Brad Pitt was in New York for a couple of days, perhaps for art. Yesterday he was seen at the Whitney Museum. And at one point he agreed to take photos with some fans. Note how he kept his hands in his pockets instead of putting his arms around them? This, for some reason, cracks me up.

Anywa…      

Last year, Ben Affleck got in trouble in Las Vegas for counting cards at blackjack tables. He was blacklisted from playing at The Hard Rock Casino, however the casino was careful to mention to the press that Affleck was still welcome there, just presumably not at blackjack. Affleck loves to gamble, signs point to it being an addiction, and the tabloids have been calling it a problem for his marriage for years.

Radar Online claims that Ben and his wife, Jennifer Garner, haven’t been spotted together for 31 days. They point to the couple’s separate schedules, and Ben’s gambling, as evidence that they’re having problems. Here’s part of their report. It all sounds circumstantial to me.

Garner was photographed having lunch with a friend at Sant Ambroeus in Manhattan on May 13. She left their kids, Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Sam, 3, back in L.A. But according to insiders, Affleck was not playing babysitter. Instead, he was spotted gambling hours away in Las Vegas!

Twitter user @LetsGoBulls11 posted at 3:19 am on May 14, “Ben Affleck here at the #Venetian, high stakes #poker #Vegas.”

Hours later, Affleck was back in Los Angeles, photographed taking his kids to school and looking slightly worse for the wear.

As Radar has reported, Affleck has increasingly been spotted outside the family home as his marriage has crumbled. He was also photographed in Las Vegas on May 3, where he played high-stakes poker for several hours, according to reports.

And on Garner’s birthday, April 17, he was spotted on a solo trip to Canada — not wearing his wedding ring.

[From Radar Online]

I do think that Affleck is trying to find himself, and he obviously still struggles with fame. He’s mentioned repeatedly that he hated being a tabloid fixture during the J.Lo debacle. He’s still a tabloid target, sometimes with good reason.

I’m a Garner-Affleck looney, so take my opinion for what it is. I don’t think some time apart and Ben’s gambling add up to a divorce. They fly on private jets and their jobs take them around the world. Of course they’re going to be in different places at times. Radar also claims to have a quote from an insider who says Ben has “told Jen that he wants the official [divorce] statement to come out before their ten-year wedding anniversary on June 29.” I really doubt this is true. Ben revels in his status as a family man and he uses it for legitimacy in Hollywood. They have young children together that they adore. Jennifer has said that marriage is work too, and she seems like she’ll stick around no matter what. Radar and their sister publication The Enquirer have made these claims for years. They could be onto something, but I really hope not.

Photos are of Ben out getting coffee yesterday, 5/26. Jennifer is shown on 5/19. Photo of Ben and Jen together is from 4-24-15. Credit: FameFlynet

I am not in favor of a Point Break remake, since Point Break is already a f*cking masterpiece of dumbass cinema. It’s the perfect combination of a stupid as sh*t idea and Kathryn Bigelow’s technical mastery behind the camera, starring Peak Patrick Swayze and Rising Keanu Reeves. The remake stars …      

Look who’a all grown up!

Ally McBeal alum Calista Flockhart stepped out with son Liam, 14, in Los Angeles, Calif. on Tuesday (May 26). The Supergirl star was seen taking her teen – who is already taller than mom – for a haircut.

The actress’ husband, Star Wars star Harrison Ford, is on the mend after his small plane crashed at Penmar Golf Course on March 5.

Ford suffered injuries including a large laceration on his scalp as well as broken bones.

According to PEOPLE, the Indiana Jones actor is doing well in his recovery, walking with crutches but in good spirits. The legendary actor started driving again in late March, shortly after he was released from the hospital.

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Battle Creek star Josh Duhamel enjoyed a park playdate with son Axl, 20 months, in Santa Monica, Calif. on Tuesday (May 26).

The father-son duo walked hand-in-hand before sitting down for a chat during their afternoon outing.

On Sunday, we spotted the Duhamel family-of-three, including mama Fergie, at a birthday party in Santa Monica.

Josh’s police series Battle Creek was recently cancelled by CBS.

Meanwhile, Fergie is working on her second studio album, tentatively scheduled for a 2015 release. The first single off of that collection, L.A. LOVE (La La), was released back in Sept. 2014.

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This is a very internal-British-politics story, but hey, it involves Benedict Cumberbatch, so let’s talk about it. While campaigning for re-election, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his plans to scrap the Human Rights Act – in which Britain basically signed on for 1950 European Convention of Human Rights – and replace it with a “British Bill of Rights” which, Cameron claimed, would basically function the same way. The British Bill of Rights would still include rights like “freedom from slavery” and “freedom to due process,” etc., but these would be limited in cases of terrorism and other exceptions. Many Brits don’t want to throw out the Human Rights Act, believing that it functions very well as-is. Benedict Cumberbatch is one of those Brits.

Benedict donated his time and his silky voice to Liberty Human Rights for what amounts to a PSA about the importance of the Human Rights Act. It’s pretty graphic (no obscene words, it’s just a disturbing story), so NSFW. He’s telling “Janet’s story.”

It’s a powerful story. Far be it from me to interfere with internal British politics, but I really don’t understand why the Tories have such a problem with the Human Rights Act and why they want to spend some of the political capital basically re-doing it with some revisions?

As for Benedict and his preggo bride, from what I’m seeing… Sophie Hunter still hasn’t given birth. Any day now, maybe. As we discussed on Sunday, Benedict and Sophie just bought a new London townhouse for their family. Sources told The Sun that Sophie was the one leading the charge for a new place, with one source saying: “Sophie wanted a break from the past and a fresh start with their new arrival which meant a new home. They’re planning to modernise the house throughout but it has great space and potential in which to bring up a family.” Sources also said Sophie didn’t want to live in the same place Benedict had shared with Olivia Poulet, his girlfriend of decade: “You can’t blame Sophie for wanting to move somewhere else. Nobody wants to be reminded of their husband’s past relationships.” Were there still photos of Olivia all around the place?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Ryan Gosling was photographed yesterday in Hollywood, apparently on break from shooting The Big Short in New Orleans. He looks really good here. Last time I posted pictures of him he had dark hair (click here for a refresher) and I still haven’t washed the bad flavour away yet.

Anyway, these …      

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend cover the June issue of DuJour magazine. Chrissy’s promoting her upcoming ABC talk show, The F.A.B.. John came along for this magazine feature. You can see the NSFW shoot here (Chrissy takes it off and frolics in the ocean). Sports Illustrated is all over this shoot because they love Chrissy. She and John both look good but soooo loved up. If it was any other couple, I’d tell them to get a room. Here are some joint interview excerpts:

John on falling for Chrissy: “The more I got to know her, I started to realize how funny and cool she was. You meet all kinds of good-looking people, but she was so vibrant and engaging. Even when we’d text, she was always saying something clever.”

Chrissy wants babies next year: “We want a lot of kids. I would love to have three or four of my own, and then adopt a few. So basically I’ll be pregnant the rest of my life. … [The thought] of getting boobs thrills me. And John looooves pregnant women, so–”

John wants daughters: “She thinks I’m not athletic enough to have a boy. I’m a musician, I’m good with women and I’m a feminist, so I think I’ll be a good ‘girl daddy.’ Part of my goal in making money is so that our kids won’t have to fly on regular planes and embarrass us. I’m saving up so they can fly private.”

Chrissy won’t be an insufferable parent: “I feel like sometimes when people give birth, they give birth to a tiny part of their brain. Whatever they thought they would be goes out the window and they kind of lose their minds. I am 1,000 percent not going to have an Instagram account for my baby. It will not have a hashtag. If I have a hashtag for my baby, just kill me.”

[From DuJour]

Well, I’ll be interested to see if Chrissy’s personality stays intact after she has her first baby. She’ll probably stay the same. I get what she’s saying though. Sometimes people don’t do anything for themselves after becoming parents. Life becomes all about the baby for them, but they must like it that way. No judgment.

Chrissy also recently Instagrammed her stretch marks (but she did so less obnoxiously than LeAnn Rimes). She promised to never photoshop her selfies again: “I just didn’t feel like doing it anymore … because I think we forgot what normal people look like now.”

P.S. Is it too late to share Chrissy’s Memorial Day cocktail recipes? Nah.

Photos courtesy of DuJour magazine & Fame/Flynet

Dear Gossips,

In the heat of an obsession, there’s nothing more satisfying than when your google alert goes off in the morning. Brandon Flowers was on BBC Breakfast today. He played a show in Leeds last night, then got up at 5am to make it to the interview, and they asked him about that, abou…      

In Touch Weekly still has some exclusive reporting from their Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the Arkansas investigation into Josh Duggar. ITW got the ball rolling last week, and it still shocks me to think about how quickly everything moved. In Touch basically summarized a police report about how Josh Duggar was investigated for molesting five children back in 2002-2003. And now every single media outlet is running stories about the creepy Duggars and their creepy cult. TLC still hasn’t officially canceled the show, but advertisers are bailing at a steady clip. So, what else does In Touch have on the Duggars? Just that the 2006 investigation led to some interesting (and horrific) legal wrangling.

In the new issue – on stands now — In Touch reports another bombshell revelation: The Josh Duggar molestation case DID NOT end when Springdale, AR police closed their investigation in 2006 because the statute of limitations had run out. Police referred the matter to the Families in Need of Services agency, which has jurisdiction over minors. The Department of Human Services (DHS) was then brought into the case.

And Nine months after those agencies entered the Duggar molestation case — Josh Duggar SUED the Arkansas Department of Human Services. A trial was held on August 6, 2007.

The results of the investigation into the Duggars and Josh’s trial are sealed. But a source familiar with the Duggar investigation told In Touch it was likely that Josh “appealed the DHS decision or finding from their investigation.” The source notes that DHS had the authority to apply “restrictions or stipulations about him being at home with the victims. Josh would be considered an in-home offender, giving DHS the authority to do an investigation. As part of your appeal rights you can request a DHS hearing to challenge what they found and their ruling.”

The Duggars are refusing to comment on the intervention by either department and Josh’s trial against DHS. They also are refusing to say if their family was monitored by a state agency after the 2007 actions and forced to undergo counseling by a licensed mental health professional.

In Touch broke the story about Josh molesting five victims multiple times during the course of at least two years, exclusively obtaining the Spring Police Department’s report through the Freedom of Information Act.

[From In Touch Weekly]

It’s sort of a fill-in-the-blanks scenario, but I think the gist of the story is that the investigating police officers – realizing that Josh Duggar couldn’t be charged because of the statute of limitations – turned over their investigation to the Department of Human Services. Arkansas DHS ran their own investigation – likely in 2006-07 – and came up with their own report which included some stipulations about what kind of contact Josh Duggar should have with the minor siblings he molested. And Josh appealed the decision and sued to have the DHS files sealed and it worked.

Meanwhile, Defamer unearthed a schadenfreude gem from Jim-Bob Duggar’s failed Senate campaign. While campaigning for a Senate seat in Arkansas in 2002, Jim-Bob explained his position on abortion and ended up saying that rapists and people who commit incest should be punished with the death penalty. 2002 is also the year that Jim-Bob learned that his oldest son was molesting his sisters.

Cover courtesy of In Touch Weekly, cached Duggar image courtesy of Defamer, additional photo from Josh Duggar’s social media.