I’ll admit that when I saw the news at E! Online that Julianne Hough has a new lifestyle website, I rolled my eyes. I’m used to celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Blake Lively trying to impress us with their overpriced tchotchkes and purple prose. When celebrities launch websites there are exceptions to the haughty rule, like Zooey Deschanel’s Hello Giggles (which is a pop culture and news site, not a lifestyle site) but overall they’re more like Olivia Palermo’s self-named site, a glossy tribute to high end fashion and luxury goods.

Julianne Hough’s new site, Jules, is kind of sweet, though. It’s more of a pinterest-type site with quick tips and advice. After I read a few entries I found myself warming to her. Her blog entries are short, upbeat and simple. There’s nothing groundbreaking there, we have the whole internet full of free advice and tutorials after all, but it’s a nice view of her outlook and lifestyle. She seems relatable, incredibly nice and earnest to a fault. Here’s what she wrote in her intro entry and it’s a little goofy.

Welcome to my cozy little corner on the World Wide Web! I wanted to design a space where I could connect with fans and friends about the things I’m most passionate about, and I wanted to be able to hear from all of you. This is a place where we can share recipes, workout tips, talk about style, beauty and home décor. I’m especially excited to talk to you guys about things that matter most, like ways we can all be rock stars in our communities and tips to become the best versions of ourselves.

This is a place for all of us, sort of like a fun digital neighborhood, and it’s important to me to hear from you. So, what do YOU want to see on my site? Let’s create something amazing together!

xoxo
Jules

[From JulianneHough.com]

The blog has a total of 11 posts so far, which isn’t bad for a launch. She has quick advice from her trainer on getting fit on the go, directions for a messy braid (I can’t believe she can do that so well with a bob) and her resolutions for the new year, which include eating out less and carving out more free time for herself. So far she’s not selling us anything (she does show a preference for a brand of candle but IDK), which is a welcome change from the Olivia Palermos and Goops we’re used to. She’s just kind of connecting to her fans and letting people know what works for her. I can’t help it, I like it.

Over the weekend I looked for interviews with Marian Keyes, a very popular Irish women’s lit author, as I’m currently reading my second of her many funny, relatable books. (Maybe we’ll get the CB book club started up again now that awards season has wrapped. I’m reading Rachel’s Holiday and just finished Watermelon.) I found a series of interviews between Keyes and beauty writer Sali Hughes. They start off in Keyes’s bathroom (this is a thing that Hughes does with celebrities) and discuss her beauty regimen and then go over her product drawer. It’s not everyone’s thing, but I was totally delighted to listen to them discuss makeup and skincare. The best part was when they went into Keye’s shoe closet and picked over her shoes. I guess my rambling point is that it’s fun to see what celebrities think about superficial, frivolous things, as long as they’re genuine and real.

Look at Hough’s puppies! Those look like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels but not quite. I wonder what breed they are. So cute.

photo credit: JulianneHough.com

Shailene Woodley covers the April issue of Nylon to promote Insurgent. She talks about feminism again. To briefly recap, Shailene spoke last year about why she’s not a feminist: “I love men, and I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance. I’m very in touch with my masculine side.” Many of us rolled our eyes because Shailene didn’t understand feminism’s definition. She later “clarified” her thoughts: “The word ‘feminist’ is a word that discriminates, and I’m not into that.” Shailene didn’t claim to be misquoted but believed the original journo tried to “burn” her. Nylon picks up the discussion, and Shailene still doesn’t know what she’s talking about:

On not identifying as a feminist: “The reason why I don’t like to say that I am a feminist or I am not a feminist is because to me it’s still a label. I do not want to be defined by one thing. Why do we have to have that label to divide us? We should all be able to embrace one another regardless of our belief system and regardless of the labels that we have put upon ourselves.”

On media scrutiny of her words: “I mean, if we spent as much energy focusing on the genocide that’s going on right now in parts of Africa as we spent on that one article, think about what we could accomplish. Change is not going to come from focusing on the small things that actors say.”

On her career path: “Two years ago it was very easy for me to understand and also emotionally tell the story of a 16-year-old, and now, I feel like I could not tell that story as truthfully because I just can’t empathize with it. I’m not there on an emotional level anymore.”

Acting doesn’t define her: “It does take up 10 to 11 months of my entire year, so it is my career now. It’s still just a hobby, just something that I live and breathe to do. In a few years, I’ll probably take some years off to explore the other things that I’d love to do while I’m still in my 20s.”

[From Nylon]

The last quote shows how insulated Shailene is from civilian life. Shailene begrudgingly admits that acting might be her career because it takes up most of her year. Most people would jump at the chance to have 1-2 months of annual free time. She takes that major perk for granted. Shailene believes she’s enlightened and in touch with world because she pays attention to some social issues, but she picks and chooses. Feminism is important on a worldwide basis, and women’s rights tie in directly to some of the international conflicts she’s talking about. Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, right?

Photos courtesy of Hilary Walsh/Nylon

Yesterday, I covered People’s gratifying revelation that Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx were hitting it for over a year, which we first heard about in October, 2013. People stories are usually true even without photo evidence, but Us Weekly was quick on the draw with an exclusive first photo of Foxx and Holmes holding hands. If you haven’t seen the picture, go look. They seem pretty cozy, right? Us kicked off their story with a couch-jumping joke:

No couch-jumping for these two. As the ex-wife of A-lister Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes was once half of one of Hollywood’s highest-profile couples. For the past year-and-a-half, though … she’s been hooking up on the DL with none other than Jamie Foxx. And only Us has an exclusive first photo of them holding hands and getting their flirt on with a little game of footsie!

The picture, taken in February, offers a rare glimpse into the couple’s undercover flirtation. As detailed in the new issue of Us Weekly, the Woman in Gold actress, 36, has been secretly spending time with the Annie star, 47, since the summer before last, when he wooed her at a benefit in the Hamptons.

What started as a fling, however, has since become a long-term attraction. “Jamie is someone she can trust and have fun with,” a mutual pal tells Us of Holmes, who shares 8-year-old daughter Suri with ex-hubby Cruise, to whom she was married from 2006 to 2012. “She’s getting everything from Jamie that she didn’t get with Tom.”

Foxx, for his part, is equally taken with the Dawson’s Creek alum. According to one insider, he even refers to her using the term of endearment “my girl” — as in, “My girl is calling.”

[From Us Weekly]

This is a sweet story. Absolutely hot, but sweet. Lainey believes the hand-holding photo is authentic, and it definitely looks like real coupledom. Well… Gossip Cop says all of this hookup business is nonsense. Jamie’s rep reportedly says he and Katie are “just friends.” There’s “nothing romantic about their affection” because (maybe) they were reading lines together. Because lots of actors hold hands and rub feet for no reason during casual line readings? Not buying the denial, sorry.

More Katie drama. TMZ reports that she and Tom Cruise do not speak at all, ever. This doesn’t have anything to do with Jamie. Katie’s miffed at how Tom doesn’t visit Suri very often. It doesn’t surprise me that Tom’s still putting himself first — that’s always what he did when he and Katie were married. But at least Suri’s not around all of the Scientology nonsense. TMZ says the former TomKat has “no direct co-parenting discussions. Everything regarding Suri is handled through intermediaries.” It sounds like Tom’s still peeved that Katie had the audacity to leave him. She’s the only person to ever defy his authority.

FYI, Tom is selling off property like mad. His Telluride estate is on the market for $59 million, and he just put his Hollywood Hills home on the block for $13 million. I wonder why he’s so eager to unload his homes — probably because he’s never stateside anymore.

Photos courtesy of Us Weekly, Fame/Flynet & WENN

Then this happened @taylorswift vs taylor spliff #grammys2015

A photo posted by diplo (@diplo) on Feb 9, 2015 at 12:00am PST

Diplo has been trying to start a war with Taylor Swift for a while. Well, I say that… but maybe Swifty started it? I have no idea. It’s all to do with Swifty’s War of Attrition with Katy Perry. Diplo maybe-sort-of dated Katy at some point, and I guess Diplo is more on #TeamKaty. But Diplo is also tight with Lorde, who is one of the many BFFs Taylor has collected in the past few years. Despite the seemingly divided loyalties, Diplo keeps throwing significant shade on Swifty and her fans though. In a previous interview with GQ (US), Diplo pointed out that Swifty is “very strategic” with her friends and enemies, and he called Swifty’s fans a bunch of “crazy, bizarre and disgusting” lunatics. And in a new interview, Diplo has more to say.

Diplo on Swifty’s Army: “It’s like an army that’s worse than North Korea. All I know is don’t ever get into a feud with Taylor Swift. She has like 50 million people that will die for her. You can’t step into that arena. That was something I was never prepared for … one of the biggest mistakes of my career was definitely f—king with her.”

On his friendship with Lorde: “I can go head-to-head with anybody. I don’t care who you are. I didn’t go after Lorde because she’s my friend and she’s a young girl and the one person I kept it cool with.”

[From The Daily Mail]

Eh. Diplo is a known douchebag but at this point, I think he’s just mentioning Swifty’s name because he knows it will be good for some headlines. Diplo and Swifty seemingly buried the hatchet at the Grammys last month (the Instagram photo header) and this seems like he’s still mostly dissing The Taygency more than Swifty herself. Except for the part of the controversy when he was making fun of Swifty’s flat butt. That was just rude and sexist.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN, Diplo’s Instagram.

Since Princess Charlene of Monaco gave birth to twins late last year, things have been pretty quiet in Monte Carlo. Pre-pregnancy, all of the gossip was about Charlene being a mess and a disappointment, and how Charlene and Albert kind of hated each other and their marital bed was pretty cold. But then Charlene “did her duty” and provided an heir and a spare in one go. Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella are already more than three months old! I think Charlene might be done, don’t you? She gave him an heir. Now it’s time for Charlene and Albert to enjoy a “traditional” royal marriage, which is to say… living separately. But Albert gave a lengthy, exclusive interview to People Mag about his life as a new dad (cough… he has a bunch of other kids) and how he and Charlene are just fine. Some highlights:

On the rumors of marriage trouble: “It’s totally incredible that we have to justify ourselves all the time. It’s ridiculous. It’s just impossible to believe that these stories have come up again. It’s surreal! It’s impossible to believe responsible media would pick up on these totally false stories.”

Charlene took the babies to the South of France: But not because of marriage trouble, she moved away temporarily because the Prince’s Palace is being renovated. Albert says: “We’ve been planning to renovate and redecorate for a long time. It’s not totally calm and quiet the way you would like to have when there are very young children around. There’s a lot of work going on, lots of noise, a lot of people running about. We thought it was a lot of work to have done around kids.”

Gabriella & Jacques will share one nursery: “My sisters [Princesses Caroline and Stephanie] and I shared one nursery and I know times have changed, but they can get by with one nursery as well I think.”

Charlene got to have a big say in the renovations: “As far as redecorating the apartments. I’ve had some input of course, but I’ve let my wife decide things. And she’s let me have some input. I mean, c’mon, I need my man cave!”

Taking care of the babies: Albert has “been involved with the children, and with them as much as I can, ever since their birth…I try to help out with their feeding, I give them their midnight bottles, I change and bathe them, and thank goodness we have help because it’s twins. But it’s been an incredible experience.”

Baby personalities: “Jacques is a little more loud and he moves a little bit more. Gabriella takes her time, she’s more, well, of a baby. But it changes quickly. It changes in a few days, in a week, they’ve already changed personalities, several times.”

[From People]

There’s a lot of stuff about the extensive renovations to the Prince’s Palace. Apparently, the grand pink palace hasn’t had a major overhaul since the 1950s or early 1960s. Albert says he hopes the main part of reno is done “by Easter,” but if Monegasque contractors are anything like American contractors, they’ll be lucky to have the reno done by the babies’ first birthday. I think it’s sort of sweet that Albert just wants the one nursery, so Gabby and Jacques can play together as they grow up. And I don’t really think there are major marriage problems with Charlene and Albert right now – I think she’s just focused on the babies and he’s focused on the reno, so he was just like “Fine, go to the South of France for a few months and I’ll see you when I see you.”

Oh, and we’ll see the babies again on May 10, for their christening in Monaco.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I have to give Karrueche Tran some begrudging credit. I figured her “brave single woman” act would last a few days, then she would slink back to Chris Brown, just because that’s their dynamic. That’s what she’s always done. And while I’m sure she will eventually go back to Breezy, she hasn’t yet. She’s still getting mileage out of their breakup following the revelation that Brown fathered a nine-month-old baby girl, Royalty Brown. And here’s how Karrueche is getting mileage out of it: she agreed to do a sit-down interview with OWN’s Iyanla Vanzant. Iyanla does “fix my life” interviews with damaged people, where it’s half interview and half pep talk/advice. Advice which Karrueche really needs. Unfortunately, Karrueche kicked the cameras out after she felt “judged.”

Karrueche Tran kicked the OWN Network out of her home … because she felt the interviewer was passing judgment on her for her relationship with Chris Brown. We’re told Tran sat down at her house with Iyanla Vanzant for the interview. Tran says producers promised it would be “positive.”

Things went south when Tran was asked about her relationship with Brown. Vanzant asked if she slept with Chris from the get-go because he was a superstar. When she explained they didn’t sleep together until months after they met, she claims the interviewer didn’t believe her and kept pressing.

Vanzant also grilled Karrueche about her decision to date Chris in the wake of beating Rihanna. She responded that everyone deserved a second chance. The interviewer then challenged Karrueche, saying Chris had cheated on her but she still took him back.

At that point … Karrueche’s manager kicked Vanzant and the OWN crew out of her house. A couple of hours passed, everyone calmed down and the OWN people were invited back in to complete the chitchat. The special will air on OWN later this month.

[From TMZ]

LMAO!!! I mean, I know it’s not really funny, but OMG, I think it’s hilarious that Iyanla was like “I know the history of your relationship, girl. I’m going to call you out on ALL OF THIS.” And seriously, was Iyanla wrong? Nope. Karrueche was the side piece, then the main piece, and she did whatever she could to stay with Chris, even if it meant turning a blind eye to his full-on harem, and sticking with him while he was still dealing with Rihanna. You can see the commercial for the special here.

Meanwhile, Karrueche posted a bikini photo of her booty and Chris Brown commented on it, writing: “Thirst trap 101. Continue to be a lady beautiful… U are perfect. Don’t let the Thot form from anger.” “Thot” meaning “that ho over there.” UGH. Stop trying to make “thot” happen. It’s like “fleek”. Stupid kids and their stupid, offensive slang.

Hola

A photo posted by karrueche (@karrueche) on Mar 17, 2015 at 11:17am PDT

Photos courtesy of Karrueche’s IG, WENN.

Sean Penn is still promoting his shoot ‘em-up action film, The Gunman. The cast includes Idris Elba and Javier Bardem, which is enough to get me to watch this when it comes on TV two years from now. But no, I don’t think anyone was really clamoring for a big Sean Penn action film. His press tour to promote the film has been really interesting though – this is his first big press tour since getting with Charlize Theron. So we’re seeing a different side of Penn. He does seem happier, I guess. Anyway, he has a new interview with USA Today – you can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

His memories of his filmography: “Honestly within a week after I’ve finished shooting a film I’ve almost forgotten it… I remember playing none of those scenes [in a highlight reel] – none of them. I remembered the movies…I virtually didn’t remember saying the words that I said. I saw myself in scenes with actors I didn’t even know I’d ever worked with!”

On red carpets: “Red carpets are uncomfortable. Being photographed is uncomfortable. It’s got nothing to do with being an actor, it’s just got to do with being me… you gotta suit up and take a deep breath and look for your real smile. You might even be happy that day but it’s hard to smile because you can feel the muscles in your face. I’m self-conscious under those circumstances.”

On the Oscars: “I didn’t go for most of the times I was nominated simply because it’s socially uncomfortable. It’s really like mainlining discomfort, because you’re going in a room full of people you haven’t seen. Like if you’re going into a restaurant and there’s too many people you haven’t seen or called in a year. That’s already uncomfortable. It’s like, ‘Hi, I didn’t call for this reason.’ Or then you have all the people you don’t want to see and you have all the people looking at you. I hate that. I don’t mind going there if you go in the back door and give out an award or something. But sitting in that seat, that’s a long sit.”

On directing Charlize Theron: “I really wish this could translate without the bias of the personal relationship – she is a director’s dream.” He smiles when talking about her. “She’s a woman.”

On social media: “I’m not interested in social media at this stage because I just feel it’s fueled by the idiocracy in this country.”

[From USA Today]

The interview also includes a half-way amusing story about Marlon Brando forgetting his costar in On the Waterfront (Rod Steiger) and Sean’s thoughts on the paparazzi. Regarding the quotes on red carpets… he reminds me of Kristen Stewart. RIGHT?! I feel like she’s said the exact same thing about how much she hates the red carpet. K-Stew and Sean Penn are emo siblings, hand to God. As for Charlize and “she’s a woman”… maybe I’m reading too much into all of this (doubtful), but it feels like Sean and Robin Wright are still making passive-aggressive (or just plain aggressive) digs at each other. Charlize is a “woman” and what about the mother of your children, Sean?

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Jamie Dornan went to the range in London the other day to work on his swing. Incentive to sign on to more Fifty Shades movies? You can golf all year round in Vancouver where they shot the first movie. Still no definitive word on that yet though, right? There are all kinds of random reports here a…      

Proud mama Elsa Pataky shared a shot with her twins – Tristan and Sasha – at the beach on their first birthday.

“Happy birthday baby boys,” she Instagrammed the image. “Thanks for all the moments that we shared during your first year and all the ones to come! Together step by step #mamaAfortunada #luckyMum #peques #littleAngels.”

The Furious 7 actress, 38, posted a photo of all three of her kids – including 2-year-old daughter India – also at the beach earlier this month.

The Spanish actress raises the children with her husband, Thor hunk Chris Hemsworth.

Happy Birthday to the twins!

Remember when Katie Holmes went through her “dancer” phase and there was her super hyped So You Think You Can Dance appearance that ended up being a taped segment and really boring? Here she is, on grainy video, doing a leg kick. Try not to die of excitement.

…