I wrote last week about Gigi Hadid and Bachelorette runner-up Tyler Cameron and what this means for the celebrity ecosystem as reality show celebrities continue to cross over into other celebrity streams. Gigi and Tyler spent a few days in upstate New York with some friends and last night they were …

Live from the heart of the Keanuaissance, comes the shocking announcement that The Matrix 4 is happening, with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss set to reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, and Lana Wachowski is returning to write, direct, and produce. Notably, her sister, Lilly Wach…

Live from the heart of the Keanuaissance, comes the shocking announcement that The Matrix 4 is happening, with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss set to reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, and Lana Wachowski is returning to write, direct, and produce. Notably, her sister, Lilly Wach…

I’ll give Simon Cowell credit for something: he’s never treated women like they’re disposable. Even when he’s broken up with a woman, he makes sure she’s taken care of and he often employs her, and more often than not, the ex-girlfriend is added to his makeshift harem of ex-girlfriends who vacation with him and are still in his life as close friends. Even though he’s with Lauren Silverman now – messy as it is – and they have a son, he still has many of his ex-girlfriends around. Like Sinitta, one of his most famous girlfriends and then ex-girlfriends. They’re still very close. Close enough where Sinitta was the one to tell him to lose weight. In the name of friendship.

We all know Simon Cowell has an excellent relationship with his exes – and probably his most famous amicable ex is Sinitta. The former pop star and the X Factor music mogul dated in the eighties, but since then, they’ve been thick as thieves. From working together, partying together and holidaying together, the pair are the ultimate BFFs. If you’re wondering whether the secret to their friendship is Sinitta showering him with compliments, think again, she tells Simon things he might not want to hear – like that he needs to lose weight.

In a video posted on ITV’s Lorraine, the former pop star set the record straight about how the conversation happened, she said: “We had just finished filming X Factor – the last year with Ryan Seacrest, Paula Abdul and Dianne Warren – everybody was there. And as we were leaving, I was kissing him goodbye and saying thank you, and as I said goodbye I whispered in his ear: ‘Babe, I’m really sorry to say this but I love you so much, and I’ve got to do this. You’re too handsome, you’re too fabulous, to let yourself go like this.’ And I kind of put my arms around him – I had my arms around him because we were hugging – but I just kind of grabbed him a little bit around the love handles of his waist, and his little cheeks. And I just said ‘I want you to be healthy, I want you to look good, I want you to feel good. This is not you and I think we need to address this.’

“He’s used to me being on to him about these things… about health. On holiday, I would always make sure we have power plates, exercise bikes, everything, because we once found that we put on ten pounds in two weeks on a yacht on holiday, because you just sit and eat, and talk and laugh and drink, so yeah, he’s used to that from me.”

The 55-year-old continued: “He was really sweet because he received it really well. He was like, ‘y’know what, I promise you, the next time you see me, you won’t recognise me’. And then I’d get little updates, ‘I’ve gone vegan’ and ‘I’ve gone vegetarian’, ‘I’ve stopped eating sugar’, ‘I’ve stopped eating wheat.’ And, true to his word, he’s gotten his act together and he’s looking and feeling fantastic. And it’s really good because he’s feeling fantastic, he has energy, he can think clearer, he’s sleeping better, so it’s not just the aesthetics and not just what he looks like … very proud.”

[From Hello]

I don’t doubt that Sinitta told him that and I have no doubt that her words were one of many things which instigated the change we see in Simon. But… is it better? I mean… he’s on a quacky elimination diet because some naturopath faked some BS tests and, in addition to all that, Simon looks very much like he’s undergone some lipo and plastic surgery. As for what Sinitta said and whether it’s nice to tell your close friend to lose some weight… I think it’s kind of mean? Trust me, your friend f–king knows that they need to lose weight. And by getting in their face – even if you’re doing it in a loving, supportive way – about their weight, you might send them into an unhealthy tailspin. Which might explain why Simon looks the way he does now.

The most surprising entertainment marriage of the decade is the union between Sony and Marvel, who have co-produced Spider-Man together since rebooting the character in 2016 with Captain America: Civil War. Their marriage was medieval in that it was entirely about property acquisition, giving Marvel…

The most surprising entertainment marriage of the decade is the union between Sony and Marvel, who have co-produced Spider-Man together since rebooting the character in 2016 with Captain America: Civil War. Their marriage was medieval in that it was entirely about property acquisition, giving Marvel…

YSL x ZOË mad shades. coming sooooooon. ? @yslbeauty. #121 Arlene’s Nude drops tomorrow. available at YSLBeauty.com

A post shared by Zoë Kravitz (@zoeisabellakravitz) on Aug 19, 2019 at 2:15pm PDT

Zoe Kravitz is the face of YSL lipstick, and she has her own signature collection with YSL Beauty (the YSL lipstick collection is called Rouge Pur Couture). They let her create/launch a collection of six lipstick colors, and she got to name the shades too. So she named them after people close to her – Arlene’s Nude for her grandmother (lol), Lale’s Red for her mom, and on and on. Would you spend $38 on one tube of lipstick? I would not, but then again, I just wear tinted lip balm anyway. To promote this YSL line, Zoe chatted with Vogue Magazine and I found some of her answers kind of cool:

Quick beauty answers: How does the Big Little Lies star relieve stress? Wine, weed, and sleep, she says. A beauty mistake she regrets? Wearing too much of it. The beauty trend she wishes would go away? Over contouring. The beauty trend that shocks her? Botox for sweat. (“That is the dumbest, scariest thing I’ve ever heard,” she says. “Don’t do that—sweating is key.”)

Naming the lipstick shades: “We started with the colors first, so we had to think of six names. I just wanted them to be personal; it means something to me when I hear those words.”

Why she chose these six lipstick colors: “We started really classic and simple, which to me is really the foundation of my style. It’s great to have really simple colors that you can build on top of, wear crazy outfits with, do a crazy eye with, which is why we kind of stayed with the nudes and the reds for this collection and go crazier as we go on. I hope they’re a good kind of accent to help people feel more confident.”

What she likes in makeup: “I’ve kind of come to to learn the things that I like [from wearing makeup at work]. I don’t like when things are too chalky. I like when things are matte but still have a little bit of moisture in them. I tried to make things that I would wear personally.”

Makeup shouldn’t make everyone look the same: “I think we’re at an interesting time right now with makeup. A lot of people are completely re-sculpting their faces and it makes everyone look the same, which to me is a shame. Everyone is unique and different in their own way—I think that’s a beautiful thing, and makeup should be used to enhance that.”

[From Vogue]

I’m really with her on the contouring thing and people “re-sculpting” their faces. I can’t wait for this trend or phase in beauty to be over, because it should be OVER. People spending an hour on contouring needs to be over. Dropping thousands of dollars on makeup needs to be over. People getting tweaked to look like an Instagram filtered photo come to life needs to be over. Whatever happened to taking a shower, dabbing on some moisturizer and a swipe of lipstick and going out into the world? Why is beauty so homogenized and expensive and time-consuming these days?

Also: Botoxing sweat glands… I agree, it seems like a risky and dumb thing to do.

@YSLBEAUTY #YSLBEAUTYXZOECOLLECTION …comin soon ?

A post shared by Zoë Kravitz (@zoeisabellakravitz) on Aug 12, 2019 at 12:32pm PDT

Photos courtesy of Zoe’s Instagram.

Brad Pitt has been estranged from his two oldest sons since that fateful incident on a private plane in 2016. We only know a few things for sure, gathered from bits and pieces of reporting and unnamed sources: Brad and Angelina were arguing, Brad was drunk, Maddox stepped in between them to defend his mom and Brad did *something* to Maddox. What that something was… we still haven’t established. Brad possibly took a swing at his teenage son, or maybe it was a hard shove. Whatever it was, it was enough for Angelina to take the kids and never look back. Despite Brad’s best efforts to look like a doting father now, only his four youngest kids will spend any time with him. So why the rehash? I don’t know. Us Weekly wants to rehash though:

Family drama. It’s no secret that Brad Pitt and his son Maddox Jolie-Pitt have had a strained relationship ever since the actor, 55, allegedly got into an altercation with the now-18-year-old on a private plane in 2016. Us Weekly broke the story of the notorious incident, which reportedly spurred Angelina Jolie to file for divorce after two years of marriage and 11 years together as a couple. The headstrong teen “is very close with Angie,” a family friend exclusively reveals in the current issue of Us Weekly. According to a second source, even though Pitt legally adopted the boy in 2006 after he and Jolie fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2004, “Maddox doesn’t really see himself as Brad’s son.”

Their relationship continued to be strained since the incident. A Jolie source once described the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star as a “big yeller” when it came to the kids. Pitt was allegedly inebriated on the 2016 flight, which opened the door to investigations from the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services. Though the Fury actor was cleared of any wrongdoing, he had to jump through hoops — including attending therapy sessions, attending Alcoholics Anonymous and undergoing drug and alcohol testing — in order to prove his fitness as a father while Jolie had physical custody of the kids.

But for Maddox, it was too little, too late. Even holidays didn’t soften his resolve. This past Christmas, Maddox, along with his brother Pax, opted out of opening presents at dad’s with their four younger siblings. “Maddox refused to go, and Pax didn’t go either,” a source told Us at the time. And while part of Maddox’s decision is his simmering resentment against his adoptive father, another insider notes that he’s also a typically independent teenager. “[Maddox and Pax] spend more time with their friends and are busy doing their own thing,” says the insider. “They spend less time than they used to with the younger kids and the family.”

[From Us Weekly]

I’m kind of surprised that Us Weekly reported that straight, without too many little asides blaming Angelina for everything. I do think it’s funny/gross that they describe Brad as “jumping through hoops,” like… how dare the legal system try to protect children from an alcoholic father who got into a physical confrontation with his minor child? Anyway, just a reminder that Brad’s oldest sons still hate his guts and want nothing to do with him.

Perhaps we’re getting the rehash because Brad’s about to start promoting Ad Astra, which still looks like an utterly bizarre space drama. The new IMAX trailer is out and… while this movie looks beautiful, I can already see that it’s got a tone problem. Is it a contemplative drama? Or a space thriller? Or an action movie? Who knows.

The poster is stupid too.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, poster courtesy of Disney.

We’re thrilled to share our September cover, featuring Octavia Spencer! Follow the link in our profile to learn how she credits her Southern roots for keeping her grounded as she breaks barriers and accepts daring new roles in Hollywood. ?: @johnrussophoto

A post shared by Southern Living (@southernlivingmag) on Aug 14, 2019 at 6:33am PDT

I saw Octavia Spencer, 47, in Ma earlier this summer and she was so good! That’s out on DVD now. I love a trashy horror movie, and that’s definitely one, but it’s also worth watching for Octavia’s lead performance. She can really play the villain to a T, and judging from the trailer from new movie with Naomi Watts, Luce, she has a similarly unlikable role. Luce is a drama where Octavia’s character thinks a model student, Luce (played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.), is contemplating violence due to an essay he writes. His adoptive parents (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) don’t know who to believe, and it sounds like the audience isn’t sure either. Octavia also stars in the James Brown biopic, Get On Up, which is out August first.

Octavia is covering Southern Living this month, which is cool! I’m so used to seeing white ladies on those magazines. Octavia is from Montgomery, Alabama and she and her six siblings were raised by a single mom working several jobs. Unfortunately Octavia’s mom passed when she was just 18, and her lessons stayed with Octavia and surely helped her become so successful in life.

SL: Tell us about your childhood. You lost your father when you were young, and your mother worked multiple jobs to keep your family afloat.
OS: We had nothing, but we had a very strong mother who had a strong work ethic. She always dreamed for us and taught us to do the same for ourselves, beyond the boundaries the world placed on us. If I had listened to society, I never would have progressed to where I am. We had very little, but because of my mother, I knew my station in life did not dictate my path.

SL: How did your mother set that example for you and your siblings?
OS: She had mouths to feed, so she took on jobs to make sure we had everything that we needed. We seldom got what we wanted, but we had what was necessary. To me, being Southern means working hard and believing in yourself and God. It’s having that strong sense of community, faith first and then family. It’s funny—the majority of my friends in L.A. are from the South.

SL: Do you ever find yourself defending the South?
OS: I’ve learned to let people draw their own conclusions. It’s hard to defend some of the stuff happening right now, but I hate it when people attribute all of these things only to the South. It’s going on all over our country.

SL: It can be a very difficult and polarizing time.
OS: Yes. Gone are the days when you could have different views and still have a meaningful conversation. I’m from the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. It’s history— some of it is good, and some of it is bad. But that place is also filled with beautiful people. You know, if your car breaks down in Alabama, it doesn’t matter what you look like or who you are, somebody will always want to help, without question. I remember moving to Los Angeles, and my car broke down. I stood there for hours, and nobody stopped. So that tells you who we are as Southern people. We help our neighbors.

Favorite Southern Expression: “I love when people say, ‘Bless her heart.’ it’s just so loaded, especially how you say it—what you follow it with, and what’s before it.”

[From three articles on Southern Living]

I moved to Virginia from the northeast about ten years ago. I’ve only had “bless your heart” said to my face once. Really! It was an acquaintance from the gym who asked why I hadn’t been working out. I told her that I was going through some health problems and that was her response. I think she thought she meant it in a nice way, but it felt like shade to me because it always feels like shade! I guess I’m not great at judging context of it as I haven’t been here that long. It’s more frequently used when you’re talking about someone going through a hard time whom you don’t give a sh-t about or think brought it on themselves. “Did you hear Jennifer was going through a divorce? Bless her heart.”

As for Octavia’s childhood, I really liked what she said about her mother telling her to believe in her dreams. I have to remember to do that more for my son. She’s also so dead-on about the generosity of Southerners. I really noticed that after moving here.

Born and raised in Alabama, September cover star Octavia Spencer celebrates her devout faith, supportive family, and Southern upbringing. Follow the link in our profile to read the interview.

A post shared by Southern Living (@southernlivingmag) on Aug 14, 2019 at 10:30am PDT

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

photos via Instagram and credit: Getty

Poor Bond 25. Every time to they try to get a little spotlight for themselves, they get Cats-trailered right off the internet. First it was doing a “live launch” of Bond 25 during Avengers-Winterfell Week, and now it’s getting booted out of the trending topics by Marvel, AGAIN. We’ll get to that la…