Showtime is producing an anthology series called The First Lady, which is revisiting American history through the eyes of the first women of the White House. Viola Davis is on board to play Michelle Obama and Michelle Pfeiffer has signed up to play Betty Ford. The latest cast addition is Gillian And…

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Our new Attorney General Merrick Garland promises to investigate all avenues around the January 6th insurrection. Sucks that his confirmation hearing included several of the men who literally incited the insurrection. [Buzzfeed]
Failed/former senator Kelly Loeffler is creating an anti-voting-rights group focused on suppressing voting rights in Georgia. [Jezebel]
Love Lourdes Leon, hate the hair color. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Um, Emily Blunt has shaved a few years off her official age, right? [Dlisted]
I love the Zimmerman patterns but not the sleeves. [GFY]
Dustin Rowles wholly imagined a completely different ending for You’ve Got Mail and he was so mad that it wasn’t real. [Pajiba]
Cancun Cruz is such a liar and a toad. [Towleroad]
Sam Asghari, Britney Spears’ boyfriend, signed on with a new modeling management team. I honestly didn’t know he modeled? [JustJared]
What’s Ben Affleck up to in 2021? [LaineyGossip]
90 Day Fiance star says that her fiance raped her. [Starcasm]

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Much like the Morgan Wallen situation, I find myself surprised that country music people are actually attempting to speak about racism and the omnipresence of Confederate symbols throughout their industry. What surprised me about the Morgan Wallen situation is that the dude did something really racist, and… he faced consequences for it within his industry, and he made a comprehensive apology, and he’s actually going away to work on himself. What I expected from the country music industry as a whole was something more akin to “lol, we’re Southern and white and we’re not interested in woke sh-t and neither are our fans.” But that hasn’t happened recently.

Luke Combs is one of those Git Er Done types in country music, with an image of “working class good ol’ boy.” Over the years, he’s used Confederate symbols in his music and imagery and now… he’s apologizing? And trying to be better?

Luke Combs has issued an apology for past use of the Confederate flag in his performances. Followers on social media pointed out that when the country star appeared in the music video for Ryan Upchurch’s “Can I Get a Outlaw” in 2015, he was in front of a Confederate flag. He was also using an acoustic guitar that had a Confederate flag sticker on it.

“There’s no excuse for those images,” said Combs, a 30-year-old North Carolina singer-songwriter who has had two multiplatinum albums and several hit country songs.

“And as I have grown in my time as an artist and as the world has changed drastically in the last five to seven years, I am now aware of how painful that image can be to someone else,” Combs said. “I would never want to be associated with something that brings so much hurt to someone else. I am trying to learn. I am trying to get better.”

His remarks were made during a conversation with singer Maren Morris and moderator Ann Powers on “accountability and the future of country music” for the annual Country Radio Seminar. The three also discussed country-music star Morgan Wallen’s use of a racial slur.

“I know that I’m a very highly visible member of the country-music community right now,” Combs said. “And I want to use that position for good, and to say that people can change and people do want to change, and I’m one of those people trying.”

[From CNN]

I go back and forth, arguing with myself about what I think about statements like “as the world has changed drastically in the last five to seven years, I am now aware of how painful that image can be to someone else.” I grew up in Virginia, surrounded by Confederate statues and Civil War battlefields and pickup trucks with Confederate flags. People would talk about “Southern Pride” and blah blah blah, but everyone always knew what that Confederate iconography MEANT. It means racism. It means you believe the Confederacy should have won and that chattel slavery should still exist in the Confederate States of America.

All that being said, it IS true that the national conversation around Confederate imagery has changed drastically in the past decade. I never would have thought that I would live long enough to see Confederate images being removed from state flags and state buildings, nor did I ever think I would see country music stars challenge their fans and themselves to be better, to be more inclusive, and to be less racist. Is this how things change? Yeah, probably. Don’t we want people like Luke Combs to grow and evolve?

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Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid.

Last week, there was a confirmation about the Sex and the City revival, which will be coming out on HBO Max this year. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon all signed on, with Kim Cattrall continuing to say that she had no interest in revisiting Samantha Jones. I worried about all of the hideous ways they would write out the Sam Jones character, but as HBO Max’s chief content officer revealed in an interview, they’re not going to kill off Sam or make her MAGA. It will just be a “faded friendship.”

HBO Max’s upcoming revival, officially announced last month, is bringing back the stars of the original Emmy-winning hit — minus Kim Cattrall’s Samantha. But how will the show explain the absence of one of the show’s core four? Star Sarah Jessica Parker and writer Michael Patrick King are the creative forces behind the sequel, and “they’re not trying to re-do Sex and the City,” HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys emphasizes to TVLine. “They’re not trying to say that these characters are reliving their 30s. It is very much a story about women in their 50s, and they are dealing with things that people deal with in their 50s.”

To that end, “just as in real life, people come into your life, people leave,” Bloys continues. “Friendships fade, and new friendships start. So I think it is all very indicative of the real stages, the actual stages of life… They’re trying to tell an honest story about being a woman in her 50s in New York. So it should all feel somewhat organic, and the friends that you have when you’re 30, you may not have when you’re 50.”

[From TV Line]

I think that’s very realistic, although I wonder if Michael Patrick King and SJP considered other options and HBO Max told them to tone it down. Honestly, if one “friend” was going to leave the group, I always assumed it would be Miranda. Right? Miranda moved to Brooklyn, she’s a mom, she works a full-time job and eventually she would have realized that Carrie is a narcissistic monster. But sure, I guess Sam was the one who realized that. Anyway, I’ve wanted to talk about that for a week, and now we have even more information about the revival: Mr. Big won’t be on the show either. WTF.

Some “Sex and the City” enthusiasts better get ready for a Big disappointment. Page Six has learned that Chris Noth will not reprise his role as the iconic Mr. Big in the “Sex and the City” reboot.

We’re also told that David Eigenberg, who played Miranda Hobbes’s love interest, Steve Brady, won’t be returning either but a rep told Page Six on Thursday that the actor is in negotiations to appear in the series.

[From Page Six]

Honestly, I’d been feeling sort of ambivalent about this revival anyway, and I was just going to watch it out of morbid curiosity, but now I’m not so sure? No Sam, no Big, and probably no Steve? COME ON. If Miranda and Steve split up, that character won’t work at all, frankly. And what will Carrie do without Big? They are both terrible people who deserve each other. Sigh.

Oh, and a few days after this story came out, Chris Noth hinted that he might come back after all. A cameo, perhaps?

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

Kim Kardashian filed for divorce this past Friday, and it came as a surprise to no one. There have been whispers and yells about the marriage being over for months. While some of the reports have differed in some details, most sourcing points to Kanye West’s failed presidential run last year as Kim’…

There are a million royal-commentary pieces on the formal Sussexit, and Queen Elizabeth stripping the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of all of their royal patronages. Again, for those of us paying attention for the past year, it was clear that the Queen was always going to punish Harry and Meghan this way, which is one of the few punitive options the Queen has left. It was also clear that Harry and Meghan wanted to keep those patronages and let it be known that they would love to keep working for all of the charities and organizations, but they were being forced out. So all that’s left is the analysis of how things went down, which is why all of those fussy royal commentators get paid the big bucks, I guess. I’m going to try to limit how many “reaction” pieces I cover, which is why I’m lumping Chris Ship and Robert Lacey together:

Chris Ship on the negotiations: Throughout the talks, Harry and Meghan’s position was clear. Despite quitting their roles as senior working royals in March 2020, they wanted to maintain their connections to all the charities and organisations they’d worked with. Those connections included the Royal patronages the Queen had passed to them – like the Rugby Football Union and the National Theatre – and the honorary military appointments Harry held – like Captain General of the Royal Marines. Their view? That they could still contribute in a meaningful way, despite moving their lives to California.

Chris Ship on the Oprah interview: The Sussexes had planned to have the “divorce” settlement signed and sealed before announcing the Oprah news. And given Buckingham Palace were not told about Oprah in advance, the opposing sides had to complete negotiations this week in a more tense atmosphere than they’d both anticipated.

Chris Ship on public service: What upset the Sussexes the most, was a line in the middle of the pre-prepared Palace statement: “In stepping away from the work of the Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.” The Palace says that is a statement of fact: Harry and Meghan chose to step away and therefore public service – in the Royal family sense – was simply no longer possible. But over at Sussex headquarters, they hit the roof and prepared their own advance statement in response. Harry and Meghan believe they are committed to public service but they simply want to do it from outside the Royal Family and from outside the UK.

Robert Lacey on what happened: “We had this date previous to today where the Queen was going to review what the position of the Sussexes would be. If you are looking at a half-hearted explanation of what has happened today, they jumped before they were pushed. They have said that they are going to go their own way now but it is very obvious. The Queen’s statement from Buckingham Palace says she has spoken with Harry, he has told her what they would like to do and she now agrees with that.”

The royal historian Robert Lacey said: Speaking to The Times, he described the Sussexes’ statement as “a definite pushback at the Palace”, but went on to say that the Palace’s statement appeared to have been rushed. “The implication is that the only proper service for Harry and Meghan is royal service,” Lacey said. “I am sure the Queen herself would not have said something like that, which is actually rather demeaning to her grandson.”

[From The Daily Express, ITV and News.com.au]

Ship’s comment about the Sussexes hoping to complete the “divorce” before the Oprah interview is interesting. I’ve been wondering what lit a fire under the palace’s bum last week, because it seemed like before the Sussex pregnancy and the Oprah interview were announced, the palace was fine with slow-walking the one-year review. The Palace seemed to go above and beyond to make the final Sussexit decision to be a direct result of the fact that the Sussexes’ were expecting a child AND they were going to talk to Oprah. But maybe Ship is right and the Sussexes used the Oprah interview to finally get Petty Betty to make a final decision. I really don’t know.

As for what Lacey says about how the Queen would never demean her grandson… lol. Buckingham Palace absolutely meant to demean Harry and Meghan. The palace wanted to demean them and act like H&M were flitting off to LA because they didn’t want to work. Meanwhile the Top CEO literally has to be bribed with thousands of dollars worth of clothes and jewelry to do one event a month.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

If your weren’t mad at those horrible Newsmax blowhards who dissed the First Dog, Champ, before, this is going to send you over the edge! A new study just confirmed that dogs are self-aware. Although they’ve shown the simplest form of self-awareness, the tests showed that your pups are cognizant of their body and actions and their consequences in their environment.

Canine behavioral studies have made numerous recent advancements, including a recent study that suggests, just like humans, your dog can understand the consequences of its actions and manifest body awareness.

Self-representation is an abstract concept that revolves around the idea that a person holds a certain image of self in their own mind.

On a much simpler level, body awareness or the recognition of the relation between one’s body and the environment seems to be a common concept in both man and dog, according to researchers.

In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports on February 18, researchers suggest that man’s best friend can recognize their relationship with their environment and distinguish the consequences of their actions. Dogs may have exhibited the simplest form of self-awareness.

With dog’s close proximity with humans, researchers studied the concept of self-awareness and body image in a man’s best friend.

[The Science Times]

So dogs are officially more in tune with themselves then most men – I’m kidding! The main reason we didn’t know this about dogs is because no one has thought to look into it before. The fact is, in the test conducted, 32 of the 54 adult dogs passed the initial screening. The test itself was fairly simple, they attached a toy to a mat and the dog had to understand that in order to hand the toy to their owner, they had to get off the mat. It’s funny, but reading or watching it, you think, seriously, they couldn’t figure out they were why the mat wasn’t moving? But you forget they’re dogs, you know? And how often do any of us have to deal with toys attached to the thing we are sitting on? For every shepherd that figured it out, there’s probably a Pomeranian still on the mat barking at the toy and looking hurt that it won’t come with them.

This obviously has big scientific ripples, none of which I fully comprehend because I’m still on the mat with the Pomeranian trying to figure out why the toy is being so difficult. But I immediately went into the psychological when I read the headline, and thought what damage have we wrought? My male dog is in great shape but has a bunch of extra skin, especially around his neck. Now I’m convinced he needs therapy because we’ve made him self-conscious by playing with it. And every time we imitate our girl dog’s head cock, does she see us as mocking her? Does she doubt her self-worth? And I feel absolutely shallow for the number of times I’ve told them how pretty they were and not emphasized their intelligence or kind hearts – I’m a monster and when they chew up their tell all about me, I’ll deserve it. I wish a study could explain how my dog can be body aware but still run headfirst into a closed sliding glass door with stickers on it.

Here’s the actual test, if you want to see our brilliant, self-aware dogs in action:

Photo credit: Jay Wennington, James Barker, Jenny Marvin and Jamie Street of Unsplash and YouTube

One of the things I always find hard to understand is that the Windsors and the royal press attacked the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for being “too political” while the major royal offices have a steady stream of Tory Party members, and there’s a big exchange program going on between Downing Street and the palaces. Many of the Queen’s top advisors worked for the Conservative Party. Same with Prince Charles and now Prince William too. William in particular has always had issues retaining staff, so it’s even more notable when a Tory advisor comes in for a year to act as William’s private secretary (the equivalent of a chief of staff), then leaves in a storm of controversy.

So it was for Christian Jones, who oversaw so many of the Cambridges’ disasters in the past year and a half. Jones oversaw things like the Maskless Covid Choo Choo Tour, the absolute clown show tour of Ireland, and the “Catherine the Great” Tatler debacle. He was also spilling all the dirt to his lover, and then his lover was selling that information to Dan Wootton. Jones suspiciously resigned in January, just after Day 1 of the Duchess of Sussex’s summary judgment hearing, where he was named as one several staffers advising Meghan on the letter to her father. Now… William has yet another Tory as a private secretary.

Prince William has hired a former Treasury employee best known for his cost-cutting expertise as his new private secretary, as he seeks to reduce the costs of royal travel, amongst other things. Jean-Christophe Gray, an Oxford and London School of Economics graduate, was known in Whitehall for being an astute penny-pincher, and worked for chancellors of the exchequer including Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Rishi Sunak.

He was also former Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman, making him the second hire for William’s team of a former Cameron employee. Simon Case, William’s previous secretary, had held the same position for Cameron, but returned to work at Whitehall last year.

‘JC’ as he is known to colleagues will replace outgoing advisor Christian Jones, who is leaving to take up a role at private equity firm Bridgepoint.

According to The Times, William is particularly concerned by the increase in expenditure on official royal travel, which rose from £4.6 million in 2018-19 to £5.3 million in 2019-20. A source speaking to the newspaper described Gray as ‘the model of a mandarin highflyer: clever, a little geeky and beyond reproach’.

The news comes as the Cambridge family prepares to swap life in Norfolk at Anmer Hall for London once again, as they return to Kensington Palace in time for Prince George and Princess Charlotte to return to Thomas’s Battersea on 8 March.

With Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing a ‘road map’ to easing lockdown this evening, we could see more of the Duke and Duchess undertaking socially-distanced events from the capital, rather than on Zoom, in the near future.

[From Tatler]

“William is particularly concerned by the increase in expenditure on official royal travel, which rose from £4.6 million in 2018-19 to £5.3 million in 2019-20…” William, know thyself. William wanted to go to Ireland just as Covid was spreading across Europe. William wanted to do the Covid Choo Choo tour using the expensive Royal Train. William is the one who has to travel everywhere by helicopter. No, but really, this is William’s way of getting under his father’s skin and attacking Charles. Charles does spend too much on private planes and expensive tours (which people rarely pay attention to). So that’s what this is. But, you know, political.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

I was really hoping to see some love stories form in last night’s episode. The drama within the show this season has been overpowering any true love stories, so I figured a good ol’ hometown episode would bring those moments we’ve been missing for so long to light. However, it was close to impossibl…

It’s time for my annual bitchfest about the Vanity Fair Hollywood issue. The thing to keep in mind is that I’m not comparing the current, awful iteration of the VF Hollywood issue to some perfect dream, something which can never be achieved by mere mortals. I’m comparing the current version to the old version, which was amazing. Back in the 1990s and even into the early ‘00s, the VF Hollywood Issue was SO GOOD. They did huge editorials with all of the notable actors from the past year, they would put together stunning covers, sometimes with young, hip, mostly white celebrities and sometimes with older Establishment Hollywood figures. The Hollywood Issue would also include several deep dives into Old Hollywood scandals and films. It was one of their signature achievements every year and VF did it so well. But I guess everyone at Vanity Fair just decided to phone it in at some point.

This year’s Hollywood Issue has a terrible cover. I completely understand the magazine’s decision to not bring together nine or ten celebrities to all pose together at the same time. But it feels like there would have been easier work-arounds than this horrendous Photoshop hatchet job? This looks amateurish and like it was done on a very limited budget. This year’s cover stars are: Michael B. Jordan (fine), Zendaya (good), Charlize Theron (she’s not promoting anything!), Sasha Baron Cohen (eh), Spike Lee (good), Maya Rudolph (a TV star?), Dan Levy (another TV star?), Awkwafina (eh), LaKeith Stanfield (fine) and Michaela Coel (good, but a TV star). At least there’s more diversity/inclusion on the cover this year, but the cover’s Photoshop still feels disrespectful.

What in the world are these messy separate photoshoots?? The photoshoots and videos are by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. What was the intention behind this?? You can see the full VF cover package here.

Onscreen, Michael B. Jordan has navigated Marvel movies, biopics, and indies. Off-screen, he’s been a voice for change within his industry. Next up: getting directed by Denzel Washington. #VFHollywood: https://t.co/OGXavQ2PFb pic.twitter.com/uEYVRuDkL7

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) February 23, 2021

LaKeith Stanfield knows #JudasAndTheBlackMessiah’s message is urgent: “There’s a lot of people rising up against things that they find oppressive. What side of the fence do you find yourself on?” #VFHollywood: https://t.co/OGXavQ2PFb pic.twitter.com/JhLneHzVxg

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) February 23, 2021

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Cover & social media courtesy of Vanity Fair.