Here are some photos from Tuesday, the first day of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s state visit to the UK. This was on the schedule before Rishi Sunak called for a general election, and reportedly, the palace made some adjustments to ensure that this state visit wouldn’t look like a Tory convention (too late). Queen Camilla and King Charles did the formal greeting at Buckingham Palace, with the Emperor and the King doing a troop inspection and there were some carriage rides and more. For the carriage ride, Empress Masako wore a face mask, because she’s allergic to horses. No comment on whether she was worried about the horse-drawn carriage or her neighing carriage companion.

Tuesday night, Camilla and Charles rolled out the red carpet for a state dinner, also at Buckingham Palace. For the dinner, Camilla wore a baggy white gown and the Burmese Ruby Tiara. She wore the same tiara last November, for the state dinner for South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeo. I wonder why she’s now chosen the same ruby-and-diamond tiara for state dinners with Asian heads of state. Perhaps it was just as simple as “Japan’s flag is red and white, I know, I’ll wear the ruby tiara!” I wonder if the Royal Collection includes any big jewelry pieces with a chrysanthemum theme, because that would have been perfect here. Speaking of, Empress Masako wore the Imperial Chrysanthemum Tiara, which can only be worn by the empress of Japan.

Additionally, Camilla debuted her new Family Order. She received QEII’s Family Order brooch/honor in 2007, but they’ve made new ones with little portraits of King Charles. Camilla is the first person to wear KCIII’s Family Order badge.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

In this week’s Gossip with Celebitchy podcast, I asked CB a question which has been bugging me for days. Two Fridays ago, the Princess of Wales released a statement in which she spoke about how she has good days and bad days but she’s doing a bit better and she would attend Trooping the Colour the next day. It was basically a long-awaited health status update with an announcement that she would appear at Trooping, which had been the big conversation in the weeks beforehand. My question was: why did Kate and Kensington Palace release the Matt Porteous photo of Kate standing against a tree? The whole point was that Kate would appear at Trooping, so we would see her in public for the first time in nearly six full months. Why release the photo, and even more specifically, why release a photo which had been so obviously edited? It was bizarre across the board. I could understand releasing a “proof of life” photo if you were announcing that you still weren’t ready to do public events, but it felt like the statement plus the photo were done to center Kate and to make Trooping all about her. Anyway, People Magazine still seems stuck on the photo too. They ran this exclusive about it:

Kate Middleton acknowledged that she is not yet “out of the woods” in her cancer treatment, but it’s there she finds her strength. In a personal message released on June 14, the Princess of Wales, 42, shared her first health update since announcing her cancer diagnosis accompanied by a new photo. The solo snap by photographer Matt Porteous was taken in Windsor, where she lives with Prince William and their three children, showing Kate dressed casually in jeans and a blazer with her arms folded as she poses outdoors against a tree.

A proponent of “forest bathing,” the Japanese practice of immersing oneself in nature to recharge, Princess Kate has long advocated for the benefits of the outdoors for both children and adults. “I really feel that nature and being interactive outdoors has huge benefits on our physical and mental well-being,” she said in 2019.

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, “There she is in nature, which has fortified her, and looking upward in a sign of real hope and encouragement for everybody.”

Adds Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, “She could have posted an image of her with William or the kids. Even though she has a huge amount of support from others, it is a journey you have to do on your own. [The photo] was her on her own; it was reflective.”

[From People]

“She could have posted an image of her with William or the kids.” Yeah, she could have. Why didn’t she? She could have posted real, authentic, non-edited and non-manipulated photos at any point in the previous six months to let her supporters know that she’s alright. Why didn’t she? The fact that the palace was releasing a stream of questionable photos – if not blatantly manipulated photos and media – is still a huge question and criticism for Kensington Palace to deal with.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Matt Porteous/Kensington Palace.

I spent too much time trying to figure out exactly what happened to Princess Anne, and what was the “incident” which led to Anne being hospitalized for head injuries and a concussion. No one has the answer, but I think I know why – whatever happened, it went down when Anne was alone with one or more of her horses, and she’s so concussed, she has no memory of exactly what happened. That’s what the Mail said – that she was walking alone on her Gatcombe Park estate and “because of the injuries she sustained, she appears unable to recall exactly what happened.” While she was alone at the time of her injury, her husband was somewhere on the estate, as were her two kids, Zara and Peter. Tim was the one who traveled with Anne to the hospital. Everyone’s assuming that the horses did something to her because they were nearby at the time of the accident, but those f–kers aren’t admitting sh-t. They called for a solicitor! Meanwhile, Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl had more about Anne’s hospitalization:

The Princess Royal is in hospital after sustaining a head injury from a horse at her Gloucestershire estate yesterday. Buckingham Palace described Princess Anne’s condition as stable, but she is not expected to be discharged until later this week.

The 73-year-old royal has been busy standing in for her brother King Charles during his cancer battle, but now she will be forced to cancel forthcoming engagements including a trip to Canada later this week on the advice of her medical team.

The princess was walking in the grounds of Gatcombe Park, where she and her grandchildren regularly ride, when she was injured by a horse, which caused ‘“minor” wounds to her head and a concussion, according to the Palace. Anne’s husband Sir Tim Laurence and her children Peter and Zara were at the family home at the time of the accident.

An air ambulance was called to the scene and treated the princess, who was later taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol (accompanied by her husband, but not by air ambulance), where she is now under observation. The palace said the princess is expected to stay at Southmead Hospital until she is able to go home.

The Princess was expected to be at tomorrow’s Japan State Visit, but has had to postpone all forthcoming engagements. “Her Royal Highness sends her apologies to any who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” a palace spokesperson said.

The aide added that the princess was “recovering well” and in a “comfortable condition.”

[From Vanity Fair]

She’s going to spend several days and nights in the hospital, which tells you more about the severity of the head injury and concussion than whatever the palace is trying to say. Yes, it’s likely that they’re being extra-cautious because she’s a princess AND a woman in her 70s, but it says a lot that she’ll probably spend four days or so in the hospital and that no one knows exactly what happened to her. And that she can’t remember what happened to her.

As for her schedule, the Mail made a list of all of the stuff she was supposed to do this week, all of which has now been canceled. Beyond Anne’s appearances during the Japanese state visit, she was supposed to fly to Canada on Friday. She was supposed to be in Edinburgh today, Tuesday, for an agriculture conference, and throughout the week, she was supposed to go back and forth to the conference in between events in England. On Wednesday, she was supposed to open up “Warsash Sailing Club’s renovated clubhouse in Hampshire as the president of the Royal Yachting Association.” On the same day, she was also supposed to do an appearance at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. On Thursday and Friday, she had several events planned too. All of that stuff has to be canceled, because I guess no one thought to ask one of the other working royals to cover for her? The slimmed-down monarchy is not giving much bang for the buck.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The Vogue World Paris 2024 event was held on Sunday and… I kind of think last year’s London event was more A-list. Also: Jared Leto is a try-hard. [Just Jared]
I wonder what Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker 2 promo tour will look like. [LaineyGossip]
Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie sounds great, honestly. [Hollywood Life]
Here’s more about Tom Cruise going to Taylor Swift’s concert. [Socialite Life]
Review of Thelma (which CB is raving about). [Pajiba]
Naeem Khan’s Resort collection is very cocktail-party intensive. [Go Fug Yourself]
Brandy made another horror film! [OMG Blog]
Details on Fan Bingbing’s Vogue World look. [RCFA]
Jerry O’Connell comes across like such a normal dude. [Seriously OMG]
Ree Drummond is going to be a grandmother. [Starcasm]
Democrats talk about what it’s like living in red states. [Buzzfeed]

The Princess of Wales’s reappearance, after nearly six months, should have been a turning point for the Windsors and the royalist media. They could have and should have kept it entirely positive and centered on the left-behind Windsors. Instead, over the past three or four days, it’s felt like the palace briefings and the British media is back to focusing a sh-t ton of ire, hate and weirdness on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. For what reason? Your guy just took a selfie with Taylor Swift? Why isn’t the Mail doing wall-to-wall coverage of THAT? Instead, the Mail published yet another interview with Toxic Thomas Markle. While it’s entirely possible that our archives are incomplete, Toxic Tom seemingly hasn’t given an interview since last September? A pretty long time to stay quiet. And honestly, he barely said most of these words – most (if not all) of these quotes were ghostwritten for him by someone in the British media. I’ve said that’s been happening for years and I still believe it. Some lowlights:

He’s turning 80 next month: ‘I never expected to make it to 80 because Markle men never do,’ he said last night. ‘My father died at 61. I’ve had a good life and I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, but everything has been overshadowed by what has happened in the last six years. I’ve never been one for birthdays, but I know the one person I most want to hear from, Meghan, won’t be in touch. I would love to meet my grandchildren, but I would be happy with a photograph at this stage.’

He’s still yammering about how he’s never met Prince Harry: ‘When I reflect back on my life, as you do when you are approaching 80, that’s one of the questions I cannot find an answer for. Why didn’t Harry ever come to meet me? He has the resources to fly around the world – and does – but why didn’t he come to see me, particularly when people in the royal household like Jason Knauf [Harry and Meghan’s former communications secretary] were urging him to do so? That has never made sense to me. What man gets married without meeting his wife’s father?’

He’s in the same boat as King Charles! Mr Markle feels ‘deep empathy’ for King Charles, who is ‘in the same boat’ as far as not seeing his grandchildren is concerned. ‘I would love to speak to him because I am sure he has as many unanswered questions as I do. Neither of us deserves the treatment we’ve received…I have so many questions I’d like to ask Meghan and Harry. The main one being, why have they treated not only me but the Royal Family and the King so badly.’

On Trooping the Colour: ‘It struck me as very sad that Meghan and Harry’s kids are being denied the right to know their cousins, who look like fantastic children. The relationship between cousins is a special one. There’s a unique bond. I feel sad that Lilibet and Archie don’t have the chance to get to know their cousins and take part in things like Trooping The Colour, which is their birthright. They are getting to the age where they will start asking questions, as all kids do. At some stage it’s inevitable that they will ask their parents why they have cut them off from both sides of the family? They have two grandpas who want to see them, one of whom is the King of England. I never in my 80 years thought I’d be in the same boat as the King.’

He’s still harping on about the photos before the wedding: ‘The one thing I never imagined was Meghan turning against me at this point in my life. I thought she would always be there for me. Meghan was mad at me because I posed for some paparazzi pictures before the wedding. I was totally alone and being hounded. A photographer went to my daughter Samantha and convinced her that the pictures would improve my image. It was a mistake and I have apologised for it repeatedly. When you look at what Harry and Meghan have done since, like accusing the Royal Family of racism, it’s far worse than anything I’ve done. I don’t want pity and I don’t want this episode to define my life. I don’t want to be a footnote in history.’

Meghan is entitled: ‘The person she’s become isn’t the girl I raised, but I wonder if they blame the Markle family for everything that has gone wrong. She started to change when she lived in Canada filming Suits and was hanging out with the Soho House [an exclusive members’ club and hotel chain] crowd. She began acting entitled. Things escalated after she met Harry. It upsets me that the Markle name is now associated with negativity. People talk about being ‘Markled’ when they get dumped for no reason. That saddens me.’

[From The Daily Mail]

As I said, these are all British media talking points. One of the biggest and dumbest tells is “people talk about being ‘Markled’.” That’s just some dumb Meghan-obsessed thing made up by the Mail and the Sun – it’s not an actual thing that people talk about when discussing the Sussexes. This is also a gigantic tell: “When you look at what Harry and Meghan have done since, like accusing the Royal Family of racism, it’s far worse than anything I’ve done.” Nothing like a white father siding with his Black daughter’s racist abusers and then publicly gaslighting her about it. Anyway, I hope we eventually learn who is ghostwriting all of Toxic Tom’s interviews at some point. I also hope we figure out why the British media and the Windsors are backsliding into all of this Sussex stuff right now.

Photos/screenshots courtesy of 60 Minutes Australia.

This Justin Timberlake stuff has gotten crazy. One week ago, Justin got sh-tfaced at a hotel bar in Sag Harbor, then he got behind the wheel. A cop pulled him over, Justin refused a breathalyzer but he was so visibly intoxicated that the cop arrested him for a DWI and other traffic violations. Justin spent the night in jail and he’s due in court next month. He quickly hired a lawyer and a crisis management team. The crisis management team is horrible!! They’re so bad, they have people siding with Southampton POLICE. Justin’s team is clearly going after the arresting officer, and certain media outlets are happy to go along with it:

The rookie Sag Harbor cop who pulled over pop superstar Justin Timberlake for alleged drunk driving is well-known in the ritzy town, according to a report. Officer Michael Arkinson, who turns 24 this month, stopped the “SexyBack” singer Tuesday morning after allegedly seeing him blow a stop sign and swerve in the right lane.

In just three months on the force, Arkinson has earned a reputation among Sag Harbor’s wealthy residents, earning nicknames like “the Sag Harbor Nazi” and “little red-headed dips–t” for his strict enforcement of traffic laws.

Despite Timberlake’s global fame, Arkinson, who wasn’t even born when Timberlake joined NSync in 1995, had no clue who he was dealing with. By the time Timberlake’s hit “Bye Bye Bye” topped the charts in 2000, Arkinson was just a toddler.

A writer from Shelter Island who identified himself as Spencer recounted an unpleasant encounter with Arkinson while searching for a parking spot in Sag Harbor and making a U-turn.

“I was surprised he pulled me over,” Spencer told the Daily Mail. “It was off-season, and no one was around. It was a d–khead move. I felt like he pulled me over just for the sake of doing it.”

Although Spencer received a warning, his next run-in with Arkinson wasn’t so lenient. Pulled over for talking on his cell phone, Spencer protested that he was using speakerphone.

“He told me I should have been using Bluetooth,” Spencer told the outlet. Despite his explanations, Arkinson slapped him with a $145 ticket. “I thought he would give me a break… It really interrupted my workout and lunch plans. ‘I think Justin Timberlake was a victim of over-aggressive Sag Harbor police,” he added.

[From The NY Post]

The NY Post and the Daily Mail are also running photos of the cop, they’re publishing details about his life (where he went to school) and his salary. Like… am I supposed to hate a cop who arrested a drunk driver? Am I supposed to be in my feelings about a cop who cites rich Hamptonites for violating the law? As I said previously, it’s ACAB most days, but this guy got a drunk driver off the road and that’s a good thing. Justin could have hurt someone. This is how bad it is for Justin Timberlake – people are siding with the cop and saying outright that it’s f–ked up that Timberlake’s team is doxxing the arresting officer.

A few more things – this same cop had already given Justin a warning several minutes before the arrest. The cop told Justin he shouldn’t be driving and let him go without any arrests or citations. Minutes later, the cop observed Justin behind the wheel, driving drunk on the wrong side of the road. Justin is such a dumbass, my god. Last thing: Justin’s team likely paid off the bartender to claim, to People Magazine, that Justin only had one drink at the bar. Sure.

Rookie Sag Harbor cop who arrested Justin Timberlake already well-known by locals for strict enforcement of traffic laws after just three months on the force https://t.co/cbaVdbwMmP pic.twitter.com/6Olv5uipy7

— New York Post (@nypost) June 22, 2024

Sag Harbor cop who didn’t recognize Justin Timberlake during DWI arrest is unmasked as rookie Michael Arkinson… and he’s been infuriating the Hamptons elite for months https://t.co/QNgzeDtomY pic.twitter.com/3RUuJaPNl5

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 22, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.

I didn’t realize that the Foo Fighters are back to touring, but they were also in London over the weekend, same as Taylor Swift. Taylor performed three nights in a row to sold-out crowds in Wembley Stadium. Foo Fighters played at London Stadium on Saturday night. When they were on stage, Dave Grohl tried to pump up the crowd by comparing the band’s concert to Taylor’s Eras concert. Tell me if you really think Grohl was being super-shady, because I don’t think he was.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl appeared to take a jab at Taylor Swift at the band’s concert on Saturday night at London Stadium. After mentioning that Swift’s Eras Tour was currently taking place at London’s Wembley Stadium, Grohl said on stage, “I tell you, man, you don’t want to suffer the wrath of Taylor Swift.”

He continued: “So we like to call our tour the ‘Errors Tour.’ We’ve had more than a few eras, and more than a few f–king errors as well. Just a couple.”

Grohl then implied that Swift doesn’t perform live, telling the crowd, “That’s because we actually play live. What? Just saying. You guys like raw, live rock ‘n’ roll music, right? You came to the right f–king place.”

Grohl has praised Swift in the past and even dedicated the Foo Fighters song “Congregation” to the pop star at the BBC Radio Big 1 Weekend in 2015. “I’m officially obsessed. She might want to get a restraining order because I’m all about Swift,” Grohl said at the 2015 U.K. music festival. “To my opening band, Taylor Swift. Taylor and the Swifts,” he added.

[From Variety]

Is it shady? A tad, but only if you think it’s shady to point out that Taylor uses backing vocals for most of the songs during her concerts. I’m not saying she’s just getting up there and lip-syncing everything and neither is Grohl. Taylor uses backing tracks AND she sings live. Foo Fighters play everything live with no backing tracks. Plus, I think Grohl was mostly just trying to pump up the crowd and get them hyped for the live rock experience.

Does anyone remember when Swifties sent Dave Grohl’s 17 year old daughter death threats for criticizing Taylor’s private jet usage?

Have you considered that she also uses a myriad of backing tracks live, whereas Foo Fighters does not, which is absolutely what he’s referring to? https://t.co/lhvVVP03Il

— noveltysongs (@noveltysongs) June 23, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Last week, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden had the big exclusive that Prince William 100% supports his father’s efforts to “slim down” the British monarchy. King Charles has long believed that the monarchy needs to support fewer royal cousins and royal-adjacents and that strict “working royal” boundaries must be enforced. This was always contingent on Prince Harry sticking around and Prince William and Kate’s marriage never collapsing. The events of the past six months should have shown Charles and William that their slimmed-down monarchy is pretty sad and threadbare. Instead, William is barreling ahead with a plot to slim the monarchy down even further during his reign (of terror). According to the Daily Beast’s sources, William and Kate plan to encourage Princess Charlotte and Louis to avoid becoming “working royals.” And it’s all about Prince Harry, obviously.

Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, Prince William’s two younger children, are to be “encouraged to not become working royals” under radical plans to reshape the British monarchy when William and Princess Kate ascend the throne, following the disastrous impact on the family of Prince Harry’s vitriolic exit from royal life. One insider told The Daily Beast: “The working assumption is that the younger two children will get on and do their own thing. They will be encouraged to not become working royals.”

William and Kate’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the bombshell claims made by the insider, a former Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace staffer who keeps in contact with former colleagues. They were speaking after a report in the Daily Mail said William not only agreed with his father King Charles’ drive to slim down the monarchy but would go even further. The report cited a friend as saying: “When the older members of the family retire, (William) won’t be inviting anyone else to become working royals. It remains to be seen if he will even want his two younger children to be working royals.”

The source said of the report, “It’s absolutely true. The option isn’t there for George, of course, but the children have been kept at arm’s length from royal life. They are exposed to the minimum possible publicity, and that is a deliberate strategy to let Charlotte and Louis choose their own destiny.”

A friend of the couple who spoke to The Daily Beast concurred with the report in the Mail saying: “It is no secret that William has been devastated by the destruction of his relationship with Harry. Although he absolutely puts the blame on Meghan and Harry, he does of course also appreciate that the whole system, where one of your kids is less important than the other due to an accident of birth, had a massive part to play in what happened and how it happened.”

“There is an entirely reasonable argument to be made that if you are born into the royal family, the logical thing to do is to leave it. The same logic applies to your kids, he doesn’t want to put them through a human mincer that is going to cause everyone misery. He and Catherine adore the children, and their whole lives are about the children. I think they want to find a practical solution to the ‘spare’ problem that has bedeviled the family for generations.”

Critics, of course, will argue that if the couple don’t want the children to take on formal royal duties, they should stop promoting them, and the royal family should stop using them to market itself….Defenders of the Waleses retort that they would like nothing better than for their children to grow up in total obscurity, but say that’s not realistic, and point out that the carefully staggered release of images of the children has largely achieved its primary goal of destroying the paparazzi market for such pictures.

As another friend of the family told The Daily Beast: “If you look at the spares who have made it work, you only really have Edward and Anne. Margaret’s life was pretty miserable. Harry we know all about. I’m sure William and Catherine don’t want history to repeat itself.”

[From The Daily Beast]

“He does of course also appreciate that the whole system, where one of your kids is less important than the other due to an accident of birth…” Until William comes to terms with the reality of the situation, he’s doomed to repeat it. It’s not that Harry was “less important” than him because of an accident of birth, it’s that Harry was neglected, pushed down, marginalized, denigrated and used as a human shield for his idiotic and lazy older brother. It’s not that Harry was somehow born less “important,” it’s that William smeared and abused his brother and sister-in-law to the point where they had to flee the country. The issue was not “Harry should have never been a working royal, that was the root of the problem!” It sure sounds like William and Kate believe that their kids will get to pick and choose their “working royal” status and probably even be “half-in.” That’s what they’re building up to. Once again, Harry and Meghan came up with a great solution and the Windsors have spent the past four-plus years tying themselves in knots to cry about how half-in royals are never allowed!

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Kensington Palace.

Here are some photos from Day 4 of Royal Ascot. No joke, I’ve really enjoyed covering Ascot this year. Some Ascot years are boring from a fashion and gossip aspect, but this year’s Ascot had a lot of interesting storylines and hilariously bad fashion. It was especially well-attended this year, at least from the royals and royal-adjacents. Day 4 saw King Charles and Queen Camilla come out yet again (Camilla came for all four days), plus Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi, Lord Frederick Windsor and his wife, plus Peter Phillips and his new girlfriend, Harriet Sperling. Peter and Harriet are Ascot-official now, which is probably a thing in some circles.

Fashion-wise, I am enjoying Beatrice’s green floral Emilia Wickstead. Royal women tend to wear very light colors to Ascot, although it’s not like a purely pastel color palette is enforced. Beatrice’s Wickstead really stood out and the silhouette was flattering on her too. Some people have suggested that her husband Edo is quite a dandy and he’s basically styling his wife. I don’t think so – I think Beatrice works with a stylist and she now has some kind of budget for designer clothes.

I also have to give a special mention to Camilla’s very absurd hat. Cam is truly in her Bonkers Hat Era these days. She wore those comically oversized hats around the D-Day anniversary events and she’s continued the “big hat” theme during Ascot. This Philip Treacy one might be my favorite? It just looks soft, I want to touch the feathers or whatever they are. Her dress was a snooze – Anna Valentine, and it’s not her color. Her brooch on Day 4 was the Jardine Star. That one was a favorite of QEII.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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William Lewis, a British editor, was appointed the Washington Post’s new CEO last November, and he officially started work at WaPo in January. For months, there wasn’t a ton of gossip about WaPo’s new CEO and the newsroom was pretty much operating as it always did. Then Prince Harry won a motion in his years-long lawsuit against News UK/The Sun – in Harry part of the lawsuit, he could cite names of journalists and editors who worked for Rupert Murdoch’s British media outlets. Harry can and will pinpoint the individual criminality of various editors and journalists who worked for Murdoch from 2000-2012, basically. One of those names is William Lewis, who worked as an editor for the Times of London.

When Harry won that motion, WaPo’s managing editor Sally Buzbee told Lewis that the paper planned to cover the case thoroughly, even if he was implicated. He leaned on her to try to influence coverage or convince her not to run any coverage. Then he announced his plan to significantly demote Buzbee and she quit. All hell broke loose. Lewis quickly announced the appointment of Robert Winnett to take over Buzbee’s position, although Winnett was only scheduled to take over post-election. Since Buzbee’s exit, the New York Times, the Guardian, assorted media watchdog groups and the Post itself have all done deeper dives into both Lewis and Winnett. What they’ve found is shocking – the criminality, the years-long claims of hacking and paying for illegally obtained information, the uncited political work and on and on. So far, Jeff Bezos – who owns the Post – has not fired anyone. But now Winnett is waving the white flag of surrender. He will no longer wash up on American shores.

Robert Winnett, the British journalist recently tapped to become editor of The Washington Post later this year, will not take the job and will remain at the Daily Telegraph in London, according to a company email sent to Post employees Friday morning.

The change of plans comes after days of turmoil surrounding The Post, triggered by the abrupt exit of executive editor Sally Buzbee on June 2 and questions about past journalistic practices of both Winnett and William Lewis, The Post’s CEO and publisher.

Lewis had announced Winnett’s hiring when Buzbee departed just 2½ weeks ago, along with plans for a “third newsroom” that would be tasked with attracting new audiences. Under the plan, former Wall Street Journal editor Matt Murray came on board to run news coverage until Winnett’s arrival, at which point Murray would have handed the reins to Winnett and run the new division in November after the election. Murray took over June 3 and was introduced to the newsroom; Winnett, who oversees news coverage at the Telegraph as a deputy editor, had not yet met The Post staff and was almost entirely unknown in American media circles.

Lewis and Winnett have faced accusations in recent days of using unethical newsgathering practices in Britain, where they previously worked together at the Telegraph and the Sunday Times — London newsrooms that sometimes operate by different rules than their American counterparts.

Telegraph editor Chris Evans announced in a memo to his staff Friday that Winnett had pulled out of The Post job and would remain his deputy at the London paper. “I’m pleased to report that Rob Winnett has decided to stay with us,” Evans wrote. “As you all know, he’s a talented chap and their loss is our gain.”

Lewis confirmed that Winnett had withdrawn from the position, relaying the news “with regret” in a note to Post staff Friday morning. “Rob has my greatest respect and is an incredibly talented editor and journalist,” Lewis wrote, adding that an outside firm would be used to conduct a “timely but thorough search” for a replacement.

[From WaPo]

LMAO. Robert Winnett didn’t want the American smoke. All of these British hacks think they can break into the American market and bring their unethical behavior and criminality over here and no one will say sh-t. They believe they will be embraced, or worse, they believe that they can recreate the British newsroom climate in America. My hope/prediction is that Bezos will eventually tell Lewis to go, although I expect it will be couched in “William Lewis is choosing to go of his own accord.” When will that happen… it depends on the pressure being exerted outside of the Post, honestly. The New York Times is full of Trump supporters, but they’ve done a good job of being loudly outraged by Lewis and Winnett’s hirings and their past activities in the British media. Journalists on both sides of the pond enjoy some blood-letting within their own ranks, it appears.

Puck did a hysterically outraged story about how WaPo journalists decided “to investigate both Lewis and Winnett to see if they could unearth unflattering information about the two men’s history in the U.K.” in recent weeks. Puck is calling this a “coup.” What the Post has done so far – report on itself and create a Chinese wall between Lewis’s management and the real journalism being done – is not a coup, it’s just plain ethical journalism. And it honestly should have been done months ago. It’s a pretty half-assed “coup” to only investigate the sleazy new CEO after he marginalized and demoted the female managing editor for daring to report on his activities.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.