I love how many conservative men are crying about “woke, anti-man” Barbie. Not everything has to be for you, dude. [Towleroad]
Christine Baranski joined the picket lines. [Go Fug Yourself]
Sarah’s review of Barbie – a celebration of girl power. [LaineyGossip]
I really need to start watching Minx. [OMG Blog]
This is Max Verstappen’s girlfriend, Kelly Piquet. [Egotastic]
Is Justified: City Primeval anachronistic? [Pajiba]
Ryan Gosling really embraced pastels for Barbie’s promo. [Socialite Life]
The best quotes from the Barbie movie. [Just Jared]
Did Sherri Shepherd get a breast reduction? [Seriously OMG]
These stories are so unsettling – the one about the bunk bed in college is particularly creepy and I’m going to have nightmares about that. [Buzzfeed]
Lori Harvey’s vacation style. [RCFA]

Gonna be honest with y’all: I was gonna just wait until Barbie came to iTunes for rent but as soon as the MAGA crowd said it was “woke garbage” I said “nah lemme head to the theater…” pic.twitter.com/xd26LemaNO

— yung auntie (she/her). (@MsPackyetti) July 21, 2023

“Barbie is a two hour woke-a-thon brimming with feminist lectures and nuclear-level rage against men.” pic.twitter.com/2ppcKtGgwV

— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) July 21, 2023

That does it…I was not sure if I would go see it….but now I will definitely go….at a minimum maybe Barbie will tell us all what woke means… https://t.co/UBPiBiuZBh

— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) July 22, 2023

Prince William behaves like a divorced dad already. When he and Kate have to do events together, they often look like two coworkers who had a dramatic falling out, and everyone is on edge about how they’ll behave and whether or not Kate will try to grope him. Which is probably why they do a lot of solo events… when they do work. Speaking of, the Mail is trying to point out that William has been “going solo” a lot and he will continue to go solo in the future. The Mail is also trying to make that sound like a good thing, because William is so attractive (!!) and kingly (??) that “royal fans” are flocking to him. Literally, this man is greeted by zero crowds, and even worse than that, he tries to fly under the radar because he’s terrified of being protested by anti-monarchy groups. But sure. Some highlights from the DM’s “It’s Willi-yum, the royal fans’ favourite. No wonder the Prince of Wales is growing in confidence – and increasingly willing to carry out royal duties alone…” HORK to “Willi-yum” oh my god.

Kate will not go to New York with William in September: When Prince William visits New York in the autumn to promote his Earthshot environmental awards, it looks as though he will be doing so alone, with Kate remaining at home. Nothing is set in stone and this could change, of course.

Solo Peg is increasingly happy: But the Prince is judged by royal watchers to be growing into his new more senior role following his father’s accession to the throne. And he seems increasingly happy to take the strain himself and conduct royal engagements solo. Although William enjoys the teamwork that comes with public engagements alongside his wife, he will be glad to give her break – the more so as she has her work cut out with a young family. Solo appearances, particularly when they relate to his personal projects – in this case Earthshot – are also a chance for the new Prince of Wales to establish himself as his role as future king looms larger with every passing day.

Kate will go to Singapore though: The Princess of Wales is expected to join her husband for the finals in Singapore in November.

Growing confidence at the age of 41: Kate Mansey, royal writer and assistant editor of The Mail on Sunday said: ‘William seems happier in his own skin – he’s really grown into the new role, as Prince of Wales, very quickly. He does seem more confident. It helps that he has the backing of his father. He’ll like the fact that he can now focus on his own projects, things he really wants to do. And he’s perhaps more settled since the family moved to Windsor.’ She suggested that some royal engagements have become less stressful than in the past because video clips of an event can be so easily distributed to the media afterwards – reducing the size of the entourage involved, and the pressure.

William gets attention from women: It can only help that the Prince of Wales is developing a certain female constituency – regarded as dashing and, of course, in notably good shape. Some royal fans were said to have been left swooning after William as he showed off his polo skills in a charity match earlier this month. Some suggested they’d been left feeling hot under the collar when snaps from the event emerged.

[From The Daily Mail]

This article was doing a lot, right? It established that William prefers to do events without Kate. It established that William is desperate for attention from other women. It established that William sees his children as Kate’s responsibility alone. It established that William is soft-launching his Divorced Dad Brand. Like, I’ve been saying all along that Will and Kate will stay “together” for as long as this arrangement suits William. He’s fine with separate lives, he’s fine with sticking Kate in Adelaide Cottage with the kids, he’s fine with doing solo events. But there’s been a shift, right? I genuinely can’t wait to see what happens here.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

While I respect the fact that the Sussex Squad is populated by such great fact-checkers, I sometimes think that squad members are so focused on fact-checking, they miss some really shady admissions by “royal sources” or “palace sources.” Take, for example, the Daily Mail’s exclusive reporting on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “asking” the Biden administration for a ride back to the US on Air Force One following QEII’s funeral. The fact-checkers pointed out that the Bidens left right after the state funeral, while Harry and Meghan were held hostage for the family funeral in Windsor, therefore the story is bullsh-t. While I agree that it’s unlikely that H&M asked the Biden administration for a ride, that doesn’t change the fact that… it seems like the palace and 10 Downing Street were very worried that the Sussexes would hitch a ride. I believe that’s the root of the whole story: that British government officials ran to the American government and threw a tantrum, demanding that the Bidens refuse any request from the Sussexes.

Incidentally, I think that’s what happened with last year’s Invictus Games too – Downing Street and Buckingham Palace are regularly using their political capital with the Biden administration to… ask that the Bidens not look too cozy with the Sussexes. It’s insane. It doesn’t matter if the Sussexes asked for this or that – what’s important is that the palace and the British government are using resources, time and capital to focus on a private American citizen and her British husband. Speaking of, Camilla Tominey wants us to know that she got the tip about the Sussexes and Air Force One, only she accidentally admits that the British government threw a f–king tantrum.

Asking to fly home to the States on Air Force One would appear to embody the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s attitude to power: all the trappings, with none of the responsibility. Harry and Meghan reportedly requested the lift back from Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral last September with Joe Biden and his wife Jill – only to be swiftly rebuffed.

British officials are understood to have conveyed to National Security Council staff in a “working level conversation” that they thought the idea would land badly with the palace. Sources close to the couple have not denied the claim. It may have been with the intention of keeping their carbon emissions down (they take a lot of private jets for a pair of eco-warriors, after all).

Or perhaps it was to save a bit of money ahead of Spotify agreeing to “part ways” with the Duchess after just 12 episodes of her Archetypes podcast.

But the reported request raises the spectre of them wanting to be photographed climbing the steps of the famous Boeing 747, to wave alongside the President and First Lady of the United States. For make no mistake – the Sussexes do seem to see themselves as at that level.

What with Harry’s demand that he has armed Metropolitan Police bodyguards when he visits the UK, despite no longer being a member of the Firm, and Meghan’s desire to emulate Michelle Obama with the Oprah Winfrey interview and Netflix series.

The Duchess is thought to entertain political ambitions, but what the pair appear to have forgotten is that, in order to gain a reputation as a leading statesperson or philanthropist, you actually have to have done something. Instead, what we’ve had from the Duke and Duchess since Megxit has been all talk and no action. That’s why the idea of them travelling on Air Force One seems such a flight of fancy.

[From The Telegraph]

Imagine arguing that the Sussexes are not important enough to ride on Air Force One while simultaneously admitting that the British government leaned on National Security Council officials to beg them to ignore the Sussexes. Imagine thinking any of this makes the Sussexes look bad? For years now, we’ve seen that there are really nefarious people working against the Sussexes and actively trying to harm the Sussexes. This whole “Air Force One” story has made it clear that it’s not just the vague “British ruling class.” It’s the actual government, the entire Tory party and the entirety of the royal establishment.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Just weeks after QEII’s funeral, Buckingham Palace was openly briefing the media about how King Charles planned a “two-year travel blitz” to visit his realms and Commonwealth countries. That didn’t happen. He tried to do a big tour of France and Germany before the coronation, but French people threatened him with a guillotine, so he postponed. Royal sources also began to whisper that Queen Camilla has no desire to travel anymore, that she’s simply getting too old. Still, you would think that the king would send out his heir and the heir’s wife to represent the crown abroad, as Charles did for his mother? You would be wrong. The last time Prince William and Kate did a real tour in Commonwealth countries, it was last year’s Caribbean Flop Tour and they’re still salty about how badly it went. After that tour, the British government basically told the Windsors: maybe you guys shouldn’t do your keen racist roadshows anymore. There was also that curious piece in the Telegraph right after the coronation, which was basically like: William and Kate absolutely refuse to go on tours anymore. Well, here’s an update:

A two-year blitz of formal visits by senior Royals is planned in a bid to protect ties with the Commonwealth and the rest of the world. The King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales hope a show of ‘soft diplomacy’ will protect relations with countries such as Australia which want to go it alone. The tours raise the prospect of Kate and William taking George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, with them.

Charles has made only one state visit – to Germany in March – since becoming King. As monarch, he has yet to visit any of the 14 Commonwealth realms outside the UK where he is head of state. But last night a palace source said: ‘State visits are back in business.’

Palace insiders have suggested senior Royals have been frustrated at the Government’s perceived slow process for approving visits, which are decided by the Foreign Office and Royal Visits Committee. Now plans are under way for a rescheduled visit to France by the King and Queen in September – postponed because of riots in March – and, next year, the King will visit Samoa when it hosts a Commonwealth heads of government meeting. As The Mail on Sunday has revealed, the King and Queen will also travel to Kenya later this year.

William and Kate are widely expected to visit the Commonwealth country of Singapore in the autumn. Kensington Palace has announced William will go to New York in September.

Historian Ian Lloyd said: ‘A visit by Charles to Canada and one by the Waleses to Australia and New Zealand would capitalise on the global interest in the Coronation. They need to do this soon before that interest wanes – and taking the Waleses’ children would prove to be a PR triumph too. The problem is they are asked to undertake tours by the Government who want to utilise the Royal soft power to promote the country. So, the King’s desire to maintain links with the Commonwealth has to work in tandem with the Government. This was easy in the early days of Elizabeth’s reign when Prime Ministers like Churchill had a romantic vision of the old empire.’

Elizabeth was once Queen of 31 Commonwealth ‘realms’. Today there are 14 – and referendums are planned which could see more of them peel away.

Last week the Australian state of Victoria announced that it would no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games because they ‘do not represent value for money’.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m fascinated by the politics of this slow-motion trainwreck. Arguably, this all started when QEII and her advisors made a point of snubbing the UK’s European allies and letting people know that QEII supported Brexit… specifically because of the British Commonwealth. As in, QEII valued commonwealth ties over the EU and European alliances. QEII and her advisors failed to predict what was right in front of them: that the British commonwealth would effectively die with QEII. Britain and the Windsors put all of their proverbial eggs in the “commonwealth” basket and it’s blown up in their faces. Especially since Charles seems to be the only one who even gives a sh-t about any of this now. Camilla would rather sit in her garden with a pitcher full of G&Ts. William would rather be ass-deep in rose bushes. Kate would rather watch TV. The Mail can’t even promise that William, Kate, Charles and Camilla will actually make any trips to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

The Barbenheimer release date “snafu” was designed to do one thing: annoy Christopher Nolan. Warner Bros was trying to screw over Nolan’s Oppenheimer by scheduling Barbie for the same release date. I’m not sure WB planned out what would come next: a months-long viral campaign for both films and millions of dollars worth of free media and publicity. At the end of the day, Barbenheimer was a huge success by any metric – Nolan’s Oppenheimer was his biggest non-Batman opening ever, and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is breaking all kinds of records for woman directors, non-comic-book movies and on and on.

Over the weekend, moviegoers turned out in force for Greta Gerwig’s neon-coated fantasy comedy “Barbie,” which smashed expectations with $155 million to land the biggest debut of the year. But they also showed up to see Christopher Nolan’s R-rated historical drama “Oppenheimer,” which collected a remarkable $80.5 million in its opening weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of ticket buyers refused to choose between the two seemingly different auter-driven blockbusters with sprawling casts and twin release dates. So they opted to attend same-day viewings of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” turning the box office battle into a double feature for the ages.

The cultural craze known as “Barbenheimer” worked to fuel the biggest collective box office weekend of the pandemic era, as well as the fourth-biggest overall weekend in history. It’s worth noting the top three weekends of all time were led by the debuts of sequels in massive franchises (“Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).

In the end, though, it wasn’t a competition as “Barbie” loomed large over box office charts, thanks to an inescapable marketing campaign, as well as quality to match the stratospheric hype. At the international box office, the film added $182 million for a stunning global tally of $337 million.

The $145 million-budgeted movie, backed by Warner Bros. and Mattel, dominated the zeitgeist in the weeks leading up to its debut (even reportedly causing a shortage of the color pink) to a degree that’s rare for original fare. (Yes, Barbie is perhaps the world’s most famous doll, but the movie isn’t a sequel or part of a pre-existing film franchise.)

“We have a pink unicorn here,” says Jeff Goldstein, the president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “We thought it would be $75 million for the opening weekend. Nobody saw $155 million coming. This doll has long legs.”

[From Variety]

While I’m happy for Nolan and the Oppy team, I’m beyond thrilled for Gerwig, for Margot Robbie, for what this hopefully means for women directors and women producers and female-led stories. Women are a huge market and an underserved market – give them original summer films, give them fun marketing campaigns and we will rush to the theater. I know Gerwig and Mattel will get a lot of well-deserved credit for what they did, but don’t discount Margot’s amazing contributions here. She was the producer and her company, LuckyChap, pitched this to Mattel and hired Greta to write and direct. Margot has had so much success as a producer already, even before this, but this success should get LuckyChap all kinds of deals. Also, shout-out to the Barbie marketing team and Margot’s stylist – y’all did incredible work.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images and Warner Bros/Barbie.

Prince George turned 10 years old on Saturday, and Kensington Palace released a new portrait of the heir’s heir on Friday. This was not taken by Kate – it was yet another photoshoot by Millie Pilkington, who did most of the portraits released by KP this year. This was apparently taken at Windsor Castle, somewhere. George looks tall for his age in this photo. But it’s not some big deal, really – we’ve seen so much of the Wales kids in recent months. Anyway, I don’t have much to say other than “happy birthday, kid.” Trust that Camilla Tominey will devote three pages of chaotic rambling about the photo though. Tominey wrote a very strange piece about George’s birthday, in which she lied about the color of George’s eyes (she claimed he has blue eyes – he does not), made shady references to Charles and Diana’s separation (they all know that the Wales marriage is not what it seems) and made multiple references to Prince Harry and Archie. Some highlights:

George never had blue eyes: “As the blue eyed toddler with the determined gaze and careful smile, it seemed almost impossible that this young man would one day hold the future of the monarchy on his shoulders, however much he resembled his grandfather at the same age.

George’s quiet confidence: “Less formally, William and Kate have introduced George to public life at sporting fixtures and the odd charitable engagement. In the crowds at Wimbledon he seemed a serious little chap, but quietly confident too, and close to his siblings. While the young prince can appear less boisterous than his little brother (already a camera puller at just five) and less assured than his sister, one source told the Daily Mail: “George has turned into a confident little boy and loves meeting new people. [He doesn’t] get nervous in public and [is] already showing signs of becoming [a] great leader.”

Charles & Diana separated when William was 10: For his father, George’s landmark birthday perhaps has added poignancy. Prince William was 10 when his parents separated in 1992. Seeing his son (who enjoys as stable a home life as a little boy in the public glare could hope to have) begin to find his way in the world, he must find himself reflecting on the turbulent times he and his brother endured when their parents’ marriage fell apart. Contrast the touching family scenes that unfolded in the Royal Box at Wimbledon last Sunday with what we now know was going on behind closed doors in Kensington Palace when William was growing up, and the two future kings’ childhoods seem worlds apart….The current Prince and Princess of Wales are determined to do things differently while raising George, his eight-year-old sister Princess Charlotte and his brother Prince Louis, five.

Hands-on parents: Diana was undoubtedly a hands-on mother – but the couple have taken this further by ensuring that one of them is always around at breakfast and bedtime. “Diaries are very carefully managed to ensure that one of them is always there for the children,” confirmed one insider. “They are the ones doing the school run most days.” As one friend recently told the Mirror, this is a no-frills affair: “There are no blow-dries – it’s always hair up in a ponytail. She’s often in her gym clothes, with very little makeup, apologising as she’s late before dashing off.”

Deft Buttons: In public, the Princess deftly helps all three children behave for the cameras, distracting them with things of interest in the crowd or calming them if it overwhelms – as it did once in 2016 at the Royal Air Show, when a three-year-old Prince George had a wobble and needed his mother’s comfort. Keen to avoid the sibling rivalry that has plagued her husband’s relationship with his brother, Kate is careful to treat all her offspring equally – even though one is a future king.

The move to Windsor: Moving from the “goldfish bowl” of Kensington Palace, to Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Great Park estate has changed things considerably for the family. Originally built for Queen Adelaide in 1831, the four-bedroom home does not have any staff accommodation, so the Waleses are largely going it alone domestically. While they have retained the services of Maria Borrallo, the Spanish Norland-trained nanny who has been with them since George’s birth, their wider domestic entourage has been significantly scaled back. “It’s partly by design,” said one source. “They want the children to grow up in a family home rather than a palace.”

Another decade of keen promises: One insider said: “They are very happy right now at Windsor and for the next decade or so everything will be pretty much dictated by what is right for the children.”

Parenting in the age of social media: Another concern is protecting the children’s privacy as they grow in independence. The young William and Harry had the press and paparazzi to worry about – now it’s anyone with an iPhone. “They are in the unique situation of being famous from birth,” said one former aide. “No other royals have grown up in this environment and it’s going to be tricky to navigate. This is the one thing the royal brothers will want to converse on. Because the decisions facing William and Kate with George will soon be upon Harry and Meghan with Archie.”

George doesn’t have to be a working royal until he’s 35?? Yet the truth is none of these decisions have yet been made. It is not even certain whether George will be required to become a full-time working royal by the age of 35 or pursue his own career.

[From The Telegraph]

“There are no blow-dries – it’s always hair up in a ponytail. She’s often in her gym clothes, with very little makeup, apologising as she’s late before dashing off.” So… Kate is doing drop-offs and then she dashes off to the gym, and then what? How does she spend the rest of her day? Also, Kate and William don’t treat their kids equally. We have seen that time and time again – George gets singled out, just as William was singled out for more beneficial treatment. And WTF is this quote? “This is the one thing the royal brothers will want to converse on. Because the decisions facing William and Kate with George will soon be upon Harry and Meghan with Archie.” Like… the Sussexes live in America where they live as private citizens in a home they own, with private security they pay for. Harry’s not going to be checking in with William about “the paparazzi,” especially since the Windsors seemed especially gleeful about that paparazzi swarm (or whatever it actually was) in New York.

Photos courtesy of Millie Pilkington/Kensington Palace, Avalon Red and Cover Images.

Michael Cera is only 35 years old, but it feels like he’s been famous forever, and it also feels like he’s permanently stuck at 18 years old, especially with his babyface. Cera plays Allan, the discontinued doll, in the Barbie movie. Allan was introduced as Ken’s male friend, but it turned out that no one wanted Ken to have friends. Ken was solely dedicated to being Barbie’s boyfriend. I kind of love that Greta Gerwig included Allan and Midge, who was also discontinued – Midge (played by Emerald Fennell) was supposed to be Barbie’s knocked-up friend, and I guess the Barbie mythology is that Midge and Allan were married. Boring! But Michael Cera isn’t boring – he’s just Canadian, and his Canadianness is felt throughout this Guardian interview. Some highlights:

Why Allan was discontinued: “Somewhat of a marginalised figure. It turned out people didn’t need to go deeper into Ken’s world.” An Allan doll, which the actor bought on eBay, sat in the hair and makeup room, as inspiration and “a sort of mascot, until after shooting, when I took him home”, says Cera. “I definitely wanted to have my own Allan.” He has a broken sandal, says Cera, with a touch of sadness, “but it doesn’t matter – he’s like 60 years old or something”.

He loved working on ‘Barbie’: “I was desperate to be a part of it.” Gerwig, who co-wrote as well as directed, had “her stamp all over every single part of it”, Cera says. He loved going on to the sets – Barbieland on a massive scale. “I would stand there and marvel, and never got tired of looking around and finding new little details. It was one of the most stunning things I’ve ever seen.”

His thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI). Cera says he asked an AI service recently if we were living in a simulation and its reply was: ‘It’s totally likely that you are.’”

He likes to hear recommendations from friends, not an algorithm. “I think that things are a little too optimised. Even with parenting” – he has a young son – “you have a million questions when you have a new baby and you look online, and there’s always some highly optimised answer about whatever problem you’re having.” He prefers the idea of muddling through, working it out for himself “and not trying to do everything perfectly, and have everything become this sort of homogenised version. I kind of miss when things were a little sloppier.”

He does not own a smartphone. Google Maps? “That’s the thing everybody always asks. I just figure it out ahead of time.” Sometimes he draws a map. Social media? He doesn’t do it. Endless photos? He bought himself a camera while his wife was pregnant and taught himself how to use it, “and now I love that as a hobby”. What about when he has a spare 30 seconds and desperately needs to save himself from agonising boredom? “I don’t know. Sometimes I’ll just be bored.” He laughs, as if it’s no big deal. It gives him space to process things, he says. Checking email? He has a computer at home for that, “and I waste a lot of time playing chess. It’s completely got its tentacles in my brain, but at least I leave it at home.”

He doesn’t feel judgmental towards phone-addicted people: “I feel sorry for my son, I feel sorry for the world. I think it’s getting very lonely.” Sometimes he will look around the subway and “do a head count of how many people are looking at their phones and it makes me feel lonely. Even being with friends or with family, you’re with someone you love and haven’t seen in a while, and they’re with their phone. It’s like they left the room. I think it bums a lot of people out, honestly. I feel the loneliness creeping in….That’s the triumph of the Apple corporation. It has done a good job of making people feel they can’t exist without its product.”

Getting famous from ‘Arrested Development’ & Juno: “That was sort of overwhelming. I didn’t know how to handle walking down the street. Fame makes you very uncomfortable in your own skin, and makes you paranoid and weird. There were lots of great things about it, and I met a lot of amazing people, but there’s a lot of bad energies, too, ones that I was not equipped to handle.”

His wife: He and his wife, Nadine, met in a bar in Paris, where she was studying and he was promoting Arrested Development. “We trip out about that all the time. It’s completely unlikely that we would ever meet.” She didn’t know who Cera was. “She thought I was Swedish, until we spoke. I didn’t know if she would speak English, and if we would even have a chance to talk, and it was very lucky that she did because we wouldn’t have a son, we wouldn’t have a relationship.”

[From The Guardian]

Imagine meeting Michal Cera in a bar and not knowing who he is! I wonder if he had any game at all – he has never seemed like a guy with any game. Maybe that was nice though? I mean, it worked! I like that he talked about how Gerwig created real sets and didn’t just leave everything to CGI. I also appreciate that, and it must have been so cool to be on that amazing set and be able to look at all of the craftsmanship and detail that went into everything. I also have a love/hate relationship with smartphones, and I totally understand why someone would opt out or just use an old-school flip-phone. It’s insane how much phones have just completely changed society in less than twenty years.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Getty.

Tony Bennett has passed away at the age of 96. [Variety]
Bethenny Frankel thinks reality-show people should go on strike too, because they’re also getting screwed over in residuals. I mean… she’s actually right (a broken clock, etc). [Starcasm]
The Marvels trailer is here and Zawe Ashton is introduced as the villain. [Just Jared]
Review of Justified: City Primeval. [LaineyGossip]
Hype for the Women’s World Cup. [Pajiba]
Jodie Turner Smith is on the picket line. [Go Fug Yourself]
Kevin Smith is the most famous person at Comic Con. [Seriously OMG]
Matt Gaetz’s wife cries about Ken’s “low T.” [Jezebel]
We haven’t heard anything about Nicola Peltz in a few months, huh. [Egotastic]
“Boy Dinner” is also a thing. [Buzzfeed]
LGBTQ youths of color feel most comfortable on TikTok. [Towleroad]
The Belgian royal family celebrated a national holiday. [RCFA]

It’s hard out here on the Dirty Ass beat, but this one isn’t so bad. The ladies of Barbie sat down and recorded a cute video with Vanity Fair (before the strike). The video is “how well do you know your costars,” it features Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon and America Ferrera. America’s part is getting a lot of headlines – she asked the women to name her biggest guilty pleasure. Their answers ranged from self-care stuff, eating cookie dough or looking on Redfin and dreaming about real estate. America says no, she doesn’t feel guilty about any of that, then admits: “I’m going to really regret saying this… It’s not showering for a few days.” You should feel guilty about that!! Here’s the video:

I love the way the other women were kind of grossed out. They were really surprised. America has two kids, btw – a son and daughter, both under the age of five. I can’t imagine not showering for a few days, but maybe she simply doesn’t have time.

Issa’s “America, no” was also very, very funny.

Issa Rae says if she could have anyone sing/rap the theme song to her life it would be Megan Thee Stallion.

(via vanityfair on TikTok.) pic.twitter.com/rQyyCIebIA

— TheeStallionNews (@MegansCharts) July 20, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

Valerie Bertinelli has been open about her struggle with weight and body image for many years. She’s spoken about realizing that she can’t find happiness just from losing weight, and she’s had her fair share of body-shamers on the internet. She’s responded to trolls in the past and called them out for being petty and cruel. Recently someone commented on one of Valerie’s TikToks, “the Botox looks great,” which was definitely meant as a snarky comment. So Valerie made a TikTok where she talked about why that type of comment hurts, and detailed her own experience with Botox. She had it before, but she didn’t like how it turned out. Valerie comes across so genuine and sweet, it just makes me more annoyed that people are coming at her for the apparent crime of aging as a 62-year-old woman.

The “One Day at a Time” alum posted a TikTok Sunday in response to a user who commented “The Botox looks great” on one of her prior videos.

The Food Network star interpreted the comment as sarcasm, but decided to switch gears by responding to the mockery with mindfulness.

“I know you didn’t mean that as a compliment, but let’s talk about it, shall we?” Bertinelli began. “I have tried Botox … I hated it.”

The “Hot in Cleveland” star then pulled up a photo of herself from six years ago when she did get Botox, and explained that the procedure “changed the shape of my eyebrows” resulting in her not recognizing her own face.

“What I thought it was going to do was help me with my genetically puffy eyes,” Bertinelli explained. “They’ve always annoyed me. I’ve always wanted those deep-set eyes. Don’t have ’em. Never going to get ’em. So, just live with it.”

But then Bertinelli got to the real reason why she wanted to talk about the comment.

“Because you’re trying to shame me, and you’re a woman. Like, what made you go out of your way to try to shame me?” Bertinelli said. “And I’m not the first person to try to be shamed on TikTok or Instagram or any place. So, we’re women. We have to stick together, OK? Don’t shame somebody if they want to do something, anything, to make themselves feel better as they go out into this insane, flippin’ crazy world, OK?”

She then shattered any kind of stigma surrounding cosmetic procedures by admitting that if Botox helped her feel better about her appearance, she’d use it.

“Some people can do Botox, and it looks amazing on them,” she said. “I am not one of them, unfortunately, or I would’ve kept doing it. But thankfully, it faded. I couldn’t wait for it to fade.”

[From The Huffington Post]

I wonder who told Valerie that Botox would help with puffy eyes because that just seems like bad advice. Botox in the forehead will slightly lift the tail of the brow in many cases, but it won’t meaningfully change how your eye socket looks. Anyway, good for her for calling this person out. The stigma against women getting treatments like Botox is so annoying, and it does feel like women can’t win. If they age naturally, people shame them, and if they get professional help, people shame them.

As for the person shaming her being a woman, I’m not surprised at that. In my experience, women can shame each other worse than men sometimes. And I think women often shame each other because of envy, or because they feel threatened. I was raised in a very conservative church and I carried parts of “modesty culture” around with me even after I left the church. I’d never say anything to other women, but I would judge them in my mind for wearing revealing clothes, and it would bother me so much. I had to examine why I was getting so activated, and I realized it was because I envied them. I wanted to be seen, I wanted to be desired, I wanted to own my femininity like they were. And the culture I was raised in told me I was a deviant and a Jezebel if I wanted any of those things, so I suppressed a lot of stuff. Now I’m not triggered at all by other women wearing whatever the heck they want. In most cases when other women annoy me, it’s because they’re reflecting back something I haven’t accepted about myself. I think a similar dynamic is often at play when women shame each other for how they manage aging or treatments like Botox. Valerie has always looked great to me and I hope she doesn’t let mean comments get to her.

Valerie Bertinelli replying to @ lisaweiss711 [TikTok]

I couldn’t hear it that well so I cranked up the volume and had to shorten it for twitter. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/yU7DdQqKZO

— aka stardust (@a_k_a_stardust) July 17, 2023

Embed from Getty Images

photos credit: Getty, Avalon.red and Cover Images