Zendaya was, as always, one of the most-discussed women of any event. Zendaya attended the Golden Globes because she was nominated for Challengers, and the film ended up winning a Globe for Best Score (Trent Reznor, forever goated). Zendaya looked like a doll, an expensive doll with a custom designer doll dress. Zendaya is getting paid by Louis Vuitton to be their brand ambassador, a collaboration which many were worried about. But LV has made some really good pieces for her, and this might be one of the best. Zendaya’s look was inspired by Joyce Bryant, a Black singer/entertainer who broke through in the 1940s and 1950s. She was known as “the Black Marilyn Monroe.” What are we calling the color of Zendaya’s dress? Burnt orange?

There’s also a lot of speculation about Zendaya’s diamond ring, which she wore on her left hand ring finger. It looks a lot like an engagement ring, and she was seen showing the ring to people at the Globes. Is she engaged? Did Tom Holland propose? There’s been no confirmation, but I wouldn’t be surprised. They adore each other and they’ve been together for years already.

Cate Blanchett also wore custom Louis Vuitton. Ferrero Rocher vibes! I don’t like this at all, but it’s very Cate.

Hannah Einbinder in custom Louis Vuitton – this was lovely, actually.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Zoe Saldana was the first winner last night, she took home supporting actress for her work in Emilia Perez. It’s on Netflix now and if you haven’t seen it yet, watch it! You need to go into it with an open mind as it’s one of the trippiest movies I’ve ever seen. It’s audacious, it’s moving, it’s messy and Zoe’s win was well deserved. This was her first Golden Globe nomination. Her speech was so effusive, but I get it. This was a big moment for her.

Zoe was in a black sequin sequin Saint Laurent with a chocolate satin wrap. As Kaiser wrote in her Anya Taylor-Joy coverage, I hope wraps are making a comeback! I loved this gown but think that Zoe needs bolder styling. Her jewelry is sending me though.

Zoe’s costar Karla Sofia Gascon was also in Saint Laurent. It’s a beautiful look but I would have liked to see her go a little more glam. Her look at the Palm Springs Film Festival would have been perfect. She was nominated for Best Actress, which went to Demi Moore. (I think Demi’s performance in The Substance was quite good, but I hated that movie.) Karla got choked up for Zoe, and for their showrunner, Jacques Audiard, when their film won Best Non-English Language. I hope it gets nominated for Best Picture and I want to see Karla nominated for Best Actress too! Also I really felt Laverne Cox’s absence on the red carpet last night when E!’s Zuri Hall was interviewing Karla. She wasn’t bad, but Laverne should have been there.

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Presenter Zoe Kravitz was also in Saint Laurent, in this gown with a similar cut to Saldana’s and with a trailing white bow. This bow really makes this look. Nepo baby Kravitz bugs me a little but I really liked Don’t Blink and also she can give face.

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Selena Gomez was watchable and believable in Emilia Perez. She was nominated in the Best Supporting category. I don’t think she should get an Oscar nom for that role though. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Television Series for Only Murders. Selena wore baby blue off the shoulder satin Prada complete with a wrap. I love how sleek, rich and elegant she looks. My god.

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The Brutalist’s Felicity Jones was also in Prada, in this really cool-looking “silver sequin gown with crystal embellished flowers, star and mirror detailing,” to borrow Prada’s wording. This gown is a showstopper. I would have liked to see her with different hair, but maybe any other look would have detracted from the look.

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photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images, Getty and Prada received from promotional email

During the Wicked promotional tour, I often remarked on how nice it was that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo had zero drama with each other. Ari and Cynthia have now worked together and promoted Wicked together for two full years, and they’ve still got to promote the second film. They both have reputations for having somewhat tricky personalities – no judgment – and I’m still flabbergasted that they’ve managed to maintain a seemingly genuine friendship and allyship throughout everything. Obviously, “two women get along really well despite everyone expecting them to beef” doesn’t sell. So that’s why a lot of people are focusing on “wait, are Ariana and Cynthia TOO close?” Cynthia Erivo is with Lena Waithe, and Waithe has been posting a lot of interesting stuff on her social media. I’m not going to get too into this, but I do think it’s funny because… none of these people are known for their fidelity. Cynthia & Lena’s relationship probably started when Cynthia broke up Lena’s marriage. And we all know what Ari is like.

Anyway, here are some photos of Ari, Cynthia and the Wicked people at last night’s Golden Globes. I brought up the Lena Waithe stuff because she did not attend the Globes with Cynthia, and Lena was posting a lot about Cynthia and Ariana on her socials last night. Ariana wore a vintage 1966 Givenchy which was supposed to give “Audrey Hepburn vibes.” Please don’t let Ariana anywhere near an Audrey Hepburn biopic. The dress itself was meh to me – there are so many better vintage looks – but I really love that Ariana wore vintage to the Globes. Cynthia wore Louis Vuitton – she’s developed a strong relationship with LV, they’ve been making a lot of custom looks for her.

Wicked didn’t even win Best Musical or Comedy – it lost to Emilia Perez. I find that… odd.

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Getty.

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Abbott Elementary was shut out in every category last night by Hacks, which is too bad. Abbott has three Globe wins overall and has won so many other awards. That’s my comfort watch show and I hope it gets so many more seasons. I bank episodes of it to binge when I need a pick-me-up and right now I’m all caught up unfortunately. Abbott comes back Wednesday night though!

Star and showrunner Quinta Brunson was giving Betty Boop vibes in this gorgeous Roberto Cavalli gown with a scalloped bustline. I love how festive-looking this gown is, like this would be the perfect look for New Year’s Eve. Her styling is also perfection. Props to her glam team.

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Sidenote can we please get an Anthony Mackie cameo on Abbott? It looks like he’s angling for one! He was paired with Tyler James Williams for Variety’s Actors on Actors and he told a cute story about realizing he was on the set of Abbott Elementary while he was filming.
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Sheryl Lee Ralph was in custom St. John, styled as always by her talented daughter Ivy Coco. This gown is perfection! It’s tailored so expertly and she looks amazing.

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Janelle James was in a black strapless Siriano gown that fit her like a glove. I love those opera gloves too they really make the outfit. She joked on the E! Red Carpet that she got a glimpse of herself and that she looked great, and she did. Pixie cuts are coming back! There were so many cute pixies last night.

Lisa Ann Walter was in a red Marchesa off the shoulder mermaid gown. Seeing these actresses in perfectly draped and fitted gowns makes me want to learn to sew. As they kept saying on the red carpet on E! last night, I’m manifesting this for myself. I swear someone told them to say “manifesting” as mucha s possible, probably because it was Laverne Cox’s red carpet talking point. I missed seeing Laverne last night, but Zuri Hall was able to get so many celebrities to open up. She seemed boring to me until I realized that she’s a talented interviewer.

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photos credit: Avalon.red, Cover Images and Getty

The Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, will be released on January 15th. The trailer dropped on January 2nd and it went instantly viral in America and elsewhere. Every time Meghan goes outside or attends an event or travels or says words, her haters scream for days, if not weeks. One of the most hilarious examples of this happened recently, when Meghan went solo to a children’s hospital gala and the Daily Mail was still screaming, crying and carrying on about it months after the fact.

As you can imagine, those same people practically gauged their eyes out at the With Love, Meghan trailer. This is their biggest meltdown since the Sussexes went to Colombia at the invitation of the Colombian government. They don’t even know why they’re angry, although I’ll give them a hint: you’re angry because she’s a Black woman who is still joyful and happy even though you tried to ruin (if not end) her life. You’re also angry that she’s putting her own spin on what is typically a “white space” – a show about entertaining, hosting and cooking. Speaking of, it seems that Meghan’s most vocal hater this go-round is Meghan “My Father, John McCain” McCain. This is what McCain posted:

I was originally a Meghan Markle supporter, I thought she was cool, stylish and refreshing.

Like the rest of the world my opinion changed when she disrespected the royal family. Now that she wants to be American again instead of British aristocracy what she seems to forget is Americans want real, raw, uncensored.

All of this even in the trailer is highly curated, produced and out of touch.

There have been 2 terror attacks in 2 days, major wars raging and Americans can’t pay for groceries. We are a country in rage, uncertainty and intensity right now.

This concept is ill advised. I would have told her to do a show helping bring fresh food to food deserts in low income neighborhoods. Do something to help people instead of your ego.

This is why the world doesn’t like you, nothing else. Just completely and utterly tone deaf to the moment.

[From Meghan McCain’s Twitter]

“I was originally a Meghan Markle supporter” – McCain actually had some interesting and positive things to say about Meghan in 2021 around the Oprah interview. What’s changed since then? I don’t even know. I think this is more about McCain and how livid she is that Duchess Meghan is doing fluff, escapism, fun, unserious programming and doing it so well. People don’t want to admit that Meghan was doing this way before she even met Prince Harry, and that she was a successful lifestyle blogger who ran The Tig as a lucrative side-hustle. Meghan reminding everyone that she’s not new to this ruins the talking point of “Meghan is nothing without the royal family, she was a nobody before Harry!” McCain’s argument of “Meghan wants to be American again” is so stupid too – Meghan always retained her American citizenship, and part of the reason why Salt Island lost their damn minds about her was because she was seen as a ghastly American who gently tried to drag an outdated, stale British institution into the 21st century.

I also find the “cooking is elitist” argument hilariously unhinged. Cooking shows have always been a gentle form of escapism. McCain wouldn’t say that about the Great British Baking Show, would she? Would she demand that Ina Garten close up shop because of a terrorist attack? No, of course not. So why are different “rules” being applied to Meghan?

Photos courtesy of Netflix and ‘The View.’.

Jimmy Carter’s days-long state funeral began on Saturday. President Carter’s funeral procession began in Plains, Georgia, where he lived for much of his life pre- and post-presidency. From Plains, President Carter’s casket went to Atlanta, home of the Carter Center, with a global staff of 3000. Jimmy Carter will lie in repose there through Monday, when he will be moved to Washington. The state funeral will be on Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral, after which President Carter will be moved back home to Georgia for a private funeral and burial in Plains. Most of the big-name Democrats and some Republicans will make a point of attending the state funeral on Thursday. I don’t know what kind of international turnout there will be, but Carter was internationally acknowledged as a humanitarian and a global leader on many significant issues. When he passed, leaders from around the world praised Carter and his legacy. You would think that all of America’s strongest allies would send some high-profile delegations to the state funeral. In Britain’s case, not so much. King Charles will not attend, and neither will Prince William. They’re sending Prince Edward.

Neither Prince William nor King Charles plan to attend Jimmy Carter’s funeral next week, following the former president’s death on Sunday at age 100.

As of Friday, the British royal family’s Royal Diary only lists the monarch’s younger brother, Prince Edward, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, as being an attendant of the State Funeral on Jan. 9.

Following 76-year-old Charles’ cancer diagnosis early last year, William has attended certain events on his father’s behalf, as he did last month at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, where he rubbed elbows with President-elect Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, Charles expressed his “great sadness” over Carter’s death on Dec. 29, nearly two years into hospice care.

Carter’s funeral on Thursday will be held at the Washington National Cathedral and is considered a potential target “for violent extremists to attack,” according to a new security assessment obtained by ABC News.

The document attributes the risk to the “large gathering of senior U.S. government officials, foreign dignitaries, and heads of state, as well as the symbolic nature of the venues and media attention expected.”

It’s unclear if the absences of William and Charles are because of previous commitments or security concerns. As of Friday, neither had any official engagements listed for next week in the Royal Diary.

[From Yahoo]

I saw some Derangers suggest that Prince Harry and Meghan were being “snubbed” because they weren’t asked to represent the monarchy at the funeral… it’s truly mind-boggling. Harry and Meghan haven’t worked for the Firm in five years. The real issue is that no one has figured out how to force Prince William to take one day out of his lengthy Christmas holiday to fly in for a state funeral, a funeral in which he could pretend to be a “global statesman” and rub elbows with dozens of American politicos. This is a constant thread since QEII died too – William refusing to attend international events like this on behalf of the crown, events which Charles ALWAYS attended when he was Prince of Wales.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

The Palm Spring International Film Festival began on Friday evening, with a red carpet and an opening ceremony. This festival is scheduled specifically around the Golden Globes, with tons of celebrities already in LA, and happy to spend a day or two in Palm Springs before the Globes. That’s how the festival gets such good turnout every year, and it’s become one of the better “stops” for Oscar hopefuls. The festival also passes out honors and tributes like candy, which is why Angelina Jolie came out. She was given the Palm Desert Achievement Award for Maria. Angelina brought Zahara, still on a winter break from college, as her date. Angelina also debuted her new bangs in Palm Springs! I love Jolie, but I obviously have a well-documented hatred of bangs. These are far from the worse bangs I’ve ever seen, but they’re still not great. I honestly sort of think Jolie’s hair has looked like sh-t for months. She needs a new colorist AND a new hair stylist. Also: Jolie was presented her award by her godmother, Jacqueline Bisset.

I’m also adding some additional photos from the opening ceremony. So many stars were out and about, but this isn’t comprehensive coverage, these are just the ladies I wanted to talk about it. Nicole Kidman wore Loewe, and I dislike it. Ariana Grande needs to join Angelina in the search for a new colorist, and Ari wore a custom Louis Vuitton bubble-skirted dress. Cynthia Erivo also wore Louis Vuitton. Selena Gomez wore one of my favorite ensembles – a three-piece Ralph Lauren suit in a crisp white. Demi Moore also wore a suit (Chanel), which is fine, but the hair bow plucks my nerves. I loved Mikey Madison in Anora, but her awards-season fashion has been very prom-y, and this pale satin Miu Miu dress was all wrong. Her fashion story should be “ingenue with access to great designers.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Since the election, I’ve avoided the news for the most part, and during the holidays, I completely tapped out of even reading the headlines. So, I’m playing catch-up – on New Year’s Day, an American citizen named Shamsud-Din Jabbar carried out a terrorist attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Jabbar lived in Texas and he rented a pickup truck there, then drove the truck to NOLA and used the truck as a weapon, intentionally driving the truck into a huge crowd of people on Bourbon Street. Fifteen people died, including Jabbar. It also appears that Jabbar was affiliated with or inspired by ISIS. The attack is being investigated as terrorism and people have been playing politics with all of this for days. The names of the victims were released on Friday and Saturday, and as it turns out, one of the victims had a connection the British royal family. One of the victims was Edward Pettifer, and he was the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke. Tiggy was Prince William and Harry’s nanny and friend. Tiggy is also Prince Archie’s godmother.

A man with close ties to the British royal family has been identified as one of the 15 victims killed in the New Orleans attack on Jan. 1.

Edward Pettifer, the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, died from “blunt force injuries” after Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, drove a truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, the Metropolitan Police confirmed in a news release.

The 31-year-old, who lived in Chelsea, West London, had been visiting Louisiana with a friend, UK newspapers The Times and The Sun reported.

Legge-Bourke, 59, married Edward’s father, former Coldstream Guards officer Charles Pettifer, in 1999. She worked as a nanny for William, 41, and Harry, 40, shortly after King Charles and Princess Diana’s separation in 1993 to 1999.

PEOPLE understands that King Charles is upset by the tragedy and has expressed condolences to the family.

Legge-Bourke was close with William and Harry as their nanny and remains so years later. The brothers attended her wedding and she attended theirs in 2011, and 2018 respectively. She is also godmother to Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Prince Archie.

[From People]

Prince William posted a statement on social media and, as People Mag notes, King Charles has been in touch with Tiggy and her husband. It’s been clear that William and Harry kept in touch with Tiggy into adulthood, but I didn’t know that Charles still speaks to Tiggy. Anyway, this story is so sad. The whole thing is awful. 2025 got off to a horrendous start and it’s just going to get worse after the inauguration.

Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack. W

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 4, 2025

The royal family pays tribute to the British man killed in the New Orleans attack, a 31-year-old who was the stepson of Prince William and Prince Harry’s former nanny. https://t.co/0evfHxkKpM

— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 4, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Eve celebrated Christmas with her husband Maximillion Cooper and what looked like Cooper’s extended family. The photos were a big discussion point online, but they’ve been married for more than a decade? Like, none of this is new. [OMG Blog]
The only thing getting me through the next month is my anticipatory excitement for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime show. [Hollywood Life]
Chloe Grace Moretz might be engaged! [Jezebel]
Is Armie Hammer making a comeback? No. [Pajiba]
Waiters & waitresses talk about their celebrity customers. [Buzzfeed]
Ranking the best fast food restaurants in America. [JustJared]
It been two years since Jeremy Renner came thisclose to death. [Socialite Life]
Karen Gillan named her daughter Clementine. [Seriously OMG]
Cynthia Erivo’s year in fashion. [RCFA]

Picture of Eve and her husband enjoying Christmas with family goes viral pic.twitter.com/OSMof6DOK6

— Voice Of Our Ancestors Channel (@VoiceOfOurAnces) December 30, 2024

As soon as the Duchess of Sussex posted that cute beach video on New Year’s Day, I knew the royalists would start screaming “don’t forget about Caaaaatheriiiiiiine!!!” It’s not enough that the Daily Mail has devoted two dozen articles to analyzing every little detail of Meghan’s IG video and her Netflix trailer – we must be spoon-fed a narrative that Meghan is “bad” for being beautiful, famous and charismatic while poor Princess Kate is “good” because she’s tentatively scheduled to do at least five work events in 2025. Some highlights from Richard Eden’s hilarious compare-and-contrast column.

Two 43-year-olds with different lives: There have been many significant years in the lives of the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex, not least the ones when they married into the Royal Family or gave birth to their children. The next 12 months may, however, be defining in very different ways for Catherine, who turns 43 next week, and Meghan, who celebrated her 43rd birthday in August.

2025 is a vital year for Kate too!! But it’s a vital year for Catherine, too. She completed her treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer last September, with a Kensington Palace spokesman explaining at the time that her focus was now on ‘doing what she can to stay cancer-free’. This year will see her return to public life with a programme of royal engagements, albeit one that will probably be a slimmed-down version of the schedule she had before her health problems began….I’m told that the princess’s enforced break has given her an even stronger desire to make a difference to the causes she feels most strongly about. ‘Catherine wants every day to count,’ a friend of the family tells me. ‘She has always been passionate about helping others. Now, she has an even greater sense of urgency.’

Meghan’s 2025 ambitions: Meanwhile, 2025 will be the year in which we discover if the Duchess of Sussex can fulfil one of her greatest ambitions: to become a screen star….Of course, she went on to achieve a degree of celebrity as a ‘briefcase girl’ on game show Deal Or No Deal, a member of the cast of American legal drama Suits, shown on cable TV, and bit parts in films such as Horrible Bosses. But the release of her new Netflix show gives her the chance to become a bona fide star in her own right.

Meghan rides on Harry’s coattails?? Meghan and Prince Harry’s Netflix deal expires this year and, if it is to be renewed, the duchess may have to prove that she can be a success without riding on Harry’s coat-tails.

Meghan vs. Kate: [Meghan’s] television ambitions may highlight the difference between her priorities and those of the Princess of Wales. For Meghan, it seems 2025 is about making money and boosting her own profile; for Catherine, it’s about making a difference to good causes. Yes, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will also undertake work for charity this year but, since they quit royal duties back in 2020 to lead ‘a more independent life’, as the late Queen Elizabeth diplomatically put it, Meghan has also had her eyes set on global superstardom.

[From The Daily Mail]

How convenient that everyone on that island forgets that Meghan actually quit acting, shuttered her successful lifestyle blog (The Tig), closed down her personal social media accounts and committed herself to being a duchess and a working royal. Once those despicable people had control over her, they tried to destroy her and ruin her good name and force her to divorce and leave the country. Everything that’s happened in the past five years has been Meghan’s Plan B. As for Kate’s 2025… it’s so funny that Kate’s 43rd birthday will be overshadowed yet again with Sussex drama. I kind of think the first days of 2025 have set the tone for Kate’s year. I will be shocked if we even see Kate at one public event a month this year.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Netflix.