Here are shots of Matt Damon and his family arriving in Sydney the other day. And by family I mean I can see in these pictures at least three of his daughters and his wife, Luciana. So it appears that we can now definitely say that the ring thing is not a thing. The new thing is Thor: Love and Thun…

I’m enjoying all of the “post-mortems” on the Republican party following their losses in the 2020 election and their incitement of a terrorist attack on the nation’s capital. It’s fun to think about how everything is going wrong for these white supremacist jackasses. But I should note… I doubt that the Republican party will even change that much in the next few years. They’ll just go into denial mode and pretend that Trump didn’t even happen, and that they, as a political party, did not enable him in the least. That’s why the Senate impeachment trial is so important for both Democrats and Republicans. For Democrats, it will be about punishing the people who attacked them and tried to take down the republic from the inside. For Republicans, the impeachment trial is an opportunity to easily rebrand their message as “anti-Trump specifically but pro-all-of-the-crap-Trump-promoted.”

Since the second impeachment, there’s been a lot of talk about who would represent Trump during the trial, and there was some suggestion that Rudy Giuliani would bring his Angry Fart Tour to the hallowed Senate chamber. But no… even if he wanted to (??) Rudy wouldn’t be allowed to represent Trump. For one, he’s probably going to be disbarred soon. Secondly, he was up there at the Stop The Steal dais, screaming and farting about “trial by combat.” Which makes him a “witness,” apparently.

Rudy Giuliani tells ABC News he will not be part of President Donald Trump’s legal team for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial.

“Because I gave an earlier speech [at the January 6 Trump rally before the Capitol riot],” Giuliani told ABC News Sunday night, “I am a witness and therefore unable to participate in court or Senate chamber.”

Trump was impeached by the House for the second time last week following the siege on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

[From ABC News]

Law Twitter pointed out quickly that it’s not that Rudy’s a “witness,” he’s the SUBJECT, the co-conspirator and the accomplice. He’s the subject – or he should be the subject – of investigations into the incitement of an insurrection, same as Donald Trump. While Trump is dealing with his incitement “charge” through a Senate trial, is it possible that people like Farty Giuliani and Don Jr (who also spoke at the rally) could actually be charged with crimes shortly because they are subjects and accomplices, not witnesses?

Rudy is being generous calling himself a “witness.” More like “subject.” https://t.co/dGNMGlZf48

— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) January 18, 2021

At least, that has been what some Trump advisers said ahead of tonight’s meeting.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 16, 2021

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

I’ve written about this many times, but I can’t help it, it comes up every time I’m writing about the White Markles, this trashy clan full of grifters and dumbasses. I just can’t imagine ever doing a tenth of the dumb sh-t they’re doing to someone in my own family. It makes me sick to think about someone in my own family selling me out, or the idea that I would sell out someone in my family. You just don’t do it. Well, in addition to Samantha “Markle” writing her stupid f–king book (which comes out this week), now Thomas Markle is making a “documentary” about his relationship with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. He hasn’t seen Meghan in years and when she invited him to her wedding, he sold her out and then faked a heart attack to avoid the consequences. Then he spent the next two and a half years playing the victim, and selling interviews and old photos to anyone who would listen. This is all just disgusting.

Thomas Markle is making a documentary film about his life — and daughter Meghan. It comes as a personal letter from Meghan to him is at the centre of a bitter High Court privacy battle. Award-winning lighting director Thomas is working with a cinematographer and hopes to have it completed later this year. It comes after Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, reportedly agreed to make a fly-on-the-wall documentary for Netflix.

Thomas, 76, took part in a documentary last year, which aired on Channel 5, but hopes this will be a more “complete” picture. He said: “It begins with my life, my family, my love of theatre and television and how I got there. Then my life with Meghan, growing up, her school days until she went off to college, and when her career began. We had a good life together, up through her first marriage and her move to Canada. Then a new story begins! It’s kind of like ‘What happened to my baby girl’.”

The dad of three, from Rosarito, Mexico, will use previously unseen home movie footage of his daughter. He said of the previous documentary: “It was not edited in the correct order, dates were wrong, and it had too much generic public domain film added. My documentary will have some new videos and my favourite photo of my ‘baby girl’ and we try to figure out what went wrong. I think we will do a good job.”

[From The Sun]

This is sickening and perverse. “It’s kind of like ‘What happened to my baby girl’.” What happened to Meghan is that the toxic white side of her family decided to go to the trashiest, most disgusting place to sell her out, all as part of a campaign designed by the Windsors and their allies in the media. What happened is that Meghan has dealt with all of this bullsh-t with grace and class while these a–holes continue to make fools of themselves. I hope this is the tipping point for Meghan, honestly. I keep hoping that she finally says “enough” and just starts suing them all into oblivion.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, Avalon Red.

A year ago on Monday, January 20, 2020, was my first post about Justin Timberlake in the new year. He and Jessica Biel were sighted in New York two months after he was photographed super drunk and holding hands with a co-star at a bar in New Orleans. You’ll recall, in his apology post on social medi…

Kesha has a podcast called Kesha and The Creepies. She has previews on her YouTube channel that have been up for a few weeks but I’m just hearing about it now. She says that spirituality and her interest in unexplained phenomena has helped her get through quarantine and she’s interviewing other artists and musicians about that. I saw this featured on Buzzfeed recently and I also saw an interview that Kesha did with Access Hollywood to promote it. You can tell that the supernatural is Kesha’s thing because she really lights up about it. I watched the preview of her interview with Demi Lovato and it was a whole journey. These women love this topic and it’s cute to see. We’ve heard Demi Lovato say that she’s made contact with mermaids – through meditating. She talked about something similar with Kesha, showing photos of lights and orbs that she said she saw in the desert. Demi claims to have made contact with these supernatural forms or UFOs through meditation and “astral projection.” She’s realistic about it though and says it could all have been an intense dream. I absolutely cannot capture this interview in a few excerpts, so if you’re interested you can see it below. Here’s what Demi said that stood out to me.

The week I was in Joshua Tree with [ufologist] Steven Greer I saw a bunch of stuff. We saw this really really bright light [shows photo]. This blue orb kept floating in front of us, 20-30 feet away. When I would walk up to it, it would keep floating back 20-30 feet away.

Greer calls this blue orb kindness because they had an experience with the same blue orb in the desert where it actually healed somebody’s hearing loss and so they named it kindness.

I love meditating so much. I would choose a night of meditation over a night out at a club any time especially if it is going to result in contact.

It was super easy to make contact we had been meditating all week and then it only took us 10 minutes before [we] looked up and saw a saw a ship. It had two red lights… you’re seeing it and you’re just like “cool so everyone else saw that?” Yeah.

Do you know what astral projection is? The best way I [can] describe it is when your consciousness leaves your describe it is when your consciousness leaves your body. You can travel to different places in the present future past or you could travel to different planets. You have an out of body experience. The night that I asked that orb to come back and hang out with me in my dreams I fully astral projected in my sleep. I had this experience where I was in my room and these beings were like ‘do you want to come back to our planet?’

I’m sucked out of my room and I’m just like hovering in deep space. I fly to this pink and purple planet that looked like Dr. Seuss. Then I woke up. I don’t know if it was just a really intense dream, If I full on astral projected or if I was abducted. I’m not really sure. Then my friend had the same experience a week later when he got home from the same trip.

[From Kesha and The Creepies on YouTube]

I believe in the power of meditation. Your brain is capable of so much and can make your body feel awesome. Over the weekend I went to one of Oya’s yoga and meditation sessions. I felt like I was on a cloud the whole day. I also wouldn’t discount the lights and things that Demi saw in Joshua Tree. A lot of people have similar stories and she had actual photos and videos that she showed. As I mentioned she’s realistic about it and she says on one hand she had these amazing visions and on the other that it was possibly just a dream. Demi nearly died of a drug overdose and she’s had exercise addiction and other addictive behaviors. This is her thing now and it’s a lot healthier and is clearly meaningful for her. It was a fun interview to watch. Now I want to listen to this podcast!

Here’s that interview preview!

Photos via Instagram/Demi Lovato

A week ago, Prince Charles launched “Terra Carta,” an “Earth Carter” with new protocols and initiatives for the environment. It seems like a complicated scheme, one which allows businesses (like Bank of America and BP) to “sign on” to direct some of their corporate resources to green causes, with an action plan to “achieving net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and protecting natural ecosystems.” Charles’ plan got some attention in international media and British media, of course. But it felt like it was a one-day story rather than “Charles launching an ambitious new program which manages to be business-friendly and eco-friendly.” Where William just bangs on about being keen, Charles actually put together something rather substantial. Well, more substantial than William, let’s say that.

The thing is, Terra Carta really didn’t get that much attention. It could have been a multi-week story and it just… wasn’t. So this story is very curious, right?

Prince Charles’s spin doctor is quitting his job, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Former BBC man Julian Payne has been in charge of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall’s public image for five years, during which time their popularity has steadily grown.

In particular, the Duchess has benefited from championing unfashionable causes such as domestic abuse survivors and adult literacy. Last week she launched her own book club on Instagram. Mr Payne is also credited with encouraging Charles, 72, to use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The Prince was also the first Royal to use Zoom, was voted GQ Man of the Year and even launched his own clothing range which was featured in Vogue.

The Prince also addressed fears that he would be a meddling monarch. When asked two years ago if his public campaigning on issues from architecture to the environment would continue once he took the throne, he said: ‘No, it won’t. I’m not that stupid. I do realise it is a separate exercise being sovereign. So I understand entirely how that should operate.’

Mr Payne, 48, is leaving to take up a new job as Chair of Corporate Affairs EMEA for Edelman. His move comes as Amanda McManus returns to her role as Camilla’s private secretary following a year-long sabbatical.

[From The Daily Mail]

I kind of wonder if this is a mutual thing, like Payne had a better offer AND Charles wanted to shake up his team. Charles really spent the past twenty years trying to painstakingly rebuild his image after his divorce and after Diana’s death. He also used PR gurus to change up Camilla’s image to make her more acceptable as a Queen Consort. But so much of that got undone by The Crown, and so much of that continues to be undone by his sons and their respective dramas. I mean, Harry and Meghan’s exit from the Firm makes Charles look bad, and it hurts him in the long run. It also hurts Charles long-term that William is such a rage monster and a petty a–hole. So… maybe a new PR team will be involved in painstakingly reinventing Charles yet again.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

I sort of hoped that Donald Trump would be so focused on saving his own orange skin that he would forget about pardons entirely. But that’s not the case. As it turns out, the people around Trump have been scoring huge paydays as “pardon lobbyists” in the final months of the Trump administration. Grifting ‘til the bitter end:

As President Trump prepares to leave office in days, a lucrative market for pardons is coming to a head, with some of his allies collecting fees from wealthy felons or their associates to push the White House for clemency, according to documents and interviews with more than three dozen lobbyists and lawyers. The brisk market for pardons reflects the access peddling that has defined Mr. Trump’s presidency as well as his unorthodox approach to exercising unchecked presidential clemency powers. Pardons and commutations are intended to show mercy to deserving recipients, but Mr. Trump has used many of them to reward personal or political allies.

The pardon lobbying heated up as it became clear that Mr. Trump had no recourse for challenging his election defeat, lobbyists and lawyers say. One lobbyist, Brett Tolman, a former federal prosecutor who has been advising the White House on pardons and commutations, has monetized his clemency work, collecting tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, in recent weeks to lobby the White House for clemency for the son of a former Arkansas senator; the founder of the notorious online drug marketplace Silk Road; and a Manhattan socialite who pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme.

Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer John M. Dowd has marketed himself to convicted felons as someone who could secure pardons because of his close relationship with the president, accepting tens of thousands of dollars from a wealthy felon and advising him and other potential clients to leverage Mr. Trump’s grievances about the justice system.

[From The NY Times]

What’s even crazier about all of this blatant influence-peddling for pardons is that it’s not explicitly illegal. There’s basically a legal loophole for people outside of the administration to act as self-styled pardon lobbyists, taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy felons, all to ask Trump for a pardon. Speaking of, Trump is preparing to pardon about 100 people in the next 48 hours:

President Trump is preparing to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 100 people in his final hours in office, decisions that are expected to be announced Monday or Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plans. Trump met Sunday with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka Trump and other aides for a significant amount of the day to review a long list of pardon requests and discuss lingering questions about their appeals, according to the multiple people briefed on the meeting. The president was personally engaged with the details of specific cases, one person said.

In the past week, Trump has been particularly consumed with the question of whether to issue preemptive pardons to his adult children, top aides and himself, said the people familiar with discussions. But it remains unclear whether he will make such a move. Although he has mused about the possibility, no final decisions have been reached, and some advisers have warned against using his pardon power to benefit himself.

People familiar with the discussions said that many of the pardons and commutations Trump is expected to issue in his final days will be uncontroversial. But it remains unknown whether he will grant clemency to Stephen K. Bannon, his former campaign adviser, who was charged last year with defrauding donors to a private fundraising effort for construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, or his personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, whose consulting business has come under scrutiny as part of an investigation that led to charges against two of his associates.

[From WaPo]

I heard on the morning news that Trump was now somewhat unlikely to self-pardon, even though his people are telling him that he could definitely be criminally liable for inciting an insurrection. There’s also the belief that if Trump self-pardons, Republicans in the Senate would be even more likely to go hard on Trump during the impeachment trial. As for the pardons for Jared, Ivanka, Steve Bannon, etc… I mean, I don’t know. I think it would be really funny if Trump does not end up pardoning Javanka.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Lori Harvey, the best person to happen to gossip last week, continues to improve our timelines this week. But first, a refresher, because we should never forget the impact she’s had on the gossip game in 2021. Last Sunday Lori and Michael B Jordan announced themselves on Instagram, a coordinated gos…

It looks like the Daily Mail and Page Six have somehow discovered Armie Hammer’s “private” Instagram, and the images are reportedly full of raw meat, knives and scantily-clad women. While this seems entirely “on brand” for what we now know of Armie Hammer, I do find it suspicious that the Mail and other media outlets have access to it? Perhaps they do, and if so, those Instagrams seem to reveal a man who is on a downward spiral, someone who is likely hurting a lot of people on his way down. Some highlights from this Page Six story:

How Elizabeth Chambers is doing: This [scandal] has come as a shock not just to his friends, but his ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers, with whom he is in the midst of an already difficult divorce. They are both currently on the Cayman Islands, where Chambers has been living with their two young children since they split over the summer. A family friend told The Post that Chambers, who filed for divorce in July, is “really in shock” and has “not processed any of this yet,” adding: “They went out to the Cayman Islands at the beginning of the pandemic in March as a family and Armie left in late June to go back to California. She’s basically been a single mom since then, Armie didn’t see the kids for five months. The kids are her number one priority, so on top of all the emotional stuff she has two kids to take to school and make sure they’re not affected.”

She knew about some of the cheating, but not all this: The friend added: “Elizabeth was aware of some infidelity, but she wanted to make the marriage work and thought that he did too.” Several sources said that Hammer had been madly in love with Chambers. But a major Hollywood publicist told The Post how, once “Call Me By Your Name” boosted his fame, “women were texting him, chasing him — and when he would drink, that’s when he’d run around. Everyone thought he and Elizabeth decided to have an open marriage.”

He didn’t do that stuff with her: “[These messages] are very shocking for her,” Chambers’ friend added. “He never did any of the weird s-?-t with her.”

Does Hammer need help? Another source who knows both Hammer and Chambers said: “My mind is blown. He always appeared so totally normal, he loves grilling, I mean — he was so excited about buying a new smoker and he would have friends over for barbecues and cocktails. None of this seems like the Armie that I know. He needs help. Something is terribly wrong, and I just wonder if it’s drugs.”

So, about the drugs: This week, the Daily Mail published video clips of Hammer declaring “s–t’s getting weird” after sniffing a white substance from someone’s hand and swigging from his beer can while behind the wheel of a car. On Friday, the Daily Mail posted a video from what is alleged to be Hammer’s secret Instagram account. The post said that he had “THC and benzos” in his system but that the hallucinogenic drug DMT had not showed up in a drug test; he also showed what appeared to be a court mandate ordering him to undergo drug testing as a condition of seeing his children. In the background, a woman wearing lingerie while on her hands and knees in a bed was visible. “Divorce is so fun. Not as fun as drugs. But what is,” the post read.

Heavy drinker to drug user? A movie insider who worked with Hammer on the set of the 2018 film “On the Basis of Sex,” told The Post that “He would have a water bottle of vodka in the green room before going on TV [interviews] but other than that he was a gentleman.” A source who has worked with Hammer told The Post that Hammer does “not have a drug habit” but that he will drink heavily for weeks at a time. Asked about the messages, the source said: “Of course Armie is not a cannibal … although BDSM might be weird, it’s not illegal.”

A God complex? A casting director told The Post that Hammer is a cautionary tale for young Hollywood. “Up till ‘Call Me By Your Name,’ nobody took him that seriously other than as a rich kid who wanted to get famous. He was in a lot of loser films before that,” the casting director said. “But after ‘Call Me,’ he started getting much better offers and much more attention. He seemed to be getting a bit of a God complex — like he’s so famous and rich, he’s above reproach. That can lead to some actors having very bad behavior.”

[From Page Six]

Part of me doesn’t believe some of the denials from Elizabeth Chambers’ friends/publicist. Even in this piece, her “friend” says that she did know about some of the affairs, and that’s been consistent with the reporting of what Elizabeth knew and when, with one of her friends even telling the Daily Mail last week that some of Armie’s mistresses/victims even came to her. My take is that I do think Armie was into some weird sh-t and Elizabeth knew some of it, and Elizabeth wasn’t into it and she just thought it would go away or that he would get it out of his system discreetly. And then the indiscretions, affairs and BDSM stuff just kept piling up and that was a big reason why she filed for divorce last year. And since then, Armie just keeps going deeper into this. Like, escalating his behavior, perhaps abusing drugs as a way to self-medicate for deeper issues, and on and on. Yeeesh.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, Avalon Red.

Dear Gossips, One Night in Miami, directed by Regina King, premiered on Amazon this weekend. The film imagines conversations based on true events. On the night he defeated Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world, Cassius Clay did indeed spend the night at the Hampton House Motel…