Even though Mo’nique’s HuffPo interview was relatively short, I found it exhausting. She is an exhausting person. Mo’nique has been promoting a new film, which is why she’s giving so many interviews lately, but I also feel like… did she go off her meds or something? She’s been quiet for years, then all of a sudden, it’s like she’s trying to create some major war with Lee Daniels and she’s making these grand pronouncements about how she was offered this juicy role or that great part but everything’s fine because she loves herself and she has integrity and everyone is lying but Mo’nique (and yes, she refers to herself in the third person a lot).

The latest is that she’s still insisting that she was offered the role of Cookie in the new mega-hit TV show Empire. The role is being owned by Taraji Henson, who is always amazing. And even though everyone involved with Empire says Taraji was always their Cookie, Mo’nique still won’t shut up about it. And everything else. You can read the full HuffPo piece here. Some highlights:

The speculation that Fox executives said she was difficult to work with: “You know, it doesn’t disappoint me because I haven’t heard Fox say that. That came from Mr. Daniels. I can’t be disappointed in Fox for anything because it’s hearsay. It came from someone else; it’s just what it is. What I will say is, when you ask someone about things that they know are not true, I’m not the type of person that will just sit down and be quiet and allow you to do that. There are so many people that sit down and be quiet, and they will suffer in silence. I just refuse to be silent when you say that “Mo’Nique is demanding,” “Mo’Nique is difficult.” But you never say, “Well, what were her demands? And what was she difficult in?” Those questions have never been asked. We’ll just accept it and we’ll just put it out there. See, for me, you’ve got to explain what you’re saying. If you’re going to accuse me of something, you have to explain what it is that you’re accusing me of.

Empire director Danny Strong “questioning” whether Mo’nique was ever offered a role: “My baby, Danny Strong didn’t question it — he tweeted out a statement saying, “Mo’Nique was never offered it.” And as I said on “Access Hollywood,” “Guys, I have that email to show those communications.” The one thing I am not, I am not a liar. I take pride in the character of who I am, and I take pride in my integrity. So I’m not pulling anything out of the air. People want to make this a competition. “Is it Taraji? Is it Mo’Nique?” Taraji is my girl, and I’m so happy and proud of my sister. She is the best and baddest Cookie that the world could ever see. However, it has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with, “Mr. Daniels, you’re putting my character in a place where people could question me, and you and I know, along with my husband Sidney, that those aren’t the right conversations you’re putting out there.” Now, for Mr. Strong, I understand why he’s doing what he’s doing, because he’s believing his friend. His friend, Mr. Daniels, says, “We didn’t offer Mo’Nique those things.” Well, he’s going to be supportive of his friend and his business partner, and I respect people like that. Whereas I say to Mr. Strong, “Will you speak as loudly when you find out that you’re incorrect?”

[From HuffPo]

She then goes on to say that she would work with Lee Daniels again, no problem. Which makes NO SENSE because she basically blames Daniels for everything that’s gone wrong with her career… except nothing has gone wrong with Mo’nique’s career, in Mo’nique’s mind, and she has the receipts to prove it. What is the point of all this? I have no idea. Even if Mo’nique is telling the truth about being offered Cookie in Empire (which is doubtful), why even bring it up? It’s unprofessional and rude to discuss what roles you were offered.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Gwyneth Paltrow did an interview with Bloomberg News on Friday. I wish I could say that I poured over the video, hanging on her every word, but I had to stop the video about one minute in because her voice gets on my last nerve. If you’re made of stronger stuff, you can watch the video here. Thankfully, other sites had already pulled the best quotes. Gwyneth talked to Bloomberg News about Goop and how she’s an entrepreneur and businesswoman and brand nowadays. Which she is, I guess, although her focus is so narrow, it’s a wonder she makes any profit from peasants actually buying her crap. Some highlights:

Whether Goop.com is “out of touch”: “I think there is sometimes a miscommunication. We aren’t a super-luxury site but we’re aspirational. We have things on there that cost $4. We have things on there that cost $500. Sometimes I think that some of the criticism Goop gets is because people haven’t actually gone to the site and looked around and seen what we actually are.”

She doesn’t want to be super-involved with Goop in 20 years: “I very much want Goop to be its own stand-alone brand. I know at this point it’s inextricably me but we are a team of amazing people who bring incredible ideas to the site and it’s not only me. My dream would be that in 20 years, people would sort of recollect that I maybe had something to do with it at one point and my involvement would be less essential. I never wanted to do a proprietary brand. I wanted it to be its own thing that my children could run one day if they wanted to.”

Starting her own business: “I was a fool and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I have to say it’s been incredibly rewarding. I learn so much every day and we’re in a really exciting time in the business right now and it’s amazing to be the creative force and also to understand what’s going on on the fiscal side and with raising money and all of that. It’s very challenging. It’s a side to me that I didn’t necessarily know that I possess.”

[From E! News]

I think she has learned a lot on the job (if you want to call it that) with Goop. I still visit Goop every now and then to see what she’s shilling, and the site is much more efficiently organized and well-run than it was in its first years. But will Goop be a stand-alone brand that will still be around in 20 years? Eh. I have my doubts. People like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez have successful brands because A) they actually make affordable stuff for peasants and B) because they work with major retailers (I think J.Lo is exclusive to Kohl’s now?). Will we see Goop at Macy’s? Or will Goop always be a minor little niche?

And Gwyneth is talking out of both sides of her mouth on the “out of touch” criticism – Goop is the very definition of “stuff rich people like.” She’s shilling $1100 blazers (the largest size is 10, because Goop has a “no fatties” rule) and $650 shorts.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.

Yesterday, I covered part of John Mayer’s Today interview with the lovely Ronan Farrow. John insisted that he’s not a womanizer but a “recovered ego addict.” He made no sense. Mayer is so obsessed with sounding clever and quirky, which has nothing to do with being a womanizer. Another part of this interview covers John’s thoughts on Taylor Swift. Way back in 2009, these two had a brief fling that ended horribly. Swift called John out with her “Dear John” song. He was very butthurt over the song but possibly wrote “Paper Dolls” as revenge. Is he still upset? Yeah.

To be fair, John does tell Ronan “that’s really cool” when asked about Swift’s refusal to play her music on Spotify. He then says, “The only reason we’re talking about Taylor Swift taking Spotify on is because she’s Taylor Swift.” John’s trying to seem diplomatic by saying Taylor is one of only a few artists who could pull the Spotify move. When he talks about Kanye West, John slips a little bit with his tone of voice. Here’s what happened:

Is John jealous of bigger artists? “Nooooo. Not at all. Nothing bothers me anymore, man. There are going to be times when I make music as popular or as empirically valuable as that … that won’t sell as many copies. I’m fine with that. Look, if I save a baby from a burning building, and Kanye saves a baby from a burning building, there’s more Google News hits on Kanye. I’m FINE with it.”

More on the Swift feud: “I put out a song called ‘Paper Doll.’ The song never got listened to as a song. It became a news story because of the lyrics. I’m not in the business of telling people what the song is about. I never said anything about it. And now I just go, ‘Look, I can say the name Taylor Swift. She’s an artist. I’m an artist. Everybody stop. Nobody’s got an incurable cancer. We’re rich people who get to live out our dreams. Let’s just stop it.’”

John is fine, really: “I’m a musician who’s bigger than one song or one record. So it’s really about the longevity of all the work that goes together. I’m just not interested in the things that won’t last forever.”

[From Today]

Well John’s not wrong with the “burning building” analogy. People pay more attention to Kanye West than little ol’ John Mayer. But John is wrong about not caring. He cares a lot. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t talk about it. His wavering voice (as he talks about not caring) completely gives him away. At least Kanye is upfront about his meglomanaical status. John’s a fantastically bad liar. Just own up to caring, man.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet & WENN

Sean Penn was the big “surprise” presenter at the Oscars. He presented the final award, Best Picture, to Birdman. Birdman was directed by his friend Alejandro Iñárritu, who directed Penn in 21 Grams. When Penn opened the envelope, he made a “joke” about Iñárritu being Mexican, saying, “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?” Penn was widely criticized on Oscar night for that “quip,” although Inarritu said that night that he wasn’t offended, that it was just a joke, and that he and Penn are friends. Up until now, Penn hasn’t explained or apologized. But now he’s saying that we’re stupid for being offended. Because of course.

Sean Penn is adamant that he has no reason to apologize for making a green card jibe at the expense of Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu while handing him his Oscar for Birdman. The joke prompted a storm of outrage from critics who branded the comments xenophobic – but Penn has today said he has ‘absolutely no apologies’ and that the only reason anyone could be offended is their own ‘flagrant stupidity’. According to Penn, the jibe was part of his friendship with Iñárritu, with whom he has worked in the past – and even a way to let him know of his victory seconds before everyone else.

Speaking at a promo event in Beverly Hills for one of his own movies, Penn said of the reaction to the joke: ‘I’m always surprised by flagrant stupidity. I keep having more hope.’

He later added: ‘I have absolutely no apologies. In fact, I have a big f—k you for every… anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you’ve got a country that is so xenophobic. If they had their way, you wouldn’t have great filmmakers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank god we do.’

Penn also clarified that the order of his comments were intentional.

‘There’s a little inside humor with he and I where I know, and wanted to know, that he would be the first person in that room to know that his film won,’ he said.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m willing to make the journey and say that Penn’s comment would have been fine if it was simply an inside joke between two friends, friends that “get” each other. But for that to be the announcement of Best Picture, to be said in a huge public forum, I think it’s perfectly reasonable for people to be all “seriously, Sean Penn is kind of racist jerk.” And I’m surprised by Penn’s “flagrant stupidity” in not knowing which jokes will be more well-received in private conversation rather than a public forum.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Following Kanye West’s pissy hissy fit at the Grammys – in which he said Beck did “not respect artistry” – Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson decided enough was enough. She posted an open letter of sorts on her Facebook, calling out Kanye West for being an immature, petty and spoiled child. It was awesome. Kanye hasn’t said anything about Shirley Manson publicly, but considering the backtracking he’s done in the month since the Grammys, I had assumed that he was actually feeling some regret. Guess not. Shirley Manson posted another Facebook open letter to “He who shall remain nameless” and I think we should assume that she’s talking to Kanye and that Kanye emailed her or something with another hissy fit:

Dear He who shall remain nameless,

It is with great sadness that I read your email today. Clearly you have forgotten or are just generally unaware, that in business it is always wise to be kind and respectful in your day to day dealings with other people. Especially those you have never met.

You just never know when you might meet that person who has been at the receiving end of your disrespect for indeed you may have to come on bended knee to that person later on down the line because they hold on to something of value that you need to get your greasy hands on. What alarms me more than anything about your nasty little barbs is that you are in the business of representing artists interests and yet you are clearly unaware that not all musicians are obsessed with the charts or being famous.

That some of us do not value ourselves by the number of mainstream “hits” we have enjoyed. That some of us just enjoy making music and having a long lifespan of a career without having to dance as fast as we can, or be the loudest clown in town or be having to hitch ourselves to the latest ,greatest, freshest sound in order to remain “on top” . There are some of us who just like to live the way WE see fit. Make the music WE feel passionate about. Music that feels authentic to who we are and where we are in our lives. There are even some of us who do not believe that being famous is the holy grail or the answer to a beautiful, meaningful and rewarding life.

Clearly you are unable to wrap your head around the idea that some musicians actually prefer NOT having to perform on Children’s TV shows. Who do NOT want to be gossiped about in the popularity contest columns. Who most definitively do NOT want to be chased by paparazzi and who do NOT want to put their family name to some sh-tty , poorly made product in order to build a “brand” and who most definitely do NOT want to go out every night, dressed up to the nines to the opening of an envelope.

SO allow me to make my choices as I see fit without having to endure your childish and un-evolved criticism. As you so rightly pointed out, there are plenty of talented people in the world who will sell their grannies to serve your desires.

So now then sir, that all said,
Go F#CK yourself.

[From Shirley Manson’s Facebook]

I think Manson is, like, 95% justified and righteous here. The one little negative quibble I have is that the only reason she incurred Kanye’s “nasty little barbs” is because she called him out so thoroughly in a public forum. And now she’s acting like she’s so taken aback that he might have something equally negative to say about her, to her (privately). So, that part of it is just “too cute by half.” Otherwise, yes, she’s on point. Kanye is a sad famewhore clown and Shirley is happy where she is.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Well, well. George Clooney and Amal stepped out in NYC on Saturday night for a bite to eat. They went to Kappo Masa (Japanese). I wonder… do you think Amal can cook? I have my doubts. She seems like the kind of woman who prefers going out to eat. And much like Amal’s street style the previous day (we discussed it here), Amal wore Giambattista Valli for this outing. You like? It really does seem like yellows are “in” for Spring. This is from Valli’s Pre-Fall 2015 collection, which isn’t even in stores yet. Is Giambattista Valli sending Amal free stuff? It wouldn’t be the worst idea. She really does seem to love that label – she’s worn a lot of Valli in the past six months. Also: her earrings are Dolce & Gabbana.

As for their body language… yeah, I could do this ALL DAY. Amal is all “Face! Beauty! Teeth! Hair! Glamour!” And George is all “My back hurts, I wish we had stayed home and just had some soup.” That’s what you get, George. Stacy Keibler never made these kinds of demands! You just had to marry “your equal,” George. And of course your equal is 16 years younger and she loves the cameras.

Speaking of, Amal has taken on more casework. Sort of. While she’s in NYC with George and in between lecturing at Columbia Law School, Amal is sort of working for the legal team of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the disgraced former president of the Philippines. Arroyo stole elections and looted millions of dollars from a state-run lottery scheme. Arroyo is also sick and not getting the best medical care while she sits in jail. So Amal has joined the legal team petitioning the UN Human Rights Council, asking them to intervene and end Arroyo’s substandard “hospital detention” so Arroyo can get better care.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.

Here are new photos of Kim Kardashian and her many costume changes for Paris Fashion Week. You know what I was thinking about? How it used to be that there were lots of Fashion Girls who did the same thing: they would arrive in a city for Fashion Week, they would do multiple costume changes and sit front-row at all of the big shows. Nowadays, it’s only Kim and Kanye doing that.

These are photos of Kim and Kanye at the Givenchy show (Kim is wearing pants) and earlier in the day, where Kim is wearing some kind of “cage dress.” Both ensembles are pretty trashy looking and I’m pretty sure both are Givenchy, although if that cage dress is by another designer, my apologies to them (I’m sorry Kim is wearing your dress, mostly). I guess Kim had her hair lightened even more too, because people are now saying she’s gone white-blonde. Ugh.

The biggest headline? Kim is trying to something different with her makeup now that she’s a blonde, which is what every woman needs to do when they dramatically change hair color. Except Kim’s new makeup is an utter failure. What is happening to her nose?!?!? #ContourFail. It’s such a huge #ContourFail that Kim’s nose actually looks curved to the side, like a right parentheses )))))))).

Photos courtesy of WENN.

As we discussed on Friday, the Daily Mail’s gossip guy Sebastian Shakespeare claims that Prince William and Duchess Kate are basically keeping Prince George from his grandfather, Prince Charles. Sources claimed that Charles is very concerned that George has grown much too attached to Carole Middleton in particular, and Charles is concerned that William and George are much too “Middletonized”. The Mail had a follow-up this weekend which re-emphasized these points, but there are some new quotes and info. The point of this report is “don’t blame Carole Middleton, blame William and Kate for not wanting Charles to spend time with George.” Some highlights:

Carole Middleton wants to buy a house closer to Anmer Hall: There is a ‘definite feeling’ among friends of the Duchess of Cornwall — George’s step-grandmother — that Kate’s parents could be thinking of buying a place in Norfolk, where William and Kate will soon be living virtually full-time at Anmer Hall, near the Queen’s Sandringham Estate…

Charles never really knew his grandfathers, wanted to be close to George: Charles was only three when George VI died, and he never knew his paternal grandfather, Prince Philip’s dissolute, playboy father Prince Andrew of Greece, who died in 1944. The Queen Mother stepped into her husband’s empty space and became Charles’s counsellor and mentor, a vital sounding board in his life, until her death in 2002 at the age of 101.

Charles “gets” that Kate and Carole are close: An aide says, ‘Of course, he acknowledges that the mother-daughter thing is natural, and he’s aware it’s likely to be just the same when the new baby arrives.’ One has to wonder, however, how different things would have been if Princess Diana were still alive to balance Carole’s pull on her daughter. Camilla is little help in this respect and she has no special bond with Kate or, for that matter, much of one with William.

Kate is always going home to Casa Middleton: The fact is, Kate has rushed home to her mother at every opportunity — not just when she was suffering from morning sickness — and she and William have been endlessly taking George at weekends to spend time with Carole, 60, and husband Michael, 65, at their £5 million manor house in Berkshire. Yet they have rarely, if ever, been seen at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.

A Middleton family friend says: ‘All Carole has ever wanted was to give as much guidance and help to Kate and George as any other grandmother. She’ll be horrified to learn that William’s father is apparently upset because he is not seeing enough of George. She would never want that.’

How often does Charles really see his grandson? The answer is not very often at all. Our understanding is that he would love to see more of George, but does not want to have to ask. This shines an interesting light on the relationship between father and son. There are very real tensions between the two of them, and Charles often disagrees with William. But if there is an argument, friends say, Charles backs down every time.

But William backs down in fights with Kate? ‘It’s very different when William has an argument with Kate,’ reports a figure from their own circle. ‘She’s eloquent and stands her ground. It’s been a sharp learning curve for William, especially through the rougher passages of Kate’s two pregnancies.’

William doesn’t want to be like his dad, says one source: ‘Part of William is a rebel who just doesn’t want to be another version of his father, or have a stuffy, traditional royal role. It’s one of the reasons why he’s taken the Air Ambulance job. I’m convinced he wants to show Charles that he can be not only a royal, but also a ‘Middleton’. His message is that he’s part of their family — a family that gave him a proper home life.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Er… Kate is eloquent in fights with William? That’s reason enough to side-eye this report. I tend to believe – with all my heart – that every single person in William’s life backs down in the face of one of his infamous temper tantrums. William’s father backs down and lets William have his own way. Kate backs down and does whatever he tells her to do. The Middletons will do whatever he says. The only one capable of keeping William in line at all is the Queen, I suspect, and she probably doesn’t want to get involved in these very dysfunctional family dramas.

Oh, and if Carole buys a house close to Anmer Hall… that will be very interesting. For now, the Daily Mail is reporting that Carole and Michael have actually moved into Anmer Hall and “running the place.” And they will stay until Kate gives birth… and beyond, probably. The excuses being given are that Kate’s two staffers quit and Carole is the only one who can “placate” Kate when Kate is feeling ill. Here’s the thing: I’m okay with saying Carole should be there for Kate when Kate is about to give birth (God knows William doesn’t seem interested AT ALL), but it bugs me that we’re supposed to believe that Anmer Hall isn’t already staffed by easily a dozen people already.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Willow, 14, and Jaden Smith, 16, gave an interview to Billboard magazine to promote their latest music, released via Soundcloud. Willow’s Soundcloud music is here and Jaden’s Soundcloud is here. As I mentioned in a recent story on these two, their music has really evolved, particularly Willow’s, and they’re obviously working with some good producers. I was impressed with some of the tracks I heard from Willow, who seems to be going by “Willough” now professionally. Willough has a kind of r&b electronica vibe.

These two have also become better at giving interviews. They still talk about metaphysical concepts, but they don’t sound as nonsensical as they have in the past. They’re growing up. Here’s some of what they told Billboard with more at the source:

Jaden on his music
Everything that I talk about in my music is pretty much just trying to evolve consciousness in the world and help everything become better and brighter. I’ve never written out my lyrics before, I just go in and freestyle and say what’s on the top of my mind.

Willow on her music
I don’t like having any effects on my voice, I feel like putting a lot of Auto-Tune on it really covers up the essence of you and is like putting a cloud over real true emotion.

Willow on shaving her head
Shaving my hair made my inner light grow and shine even more. I really like who I’m evolving to be.

Willow on her fashion sense
High-fashion nomad. I could literally climb a mountain and survive a couple nights in nature. That’s a requirement for my clothes because one day I was on the freeway and I saw a mountain, so I literally just pulled over and climbed it. If you’re an artist, the way you dress also gives people a vibe of how your music is and your personality.

Jaden on his fashion: “Einstein uniform”
Einstein didn’t really like to change clothes because he had too much other stuff to worry about and I’m the same. All black is pretty much my go-to look. If somebody is just wearing something for the blogs, that’s really sad because they’re not living for themselves, versus someone wearing a kimono who’s having an awesome time. I really look to see, do you care more about what other people think, or are you having fun?

Jaden wants to look like “Batman and Robin”
People have ideals and they have a certain thing that they expect because of growing up in a certain society and I’m just trying to break those ideals. Fabrics definitely inspire me and superhero comic book characters inspire my clothes. That’s why I like to wear long drapey things because I want to look like Batman and Robin. I want to hit the polarities of life, show people that there’s a duality; there’s two sides to everything.

Willow is inspired by nature
When the sun goes down, when the song comes up. When I’m in nature. When I’m just by myself and walking around and just looking at the world happening around me, those are the moments that really inspire me.

[From Billboard]

After that last quote Jaden sounds like a teenager trying to describe overwhelming emotions. She said that when she’s crying or sad, or joyful or happy, she says to herself “this is the beauty of life.” It’s a bit poetic. Both Jaden and Willow have grown up in the public eye, and now we’re seeing them mature a bit. They still sound silly, but they’re still just kids. I wish their parents would let them be kids instead of seeing them as adults responsible for themselves.

Willow is shown performing in December, 2014. Willow and Jaden are shown in January, 2014. Credit: WENN.com

Suki Waterhouse took the April cover of Vogue UK. She had to share it with Georgia May Jagger and Cara Delevingne, but this is still a big score. The trio were photographed by Mario Testino. They nuzzled topless in their skivvies wearing furry platform shoes. You can see that photo here. In the interview, Cara says Suki and Georgia “always talk about themselves a lot, both of them.” I guess they all went to the same school, and Cara threw a little playful shade. It’s probably nothing. Cara’s very easygoing.

About a month ago, Star published a story about Suki and Bradley Cooper expecting a mini Cooper together. I still don’t think that story is true. Bradley pushed the fatherhood narrative during his Oscar campaign, yet it seemed like strategic audience appeal. People like to hear men gush about babies. Now Us Weekly says Suki is warming to the idea of marrying the Coop:

Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse may be taking the next step in their relationship, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal. An insider tells Us that the model is itching for an engagement ring.

“Suki says she’s been warming him up to the idea of marriage and he’s starting to get excited about it,” the source tells Us. “It’s up to Bradley to pop the question, of course, but she hopes it happens soon.”

Waterhouse also has babies on the brain. “I really like the idea of having kids in not too long. Not, like, now. And not next year. But in not too long,” she told Elle UK in January 2013.

She added of Cooper: “Look, maybe it’s best for me to say, ‘I’m not one of those girls who goes on about their boyfriends.’ I do think whatever I say will sound weird. But the truth is, if I start talking about him, I probably won’t be able to stop. And I don’t really want to talk about him, you know?’”

[From Us Weekly]

Does this story sound authentic to you? BCoop and Suki have been together for 18 months and 2 Oscar ceremonies, but their coupling doesn’t make sense. I still don’t know why Bradley made such a big deal out of being too old to date Jennifer Lawerence, yet found someone younger. He read Lolita in the park on one of their first dates. Their body language is always so awkward, but who knows. Maybe Bradley and Suki are the real deal.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Vogue, Getty, Fame/Flynet & WENN