The US Women’s National Team won, US Soccer will finally pay the women’s and men’s teams equally. That should have happened from the start. [Jezebel]
I have zero memory of the Julia Roberts & Ethan Hawke gossip! [LaineyGossip]
Kim Kardashian was in the Red Lobster parking lot when she learned she finally passed California’s baby bar exam. [JustJared]
I don’t want a human-sized dog bed, actually. [OMG Blog]
Taylor Swift gave the commencement speech at NYU. [Dlisted]
Should we listen to the podcast about Heidi Fleiss? [Pajiba]
RHOBH’s Dorit Kemsley got robbed! [Starcasm]
Just a post full of funny photos. [Buzzfeed]
Covid cases are rising again & of course there are new variants. [Towleroad]
Shakira & Nick Jonas? Okay. [GFY]
Review of Conversations with Friends. [Gawker]

The Duchess of Cambridge joined the Earl and Countess of Wessex on Wednesday. They hosted yet another Buckingham Palace garden party. I wondered why the previous palace garden parties were hosted by (forgive me) the older royals. Surely the thousands of people who turn out to these things want to see one of the younger royals? So there was Kate, keening it up at a garden party. She wore a new coatdress and everything.

As for her styling… the coatdress is Emilia Wickstead, and I’m sure she (easily) has eleven versions of this in different colors. That being said, it’s pretty. I’ve always preferred Kate in these kinds of bright, saturated colors. She so badly wants her “signature color” to be a shade of royal blue, but she looks so much better in warm reds, corals and burgundys. She also goes pastel too often, which is a shame because look how good coral looks on her. The matching fascinator is also very good. I like her big drop earrings too. I don’t know if those are diamonds, but if they are, they are expensive!! I bet they’re white sapphires or something.

Anyway, the BP garden parties are being hosted by various royals this year because the Queen didn’t feel like doing any part of garden party szn. It’s interesting (to me) that William and Kate weren’t tasked with hosting a party together, right? I mean, Future Future King and Queen, modernizing the monarchy one button at a time, this is exactly what they should be doing. I guess not.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

Today is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s fourth wedding anniversary. Since everyone is sharing photos, I thought… why not? I think I’ve done this for their previous anniversaries too. People just like to go back and look at the photos and videos of the Sussex wedding in 2018. Plus, the wedding still feels like it’s happening, as royal commentators and royal biographers keep analyzing what was really going down behind-the-scenes.

The bride wore a gown designed by British designer Clare Waight Keller, who was then the artistic director of Givenchy. Interestingly enough, Meghan didn’t pay for her wedding gown. The cost of the Windsor wedding was picked up mostly by Prince Charles. Which means – I believe – that the royal family “owns” Meghan’s wedding gown. I bet it’s still in some royal archive and they’ll probably exhibit it from time to time. Still profiting from Meghan.

I’m also including photos of Meghan’s reception look, aka the only Stella McCartney dress I’ve ever liked. It was a custom halter gown and she looked so amazing in it. She wore Diana’s aquamarine ring too, I loved that.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

I’ve been saying this for a while, but I guess it’s interesting to see Page Six confirming it: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shot some kind of docu-series about themselves and (I believe) their Archewell work. We knew they were wearing mic packs when they were in New York last September, and they had a film crew documenting some of their activities in New York. As the British papers freaked out about the very IDEA that Harry and Meghan could bring Netflix cameras to the godforsaken Jubbly, I kept thinking “I bet they already shot a docuseries though.” And sources say they have. Interestingly enough, this comes from Page Six, the same outlet which broke the story about Harry’s memoir. Page Six put their own nasty spin on that story too.

It’s Keeping Up with the Sussexes! Netflix will finally get its “pound of flesh” from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with an “at-home with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex-style” docuseries, Page Six can reveal.

Hollywood insiders are abuzz about the show, but while we’re told that Netflix chiefs would like the series by the end of the year to tie in Harry’s hotly-anticipated memoir, the Sussex camp would rather it air next year.

“The timing is still being discussed, things are up in the air,” said one producer in the know.

The Sussexes, who signed on for a multi-million deal with the streamer in 2020 after moving to the US, were followed by Netflix cameras when they went to the Netherlands last month for the Invictus Games — Harry’s global games for wounded and injured servicemen and women. Netflix is making a documentary about it called “Heart of Invictus.” But they have also been shadowed for another project that will be much juicier, we’re told. The cameras have been allowed behind the scenes at their home in Montecito, Calif., and joined the Sussexes on their trip to NYC last September, as we previously revealed.

“I think it’s fair to say that Netflix is getting its pound of flesh,” said a highly placed Hollywood insider.

[From Page Six]

“I think it’s fair to say that Netflix is getting its pound of flesh” – considering that’s the exact phrasing used by multiple royal commentators, all of whom have been wailing for years about this possibility, I genuinely do not believe that the quote is from a “highly placed Hollywood insider.” And while Salt Islanders are already screaming, crying, throwing up about this, let me just say… I’m into it?? Like, this is genuinely what I hoped Harry and Meghan would do. I would love to watch a docuseries about their Archewell work and how they choose charities and what goes into it. And of course I’d also like to see more of their California life too. Come on, this will be must-see Netflix programming. That’s what Salt Island is afraid of! (Also: I’d rather the series come out this year too, especially if they were filming stuff last year.)

Happy fourth anniversary to the Sussexes!!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar.

In Canada in the 1800s, Anglican and Catholic churches began forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families and their communities. The practice continued well into the 1960s. Children were sent to church-run boarding schools, and in recent years, people have learned even further depths of horror, as unmarked graves were found all around those boarding schools. The Indigenous communities – the First Nations – have demanded apologies from the Anglican church, from the Vatican and from the British royal family. The Queen is the head of the Church of England, and the practice of removing children from their families started when Canada was a British colony. Weeks ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby) made a formal apology and he listened to survivors’ stories. Pope Francis also made a formal apology and he begged for forgiveness and he spoke movingly about intergenerational trauma.

All of which means that there is still one big formal apology missing: an apology from Queen Elizabeth II or perhaps the Prince of Wales. Charles and Camilla are doing their whirlwind Canadian tour right now, trying to fly under the radar to avoid protests or big, public flops. Clarence House repeatedly emphasized that this Canadian tour was less of a Jubbly tour and more like Charles and Camilla coming to Canada to show their respect to the First Nations communities. Charles ended up making a speech. The speech did not include the words “I’m sorry” or “on behalf of the Queen, we are so deeply sorry” or “what happened was completely horrific and there is no apology big enough, but still I offer one.” Instead, Charles yammered about reconciliation.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall have arrived in Canada — and the royal heir wasted no time in addressing the need to “come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”

Prince Charles, 73, gave a speech at the Confederation Building shortly after landing, thanking Canadians for their warm welcome as they kick off a three-day tour in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, as Canada is one of the 14 countries outside of the U.K. where the Queen is head of state.

“It is with the greatest respect that both my wife and I begin our visit to these homelands that have been lived in and cared for by Indigenous peoples — First Nations, Métis and Inuit — for thousands of years,” he began. Prince Charles said he had spoken with the Governor-General about the “vital process” of reconciliation in the wake of the mistreatment of Indigenous people of the region, particularly the children who were forcibly relocated from the 19th century to the 1970s by the Anglican Church — of which the Queen is the head.

“As we look to our collective future, as one people sharing one planet, we must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past: acknowledging, reconciling and striving to do better. It is a process that starts with listening,” he said. “I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to discuss with the Governor-General the vital process of reconciliation in this country – not a one-off act, of course, but an ongoing commitment to healing, respect and understanding. I know that our visit here this week comes at an important moment — with Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples across Canada committing to reflect honestly and openly on the past and to forge a new relationship for the future.”

He added, “As we begin this Platinum Jubilee visit, which will take us from the newest member of Confederation to among the oldest communities in the North — and to a much-storied capital at the heart of a great nation — my wife and I look forward to listening to you and learning about the future you are working to build.”

After the speech, the royal couple took part “in a solemn moment of reflection and prayer at the Heart Garden, on the grounds of Government House, with Indigenous leaders and community members in the spirit of reconciliation,” Chris Fitzgerald, Deputy Private Secretary said last month. “Heart Gardens are in memory of all Indigenous children who were lost to the residential school system, in recognition of those who survived, and the families of both.”

[From People]

There’s nothing wrong with doing the heavy and long work of reconciliation. But I believe the reconciliation process can only begin when facts are established and agreed upon with both sides attempting to reconcile. As in, one side needs to say: this was wrong, this was criminal, this is one of the biggest tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries, my ancestors brutalized your ancestors and I acknowledge and apologize for the history, the wrongdoing, the crimes. Then the reconciliation process can begin. Charles isn’t doing that. When even Pope Franny and the Archbishop of Canterbury are more willing to apologize and humbly ask for mercy, what does that say about the Windsors?

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Instar.

Everything about the She-Hulk trailer is a mess. [Pajiba]
What happened at the congressional hearing on UFOs? [Buzzfeed]
Kendall Jenner is the creative director of a fashion line now. [Egotastic]
Jimmy Kimmel got Covid again! (He’s fully vaxxed.) [Seriously OMG]
Gemma Arteton is giving me Elizabeth Taylor vibes. [RCFA]
Emily Blunt is in Oppenheimer too? What an (all white) ensemble. [Just Jared]
Jack Harlow didn’t know Brandy & Ray J are siblings. [Dlisted]
Simu Liu is everywhere, doing everything. [LaineyGossip]
AppleTV did a Severance event, for Severance fans. [Go Fug Yourself]
Please give Chrissy Teigen some attention. [Gawker]
This Versace is pretty cute on Michelle Dockery. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Neil Patrick Harris apologized for that resurfaced Amy Winehouse “joke.” [Towleroad]

Thanks for tagging me on this article, how bizarre this is. This story is on MSN, but it’s basically a weirdly-translated story from a European tabloid. The story? The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have “separated” and Kate “moved out” with the children. Even though this situation with William and Kate’s marriage and separate-living situation is widely gossiped about on blogs and on social media, when the dam breaks, MSN won’t be the outlet to break it. Still, it’s worth discussing because it does feel like there’s a significant thread of something there.

News of the marital crisis between Kate Middleton and Prince William took us all by surprise. The royal couple seems to be going through a rough patch in their marriage. The arguments between the couple have escalated significantly to the point where the Duchess has had to move out with her children, the palace staff reports.

William and Kate’s marriage is under constant scrutiny, therefore, they haven’t always had an easy time of it. Prince Charles apparently even suggested a separation between the two before they got married, but they came over the hardships and stood strong.

Even rumours of Prince William’s alleged affair had had no effect on the couple. But recently there have been more and more fights between the two, as insiders report. Apparently, not everything is going as perfectly in the royal couple’s relationship as it seems on the outside. The current crisis between the two is said to be very serious.

Palace staff recently reported a heated discussion between the couple, that they stumbled upon. The staff eavesdropped on their conversation where Kate expressed her unhappiness. As the site schlager.de reports, Prince William responded to her: “When you married me, you knew what you were getting into!” To which she is said to have replied: “Maybe marrying you was a mistake.”

After the argument, Kate packed her luggage and left for her parent’s house with her children. Apparently, everything is too much for them at the moment: the pressure and the expectations of the crown and the British population are weighing heavily on the couple.

[From MSN]

I mean… the idea that Kate would pack her things and head to Bucklebury with the children is not some groundbreaking gossip. I believe Kate does that with regularity, regardless of whatever screaming fights she and William have. She’s always retreated to Coach Carole, and there are persistent rumors about just how much time Kate and the kids already spend in Bucklebury. It will be even easier for Kate to retreat to Bucklebury with the kids when she gets set up a Windsor property. I still believe that’s largely what the big “move to Windsor” has been about. William will mostly be in London, and Kate and the kids will be in Windsor/Berkshire. I also think that’s why the Cambridges are being given such an unimportant property, likely Adelaide Cottage, as opposed to Fort Belvedere or Frogmore House.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Instar.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall’s Canadian Tour began on Tuesday. After the dual Caribbean flop tours from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Wessexes, Charles decided to merely book it through Canada in a four-day whirlwind. The emphasis of Charles and Cam’s tour is on the Indigenious communities rather than colonialist cosplay. We’ll see!

Anyway, these are photos of Charles and Camilla arriving in St. John’s in Newfoundland. As I said, this is a whirlwind trip – C&C will be back home in England by the weekend. They’re spending most of the tour on the plane, in the air, trying to put in appearances in non-major Canadian cities and territories. This isn’t, like, a tour of Toronto and Vancouver. You can read more about the tour here.

Something irritating the domestic audience back in the UK: they feel there’s a distinct lack of Canadian jubilation for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubbly. Apparently, Canada didn’t even bother to issue Jubbly medals. The British audience is also disappointed that C&C’s tour is so short and that it’s almost like they want to be in and out before protests even begin. Which just goes to show that the “colonialist cosplay” seen on other royal tours was always for the royals’ domestic audience, not for the nations being visited.

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Photos courtesy of Instar, Getty.

In recent years, the entire Windsor clan has made a big effort to do more photo-ops with Black folks. The Duchess of Cambridge goes out of her way to use Black children as props in her keen appearances. Prince William has tried to grimace his way around some carefully selected Black people. Prince Charles and Camilla have done the same. Even the Queen does it. Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise appearance at Paddington Station to formally open “The Elizabeth Line.” Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, was with her for the trip, although I have to admit, QEII seemed surprisingly capable of doing it alone.

During the event, they had the Queen “buy” a ticket for the Elizabeth Line. She was supposed to work the automated system. One of the transit workers stood beside her, trying to explain how the system works and where she should put her money in. Except Prince Edward told the young man to “step back for a second.” Edward put his hand on the young man!!

Edward telling the black TfL employee to step away from the Queen is another great look for this family. pic.twitter.com/5JrYnz3JzE

— My Royalty Account (@BurnerRoyalty) May 17, 2022

First of all, this didn’t concern Edward whatsoever. The Queen was speaking to the man as he explained what she needed to do. The Queen came close to this man and then Edward tried to get the dude to back off! What the f–k. Save these people from themselves. It was a perfectly organized photo-op where a Black transit employee was merely helping the elderly Queen and then Edward had to ruin it. And Edward needs to keep his colonizer hands OFF of working people too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Tuesday was primary day for so many midterm races and there are so many horrible/interesting storylines going forward. In Pennsylvania, the Republican primary for the Senate is a free-for-all, with a very slender lead for Dr. Oz. In the Democratic primary for the same Senate seat, John Fetterman got a clear majority and he will be the Democratic candidate… even though he spent Election Day in the hospital, recovering from a minor stroke. In the primary for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor, Douglas Mastriano won. That’s the “Trump-backed” candidate.

One of the biggest and weirdest primary stories was definitely down in North Carolina. Rep. Madison Cawthorn was everything the Republican party wants to be: young, fascist, closeted, armed, crazy, misogynistic and racist. But Cawthorn flew too close to the sun, or rather he was too crazy even for Republicans. Cawthorn made public comments about how Republicans have cocaine-fueled orgies and then… the GOP took him down. The GOP ran an Nixon-style Dirty Tricks op on him, leaking damaging photos and videos of him. Cawthorn lost his primary.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a freshman Republican who’s been beset by scandal since taking office last year, has been ousted in a heated primary in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, according to a race call from The Associated Press.

Cawthorn lost to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who had received the backing of some Republicans who had tired of Cawthorn’s controversies.

As of the AP race call, Edwards had received more than 33% of the vote, to Cawthorn’s nearly 32% of the vote. In North Carolina, a winner just needs to cross a 30% threshold in order to avoid a July runoff election. The result is a stunning defeat for Cawthorn, who is a fervent supporter of former President Donald Trump — and who had Trump’s endorsement.

[From NPR]

Cawthorn is pro-insurrection, by the way. He calls the terrorists who stormed the Capitol “political hostages” and said that “If our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen, then it’s gonna lead to one place and it’s bloodshed.” Shocked he didn’t go on a murderous rampage when he lost the primary, honestly. He was taken to the woodshed by his own party, and he actually seemed a bit subdued by it.

Just before conceding, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) calls the leaks of his pics/vids a “coordinated strike” from other Republicans:

“They realize the direction the country’s going in, the direction the population’s going … I think the American people will see through that.” pic.twitter.com/wDb7V5AXXP

— The Recount (@therecount) May 18, 2022

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Photos courtesy of Getty.