Actor PAMELA ANDERSON – age 57 and mum of Brandon, 28, & Dylan, 27 – stars in The Last Showgirl…
“Ever since she went viral for going makeup-free in 2023, Pamela Anderson has been the poster child for embracing bare-faced beauty.
Anderson said: ‘I’m makeup-free at home, so why not for Paris Fashion Week? I really didn’t know anyone would notice it, but I’m glad it became a positive message.
I don’t have to be cool anymore. I can just be me. It’s very freeing to be comfortable in your own skin.’
The Baywatch alum attended festivals and awards ceremonies without a stitch of makeup. It was, she says, liberating. Lately Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez and Anne Hathaway also embraced the bare-faced look; Alicia Keys, patron saint of the anti-makeup trend, opted out in 2016.
Anderson said: ‘[Going bare-faced] was the beginning of me letting go of the image I had of myself. What is this cartoon character I’d created? OK, that was fun. But I’m not that person anymore.
I started thinking: I want to challenge the idea of beauty and this mask we put on. As soon as I took the mask off, the whole world opened up.
It just happened to be this silly thing of being at Fashion Week and saying: “I’m not going to sit in a makeup chair for 3 hours. I’m going to the Louvre.” It was a refreshing way to see everything.’
Will she wear makeup again? ‘I’m not opposed to it. I just don’t want to play the game. It felt good to look in the mirror and say: ‘I’m OK just like this’”
WORDS Why Pamela Anderson Doesn’t Wear Makeup: “I Really Didn’t Know Anyone Would Notice It” (InStyle, 7/2/25)
MORE FROM ANDERSON
• Over the years, as my kids learned about things in my past, both age appropriate and not, unfortunately, they thought I was taken advantage of in some ways. They said: ‘Whatever you’ve created, just keep being you’”
• “I cooked spaghetti for the neighbourhood – my kids saw that part of me. It hurt them to think that those other things are the only things people think of their mom. Yes, she’s been in Playboy, but we know who she is”
• “I wanted to do anything to stop being shy. When the Playboy cover [opportunity] came up, my mom said: ‘Do it.’ It led to this wild and crazy life”
• “I really feel powerful right now when everything’s very pared down. I like to see my freckles. I like when my hair isn’t done. I like just a really fresh face”
US first lady MELANIA TRUMP, age 54, mum to Barron, age 18, “in her first public remarks since her husband began his second term, lobbied for legislation to make posting revenge porn a federal crime.
Wearing a pantsuit with a vest and tie, she took a seat at a Capitol Hill roundtable to advocate for the Take It Down Act.
She said: ‘I am here with you today with a common goal – to protect our youth from online harm. The widespread presence of abusive behaviour in the digital domain affects the daily lives of our children, families and communities.’
The bill would ‘criminalise the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII (or deepfake pornography)’ and require social media companies like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat to remove content within 48 hours of a victim flagging it.
She continued: ‘I expected to see more Democrat leaders here. Surely as adults we can prioritise America’s children ahead of partisan politics.
It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content like deepfakes.
We must prioritise their wellbeing by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape.
Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themself freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm.’
Melania Trump’s support of the bill is a continuation of the Be Best initiative she previously launched to promote wellbeing for children including online.
Several victims spoke, including Elliston Berry, age 15 (for almost a year, Snapchat refused to remove an AI-generated deepfake image of her), and Francesca Mani, who was also 14 when she and other teens discovered deepfake images of themselves on the internet.‘A strong federal law is crucial,’ Mani said, ‘one that shifts power back to the victims, ensuring they can remove harmful images within 48 hours. That’s real protection. That’s Take it Down’”
WORDS Melania Trump speaks for first time on Capitol Hill against revenge porn (Metro, 3/3/25)
MORE FROM MELANIA TRUMP
• “Children are suffering. We need to help them and educate them”
Actor SCARLETT JOHANSSON, age 40 and mum to Rose, 10, & Cosmo, 3, was watching the filming of a December 2024 Saturday Night Live Show in which her husband, comedian Colin Jost, age 42, followed the tradition with his co-host Michael Che of finding new ways to embarrass each other: he read out a joke written for him by Che: “Costco has removed the roast beef sandwich from its menu, but I ain’t tripping. I be eating roast beef every night since my wife had the kid.” Then…
“The cameras switched to show Johannson watching from a screen backstage in complete shock. ‘Oh my god!’ she said through laughs. ‘Holy shit.’
Finishing the gag, Jost said: ‘Naw, I’m just playing, baby. You know I don’t go downtown.’
Johansson said: ‘It was SO VULGAR. I just can’t believe that they went there. I was like – it was so gross. It was really gross. And like, OLD-SCHOOL GROSS.’
She’d been warned that a ‘vagina joke’ was going to be made but didn’t realise it would be at her expense: ‘I was like: “I mean, it’s a vagina joke – how bad could it be?” As soon as the Costco photo came up, I was like: “No! No, Michael!”
The fact that it took on a full To Catch A Predator-style reveal – that was so intense. All of a sudden it was like a whole bunch of people holding up lights and a guy with a video camera. They were waiting for me to react. I felt insane. I was like: I think I’m going to faint’”
WORDS Scarlett Johansson says husband Colin Jost’s “vulgar” SNL joke left her feeling “faint” (Independent, 12/3/25)
MORE FROM JOHANSSON
• “If anyone knows me, I definitely overshare. I’m not a closed book, you know? I’m politically active and vocal about it. But the anonymity of my children is very precious to me. The other day my daughter said: ‘I would love to make videos for [Johnanssons’s skincare brand] The Outset.’ She was like: ‘Why can’t I?’ And I said: ‘Well, other than the fact that you’re 10…’ The idea of being recognisable and celebrated feels fun, but then you can never stuff it back in the bottle. The reality of it is there’s a massive loss”
• “When I was younger I dated actors that had heartthrob status. That is, to me, scary. I don’t have that level. Fan crush-dom can be really hard”
Actor MILLIE BOBBY BROWN, age 21, posted on Instagram on 4/3/25 that she wanted to address something “bigger than just me and that affects every young woman who grows up under public scrutiny. It’s necessary to speak up about it.
I started in this industry when I was 10. I grew up in front of the world and for some reason, people can’t seem to grow with me. Instead they act like I’m supposed to stay frozen in time, like I should still look the way I did on Stranger Things Season 1. And because I don’t, I’m now a target.
Let’s talk about the articles, headlines and people who are so desperate to tear young women down:
• ‘Why are Gen Zers like Millie Bobby Brown ageing so badly?’ by Lydia Hawken
• ‘What has Millie Bobby Brown done to her face?’ by John Ely
• ‘Millie Bobby Brown mistaken for someone’s mom as she guides younger sister Ava through LA’ by Cassie Carpenter
• ‘Little Britain’s Matt Lucas takes savage swipe at Millie Bobby Brown’s new “mommy makeover” look’ by Bethan Edwards – amplifying an insult rather than questioning why a grown man is mocking a young woman’s appearance
This isn’t journalism. This is bullying. The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices, it’s disturbing. That some of these articles are written by women? Even worse.
We always talk about supporting and uplifting young women, but when the time comes, it seems easier to tear them down for clicks. Disillusioned people can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman on her terms, not theirs.
I refuse to apologize for growing up. I refuse to make myself smaller to fit the unrealistic expectations of people who can’t handle seeing a girl become a woman.
I will not be shamed for how I look, how I dress or how I present myself.
We have become a society where it’s so much easier to criticize than it is to pay a compliment. Why is the kneejerk reaction to say something horrible rather than to say something nice? If you have a problem with that, I have to wonder: what is it that actually makes you so uncomfortable?
Let’s do better. Not just for me, but for every young girl who deserves to grow up without fear of being torn apart for simply existing”
Comedian CHELSEA HANDLER, age 50, who is “comfortable with her nude body”, said on the Jamie Kern Lima Show that every year on her birthday she’d ski down Whistler Mountain in a bikini – sometimes topless – until her nieces and nephews “‘pointedly said: “Can you please not be topless?”
It’s freeing! Me skiing with a joint in one hand, a margarita in the other, in a bikini is exactly who I wanted to be when I grew up.’
Lima said: ‘91% of girls and women opt out of meaningful activities when they don’t like how they look. The amount of experience I missed out on because I was self-conscious. Have you ever dealt with body image?’
Handler replied: ‘Yes, of course – I’m a woman! In my 20s I would weigh myself 15 times a day. If I weighed a certain amount, I wouldn’t go out that night – I’d exercise. I’d run 2 hours then weigh myself to see how much water weight I lost.
Such a waste. I’ve wasted so many hours about my body image.
I hate that every woman in this world deals with that. I hate that our society hasn’t embraced [moving forward]. Even though we’re beginning the conversations, it’s going to take another 1,000 years for girls to understand everyone is different. You all have different parts.
I am a victim of the same thing. I still care about what I look like in a bathing suit. I’m much freer about the fact that I do have cellulite and it’s not shameful.
I also take really good care of myself because I want to look my strongest and healthiest. I want to be powerful. I lift weights because I want to be strong and ski like a badass.I also want to look good. I do care about the way I look. I’m not somebody you can excise from that argument and say I don’t feel that way”
WORDS Chelsea Handler Used to “Weigh Myself 15 Times a Day”, Now Says “I Have Cellulite and It’s Not Shameful” (People, 4/3/25)
MORE FROM HANDLER
• “In my 20s I was trying so hard, with every eating disorder you could imagine, to have this body I have now”
• On meditation: “Sometimes I’d just masturbate. They both start with ‘m’ and your brain lets you relax after both, so who cares?”
• “I have someone I’m seeing that I’m very attracted to and I like having sex with, so that’s a good little thing I have going”
FROM We Can Do Better by RENÉE ZELLWEGER (HuffPost, 5/8/2016)
“In 2014 a tabloid paper reported that I’d likely had surgery to alter my eyes. It became the catalyst for my inclusion in news stories about self-acceptance and women succumbing to social pressure to look and age a certain way.
Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes. That the possibility was discussed among respected journalists & became a public conversation is a disconcerting illustration of news/entertainment confusion and society’s fixation on physicality.
A woman’s worth has historically been measured by her appearance. The double standard used to diminish our contributions [to society] is perpetuated by the negative conversation which enters our consciousness every day as snark entertainment.
Too skinny, too fat, showing age, better as a brunette, cellulite thighs, facelift scandal, going bald, fat belly or bump? Ugly shoes, ugly feet, ugly smile, ugly hands, ugly dress, ugly laugh – headline material which
emphasises the implied variables meant to determine a person’s worth and serve as parameters around a very narrow margin within which every one of us must exist in order to be considered socially acceptable and professionally valuable, and to avoid painful ridicule.
The message is problematic for younger generations and impressionable minds, and undoubtably triggers issues regarding conformity, prejudice, equality, self-acceptance, bullying & health.
Humiliating tabloid stories inundate people with information that does not matter. What if they remained confined to the candy jar of lowbrow entertainment and were replaced in mainstream media by more important conversations? What if we were more careful and more conscientious about the choices we make for ourselves, where we choose to channel our energy and what we buy into?
Maybe we could talk more about why we seem to collectively share an appetite for witnessing people diminished & humiliated with attacks on appearance & character and how it impacts younger generations & struggles for equality. Maybe we could talk more about our many true societal challenges and how we can do better”
.png)
“So much for the dad bod. DAVID BECKHAM, age 49, is modelling his bodywear collection for Hugo Boss. Bodywear, by the way, appears to mean underwear.
In the ad, Beckham returns home, Bond-style, but can’t wait to rip off his sharp suit and slouch around in an armchair in nothing but his tighty whities.
He has set the bar very high for middle-aged dads who like to relax by sitting around drinking in their pants, Homer Simpson-style.
If you feel self-conscious about your soft, squishy, beer-induced centre, Beckham’s new line of smalls will not help.
In recent years, the dad bod seemed to be on the verge of widespread public acceptance, even cautious celebration, and a lot of us were congratulating ourselves on our timing: it was not uncommon for men of a certain age to emerge from the first pandemic lockdown looking like a heap of overproved sourdough. We felt ourselves to be in the dad bod vanguard – more oven-ready than beach-ready; soft, saggy and proud.
Beckham appears out of step with the new paradigm: untimely ripped, as Shakespeare might have put it. Not to mention bronzed, sculpted AND manscaped.
Unfortunately his outsize influence on our culture probably means a shift in acceptable minimum standards for the male physique, especially for us 50-and-overs, who thought we’d escaped scrutiny. If it’s possible to look like Beckham at 50, then the rest of us are transparently not committed enough. You don’t get that kind of physique by standing on one leg while you brush your teeth.
To the average fiftysomething male, Beckham’s body represents the slippage of time – all the fitness that isn’t ours because we never set aside the hours. And now those hours are gone.
But who’s had the time? Looking like David Beckham is David Beckham’s job – the rest of us have other jobs AND precious little spare time to spend drinking in our underwear. The Finns call it kalsarikännit – drinking at home in your pants – and this important form of relaxation would be undone by any obligation to look like Beckham in his signature bodywear.
Nobody says on their deathbed: ‘I wish I’d done more crunches.’ Unless you’re dying of something caused by a lack of core strength. In which case: for shame”
WORDS David Beckham is modelling in his pants again. Will he not think of his fellow middle-aged men? By Tim Dowling (Guardian, 30/1/25)
FROM BECKHAM’S WIFE VICTORIA
“My boss🖤😉”
“At this month’s Grammy awards, model & architect BIANCA CENSORI, age 29, next to her husband rapper KANYE WEST, 47, dropped her fur coat, revealing her backside clad in what appeared to be a sheer stocking, then faced the photographers. Her face was impassive as she revealed her nude body.
Censori has appeared in the tabloids at various levels of nudity, raising questions about what the couple is going for and how much agency she has in putting her entire body on display.
This stunt was a disquieting escalation. She stood in front of a sea of cameras and invited them, and us, to gawk.
And gawk we did. It’s hard not to factor in Censori’s unknowable nature, her vacant expression and wide eyes. We still stared at and shared the images.
Within minutes, photos of Censori’s naked body were everywhere from Instagram to TikTok to text messages to nearly every news website. An expressionless woman, fully exposed, as her fully clothed husband stood stone-faced next to her.
It’s hard to deny that their public dynamic feels exploitative, if not possibly abusive, at its core.
Sources say this was maybe a master plan by West to troll the world and get attention, one that Censori cosigns: the couple is not performing shock and awe for the male gaze but for the internet gaze, creating a spectacle we can’t help but take part in.
Before she disrobed, West whispered: ‘Make a scene.’ It’s a twisted version of his ex-wife (and mum of his kids) Kim Kardashian’s break-the-internet moment and raises questions about what we are cosigning. Given that we’ve never heard directly from Censori, it’s possible that we’re robotically sharing pornographic images of a woman taken under coercive control or duress.
No matter the context from which we share the images, West – a man with a history of humiliating women – wins. He doesn’t care if we’re sharing the image gleefully, with indifference just to get likes, or with a message of admonishment or concern. He probably wants to control the news cycle and power the outrage machine by using the body and sexuality of his wife for his own reasons. It’s another instance of misogyny via digital manipulation.
But with someone willing to do anything to shock the world, it’s easy to not play into their hand. All we have to do is put down our phone, delete the images and look away”
WORDS It’s Time to Stop Sharing the Photos of Bianca Censori’s Grammys Outfit (Glamour, 3/2/25)
Comedian Marcus Brigstocke, age 51 & dad of 3, who explores healthy and toxic masculinity in his new show Vitruvian Mango, recovered 7 years ago from an “awful, shameful, lonely” addiction to porn…
“‘It changed my sexual self completely. The things I was into sexually were altered by what I was seeing. It taught me there is so much elasticity in our sexuality.
[Porn addicts] have awful sex if they’re having sex at all. It’s unhappy. Unhappy-making. Afterwards they lie there thinking: “Well, that seems to have made us really quite miserable.”
[Did porn addiction change how I interacted with women?] 100%.’
Brigstocke feels lucky to be part of a generation that didn’t encounter the ‘bottomless pit’ of internet porn until early adulthood. He encountered it aged 20 – now the average age for kids to see explicit images is 11.
He says: ‘I had a conversation with my oldest son about it when he was in his early teens. I said: “You’ll see things that don’t look like love or sex or how people in the real world should treat each other.”‘
But his son had already seen ‘some stuff’.The internet is full of access points, with a sexual fetish for almost every childhood interest: ‘Some kids get filtered through anime and manga to the shitty end of that, where female characters are designed to look any age between 6 and 30. Kids think: “Is she a fox? A bunny rabbit? A child?”‘ He shudders. ‘What they can see is that she’s got human genitals. That’s the stuff young people will find online, very early doors, through a fondness for animation.’
Knowing how porn altered his sexual tastes, he worries about how extreme content can sculpt early minds and desires: ‘The dopamine flood you experience in response to extreme imagery is something you can recover from at any age.
The detox from porn takes months, but then you can start to be in the world again. I’ve quit it in all its forms. Even a scantily clothed person on Facebook I scroll past and do not pause for a split second’”
WORDS Marcus Brigstocke: “My porn addiction was shameful. It changed how I treated women” (iPaper, 28/1/25)
Actors MEG RYAN, age 63, & BILLY CRYSTAL, age 76, recreate the iconic When Harry Met Sally fake-orgasm scene in this month’s Super Bowl mayonnaise ad (tagline: “It hits the spot”)…
“At Katz’s Deli, more than 35 years later, Crystal tells Ryan: ‘I can’t believe they let us back in this place.’ Ryan says: ‘Nobody remembers that.’
They’re referring to the classic movie moment when Harry says he doesn’t believe any of the women he’s slept with have ever faked an orgasm and Sally offers a convincing demonstration in the middle of the restaurant. ‘I’ll have what she’s having,’ deadpans a fellow diner (played by the mother of director Rob Reiner).
Now, as they bite into their sandwiches, Ryan says hers ‘isn’t doing it’. After squeezing mayonnaise onto her bread, she re-enacts her famous performance with gusto. ‘This one’s real,’ Crystal remarks. Actor Sydney Sweeney delivers the ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ catchphrase.
Ryan remembers the original shoot lasting all day and experiencing ‘a lot of trepidation and nerves. It was like: “What are these sounds going to be? All the levels. I don’t know if I’m going to get help.”
[Fortunately] Rob had so many significant and interesting sounds to inspire me with.’Crystal recalls: ‘He did one, took me aside and said: “I shouldn’t have done that. I just had an orgasm in front of my mother.”
[Why has the scene resonated in pop culture for over 3 decades?] No one had ever attempted to talk about that. [It evolved from a script meeting when the ‘concept of women faking orgasms’ came up] and just took everyone’s breath away.’
Ryan says: ‘Sally’s funny is behavioural; Harry’s funny is more verbal and reactive. That was important, how Harry reacted to her.’
Crystal adds: ‘And she teaches him a lesson at the same time. And doesn’t care where she is or that people are watching’”
WORDS Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal Recreate the Iconic Fake Orgasm Scene from When Harry Met Sally for Hellmann’s 2025 Super Bowl Ad (People, 29/1/25)
🌈 “Tearful football referee DAVID COOTE, age 42, took coke to ‘escape’ after being forced to hide being gay, saying…
‘I’ve had issues around my self-esteem and that relates to my sexuality. I’m gay and I’ve struggled with feeling proud of being “me” over a long period of time.
I felt a deep sense of shame during my teenage years.
I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 21. I didn’t come out to my friends until I was 25.
My sexuality isn’t the only reason that led me to be in that position. But I’m not telling an authentic story if I don’t say that I’m gay and that I’ve had real struggles dealing with hiding that.
I hid my emotions as a young ref and I hid my sexuality as well – a good quality as a referee but a terrible quality as a human being.
I loved the game. I started refereeing when I was 14.
I put on this hard exterior. Football became a place where I could go and referee and be engrossed in the game. But then I’d come home and it would be more difficult because I’m living a double sense of being.
To people in my situation, I’d say: seek help and talk to somebody, because if you bottle it up like I have done it has to come out in some way.’
Coote hopes to help break down the ‘macho world’ of Premier League football: ‘I have received deeply unpleasant abuse as a ref. To add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.
There’s a lot to be done throughout football and more widely in society with regard to discrimination’”
🌈 WORDS Coke ref’s agony: I’m gay but hid my sexuality in macho football world…it led to behaviour I deeply regret, says shamed ex-ref David Coote (The Sun, 28/1/25)
• MORE FROM COOTE
“I hope my experiences on and off the field can be utilised in football at some point”
• FROM GAY FORMER RUGBY REF NIGEL OWENS
“Homophobia remains a problem in all sport. We still need to have conversations on creating an environment in all sport where people can feel comfortable.When you are struggling with your identity, it’s a very difficult and sometimes very dark place to be in”
Former athlete BILLIE JEAN KING, age 81 – one of the greatest tennis players in history and an advocate for female athletes and LGBT+ rights – experienced body confidence issues and says…
“‘I have an eating disorder. I was about 11 when it started, but [with tennis] I kept my weight where it should be because I knew that part of reaching my goals was to take care of my body.
I was a child in the 1950s – you can imagine the messaging I was getting was shocking. My eating disorder was under control when I was an athlete. It was after I quit that it got out of control. I was able to rein it in, but I got a lot of help.
My whole life I’ve been trying to get girls to believe in themselves and believe in their body. When I read that 48% of girls drop out of sports because someone told them they have the wrong body type, I’m like: boy, let’s go!’
King joined a line-up of influential women for Dove’s Body Confident Sport programme for girls aged 11-17, part of its Self-Esteem Project.
Fewer than half of girls feel confident about how their body looks while doing sports.
King says: ‘It’s always about our looks, and our bodies are never good enough. We’re never good enough because we’re taught to be perfect. That is ridiculous. I started the Women’s Sports Foundation and we want girls to believe in themselves.’
Dove’s powerful 30-second ad featuring a re-recording of Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run aired during last week’s Super Bowl.
‘Dove has reached 114 million girls in 153 countries to try to get them to have more self-confidence, to believe in their bodies,’ says King.
‘Girls are socialised not to trust our bodies, which is ridiculous, and boys are taught to be brave all the time, which is not fair to them either.If we can give girls aged 11-17 self-confidence in their bodies, that is huge.
For girls, if they are in sports they tend to become leaders and they’re able to follow their dreams. This goes much deeper and broader than just being in sports’”
#KeepHerConfident
WORDS Billie Jean King On Joining Dove’s Squad To Keep Girls In Sports (Forbes, 4/2/25)
“Tech billionaires are getting their hyper-masculine affairs in order. Meta founder MARK ZUCKERBERG, age 40, argued: ‘Masculine energy is good… Having a culture that celebrates aggression a bit more has its merits. It’s 1 thing to say we want to be welcoming… and another to basically say: “Masculinity is bad.”’
He credited his martial arts experience for helping him to redefine his own relationship with masculinity and that hanging out with his male friends while they ‘beat each other’ is a ‘positive experience’.
Along with comments that sound copied and pasted from a manosphere subreddit, Zuckerberg said Meta has scrapped fact checkers and DEI [diversity equity & inclusion] policies.
Zuckerberg is living by his move-fast-and-break-things motto. But when the man who created a website to rank his female classmates’ attractiveness is revealed to still be a misogynist, are we surprised?
[Tech bros] like him oversee corporations that impact our digital lives. When their attitudes and behaviours veer further towards the red-pilled manosphere, it’s worrying. Manosphere ideas exist in the dark corners of digital spaces but cement their legitimacy by entering the political arena.
Zuckerberg’s push for even more masculine energy in workplaces will legitimise what many in the manosphere believe: that masculinity is in crisis. When billionaires spout that rhetoric, it emboldens others to continue sexism and misogyny.
You can’t really name a country where women are safe, free and equal to men. 1 woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or family member. The gender pay gap widens. Rights and freedoms are reversed in some nations. No country has gender equality.
Arguing that workplaces need to embrace masculine energy implies that feminine energy or women have taken over, which is not the case. If feminism had taken over, we wouldn’t have a widening gender pay gap. Women wouldn’t lose their lives at the hands of partners or family members. Reproductive rights wouldn’t be continuously eroded and rolled back. Those things are happening at an accelerating, alarming rate.
What workplaces and society definitely don’t need is more masculine energy or any celebration of aggression. Workplaces need softer, more feminine energy to foster more inclusive, understanding environments.
Misogyny and violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a global crisis. Zuckerberg has fanned the flames of misogyny to keep hold of money and power. Shame on him”
WORDS Mark Zuckerberg is wrong – “masculine energy” is the last thing we need more of in the workplace (Stylist, 14/1/25)
🌈 Right Rev MARIANN BUDDE, the Episcopal bishop of Washington – age 65 & mother of 2 sons – “ruffled feathers in the Trump administration after using her homily [sermon] to appeal to the president to have mercy on the LGBT+ community.
Addressing Donald Trump at an inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, Budde said: ‘There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.’
In reference to Trump’s inaugural address, in which he suggested God protected him from the bullet fired at him in a July 2024 assassination attempt, Budde said: ‘You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.’
Budde also took the opportunity to appeal to Trump over the plight of immigrants in the US: ‘The vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbours. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara and temples. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger – for we were once strangers in this land.’
Trump responded angrily to Budde on his Truth Social platform: ‘The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart … She and her church owe the public an apology!’
Budde’s appeal came after Trump, just hours after being inaugurated, signed an executive order demanding that federal agencies only recognise two genders, male and female.
After the livestreamed service, Georgia congressman Mike Collins took to X to blast the bishop, posting: ‘The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.’Budde is a US citizen”
🌈 WORDS Washington bishop pleas with Trump to “have mercy” on “scared” LGBTQ+ children (Attitude, 22/1/25)
MORE FROM BUDDE
• “I wanted to emphasise respecting the honour and dignity of every human being”
Actor & director JUSTIN BALDONI, age 41 & dad of 2, released outtakes from a romantic scene in his film It Ends With Us as evidence that the sexual harassment allegations by his co-star BLAKE LIVELY, age 37 & mum of 4, are unfounded…
“Lively says the behind-the-scenes footage of the pair filming a slow dance is ‘damning’. She is suing Baldoni, accusing him of engaging in ‘inappropriate and unwelcome behaviou’” and of a smear campaign to ‘destroy’ her reputation. He countersued, claiming she had made a ‘duplicitous attempt to destroy’ him.
Lively’s lawyers say the clip shows him ‘repeatedly leaning in, attempting to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her, telling her how good she smells and talking with her out of character’.
Every moment was improvised by him with no discussion or consent in advance and no intimacy coordinator present.
Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognise Lively’s discomfort and her attempts at levity to try to deflect
the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.
At one point Baldoni slowly dragged his lips from Lively’s ear and down her neck as he said: ‘It smells so good.'
None of this was in character or based on the script. He was caressing her with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles. When she later objected to this behaviour, his response was: ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’
Baldoni’s legal documents said: ‘When he offered up that he and his wife often just look into each other’s eyes silently, Lively responded: “Like sociopaths” and laughed. Slow dancing requires some amount of physical touching.’
In the clip Baldoni asks the camera operator to film their lips ‘super close’, to which Lively agrees. He then says they should ‘keep restraint’.
Their bitter legal battle continues”
WORDS Acting or harassment? Stars at odds over out-takes (BBC, 22/1/25)
Actor KATE BECKINSALE, age 51, posted on Insta:
“[The Blake Lively case] highlights this machine that goes into effect when a woman complains about something legitimately offensive, upsetting or harmful in this industry.
On one film I was referred to over the walkie-talkie and to my face as ‘that cunt’ because I’d said: I’m finding it difficult; my co-star is drunk every day. He was going through something. I have sympathy for that but I was waiting, as was the crew, 6 hours a day for him to learn his lines. It meant I didn’t get to see my daughter in the evenings.
The studio’s response was to give me a bike to ride around the lot while I was waiting. Then of course I was called a cunt and a bitch.
On 2 sets I was put on such a strict diet and exercise programme that I lost my periods.
A certain kind of actor gets a thrill out of legally being able to harm a woman in a fight sequence. [In one] I was harmed – there were MRIs proving it. I was gaslit and made to feel like I was the problem, blamed and ostracised, left out of cast dinners, not spoken to as soon as I mentioned there was a problem.
[The day after having a miscarriage] I was forced by a publicist [to do a photoshoot]. I said: ‘I can’t. I am bleeding. I don’t want to change my clothes in front of people I don’t know. I’m bleeding out a miscarriage.’ She was like: ‘You have to or you’ll be sued.’I was felt up by somebody I trusted on a crew [then told by fellow actresses that it didn’t happen].
[Harassing women on set] has been going on forever. I have about 47 million stories similar to this. What is really depressing is I see a lot of men going around saying: ‘The climate is different and so much better.’ It fucking isn’t!
Complaining about abuse should not beget more abuse. At work inviolable safeguarding should be in place. It should not be expected of women who have been harmed, insulted, hurt, shamed or in any other way abused – mostly with at least 100 witnesses – to have to be ‘one of the boys’ and take it on the chin or face retribution for having been abused”
WORDS Kate Beckinsale reveals years of abuse and sexism on set: “Forced to do photoshoot day after miscarriage” (The Independent, 31/12/24)
Actor & former model BROOKE SHIELDS, age 59, writes in her book Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old…
“My gynaecologist asked if I felt discomfort because of my labia. I said: ‘Only in tight jeans, spin classes and every romantic moment ever.’
(I apologise if this is too graphic or TMI. I’d be lying if I said I’m not embarrassed to share this very intimate information. But if we are to change the way we approach women’s health, we need to bring up uncomfortable but very real issues. Shame is not an option.)
My labia had been an issue since high school and one I’d been ashamed of forever. I joked with my best friend: ‘It’s like you’re in a boxing gym and you have 2 little speed bags between your legs.’ It hurt and it was in the way.
My gynaecologist said it was very common and labial reduction procedure would decrease my discomfort. Why should that be reduced to a cosmetic choice, as if I wanted a more photogenic labia so I could be in adult films? Like many important procedures for women, it wasn’t covered by insurance.
Afterwards the doctor said: ‘I tightened you up! Gave you a little rejuvenation!’
Wait, what?? I was shocked, speechless.‘
After 2 kids, everything is looser,’ he said. But I had C-sections and a scarred, more restricted cervix, I replied. I had never asked to be ‘tightened’ or ‘rejuvenated’ (translation: given a younger vagina). I felt numb.
This man surgically altered my body without my consent but I didn’t want talk of my lady parts on the front page of every paper.
The most intimate parts of my body had been a public focal point already. All I could think was: ‘Why can’t everybody just leave my vagina alone?’ (This will be the bit that makes headlines. Whatever. Women deserve all the information.)
I noticed a difference in my body – not a good one. My sex drive is pretty typical for my age: I like intimacy but don’t need it every day. And the procedure did not enhance my pleasure.
Fuck that guy! He had no right to do what he did. If it happened to me now I’d make my own blaring headline and blast it everywhere”
WORDS EDITED FROM Brooke Shields Got a “Bonus” Labia Rejuvenation Without Her Consent: “Why Can’t Everybody Just Leave My Vagina Alone” (People, 10/1/25)
Actor & creator of non-alcoholic beer Bero TOM HOLLAND, age 28, who is engaged to actor Zendaya, also 28, “says that when he’s not working he leads a very quiet life filled with soup, cute dogs and hobbies that include carpentry and golf.
It sounds an awful lot like he looks forward to retiring from the spotlight to be a trad dad.
Holland says: ‘When I have kids, you will not see me in movies anymore. Golf and dad. I will just disappear off the face of the earth.’
[On set there’s] ‘that perfect thing when a director will give you a note you don’t agree with – or I know that [Zendaya] doesn’t particularly like – and it’s just that familiar glance at each other of like: Can’t wait to talk about that later.’
He’s more than happy standing in @Zendaya’s shadow, especially at her film premieres: ‘Because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment and if we go together, it’s about us.’
Heterosexual men, are you reading this??? Listen to Spiderman”
WORDS Tom Holland Sounds Psyched to Be a Trad Dad (Jezebel, 3/1/25)
MORE FROM HOLLAND
• [In 2021] “I’ve spent the last 6 years being so focused on my career. I want to take a break and focus on starting a family and figuring out what I want to do outside of this world.
If I’m at a wedding or party I’m always at the kids’ table hanging out. My dad’s been such a great role model for me. I’ve got that from him. So I think I’d be a primary school teacher or something.I love kids. I can’t wait to be a dad. I can wait and I will – but I can’t wait!”
• [On giving up drinking in England, where socialising and alcohol are intertwined] “I couldn’t go to the pub and have a lime soda or go out for dinner. I was really struggling. I said to myself: ‘Why am I enslaved to this drink and obsessed by the idea of having this drink?’
[Getting sober] was the best thing I’ve ever done. Things that would go wrong on set and normally set me off I could take in my stride. I had such better mental clarity.I’m happy to say it: I was definitely addicted to alcohol. I’m not shying away from that”
• “I was doing a show with Zendaya. I thought: ‘I’ll have to do something incredibly bold.’ So naturally I decided to dance in the rain in fishnet tights”
Actor KIERAN CULKIN – age 42, dad to a girl & boy aged 5 and 3 – would like to be a full-time dad…
“Kieran got in trouble with his wife for asking if they could have more kids as he picked up his Emmy on live TV. Their first was a surprise: ‘We’d been together for 8 years and never took precautions.
A friend with kids said: “Your quality of life goes in the toilet.” There’s no avoiding that at first. Now it’s obviously easier. My quality of life is not in the toilet anymore.
Another friend was like: “You’ll think back to your parents and how they did it.” I haven’t.’
His dad, an actor, was a bully, a drunk, ‘physically and mentally abusive’ to his brother Macaulay ‘Home Alone’ Culkin. He left when Kieran was 12.
Kieran is conscientious. His wife Jazz Charton posted: ‘Considering he didn’t grow up with a good example of what a dad is he’s really quite good at it.’
He laughs at the idea that they might have done family therapy: ‘Us siblings, we’re already cooked. We’re baked.’
He credits his mum with bringing them up. It was a childhood of extremes: 7 kids sharing bunks in 1 bedroom, then being on movie sets and flying by helicopter to Michael Jackson’s Neverland.Kieran’s career decisions are weighed against whether it’s worth being away from his kids: ‘I’m not good at being separated from my family. I’m very much terrible at it.’ Once he tried to put on a brave face saying goodbye at an airport then broke down.
Even the worst days with the kids are the best in his life: ‘One day the kids will get older and not want to be with me.’
He embraces the chaos. His son gets car sick so Kieran brings vomit bags, extra clothes. At hotels he loves setting out their teddies, toys, ‘the diapers, stuff like that’.
He’ll switch on the news ‘and go: “We’re all fucked.” It’s hard enough just having a job, raising kids as closely as I possibly can, managing a marriage.’ So he stays sane by getting through life ‘moment to moment’ – taking stuff out of the dryer and folding it, putting it in a pile. That’s how he copes? ‘That and alcohol’”
WORDS Kieran Culkin on pranks, parenting and why his famous family doesn’t need therapy: “Us siblings, we’re already cooked” (Guardian, 28/12/24)