Joan Rivers was noticeably absent from the In Memoriam Powerpoint reel at Sunday’s Academy Awards, as was fellow comedian and Broadway actress Elaine Stritch. Rivers seemed like a particularly egregious snub, because she originated and popularized red carpet fashion commentary, and was a staple on the Oscars carpet for nearly two decades.

There have been many theories as to why Rivers wasn’t included while so many other lesser-known people working behind the scenes were. I tend to think that Joan’s “bitchy outsider” status followed her in death and that she was somewhat deliberately, pointedly ignored. Time Magazine says it’s political, of course, but they claim it’s not just about Joan not being a member of the Academy or daring to criticize people in power. Time points us to the NY Times article from a few years ago that describes how hard it is to advocate that a deceased family member or friend be honored at the Oscars. It involves actual campaigning, and there’s no way to know who decides or what the process is for deciding, because it’s all clouded in secrecy. They make it sound like a secret society. Here’s Time explaining this:

An Academy spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that yes, Rivers was one of the many people who must be left out in any given year, but that she was included in a remembrance gallery on the Oscars website. However, Rivers (like Elaine Stritch, another comedian who was missed by many viewers) is also absent from the official Academy list of members who died in 2014. Though Rivers, who was better known for her TV work than for film roles, had plenty of big-screen credits, from Space Balls to The Smurfs, Academy membership is not automatic, so it’s entirely possible that she was not part of the group; there is no official, public list of members.

Still, an in-depth 2013 investigation by the New York Times into what goes into the making of the Oscars memorial reel — which has been a feature of the telecast since 1994 — revealed that inclusion or exclusion from the montage is not so simple as “members in, non-members out.”

For one thing, non-members are eligible for inclusion, though positive involvement with the organization always helps. (Some conspiracy theorists guessed that Rivers’ acid tongue on the red carpet might have tipped the scales against her.) For another, it’s clear that, though the committee that makes the calls is anonymous, even death isn’t the end of the Hollywood publicity race. Attempting to get a client onto that list can be the last act of PR goodwill for many a publicist.

In fact, that publicity race suggests one possible reason for the exclusion of a major name like Rivers or Stritch. The family and friends of a lesser-known Academy member may push hard to get their loved one on the memorial list, but those who speak for the most famous of the dead are less likely to think a campaign is necessary. It’s only on Oscars night that they learn the extra push might have helped.

[From Time]

This is yet another example of how insular and out of touch the Academy Awards are. The broadcast runs an hour and half to two hours too long, the jokes are tired and stale, and it’s a very white, old, privileged, insider club. If they don’t care about the ratings for the Oscars they can continue to produce this tired sh*t in which the politics overshadow the show, the nominees and the films. They’ve shown for years that they’re unwilling to change much other than switch out the hosts every year, to mixed success. (Billy Crystal hosted as recently as 2012 for God’s sake.) Less and less people are watching every year and this year had the lowest ratings in six years. That’s not due to Neil Patrick Harris by any stretch, it’s just the nature of the Oscars. They can’t even spare 3 seconds to honor the death of a comedian who brought them years of free publicity. If this wasn’t my job I would have watched the show the next day and fast forwarded through 3/4 of it. I absolutely love movies and celebrities, but even I find the Oscars tedious.

Joan’s daughter, Melissa, is reportedly hurt by the omission of her mom, but she issued a nice statement anyway. She wrote “It would have been nice, especially considering the impact she had on the awards season, but Cooperand I have been overwhelmed with support and love over my mom’s passing and we choose to focus on that.” Melissa also made a video tribute to her mom, which aired on E! before their red carpet coverage. You can see it here, it’s touching.

RIP Joan, we all remember you. Those stuffy a*holes tried to snub you, but we noticed. We won’t forget you.

The Academy didn’t include Joan Rivers its ‘Memoriam’ montage — but we made a card for her: http://t.co/kYqXgnhooX pic.twitter.com/PW7Swd6VdN

— Mashable (@mashable) February 23, 2015

#JoanRivers responds to In Memoriam snub #Oscars2015 pic.twitter.com/c1bhgwaNCO

— Chris Azzopardi (@chrisazzopardi) February 23, 2015

No Joan Rivers in the montage??? She basically created the red carpet which makes all of these bitches millions. For shame!!!

— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 23, 2015

Photo credit: WENN.com and Mashable

Happy Birthday, Brooke Wiederhorn!

Kyle Richards from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills took to Instagram yesterday to wish her daughter Brooke a happy birthday. In doing so, she shared this amazing collage of pictures of her and Brooke over the years:

I hope you had an amazing birthday @brookewiederhorn I love you SOOO much! ??

Thinking bout you?????? #LuckyMan

A photo posted by The B-man (@benjaminmadden) on Feb 23, 2015 at 2:38am PST

You’re looking at one of the worst tattoos I’ve ever seen, which is a terrible thing to say. I mean … look at Benji Madden’s face. He’s so happy! Dude never smiles in public, but he’s so proud of his January marriage to Cameron Diaz that he tattooed her name across his chest. A BIG tattoo. This is Nick Cannon-huge. Remember how Nick got a huge “Mariah” tattoo on his back? She only got a little one for him, which was wise. Nick had to painfully cover up most of his back after they split. This happens a lot, and even Angelina Jolie had to deal with her “Billy Bob” tattoo.

Cameron and Benji must feel ultra idealistic in their honeymoon glow. She’s a kinder, gentler Cami. He’s head over heels. She’s fine with this grand gesture because no one’s ever made grand gestures for her. I hope this doesn’t end badly. That’s all there is to say. Oh, and we know Cameron stares at her own name when she gets busy with hubby. Isn’t that disconcerting?

I’ve been thinking of getting my first tattoo, as part of an impending mid-life crisis. (Not everyone can wear scarves, fancy a blonde, and call it a decade like Johnny Depp.) All sorts of kanji symbols were on the radar, but now I’ve reconsidered the matter. Thanks, Benji Madden!

Here are some photos of Cam and Benji on a Valentine’s date with Joel and Nicole Richie.

Photos courtesy of Benji Madden on Instagram, Fame/Flynet & WENN

I mentioned some of this John Travolta stuff in a few of the Oscar posts yesterday, but there’s new information so we might as well recap. Even after one of the most viral flubs ever last year, John Travolta was still invited back to present this year. The WTF-ery began on the red carpet, when John Travolta spied his friend Scarlett Johansson (they worked together when she was just a kid). He snuck up behind her to plant a kiss on her cheek while she was posing for the bank of cameras. The photos are pretty creepy.

The WTF-ery continued inside, when Oscar producers decided to lean in to the Adele Dazeem debacle by having Travolta and Idina Menzel present an award together. It was actually one of the funniest and most well-written parts of the evening, and I say this with no shade: I like Travolta more for being willing to eat it and be the butt of the joke (double entendre alert). I think he was genuinely sorry that he mangled Idina’s name and he really did want to make it up to her.

Unfortunately, Travolta decided to fool around with the blocking while he was on stage with Idina. He ended up stroking her chin and touching her face in a rather creepy way. Then, after the Oscars, Travolta put on four layers of guyliner, some mascara and some pancake foundation (NO JOKE) and made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He joked with Kimmel that “Apparently I played with her chin too much.” And that’s it. That’s the only explanation he gave for the chin-fondling. But he did explain the original Adele Dazeem debacle and how it came about. Guess what? It involved Travolta acting creepy with yet another woman!!

John says that backstage, last year, “I run into Goldie Hawn. Now, Goldie Hawn is sexy, charismatic, beautiful … amazing, and I was star-struck. I’m star-struck, hugging and loving her up, forgetting that I have to go and do this bit. And they said, ‘You’re on.’” He says he was presented with a card that had Idina’s name written out phonetically, and it was different than the card he was using during the rehearsal.

And all’s well that ends well, I guess. Travolta says that Idina has “had one of the best years of her life and credits me for that.” Riiight.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of WENN & Getty.

This new Billboard interview with Jared Leto came out on Friday, but Oscar fever took over. Jared revealed to the magazine his new weight-gain initiative for Suicide Squad. No one was too interested when Jared Leto was tipped to play the Joker or when the official news dropped. But the issue of actors gaining and losing weight for roles is slightly more interesting.

Jared is second to Christian Bale in deciding to gain or lose weight for a role. Leto gained 60 pounds for 2007?s Chapter 27 (for the role of John Lennon’s assassin) and previously wasted away for 2002?s Requiem for a Dream (he played a junkie). He also lost a great deal of weight to play a transgender AIDS patient in Dallas Buyers Club (and snagged his first Oscar). Now Jared is furiously stuffing his face with vegan tacos in front of journos to dish about bulking up for the Joker. Let’s talk details:

His current weight gain plan: “Do you mind if I eat a little? I’m trying to gain a lot of weight. It means I have to eat every couple of hours — and I’m terrible at eating a lot.”

On weight fluctuations for roles: “It can be an incredibly rewarding, but also destructive, thing to do. Your body changes forever, and I always try to talk people out of it.”

On his work ethic: “I’m terminally dissatisfied. That’s probably part of being an artist.”

His mantra: “No one has to give you permission to make music or make art.”

He makes his money from music: “I’ve been onstage more hours than I’ve been in front of a camera. I’ve never made money from films. It’s a challenge to make money from music these days — that’s one of the reasons I’ve been really entrepreneurial.”

Why he’s playing the Joker: “The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character — that’s what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right? This beautiful disaster of a character — what a big challenge.”x

[From Billboard]

Trust me, a vegan diet can be a fattening one. Do you find it strange that Jared pays lipservice to how unhealthy it is to gain or lose weight for a role? He’s still doing it. God only knows why. It’s not like he’s Oscar hungry anymore, or he shouldn’t be. Heath Ledger posthumously won best supporting actor for playing the Joker in The Dark Knight. Does Jared see himself scoring the same honors? Who knows. What’s clear is that he’s still really thin, so he’s got a lot of eating to do.

P.S. What’s up with Jared’s photobombing obsession lately?

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & Billboard

Aww, look at those cute little dimples!

Tila Tequila is a new mother and she’s been documenting her journey via Instagram with plenty of updates. According to her, she wants to take and share a bunch of pictures of her daughter, so her daughter will be able to look back on these photos someday. Below, you’ll see some recent photos Tequila shared on her Instagram, which are just adorable!

Tila captioned this photo:

“Looks like someone really enjoyed her day out today! She’s such a happy little bundle of joy! The only person in the world who can melt my heart! My cute little chicken nugget! She even has my dimples when she smiles! #3Months #Celebrating #LunarNewYear #ThatTongue #MyLove #IsabellaMonroe”

In this next photo, Tila talks about how much she adores her baby and they’ll keep rockin’ no matter what!

She captioned this photo:

“I actually really love this picture of my daughter, and I. One day when she gets older she can look back on these photos, and know just how much her Mommy loves her. Awww *sniffles* So I am cherishing every moment that I have with her. Our bond will be unbreakable, and *whomever else* missing out on her life is their absolute loss! Izzy, and I will keep on keepin’ on! #AMothersLove #Unbreakable #FierceMama”

In this next photo, Tila talks about how she looks like she’d be a stay-at-home mom, and how much she loves her little daughter:

Tila captioned this photo:

“Aww Mom, and Me pretty day out today! I look like a mom who stays at home, and bakes cookies for the kids! Hahaha! Awww precious moments together. I love my little princess! #PrettyPrincesses #GirlyGirls #StepfordWife #MomAndMe #LunarNewYear #IsabellaMonroe #Soulmates ????”

View Slideshow »»

View All Photos »»

Sunday’s Oscars were full of few surprises but many heartfelt, emotional speeches. One of the most emotional speeches came from Graham Moore, the young screenwriter of the adapted script for The Imitation Game. Graham is only 33 years old and TIG was his first full-length feature screenplay that had ever been produced. He was beyond thrilled, of course, and this is part of what Moore said in his speech:

Alan Turing never got to stand on a stage like this and look out at all of these disconcertingly attractive faces. I do! And that’s the most unfair thing I’ve ever heard. So in this brief time here, what I wanted to do was say this: When I was 16 years old, I tried to kill myself. Because I felt weird and I felt different and I felt like I did not belong. And now I’m standing here. And so I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she’s weird or she’s different or she doesn’t fit in anywhere. Yes, you do! I promise, you do! Stay weird. Stay different, and then when it’s your turn and you are standing on this stage, please pass the same message along.

[From Moore’s Oscar speech]

Many instinctually felt – as I did – that Moore was talking about being gay and struggling with that in his teenage years. Moore seemed to be referencing the It Gets Better Campaign, and I was also reminded of Dustin Lance Black, the out-and-proud screenwriter who won an Oscar for Milk in 2009 and who is also active in LGBT suicide prevention. As it turns out, Graham Moore wasn’t coming out at the Oscars at all. He was just “coming out” as a “weirdo”. For real. He said backstage at the Oscars:

“I’m not gay, but I’ve never talked publicly about depression before or any of that and that was so much of what the movie was about and it was one of the things that drew me to Alan Turing so much,” Moore said. “I think we all feel like weirdos for different reasons. Alan had his share of them and I had my own and that’s what always moved me so much about his story.”

[From HuffPo]

That’s true, we all feel like weirdos at some point in our lives, and that’s especially true for young people. So, Graham Moore just liked the story of Alan Turing and he wasn’t trying to make any kind of statement on LGBT issues. If anything, maybe he was trying to raise awareness about depression.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Who’s up for a game of celebrity mom trivia?

Can you tell us which celebrity mom said the following in an interview:

“Oh my God, everyone was so hard on me because it took me a year and a half to get my body back! When I was 17, I weighed, like, 98 pounds. I was totally obsessed with everything I put in my mouth. I was way too skinny. Not cute. And my body wasn’t that healthy—my hands would cramp up a lot because I wasn’t getting the nutrition I needed. That constant pressure of wanting something different than I had? I regret that. I feel like there was way too much time spent thinking about that. This is the body that I have. I have a very athletic build, and I am so proud of what my body has done for me. I had the best, healthiest, strongest pregnancy. And I feel good about myself. But I feel like I’m always in a 5-pound battle, because being 5 feet 2, everything is going to show on me!”

Leave your guess in the comments section below! Also, make sure you check back tomorrow for the answer. Good luck!

Thanks for hitting the site so many times today! We triple-fed our servers to make sure everything ran smoothly! Duana and I love Oscar Monday, barfing out all our Oscar thoughts. It’s such an honour for us to know that you’re refreshing and reading and commenting and hating and suppo…      

Thanks for hitting the site so many times today! We triple-fed our servers to make sure everything ran smoothly! Duana and I love Oscar Monday, barfing out all our Oscar thoughts. It’s such an honour for us to know that you’re refreshing and reading and commenting and hating and suppo…