Florence Pugh recently chatted with the Times to promote We Live In Time, her weepy drama with Andrew Garfield. I still haven’t seen it and I don’t want to – I dislike those kinds of manipulative grief-p0rny films. But I do support Florence, who apparently had a big life change because of the movie. After filming it, she broke up with Zach Braff and took a real break from her career for the first time in a decade. She speaks about that and (what else?) body image and standing up for herself online:

Her father wants her to stay “100 per cent Flo Pugh”. “And so I always prodded at things. I’m not nasty — I hope people think I’m kind. But there are fine lines women have to stay within, otherwise they are called a diva, demanding, problematic. And I don’t want to fit into stereotypes made by others. It is really exhausting for a young woman to just be in this industry, and actually other industries. But I’ve always been encouraged to have a voice.”

How ‘We Live in Time’ changed her life: “When I finished filming my life changed,” Pugh explains. She broke up with her long-term boyfriend, the actor Zach Braff, in 2022 and has dated a few people, none famous, since. “Relationships came and went, and I had this opportunity to look at my life away from my work. And I realised, OK, I need to wake the f*** up. I had to look away from my career, from movies, from wanting to be this kind of actor, that kind of actor. Or how many awards I would love to get before I pass away. That’s been my focus for ten years, but I want to make sure that the things I need to do, whether children, family, change, change in relationships … well, I realised I need to make changes now. Because I’m a worker bee and that is why I’ve never wanted a break. Everything was just, wow! What’s next? And it is only ten years in that I can now go, oh, I need to do a bit of my life.”

The sniping criticism of her body: “Look, not everybody has legs that go on for days. I remember watching this industry and feeling that I wasn’t represented. I remember godawful headlines about how Keira Knightley isn’t thin any more, or watching women getting torn apart despite being talented and beautiful. The only thing people want to talk about is some useless crap about how they look. And so I didn’t care to abide by those rules. I’ve loved challenging ideas I don’t like.”

Challenging men’s BS: “I wanted to challenge how women were perceived, how we are supposed to look… Actually I wasn’t trying to challenge. I just wanted to be there, to make space for a version of a person that isn’t all the things they used to have to be. I’m proud I’ve stuck by myself and look the way I look — I’m really interested in people who are still angry with me for not losing more weight, or who just hate my nose ring. I am not going to be able to just change the way that things are — but I can certainly help young women coming into this industry by making conversations happen where they weren’t before.” Recently she revealed that she has had her eggs frozen after a diagnosis of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Playing characters who were marginalised in the 1800s: “Well, it’s always been fashionable to tell a woman how she should live her life. Or that the decisions they are making are wrong or too loud. It’s about control, isn’t it? It’s still ultimately about suppressing one sex, and we’re dealing with it all the time.”

What it’s all about: “I mean, the world is not exactly fun right now. Whether you’re in your teens having to manoeuvre life on your phone, because the internet’s terrifying, or the wars with many people dying. There’s so much crap, but this reminds everyone that the reason we’re here is to love and be loved. There aren’t car chases. Or aliens. But it’s real — because there is a time frame on our lives and it shouldn’t be something we wait for to happen. Life should be something we’re in control of.”

[From The Times]

“Well, it’s always been fashionable to tell a woman how she should live her life.” Amen. That’s a message I wish more young women and girls understood, that none of this is new, even if it feels new or it feels heightened because of the internet. It’s always been the case that men are in women’s business. It’s always been the case that women’s bodies are policed and controlled. As for what she does online to defend herself and her body/looks… she can do whatever she wants, obviously, and I’m sure her words have helped other women. That being said, I do feel like there’s a razor’s edge to walk between “defending yourself from trolls” versus “doing something attention-seeking and attacking people for having an opinion.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

As I’ve mentioned in several posts now, I saw The Substance over the holidays and I loathed it. While I thought it was an interesting concept and *some* of the body horror was well-executed, they really drove the whole story off of a f–king cliff for the last hour. It was trying to be high-minded about the toxic messages of worshipping youth and beauty, but they also wanted to exploit youth and beauty too. Anyway, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley did the best they could with the material they were given, and both actresses are getting nominations all over the place. Demi has been campaigning more than Margaret, but Margaret has just introduced a “struggle narrative” to her campaign. Apparently, because of all of the facial prosthetics, she had a severe breakout which affected her for about a year.

In a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Margaret Qualley said it took “a year” for her skin to recover from the irritation caused by the face prosthetics used in “The Substance.” The damage was so bad that director Coralie Fargeat had to frame out her face in certain shots.

“At the end, when they’re shooting up my skirt in the beginning credits, and it’s like the palm trees all around and they have all these long lenses from the bottom, that’s just because my face was so f–ked up,” Qualley said. “They couldn’t shoot my face anymore.”

The acne from the prosthetics lasted long after “The Substance” wrapped and persisted as she began shooting her next film, “Kinds of Kindness,” in which she played four characters: Vivian, Martha, Rebecca and Ruth. Luckily, the acne played to her benefit in the Yorgos Lanthimos drama.

“So, you know the character that has all that acne? That was just my acne from the prosthetics,” Qualley said. “And I was like, ‘Oh this is kind of perfect. I’m playing all these different characters. For one of them, we’ll use all my crazy prosthetic acne.’ It took me probably a year to recover physically from all of it.”

[From Variety]

This reminded me of Scarlett Johansson talking about how all of the Marvel actors get rashes from their superhero suits and they basically have dermatologists on stand-by. Honestly, as someone who gets a rash at the drop of a hat, Margaret’s story is its own horror story. She should sue! Seriously, her skin’s reaction to those janky prosthetics affected her work! Does this make you want to vote for her in the supporting category?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Jessica Alba’s divorce is starting to freak me out a little bit. It’s just so… un-Hollywood. In Hollywood, even the most generous and warm divorces have some spice and drama. I mean, a marriage is ending, clearly two people have fought about something, whether it’s infidelity, money, careers, kids. Even if two celebrities manage to be completely mature and loving in their divorce, there’s still drama over divorce lawyers or assets or PR! But not Jessica Alba and Cash Warren. At least not yet. I don’t even get the sense that Alba and Warren are making an effort to position themselves in any kind of way, and neither party seems particularly concerned about their image or their assets. Even TMZ’s announcement about their separation last week didn’t feel one-sided or dramatic. And now this – Jessica Alba has announced on Instagram that her marriage is over. This is what she posted:

“I’ve been on a journey of self realization and transformation for years – both as an individual and in partnership with Cash.”

“I’m proud of how we’ve grown in our marriage over the last 20 years and it’s now time for us to embark on a new chapter of growth and evolution as individuals.

“We are moving forward with love, kindness and respect for each other and will forever be a family. Our children remain our highest priority and we request privacy at this time.”

[From Alba’s IG]

Hilariously, she didn’t even pin that IG, at least she hadn’t pinned it as of this writing. She just tossed it off like it was a random announcement about some minor gig. So, I have a small theory about this – I think Alba and Warren’s marriage was obviously more like a loose partnership in recent years, and they were basically just staying together for the kids. Maybe they also had a trial separation, or they agreed to spend more time apart. I think Alba is the one who decided to pull the plug, and she expects Cash to not put up much of a fight about anything. Maybe she’s fine with everything she’s built being part of the community property of their marriage too.

Also: People Mag reported exclusively that Alba hired a divorce lawyer. Us Weekly says that Cash and Jessica plan to file for divorce soon and Cash is moving out, but things have slowed down because of the Southern California fires. Hm.

Photos courtesy of Alba’s IG and Avalon Red.

The Kansas City Chiefs play the Houston Texans on Saturday, the start of the Playoffs. Travis Kelce said a few days ago that Taylor Swift would attend the game, which is notable because she’s now skipped a few games. By my records, the last game she attended was on December 21 (when the Chiefs also played the Texans). Taylor seems to enjoy having a football-player boyfriend, and she’s pretty comfortable attending all of the Chiefs’ home games at Arrowhead. Travis told Stephen A. Smith this week that Taylor isn’t even encouraging him to retire after this season.

Taylor Swift is not getting in the way of Travis Kelce’s desire to keep playing football. During a stop on The Stephen A. Smith Show on Wednesday, Jan. 15, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 35, was asked if Swift, also 35, was “encouraging” him to retire since football is a violent sport.

“She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game,” Kelce told host Stephen A. Smith. “She loves coming to Arrowhead [Stadium] and coming to the games and cheering for me, so I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams.”

Earlier in his interview with Smith, 57, Kelce said he was not thinking about retirement at the moment. Instead, he is thinking about the playoffs, which start for the Chiefs on Saturday, Jan. 18, against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I love everything that I’m doing in this building,” Kelce said. “But at the end of the day, I’m not having that extreme success on the field as I have individually, man. I’m excited for these next couple games to play up at Arrowhead, to finish this season off.”

Kelce said he would “reevaluate” his career as he “always” does.

“And I’ll probably tell myself how much I love this thing,” he continued. “It’s something you have to keep in perspective, man. I never want to get to the point where I’m not helping this team win or I’m hurting this team more than I’m helping this team. As long as I’m coming out here playing good football and enjoying coming into the building every day with my guys, you’ll see me in a Chiefs uniform.”

The Chiefs are hoping to become the first NFL team in history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The team has already won three since 2019.

[From People]

My guess is that his feelings on retirement will depend a lot on whether the Chiefs make the Super Bowl and, if that happens, whether they win another ring. If they make it to the Super Bowl, it will be really difficult for Travis to retire, because what will he tell himself? He didn’t have the best season and yet he made it to the biggest game. Anyway, I’m sure Taylor is encouraging him to do whatever he wants and follow his dreams. But she’s also helping him prepare for his post-football career in a way – their relationship has eased his path to a major career outside of football, as a host/actor/producer and whatever else he wants to do.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

The Hugh Jackman/Sutton Foster relationship launch tour is still in full effect. So far, we’ve had exclusive date night pictures via People, paparazzi shots of them making out in the parking lot of an In-N-Out Burger, and snaps of Hugh watching Sutton perform in the musical “Once Upon a Mattress” in Los Angeles. Well, another day, another Hutton(Sugh?) sighting. I was wondering where they would pop up next and now we have our answer. If you had “taking a romantic stroll through Los Angeles in their comfy clothes” on your bingo card, you can cross it off! The PDA tour is all gas, no breaks.

The Deadpool & Wolverine star and two-time Tony Award winner stepped out in Los Angeles for a casual stroll together on Jan. 8, and the pair were practically beaming while taking in some sun.

For the early morning outing, Sutton, 49, kept cozy in a pair of dark salmon joggers, green slippers and a gray crewneck sweatshirt. Meanwhile, Hugh, 56, matched her comfy aesthetic, rocking a dark gray crewneck that read “East Hampton Gym,” navy blue joggers and a pair of blue slip-on sneakers.

And the couple—who confirmed their romance earlier this month, when they were spotted walking hand-in-hand following a dinner date in Santa Monica, Calif.—stayed close while getting some fresh air, holding tightly onto each other’s hands while Hugh carried a tin foil food tray to deliver to a friend’s house. At one point, they turned toward each other as they rounded a street corner, smiling and sharing a big laugh.

Hugh and Sutton—who were friends for nearly a decade before sparking romance rumors—certainly haven’t been shy about packing on the PDA. Shortly after their first public date night, the duo were seen locking lips while grabbing burgers from In-N-Out in Los Angeles.

During that date, the Greatest Showman actor leaned toward the Younger alum, who cradled his face for a steamy makeout session while they waited in the drive thru line at the famed establishment.

[From E News Online]

So, at one point, while their relationship was still only whispers and TikTok vids, I actually thought that Hugh and Sutton would remain under the radar and stay fairly lowkey. Given that their relationship basically started while both were married to other people, I really did think that they would take the Ariana Grande/SpongeBob Sidepiece route of laying low. I was wrong! They are clearly all-in, with spirit fingers. All of these sudden pap strolls…it’s giving Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas during lockdowns. Remember when they used to do their daily Dunkin runs/dog walks/pap strolls? That wasn’t even five full years ago, yet it feels like it was another lifetime. Anyway, Hugh and Sutton and all of their pap strolls absolutely have that Ben/Ana “look at us” energy. Someone get these two thirsty bitches a glass of water.

Lovebirds Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster seem overjoyed that their relationship is now out in the open after months of rumors swirling around the former co-stars.

The pair were spotted holding hands while taking a romantic morning stroll together.

They beamed with joy,… pic.twitter.com/tVkCv04Joj

— backgridus (@BackgridUS) January 15, 2025

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster look happier than ever amid his divorce drama with ex Deborra-lee Furness https://t.co/mckWnOp9Hr pic.twitter.com/aAQWRlh81T

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) January 16, 2025

photos credit: Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Avalon, Roger Wong/Instar Images, John Nacion/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images

President Joe Biden has been especially active in his final days in office. This week, he gave his farewell address and spoke about the rising American oligarchy, as well as the tech industrial complex. He also spearheaded a long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, which was finalized this week. And now this: what will probably be his final sweep of pardons and commutations. President Biden got a lot of sh-t after Thanksgiving last year when he announced a full and unconditional pardon of his son Hunter Biden. Since then, people have been on “pardon watch” and Pres. Biden has given them a lot to talk about. In December, Biden did sweeping pardons of 1,500 people, mostly people with nonviolent drug-related convictions. He just did another round of commutations today – 2,500 people will have their sentences commuted.

President Biden announced on Friday that he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates serving long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses, the broadest commutation of individual sentences ever issued by a U.S. president.

The commutations are for offenders who received harsher sentences for drug crimes than they would under current practices, a move aimed at reversing longstanding criminal justice disparities, Mr. Biden said. Those disparities disproportionately affected Black people and fueled mass incarceration, many experts say.

“This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

Mr. Biden said he would consider additional pardons, which wipe out convictions, and commutations, which leave the guilty verdict intact but reduce some or all of the punishment, in the coming days. Among others, Mr. Biden has been considering pre-emptive pardons for a number of former elected officials and other people his successor, President-elect Donald J. Trump, may target for political retribution.

Mr. Biden said his latest commutations would help those who received sentences based on now-discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, or faced inflated charges for drug crimes. Mr. Biden said in his statement that he was following the lead of Congress, which over the past two decades has passed legislation to remedy decades-long disparities spurred by tough-on-crime laws, such as mandatory minimum sentences.

[From The NY Times]

Good. I’m glad he’s doing this and I’m glad he’s been highlighting the issue of drug sentencing and the changes already being made at the state and federal level over mandatory-minimum drug sentencing. I hope he pardons or commutes every nonviolent drug offender, honestly. F–k it. As for the chatter about whether Pres. Biden will issue preemptive pardons to people in Trump’s crosshairs… I don’t know. I will be very curious to see if it happens and whether it would make a difference either way.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

The inauguration is on Monday. Monday is also a federal holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We’ll have some stories, but I’m mostly going to spend the day avoiding everything related to Donald Trump. I will not be alone – I suspect millions of Americans will simply tune out the inauguration and everything that will happen in the next four years. Michelle Obama’s office announced this week that she will be one of the Americans ignoring all things Trump. MO will not attend the inauguration and she’s reportedly still in Hawaii, on an extended vacation. She also skipped Jimmy Carter’s funeral, likely because protocol would have had her seated next to the Trumps. There were rumors that Michelle was skipping the inauguration for other reasons, but sources told People Magazine that her decision was solely about her disgust for Donald Trump. Now “sources” close to MAGA World are telling Page Six that they couldn’t care less about MO’s snub.

MAGA sources could not care less that Michelle Obama is snubbing Donald Trump’s inauguration, a source tells Page Six.

“They are having a good laugh,” a source says of those involved in planning the inaugural festivities. “They didn’t expect her to come anyway.”

A Democratic source tried to play down the diss, noting, “Donald Trump and Melania didn’t go to Joe Biden’s inauguration and nobody cared. No one said anything.”

Barack and Michelle Obamas’ office announced this week that Michelle will skip the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies on Jan. 20th, but that the former president will attend. Michelle also skipped Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9 because she was on an “extended vacation” in Hawaii. She would have apparently been seated next to Trump.

One Republican source speculated, “It’s obvious that this was her way of protesting Trump. She hates him.”

Michelle attended Trump’s inaugural in 2017, and said of the experience on “The Light Podcast,” “To sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display — there was no diversity, there was no color on that stage. There was no reflection of the broader sense of America.”

A source told Page Six previously that Michelle’s choice to not attend the inauguration is “deliberate.”

“She’s never been fake and she’s never been phony. She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up,” the source said. “She showed up reluctantly for the election. They were united, but she doesn’t have to unify around [Trump]. She doesn’t have to say anything. Her absence speaks volumes.”

[From Page Six]

As I said before, I admire Michelle for opting out of this entire sh-tshow. She’s doing the same thing as many Black women have done post-election: walked away, protected their peace, and refused to engage with any of it. What I find most interesting though is that Michelle is really making a point to do this in public in advance of the inauguration. Her refusal to attend has become one of the biggest pre-inaugural stories. There were other options for her, you know? She could have announced her absence at the last minute, or she could have just said nothing and not shown up on Monday. Michelle wanted the public conversation, she’s inviting people to talk about it. My guess? She knew she would annoy the hell out of the Trumpers, because SHE is the conversation and not that guy. Which is why MAGAland is “hahaha, we don’t care” as they cry bitter tears.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

On Thursday, Justin Baldoni sued/countersued Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their publicist. In his 179-page complaint, Baldoni provides a lot of text messages between himself and Lively before and during the It Ends With Us production. He also includes texts and emails with other producers and actors. In one mind-numbingly hilarious section, Baldoni and his team are increasingly concerned during the production that Blake Lively has never read the source material, Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, and that Blake is Googling information about her character. I bring that up because Blake took it upon herself to rewrite some scenes, alongside her husband Ryan Reynolds. At one point, Blake invited Baldoni to her Tribeca penthouse, and Blake, Ryan and Taylor Swift gave Baldoni a hard sell on why he should use all of Blake and Ryan’s rewrites. Afterwards, Baldoni and Lively exchanged texts and she referred to herself as the Khaleesi (from Game of Thrones) and suggested that Ryan and Taylor Swift are her dragons.

Justin Baldoni claims Taylor Swift was involved in backing Blake Lively’s vision for It Ends With Us when he resisted some rewrites. Among the claims made in his 179-page complaint, Baldoni, 40, alleges that Swift, 35, and Reynolds, 48, pressured him into accepting one of Lively’s rewrites for the film. Christy Hall is credited as the screenwriter who adapted Colleen Hoover’s blockbuster novel.

In the pre-production phase, Lively allegedly asked to “take a pass” on the film’s rooftop scene, where her character Lily Bloom meets Baldoni’s Ryle Kincaid for the first time. Baldoni was “reluctant” to let her “rewrite this key scene,” per the complaint, “but “agreed to take a look at what she put together.”

Baldoni claims her version was “dramatically” different from how it was originally written, and after his “exceedingly mild resistance,” Lively “went silent for multiple days” and later said in an alleged text message that his reaction to her rewrite “didn’t feel great for me” — or to Reynolds and what Baldoni characterizes as “another megacelebrity friend.” A text message included in the filing reveals that “influential and wealthy” celebrity friend to be Swift.

Baldoni claimed he was “summoned” to an earlier meeting with Reynolds at their New York City penthouse where the pop superstar arrived and “began praising Lively’s script. Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to comply with Lively’s direction for the script.”

Per the complaint, Baldoni felt he didn’t need “Reynolds and her megacelebrity friend to pressure him,” so he texted her that while her changes made the scene “so much more fun and interesting” he “would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor,” adding a playful emoji. Lively allegedly responded by comparing herself to the Game of Thrones character Khaleesi and that Reynolds and Swift are her two “dragons.”

Another alleged text from Lively included in the filing shows the actress referring to Reynolds, with whom she shares four kids and married in 2012, and Swift as her “Dance Moms level stage moms.”

“They are embarrassingly effusive,” she added per the alleged text messages, calling herself the “luckiest m—–f—er on the planet” to have them as her supporters and “most trusted partners. She allegedly added, “I think they wanted you and me to see how they felt about [the rewrites] because they’ve been by my side for far too many experiences where I’ve been overlooked.”

Lively, in the alleged text message, said to Baldoni: “If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I happen to have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So really we all benefit from those gorgeous monsters of mine. you will too, I can promise you.”

[From People]

Even before the lawsuits started happening, back when Blake and Justin were separately promoting IEWU, the story about Ryan rewriting the rooftop/balcony scene came out, because Blake spoke about it openly in the press. People side-eyed it even then – why was Blake getting her husband to do an “unauthorized” rewrite on a crucial scene without the director’s knowledge? That was before we knew Blake was the Khaleesi and that Ryan and Taylor are her dragons. Separate from the allegations of sexual harassment, the way Blake and Ryan were throwing their weight around would have been a huge nightmare for any production and any director. And bringing Taylor Swift in to pressure Baldoni? LMAO.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, Avalon Red.

Last Sunday, Netflix confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex’s cooking show, With Love, Meghan, was being delayed because of the Southern California wildfires. WLM was supposed to be released on the 15th, and now it will come out a few days after the Oscars in March. Clearly, the Windsors held some emergency meetings in early January and made a plan of action to try to steal Meghan’s thunder by sending the Princess of Wales out to a hospital and sending William out to day-drink in a Birmingham pub. Sources also said that the WLM delay was at Meghan’s request, and that “it was an easy decision” for Meghan in the wake of the wildfires. Well, it looks like the Windsors are fuming – royal sources wept to Richard Eden at the Mail about the postponement. You’ll never guess why they are so upset!

The Duchess of Sussex’s decision to postpone the release of her long-awaited Netflix cookery show, With Love, Meghan, because of the devastation wreaked by wildfires in her home state of California has been praised by her fans. One of her favoured publications, People, reported that Meghan ‘didn’t think twice’ about delaying the eight-part series until March.

‘I don’t think she could imagine putting out a show centered on joy and hosting when so many people in her home state no longer have homes to host people in,’ an insider sympathetically told the American magazine.

Her decision has, however, led to some wry remarks from those connected to the Royal Family, I can disclose. One friend of the royals pointed out to me this week that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex allowed their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey to be broadcast in 2021 even though Prince Philip was seriously ill in hospital. Prince Harry’s grandfather died four weeks later.

‘Meghan seemingly didn’t think twice about going ahead with the Oprah interview, did she?’ commented the royal source. Let’s not forget how deeply the interview with America’s chat show queen must have wounded the Royal Family. Meghan’s lurid accusations, including claims that the Princess of Wales had made her cry and that unnamed senior royals had raised concerns about her baby’s skin tone, would have undoubtedly hurt Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth.

Some courtiers are even wondering whether the postponement of her cookery programme is a commercial one. ‘Would people really want to watch a glossy TV show about someone’s luxury lifestyle when thousands of Americans have seen their homes and lives destroyed?’ one figure with connections to the royals asked me this week. It’s questionable whether the delay until March will make much difference to the appetite for such a programme. There will still be thousands of people homeless in three months’ time.

And the Oprah interview wasn’t the only project that the Sussexes knew would hurt Harry’s family but went ahead with anyway. They recorded their Netflix ‘docu-series’, or reality show, Harry & Meghan in 2022, when Queen Elizabeth was in rapidly declining health. That six-part programme, broadcast in December – two months after the queen’s death – worsened relations with the royals by accusing them of ‘leaking’ and ‘planting’ stories in the media. Some even felt Meghan demonstrating the extravagant curtsy she had performed for the late Queen had the effect of mocking her. The Queen had died two months before it was broadcast.

Two books have since reported that the Queen was suffering from bone cancer for a year before her death. It’s not clear if the Sussexes knew this, but they would have been acutely aware that she was increasingly frail. Yet they recorded the hurtful series anyway. Most disrespectful to the Queen were the sections of the programme devoted to denigrating the Commonwealth, the organisation close to her heart.

Harry similarly didn’t think twice about writing his tawdry memoirs while his grandmother’s health was worsening. Thank goodness that it was not published until four months after the Queen’s death, so she did not have to read about his betrayals of private conversations and vilification of her loved ones. It’s not hard to see why some close to the Royal Family would treat Meghan’s concern for the feelings of others with profound scepticism.

[From The Daily Mail]

I actually mentioned in the WLM postponement story that the Sussexes have a history of unlucky timing. The big one, for me, was their unluckiness with the timing of the Oprah interview. To be fair to them, they had already scheduled the interview with Oprah before Prince Philip went into the hospital for the last time. To be fair, the palace used Philip’s rapidly declining health as an excuse back in 2021 to scream about how the Sussexes’ interview should be delayed. It didn’t matter, it was honestly beyond the Sussexes’ control, and I’m glad the interview went ahead as planned. I also don’t think “the Sussexes released a bunch of big projects after QEII died” is some big controversy. I really wish they had released some of that stuff when QEII was alive, you know? The Netflix show especially, I always thought that should have come out a year earlier. Anyway, this piece is just another reminder that no one is more obsessed with Harry and Meghan than the Windsors and their “friends.” Everyone in the royal establishment has been following every single thing the Sussexes do and say for years.

Photos/screencaps courtesy of Harpo/CBS, LA Fox affiliate and Sky News.

On Tuesday, the Princess of Wales visited the cancer ward at the Royal Marsden Hospital. Kate’s office confirmed that Kate had been treated at the same hospital last year, and that’s where she had been “smuggled in” to receive chemotherapy treatments. Kate made some strange comments during her visit with cancer patients, but royal reporters quickly swooped in to do damage control and massage the message. The message? Kate is fine, she’s in remission, but her “new normal” means that she’s still not going back to work in any way, and how dare you question any part of this story. Interestingly, People Magazine has published several exclusives about Kate’s visit, and I suspect that Kensington Palace organized these pieces with palace-selected people and palace-enforced talking points. One woman who met Kate declared that Kate doesn’t have to tell people what kind of cancer she had:

Kate Middleton’s visit to a London hospital where she had cancer treatment last year made a real impact, but one cancer patient says there’s no need for the royal to disclose her diagnosis. Angela Terry met the Princess of Wales during her emotional stop at The Royal Marsden Hospital on Jan. 14, and exclusively tells PEOPLE that Kate’s presence provided a huge boost.

“She was there to say thank you to the people who had looked after her, talk to patients who were in a similar situation,” Terry tells PEOPLE. “It was a great message of hope because she looked so well. We don’t need to know what cancer she had. We just know she’s been through surgery, she’s been through chemo — and one year later, my goodness, look, she is here.”

Terry, 71, was diagnosed with EGFR-positive lung cancer in 2019 and serves as the non-executive chair of EGFR Positive UK, a charity for mutation driven lung cancer. She was at the Royal Marsden for treatment on Tuesday when she met Princess Kate, who unexpectedly stepped out there to “show her gratitude to the incredible team, but also highlight the world leading care and treatment the Marsden provides,” a Kensington Palace spokesman said.

[From People]

“It was a great message of hope because she looked so well. We don’t need to know what cancer she had.” Eh. Kate and King Charles have both declined to talk specifics about their cancer diagnoses, but Charles has done a lot more to show that he’s receiving treatment and that his cancer and the treatment has knocked him on his ass. Charles, to me, is more realistic and relatable than the conspiracy of silence around Kate for the past year. Meanwhile, People Mag did another exclusive about Kate telling a cancer patient that she didn’t use the cold cap:

Kate Middleton’s hair has long been a hallmark of her style, and during a visit to the Royal Marsden Hospital, a cancer patient revealed that the princess shared she “didn’t have to have” cold cap therapy—a treatment that helps reduce the risk of hair loss—during her cancer treatment.

Katherine Field, a patient undergoing cancer treatment who met Princess Kate during her visit, tells PEOPLE that they discussed cold capping — a scalp cooling system that can help reduce hair loss during chemotherapy, according to the American Cancer Society. Field, who was wearing a cold cap at the time, said the conversation added a personal connection to their encounter.

“I hate it, but I think it is working. Today there is a little bit of hair coming out, but I’m just trying to delay it,” Field, an art historian and curator, tells PEOPLE. When asked if Princess Kate mentioned using a cold cap, Field shared, “She just said that she didn’t have to have it. For her to lose her hair, which is so iconic, would have been awful. Everyone loves her hair!”

[From People]

In retrospect, I think one of the craziest parts about Kate’s situation is that she actually looked quite ill in 2023 and her use of wigs was quite noticeable, and then when she “came back” to public view in June of last year – when she was apparently going through chemo – she looked worlds better and a lot healthier. She was practically glowing at the Wimbledon men’s final last July. And yes, the situation with her hair is certainly interesting.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.