Bella Hadid celebrated her 23rd birthday last week and took to Instagram with an important message. After thanking followers for their well-wishes, she told them that Mental Health Awareness Day was October 10 and shared that she has faced challenges to her mental health. Bella posted an image of a black-and-white drawing of a woman with flowers in her hair underneath a quotation from Hannah Blum: Even on those rainy days when it feels like the world is covered in grey, do not lose hope, because there has never been a storm that lasted forever. The sun is always present; it too has to find it’s [sic] way through the clouds.

In her lengthy comment, she wrote, in part:

I wanted to say thank you so much for all the birthday wishes. You have no idea how much it means to me reading each message.?

Yesterday was mental health awareness day. A struggle that I know a majority of us have dealt with in the past or dealing with currently. And if not, you probably know someone who is.. something that I have been dealing with for a few years but finally at a point where it doesn’t consume me as much as before. still have bad days along with the good, but grateful and proud of myself to be in the place that I am today, going into my 23rd year of life. with that being said , I would like to add that everything you see online or through social media is not always what it seems..the happiness we create online while being sad in real life makes no sense, but sometimes it just seems easier to live within your sadness rather than talk about it. if it wasn’t for the people closest to me, I probably would have still been in that place, and for that, I am forever thankful to them…don’t feel pressured by things online…if you don’t want to get out of bed, don’t. If you want to cancel plans, cancel them. Being kind and protective to yourself and your energy is something I’ve learned to be helpful. When the world feels like it is collapsing around you, you are allowed to ask for help… you do not have to deal w/ your mental state alone. We need to spread love and allow love in. Be kind !

[From Bella Hadid’s Instagram]

She ended by telling her followers who might be struggling, “I see you!” and sent them a virtual hug and love.

I’m so glad that Bella is in a place where she feels that her mental health has improved and that she’s proud of herself and her journey as she celebrated her birthday. I’m also happy that she’s chosen to share her story with her followers and to remind them that everything they see online isn’t necessarily a reflection of reality. So many people I know and love are living with mental health issues right now, so Bella’s post is especially meaningful. I sincerely hope that any of her followers who needed to see her words take them to heart and do as she suggested: ask for help from trusted loved ones and/or medical professionals. I’ll also add my own hope that anybody reading this who is similarly struggling right now is also being extra gentle with themselves and is getting the help that they need. I hope that everyone is having a great week, and that self-care is part of it.

Photos credit: Avalon.red and Backgrid

Here are some photos from last night’s Elle Women In Hollywood event. Elle did multiple covers and cover stories for about a dozen women, and all of those women turned out for the event to give speeches and celebrate ladies and… get drunk, I guess. The biggest star of the evening (in her own mind) was Gwyneth Paltrow. She wore Bottega Veneta Spring 2020 – a simple LBD which would be at home in Jennifer Aniston’s closet. Gwyneth apparently got drunk and admitted on stage that she was unprepared for her speech, because of course. She also called herself a “lame old white lady.” Yeah. I won’t argue with that.

More photos… Scarlett Johansson in Tom Ford. A shockingly basic dress from Tom Ford, styled poorly by ScarJo with absolutely horrendous makeup.

Issa Rae in Ralph Lauren. Absolutely beautiful. You know me, I normally hate yellow and orange on a red carpet, but there are totally exceptions and here’s one of them.

Charlize Theron in Louis Vuitton. This is a lot of look but it sort of works. Her bad haircut looks better here too.

Margot Robbie in Ralph Lauren. It feels like two or three good dresses were jammed into one kind of boring dress. The wide cumberbund-waist thing is bad.

Zendaya in Peter Do Spring 2020. Pack it up, she’s the best dressed.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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I speak out about my depression in the hope it resonates with someone who might be struggling. Just remember we all have mental health and it’s ok to talk about it. In fact talking about it was the first step towards my recovery ? . I delved into the depths of my mental health, ADD, dyslexia and the taboo of suicidal thoughts with the wonderful @bryonygordon which is in today’s @telegraph magazine #petsastherapy #itsgoodtotalk #mentalhealthawareness

A post shared by James Middleton (@jmidy) on Oct 12, 2019 at 3:35am PDT

Early this year, James Middleton spoke publicly about being diagnosed with depression and ADD. After years of struggling without really knowing or understanding what was going on, it seemed like James had finally sought help, with the full support of the Middleton family. He actually credited his sister, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her work on mental health issues for helping him understand what was happening to him. We knew he went into therapy. What we didn’t know was that members of his family joined him in therapy, including Kate:

James Middleton has revealed that his sister, the Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied him to therapy sessions. Speaking to the Telegraph, 32-year-old James said that 18 months ago, when he was in the grips of depression, he attended a therapy session with his family – Kate Middleton included.

When asked which family members accompanied him to his Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions, James explained: “All of them. Not necessarily at the same time, but either individually and [sometimes] together. And that was so important because that helped them understand me and how my mind was working. And I think the way the therapy helped me was that I didn’t need my family to say, ‘What can we do?’ The only thing they could do was just come to some of the therapy sessions to start to understand.”

[From Hello]

That’s so interesting to me that Kate was quietly attending sessions with her brother and she was not talking about it at the time (which is the right thing to do – this was not her story to reveal). Some of the best advocacy work comes from people who have experienced an issue first-hand, or have been a witness to it in their own family. I wonder if James’ struggles were actually a big part of Kate’s mental health work this whole time. Just regarding Kate: I’ve always maintained that she does give a sh-t about the work she does with mental health, my problem is with the way she explains it, or rather, doesn’t explain it. These are complicated issues but they are rarely presented as more than “Kate wore a dress and did a meeting.” Maybe that was why Kate attended therapy sessions with James too: supporting her brother, of course, but also trying to learn better ways of speaking about these struggles.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram.

Dear Gossips,

On Friday, just before Thanksgiving here in Canada, I posted about Mariah Carey in this space. Mimi was one of the women honoured at Variety’s Power of Women luncheon that day. Which gave her an opportunity to throwback herself:

PSA: a luncheon takes place during …

Dear Gossips,

On Friday, just before Thanksgiving here in Canada, I posted about Mariah Carey in this space. Mimi was one of the women honoured at Variety’s Power of Women luncheon that day. Which gave her an opportunity to throwback herself:

PSA: a luncheon takes place during …

We discussed David Harbour and Lily Allen’s blossoming romance back in September. At that time, it was technically just speculation because they’d only been seen together a couple of times. But it’s speculation no more! These two crazy kids have made it SNL Afterparty official. David was the host on Saturday Night Live last weekend (more on that below) and following his stint, the two attended the afterparty. If we know anything by now, it’s that the SNL afterparty is were relationships are made (right Ariana Grande? Scarlett Johansson?). Post afterparty, however, they took their mess to the street – like all over it. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other while walking to brunch in SoHo. You know how it is, you’re craving an omelette, you see a hedge and you just have to stick your tongue down someone’s throat – we’ve all been there:

david harbour and his girlfriend lily allen yesterday in nyc pic.twitter.com/aVABj3EPbL

— best of stranger things (@sthingstuff) October 14, 2019

Oh gawd – my eyes! Look, PDA isn’t my deal but whatever. But, but – the manbun? What are you doing to me, David? Who told you that was your look? Was it Lily? Dump her, dump her right now on the grounds of cruelty. Again, technically, they have not confirmed their relationship so I’m probably not supposed to call it as such, but I think the Exhibit A above speaks for itself. Exhibit B would be Lily claiming ownership of David’s beautifully toned biceps on her Instagram stories:

Yes, folks, Dad-Bod enthusiast Sheriff Hopper has been holding out on us. This is what was hiding under those oversized Hawaiian shirts. But during a soul-cycle sketch on SNL, David wore a sleeveless T-shirt that gave us a full access pass to the gun show and it did not go unnoticed:

david harbour’s arms david harbour’s arms david harbour’s arms david harbour’s arms david harbour’s arms david harbour’s arms … #snl pic.twitter.com/RVzhp2UniP

— killer kendall roy (@shadesoftimmyt) October 13, 2019

Yes, he looks good. Yes, the balance he found between Hopper and Hellboy is really working for him. Yes, Lily has the right idea slapping her name across that beautiful limb and yes, these two need to get a room and take it off the New York streets.

However, the only thing we should be discussing at all from this weekend – truly – is this skit, which was brilliant with a capital B-ahahahahahahahaha!

Photo credit: Backgrid, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube

This coming Sunday, ITV will air a special documentary on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s African tour. They allowed ITV cameras to trail them during parts of the tour, and there is some fun, behind-the-scenes footage of Archie and Harry and Meghan. Here’s the trailer, which was released yesterday:

Everyone’s talking about Harry holding Archie while Meghan kisses the baby. It’s super-cute. They’re such proud parents. Harry seems quite comfortable holding Archie too, which is no surprise. Harry has always loved babies and kids. The documentary is called Harry and Meghan: An African Journey and it will air this Sunday at 9 pm in the UK. I don’t think Americans will get to see it? Oh well. Even though this promises “behind the scenes” footage, I would not expect to see much about the final day in South Africa. That was when the press was freaking out because Meghan’s lawsuit against the Daily Mail was announced. My guess is that Harry and Meghan were not allowing ITV’s cameras into that part of the behind-the-scenes discussion.

One more thing: the Sussexes have put such an emphasis on their SussexRoyal Instagram. They’ve made big announcements there and revealed new information and new photos and videos. They also intersperse the newsy ‘grams with “inspirational quotes.” Well, yesterday they posted an inspo quote from Maya Angelou. And there was a typo. The first “women” should be “woman.” They didn’t take it down and correct it as of this morning. Deep sigh. I’m saying this as someone who really likes Harry and Meghan, but there are too many amateurish mistakes like this on their Instagram. And they might want to cut down on the inspo quotes. You know who else does a lot of inspo quotes? Khloe Kardashian. Only she’ll correct that sh-t if she makes a typo.

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Backgrid.

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I’m not going to get into the weeds of “this former Trump person said this and this.” I cover politics, but we’re not the New York Times. That being said, it looks like Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor John Bolton actually left the administration for a reason this summer – Bolton didn’t want any part of Trump’s Ukrainian scheme with Rudy Giuliani, Mick Mulvaney and Gordon Sondland. Fiona Hill, senior director for European and Russian affairs, testified in closed session yesterday where she spilled the tea about how Bolton reportedly said, “I am not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up… Giuliani’s a hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.” Basically, there were tons of people inside the White House and outside the White House who knew exactly how bad sh-t was getting with all of Trump’s sad little fringe conspiracies and actual real-life crimes.

All of this is still about g–damn Hunter Biden. To be clear, it’s not that Democrats want to die on the Hunter Biden hill. There’s enough evidence of Trump’s impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors without having to litigate Hunter Biden’s character or business dealings. I hope I’m not the only one secretly hoping that Hunter and Joe Biden get taken down in this impeachment flurry too. I buy that Joe Biden isn’t getting his son these cushy jobs and deals, but Joe Biden absolutely knows that Hunter is a massive liability to his campaign. Hunter knows it too. Which is why Hunter has given an exclusive interview to Good Morning America.

Hunter Biden, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son, acknowledged in an interview to be broadcast on Tuesday that he probably would not have been named to the board of a foreign company if his last name weren’t Biden, but he rejected suggestions by President Trump that he and his father had engaged in wrongdoing.

“Did I make a mistake? Maybe in the grand scheme of things,” Mr. Biden said in an interview with ABC News, which published excerpts from it on Tuesday morning. “But did I make a mistake based on some ethical lapse? Absolutely not.”

“I don’t think there’s a lot of things that would have happened in my life if my last name wasn’t Biden,” Mr. Biden told Amy Robach of ABC.

The younger Mr. Biden, who recently resigned from the board of a Chinese investment company, said his service there had become a “distraction, because I have to sit here and answer these questions. That’s why I have committed that I won’t serve on any board or work on any foreign entities when Dad becomes president. That’s the rule I’m going to adhere to.”

Mr. Biden, 49, said he had exercised “poor judgment” by getting involved in a situation that he compared to a “swamp.” But he blamed his father’s opponents, including Mr. Trump, for spreading a “ridiculous conspiracy idea” involving his work.

“I gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father,” he said. “That’s where I made the mistake. So I take full responsibility for that. Did I do anything improper? No, not in any way. Not in any way whatsoever.”

[From The NY Times]

Yeah. I know the old tropes about Democrats eating their young but Hunter Biden needs to go. Every time he opens his mouth, he muddies the water and gives Republicans a small foothold to argue that WELL ACTUALLY there was something wrong with what he did and blah blah blah. Then the conversation becomes about the Bidens rather than the f–king nutjob sitting in the White House. The conversation becomes about Hunter Biden’s shady (but minor) business dealings rather than the Trump family’s criminal empire. If the Biden family really was so dedicated to public service, they would follow a pretty simple path: Joe Biden closes up shop and Hunter Biden fades away without giving any more interviews. Let the focus be on Trump and all the president’s unhinged henchmen. And yes, I wouldn’t be saying this if I actually thought Joe Biden should win the nomination. I hope to God he does not.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

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Here are some photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today in Islamabad. Their first official event after the arrival last night was to visit with girls at the Islamabad Model College for Girls. It seemed to be a primary school/elementary school by the looks of the girls’ ages. I’m glad they are doing something to highlight girls’ education in Pakistan.

For this first event, Kate wore a classic kurta by Maheen Khan, a local Pakistani designer. She’s wearing a lot of blue, like always – it’s her signature color. I actually… love this on Kate? I love embroidered tunics and I love this kind of neckline. It’s super-flattering on someone slim like Kate and this shade of blue really pops with her coloring. I genuinely hope she repeats this when she’s back in the UK. And look, she’s wearing FLATS!

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After that event, Kate and William met with Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan, who was close friends with Princess Diana. Diana was also close friends with Khan’s ex-wife, Jemima Goldsmith (or as she was known then, Jemima Khan). Finally, Kate wore some green!! The green tunic is by Catherine Walker and the trousers are by Maheen Khan. Scarf by Satrangi.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

I think Cardi B is still with Offset for many reasons: they have a child together, she loves him, and because everyone around her pressured her to get back with him. Maybe she’s willing to live with his infidelities. Maybe she honestly thinks that he can change. One thing I’m sure of is that Cardi likes to be showered with love and gifts and support from Offset, and he seems to… do that. He’s effusive. He gives her lots of gifts and supports her career 100% too. So, seeing the “Offset gifted a big diamond ring to Cardi” headlines didn’t shock me. But then I saw the diamond. HOLY CRAP. Here’s the video Cardi posted:

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Thank you sooo much babe @offsetyrn I can’t believe it ?Deum @pristine_jewelers ! I’m so happy ??Soo grateful

A post shared by Iamcardib (@iamcardib) on Oct 11, 2019 at 11:20pm PDT

This ring was a birthday present (Cardi turned 27 last Friday) and it’s called the Titanic Diamond. It’s heart-shaped and easily… I would say, maybe 12 carats or more. Keep in mind that Cardi already has an eight-carat engagement ring too. It was made by Pristine Jewelers and while everything is huge and sparkly, the diamond “sits up” too much in that setting and she’s going to be banging that ring into everything. Also, the whole setting is just kind of tacky! But that’s my taste – I think if you’re going to spend the money on a ginomous heart-shaped diamond, you should let the diamond be the star and keep everything else really simple.

https://pagesix.com/2019/10/14/offset-gifts-cardi-b-titanic-heart-shaped-diamond-ring-for-her-birthday/

Here are some close-up videos of the ring from the jeweler:

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The TITANIC Diamond ? @iamcardib @offsetyrn !!!! Another ??!!!! When it comes to Glaciers ?? Pristine Jewelers is #1 in the World !!! Happy bday @iamcardib enjoy your new ?? ROCK !!!

A post shared by Pristine Jewelers (@pristine_jewelers) on Oct 12, 2019 at 5:44am PDT

Photos and video courtesy of Backgrid and Instagram.