At some point this month, King Charles and Queen Camilla will decamp to Scotland and they’ll likely spend two months or more at their Scottish residence, Birkhall. Charles has made it clear that he has no desire to give up Birkhall, which is supposedly more “homey” than Balmoral Castle. Still, Charles will spend some time in the main castle, and the rest of the family is still expected to trudge up to Balmoral for their annual summer visits too. This year, the family will have to dodge tourists within the castle though. For the first time ever, King Charles is opening up selected rooms within the castle for tourists. Roya Nikkhah at the Sunday Times was seemingly the only journalist to get an advance private tour of “seven of its more than 100 rooms.” After QEII died, Charles started redecorating right away and he began plotting a way to open up the castle to make money. Keep in mind, Balmoral IS private property (like Sandringham). This is not some kind of “public land.”

As the “heart of the castle”, where the royal family gather for pre-dinner drinks, the drawing room is also where the King has put his personal touches on a home associated for so long with his mother. He has changed the carpets back to “hunting Stewart tartan”: the green, blue, yellow and red check pattern that Victoria would have had fitted originally. He has also hung new chintz curtains with a light tartan stripe, with matching sofa covers.

From Monday until August 4, “golden ticket” holders can wander through the private quarters of Balmoral for the first time in groups of ten. All 3,400 tickets — priced at £100 — for the “bespoke” 45-minute tour sold out within two hours of going on sale on April 2. Some of the visitors will come from as far afield as the US, Australia and New Zealand. Previously, tourists were allowed to visit only the castle’s 55,000-acre grounds, for £17.50 a ticket, between April and July. The ballroom was the only interior space open for annual exhibitions.

James Hamilton-Goddard, Balmoral’s visitor enterprise manager, who has been working with the King for two years on the project, said: “When the family are here, they’re not here to sit in their castle. They’re here to enjoy the outdoors.”

A royal source told me [the king] wanted “to bring people in to connect with the institution. He recognises it needs to keep evolving, and in the modern era people want to be able to access their palaces. He embraces that and sees them as public places more than private spaces.”

Friends of his son have told me, however, that Prince William did not instantly warm to Charles’s vision of the public wandering through the rooms that his children, George, Charlotte and Louis, have the run of each summer. But the King has the final say.

A friend of Charles said he isn’t as sentimental as William: “With the exception of Birkhall [the home he shares with the Queen on the estate], he feels like everywhere is temporary accommodation, rather than his place of nurture. It is to do with his upbringing, I don’t think he ever stayed in one place for more than three months at a time, so he regards them more as lodgings than home. He by nature is someone who opens doors to people, not closes them.”

The King, who is currently at Birkhall with his wife before Holyrood Week in Edinburgh this week, has kept a close eye on the Balmoral project, visiting on Thursday to inspect the new signage in the gardens. He is expected to visit again in the coming days for a final check. Hamilton-Goddard says: “It’s a big deal. The King wanted it to happen; we’ve made it happen.” Proceeds from the tour will go back into the estate and after the castle closes to the public on August 5, the royal family will begin their summer break in mid-August until the end of September.

[From The Times]

“He feels like everywhere is temporary accommodation, rather than his place of nurture…I don’t think he ever stayed in one place for more than three months at a time.” That made me so sad. That reveals more about Charles’s mindset and rolling-stone personality than anything else. Even before he inherited the vast real estate empire of the crown, he couldn’t stay in one home for longer than three months? Yikes. As for William’s chagrin at the tour scheme… William really wanted to dictate that no tours should be allowed because HIS children spend about four or five days at Balmoral every year? William and Kate barely spent any time on the Balmoral estate even when QEII was alive. They put in perfunctory appearances, usually only for a long weekend or something. Besides, I’m pretty sure they don’t stay in the main castle either.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Eddie Murphy is promoting Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which premieres on Netflix on July 3. I’m a huge fan of the first two BHC movies and it’s amazing to remember that no one had really done what Eddie Murphy did at the time. He basically saved Saturday Night Live and filmed 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop on his summers off. He became a full-fledged movie star AND the most popular comedian in the country before the age of 23. He also spent decades creating a fascinating body of work as an actor and producer and he remains one of the most successful entertainers of all time. Murphy chatted with the New York Times for an in-depth interview on his career, BCH and how he survived the industry and lives peacefully. He basically watches Family Feud, plays the guitar and spends time with his kids most days. Some highlights from this wonderful NYT piece:

He didn’t really understand how groundbreaking he was: “I was 22 when I got to do “Beverly Hills Cop” and 20 years old when I started doing “48 Hrs.” Now I look back at those times, and I trip about how young I was. But back then I kind of took it for granted. One thing had led to another, and I wound up on a movie set. Then when stuff worked and became hit movies, I was like, “OK, that’s what it’s supposed to be.”…I was having these famous people that I grew up watching on television wanting to have a meal with me. After “48 Hrs.” Marlon Brando calls my agent and wants to meet me. Now I look back and go, “Wow, that’s crazy: The greatest actor of all time wants to have dinner with you!” But back then I just thought, Well, that’s the way it is: You make a movie, and Marlon Brando calls.

He’s out of touch: “I’m so out of touch. I ask my wife, who’s this person? She’ll be like, ‘They’re the biggest thing in the world.’ [Whether he can name a Taylor Swift song?] No, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

What he watches on TV: “I’m ashamed to say the stuff I watch now. It’s not hip stuff. Every night at 6 o’clock, before I eat dinner, I watch Steve Harvey and “Family Feud.” I watch “The Masked Singer.” [Laughs.] My wife and I, we watch all of those shows, the singing competitions and that kind of stuff. Last year, I watched all of “The Golden Bachelor.” You know they broke up? What kind of [expletive] is that? I watched that, I was like, “This is so nice, they found love in the second part of their life.” Then I find out these [expletive] broke up three months later!

He was a huge Elvis fan: “Elvis had a huge influence on me: the leather suits; in “Raw,” I come out, I have a scarf. I was rolling like Elvis, too. I didn’t have the Memphis Mafia, but I had my little crew of dudes. And the same way you see me dressed in “Delirious” and in “Raw,” I used to dress like that on the streets. I was totally in my Elvis trip. And when I got older, it was like, oh, my God, Elvis wasn’t cool at all. Elvis was going through some [expletive]. Now, Michael Jackson, that whole red jacket thing in “Thriller”: “Thriller” is after “Delirious” when I owned the red suit. I’m not saying he was influenced, but I had on the red jacket before.

The men he admired came to tragic ends: “Those guys are all cautionary tales for me. I don’t drink. I smoked a joint for the first time when I was 30 years old — the extent of drugs is some weed. I remember I was 19, I went to the Blues Bar. It was me, Belushi and Robin Williams. They start doing coke, and I was like, “No, I’m cool.” I wasn’t taking some moral stance. I just wasn’t interested in it. To not have the desire or the curiosity, I’d say that’s providence. God was looking over me in that moment. When you get famous really young, especially a Black artist, it’s like living in a minefield. Any moment something could happen that can undo everything. It was like, all of this stuff is going on, and I’m totally oblivious. Now, at this age, I can look back and be like, “Wow, I came through a minefield for 35 years.” How do you make it through a minefield for 35, 40 years? Something has to be looking over you.

He doesn’t consider his films flops anymore: “I have more than five good [movies], though. I feel like I have maybe five or six bad ones. You know, “Pluto Nash” might be the only [expletive] movie. I have a couple of movies that are soft, and movies that are just OK. But no flops. I used to call movies flops. There’s no such thing as a flop. Because I’ve been in this business long enough to know that when I got into this business, there was no Black Hollywood, and there was just, you know, a handful of Black people that were working in films. Just to get in a movie is an accomplishment.

Dealing with racism & negativity: “Just think about it: Ronald Reagan was the president, and it was that America. You would do interviews, and you’re like: “I didn’t say that. I don’t talk that way.” They would be writing it in this weird ghetto — I used to have weird [expletive] that would go on. Then I got really popular, and there was this negative backlash that comes with it. It’s like, I was the only one out there. I’m this young, rich, Black one. Everybody wasn’t happy about that in 1983. Even Black folks. You’d get cheap shots from your people.

The David Spade story: “When David Spade said that [expletive] about my career on “S.N.L.,” it was like: “Yo, it’s in-house! I’m one of the family, and you’re [expletive] with me like that?” It hurt my feelings like that, yeah. [Spade made fun of]one movie. “Vampire in Brooklyn.” It came out and had flopped. He showed a picture of me, and he said, “Hey, everybody, catch a falling star.” It was like: Wait, hold on. This is “Saturday Night Live.” I’m the biggest thing that ever came off that show. The show would have been off the air if I didn’t go back on the show, and now you got somebody from the cast making a crack about my career? And I know that he can’t just say that. A joke has to go through these channels. So the producers thought it was OK to say that. And all the people that have been on that show, you’ve never heard nobody make no joke about anybody’s career. Most people that get off that show, they don’t go on and have these amazing careers. It was personal. It was like, “Yo, how could you do that?” My career? Really? A joke about my career? So I thought that was a cheap shot. And it was kind of, I thought — I felt it was racist. [I stayed away from SNL for] thirty years. In the long run, it’s all good. Worked out great. I’m cool with David Spade. Cool with Lorne Michaels. I went back to “S.N.L.” I’m cool with everybody. It’s all love.

[From The NY Times]

He was obviously so close to Richard Pryor and considered Pryor a mentor and friend in many ways, but it cracks me up to hear him talk about how much he loved Elvis. He also says, in this interview, “The ceiling of the whole art form, standup comedy, that’s Richard [Pryor]. And the ceiling for movies, for me, is Chaplin.” I can’t remember who said it, but years ago someone pointed out that people expected Murphy to be the next Richard Pryor but he actually wanted to be the next Jerry Lewis. The story about Jim Belushi and Robin Williams doing coke is crazy but it was a different time. The story about David Spade… that really did hurt him and he’s absolutely right that it was racist and just rude, not just for Spade personally but for the writers and producers who okayed it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Here are some photos of Jennifer Lopez out and about in LA on Saturday. She was with her kids, I can see Emme in the background of some of the photos. J.Lo’s ensemble here is sort of interesting – she’s wearing head-to-toe Dior, except for a rare Hermes Birkin bag. I love the crisp white cotton Dior shirt and I even like the Dior D-Joy ballet flats. The Dior trousers are kind of awful though, not that flattering on Jennifer. I don’t imagine that style would be flattering on any body type though. Her Birkin is crocodile skin, in black. Last week, Jennifer seemingly made a last-minute decision to attend the Dior show at Paris Fashion Week. I wonder if she returned home with a suitcase full of Dior for her trouble.

As we discussed on Sunday, when J.Lo was in Italy and France, Ben moved his sh-t out of their Beverly Hills home. This home seems to be one big contention in their marriage – they spent months and months looking at homes all over LA, and when they finally settled on this gigantic mansion, they also spent millions renovating it. Ben quietly moved out of the mansion two months ago and he’s now staying at a Brentwood rental. I think J.Lo is possibly still living in the Beverly Hills place, even though they’ve put it on the market already. If J.Lo is concerned about Ben moving his sh-t out while she was on vacation, she’s not letting it show. She wore her wedding ring for this Saturday outing.

All that being said, I really do wonder if we’re going to get a big announcement soon. The paparazzi are obviously trailing Ben and Jen a lot these days, and it’s become clear that they’ve probably only seen each other once in like three or four weeks? And that one meeting was literally at their office. I hate this! I’m still rooting for them, but damn, it really does not look good.

Photos courtesy of BauerGriffin/INSTARimages/Cover Images.

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In 2007, Katherine Heigl won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress for playing Izzie Stevens on the third season of Grey’s Anatomy. We all know what happened next. The following year, she caused a lot of drama by releasing a statement saying that she was withdrawing her name from consideration that year because she didn’t think she was “given the material to warrant” a nomination and wanted to “maintain the integrity of the academy organization.” It came across as pretentious and surprised the Grey’s writing staff. Unfortunately for Katherine, it was one of many instances of public comments and tensions with co-stars that basically ended her movie career.

Katherine recently appeared on Shannen Doherty’s podcast, Let’s Be Clear. During their chat, Shannen asked Katherine about the decision to withdraw from Emmy consideration. In the past, Katherine has acknowledged that she “ambushed” the writers with that statement because it was a “private work matter.” On the podcast, she told Shannen that realizes she created an unnecessary sh-tstorm and regrets her actions because, in hindsight, she shouldn’t have said anything at all.

She regrets saying anything: “Well I didn’t, and everybody keeps saying that. I didn’t turn it down. You know, you have to submit yourself. You have to submit your work and then they deliberate and then they decide if they want to give you a nomination. I just didn’t submit my work that year. And I should, you know, I don’t know, my mother and I were talking about this recently. I should have said nothing. I should have said nothing. I should have just said ‘Oh I forgot,’ because it created such a maelstrom that was so unnecessary, and it really was.”

She “wasn’t trying to be a d-ck:” “I was kind of trying to make a bit of a snarky point about my material that year, but I was also just not feeling my material. I didn’t think I had anything that warranted even the consideration for a nomination. I just wasn’t proud of my work…I would never be so bold or so arrogant to turn down a nomination. I would take that nomination if it came my way. I’d be down. But I just knew there wasn’t anything that would really warrant one that year, and I was trying to be honorable, I guess. I was trying to have some integrity. I wasn’t trying to be a d-ck.”

On her comments about Grey’s long working hours: As she remained with the series however, tensions began to rise between herself and the producers. In 2009, Heigl publicly called out the Grey’s producers for having the cast and crew work a 17-hour day, which she called “cruel and mean.”

[From CinemaBlend]

I understand Katherine’s frustration with not liking the way Izzie’s storyline was going that season. That’s valid, even though that season was cut short by the writer’s strike and a lot of TV shows suffered as a result. But publicly releasing a statement putting down your show’s writers was not the way to handle that. It came off as rude. In the past, she’s explained that she was afraid that the academy would think that she was snubbing them by not submitting her work, given that she was the incumbent winner. Why couldn’t she have just sent them a private memo that explains why she wasn’t submitting? Oh, right, because she also wanted the public to know why her name wasn’t appearing on the nominee list. She did create a mess for herself, and unfortunately, Hollywood has always granted more forgiveness and the benefit of the doubt to men.

You can listen to Katherine’s appearance on Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty here.

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Katherine Heigl is shown out with her mom in June, 2008 a couple of weeks after she posted that statement. Credit: Max Butterworth/Matt Symons/PacificCoastNews.com / Avalon. Other photos credit Getty and via Instagram

In his life, Pat Tillman was used post-9/11 patriotic agit-prop – the football player who left a lucrative professional career to become an Army Ranger. His death by friendly fire was politicized for years, with high-level coverups and plenty of Pentagon shenanigans. The Tillman family does not speak with one voice – Pat Tillman’s widow Marie runs the Pat Tillman Foundation, and in 2017, Marie also spoke against Donald Trump when Trump politicized her late husband’s image in Trump’s beef with the NFL. Well, Pat’s mother Mary Tillman has some thoughts about Prince Harry being awarded the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the upcoming ESPYs. Mary Tillman ran straight to… the Mail on Sunday. Not an American publication? Weird.

The mother of a US war hero killed in Afghanistan has criticised the decision to give Prince Harry an award honouring her dead son. Harry will receive the memorial award set up in the name of Pat Tillman – an American football star who gave up a £3million contract to enlist in the US Army after 9/11 – in Hollywood next month.

But the soldier’s mother Mary said she was not consulted, adding: ‘I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award. There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans. These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognised.’

ESPN said Harry was being honoured for his ‘tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport’ with his Invictus Games.’

But the decision to honour him has led to a backlash. A petition yesterday demanded ESPN to think again, claiming Harry had been ‘involved in controversies that call into question his suitability to receive an honour of this magnitude’. It says: ‘Awarding this honour to someone who does not reflect the award’s intent diminishes its value and disrespects Tillman’s memory.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Before people get too hyped up… Mary Tillman is a Gold Star mother. She has the right to her opinion about an award in her son’s name. Now, do I find this whole thing to be utterly bizarre? For sure. Why did she issue this statement exclusively to the Mail and not, you know, ESPN or the New York Times or USA Today? There also seems to be a selective ignorance going around about the Invictus Games and why Harry is actually receiving this award. ESPN commentator Pat McAfee – a certified dipsh-t – also blanked on Invictus, just as Mary Tillman did. I’m not saying that it’s a conspiracy, but there does seem to be a very strange agenda here.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.

Prince William’s selfie with Taylor Swift really broke a lot of brains. As I said at the time, it was a clear PR win for William and it’s okay to acknowledge that. It was also probably an unexpected PR win for William when Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce were falling all over themselves to call William “the coolest motherf–ker” and praise his parenting skills. This is probably the best thing to happen to Kensington Palace’s PR in years. Instead of just taking the dub and acting like these kinds of wins happen all the time for the heir to the throne, William and his sycophants proceeded to make asses out of themselves. They’ve been running around, screaming about how Taylor Swift wanted to “pay court” to big-boy William, and how now the Kelces are on Team Egg so it will be awkward for Prince Harry at the ESPYs. Insane. But not as bonkers as this Daily Mail headline: “Is it William winning the hearts of Americans, like Harry wishes he was? After Travis Kelce calls Prince ‘coolest’ royal, how future king has surged in popularity over the pond, while the Sussexes get a lukewarm response.”

When the Duke of Sussex put down roots in America, he no doubt wanted to capture the hearts of those in his new country. But it is his older brother, the Prince of Wales, 42, that appears to be better connected with those across the pond.

William’s popularity is so potent that he’s polled much higher among Americans than the country’s own heavyweight public figures, despite the country having their own British prince on home soil. Analytics firm Gallup asked US voters what they thought about 15 big names on the world stage in 2023, and the heir to the British throne came top, beating homegrown notables President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump.

It’s not just members of the public that have taken a liking to William, but also the pop sensation Taylor Swift, 34, and her American football tight end boyfriend, Travis Kelce, also 34.

That same year, a poll conducted by Newsweek found that almost half Americans believe the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should be stripped of their royal titles. The poll, conducted in January 2023, found that 45 per cent of Americans are in favour of Harry and Meghan losing their royal titles, while 26 per cent opposed to the idea, and 28 per cent said they are unsure.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to be putting off Americans with their ‘endless moans’ and ‘attacks’ on the Royal Family, a royal expert has claimed. In a bid to branch out to the celebrity world, the Sussexes are often seen making appearances at glitzy events, including the ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ premiere in Jamaica in January. But they were branded ‘insensitive’ for posing on the red carpet with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who wants to ditch the monarchy.

Speaking about Harry and Meghan’s time since leaving Britain, royal author Angela Levin said even Americans are getting fed up with the couple’s ‘hypocrisy’ and whinging. She told The Sun: ‘I think endless moaning puts off Americans because they like people who are go-getters rather than those who blame everyone else. They also don’t like the attacks on the Royal Family especially as they so loved and admired the Queen.’

[From The Daily Mail]

That 2023 poll was clearly some kind of bizarre palace scheme, bought and paid for by William raiding one of the many piggy banks he has access to. I don’t even think I covered that Newsweek poll about the Sussexes and their titles? Let me tell the royalists something – the average American does not give a sh-t about the Sussexes’ titles. But we are paying attention: a hit Netflix series, a bestselling, record-breaking memoir, the “Meghan Effect” for everything Meghan wears, a ratings boost whenever Harry or Meghan are on screen. That’s the larger problem, isn’t it? This is the British press and KP trying to convince their domestic audience that “Americans hate the Sussexes” while simultaneously convincing the domestic audience that William is beloved by Americans. And beyond all of that… why does it matter? Is it because William only became obsessed with America once Harry and Meghan moved there?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Kensington Palace and Taylor Swift’s social media.

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Olivia Culpo got married this weekend in Rhode Island. She married Christian McCaffrey, a football player who currently plays for the 49ers. He’s 28, and Olivia is 32 years old. This is the first marriage for both. Olivia has weird taste in men, and it honestly feels like Christian is a subplot to the larger story of “Olivia Culpo got married!” Still, I love looking at wedding photos and I love talking about wedding gowns, so here we are. Of course Olivia gave Vogue an exclusive on the dress! She wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana ballgown.

Olivia Culpo holds the following belief about marriage: “It’s a covenant. It’s the beginning of the rest of your life—and it’s the union and bond of two people forever,” the model and former Miss Universe tells Vogue. So when it came to designing her wedding dress with Dolce & Gabbana, there was one note she stressed to the atelier above all. “I wanted something that felt as serious as that commitment,” she says.

For months, she and the Italian house worked together to translate that emotional ideal into a physical dress. And on Saturday, June 29, Culpo walked down the chapel aisle in Watch Hill, Rhode Island to marry San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey in a long-sleeve crepe crew neck ball gown with a voluminous skirt and button-lined back.

“I didn’t want it to exude sex in any way, shape, or form,” she says of the dress, which she wore with a 16-foot lace veil. “I wanted it to feel effortless and as if it’s complimenting me, not overpowering me. There’s so much beauty and simplicity.” (This ethos also extended to her beauty: Culpo tells Vogue she wore little makeup, forgoing mascara and eyebrow gel in favor of a pared-back look.)

“When I think about Christian and what he loves and the moments that he thinks that I’m most beautiful, it’s absolutely in something like this: timeless, covered, and elegant,” she adds.

[From Vogue]

Olivia also tells Vogue that her biggest priority was getting married in a church, which she says as explanation for why she’s so covered up. Which is weird because tons of brides show some skin when they’re getting married in a church. It’s quite common for bridal gowns to be backless or strapless or show some cleavage and it’s not the end of the world. I guess she’s saying she wanted to go super-conservative and churchy, which is fine. The dress is pretty, elegant and simple… and kind of plain. Still, I prefer this to a lot of the gowns which are, frankly, doing too much. “I didn’t want it to exude sex in any way, shape, or form.” That’s fine!

Olivia Culpo is married! Here, discover the story behind the model and former Miss Universe’s traditional Dolce & Gabbana ballgown for her Rhode Island wedding: https://t.co/cjJXR00oZz pic.twitter.com/W5x2Z3LCHA

— Vogue Runway (@VogueRunway) June 29, 2024

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As we learned last week, Prince Harry will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service at this year’s ESPYs. In ESPN’s press release, they cited Harry’s work on the Invictus Games and Harry’s own combat military service. Harry receiving an award named after Pat Tillman is a huge deal here in the US, and obviously, the Invictus Games have grown into a global brand. So of course there’s pushback. I was expecting pushback from the British media and from Kensington Palace. I was not expecting it from Pat McAfee, the dipsh-t football bro/analyst on ESPN. McAfee is exactly the kind of guy who is too stupid to read his own network’s press releases. McAfee is exactly the kind of guy who platforms Aaron Rodgers’ vaccine conspiracies and Jimmy Kimmel slander. McAfee is exactly the kind of guy who refers to Caitlin Clark as “the white bitch.” And now Pat McAfee is the kind of guy who thinks ESPN is giving Prince Harry the Pat Tillman Award for Service because Harry is a sports fan.

Pat McAfee has slammed the ESPYS for shortlisting Prince Harry among its nominees for ‘the Pat Tilman Award for Service,’ as he also bemoaned that Americans weren’t considered in the selection process. Discussing the chatter on the Duke of Sussex being tipped for the prestigious prize, which is given to a ‘person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and US Army Ranger,’ the ESPN analyst wasn’t afraid to lay into the event’s committee on the network, Friday.

‘A lot of conversation about Pat Tillman’s name. American hero… Now there’s an award named after him, as there should be in the sports world because that is somebody who is the definition of selfless,’ McAfee said at first. ‘It’s going to Prince Harry, who I don’t even think is a prince anymore… He said don’t call me that,’ McAfee then quipped in a subtle dig at King Charles’ estranged son, later adding: ‘See, why does the ESPYS do this sh*t?’

After ‘Boston Connor’ – a member of the cast on the Pat McAfee Show – described Prince Harry’s nomination for the award as ‘probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life,’ McAfee questioned whether the ESPY Awards’ committee even did its homework on its candidate search in the first place.

‘When you do something like this, you know the immediate reaction from humans and sports fans and like people with common sense and brains is going to be like ”Hey, don’t be putting our f***ing guy with that guy,’ McAfee said before sharing his perception of Prince Harry, who founded The Invictus Games and served in the British Army. ‘I don’t know anything about him except for the South Park episode and what I’ve learned from the Crown. But like did his people know like ”you publicly put me up for this award. You’re just asking basically ever person that considers themselves American and saying ”this is bulls***”’. Especially at a sports award type of thing… I assume he knew that. They didn’t expect that?’

‘We should celebrate sports,’ McAfee added. ‘The worldwide leaders should celebrate sport but doing something like this is obviously trying to piss people off. And it’s like there’s been numerous decisions of this type of thing over the last what? Decade? And I think it’s just one person being put in charge of this entire thing. It’s like, c’mon bro…’

Replying to his buddy’s point McAfee suggested to just ‘make up’ an award for Prince Harry. ‘How about it’s like ESPY for royal family member who doesn’t want to be called ”royal family member” who loves sports,’ he said.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m including the clip below, and just note that I used the Mail because they actually transcribed almost everything that was said because they were so gleeful that this dumbf–k McAfee said all of this sh-t. As Awful Announcing notes in their tweet, at no point did McAfee and his bros mention Invictus Games, nor did they mention the fact that Harry, like Pat Tillman, served in combat in the war in Afghanistan. They really believe that ESPN just gave an award to Harry because he’s a sports fan. All of the “this should have gone to an American!!” sh-t is crazy too, considering the Pat Tillman Award went to Marcus Rashford, a British footballer, in 2021.

PS… The Mary Tillman story is coming up shortly, please do not threadjack.

“A lot of conversation about Pat Tillman’s name. American hero…Now there’s an award named after him, as there should be in the sports world because that is somebody who is the definition of selfless. It’s going to Prince Harry. Who I don’t even think is a prince anymore. See,… pic.twitter.com/eLx3rO2M1h

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 28, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

News Nation Now had a very interesting piece of gossip over the weekend about Sean Combs, aka Puffy aka Diddy. Puffy has been quiet in recent weeks after everything came crashing down this spring. Federal agents raided his Flordia and LA homes, and a federal grand jury has been impaneled to hear the case against him. Somewhere along the way, CNN aired a video from 2016 of Combs brutally assaulting Cassie in a hotel hallway. It absolutely feels like Combs will be facing a host of federal charges ranging from his multi-state sex crimes, trafficking and probably a lot more. He’s going to need so many lawyers in the coming months and years. But now he can’t count on his longtime New York lawyers at Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks. According to News Nation Now, Lady Gaga is also a client of the law firm and she issued an ultimatum: it’s me or Puffy. The firm chose her.

Literally nobody in Hollywood wants to be near Diddy, not even his lawyers… who just fired him as a client. The powerful firm of Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks, which represents most major names in the music industry, dropped Diddy recently. but not because they wanted to: Because a more powerful client refused to leave if they did not sever ties.

My insider said, “Lady Gaga said she was leaving (the firm) if they didn’t drop Diddy. And she’s too big to lose.”

Meanwhile, Combs’ IMDB site, the ever-important listing for everyone in the industry which lists the names of celebrities, agents, lawyers, press representatives, and more, has been scrubbed and had just Combs Global on it, with just one employee: Combs. The Combs Global site itself appears to be a holding page with just a logo. Just last week he scrubbed his Instagram account as well.

Combs has been with GSM&S for over two decades and would often stop by his lawyer/friend Allen Grubman’s house when in the Hamptons. But no matter how close the two once were, the firm represents some of the biggest names in the music business, and can’t afford for Gaga or any of their other artists to bolt.

[From News Nation Now]

There’s already been a denial about this. The spokesperson for the law firm told Page Six: “The decision to part ways with Mr. Combs was proactively made by the partners in the firm a number of months ago as they felt it was the right thing to do. The report that the decision was the result of client pressure just isn’t true.” Which is interesting, I guess. I was going to give Gaga a lot of credit for doing this and doing it quietly, and it’s honestly a good story for her and her image. I kind of believe that Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks wanted to dump him… but I also believe they were probably getting pressure from their other clients, like Gaga.

Now, I did some very minor research into Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks and they’re mostly dealing with entertainment law, contracts, copyrights, the protection of art and artists. Combs was always going to need a different law firm. He was always going to need lawyers who specialize in federal crimes like human trafficking, drug trafficking, etc. Where he’s going, he’s not going to need entertainment lawyers.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Buckingham Palace released a new-to-us portrait/photo of King Charles. This was taken last November, before his cancer diagnosis. He wore his Field Marshal No.1 ceremonial dress uniform, complete with a chest full of medals. The photo was released for Britain’s Armed Services Day, which was Saturday, June 29. Now that he’s king, he’s the head of Britain’s Armed Forces and he was a naval officer back in the day. But he never saw combat, unlike his son Prince Harry.

While I get the idea behind “releasing a new photo of the king in his dress uniform for Armed Services Day,” I kind of wonder if the courtiers ever considered releasing a different kind of photo for the day. Instead of centering Charles with his chest full of medals – many of which are for things like ‘attending a Jubbly’ – they could have released a new, more personal photo of Charles with young soldiers on a military base. Something which would have actually centered the men and women who serve? Not to give the palace free ideas, but gosh.

Meanwhile, the king did not actually issue any statements to honor servicemen and servicewomen on Saturday. Instead, he let Camilla issue a statement on video. As I watched this, I realized it was the first time I’ve heard her speak for any length of time in many years. She’s not shy about public speaking, I just haven’t sought out videos of her speeches and I’m just realizing that now. She has a minor issue with sibilants, right? Anyway, it’s weird that Charles is like “here’s an old photo where I look like a generalissimo of a banana republic for Armed Forces Day, but you’re only going to hear from Camilla today!”

Meanwhile, at Glastonbury…

They were chanting “Fuck the king” at Glastonbury. pic.twitter.com/SugHBLB3H9

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) June 29, 2024

Portrait courtesy of Hugo Burnand/Royal Household. Additional photos courtesy of Cover Images.