Category: News

Before Donald Trump was president of the United States, he was just guy on Twitter. His tweets didn’t yet do things like unsettle the world economy. (Nor was he yet an Axl Rose whipping boy.) He was just some bozo with too much time on his hands, tweeting out his dumb thoughts on a public sphere. One of those tweets, from 2012, was about Kate Middleton, who had semi-recently become the Duchess of Cambridge. And it was so crude that it may have permanently pissed off members of the Royal Family.

Newsweek obtained a copy of Christopher Andersen’s forthcoming book The King: The Life of Charles III, and like many tomes about modern day world affairs, it’s got some dirt on the 45th president. Only about six months into her marriage to Prince William, a Danish tabloid published pictures of her on a nude beach during her honeymoon. It created a scandal. Lawsuits were filed. And Trump — a man prone to skeevy thoughts he sometimes makes public — weighed in.

“Kate Middleton is great – but she shouldn’t be sunbathing in the nude – only herself to blame,” Trump tweeted. “Who wouldn’t take Kate’s picture and make lots of money if she does the nude sunbathing thing? Come on Kate!”

Well, members of the Royal family were not amused, especially given Trump’s history of lusting after some of them, as per Newsweek:

The former U.S. president sparked “torrents of profanity” from Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry after he said that Kate Middleton had “only herself to blame” for topless photographs taken without her consent and published in French magazine Closer.

Trump also left Charles “disappointed” after referring to him as the “Prince of Whales,” spelled like the sea mammals, rather than the “Prince of Wales,” author Christopher Andersen wrote in The King: The Life of Charles III. Trump suggesting that he “could have nailed” Princess Diana, if he had wanted to, also “didn’t help.”

Andersen himself elaborated upon Trump’s feeling for Princess Diana:

“It didn’t help that Trump had aggressively pursued Princess Diana after her divorce—overtures that were rebuffed—and claimed later on a radio program that he could have ‘nailed her if I wanted to,’ but only if she passed an HIV test.”

Cut to 2017, when Trump was planning on visiting Britain. The Royals had no forgotten about his previous comments. Princes Charles, William, and Harry reportedly “burned up the phone lines” trying to work behind the scenes to discourage his visit. Trump later cancelled the trip, claiming it was because of some Obama-era real estate deal that made him mad.

Charles seems to have never forgiven Trump. When he was being impeached for the first (of two) times, Charles followed it closely, at one point reportedly remarking, “What a ghastly, awful man.” (Perhaps this will all wind up on The Crown one day.)

Still, at least one of his jokes had a fan. Camilla, now the Queen Consort, reportedly told a friend she “couldn’t stop laughing” at Trump’s “Prince of Whales” line — which, you know, props.

(Via Newsweek)

Matthew Perry has a new memoir out, called Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. It’s a bracing account of his struggles with addiction, which very nearly cost him his life. It’s also caused a bit of inadvertent chaos. It also has some more lighthearted dirt about his career, such as how he coaxed Julia Roberts to guest star on Friends.

Speaking of guest stints, the book has another amusing bit about how they got another star to appear on the show. Bruce Willis spent a three-episode arc on the show, playing the father of a student David Schwimmer’s Ross was dating. Willis’ character even wound up hooking up with Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel. Willis won an Emmy for it — his second, after his starmaking stint on Moonlighting. But according to Perry, he only wound up doing it because he lost a bet.

Perry and Willis co-starred in the hit mob comedy The Whole Nine Yards, from the year 2000. The two hit it off, even though they were a touch different in some ways. “Bruce was a partier; I was an addict,” Perry writes. “Bruce has an on-off button. He can party like crazy, then get a script like ‘The Sixth Sense’ and stop the partying and nail the movie sober. He doesn’t have the gene — he’s not an addict.”

The two were able to keep it together and make a crowd-pleasing hit, despite Willis’ pessimism. “Bruce hadn’t been sure the film would work at all, and I’d bet him it would — if he lost, he had to do a guest spot on ‘Friends,’” he recalled. Alas, it was a hit and Willis fulfilled his end of the bargain, which worked out pretty well for him.

Like some of the more lighthearted stories in Perry’s memoir, this one’s tinged with melancholy. “If ‘The Whole Nine Yards’ was the start of my movie stardom, it’s fair to say that ‘The Whole Ten Yards’ was the end,” he wrote.

Perry also recalled spending time with Willis. “Sometimes, at the end of the night, when the sun was just about to come up and everyone else had gone, and the party was over, Bruce and I would just sit and talk,” he wrote. “That’s when I saw the real Bruce Willis — a good-hearted man, a caring man, selfless. A wonderful parent. And a wonderful actor. And most important, a good guy.

“And if he wanted me to be, I would be his friend for life,” added Perry. “But as is the way with so many of these things, our paths rarely crossed after that.”

(Via Insider)

It’s just over a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter. How’s it going? Well, soon as he grabbed the reins, there was a massive uptick in racial and anti-Semitic slurs. He’s pissed off Stephen King and the Twitter user known as “@Catturd2.” There have been massive, possibly illegal layoffs. And advertisers have been fleeing. The last one may be the thing that really bugs Musk, as advertisers are the backbone of Twitter’s budget. But don’t worry, because it appears Musk has an outside-the-box solution on how to lure them back.

On Friday, Musk blamed the advertiser exodus not on controversial far right extremists or his own erratic behavior but on “activist groups” he claimed were “pressuring advertisers” to jump ship. His service’s own moderation team flagged that post, adding context that contradicts that claim. But he found a sympathetic ear from conservative operative Mike Davis, who gave him some (dubious) advice: “Name and shame the advertisers who are succumbing to the advertiser boycotts. So we can counter-boycott them.”

Musk, though, seemed to like the idea, writing, “A thermonuclear name & shame is exactly what will happen if this continues.”

To sum up, Musk’s plan to lure back advertisers — and attract new ones — is to agree with a MAGA head to threaten them with boycotts if they don’t return.

Mind you, Musk hadn’t announced this was his game plan. Earlier in the day, he seemed to be trying to mollify advertisers’ concerns over Twitter turning into a wild west of bigoted trolls. “Again, to be crystal clear, Twitter’s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged,” he wrote. “In fact, we have actually seen hateful speech at times this week decline *below* our prior norms, contrary to what you may read in the press.”

Then again, by the end of the day he was trolling the many critics of his plan to charge for blue checkmarks.

That included Dan Rather.

We are truly awash in Princess Dianas these days. Kristen Stewart received an Oscar nod for her role in the surrealist Spencer, and Emma Corrin won an Emmy for her wide-eyed Di in Season 4 of The Crown. Now Elizabeth Debicki grabs the baton and gives us the most tragic incarnation yet: a Diana who has seen some sh*t and who we know will go through more of it. The result is fascinating watch that will keep attracting those people who don’t care about the Royal family but can’t resist The Crown. Get ready, for there will be real-life fallout.

It’s no wonder, then, that King Charles III is said to be very concerned about this season. Specifically, he’s said to be worried about how awful it makes his princely acts look. In response to backlash from Royal supporters, Netflix has been covering their butts by tacking on a “fictional dramatization” label to their most recent trailer. However, Charles probably should be worried because there’s not a single redeemable thing that Charles, the character, does this season.

Yes, he’s now somehow worse (while portrayed by Dominic West) than the newlywed who threw a horrific, days-long tantrum because his wife dared to be likable throughout their Australian tour. A decade or so on, Charles not only treats his wife like garbage but refuses to stop acting like ^^ this ^^ with Camilla. Yes, the notorious leaked phone call where he wistfully wishes that he was a tampon does happen. As well, Charles isn’t so wonderful regarding his mother. He wildly maneuvers in an attempt to “king” himself in the mid-1990s. As we now know, he doesn’t get there until 2022.

On another level, it’s really something that this season is landing right now, not too long after Diana’s younger son, Harry the “spare,” has left the building after watching his own wife (Meghan Markle) allegedly be treated horribly by this same family.

So in a way, this season is “ladies’ night,” although it’s not a celebration full of free drinks at the bar. It’s more of an observation of how Diana survives within this male-crafted institution. Ironically, those ideals are enforced by Queen Elizabeth (now played by Imelda Staunton), who’s all too keen to make a couple stay together despite being in agony, even after she fully realizes that her own marriage ain’t all that. Recent history even tells us that Liz’s husband, Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce), kept a “companion” up until his death at age 99. That would be Penny Knatchbull, and she appears in this season as portrayed by Natascha McElhone. It’s uncomfortable to witness.

If one adds Diana’s misery and Elizabeth’s sudden (and self-quieted) revelations to Princess Margaret’s ongoing unhappiness (after Elizabeth refused to let her marry Peter Townsend back in the early days of this show), man, it’s nuts. All three women were believed to sit in positions of power, but the gilded cage adage rings all too true. Naturally, it’s difficult to feel too bad for Liz, given her status as puppet master. She’s lost much of her likability from previous seasons. This grows all too clear with an on-screen callback to Claire Foy’s Queen christening of the Britannia yacht as a symbol of a mighty nation; soon after, Imelda’s version stomps her feet to demand Britannia’s lavish renovations on the struggling taxpayer’s dime.

Back to Di, though. There’s a moment early in this season when she hears a click on her phone, and then, you know it’s on. She’s been tightly controlled ever since finding out about Charles’ affair on the eve before their wedding, back when this show defecated all over the fairy tale. Well, those phone clicks keep happening, and Diana’s eventually motivated to expose her mistreatment. It’s a stunning but bittersweet development, given that she’s threatened with exile and separation from her sons. We also know that Diana’s Royal exit brought an unintended death sentence to come.

Still, it’s a remarkable sight to see a reimagining of how Diana took the gloves off. It’s quite something to watch her covert participation in Andrew Morton’s Diana: Her True Story biography and her progression toward the BBC interview that paved the way for her divorce. Even though those who followed Diana’s place in history are aware that these things happened, watching it go down onscreen brings the show to a crescendo. In doing so, Diana exposed cracks in the Windsor dynasty.

Those cracks still haven’t healed, and in 2022, Charles is acting a little bit assy as king. He may even go through more prime ministers than his mother did. And with Season 5, The Crown fleshes out a 1990s situation that largely reflects what’s still going on with the Royals. Yes, King Charles III will officially be coronated next spring, but all is not well in a time when the public is (once again) questioning why they fund a monarchy.

With all of that said, a somewhat sad season still offers enough soapy delight for an entertaining watch. There’s literally a raging inferno and a raging prince, and at the center of it all, Diana decides that she will be in charge of her public image. Dodi Fayed is hanging around, too, so more of him will come in Season 6. For now, we gain a sense of who Diana was behind her vulnerable exterior. Her story didn’t last much longer, but at least she told this part of it in the way that she wanted.

Netflix’s The Crown returns on November 9.

Rudy Gobert is extremely good at a whole lot of things on a basketball court. One weak spot for the gigantic Frenchman, however, is connecting on shots from behind the three-point line — Gobert entered the Minnesota Timberwolves’ game on Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks 0-for-12 from deep in his NBA career, as he’s usually more comfortable scoring near the rim.

But the opportunity presented itself to let one fly against the Bucks, with Gobert getting the cleanest look in the world during the third quarter of action. Gobert found himself at the very top of the key with absolutely no one near him, and if there was ever a time to see the ball go through the rim from deep for the first time in your decorated NBA career, this was it.

Unfortunately, it did not look great out of Gobert’s hand, and it eventually hit the ground without clipping the rim first.

Gobert even makes a face as if to say he understood this could have gone much, much better. Anyway, the only way to make a three is to keep shooting threes, so perhaps we’ll see Gobert continue to get up jumpers so he can knock down that elusive first three of his career. Or maybe he’ll keep hanging out by the rim and continue to be one of the best rebounders and lob threats in the world.

Spencer Dinwiddie played an important role in the Dallas Mavericks’ 111-110 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. After the game, Dinwiddie told the media about an interaction he had with one of the referees that worked the game, Tony Brothers, that appeared to really rub him the wrong way.

As Dinwiddie tells it, Brothers called him a “b*tch ass motherf*cker” after giving him a technical foul with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter. Here is a clip of the incident, in which Dinwiddie is called for a take foul and Brothers is very, very quick to give him a technical.

Dinwiddie kicked off his postgame press conference by explaining what happened here, which included the allegation that he was called a “b*tch ass motherf*cker” in a conversation with a teammate — in the above clip, you can see that Brothers spoke to Reggie Bullock for a little while Gary Trent Jr. stepped to the foul line.

“…what seemed to keep him irate, which was a clap, I think he thought it was disrespectful,” Dinwiddie said. “If you watch the games, and I know that’s what refs are supposed to do, you’ll see that I get the attention of my teammates, things of that nature. So, it was nothing personal. So, as a man, I would like to say I’m sorry, first and foremost, and secondarily, I would like to say, not only would I like my money back, but I would like to not be called a b*tch ass motherf*cker to my teammates.”

Dinwiddie went on to say that he hoped the NBA would not fine him. Brothers will not speak to the media on Friday, per Marc Stein.

In the latest episode of Abbott Elementary, Janine (Quinta Brunson), Melissa (Lisa Ann Walter), Jacob (Chris Perfetti), and Gregory (Tyler James Williams) find themselves, along with the titular school, as the subjects of a defamatory commercial. The commercial is designed to paint the school and its staff in an unflattering light, while trying to persuade parents to enroll in a nearby charter school.

Over the course of the episode, we see the gang attempt to get the commercial removed from the air, even meeting up with a lawyer to speed up the process. But they just can’t manage to make it go away.

At one point, the school’s principal, Ava Coleman (Janelle James), walks into the school’s teacher lounge, and catches the commercial playing on television.

“I can’t escape this commercial,” said Ava. “It’s like T-Pain in ’08.”

In 2008, T-Pain was featured on several high-charting collaborations, including, “The Boss” by Rick Ross, “Got Money” by Lil Wayne, ” and “Go Girl,” by Ciara.

T-Pain caught wind of the joke, evidently in real-time, and he took to Twitter to express his amusement.

“That sh*t was hilarious,” he said. “We watch @AbbottElemABC religiously and that line almost made me choke on my food.”

Perhaps can we expect a special guest appearance from the singer in the future?

Selena Gomez sat down with Zane Lowe for an exclusive interview on Apple TV+. The two discussed Gomez’s recently released documentary, My Mind & Me, which appears on the streaming platform. The film details Gomez’s mental health struggles as a musician and a performer in the public eye.

In addition to the film, Gomez opened up about some surprising facts about herself. First, that she prefers working on the sets of film and television projects rather than music videos. Gomez plays the main character of Mabel on Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building and hosts a cooking series, Selena + Chef on HBO Max.

Before that, she frequently acted in numerous Disney projects, from a lead role on Wizards Of Waverly Place and movies like Princess Protection Program. Gomez eventually crossed more into music for a while.

“I think it’s different because I started as an actress first,” Gomez said. “Having a relationship with the camera and having it be invisible is just naturally a part of it. I love being on sets. I love doing shows and film. I kind of thrive in that setting.”

“You actually want the camera to fall in love with the character you’re creating,” she continued. “I’ve had to have different relationships with how it works. Even in music videos, it’s different than being on a set. I probably prefer being on a set.”

Selena Gomez’s full conversation with Zane Lowe is currently airing exclusively on Apple TV+, along with My Mind & Me.

In true Scorpio fashion, Diddy celebrated his 53rd birthday today by singing himself happy birthday. I mean, if you don’t, who else will? He uploaded a video of the moment to Twitter as he lays in bed and sings the cheerful song.

“Happy birthday to me / Happy birthday to me / Happy birthday to me / Happy birthday to me!” Diddy sings. “Thank you God! I lived another year! Woo!”

“THANK YOU GOD FOR LETTING ME WAKE UP LIKE THIS!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! LOVE! LOVE!! LOVE,” he captioned the post.

In addition to the special song, Diddy picked up some presents for himself: by purchasing a few cannabis companies. He reposted a news article to his Instagram story which states that he would now own the largest Black-owned cannabis company in the world, if it is approved by US and state regulators. Buying three separate operations in a deal valued up to $185 million, according to RapUp, it marks Diddy’s first investment in that industry.

“This is a historic win for the culture and a major step forward for diverse founders around the world!” Diddy shared in a separate post on Instagram. “My mission has always been to create opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in industries we’ve traditionally been denied access to. This deal opens the door for more minorities and diverse founders in Cannabis, and I’m proud to kick the door down!”

It might be hard for a mogul like Diddy to beat his massive birthday wins today… but we believe he’ll try. Here’s to 53.

While the ladies of Fifth Harmony are thriving in their solo careers, Ally Brooke may (or may not) have shared an update on a potential Fifth Harmony reunion. She didn’t necessarily confirm a reunion was on the way, however, she didn’t deny it either.

In a video shared to TikTok, Brooke shared a video with text reading, “When will Fifth Harmony have a reunion???” She is seen responding to the hypothetical question by lip-syncing to an audio clip saying, “First off b*tch, mind your business.”

Though she doesn’t seem to have any resentment toward her former bandmates — Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, and Normani — she admitted in her memoir, Finding Your Harmony (per Us Weekly) that she rarely sees them. She did, however, mention that she has no bad blood with any of the others, and even hinted at the possibility of a reunion someday.

“We message one another or comment on one another’s social media, but we seldom have time to get together,” she wrote in the book. “But one thing is true: I will always have love for them. And who knows, maybe one day, we will be at a major worldwide event together as a group again.”