Justin Bieber’s latest visit to Ellen DeGeneres aired yesterday. The last time we covered Swaggy, I delivered a rundown of his shenanigans in the past 18 months. Swaggy issued a contrite apology video because he’s probably getting ready to drop a single. As if the general public hasn’t suffered enough already.

Ellen is a fantastic sport, always. She was gracious to Swaggy as he gave her Calvin Klein underwear as a birthday gift. They talked about his ridiculous underwear ads, and Ellen pretended to be impressed. Then Justin’s apology tour took over the conversation:

Why he apologized: “Well it was the first time I was on television for a long time and I just was worried about what people were thinking about me. Like I said last time, I did a lot of things over the past few years that I’m not proud of.” I kinda just wanted to explain myself.”

Leave Bieber alone: “I am a human, right? I think people often forget that, even with their comments and stuff, they think it doesn’t get to me. But it gets to me. Things that people say bother me.”

His upcoming Comedy Central roast: “I think it’s cool to laugh at yourself.”

[From The Ellen Show]

Before the trainwreck of the past 18 months, Swaggy’s antics hit a brief lull after a another huge round of bad behavior. He gave interviews about how the media bullied him. His manager said Bieber only wants to be “normal.” Then both Swaggy and Scooter Braun figured words were enough to change perception, and Bieber went back to being a nightmare.

Do “normal” young adults endanger the public by driving on sidewalks and drag racing through city streets? Do they abuse flight attendants, blame Mom for the drugs, pout during depositions, and cry over their racism? These are honest questions. I could provide more examples, but we’d be here all day. Bieber doesn’t understand that people don’t treat him normally because he’s a brat. Yes, he’s famous, but his notoriety is his own doing. But to Swaggy, his reputation is everyone else’s fault.

Screencaps courtesy of YouTube; photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Here they come…

And I didn’t even mean it that way, I swear. I just went back to read it and realised how it came off.

My original point is that Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are now on the press circuit for Fifty Shades Of Grey. And, as you know, given that she’s only d…      

When I watched the first few minutes of the Today Show this morning, I heard them talking about live coverage of the Fifty Shades of Grey premiere, and I thought they were on crack. Why in the world would you premiere an R-rated “sexy” movie in the middle of the morning, on the Today Show?! But it really happened. And these are the photos. This is being called the “Fan First premiere.” Because apparently Fifty Shades super-fans want to see the film in the middle of a Friday morning?

Obviously, the body language between Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson is painfully uncomfortable. My opinion is still that Jamie is willing enough to play along and he could be flirty and fun if given a willing partner in crime (like Gillian Anderson). But Dakota is such a charisma vacuum that it’s like flirting with drywall. Dakota’s ensemble is Balenciaga. I’m sure that sweater is mohair and I’m sure she left white fuzz on literally everything and everyone around her. And her hair… my God, her hair. The bangs, the limp braid, the total failure of it all. Who is styling this girl?!

Director Sam Taylor Johnson and her husband Aaron Taylor Johnson. He’s a good sport and it’s sweet that he’s being so publicly supportive of his wife. Sam has been telling hard truths in all of her interviews about how E.L. James was such a pill to work with. I’m sure she’s hoping this is the last time she’ll ever have to deal with this kind of stupid drama.

Speak of the devil, here’s E.L. James. Why did you do this to us?!

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Duana taught me something I repeat often here on my blog. In her case, as a screenwriter, it’s about how the story and the audience relate, and how it’s the writer’s job to:

Give them what they need, not what they want.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this as we nea…      

Expectant mama Ashlee Simpson was all smiles the Crayola Color Alive launch in New York City on Thursday (February 5). The radiant mom-to-be, 30, was joined by husband Evan Ross and her 6-year-old son Bronx.

While at the kid-friendly event, the singer-reality star revealed her baby’s gender.

“[It’s] A girl,” she revealed to E! News.

After the fun family outing, Simpson Instagrammed a group photo.

“Spent the afternoon with @Crayola for #ColorAlive Launch. Look what Bronx made! #spon #happytimes #familyfun,” she captioned the shot.

This will be the first child for Ashlee and her newlywed husband, 26, whom she wed on Aug. 30.

She co-parents Bronx with ex-husband, Fall Out Boy rocker Pete Wentz.

Spent the afternoon with @Crayola for #ColorAlive Launch. Look what Bronx made! #spon #happytimes #familyfun

A photo posted by Ashlee Simpson Ross (@ashleesimpsonross) on Feb 5, 2015 at 5:57pm PST

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The Kardashian-West family stepped out in Hollywood yesterday. Kim Kardashian was doing a photoshoot for something and Kanye West and North came along to keep her company, I guess. Or maybe the photoshoot was for the family. In any case, we’ve got some crappy-quality photos of little North, so I thought I’d pass them along. This little girl is just beautiful!! She has Kim’s coloring and Kanye’s facial structure, chubby cheeks and all. Kim has also grown out North’s hair to where it’s long enough to do a high top-knot. Adorable! And yes, they really should be this baby in some color!! Good God.

There’s not a ton of Kardashian-sister news out there this week, honestly. I’m sort of surprised, because usually the K ladies step out more during slow gossip weeks. Kim did post a throwback-Thursday photo on her Instagram yesterday and of course it was a vintage bikini photo – go here to see. I was going to say that it’s nice to see Kim’s original face, but I think that’s her in-between face, like she had started to mess with her natural face but she hadn’t graduated to The Katface yet.

I was thinking recently… I wonder if Kim and Kanye are going to be partying during Oscar weekend? They’ll be out and about this weekend in LA, because Kanye is going to perform at the Grammys on Sunday. He’s doing two performances actually – one with Rihanna and Paul McCartney and one solo performance. It will be his first time at the Grammys in six years, I think? So… Kim will obviously be there, I’m sure.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

This is one of the stupidest tabloid stories of the week, but the gossip is running dry and we need something fun/silly. This story involves George Clooney, otherwise known as America’s Bachelor-Turned-Husband-of-the-Year, and his runaway bride Amal. Two weekends ago, Amal finally ended her lengthy winter holiday on the west coast and flew out to France, where she appeared at a human rights court. It was big news and the paparazzi were there, of course. Since then, we haven’t heard much about Amal. Sources told Life & Style that Amal went back to London and that she’ll probably be there until March. George is probably going to be LA this month, so it’s a scandal because a married couple is spending five weeks apart!!

According to Life & Style, the newlyweds are on their own and happy about it. George is filming a movie in Los Angeles while Amal is working out of London, and “the couple actually welcomed the break,” alleges the tabloid. A so-called “insider” tells the magazine, “They’re really happy right now being on their own.”

That’s because the Clooneys “sure weren’t happy together.” The outlet claims they’ve been fighting about whether to start a family, and that George’s close friends are allegedly fed up with Amal’s seriousness and hoping “the distance is the first step on the road to divorce.”

[From Gossip Cop]

Have we gotten to a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” point in this Alamooney gossip yet? For what it’s worth, Gossip Cop also has a “source close to the situation” who denies this story by saying George and Amal are “incredibly happy.” Which isn’t a denial that they’re spending five weeks (or more) apart and that they were actually eager to take a break from each other. Because they got married too quickly and possibly for the wrong reasons and they don’t really know each other that well?

Now, all that being said, of course it’s no big deal when a couple spends time apart. I’m side-eyeing it because they’ve literally only been married less than five months and it’s a little bit funny that they ALREADY need a break from each other, but whatever. They’re adults and they both have jobs. I’m sure all of this was covered in the contract.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

In a new Instagram image, Jessica Biel looks every bit the radiant mom-to-be.

On Thursday, the actress, 32, celebrated the newly designed logo for her upcoming kid-friendly restaurant, Au Fudge.

“We would love to introduce you #AuFudgers our logo. Hope you love!!! Intro to characters coming soon,” reads the caption on Au Fudge’s Instagram account.

In the photo, Biel is all smiles with gal pals Estee Stanley and Kimberly Muller while sporting cropped jeans, black heels, and a loose gray maternity top paired with a white blazer.

Recently, Biel and her husband, pop superstar Justin Timberlake, shared a much more revealing photo, when Timberlake posted a picture kissing her bare baby bump on his 34th birthday.

“Thank you EVERYONE for the Bday wishes! This year, I’m getting the GREATEST GIFT EVER. CAN’T WAIT,” he captioned the sweet image.

We would love to introduce you #AuFudgers our logo. Hope you love!!! Intro to characters coming soon.

A photo posted by @aufudge on Feb 5, 2015 at 2:00pm PST

Scandal Season 4 Episode 10 recap.

Okay, out of a pretend middle-eastern soundstage, into the fire. Oh, and the President of the United States was convinced to negotiate with terrorists and start a war by his wife, because she feared for the life of his mistress. I mean, I do love this show. …      

This is Kerry Washington on the cover of the March issue of InStyle. I merely glanced at the cover and began to read some of the quotes, wondering if any of it would be good enough to cover. But then I saw that people on social media were freaking out about the cover. Specifically, Kerry’s skin on the cover. There was an immediate backlash about the “whitewashing” of Kerry, not just lightening her skin, but airbrushing some of her features to make her look less like herself. I had to look again… and while I do think they lightened her skin, I don’t think they airbrushed her features into oblivion, like some magazines do to other women (regardless of race). But yeah, the different in skin tone is notable. It was so bad that InStyle had to release a statement within the same news cycle or else Kerry-loonies were going to picket their offices. Here’s the statement:

We are super fans of Kerry Washington here at InStyle. To feature her on the cover of our March spring fashion issue is both an honor and a delight. We have heard from those who have spoken out about our newsstand cover photograph, concerned that Kerry’s skin tone was lightened.

While we did not digitally lighten Kerry’s skin tone, our cover lighting has likely contributed to this concern. We understand that this has resulted in disappointment and hurt. We are listening, and the feedback has been valuable. We are committed to ensuring that this experience has a positive influence on the ways in which we present all women going forward.

[From InStyle]

Kerry tweeted a link to the statement and wrote: “Beautiful statement. Thank u 4 opening this convo. Its an important 1 that needs to be had.” Yeah, it’s bad. I feel sorry for actresses who get slammed with criticism for editorial decisions that are not even their call, you know? And hey, at least InStyle didn’t use the same people who did Bobby Jindal’s portrait.

As for the actual interview… well, none of it was as interesting as the conversation about the cover. Kerry says she loves bold colors and prints and bigger fashion risks and Olivia Pope is more about a neutral palette. She talks about how she got back into shape after giving birth, which included “pilates, Tracy Anderson pregnancy DVDs, hiking, the elliptical machine and yoga.” That sounds like a lot of stuff. She also discusses her feelings about mommy guilt – you can read more here.

Photos courtesy of InStyle, WENN.