Rihanna covers the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar, which is perfect timing for this week’s Grammys. RiRi will perform at the show, along with Kanye West and Paul McCartney, in a rendition of their new “iconic” single. I still don’t dig the song, which makes me sad after jonesing for more Rihanna music. If you’re checking out the white background of this cover and wondering if Uncle Terry shot it, you can rest easy. Photographer Norman Jean Roy landed this feature, and he loves water shoots. Norman shot Kristen Stewart in a shallow pool, and he goes to town with Rihanna. You can see more of the editorial on Rihanna’s Twitter, but here’s the impressive shot. Rihanna swam with sharks!

Rihanna really did this. Harpers also posted a behind the scenes video to prove that the shark wasn’t photoshopped in next to Rihanna. The vid is slightly NSFW for Rihanna’s thong, but you can see it here. The video is a bit confusing because Rihanna’s wearing an orange swimsuit, and you can see a white one in the above shot. Maybe she changed suits. Rihanna swam with sharks in Hawaii a few years ago too. That’s definitely her kicking past a shark in the Bazaar video. It looks terrifying, doesn’t it?

We should get a fair dose of Rihanna soon. Dazed Digital says Rih is planning to tour with Kanye later this year. Here are some photos of Rihanna with designer Jeremy Soctt at the the Daily Front Row’s fashion event last week.

Photos courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar, Norman Jean Roy & WENN

Kim Kardashian has been on an Instagram binge lately. You can see her IG here – she’s posted a ton of photos in the past week. A lot of the pics are of little North West, because even Kim knows that Nori is the only one we really want to see. I’m including some of the North photos at the end of the post!

So, what has Kim been up to? The cover shoot she did for Love Magazine is still leaking online, because I guess the magazine hasn’t been released yet? There’s one very NSFW photo from the shoot making the rounds this week – go here to see the NSFW photo. Yes, Kim is all about showing her butt in editorials. I don’t get it either. And what else has Kim been up to? Well, she did a Twitter Q&A session as part of her commercial/endorsement with T-Mobile, and she was asked who would be her ideal selfie partner. Her answer is…sigh…

Sorry, Kanye and North West! Kim Kardashian has revealed her ideal selfie partner, and neither her husband nor daughter made the cut. During a Twitter Q&A with T-Mobile Feb. 2, Kardashian, 34, was asked by a fan whom she’d choose to take a selfie with, living or dead. Her response, is, well, surprising.

“My dad,” Kardashian initially tweeted to a fan page account set up for her sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, adding heart emoticons for her late father, Robert Kardashian, Sr. The married mom, however, was conflicted about choosing just one person, so she added onto her response. “Or Jesus. Or Marilyn Monroe. I can’t decide!” she tweeted.

During the T-Mobile chat, Kardashian also gave fans her take on motherhood. When one participant asked how she juggles her career with family, Kardashian said North, 19 months, is always top of mind. “All the things you used to do, you just don’t care about anymore,” her tweet response read. “Your child becomes the No. 1 priority.”

[From Us Weekly]

Her father or her heavenly father. Or Marilyn Monroe, whatevs. Who would I selfie with? Hm…Emma Thompson, probably. Because I know she would agree to it! Dead or alive? Eleanor Roosevelt! As for Kim name-checking Jesus, I feel the same way when I hear rich athletes or celebrities thanking him for winning some award or trophy: Jesus has better things to do, people. He’s not going to take selfies with Kim Kardashian or help a football player get a touchdown. HE IS VERY BUSY.

Nori IS so cute though.

Photos courtesy of Kim’s Instagram, Fame/Flynet.

For all the people complaining about the photos of Conrad Hilton: I know, and I’m sorry. I think Barron and Conrad Hilton look SO much alike and I’m forced to go with the photo agency IDs, because most of the photos we have of both brothers are from a few years ago. I think both brothers look way different now, but I hope I’ve gotten some photos of Conrad (and not Barron) in this post.

As we discussed yesterday, Conrad Hilton went berserk on an international flight months ago. He was under the influence of alcohol, perhaps some sleeping pills (or so his lawyer claims) and possibly harder drugs. He yelled at and about peasants and threatened passengers. He was arrested when the plane landed and we only found out about it this week, because his last name is Hilton and not al-Jabari. Anyway, the Washington Post had so many more details about Conrad’s behavior on the plane and about his FBI interview when he was taken into custody. Here’s what Conrad admitted to the FBI:

He hadn’t been drinking on the flight, although he had taken a sleeping pill, he said in his defense. And, yeah, he had called people “peasants” on the flight.

“I told all of them I could get all of their jobs taken away in less than thirty seconds,” Hilton said, according to the complaint, as he recalled his interactions with flight attendants.

He credited a man at the back of the plane with stopping him from killing a flight attendant. “If that man wasn’t there, that guy [the flight attendant] would have been ____ killed on that flight. A hundred percent I would have killed him,” Hilton said.

In his interview with the FBI, the agent read Hilton the part of the law that would apply to this particular case. The agent read: “An individual on an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States who by assaulting or intimidating a flight crew member or –”

Hilton interrupted him. “I did intimidate. But, through defense. He came up to me with his nose.”

[From WaPo]

“Through defense… he came up to me with his nose.” CASE CLOSED!! WaPo has the full 17-page FBI complaint, with information and interviews from the passengers too. They say Conrad went off on “one tirade after another” starting about 30 minutes into the flight. Conrad complained that the flight attendants were ignoring him and “taking the peasants’ side.” He told people that he just broke up with his girlfriend. He told people that he had already been banned from other airlines.

At one point, the passengers apparently told the FBI that they were shocked that the plane wasn’t turned around and landed. The flight was London to LA, and if Conrad’s craziness started 30 minutes into the flight, and let’s be generous and say that an hour into the flight they realized that this kid was crazy and violent, WHY DIDN’T THEY DIVERT THE PLANE? It probably was over water by then, but they could have been diverted to land within an hour. Seriously, if a brown-skinned person had pulled this kind of nonsense, the plane would have been diverted and the charges would be something involving international terrorism.

As for the charges facing Hilton now, he could get 20 years in prison. He’s due back in court in March and he’s out on $100,000 bail. I can’t believe a terrorist is out on that lukewarm bail.

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty and Pacific Coast News.

Here on update on this ^^ outfit that Jennifer Aniston wore to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival over the weekend. I said at the time that it looked like Saint Laurent, but it’s actually Tom Ford. Now you know! While at the SBIFF, Aniston spoke to Extra – you can see the video here. The only thing I found interesting was that she’s apparently a huge fan of House of Cards? Has she name-checked that show? I only remember her talking about The Bachelor and how she enjoys that. Aniston also spoke to Empire magazine recently about aging and how it’s been more than a decade since Friends went off the air. She said:

“In a selfish, greedy way I could have kept doing it [Friends] until today. It feels really odd when people say, ‘Oh, that was in 1995 or ’94.’ This is why I say everything moves so quickly. I still feel like I’m a 28-year old kid.”

[Via The Daily Mail]

I do think that forever-28 thing is one of the defining characteristics of Aniston. Instead of making her seem forever young, it kind of makes her look dated though. Like, she’s Totally ‘90s. Same hair, same references, same conversation.

Meanwhile, Us Weekly (via the DM) claims that Jennifer and Justin Theroux are “haggling” over the pre-nup. So many haggles that they still haven’t set a wedding date.

They have been engaged since 2012 but have yet to set a date for their wedding. Still, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are ‘haggling’ over the final details of their over $110m prenup, according to UsWeekly. On the table is the subject if her 43-year-old beau should deserve a cut of the money she will receive from Netflix from Friends royalties, it was claimed.

‘The prenup is pretty much done,’ a source told the weekly. ‘Jen won’t see money from Netflix for about a year, so there has been back and forth about whether her earnings will be considered from during or before their marriage.’ The insider then noted that Aniston – who turns 46-years-old on February 11 – ‘prefers the latter.’

The two actors have different incomes. While Theroux makes about $75,000 an episode on his show The Leftover (it is not known how much he makes from script writing), the ex-wife of Brad Pitt can make millions for just one film. The blonde Horrible Bosses 2 star also has ad deals with Aveeno and is a co-owner of Living Proof.

Though the two have yet to set a date, there has been talk that they want a ‘small beach wedding,’ another source said to UsWeekly.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’ll take Jennifer at her word that she already feels married to Justin and that she’s not in some crazy rush to get married, but I also think if she had her way, the wedding would have gone down YEARS ago. I think Justin is really and truly gun-shy about marriage in general and marriage to Aniston specifically. He’s the common-law husband type, or at least that’s how he sees himself. Like he’s too cool and hip to, like, wear a tux and say some vows. Once they get the pre-nup finalized, what will Justin use as an excuse then?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here are some sweet photos of Tom Brady and his five-year-old son Benjamin Brady at yesterday’s victory parade in Boston. Apparently, it’s a thing: whenever the Patriots win, they ride around Boston in a duck-boat buses. This was Benjamin’s first time on the duck-boat and he hammed it up for the cameras, even kissing his daddy’s Lombardi Trophy. According to the Boston media outlets, Benjamin got sleepy pretty quickly and he took a nap about 90 minutes into the parade.

I don’t have much else to say, I guess. Brady is now right up there with the greatest athletes of all time. Sports Illustrated had a nice write up about Brady’s career and how remarkable it is that he’s still on top. Meanwhile, Forbes had a funny piece on the taxes Brady will have to pay for some of the spoils of victory. Apparently he won a truck? But he’s giving the truck away. He’ll probably still have to pay taxes on it though.

Here’s my question: is Vivian Brady too little for the duck boat buses? She’s only 2 years old. And what about Jack Moynahan?

Gisele posted this photo on her IG too:

My boys ready for the Patriots parade #gopats #superbowlchamps #sohappy ?????? Meus meninos prontos para a passeata dos Patriots #vaipats #campeões #muitofeliz

A photo posted by Gisele Bündchen (@giseleofficial) on Feb 4, 2015 at 7:55am PST

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Fame/Flynet.

Can you believe that it’s already been four months since George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin got married? I cannot. It seems like I just figured out how to spell Amal’s maiden name, and she’s already changed it. Well four months is long for Clooney to be married, but relatively short in the scheme of some things, like engagements. Wedding guests Ellen Barkin, a friend and co-star of the groom, and Ben Emmerson, a friend and colleague of the bride, made a love match at the reception and are reportedly already engaged.

I’m surprised that Barkin, 60, is allegedly engaged again. No shade on her age at all, it’s just that I still remember how she sold all her jewelry after her high profile divorce from billionaire Ron Perelman in 2006. She made around $20 million for her jewels, and said that she sold them “so I — and my children and my mother — would be taken care of.” It was unknown if she made any kind of settlement in her divorce. After that she scored Oceans 13 and a bunch of other acting gigs. Plus Barkin was dating a much younger man for years. In 2011 she had a boyfriend who was just 26 at the time and she had reportedly been with him for four years at that point. So that’s another reason why I’m surprised.

Here’s more on Barkin’s maybe-engagement, thanks to US Magazine:

Ellen Barkin has found love again — and she has George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin to thank. The Sea of Love star is engaged to Alamuddin’s colleague, British barrister and Queen’s counsel Ben Emmerson, a source reveals exclusively to Us Weekly.

“She is so happy and in love again,” the source confirms to Us, adding that the actress and lawyer got engaged over the holidays, after meeting at Alamuddin and Clooney’s September 2014 nuptials.
“Ellen met him at George and Amal’s wedding and they totally hit it off,” the insider explains. “It happened quickly but she’s totally fallen for him and flies to see him all the time.”

Aside from intelligence — Emmerson specializes in human rights law, public international law, and international crime law, among a bevy of other accolades — the source tells Us that Barkin, 60, fell in love with the 51-year-old’s charm.

“He is really handsome and smart and charming and swept her off her feet,” the insider says.

As for their celeb BFFs Clooney and Alamuddin? The insider says they couldn’t be happier for their friends.
“George and Amal love them together! They both love Ellen and Ben so they think this is so great and love that they made a great match happen,” the source says.

[From US Magazine]

Human rights lawyers for all the celebrities! Impressive that he’s a lawyer for the queen too. I wish Barkin well for her third marriage. (She was also married to actor Gabriel Byrne from 1988 to 1998.) Maybe she should enjoy her engagement and not rush to make it official after less than a year with someone. Especially when they’re living in different countries. Still, this guy seems much more suited to her than her last boyfriend, a director who was over 30 years younger than her.

After I wrote this story, Kaiser pointed me to E!, which has a denial from Emmerson’s camp. All the statement says is that “Mr. Emmerson is not engaged to Ellen Barkin.” So, maybe they’re dating and not engaged then? It’s bizarre, because US Magazine would not have run this story without a solid source. They’re usually very good about that.

I couldn’t find any photos of Emmerson at our agencies, but you can see a photo of him on US’s site.

More than a week ago, there was some industry gossip that Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken probably wouldn’t even be released in Japan. Japanese nationalists have made a big stink about the film’s alleged “anti-Japanese” agenda, and it looks like the studio is just going to sit out a Japanese release. But Unbroken was released in other Asian countries, including China. Anyway, Angelina sat down for an interview with a Japanese publication and it sounds like she’s doing a little bit of damage-control. She shouldn’t HAVE to do this because Unbroken speaks for itself, and it’s obviously based on one man’s (well-documented) experience, but I’m glad Angelina is taking on the “anti-Japanese” complaints head-on. You can read the full piece here (I can’t find a link to the original Japanese outlet, The Yomiuri Shimbun, that published this interview).

The film’s release coming out close to 70th anniversary of V-J Day: “The link is pure coincidence. It takes several years to make any film. My personal view is that we should mark these anniversaries in a way that brings people from different countries closer together. In the case of our two countries, we should celebrate 70 years of peace and progress, and a deep friendship that binds our two countries.”

Depicting Japanese soldiers: “I very much saw Corporal [who mistreats the main character] as an individual, not as someone who represented the Japanese people as a whole. Mr. Louie Zamperini told me stories about some Japanese soldiers who were kind to him during his detention, and of one man he credited with saving his life. It was very important to me to try to see the war from the Japanese perspective as well, and to respect that.

Portraying the Great Tokyo Air Raid: “Yes. My intention was never to give a one-sided account of the war. Civilians suffered on all sides, in Japan’s case including the bombing of Tokyo and the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But the film is art, it is not a documentary.”

Whether ‘Unbroken’ would stir anti-Japanese sentiment in China: “I would be very disappointed if anyone in any country tried to use the film as a pretext for any anti-Japanese sentiment. In any case, Japan’s achievements in the 70 years since the war speak for itself. You are an ally and a friend, a leading democracy, one of the strongest economies in the world, and you play a leading role in international peace and security. I have just returned from the Middle East, where Japan is providing over $2 billion to build stability and fight extremism — that is a contribution to be proud of.”

Explicit denial of anti-Japanese sentiment: “Unbroken is not a film about Japan, nor is it an anti-Japanese film. Louie Zamperini loved Japan. He described carrying the torch in the [Nagano Winter] Olympics as the proudest moment in his life. Those who have a chance to see the film will be able to judge for themselves.”

[From The Yomiuri Shimbun via the Chicago Tribune]

In her answer about anti-Japanese sentiment in China, Angelina sounded presidential. You know what I mean? She sounded like a seasoned diplomat calmly steadying the nerves of an ally.

As for the film and whether it could be taken as anti-Japanese in any way… as I said just after I saw Unbroken, I think Jolie could have carved out about 20 minutes of the torture scenes in the last half and added about 10-15 minutes of other stuff from the book. The book was able to provide more perspective, especially about some of the Japanese guards who properly looked after the POWs. Plus, there was more stuff with Louis and the other POWs that didn’t involve torture. I think if she had framed Louis’s torture differently… well, there still would have been cries that the film is anti-Japanese, but she would be able to say “No, I included some moments with the good guards too, look.”

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

FIRST LOOK: Nikki Reed steps out with her stunning engagement ring from @IanSomerhalder http://t.co/JFivqhgxk9 pic.twitter.com/9k2Sa4RCyj

— People magazine (@peoplemag) February 4, 2015

I know no one is too impressed by Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder, but I had to comment on their ridiculous thirst level. You’re looking at a People magazine tweet that points towards this story about Nikki’s engagement ring. The paparazzi just happened to get photos of Nikki and Ian kissing in Atlanta. The ring is conveniently placed next to the liplock. Perfect photo op. Then someone sent the photos to People as an exclusive.

The ring is ridiculously huge. Kaiser and I were chuckling over how it looks more like a cocktail bauble than an engagement ring. People says the ring is “very unique featuring what looks like a round center diamond surrounded by smaller round diamonds for an antique, floral-cluster vibe.” Nikki and Ian shopped hard for this bling. They were papped at several jewelry stores. Now they really want you to notice the fruits of their labor. Do I sound too suspicious? This is a couple who bought $1000 in adult toys in full view of the paparazzi. They love this attention, which neither of them draws on their own. I’m mystified by their game. What does this paparazzi influx do for either of their careers?

There’s more. This week’s issue of Life & Style has an insider story about Nikki and Ian’s “pre-wedding getaway.” Someone at Sundance heard Nikki at a swag booth where she was gifted a trip to Aruba: “She kept making sure the trip was for two, because she wanted a getaway with her future husband. She said they’d never been on vacation together, and this was a perfect first place to go!” #swag

Here are some thirsty photos from Ian’s Instagram page. Poor Bill Clinton.

Photos courtesy of Ian Somerhalder on Instagram & WENN

As I was writing this post, Sports Illustrated announced this year’s SI: Swim cover model, Hannah Davis. This is a photo of her at an SI event last year. The cover is even pr0nier than usual. Hannah’s bikini can’t go any lower without getting lost. Chrissy Teigen tweeted a cover shot, and Jimmy Kimmel made the announcement on Wednesday’s show. Here’s something bizarre. Page Six reported yesterday that Derek Jeter just dumped Hannah because he was tired of “her growing fame.” For real. The source said, “Derek likes to keep his relationships quiet. In the past, when his girlfriends become famous and start doing sexy shoots, that’s when they break up. Exactly the same thing happened with Minka and Vanessa Minnillo.” Derek Jeter has issues.

Onto the lady I meant to write about, Ashley Graham. She’s a plus-sized model who wears a size 16. She’s featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and Elle. We talked about Ashley a few weeks ago when she asked people to stop calling Jennifer Lawrence curvy. Us Weekly has some previews of Ashley’s apperance in a SwimsuitsForAll ad in the SI issue. Ashley says, “I know my curves are sexy and I want everyone else to know that theirs are too. There is no reason to hide and every reason to flaunt.”

Ashley is really gorgeous, and I’m glad SI is finally opening up its pages to more body types. Credit where it’s due: SI does tend to feature models who aren’t as thin as the ones you see in Vogue, but Kate Upton broke the mold three years ago.

Congrats to both Hannah and Ashley. Here’s some of Ashley’s work for NYT Style magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Photos courtesy of NYT Style magazine, Harper’s Bazaar & WENN

I genuinely enjoyed the first Magic Mike film, and I was surprised to see that there was some “real acting” happening in between dance sequences. I still kind of think that Matthew McConaughey was – no judgment – robbed of an Oscar nomination for his performance. And Channing “Charming Potato” Tatum was charming and damaged and a wonderful dancer, as always. My biggest complaints about the film were A) it needed MOAR Matt Bomer and B) the apathetic nepotism-hire playing Channing/Magic Mike’s love interest.

The film was a success, and Channing loves to dance, so of course we’re getting a sequel. This one is called Magic Mike XXL and the plot involves the same group of guys – minus McConaughey’s Dallas and Alex Pettyfer and adding in a few new dudes – going to a strippers’ convention. Madam Nepotism Hire is gone, thank God, and in her place we have Amber Heard and Elizabeth Banks. YAY! I mean, yay for Banks. I’m sure Amber Heard thought she would be getting different kinds of offers, but she’ll take what she can get. And at the end of the day, I bet she’s not even close to being as bad as Lady Nepotism-Hire. The first trailer for Magic Mike XXL was released yesterday and I can’t help it… I laughed.

It’s amazing? If anything, it looks much better than the first film. It felt like Channing realized that we needed more men, more stripping, more dude action and more fun. Joe Manganiello with his spurting soda? I’m sorry, but THAT IS AWESOME. And I could totally watch Charming Potato dance around his shed for two hours. No joke.

A lot of “critics” would probably say it’s terrible to support a film like Magic Mike XXL, but I will see this without any shame whatsoever. Now, Fifty Shades of Grey? I’m sorry, but I’m not going to see that in the theater. I would be too ashamed to buy a ticket to see that mess. But I will scream from the rooftops: “I AM GOING TO SEE MAGIC MIKE XXL!!”

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.