Newsletter Monday, June 13, 2016

[LaineyGossip.com - Calling all smuthounds!] Monday, June 13, 2016 [Intro for June 13, 2016] [Tony Awards silver ribbon ] Dear Gossips, The Tony Awards. A celebration of Broadway. But in the end, so much more. What do you do when love and joy are under attack? On Broadway last night, they told us and showed us that you love more and you enjoy more. The Tony Awards happen during Pride Month. As Kevin Fallon wrote at [The Daily Beast], shortly after the show ended: “But when it’s the Tony Awards and the Broadway community responding to a mass murder of LGBT people in the throes of Pride Month, it transcends the usual dutifulness of those dedications. It resonates with real meaning, and deep intention. There’s an inextricable link between the theater community and the LGBT community. I don’t need to tell anyone that. It’s a cliché that I would ordinarily make fun of, were the link not so powerful and extraordinary. The Tony Awards and Broadway aren’t just for the gays, of course, and that’s what makes the event and the theater community even more significant. For many, it’s either the first (and certainly one of the biggest) places to feel not just welcome, but among—among gay peers and straight people who embrace you, share your interests, and offer an alliance.” “Among” is a powerful word, a word that reflects what is shared: grief and anger, yes, but also, hopefully, love and joy. We here at LaineyGossip aim to be “among”. Which is what the Tony Awards were meant to be last night - [The Audacity of Joy on a Day of Hate]. That article is a beautiful read. Duana will cover the Tony Awards today on the site. Fashion highlights will be on the LifeStyle page. Yours in gossip, Lainey [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 1:36 PM [Smutty Tingles] I love that this didn’t happen on Twitter ([Dlisted]) Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t know the words to A Whole New World? ([Just Jared]) OMG Liam Hemsworth ([Cele|bitchy]) Reese Witherspoon’s son graduates elementary school ([TooFab]) I’m trying to figure out what the Rock thinks of Liam Hemsworth ([Pop Sugar]) Stephanie Seymour won’t share her title ([The Superficial]) OK but it was a pool party, after all ([Hollywood Tuna]) I tried. But I can’t defend this outfit either ([Go Fug Yourself]) Are you the Serena? ([Gossip Girl]) [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 7:24 PM [Hamilton at the Tony Awards] [Lin-Manuel Miranda onstage during the 70th Annual Tony Awards at The Beacon Theatre on June 12, 2016 in New York City] “I am inimitable, I am an original” You could be forgiven if you felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of Hamilton coverage lately. It’s so ubiquitous because Lin-Manuel Miranda and the show Hamilton are at once separate entities and inextricably linked. Miranda won two Tonys personally last night, Best Score and Best Book, that are both incredibly deserved. Months after first listening to the album, weeks after getting the Hamiltome, I still find new things in the show, jokes or moments I’m processing for the first time. When I eventually see it at summer stock in 2023 in Poughkeepsie, there will still be new things. It is phenomenally smart. And Miranda is phenomenally smart. But he’s leaving the role he created after next month, which is why all this is reaching a fever pitch. In fact, many actors’ contracts will be up in the coming weeks (Philippa Soo, who plays Eliza, is reportedly done in July too), which contributes to the panic/flop-adoration, too. “I have to see it with Lin! With Leslie! With Daveed!” Which is warranted, given that the actors aren’t just incredibly talented, but are in that place where they’re very aware of the life-changing thing they’re a part of. I cried all night, like most people – but [Renee Elise Goldsberry] saying she hoped all her life she’d have a chance to stand up and thank her parents? It was over. [Daveed Diggs] talking about how his supported him unquestioningly all his life was really real. [Leslie Odom, Jr], talking about how he almost fell, but his castmates were there to catch him? This cast is witness to a special moment in time. And we are too. But unlike when an actor leaves a role on a TV show, Hamilton, and all it represents, continues. Last night, all four major acting awards were won by people of colour—three of them from Hamilton. It’s the visual of that. It’s seeing yourself in history. Whether it’s people of colour or women or immigrants, Hamilton is here to include us all - utterly truthful but also the fairytale we want to be true. You’ve heard my favourite line, “Immigrants – we get the job done”, but there are so many others that form the thesis for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider: “I am not throwing away my shot.” “History has its eyes on you.” “Let me be a part of the narrative.” They go on and on, and like Miranda’s sonnet from last night, they grow more and more poignant when you think about the world we’re both lucky and horrified to be living in every day. It’s more than just a moment, it’s the movement—something that should be abundantly clear given that the President and First Lady introduced it together. What else can you think of that has received that kind of anointment? So yes, the hype about Hamilton is worth it. Yes, it will be a part of our cultural conversation. You shouldn’t actively miss a mortgage payment for it, but you’ll never regret getting the chance to see yourself in all the places you had no idea you were. (Lainey: watch his presser. He opens by APOLOGISING for being late!) [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 6:40 PM [Michelle’s date to the Tonys] [Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams arrive at 2016 Tony Awards at The Beacon Theatre on June 12, 2016 in New York City] [Michelle Williams]’s date to the Tony Awards – her best friend [Busy Philipps]. It’s not the first time Busy has accompanied her to an award show; they’re pretty cute together, non? It was about a year ago that US Weekly reported that Michelle [was dating writer Jonathan Safran Foer]. If you’ve been reading my blog a while now, you know that Duana and I are a little obsessed with literary hookups. Jonathan and his ex-wife Nicole Krauss were New York literary elite. What Duana and I missed, however, at the time, was that there was gossip about Jonathan with another actress even before Michelle – [Natalie Portman]. Which is coincidence, at least to us, because they [starred in a fragrance ad together] a few years ago, filmed in Paris at the Plaza Athenee, and Duana and I were actually staying there at the time and saw them together in the lobby. Anyway, last year, just before Michelle and Jonathan got together, rumours were circulating around NY book circles that Jonathan [tried to make a play for Natalie]. She was super into his book Eating Animals and wanted to produce the documentary. So they started exchanging emails. And supposedly Jonathan started crushing on her. And some believe that that’s why he left his wife. Natalie, however, was like, um, no thank you, I will stay married to my husband. Not only that, the story is that she then made sure to let people know, over email, that she wanted nothing to do with him. None of this has ever been substantiated. The expected title of Nicole Krauss’s next book (if you’ve never read her The History Of Love, you should) is How To Be A Man. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 5:32 PM [Zayn’s anxiety] [Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik in the East Village in New York City, New York, June 11, 2016] [Zayn Malik] and [Gigi Hadid] stepped out together in New York the other day, confirming that they’d gotten back together. On Saturday Zayn was supposed to perform at Capital FM’s Summertime Ball back home in London. He was in London but cancelled the performance. This was his explanation on Twitter: [pic.twitter.com/YmVQ2estd2] — zayn (@zaynmalik) [June 11, 2016] And Gigi’s message of support that followed: [@zaynmalik] ❤️ [pic.twitter.com/Jg2GLgrAPe] — Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) [June 12, 2016] People living with mental health issues often face stigma and discrimination. At [Covenant House Vancouver], many of the at-risk youth we serve are often labelled difficult or wild or uncooperative because their families and communities did not recognise their challenges. During [Bell Let’s Talk Day] a couple of years ago, I spoke with someone who works to raise mental health awareness and challenge the negative assumptions we make about those living with mental illness. I’ll never forget the simple, straightforward way she explained it to me. Let’s say someone has diabetes and can’t come to work because of complications with the disease. There would be no shame in that. It should be the same with those facing mental health challenges. The fact that someone like Zayn, so young, so famous, with his reach and influence, is speaking about his struggles with no embarrassment and without hesitation is encouraging. Hopefully it also means he’s accessing treatment and support. I also appreciate that Zayn, in his message, is not assigning blame. He’s not complaining about fans. He’s not bitching about the media, even though, conceivably, the combination of those pressures might exacerbate his condition. These are positive signs to take away. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 4:46 PM [The Color Purple at the Tonys] [Cynthia Erivo at the 70th Annual Tony Awards at The Beacon Theatre on June 12, 2016 in New York City] “I’m Beautiful, And I’m Here” People swear that you have to see Hamilton. People brag about their tickets, about their transformative experiences about the show. They refer to Lin-Manuel Miranda by his first syllable, they unearth obscure references in even the less-celebrated songs, and wave their merch around, even if they’ve never actually seen the show. I am, of course, referring to myself in most of the above. But people entreat you to see The Color Purple. They beseech you. My friend Michael’s recent urgent declaration that I see the show was somewhere between lecturing me and begging me. It seems impossible that there could be two shows on Broadway right now that would be not just amazing to see, or exciting—but important. And yet. [Danielle Brooks] is, by all accounts, a straight-up revelation as Sofia, the role Oprah made famous. Three minutes with [Heather Headley] as Shug Avery made me a believer, and then there’s [Cynthia Erivo]. As my friend Vance said, “Now you know, world”. That voice! But even more importantly, those feelings! Didn’t you feel her when she was beaming out those words? “I’m beautiful, and I’m here.” Then in her later win, she was so unable to contain her joy she was luminous. If you weren’t curious before, don’t you want to see this woman? This woman who did not neglect to mention Jennifer Hudson, even though she’s no longer in the show? Don’t you want to see the person whom Oprah clutched to her bosom at length while the show won Best Musical Revival? The show of which Candy Spelling, as in that Candy Spelling, is one of the producers? I do. I want to see it because The Color Purple is that rare work that keeps coming to us in different forms and seeming welcome and necessary each time. It felt that way as a book, and later as a movie. I’m not just quoting Oprah, or Erivo’s speech—it takes a truly incredible story to endure that way. And of course, it’s exciting to have such a huge show headlined by women of colour. A hugely successful, critically-adored Tony-winning show, proving that audiences will and do pay Broadway money, to see these women tell this story, no matter what you may have heard to the contrary, about women watching men’s stories, but men not watching women’s. Not just this show, either. I thought about Eclipsed, also starring women of colour, and Waitress, with another three women in the lead (and Jessie Mueller knocking everyone straight out last night), and Beautiful, based on the life of Carole King, and I realized something kind of obvious: There is a lot of equality happening in theatre. There’s no such thing as the hot chick role – or not outside of Grease. Everyone has a purpose and, especially in musicals, if you’re singing, you have an inner life, wants and emotions. You generally don’t cast people unless they have something to do, some point to get across. No female role is created solely for tits and ass, no male role is esoteric and inexplicable just for the sake of a chiseled jaw. I’m not saying we’re at parity, gender or diversity-wise…but it’s amazing to look around at how right the Tonys get it, and what a huge year it is on Broadway, and wonder why it should be any different in Hollywood ‘proper’. “I’m beautiful, and I’m here.” [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 4:08 PM [The Queen in green and the Royal Balcony] [The Royal Family stand on the balcony during the Trooping the Colour, this year marking the Queen's official 90th birthday at The Mall on June 11, 2016 in London, England] The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations continued this weekend with a big display of family togetherness on the royal balcony at the end of the Trooping The Colour procession. As always, the placements are key which is why Big G shoved his way to the front, making sure he had the best view. He owns this view. One day he will stand there, on his birthday, and tell everyone that they belong to him. At one point in these pictures it looks like he wants to climb over the railing, or spit on the crowd. Check out Her Majesty glancing over to check on him, resigned to the fact that this kid is here to steal all the thunder. For Big G’s little sister, Charlotte, it was her first time at Trooping The Colour. And the public flipped out over the combination of the two babies together. Charlotte’s not quite the performer her brother is yet. As we’ve seen, Big G knows a moment and will work a camera like he’s reality show spawn. This child knows his angles. Charlotte appears to still be figuring hers out. Let’s move away from talking about the little ones though because a reader called Lauren sent over this, and it’s now my favourite photo from the event, even though it features no royal children: Should we play Photo Assumption, our favourite game of baseless conclusions? For years there’s been speculation that the York princesses and Kate aren’t the tightest. That might have to do with the fact that Prince Charles and Prince Andrew don’t agree on how much money Andrew should be allowed to spend on his household and all kinds of behind-the-scenes grownup dealings that may have filtered down to the cousins. Or it could just be chemistry. To Beatrice and Eugenie, Kate is probably frightfully boring. And to Kate, the Beatrice and Eugenie lifestyle is probably too lavish and irresponsible. The result? Pursed lips and awkwardness? [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 3:12 PM [The Tony Awards Measures In Love] [Host James Corden at the 70th Annual Tony Awards at The Beacon Theatre on June 12, 2016 in New York City] It would have been a great show regardless. These are show people, so they put on a show, they prepare their speeches, prepare to belt their performances. The energy of live theatre beats in the blood of people who do it every day, and somehow they reproduce that energy in us. That’s just day-to-day Broadway. But on a day like yesterday, so bleak, with so many waves of sadness, the Tonys were a surprising tonic. Right from [James Corden]’s passionate and straightforward confirmation that the theatre community was heartbroken and passionate, the show felt in good hands – and for good reason. Lin-Manuel Miranda said that the LGBT community is the ‘cornerstone’ of the theatre world – so now the ebullient tone had a purpose and a reason. And the show was a banger. James Corden is a star, and BUSTED moves during that opening. If you didn’t know who he was before, if you thought Carpool Karaoke was a gimmick (guilty), if you didn’t know before last week that in fact he has a Tony of his own, well, now you know. But it didn’t seem sweaty, it seemed badass. Yes Corden is an advertisement for why we should have live TV hosts to do the live hosting, but also, Jane Krakowski was effortlessly amazing. [Audra McDonald] was tap-dancing pregnant. [Frank Langella] was charming, Claire Danes laughed at her crumple-faced-crying teen self. Carole King! Gloria Estefan! [Oprah]’s Glasses, in the first of several appearances! It was an extraordinary collection of people who were so lucky to be all in the same place, in the same room. The best of the best, the kind of night where Jake Gyllenhaal and [Saoirse Ronan] are also-rans and Andrew Rannells is the real draw. I know some people laugh at Broadway. Because it’s cheesy or unrealistic, or because they think theatre people care too much, emote too much. Even I laugh at theatre-kid jokes, because they’re ridiculously, over-the-top true. Because theatre people FEEL. Earnestly. And they make sure you know it. But if you’re allowed to feel as much as they did onstage last night, and allowed to cry when the songs move you, like they did over and over again last night, then you don’t have to be alone with your overwhelming feelings. You’re part of a community. And when that community gets to love what they care about, proudly out loud and in public, that’s what brings more connection and understanding in the first place. Which is why a show about awards for people who sing and dance became not just a diversion last night, but a necessary tonic, by and from and for people we love. Love is love is love is love, and maybe art helps us start having the conversations. Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 2:29 PM [Game of Thrones 6.8: “I’m going home”] [Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 8] SPOILERS Several plans don’t work out and people reveal themselves to be the people we always thought they were this week on Game of Thrones. Thematically this is a rich episodes that pays off years of character work, but dramatically, man, some of these storylines feel like such a f*cking waste of time—Riverrun is the biggest letdown since Dorne. Likewise, the return of the Hound ends with him hooking up with the Brotherhood Without Banners, which could have been achieved in one scene titled: “The Hound recuperates with the Brotherhood, and joins them.” Ian McShane is great and all, but did we really NEED the Westeros hippie episode? Similarly, the entire Riverrun/Blackfish plot existed for no other reason than to get Brienne and Jaime in a room together again, sometime after they last saw each other. Has it been years? It’s been a while, at least. And I can’t help but think if the show was a little less beholden to the books, we could have skipped a lot of the Riverrun stuff, given that it amounted to only two useful scenes. (The sixth book isn’t out yet, I can hear you saying. But you know David Benioff and D.B. Weiss know how it will go, and the weaker points of this season, of which Riverrun is one, really feels like adhering to someone else’s script and not taking as big a liberty as they could have.) All that sturm und drang over the Tully home amounts to naught as Edmure Tully accepts a deal from Jaime to be reinstated as the lord of the Riverlands, but only if he turns over Riverrun to Lannister rule. We wasted time on the Blackfish, but what we do get from this plot is the end of any potential Jaime Lannister redemption. He is not to be redeemed. He may respect Brienne of Tarth—he may even be her friend, in a politics-free zone—but the man she believes he can be is not a man he is interested in being. Thematically, the payoff to the Jaime/Brienne arc is tremendous. Jaime had a door opened to him, he had a path to being someone other than the Kingslayer, but his love for Cersei trumps everything else in his life. His fanatical devotion to Cersei is, indeed, what scares Edmure into obedience. Jaime will see everyone around him dead before he fails Cersei. The pockets of decency in Jaime don’t outweigh that streak of selfish madness. He’s not going to be a romantic hero who rides off on adventure. Jaime Lannister is the Kingslayer, the fist of the Lannisters, and I have the horrible feeling his story will end at the point of Brienne’s sword. She is the dispenser of justice, after all, and Jaime is willing to do terrible things. In Meereen Tyrion’s plan is another failure, as the masters sail back to reclaim their property, as Missandei says. We get one delightful scene of Tyrion trying to get Missandei and Greyworm to tell jokes, which highlights the staggering lack of perception Tyrion has for people outside his realm of understanding. Though it is a really funny scene—Greyworm burns!—it foreshadows his inability to correctly read the situation with the masters. Missandei and Greyworm, who do know that world, were right all along, and attempting peace with them was pointless. Fortunately, Daenerys shows up just in time, though the battle is postponed until a future episode. We’re also putting off Cersei’s trial and whatever Margaery is going to do in King’s Landing (dubbed on Twitter as the “[Rose Vine Restoration]”). We get the trailer-teased “I choose violence” moment as the Mountain tears a guy’s head off, but then Tommen declares no more trial by combat, which means Cersei will have to go to old-fashioned tribunal court. But so will Loras, and I assume Margaery will have something to say about that. Maybe. No one else’s plans are working out so far. (In keeping with that theme, the long-awaited Battle of the Bastards is next week. I think we’ve all been assuming that, however brutal it may be, the Starks will win and Sansa will reclaim Winterfell. But…what if they don’t? It’s really feeling like everyone but Daenerys is about to suffer a tremendous loss. And the only reason Daenerys won’t is because she has dragons and that’s basically cheating.) The only person who actually wins a battle this week, besides the Mountain, is Arya Stark, of Winterfell. She squares off with the Waif and wins, although we don’t actually get to see it. But she delivers the Waif’s face to the House of Black and White, and though Jaqen H’Gar proclaims her “no one”, Arya reclaims her name and is heading home to Westeros. Jaqen seems pleased, which begs the question if he always knew Arya wasn’t going to go full-faceless, and he was in, in his own strange way, teaching her what she would need to know to make it as a warrior. Syrio Forel taught Arya how to dance, but Jaqen taught her how to choreograph. The next steps are hers. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 1:58 PM [June 13, 2016 – Smutty Shout-Outs] [Marva and Lainey] Marva! Thank you so much for coming on Saturday. It was lovely to meet you and Chervelle and share our immigrant pride! Stay badass. And every time I come to Vancouver, I will be looking for you at YVR! [Y V R ➰Events || Mummy and I at @projectskinmd with @laineygossip and @skinceuticalsca. Glad she got to come out and enjoy an afternoon out, and to meet our favourite @thesocialctv socialite, Lainey! No doubt she enjoyed herself! (Check previous video). . #LAINEYxSKINCEUTICALS #SkinceuticalsCanada #ProjectSkinMD #Vancouver #theinstagramlab] A photo posted by c h e r V elle Camille Atelier (@chervelleca) on Jun 11, 2016 at 7:36pm PDT And for Janet from Allison – Happy Birthday! By request, here’s Jason Dohring. LoVe. [Click here for the rest of the photos.] Posted at 1:45 PM [Privacy Policy] - [Unsubscribe]