Mailbag for October 13, 2023
Telling Ginger Spice she needs blush, JLo's off-brand booze promotion, Cade Hudson and Britney, geo-political impacts on Marvel, and why all the Kate style criticism
Dear Squawkers,
Starting this week’s mailbag with some shameless self-promotion because I’m writing this just three hours after interviewing Ginger Spice for ETALK and since we keep talking about the inside baseball here at The Squawk, I’m sharing a bit about what happened.
Geri Halliwell-Horner has just released a young adult book called Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen. The book debuted at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list and it was pretty cute how excited Geri was about the achievement. She said she was emotional about it, and it was quite obvious how much it meant to her.
Anyway, the interview was over Zoom and when Geri shows up, you can tell she’s looking at herself on the screen and she’s like, oh, do I look washed out, do I need to do more with my makeup? Let me just break this down for you because I need you to understand what we’re dealing with here:
GINGER SPICE IS ASKING ME IF SHE NEEDS A TOUCH-UP.
She kinda keeps repeating this while looking at herself and I’m now turning it over in my head. What the fuck do I say? Should I be honest? Do I actually tell a Spice Girl that she does, indeed, need a touch-up?!?
Yes. I do.
“I think so, some blush… and a little on your lip?”
She thanks me, and she asks if it’s OK to wait, and checks on my schedule, and then, after I assure her that I’m good for time, she gets up and exits frame, disappears out of the room. I am dead. Our producer is dead. Our director is dead. Everyone in the studio watching on the in-house feed is dead. I’m getting texts from the control room: “YOU TOLD A SPICE GIRL SHE NEEDS BLUSH”. I basically just told Geri Halliwell to fix her face.
But you know what? She said it first: Girl Power. Right? Girls don’t let girls go on camera before a touch-up.
And there’s a Show Your Work part of this too. Because earlier in my career, I don’t think I would have had the confidence to answer her the way I did. Just like straight up, woman to woman, without bumbling my way through it. Maybe someone else who’s fresh in the business would have done it and my hat’s off to them. But for me, I had to build up to this. Build up to not worrying if by answering directly they wouldn’t like me as much. It’s that desire to please, that fear of not pleasing, which is the wrong way to work.
The right way to work is to give the answer that’s best for the work. On television, you want the best possible shot for everyone. We want the viewers to see Geri the way Geri wants to be seen so that she can promote her book. We want Geri to feel comfortable so that she can give us a great interview. Getting a great interview strengthens our relationship with the agency that connected us with her. And, of course, getting great interviews helps our show.
I feel like this applies to every industry and every workplace – but, like I said, for me I had to learn this skill through experience.
Speaking of Show Your Work, because we have people asking every week about Duana and the podcast…
It’s schedules and workload. Because our Duana has been BUSY. You know what she’s doing, like right now? She’s showrunning a new series, which I’ll talk more about when she lets me. And on top of that, you know what else she’s doing? She’s not just the showrunner but the CO-DIRECTOR. She is writing and producing and directing. In other words, Duana is slayyyyyyyying.
On that energy then, let’s take it to your questions.
Question from Danielle:
Jlo and her alcohol promotion....will she just promote anything? Was this in the works before she and Ben got back together? I love Jlo, but promoting alcohol as a nondrinker married to a recovering alcoholic....it just seems idiotic.
Lainey’s Answer:
I agree with you, it’s totally off-brand for her, which is why we don’t have to bring who she’s married to into the conversation. We do not associate Jennifer Lopez with alcohol, so it makes no sense for her to be selling alcohol. But the first part of your question was if she would just promote anything and, well, they just bought that new property, reportedly $60 million, and they paid in CASH.
Sarah always says to look for the gossip in real estate and oftentimes we look to when celebrities are offloading property, but we should also look at property acquisition. That’s a lot of liquid to spend in one shot, so I’m here speculating that she’s now looking to replenish the bank account. Which is a choice that I can understand where she’s concerned because she has always talked about being Jenny From The Block, growing up very middle-class, and not having a lot. This is why she is such a relentless hustler, I can’t really be mad at that. JLo has been famous for a long time, but there are certain entrenched mindsets that not even superstars can escape, especially when you come from immigrants. And immigrants need to see the numbers in the bank book.
Also… and I hate to invoke his name here… but we need to talk about Alex Rodriguez. They were IN BUSINESS together. They were trying to buy the NY Mets together! And they broke up fast, because with JLo, when she’s out, she is fucking OUT. But as quick as she is with cutting off her heart, you can’t always operate at that speed when it comes to assets and investments.
A few months after JLo and Arod broke up, I heard from a couple of people that there was some acrimony between them over money. My sources weren’t able to give me any more detail beyond that, like what exactly the financials were about, but what if she hadn’t been able when they ended their relationship to total extricated herself from him financially? Or what if, if she has finally extricated herself, it cost her? Could that be a motivating factor for all the projects she’s involved in?
Again, pure speculation. But JLo was able to make Arod go away fast (thank you, JLo), and lock down whatever it is that went south between them. I’ve a feeling that if that really is the case, she’d rather people be bitching about her spritzer than any possible behind the scenes dealings in her previous relationship.
Question from Lil:
About Drew Barrymore's talk show, her three primary writers opted not to return to the show since Drew/her show messed up so much with trying to return before the WGA strike was over. Is this going to affect her show in any meaningful way? Of course WE all understand good writers are essential, but are there that many good writers out there in the world who will be able to help Drew continue her show at its previous quality level? Not going to lie, I'm hoping this tanks her show. I used to really like her as an actress but that decision about hiring scab writers to return sooner really affected my opinion of her. She's either an asshole or clueless or both.
Sarah’s answer:
Why not both? No, really, to answer you seriously, Lil, I don’t think it’s going to have a material impact on Drew’s show. Good for her former writers (Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe) for walking after being clearly shown how little they were valued in that workplace. I hope they land on their feet elsewhere. But let’s be honest—there is always someone hungry right behind you. They will find more writers, and they will hopefully treat those people better than the previous writers were treated.
If anything impacts Drew’s show, it might be that some people just won’t want to go on the show. I don’t expect it to be a noticeable amount of people, but I bet there will be celebrities here and there who opt to go on a different daytime talk show. Once the actors’ strike is over, it will be interesting to see what kind of talent they book. You know what would be hilarious to me, though? If writers stopped going to her to promote their books.
Question from Erika:
I want to know what you’ve heard about Cade Hudson, Britney Spears’ (manager?) (bff?) ??? Who is he? Does he seem like a supportive person or someone who’s taking advantage of her? I fully support your stance of not talking about Britney much on the main site. She doesn’t need anything negative in her life. I was a huge Free Britney supporter but now I’m just concerned if she has people in her life looking out for her.
Lainey’s Answer:
I’ve met Cade Hudson a few times. He was in Toronto for TIFF quite a bit in the 2010s and I’d run into him at some of the bigger parties. A lot of CAA parties. It was never really clear what his role was, as in his title, but he was definitely “in charge” of the event, and very well connected with the executives and the big name talent. And also, kind of a liaison with the media, which is me.
In our interactions, he was always really nice. Some Hollywood PR or whatever people can be such dicks, so dismissive, and Cade was never like that. He was accommodating, he wasn’t ass-kissy, he was considerate, he was often really rushed and had a million people asking him a million questions, but he was never rude. I got a really good vibe from him.
There are so many people who’ve been in and out of Britney’s life who have taken advantage of her. So it’s certainly possible that Cade is yet another. At the same time, I’ve not really heard anything shady about Cade on the *business* side of things. Yes, there was a TikTok going around a couple of weeks ago from a dude who matched with Cade for a hookup who alleges that Cade was a creep but, like, I’m not going to give that more weight than what I’ve been getting over the years from those who have worked with Cade and the many celebrities he’s close to.
Of all those celebrities, Britney of course is the one he’s known most for – and where Britney is concerned, over the years I’ve only been told one story about him with Britney, and it wasn’t sus at all. It was before Sam Asghari came in the picture. And a source told me that Britney was behaving erratically one night when she was out of town, and Cade flew in immediately from LA and looked after her. That’s the extent of it.
After that Cade wasn’t part of the inner circle for a while in part because he was busy with other things and couldn’t be with Britney day in and day out, and also because he was apparently shut out by Jamie Spears. In that time, there was never any indication that he was leaking or selling her out.
Question from Pankie:
I'm also worried for The Marvels. I'm wondering what Sarah thinks about the impact of the increased U.S. consumer attention on the wars overseas - in the Ukraine, and now Israel and Hamas - and also the aging of the Gen X audience? Iron Man was released when I was 35. It was a fun, must see movies. (I even loved Gwenyth in it!) I loved all tent pole movies, good and bad, Harry Potters, Hunger Games, and yes, even Twilight 1. But now I'm 50 and tired and explosions feel too real. So, is this a me problem? Am I just paying more attention to geopolitical realities, expanding my news sources, and changing my taste in entertainment? Or, is this a Marvel problem? P.S. Related: I just watched the first Ghostbusters film. I was 9 when it came out, so I never saw the whole thing, but I loved it. And I'm evidently the only person who loved Ghostbusters 2. P.P.S. I recognized Dana's building from Ghostbusters because I went to therapy there for years. I find this HILARIOUS.
Sarah’s answer:
It is not a “you” problem, there is a real issue with changing audience tastes right now, at least re: Marvel and superhero movies. The Gen X’ers and elder Millennials who drove the superhero boom in the 2000s and especially 2010s are older and as a cohort, they have children now that they didn’t back then. And, too, the MCU no longer feels must-see the way it did in the run-up to the last two Avengers movies. So, even if you had kids then, maybe you made arrangements to go to the movies a couple times a year, or maybe you took them with you. But now? People aren’t doing it, at least, not for Marvel. Can they win that audience back? I don’t know. I tend to think, once people lose interest in a narrative, it’s just gone. They find a new story to invest in. We’ll see, but in the meantime, let’s not act like Marvel has completely fallen off a cliff—Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just made over $850 million this summer. A lot of people are still going to these movies, the MCU just might not be the dominant force in pop culture in the 2020s (and that’s okay!).
Also, I wish I could tell you US consumers are super concerned about war abroad, but… I don’t think we are. What I see is a lot of people who are worried about what is happening in the world, troubled by it, affected by it, saddened by it, but they’ve also got bills to pay and rent is due and their kid just got a bad report at school… people can care about more than one thing at a time, so I won’t go so far to say that no one cares about what is happening in the world, but that is balanced against what is happening at home, and I don’t think any of that, right now, is getting in the way of going to the movies and whatnot. But the audience appetite is definitely changing. We just haven’t landed on what the next big thing will be yet.
Question from Christy:
The CONSTANT criticism of Kate Middleton's overall look and two posts on her makeup this week. Why is this so important? Can't remember back to back posts on Meghan Markle's heavy handed and not at all blended blush/contour.
Lainey’s Answer:
I mean, there are dozens, if not more, of websites and hundreds, if not more, social media accounts dedicated to Princess Kate’s style. Every week, someone out there is calling her a fashion icon (which is hilarious to me). So her style, which includes hair and makeup, is established and relevant gossip.
Kate is a celebrity. And for celebrities, as I have discussed often at LaineyGossip, style is part of the job. Her outfits attract attention, they are photographed, and those photographs are shared. Which means the British royals get coverage. And getting coverage is a priority for them. They need press. They claim to be not thirsty for the press, but they are the OG influencers, they are thirsty as fuck. And they are too fucking thirsty for certain outlets (the Daily Mail, the Sun, etc) which is why they’ve sold their souls to them, but that’s a different conversation.
So we report on Kate’s style, her clothes, her makeup, her hair, the way we report on other celebrities. And sometimes celebrities step out for back-to-back appearances – premieres, red carpets, talk show appearances. We do back-to-back style analyses all the time, especially when a celebrity is super visible during a promotional campaign. Zendaya for example. When Zendaya is out on a press tour, we are talking about Zendaya daily! Margot Robbie during the Barbie run? It was a LOT of Margot.
Sometimes the analysis is positive – and it was certainly positive for Margot during Barbie press because Andrew Mukamal did such a great job styling her in lots of UN-Chanel. But using Margot as an example, when she was with her previous stylist, and wearing too much Chanel, it was often back-to-back negative analysis. Because Margot + Chanel = Not Giving.
As for Meghan, we’ve done a lot of fashion analysis, and not all of it positive on her too. The one that’s top of mind is when she and Prince Harry were in Ireland in that boatneck dress and the wrong undergarments. I’m pretty sure I called it “amateur hour”. The tailoring back then of her clothes, it could be so off sometimes. Since she and Harry quit the royals though, I feel like this has improved.
Same goes for the blush and bronzer and her blending problem. Here are four examples here, and here, and here, and here where I wrote about her lack of blend and over-bronze. To me, these days, I haven’t noticed it as much. But if you have a recent example, send it over and we can talk about it next time.
As always, thanks for all your questions and for hanging with us here at The Squawk. We are having such a fun time here, we hope it’s been a great experience for you, too.
Keep squawking, keep gossiping,
Lainey and Sarah
With Kate Middleton, isn't part of it also that she... doesn't really give us a lot else to talk about? her only opinions come out through the official palace channels, she can't really be out there displaying a lot of personality, be outspoken, do anything controversial or out of line with what's seen as fitting for her position. So style is really all that's left to talk about, and given the above, that's why it's such a crucial part of her work.
Re: Drew, I know someone who was her assistant years ago, and he described her as sweet but totally clueless about inconveniencing or imposing on other people. He gave an example of them being at an NYC airport waiting to board a flight to LA, pre 9/11: they were very late, but she was calmly browsing a Hudson News or something, while he kept telling her they needed to go. She told him everything would be ok. And when they got on the plane, people felt so charmed and excited to see her that any annoyance they felt at waiting disappeared. She might have ordered drinks for her section or even the whole plane, I can't remember. But at least then, she was very able to go through daily life being given a pass and happy indulgence from most everyone (maybe all celebrities are, I don't know).