why am I so skinny, they said my head was too big and my body was like a broomstick I can take anything. It’s just empty talk. I understand that part of what I’m doing means being exposed. And part of being exposed is being under fire (criticism). ”

Whether she wants to be known for more than just Wonder Woman: “Playing Wonder Women is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I can’t describe to you how much I wanted to play this character without even knowing I wanted to play her. I met a lot of people from the industry in LA for meetings. They always asked me ‘what’s your dream role?’, and I never could define it. I always answered that I wanted to play a women that is strong and will be a source for women empowerment. I don’t want to play a damsel in distress that needs to be saved. I don’t like it when women in the movies are shown as the victims. I always thought that if I could send out a massage I want to show the strong side of a woman and how she can handle tough situations. [Now] I get to play the strongest most empowering woman ever – Wonder Woman. I’m so grateful and I thank god every day. I want to devour it and enjoy every bite. ”

[Translated interview via Robot Underdog]

Well, that’s the way to handle it. Seriously. I feel sorry for the young women who get so many negative comments about their bodies, but I prefer Gal’s way of handling that criticism. Just acknowledge that everybody’s got an opinion, laugh about it and move on. It probably helps her that her Wonder Woman casting came when she was 28 as opposed to 18 years old. She was already at an age when she was comfortable in her skin and wanting to explore a tough, badass role.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Uhhhhh…

There’s a feature in the April issue of VOGUE:

Meet Hollywood’s New Brat Pack.

Before we talk about the new Brat Pack, can we review the ORIGINAL 80s Brat Pack? Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Anthony Micha…      

Look who’s 4!

Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe shared a sweet message to her birthday boy, Skyler Morrison, via Instagram.

“My life began 4 years ago today when my #skylermorrison was born #angelboy #birthdayboy #youmakemehappy #mommymoments,” she captioned the photo montage with husband Rodger Berman and their 4-year-old son.

In a series of pics, the reality star, 43, shared more shots from Skyler’s recent birthday bash.

“Couldn’t ask for a more perfect day celebrating my prince #skylermorrison 4th birthday with our dearest friends and family #kaiusjagger #mommymoments #liveforyou @fireandcreme @candybarcouture @seedling xoRZ,” she captioned the family photo, which included the couple’s 15-month-old son Kai.

My life began 4 years ago today when my #skylermorrison was born #angelboy #birthdayboy #youmakemehappy #mommymoments

A photo posted by Rachel Zoe (@rachelzoe) on Mar 22, 2015 at 11:00am PDT

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