On Sunday, royalists were surprised to see Prince William driving his wife to church in Scotland, on the Balmoral estate. William and Kate already took their kids to Balmoral in August, before the kids’ school began, and it’s widely believed that the Wales family prefers to keep their trips to Balmoral relatively brief, usually less than a week, just enough time to put in an appearance and check that box. So why did Will and Kate go back to Balmoral in September, when their kids’ school has already started? Well, apparently, it was a rare kids-free weekend for them. They left their kids with the Middletons.

Prince William and Kate Middleton enjoyed a private trip to Balmoral this weekend, enjoying some downtime without their three children. William and Princess Kate were photographed on their way to church on Sunday, where they joined King Charles and Queen Camilla for the weekly service.

William drove his wife to Crathie Kirk and Kate, who has not been photographed since announcing that she has completed her course of preventative chemotherapy, looked radiant in a feathered hat and a pair of Cassandra Goad gold earrings.

Sources in Scotland said that Kate, who featured in the Court Circular last week for the first time this year, looked remarkably well and that Charles was on “fighting form.”

“The Prince and Princess had a private weekend and appeared to be on good form,” said the source. “The King was also in very good spirits.”

Palace sources would not comment because the trip was private, however, it is believed to be the first solo trip William and Catherine have made to Scotland without their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, for some time.

Every year, the family spends a long weekend at Balmoral at the end of August. The late Queen began the tradition and loved to host her grandchildren and great-grandchildren at the castle, a tradition King Charles has continued. This weekend, it was just William and Kate who traveled to Aberdeenshire for the short break. According to the Daily Mail, the couple’s three children stayed in Berkshire with Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.

[From Vanity Fair]

This pinged my radar, honestly. Something’s up. Something’s happening. As I said, historically, William and Kate don’t hang around Balmoral for very long. My suspicion is that they were called up to Balmoral for a specific reason by King Charles. A special meeting, perhaps? Over the summer, there were several reports about a planned “Balmoral summit” in which they would discuss their most pressing issue: what to do about the Sussexes. Who knows though – maybe this had nothing to do with the Sussexes and everything to do with Will and Kate’s marriage and work plans. It’s interesting though.

The photos in this post are from last year – they made a day-trip to Scotland to do some events together.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Janet Jackson’s QAnon chaos dominated the weekend gossip. The whole thing was bizarre. It started when the Guardian released their interview with Janet, the bulk of which was about her career’s ups and downs. The Guardian journalist then tagged on some political questions at the end, and that’s when Janet beclowned herself. She started saying crazy sh-t about human trafficking and then said that she “was told” that “they discovered” Kamala Harris’s father and he’s white. Kamala Harris’s father is a Black man from Jamaica. It was also like Janet could not comprehend how Harris could be biracial, Black and Indian. Weird considering Janet is the mother of a biracial child. But I digress. After the Guardian piece dropped, a guy named Mo Elmasri claimed to be Janet’s manager and issued a few apologies for the interview on Janet’s behalf. A short time later, Janet and her manager-brother Randy disputed the apologies and said Elmasri does not represent Janet and she’s not apologizing. You can always count on the Jackson family to be messy as hell. Well, there’s more.

Janet Jackson sings about control. But some people in her circle worry she’s handing it over to someone else. Amid the fallout from her comments about Kamala Harris’ race and her camp’s chaotic attempts to manage the situation, insiders are pointing fingers at her brother and manager, Randy Jackson. Sources say that the PR disaster proves that Randy is too inexperienced to handle her affairs and has become too loud a voice in her ear.

The criticism on social media was swift and devastating, while comedian DL Hughley blasted the interview as sounding like a “Trump rally” and even took a shot at the singer’s plastic surgery. “It’s a little ironic to question whether someone is black while you’re breathing through the nose of a white woman!,” he wrote on X.

We’re told that her inner circle was perplexed by the interview, and fear that the fallout could be more severe than that of “N–plegate” after her infamous Super Bowl performance 20 years ago — because her comments could tarnish her sterling reputation as a champion of marginalized groups.

“How can she sing about ‘Rhythm Nation’ and make comments like that?,” said an insider, “It doesn’t even sound like her. She’s so methodical. I don’t know what made her do this.” The source adds that Jackson, who lives in London, “doesn’t really watch the news anymore. She does live in a bubble,” they added.

We’re told Janet learned of the outrage while partying with her crew, including designer Christian Siriano, in Paris. “Janet and Randy’s attitude was to just let it blow over. They weren’t planning to address it,” another source told us.

Meanwhile, a man named Mo Elmasri, claiming to be her manager, issued an apology on her behalf to Buzzfeed — only for her publicist to walk it back in Variety, and declare Elmasri doesn’t work for Janet. They further said the Jackson siblings would not be commenting on the interview as they are mourning their older brother, Tito, who passed away last week. Things got even more confusing after People magazine published another apology, which it updated after the rep told them he does not represent Janet in any capacity, according to the article. Elmasri later alleged Janet and Randy fired him “after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve.”

This isn’t the first time Elmasri has claimed he managed Janet. In August, he announced the singer’s upcoming Las Vegas residency as her manager. Janet’s publicity team later sent out an official announcement, but curiously didn’t address Elmasri speaking on the singer’s behalf then. But multiple sources insists, “No one [in her camp] knows who he is!” Another source told us they’ve “never heard of this guy’s name in my life,” and believes, “Randy brought him on.”

“[Randy’s] sabotaging her legacy because he’s not saavy. She’s giving Randy control, and no one understands how he’s managing her, when he’s never had a career. She pays for everything,” they claimed.

They further told us Janet listens to Randy, who is a “Trump supporter and conspiracy theorist. Janet’s bubble is small, and she listens to Randy. She does peddle in conspiracy theories,” they added.

[From Page Six]

“Janet’s bubble is small, and she listens to Randy. She does peddle in conspiracy theories.” Then why are you letting Janet sit down with the Guardian?? Like, what is she doing in London? She’s been isolated by Randy, who keeps spewing MAGA conspiracies at her, and then he puts her in front of a journalist? I also worry that we’re infantilizing Janet – she’s a grown woman, she’s responsible for being an informed citizen. She’s 58 years old, she absolutely knows better than to spew lies and conspiracies in general and in an interview.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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Prince Harry arrived in New York over the weekend, in time to attend a WHO reception on Saturday evening. On Monday, he did two big public appearances. One, he attended the Concordia Summit alongside the Diana Award’s CEO Dr. Tessy Ojo. They spoke as part of a larger discussion about empowering young people and Princess Diana’s legacy. Harry also appeared and spoke at an event for The HALO Trust, an NGO which was supported by Diana in the final year of her life. Harry became a patron of The HALO Trust many years ago, and he’s done very similar work as his mother.

At the HALO Trust event, Harry and the trust celebrated Angola’s leadership on clearing landmines and conservation. The president of Angola was there, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, as was Sen. Chris Coons. I’m including the video of the HALO Trust event below, and I cued it to Harry’s speech. Sidenote: Harry did a good job pronouncing all of the African names. Sen. Coons also spoke and gave Harry so much credit for his work and for carrying on Diana’s legacy.

Anyway, a wonderful day. I’m pretty sure Harry will speak at the Clinton Global Initiative today, as will Dr. Jill Biden. Y’all know that Dr. Biden loves Harry, right? Now that the Bidens will leave public life in four months, I hope Dr. Biden makes a point of posing with Harry and talking about him. I still believe that Buckingham Palace and the British Home Office have thrown tantrums for years to convince the Bidens to not cozy up to the Sussexes.

Prince Harry thank u for your leadership, for your heart, for your vision, for sustaining the legacy of your mother,& for inspiring a whole new generation around the world to be engaged in this critical work against the scourge of landmines. -Senator Coonspic.twitter.com/NBSWg9fqMo

— R.S. Locke / Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) September 23, 2024

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

We’re six weeks out from a too-close-for-comfort highly consequential presidential election. Is now really the best time to be messing with our coffee routines?!?! The good folks at Yahoo! (assisted by a medical review from Simone Harounian, MS) seem to think so! I shouldn’t be so hard on them, they just want to make sure we don’t get dehydrated. The theory is, since coffee has caffeine and caffeine is a diuretic, the beverage has the potential to be dehydrating. The good news is, “moderate” coffee consumption, about 3-4 cups a day, should not lead to dehydration, especially if you balance out the coffee intake with water or electrolyte drinks. Ok, I’m less jumpy now that they’re not telling me us to cut coffee entirely. Here’s more on the science percolating beneath the cup:

Caffeine is the culprit: Caffeine acts as a diuretic, increasing urine production and potentially leading to a more significant loss of fluids. The kidneys act like filters, cleaning waste and excess fluids from your blood through small tubes called glomeruli. Consuming caffeine can help these tiny tubes stay open and clean your blood more efficiently. However, this can also impact how much water the body holds onto or gets rid of. Increased filtration lets your kidneys release more water, causing you to pee more often. Caffeine can also stop the kidneys from reabsorbing sodium and interfere with the kidneys’ communication with the liver, further affecting urine output. If excessive coffee consumption isn’t balanced with adequate water intake, you might experience symptoms of dehydration.

Tolerance, moderation, balance: The caffeine found in coffee may increase urine production, but clinical evidence suggests its diuretic effects are relatively mild, especially for routine coffee drinkers. Coffee lovers who routinely enjoy a cup of coffee may build a tolerance to its diuretic effects. While coffee may initially increase urine output, it’s not likely to cause significant dehydration in people who drink it regularly. Most studies recommend consuming coffee in moderation and balancing your intake with other fluids. Some research defines moderate consumption as 3-4 cups of coffee daily.

5 cups or more could lead to dehydration: Moderate consumption is not likely to cause dehydration in most people. However, drinking too much coffee may lead to dehydration. High intakes of coffee, such as 5-6 cups or more daily, may have a more pronounced diuretic effect due to the influx of caffeine, increasing urine output and fluid loss. This increased fluid loss could surpass your overall fluid intake, causing dehydration. … Signs of dehydration may include thirst, dry mouth, reduced urine output, dark yellow urine, dry skin, headache, fatigue, and dizziness. However, more severe cases of dehydration can lead to symptoms like confusion, sunken eyes, and rapid heart rate.

Be mindful! When dehydrated, it’s essential to hydrate with fluids that help replenish lost body water and electrolytes. … If you notice signs of dehydration, such as dry mouth, lethargy, dark urine, or headache, you may need to decrease your coffee intake and prioritize hydrating drinks like plain water or sports drinks. Maintaining a mindful approach to coffee consumption ensures you can enjoy your morning cup of joe without compromising your hydration status.

[From Health]

Whoever had “mindful” down for the scientific advice on coffee drinking just won Bingo! Be very mindful and only imbibe very demure portions! But seriously, I can handle this news, and appreciate it not being another round of cautions to delay or reduce coffee consumption for certain stretches of time. I usually drink 2-3 cups a day, so I’m safely in the zone of moderation (for once). Plus I’ve got the balance-with-water end of things down. If you know me by now, you’ll recall that this year I’ve really upped my water intake as part of my big health initiative to support the robust, very much not-demure amount of potato chips I consume. Science is science. Of course doctors also warn that we don’t want to go down the road of overhydration, either. The ratio of coffee to water (to potato chips) must be maintained with Goldilocks precision. Operating a human body is so much fun.

Photos credit: IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Memmler / Avalon, Diamond/Backgrid, Aissaoui Nacer/Backgrid

Kathy Bates scared the sh-t out of us rang alarms bells a few weeks ago when she told The New York Times that she would be retiring after the newly rebooted Matlock. As I’ve said before, Kathy Bates has more than earned a retirement. She’s gifted us with decades of pathos, hilarity, and batsh-t crazy. My disappointment in her announcement comes down to pure selfishness and greed. I want more Bates! Luckily for us, Kathy heard our collective weeping and clarified that she would keep acting as long as Matlock is running. She also teased that there was a juicy twist in this reboot which was a big part of her wanting to come back to play Madeline “Matty” Matlock. Now that the great twist has been revealed with the first episode airing last Sunday (no spoilers here! I won’t get into any specifics), Kathy is talking about her excitement with the material, acting, and being ready to get some fan recognition again:

On how long she’ll keep acting in Matlock: “As long as I’m physically able to,” says the 76-year-old. “I look at Betty White and I think, ‘Well, maybe. Maybe I could make it that far.’ I certainly love working on this show, and I love the complexity of the character. I love working with this cast, especially Jennie [Snyder Urman] because she’s such a brilliant writer, she hasn’t let us down once. So, yes, if all those systems are a go, if I am in good shape and the scripts are wonderful and all of that, which I anticipate they will be.”

Tourists on the Paramount lot didn’t recognize her: “I thought they’d recognize me immediately when I was on my golf cart sailing by to go someplace,” she says. “I couldn’t even get their attention, you know? I’d be waving and they’d look right at me, and nobody would see who I was, and it got so frustrating. And I thought, ‘Well, maybe when this damn thing comes out they’ll know who I am again.’”

Matty brings a human touch to dealing with clients: “But in a deeper way, she doesn’t have an iPhone between her and the person that she’s talking to, you know? She’s one on one with people, in person, where she can see them in their environment and she picks up on their characteristics as a way for her to be able to talk to them and charm them, and I think a lot of that certainly is lost.”

The ‘addiction’ of acting: “I hate to call it an addiction but even when I got this part, at first I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ And then I hung up the phone and I was waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the script and I thought, ‘You know, it’s never going to change for me, I’m always going to be excited to pick up the next script, to see what’s the challenge? Is this something I can do?’ This is one of the most challenging roles I’ve ever played, and I fret over it, I fuss over it, it’s a tremendous amount of work, and I wonder every day if I’ve risen to the challenge, if I’ve done everything I can. Anyway, I guess I’ve said it all.”

[From Parade]

“You know, it’s never going to change for me, I’m always going to be excited to pick up the next script, to see what’s the challenge?” Yeah, between that quote and being inspired by Betty White’s longevity, Kathy is so not done with acting. Yay for us! Now onto a debriefing for Matlock 2.0, episode one. I thought Kathy really captured the folksy, unassuming character that Andy Griffith’s Matlock had — the person clients and witnesses open up to because they don’t see the cunning attorney behind the southern charm. It was also fun watching Kathy’s character pick up info and then use it to manipulate the people around her. But in a delightful way! That said, they’re asking us to suspend a whole lotta disbelief that she would be hired at a Manhattan law firm after not practicing for 30 years. Even with the ageism argument she lobbies at them, it’s still a stretch imo. And then there’s the twist of it all. I did not see it coming! Is it another element that’s a bit hard to believe? For sure, but I’m still intrigued and most importantly, I want to see Kathy having fun. If you missed it, you can stream the first episode now on Paramount+. And you have plenty of time to catch up, because the show will be on recess until October 17. Court (of public opinion) now dismissed.

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Saoirse Ronan has a pair of awards-bait films out this year. [LaineyGossip]
Taylor Swift skipped the Chiefs game on Sunday! [Just Jared]
I love a leopard print, but Ciara’s ensemble is too much of a good thing (I would wear the hell out of the coat though). [RCFA]
Kim Kardashian visited the Menendez brothers in prison. [Socialite Life]
I enjoyed Challengers & it’s definitely worth watching on Prime! [Pajiba]
Joshua Jackson is a fine wine. [Go Fug Yourself]
Would you wear “hairy toe charms” on your Crocs? [OMG Blog]
Henry Winkler is so lovely. [Seriously OMG]
Do you think Kim Porter’s family will ever get justice? [Hollywood Life]
It’s really cool to me that Sylvie (and not Emily) is the best-dressed character on Emily in Paris. Sylvie is so great, I love her. [Buzzfeed]

Martha Stewart and Ina Garten have known each other for decades. Not surprising, considering they’ve built their respective NY-based brands in similar fields, though Ina has kept her focus on cooking whereas Martha sought dominance over home arts at large. As fate would have it, both of them have biographical projects coming out next month: Ina’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens on October 1, and the Netflix documentary Martha on October 30 (whether the real Martha likes it or not). So these women are knee-deep in promotional duties, to the point where they’re even overlapping. The New Yorker recently ran an article on Ina, and they called on Martha for some comments. This is standard practice for profiles, and it’s generally understood that the people contacted offer positive anecdotes on the main profile. But not our Martha! Instead Martha told the magazine that Ina snubbed her when she went to prison, and that it was terribly “unfriendly” of the contessa.

“When I was sent off to Alderson Prison, she stopped talking to me,” Stewart said. “I found that extremely distressing and extremely unfriendly.” (Although she maintained her innocence, Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction and two counts of lying to investigators related to her involvement in an insider trading scandal in 2004. She was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and two years of supervised probation.)

While Garten “firmly” denied Stewart’s recollection of the end of their friendship, Stewart’s longtime publicist, Susan Magrino, maintained that Stewart was “not bitter at all” about the fallout.

“There’s no feud,” Magrino, 62, told The New Yorker.

Stewart and Garten first crossed paths in the early ‘90s after Stewart was shopping at the latter’s now-closed Barefoot Contessa store in East Hampton, New York.

“We were in a gigantic black Suburban,” Chip Gibson, who was head of Crown Publishing at the time, told The New Yorker. “And suddenly she veered almost crashingly to the curb and said, ‘I’ve got to get lemon squares.’”

“My desk was right in front of the cheese case and we just ended up in a conversation,” Garten told TIME of their meeting in 2017. “We ended up actually doing benefits together where it was at her house and I was the caterer, and we became friends after that.”

Stewart later connected Garten with an editor, who would go on to work with the future Food Network star on her first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa. Nearly one decade after meeting, Stewart introduced viewers to Garten during a 1999 episode of her Martha Stewart Living.

Stewart also penned the foreword of Garten’s cookbook, in which she wrote, “It took a while, but I finally understood what motivated Ina, realizing that here was a true kindred spirit with really similar but unique talents.”

Additionally, Stewart’s production company tried to help launch Garten’s television career on the Food Network with a show whose working title was Someone’s in the Kitchen With Ina. However, after a director called her out for taking a bite of food on camera and speaking with her mouth full, Garten said she decided TV wasn’t for her and the show was shelved.

She would later go on to star on the network’s hit cooking show Barefoot Contessa, which ran from 2002 to 2021.

Though rumors of bad blood between the pair have plagued them for years, Garten hasn’t shied away from praising Stewart.

“I think she did something really important, which is that she took something that wasn’t valued, which is home arts, and raised it to a level that people were proud to do it and that completely changed the landscape,” she previously told TIME. “I then took it in my own direction, which is that I’m not a trained professional chef, cooking is really hard for me — here I am 40 years in the food business, it’s still hard for me.”

[From Us Weekly]

You know who I feel for? Martha’s publicist! “There’s no feud! Martha’s not bitter! Nothing to see here!” I don’t think this story will damage either Ina or Martha’s reputations; if anything I think each woman comes out maintaining her publicly-perceived image. But I must ask, what was Ina expecting?! I mean, we’re talking about the same Martha Stewart who criticized Ina for being pro cosmo-drinking as we were all muddling through the pandemic (a comment Martha made while launching a chardonnay line, btw). The same Martha Stewart who’s ready for her friends to die so she can date their husbands. I think it’s fair to say that if you’re turning to Martha for a character reference, that gamble is entirely on you. The real scoop of The New Yorker article, in my opinion, is the account of Martha nearly crashing into the Barefoot Contessa yelling, “I must have lemon squares!!!” I need a dramatization of this event put on screen STAT.

PS — I simply adore the title Someone’s in the Kitchen With Ina.

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Prince William was in Aberdeen late last week to check in on his big Homewards program. Homewards is basically the Royal Foundation handing out money to various homeless shelters, only instead of just highlighting the work of those shelters, William wants credit for being the savior of homeless people and he spent months centering himself in the issue. Homewards was launched in June 2023, and William’s visit last week was supposed to be a “one year later” check-in (only it was 15 months later). While he was in town, William hosted a Homewards event at a controversial venue. How controversial? Well, the headlines have “Prince William” and “cocaine” together.

Prince William has been slammed after hosting an event at a Scottish venue with close ties to a well-known convicted drug dealer. The heir to the throne held talks at the Union Kirk in Aberdeen city centre as part of a promotional push for his anti-homelessness project Homewards – despite the venue’s links with cocaine dealer Paul Clarkson.

Clarkson is the son of Portugal-based publican Stuart Clarkson, who owns a number of boozers in the granite city, including the Union Kirk. Paul Clarkson was in April this year ordered to pay back the £65,000 he was accused of making in profit from pushing the Class A drug, of which the courts said he had paid back £40,000.

In December 2021, he was sentenced to eight months in prison after being caught with more than £1600 worth of cocaine – which he claimed to have been selling to fund his own habit – at a lockdown-busting party at one of his dad’s venues, the Draft Project. Documents show Aberdeen City Council received scores of complaints about the venue, with the Clarkson family blamed for encouraging lockdown breaches when Covid was still rife.

One furious Aberdeen local told the Sunday National he thought it was “absolutely disgusting” William had visited the Union Kirk last week, owing to its ownership by the Clarkson family.

He said: “Even the local bobbies were disgusted. Terrible message to send to people.”

Graham Smith (below), head of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said the visit called into question Prince William’s judgement. He said: “Prince William’s homeless project has been all show and little substance from the start. So it doesn’t surprise me that he hasn’t bothered to do some due diligence on who he’s working with. This obviously raises questions as to what money was paid for the use of the facilities and what kind of operation William is backing when the people involved have less than stellar reputations. There must be lots of other venues and charities that could have hosted the event. Why did he choose that one?”

Another Aberdeen resident quipped: “With Charlie being his dad, it makes perfect sense for Prince William to visit.”

[From The National]

I found this slightly confusing – from what I gather, Stuart Clarkson (the father) is the one who owns the pubs and venues, and Stuart Clarkson’s son Paul Clarkson is the one who went to prison for dealing coke. Stuart Clarkson is also being accused of allowing his pubs and venues to be used during the pandemic to flout social-distancing and lockdown rules, and Paul was caught in one of his father’s pubs with all of that cocaine. It sounds like the dad owns the pubs and lets his son deal out of them. Wonder how these establishments got on William’s radar, huh? I mean, I could very easily come up with explanations for why William shouldn’t catch a lot of heat for this, but think about what the British media would do if Harry and Meghan hosted an event at a venue owned and operated by a coke dealer and his dad.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

I will always want to give Janet Jackson the benefit of the doubt. Her musical impact is major and majorly underrated. I still believe Rhythm Nation is one of the best albums of all time. Her career was undermined and almost destroyed by very powerful people. My point is that there’s every reason to give Janet the benefit of the doubt. But we can also call bullsh-t on her, because she just said some really f–ked up sh-t to the Guardian. The bulk of the Guardian’s interview/profile is about her life as a divorced mom living in London and her career. She apparently has to live in London because her son’s father Wissam Al Mana is London-based, and I would assume that those were the terms of her divorce from Wissam. Janet “crinkled her nose” when asked if she enjoys living in London. That’s backstory for what everyone’s talking about, which is that Janet is extremely misinformed on the American election. I have no idea what media she’s consuming in England, but it’s bad. Here’s the relevant portion, with everything in context:

We move on to talk about the state of the nation. Jackson brought politics directly to the pop consciousness with Rhythm Nation, which addressed racism, poverty and inequality – all issues just as urgent today as they were 35 years ago. She is a prolific social media user, and has used her profile to support Black Lives Matter, to bring awareness to police brutality. Does she feel despondent about how slow change is in coming or is she hopeful about the future?

“Well, there’s all this child trafficking crap that’s going on and sex trafficking crap, you know what I mean, that wasn’t so prevalent then?” It’s a strange about-turn, not least because of the many allegations of child sexual abuse made against Michael. But it is also the most forceful she has been since we sat down. “At least, we didn’t know about it back then. I don’t think we did, did we? Not really. I think it’s really now out in the open, because it’s like a billion-dollar business and all that crap.”

I wonder what internet rabbit holes she’s been going down, but, before I can ask, she’s moved on. “On [the Rhythm Nation album], for us, it was about making a difference in a kid’s life, a teenager’s life, from them taking this path with drugs and going down the wrong street to trying to make something of themself.”

On that record she sang about “joining voices in protest to social injustice” and “pushing toward a world rid of colour lines”. I wonder where she stands on the forthcoming election. After all, I say, America could be on the verge of voting in its first black female president, Kamala Harris.

“Well, you know what they supposedly said?” she asks me. “She’s not black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”

She looks at me expectantly, perhaps assuming that I have Indian heritage. “Well, she’s both,” I offer.

“Her father’s white. That’s what I was told. I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days,” she coughs. “I was told that they discovered her father was white.”

I’m floored at this point. It’s well known that Harris’s father is a Jamaican economist, a Stanford professor who split from her Indian mother when she was five. “My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters,” Harris wrote in her book The Truths We Hold.

The people who are most vocal in questioning the facts of Harris’s identity tend to be hardcore QAnon-adjacent, Trump-loving conspiracy theorists. I don’t think Jackson falls into that camp, but I do wonder what the algorithms are serving her. I start again. Harris has dual heritage, I say, and, given this moment, does Jackson think America is ready for her – if we agree she’s black? Or, OK, a woman of colour?

“I don’t know,” Jackson stage whispers. “Honestly, I don’t want to answer that because I really, truthfully, don’t know. I think either way it goes is going to be mayhem.”

She doesn’t think there will be a peaceful transition of power?

“I think there might be mayhem,” she falters. “Either way it goes, but we’ll have to see.”

[From The Guardian]

I chuckled at the Guardian writer basically writing “what in the QAnon bullsh-t am I hearing now??” And that’s what it is, this has all of the hallmarks of Janet falling down a particularly batsh-t QAnon rabbit hole – the trafficking comments, the eagerness to spin/amplify conspiracies around a Black woman’s race, the ambivalence when suggesting that there will be a bloody insurrection again. And since people are dumb (including Janet, apparently), let’s say it again for the record: Kamala Harris is Black and Indian. She’s both. Her father is a Black man from Jamaica. Her mother was an Indian immigrant. Janet needs to stop falling down QAnon rabbit holes.

Throughout Sunday, this story got even more bonkers when a man claiming to be Janet’s manager apologized for Janet’s comments, saying in part: “Janet Jackson would like to clarify her recent comments. She recognizes that her statements regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity were based on misinformation. Janet respects Harris’ dual heritage as both Black and Indian and apologizes for any confusion caused.” Then a few hours later, Janet’s actual manager (her brother Randy) said this guy does not represent Janet and that the apology is not real or authorized. So… even days/weeks after the interview went down, Janet apparently feels no need to backtrack or clarify. Very strange.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Prince Harry is in New York this week, doing high-level and high-profile events and meetings with a multitude of charities and NGOs. He is a busy man who works with a variety of important causes, from landmines to conservation to mental health and children’s health. Obviously, Harry doesn’t have to go to CNN and the Daily Mail and beg them to refer to him as a global statesman. Harry IS a global statesman and an internationally recognized philanthropist and advocate. Meanwhile, Harry’s brother and sister-in-law are still trying to relaunch themselves (in a very sad way) yet again to an American audience.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have set their sights on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s home turf as they relaunch plans for their charitable foundation in the US. The royal couple were so keen to win the necessary approval for registering the foundation’s brand from the American trademark authorities that they broke into their summer holiday to complete vital paperwork, The Mail on ­Sunday can reveal. Their foundation’s focus is now on mental health.

Insiders say that the ambitious move is further evidence that the Princess, 42, is ‘on the road to recovery’ from cancer as she prepares for a return to ‘light duties’ after completing chemotherapy.

It raises the prospect of a trip to the US, where Prince Harry and Meghan live in California, although it is stressed there are no immediate plans to travel overseas. The couple last crossed the Atlantic in 2022 for William’s environmental project The Earthshot Prize.

Now the MoS can reveal a US lawyer acting for Kensington Palace has reignited the [foundation’s] proposals. American projects previously focused on the illegal wildlife trade. But an application to the US Patent and Trademark Office last year instead emphasised ‘campaigning’ and ‘fundraising’ linked to ‘mental health initiatives’. It also included an unusual request for ‘printed race numbers, clothing, footwear, headgear’, prompting speculation the couple, both keen runners, were planning to host a charity fun run in the US.

In March, their trademark was refused over technicalities. It was the same month the Princess revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer, and the application has lain dormant for five months. But after good news about her progress, a lawyer restarted the process . Palace sources say the trademark is ‘internal housekeeping’ and the Royal Foundation has no immediate plans to launch a US mental health initiative.

But Royal commentator Richard Palmer said: ‘Given speculation that the Princess might never return to full-time work, this is a positive sign that she and William have hopes of expanding the Royal Foundation in the US. Perhaps [it]wants to raise its profile to tap into American philanthropists?’

Joe Little, of Majesty Magazine, added: ‘It’s another sign that the Princess is on the road to recovery. Clearly a lot of thought and planning has gone into this application, and we can only interpret this as a positive step.’

[From The Mail]

Remember when William and Kate’s Boston trip was supposed to be their big, splashy, thunder-stealing trip which would knock the Sussexes back on their heels? LMAO. Remember William’s trip to New York last year, where he lied about going for a run and the mayor canceled on him? Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt that William wants to try to relaunch himself in America and make more visits to North America. Kate does not, she doesn’t want to travel anymore and that’s something no one can admit outloud. But sure, trademark applications are tricky, I’m glad the Mail is figuring that out! And it’s funny that Will and Kate want credit for stepping away from their summer holiday to “complete vital paperwork.” The bar is in hell, as always.

It’s also still amazing to me that: William is skipping the Earthshot busywork in New York this year (because Harry’s there) and that he skipped the Tusk Trust fundraiser in the Hamptons in August. While Huevo is desperate to have what Harry has in America (respect & attention), William is also just fundamentally too lazy to actually follow through.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.