Newsletter Thursday, November 30, 2017

[LaineyGossip.com - Calling all smuthounds!] Thursday, November 30, 2017 [Intro for November 30, 2017]( [Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, greets a person dressed up as Santa Claus as he visits the Esplanade Park and the Manta's Market winter fair in Helsinki, Finland, on November 30, 2017](Dear Gossips, Not starting the day with grossness. Let’s instead head to Finland, where Prince William’s been hanging out. And today he visited the Christmas market in Helsinki and ran into Santa Claus. William took the opportunity to present Santa with Big G’s Christmas list. Big G’s Christmas wish list is surprisingly short – there’s only one item, because this is the “public” list, and not the true private one. As IF Big G would only ask for one thing. Let’s get a close-up of how Big G filled out his form: A police car. Seems pretty ordinary. An ordinary wish for an ordinary child. Please also note how he responded to the question of whether or not he’s been “naughty or nice”. NICE! He circled nice! To whom?! This is my favourite thing about today so far. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Big G. I think not since his [first day at school](, right? There should be a holiday card soon. The Cambridges usually gift us with a holiday card featuring the children and Lupo. Time for Big G to reclaim the attention. Far too much of it has been taken up lately by his uncle and future aunt. Yours in gossip, Lainey [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 2:03 PM [What Else?]( agree. My head is spinning. What is this? I don’t have the answer to that question and I’m pretty sure I won’t understand the answer even if you know it and try to explain it to me. All I know is that Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix fell in love on the set of this movie and….[yes, it might be a rom-com](. But it also might be a movie about how Jesus was a feminist? (Dlisted) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were roasting chicken when he proposed and some people really needed to know what recipe they were using. [Was it really Ina Garten’s](? I’ve never tried an Ina Garten recipe. I promise you though, when it’s time to do so, it will not be chicken. Chicken is what I eat when I need a joyless meal. Unless it’s fried and it’s Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken in Memphis. Straight up the best f-cking chicken I have ever had. Better than Harry and Meghan’s proposal chicken, I’m sure of it. (Cele|bitchy) The Fug Girls are right. [There is no such thing as “Zendaya fatigue”](. If anything, there’s just GIVE ME MORE Zendaya. Especially when she’s wearing the cutest velour suit and telling us that she will willingly take on the responsibility of being a role model even though it’s up to everyone to choose whether or not they want to be a role model and God she’s so smart and fun and I love her so much. (Go Fug Yourself) In 3 week old news, Chris Evans and Jenny Slate are back together but it’s official now because PEOPLE Magazine said so. [They were in NYC this week](. And one of our readers, “Y”, just emailed to say that they were on a flight with them on Sunday from NYC to Atlanta. For anyone who doubted, that is. (Pop Sugar) I’m sorry. [I can’t be mad at how theatrical Drake is](. In these moments, you know who he reminds me of? Duana. Duana as a vessel that represents musical theatre nerds. To me, this is a total musical theatre nerd reaction. And why not? Why not this over acting cool and pretending to not know or care that the camera’s on you? Right? Maybe it’s just those Canadian and Toronto flags over my eyes. By the way, Drake showed up this week in Toronto at the Hermes opening and Sasha and I were both invited but neither of us could make it. The next morning she texts me all like, WHY DO I MAKE BAD LIFE DECISIONS?! I told her that he wouldn’t have talked to her anyway. And she felt better. (TMZ) [And we have our Mulan](! Everyone else made this joke so I will too – amazingly it’s not Emma Stone or Scarlett Johansson! Originally on the casting call they were hoping for an actor 18-20. Liu Yifei is 30, another surprise. I thought about dedicating a post to this but I’m holding off. Several months ago I wrote about how there were rumours that Li Shang [won’t be part of the live action movie](. And that the storyline so far sounds kind of… well, I have some issues. So let’s wait until they find their Honghui, the Li Shang substitute. (The Hollywood Reporter) [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 8:24 PM [OMGGGG they’re kissing and hugging!]( [Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez in LA after church, November 29, 2017](There is a great divide here at this site. Kathleen and Emily, our site manager, are not at all as happy about [Selena Gomez]( and [Justin Bieber]( getting back together as I am. They’re worried that JB will break her heart again. And she can’t afford, both physically and spiritually, to be pulled back into this orbit of darkness – if, that is, his orbit is still dark. I find this surprising, because both Kathleen and Emily have teenage perspectives and love sappy sh-t. I thought they’d be all over this. It tells you how raw that scar is. The one JB left on Selena, and them by extension. So far though, and it’s been, like, a month, Selena and JB seem pretty stable. No one’s run out of the other’s house in tears. They haven’t attacked each other on social media. Can we call it a success – so far? Here are Selena and JB last night at dinner after night church. As you can see, they’re still close, they’re hugging, they’re… nuzzling. Which I find reassuring. Because the hug looks kinda friend-zoney to me. It’s the nuzzling that’s confirmation that what we’re seeing here is young love, intense and dramatic but not that dramatic anymore, until it is. Let me just say “nuzzling” a few more times for the benefit of Kathleen and Emily because I’m a good friend like that. In other Selena news, her Billboard cover just came out: I’ve not yet read all of it but there’s one quote that stands out about The Weeknd: “The best part? It’s actually... you know what, though? Something that I’m really proud of is that there’s such a true friendship [between me and The Weeknd]. I truly have never experienced anything like that in my life. We ended it as best friends, and it was genuinely about encouraging and caring [for each other], and that was pretty remarkable for me.” Um, he just Eternal Sunshined her out of his Instagram though. And they unfollowed each other. Do you do that when you’re still best friends? [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 8:05 PM [Britney in love]( [Britney Spears and Sam Asghari attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on November 29, 2017 in Los Angeles, California](This past September was the 10 year anniversary of [Leave Britney Alone](. This weekend, on Saturday, [Britney Spears]( turns 36, a decade removed from the lowest point of her career –maybe of her life—when it got so bad that the world was watching her unravel and her biggest fans banded together with a tearful rally cry: Let Britney live. Does it finally feel like Britney Spears has been left alone? Does it finally feel like she’s living the life she’s always wanted? Based on nothing other than Photo Assumption and the fact that she’s been drama-free with a stable gig and stable relationship all year, I’m going to say yes. Look at these photos of her at the Lakers game last night with her kids and her boyfriend Sam Asghari. She looks SO happy! I’m happy that Britney is happy. I’m so happy for her, I’m going to ignore the fact that her new BF is a 23 year old “[Iranian fitness model.](” Is that a real job? At least he’s FINE as hell and seems to be just as into her as she is into him. This probably isn’t going to end well but look how happy! As for Jayden James and Sean, how do these kids look exactly the same as they did when they were babies and yet still look grown enough to make me feel old? I’m also going to ignore Britney’s Real Housewives of New Jersey outfit because aside from the fact that this skirt, blouse and heels combo makes no sense to watch a basketball game in, she looks good. Her weave isn’t as busted as usual and as I’ve written before, you can tell a lot about the state of Britney’s health [by looking at her hair](. So, I think she’s doing OK guys! I just did a deep dive into Brit’s Instagram and found this video of her and Sam being THAT couple. I don’t know whether to cover my eyes or watch it 5 more times. [A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears)]( on Oct 16, 2017 at 3:06pm PDT [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 7:27 PM [“Upwardly mobile” Meghan Markle]( [Meghan Markle covers French Elle ](Last year, Prince Harry yelled at the UK media by launching a [Love Shield]( in defence of [Meghan Markle]( after British tabloids repeatedly published articles about her being “straight outta Compton” and other gross headlines. Now that he and Meghan are engaged, well, that bullsh-t is starting up again. Here’s an article that appeared [in the Daily Mail today](: So, basically, she came from slaves. Like the old timey pearl clutcher aristocrats needed a reminder that [Prince Harry]( would be contaminating their pure rich high class white blood with a biracial woman from America whose ancestors picked cotton. That’s exactly what they’re trying to tell you here, non? This is exactly the worldview that Meghan Markle is up against. Earlier today, Kathleen [wrote a post about Jay-Z](C2%A0with-pulitzer-award-winning-journalist-dean-baquet-t-magazine/48568) pointing out that he went from being a drug dealer to sitting in boardrooms running sh-t. Is this the same? No. The context of Kathleen’s observation was that given his past, Jay-Z “seems to have a deep understanding of the responsibility that comes with” success. What is the context of the Daily Mail article about Meghan’s background? I mean, sure, on the most generous (naïve) read possible, you could say that they’re celebrating the fact that we live in a time when this is possible. That would be generous. Or, you know, you can hear the dog whistle. “Cotton slaves” and “maids” in the headline. The people who used to WORK for us are now getting a seat at the table. The servants are coming for our land! Guard the jewels! Many of you have written to side-eye Meghan Markle for what she said in the joint interview on Monday about not knowing anything about Prince Harry and the royal family. You didn’t believe her. I hear you. I don’t believe her either. We’ve all been paying attention to Harry and his life and his family for a long, long time. That said, a girl like Meghan, whose “ancestor was a maid”, and is now “upwardly mobile”, would it be interpreted by certain people differently had she been all like, oh yeah, I totally knew all about him? Maybe not. But it’s hard to deny that she’s operating under a different set of expectations. That everything she says and does will be processed by a specific class through another lens. In other Meghan news, here she is on the cover of French ELLE. These are not new photos. They’re from a shoot with an Australian magazine called Gritty Pretty (?!?) in 2015. By the way, [I told you on Monday]( that Meghan will be spending Christmas in Sandringham. The UK papers are today claiming the same, even though royal experts initially scoffed at the idea because Kate Middleton was not invited to Sandringham when she and Prince William got engaged. Kate, however, has a family home in England. She has somewhere to go. What, is Harry going to leave Meghan alone for 3 days at Nottingham cottage while he heads to the family Christmas gathering? Harry, as we’ve seen, [has been getting his way](. If he wants Meghan at Sandringham, she’ll be at Sandringham. Some people think they might head to LA for Christmas, to be with her family. But the way it’s been going, with the promise of full immersion for Meghan into English life and being based there permanently, I’m thinking she’ll spend their first Christmas together as an engaged couple in their declared home country. Let me know your thoughts? [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 6:34 PM [Smutty Social Media, November 30, 2017]( [Idris Elba at the MOBO Awards at First Direct Arena Leeds on November 29, 2017 in Leeds, England](Maria’s away the next couple of days so you get me for celebrity social media. And it’s almost like Idris Elba knew I was pinch-hitting and came through. [A post shared by Idris Elba (@idriselba)]( on Nov 29, 2017 at 2:35pm PST Scott Eastwood is getting paid by All Nippon Airways. So it’s a brand partnership. Which is fine. Many celebrities endorse many companies and products. But even for a brand partnership, he couldn’t get someone to double-check his spelling and grammar? Why am I even fussing about this? It’s Scott Eastwood. The company, I assume, knew what they were in for. [A post shared by Scott Eastwood (@scotteastwood)]( on Nov 29, 2017 at 11:33pm PST Ohhhhh…I get it. It was a tree lighting. And Gwen Stefani’s dress was inspired by trees. Please note, it’s not an upside down tree. Which, again, is the stupidest Christmas tree idea of the idea. A white tree is better than an upside down tree. As for the tree lighting itself, I can’t help but think of Mimi. Who is the angel of Christmas and should show up any time a Christmas tree is lit. That said, because Mimi wasn’t there, the event probably started on time. [A post shared by Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani)]( on Nov 29, 2017 at 12:23pm PST I think Hugh Jackman ordered a pear martini? And it was painstakingly prepared for him at the bar. And it’s only noon right now where I am but I can almost smell it. I haven’t had a cocktail in… I can’t remember. I think I might need to have one tonight. Am going to a Christmas concert. Seems fitting? [A post shared by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman)]( on Nov 30, 2017 at 12:30am PST Did you hear about The Weeknd deleting all traces of Selena Gomez [from his Instagram](? What is the benefit of this? He deletes her, we know about it, and… we’re supposed to think he’s super cool? Or do we actually think he’s petty AF? If the goal was to show that he’s petty AF, the job is done. [A post shared by The Weeknd (@theweeknd)]( on Nov 29, 2017 at 3:33pm PST Serena Williams is still on her honeymoon, enjoying the beach, and taking advantage of a great lighting moment. Gorgeous photo. Not crazy about the swimsuit though. Also her husband made her a beignet. Not that I would ever complain if my husband ever made me one but … did he overdo it on the icing sugar? [A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)]( on Nov 30, 2017 at 5:00am PST [A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)]( on Nov 28, 2017 at 5:26pm PST [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 5:16 PM [Jay-Z’s therapy session](� with-pulitzer-award-winning-journalist-dean-baquet-t-magazine) [Jay-Z covers T Magazine]([Jay-Z](’s interview with Pulitzer award winning journalist Dean Baquet for [T Magazine]( should be digested in full. I read the transcription of their conversation first, complete with annotations by two of my favourite New York Times’ writers, then watched the corresponding video. I recommend you do the same. It’s a dense, nuanced discussion about race, responsibility, self-reflection, infidelity and OJ Simpson. I’m going to attempt to pull out some of the best/ most newsworthy quotes but I almost don’t want to. I won’t do it justice. I want you to ignore what I have to say and just go read two giants ruminate on being black men in Trump’s America. If you’re still here, let’s first address Jay’s evolution. Much of the conversation is spent dissecting how far Jay has come, musically and emotionally. 4:44 is unlike anything Jay has ever done. When the album first dropped, Lainey called it a [companion piece to Lemonade](, Beyoncé’s masterpiece. Jay confirms that 4:44 was born while he and Bey were working on a joint album. A. Joint. Album. About their marriage. The bad, ugly parts of their marriage and its near dissolution. I would not trade Lemonade for anything and it is definitively the better album but can you imagine how many minds would have been blown if Jay and Bey had released the details of his infidelity and her rage and revelations through A JOINT ALBUM? Jay says they still have a lot of that music. Do you think we’re going to hear it? There may be no need after what we’ve now heard from them both on the topic of their union but holy sh-t, I WANT TO HEAR IT. Here’s what Jay says about how difficult it was to confront his sh-t in front of the person he wronged while trying to create an album. “… it was uncomfortable. And we had a lot of conversations. You know. [I was] really proud of the music she made, and she was really proud of the art I released. And, you know, at the end of the day we really have a healthy respect for one another's craft. I think she's amazing… You know, most people walk away, and like divorce rate is like 50 percent or something ’cause most people can’t see themselves. The hardest thing is seeing pain on someone’s face that you caused, and then have to deal with yourself.” Baquet never mentions Beyoncé by name, instead he only refers to her to Jay as “your wife.” (Off with his head, Beygency!) I think it’s an attempt to be conversational with Jay on a personal level instead of a purposeful blatant disrespect of our Queen’s name (stand down, Beygency) but I couldn’t help but flinch every time he did it. Especially since Beyoncé is responsible for Jay’s introspection. She’s also responsible for the calibre of work he put out this year. Throughout the interview, Jay talks about going to therapy and how much it helped him. He talks about his feelings, his emotions and his emotional inadequacies. Almost every time I’ve written about 4:44, I’ve mentioned how rare and important it is to see a black man confront these issues publicly. And he’s been doing it so very publicly. I kept thinking as I was watching the video of this seemingly unscripted 35 minutes of Jay explaining his thoughts that Beyoncé would NEVER do this. Jay-Z has been explaining 4:44 a lot. A LOT. Beyoncé never explains. She would never do this and she shouldn’t have to. Black women are always doing the heavy lifting of emotional labour in relationships. Women are always the ones shouldering the pain and weight of emotional trauma. And in celebrity interviews, it’s the women who usually reach inward and offer the first reflections on traumatic personal heartbreak. It’s about time a man was forced to dig deep to talk about his relationship in every interview. And it’s about time the man doing that digging was a black man. Jay also talks about another complicated relationship in his life, the one with Kanye West. He reveals that he talked to Kanye recently and told him they were brothers and that he loved him. I’m not tearing up. You’re tearing up. Then, Baquet asks if there’s still tension... “Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that happens. In the long relationship, you know, hopefully when we're 89 we look at this six months or whatever time and we laugh at that. You know what I'm saying? There's gonna be complications in the relationship that we have to get through. And the only way to get through that is we sit down and have a dialogue and say, ‘These are the things that I'm uncomfortable with. These are the things that are unacceptable to me. This is what I feel.’ I'm sure he feels that I've done things to him as well. You know what I'm saying? These are — I'm not a perfect human being by no stretch.” That therapy is really working. This quote may get twisted into clickbait stories about how there’s still drama between Jay and Kanye but to me, as a fan of their friendship, it gives me hope for their reconciliation. This is the best Jay/Kanye news we’ve heard all year. Jay-Z and Dean Baquet talk extensively about race in America, from Colin Kaepernick to the expectations placed on how black people should talk, to O.J. and the obligation for wealthy black people to give back (my fave quote: “until everyone's free, no one's free, and that's just a fact.”) They also tackle the challenges that come with raising grounded, well-adjusted kids while they are growing up lounging on yachts and [saving award shows](. Again, Jay answers each question thoughtfully, with maturity and grace. Baquet calls 4:44 “a middle-aged black man’s deeply introspective therapy session put to music.” This entire interview feels like a session of its own and I am HERE for it. There is so much I want to unpack but ain’t nobody got time for that so I’ll just say this: Jay-Z went from selling drugs to rhyming about Big Pimpin to getting a seat at the table (Solange shout out!) as the only black man in a room full of rich white men in his business life and he seems to have a deep understanding of the responsibility that comes with that. It has been beautiful to watch Jay-Z mature into this legit grown-up, a man who is ushering in a new definition of mainstream black masculinity – at last. You can read and watch the full T Magazine feature [here](. I promise it’s worth your time. [Click here for the rest of the photos.](� with-pulitzer-award-winning-journalist-dean-baquet-t-magazine) Posted at 4:34 PM [Chris Evans shaves for an Avengers Oscar campaign]( [Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr support Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen at Wind River screening in Atlanta, Georgia, November 29, 2017](Matt Lauer started trending immediately at #1 on Twitter worldwide following NBC’s announcement yesterday morning that he’d been fired for sexual misconduct. A couple of hours later, it was the Avengers: Infinity War trailer which [Sarah wrote about]( shortly after. As she noted, Captain America’s shaggy hair and beard were one of the highlights of the preview. Totally agree. I’ve never been attracted to [Chris Evans](. But I do find Chris Evans rather attractive as disillusioned Cap who comes back to fight another day, his hair floating in the wind as he runs. Well. That didn’t last long. Chris and the other Avengers have been in Atlanta the last few months working on more Avengers movies and last night, he and [Robert Downey Jr]( attended a special screening of Wind River in support of [Elizabeth Olsen]( and [Jeremy Renner](. Have you seen Wind River? Sarah gave it a [solid review]( in August. It’s now available on iTunes. Heading into the fall, Wind River was expected to be part of the award season discussion. It came out of Sundance with all kinds of momentum, won an award in Cannes, made good money at the box office, and the Academy has acknowledged Taylor Sheridan, the director, before with Sicario and, most recently, Hell Or High Water. But then Harvey Weinstein happened. And Wind River was a Weinstein release. They’ve since deleted all Weinstein association from the project and another company has [come on board to finance]( the Oscar campaign…so here we are, a film starring two Avengers being supported by two other Avengers at the screening and Q&A. Because, of course, Wind River is starting all over again. The film is way behind every other contender that doesn’t have a Weinstein connection. But Taylor Sheridan believes his film and the story it aims to tell about the voiceless [deserve awareness](. So they called in Iron Man and Captain America, ironically the two Avengers whose philosophical differences broke up the Avengers the last time we saw all the Avengers together. Avengers Assemble. (I’m sorry. I HAD to.) PS. No but seriously, Chris Evans really is WAYYYY hotter with longer hair and a beard – and I’m not generally a long hair beard kind of person. For example, Thor got wayyyyy hotter when he cut his hair. PPS. Having just seen Thor (I was on holiday when it came out, sorry!), I like Thor more than Cap now. PPPS. I like Valkyrie the best out of everyone. PPPPS. Until, of course, Black Panther comes out. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 3:43 PM [Ridley Scott’s eleventh-hour miracle]( [Christopher Plummer attends the Special New York Screening of 'The Man Who Invented Christmas' held at Florence Gould Hall, New York City, NY, November 11, 2017](After [Kevin Spacey]( was spat out by the Hollywood Predator Advent Calendar (TM Lainey), Ridley Scott decided to remove him entirely from All the Money in the World and replace him with [Christopher Plummer](. That was a good decision but also [totally bonkers](, as the movie was set to come out in six weeks. Well, now the movie comes out in three weeks, and we have a trailer for the Christopher Plummer version of the movie. You know what? It looks better. Maybe every movie should replace one actor with Christopher Plummer for an immediate upgrade. It also does not look like an Oscar-caliber film. Plummer, in the brief bits he’s visible, looks great as J. Paul Getty—much better than Spacey’s [rubbery makeup mask](. And [Michelle Williams]( is always good when playing vulnerable, nervous people. But there is a strong emphasis on action, so much so that this looks like a grown-up alternative to Star Wars during the holiday season. I’m never in a million years going to get my parents into The Last Jedi, but I can probably sell them on this. Back in the summer, before We Knew What We Now Know, [I wrote]( about some set photos from Money, “It’s strange they’re doing this as a thriller, though, since the resolution to the kidnapping was relatively anti-climactic […] how much do you want to bet that there will be some kind of heroic action sequence made up for the movie?” Based on this trailer, they made up a LOT. So much so that the title card reads “Inspired by true events”. Not “based on”. INSPIRED BY. There is an actual difference between using “based on” and “inspired by”, and it has to do with how much bullsh*t you’ve injected into the story. Going by this trailer, Scott & Co. have injected so much bullsh*t they had to downgrade to “inspired by”. That’s okay, though, because it still looks like a good movie, and I am here for Christopher Plummer growling, “More.” I’m trying to imagine Kevin Spacey delivering that line. I’m sure it was okay, but having seen Plummer do it, it’s hard to remember this wasn’t his role all along. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 3:13 PM [Johnny Depp and the power(lessness) of “one”]( [Johnny Depp at Chiltern Firehouse in London, November 11, 2017]([Johnny Depp]( is currently working on Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald in London. He plays Grindelwald, a downgrade from Colin Farrell. The movie is being directed by David Yates who [spoke to EW]( about Johnny, addressing the concern over his casting, given that Johnny was accused of domestic violence by Amber Heard. Before we get into David’s comments, let’s remember that we saw photos of Amber’s bruised face. There was a witness who heard Johnny hitting Amber on the phone. There were [text messages]( referring to other times he had beaten her. And when they finally settled their divorce, she donated all the money to charity. But he’s Johnny Depp. He’s Captain Jack. He used to be very goodlooking. And that’s a bullsh-t thing to say, I know, but it matters. We are less likely to want to believe bad things about pretty people. Johnny Depp isn’t so pretty anymore. But he’s pretty in memory. Thirty years of pretty memories is a powerful defence. That’s why so many of his civilian supporters have rejected Amber Heard’s claims. As for his celebrity supporters, well, David Yates is one of them. And here’s how he’s justifying casting Johnny: “Honestly, there’s an issue at the moment where there’s a lot of people being accused of things, they’re being accused by multiple victims, and it’s compelling and frightening,” Yates said. “With Johnny, it seems to me there was one person who took a pop at him and claimed something. I can only tell you about the man I see every day: He’s full of decency and kindness, and that’s all I see. Whatever accusation was out there doesn’t tally with the kind of human being I’ve been working with.” Yates added several of Depp’s exes have come forward to publicly defend him, including Vanessa Paradis, Lori Anne Allison and Winona Ryder — who said Depp was “never abusive at all … I only know him as a really good, loving, caring guy” during their four-year relationship. “By testament, some of the women in [Depp’s] life have said the same thing — ‘that’s not the human being we know,'” Yates said. “It’s very different [than cases] where there are multiple accusers over many years that need to be examined and we need to reflect on our industry that allows that to roll on year in and year out. Johnny isn’t in that category in any shape or form. So to me, it doesn’t bear any more analysis. It’s a dead issue.” “One person who took a pop at him. It took over 60 women to come forward for people to finally believe that Bill Cosby was a predator. Every other predator who has popped out of the Hollywood Predator Advent Calendar comes with a long list of victims. And while it’s definitely encouraging that more victims are coming forward to share their stories it’s also, at the same time, very, very discouraging that these rising numbers are reinforcing the bullsh-t threshold of belief. Unless of course you’re one of the men benefiting from the threshold. If that’s you, the good news is, if you’re an asshole sexual harasser or a rapist or a wife beater and you’ve only messed with “only” one person – you’re good, don’t worry, you’re good. One is a powerless. One is not enough. We only turn against the assholes who come with multiples. And even then, sometimes we send them to exile in the highest office in the land. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 2:30 PM [Matt Lauer is sorry for himself]( Lauer issued what’s been called an apology today. The apology was read on the Today show exactly 24 hours after it was announced on the Today show that he’d been fired for sexual harassment. A statement from Matt Lauer: “There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions...” [pic.twitter.com/f93rHXqKQD]( — TODAY (@TODAYshow) [November 30, 2017]( Who, exactly, is he apologising to? The way I’m hearing it, he’s apologising to himself. It’s the Justin Timberlake of apologies – ME ME, I, I, ME, I, ME, I. Because he’s embarrassed. Because he’s hurt his family. Because he has to confront some terrible truths about himself. Oh and because some of the allegations against him have been exaggerated. Sure. So he didn’t gift a vibrator to a female colleague with a note about watching her use it? Or violate another to the point [where she passed out]( on the floor of his office? How about the time he summoned a woman into his office so that he could pull out his dick? And then got mad at her for not being more excited about it? Because I believe all of that. So, again, which part of it is, as Matt says, “untrue or mischaracterised?” If you ask Geraldo Rivera, he might say that all of that is just “flirting”: Sad about [@MLauer]( great guy, highly skilled & empathetic w guests & a real gentleman to my family & me. News is a flirty business & it seems like current epidemic of [#SexHarassmentAllegations]( may be criminalizing courtship & conflating it w predation. What about [#GarrisonKeillor]( — Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) [November 29, 2017]( Geraldo has since [walked back that tweet]( but his first reaction is telling, non? It tells us what men in power believe they are entitled to. It tells us that they have given themselves the right to define and dictate what constitutes acceptable behaviour. Which is why Matt Lauer had no problem pressing that secret button under his desk that locked his door, trapping whoever it was he happened to be harassing that day inside his office. Which is also why Matt Lauer is so sorry – to himself. He is the centre of his universe. During his time at NBC, they made him the centre of that universe, over and above everyone else. NBC will continue to deny that they had prior knowledge of Matt’s predation. They will insist that the first formal complaint they received on Monday was the first they’d ever heard of his grossness. Even if that were true – and who really believes it? – that presents another problem. It means that they’d prioritised Matt Lauer so much that the women he harassed were afraid of coming forward. They had a hand in creating a situation that made women vulnerable by reinforcing the idea that he was their guy, invincible. And look what happened. [Click here for the rest of the photos.]( Posted at 2:12 PM [Privacy Policy]( - [Unsubscribe](