Tatum O’Neal is probably best known for being the youngest person to win an Academy Award, for 1973’s Paper Moon. She was ten years old when she won her Oscar. The last time we covered her was in February 2020 and she was sharing how bad her rheumatoid arthritis was. As is so often the case with child actors, Tatum has had a hard life. Her dad Ryan O’Neal was not a good dad–Tatum wrote in her memoir that he had emotionally and physically abused her. She started struggling with addiction in adulthood and in 2020 it nearly cost her her life. She overdosed and had a stroke, and was in a coma for six weeks. When she woke up, she had lost the ability to speak. Over the course of the last three years, she has made a truly miraculous recovery, and is sharing with People Magazine about her sobriety and recovery. She is still struggling to read and write, but she can speak. Her son Kevin McEnroe is also quoted in the story.

What happened in 2020: In the early days of the COVID pandemic, O’Neal had been using — and abusing — prescription medications, some of which were prescribed for her back and neck pain and her rheumatoid arthritis. But on that day in May 2020, she overdosed on a combination of pain medication, opiates and morphine. A friend found her in her Century City apartment and she was rushed to the hospital.
In the hospital, O’Neal was diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder that results from damage to the part of the brain that is responsible for language, according to the NIH. She was in a coma, says Kevin, “and had damage to her right frontal cortex. At times, it was touch and go,” he says. “I had to call my brother and sister and say she was thought to be blind, deaf and potentially might never speak again.”

Her recovery and healing process: Over the next two years, under medical supervision, and with regular therapy , she has fought to regain her full memory, an ongoing process. And while her vocabulary keeps getting better, there’s still a ways to go.  As Kevin says, “Emotionally the things that made my mom want to take drugs in the first place, those things are still very present.” In addition to her daily therapy, O’Neal attends twelve step meetings (often via Zoom) and is working on her recovery, all under the care of her physician.  “I’ve been trying to get sober my whole life,” says O’Neal. “Every day, I am trying.”

Her son says she’s never wanted to be sober just for herself: Looking back, says Kevin, “She could always want sobriety as a mom, but she never really wanted it for herself.” Now, he says, “She has embraced this attempt at recovery. She was always a very loving mom but when isolated, I think it was hard to find any love for herself.” Kevin, a writer who has had his own struggles with alcohol and drugs, has now been sober for three and a half years. “ It was a road to a short life but now I don’t feel that way,” he says. “And I’m so proud of her for trying.”

[From People]

It really is a miracle that Tatum is alive and well after what happened, and that she’s regained the ability to speak. Her story reminds me that so many people struggle with addiction because of childhood trauma, or trauma generally. I completely understand why people who grow up with abusive parents end up looking for an escape. Emotional wounds from childhood are so hard to heal because our brains are so malleable then. It’s easy sometimes for those of us who have never struggled with addiction to judge the people who do–to look down at the street addict and think, “they’re just in that position because they made bad choices.” And yeah, addiction is a downward spiral staircase of self-destructive choices. At the same time, it’s also likely the case that someone, somewhere communicated to that person that they were unworthy or unlovable–and they believed it. Recovering from addiction is complex and usually requires a lot of support–medical, psychological, and community support. There is a crisis of addiction and overdose deaths in the U.S. but most people don’t have Tatum’s resources, and it is a terrible injustice. It should be easy to access addiction treatment, but it’s not. Multiple systems are failing people with addictions. I’m pulling for Tatum. Everyone who struggles with addiction should get the chance to recover and to heal.

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Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules has already started filming. There were some pap shots and bystander videos of the cast out and about and filming recently. All of the main cast is returning and Raquel Leviss was the only holdout until her team finally began negotiations. But apparently Bravo is still working on the cast list and plans to introduce some new faces. Lala Kent and Katie Maloney have some friends who might join the show. Hm.

Bravo is shaking up the cast of Vanderpump Rules! At least according to a source who spoke to Entertainment Tonight, saying that the show “is looking to bring in some new cast members” for season 11 and “have started having outbound conversations.”

Before you panic that a bunch of total randoms are about to show up at Sur, the source explained that Lala Kent and Katie Maloney “are looking in their external friend groups to see who might be a good fit for the show.” So, this is a friends-of-cast situation!!!

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Vanderpump Rules’ upcoming season will cover the aftermath of Scandoval—aka Tom Sandoval cheating on Ariana Madix with Raquel Leviss—but as of now it doesn’t look like either Tom or Raquel are filming.

While Tom has signed on to do the show, he’s been MIA due to working on another reality show. According to TMZ, “multiple sources with direct knowledge” say Tom’s filming season two of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test in New Zealand, but he’s “expected to start shooting” VPR when he’s back in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Raquel still hasn’t signed a contract, but TMZ recently reported that she’s in negotiations and that production wants to start filming soon since “the longer VPR rolls cameras, the harder it’s gonna be to integrate Raquel into the storylines.” That said, no one wants to “pressure” Raquel, who’s been in a mental health treatment facility since April.

[From Cosmopolitan]

Hiring from the cast’s wider friend group is a good move and I think the cast does need some new faces at this point. I know, it’s already a huge cast, but they didn’t really hire replacements after firing all those racists in 2020. So even without Scandoval, I think the show was due for some new faces and who better to add than friends who have been on the periphery this whole time. At least they’ll know how the whole deal works. And Lala in particular is a great reality star so any friends of hers will likely bring it. I am a little skeptical about the vibes of Katie’s friends though. And I wonder if the folks they ultimately bring in will be faces we’ve seen on the sidelines before. I do expect Jax and Brittany to pop up at some point. Also, I didn’t realize Tom Sandoval hadn’t started filming yet. He’s probably glad to start late and make an entrance now that he’s in his villain season. It’s nice that Ariana is getting time to be in her house, film, and hang out with her new bae without the threat of a run-in hanging over her head.

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Elon Musk suggests that childless people should lose the right to vote. It’s true, we should! But only if we also get to stop paying taxes, boo boo. [Jezebel]
Dior’s Fall collection is so beautiful!!! [RCFA]
Was The Idol the worst-ever series on HBO? [Pajiba]
I’m so excited for the Barbie promotional fashion. [LaineyGossip]
The Iris Van Herpen show was full of superhero gear, basically. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Robyn had a secret baby?? [JustJared]
Pom Klementieff is enjoying her promotional tour. [GFY]
Is a Before the 90 Days star faking her accent? [Starcasm]
What are some “girly” things which many men enjoy? [Buzzfeed]
Will the Church of England bless same-sex unions? [Towleroad]
This Taylor Swift fan is so funny. [Seriously OMG]

Every celebrity must decide where they will be for Independence Day. Do you go to the West Coast and do a Malibu beach party with industry types? Or do you go for an East Coast vibe, a long weekend in the Hamptons, with tons of ritzy parties scheduled across all industries? Well, Leonardo DiCaprio surprisingly decided to go to the Hamptons over the holiday, and he was seen out and about at multiple parties. Interestingly enough, Gigi Hadid also chose to spend the holiday in the Hamptons, and Gigi and Leo were seen together at several parties. Keep in mind, Gigi has been tamping down the Leo rumors for months, meanwhile Leo has been spending a lot of time with British model Neelam Gill, even inviting Neelam on his yacht with his family. So I don’t know what this is about:

After spotting Leonardo DiCaprio and Gigi Hadid partying together in the Hamptons for a second night in a row, a spy told Page Six: “They are together.”

After we reported the pair had “a vibe” while hanging at a bash in the Hamptons on Saturday night, we’re told they were at another party together on Sunday. A source tells us they spotted the “Great Gatsby” actor, 48, and 28-year-old model at Tao Group founder Marc Packer’s Fourth of July party.

We’re told they were with a group that included The Ned’s Richie Akiva, entrepreneur Bert Hedaya, Danny Abeckaser, and Hadid pal Leah McCarthy.

Later, DiCaprio and Hadid were spotted at Akiva and Garry Kanfer’s bottle-service fueled bash at Kissaki in Water Mill. A spy tells us the pair were hanging out and bopping to tunes from deejays JusSke, Rachel Winter and Zach Bia, saying that it seems as if they are dating.

“They are together,” the witness insisted after watching them interact.

Page Six previously reported that DiCaprio and Hadid were spending time together this weekend. On Saturday, they were seen chatting it up at tech guru David Rosenberg’s annual bash in Bridgehampton. A witness told Page Six there was a “vibe” between the two.

“The way they were talking to each other. . . You could feel the energy,” said the spy.

[From Page Six]

My take: the backlash against Leo when he dumped Camila Morrone on her 25th birthday changed Leo and his whole shtick. It was the first time his whole gross deal was exposed as common knowledge, the fact that he would rather curl up and die rather than date a woman past her 25th birthday. So he decided to expand his girlfriend criteria and now he’ll date women up to the age of 29. What’s happened is that Leo is experiencing a brave new world of dating – his dating pool has expanded and he’s enjoying it. He enjoys the Gigi rumors, he enjoys spending time with Neelam, and he’s still hanging out with other models in their teens and twenties. Normally, he would have settled down with a 20-year-old by now and made the young woman his “official girlfriend.” He’s trying to change. Gradually.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Here are some photos from Paris Fashion Week, where a surprising amount of big-name celebrities came out specifically for the Armani show. I wouldn’t want to spend a rain-soaked holiday in Paris, but sure – maybe Armani paid some of these women to show up for the show.

Kate Hudson was there with her fiance Danny Fujikawa, and Kate was given a tube top and a bubble skirt. She sort of makes it work, but that ponytail is doing a lot of work to make this cute. Speaking of someone’s natural beauty elevating a weird design, Nathalie Emmanuel was given the most tragic top I’ve ever seen. Why would you put nude/illusion netting there and why is it f–king baggy??

I think one of the biggest design fails is what Sydney Sweeney wore to the show – while the dress itself is beautiful and wearable (I can see that on like twenty different Emmy nominees), it’s so utterly typical of fashion designers to make the big-chested woman cover up to this degree IN JULY. Look at what Kate Hudson and Nathalie are wearing and tell me small-boob privilege doesn’t exist.

The Armani show was also a family outing for Emma Thompson and my nemesis Laura Dern, both of whom arrived with their daughters. My nemesis actually looks okay – Armani suits her lanky frame.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Okay, so before just now, I honestly thought the “Scottish coronation” today was just the British media overhyping what amounted to a church service. I did not realize that King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Duke of Rothesay (Prince William) would be dressed up in the Order of the Thistle robes. I also didn’t know that there are specific “Scottish Crown Jewels” and those jewels are in play today! Wow, so this really is a big deal. Chuck is going to be crowned with the special Scottish crown, which is not the same crown as the Imperial State Crown, which he wore to his coronation in London. Which begs the question… if the May coronation was only for England, does that mean that Charles wasn’t really the king of Scotland until now? I know that’s not how it works, but still.

Kate – who is known as the Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland now – decided to repeat a bright blue Catherine Walker coat for the occasion. She paired it with a loaner from the Royal Collection – that same diamond-and-pearl choker necklace she wore to QEII’s funeral and Prince Philip’s funeral. I guess that’s the only necklace Camilla will let Kate borrow these days. And no Scottish jewels for Kate!

Just going by the photos, there was a huge police presence on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, and there was a huge republican presence too – there were a lot of people holding up Republic’s bright yellow anti-monarchy “Not My King” signs. Surely, Charles expects those people to be dazzled by the Scottish Crown Jewels!

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So much of the insanity coming out of the Windsor clan and the British media (working in concert) about the Sussexes is simply about control. Prince Harry and Meghan cannot be controlled by the UK media or the royal family. H&M make their own money, they don’t give a sh-t about titles, and (most importantly) they can afford private security. The Windsors lost their ability to control and contain the Sussexes using their conventional methods, methods which “worked” on other royals… like Prince Edward and Sophie, the current Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. Edward and Sophie both used to have “real jobs”… until they didn’t. Until their wings were clipped. This compare-and-contrast is part of a new documentary, and none of these royal experts are talking about what they think they’re talking about.

A new documentary has explored the similarities between the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Edward: Will He Change the Royals?, looks at Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest son’s journey to becoming one of the most senior members of the British Royal Family. The couple have become hard-working, valued senior royals, but it wasn’t always this way; they had series of scrapes after they married that saw Sophie boasting to the News of the World’s ‘Fake Sheik’ about her PR firm’s royal connections.

Edward’s film company, Ardent, then made attempts to get around a ban on filming his nephew, Prince William, at university in St Andrews. There was also his disastrous appearance on It’s a Knockout at Alton Towers in June 1987. Both were lambasted for trying to cash in on royal links. But unlike Prince Harry and Meghan , Sophie and Edward wound down their businesses and dug in to royals duties, rebuilding their reputations within the Royal Family.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh reportedly received a one-off payment of £250,000 to end their controversial business careers in 2002. It was said to be passed off as ‘ compensation’ for loss of earnings.

Speaking on tonight’s documentary, journalist Emily Andrews said: ‘The Queen effectively asked Edward and Sophie to give up their careers and become full time working royals. As an effective sweetener, she gave them £250,000 in compensation, if you like. There are parallels between Sophie and Edward and Harry and Meghan. I mean Sophie and Edward were the forerunners of trying to balance their royal career with actual money-making careers.’

Royal commentator Katie Nicholl echoed this suggestion, adding: ‘I think you can draw parallels, absolutely, with the Sussexes. Harry also wanted to strike out, do things a little differently, and just as Edward found, these parameters are quite rigid, they don’t really budge and kick against them too hard and you get badly wounded in the process.’

In March, after Prince Edward was handed his late father’s title, the Duke of Edinburgh, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline: ‘This rewards hard work and dedication to royal duty. Since they have decided that their children should have the option of titles, Harry and Meghan might take note that, in the face of initial adversity when they too had problems and bad press, Edward and Sophie have done remarkable service to the Royal Family. They deserve this reward.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This carrot-and-stick approach to Edward and Sophie “worked” because they had few other options – Sophie and Edward’s businesses were not successful, they were embarrassing the Firm, all while they lived in Buckingham Palace and had royal security. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan simply had other options, they could leave and make their own path. More than that, the Sussexes HAD to make their own path because the Firm chose the “all stick, no carrot” approach. The Windsors were on the war path and they’re all still trying to devise punishments for the Sussexes – strip them of their security, no, they can’t even pay for their own security, not like that! They need to pay for their own lifestyle, no, not that way, we’re going to smear their business deals! Where is the “offer” to buy the Sussexes out of their private businesses? Oh, right, it never happened. It’s all about control, and Sophie and Edward getting a relative pittance of $250K as a payoff is hilarious. That’s all it costs to get a lifetime of service from Sophie and Edward? There are rumors that they can’t even afford the upkeep on their giant, 120-room mansion, Bagshot Park.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Instar.

Gabrielle Union is definitely a celeb that shares a lot. She has two memoirs and she’s frequently talking about tougher or less discussed topics in interviews. Sometimes it’s a lot, but mostly it’s refreshing to see a celeb that’s not putting a shiny gloss on things at all times. Most recently, Gabrielle spoke about struggling with her self-worth, seeking validation from others, how her childhood contributed to those feelings, and how she moved past that.

At 50 years old, it seems like Gabrielle Union has got it all figured out (see: her adorable family, her enviable fashion sense, and her thriving career). But in a super-relatable plot twist, Union spent years feeling like she wasn’t enough. During an episode of Netflix’s Skip Intro podcast, Union opened up about a time when she struggled with her self-worth, especially at the beginning of her career.

“I just wanted it so badly,” she said of making it in the industry. “And it’s beyond being chosen for a role, it’s feeling like I was chosen because I was attractive … I didn’t care if you thought I was a good actor, I just wanted to know that someone outside of my parents thinks I am cute, attractive, lovely, whatever.”

According to Self, the star got her start through modeling, small roles, and beauty contests. At one point, Union was rejected from a role because of her appearance. “It just robbed me of my confidence, my joy,” she recalled. “I just felt like I was exposed as hideous, and what do you do with that?”

Even after being cast in Bring It On, Union said she still felt the need to be viewed as “amazing, beautiful.” Someone recommended therapy to the actress to work through her need for validation and “daddy issues.” She eventually confronted the childhood trauma by speaking with her father.

“I was like, ‘Why did you never tell me I was pretty?’” she explained. “And he was like, ‘Pretty doesn’t pay the bills. You’re Black. I’m Black. Your mom’s Black. Your grandparents are Black. We didn’t come from shit. I came from the projects. Being pretty never helped any one of us. So I thought I was encouraging you to be a great athlete, to be a great student, to be a great person …’ And I was like, ‘Damn.’”

After years of therapy and self-discovery, Union had the epiphany that other people’s opinions of her shouldn’t matter. “I can’t be invested in your opinion of me, or anyone’s opinion of me. My truth just is. And it’s none of my business how anyone else responds or reacts.”

This realization eventually “freed” her “from the constant need to be validated by a man, a job, an opportunity, a cover, whatever.”

“I’m good, in every hood, being exactly who the hell I am,” she added. “And at some point, that’s enough. I’m finally, at 50, like, ‘Oh, yeah.’”

[From InStyle]

Despite her industry, in many ways Gabrielle’s experiences are universal for women, particularly for Black women. Wanting validation and to just be told you’re pretty in a world that so frequently tells you that you are not is completely understandable. Gabrielle spoke in her memoirs of growing up in a predominantly white area where her peers used the N-word freely, so it’s likely any acknowledgment of her good looks included the “for a Black girl” caveat. When you’re a young woman and you want to be seen that’s sh-tty, so it makes sense that those early experiences sent her to seek validation through her work or at least at home from her family. But, it’s good that Gabrielle eventually learned to separate her opinion of herself from other people’s opinions about her. As she says, you can’t control anyone else’s response or reaction to you. All you can do is be yourself.

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King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Scotland this week for Holyrood Week, or “Royal Week” in Scotland. They arrived in Edinburgh on Monday, and they’ve done various events already, like accepting the keys to the city, some event with a sword, a party for NHS’s anniversary, a rain-soaked garden party and more. Today, Charles will attend his “Scottish coronation,” which (from what I understand) is basically just a church service in Edinburgh. I’ll post the photos from the event when they come in, but for now, just enjoy how Holyrood Week was going – small crowds, little enthusiasm, and anti-monarchy protesters are already gathering on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, in 2021, then-Prince Charles must have been preparing for the throne by trying to get all of his shady information out there before QEII passed away. Every week, there was some new, well-sourced story about what Charles and Michael Fawcett had been getting up to, like exchanging honours to random wealthy foreigners in exchange for huge donations to Charles’s charity. There were many ethical and even criminal issues, and while the foundation was being investigated by the police, everything seemed to come to a stop once Charles became king. Now, the Mail reports that the police are “considering” criminal charges.

Police were last night considering bringing criminal charges over The Prince’s Foundation ‘cash-for-honours’ scandal, The Mail on Sunday has learned.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now analysed evidence into claims first published in this newspaper that foreign tycoons were being offered help to obtain honours in exchange for donations to King Charles’s charity.

The Met Police said: ‘A file was passed to the CPS on October 31, 2022 for early advice. On Thursday, we received the advice and it is now being considered.’

The case focuses on a letter first published in the Mail on Sunday in which Michael Fawcett, a long-time aide of the King and a former chief executive of the charity, offered to help a wealthy Saudi donor obtain a Knighthood and British citizenship in exchange for his ongoing generosity.

[From The Daily Mail]

Yeah… nothing will happen. At first I thought they would tie everything around Michael Fawcett’s neck and call it a day, but I don’t think they’ll even have to do that. Charles set up Fawcett as a patsy, likely with Fawcett agreeing to fall on his sword for his boss, and after all that, Fawcett will get away with a slap on the wrist at most. And then in a year – if that – Fawcett will be back in the royal fold, I guarantee.

Note by CB: Get the top 10 stories about King Charles’s Cash for Access scandal when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Many industries do mid-year assessments, and at the end of June, the publishing world did the same. As it turns out, Prince Harry’s Spare is still the biggest nonfiction book of the year, and likely the biggest books of the year. Per Forbes: “Prince Harry And Self-Help Books Dominate The 2023 Non-Fiction Bestseller List.” What I like about Forbes’ piece is they list the number of print copies sold for all books, so you can see how Spare is way ahead of the nonfiction pack. And again, this is just for print copies, hardbacks sold in the US. Spare was and is a huge bestseller abroad, it’s been translated into like fifty languages AND people bought a lot of copies of the audiobook.

Prince Harry owns the No. 1 bestselling nonfiction title so far this year, with more than 1 million print copies of his 400-page memoir Spare sold in the U.S.

THE TOP FIVE BOOKS:

1: Spare by Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex (1,174,137 print copies sold). Published in 2023.

2: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (587,718 copies sold in 2023). Published in 2018.

3: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk (289,701 copies sold). Published in 2015.

4: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (277,966 copies sold). Published in 2000.

5: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz (247,211 copies sold). Published in 1997.

Adult nonfiction sales got off to a slow start this year, lagging behind the growing adult and young adult fiction sectors, Bookscan reported. But “Spare” changed all that when it became one of the fastest-selling nonfiction books for adults since 2004, and one of the top three bestsellers in week-one sales. Only Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” (2020) and Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” (2018) outsold “Spare” in week one. Prince Harry’s read is the only new release at the top of the bestselling nonfiction book list so far this year, which is padded out by self-help books. The self-help industry exploded between 2013 and 2019, rising from 30,897 published titles to 85,253. Motivational and inspirational books have been the most popular subject in the self-help category, Bookscan reported, followed by books that focus on creativity.

[From Forbes]

Spare sold almost twice the number of copies as the next best-selling nonfiction book. That’s insane. Part of me wonders if Spare’s enormous success is part of the reason why the media douchebags are being so extra about how and why they criticize the Sussexes these days.

Speaking of, every royal reporter and culture/media reporter is still singlemindedly focused on the end of the Sussexes’ Spotify deal. It definitely feels like there were a lot of people sharpening their knives for the past three years, just waiting for the moment when there was one “bad” piece of news about the Sussexes’ business. The wall-to-wall obsession from American and British media is starting to remind me of the UK coverage of South Park’s mockery – like, you would have thought that was the first time South Park ever mocked a celebrity from the way it was being covered. So too with this Spotify thing – you would think the Sussexes were the first people to ever end a deal with a podcast company. The Daily Beast did a piece this week about just how many celebrities’ podcasts “failed” – Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, Bruce Springsteen & Barack Obama, Alicia Silverstone, Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, etc. All are failed podcasters. I’d just like to point out that despite the gleefully mean-spirited commentary on the Sussexes… like, Archetypes WAS successful. And I’m interested in a second season, which will hopefully be housed somewhere else.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.