Newsletter Thursday, April 26, 2018

[LaineyGossip.com - Calling all smuthounds!] Thursday, April 26, 2018 [Intro for April 26, 2018]( [Charlie Rose and Tina Brown, 2011](Dear Gossips, Have you heard about Charlie Rose? According to [Page Six](, Tina Brown was asked to produce a show featuring Charlie Rose interviewing men whose grossness was exposed by the #MeToo movement. It’s to be an “atonement series”: Said a source: “Tina said she’d just been e-mailed about co-hosting a new show with Charlie Rose, in which they’d interview Louis C.K., Matt Lauer” and others caught up in the #MeToo sexual harassment scandals. Brown explained to the group that she was having none of it, and remarked, “These guys are already planning their comebacks!” That’s exactly it. They’re calling it an “atonement series” but it’s really a “comeback series”. How serious is your atonement when you’ve spent more time thinking about your comeback than the atonement? It’s barely been 6 months. But already there is clearly support here – and MONEY. Nobody’s hitting up Tina Brown to produce an “atonement series” if there wasn’t some financial viability. Janet Jackson was blacklisted for OVER A DECADE after Nipplegate. She did not destroy careers. She did not make the workplace chronically untenable for women, to the point where they had to quit their jobs. She didn’t summon people into her office, jerk off in front of them, and/or after f-cking them, leave them passed out on the floor. But it was a lot f-cking longer than 6 months before she was able to generate significant professional opportunities. And all the while, the dude who was on stage with her went on to win Grammys like 2 weeks later and he kept rising from there while stepping on her face. So, you know, everything in the world is still fair and awesome. Yours in gossip, Lainey [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 1:12 PM [The lowest-cut Chris]( [Chris Hemsworth arrives for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel in LA, April 25, 2018](Who’s the Best Chris? It’s a never-ending debate. Who’s the lowest-cut Chris? Easy. Not even a race. Chris Hemsworth. Is it just me or is he going lower and lower? Sarah mentioned it the other day when she posted about Hemsworth [at the Infinity War premiere](– he was wearing a waistcoat over an open-collar shirt with one too many buttons undone and check him out, yesterday at Kimmel…and there are even more buttons he didn’t bother with. We’re almost at [Jared Leto levels now](. Who wants to tell him? Or maybe you don’t want anyone to tell him. I get it. Some people (a lot of people) find this attractive, like the whole naked fireman thing. It’s never been my thing. What I appreciate about [Chris Hemsworth]( though is that it’s a thing that he’s been known to send up – his good looks, his fit body. I’m thinking of that mock AMEX ad he did on Saturday Night Live. Which is what these pictures of him in this white shirt, open to wellllll into the pectoral area, with the two necklaces, reminds me of. Is this self-parody? [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 7:50 PM [Smutty Social Media, April 26, 2018]( [Yara Shahidi attends Brooks Brothers Bicentennial Celebration At Jazz At Lincoln Center, New York CityApr 25 2018 ](How does Yara Shahidi make Brooks Brothers look this cool? [A post shared by Zac Posen (@zacposen)]( on Apr 25, 2018 at 8:45pm PDT UnREAL’s season three finale has aired and season four has already wrapped (it will be a shortened season). Did the show ever rebound from its atrocious second season? Yes and no. Yes in that it refocused on Quinn and Rachel, unabashedly so. It was made clear that these were the only two people we were supposed to care about and root for in the long run. But it never recaptured the electricity of its first season. And whether that’s because that kind of energy is impossible to sustain, or it was snuffed out by dumbass season two, will always be a mystery. [A post shared by Shiri Appleby (@shiriappleby)]( on Apr 24, 2018 at 1:56pm PDT Remember Jessica Simpson’s sloppy ass look from yesterday? This is Cate Blanchett in a Gucci suit. Look at the styling here: the blouse is sheer so as not to be too heavy and stiff under the silk fabric of the suit, the jewellery is ornate but not eye-catching, the hair is simple, the makeup is demure – all deliberate choices to offset the uniqueness of the suit. [A post shared by Gucci (@gucci)]( on Apr 26, 2018 at 2:11am PDT I’m curious about Chelsea Handler’s social circle these days, because she loves an A-lister but, without a talk show, it’s harder to gauge who she’s pulling favours from. We know she’s on the outs with Jennifer Aniston, but she was at Gwyneth Paltrow’s engagement party. Did they cross paths there – a cool “hello” and head nod, or a total freeze? I think Aniston does the total freeze. [A post shared by Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler)]( on Apr 26, 2018 at 8:58am PDT Cobie Smulders is a good daughter who posted an advert for Dad’s dental practice and offered up a testimonial. She’s never had a cavity! I don’t think I even know anyone who has never had a cavity. [A post shared by Cobie Smulders (@cobiesmulders)]( on Apr 17, 2018 at 6:09pm PDT Lindsay Lohan couldn’t save her family’s home – it has [finally been foreclosed on](. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but perhaps she chose not to save her mom’s house because it wouldn’t be financially responsible and it is ultimately Dina’s responsibility. More likely, she didn’t have $1 million to spare. [A post shared by Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan)]( on Apr 26, 2018 at 2:11am PDT So many children of celebrities become models, it is not even worth listing them. Look at these celebrities, from Daniel Day-Lewis to Harry Hamlin to Ewan McGregor to Julianne Moore… brands seek out these last names for their campaigns. Is Patrick and Jillian Dempsey’s daughter next? [A post shared by Patrick Dempsey (@patrickdempsey)]( on Apr 25, 2018 at 7:10pm PDT [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 7:23 PM [Alden Ehrenreich gets cusp’d]( [Alden Ehrenreich covers Esquire](Because everything is happening all of the time, before we can recover from our Avengers hangover—hell, before we can even enjoy the drunk—we’re already warming up the Solo press machine. The new Han Solo (NuHan), Alden Ehrenreich, covers Esquire this month with a profile that is part typical “on the cusp” celebrity profile and part damage control. It starts out with the cusp’ing, with the usual revelations of an up-and-comer no one knows yet. He uses a flip phone—the signifier of un-precious celebrities everywhere—and hangs out in public in a way he won’t be able to as soon as the new movie launches. He’s so normal and open and not famous—there’s even a suggestion he eats at steakhouse chain Sizzler. Cusp’ing happens to any actor cast in a movie expected to be big, and Ehrenreich is just the latest. He comes off well: Thoughtful and interested, and Ron Howard confirms he can read. He has a good Hollywood story: Discovered by Spielberg and cast by Coppola (the main one) at 18, hanging out with Warren Beatty for years, waiting for Rules Don’t Apply to get made. He’s philosophical about Star Wars remaking his life, he quotes Elvis’s obituary and I can feel Lainey perking up. All very good cusp stuff. But of course, this is Solo, notoriously beleaguered behind the scenes. It must be addressed, and half of Ehrenreich’s profile goes to damage control. As much as he can be bound by the LucasFilm Official Secrets Act of 2012, he tries to set the record straight. He got along with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the original directors who cast him, and they liked him. He certainly didn’t rat them out to the LucasFilm brass, and no, according to Ehrenreich, the crew didn’t applaud when it was announced Ron Howard was taking over. That acting coach hired to fix his performance? Not true—Lord & Miller invited a collaborator, Maggie Kiley, to set who “was part of conversations that happened for a couple weeks at one point […] but that was basically it.” It’s a bummer to have to devote so much of your time to denying bad press, but at the same time, I’m actually glad to see Ehrenreich trying to reshape the narrative. Because the way it was, he was set up to take a huge hit if the movie doesn’t do well. The whole acting coach narrative seemed designed to throw him under the bus—if his performance is embraced, then it worked! If not, well, he sucked so bad, and we tried to fix it, but alas. So I’m glad there is now [Alden](’s Version of Events entered into the record. If this goes badly, at least he won’t be isolated on the field of play. (Because the more we’ve learned about Solo, the more we should be asking why LucasFilm ever hired Lord & Miller in the first place.) As for Ehrenreich himself, he seems okay. He loves old films and classic Hollywood, in a way that suggests he is definitely going to try directing at some point. But all we really get from this profile—again, half of it is devoted to damage control—is “flip phone” and “old movies” and “really f*cking lucky”. Ehrenreich popped right off the screen in Hail, Caesar!, but so far his public persona is not as compelling as his screen presence. Which is fine, not everyone is primed to be A-#1 Entertaining Celebrity. And really, at this point, the most important thing is selling us on NuHan. This profile at least establishes that if Solo sucks, it won’t (entirely) be Alden Ehrenreich’s fault. [Source]( [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 6:54 PM [Being Serena]( [Serena Williams attends the New York premiere of HBO's Being Serena, April 25, 2018](Next Wednesday, May 2nd, at 10 pm Eastern Standard Time, I have plans. I will be on my couch, in sweat pants, watching Being Serena on HBO. Being Serena is the documentary series about Serena Williams that will detail her pregnancy, her marriage and her return to tennis. Being Serena is already my new favourite sports docuseries. Sorry 30 for 30. Last night was the premiere of Being Serena in New York City and the GOAT was accompanied by her husband, Alexis Ohanian, her big sis tennis legend [Venus Williams](, Anna Wintour, Vera Wang and the Hadid sisters, [Bella]( and [Gigi](. [Serena]( made time to pose with almost all of the aforementioned celebrity guests at the premiere. Usually, the guest of honour makes a late entrance, does the red carpet wall and rushes into the screening. It looks like it was just an intimate screening but it still says something that Serena seems to have hung out for a bit on the carpet to get in multiple shots with Venus, Alexis and the Hadids. Did we know Gigi was this tall? We’ve been writing about Serena’s tennis comeback for a while and since she announced that [she was delaying her return]( to make sure she could come back at her best, there has been added pressure on her. This documentary is going to give us a glimpse into her personal life but also her struggle to maintain her GOAT status in her professional life. Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time but now she is also a mother. She can be those two things at the same time. Now, she’s going to show us the work it takes to make that a true statement. I am so f-cking excited. Here’s Serena’s conversation with Robin Roberts on GMA this morning about Being Serena. ACE! One-on-one with [@serenawilliams]( talking about her [@hbo]( docu-series [#BeingSerena]( an intimate look at the new mom’s life on and off the tennis court. [@RobinRoberts]( sits down with the legendary athlete: [pic.twitter.com/uj6WspK5Vw]( — Good Morning America (@GMA) [April 26, 2018]( The most gossipy part of that clip is when Robin asks whether Serena is attending the Royal Wedding. She’s got a tournament that weekend so she’s probably not going but she left it very open ended. Based on this answer, my guess is that she’s going. More importantly, Serena’s hair in this interview is LIFE. Side note: I’m obsessed with the varsity jacket Venus is wearing in these photos but I’m holding off on buying anything like this until Beyoncé releases her special edition Coachella jackets and takes all my money. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 4:38 PM [Miranda Lambert’s new boyfriend]( [Miranda Lambert attends the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada](It was reported earlier this month that Miranda Lambert and Anderson East were broken up after two years of dating. This week it turns out that she’s hooking up with Evan Felker. She’s been touring with Evan and his band Turnpike Troubadours. The thing is… when they started touring, Evan was married. Is still married? His wife, Staci Nelson, filed for divorce in February. And they’ve only been married for a year and a half. Coincidence or conspiracy? The timeline is definitely shady. Now Blake Shelton is jumping in on it: Been taking the high road for a long time.. I almost gave up. But I can finally see something on the horizon up there!! Wait!! Could it be?! Yep!! It’s karma!! — Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) [April 25, 2018]( Um, take it easy there, Blake. Nobody asked you. Because Blake too was married, to Kaynette Williams, when he and Miranda first starting hanging out. So whatever karma he’s talking about, you could say, came for him too because he and Miranda broke up when, allegedly, rumour has it, he found out that [she was cheating on him](. To bring it back to [Miranda]( then, she’s now being called a homewrecker. Well, not just now. She’s been called one before. For a long time in Nashville there were also rumours that she was rolling up on Eric Church before she and [Blake]( ended up together, and Eric was married at the time too. Here’s the thing that’s interesting to me about Miranda… Her, um, romance style may not be my romance style. But her romance style hasn’t hurt her. There is an infidelity double standard where women and men are concerned. You don’t think the Rolling Stones broke up marriages? Many, many marriages? Or any other male rock stars? And yet the “homewrecker” label never followed Mick Jagger around. Women are punished much more heavily for cheating than men are. But here’s Miranda Lambert whose career really hasn’t been hurt by it. Which… I don’t think I can be mad at? Like, fine, be mad at her for going for unavailable men but when so many other men have done the same and continued to be super successful, should success be denied to Miranda Lambert? Serious question. Is it the way Miranda Lambert has managed her image? She’s never been the “good girl”. She is, sometimes, actively the bad girl. She’s the villain in a Disney story. Which, in this case, may be her particular privilege. Because there are other female artists who would be denied success for the same. Carrie Underwood, for example, is the princess in a Disney story. And I don’t know that Carrie Underwood, if she was making headlines for similar stories, would find herself in the same position. Even Kristen Stewart, who’s not exactly a sweetheart, was excoriated for cheating on Robert Pattinson – because up to that point, her fans had projected onto her the loyalty and eternal commitment of Bella Swan. Miranda Lambert though? As far as I can see, there’s no witch-hunt coming for Miranda Lambert. Which makes Miranda Lambert an outlier. Do we need to talk about this on Show Your Work? Here's Miranda at the CMAs earlier this month. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 3:52 PM [Tom Cruise: theatre hero]( [Tom Cruise at the 2018 Will Rogers Pioneer of the Year Dinner Honoring Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace during CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, on April 25, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada](Yesterday was the Paramount presentation at CinemaCon in Vegas. Paramount needs a turnaround because they don’t have much, yet, to compete with the other studios. They do, however, have the Mission: Impossible franchise. And the new M:I is coming out this summer. So Tom Cruise was there to jack up the theatre owners and, last night, he received the Pioneer of the Year Award from the convention. He’s the first actor to receive the honour, perhaps because Tom Cruise is the movie star most committed to movies in movie theatres. As Sarah has written about extensively, more and more, movies are happening on smaller screens. The audience has other options – and they’re taking those options. Sure, film purists may have a point about what the optimum experience is to watch a film but it doesn’t change the fact that, given the options that they have now, many prefer to see movies at home and are more selective about the movies that they go out for. Is [Tom Cruise]( still the guy they’ll leave the house for? He was on that stage yesterday representing that idea. So of course the theatre owners love him. Deadline wrote about their reaction to him and what he means to them in an [effusive post]( about Tom’s day at CinemaCon that included him talking for over half an hour about one stunt he does in the new Mission:Impossible where he jumps out of a plane “over 160 times to get it precisely right”. Without a stuntman. Half an hour? More than 30 minutes? That’s a lot of detail. But that’s also Tom Cruise. That’s what they’re hoping will draw you to the theatre – watching Tom Cruise, on his own, jump out of a plane. After he described the process in all that excruciating detail, they showed the clip to the exhibitors and apparently they freaked out. And they’re hoping you will freak out and fork out $20 and take yourself to the theatre to see this happen with a bucket of popcorn in your lap. Will you? What is the average lifespan of Tom Cruise awe? I’ve seen all of his Mission: Impossibles. In each of his Mission: Impossibles, he’s always doing crazy sh-t like jumping out of plane or hanging on to the side of a plane or hanging on to the side of a skyscraper or… something. And my personal Tom Cruise awe in these moments lasts about two minutes, which is probably the length of the scene. By the time I go to bed that night though, I’m not thinking about it anymore. Are you? Are enough of you? Can Tom Cruise save the theatre the way he saves people from [car accidents]( and [muggers](, and [sinking boats](? [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 2:39 PM [Kanye: what’s next?]( [Kanye West out in LA in a Make America Great Again shirt, April 25, 2018](Unless you’ve been living in a cave with no Wi-Fi for the past week, you know that Kanye’s return to Twitter has been a piping hot mess. Since Kanye tweeted [his support for Fox News pundit Candace Owens]( and doubled down on his admiration of Donald Trump, the conversation surrounding Kanye West has taken a turn. He’s lost followers, he’s alienated one-time die-hard fans (including me) and caused some of his most famous allies to unfollow him. Things are rapidly falling apart. So, what happens next? First, let’s address the proverbial elephant in the room when it comes to Kanye. The conversations about Kanye have also turned to his mental health. My previous posts have mentioned Kanye's mental health out of sensitivity to whatever he may or may not have been going through. Plus, the timing of his last public "breakdown" coincided with his last declaration of support for Klan President – but equating Kanye West's mental health to his allegiance to Donald Trump is unfair to all the people living with mental illnesses who don't also support a noted racist and active bigot. And now, Kanye West really wants us to know that he is a [free thinker]( who thinks for himself. His wife Kim wants us to be careful with the language we use [surrounding Kanye and mental health](. Here is the very careful language I will use to describe [Kanye West](: He is a singular, deeply problematic figure who may or may not suffer from paranoia, depression and anxiety but also? He's just a dumbass. He keeps showing his ass. I've admitted repeatedly that my nostalgic connection to Kanye’s music and my inner fangirl have clouded my judgment when it comes to Kanye. Maybe that makes ME a dumbass. Maybe I've given him too many chances – chances that a black female artist in the same position would never get. As a black woman, however, I believe I am predisposed to wanting to uplift black men. This black man in particular has been subjected to an onslaught of racist backlash and personal tragedy that made me instinctively want to defend him. I think it’s why many people, including the Hollywood music elite, have kept rooting for him. But right now, Kanye West is not worth defending. There is no reason that can explain away his repeated ignorance, except for the fact that he doesn't read books. Very Smart Brothas posted my favourite take on Kanye called "[Kanye's Politics Are What Happens When You Don't Read Books.](" "...if he’d actually pick up a book (and not just any 48 Laws of Power-ass book, but the right books), he’d be aware of the danger of that type of contrarianism and aware that for people like Trump and Owens, their words aren’t about free thinking. They’re specifically and intentionally tethered to white resentment, which is also often tied to anti-intellectualism. They’re actually the antithesis of free thought. They don’t think. They incite." PREACH. Kanye West doesn't read books. He also thinks he is always right. That is a lethal combination. That combination has led Kanye to posting dumbass photos in a Make America Great Again hat and fanboy dedications to the White Supremacist In Chief. Understandably, for a lot of people, this was the last straw. Drake, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Janelle Monae, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Zayn and Harry Styles are just a few of the celebs that (as of post time) have reportedly unfollowed Kanye West. Full lists [here]( and [here](. Drake and Kanye were spotted in Wyoming [last month]( for what most people assumed was a recording session for their rumoured joint album (Kanye has a studio in Wyoming.) Kendrick, Rihanna and The Weeknd were on Kanye’s last album, The Life of Pablo. He’s famously collaborated with Nicki a few times. We know that Jay-Z and Beyoncé jumped ship years ago. So, the most powerful names in black entertainment are seemingly done with Kanye. When Lainey and I were talking about this, she brought up the fact that it’s almost impossible to be a lone wolf in this era of music. It’s all about collaboration and community. Who is Kanye West, the artist, if he’s lost both? He’s lost the collaboration, community and, presumably, the content that is dominating popular music. Look at the last albums by Jay, Kendrick, Common, and even Drake’s [latest song and video](. Artists are stepping up to use their voices to SAY SOMETHING in this moment. Kanye, in his MAGA hat with his stupid ass tweets, seems to be leaning in the exact opposite direction. He’s left these artists no choice but to give up on him. The other interesting thing about the celeb mass exodus from Kanye’s Twitter is the timing. They all started leaving yesterday. The first reports I saw of celebs unfollowing Kanye tapped Rihanna and Kendrick as the ones who led the way. I don’t think anyone actually got on the phone to talk about when they would unfollow Kanye but the first few artists gave permission for the others to follow suit. They took the stand that says, “I don’t care who the f-ck you are, that sh-t doesn’t fly on my timeline!” Knowing Kanye, he’s going to pretend not to care about losing followers. He actually might not give a f-ck. I truly think he believes that his “[unpopular opinion](” makes him special and “ahead of his time,” instead of just an idiot. Kanye’s raging ego might make him delusional enough to think he doesn’t need anyone else to succeed. But what happens if Drake pulls the plug on that alleged joint album? And what happens when none of us can get the image of Kanye next to Donald Trump out of our heads come June when his album drops? What happens when pressure starts coming down hard on the few artists who still support him to reconsider their loyalty? Chance The Rapper tweeted in defense of Kanye yesterday and while I understand Chance’s affinity for ‘Ye, I also understand the backlash. Black people don’t have to be democrats. — Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) [April 25, 2018]( This is not about political parties. I'll let Janelle Monae break down why we're way passed politics and "free-thought" when we talk about certain figures. Janelle Monáe said everything that needed to be said regarding Kanye’s views [pic.twitter.com/1yXEPJcnVb]( — Chris (@chrstnavelli) [April 25, 2018]( Janelle reposted this clip and her post has over 53,000 likes. The reckoning is coming for Kanye West. If black women are done with him (an informal Twitter scan tells me I was basically the last one standing) and celebs are dropping by the minute, who does Kanye have left? By the time this is posted, I am sure there will be many more Kanye West tweets to be mad about and more celebs will either come to his defense or unfollow him but the lines have been drawn. Kanye’s new music will be in serious jeopardy if the only co-sign he can get is Kid Rock’s. And don’t forget he’s also trying to sell Yeezys. If Kanye aligns himself with Trump enough, does buying Yeezys become synonymous with a Trump endorsement? That’s not good for business. If I see Yeezys at an alt-right rally, I swear to Beyoncé, I’m tapping out of 2018. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 1:55 PM [April 26, 2018 – Smutty Shout-Outs]( [Smutty Shout-Outs](Marsha! Happy Birthday with love from Emily who told me about all the ways you show your work – teaching, consulting, administrating, entrepreneur-ing, and raising your children. You are a BOSS. And … I’m pretty sure you’ve having fun. At least it sounds like you are, from what Emily says. Which, I think, is the best part of it – and why your friend is in such awe of you. Because hard work doesn’t have to suck. And it doesn’t seem like you go about pretending it does. Look at me, fangirling over you too. Have the best day! 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