In the summer of 2017, it had become very clear to everyone that Prince Harry was deeply in love with then-Meghan Markle and he had plans to build a future with her. Meghan hadn’t been scared off by his family or the racist press, and they went to Botswana for weeks that summer. I always believed that they made the plan for their future and really began talking about getting married there. Meghan was already spending more time with Harry’s family, so much so that Camilla offered Meghan some advice. From Spare:

Meg, meanwhile, reached out to Camilla, who tried to counsel her by saying this was just what the press always did to newcomers, that it would all pass in due time, that Camilla had been the bad guy once.

The implication being what? Now it was Meg’s turn? As if it were apples to apples.

Camilla also suggested to Meg that I become Governor General of Bermuda, which would solve all our problems by removing us from the red-hot center of the maelstrom. Right, right, I thought, and one added bonus of that plan would be to get us out of the picture.

[From Spare by Prince Harry]

So… even back in the summer of 2017, there were already conversations about “exiling” Harry, sending him away somewhere, and those plans involved Meghan too – because the family already saw that Meghan and Harry were on the path to an engagement and marriage. Speaking of, Harry also wrote about a conversation he had with his father (and William, who was also there) in what was probably September/October 2017. Remember, Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017. Harry was trying to tell them both that he intended to propose to Meghan, which is when Charles began talking about not being able to afford Meghan:

Cloudy, blustery day. I jumped into the venerable old Land Rover, the ancient Army ambulance that Grandpa had repurposed. Pa was behind the wheel, Willy was in the back. I got into the passenger seat and wondered if I should tell them both what I was intending. I decided against it. Pa already knew, I assumed, and Willy had already warned me not to do it. It’s too fast, he’d told me. Too soon.

In fact, he’d actually been pretty discouraging about my even dating Meg. One day, sitting together in his garden, he’d predicted a host of difficulties I could expect if I hooked up with an “American actress,” a phrase he always managed to make sound like “convicted felon.” Are you sure about her, Harold? I am, Willy. But do you know how difficult it’s going to be? What do you want me to do? Fall out of love with her?

…Pa, driving us out into the fields, asked about Meg. Not with great interest, just casually. Still, he didn’t always ask, so I was pleased. She’s good, thanks.
Does she want to carry on working?
Say again?
Does she want to keep on acting?
Oh. I mean, I don’t know, I wouldn’t think so. I expect she’ll want to be with me, doing the job, you know, which would rule out Suits…since they film in…Toronto.
Hmm. I see. Well, darling boy, you know there’s not enough money to go around.
I stared. What was he banging on about?
He explained. Or tried to. I can’t pay for anyone else. I’m already having to pay for your brother and Catherine.

I flinched. Something about his use of the name Catherine. I remembered the time he and Camilla wanted Kate to change the spelling of her name, because there were already two royal cyphers with a C and a crown above: Charles and Camilla. It would be too confusing to have another. Make it Katherine with a K, they suggested. I wondered now what came of that suggestion.

I turned to Willy, gave him a look that said: You listening to this? His face was blank.

Pa didn’t financially support Willy and me, and our families, out of any largesse. That was his job. That was the whole deal. We agreed to serve the monarch, go wherever we were sent, do whatever we were told, surrender our autonomy, keep our hands and feet inside the gilded cage at all times, and in exchange the keepers of the cage agreed to feed and clothe us. Was Pa, with all his millions from the hugely lucrative Duchy of Cornwall, trying to say that our captivity was starting to cost him a bit too much?

Besides which—how much could it possibly cost to house and feed Meg? I wanted to say, She doesn’t eat much, you know! And I’ll ask her to make her own clothes, if you like.

It was suddenly clear to me that this wasn’t about money. Pa might have dreaded the rising cost of maintaining us, but what he really couldn’t stomach was someone new dominating the monarchy, grabbing the limelight, someone shiny and new coming in and overshadowing him. And Camilla. He’d lived through that before, and had no interest in living through it again.

[From Spare by Prince Harry]

The Duchy of Cornwall is worth over a billion dollars and Charles receives an annual payout in the tens of millions, money which is supposed to go to support his own office and his sons’ offices and homes. I’ve always said that these people were too f–king stupid to prepare themselves for Harry falling in love and getting married. Like, the only way their crazy system functioned was if Harry never married. That way, William could still order him around and Charles could shuffle him off to some shack and they could all pretend that Harry wasn’t the most charismatic one. Anyway, this was Charles setting the stage for financially abusing his son.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

People Magazine loves the fact that they got an exclusive interview and photoshoot with Prince Harry. They spoke to him about Spare, of course, and his dysfunctional relations in the UK, but they also asked him some fun stuff about his life in California. I often felt like some of what Meghan experienced in the UK was just a major culture shock, although obviously her in-laws and the British media were also massively abusive towards her too. I’ve wondered if Harry has also had his moments of culture shock now that he’s been living in America for three years. He seems incredibly happy here, but I’m sure he has moments of “why are those methheads committing insurrection?!” and “why can you buy handguns in a parking lot???” Thankfully, Harry keeps those kinds of comments to a minimum. Some highlights:

Working on Spare: “I’ve been working on this for the past two years and have poured my heart and soul into it, choosing each moment with care. It has been a privilege to be able to tell my story in my words.”

He loves In-and-Out: “In-N-Out is the best! I order two double-doubles, animal style, fries and a Coke! And that’s just for me! Meg gets the cheeseburger and fries with sides of jalapeños. I just stick with ketchup and that special sauce of theirs. So good!”

How he defines himself: “A husband and a father – first and foremost – as well as a veteran, environmentalist, and mental health advocate. I know that I want to live my life in service of others and that I want to live by example for my kids.”

He hopes his children will get to know their extended fam: “I’ve said before that I’ve wanted a family, not an institution—so of course, I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy.”

His future in California: “I’m looking ahead and am optimistic for what’s to come. I have a beautiful and blessed life—one that comes with a platform, and with it responsibility that Meghan and I plan to use wisely. I feel I am exactly where I am meant to be and exactly where we [my family] are meant to be. I don’t think I could have written this book otherwise.”

His relationship with his grandmother: “My grandmother and I were very close, and we very much did have a special relationship. I miss her dearly, as well as her cheeky sense of humor and quick wit. I’m also really happy for her. She lived a full life and is now reunited with her husband. I will forever cherish every memory I had with her, especially the times she spent with my children.”

When his kids met QEII: Harry recalled Archie “making deep, chivalrous bows” while Lili was “cuddling the monarch’s shins.” “Sweetest children, Granny said, sounding bemused,” he wrote in the book. “She’d expected them to be a bit more . . . American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious.”

Systemic racism: “My relationship with Meghan has opened my eyes to so much I fear I otherwise would have never fully understood. When we recognize bias within ourselves or others — we have a choice. Be part of the problem through inaction or part of the solution through change. We live in a world with systemic racism, and none of us are immune from the effects of that. I am someone who has long benefited from my place in society,” he says. “I understand that much better today than I once did. I had so much to learn and, equally, unlearn. It’s not a simple process, but it’s a fulfilling one. I’m a better husband, father and human because of it. I feel more grounded and connected.”

Unconscious bias: “To this day I’m doing important and necessary work to understand and address unconscious bias — it’s ever-evolving and requires us to step up and speak out where we can — even when it’s our friends, families or loved ones.”

[From People Magazine]

We don’t have In-and-Out burger joints here on the East Coast, but I’ve heard from West Coasters that In-and-Out is aggressively… fine. Not the best, not the worst. Californians treat In-and-Out like it’s the end-all of fast food burgers but from where I sit, I think Burger King sounds a lot better?? And y’all know that man isn’t constantly eating fast food either. Please – living in California has taken ten years off of him and you know he’s eating healthy most of the time.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jenna Jones (@photobyjennajones)

Cover courtesy of People.

The reaction to Prince Harry’s promotional interviews has been overwhelmingly positive here in America. It’s been said before, but Americans remain incredibly curious about and interested in the British monarchy, and I think the average American is quite happy that an American girl married a British prince and they came to live here in the US. Americans have an appetite for The Crown and Netflix’s Harry & Meghan series. As it turns out, Americans were very interested in Harry’s 60 Minutes interview too:

Prince Harry’s Sunday “60 Minutes” interview with Anderson Cooper brought in a season-high audience for the CBS newsmagazine, drawing 11.2 million total viewers, according to Nielsen’s time-zone adjusted Live + Same Day data. That audience count is up from the 10.52 million viewers that Variety reported Monday for the sitdown, per the earliest available Nielsen data. That initial number alone was up 16% from the “60 Minutes” season average viewership to-date and made the episode the third-most watched of the season.

The bump in total viewers that Prince Harry’s “60 Minutes” received in the finalized Nielsen count makes it the most-watched episode. The previous season high was set by the Oct. 16 episode, featuring interviews with families of the victims found in a mass grave in the Ukraine and an interview with college football coach Deion Sanders, which drew 10.7 million viewers in final numbers.

The interview, which originally aired from 7:34-8:34 p.m. ET on CBS and streamed on Paramount+, the CBS App and CBS.com, starting a few minutes late due to an NFL game overrun, is now the most-watched “60 Minutes” installment in next-day streaming since the October 2020 interview between Donald Trump and Lesley Stahl. The next-day streaming performance was also five-times higher than the current season average for “60 Minutes.”

[From Variety]

I just did a basic look at 60 Minutes’ YouTube views for their Prince Harry-related videos. The full interview has over 1.4 million YT views. The individual clip videos ALL have over 100K views each. So yeah… people were definitely interested. Speaking of, Spare is already selling like hotcakes… in the UK.

Prince Harry’s autobiography is the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever, recording figures of 400,000 copies so far across hardback, ebook and audio formats on its first day of publication.

Larry Finlay, managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House, said: “We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations.

“As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter).”

Queues of fans developed before shops opened at 12am Tuesday morning for the official release of the controversial memoir.

[From Sky News]

Yep. It’s a lot like the Netflix series too – the British media tried to say that no one was interested in Meghan and Harry, but the series had a huge viewership in the UK (and around the world). It was the same with Spare – the media tried so hard to radicalize the public against Harry and the book, but people were and are excited to read Harry’s own words. Anyway, I expect that Spare will end up being the biggest non-fiction bestseller of the past year.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, ‘60 Minutes’, ‘Spare’ cover.

Gwen Stefani is a cool woman who is loved and adored by millions of people for her music, her style, her vibe. But Gwen has also been a problematic figure for many people, first with her appropriation of Latinx culture, then with her appropriation of Japanese culture, and currently with her appropriation of Republican culture (lol). It’s the Asian appropriation which is still a huge issue today, I think because people continue to look back on that era – Gwen’s Harajuku era – and cringe. Gwen really paid four Japanese women to stand around her at all times and be silent. She really appropriated and marketed a Japanese subculture to white America. So, Gwen is currently promoting her makeup line (GXVE) and Allure’s Jesa Marie Calaor interviewed Gwen at a recent GXVE event. The interview turned out bonkers, because Gwen repeatedly claimed to be Japanese.

Gwen on her Japanese influences: “That was my Japanese influence and that was a culture that was so rich with tradition, yet so futuristic [with] so much attention to art and detail and discipline and it was fascinating to me,” she said, explaining how her father (who is Italian American) would return with stories of street performers cosplaying as Elvis and stylish women with colorful hair. Then, as an adult, she was able to travel to Harajuku to see them herself. “I said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese and I didn’t know it.’” As those words seemed to hang in the air between us, she continued, “I am, you know.” She then explained that there is “innocence” to her relationship with Japanese culture, referring to herself as a “super fan.”

Don’t criticize her for being a fan: “If [people are] going to criticize me for being a fan of something beautiful and sharing that, then I just think that doesn’t feel right. I think it was a beautiful time of creativity… a time of the ping-pong match between Harajuku culture and American culture.” She elaborated further: “[It] should be okay to be inspired by other cultures because if we’re not allowed then that’s dividing people, right?”

Did Gwen Stefani really refer to herself as Japanese several times? Calaor writes: I spent 32 minutes in conversation with Stefani, many of them devoted to her lengthy answer to my question about Harajuku Lovers. In that time, she said more than once that she is Japanese. Allure’s social media associate (who is Asian and Latina) was also present for the interview and we were left questioning what we had heard. Maybe she misspoke? Again and again? During our interview, Stefani asserted twice that she was Japanese and once that she was “a little bit of an Orange County girl, a little bit of a Japanese girl, a little bit of an English girl.” Surely, she didn’t mean it literally or she didn’t know what she was saying? (A representative for Stefani reached out the next day, indicating that I had misunderstood what Stefani was trying to convey. Allure later asked Stefani’s team for an on-the-record comment or clarification of these remarks and they declined to provide a statement or participate in a follow-up interview.)

[From Allure]

What I find remarkable is that Gwen Stefani hasn’t figured out a better way to speak about her love of Japanese culture without sounding like an appropriating a–hole. Like, I think it’s cool that Gwen loves Japan and that she wanted to bring some fun Japanese subculture to America. Figure out a way to do it and talk about it without claiming to be Japanese or shrugging off the very real issues your fascination with/fetishization of Japan has brought to the table. This is not some new conversation either. Literally, at the time in 2008, there were prominent Asian celebrities and scholars saying that Stefani’s Harajuku act was deeply uncomfortable if not fully racist. The conversations about appropriation have only grown from there, and with Stefani specifically, it’s not limited to her Asian appropriation. You can’t just wander around, claiming to be Japanese!!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kate Young (@kateyoung)

I read on JustJared that it wasn’t confirmed ahead of time that Selena Gomez would go to the Globes, but she did and she looked like she was having a great time. Selena’s fashion can be hit or miss and this Valentino gown is a “maybe” for me. It’s just a strapless velvet gown with half balloon sleeves. She’s the best advertisement for her makeup line though. Selena’s makeup always looks flawless. Selena was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy for Only Murders, which went to Quinta Brunson.

Embed from Getty Images

Also nominated in that category was Kaley Cuoco, who wore a cute lilac Vera Wang chiffon gown. She’s so extra and I love that about her. I wonder if she’ll post photos of her baby or hide their face on her Instagram. She seems like she could go either way with that.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kaley Cuoco (@kaleycuoco)

Jean Smart was in a black tuxedo dress by Tadashi Shoji. She looked so elegant. Should I give Hacks another chance? I couldn’t get into after the first episode but a lot of my friends love it.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Presenter Natasha Lyonne was in Givenchy and I thought this dress was so cool – I love a full coverage fitted gown – but her hair was distracting. I hope those are hairpieces.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Viola Davis was killing it in custom Jason Wu. Did you see her Architectural Digest video with her husband, Julius Tennan? Their life looks amazing and I love their interior design!

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Presenter Regina Hall was in a full length sleeveless Monique Lhuillier gown complete with fingerless gloves. I missed her because I was sleeping by then, but I saw it on Twitter and she cracked herself up when she explained why Kevin Costner couldn’t be there in person! That’s embedded below. I’ve got “A Bitch is 50” queued up to sing in a couple of months.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Regina Hall finding out why Kevin Costner couldn’t be at the #GoldenGlobes just won next year’s #GoldenGlobes for Best Actress in a TV Comedy pic.twitter.com/5WjI6zosdn

— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) January 11, 2023

This post contains most (if not all?) of the Gucci-clad women at last night’s Golden Globes. Gucci’s latest collections have been super-popular with celebrities and I don’t really understand why? I guess it’s because the latest collections have been pretty easy and wearable? Salma Hayek’s Gucci made her look like a sparkly saloon lady in the Old West.

Embed from Getty Images

Jenna Ortega IS the moment, so if she wants to dress like a nouveau Stevie Nicks, then that’s fine with me. She’s actually pulling this off??

Embed from Getty Images

Michelle Williams’s Gucci was kind of stupid and fun? Like, she’s going lighter and less serious. She just had a baby two seconds ago too, I think it’s amazing that she’s making so many appearances to promote The Fabelmans.

Embed from Getty Images

I have to say, when I saw Daisy Edgar-Jones’s look in motion, I thought she looked fantastic. Still photos don’t do this justice.

Embed from Getty Images

Jessica Chastain is the only non-Gucci look in this post, but she posed with Gucci-clad Julia Garner, so here we are. Jessica wore Oscar de la Renta – a fug spiderweb dress. I’m telling you, the ladies really phoned it in at the Globes. It was a f–king Tuesday after all. Garner’s Gucci is meh.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Coolidge (@jennifercoolidge)

Jennifer Coolidge was one of the presenters at the Globes last night and her speech went on so long it was uncomfortable. SO many of the winners got played off the stage during their speeches after that and it just seemed… short sighted to let her talk so long. I get that Coolidge’s schtick is being awkward and self deprecating, but it could have easily been cut in half to better effect. She won Supporting Actress in a Limited Series and The White Lotus won Best Television Limited Series. I have not see the second season yet and am not sure I will, but I’ve heard about the boat thing and Globes host Jerrod Carmichael made a crack about it last night. She was in Dolce & Gabbana.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Niecy Nash was also in Dolce & Gabbana and I liked the drama of her puffy purple cape! She was nominated in the same category as Jennifer, for her work in Dahmer. Ryan Murphy got the Carol Burnett award and in his acceptance speech he said some sweet things about Niecy living her truth. She was so cute with her wife, Jessica Betts! They look so happy together.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Niecy Nash (@niecynash1)

Embed from Getty Images

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez was in Balmain and I like that this is basically a giant bow wrapped around her. I wonder if there was math involved in making the folds lie perfect like that. Ryan Murphy pointed out that Michaela was the first trans actress to win a Globe. She won last year, for her work in Pose, when the ceremony wasn’t televised.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Billy Porter was in an elaborate Christian Siriano tuxedo dress that was a play on the historic 2019 Oscars gown, also by Siriano! Murphy gave the look a shout out in his speech too. This is regal.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Billy Porter (@theebillyporter)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Billy Porter (@theebillyporter)

I was so surprised when Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy announced they were expecting their third child earlier this week! They already have two sons, Cyrus and Rowan, and I thought they were done having babies. But no, Claire is knocked up again! Congrats to her. Claire turned up at the Golden Globes last night wearing a pretty horrid dress. I’m sure chose it to hide her bump a little, but jeez, it was so bad. This is Giambattista Valli. Usually, Valli designs are heavy on flouncy skirts and architectural looks. This just feels like an off-day, design-wise.

Quinta Brunson wore Christian Siriano – Quinta has a commitment to this style, the strapless mermaid design. It flatters her figure, and she’s quite short (which limits the kinds of dresses she’s offered), but I would love to see her play around with some different silhouettes at some point. Anyway, this was fine. I’m sure it was a custom job from Siriano and Quinta seemed to love it.

Sheryl Lee Ralph looked amazing in a custom Aliette. She is having so much fun!!

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.

Anya Taylor Joy has her Dior contract and usually it works out pretty well. I mean, Anya can wear anything and she has a model’s build and look, so Dior is a good fit for her in every way. But Dior really gave Anya a lemon-chartreuse bandeau top and a wrinkled skirt and said “you’re good.” I actually have a lot of feelings about putting a pale blonde in this color too – while it doesn’t look flat-out bad on her, it does make her look kind of sickly? You could literally put her in any other color!

Embed from Getty Images

Elizabeth Debicki was also done dirty by Dior. The fit of this dress, my God. Dior is supposed to be one of the best ateliers in the world! And you’re sending women out in these untailored, baggy-boobed messes??

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

I genuinely thought Jenny Slate looked lovely in this Rodarte. I’m surprised she went with this color and design, but it was very flattering.

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.

Angela Bassett won Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture last night at the Globes for her work in Wakanda Forever. You can see her speech here. I loved how her husband of over 25 years, Courtney B. Vance, was taping her on his phone as she accepted her award! Hopefully she’s the one to beat at this year’s Academy Awards. We’ll get the nominations on January 24th and the Oscars air on March 12th.

Angela was in a sleeveless Pamella Roland silver metallic column gown. She looked so good and her styling was perfection. She is 64 years old!

Embed from Getty Images

Youngest EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson presented that category, Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. She was in a striking CD Greene gown made up of mirrored rectangular gold tiles. I love the shoulder pads!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Hudson (@iamjhud)

Embed from Getty Images

Angela’s costar Letitia Wright was in a sleek Prada gown with a burnt orange watercolor-like design. I like how abstract and unique this dress is. The color blocking is risky and could easily veer messy and yet it reads elegant, if that makes sense. It works.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Pregnant with twins Hilary Swank was also in Prada, in a green v-neck sleeveless gown with two long black bows trailing from each shoulder. I’ve seen the pilot of the series she was nominated for, Alaska Daily, and it was good! I haven’t gone back to it as there are so many other shows to watch but I’m writing this to remind myself to. She’s so cute with her husband, Philip Schneider! Here’s a link to an article with more about him and how they met – it was a setup! They’re both so outdoorsy and I loved their Architectural Digest profile.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Emma D’arcy was also nominated for Best Television Actress — Drama (that went to Zendaya, who wasn’t there) for House of the Dragon which begs the question as to when the major awards shows are going to move to gender neutral categories. Emma was in an Acne Studios look featuring an oversized jacket, trousers and a skirt. They said on the red carpet that it was a nod to being nonbinary. As an 80s child these giant suits are giving me life.

Embed from Getty Images

Emma’s sort-of costar (she plays a younger version of Emma’s character Rhaenyra Targaryen), Milly Alcock, was in Givenchy. Honestly I went to bed around 10:15 last night (I’m on the east coast) and missed it when House of The Dragon won Best Drama. Apparently Milly seemed kind of drunk on stage. The drinks were definitely flowing in the audience.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

photos credit Backgrid and via Getty