There are no major spoilers in this post, link to source has spoilers.

Dark Matter is an apple TV scifi series, available now in full, starring Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga and Jimmi Simpson. It’s based on a book by Blake Crouch about a scientist who invents a way to travel the multiverse. Edgerton plays both the scientist and the mild-mannered professor whose life the scientists could be living if he made other choices. In the multiverse, both men exist and the scientist tries to impersonate the professor so he can take over his genteel family life. To tell anything more would give away too much of the plot, which can take some time to get used to. I was invested by episode three though, and so much of that was due to the performances and the relationships between characters.

In a new interview with Decider, Edgerton talked about how he approached the material (he’s a big fan of Crouch’s work and campaigned for this), how great it was to work with Connelly and Braga and how he explains the show to his friends and family who invariably ask about it. It’s a lovely interview that confirms my positive impressions of him. As Kaiser and I talked about on the last podcast, he is a leading man and should be more of a star. Here’s part of that interview, with more at the source (spoilers for that link, but I’ve cut those out of this excerpt):

“Blake Crouch called those final two episodes some of the “coolest viewing experiences” he’s ever had. What has it been like for you and your loved ones [to watch]?”
[Laughs] Blake’s causing me to have to deal with all the confusion of my family and extended family. They’re like, “I’m confused what’s going on here.” My mom’s latest text message to me: “Watched Episode 4 and 5 of Dark Matter. It is so complicated. But when you walked through the snow, how did that happen? And how did you do the underwater scene? Scary.” [Laughs] My mother-in-law watches it. She’s asking me all sorts of puzzling questions. And what I realized is that it forces people to really focus on what’s happening — the shifts between the different parallel realities — and keep track of things. Blake is super intelligent, obviously he’s built this incredible puzzle of a story and each one of us as human beings has a different capacity to understand things. So I think he’s done a nice job of holding the audience’s hand to a certain degree. I know for some people, they’re like, “I totally get it, I’m a little bit ahead of you.” Other people are left in the dust going, “Hold on, I need to catch up a little bit.” So most of my conversations with friends and family are asking to explain [something] to them, or they’re fascinated by how we made it happen. A lot of people are very excited by the world building and visual effects of it all. Some people are fascinated by the psychology. And still — I turned 50 yesterday…

On working with Braga and Connelly
I was very lucky to go to work each day and know that for the most part I was sharing scenes with either one of these two incredible actresses — plus Jimmy and Dayo and everybody else. I just think Alice’s character evolves throughout the show as we learn more about her and her true feelings and her past and selfless approach to life.

On a potential season two
I think everybody’s sort of open to it, for sure. I think everyone had a wonderful time. I know I did and I felt that from everyone around us. I think generally there’s a world right now talking about multiple universes. There’s a world of a multitude of television, which is a buffet that caters for all sorts of people’s tastes and the algorithms and all that stuff. I think that if there’s a world where people want more of Dark Matter and there was enough of an audience that was out there watching it and saw it through to the end, I think they’ll definitely do more.

[From Decider]

Happy belated birthday, Joel! Dark Matter is complicated, but it’s not annoying or confusing. I have questions about it because I’m genuinely curious, but there aren’t glaring plot holes. I didn’t come away frustrated or mad, like with Westworld or any Christopher Nolan film. In fact, John David Washington (Tenet) and multiple Westworld stars have said they don’t fully understand their shows and can’t explain them. That’s not what’s happening here. Dark Matter is clever and audacious, but it doesn’t expect viewers to grasp rules that only exist in the writers’ heads or worse, that change depending on the plot requirements. This multiverse establishes the rules and makes sense.

Edgerton said that he hopes there will be a second season. I do too, it’s one of the most unique and engaging shows I’ve seen in some time. Given the twist toward the end, there are so many possibilities for where this can go. Edgerton’s performances are a large part of that. You believe he’s a different version of himself and he never overplays it.

Photos courtesy of Apple TV Press, Backgrid

The Bear had a big premiere this week (Season 3 just dropped) and all of the cousins were there: Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy Allen White & Ebon Moss-Bachrach. [Hollywood Life]
Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon are amazing. [LaineyGossip]
Keira Knightley looks lovely but this Chanel collection is weird. [RCFA]
This is what happens when white women slavish support the patriarchy: they get their asses handed to them like everybody else. [Jezebel]
What’s the first film you saw which awakened your sexuality? Mine is probably Dangerous Liaisons. I still have a thing for John Malkovich. [Pajiba]
Katy Perry is trying way too hard. [Socialite Life]
What are the worst TV show endings? [Buzzfeed]
Give Giancarlo Esposito his flowers, he’s amazing. [JustJared]
Jeremy Allen White was on Law & Order: SVU. [Seriously OMG]
Will you watch The Fabulous Four? [OMG Blog]

Holy crap!! Prince Harry will be honored at this year’s ESPYs!! The ESPYs are ESPN’s prestigious awards for athletes, sports commentators and people adjacent to sports. This year’s ESPYs will be held on Thursday, July 11th at 8 PM on ABC, and they’re being hosted by ESPY winner and GOAT Serena Williams. ESPN just announced the recipients of their special awards, like the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage (which is going to Steve Gleason) and the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Which is going to Harry. Per ESPN’s media release:

In honor of his tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, an award 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 U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman.

After serving for 10 years in the British Armed Forces, including two tours of duty in Afghanistan as a forward air controller and Apache helicopter pilot, Prince Harry founded The Invictus Games Foundation, continuing his service by creating an international platform to support wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women – both active-duty and veterans – who are navigating both physical and invisible injuries. Since inception, the Games have transcended borders and impacted lives across every continent, bringing together competitors from 23 nations, with continued support and programming 365 days of the year.

Now celebrating its tenth year, The Invictus Games has evolved into a globally celebrated and acclaimed organization that celebrates resilience, community, and healing through the power of sport. Past recipients of the Pat Tillman Award for Service include Jake Wood (2018), Kirstie Ennis (2019), Kim Clavel (2020), Marcus Rashford (2021), Gretchen Evans (2022) and the Buffalo Bills Training Staff (2023).

“It’s our privilege to recognize three incredible individuals – Steve Gleason, Dawn Staley and Prince Harry,” said Kate Jackson, VP, Production, ESPN. “These honorees have used their platforms to change the world and make it more inclusive for marginalized and suffering communities, demonstrating incredible resilience, positivity and perseverance, and we’re thrilled to celebrate them at The 2024 ESPYS.”

[From ESPN]

I’m not sure if people outside the US understand how big this is. It’s a huge f–king deal that Harry is receiving an award named for Pat Tillman, who left pro football to serve his country in uniform. To be recognized for the Invictus Games on this kind of scale is so significant for Harry and for the Invictus community. I’m writing this before I check in with the British commentary, but I can imagine there will be some massive meltdowns when they realize how huge this is.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Kelly Bensimon is a 56-year-old RHONY alum. She’s also a former model and former fashion editor. Her stint on RHONY seemed to give a boost to her career as an all-around celebrity and she reportedly has a net worth around $10 million. In 2009, she was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly punching her boyfriend at the time, Nick Stefanov. She ended up taking a plea deal and performing two days of community service. Years later, she met Scott Litner at a Rangers game. Litner is a finance bro who has worked for Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. They got engaged last year on the Fourth of July. Their wedding was supposed to happen this coming weekend, only Kelly called off the wedding and ended the engagement. She issued statements to Us Weekly and People Magazine about why she ended things so suddenly:

Kelly Bensimon is speaking out after calling off her wedding to financier Scott Litner four days before the pair were supposed to tie the knot, telling PEOPLE that she “refused to marry him” after he wouldn’t sign a prenup.

“Ultimately, my decision is nobody’s business, but I understand that there is speculation and gossip, and I want to put an end to all of it,” Bensimon, 56, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “To be clear, he refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, and I refused to marry him. Full stop.”

PEOPLE confirmed Bensimon called off the nuptials earlier this week, with an insider close to the reality star saying that she was taking time for herself to regroup during a difficult time.

In an official statement, the Real Housewives of New York City alum confirmed the news, saying that the June 29 wedding was called off on Tuesday, June 25, and that she was “disappointed by this turn of events.”

“She was looking forward to an exciting new chapter in her life together with Scott when everything became clear to her late on Tuesday afternoon,” the statement read, adding a quote from Bensimon herself: “He thought that I would enter this union without legal protections in place, that I would leave everything to faith. But I’ve worked really, really, hard as a single mother and have always made smart decisions for myself and my family, and that will continue.”

The statement added Litner, who works as a wealth management advisor, “refused to sign a prenuptial agreement, effectively stalling their engagement mere days before the wedding.”

[From People]

I would imagine that Litner has his own money from his finance career, and it sounds like he’s used to pulling down mid-to-high six figures a year. My point being, a prenup would have protected him and his assets as well and I do think it’s shady AF that he seemingly refused to sign a prenup. Kelly also told Us Weekly that she thought the refusal was “the ultimate red flag,” and I kind of agree with her?

Also, I have to say something really political here, so if you’re not in the mood, just skip this but given the hard-right evangelical political turn in many states and within the Supreme Court, women need to start being very VERY f–king careful about who they become legally attached to. If this year’s elections take a bad turn, no-fault divorces are on the chopping block in a big way. Birth control access is on the chopping block, nevermind abortion access. I’m just saying… ladies, if you want to shack up with a man, go ahead. But don’t combine finances, don’t marry without a prenup, don’t leave yourself unprotected, don’t let that man baby-trap you or marriage-trap you.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce recorded this week’s New Heights podcast last Saturday, just hours after they met Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte backstage at Taylor Swift’s Eras concert at Wembley. As we discussed yesterday, Travis thinks Prince William is “the coolest motherf–ker.” That was the big headline and I wanted to get the story out quickly because I knew that it would be one of the bigger stories of the day (it was). The British media is crowing about it too, that Taylor Swift’s cool football player boyfriend thinks an angry egg is a “cool motherf–ker.” Of course they’re trying to drag the Sussexes into it too. Anyway, that’s all an explanation for why I didn’t get to the quotes about what the Kelces thought about the royal kids. Turns out, both Jason and Travis spent a little time with William, Charlotte and George and they were full of praise for the Wales kids.

Both Travis and Jason were big fans of 9-year-old Charlotte, who was pictured beaming alongside her dad, 42, and brother, 10, in a selfie with Swift and Travis, both 34.

“I gotta say, Prince William was fantastic, but the highlight was Princess Charlotte. Prince George was great too. She was so f—— adorable. Like, I cannot…” Jason shared, as Travis agreed and said “she was.”

“She was a superstar,” Travis added, as Jason admitted, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I have three girls now. She had fire to her. She was asking questions,” Jason continued, calling that the “most electric” part of the meeting.

“I love it when parents ask their kids to be present, be vocal,” Travis revealed. “They encourage them to take the lead in a conversation,” added Jason, which the Kansas City Chiefs star called “such a good parent move.”

“Just a good meet and the picture, keep it moving. No, let them have a moment, let them feel comfortable in talking to people… If anyone’s doing it right, Prince William’s doing it right,” Travis said. “So thank you, Your Royal Highness. It was awesome meeting you, and Charlotte and George.”

[From People Magazine]

While I generally dislike the way the media has tried to “assign” personalities to the Wales kids – the clown, the boss, the shy heir – I do have to admit that Charlotte seems to be very self-assured and, for lack of a better word, “cool.” It also feels like Charlotte takes the lead and her brothers follow her. Anyway, I don’t have an issue with what the Kelce bros said about the kids. Personally, I find the whole volte face on “f–k kings, we’re Americans” to “William is the coolest motherf–ker” issue to be on-brand for the Kelces too.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid & Instagram.

This year, we’ve seen a surprising number of royal “portraits.” A few months ago, Jonathan Yeo unveiled his portrait of King Charles to widespread acclaim. Soon after, Tatler commissioned Hannah Uzor to do a large-scale portrait of the Princess of Wales, to widespread mockery. Yeo’s portrait of Charles actually looked like him and it was thought-provoking. It slapped, honestly. Uzor’s portrait of the then-missing Kate was just flat and very basic. Well, the trend of royal portraiture continues. British artist Dan Llywelyn Hall has a new exhibition called The Reign, in which he painted some modern royals to look like historic royals. As in, the Duchess of Sussex is painted as the White Queen, Elizabeth Grey. Prince Harry is painted as Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The Duchess of Sussex has been portrayed as the White Queen in a nod to her “influential” outsider status. Artist Dan Llywelyn Hall depicted Meghan, 42, as Dame Elizabeth Grey, who became Queen of England after marrying Edward IV in 1464, and Prince Harry, 39, as Charles Edward Stuart, otherwise known as Bonnie Prince Charlie.

He said: “I thought putting Meghan in the role of the White Queen, who was a queen consort and possibly the most influential ‘outsider’ in royal history, might have a fine irony to it and not necessarily beyond the realms of reality.”

Mr Llywelyn Hall, who at 32 was the youngest artist to paint Elizabeth II, has produced 10 new portraits inspired by royalty throughout history for the Society of Antiquaries. Artist Adam Dant has painted a further 10 works. Their exhibition, titled The Reign, marks the 150th anniversary of the society, which is based at Burlington House in London’s Piccadilly, and will be auctioned to support the cataloguing and digitisation of around 25,000 prints and drawings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Mr Llywelyn Hall said: “The Royal family is possibly the most enthralling longest-running drama in history, the inspiration of theatre, books and every art form. It seemed that these figures caught on the knife edge of public opinion were ideal for drawing comparisons from distant monarchs – like the exiled princes and princesses of the past, that lurk in the background but are still irrevocably tied to the job. We can’t help ourselves and wonder whatever next?”

He added: “In Harry’s case, I have entered the story before he met Meghan – the young party-goer with his future very much in the balance, a bit like the Bonnie Prince I have likened him to.”

[From The Telegraph]

Hall’s artistry seems in the same vein as Lucian Freud, and I would guess that Freud is an inspiration for Hall. As for the paintings themselves…the Harry piece bears a resemblance, I’ll admit, although it’s giving “Henry VIII” more than Prince Harry. Meghan-as-the-White-Queen though… I’m not so sure. Anyway, I hope these paintings sell! At least they’re interesting.

Portraits courtesy of Dan Llywelyn Hall’s Instagram.

Lainey correctly breaks down the gossip about Jennifer Lopez flying economy-class out of Paris this week. She didn’t even fly business class! [LaineyGossip]
Multiple people could be charged in Matthew Perry’s death. [Socialite Life]
Congrats to the Florida Panthers, they won the Stanley Cup! [Go Fug Yourself]
The Nosferatu trailer is very good. [OMG Blog]
Are you guys watching House of the Dragon Season 2? I’m not. [Pajiba]
The teaser for Joan – this is what Sophie Turner was working on when Joe Jonas filed for divorce. Like, he was mad that she was working. [Just Jared]
Emma Stone wore The Row (normcore). [RCFA]
A very strange Taylor Swift lookalike situation. [Seriously OMG]
Did Amber Portwood dump a guy after he went missing? [Starcasm]
Paris Hilton gushes over her daughter. [Hollywood Life]
Project 2025 is no joke and everyone needs to get out the vote. [Buzzfeed]

On last week’s New Heights podcast, Jason and Travis Kelce’s conversation turned to royalty, given they were (at the time) both in Europe. They were in the South of France, and then Jason joined Travis at an Eras concert in London. Jason Kelce is like most red-blooded Americans, in that his gut-level feeling on royalty is “whatever, I’m not bowing to anyone.” Jason actually said: “Listen, we’re Americans. We don’t do royalty. F–k kings.” A few days later, Travis Kelce met Prince William backstage before Taylor’s Friday concert. Trav didn’t listen to what his brother said about not doing royalty. This is what Travis had to say about meeting the heir to British throne:

Travis Kelce got the royal treatment at girlfriend Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour in London on Friday, June 21 — and he’s spilling all the tea about meeting Prince William.

“Dude, he was the coolest motherf–ker,” Travis, 34, said on his and brother Jason Kelce‘s “New Heights” podcast on Wednesday, June 26. “He was so cool!”

“I didn’t realize this because obviously we’re backstage meeting him because he was there with little George and Charlotte, and they were an absolute delight to meet,” Travis continued.

However, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end admitted to being unsure about royal protocol.

“Wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like bow to them, curtsy, just be an American idiot and shake their hand,” he said.

Jason, 36, then explained that he and his brother “did get [a] warning” about how to greet the royals. “But they said that because we weren’t at like an official royal event, we didn’t need to bow or curtsy. If it would have been like an official meeting of royalty event, then it would have been that. But I did still address him as Your Royal Highness,” Jason said.

Travis concluded that William was “very genuine, very cool.”

[From Us Weekly]

LOL. Well, there’s your answer about whether Taylor Swift is Team Windsor. Her boyfriend is all about embiggening royals. As for royal protocol, it’s genuinely confusing to many Americans and it is different if you’re actually meeting the king or queen. Like, if Travis had been invited to Buckingham Palace, he would have gotten a protocol sheet or a briefing about how to address people and what to do. When you’re just meeting a prince backstage at a concert, it’s fine to do whatever. Americans are not “expected” to bow or whatever. This isn’t a state visit. Shaking hands is fine and even if it’s not fine, f–k kings, we’re Americans. Also: all of Travis’s sucking up and Kensington Palace still didn’t include him in the photo they posted on social media.

Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour pic.twitter.com/NFSi8hAl1o

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 22, 2024

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.

King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted a Buckingham Palace state dinner for the emperor and empress of Japan last night. Princess Anne is still being hospitalized, so she wasn’t there. Neither was the Princess of Wales (who was never scheduled for the state dinner). So it was left to the Duchess of Edinburgh to bring the under-60 royal glamour. Interestingly, there are very few photos of Sophie, even though I think she genuinely looked nice in her emerald-green Suzannah London gown. But what was really interesting about her styling was the tiara!

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh is sparkling in one of Kate Middleton’s top tiaras at the state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

On June 25, the Duchess of Edinburgh, 59, shimmered in the Lotus Flower Tiara at the diplomatic dinner held in honor of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan’s state visit to the U.K. The style choice was significant as Sophie’s first time wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara, expanding her royal rotation.

Prince Edward’s wife has previously glittered in two aquamarine tiaras and her all-diamond wedding tiara made up of four detachable diamond anthemions, which were reportedly sourced from one of Queen Victoria’s crowns.

[From People]

My first thought was “Waity, you in danger, girl.” But it’s possible that under King Charles’s reign – or more importantly, Queen Camilla’s reign over the Royal Collection jewels – the rules around tiaras have changed. Back in Queen Elizabeth II’s day, once she “assigned” a tiara to a royal wife, that was “your” tiara to wear to state events. That’s why Sophie always wore – for decades! – the same two aquamarine tiaras to state events, because those were the tiaras assigned to her by QEII. Apparently, Camilla is loosening up the tiara assignments, because now Sophie gets to wear the Lotus Flower Tiara, which the Princess of Wales has worn several times over the years? That was supposed to be “Kate’s” for a while. But with Kate still recovering and absent from events… well, I guess Sophie didn’t want to wear the same old aquamarines. Now that I’m looking closely at Sophie’s necklace and earrings, my guess is that this whole jewelry set up was set aside for Kate, but in Kate’s absence, Sophie was like “MINE!”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

I’m still thinking about and absorbing Vanity Fair’s new cover story about the “fragile” British monarchy. While I think some of the larger talking points are accurate, there was a huge emphasis on how the Princess of Wales’s six-month absence showed her value, and that if she was gone, the monarchy would be “reduced to a shadow of itself.” Accurate or not? Not to be morbid, but it would depend on the explanation for Kate’s disappearance or absence. I don’t want to go on and on about it, but I’ve never believed that Kate wants a divorce or that she would ever willingly “leave” the monarchy in any way. She has always been in it for the grand prize: being queen. While Kensington Palace plays fast and loose – even throwing Kate under the bus during her absence – it’s also clear that King Charles sees Kate’s usefulness and that much is being done behind the scenes to “manage” what is happening with Kate and the conversations around her health and missing months. Speaking of:

Many royal watchers are hoping for a new update on Kate Middleton’s cancer treatment – but one royal expert says the royal family is determined to keep “tight-lipped,” avoiding any harmful leaks.

“The reality is nobody really knows how Kate is,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner claimed to Fox News Digital. “There are many whispers by those who wish to further their careers. But in reality, when the royal family wishes to close the doors on the world, they have had centuries of practice in the art. In the past few days, Kate has been stated by the global press as the royal family’s jewel in the crown,” he shared. “She [is seen as] the number one royal… stabilizing the monarchy’s future.”

Still, some palace insiders have been sharing tidbits about what Kate’s recovery looks like to royal experts following her appearance at this year’s Trooping the Colour.

“These days, Kate is playing a waiting game – following doctor’s orders religiously and praying that future tests will show the chemo has done its job,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital.

“It’s a stressful, debilitating time for Kate, magnified that much more by the fact that the world is holding its breath along with her,” Andersen added.

[From Fox News]

This is something you guys brought up in previous posts, especially the recent one where we discussed the weirdness around Kate releasing a photo and statement before Trooping: why hasn’t Kate ever thanked her doctors and medical staff? Why was there a refusal to provide proof-of-life for months and beside that, a refusal to provide timely health updates? I mean, I have my theories, but the whole thing is still so ridiculously weird. It also feels like the “Kate’s back, she appeared at Trooping” story had such a short halflife – the world isn’t waiting with bated breath anymore. We saw her, we got proof of life.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.