The Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven’t lived in the UK since November/December 2019. That’s when they went to Canada and plotted their exit. At the Sandringham Summit in January 2020, different scenarios were suggested by courtiers and by Harry, but when it came down to it, Harry and Meghan were not offered the compromise they wanted, which was to be “half in” the institution, but able to live abroad and have some kind of security. They were told that wasn’t an option for them, that they would need to sink or swim. The courtiers and the Windsors believed that Meghan and Harry would sink, and that Harry would come crawling back to them without Meghan. Either that, or the Windsors genuinely wanted the Sussexes to die, which… was something that really could have happened. Anyway, just remember all of that whenever Salt Island gets performatively outraged about “the Sussexes could have lived in Canada or South Africa or New Zealand!” They offered, and that offer was rejected. Speaking of…

The Duchess of Sussex has said she’s happy to be back in her native California, but Prince Harry would rather have moved to a different continent. His friend, the celebrated primatologist Dame Jane Goodall, has revealed that he wanted the couple to live in Africa, where he has spent some of the happiest times in his life.

‘He wanted to bring Archie up in Africa, running barefoot with African children,’ she says of their three-year-old son. He and Meghan also have a daughter, Lilibet, aged 17 months.

Prince Harry’s advisers were said to be working on a ‘bespoke’ role for the couple, probably in Africa, that would combine some work on behalf of the Commonwealth along with charity work and a role promoting Britain. The plan had been drawn up by Sir David Manning, the former British ambassador to the U.S. and special adviser on constitutional and international affairs to Harry and Prince William. Of course, the plan was never put into action and the couple moved to North America before quitting royal duties. Had they moved to Africa, it could have made it more difficult for the Sussexes to sign lucrative deals with American companies such as Netflix, Spotify and BetterUp.

[From The Daily Mail]

Again, in 2019, there were many scenarios and plots. Prince William and his advisors were openly discussing the need to exile the Sussexes as William “prepared for kingship.” It was believed that William and his advisors didn’t want the Sussexes to be “exiled” in Canada or Australia because they would basically have their own royal courts in exile in those countries, thus the “send them to Africa” plan was loosely formed. I believe Harry associated the African continent with freedom, freedom from royal life, freedom from the British media, so yes, he saw himself raising his children outside of the royal system. Remarkable that he’s doing just that in Montecito, huh?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The Duchess of Sussex never “gave up” her American citizenship. It was clear she never completed her British citizenship either, so Meghan is simply American, and like millions of Americans, she headed to the polls on Tuesday for the mid-term elections. I envy people who live in states with big-ticket midterm stakes – here in Virginia, neither of our Democratic senators were up for reelection this cycle, and I think that suppressed turnout a little bit (our governors are elected on odd-number years, the year after a presidential election). California voters got to vote for Congress, governor, a Senate seat and tons of local races.

So Meghan posted this photo, above, on Archewell, with a handy voter guide, which you can see here. I assume she’s registered to vote in Montecito, a wealthy enclave which may even be Republican-leaning. Honestly, California politics are crazy, who even knows how people vote. A typical California Republican likely resembles a liberal Democrat in Arkansas. In any case, Meghan looked cute and she got an “I voted” sticker, prized by Americans. I’m genuinely obsessed with her sweater too, I would love an ID on that. Her anorak is apparently from Cuyana (and she has one in another color).

Meghan memorably voted in the 2020 election, and from what I’ve seen, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of agita about her GOTV post on Archewell this time around. Maybe Salt Island wasn’t paying attention to the American midterms, maybe they’ve realized that it’s absurd to freak out over an American woman voting in American elections. Who knows.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Archewell.

Prince Philip was most likely a serial philanderer, despite whatever horsesh-t royal biographers want to say now. Philip was probably more of an indiscriminate philanderer in his younger years, back during the time when the British media simply gave privacy and discretion to most men of a certain class. In his later years, it’s been pretty well established that Philip was very close to Penelope Knatchbull. Penny was something of his best friend, lover and companion for the last three decades of his life. Queen Elizabeth seemed mostly fine with the arrangement, and for what it’s worth, QEII seemed quite fond of Penny too. Some of Philip and Penny’s relationship is dramatized in The Crown, much to the Windsors’ chagrin. There have been a number of royalists huffing and puffing about how dare Netflix show Philip engaging in a consensual affair with a younger woman! After the initial performative outrage, at least there are some royalists who are back to speaking in barely veiled euphemisms.

The Queen ‘cut Prince Philip some slack over his friendships with women’ as the late monarch was aware her husband was made to ‘walk a tightrope’ as her consort, a royal expert has claimed. Historian Dr Tessa Dunlop – who has penned the biography Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy – says the late royal couple ‘clearly had an enduring and loving marriage’.

Appearing on the Mail Plus’ Palace Confidential series, the royal expert commented on a storyline in the new series of the The Crown which will see Prince Philip pursuing an extra-marital relationship with Penny Knatchbull. Countess Mountbatten of Burma became the Duke’s ‘closest confidante’ and was one of the 30 mourners who attended his funeral in April 2021.

The Netflix hit series is reported to have filmed ‘intimate scenes’ between Prince Philip and Penny Knatchbull – who had a 32-year age difference – which lands on screens tomorrow, just over two months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Speaking to host Jo Elvin, Dr Dunlop said: ‘The inference is that he wasn’t sexually faithful – that’s what people have inferred. But whether he was or not, the Queen and him clearly had a loving and enduring marriage and a partnership that she leant on and he leant on. They both depended on each other.’

What’s more, the expert said that it is well-known that high-profile aristocratic couples of the time weren’t always strictly faithful to each other. She added: ‘Monogamy didn’t have the high currency it does in today’s world.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m of the same opinion, especially with regard to Philip’s relationship with Penny. They likely had a decades-long affair and relationship. I doubt it was purely carnal, especially given that Penny was still his loving companion in his final years at Wood Farm, when his health was failing. I think the Queen accepted it in the end, although I doubt she was all that forgiving in the early years of her marriage. But towards the end… Elizabeth and Philip lived apart and Elizabeth accepted Penny and was quite close to Penny on her own. I also think Philip and Elizabeth adored each other and they were both part of a generation which… yeah, didn’t put the highest premium on fidelity and monogamy.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Netflix/The Crown.

There are a lot of races still in the air and a lot of votes left to be counted in this election cycle. It’s not all bad news for Democrats nor is it all good news. The best news is that the Republicans were trying desperately to will the “red wave” narrative into fruition and it fell flat. There was no red wave. If – a big if – the GOP gets control of the House, it will only be by a slim margin, and Kevin McCarthy is far from a sure thing as Speaker. It would actually be really f–king bad for Republicans if they did get control of the House, because it means an outsized empowerment of the Lunatic Terrorist Insurrectionist Coalition.

It’s more than likely that Democrats won the Senate. John Fetterman won the Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Raphael Warnock has a slim majority in Georgia, but there will probably be a runoff election. Democrat Maggie Hassan won the Senate seat in New Hampshire. Tammy Duckworth won reelection. Democrats won their elections for Senate in Colorado, Maryland, California, Oregon and Washington. Mark Kelly is probably going to win in Arizona. Nevada and Wisconsin look like they’re going to Republicans, but it’s close and votes are still being counted. Marco Rubio – a moron – won reelection.

Governors’ races were chaotic across the board. Ron DeSantis comfortably won re-election. Brian Kemp won comfortably in Georgia, meaning Stacey Abrams lost. Texas Gov. Abbott won reelection, meaning Beto O’Rourke lost. Democrats won their governor’s races in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania (!!!), New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland and more.

So, yeah… a mixed bag. Not a blue wave, not a red wave. Considering how midterm elections usually go – with a sweep for the party which doesn’t hold the presidency – I think President Biden can chalk this up as a win for the most part. Dems didn’t get routed. Some of the narratives already percolating: many of the Republicans who cozied up to Donald Trump were the ones who lost their races. Abortion was a huge issue driving voter turnout among women and young voters. SCOTUS is historically unpopular, and the Court’s approval of explicit gerrymandering on party lines affected many races in the South. We’ll get into more of these narratives in other posts.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Jason Momoa welcomed a new addition to his family. It’s possible he caught one, I’m not sure yet. Jason posted a video of a baby feral pig he’d found(?) and brought home. He was already in the process of naming the darling little guy and selecting his wardrobe, so we can assume the new little squealer is officially a Momoa. So of course he already has his first red carpet lined up for the Slumberland premiere. If you can handle it, here is the video of Jason and his baby Manapua:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies)

[From Instagram via Buzzfeed]

Okay, so they worked together, I guess. Look at Pua nestling into Jason’s neck. I mean who can blame him, right? I’m using Pua because that’s what Jason’s mom says she’s been calling the pig. On the video, Jason is deciding between Manapua, which is a bbq pork bun, and Lau Lau, taro wrapped pork and fish. Jason seems to be leaning to Lau Lau so I’m surprised he went with Manapua in his caption below. I’ll bet Momma Momoa got her way on that. Jason’s mom is also the one in the background asking if the pig is domesticated. Jason respond’s, “No, he’s all-Hawaiian, all feral.” I was wondering about the feral part because my knee-jerk reaction was that he shouldn’t be picking up wild animals. However, every hit I got was that feral pigs are a big problem for the Hawaiian Islands. They are nonnative and destroying the forests. Currently, the Islands are trying to control the populations through various means. So Jason having one in an enclosed space with a good fence might actually be a good thing. Especially if he neuters it, which is one of the ways they are trying to control the situation. Not to mention that Jason intends to paint Manapua’s nails and put him in a top hat for the Slumberland premiere. Which, by the way, is my favorite exchange: Momma Momoa “I think that’d be a little over the top since you just got him.” Jason: “Well, Mom, I’m kind of over the top.” She’s looking out for her grand-pig who would be intimidated by all the scary flashing lights and Jason’s all, Mom don’t tread on my fabulous!

As for whether this is a good idea or not, I have no idea. Hawaiian feral pigs grow big. With tusks. And they need a lot of food and space to forage around in. But Jason has the resources to provide that, I imagine. Momma Momoa asked questions that sounded like she knew her pigs so if they’ve decided to make room for Lil’ Pua in their home, they know what they’re signing up for.

All I know is I could watch Pua nestling into Jason’s crooked arm while Jason makes kissing noises at him for a very, very long time.

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A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies)

Photo credit: Cover Images and Instagram

Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk have been back together for months, at least that’s my theory. They took a family vacation together with their daughter in August. They’ve seemingly been spending more time together all autumn, even going to some events in New York together. Even when they were broken up, they still spent time together, for sure. But it feels different in recent months. Sources have even talked about how much they still like spending time together and how Irina especially would like another child with Bradley. This week, they were seen out together again, and they seemed handsy and affectionate. So, another round of rumors, this time in People Magazine:

Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk are keeping things close. The two were spotted Monday in New York City, dressed casually while taking their dogs for a walk and, at one point, putting their arms around one another.

A source close to the supermodel, 36, tells PEOPLE that she and Cooper, 47, “have both been single and started hanging out more together.”

“Irina is very happy to spend time with Bradley. She very much loves him,” the insider says.

Shayk and Cooper first started dating in spring 2015 and welcomed a daughter, Lea De Seine, in March 2017. Two years later, PEOPLE confirmed that the pair had split after four years together.

“After they split, she missed him,” the source tells PEOPLE of Shayk and Cooper. “She feels very proud how they have been able to get along and co-parent their beautiful daughter. Irina loves watching Bradley with their daughter. He is a wonderful dad. She would like for them to be back together.”

Reps for Shayk and Cooper did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

[From People]

At this point, I believe it’s what it appears to be. There’s no secret agenda, there’s no big conspiracy about what’s *really* happening here. They were together for years, they have a beautiful daughter together, they remained close after their split and now Irina is kind of pushing for them to get back together and maybe have another baby. That’s how it looks because that’s how it is. I think Bradley is into it too – I believe they were happy together because she let him do his own thing professionally, and he probably loves how undemanding Irina is in general. I’m not saying she’s a doormat, but I get the feeling – from Irina’s interviews – that she’s pretty live-and-let-live in relationships and she’s a woman of pretty uncomplicated tastes and preferences. She still loves B-Coop and wants another baby, simple as that.

Irina Shayk reportedly wants to get ‘back together’ with ex Bradley Cooper https://t.co/TDpnfRmMrR pic.twitter.com/LfY9udilyK

— Page Six (@PageSix) November 8, 2022

Photos courtesy of Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon, Christian Lora / Image Press Agency / Avalon, Backgrid, Avalon Red and Cover Images.

I’ve talked about Samuel D Hunter’s The Whale so much I didn’t realize it hadn’t opened yet. But it just ran the film festival circuit to great success. Now, however, the first trailer dropped, and we finally get to see what all the yelling is about. Or clapping, rather. The film’s gotten a lot of press so far, some good, and some not so good. But almost everyone agrees that star Brendan Fraser is a standout. Not just that everyone is thrilled for his comeback, but he turns in a powerhouse performance. So much so that he is presently poised as a frontrunner for best actor.

Brendan Fraser’s highly-acclaimed comeback is front and center in the first trailer for “The Whale,” the latest film from director Darren Aronofsky (“Requiem for a Dream,” “Black Swan”) and A24.

“The Whale” follows Charlie (Fraser), an English teacher living with obesity who has decided to eat himself to death. His pain and misery stems from the abandonment and death of his gay lover, leading to chronic binge-eating. Meanwhile, Charlie struggles to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, played by “Stranger Things” favorite Sadie Sink. Now, the 600-pound man has one last shot at redemption with his child.

“The Whale” emerged from the fall festival circuit with rave reviews for Fraser’s performance, which earned a six-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival that reduced the actor to tears. Screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival earned similar standing ovations for Fraser. For many Oscar pundits, Fraser is the frontrunner for best actor.

“It felt so affirming,” Fraser told Variety in October regarding enthusiasm surrounding his appearances through the fall festivals. “I was emotional because it was acknowledgment that what we did is making an impact. And that kind of response feels completely new in my professional life.”

[From Yahoo!]

I’d love to see Brendan win an Oscar. I already know he’d make us cry in his acceptance speech. But I want to see him win the Golden Globe. Since it was the HFPA that sunk his career, let them be the first to recognize what’s owed him. Unfortunately, there will be controversy surrounding any recognition for this role due to the prosthetics. But from everything I’ve heard so far, Brendan really is incredible. I’ve posted the trailer below. He only speaks a couple of lines so it’s hard to gauge. However, he does a great job with the few we hear.

What’s interesting is this is also considered a comeback of sorts for Darren Aronofsky. His last film was Mother! and lord knows how that turned out. But nobody is really bringing him into the discussion, only Brendan. To Aronofsky’s credit, he is letting Brendan fully have the moment

Here’s the trailer for The Whale, which comes out Dec 9:

Photo credit: Cover Images, YouTube and Ottavia Da Re/Agenzia Sintesi/Avalon

A message for the Americans: please remember to vote today!!

Bill Nighy disses Method actors, thinks they are amateurs. Nighy might also be an Oscar hopeful for Living! [LaineyGossip]
Lupita Nyong’o wore Vivienne Westwood for the Nigerian premiere of Wakanda Forever. This dress is soooo good on Lupita. [Tom & Lorenzo]
The new trailer for The Glass Onion, omg. [Pajiba]
Kiefer Sutherland canceled the rest of his tour because he got Covid. [Seriously OMG]
Rebel Wilson welcomed a baby girl via surrogacy. [Dlisted]
Taylor Russell wore Loewe for a ‘Bones & All’ screening. [RCFA]
Bradley Cooper & Irina Shayk look like they’re back together. [JustJared]
Dolly Parton, y’all! [GFY]
Julia Fox responds to someone saying she has “bad botox.” [Buzzfeed]
Election Day mayhem?? [Towleroad]
Christina Aguilera breaks down her iconic music videos. [Egotastic]
Queen Camilla is stepping into the “Camilla Regina” signature. [Gawker]

The Telegraph recently had a piece with this headline: “How the Middletons are finally cracking America.” “Finally” is saying a lot? As is “cracking.” The piece is about how Carole Middleton has now launched a Party Pieces line in America, specifically the ShopRite grocery store chain based in New Jersey. A few weeks ago, Carole even traveled to the wondrous Garden State to pose in a ShopRite. Because Salt Island’s media figures are idiots who don’t understand America or American audiences, they think New Jersey is just the land of Teresa Guidice, Tony Soprano and, now, the Future Queen’s Mother. But really, this Telegraph piece is just an excuse to compare-and-contrast Carole Middleton and… the Sussexes. Hilarity ensues.

Britsplaining New Jersey: Carole isn’t the first woman to launch her product range at this ShopRite in New Jersey. Three years ago Teresa Giudice – the star of Real Housewives of New Jersey – sold her peach and raspberry-flavoured sparkling wine at the same supermarket. New Jersey is pure The Sopranos territory: multi-lane highways, strip-light malls and a strong Italian immigrant population. Guidice fits right in; Carole Middleton – the mother to Britain’s next Queen – not so much.

ShopRite is not highbrow: “It’s a bit of a head-scratcher because this is not our version of Waitrose,” says New York-based writer Eloise Parker, “and it’s definitely not Macy’s. It’s also not somewhere I could see Carole shopping.”

Publicity-shy Carole: As in the UK, Party Pieces will remain focused on pretty but disposable children’s party fare, although new themes like the not-so-subtly named ‘A Very English Rose’ give a nod to the American audience – and an older clientele. More interesting is the ShopRite marketing campaign, which stars the usually publicity-shy Carole Middleton. Plastered all around the stores are life-size cutouts of her dressed in the sort of high-end country casuals Martha Stewart is fond of.

Carole is “echoing the sort of go-getting chutzpah the Duchess of Sussex is famed for.” It is difficult to find much information, but Covid is thought to have hit the business hard – or at least set its business plans back. But now its international expansion is finally taking place, and in an Amazon-dominated world, America is definitely where you go to rev things up. Not only is the potential market five times the size of Britain’s, the Windsor connection there is gold: Sarah Ferguson knew it, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have banked their future livelihood on it too.

Americans won’t know Carole? “You can get party products in a thousand places in the US – Party City outlets are literally across the street from ShopRite stores,” says Parker. “People won’t necessarily know who Carole is, but there is real power in the Middleton name as Catherine is still referred to as Kate Middleton in most of the American press.”

Carole, member of the royal family: Still, the family has to tread lightly. Carole and Michael Middleton have always been the masters of discretion, rarely putting a foot wrong and steadfastly refusing to engage in any press questions about their son-in-law. Had they not, those invitations to Balmoral and Sandringham would have quickly dried up; as it is, the Prince of Wales has ensured they are not only members of his family but of the Royal Family. Clearly determined not to jeopardise this, Carole has so far given no interviews to promote this collaboration with ShopRite – and while she has visited the New Jersey store in person, nowhere in the press release or on any of the posters is there a single mention of the Royal family or of her famous daughter.

Carole would never trade on Kate’s marriage!! It is a delicate balancing act – but this subtle approach has won fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Where Meghan has exposed every piece of royal dirty laundry she can find, Carole has never traded on her eldest daughter’s marriage.

America is obsessed with the Middletons: “America is obsessed with Kate and her family because of how poised but also how discreet they all are,” says British-based US journalist Helen Kirwan-Taylor. “Meghan has done the opposite and she has blown it in their eyes. I think [the ShopRite collaboration] is a clever move: anything that sniffs of royalty and the Queen will be popular – and especially at a low-cost point. Plus, the more subtle the branding, the better.”

[From The Telegraph]

“America is obsessed with Kate and her family because of how poised but also how discreet they all are. Meghan has done the opposite and she has blown it in their eyes.” Meghan and Harry effortlessly went highbrow with their personal and professional branding, making big-money deals with Spotify and Netflix. Harry is a Chief Impact Officer at a billion-dollar San Francisco-based mental coaching service, BetterUp. Meghan wears bespoke Dior and Valentino, and she’s profiled by Variety and New York Magazine. Meanwhile, Carole thinks her parochial Bucklebury-mum shtick will land in America, all while being too pompous to actually give interviews to promote the lowbrow collaboration with ShopRite. Also: Carole has literally always banked on her royal connections. She truly swans around like she’s the Queen Mum. The funniest thing is that they’re trying to act like Carole is so brilliantly lowkey when her face is posted all over the Party Pieces display. ShopRite is literally selling Party Pieces with Carole’s image.

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A post shared by Party Pieces (@partypieces)

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

Remember in March 2020, when Tatler published a piece from “Canadian society writer” Shinan Govani, all about the Duchess of Sussex’s time working and living in Toronto? It was legitimately bonkers, as I said at the time, as Govani seemed to BLAME Meghan for not “reading” as a Black woman or biracial woman. Govani wrote this like it was some kind of major burn: “She was just there. Charming, sure, if a little coquettish, with one eye on being an ‘influencer’. But, swear to God, many of those in her social circles (even someone of colour, like myself) did not realise then that she was biracial, as it never came up and she did not ‘read’ that way.”

I bring this up because soooo many people use Meghan’s biraciality against her. I wish she would do an Archetypes episode about this, how biracial women are so “exotic” because people don’t know “what” we are. In my half-Indian, half-white life, people have assumed I’m everything from Hispanic to Italian to Native American to Greek to Vietnamese. I imagine it’s the same for Meghan. It’s not “on us” to behave a certain way or to explain our racial background to every single f–king person we meet the second we meet them. Speaking of, Christopher Andersen’s new book, The King: The Life of Charles III, has a section about how Charles didn’t realize Meghan’s race when they first met.

King Charles III thought Meghan Markle was “completely charming” and “absolutely delightful” at their first meeting—and did not initially realize she was a woman of color, a new book says. Prince Harry introduced his father to the Duchess of Sussex in 2016 before the public knew of their relationship, according to author Christopher Andersen.

His biography The King: The Life of Charles III, published on November 8, reads: “After returning from Botswana that fall, Harry introduced Meghan to his father and Camilla. The Prince of Wales found the young American actress—who bore a passing resemblance to Kate’s sister, Pippa—’completely charming, absolutely delightful.’ At the time, Prince Charles had no idea that Harry’s new girlfriend was biracial. ‘Not that it would have mattered at all, of course,’ Charles told an American friend. ‘But no, I didn’t realize that until later’.”

The book read: “For her part, the Queen, who experienced countless up-close-and-personal encounters with people of all races, ethnicities, and religions during her record-breaking reign, appeared utterly devoid of prejudice. Not once had she ever been heard to make a racially insensitive comment. The same could not be said for Charles, although his gaffes were rare—like the time he told a writer of Guyanese descent that she didn’t ‘look like’ she was born in the British city of Manchester, presumably because she was black and wore dreadlocks.”

“Like others of his generation and his class,” Andersen continued, “Philip had used the N-word with some frequency—although, said a retired member of the Balmoral household staff, ‘I haven’t heard him use the word in a very long time—at least not since the 1970s.’
Nonetheless, Philip, like Charles, warmed to Meghan immediately.”

[From Newsweek]

“The young American actress—who bore a passing resemblance to Kate’s sister, Pippa” TAKE IT BACK. Meghan and Pippa look nothing alike! Okay, maybe a little bit with their noses, but Meghan is far prettier. Anyway, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to make out of this information about Charles not knowing Meghan’s racial background. I believe it? Because, as I said, biracial women and mixed race women are under zero obligation to announce their racial makeup to every person they meet and people are free to make their own assumptions. I’m sure if Charles had asked, Meghan would have told him. I get the feeling that the Windsors think this is some kind of legitimate defense against claims of racism: I didn’t even know she was Black at first! Well, you figured it out and then you began a series of racist attacks against her, didn’t you?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.