Bruce Jenner’s transition covers US Magazine for the second consecutive week. Last week’s edition focused on “Bruce’s Brave Announcement,” and this week it’s “Kris in Denial.” As we reported yesterday, People Magazine also features Bruce with a positive cover about how happy he is. The narrative in US Magazine is that Kris is not accepting of Bruce’s change, that she’s in denial and is dismissive of his transition. Kris is not said to be mean or rude to Bruce’s face, she just doesn’t want to deal with the issue at all. She was married to the guy for 22 years, it must be hard to accept. It’s not like this is the first time she’s been confronted with it, though.

What’s more is that US claims that cameras from Keeping up With The Kardashians were there to capture the moment when Bruce broke the news to Kris that he’s transitioning to a woman. (Note that US did not state whether cameras were present when he told his entire family.) This strikes me as a strategic decision by Bruce to make sure Kris didn’t overreact. I know Bruce has a docuseries coming up, and I hope that this footage remains unseen or becomes part of his series and not a plotline on KUWTK. For their part, a source tells US that KUTWK “producers don’t want [Bruce’s transition] to be the main storyline.” That’s supposedly due to Kris, who doesn’t want Bruce stealing her spotlight. We’ll see. It’s unlike Kris to pass up an opportunity like this. Here are some excerpts from US, with more in the print edition.

Throughout their 22 year marriage, Kris Jenner always called the shots for her husband Bruce… But on a recent January day… Bruce finally made Kris listen to him – and Keeping Up With The Kardashians cameras were there to capture the moment. “He told Kris he was transitioning to become a woman,” says a production source. The conversation was not new to her – the couple had fought about the topic many times over the years – but it marked the first time she could not silence him or call him “delusional.” Kris played it cool, adds a family insider. “Publicly, she doesn’t want to be seen as turning her back on him,” says the source. When the cameras stop rolling, however, she returns to her dismissive approach. “Kris is in complete denial about what’s going on with Bruce” says a pal. “She doesn’t talk about it at all and refuses to acknowledge it.”

It’s out of her hands, as Bruce is determined to be a role model for other individuals and families grappling with gender identity.

[Bruce] has chosen a female name, multiple sources tell US, and asked his close friends and family to use it. Everyone complied – with one notable exception: “Kris won’t use the name,” says one source… “Bruce has completely shut her out…”

Though Bruce is filming Keeping Up and his own series simultaneously, the network source says his transition won’t be highlighted on the family’s flagship show, which is still undergoing edits for its spring premiere. “The producers don’t want that to be the main story line.”

Or perhaps Kris doesn’t. The more Bruce’s appearance garners attention, the more she bristles.

[From US Magazine, print edition, February 16, 2015]

On one hand I feel for Kris, who must find it very difficult to see her ex husband transitioning. That must be hard to come to grips with. On the other I see how it can be borne out of jealousy as well, because Bruce is finally out from under her thumb, and he’s earning multiple magazine covers now. He’s also calling his own shots, when she’s used to stage managing him and everyone else in her family. This is one thing she can’t control.

I have another issue with this coverage. While I believe that Bruce’s transition is very genuine and incredibly brave, I also question how much of this feud between Kris and Bruce is real and how much is hyped for the media. With the Kardashians, you never quite know what to believe.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

This Brian Williams mess is just growing is size. It’s really bad, you guys. On Wednesday, Brian Williams apologized on air on the NBC Nightly News. He apologized for “misremembering” a story he had told literally dozens of times in the past 12 years: he had always claimed that in 2003, when he was covering the Iraq War in Iraq that his Chinook had come under RPG fire. He always told the story as a way to explain his friendships with some military men. Except that when some military personnel who were in Iraq at the time started to contradict his story, he claims he simply “misremembered” the event. Stars & Stripes has a lengthy take-down of Williams’ story here.

The fallout from Williams’ admission has been swift and terrible. Social media has been having a field day, with #BrianWilliamsMisremembers trending on Twitter, and every conservative blowhard has luxuriated in the schadenfreude of “liberal” NBC getting a pounding. But it’s more serious than that. People are going through all of Brian’s public statements and it looks like he might have always had a difficult relationship with the truth.

More heroic tales of Brian Williams‘ adventures in journalism are being questioned. The NBC news anchor… is being called out for possibly lying about his experience covering Hurricane Katrina, according to a report. Williams claimed to have gotten dysentery from drinking flood water and seeing dead bodies float past his hotel in the New Orleans French Quarter while covering Hurricane Katrina.

However the The New Orleans Advocate noted that the French Quarter was not flooded and quoted a local health expert who did not recall anyone getting such a stomach ailment. Williams recalled his bout with the bug in interview with Tom Brokaw last year, when he said: “I accidentally ingested some of the floodwater. I became very sick with dysentery.”

The Advocate said a public health official never heard of people getting things like dysentery after the storm.

“I don’t recall a single, solitary case of gastroenteritis during Katrina or in the whole month afterward,” Dr. Brobson Lutz told The Advocate. “I don’t know anybody that’s tried that [drinking flood water] to see, but my dogs drank it, and they didn’t have any problems.”

Williams said also during an interview in 2006 that he saw dead bodies float past his window in the French Quarter.

“When you look out of your hotel window in the French Quarter and watch a man float by face down, when you see bodies that you last saw in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and swore to yourself that you would never see in your country,” Williams said in 2006. But the French Quarter, the original high ground of New Orleans, was not impacted by the floodwaters that overwhelmed the vast majority of the city, The Advocate said.

He also said in his Brokaw interview: “Our hotel was overrun with gangs, I was rescued in the stairwell of a five-star hotel in New Orleans by a young police officer. We are friends to this day.”

[From Page Six]

Yeah, it’s bad. I think Williams might have been able to survive a scandal if it was just ONE misremembered story (he would have come out it battered and bruised, but he would have come out it), but this has given critics an excuse to go over EVERY story and if there’s a pattern of misremembered stories, then he’s out of a job. Fantasists and liars don’t get to be network news anchors. Sorry not sorry.

Meanwhile, Page Six (an outlet with an extreme hate-on for all things NBC) has a massive insider-y story about how NBC has bungled this whole thing and Tom Brokaw is telling everyone that Williams must go. A source claims “Brokaw wants Williams’ head on a platter…He is making a lot of noise at NBC that a lesser journalist or producer would have been immediately fired or suspended for a false report.” That’s actually true. Sources also say Brokaw knew Williams’ story was a lie a long time ago and he was “extremely uncomfortable with it.” Another source claims that Williams isn’t even well-liked among NBC News staffers. The source claims Williams is “a real pompous piece of sh-t” and “an a—hole… He’s not a journalist. He’s a reader.”

Thus far, Williams is not being suspended or reprimanded in any way and NBC staffers are in a “panic” according to Page Six. You know what? If people keep Truth Squading Williams’ public statements, I’m sure they’ll find something else. And then he’ll be out.

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.

The BAFTAs are on Sunday, and Stephen Fry is hosting them for the millionth time. I kind of like Fry as host – he’s dapper and witty and he keeps things moving along at a steady clip. I like that the BAFTA people are like “Eh, if it ain’t broke…” when they keep giving Fry the gig. Prince William might be in attendance at the BAFTAs this year, like he was last year. He’s been president of BAFTA since 2010. I guess he’ll probably be back from Mustique in time? William and Kate claimed they would be in Mustique for two weeks, and today marks the 14th day. So, what will happen if William does show up after he and his staffers declined to take part in Fry’s recent activism? Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch and thousands of other celebrities have signed a petition asking for the pardon of 49,000 men who were criminalized for being gay in Britain. William and Kate wanted no part of it – I discussed it earlier this week.

Hollywood stars are descending on London before Sunday’s BAFTAs, the UK’s Oscar awards.

We hear one surprise ­behind-the-scenes of the show will involve host Stephen Fry presenting a petition to BAFTA president Prince William to pardon 49,000 men who were criminalized for being gay under British law like Alan Turing, who is the subject of the Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley film, “The Imitation Game.”

We hear the petition, which so far has 137,000 signatures — could rack up more than 150,000 by the time of the awards at the Royal Opera House. Among those supporting the plan so far are Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Lee Daniels, James Corden, Julian Fellowes and Alan Cumming.

[From Page Six]

If Stephen Fry presents the petition to William off-camera, with a few words about how William really should take this issue on, I don’t see a problem with that. People must personally lobby royal family members all the time, in all sorts of situations. But if Fry does it on-camera in the middle of the BAFTAs… well, that’s kind of rude. And it does put William in a bad position, especially since his staffers have already declined on William’s behalf, you know? That being said, if Fry does do it on camera, it will hilariously awkward and we might even see William have a tantrum! And that’s why William probably won’t even attend the BAFTAs this year.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Oh, God. Release the Dragonflies!!!!!!

Tom Hiddleston went outside on Thursday. He has been keeping a much lower profile for the past year, not showing up to the opening of an envelope, working back to back on projects he seems to really care about. And 2015 is The Year of Hiddles. He’ll have four films out this year, and it’s never too early to start hustling. So not only will we see Hiddles at the BAFTAs on Sunday night (he’s a presenter!), he also attended the BAFTA fundraising gala last night.

I’m glad he didn’t dust off his formal tuxedo – he’s probably saving that for Sunday. Instead, we got Hiddles in a nice suit and tie. He still looks super-tired, but he’s put on a little weight since his very thin appearances after filming I Saw the Light. He looks good. God help me, I think he actually looks adorable. CB and I were just talking about him this week too – I told her that I was really feeling the Hiddlesdrought and his absence had made my heart grow fonder. I needed some Hiddles and that’s why he came out!

And not only did he come out for this pre-BAFTA event, he also made his FIRST TWEET in three-and-a-half months. He responded to Damian Lewis’s “challenge” to do an on-camera tongue twister for the Sohana Research Fund. Damian has challenged people to do the “EB Tongue Twister” of their choosing. So Hiddles posted his video yesterday. Of all the tongue twisters, he has to choose the one where he says “d-ck” like thirty times? Here’s the video:

Bless his heart. I love his turtleneck sweater. I’m pretty sure that’s a woman’s sweater. You know what? I’m into it. He’s so GD adorable. I recognize that backyard too – it’s the same backyard in Tommy’s Ice Bucket Challenge. I’m assuming that’s HIS backyard. What a perfect place for a sexual fantasy about Lord Dragonfly.

View image | gettyimages.com

The power trio! #TomHiddleston #OliviaColman #EmiliaFox at the #BAFTA Gala Dinner #EEBAFTAs

A photo posted by BAFTA (@bafta) on Feb 5, 2015 at 2:23pm PST

Photos courtesy of Getty, BAFTA’s Instagram, WENN.

Here are some photos of Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley at the Newport Beach Film Festival screening of The Imitation Game. The event was held at the ME Hotel in London. Keira looks great, doesn’t she? Great hair and this is the most flattering maternity look she’s worn so far. An empire waist is a pregnant lady’s best friend. As for Bendy… there are no photos of him with Sophie Hunter. I don’t think she was there, but I’m sure some Floral Stalkers will tell me that of course she was there and she didn’t pose on the carpet because the whole thing is a terrible sham conceived by Harvey Weinstein.

This screening and party was one of many pre-BAFTA events scheduled in London over the next few days. I like the way the BAFTA people do it – they get excited for the BAFTAs and everyone looks forward to the show, but they don’t feel the need to spend weeks and weeks doing pre-BAFTA crap. They pretty much limit the pre-BAFTA events to, like, the three days preceding the show.

Since I don’t have much else to say about Benedict and Keira, let’s chat about the BAFTAs. You can see the list of this year’s BAFTA nominees here. They are this Sunday, the same night as the Grammys. I’ll check with CB, but I’m thinking that we’ll probably do the bulk of the BAFTA and Grammy coverage on Monday. Depending on when we get photos from the red carpet, I might toss up a few posts of some of our favorite people, like She-Who-Florals and Lord Dragonfly, on Sunday afternoon/evening. We’ll have an Open Post up as well, for all Grammy and BAFTA-related activities. BBC America will be airing the BAFTAs at 8 pm EST. The Grammys start at the same time, on CBS.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Amy Pascal announced her resignation as co-chairman of Sony Pictures yesterday. But she’s still going to be around, no worries. Pascal won’t be stepping down officially until May, and even then, she’s still attached to Sony through a producing deal. Pascal became a household name in gossip circles in December, when the massive Sony Hack revealed Pascal’s email chains with Angelina Jolie, David Fincher, producer Scott Rudin, Aaron Sorkin and other Sony executives. The biggest story involved Pascal and Scott Rudin acting like high school mean girls behind Angelina’s back as they tried to manipulate Angelina away from caring about her long-gestating Cleopatra project. Another big story from the Sony Hack: Pascal and Scott Rudin like to email racist “jokes” to each other, for laughs.

There were calls for Pascal to step down that same week that the Sony Hack stories went crazy, but Pascal issued a blanket apology and industry sources claimed there was a “groundswell” of support for her. Guess not!

Amy Pascal is stepping down as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and chairman of its motion picture group. She will remain at the studio as part of a new producing deal. Pascal will stay in place through May, at which point she will take the reins at her new venture.

No decision has been made on her replacement, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation, but there is a deep bench on the Sony lot. Among her possible replacements from within the Sony ranks are former Fox studio chief Tom Rothman, who now runs TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group President Doug Belgrad, and Columbia Pictures Production President Michael De Luca.

Pascal is one of the longest serving Hollywood studio chiefs and has been praised for her role in shepherding a number of commercial and critical hits such as “Spider-Man,” “The Social Network,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “21 Jump Street” to the big screen.

Sony is providing the funding for Pascal’s production company and will retain worldwide rights to the films she makes. It will be based on the Sony lot.

“I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home,” said Pascal in a statement. “I have always wanted to be a producer.”

[From Variety]

I don’t really know what to think about the corporate decisions of Sony with how they handled everything around the Sony Hack and Pascal’s now-resignation. I mean, after the impact of the Sony Hack became clear, it really did seem like Pascal was going to be out of a job pretty quickly. Should we praise or slam Sony’s corporate leadership in NOT kneecapping Pascal in the midst of the scandal? They let her wait it out, become the public face of the hack, and quietly worked behind the scenes to secure her resignation and a comfortable golden parachute. I don’t know… it seems generous. And despite the fact that a woman is taking the fall for the bad decisions of many people, I think Pascal has been treated fairly regardless of gender. If Pascal was a man in this job and all of this happened on his watch, this is pretty much what would have gone down.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Yesterday there was an onslaught of SI: Swim reveals, including cover star Hannah Davis. The cover didn’t make many waves, but there was mass confusion over the advertisements starring model Ashley Graham (who wears a size 16). Nearly every outlet reported Ashley as the first plus-sized model in SI history, when she really didn’t appear in the magazine itself. She was simply the model-for-hire in an ad spread. This was a bummer for all those who initially believed SI was taking a big step in featuring different body types.

But wait. Things are not as grim as they appear. SI revealed Robyn Lawley (who’s a size 12) as one of their Swim edition rookies. So yes! Robyn is the first plus-sized model to officially pose inside the swimsuit issue. That’s her up there in the header picture looking radiant and phenomenal. You can see Robyn’s rookie reveal video here. The video looks exactly like this photo, so it’s easy to believe that very little photoshopping went into Robyn’s photos. Robyn spoke with Time magazine about her SI debut:

Robyn’s reaction to her photos: “I’m so excited, I’m dying — I’m dying!”

On body image: “I don’t know if I consider myself as a plus-size model or not. I just consider myself a model because I’m trying to help women in general accept their bodies.”

What SI said after they cast her: “I was told to stay healthy and exactly as I am. I never thought that this would happen to me, so this is a milestone. When I started my career 10 years ago, I had to painfully go to castings and people would look at you and say, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ … I want to be there for the regular girls who are my size.”

She modelled for SI during her first trimester: “Now they know why I was sleeping so much of the time!”

[From Time]

Even though Robyn is only a size 12 and not plus-sized in the civilian sense, this is superb news. I’ve been a fan of Robyn’s since she became Ralph Lauren’s first plus-sized model two years ago. Robyn’s quite levelheaded (even about controversial topics) and isn’t afraid to eloquently rebut her critics. Robyn’s a model with a distinctive voice, and she makes a wonderful addition to the SI: Swim issue.

Photos courtesy of Sports Illustrated & WENN

I’ve thought for a long time now that George Clooney and Brad Pitt have never really been BFFs. They were friendly enough making the Oceans movies, but they never go out of their way to hang out with each other, especially once Brad got with Angelina and became a father. They were never bros, at least not in the way Clooney is bros with his dude-friends. So, how did that happen? Why did George and Brad never fully develop a bromance? Is it because they just had different life priorities? Is it because George always seemed slightly jealous of Brad (just my opinion)? Or is it because Brad thinks George is totally immature? BOY FIGHT!

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are at “war,” according to OK!, which claims the “bromance” has “come apart at the seams” because Clooney is too childish for Pitt.

An insider says: “Brad’s changed, and George hasn’t. That’s where the issue lies.” OK! explains that Clooney’s fondness for pranks and “frat-boy ways” is specifically what now separates him from Pitt. “At times, Brad actually finds George’s behavior embarrassing and childish. That’s something he never thought he’d think,” a source claims.

OK! points to Clooney’s recent time drinking tequila with Jennifer Aniston in Cabo San Lucas over the holidays. “Brad chuckled when he read about the trip… He thought it was typical George, trying to prove he’s still Mr. Fun. Brad’s got this holier-than-thou attitude at times, and George has put him on a pedestal, which hasn’t helped.”

[From Gossip Cop]

Gossip Cop’s insider says it’s crap, which… I mean, sure. As I said, I don’t think George and Brad have been close for a while a now, if they ever were. Does Brad think George is immature? Eh. I think George is immature. I would imagine that any father of six would look at George’s life and think, “Kind of superficial.” Which is exactly why George has made such a radical 180 in the past year, trying to convince everyone that he’s not a punchline in one of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s jokes.

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.

In halcyon days, I was vaguely aware of Weston Cage as a death-metal singer and the son of Nicolas. Things got really crazy, really fast in the summer of 2011. Within the space of two months, 20-year-old Weston went off the rails. He flew into a physical rage after his personal trainer told him not to eat something on a restaurant menu. He beat up the trainer and ended up cuffed, strapped to a gurney, and carted off to the hospital on a 5150 psychiatric hold. A month later Weston and his then-wife, Nikki Williams, were jailed on domestic violence charges, and Weston went back a second time. Then he showed off his kung-fu moves for the paps outside a steakhouse.

Before long, Weston divorced Nikki and teased a reality program with his mom, Christina Fulton. He wanted to “show the world he’s not mentally ill.” The show never happened, thank goodness. Weston disappeared from public view as quickly as he appeared.

Weston is back. I’m trying to figure out what he’s plugging with a new People interview. His IMDb profile reveals a few movies on the way. Weston is now estranged from Mom. He married Danielle Cage in 2013; they have a 7-month-old son, Lucian Augustus. Weston says all his previous problems were due to alcohol. Liquid tons of alcohol:

His alcoholism: “Alcohol became a nightmare.” He was drinking up to “30 beers, one box of wine and half a bottle of something hard” mixed with pills in one day, and his friends and family “thought I was digging my grave,” he says. And so did he. Landing in the hospital one night in 2012 after going through withdrawal (“It felt like someone was suffocating me, and every light in me was flickering on and off,” he recalls), he was telling loved ones where to scatter his ashes.

Danielle inspired his “cold turkey” sobriety: “I fell in love instantaneously. I was surrounded by very toxic people and was just tired of being polluted. Danielle was pure.”

The joy of fatherhood: “When he laughs and smiles for me, it makes me so happy. He’s saved my life. It’s just a very joyous time right now. I used to imagine [my life like this] to make me feel better and get the inner wounds to coagulate.The fact that it’s real now is beyond a blessing.”

[From People]

30 beers per day plus a box of wine, some hard liquor, and pills. Is that even possible? He’d literally have to drink from sunup to sundown and long after. If Weston’s telling the truth, then it’s easy to see why he acted so bizarrely. Is he exaggerating? I don’t know. Weston says his mom was always a problem, and he “dreaded every moment with her,” turning to alcohol to “fill an abyss.” That’s terribly sad.

Just for kicks, here’s a replay of Weston’s crazy roundhouse kicking for the paps. I know he’s in a better place now, but these photos will always bring me joy.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News & WENN

Here are some photos of Kristen Stewart and her girlfriend Alicia Cargile at the airport on Wednesday. They flew out together, but they didn’t go far. Alicia was Kristen’s date at Riley Keough’s surprise wedding in Napa later on Wednesday. Riley’s other guests included Dakota Johnson, Zoe Kravitz, John Travolta and Cara Delevingne. To me, the fact that Alicia was Kristen’s plus-one to a wedding speaks volumes about their relationship. But the tabloids are just obsessed with declaring that Kristen and Alicia are moving in together – last week we heard that Kristen and Alicia were househunting for a new place, but In Touch Weekly says Kristen has just asked Alicia to move into the LA loft Kristen just bought:

In Touch has exclusively learned that Kristen Stewart and her rumored girlfriend, Alicia Cargile, are taking the next big step in their relationship!

“Kristen recently bought a huge loft in downtown LA and she asked Alicia to move in,” an insider exclusively tells ‘In Touch,’ on newsstands now. “It seemed pointless to live apart, since they were with each other every day.”

Kristen has yet to confirm their romance despite urging from friends — including her former co-star, Riley Keough. “Riley knows Kristen would be happier if she stopped hiding her feelings,” a source close to Riley says in the new issue of ‘In Touch.’ “She told Kristen she shouldn’t hide who she is and who she loves.”

[From In Touch Weekly]

My take is still that Kristen IS very comfortable with this relationship and people can just interpret anything they want. I think she learned from the Twilight-Sparkles debacle that her private love life shouldn’t be part of the discussion while speaking to the press, and recent interviews have indicated as much. She’s not confirming or denying that she and Alicia are together… because the photo evidence speaks for itself. And I’m sure Kristen’s friends are comfortable with it too. After all, Kristen did bring Alicia to Riley’s wedding!

PS… Note the Chanel bag. Kristen’s gotta shill for that endorsement! Karl Lagerfeld is so happy with Kristen’s work on the Paris-Dallas Collection that he made Kristen one of the new faces of the Chanel handbag campaign.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.