Republic recently commissioned a YouGov poll to ask British people their interest in the upcoming coronation. The poll found that the overwhelming majority of British people – across demographics – could not care less. Not only that, but a clear majority wish that their taxpayer funds weren’t being used for King Charles and Queen Camilla’s big narcissistic parade and party. One of the huge problems facing King Charles’s reign is ambivalence towards him specifically and the monarchy generally. But there’s another huge issue: no matter how much money he spends, he just can’t get people to love Camilla. There are so many people still thinking about and talking about Diana, and what it was supposed to be, except that Charles treated his first wife like sh-t and now his mistress is going to be queen. Thus, the palace still commissions pieces like this recent article in the Telegraph: “The secret of Queen Camilla’s rise in popularity.” The palace is truly trying to speak this into existence. They’re being helped by the entire royal media machinery. Some highlights from the piece:

Why QEII gave her blessing for “Queen Camilla”: The late Queen’s decision to grant her daughter-in-law this title did not simply reflect a desire for conformity. It reflected the real achievement of the then Duchess of Cornwall in winning the hearts of the people, and the massive contribution she has made to the success of the Royal family since marrying the King in 2005. And when one recalls the rocky foundations of Queen Camilla’s relations with the British people, the scale of that achievement becomes even greater.

A passionate friendship?? As is well known, the King had had a passionate friendship with his present wife long before he married his first one; and it soon developed into something much more than that. His marriage in 1981 to Lady Diana Spencer, which he is said to have regretted before he had even contracted it, included what his first wife came to call a “third person” – Camilla Parker Bowles, as she then was. It is all very well in retrospect to say that none of this should have happened, but it did: and it left Mrs Parker Bowles in an invidious position.

Diana’s revenge: The Princess of Wales had built up a Hollywood-style celebrity among much of the British public long before she and her husband divorced: she was the exciting and charismatic one – “the people’s Princess” – he the dull plodder. When their marriage ended a merciless tabloid press blamed him, effectively citing his mistress as co-respondent. When Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, full hysteria was unleashed. Rumours went round Fleet Street newsrooms that London would be swamped with plain-clothes police for the Princess’s funeral because of fears of an assassination attempt on her ex-husband.

Rebranding Camilla: For a time, she kept very much out of the limelight – not through any sense of trepidation or cowardice (she is not that type of woman), but out of sensitivity and propriety. Eventually, her emergence as the Prince of Wales’s partner was masterminded by one of his private secretaries, Mark Bolland, who has since made a stellar reputation in the world of public relations. The lingering antipathy to her because of her perceived role in the break-up of the Waleses’ marriage was strong, and continued to be fed by elements of the press who felt there were commercial benefits in sneering at her and the Prince. She, though, began to assert her personality to charm those most affected by her relationship with the King and to have them see her for what she was, and not for what they (on the basis of prejudice) thought she was.

Camilla and her stepsons: Without question the most important step in this direction was building a relationship with Prince William and Prince Harry. The former appears to have accepted her entirely, perhaps understanding far better than his younger brother the realities of their parents’ unhappy marriage, and how reckless it can be to apportion blame.

What Harry has said about Camilla: It is a measure of Queen Camilla’s success in connecting with the British public that various infantile and disobliging remarks about his stepmother by the Duke of Sussex have been widely interpreted as saying more about him than about her.

Genuine Camilla: Although her husband’s consort, she is not in his shadow. She has kept her own friends, has her own interests, is a devoted mother and grandmother, and has not altered her personality to fit in with his: what you see is very much what you get. That, perhaps, is the secret of the apparent miracle of the Queen’s transition to become one of our paramount national treasures. The British people tend to be good at spotting frauds, but in her they have unquestionably the genuine article.

[From The Telegraph]

The absolute desperation. It’s uniquely British desperation too – “It is all very well in retrospect to say that none of this should have happened, but it did.” A grown man used a teenager as a broodmare to provide his heirs, all while carrying on a torrid affair with his married mistress and then the man and his mistress spent years gaslighting his wife. And it’s only in retrospect that we can say that none of this should have happened, but it did and POOR CAMILLA?? Jesus – it’s not enough that “to the winner goes the spoils,” it’s about positioning Camilla as sympathetic in a despicable situation entirely of her own making?

The part about Harry and how he’s called out Camilla’s machinations – how much of all of this Camilla PR is about Spare? A lot of it. And the more articles there are like this, the more Harry’s version is proven correct.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Elon Musk is an idiot. I agree with everyone who says that he’s going to end up “reinventing” basically every Twitter policy that existed before him, especially this issue of verification. Keep in mind, I never cared about verification – I’ve been unverified the entire time I’ve been on Twitter (since 2011). So has Celebitchy. But I appreciated the old verification system, in which brands, companies, media outlets, world leaders, celebrities, athletes and teams could get verified for free so people knew that the content was official. Musk has ended all of that – now people can only get verified if they pay $8 a month. Practically every celebrity, brand, athlete and world leader has declined the ungenerous offer. To make it even more ridiculous, when Musk removed all of the verification blue-checks, he ended up “keeping” some of the blue checks of the celebrities who criticized him, like LeBron James and Stephen King. Musk then claimed that HE is paying for them to be verified:

NEW: Have confirmed that LeBron, who has 52 million followers and has said he won’t pay for verification, was emailed by a Twitter employee with the offer to have his sub comped “on behalf of Elon Musk.”

James did not accept but his account is showing that he paid anyway.

— Alex Heath (@alexeheath) April 20, 2023

It appears that Elon Musk has decided to personally intervene to provide blue checks to Stephen King and LeBron James, falsely saying they paid for Twitter Blue, because each made high profile tweets saying they definitely wouldn’t pay for it. Billionaire manchild. https://t.co/C6B5QdJvaT

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) April 20, 2023

You would be hard-pressed to find a bigger loser than Elon Musk. The business world is pretty shocked by Musk’s mismanagement too – Twitter ad dollars are down 89% since October – companies are leaving Twitter in droves. Musk hasn’t just halved Twitter’s value, it’s likely Twitter will only be worth a tiny fraction of what he paid for it.

Not content to simply torpedo Twitter, the Musk-owned company SpaceX did a big launch yesterday… and the sh-t exploded in air.

The four-minute flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket ended in what the company called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” but employees still celebrated. It’s the latest step in SpaceX’s explode-as-you-learn approach. https://t.co/DM4TDXknHH pic.twitter.com/5dedFoVMgd

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 20, 2023

All the responses from people saying, “Actually, the rocket was SUPPOSED to explode” are basically just the real-life version of this tweet. https://t.co/5TrqoO4r6l

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) April 20, 2023

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, Avalon Red.

About two months ago, there was a flurry of activity around the Parker Bowles clan. We learned that Queen Consort Camilla planned to make the coronation all about her family, with her two adult children Tom and Laura in attendance, plus their children acting as pages with actual roles in the ceremony. That was when the Times decided to declare Tom Parker Bowles “the monarchy’s new secret weapon.” Tom is a 48 year old “food writer” and a well-connected gossip, and it felt like he was suddenly being groomed for an earldom or something. Well, we’ll see about that. In the meantime, Tom is free to give interviews. In fact, I’m almost positive that Buckingham Palace wants him out there, trying to put lipstick on a pig (his mother). Especially since Tom made a pointed “rebuttal” of Prince Harry’s comments about Camilla, namely that she’s been running a decades-long campaign to win acceptance, marry Charles and sit on the throne, and (according to Harry) Camilla didn’t care if she left bodies in the street to get what she wanted. According to Tom, his mother did no such thing. ORLY?

The Queen’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, has rebutted the Duke of Sussex’s claim that she orchestrated “a campaign aimed at marriage and eventually the crown”, insisting there was no “endgame”. Mr Parker Bowles issued a staunch defence of his mother, who he said had married the King solely for love.

Speaking publicly about the allegations for the first time, he said: “I think change happens but I don’t care what anyone says – this wasn’t any sort of endgame. She married the person she loved and this is what happened.”

Mr Parker Bowles, a food writer and food critic, also told The News Agents podcast that his mother would ensure that her Coronation day menu was free of chilli and garlic because she did not like “massive spice” and would want to keep her breath fresh while greeting guests.

Mr Parker Bowles told podcast hosts Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel it was “tough” for the Queen to take on such a prominent role during the Coronation Ceremony, but said she had “never complained”. He added: “I think anyone would be anxious on an occasion of this sort of importance in terms of the historical. And yes, I think I’d be terrified if I had to sort of walk out wearing ancient robes. She’s 75, but you know, it’s tough to do it. But she’s never complained. You just do it. get on with it.”

Mr Parker Bowles praised the King and Queen, saying: “I think they’re doing amazingly. I think King Charles is a good, kind, intelligent man who cares deeply about his roles wherever they may be – Prince of Wales, the King.”

Asked if it was weird to think of Camilla as the Queen, Mr Parker Bowles replied: “Not really, because she’s still our mother. I say ‘our’ but not the royal ‘we’, speaking for my sister and me. She’s our mother.”

Mr Parker Bowles confirmed that he would not be getting a title, adding: “You’re not going to find us with great estates and being called the duke of whatever. No. That would be appalling.”

[From The Telegraph]

“I don’t care what anyone says – this wasn’t any sort of endgame…” Horsesh-t. Camilla absolutely plotted, schemed and calculated. Maybe in 1991, it wasn’t a clear strategy of “then I’ll do this and then I’ll hire this person,” but there absolutely was a strategy, a plan, a conspiracy. Camilla openly carried on with Charles for years, all while briefing the press about Diana and the state of the Waleses’ marriage. Camilla and Charles both masterminded the “Diana is crazy” narrative. Once Charles and Diana got divorced, Camilla seamlessly moved in and took over. She’s been in charge ever since, let’s be real. Painting Camilla’s journey as some kind of “she never schemed, she never planned this” is utterly bizarre. Tom’s comments do show that Camilla and her team are very worried that people believe Harry’s version of events.

As for Tom denying the talk of a peerage… well, we’ll see about that too. For all of the cost-cutting plans being made by Charles, I would be willing to bet that Charles and Camilla both plan on elevating Tom and Laura and ensuring that they have the means to live large.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

I watched the first season of Schmigadoon. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a playful send up of Broadway musicals about a modern couple who happen into a world that exists as if it was a – wait for it – musical. Everything about the show should have been right up my alley – the ridiculous concept, the musical, the irony, the cast. But while I saw it through until the end, it fell short for me. I haven’t watched the second season… and now I know why! Those b@stards turned down Patti LuPone. As in, they had the opportunity to have Patti LuPone grace them with her presence and they said “no.” And if there is one thing La Patti is going to do, it’s tell on you. So she did. She told Mashable that she approached them for season one because she really wanted to be a part of it and was told she was too old. Uhm, they said what?! Patti surmised it by saying “it’s their loss!” No, Patti – it’s our loss.

Apple TV+’s Schmigadoon! is a delirious dream for theater kids, combining playful parodies of a slew of major musicals with an ensemble cast stuffed with Broadway stars. Incredibly; however, Patti LuPone, one of the celebrated living legends of the Great White Way, was denied a chance to join in.

Season 2 (aka Schmicago) spoofs the songs of Stephen Sondheim, with whom LuPone has worked repeatedly and iconically in shows like Company and Sweeney Todd(opens in a new tab). So, Mashable asked if she’d been approached about the musical TV series. In fact, she approached the show first for Season 1.

“I wanted to be in Schmigadoon!, and I was too old,” LuPone said. Asked what she meant, she responded, “Exactly what I said. We reached out to them and said I want to be in Schmigadoon!. They said, ‘Sorry. You’re too old.’”

“It’s so sad. And it’s depressing,” she said of the rejection, before declaring, “It’s their loss! I don’t know what else to say. I so wanted to be in it!”

[From Mashable]

While I am playing up the hyperbole to match the Broadway tone of the story, I am generally stunned by this. Keegan-Michael Key and Cecil Strong play the “modern couple” but the rest of the cast includes Alan Cummings, Kristin Chenowith, Jane Krakowski, Aaron Tveit, Ariana DeBose – some real theater powerhouses. People who would probably list Patti as their hero. In addition to those folks, as Kristy Puchko at Mashable points out, is Martin Short, who is 73 years old – the same age as Patti. Now I’m doubly ticked. Because this is ageist and sexist. There are people who should have a Golden Ticket for roles and one of them is Patti. If Patti wants to make an irreverent Apple TV+ musical, write her a part. If Patti wants a role on Ted Lasso, make room for another coach. If they’re remaking JAWS and she wants to play the shark? Give her a swim cap and call her Bruce for christsakes! Mashable reported that Apple hasn’t responded for comment. I’ll bet they haven’t. Whoever told Patti she was too old is currently hiding under a desk and the rest are trying to gather their notes because Patti keeps her receipts. She’s not worried about being liked. If some idiot told a woman with Patti’s credentials that she was too old to appear on a show for which she was overqualified to appear, she’ll put them on blast.

Thankfully some casting people have sense, though. And this news will especially delight my fellow Penny Dreadful fans. Patti is joining Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza in Agatha: Coven of Chaos. This is, of course, the Wandavision spin-off for Kathryn Han’s character Agatha Harkness. Patti plays Lilia Calderu, a 450-year-old Sicilian witch who’s been a part of the MCU since 1973. (Oh thank goodness – a role Patti’s not too old to play!) Honestly, if I don’t hear another word about Coven of Chaos until the premiere, I would still be on the edge of my seat to watch it. Witches? Patti? Kathryn and Aubrey? Say no more – I’m in.

Photo credit: Robin Platzer/Twin Images and Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon and Cover Images

On Oct. 21, 2021, Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza were shot with a gun being held by Alec Baldwin on the New Mexico set of Rust. Hutchins died from the gunshot, and Souza survived. Baldwin has maintained this entire time that he had no idea the gun was loaded, that he was told that the gun was “cold,” and that he doesn’t even believe that he pulled the trigger. While I’ve always believed that Baldwin and several others on Rust were criminally negligent, I never believed that Baldwin had any intention to harm anyone. It was an accident fueled by misinformation, professional incompetence and negligence. Still, back in January (almost three months ago exactly), a New Mexico prosecutor charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter. Now those charges have been dropped.

New Mexico prosecutors are dropping the involuntary manslaughter charges that were filed against Alec Baldwin for the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer who was killed on the set of the film “Rust” when a gun he was practicing with went off, his lawyers said.

The decision to drop the charges came after a new team of prosecutors took over the case and reviewed new evidence that showed that the gun Mr. Baldwin was practicing with had been modified before it was delivered to the set, according to an official close to the investigation who was granted anonymity to discuss the case. That undercut the prosecution’s original argument that the gun could not have fired unless Mr. Baldwin had pulled the trigger, the official said.

Mr. Baldwin, who was told on the set that day that the gun did not contain any live ammunition, has maintained from the beginning that he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired, telling investigators that it went off after he had pulled the hammer back and let it go. But the original prosecutors had said that an F.B.I. analysis of the gun showed that he must have pulled the trigger, which contributed to their decision to bring charges.

In a statement, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said, “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, who loaded the gun the day of the shooting and was responsible for weapons on the set of the western, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case. One of her lawyers, Jason Bowles, said that he had been informed of the prosecutors’ decision to dismiss the case against Mr. Baldwin, but that the charges against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed remained.

[From The NY Times]

“The charges against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed remained…” Good. By almost every account and investigation into the Rust set, Gutierrez-Reed was the main person at fault. She was the armorer, she was the one in charge of all of the weapons, she was in charge of making sure no one handed Alec Baldwin a loaded gun with a literal hair-trigger. As I’ve said several times, I am not claiming that Baldwin should not be criminally or civilly liable for anything – he was a producer on Rust, he was one of the people in charge of the production, he has managerial liability in a general sense. But manslaughter was always a stretch.

So, we aren’t getting a Hilaria Baldwin courtroom telenovela, si? We’ll just have to fondly remember her impromptu, Mexican-accented press conference on the street just after her husband was charged. Alec posted this IG shortly after the news came out (Luke is apparently his lawyer):

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A post shared by Alec Baldwin (@alecbaldwininsta)

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, ABC.

You know what I forgot? I forgot that Timothee Chalamet dated Lourdes Leon. I thought his “type” was more like Lily-Rose Depp, but now that I remember that Timmy dated Lourdes, his thing with Kylie Jenner makes more sense. Maybe he doesn’t have a physical type. Maybe he’s ready to be a stepfather to Kylie’s kids, Stormi and Aire. Maybe he’s just a fun hookup for Kylie! I truly have no idea. But it does look like they’re seeing each other casually, and it looks like the Kardashian-Jenner team is dictating the storyline.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet have been seeing each other on the regular. A Jenner source tells PEOPLE the reality star, 25, and the Oscar nominee, 27, “hang out every week,” but “it’s not serious.”

“She is getting to know him,” the insider continues. “Kylie is having fun. After years of back and forth with Travis [Scott], she just wants to date without any pressure.”

The source claims Jenner and Chalamet met earlier this year at an event in Europe. “They have a lot to chat about,” the Jenner source says, adding that the actor “is fun and charming.”

News broke in early January that Jenner had split from her rapper ex, with whom she shares 5-year-old daughter Stormi and 14-month-old son Aire.

“Everyone wants Kylie to move on,” the Jenner source says. “Everyone in the family is happy and supportive of Kylie dating.”

[From People]

I believe several things concurrently: Kylie is a chronic back-slider who keeps going back to exes and giving them second, third, fourth and fifth chances; I believe Tyga messed her up romantically; I believe that Travis Scott cheated on her a lot; and I believe that even if Kylie is up for fun-times with Timmy, she’ll probably go back to Travis at some point. Still, what a pairing. It would be fun (for gossip) if Timmy and Kylie did get serious and they started doing red carpets together. Come on! People would lose their minds.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

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Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey welcomed their first child, Matilda, on March 30. They were obviously very excited and in the weeks leading up Matilda’s arrival, Kaley mentioned that Tom was the one doing most of the planning and prepping. Now Tom has given an exclusive interview to E! News to gush about Kaley and Matilda and talk about the joys of fatherhood. This is super sweet.

Tom Pelphrey is basking in the glow of fatherhood.

The actor—who next appears in the HBO Max limited series Love & Death, premiering April 27—and his partner Kaley Cuoco welcomed daughter Matilda, the couple’s first, on March 30.

In an exclusive interview with E! News, the Ozark alum opened up about how incredible—and surprising—the experience has been thus far.

“It’s so beautiful,” the 40-year-old said. “I was excited for it and you obviously have some idea of what it might be and how it cool it might be. Nothing compares to the actual feeling. It’s so wild.”

Tom, who started dating Kaley in April 2022, said he’s even managed to find joy in the not-so-pretty moments.

“Even if she’s fussy or you haven’t slept as much,” he continued, “when holding Matilda and she makes those little noises and coos, your heart just melts.”

In fact, being a new dad has turned Tom into a bit of a homebody.

“All I want to do is sit at home with Kaley and the baby and never leave the house,” he expressed. “It’s a miracle. We’re so happy.”

As far as what has shocked Tom most about the process, well, it’s good news on that front, too, as he said, “The biggest surprise for me right off the bat was how comfortable I felt.”

However, the Outer Range star admitted that he wasn’t always so confident.

“The only experience I’ve ever had with infants or newborns in the past: My brother has two beautiful girls,” he said. “I got to be around them and other family members. But I was always one of those guys like, ‘Ooh, I don’t know if I want to hold the baby. I don’t want to break it. That seems too small.’”

But it didn’t take long for Tom to find out that he’s a natural.

“I dove right in and I felt like I immediately understood how to hold her and how to support her little head,” Tom gushed. “I was changing all the diapers in the hospital. Kaley got a kick out of that. It was amazing in a surprising and beautiful and magical way how intuitively I felt like I understood how to take care of this baby and what she needed.”

[From E! News]

It sounds like Tom was nervous at first, but ended up feeling super comfortable, which is really nice! I can definitely relate to feeling like the baby is so small and feeling worried. The time period when they can’t hold their own heads up is a little nerve-wracking. Anyway, they’re still in early stages and completely blissed out with their little girl. They probably have some help from family and/or a baby nurse, but it sounds Tom and Kaley are both super involved and doting on their little girl. Kaley has posted some cute pics of baby Matilda at home and wrapped up in a hoodie towel after a bath with her little tongue sticking out. Matilda really is so cute and they seem so happy.

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Here are photos from an H&M launch event for Thierry Mugler’s new H&M collection. Judging from the photos, the collection includes a lot of sheer-paneled catsuits, beaded tights (??), goth-glam and shirts with built-in gloves. Affordable Kardashian-wear, I suppose. Anyway, Lourdes Leon came out for the event and H&M Mugler hilariously gave her the worst outfit? For a second, I thought we were seeing bush, but no – I think those shadows are just tattoos? The catsuit doesn’t fit her properly (it’s bunching at the crotch) and the paneling work is awful. I don’t know if she’s pissed about her outfit or whether she just has RBF. If H&M did this event to highlight how Mugler’s high-end looks translate well to a more budget-conscious consumer, I’m not sure they’re doing it correctly.

While I think Pam Anderson’s outfit is kind of dumb, she looks great here.

Chloe Sevigny is the only one serving in this collection, I have to say.

Charli XCX looks like a Vintage Kardashian.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Here are some photos of Priyanka Chopra at the London premiere of Citadel this week. She posed with her husband Nick Jonas and her costar Richard Madden. She seemed especially concerned that photographers get a butt shot, which is so funny to me. Anyway, she looked gorgeous – the dress is Vivienne Westwood, the only fashion house which can do a proper corset. Love her dark red lip too. To promote the film, Pri has been giving a lot of interviews, and she recently spoke about dealing with insecure men who can’t handle her success. I think she’s talking about men within the industry, not the man she’s married to.

Actor and global icon Priyanka Chopra said on Tuesday that society needs to raise men who are not insecure about the success of women. She opened up about pay parity in the film industry and revealed that there are some men in her life who are “very insecure about her success.”

“I have some incredible men in my life who are not insecure about my success, but I also have men in my life who are very insecure about my success,” she added. “I think men have enjoyed freedom and the pride of being the breadwinners and the leaders of the family. It is threatening to their territory when a woman does that, or if a woman is more successful, or if a man is staying at home and a woman goes to work.”

The actress talked about the need for change in society at this time and said, “We have to teach our sons that there is no shame in crying, in being able to share with your sister, mother, girlfriend, or wife, and give them the spotlight.”

She discussed her own family and recalled a time when her mother had a higher income than her father. She added that because her parents viewed the earnings as a unit, there was no ego conflict regarding earnings. “My dad did that to my mother… Now when I am walking the red carpet with my husband and he steps aside and gives me centre stage, I feel very proud that I have surrounded myself with people that don’t have such insecurities.”

[From NDTV]

“It is threatening to their territory when a woman does that, or if a woman is more successful, or if a man is staying at home and a woman goes to work” – I loathe this conversation because I feel like people are reinforcing this attitude by talking about it, and I hate that this is still a thing. But it’s definitely still a thing. Buzzfeed recently did a piece on modern women in their 30s and 40s who make more than their husbands and almost across the board, the women feel guilty about it and overcompensate or try to keep it a secret. If he can’t handle your success, walk away. Seriously. It f–king sucks that so many men are like this, not just with their partners but with their female coworkers! Men are just the f–king worst.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The “Sussex Squad” is a loosely-organized group of people who defend the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, keep and drop receipts on Sussex enemies, promote Harry and Meghan’s work and raise money for charity. Harry and Meghan are well aware of the Sussex Squad and they’ve given special thanks, over the years, to the squad for all of the receipt-keeping and charitable giving. Now the first charity started by Prince Harry is also thanking the squad and the British media is fuming about it!

Prince Harry’s charity, Sentebale, has thanked the Sussexes’ army of social media supporters for helping to raise funds. In the charity’s annual report, the Sussex Squad – a group of online “superfans” who have supported the couple since they left the UK – were acknowledged for their efforts to raise money.

The charity, which was co-founded by the Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, confirmed that it had received donations through an online fundraising platform under the banner of “Sussex Squad” last year. The internet army that works to support Prince Harry and his wife, as well as tear down those who criticise them, uses Twitter to mobilise support and raise funds for the couple’s various causes. The superfans have been thanked by the charity previously for starting a fundraiser last summer to mark the Duchess’s 41st Birthday.

While acknowledged for raising money for the charity, the Sussex Squad has also been embroiled in controversy in the past for cases of online abuse while defending the couple. In one case, Victoria Arbiter was branded a “Nazi Barbie”, “toxic racist liar” and “Apartheid Vicky” for commentating on Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Ms Arbiter, the daughter of the Queen’s former press secretary, described the onslaught from the Sussex Squad as “relentless”, as they ultimately urged CNN to sack her.

A spokesman for Sentebale told the Telegraph: “Sentebale received donations through an online fundraising platform under the banner of ‘Sussex Squad’ in 2022, which highlighted Sentebale’s work in Lesotho and Botswana. Sentebale operated in the same way we would work with any member(s) of the public wanting to raise funds for our work. Each year, we acknowledge a range of individuals, partners, groups and organisations who have supported our work in a given financial year and this year was no different.”

[From The Telegraph]

“Apartheid Vicky” always makes me laugh, I swear to God. Y’all really got Apartheid Vicky fired from CNN and it was amazing. She deserved it – Vicky wasn’t simply “commentating on Oprah Winfrey’s interview.” Vicky, Ingrid Seward, Dickie Arbiter and Richard Fitzwilliams were all paid to give their negative commentary BEFORE the Oprah interview aired. And it was all a “prank” designed to expose the royal-commentary class as unethical frauds (which they are). The pranksters were not Sussex Squaders, but the squad used that footage to get Apartheid Vicky fired from CNN. There are several other British commentators, spreading palace talking points while appearing on American news shows. I hope you guys are keeping track of them too!

Anyway, it’s cool that Sentebale thanked the squad personally. Sentebale also released a video narrated by Prince Harry:

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A post shared by Sentebale (@sentebale)

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, YouTube.