Monthly Archives

April 2016

Kelly Ripa Returns with Pitch Perfect Statement

Kelly Ripa returned to her show this morning, and before sitting down with Michael Strahan she delivered a statement that was everything it needed to be: funny, direct, pointed. She refused to apologize for taking the time off (“I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts. After 26 years with this company, I earned the right.”) and she reaffirmed that her issue was about respect, not money (“this started a much greater conversation about communication and consideration and, most importantly, respect in the workplace”). The only time she wobbled slightly was her reaction to Strahan telling her,”If you need me, I’m coming back to help out.”

-Meanwhile, ABC has widely decided to let Strahan leave Live in May instead of September, avoiding a summer full of awkwardness.

-I gave up on both How To Get Away With Murder and Orange Is the New Black, but I’m still following Matt McGorry on Twitter because boy is woke. He’s schooling of Piers Morgan on Beyonce was a thing of beauty.

Rachel Roy released a statement saying she is not, in fact, “Becky with the good hair,” so now everyone’s side-eyeing Rita Ora. K.

-Not a good week to give Beyonce a thigh gap, W.

-I’m really looking forward to Bill Simmons’ new HBO show, which premieres in June. I’m currently listening to his Louis CK podcast and it’s excellent.

-Disney’s upcoming movie slate is all girl power, all the time.

-Whenever I feel like not going to the gym I just watch one of Daisy Ridley’s Instagram videos and then I have no choice but to get my ass off the couch and go lift something heavy.

Emilia Clarke‘s pose on the cover of Vogue Australia is hella awkward, no?

Bill Cosby is now demanding New York mag hand over info from their interviews with his accusers. The utter gall of this guy will never not astound me.

-Everything about Dylan O’Brien’s on-set accident continues to sound terrifying.

-This video of guys reading horrific tweets out loud to female sportswriters is powerful, but also a little confusing. Like, are we supposed to feel bad for how hard this is for *the men* in this video? And I’m surprised that they’re this surprised. Any woman who has any kind of internet presence deals with this shit all the time.

-I feel like Ariana Grande should focus all her appearances on late night talk show skits and SNL. It’s where she really shines.

-Speaking of late-night shows, Jimmy Fallon told a cute story about Prince randomly challenging him to a game of ping pong.

-In other Prince news, New Girl creator Liz Meriwether wrote a great essay about having Prince guest star on her show. (Fox is re-airing his episode tonight.)

Thomas Middleditch hijacked Tom Hiddleston’s group text and has no regrets.

Samantha Bee took on opponents of the Harriet Tubman $20 bill and it was glorious!

-Oh FFS. Marvel says Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One character in Doctor Strange is Celtic, not Tibetan.

-Shocking report: Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted getting cozy with a model. Try to suppress your surprise.

John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson battle phone-wielding freaks in the Cell trailer.

Amy Schumer Goes Glam for Vanity Fair

amy-schumer-vanity-fair-cover

-I’m not sure about Amy Schumer’s Vanity Fair cover. I think they did a similar look (but better) with Tina Fey. Instead, I would have gone with this pic. Also, her explanation about the controversy surrounding her racist joke about Hispanic guys is…not good.

-Meanwhile, Amy fact-checked Jennifer Lawrence’s interviews. Um, because either or those people are known to be shy and/or lie?

-I still haven’t watched all of Lemonade because A) it shouldn’t be this hard to listen to an album in 2016 (at least it’s finally on iTunes — for $18!), and B) it feels like something I need to take the time to process with a capital P, but there’s already been some pretty fantastic pieces written about it. Like this one about what Beyonce‘s new album means as a declaration of black feminine power, or this study of the visual references, or this gossip angle discussing Jay Z’s alleged cheating.

-Also, the Beyhive trashed Rachael Ray by complete mistake because they thought she was “Becky,” but they meant to trash Rachel Roy (who still may not be Becky).

-Meanwhile, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig explains how he ended up with a writing credit on Lemonade.

-Rejoice! Anna Kendrick is writing a book and you can already pre-order it!

-Condolences to Patton Oswalt, who’s wife (author Michelle McNamara) passed away unexpectedly in her sleep on Thursday at the age of 46.

-Is Chris Martin dating Heather Graham? I don’t hate this. She’s age-appropriate, at least, and fits with his willowy blonde type.

Maisie Williams crashed a random person’s Game of Thrones viewing party and was very impressed by their snackage.

-Meanwhile, the Game of Thrones producers really want you to know that the new season focuses on female empowerment — but it has nothing to do with all the rape flack they got last year. Sure. As long as Brienne keeps kicking ass, I’ll keep watching.

Idris Elba asked kids “what do you want to be when you grow up?” The correct answer is: Someone who still gets to talk to Idris Elba.

-What are these stories about Sarah Jessica Parker picking through trash this weekend? What are they?!?

Lil Kim no longer looks like Lil Kim, which is sad but the hate that she’s getting for it is even sadder, since those types of comments are probably what led her to do this to herself in the first place. Vicious cycle, thy name is The Internet.

-The Huntsman: Winter’s War flopped hard at the box office, grossing $20.1 million despite a budget of $115 million. So where are all the ‘Chris Hemsworth Can’t Open a Film’ headlines? Huh?

Nathan Fillion’s Guardians of the Galaxy 2 character basically sounds like the character he played in Dr Horrible, so I’m in.

-Just in case you weren’t already feeling Drake’s love for Toronto, here’s his new album cover.

-By raising $1.72 million, Robbie & Stephen Amell‘s Code 8 is the highest crowd-funded project so far this year and it more than quadrupled the Canadian record for the highest crowd-funded film/video project ever. My boys!

Kate Hudson tries to convince us her “personal writing style may be more suited for a publication like The Atlantic” than InStyle. The world dies laughing.

-The Twin Peaks’ revival just released the official cast list and it would be easier to list the celebrities who *aren’t* in it.

-This is a great rant about how TV episodes are becoming too long.

-Grey’s Anatomy does not need a man to be successful, thank you very much. Ellen Pompeo said of Patrick Dempsey’s departure: “It’s amazing what you get done without a penis.”

Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine is back in the new X-Men: Apocalypse trailer.

Prince George Stayed Up Past His Bedtime to Meet Barack and Michelle Obama

-It’s been a rough week. We all needed these photos of Prince George playing with the rocking horse Obama gave him.

-Remember when Charlize Theron fought so hard to be paid as much money as Chris Hemsworth in The Huntsman: Winter’s War? She only has 10 minutes of screentime in the entire thing. I love her even more now.

-Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure the scathing reviews for The Huntsman: Winter’s War are more entertaining than the movie itself.

-Any lingering lust vibes you had for Ben Affleck from his Pearl Harbor days will be squashed by these new photos of him vaping. Squashed right dead.

-This article on TV costars who hated each other is a good read. I didn’t know about Balthazar Getty and his Brothers and Sisters costars.

Mo Ryan has a great take on Kelly Ripa and the current network TV narrative, which seems to be “women are expendable/dismissable.”

-Meanwhile, sources in Kelly‘s camp insist her anger ‘is not about money or jealousy or rivalry.’

-Right on cue, here come the stories about Kelly and Michael Strahan not liking each other.

-“He’s actually a really gentle guy” Diane Kruger says of Norman Reedus. I’m not the only one adding “in bed” in my head, right??

Richard Madden says his Cinderella pants were so tight he nearly threw up. I approve.

-There’s talk now that Amy Adams might be the one behind the Guardian’s Secret Actress column. I dunno — I’m getting an older actress vibe.

-I adore this piece on female friendships in Broad City and Girls.

-Awesome Prince stories continue to surface, like the time he surprised his tour bus driver with a custom bike, or the time he saw Hamilton, said nothing, met no one, and then gave it a rave review. Meanwhile, I’ve spent the better part of the day listening to his “Creep” cover from Coachella. It was seven years ago and I still remember that performance more than any other concert I’ve ever been to.

-Meanwhile, this headline sums everything up: “Justin Bieber Said Something Really Stupid about Prince. Because He’s an Asshole”

-God, I wish the people who pick the Peabody Award TV winners could take over the Emmys. These are all solid, solid choices.

Joss Whedon and Mark Ruffalo got together to chat Avengers, Shakespeare, and insecurity.

Tilda Swinton addresses the Doctor Strange casting controversy — without really addressing the issue at all.

-This profile of Don Cheadle just convinced me that Don Cheadle is the coolest MFker to ever exist.

-Lots of this go boom in the new Independence Day: Resurgence trailer.