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Singer Michelle Williams is back in the headlines but this time, it’s work related – mostly. Michelle has been in the news lately because she and her sketchy-as-all-hell fiancé, Chad Johnson broke up. Before their split, Michelle spoke candidly about her depression that had been bad enough to have her entering a treatment center. Michelle had been starring in Broadway in Once On This Island but has recently announced she will be stepping down from her role as Erzulie. In the announcement made by the theater, they said she was instructed to do so on doctor’s orders.

Michelle Williams is stepping away from Broadway spotlight as she continues her journey to wellness.

The singer, 38, will be taking a leave of absence from her role as the goddess Erzulie in the Broadway production of Once On This Island.

Williams only joined the cast two weeks ago but has been advised by her doctors to step away from the Tony Award-winning show beginning Wednesday, the show announced in a statement.

“Effective immediately, Michelle T. Williams has been advised by her doctors to take a leave of absence from performing,” the statement read.

Stepping in for the former Destiny’s Child singer will be her understudy Cassondra James, who will assume the role until Dec. 26. After that, Lea Salonga will take over until the Broadway production officially closes on Jan. 6.

[From People]

I don’t want to stick my nose too far into Michelle’s business and speculate why doctors ordered her to step down. But I will say I am concerned for her. She’s been through so much this past year and it’s likely taken a huge toll on her health. However, at least she is listening to her doctors and looking after herself.

The day she announced her split from Chad, Michelle also dropped her new single, Fearless, which is doing pretty well on Spotify. The day before she did either of those things, she was promoting her reality show with Chad, Chad loves Michelle. As of yet, OWN has not cancelled the show. Since her split from Chad, the only posts to her Instagram and Twitter accounts are about her single. I hope someone is helping her run the accounts so she doesn’t have to worry about the promotion while she’s under her doctor’s orders. Mostly I just hope she’s taking care of herself and that she has a solid support network. She needs to put her health first. And I know that’s not easy to do in her profession but at least it seems like she’s trying.

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Photo credit: WENN Photos and Getty Images

I wondered when the royals would release new portraits for Christmas. It’s a thing – each royal household generally releases a new image (or a never-before-seen image) for their Christmas/holiday card, and the images are also released on social media. Prince Charles and his sons seemed to coordinate their photo releases, because they all seemed to drop around the same time. If you’re asking me to declare a winner… the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge won. They gave us a completely new photo – take by Matt Porteous – with all three kids at Anmer Hall. The vibe is very autumnal and low-key, and I like the fact that the kids are super-posed. George looks like he just jumped into the frame at the last minute, and Charlotte looks like she’s about to jump out of the frame. As for Prince Lou… this baby has a FACE. I still think he looks more Middleton than Windsor/Wales.

Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released the image they used for their Christmas card just moments after the Cambridges. They didn’t pose for anything new – this is just a never-before-seen picture from their wedding celebration. The photo was taken at Frogmore House, during the fireworks at the reception. You can see the back of Meghan’s Stella McCartney reception gown. The photo was taken by Chri Allerton.

And finally, here’s Prince Charles and Camilla’s card. I can tell from the clothes that it’s part of the photoshoot for Charles’ 70th birthday, the same shoot that was organized with the Cambridges and Sussexes. The photographer just posed Charles and Camilla together on that same bench. I love it.

Photos courtesy of Clarence House and Kensington Palace.

I don’t know how long Drake and Kanye West’s beef has been happening. I feel like it’s been simmering – for the most part – for much of 2018. I tend to believe Ye and Drake weren’t on the best terms previously, but the Pusha T issue really caused things to boil over. Pusha T and Kanye are frequent collaborators, and Pusha was actually promoting an album he did with Kanye (Daytona) when Pusha completely burned Drake in May. There was some conversation that Drake blamed Kanye for the whole thing with Pusha, and that Drake thought Kanye was the one to tell Pusha about his hidden child Adonis. Kanye always maintained that he wasn’t out there, gossiping about Drake’s personal sh-t, and he just wanted love and harmony. Later, when Kanye went off his meds, he did say that Drake owed him an apology for everything that went down with Pusha, and more. I still believe that there was an added layer to Drake and Kanye’s simmering beef: the rumor that Kim Kardashian and Drake were hooking up on the DL at some point.

Anyway, that’s all part of the rich backstory-tapestry. I’d honestly forgotten about the fact that Drake and Kanye were still low-key pissed at each other. Then Kanye reminded everyone yesterday, when he got a notification that Drake wanted to buy a clearance from him. Kanye posted the clearance request on Twitter and then lamented the way Drake was handling all of this:

I thought it was over then, last night around 7 pm. But Kanye just stopped to eat or something and then he got back on Twitter and kept going for hours – you can see Kanye’s tweets here. He’s mad about a lot of stuff – he claimed Drake threatened him, he says they need to show that they can talk things out like men, he’s still mad about “Sicko Mode,” which he says is a sneak-diss of Yeezys, he says he doesn’t want to physically fight Drake, and on and on.

There’s some debate about who looks better or worse here. While Kanye is STILL canceled for his MAGA bulls–t, I kind of think he…INITALLY maybe handled this particular situation the right way? I don’t know. It’s not like he just started tweeting about Drake out of the blue, apropos of nothing. Drake wanted the clearance, and it reminded Kanye of how Drake didn’t have the stones to contact him directly. That’s the undercurrent of Drake’s whole vibe these days, isn’t it? Shady, secretive, not dealing with people directly. Maybe I’m wrong. That being said, Kanye absolutely should have stopped while he was ahead and not spent hours tweeting about this sh-t.

Drake via his Instagram story after all of Kanye’s tweets pic.twitter.com/ohwhwuFGQ0

— Rap Direct (@RapDirect_) December 13, 2018

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Amber Heard covers the January issue of Glamour Magazine to promote her role in Aquaman. The profile is actually okay, meaning that she comes across well, like she’s turned a page on all of Johnny Depp’s bullsh-t and she’s not going to fight those battles anymore. She’s still careful not to say his name or answer direct questions about him, likely because she’s still sticking with the non-disclosure agreement (Depp, on the other hand, has violated the NDA several times). You can read the full Glamour cover story here. Some highlights:

On her role in Aquaman: “You have to maintain a vigorous imagination while being suspended 25 feet in the air, acting with very little around you that resembles the world that will be depicted when it comes out…I’m not gagging to get back in that suit.”

She was a Texas pageant girl: “Pageants are weird,” she admits when I ask how she feels about it now, “and I can’t support the objectification.”

On her beauty & her career: “I’ve done the best I could without the luxury of being picky. There’s an implicit apology expected of me for my participation in feminine beauty, but I can’t play into this false narrative that my sexuality is mutually exclusive from my power. My physical appearance, no matter how it affects others, is solely the responsibility of people around me. You know, male characters in movies included. It is their responsibility, not a woman’s. My sexuality, my femininity, in whatever way I want to express it, is mine and my own.”

On women coming forward to tell their stories: “When a woman comes forward, she will be met with skepticism, hostility, and shame. All a man has to do is point to an incentive. He will. Or society will.”

The era of Trump means she’s more politically active: “My job provides me with a platform. Silence is complacency.”

On Christine Blasey Ford: “I was in my hotel room in New York, and I was immediately nailed to the floor in a puddle of tears. We as women took a collective punch to the gut.” A week later she joined Rise and a group of survivors in D.C. to appeal to Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, the only Republican on the committee who lobbied for an FBI investigation into Ford’s allegations. “It took a moment for him to realize I did not want a selfie with him. I thanked him. I told him that in my life I have done the unpopular thing: go up against a powerful system. It takes grace and bravery; it can feel lonely and terrifying.” A week later Sen. Flake voted to confirm Kavanaugh. “He chose not to face it, I guess. And the results are… I guess you can see the results.”

[From Glamour]

“I’ve done the best I could without the luxury of being picky. There’s an implicit apology expected of me for my participation in feminine beauty, but I can’t play into this false narrative that my sexuality is mutually exclusive from my power.” That’s an interesting way to talk about it, I guess. Jessica Biel got a lot of sh-t, years ago, for basically saying that she was “too pretty” to get good roles. Amber is sliding up to that too, that maybe her hotness has led people to typecast her as “the hot blonde” in movie after movie, but she’s also acknowledging that her hotness/beauty gives her power too. That being said, chica wasn’t typecast as “the hot girl” because of her beauty. She was typecast that way because she’s a terrible actress and that’s all she’s capable of, standing around and preening. I’m saying that as someone who likes her too – but good God, she’s a terrible actress. Her “acting” success is directly related to her beauty rather than her skill.

Cover courtesy of Glamour, additional photos courtesy of WENN.

Miley Cyrus is the musical guest along with Mark Ronson on this week’s Saturday Night Live. They have a new song out, Nothing Breaks Like a Heart. It doesn’t really do anything for me but it’s good to see her recording again. Miley swung by Howard Stern’s radio show to talk up what’s going on with her, and Howard asked about Miley and her longtime romantic whatever, Liam Hemsworth. Howard pressed Miley for clarification on Liam’s role in Miley’s life and she said she calls him her “survival partner.”

[Miley Cyrus] was a guest on Howard Stern’s radio show on Wednesday, December 12, when he asked her to clarify her relationship status with the Isn’t It Romantic actor, 28.

“This is your boyfriend. Fiancé?” the 64-year-old radio host asked.

“Yeah … kind of-ish,” Cyrus explained. “My partner — I call him my survival partner now. And he thinks it’s not romantic, but I learned that is why you pair up with someone, for survival.”

The couple recently went through a trying time when their Malibu home was destroyed in November as a result of California’s Woolsey wildfires. While the event was traumatic, the “Wrecking Ball” singer said she “never loved [Hemsworth] more” than when she saw him spring into action to save their animals.

“He got all the animals out in his truck. He put two pigs in crates. And I said, ‘How did you get them out?’ And he said the only thing he could do was get a really powerful hose and sprayed then in the ass,” she recalled. “So he just chased the pigs into crate, which was genius.”

[From AOL]

I am not terribly romantic so I like the title of Survival Partner, especially in an us against the world sort of way. My guess is Miley came up with this designation after their house burned down, in which case, it’s apt. The emotional and physical toll of something like that usually either brings you closer or tears you apart. I completely understand what she’s saying about her feelings watching Liam save the animals. I’ve had similar feelings watching The Mister hold a sick pup throughout the night. Hell, I think I fell a little in love with the Lesser Hemsworth myself when Miley told that story. I don’t think Liam and Miley will get married. Not only did they say as much a year ago, but it seems that removing the pressure of marriage has been really good for their relationship. They seem much more relaxed.

If anyone is watching SNL’s Holiday episode this Saturday, Miley confirmed to Howard that Sean Lennon will join her and Mark for their performance of Happy Xmas (War is Over). That is one of my least liked Christmas songs but watching Sean sing it may make me weepy so I’ll likely check it out. Wonder if Liam will do a cameo in whichever skit Miley will do.

Photo credit: WENN Photos

I read Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, a few years ago. It’s a bestseller, and many people have tried it and love it. However her organizing approach isn’t for me. She’s a minimalist, she believes in examining items to see if they “spark joy” and then getting rid of everything that doesn’t. As I mentioned in an Amazon post last week, I found Clutterbug last year, her latest book is Cluttered Mess to Organized Success, and she changed my life! Clutterbug helps you understand your organizational style (take this test she has) and then arrange your space according to what works for you. For instance I am a ladybug by her classification, I shove stuff in drawers and closets but my house looks clean. With her systems I’ve been able to purge and clean my stuff, but not to the level that Kondo recommends. Kondo is from Japan, they have a different aesthetic and they have less space than Americans. I can’t fold like she can, I tried watching videos of her doing it, and I just don’t feel comfortable getting rid of so much stuff. Maybe I’m just stubborn.

Anyway organizational expert Kondo has a new show coming to Netflix, called Tidying Up With Marie Kondo, where she helps everyday people organize. They released a trailer and it looks wonderful frankly. Kondo hears people’s stories and helps bring joy and organization to their spaces. I got teared up just watching the trailer, which includes a family going through downsizing and a woman who recently lost her husband. I am here for organizational shows (also baking shows despite the fact that I can’t do that either). Kondo even speaks Japanese on camera, which is so cool. I love that Netflix doesn’t think we need English-only shows or overdubbing for everything and that they’re just churning out the international content. (I stayed up so late last night watching a trashy French show, but I digress.)

Here’s more about Kondo’s show, which premieres January 1st on Netflix, just in time for resolutions!

“My mission is to spark joy in the world through tidying,” Kondo says, recalling the message of the “KonMari method” found in her hugely popular 2011 book (published in the U.S. in 2014), which instructed readers to ditch any belongings that do not “spark joy” in them.

According to a profile in the Wall Street Journal, Kondo has had a lifelong commitment to neatness. As a child, she “cleaned her siblings’ bedrooms. In grade school, she was the assigned class organizer.” She started her organizing business at 19 and ended up writing her book at the request of potential clients stuck on her extensive waiting list

[From People]

I have to admit that she comes across as caring, approachable and much different than I imagined reading her book. That could be a translation issue as her tone might not come through in the English version. I’m really looking forward to this show. I also want my girl Cassandra from Clutterbug to get a show! She is amazing. Check out her YouTube channel.

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Lainey is getting some well-deserved rest since she isn’t feeling well today. I hope she’s at home watching Dumplin’ again because I just watched it and it brought me so much joy. If I was sick, I think it would have healed me. Dumplin’ is cold-curing cute. Watch it! – Kathleen

Janet Jackson wil…

Lainey is getting some well-deserved rest since she isn’t feeling well today. I hope she’s at home watching Dumplin’ again because I just watched it and it brought me so much joy. If I was sick, I think it would have healed me. Dumplin’ is cold-curing cute. Watch it! – Kathleen

Janet Jackson wil…

Lainey is getting some well-deserved rest since she isn’t feeling well today. I hope she’s at home watching Dumplin’ again because I just watched it and it brought me so much joy. If I was sick, I think it would have healed me. Dumplin’ is cold-curing cute. Watch it! – Kathleen

Janet Jackson wil…

Lainey is getting some well-deserved rest since she isn’t feeling well today. I hope she’s at home watching Dumplin again because I just watched it and it brought me so much joy. If I was sick, I think it would have healed me. Dumplin is cold-curing cute. Watch it! – Kathleen

Janet Jackson will …