The international effort to gaslight the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their paparazzi chase on Tuesday night is giving me a pit in the bottom of my stomach. It’s the same play, over and over, only usually the play is more obvious to everyone watching. It’s just: pour scorn on every single thing Harry and Meghan do or say, call them liars, lie about what they’re doing or saying, and on and on. It’s bad enough when it’s about something like “Meghan going to lunch,” but this pap chase has really brought out some new, vile brand of toxicity. It’s especially notable that for all of the media’s lies that “there’s no evidence” of the Sussexes’ story, there are paparazzi photos and videos (few of which are being bought by agencies or media outlets) AND the Sussexes also recorded what happened on their iPhones. As for the photo agencies, in the immediate wake of the Sussexes’ Wednesday statement, the photo agency Backgrid issued this statement:

“At BACKGRID USA Inc., we value transparency and ethics in journalism, which include providing fair and factual responses to claims. We are aware of Prince Harry’s statement regarding an alleged “near catastrophic car chase” involving himself, Meghan Markle, and her mother, in New York City on Tuesday night.”

“We want to clarify that we have received photos and videos of last night’s events from four freelance photographers, three of whom were in cars and one of whom was riding a bicycle. It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.”

“According to the accounts given by these freelance contributors, they were covering the couple’s stay in New York City, including the possibility of a dinner after an award ceremony. They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras. A few of the photos even show Meghan Markle smiling inside a cab.The photographers report that one of the four SUVs from Prince Harry’s security escort was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.”

“The vehicle was seen blocking off streets, and in one video, it is shown being pulled over by the police. We understand that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s security detail had a job to do, and we respect their work.”

“We do, however, want to point out that according to the photographers present, there were no near-collisions or near-crashes during this incident. The photographers have reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.”

“At BACKGRID USA Inc., we do not condone any form of harassment or illegal activity. We are taking Prince Harry’s allegations seriously and will be conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”

[From People]

“Meghan was smiling” and “their driver was reckless” is so victim-blaming, my god. Several paps have said that bit about how the Sussexes’ driver was doing “evasive maneuvers,” like… yeah, I hope the driver was trying to evade the multiple blacked-out SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, whatever. Anyway, on Thursday, the Sussexes got into it with Backgrid:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are trying to put the squeeze on a photo agency that claimed their freelance paparazzi who followed the couple Tuesday night were not, as M&H claimed, “highly aggressive” and didn’t cause a near-collision.

Harry and Meghan’s legal team fired off a letter to the Backgrid photo agency, claiming in part they need the agency’s footage of the “chase” to shore up their own security, adding … “We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours.”

Backgrid’s lawyer has rejected the Sussex’s demand, saying in a letter … “In America, as I’m sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do. Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago. We stand by our founding fathers.”

There’s no legal basis for Backgrid to turn over its footage — no lawsuit has been filed that would require the agency to turn over documents. Nevertheless, the demand was made.

[From TMZ]

I’m confused by all of this – did Harry’s team send some kind of notice to Backgrid and Backgrid leaked it to TMZ? I think that’s what happened, and I think Backgrid is probably being kind of highly selective about what the Sussexes’ lawyers are actually threatening. It’s also curious because from what I’ve seen at other media outlets, most of them are refusing to buy or publish photos from any part of the chase. Backgrid probably paid a fortune to their freelancers, and now those photos aren’t selling because Harry’s team has made it clear that the pics are the result of multiple criminal acts. I totally understand why Harry and his security would want access to all paparazzi video and photos though – they’re trying to do a forensic analysis of exactly what happened… and figure out whether every vehicle trailing them was actually a paparazzo.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

This is the dumbest controversy ever, which means the British media is incandescent with rage over it. So, you know how Disney has done a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, with Halle Bailey as Ariel? Well, people have obviously screened the movie or attended some of the various premieres. One of those early viewers mentioned that there’s a scene in the movie where Prince Eric is trying to guess Ariel’s name. Apparently, there’s a terrible INSULT to She Who Keens, the Princess of Wales. Stick around for the Telegraph’s frantic attempt to tie this to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Disney’s new version of The Little Mermaid features a scene that appears to mock the Princess of Wales. The film, released in cinemas next week, stars newcomer Halle Bailey as the mermaid, Ariel, who falls for a handsome prince and gives up her voice in order to be with him.

In the first meeting between Ariel and Prince Eric, he tries to guess her name. His first guess is “Diana”. His second guess is “Catherine”, the first name of the Princess of Wales.

At the mention of the latter, Ariel screws up her face. “Ok, definitely not Catherine,” Eric says.

The film already has a royal connection: the Duchess of Sussex drew parallels between herself and Ariel in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. She said: “It must have been years ago. I was sitting in Nottingham Cottage [the home she shared with the Duke of Sussex when they were first married] and The Little Mermaid came on. Now, who as an adult really watches The Little Mermaid? But it came on and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just here all the time, so I may as well watch this’. And I went, ‘Oh, my God! She falls in love with the prince and because of that, she has to lose her voice. But, by the end, she gets her voice back’.”

Winfrey asked: “And this is what happened here? You feel like you got your voice back?”

“Yeah,” the Duchess replied.

Disney also has links with the Duchess. She narrated a Disney+ nature documentary about elephants. Disney did not respond to requests for comment.

[From The Telegraph]

*whips out pie chart* DON’T YOU SEE THE CONNECTIONS?? The Sussexes were behind this downright mockery of England’s Jazz Handed Princess!! Disney, WME, Oprah, it’s all connected! There is a high-level conspiracy by Disney to mock Catherine! Honestly though, it’s a funny little joke, especially given that the British papers are truly the only ones calling her Catherine. Almost everyone in America calls her “Kate Middleton.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Happy fifth wedding anniversary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. By far, my favorite royal wedding, visually and gossip-wise. In the five years since that beautiful day in Windsor, the royal family has tried everything to ruin those memories, just like they tried to ruin the wedding in the months and weeks leading up to it.

The Sussex wedding is totally the story that keeps giving – last December, the Sussexes’ Netflix docu-series posted never-before-seen photos from the wedding reception and afterparty. Harry’s memoir also had tons of details about what was happening around the wedding. The Princess of Wales is still trying to convince people that Meghan made her cry just days before the wedding (which was not true, but it’s a narrative Kate refuses to give up). Let’s not forget, it’s been five years and we’ve never really solved the mystery of Kate’s stupid white coatdress.

We also just learned in January that Meghan was offered the Spencer Tiara for the wedding, a story which we had never heard before, and one which Harry gave us in Spare. Looking at the wedding photos now, I am sort of mad that Meghan didn’t get to wear the Spencer Tiara. It would have looked beautiful with her veil and gown.

Anyway, the British media and the royal family hoped this union would never happen, then they openly prayed for divorce, or to get Meghan out of the picture by any means necessary. The storms these two have weathered in five years… it’s remarkable they’ve survived.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix.

When we first heard about Taylor Swift’s relationship with Matt Healy, I absolutely mentioned some of the terrible stories about Healy, many of which are only months old. Healy has big issues around race and racism, and he definitely has a sleazy reputation around his female fans too. This week, Buzzfeed did a deeper dive on some on-the-record comments Healy made about what kind of p0rn he enjoys, and it’s pretty sick and disturbing. None of Healy’s (recent) backstory has changed Taylor’s mind though. She’s going full-speed ahead with this romance, and they just did their first big pap stroll this week in New York.

Meanwhile, when the news of Swealy was first leaked to the Sun in early May, many of Taylor’s fans were pretty iffy on the timeline. Being generous, we could say that Taylor and Joe Alwyn broke up in early March, probably. But Taylor was “working” with Healy last year, and she appeared at The 1975’s concert in January. Plus, this boyfriend rollout definitely has the feel of something which has been happening for a while. So, did Taylor cheat? According to the Mail, Joe Alwyn is starting to suspect that she did.

Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn feels ‘distraught and slighted’ by her new romance with British singer Matty Healy – after putting his ‘trust in her’ when she told him that she was just ‘friends’ with The 1975 frontman. Rumors of Taylor, 33, and 34-year-old Matty’s relationship first surfaced earlier this month, just weeks after the news of her split from British actor Joe, 32 – whom she dated for six years – was made public.

According to a source with exclusive inside knowledge about the situation, Joe is very unhappy that his former partner has moved on so quickly – particularly after he put his ‘trust’ in Taylor when she began collaborating with Matty during the final months of their relationship.

‘Joe feels slighted and is distraught after seeing her budding relationship with Matt, but is doing his best to keep busy and focus on himself,’ a source close to the actor told DailyMail.com.

In November, Matty described Taylor as ‘amazing’ while revealing that the pair had spent some time working together on her album Midnights – which was released in October 2022 – something that the insider says Joe was in full support of at the time, putting his full ‘trust’ in his then-girlfriend. Two months later, on January 12, Taylor surprised fans when she gave an impromptu performance of her new hit song Anti-Hero during The 1975’s concert at the O2 Arena in London.

‘Joe was aware that Taylor and Matt were making music together and collaborating. She told him that they had become friends and he trusted her,’ the source continued, although they denied any suggested that there had been ‘overlap’ between Taylor’s two romances.

[From The Daily Mail]

Guy who was dating the Snake-in-Chief for six years is suddenly surprised when she turns around and bites him? Classic Taylor, honestly. She can never get out of a relationship clean and drama-free. I always suspected that Taylor overlapped Tom Hiddleston and Joe as well. Honestly, if I was in Joe’s position, I would be mad as hell, especially since it really does look like Taylor was planning this out for a while.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Throughout much of my life, people within the Republican Party always maintained that “business” was the most important thing. Corporate interests, business interests and money would always be their priority. They would run on being “pro-business.” They would run on being anti-union (bad for business, they would say) and anti-education (bad for business, they would say) and anti-healthcare (bad for business, they would say). Elect me and I’ll bring jobs to our state. Elect me and I’ll be good for business. Elect me and I’ll put corporate interests over people.

All of this shifted in the Trump era. I actually think it started before Trump, it started during the Obama administration, when Republicans were looking for a way to win elections and “being good for business” wasn’t the slam-dunk narrative anymore. So they leaned into culture wars, all the time, forever and ever. You could even argue that Trump was the transition – dumbasses voted for him because they thought he would be “good for business” when really, they just loved his white supremacist culture wars. After four years of Trump, Republicans no longer keep up the facade of being pro-business. They’re just culture warriors and that’s it. Ron DeSantis is the best example of this evolving Republican brand – DeSantis is a disgusting bigot, misogynist, homophobe, transphobe and racist. He thought he could “punish” Florida’s biggest employer, Disney, as part of his culture wars. Disney fought back and they’re currently suing DeSantis on First Amendment grounds. Now, Disney has just pulled out of a $1.3 billion office complex they were planning to build in Lake Nona. The construction would have brought 2000 jobs to the region.

In March, Disney called Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida “anti-business” for his scorched-earth attempt to tighten oversight of the company’s theme park resort near Orlando. Last month, when Disney sued the governor and his allies for what it called “a targeted campaign of government retaliation,” the company made clear that $17 billion in planned investment in Walt Disney World was on the line.

“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts last week.

On Thursday, Mr. Iger and Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chairman, showed that they were not bluffing, pulling the plug on an office complex that was scheduled for construction in Orlando at a cost of roughly $1 billion. It would have brought more than 2,000 Disney jobs to the region, with $120,000 as the average salary, according to an estimate from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

The project, known as Lake Nona Town Center, was supposed to cost $864 million, but recent price estimates have been closer to $1.3 billion. Disney had planned to relocate as many as 2,000 employees from Southern California, including most of a department known as Imagineering, which works with Disney’s movie studios to develop theme park attractions. Most of the affected employees complained bitterly about having to move — some quit — but Disney held firm, partly because of a Florida tax credit that would have allowed the company to recoup as much as $570 million over 20 years for building and occupying the complex.

D’Amaro’s cited “changing business conditions” as a reason for canceling the Lake Nona project. “I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business,” Mr. D’Amaro said in the memo. He noted that $17 billion was still earmarked for construction at Disney World over the next decade — growth that would create an estimated 13,000 jobs. “I hope we’re able to,” he said.

[From The NY Times]

Death of the pro-business Republican. Death of the republican pol who can promise to bring high-paying jobs to the state. That’s not the Republican party anymore. DeSantis’s spokesperson actually did issue a pissy statement too: “Disney announced the possibility of a Lake Nona campus nearly two years ago. Nothing ever came of the project, and the state was unsure whether it would come to fruition. Given the company’s financial straits, falling market cap and declining stock price, it is unsurprising that they would restructure their business operations and cancel unsuccessful ventures.” So… DeSantis is arguing that Disney was never going to build the office complex anyway, and Disney’s business is struggling? LMAO. DeSantis is such a f–king clown. I sincerely hope Disney wipes the floor with this dumbass goon in and out of court.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

The international effort to gaslight the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over their paparazzi chase on Tuesday night is giving me a pit in the bottom of my stomach. It’s the same play, over and over, only usually the play is more obvious to everyone watching. It’s just: pour scorn on every single thing Harry and Meghan do or say, call them liars, lie about what they’re doing or saying, and on and on. It’s bad enough when it’s about something like “Meghan going to lunch,” but this pap chase has really brought out some new, vile brand of toxicity. It’s especially notable that for all of the media’s lies that “there’s no evidence” of the Sussexes’ story, there are paparazzi photos and videos (few of which are being bought by agencies or media outlets) AND the Sussexes also recorded what happened on their iPhones. As for the photo agencies, in the immediate wake of the Sussexes’ Wednesday statement, the photo agency Backgrid issued this statement:

“At BACKGRID USA Inc., we value transparency and ethics in journalism, which include providing fair and factual responses to claims. We are aware of Prince Harry’s statement regarding an alleged “near catastrophic car chase” involving himself, Meghan Markle, and her mother, in New York City on Tuesday night.”

“We want to clarify that we have received photos and videos of last night’s events from four freelance photographers, three of whom were in cars and one of whom was riding a bicycle. It is important to note that these photographers have a professional responsibility to cover newsworthy events and personalities, including public figures such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.”

“According to the accounts given by these freelance contributors, they were covering the couple’s stay in New York City, including the possibility of a dinner after an award ceremony. They had no intention of causing any distress or harm, as their only tool was their cameras. A few of the photos even show Meghan Markle smiling inside a cab.The photographers report that one of the four SUVs from Prince Harry’s security escort was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless.”

“The vehicle was seen blocking off streets, and in one video, it is shown being pulled over by the police. We understand that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s security detail had a job to do, and we respect their work.”

“We do, however, want to point out that according to the photographers present, there were no near-collisions or near-crashes during this incident. The photographers have reported feeling that the couple was not in immediate danger at any point.”

“At BACKGRID USA Inc., we do not condone any form of harassment or illegal activity. We are taking Prince Harry’s allegations seriously and will be conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”

[From People]

“Meghan was smiling” and “their driver was reckless” is so victim-blaming, my god. Several paps have said that bit about how the Sussexes’ driver was doing “evasive maneuvers,” like… yeah, I hope the driver was trying to evade the multiple blacked-out SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, whatever. Anyway, on Thursday, the Sussexes got into it with Backgrid:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are trying to put the squeeze on a photo agency that claimed their freelance paparazzi who followed the couple Tuesday night were not, as M&H claimed, “highly aggressive” and didn’t cause a near-collision.

Harry and Meghan’s legal team fired off a letter to the Backgrid photo agency, claiming in part they need the agency’s footage of the “chase” to shore up their own security, adding … “We hereby demand that Backgrid immediately provide us with copies of all photos, videos, and/or films taken last night by the freelance photographers after the couple left their event and over the next several hours.”

Backgrid’s lawyer has rejected the Sussex’s demand, saying in a letter … “In America, as I’m sure you know, property belongs to the owner of it: Third parties cannot just demand it be given to them, as perhaps Kings can do. Perhaps you should sit down with your client and advise them that his English rules of royal prerogative to demand that the citizenry hand over their property to the Crown were rejected by this country long ago. We stand by our founding fathers.”

There’s no legal basis for Backgrid to turn over its footage — no lawsuit has been filed that would require the agency to turn over documents. Nevertheless, the demand was made.

[From TMZ]

I’m confused by all of this – did Harry’s team send some kind of notice to Backgrid and Backgrid leaked it to TMZ? I think that’s what happened, and I think Backgrid is probably being kind of highly selective about what the Sussexes’ lawyers are actually threatening. It’s also curious because from what I’ve seen at other media outlets, most of them are refusing to buy or publish photos from any part of the chase. Backgrid probably paid a fortune to their freelancers, and now those photos aren’t selling because Harry’s team has made it clear that the pics are the result of multiple criminal acts. I totally understand why Harry and his security would want access to all paparazzi video and photos though – they’re trying to do a forensic analysis of exactly what happened… and figure out whether every vehicle trailing them was actually a paparazzo.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The Scandoval episode of Vanderpump Rules was a lot. Between Ariana and Tom’s conversation, his apology tour, his visiting Raquel at her apartment, Raquel’s glee in talking about their affair sex life with the producers — it was emotional, it was horrifying, it was a lot of things. While Raquel seemed thrilled and completely devoid of any remorse, it was clear that Tom felt bad, but is very eager to blame someone else (Ariana) for his actions so he can remain justifiable and the good guy in his own mind. Anyway, Ariana appeared on Watch What Happens Live after the episode and gamely answered a ton of questions about Tom and Raquel.

Ariana Madix is speaking her truth — and leaving her relationship with Tom Sandoval in the past.

On Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the Vanderpump Rules star, 37, opened up about her split from her boyfriend of nine years after he had an affair with their costar Raquel Leviss.

“I thought it was laughable,” she told host Andy Cohen of Sandoval’s apology tour, which was showcased on Wednesday’s Vanderpump Rules season 10 finale.

Madix acknowledged that the entire season was difficult for her to watch, but said the most cringe-worthy moment was witnessing “the fabrication of a narrative that was being formed the entire time without my knowledge, behind my back, by not just my ex-boyfriend but his little flying monkeys, as well.”

When asked by Cohen if she had any suspicions of Sandoval and Leviss’s affair, Madix explained, “Well, when he would not come home or he would be out super late, I would ask him, ‘Where were you? What were you doing?’ And he would say, ‘I was at Schwartz’s.’ And I would say, ‘Really? Let me see your phone.’ And he would say, ‘Sure, here you go.’ So I would look at his texts, I would look at his phone.”

“He was very good at concealing his double life and hiding all of the evidence,” she continued, noting how she was only “picking up on” something that was “going on with him mentally.”

Madix denied claims that Sandoval attempted to break up with her before the bombshell affair news broke but alleged that he acted out once she discovered everything.

“From the moment I found out, he was screaming at me. We were in the backyard and he threw a beer can … he was more concerned about people hearing at TomTom than how I felt at all,” she said. “I think there’s some part of him that’s really loving the attention that this has brought him and as long as people continue to give him that attention, he will be happy about it.”

When asked if she thinks Leviss and Sandoval are in love, Madix expressed doubts. “I don’t know if they even know what that means,” she told Cohen, later disputing recent claims that their romance has burned out. “She was sending letters [for Sandoval] to my house four days ago!”

Madix also confirmed that forgiving Leviss or Sandoval is “not happening.”

“It’s so layered. It’s the manipulation, it’s the narcissism, it’s the double life. There’s so many layers to it,” she added of why this has resonated with so many. “Everybody has experienced one of those things and can relate to it — and has listened to my ex saying, ‘Accountability!’ for years.”

She added: “I feel good, I definitely feel as though my friends have put me in the best position to heal and grow, and I’m honestly just looking forward — only forward — and not looking back.”

[From People]

Ariana was so good and looked so good on WWHL. Like her look, every single one of her answers was on point and the whole interview is worth a watch. The comment about Tom loving the attention was specifically in response to a question about what she thought about him changing the lyrics of his cover band’s rendition of “Schwartzy’s Mom” to say “Raquel is not for me.” Yeah, I buy that he’s loving it. It reeks of damage control (since Ariana fans go to his show with signs and chant her name) and also of enjoying his newfound notoriety a bit. A source revealed that Raquel dumped Tom and “he’s not for her,” but Ariana thinks that’s untrue because Raquel sent Tom a letter to their house. It could have been a break-up letter, but Ariana might be right that it’s BS because what’s the way forward for them? Break up and they caused all that pain for nothing? Another source (probably Tom’s) says he and Raquel were never a couple. I kind of think despite their “plan” to tell Ariana, he was still on the fence about going through with it! Ariana did say she won’t speak to them, have mutual friends with them, and will try to avoid filming with them again. She wants to sell their house (they’re still living in it and using third parties to communicate) and move forward.

Also, Ariana was asked about her new man she’s been spotted with since Coachella, Daniel Wai. Apparently they met at a wedding shortly after everything happened (so in March) and she says that he’s really nice and she’s “happy and satisfied.” Good for her!

Embed from Getty Images

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Photos are screenshots from YouTube/WWHL and credit Getty

Here are some photos of Ethan Hawke and Pedro Almodovar at the Cannes Film Festival this week. They premiered their new film, Strange Way of Life, on the second night of the festival. Strange Way of Life is Almodovar’s “gay cowboy movie,” and from the looks of things, he filmed like a Douglas Sirk film, all soap-opera melodrama and big feelings, only in a 30-minute short film. Ethan Hawke’s gay cowboy partner in the film is played by Pedro Pescal, only Pedro skipped Cannes. He was a no-show at the photocall and premiere. I wonder why he skipped? Maybe he’s feeling overexposed these days. Maybe he had other work commitments. Maybe he didn’t feel like flying to France just to shill a 30-minute short film?? Anyway, Ethan was full of praise for Pedro:

Ethan Hawke has praised his Strange Way of Life co-star Pedro Pascal, calling him a “very attractive and extremely talented man”.

The film, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, is a 30-minute gay Western short film that finally had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week. It is Almodóvar’s second film in the English language, after 2020’s Human Voice. It follows Pascal’s character Silva, who travels across the desert on horseback to visit his friend Sheriff Jake (Hawke), for the first time in over two decades. While the initial mood of their reunion is a celebratory one, conflict arises over Silva’s desire to revisit the past, and Jake’s wish to keep it buried.

During a Q&A session in Cannes, Hawke had the highest compliments for Pascal when asked about what it was like to act alongside the Game of Thrones star.

“I like to be wanted, you know I don’t care. If it happens to be a very attractive, extremely talented man, all the better,” Hawke said. Speaking of the chemistry and love in the film, Hawke added: “The second you take out a camera and you start photographing people, there’s some act of love that is happening where you are saying that these people are important and worthy of time. And the things they’re feeling are important and the things they’re thinking are important and worthy of us all to consider. So, for me, it’s kind of always about love in some capacity. What moves us is what we want, what we love. Desire makes the world spin around.”

[From The Independent]

I mean, I think most actors would say “yes” to anything Pedro Almovodar asked them. Especially American actors – Almodovar usually just casts Spanish actors in his mostly Spanish-language films. The fact that he cast Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as gay cowboys is pretty great though. I do wish Pedro had come to Cannes, just for some lustful posing with Ethan. Maybe that’s exactly why Pedro avoided it!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Selena Gomez has had a cooking show, Selena + Chef, on HBO Max for four seasons. Each episode featured Selena learning how to cook from a different professional chef. It was really enjoyable and Selena is quite endearing. It’s unclear what the fate of that show will be now that HBO is becoming Max and seemingly reshuffling everything, but it seems she has parlayed that random show into more cooking show gigs. Selena will be hosting two new shows on the Food Network later this year and early next.

On May 17, Food Network announced two new projects set to be hosted by the “Only Murders in the Building” star. The news was shared during the Warner Bros. Discovery upfronts and marks Gomez’s first foray into the Food Network universe.

The first Gomez-helmed culinary program will debut on the channel in late 2023 and is described as a “celebration-focused series” that will come just in time for the holiday season. (And we know how much Food Network loves the holidays.)

“The holidays are always huge for Food Network,” said Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer of U.S. networks for Warner Bros. Discovery. “Having Selena kicking off the nearly 100 hours of new and returning holiday programming will certainly make this coming season one to celebrate.”

Then, in 2024, Gomez will also start working on another new series that will feature the actor, singer and host meeting up with “some of the best chefs in the country” in a quest to cook their most popular dishes during visits to their kitchens.

Gomez makes the move to Food Network fresh off her Emmy-nominated HBO Max series, “Selena + Chef.” First conceived during the pandemic, Gomez was joined remotely by well-regarded chefs to school her on signature dishes to see if they could “make a meal together, apart,” according to the star.

Welcoming food icons like Padma Lakshmi, Roy Choi and Gordon Ramsay, Gomez proved to be a heartwarming and relatable host. Over four seasons, she fielded calls from “cute” boys, was flustered by culinary techniques like we all have been at times, and other funny moments.

The series became a hit, premiering its fourth Malibu-filmed season in August 2022. Both Food Network and HBO Max are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The pair of new Gomez projects will be produced by July Moon Productions and the Intellectual Property Corporation.

[From Today]

Ah, so Warner Bros. Discovery owning both networks might answer that question about a fifth season of Selena + Chef. They’re being quite vague about the celebration series for later this year, but Food Network does well with the holiday themes. I wonder if it will be something New York-based, maybe a little tie-in with Only Murders since that’s such a cozy fall show and New York City around Christmas time is also super festive and nice. The 2024 series is more straightforward and just seems to be turning the concept of Selena + Chef on its head. Instead of being in her kitchen, she’s going to the kitchens of professional chefs to learn their signature dishes. I wonder if there will be any repeat guests from Selena + Chef. Anyway, both these shows sound good. Selena continues to make good career decisions and is expanding her profile.

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Photos credit Getty and via Instagram. Screenshots from YouTube are from these two videos from HBOMax

CoolSculpting is a non-invasive body contouring treatment that uses extreme cold to reduce the number of fat cells in an area. But it’s also becoming notorious for a side effect called paradoxical adipose hyperplasia–aka the fat cells get larger and harden instead of going away. PAH presents as hard lumps under your skin–because of the treatment applicator shape they can even look like a stick of butter. This happened to supermodel Linda Evangelista and she sued the manufacturer of CoolSculpting for how badly it disfigured her body. They ended up settling out of court. Now a popular YouTuber, Abbey Sharp, is talking about her own experience with this PAH side effect. I watch Abbey’s videos and find them entertaining–she’s a registered dietitian who adapts what celebrities say they eat into more nutritionally balanced meals. (Needless to say, her Gwyneth Paltrow videos are priceless). Here’s what Abbey had to say about her botched CoolSculpting, plus insights from a plastic surgeon:

Abbey was sold on CoolSculpting because it was non-invasive: Sharp — who battled orthorexia, or an obsession with healthy eating, in the past — says she never felt that she had a flat stomach and was told by the med spa that CoolSculpting could help her achieve one. Because Sharp was already slim, she was told that she was an ideal candidate and that her “trouble” spots could be specifically targeted. “That’s how it was sold to me,” Sharp tells Yahoo Life. “It was like, ‘This is a no brainer. It’s less invasive than Botox.’ That’s the vibe I was getting.”

After Abbey’s treatment sessions, things started going wrong: “There were more almost like lumps or bumps that weren’t there before and my body looked uneven,” she explains. “My side started to look more uneven, my lower belly had a bulge that wasn’t on the other side. So I thought, let’s go back and see what we can do about this. I was never told that CoolSculpting could cause any of this — it made absolutely no sense in the context of the way CoolSculpting was described to work.”

More CoolSculpting didn’t fix it: Sharp returned to the med spa, where she was given a free extra CoolSculpting session. She noticed no difference in her body — the lumps remained. It wasn’t until a decade later that Sharp came to believe the still-noticeable bulges were from a little-discussed potential risk of CoolSculpting, known as paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH).

PAH may not be as “rare” as the manufacturer says it is: According to manufacturer data, PAH occurs in 1 in every 4,000 treatments — yet that data may not tell the whole story. Not everyone who experiences PAH will report it to their doctors, who can then report it to Zeltiq. Sharp, for example, was initially unaware of PAH and the connection to her CoolSculpting procedure.
We don’t know what causes PAH: New York City-based plastic surgeon Dr. Chris Funderburk regularly treats patients who have had negative outcomes following CoolSculpting and thinks there are too many unknowns right now. “We just don’t have any good data on this,” he says of the reason why PAH occurs. “We don’t know what settings to use to avoid PAH. We don’t know what generation of machine to use, or paddles, in order to avoid it. It’s all still a mystery, unfortunately.”

[From Yahoo]

In Abbey’s video she talks about looking into surgery to get the lumps removed, but opting out of it because the recovery time would prevent her from being as active as she’d like to be with her two small children. I’m really glad Abbey is talking about this side effect because my suspicion is that it’s more common than 1 in 4,000. I think that the risks of this procedure are not always made clear to patients. Abbey says no one told her about the possibility of PAH as a side effect and a similar thing apparently happened to Linda. That isn’t informed consent, as far as I’m concerned. It’s also wild to me that the medspa just gave her more CoolSculpting when she told them about the lumps–if anything, that would make it worse!

I’m not a surgeon or a doctor but I wouldn’t tell anyone to get this treatment done. The results are modest (a 25% reduction in fat cells is the best case scenario) and not worth the risks. A family member of mine did CoolSculpting and she didn’t get PAH but it also didn’t give her any real results. Abbey’s PAH was minor enough that liposuction probably would have fixed it, but for Linda Evangelista, not even liposuction made it go away. The hard lumps came back. I feel for Linda, and for Abbey. If they had known about the risks of this side effect, they could have at least made an informed decision.

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photos are screenshots from YouTube, via Instagram and credit People