Kate Winslet refused to let director edit out her 'belly' in 'Mare of Easttown' sex scene
In her new HBO series, "Mare of Easttown," Kate Winslet plays a cop in the suburbs of Philadelphia who she recently described to The New York Times as a "wildly flawed, messy, broken, fragmented, difficult woman" with "no off switch" and a predilection for one-night stands and cheesesteaks. So when the show's director, Craig Zobel, told her they'd edit out "a bulgy bit of belly" from one of her sex scenes, her response, she told the Times, was "Don't you dare!" Kate, 45, also said she nixed two versions of the promo poster because of the retouching work. "Listen, I hope that in playing Mare as a middle-aged woman — I will be 46 in October — I guess that's why people have connected with this character in the way that they have done because there are clearly no filters," Kate explained. "She's a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that moves in a way that is synonymous with her age and her life and where she comes from. I think we're starved of that a bit." Kate went on to explain that "what worries her" is that, "Faces that change, that move, are beautiful faces, but we've stopped learning how to love those faces because we keep covering them up with filters now because of social media and anyone can photoshop themselves, and airbrush themselves, and so they do. … I hope that they aren't missing out on being present in real life and not reaching for unattainable ideals." Later in the lengthy interview, the Oscar winner shares a rare glimpse at her own "real life," the one she shares with husband, who's switched back to Edward Abel Smith from Ned Rocknroll, which he changed it to before marrying Kate in 2021. "He's the superhot, superhuman, stay-at-home dad," gushed the mother of threem, who shares 7-year-old son Bear with Edward. "He looks after us, especially me," she added. "I said to him earlier, like, 'Neddy, could you do something for me?' He just went, 'Anything.'" Kate added, "He is an absolutely extraordinary life partner," she said. "I'm so, so, so lucky. For a man who is severely dyslexic, as he is, he's great at testing me on lines. It's so hard for him to read out loud, but he still does it." As for the Rocknroll moniker, Kate points out that he, "didn't particularly plan on meeting and marrying a woman who is in the public eye and therefore having been so judged." She also says he's not really that "rock 'n' roll," explaining that he's actually, "vegan, does yoga, breath work and cold water swims."
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Jennifer Lopez cozies up to Ben Affleck on PDA-filled dinner date
After their recent trip to Miami, Ben Affleck and his apparently "on-again" former fiancee, Jennifer Lopez, stepped out for dinner in Los Angeles together looking as much like a couple as they did when they first started dating. While sharing a dinner date with two other people at Wolfgang Puck's Merois at the Pendry hotel in the West Hollywood neighborhood on May 31, the pair "looked very happy throughout the evening and Ben had his arm around J.Lo for most of the night," according to an ET source, who added that the two "arrived together and left together" and held hands on their way inside. Photos published by Page Six show Jen resting her head on Ben's shoulder outside the restaurant at one point. "They feel very comfortable with each other, but are also completely smitten, and it still feels like having a new crush after all these years," another source told ET last week. The singer/ actress and actor/ director, whose early 2000s-era romance earned the couple the nickname "Bennifer," reportedly reconnected after Jen and Alex Rodriguez called it quits in April.
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Lance Bass and his husband confirm they're expecting boy-girl twins
After years of trying to start a family via surrogate, Lance Bass and his husband Michael Turchin announced via People on June 1 that they're expecting twins. The happy baby news — the couple is set to welcome a boy and a girl — comes after a long and difficult journey towards parenthood that included problems with IVF treatments, a surrogate's miscarriage and other challenges. "Because of what we've been through the last four years, we were very cautious to get excited," Lance, 42, told the outlet. "And it kind of sucks because when you find out you're pregnant, you want to celebrate with your family. You start planning their future in your head already, but we were so scared because we didn't want to go through the pain again of losing them. We told our friends and family about the ninth week, when we finally felt comfortable." The *NSYNC alum and his 34-year-old artist husband, who has a twin sister, also revealed they'd always planned to have twins themselves. "When we did the egg retrieval, he fertilized half, I fertilized half. And luckily, they all turned out great," Michael recalled of their latest attempt to conceive. They're also excited about the prospect of becoming dads publicly so that other gay couples who want to have kids don't feel so alone in their experience. "I grew up in this family unit where I dreamt of having a kid and having that dynamic. And sometimes in your life you feel like, 'OK, I'll never be able to have that. I'm not supposed to have that." But now we're realizing, "No, we do need that. We deserve that and we can have this,'" Lance shared. "… We knew that we wanted to be very open and transparent with our experience because we wanted gay couples to be able to relate to us … and give them a kind of a blueprint of how to do it. If you want to start that family, start that family. It's going to be incredible." Lance and Michael tied the knot in 2014.
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Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' sets a new record for first-week vinyl sales, topping Jack White's 'Lazaretto'
Taylor Swift just changed the music game once again. Over the weekend, Billboard reported the singer-songwriter's new vinyl edition of "Evermore" sold more copies in the U.S. in three days than any other artist has sold in an entire week since 1991, when MRC (formerly SoundScan) began tracking sales data. Prior to Taylor's "Evermore" vinyl drop, which debuted on May 28 and sold more than 40,000 in the U.S. by May 30, the best first-week vinyl sales record was held by 2014's "Lazaretto," an LP packed with special features and released by Jack White, whose well-documented vinyl obsession extends to his Third Man Records label, his personal collection and his position on the National Recording Preservation Board. Taylor's latest record-breaking milestone comes on the heels of last month's BRIT Awards, where Taylor became the first woman and first non-British musician to be honored with the Global Icon Award.
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Mariah Carey asks court to toss brother's defamation lawsuit, claims memoir was meant to 'inspire' troubled youth
Mariah Carey is asking a New York City court to toss a defamation lawsuit her older brother filed against her in March. In his complaint, Morgan Carey, 60, alleges Mariah, 51, defamed him in her 2020 memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," claiming, among other things, the singer's description of a fight between Morgan and their late father, Alfred, amounts to an "attempt to falsely characterize [Morgan] as equally violent as [Alfred]," when Alfred was allegedly the primary abuser in the relationship, USA Today previously reported. Morgan's complaint goes to say Mariah's, "subsequent commentary on police relations with Black people was only the beginning of d… [a] desperate attempt to vilify [Morgan], play the victim card and curry favor with the Black Lives Matter movement." The lawsuit also took issue with other references Mariah made to Morgan in the book that he says are based on "mere gossip and of prurient interest." In her response, excerpted by Page Six, Mariah's lawyers argued last week that sharing her experiences growing up "a dysfunctional and sometimes violent family environment has significant public value, particularly to any young person" in a similarly abusive environment who might benefit from the inspiration to employ their talents in pursuit of their dreams," as Mariah did. Morgan also claims he's been hurt financially by the book, having seen his personal and career reputations suffer as a result of Mariah's claims. Mariah is also still facing a separate, pending lawsuit over the memoir filed by her sister, Alison Carey, 59.
'Friends' reunion director defends Matthew Perry: 'People can sometimes just be unkind'
The director of last week's "Friends" reunion on HBO Max is defending Matthew Perry amid questions about his speech and general appearance during interviews promoting the unscripted special and on the show itself. Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter's "TV's Top Five" podcast over the weekend, Ben Winston dismissed criticism of the star, who played Chandler Bing on the original series. "He was great," the director said of Matthew, according to E! News. "People can sometimes just be unkind. I wish they weren't. I loved working with him. He's a brilliantly funny man and I thought he had some great one-liners in the show. I felt just happy and lucky to be in his presence and directing him on something like this." Ben's comments about Matthew align with remarks previously made by "Friends" producer Kevin S. Bright, who told THR he thought the actor "was very funny" on the special. "But yes, I think he's OK," Kevin added. "He seems stronger and better since the last time I saw him, and excited about going forward." Matthew, 51, has spoken openly about his past battles with substance abuse and addiction.
Serena Williams, Jada Pinkett Smith and more stars support Naomi Osaka after French Open exit
Athletes and celebs alike came out in a big way to support tennis star Naomi Osaka after she announced she was exiting the French Open's Grand Slam tournament after being fined $15,000 for failing to participate in a press conference following her first-round match win. Citing severe struggles with depression and anxiety in a statement on social media, the 23-year-old, who previously said she'd be skipping press in the interest of protecting her mental health during the competition, told social media followers she's "suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018 …" She continued, in part: "I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world's media. I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can. So here in Paris I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self-care and skip the press conferences." Serena Williams expressed empathy for the young tennis star from Paris, where she won her first-round match. "I feel for Naomi," she told reporters, per the Los Angeles Times. "I know what it's like. I've been in those positions. … Not everyone is the same. I'm thick. Other people are thin. You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to, in the best way she thinks she can, and that's the only thing I can say. I think she's doing the best that she can." Jada Pinkett Smith weighed in as well, calling Naomi's departure the French Open's "loss" and asking why Naomi's ability to perform, athletically — not give interviews — wasn't the priority. "@naomiosaka was clearly ready to play & had enough awareness of self to recognize her mental health challenges around the media," Jada said. "Mental health should be one's first consideration. I'm proud of her." Athletes including Venus Williams, Steph Curry and Billie Jean King defended Naomi's decision as well, as did Padma Lakshmi, Olivia Munn, Sanaa Lathan, Patton Oswalt, Gene Simmons, Ava DuVernay and others.
Katy Perry on how motherhood helped her adopt a more 'human' lifestyle
In August, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom's first child together, Daisy, will turn 1. And as katy tells fashion magazine L'Officiel in a new cover story, becoming a mom has changed the singer in a major way. "I have gone through a real journey in the past few years of having fun with costumes and lights and props and theatrics, but I have another life at home and it's very small and normal," she muses. "I don't feel like I have to be 'on' anymore, and I think that's because I've figured out both my professional and personal lives. I've weaved them together to be a full-fledged functioning human … of sorts." Katy credits her new, more "human" lifestyle with the "wholeness" she's found since getting engaged to Orlando and welcoming Daisy. "When you have a child, you have someone who looks at you and doesn't know anything on your resume, doesn't know anything about your bank account, doesn't know anything, doesn't care, and just loves you," she explains. "Unconditional love. It's just … everything I think I was looking for." Orlando, of course, plays a big part in Katy's new perspective, too. "I always felt like I was walking around with a little bit of pain in my heart concerning love. And my fiancee has done a great job at really helping to mend that," she says. "But [motherhood] just went underneath all that and got so deep. It's just there, that love is there." Later, Katy credits Orlando with being super involved as a dad, with both the 10-year-old son he shares with ex Miranda Kerr and with Daisy, saying, "… the way that he showed up for him and continues to show up for him, and the efforts that he makes and the distance he goes, I think that's one of the reasons I made that conscious decision" to start a family with the actor. "And this is his first girl, so it's a totally different feeling for him," she adds. "I'm really, really grateful to have him. And he really shows up in a huge emotional way, which is unique for me." Looking back on her many years in the spotlight, "calling the shots and doing what I wanted to do," career-wise, Katy says she feels a "huge responsibility to look after such an incredible gift." At the same time, her new life allows her to finally experience everyday joys like going for walks or playing in the grass with Daisy and their dog. "Now I get it," she says. "Now I realize this is it. This is the living part."
Amy Schumer's husband trolls her with hilarious birthday cake message
Nothing says "love" like a perfectly matched, if dark, sense of humor. Amy Schumer got a jump start on her 40th birthday celebrations over the holiday weekend with a cake from her husband, Chris Fischer. And although Chris is a chef, not a comic like his wife, the special message he included on the desert clearly proved he's Amy's soulmate. A clip shared to Amy's Instagram the night before her June 1 birthday shows her holding the couple's 1-year-old son Gene and smiling as she sits with a handful of loved ones around a table in what looks like their kitchen. The video then shows Chris light then candle and walk toward his lady as everyone in the room croons, "Happy Birthday." When the cake arrives before the birthday girl, whoever's filming zones in on the little note Chris appears to have written in icing below the candle. It says, "I'm leaving you. This was the only way I could think to do it." Sarcasm, of course, runs deep in Amy's blood, too. A couple months ago, she and Chris recorded a jokey video about how great they're handling parenthood following their nanny's departure. "We were worried about not having childcare but we're actually like doing really well — and I think we're a lot more capable of a lot more than we realized we were," Amy says proudly in the clip, which shows their kitchen totally covered in trash, dirty dishes and partially eaten baby food. Nailing it!
