Last November, a number of celebrities became entangled in the imploding cryptocurrency debacle. Crypto markets crashed, and celebrity endorsers of various cryptocurrencies, like FTX, are being sued. FTX was one of the biggest implosions and it had tons of celebrity endorsers, including Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen. Coincidentally, as soon as the crypto market began to falter, suddenly Tom and Gisele had a quickie divorce and Gisele started taking a lot of vacations to Costa Rica. TikToks were made to explain that specific issue, with a catch-all conspiracy that Tom and Gisele were actually hiding and protecting their assets rather than divorcing because of Tom’s football career. I still don’t know, but I suspect that Tom and Gisele had many problems and FTX was one of them. Speaking of, reportedly Tom dumped $84 million into FTX. Yiiiikes.

Advisors to Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen weren’t able to spot any issues with FTX’s underlying financials before the celebrity couple piled cash into the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, the Financial Times has reported. The then-couple spent over $84 million buying 1.8 million shares in Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire after their team found no issues with its financial documentation, according to the report Tuesday.

Brady and Bündchen’s team were extremely diligent and “saw what they believed were legit financials,” an unidentified former FTX employee told the FT.

“People wanted shares. There was some FOMO, but people always saw financials,” the source said.

Owners of FTX shares, including NFL star Brady and international supermodel Bündchen, lost all their investment due to the bankruptcy proceedings. That led to potential major losses for both NFL star Brady and international supermodel Bündchen. The former couple, who divorced in October after 13 years of marriage, both promoted the crypto group.

Brady owned 1.1 million shares in his own name and was a high-profile brand ambassador, even appearing in three commercials for FTX. Bündchen held another 700,000 shares, appeared in one of those ads, and promoted the exchange in an April 2022 edition of Vogue where she discussed “Crypto, Collaboration, And Helping FTX Donate Billions”.

The true extent of the couple’s losses is unknown because FTX was a private company, but Forbes previously estimated that Brady’s stake was worth as much as $45 million.

[From Yahoo]

No, but do you really think that Tom put $84 million into FTX, and Gisele put… what? Something in the vicinity of $50-60 million? And they both lost all of that investment? Here’s the thing… I think different parts of the “Tom and Gisele divorced to protect their assets from the FTX debacle” conspiracy make sense, but not all together. I’m starting to think that FTX was a major factor in the divorce, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Do I believe that Tom and Gisele quietly got some or all of their money out before the FTX implosion though? Eh. That’s where the conspiracy theory kind of loses me. But Jesus, I really did not know that Tom and Gisele had thrown so much money into FTX. How stupid. Their advisors are idiots too.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Backgrid, Avalon Red.

Prince Andrew was included in the Windsors’ Christmas at Sandringham. He was even allowed to walk to church with the family, in full view of the public and photographers. Andrew was also included fully in all of his mother’s funeral events. The only change King Charles made was refusing to allow Andrew to wear his military uniform for the actual funeral and procession. My point is that Charles is actually making a point of including Andrew at royal events, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Andrew feature prominently at the coronation. Now, however, royal sources are insisting that Andrew will NOT have a “ceremonial role” during the proceedings. A distinction without a difference? Because they’re not saying that Charles is ordering his brother to stay away.

The Duke of York will have no ceremonial role at the Coronation because he is not a working member of the Royal family, The Mail on Sunday understands. Discussions are taking place behind the scenes about what role – if any – Prince Andrew might perform during the Coronation. The King is said to feel it would not be appropriate to include him in an official position.

Andrew is still a Knight of the Garter, the ancient order of chivalry dating back to 1348, and, traditionally, Garter Knights have performed significant roles during Coronation ceremonies. When the late Queen was crowned in 1953, four Knights of the Garter were chosen to support her majesty by standing at the four corners of the Coronation Chair during the anointing. Some have suggested that Prince William and the King’s three siblings – Anne, Andrew and Edward – could perform the job.

But last night sources close to the Palace dismissed the idea that Andrew could play such a symbolic part. Nor will he be invited to stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with other members of the family during the Coronation celebrations.

It is unclear whether Andrew will even be permitted to wear his garter robes for the Coronation. Despite remaining a Garter Knight, Andrew was banned from last year’s annual public procession. Instead, he joined other Garter Knights for the private part of the day. His private office did not reply to a request for comment, and Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

[From The Daily Mail]

Again, no one is saying that Andrew will be banned from the Clowning. He will absolutely be there. What they’re arguing about behind-the-scenes is what he’ll wear and whether he’ll be allowed to participate in any of the symbolic ring-kissing bullsh-t. Surely the answer is pretty simple, right? Just ban him from the ceremony. I don’t get why the Windsors can’t figure that out. Andrew shouldn’t be there – he’s a global embarrassment, he’s still wanted by the FBI for questioning, he literally paid off the woman he raped. If and when Andrew turns up at the Chubbly in whatever feathered, velvet-caped ensemble, just know that his family is totally fine with that visual.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Meghan Trainor is pregnant with baby number two. This is wonderful news, of course. And expected, Meghan’s been telling us she wanted to get pregnant as soon as possible. But, like most decisions, now that she’s gotten her wish, she’s realizing the downsides. Like actually giving birth to the baby. In Meghan’s case, that’s a real concern because she had such a difficult birth with her son Riley. She had an emergency C-Section and Riley had breathing issues and was in the NICU for five days. While speaking with Yahoo’s parenting series, So Mini Ways, Meghan said she’s nervous about giving birth again because it’s pretty traumatic.

Meghan Trainor’s first experience with childbirth was a rocky one: Son Riley — who turns 2 on Feb. 8, just a few days before the pop star makes her Super Bowl ad debut for Pringles — was breech and had to be rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit after being delivered by a C-section that left his mom in a “dark place.”

But the “Made You Look” singer is trying to stay in a positive mindset as she prepares to give birth for the second time this summer. Last week Trainor, who is married to Spy Kids actor Daryl Sabara, announced that she’s pregnant again (and yes, she knows the sex and has a name picked out, but plans to “torture” fans by keeping that all private for now). This time around, she’s hoping for a smoother journey, she tells Yahoo Life.

Trainor recounts a conversation she had with her OB/GYN about 10 weeks into her new pregnancy, and admits she’s trying to wrap her head around making decisions like whether to have another C-section or try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) this time.

“[Riley] didn’t come out awake, you know, so I asked her, ‘Well that was like a fluke, right? It was very rare,’” Trainor says. “She was like, ‘yeah, it probably won’t happen if you do another C-section.’ But, you know, birth is traumatic for everyone involved. So I am nervous I have to do that again, but I do want four kids, so I’m halfway there.

“I just know I’ve got to surrender,” the Grammy winner adds. “That’s my big word: surrender. Surrender for one day, and for a bunch of pain. But I’m going to be distracted with the love of my life, you know?”

[From Yahoo!]

I understand all of this. I would be scared too if I’d gone through what Meghan did. But she wants a lot of kids so she’s determined to push past it. Fortunately, she also knows how quickly issues can be resolved, hopefully that will bring her comfort. Riley turned two on Wednesday and Meghan is due this summer. I gave birth 25 months apart and my doctor told me absol-freaking-lutely not to a VBAC. He didn’t forbid me, but he strongly advised against it. I didn’t have strong feelings and I did have large-headed fetuses, so I was fine with a second C.

Meghan is also releasing an advice book for new moms. It’s called Dear Future Mama: A TMI Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Motherhood From Your Bestie and comes out April 25. Meghan said she got advice from experts for the book as well as her own concerns and experiences. It was borne of her being the first of her friend group to get married and have kids. She didn’t feel like she had anyone to talk to about everything that was going on with her as a new mom. So she wrote this book for other women who also don’t feel like they have anyone to go to.

I just realized something, Meghan Trainor’s side-by-side toilets are actually going to come in handy soon. They will be effective in potty training her kids. She’ll have the last laugh after all!

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Photo credit: Instagram and Cover Images

Remember last year, when Olivia Wilde’s drama-queen persona became mainstream public knowledge? Perhaps many people knew for years that Wilde is a lying a–hole (I certainly did), but the chaos of the “Miss Flo” situation unfolding at the Venice Film Festival really took Olivia’s problematic nature mainstream. You would think someone would tell Olivia to just lay low and don’t cause any drama for, like, a year. Hope that people forget and move on. Well, she can’t do that. It’s not in her nature. Her nature is to center herself at all times, in every situation, even the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

So, Olivia watched the Halftime Show and she saw a visibly pregnant Rihanna perform her hits on a thin sheet of plexiglass up in the air. Olivia saw all that and decided to praise… ASAP Rocky, Rihanna’s partner. Don’t you understand, Olivia thought Rocky needed to be singled out and praised for “supporting” Rihanna. Here’s her creepy post on Instagram:

“If I thought he was hot before, this really put me over the edge,” she wrote, tagging Rihanna and ASAP Rocky. She deleted it a few hours later, then replaced it with this message: “For anyone who got it twisted… it’s hot to respect your partner, especially when your partner just did thaaaat.” I’m reminded of the time when she effusively praised Harry Styles for showing up to work – Olivia lavishes praise on men for doing the bare minimum, and she thinks nothing of tagging ASAP Rocky for merely… taking a photo of the mother of his child?? The bar is in hell.

Photos courtesy of Olivia’s IG and Backgrid.

Something sort of strange has been happening this year with Prince William and Kate’s travel between their four homes. For the most part, I suppose we can assume that Kate is based out of Adelaide Cottage, where she does the Windsor-based school run with her kids. We don’t hear anything about where Kate is or where the kids are on the weekends though – are they staying in Windsor? Because it feels like Prince William is mostly based out of Norfolk these days. He keeps doing these “unpublicized” and “surprise” appearances in Norfolk or close-ish to Norfolk. I get that no one knows where he is at any given time, but it does feel like he’s trying to do more Norfolk-based stuff recently. Almost as if he’s based out of Anmer Hall or the Sandringham main house these days.

Prince William is thanking medical staff. The Prince of Wales, 40, made a surprise visit to a hospital on Friday to pass on his gratitude and talk to first responders and other staff. Pictures emerged of the royal chatting with ambulance staff and workers at Ipswich Hospital and Ipswich Ambulance Station, joining them for selfies as they marked the visit.

Prince William, who was an air ambulance pilot, frequently supports and heralds the work of emergency services. The news was made public by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, which runs the hospital that lies about 70 miles from Prince William and wife Kate Middleton’s country home Anmer Hall in Norfolk. Ipswich is about 80 miles northeast of London.

After sharing some pictures from the visit, the trust said, “It’s not every day the future king drops in! Thanks to Prince William for visiting NHS staff at #IpswichHospital today. The prince thanked staff and found out more about our local NHS.”

“Last Friday, we had the honour of welcoming @KensingtonRoyal at our Ipswich Ambulance Station. He took the time to meet and thank our staff for their hard work and dedication!” the organization said in a tweet. They added, “A big thank you to @kerryjgaskin for the incredible cakes, we heard they went down a treat!”

The outing was a private one, so Prince William’s office at Kensington Palace had no comment.

[From People]

My explanation for the cupcake discrepancy is that William’s visit to the hospital was a surprise but people were informed at Ipswich Ambulance Station, thus they had time to pick up cupcakes for William. Since he and his wife always show up empty-handed, wherever they go, the people they’re visiting must give THEM gifts. Imagine how well it would have played if William had turned up to a hospital and ambulance service with food gifts for overworked first-responders. Instead, they had to make arrangements for cupcakes just for him. Cupcakes which probably came out of their budget. Besides, I doubt any of these visits were a surprise.

It’s not everyday the future king drops in!
Thanks to Prince William for visiting NHS staff at #IpswichHospital today. The prince thanked staff and found out more about our local NHS. #LoveYourNHS pic.twitter.com/I0cBjF0mIx

— East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (@ESNEFT) February 10, 2023

A big thank you to @kerryjgaskin for the incredible cakes, we heard they went down a treat! pic.twitter.com/hIFGW4c5oE

— EEAST Ambulance Service (@EastEnglandAmb) February 13, 2023

Photos courtesy of social media, Avalon Red.

We go through this every year, and every year, I guess people are hearing it for the first time. The NFL doesn’t pay their Halftime performers. All of those times Beyonce performed at the Super Bowl, she didn’t get paid. Maroon 5 didn’t get paid. Coldplay didn’t get paid. Rihanna didn’t get paid for performing this year. The NFL will pick up expenses, especially for the staging, the pyrotechnics and the dancers. But Rihanna didn’t pick up a fat check from the NFL for her Halftime performance:

Rihanna may have put in the work, work, work, work, work at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, but, as is customary for the mid-game spectacle, she did so for free. Though the famed halftime show often attracts the biggest names in music (everyone from Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen has graced the stage), there’s actually no paycheck involved for the headlining act.

“We do not pay the artists,” an NFL spokesperson told Forbes in 2016. “We cover expenses and production costs.”

Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, confirmed to Newsweek that the league does cover “all costs associated with the show” — and while artists don’t receive an appearance fee, they are paid union scale, which is a minimum wage guaranteed by a union contract.

For many, the exposure and the chance to perform before increasingly large crowds is well worth the journey; last year’s Super Bowl was watched by 112.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen and streaming data from NBC, and this year’s match-up was poised to pull in even higher ratings, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Artists often see a boost in sales immediately after the show, as well as the chance to increase their social media followings. In a moment that’s since gone viral, Rihanna also touched up her makeup using a compact from her Fenty Beauty brand. She also topped off her beauty look with a new liquid lipstick, called the “MVP,” that launched online during halftime.

[From People]

Yeah, the exposure is a big deal, even for already well-established artists. This year, Apple Music was the main sponsor of the Halftime show, and sales of Rihanna’s (old) hits have gone though the roof. She’s also getting a huge spike in streams on Spotify. AND her Fenty beauty line has seen an immediate spike in sales too. According to Variety, Rihanna’s Spotify streams spiked 640% in the US, and Apple Music reports a 331% spike in listeners.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.

For months now, Buckingham Palace has released a steady drip of news about King Charles’s coronation in May. We’ve gotten news on the new gold carriage, the new thrones, the music, the bank holiday and so much more. But for months, there’s been a long-simmering controversy about what crown Queen Consort Camilla will wear. The original plan/scheme was to possibly have Camilla wear the traditional “Mary Teck” queen-consort crown worn by Charles’s grandmother, the last queen consort. The problem with that is the traditional queen-consort crown includes the Koh-i-Noor, a diamond stolen from India, a diamond which India wants back in no uncertain terms. Narendra Modi’s government has already made it clear that they will have a huge problem if Camilla trots out wearing the Koh-i-noor. So… other crown plans have been quietly debated for months. The solution has just been announced, weirdly at the same time Camilla is canceling events because of another Covid infection.

Camilla’s crown for her Coronation on May 6 has been revealed. The Queen Consort, 75, will wear the Crown of Queen Mary which was today removed from the Tower of London. It’s been revealed she will wear the consort crown made for Mary of Teck in 1911. It was placed on the Queen Mother’s coffin during her 2002 funeral and has since sat on public display in the Tower of London.

The choice of Queen Mary’s Crown by Her Majesty is the first time in recent history that an existing crown will be used for the Coronation of a Consort instead of a new commission being made. Some minor changes and additions will be undertaken by the Crown Jeweller.

These changes will in particular pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as the Crown will be reset with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds. The diamonds were part of Queen Elizabeth II’s personal jewellery collection for many years and were often worn by Her late Majesty as brooches.

The crown is expected to include a replica of the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond. The diamond has been at the centre of a 700-year political and legal wrangle over its ownership. Some in India and Pakistan believe the gemstone, which was discovered in the 14th century, was stolen by the British Empire and are demanding its return.

[From The Sun]

Love the way India’s ownership of the Koh-i-Noor is filtered through the British media. “Some in India and Pakistan believe the gemstone, which was discovered in the 14th century, was stolen by the British Empire.” Where was it discovered? The Sun doesn’t say! And only “some people,” huh? So… Camilla WILL wear the traditional queen consort’s crown, the Mary Teck crown worn by queen consorts in the 20th century. But the Koh-i-Noor will be removed and replaced with a “replica,” plus QEII’s Cullinan diamonds will be set in the updated crown? Basically, instead of dealing with the Koh-i-Noor drama head-on and actually having a debate about whether the diamond should be returned, the Windsors are just going to hide the Koh-i-Noor and pretend that it doesn’t exist? (How much do you want to bet that the “replica” will just end up being the actual Koh-i-noor?)

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Getty.

I wish I could find that white lady TikToker who broke down Bethenny Frankel’s whole energy and vibe, which the TikToker described as “it’s giving Bitter Hag.” I think about that every time I write about Bethenny these days, and by that I mean, Bethenny knows she’s going to get attention every time she brings her bitter energy towards successful Black women. Recently, Bethenny has spent a lot of time talking about how much she hates the Duchess of Sussex. But did you also know that Bethanny Frankel has sh-t to say about Rihanna?

Bethenny Frankel wasn’t wowed by Rihanna’s Super Bowl 2023 halftime show. The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum found the 34-year-old’s performance “good not great,” she admitted in an Instagram video Monday. The former reality star recalled once attending a Rihanna concert the same month she saw Pink live, calling the “Umbrella” singer a “much less inspired” performer than the 43-year-old rocker.

“It wasn’t even comparable,” Frankel, 52, said. “Pink was just so incredibly passionate.”

As for Sunday’s show, the ex Bravolebrity noted that taking the stage while pregnant with baby No. 2 “could not have been easy” for Rihanna.

Despite her lukewarm reaction to the gig, Frankel clarified that she considers Rihanna a “winner” whether her “performance was amazing or not” because her makeup company, Fenty Beauty, “won the Super Bowl in the beauty category…Rihanna was touching up with her makeup, and her whole entire makeup brand flew and paid for all these influencers to go to the Super Bowl. They’re going to do hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.”

[From Page Six]

Does Bethenny understand that no one needs her input? I get that she’s trying to style herself as a social media influencer – even though she’s regularly dragged on all platforms – but every time she’s getting attention, it’s because she doesn’t have the good sense god gave a goose. Can I just say? Bethenny has consistently tried to “analyze” women of color from a “businesswoman” perspective, but she always gets fundamental things wrong about business. Rihanna is a billionaire already with successful clothing, intimates and beauty lines, in addition to her wildly successful music career. Bethenny is just some Real Housewife wannabe influencer trying to market her own body dysmorphia, bigotry and self-hatred to a larger audience.

comparing her to “p!nk”… she has officially lost me pic.twitter.com/3tuqEqXEpo

— Edna Del Lastrassi (@goIdicocks) February 13, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Saturday night, Megan Fox posted some photos on her Instagram with the Beyonce-lyric message: “You can taste the dishonesty/ it’s all over your breath.” She also included a video of an envelope burning, and some suggested that she was burning some of Machine Gun Kelly’s love letters. The rumor-mongering was steady all day Sunday and Monday, something about how Megan and MGK had some kind of falling out and they broke off their engagement and possibly broke up. What’s weird is that they were just together on Friday night at Drake’s Super Bowl party. They looked affectionate inside the event, but as they were leaving, Megan did look upset. I’m including those photos – MGK looks like he’s trying to comfort her or keep hold of her as they leave the party, and I think she might have even brushed away a few tears. According to People’s sources, Megan and MGK had a huge fight at some point this weekend:

Megan Fox is “very upset” with Machine Gun Kelly after a fight over the weekend, a source tells PEOPLE.

A source says the actress, 36, is not on speaking terms at the moment with her musician fiancé, 32, following a dispute during Super Bowl weekend. “Megan is very upset. They had a fight over the weekend and Megan won’t speak to him,” says the source.

“They haven’t officially called off the engagement, but Megan took her ring off,” the source adds, noting that while the couple “have had issues in the past, things seem pretty serious this time.”

[From People Magazine]

I wonder what he did? The Instagram – which she later deleted – kind of suggested that he cheated. Did she just find out about his infidelity when they were out at the Super Bowl party? Hm. I do hope Megan is done with him, but… she’s always been chaotic in love. She fell hard and fast for MGK and they got very wrapped up in each other very quickly. It’s going to take a minute to unwind that, I think. Also: Fans think MGK is banging his guitarist Sophie Lloyd. Eh.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, Megan’s deleted IG.

The first half of the fourth season of You dropped on Netflix on Friday. Obviously I binged it and I like the switched up premise. I like seeing Joe on his toes! Anyway, I did notice in the first five episodes, there is a notable decrease in sex scenes compared to the previous seasons. And apparently that was by design. Penn Badgley asked the show’s creator to have Joe’s intimate scenes reduced as much as possible due to his career goals and his marriage.

Penn Badgley made a special request ahead of filming season 4 of You.

The 36-year-old actor shared on the latest episode of Stitcher Studios’ Podcrushed podcast that he asked You’s showrunner to limit his sex scenes in the upcoming season of the Netflix psychological thriller.

“I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’ This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?”

Badgley, who married Domino Kirke in February 2017, added: “Fidelity in every relationship — especially in a marriage — is important to me.”

He continued, “It got to a point where [I thought], ‘I don’t want to do that,’ so I said to Sera, like, ‘My desire would be zero [intimate scenes], to go from 100 to zero.’”

That said, Badgley realized his request might not be possible and that “I signed this contract. I signed up for the show. I know what I did.”

He added, “You can’t take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept, so ‘How much less can you make it?’ was my question to them.”

To Badgley’s relief, Gamble “didn’t even bat an eye. She was really glad that I was that honest, and she was sort of almost empowered. She had a really positive response and they came back with a phenomenal reduction.”

[From People]

So it seems like Penn’s reasoning is twofold — not wanting to play a romantic lead forever and fidelity in his marriage. I’m not surprised by the former — I was surprised he even took this show because it seemed like he wanted to get away from that type of casting. But it is interesting that he says that he made this decision before he signed the contract and then signed it anyway, knowing what it was. I guess he really wanted to take on this meaty role? Anyway, they have changed the show to honor Penn’s request this season. Joe used to have sex with at least two women per season in fairly graphic scenes, but this season there have only been a few kiss/shirt off/cutaway scenes a la network TV. I thought that was because Joe was still pining over last season’s love interest, but I guess not. The changes work narratively though. Penn has always been pretty realistic about his character and the show though and gets props for his honesty, for example, saying that viewers shouldn’t have crushes on Joe. The latest callout: saying Netflix glamorized Jeffrey Dahmer. You is such a big hit, Netflix probably doesn’t care and he can say what he wants. I’m looking forward to the second half of season four. But it seems like we’ll have to wait another season for Cardi B’s cameo.

photos courtesy of Netflix