As I wrote a few weeks ago, Dolly Parton, in her words, is “politickin’” for Dumplin’ which premieres on Netflix on Friday and I’m going to watch the f-ck out of it all weekend. We should see Dolly and Jennifer Aniston on the carpet soon and those pictures will travel the world, light up social medi…

I don’t like Adam Levine, so I do tend to ignore him. I don’t seek out news about him, so I apologize to the people who are really hungry for weekly Adam Levine news. I tend to get tunnel-visioned about my faves, so I just assume that everybody hates the same people I hate. All of this to say… this Variety cover story with Levine is the first interview I’ve read with him in years, and I actually didn’t completely hate him? I mean, he’s sort of d-bag, but he’s far from the worst. Adam Levine has managed to survive and thrive in an industry which has shifted year after year, and what’s weird is that… he’s still thriving? Even after all this time, he’s still making popular music and he’ll be the Super Bowl Half-time performer, and he’s popular on The Voice. It’s really strange how he’s figured out a way to navigate everything and be successful at all of it. You can read the full Variety piece here. Some highlights:

On the backlash to the Super Bowl gig: “I’m still formulating a lot of things.”

On “Girls Like You”: “We had a historic [midterm] election with how many women turned out and ran. Like, hell, we can actually do this! That’s why the iconography of the video is really important — for all of us to remember as men to support these women. Let’s be pillars of strength and support and not approach it from a defensive standpoint, or one that would suggest I know anything about how a woman would feel. Remain reverent to what is happening and not claim to know. Just be a set of ears.

Why he’s connected to the plight of women: “Having little girls. But being a male who is a prominent public figure is a very tricky place to be. There are dangerous waters to navigate. You always want to be on the right side of something you feel passionately about. I have two young daughters, and to think about them being mistreated at all — ever — made my blood boil. So we went for it because I felt that as long as I stayed close to my heart with this concept, I could never go wrong. … In the video, I was doing it for my kids and my wife. If anyone doesn’t understand the intentions, f— ’em.

Why he is now his own manager (after his manager passed away): “I’m almost 40 and have been doing this a long time. I don’t need a babysitter.”

Learning about the TV business: “I’m not in the TV business. I am and I’m not. Anything we approach is done under the guise of how do we do things differently? Not how can we fit in? I think there’s an obsession with regards to fitting in because TV is kind of running scared. There’s this looming storm cloud of tech, which we’ve been experiencing in the music industry for a long time. People are going to stop watching certain types of television like they stopped buying albums and downloading songs. These things are unavoidable. I hope “The Voice” stays on the air for a thousand years. But the truth is, it may not. People want different.

Where is rock music? “Rock music is nowhere, really. I don’t know where it is. If it’s around, no one’s invited me to the party. All of the innovation and the incredible things happening in music are in hip-hop. It’s better than everything else. Hip-hop is weird and avant-garde and flawed and real, and that’s why people love it. … My goal is to make songs that don’t sound dated 10 years later. My main criteria for a song is, can I live with it forever? And if I can’t, I just don’t have the heart to do it. It’s that simple.

[From Variety]

“Rock music is nowhere, really. I don’t know where it is.” I think about that a lot, how I came of age during the transition between heavy metal/’80s rock to grunge/alt-rock. And then Britney and Backstreet destroyed actual rock bands and actual rock music. It’s all just pop now, even most of hip-hop is pop now. As for what he says about women is… actually pretty good? He’s not polishing his I’M AN ALLY credentials, he’s just saying “listen to women, dudes.” God, maybe I don’t hate Adam Levine anymore? What is happening.

Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Variety.

Irina Shayk walked in the Versace show in New York last night. As mentioned in the previous post, there were a lot of celebrities in the front row, including Irina’s partner, Bradley Cooper. No photos of him at the event though, not that I’ve seen, not on the arrivals carpet and not during the prese…

Jennifer Lopez was on Ellen’s show last week. She had on a weird dress with one sleeve and a collar that went across her chest, like it was a dress shirt that was lazily converted to a dress. Ellen mentioned Jennifer’s Vegas show ending after 3 years and they talked about Jennifer being 49 and looking awesome. Ellen wanted to know if Jennifer ever thinks about age and of course she doesn’t. Then Ellen claimed that Alex Rodriguez had texted her that he was going to marry Jennifer. She got all giddy and it was cute.

You work out all the time
Even before I was a dancer, I was an athlete. I ran track. So I’ve taken all of that and I’ve kept it going.

Do you care about age? Do you think about it?
I try not to think about it. I go more with how I feel inside. I feel very youthful, you know? I’m energetic. I feel like I have a lot of energy still. Maybe one day that will change, but right now I feel pretty good.

Your boyfriend, he said that ya’ll are going to be getting married
He did not say that.

He texted me today and he said…
Let me see the text

So you’ll be getting married?
I don’t know

You should, you seem very happy
We are, we’ve been together a couple of years, it’s nice.

[From the Ellen Show, video below]

On other shows you assume that all the questions are preapproved, but Ellen likes to put celebrities on the spot so this could have been an ambush. I like that Jennifer is dating a guy who isn’t young and stupid (I mean the stupid part is arguable but she was with that backup dancer after her divorce for years) and that she’s not engaged after a couple of years. That said, I see them getting engaged soon. I doubt they’ll last more than a couple more years, but I could be surprised. They seem really into each other and they’re so cute together!

Here’s the interview!

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#Dreambuilding with my dream man… ??

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Nov 6, 2018 at 7:47pm PST

A-Rod is always making that face like he smelled something.

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Beautiful afternoon with my #1 ??

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Nov 6, 2018 at 7:34pm PST

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And we’re off… ?? ? by: @steviemackey

A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Nov 6, 2018 at 7:40pm PST

Here are some photos from Sunday night’s British Independent Film Awards – I’m only pulling the pics of Emma Stone and Olivia Colman, both from The Favourite. The third actress in The Favourite’s troika is Rachel Weisz, and she did not attend this awards show, probably because she only recently gave birth and she doesn’t want to travel too much. It didn’t matter, because Weisz won the BIF for supporting actress, and Olivia Colman won Best Actress. The Favourite ended up winning 10 BIF Awards, a record haul for the awards show.

All of which brings me to the conversations happening around The Favourite and this awards season. Personally, I think The Favourite will end up being one of the (rimshot) favorites this year. I think Green Book is going to crap out, and A Star Is Born’s Oscar campaign has been exhausting from the start. While I think ASIB will definitely get a lot of Oscar nominations, I’ve been wondering if The Favourite will be the “late surge” nominee. It has so many elements to make it a huge contender: it’s full of talented British actors, it’s about the British monarchy, the script is witty and droll and dark.

There’s also some talk about “category fraud” when it comes to which actress will be nominated for lead actress versus supporting. I think Olivia Colman will probably end up getting the lead-actress nominations, and there will be money behind Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone for supporting actress. But we’ll see – both Weisz and Stone already have Oscars, and that’s a factor in the campaign too.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

So many celebrities showed up last night at the Versace pre-fall 2019 presentation at the American Stock Exchange last night. Over the last year or so, Donatella’s been leaning into the nostalgia in her collections, revisiting some of Gianni’s most memorable classic looks – and this collection conti…

The Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which was recorded on November 8, aired last night. Victoria’s Secret is increasingly seen as a relic of women dressing for men’s pleasure, and the brand is losing market share as a result. There were no plus-sized models on the runway, there were no transgender models, and to add insult to injury their 70 year-old Chief Marketing Officer, Ed Razek, made some really obnoxious comments about their lack of inclusion. He said, in part, that people ask him “Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is.” The term transsexual is considered outdated and is not a preferred term. What’s more is that this is obnoxious. He also said that Victoria’s Secret can’t “be all things to all customers,” complained about being “politically correct ” and said, of the lack of plus sizes and models of all shapes and sizes, that their sister brand Lane Bryant existed for that. Ok then, we don’t have to buy their products either then, thanks for letting us know.

Singer Halsey performed at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. After it aired, she issued the following statement on her Instagram about the show’s lack of LGBTQ inclusion. Halsey has been open about her bisexuality and this was personal for her.

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???? @GLSEN – glsen.org?

A post shared by halsey (@iamhalsey) on Dec 2, 2018 at 7:06pm PST

Commenters are complaining that Halsey took Victoria’s Secret’s money and still did the show, but that’s not the timeline as she clearly states. The show was taped on November 8th and the comments from the CMO came out after that. She probably had very specific contractual requirements and was afraid to speak out against VS prior to it airing. Plus she didn’t want to overshadow the show before it came on TV. She waited and that’s completely understandable. Ultimately Halsey did the right thing. I wish she would have mentioned VS’s lack of plus-sized inclusion too, but maybe that’s implied. Plus she focused on the one issue and reached out to transgender people. We need more celebrities and everyday people to stand up for what’s right and decent. Respect.

Here are a few photos of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas in Jodhpur, India, following their week-long wedding celebrations. I couldn’t even keep up with the oversaturated press about their weddings – I trust that People Magazine and Vogue got the appropriate exclusives, and that Priyanka and Nick had their traditional Christian and Hindu weddings, and there was a puja and probably a dozen other ceremonies, rituals and parties. People Magazine says that the Hindu ceremony took place in Jodhpur on Sunday, and that Priyanka wore a red sari. Which is traditional – many Indian/Hindu brides wear red, not white. PeopleMag also says that Nick wore a “turban” for the Hindu wedding. Which… I’m not entirely sure if that’s traditional.

As we discussed yesterday, the coverage was over-the-top for these two from the start. I’m saying that as someone who actually liked both Nick and Priyanka (separately) from the beginning, but the OTT sponsorships and Vogue cover and Instagrams and People Mag exclusives were just TOO MUCH. That OTT aspect of their courtship, engagement and multiple weddings makes me wonder just how much of this was really real. How much of this was based on a genuine love and desire to be together and share the rest of their lives together? I honestly don’t know. What I do know? I also think they got some kind of Bollywood sponsorship, and they worked with Bollywood choreographers, set designers and staging experts. Take a look at the absolute PRODUCTION that went down:

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It all began as a fierce song & dance competition between the families but ended, as always, as a huge celebration of love. Nick and I were looking forward to the Sangeet (musical evening), another pre wedding ritual.. and to see what each side had put together. And what a performance it was. Each family telling our stories through song and dance, filled with lots of laughter and love. We were both filled with gratitude for the effort, the love and the laughter and will carry the memories of this special evening for the rest of our lives. It is an amazing start to a lifetime of togetherness for our families and friends…#grateful @nickjonas ?/?: @calebjordanlee @josevilla @josephradhik

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Dec 2, 2018 at 4:57am PST

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” music video broke YouTube’s record for views in its first 24 hours. Those numbers aren’t a surprise or a fluke. Since Ariana’s impressive First Wives Club- inspired performance of “thank u, next” on Ellen, and the teasers hinting at a Mean Girls tie-in, the video beca…

I have no idea where this story fits into the larger smear campaign campaign against the Duchess of Sussex, but I wanted to talk about it separately because it comes from Vanity Fair rather than the Daily Mail or The Sun or whatever. It’s a Vanity Fair exclusive about Meghan’s pregnancy, and how she’s already considering a birthing plan which would be unconventional for the royals. Even though the Duchess of Cambridge also reportedly considered a home-birth plan – Kate ended up giving birth to all three children in a hospital – it seems like Meghan might for-real avoid a hospital birth, or that she doesn’t want to give birth in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s, like Kate.

Sources have told Vanity Fair that Meghan wants a different experience from the royal wives who have come before her and the couple have been looking at “options,” suggesting they may not have their baby at the private maternity wing where Prince William and Harry were both born, and where Kate Middleton gave birth to all three of her children, praising the staff for their incredible level of care. Patients pay upwards of £7,500 for the privilege of giving birth at the hospital, where the finest champagne is on the menu.

Aides will not comment on where Meghan and Harry are planning to have their baby, and it’s possible they have not yet decided, though Meghan is already under medical care. The couple sought medical advice before traveling to Fiji and Tonga last month by which point Meghan had had her 12-week viability scan. The plan is for the Sussexes to be living in Windsor ahead of the birth, and they could consider a hospital in or close to Windsor. There is even some talk that Meghan, who has had a straightforward pregnancy so far, might opt for a home birth, although given this is her first baby, doctors will likely advise a hospital birth.

The exact due date also remains a closely guarded secret. Palace aides have said the baby is due in the spring. It is thought Meghan was close to 15 weeks pregnant when she and Harry carried out their Commonwealth tour last month, meaning the baby could be born as early as March.

The run-up to the birth will be a busy one. The couple are drawing up plans for a nursery and a mother-in-law suite so that Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, has a place to stay at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. “Doria plans to be around a lot when the baby arrives, and there are plans for her to have a dedicated space at their new home,” a source said. “She wants to be on hand to help Meghan and Harry with the baby. Doria will be involved and if she’s involved she will be encouraging Meg to go for a natural birth.”

[From Vanity Fair]

Meghan and Harry will most likely move into Frogmore Cottage a few months before Meghan gives birth, which would probably mean that they’re looking into hospitals and doctors close to Windsor Castle, one would think. While Meghan and Doria might like the hypnobirthing/home-birthing vibes, I just don’t think Meghan will go that route. She knows her age, she knows that there could be complications, and she knows it’s better for her – in her position – to give birth in a hospital. My guess is that this is just a way for the Sussexes to let it be known that they’re not going to copy William and Kate’s birthing plan or their Lindo Wing presenting-the-baby thing. Maybe Meghan and Harry will present their baby at a different hospital.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.