Catherine Cambridge rarely does interviews. On the last day of House Cambridge’s tour of Pakistan, we’re getting an interview. Before that though, let’s talk about the last 24 hours, because it was terrifying. Their plane encountered such bad turbulence on the way to Islamabad that they had to abort…

I feel the same way about Annette Roque that I felt about Georgina Chapman. Both women were married to abusive predators, and both men used their marriages as cover for their behavior and crimes. I’m sure both women were victims of their predator husbands in various ways. But… their stories shouldn’t be the focus? The situations are different, for sure, and I’m actually quite sure that Roque was trying to get away from Lauer for years and years before she finally escaped. But do we need Roque to become “the sympathetic victim” on magazine covers right at this moment? No. We don’t. But that’s what’s happening.

Throughout the very public demise of her marriage to Matt Lauer, Annette Roque remained tight-lipped and poised. But now as new and shocking rape accusations are being leveled at her ex, sources exclusively reveal in the new issue of Us Weekly that the former model lived through torment during their 20-plus-year union.

“Annette wanted out of the marriage for a long time,” says an insider. “She stayed for Matt’s career — and, more important, for their kids,” Jack, 18, Romy, 16, and Thijs, 12. But in the last five years, especially after Lauer, 61, was fired by NBC amid sexual misconduct allegations in 2017, “she’s been through hell.” For starters, the disgraced Today host’s extramarital affairs played a negative role in their long relationship. “There were cracks in the marriage from very early on. Matt has always been a ladies’ man, and there were affairs in the beginning.” When he promised to change, Roque “chose to believe Matt’s denials,” says the insider.

Living with Lauer wasn’t easy for the Netherlands native, 52, either. “Matt’s a total control freak,” says another source, not to mention a neat freak. “Nothing was ever out of place, and he expected this same quality in his wife too.”

Following the new claim — that Lauer allegedly raped his former NBC News colleague Brooke Nevils in her hotel room while they were covering the 2014 Sochi Olympics — Roque broke her silence for the first time, saying that her children were her priority. And in light of the most recent headlines, she has no regrets. The first insider adds: “Annette knew she made the best decision for herself and the kids by filing for divorce.”

[From Us Weekly]

“Matt’s a total control freak…Nothing was ever out of place, and he expected this same quality in his wife too.” That gave me a chill. Sleeping with the Enemy vibes, right? As I said, I’m sure Annette has had a terrible time and good for her for finally escaping a marriage that seemed toxic and emotionally abusive. But, again, the focus should be on Lauer’s actions, his behavior and the men who helped him get away with it for so long. The need to make Roque sympathetic and put her as “the humanizing story” at the center of this is kind of awful? You know who needs sympathy? All of the women Matt Lauer raped, assaulted, abused, harassed and destroyed professionally.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

At the time of writing this, no new songs have been released. But a release is imminent, so stay alert.

From pulling back from the public eye to a brand new album, Selena has come quite far in the past few years. A few days ago, Selena Sleuthers predicted that new music was on its way because Sel…

At the time of writing this, no new songs have been released. But a release is imminent, so stay alert.

From pulling back from the public eye to a brand new album, Selena has come quite far in the past few years. A few days ago, Selena Sleuthers predicted that new music was on its way because Sel…

In August, we saw the first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and… I was a bit disappointed in it. I still feel like the central roles of Jo (Saoirse Ronan) and Laurie (Timothee Chalamet) were cast brilliantly. But the rest of the casting choices bug me, and the trailer wasn’t great. I’m saying that as a huge fan of the book and a lover of film-adapted classics. But damn, Emma Watson seems out of place. As does Laura Dern. And Meryl Streep, frankly. Anyway, as a “fall preview” for Oscar-bait films, Entertainment Weekly put Saoirse and Timothee on their cover. The cover and cover shoot is gorgeous, and the interaction between Chalamet and Ronan is beautiful and I want to live there. That being said, the cover story is all about the adaptation and it STILL seems like it’s going to be a big mess? You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

The imagery of Timothee is perfect: During a break that follows, he wanders, gripping a paper bag stuffed with assorted bagels — from Tompkins Square Bagels, which Chalamet, a lifelong New Yorker, insists are the best in the city — and offering one to anyone in his path. He sings and dances — very Elio-in-the-town-square-like — to Bob Dylan’s “Tombstone Blues.” He creeps behind a distracted Ronan before spooking her with a yelp. “I didn’t even know you were there!” she exclaims, reddening from the fright but with a smile so lovingly at ease, you sense she’s used to the prank.

The difference in the production between this & Lady Bird: “I felt very prideful… about how big it had gotten, how many people were there,” Chalamet recounts. “On Lady Bird it was, like, 25 people hanging out in a house!”

Saoirse on Timothee: “He keeps me on my toes — I’m never quite sure what he’s going to do next. That only progressed more and grew more. It helped that we do have a very natural rapport with each other…. These two characters physically need to be very comfortable with one another. They’re literally intertwined for half the film.” Chalamet adds: “In the least clichéd way possible, it really doesn’t feel like [I’m] acting sometimes [with her].”

How Greta adapted the story: The movie begins with the March sisters in adulthood — typically where the narrative’s second half begins — and unfolds like a memory play, shifting back and forth between that present-day frame and extended flashbacks to the childhood scenes etched in the American literary canon. She poured the same love into iconic scenes, like Jo and Laurie’s ebullient dance that follows their first meeting. Here it goes on longer — and more vibrantly — than in any previous iteration. (Ronan says they filmed it at 3 a.m., to boot, adding, “We must have done it, like, 30 times.”) Then there’s the devastating moment when Laurie asks Jo to marry him and she rejects his proposal. Gerwig tasked the two actors to unleash here. “Emotions just bubble over,” Ronan says. “[Greta] just let us go with it, wherever it went, from take to take. What I loved about that scene is that every take would be different emotionally. It didn’t have the same trajectory.”

Saoirse on Jo March: “When Louisa describes Jo, it felt like someone describing me physically: sort of gangly and stubborn and very straightforward, and went for what she wanted.” At an event for Lady Bird, she — in a very Jo kind of way — just “went at it” by approaching Gerwig. “I said, ‘So I want to be in Little Women, but only if I’m playing Jo.’” (Chalamet, for his part, was asked by Gerwig, “Hey, want to do another movie?” He responded: “Yes. Yes, please.”)

Ronan & Chalamet: “I love that in Lady Bird, you broke my heart,” she says to him softly. “In Little Women, I got to break your heart.” (Chalamet, ever the goofball, finds an obvious opening: “Yes, that’s true. Then I married your sister. Ha, ha, ha!”)

[From EW]

Honestly, I will watch this just for Ronan and Chalamet, because I think so highly of both of them and because I expect their chemistry with each other to carry the project. But! It probably would have been less expensive and more fun to just watch Saoirse and Timothee interact and play around and do silly things together, documentary-style. The rest of this film sounds like such a mess! The whole story is told IN FLASHBACKS. Stop.

Embed from Getty Images

Cover courtesy of EW, additional photos courtesy of Sony & Getty

We just discussed one of the exclusive clips from the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey – the clip was of Harry getting emotional about how his mother was harassed by the press throughout her adult life. Harry and the ITV documentary draw parallels between the harassment Diana faced and the harassment Meghan faces now. As I said, there are significant parallels to be drawn. But as I’ve also said a few times now, I think it’s the wrong fight to make the smear campaign against Meghan JUST about “press treatment” or “press bullying.” That’s part of it, of course. But it’s also just a racism, anti-Americanism and sexism, and let’s not forget that it’s not ALL coming from the press. It’s coming from inside the palace too, you know? Which is enough to make me feel helpless on behalf of the Sussexes, so imagine how they feel. That’s exactly what happened during this ITV documentary – Tom Bradby asked Meghan how she’s dealt with all of this bulls–t.

World Exclusive; Meghan tells me of the intense pressures of a life in the spotlight and the toll it has taken on her behind the scenes. pic.twitter.com/tpmeomj5UV

— tom bradby (@tombradby) October 18, 2019

She’s truly fighting back tears as she spoke, saying: “Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot… So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um…yeah. I guess, also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.” When asked if she’s “not really okay” and whether there’s really been a struggle, she says “yes.”

I could write a diatribe about how women of color are all too often put in the position of having to defend their own humanity, especially when powerful people and powerful structures abuse them and marginalize them. But I won’t write that diatribe because a million people can do it better than me. I will say this: this documentary seems to be a change of tack for the Sussexes. After trying to handle the smear campaign by ignoring it or using People Magazine to change the narrative, it’s like Harry and Meghan have decided (over the past month) to directly address it. And that’s fascinating to me.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.

ITV will air Harry & Meghan: An African Journey on Sunday night in the UK. The documentary, about their recent tour of southern Africa, will be broadcast in the US on ABC that same night. A couple of clips from Harry and Meghan’s interviews with Tom Bradby have been released. Tom promised a couple o…

ITV will air Harry & Meghan: An African Journey on Sunday night in the UK. The documentary, about their recent tour of southern Africa, will be broadcast in the US on ABC that same night. A couple of clips from Harry and Meghan’s interviews with Tom Bradby have been released. Tom promised a couple o…

Meteorologist calls out body-shamer: ‘I will not be strapping myself into a girdle’https://t.co/PmZWbToDWk

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 17, 2019

The body-shamers are out in full-force, sadly, and they are everywhere. We’ve talked over the past few months about celebrities not having it and clapping back at the trolls. Here’s a great story about a meteorologist in St. Louis who pushed back against one of her b-tchy viewers because the viewer suggested that she needed to do something about her belly:

As a meteorologist for KSDK News in St. Louis, Tracy Hinson is far more concerned about sharing the latest weather news than how she looks while she does it.

But the newscaster found herself fighting back against a body shamer who said that Hinson that needs to cover her stomach “bulge” when she’s on-air.

The viewer directly messaged Hinson to critique her outfit.

“Do you ever watch yourself giving the weather report? Seems that you need a girdle for the stomach overhang which shortens the front of your dresses!” the person wrote. “Today was not the first time I have noticed this. Maybe you should wear a top that covers the bulge in your stomach.”

Hinson politely, but firmly, told the body shamer that she’s happy with her body.

“Dear Mary, yes I do watch my air checks. NO I will not be strapping myself into a girdle because you don’t like my belly,” she wrote on social media. “I like pasta, bread and cheese too much to obsess over my weight. I like my body and that’s all that really matters. [heart emoji] Tracy #nomorefatshaming”

[From People]

Tracy posted a follow-up about all of the support she’s been getting:

Grateful and completely touched by the support I’ve gotten from my friends at KSDK News and total strangers who wrote me with words of encouragement ?? #STLProud #ConfidentInMehttps://t.co/aAk5ZcQ3Bb

— Tracy Hinson (@tvalwx) October 14, 2019

She also posted a picture proclaiming her love of mac and cheese:

Few things in life are more beautiful than this sight right here ??? #MissMacNCheese pic.twitter.com/fL6EjqEcXD

— Tracy Hinson (@tvalwx) October 14, 2019

I read this story while I was on the train, and I had to stop myself from loudly saying, “YES!” as I read Tracy’s tweets. I love that she has a dedicated mac-and-cheese spoon. I love that she said that she likes her body as it is, and that she knows exactly how she looks. I still don’t grasp this: As a human who has a body that I see on a daily basis, I’m always aware of what it looks like. It’s always strange to me when body-shamers try to suggest that clearly, we are clueless and don’t know what we look like, and that they are helpfully alerting us to how awful we look. Gee, thanks! I had no idea that I have a round belly!

I love that Tracy emphatically stated that she’s certainly not going to wear different clothes because Mary thinks she needs to cover up. I, too, love pasta and bread and cheese (and am more than happy to eat Tim Tebow’s share of carbs). I just ate a package of four Entenmann’s mini-donuts while writing this, and they were good, and I enjoyed every bite. Sadly, of course, Tracy’s story is not unique. The fact that viewers always rally to support their local celebrities makes me happy, and I always wonder whether the body-shamers feel shame after they get told in so many words how atrocious their behavior is. But, seriously, it’s 2019, and I am so tired of this sh-t. Eat the tasty food, wear the clothes that make you happy and feel fabulous, and ignore the haters, y’all.

I am so optimistic that future generations will value a positive body image and curb bullying across all age groups ? #NoMoreBullies #WeCanDoThishttps://t.co/boDwzBzsxV

— Tracy Hinson (@tvalwx) October 17, 2019

Did I buy a feeder just to entertain my cat? Yes, yes I absolutely did. #OliverNachoCat pic.twitter.com/9xXCYDuZfq

— Tracy Hinson (@tvalwx) October 15, 2019

I have an undying love for the #bluebox #kraftmacncheese @kraftmacncheese #MissMacNCheese pic.twitter.com/nppwrkJLKt

— Tracy Hinson (@tvalwx) October 5, 2019

Dear Gossips,

On the To Do List this weekend: buy a new golf shirt, play golf, see Maleficent, screen The Morning Show, and read Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life, Ali Wong’s new book.

The conceit here is that she’s writing to her two daughters but t…