Month: November 2020

• For some reason, MSNBC interviewed Eva Longoria about the 2020 Presidential Election.
• In the interview, the former “Desperate Housewives” star claimed that Latina women were the “true” heroes of the election, despite all evidence to the contrary.
• Twitter pounced on her with ferocity, and I’m here for it.

I have no idea why Ari Melber of MSNBC decided that Eva Longoria — an actress best known for her work on the long-canceled “Desperate Housewives” — was the person that needed to be consulted about President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

But regardless of Melber’s logic, the interview delivered a moment in which the actress was bound to get dragged by her over-processed roots.

With one sentence, she managed to erase the impact that Black women had on the presidential election.

That level of verbal gymnastics is, if nothing else, impressive — albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Naturally, the resultant level of dragging — the blood, filth, bone, and slander — forced her to backtrack in a weak-sauce apology.

But I’m here for every last ounce of it.

That Moment When Eva Longoria Stepped In It, Big Time

Just look at how Eva Longoria credits Latina women for putting President-elect Joe Biden in the video below.

I’m sorry, but where did she get her information?

According to the Americas-Society Council of the Americas (AS/COA), which dedicates its studies to the Hispanic diaspora in the United States, the Caribbean, and Canada, more Latinos — not less — voted for Trump in 2020 than they did in 2016. This is mostly due to the overwhelming Cuban-American support that Trump received.

While it’s true that more Latina women than Latino men voted for Biden, these figures are in stark contrast to the Black vote, which went overwhelmingly in favor of Biden, and which helped deliver the necessary electoral votes to the President-elect in key states.

Indeed, it’s almost universally accepted that Black women, led by such activists as Stacey Abrams — not Latina women, delivered the election to Joe Biden.

So, where does Eva Longoria get her information?

Social Media Pounced

It took almost no time for social media — specifically, Twitter — to jump on Eva Longoria and set the record straight. Many people compared Longoria to Dascha Polanco and Gina Rodriguez, two Latina women who made very prominent racist and anti-Black statements in the past.

And while Eva Longoria subsequently issued a well-scripted apology, it’s far too little and far too late.

As an entertainment writer, I often marvel at how seamlessly the worlds of entertainment and politics collide. It’s a testament to how ingrained pop culture is in our society. However, it’s also time to draw a clear line in the sand. After four years of having a game show host in the White House — and after a ridiculous presidential run by a once-talented rapper — it’s high time we stop thinking that entertainers can run the country.

And until celebrities like Eva Longoria get their anti-Blackness in check, it’s time to stop giving a platform.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.

• With BBC scandals, ITV documentaries, and The Crown, we’re set to see a sharp uptick in interest in Princess Diana once again.
• While this is a good thing for fans, it’s not so good for Prince Charles.
• The future king is an easy target, but he’s certainly not the villain he’ll undoubtedly be painted as.

There’s a lot of interest around Princess Diana at the moment, with the scandal surrounding the BBC and that infamous interview with Martin Bashir. There’s also a little streaming show on Netflix called The Crown. You may have heard of it?

But while everyone is seemingly obsessed once again with everything Princess Diana, it’s worth remembering the heartache and sad memories that the renewed interest in the People’s Princess will undoubtedly have brought upon Prince William, Prince Harry, and of course, Prince Charles.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana – a marriage doomed from the very beginning

As sad as it is, the doomed marriage between Prince Charles and Princess Diana is a terrific example of exactly why the long courtship between our future king, Prince William, and Duchess Kate Middleton was precisely the correct thing to do.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana married for all the wrong reasons. Diana’s astrologer, Penny Thornton, claimed that Charles even told the future Princess that he didn’t love her the night before their wedding.

Speaking during the ITV documentary The Diana Interview, and reported by the Daily Mail, Penny claims:

One of the most shocking things that Diana told me was that the night before the wedding, Charles told her that he didn’t love her.

The astrologer continues:

I think Charles didn’t want to go into the wedding on a false premise. He wanted to square it with her, and it was devastating for Diana. She didn’t want to go through with the wedding at that point, she thought about not attending the wedding.

Prince Charles is an easy target, but both parties were to blame for the breakup of the marriage

I know what I’m about to say is considered almost sacrilege by Princess Diana fans, but Prince Charles, who is so often painted as the villain of the piece, is an easy target.

A male heir to the British throne is always going to come off second best to a young, beautiful princess, isn’t he?

But while Princess Diana was young, let’s not pretend she was stupid. As we saw in later years, Diana knew how to get what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to speak up when required.

The men she was linked with after her relationship with Prince Charles broke down tells us that she was no shrinking violet.

Charles and Camilla were a perfect match, but it simply wasn’t to be

Again, it’ll prove an unpopular decision, but I certainly consider Princess Diana to be far savvier than the somewhat spoiled and naive Prince Charles.

If the future king is guilty of one thing, it’s carrying a flame for Camilla Shand, who would later become Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The reasons for Prince Charles and Camilla not furthering their relationship, in the beginning, seem rather amusing when viewed through modern eyes, with Patricia Mountbatten commenting that:

The conventions of the time called for the heir to the British throne to marry a woman who at least appeared to be virginal.

Poor old Camilla didn’t quite measure up it would seem.

I do wonder how this particular scenario would be viewed if instead of a male Prince Charles, it was a female princess who was in his shoes?

Imagine a young, impressionable princess being deprived of her one true love at an early age. Instead, she’s then coerced and pushed into a marriage with someone who “fit the bill” but they didn’t love?

Yes, Prince Charles suffers a bit in this tale because he’s a man.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJuZAhwfyw?feature=oembed&w=800&h=450]

It’s now time to move on – Harry, William, and even Prince Charles deserve that

While it’s all terribly exciting to look forward to Elizabeth Debicki’s portrayal of Princess Diana in The Crown, it’s common knowledge that Josh O’Connor’s Prince Charles will come off as the villain of the piece.

Speaking to the PA News Agency, O’Connor commented:

If series three was to make people feel empathy and sorry for him [Charles], I guess we’re going to pull the rug from under him in the next series.

How this all plays out over the coming few months will prove interesting, especially if you factor in the deal that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have with Netflix.

You’d have to be a fool to think that the streaming giant won’t at least attempt to parlay their success with The Crown into another royal series where they can exploit their relationship with the hapless Harry.

How this affects his relationship with his brother and father remains to be seen. It’s also worth asking if Prince Harry even cares anymore?

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.

• Christina Anstead has come under fire from her fanbase, who claims that she’s a “deadbeat mom.”
• Recently, she took to Instagram to fire back against those claims.
• But is she, really, what she’s being accused of?

Christina Anstead wants you to know that she’s a good mother.

The “Flip or Flop” and “Christina on the Coast” star took to Instagram to blast fans who claimed that she was a “deadbeat mother.” The claims, apparently, came after her extensive fandom had noticed that she was posting fewer and fewer photos of her children — both her two children with her ex-husband, Tarek El Moussa, and her son with her soon-to-be ex-husband Ant Anstead.

But social media roasting aside, is there really any evidence to support claims in either direction?

Christina Anstead Insists That Instagram Is Not Real Life

By now, we’ve all heard the saying that “Instagram is not real life.” In other words, what you see on social media is an illusion, not reality.

And according to Christina Anstead, the same theory applies to her as well.

Over the weekend, Ant Anstead posted a photo of himself with Hudson, his son with Christina, on the beach. This led to an apparent onslaught of comments claiming that Christina was a “deadbeat mother.” After remaining silent on the matter, Christina Anstead took to Instagram to set the record straight in a post that you can see below.

Her caption reads, in part:

Despite what you see on Instagram most people are struggling. When I get told “you must be an absent mother because you are not with your kids” – smh wake up people. I hardly post anymore … and I def do not want to post my kids every freaking day to make it a contest of who’s a better parent. F that. This doesn’t mean I’m not with my kids – it means the opposite – I am with them- I’m present. So stop parent shaming people, stop choosing sides when there is no side to choose.

Shallow And Deadbeat Mom Are Two Different Things

By no means is anyone saying Christina Anstead is a saint. She’s more than demonstrated, in the past, that she’s shallow, petty, and only concerned with Hollywood fame.

And yes, in the past, there have been some concerns about whether she was truly “there” for her children. Even E! News had some questions, as you can see in the video below.

But based on her recent divorce filings — which were released today — that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. In fact, the Ansteads seem to be having as amicable of a divorce as one can expect, given the circumstances. According to Us Weekly, they’re seeking joint legal and physical custody of the children, they’re paying their own attorney’s fees, and neither side is seeking spousal support.

There is no shortage of deadbeat mothers in Hollywood: Zooey Deschanel, Farrah Abraham, and Courtney Love are just a few of the many mothers that have no business being mothers.

But Christina Anstead doesn’t seem to fall into that category. She may be a crappy wife, and she definitely seems high-maintenance and thirsty for fame. But that doesn’t make her a bad, or “deadbeat,” mother.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.

• As Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ gives us all an interesting look at a version of royal life, not many imagined that Prince Philip would be the character to capture much of the audience.
• Yet capture the audience he has, with much of the discussion centered around how close to the truth the Prince’s depiction actually is.
• While we’ll never really know how close The Crown is to reality, it’s undoubtedly shone a light on the Duke of Edinburgh that wasn’t there before.

I think it’s fair to say that Prince Philip is the royal who has seen his public image changed the most by the hit Netflix show The Crown.

Yes, the portrayals of Queen Elizabeth by Claire Foy in particular and Olivia Colman have captured the audience’s imagination. But in truth, we already knew a lot about the reigning Monarch.

That Queen Elizabeth is the ultimate feminist is already common knowledge. She was a mechanic during World War II and infamously took the crown prince of Saudi Arabia for a spin in her jeep back in 2003, showing the shocked Saudi royal that women cannot only drive, but they can drive every bit as well as their male counterparts.

But what of the Queen’s husband? Prince Philip was largely known as the somewhat cantankerous individual who made off-color jokes and who certainly was not quite the driver that his wife is.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dImW_wsTfH0?feature=oembed&w=800&h=450]

Season four of The Crown is up next but early depictions of Prince Philip still split opinion

While all of us are looking forward to season four of The Crown, there is still a debate raging about how Prince Philip was portrayed in earlier seasons.

Ingrid Seward, a royal commentator who I really enjoy, believes that the depiction of Philip is one of the shows weaker points, claiming:

Prince Philip is so upright. He has that military stance. So Matt Smith got it all wrong in The Crown. He was always bent over and looks like he is being told off all the time. They got his look and mannerisms all wrong.

Despite Ingrid’s views, Matt Smith’s portrayal of Prince Philip as a younger man largely won over the audience, even if the party lifestyle of the Prince during a time when his wife was adjusting to life as Queen didn’t quite win this version of the Duke of Edinburgh many fans.

Did The Crown overplay Philip’s bachelor lifestyle during his early years as a royal?

It’s incredibly difficult to watch the first two seasons of The Crown and not feel sorry for Claire Foy’s Queen Elizabeth.

Not only was the young Queen trying to adjust to life as head of state, but this was the early 1950’s when women’s rights were still in their infancy, and a young Elizabeth found it challenging to establish herself as an authority in the same way her late father, George VI had.

If The Crown was to be believed, Prince Philip spent most of his time socializing with his chums at the infamous Thursday Club.

Since the show shone a light on Philip’s antics, there has been much talk of what went on at Wheeler’s fish restaurant in Soho on Thursdays.

A former member told The Sun:

The atmosphere was raffish and mischievous, not that we set out to be deliberately badly behaved, although often things would get a bit out of hand by the time everyone had downed a bottle or two. But basically, we were a men’s eating and drinking group who proudly dedicated ourselves to ‘Absolute Inconsequence.’

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1pjmzySB30?feature=oembed&w=800&h=450]

The suggestion of Prince Philip having an affair has been dismissed by royal commentators

Anyone who has watched The Crown will be all too familiar with the sub-plot of the ballerina and Prince Philip.

Ingrid Seward isn’t long in dismissing this particular storyline as absolute fantasy:

There was a story about a ballerina that he was supposed to have had an affair with, but that was absolute rubbish. But The Crown is not a documentary. You have to allow some poetic license.

As The Crown has gone on, we’ve been given a look at a more mature, deeper Philip

Once Matt Smith passed the baton to the fantastic Tobias Menzies, I believe we started to get a better idea of who Prince Philip really is.

Was he a bit of “a lad” in his younger years? Most likely, although I doubt to quite the extent suggested by early seasons of The Crown.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, Menzies, who portrays Prince Philip in season four of the Netflix show, claims that one of Philip’s qualities he most enjoyed was his resistance to nonsense, claiming:

I’ve come to quite enjoy his sort of resistance to bullsh*t—his bullsh*t-o-meter.

That very bullsh*t-o-meter still seems to be working perfectly fine even as he approaches his 100th birthday if his reaction to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is anything to go by.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.