When the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing was announced, it was just after 7 am here on the East Coast, meaning it was around 4 am on the West Coast, in California. I wonder if anyone from the Windsor family called and woke up Harry and Meghan, or if perhaps the Lord Chamberlain informed Harry, or someone like that. As of this writing, Harry has not issued a statement and I’m not really expecting him to. The royal family has a million protocols for everything, and a lot of those protocols are about death and dying. I’m pretty sure it would be bad form for Harry to release a statement right now. But of course, it’s not bad form for the British papers to assume that Philip’s death means that Harry is coming home for the funeral:

Prince Philip’s death on Friday could send Prince Harry and Meghan Markle back to the UK for the first time in a year, weeks after they gave a devastating interview to Oprah alleging racism in the Royal Family which aired while Prince Philip was in hospital. The couple left the UK in March 2020, quitting ‘senior’ royal duties to pursue a ‘private life’. Since then, they have launched a charity, accepted lucrative business deals with Netflix and Spotify, given public talks, appeared on Zoom conferences, and on March 7, they trashed the Royal Family in a sit-down interview with Oprah that was viewed around the world.

Meghan is now pregnant with their second child and due to give birth sometime in the summer but she has not disclosed exactly when. The couple has not commented on any plan to return to the UK.

A source close to the family told DailyMail.com on Friday: ‘Harry will absolutely do his utmost to get back to the UK and be with his family. He will want nothing more than to be there for his family, and particularly his grandmother, during this awful time. Meghan is obviously pregnant so she will need to take advice from her doctors about whether it is safe for her to travel, but I think Harry will definitely go.’

What kind of reception they will receive after their extraordinary interview and behavior over the last year is uncertain. The most damaging claim they made during the Oprah interview was that someone in the family made comments to Harry, expressing ‘concern’ over their son Archie’s skin tone. Meghan also suggested that the concern was why Archie would not be given the title of Prince.

[From The Daily Mail]

The Daily Mail is visibly licking their chops at the “uncertain” reception H&M will get IF they return for the funeral. I really hope Meghan is like “I’ll mourn in California, thanks.” I’m sure Harry will be required to go, and if he goes solo, it’s going to be a mess. Mostly in the British media. It doesn’t sound like Harry is even speaking regularly to William or Charles at the moment, but he actually will want to see his grandmother. And I would imagine that she’ll want to see him too.

People have already been widely circulating this clip from Fox News, where one of the morning anchors basically blames the Sussexes’ Oprah interview for killing Philip. No one can get their stories straight on any of that – reportedly, Philip wasn’t even told about the interview, so I have no idea what this dude is talking about.

Brian Kilmeade connects the death of 99-year-old Prince Philip to Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s Oprah interview: “If you factor in this, there are reports that he was enraged after the interview … Here he is trying to recover, and then he gets hit with that.” pic.twitter.com/tevB9ijMeH

— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) April 9, 2021

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.

Everyone is talking about the new extended cut released from Falcon and The Winter Soldier of Zemo’s dance moves at Sharon’s party. It’s less than a 30 second clip, but Marvel has released an hourlong video of it looping. Daniel Bruhl, who plays Zemo, has said that he decided to dance awkwardly like that during filming and that it wasn’t scripted. He said this in an interview with ET Online, which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. You can tell that Daniel loves this role, that he’s deeply invested in his character, and that he gets along well with the other castmembers. I came away from this a fan. Although I know it’s not really warranted, I’m kind of rooting for Zemo too! Here’s some of what he said.

On people reacting to his dance moves
It is so crazy because that was such a weird choice I made on the day it wasn’t scripted it was improvised. I saw the crowd I heard the beats. I thought Zemo needs to show his moves he needs to let off some steam after sitting in a dodgy German prison for years. Every possibility to annoy Sam and Bucky is good. I just decided to to do this little dance and I was 100 sure that they would cut it. I’m thrilled that they kept it in the final cut and to see the reactions.

On people rooting for Zemo even though he’s a bad guy
It’s hilarious. They should all join team Zemo. What was established in Civil War already and what I loved about Kevin Feige reinterpretation of that character was that he is not a cliche one-dimensional evil guy who just does that creepy stuff for no reason. He does it out of a very human motivation. He has suffered severe loss. I always disagreed with Zemo’s radical methods [but] I kind of empathized with him knowing where he was coming from. You cannot totally dislike him.

On the scenes with Sam and Bucky
I always love these scenes between these three because they couldn’t be more different and they all come from very different places obviously. What I always liked is that underneath it all there’s a mutual understanding for the traumas that each of them had. They’re all haunted by the demons of their past. They’ve all gone through a lot and have lost people very dear to them. This dynamic between those three getting to know each other was something that I really enjoyed.

[From ET Online on YouTube]

I’m comparing how invested and thoughtful Bruhl is with what an absolute tool Wyatt Russell (the new Captain America) came across as in an interview I saw with him on Kimmel. Yes Bruhl has been in other Marvel movies and so it makes sense that he understands his character deeper than Russell. However Russell was almost bragging about not having done any research or watching the movies beforehand, like he was above it. As my friend Ameerah said though, that works with his douchey character. I’m really pro-Zemo and anti-Captain America for this series. I hope that Zemo doesn’t double cross anyone, but we’ll see.

This is one of the best scenes from last week. Zemo, Sam and Bucky talked about Marvin Gaye. Please don’t post spoilers for the new one yet! A lot of us are waiting to watch it until tonight.

One hour cut of Zemo dancing:

Here’s Daniel Bruhl’s interview! The mustache is for a role.

Thanks to Karen for sending me this interview of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Strain praising Daniel Bruhl!

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Dan Wootton moved from the Sun to the Daily Mail a few months ago, I think? It was a weird move, because it seemed like he had the run of the place at the Sun. It’s possible Wootton wanted to cut his ties (or the Sun wanted to cut their ties) because of all of the ongoing shenanigans with Wootton likely paying off Kensington Palace people for information. It also seemed like Wootton had a line on Prince William’s affair (alleged!) with Rose Hanbury. My point is the Wootton knows a lot. And he’s using that knowledge and those bribed connections to bring exclusives to the Mail. He had the exclusive this week on William cutting his ties with ITV journalist Tom Bradby, because Bradby is seen as “too sympathetic” to Prince Harry. Now Wootton has written an absolutely BONKERS open letter to William in which Dan is both shady AF and also disgustingly servile to Baldemort. You can read the full mess here. These were the parts which left my mouth agape, and keep in mind, Wootton is directing all of this TO William, via an open letter. He even began it with “Dear William.” Vom.

Bold charity: “Your bold and brave charity initiatives as a trio revitalised a tired and fading monarchy, providing some much-needed hope that young people would keep the faith with the Crown.’

Meghan enters the picture: “In that context, it is completely understandable that when a fame and power-hungry American actress entered the scene and stole your brother’s heart, you asked some difficult questions about the courtship. No one with any sense blames you for gently querying whether Harry should take some time before he married someone so apparently prepared to give up her career and life in the US to enter the British Royal Family. Many of your early fears have tragically come to fruition. Your guidance encouraging Harry to take it slow and not rush into any hasty decisions was rooted in love and concern, certainly nothing to do with racism.

Super-welcoming to Meghan? “Despite these initial skirmishes, you put that nagging feeling in the back of your head that something wasn’t right about your brother’s new partner to one side and prioritised making Meghan feel welcome in the dysfunctional and odd Royal Family. She was invited to spend Christmas with you and Kate at your Anmer Hall residence in Norfolk, a decision you supported even though it went against royal protocol.

OH MY GOD: “But no matter how hard you and Kate tried, it soon became clear that Meghan had not moved to London to quietly settle into life as a community-focussed royal. I remember from my reporting at the time that Kate was not happy with the way Meghan spoke to staff at Kensington Palace. Your wife rightly raised the issue and it caused tension. The infamous bridesmaid dress fitting and Meghan’s failure to accept Kate’s apology for whatever did or did not happen made things worse.

William wouldn’t let Meghan wear tiaras: “You were also dragged into the sensitive row over which items from the Royal Collection – including tiaras worn by your mother – would be loaned to Meghan. In the end, following discussions with the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly, it was down to your grandmother to make the tough call to Prince Harry that made clear, given the royal pecking order, Meghan couldn’t always get what she wanted. But the damage was done.

The Sussexit: “They were increasingly angry you wouldn’t back them in petty battles with the media. Your advisers were, entirely appropriately, beginning the long and sensitive journey of preparing you to be king, and didn’t think your public input would be helpful. The final straw for you came with the way Harry and Meghan behaved over the Megxit debacle. You are right to feel it’s unforgivable that they twice tried to publicly jump your grandmother – now 94 – into giving into their ludicrous demands.

William can’t trust H&M: “But sadly, it’s now reached the point where you can no longer trust your brother or his wife, largely down to their ongoing manipulation of the American media. Private conversations with family members have twice been twisted and dissected for US TV personalities Oprah and Gayle King, both friends of Meghan. You’ve rightly ended your two-decades long friendship with the ITV News presenter Tom Bradby, who you believe has taken sides by becoming a media mouthpiece for Harry and Meghan. The Sussexes have declared war and are not attempting to start any form of healthy discussion.

Oh, the problem was Meghan: “History will show the problem was with Meghan, not you. She has fallen out with most of her close relatives – including her father and half-sister – and no old friends were on the guest list for her wedding. Her friends are in showbiz now. They’re ready to exploit her for their own gains, be it by securing TV interviews or advancing divisive identity politics. By contrast, you are going to be king. Your priority is to keep the monarchy popular, not give in to your brother’s petulant tantrums and delusions. Bowing down to Harry and Meghan is no longer the right thing to do and that’s why you were correct to publicly state at the first available opportunity that ‘we’re very much not a racist family’.

Harry will come back? “Many old friends of Harry I have spoken to are convinced he will come back to you and Great Britain, but it’s going to take him some time to work out the mistakes he’s made and how he’s let you down. Until that time, there is nothing more you can do. Harry knows you love him and that you’ll do anything for him if he’s in serious trouble. It’s painful. But the time has come to stop appeasing your brother. He’ll soon learn millions of dollars and a Californian mansion don’t compare to the unconditional and unwavering love of your blood relatives.

[From The Daily Mail]

This is deeply unsettling and it made me really uncomfortable. The open letter is doing many things at once – Wootton is helping William set the Cambridge-approved narrative, but also yanking William’s chain and letting him know that he (Wootton) knows a lot about everything. It’s also deeply offensive about Harry and Meghan both, and it’s clear that this too is part of the larger narrative: no one blames William for being awful and racist to Meghan because they also hated her. The gymnastics of this statement though: “The infamous bridesmaid dress fitting and Meghan’s failure to accept Kate’s apology for whatever did or did not happen made things worse.” R U 4 REAL. “It’s Meghan’s fault that she didn’t accept Kate’s apology for something Kate claims didn’t happen, except Meghan said she did accept the apology!” What in God’s name is happening over there on Salty White Folk Isle? I’m really worried that they have lost the damn plot.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

As we’ve discussed, the British tabloids clung to the Duchess of Sussex’s “pre-wedding” story for weeks following the Oprah interview. Her story was simple – she and Harry exchanged vows at home, days before the actual, official wedding service. She said something about how they got “married” before the wedding and heads exploded all over the place. It was clear then and now that she was merely referring to a private vow exchange with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Well, the British media have taken to bullying the poor archbishop now. He even released a statement saying that, derp, of course the official wedding was the one everyone watched, but he said he had a number of private, pre-wedding meetings with Harry and Meghan and he left it at that. All of which means that the royal commentators were just looking to jump Welby over anything. Which leads me to this:

The Archbishop of Canterbury last night sparked a major backlash after he said being a royal is like serving ‘life without parole’ amid the fallout from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from the Firm. Justin Welby, the outspoken head of the Church of England, was accused of being ‘singularly inappropriate’ and ‘jumping on a woke bandwagon’ after appearing to throw his weight behind the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who quit royal duties and moved to California last year to strike out on their own.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Financial Times, the 65-year-old Anglican suggested the British public have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the royals. Royal experts have now accused the archbishop of trying to make amends with Team Sussex as he told the Financial Times: ‘It’s life without parole, isn’t it? If you go back to the 1930s, Edward VIII – he was still a celeb and followed everywhere once he’d abdicated. We expect them to be superhuman.’

Critics slammed the archbishop’s ‘parole jibe’ and suggested that the head of the Church ‘would be better off finding ways to increase his flock by getting people back into churches after the pandemic’. Speaking to MailOnline, Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s former press secretary, thundered: ‘I find it extraordinary that he would compare service to parole. I’m not sure what he means. Is he suggesting that being a royal is a jail term?’

Richard Fitzwilliam, a royal commentator and former Editor of International Who’s Who, accused the archbishop of putting his foot in his mouth and claimed he was trying ‘to show as much sympathy with Harry and Meghan as he can, especially since he has had to deny having them married twice’. Royal author Phil Dampier blasted the clergyman for ‘tending to stray into politics’ and accused him of ‘jumping on a woke bandwagon which he might think will attract younger people to the church’. He warned that Mr Welby’s comments ‘will certainly raise eyebrows among older churchgoers’.

Royal commentator Rob Jobson accused the outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury of being ‘a little clumsy with his words’ and ‘sure to irritate’ senior royals. ‘I think he was trying to emphasise what being Queen and royal involves,’ Mr Jobson said. ‘But coming on the back of Harry saying Charles and William are ‘trapped’ by the system, Welby’s remarks are sure to irritate’.

[From The Daily Mail]

Honestly, the piece goes on and on. They contacted every old fart royal commentator and all of them had their knickers in a twist about the very suggestion that life amongst the grim-faced, back-stabbing, personality-disordered royal family is perhaps akin to a jail sentence. Considering the mounds of salt over there on Bitter Island over Harry and Meghan being hot, successful and free, I guess these people consider the Sussexes their prison escapees. That actually fits perfectly, which means the Archbishop was speaking the truth.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

I’ve always been reticent to cover specifics about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s security because I don’t want to paint an even bigger target on their backs. There are a lot of people who want to get famous by doing harm to Harry and Meghan. They have faced very real threats throughout their relationship, in the UK and elsewhere. They have deranged faux-journalists harassing them constantly. Paparazzi have a standing bounty for photos of Harry, Meghan and Archie. This was, I believe, one of the big reasons why Harry wanted to move to Santa Barbara. For a more peaceful way of life, for sure, but there not as many photographers and there’s not the “paparazzi culture” like there is in LA and New York. So they bought that big house and they’re paying for their own security. Why, then, is a British newspaper like the Telegraph filing FOIA requests to see how many times Santa Barbara police were called to the Sussexes’ property? Is it because the British media can’t let this f–king go?

Police were called to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Southern California home nine times in as many months, it emerged Thursday — after the couple expressed security concerns during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Since the couple moved into their Montecito home with 1-year-old Archie in July 2020, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded to calls listed as phone requests, alarm activations and property crimes, the Telegraph reported, citing data obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

Police were called to their mansion four times that month during the early morning hours after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved from Los Angeles, where they had lived temporarily after leaving Canada at the beginning of the pandemic. One call was listed as a phone request while the others were labeled “alarm activations,” according to the news outlet.An August request was listed as “Misc Priority Incident,” while there was another alarm in November.

At 4:13 p.m. on Christmas Eve, deputies were called after a man allegedly trespassed on the property, according to the data. A 37-year-old man was booked into jail on a misdemeanor trespassing charge and later released, the sheriff’s office said. On Dec. 26, police were called at 2:54 p.m., which was listed under “Property Crimes.”

The most recent call — listed as an alarm activation — was at 2:21 a.m. Feb. 16, according to the report. Representatives for the Sussexes declined to comment to the Guardian and a spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office declined to provide details about the calls.

[From Page Six]

I would assume at least some of these are photographers scaling the fence and setting off one of the perimeter alarms? I would also assume that there are some actual lunatics stalking them, or racists looking to harm them, that kind of thing. I don’t know why the British press is treating this like some kind of “gotcha.” Harry knew that his family needed protection. When the family pulled his protection, Tyler Perry stepped in to cover them, then Harry used his trust to protect his family and he’s making money so that his family is safe. Clearly, the Windsors were happy to leave Harry, Meghan and Archie for dead. The Windsors were actively trying to facilitate harm coming to this young family. And now the British press is trying to make it sound like Harry and Meghan are being hunted, and like that’s some big joke. It’s not.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Avalon Red.

Keep your eye on all of the grown men who are sweating over this story. Keep your eye on which men suddenly change their Venmo settings to private. As we’ve heard, Matt Gaetz is a human trafficker, a solicitor of prostitutes, and a statutory rapist. Gaetz and his pervert buddy Joel Greenberg were trafficking women in and out of Florida. The NYT and other outlets had reported days ago that there was an extensive paper trail for both men (Greenberg has already been charged and will likely plead guilty). Did you know that Gaetz was openly using Greenberg as a middle-man to pay young women for sex? Did you know that there are Venmo records for all of this?

In two late-night Venmo transactions in May 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent his friend, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, $900. The next morning, over the course of eight minutes, Greenberg used the same app to send three young women varying sums of money. In total, the transactions amounted to $900.

The memo field for the first of Gaetz’s transactions to Greenberg was titled “Test.” In the second, the Florida GOP congressman wrote “hit up ___.” But instead of a blank, Gaetz wrote a nickname for one of the recipients. (The Daily Beast is not sharing that nickname because the teenager had only turned 18 less than six months before.) When Greenberg then made his Venmo payments to these three young women, he described the money as being for “Tuition,” “School,” and “School.” The Daily Beast examined these records as a scandal, rooted in a criminal case against Greenberg, engulfs Gaetz.

Greenberg—the former Seminole County tax collector—has now been federally indicted on 33 counts, including sex trafficking crimes involving a 17-year-old. Court documents say Greenberg was “engaged in ‘sugar daddy’ relationships.” And The New York Times says a Justice Department investigation is looking into Gaetz’s involvement in the cash-for-sex ring.

Gaetz and Greenberg are both connected through Venmo to this then-18-year-old woman—who now works in the p0rn industry, according to a friend of the girl. And on Thursday, Greenberg’s attorney and prosecutors indicated during a court hearing that they expect Greenberg to strike a plea deal, likely meaning he plans to cooperate with investigators. That could be potentially disastrous for Gaetz, as investigators look into the connections between these two men. And one particularly damning connection is their financial transactions.

This week, during the reporting of this story, Gaetz’s once-public list of Venmo transactions disappeared. Greenberg’s Venmo account is not currently publicly accessible. But The Daily Beast was able to obtain partial records of Greenberg’s past online transactions through a source.

Greenberg and Gaetz are also connected on Venmo to at least one other woman that Greenberg paid with taxpayer funds using a government-issued credit card. Seminole County auditors flagged hundreds of those payments as “questioned or unaccounted for,” and in total found more than $300,000 in suspicious or unjustified expenses. The Daily Beast was able to obtain that credit card data through a public records request.

“No one has any idea what he was doing. Zero,” said Daniel J. O’Keefe, an accountant who conducted a forensic audit for the county. “The arrogance of these guys. They just felt they were above the law. I’ve never seen it this bad.”

O’Keefe was particularly puzzled by weekend expenses, hotels, unspecified high-dollar “consulting” fees, and cash advances that Greenberg made to himself and others. The Daily Beast has compared Greenberg’s credit card statements and Venmo transactions to Gaetz’s expenses and travel records—compiled through campaign finance reports, Instagram posts, and Venmo—and found that, in some key places, the two timelines and circles of contact overlap. Gaetz and Greenberg share Venmo connections with at least two women who received payments from Greenberg, and both have professional relationships with each other.

[From The Daily Beast]

I wonder if this is what Gaetz meant when he said he never paid for sex. Technically, he was using a middleman to pay the women for sex? And he did say that he was conducting his personal life “on my own dime.” Meaning, he Venmo’d money to Greenberg and Greenberg paid the girls/women. Except that Greenberg was actually using taxpayer money to conduct this elicit, criminal mess. Reportedly, they were using ATMs at hotels and Apple Pay as well, hint hint. Someone needs to check those records too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, social media.

Well, I wasn’t expecting this. Prince Philip has passed away at the age of 99, almost two months before his 100th birthday. The Duke of Edinburgh passed away at Windsor Castle, where he and the Queen had been in relative lockdown for much of the past year. Philip returned to Windsor in mid-March following his month-long hospitalization, which included a wide array of tests and one heart procedure. The Royal Family’s website changed over to this message:

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

Further announcements will made in due course.

The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.

Friday, 9 April 2021

[From Royal.uk]

They say that “further announcements will be made in due course,” meaning the funeral and memorial arrangements. It was in recent weeks that “sources” told the Daily Mail that Philip had told the Queen that he didn’t want a big fuss when he died. I bet the Queen will want a big fuss for him though, although there are still pandemic issues, so it would likely not be a big, public funeral. I genuinely feel sorry for the Queen and for the rest of the family.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, Avalon Red.

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Recently the CDC announced that nearly 80% of the US’s teachers have been vaccinated with at least their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccination. These numbers are the result of President Biden’s push in March to get K-12 teachers and staff vaccinated. Biden called for every teacher to get at least their first dose by the end of March, and it looks like it’s paid off.

Nearly 80 percent of teachers and childcare staff have received at least their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday.

More than 2 million teachers, school staff and childcare workers got one dose of the vaccine through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program by the end of March. An additional 5-6 million were vaccinated through their state programs, the CDC’s latest estimates and survey data found.

“Our push to ensure that teachers, school staff, and childcare workers were vaccinated during March has paid off and paved the way for safer in-person learning,” said Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the CDC director, in a statement.

“CDC will build on the success of this program and work with our partners to continue expanding our vaccination efforts, as we work to ensure confidence in COVID-19 vaccines,” she added.

The announcement comes one month after President Joe Biden said he would be directing states to prioritize the vaccination of pre-K through 12 educators and staff and childcare workers as part of his push to reopen schools.

[From People]

I pretty sure we’re discussing public schools here. The multiple articles I referenced never outright stated it, but a few had public schools as tags. Private schools have been open for most of the year anyway, and I assume they are getting vaccinated as well. This is fantastic news. I know So Cal had the March push. They closed off some giant parking structures in LA and Orange County. Gov Newsom flew down for it, sports figures showed up and hundreds of teachers and school staff got vaccinated in about two days. Three days later we received an email that our kids would be back in school in two weeks. It was amazing. Those poor teachers have enough to deal with trying to sort out the whole blended learning model, they shouldn’t have to worry about getting sick too.

As for the remaining 20%, I hope that number narrows this month. It could represent anti-vaxx teachers. I understand some staff have medical reasons why they can’t get the vaccine, that’s what the herd immunity is for. But 80% is a great start.

The article also mentioned that the CDC said it’s safe for kids to be positioned three feet apart instead of six, which means more kids per classroom. It also means we, as parents, can be less concerned about the fact that the kids have trouble adhering to social distancing outside the classrooms.

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Coming off of her silver-wigged midlife crisis, Chrissy Teigen has gone blonde this week. She documented the process on her Instagram Stories, because she’s not on Twitter anymore. I knew she would be really extra on IG and I was right, she’s ‘gramming constantly and posting all kinds of content to her Stories. It’s an oversharing itch she has to scratch constantly. Meanwhile, People Magazine released more of Chrissy’s interview for her Most Beautiful cover story:

Chrissy Teigen is focusing on enjoying her life. In her latest cover story with PEOPLE, the former model, 35, shares that she’s gone through “ups and downs” with “dieting and diet culture” over the years — and she’s over it.

“I’ve thrown all of that out of the window,” she says. “I think now at this point in my life it’s more important for me to enjoy things as they come.” Now, Teigen says she’s trying to focus on what’s “going to make me happy.”

“I eat things when I want them. Because if I don’t my mind personally goes crazy,” she shares. “I kind of put my mind over body a little bit, mind and spirit over body. If it’s going to make me happy and make me feel good, then I indulge in it.”

Giving up the diet mentality has also been an important step in the Cravings author’s wellness journey. “I’ve lived a whole life. I’ve spent way too many years counting calories, scheduling way too many workouts and trying to figure out what my term for wellness was for myself,” she says. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for so so long.”

“Now I know that it’s on the ground playing with my kids, getting out there, going to a park, going to an aquarium, being able to drive around with my kids in the car,” adds the star, who shares daughter Luna, 4, and son Miles, 2, with husband John Legend. “That is activity for me and I enjoy doing things like that.” As for her wellness routine, the star just tries “to have fun with it.”

“I will say I indulge in some things I thought were maybe cuckoo before. I do appreciate a good sound bath and I’m learning to meditate,” Teigen says, adding that she’s “not necessarily a great meditator because I really think so, so much. I do love yoga and pilates now but the balance in it is really nice because it’s nice to be able to kill two birds by playing with my kids and getting that activity in honestly. To me that’s more fun. John is different, he’s the kind of guy who can go to the gym at like 6, 7 in the morning every single day no matter what but me, no, I try to have fun with it.”

[From People]

Whatever, I’m fine with this? I don’t understand how women can be in their 30s and 40s and still be deeply entrenched in/neurotic about diet culture anyway. I’m looking at you, Gwyneth. I’m not talking about being on a program like Weight Watchers and counting calories that way – it is what it is and those kinds of programs do help people (for a time). For Chrissy specifically, my guess would be that cutting out alcohol would help/has helped her with her diet and weight. Several years back, she made it a point to drink a lot less, and that alone was probably the healthiest choice she has made, physically and mentally.

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In February, the Texas freeze saw 14 million Texans go without access to safe drinking water. Over 350,000 went without water at all. I went without electricity for close to 48 hours and had no running water for over three days. The cause was that Texas’s utility grids were deregulated and badly in need of upgrades. Most of Texas has had water and electricity restored, although some were saddled with astronomically high electric bills.

A recent report in Texas Monthly found portions of Houston’s historically black neighborhood, Third Ward, are still without access to running water. In this case, it is not only due to poor infrastructure but a slumlord by the name of J. Brad Batteau. Batteau ran for Houston’s city council several times and has amassed a lot of property in Third Ward. He is refusing to take care of leaving several blocks of residences without running water despite renter protection laws. That situation has become so dire that Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, and Third Ward’s Councilwoman, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, have stepped in to try to get Batteau to restore water to his tenants. Here is more on the story, from Texas Monthly:

Many neighbors living in a dozen or so households on surrounding blocks in the heart of Houston’s historically Black Third Ward are… without [water]. This week, Texas Monthly met with five of them, all of whom continue to battle the aftereffects of February’s storm, including broken pipes and water-damaged rooms, black mold, badly needed home repairs that might cost thousands of dollars, power outages—and now threats of eviction. The residents all have something else in common: a landlord, J. Brad Batteau, who, they say, refuses to fix their homes in a timely manner. They now find themselves in an increasingly bitter dispute—involving allegations by Batteau that his tenants have committed arson on his property—that Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has gotten involved in.

Some tenants say Batteau, who has run for city council multiple times, isn’t a “bad guy,” but that he’s unable to manage the dozen or so homes that he owns in the area. But other residents have lost all trust in him and believe he’s unwilling to spend the money required to maintain his properties. Humi Jackson, a program coordinator with the Black United Fund of Texas, a nonprofit that does philanthropic work in Black communities, has been working closely with Batteau’s tenants to get their homes fixed. She said the landlord has refused to pay for repairs, claiming that his tenants are responsible for them while also refusing to sign off on the contractors they have attempted to hire. A copy of the tenants’ lease agreement obtained by Texas Monthly states that “major maintenance and repairs” are the landlord’s responsibility.

Reached by phone, Batteau justified the lack of repairs, saying all who had gone long periods without water were behind on their rent, and denied that he had stopped anyone from hiring plumbers. He too had been without water for a while and said he felt personal responsibility for fixing others’ pipes, some of which he did repair. But he said he didn’t have the money to pay for fixing all of them because residences he owns had sustained as many as fifteen broken pipes each, many tenants were behind on rent, and his home burned down in the middle of March. He then alleged that tenants had ignited the blaze but, as of press time, did not provide evidence for his claim. Asked about Batteau’s allegations, Jackson said the landlord is engaged in an audacious campaign to avoid his legal responsibility to fix his tenants’ homes.

The dispute has now risen to the attention of Houston officials. Councilwoman Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, whose district includes Third Ward, and Mayor Turner have been in touch with Batteau in recent days and have urged him to hire contractors to complete the repairs, but he has refused because of fears that he would not be able to pay them back and liens would be placed on his properties. Evans-Shabbazz is coordinating with several nonprofits to provide the residents with food, rental assistance, and water while negotiations with Batteau continue. “You have children, small children—somebody had a five-month-old baby in one of these homes—as well as elderly people,” she said. “I just don’t understand how you can treat people that way.” “I know he’s run for public office several times and this is what you do?” she added, moments after she received a text saying that Batteau was now threatening to evict tenants. (Batteau later confirmed he was considering evicting every tenant of his who was behind on rent, which he said was all but one.)“This is an indication that you’re no public servant at all.”

For many of the residents in Batteau’s homes, this was not the first time living in Houston that they’d gone weeks without power and water. Sublette had lost almost everything in Harvey’s floodwaters in 2017. Middleton survived for several weeks without power during Hurricane Ike in 2008. Despite that painful history, this disaster felt different to both of them. “It’s like we don’t matter,” Middleton said. “Everyone else is living their lives again and it feels like the city has forgotten about us.”

[From Texas Monthly]

There is a bigger picture at play in this situation. What’s happening in Texas proves that deregulation of utilities can cost lives. Biden is proposing a $2 trillion infrastructure upgrade. This plan will create jobs and fix systemic issues that affect low income and BIPOC communities, like in the Third Ward and in Flint, Michigan.

There should be stricter renter and landlord laws, not just in Texas but nationwide. Batteau should not be getting away with this. Especially since he signed a contract stating that all repairs are his responsibility. I do not care to hear about how he can’t afford to pay for repairs while also threatening to evict non paying renters who are well within their rights to withhold rent payment until Batteau fixes the pipes and mold. Furthermore, Batteau should be barred from owning property or be forced to sell since he cannot uphold his end of the contract.

What’s more infuriating is, many of Batteau’s residents are elderly or families with small children and babies. And a lot of his residents are going broke trying to stay hydrated and clean. It’s deplorable. I am not sure what Mayor Turner and Councilwoman Evans-Shabazz can do about this situation but they need to do something quickly. I would also like to applaud the fact that several organizations have gotten involved to help cover some of the residents’ rent and have been helping with repairs despite being blocked by Batteau. I just want to say to Mr. Middleton and the other residents suffering, we haven’t forgotten you. Most of us didn’t know this situation was happening. I hope that more pressure will be put on Batteau and that he faces stiff consequences.

Residents in Houston’s historically Black Third Ward have gone 40+ days without water, after storms devastated Texas. This is horrific, and vital reporting from @TexasMonthly https://t.co/6RTKl2Jh0w pic.twitter.com/mObu2XVsKO

— Timothy Meinch (@timeinch) April 8, 2021

“Everyone’s on eviction!” Third Ward landlord & former City Council Candidate Brad Batteau blames his tenants for water woes long after Texas Freeze. He owns 20 houses, most in disrepair, but says he’s a good businessman: https://t.co/jRNCA7OjYQ pic.twitter.com/xrQ2Z57hiJ

— Miya Shay (@ABC13Miya) April 6, 2021

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