I saw some screenshots of Melania Trump on Twitter early this morning and I honestly thought they were some bad Photoshop edits with an unknown purpose. But as it turns out, it wasn’t Photoshop – Melania went blonde for Christmas. Mel has always been various shades of brunette – ten years ago, she was a darker brown, but over the past few years, she’s definitely been doing more chunky highlights, and going with lighter-colored wigs and tragic Barbie extensions in a more caramel/honey shade. This is how she looks now:

Melania is an expensive creature: she doesn’t mix-and-match couture and mass-market pieces. She buys the highest-ticket fashion, she spends a fortune on shoes and jewelry and coats. So why can’t she spend the money on a really good hairstylist? Is it a case of “all the good hairstylists don’t want to touch a Trump”? Because this is a tacky and cheap looking dye job. It looks like she got her hair done at a strip-mall cosmetology school. And the lighter she goes, the less flattering it is – she looks so much better/younger with darker hair.

Sean Hannity also asked Mel in this interview about the hardest thing she has to deal with. Melania went Full Bigly: “I would say the opportunists who are using my name or my family name to advance themselves. From comedians, to journalists, to performers, book writers … It doesn’t hurt. The problem is they’re writing the history and it’s not correct… They like to focus on the gossip, and I would like that they focus on the substance, not just about nonsense.” I was just thinking about the time Donald Trump called Stormy Daniels “horseface” in a tweet. That just happened in October. Basically, Melania is full of sh-t.

Screencaps from Fox News.

The NY Times has a profile and interview with Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen has a standup show coming to Netflix on December 18 called Relatable. You can watch the trailer here, it looks cute and I laughed a few times. (Netflix is killing it with their original content. While I wonder how sustainable it is I do watch it constantly.) Ellen riffs on the fact that she’s considered too rich to understand how the rest of us live. She also tackles the rumors that she’s difficult to staff despite her sunny approachable persona. She gets into her dark period after being one of the first celebrities to come out as gay in the late 90s. Ellen is a trailblazer, she’s a workhorse and she’s been getting celebrities to open up for years. She’s not sure how much longer she can continue that. In the Times, Ellen reveals that her partner, Portia de Rossi, is trying to get her to leave the show after her contract ends in the middle of 2020. Her brother wants her to stay and she’s just not sure.

On rumors that she’s difficult: “it’s an outright lie”
DeGeneres said her wife also had a note about this interview. “Portia said: Just remember, the nicer they are, the more they are going to screw you,” DeGeneres said, smiling disarmingly.

Unsure how to respond, I replied awkwardly: “That’s good advice.” Then I started feeling self-conscious and several minutes later, asked my least-nice question, about the tabloid stories featuring anonymous complaints that she isn’t always kind to those she works with. “That bugs me if someone is saying that because it’s an outright lie,” she said. “The first day I said: ‘The one thing I want is everyone here to be happy and proud of where they work, and if not, don’t work here.’ No one is going to raise their voice or not be grateful. That’s the rule to this day.”

Ellen is trying to decide whether to stay past 2020
DeGeneres recently took the option to extend her contract — until the summer of 2020 — although she had been close to declining. On the question of leaving, she changes her mind all the time. Her brother has been an advocate for staying on, making the case that in the age of Trump, the country needs her positive, unifying voice on television every day.

“She gets mad when my brother tells me I can’t stop,” DeGeneres said, glancing over at de Rossi to see if she’s gone too far.

“I just think she’s such a brilliant actress and stand-up that it doesn’t have to be this talk show for her creativity,” de Rossi said. “There are other things she could tackle.”

[From The NY Times]

It sounds like Ellen isn’t ready to leave and like this is Portia’s idea because she wants more time with her. Ellen gives the impression that she wants to be challenged but keep her day job. As for the rumors that she’s difficult, it’s telling that she’s saying people have to be grateful and happy at her workplace. That comes across like she doesn’t tolerate dissent or being questioned. As a control freak I get it, but some of the best work comes from people who take initiative and ask for change. Maybe if they do it nicely it’s ok though.

Photos credit: WENN, Backgrid and Netflix Press

When I covered the photos from the LA premiere of Second Act, I wondered (to myself) why Alex Rodriguez didn’t attend the premiere on Jennifer Lopez’s arm. She does a lot to support his projects, but it seems like a consistent problem with J.Rod – he rarely shows up for her stuff. But lo and behold, he did show up for Jennifer’s People Magazine cover story. She got a People cover because she’s promoting Second Act… and I guess it doesn’t hurt to hype her relationship in general. I really do wonder if she wishes she could announce an engagement as part of her promotion of this film? Instead, she and Alex talk about their already-blended family:

Since Jennifer Lopez began dating Alex Rodriguez two years ago, their romance has steadily blossomed.

“We love each other and we love our life together,” Lopez, 49, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “The exciting part of our love is that we’re both very aware of how lucky we are to have found each other.”

Of utmost importance was making sure their respective kids felt comfortable with the union, and with each other. Lopez, who has 10-year-old twins, Emme and Max, from her marriage to Marc Anthony, and Rodriguez, also divorced and a dad to daughters Natasha, 14, and Ella, 10, took great care with the introductions. To their delight, the families clicked.

“Kids are so beautiful and open to love and new friends,” says Lopez, whose new comedy, Second Act, opens on Dec. 21. “I was so loving to his kids and he was so loving and accepting of mine, and they embraced each other right away. [It was] ‘I get a new bonus brother and sisters to hang out with all the time and it’s nice’.”

A-Rod is equally as pleased. “Our kids have become best friends and that keeps us both grounded and appreciative,” he says. “We couldn’t have asked for anything better than the four of them getting along as they do.”

[From People]

Part of me wants to believe that two people with complicated romantic histories and growing kids from past relationships have grown up and matured and they’re taking things slowly as they figure out when and how to get married and live together and really join their families. Another part of me remembers that J.Lo and A-Rod were on the cover of Vanity Fair together just a few months into their relationship, and that there will be huge dramas – both good and bad – for J.Rod for years to come.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of People.

Steph Curry is one of the most beloved and respected athletes in America. I know he makes tens of millions of dollars from his Warriors contract and all of his endorsement deals and sponsorships. He’s educated too – he got through three years at Davidson College before leaving after his junior year to go pro. He’s currently 30 years old and richer than God. And in all that time, I guess Steph never really considered that American astronauts really did land on the moon? Steph appeared on a podcast and the conversation turned to the moon landing, and it turns out that Steph is a Moon Landing Truther.

Steph Curry revealed some out of this world takes on American achievements in astronautics on a recent episode of the Winging It podcast, hosted by fellow NBA players Vince Carter and Kent Bazemore, along with Atlanta Hawks employee Annie Finberg. After questioning how paleontologists are able to determine what dinosaurs sounded like, Curry suddenly asked the others, “We ever been to the moon?”

In response, Carter and Bazemore both said no, and the father of three joked, “They’re going to come get us. I don’t think so either … Sorry, I don’t want to start conspiracies.”

After Finberg expressed some skepticism, the group then discussed one of the most popular theories on the subject — that Stanley Kubrick staged the iconic video of the 1969 moon landing. (The claims that Kubrick admitted to “perpetrating a huge fraud on the American public” in an interview have since been disproven.)

Even though the entire conversation seemed mostly light-hearted, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was apparently compelled to get involved, issuing a statement directly to Curry.

“There’s lots of evidence NASA landed 12 American astronauts on the Moon from 1969 – 1972,” NASA spokesperson Allard Beutel said in the statement obtained by PEOPLE. “We’d love for Mr. Curry to tour the lunar lab at our Johnson Space Center in Houston, perhaps the next time the Warriors are in town to play the Rockets.” Beutel then recommended the Golden State Warriors point guard visit the physical evidence of the landings. “We have hundreds of pounds of Moon rocks stored there, and the Apollo mission control. During his visit, he can see first-hand what we did 50 years ago, as well as what we’re doing now to go back to the Moon in the coming years, but this time to stay,” the statement concluded.

[From People]

I have something odd to admit – I’ve never dismissed the Moon Landing Truthers out of hand. I think some skepticism is fine, and being skeptical of the moon landing is different than, like, being a Flat-Earther. My late father was a brilliant nuclear engineer and metallurgist with a far-ranging scientific mind, and even he had a lot of skepticism about the moon landing. He didn’t pretend to know for a fact that the moon landing was faked, he was just suspicious of the official story. My point? I think it’s sort of interesting that three NBA players were sitting around talking about this on a podcast, and that NASA got involved. Speaking of…

A day after his podcast comments went viral, Curry tried to play it off like it was all a joke. He told ESPN: “Obviously I was joking when I was talking on the podcast.” When asked why he didn’t correct the record earlier, he said “I was silently protesting how stupid it was that people actually took that quote and made it law.” And honestly, it sounds like Big Science got to him and threatened him. Curry’s message to kids: “For kids out there that hang on every word that we say, which is important, understand that you should not believe something just because somebody says it. You should do your homework and understand what you actually believe. But I’m going to go to NASA and I’m going to enjoy the experience whole-heartedly.”

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.

In all of the hubbub of royal shenanigans this month, I sort of forgot the earlier smear-campaign story about how the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had to be “convinced” to spend Christmas at Sandringham this year. Allegedly, Will and Kate were planning to spend Christmas in Bucklebury, but with all the Sussex dramas and the brothers fighting and Kate crying, I think we were supposed to believe that Prince Charles and/or the Queen made the request that the Cambridges spend the holidays at Anmer Hall. Not only that, we’re supposed to believe that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be staying at Anmer Hall as well. Which… I still don’t believe. Harry and Meghan were always going to spend Christmas at Sandringham, but why wouldn’t they stay in the main house, or perhaps one of the other little cottages on the property? Anyway, the Daily Mail has quotes from a royal “biographer” who claims that this year’s Christmas situation will cause Kate to weep.

The Duchess of Cambridge’s Christmas will be an ‘ordeal’, a royal biographer has claimed, amid rumours of a rift between her and Meghan. Christopher Wilson – who has written biographies on Charles and Camilla – suggested Kate, 36, will be wanting to get away to her own family in Bucklebury, following Christmas at Sandringham with the Queen and other royals. He added that the recent suggestions of tensions between the Cambridges and the Sussexes ‘won’t make things any easier between the girls’.

Kate and William, along with children George, Charlotte and Louis, will be at the Queen’s Norfolk residence for Christmas this year, despite previous reports that they would be spending the day in Bucklebury with the Middletons. Speaking to new!, Christopher said: ‘Kate’s a homebody and loves being with her own immediate family at Christmas – off-duty and relaxed. Sandringham Christmases can be an ordeal, even for those born royal – and generally those who’ve married into the family often can’t wait to get away. As with many seasonal family gatherings, there can be undercurrents and the publicity over the Meghan clash won’t make things any easier between the girls.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Thank you Captain Obvious. The “royal biographer” gig seems like a sweet deal. Let me try it: royal biographer Kaiser del Potro chatted with the American gossip blog Celebitchy about the upcoming royal Christmas plans, saying “If I had to put money on it, I’d say that Meghan’s pregnancy hormones are going to make her especially touchy, and there’s about a 50% chance that she snatches Kate’s wig on Christmas morning if they’re forced to stay together at Anmer Hall.” Also, can we stop referring to two 30-something women as “girls”? It’s f–king gross. Especially given that the more substantial beef seems to be between the “boys,” Harry and William.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.

Here are some photos from the big LA premiere of Aquaman last night. All of the stars were there for this waterlogged disaster. I mean, maybe I’m being too harsh – maybe it will make tons of money, who knows. The trailers and ads still make me laugh, and not in a good way. Jason Momoa was flanked by ladies for the premiere – his wife Lisa Bonet was there, his mom was there, his kids were there, and he happily posed with his on-screen “mom” Nicole Kidman and his on-screen love interest Amber Heard.

Nicole wore Armani Prive, and this does not look like Armani to me at all. It looks like Valentino or some label known for aggressive ruffles. The ruffles hurt my soul. Ugh. This is – by my recollection – the only red carpet appearance Nicole has made on behalf of Aquaman. It’s almost like she just took a paycheck from Warner Bros and then shrugged off promotional duties. Also: Nic needs a new hairstylist. Whoever is doing her hair these days is drunk or high or both.

Amber Heard wore a gown by Julien Macdonald. At least she doesn’t look like Esther Williams in a swim cap! No, I actually really like Amber’s styling here – the dress isn’t my favorite, but it looks good on her and I love her hair color these days. Her body is crazy too. Sigh… she’s so beautiful, and such a charisma vacuum on screen.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

The big news on Wednesday was that Donald Trump’s former lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen was sentenced in federal court. Cohen has significant arrangements with federal prosecutors, given that he lived a life of white-collar crime for decades, but he is now cooperating with various federal probes, including the Mueller investigation. So he made a deal, and the judge took the federal prosecutors’ wishes into account for sentencing. Cohen will be going to (white collar) federal prison for three years. Which still seems too lenient to me, but we don’t know the extent to which he rolled on Trump & Associates. The three years will cover counts of tax evasion, bank fraud, lying to Congress, and violations of campaign finance law for the Stormy Daniels situation. As part of the deal, Cohen stood up in court and admitted he “acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.” Individual 1 = Baby Fists.

After sentencing, Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis told Bloomberg Radio that once the Mueller probe is wrapped up, Cohen will tell all to any congressional committee. Something else that happened just after Cohen’s sentencing? Another deal was made public – federal prosecutors released documents indicating that they have an immunity deal with American Media Inc, aka the National Enquirer, aka Trump’s favorite tabloid. AMI admitted that they coordinated hush-money payments to Trump’s mistresses. Publisher David Pecker was good friends with Trump, and Pecker worked as Trump’s tabloid-level fixer, often in coordination with Cohen. The fact that Pecker and AMI now have an immunity deal with federal prosecutors is a HUGE deal. Pecker, like Cohen, knows where the bodies are buried. Pecker was colluding with Trump for years and years.

Meanwhile, the leading contender for White House chief of staff has just dropped out of the running. Mark Meadows was supposed to be the great white savior of the All-White House but it turns out that NO ONE wants this job.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.

Throughout the smear campaign of the Duchess of Sussex, it became clear that one of the “original” controversies was between Prince William and Prince Harry. They had fundamental disagreements, about Meghan and about Harry’s future role. I tend to believe that William is bothered by Harry’s consistent popularity, and Harry has become even more popular since he married Meghan. And while the royal courtiers and tabloids try to smear Harry as tunnel-visioned and crazy in love, most people see him as a chivalrous prince who will defend his lady no matter the cost. So… Harry has been pretty quiet recently. What’s going on with him?

Nothing he can do. Prince Harry “feels powerless” when it comes to the negativity surrounding his wife, Duchess Meghan, a source tells Us Weekly exclusively.

“It has put pressure on her relationship with Harry. He’s very frustrated with how little can be done,” the source explains of recent stories in the British press. “Keeping her away from the negativity and harm has been hard for him. It’s been his purpose in their relationship to keep her away from the negativity.”

[From Us Weekly]

I’m sure people will yell at me for believing Us Weekly, or for pointing out something really obvious, but I believe this. I think Harry is probably really, really bothered. I think he’s probably more bothered than Meghan by the smear campaign. I think she’s the kind of person who can assess the situation, form a plan and just carry on. But Harry is probably feeling a lot, and this is bringing up a lot of old issues with his mother and how she was treated by the Establishment and the press. Add to that, he’s obviously feeling extra-protective of her now that she’s pregnant. It’s a mess.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of Us Weekly.

Here are some photos from last night’s “European premiere” of Mary Poppins Returns. It’s just the London premiere, I don’t know why they’re calling it the European premiere, especially given that Disney will probably made Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt travel to some other European countries (they were already in Paris earlier this week). This premiere comes on the heels of Emily’s surprise SAG Award nomination in the Best Actress category – as I keep saying, this year’s Best Actress race seems especially off-kilter, and before the SAG nomination, I would have said that there was no chance that Emily would get an Oscar nomination for Poppins. But now? I mean, she might.

For the London premiere, Emily chose a rich silk/satin gown in a brilliant blue. This is Schiaparelli Haute Couture, one of Tilda Swinton’s favorite labels. I could see this on Tilda, and I think it…might suit Tilda more than Emily? I mean, the color is gorgeous. But I LOATHE the sleeves. Ugh.

Meryl Streep in Elie Saab – she came out to support Emily, of course, but Meryl is also friendly with Rob Marshall, the director. Meryl’s ensemble is awful.

Lin-Manuel Miranda wearing the f–k out of a Stella McCartney tuxedo.

I don’t have an ID on Emily Mortimer’s dress, but it’s not good. Her style throughout this promotional tour has been kind of bad.

You guys, I genuinely feel sorry for Colin Firth. He’s still doing the happy-marriage thing Livia even though they spent months having to deal with the lingering scandal and legal issues of her affair. Ugh. Her dress is super-fug too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and WENN.

View this post on Instagram

My dear adorable friend Maura Tierney stopped by @busytonighttv! Tune in TONIGHT! ??????????

A post shared by Busy Philipps (@busyphilipps) on Dec 11, 2018 at 6:07pm PST

Maura Tierney was on Busy Tonight this week. She’s promoting Beautiful Boy, starring Timothee Chalamet, and she’s also on The Affair, which has been renewed for a fifth season starting next year. Maura and Busy were actually on ER together for a season so they had an easy rapport, but Busy seems to have that with everyone. Busy asked Maura if she’s on social media and she said she’s not because it’s too much work. What’s more is that she supposedly doesn’t shop online because she’s paranoid.

On why she’s not on social media
It seems like a lot of work and also I don’t know how to take a selfie. I decided two weeks ago [to try]. I’m like, I can’t figure it out. I never look good. I don’t know how to do that [duck] face.

Busy: Do you shop online?
No. Don’t you notice you’ll have a conversation and then an ad will come up? I don’t need to give them any more ammo about what I like and what I don’t like.

Busy: Why? Are they going to come get you with cozy sweaters and sensible boots?

On her phobias
I’m really afraid of getting locked out of my house. The only reason to have a husband is to have an extra set of keys or to change the batteries in my smoke detector. That beep is like ‘get married, get married, get married.’

[From video of Busy Tonight]

While I can’t find any definitive evidence that ads come up based on things our phones overhear, I read a thread on reddit about this last year. A technician was able to measure packets being sent from his phone to the Facebook app when it was idle. He also received ads specific to things he was watching outside of his phone. He mentioned that you can test this by playing spanish channels on your TV (If you’re not a native Spanish speaker.) I tried this out by watching Telemundo. Before I subscribed to YouTube Red I would regularly get ads in Spanish. So I uninstalled Facebook. Actually I’ve noticed this happening to me again, I’ll see ads for things I was just talking about and know for a fact I didn’t google. I just realized it must be because I installed Instagram on my phone! I need it for this job (follow me!) but that’s crazy. Here’s an article on Vice about ads that spy. The companies deny doing it, but it’s possible for them to do based on their TOS, and it’s the most likely explanation.

As for Maura, I’m surprised she doesn’t buy anything online at all. I know people like this who still do all of their shopping in person, but I really enjoy the process of looking up items and reading reviews. I’m one of those people who think that the right product can streamline or change my life. I mean this rarely happens but I still get excited for it.

Here’s the video!

photos credit: WENN and Instagram/Busy Philipps