While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due in Manchester on Monday, they reportedly arrived in England on Saturday morning, then went straight to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. That’s surprising, but I guess they took the overnight flight to Heathrow on Friday and they wanted to rest up a little before the appearance on Monday at One Young World. According to the British outlets, they flew commercial and the kids are not with them. The Mail did a big piece about how Prince William and Kate will not try to meet up with them, even though the Cambridges have now moved into Adelaide Cottage, just a short distance from Frogmore.

There are ‘no plans’ for them to meet with William and Kate despite staying just a few hundred feet away from them. They had been expected to arrive as soon as today and and use their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage, as a base, but their arrival date and time had not been confirmed.

Following the breakdown of relationships between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family, it is understood that there are ‘no plans’ for them to make the short 380ft trip to Adelaide Cottage for the brothers to reunite. Royal sources suggest there are fears the couple may bring a film crew along to the UK as part of their rumoured $100million Netflix deal.

‘Trust, particularly at the moment, is a big issue,’ a well-placed source said. Another said: ‘I really can’t see any progress [in repairing their relationship] until the documentary and book have come out and they see what he has to say. The family have everything to lose and nothing to gain. William is deeply hurt and believes his brother has crossed a line.’

They will head to Manchester on Monday for the One Young World summit, an event which brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries. Meghan, a counsellor for the organisation, will give the keynote address at the opening ceremony.

There are no public plans for the couple on Wednesday, meaning any potential meeting with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge could be held on that day. William and Kate will be at Windsor all week as George, Charlotte and Louis attend their new school after the family moved into Adelaide Cottage this week. The family will live on the Queen’s Berkshire estate during term-time.

[From The Daily Mail]

Harry and Meghan have literally made no moves to speak to or see the Cambridges, so it’s pretty rich for William and Kate to act like they’re dictating the estrangement. They are not. Harry said “space” and he meant that sh-t. That being said, I definitely wonder if Keen Peacemaker Kate will try something. She’s probably desperate to see Harry.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.

Here are photos of Timothee Chalamet at the Venice Film Festival on Friday. He was in Venice to promote and premiere Bones & All, his latest film with director Luca Guadagnino. Timmy plays a bisexual cannibal. As one does. Timmy brought his cool-kid look to the photocall, wearing camo shorts, a knit cardigan and some very expensive-looking boots. Then the premiere happened and people were agog! Timothee wore a custom Haider Ackermann backless ensemble. It looks like silk shantung? It’s stunning and I love his style, but after someone cracked a “It’s giving Grace Adler Designs” joke, I can’t unsee that. He walked the carpet with his costar Taylor Russell, who wore Balenciaga.

I didn’t realize that Bones & All is set in the 1980s, in “Reagan’s America,” so that means the movie won’t have anything about social media or what have you. I should note, Timothee Chalamet was born in December 1995, seven years after the Reagan administration. But Timmy has grown up in the world of social media and he has some strong thoughts about it:

On Friday morning, Timothée Chalamet blasted the social media world we are living in at the Venice press conference for Luca Guadagino’s “Bones and All” in which he and co-star Taylor Russell play cannibal lovers on a road trip across America. Taking his cue from the fact that the story is set in the ’80s, when social media did not exist, Chalamet went on an anti-social media tirade.

“To be young now, and to be young whenever—I can only speak for my generation—is to be intensely judged,” said Chalamet. “I can’t imagine what it is to grow up with the onslaught of social media, and it was a relief to play characters who are wrestling with an internal dilemma absent the ability to go on Reddit, or Twitter, Instagram or TikTok and figure out where they fit in. I’m not casting judgement. You can find your tribe there.” But “I think it’s hard to be alive now. I think societal collapse is in the air. That’s why hopefully this movie will matter.”

[From Variety]

“I think it’s hard to be alive now. I think societal collapse is in the air.” I think… it can genuinely feel like that if you’re young and chronically online. That’s why it’s good to put down your phones and go touch some grass, literally and figuratively. I’m not one of those “online doesn’t exist, it has nothing to do with the real world” people – online abuse is awful, and there are some seriously deranged freaks on the internet and on social media, people who can do very real harm to kids and adults. But do I think it’s a bit melodramatic to say “societal collapse is in the air”? Yes.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Bethenny Frankel is one of hundreds of high-profile white women to use their public platforms to talk sh-t about the Duchess of Sussex. Bethenny has always talked sh-t about Meghan online and in interviews, and I really have no idea why Frankel has this one-sided grudge. Bethenny seems especially irritated that Meghan had a big royal wedding, and Bethenny is especially mad that Meghan can talk freely whenever she wants. Granted, Bethenny has a history of saying racist crap in general, independent of Meghan. But her grudge against Meghan as a person is reminiscent of someone like Piers Morgan or one of the Daily Mail columnists. Bethenny freaked out last year before, during and after the Sussexes’ Oprah interview, then gave a half-assed apology about it. Now that Meghan’s The Cut profile is out, Bethenny once again has an issue with Meghan… speaking. “Meghan using her voice” is very disagreeable to Bethenny.

Bethenny Frankel is giving Meghan Markle some royal advice. During Thursday’s episode of Frankel’s podcast, “Just B with Bethenny Frankel,” the former “Housewife” called out the Duchess of Sussex for continuing to talk about her past issues with the royal family and told her to simply “let it go.”

“She’s very much like a Housewife in that she can’t stop talking about the very thing that she wants to be irrelevant,” Frankel, 51, said. “[It’s like] when you … want to separate from the Housewives. ‘It was toxic, I don’t want to be part of the drama,’ or whatever the housewife says. [But] then … for the next five years, always talking about the very thing you’re trying to extricate yourself from.”

Frankel continued, “When you leave the royal family, leave the royal family. You learned something, you said it, we heard you. … and [still] in every single interview you do you’re talking about the royal family. Let it go Elsa. Move forward. Create change in the future.”

Frankel did give kudos to the former actress for speaking up about her experiences, “It is good for people to know that racism exists everywhere, but that’s not something we’re surprised by. Like, if you tell me that racism exists in the royal family, I’m not bowled over with shock.”

[From Page Six]

“…And [still] in every single interview you do you’re talking about the royal family…” All two interviews? That’s all Meghan has done, two interviews. One with Oprah, one with The Cut. She also spoke to NPR when her children’s book came out but she didn’t talk about the royals whatsoever, so not “every single interview” huh? Since this week was the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, let me say that there were tons of women who hated the fact that Diana spoke to Martin Bashir and Andrew Morton too. They hated that Diana used her voice and tried to tell her own story. That’s all this is. With Meghan, there’s the added dimension of wanting a Black woman to be silent and compliant in the face of a torrent of racist abuse too.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to arrive on British soil in a matter of days, people! I would not be surprised if the Daily Mail put a clock on their front page, ticking down the minutes until Harry and Meghan’s arrival in Manchester. The papers were all geared up for wall-to-wall Sussex content during the Jubbly, and H&M’s lowkey energy really upset them. They had predicted that M&H would strut into Buckingham Palace with a full Netflix crew and thrust Lilibet into the Queen’s hands whilst slapping a corgi. None of that happened. So try, try again. The papers are trying to scandalize their readership in advance of what sounds like a very pleasant, breezy and charity-focused visit from Harry and Meg. Please enjoy:

Meghan and Harry are expected to jet into Britain on Sunday as the ructions continue over the Duchess of Sussex’s transatlantic ‘truth bombs’ in the US media and on her Archetypes Spotify podcast. The couple are returning to the UK for the first time since the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in early June with Meghan declaring this week that she has upset the Royal Family’s dynamic ‘just by existing’ and experts claimed there is a ‘cold war’ between the Windsors and the Sussexes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to be in Europe for around six days next week with two confirmed engagements in the UK and one in Germany to promote the next Invictus Games. It remains unclear if they will visit the Queen at Balmoral amid concerns about her health, an ongoing row about their security with the Home Office and Meghan’s barrage of apparent swipes at the royals in the US media, claiming she and Harry had been treated differently and warned she could ‘say anything’.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has said that their tie-up with the streaming giant could explain the visit. He said: ‘Their poll ratings have been terrible for a long time, there is a deep rift with the Royal Family which won’t heal soon. I am puzzled why they are coming’.

PR guru and brand expert Mark Borkowski said he expects Meghan to use the trip to gain publicity. He told MailOnline: ‘This remains a Cold War between houses still in conflict. To those outside looking in, it appears that Meghan is constantly looking to intersect the news agenda’. He said that a portrait of Meghan that was remarkably similar to one of Harry’s mother was ‘was perfectly timed at a time the world was remembering Diana’ on the 25th anniversary of her death this week.

Mr Borkowski said: ‘It appears she [Meghan] is a modern celebrity that is defined by her media profile. This is a pedantic explanation to suggest that the visit will be one that will be in the full glare of the media, she will be using every occasion to regenerate her narrative. It’s a new form of photosynthesis – converting media energy to extract the nutrients for continued brand fame’.

[From The Daily Mail]

“I am puzzled why they are coming” – because they’re doing appearances on behalf of One Young World, Invictus Games and WellChild. It’s not a f–king riddle. They announced their visit in advance and explained their itinerary, and Salt Island is still banging their heads against their padded cell, crying “why are they coming???” Again, what this has always been about and what this is still about is CONTROL. The Windsors don’t control the Sussexes. The British media doesn’t control the Sussexes. The Sussexes can come and go as they please. They don’t need the media’s permission. They don’t need the Queen’s permission. All of this conspiratorial bullsh-t about Netflix cameras and “needing” an association with Salt Island is all just a cover for the fact that the British media is entirely out of the loop and they have no way to force their way into the Sussex loop.

PS… I would love it if Meghan made some appearances at the British charities she worked with before, like Mayhew or Smart Works. I bet security will be an issue though, so we shouldn’t get our hopes up.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Instar, Avalon Red, Cover Images, Getty.

Earlier this week, we discussed Tom Brady’s late return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ preseason training camp. He missed eleven days while the rest of the team was working. What was interesting about Brady’s absence is that it was announced ahead of time, yet no explanation was given before or after the absence. I mean, it’s his business, and if he wants to keep it private, that’s his right. Still, he was notably cryptic about the absence, which led to rampant speculation about whether he was letting some cosmetic work “settle” or whether his marriage is on the rocks. I kind of thought the cosmetic-work-settling story was a good theory, because Brady looks very different these days. But it looks like Tampa gossips have settled on marriage trouble.

There’s trouble in Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen paradise, multiple sources tell Page Six exclusively. The model has left their family compound in Tampa, Fla., for Costa Rica following a series of heated arguments over Brady’s shock decision to un-retire from the NFL, while he has remained behind for team training.

“Tom and Gisele are in a fight right now,” a source tells Page Six, adding that this has happened before with the couple, but they have always reunited in the past.

The news comes after the Buccaneers quarterback, 45, missed 11 days of training in August. When quizzed about his disappearance, the sports star said: “It’s all personal … everyone’s got different situations they’re dealing with. We all have really unique challenges to our life. I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of s–t going on.”

Reps for both Brady and Bündchen, 42 — who share children Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 9, plus Jack, the athlete’s 15-year-old son with ex Bridget Moynahan — declined to comment.

A second source says, “There’s been trouble in the marriage over his decision to un-retire. Gisele has always been the one with the kids. They had agreed he would retire to focus on the family, then he changed his mind.”

Adds an insider: “They have a fiery relationship. Gisele is a bit hot-headed — she has that Brazilian heat!”

As Brady did a quick about-face on his retirement, after promising to spend more time with Bündchen and the kids, she has also been working again and is currently starring in a new Burberry campaign.

“It’s almost like Gisele was like, ‘Well, if you’re going to keep playing, so will I,’” said the second source. “She’s resentful that Tom is still the football superstar.”

[From Page Six]

Um, y’all know I’m not a Gisele Defender usually, but it’s sexist as hell to suggest that Gisele is resentful of Tom’s career – she was the highest-paid model in the world for more than a decade. She can still book jobs whenever she wants. She chooses to do fewer modeling jobs so she can focus on their family. She thought Tom would finally prioritize their family too, and possibly be around more so that she could work more. Instead, he plowed back into professional football. He’s 45 years old and Gisele has even said that he has had “concussions pretty much every year” (which means that the NFL has covered it up). Could it be that Gisele isn’t actually “resentful” but very worried that her husband is doing permanent damage to his aging body and mind? Honestly, Team Gisele. I hope she has a nice vacation in Costa Rica.

I can’t recall this kind of Tom Brady at the podium. pic.twitter.com/SsPDoI8ClV

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) August 28, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.

The Duchess of Cambridge is known for many things: buttons, laziness, wiglets, wedges of doom. One of the things she’s best known for is her creepy copykeening. All of that money and embiggening, and she can’t buy herself a unique style, so she copies and single-white-females. Kate’s copykeen targets are her mother, her late mother-in-law, the Queen and the Duchess of Sussex. Kate’s copykeening of Meghan has gotten profoundly disturbing in recent years, so much so that it’s easy to forget how creepy Kate has been about copying Diana for more than a decade. Mind you, all of this is simply surface-level copying. It would never occur to Kate to copy Diana’s work ethic, passion, vivacity or emotional intelligence. No, Kate just pores over old photos of Diana and tries to imitate her fashion down to the shoulder pads and pussybows. But to hear Katie Nicholl tell it, Kate has always made a conscious effort to NOT follow in Diana’s footsteps.

According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, the Duchess of Cambridge didn’t try to become the new Diana—the naturally occurring comparisons were enough for her.

“I think one of the great strengths of Kate, and one of her real successes, is that she hasn’t followed in Diana’s footsteps,” Nicholl told 9Honey. “I don’t think she seeks to emulate Diana. I think she was so aware of the comparison right from the outset, but despite the weight of that engagement ring on her finger, and the significance that that holds and the comparisons it inevitably draws, she is actually a very different woman. Her success has been in carving her own identity in the Royal Family as the Duchess of Cambridge and making that role herself.”

“I think a respectful nod, a respectful tribute. After the birth of George when she wore that blue and white dress, after Louis’s birth she was in the red, that was very Diana, Diana had worn the same sort of red dress,” Nicholl continued. “We see it when she wears her jewellery and some of the outfits … really, it’s a respectful nod and an acknowledgement of the continuation of history.”

Also, as has been remarked many a time, the duchess tries to raise her kids the way her husband’s mom did.

“We see it in how she’s sort of trying to raise the children in an ordinary way, which is what Diana very much wanted for Harry and William,” Nicholl added. “But I think for the most part, Kate really strives and works very hard to be her own royal, to be her own person, to be a totally unique Duchess of Cambridge, and I think she succeeded in that.”

[From Marie Claire]

In some sense, Nicholl is sort of right – Kate made a conscious choice to play the game in a way Diana refused to. Kate suffers indignities in silence, she doesn’t fuss about her husband’s wandering scepter, she’s not out to change the monarchy or modernize anything whatsoever. That’s actually Kate’s great failing -she “played the game,” got the ring and the cheating husband, plus three kids and four houses, and after all that, Kate is being shuffled off to a little separation cottage in Windsor and there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s left no mark, done no damage nor made any changes.

Of course, in other ways, it’s clear that Kate is completely obsessed with Diana and she would love to “emulate” Diana in superficial ways. Kate is not simply doing vague homages to Diana for important occasions. She is literally studying a detailed Diana lookbook to copy what Diana wore to rugby matches, movie premieres and christenings.

PS… When I was looking up our coverage of Kate’s copykeening, I came across this piece from a few months ago which claimed that Kate was successfully attempting a glamorous new style rebrand. LOL.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Instar.

Julianne Moore’s Alaia dress is so bad! She wore this to the pre-Venice Film Festival dinner for the Cinecitta. [Tom & Lorenzo]
More photos from the pre-Venice Film Festival dinner. [RCFA]
Robert Rodriguez recreates a cute photo with his son. [Seriously OMG]
Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister had sh-t to say about Chris Rock. [Dlisted]
Timothee Chalamet has arrived in Venice! [LaineyGossip]
Recap of House of the Dragon Ep. 2. [Pajiba]
Celebrities are coming out for the US Open! [JustJared]
I love this look on Tessa Thompson. [GFY]
Photos from the Princess Diana memorials around the world. [Buzzfeed]
The Obamas will finally get to unveil their official portraits in Dark Brandon’s White House! (Trump refused to invite the Obamas back during his administration.)[Towleroad]
Vanessa Hudgens said Yee Haw Rights! [Egotastic]
Blind item about a diva who sometimes forgets where she lives. [Gawker]

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One of the things which has bugged me the most about the Sussex saga is the arrogance and ignorance with which the British media regards America, American media and American celebrity. We were happy that “an American girl” married into the British royal family, because Americans are fascinated by royalty. We don’t have royalty, we have dynasties and celebrities, which is all the Windsors are: a dynastic line of celebrities, all within the same massively dysfunctional family. Americans see that and we’re like “oh, I get it, that’s cool.” The British media thinks it works both ways though – that Americans treat our celebrities and our dynasties the same way they treat royalty. And that’s not the case, at all. I suspect most Americans like the Sussexes and wish them well and that’s about it. We don’t need to “approve” of them. Harry and Meghan are not politicians. They’re not running for Prom King and Queen of America. They’re just celebrities and humanitarians now and we’ll consume what products they give us (podcasts, Netflix docu-series, books) and gossip about them like celebrities and that’s it.

I bring this up because Salt Island has no chill. Camilla Tominey at the Telegraph wrote a new piece for the Telegraph: “How Meghan lost America: The Duchess is giving increasingly outspoken interviews, but is that because the people of the US and its media have lost interest?” Oh, they’re really worried. Tominey’s piece is all about how a Murdoch-owned paper (the NY Post) ran a negative cover about Meghan, thus the Sussexes are unpopular in America, thus everyone in America loves William and Kate. It’s both pathetic and hilarious. Some highlights:

Meghan is just giving interviews to get noticed! With a podcast to promote amid talk of her star “waning” in the US, there is a growing sense that the only way the Duchess can get noticed these days is by continuing to wage war against the Windsors. From her unsubstantiated claim that the British media called her children the “n-word”, to her suggestion that the couple’s mere “existence” upset the Royal hierarchy, as with Oprah Winfrey, the outbursts appear designed to generate maximum publicity in the UK. That way, the story is guaranteed to get picked up by the all-important US breakfast shows – even if there is little to say about the interview beyond Meghan’s criticisms of The Firm.

Tabloid fodder: As one US TV insider explained: “Meghan is sort of regarded as tabloid fodder these days. I wouldn’t say her popularity has waned but her star draw has. She was riding on the cusp of being the Duchess, but a lot of their projects have failed and some of the lustre has gone. It would be unfair to say she’s not popular but we are doing less on her. We are more likely to do something on William and Kate now.”

Americans are obsessed with the Queen, not Meghan: Others say that taking aim at the Queen and the Royal family was always a risky move. According to another source who works for one of the big American networks: “People get the US wrong. They think they are obsessed with Meghan and Diana but it’s the Queen they are really obsessed with. When it touches on criticising the monarchy – that has been quite damaging. People here have sort of been asking themselves: ‘Would you do that to your in-laws?’”

British polling on Americans? There are increasing signs of fatigue over stories about the Sussexes’ time in Britain. In July, another survey found that just a quarter (25 per cent) of Americans were “very or fairly interested” in reading Harry’s forthcoming autobiography, compared to 14 per cent of Britons who said the same. The poll found that more than half of Americans (51 per cent) had no interest at all, compared to two thirds of Brits.

Snobbery about Meghan? “There’s actually a bit of snobbery about Meghan now in the US because she’s become a celebrity story rather than a news one,” said one journalist who works for an American media company. She recalls the Duchess’s campaign for paid parental leave, where she wrote letters to senior US politicians, prompting speculation she was pursuing a career in politics. “We rang (US Speaker) Nancy Pelosi’s office to see if they wanted to respond and they just laughed. “She’s not being taken seriously by Washington at all. She’s not Michelle Obama – she doesn’t have that pedigree so where does she fit in?”

Keen Kate, Queen of America: Commentators stress that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are still hugely admired in the US. The couple recently appointed Lee Thompson, who climbed the ranks at US mass media empire NBC, as their new PR chief, proving their interest in maintaining strong relations with the American public. “Kate is flying in America in the same way she’s flying in Britain, because she’s modelling herself on the Queen,” says the journalist.

Peggington’s trip to America: Next month, just a few weeks after Harry and Meghan’s visit to England, Prince William will be visiting New York for a summit for his Earthshot Prize – followed in December by a trip to Boston to present it. It is yet to be confirmed whether he will be accompanied by Kate or their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. But such a Stateside outing is likely to pose a significant challenge to Harry and Meghan’s faltering status as the self-styled King and Queen of America.

[From The Telegraph]

A few things. Meghan spoke to The Cut because she’s promoting her podcast. I genuinely hope she does more promotion and more interviews! And the reason she’s talking about the Windsors is because she’s being asked. The Sussexit was one of the biggest gossip/royal/news stories of the past twenty years, and the fact that Harry and Meghan got out alive and they’re able to speak about their experiences is incredible and newsworthy.

The fact that the Today Show sent Hoda Kotb to cover the Invictus Games and interview Harry should tell you a lot about the American interest in all things Sussex. The fact that Harry inked a book deal and he’s gotten millions of dollars worth of free promotion via the British media should tell you a lot. In fact, the whole reason why the British media is currently trying to convince the British public that America is over the Sussexes is because they’re all terrified that the Sussexes have way more credibility than the media. That people will want to read Harry’s book and not some rabid royal reporter’s book. As for Meghan specifically… she understands American celebrity (considering she is one) and she understands how to promote her projects. The American audience understands what she’s doing too.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

This week we learned that Leonardo DiCaprio dumped Camila Morrone around her 25th birthday. There’s actually some debate about whether the breakup happened just before her June birthday or just after. She attended his Fourth of July party, but I think that was the last we saw of her. It’s giving a Kelly Rohrbach vibe – he waited until after Kelly’s 25th birthday to officially dump her too. He CAN date a 25-year-old, but only for a month or two. Anyway, Leo was actually telegraphing his single-ness for weeks. He’s been seen out and about in New York and Malibu, headed to clubs and parties with his bros, looking extremely single. Leo is on the prowl. Since Leo is a creature of habit and past is prologue, my guess is that he’ll be single and mingling for the next six months before carefully selecting a special 20-year-old to date next February-March. That’s how he usually does it.

When the going gets tough, the tough get bro’ing! Sources tell Page Six that Leonardo DiCaprio has been partying with his pals while his now-ex-girlfriend Camilla Morrone has been on vacation in St. Tropez with her mom.

A scenester source told us, “Leo has been out every night partying … he’s been hanging with his old crew and some girls.”

The insider said before DiCaprio’s breakup became public this week: “I thought that was a little weird when [Camilla] was in St. Tropez.”

DiCaprio was also photographed in Malibu by day looking more svelte, heading to a party at a pal’s house in the beach town.

[From Page Six]

Page Six also did a history of all of the ladies who have gone through The Leo D Dating Experience, and one source close to Leo told Page Six:

“By the time girls reach 25, they’re looking for more — they’re looking to get married and settle down. That is not what Leo wants. He does not want a family and does not want to be around women who may press him for that,” the DiCaprio source, told The Post. “The minute a girl meets him, the clock is ticking. If she gets too old, in a couple of years, she is gone. If she gets too close, in a couple of years, she is gone. He’s gotten older but his taste has not gotten any older.”

[From Page Six]

A lot of people are like “wow, that’s gross, he’s so disgusting!” But I do kind of wonder if he’s pretty upfront about everything? I’m not saying I’m on his side or acting as some kind of Leo Apologist, but I’ve always thought that with the models especially, they know it’s a quid pro quo. They spend a year or two with Leo, their profile gets significantly raised, they get more money, more modeling contracts, etc. I feel like he radiates “I’m not getting super-serious” to every woman too. Now, is he still a trainwreck? Yes. He is.

Leonardo DiCaprio once his girlfriend’s brain finishes development pic.twitter.com/IdpkZFE3uk

— mrs knightley (@sotrulybeloved) August 30, 2022

Leonardo DiCaprio on his next date like pic.twitter.com/p30mkofEaP

— Sadie Sink’s Oscar (@Jaqssssss) August 30, 2022

leonardo dicaprio is actually dating all the under-25s he possibly can to spread the word about climate change to those who will be the most impacted

— flamin nora (@katierpacker) August 31, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgird.

The Daily Beast’s Royalist column did some special coverage for the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Some of that special coverage was noting that no one in the royal family marked the sad occasion publicly. Another part of the coverage was an in-depth conversation with Tina Brown, who wrote one good royal book (The Diana Chronicles) and one ridiculous royal book (The Palace Papers). Personally, I think interns wrote different parts of The Palace Papers, that’s how weird the tonal shifts were. Brown came across as blind to her own white privilege, anti-Americanism and pro-Middleton agenda. No one really came across well in The Palace Papers, which was not Brown’s goal at all – she set out, clearly, to embiggen the Cambridges as the last white hope of the Establishment. It fell flat because the Cambridges are clowns. Anyway, Brown has a lot to say about “fragile” Prince Harry and how Diana would not have liked Meghan. Some highlights:

Having lunch with Diana in July 1997: “Diana was really on top form and in many ways in her stride in a pale green suit with those amazing supermodel legs and incredibly limpid blue eyes. She was absolutely stunning in real life, and so much taller than you thought. She talked about two things. She was really excited about starting to do documentaries about her causes, and for that to fund her humanitarian work. In some ways, it was a foreshadow of Harry and Meghan’s plan 25 years ago, with the one major difference that Diana didn’t see any profit in it. She was doing it as a charitable venture.”

Diana would be “very unhappy” that her two sons remain estranged. “She never questioned that William would be king. It was her most ardent desire he would become king. She was never anti-monarchy in that regard. She had differences with the royal family—her biggest difference was that her husband wasn’t in love with her, he was in love with someone else. But she never thought for one minute that William would not be the future king, and that Harry would always be there to support him. She would not be happy with how things are… Diana would not have been pleased how Harry had been cut off from the family.”

How would Diana have felt about Meghan Markle? “Diana was very protective of her boys. She would have been very, very protective of Harry and I believe very anxious about this direction they’ve taken. I think she would have felt Meghan was steering Harry in a direction that was not good for Harry. I don’t think Diana would have been the great fan of Meghan that Meghan herself might perhaps imagine.” However, Brown thinks Diana would have been “thrilled” when Harry met Meghan, “and that her son was happy. She would have been delighted, supportive and thrilled someone of mixed race was joining the royal family because Diana was so inclusive.

Harry’s Spencer blood: “It’s very difficult to know how fragile Harry would have been if his mother hadn’t died. He was obviously utterly traumatized by her death. But the Spencers are a fairly turbulent family. Other members of that family, including Diana herself, have not been without their fragilities and neuroses. Harry may have inherited that Spencer turbulence. It’s always about drama in the Spencer family. With Harry, it could just be the genes speaking.”

A base at Kensington Palace: “She kept Kensington Palace as her base. Unlike Harry and Meghan she understood having the power base of monarchy was enormously important. Today, I believe she would have had billions of followers on Instagram, and used that to the max. By now, her charitable foundation would have been as big as Bill Gates’. She began that global humanitarian celebrity outreach that we went on to see with the Clooneys and Bono. She’s a real forerunner of that. It’s very tragic to know that didn’t happen.”

Diana’s scorched earth: “The scorched earth left by Diana still smolders. For the first ten years after her death, the royals were still destabilized by the catastrophes surrounding Diana—from her divorce, the damage to Charles, the car crash, the effect on the boys. The rise of Kate (Middleton) and William have done a great deal to reduce that dark dust, and decrease the Diana decibel. But with what Harry and Meghan have said and done, the next season of The Crown (which will focus on events leading up to and after Diana’s death) and Harry’s memoir will resurface a particular agony for Charles. The queen was re-stabilized after the death of Diana, whereas Charles has continually battled to end those ghosts. The rehabilitation of Camilla’s image has been utterly successful, but she lives in dread of Harry’s book. In some ways, Diana’s ghost still rattles at the gate.”

[From The Daily Beast]

It’s so weird that in all of these pieces about how Diana would have felt about Meghan and Harry, no one ever asks “what would Diana say about the Middletons?” Or “what would Diana have said about William cheating on his wife with his Norfolk neighbors?” Like, maybe Diana would not have liked Meghan – we don’t know and it’s a thought-exercise with no solution. But it’s bonkers to play these what-if games and never acknowledge that Diana probably would have seen through the Middletons immediately, especially Carole and Kate. Diana would have strong feelings about William turning into his father, complete with side-chicks and tabloid games. For all the talk of Harry’s fiery, turbulent Spencer genes, let’s be clear – William has those same genes. William channels that turbulence into being a screaming rage-monster.

Also: Brown seems to think she can use Diana as some kind of cudgel against the Sussexes. Diana would have done documentaries but not profited from it! Diana would have kept a base in London! Diana would have wanted Harry to “support” William! That’s the company line, the Windsor line, through and through. That’s how the Windsors have tried to claim ownership of Diana’s memory without ever recognizing Diana’s fundamentally iconoclastic nature.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.