There's a new KFC copycat recipe floating around the internet, and while that initially sounds exciting, it's just reminding me how utterly disappointing it is to try to create a fast-food recipe at home.
Allegedly, the recipe comes from a family scrapbook that Colonel Sanders' nephew accidentally shared with a reporter, not realizing that on that very page was the secret 11-spices recipe.
There's one thing that really sticks out about the recipe, and it's that absolutely nothing stands out about this recipe. Basically, if you took a standard spice rack and added a dash of everything savory to a bowl, you'd probably come pretty close to this exact recipe. I guess the ground ginger could be considered the surprise ingredient, but it's still pretty humdrum — just a standard spicy blend that you add to flour before breading your chicken.
And anyway, the bigger secret is how they get that chicken so crispy. The flavor of the batter is almost beside the point.
But KFC's copycat recipe isn't the first to disappoint. From the Neiman Marcus cookie to the mayonnaise-based secret sauces of McDonald's and In-N-Out, nothing compares to the real thing. And that's because these foods are so experiential. Of course your fast-food burger sauce isn't going to be mind-blowing when paired with a homemade burger — it was designed as an affordable way to jazz up bargain-basement burger patties that you eat in the car.
Some copycat recipes are basically pointless too — who would actually try to make this copycat Coca Cola recipe (which was ruled to be a fake, anyway) when the real thing is so cheap and already tastes exactly how you want it to?
In my opinion, if you want KFC chicken you might as well just hit the drive-thru and get it done exactly how you like. But if you want to try making fried chicken at home? Branch out! There's a whole world of fried chicken recipes just waiting for you to try them.
Happy Wednesday Hump Day — also known to us as Celebrity Baby Bump Day. We have rounded up the cutest pregnant celebrities of the week, including Jessa Duggar, who shared a pregnancy photo announcing she was expecting her second child. Pregnant Mila Kunis looked adorable in a striped maxi dress, while Spy Kids star Alexa PenaVega revealed the gender and unique name of her son. Kerry Washington, Blac Chyna, Candice Swanepoel, Peta Murgatroyd and Emily Maynard all make the list of the most buzzworthy baby bumps of the week.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis
Pregnant Mila Kunis looks adorable as she shows off her baby bump in a striped maxi dress while out running errands in Los Angeles. The actress kept her look casual and cute with a pair of flip-flops and minimal makeup. The Bad Moms actress and her husband, Ashton Kutcher, are expecting their second child together. They already have a daughter together named Wyatt Isabelle.
Jessa Duggar
Jessa Duggar
Jessa Duggar
19 Kids and Counting alum Jessa Duggar and her husband, Ben Seewald, are expecting their second child together. Duggar, 21, and her husband wasted no time adding to their family, as their son, Spurgeon, is just 9 months old.
“We are overjoyed to announce that Spurgeon has a new title in life as 'big brother!' We are so thankful that God is adding to our family. 2017 is shaping up to be a wonderful year already and we know Spurgeon will do a great job in his new role,” they wrote on their website, which included a picture of the couple holding a sign that reads “Doubling the love” and revealing the due date is in February. “Having Spurgeon has been such a wonderful blessing and we cannot wait to see the face of this sweet new baby (or babies!)."
Duggar, who appears to be showing a small baby bump in her pink dress, hinted she may be expecting twins by writing about seeing the face of her “new baby (or babies!).”
Pregnant actress Kerry Washington shared this throwback photo from the United State of Women event, in which she stands with Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King and Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes. The Scandal star, who looks radiant in the photo as she cups her baby bump in a white dress, is expecting her second child. She already has a daughter named Isabelle.
Pregnant Spy Kids actress Alexa PenaVega and her husband, Big Time Rush star Carlos PenaVega, revealed not only the gender of their baby but also the baby name!
“Ocean King PenaVega We can't wait to meet this little Blessing,” she wrote on the Instagram post of her ultrasound picture.
Alexa PeneVega
Alexa PeneVega
“For those asking about our name choice God called the dry ground 'land' and the water the 'seas'. And God saw that it was good That is why we went with Ocean,” she explained. “And he is a son of the one true 'King'. For us it has a beautiful biblical meaning.”
Pregnant Blac Chyna dressed her pregnant figure in a blue bump-hugging dress as she went to the Brazilian Honey Waxing salon in Beverly Hills. The 28-year-old reality star is expecting a baby with her fiancé, Rob Kardashian. She already has a son with her ex-boyfriend Tyga. Blac recently revealed on Snapchat that she has gained 48 pounds already and weighs 183. She said she thinks she will hit 200 pounds by her due date but will work hard after the baby is born to get down to 130 pounds.
Dancing with the Stars pro dancer Peta Murgatroyd is continuing her exercise routine throughout her pregnancy. The professional dancer and her fiancé, former DWTS pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, are expecting their first child together.
“I am loving keeping fit whilst I'm pregnant. I'm 20 weeks and although I could sit on the couch watching TV all day, I have to get up and keep moving!” she wrote on another Instagram post. “Everyone will have an opinion about this, and that's ok, but until I'm too big that I can't move, I will be doing some sort of exercise each day. Believe me, it's not easy, I'm not used to this body I have at the moment, and I'm heavier than I have ever been.”
Candice Swanepoel
Candice Swanepoel
Candice Swanepoel
Victoria’s Secret model Candice Swanepoel shared this picture of her fiancé, Hermann Nicoli, snuggled up next to her and cradling her baby bump. The South African beauty is expecting her first child, a baby boy, in the upcoming months and recently shared photos from her adorable jungle-themed baby shower.
Emily Maynard
Emily Maynard
Emily Maynard
Bachelorette alum Emily Maynard shared this photo of herself posing with some pregnant friends. Maynard and her husband are expecting their second child together. They recently welcomed their son Jennings last year, and the reality star confessed that this pregnancy was a surprise and that they weren’t expecting to have babies quite so close in age. She also has a daughter named Ricki from a previous relationship.
Sure, most fans are still reeling from the loss of Michael Weatherly from NCIS over three months ago, but really, we promise it's going to be OK. The legend of Tony DiNozzo will live on, and Gibbs, Abby, Jimmy and the rest of the crew will continue to kick ass and take names in Season 14.
In fact, Weatherly's exit might be what the show needs to add a little pep in its step. Just ask Brian Dietzen, the man otherwise known as Jimmy Palmer.
"It’s interesting, because we obviously lost Michael Weatherly, and we’re so happy for him — [his new show Bull] is going to be on right after ours — and yet after 13 years, you go, ‘Wow, now we have a new injection of different energy," Dietzen recently told TVLine.
That new injection of energy comes in the form of Jennifer Esposito, who will play NCIS Special Agent Alex Quinn, and Wilmer Valderrama, who is set to bring NCIS Special Agent Nick Torres to life. Both agents will make their debuts in the first episode of Season 14 — but not before Gibbs goes through a plethora of agents unworthy of filling DiNozzo's very big shoes.
NCIS tweet
NCIS tweet
"Gibbs has been trying — unsuccessfully — to find an agent to take over the empty desk [where DiNozzo sat]," showrunner Gary Glasberg told TVLine, and by the time Esposito's Alex Quinn shows up to shake some sense into him, Gibbs "has burned through six of them."
And even though DiNozzo's special brand of energy will undoubtedly be missed by NCIS' loyal fans — as well as the cast and crew — Glasberg echoes Dietzen's sentiments about the Season 14 shake-up being an exciting venture.
It is possible that no one has ever hated anything more than Rob Kardashian hates having his own reality show, which is a shame, because Kris Jenner, his "momager," is not about to let him quit. Kardashian's new reality show, Rob and Chyna, premieres Sept. 11 on E! and follows Kardashian and Blac Chyna as they get ready to welcome their first child.
Kardashian has appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians before, but he's by no means been as prominent a personality as, say, his sisters or his mother. According to sources, he's been so miserable shooting Rob and Chyna that he's walked off the set, locked himself in his room and threatened to quit. While Kardashian has apparently decided that being the focus of a reality show isn't for him, Jenner decided the best course of action to get him back on board was to threaten to sue him. Jenner: "Resume shooting, or else you'll lose everything, including this house I bought you."
That's one way to go about it, and it apparently worked, because Kardashian is now back to filming, although it seems safe to say he doesn't feel awesome about it. He's always been the quieter of the Kardashians, keeping things about his personal life on the down-low, which is one reason the news that he and Blac Chyna were not only a couple but expecting a child together was such a big deal. (Also because he's a Kardashian, and his family wasn't exactly happy about it.) He's also been open about taking on his sisters and mother when they criticize his life and his decisions. If you're looking for a solid way to waste time, go back into the KUWTK lexicon, and watch the episodes where he fights with Kim — they are essentially pure gold. In the meantime, though, check out Kardashian and Blac Chyna on their new show, in which other Kardashians and Jenners will inevitably make appearances.
I believe most parents start out wanting their children to eat as many healthy foods as possible. But we all know it doesn’t quite work out that way. Children have the nerve to develop their own taste and texture preferences despite our wishes. Somewhere down the line, after we've tried the organic baby foods and puffed veggie snacks, the kiddie diet turns to crap.
It’s all so innocent at first. Grandma sneaks them their first cookie. A day care provider might convince you that all-beef hot dogs on the menu will not ruin your toddler's refined palate. You tell yourself to stop being such a stick-in-the-mud and let the kid live. Then, before you know it, your tiny human prefers french fries over fresh broccoli.
Once you hit the acceptance phase of feeding your kid terrible food, it’s all over. Parenting a small child already consists of a million little battles daily. Why stress yourself with one more toddler food fight? At least, this is what you mutter before ordering your kid the mini pizza on the kids' menu.
Welcome to my struggle! Here are foods I feel guilty for feeding my kid but end up saying screw it anyway:
Hot dogs: My daughter could eat a hot dog every day for lunch and not get tired of it. I make myself feel better about feeding her mystery sausage meat by limiting her to one at least every other day.
Cold cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Frosted Flakes are my favorite trash cereals. I like to treat myself occasionally. After my kid asks for the fifth time that day if she can have a bowl, I cave.
Juice: Most of the “juice” products on grocery store shelves are A) from concentrate or B) full of high-fructose corn syrup. “Fruit” punch is a fancier Kool-Aid. And my kid gets juice box wasted on a sugar high every single time.
Applesauce: I try to pretend applesauce counts as healthy because it once identified as fruit. It’s really just apple-flavored syrup. And for some reason, cinnamon applesauce is even sweeter than the original!
Fruit snacks: Candy by any other name is still candy.
Cheetos: In my defense, my parents shipped my kid a box full of snack-pack Cheetos. I couldn’t very well let them go to waste.
I try to comfort myself with the knowledge that I also shove fresh fruit and vegetables at my kid every chance I get. Balance is so hard to achieve as a parent. Still, I think our children will be OK if we let them indulge in less-than-healthy foods occasionally. I don’t know if raw carrots negate the effects of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But I do know that the temporary peace of a happy, eating kid outweighs Mommy Guilt every time.
Don’t get me wrong, back-to-school season is happy and fun. I love the excitement of seeing new adventures through the eyes of my children. I love their enthusiasm for new crayons and new backpacks, although my enthusiasm doesn’t extend to the metric ton of glue sticks that are required to attend elementary school. I also love that my kids are out of my house for approximately seven hours a day and that I don’t have to endure whining about being bored and constant door-slamming. Let’s be real.
I love going to meet-your-teacher night. I love seeing all the cute first-day-of-school pictures in my Facebook and Instagram feeds.
I don’t love the moms in our midst who are taking back-to-school to a new level of crazy. I’m talking about first-day-of-school teacher gifts.
I have great respect for teachers; let’s just get that out of the way. Teachers genuinely love and care for my children and want the best for them. They’re criticized more than they’re praised, and goodness knows they’re not in it to make bank.
I appreciate my kids' teachers specifically. I give a small gift at Christmas and a handwritten thank-you at the end of the school year. Those things are from the heart, and I don’t need anyone to prompt me to do them. But last school year, I noticed things were getting a little crazy. My kids brought home numerous notes asking me to send in packaged snacks for Teacher Appreciation Days. The room mom from one of my boys’ classrooms took up a collection to get the teacher an end-of-year gift from the parents (which ended up being a triple-digit cash gift card) and another collection to give the class an end-of-year party on top of the end-of-year party the school put on that cost nothing.
But the latest excuse to out-Pinterest one another running through my news feed is just too much.
This is "bring your teacher a shiny red apple" on steroids. There’s no reason to add “craft the perfect back-to-school present for the teacher” to the long-ass list of things I have to do to get my kids ready for school. I just spent over $200 on school supplies, and I haven’t even bought everything on the list. I haven’t been shopping for school clothes or taken my kids to get haircuts. The amount of money flying out of my bank account makes me cringe. I have a to-do list that’s scary long, and I’m spending a crap-ton of money to get my kids ready for public education.
I’m raising the “nope” flag. Enough.
I'm not going to say that teachers don't appreciate your presents, because I'm sure they do. Who doesn't like presents? But teachers don't expect a gift for teaching your child. A child who brings a gift on the first day doesn't get treated any better than the child who doesn't. And remember what I said about teachers genuinely loving and caring for children? It's true. Seriously, I bet "I know the pay isn't great, but there are all those tea bags and notepads I get on the first day of school" isn't said by... well, it probably isn't said by any teacher.
If it’s in your heart to give your child’s teacher a gift to celebrate the first day of school, rock on. She will probably accept it with a smile and a thank-you. But don’t do it because it’s the next new thing social media is guilting you into or because you’re afraid you’ll be one-upped by another overachieving Pinterest freak.
Do go to meet-the-teacher night. Smile. Tell her you’re glad to meet her, and mean it. Put the metric ton of school supplies into the cubby, and don’t make a snide remark about the shitload of glue sticks. Make a point to say "hello" on the first day of school. Smile, and wish her well. If you have time to give, ask her what she needs, and follow through. Be nice. Be interested.
RHONY's LuAnn de Lesseps has officially and publicly forgiven her fiancé Tom D’Agostino for kissing his ex the night before the couple's engagement party.
While this situation is 100 percent their business and a personal decision for de Lesseps to make on her own, I can't help but feel like this behavior won't be a pattern in their relationship.
"I’m not going to let a stupid kiss ruin the rest of my life," de Lesseps told People. "He screwed up. What he did was wrong. But this wasn’t premeditated. It wasn’t an affair. It was a mistake. He was upset with me. It was a stupid retaliation of some sort. He did the wrong thing, and he totally recognizes that. I know in my heart of hearts that he loves me."
If this is how D'Agostino reacts when he gets angry — he goes for revenge by kissing other women — then the future does not look bright for these two.
Having a few drinks and kissing an ex don't equal a moment of weakness, they equal a huge red flag, especially if the two aren't even married yet.
Again, I'm not trying to say that every time someone in a relationship strays that the relationship should end or that de Lesseps isn't intelligent enough to make her own decisions about her life partner, but I worry for her. I worry that she isn't seeing the signs here that D'Agostino isn't just someone who makes innocent mistakes.
Love is blind, but I hope de Lesseps can open up her eyes to what's really going on and discover the truth — whatever it may be — before she says, "I do."
The '90s don't seem like they were that long ago — until you look at photos of Justin Timberlake and remember the monstrous desktop computers that used to clog up half your living room. Parenting in the '90s was simpler, but there were also telltale signs from the two Bills (Clinton and Gates) that things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.
The next time you find yourself knee-deep in parent shame over everything from your approach to discipline to taking Tylenol while pregnant, imagine yourself as a '90s parent, and take these tips from the parents who got through the decade responsible for the Spice Girls, Tonya Harding, that blue dress and 30 different versions of Leonardo DiCaprio (from Growing Pains to Titanic).
Against your better judgment, you say yes to the laser school portrait background
Every '90s child came home from school in September with three portrait background options: multicolored laser lights, fuchsia laser lights and autumn leaves. The adult in you — the one who knows about fickle trends and longs for a keepsake that will stand the test of time — begs: leaves, leaves, please Lord, leaves. As you circle "c," your child throws himself on the floor and sobs uncontrollably about the injustice of not being able to pose in front of shooting lasers. Aaaaand... lasers win.
Toward the end of the '90s, the crusade against genetically modified foods really started to heat up, and debates over whether school vending machines should sell sugary drinks became common discourse. But the early to mid-'90s was still a shitstorm of DunkAroos, Soda-Licious fruit snacks and pizza Lunchables. Parents thought about what their kids were consuming, but they also threw up their hands at that point when they realized their power to influence would never be as strong as Orbitz, a sugary drink that looked like a lava lamp.
Parents in the '90s would never have dreamed of signing their kids up for 20 extracurricular activities — kids would have been lucky to find that many activities offered at their school. Furthermore, not every child qualified for the school's dance, volleyball or baseball teams, and not seeing your name on a sheet posted in the hallway after auditions was just part of growing up. You joined ballet or gymnastics or basketball, and that was it. Truly talented unicorn children joined two teams — and memorized the bus schedule so they could take it home after practice.
Kids was the controversial 1995 film starring Chloë Sevigny, Rosario Dawson and a bunch of other kids who were actually kids when they were filmed having fake sex, taking drugs and partying the night away on the streets of New York City. Prior to the release of the Larry Clark film, adult actors posed as teens in Beverly Hills, 90210 and sweetly lost their virginity after prom, but Kids tackled topics like AIDS and drug use in a way that was raw and relatable to teens — but downright scary as shit for the adults raising them. Parents fell into one of two camps: There were those who prohibited their kids from watching Kids and considered it exploitative trash, and those who used the film to help teach their teens about the dangers of drugs and unprotected sex.
If the '80s spawned the war on drugs, the '90s was the decade when pop culture reflected back all that it had absorbed during the Reagan years. You had Jessie Spano hooked on caffeine pills in Saved by the Bell, Rayanne Graff abusing alcohol and drugs in My So-Called Life and teen heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio developing a heroin habit in The Basketball Diaries. The ugly side of addiction was out there on both the big and little screen for children and teens to see, which made it a lot easier for parents to have the big drug talk with their kids.
Sure, your child had a private life outside of the home and shared what little she could with friends while chatting in a low voice on the phone in her bedroom (but she probably didn't have her own phone number). But if you were a parent intent on snooping in the '90s, you needn't yet be concerned that your kid was flashing her body on Snapchat. Almost everything you needed to know came from two sources. If you had a teen, his or her beeper would reveal the numbers of people in her inner circle as well as secret messages like "1-4-3," which indicated he or she had a love interest. If you had a tween, one glance at her Lisa Frank binder, which she decorated with the names of crushes, song lyrics and her innermost feelings and thoughts about life, kept you clued in.
Despite what some people think, '90s kids were obsessed with technology — desktop computers were already a thing, as was the internet, though it was still in its infant stages of development. But tech didn't consume every second of their lives, because it couldn't. There was only so much a teen could say and plan during that one hour he just so happened to find his friends on AOL Instant Messenger. They'd create awful GeoCities homepages and storm chat rooms to harass anonymous users (sharpening their troll tools). But dial-up internet rendered it impossible to hang out all day on the computer, because parents and the importance of having a free phone line overruled. It was the age of innocence where tech was concerned — and parents weren't yet worried about cyberbullying or their teen meeting a stranger online.
I'm preparing myself for a collective gasp from the internet as I make my revelation: I don't make my kids do chores. They don't even clean their own rooms.
Now hold on: This doesn't mean they don't lift a finger to help. I differentiate between chores and basic good manners (clearing plates from the table, tossing dirty clothes in the laundry basket, putting the mountain of LEGOs back into the box it was just tipped from).
You won't find my kids cleaning windows, hanging out laundry, emptying the dishwasher or sweeping the floor. I only give them one job to do, and that is to be a child. Their carefree days don't last forever. They will both have many, many years of doing mundane adult things like housework. I'd much rather see them have fun, enjoy their hobbies, nurture their passions and simply enjoy being children.
Because even as kids, they have plenty of responsibility to deal with. Pressure from school. Friendship dramas. Getting their heads around the fact that not everybody is kind and loving and that bad things happen to good people. While they're busy dealing with all of that, I'm more than happy to clean their rooms for them.
My decision is likely influenced by the fact that when I was a kid, I didn't have to clean my own room. My siblings and I helped out around the house, but we never had specific chores we had to do. And guess what? I don't live in a shithole now. I like a clean, tidy house. Just because my parents didn't make me vacuum and sweep and scrub on a regular basis didn't mean I didn't know exactly how to do all those things as soon as I lived independently. It's not rocket science. I watched my mom keep our family home nice and that's what I've gone on to do as well.
Very occasionally, I do ask my kids (5 and 8) to clean their rooms. I always regret it. Kids that age don’t know how to tidy. Or maybe I’m too type-A to be able to deal with their, um, unique style of tidying. Whatever the reason, I always end up re-tidying. The outcome? Two tired, grouchy kids and a tired, grouchy mama, two rooms that have been tidied twice and an hour of our precious non-school time wasted.
I have no problem with moms who give their kids lists of chores to do. That's none of my business and I don't think they're being wrong or unfair. It's just different from how I bring up my kids, and surely we all know by now that there's no "right" way to be a parent.
Before you jump to conclusions, I can tell you, categorically, that my kids are not spoiled brats. I mean, I spoil them sometimes because they’re my kids and I’m not so old that I can’t remember that feeling of pure excitement when you get the LEGO set you’ve been pining for for weeks. The world is a crappy place a lot of the time, and I want to see smiles on their faces as often as possible.
But they’re not spoiled brats because they don’t expect to get everything they want, they appreciate what they do get, and they are sweet, polite, good-natured little people. They know how to behave in public and how to treat other people with acceptance, kindness and patience.
My children might not clean their rooms, but they spent a morning at a local warehouse helping me sort clothes and shoes and toiletries for refugee children who have nothing. They regularly gather up toys and books they no longer use and help me take them to the local charity shop. They know they are so, so lucky to have this life and not the lives of the children who live without food on their table, without love and security, or in constant fear of abuse or attack. I know they know this, because we talk about it. We talk about the big stuff, the stuff that will shape them into the adults I hope they will become.
After laying low for a good solid six months, Amanda Bynes has resurfaced to give a crucial update on her life, and — wait for it — it seems like she may be back to her old self, the bubbly Bynes we all knew and loved on shows like What I Like About You and The Amanda Show.
Bynes hopped on Twitter Wednesday to give a shout out to her followers and say that she's been super busy with her studies — and loving every minute of it.
Amanda Bynes tweets
Amanda Bynes tweets
And that's not all. Now that Bynes has put her health and education first, she seems intent on regaining control of her public image as well — starting with all the pesky social media impostors who have been trying to add fuel to the media fire since she hit on hard times in 2014.
Bynes says that her official Twitter account — the one with the official blue check mark — is the only form of social media she uses and begged fans to ignore all others.
"This is me! The verified, real, authentic and actual Amanda Bynes," she tweeted. "Accept no substitutes!"
Amanda bynes tweets 2
Amanda bynes tweets 2
We can only imagine Bynes is referencing the Twitter handle @PersianLA27, which has posed as a Bynes alter ego for several years now. It's never been confirmed or denied that Bynes was running the account. That is, until now.
@PersianLA27 — who says her name is Ashley Banks — continues to consistently post pictures of Bynes and tweet from her point of view. Though, on Wednesday the account did claim the Amanda Bynes verified account is the only real one.
Ashley Banks tweet
Ashley Banks tweet
Now that she appears to be back in the swing of things, we have full confidence that Bynes is going to pull a total Britney Spears and have the comeback of the decade in 2017. She seems to be thriving while staying out of the entertainment business, so maybe resurrecting her acting career isn't in the cards. But who knows, we could be looking at the next Vera Wang or Diane von Furstenberg.
Confession: I have no fewer than 47 pens in or on my desk at this very moment. They're spilling out of my pen holder, jamming my drawers and threatening to mutiny my desktop at any moment. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
You see, I'm part of an ever-expanding populus obsessed with pens. There's just something inherently satisfying about seeing your words come to life from the wellspring of a pen's ink.
Do I realize this makes me slightly fanatical? Sure. But if you really love pens, there are just certain things you understand. Like...
1. Handwriting looks 1,000 percent better in ballpoint
Pleasure because, well, obviously. Pain because there isn't a shopping cart big enough for your ambitions in that moment (not to mention the potential hit to your budget).
5. Your idea of "seven minutes in heaven" is leisurely strolling the pen aisle
Honestly, it was pretty frustrating to watch tonight's season finale episode of The Real Housewives of New York, even though it was the episode that we were all waiting to see. Tonight we finally got to see LuAnn confront her fiancé, Tom, about the photos of him making out with some random woman at a bar in New York City. After an entire season of watching this guy sleaze his way through this group of women, I was personally looking forward to seeing him get taken down. Unfortunately, that's not even a little bit what happened.
Yes, LuAnn did confront Tom over the phone about the infidelity. Of course, Tom used the standard "I was drunk, I don't remember... it won't happen again" excuse and I gagged audibly at my television. I was waiting for her to drop the hammer and pawn that ring, but instead, she barely read him the riot act and ended up forgiving the entire thing. Sure, that's her prerogative and if she is cool marrying a lying, cheating man-child then far be it for any of us to tell her she shouldn't go ahead and marry him. The part of this whole thing that really grinds my gears is how LuAnn decided to treat her girlfriends following her reunion with Tom.
Immediately upon returning from the girls trip, Dorinda told Ramona that Tom and LuAnn called her and Tom basically tried to mafia-style force her to lie for him to the other girls. Yes, it's exactly as weird and irrelevant as it sounds because the guy was caught on film and Dorinda refused to comply. So, he told Dorinda that if she wouldn't cover for him then she wasn't allowed to come to his wedding (ha!) or be friends with LuAnn anymore. This guy is a real prize. That is some seriously inexcusable behavior.
As we know, it was Bethenny who originally received (from an unnamed friend) the photos of Tom cheating. She got all the facts she could and then she went to LuAnn about it. Bethenny was very clearly upset and was not relishing the moment at all. She did her due diligence and made sure it was true before going to LuAnn with anything at all, which seems pretty decent to me. Now that Tom has sunk his hooks back into LuAnn again, suddenly she is treating Bethenny like she did something wrong. I'm sorry, what?
Bethenny threw a random, lavish, Mexican-themed party (because, why not?) tonight and was discussing the fact that there was a piñata filled with $10,000 worth of jewelry (because, obviously) and LuAnn legitimately marched up to her and said, "If you don't stop talking about me, I'm going to leave!" So, it was pretty clear that she was ready and raring to fight with some ladies right from the jump. I imagine Tom at home somewhere, rubbing his hands together in front of a giant machine called the "LuAnn's Emotion Controller 3000" and slowly turning up a dial marked "shoot the messenger." Soon she was going off on Bethenny about the amount of details she had about the cheating incident, like having details was actually a bad thing? I'm not sure where she was taking that argument and clearly she wasn't either because she bailed without formulating even a semblance of a valid point.
Unfortunately, it looks like Tom has LuAnn under his spell. Let's just hope he can clean up his act and turn off the emotional manipulation if they actually go through with their planned New Year's Eve wedding because it's not cute.
Do you think LuAnn was too harsh on Bethenny tonight? Let us know in the comments!
America's Got Talent is all about showcasing the nation's best and brightest singers, escape artists, magicians, comedians and other talented individuals. Given the name of the show, the expectation is that its judges and contestants will have resided in America for a significant period of time, right? That's not exactly the case for a lot of the show's contestants, however, and according to many viewers, this reality TV diversity is a real problem.
The phenomenon is exemplified by this year's judging panel, which does not include a single person born on American soil. Heidi Klum is from Germany, Simon Cowell and Mel B grew up in the United Kingdom, and even Howie Mandel got his start outside of the United States (he's from Toronto).
Image: NBC
The contestants represented on the show are even more diverse than the judges. This isn't exactly new; many of the best acts from previous seasons were from other countries. For example, when Kenichi Ebina won, people took issue with his Japanese heritage. Since then, many other contestants have been plagued by similar critiques, with annoyed viewers completely ignoring their amazing talent and instead choosing to focus on their ethnicity and immigration status.
The argument about who is American enough for America's Got Talent is nothing new, but the tweets are nastier than ever this year. A few people have been content to simply gripe about the judges' respective accents, but others have decided to shift their focus to the contestants. A handful went out of their way to insult Estonian contortionist Vello Vaher.
AGT tweet 1
AGT tweet 1
AGT tweet 2
AGT tweet 2
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AGt tweet 3
I can see why people want America's Got Talent to be more representative of America, but really, inclusiveness is what America's all about. I like that the show is just as diverse as our country. I have no problem with people travelling from afar in hopes of making it big on the show. Many would otherwise never reach a significant audience. Vaher is the perfect example — he wanted to show off his talent on a greater scale than was possible in Estonia. Is that so terrible?
Image: NBC
I'm glad that every aspect of America's Got Talent is diverse. It makes the show less predictable and more fun! Here's hoping that future contestants from far off aren't scared away by the negativity.
We always had a sneaking suspicion that being a woman working at Fox News is no walk in the park, but yeesh, things just got taken to a whole new level.
Former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros filed a lawsuit earlier this week, joining more than 20 women who have alleged that they were sexually harassed by the network's former CEO, Roger Ailes. But the papers filed by Tantaros expose a scene that goes far beyond just sexism.
Tantaros — who also claims that she was sexually harassed by The O'Reilly Factor host Bill O'Reilly — says in documents that the insidious behavior behind the scenes at Fox wasn't limited to chauvinism, and Ailes was particularly nasty to women of color who worked for the network.
According to The Root, Ailes had a habit of referring to controversial contributor Stacey Dash as "the black girl" and host Kimberly Guilfoyle as a "Puerto Rican whore." In addition, Tantaros claims Ailes said Harris Faulkner of Fox Report and Outnumbered "has the tendency to look like the angry black woman."
"Fox News masquerades as a defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency and misogyny," Tantaros’ suit says, via The New York Times.
"Ailes did not act alone," the documents state. "He may have been the primary culprit, but his actions were condoned by his most senior lieutenants, who engaged in a concerted effort to silence Tantaros by threats, humiliation and retaliation."
Among the other gems in the lawsuit is a claim that Tantaros was repeatedly told by executives that she could not wear pants at work because "Roger wants to see your legs," and an allegation that Tantaros was quickly moved to a lower rated show after refusing to spin around so that Ailes could ogle her from behind.
Are you at all surprised by the claims made in Tantaros' lawsuit?
Yes, RHOBH's Kim Richards recently violated her probation and got away with it, but before we get all "gh, celebrities always think they're above the law" on her, we need to take a step back and recognize that she really probably didn't deserve to get thrown in the clink.
As you probably remember, Richards was busted for shoplifting $600 worth of merchandise from a Los Angeles area Target back in 2015 and continued on a downward spiral that ended with more than one stint in rehab.
For her sticky-fingered transgressions, Richards was ordered to complete 30 days of community service and 52 sessions with Alcoholics Anonymous, but failed to meet the deadline for both and ended up in court this week — where she faced the very real chance of ending up behind bars.
However, after hearing Richards is up to date on her AA meetings and has done the majority of her community service, the judge let her walk away with a slap on the wrist and no jail time, according to TMZ. The judge ordered Richards to stay on probation and to complete the remainder of her community service by her next hearing in November.
Richards may not have met the requirements originally laid out for her by the court, but we're going to have to go ahead and side with the judge's ruling to let her walk free on this one. Richards has taken serious steps to better her life over the past year, and it seems pretty harsh to throw the book at her at this point. It's not like she completely blew off her meetings or community service — it's obvious she's making a real effort to finish what she's been ordered to do.
Kim Richards instagram
Kim Richards instagram
Richards has appeared happy and healthy as of late, and after the devastating loss of her ex, Monty Brinson, earlier this year, we think it's time that she catches a break.
He's definitely worked hard to get where he is. If you think back all the way to Season 1, McGee was naive, inexperienced and getting picked on by both Tony and Kate. Now he is one of the most intelligent, successful and talented agents NCIS has. It really is about time for him to get promoted and become the team leader. Now that Tony is gone (it still hurts to write that), someone has to take over as top dog. Of course, Gibbs will always be the leader, but you know what I mean.
As much as McGee has come to the forefront over the years, he's still been in the background somewhat. Here's hoping the promotion means more McGee and a time for both him and Sean H. Murray to shine. It certainly seems like that's going to happen, because TVGuide.com also reports that McGee will indeed propose to Delilah in Season 14. No word on if she'll say yes (why wouldn't she?), but if she does, then a wedding will happen.
I can't believe it's taken this long for a NCIS wedding to happen. So when McGee pops the question, that means a proposal, an engagement (because she will say yes) and a wedding will all happen in Season 14. Who's at the front and center of it all? McGee, which means he will absolutely be in the spotlight more. Oh, and whenever their wedding happens, that means Tony has to come back and be McGee's best man, right? I know Michael Weatherly's busy with his new CBS series Bull, but he'd better return.
Whether or not he does, it's good to see McGee getting treated well. There's been so much talk about Tony and his departure. Furthermore, with the addition of Wilmer Valderrama, Jennifer Esposito and Duane Henry as series regulars in Season 14, they've been stealing headlines. Now it's McGee's turn.
Speaking of the new NCIS agents, Entertainment Weekly released a first look at Season 14 Thursday. Let me just say that Jennifer Esposito seems like she's going to be a standout in the series as Alexandra "Alex" Quinn. She comes in like she's the boss and can definitely hold her own with Gibbs. Her character has spunk and a great personality. It's also about time Gibbs' team added another female team member.
The teaser even gives fans a glimpse at Valderrama's character, Nick Torres. Now, I could be reading into things here, but I feel a vibe happening between Nick and Emily Wickersham's Ellie Bishop. Now that she and Jake have parted ways, Nick could be a new love interest.
Whatever happens, at least viewers can count on McGee stepping into a bigger role. I guess we all had better get used to calling him Very Special Agent Timothy McGee.
When you're living in a world where everything is viewed through a heavily Instagram-filtered and Photoshopped lens, it's always refreshing to see celebs dare to go public without an iota of retouching. And Lena Dunham just gave us a nice, big breath of fresh air.
Dunham and her Girls co-star, Jemima Kirke, star in a new campaign for the Lonely Girls Project, a lingerie company that aims to celebrate "the strength and individuality of women," according to its website. The pictures from the campaign just hit the internet this week, and the photo shoot is nothing less than gorgeous.
FYI: Dunham is wearing the Penny Underwire, while Kirke wears the Bonnie Underwire in the above photo — just in case it moves you to do a little shopping.
Doesn't it feel good to see a diverse representation of women in lingerie? The Lonely Girls Project — which is based out of New Zealand — thinks so, and all of its advertising is filled with women that hail from all over the globe.
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Lonely Girls 1
Lonely Girls 2
Lonely Girls 2
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Lonely Girls 3
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Lonely Girls 4
"Inspired by the women who wear it, each Lonely collection is part of an ongoing conversation that maintains a consistent design ethos committed to outstanding comfort, unique signature silhouettes, and custom prints and fabrications," the Lonely Girls website proclaims. "Fostering a sense of positive body image and freedom of expression, Lonely eschews conventional marketing, bringing its collections to life via the Lonely Girls Project, a journal featuring women around the world from all walks of life captured wearing Lonely in their way."
So far this season of TheReal Housewives of New Jersey, we've seen Teresa Giudice's reunion with her family after spending 11 months in prison for fraud. Joe Giudice, Teresa's husband, has admitted to involving his wife in illegal activities that resulted in her imprisonment. Joe began serving his own 41-month sentence in March of this year, but before he went to prison, rumors of Joe's infidelity while Teresa was away were (and still are) rampant. The rumors, on top of the fact that Joe played a big role in Teresa going to jail in the first place, have led many to ask why Teresa hasn't divorced Joe yet.
In a clip from an upcoming episode of RHONJ, Teresa, at a fancy meal with cast members Melissa Gorga, Siggy Flicker and Jacqueline Laurita discuss the difficulties of maintaining a relationship with their spouses in times of financial distress. Gorga relays a story about not being able to afford diapers for her children during the recession of 2008, and then Teresa admits that she gets asked on a daily basis why she's still married to Joe. Her reason? "I love my husband."
It's hard to imagine that Teresa's not, on some level, resentful of Joe for the mess, financial and emotional, that her family is in and the toll their jail time and the aggressive media coverage of the scandal has taken on their daughters. (Let's hope everyone in this situation has a good therapist.) But ultimately, it's her decision whether or not she leaves Joe, and people who think she should might do well to consider how hard it would be to walk away from a life you've built with your husband of almost 20 years. There are a lot of factors involved in leaving a marriage, and even though this is a reality show, it's still likely there's a lot of information we don't have. Maybe Teresa doesn't have access to her own money, for example, or maybe she really does love Joe and doesn't want to leave him. Stranger things have happened. Either way, though, it's not actually anyone's business.
It's been about a year since Esquire pegged Miles Teller as "dickish" in a particularly pointed cover interview, but it's clear that time has done little to diminish Teller's grudge against the mag.
"Oh, I felt frickin' helpless. I felt extremely misrepresented. I felt a little angry," he said in a new interview with The Guardian. "For the average person, they are reading this article, they haven't met you, they're like, 'Oh, Miles is an asshole. You didn't hear it? You didn't read Esquire? Yeah, she said he was an asshole — he must be!'"
Of course Teller admits (sort of) that he can come off a bit rough around the edges.
In the same interview, he addressed the fact that he prefers to live his life authentically and unfiltered, saying, "I'd say that you get a little more guarded, but I'm actually not. Certain times I'll choose my words very carefully and maybe come off a little more boring. But I also think that's why people — certain people — do relate to me: because there is no agenda, honestly. I was raised middle-class in a small town. I have all my same friends from high school. I'm close with my family. I'm dating a normal girl."
Admittedly, last year was by no means an easy time for the Divergent star. Between the general panning of Fantastic Four and the dickish depiction by Esquire, Teller was probably glad to put 2015 behind him. These new comments shine a different light on him, though, and if we're really being honest, it makes us feel kinda bad for the guy.
But could it be karma? Is Teller really a tool? We remain unconvinced (he's pretty adorable, after all), but these jerky moments certainly don't do him any favors.
1. When he revealed how he really felt about Divergent
During an interview with W magazine, Teller didn't mince words when describing his gig in Divergent. "When I first read Whiplash, I was feeling dead inside," he said (yeowch!) after filming the dystopian blockbuster. "I didn't have an interesting part [in Divergent], and I'd taken the film for business reasons: It was the first movie I'd done that was going to have an international audience." Maybe don't bite the hand that feeds. Or, you know, floats you the big bucks.
2. When he made John Cusack sound like a chump
I think we can all agree John Cusack is pretty amazing, right? His body of work is undeniably impressive — to most people. Miles Teller is apparently not one of them. "I guess we look alike. We did some similar movies. He wasn't traditionally good looking, who was offbeat and quirky but confident," he said of comparisons to the veteran actor. "I get it. But I don't want his career."
So, sure. The writer who profiled Teller for Esquirecalled him "dickish." However, it seems as though if Teller really read the piece that he would have seen that the writer wasn't necessarily condemning the cocky star. In fact, he calls him charming. He suggests that part of what makes Teller so appealing is his overt machismo and don't-give-a-damn attitude — or, in short, his dickishness. Semantics aside, Teller could have handled the situation a little less, uh, dickishly than by putting the mag on Twitter blast.
4. When he tried to distance himself from young Hollywood
Teller's vibe is tough, for sure. He comes off as a bit of a lone wolf, particularly in the past when he has spoken of severing ties with his college buddies. But never so much as when he told The New York Times that he wanted to be an actor of his generation... unlike other actors his age. "I feel like a lot of actors of my generation are not proper actors. I want to break out of that whole group of actors in their early 20s and really start to put stuff down that lets you know I take this seriously."
5. When he gave no credit whatsoever to small-town girls
Not surprisingly, Teller's looks came up (again) during his Esquire interview. "I was thinking about that today, how I probably think I'm better-looking than the public thinks I am. I was in one of these forums about a film I did, and it's like 'This dude is so ugly! How does he get f***ing parts?' 'Well, he's not, like, traditionally handsome, but...' And that's kind of what it is. Maybe it's because I came from a small town, but I always did well for myself." OK, so what? Is the implication that girls from small towns have lower standards? Or that there simply aren't as many good-looking people in small towns? Either way, we don't like the inference.
It's only been five years since Teller landed his first major role, but the actor has already developed something of a reputation in the industry. Again, much like Teller's comments about Divergent, the sarcastic star apparently couldn't hide his dissatisfaction on the set of Fantastic Four — arguably the biggest "commercial" role he's scored to date. Rumor has it he really rubbed director Josh Trank the wrong way, so much so that the two almost came to blows on the set.
Miles Teller: Jerk or not?
Miles Teller: Jerk or not?
This article was originally published on Aug. 14, 2015 and updated on Aug. 25, 2016.
It's been a tumultuous — albeit fairly short — whirlwind of a divorce for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, but after all of the venomous reports we've read over the past couple of months, it seems that their split may actually benefit the greater good in the end.
Shortly after they settled their divorce a couple of weeks ago, Heard announced she will be donating all of her $7 million settlement to the ACLU and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and apparently Depp was so touched by her generosity that he's volunteered to cut out the middle man and send the money straight to Heard's chosen organizations.
"Following Amber Heard's announcement that her divorce settlement was to be divided equally and gifted to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union, two exceptionally deserving and important charities, Johnny Depp has sent the first of multiple installments of those monies to each charity in the name of Amber Heard, which when completed will honor the full amount of Ms. Heard's pledge," Depp's lawyer told TMZ. "Ms. Heard's generosity in giving to these wonderful causes is deeply respected."
It sounds nice, and in our hearts we want to believe that Depp's actions are pure, but it also seems an awful lot like Depp just called Heard's bluff — and sending the checks straight to charity is a passive-aggressive way of saying he doesn't believe she really intends to donate all of her settlement.
Judging by a quick counter statement from her lawyer, Heard also believes that Depp's decision might not be coming from a great place.
"Amber Heard appreciates Johnny Depp’s novel interest in supporting two of her favorite charities, the ACLU for domestic violence and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. This is great and unexpected news," a statement shared with Us Weekly on Thursday said. "However, if Johnny wishes to change the settlement agreement, we must insist that he honor the full amount by donating $14 million to charity, which, after accounting for his tax deduction, is equal to his $7 million payment obligation to Amber. We would also insist that the full amount be paid immediately and not drawn out over many years.... Anything less would be a transparent attempt by Johnny’s counsel, Laura Wasser and Patti Glaser, to reduce their client’s true payment by half under the guise of newfound concern for charities that he has never previously supported."
Yikes. Whether Depp is calling Heard's bluff or is trying to minimize the amount of money he pays out, it sure seems like the war is raging on between the former couple.
What do you think? Was Depp's decision to give Heard's divorce settlement straight to charity a good deed or a dig?
