Here are some photos of King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace yesterday. They attended a ceremony “to present new Standards and Colours to the Royal Navy, the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, The King’s Company of the Grenadier Guards and The King’s Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force.” An exhaustive description for “the king got to wear his fancy uniform.” Camilla wore a very “Kate” ensemble – I think Kate even has that exact hat and those boots.
Yesterday, I started following the Independent’s live blog of the preliminary court hearing in Prince Harry and Hugh Grant’s case against the Sun. At one point in Thursday’s proceedings, News Group Newspapers’ counsel claimed that NGN had no “secret agreement” with Buckingham Palace to delay lawsuits for years, and NGN’s lawyer cited an unnamed palace source who “insisted there was no secret agreement.” That’s right – why believe Harry’s words, stated on the record, when anonymous palace sources are insisting (to the Sun) that no secret agreement existed? Case closed! In case you need this point underlined, unnamed palace sources also ran to the Daily Beast to test out some rebuttals to Harry’s case. Meaning, NGN, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace are all in alignment, but none of these palace sources are willing to go under oath and f–king swear that there was no secret agreement. Some highlights from the Daily Beast:
Friends of the Windsors are feeling chatty: Friends of the royal family have scoffed at Prince Harry’s characterization of an alleged $1 million-plus payment to Prince William as evidence that a “secret agreement” was constructed by the family with a major newspaper publisher and that Harry was kept in the dark over phone hacking claims, with one source questioning how the payout could be described as secret if Harry knew about it. Another friend of the family said Harry’s suggestion that the family would have maliciously conspired against Harry or sought to protect Queen Camilla at his expense was “hurtful and mistaken.”
William’s secret settlement: A friend of William’s has now questioned Harry’s version of events, telling The Daily Beast: “It hardly seems like much of a secret if Harry knew about it.”
But the secret settlement does exist: But media lawyer Mark Stephens, a partner at leading law firm Howard Kennedy, told The Daily Beast that just because Harry knew about the deal did not mean it couldn’t be described as “secret”. “Secrets are never entirely secret—there are of course always some people who know. What is more important is whether there was an agreement at all, and the palace now seems to be conceding that yes, some deal or settlement exists. That’s the important point.”
Harry’s claim that Charles shut down attempts to sue NGN to protect Camilla: A long standing friend of the king and queen told The Daily Beast: “Dragging Camilla into it is hurtful and mistaken.” Asked if Camilla and Charles were upset by the allegations made by Harry, which echoed remarks in his book, Spare, in which he described Camilla as “dangerous” and prepared to “sacrifice” him, the friend said, “They are fully focused on the coronation in just a few days’ time. They won’t be distracted.”
“It hardly seems like much of a secret if Harry knew about it.” I’m stuck on this too, not because “well if Harry knew about it, that means it wasn’t a secret.” I’m stuck on it because how did Harry learn about it? Harry and William have barely been in communication since 2020. Kensington Palace’s staffers are briefing AGAINST Harry, not TO Harry. How did Harry discover the secret settlement? My theory – and I have absolutely nothing to back this up – is that Harry learned about the settlement not from within the royal family, but from someone in NGN’s organization. As for Charles’s position that every time Harry mentions Camilla’s name, it’s somehow “hurtful” to Charles – for the love of god, Camilla is the entire reason the whole f–king family is in this mess. She’s ground zero.
In general though, the lack of specificity from “royal sources” is an admission in itself. They can’t come out and say “there was no secret agreement and no secret settlement” on the record because that’s a damn lie and they don’t know how much Harry knows or what kind of evidence he has of their duplicity. It’s amazing to see how Harry has boxed them in.
So, people are mad at me because I’m “rooting for infidelity” apparently. What I’m rooting for is fun, low-stakes gossip. What I’m rooting for is a new generation of Hollywood stars to have a messy scandal involving consenting adults. Sydney Sweeney is engaged, but not married and there are no kids involved. Glen Powell and Gigi Paris weren’t even engaged and, from the sound of it, they were already falling apart long before Glen and Sydney started flirting with each other on the Australian set of their rom-com. Gigi Paris is making a name for herself on the back of Glen and Sydney’s are-they-or-aren’t-they buzz. It actually sounds like Gigi ran to People Magazine to correct the record about her breakup and why she unfollowed Sydney on Instagram.
Glen Powell’s girlfriend Gigi Paris appeared to be hinting at a breakup when she shared a video of herself walking alone on Instagram Wednesday with the caption: “know your worth & onto the next.” But a source tells PEOPLE the couple, who started dating in 2019 and were first spotted together vacationing in Punta Mita, Mexico, in January 2020, had called it quits several weeks ago — and it wasn’t the first time.
“Gigi and Glen had broken up several times,” the source tells PEOPLE. “They had been on the rocks since Top Gun came out. Gigi was never happy with the long distance filming and when she came to Australia [where Powell was filming Anyone But You] they both decided to break up for good.”
Though speculation about Powell’s chemistry with his Anyone But You costar Sydney Sweeney (who is engaged to Jonathan Davino) grew louder when it appeared that Paris had unfollowed Sweeney on social media, a second source says there’s no truth to the rumors.
“Gigi only unfollowed Sydney on social media because Sydney never followed her back. This had nothing to do with Glen and Sydney. Gigi is aware that Glen and Sydney never hooked up,” the source says, adding that the model felt the distance when Glen was on set. “He takes his work very seriously and it was tough on the relationship.”
And as to Powell and Sweeney’s friendly vibes on set? “They’re filming a movie that’s a romantic comedy!” the second insider says. “It’s like when people say about movie stars, ‘Oh, they have such good chemistry.’ It’s just their job. They’re friends that met on set. They’re costars.”
The first source echoes that distance is what drove Powell and Paris apart: “It wasn’t about infidelity. She’s on different coasts modeling, he’s on different coasts filming. When she left, they were on great terms.”
Gigi’s Version is: we were already falling apart, I went to visit him in Australia in late March but I only traveled that far so we could break up with each other in person, and he definitely didn’t cheat on me with Sydney. Sure. I mean, at least Gigi isn’t making this messier than it needs to be. She’s handling this the right way overall. Now, do I also think that Gigi got to Australia a month ago and she quickly caught on that something was happening between Glen and Sydney? For sure. Also: “Gigi only unfollowed Sydney on social media because Sydney never followed her back.” Why do you think that is??? If I was boning some guy with a girlfriend, I wouldn’t follow the girlfriend on IG either!
Here are more photos from Prince William and Kate’s day in Wales on Thursday. Their “day” started so late, they actually stayed the night in Wales, at a local bed and breakfast. No word on how many rooms they needed! After they went hiking and abseiling with the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team, William and Kate went to Dowlais Rugby Club to hang out with members of the community.
Someone in Kensington Palace reads Celebitchy, because Peg and Keen made a big show of not showing up to the club empty-handed. They stopped by the Little Dragon Pizza Van, which is like a food truck for Welsh people, and they ended up grabbing 22 “pies.” William and Kate apparently ordered a bunch of different kinds, “including pepperoni, margherita, barbecue chicken and goats’ cheese pizzas.” Wait until you see the photo of the actual “pizza.” Like… Welsh people, y’all need to invite some Italians to emigrate to Wales so y’all can have some proper Italian food. No disrespect to the Little Dragon Pizza Van, but those are some of the saddest pizzas I’ve ever seen.
Welsh peeps: is this really what your pizza looks like? Oh, dear. pic.twitter.com/rFPSMEeMBF
— Kaiser@Celebitchy (@KaiseratCB) April 27, 2023
Derangers are making a big deal about how Kate and William are so normal, caring and generous they are for bringing those struggle pizzas around, but Will and Kate really did turn the whole thing into a self-conscious photo-op. The paparazzi got shots of them walking up to the van and Kate carrying more boxes than William. Maybe that’s the way we can get them to donate more sh-t to people – convince them to turn everything into a pre-arranged photo-op, so we’ll see Kate performatively lift one bag of donations to the baby bank, and we can see them both carry one can of beans (each) to the food bank.
As William and Kate were making a big show of picking up the pizza boxes, a reporter called out: “William, have you spoken to your brother? Why did you settle, William?” According to the Mail, “A smiling William continued to walk indoors with his wife and did not acknowledge the question.”
Is the bloom of the rose for Love is Blind? The popular reality series has had a couple of weeks of bad press due to their botched live reunion, serious claims of mistreatment by past contestants, shade from one of the few successful couples from the show, and the Lacheys’ uneven hosting. Nick and Vanessa have always seemed a bit superfluous as hosts, but they were seriously criticized after the last reunion special in which Vanessa seemed biased for/against certain contestants and continued her inappropriate pushing for a “Love is Blind baby.” Some fans have started a position to replace them, and insiders say their position is actually a bit tenuous.
Love Is Blind’s favorite contestants Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton are in the running to replace Vanessa and Nick Lachey as Netflix and the show’s creator consider their options following an outpouring of demands to ax the ‘obnoxious’ actors and hire ‘the down-to-earth’ newlyweds.
‘There’s always been whispers about replacing them, especially now after the live reunion special which was a complete disaster on so many levels,’ an insider who works on the show revealed to DailyMail.com.
‘If they want to keep their ratings up, there’s got to be a change.’
That change could very well be the ushering in Speed, 35, and Hamilton, 32, as brand new hosts.
The couple captured viewers hearts in season one of the Netflix show when they fell in love, got engaged and married within weeks of meeting each other. The happy couple tied the knot on November 14, 2018, Lauren’s 31st birthday.
‘Viewers feel a connection with Lauren and Cameron because they are the real deal,’ said the on-set source.
‘They are down-to-earth, kind people who can actually help the contestants because they have walked in their shoes.
‘People want to relate to the hosts – and at this point they can’t relate to Vanessa or Nick.’
The former contestants met on the first day of taping the debut season of Love Is Blind, and despite not meeting each other in person for the first month, they claim to have both fallen in love instantly.
Prior to appearing on Love Is Blind, Lauren ran a marketing company in her hometown of Detroit and now hosts the popular podcast We Have the Receipts with comedian Chris Burns recapping Netflix’s most exciting reality shows.
Hamilton who hails from Maine is a scientist who founded the Artificial Intelligence company Alliance AI in 2019 and keeps busy with his passion for physical fitness and cooking.
In June, the happy couple will release their book, Leap of Faith, which documents their magical love story and continue to keep fans entertained with their YouTube channel Hanging With The Hamiltons with nearly 800K followers, in addition to their millions of enthusiasts on social media. They share a ‘fur baby’ Airedale named Sparx.
Thousands of die-hard fans have taken to social media in support of bringing on the couple to replace the Lacheys, berating the hosts – particularly Vanessa – for their ‘cringy, ‘condescending’ and ‘obnoxious’ behavior towards contestants on the recent live reunion special watched by some 6.5 million viewers.
Immediately following the live show, Love Is Blind fan Libby Cross created a Change.org petition urging Netflix to bring on Lauren and Cameron as the new hosts.
‘Join me in asking Netflix to replace Nick and Vanessa as host of LIB….. with LAUREN AND CAMERON HAMILTON. If you agree, please sign this petition and sign the one below to make Lauren and Cameron the new hosts!’
Supporters were quick to give their support, with one fan writing, ‘Cameron and Lauren were on the first season of Love is Blind and are proof that love can be blind. Not only have they been through it and can relate to the contestants but they’re just plain likable people.’
Another wrote, ‘Nick and Vanessa Lachey proved that they are not the right choice as hosts of the show during the season 4 reunion. It’s time to save the show by making Cameron and Lauren the hosts moving forward!’
‘These two ( Lauren and Cameron Hamilton) are the first EVER living proof of this experiment and happily in love. They deserve to be the hosts of this show,’ added another supporter.
Nina Abbott wrote, ‘The Lacheys ruin this show with their bias & cluelessness. We need hosts that have been there in their shoes & not just someone who wants to stir up non existent drama.’
Vanessa was called out for grilling contestants about their pregnancy plans with non-stop questions such as ‘Who will be the first to have babies? Are you trying? I hope you are trying. By the way, are you trying?’ without taking into consideration that not all women can have children.
‘Lauren and Cameron understand the contestants and their experiences. Lauren is a class act and will offer more than “when are you going to have a baby?” to the conversation,’ another Hamilton supporter wrote in the comment section of the growing petition.
‘These guys are actually genuine and care about love. The current hosts just gaslight people and are one sided (Vanessa),’ wrote Jocelyn Wilson.
Cross’s original Change.org called Remove Nick and Vanessa Lachey as the Hosts of Love is Blind was created five months ago and within the last few days, an additional 30,000 supporters have added their signatures to the petition which now stands at over 40,000.
Several smaller petitions have also sprung up in recent days with the same end.
‘For a show that is attempting to be reality TV, Vanessa and Nick make it feel fake, cringy, and poorly produced… Join the thousands of Love is Blind fans in making the show evolve into the best version of itself by removing Nick and Vanessa Lachey as hosts and replacing them with…. Well literally anyone else,’ Cross’s petition reads.
The on-set source, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job, told DailyMail.com: ‘Vanessa and Nick are fabulous when it comes to interacting with the studio higher-ups and Netflix executives, but there’s another side to them which everyone finally got to see because the reunion special wasn’t scripted.’
Love Is Blind debuted in 2020 and follows singles trying to make a match and fall in love without ever seeing each other face-to-face. The reality show is in its fourth season and the Lacheys have hosted since day one.
Chris Coelen created the dating show with his production company Kinetic Content which also produces The Ultimatum with hosts Nick and Vanessa, and is best known for the Married At First Sight reality shows.
The original petition was created months ago before the most recent reunion, which speaks to Nick and Vanessa’s overall inadequacy as hosts, but has received many more signatures since it aired. The insider says that there are musings about replacing them and offered some insight into why they were chosen in the first place, which I’d always wondered about. The executives and producers like Nick and Vanessa, which I guess was all that mattered until it didn’t. The petition initially suggested to replace the Lacheys with “literally anyone,” though now people are suggesting Lauren and Cameron Hamilton, the first and most beloved of the successful couples from the show. And I actually think it’s a great idea. The two of them are genuinely likable, together and separately. Lauren has some hosting experience. And better yet, the couple can actually relate to and understand the contestants and ask nuanced questions instead of just inappropriately interrogating people about their family plans.
Photos credit: Netflix. Top photo is a screenshot from the YouTube announcement of the live reunion
Last week, out of nowhere, Mia Farrow fired up the Twitter machine and tweeted out something unexpected: “Here’s my unkind thought of the day: I’m getting a little bit tired of Harry and Meghan.” When Sussex fans piled on, she ended up deleting the tweet without any explanation or apology. But the Squad does have a long memory and y’all love to keep receipts and maybe Mia Farrow knows that. So when she was asked about the tweet at the Time 100 gala on Wednesday, she gave a long-winded and somewhat nonsensical response to why she wrote that.
A social media mistake. Mia Farrow admitted that she regrets her recent headline-making tweet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
“I shouldn’t tweet without thinking,” the Rosemary’s Baby actress, 78, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Time100 Gala in New York City on Wednesday, April 26. “I adore them. I was thinking in that moment about [Princess] Diana and how much I admired her and how much the one thing she would want would be [for] her boys to be together, and how perhaps Harry may have been saying a lot of things that will make that more difficult.”
The Golden Globe winner went on to say that she wishes she could take back the social media post. “I regretted it because a lot of people thought I was being nasty,” Farrow explained. “And I guess it was a pretty nasty thing to say, but I didn’t intend it to be. I deleted it and I saw how offended people were. But that’s what I was thinking.”
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles native tweeted, “Here’s my unkind thought of the day: I’m getting a little bit tired of Harry and Meghan.”
Farrow, for her part, thinks the Duchess of Sussex “shares so many” qualities with Diana, who died at age 36 in a 1997 car crash. “It’s great that they left England, because that’s impossible,” the Broadway Danny Rose star added. “I just want those two boys to be together.”
The What Falls Away author added that she’s “never met” Harry or his brother, Prince William, but she’s still invested in their relationship because of how much she respected Diana.
“I shouldn’t even care. We all care,” Farrow continued. “We cared about their mother. It was horrible for all of us when she died, though. I never met her. And we cared about the little boys. We were heartbroken. And now we do want them to make the peace, whatever it takes.”
I honestly don’t get people who say sh-t like “the one thing she would want would be [for] her boys to be together” and “now we do want them to make the peace, whatever it takes.” Harry and Meghan fled physical abuse, financial abuse and emotional abuse. As Harry said, they were not going to stop until Meghan was dead. These prissy hens need to stop with “Diana would have wanted Harry and William to be together” and “make peace with the people who abused you.” A completely horrible message for anyone, and a particularly heinous message for Harry. Harry has every right to walk away and protect his wife and children, just as he has every right to speak the truth and shame the devil. Mia Farrow disagrees.
Remember when one South Park episode completely ended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s hopes and dreams within California? Remember how the self-styled British experts of all things Hollywood insisted that no one wants to work with Meghan and Harry, that their massively successful Netflix docuseries and Harry’s bestselling memoir would make them unpopular in royalist Hollywood? Yeah. So, the Duchess of Sussex has just signed with WME, one of the largest and most powerful agencies for creatives. According to Variety, Meghan has been courted by “numerous” agencies for years, and she’s finally decided to sign with WME.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has signed for representation with WME, Variety can report exclusively. The signing represents a crown jewel for WME, one might say, as numerous agency rivals have tried to land the public figure formerly known as Meghan Markle since she and husband Prince Harry moved to California in 2020.
Her team at WME will be led by power agent turned Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. She’ll also work with Brad Slater, the rep and brand architect for Dwayne Johnson, and longtime Serena Williams agent Jill Smoller. Additionally, WME will assume representation of Archewell, her and Prince Harry’s content creation label. Film and television production, brand partnerships, and overall business-building will be explored. Acting will not be an area of focus.
The relationship signifies that Meghan is looking to zero in on her enterprise efforts. Her lifelong advocacy for women, mothers and girls will remain a thread in her professional work. In her Variety cover story last year, she discussed her ambitions around Archewell original content (she and Harry are currently engaged in a deal with Netflix).
Thus far, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have produced two docuseries with Netflix, including “Harry & Meghan.” That series represents the most-streamed documentary premiere in Netflix history, with 81.5 million minutes watched in its first week.
Meghan is a global icon, topping lists such as TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People, The Financial Times’ 25 Most Influential Women, Variety Power of Women, and British Vogue’s Vogue 25.
Global icon? Most-streamed? Most influential? I can feel the seething and tantrums from Salt Island from here. And to work personally with Ari Emmanuel, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and politics? In addition to being one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood, Ari Emmanuel is a huge fundraiser for Democrats and very well-connected in the Democratic Party. It’s amazing that Jill Smoller is coming on board too – J-Smoll is well known to Serena Williams’ fans, and J-Smoll and Serena have been together since the very start of Serena’s career. Serena considers Jill to be part of the Williams family. Once again, Meghan’s friends and allies are looking out for her.
Also: “brand partnerships” – I swear to God, I’ve been dying for Meghan and Harry to get some brand partnerships. Dior ambassadorships WHEN??
Photos courtesy of Archewell, Variety YouTube video and ‘Ted Talk’.
Meta canceled Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk. I didn’t actually know that Meta had a contract with Jada, one which could be canceled? [JustJared]
Right-wing podcaster Steven Crowder implies that his estranged wife shouldn’t have the right to file for divorce. That is coming down the pike – Republicans will try to end no-fault divorce, to keep their wives from leaving them. [Jezebel]
There was always going to be “more Zendaya” in the Dune sequels, wasn’t that always the original plan? [LaineyGossip]
They’re desperately trying to convince us that the live-action Little Mermaid has good lighting and I’m not buying it. [Dlisted]
Review of John Mulvaney’s latest comedy special, Baby J. [Pajiba]
Some of the skirts in this Valentino collection are amazing. [Tom & Lorenzo]
A 90 Day Fiance star tested positive for fentanyl. [Starcasm]
Trent Crimm experimented with his hair! [GFY]
You really can find some amazing stuff in thrift stores. [Buzzfeed]
Howard Stern talks about Tucker Carlson’s firing. [Towleroad]
What is Shailene Woodley up to? [Egotastic]
Considering how the Prince and Princess of Wales are excessively coddled by the British media, it’s not surprising to see a lack of reporting and a lack of outrage about Prince William’s secret settlement with News Group Newspapers in 2020. The fact that William accepted a large financial settlement is interesting in and of itself, but everything around the secrecy (for years!) and the backroom deal of it all is what is extremely notable and newsworthy. Looking back on it, there seemed to be several parts of William’s deal with NGN, given that Kensington Palace began leaking and briefing in earnest to the Times of London (owned by NGN/Rupert Murdoch) just after the settlement. It’s also notable that the Sun (owned by NGN) did the most original reporting, in 2019, about William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury, including the “rural rival” story which got so much attention. Always trust William to deflect accountability by merely throwing a tantrum about Harry though, which is what seems to be happening:
Prince William will “never trust Harry again,” a friend has told The Daily Beast, after Prince Harry revealed details of a “very large” phone hacking settlement William got from News Group Newspapers (NGN), and accused his brother of being party to a secret deal made by his family with his media tormentors.
A friend of Prince William’s told The Daily Beast: “Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. This is scorched earth stuff from Harry. By revealing these secrets, he is burning everything to the ground. He is making it very clear that he considers his relationship with William is over.”
Asked how William was reacting to Harry’s statement, of which he had no foreknowledge or warning, the friend said: “William will never trust Harry again. How could he? The truth is William absolutely hates Harry now and will never forgive him for the damage he has done to the family. The brothers were so close when they were younger that it is just incredible to those of us who knew them back then that they have reached a stage where Harry is revealing his brother’s confidential legal settlements.”
The Daily Beast understands that Prince William, and indeed the wider royal family, had no idea what was in Harry’s witness statement until the document was unsealed at the High Court.
A friend of King Charles’ told The Daily Beast that his default position will always be to try and keep the door open to his younger son, despite the fact that he believes his actions to be misguided. “Charles has been through an enormous amount himself, and he does have a deep sympathy for Harry, who he adores,” the friend said.
Some commentators have suggested that William’s settlement with NGN was fairly standard practice, and certainly speaking to William’s friends one gets the feeling that many of them believe Harry has revealed the settlement, at least partly, out of spite aimed at his brother.
But media lawyer Mark Stephens, a partner at leading law firm Howard Kennedy, told The Daily Beast that Harry’s decision to reveal his brother’s settlement, far from being an act of mere vindictiveness, made good legal sense. “NGN is essentially arguing that Harry is out of time, but Harry is making the argument that he delayed proceedings because of the secret deal, and the payment to his brother is part of the evidence that such a deal existed. The payment is important. It is a crucial piece of the picture which Harry and his lawyers are building which is that William and the other royals were cozying up to Murdoch while Harry was kept out of the loop because they suspected he would see it see it as his duty to fight.”
As it was with Spare, the Windsors are not assuming the position of “Harry is lying about everything, none of this happened.” They’re mad that Harry is telling the truth, they’re mad that he’s revealing sh-t that they’ve been actively hiding for years and decades. Instead of worrying about how disgusting it was to cover up a secret settlement with NGN, William is just… mad at Harry. Always. Infuriated. Incandescent. Enraged. Irate. That’s William’s official position: how dare the brother I despise, the brother I violently assaulted, reveal my secret settlement which left me deeply compromised? Always trust William to be mad about the wrong thing.
I usually don’t sympathize with the giant corporation which effectively operates its own fiefdom within a state, but in a limited sense, I am absolutely on Disney’s side in its fight against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. You have to understand, the state of Florida has had a long line of mostly Republican governors who helped craft the legislation giving Disney so much power within the state. These issues of power and self-governance are not new, and before DeSantis, disputes usually ended swiftly when Disney reminded the state how much they pay in taxes, how much they provide to the state’s local economy, and how much they boost tourism. DeSantis doesn’t care, and he’s doing all of this for the stupidest of reasons: because Disney isn’t going to fire or punish LGBTQ people, and because Disney publicly opposed the homophobic and bigoted legislation DeSantis and his cronies pushed through. Last we heard, Disney was able to establish their self-governance through a perpetuity clause invoking King Charles III. DeSantis is still trying to figure out a way to hurt them or control them. So Disney just sued DeSantis.
Last year, under pressure from its employees, Disney criticized a Florida education law prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for young students. Almost instantly, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida started calling the company “Woke Disney” and vowing to show it who was boss.
“If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy,” Mr. DeSantis wrote in a fund-raising email at the time.
Since then, Florida legislators, at the urging of Mr. DeSantis, have targeted Disney — the state’s largest taxpayer — with a variety of hostile measures. In February, they ended Disney’s long-held ability to self-govern its 25,000-acre resort as if it were a county. Last week, Mr. DeSantis announced plans to subject Disney to new ride inspection regulations.
Disney has quietly maneuvered to protect itself, enraging the governor and his allies. On Wednesday, however, the company decided enough was enough: Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Mr. DeSantis and a five-member board that oversees government services at Disney World in federal court, claiming “a targeted campaign of government retaliation.”
“In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind,” Disney said in its complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Disney had criticized the Parental Rights in Education law, which opponents labeled “Don’t Say Gay” and which prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for students through the third grade. The DeSantis administration recently expanded the ban through Grade 12.
The lawsuit accused Mr. DeSantis of a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint.” The campaign, the complaint added, “now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights.”
“Disney regrets that it has come to this,” the complaint said. “The company sought to de-escalate the matter for nearly a year, trying several times to spark a productive dialogue with the DeSantis administration. But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the company is left with no choice.”
I genuinely wonder how this ends. Disney has a lot of power, but will they actually pull the trigger and issue the biggest threat they have, which is “pulling out of Florida entirely”? Disney isn’t saying that now and maybe it will never come to that. I mean, Disney already has hundreds of billions of dollars invested in the state, which makes it even dumber that DeSantis – supposedly a “pro business” Republican – is waging this war over… bigotry, hate and cultural issues. That’s all it’s about, really – DeSantis isn’t concerned about the actual legal principles at stake of allowing Disney to operate as a fiefdom. He’s just mad that Disney called him out on his homophobia and hate.
DeSantis is also being widely mocked for his weird reaction in this video from a few days ago. He’s such a weird little dude.
“I’m not a candidate, so we’ll see if and when that changes,” Gov. DeSantis, who is in Japan right now, says when asked about polls that show him falling behind Trump. pic.twitter.com/nDVeyBoVHN
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 24, 2023
The Duchess of Sussex really sent the British media reeling when she made surprise appearances at Misan Harriman’s Ted Talk (a virtual appearance, at that) and the Lakers game on Monday night. They’re scrambling, because they’ve spent the past four months screaming “where’s Meghan?” and now that everyone can see her, suddenly the line is “she’s trying to pull focus from the coronation!” Camilla Tominey spewed out a four-page diatribe analyzing Meghan’s appearances in a piece this week called “What is really behind the sudden return of the Duchess of Sussex?” Meghan lives rent-free in their heads, absolutely. She’s their money-maker and “Everything Meghan” is a billion-dollar industry. It says so much about the Windsors and their press allies that all of them are still so obsessed with the comings and goings of an American woman living quietly in Montecito. Some highlights from Tominey’s unhinged piece:
The timing!! Royal watchers would be forgiven for questioning the timing of Meghan’s latest appearances, just as the Union Jack bunting is being unfurled for what Harry has described as the “biggest day” of his father’s life.
Meghan sat next to her lawyer at the Lakers game: Much has been made of the fact that the Duchess was sitting next to her long-standing lawyer Rick Genow, an LA attorney who has advised her since her days starring as Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits. Eyebrows were raised at the palace when she continued to seek his counsel even after she married into the monarchy in 2018 and took on her own team of UK staff.
Meghan in the driving seat: In making a solo appearance ahead of the Ted Talk – and taking Harry to such an all-American sporting event, the Duchess appears very much back in the driving seat, with her husband once again playing a supporting role.
Why did the Sussexes’ spokesperson issue a statement when royal reporters were openly lying about Meghan leaking to the Telegraph? Harry has made no secret of his loathing of the press – who he has accused of colluding with a palace that constantly “leaked” and “briefed” against him and his wife. Yet Ms Hansen’s punchy response to the coverage suggests Meghan still sees the value of active media management.
Meghan might speak at any moment! Royal aides fear that while there may be a Coronation “ceasefire”, it does not stop Meghan deciding at a later date to go into more detail [about the royal racism], not least amid talk of her planning her own autobiography as part of the couple’s four-book deal with Penguin Random House. Finally naming the royal who made the comment would certainly help book sales, if or when the time comes for the Duchess to put pen to paper.
Meghan kept a low profile because of South Park!! Another reason why she may be holding her counsel is as a result of South Park, which implied Meghan was a “sorority girl, actress, influencer, victim”. Denying the couple were “furious” about The Worldwide Privacy Tour episode, a spokesman insisted: “It’s all frankly nonsense.” But people drew their own conclusions from Meghan keeping under the radar after it was aired on Comedy Central in February and widely circulated on social media.
One, I also can’t believe that Meghan would go to a basketball game twelve days before her father-in-law wears a hat, how dare she steal the king’s thunder, doesn’t she know that every royal reporter is obligated by law to turn Meghan’s every appearance into a month-long cryfest? She should have been more thoughtful! Two, they’re so worried that a private American citizen has a lawyer and could sue their pants off at any moment. Three, how dare Harry enjoy a basketball game, it must be Meghan forcing him to attend the NBA Playoffs! Four, why can’t Meghan allow the British media to lie about her without issuing any corrections, who does she think she is?? Anyway, these people remain unhinged. Camilla Tominey is an utter embarrassment.