12.5.24 News of the Week
Archwell Troubles and Sabrina and Barry are O-V-E-R
Oops, fucked around and it's December. I have one month left to either achieve all my dreams or just wait until next year to do that. And it's looking like the later because there's a lot of TV I want to watch first (I still haven't started English Teacher -- how insane is that?).
It feels like a slow pop culture week so I've had to turn to ye olde rumor mill for my "news." Basically, this is me this week:
Harry and Meghan Can't Sit With the Royals
According to an anonymous source from the palace, Harry and Meghan were intentionally left off the guest list for the royal family’s Christmas gathering at Sandringham Estate. Meow!
The royals are honestly so petty. You do one Oprah interview and suddenly you're not invited to the holidays anymore? And what's worse for the royals, being uninvited is a terrible punishment. "Oh no, I don't have to fly to England in the winter to do a little walk in fancy clothes before I go sit in a church for two hours, followed by a hang with the world's stuffiest people? How will I go on?"
It's like when they banned Will Smith from the Oscars for 10 years and now he doesn't have to keep sitting through the same Jimmy Kimmel monologue. We all know that the real punishment is having to go.
I don't know if Harry and Meghan even noticed they weren't invited this year. Their production company, Archwell, seems to be circling the drain just four years after making a $100 million deal with Netflix. While their foundation took in $5.7 million this year from donations and grants, the company as a whole has been plagued with high level employees leaving after just a few months. Former employees call themselves the "Sussex Survivors Club." Double Meow!
Sources in the club (or those who want to be) placed the blame for the turnover on Meghan, calling her "Duchess Difficult." Triple Meow!
They likened her to a dictator (in this political climate?), saying she's prone to tantrums, bullying, and angry 5AM emails (that's why I send this Substack out at 6AM. I can't be seen as insane).
Personally, I am not a Meghan hater. I see her for what she is -- a Leo who grew up in LA with zero sense of comedic timing. That's a tough combo, people. Throw in being a smart, Black woman and I think people are bound to hate you.
Based on the turnovers though, it's clear something needs to change at the production company. Let's hope that Meghan is #DoingTheWork to become less demanding or whatever in 2025 (doubts) and that they get invited back to Christmas soon (even bigger doubts).
Sabrina and Barry Broke Up
I'm not sure if I can stop rolling my eyes long enough to write about this one. Because to me, this was only ever a PR relationship. I haven't seen a single blind item about them being a real couple, but I have seen blinds the entire time they've been "together" claiming that Barry was cheating on Sabrina. And that this was all for PR. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT WAS.
For reference for my parents, Sabrina Carpenter is a famous singer and Barry Keoghan was in Saltburn, a movie you never saw. They've been "dating" for a year now, but what did these two have in common? He's an Irish guy with a kid who loves strippers. She's a former Disney star with blush blindness (trust me when I say it's the new eyebrow blindness).
These two made a few low-key appearances together, including the Met Gala and a her music video, "Please, Please, Please." Nothing says real couple like meeting up to shoot a video and then going your separate ways for months.
According to the blinds, Sabrina has a spicy song about Barry coming out in January, so she wanted to delay the breakup until then. But then Barry was seen out with the blonde influencer he's been seeing for months and I guess it was all over.
On to the next relationship their agents set up!
Ooof, Angie
Angie, Angie, Angie… why would you show us these pictures? In her first season as a series regular on RHOSLC, Angie K was confronted about rumors that her husband, Shawn, was gay and having affairs with other men. Angie was PISSED and blamed the rumors on Meredith Marks, kicking off their feud.
As a Meredith Marks apologist, I think Angie is in the wrong on that. Meredith was simply aware of the "rumors and nastiness" about Shawn -- she wasn't spreading it. Case in point, when Lisa asked her what she was referring to, Meredith didn't mention any specifics. Maybe because she was too drunk to remember, but a win is a win, y'all.
We left that season pretending we didn't all think that Shawn is gay. Fast forward to these photos Angie just dropped on Instagram for his birthday and you'll wonder why we have to keep pretending at all.
I mean…
…
Angie…
Get serious.
Pete Hegseth's Mom Lit Him Up
An email sent to Pete Hegseth (Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense) from his mom, Penelope, in 2018 was published in the NYT last week.
To give you an idea of it's tone, here's a lil' excerpt:
You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.
I am not a saint, far from it.. so don’t throw that in my face,. but your abuse over the years to women (dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling) needs to be called out.
Since becoming public, Penelope has been making the rounds on Fox to tell everyone how much her son has changed since she wrote that email, despite continued rumors of abuse, harassment, white nationalist ties, and a drinking problem. He sounds great, Penelope!
Fingers crossed Pete will be on Cameo soon when this appointment falls through. What with the holidays coming up and all.
That’s it for this week!
XOXO,
Emily