Back in the day, the Art of Elysium gala used to be a much bigger deal. They used to get more Young Hollywood people at the gala than the Golden Globes the following day. These days, not so much. This year’s gala was a tribute to Neil Gaiman and it was sparsely attended. Christina Hendricks was one of the biggest-name “fashion girls” there and her corseted look was… yikes. It looks like a bad costume – the shades of red don’t match and her hair & makeup are appalling.

Heidi Klum walked the carpet with her daughter Leni, who is very cute. I’m getting a Cindy Crawford-Kaia Gerber vibe, as in Heidi is trying to nepotize her daughter into the modeling industry.

Joseph Gordon Levitt barely shows up on any red carpets these days, but look! He looks great.

Patricia Arquette looks like she raided a ‘70s thrift shop.

Here’s Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon. He’s maintained his chiseled look!

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And finally, here’s Joe Manganiello with his new girlfriend Caitlyn O’Connor. They began dating several months after he split with Sofia Vergara. I bet they get married.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid, Avalon Red.

Ben Affleck’s brand ambassadorship with Dunkin Donuts continues to be one of his strongest career moves, in all honesty. [LaineyGossip]
James Haven made some rare comments about his sister. [Socialite Life]
The Stanley Cup phenomenon is so bizarre & stupid. [Pajiba]
Whoopi Goldberg did not hang out with Jeffrey Epstein. [Hollywood Life]
What does America do better than Europe? The number of people saying “ice” and “air conditioning” is amazing. [Buzzfeed]
It feels like things are lining up for Da’Vine Joy Randolph to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Holdovers. [JustJared]
What was the best book you read in 2023? [GFY]
Chance Pitt is out of jail. [Starcasm]
Demi Moore was on General Hospital. [Seriously OMG]
Kirsten Dunst wore Valentino in Palm Springs. [RCFA]

The American Kennel Club has officially recognized a 201st breed: the Lancashire heeler. Thought to have derived from Welsh Corgis crossbred with Manchester Terriers in the 1600s, they were later bred over generations in West Lancashire. The wee fellas are known for their drive to work, signature brown and black coats, and frequent appearance of a smile. This new recognition by the AKC means that Lancashire heelers can now partake in coveted dog shows like Westminster Kennel Club. Given their feisty, determined natures, methinks Lancashire heelers will be fierce competitors. NPR spoke with heeler breeders and provided some background on AKC’s method for adding breeds:

Say hello to the Lancashire heeler, the latest breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. The organization announced Wednesday that the rare herding breed is now eligible for thousands of U.S. dog shows, including the prominent Westminster Kennel Club show.

With long bodies and short coats that are often black and tan, the solidly built dogs are shaped a bit like a downsized corgi, standing around 1 foot (30 centimeters) at the shoulder and weighing up to about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms). Historically, they were farm helpers that could both drive cattle and rout rats, and today they participate in an array of canine sports and pursuits.

“They’re gritty little dogs, and they’re very intelligent little dogs,” says Patricia Blankenship of Flora, Mississippi, who has bred them for over a decade. “It’s an enjoyable little breed to be around.”

Their official description — or breed standard, in dog-world parlance — calls for them to be “courageous, happy, affectionate to owner,” and owners say contented heelers sometimes pull back their lips in a “smile.”

They’re “extremely versatile,” participating in everything from scent work to dock diving contests, says United States Lancashire Heeler Club President Sheryl Bradbury. But she advises that a Lancashire heeler “has to have a job,” whether it’s an organized dog sport or simply walks and fetch with its owners.

The dogs benefit from meeting various different people and canines, added Bradbury, who breeds them in Plattsmouth, Nebraska.

Lancashire heelers go back centuries in the United Kingdom, where they’re now deemed a “vulnerable native breed” at risk of dying out in their homeland. Britain’s Kennel Club has added an average of just 121 Lancashire heelers annually to its registry in recent years, and the American Kennel Club says only about 5,000 exist worldwide.

Founded in 1884, the AKC is the United States’ oldest purebred dog registry and functions like a league for many canine competitions, including sports open to mixed-breeds and purebreds. But only the 201 recognized breeds vie for the traditional “best in show” trophies at Westminster and elsewhere.

To get recognized, a breed must count at least 300 pedigreed dogs, distributed through at least 20 states, and fanciers must agree on a breed standard. Recognition is voluntary, and some breeds’ aficionados approach other kennel clubs or none at all.

Adding breeds, or even perpetuating them, bothers animal rights activists. They argue that dog breeding powers puppy mills, reduces pet adoptions and accentuates canine health problems by compressing genetic diversity.

[From NPR]

A downsized corgi is pretty darn small! I’m not usually a fan of brown and black together, sartorially speaking, but golly they are cute little munchkins. And yeah, you can totally see they’re proud, boss dogs. When AKC starts getting particular on the recognition process, though, I admit I lose focus. I know we’re talking about dogs, but all the language sounds so icky to me. “Purebreds” and “mixed-breeds” and “pedigree” and “fanciers.” Again, I realize these are technical terms and that I’m coming at this as a layman, as well as an unshakable supporter of adopt don’t shop. Whether or not Fido is a true this breed or that breed is not the draw for me. I’m here for any and all dogs, whatever their makeup. I don’t give a woof over how strictly they model their selected group. Give me your quirky, your mutt, your unique multi-ethnic pups yearning to trot free!

Photos credit: David Dalton/ImageBROKER/Avalon, Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

Prince Andrew supposedly “stepped down” from being a working royal in late 2019, days after his BBC Newsnight interview aired and all hell broke loose. I remember it well – Queen Elizabeth did nothing about Andrew for days as the British media did wall-to-wall coverage of just how badly Andrew’s interview had landed with the public. It wasn’t until then-Prince Charles called his mother days later that anything happened – Andrew was allowed to “step down” from being a working royal, but he didn’t actually step down from any patronage or charity. Then several years passed and it was clear that Andrewwas convinced that he could launch a comeback with his mother’s help. He still kept his patronages, he was still invited to events, and his mother did everything she could to coddle him and protect him. Crash cut to 2022, with Virginia Giuffre suing Andrew for rape and abuse. Andrew was about to be dragged into court in America just before his mother’s Jubbly. Andrew “borrowed” money from his mother and settled with Giuffre out of court, and once again we were told that this was the end, that Andrew was now fully out of royal life.

In the nearly two years since Andrew “for real this time” stepped down yet again, he continues to be included in family events and state occasions like the coronation. He continues to be embraced by his family. He gets to go on car rides with William and Kate in Scotland. He gets to keep his mansion in Windsor. He gets to keep his security too, paid by his brother. Now that Andrew’s name appears all over the newly released Epstein files, we’re in for another round of “Andrew will never be able to come back!” You guys, there’s no need for a comeback when he was never even pushed out.

Royal expert Phil Dampier told MailOnline today that the Epstein files are ‘the final nail in the coffin’ for Prince Andrew’s reputation – and Prince William in particular will make sure his uncle does not return to the royal fold.

Mr Dampier said: ‘The big danger for him is that another woman could make specific allegations against him and want a day in court or a pay off as well’.

Royal biographer Tom Bower said the the Royal Family need to ‘bury and forget’ Prince Andrew as he’s in ‘self-denial’ about his association with Jeffrey Epstein. ‘It’s a danger for the Palace, they don’t know what more bombs will be dropped. He’s not telling them’, he said. Commentator Richard Fitzwilliams says any rehabilitation of Andrew’s image is an ‘impossible task’.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment today because they only speak for working royals. The duke stepped down from duties in 2019 over his links to convicted paedophile Epstein. In 2022 his mother the Queen stripped him of his royal patronages and military titles before he settled the multi-million dollar case with Ms Giuffre.

The Duke of York was with his family at Sandringham for Christmas, but only because Charles felt ‘sorry’ for him, Phil Dampier has said. Mr Dampier claimed William would never let his uncle return to royal duties, with this now even more unlikely after the Epstein files came out in NYC last night.

He said: ‘These latest revelations will do nothing to help Prince Andrew’s hopes for a return to royal duties. That was always very unlikely anyway but this could be then final nail in the coffin of his reputation. It’s important to remember he has never been found guilty of any crimes and denies them. But I can’t ever see him setting foot in the USA again. Indeed, for someone who used to travel the world he has only been abroad once or twice since the scandal erupted. There is seemingly no end in sight for him and therefore I can’t see him making a comeback.

‘I think the King feels sorry for him and has made it clear he is still very much part of the family, as we saw at Christmas. But Prince William would certainly be against any attempt by him to take up any sort of public duties’.

[From The Daily Mail]

So, that’s where the Windsors are at this point – their version of punishment for Andrew is insisting that he cannot make a comeback, but don’t worry, he’ll still be invited to Easter, Christmas, coronations, Order of the Garter ceremonies, funerals, state occasions and shooting parties. The continued insistence that this is the “final nail in his coffin” is unsettling as well – like, all of them were fine with Andrew being credibly accused of rape? They were fine with his years-long friendship with two known human traffickers? None of that was the “final nail”?

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Prince William and Kate have built their royal brand on being “hands on parents” who cannot work a full schedule (or even a decent part-time schedule) because they’re both raising their children. While I believe that Kate is involved – school runs, supervising activities, keeping up with the kids’ schedules – it’s absurd to think that two people in their 40s are incapable of doing any work during their kids’ school holidays or any work while their children are in school. But whatever, Will and Kate are still going to be using the “hands on parents” excuse when Louis is in his 20s. Anyway, Hello Magazine had some exclusive info on just how Will and Kate are “down to earth” around the other parents at Lambrook, their kids’ school. Will and Kate go to school events and wait in line for raffles.

George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, are in Years Six, Four and One respectively at Lambrook, the Berkshire prep school. A source tells HELLO! that the royal children are popular and that Louis, who has kept the world entertained with his cheeky antics at big events, continues to keep the grown-ups on their toes.

“They’re lovely kids,” the source says. “Charlotte is so kind and friendly and the other children adore her. She’s kind to the kids in younger years and she’s very popular. George seems like a nice boy, too, and little Louis just has so much energy. If William and Kate ever can’t make a sports match, their nanny goes along and spends most of the time running around the edge of the pitch after Louis. He’s a typical little energetic five-year-old.”

William and Kate take part in all the important school activities, including ‘queueing for the tombola’ in a recent fundraising drive. Both parents are heavily involved with Lambrook events. The source claimed the future King and Queen tend to discreetly slip into events such as carol concerts and will almost always be in attendance, fitting occasions around their busy schedules.

‘The day after Kate’s carol service [at Westminster Abbey], it was the school Christmas fair and they were all there, as they were the previous year. I saw them queueing up for tombola tickets like everyone else. They really act like a normal mum and dad,’ the source said.

They added that the royal couple attended the school’s carol service at Eton College Chapel and sat alongside the headmaster – while joining in with all the songs.

[From Hello Mag & The Daily Mail]

“If William and Kate ever can’t make a sports match…” But I thought the whole point of their lazy schedule was that they must attend every single school function and sports activity? Poor Nanny Maria! Anyway, yeah, I believe that Will and Kate attend school events. What else have they got to do? It feels like those posh schools are probably so extra about wanting to “include” parents in every little thing too. I also had to look up “tombola” – here in America, we just call that a raffle. I wonder if Will and Kate have ever won anything at the Lambrook raffles? Do British schools raffle off goodies like homemade cakes and cookies? Also: there’s already a concerted effort to portray Charlotte as wise beyond her years and the center of the family. It’s… a lot.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The annual Palm Springs International Film Festival officially began on Thursday. Celebrities convened in Palm Springs to pick up random awards and glad-hand with desert-dwelling Oscar voters. Seriously, the Palm Springs festival is just an event for Oscar-campaigners, which is why they schedule it at the start of the awards season. Even Cillian Murphy came out, because the studio made him fly out for the Golden Globes on Sunday. He looks like he’s being held against his will, which probably isn’t far from the truth.

I’m mostly including the fashion girls in this post, although a surprising number of potentially Oscar nominated men came out to Palm Springs as well, including Leo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Defoe. Sidenote: I really do think RDJ might be the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor (for his role in Oppenheimer), but I’m also curious to see if anyone puts any money behind a late campaign for Milo Machado Graner, the kid in Anatomy of a Fall, because he was amazing.

Fashion notes: Emma Stone was predictably in Louis Vuitton, as she’s an LV brand ambassador. I’m not head over heels with this look, but it’s one of the more interesting LV ensembles for Emma. Margot Robbie wore a Barbie-inspired polka-dotted Balmain dress, which is very cute and on-theme, but I do wonder if she’s going to do Barbie-theme throughout the awards season? Carey Mulligan also wore Balmain (a terrible look, tbh) and she posed with Meryl Streep on the carpet. Lily Gladstone wore a custom Rodarte in a beautiful shade of green. She paired her dress with jewelry made by Native American designers. Taraji P. Henson wore Alexandre Vauthier – another great green, but the deep-V is not flattering (her girls look lopsided!). Billie Eilish wore a Gucci scarf and carried a Playboy purse, yuck. Last thing: I love that Da’Vine Joy Randolph is getting couture for all of her events.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The Jeffrey Epstein files are being released in batches, and with each new document dump this week, there are even more mentions of Prince Andrew. Remember Andrew’s 2019 BBC interview, where he insisted that he wasn’t even that close to Epstein, that Ghislaine Maxwell was his friend but he barely associated with Epstein? Yeah. Andrew was constantly catching rides on Epstein’s Lolita Express and Andrew visited Epstein’s New York mansion and private island frequently. All of which has led to another round of “why isn’t Andrew under police investigation again?” To be fair, the FBI has wanted to interview Andrew for years, but the British police have shrugged off every attempt to get a thorough investigation into Andrew’s domestic and international crimes. That didn’t stop Republic, the anti-monarchy group, from reporting Andrew yet again:

Prince Andrew has been reported to London’s Metropolitan Police by anti-monarchy group Republic over an allegation he took part in a sexual assault of a minor—believed to be Virginia Giuffre—while in London. The allegation was made public in a huge trove of court papers released by U.S courts Wednesday naming associates of Jeffrey Epstein, and was first reported by U.K. tabloid The Sun. Andrew was also alleged to have participated in an orgy with “numerous” “under-aged girls” at Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“The document is clear that while in London, an individual was forced to have sexual relations with Andrew when she was a minor,” Republic posted on their Instagram account. “That’s why today Republic are reporting Andrew to the police, demanding that the Met investigate these accusations. It’s simple—the royals should not be above the law. Accusations of criminality should always be investigated thoroughly. THAT’S WHY THE MET MUST ACT.”

The Met has so far declined to comment on calls to launch a fresh investigation into Andrew, whose name appears more than 70 times in nearly 1,000 pages of interviews and transcripts unsealed in the U.S. on Thursday.

In 2021, the Met announced it had completed its investigation of Giuffre’s claims in her US civil action—alleging Andrew had sexually assaulted her when she was a minor and being trafficked by Epstein—stating that they would take no further action. However, it said it would continue to “liaise with other law enforcement agencies who lead the investigation into matters related to Jeffrey Epstein.” Andrew has denied all accusations of wrongdoing and claims to have no memory of meeting Giuffre, but settled Guiffre’s civil claim in 2022 for a reputed $14 million.

In a statement, Graham Smith, Republic’s CEO, said: “I have reported Andrew to the police, well aware that the Met claims to have looked into this before. To date there appears to have been no serious criminal investigation, no interview of the accused or other witnesses and no clear justification for taking no action.

“I am calling on the Met police to re-open this case, I am calling on MPs to debate this affair in parliament, and I am calling on Charles to make a public statement—in front of the press and taking questions—to respond to these allegations and what they say about the monarchy. How can we not expect a response from the government and head of state? At the time of the alleged offences Andrew was a government trade ambassador and an active member of the royal family. They fudged and obfuscated for 11 years before taking any definitive action.”

“The government, police and palace all have questions to answer. Now is the time to start answering them. The question many people will be asking is simple: if the accused were anyone else, do we believe they wouldn’t have been investigated and prosecuted.”

[From The Daily Beast]

Nothing will happen, but I’m glad that someone is at least attempting to hold Andrew’s feet to the proverbial fire. The lack of outrage from the British media has been notable this week, and it’s perfectly clear that not only does Andrew have the support of his family, but the royal establishment is doing the most to protect him at every level as well.

They got Labour leader Keir Starmer on the record about Andrew too – Starmer said that the police should “look at” any and all claims made by victims: “Wherever there’s a complaint made, it’s inevitable that it should be looked at. We have to start with the victims here, and look at what allegations have been made.” Meaning, Andrew’s victims would have to come forward, in England, and file police reports. Which would then be ignored.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

These photos are from Wednesday, at a New Year’s reception in Denmark’s Christiansborg Palace. Queen Margrethe attended, as did Prince Frederik and Princess Mary. They will not officially be king and queen until January 14th. Rumors have been circulating all week about why Margrethe is abdicating and whether she’s trying to protect Fred and Mary’s marriage and force them to stay together. While Fred and Mary looked happy on New Year’s Eve, apparently their vibe was “frosty” at this reception.

Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark put on a frosty display this morning as they arrived at the Christiansborg Palace for a New Year reception. Frederik, 55, dressed in military regalia, while Mary, 51, looked chic in a navy dress as they met with Queen Margrethe, who will step down in 11 days time.

Walking side-by-side into the palace, the couple appeared tense as they walked to greet the diplomatic corps

Insiders told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet that the ‘the couple did not look they were enjoying themselves’ and described the atmosphere as being at ‘freezing point’.

‘Words were exchanged between the two, and it didn’t look like they wished each other good luck’ the paper claims.

The couple kept a polite distance and barely exchanged words as they walked towards the Knights’ Hall, flanked by soldiers. The atmosphere remained cold when they took their place beside Queen Margrethe inside the hall, both dressed formally for the occasion.

[From The Daily Mail]

Judging solely from the photos, this looked like a pretty serious reception for (I think?) the diplomatic corps or something. It was work – it would have been inappropriate for Fred and Mary to be laughing or partying. Now, I believe that things are generally “frosty” between them and that the chill is all about Fred’s alleged affair with Genoveva Casanova. Interestingly enough, the Mail also has a story about how Casanova is in the wind. The Spanish media outlet Lecturas (which broke the affair story with photos) says that Casanova went to London for Christmas and she’s only been seen out a couple of times in northern Spain since the story broke. I wonder if she’ll stay silent throughout all of this abdication drama.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.

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Another week has brought us a fresh episode of my favorite new podcast to gossip about, “Amy & T.J.” On this week’s ep, co-hosts and lovaaahs Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes welcomed in 2024 by reflecting on their dramatic 2023. And, just as you’d expect, their reflections, particularly Amy’s, had it all. Love was declared, shade was dropped, and worldly possessions were lost. That’s right, on this week’s pod, Amy proclaimed that love conquers all, made a petty remark about her ex Andrew Shue, and shared that she sold or gave away most of her things while she was going through her divorce. Doing the whole bitter ex routine is not as wild as last week’s overshare about T.J.’s toxic fighting tactics, but we can still work with it.

Amy Robach revealed she lost many of her “worldly possessions” following her divorce from Andrew Shue. The former “GMA3” co-anchor and beau T.J. Holmes shared on Tuesday’s episode of their “Amy and T.J.” podcast what they learned in 2023, and Robach admitted she had to sell her personal effects.

“You can lose your job, you can lose your reputation, you can lose friends and you can lose most of your worldly possessions and still be happy,” Robach shared, prompting some slight confusion from Holmes.

“You lost most of your ‘worldly possessions’?” Holmes, 46, questioned while chuckling.

“There was a lot of selling going on, a lot of giving away,” she explained.

“It was a great yard sale,” Holmes quipped.

Robach, 50, also appeared to shade Shue, 56, when she told Holmes that “you don’t really know someone until you divorce them.”

Holmes, who went through his own divorce last year from Marilee Fiebig, didn’t want to unpack the statement and responded, “Moving on.”

[From Page Six]

Amy, welcome to divorce, hun. Even on the most amicable of terms, it’s an expensive process, and I suspect their divorce was not amicable. Lawyers, mediators, specialists… they all cost money and I’m betting that Amy didn’t hire a divorce attorney with a low hourly rate, lol. I don’t know how much Amy’s ABC severance package was but there were reports that she got a better one than T.J. did. There were also reports that Amy moved into a $2.3 million apartment when she moved out. It sounds like Shue took a look at her financial disclosures and did not come to play. Honestly, given the circumstances of their divorce, good for him. Amy also declared during the podcast that “Choosing love is always worth it.” Bookmark those words, y’all. I’m super excited to see how they’ve held up during Amy & T.J.’s 2024 reflection podcast, if there is one.

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What is Jeremy Allen White’s appeal? People have been debating that a lot in recent years, especially with the success of The Bear, where JAW stars as a talented chef who inherited his late brother’s sandwich shop in Chicago. JAW was famous before The Bear – he grew up and glowed up on Shameless, but the success of The Bear put him at another level and ruined his marriage. Now he’s single – and dating Rosalia – and a bona fide heartthrob. Obviously, Calvin Klein came calling and now JAW is modeling underpants.

The print ads and Calvin Klein commercial were released on Thursday and everyone is screaming “YES CHEF.” Like… did we know he had this kind of body? He’s ripped but he doesn’t look like a too-chiseled gym rat. The tattoos are doing it for me and so is the hair. Like, it’s all working for me, honestly. I love men who have that jolie-laide vibe. A big nose, a weird chin, puffy lips, and you think “maybe this guy isn’t all that” and then it turns out he had ANGLES. I also think it helps that JAW is crazy-photogenic. It’s a gift.

(For some reason, these videos remind me of that story Cameron Diaz told about Tom Cruise, that whenever Tom has to be shirtless in a scene, he would do push-ups right before “action” was called.)

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Photos courtesy of Mert Alas for Calvin Klein.