Katie Couric reveals bulimia struggle, more news

By Wonderwall.com Editors 12:23pm PDT, Oct 14, 2021

Katie Couric reveals past struggle with bulimia

At 64, Katie Couric has learned how to navigate anxiety about her body and food, but there was a stretch of seven or eight years when she struggled with bulimia. The "Today" show alum opens up about her eating disordered past in a new cover story for People, admitting that when she goes to the doctor, she either stands backwards on the scale so she can't see the numbers or sometimes refuses to be weighed altogether. "I don't want it to ruin my day," says the journalist, who also delves into her body and weight issues in her new memoir, "Going There." "I think there was an aspect of perfectionism and high achieving that was very much a part of our family, and that contributed to my discontent about my body," Katie tells People. "There was so much pressure on women, and dieting was so much a part of the culture." She says the bulimia began in her teenage years, when she remembers how her sisters would eat next to nothing and cheer her on when she lost weight. "We all wanted to achieve and do well in school and go to good colleges," Katie explains. "And so I think that perfectionism contributed to sort of the … I don't wanna say self-loathing, because that's too strong a word, but my discontent about my body." She eventually realized "how dangerous it was" to engage in the behaviors and began to give them up. "When Karen Carpenter died [of heart failure due to anorexia] in 1983, it shook me to the core," she says. With her own daughters, now 25 and 30, Katie says, "I do the best I can. I think probably some of my own neuroses were channeled to them, but I try to emphasize healthy eating and taking care of yourself."

William Shatner describes 11-minute space trip after making history

William Shatner, who famously played Captain James T. Kirk on "Star Trek" from 1966 until 1969, made history on Oct. 13 with a Blue Origin flight that made him the oldest person to ever fly into space. The 90-year-old star's 11-minute trip sent him, along with the space craft's crew, nearly 350,000 feet above ground level in a capsule owned by Jeff Bezos, according to CNN. Shortly after returning the Earth, William marveled that the experience had been "profound," and said "everyone" who can take a trip into space should do it. "To see the blue color whip by you, and now you're staring into blackness, that's the thing," he said. "You look down, there's the blue down there and the black up there … there is Mother Earth and comfort, and there is, is there death? I don't know, but is that death? Is that the way death is? … It was so moving; this experience, it was something unbelievable." Speaking to Jeff after the flight, William called the trip, "the most profound experience I can imagine" adding, "It hasn't got anything to do with the little green men and the blue orb. It has to do with the enormity and the quickness and the suddenness of life and death."

Adele confirms new album title, release date with moving personal statement

After months of rumors, teasers and new music clues, Adele finally confirmed she's "ready" to release her first album in six years. The deeply personal new record, which she recently discussed in cover stories for both British and American Vogue, is called "30," as many had expected. It's due out Nov. 19, a date fans previously predicted based on Taylor Swift's decision to release her rerecorded version of "Red" a week earlier than she'd planned. Sharing the title and date on social media on Oct. 13, Adele also posted a long statement explaining her three-year journey to the album's completion. "I've learned a lot of blistering home truths about myself along the way. I've shed many layers but also wrapped myself in new ones," she explained. "Discovered genuinely useful and wholesome mentalities to lead with and I feel like I've finally found my feeling again. I'd go so far as to say that I've never felt more peaceful in my life. And so, I'm ready to finally put this album out." As the singer revealed to British Vogue, the album tackles her divorce from Simon Konecki in a way she hopes will someday help their son understand why she had to leave the marriage, as she put it, "in pursuit of my own happiness," a move she says left a "wound" that may not heal.

Britney Spears posts about new book title after Jamie Lynn's memoir update

Britney Spears may not be free from her conservatorship just yet, but she sure is embracing her right to free speech … and sarcasm. Earlier this week, the singer's little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, announced she's finished writing her memoir. As Britney's fans were quick to point out, the announcement included an updated title for the book. Rather than calling it, "I Must Confess: Family, Fame, and Figuring it Out," a previous working title that cribbed a lyric from Britney's 1988 hit, "…Baby One More Time," and sparked backlash when it was leaked in July, Jamie Lynn's memoir will be published as, "Things I Should Have Said." Cue the sisterly shade: The day after Jamie announced her book news on Instagram, Britney wrote this on the platform: "Psssssss also great news … I'm thinking of releasing a book 📚 next year 😜 but I'm having issues coming up with a title so maybe my fans could help !!!! Option #1 … 'S***, I really don't know' Option #2 … 'I really care what people think' 😂🙄🤷🏼‍♀️ !!!! What do you guys think 🤔🤔🤔 ????" Fans didn't hold back with their title suggestions in the comments. ("Queen of Shading My Sister" and Things My Sister Has Said" seem to be frontrunners.) According to Worthy Publishing's blurb on Jamie Lynn's book, the memoir covers the actress' "years escaping" her "role as Britney's kid sister." In addition to blaming her family for being complicit in the conservatorship that's made her miserable, Britney has openly criticized Jamie Lynn for performing remixed covers of Britney's music at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards.

Sharon Osbourne slams 'The Talk' showrunners

Five months after Sharon Osbourne left "The Talk" amid accusations of racism, she sees showrunners Heather Gray and Kristin Matthews as "weak women" who failed to stand up for their longtime friend. On March 10, Sharon ended up in an explosive on-air argument with her co-host, Sheryl Underwood, while the two were discussing controversial remarks Piers Morgan had made about Meghan Markle. Sharon had challenged the idea that Piers' comments were racist. When her own racism or lack thereof came up, she also challenged the idea that "my friend is racist so that makes me a racist." Reflecting on the argument in a recent appearance on SiriusXM's "The Megyn Kelly Show," Sharon said she now believes the showrunners "were doing what [head of CBS Daytime] Amy [Reisenbach] had told them to do," per Page Six. She went on to call them, "weak, weak women, that didn't have a backbone" to suggest "blindsiding" Sharon with the topic would be bad for the show. "They were friends of mine, especially Kristin Matthews. And I told them that they've destroyed me," she said. "I told them I will never be able to get over this. It's like, once you have that seed put on you, that you are a racist, it never goes away." Sharon added, "She was a family friend. And then boom, she puts me on the hot seat talking about racism, and she knows my history. She knows me. She knows I'm not a racist." Sharon apologized after the incident on Twitter. She later left "The Talk," reportedly with a $10 million payout.

Khloe Kardashian says she's 'always had an unhealthy relationship with food'

As a mom, Khloe Kardashian does all she can to shield her 3-year-old daughter, True Thompson, from some of the food and body image issues she had when she was growing up. "When it comes to food, I had so many issues. It wasn't from one person, I guess just from society or how people critiqued my body. So, I don't play when it comes to True," the 37-year-old explains in the new issue of Health magazine. Since True is tall like her mom and dad, NBA star Tristan Thompson, Khloe responds to people who comment that True "is big" with, "oh, she's so tall," in an effort to be more specific and avoid any negative feelings for True down the line. "I try to make them be more descriptive. I know what an adult means when they say that, but I don't want her to misinterpret that," she explains. As for her own perspective on food and her body, Khloe admits she's "always had a really unhealthy relationship with food," saying she was "an emotional eater" as a kid. Today, she prefers to focus on staying in shape rather than dieting — an energy-depleting activity she found herself obsessing over. "It's all about mind, body and soul," Khloe adds. "If I am not mentally strong then I physically feel like I can't do what I want to do. So it is really not about physical appearance. That's a by-product. You can tell when someone is genuinely happy from the inside out." Truth!

Jamie Lee Curtis channels Janet Leigh at 'Halloween Kills' premiere

Aw, like bloody mother, like bloody daughter! Jamie Lee Curtis went for a double-dose of classic slasher film references with her "Halloween Kills" premiere look on Oct. 12. Clad in a button-down light blue dress, heels and a '60s-style strawberry blond wig, Jamie, 62, transformed into her Marion Crane from "Psycho," one of her late mother, Janet Leigh's most iconic roles. Jamie even tossed a bloody shower curtain prop over her arm to boost the costume. "Honoring my mother in ALL her gory…I meant glory!" she joked on Instagram before the premiere. Speaking to ET at the premiere later that evening, Jamie explained that while she was paying tribute to her mom with the costume, "it's a little more meta than that." She explained, "I am actually going as Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh in the movie 'Hitchcock.' So it's meta because we never knew what color Janet Leigh's dress was because it was a black-and-white movie. But now because of the 'Hitchcock' movie, we know it was pale blue." Aha! As for the shower curtain addition? "I was worried you would see this and just think I looked like a '50s housewife. So I thought, you know, maybe I need a little bloody shower curtain," she joked. Jamie returns to the screen as Laurie Strode in the 12th edition of the Michael Myers flick. "Halloween Kills" hits theaters on Oct. 15.

Julianna Margulies hints she may have 'had gay experiences'

On Season 2 of "The Morning Show," Julianna Margulies plays an out TV reporter who starts a romance with Reese Witherspoon's Bradley. It's her second major role as a gay character — her first being 2000's "What's Cooking?" — and though Julianna has been married to a man since 2007, she doesn't seem too worried about possible criticism for taking on a role that could presumably have gone to someone who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. "Who's to say I haven't had my own gay experiences?" Julianna recently told Variety. "We're making assumptions." She didn't elaborate on what those experiences may have been, but she did praise "The Morning Show" for dealing with aspects about how women deal with one another, on the job and off. As for potential controversy related to her role, she later admits "there was some trepidation of 'will lesbian actresses be angry?'" then says, "… I can tell you I would never, ever be angry if a lesbian played a straight woman."

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