Meghan Markle dropped some serious cash on a present to herself following the second season of Suits—and she has a special future planned for it, too. According to a resurfaced interview in Hello! from 2015, Markle splashed out on a classic Cartier French Tank watch after the USA Network hit was renewed once again.
“I’ve always coveted the Cartier French Tank watch,” Markle told Hello!. “When I found out Suits had been picked up for our third season—which, at the time, felt like such a milestone—I totally splurged and bought the two-tone version.”
But best of all is the empowering message she had engraved on the back: “To M.M. From M.M.”
She knows exactly what’s she’s going to do with it in the future, too. She told Hello!: “I plan to give it to my daughter one day. That’s what makes pieces special, the connection you have to them.”
As Harper’s Bazaar also pointed out, there’s another special connection the Cartier watch has to the royal family. The late Princess Diana was often seen wearing her own version of the Tank. (You think Meghan knew then she was destined for royalty???)
All that said, it’s pretty great that she bought herself a present to celebrate the success of the show she starred in. It’s also sweet that she’s turning it into a family heirloom that will be passed down through generations, especially now that her life has changed in so many ways after marrying Prince Harry and becoming the Duchess of Sussex. Until she and Harry decide to start a family—something they’ve spoken frequently and publicly about before—we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for a two-toned Tank Française sighting.
Netflix comedy specials don’t usually make me cry, but right in the middle of watching Austrialian comedian Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, I broke down. And, up until that particular moment, I’d been having a great time.
Gadsby’s buzzy special takes on everything from her conservative upbringing in Tasmania to Pablo Picasso’s reputation as a notorious womanizer to the humorlessness of her fellow “lezzies” aren’t typical Netflix comedy-special territory. Maybe I was already a little sad because I knew what was coming (OK, maybe I was a little high, too), but there’s a specific moment in the middle of Nanette when Gadsby’s set takes a sharp turn and she announces she’s quitting comedy. She explains that she’s done with self-deprecating humor and dredging up her own painful past for jokes. I could hear the frustration in her voice, and it sounded a lot like my own.
In Nanette, Gadsby is angry—with the misogyny she’s seen in standup comedy, with powerful men who coerce and objectify women in the name of “art,” and with the men who’ve abused her.
So am I.
Like Gadsby, I’ve experienced abuse from men. It’s an experience and a trauma that informs my work, my relationships, and a huge part of my personality and identity. I can trace depression, insecurity, and constant self-sabotage back to these experiences, and they’re part of who I am. I’ve been sad. I’ve cried. I’ve hated myself. I’ve seen therapists who are comfortable helping me work through and express these particular feelings, but few have ever really acknowledged my anger or known what exactly to do with it or with me.
[embedded content]
Watching Nanette and hearing Gadsby describe the anger she still feels and can’t let go of, reminded me that I’m still angry, that my feelings are real. I’m angry at my abuser, and I’m angry at myself. Without any socially acceptable outlet for anger and rage, I, like many other women, have turned the anger on myself. So has Gadsby. “I’ve a built a career out of self-deprecating humor, and I don’t want to do that anymore,” she says in the special. “Because do you understand what self-deprecation means from somebody who already exists in the margins? It’s not humility. It’s humiliation. I put myself down in order to speak, in order to seek permission to speak. And I simply will not do that anymore. Not to myself, or to anybody who identifies with me.”
Traditionally, stand up comedy—and popular culture at large—hasn’t been friendly toward angry women. Comedian Margaret Cho’s controversial 2015 music video “I Wanna Kill My Rapist” was an angry ode to revenge that some fans and critics felt had “gone too far.” As Cho later told Women’s Health, “Being an angry woman is kind of like the scariest thing that you can be in terms of the patriarchy, because we’re the ones who burned our bras, we’re where feminism comes from.” When Cho reportedly opened her act at a New Jersey comedy club with jokes about rape and white privilege that same year, audience members walked out, and Page Six later called the incident a “meltdown,” reporting the story under the headline “Margaret Cho Loses It.”
As Gadsby herself points out, an angry woman who’s a comedian is considered shrill, overly emotional, or otherwise difficult. Angry male comedians, however, are a tradition as old as standup itself, a fixture in virtually any comedy club, anywhere. Both on screen and off, women are rarely, if ever, allowed to be angry, let alone given an hour-long Netflix special like Nanette that acknowledges their feelings openly.
For this reason, Nanette is powerful, and unlike any comedy Netflix has produced thus far. It’s funny, but unconventional, and arguably might not even be considered a comedy special at all. But if the purpose of comedy is to serve as an escape or a shared experience of witnessing a live person tell their story, perhaps we need to rethink the way comedy is defined.
“[Gadsby] makes us ask: Who is defining what’s funny? Who is being allowed to speak? What perspectives are we including?” comedian Sara Schaefer told Vulture in an interview earlier this month. “It made me think so much about my own comedy and how I’ve been afraid to get ‘too angry’ or ‘too smart’ or ‘too female’ onstage.” And it made me think about how much of my own time—off stage, in my private life—is wasted trying to get to the punchline before someone else can.
In a post- #MeToo entertainment culture, Nanette marks a drastic shift in the way audiences experience the work of women in entertainment. Gadsby forces her audience to bear witness to her pain and her rage, and is a massive victory for funny, angry women—those who are pissed off, who want revenge, who want our abusers to feel the same way they made us feel.
2018 has been a jam-packed year if you’re part of the royal family. Kate Middleton and Prince William welcomed their youngest child, Prince Louis, into the world in April—and then Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their historic wedding in May. Now, there’s another big event just around the corner: Prince Louis will be christened on Monday, July 9.
Kensington Palace announced last month that Prince Louis’ christening will take place at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in London. The private 40-minute ceremony will be conducted by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and rumor has it that Baby Louis will wear the same white gown his siblings George and Charlotte wore for their own christenings (if you remember, George was christened in 2013 at the Chapel Royal, while Charlotte was christened at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Norfolk in 2015). The garment is a replica of a dress made for Queen Victoria’s oldest daughter in 1841.
The July 9 date is especially important in royal family history. As the Mirror noted, 71 years ago, in 1947, Elizabeth II (who hadn’t yet assumed the throne) announced that she was engaged to Philip Mountbatten. They had been engaged more about a year, but it didn’t become public until July 9. The rest is obviously history, and it’s fun to think of how it all kicked off on that special day. Now, the Queen and Prince Philip might get to relive that sweet moment while celebrating their youngest grandson.
As the day approaches, a few pictures of Kate’s own christening have emerged on social media. The images show the Duchess of Cambridge being christened on June 20, 1982. (We have a feeling Prince Louis is going to look just as cute as she did.)
Though today a recognizable part of State of the Union procedure, the presidential practice of inviting regular civilians to attend the event as “special guests” is actually a fairly recent one, beginning only with the Reagan administration in 1982. Historically, these invitees of the president and first lady have been Americans who either epitomize national ideals, or prove to benefit from the president’s political platform. Unsurprisingly, these guests seen at Tuesday evening’s SOTU were all personifications of the narrative that the president attempted to deliver during this address to Congress. From U.S.-born blue collar workers who have seemingly benefitted under his economy, to those who reflect his stance on immigration and border security, Trump was strategic in his selection of the evening’s guests. Here: a deeper look into who he invited, and why.
Ashlee Leppert: A member of the U.S. Coast Guard who specializes in aviation electronics, Ashlee rescued dozens of hurricane victims from floodwaters and destruction in Louisiana. Specifically, during one of her rescue missions, Leppert reportedly hoisted to safety a woman who was clutching four small children.
Jon Bridgers: Founder of the nonprofit rescue team called the “Cajun Navy,” Bridgers created the organization to aid flood victims in Louisiana; he continues attempts to collect donations for areas still devastated today.
David Dahlberg: A fire prevention technician, Dahlberg saved a total of 62 people (both children and staff members) from an encroaching fire at a Santa Barbara summer camp during the wildfires in Southern California last year.
Officer Ryan Holets: A member of the Albuquerque Police Department, Holets and his wife adopted a baby from a homeless couple who, due to opioid addiction, were unable to care for the child themselves.
Cpl. Matthew Bradford: A retired veteran, Bradford lost his sight and both legs when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2007 during a tour in Iraq. After extensive treatment, he became the first blind double-amputee to re-enlist in the Marine Corps.
[Staff Sgt. Justin Peck:](https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/01/29/military-members-among-prominent-white-house-guests-for-state-of-the-union-address/) When an improvised explosive device detonated nearby and injured a fellow soldier, Staff Sergeant Peck rushed to the aid of the wounded military member, despite the potential danger, and provided him with lifesaving medical care.
Preston Sharp: A young 12-year-old boy from Redding, California, Sharp organized the placement of more than 40,000 American flags and red carnations on soldiers’ graves through what he called “the Flag and Flower Challenge.”
Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger: Steve Staub and his sister Sandy Keplinger are the owners of Staub Manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio. After Trump took office, Staub says his business has prospered significantly—citing the fact that in the last year, the company both acquired a new building and saw a 60 percent increase in its employees, from 23 to 37.
Corey Adams: A welder at Staub Manufacturing, Adams, The White House states, was able to purchase his first home last year with his wife, thanks to the recent tax overhaul under Trump’s economic plan.
Celestino “CJ” Martinez: an Air Force veteran and an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, Martinez is responsible, the White House says, for the arrests of more than 100 MS-13 members.
While we love to remind everyone that a really great gift doesn’t need to cost a fortune, it remains equally true that sometimes, the more expensive things in life really are worth every cent. With the holiday season getting into full swing, we have every intention of indulging in some of the finest goodies that beauty has to offer—vicariously, at least, by gifting them to our loved ones. From techy hair and skin gadgets to the most glamorous makeup finds and the swankiest scents and candles, we’ve made our beauty spurge list and checked it, oh, ten or eleven times. (Hear that, Santa?)
It’s been nearly a week since The Washington Post first reported that Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore had allegedly initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old and pursued relationships with other teen girls when he was in his 30s.
On Tuesday, Ivanka Trump offered the sharpest White House criticism of Moore yet, telling the Associated Press, “There’s a special place in hell for people who prey on children. I’ve yet to see a valid explanation and I have no reason to doubt the victims’ accounts.”
In the days since the Post first broke the story, a former coworker revealed to CNN that it was “common knowledge that [Moore] dated high-school girls,” The New Yorker reported that Moore had been banned from an Alabama mall for bothering teenage girls, and a fifth woman came forward accusing Moore of sexual assault.
Other prominent Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have stated publicly that they believe the women and have called on Moore to drop out of the race. But in her interview with the AP, Ivanka did not implore Moore to withdraw his candidacy—and considering the administration’s ambiguous response to the Moore scandal, it should come as no surprise.
Who could forget Donald Trump’s 1992 appearance on Entertainment Tonight when, after talking to a 10-year-old girl on an escalator, he turned to the camera to say “I am going to be dating her in 10 years. Can you believe it?” Or when he met two teens outside the Plaza Hotel, asked them how old they were (they answered that they were 14) and then quipped, “‘Wow! Just think—in a couple of years I’ll be dating you.'” And of course, there was the time he reportedly visited the dressing rooms of several Miss Teen USA contestants as they were changing.
Twitter, unsurprisingly, was quick to point this out—promptly challenging Ivanka’s comments on Moore.
