Dame Joan Collins for Tatler Magazine- May 2019
How many times have you heard that the eighties are back? It seems that with every new season, someone somewhere will declare that once again the decade of power shoulders and party dresses has come back around, but dear reader, take my word it: in 2019, the eighties really are back, and the shoulders are bigger than ever.
Confirming the official return of the trend is Tatler's magazine latest cover-star, Dame Joan Collins who fronts the May issue in a feathery white dress by Ashi Studio, an equally dramatic hat by Phillip Treacy and, of course, giant diamond and sapphire drop earrings by Moussaieff Jewellers.
"Divas are Forever" declares the cover, alongside a quote from Collins stating: 'Old school is the best school, darling.' Inside, the British actress and author appears in a variety of equally fabulous looks including a puffed shoulder number by Giambattista Valli, printed tights from Falke and diamante heels from Manolo Blahnik. The finishing touch? Bouffant hair, plenty of eyeliner and oversized diamonds (we see a theme emerging) from Graff.
The last couple of months have seen the now 85 year-old former Dynasty star in high demand in the fashion world. In December, it was announced that she was the new face of Kurt Geiger whilst in February, Collins was invited by the designer Erdem to sit front row during his show at London Fashion Week. Wearing a black leather jacket, floral dress and oversized sunglasses, her appearance quickly became one of the most talked about celebrity spottings of the show season.
Collins' original Dynasty wardrobe perfectly sums up the mood of the spring/summer 2019 season. The eighties trend kicked off during New York fashion week with Escada, a brand which was a go-to for eighties corporate working women, staging an on-schedule catwalk show for the first time in the brand's history. In celebration of the brand’s 40th anniversary, global design director Niall Sloan's collection saw eighties films including Working Girl and Pretty Woman appear on his moodboard. The results? Plenty of oversized silhouettes, polka dots and languid colour blocking.
Marc Jacobs also made reference to the eighties era, and in particular Yves Saint Laurent's signature cuts, but this time around Jacobs took them to the extreme with supersized shoulders and billowing pleated trousers.
Meanwhile, in Paris there was plenty of lamé at Isabel Marant, acid washed denim at Dior and Chanel and thigh-skimming party dresses at Saint Laurent - plus, in Milan, Max Mara showed numerous XXL trouser suits.
Unsurprisingly, it hasn't taken long for these eighties references to trickle down to the high street too. During a quick look around Zara last week I discovered plenty of neon hued slip dresses, Topshop has a huge selection of white boots and strappy sandals whilst blazers in Arket come complete with padded shoulders.
If you're in need of more inspiration, look to Collin's personal Instagram, where she regularly posts throwback photos and Dynasty video clips of her character, the vampish Alexis Carrington.
#RHOA: Question; How Does Marlo Hampton Make Her Money?
Marlo Hampton is someone who has been in and out of the Real Houswives world for years. She first came onto The Real Housewives of Atlanta as a friend of Nene Leakes but has since been involved in her own fair share of drama with the rest of the housewives.
For seasons, the rest of the women on the show have wondered what Hampton did for a living and how she was able to live such a glamorous lifestyle. Did she have a sugar daddy? Did she own a business? No one knew exactly what she did, until now.
And it appears that when it comes to work, the star wears a few hats.
“I’m an Aquarius,” she told The Daily Dish. “You always have to have 50 different things going on — not one, two, three, four, five. If it ain’t 50 or more, something’s wrong.”
Primarily, Hampton is a designer. On her website, she sells a number of shady t-shirts that you can buy for $65. She is also working on launching Arie and Emma, an accessories brand that she named after her grandmother and mother. The line will feature both sunglasses and jewelry.
Hampton created the brand in homage to both of those important women in her life.
“Both of them are always fabulous at church with the big hats, the jewelry, so it’s literally in my DNA,” she continued.
In addition to designing, Hampton also works as a stylist. She says that she perfers to work as a ghost stylist, which means that her name isn’t connected to the work.
“I like that better. I feel good when I see my work out there,” she said. “I just give them a wink, ‘Hey, thanks for the check. You look fabulous.'”
She also opened a clothing boutique in 2008 that sold high-end fashion. Though the store has since closed, Hampton is interested in opening another.
“It’ll be more like a fashion house where you can come and pull clothes, be styled, where you can rent pieces and things like that,” she told the outlet. “You get the Marlo experience.”
Hampton doesn’t just focus on fashion. She also dabbles in beauty.
The star has her own hair line that she promotes on Instagram and gives fashion and beauty advice on her YouTube channel.
Hampton’s nonprofit
In addition to creating businesses for herself, Hampton is also interested in giving back to others.
In 2011, she started Glam it UP, which is a nonprofit that helps girls who are going through the foster care system. Through the program, Hampton mentors girls aged 13 to 17 and helps them experience nice things that they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to, like WNBA games and Christmas brunches.
“My Glam It UP girls, I tell them, ‘The world is yours. If you can dream it, you can achieve it,” the star said. “So I just hope they look at me and say, ‘Dang, well, Ms. Marlo was in foster care, and she aged out. I can do it, too.'”
What’s next for Hampton?
Though Hampton already has enough jobs to keep anyone busy, she is still looking to put more on her plate.
She is currently working on a cocktail book and eventually will begin writing an etiquette book.
“I have a book that I’m working on, a cocktail book,” she said. “Not the etiquette book yet, but this is a cocktail book where you’ll be able to sit it on your table and just see gorgeous pictures of me in fashion.”
And who knows what else is on the table for the serial entrepreneur who claims to be “good at just about anything.”
#Empire: The Show Sinks to a New Ratings Low!
The most recent episode of Lee Daniels and Danny Strong's Empire, this week's Clement Virgo-directed "In Loving Virtue," bagged the lowest ratings in the show's history.
The episode premiered March 20 and scored a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic with "just under" 4 million viewers, Variety reported Friday. All told, the show fell 11 eleven percent in the ratings and 10 percent in total viewership when compared with last week’s episode, which itself showed a drop in overall viewership. The series' previous ratings low was a 1.2 rating with 4.2 million viewers back in 2018.
It's no doubt a tough path forward for the show in light of recent developments in the Jussie Smollett case. Daniels discussed the mood of the team following Smollett's arrest in a recent Instagram video, though he didn't mention the actor by name.
"These past couple of weeks have been a freakin' roller coaster," Daniels said. "We have, me and my cast have, experienced pain and anger and sadness and frustration and really don't know how to deal with it."
Last week, Smollett pleaded not guilty after being indicted on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct in connection with an attack Chicago police are now claiming was a "hoax."
#MusicNews: The ICON Sylvester His song “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” Has Been Added to the Library of Congress!
Every year, the Library of Congress adds 25 American recordings to the National Recording Registry that are deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and are at least 10 years old.
This year’s inductees include a speech by Robert Kennedy, songs from Schoolhouse Rock!, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, and some music that means a lot to the queer community: “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester, and Cyndi Lauper’s 1983 debut album She’s So Unusual.
According to the Library of Congress, Sylvester’s disco hit “reflected his childhood background in both African-American gospel music and his work as a drag performer in San Francisco, and has become an enduring LGBTQ anthem. Meanwhile, Lauper’s debut included ’Girls Just Want to Have Fun,’ which she has described as a covert feminist anthem, and the pop star would go on to first become an LGBTQ icon and then an activist.”
It seems the Library of Congress is getting queerer every year. Back in December the National Film Registry announced their additions for 2018, which included its newest title, Brokeback Mountain. Other notable LGBTQ classics like Paris is Burning and The Rocky Horror Picture Show were added in previous years.
#HipHopNews: Kodak Black Thinks He's "Better Than 2Pac"
In the latest installment of “Rappers Who Say Fuck Shit,” Kodak Black claims to be better than the legendary Tupac Shakur. During a recent Instagram Live session, the Pompano Beach native expressed his frustration over people telling him he could never be on that level.
“People tryin’ to say, ‘Oh I can’t put myself in the same category as 2Pac,” he says. “Actually I’m better than 2Pac because I live what I rap about. He’s just a legend for a fact that he died. I live what I rap about.”
Kodak’s bold statement comes shortly after his proclamation that he’s undeniably in the same category as not only 2Pac but also The Notorious B.I.G.
“I’m the hardest rapper in the game, I promise,” he said. “When you talk about me, you should put me in the same category as like ‘Pac, Big, Nas — them niggas. Like, you feel me? Really listen to my shit. I don’t care how I act on the ground. Ask about me in the streets, I’m a real one .. and I’m actually for real. You feel me?
“I see y’all sensitive as fuck. You can’t even vibe high. I can’t even be buggin’ on the internet ’cause y’all think I’m crazy.” (Well?)
The Project Baby architect has been on a roll with his outrageous commentary lately. Last week, he dropped “Pimpin Ain’t Easy,” which featured sexually charged and seemingly homophobic lyrics about the openly gay Young M.A.
It only got worse after M.A called his comments “weird.” Kodak then scolded her for not warming up to his advances, albeit in a much more explicit manner.
#BoxOfficeNews: WOW! Jordan Peele's 'Us' Annihilated the competition with a $70 Million Debut!
(BOM) Universal's release of Jordan Peele's Us dominated the domestic box office, not only out-performing the opening weekends for several recent horror hits, but delivering the second largest opening ever for a live-action, original picture, topping the weekend box office with over $70 million. As a result, the 2019 box office continues to improve over the month of March after struggling to begin the year. Overall, this weekend was the third straight to outperform the same weekend last year.
At #1, with an estimated $70.25 million (~49.6% of all tickets sold among the top 12 films), Us topped the weekend box office with the third largest opening of all-time for an R-rated horror film, blowing away 2018's The Nun ($53.8m opening) and placing behind Universal's own Halloween, which opened with $76.2 million last October. The film also decimated the opening for Peele's previous film Get Out, which was a massive hit back in 2017 following a $33.3 million debut. Get Out would go on to gross over $176 million domestically, ranking as the third largest horror film of all-time domestically.
One mind-blowing stat is to note that while animated features such as Inside Out ($90.4m), Zootopia ($75m), The Incredibles ($70.46m) and Finding Nemo ($70.25m) opened higher, the $70.25 million debut for Us is the largest opening for a live-action, original film since Avatar's $77 million debut back in 2009. On a list dominated by sequels it's not often original content is seen to climb quite so high.
Additionally, Us delivered the largest opening for an original, R-rated film, topping Universal's Ted ($54.4m) not to mention the largest opening for an original horror film, topping A Quiet Place ($50.2m). The performance comes with a "B" CinemaScore, which is a notch below the "A-" for Get Out, but is still a solid audience grade for a horror film. The overall opening weekend audience was split 50/50 among males and females and 53% of the overall audience was aged 25 or older.
Internationally, Us debuted in 47 markets and brought in an estimated $16.7 million led by a $3.67 million opening in the UK to go along with a $1.98 million France debut, $1.36 million in Germany and $1.17 million launch in Spain. Next weekend's key markets include openings in Korea, Russia and Australia followed by openings in Italy (Apr 4), Mexico (May 3) and finally Japan on August 23.
Barbra Streisand Clarifies Comments About Michael Jackson’s Alleged Sexual Abuse Victims After
Barbra Streisand is taking heat after speaking out on the sexual abuse allegations made against Michael Jackson in HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary.
The A Star Is Born actress, 76, addressed the two-part film, which premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, while speaking to the Times’ Evening Standard for an interview published on Friday, March 22.
Though the eight-time Grammy winner said that she “absolutely” believed the movie’s subjects, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, she suggested that the young men had wanted to be in his presence.
“You can say ‘molested’, but those children, as you heard [the grown-up Robson and Safechuck] say, they were thrilled to be there,” she told the publication. “They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”
Streisand commented on the late pop star, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, as well: “His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has,” the Funny Girl star said.
The “Woman in Love” crooner admitted that she has a “combination of feelings” on the matter. “I feel bad for the children. I feel bad for him,” she said. “I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him? Why would Michael need these little children dressed like him and in the shoes and the dancing and the hats?”
Her statements sparked the ire of many, including Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed, who tweeted Friday, “’It didn’t kill them’ @BarbraStreisand did you really say that?!”
“As a lifelong fan, I am deeply disappointed about your remarks regarding Michael Jackson,” one Twitter user wrote. “I don’t understand how you could be so dismissive of the abuse that he inflicted and the damage that’s been done. It’s so unsympathetic to ALL victims of sexual abuse.”
Streisand later released a statement clarifying her comments. “To be crystal clear, there is no situation or circumstance where it is OK for the innocence of children to be taken advantage of by anyone,” she said in the statement, according to Variety “The stories these two young men shared were painful to hear, and I feel nothing but sympathy for them. The single most important role of being a parent is to protect their children. It’s clear that the parents of the two young men were also victimized and seduced by fame and fantasy.”
Jackson’s estate slammed the documentary after its January release: “The film takes uncorroborated allegations that supposedly happened 20 years ago and treats them as fact,” the reps wrote. “These claims were the basis of lawsuits filed by these two admitted liars which were ultimately dismissed by a judge. The two accusers testified under oath that these events never occurred. They have provided no independent evidence and absolutely no proof in support of their accusations, which means the entire film hinges solely on the word of two perjurers.”
Adele and J Law Hung Out at A NYC Gay Bar!
Adele and Jennifer Lawrence are making us all wish we went out in New York City last night, because they had an epic Girls’ Night Out!
The two stars spent the evening raging at Pieces, one of the most popular gay bars in the West Village. The 30-year-old British singer was hardly demure as she hit the stage and proudly announced to the crowd, “Hi, my name’s Adele!” The place went wild.
The host of the evening’s activities was obviously having a good time with Adele by giving her the same questions as a tourist visiting the city from the Midwest.
“What do you do for a living?” the star was asked, before honestly replying, “At the moment I’m a stay at home mom.” Adele said she was in NYC for work, but when asked if she was ready for a good time, responded, “F**king obviously!”
Later, she was seen with, recently engaged, Lawrence playing drinking games and even rolling around on the floor. When it came to competitive drinking, Adele could hardly keep up with the “Hunger Games” star, who shouted in the Brit’s face, “You lose!” after downing her shots in record time.
WATCH HERE
Katniss Everdeen may be bad at making friends, but J Law and Adele are the besties we all need in our lives.
Cardi B Files Defamation Suit Against Vlogger Tasha K For Drug Use, Prostitution, & Herpes Claims
Cardi B has filed a defamation lawsuit against her former friend and a popular vlogger who claimed the Grammy Award-winning artist is a drug addict, a former prostitute, and a gang member with Herpes.
Via TMZ: Cardi filed the lawsuit against Latasha K — who has a blog called unWinewithTashaK. She’s pissed about 23 videos Tasha’s posted over the last 14 months.
According to the suit, Tasha posted a video last April saying Cardi’s baby might be born with intellectual disabilities. The inference seems to be Cardi was doing drugs that would harm then-unborn Kulture.
She’s also suing Starmarie Ebony Jones, who, according to the suit, posted a video in September accusing Cardi of doing Molly and cocaine … engaging in prostitution. Jones allegedly says of Cardi, “Just a Grammy-nominated prostitute running around spreading her herpes.”
Latasha and Starmarie even posted a video together making more allegations of STDs and hooking.
In the suit, Cardi says she’s never been a prostitute or a user of cocaine and molly. She also denies having herpes now … or ever.
She says she’s given the women an opportunity to retract their statements, but since they’ve refused to do so … Cardi’s taking their asses to court. She’s suing them for defamation and seeking an injunction to delete the videos they posted.
I discovered Tasha K’s YouTube channel a while back and one thing is for certain – she is not here for Cardi B in any way, shape or form!
Will Smith Gets Slimed, With his 'Aladdin' Co-Stars at KCAs 2019!
Will Smith gets covered with slime while making an appearance at the 2019 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards held at the Galen Center on Saturday (March 23) in Los Angeles.
The 50-year-old actor flew on stage on a magic carpet ride with his Aladdin co-stars Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott. Before presenting a clip from their movie, the stars granted some wishes to the audience!
Will was the lucky one to get covered in slime while Mena and Naomi kept clean.
They’re back! 'Braxton Family Values' First Look: Braxton Sisters Try To Move Forward in new Season
The season finale for the last season of "Braxton Family Values" ended on an explosive note as the Braxton Sisters attempted to salvage their sisterhood. Things got heated as the sisters expressed their real feelings about one another during their family therapy session with life coach Iyanla Vanzant.
Toni Braxton Living Legend (as Tamar calls her) dropped a bomb on her family when she expressed how she could have been much MORE of a legend if it wasn't for her own family holding her back. She also shared she never felt able to truly live in her light.
Tamar Braxton and Traci Braxton finally squashed their sisterly "beef" after Tamar served up a super emotional apology to Traci and all of her sisters. And then there was drama that unfolded about Tamar being abused by a family member as a child.
Now, the sisters and their mother Evelyn Braxton are working to move forward after the daunting family therapy session in the new season of "BFV."
The first look gives viewers a quick sneak peek at how the Braxton Sisters are trying to repair their sisterhood. In one scene, Toni Braxton sits down with Tamar to chat it up for the first time since the therapy session. Tamar - who has been touring with Snoop Dogg on his autobiographical stage play “Redemption of a Dogg,” revealed it was the first time she saw any of her family members since their session. The Love & War singer - who is in the middle of divorcing her husband Vince Herbert - said she just needed time "to process everything."
In another clip, Towanda Braxton joins her mother Evelyn Braxton to try some of the good eats she's cooking up for her upcoming cookbook. Towanda then asks her mom what she thought about their session with Iyanla and Mama Evelyn still has feelings about it.
Later, Traci Braxton joins Trina Braxton on "Sister Circle" and was shocked when the ladies' first question was about their family therapy session. In another dramatic scene, Trina makes producers turn the cameras off after finding out her ex-husband Gabe Solis died.
At the end, Tamar asks Toni about her engagement to Birdman and Toni dropped a bomb.
WATCH HERE
Braxton Family Values comes back on April 12 on WEtv!
Charlamagne Tha God Admits to Introducing Wendy Williams’ Husband to Mistress
In the few days since Wendy Williams revealed on “The Wendy Williams Show” that she’s living in a sober house for addiction Charlamagne Tha God has weighed in on her situation.
He did it on Wednesday during “The Breakfast Club” and said Williams’ addiction problems are related to her husband Kevin Hunter mistreating her, which matches the Daily Mail’s reporting from earlier this week.
“For some time now and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house,” Williams said in a weeping revelation on Tuesday. “You know I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in the past. I never went to a place to get treatment.”
Hunter has been unable to shake persistent accusations that he’s had a 10-year affair with a woman named Sharina Hudson, whom he refuses to end things with, which was the crux of Charlamagne’s point about why Williams is fighting addiction.
“Wendy Williams needs rehab from her husband Kevin Hunter,” he stated. “This is yet another lie, another half-truth, whatever you want to call it, that is deflecting from the actual issue, which is the alleged abuse and infidelity from her husband.”
“There’s a difference between being real and being exposed,” he added. “Wendy only came out with that yesterday because the Daily Mail article came out yesterday saying she was in rehab for pills and alcohol because of her husband Kevin Hunter’s alleged physical abuse and infidelity.”
Charlamagne also said that Williams follows a pattern of creating a distraction so people will stop looking into her marriage and the alleged mistreatment.
“Whenever there’s a story about cheating or physically abusing her, she says nothing is wrong, everything is fine, she deflects to something else,” he explained. “And since she’s getting ahead of things, she needs to get ahead of this alleged abuse by her husband, because that truth will be revealed and the truth about Sharina Hudson aka Nicki will be revealed too.”
Plus, Charlamagne believes that more of Williams’ secrets will come out in the near future unless she deals with her marital problems head-on.
Then on Friday, March 22, Charlamagne claimed that he introduced Hudson to Hunter, but he’s not responsible for the alleged affair.
“Just because I introduce you to someone doesn’t mean 10 years later you need to be in a picture with them throwing up duck lips and a peace sign,” he stated. “That has nothing to do with me.”
Afterward, the New York host said he just casually introduced Hudson to Hunter, and they’re responsible for whatever interaction they had after that.
And according to ET, Hunter’s mistress is pregnant and is supposed to deliver any day now, so it was his idea to put Williams in a treatment facility, which is said to be in Queens, N.Y.
“He wanted Wendy out of the way when the baby arrived,” the source claimed.
Robert Kraft Has Broken His Silence On Prostitution Scandal: ‘I Am Truly Sorry’
Robert Kraft is speaking for the first time regarding his alleged involvement in the Florida massage parlor scandal, apologizing for his actions and saying he’s “truly sorry.”
The New England Patriots owner released the statement on Saturday, saying “In deference to the judicial process, I have remained silent these past several weeks. To correct some of the misinformation surrounding this matter, my attorney made his first public comments on Friday night. I would like to use this opportunity to say something that I have wanted to say for four weeks.
“I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard.
“Throughout my life, I have always tried to do the right thing. The last thing I would ever want to do is disrespect another human being. I have extraordinary respect for women; my morals and my soul were shaped by the most wonderful woman, the love of my life, who I was blessed to have as my partner for 50 years.
“As I move forward, I hope to continue to use the platform with which I have been blessed to help others and to try to make a difference. I expect to be judged not by my words, but by my actions. And through those actions, I hope to regain your confidence and respect.”
As reported, Robert Kraft entered a plea of not guilty when he was charged with solicitation of a prostitute, and he’s due in court on March 27.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘FLY AWAY’
Fly like an Eagle. To the Sea. Fly Like an Eagle, let my spirit carry me. I guess! LOL!
EGGPLANT NATION: Meet Jay the Foreman
Meet Jay! So you know what to do to see more. Just GO HERE TO SEE THE PICS and remember they’re NSFW!
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HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD ALL!
EFREM
