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Ever since Angelina Jolie suddenly dropped divorce papers on Brad Pitt in 2016, we’ve been hearing various stories about how she’s hooking up with this guy or that random, unnamed British billionaire or an LA real estate broker or whatever. I’d be willing to bet that Angelina’s romantic life has been very quiet in the past two years. I could see her having discreet little hotel hookups with a man she trusts, but she’s not out there, looking for a new boyfriend or husband. I would think that after three divorces, she would have gotten all of that out of her system. I’m not saying she should close up shop romantically, just that I don’t think a relationship is any kind of priority for her. But, as I said, tabloids and gonna tabloid. Star Magazine (via Gossip Cop) claims that Jolie’s old Alexander costar Jared Leto has been sniffing around:

According to Star, Angelina Jolie has been leaning on her Girl, Interrupted and Alexander co-star, who she’s been wrongly linked to in the past. An alleged insider tells the magazine, “Jared reached out to Angie a few weeks ago about a movie he’s cowriting, which he’d like her to star in, and the pair started spending time together – initially as friends, but things turned romantic after Angie realized she had strong feelings.”

The supposed source further contends that Leto has been “supporting her emotionally, and she says it’s because of him that she’s not broken down.” The tipster adds, “Jared’s practically moved into Angie’s house, and he’s been staying there on and off for the last couple of months.”

The source says Jolie’s six kids have seen Leto around the house, but “they just think he’s a good friend” of their mom. The suspicious insider adds, “Angie doesn’t want to put anything else on their plates, but she’s hoping that as soon as the divorce is finalized, they can go public with their relationship.”

[From Gossip Cop]

Gossip Cop goes on to say they spoke to a “source close to Jolie” who denies the story and repeats the claim that she’s not looking to get involved with anyone right now. So why are we even talking about this? I have several reasons, actually. One, I love looking up vintage-y photos. Two, this Alexander-era of Angelina Jolie was one of her prettiest – she looked absolutely flawless circa 2003-04. Three, I love vintage gossip, and let me tell you… the gossip around the Alexander set was EXTREME. From what I remember, all of the dudes on that film were vying for Angelina’s attention, from Val Kilmer to Colin Farrell to Jared Leto to Oliver Stone. I remember reading that the pursuits were so strong, she had to change hotels to avoid some of the guys. I also remember this: she ended up developing a thing with… Colin Farrell. NOT Jared Leto. Colin and Angelina spent a lot of time together. Which brings me back to my initial thought – Angelina might be doing the discreet hotel hookups with men she’s known for a while. I’d be willing to bet that Farrell is a more likely candidate than Jared Leto.

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The Times reported this weekend that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were invited for tea with the Queen at Buckingham Palace last week to discuss Meghan’s first royal patronage. The Queen will be passing on one of her patronages to Royal Meghan and this is expected to be announced early in the new y…

Last Thursday, Kanye West started tweeting. And he didn’t stop for more than 24 hours. I’m not going to pretend to have followed the entire thing – I know it mostly involved his simmering beef with Drake, and Kanye’s mental health struggles, and something about Ariana Grande too. Most of his tweets are still up – you can see his feed here, if you’re interested. For years now, I’ve mostly considered Kanye to be his own worst enemy, and when Kanye gets going on one of his rants and tweet-storms, I think he’s only really a danger to himself. But that didn’t stop Drake from adding some extra security:

Drake isn’t taking any chances. A source tells PEOPLE that the 32-year-old Canadian rapper, who lives in the same gated community, Hidden Hills, as Kim Kardashian West and her husband Kanye West, had extra security outside of his home on Friday, amid his ongoing feud with West.

Although West and Drake’s beef is nothing new, the latest drama began on Thursday, when the Ye rapper took aim at Drake, tweeting over 125 times and claiming that the “In My Feelings” rapper threatened his family, targeted people suffering from mental illness and contacted his mother-in-law Kris Jenner behind his back.

Except for a Instagram Story post consisting of several crying-laughing face emojis on Thursday, Drake has yet to address West’s accusations.

[From People]

It’s a little bit crazy that Drake and Kanye both live in the same gated community in Calabasas. We knew that though – that was one of the pieces of evidence for the conspiracy theory that Drake and Kim Kardashian hooked up at some point. As for Drake needing the security… on one hand, I think this story perpetuates the false belief that people with mental health issues are “dangerous.” As I said, I think the biggest danger Kanye poses is to himself. That being said, neither Kanye nor Drake can control what other people do, and Drake is better safe than sorry when it comes to taking his security seriously.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

I was surprised at how popular the skincare post was on Friday. I’m a newbie when it comes to skincare and I learned a lot from your comments and suggestions. Last night I tried the microneedling device that I linked in that post. I cleaned my skin with Simple foaming cleanser and then exfoliated with the acure brightening facial scrub. (It does seem to work, but has a lot of grit that takes time to rinse off.) After microneedling my skin gently (directions are here), I cleaned the device with soap and water and then soaked it in alcohol as recommended. Then I rinsed my face with water and treated my skin with Bare Minerals serum. (It was just a sample I had.) My face is so smooth today and feels amazing! It’s a little tingly but it doesn’t hurt and it definitely made a difference. As long as you stick to around .25mm needles at home, I think microneedling is safe to try and shows results. Also I ordered the Costco K-Beauty skincare kit that Skyblue recommended. It was $100 which felt like a splurge but you get full size products and that’s cheaper than a facial.

So thanks for all your help and advice on that post. I may do a follow up in a day or two with what I’ve learned as I keep reading about skincare. Many celebrities have skincare lines including Salma Hayek, Christie Brinkley and Miranda Kerr. Jennifer Lopez is getting into this lucrative business with her own line, coming out next year. She already put out a makeup capsule collection earlier this year and of course she has perfume and clothing lines. Given how amazing she always looks at 49, this is a natural next step.

After years of being asked for her skin-care routine, Lopez revealed that she’s finally working on a new line. “I will be coming out with a skin-care line. I’ve been working on it for a long time because I don’t want to put [just] anything out,” she said during a speaking event in New York City, where she was promoting her new film Second Act. She told moderator Yari Blanco, who asked about her skin-care regimen, “I get that question a lot, especially as I get older. I want it to be something that encompasses all the things I’ve learned and all the secrets I have. And it doesn’t have anything to do with needles.”

As if that wasn’t enough exciting news for the crowd at co-working space The Wing, who cheered when she made the announcement, J.Lo said that the product will be effective, especially being that it’s a personal project. “It’s going to be something that works,” she said. “That’s what you can count on when my name is on something.”

And while Lopez didn’t give many details on the line — like the exact products or the name — we’re predicting that there will be a brightening moisturizer or serum included in the collection. Because when it comes to Lopez, everyone always wants to know how they can achieve that “J.Lo glow.” The one thing we do know is that the release is tentatively scheduled for late 2019, as Lopez announced at The Wing, and we’re marking our calendars.

[From Refinery 29 via People]

Normally I would think “oh that’s great that it doesn’t have any needles” but now that I’ve tried microneedling I’m a convert. I’m sure there are all sorts of other celebrity skincare treatments that I’m also missing out on, like mild acidic serums and treatments. Lopez told People in 2016 that she uses glycolic acid (here’s a high rated inexpensive brand) and night creams. Plus she possibly had laser resurfacing at some point, but I’m just guessing. I have to stop reading all about this stuff as I just end up spending money for problems I didn’t realize I had.

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#fridaynight ?

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photos credit: WENN, Avalon.red and via Instagram/Jennifer Lopez

Ashley! Happy Birthday from Kate who requested for you the bromance of Taika Waititi and Chris Hemsworth as incentive for you to visit her in Australia…soon!

meghan markle at the fashion awards with rosamund pike and the british designer of the year, clare waight keller pic.twitter.com/oJNKMX7FLD

— best of meghan (@bestofmarkle) December 10, 2018

Richard Kay writes for the Daily Mail. Kay was one of Diana’s “favorite” journalists – she leaked information to him quite regularly, and she used Kay to get our her side of particular stories. He was always known as one of Diana’s favorites, which has given him some cachet as a “royal journalist in the know” in years since Diana’s passing. He’s generally thought to have good connections within the palaces, mostly among the courtiers and communications offices. So… Kay has written a big piece about the Duchess of Sussex, and how she’s Duchess Different (as opposed to Duchess Difficult), and that Meghan needs to do more to change so she can become more like a regular old royal. It’s basically an older white dude telling Meghan that she needs to stop having such a toxic family, and she needs to stop being so glamorous and popular. I’m sure it will work! You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:

The boomerang social media photo Meghan did at the British Fashion Awards: The nature of traditional and mundane official visits by other members of the Royal Family in recent days underscores how flashy Meghan’s seem to be in comparison…But what is so curious about the arty black-and- white picture of Meghan is that no sooner was it posted on the British Fashion Council’s Instagram account than it was abruptly deleted. Some at the palace were not impressed by her posing for such an image. ‘There was something ostentatious in the way she posed holding her bump, plus she was wearing dark nail varnish that the Queen hates,’ says a source. ‘It wouldn’t be surprising if, aware of that, the duchess herself asked for it to be taken down.’

Meghan is a complete novice at royaling: An experienced hand at Hollywood, Meghan is a complete novice at the much more complicated business of British Royal Family public relations. Coming at a time when rumours have surfaced that all is not well between Meghan and her sister-in-law and Kensington Palace neighbour the Duchess of Cambridge, together with reports of tensions with staff, the removal of the fashion awards picture has stoked up suggestions that these are unsettling times for the former actress.

Kate got help, and Meghan needs to get help too: Kate, however, met the challenge by getting help. In the early days, the worldly Camilla took her under her wing and Kate, of course, throughout, had the sensible and practical support of her family, especially her mother Carole Middleton. Kate’s introduction to full-time royal life was gradual, cautious even, and to start with mostly as a support act to Prince William. However, Meghan has adopted a rather different approach.

Meghan actually works & wakes up early, gasp: Last month, it emerged that she sometimes sends emails to staff at 5am. Insiders say she likes to communicate using emojis in her missives. Friends point out that she rises early because of the eight-hour time difference with California where her mother lives, making it easier to reach friends and family on the phone. They also suggest that rising early might be connected to her pregnancy.

Monica & Chandler: Inside Buckingham Palace, waspish below-stairs staff jokily refer to Meghan and Harry as ‘Monica and Chandler’ after two of the characters in the long-running American sitcom Friends.

Where is Doria? Though Harry and Meghan will not stay long [at Sandringham], as it is thought they intend to spend time with the duchess’s mother Doria Ragland at their rented retreat in Oxfordshire. Ms Ragland is not due to visit Sandringham. Should she wish to go, I understand, room will be made available for yoga-loving Doria. The Queen is determined that the lessons of the past must be learned. ‘She simply will not allow Meghan to feel unwelcome,’ a courtier tells me. ‘Even at her great age she is putting a lot of effort in to ensure there is family harmony.’

The Queen’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday: Behind the scenes there will be some discreet clock-watching. Flunkeys will be checking to see how long the Sussexes spend at the festivities. Last year, they were among the last to arrive and the first to leave. For her part, the Queen is very understanding and Meghan is certainly not the first young royal to make a public misjudgment.

[From The Daily Mail]

This is all so friggin’ dumb. It pains me to see how much bullsh-t Meghan has to put up with for merely existing. Here are some random points I’d like to make, in general, after reading this piece. One, perhaps Meghan and Harry left the palace lunch early last year because that racist bitch Princess Michael was wearing a blackamoor brooch? Two, the royals are literally freaking out because… Meghan is glamorous, popular and a hard-worker. Three, calling them “Monica and Chandler” is the kind of dated cultural reference I would expect from palace courtiers. Four, people are really, really triggered when they see a black woman doing ANYTHING. “How dare she wear nail polish!” “How dare she touch her bump!” “How dare she wake up early!” “How dare she be organized!” What they’re trying to say is “how dare she be black!”

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Dear Gossips,

“I certainly didn’t come all this way to suck.” – Matt Damon during his monologue this weekend on Saturday Night Live. And he definitely didn’t suck. It was the strongest episode of the season. It may have been the strongest episode in a year. And it was the most I’ve enjoyed Matt …

I think it’s perfectly possible – and acceptable – to acknowledge George W. Bush’s many faults as a man and a president and still be able to acknowledge his humanity and his moments of decency. I hated his presidency, and I still believe the way Bush & company lied us into the Iraq War was the beginning of the end of the American presidency. But I can also say that Bush, as a man, was capable and is still capable of moments of grace, decency and profound kindness. Those moments have become a stark contrast to the general era of indecency, rage and ignorance from Donald Trump.

Dubya has adored Michelle Obama from the word go – during the Obama presidency, Bush seemed to actively pursue a friendship with both Obamas, and he seemed especially sweet on Michelle. Over the years, we’ve seen their friendship play out – Michelle embracing Bush in the middle of an event, or Bush taking Michelle’s hand in prayer, or Bush sneaking a piece of candy to Michelle at McCain’s funeral. At his father’s funeral, Bush once again made a point of handing Michelle a mint.

Michelle has previously said that she thinks Bush is a “beautiful, funny, kind and sweet man.” Well, she’s still on her book tour – which is wildly successful, and her book is selling out – and she was asked again about her friendship with Bush, and the latest candy-passing moment:

Michelle Obama was just as charmed by former President George W. Bush‘s mint passes as fans were. The Becoming author and Bush were at the center of two viral moments this year when cameras caught the former president passing her mints — first at Sen. John McCain‘s state funeral in September and then at former President George H.W. Bush’s state funeral in December. Asked about the latter surprise on Friday during the San Jose, California stop on her ongoing book tour, Obama, 54, spoke sweetly of George W., 72.

“He has the presence of mind and the sense of humor to bring me a mint,” Obama said, according to ABC7. “And he made it a point to give me that mint right then and there, and that’s the beauty of George Bush.”

[From People]

Is Michelle overselling this? Or are we so hungry for ANY moment of grace, bipartisanship and just NICENESS in the Trump era? I think it’s a little bit of everything. We desperately want to see anything like the Bush-Obama friendship because we believe that, at the end of the day, we can all get along. And it’s genuine to boot – Dubya adores Michelle, and she seems to truly like him.

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Kate Hudson Is @ww_us’s Newest Ambassador! ‘It Came at a Perfect Time For Me’ https://t.co/numSC6EGfH

— People (@people) December 17, 2018

Kate Hudson announced a couple of weeks ago that she was planning to lose 25 pounds by this spring. She just had her third child, daughter Rani Rose, on October 2 and will have to balance caring for the baby, nursing, working and taking care of her other two children, Ryder, 14, and Bingham, 7. It’s possible, especially since her time is flexible, she has help and she was quite fit when she got pregnant. At the time of her announcement she was promoting her own health and wellness brand, Pretty Happy. However Weight Watchers has now made Kate a brand ambassador. She made the announcement to People Magazine.

The actress is the newest ambassador for WW — formerly Weight Watchers — and she’s thrilled to join the healthy lifestyle program two months after welcoming her third child, daughter Rani Rose.

“It came at a perfect time for me, because at this point after having three babies it’s like sense memory. You want to start getting back into shape and to get strong again and focus on your own personal health,” Hudson, 39, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It’s hard when you have babies. Everyone comes before you, and you have to find that time to just focus in on yourself.”

“I don’t think it’s as much about changing anything, as it is about knowledge of the things that you love,” she says. “That’s the thing that sets it apart to me from everything else. This is about understanding your wellness. It’s about understanding your fitness activity, understanding your food, understanding the things that you love. It’s about how to balance…

“I can’t wait to start hashtagging ‘zero points’ on everything!” she says, laughing. “I went and had sushi last night and I was plugging everything in, and I was like, ‘Ooh, edamame is zero points.’ I got really excited about that. It makes it fun…

“A skinny margarita is like 5 points,” Hudson says. “I’m going to leave myself my points so I can have my margarita!”

“One of my passions in life is wanting people to live their most optimum life, whether it be in health or in happiness. And I think that one of the number one things for that is community, and finding a community that can support you,” she says. “WW is, to me, the perfect community for that…

“I am excited to walk down a street and have someone come up and say they’re a part of the community, because it means they’re doing something good for themselves, and that they want to be a part of a community that’s about something that’s really inspiring,” she says.

[From People]

I think the appeal of WW is in the community as Kate mentioned. It’s simplified calorie counting emphasizing whole foods and fiber, but it does work, it’s less gimmicky than other diet programs, you don’t have to buy their food and it’s body positive. Out of all the commercial diet programs I think it’s the best. Kate has said in the past that she counts calories and uses MyFitnessPal. WW isn’t incompatible with that, it’s just a slightly different system that isn’t free. I understand why she’s pairing with them and they are a decent company, especially after Oprah got on board. They also hired Kevin Smith to represent them! Also Weight Watchers become WW in September, but this is the first I’m hearing about it. That’s a little weird.

Here’s Oprah and Kate facetiming. Yes she’s perfect for this:

We listened in on @Oprah and #WWambassador Kate Hudson’s FaceTime convo—and you’ll never guess what they talked about…Visit https://t.co/nSz1ClIJWI to get the full scoop, and tell us what drives YOU to get healthy with #MyWhy. pic.twitter.com/ZM7MNRgdfo

— WW (@ww_us) December 17, 2018

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I told you that Prince William’s fingerprints would be on at least one royal story before the end of the year, and here it is. Throughout the smear campaign of Duchess Meghan, a picture has begun to form. The picture: two brothers who were once quite close, just as long as the younger brother “knew his place” and never rocked any royal boats. But when the younger brother developed his own separate interests and fell in love with a woman imminently more suitable for public life than the older brother’s wife, suddenly everything fell apart. The older brother is used to controlling his younger brother, and keeping him “in line.” When the older brother finds that his younger brother no longer listens to him, the older brother blames the new wife. It’s actually incredibly common. The royals really are just like us. Anyway, the latest thing Meghan is being blamed for? Mean Diva Meghan doesn’t want Harry to go on the Boxing Day shoot at Sandringham. Meghan is driving the brothers apart, because Harry obviously has no agency here.

Prince Harry will miss out on the traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot with his brother Prince William at Sandringham to avoid upsetting his animal-loving wife Meghan. Their father Prince Charles will be at the shoot and Prince William’s son George may go along to catch the spectacle. Harry, 34, has taken part in the family event for more than 20 years, but Meghan, 37, strongly opposes blood sports and refuses to wear fur.

Harry and Prince William have enjoyed hunting together over the years and it has provided them with the opportunity to strengthen their brotherly bond. Now Royal watchers fear that Harry’s absence will only serve to deepen the reported tensions between the siblings and their wives.

One Royal source told the Sunday Mirror: ‘William sees this as another concerning example of his brother being pulled away from his family by his new wife. Harry’s always loved hunting and it has provided them with a great chance to bond as brothers. But now it looks like Harry’s shooting days are over. It’s the latest point of contention between the Princes.’

Meghan’s aversion to hunting is believed to have first caused issues last year, when Harry reportedly took part in a wild boar hunt in Germany. Realising his then-girlfriend ‘wasn’t happy,’ he declined to join the Boxing Day hunt last year – before missing the grouse hunt at Balmoral three months ago. Insiders say that Harry has changed hugely since meeting his American wife.

When the one-time ‘Party Prince’ took Meghan to Jamaica to celebrate the wedding of his best friend Tom Inskip, the couple were the first to leave the party and go to bed. Since then, he has also become more distant from the group of friends he grew up with.

[From The Daily Mail]

For what it’s worth, there were similar stories written about the Cambridges, as in “Kate changed William, William no longer hangs out with the same group of friends like he used to, William is so different now and it’s Kate’s fault.” It’s like these “sources” don’t understand that people grow up, get married, start families and obviously their priorities shift and change. I don’t understand all the hand-wringing about the Boxing Day shoot, or why Meghan is getting the blame for it. If Harry wanted to go, he would go. He clearly prefers spending time with his pregnant wife rather than his brother. Oh well.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.