As King Charles and Queen Camilla were finishing up their big Australia-Samoa tour this weekend, i Newspaper published another critical piece about the monarchy. This one was written by Richard Palmer. The headline: “Royal tours may soon be over for good due to anger over slavery, Harry and Meghan.” Something similar was said in 2022, following Prince William and Kate’s catastrophic Caribbean Flop Tour, that the monarchy would “need to rethink” how and where they tour. Then QEII died, and William became more obsessed with copying his brother, and Charles got cancer, and on and on. Basically, it’s been two and a half years and the monarchy still hasn’t figured out if they can still “tour” their realms and former colonies. Some highlights from this piece:

Rethink royal tours: The King and his family may have to rethink their approach to the Commonwealth and realms after yet another tour was disrupted by protests and arguments over Britain’s colonial past. Charles and the Queen’s official visits to Australia and Samoa this week will be fondly remembered by the thousands who turned out to greet them. But for many around the world, the enduring image will be of a heckling Aboriginal senator being dragged out of Parliament House in Canberra after accusing the King of genocide.

Senator Thorpe’s message was received: Senator Lidia Thorpe’s tirade against the monarch did not go down well among some people. Even many of those not keen on the monarchy thought it ill-mannered. But it led Melbourne’s Age newspaper and some prominent liberals to demand that the King apologise for Britain’s treatment of the country’s indigenous people. Thorpe’s protest also came after the premiers of each of Australia’s six states snubbed an invitation to a reception to meet Charles, and the country’s republican movement labelled the first visit to Australia by a reigning King of Australia as his farewell tour.

All the king’s realms: The king has 14 overseas realms where Charles is head of state – Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The Royals have found themselves the target of increasingly strident campaigns over the legacies of empire. These include demands for reparations for slavery and climate change; festering resentment over the way the Crown treated colonials; and in those 14 realms, growing calls to break the final tie with Britain by replacing King Charles with a homegrown head of state. “We just have to accept that wherever we go these days, not everybody is going to be delighted to see us,” one senior palace aide said. “It’s just part of our modern world. Those days of everyone coming out to cheer us are gone.”

The Cambridge Way: A tipping point came when William and Kate, then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and now Prince and Princess of Wales, went on an ill-fated Caribbean tour in March 2022 and found themselves facing protests. The couple were caught in a perfect storm of indignation during a week-long visit to Belize, Jamaica, and The Bahamas. Their aides vowed afterwards that the couple needed to rethink their relationship with the Commonwealth and how to undertake such tours in future. “We’ll do it the Cambridge way next time,” a senior palace official said. But there has been no sign of any similar trip for them since and aides admit that Kate’s cancer diagnosis, following on from the change of reign and Coronation, has meant that any big rethink about how to tackle Commonwealth tours has been put on the backburner for the moment.

The Sussexit & the commonwealth: It does not help, of course, that Prince Harry, who had been tasked by Queen Elizabeth with representing young people in the Commonwealth even before he met Meghan, has quit along with his American wife. Her mixed-race heritage made her instantly more relatable to so many of its 2.7 billion population. Many in Africa and the Caribbean have since bought into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s version of events and their anger at the way they believe the couple were treated by the rest of the Royal Family has added to the public backlash against the monarchy there.

Whether William will eventually become head of the Commonwealth: But will William follow in his father and grandmother’s footsteps? On the plane back from that controversial Caribbean tour, a senior royal source briefed that the Prince and his staff recognised that he might one day be up to the job but also might never be the right person to lead the Commonwealth. Sally Bedell Smith, a distinguished American royal biographer, sees the value in a ceremonial, non-political, non-elected monarch heading the Commonwealth so thinks it remains possible. But she noted that Charles has been making all of those connections for decades during his long apprenticeship as heir to the throne. “William just hasn’t had that opportunity to immerse himself in the Commonwealth that his father had,” she said.

William & Kate won’t commit to putting in the time: He and Kate vowed to serve the Commonwealth as best they could. But are they prepared to put the hard yards in, travelling around all of the countries, especially after her illness and the re-evaluation of her priorities that is ongoing as she recuperates? It remains to be seen.

[From i Newspaper]

Sophie and Edward’s 2022 Caribbean Flop Tour got a similar shout-out for its awkwardness, and Palmer points out that Sophie and Edward have never returned to the Caribbean since then. Neither have William and Kate. LOL. The stuff about the Sussexes is so bizarre – “Many in Africa and the Caribbean have since bought into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s version of events and their anger at the way they believe the couple were treated by the rest of the Royal Family has added to the public backlash against the monarchy…” He could have just said “people around the world believe Meghan and her side and the left-behind Windsors have never offered any kind of rebuttal or evidence to the contrary.” Because that’s the truth. Besides, people have eyes – everyone saw how the Windsors and the British media ganged up on Meghan and HOW THEY STILL GANG UP ON HER TO THIS DAY. Anyway, the perfect storm is as such: an old king, too sick and out of touch to make real changes; a flighty, lazy, ambivalent heir consumed with jealousy for a brother who escaped; the brother who escaped and has no interest in being his family’s scapegoat or workhorse ever again. Let the realms fall and become republics. Also: spare me the “William hasn’t had time to immerse himself in the commonwealth” – he’s 42 years old. He’s chosen the path of laziness for decades.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Instar.

Last year around this time, the tabloids were quietly panicking, as was Team Middleton. You see, the Princess of Wales skipped her husband’s New York trip that fall, with the understanding that she would go to the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Singapore that November. Then royal reporters began openly discussing how Kate was not going to Singapore either. Suddenly, the conversation was: what’s going on in William and Kate’s marriage, why is Kate too lazy to support her husband, why is she a “reluctant traveler” all of a sudden? Team Middleton pushed back as best they could, and soon enough, the palace came up with an excuse for why Kate was skipping: George had a test and Kate had to support him! It was all bizarre.

Well, this year, there has been little to no energy directed towards “will Kate go to this year’s Earthshot Awards?” Given her months-long disappearance and the strange “cancer-free” video, most people assume that we will see very little of Kate from here on out. The royal reporters are getting updates on how William is flying supermodels into Cape Town though, so thankfully the Daily Mail gave us an update on whether Kate will come:

Prince William will be joined by a star-studded line-up of supermodels and TV stars for his solo trip to South Africa to host the Earthshot Prize ceremony. The Prince of Wales, 42, will head to Cape Town to oversee the Earthshot Prize Awards on November 6, joined by a host of famous faces including supermodels Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow.

The Earthshot Prize is one of the heir to the throne’s big ‘passion projects’ and looks to find and upscale positive solutions to the climate crisis in five key areas: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build A Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.

Each year, the prince awards £5million in prize money to those offering pioneering solutions to the most pressing climate and environmental challenges facing the world today.

It is expected that Prince William will visit Cape Town without his wife Kate Middleton, who is prioritising her recovery after completing chemotherapy this year.

[From The Daily Mail]

GB News got the exact same update from the palace: “Notably, the Princess of Wales is not expected to join her husband in South Africa. She continues to prioritise her recovery after completing chemotherapy treatment.” So there you go. For what it’s worth, at no point did they actually say that Kate was expected to go this year. Unlike last year, when her attendance was widely expected. I also think Kate will be making a public outing next month, but it will be for Remembrance. She’ll go to the Remembrance festival/concert, probably, and definitely the Cenotaph. Those are the appearances people are “expecting” even if nothing has been confirmed. There will be a freakout in the British press if Kate skips Remembrance, but they’ve already done enough so that her non-attendance at Earthshot is no longer a big deal.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

This diva!! Angelina Jolie stepped out on Saturday night at the AFI Fest premiere of Maria. Jolie heard all of you begging Nicole Kidman to bring back her curly hair and Jolie said “I’m going to hit ‘em up with some vintage Kidman.” The curly hair looks amazing on her – I have no idea if Angelina has naturally curly or wavy hair but I don’t think she does? Meaning, she had to put her curlers in or something. She looks younger with curly hair as well. And ever since she got that Tom Ford Beauty contract, she’s been wearing the f–k out of the red lipstick.

I don’t have much to say about Angelina’s fashion though. I mean… she’s not a fashionista, which is funny because she founded an atelier. She wore a beige silk dress which is too neutral, and she threw a sack-like shawled jacket over it. I get it – the look is all about her face, but I wish she was making different style choices for this promotional tour.

Netflix released the full-length trailer for Maria a few days ago, so I’m including it again below. I have such high hopes for this movie! I’m also including an interview Jolie did at AFI Fest.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The two-part documentary Prince William: We Can End Homelessness comes out this week. Prince William wants people to focus on his vanity project rather than enjoying Halloween with your family. Ahead of the air date, ITV released a new clip from the documentary where William actually says his brother’s name:

The Mail is like “OMG HE SAID ‘HARRY’.” But actually watching the clip, the whole thing is strange – it’s like he’s trying to reclaim Diana’s memory while also showcasing his stunted perspective on problem-solving homeless issues. Speaking of, the Guardian has more quotes from this documentary and it gets even weirder:

Prince William has said criticism about his privileged lifestyle and many residences drives him to try to end homelessness in Britain. The heir to the throne was challenged to respond to jibes about his three homes and 135,000-acre Duchy of Cornwall estate for a two-part ITV documentary airing this week.

In ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness’, viewers hear a recording of LBC radio host James O’Brien citing criticism from Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic, the anti-monarchist group, who says homelessness is about government policy and investment, and won’t be stopped by charity or royal patronage.

Asked how he feels about the criticism of Homewards, his five-year programme designed to show others how homelessness can be ended, William says: “I think if I answered every critic, I’d be here all day. But you know, criticism drives you forward….I think it’s right to question but I think, ultimately, we are pushing forward to deliver change and hope and optimism into a world that frankly has had very little of it for a long time. I hope I can bring something that’s not been done before.”

The documentary, which airs on Wednesday and Thursday, follows him through the first year after launching Homewards. William is seen touring Nansledan, near Newquay, where the duchy is building 24 homes.

“I’m not sitting here saying I’m going to solve the entire world’s homelessness problems. But I am going to show people how to prevent homelessness,” he says.

More than 350,000 people in Britain lack a permanent home. The number of homeless people, or at risk, aged between 16 and 24 is estimated to have risen to more than 130,000.

The prince tells the documentary team he has discussed homelessness with his three children, George, Charlotte, and Louis on the school run. In Windsor, where they live, the local council was dealing earlier this year with 101 homelessness cases and there were 25 rough sleepers. “The first few times I thought, do I bring this up? Or should I wait and see if any of them noticed? And sure enough, they did, and they were just sort of in silence after I had said what was going on,” he tells the film-makers. “And I do think it’s really important that you start those conversations when the children are small, so that they understand the world around them and they’re not just living, you know, in their own little worlds.”

[From The Guardian]

I’m really astonished by so much of this. William is such a dilettante, he can’t even answer a question about what he’s actually doing about homeless issues IN HIS DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HOMELESSNESS. “We are pushing forward to deliver change and hope and optimism into a world that frankly has had very little of it for a long time…” He started a pilot program in which his foundation gave money to homeless shelters and halfway houses. That’s it. He’s not reinventing the wheel – he’s literally doing the bare minimum of issue-driven charity work. Which would be fine, except (again) he’s claiming that he’s “going to show people how to prevent homelessness” and he’s literally made a documentary centering HIMSELF in the homelessness issue.

Royal commentator Peter Hunt made a good point: perhaps instead of wandering around, claiming to be a thought-leader on homeless issues, William should simply take a fixed income from the Duchy of Cornwall and give up the enormous estate.

William can singlehandedly make a significant impact on homelessness by accepting a fixed income in return for giving up his vast Duchy of Cornwall estate.

Instead of tinkering at the edges, he’d become a consequential royal. https://t.co/U9mQoqz9NA

— Peter Hunt (@_PeterHunt) October 27, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Zooey Deschanel and Property Brother Jonathan Scott have been engaged for over a year. Did you think they’d be married by now? Maybe Jonathan is having a hard time settling on a location that’s special to him… Meanwhile, Zooey is a brand ambassador for Vera Bradley, which I guess jives with her twee core aesthetic. She’s selected her Top 12 bags from their Winter/Holiday line, accompanied by a very jewel-toned, ornamental photo shoot of Zooey posing with them. I did a double take looking at the photos, because in some of them Zooey looks like a dead ringer for Rachel Brosnahan! Anyway, Zooey spoke with Us Weekly recently to promote the brand partnership, where she talked about some of her favorite things and one chore that is very much not a favorite thing: unloading the dishwasher. I could muster up some sympathy, were I lucky enough to have a dishwasher myself, sigh.

“What’s cool about Vera Bradley is that they have all these beautiful, very high-end bags that are lovely velvet things that feel very fancy and special,” she tells Us. “And they also have really great practical everyday bags and backpacks and little pouches that you can organize stuff in, like travel things. Toiletry bags, I mean, they have so many things. So it is a really great place to shop for a lot of different holidays.”

Us: when was the last time you did laundry?

Deschanel: I do laundry all the time. I do my own stain removal. I’m obsessed with stain removal.

Us: What’s the one task that you tend to put off?

Deschanel: I hate unloading the dishwasher. Doesn’t everybody? It’s the worst. I don’t mind loading it. Loading is fine. Running it is fine. But if it’s clean and it’s in there, I’ll disappear. Jonathan usually will end up doing that.

Us: What movie do you watch during the holidays — Elf?

Deschanel: Meet Me in St. Louis is a favorite of mine. I don’t watch myself in anything. I feel like that might be narcissistic. I think Jonathan used to watch Elf every year before we met, but if someone has me on a TV, I’m probably running away.

Us: What board games do you like to play?

Deschanel: I love Monopoly and Balderdash. I love playing games, but I’m not competitive. I find it really weird when people are competitive about games.

Us: What’s your favorite song to sing in the shower?

Deschanel: I don’t sing in the shower. I sing outside the shower.

Us: What was the last show that you streamed?

Deschanel: [The HBO MAX docuseries] Chimp Crazy. I did fall asleep. That’s my problem. Chimp Crazy — check it out. It’s really weird.

Us: Who is your favorite Real Housewives star?

Deschanel: My girl Crystal [Kung Minkoff] isn’t on Beverly Hills anymore, but she’s my friend, so she was my favorite. … I mean there’s so many icons. Beverly Hills, I mean, I loved the days when Kyle [Richards] and Lisa Vanderpump were on together. I know that they’re not friends anymore, but I love watching those two together.

[From Us Weekly]

As I lamented earlier, I live sans dishwasher, so to me this is a champagne (or Cascade) problem. Cherish your dishwasher machinery, you blessed people! My grumblings aside, I find it rather peculiar that Zooey prefers loading dirty dishes into the washer as opposed to handling clean dishes. But hey, she shouldn’t feel bad about divvying up the responsibilities so that if she loads, someone else puts everything away. And I say that as someone who only has a nine-pound, four-footed roommate to split chores with. (Wow, these Kismet-to-Zooey Deschanel comparisons are really not working out in my favor.) Other bits of this interview I found quirky was Zooey’s abrupt answer to what she sings in the shower. Ok, so you sing outside the shower. But what are you singing?! And then, her “recommendation” of Chimp Crazy. “I did fall asleep. That’s my problem. Chimp Crazy — check it out.” A ringing endorsement! Or is she slyly pitching it as a hack against insomnia? I don’t mind either way, given it’s from the manipulative/exploitative director of Tiger King.

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Photos via Instagram and credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, IMAGO/Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon

The 1980s and early 1990s were a treasure trove of celebrity gossip and drama, thanks to the Brat Pack and Brat Pack-adjacent actors. I remember seeing pictures and headlines on the cover of tabloid magazines in the checkout line when I was a kid. I was always so intrigued by these covers, even if I was too young to understand a lot of what they were talking about, lol. I think this may be my gossip-lover origin story.

Two such tabloid fixtures were Demi Moore and the ageless Rob Lowe, who today still looks exactly as I remember him from back then, haha. Demi and Rob were frequent subjects of tabloid fodder, particularly after making St. Elmo’s Fire together. Kelly Ripa must have been reading the same covers that I was back then. Rob recently made an appearance on her podcast, “Let’s Talk Off Camera.” During it, Kelly decided to shoot her shot and flat out asked him if he’d ever had a “crush” on Demi. He confirmed that while they never officially dated, did in fact “briefly” had a fling.

Rob Lowe admitted he “briefly” had a fling with Demi Moore during their time as part of the “Brat Pack” in the 1980s.

“Did you have a crush on her? Did you guys ever date? Did you all date each other? Was it like, just — was it a big romp?” Kelly Ripa asked of the group of young actors on Tuesday’s episode of her podcast “Let’s Talk Off Camera.”

“I mean, Demi and I briefly — I’m not telling tales out of school — we briefly had a thing,” Lowe, 60, said after joking that it was a “big, big sex orgy” among the “St. Elmo’s Fire” cast. The “Parks and Recreation” alum then recalled 61-year-old Moore’s engagement to their co-star Emilio Estevez – before she married Bruce Willis in 1987.

“And then Emilio and Demi I think were engaged and then we all were at her wedding to Bruce,” Lowe said before adding that it was the “biggest wedding I had ever been to up until then.”

When the “Love Life” author further reflected on working alongside the film’s cast at the time, he noted that hooking up with each other was expected.

“Look, anytime you put young 20-something men and women together, hookups are inevitable,” Lowe explained. “I don’t think that has changed.”

Lowe has been married to Sheryl Berkoff, 63, since 1991. Meanwhile, Moore and Willis, 69, called it quits on their marriage by 2000. The “Ghost” actress and Willis welcomed three daughters together — Rumer, 36, Tallulah, 30, and Scout, 33 — before they split.

Elsewhere during the podcast, Lowe revealed that he and Moore continue to stay in touch via a group text as they work on a potential “St. Elmo’s Fire” sequel.

“It’s moving along,” he said. “It’s going a little more slowly than I would have liked, but that’s a good thing because we’re trying to find the right, writer and the right story.”

Lowe also shared that “all of the actors, everybody is on board. Everybody’s excited.” He also addressed how he thinks the film’s possible sequel will work in present time as the actors are older.

“I think the theme of ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ today is that it’s never too late for happiness,” Lowe went on. “You know, because our kids are out of school, and maybe some of us have been divorced … all the things that you deal with as you get to our ages, this is an opportunity to explore those themes with characters that people know and love.”

[From Page Six]

We can now officially put a Rob/Demi fling in the official Brat Pack canon, y’all! From a gossip standpoint, I will never stop being interested in all of the hookups, makeups, and breakups from that time period. It would be wild if they got all of the Brat Pack and adjacents together to do one big podcast recap to set the record straight (and give us more to feast on) from that era. That would be gossip headlines for days. In the meantime, we need to talk about that potential St. Elmo’s Fire sequel! It’s kinda crazy that the first movie is going to turn 40 next year. It’s pretty awesome that they’ve got all of the original actors on board, too. Anyone have any ideas for a potential plot?! Oh man, it’s been decades since I’ve seen that movie. I think I’m due for a rewatch, ASAP.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Rob Lowe and Demi Moore are shown in screenshots from About Last Night (1986) and St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) via YouTube. They’re also shown posing together at a Tom Ford show in 2020. Credit: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon and Getty

When it comes to Prince William’s Earthshot busywork, nothing beats the absolute tone-deaf catastrophe of the 2022 Earthshot Prize ceremony in Boston. Kensington Palace arranged for celebrities like Rami Malek, Ellie Goulding, Annie Lennox, and Billie Eilish to attend the awards ceremony, yet none of the nominees or winners were invited to appear in person. William got the prize winners to Zoom into the show, because he didn’t want to have to interact with poor people while he was trying to hang out with celebrities. The backlash wasn’t as loud as it should have been, but William still felt that sting. He actually invited the nominees to last year’s Earthshot ceremony, and the nominees are invited to attend this year’s ceremony in person, in South Africa. But what about poor William? He’s only doing this to hang out with celebrities, remember? Well, thankfully, they hired several models to hang out with Huevo.

The Prince of Wales has enlisted the help of world famous supermodels to fly the flag for his Earthshot Prize. Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow are among the high profile guests who will be walking the green carpet at the fourth annual award ceremony in Cape Town next month. The models will be among those to announce the next five winners of the prestigious £1 million prize – an award for contributions to environmentalism.

The ceremony will be hosted by Billy Porter, an American actor, who is likely to add a flamboyant air to proceedings alongside Bonang Matheba, the South African broadcaster.Other guests will include Robert Irwin, the son of the late Steve Irwin, who became an Earthshot global ambassador last year.

Organisers are aiming to harness what they describe as an “explosion” of innovation on the continent which saw a huge increase in nominations for this year’s prize. The award ceremony will feature an array of African household names, many of whom are lesser known in the UK but have been brought on board to help whip up interest across the region.

Harlow, 30, who was diagnosed with vitiligo at the age of four, has enjoyed huge success after appearing on America’s Next Top Model. In 2016, she was photobombed by Prince Harry during a charity polo match in Berkshire, later sharing the image on social media. She has her own vegan and “reef safe” skincare range called Cay Skin. Reef safe is a term used to describe sunscreens that do not contain chemicals known to damage coral and marine life.

Klum, 51, has also championed sustainable fashion, warning that there was much work still to be done in the industry. The Earthshot ceremony will be broadcast in 50 markets across Africa in the midst of “Earthshot Week” in which Prince William will undertake a series of engagements in Cape Town focused on the urgent need for environmental solutions.

[From The Telegraph]

Last year, Cate Blanchett and Hannah Waddingham were flown all the way to Singapore to pose with William on the carpet. Because, remember, Kate didn’t go to last year’s ceremony. Kate won’t be going to this year’s ceremony either, and it’s not even a conversation unlike last year. They’re just like… oh, of course, this is completely natural, William wants to hang around models, of course. I wonder if he had a list of models and Heidi and Winnie were the only ones who said yes. Also: “The ceremony will be hosted by Billy Porter, an American actor, who is likely to add a flamboyant air to proceedings…” It’s 2024, we don’t need “flamboyant” euphemisms. We know Billy Porter is gay! He’s out! He’s been out for years.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

On Thursday, Kamala Harris’s campaign confirmed that Beyonce would appear at VP Harris’s rally in Houston, Texas the next day. We had been there before, and a lot of us still felt burned by what went down at the Democratic National Convention, when everyone thought Bey would turn up but it ended up being Leon Panetta. Well, long story short, Beyonce came out! The rally started later than people expected, and there were more guest stars – Willie Nelson performed, Jessica Alba spoke, Senate candidate Colin Allred got things rowdy, and then Tina Knowles (formerly Lawson) spoke. Then Tina introduced her daughters, Beyonce and Kelly Rowland. You guys remember Beyonce’s Verizon ad during the Super Bowl? Turns out she really is BOTUS – Beyonce of the United States. Kelly was amazing too! Here’s the video of both Kelly and Beyonce’s speeches:

Both Kelly and Beyonce spoke like civil rights leaders, did you notice that? That’s what they are – women’s rights are civil rights. Reproductive rights are civil rights. That was the whole point of staging this rally in Houston – Texas is ground zero for the war on women and the war on reproductive freedom. Yes, Kamala Harris wanted to give a boost to Colin Allred’s chance to unseat Ted Cruz. But VP Harris wants people to know that reproductive rights will be front and center in her presidency. I was so moved by Kelly’s speech and Beyonce’s speech too. I keep getting goosebumps every time I watch the videos.

Reportedly, this was the largest rally of the Harris-Walz campaign by sheer turnout – over 30,000 supporters poured into the venue, out of the 1.5 million people who applied for a place. It’s an important reminder for Democrats to give some time to states, cities and areas which are not traditionally undecided or swing. It’s worth it to go into red states. So many Texans were inspired that VP Harris made time to campaign in their state so close to the election. VP Harris probably got millions of dollars worth of free media by going to Texas and doing this event with Beyonce, Kelly and Willie. I bet the event inspired so many Texans to get more involved in this election and future elections.

Thank you, @Beyonce and @kellyrowland. pic.twitter.com/rgAOkEUZV7

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 26, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Here are some photos from King Charles and Queen Camilla’s final event in Samoa, before they jetted off on Saturday. There was a farewell ceremony and then a little event on the tarmac, where Charles and Camilla were supposed to make formal goodbyes to various officials. I’ve seen the videos of Camilla ditching the formal goodbyes and staggering up to the plane ahead of Charles though. Camilla was also in particularly rude form at the farewell ceremony. She was given (?) a large fan and she kept holding the fan over her face to smirk and laugh at the Samoans. The Samoans were doing some kind of performance or ceremony and this horrid woman wouldn’t stop laughing at “the natives.” I’m including some of the clips at the end of the post. Meanwhile, Charles’s big farewell speech was pretty rough:

The King has bade farewell to Samoa, telling his Pacific island hosts he “hopes I survive long enough to come back and see you.” The King, who has paused his cancer treatment to travel to Australia and Samoa, told islanders “I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world”, as he was honoured with a chief title in the final ceremony of his visit. He and the Queen sat on golden chairs, under cover from tropical rain, to view a traditional ceremony, including fire dancers.

At the end of the ceremony, the King was handed a microphone and asked to deliver an unscripted “keynote speech”, during which he thanked Samoa for such a warm welcome, and spoke of his illness.

“We’ve been so impressed by the beautiful way in which all the villages have decorated the roadsides, it is something very special about Samoa,” he said. He thanked residents for their “wonderful generosity” bringing gifts of food and “other wonderful things”, and said the royal couple would take away “special memories of our time here…I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you.”

In their final moments in Samoa, the King and Queen waved from the steps of a Royal Australian Air Force jet. They left in heavy rain, matching the conditions when they landed in Sydney ten days ago.

[From The Telegraph]

I think Charles leaned into the “this could be my last big tour” narrative because it legitimately garnered him more sympathetic coverage. Even some of the monarchy’s biggest critics pulled some of their punches because Charles is a 75-year-old man with cancer. It also sounds like the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting actually did not go well at all and the British press is trying desperately to avoid acknowledging that. More than a dozen commonwealth countries didn’t even send high-level representatives to the meeting, and the commonwealth countries agreed to a statement about the case for reparations, much to the dismay of the palace and Downing Street. To top it all off, the ten-day tour was Exhibit A of Why Camilla Is Not a Diplomatic Asset.

#royalvisitsamoa #CHOGM2024 pic.twitter.com/784mZ0TWja

— #NotMyKing (@NoKingCharlie) October 25, 2024

Everything #GoodKingHarry said about this woman was true

Camilla is in it for herself… lazy housewife who used #HarryandMeghan to make her popular and still she can’t stop laughing at people that are showing her the greatest of hospitality#RoyalTour#spare#RoyalTourAustralia pic.twitter.com/D83JnSXA3P

— Judy in da Richmond (@Judyinrichmond) October 26, 2024

Camilla has had enough. She bails on Charles and makes a run for it

For all his faults @NoKingCharlie does not remember Phil The Greek doing this #queencamilla #kingcharles #royalvisitSamoa pic.twitter.com/LnQtLzwsmo

— #NotMyKing (@NoKingCharlie) October 26, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Last week, one of the big media stories was about billionaire LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong ordering the LAT to dump their presidential endorsement because he’s tight with Elon Musk and Donald Trump. The LA Times’ editorship and staff is still in revolt. Then the Washington Post said “hold my beer.” WaPo is owned by Jeff Bezos, who is not particularly close to Donald Trump or his lil’ apartheid buddy Elon. But Bezos also wanted to hedge his bets in case Donald Trump does win. So instead of allowing WaPo’s staff and editors to stand on business against an insurrectionist, white nationalist fascist, Bezos ordered WaPo to skip the presidential endorsement.

The Washington Post, which adopted the tagline “Democracy Dies in Darkness” during Donald Trump’s presidency, has opted to not endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, publisher and CEO of the newspaper William Lewis announced Friday in a note to readers. Lewis, who joined the Post in January, wrote that the paper is “returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates,” pointing to editorials from 1960 and 1972 as instances in which the paper explained its rationale for not doing so. Lewis argued that the Post “had it right before” 1976, when the editorial board endorsed Jimmy Carter for president. The Post has endorsed every cycle since then with the exception of 1988.

“We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility. That is inevitable,” Lewis writes, adding, “We don’t see it that way.”

Others clearly did. “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” Marty Baron, the Post’s former executive editor, said in a statement to Vanity Fair. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

“These decisions are appalling, a dereliction of duty, and a disturbing statement of the priorities of two newspapers that are owned by billionaires,” Margaret Sullivan, a former New York Times public editor and Post media columnist, who currently writes a politics and media column for The Guardian US, tells me.

Inside the Post, NPR’s David Folkenflik reported, editorial page editor David Shipley relayed the decision to staff in a “tense meeting” just before Lewis announced it publicly. While staffers were reportedly taken aback by the change, Shipley reportedly said that he “owns” the decision and that it was intended to allow the paper to remain “independent,” language that was also used by Lewis in his letter to readers.

Two Post board members, Charles Lane and Stephen W. Stromberg had already drafted a Harris endorsement when the process stalled, prior to Friday’s announcement, according to Columbia Journalism Review executive editor Sewell Chan. He added that the decision, which was approved by Shipley, has “angered” staffers.

[From Vanity Fair]

I don’t doubt that both Jeff Bezos and Will Lewis had a hand in this. Bezos met with Donald Trump late last week, and there’s clearly some “business” at hand between the two men. Meanwhile, Will Lewis is a Murdoch lackey and part of the right-wing British invasion of American media. Lewis wants Trump to win – Bezos simply doesn’t want to piss off Trump if he wins. After it was widely reported that Bezos personally quashed the WaPo endorsement, Will Lewis fell on his sword in a statement to CNN: “Reporting around the role of The Washington Post owner and the decision not to publish a presidential endorsement has been inaccurate. He was not sent, did not read and did not opine on any draft. As Publisher, I do not believe in presidential endorsements. We are an independent newspaper and should support our readers’ ability to make up their own minds.” The Trump campaign has already declared the lack of endorsements a “humiliating blow” for VP Harris.

WaPo’s columnist Robert Kagan publicly resigned on Friday, saying: “This is obviously an effort by Jeff Bezos to curry favor with Donald Trump in the anticipation of his possible victory. Trump has threatened to go after Bezos’ business. Bezos runs one of the largest companies in America. They have tremendously intricate relations with federal government. They depend on the federal government.” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein released a joint statement saying the decision was “surprising and disappointing,” and the timing of the announcement “ignores the Washington Post’s own overwhelming reportorial evidence on the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.”

Meanwhile, thousands of people have canceled their WaPo subscriptions. There will be larger repercussions for the Washington Post financially in the immediate future. I’m sure Will Lewis will use that as an opportunity to fire a lot of journalists.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.