As I keep saying, most of the Princess Diana headlines these days are merely old stories repackaged for a new generation. Especially all of this stuff about The Crown, and about Diana’s 1995 BBC interview. We heard, at the time, that Prince William was not happy with his mother for giving the interview. The interview led to so many dominoes falling – shortly after the interview aired, Diana and Charles began divorce proceedings and… yeah, everything that came with that and after that.

In the immediate wake of the interview, Diana went to Eton to speak to William face-to-face about it. We knew, years ago, that William was incredibly mad at his mother about all of it. In truth, William and Diana fought a lot in the last two years of her life, which is interesting to think about now that we know William is always incandescent with rage. Back then, we just thought, oh right, mother and son are cut from the same fiery, temperamental cloth. Maybe that’s true. Or maybe William screamed at his mom from a very young age. That’s what this curious Daily Mail piece is about – it’s partly a rehash of all of those old stories, and how perhaps William is now, currently, thinking differently about all of those fights he had with his mother.

The BBC interview destroyed a lot: It ended her marriage, her royal-ness and — fatally, as it turned out in Paris — her cocoon of royal protection. But beyond that, the interview also had an extraordinary impact on her elder son, William. The implications of Diana’s revelations seem largely to have passed over the head of the younger Harry, who was then just 11 years old. But they struck young teenager William at an especially vulnerable moment.

Diana only thought about the effect the interview would have after she did it: According to Simone Simmons, the Princess’s confidante and faith-healer, it took a phone call from William’s Eton housemaster, Dr Andrew Gailey, to prompt Diana. Gailey had read the advance publicity in the newspapers and phoned to tell her it was ‘imperative’, in his view, that she should come to explain things to William, face to face. ‘Is that really necessary?’ she asked him. In another phone call from Gailey the next day, Simmons told the editor-in-chief of royal magazine Majesty, Ingrid Seward, he effectively ordered Diana down the M4 motorway to talk to her son.

William cried watching the interview: Before the 58 minutes ended, William was weeping. Gailey told Diana that he found her son slumped on the sofa, his eyes red with tears. The Prince pulled himself together to rush back to his room — but when, an hour later, Diana telephoned on the house phone, William refused to take her call. Something inside him had snapped. ‘He hated the idea of everything being on television,’ related Simmons, ‘and he knew his friends would poke fun at him, which they did. He felt she made a fool of herself — and of him.’

When William returned home: By the time he went home to Kensington Palace at the end of that week to see Diana, he was raging. ‘All hell broke loose,’ Diana told Simmons the following Monday. ‘He was furious . . . that she had spoken badly of his father, furious that she had mentioned Hewitt . . . he started shouting and crying and when she tried to put her arms around him, he shoved her away.’ Diana was getting an unpleasant personal experience of William’s notorious temper. He apologised to his mother the next day and presented her with a small bunch of flowers, but Diana sensed that some profound and irretrievable damage had been done. ‘When I saw her later,’ recalled Simmons, ‘there was a look of hopelessness on her face . . . she was still somehow convinced that he would hate her for the rest of his life.’

Harry & William remember Diana in different ways: Harry has always been uncritically proud to tread in his mother’s footsteps. He did so quite literally in September 2019 when he walked through the Huambo minefield in Angola. His passionate royal exit speech of this January — ‘there really was no other option’ — could have been written by Diana herself. But William has been more ambivalent because he was older, and thus had more first-hand experience of the manipulative role that his mother came to play in Windsor politics towards the end of her life.

[From The Daily Mail]

We knew some of this at the time – Diana treated William and Harry differently because of their ages and their positions. Diana treated William more of a friend and confidante but she actually mothered Harry. I personally think that William and Harry both got different facets of Diana’s personality – William got her temper, Harry got her emotional intelligence and short-sightedness – and that affected the way she treated them too. But anyway, just some revisionist history for the last years of Diana’s relationship with William. I remember reading a quote that after Diana’s death, the two boys were absorbed and programmed into the family and they were “fully Windsorized,” something that would not have happened had Diana lived. I feel like Harry spent years deprogramming himself. William… has not.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN, Backgrid.

Let’s start with last night where the category was “Body” when Megan Thee Stallion hit the stage at the American Music Awards. After releasing her debut album, Good News, on Friday, she chose one of the standout tracks to perform for the first time. It’s not always a great idea to perform a song mos…

Let’s start with last night where the category was “Body” when Megan Thee Stallion hit the stage at the American Music Awards. After releasing her debut album, Good News, on Friday, she chose one of the standout tracks to perform for the first time. It’s not always a great idea to perform a song mos…

In August, Kyle Rittenhouse was driven into Wisconsin from out of state by his mom. He was fully armed, and actively looking to terrorize people. He got his wish. He “allegedly” murdered Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, and then he waltzed in front of the police, still carrying the weapon he used. He left the state and was only arrested days later by begrudging cops who were so clearly on his side, I still believe that there should be mass firings in police departments across Wisconsin. Rittenhouse has been sitting in jail ever since because he’s considered a massive flight risk, and because we shouldn’t ever let terrorists out of jail. The judge likely offered him a $2 million bail bond thinking that this trashy little terrorist would never get his hands on a fraction of that kind of money. But guess what? A white terrorist like Kyle Rittenhouse is a “folk hero” to dumbass MAGAs. So here we are.

Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager charged with killing two men during the Jacob Blake protests in Wisconsin this summer, made bail on Friday and walked out of jail, officials said. MyPillow Inc. founder Mike Lindell and former “Silver Spoons” child actor Ricky Schroder played key roles in “putting us over the top” in coming up with $2 million for bail, according to Rittenhouse’s defense attorney Lin Wood.

Wood tweeted a picture of fellow defense team lawyer John Pierce and Schroder embracing and smiling with Rittenhouse.

“Just off phone with Kyle. With tears in my eyes, I listened as he expressed thanks to The People for your prayers, donations & support,” Wood said in tweeted statement. “He prayed every day & night & said God lifted him up every time he fell. Kyle is a hero. So are his supporters. Keep him in your prayers.”

Schroder is a noted Hollywood conservative, while Lindell is vocal supporter of President Donald Trump. Lindell on Friday morning repeated baseless conspiracy theories that Trump was cheated out of landslide victory, in a posting that Twitter flagged.

Rittenhouse’s bond was posted about 2 p.m. CST Friday, and he “is no longer in custody at the Kenosha County Jail,” according to a statement by Kenosha County Sheriff’s Sgt. David Wright.

Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and other charges in connection with the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, on Aug. 25.

[From NBC News]

This will end in tragedy. Again. And the “conservative embrace” of a terrorist and murderer like Rittenhouse is truly disturbing – yes, we’ve known that the Republican Party is a death cult, but before the Trump era, they would have tried a lot harder to avoid cozying up to a terrorist, even a white terrorist. And wrapping all of this up in “patriotism” – yeah, that’s the end of that. Patriotism is not murdering two people in the streets of Wisconsin. How much does Ricky F–king Schroder suck? And the MyPillow douche. F–k both of them.

KYLE RITTENHOUSE IS OUT OF JAIL.

God bless ALL who donated to help #FightBack raise required $2M cash bail.

Special thanks to Actor Ricky Schroder @rickyshroder1 & Mike Lindell @realMikeLindell for putting us over the top.

Kyle is SAFE.

Thanks to ALL who helped this boy.

— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) November 20, 2020

FREE AT LAST!!!

From L to R:

Attorney John Pierce @CaliKidJMP

THE KYLE RITTENHOUSE

Actor Ricky Schroder @rickyschroder13

Thank you, All Donors.
Thank you, All Patriots.
Thank God Almighty.#FightBack pic.twitter.com/37Ly66itT8

— Lin Wood (@LLinWood) November 21, 2020

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Twitter, Getty.

Instantly, right? Beyoncé, “Drunk in Love”, Grammys 2014. The wet hair cut just above the shoulders. Performing in silhouette. The chair. The whole vibe of it all…Beyoncé performances are cultural moments, they’re branded into our collective pop culture memories. So it’s not surprising that a LOT of…

I don’t have the energy to recap everything that’s happened with Jessica Mulroney this year. I actually went back and read my coverage of Jessica’s racist sh-t against Sasha Exeter, and it made me really mad all over again. The broad strokes: Jessica is a total Karen, she made Exeter’s BLM calls-to-action all about her white woman tears, Jessica threatened Sasha’s livelihood, and then when Sasha called her out, Jessica threatened to sue her, then Jessica cried white woman tears and told Sasha that they both had a responsibility to make things better. Jessica lost all of her jobs and she spent months stewing and making an Enemies List and trying to make feeble comeback attempts, all of which have fallen flat. Basically, Jessica Mulroney has mishandled everything from the start from a PR perspective, and she’s spent months reinforcing the idea in the public’s mind that she’s a clueless, racist, privileged brat who refuses to really own her mistakes and truly apologize for anything.

Anyway, Page Six had some coverage about the Mulroneys and there was some new info, including a new interview they did with the National Post. This is probably the most sympathetic pieces I’ve read about Jessica this year, but even then… well, just read these highlights:

Jessica was left suicidal: Breaking her silence about the situation, Mulroney told The Post: “I still feel a lot of shame. I feel that people believe the worst in me.” Friends revealed that Mulroney, who works with stars including Mindy ­Kaling, was put on heavy antidepressants. “Jessica has always been very open about dealing with anxiety since she was 12,” said a source close to Mulroney. “But the anxiety turned into severe depression and suicidal thoughts.”

Her mother had to come over to care for her: The source said: “Jess couldn’t talk without crying. She didn’t feel like herself on the meds and she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She could barely respond to a text message.” Her husband, Ben, who quit his job as a TV presenter, told a pal: “I would wake up and Jess wouldn’t be in bed, and my mind would go to the worst.”

The backstory on Jessica’s attack on Sasha Exeter: Jessica told The Post that she had been privately speaking to Exeter for two weeks before the latter posted her video. “Sasha wrote to me directly and said ‘shaking my head,’ and I said ‘Why are you shaking your head?’?” Mulroney recalled. “She accused me of ignoring what was going on in the world [by posting non-BLM content].” Mulroney said she told ­Exeter that she was contractually obligated to post for the season ­finale of “I Do, Redo.” “It’s not like I have never spoken out about racism before, especially when it comes to Meghan,” she added.

Jessica was so upset that her actions & words had consequences: Days later, Exeter posted her video and all hell broke loose. Every company Mulroney worked with dropped her — without launching any investigations, she told The Post. “I had a hard time dealing with the fact that a network like CTV [and] the companies I’ve worked with for many years — and journalists, some of which were my friends — spoke with incredible authority on what they believed had happened without even contacting me. I think that hurt the most.”

Jessica’s superpower: As Mulroney’s life crumbled, her husband’s on-air colleague Elaine Lui accused her of using Markle as her “superpower.” Mulroney disagrees. “CTV would ask me to go on shows and talk about Meghan; I refused,” she told The Post. “I don’t call that a superpower. I call it protecting my friend.” Sources confirm that Mulroney has it put into contracts that she will not talk about Markle.

Whether Meghan is still close to Jessica: A source in Markle’s social crowd told The Post that, before the Exeter incident, friends had grown “concerned” about Mulroney’s affluent image of social media. The source added that Markle and Mulroney’s “friendship is not what it was once, but it’s not because of [Exeter]. They’ve just grown apart. Of course, Meghan has been worried about Jess. She’ll always have love for her.”

Jessica on Meghan: Asked if Markle had been in touch, Mulroney replied: “She constantly Facetimes and checks up on me.”

Jessica is tapering her meds: Now, Mulroney is tapering her meds, friends said, and focusing on charity work. “I know I have a charmed life,” Mulroney said. “I have to learn from all of this — but I am not racist. I just want to try to move on from this.”

[From Page Six]

Whew. A few things – Jessica is so stupidly coy about what Lainey said about her “superpower” being Meghan. Jessica absolutely used her friendship with Meghan to her own advantage, but of course Jessica had it in her contracts that she wouldn’t dish about Meghan. Jessica didn’t have to dish – she had already spread it around for years that she was Meghan’s stylist and best friend. And Jessica is STILL using Meghan’s name as some kind of deflection shield in this interview! Even when sources are like “Meghan and Jessica are not BFFs anymore,” Jessica is still using Meghan and their friendship.

As for the “suicidal thoughts” and the antidepressants… on that, I feel sorry for Jessica. It must be awful to be in the middle of that kind of huge international story and to feel your career and social circle fall off a cliff. But… it all happened because Jessica was a racist a–hole to a Black influencer. It happened because of Jessica’s words and actions. And she’s still trying to convince us that she’s the victim, not Sasha.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Personally, I enjoy all of the updates on various recounts and failed legal challenges from the Trump campaign. Every update feels like we’ve won the election again! Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona have all slapped back at Trump’s attempts to undermine the election results and disenfranchise voters. Yes, it sucks that so many people are horrible and it sucks that Donald Trump and his fascist minions are undermining democracy, but… after the past fours years, did anyone think it was going to be easy? So now Joe Biden and his team are making plans for the inauguration and what that will look like in the middle of a hard winter pandemic. Plans have not been nailed down, but it’s looking like most of the inaugural festivities will be virtual. President-Elect Biden’s camp is also assuming that Donald Trump will be too much of a pouty suckbaby loser to take part in any way of the peaceful transfer of power.

Discussions are ongoing about requiring everyone to wear masks and stand at a social distance, according to interviews with a half dozen people involved in the planning. Those allowed near Biden for the inauguration ceremony will likely undergo coronavirus testing. The traditional post-swearing-in luncheon, held in Statuary Hall with members of Congress, could be scrapped altogether. There may not be any inaugural balls. Crowds, in all cases, will likely be severely limited.

Biden advisers are almost certain President Trump will not attend Biden’s swearing-in. They find it hard to imagine the traditional tea beforehand at the White House, the typical drive together to the Capitol, or Trump allowing any image of himself looking on as Biden is sworn into office.

Those close to Biden insist that the ceremony must still have the august feeling of past inaugurations — a desire that is all the more important to establish his legitimacy as president, which Trump is continuing to deny. But that quest is complicated by another urgent demand: to adhere to public health guidelines that Biden embraced throughout his run for the presidency and wants to showcase at the start of his administration.

Joan Hoff, professor of history at Montana State University and former president of the Center for the Study of the Presidency, said there are few parallels to the inauguration that will occur on Jan. 20, with a nation in crisis and a pandemic likely still raging.

“It’s just not going to look like past inaugurals. And I don’t think Biden’s going to cover that up,” she said. “I don’t think he’s going to try to sugarcoat what’s happening in the country as he’s inaugurated. That would simply be hiding or trying to sooth public opinion in a false way.”

But one of the most abnormal aspects may be Trump’s lack of participation. He would be the first defeated president not to attend the inauguration of his successor in centuries, Hoff said. “It’s like everything else with Trump: There’s no way he adheres to or honors tradition or norms, which are not rewritten down as law but which presidents of the past have followed,” she said. “I don’t think he’s temperamentally able to participate in a ceremony that clearly indicates he’s lost the election.” The White House declined to comment on whether Trump will attend.

[From WaPo]

“I don’t think he’s temperamentally able to participate in a ceremony that clearly indicates he’s lost the election.” Why is that quote making me laugh so hard? I guess because it’s true, but also… it’s just a funny way to think of it. The vibe is: Trump is a crybaby fascist loser, it is his nature and there’s nothing we can do about it but accept it and move on. Make plans without him. Transfer power as peacefully as possible when dealing with a pathetic unhinged tantrum-prone jackass.

WaPo also says that the Biden people know that people will come into Washington anyway for the inauguration so they’re trying to come up with ways to mandate mask-wearing and social distancing for the people who do want to come out. Yeah… basically, all of this is still in the air and Republicans are still walking on eggshells around the Orange Loser. Also: now I kind of want President Biden to take the oath of office in sweatpants.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

I will confess that I did not watch the AMAs last night but I wanted to write about Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly because it’s been a long time since we’ve had a dickmatized appearance on the red carpet. The most famous example of this is of course Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton’s “we f-cke…

God, the Duchess of Cambridge’s “five big questions” thing happened THIS YEAR. It feels like that was five years ago, honestly. Well, that’s how long we had been hearing about Kate’s “big project” and how monumental it would be, and how this was her legacy work, the work which would change royal work forever. Then in January, she launched it and it was a poorly-conceived five-question survey with a vague promise that the survey would… inform Kate’s future work. Or something. The purpose, it was clear, was to give Kate a “big project,” to explain how she’s spent the past decade, and to get a momentary rush of good headlines and photo-ops. Kate had not mentioned the “five big questions” mess in months. And then Kensington Palace dropped this video this morning:

Join us this week as we announce the results from the 5 Big Questions survey, reveal the #5BigInsights, and take your questions.

This is just the beginning… pic.twitter.com/lKegCA0x2Z

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 23, 2020

First of all, to the cameraperson (camerapeople) working for Kensington Palace these days: you are doing it wrong. Fast editing and speedy “zooming in” are not young and hip, it looks amateurish and cheap. KP has been using their own cameraperson for the past five videos they’ve done, because I guess they are not content with how they look on Zoom calls.

Second of all, yet another CopyKate moment where Kate is speaking on a couch, in front of framed photos and flowers. Just like the Duchess of Sussex has been doing for months. Can Kate stop Single-White-Female-ing Meghan for like two seconds? Third of all… that survey was so basic and poorly conceived, I have no idea how Kate’s people even put together anything substantive to show people. What are those “five big insights”? My guess is that will be a bunch of common-knowledge stuff like “diet and exercise influences early development” and “every child should be brought up like the Middletons!”

Over the weekend, KP also released this video about fatherhood and such. Again, the camerawork is distracting and bad…?!?!

???? “We need to be easier on ourselves as men and dads…we don’t have to be superheroes.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met beneficiaries of @FutureMenUK’s Fathers Programmes, which help fathers develop their confidence as parents at every stage of their child’s development. pic.twitter.com/mnVtqt0L2q

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) November 21, 2020

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Jessica! Happy Birthday! It shouldn’t feel awkward at all – I’m here to celebrate you! By request, here are Beyoncé and Celine Dion. Since it was the American Music Awards last night, let’s do a throwback to the Queen at the AMAs in 2008, performing “Single Ladies”. May your confidence and your ener…