Is there a new chapter for the Sussexes? Are things looking up for them after Fergie signals support and they have a new former Disney+ exec heading Archewell content?
Let's discuss this and more...
Not much appears to be going on. Living Legends came and went without fanfare ... what's the next event? Super Bowl - Sunday February 11th? Oscar's - March 10th? In the mean time, some things are still rolling along in various starts and stops like Samantha's law suit. Or tax season is about to begin in the US. The IRS just never goes away. Nor do bills (utility, cable, mortgage, food, cars, security, landscape people, cleaning people, koi person and so on). There's always another one. Elsewhere others just continue to glide forward without a real hint of being disrupted by some news out of California. That would be the new King and Queen or the Prince/Princess of Wales. Yes there are health risks which seemed to come out of nowhere. But. The difference is that these people are calmly living their lives with minimal drama.
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In the DM:
'Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hire Fargo producer as Head of Scripted TV for Archewell Productions to ‘work closely with Netflix' on their multi-million dollar deal'
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have continued their hiring spree at Archewell as they brought on a new Head of Scripted TV to work on their Netflix shows.
The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 40, who are currently living in their $14 million mansion in Santa Barbara, have taken on producer Nishika Kumble to oversee their scripted TV programmes with the streaming service, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
She was previously VP development and production at Hollywood actress Rashida Jones' Le Train Train Productions and worked as a producer on the TV series Fargo.
The hire comes almost a year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's announced they had signed a deal with Netflix to provide 'hope and inspiration', with industry insiders predicting it could be worth as much as $150 million.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kumble will 'work closely' with Netflix to 'create and develop new scripted fare from diverse voices that informs, elevates and inspires.'
Just days after Meghan and Harry's bombshell two-hour Oprah Winfrey special in January, the couple announced they were hiring producer Mr Browning to head up their film and television ambitions in the US.
He took on the role of head of content for Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio after being recommended to the couple by a mutual entertainment industry contact.
Mr Browning has previously worked on films including The Big Sick, Arrival, Room and Late Night and is set to head up Archewell's work with Spotify and Netflix.
Etc.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9883429/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-continue-hiring-spree-Archewell.html
Nishika Kumble looks biracial so that's one box ticked. What will she achieve? Issue really needed in addition to Browning? More $$$ spent on staff salaries.
Maneko - interesting on the hires - they dont report to the harkles but to Browning and they are the ones working closely with Netflix. Maybe netflix is pushing hard for something out of them that has nothing to do with either of the harkles. Guess that means no reality show for us ;-)
interesting on the hires - they dont report to the harkles but to Browning and they are the ones working closely with Netflix. Maybe netflix is pushying hard for something out of them that has nothing to do with either of the harkles. Guess that means no reality show for us ;-)
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Good morning. I have been under the impression that the Harkles have been up close and personal in a reality show without having to tune in on the television.
I know I've been popping my popcorn on a pretty regular basis for the past 5 years.
BTW Oprah's been markled, sort of Weight Watchers reported bad numbers and the stock is down nearly 10% this morning Thats about a $50mm hit for her today.
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I haven't seen Oprah on a WW commercial in more than a year. She may not have been Markled if she no longer has a contract with WW.
I agree with @LavenderLady that there is a "club" that the wealthy and powerful belong to, whose rules we ordinary people (pun not intended!) will never know.
It may not even be some sinister thing, but simply hypocrisy fueled by wealth. If you had been Mrs. L's "friend" for years and didn't care how she treated people less powerful than she (maybe because you were that way yourself?), why would you care about public opinion? Oh, sure, you'd make sure you looked as if you were keeping your distance. But at a private party, you can show your true feelings.
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It is said politics and business go hand and hand, so there's that...
It is also said Barack Obama is arrogant. As a Leo (no offense to Leo's-I have found the women to be a bit diva-ish though), maybe he is so far up his own backside that he doesn't really care about the crontorvery TBW.2 Chrissy brings. Also dare I say it? Some in the Chicago area say OB is on the down low as is John Legend so...
I am ok with repeating this on an online blog because they are public figures. Here in my country it is allowed otherwise a large portion of Twitter, blogs and YT channels would be gone.
Your version of It's My Party is absolutely brilliant LOL...👏👏👏👏
The line, "nobody knows where Harry has gone",
I have been watching a series on dangerous cults. One expert says the first thing a cult leader does is dismantle the victim so they can rebuild them in their particular version (and use their flying monkeys to do it as well). Lady C said the same thing recently. So creepy. I 've seen it first hand when I was quite young and away from home for the first time. It's very true...
I've been saying this here at NFB since the jump that TBW is cult leader material (for extra stupid people or too young to know better).
`Harkles have been...in a reality show...'
Perhaps that's the best way of thinking of them - just one step removed from a soap opera - Beverley Hill Billies II.
that he doesn't really care about the ***controversy TBW.2 Chrissy brings
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Obama's will pick William. It doesn't take a Ph.D to see that coming.
Oprah owns a large chunk of Weight Watchers.
She is gone from the commercials because she isn't losing any weight.
That you for your version of Lesley Gores "It’s My Party"
Loved it, had me singing along.
Oprah owns a large chunk of Weight Watchers.
I see what you did there. Well-played!
She is gone from the commercials because she isn't losing any weight.
I remember a year or so ago of her '16-pound' or something, maybe 20 pounds, max, being touted in the WW PR, before quietly disappearing. The new celebrity spokesperson is of course James Corden, who seems to be doing better at it, down 40 pounds or something. Guys always have an easier time dropping weight because the female biology is not cooperative, especially post-menopause. I had a male co-worker who dropped 30 pounds in about two months just from giving up his Dr. Pepper habit, which was considerable.
Losing any amount of weight is an achievement, but when one is the mega-celeb spokesperson being paid truckloads of money to model the plan to the dues-paying public, and when one is constantly, constantly talking about how much she works out and all the personal trainers/gurus/macrobiotic chefs et. al one engages in the alleged quest for fitness . . and one just continues to get bigger in the public eye . . that's kind of egg (custard) on the face of One's corporate sponsors.
The struggle is real . . I have been trying to lose the same 30 pounds for the last 20 years. I might say goodbye to 5 of them, but they always find me again. On two occasions when I signed up for the WW app and was tracking my points, I did lose about 16 pounds each time, so it does work. Portion control and choosing healthy foods over junk, plus increasing physical activity *will* work and nobody needs to pay weekly dues or join expensive gyms to get those results. But it's a lifetime mindset, really. Weight loss is slow for me. Even when I was following WW and swimming 2-3 a week and walking to work every day, I averaged about a pound a week. I imagine, even with all of O's advantages--what excuse would she have when she's got a phalanx of people to cook for her and come to her mansion to work her out?--apart from that which trips up us all--temptation and lack of motivation. Most people fail at losing weight long-term . . but Oprah's set herself up as a goddess guru that has all the answers for other people's lives . . so her continual failure to drop even a single size has to go in her 'Woke A-lister Hypocrite' column. Jurassic metabolism, as she has claimed as an excuse? Or is she perhaps just stuffing her face behind the doors of her luxury enclave while pretending to her gullible followers that she's assiduously counting points and working out with Bob Greene?
We will never be told the truth.
Brilliant as always. That was always one of my fav songs growing up.
@Hikari
If WW does not work for OW with all her resources, then what chance do ordinary folks have?
I am ok with repeating this on an online blog because they are public figures. Here in my country it is allowed otherwise a large portion of Twitter, blogs and YT channels would be gone.
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This blog is registered in Europe.
I believe European laws would apply.
I don't know how old she is exactly, but she's probably at the "why bother?" stage. She doesn't look terrible. She's expensively dressed. She's got her wigs and has probably had every beauty treatment known to man. Why struggle and starve?
Osama Bin Liner, Afghan, United Kingdom, about a minute ago
Of course they will go with William. He will be head of state one day. Harry is not even head of his own household.
I've lost a lot of weight recently with intermittent fasting, and low histamine diet. My issue was histamine and it increases your blood glucose levels disproportionately.
There are other ways - celery juice, keto, etc
I am just surprised that Oprah, with all the means at her disposal, hasn't managed to lose all of that excess weight. Sure, people have issues which can slow weight loss, but I cannot understand why, as someone who is in the public eye as caring so much about weight, that she cannot find a way to lose that excess. It's kind of sad. I think a lot of people think that if she can't do it, they can't either. No wonder WW is tanking.
It looks like the fancy new hires are reporting to somebody who reports to Netflix, rather than the Harkles.
Oprah's set herself up as a goddess guru that has all the answers for other people's lives . . so her continual failure to drop even a single size has to go in her 'Woke A-lister Hypocrite' column.
At first I was surprised that she didn't swing the other way and promote the body positivity movement. If you can no longer plausibly promote healthy weight loss, then why not promote loving your body, no matter what size it is? She has enough talented PR people working for her to create a credible story of why she changed her mind (and her heart!) later in life.
But then @Teasmeade brought up Oprah's shares in Weight Watchers and it all made sense. She wouldn't have wanted to hurt that golden goose.
Which brings me to another point . . .
@Teasmeade
I don't know how old she is exactly, but she's probably at the "why bother?" stage. She doesn't look terrible. She's expensively dressed. She's got her wigs and has probably had every beauty treatment known to man. Why struggle and starve?
She's 67. And a decent-looking 67, if our standard is how few wrinkles she has on her face.
But to be honest, @Hikari's older comment that Prince Andrew and Sarah now have the faces they deserve is echoing in my mind. In the past couple of decades, I would have said Oprah was a "handsome," radiant and polished woman who made the most of what she was born with. Yes, she had some cosmetic surgery -- but at least she didn't look plastic. Since the interview with the Harkles, however, I struggle to see beauty in her face. And it isn't just because she's old or doesn't have the usual "pretty" features. I know women in their 60s who still look lovely, because they're pleasant and cheerful people. Oprah was able to keep her "true" face at bay for a long time, but she won't be able to hold it back forever.
Basically, even with her resources, it all comes down to Oprah staying on a pretty strict diet somewhat long term, due to her ability to balloon.
In my experience, people who have this ability to balloon have an issue which causes that.
She could have had fecal transplant, gastric sleeve, or a multitude of other treatments. Maybe she has an inability to absorb a vital nutrient, or some genetic issue which causes the problem. Heck, there are even amino acids you can take to cut your craving for sweets, if that's the issue. I just don't understand how someone can be worth $1 billion and still be a prime candidate for diabetes at 70!
In the past couple of decades, I would have said Oprah was a "handsome," radiant and polished woman who made the most of what she was born with. Yes, she had some cosmetic surgery -- but at least she didn't look plastic. Since the interview with the Harkles, however, I struggle to see beauty in her face. And it isn't just because she's old or doesn't have the usual "pretty" features. I know women in their 60s who still look lovely, because they're pleasant and cheerful people. Oprah was able to keep her "true" face at bay for a long time, but she won't be able to hold it back forever.
The famous work by Mr. Wilde featuring a rotting satanic portrait comes to mind here . . .
@Girl
I am just surprised that Oprah, with all the means at her disposal, hasn't managed to lose all of that excess weight. Sure, people have issues which can slow weight loss, but I cannot understand why, as someone who is in the public eye as caring so much about weight, that she cannot find a way to lose that excess. It's kind of sad. I think a lot of people think that if she can't do it, they can't either. No wonder WW is tanking.
DD--
If WW does not work for OW with all her resources, then what chance do ordinary folks have?
What I have learned is that the concept of 'diet' primes us for failure, because a 'diet plan', especially one that supposedly gives quick results is only supposed to be temporary, with a definite end point. Managing weight has to be a life-long endeavor, so there's never any 'end'. For this to be sustainable, we have to allow ourselves moderate amounts of our favorite foods and maybe resign ourselves to being a higher weight than we think we 'should' be according to charts.
The key is attitude, and my issue with O. is not that she's big but that in my opinion, she isn't sincere in her desire to actually lose weight. She will go on camera and say all the right things and put weight loss tips galore in her magazine . .but she's getting paid really well to shill for Weight Watchers and the diet industry. I think she's akin to an AA leader that secretly hits the bottle while promoting an abstemious lifestyle to her followers.
At 70 years old, she should have permission to be happy in her skin, at whatever size she is. But the hypocrite factor would be less if she gracefully stepped away from affiliation with WW, including raking in money from shares.
It's just that Oprah has been lecturing people for decades about how being overweight causes all types of health issues. And, personally, I don't think that being slim means being on a diet for the rest of your life. If you address why you have sugar cravings, for example, you won't have them any longer. It's an imbalance in your neurotransmitters. Same for comfort eating.
And, if you're not moving enough, it's because you don't have enough energy to do so. Address that by taking supplements and vitamins that help boost your mitochondrial function. Also, oddly enough, the more exercise you do, the more energy you will have in the long run.
These are all cutting edge theories about well being, weight loss, energy levels and health, and I am surprised that Oprah isn't using them.
My sister went very lo-carb after ballooning up to 178. She had been away for three months in Delray Beach watching over the rehabbing of a family property. Those three months, most of the time she only had a microwave to cook with. Thus part of her weight gain.
She got back home to her husband. After a few weeks she had a diabetes incident that shocked her. One day she had extreme thirst and pains in her legs. These are diabetes signs. She was never diagnosed as having it. She immediately went low carb and got down to 120 within 8 months. She lived on three cans of solid white albacore tuna in water daily PLUS salads and cooked vegetables. Obviously zero bread, pasta and other starches. The three cans of tuna were pretty much the only animal protein she ate while losing the poundage. I am sure she had the stray piece of chicken or half a hamburger once in a while.
This took place in 2015 and she has kept the weight off. She never regained say 30lbs to have to take it off again. She and husband go to lo-carb lectures and events. (pre-Covid) She got most of her dieting philosophy from the lo-carb Dr Bernstein.
https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Bernsteins-Diabetes-Solution-Achieving/dp/0316167169
I had no idea Lady C's home in Worthing, West Sussex has such an interesting history
According to Wikipedia:
"In 1845, Mary Shelley, who inherited the building as widow of the poet, sold it to tenant Sir George Brooke-Pechell who'd been residing at the property since 1825. It is currently owned by Lady Colin Campbell."
The same Mary Shelly who wrote Frankenstein.
Wow. And in Sussex. Now I get why Lady C says the most entertaining things about TBW- they share Sussex. I'd be furious too!
Who knew?
@ Magatha I absolutely love you version of "It's My Party." I think it was your best!
Castle Goring is where she lives and it's a wedding venue as well. I saw the reno on YT . It's gorgeous now. Sussex is a beautiful UK location from what I can see online.
There are dozens of free webinars given every day on health subjects like how to eat to reduce brain inflammation, how to use single amino acids to improve your health, trauma and its results on the brain, how to supercharge your energy through supplements and nutrition, intermittent fasting and its benefits, and so on and so forth.
I try to listen to a few every week, but there is so much information about your health and how to improve it, that if I had Oprah's resources, I would be in perfect health and sharing this info with others.
One guy, the scientist who discovered the benefits of resveratrol, that ingredient found in grapes and in wine that slows down aging, told the story about his 82 year old father who just switched careers and is in great shape because of intermittent fasting, resveratrol, high intensity interval training (weight lifting) and a keto diet. This is the future of health maintenance, not dieting and counting calories. And a keto diet can include things like pastry made from almond flour, not just cans of tuna.
Moderation is off. We'll have a new open post tomorrow.
I don't live in the US, so I had no idea that Oprah was tying her personal brand to weight loss while being obviously heavier than her own touted ideal. But now that I'm informed, I agree that it's quite hypocritical of her.
Like @Hikari, I don't see Oprah's weight in and of itself as an issue at all. But she shouldn't get to berate other women for failing to meet a standard that she herself clearly doesn't care for.
And I agree with @Girl that when one is worth as much money as Oprah, there's really no excuse to be heavier than one's (supposed) desired weight. She goes all out on the wigs, the wardrobe, and the occasional cosmetic procedure. She could certainly afford whatever a cosmetic surgeon suggests to make her smaller. Plus, with her image tied to WW, you'd think she'd want an image of more integrity. (It would still be fake, but at least the hypocrisy wouldn't be so obvious.)
It's really off-putting to realize that what's most likely going on is that she simply doesn't care. She feels so high above us all that she can act with impunity. And she imagines nothing will ever bring her down.
The very thought of the Obamas as some kind of American royalty is hilarious. They are even bigger grifters than H and M
In their case, it takes one to know one?
So much of PR is just perception. I personally don't see the Obamas as "royalty" any more than you do, but I know they're perceived as "elite" by enough people that the Harkles' missing out on an invitation to their party is a big humiliating deal.
'"She lived on three cans of solid white albacore tuna in water daily PLUS salads and cooked vegetables. Obviously zero bread, pasta and other starches. The three cans of tuna were pretty much the only animal protein she ate while losing the poundage..."
I hope your sister continues to do well. But nothing is simple. Eating just one can of tuna daily even for a temporary "diet" (especially albacore) invites mercury poisoning.
https://www.livestrong.com/article/519323-can-eating-tuna-every-day-be-harmful/
I agree that Oprah is a hypocrite about weight. And certainly M is about many things too (kindness and tolerance, for example). No wonder they got along.
You ARE right about writing/saying an opinion about a 'Public Figure', such as Obama
@JennS
Sorry but I politely disagree about not being able to stste an opinion because the blog is in a European country. The blogspot here is owned by Google, a US company headquartered in America and our laws here govern their actions (thank goodness). The agreement for operating a blogspot is with Google.
There are what I call: unchangeable factors.
Things like genetics (how large or small boned someone is). You can have some surgery to change some of the skin around the bones, but there are limitations but you can't really shave off the size of the pelvic bones. You can have some lipo but (from what I understand), there is an art to removal. You want to remove proportionally similar amounts so that it all looks similar (instead of taking it all from the butt or all from the thighs). And, people can die from complications.
Or like medical such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Or even not doing well coming anesthesia may make things more difficult for anything cosmetic or not in the future. Those factors are exactly visible to the naked eye. So more medical complications.
Another is that surgery can only do so much. It can help you tweak some stuff but there are limitations as to how much it can change. You can drop a couple of sizes but there is a narrow range for it with medical intervention. Think of it as from 8X to 8 or less - that's a nope.
What we do know is that OW has a good eye for recognizing a bargain or investment opportunity. The diet market is one of them as there are always new people who feel they need to diet and that they need the structure of a program to make that kind of change. New participants = chance of cash flow.
sorry
I know the topic has moved on and we have a new post, but just one final comment about Big O.
When Oprah was a teenager, she was actually a contestant in the Miss Mississippi beauty pageant, and she was tiny. There was no evidence of a huge frame at that time. She admitted later that she starved herself to be at her pageant weight, as do most of those girls, I imagine. She started to gain weight once leaving University and going to work as a broadcaster. When she started her local talk show in Chicago, she was plus sized, but probably half the size she is now. When she had gotten up to 267 pounds and realized that she was the same weight as Mike Tyson, heavyweight champion of the world, that’s when she went on her crazy liquid fast diet, getting down to 120 pounds and a size 8 and wheeling her equivalent in fat out in a wagon on her show. Very swiftly, within months much of that weight had returned. Of course, because for six or eight months she hasn’t been eating solid food. Other less extreme diet have followed through the years, where she will drop some weight, But it never lasts. Based on her size currently, she probably wishes she were 267 again.
I used to watch the show the biggest loser, which highlighted the fact that people who are chronically extremely heavy, and have issues with over 18 are not merely suffering from physical and metabolic issues, though most heavy people will claim that they have a sluggish thyroid or similar That prevents them from losing weight, without addressing their daily big Mac habit Or the fact that they routinely eat an entire chocolate cake at a sitting. Comfort eating can often be a mask for emotional trauma. O has been open about being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and becoming impregnated and losing that baby. The little girl that grew up in an environment of poverty and abuse is still inside the morbidly obese celebrity with the billions of dollars and the fancy wardrobe. At 67 years of age, Oprah is not going to become a thin person. She hasn’t dealt with her past, despite talking about it endlessly, and I doubt she ever will because she is looking for reconciliation and peace in the wrong places. She’s not right with God, choosing to worship her self and hedonism instead. She’s got the money to have all the best in clothes, cosmetic procedures, beauty beauty treatments to be well turned out even heavy. But the fact is I can’t bear to look at her anymore, for the same reason I can’t stand to look at Harry’s wife...They are both Self promoting liars lacking a moral core. So whatever problems their lifestyle choices bring upon themselves, in my view they deserve them.
@JennS
Sorry but I politely disagree about not being able to stste an opinion because the blog is in a European country. The blogspot here is owned by Google, a US company headquartered in America and our laws here govern their actions (thank goodness). The agreement for operating a blogspot is with Google.
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I don't know but I would like to find out.
The google blogs that are registered in europe have a warning attached to them.
But I wasn't talking about opinions - I was following along from essex girl / wild boar and LL's posts and I thought the discussion was about posting something as fact as opposed to opinion.
And although it is much easier to run into trouble for that in Europe than the US, you can still get sued here if you write false statements and don't present them as opinions. Please see Wild boars posts on the topic - previous page.