Gigi Hadid has been the most random-ass person for the past year. It was around this time last year that things appeared to be “heating up” between Leo DiCaprio and Gigi. They kept showing up to the same places and partying together and maybe they were dating, but it seemed more like a situationship of convenience as Leo was trying to beat the allegations that his d-ck would crumble if he was around a woman over the age of 25 for more than ten minutes. What did Gigi get out of it? I don’t know, maybe a boost in her profile, maybe she wanted to signal that she was finally ready to move on after Zayn Malik.

At the end of the day, whatever happened between Gigi and Leo just fizzled out. Leo has moved on with Vittoria Ceretti (who is 25) and now Gigi is moving as well… with 48-year-old Bradley Cooper???

Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid are spending time together. The actor, 48, and supermodel, 28, were spotted exiting celebrity hotspot Via Carota in New York City’s West Village neighborhood on Thursday before getting into the same SUV, as seen in photos shared by the Daily Mail.

Both were dressed casually for their dinner outing, with Hadid in a white cropped top under a black leather jacket, paired with a tan miniskirt. Meanwhile, Cooper wore a striped jacket over a blue graphic tee, dark slacks and a two-toned baseball cap.

Reps for Hadid and Cooper did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

[From People]

First of all, it feels like New York is back, bitches! Celebrities are going out on the town and partying old-school at all of the hot spots. Taylor Swift and Sophie Turner were just eating and drinking at Via Carota a few weeks ago, and celebs like Jennifer Lawrence and Gwyneth have also been seen there. Anyway, about Gigi and Bradley… I don’t get it, but I’ve never understood B-Coop, if I’m being honest. He operates a lot like Leo, but he’s fine with dating women in their late 20s or 30s (just not past that). He seems intense and weird. What would he and Gigi even have to say to each other?

EXCLUSIVE: Gigi Hadid, 28, and Bradley Cooper, 48, step out for surprise dinner date in NYC – months after supermodel ended romance with actor’s BFF Leonardo DiCaprio, 48 https://t.co/ZrmlmIXYoO

— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) October 6, 2023

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The only part of Ariana Grande’s chaotic and cockamamie PR I believe this year was the part where she claimed that she and Dalton Gomez had been on the rocks long before she started up with Ethan Slater. The scandalous part of Ariana and Ethan’s adultery was that Ethan’s wife Lilly Jay had no idea, and that Ari and Ethan were going around behind Lilly’s back. Dalton wasn’t around – Ariana had basically already left him, although I’ll also buy the idea that she kept giving him just enough emotional incentive to stick around in case she needed him. In any case, Dalton was also the most quiet of the four people in this toxic situation – he didn’t make a big stink, he didn’t pile on, he didn’t sell his story, he didn’t chat with Page Six. He and Ariana quietly worked through their sh-t, filed for divorce simultaneously, and Dalton is walking away with a seven-figure check for his trouble.

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez have made quick work out of their divorce, settling up just weeks after they filed to end their marriage. There weren’t a whole lot of contentious issues … there was a prenup, and, as we reported when we broke the story, Ariana cut Dalton a check … and according to the settlement Dalton will receive $1,250,000, tax-free. Dalton is getting the money upfront, so there will be no spousal support.

Dalton will also receive 1/2 of the net proceeds from the sale of their L.A. home. And, Ariana will pay up to $25,000 of Dalton’s attorney’s fees.

A source close to the situation tells us, “There is still a strong mutual love and respect between Ariana and Dalton and they wanted to make sure everything was done right in lockstep with one another.”

The settlement is standard operating procedure for Ariana’s lawyer, disso queen Laura Wasser, who tries — usually successfully — to quickly settle even the most contentious divorces. You’ll recall, she recently settled the bitter divorce between Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner.

The settlement has been filed with the court, and all that’s left is for the judge to sign and they will be single again. Ariana is in deep with her newest boo, “Wicked” co-star Ethan Slater, and we’re told Dalton is dating as well. The date of separation on the divorce docs is February 20, but they didn’t file for divorce until last month.

[From TMZ]

It can be clean-cut like this when there are no kids involved and one spouse feels a bit guilty and wants to write a check so that her ex will be able to land on his feet. As I said before, I wonder who “managed” this for Ariana, because this was the only part of the drama which was handled correctly and efficiently. I guarantee Ari got an NDA attached to the settlement and Dalton would never break it. It’s good that he’s also getting half of the profit from the sale of their home – that will probably be more than his cash settlement, considering the real estate market in LA. I wish Dalton well and I’m sure Ari does too. And yes, she’s moved on. She moved on while she was still married.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

Deacon Phillippe looks so much like his mother. [OMG Blog]
OMG, look at what they did to Christina Hendricks!! [Tom & Lorenzo]
Harry Styles is enjoying London life with his friends & his girlfriend. [LaineyGossip]
Should real people be used as fictional characters in books? [Pajiba]
Emerald Fennell got a bob & a menswear-style look. [Go Fug Yourself]
I’m so glad this woman is suing the hell out of her doctors. [Jezebel]
What in the world was this Miu Miu show? [RCFA]
Britney Spears’s father Jamie Spears has been hospitalized. [Just Jared]
It’s a Wonderful Knife looks somewhat clever. [Seriously OMG]
Vanessa Hudgens is already dressing up like Elvira? [Egotastic]
Some of these cheating stories… I would burn the place down. [Buzzfeed]

Florence Pugh was named “The British Icon” for the Elle UK Style Awards. I agree, Florence’s style is very… British. I’m actually fine with her style and her short hair and everything – she’s not a carbon copy of the traditional “ingénue,” and she’s very watchable on film and on red carpets. I’m always curious to see what she’s wearing even if I don’t always like it. Florence’s Elle UK cover interview was conducted by her friend Jodie Turner Smith and most of the piece is really just about fashion and body-image and how Pugh DGAF. Some highlights:

She keeps it real: “Having people that can take the p*ss out of me around me keeps me very real. It’s easy, in this industry, to go down the slippery slope of only being around people who compliment you. Knowing who I am – and who I’ve been from the very beginning – has allowed me to feel safe. There’s no grand reveal – it’s just me. Even in my style, I never wanted there to be a filter.

Her personal style: “My friends always laugh when I’m getting ready and I say, ‘I don’t know what to wear. I don’t have any clothes,’ because I have so many clothes. I think what I’m actually saying is, ‘Who do I want to be today?’ I have so many versions of myself that I want to show…And there’s been a big excitement to go all out recently. Red carpets haven’t been this crazy in a long time! Young designers, people like Harris Reed, are like, ‘Why don’t we just look amazing and ridiculous for a night?’ People were so excited to wear his hats.

Her style evolution: I think I’ve always been interested in wearing loud clothing. When I was a teenager, I would buy the most outrageous things and sew them together. I’ve always loved colour. I’ve always wanted to be bold and make a bit of a scene – I don’t think that’s gone away. When I first started doing red carpets, it was really tough. It takes ages to feel comfortable with 50 men all shouting, ‘Picture, over here!’ I’ve become more confident in the last few years, and I think that’s hugely linked to the clothes I’ve been wearing. The more you can enjoy it, the more [people] can see that you’re enjoying it.

Why she talks about her body & her faults: “I speak the way I do about my body because I’m not trying to hide the cellulite on my thigh or the squidge in between my arm and my boob: I would much rather lay it all out. I think the scariest thing for me are the instances where people have been upset that I’ve shown ‘too much’ of myself. When everything went down with the Valentino pink dress a year ago, my nipples were on display through a piece of fabric, and it really wound people up. It’s the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I’m comfortable and happy. Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time. I think we’re in this swing now where lots of people are saying, ‘I don’t give a sh-t.’ Unfortunately, we’ve become so terrified of the human body that we can’t even look at my two little cute nipples behind fabric in a way that isn’t sexual. We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women’s bodies [to exist].

[From Elle UK]

“It’s the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I’m comfortable and happy. Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time.” She’s right, actually. She’s also right that it’s so ingrained, culturally, that women’s bodies are for display, for objectification, for sexualization, that it’s startling when a woman says “I feel comfortable like this and I don’t give a f–k what anyone says or thinks.” That a woman can wear revealing clothing and it’s not a performance of her sexuality.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, and cover courtesy of Elle UK.

Mindy Kaling appeared on the Today Show this week. She’s not promoting struck work – she was there to talk about her new Amazon deal where she’s basically highlighting diverse writers, sort of like a book club but it’s more like “hey, Mindy Kaling recommends this book!” She’s also highlighting Lion Pose, the skincare company she recently invested in. Of course, Jenna Bush and Hoda Kotb drove the conversation into Mindy’s love life! Mindy actually said some really beautiful things about her two children and missing her own mother (who passed away several years ago).

Mindy Kaling is past her teenage boy-crazy phase, but that doesn’t mean she’s taken romance off the table. In conversation with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Monday’s episode of Today, the 44-year-old Never Have I Ever creator said her once boy-obsessed nature has “definitely” ended.

“I think when I was younger, I was so far away from anything close to attention from boys, so I just imagined it,” the actress said as she reflected on her teenage years. “I had this over-active imagination cause even then I was like a writer and a creative, so I used to love these stories about people falling in love and going to movies and seeing Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in romantic comedies and all that.” At the time, romance was like “science fiction” to Kaling. “It was so far away from anything that I was part of,” she told Kotb, 59, and Bush Hager, 41.

Now, The Mindy Project star has slightly more realistic expectations about love, but she’s still open to it.

“I’m still a romantic at heart and I write these stories about people finding love when they least expect it. So of course, I’m open to that and I believe in magic and timing.”

Kaling added that her father found love again after the death of her mother, and his second chance at romance gives her hope too. “He’s an Indian man and he was in his 60s and he moved to L.A. without knowing anyone and then they met in the same apartment building. And they are such an amazing couple. People find love in unexpected places. So I don’t know about it for me personally right now, but I’m always open to it.”

[From People]

Can we really talk about this? Because I have some thoughts! As I’ve said many times before, I’m overly invested in Mindy’s life. I don’t actually think she is “open” to love or a new relationship because she’s still so f–king hung up on BJ Novak. He’s still in her life, he’s godfather to her children (if not the actual father) and he takes up a huge amount of emotional space in her life. It also feels like he controls the relationship, that he’s dictating the terms and parameters of their “friendship.” I feel like most men steer clear because Mindy is so clearly still hung up on BJ and everyone can see their unhealthy dynamic from miles away. But the story about her dad was really nice.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Over the summer, there was sort of a Sussex drought, and the British media lunatics stepped into that void, convincing themselves and others that Prince Harry and Meghan were having marriage problems and that all was not well in Montecito. While 99% of that was clearly bullsh-t, there was one small thread which I thought could be something. That was Meghan (alone) signing up to be represented by WME, and the talk that she would be branching out with solo projects. The idea that this fall would be Meghan relaunching herself professionally has sort of stuck, and people are waiting to see what she’s got cooking. Well, Us Weekly claims that they have some tea:

Meghan Markle is dreaming big when it comes to her next project.

“[Prince] Harry and Meghan have been busy with Invictus Games recently, but Meghan is still planning her Hollywood reinvention,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Meghan has a new team around her, and they’ve been strategizing about what mediums will have the most impact.”

The insider adds that Meghan, 42, wants whatever she does next “to be rooted in giving back” and “philanthropy” and has been in talks with both documentary directors and fashion houses.

“There isn’t anything locked in yet, but the most promising [thing] for everyone seems to be Meghan and Harry highlighting important issues through docuseries and bringing attention and fundraising,” the source explains.

[From Us Weekly]

“There isn’t anything locked in yet” – I don’t believe that. I think WME came to the table with a plan and that’s why she signed up. Is it “reinvention” or merely an extension of what she’s already done for years? I don’t know. How much of this is wishful thinking on my part? Probably a lot. I definitely want to see more of Meghan and I want her to make some money! She’s left so much money on the table for years!! I know why, I know she was healing and planning her next steps, but she could have been a brand ambassador, she could have been on Instagram, she could have taken some modeling/print advertising jobs.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Public opinion and reporting around UFO/UAP sightings changed with the pentagon’s release, early in the pandemic, of three videos of Navy pilots encountering UFOs. Navy pilots and high ranking military officials have since gone on the record to recount ongoing encounters with aircraft that defied the laws of physics. There was finally a congressional hearing about UAPs earlier this year, with several navy pilots testifying and the existence of UAPs described as an open secret among commercial pilots.

There are so many stories of everyday UFO sightings and abductions and there are plenty of shows chronicling them. Some of them seem far fetched, Ancient Aliens has a whiff of truth until it veers into wild speculation almost every time. Some, like Unsolved Mysteries, both the original 90s series and the revival, are convincing. I’ve watched plenty and Encounters, a new docuseries on Netflix, has to be my favorite. I’ve only seen the first two episodes. So far I’m sold though and so many other people feel the same. USA today and Dexerto have a good overview and I’m including quotes from both.

Directed by Yon Motskin, each episode of the series produced by Stephen Spielberg’s Amblin Television, Boardwalk Pictures and Vice Studios explores a separate report of a mass sighting in a different part of the world.

Billed in Netflix press materials as a “detective story,” “Encounters” relies on both firsthand accounts and also the testimony of various scientists and military officials to delve into reports of suspected extraterrestrial phenomena. The four episodes feature accounts of strange lights in the sky in 2008 over small-town Texas; Cold War-era submersible crafts lurking near a coastal Welsh village; a non-human intelligence reportedly interfering in 2011 with the operations of a nuclear power plant in Japan; and an alien encounter in 1994 experienced by schoolchildren in Zimbabwe. – USA Today

---

The stories, which span from mysterious sightings in Texas to an alien interference with a Japanese nuclear power plant, are cut between revelations from military whistleblowers and investigative experts.

With thousands of Netflix fans tuning in, many have shared their praises for the docu-series.

Reaction to Encounters has been strong, with one viewer writing on X/Twitter: “Encounters on Netflix is excellent. Prob the best UFO doco series I’ve seen.”

“Watch a four part documentary called Encounters. Just out on Netflix and directed by Steven Spielberg [sic]. Brilliantly done,” said another, while a third added: “This show Encounters on Netflix is tight.” – Dexerto

[From USA Today and Dexerto]

Just to clarify the last tweet in the quote above, the show is produced in part by Steven Spielberg’s production company. It’s directed by Yon Motskin, who says he believes in UFOs now but did not before making this series. So far I’ve watched the episodes about the 1994 Zimbabwe sighting and the 2008 Texas UFO sightings. Both were witnessed by handfuls of people, many of whom were interviewed both right after the events and for this show. The eyewitnesses are so convincing and you feel for them as they faced ridicule after going public. I’m excited to see the other two episodes!

Other shows that have really changed my opinion on UFOs and aliens are Unsolved Mysteries the revival (Volume 3, episode 2 “Something in the Sky,” Netflix), and Unsolved Mysteries the original (season 4, episode 1, on FreeVee/Amazon Prime and YouTube). The documentary Moment of Contact is also incredible (Tubi). I’m a little more skeptical about the abduction stories but the shows Alien Abduction: Travis Walton (Discovery Plus) and Alien Abduction: Barney and Betty Hill (Discovery Plus) are also very good.

In 1994, over 60 children at a Zimbabwe school claimed to have seen aliens. Years later, witnesses maintain their accounts. Hear their stories and more from around the world in Encounters — now streaming. pic.twitter.com/Av77jXj2ke

— Netflix (@netflix) September 30, 2023

Photos credit: Netflix

I’m not going to do a deeper dive on this and I’ll just boldly claim that Kensington Palace rushed out an announcement for some planned events next week for Prince William and Kate. KP rushed out the announcement because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed to People Magazine yesterday that they would be in New York for their first in-person Archewell Foundation event to mark World Mental Health Day. I’ll be fair to Will and Kate (even though they don’t deserve it) – I’d be willing to bet that they already a Tuesday appearance booked well before the Sussexes made their announcement. It’s the rush to announce Will and Kate’s Tuesday event which is questionable.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to New York City is set to clash with an important date in the Prince and Princess of Wales’ diary.

The warring couples will both make appearances on Tuesday to mark World Mental Health Day – although they will be on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The announcement of Harry and Meghan returning to the city where they claim they were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” in May, came hours after William and Kate revealed their plans.

On Tuesday, they will also mark World Mental Health Day with a forum for young people in Birmingham in conjunction with BBC Radio One. According to Kensington Palace, the event will bring together 100 youngsters to discuss how they manage their emotions and to talk about the mental health challenges their generation faces.

It will also mark the start of further engagements on Wednesday and Thursday of next week, which will highlight the importance of mental health with university students and emergency responders. Meanwhile, over in NYC, Harry and Meghan will host their first in-person Archewell Foundation event. The occasion will see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex provide a platform for parents to navigate mental health when it comes to the digital world.

[From The Daily Mirror]

Again, I’m not going to do a deeper dive and look for the receipts, and I’m not claiming that Will and Kate’s event itself was thrown together at the last minute in a bid to compete with the Sussexes. I’m merely saying that the announcement of the Wales’ event didn’t come chronologically until after the Sussexes, despite the Mirror’s reporting. It’s perfectly possible that Kensington Palace staffers had been organizing Peg and RepliKate’s schedule for weeks, but here’s the thing – these days, Will and Kate prefer to keep their schedules very quiet. There are exceptions – that stupid QEII death-anniversary trip to Wales, the Black History Month appearance this week – but usually, their events are a surprise to everyone outside the Rota. They announced this sh-t specifically to “compete” with the Sussexes, just as they suddenly had tons of events during the Invictus Games. Sad!

I’m also sure that William and Kate’s thing was intended as yet another weaksauce gaslighting event for an audience of two: Meghan and Harry. They were already going to take swipes about people who get too much therapy and suddenly don’t want to be the family scapegoat.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Here are some photos from last night’s gala event for the New York City Ballet’s 75th Anniversary. Sarah Jessica Parker, a longtime supporter and patron of the NYC Ballet, was there with her husband Matthew Broderick. Interestingly enough, Diane Kruger also decided to come out for this event. Diane has attended NYC Ballet events in the past, but she’s not known as some kind of long-time supporter of the company. I find it fascinating that Diane made a point of stepping out with her partner/fiance (and father of her child) Norman Reedus this week, the week that Jodie Turner Smith filed for divorce from Joshua Jackson. I think she did it on purpose, that she was looking for a chance to send a signal that she and Norman are still together. Considering she’s given interviews for years now, taking swipes at Joshua, you can’t blame me for feeling like this was pointed. Diane wore a “bridal white” bespoke Givenchy to the gala. The sleeves are so bad, it looks like her arm is in a sling.

Here’s SJP and Matthew Broderick. Sarah Jessica always does tulle-intensive ballerina looks for NYC Ballet events. We don’t talk about that enough, that SJP is a theme-dresser. This dress is Carolina Herrera and she added a giant hair bow. I get what she was doing but this feels like mutton dressed as lamb. I know exactly how judgmental that sounds but I still say this look is way too “young.”

Molly Ringwald in Zac Posen! She looks great!

And finally, Justin Theroux in heels!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

This week, we learned something most of us knew months ago, which is that Prince Andrew will not be evicted from Royal Lodge. Andrew has lived in Royal Lodge since the Queen Mum passed away and QEII agreed to give Andrew a sweetheart deal on the lease. Royal Lodge is a 30-room mansion with extensive grounds within the larger Royal Windsor Estate. Hilariously, Prince William wanted Royal Lodge for himself and William has been trying to get his uncle evicted for the past two years. King Charles finally gave in and announced the evictions of both Andrew and Prince Harry, and Charles planned to “give” Frogmore Cottage to Andrew. Andrew refused to budge, meanwhile the Sussexes packed their things and left Frogmore. No one knows who is living in Frogmore now. Well, now Buckingham Palace and the Duke of York are trying to put a bow on it and act like “well, it’s not like William needed another home, after all.” LOL.

There is little sign that Prince William will move into Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park, any time soon. And there is every sign, says Richard Eden, that Prince Andrew will continue living his home of three decades, even though his older brother, King Charles, wants to move him out – and move the Waleses in!

But writing in the latest edition of his Palace Confidential newsletter, Eden says this could be good news for William, who already lives in three homes at once, including Kensington Palace and ten-bedroom Anmer Hall.

‘In my opinion, Andrew may have done his nephew, Prince William, a favour with his stubbornness,’ he writes. ‘A friend of the Yorks tells me: “I don’t know why the King thought it would look better for William and Catherine to have Royal Lodge in addition to all their other properties than for the Duke and Duchess to remain there.”‘

The Prince and Princess of Wales had been expected to move their growing family into Royal Lodge in the coming months, after expensive renovations had been carried out. But as Eden explains, ‘when King Charles demanded earlier this year that his brother Prince Andrew move out , it was never going to end well.’

After all, the Duke of York had paid £1million for a 75-year lease on the Queen Mother’s sprawling Grade II-listed mansion in 2003 and has since spent more than £7.5million on extensive renovation work. It is also home to his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.

‘The suggestion that the pair could move into somewhere smaller on the Windsor estate, such as the home from which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been evicted, Frogmore Cottage, rubbed salt into their wounds,’ he writes. ‘Now, however, Andrew appears to have won his power struggle with his elder brother.’

William and Kate certainly aren’t short of homes. Currently, they live in the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage at Windsor. They also own Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, a 20-room property that was renovated using £4.5million of taxpayers’ money in 2013. In addition, they own Anmer Hall, a ten-bedroom country house on the Sandringham Estate.

[From The Daily Mail]

The thing I don’t want people to forget is that no one – not QEII, not Charles, not Camilla, not Andrew – no one wanted William and Kate to move to Windsor. “They” suddenly “decided” that they needed to move in 2021 because their big, fancy Kensington Palace apartment wasn’t good enough and Kate wanted to be closer to mummy. Kate wanted the kids to go to school outside of London and William used that opportunity to talk his father into setting Kate up in a separation home. Kate had such plans, she wanted a palace or a fort or some kind of estate with extensive grounds. Instead, she got a four-bedroom cottage with no space for live-in staff and a closet full of discount wigs.

So… yes, William did want Royal Lodge and yes, it would have looked bad if he had gotten it. The thing is, if they had gotten Royal Lodge, they would have “moved out” of Adelaide Cottage, right? So they would have one mansion in Windsor, one mansion in London and one mansion in Norfolk. See, they’re practically peasants! I also love how no one is talking about what is currently happening with Frogmore. The whole point of evicting the Sussexes was that it “looked bad” for such a great property to be sitting vacant for a large part of the year, right?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.