By Wonderwall.com Editors
2:58pm PDT, Oct 27, 2020
Kim Kardashian's birthday trip post slammed as tone-deaf
As positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Kim Kardashian West is being accused of tone-deaf TMI for the social media recap she posted about her 40th birthday extravaganza. Kim, who hit the big 4-0 on Oct. 21, flew her family and friends to a private island for the celebration, which she noted in her post was preceded by a two week quarantine period for everyone involved. "After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time," Kim tweeted on Tuesday. "We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is. #thisis40." Photos from the trip showed Kim and her mask-less relatives enjoying their time together, but it was more the shared company than the missing masks that set off a wave of backlash in the comments. "I haven't seen ma family in 4 months because I work a public-facing job and I'm absolutely terrified of the possibility of passing Covid on to my vulnerable parents," one user griped. "Hope you had fun pretending things were normal, but spare a thought for those of us staying in the real world." Another tweeted that they were, "reading this as half of my office got laid off today." While some fans told Kim not to sweat her critics — "I'd probably do the same," wrote one user — others suggested posting about it made Kim look "out of touch with reality" and came off as "tone-deaf."
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Chrissy Teigen reflects on her pregnancy loss in moving new essay
In a long and heart wrenching post on Medium Tuesday, Chrissy Teigen thanked everyone who'd reached out to her and John Legend after they lost their baby, Jack, 20 weeks into Chrissy's pregnancy. She also recounted the moment she said goodbye to Jack and explained why she needed to remember the moment and share it with others who may have gone through something similar. Jack, Chrissy explained, couldn't be saved due to a "partial placenta abruption," which caused heavy bleeding and left the cookbook author hospitalized. "Even as I write this now, I can feel the pain all over again," she recalled in the long piece. "I had asked my mom and John to take pictures, no matter how uncomfortable it was," she wrote. "I explained to a very hesitant John that I needed them, and that I did NOT want to have to ever ask. That he just had to do it. He hated it. I could tell. It didn't make sense to him at the time. But I knew I needed to know of this moment forever, the same way I needed to remember us kissing at the end of the aisle, the same way I needed to remember our tears of joy after [the births of our other children.]" She then addressed critics of the post, telling them, "I cannot express how little I care that you hate the photos." She continued: "I lived it, I chose to do it, and more than anything, these photos aren't for anyone but the people who have lived this or are curious enough to wonder what something like this is like. These photos are only for the people who need them." Finally, she shared how she's doing now. "People say an experience like this creates a hole in your heart. A hole was certainly made, but it was filled with the love of something I loved so much. It doesn't feel empty, this space," she said. "It feels full." Looking ahead, she urged readers to "share your stories and to please be kind to those pouring their hearts out," writing that she needed to reflect on what happened so she could "move on from this and return back to life."
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Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are engaged!
It seems like Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have spent half their years-long romance dismissing engagement rumors and politely telling interviewers that they have no plans to marry. Welp, those days are officially over. In separate Instagram posts on Thursday, the singers and "Voice" stars announced that they are, at long last, engaged. In his post, Blake thanked Gwen for "saving my 2020… And the rest of my life," before writing, "I love you. I heard a YES!" Gwen shared the same photo on her own page and wrote simply, "yes please." As the couple's famous friends learned the happy news, they were inundated with congratulations and best wishes. "AMAZING! Congratulations to you both!!" replied their "Voice" co-star, John Legend. Dua Lipa, who recently referred to Blake as Gwen's "husband" while interviewing the No Doubt singer, joked, "I guess our little interview aged well!!!!!! Congratulations!!! Best news." Erin Foster chimed in, too — with just one word: "Finally!!!"
Sacha Baron Cohen addresses Rudy Giuliani scene in 'Borat;' says Maria Bakalova deserves an Oscar
It's been a busy few days for Sacha Baron Cohen, whose new "Borat" sequel continues to make headlines, thanks in part to Donald Trump's response to "Subsequent Borat MovieFilm." ("Donald Trump says I'm a creep. I say he's an existential threat to democracy," Sacha tweeted Tuesday. "That's why I released Borat before the election.") Another buzz factor around the film involves a scene in which Tutar, Borat's allegedly 15-year-old daughter, poses as a journalist to get an interview with (the real-life) Rudy Giuliani. After the interview, Rudy, 76, joins Maria in the bedroom for a drink before he's filmed lying back on the bed and putting his hand into his pants. Stephen Colbert asked about the scene on "Late Night," Monday, and Sacha encouraged viewers to decide for themselves how the interaction affects their feelings about the current administration. "Well, he said that he did nothing inappropriate and, you know, my feeling is, if he sees that as appropriate, then heaven knows what he's intended to do with other women in hotel rooms with a glass of whiskey in his hand," Sacha said. Meanwhile, the "Borat" creator's been singing the praises of Maria Bakalova, the 24-year-old Bulgarian actress cast as his daughter, every chance he gets. "I didn't want to start filming until we found the perfect daughter for Borat," he explained on "Late Night." "And it's a tough order because you have to be an incredible improviser, you have to be able to stay in character for many, many hours, you have to be able to play emotionally in the reality of the scenes, and you have to be hilarious. So we interviewed 500 different actors, and we eventually found this woman who had just come out of drama school." He added, "I mean, if she doesn't win an Oscar, then I don't know what the Academy is for."
Cardi B shuts down trolls amid racist comments on her Birkin bag collection
Cardi B gave critics of her extensive Birkin bag collection a quick lesson in hip-hop, fashion and the economy this week, while calling them out for making racist assumptions about Black and Hispanic women. A social media post claiming Hermés Birkin bags "lost their value" when Black rappers like Cardi started buying them, thereby making them less "exclusive," despite their $12 to $200k price tag, has been making the rounds, according to People. In a video on her Instagram, Cardi rehashed the tweet, telling followers it referenced her "and other female rappers," asked whether they were really buying the bags at Hermés and claimed "we depreciate the value of a Hermés Birkin bag." After noting that she'd just purchased "four bags today from the Hermés store," Cardi asserted that when it comes to questioning whether famous Black women are getting their Birkins from the store, "y'all don't do this to these white celebrities … So why is it that y'all gotta be asking us?" She went on to take issue with the argument that Black women in rap are "depreciating the value," of the bags by purchasing them and using them. "Actually, we add value," she said, "because when we mention brands in hip-hop, … [sales] go up." She then cited her "Bodak Yellow" track, which celebrates Christian Louboutin's red-bottomed shoes, saying its popularity caused a spike in sales. And she's right — according to multiple outlets, the search traffic created by "Bodak Yellow" gave Louboutin "an estimated $4.5 million in media value." Balenciaga also saw a sales spike thanks to her lyric about the brand in "I Like It Like That." "That … went up too and that's why they worked with me this year. Like hip-hop, we start trends," Cardi said. "We actually add value." Before she wrapped up her message, she took issue once more with the racism inherent in the troll's post. "And another thing is, why when a Black girl, why when a Hispanic girl [has] a bag you have to question it? 'Oh is it fake?' or 'She's a scammer' …," Cardi asked. Finally, she made a point of telling her less wealthy fans status symbols like expensive bags don't matter anyway. "Let me tell you something: if you're a regular girl you don't gotta break your neck to have a Birkin. A Birkin don't make you," she said. "They makes that fashion with the Zara and the H&M amazingly. So don't ever feel like you gotta compare yourself. Don't compare yourself to nobody [on] the internet," she added.
Tyra Banks says legal issues are holding up 'Coyote Ugly' sequel plans
Tyra Banks is still determined to reboot "Coyote Ugly," which just celebrated its 20th anniversary in August. But as she recently told ET, legal issues have been keeping the project from moving forward. "We are trying, trying, trying to make this happen. We are so trying," said Tyra, 46. "Maria Bello, Diane Warren did the music, LeAnn Rimes, everybody is in! Piper Perabo, Bridget Moynahan, they're all like, 'OK, let's do this.'" Tyra, who's currently hosting "Dancing With the Stars," added that the group met recently to think about how they might revisit the characters and storyline, which revolved around a group of dancing, shot-pouring female bartenders in New York City, one of whom was trying to launch a music career. "We're like, 'Is it a movie? Is it a series? Is it our kids? Are our old a—- dancing on the bar still?'" Tyra joked. As for the setbacks, she said, "It's more of this technical mumbo jumbo. We have story ideas. We have our original producer, Mr. [Jerry] Bruckheimer, he's down. It's like, 'Come on, let's get this going! It's logistics. It's legistics. But we're ready." The actual, original Coyote Ugly, a once infamously gritty saloon in the Big Apple's East Village neighborhood, closed its doors for good in September after 27 years. The owner said in a video announcement at the time that she could no longer afford to pay rent after being forced to close for six months due to the pandemic.
Cheryl Burke performs on 'DWTS' after scary head injury
Cheryl Burke is a "trooper," according to her "Dancing With the Stars" partner AJ McLean, who gushed about the dance pro's willingness to perform on Monday's "DWTS" despite having suffered a scary head injury during rehearsal the day before. The accident happened as the pair worked on their tango and Cheryl slipped, hitting her head on the floor. "I think I hurt my rotator cuff more than my neck, but I'm hard-headed," Cheryl joked to new host Tyra Banks. "Thank god, right?" As AJ recalled on "GMA," Cheryl's injury sent him into "straight dad-mode," and he promptly began speaking to her to make sure she didn't have any symptoms of a concussion. Cheryl, meanwhile, admitted she'd been lucky. "If that was any other floor, like concrete, I would have been out," she said.
Ant Anstead reveals major post-split weight loss
"Wheeler Dealers" host Ant Anstead revealed on Instagram Monday that he's lost about "23 lbs." since splitting from his wife, Christina Anstead. He posted a selfie from what looks like the set of his show and fans quickly noticed he looked "thinner," which sparked him to explain how much weight he's lost. "Don't worry I will get it back on 💪🏼 🐷 x," he wrote in the comments. He shouldn't have any trouble drumming up help in that department, either. While a number of commenters sympathized with his situation — "that old divorce diet, been there," one person wrote — others, mostly women, were quick to offer cooking and baking assistance. "The mom in me wants to bake u a big batch of homemade cookies," one fan told Ant. "Bake all the cakes," he replied. A second posted, "I want to make u fudge at Christmas time," to which Ant responded, "DO IT!" Ant's "Flip or Flop" star ex announced their separation on Sept. 18.
Iggy Azalea clarifies her son's dad is still 'part of his life,' despite split
Over the weekend, new mom Iggy Azalea shared on her Instagram Story that she was no longer in a relationship, presumably with Playboi Carti, her on-off boyfriend since 2018, and that she was raising their son, Onyx "alone." "People take loyalty for granted & That's why I'd rather be alone," she said in one of the posts. This week, however, the rapper returned to Instagram to clarify that Onyx's dad is still involved in parenting duties. "Nothing I said was intended to make it seem like my sons father isn't part of his life but I've noticed a lot of people took it that way, so I wanted to clear the air," she told followers, according to Billboard. "Onyx is so so loved by his dad & has always had both parents in his life from day 1." Iggy announced Onyx's birth in June, surprising fans who never knew she was pregnant.
Conan O'Brien's makeshift theater set was burglarized
Conan O'Brien spent a chunk of his Monday night broadcast venting about a break-in on the set of his show in which equipment including laptops and the slate — the wood clapboard used by film productions behind-the scenes — were stolen. Since July, Conan's team has been working from inside the Largo at the Coronet nightclub in the West Hollywood section of Los Angeles. That made the burglary all the more frustrating. "We come to this theater, because we thought theaters are in trouble, let's revive a theater, let's keep it going," Conan said at one point (via the Daily Mail). "Seemed like a nice thing to do… what happens? We get here this morning and we find out that someone broke into our little theater and took some of our equipment." The missing slate seemed to bug him most of all, though. "What's a robber gonna do with this thing?" he asked. "It's what kids use, it's what 16-year-olds use to make a student film. They took that, that's the lowest. I can't think of anything lower," he added. "OK, the laptops — fine. [Before] you took the slate? That's crazy." The comic and his sidekick Andy Richter then joked about the fact that other talk show hosts don't have their sets burglarized. "What happened to us?" Andy asked, quipping that he feels like a "garage band" whose van was parked in an alley "and someone broke in and took our amps."
