Ben Affleck cares deeply what people think about him. He doesn’t want to be famous because that comes with criticism, but he wants our admiration and the admiration of his peers. A lot of people are like that, I am too, but not many have Ben’s self destructive streak. That’s the impression I’ve always had of him, and that was confirmed in his recent interview with Scott Feinberg on THR’s Awards Chatter podcast. Ben has two Oscars, Best Picture for Argo and Best Screenwriter for Good Will Hunting, the 1997 film that made him and Matt Damon household names. Ben talks about all that in an over hour long interview which mainly focuses on his career.

I listened to this while I was cooking and baking over the weekend. Ben loves acting and making films and it really shows. He also has the same narrative we’ve heard from him for years, that he was so downtrodden and aggrieved when the press made him into a punchline during the Bennifer years. There’s no mention of the fact that he cheated on Jennifer Lopez and left her at the altar, that he was in her music video and did interviews with her. It’s all about how he was a victim of the tabloids at the time. He has changed his stance on J.Lo though, he finally realized that she was affected too. For years she wasn’t even mentioned when he complained about his tabloid narrative and even Matt Damon was repeating those talking points.

Here are some of the highlights I heard in this interview. He didn’t mention Jennifer Garner, not that he has to, but he was promoting his role in The Way Back. I think he wants an acting nomination for that film. If Garner didn’t ask the director to wait for him when he went into rehab he never would have had that role. He also didn’t mention Ana de Armas at all, but he talked about the paparazzi in the context of Bennifer and said it’s not a pap walk if he’s just leaving his house. Come on, they were doing loved-up pap walks. Here are those excerpts.

On if he and Jennifer Lopez ‘did anything to bring about the hostility and attention’ or if they just happened ‘to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.’
I sort of had to make it in the business twice. I became so not cool and so out of it that I had to totally invent my career. Before I was just starting at the start line. Now I had to start a mile further back. People had a negative [perception of me] fostered by a really reckless and irresponsible tabloid press that would just write things that weren’t true. There’s always a story of the month. Me dating Jennifer Lopez happened to be the tabloid story at the time when that business grew exponentially.

Why in the world would I have wanted it? Why would I have sought that out? People are like ‘oh I see you out there in the paparazzi… pictures.’
‘Yes I left my house and took out the trash.’
‘No you’re taking a pap walk.’ As if [when] you leave your house you’re only doing so in the hope that you could end up the sixth item in the Daily Mail. It’s absurd.

First it was like Dick and Liz. Then there was a ton of resentment against me… and Jennifer.

People were so f-king mean about her — sexist, racist. Ugly, vicious sh-t was written about her in ways that if you wrote it now you would literally be fired for saying those things you said. Now it’s like, she’s lionized and respected for the work she did, where she came from, what she accomplished — as well she fucking should be! I would say you have a better shot, coming from the Bronx, of ending up as like [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor on the Supreme Court than you do of having Jennifer Lopez’s career and being who she is at 50 years old today.

On how someone said something mean about him
I remember this guy Rick McCallum, he was the producer of the middle three Star Wars movies. He did an interview at that time where [somebody brought up] Anakin Skywaker [murdering] Jedi children. He said ‘Ben Affleck, he killed children.’ To be so cavalier to say that about anybody you don’t know. It’s not even an indictment of him, I don’t care about him. It’s just demonstrative [that] once it becomes cool to make fun of somebody then everybody makes fun of them. I remember high school fights… all of a sudden five other guys come over and kick somebody on the ground.

I hate being famous. I don’t mind if I’m not famous. I want to get away from all this, I can’t stand it. I’d be happy to never be on another magazine again. I was actually in the very worst position you can be in in this business which is that you can sell magazines but not movie tickets.

[From The Awards Chatter Podcast]

Ben also talked about sobriety, but he didn’t say how long he’d been sober, just that he had some slips and he wasn’t drinking at work. He seemed to minimize his drinking, which is understandable since he doesn’t want people in his industry to see him as a risk. He wants recognition for The Way Back and he wants people to see his films and to admire him, frankly. He doesn’t want us to notice anything else he does and if we do it’s our fault for paying attention. As for the part about how he was in the worst position he could have been in, we’ve heard this from him for years. He started praising Jennifer Lopez last year after she had success with Hustlers.

photos credit: Backgrid. These are all old photos. The newest one, of Ben getting coffee, is from last month

When Prince Harry and Meghan updated their Archewell site, they included a sort of mission statement which began with “I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother.” They included photos of Meghan as a child with her mom, and Harry as a child with his mom, Princess Diana. We heard soon after that it was quite likely that Prince William is incandescent with rage at the thought of Harry… using a photo of their mother, or making a reference to Diana in any way. Which has led to a pretty uncomfortable conversation about Diana’s legacy and who “owns” it. I think both of her sons have the right to use their mother’s name and legacy in whatever way they see fit. Harry clearly draws a lot of inspiration from his mother, while William treats his mother’s life as a cautionary tale. Anyway, the royal reporters are still very attached to the idea that William somehow “owns” Diana’s legacy more than Harry.

Prince Harry taking ‘ownership’ of his late mother’s legacy could see Prince William intervene, a royal biographer has claimed. Speaking to True Royalty TV’s Royal Beat, Duncan Larcombe said that the Duke of Sussex, 36, and the Duchess of Sussex, 39, should not expect to be able to use the legacy of the late Princess of Wales for their own projects – some of which they’re set to earn millions from, without royal approval.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle re-launched their Archewell foundation website in December 2020 they used an image of both of their mothers to promote it, with Prince Harry’s photo showing him sitting on Diana’s shoulders during his childhood. The first line of ‘a letter for 2021? laid over the photographs read: ”I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell. We believe in the best of humanity.’

Larcombe told Royal Beat host Kate Thornton that such use of Diana’s legacy were likely to be of concern to future king Prince William, saying: ‘I think William will be concerned with that…Harry trying to take ownership of the Diana Legacy will be a problem.’

He also suggested that should the Sussexes continue charity work in areas once close to Diana’s heart, that could also jar with Prince William and the rest of the royal family. He said: ‘Harry doing mental health, Harry doing conservation, these are the issues that William and Kate want to do – that’s where I predict tensions. Heads Together was also Kate’s Idea.’

Larcombe suggested that because Prince Harry will potentially earn money by using Diana’s name, it could negate the charitable benefit, saying: ‘Because there is money involved, it isn’t a charitable thing.’

[From The Daily Mail]

In all honesty, I think many of us would feel a bit queasy if Harry OR William used Diana’s image for profit, or tried to monetize her legacy directly. But let’s be clear: that’s not what’s happening at all. Harry used a photo of his late mother, the mother who stood up to the Windsor clan and dreamed of getting away from that petty nest of vipers, and he used the photo on the website of the charitable foundation he’s building with his wife after he got away from the same petty nest of vipers. It’s the very definition of a full circle moment. And besides all that, William can’t do jack sh-t about Harry speaking about their mother or using a photo of Diana or anything like that. They are both Diana’s sons.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN and Backgrid.

I wish the Windsor clan and their loyal reporters could make up their minds about the “one year review” of the Sussexes. How many different versions of the “review” story have we heard over the past 10 months? First it was going to be a long list of punishments. Then it was going to be an audit of all of the Sussexes’ business deals. Then it was no big deal. Then it was a HUGE deal. Then the Queen was waiting for Harry to call to make an appointment. Then there was a review extension. Then they went back to a list of grievances and punitive measures. And on and on. It really was just the Windsors and the reporters growing ever more hysterical at the very idea of a “review” – Prince Harry and Meghan have not been engaging in any of those conversations whatsoever. And so now the palace sad sacks have to admit that the jig is up, there one year review has been cancelled. Is this “cancel culture”?!

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s scheduled 12-month review following their split from the royal family has been cancelled, according to one royal expert. Speaking to True Royalty TV’s Royal Beat, Vanity Fair correspondent Katie Nicholl said that while the Duke, 36, and the Duchess of Sussex, 39, are being observed closely about the commercial deals they’re making, nothing they have done so far suggests the planned one-year review needs to go ahead.

While Covid restrictions have grounded Prince Harry at the $14 million mansion in Los Angeles that the couple share with their 19-month-old son Archie, it’s unlikely there will now even be a face-to-face Zoom call to discuss their commercial affairs with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William.

In the year since the dramatic split, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have put ink to paper on a deal with Netflix thought to be worth around £100million and also have a lucrative podcast deal with Spotify, worth up to £30million, in the bag, with private speaking engagements also swelling the coffers.

Nicholl told the online broadcaster: ‘My understanding from the Sussexes camp is that there has been communication with the Queen, Prince Charles and with William as well. The general feeling is that this [current situation] is working. This isn’t to say that people are not watching closely what these deals are, what the couple are doing and what these projects are going to be. But there is not this need to have this review one year on.’

However, the Queen is still yet to confirm whether Prince Harry should keep his military title, Nicholl said. ‘The one thing that is outstanding is the issue of his [Prince Harry’s] military title and I am told that it will be the Queen that ultimately makes that decision.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Remember that story a few weeks back about how the Queen was waiting for Harry to call and make an appointment? I think that story might have been true! I think the Sussexes played them all, simply by not engaging with their melodrama. Harry and Meghan didn’t call to make any kind of appointment (Zoom or otherwise) and clearly, H&M are not going to participate in any kind of audit, nor will they fly in only to be bitched at and nitpicked by fussy old courtiers. They just ghosted all of ‘em and so now the Windsors and the royal reporters are like “well it wasn’t even a big deal and it wasn’t going to change anything anyway!” And “this isn’t to say that people are not watching closely what these deals are, what the couple are doing and what these projects are going to be” is purely a face-saving measure from the Windsors. They have to act like they still have some control over the Sussexes! Narrator’s voice: The Windsors have no control over the Sussexes.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.

In any other year, I would be half-dead with sleeplessness during the last weeks of January because of the Australian Open. Ordinarily, the AO starts in mid-January and goes on for two weeks. Because of the pandemic and the logistics of it all, the AO got pushed back three weeks, and it’s now scheduled to begin on February 8th. Part of the deal that Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley made with the Australian government is that the AO would get pushed back, that all players and their limited teams would quarantine for two weeks in specific hotels (a “bubble” situation like they did in NYC for the US Open) and that instead of spreading out the pre-AO tournaments around various cities in Australia, players would get their pre-AO matches in tournaments hosted on-site in Melbourne, on the AO courts, or in Adelaide, which is where many top players will be playing an exhibition-style event on the week of Feb. 1st.

For months now, Australians have made tons of sacrifices to get their coronavirus infection rate down to zero. Leading up to the invasion of tennis players, the country had zero new infections for days/weeks. Australia did this through strict travel restrictions, mask mandates and by taking the pandemic very seriously (unlike other countries, including the US). Since the AO-chartered planes arrived in Melbourne last week, there have been almost a dozen positive corona tests, all from players or their support staff. So the Australian government implemented even stricter quarantine rules for the visiting players who traveled with covid-positive people – they would not be allowed to leave their hotel rooms even to move around in the bubble. They would be under strict 24-7 quarantine for two full weeks. That affected about 75 players & their support staff.

The amount of whining from these professional athletes has been extraordinary. They have complained about the food. They have complained about the restrictions. They have complained about the lack of practice time, if they’re in the stricter lockdowns. And so Novak Djokovic, the #1 player in the world, decided to send a letter requesting all kind of dumb sh-t. This is the same Novaxx Djocovid who literally hosted “Adria Tour” superspreader events last spring which left many players and tennis fans infected, including Novak himself.

Novak Djokovic has reportedly sent a series of demands to Australian Open boss Craig Tiley after a further 25 players were forced into hard quarantine on Sunday. A total of 72 players arriving for the Australian Open will be confined to their hotel rooms for the next 14 days after three chartered flights returned five positive COVID-19 cases. A fifth person, who had flown into Melbourne on an Australian Open charter flight from Doha, tested positive on Sunday night after arriving on Saturday.

It means three Australian Open charter flights have now brought in passengers who later tested positive, following infections on planes from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. A number of players have hit out at the conditions they are faced with for the next 14 days, unable to train or see their coaches in preparation for the first tennis grand slam of the year. That has prompted men’s World No.1 Djokovic – the former head of the ATP Player Council – to reportedly send a letter to officials calling for changes.

According to Spanish journalist Fernando Murciego, Djokovic has called for the following changes: Fitness and training material in all rooms; Decent food, according to the level of the tournament and from an elite athlete; Reduce the days of isolation for the 72 isolated players, carrying out more tests that confirm that all are negative; Permission to visit your coach or physical trainer, as long as both have passed the PCR; If the previous proposal has the green light, that both the player and his coach are on the same floor of the hotel; Move as many players as possible to private houses with a court to train.

[From Yahoo Australia]

As you can imagine, Djoko is being blasted from Melbourne to Perth for his tone-deaf demands. This is a man who has made a slew of anti-vaccine and anti-science statements just in the past year, who hosted multiple superspreader events (and refused to take responsibility for it) and who has never met a pandemic restriction he didn’t break. Obviously, the Australian government is like “NO, STFU.” But the whole thing is becoming a huge situation and it’s honestly hurting the sport. Why are people so f–king tone deaf?

The tone of the coverage down under… #AusOpenpic.twitter.com/vDrHKaGw2K

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 18, 2021

“There’s no special treatment here… because the virus doesn’t treat you specially” — @DanielAndrewsMP addresses tennis players who are complaining about COVID-19 quarantine ahead of the Australian Open. pic.twitter.com/eyciPO7On8

— Wade Shipard (@wadeshipard) January 17, 2021

The front page of Tuesday’s The West Australian. pic.twitter.com/h3uFCWij2r

— The West Australian (@westaustralian) January 18, 2021

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

As I’ve said here and on the podcast, the one silver lining to the January 6th insurrection is that Washington and state capitals around the country got ready in a hurry for additional terrorist attacks. DC is basically in a state of lockdown, with at least 20,000 National Guardsmen on the ground, manning barricades and keeping out the riff-raff. People are being discouraged from even traveling to DC this week for the inauguration. The Capitol building is full of cops and soldiers. As the Times points out, while there’s still domestic terrorist chatter, very few people are actually turning up in DC or other state capitals now. I feel confident, maybe stupidly so, that there will not be another terrorist attack ahead of the inauguration or on the day of the inauguration. Now, after January 20th… well.

As for those National Guardsmen occupying DC and at least 17 other state capitals… of course there are concerns. Once we learned the identities of some of the terrorists laying siege to the Capitol on Jan. 6th, we saw the extent of it – there were off-duty cops from other jurisdictions, firemen, businessmen, veterans and active-duty military, pillars of the community, etc. There were also people within the Capitol Police helping the terrorists and further endangering Congresspeople. I’m not saying all Capitol Police – obviously, there were many brave and good police officers that day. But there were many cops who wished they were terrorizing the Capitol too. And so now we have to ask: is it the same with those in the military now tasked with protecting the Capitol and protecting President Biden?

U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event.

The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn’t flagged any issues that they were aware of.

”We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation,” McCarthy said in an interview after he and other military leaders went through an exhaustive, three-hour security drill in preparation for Wednesday’s inauguration. He said Guard members are also getting training on how to identify potential insider threats.

About 25,000 members of the National Guard are streaming into Washington from across the country — at least two and a half times the number for previous inaugurals. And while the military routinely reviews service members for extremist connections, the FBI screening is in addition to any previous monitoring. Multiple officials said the process began as the first Guard troops began deploying to D.C. more than a week ago. And they said it is slated to be complete by Wednesday. Several officials discussed military planning on condition of anonymity.

“The question is, is that all of them? Are there others?” said McCarthy. “We need to be conscious of it and we need to put all of the mechanisms in place to thoroughly vet these men and women who would support any operations like this.”

[From The AP]

True story: I was today years old when I learned that the Secret Service is in charge of inauguration security, meaning they’re the ones commanding and coordinating Capitol Police, National Guard, FBI, DC Police and US Park Police. While I understand why Secret Service is in charge, I also feel like… all of these agencies and military branches need to look within. One of the most enraging parts of the January 6th insurrection was the fact that Capitol Police willfully refused to listen to intelligence from other agencies, and willfully sought to react with mass incompetence during and after the attack. The Capitol Police have been infiltrated by white nationalists. So have other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DC Police, and maybe even the Secret Service.

So… yeah, I find it depressing that these National Guardsmen are being vetted so heavily, but it’s necessary. It should also be necessary that other agencies are likewise vetted to this extreme. Here’s one good question to ask during the vetting process: “Was the 2020 election stolen?” I’m gonna need every person with a badge and a gun to answer that question.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Intro: Minutes 0 to 6:30
I got a birdfeeder and have been watching the birds while I work. Chandra mentions how smart crows are. Here’s a link to the reddit thread I mentioned about the crow war. Here is a twitter thread about the intelligence of crows. My mom got vaccinated, but she had to wait in line in her car for five hours. We hope the Biden administration ramps up the vaccine production and distribution quickly. You can listen below!

Politics: Minutes 6:30 to 20:45
Trump got impeached again, for incitement of insurrection. Just a few days before that he was caught on tape trying to commit election fraud in Georgia. Chandra mentions that he’s committed so many impeachable offenses. The vote in the Senate to confirm the impeachment has been delayed until the Senate reconvenes on January 19th. The Senate can make the impeachment vote private with a simple majority vote first. The level of fear of Trump has gone way down since Trump’s Twitter account was shut down. He can no longer incite his base.

The Senate can also vote, by simple majority, to block Trump from ever running for office again. I say that this will prevent him from much of his bogus fundraising but Chandra points out that he can still raise money through a PAC. I play a segment from Zoom where Ameerah, Karen and Alnaaze talk about the impeachment. Trump’s loans with Deutsche Bank are coming due. Trump owes $340 million dollars and his businesses are failing because his name is mud. Plus brands are realizing it’s toxic to be associated with Republicans.

There’s also news that some of the Republican Congress people gave support to the terrorists. Chandra says there will be so many investigations into that. The terrorists knew exactly where Rep. Pelosi and Clyburn were likely to be working despite the fact that these offices are not public knowledge. Two men were arrested who had “zip ties,” which were actually “flex cuffs” used as handcuffs by law enforcement. It’s thought that they planned to take hostages and barricade themselves in the Capitol overnight. Chandra and I are still upset that those people weren’t arrested on January 6th. I mention the No Fly List videos, which you can see here.

There are 20,000 National Guardsmen camped out in the Capitol ahead of the inauguration. The photos are stunning and we love the stories and photos of the National Guardsmen posing with statues and getting tours. Chandra loves that Pelosi handed out coins to the Guardsmen. Pelosi has been impressive and presidential in the way she’s handled the siege and impeachment proceedings. I say Trump shouldn’t be going free and Chandra says that he’s been put on a leash, thanks to Pelosi.

Royals: Minutes 20:45 to 23
There’s still a lot of fallout from the royal train tour. The Scotsman did information requests and found emails showing that two very high-level Scottish politicians warned them against doing the tour ahead of time. In response to that story Kensington Palace doubled down and issued a statement saying “The Duke and Duchess were travelling for work purposes and all rules were fully adhered to. The trip was planned in consultation with the U.K., Scottish and Welsh governments.”

Sex and the City remake: Minutes 23 to 28
A Sex and the City limited series is coming to HBO Max with Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker & Kristin Davis. Kim Cattrall of course took a pass because Sarah Jessica Parker is an a-hole who created bad storylines for her and tried to bully her into coming back. I play a segment from Zoom where Michelle, Ameerah, Tanisha and Karen say SATC shouldn’t come back. Chandra used to watch SATC and thinks the revival will be a sh-tshow, but not because Cattrall’s character isn’t there. She’s interested in it and will probably watch it though. I’m not a SATC fan and found the women superficial and annoying. Chandra talks about how terrible and racist the second movie is. She does think the pay for the show, $1 million per castmember per episode, is completely fair.

Olivia Wilde: Minutes 28 to 31
Olivia Wilde and her fiance/partner of 9 years, Jason Sudeikis, announced that they split in November. It looked like a quarantine split, but then we heard early this month that Olivia is dating Harry Styles. She’s 36 and he’s 26 and they met on the set of her movie Don’t Worry Darling, which she’s directing and costars in. It just looks suspicious like Olivia and Harry were cheating, which seems to be the case. There are sourced stories in People and ET saying Jason is hurt that Olivia was likely cheating and thought that they would reconcile.

We wonder why people are so invested in this story because we find all of these people bland. Harry is kind of cool, but Oliva Wilde is annoying and Jason Sudeikis is boring to us apart from his role on Ted Lasso. I go on a tangent about how I didn’t like Booksmart, Olivia’s directorial debut. Chandra doesn’t like Beanie Feldstein, but she liked her costar, Kaitlyn Deaver.

User Feedback: Minutes 31 to 34:30
Thanks to Esmom and M for your nice comments! You can see all the photos I mention of Hilaria Baldwin in the post for podcast #78. I give Chandra compliments on her titles Donald Trump isn’t going to pay Rudy Giuliani for the Angry Fart Tour and people also loved her title Under His Pinkeye: Kamala Harris wins debate against fly-covered misogynist. Another of Chandra’s recent favorite titles is Donald Trump called Mike Pence a ‘p-ssy’ before Trump sent a mob to murder Pence.

Comments of the Week: Minutes 34:30 to 38
I ask Chandra if she’s seen the story about Ivanka and Jared barring the Secret Service from using their bathroom. Here’s her writeup about that. My comment of the week is from Merricat on the post about Ivanka returning to New York so she could get her hair done. Chandra’s comments of the week are from Ang on the post about Trump’s impeachment and Lucy2 on the post about Trump stiffing Giuliani.

Thanks for listening bitches! Call us or leave a voicemail at 434-218-3219.

photos credit: Avalon.red, WENN and via Instagram. Music credit: A.A. Alto, Meydan and via Premium Beat and Sound of Picture

In 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did a weeks-long tour of several African countries. At the time of the tour, the palace was unaware of the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan had authorized journalist Tom Bradby and ITV to document their tour behind-the-scenes in what would become the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey. Bradby had been friendly with and sympathetic to Harry before that tour, but after the tour, Bradby was treated as more of an unofficial spokesperson of the Sussexes. Following the Sussexit, Bradby has given a handful of interviews where he seems to have insider knowledge of what’s going on in Sussex World, and he’s remained (to my knowledge) pretty sympathetic towards Harry & Meghan. Well, now as the one-year anniversary of the Sussexit announcement has passed, Bradby decided to share his view on what’s going on in Sussex World.

On the African Tour documentary: “It was a very psychologically complex project because they were clearly in a difficult position and weren’t feeling great and I realized the extent of that the more I was there.”

On how the Sussexes feel about the past year: When asked if he thinks Harry and Meghan seem any happier since they moved to California earlier this year, Bradby says, “I think they are feeling better, yes… So are they unhappy? No, I think they are content, the things they are doing they are quite excited by. I think he is heartbroken by the situation with his family, you don’t necessarily need to have knowledge to know that, but I think it is true.”

The distance between Harry & Prince William. “The situation with the family clearly isn’t ideal and it has been a very difficult year for them all. But are they unhappy out there? No, I don’t think that’s right, I think they are pretty happy actually, but I think they wrestle with their position in life, I think they all do. I think William does too, I don’t think he finds it easy.”

On the Sussexit: “I think the whole thing has just been incredibly painful, that is obvious to everyone. It is painful all round, painful for everyone, difficult to manage. Effectively they have just decided to completely leave the royal family, that has never been done – I mean, you could go back to the Duke of Windsor but that was in very different circumstances – it’s never been done voluntarily before and no one still is absolutely clear how it is going to work. There are still a lot of hurt feelings on all sides and it’s very difficult…I think the public desperately wants them to be okay and everyone to be happy and clearly that hasn’t been the situation over the past year. It is not a very easy or comfortable situation, I don’t think it was ever going to be an easy or comfortable situation.”

Family tensions: “You have got to remember this isn’t just a family, it’s a firm. They are in the business of public service on a very elevated, exposed platform and to some extent, they are all locked in it together. And that creates lots of tensions that people perhaps do see relatively clearly from the outside, but at the same time they are trying to be a family and I am always acutely conscious of that and how complicated and frankly difficult it is.”

[From People]

I appreciate that Bradby is like “eh, it’s still pretty complicated.” Because that’s a point of contention and confusion among so many royal reporters. No one can figure out if Harry and William have actually spoken to each other that much in the past year. No one can figure out if some of the wounds have been healed, or who reached out to whom, or if anyone reached out to anyone else. To hear someone like Katie Nicholl describe it, Harry and William are fine and they speak often, which feels like… the Cambridge version of events. I think Bradby is representing the Sussex version of events, which is that there are still bad feelings and there’s very little water under the bridge between the H&M and the Windsors.

There’s a lot unspoken here: “The situation with the family clearly isn’t ideal and it has been a very difficult year for them all…. I think they wrestle with their position in life, I think they all do. I think William does too, I don’t think he finds it easy.” The idea/reality that William struggles too is… not a Cambridge-approved talking point. But then again, I feel like Harry doesn’t want to be represented as someone carrying a grudge about being the “spare.” Harry left for a lot of reasons beyond the fact that he was the “spare.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

A post shared by Continue To Serve #VetsForBLM (@continuetoserve)

It’s been almost two weeks since the Capitol was besieged by insurrectionists. Over the last two weeks more information is coming out about the terrorist attack, particularly about the people who were involved. There is growing evidence that several Congress people helped the traitors storm the Capitol by providing them tours and maps the day before. Several of the participants were off-duty law enforcement and veterans and they left a big mess for those having to clean up behind them.

Navy veteran David Smith founded Continue to Serve in July after the death of George Floyd and the peaceful protests by organized by BLM. David says he created Continue to Serve because he wanted to “create a community of veterans who would stand up for justice and equality.” David was angry when he heard the news that several veterans were involved in the failed coup on the Capitol. After seeing all the trash the insurrectionists left behind in his city, David organized over 200 military veteran volunteers to clean up the streets of D.C. and the Capitol. Below are more details on the story from the Washington Post:

On his commute home to Germantown, Md., Smith spotted remnants of Wednesday’s riot strewn around the streets. Trash littered Pennsylvania Avenue and adjacent areas, and signs and stickers with racist and fascist symbols and messages were “all over the place,” he recalled.

Smith decided he wanted to do something about it, calling on a group of fellow veterans and volunteers to do a thorough sweep of the area around the Capitol and downtown D.C. Beyond ridding the area of hateful markings, Smith hoped to reinforce that the veterans who participated in the siege do not represent them all.

On Jan. 10, close to 200 volunteers congregated at McPherson Square, trash bags in hand. They fanned out and spent two hours collecting “Stop the Steal” and other pro-Trump paraphernalia that had been littered during the riots, and also used scrapers and adhesive remover to peel off signs and stickers featuring logos and symbols from various neo-Nazi and alt-right groups.

Volunteers divided into five groups, each led by a veteran, who guided them along a mapped route to the Capitol.

“It was like a massive street sweep,” said Smith. “We left no stone unturned. It was amazing.”

Smith arranged the cleanup operation on social media through an organization he started in June called Continue to Serve. His goal is to create a community of veterans who stand up for justice and equality.

[From Washington Post]

I was absolutely livid when the information was coming out that several of the treasonous assholes were veterans. As a military person and then a veteran you take a vow to uphold the Constitution. To protect it and the American people you are supposed to serve. Any veteran worth his or her salt saw the storming of the Capitol as a terrorist attack and was appalled. The fact that some of the participants were from our community? Yeah. In my opinion, those who are law enforcement and who were veterans that were a part of this horrible day in history should be levied with the biggest charges because they KNEW better. The veterans particularly should be at the very least charged with treason even though they are no longer serving. The veterans participating made the situation more egregious. We won’t even discuss how the insurrectionists were treated by law enforcement and how frigging entitled they were.

I am grateful for veterans like David and those who volunteered to clean up the streets after the riot. Because I was honestly triggered when I saw NJ Rep Andy Kim along with Black housekeeping staff at the Capitol cleaning up after white supremacists. Inauguration Day can’t come fast enough. The anxiety around the safety of Kamala and Joe are at an all time high. I want the inauguration to go off without a hitch while I watch Trump, his wife, and co-conspirators escorted off the grounds into waiting federal vehicles. They all must answer for not only the last four years but for Jan 6. With that being said, I am going to look into Continue to Serve because I love that it is a community of veterans who are standing up for social justice and equality. This sort of activism makes me very hopeful and excited for the future. I also need to get my hands on one of those “Veteran’s for BLM” sweatshirts.

There are a lot of things that must be healed in the U.S. But first there must be accountability and justice, and truth must be spoken about the history of this nation. The history of the United States is very present and it was on full display on January 6. And we all witnessed how very destructive not dealing with old wounds can be.

A post shared by Continue To Serve #VetsForBLM (@continuetoserve)

A post shared by Continue To Serve #VetsForBLM (@continuetoserve)

A post shared by Continue To Serve #VetsForBLM (@continuetoserve)

A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett)

Angela Bassett is promoting her role on 911, which returns for season four this week. I watched the first season of 911: Lone Star but haven’t seen more than a couple episodes of the original series. That may have to change as I loved how they were talking it up on the Podjiba podcast last year. It sounds bonkers in a good way. Angela was on The Tonight Show, and she and Jimmy bonded over the fact that they once shared a ride home from the Oscars. It was really cute. She talked a little about her teenage twins, son Slater and daughter Bronwyn, whom she shares with her husband of 23 years, Courtney B. Vance. She said they mostly say in their rooms in lockdown. Angela didn’t mention this but her kids go to public school, which isn’t usually the case for the children of celebrities. Here’s some of what she said. She also told the story of how Chadwick Boseman was the student assigned to accompany her when she got her honorary doctorate from Howard University. This wasn’t the first time she’s mentioned that, but it’s a sweet story and I wanted to include it.

On how her kids are doing
They are going to be 15 in just a couple of weeks. They’re doing good. They spend an extraordinary amount of time in their rooms. They did before quarantine but now with that in-school zooming even more so. I kind of hardly see them except when we have dinner, maybe breakfast. I think they’re cool with that.

On realizing during Black Panther promotion that she had met Chadwick Boseman years ago
I was so honored to receive an honorary doctorate from Howard University. I go there it’s a great time. I get this movie Black Panther. I’m sitting next to Chadwick every morning. We share the same makeup trailer. The night of the glorious premiere. [I] said hello [to Chadwick]. He whispers in my ear ‘when you got your honorary degree, I was the student that escorted you throughout that day.’ I was just so blown away. I couldn’t believe that he held that back from me while we were shooting, the entire time.

[From The Tonight Show on YouTube]

Angela always impresses me when I see her. She’s goals and is aging like fine wine. I love that story about Chadwick waiting until the premiere to tell her that he was the student she was with at Howard! So many people say he was humble and low key like that. I bet he didn’t plan it out so much as he just forgot about it until that moment.

As for her kids staying in their rooms, that sounds typical. My son turned 16 in lockdown. At first we were spending a lot of time together but we got a bit sick of each other. It’s been hard to be stuck in the house so long. Plus he’s still learning how to drive. We get along great but we do retreat to our separate areas most of the time. Now we’re just waiting to get vaccinated, which seems so close yet so far away. He also Zooms and is on Discord a lot with his friends, which is nice to hear. I don’t worry about him being isolated as much since he seems very connected with everyone. If he was seeing them in person I would worry a lot more.

Here’s that interview!

A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett)

A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett)

A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett)

For much of the past year, Angelina Jolie has been in lockdown in LA. Jolie is famously infected with wanderlust, so I imagine it’s been difficult for her to stay in one place for months on end, without even being able to visit refugee camps. She’s been home-schooling her younger kids, doing Zoom calls with Time Magazine and writing. As it turns out, she’s also been shopping with some regularity. Perhaps supporting the local economy in LA. These photos are of Angelina and Zahara, who just turned 16 years old on January 8th. I can’t believe it! I remember when all of Angelina’s kids were babies and now she’s got one kid in college (Maddox) and Zahara is 16! And Pax is 17! Crazy.

Anyway, Angelina loves to take her kids shopping and it’s not like they’re regulars on Rodeo Drive or anything. She’s always taken the kids shopping at art supply stores and regular shops. She and Zahara were seen exiting a Target, for goodness sake. Also: I’ve always thought that Zahara was more fashionable than her mom, but it looks like Angelina has been doing some online shopping or something. Her outfit is pretty chic, while Zahara is just in regular old athleisure.

I also missed these photos of Angelina out shopping at an Ethiopian boutique in LA on the 8th. Many believe that she was picking up some stuff for Zahara for her birthday. Zahara was on that shopping excursion too, as was… Shiloh? Is that Shiloh or is that Vivienne? When they’re wearing masks, I can’t tell. I think it’s Shiloh, maybe.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.