For a while, it seemed like Angelina Jolie was giving up acting to focus on her family, her directing career and her humanitarian interests. At the end of the day, she needed money though – as we now know, for much of the past fourteen years, her money was tied up in the Chateau Miraval. So she needed paying gigs, and she wanted movies where she could shoot stuff very fast, usually on her kids’ school breaks. A supporting role in The Eternals, voice work in some animated films, a quick film shoot for Those Who Wish Me Dead. She hasn’t had a major lead role in a major movie since (arguably) Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and it’s not like that was an Oscar-bait drama. I did wonder if we’d ever see Jolie like that again. Well, guess what? She’s going to play Maria Callas in a Pablo Larrain movie!

Jackie and Spencer director Pablo Larraín looks set to continue to focus his lens on some of the most famous women in modern history, and has found his next subject in soprano Maria Callas. The Chilean director has also tapped another, equally well-known, figure to play his lead in Angelina Jolie.

Maria, based on true accounts, will reportedly tell the “tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story” of the life of the one of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris. The hugely-influential American-born Greek icon — once described as “the Bible of opera” by Leonard Bernstein — is also linked to another of Larraín’s films, having famously had a love affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, who later married Jackie Kennedy.

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who reunites with Larraín following the director’s previous feature, Spencer, the film is produced by Juan de Dios Larraín for Fabula Pictures; Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle Company; and Jonas Dornbach for Komlizen Film.

“I take very seriously the responsibility to Maria’s life and legacy. I will give all I can to meet the challenge,” said Jolie. “Pablo Larraín is a director I have long admired. To be allowed the chance to tell more of Maria’s story with him, and with a script by Steven Knight, is a dream.”

Added Larraín: “Having the chance to combine my two most deep and personal passions, cinema and opera, has been a long-awaited dream. To do this with Angelina, a supremely brave and curious artist, is a fascinating opportunity. A true gift.”

[From THR]

It would have been amazing to see a Greek or Greek-American play one of the most iconic Greek women of all time, but I also think this is good casting. Maria Callas was beautiful and tragic, deeply in love with Ari Onassis, a man who treated her like garbage. Looking at photos of Callas when she was young, I actually do see a resemblance with Jolie? Especially around the eyes and mouth. I doubt Larrain will make Jolie sing. They’ll use Callas’s recordings, surely? Anyway, I enjoyed Jackie and Spencer and I’m interested and excited to see what Larrain does here, with Jolie. I wonder who they’ll get to play Onassis? Let me dream-cast this… how about Eric Bana?? OMG, Mark Ruffalo??? Joel Edgerton could pull it off, in a weird way.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Starstock/Photoshot/Avalon and Avalon Red.

Kanye West is in the middle of a significant manic episode. It should be emphasized: Kanye’s bipolar disorder is not the reason why he’s suddenly saying racist, bigoted and anti-Semitic crap, but it’s a factor. What’s unique about this moment is that this time, Kanye has alienated almost everyone “on his side,” the people who normally would have looked out for him and gotten him some help, or enabled him in various ways. Kim Kardashian has cut her ties with him. So has Donald Trump. Reportedly, Kanye’s team is scattered, and he’s already fired several of his closest associates. Now we’re coming to the point where Kanye will be paying for this financially and culturally for years to come. Last week, Balenciaga severed ties with him.

Balenciaga has severed its ties with Ye. Following the publication of its third-quarter results on Thursday, parent company Kering said the French fashion house would no longer be working on projects with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has made increasingly controversial public comments in recent weeks, including anti-Semitic threats.

“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” Kering said in a response to a query from WWD. It did not elaborate further.

The “Stronger” singer opened Balenciaga’s summer 2023 show, held in a mud pit during Paris Fashion Week, wearing what looked like battle gear, including a branded mouthguard shielding his teeth. The image has been removed from Balenciaga’s website.

[From WWD]

Keep in mind, Balenciaga was fine with collaborating with Kanye following his “slavery was a choice” sh-t and after his MAGA meltdowns and his 2020 ratf–ker political campaign. The anti-Kanye thing is a bandwagon too, just like the pro-Kanye thing was for years. Still, it’s notable that people are finally acknowledging that lines have been crossed and there’s no coming back. Anna Wintour apparently feels the same way:

A Vogue spokesperson told Page Six exclusively on Friday that neither the magazine nor its editor-in-chief Anna Wintour intend to work with Kanye West again after his anti-Semitic rants and support for the White Lives Matter cause.

Wintour, 72, has had a long and close relationship with the rapper-turned-designer, 45. She first invited him to her annual Met Gala in 2009 before featuring him and now-ex-wife Kim Kardashian on the cover in 2014 after their wedding. Just last month, Wintour modeled the Yeezy founder’s new sunglasses line in press images sent out to promote the shades — even after he publicly bullied Kardashian online about their children.

And then on Oct. 4, Wintour sent her longtime close pal, Baz Luhrmann, to film the reconciliation between West and one of her editors, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, after he mocked her fashion sense because she criticized him for wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt at his Paris fashion show.

But on Friday, sources told us the fashion royal is finally ready to cut the Grammy winner loose after he made a series of stunning threats against Jewish people, and then aggressively doubled down on them after he was given the opportunity to apologize.

“Anna has had enough,” an insider told us, adding, “She has made it very clear inside Vogue that Kanye is no longer part of the inner circle.”

[From Page Six]

Wintour’s pro-Kanye stance also lasted too long – she should have been out of Kanye’s camp years ago, but better late than never. I do wonder about all of these fashion people though, and whether their newfound rejection of Kanye will be reversed in six months. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, another piece of Kanye news: he’s hired two new lawyers, one for his long-running divorce and one for his business interests. He hired Camille Vasquez for his business – some people might remember her as Johnny Depp’s lawyer, when Depp sued Amber Heard. He will likely need a bigger legal team because George Floyd’s family is now suing Kanye for the statements he made, lying about Floyd’s death/murder. Kanye hired Bob Cohen as his latest divorce lawyer – Cohen represented Melinda Gates in her divorce. The revolving door of divorce lawyers has been an interesting sideshow – clearly, no self-respecting divorce lawyer wants to stick with Kanye, given what he’s saying about and doing to Kim.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are not making their failing marriage a secret. It’s been shocking to see how openly this has played out, and how matter-of-fact Gisele has been over the past two months. She seemingly came to a decision over the summer that she wasn’t going to stick around, that Tom had broken his word and broken her trust for the last time. Reportedly, she began the separation process over the summer, and she’s renting (I think) a place in Miami. She left Tom to deal with the back-to-school drama, and she’s left him to organize the running of his household and everything else. Tom is super-salty about it and he’s whining about how Gisele has “abandoned” him. Gisele also lawyered up before Tom, and according to Page Six, she hired one of the best lawyers in Florida.

Things are getting “nasty” between Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen amid their marriage split, sources say. Page Six exclusively revealed Bündchen has hired the top divorce lawyer in Florida to take on Brady as the pair seem to be heading to the end zone.

Insiders say Bündchen hired Tom Sasser, the managing partner of the law firm of Sasser, Cestero & Roy. The West Palm Beach divorce attorney has handled a stable of high-profile clients including Tiger Woods in his divorce with Elin Nordegren.

Sasser also represented Jeff Gordon in his bitter 2003 divorce from wife Brooke which turned into a battle over the NASCAR driver’s net worth, but was ultimately settled.

A source said, “Things are very nasty between Tom and Gisele because of the lawyers. They are ready for a fight. Tom and Gisele are not battling over the kids, they both want joint custody. But it will take some time to divide their immense wealth and property all over the world.”

Bündchen, 42, and Brady, 45, share two children — son Benjamin, 12, and 9-year-old daughter Vivian, along with Brady’s son Jack, 15, with ex Bridget Moynahan.

[From Page Six]

Maybe my gut is completely wrong about this, but I genuinely don’t believe this is going to be some long, drawn-out divorce fight. They both have significant financial assets, and sure, it will take a minute to figure out how to divide their real estate. But Gisele is radiating this “over it” energy and surely Tom’s people are telling him that a drawn-out divorce fight will be awful for his image. My prediction is that we suddenly get some announcement, possibly a few months from now, that everything has been settled quickly and quietly. They’ll make a joint statement and proclaim their love for their children and that’s it. I wonder if my gossip mojo is right about this.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

Justin Timberlake & Jessica Biel renewed their vows in Italy for their ten-year wedding anniversary. Remember their wedding photos?? [Dlisted]
The whole “Netflix is rattled” thing was completely made up by British royalists and it’s so funny to see Netflix unchained. [LaineyGossip]
Did Megan Fox & Machine Gun Kelly break up? Hm. [Jezebel]
Joy Behar has banged a few ghosts in her day. [Seriously OMG]
Zuhair Murad’s bridal collection is very, very lacy. [Go Fug Yourself]
Tom Brady clarifies: Football season is not, actually, like a military deployment. [Gawker]
Did Taylor Swift reveal the name of Blake Lively’s fourth child? [Just Jared]
People are mad about House of the Dragon? (Spoilers.) [Pajiba]
Shakira’s new music video for “Monotonia.” [Egotastic]
Welcome to Plathville’s Kim Plath was arrested. [Starcasm]
Kim Kardashian’s swimwear helps people with body insecurities. [Buzzfeed]
LA cougars are being imperiled (the real cougars). [Towleroad]

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The Daily Beast’s Royalist has another flimsy “exclusive” about Prince Harry’s memoir. I guess the point of the British media and royalist media’s wall-to-wall meltdown about the memoir is to make the book “old news” by the time it’s published. Will it actually work that way? I don’t know. I know I’m tired of these exclusives, especially because it’s clear that every single one of these “insiders” and “royal journalists” are just talking out of their asses. The exclusive information in this piece is that one chapter in particular in Harry’s memoir will be super-damaging to his father. But really, this piece was just an excuse for Tom Sykes (“The Royalist”) to interview Valentine Low, the author of Courtiers. Some highlights:

One chapter: Anxiety over the content of Prince Harry’s memoir is growing in the royal family’s inner circle, with one source telling The Daily Beast that a particular chapter in the book could cause “big trouble” for King Charles. The royal insider told The Daily Beast: “There is one chapter in particular that could spell big trouble for Charles.” However, they did not say what revelations the chapter in question detailed.

Original time table: The source did say that their understanding was that the book is still likely to be published according to its original timetable before the end of the year. Publishers Random House did not respond to a request for comment on the issue, however their website still says the book is due out “late” this year.

Sanguine courtiers: While courtiers are moderately sanguine about both The Crown (the simple “it’s made up” message seems to be cutting through domestically at least) and the Netflix docuseries that Meghan has promised will explore the couple’s “love story,” Harry’s book is seen as a different order of threat.

Meghan’s “attacks” are abating: Her lightweight Variety interview, in which she praised the late Queen Elizabeth and did not trash the royals, was seen by some as a sign that her attacks on the Palace may be abating. One source, a friend of the family, told The Daily Beast: “It is interesting that when she isn’t slagging off the royals, Meghan has very little of interest to say. There was nothing in the [Variety] interview that would trouble the royals. If this is the tone the Netflix show is going to take, then I think it might be a good deal less problematic for the family than has been assumed. The worst could be over.”

Valentine Low on Meghan’s Variety interview: “It was interesting that Meghan, in her Variety interview, was very conciliatory. She spoke warmly about the queen and was certainly not stirring up controversy. I think that might be taken as an encouraging sign that, ultimately, they are moving on and looking to the future.”

Low’s inside information: Intriguingly, Low told The Daily Beast that he had knowledge of a meeting between Harry and a private individual (not a Palace staffer) while Harry was in London. The person gently suggested to Harry he might go easy on his family in the book but, Low says, “Harry was not very receptive to the idea.”

Low on Harry’s memoir: “While Harry could certainly make revelations that are damaging and produce days or even weeks of headlines, and tropes that get wheeled out for years to come, I think his book is unlikely to be terminally damaging for either the king or the royal family. You only have to look at ‘Tampongate,’ when Charles was recorded having literally the most embarrassing phone call (with Camilla, imagining being her tampon—revealed to the world in 1993), you could possibly imagine. He survived it, indeed, he married Camilla and she is now queen.”

What??? While it is probably not in Harry’s long-term interests to reveal something so devastating that it forces the king to abdicate (even if he had the receipts) it is, whether the Sussexes like it or not, their ability to dish on the royals that is their most valuable product. As one media executive told the Daily Beast: “Netflix doesn’t care about Meghan’s quest for social justice. They just want to know if James Hewitt is Harry’s dad.”

[From The Daily Beast]

“It is probably not in Harry’s long-term interests to reveal something so devastating that it forces the king to abdicate (even if he had the receipts)…” I’M SORRY WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? You can’t just introduce the idea that Harry might have receipts which could bring down the king? My God, they really are worried. I also wonder about Low’s aside, that someone – not a staffer – pulled Harry aside during the mourning period. Curious.

About all of the shady sh-t regarding Meghan’s Variety interview. I’ve been thinking about this all week, how well Meghan handled that, how easily she deflected the larger questions about what happened after QEII passed away. She didn’t give the British media anything, and they were twisting themselves in knots to parse her statements and find ways to criticize her. I mean, they were even crying about the expensive clothes she wore for the photoshoot, that’s how desperate they were for red meat. She gave them nothing, and now they’re mad so they’re complaining that her interview was “soapy” and “lightweight.” Just wait until Harry and Meghan give interviews to promote his memoir and their docu-series.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Variety’s YouTube video screenshots, plus the cover courtesy of Variety.

Liz Truss resigned as Britain’s prime minister on Thursday. She went down in a spectacular blaze of glory. It all started with Queen Elizabeth II passing away shortly after meeting Truss for the hand-kissing formation-of-government moment in Balmoral, then Truss managed to survive the official mourning period as she plotted her hard-right deranged tax cuts for the rich, she oversaw the British pound massively weakened, she watched as the Bank of England had to step in with emergency measures to ensure that the economy didn’t completely collapse, and then she did nothing as Tory-on-Tory crime occurred on Wednesday in Parliament. Forty-four days of chaos, bad policy, violence, death, economic collapse, and she gets a generous allowance for the rest of her life even after she couldn’t outlast a head of lettuce.

Liz Truss is eligible for a taxpayer-funded allowance capped at 115,000 pounds ($129,000) a year for the rest of her life.

Despite her short time in office, Ms. Truss became eligible on Thursday for what’s called the Public Duty Costs Allowance — a government reimbursement plan for staff and salary costs incurred by former prime ministers “arising from their special position in public life” after they leave office, according to the government’s website.

This has drawn scorn, however, from some of Ms. Truss’s political opponents, who have called for her to be refused the payment because of what they see as her role in Britain’s political and economic turmoil.

“There is no way that she should be permitted to access the same £115,000 a year for life fund as her recent predecessors — all of whom served for well over two years,” said Christine Jardine, the spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office of the Liberal Democrats, in a statement.

“Truss’s legacy is an economic disaster — for which the Conservatives are making taxpayers foot the bill,” Ms. Jardine said, adding that the potential payout would leave “a bitter taste in the mouth of the millions of people struggling with spiraling bills and eye-watering mortgage rate rises thanks to the Conservatives’ economic mismanagement.”

[From The NY Times]

I mean… we have similar issues here in America. Former presidents get a pension and Secret Service protection after they’ve left office, and it pisses me off that Donald Trump is getting money and protection even after he literally tried to murder public officials by inciting an insurrection. In Truss’s case, it does feel like there should be some kind of mechanism to introduce a “threshold” measure, as in “if you haven’t served as prime minister for a certain amount of time, you don’t get this kind of pension.” Apparently, John Major and Tony Blair have both received this “allowance” following their prime ministerial reigns. Which makes sense, given they both served for seven/eight years. No one knows if Boris Johnson will take the money. But it looks like BoJo has his eyes on a different prize: a return to 10 Downing.

Liz Truss has resigned as Britain’s prime minister and will step down after a week-long emergency contest to find her successor, she announced outside Downing Street, leaving the possibility of a return of Boris Johnson. Her resignation follows a turbulent 45 days in office, during which Truss’s mini-budget crashed the markets, making her the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister.

The prospect of Johnson returning to Downing Street is dominating debate amid fevered speculation the former premier is plotting a comeback.

Only six weeks after he left No 10, forced out by his own Conservative party MPs after a slew of scandals, supporters are calling on Johnson to run again for a second shot at leading the country. But as many supporters of Johnson call for his return, his critics have also made their feelings known, with some threatening to defect to Labour if he is chosen as leader again.

Who else is running? Several Tories have come out in support of Rishi Sunak as the successor to Truss. Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and Penny Mordaunt are also expected to stand as leadership candidates.

Could Johnson really return? “I wouldn’t want to make any cast-iron prediction in this crazy world of politics at the moment but I think Boris Johnson returning is a very real possibility,” said the founder of the ConservativeHome website, Tim Montgomerie.

[From The Guardian]

I wish Britain was real. I mean, come on – you guys FINALLY managed to toss out Boris Johnson over all of his lies and liquor-soaked parties and not even two menstrual cycles later, he’s on the comeback trail? My God. What a waste of time, money and effort.

Friday’s Star: Lettuce REJOICE #TomorrowsPapersToday #DailyStar #Star pic.twitter.com/I7YpriTDRz

— Tomorrows Papers Today (@TmorrowsPapers) October 20, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Just FYI, the current Princess of Wales, Kate, is not the “first PoW since Diana.” Kate is the first woman to USE the title since Diana. Camilla was Princess of Wales, she just wasn’t styled that way because of the memory of Diana. I bring this up because People Magazine joins the long list of media outlets calling Kate “the first Princess of Wales since Diana.” Y’all can actually take the time to be specific, because it was always pretty rotten that Camilla technically had that title too. Anyway, this piece is part of People’s cover story about Kate and William being keen for the future as they finally “step up.”

In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, a source close to the family acknowledges it has been a stressful time, especially for Kate, the first Princess of Wales since William’s mother Princess Diana held the title.

As William steps up to the elevated responsibilities that come with his new standing, like managing the $1.3 billion Duchy of Cornwall and helping plan King Charles’ May coronation, the heir to the throne prepares for the future with Kate by his side.

“She is a matriarch. Not in the sense of an older woman in a twin set and pearls, but she guides the family and advises [William] when he wants it,” says Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Prince William’s former private secretary.

King Charles III bestowed the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales to Prince William and his wife the day after the Queen’s death, and Kate’s popularity has only soared. However, the newly minted princess now faces inevitable comparisons with Diana, the best-loved royal in modern history.

Like the woman whose iconic sapphire engagement ring she wears every day, the new Princess of Wales has undertaken ambitious projects throughout the United Kingdom on child development, mental health and family well-being. As for Diana’s legacy, palace sources say that Princess Kate “appreciates the history associated with this role but will understandably want to look to the future as she creates her own path.”

Adds Lowther-Pinkerton: “She will do so with humility and by acknowledging the past but in her own way.”

One way she’s bucking royal tradition is by keeping George at home rather than boarding school. With Lambrook a 15-minute drive from their new home at Adelaide Cottage, Kate and William try to do the school drop-off and pickup most days.

Although insiders say the Wales family will eventually live in the 1,000-year-old Windsor Castle itself, for now, cottage life is much like it is at their country retreat Amner Hall in Norfolk, where the kids and their friends are in and out of the swimming pool. George will flop onto the sofa beside his father, while Charlotte makes a beeline for familiar guests. Theirs is a life of a “modern royal family doing normal things,” as one close family friend puts it.

[From People]

“She guides the family and advises [William] when he wants it…” Yeah, I guess. I honestly believe Kate gets her own way about a lot of things – she barely works, her mother manages her life and her marriage, she’s raising the kids “the Middleton way” rather than the royal way. But I don’t really think that’s Kate “guiding” the family, I think William doesn’t give a sh-t and he’s fine with Kate making those decisions. It’s been clear that William sees her role as “raising the children and nothing else.” William, like his father, doesn’t want to be overshadowed by his wife, which is why William has always been more than happy with Kate’s laziness and Mean Girl antics. As much as Kate’s PR wants to convince people that she’s the power behind William, William’s own PR is that she’s fine, she’s there, she raises the kids while he does Future King things.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

The thing you always have to remember is that the British royal family and the British aristocracy are incredibly incestuous. They’ve all slept together, they all live in the same places, they all go to school together, and after they’ve screwed around with each other for decades, their children get married and the whole cycle starts again. That’s what I was reminded of when I looked for photos of Andrew Parker Bowles, the first husband of the current queen consort. Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles from 1973 through 1995. Andrew didn’t mind the fact that his wife was banging Charles throughout their marriage. That was simply de rigueur for that time and that class. Even as Camilla carried on with Charles, she reportedly had a warm, happy marriage to Andrew, and they only divorced because the full scale of her affair was exposed. As a divorced couple, Andrew and Camilla are still reportedly quite close. Andrew always remained close to the Windsors as a whole, and as you can see from these photos, he still spends time with Princess Anne (his former lover). Andrew is apparently still so close to Camilla that he’s now tasked with “representing” her at the funerals of their friends.

As Harry and Meghan are 5,000 miles away in California, and Prince Andrew is banned from polite society, the King’s vision of a ‘slimmed-down’ monarchy is looking too skinny. So step forward a new member of ‘The Firm’.

I can reveal that Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles carried out his first royal duty on behalf of the Queen Consort on Tuesday. He formally represented his ex-wife at a funeral — and friends claim it could be the first engagement of many.

‘Andrew is happy to do anything he is asked,’ one of his friends tells me. ‘He still enjoys a warm relationship with Camilla.’

The news was recorded in the Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements.

‘The Queen Consort was represented by Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles,’ it says of his attendance at the funeral of John Bowes-Lyon at the London Oratory. Bowes-Lyon, who died last month aged 80, was a second cousin of the late Queen.

Formally representing Camilla meant Parker Bowles, 82, was given a prominent pew at the Roman Catholic church.

[From The Daily Mail]

If you look at Andrew Parker Bowles’s story from Camilla’s perspective, he might seem like a pitiful figure, giving up his wife to the heir to the throne. But the truth is that Andrew cheated on Camilla constantly and that his wandering eye was a big reason why Camilla pursued and maintained the affair with Charles so thoroughly. Before Tina Brown got coopted by the palace machinery, she always maintained that Andrew – not Charles – was the one Camilla always wanted. Anyway, I doubt this is anything more than an ex-wife asking her former husband to go their mutual friend’s funeral.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Omid Scobie was in rare form for his Yahoo UK column this week. Scobie’s focus is on Zara and Mike Tindall, the daughter and son-in-law of Princess Anne. Zara has never had a royal title, and both Zara and Mike have had successful sporting careers – Zara as an equestrian and Mike as a professional rugby player. But as we’ve seen time and again, Zara and Mike both profit from their royal-adjacency. Mike recently signed up for the new season of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, and the announcement was all about how he’s part of the royal family. Zara also continues to get “sponsorships” and paid gigs based off of her royal-adjacent status, like her new Musto modeling gig. This is what Scobie discusses in his column – where is the outrage for the Tindalls? As in, pretend the Sussexes were doing this and react accordingly. Some highlights from Scobie’s column:

The Tindalls are getting paid: The [Musto] campaign is part of an ongoing ambassadorship for the former Olympic equestrian Zara, rumoured to be worth £500,000 ($570,000 USD), and sits alongside some of the many big-money deals by the late Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter and her husband, Mike Tindall. Just a week earlier it had been revealed that Mike, who played for the England rugby team between 2001 and 2011, has accepted an offer from ITV’s reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

Mike’s reality show gig: It’s a gig that can command up to £500,000 for big enough names, especially if the participating talent is able to guarantee network bosses the right headlines (which, in turn, result in higher ratings). During my years covering entertainment news, I remember how detailed the contracts were between contestants and production companies for shows like this, often specifically listing what revealing stories they would be able to deliver. I hear from sources that it’s been a similar scenario for Mike, who has allegedly agreed to not be tight-lipped about life inside the royal fold. It makes sense — that’s what many viewers will be tuning in for.

The royal reporters aren’t saying sh-t about the Tindalls: Cashing in on royal status is usually a trigger to dedicated royalists and media outlets, many of whom have spent the past two years complaining about the various business antics of a certain royal couple in California, so I find it peculiar that this recent news about the Tindalls’ various royal cash-ins come and go without even a sound from the most sensitive of columnists. In fact it’s been quite the opposite. A recent tabloid article went as far as celebrating the Tindall’s influencer status, tallying up over £1 million ($1.2 million) in brand deals, which include a CBD oil company and a controversial COVID-19 test results app. “They’re two of the most in-demand members of the Royal Family,” the article applauded. “…masters at signing lucrative deals.”

While Zara & Mike are legitimate sports stars, it’s still about royalty: It’s impossible to deny that the big bucks only come because of their positions as Royal Family members. A closer look at each partnership signed will show that press releases for most have made at least one royal reference and, if there isn’t, it always comes up in accompanying interviews. (It was no different when Princess Anne’s other child, Peter Philips, promoted Bright Dairies milk in China for a 2020 campaign set against palace-like visuals. He may be an accomplished businessman, but only a fool would believe the company chose him as a spokesperson because of his boardroom successes).

Scobie with some tea: Two years ago it was revealed that a Hong Kong business man had been paying Zara £100,000 ($115,000) for horse-racing advice, and the same individual had also given £300,000 ($340,000) to Sarah, Duchess of York for “marketing and promotion” activities and later attended Princess Eugenie’s wedding. You start to question whether these exchanges are just about brands or individuals trying to position themselves closer to the Royal Family. A golden ticket, if you will.

Curiously selective: The rules around sponsorships for non-working Royal Family members are equal parts confusing and selective. For the Sussexes, who are no longer in working roles or using their HRH titles, every penny received or contract signed has been heavily scrutinised by the British media. Even when the couple used their own money to become investors in a fintech asset manager, it didn’t take long for the criticism to pour in about who else might have been on the board or what companies the firm had ties with.

Protocol police: A hypocritical world in which royal protocol is rarely a real thing and usually a fictional vehicle used by tabloids to pin negative narratives on whoever it is they need hate-clicks from at the time. (Even at the Queen’s state funeral, the Sussexes were publicly lambasted for holding hands but the Tindalls, who did exactly the same, were hailed as respectful). I’m just curious how the protocol police are going to find a way to still find it respectable when the late Queen’s grandson-in-law spends three-weeks on a tawdry reality series. If the wrong colour nail polish was once able to see the resurgence of the Salem Witch Trials, surely eating raw kangaroo anus to entertain TV viewers for a cheque should result in an all out media meltdown. Right?

[From Yahoo UK]

Yes, yes and yes. I find it interesting that Scobie spoke to someone at I’m a Celebrity and Mike is apparently geared up to talk about the Windsors on-camera. So… he’s being paid to talk about the Windsors and there’s literally no backlash or commentary from the British media whatsoever? It’s not just the hypocrisy, it’s the invisible contract hard at work – the reason why the British media isn’t mad about the Tindalls is because the Windsors aren’t mad at the Tindalls. The Windsors know that, ultimately, Mike and Zara are “on the inside” and that they can fundamentally be controlled and even tasked with doing some dirty work. Harry and Meghan are not seen by the media or the Windsors as fundamentally working in the interest of the Windsors.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Jana Kramer appeared on Red Table Talk and you knew they were going to go deep into her relationship with ex Mike Caussin. That’s what they do. We know Jana had a hard time dealing with Mike’s infidelities that led to their divorce. While at The Table, Jane said there were a few days it was bad enough she took it out on his stuff. She confessed to battling a defenseless pantry door, for some reason. Then Jana directed her ire to things Mike would care about, like his Xboxes, which she pulverized, and his tuxedo, which she wrote all over.

Though Jana Kramer thinks her split from ex-husband Mike Caussin was for the best, there were still days when she struggled — and took out her anger on his possessions.

“I shattered so many things in my house … there was this pantry door. Me and my girlfriends took a bat to it and we just shattered it,” she admitted in an exclusive clip from Red Table Talk. “Then I destroyed all his Xboxes that he said was his only vice. I wrote all over his tux. I went real crazy for a minute!”

In an additional preview clip from Kramer’s interview on the Facebook Watch series, Jada Pinkett Smith asked Kramer how many times Caussin allegedly cheated — and whether it was with more or less than 13 women.

“More,” the country singer, 38, said as her eyes begin to water. “I know we’re both in better situations. But I think about this year … my kids won’t wake up at my house Christmas day. That one’s gonna hurt.”

“That’s when I get like, that’s not fair. You took away my dream too, of what I wanted for my family,” she said. “That’s not fair.”

[From Yahoo!]

I still don’t get the pantry door. I don’t doubt it felt great, but Jana was going to have to replace that and probably clean it up herself. I can’t imagine it held any value to Mike. Maybe that’s just the Capricorn in me speaking. The Xboxes I understand, and I’ll bet that did hurt Mike where it counts. (Also, how many are we talking?) I appreciate Jana mentioning that Mike cited Xboxes as his ‘only vice’ while he banging the Eastern seaboard behind his wife’s back. I don’t fault Jana for trashing Mike’s stuff to get her anger out. I hope the kids were out of the house, as that would probably confuse them, but I’m a recent convert to clobbering things. I went to a pumpkin patch this weekend and they let you buy the older pumpkins at a fraction of the cost and then smash them with sledgehammers in a special area. I beat the ever-living hell out of that poor pumpkin. Talk about cathartic. Writing on Mike’s tux is inspired. I hope she put it on a mannequin in the front yard for all to see. And Jana said Mike had affairs with more than 13 women? Yeah, pass that woman another Xbox.

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