Around the same time that Donald Trump was tweeting that Alicia Machado is “disgusting” and that she has a “sex tape,” CNN revealed that Trump actually took part in a softcore Playboy video of his own back in the 1990s – go here to see. It was just one more piece of evidence of Trump’s decades-long misogyny. Some believe that Trump’s hatred of women will be his undoing in this election, that women across the board – women of every age, every race, every size, every religion – will reject Trump because we can see, clearly, that he does not like us. He thinks we are pieces of meat. He thinks that we are only acceptable as sex objects and even then, we are sub-human. Trump was in Las Vegas yesterday and props to the local TV station there, because they got an exclusive with Trump and their local journalist (KSNV’s Jim Snyder) asked the question about Trump’s long history of sexism.

If Donald Trump’s entire candidacy turns out to be an elaborate I’m Still Here–style mockumentary, don’t say he didn’t warn us. In an interview with Las Vegas TV station KSNV on Wednesday, the GOP nominee suggested that his gross comments about women (for examples, check out basically any Hillary Clinton ad) were made while he was in character as Donald Trump, host of The Apprentice.

“You have two beautiful daughters past their teenage years,” KSNV’s Jim Snyder said. “Can you understand the concern from parents of younger girls that some of your comments could be hurtful to girls struggling with body image and the pressure to be model-perfect?”

“Sure I do. And you know, a lot of this is done in the entertainment business. I’m being interviewed for Apprentice long before I ever thought in terms of running for office,” Trump responded, according to a transcript posted by CBS News’s Sopan Deb. “But a lot of that was done for the purpose of entertainment. I can tell you this: There is nobody — nobody — that has more respect for women than I do.”

So now that he’s Donald Trump, presidential candidate, is he trying to tone down those remarks?

“Well, it’s not a question of trying. It’s very easy,” he said. “But you know, you’re in the entertainment business. You’re doing The Apprentice. You have one of the top shows on television. And you say things differently for a reason.”

The Apprentice launched in 2004, so if true, Trump was plotting to turn a series of business failures into a lucrative TV and steak business for more than a decade. He famously declared, “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [they] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass,” way back in 1991. Five years later, he reportedly called Miss Universe Alicia Machado “Miss Piggy.” He’s the Daniel Day-Lewis of sexist reality TV characters!

Alas, Trump told KSNV that “now it’s a much different world.” Presumably the “now” he’s referring to is the last five days. It’s been less than two weeks since Trump responded to Clinton’s point that he calls women “pigs, slobs, and dogs” by saying Rosie O’Donnell “deserves it,” and complaining on Fox and Friends that Machado “gained a massive amount of weight” and directing his Twitter followers to her nonexistent sex tape.

[From NY Magazine]

“But a lot of that was done for the purpose of entertainment…” Yeah, we know. At this point, we understand that this is what “entertains” you and your supporters: rampant misogyny. Hatred of women is “entertaining” because bitches be fat, amirite?

Incidentally, The Atlantic’s endorsement for Hillary Clinton is making a lot of waves this week – go here to read it. Did you know that no major media outlet in the country has endorsed Donald Trump? Rachel Maddow said that last night, I don’t know if it’s true, but it does feel like editorial boards across this country are nearly universally saying that no one should vote for Trump.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Golden Globe-winning actress Amy Adams stepped out with husband Darren Le Gallo and their daughter Aviana, 6, on Wednesday (October 5).

While holding onto one of her daughter’s drawings, the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice star, 42, ran some errands with her family-of-three in Los Angeles, Calif.

In May, we spotted the American Hustle star and her daughter arriving at LAX.

The actress has been filming Justice League, in which she is reprising her role as Lois Lane.

The mom-of-one will next be seen in Arrival, costarring Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

As well, she will light up the big screen in Nocturnal Animals, alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Isla Fisher, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Armie Hammer.

View Slideshow »»

View All Photos »»

Embed from Getty Images

Tuesday we reported on a new interview with Demi Lovato, in Glamour Magazine, in which Demi doubled down on her comments claiming that Taylor Swift was not a feminist. Her argument was that Taylor surrounds herself with other thin white women basically, which made no sense. Demi said that feminism means championing equal rights causes and then added “I don’t see anybody in any sort of squad that has a normal body.” Then, in a follow up question, she called the body types in Taylor’s squad “not realistic” and said “I think that having a song and a video about tearing Katy Perry down, that’s not women’s empowerment.” Pot, meet kettle. Demi could have talked about women’s empowerment and feminism without putting down Taylor’s friends for being thin. The interviewer asked about Taylor but Demi could have kept the conversation in general terms, she didn’t have to go after Taylor’s friends.

In response to the backlash over this interview, Demi took to Twitter (which she’s quit and returned to multiple times) to give several excuses for this interview but not to apologize. At first she tweeted that her words were taken out of context, then she wondered why people pay attention to what she says, then she said she’s taking a break because she’s not cut out “for the business and the media.” Which is it, Demi? Here are her tweets in order from oldest to newest.

I get asked questions. I answer them. Sue me.

— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) October 4, 2016

Also don’t forget that words can be taken out of context when doing interviews.. still not apologizing for saying what everyone want to say

— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) October 4, 2016

I don’t understand why people care so much about what I say in interviews? Do y’all watch the news? Don’t y’all got shit to worry about?

— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) October 4, 2016

So excited for 2017. Taking a break from music and the spotlight.. I am not meant for this business and the media ??

— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) October 4, 2016

The “why do people pay attention to me, there’s actual news” argument also known as the “kids are starving in Africa” argument is called the fallacy of relative privation and we’ve heard it many times from celebrities trying to justify their behavior.

E! has a brief quote from a “source close to Taylor,” whose response to Demi’s interview is to call Demi jealous, basically:

“Taylor has a tight group of women in her life that all have her and each others’ back and sometimes people just want that. She thought it was unnecessary for her to make those comments. They both have never been really good friends.”

[From E! Online]

“They both have never been really good friends.” Something major must have happened between these two for them to hate each other so much, right? You don’t say you’ve never been friends with someone unless you want to hurt them. Also, Taylor should have declined to comment. The best way to respond to Demi’s ridiculousness would have been to take the high road. Taylor thinks she’s doing that by using “sources,” but no.

People Magazine has a new slideshow featuring “All the people you maybe forgot were a part of Taylor Swift’s squad.” There’s no Lena Dunham though. Taylor’s friend Hailee Steinfeld has a new interview in which she reveals what it’s like to be one of the squad. In a BBC1 interview, Steinfeld said that they use the texting app Whatsapp to keep in touch through group chat and that “it’s so much fun to stay in contact and find each other along the way and all get caught up.” Taylor has said in the past that she uses group chat to keep up with her friends. I wonder why Steinfeld is talking about the squad now.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Expectant mama Tori Spelling debuted her baby bump via Instagram Wednesday.

“So blessed and excited that our family is growing again! We’re expecting our 5th!” the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 43, captioned the image cradling her growing belly alongside husband Dean McDermott and their four children: sons Liam, 9, and Finn, 4, and daughters Stella, 8, and Hattie, 5.

The True Tori star asked fans to check out her interview with PEOPLE.

“I thought if we had another baby, my life could potentially be in danger,” she tells the mag.

Spelling suffered from placenta previa, a condition in which the placenta blocks the cervix, during her fourth pregnancy and spent three months in the hospital due to excessive bleeding.

“Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong,” she says. “Dean and I created four beautiful children together and the thought of them not having a mother [if something went wrong again] was not something we were okay with.”

The reality star was “so happy” to hear she does not have placenta previa this time around.

McDermott, 49, went on to gush about their fifth pregnancy.

“The doctor said that considering everything that happened the last time, this is a miracle baby that Tori got pregnant and that it’s okay,” says the Chopped: Canada star.

Now it’s time to focus on their expanding their brood.

“As far as cars and SUVs, we’re maxed out! And we’ll definitely be house hunting,” Spelling says. “We need another room. They’re already doubled up.”

Adds McDermott: “We’re going to buy an apartment complex. Each child can have their own apartment!”

So blessed and excited that our family is growing again! We’re expecting our 5th! Get all of the details in this week’s issue of @people & click the link in my bio for more photos!

A photo posted by Tori Spelling (@torispelling) on Oct 5, 2016 at 10:41am PDT

As we discussed earlier this week, Benedict Cumberbatch covers the new issue of Vanity Fair. I’m still trying to understand what they did to him and why he looks so young in these photos. Is it just aggressive Photoshop? Or something else? Anyway, Benedict also participated in a funny/charming video for VF. Benedict Strange does a “magic trick” involving a bottle of water. The best part of this is that he looks infinitely LESS creepy in motion and he narrates everything with his silky alien-otter voice.

It’s cute, right? It almost made me like him again. Not that I hate him now, I’m just sort of over him. There’s also this behind-the-scenes video of the VF shoot for the die-hard Bendybitches.

Meanwhile, it feels like forever and a day since Benedict was ever associated – however loosely – with the Great James Bond Search. I seem to remember that his name got a few mentions years ago, but most people justifiably scoffed, just as I continue to scoff at Tom Hiddleston’s alleged Bond thirst. Apparently, Benedict was asked about Bond in his British GQ interview, and this is what he had to say:

“I think people are obsessed with other people being Bond at the moment, so the heat’s off me… I can wear a suit and I can fight. I can raise my eyebrow, but that’s not what it takes to play Bond. They might want to go in very different directions, who knows? It would be fun though.”

[From The Telegraph]

I hate to say it, Dragonflies, but this is how you’re supposed to brush off the rumors. Do it with a shrug! Don’t actively campaign. While I don’t believe Benedict is on any shortlist, I do think Benedict’s chance at playing Bond is a lot better than Tom Hiddleston’s.

Last thing: Benedict is still very much attached to play Thomas Edison in The Current War, all about Edison, George Westinghouse and Nikolai Tesla. Michael Shannon was recently announced for Westinghouse, and now it’s looking like Nicholas Hoult will play Tesla. That actually sounds like a great movie, although… I do feel like Cumberbatch in particular is stuck in a rut of playing weird geniuses, you know?

Photos courtesy of Vanity Fair.

It’s been said many times over this election cycle that no one has ever seen anything like this, that Donald Trump has fundamentally changed the way our political system works, and that Trump has given people carte blanche to say and do racist sh-t in more open ways than ever before. I guess this is just more evidence of that fact. Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show, The O’Reilly Factor, sent their correspondent/political humorist (????) Jesse Watters to do a “man on the street” type of segment in New York’s Chinatown. To say that this segment was blatantly racist and extremely offensive is not even coming close to how vile this is.

That aired a few days ago and the clip went viral yesterday as horrified people were like “How did anyone think this was a good idea?” Watters seemed to want to be a Billy Eichner-type figure, or even CNN’s Jeanne Moos (who does delightful woman-on-the-street pieces). The Asian American Journalists Association issued a formal statement condemning the segment and Fox News for airing it. Go here to read more statements from Asian-American groups.

So far, Fox News has declined to comment in any way. They’re not defending him, nor are they firing him. Watters did defend himself on Twitter:

As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece, as all Watters World segments are.

— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016

My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense.

— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016

It wasn’t political humor. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t seem like conservatives even want to justify Watters. The most they can say is “he’s not really racist, he’s just stupid.” WHY NOT BOTH?

Incidentally, Asian-American voters are increasingly progressive/liberal. That’s one of the largely ignored political trends of the last 20 years – a massive swing of support for Democratic candidates by a growing Asian-American community. We (I’m Indian-American) are one of the big reasons why Virginia is steadily “blue” these days, because VA has such a big Asian population. Hillary Clinton currently has a 44-point advantage over Trump among Asian-American voters. This Fox News segment is a great reason why that is.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Earlier this week, Melissa Etheridge appeared on Andy Cohen’s radio show and Cohen, being a gossipy bitch, asked Melissa for her thoughts on the Brangelina Split. Melissa is a well-known Team Aniston person, and Melissa also has a history of saying derogatory things about Angelina Jolie. Melissa didn’t let Cohen down – she had many thoughts, like how Angelina’s claim that Brad Pitt struck Maddox was “completely unfounded” and that Angelina was “purposefully” trying to be “mean” and put “misinformation” out there. Melissa said she hoped Brad would get in touch with her since they haven’t spoken in ten years. There was a lot more.

So, Melissa appeared on Watch What Happens Live last night with Andy Cohen and he brought it up again. It seems that Melissa had told him something new behind-the-scenes, and she couldn’t wait to reveal it on-camera. Melissa claimed that she had been contacted by a “fixer” for Angelina Jolie and that fixer had issued a “subtle warning.” Melissa said: “There are people whose job it is to kind of fix things for celebrities… I haven’t spoke to Brad in forever. Every time I say something it gets turned around and twisted and all of a sudden I’m saying something about [Angelina] … so I thought I would do what I do best, and I wrote a song about it today.” First of all, nobody “twisted” anything. Melissa wanted attention and she got it by bashing Angelina publicly. So Melissa’s tune has changed… literally. Here’s her song:

The lyrics of “The Fixer Blues”:

“Seems I said some things about an old, old, old friend that got some people talking. Well, I know broken hearts, a thing or two about divorce, I’ve been there before once, OK twice. And I have not seen my friend in over 10 years and I swear I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever met his wife…Fixer, I hope you understand to scandalize was never my plan. So the moral of this story is divorce is a bitch and nobody wins. Let’s not do unto others and please forgive us our sins, life is too hard anyway. So when you chatting with Andy, you better watch what you say.”

[Via Us Weekly]

Hm. While I think Melissa needs to stay in her lane and STFU about Brangelina entirely, I’m also sort of disappointed in Angelina. I get that Jolie has amassed a giant team of A-list legal talent for the fight ahead, including the real-life Olivia Pope. But it seems…I don’t know? Petty and small for Jolie’s team to go around issuing “subtle warnings” to people like Melissa Etheridge. Keep your eye on the ball, Team Jolie.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

You know how you can tell that Kim Kardashian is truly traumatized? She hasn’t posted anything on social media. She hasn’t offered any on-the-record public statements. She hasn’t left her NYC apartment in days. It seems that Kim has heard some of the criticism and victim-blaming lodged at her too, and she’s taken it to heart. Which is unusual for Kim as well – usually when she’s being attacked, she comes out, strident and unapologetic. After she was the victim of an armed robbery and assault, she’s in agreement with her worst critics: she blames herself for what happened. Sources tell People:

Blaming herself: “Kim’s in shock and blaming herself. She’s tearing herself up that she Snapchatted the ring so much and wore it all the time. This incident is making her question everything. How she dresses, what she does.”

She doesn’t want a replacement ring: “Kanye wants to buy her the ring again but she just says she doesn’t want to think about it. He says he wants everything to go back to normal and for the incident to not affect their lives.”

No plans to work: “Kim is still upset and things are not even close to being back to normal. She has no plans to work in the near future. She just wants to stay home with her kids. She realizes that she has lived in a bubble. She could have never imagined being robbed like this. She is now more worried than ever about protecting the kids. She doesn’t want to let them out of sight.”

Kanye is really mad: “Kanye is still angry. He is not happy with Kris either. He is very much looking for someone to blame. It’s sort of a tense atmosphere.” lowing the robbery, a second source told PEOPLE that the rapper feels “helpless” and is “already talking about getting more security, not only for Kim but for the kids. He’s really spooked by the whole thing, because he knows that they are targets now.”

[From People Magazine]

Damn, now I feel sorry for Kanye too. It’s not his fault either! He believed Kim would be safe in Paris, a city they love and where they have spent so much time. He thought she would be secure in the hotel/apartment building. It must be difficult for him to feel so helpless and yes, I can totally see Kanye lashing out at everyone and everything.

What else? TMZ has a similar story about Kim having a come-to-Jesus moment about her wealth and safety, with a source claiming that Kim has been telling people: “Material things mean nothing. It’s not all about the money. It’s not worth it.” Us Weekly’s sources say that this was a “completely life-changing event for Kim” and there’s an echo of the “she realizes she was living in a bubble” now.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

As many of us have discussed before, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a thing about appearing “normal” and “middle class.” Kate actually IS middle class, and the fact that she doesn’t hide it has been celebrated in some circles and criticized in other circles. No one really believes Kate’s middle-class roots are a bad thing, but throughout her marriage to William, it does feel like both of them play-act this idea that they’re just a normal middle-class family. William in particular seems to fetishize this idea of “normalcy,” perhaps as way of hiding his own enormous privilege, wealth and lack of direction. What’s my point? I don’t know. People are still talking about how Prince George is dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy circa 1942 and the Daily Mail’s “etiquette expert” is theorizing that George is dressed that way because William and Kate don’t want him to look too suburban/middle class. I thought they loved all things middle class?!?!

With all eyes on them as they toured Canada, the Royal Family pulled out all the stops to ensure they looked picture perfect. Often colour-coordinated, they were no doubt well aware that the photographs of their first official tour as a family-of-four would be remembered for years to come – and tried to dress fittingly for the special occasion. And fashion fans were quick to notice that Prince George exclusively wore shorts – and it’s certainly not the first time. Indeed, the three-year-old is rarely seen in trousers and, according to an etiquette expert, there’s a very interesting reason behind it.

Etiquette expert and MailOnline columnist, William Hanson, claims that shorts on young boys are, in fact, a silent British class marker and trousers are deemed ‘suburban’, which no self-respecting royal would want to be considered.

He explained: ‘Not only does The Duchess of Cambridge have to worry about what she is wearing in public but she has to dress her own children and find a balance between royal tradition and heritage and more proletariat customs, such as the “suburban” habit of making young boys wear trousers. Although I don’t really think that the sartorial rule of shorts for young boys would be a new one for Catherine. I would suspect that her own mother and mother’s friends knew this – as more well-heeled middle class mothers do – and dressed their own boys accordingly.’

Whilst the children won over the world on their first royal tour, some social media users were quick to comment on their ‘post-war’ look – suggesting that little Prince George and Princess Charlotte were dressed ‘for the 1950s’ or a ’19th century gothic novella’.

[From The Daily Mail]

From my very limited experience with children, I don’t think it’s a matter of “making” children adhere to whatever class-structured style is en vogue. George is getting to the age where he’s going to want to start dressing like his peers, and his peers – many of them suburban, middle-class types – wear trousers and trainers. At some point (likely very soon), George is just going to refuse to wear those stupid socks and shorts everywhere. While I do think George is a really cute little boy, it absolutely feels like Will and Kate are dressing him up in a costume. A costume for Kensington Palace’s home horror movies, perhaps?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Sam Rubin, an entertainment reporter for Los Angeles TV station KTLA’s morning news, told a story on air earlier this week about Ben Affleck’s PR people’s curious demands during his press junket for The Accountant. Before we get into this, some of you may remember his interview with E!, where he was asked “are you surprised at how interested people are in you and Jen’s successful coparenting?” He answered tersely “very little surprises me” and then the video had a transition which cut to the next question. There may have been a reason for that. In Rubin’s segment, which you can see above, he showed a part of the interview in which he got cut off by a PR person for asking Ben a question sbout the culture of celebrity. To his credit Ben answered it thoughtfully, but then the PR guy cut in and told them to stick to the movie. Rubin excoriated the people running the junket for doing that, and for deleting segments of other interviews that they didn’t want to be released. Here’s what he said and if you don’t feel like reading this you can watch the six minute video above.

Sam Rubin, in studio: At the junket on Sunday, I both witnessed and experienced something so shocking, so unprofessional, I think it could seriously derail the prospects of the movie. The story I’m about to tell you shows complete contempt not only for me, but for you… imagine my genuine shock and surprise when after we talk about the movie the conversation veers into something maybe a bit more interesting and the PR dope who was in the room actually interrupts us.

Cut to Rubin, in interview with Affleck: There’s so much attention now, kind of paid to everything you do. You blink because you know it’s true. Is that the blessing or the burden?

Affleck: It’s a little bit absurd, I assure you I’m not all that interesting. My regular daily life is pretty mundane. I take kids to school, I drop them off. I go do my job. But it’s just part of the culture of celebrity that’s evolved. It’s also part of emerging technologies, there’s more real estate for stories and there aren’t very many stories.

Rubin: This whole notion that it’s part of the deal…

PR guy cuts in: Can we stick to the film please?

Back to Rubin in studio, editorializing: I’m furious at myself because I should have just said “Look PR dope, I’ve done this forever for the number one morning show in Los Angeles, the one with potentially the largest potential audience to see this show. Don’t interrupt me and don’t tell me how to interview people.” I couldn’t believe it.

Rubin saw PR people editing other interviews to cut segments unflattering to Ben
I’m so mad at myself but wait it gets worse. After you do these interview you go to another room to pick up these digital cards of the interview you just conducted… when I walked in to pick up my card… studio people were actually editing someone else’s interview because he made a joke in that interview about drug use. They were taking out a remark he had made of his own free will and cutting it out of the interview they were giving to somebody. This was not the only interview that was censored on Sunday.

[From KTLA video]

Then Rubin said he wouldn’t have done the junket or promoted the movie if he knew that they were trying to censor the journalists and stars of the movie. He also said he wasn’t aware if Ben was the one behind the censorship or if his PR people thought that’s what he wanted. He was super pissed.

Hecate lives in LA and she said that Rubin has a good reputation there, but she reminded me that he’s also the journalist who mistook Samuel L. Jackson for Laurence Fishburne, after which he apologized. I don’t do press junkets so I can’t say how common these kind of demands are, but Rubin is acting as if they’re very out of the ordinary and he’s not taking it. It does sound extreme to even edit out parts of the interview that they don’t approve of. Are we surprised at this though, coming from the guy who asked PBS to censor the fact that one of his ancestors had slaves?

Photos credit: FameFlynet and PRPhotos