Love it or hate it, I enjoy Ansel Elgort and I will continue to cover him. So much of the world is full of gloom and doom, and there is Ansel Elgort, who exists to be a vaguely smug ray of sunshine. Ansel was recently named the new face of Ralph Lauren Red Rush cologne. He got a lengthy interview in People Magazine to promote the gig, which I enjoyed. And now he’s got an interview/questionnaire-type piece with The Cut. The Cut does a series about scent-memory with celebrities and honestly, it’s one of my favorite things. I love talking about scent and smells and sense memories. You can read Ansel’s piece here. Some highlights:

His first scent memory: One of my first memories as a kid was the rosemary bush that my mother had. I do really remember that smell. It was the smell of the apartment and is really comforting to me. The other memory I have is the changing seasons in New York — it constantly gives the air a new smell. The way the city feels, the way you feel, and the look and smell is constantly changing. I really do love when it turns to winter or spring.

Love smells like: A lot of smells because you think about comforting smells like cooking, but also the smell of someone’s body and sweat. There’s lots of different ways to define the smell of love.

Friendship smells like: Also sweat. But it’s boy sweat, so it smells bad. On the other side, clean shirts. My best friend, his parents always did laundry with lots of detergent and they would wash your shirts for you if you stayed over. So I’d give him a hug and it would smell so clean.

Happiness smells like: Orange juice, but fresh squeezed only. Sadness smells like Tropicana. The different smells of orange juice can be very subtle, but it’s either depression or extreme happiness.

Regret smells like: Minute Maid orange juice. You ordered it thinking it was fresh squeezed but then it’s from concentrate. Sometimes you even ask, and it comes out as concentrate. I can always tell. It’s not even the same drink, so why call it orange juice?

Sunday morning smells like: Bed sheets. [Whether they’re fresh or not] they always smell good to me. It’s funny as you get older you realize that some things you like the smell of don’t smell good. Like, I like the smell of mold for some reason. It’s comforting. To me it’s a good smell even though everyone thinks it smells terrible.

Monday morning smells like: The subway in all its glory. But that also smells different every season. I actually really like [the smell of the subway] too. I love it.

[From The Cut]

Love smells like cooking, that’s so true. Love smells like a home-cooked meal for a lot of people. My goodness, does Ansel have a thing about orange juice or what? Tropicana orange juice isn’t THAT bad. Nothing beats fresh-squeezed, granted, but if you’re in the mood for orange juice, I guarantee that store-bought OJ will taste just fine, even good. He’s such an OJ-elitist! And I suspect he’s an elitist about everything. You know that’s why he likes the smell of mold too – it reminds of old New York townhouses and crumbling mansions, I’m sure.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I decided to use some vintage-flavor photos in this Brangelina story, because I was getting tired of the photos from this year. I always think it’s interesting to look back at all of the old pics of a now-divorced (or divorcing) couple to see if there’s some kind of visual indicator for when sh-t went off the rails. If anything, I think Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie looked totally over it as early as 2014 and 2015. My theory is that they got married just because their kids wanted them too. And now we’ve got this: the worst divorce case we’ve seen in a long time. Even though there was noise, a few months ago, that the Brangelina divorce was winding down, that doesn’t seem to be the case whatsoever. Some highlights from this E! exclusive:

They’re not close to settling their divorce: “Brad and Angelina are not even close to settling their divorce,” a source tells E! News. “They are so hung up on dealing with the custody issues that they haven’t even exchanged any financial documents yet, which is routine in divorces and one of the first steps people take in the filing process. There will be no settlement or resolution anytime soon. They are kind of at an impasse at this point because the focus has been on custody; nothing else has been hashed out yet.”

Neither can agree: Both adults are keen on “working out the details of the divorce,” but have been “unable to reach an agreement that they are both happy about.”

Brad spending time with the kids this summer: “Brad has been spending some time with the children this summer but he would like to be able to spend more time with them,” the insider shared. “He really enjoys the time that he gets to spend with them.” The former Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-stars have tried to keep things civil but “things with Angelina have been strained as they work things out.”

[From E! News]

The rest of the story is full of factual errors and strange extrapolations on what we know for sure. We know for sure that up until this summer, Brad was only seeing the kids under supervision, and he wasn’t seeing that much of them. We also know that the big fight has been about custody, of course, but I think it’s extremely weird that this “insider” claims that Brad and Angelina haven’t even worked out anything financial thus far. It was always clear that Angelina never really gave a crap about Brad’s money – she was never going to “take him to the cleaners” in their divorce, and before and during their marriage, they kept their financial stuff pretty separate. What’s the deal? Is the custodial battle masking a different fight about money? Eh. This is so weird. And we’re going to be hearing more about it for months to come, apparently.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

It’s been almost two years since Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt announced their separation. The divorce is still not final because they can’t agree on custody. The two were able to keep their sh-t on lock for about a year after initially slapping at each other through the media. Recently, however, wha…

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A post shared by Jamie Lynn Spears (@jamielynnspears) on Jul 7, 2018 at 1:39pm PDT

I’m almost positive that Jamie Lynn Spears lives a very quiet life in Louisiana these days. At some point, she tried to restart her singing career, but it didn’t go anywhere, right? So she’s just carved out a nice life for herself in Louisiana. She’s been married to Jamie Watson since 2014, and they welcomed their daughter Ivey earlier this year, in April. Jamie Watson – God I can’t believe Jamie Lynn married someone named Jamie!! – is also stepdad to Jamie Lynn’s 10-year-old daughter Maddie. Apparently, like all good ol’ boys down in Louisiana, Jamie Watson takes his stepdaughter hunting:

Getting her ready for dove season

A post shared by Jamie (@jamiewatson985) on Aug 5, 2018 at 6:58pm PDT

First of all, that shotgun is as big as Maddie. The kickback will probably knock her on her ass. Second of all… the things I have to look up with this job truly astound me. I looked it up, and it’s perfectly fine for a 10-year-old to hunt in Louisiana. Jamie and Jamie Lynn just had to get Maddie an under-16 hunting license. Which we don’t know if they did, so…?

Everybody had to yell at Jamie Watson for putting a shotgun in his stepdaughter’s hands and taking her to kill… DOVES. I think the criticism is deserved, but also: there are a lot of people in the South who do the exact same thing. There are a lot of parents who take their children – even kids younger than Maddie – out hunting. I’m not saying that every parent puts a giant shotgun in their kids’ hands, but… I don’t know. Deep in Louisiana, this is more common than most people think.

I also think it’s really strange that Maddie is hunting in track shorts and no shoes, or is that just me? If you’re going to teach a kid how to hunt DOVES, at least get her the right f–king hunting gear.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram.

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Pink is currently in the middle of her Beautiful Trauma world tour. She’s pretty well known for her intense stage shows that are elaborate and very physically demanding. Unfortunately, physical demands can take a toll, which is exactly what happened to Pink while in Sydney, Australia. After a few days of rest proved not be enough, Pink was forced to postpone her show last week, much to the disappointment of everyone, including Pink:

Hi my Sydney friends. It is with great frustration that I bring you this news:( Friday’s show will be postponed. I was hoping a couple of days of rest would help me kick this sick, but not at the speed I was hoping for. I appreciate your well wishes and understanding + I’m sorry.

— P!nk (@Pink) August 2, 2018

Pink had been diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. It doesn’t take much musical knowledge to know that a singer with a chest infection will not be able to sing. This should have been the end of it, a few sad face emojis all around and we let Pink get better. But right after Pink announced she was postponing the show, photos of her on a beach in Byron Bay came out. That was all it took for some people to label her a liar who was taking a ditch day to go surfing.

That wasn’t the case, of course. A respiratory infection makes singing while doing acrobatic moves impossible, but it doesn’t stop you from lying on the beach. As we know, Pink’s family has joined her on the tour. Last month, she told Reese Witherspoon that touring with kids was the “hardest thing (she’s) ever done.” Part of the difficulty was allotting time to do family activities, which she’s doing by bringing her kids swimming. But, enough people came for Pink that in addition to Justin Timberlake defending her, Pink posted to Instagram in her own defense:

I don’t need to clear this up, but out of respect for my fans I will attempt it. I scheduled this tour meticulously, trying to do what was best for my children, while also putting on the best and most physically demanding and beautiful show of my life. This break in Byron has been scheduled since 2017, as a way to get outside the hotel and the winter and have some time with my children. I’ve already been sick twice (kids as well)on this Australian tour, but the first time we got sick, I was able to push through. This time, what these parasite paparazzi don’t show you, is two doctor visits in Byron on two consecutive days, antibiotics, steroids, Vick’s, nose spray, throat spray, more steroids, NyQuil, a screaming baby in the middle of the night, every night, while mama gives him warm baths and tells her daughter everything is fine. You can think whatever you want, it’s your right, but I have never taken advantage of any one in my entire life. I have never fucked off while disrespecting hard working people who spend money to come see me play. I have never phoned in a single tour, I have an impeccable record for not cancelling. I mother with everything I have whilst handling all the rest. The snark in this is unbelievable and makes me long for a nicer world. I’m doing the absolute best I can, and you can believe it or not. What they don’t show you in this picture is me drinking water and lying down while my friends try to entertain my 7 year old who is asking me why these creepy men are surrounding us and pacing back and forth and taking pictures of her every move. I will see everyone tomorrow whether I’m better or not, and the postponed show will be rescheduled. As I said, I’m sorry to the real fans who this situation has affected. Onwards and upwards.

A post shared by P!NK (@pink) on Aug 2, 2018 at 9:08pm PDT

I’ve never heard anything derogatory about Pink’s work ethic. To my knowledge these are the first performances she’s ever postponed. I can’t lie on the beach with a migraine but outside of that one malady, I’d be just as happy recuperating with the sound of the waves than in my bed. I agree that Pink didn’t owe anyone this clarification but if she was worried that any of her fans believed the reports, I could see why she wanted to clear that up.

I hope those who bad-mouthed her are reading this because yesterday, Pink was admitted to the hospital. It turns out she had a gastric virus and suffered severe dehydration. Had she performed last week, she would likely have collapsed on stage and this post would be about all the trolls screaming that Pink was a drug addict. I swear, these performers can’t win. And what’s really sad is that her poor daughter, who is already nervous about “the creepy men” on the beach, is further frightened by watching her mother admitted to the hospital. Pink said that when touring was not appealing to the kids, she’d stop doing it. I wonder if this is the last we’ll get to see of her for a while.

But that’s speculation for another time. Right now, I just hope she gets better and takes care of herself.

@andrewmacpherson_official came to the show last night and took the best picture ever (per usual) check out his newest work- it’s beyond incredible…. I love you @andrewmacpherson_official

A post shared by P!NK (@pink) on Jun 2, 2018 at 11:00pm PDT

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Photo credit: Wenn Photos, Twitter and Instagram

The 2018 September issue of American Vogue is here. As we know, Beyoncé is its cover star. She was shot by Tyler Mitchell, the first black photographer to ever shoot a Vogue cover. Last week, Lainey wrote about the reports that Beyoncé was given “unprecedented control” over the issue, including hand…

A few weeks ago, I chanced upon a somewhat recent episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the dumbest soap opera of our times. In the episode, the Kardashian sisters were launching their subscription apps, only Kourtney’s app wasn’t ready because she totally phoned in the planning sessions and didn’t attend the meetings about it. Khloe and Kim were like “well, that’s on you, Kourtney.” The vibe I got was that after all these years, Kourtney does next to nothing for Brand Kardashian, and her sisters are really tired of her bullsh-t. Personally, I can barely work up the energy to care about Kourtney, she’s such a nothingburger. But I guess there’s some kind of feud heating up between Kourtney and her sisters?

The Kardashian sisters are not letting go of their drama. Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian continued to argue on Twitter during the season 15 premiere of Keeping Up With the Kardashians on Sunday, August 5. In the episode, Kim, 37, was upset with Kourtney, 39, for not blocking enough time in her schedule for a photo shoot for their family’s Christmas card. She called her eldest sibling “the least exciting to look at” and “the most f–king entitled person on the planet,” to which Kourtney replied, “You’re a very distraught, evil human being.”

As the heated feud played out on TV, Kourtney tweeted, “We all have our own priorities. Mine is being a mother.” Kim quickly responded, “And mine is not? The shoot was with our kids!!!!! My #1 priority is being a mother as well and I can work too, so can you!”

Kourtney then replied, “And i do. But i wasn’t wanting MORE work, i already felt spread thin. Being a good mother also has different meaning to each of us. You’re an amazing mother, I’m not taking that away from you.”

Kourtney told her 23.4 million followers that watching her argument with Kim “actually gives me chills.” She added, “It’s not normal to have to relive this stuff.” When one fan pointed out that the sisters typically support each other no matter what, Kourtney replied, “We’re ride or die. But i don’t accept the way we criticize and judge each other anymore. My personal growth doesn’t allow it.”

[From Us Weekly]

I saw the “Kourtney is the least exciting to look at” headline a few days ago and it made me laugh, because sometimes Kim says something so bitchy and insightful, it actually gives ME chills. That being said, I hate what Kim tweeted about “My #1 priority is being a mother as well and I can work too, so can you!” It doesn’t work that way, Kim. Kourtney just wants to raise her children and date her young guy and not participate in all of this sh-t. Which is fine – just go ahead and kick her out of the family, that’s what I say. Don’t even put Kourtney in the show.

Ha, this fight looks amazing. Um, Team Kim???

Photos courtesy of WENN.

“Buzzzzzz! Happy birthday to one intelligent, lovely, funny and adventurous b! This year has been full of trials but please know that you have the strength and support that you need to break through to the other side: you are enough and worth everything you dream of. Can’t wait to toast you and ring…

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Here’s your political post of the day, some might even call it a “political briefing,” if you want to receive “briefings” from a celebrity gossip blogger. Today is election day in some parts of the country, so remember to VOTE. Especially Ohioans, you peeps really need to vote your asses off. Meanwhile, Paul Manafort’s trial is going at a steady clip and it’s already been quite… exciting. Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates totally rolled on him:

Rick Gates — the star witness against President Trump’s former campaign chairman — admitted in federal court Monday that he committed a host of crimes with his former boss, and confessed to stealing from him and others. In his first hour on the witness stand, Gates catalogued years of illegal activity, saying most of his wrongdoing was committed on behalf of his former boss, Paul Manafort, while other crimes were for his own benefit, including the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gates also made clear that he was testifying against Manafort with the hope of receiving a lesser prison sentence, having pleaded guilty in February as part of a deal with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

Manafort’s trial in Alexandria, Va., is the first to arise out of the Mueller probe and marks a major public test of that investigation’s credibility. Mueller’s team is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether any Trump associates conspired with those efforts.

[From WaPo]

It “marks a major public test of that investigation’s credibility…” Except that the overwhelming majority of people believe in what Bob Mueller is doing and believe that there is a shady Trump-Russia connection. Let me put it this way: more people believe that Trump is Putin’s puppet than believe Trump is doing a good job as president.

Speaking of the orange one, he tweeted this yesterday:

California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire from spreading!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2018

I saw one comment which was basically “pity the science advisor who tried to explain any of this to him.” He literally has no idea how water works, how fire works, how any of this works. California is in the midst of a natural disaster and he’s trying to score some cheap, bad-science political points.

What else? Jared Kushner is a little snowflake who got the New York Observer to delete articles which were critical of himself and his friends. And I saved the worst one for last: Stephen Miller still has plans to target naturalized citizens and legal immigrants who are in the process of becoming citizens. This story is so depressing, I can’t even excerpt from it. It’s awful.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

Dear Gossips,

Tonight is the Hollywood premiere of Crazy Rich Asians. I’m getting emotional just anticipating this carpet, what that carpet will look like, seeing the arrival of Asian actor after Asian actor, repping the first all-Asian English-language film by a major Hollywood studio in 25 yea…