Tom Quinn is the author of Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family. He’s been promoting this book for months by giving interviews about what his “royal sources” are telling him about the sorry state of Prince William and Kate’s marriage. I mean, it’s clear that Quinn is trying to put the most positive spin on things, but he’s quietly spelling it out: William and Kate have a lot of marriage drama, they shout at each other, they say unkind things together, Kate treats William “like the fourth child” because he’s so immature, short-tempered and tantrum-prone. Great future king, right? Well, Quinn is back at it:

Prince William and Princess Kate’s marriage is “not as perfect as it seems” but they know how to make it work, a Kensington Palace insider has claimed. In an exclusive interview with Daily Express US, Tom Quinn, author of Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, dished on his private conversations with a Palace insider.

The main takeaway from the intimate exchanges is that, like all healthy marriages, William and Kate have their differences but know how to compromise and make it work. Mr Quinn explained: “From people I’ve spoken to, it’s not as placid. It’s not as perfect as it might seem. But William adopts the manners and the way of behaving of his grandmother and Kate is very good at not complaining and adopting.”

In Mr Quinn’s eyes, this has been the recipe for their marital success.

“Both of them have stuck to the thing that made the late Queen such a remarkable monarch,” he explained. They very, very rarely complain. And when they do, it’s always in measured terms.”

That is not to say William and Kate never have heated arguments. Mr Quinn learned from the Palace insider that they have “terrific rows”.

“Where some couples have a row and throw heavy vases at each other, William and Kate throw cushions at each other,” he said. “It’s always kept under control”.

By keeping their personal affairs private, the Waleses have invited less public scrutiny than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Mr Quinn believes. “They are less picked apart than Harry and Meghan,” he said.

[From The Express]

“They very, very rarely complain. And when they do, it’s always in measured terms.” They complain all the time, to everyone, about everything. They complain about their workload, they complain about the Sussexes, they complain about Charles, they complain about needing more time off. They throw tantrums at the drop of a hat. They dedicated a full day of their trip to Boston to briefing the media about how much they hate the Sussexes. As for this: “Where some couples have a row and throw heavy vases at each other, William and Kate throw cushions at each other. It’s always kept under control.” The fact that there’s even a consciousness to “keep in control” when they’re having violent fights does not bode well. In the past two years, even before Harry revealed that William assaulted him, it absolutely feels like there are many people talking around the fact that William is a violent man. It’s another one of those open secrets within the British media and royal establishment.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Backgrid, Cover Images, Avalon Red and WENN.

Michael Lewis literally wrote the book on the Tuohy family and Michael Oher. Lewis, a longtime friend of Sean Tuohy, wrote The Blind Side, which was adapted into the successful film. Lewis’s book was ground zero for the misinformation about Oher for years, and Oher only learned this year that the Tuohys had never adopted him, that they put him into a conservatorship without his knowledge. Lewis’s book fudged that fact with the talk of “guardianship” and then the film adaptation just lied about it totally, saying that Oher was adopted by the Tuohys. Lewis missed the chance to actually be an investigative journalist and tell the truth about the Tuohys. Instead, he’s towing the Tuohys’ line and suggesting that Oher’s lawsuit is solely about the profits from the film (of which Oher was scammed out of his life rights).

In an interview with The Washington Post, Michael Lewis said that despite the movie’s success, no one involved in the book saw millions of dollars from the movie.

“Everybody should be mad at the Hollywood studio system,” Lewis said. “Michael Oher should join the writers strike. It’s outrageous how Hollywood accounting works, but the money is not in the Tuohys’ pockets.”

According to Lewis, Twentieth Century Fox, as it was then known, paid $250,000 for the option to make “The Blind Side” a movie, which he split 50-50 with the Tuohy family. The Tuohys have said they split their share evenly, including with Oher. After taxes and agent fees, Lewis said, his half was around $70,000. Fox, however, never made the movie. (According to Lewis, the studio had thought Julia Roberts would be interested in the film, but she wasn’t.) Instead, Lewis said, Alcon, a small production company backed by Tuohy’s neighbor, FedEx CEO Fred Smith, stepped in. Instead of paying the actors large salaries, Lewis said, they were offered a share of the profits. Lewis said his deal provided him a share of the movie’s net profits, too. Warner Bros. distributed the movie.

According to Lewis, the film made around half a billion dollars, but the equity stake in the movie was not as lucrative as it would appear. In fact, he said, he had called his own representatives at Creative Artists Agency over the years, following the movie’s success, asking about his share of the profits.

Lewis said that ultimately after agent fees and taxes, he and the Tuohy family received around $350,000 each from the profits of the movie. Lewis said the Tuohys planned to share the royalties among the family members, including Oher, but Oher began declining his royalty checks, Lewis said. Lewis said he believed the Tuohy family had deposited Oher’s share in a trust fund for Oher’s son. Additionally, Lewis said that two years ago Oher called him to ask about a speaking tour to make money discussing the book. Lewis raised the idea to his agent, but nothing came of it.

“What I feel really sad about is I watched the whole thing up close,” Lewis said. “They showered him with resources and love. That he’s suspicious of them is breathtaking. The state of mind one has to be in to do that — I feel sad for him.”

[From WaPo]

This is journalistic malpractice and everyone should be extremely suspicious of Lewis’s books and reporting now. Lewis completely glosses over the lies about adoption and the fact that the conservatorship was never removed after Oher graduated from Ole Miss. Surely, if the argument was “the conservatorship was just a way to work around the NCAA booster rules,” then the jig would be up once Oher graduated? But no, the Tuohys never removed it, because that would mean that they would have to admit that they lied to Oher about adopting him, and that they scammed him out of his life rights. As for all of the talk about who made what from the film… like, I would halfway believe that the Tuohys got screwed out of their backend, except they’ve lied about literally everything else, so…

In case you need more evidence that Lewis is parroting the Tuohys’ line, people dug up this clip of Lewis being mind-numbingly racist about Oher and his intelligence. One of Oher’s complaints was that the Tuohys promoted a version of his life in which he was stupid or mentally deficient. He was not.

Michael Oher disliked being portrayed as ‘dumb’ in the #Blindside film.

Where did that stigma around Oher originate?

Listen to the author of the Blindside book – Michael Lewis – speak of Oher’s academic achievements to a group at Google.

Full talk: https://t.co/IfBQgaDFN2 pic.twitter.com/cYT8D5DVD2

— Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) August 15, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

There are 20 million updates on Sam Asghari and Britney Spears’ divorce. Their marriage implosion has been so hard and fast. Asghari filed for divorce this week, and he lists the date of separation as July 28. He is requesting spousal support and he wants Britney to pay his legal fees. His filing also “reserves the right to amend” petitions over property and community assets. Sam’s rep Brandon Cohen told People: “There are many claims that Sam is challenging the prenup and threatening to exploit his ex-wife with videos. However, all these claims are false, as no negative intention has ever been directed towards her and never will be. Sam has always and will always support her.” Sam also posted this on his IG:

I think Sam’s strategy is to be polite and conciliatory in public, all while he leaks damaging information to TMZ. A lot of celebrity men do that – they let TMZ and Page Six do their dirty work. Now, just because these leaks are coming from Sam’s side, doesn’t make them false. But it is a pattern I’m already noticing. After TMZ reported that Britney has physically assaulted Sam multiple times, TMZ also got some tips about how Britney apparently cheated on Sam:

Sam Asghari is telling people he believes Britney Spears cheated on him with a staff member at her house, and engaged in other inappropriate sexual conduct as well … sources tell TMZ. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Sam has claimed Britney asked at least one staffer to shoot video of her naked. Not only that, we’re told Sam believes she hooked up with at least one of the male staff members working at her home.

As for how Sam supposedly knows — our sources say he claims there’s footage of Britney and the staffer together in a compromising position. We’re told Britney’s in a fragile and hyper-sexualized state, and it’s contributed to her dangerous decision-making … making her a risk to her own safety.

Our sources say Sam acted as a crutch for Britney for a long time, but her recent conduct was too much. We’ve reported Sam has been over the marriage for a while now, and recent events were simply the last straw, leading him to file for divorce. As we reported, Britney’s now without a support system — she’s iced her family out, doesn’t have real friends, and has now lost Sam. We’re told there’s serious concern from her loved ones, but at this point, there’s not much they can do.

[From TMZ]

I don’t know if this is true but… it wouldn’t surprise me. I also think that Sam finding out that Britney cheated on him might have been the last straw. Meanwhile, Britney’s team keeps sending messages to People Mag – sources tell the mag that Britney is still “in great spirits despite everything going on. Obviously it’s never an easy thing to go through, but she’s remaining positive and focusing on the future.” It kind of sounds like she’s in a manic phase.

Photos courtesy of Instagram.

There are so many open secrets within the royal media and it’s going to be so funny when some of those secrets come spilling out one day. The “open secret” I want to discuss in this post is the one where everyone has agreed to not point out that the Princess of Wales pays attention to every single thing the Duchess of Sussex says, does and wears, and then Kate copies everything about Meghan in her own lunatic way (with buttons). Here’s a list of various things Kate has copied from Meghan, just off the top of my head: Aquazurra heels; pants as workwear; full ensembles; color schemes and fonts; the word “Together”; jewelry. Not only that, but Kate will go out of her way to react to something Meghan has said or done. After the Netflix series aired, after Meghan spoke about how she’s a hugger and she wasn’t expecting Will and Kate to be so reserved and stiff, Kate truly ran around hugging everyone she saw. Meghan also was known to putter around the house barefoot. Enter CopyKeen!! This was the Daily Mail’s headline: “Kate Middleton echoed Meghan Markle by going barefoot at Roman Kemp’s parents’ home where she casually ‘chatted to his family and dogs’” Take that, Meghan! Kate can go barefoot and mingle with peasants too! From Roman Kemp’s interview:

A few years ago he talked about mental health issues with Prince William and Prince Harry and the Princess of Wales (then the Duchess of Cambridge). “I’ve been lucky enough to work with — I was going to say both sides of the family. I’ve been lucky enough to speak to them both about mental health.”

After the documentary the Princess of Wales called him. “It was an honour but it was one of the weirdest things. We had a Zoom call, just her and me.” They decided to make a short online film in which they discussed men and suicide. “And she was like, ‘Oh, you know, I can come over to your place and do it there.’ And I just said, ‘No, let’s go to my parents’. It’s a bigger house. I don’t want to bring royalty to a flat in Vauxhall.’

“We were sitting at the kitchen counter, with my mum and dad and my sister with all the dogs, and Kate was there with us. The funniest thing was she didn’t have any shoes on because she was respectful enough to take her shoes off at the door. That really stuck in my head because you never see royalty with no shoes.”

[From The Times]

LOL, Roman was just like “wow, Kate was polite and she took off her shoes when she came to my mum’s house” and the Daily Mail is like SEE? KATE GOES BAREFOOT JUST LIKE MEGHAN. This is one of those rare moments where I don’t even think Kate was making an unhinged point about copying Meghan, but as I said, it’s going to be so funny when all of these open secrets really start spilling out.

Note by CB: Get the Top 10 stories about Kate copying Meghan’s style when you subscribe to our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays which I personally write.

Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, Avalon Red, Cover Images and Backgrid.

We’ve known for a month or longer that the Duchess of Sussex would not appear at the Invictus Games Opening Ceremony in Dusseldorf. It was rumored/reported that Prince Harry would fly to Germany early, and Meghan would fly in a few days later to attend the second half of the games and likely appear at the Closing Ceremony. Now the Telegraph has confirmed that, and they’re also saying that Meghan will host the Lifestories Scene segment in the Closing Ceremony.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be seen together in public for the first time since the night of their ill-fated New York paparazzi car chase when they appear alongside each other at September’s Invictus Games.

The Duchess will take to the stage during the closing ceremony, it has emerged. The 42-year-old will host the “Lifestories Scene” segment, which offers a glimpse into the courage and resilience shown by the injured servicemen and women who compete. The Duchess’s “poignant” contribution will serve as a testament to the event’s profound ability to transform lives, said organisers.

The Duke will also deliver a farewell speech at the closing ceremony in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Sept 16, hailing the competitors’ “unwavering spirit and impressive recovery journey”.

The games, which begin on Sept 9, will mark the couple’s first public appearance together since the car chase following an award ceremony in New York on May 16.

Among others due to appear at the closing ceremony is Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, who hosted the King and Queen in March as they made the first state visit of their reign. His speech will emphasise the ability of the games to bring nations together and will also highlight the event’s principles of dignity, equality, and freedom for all.

Meanwhile, Rita Ora will perform at the event at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. The singer said she was “incredibly proud” to be part of the closing ceremony, adding: “I am so excited to be performing in front of this very unique audience. The Invictus Games is a very special sports event, and the competitors are an inspiration in perseverance and will for all of us.”

[From The Telegraph]

I’m actually a little bit bummed that Meghan won’t be there for the Opening Ceremony! She went to the first half of the games in The Hague last year, which meant she was there for all of the ceremonial glad-handing, the dinners and receptions. She also gave a speech at the opening ceremony last year. I guess Harry will do all of that solo this year and Meghan will do the glad-handing mid-games and at the Closing Ceremony. As for the British media trying to make “they’ll be seen together for the first time since New York!!” into a thing – that’s the media attempting to force the narrative about Harry and Meghan’s “marriage problems.” The Sussexes are fine and the British media is bored and itching to talk about William and Kate’s marriage problems.

Note by CB: Get the top 8 stories about the Sussexes at the 2022 Invictus Games when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instar, social media.

Embed from Getty Images
Ron DeSantis made his candidacy for the Republican nomination official in late May, and so far the campaign has been going just as well as the announcement. Along with other GOP hopefuls trailing behind the twice-impeached four-time-indicted former president, Ron has been stomping around Iowa, endearing himself to their voters. But all that travel comes at a hefty price. Luckily for Ron, he’s not the one paying it! In between tanking his state’s economy and picking fights with Disney, every time he ventures out-of-state on the campaign the Florida taxpayers have the honor of footing the bill. #BeLikableRon2024 is in full swing. From the Miami Herald:

$13 million in 2 years: Florida taxpayers have spent more than $13 million on travel and protective security for Gov. Ron DeSantis in the two years he has prepared and run a campaign to become the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, according to state records released this week. While some of that money covers the governor’s routine security and travel for his state job, the totals for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 budget years are significantly higher than the state spent his first two years in office—and it is substantially more than what several other states report their sitting governors spent while running for president in previous election cycles.

Taxpayers are ‘allowed’ to cover his costs: Florida allows taxpayers to pick up all the costs for travel and security for its governors, even when they are engaged in political campaigning or personal travel. In just over four years in office, the total cost of travel and security detail for the governor and his family is more than $22 million. “Protective operations salaries are covered under the FDLE budget,” said Gretl Plessinger, spokesperson for the agency that handles the governor’s security and travel in an interview in June. “For us, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a campaign event or a vacation on the beach, for protective ops we cover him 24-7.”

He’s a high threat level: DeSantis has spent much of the last two years traveling the country promoting his political memoir and raising money for his campaigns. Some of the additional cost can be attributed to the need for additional FDLE agents on the governor’s security detail, said Alex Lanfranconi, the governor’s deputy press secretary. “His record as the most effective conservative governor in American history has also earned him an elevated threat profile, and FDLE has increased the number of protective agents to ensure the governor and his family remain safe,” Lanfranconi said.

Ron hasn’t paid any of it back (no sh*t): In his first two years on the job, the cost of DeSantis’ travel and security averaged about $3.75 million, but, since the end of the pandemic and start of the governor’s national political pursuits, those numbers have increased significantly. In the 2021-22 fiscal it was $4.76 million and in ‘22-23 is $8 million. Although DeSantis’ campaign and his political committee have raised record sums for a sitting governor—holding its latest fundraising telethon in Tampa on Wednesday—none of the more than $100 million raised has gone to reimbursing Florida taxpayers, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

[From Miami Herald]

“His record as the most effective conservative governor in American history has also earned him an elevated threat profile.” Whatever narcotic this press secretary is imbibing, I want in. Seriously. If that’s not drinking the Kool Aid, I don’t know what is. Most effective conservative governor in American history?! He’s not even the most effective conservative governor in Florida—present history.

I’ll leave it to Floridians to judge if $7 million a year (I rounded up to include the several hundred thousand extra for his wife and kids) is reasonable or not for keeping Ron out of the state for stretches. Should you decide it’s too much, I have the solution: borrow from the DeSantis playbook and simply suspend his funds. If he demands an explanation, all you have to say is “neglect of duty.” #BeLikableRon2024

photos are screenshots from YouTube and credit Getty

Two things can be true at the same time. One, Britney Spears has been traumatized and abused, and she’s deserving of our sympathy as she processes everything in real time, as she’s also going through significant mental health issues. Two, Britney doesn’t have any right to abuse, attack, strike or stab anyone because of her issues. Rumors have been percolating through the gossip channels for months that Britney and Asghari have had big fights, sometimes physical altercations. He’s even been photographed with bruises and maybe even bite marks on his arms and face. Now that Sam has filed for divorce from Britney, it’s all coming out.

Britney Spears got physical with Sam Asghari over the years, he’s told people, once giving him a black eye while he was sleeping … sources tell TMZ. Sources with direct knowledge tell us … Sam frequently complained about Britney getting physical with him during their 7 years together. We’re told there have been numerous fights where security has had to step in, but in one instance there was no security in sight.

Our sources say there was one occasion where Sam says he was sleeping in their bed when Britney flew off the handle and began punching him. We’re told Sam did not strike back, but was stunned as his wife pummeled him. We’re told that alleged incident went down early this year, right around the time Sam was photographed with a black eye and bite marks on his forearm.

Paparazzi noticed the bruising and tried to ask Sam about it, but he tried to play it off … asking photogs not to shoot him.

Our sources say Sam was particularly concerned because Britney had a fascination with knives. We’re told there were knives all over the house, including in their bedroom. Britney, as one source put it, “was paranoid someone was going to get her, and she needed the knives as protection.” The sources add Britney tended to “fly off the handle” at the smallest slight, and that terrified Sam.

As we first told you, Sam and Britney got into a huge argument a few weeks ago when he accused her of cheating, and that’s what triggered his divorce filing. But, we’re told that was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back.

[From TMZ]

It’s one thing to admire the craftsmanship of some beautiful weaponry, it’s quite another to have knives all over your home when you’re married to someone who flies off the handle and physically assaults you in your sleep. Dude filed for divorce so he wouldn’t get stabbed while taking a cat nap. I can understand that. Even if Britney deserves the benefit of the doubt, I kind of think Sam does too. I don’t know what happened and I’m not going to speculate about what sounds like a pretty awful domestic violence situation.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Prince William is the king of laziness. William has been President of the Football Association for years, and he’s used that position to A) hang out with athletes, B) go to football games and count it as work and C) pretend to care about racism and mental health, but only in the narrow scope of football (and even then, not so much). William happens to be FA President during a period where everything has come together perfectly for England’s women’s national team, the Lionesses.

The Lionesses have been playing so well in recent years, winning the Women’s Euros last year and making it to the FIFA Women’s World Cup final this week. William was watching the semifinal from an undisclosed location in England, and he tweeted out his congratulations to the Lionesses on Wednesday. Immediately, there was speculation about whether he would fly last-minute to Sydney to watch the final. Kensington Palace aides sniffed to multiple outlets that of course he would NOT cut off his months-long vacation to do a few days of work. Don’t give me any bullsh-t about Earthshot – there are plenty of commercial flights to Australia and there’s literally nothing on his schedule. It’s HIS JOB to promote English football and the Lionesses are doing this amazing thing and their royal patron can’t be bothered to show up. Well, people are noticing Peg’s laziness yet again, especially because Spain’s Queen Letizia taking time out from her much busier schedule to fly down to support the Spanish team.

Prince William and Rishi Sunak’s decision not to travel to support England at the women’s World Cup final sparked anger today – as Spain’s Queen Letizia announced her attendance in Australia. Kensington Palace confirmed that Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, would not be making the trip Down Under, but instead will be roaring on the Lionesses from home. The Prince of Wales, a huge champion of the fight against climate change, is believed to be concerned by the impact of flying across the world for a very short period of time. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also not be in attendance for the weekend’s showpiece event in Sydney, Downing Street sources suggested.

However, their absence sparked fury from some commentators, who felt they should have committed to the visit.

Royal expert Phil Dampier tweeted: ‘If #PrinceWilliam as President of the FA isn’t going to the Women’s World Cup final we should be told why not. It’s a long way and Australia hasn’t had a visit by him or #TheKing since Charles came to the throne. That’s the problem. If the final was in Europe he’d be there!’

Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality Party, added: ‘No chance that Prince William would be ‘missing in action’ if the England Men’s Football Team made it to the World Cup Final.’ Another football fan wrote: ‘FA president Prince William, who’s on his summer break, will not attend the women’s World Cup final. I would have thought it was the kind of thing FA presidents did.’

A fourth added: ‘It speaks volumes that the PM and royal family can’t be bothered to attend England Women’s World Cup final even in a Commonwealth country.’

However, the Royal Spanish Football Federation has confirmed that Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter, Infanta Sofia, will be jetting to Australia for the match. The pair will sit in the presidential box at the Accor Stadium, but won’t be joined by King Felipe, who is busy with other official duties.

[From The Daily Mail]

“The Prince of Wales, a huge champion of the fight against climate change, is believed to be concerned by the impact of flying across the world for a very short period of time.” He does not have similar qualms about using a private, dedicated helicopter everywhere instead of a car or train. He doesn’t have similar qualms about flying all the way to Boston – and forcing a dozen celebrities to do the same – while refusing to invite the actual Earthshot Prize winners. It seems William’s environmental qualms are pretty f–king selective. Queen Letizia is doing the right thing here, just as King Felipe did the right thing by going to Wimbledon for Carlos Alcaraz’s final last month. Also: you know it’s bad when the Mail is publishing tweets critical of William. Meanwhile, the Telegraph is taking William down a few pegs (ha).

Spain’s Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said the Queen would fly out to watch the match in the Accor Stadium “to show, once again, the royal household’s support for national football”. Their presence in the stands will only serve to highlight the lack of British royalty.

Gerry Sutcliffe, a former minister for sport, who championed the women’s game, said: “I think the Prince of Wales should be there.

“I know it’s a long way and I’m sure he has family commitments but this is a unique moment, it’s the World Cup final and he’s the president of the FA.” Mr Sutcliffe, a former Labour MP who served under Gordon Brown, said the final would be a moment that “brings the nation together”, adding that if there was a legitimate reason why the Prince could not go then the King should attend in his place. The Prince’s decision was based on the fact that it is an incredibly long flight for such a relatively short period of time, sources suggested.

Mark Bullingham, chief executive of the FA, said it was known the Prince would not be able to attend because of logistical constraints.

“We always knew that he couldn’t,” said Mr Bullingham. “He came to see the team and wished them well before they left. He sent various messages of support and he was really upfront that, even if we made the final, he unfortunately couldn’t make it. It just sadly wasn’t to be. I know he’s committed to the Lionesses, as he is to the England men as well. He came to see them before they flew and was explicit in the fact he couldn’t fly.”

However, Leah Williamson, England’s long-term captain, who has missed this tournament through injury, will attend the match. The Arsenal defender, who underwent knee surgery in April, also attended the Lionesses’ quarter-final victory over Colombia. Mr Bullingham also confirmed that James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, and Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, would both attend the final to represent the UK Government.

[From The Telegraph]

William clinging to the environmental impact of, you know, doing his job and showing up for the national team is a big choice. Perhaps that should have been his excuse this whole time – he couldn’t work or do events because of the environmental impact, you guys. This might even be the start of some larger criticism of William, especially if it turns out that he flew off to some far-flung vacation spot this summer. The Mail might even publish some stories about William’s daily helicopter rides.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Ah, The Supers. The original supermodels of the 1980s: Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista. Kate Moss was a teenager on the runway when her “look” changed all of this, this beauty ideal of tall “Amazon” beauties strutting down the runway with personality. The Supers cover the September issue of Vogue, and at first glance, I honestly didn’t recognize Cindy. Naomi has also had a lot of work done, and Linda… well, she’s been through the ringer with her CoolSculpting mess. You can read the full Vogue piece here. They’re promoting the AppleTV docu-series The Super Models, which comes out on September 20. Some highlights from this very glamorous and dishy piece:

Naomi on the sisterhood: “There was a sisterhood there, defined by caring and loyalty: When one is down you pick the other one up.” It was Christy who persuaded Cindy to walk twice for Marc Jacobs. Naomi got the nod for her first Michael Kors show after her friends persuaded him to let her fill in for a late cancellation. And their generosity has extended to include their larger fashion family. Naomi talked Marc into going to rehab after she had done so herself. (“I am very much a believer in recovery,” she says. “Recovery saved me.”)

They survived grunge: “We survived grunge!” says Linda, who quickly morphed into a broken androgyne for Sims. (Recalls Marc Jacobs, “Linda was one of the girls who had a glamorous era and then became kind of boyish in a men’s suit, carving initials on a bench.”) Cindy understood this new look as an inevitable swing of the fashion pendulum—“The hair couldn’t have gotten any higher, the shoulders any wider,” she says—but failed to find anything empowering in appearing in print like a walk-of-shame zombie.

Christy and Cindy don’t have Me Too stories. “It’s just luck and grace, honestly,” says Christy. “I felt like my career took off pretty quickly, so maybe there were more eyes on me and they couldn’t get away with stuff. But,” she adds, “I don’t even think it was that: Predatory people are predatory people.” Cindy has two theories why she was unscathed. The first is that she arrived in New York from Chicago at the relatively old age of 20—so she was already a successful veteran of sorts. The second is a counter example: that her own provincial insecurities worked to her advantage when she landed in Europe. “You’d get invited to a party on someone’s yacht and I’d think, What do you even wear on a yacht? What fork do you use? So I would just not go and, yes, I probably missed out on some fabulous opportunities but probably avoided some less than fabulous opportunities as well.”

Naomi & Alaia: Naomi lived in Paris from age 16 with Azzedine Alaïa, who was a father figure to her until he passed away in 2017. She says, “That man protected me from so much.” On the one occasion when someone crossed a line, Naomi came home, told Azzedine, he made a call, and it never happened again. She also always knew to tell: “I come from a strong line of Black women, Jamaican women. If something felt wrong, I told it. I spoke up.”

Linda’s first marriage: “My mother’s like, She’s getting a divorce,” Linda remembers. “And he said, ‘I never liked that son of a bitch.’ And he left. I heard the garage door slam.” Of the chapter with Marie she has only regret. “I thought: I’m Linda. I’m bringing in so much money. I think I am pretty. I can cook. And I am great with his child. And I am devoted to him. There’s no way he would cheat on me. I was a fool.”

[From Vogue]

What’s really nice about this piece – so nice I actually got a bit choked up – is how much they still love each other. They’re not in each other’s daily lives anymore, but there’s so much warmth and sisterhood there, and they fell into old patterns of banter and support. They’re all moms now as well and they all have completely different mom energies. Anyway, it’s a great piece and I will watch The Super Models.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)

Cover & IG courtesy of Vogue.

Another point for Barbie! For those keeping score, Barbie has made more than $1 billion and counting at the worldwide box office, Greta Gerwig has become the highest grossing female director of all time, Margot Robbie is set to make $50 million on the backend, and it brought people back to the movies who hadn’t gone to a theater in years. Barbie has now become the highest domestic grossing Warner Bros film of all time, taking the crown from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Say it with me: She’s Barbie. He’s just Batman.

Sorry, Batman, Barbie is king.

Greta Gerwig’s smash-hit “Barbie” how now surpassed the domestic gross of Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film “The Dark Knight” to become the highest-grossing domestic release in Warner Bros. history with a whopping $537.5 million, besting the Batman sequel’s $536 million.

The Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-fronted film is also now within reach of the domestic gross of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($574 million) to become the highest-grossing release of 2023.

The film’s worldwide total sits at $1.2 billion and counting, surpassing the $1.1 billion of “Captain Marvel” to solidify “Barbie” as the highest-grossing film directed by a woman ever. Previously, the film had surpassed “Wonder Woman” to become the highest-grossing solo female directorial effort, but “Captain Marvel” saw Anna Boden co-directing with Ryan Fleck.

The massive $162 million opening weekend for “Barbie” marked a career-best for Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling, but thanks to strong reviews and word of mouth, the film’s box office legs have stretched far and wide, making it a true sensation.

The besting of “The Dark Knight” marks another twist in the Barbenheimer competition, as Gerwig and Nolan went head-to-head in July with “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” released on the same weekend, only to see both films come out a smashing success. Nolan’s three-hour, R-rated drama for Universal has grossed $266 million domestically and $650 million worldwide so far.

[From Yahoo]

I love that Barbie keeps setting all of these records, but I really freaking love how full-circle it is that it knocked a different Nolan film out of that spot. He was already salty about Barbie’s release date, so I am sure he is less than thrilled to have been dethroned by it. I’m also sure there were Warner Bros execs popping bubbles at the news too.

But, of course, the real winners in all of Barbie’s success are women and female filmmakers because in Hollywood, it’s all about that money, baby, and moviegoers are clearly making a statement. The more audiences show up for movies like Barbie, the greater the chance that studios will invest in more female filmmakers making more women-centric movies like it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BARBIE (@barbiethemovie)

photos credit: Warner Bros/Avalon, Avalon.red and via Instagram