First of all, in this household we only recognize one bodyguard and that is Frank Farmer. But recognized as one stressful motherf-cker is David Budd, protagonist of the BBC/Netflix show Bodyguard. Portrayed by Richard Madden in a life-after-Game-of-Thrones role, David Budd is a PTSD-afflicted vetera…

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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were photographed at a World Series game together on Saturday, game four, between Ben’s favorite team, the Red Sox, and the LA Dodgers. (The Red Sox won that game and the next to take the World Series five to one.) US Magazine reported that this spotting means they were seen together “weeks after finalizing their divorce.” They may have signed off on the details but their divorce is not legally final yet or we would have heard about it. It seems bizarre to me that they’re doing things together without their kids, but I have to say that in the photos taken of Ben he looks sober. Maybe having Jen attend events with him helps. It’s got to be hard to go to a baseball game and not drink. There are specific events that are associated with drinking and alcoholics can have a hard time with those.

Jen was seen in their private box talking to Angela Bassett. Lucky.
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The next night, Sunday, Ben, Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon attended the final game of the World Series together. Matt and Jimmy wore “I’m with stupid” shirts with arrows pointing to each other. That was mildly funny, which is usually the case with Jimmy’s humor. I’m still mad at Matt for convincing me to sit through Downsizing. (That movie only goes downhill after the first half hour. Do not bother.)
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Ben is currently working on a movie where he’s playing “a former All-Star basketball player who’s battling addiction while taking a high school coaching gig at his alma mater.” As TMZ reported, it’s all a bit method but maybe that’s working for him.

We just learned that Jen is dating a new guy, the CEO of a restaurant technology company named John Miller. US Magazine recently published details from Miller’s divorce that required a little digging and were not flattering to him. I wonder if Miller was on board with doing a whole rollout and pap stroll as jen’s boyfriend and then decided against that. That would explain a few things.

Jen, Ben and their kids were spotted out together at church on Sunday. She’s definitely dressing a bit nicer lately. She was also seen out running with her 12 year-old daughter, Violet, earlier that day.

Photos credit: Avalon.red and Getty

Vanity Fair published a very interesting and slightly suspicious article about the Duchess of Cambridge. The article is called “Welcome to the Golden Era of Kate Middleton,” and the point of it seems to be that Kate is coming “back” from six months of maternity leave, and she’s ready to queen this bitch. After more than seven years of watching her duchessing, I can’t say that I really buy any of this. Is it true that Kate has seemed more relaxed in general? Sure. Is it true that the sense of “competition” has made Kate more keen? Perhaps. But if you take away Meghan’s entrance into the royal fold, what are we really left with? Yet another story about how Kate *plans* to be super-keen very soon. These stories crop up about three times a year, on average. We’re always hearing about how this time, she really means it, she’s totally going to be keen now. She never is. You can read the full Vanity Fair piece here. Some highlights (yes, this is a really long piece, so I’m editing out some of the dumb fluff):

Kate’s turning point: Post-maternity leave and with Meghan around, “It’s a huge turning point,” said Susan E. Kelley, the owner, editor, and Middletonian obsessive behind What Kate Wore. “I think this is where Kate gets to make her mark…A couple of years ago, you might still have seen her being a little bit timid. Now, she seems like she’s in a more take-charge position. I’m beginning to see the person who’s going to be the queen emerging.”

Kate is a senior royal now: Kate is “no longer the “commoner” who married into the family but the future Queen Consort and mother of the future King. The role of princess-in-training has been passed on to Meghan—who, as a former actress and longtime humanitarian, is already perfectly comfortable in the public eye, but is just getting started with her own royal family and working with her chosen causes, including girls’ education. Kate has graduated to an unspoken Level Two, where she is more free to pursue her own passions—including mental-health issues, underprivileged children, and art—in a more targeted way.

Kate finally knows what she wants to do: “She found her role as a working member of the royal family through bringing up her own children and realizing what’s important to her,” said ABC News royal commentator Omid Scobie. “One of the things that we’ll see her really focusing on for the months ahead is working to help support disadvantaged children in the U.K. . . . Kate has this plan in place to really work with a number of organizations, including the Royal Foundation…If you look at Queen Elizabeth, she has that strength without really saying much, that has held this country together through some of the the fiercest wars and times that we’ve faced. I think Kate has the ability to do the same.”

Katie Nicholl’s take on Kate’s “work-shy” label: “She’s a mother, first and foremost. Her children are going to be her priority while they are young, and she will juggle her work commitments around the kids. The Duchess of Cambridge has been labeled work-shy in the past. But, actually, she’s taken on just a few patronages, things where she’s really made a difference. Early intervention with young children in primary schools, putting mental health on the map with Heads Together, was her idea. She’s been very instrumental.”

Nicholl believes Kate is “quite grateful” to Meghan, not jealous: “People who are often saying ‘Well, is she jealous of Meghan?’ She’s really not. Kate is happier in her life now than she ever has been. She has everything she wants. She has William, she has three beautiful children . . . she is where she always wanted to be,” Nicholl said. “The fact that there is a new glamorous sister-in-law in tow is not going to worry her one bit. I think Meghan came at the right time for her, because it was at a time when Kate wanted to step out of the spotlight.”

[From Vanity Fair]

Sigh… I understand that Kate is more conservative and she has to be more conservative, because she’ll be a Queen Consort eventually. But I’ve never understood the point of waiting around and doing next to nothing just to avoid controversy because you’re going to be queen in 25 years. The argument seems to be “well, different people are different, and Kate just wants to have a quiet life with her kids and her shopping, she doesn’t want to change the world.” And maybe that’s good enough for some of the British subjects. But if you’re paying for all of this upkeep, don’t you want a bit more? Don’t you want someone who understands their soft power and has passions beyond her kids? I don’t know. Anyway, we’ll be back here in another five months with another story about how Kate plans to be super-keen eventually.

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Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN and Avalon Red.

Dear Gossips,

How do you feel about Halloween? In my experience, you’re either not into Halloween or you are super into Halloween. And in the subgroup of those who are into Halloween, you’re either silly, scary, or sexy where costumes are concerned. If I HAVE to get into Halloween (and my job re…

I honestly hoped that Kim Kardashian took Kanye West to Uganda and just left him there, and that Kanye was just going to live in Uganda from now on and we would barely hear about him. Unfortunately, Kanye is still all about that MAGA life. Even though Kanye’s great love, Donald Trump, is radicalizing terrorists all over the place and those terrorists are targeting African-Americans and every non-WASP, Kanye still believes that Trump is somehow good for black folks. So Kanye has designed some “Blexit” t-shirts. My God.

Kanye West has designed T-shirts encouraging black people to exit — or “Blexit” – the Democratic Party. West’s designs debuted Saturday at Turning Point USA’s Young Black Leadership Summit, a meeting of young black conservatives in Washington. West didn’t attend the conference, but was there “in spirit,” according to TPUSA’s Communications Director Candace Owens.

“Blexit is a renaissance and I am blessed to say that this logo, these colors, were created by my dear friend and fellow superhero Kanye West,” said Owens, 29. She gushed that West “has taken one of the boldest steps in America to open a conversation we have needed to have.”

The new shirts come in traffic-cone orange, teal and a muted lavender with designs that say “Blexit” or “We Free.” The clothes were part of a broader launch of Blexit.com, which includes testimonials from black Americans who have left the Democratic Party.

[From Page Six]

Why not just sell t-shirts that say “The Sunken Place” and just leave it at that? Well, at least the self-loathing morons will be easier to identify in their Blexit t-shirts. If you see anyone in one of those t-shirts, just walk away. It really isn’t worth it. And I bet the people buying and wearing the t-shirts will mostly be white people too.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

The Pittsburgh community and the Jewish community is still reeling from the deadliest domestic terrorist attack on American Jewish people in American history. On Saturday, Robert Bowers killed eleven people within the Tree of Life Congregation synagogue. Bowers wounded several more people with his AR-15, including four police officers who responded to the anti-Semitic gunman. Donald Trump made a quick statement to camera, blaming the victims in the synagogue for not having armed security within the temple – at a bris, and at Shabbat services – and then Trump traveled to one of his Nazi rallies. When asked how he could have a Nazi rally just hours after a national tragedy, he lied and claimed that the New York Stock Exchange opened the day after the 9/11 attacks. The NYSE opened six days later, on September 17th.

So far, I haven’t even heard the White House say that they plan to send Trump or Pence to Pittsburgh for any memorial service, or to sit shiva with the families of the murder victims. But in a preemptive strike, the Pittsburgh Jewish community’s Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice already told Trump that he’s not welcome in Pittsburgh:

“Our Jewish community is not the only group you have targeted,” the group wrote in a letter to Trump. “You have also deliberately undermined the safety of people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. Yesterday’s massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country.”

The group also said Trump is not welcome in the city until he also stops targeting minorities, immigrants and refugees. The president has “spread lies and sowed fear about migrant families in Central America,” the group wrote. “The Torah teaches that every human being is made b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. This means all of us. In our neighbors, Americans, and people worldwide who have reached out to give our community strength, there we find the image of God.”

[From The Hill]

Yes, pretty much. This is how far we’ve come in two years – an endless stream of national tragedies in which the victims have no desire to see the Nazi-in-Chief pretend to mourn. No one from the Trump administration should go to Pittsburgh, because they would just turn it into a Nazi rally anyway.

And hey, remember how Trump radicalized another terrorist into sending pipe bombs to Democrats and media outlets? Guess who is still sitting on Twitter, stoking hatred for the media?

The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country. Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018

Trump is clearly telling his radicalized terrorist supporters that they need to continue to target his “enemies.” That’s how it needs to be reported too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Good lord, I really hope the Duke and Duchess of Sussex get a good rest after this tour. They were still in New Zealand today, which is final leg of their epic South Pacific tour. Early this morning, Harry and Meghan made a trip to the Maranui Cafe in Wellington to highlight mental health with the local group Voices of Hope. They chatted with kids and adults and everything was pretty low-key. Meghan’s outfit reflected that – she wore Outback Denim jeans (the same pair we’ve seen a few times) with a Jac & Jack turtleneck sweater and a Club Monaco trench coat. Meghan and her trenches, my lord. I mean, we’re still getting used to Meghan’s style and she’s still figuring out her “duchess style,” but I hope that her over-reliance on trenches eventually fades away. She runs around looking like she just stepped out of a post-apocalyptic Mad Max-type film half the time. Her boots are Stuart Weitzman.

After that, Meghan changed into more rain-friendly gear as she and Harry made a trip to Abel Tasman National Park on New Zealand’s South Island, where their plans had to be rejiggered at the last moment because of the rain. Meg was prepared though – she wore a windbreaker by Seasalt, more Outland Denim and Stella McCartney sneakers. Oh, her scarf is Loro Piana.

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And finally, Meghan and Harry stopped by Courtenay Creative in Wellington to see all of the makeup/prop skills of the local creatives. Meghan wore a Maggie Marilyn dress and a Winsor London coat.

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??? Celebrating New Zealand’s vibrant creative industries — this evening The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Courtenay Creative to meet talented New Zealanders from across film, music and technology. Swipe to see the spectacular group shot! #RoyalVisitNZ #NewZealand #Wellington ? Kensington Palace / ? PA

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Oct 29, 2018 at 2:34am PDT

Photos courtesy of Getty and Backgrid.

Pete Davidson must really be hurting after Ariana Grande dumped him about two weeks ago. He canceled a scheduled performance immediately following their breakup, but to his credit he did perform at a charity benefit last week. Pete joked about the fact that people called him stupid for getting tattoos for Ariana, some of which he’s covered up. US Magazine has two stories with insider quotes from Pete’s side. He’s portrayed as someone who was hurt but is staying strong. A source tells US that Pete was “100% there for Ariana” after her ex boyfriend, Mac Miller, died from a drug overdose last month. What’s more is that after Ariana dumped Pete he changed his phone number, so there. There’s no word if Ariana was actually trying to contact him, but if she was she wouldn’t have been able to reach him, ok?!

“Pete was 100 percent there for Ariana [after Mac passed]” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively.

“She was not ready to be a in a relationship and she saw that,” the source tells Us. “Ariana pulled the plug, and then they decided to cool things off for a while.”

[They] “were trying to figure things out for a bit,” according to the source, but they “never had any set wedding plans.”

“Pete is still really depressed, but he knows that right now this is the right decision,” a second insider tells Us. “While Pete loves Ariana, he knows she needs her space. Pete and Ariana are really hoping for the best for each other.”

[Pete] changed his number after their split to “distance himself,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively.

“He decided to focus on himself. He’s had the matching tattoo that he got with her changed,” the source explains. Two sources also note that “currently, they are not speaking.”

“This has been a difficult experience for Pete,” the source tells Us. “He’s always been an extremely private person and the Ariana Grande spotlight and social media were a lot of new pressure for him…

“Pete loved Ariana and wanted it to work, but they’ve both had such tragic events happen in their lives.”

[From two stories on US]

Pete has “always been an extremely private person.” He did delete his Instagram content, but I’m pretty sure that coincided with trouble in his relationship with Ariana. It seems like too much trouble to change your number if you want to go no contact after a breakup. I’ve only gone no contact once and blocked a guy who kept calling me with weak excuses after I dumped him. We only went out for a few weeks and he was more trouble than he was worth. That seems like the case with Pete too, only it took Ariana longer to see it.

On Thursday Ariana tweeted a response to a fake story about the end of her relationship. I’ve never heard of the outlet she’s responding to, but they printed a story that Pete’s family didn’t like her.

Here’s Ariana’s tweet, which she sent on before these stories about Pete changing his number came out. I would bet that the stories from his perspective are a response to this tweet and his way of saying they’re not “supporting” each other as she tweeted.

none of this is true. it’d be so helpful if the media and everybody would please just drop it and drop makin stuff up so we can heal and support one another moving forward. it sucks to see this stuff. thank u guys for understanding. ? much love and appreciation.

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) October 25, 2018

The tweet Ariana is responding to was deleted, but someone posted a screenshot.

pic.twitter.com/C1lCdsgJJ4

— gabi 1?3? é galo (@TilllFindAustin) October 25, 2018

Also, Ariana announced that she’s going on tour for Sweetener starting in March, Pete got a haircut and Ariana called her pig the “absolute love of my life.” This led me to google “how long do mini pigs live” and the answer is just five years. That’s sad! Think this through Ariana.

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GQ Photo sent by promotional email by Katie McCurdy exclusively for GQ. Other photos credit: Getty and WENN

For years now, I’ve been saying that Prince Harry and Prince William need separate communications offices. They have different roles and different needs and different constituencies, really, as the heir and spare. Over the years, I’ve noted – as many other people have noted – that the conjoined communications staff for the princes has been a bad thing for Harry. William constantly throws his younger brother under the proverbial bus, and the KP office’s priority is clearly William and Kate, at the expense of Harry’s PR and activities. When Meghan joined the Firm, I had high hopes that she would get more involved and convince Harry that they needed their own dedicated staff, working solely on their issues. Well… I think that’s what has happened? Meghan and Harry are apparently looking to branch out and have their own office and a separate “court.”

They have long appeared to be the closest of brothers, bonded in tragedy and an inseparable element in the worldwide appeal of the royal family. Yet the pressures of monarchy, marriage and their diverging royal roles are presenting new challenges for dukes of Cambridge and Sussex. Princes William, 36, and Harry, 34, are considering a formal division of their joint royal household, which is based at Kensington Palace, and the creation of separate courts to reflect their increasingly different responsibilities.

A source close to William and Harry said: “The brothers have leant on each other and looked after each other since their mother died. But now they have their own families, they no longer rely on each other as before.”

Roya Nikkhah, the royal correspondent for The Sunday Times, shared exclusive intel this weekend relating to Prince Harry and Prince William’s roles within the royal family. And per Nikkhah, “the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex are preparing to go their separate ways. William and Harry considering plans to split the Kensington Palace household and create two separate courts as their future roles with Kate and Meghan diverge.”

The “royal double-act” could soon be a thing of the past, “when Harry, Meghan and their child… move from Nottingham Cottage.” As Meghan’s first baby is due in the Spring of 2019, it’s likely that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be preparing for their exciting arrival, which might mean moving into bigger accommodation.

[From The Times & Harper’s Bazaar]

I’ve also been wondering about the Nottingham Cottage situation – I can’t believe the Queen hasn’t already given Harry and Meghan a bigger apartment/situation at Kensington Palace. Maybe she’ll even give them a place beyond KP – but where? I don’t know enough about how much space Charles uses at Clarence House and St. James Palace, honestly. As for the separate court… as I said, the brothers have needed separate offices for a while. Harry can’t even have devoted palace-communications coverage of one his signature causes – say, Invictus – without William and Kate screaming “don’t forget about uuuuussssss” and demanding that Poor Jason put out a statement about how they’re super-keen about something. Of course, separate offices means there will be less coordination and the Cambridges and Sussexes will end up stepping on each other’s messaging and events more often. But… who do you think that will benefit? Meghan and Harry, just my opinion.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, WENN.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in New Zealand for the last leg of their whirlwind South Pacific tour on Sunday. Meghan wore a New Zealand designer for the first part of the day – the plaid trench coat here is by Karen Walker, a Kiwi designer. As I keep saying, trench coats and trench vibes are to Meghan what buttons and doilies are to Kate. Meghan has such a soft spot for a trench and wide trench-like collar/lapel. Underneath the trench, Meghan wore an ASOS maternity dress in black, and it didn’t look like she added weights to the hem, so she was holding down her dress as she exited the plane. Rookie mistake, Meg!

This ensemble is what Meghan wore for the day part of her activities with Harry – there was a welcome on the tarmac in Wellington, then a larger welcome ceremony at the Government House and some rope-line meet-and-greets and walkabouts. Then in the evening, there was a reception at Government House celebrating New Zealand’s 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage. It was a cause Meghan wanted to really emphasize and celebrate. Meghan wore a custom Gabriela Hearst cocktail dress in black, which… eh. I mean, it’s a cute dress, but the price tag on this custom piece is $2495. There are tons of super-cute off-the-rack little black cocktail dresses which are a fraction of the price. Meghan once again made a speech, this time about the right to vote and feminism and human rights. Her speech made me wonder if she’s voting in the American midterms by absentee ballot. Her speech is below!

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?? “Bravo New Zealand for championing this right 125 years ago – for the women who well deserve to have an active voice and acknowledged vote, and for all of the people that this effort has paved the way for globally.” — The Duchess of Sussex, as she and The Duke joined PM @JacindaArdern for a reception hosted by @GovGeneralNZ Dame Patsy Reddy to celebrate the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. #RoyalVisitNZ

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Oct 28, 2018 at 4:00am PDT

Photos courtesy of Getty, Backgrid.