Well, here’s one explanation for why Donald Trump was unhinged on Twitter this morning: his lawyer Michael Cohen has made a plea deal with Robert Mueller’s team, and Cohen is appearing in federal court in New York today. Cohen’s home and office were infamously raided by the FBI months ago, and almost immediately after the raid, Cohen made significant moves to cooperate with local New York authorities, the FBI and the Mueller investigation. Cohen was up to his neck in illegal sh-t, and he knew it too, so he flipped.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has reached a tentative deal with Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney and long-time fixer for President Donald Trump, sources told ABC News. Cohen is scheduled to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday where he is expected to enter a guilty plea for misstatements to Congress in closed-door testimony last year about his contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign.

Once among the president’s most loyal and zealous defenders in business and politics, Cohen has now promised to “put family and country first” by cooperating with prosecutors, becoming perhaps the most pivotal public witness against his former boss. Cohen’s earlier plea deal with federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York implicated President Trump in campaign finance felonies. Since then, Cohen has spent more than 70 hours in interviews with Mueller’s team. The questioning has focused on contacts with Russians by Trump associates during the campaign, Trump’s business ties to Russia, obstruction of justice and talk of possible pardons, sources familiar with the discussions have told ABC News.

[From ABC News]

According to the political peeps on Twitter, Cohen has given extensive statements and new information about the so-called Moscow Project, which was organized IN Trump Tower. Cohen said that he and other Trump associates were working on the Moscow Project as late as fall 2017. The Moscow Project and the time table is directly related to the “false statements” Cohen is now accepting a plea deal for. Wow.

CNN: According to the information read out in court, Cohen made a false statement regarding the Trump Tower deal in Moscow that he was working on in 2015 and 2016. He had discussion about the project even later. Cohen had previously said that the deal was stopped in January 2016

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 29, 2018

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

When I first saw these headlines about director Kevin Smith revealing that Ben Affleck no longer talks to him, I thought it was one of those clickbaity articles about old news. Didn’t Kevin Smith talk about this months ago? Yes he did, and we appreciate that Kevin Smith is a gossipy bitch. We love our own kind. Kevin said earlier this year that Ben didn’t contact him after his near deadly heart attack. Kevin attributed that to some quotes he gave in the summer of 2017, relating that Ben told him, in 1996 when they were filming Chasing Amy, that Ben felt like a serious actor because “Kissing another man is the hardest acting challenge an actor will ever face.” (Ben kissed Jason Lee in that movie.) Kevin said the quotes were from over 20 years ago but outlets ran headlines and articles suggesting they
were new. So Ben held a grudge apparently and over six months later couldn’t even be bothered to tell Kevin, who gave him leading roles early in his career, that he was happy he was still alive.

Anyway Kevin responded to a tweet wondering why he doesn’t talk to Ben anymore. He said it was because he told a bunch of stories about Ben essentially:

If I had to guess? It’s because one of us has a big mouth and told too many candid stories that sometimes weren’t his to tell, and the other one is Ben. https://t.co/kwj82A20SJ

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) November 26, 2018

Nothing is more offensive to Ben than bad press and he will cut people out and lie about things that aren’t flattering to him.

Kevin is doing great, it’s nice to hear about him. He’s lost over 50 pounds since his heart attack. Like a lot of us he’s struggling with feeling low this time of year. He helped a struggling fan by relating a story about feeling better after visiting a set in Britain.

I, too, have been blue this week. But yesterday and today, I visited the set of a British flick and got to see how other filmmakers work. All of them were so passionate about the story they were telling, it served as a gentle reminder that Art is always good for what ails you. https://t.co/gAMXrTwtRi

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) November 27, 2018

Also, he took a selfie with his wife outside Windsor Castle! One of us.

Had a dream I went to Windsor to pop by the newlyweds’ starter home with housewarming weed, only to get dragged away by Beefeaters as I yelled “You can’t do this to me! I’m an American and a fan of ‘Suits’!” When I woke up, I took @JenSchwalbach to see the majestic castle IRL. pic.twitter.com/CPpsmdsyl6

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) November 26, 2018

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Happy Thanksgiving from the Smith/Schwalbach/Stanley family (and @corey_ring), from @crossroadskitchen! This was the first fully Vegan Thanksgiving for our family, in what I hope will be an ongoing tradition! I have so much to be thankful for this year – especially just being here to give thanks at all! But I’m incredibly thankful for my family, my friends and my followers – all of whom give up a little something so I can be me for a living! This turkey couldn’t do it without you! #KevinSmith #thanksgiving #harleyquinn #harleyquinnsmith #vegan #jenniferschwalbach #crossroadskitchen #losangeles

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on Nov 22, 2018 at 4:24pm PST

photos credit: WENN, Getty and via Instagram and Twitter

Dear Gossips,

It’s the week of the celebrity profile/interview. We’ve had a few standouts so far and now it’s Mariah Carey’s. Mimi talked to Pitchfork about her new album, Caution. Have you been listening? I like it a lot. To me, the album as a whole is stronger than any one track. A few years a…

George and Amal Clooney made a big show of attending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s May wedding this year, and then the royal wedding’s after-party was suspiciously shadow-sponsored by Casamigos tequila. I still believe that the Casamigos connection should not be overlooked. My theory is that the Clooneys made some sort of substantial donation – either to Harry’s charity of choice, or to the funding of the afterparty – in exchange for Casamigos being heavily featured in the articles, plus wedding invitations for George and Amal. My point is that I still don’t buy that either George or Amal has had any kind of long-term friendship with Harry or Meghan. My point is also that I don’t believe this Daily Mail story:

George and Amal Clooney are all but confirmed to be among the godparents of Prince Harry and Meghan’s first-born child, DailyMail.com can reveal. The A-list actor’s family, who still live in George’s hometown of Augusta, Kentucky, are convinced George and Amal will make the grade after becoming incredibly close with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

George’s cousin Ben Breslin exclusively told DailyMail.com the 57-year-old would make a ‘wonderful’ godfather to the royal couple’s baby, saying: ‘I’m all for it. He’d make a wonderful godfather, he’d make a wonderful just about anything – he’s a good guy.’

Family insiders say George considers himself almost a ‘shoo-in’ to be asked. George and Amal, a British human-rights lawyer who shares a long-standing friendship with Meghan, are believed to socialize regularly with the royals. The Hollywood glamour pair flew Meghan and Harry via private jet to George’s luxury residence on Lake Como after their May nuptials, where they received a crash course in parenting after meeting the pair’s one-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander.

A source close to both famous couples told DailyMail.com: ‘Amal and Meghan have been close for years, and Harry and George have become buddies because of that. They’re much closer than the headlines let on.’

The insider adds that George has ‘told a couple of people he has a strong hunch’ that they’ll be among the couples asked to form such an important role in their little one’s life. In a testament to their strong ties, Harry and Meghan are expected to attend a dinner party next month at George and Amal’s London home, with Barack and Michelle Obama on the star-studded guest list.

[From The Daily Mail]

Considering the British media’s incessant shaming of Meghan for being “too Hollywood” and “too actressy,” I seriously doubt that she and Harry would make the mistake of asking George and Amal Clooney to be godparents. I think Jessica Mulroney and her husband will definitely be asked to be godparents, and I could see Meghan perhaps asking Serena Williams, but George and Amal? Please. Casamigos sponsoring the wedding afterparty is one thing, but when it comes to royal babies, there will be no sponsorship deals. You can tell that George is really dead-set on having a little Prince Casamigos of Sussex as a godchild though.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

Mayim Bialik, 42, says and does a lot of things that are questionable. It’s gotten to the point where we don’t always cover her because she can be so problematic. One thing she’s been consistent about which is less offensive than her victim-blaming stance is the fact that her ex husband is family and that she needs to peacefully coparent with him. She was married to Michael Stone from 2003 to 2012 and they have two children together: Miles, 13, and Frederick, 10. In 2016, Mayim recorded a somewhat preachy video in which she revealed that she still spent holidays with her ex and that she considers him family. Mayim recently wrote a post for her blog, Grok Nation, about spending Thanksgiving with her ex Michael, their kids and his new girlfriend. Michael hosted it, and not only was his girlfriend there, the new girlfriend’s ex husband and their kids were there as well.

I spent Thanksgiving at my ex-husband’s. It was a real relief not to host; I usually do, but this year my ex volunteered. We all pitched in and cooked, but it was so nice not to have to worry about cleaning up and washing dishes and such.

He hosted his girlfriend and her kids and her ex husband. My mom also was there. And my bestie, Elsa, who spent the past few days with her family partly so she could be with me at this Thanksgiving meal for moral support. Good bestie!

Most people I have mentioned our guest list to think it’s nuts to be there with the ex and his girlfriend and her ex. That it’s too close, too weird, too awkward. It was our first time doing this kind of meal together.

I would be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous. I am single again and it was painful to be “alone.” I was meeting the girlfriend’s ex for the first time at a sit-down dinner…what if it was uncomfortable?

[From GrokNation]

Mayim also madea numbered list of all the reasons why she did this and how awesome it was, which came across as holier than thou, but was probably better than her recording a video about it. I’m sparing you having to read all that, but in case you’re wondering why I’m kind of cynical about this, that’s why. (Plus, see any of the other reasons she’s been in the press the past couple of years.) She did call her husband’s new girlfriend “delightful” in the number 4 section about “gratitude,” writing “I have two children. That’s a blessing. I have an ex-husband who is not perfect and who sometimes irritates me, but all in all, he is pretty awesome. He has a fantastic girlfriend–truly. She’s delightful. And she wants her family intact even though they are also divorced.”

As I’ve written a few times, I’m divorced and I get along with my ex but we’re not in the “hanging out with the new partners” phase yet. This seems to be the latest celebrity trend. (See Anna Faris and Chris Pratt and maybe Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, they’re close to that phase.) I don’t know if I’ll ever be at that point as it seems enlightened enough just to get along.

Mayim’s essay comes across as self congratulatory but at least she was vulnerable about being alone and how that was hard for her. She’s lucky to have a good best friend who is there for her too. Also, some people don’t have the luxury of having a reasonable ex and we have to consider them too. Mayim doesn’t consider much that’s outside her personal experience.

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Spent #thanksgiving with my kids and my mom and my ex and some of his very important people and with this woman. This is my anchor and mi hermana de una otra madre. We met 14 years ago and I am more and more thankful for her every day. Thank you Elsa ? for listening to me on my darkest days and for celebrating with me every day what true friendship is. #ogtinyrice #familia #straightouttatulare #letitgo ??

A post shared by mayim bialik (@missmayim) on Nov 22, 2018 at 10:45pm PST

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Social media human Natalie just told me my hair looks bomb. I told her I #wokeuplikethis so I figured it was worth posting the evidence.

A post shared by mayim bialik (@missmayim) on Nov 27, 2018 at 7:40am PST

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Here are some photos from last night’s annual White House Christmas Tree lighting event. Donald and Melania Trump were there, although Bigly reportedly skipped out just after his speech (I have no idea if that’s true, I didn’t watch it). I also see that poor Tiffany Trump was there. The whole event just seemed joyless and budget.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to avoid a lot of Trump news, because the stories are getting more detailed and conspiratorial and collusion-y. Suffice to say, Robert Mueller seems to have made a very big play this week with Paul Manafort, and Jerome Corsi seems to be up to his neck in high-level treason. Manafort has lied about everything, to everyone, and most legal experts tend to agree that Manafort is going to be screwed a million different ways by the legal system and Bobby Mueller. Donald Trump is still making noise about pardoning Manafort, but I genuinely believe that if Trump even tried to pardon Manafort, it would lead to utter shambles across the board. Here’s something else I believe: Trump grows even more nervous by the day. He was up late last night rage-tweeting, and then he got up bright and early this morning to tweet some more sh-t:

So much happening with the now discredited Witch Hunt. This total Hoax will be studied for years!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2018

Did you ever see an investigation more in search of a crime? At the same time Mueller and the Angry Democrats aren’t even looking at the atrocious, and perhaps subversive, crimes that were committed by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. A total disgrace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2018

When will this illegal Joseph McCarthy style Witch Hunt, one that has shattered so many innocent lives, ever end-or will it just go on forever? After wasting more than $40,000,000 (is that possible?), it has proven only one thing-there was NO Collusion with Russia. So Ridiculous!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2018

And our Orwellian nightmare continues. The only thing that’s true in these tweets is that all of this will be studied for years – not just Mueller’s investigation, but how millions of (white) Americans completely abdicated their responsibility as citizens just to protect their own narrowing power structure, and the collective delusions of those same people who believe Trump’s lies. Also, I love how self-pitying Trump is – the witch hunt has “shattered so many innocent lives,” like… Mike Flynn’s poor, precious, innocent life? Paul Manafort’s innocent life? My God.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Many months ago, I theorized that if the Democrats could win back the House in the midterms, the biggest fight would be about whether Nancy Pelosi should return as Speaker of the House. Some people argued that I was putting the cart before the horse, but I was still concerned that the Democratic Party would find some way to screw itself over with some kind of petty internecine fight. While there were some squabbles over the past few weeks, Nancy Pelosi was nominated for Speaker yesterday with a huge majority vote:

Rep. Nancy Pelosi took a major step toward a historic second turn as House speaker on Wednesday, winning a strong majority in a Democratic nominating vote after striking a deal with a group of moderate holdouts and further isolating her ragtag opposition. But Pelosi (D-Calif.) still has to persuade about half of the 32 Democrats who opposed her nomination to support her in a planned Jan. 3 floor vote in which she must win a majority of the entire House, not just Democrats. A brief meeting with leaders of the opposition Wednesday ended in acrimony.

She now has a month — plus an unmatched political network and a pile of potential chits — to chip away at the opposition. Should she prevail, Pelosi would be the first person to reclaim the speaker’s gavel in 63 years, solidifying her historical standing as the first woman to serve in the job and assuming the role of the nation’s top Democrat to counter President Trump.

[From The Washington Post]

WaPo goes on to detail all of the ways in which the Democratic caucus could still screw over Pelosi, and how much deal-making she’ll have to do in the next month. While I still believe that the Democratic Party is in need of some fresh blood in leadership positions, I’m totally fine with Pelosi returning as Speaker. She’s always been a consistently progressive/liberal voice, and she gets sh-t done. And there’s so much ageism and sexism around her, even with the media coverage:

My god. This is just so typical of the @NYTimes. Pelosi won *more* votes and had *fewer* “nos” than Ryan in 2015, but Ryan won “overwhelming support” while Pelosi had “significant defections” pic.twitter.com/nWeHsupIEW

— David Nir (@DavidNir) November 28, 2018

Speaking of sexism and ageism, Rep. Barbara Lee – a 72-year-old African-American liberal lion – was pushed out of her attempt to become the chairwoman of the House Dem Caucus. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries won that vote to become one of the most powerful Democrats in the House. Jeffries is only 48, so he’s considered a “fresh face” and he has some good liberal credentials. But Rep. Lee absolutely got screwed over.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Melania Trump proves that lazy trophy wives make terrible first ladies. But is it mean to mock her macabre Christmas decorations? I don’t know. Everything about the Trump White House is so awful and fascist, I actually think we needed this moment of levity, and it’s been a joy to laugh at Melania’s tampon trees/blood trees/Handmaid’s Tale trees. You would think that Melania’s default style would be everything gold and everything ostentatious and big, big, big. But Melania threw us for a loop with the Blood Trees Of Doom. She heard the criticism too, and she wants us to know that the Blood Trees of Doom look amazeballs in person.

Though she proudly unveiled the “American Treasures”-themed ornamentation on Twitter Monday, the all-red Christmas trees she chose for the East colonnade were the subject of countless memes and jokes online. The most popular and “liked” tweets compared Mrs. Trump’s 40 crimson trees to the red cloaks from Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and even the sea of blood from the 1980 film The Shining. On Wednesday, the first lady, 48, defended her topiary, calling them “fantastic” and “beautiful.”

“We are in 21st Century and everybody has a different taste,” she said at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Wednesday, as seen in video obtained by Reuters.

“I think they look fantastic. I hope everybody will come over and visit it. In real life, they look even more beautiful. You are all welcome to visit the White House, the people’s house,” she said during her appearance as part of her Be Best initiative, which focuses on countering opioid addiction and cyberbullying.

[From People]

“We are in 21st Century and everybody has a different taste… and that’s why I decorated with an eye towards ‘what would Vlad the Impaler do for Christmas?’” I’m actually going to give Melania a tiny bit of benefit of the doubt and say that… one Blood Tree of Doom might have actually looked good, especially if it was featured in a room which was already had red decor. It would have looked on-theme and different and special. MAYBE. I think Melania messed up by using a dozen Blood Trees in a white hallway, which makes the hallway look like some kind of pathway to hell.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Quentin Tarantino has said many times over the years that he didn’t want to get married and start a family until he felt like he had given all he could to his career. Meaning, I think Quentin’s nuptials signal that he believes he’s nearing the end of his directing career? Tarantino married his long-time girlfriend/fiancee Daniella Pick yesterday in Los Angeles. Everyone is describing this as an “intimate ceremony,” but it seems like photographers/paparazzi were there to document everything. In an interesting twist, Tarantino and Pick didn’t seem to mind the paps – they happily posed for pap photos at every stage of their wedding day. People Magazine had the exclusive wedding portrait, but for my money, some of the shots the paparazzi got were much better than the formal portrait.

After examining all of the photos, I think Daniella wore a sweetheart-necklined formal gown – by Dana Harel – for the wedding service, and then she changed into a very simple and elegant slipdress for the reception and party. We have the slipdress photos in this post. According to sources, the ceremony lasted about an hour, and some of Tarantino’s favorite actors came out, like Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and director/actor Eli Roth.

Quentin is 55 years old, and Daniella is 35. It’s a significant age difference, but they have been together for years. She’s Israeli, and the daughter of a famous Israeli singer named Tzvika Pick. People Magazine says that Quentin just wrapped on Once Upon a Time In Hollywood a few days ago. So, honeymoon first, and then he’ll probably edit the film.

PS… I love her wedding coat. I would wear the f–k out of it.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Sometimes I get it wrong. I got it wrong about Michael Avenatti. I overlooked or ignored the warning signs: his thirst for the limelight, his temper, his Trump-like need for attention. I wanted to believe that there was a legit lawyer who took Stormy Daniels seriously, and that together they were doing their part to fight fascism. I believed in Avenatti for a time. I even left room for various conspiracy theories about Avenatti’s arrest for domestic violence (which, honestly, is still shady AF). Stormy was cautiously on Avenatti’s side during the arrest drama, but it seems like she’s had enough. She issued a statement to the Daily Beast about why she’s now on the fence about keeping Avenatti as her lawyer:

“For months I’ve asked Michael Avenatti to give me accounting information about the fund my supporters so generously donated to for my safety and legal defense. He has repeatedly ignored those requests. Days ago I demanded again, repeatedly, that he tell me how the money was being spent and how much was left. Instead of answering me, without my permission or even my knowledge Michael launched another crowdfunding campaign to raise money on my behalf. I learned about it on Twitter.

“I haven’t decided yet what to do about legal representation moving forward. Michael has been a great advocate in many ways. I’m tremendously grateful to him for aggressively representing me in my fight to regain my voice. But in other ways Michael has not treated me with the respect and deference an attorney should show to a client. He has spoken on my behalf without my approval. He filed a defamation case against Donald Trump against my wishes. He repeatedly refused to tell me how my legal defense fund was being spent. Now he has launched a new crowdfunding campaign using my face and name without my permission and attributing words to me that I never wrote or said. I’m deeply grateful to my supporters and they deserve to know their money is being spent responsibly. I don’t want to hurt Michael, but it’s time to set the record straight. The truth has always been my greatest ally.

“My goal is the same as it has always been—to stand up for myself and take back my voice after being bullied and intimidated by President Trump and his minions. One way or another I’m going to continue in that fight, and I want everyone who has stood by me to know how profoundly grateful I am for their support.”

[From The Daily Beast]

This just made me sad. We really thought Avenatti was an ally, or failing that, we respected the way he zealously represented his client. But now it seems like Avenatti has as shady as they come, from start to finish. He’s breaking several big ethical rules by raising money for Stormy’s defense and then refusing to give her a full accounting of it. He’s also going to be in major trouble with the Bar Association about filing the defamation suit against Stormy’s wishes. Ugh. The Daily Beast contacted Avenatti about Stormy’s statement, and here’s what he had to say:

“I am and have always been Stormy’s biggest champion. I have personally sacrificed an enormous amount of money, time and energy toward assisting her because I believe in her. I have always been an open book with Stormy as to all aspects of her cases and she knows that. The retention agreement Stormy signed back in February provided that she would pay me $100.00 and that any and all other monies raised via a legal fund would go toward my legal fees and costs. Instead, the vast majority of the money raised has gone toward her security expenses and similar other expenses. The most recent campaign was simply a refresh of the prior campaign, designed to help defray some of Stormy’s expenses.”

[From The Daily Beast]

So he’s only addressing the issue about the fundraising and not the defamation suit. The thing is, Avenatti could be telling the truth about the fundraising sites and where that money is going. The problem is that Stormy is right too, and she has every right to know the full accounting of those fundraisers, which are in her name.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.