This is too funny. Last month, Apple quietly pulled Wolfs from a wide theatrical release. Apple had initially planned to spend a lot of money promoting Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s big on-screen reunion in Wolfs, and Apple was definitely looking to make back some money given the bloated production cost and George and Brad’s bloated salaries. Then Apple executives saw the film and they were like… you know what, nope, let’s dump this on streaming.

It was clear that George and Brad had initially planned a huge promotional tour too, and we saw the early remnants of that plan – the joint GQ cover, George and Amal doing the most to rehabilitate Brad’s image, Brad making his red-carpet debut with Ines de Ramon in Venice. But now that it’s been established that Wolfs is a mess which would have bombed at the box office, George and Brad aren’t even trying anymore. These photos are from last night’s LA premiere. George didn’t even bring Amal! And Brad didn’t bring Ines. That’s the biggest sign that they don’t give a sh-t about Wolfs anymore – they wouldn’t even use their partners to bring some extra pizzazz to the carpet (Ines did come to the afterparty though). I’m sure George and Brad would say that they have enough pizzazz on their own. But they both looked like ass and Brad has really f–ked up his face. They are both way too old to be doing any of this.

Speaking of, a few nights ago, George appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel brought up George’s NYT op-ed in which George declared that Joe Biden was “too old” and he needed to “step aside” and Democrats should have a mini-primary because the primary votes cast for Pres. Biden and VP Harris don’t count, and don’t worry about the money either. Like, go back and read how f–king insane that guest column was. Anyway, since Biden stepped down, George has been furiously backtracking and trying to claim that no one will remember his NYT op-ed. George addressed it again and it does feel like he’s really trying to convince people that they should not care about what he wrote two months ago.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

On Tuesday, WellChild confirmed that their royal patron, Prince Harry, would attend the WellChild Awards on Monday, September 30th. Harry will be in New York next week and he has an incredibly full schedule, including an appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative. I assume Harry will travel from New York to London two weekends from now. I also assume that Harry will stay in a hotel, just like he has done for his past three visits to the UK. Harry released a statement about the upcoming appearance at the WellChild Awards, saying that he is “honored” to celebrate “the remarkable courage and achievements of children living with complex medical needs…These incredible young people, along with the dedicated caregivers, nurses, and professionals who tirelessly support them, inspire us all. It is a true privilege to recognize such extraordinary individuals.”

As you can imagine, the news of Harry’s upcoming trip has landed like a bomb in the British media. But it’s also nothing new, there’s no new catch or new storyline. Charles will still go out of his way to avoid and snub Harry, and the palace will likely brief against Harry during his visit. William will rage and scream about how he will never forgive his brother. And the British media will cry about how Meghan is “snubbing” Britain. LMAO.

Meghan Markle is set to repeat a controversial UK snub by not attending one of Prince Harry’s key engagements later this month. Harry, as patron of WellChild, the national UK charity for seriously ill children, will be stepping out at the organisation’s awards evening on September 30. The Duke of Sussex is set to host the ceremony for the 13th time – but, just like last year, he’ll be going it alone.

Harry has spoken at length about his security fears over bringing Meghan Markle or his children back to the UK. Earlier this year, he told ITV how the perceived threat of “a knife or acid” left him with “genuine concerns” about his wife joining him. Meghan didn’t travel with him to London last year for the WellChild awards – and has not returned to the UK since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022. Despite avoiding her husband’s place of birth in 2023, the Duchess of Sussex was able to travel to last year’s Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Speaking on The Royal Record podcast, GB News’ Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker and GBNews.com’s Royal Editor Svar Nanan-Sen detailed just what the exiled royals’ upcoming engagements might look like. After highlighting the Duke of Sussex’s “admirable” commitment to the children’s charity, Cameron noted how a “big question mark” remained “over whether this is going to be a quick in-and-out trip for Prince Harry”.

He asked whether it would be a case of “back into the UK, then straight back to California” – or if he’ll spend longer over in Britain. Svar replied: “It’s an opportunity for him to see his family. We know he hasn’t seen King Charles since February, so that could be something that he’s keen to explore. I doubt he’ll see William… They obviously came face-to-face at their uncle’s funeral last month and chose not to speak to each other, according to eyewitnesses.”

“Last year, he came back for the WellChild Awards on September 7. He spent just a night in the UK, and then immediately flew to Germany for the Invictus Games. Meghan Markle chose not to accompany Harry to the UK, but then made the flight across to Europe anyway, and flew to the Invictus Games two days later, it was seen at the time as a snub. Meghan’s not expected to join him on his trip to the UK this year for the WellChild Awards – but we may see Harry stick around for more than just a couple of days.”

[From GB News]

They are still so salty about Meghan’s plane landing briefly at Heathrow before flying off to Germany. They are still so salty about Meghan refusing to go to the coronation. They are still so salty that they can’t benefit from the Markle sparkle. They cannot believe that after heaping racist abuse and a high-level smear campaign on her for years, she won’t come back to them and pose for photos. As for Harry’s plans… if past is prologue, that man is going to arrive on Sunday, do WellChild on Monday and dip on Tuesday. Then we’ll find out later that he also met with like five other charities privately.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Cillian Murphy followed up his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer by going back to Ireland to work on Small Things Like These, and the trailer came out this week. He stars in and produced the film, which is about the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. He’s probably going to get another Oscar nom, right? [Just Jared]
Trailer for Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, starring Robert Pattinson. [Seriously OMG]
Photos from the Agatha All Along premiere. [Go Fug Yourself]
James McAvoy was an awkward mess when he met Jennifer Aniston. [Socialite Life]
Demi Moore is apparently very gentle & low-key in person.[LaineyGossip]
Speaking of James McAvoy, a review of Speak No Evil. [Pajiba]
Disney blamed Lightyear’s failure on the same-sex kiss. [OMG Blog]
I love Halle Berry’s Tamara Ralph dress. [RCFA]
The final message from OceanGate’s Titan sub disaster. [Hollywood Life]
I agree with all of these boomer opinions. [Buzzfeed]

I don’t know if the Guardian and their readership are indicative of a larger shift in how people speak about the Princess of Wales, but it absolutely feels like no segment of the population enjoyed Kate’s “cancer-free” video. Last week, the Guardian published a nuanced essay written by Hilary Osborne about what life is really like after cancer and chemotherapy. I didn’t cover it at the time, because many commentators were making the same point – that literally no one can relate to Kate’s glossy, asinine commercial. Well, the Guardian got a lot of letters about Osbourne’s essay and they are uniformly critical of Kate’s video. The video is called “jarring and somewhat smug,” inappropriate and a “mistake.” They’re calling out Kate’s privilege too.

Meanwhile, Kensington Palace is still furiously sending out talking points to friendly commentators, trying to mitigate the damage done to William and Kate’s images following the video. Jennie Bond got a call! She’s reiterating a talking point made by Kate’s team on her 40th birthday, which is that Kate is deeply committed to doing f–k all until all of her kids are in college.

“Catherine has made it clear that from now on, more than ever, her family will come first,” Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, told OK!. “She will return to work slowly, on her own terms, and William will completely support her in this. I don’t think he will exert any pressure whatsoever on her to increase her workload, because the days of duty taking precedence over everything have passed.”

Jennie also noted, “This doesn’t mean she intends to be only part-time forever because these days there are other ways to be visible… Video messages and social media posts are all ways she could still be in touch and give her support to her causes, while still being there for her children.”

“In 12 or so years, when Catherine’s full recovery will hopefully be well-established, the children will probably all be off into further education, and then she can concentrate more on her work…But until she feels comfortable taking on more, we must be patient. We should spare a thought for those children. Yes, I know they have been born into huge privilege, but they have a grandfather with cancer, a grandmother who was killed before they were born, a mother the centre of their world who has been made vulnerable by this sledgehammer of a disease, and a dad who is battling all sorts of emotions while trying to do the best for his family and his country. Those children deserve to have their mum with them for as long as they need her.”

“I think it’s almost certain we will see her on Remembrance Day, if she’s well enough,” Jennie predicts. “There are also plans for her to host her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey, which should be a joyous occasion, and I’m sure many senior members of the royal family will want to support her.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

I remember Kate’s 40th birthday extravaganza so well – that was in early 2022, when Kate authorized no fewer than two dozen major stories about how she’s a goddess who walks on earth but she’s also so relatable and she’s also better than Meghan, for reasons. At the tail end of the extravaganza, Kensington Palace then briefed outlets that despite all of the keenery, Kate had zero intention of stepping up and working more. Omid Scobie said that in Endgame too, that all of the palace briefings about Kate for years have been about how she will not “step up” until her kids are in their 20s. My point is that this is not specific to Kate’s health issues – it’s always been the plan, and Kate has never worked as hard as a Top CEO or prioritized royal work or charity work.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

We haven’t talked about Sarah Huckabee Sanders in so long. It’s been nice, because she is a despicable person. She was Donald Trump’s press secretary for a time, and she’s currently the unhinged governor of Arkansas. On Tuesday, Donald Trump appeared in Michigan with Huckabee Sanders and they did a “town hall” event. This is how Gov. Huckabee Sanders spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris:

Huckabee: “So my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.” Yiiikes. What a loaded statement in like ten different ways. For one, why would a Black woman need to be “humbled” again? And then obviously, the Republican platform is now explicitly about pouring scorn on childless women, women without biological children, women with fertility issues and women who are not stay-at-home mothers. JD Vance has made that clear. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has made that clear. It’s appalling.

Mika immediately made the point in this clip – Kamala Harris is a stepmother of two kids. Ella and Cole Emhoff love Kamala and she adores them. Even if Kamala wasn’t a stepmother, it still wouldn’t f–king matter and it still wouldn’t be anyone’s f–king business.

Someone made the point on this Chris Hayes tweet – it’s not “contempt for people without children.” It’s specifically about WOMEN who have not given birth. Lindsey Graham, a childless bachelor senator, is never spoken about this way.

I’ll say this: at this point this isn’t some savvy political calculation: they genuinely, as an ideological matter, have contempt for people without children. https://t.co/QOGYOX2bSn

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 17, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

There are so many agendas playing out in all of these “Prince Harry at 40” stories. It’s a reminder that when Prince William turned 40 in 2022, all of the “Huevo at 40” stories were about how much he hates his brother and how William never, ever thinks about Harry. Two years later, the “Harry at 40” stories are about… how much William hates his brother. I’m just saying, William has been heavy-handed and obvious as hell in how many of these stories are being sourced. One of the rare pieces which seemed almost generous to Harry and his motives was this one in the Guardian, written by Caroline Davies. Some highlights:

How did Harry get here? Five thousand miles and 10 tumultuous years away, he may ponder, as he did following his dramatic departure from the UK: “What on earth happened? How did we end up here?” The “here” is the celebrity enclave of Montecito in Santa Barbara county, California, and the “how” – since played out incessantly in newspapers, TV interviews and courtrooms – has been laid bare in his scathing memoir, Spare.

The inheritance? According to reports, he is to inherit money from a trust set up by his great-grandmother the late queen mother. William and Harry were to receive £6m when they reached 21, with the bulk going to Harry in the knowledge that William would inherit the Duchy of Cornwall and, later as king, the Duchy of Lancaster. A further £8m was said to have been set aside for the brothers when they turned 40, the Times has reported.

Appears to be financially independent! Home, today, is a nine-bedroom, £11m mansion on the Sussexes’ gated 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) estate, where mononymous neighbours include Oprah and Gwyneth. Hard-won privacy protects Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. Harry is finally liberated from the royal institution he regarded as toxic, and appears to be financially independent.

Peter Hunt has some thoughts: “Fundamentally, I think he’s happier because he has a family. And I think that’s pretty crucial, actually,” said the royal commentator Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent. Yet, sections of the UK media persist in unrelenting negative coverage of a prince they see as having abandoned king and country, and who has, indisputably, made damaging slurs against family and institution.

The Sandringham Summit: Cast adrift by the hardline “Sandringham summit”, brokered by the royal family, [Harry] is seemingly so estranged from William that his brother reportedly does not want him at his own coronation. The stark “in or out” ultimatum delivered at Sandringham – which refused Harry and the Duchess of Sussex a semi-royal role – divined the couple’s path to Montecito, and, presumably, the interviews, documentaries and memoir that followed. It set a simple narrative: Charles, William and the late Queen Elizabeth were right. “And, therefore, Harry has got his comeuppance,” Hunt said. “But there is an alternative narrative that argues that, actually, Harry was treated very badly. They could have found a way to accommodate him if they had chosen. There are countless examples where the royal family has adapted, when needed, to survive. But there was too much bad blood by then. They were so entrenched.”

Harry’s war with the media: He remains committed to his legal battle against some UK media organisations over his claims of unlawful information gathering. “I think he’s utterly determined to see through this legal action for what he sees as media malpractice, which I think could be described as both brave and foolhardy in equal measure,” Hunt said.

Out in the cold: So, as he turns 40, Harry remains out the cold in the Californian sunshine. Anonymous sources have reportedly claimed that a restless Harry is keen for a partial return to the UK, that he’s ditched Hollywood publicists and recently contacted former royal aides and old friends looking for a low-key entry back. Named Operation Bring Harry in from the Cold, the Guardian understands such speculation is wide of the mark, and that, now and for the foreseeable future, he sees his future in California with his family. Why, ventured one source, would they have spent the past four years establishing their freedom, only to go straight back? They have established business and media interests, including their $100m Netflix deal, along with their Archewell Foundation with its charitable mission of “show up, do good”.

The photogenic Sussexes: The four-day tour to Colombia promoting causes close to the Sussexes’ hearts – including child online safety – garnered international media coverage. Described as a “quasi-royal tour” by some, the photo spreads it generated served as a reminder that Charles’s vision for a slimmed-down monarchy did not factor in the pulling power of the photogenic Sussexes. “Ten years ago, we certainly expected him to be a working royal,” said the royal author and historian Hugo Vickers, who predicts problems ahead for the couple. “They will do anything to keep going, I think. They are relying on their royal links, on their celebrity, to keep reinventing themselves and keep themselves in the public eye. And I think it’s going to end badly, personally. They may very sincerely believe they are doing wonderful good for the under-privileged of the world. But also, their lifestyle must be incredibly expensive.”

[From The Guardian]

“Harry is finally liberated from the royal institution he regarded as toxic, and appears to be financially independent.” Or, put another way, Harry escaped a violently toxic and abusive institution, managed to protect his wife and children, and is absolutely financially independent, much to the chagrin of the left-behind Windsors and the British media. It cannot be emphasized enough that everything that’s happened, all of the Sussexes’ success and independence, was never “the plan.” The plan was to force Harry to crawl back, divorced, broke and compliant. They did everything they could to make that happen and it didn’t and they cannot deal with it. Hunt brings up an interesting point, and not for the first time. Hunt has always said that the Windsors were spectacularly stupid to let the Sussexes go and to treat them the way they have. The left-behinds have never listened to Hunt though. So here we are – the Guardian and other outlets weeping as they begrudgingly admit that Harry isn’t coming back.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.

James Middleton’s tawdry pseudo-memoir, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, has come out or is about to come out. Various outlets on both sides of the Atlantic have already published excerpts from the book, and it seems to be about James’s mental health and his associations with the Windsors in equal measure. So, I have to apologize for something? Months ago, Tatler was trying to hype the book and they revealed that James wrote about his visits to various palaces and castles, and he apparently also visited Highgrove. Highgrove is King Charles’s estate and I had a hard time imagining why James would even be invited there, much less with his dog? Because that’s his excuse for talking about the Windsors, he’s always talking about how the Windsors were nice to his dog and how Ella always got into adventures whenever she stayed at a royal property. Well, the Highgrove story is apparently true. Not only that, James claims to have stayed at the big house in Sandringham. Oh really?? This excerpt is via the Mail:

Whenever we visited Sandringham, the Queen, being a dog lover herself, welcomed Ella, and later her offspring Tilly and Zulu went, too. Her Majesty was always concerned about their wellbeing, and knowing the special place Ella held in my heart, allowed her unprecedented privileges.

‘Did you get my message, James?’ she asked me the first time I visited. ‘Ella is welcome to stay in your room.’ How thoughtful of the Queen to make a special concession for Ella. Naturally she wasn’t allowed to wander at will round the grand house, so I kept popping up to check on her and take her for walks.

On one visit, I didn’t close the bedroom door properly, and Ella made it her mission to find me and demonstrate her annoyance at being left behind. I didn’t realise this until a footman glided up to me and whispered: ‘I believe your dog has found her way into the kitchen.’ I quickly made my excuses and followed him to find a delighted Ella lying on her back, having her tummy rubbed by a friendly chef.

Ella made quite a habit of ambling off during family occasions. One Christmas, I popped into Highgrove to visit Catherine and William, who were staying with the King, who was then Prince Charles. Catherine and I were having a catch-up over a cup of tea and Ella was sitting at my feet. Then I realised she had wandered off. It wasn’t till later that I learned that she had made her way up to a private bathroom and had pushed open the door to say hello to the occupant as they were having a bath. I was absolutely mortified.

I didn’t imagine the Queen would ever find out about Ella’s little adventure into the Sandringham kitchens, but nothing escaped her. She said to me: ‘I hear Ella had a nice little wander round earlier.’ I apologised profusely, expecting a gentle telling-off.

Instead, with the understanding that comes from long association with dogs, she gave me a conspiratorial smile and said: ‘Well, dogs will be dogs.’ Everyone knows about her corgis, but few are aware that she also had a line of spaniels. One lunchtime, we were engrossed in a long conversation about them, and I was thrilled to discover she was extremely knowledgeable about the breed. She was always kind and solicitous about my dogs, too. ‘Have you taken Ella out, James?’ or ‘Are your dogs happy?’ she’d ask with genuine concern.

[From The Daily Mail]

Real question: do you believe any of this? Do you believe that William and Kate stayed at Highgrove one Christmas and that James “popped by”? Do you believe that James and Ella were regulars at Sandringham and that Queen Elizabeth was fond of talking about dogs with Kate’s brother? It all seems so bizarre, and the framing of it is making me lose my mind. Like, the whole world revolved around Ella, and every single person understood that James had a single-minded devotion to this dog?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Towards the end of August, Prince Harry’s office announced that he would travel to New York for UN Climate Week, which is next week. He’s booked and busy for the trip – he will have meetings and events in and around UN Climate Week, plus The HALO Trust, The Diana Award, Travalyst, Archewell and more. I’m convinced that he will actually have meetings AT the United Nations. Well, after Harry wraps up his events in New York, he’s flying to London for The WellChild Awards on September 30. WellChild announced this on their social media, and of course Becky English at the Mail is treating it like it’s her exclusive:

Prince Harry will return to the UK later this month to attend a high-profile charity event in London. It has been announced that the Duke of Sussex will be a guest at the annual WellChild Awards in his role as the charity’s patron.

The national charity for seriously ill children is one of the few UK-based organisations that the prince kept links with after his acrimonious departure from royal duties and move to the US. He chose to remain in the position, which he has held for 16 years, when his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, asked him to step down from his other royal patronages as a now non-working member of the family.

There was no mention of his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, accompanying him. According to some reports she has vowed never to set foot in the UK again, and when she flew into the UK earlier this year when the couple visited Nigeria she didn’t even set foot outside the airport.

With the King currently based in Scotland but returning to London regularly for his ongoing cancer treatment, it could give an opportunity for father and son to actually meet in private. However the King has a major engagement in Scotland just two days before Harry’s when he and Queen Camilla visit the Scottish Parliament to mark its 25th anniversary. This suggests he could well remain north of the border while his son is in the country. The last time they saw each other was in February when it was announced that the King had cancer and the prince flew from the US to see him briefly. When he returned again in May, however, the King was too busy to meet, although His Majesty did offer him alternative accommodation in one of the royal properties, contrary to reports. Harry chose to stay in a hotel instead.

[From The Daily Mail]

This actually feels like Harry boxing in his father once again. Sources close to King Charles couldn’t shut up about the birthday-wishes social media posts for Harry and how it was an “olive branch” and “the ball is now in Harry’s court.” Harry’s like, let’s see if you really mean that. My guess is that it’s the same play from May: Harry contacts his father’s office and asks for a meeting, and now the proverbial ball is in Charles’s court. If Charles refuses a meeting, Harry will release another statement saying, in essence, my dad’s too “busy” to meet with me. It’s interesting that the awards are on a Monday as well – I wonder when Harry will fly to the UK, and I wonder if a possible meeting was discussed between Charles and Harry in the “birthday phone call.” Ten bucks says that Charles is going to try to get Harry to come to Balmoral again.

Also: “He chose to remain in the position, which he has held for 16 years, when his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, asked him to step down from his other royal patronages.” Keep in mind that WellChild is not a “royal patronage,” it’s a private charity and Harry has loved spending time with those kids for years and years. Also keep in mind that all of the royal patronages which were taken from Harry were actually really mad about it, they wanted to keep Harry as their patron but QEII and her courtiers wanted to “punish” Harry. They thought punishing Harry was more important than charity work and service.

We are delighted to announce that WellChild Patron Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will attend the 2024 WellChild Awards, in association with @GSK, on 30th Sept. The Duke will meet our inspirational winners at a pre-ceremony reception before joining them in the main event.… pic.twitter.com/J7WR2YExKw

— WellChild (@WellChild) September 17, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Since that cringefest “cancer free” video and subsequent backlash, the Princess of Wales has been trying out different talking points. In the immediate wake of the video and statement, the talking point was: f–k the haters, f–k the media, I’m going to do what I want. Then it was: of course I’ll eventually be back, I just need more time to rest and recover, but don’t hold your breath. There was an undercurrent to the backlash too, something about “Kate can grope ferns in the woods but she can’t do some Zooms for charity?” Well, Kate heard the criticism and she organized a “private meeting” at Windsor Castle, something about the fakakta Early Years.

Kate Middleton has officially returned to work, just a week after announcing she was cancer-free and had finished chemotherapy in an unprecedentedly personal video. Wednesday’s Court Circular, a bulletin published by Buckingham Palace every day detailing the official activities of the royals, said that the princess convened a meeting for her signature ‘Early Years’ project on Tuesday. She has previously described the cause, which focuses on raising awareness about the importance the first five years of life for children’s development, as her life’s work.

The statement read simply: “The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this afternoon held an Early Years Meeting at Windsor.” It marked Kate’s first appearance in the Court Circular since December last year and will be seen as a huge milestone on her path to recovery.

The meeting was conducted behind closed doors and no images have been released.

Kate is only expected to make two public, official appearances this year, with attendance at the national Remembrance Day service in November pencilled into her diary, along with an appearance at an annual carol service which she sponsors in December.

[From The Daily Beast]

I’m glad she’s well enough to do this. What’s slightly funny to me is that “sources” have previously insisted that Kate was doing some work from home, that she was reading emails or briefing papers or what have you. But I guess none of that counted – it only counts when it’s on the Court Circular, right? The Daily Beast also referred to this meeting as a “special project.” Meaning what, exactly? Is she going to commission another ridiculous claymation video? Another survey? Another relaunch of “Kate is keen about Early Years, no follow-up questions needed.”

The photos in this post are from January 2023, when Kate wore a McQueen tuxedo jacket to a big Early Years meeting at Windsor Castle. She met with her “Early Years advisors” and carried a small notebook, to doodle pie charts.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Martha Stewart deigned to let a noted documentarian make a film record of her life for posterity, and Netflix is set to release the fruits of that labor at the end of October. R.J. Cutler has helmed excellent movies on formidable subjects such as The September Issue (about Anna Wintour/Vogue) and The World According to Dick Cheney. So in working with Cutler on Martha-the-film, Martha-the-legend was totally fine with not being the director and handing off the final edit to someone else’s vision. JK, JK! Despite promoting the doc alongside Cutler at the Telluride Film Festival, Martha is no longer calling the film a good thing. Specifically the second half that deals with her prison sentence for insider trading, or as Martha eloquently put it, “It’s more about my stupid trial, which was so unfair.” Martha shared her true feelings while at the 2024 Retail Influencer CEO Forum last week:

“I try not to talk publicly about the things I don’t like, [as] it’s not good business,” she said during an on-stage conversation with the Daily Beast’s Chief Creative and Content Officer Joanna Coles. However, as she was particularly put off by the documentary, she added, “I can talk a little bit badly about that.”

As for what she didn’t like, “It’s more about my stupid trial, which was so unfair,” she said. Stewart also didn’t like the doc’s inclusion of a sit-down with former Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Director James Comey.

“[Cutler] has a picture of Comey [in the doc],” she continued, and “Comey says, ‘Oh, she’s going to jail because she lied, not because she committed a crime’ — some crap. And [he doesn’t put] underneath, ‘Comey was fired for lying.’” Comey was sacked by Donald Trump in 2017 following widespread criticism of his handling of both the Hillary Clinton email and the Russian election interference investigations, though the former president never provided a concrete reason for his firing.

“I would, as a documentarian, put that in,” Stewart continued, “so that’s the laziness part.”

Additionally, Stewart took issue with the level of collaboration she said she expected for her participation in the project. “I had a collaboration contract,” she explained, “We were going to be collaborators — and then he had final edit.” So when Stewart expressed that she wasn’t pleased with the second half of the doc (“the first half was great,” she said), Cutler had the final say: “He wouldn’t change anything.”

Stewart wasn’t expecting — nor did she want — full control, she added, but she expected more collaboration from Cutler. “You shouldn’t have a final edit, [but] you should have a cooperative edit.”

Despite the disagreement, both Cutler and Stewart have been promoting the film together. “We had to do a question-and-answer on the stage at Telluride last week,” she said, and added cheekily, “It was good.” After all, before things presumably became awkward, “I got along with him initially.”

Still, she feels the second half of Martha leaves much to be desired. “It doesn’t mention all my collaborations,” Stewart added. “I’ve had so many fabulous collaborations with thousands of wonderful employees who have worked so hard [and] like-minded people that I really am proud of. For them not to even have a part in this — it’s not fair, I don’t think, in a story of my life. That’s what really made me, me.”

[From The Daily Beast]

I think we can all agree in 2024 that the outsized zeal with which Martha Stewart was pursued, tried, and convicted in 2003 came down to good old fashioned misogyny, yes? I’m not saying she was innocent, but there was a certain glee the world showed in watching a successful woman fall from grace. I give Martha mad credit for her resilience in the aftermath; she boldly greeted the day from curtainless windows and came back for another act of palling around with Snoop Dogg, chipping off icebergs to add to her cocktails, and dining on chobsters.

But whatever you think of Martha’s 2003 conviction, it’s a little hard to believe that the fact of it being addressed in this documentary would take Martha by surprise, no? And then the James Comey stuff, my gosh. Without getting too much in the weeds, I’ll say that while I’m no Comey fan, Martha’s argument there is not what she thinks it is. In any event, I’ve seen enough to know I will definitely be watching this film next month. Of course, you’re talking to a girl who would be just as pleased to see an entire documentary focus on Martha’s bathing suit-as-underwear lifestyle choice. If ever something needed to be thoroughly investigated…

PS — “I try not to talk publicly about the things I don’t like,” coming from Martha, just about did me in.

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