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Mischa Barton disliked competing on Dancing With The Stars earlier this year and it showed in her poor performance. She seemed unhappy to be there and she got voted off second, after Geraldo Rivera. A lot of that may have had to do with the fact that she has few fans left from The O.C. and whatever career she’s had since, but she also failed to win over viewers and generally had a bad attitude. In a new interview with The Ringer, Mischa explained her turn on DWTS as something like The Hunger Games and she even used that comparison – she was swept up in, she had absolutely no say in how it went, and she was glad to leave. At least she was honest. Mischa is current hosting a car show on the Esquire network called Joyride. She owns a vintage Cadillac, she allegedly fixed it the day of the interview, and it’s a hobby of hers. During her interview with Ringer she took the journalist for a ride in her Cadillac and they visited the Peterson Automobile Museum, which sounded particularly fun for Mischa.

On her turn on DWTS
I had no idea it would be so bad. I got told off by my dancer. I was supposed to control the costumes, I was told that I could do the design aspect of it, that’s kind of the reason why I agreed to do it

She was told she would have creative control with DWTS
That didn’t happen. It wasn’t collaborative like a choreographer on a film set. … I was so confused by it. It was like The Hunger Games. It was all a popularity contest. It was awful. I was so glad to get kicked off.

She likes using Instagram
I remember the days when you had no voice, and they could make up stories and say whatever they wanted, and now at least they have an insight into your life. People can see what you’re really like. Twitter less so, but Instagram has an artistic side to it, where you can see through that person’s eye, what they creatively choose, what they’re up to and who they are?—?you get a feeling for them. I enjoy it now.

On getting backlash for responding to the Alton Sterling shooting with a bikini pic
I mean, yeah, it is what it is. I just know now to really try not to make emotional statements, which is the main thing. It tends to happen to everybody at some point.

She thinks she had ghosts in her old house, consulted a medium
He was so right about a lot of shit. I was really freaked out, but I keep going over and over it in my head?—?it was dead family things he couldn’t have looked up. I think he’s got talent.

[From The Ringer via E! Online]

Mischa is living in an apartment in West Hollywood now, which the author calls “temporary” but will likely be more permanent because Mischa is redecorating the kitchen. She sounded both wistful of her past level of fame and grateful that it’s over, as if she was never quite comfortable in her own skin. She talked a little about the time she was hospitalized, which she previously blamed on medication for a wisdom tooth operation but now calls “necessary after so many disaster cases. You need to keep your head on straight. I needed that time for me.” She’s gone through a lot professionally and personally. In 2015 she sued her mom for stealing millions from her while managing her career, something the article didn’t mention, but that lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year.

As for Mischa’s thoughts on DWTS, it seems like she could have avoided a lot of that by just doing her homework first. She said they were trying to get her on the show for years. Did she even watch it in that time? It’s pretty obviously a show where you have to put the work in and learn how to dance, something she’s admitted was hard for her. How much “artistic input” did she think she was going to have when she had no prior knowledge of dancing and couldn’t do it?

Tomorrow night the most fun I’ve had in ages with @brianvickers @tpain @olivertrevena on @joyrideesq @esquirenetwork ??!!!!!!!!!!!!

A photo posted by Mischa Barton (@mischamazing) on Nov 14, 2016 at 5:34pm PST

photos credit: WENN.com

Dear Gossips,

Duana and I tape the Show Your Work podcast on Saturdays at 1030am to be posted two days later, on Mondays. This week’s episode was the last of the year because holidays, etc. All week we’ve been sending notes back and forth about what we would be podcasting if the scheduling wo…

Last week, we got our first-ever look at Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ two daughters. It was for a good cause, I guess: Ryan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he had just received a Golden Globe nomination for Deadpool. His career is going well, and he was named in many of the “best of year” lists. Plus, he’s so obviously proud of his young family and I just think he’s chilled out so much since marrying Blake and becoming a dad.

Anyway, their oldest daughter James was born in December 2014, and it was the first-ever public photo-op for the two year old. She pulled focus like a champ, running around and literally dropping the mic. She was amazing. Ryan finally said that they had named James after his late father, which made it a little more difficult to joke about how they had given their baby girl such a “boy name.” Still, we did like to theorize about what they had named their second daughter, born a few months ago. I was particularly enthusiastic about Girl Michael. Or perhaps Peter. Or Nathaniel. Or Javier. But no! Us Weekly got the confirmation:

The family’s first public outing caused a stir, but get ready for another big reveal: Us Weekly can also exclusively confirm the name of the couple’s 2-month-old baby: Ines.

[From Us Weekly]

Ines. Ines Reynolds. It’s interesting that the first and last name end on the “s” sound, although I’m tempted to pronounce Ines like “Inez,” with more of the LIZA WITH A Z sound. I suppose it could be pronounced with the soft “en-es” or “Ennis” sound though. I need to hear Blake say it!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We’ve finally learned the moniker of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively‘s newborn.

According to Us, the 2-month-old baby girl is named Ines.

The Deadpool actor, 40, and the Gossip Girl star, 29, introduced Ines and 2-year-old daughter James for the first time on Thursday. The famous family attended Reynolds’ Walk of Fame ceremony in Hollywood, Calif.

Although he’s kept his daughters out of the spotlight, the Canadian actor thought the afternoon ceremony was the perfect platform to introduce his daughters to the world.

“This is one of the rare occasions when we thought we got to bring the whole clan,” Reynolds told Extra. “I’d regret it in 20 years if I didn’t.”

And while James was seen hamming it up for the cameras, the proud papa certainly didn’t mind.

“It’s not the first time she’s snatched a mic out of someone’s hands. When she’s 20, she can happily do whatever she wants,” Reynolds said. “Thirty — I’m gonna up that to 30.”

During his acceptance speech, the actor couldn’t help but gush about his wife and kids.

“I want to thank my wife, Blake, who is sitting right there, who is everything to me. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me,” the actor said. “You make everything better. You make everything in my life better. You’ve given me two of the most incredible children I’ve ever hoped to have.”

I stopped watching New Girl a few years ago, so I haven’t really kept up with Hannah Simone’s career. Hannah plays Jess’s best friend on the show, and the storyline involving Hannah’s character and Schmidt was one of the reasons why I stopped watching, honestly. Anyway, I had no idea that Hannah was and is a proud cat lady, nor did I know that she even has a Instagram dedicated to her three tomcats – go here to see. That Instagram is making me want to adopt all the kitties, by the way. So, Hannah is a cat lady. To the extreme. She’s so obsessed with her cats that she rents an RV every so often so she can take her kitties on adventures. I’m not joking! This is such a cute story.

Crazy cat lady, eh? Hannah Simone — who partnered with King’s new game, Shuffle Cats — talked to Us Weekly exclusively at America’s Next Shuffle Cat Cat-sting Call, in NYC on December 6 all about her pampered feline friends. The 36-year-old told Us she has three “’old men’ house cats” of her own, and when asked the craziest thing she’s ever done for her cats, Simone revealed she took them on a California road trip.

“I went and rented this RV and put these cats that have never really left these four walls … and drove up the coast to Big Sur, and had them hear the ocean for the first time and walk on sand,” the New Girl star said. Simone thought it would be a cat-astrophe if the “men” in her life were not able to see the outdoors, telling Us, “I just thought they should be able to experience that in their life, so I take them on these adventures and trips now when I get a break to show them the world.”

The British-born actress is thinking of taking her cat adventures a step further, as she revealed that her kitties might be crossing the border this holiday season to visit her native country of Canada to see her family! She explained, “I might rent an RV and drive them to Canada from L.A. That might be their first international adventure. I’d love to be able to do it, just to show them things that are different.”

[From Us Weekly]

When my dog was a lot younger, I wanted him to experience more of the world too, except that whenever I tried to take him anywhere, he acted like an a—hole. He learned how to press the button to roll the car window down and he would jump out of moving cars. He would make his own adventures. I guess it’s different with cats, although I have no idea how you can take three kitties to the beach and have them behave… and come back to you once they’ve had enough of the sand and surf.

Here are some photos of Hannah’s kitties. They’re so cute!

A photo posted by catzcatzcatz (@havecatzwilltravel) on Dec 2, 2016 at 11:31am PST

A photo posted by catzcatzcatz (@havecatzwilltravel) on Dec 9, 2016 at 7:50am PST

A photo posted by catzcatzcatz (@havecatzwilltravel) on Nov 28, 2016 at 2:18pm PST

Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram.

In the past month, there were several “trend pieces” written about the latest post-election trend: the post-Trump haircut. Apparently women – liberal women? – were marching en masse to their salons to chop off their long hair. I even found myself doing it without meaning to – I went in for a trim a few weeks ago and I ended up getting a few inches taken off, so now my hair rests just slightly below my shoulders. CB has been changing up her hair too! Hair changes are in the air. Who knows if it has anything to do with Presidente Deplorable though.

But in Olivia Wilde’s case, it absolutely does have something to do with the Trump family. Olivia posted this Instagram GIF yesterday, note the hashtag.

Feelin myself apparently. Thanks to the master @harryjoshhair for the chop. #nomoremelaniahair

A video posted by Olivia Wilde (@oliviawilde) on Dec 19, 2016 at 2:49pm PST

No Melania hair? Yeah. I didn’t even notice before Olivia pointed it out, but she did have similar hair. Olivia and Melania both enjoyed the long medium-honey-brown long hair with some blonde and copper highlights. I actually don’t think Olivia’s haircut looks all that dramatic though. I mean, she maybe took off two inches? Her hair is still pretty long. It’s a good blunt cut though.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Chrissy Teigen covers the January issue of Elle Australia. I don’t know what she’s promoting exactly but she always has a lot of irons in the fire, she’s usually fighting with someone online (it’s often someone who deserves to be called out, but still) and she’s very… visible I’ll say. I have mixed feelings about her, but I can definitely cosign her thoughts on feminism, which are to-the-point and well explained in her Elle interview. The more she talks like this, the more I can see myself being a fan.

On if she is a feminist: “absolutely”
“It’s about equality, of course, but people see it as being bigger than it is. I think some men are scared of feminists because they think they’re trying to prevail in a way, whereas I’m like, ‘That’s not what equality is.”

“I love having every right to be as outspoken as I am, as any man would be.”

On motherhood:
She ‘didn’t know how tough it would be.’ It’s “all-encompassing.”

[Elle Australia via Daily Mail]

Prior to this if you would have told me that Chrissy Teigen was one of those “I’m not a feminist, I just want equality for everyone” idjits I would have believed you. Yet she gets feminism more than Sarah Jessica Parker, Meryl Streep, Mel B and Marion Cotilard combined. We can add Chrissy to the list of enlightened celebrities. (To be fair they already include Jessica Chastain, Maisie Williams, Melissa McCarthy, Rowan Blanchard and more.) Chrissy is educated about the topic and she summed up the problem some factions have with feminism perfectly – they don’t know what it is. However given all that’s happened I would add that many people don’t even value feminism when they do grasp what it means. So many people think that women somehow deserve to be lesser than men. It also serves their interests to mischaracterize feminism, and to muddy the waters about so many things we used to assume were common knowledge.

In terms of Chrissy’s styling, they made her look both beachy and elegant, which is a real feat. She’s lovely and you can see more photos from the shoot on The Daily Mail. Elle has two videos of Chrissy here and here.

Here are some recent photos of Chrissy. I like to see her street style, which is somewhat hit or miss but at least she takes chances. Credit: FameFlynet and WENN

Us Weekly certainly understands that they’ve got a winning gossip combination with this Prince Harry & Meghan Markle romance. Us Weekly put Harry and Meghan on this week’s cover, the Christmas cover, because ginger babies are hopefully our gossip Christmas presents. As we know, Meghan has already left London after spending a week shacking up with her lover. Harry even dropped her off at Heathrow. Every single thing Harry has done for and about Meghan has sent one clear signal: this is the real deal and everyone must treat her with respect. Apparently, Harry’s granny got the message. Us Weekly’s sources claim the Queen is “delighted” with Harry’s relationship.

Meghan Markle has already charmed Prince William — and now a source reveals she’s got the approval of Queen Elizabeth II as well. In the new issue of Us Weekly, a Buckingham Palace insider says Her Majesty is “fully supportive” of grandson Prince Harry’s relationship with the Suits actress, 35. While she has yet to meet Markle (it took Duchess Kate five years to score an introduction!), “She’s delighted to see Harry in a loving relationship,” continues the source.

The Toronto-based actress actually has a team of cheerleaders inside Kensington Palace, too. Six months into their romance, Harry, 32, has asked senior aides to help her navigate some of the challenges of being in such a public relationship. A Harry pal says Markle was “overwhelmed” by the attention that came with romancing Britain’s most eligible heir, and turned to Harry’s communications secretary Jason Knauf and private secretary Ed Lane Fox for advice.

“There have been times where Meghan’s been unsure [of protocol],” says the Harry pal, “and having a direct line to Harry’s most trusted aides has been a godsend.”

They have even provided some helpful guidance when it comes to sharing information with her 1.4 million Instagram followers. Says the friend, “Being careful not to reveal locations or send the wrong message is something she’s slowly gotten used to.”

The Northwestern University grad has another VIP on her advising team. After Markle’s romance with Harry went public in late October, Us has learned, a friend connected her with Sophie Trudeau — the wife of Canadian prime minister Justin, elected in 2015.

“Sophie went through a similar situation,” explains a source. “She was a television host and focused a lot on pop culture — then she became the story herself!” The former correspondent for Canada’s eTalk news show has spoken with Markle about how she learned to deal with critics and intrusion, says the source: “Mentor might be too big of a word, but Sophie’s unique insight has been so helpful.”

Markle could be hitting her up for more tips soon. A source says they wouldn’t be surprised if Harry proposes in the new year. “I can see them engaged by the spring,” says a close Harry insider, who is one of many friends seeing a bright future for the couple. “He’s head over heels.”

[From Us Weekly]

Do you think the Queen is truly “delighted”? I’m not so sure. Like, I don’t think the Queen is having words with the men in grey, but the battle for acceptance for Meghan was always going to be a steep climb. She’s American. She’s a divorcee. Does anyone even know if she’s a Protestant? But on the other side, maybe the Queen is looking closely at how ill-suited the Duchess of Cambridge is to her royal role, and the Queen realizes that maybe some new blood wouldn’t be such a bad thing, especially considering Meghan works for a living, already has years-long commitments to charities, and seems comfortable being a public person.

As for Meghan getting advice from Harry’s people at Kensington Palace… that’s interesting. And just further evidence, in my opinion, that Harry still needs to get his own press office separate from William and Kate. The idea of Meghan getting advice from the same press office responsible for Will & Kate’s disastrous PR is so, so wrong. Harry needs his own people. Meghan needs her own people.

Here are some photos of Harry, William, Kate and George in a Range Rover arriving at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s annual pre-Christmas lunch.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Look who rolled up to my show tonight to say hi!! @champagnepapi #lovehim #jlovegas #ALLIHAVE

A photo posted by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Dec 11, 2016 at 2:30am PST

A week ago, Jennifer Lopez posted this Instagram of herself and Drake. Drake came to see her Las Vegas show, apparently, then they possibly spent time together after the show? It’s a remarkable piece of timing, when you think about it. Jennifer is no longer doing that on-and-off thing with Casper Smart, nor is she looking to get back together with Marc Anthony (although I believe Marc would get back with her in a second). She’s really and truly single. And so is Drake. After his on-and-off thing with Rihanna ended a few months back, Drake has been flirting with ladies and looking for his next conquest. Would it be Taylor Swift? No. But it could be J.Lo.

Drake and Jennifer Lopez have been spending a lot of time together lately, and sources who are around both of them tell us it’s only a matter of time … Drake rented out Delilah restaurant in WeHo Monday night, and J Lo was his guest. We’re told 20 others joined the party as the restaurant was shut down to the public.

As for what’s going on … we know Drake and J Lo are working on a music project together, and he’s been to 2 of her Vegas shows recently. One source, who should know, says so far it’s not what you would assume but it’s pretty clearly going in that direction.

[From TMZ]

Sure. Do you buy that nothing has happened yet? I guess I believe that. It’s not for lack of trying on Drake’s part though – we all know he wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s probably already sending flowers, champagne and jewelry to J.Lo as we speak. And guess what? I’m all for it. Yes, he’s younger (he’s 30, she’s 47), but he’s established, he’s got his own sh-t going on, he’s not a loser or a scrub (like Casper). And Jennifer knows what’s up too. Why not have some fun with Drake? They don’t have anything to lose.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN, Instagram.

At last year’s annual Buckingham Palace pre-Christmas lunch, the Queen and Prince Philip bum-rushed the Duchess of Cambridge and forced her to take on an additional patronage on the spot. They even made her do a photo-op for the patronage, which was for the Air Cadets. That was one of Philip’s long-standing patronages, and as Philip and the Queen are getting up in years, they’ve started editing their patronage portfolios, passing along patronages to their kids, grandkids and in-laws. Well, funny story: Kate was once again assigned a new patronage at Tuesday’s pre-Christmas lunch at BP. This is one we’ve already heard about though: Kate will be taking over the Queen’s patronage of the All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, aka Wimbledon. We first heard about this months ago, but it was just made official this week.

Queen Elizabeth is easing her workload — ever so slightly! The monarch is capping off a landmark year that saw her turn 90 by passing on some of her patronages to other members of the royal family. Of the more than 600 causes and organizations that she’s associated with, the Queen is retiring from 25. A royal source tells PEOPLE that this is an “organic shift” to pass along the patronages to share the workload. It follows a precedent that occurred when the Duke of Edinburgh turned 90, Buckingham Palace says.

A statement said, “Her Majesty has enjoyed a close and active association with a great number of [the patronages] throughout her reign. Her Majesty will continue to serve as Patron to hundreds of charities and institutions but will now share this work with her family. Many of the organizations listed below already have other Members of the Royal Family as Vice-Patrons or Presidents which will ensure a smooth transition.”

Tennis fan Princess Kate will take over as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, which runs the Wimbledon championships, the organization announced. And sports-loving Prince Harry is set to be patron of the Rugby Football Union. Most of the other patronages (including Save the Children UK, Animal Health Trust, Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund) have yet to announce who will take over for the Queen, but they are likely to be members of the family who are already associated with them.

Kate is a natural fit to take over Wimbledon. She’s a keen player (she and Prince William have a court at home at Anmer Hall!) and she is a regular attendee at the championships.

When reports first surfaced that she might take over at the All England Club, she got an enthusiastic backing from champion Andy Murray’s mother, Judy. Speaking at an event where she joined Kate in Edinburgh, Scotland, in February, she said it would be “a huge thing for tennis and for women’s sport. It’s very clear she loves tennis, both watching and playing, and that can only be good for the sport.”

Kate could also take over royal duties at Action for Children, although the charity, which thanked the Queen for her “invaluable support,” cannot yet confirm. But Kate carried out a moving visit to one of their centers in 2015. William is likely to be confirmed as royal patron of the Welsh Rugby Union, as he is already closely involved as vice-patron.

[From People]

As I said months ago, when this was a well-sourced rumor, this will likely be Kate’s favorite patronage ever. You can’t get the duchess to show up more than once a year for most of her patronages, but come hell or high water, she’ll find a way to make it to a few matches at Wimbledon. She’s been angling for this for years. Of course, maybe this is all a high-level scheme by the Queen. As soon as Kate thinks “going to Wimbledon” is “work,” then suddenly she’ll find a way to avoid it. Maybe that was the point?

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.