The final trailer for Jordan Peele’s Nope reveals more of the plot. [JustJared]
Review/analysis of HBO Max’s The Janes. [Jezebel]
Hoda Kotb & Jenna Bush try the “healthy Coke.” [Seriously OMG]
Melissa McCarthy looks great in Valentino. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Samantha Jones will return “via text” in AJLT’s second season. [Dlisted]
Review of The Phantom of the Open, a British comedy. [Pajiba]
Julia Louis-Dreyfus suited up. [GFY]
Constructing the NYC subway was a huge undertaking. [Buzzfeed]
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and a film about Michael Jordan. [LaineyGossip]
ACLU sues Texas over transphobic laws. [Towleroad]
Did Amy Schumer’s Tampax commercials lead to huge sales? [Gawker]

Robert Jobson’s book, William at 40, is obviously timed for Prince William’s 40th birthday. A landmark birthday book celebrating an incandescent, jealous, unfaithful man. What’s interesting is that the early excerpts of Jobson’s book sound… interesting. I’m sure Jobson will dutifully polish the turd at the end of the day, but Jobson has already gotten some jabs in, saying flat-out that William is “volatile” and “off-hand,” that he lacks deference towards his father and grandmother, that he’s an arrogant little sh-t, basically. As it turns out, Jobson has some fascinating things to say about William and Kate’s marriage too.

Linchpin Keen: Kate Middleton has helped Prince William become “more relatable” and is his “most trusted adviser,” a royal biographer has claimed. Speaking of how the mother-of-three stepped up to royal duties during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jobson writes: “As crisis followed crisis, smiling Catherine hasn’t put a foot wrong.” He goes on to explain how as the nation was forced into lockdown, the Duchess took on extra engagements and made public appearances virtually – and also publicly, as soon as they were allowed.

Duty first: “With Catherine at his side, the prince seems more assured, their chemistry clear for all to see. Every step of the way, Catherine has put duty first.”

El Tigre: And according to the royal commentator, beneath Kate’s “soft smile,” there’s “a tigress, passionate about her husband and a modern woman who will fight tooth and nail for her family… Her influence over William, whose presentation in the past used to be somewhat stiff and a little nervy, has helped him become more relatable, to be more himself. His sense of humour and warmth is now visible.”

Keen details: Jobson adds that Kate “never wants to let the side down” and always “pays close attention to detail.”

Consigliere Kate: “Not only is she William’s most trusted adviser, she is someone who puts family and duty above all else.”

Bland Kate: “She can play bland with high-street fashions when it suits her. But when the moment is right, she knows exactly how to steal the show.”

[From The Sun]

Kate will “fight tooth and nail for her family” – who is she fighting? Is she fighting to stay in the marriage when William has largely checked out? And no, Consigliere Keen is not a thing. William has made it abundantly clear for years that he’s fine with Kate, Kate raises the children, Kate is tolerable. But she isn’t his advisor, let’s be clear. And lol, Kate “can play bland.” I love it when commentators try to make Kate’s buttons and old-lady coatdresses sound like they’re some high-minded intentional effort, that Kate genuinely wants to look bland.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Instar.

It’s interesting that People Magazine didn’t devote this week’s cover to the Queen and the Jubilee, right? Perhaps they didn’t want to devote a cover to the Sussexes, who were arguably the biggest story to come out of the Jubblyshambles. If People had made Harry and Meghan the cover story, there would be panic at the palace and People might lose access for a few months. So in the end, they avoided putting any royals on the cover, but they’ve still got some exclusives out of the Jubbly. Exclusives like this piece, in which a source close to Harry and Meghan speaks about why they weren’t out and about much during their four-day visit.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s trip to the U.K. was focused on Queen Elizabeth.

“They aren’t part of the [working] royal family anymore, and that’s a decision they have taken — but maybe [the public] hasn’t quite accepted that yet,” a source who knows the couple tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Yes, they were low-key. They paid their respects and went home.”

The source adds, “They were really here to see the Queen, and they did.”

During the Jubilee outings, Harry and Meghan — who shared the strain they’d experienced within the family in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey — didn’t spend time with Harry’s immediate family members, including his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William.

[From People]

I still find it sad that Prince Charles didn’t make any kind of public sign of “attempted reconciliation” with his son. We don’t even know if Charles saw his Sussex grandchildren, but I strongly suspect he did not, just as I suspect that Charles was invited to spend time with his grandchildren but he declined. Then again, I also think it’s a good sign that Clarence House hasn’t leaked a bunch of sh-t about the Sussexes after they left. Charles could have easily gone to a friendly royal reporter to let them know what was said during Harry and Meghan’s visit to Clarence House last Friday, or how Charles is “sad” about not meeting his grandchildren, etc. There’s been none of that. Which leads me to believe that Harry and Charles actually do have some kind of understanding. It’s not peace and it’s not a full reconciliation, but they agreed to get through this visit without father-son drama. All of the drama seems to be coming from Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace.

As for that BP and KP drama… again, I love that Harry, Megan and the kids simply did a breezy four-day visit. They avoided being used as inclusion props for the colonialist machine, they honored Harry’s grandmother and spent private time with her and that was that.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

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A post shared by Neil Kramer (@cabbie_london)

While I’m often left with the impression that Prince William works less than his wife, that’s not actually the case. William’s solo events generally get much less attention, that’s why it feels like he’s barely doing anything. While it often feels like William accompanies Kate to her events because he’s worried about what she might say or do, the truth of the matter is that he gets much more attention when he’s with his wife. I bring this up because William stepped out today and it was obviously a little stunt organized by Kensington Palace, but it was a “good stunt.” A stunt for a good cause, I guess.

The Duke of Cambridge has been spotted in central London quietly helping to sell Big Issue magazines. Retired Met Police Ch Supt Matthew Gardner shared photos of Prince William on Rochester Row, in Westminster, on his social media account.

He said his brother-in-law had spotted what he thought was a celebrity and took a photo from a distance. Mr Gardner said Prince William then crossed the road and spoke to him while wearing the iconic Big Issue uniform.

The magazine is sold by homeless people, long-term unemployed people, and those who need money to avoid getting into debt, the Big Issue says. Vendors are given five free magazines, which are then sold to the public for £3, with additional copies bought for £1.50.

In his social media post, Mr Gardner added: “What an honour to have a private moment with our future king who was humble and working quietly in the background, helping the most needy. These ‘silent gestures’ often go unrecognised. The finale to this unique occasion was when Prince William asked my brother-in-law If he wanted to buy the Big Issue, to which he replied ‘I have no change’. At this point William produced a mobile card machine… you cannot teach that! Priceless, or should I say, ‘princely’.”

Another social media post by black cab driver Neil Kramer also showed Prince William in the uniform posing for a photo with another Big Issue vendor.

[From BBC]

Again, this was a stunt. KP arranged every single part of this. They dressed William up like a Big Issue bloke, they practically put a blaring sign out reading “someone famous is standing here,” and I would not be surprised if the people providing quotes were 100% organized by KP as well. All of which makes me wonder why William suddenly needed a PR hit? Is it because barely anyone was talking about him during and after the Jubbly? Is it because the brief moments where he was being discussed, it was about how he looks like he hates his wife and his brother?

Prince William spotted selling Big Issue on street as fans praise ‘humble’ work https://t.co/5RCaL9xUg0 pic.twitter.com/ggtpcvUkkZ

— Mirror Royal (@MirrorRoyal) June 9, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar and Instagram.

Trooping the Colour happened one week ago. I was surprised when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ended up going to it because for weeks/months beforehand, the conversation in the UK was about how the Queen “banned” Harry and Meghan from the balcony. As it turned out, all of the royal and royal-adjacent cousins did go to Trooping and they watched the festivities from the Major General’s Office. This week, Mike Tindall revealed something else: there was a “cousins lunch” last Thursday. And Harry & Meghan skipped it.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry skipped a cousins’ lunch during their Jubilee visit after “not checking the family’s diaries”. Mike Tindall, 43, revealed that while key members of the Royal family had a meal after the Trooping the Colour on Thursday, the Queen’s grandchildren enjoyed a lunch together.

Appearing on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Zara Phillips’ husband said “the cousins” spent some quality time together after watching the grand event from the Major General’s Office. Mr Tindall said: “It was outstanding, to be fair. It was just great to be a part of. We had a good cousins’ lunch on the Thursday. That was a highlight.”

But it is understood the Duke and Duchess of Sussex went straight back to Frogmore Cottage after watching the event with the Tindalls.

[From The Sun]

What is this sh-t about “not checking the family’s diaries”? These people, my God. It can’t be “Harry and Meghan were invited to the lunch but they declined.” They had only arrived in the UK less than 24 hours beforehand, they were probably still jetlagged and they clearly wanted to just avoid most of the family.

Speaking of nasty British reporting, batsh-t crazy Angela Levin has been blanketing the British media, talking all kinds of idiotic crap. That crap then gets turned into bonkers headlines like “Royal expert: Harry and Meghan pissed on a corgi as Netflix filmed it all.” Levin is the one claiming that Harry and Meghan “didn’t check” William’s diary. Levin claims H&M were terribly rude to William and Kate because… the Sussexes invited them to Lili’s birthday party. Levin claims Harry is “very, very upset that he was largely ignored. He still feels he’s owed an apology.” Yeah… no. Harry was ready to fight everyone in that church if they said sh-t, but that’s not the same as “being mad because his dirtbag family is petty.”

Oh, and Levin also claimed that she “heard” that Netflix wanted Harry and Meghan to take photos with the royals “because they would have sold it. It would be very valuable, very valuable to them.” I am begging everyone to stop using this unwell woman as a royal expert. She is completely off her f–king rocker.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

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I wouldn’t have thought that Anne Hathaway could pull off bright yellow or “formal shorts,” but she is doing both. [Go Fug Yourself]
George Clooney, Rande Gerber and their families arrived in Como. [LaineyGossip]
Will you watch Amazon’s A League of Their Own series? [Dlisted]
Priyanka Chopra looks so beautiful here. [RCFA]
Alicia Keys defends her Jubbly set list. [Just Jared]
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back. [OMG Blog]
Review of David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. [Pajiba]
Is Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols show any good? [Gawker]
Louisiana bans transgender girls from team sports. [Towleroad]
What it’s really like to win a year’s supply of random things. [Buzzfeed]
Larsa Pippen is no longer friends with Kim Kardashian. [Starcasm]
Bella Hadid & her bangs are on vacation. [Egotastic]

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Embed from Getty Images

As we discussed, soon after the photos of Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor came out on Monday, the Sun was already stridently claiming that Prince Harry and Meghan were “banned” from taking photos of their kids and the Queen. As in, a source claimed out of nowhere that Harry and Meghan barged into Windsor Castle with a photographer and demanded to pose their children with the frail queen, and some brave, incandescent Men in Grey screamed “not on my watch!” Yeah, none of that sounded plausible. What does sound plausible is that Meghan and Harry prioritized visiting the Queen privately and her aides have no idea what happened during those visits, so they’re just making sh-t up as always. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the royal rota demons from screeching about the Sussexes’ audacity. Angela Levin had her panties in a bunch about it, but when doesn’t she? Interestingly enough, the NY Post has some new information about Private Lilibet/Lilibet Photos-gate.

Depending on whom you ask, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were either cruelly rejected by royal aides when they asked Queen Elizabeth II to pose for photos with their daughter Lilibet Diana last week — or they were just too polite to bother her royal grandmum majesty.

Contradicting claims over an alleged picture request have gone viral since the California-based couple introduced baby Lilibet, 1, to the queen for the first time last Wednesday, after jetting to the UK to partake in Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Reports from multiple other outlets claim Harry, 37, and Markle, 40, wanted their personal photographer to take happy snaps of the queen and Lilibet — but were shut down. According to one anonymous source, they were told: “No chance. It was a private family event,” the Sun originally reported. That leaker also claimed the queen’s minders were worried that Harry and Markle would leak the photos to US television networks.

However, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that claim is bunk.

“They just enjoyed a private and intimate visit with the queen,” the source said, adding that Harry and Markle didn’t even bother with asking for photos as the 96-year-old monarch wasn’t feeling well. Elizabeth’s Communications Secretary declined The Post’s request for comment about the conflicting reports.

The source told The Post that Harry and Markle also took Lilibet to meet Elizabeth for a second time on Friday.

[From The New York Post]

This reminds me a lot of the post-visit reporting from April, when Harry and Meghan shocked everyone by turning up in Windsor for a day and having tea with the Queen. The Queen’s aides fumbled and didn’t know what to confirm or deny, and Clarence House ramped up their briefings about what happened during Charles’s brief time with the Sussexes. There are briefing wars on top of briefing wars and everyone in every royal court has their own agenda. They are treating Harry, Meghan and the children as pawns to feed their own narratives. The thing is, all Harry has to do is call up Gayle King or Omid Scobie and say “this is what actually happened.” And then all of these same people will lose their minds because Harry SPOKE to a media outlet, GASP! And then the outrage over “photos with the Queen” will smoothly transition to outrage over Harry denying their bullsh-t stories.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Misan Harriman/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The Duchess of Cambridge made it through the Platinum Jubbly without slathering herself in buttons, remarkably. I’m always wary of declaring this a “brand new Kate” with some kind of newly “clean” style, because Kate tends to backslide straight into buttons all the time. These are photos of Kate walking into her event today. I honestly love her entire outfit? The white shell or blouse is great. The trousers are great. The Zara blazer is fine, although I’ll be nitpicky and say that the shoulder pads are way too big for Kate. She can still get the “line” she wants on a blazer like this without giant shoulder pads. All in all though, I really like this look, no shade.

The event was Kate visiting Little Village’s hub in Brent. Little Village is a baby bank, and she’s visited baby banks before. Little Village hands out baby supplies, diapers, formula and the like to parents in need. She met with volunteers and highlight their work. As I said the last time she visited a baby bank, she should do these kinds of events all the time. Highlighting specific charities which are doing work on the ground with low-income families. This is more beneficial than Kate pretending to be a childhood neurology expert.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

For a few years, Matthew McConaughey has been flirting with Texas’s state politics and there were strong rumors that he would run for governor. The issue was no one knew if Matthew is a Democrat or Republican, and he was mostly incoherent on important, vital issues. In the immediate wake of the Uvalde massacre two weeks ago, McConaughey once again chimed in, posting a statement on his social media in which he didn’t mention the words “gun control” or “Republicans are to blame” or “the party of slaughtered children.”

I will give McConaughey credit for something though. He went to Uvalde. It’s his hometown, it’s where he was raised, it’s where he grew up. He went back to Uvalde with his wife Camila and they spent time with the families of murdered children. He spent time with the local coffin maker and congregations in crisis. And it changed him. He was invited to speak at the podium of the White House press room on Tuesday. Camila joined him. She held a pair of Converse sneakers belonging to 10-year-old Maite Rodriguez, who was murdered in her classroom. The only way Maite was identified was through the sneakers. Here’s the full press conference:

McConaughey spoke about how there is currently a “window of opportunity” to pass meaningful gun control legislation, like universal background checks, raising the minimum age for purchasing an AR-15 and implementing red flag laws. He said: “Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals. These regulations are not a step back — they’re a step forward for a civil society and, and the Second Amendment.”

He spoke at length about what he saw in Uvalde and the pain and anger within the town. He said, “We got to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. What we truly value. We got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations…Enough with the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let’s come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway.” Again, I’m not going to criticize him, but I also don’t think there’s a middle ground to be had with the Party of Slaughtered Children. There was a window of opportunity after Sandy Hook as well… and the Party of Slaughtered Children decided that they were fine with babies being slaughtered in classrooms.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Over the weekend, Camilla Tominey wrote a piece in the Telegraph which was just a full briefing from Kensington Palace. It was like Tominey just published an email she got from KP’s communications office. The piece was called “The Jubilee has shown that the Cambridges are the monarchy’s future,” and the main argument is that the Cambridge children are the future of the monarchy and the institution is in safe hands because George, Charlotte and Louis “loved” being out in public, doing events like working royals. Nevermind that Charlotte and George mostly looked uncomfortable, or that Louis showed the world that his mom is not actually a credible Early Years expert. Some highlights from this Telegraph article:

The kids are front-and-center: Central to this progressive presentation of modern monarchy have been the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children, eight-year-old Prince George, Princess Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Prince Louis, the undisputed star of the Buckingham Palace balcony and the Pageant Royal Box. Had the Duke and Duchess of Sussex not stepped down from public duties in March 2020, they and their children Archie, aged three, and one-year-old Lilibet, would have shared the spotlight with the Cambridges.

The Cambridges are taking credit for the Sussexes’ lack of prominence: It is not a coincidence that there has been no interaction whatsoever between the once close royal brothers this weekend. The Sussexes’ outspoken Oprah Winfrey interview, in which they accused the Royals of racism, is still perceived to have crossed a line – not least when there has still been no acknowledgement of the hurt it caused, let alone an apology. As one aide put it at the start of the four-day festivities: “The media might try to make them prominent, but in reality they are not going to be playing a prominent role. A line has been drawn.”

The Queen wants the Cambridge family front-and-center: Conversely, the Cambridges could not have been more conspicuous – a deliberate development that has been designed not just by Kensington Palace but also with the 96-year-old monarch’s careful oversight.

The kids enjoyed it? “The children have been having a great weekend,” said a royal source. “They were really enjoying themselves, so they went to the concert because it was clear they wanted to. They take those calls at the last minute because they don’t want to ramp up a hype and not be able to deliver on it. Everyone knows what kids are like – they might suddenly decide they don’t want to go to stuff – but they have thoroughly enjoyed this weekend.”

The Cambridges love Louis’s antics: According to an insider who knows the couple well, they will have “loved” the front page images of their youngest stealing the show by covering his ears during the flypast. “It wasn’t as if he was being naughty or anything. They were just kids being kids. Of course, as parents they love to see all the photographs the next day. It would be different if they didn’t enjoy it, but what they are trying to do is slowly acclimatise the children to the life they are going to lead. It’s a careful balance – they want to get them used to that world but not make it too intense or make them feel like they’re different.”

The Cambridge fam’s summer off: The family will once again be in the spotlight when William turns 40 on June 21, before taking a lower profile for the rest of the summer.

[From The Telegraph]

Ah, so they’ll do another big push with the kids for William’s birthday. I’m surprised, honestly. Maybe that will change though, I can’t imagine William wants his 40th birthday spotlight to be dimmed by his wife and children. No, all of the birthday propaganda is going to be about how Steely Incandescent Baldemort is a man of action, he’s an elegant, normal man with a lot of power, and yes, he hates his brother but he’s completely justified, he promises.

As for the stuff about the kids… the way KP is insisting that the kids “loved” doing all of those public events makes me think that, as always, the opposite is true.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Avalon Red, Backgrid.