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Today is the 73rd wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. It really is remarkable, even if they loathe each other and are currently being forced into living together after years of living separately. This was the year that Philip threw a fit about Liz demanding that they travel all summer during a pandemic, when all he wanted to do was stay at Wood Farm. They’re still moving Philip around – he was photographed this week at Windsor Castle, sitting on a sofa with the Queen as they looked at the handmade anniversary cards from their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It was said that Prince William and Kate’s three children spent hours making their card for Liz and Phil. There’s been no word on whether the Sussexes sent anything. Is Archie old enough to color or hold a marker? Probably not, right?

Anyway, I applaud Chris Jackson at Getty Images for making Liz and Phil look so life-like in this photo. The last time they did a photo together, it looked like a Weekend-at-Bernie’s situation, and there were widespread accusations that Phil had been A) propped up and B) that he had been Photoshopped into the photo. Also: I’m sad that they still make Philip wear a suit and tie. The man is nearly 100, the British Empire won’t collapse if the dude wears soft pants and a sweatshirt.

Meanwhile, plans continue unabated for Liz’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Which I still think is a jinx, but whatever. The government is already making plans to move around holidays so that this petty old lady can have four days to celebrate herself. She’s also making plans to limit the celebrations for her 95th birthday next year, just so they can really do a blowout bash in 2022 for the Jubilee. So, yeah, she’s not abdicating so Charles can be king.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Kurt Russell reprises his role as Santa Claus for Netflix’s The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two. I saw Part One and kind of liked it. The best part was Goldie Hawn’s cameo as Mrs. Claus at the end so I’m in luck because Goldie is Kurt’s co-star this time. This is the pair’s first time co-starring together since Overboard in 1987. To promote the film, they gave a joint interview to the New York Times. The interview was cute, until the reporter turned to politics. She asked him about his past statements that actors shouldn’t talk about politics and whether he still agreed. Kurt, who unbeknownst to me identifies as a “hardcore libertarian”(!) said absolutely, that it was an actor’s job to remain as generic as possible in the public eye.

Kurt, you’ve said in the past that celebrities shouldn’t really weigh in on politics. Do you still feel that way?

RUSSELL Totally. I’ve always been someone who felt we are court jesters. That’s what we do. As far as I’m concerned, you should step away from saying anything so that you can still be seen by the audience in any character. There’s no reason entertainers can’t learn just as much as anybody else about a subject, whatever it is. But I think that what’s sad about it is that they lose their status as a court jester. And I’m a court jester. That’s what I was born to do.

HAWN You’re not always funny.

RUSSELL A court jester isn’t always funny. A court jester is the only one who can walk into the castle and put the king down as long as he doesn’t hit too close to home. I think that’s been a big, important part of all cultures throughout history, and I’d like to see it stay in ours.

HAWN But we did have a president who was an actor, Ronald Reagan.

RUSSEL Like I said, actors can learn as much as anybody else can.

HAWN Well, I’m just saying Reagan definitely was a well-known actor. I think it’s a personal choice whether you want to get into that. The one thing I don’t agree with is that just because we have a platform we always have to use it. That is our choice.

[From New York Times]

I don’t agree with Kurt, but I understand his thought process. It ties in with separating the artist from the art, which I guess Kurt doesn’t think the audience can do. I’d have a hard time watching a movie in which James Woods played Jimmy Carter because of each man’s politics (and general moral code). I mean, if Kurt came out and said, “hey, I support the guy that put babies in cages!” I probably wouldn’t want to see his Santa Claus film. But, I do think there are exceptions, especially in extreme cases like the last four years. As Goldie said, actors have an incredible platform and when faced with hatred and bigotry, I agree, they should use it. I think Kurt’s point about Reagan is a little different, though. He’s saying if an actor wants to get into politics they should, but then become a politician and leave acting to the “jesters.” Except that the minute they receive their SAG card they’re political so Kurt is kidding himself if he thinks the profession is apolitical.

The rest of the interview, however, is actually quite charming. Kurt and Goldie talk a lot about the holidays. Goldie lets it slip that Kurt dresses up like you-know-who and Kurt is afraid his grandkids will find out, which makes Goldie giggle and point out that their grandkids probably aren’t reading the New York Times – that made me laugh. Then the interviewer asked Goldie, who was raised Jewish, if she still celebrated any Hannukah traditions and she said no. When she was a kid she wrapped herself up in a wall phone cord and backed into a menorah, setting herself on fire. After that her mother canceled Hannukah from then on. My favorite thing about Kurt is Goldie.

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Photo credit: Getty Images and Joseph Lederer/Netflix press

As you’ve seen in recent weeks, I’m struggling to convey the correct tone for what’s happening in this presidential transition. On one hand, I absolutely knew the transition would be bonkers when Joe Biden won, so I’m not really “surprised.” On the other hand, it’s really difficult to strike the correct tone of disgust, concern, nausea, disbelief, astonishment, hatred and utter bewilderment as literally the stupidest people in the country attempt a slow-motion coup with the full support of millions of dumbass Vanilla ISIS supporters.

So, here we are yet again: the Trump campaign’s legal efforts are being led by Rudy Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor who forgot how to lawyer. Rudy’s 2020 lawyering skills are basically standing in front of whatever microphone in various parking lots and screaming about voter fraud and My Cousin Vinny, all while something dark and brown leaks out of his head. I suspect that Rudy is so full of sh-t that it’s coming out of his pores. Either that or he used spray-in hair dye and he began sweating it off within seconds of standing in front of those hot lights.

Imagine, just for a moment, that ANY Democratic operative behaved this way. My God. Does it even matter what the Ghoul was even trying to say or do? From Reuters:

President Donald Trump’s strategy for retaining power despite losing the U.S. election is focused increasingly on persuading Republican legislators to intervene on his behalf in battleground states Democrat Joe Biden won, three people familiar with the effort said.

Having so far faced a string of losses in legal cases challenging the Nov. 3 results, Trump’s lawyers are seeking to enlist fellow Republicans who control legislatures in Michigan and Pennsylvania, which went for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020, the sources said.

Michigan’s Republican House Speaker Lee Chatfield has said the person who wins the most votes will win the electoral votes of his state, where Trump trails by more than 150,000 votes. But Chatfield and Michigan’s Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey will on Friday visit the White House at the president’s request, a source in Michigan said, adding they were going to listen and see what Trump had to say.

Trump’s lawyers are seeking to take the power of appointing electors away from the governors and secretaries of state and give it to friendly state lawmakers from his party, saying the U.S. Constitution gives legislatures the ultimate authority. A person familiar with the campaign’s legal strategy said it has become a “more targeted approach towards getting the legislators engaged.”

A senior Trump campaign official told Reuters its plan is to cast enough doubt on vote-counting in big, Democratic cities that Republican lawmakers will have little choice but to intercede. The campaign is betting that many of those lawmakers, who come from districts Trump won, will face a backlash from voters if they refuse to act. The campaign believes the longer they can drag this out, the more they will have an opportunity to persuade lawmakers to intervene, the official said.

[From Reuters]

Just so we’re clear, elected Republicans at the state level cannot unilaterally decide to reject the will of their state’s voters on Donald Trump’s say-so. The whole point – theoretically – of letting Trump run to the courts was to see if there was any kind of cogent legal strategy by the Trump campaign, and to see if there really was any fraud or tampering. The consistent arguments from the Trump campaign is that “isn’t it suspicious that Black voters voted” and “please, Republicans, help me steal this election.” It’s batsh-t insane that this is where we are.

Oh, and of course Rudy made a My Cousin Vinny reference.

Giuliani’s reenacts a scene from “My Cousin Vinny” and then casually accuses Biden of crimes. Unhinged. pic.twitter.com/3RKJeX8cWs

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 19, 2020

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

Us Weekly is not getting any royal scoops, but the magazine still plugs on, and sometimes they have some funny or interesting royal coverage. I actually don’t find Us Weekly’s royal coverage to be that bizarre compared to some of the sh-t coming out of professional royal historians’ mouths these days. So here you go – Us Weekly has a story about how the Duchess of Cambridge is already making plans for what she’ll do differently when she is queen. Mm.

Monarch in waiting! Over the last several years, Duchess Kate has been gradually shifting her mindset to that of a queen consort, the title she will hold when Prince William becomes king one day.

“Kate has flourished into a queen in waiting in front of everyone’s eyes,” a royal source says exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly. “The royal family could not be more pleased.”

“Kate may change some of the outdated royal rules when she becomes queen [consort],” the source tells Us, noting that the Duchess of Cambridge hopes to set aside more time to meet and speak with the public at official events. “She’s also been very present on social media and has gotten comfortable doing TV interviews and virtual chats. She’s keen to continue that in the future as well.”

For now, however, Kate’s main priority is her and William’s three children: Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2.

“Family means everything to Kate, and one of her biggest worries about the future is not being there for George, Charlotte and Louis,” an insider previously told Us.

[From Us Weekly]

There’s a grain of truth here which I found interesting, which is that Kate and William behave – these days – as if they’re about to become king and queen any day now. They already put on those airs. They already behave like they’re “in power.” I think that’s why Prince Charles keeps being a tad shady about the Cambridges too – he’s reminding them that he’ll actually be king before they get a whiff of power. And I still, to this day, don’t understand why William and Kate haven’t branded themselves as “Future Prince and Princess of Wales.” There’s power in those titles too.

As for Kate changing the rules when she becomes Queen – the only way Kate will change any rules is so she can go back to the Victorian-era style of monarchy, where little would be expected of her. She certainly won’t be doing *more* as Queen. Lolz.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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Jane Seymour is a beautiful woman. I remember being transfixed by her in Somewhere in Time and I’ve never stopped going all a-flutter every time I see her. She’s been able to break out of the “beautiful woman” role, especially headlining her tv show Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. She’s also a decent comedic actress like her small turn in Austenland (highly underrated fluff film, if you ask me). Jane is still a world class beauty, something she prides herself on. It became an issue recently on her latest project, Glow and Darkness, in which Jane was cast as Eleanor of Aquitaine. The issue was that Jane, who is 69, was told she’d being playing the role from the ages of 25 to 80. A day before filming, she was informed they’d hired a younger actress, Anna Warke, to play the 25 year old Eleanor. Jane contends that she is perfectly capable of playing the part because she not only looks 25 “facially,” she has maintained the same figure since she was 17 through the “rigid self-discipline” of only eating one meal a day.

Jane Seymour is hitting back at producers of her new miniseries “Glow and Darkness” after they cast a younger star to portray her character in flashback scenes — even as she insists she could pass for 25-years-old.

“They told me that only I was going to play myself at 25, but before I even got round to doing it, the day before, without telling me, they found another actress to play me at 25,” she tells The Times. “It’s something I really don’t understand at all because believe it or not, and you can see on Instagram, they don’t even need to do the facial stuff on me. It works just fine.”

The actress further explains she weighs as much as she did at age 17 thanks to “rigid self-discipline” and consuming only one meal a day that consists of mainly “vegetables, lean fish or a small piece of chicken and, very occasionally, a thin slice of lean steak.”

[From ET Canada via DListed]

I hate this whole conversation. Jane’s argument is they are letting the 87-year-old Dame Joan Collins play 40-year-old Adelaida de Saboya. First of all, Dame Joan Collins gets to play whatever she wants, those are the rules. Secondly, I don’t think Jane looks 25 and I do think they would have to do “the facial stuff,” but that is very expensive, and I would be surprised if they had that kind of budget. However, to be honest, I’ve seen plenty of 25-year-olds play 40-year-olds so I don’t know that I would care if they shook it up the other way. It’d be a hell of a challenge to see if Jane’s acting could take me past the 44-year age difference. But, if they hired her with the understanding that she would play the role covering those ages, this was a cruddy thing to do at the last minute. It is a very Hollywood thing to do and happens all the time so Jane shouldn’t be surprised in the slightest, but it’s still upsetting.

However, this ridiculous diet talk is dangerous, and I am upset that anyone would put this kind of nonsense into the ether. One meal a day is not sustainable for anyone and maintaining your 17-year-old figure is a terrible goal. Jane looks great. I wish we could leave it at that without qualifiers of her age or what asinine measures she uses to look like that. And I hope to Christ she’s flat out lying about her diet because if not, her senior citizen bones are going to crack under the weight of those medieval costumes she’s wearing as Eleanor.

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Singer Jewel did not have a charmed life before becoming a folk icon in the 90s. Jewel is opening up in this week’s People about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father which drove her to leave home at the age of 15. Jewel found herself living in her own cabin in Alaska for a few years before moving to San Diego to be with her mom. Jewel said she spent time living in her car after losing her job because she wouldn’t sleep with her boss. The car was eventually stolen which forced Jewel into homelessness for a year. She’s talked about this before but it’s new to me. Jewel said she would have panic attacks. So, she developed mindfulness practices that has sustained her since she was 15 and throughout adulthood. Jewel is now working on a project where she shares her mindfulness practices with at risk youth through her Inspiring Children Foundation. Below is more on the story from People:

“My mom [Lenedra Carroll] left when I was 8 years old, and my dad took over raising me and my brothers at that age,” Jewel says. “My dad had really bad PTSD [from serving in the Vietnam war], but those words weren’t really known at the time. He tried to drink to handle the anxiety, and he became abusive.”

She later learned that it was a cycle her father repeated from his own abusive upbringing.

“As much as we have a genetic inheritance, we have an emotional inheritance,” she says. “My dad was also raised in a wildly abusive home. I had a way better go of it than he did when he was young, but it still wasn’t good.”

Jewel credits the meditation and mindfulness practices — which she first started developing at age 18 while spending a year homeless after moving to San Diego to be with her mom — for helping her break the cycle.

“I ended up homeless because I wouldn’t have sex with a boss,” she says. “I started living in my car because my boss wouldn’t give me my paycheck. Then my car got stolen.”

With nowhere to turn but the streets, she shoplifted to get by.

“One day, I was shoving this dress down my baggy Levi 501 jeans and thought, ‘I’m going to end up in jail or dead,’” she says. “Then I remembered this quote by Buddha: ‘Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are. It solely relies on what you think.’ I thought, maybe I could turn my life around one thought at a time.”

[From People]

Jewel opening up about her life and struggle is the balm I needed. It’s reassuring to know we are not alone in our struggles and that despite them we can still succeed. As an asana and meditation advocate and instructor, it is exciting for me to see celebrities really embrace the practices. The other thing I love is that Jewel is sharing her practices with young people who may be in similar situations as she was as a teenager. Talk about paying it forward.

“As much as we have a genetic inheritance, we have an emotional inheritance.” This is such a profound statement and something that I have found to be true. Not only do we have to work out the trauma we have personally experienced but our inherited trauma too. Sadly, most people do neither and it takes those who are resilient to break generational cycles. It is sad that the Jewel was abused by a father who had not worked out his PTSD and familial trauma.

As stated before, I am someone who suffers from PTSD, depression and anxiety because of a rough childhood and time in the military. I have also dealt with shelter and financial insecurity. Practicing yoga and meditation have been major life savers for me. At some point I also hope to share the practice with inner city youth, refugees, and veterans. With that being said, I will read up on Jewel’s foundation. I hope it is successful and will help many young people who may desperately need an outlet.

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When Jennifer Aniston first joined Instagram, she broke all kinds of records for the followers she gained in the first days/weeks. She currently has more than 35 million followers – not Kardashian-Jenner numbers, but that’s still a massive social media following. Months ago, I realized that Aniston’s people must have told her that she could get into the spon-con business with those kinds of numbers, and there were some vague references to Aniston dipping her toe into the Instagram-influencing world. Now here we are: Aniston has been named the face and Chief Creative Officer of Vital Proteins, a popular supplemental company which already pays influencers to promote their vitamin supplements. But because Aniston is still fundamentally old-media, she also announced this stuff with a People Magazine exclusive.

Jennifer Aniston is taking her wellness routine to the next level! Today the Morning Show star announces her global partnership with collagen and wellness brand Vital Proteins. In her role, Aniston, 51, will be both Chief Creative Officer and the face of the brand’s upcoming campaign.

“Our strength starts from within, so I choose good nutrition and the right supplements to start off my day,” Aniston tells PEOPLE exclusively. The actress is teasing her December campaign launch with a few behind the scenes photos – and a video, too. In them, she can be seen revealing glimpses of her wellness routine.

In a press release, Aniston shared that she’s been a fan of the brand since 2016. Among her favorite products, the Collagen Peptides powder, the Vitality Immune Booster supplement powder sticks in Clementine and the Collagen Creamer in Vanilla.

“Collagen is the glue that holds everything together. I’ve always been an advocate for nourishing your wellness from within, which is why I started using Vital Proteins so many years ago,” she said. “Now to have the opportunity to be a part of the brand in a bigger way, as Chief Creative Officer, is very exciting to me.”

“We’re really excited to welcome Jen and her valued perspective to the Vital team,” said CEO Kurt Seidensticker, who founded the brand in 2013. “We’ve all watched Jen live a life that prioritizes wellness from the inside-out, which she attributes in part to her belief in Vital Proteins, making this partnership so unique and, more importantly, authentic. We are teaming up together to inspire the world to live healthy, and more vibrant lives.”

[From People]

I don’t hate that she’s doing this, and it’s pretty on-brand for her overall. I would have been disappointed if she was suddenly IG-influencing waist trainers or laxatives or hunger-suppression lollipops. This seems like the kind of partnership that Gwyneth Paltrow would be involved with, only Gwyneth would find some way to put her Goop-stink all over it. This is also on-brand for how Aniston has always operated – why start her own company when she could just become the face of an existing company, and take an official position too.

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The original cast of The Fresh Prince reunited for a special on HBO Max this week. They’re celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary. Will Smith even brought back the original Aunt Viv played by Janet Hubert.

Janet and Will had a “falling out” during her tenure at Fresh Prince. Janet was eventually replaced in season three with Daphne Maxwell Reid. Daphne played the role of Aunt Viv from 1993 until the show wrapped in 1996. Daphne replacing Janet created a very public 27 year long beef between Will and Janet. Janet had just had a baby when she found herself dumped by the show and subsequently Hollywood because she was labeled “difficult” by Will Smith. Will brought Janet back for the reunion to bury the hatchet and talked through what happened that led to her exit from the show. Below are a few excerpts from the reunion show via Too Fab:

Before the conversation began, both Smith and Hubert acknowledged in separate confessionals the issues they had on set back in the day.

“During that third season, when I got pregnant, there was a lot of things going on in my life and Will’s life as well. There was some friction because I was pregnant. Home life was not good at all,” explained Hubert. “I was no longer laughing, smiling, joking because there were things going on nobody knew about. The cast had no idea what was going on.”

Smith admitted he “wasn’t sensitive” to her situation. “I wasn’t perceptive and now that I’ve had three kids I’ve learned some things I did not know at the time and I would do things very differently,” he said to the camera. “I can see why I made the set very difficult for Janet.”

She went on to explain that she was offered a “really bad deal,” where she would only work for two months and two weeks and couldn’t work anywhere else. “That meant my salary was cut, I had a new baby and a husband who was out of work. I said no,” she said. “I did not accept their offer. I was never fired. The misconception was always put out there. I was trapped, what could I do.”

“When I left the show, I had this new baby and no one. Family disowned me, Hollywood disowned me, my family said you’ve ruined our name and I wasn’t unprofessional on the set,” she said to Smith. “I just stopped talking to everybody because I didn’t know who to trust, I had been banished. They said it was you who banished me. Because you were Will, you were a kid. It was hard.”

“You didn’t realize I was going through a lot at home. You didn’t know,” she said, before claiming she was in a “very abusive marriage.”

[From Too Fab]

I am so glad Janet and the rest of the cast were reunited. It was great to see Janet hug Daphne as well because I remember there being a lot of anger from Janet toward everyone and rightly so. It is good that Will is mature enough now to be open and honest about his role in getting Janet black listed in Hollywood. To me Janet will always be THE Aunt Viv.

I also recall at the time that many fans of the show, including myself, felt that Daphne replacing Janet was steeped in colorism. Janet stated in the conversation that by labeling her, a dark skinned black woman, “difficult” Will effectively ended her career. That part of the conversation was sad to me. The fact that her family disowned her and she was being abused in her marriage makes the situation even worse. At the time, Will was young, newly rich and powerful and I am sure that went to his head. I am also sure he didn’t realize the extreme impact of his words.

Despite the pain, I am glad that everyone was able to reunite, makeup and forgive. It was big of Janet as well to apologize for the several decades of dragging Will Smith publicly every chance she got. Hopefully, with the true story being out, Janet can return to do some work in Hollywood if that is what she wishes to do. In the mean time, I do hope not only Will but other Black men, particularly in Hollywood, learn a valuable lesson from that conversation.

On a side note, I absolutely love this cute promo Will, Daphne, and Janet did.

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The scene where Janet solidified herself in our hearts as Viv:

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President Barack Obama is on the cover of …InStyle?! I love it. I love that he’s showing up in unexpected places. And I love this photo of him, somewhere been a smirk and a smize – all confidence but not arrogant. Now my question is: does Barack Obama get photo approval? Is this something he asks fo…

President Barack Obama is on the cover of …InStyle?! I love it. I love that he’s showing up in unexpected places. And I love this photo of him, somewhere been a smirk and a smize – all confidence but not arrogant. Now my question is: does Barack Obama get photo approval? Is this something he asks fo…