Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger welcomed their daughter several days ago. I think Katherine gave birth on Friday or Saturday, and she was home by Sunday with the baby. They already announced the name: Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt. Which I kind of like? I was expecting a name like Elizabeth or Ethel, so Lyla feels sort of modern for a Kennedy-adjacent. And I honestly love that Katherine used her mother’s name as the middle name. It has a nice flow, especially if they’re pronouncing the name Lie-la. Anyway, predictable as always, People Magazine has a nice update on how Katherine and Chris are doing:

Chris and Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt are settling into life at home with a newborn. The actor, 41, and the author, 30, recently welcomed their first child together, daughter Lyla Maria. Chris and Katherine confirmed the arrival of their baby girl on Aug. 10, sharing a photo of them holding hands with their new addition on Instagram.

“Everyone is doing well,” a source tells PEOPLE. “They haven’t left their house since they returned home from the hospital. They just want to bond with the baby and get to know her. They have some help and Maria also makes sure they have everything they need. Lyla is adorable.”

“And Kat has the best attitude,” the insider adds. “She is obviously still tired, but she loves being a mom. She is so positive and excited about the whole experience. She loves seeing Chris with their girl. He is such a good dad. This was one of the things that Kat was attracted to from the beginning: Chris loves being a dad. Kat feels very lucky that Lyla gets to grow up with Chris as a dad.”

A source previously told PEOPLE that the couple “knew they were having a girl and were thrilled about it.”

“Kat had a good pregnancy, and she is hoping for a quick recovery — so far, so good,” the insider added. “She is going through all the first-time-mom emotions. She is extremely happy but a bit tired and overwhelmed.”

Chris, who left the U.K. set of his latest film, Jurassic World: Dominion, to be home for Lyla’s birth, has been a steady source of support for Katherine, an author whose most recent book is The Gift of Forgiveness. “It’s comforting for Kat that he is already a dad and understands how it is to have a newborn,” the source said of the actor, who is also dad to son Jack, 8 next week, with ex-wife Anna Faris.

[From People]

“Chris, who left the U.K. set of his latest film, Jurassic World: Dominion, to be home for Lyla’s birth…” I wonder how long his paternity leave is? The original plan was probably for Chris to have a nice space of time around the birth so he could spend the summer with the baby. But then the pandemic happened and tons of movie productions were put on hold, and it sucks that he has to go back to the UK at some point, probably very soon. I wonder what the quarantine situation is like, given all the traveling too? In any case, I’m sure Maria and Arnold and the extended family will step in and help while Chris is away. And yes, I imagine it is sort of comforting for a first-time mom to have a husband/partner who has already been through all of this. I bet Chris was a big help.

View this post on Instagram

We are beyond thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt. We couldn’t be happier and we feel extremely blessed! Love, Katherine and Chris

A post shared by Katherine Schwarzenegger (@katherineschwarzenegger) on Aug 10, 2020 at 8:42am PDT

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, IG.

BLACKPINK is preparing to drop their first full length album in October. The first single, “How You Like That”, is already a smash hit with the video generating hundreds of millions of YouTube views. The group has been teasing the follow-up single for weeks. It’ll be released on August 28. They’ve b…

BLACKPINK is preparing to drop their first full length album in October. The first single, “How You Like That”, is already a smash hit with the video generating hundreds of millions of YouTube views. The group has been teasing the follow-up single for weeks. It’ll be released on August 28. They’ve b…

BLACKPINK is preparing to drop their first full length album in October. The first single, “How You Like That”, is already a smash hit with the video generating hundreds of millions of YouTube views. The group has been teasing the follow-up single for weeks. It’ll be released on August 28. They’ve b…

Whew, I didn’t get a chance to write about this yesterday, when the news came out, but here we are. I feel strongly that we should just keep our eye on what’s happening with Ghislaine Maxwell in real time, as she sits in jail in Brooklyn. Because of the information and blackmail material she has access to, we all know that Ghislaine has a target on her back. I mean, her former pedophile lover Jeffrey Epstein died under mysterious circumstances in a New York detention center almost one year ago exactly. So even if there isn’t a ton of “news” about Ghislaine on a daily basis, we should just… be aware. That something could happen, especially when we’re paying attention to other sh-t. Now it sounds like Ghislaine is hoping that something happens to her too:

Ghislaine Maxwell has asked a judge to move her from an isolated cell where she is watched constantly by guards to be housed with other prisoners at the New York jail where she is awaiting trial on charges that she groomed minors for her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.

She has also asked to be told the identities of the three women who have accused her of grooming them when they were teenagers between 1994 and 1997 – allegations that are the basis of the charges against her.

Ms Maxwell, 58, who has pleaded not guilty and was denied bail, is an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where it is thought she is being held on an unoccupied floor under constant scrutiny. In a letter to Judge Alison Nathan, her lawyers claim that the “uniquely onerous conditions” in which she is being held were a reaction to the death of Epstein, who committed suicide in a Manhattan jail last August while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Epstein’s death prompted an outcry, several investigations and charges against two prison officers who were supposed to be monitoring him but are accused of browsing the internet, falling asleep and falsifying records to suggest that they had checked on him regularly.

“As a result of what occurred with Epstein, Ms Maxwell is being treated worse than other similarly situated pretrial detainees,” her lawyers said. She “has been confined alone in an area outside of the general population [of inmates] for the entire 36 day period . . . and there is no indication that this will change”. They said that she is watched continuously on video cameras and by “multiple prison guards, many of whom do not appear to be regular [Metropolitan Detention Center] personnel. These prison guards observe Ms Maxwell and take notes on her every activity”. Until recently she had been woken every few hours in the middle of the night and “forced to wear special clothing” – special measures typically adopted for suicidal prisoners – “despite the fact that she, unlike Mr Epstein, has never been suicidal”. They say her cell is searched “multiple times a day and she has been forced to undergo numerous body scans”.

[From The Times]

“Despite the fact that she, unlike Mr Epstein, has never been suicidal” WHEW. I thought Ghislaine felt like Epstein was murdered? And why is she actively trying to get around people, where *someone* could get to her and, like, shank her in the yard or something? I’ve read a lot about how solitary confinement is a human rights issue, and an issue of “cruel and unusual punishment.” But… sources also say that Ghislaine gets three hours of exercise outdoors a day, one hour more than other inmates. People are also saying that there is just no way they can allow Ghislaine around other prisoners, the risk is just too high.

I’ve been saying from the start that “they” wouldn’t take care of Ghislaine the same way they “took care” of Epstein. Having Ghislaine shanked in the yard by another prisoner would suit their purposes well. So why is Ghislaine even trying? Why does she want that? It shouldn’t be this f–king hard to keep a pedophile human trafficker alive for a year to face trial.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.

As I read more and more excerpts from Finding Freedom, I’m struck by a larger counter-narrative: Prince Harry is very opinionated and organized and he knows his own mind. This runs counter to the British press’s convenient talking point that Harry was and is weak, that Meghan controls him, that Meghan is so opinionated and Harry just goes along with what she wants. More often than not, Harry was the one driving their decisions as a couple and then as a family. It seemed like Harry was the one who wanted to move to Windsor, and he was the one who wanted physical and psychological distance from William and Kate. It also feels like Harry had very specific ideas about what their home life should be like, especially after they welcomed Archie. FF has a section where they talk about the first months after Archie was born, and how Harry didn’t want a house full of live-in staff, like he had seen with the Cambridges.

Although Harry and Meghan had initially chosen to forgo a full-time nanny, Doria had just flown back to LA, and so they decided to hire a night nurse to establish a sleep schedule and be an extra pair of helping hands. But their time with the couple was brief. Meghan and Harry were forced to let the nurse go in the middle of her second night of work for being unprofessional and irresponsible.

The new parents went on to hire a second night nurse, who did a fine job, but because of the incident with the first nurse, neither found themselves comfortable sleeping through the night without going to check on Archie regularly. After a few weeks, they decided to take on the nights themselves and went without a night nurse entirely. Instead, they hired a nanny to work weekdays. The nanny joined Harry and Meghan’s Frogmore staff, which consisted of an assistant and a housekeeper, neither of whom were live-in.

Harry and Meghan had agreed they didn’t want their home filled with staff. Harry had seen that situation at William’s home (the Cambridges had a live-in housekeeper and a full-time, live-in nanny), and didn’t want the same for his own family. He and Meghan liked the idea that when they went to bed at night, it was just the three of them in the house. Cozy and private.

In the mornings, Harry usually made his own coffee. When they had meetings at the large kitchen table with staff members, it was often Meghan who made a pot of tea and put chocolates or energy balls on a plate for nibbling.

[From Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan, and the Making of a Modern Royal Family]

One of the consistently funny things about the Cambridges is that they tried for years to make it sound like they didn’t have any household staff and barely had any office staff. It was this completely bizarre “normal” cosplay. Anyway, yes, of course Will and Kate have live-in staff at Anmer Hall and Kensington Palace. That’s how Harry grew up too, surrounded by staff. It must have been so exotic to him, this idea that he and Meghan and Archie could go to sleep in the same house without anyone else around.

I don’t even want to speculate about what happened with the first night nurse. I also feel like it would not have been the end of the world if they wanted a part-time cook!

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Do you remember when it looked like quarantine would dry up all the gossip? I thought we’d have to bide our time with failed Imagine videos and Zoom reunions until the lockdown divorce news started. But I guess people are going stir-crazy enough to spill the tea about who pissed them off the most. Ellen DeGeneres’ employees certainly saw an opening (it’s about time!). Now, a celebrity stylist by the name of Tamaran is dishing on who is the absolutely worst when it comes to diva behavior. Tamaran, who worked as an assistant to several stylists to the stars from 2008 to 2017, unloaded about her former clients and those at the top of her Sh*t L*st are Jennifer Lopez, Katherine Heigl and Jessica Alba – oh my!

On JLo: I knew this one for years. There’s a reason why she can’t hold down a costumer or a seamstress. In order to talk to J Lo you can’t look at her. In order to talk to her you have to talk to God.

On Katherine Heigl: If 2020 was a career, it would be Katherine Heigl. Friends of mine who have worked on set with her and photoshoots have told me that she is extremely difficult and always mad.

On Jessica Alba: If 2020 was an attitude it would be Jessica Alba…she’s not nice. She loves to rub hummus on her dress, play mind games with you, [and] she does this thing where she talks to you while not talking to you.

On Alexis Knapp: There’s some celebrities who pay, some who take forever to pay, and some who just don’t pay because they think their name is enough. And out of the Pitch Perfect cast, that was Alexis Knapp. (Of her 2015 MTV Movie awards look) This was one of the most difficult looks to put together. Whilst being fitted in this dress, Alexis decided it would be wonderful to eat a slice of chocolate ice cream cake. Part of the cake melted onto the dress, and guess who had to clean it? Oh, but it gets better, (a designer lent Alexis $1,300 worth of jewelry) And let’s just say that she couldn’t “find it”. When my boss asked for payment, Alexis responded with, “I needed to pay you?”

On Marisa Tomei (whose appointment was at 9:30): Marisa didn’t wake up until 12:30 p.m., barely says hello, and proceeds to eat her breakfast of yogurt and granola

[From TikTok via Socialite Life and Daily Mail]

We often hear about celebrities who insist on no eye contact. I heard from a person in The Biz that there is some reasoning behind it beyond just flat out ego. People on set very much want to befriend the big names on set. But those actors have jobs to do and don’t always have time to stop and chat or, sometimes, they just want to detox after a crappy day at work. The easiest way to avoid a conversation is to avoid eye contact, thus, the rule. But that only applies to walking around on set, I can’t imagine being in close proximity and physically working on JLo without being able to look at her. How does that even work? “Here. Put these on *throw clothes in the direction of JLo’s voice* and tell me if you think they look good. Okay, duck because I have to throw some bangles your way!” I don’t think any of us are surprised by Tamaran’s comments about Katherine, her attitude cost her her career. I’m not particularly surprised about Jessica either. The bummer for me is Marisa Tomei, who I really like. So does Tamaran, for the record. She said she went easy on Marisa for her transgressions as a result. I want to believe this was a bad day for Marisa, but who knows. When I’m grumpy I don’t talk to anyone either (mainly because what I would say would be mean). But I cannot brook lateness, especially to that degree, without a phone call or apology. Everyone’s time is valuable, regardless of their job or position. Things happen, I get it, but if you can’t be bothered to let me know you’re running late, then forget it.

Tamaran wasn’t all negative – those are just the most fun. She had nice things to say about Jacob Elordi, George Clooney and Ariel Winter. She said Carrie Underwood is “the sweetest person on the planet” whereas Selena Gomez is, “one of the most professional human beings in the industry.” Both women acknowledge the folks around them and thank them for their time and work. I’ll add to Tamaran’s list: my friend works as an animation director at BUF and said that Ariana Grande was an absolute professional on the video they worked together on (unlike the video’s main director who was apparently a beast). From my former life as a Meetings/Conventions coordinator, my favorite celebrities with whom I worked were John Cleese and Harry Belafonte. Both men were not only professional, but extremely affable. But the celebrity I hold above all others from working with them was Celeste Holm, the classiest woman I have ever met.

Photo credit: WENN/Avalon

Some films try to be defining, of the moment works, and some films stumble into cultural relevance due to happenstance and timing. In a normal year, She Dies Tomorrow would be a lyrical, interesting experiment from writer/director Amy Seimetz (Sun Don’t Shine), but in the year 2020, She Dies Tomorro…

Some films try to be defining, of the moment works, and some films stumble into cultural relevance due to happenstance and timing. In a normal year, She Dies Tomorrow would be a lyrical, interesting experiment from writer/director Amy Seimetz (Sun Don’t Shine), but in the year 2020, She Dies Tomorro…

Pour one out for Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair, I’m sure she’s having a rough week with all of these Finding Freedom headlines. Nicholl has written popular books on the “younger royals,” her most famous being Kate: The Future Queen and The Making of a Royal Romance. Nicholl leaned heavily into her Middleton-family sources, and she’s been so sugary about Kate in particular for years now, I often refer to Nicholl as Kate’s hagiographer. Nicholl has shown that she doesn’t have any sources in Harry and Meghan’s camp now, but I’m still interested in what Nicholl has to say because she does have access to the Cambridges and the “official” line from the palaces. So here are some highlights from Nicholl’s new Vanity Fair piece:

The level of detail in the book has palace people worried: Scobie and Durand also present an incredible level of detail, from Meghan’s favorite breakfast— steel cut oats made with almond or soy milk, bananas, and agave syrup—to a description of the Queen’s private sitting room, with its “maroon-and-cream Aubusson carpet accented with a floral-and-scroll pattern…eggshell blue walls…with the most spectacular ornate crown moldings that Meghan had ever seen.” That has raised royal eyebrows over at the palace, where some courtiers have been nervously awaiting the publication of the book. One senior palace aide even called one of the book’s authors to find out what was in the manuscript.

Never complain, never explain JKJK: The future king and queen, William and Kate, come under fire more than other senior royals, with the Duchess of Cambridge portrayed as cold and aloof, William as snobbish and interfering. The Cambridges were so outraged by some of the claims in the book that they allowed friends to speak out on their behalf to reveal that they had gone out of their way to welcome Meghan.

Angela Kelly is big mad: The Queen’s most senior aide Angela Kelly is also named for the first time as playing a role in the tiara debacle, which has apparently upset her.

Buckingham Palace thinks there’s nothing to see here: Officials at Buckingham Palace are pointedly making “no comment” on the book. One household member I spoke with claimed not to have read it, while another said that all of the “fuss” was being generated by the tabloids and that it’s “business as usual” back at HQ. “I think most people feel it’s a shame that the book has come just as the dust was settling. It’s also overshadowing the good work the royals—including Harry and Meghan—are doing,” a source told Vanity Fair. “I think everyone just wants to move on and leave the past in the past.”

The comparisons to Diana: Her True Story: “The authors have reported on a seminal moment in the royal family,” said Andrew Morton, author of Diana: Her True Story, one of the most famous royal biographies of all time. “The fall out of the royal princes is biblical, like Cain and Abel. Is it the next Diana Her True Story? No. That book has a life of its own. Finding Freedom isn’t as baleful for the monarchy as Diana: Her True Story which was about the break-up of the future king and queen. This is Hansel and Gretel, two innocents at large in the big bad world.”

Harry is still close to Petty Betty? The book explores the close relationship between the monarch and her grandson and Harry is keen that the relationship remains close. He often speaks on the phone to his grandmother, who the book reveals was impressed by Meghan. Harry is also said to be keen that his relationship with his brother, which has improved in the past few months and continues to progress.

[From Vanity Fair]

One of Nicholl’s final points is that it’s “ironic” that the Sussexes have less freedom now in LA, being in lockdown, than they would in Windsor. But… I disagree. Strongly. They do have more freedom now. Freedom to pursue their own charitable and humanitarian agendas at their own pace. Freedom to brief the media however they see fit and correct the record if they so choose. Freedom to wear shorts and cute necklaces and nail polish without the sound of a collective ass-puckering from the entire British establishment.

As for what Nicholl reveals… I love how the Sussexes so easily boxed in the Cambridges and the palace courtiers. Every time Will and Kate respond to this story or that story, they prove Harry and Meghan’s point – that they were held to different standards, that the courtiers were always highly selective with which stories got denied or pushed back.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.