Russell Brand used to be a sort of famous comedian and actor, 10-15 years ago or so. He was married to Katy Perry and he talked about his sobriety and he was briefly ubiquitous. Then Brand got left behind and he did what many has-beens do: he turned to right-wing politics and wellness culture and became some kind of self-styled political pundit and influencer. Throughout his famous years and his has-been years, there were always rumors about Brand and his behavior with women. Quelle surprise, it turns out that Russell Brand is a serial predator. The Times of London did a big investigation and they dropped their exclusive this weekend – you can read the full archived version of the article here.

The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse during a seven-year period at the height of his fame. Four women have alleged sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013, while he was a presenter for BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4 and then an actor in Hollywood films. Others have made a range of accusations about Brand’s controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour. Brand denied the allegations and said his relationships have all been consensual. The findings come from a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches.

One woman alleges that Brand raped her against a wall in his Los Angeles home. She was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day, according to medical records. Text messages show that in the hours after leaving his house, she told Brand that she had been scared by him and felt taken advantage of, adding: “When a girl say[s] NO it means no.” Brand replied saying he was “very sorry”.

A second woman alleges that Brand assaulted her when he was 31 and she was 16 and still at school. She said he referred to her as “the child” during an emotionally abusive and controlling relationship that lasted for about three months…

A third woman claims that he sexually assaulted her while she worked with him in Los Angeles, and that he threatened to take legal action if she told anyone else about her allegation. The fourth described being sexually assaulted by Brand and him being physically and emotionally abusive towards her.

All said they felt ready to speak only after being approached by reporters. Several said they felt compelled to do so given Brand’s newfound prominence as an online wellness influencer, with millions of followers on YouTube and other sites. The others have accused him of physical and emotional abuse, sexual harassment and bullying.

[From The Times]

I believe all of them, especially the story about the 16-year-old. He’s left enough breadcrumbs over the course of his career to lead me to believe that he’s guilty of statutory rape in several countries. Speaking of, I’ve always believed his interest in Asia and Asian culture is mostly about “sex tourism.” Anyway, I hope some of Brand’s victims press charges. Even if they don’t, Brand needs to be shoved out of society entirely. I’ve already seen that Andrew Tate is defending him, which is all you need to know.

Someone gave Brand a heads up about the Times’ exclusive before it came out, which is why Brand tried to get out ahead of the story on Friday, and he released this bonkers video of his pre-denial. Why does the video jump when he claims all of his relationships were consensual?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

This really shocked me, not because I thought Hugh Jackman and Deborra Lee Furness are some kind of magical, perfect couple, but because they’ve truly weathered every storm before now. Hugh and Deborra are separating after 27 years of marriage. They were both actors when they met in Australia in 1995, but as his career reached all kinds of crazy heights, Deborra phased out her acting career and raised their two children, Oscar and Ava. Predictably – you can really set your watch to this – Hugh and Deborra are separating soon after their youngest turned 18 years old.

Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-lee are amicably ending their marriage. The couple say in a statement exclusively shared with PEOPLE: “We have been blessed to share almost 3 decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage. Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”

“Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We undertake this next chapter with gratitude, love, and kindness. We greatly appreciate your understanding in respecting our privacy as our family navigates this transition in all of our lives.”

The statement, signed “Deb and Hugh Jackman,” concludes: “This is the sole statement either of us will make.”

The Aussie pair, who share two kids, Oscar, 23, and Ava, 18, have been married for 27 years.

[From People]

As I said, they seemed like they were in it through thick and thin, come what may. They seemed like best friends, like they enjoyed each other’s company and they understood each other. But! Sources told Page Six that their split had been “a long time coming” and that “It happened a while ago. Friends and family knew about it.” For what it’s worth, they went to the Met Gala together this year, so… I don’t know about that. This might have been a slow-burn pandemic split too, because there’s some indication that they really started having problems in 2020-21, and Deborra was barely around when Hugh went back on Broadway for The Music Man in 2022. Plus, you know, so many couples are just limping along for those last few years before their kids leave for college. I feel for Ava!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Bad Bunny really doesn’t want to talk about dating Kendall Jenner. [LaineyGossip]
Neve Campbell said f–k you, pay me. [OMG Blog]
Tiffany Haddish was really trying to get Shakira’s attention at the VMAs. [Pajiba]
Caitriona Balfe looks great as a blonde. [Go Fug Yourself]
Taylor Swift is still dealing with Matt Healy rumors. [Just Jared]
Republicans are so scared of abortion voters. [Jezebel]
Photos from the ATG Summer Party. [RCFA]
Whoopi Goldberg got a pregnant vibe from Alyssa Farah Griffin. [Seriously OMG]
Kristin Cavallari is not dating Morgan Wallen. [Egotastic]
I love all the SAG auction memes. [Buzzfeed]
Americans are leaving the church in droves, yay, let’s have brunch. [Towleroad]

Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast has yet another psychotic Royalist column about Prince William’s desperate, pathetic, one-sided war with his brother. Sykes starts by giving the Duke and Duchess of Sussex begrudging, seething credit for all of their great coverage in Germany for Invictus, then pivots to William’s desperation to be included in every Sussex newscycle, especially the Sussexes’ photocall with NATO high command. Sykes also conveniently ignores the most important part of the Telegraph piece this week, which was a reference to veterans viewing the Windsors as too petty, short-sighted and immature to actually show any kind of support towards Britain’s Invictus competitors. Some highlights, and keep in mind, all of this is coming directly from Kensington Palace:

The Sussexes’ NATO meeting: But it’s not all fun and froth; telegraphing that they still intend to remain politically active, the couple staged a meeting and photocall on the fringes of the Games with NATO joint force commander General Luigi Miglietta and other NATO chiefs and their families. According to some, this was an attempt to blunt the impact of William’s planned meetings at the UN next week during his high-profile New York trip.

How King Charles feels: There is also hope among some of the king’s friends that a happy Harry might be a less troublesome Harry. One friend of the king’s told The Daily Beast: “Of course Charles wants the attacks on him and his family to stop. If Harry has once again got a purpose in his life that makes him think twice about attacking him, even if it is only because that image is not good for Invictus, that can only be a good thing for everyone.”

War as usual: William, however, is perhaps less optimistic that Harry’s renewed focus on good works is a panacea for all that ails the royals. Indeed, for the two brothers it has been very much “war as usual” over the past seven days, after Harry overshadowed William’s official act of remembrance for the queen (by turning up unexpectedly at St George’s Chapel) and William then overshadowed Harry’s Invictus launch by releasing a film of an unprecedented hour-long conversation between himself, Kate and aunt Anne for a popular sports podcast fronted by his cousin Zara’s husband, Mike Tindall.

This is genuinely idiotic & false: On Thursday, just before Harry and Meghan’s big NATO photocall came out, William and Kate cooked food around a campfire at a forest school focused on teaching kids about conservation. Lovely pictures, and if you were a picture editor, which royal would you put on the front page: William and Kate toasting marshmallows with some cute kids, or Harry and Meghan with a stuffed shirt military general?

William is above petty moves, you guys: One friend of William’s told The Daily Beast that William was above “petty moves” such as putting out a video to deliberately scotch his brother’s big moment. They said it was just an accident of timing that the Rugby World Cup, in support of which the video podcast was recorded, began on the same day as the Invictus Games. However they added, “The reality is William can click his fingers and organize a fireside chat at Windsor Castle to bring impact to his causes. Harry can’t do that stuff anymore, but that’s the inevitable consequence of his choice to leave the royal family. William is the heir to the throne and Harry is a just a private individual without that access. That’s what he wanted.”

The Windsors are being called out for not supporting wounded warriors: However friends of William’s and the king’s dismissed this argument as naïve. A friend of William’s said: “It would be a huge distraction if William were to start sending messages of support to Invictus. Of course he supports wounded veterans, but I don’t think anyone seriously thinks it would be a good idea for him to start sending telegrams to the competitors.” The friend of the king’s made a similar point, saying that Charles wouldn’t want to “distract attention” and was “incredibly proud” of Harry’s work with Invictus and that Harry knew that. Neither Kensington Palace or Buckingham Palace responded to requests for comment on if their principals supported the Invictus Games.

[From The Daily Beast]

The whole twisted-pretzel logic of “it looks bad for HARRY and INVICTUS that the Windsors won’t acknowledge the Invictus veterans” is pretty wild, as is William’s now open contempt for anything and anyone associated with Harry (up to and including veterans). William is a 41 year old man who is literally too stupid, angry and childish to simply do the diplomatic thing. Literally, a tweet of support, a palace spokesperson saying “of course the Prince of Wales is rooting for Team Britain.” William is too busy organizing sad-sack photo-ops with sheep and bragging about how HE could organize a fireside chat if he wanted to. Meanwhile, Harry is literally meeting with NATO high command, and NATO sent a 1100-person delegation to Invictus. William’s version of “one-upping Harry” is crying to Mike Bloomberg and throwing a national tantrum about how HE is the “global statesman.”

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

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Real Time with Bill Maher has been on HBO since 2003. I admit that I watched with some regularity in those first years. I was young, then, and enjoyed the fact that for some reason his face visually reminded me of Sylvester the Cat. Mainly I tuned in for the New Rules segment at the end. My favorites were the absurdist, non-political throw away ones he’d mix in, like “new rule: cornbread isn’t bread, it’s cake!” and then he’d move onto the next with no further explanation. During his twenty-year tenure, Maher has offered a veritable cornucopia of reasons to be fired. Yet stubbornly, he remains. Let’s see how he fairs with his latest stunt, which is bringing back his show without his writers, during the ongoing strike. I guess he saw how well it was going for Drew Barrymore and wanted in on that glowing PR. Some words on the strike from Bill the Scab:

“Real Time is coming back, unfortunately, sans writers or writing. It has been five months, and it is time to bring people back to work,” Maher said Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The WGA strike started in May and was swiftly joined by striking actors in the union known as SAG-AFTRA, which began their strike in July. Writers have asked the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which is made up of studios and executives, to provide them with better pay and residuals, bigger writers’ rooms and protections against artificial intelligence.

“The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and hope they are addressed to their satisfaction. But they are not the only people with issues, problems, and concerns,” Maher continued on X. “Despite some assistance from me, much of the staff is struggling mightily. We all were hopeful this would come to an end after Labor Day, but that day has come and gone, and there still seems to be nothing happening. I love my writers, I am one of them, but I’m not prepared to lose an entire year and see so many below-the-line people suffer so much.”

Maher says that he will “honor the spirit of the strike” by not showing any written pieces.

“And I’ll say it upfront to the audience: the show I will be doing without my writers will not be as good as our normal show, full stop. But the heart of the show is an off-the-cuff panel discussion that aims to cut through the bullsh-t and predictable partisanship, and that will continue. The show will not disappoint,” he added.

Earlier this month, Maher criticized the WGA strike on his “Club Random” podcast.

“They’re asking for a lot of things that are, like, kooky,” Maher told stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan on the podcast. “What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike [is] it seems to be, they have really morphed a long way from 2007’s strike, where they kind of believe that you’re owed a living as a writer, and you’re not. This is show business. This is the make-or-miss league.”

[From HuffPost]

Yeah, those goofy demands of writers to be able to, you know, get healthcare and pay rent! To borrow my grandmother’s Yiddish, what a schmuck. This line also really leapt out at me: “We were all hopeful this would come to an end after Labor Day, but that day has come and gone, and there still seems to be nothing happening.” File that away for future reference, union members — Summer holiday strikes are ok, but anything longer and you’re on your own. I don’t mean to minimize the struggle of below-the-line crew, because they are all out of work too right now, and not getting the same attention and recognition. But there are other ways to support them. And I doubt that fat cat Bill has even scratched the surface of his resources with the “assistance” he says he’s provided. I will agree with him on one point though: the show will not disappoint, but only because it hasn’t been good for years.

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Happy birthday to Prince Harry, today he turns 39 years old. What a way to spend his birthday – with his lovely wife in Germany, surrounded by veterans and military families, at the international veterans’ competition he founded to support wounded warriors. Amazing. The Sussexes had an early birthday celebration last night – they left the Invictus-area and went out to eat at a local Dusseldorf restaurant called Im Goldenen Kessel. Meghan wore white capri pants and a red striped Doen shirt. Hello Magazine spoke to the restaurant owner, who got to hang out with the Sussexes and take a photo with them:

Ahead of his special day, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, headed out to enjoy a private meal together with their close team. The duo were spotted in a restaurant in central Dusseldorf called ‘Im Goldenen Kessel’, part of the Brauerei Schumacher.

A source said the event was a “family meal” for the couple and their Archewell team. The menu for the restaurant boasts an array of local delicacies, including Bratwurst and Wiener Schnitzel. A staff member at the restaurant exclusively told HELLO! that the Duke and Duchess were very welcome guests adding that the Prince was “very generous, and tipped very well.”

Restaurant owner Thea Ungermann added: “The couple were very relaxed, they drank our beer, Schumacher Alt – it’s the same beer they are serving at the Invictus Games. Harry and Meghan sat next to each other during the meal. I had goosebumps when they walked into the restaurant, I had watched his speech on the stage at the Invictus Games and couldn’t believe he was in my restaurant. Prince Harry was so lovely and gave me a hug.”

A source said: “It had a very joyful family meal feel. It’s the first night that Harry and Meghan have eaten outside of the hotel restaurant so it was a great experience. They always eat with their team but tonight was a special evening.”

After their meal, the group headed back to their hotel, where the Prince was treated to some cakes and a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’.

[From Hello Magazine]

If you’re like me, you’re interested in the food. Well, the Mail spoke to the Sussexes’ waiter (Frank Wackers), who said that the Sussexes ordered family-style dishes of “wiener schnitzel, pork knuckle, sausage, roast and mashed potatoes.” God that sounds good. The waiter also said that Harry drank “six small beers” while Meghan only had one beer. At the end of the meal, the restaurant gave Harry a white chocolate birthday cake, YES!! The waiter also said: “They were very happy. He is a lovely man, and they were so nice.” As I said in another post, Germany loves the Sussexes. Germans want the Sussexes to live there permanently.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram, Cover Images.

It’s more than likely that the Prince and Princess of Wales delayed making any big staff shakeups until after the one-year death-anniversary of QEII. But the timing of Kensington Palace’s announcements this week have felt like Prince William is desperately and furiously trying to hijack as many headlines as possible during the Invictus Games. Soon after KP staffers “excitedly” briefed Richard Eden at the Mail about their big plans to hire a Top CEO for KP, those same staffers ran to the Telegraph with another story: William is prioritizing mental health within the Duchy of Cornwall. This new initiative – if that’s what it is, because it’s not entirely clear – was packaged with William and Kate visiting the “We Are Farming Minds” charity at Kings Pitt Farm in Hereford on Thursday.

The Prince of Wales has announced that he will put mental health schemes at the heart of his approach to running the Duchy of Cornwall. The move marks the first significant change from how the estate, which generates an annual income of some £24 million for his family, was run by his father. His new strategy will aim to provide mental health care and support for all tenants of the 130,000-acre estate he inherited on the death of his grandmother.

The Prince, also the Duke of Cornwall as heir to the throne, became one of the country’s largest landowners upon inheriting the Duchy, and has been particularly focused behind the scenes over the last year on its management.

A mental health initiative was a natural implementation to be made, since it is known to be a topic he is very passionate about, described by sources as “his bread and butter”.

As part of their whistle-stop visit to Hereford on Thursday, the Prince and Princess will meet two Duchy tenants on Kings Pitt Farm to discuss the new strategy and their experiences living there. Sam and Emily Stables, who have been living at the farm for around eight years, set up a charity specifically to help farmers with mental health difficulties, called We Are Farming Minds. The charity has since grown rapidly to meet what had previously been an unmet demand and will be working closely with the Duchy to implement the new initiative.

“He has been thinking about how to take the lessons from Earthshot or from the Royal family’s work on mental health, and apply them to the Duchy,” the source said, adding: “He wants to mesh the best of all strands of his work to create more holistic support for tenants and landowners.”

[From The Telegraph]

“He wants to mesh the best of all strands of his work to create more holistic support…” This means he will take credit for other people’s work (We Are Farming Minds), wander around declaring himself “keen” and then he’ll get bored with it and find some fresh new project to compete with his brother. What happened to his big homeless project? Exactly. He’s already forgotten about it. What happened to his big cause of “ending racism in football”? Nothing. What happened to his big plan to use Duchy property to house homeless people? Forgotten. What happened to his job as FA President? He still hasn’t hosted any kind of reception for the Lionesses. What happened to his BAFTA presidency? He’s skipped so many BAFTA ceremonies.

Fashion notes: Kate wore a £375 grey blazer from Maje, plus black jeggings, a black top and brown boots. Girl did black pants + a black top two seconds after she saw Meghan wear that. Also, this is the same wig she wore to the rugby match in France – it’s her new “Meghan wig.”

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

On Thursday, the biggest fashion event of the week went down in London. The event was Vogue World, a kick-off for London Fashion Week, where celebrities, designers and royalty mingled and got an extensive preview of many new collections. I cannot even believe how many people came out for this – it had a more star-studded attendance than this year’s BAFTAs. This is the second Vogue World event (last year’s event was in New York) and they might want to keep it in London, given the turnout. Speaking of, Princess Eugenie walked her first carpet since giving birth to her second son back in May/June. Eugenie wore this Fendi couture look – it’s really striking and she looks great. She probably wanted to be more covered up and that’s fine. The color is wonderful on her.

Princess Beatrice was also there, with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Bea wore Richard Quinn, and I believe the gloves are built-in. I don’t hate the idea of Beatrice in a black-and-yellow pattern, but the execution of this dress is throwing me off a little. I think it should have been a full-length gown, and there shouldn’t be so much fabric on the bust. (Also: do you think Bea is on Ozempic?)

Emilia Clarke in Christian Dior. You know what? I like this.

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Claire Foy in Moncler. It looks like a knockoff Vivienne Westwood which fell off the back of a truck. What this dress does to her boobs is a crime.

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Letitia Wright in Prada. Genuinely love this.

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Jenna Coleman in Rodarte. Literally a granny’s lace tablecloth.

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Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Getty.

I had my second bout of Covid last week. Thankfully, my case was mild and I just had a sore throat and congestion. I did have several friends reach out to share that their recent experiences were flu-like symptoms that lasted several days. The person who gave it to me caught it for their very first time, and 12 days after his positive test, he is still not feeling 100%. Be careful out there, friends, because you still never know how it’s going to affect you. Stay safe, take precautions!

I knew the guidelines had changed in recent months, but wasn’t quite sure what they are now, so I had to do some research on what to do. For anyone else who may not be totally up to speed, Yahoo has a compilation of what to do if you have Covid or are exposed to it, based on the CDC guidelines.

What to do if you test positive: While protocols have changed slightly since the pandemic began, there are still recommendations in place around testing positive for COVID-19. If you do test positive, you should stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home, according to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When to start the timeline: Day zero is the first day you develop symptoms, the CDC points out. If you had no symptoms but tested positive, day zero is the day you took the test — but you revert back to day zero if you later develop symptoms.

Isolate: The CDC recommends that you stay home and try to stay away from others as much as possible, even using a separate bathroom if you can. It’s also a good idea to avoid sharing personal items like cups, towels and utensils; if you need to be around others, wear a high-quality mask.

Seriously, stay home: While some people will dismiss their symptoms as a cold, it’s best to stay home from work, school and any of your other usual activities, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. “You should recuse yourself,” he says. “You really don’t want to expose other people. You don’t know if your co-workers have diabetes or other high-risk conditions, or if they have someone at home who is in a high-risk group. Just shelter at home.”

When to leave isolation You can leave isolation after day five if you’ve had no symptoms or if you had symptoms but have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, the CDC says. But if your symptoms haven’t gotten better by day five, the CDC recommends continuing to isolate until you’re fever-free for 24 hours without medication or your symptoms start to get better. From there, it’s recommended that you wear a high-quality, well-fitting mask indoors until at least day 11 and that you avoid being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. “Don’t go visiting your grandparents during this time,” Schaffner says.

If you need to leave isolation during the five-day period (which, again, isn’t recommended), Schaffner says it’s important to wear a high-quality mask and to try to avoid others as much as possible. “If you need to get groceries and no one else can get them for you, wear that mask and go at a time when there are fewer people at the store — early morning or late in the evening,” he says.

What to do if you’re high-risk: If you’re in a high-risk category (the CDC has a full breakdown of medical conditions that would classify you that way), it’s a good idea to call your doctor about getting on an antiviral medication like Paxlovid, infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Life. “Paxlovid should be prescribed to high-risk persons within five days of symptom onset,” he says. “If Paxlovid is unable to be given, molnupiravir [antiviral medications] should be prescribed.”

Schaffner suggests testing more often if you’re in a high-risk group. “If you’re exposed and you’re high-risk, I recommend testing yourself starting from about day three after the exposure and testing on days four, five and six, if you can,” he says. If you get a positive test result, isolate and call your doctor about taking an antiviral medication.

What to do if you’ve been exposed: The CDC recommends that you start taking precautions immediately. That includes wearing a high-quality mask any time you’re around others inside your home or indoors in public and avoiding places where you can’t wear a mask indoors. You’ll also want to monitor yourself for symptoms of COVID-19 like fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. If you develop symptoms, isolate immediately and get tested for the virus. The CDC recommends testing yourself on day six if you didn’t develop symptoms, but continuing to wear a mask for 10 days, even if the results are negative.

If someone you know has tested positive: Your friend should be isolating if they tested positive for COVID-19, Schaffner says, and you don’t want to risk exposing yourself and getting sick. If you want to help them by bringing them groceries or food, he says that’s not a problem — just leave it outside their door instead of going into their home.

Get vaccinated: “Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to lower your risk of serious complications if you happen to get infected,” he says.

[From Yahoo]

So there you have it. After three-and-a-half-years, a lot of this is common sense at this point. The CDC just approved a new booster, which I was going to get during my yearly physical next week, but I guess now I’ll wait until I’m eligible again. Although a lot of people seem to not be taking Covid seriously anymore, I do appreciate how most of us barely bat an eye nowadays when we see people wearing masks in everyday life. I’ve been wearing a mask while leaving the house for the past few days and never once felt out of place or uncomfortable.

I have experienced a brand new symptom that I did not have before: I’ve lost my sense of smell. It’s been weird, especially because when I cleaned my bathroom with bleach on Monday so my husband could use it again, his first reaction was to gag at how powerful it was. I never smelt it at all! I thought he was messing with me until I realized on Tuesday morning that I couldn’t smell my coffee. It’s so weird because I can still generally taste things! Anyone else having lingering symptoms this time around? Ah, Covid is crazy.

photos credit: Anna Shvets, Edward Jenner and Cottonbro on Pexels

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Paul Simon was at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) over the weekend to premiere In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, a documentary by Alex Gibney. I know Gibney for his hard hitting docs like Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and The Crime of the Century (about the opioid crisis). But somehow I’ve missed that he’s also directed music documentaries on The Eagles, James Brown, and Frank Sinatra. And now, of course, Paul Simon. Simon and Gibney participated in a Q&A while at TIFF, where Simon spoke candidly about his hearing loss:

Paul Simon may not yet have come to terms with the hearing loss in his left ear, but he is “beginning to.” The 81-year-old singer-songwriter talked about his ailment and ability to continue performing at a post-screening Q&A for In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday.

In the panel discussion alongside documentary director Alex Gibney, Simon told the audience “I haven’t accepted it entirely, but I’m beginning to,” when asked about his hearing loss.

“I play the guitar every day,” he added. “It’s the instrument that allows me to express myself creatively. But it’s also where I go for solace. If I’m feeling… ‘whatever.’ So it’s a very crucial thing to me. You know, something happens to you when you have some sort of disability that changes your awareness or changes how you interact with life.”

According to Simon there has been no improvement in his left ear, which has made a return to performing a challenge. “Usually when I finished an album I went out and toured with it, and then I have the opportunity to really investigate the piece. And then it evolves to another standard, and goes further,” he said. “Although a week from now I’m going to try and work with two guitarists who will play the parts that I played on the record, and see if I can sing the piece. I’m not sure how I can integrate my voice with the guitars.”

His ailment has not however kept Simon from composing new music. “I wrote a new song called ‘When I Learned to Play Guitar,’ but I don’t know if I’ll ever do anything with it,” he said at the TIFF premiere.

In May, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist, half of American folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, opened up about his hearing loss during an interview with the Times. Simon said his hearing loss happened while he was penning music for his new album, Seven Psalms. “Quite suddenly, I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,” he said. “So everything became more difficult.”

[From Yahoo! Entertainment]

Hearing loss among musicians is so prevalent, for obvious reasons. In the last couple years Dave Grohl and Huey Lewis have shared their hearing loss experiences, each one with his own devastating details. I started out thinking that it must be even more heartbreaking for a performer to lose a sense so innately tied to their craft, given the odds stacked against anyone trying to make it in the arts. But I was wrong about that, it’s not being a performer that makes the loss more intense. It’s being anyone who absolutely loves what they do being forced to watch it slipping away. My father was not in the arts, he was an academic. When he had a stroke last winter, it was painful for all of us, including him, to see how his mind was altered. He knew he’d lost the capacity to continue his work, and I think that realization is what drove him to let go. It was a mentality of “who am I if I can’t work anymore?” We lost him two weeks ago, on his 81st birthday. I couldn’t write the day he died, but I came back the day after. (Don’t worry, I took more than a week off from my day job.) I love being sassy here with you, and I figure the best way I can honor my father is to keep working on what I love doing. It’s not his fault that that happens to be sarcasm and laughing at public displays of stupidity.

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