To promote her new album, Rebel Heart, Madonna covers the new issue of Cosmopolitan. Cosmo actually sent us the image of Madonna’s first Cosmo cover (from back in 1990) too. I personally don’t think they should have chosen Madonna-in-the-mask for this 2015 cover, but whatever. Madonna still wants to be seen as a provocateur, which apparently involves Mardi Gras masks. Here are some highlights from her interview:

On longevity in her career: “Popularity comes and goes. You need to know who you are, what you stand for, and why you’re here.”

On sexuality and ageism: “Don’t be fooled, not much has changed – certainly not for women. We still live in a very sexist society that wants to limit people. Since I started, I’ve had people giving me a hard time because they didn’t think you could be sexual or have sexuality or sensuality in your work and be intelligent at the same time. For me, the fight has never ended.”

On collaborating with Kanye West on her album Rebel Heart: “It’s a little bit of a bullfight, but we take turns. He knows that he’s walking into a room with a person with a strong point of view, and I do too. I listen to what he has to say, take it in, and he listens to what I say and takes it in. We didn’t agree on everything, but he has good ideas.”

On internet haters: “You can hide behind your computer or your phone and say whatever you want – you’re not known. Could you say it to my face? Would you say it to my face? I doubt it.”

[From Cosmopolitan]

The “would you say it to my face?” question has always intrigued me. Like, I don’t think I would have a problem telling a celebrity to their face that their outfit is ugly. I’m sort of blunt/rude like that. But would I tell Madonna to her 2015-Face that she needs to stop with the plastic surgery? Eh. I would probably chicken out.

As for Madonna’s continued conversation about sexism… her fight sometimes feels dated. And it feels like she only cares about how sexism affects her, not the plight of women everywhere. Is sexual agency a feminist cause? For sure. But is that the main crux of feminism? No.

Photos courtesy of Ellen Von Unwerth/Cosmopolitan and vintage cover by Francesco Scavullo.

HBO’s Going Clear documentary (which is still airing, and you should watch it) revealed Scientology’s horrendous history and ongoing practices to the masses. One of the worst jobs in the world right now would be to manage Scientology’s social media accounts. People are watching the doc and using the Scientology hashtag, which is awesome to watch. The effect on the CO$ should be lasting. Recruitment numbers will be practically nonexistent, and the cult will have to try its hardest to hold onto current members.

One dude who isn’t going anywhere … John Travolta. We talked about how Going Clear details the cult’s “black PR package” on Travolta. The cult filmed all of John’s auditing sessions, so they can threaten him with the release of info if he leaves. The sad thing is that people would support John if he gave CO$ the boot. It would be the best possible thing he could do for his image. But I don’t think Travolta wants to leave. He’s happy maintaining his organized marriage and endless praise for the cult. He’s claimed to heal car crash victims with Scientology assists. John has also endorsed CO$ drug rehab programs, which (under the Narcanon brand) have seen many patients die during treatment. Narcanon is a fraudulent means of sucking vulnerable addicts into Scientology. John doesn’t care about those claims. For him, nothing but sunshine comes from L. Ron Hubbard’s teachings. Here’s John’s new interview with the Tampa Bay Times:

Has he watched Going Clear? “No, I haven’t, and I don’t really care to.”

On renewed calls for him to speak out against CO$: “I haven’t experienced anything that the hearsay has (claimed), so why would I communicate something that wasn’t true for me? It wouldn’t make sense, nor would it for Tom, I imagine.”

His take on the CO$: “[It] has been nothing but brilliant for me. I’ve been so happy with my [Scientology] experience in the last 40 years that I really don’t have anything to say that would shed light on [a documentary] so decidedly negative. I’ve been brought through storms that were insurmountable, and [Scientology has] been so beautiful for me, that I can’t even imagine attacking it.”

On his Scientology assists: “I’ve helped so many people through hard times. Loss of children, loved ones, physical illnesses. Through many tough, tough life situations I’ve used the technology to support them and help them. It’s always worked. So, why would I even approach a negative perspective? That would be a crime to me, personally, to do that.”

[From Tampa Bay Times]

Well I’ll give Travolta one tiny ounce of credit — he’s a lot less abrasive than Danny Masterson when questioned about his slavish devotion to a cult. Travolta is laying it on thick (again) because he’s always wanted to displace Tom Cruise as the face of Scientology. David Miscavige may never agree, but Travolta has shown himself to be the star pupil. He’s the only high-profile CO$ member who’s cheerleading after Going Clear. There’s virtually no chance of Tom saying anything about the film. He knows better than to stick his finger out and call someone “glib“ ever again.

Travolta will never leave the cult. His main residence is in Ocala, Florida, which is a 2-hour drive away from the main CO$ headquarters in Clearwater. He travels for training and audits several times per week. As a celebrity, Travolta enjoys a coddled CO$ existence, and he can ignore all the bad stuff Scientology has to offer. He’s happy to maintain that illusion.

P.S. In case you missed it, SNL did an amazing Scientology sketch last weekend.

Photos courtesy of WENN

Here are some assorted photos of Kristen Stewart leaving LA over the weekend, plus some pics of K-Stew and her girlfriend Alicia Cargile from two weekends ago (I just never got around to publishing those). Can I just say? I’m really enjoying Kristen’s hair these days. She chopped it off last year and she’s been growing out some shaggy transition styles for the past few months and it looks SO cute. Anyway, Kristen is still giving interviews about her Cesar-Award-winning performance in Clouds of Sils Maria. She spoke to the Associated Press a few days ago about some of her dialogue about how her character reads celebrity gossip online.

Kristen Stewart has moved on from Twilight, and the actress’ role in Clouds of Sils Maria gives her an opportunity to mock gently the tabloid chaos that surrounded her at the height of the blockbuster franchise’s popularity. Telling the Associated Press about a scene in which her Hollywood assistant character casually reads gossipy stories about a starlet, Stewart says, “I had to seriously harness the glee that was exploding across my face when I was saying some of those lines. I don’t think that’s what the movie is fully about. It’s not a commentary about the insane nature of the media in the States, especially. But no one knows about that more than me.”

Stewart is currently in the midst of a long series of smaller, independent roles, including her award-winning performance in Clouds of Sils Maria. “I’m having more fun now than I ever have,” she says. “These movies go by (she snaps her fingers). We made Camp X-Ray in 20 days. It’s just better when it’s faster.”

And it’s a lot different than the experience of making the Twilight films, which came with built-in fans and their expectations. “Because of the lack of expectation of any of these [more recent] movies, there were no moments that people had read in a book that were the most important thing in their lives,” explains Stewart. “I really let go.”

The interviewer notes that Stewart nods when it’s suggested Twilight is now far from her thoughts. She says, “Completely. I only have to think about that when someone asks me.”

[From Gossip Cop]

She always just takes it a touch too far. “No one knows about that more than me”?? Jennifer Aniston would beg to differ. As would Angelina Jolie. And John Travolta, Julia Roberts and Oprah Winfrey. And Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and the Kardashians. Granted, Kristen was a tabloid-cover fixture for several years and if she had said “It was really bad for me and so many other celebrities,” there would be no problem.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Candice Bergen’s new memoir, A Fine Romance, arrives in stores on Tuesday. I previously covered Candice’s candid discussion about her 30 pound weight gain since the end of Murphy Brown. Candice admitted that she didn’t care about her weight because she enjoys food so much. Her statements were fine until she threw a few barbs at her “skinny friends.” My take was that Candice took jabs at women who suffered from ED (because she claimed that her friends all binged and purged). She’s a sarcastic person though, so perhaps some humor got lost in the written word.

Some new excerpts from the book have surfaced. Candice admits her apathy at the thought of having plastic surgery. Mind you, she’s 68 now and freely admits to undergoing cosmetic surgery in the past:

On plastic surgery: “I had my eyes done after the pilot of Murphy Brown when I was 41. And then the next year I had these two [neck] muscles under here done, because TV half-hour lighting can be harsh.”

Would she do it again? “I’m clearly in need. But I frankly just don’t care enough. I don’t even get those shots anymore because it hurts so much!”

More about her friends: “I hate when my very close friends have obvious work done and they come out too early and pretend it’s all fine. You think, ‘Hello, have you looked at yourself? You look over-inflated!’ I’m one of the few who has been honest about it.”

On her tv career: “The job security was incredible. And I never wanted it to end; doing Murphy Brown was insanely fun. I have made a lot of money. Most of this is the incomparable TV Money. Nothing like it.”

She’s “a champion eater”: “No carb is safe – no fat either.”

[From People]

There’s a lot more stuff about food, which seems to be a huge subject of this book. Candice says she’s always been a compulsive eater and, as a child, often ate 6 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in under 10 minutes. That sounds difficult from a logistic standpoint. Peanut butter is tough to chew and swallow in a rush because it sticks to the top of your mouth. Perhaps the sandwiches were mostly bread, but still. That’s a very quick manner of demolishing 6 sandwiches. Candice says she still makes her housekeeper hide the cookies and ice cream so she can’t overeat sweets at night.

Candice recently admitted to Entertainment Weekly that she didn’t expect people to notice her previous quotes about weight. She doesn’t see anything negative about loving food, and she stands by her point that some women “go too far in the other direction.” Candice also doesn’t understand social media or how things go viral on the internet: “I frankly think that people who do follow social media need to get more of a life.”

On the plastic surgery stuff, I think Candice’s outlook is a healthy one. She’s had some procedures and doesn’t want to get any more work. But again, she’s calling out her “close friends.” What will these ladies think after they read Candice’s memoir?

Photos courtesy of WENN

View image | gettyimages.com

Here are some photos of Prince Harry’s arrival in Australia yesterday. He’s going to be there for weeks during a military assignment and the UK papers are making a big deal about how he’s not going to be in England for the birth of his new niece or nephew. While Harry adores children, it’s not like he’s got a reputation for being in love with newborns. He didn’t spend that much time with Prince George when George was just days and weeks old, and we really don’t know how much Harry even sees of his nephew nowadays (my guess is not that much). My point? I doubt Harry cares that much about missing the birth of the next kid that will bump Harry down the line of succession.

Harry was well-received in Australia and he looked very dashing in his uniform. He spent about 20 minutes shaking hands and taking photos with fans but at some point during the rope line, Harry admonished some selfie-takers!

Prince Harry has arrived in Australia and has brought some sage advice with him. The handsome royal greeted hundreds of fans for about 20 minutes as he arrived to report for duty with the Australian army, and one lucky teenage well-wisher got to chat with him while braving the rain. But Prince William’s younger brother advised the admirer to stop the selfies LOL.

“Seriously, you need to get out of it. I know you’re young, but selfies are bad,” Australian television network Nine recorded Harry as the crowd laughed.

[From E! News]

E! News also points out that the Queen does not care for the selfie trend. I understand it in the Queen’s case – I mean, she’s the Queen! She’s meant to be portrayed in oil paintings, not iPhone selfies. But Harry is younger, wilder, more fun. He’s been photographed naked except for a pool cue. Surely he’s down with the selfie trend? Guess not.

Last thing – here’s Harry giggling and moaning as he takes a joyride in a Spitfire. It was for charity! Or something.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.

Of all the ‘80s models, I can’t really say that Christy Turlington ever made my top-five favorites. Christy is beautiful, no doubt, but she really wasn’t “fun” or scandalous. In fact, she was so uncontroversial that she ended up using her good-girl image to create a new model archetype, one that’s being used these days by the likes of Karlie Kloss and some others. Just FYI: my favorite model from that era was easily Linda Evangelista. Linda was an enigma, she was fierce, she was a mess. She was amazing.

Anyway, in the years since the model mania of the ‘80s and ‘90s, I’ve grown to respect Christy more and more. She’s always done her own thing and followed her own path. She’s currently the founder and face of Every Mother Counts, an “organization dedicated to raising awareness about issues women face in pregnancy and childbirth.” Christy covers the new issue of Red to raise more awareness. Some highlights:

Why she founded Every Mother Counts: ‘I experienced complications myself after I delivered my daughter, Grace, and I guess my own experience of childbirth was the epiphany. What I realised was actually how lucky I had been, that so many women don’t even get to choose when they become pregnant. They don’t get to choose how many children they have. They don’t get to choose whether they will be medicated, or have a natural birth. This is just how it is, and it’s not an ideal way to bring life into the world, I don’t think.’

The mortality rates for women giving birth: ‘If I have a goal, it’s for as many people as possible to be aware that this is an everywoman issue. For example, it’s shocking, but the US is actually one of eight countries around the world where maternal death rates are on the rise. So this is not just a problem in the developing world.’

She’s going to run her fourth marathon this year: ‘I actually feel stronger and healthier than ever. Giving birth was probably the most empowering thing I’ve ever done physically. I was like, now I can do anything. I can run a marathon… I can run three marathons!’

Sisterhood: ‘I think the most important thing is for women to see the sisterhood in motherhood. Sisterhood in being women, actually. It’s really the capacity to give birth that unites us, more than the experience itself. It’s about being there for each other.’

[From Red]

I’ve read some interesting accounts and attempts to explain why maternal death rates are on the rise in a country like the USA. I have my own theories, like inadequate sexual education, the glamorization of teenage motherhood and the no-epidural and home-birthing movements. But I don’t have any science to back up my theories, so I’ll just shut up. I believe every woman should be able to control her reproductive destiny and that includes deciding what birth plan is right for her. The problem, as Christy points out, is that so many girls and women don’t have those choices.

So here’s my question: do you want more Turlington stories? She gives interviews often enough but I usually ignore them. Her heart’s in the right place, but most of the time the interviews are boring or like this, sort of sad and depressing (but informative). Do you want more Christy?

Photos courtesy of Red.

They grow so fast, don’t they?

Kaiser is growing like a weed and Jenelle Evans documents this fact in her latest Instagram update. She shared a side-by-side comparison picture of Kaiser Griffith when he was 2-months-old, compared to him at 8-month-old. She even has him decked out in the same clothing, so we get an accurate estimate of how much he’s grown. She captioned the picture:

“2 months up top, 8 months on bottom #LittleKing”

These are just so adorable!

Yesterday, we posted about Kim Zolciak sharing some family photos she took while at the beach on her Instagram account. We’re happy to report that she decided to share even more! Among the photos she shared, we found a collage of Kane and Kaia simply too cute! She captioned the photo:

“How the events unfolded yesterday Kane puts up with her fussing and then he covers his face with his hat and finally he is like “the hell with this I’m out” and she is grabbing his shoulder like “not so fast buddy” #TwinLife #ImAlwaysLaughingWithTheseCuties #MiniKimandKroy”

Check out the rest of the amazing pictures she shared in the slideshow below.

View Slideshow »»

View All Photos »»

Are you up for a little bit of celebrity kid trivia?

Your job is to tell us who the child is in the picture attached to this post. Leave your guess in the comment section below. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the answer! Good luck!

Is it surprising you that Lip Sync Battle is attracting some big name guests? Probably not. It’s only 10 episodes and it’s produced by Jimmy Fallon, John Krasinski, and Stephen Merchant. So, basically, they’re just calling up all their friends.

Krasinki and Merchant apparently invented the ga…