The JD and Usha shot is making me crave a feature on them.
It's very ironic that the conservative civil war going on mirrors their dynamic to a tee - JD championing the working class with his deep roots from Appalachia and the love of his love, Usha, being from an immigrant family (whose culture is at the forefront of this debate) and worked overtime to make it as first generation Americans.
Okay so this has nothing to do with this article but I noticed you had met Mike Johnson recently and I’m humbly suggesting you interview Rep Thomas Massie (you might have seen his interview with Tucker). He might be the most interesting and principled man in Congress. (Also Nicole Shanahan adores him). Anyway if you are looking for interesting people, put him at the top of your list.
Yes! Would love to see Massie featured here. I don’t know what’s going on over at X so many are attacking him for voting against Mike Johnson. Feels like aipac put a smear hit out on him. Thomas Massie is such a voice of reason. I always pop onto his account to get his take. Wish we had more like him!
Don Jr and Bettina look like they could be siblings- she also looks enamored of him which is nice to see a little PDA from the Trump men. Melania looking stunning (and happy)! Glad to see that, the last go around was strenuous to watch. I’m hoping DJT is a bit more relaxed this term and his affection for his First Lady is displayed more. Great pictures Jessica! HNY
This is a fun and light article. The Trump parties and marriage breakups being broken business deals are interesting. Bring in the glam during the inauguration!
I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion. This article is straight from the British media/royal family playbook. Starts with a put down of Meghan Markle to go onto elevating another woman, usually Kate but in this case the Trump women.
Meghan has been abused and belittled by mainstream and alternative media for 8 years now, surely enough is enough. If you don’t like her, ignore her but stop the bullying.
No, opinions are not bullying. The way every form of media criticizes everything Meghan does is bullying. My daughter and I started following you years ago, being Australian we don’t get or agree with everything but love and discuss your work regularly.
You obviously love the Royals but they are very powerful and used that power to try and destroy Meghan. The fact you jumped on board to help surprises me.
If you think the royals have tried to destroy Meghan Markle, then you’re not paying attention. Meghan Markle is entirely responsible for her own downfall. Bill Simmons, a well known sports commentator and now executive at Spotify, called Meghan and Harry grifters. He’s an American who has nothing to do with the British royal family, and that comment really says it all.
I have never read the Hollywood reporter but I’m sure it’s a beacon of truth! Have you ever stopped to think, how could Meghan be so bad or maybe there is a witch hunt going on.
The hate for Meghan is ridiculous. She really does not actually affect anyone’s life but everyone hates her.
If I was spewing hate about someone I didn’t know and has no consequence in my life I would be doing a little soul searching.
As other commenters here have pointed out, it she would just go away, we’d all be the happier for it. It’s her constant relaunching of herself for attention promoting one thing or the other and then blaming others when the one thing or the other fails or falls flat. It’s tiresome and f*&$ing annoying.
Everything you are quoting has been reported by some form of media. All forms of media only write what they think will get the clicks to generate income. A derogatory storyline about Meghan obviously has value to them.
If you would be happier if she just disappeared then ignore her, it is very easy to do if that is what would bring you happiness.
Yet here we are going back and forth over someone you would rather just go away.
If you think the RF via the British press did not try to destroy Meghan I suggest you pay more attention.
Bill from Spotify calling them grifters sounds more like a contractual dispute that didn’t go his way. It certainly doesn’t explain the years of abuse they have endured.
There are plenty of grifters out there! None have been persecuted the way Meghan has.
I pay plenty of attention, clearly more than you do. Neither the British royal family nor the British press have tried to “destroy” Meghan. The royal family bent over backwards to accommodate Meghan, even when she didn’t try to fit in.
Did she wear green and a hat in support of Grenfell on her outing with the Queen as requested? No.
Did she stop talking rudely to RF staff when requested? No.
Did she obey Wimbledon’s dress code or inform them about it upcoming visit beforehand when she showed up with two friends unexpectedly? No.
I could go on as there has been countless examples. The British press simply reported on a smattering of the unflattering details that have come out about Meghan.
If Meghan doesn’t want to be critiqued for what she puts out for public consumption, then the solution is simple: stop putting things out for public consumption.
Other women in the public domain are equally critiqued (see Gwyneth Paltrow for example), and they don’t whine about it constantly.
Of course, being critiqued for what’s been put out to the public is one thing. Nastiness in those critiques says more about the person critiquing than the person or work being critiqued.
I would not even consider myself a fan of either Harry or Meghan but I do respect their resilience. The vitriol they have had to contend with is ridiculous and it all started because William didn’t like or was intimidated by Meghan.
Not sure how they are resilient. More accurately, they are flailing around for relevance after leaving the monarchy thinking they were more important than The Queen.
The King helped out his son financially in the first years when they left. That much was known publicly, but as you point out, they want to make their own money. Well, can’t have your cake and eat it. You have to do one or the other.
Yes, Meghan and Harry thought they could ride Harry’s popularity - because in the late 2010s before and early on In their marriage Harry was the most popular royal - to do whatever they wanted. That included thinking that The Queen had to give in to their demands, including ‘half in, half out.’
Is it Meghan or the different media platforms forcing her on everyone? I doubt Meghan celebrates what is written about her. She has started a new Instagram page and has a home making type documentary coming out, it is very easy to not follow Instagram and not watch documentary. She is allowed to generate an income. The joy people appear to get from criticizing her is astounding.
If you can’t see how she forces her way into conversations, events, situations etc that do not need or warrant her participation then I can’t help you. I neither follow her nor intend to watch this documentary. You implied Jess having an opinion about a public figure was akin to bullying like what Meghan claims the British media does. Everyone and their mother gave her an extremely fair chance and she squashed it with her own actions and attitude. She is a public figure. Keyword: public. She claimed they wanted a quiet private life. Outstanding. Go. We will wish you well. But if you put yourself willfully into the public after claiming any negative opinion of you is racist, then no. You don’t get anymore chances and we have the right to express our thoughts. Just like you have expressed yours here.
We obviously have different opinions and that’s okay.
The overall story I see here is an American woman marries a British prince. His family did not approve so they gave the British press free rein to destroy her. The main reason they did not approve was because she was American and being colored made it even more appalling to them. Did you know the female MP’s of the British parliament supported her legal action against the British media, that’s how bad it was.
I’m Australian and I was offended for her. If I was American I would have been totally outraged, they hated her because she was an American actress with black mother. They both decided it was time to leave the abuse.
Sadly it has continued in America.
I will never understand the pleasure people get from nasty commentary about her. What has she really done to offend?
She has lied about everyone, about herself, called us all racists and expected us to just go along with whatever narrative she picked. She can’t seem to keep her stories straight and can’t stop the world privacy tour if her life depended on it.
She was given far more protection and liberties than Kate ever got. Most Americans had no idea who she even was. She was a C list actress in a show that filmed in Canada. Those who did were shocked that she was mixed considering she herself put “Caucasian” down when she auditioned. Not to mention she only rolled her mother out publicly when it became clear it was a good story line and got her woke brownie points. Otherwise, the white side of her family were more present in her life while her mother was largely absent for years.
They can leave if they want. But don’t claim you are leaving a toxic royal bird cage and then come to America and leverage those same titles to try to make it as trashy influencers. Americans stopped caring what Brit’s had to say in 1776 and we hate those who claim to be authentic, but are clearly anything but.
Agree. The hypocrisy of criticizing Meghan Markle is rich and hard to digest. How is MM not an acceptable role model for HIH’s standard of an independent, critical thinking person? Does media sourcing of trusted courtiers/grandees (oxymoron btw) really present completely true knowledge of a royal? Even Prince William has been quoted describing palace insider “gray suits” as “middle-aged white men who'd managed to consolidate power through a series of audacious Machiavellian manoeuvres".
In the context of the British Royals MM is certainly independent - living her life on her terms. Similar to Diana, each woman married in, came to recognize the sometimes toxic nature of “the firm” and experienced a love for them that was cursory but not genuine (ie Charles was a deeply flawed spouse to Diana and some of Harry’s family of weren’t capable of valuing racial reconciliation with MM - it seems she was seen as a threat to prosperity unless she would serve as a Royal game token). Also I think the term “critical thinking” is a mostly just a buzz word - many people hear it and most don’t actually know what it means.
I nominate Nikki Glaser or Whitney Cummings for the Joan Rivers role. Will Kimberly Guilfoyle attend? Might be awkward. Fashion is a welcome respite from all of the madness for sure. Let's just hope the peace is kept, up to and including Inauguration Day. ✌️🙏
Definitely need more features on Melania - she is the fashion GOAT in this family. Bettina is very pretty but something about her is not genuine here. Even the NYE kiss seems like she’s aware eyes were on them. Most of the PB crowd is all about status and this is a good example. We shall see.
Melania married trump for the reason you all projecting on this girl. Trump and melania both admit that. Trumps entire life has been about attention, fame, and power so be fair to the girl you don't know.
I’m the outlier I’m sure but I find Bettina bland and nothing to write home about. She looks like everyone else. I’m sure she’s a lovely person as Don Jr. looks smitten. I predict Bettina will turn up pregnant in the near future...
I agree. I keep looking at her wondering what is so special?? Her Instagram photos are beautiful but she does not look the same in candid photos. So .. it must be true chemistry or as my husband would say... Well never mind. Lol!
The JD and Usha shot is making me crave a feature on them.
It's very ironic that the conservative civil war going on mirrors their dynamic to a tee - JD championing the working class with his deep roots from Appalachia and the love of his love, Usha, being from an immigrant family (whose culture is at the forefront of this debate) and worked overtime to make it as first generation Americans.
Been a fan of JD since day one.
Good point. We need a feature on them
I listened to Hillbilly Elegy on audiobook and fell in love with him.
Okay so this has nothing to do with this article but I noticed you had met Mike Johnson recently and I’m humbly suggesting you interview Rep Thomas Massie (you might have seen his interview with Tucker). He might be the most interesting and principled man in Congress. (Also Nicole Shanahan adores him). Anyway if you are looking for interesting people, put him at the top of your list.
Yes! Would love to see Massie featured here. I don’t know what’s going on over at X so many are attacking him for voting against Mike Johnson. Feels like aipac put a smear hit out on him. Thomas Massie is such a voice of reason. I always pop onto his account to get his take. Wish we had more like him!
I second this! Have long been his #1 fan from Texas. A true libertarian.
Link will play Joan! You two should do a livestream together of Inauguration Day!
YES!! THis would be so fun!!
Melania stuns per usual. HNY, JRK!
Her dress!!!!!!!
Don Jr and Bettina look like they could be siblings- she also looks enamored of him which is nice to see a little PDA from the Trump men. Melania looking stunning (and happy)! Glad to see that, the last go around was strenuous to watch. I’m hoping DJT is a bit more relaxed this term and his affection for his First Lady is displayed more. Great pictures Jessica! HNY
Melania was STUNNING as per usual. Looved this diversion from the doom and gloom!
Usna Vance looked stunning as well, in the snap of her and her eyeliner-wearing hubby (😉) striding into the NYE fiesta 💃🏽
He’s not wearing eyeliner. He has double lashes like Elizabeth Taylor. 🙃
Why do the boys so often get the gift of luscious lashes?? While we gotta deal with messy ol’ mascara! 😭 It’s not fair!
It’s NOT fair!! And better hair too sometimes.
She’s refreshingly beautiful and natural.
Usha & JD are my favorite couple! His video making biscuits with his daughter on Christmas was the best!
Ah I missed that! Will go see it 😍
Btw I just realized that my clumsy typing resulted in Usna not Usha — I *do* know how to spell her name, meant no disrespect!😍
I love this! Hope we get more glamour and smiles in 2025
You def will here! Thats a promise.
Gorgeous! Also, hoping to see what Nicole Shanahan is up to :)
This is a fun and light article. The Trump parties and marriage breakups being broken business deals are interesting. Bring in the glam during the inauguration!
I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion. This article is straight from the British media/royal family playbook. Starts with a put down of Meghan Markle to go onto elevating another woman, usually Kate but in this case the Trump women.
Meghan has been abused and belittled by mainstream and alternative media for 8 years now, surely enough is enough. If you don’t like her, ignore her but stop the bullying.
This is a newsletter dedicated to discussing pop culture and politics. I've been covering the riyals for years. Why would I stop now?
Opinions are bullying? 🤔
No, opinions are not bullying. The way every form of media criticizes everything Meghan does is bullying. My daughter and I started following you years ago, being Australian we don’t get or agree with everything but love and discuss your work regularly.
You obviously love the Royals but they are very powerful and used that power to try and destroy Meghan. The fact you jumped on board to help surprises me.
If you think the royals have tried to destroy Meghan Markle, then you’re not paying attention. Meghan Markle is entirely responsible for her own downfall. Bill Simmons, a well known sports commentator and now executive at Spotify, called Meghan and Harry grifters. He’s an American who has nothing to do with the British royal family, and that comment really says it all.
Some of us just call it as we see it and everything I see from Meghan reeks of “fraud.”
And you only see what media feeds you.
I have never read the Hollywood reporter but I’m sure it’s a beacon of truth! Have you ever stopped to think, how could Meghan be so bad or maybe there is a witch hunt going on.
The hate for Meghan is ridiculous. She really does not actually affect anyone’s life but everyone hates her.
If I was spewing hate about someone I didn’t know and has no consequence in my life I would be doing a little soul searching.
As other commenters here have pointed out, it she would just go away, we’d all be the happier for it. It’s her constant relaunching of herself for attention promoting one thing or the other and then blaming others when the one thing or the other fails or falls flat. It’s tiresome and f*&$ing annoying.
Everything you are quoting has been reported by some form of media. All forms of media only write what they think will get the clicks to generate income. A derogatory storyline about Meghan obviously has value to them.
If you would be happier if she just disappeared then ignore her, it is very easy to do if that is what would bring you happiness.
Yet here we are going back and forth over someone you would rather just go away.
If you think the RF via the British press did not try to destroy Meghan I suggest you pay more attention.
Bill from Spotify calling them grifters sounds more like a contractual dispute that didn’t go his way. It certainly doesn’t explain the years of abuse they have endured.
There are plenty of grifters out there! None have been persecuted the way Meghan has.
I pay plenty of attention, clearly more than you do. Neither the British royal family nor the British press have tried to “destroy” Meghan. The royal family bent over backwards to accommodate Meghan, even when she didn’t try to fit in.
Did she wear green and a hat in support of Grenfell on her outing with the Queen as requested? No.
Did she stop talking rudely to RF staff when requested? No.
Did she obey Wimbledon’s dress code or inform them about it upcoming visit beforehand when she showed up with two friends unexpectedly? No.
I could go on as there has been countless examples. The British press simply reported on a smattering of the unflattering details that have come out about Meghan.
And the same behavior by Meghan has continued in California. The Hollywood Reporter wrote about it last September: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-keeps-quitting-prince-harry-meghan-markle-1235996963/
When everyone is coming to the same conclusion about Meghan, it’s not them, it’s her.
If Meghan doesn’t want to be critiqued for what she puts out for public consumption, then the solution is simple: stop putting things out for public consumption.
Other women in the public domain are equally critiqued (see Gwyneth Paltrow for example), and they don’t whine about it constantly.
Of course, being critiqued for what’s been put out to the public is one thing. Nastiness in those critiques says more about the person critiquing than the person or work being critiqued.
I would not even consider myself a fan of either Harry or Meghan but I do respect their resilience. The vitriol they have had to contend with is ridiculous and it all started because William didn’t like or was intimidated by Meghan.
That's fine. You can respect it, and others can be annoyed by it.
Not sure how they are resilient. More accurately, they are flailing around for relevance after leaving the monarchy thinking they were more important than The Queen.
To still be standing after years of global media abuse makes them more than resilient.
Harry is the son of the British monarch, that institution has billions of dollars in assets yet Harry receives no financial help.
They have a right to make a living. Everything they have tried has been criticized extensively.
I doubt they ever considered themselves more important than the Queen.
No one is abusing Harry and Meghan in the media.
The King helped out his son financially in the first years when they left. That much was known publicly, but as you point out, they want to make their own money. Well, can’t have your cake and eat it. You have to do one or the other.
Yes, Meghan and Harry thought they could ride Harry’s popularity - because in the late 2010s before and early on In their marriage Harry was the most popular royal - to do whatever they wanted. That included thinking that The Queen had to give in to their demands, including ‘half in, half out.’
We would love to ignore her. She forces her presence on us all.
Is it Meghan or the different media platforms forcing her on everyone? I doubt Meghan celebrates what is written about her. She has started a new Instagram page and has a home making type documentary coming out, it is very easy to not follow Instagram and not watch documentary. She is allowed to generate an income. The joy people appear to get from criticizing her is astounding.
If you can’t see how she forces her way into conversations, events, situations etc that do not need or warrant her participation then I can’t help you. I neither follow her nor intend to watch this documentary. You implied Jess having an opinion about a public figure was akin to bullying like what Meghan claims the British media does. Everyone and their mother gave her an extremely fair chance and she squashed it with her own actions and attitude. She is a public figure. Keyword: public. She claimed they wanted a quiet private life. Outstanding. Go. We will wish you well. But if you put yourself willfully into the public after claiming any negative opinion of you is racist, then no. You don’t get anymore chances and we have the right to express our thoughts. Just like you have expressed yours here.
We obviously have different opinions and that’s okay.
The overall story I see here is an American woman marries a British prince. His family did not approve so they gave the British press free rein to destroy her. The main reason they did not approve was because she was American and being colored made it even more appalling to them. Did you know the female MP’s of the British parliament supported her legal action against the British media, that’s how bad it was.
I’m Australian and I was offended for her. If I was American I would have been totally outraged, they hated her because she was an American actress with black mother. They both decided it was time to leave the abuse.
Sadly it has continued in America.
I will never understand the pleasure people get from nasty commentary about her. What has she really done to offend?
Lied.
She has lied about everyone, about herself, called us all racists and expected us to just go along with whatever narrative she picked. She can’t seem to keep her stories straight and can’t stop the world privacy tour if her life depended on it.
She was given far more protection and liberties than Kate ever got. Most Americans had no idea who she even was. She was a C list actress in a show that filmed in Canada. Those who did were shocked that she was mixed considering she herself put “Caucasian” down when she auditioned. Not to mention she only rolled her mother out publicly when it became clear it was a good story line and got her woke brownie points. Otherwise, the white side of her family were more present in her life while her mother was largely absent for years.
They can leave if they want. But don’t claim you are leaving a toxic royal bird cage and then come to America and leverage those same titles to try to make it as trashy influencers. Americans stopped caring what Brit’s had to say in 1776 and we hate those who claim to be authentic, but are clearly anything but.
Wow! I’m sorry you are so triggered by someone you do not even know personally and has no power to affect your life.
Truth and authenticity have a frequency. Meghan is not operating at that frequency and many of us feel it.
Agree. The hypocrisy of criticizing Meghan Markle is rich and hard to digest. How is MM not an acceptable role model for HIH’s standard of an independent, critical thinking person? Does media sourcing of trusted courtiers/grandees (oxymoron btw) really present completely true knowledge of a royal? Even Prince William has been quoted describing palace insider “gray suits” as “middle-aged white men who'd managed to consolidate power through a series of audacious Machiavellian manoeuvres".
lol.
Then don't read it.
Actually I like rich and hard to digest bits of reading from time to time. Lol.
Because she is neither “independent” nor a “critical thinking person.”
In the context of the British Royals MM is certainly independent - living her life on her terms. Similar to Diana, each woman married in, came to recognize the sometimes toxic nature of “the firm” and experienced a love for them that was cursory but not genuine (ie Charles was a deeply flawed spouse to Diana and some of Harry’s family of weren’t capable of valuing racial reconciliation with MM - it seems she was seen as a threat to prosperity unless she would serve as a Royal game token). Also I think the term “critical thinking” is a mostly just a buzz word - many people hear it and most don’t actually know what it means.
I agree that most people can’t critically think…
I disagree. Many people can’t (or won’t) recognize critical thinking when they see it in others.
🤣🤣Meghan, is that you!?
MM definitely triggers something in people.
Kimberly Guilfoyle - the ambassador to Greece? Hilarious!
I nominate Nikki Glaser or Whitney Cummings for the Joan Rivers role. Will Kimberly Guilfoyle attend? Might be awkward. Fashion is a welcome respite from all of the madness for sure. Let's just hope the peace is kept, up to and including Inauguration Day. ✌️🙏
Definitely need more features on Melania - she is the fashion GOAT in this family. Bettina is very pretty but something about her is not genuine here. Even the NYE kiss seems like she’s aware eyes were on them. Most of the PB crowd is all about status and this is a good example. We shall see.
Melania married trump for the reason you all projecting on this girl. Trump and melania both admit that. Trumps entire life has been about attention, fame, and power so be fair to the girl you don't know.
I’m the outlier I’m sure but I find Bettina bland and nothing to write home about. She looks like everyone else. I’m sure she’s a lovely person as Don Jr. looks smitten. I predict Bettina will turn up pregnant in the near future...
I agree. I keep looking at her wondering what is so special?? Her Instagram photos are beautiful but she does not look the same in candid photos. So .. it must be true chemistry or as my husband would say... Well never mind. Lol!
Melania’s dress looks like a Versace.