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J.K. Rowling on reaction to new Hermione: ‘I thought that idiots were going to idiot’

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Character portraits for the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child were released over the weekend and they are all lovely; take a look on Pottermore. As we reported in December of last year, Olivier-Award winning actor, Noma Dumezweni, was cast as Hermione in this production. After the announcement, people with nothing better to do complained to the Twitterverse about her casting. The issue was not her credentials but the fact that she is not white and that somehow flies in the face of the characterization of Hermione. At the time, J.K. Rowling gave the following statement in support of the casting choice: Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione ? https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015 JK wrote the story upon which Jack Thorne’s play is based. HPatCC takes place 19 years after the gang has graduated Hogwarts. Harry is married with three children and the youngest, Albus, is reluctant to carry on the family legacy. The story is a continuation from the books, not the movies so it really doesn’t matter who played the part in the movie, even if they did a wonderful job in that role. Now that the dust up on social media has died down, JK expressed her annoyance about the controversy and did so in classic JK fashion. JK Rowling has revealed her frustration at online reaction by “a bunch of racists” to news that the role of Hermione will be played by a black actress in the eagerly awaited new play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The production, which has broken records by selling 175,000 tickets in 24 hours, is tipped to be the theatrical event of the year. But the Harry Potter creator criticised those who have suggested that Hogwarts’ studious heroine could not be played by the Olivier-award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni. “With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot,” she said in an interview with the Observer. “But what can you say? That’s the way the world is. Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job.” While the vast majority of people responded positively to the casting decision, Rowling said: “I had a bunch of racists telling me that because Hermione ‘turned white’ – that is, lost colour from her face after a shock – that she must be a white woman, which I have a great deal of difficulty with. But I decided not to get too agitated about it and simply state quite firmly that Hermione can be a black woman with my absolute blessing and enthusiasm.” Dumezweni was cast by the play’s director, John Tiffany – known for the productions Black Watch and the musical Once – who has collaborated with Rowling and the playwright Jack Thorne, writer of This Is England and The Last Panthers. Tiffany said he was surprised by the opinions expressed online, but had stopped reading the comments. “I am not as Twitter-familiar as Jo and Jack, so I hadn’t encountered its dark side, which is just awful. But what shocked me was the way people couldn’t visualise a non-white person as the hero of a story. It’s therefore brilliant that this has happened.” [From The Guardian] I always cast books in my head and producers never go with my picks when they are made into movies. Shockingly, I am able to get over it and see the film without bias. I remain at a loss over the criticism of Noma; I would be thrilled to see someone of her caliber perform. Elphaba in Wicked needed to be green, it was a huge point in the story but Hermione’s skin color has no affect on her. I think I’ll save my outrage for the fact that I will never get tickets to this show and not the fact that Hermione is not alabaster or Ron not-ginger enough. Embed from Getty Images Photo credit: WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos and Getty Images

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VF: Duchess Kate runs Anmer Hall ‘with just a handful of domestic staff’

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In the new issue of Vanity Fair – the one with the Queen and her corgis on the cover – Katie Nicholl has an exclusive new story on the Cambridges. Nicholl is long-believed to have sources deep within the Middleton family and within William and Kate’s group of friends. Nicholl often writes pro-royal propaganda, although she has, at times, written pieces critical of both William and Kate. Basically, I believe that she has legit sources close to Will and Kate but I often think she’s just using pro-Cambridge sources with an agenda. So, caveats in place, this story is a pretty good read. Good as in I eye-rolled throughout with the glowing, sycophantic prose and sympathetic quotes. You can read the full piece here, and here’s the new stuff. William has the Queen & Charles’ blessings to live like a country squire. “It’s no secret that William doesn’t like the media intrusion into his life, and in the country he can escape,” says a family friend. “The Queen and the Prince of Wales have given their blessing for William to live this life, and William is very grateful. It’s enabling him and Kate to raise their family in a way that’s as close to ordinary as they can get.” Says another royal source, “William doesn’t want George and Charlotte going through some of the experiences he went through growing up. Everything he does regarding his family is very deliberate.” Life at Anmer Hall. They have crazy security measures, a swimming pool, a tennis court, police cars patrolling the perimeter and more. Nicholl writes: “Kate runs the 10-bedroom house with just a handful of domestic staff, including full-time nanny Maria Borallo and a housekeeper. Aides insist there is no in-house chef—Kate loves to cook, and she has been spotted buying local produce at Back to the Garden. Occasionally, she sends the family’s bodyguards out to do the grocery shopping at the local shops. Mealtimes are hectic family occasions with pots of food served straight to the table. (Like most little boys, George prefers French fries to vegetables.) Kate and William take turns giving the children their baths and putting them to bed.” Kate is happy at Anmer. Privately, Kate has told friends she is delighted to have left London. “They love the countryside and that’s where they are happiest,” says one family friend. They want another baby. There are rumors among the Cambridges’ set of friends that the couple won’t wait too long before trying for another baby. Says a source, “They want at least three kids and for them to be close in age.” The pressure to carry out more work. “William says there is no negotiation when it comes to his family,” says one royal source. It is this worry, say friends, which lies behind the Cambridges’ controversial decision to hide away from the public gaze in Norfolk. At Anmer, William says, they are “a family unit. We are a normal family… Right now it’s just a case of keeping a secure, stable environment.” William’s job as a pilot. Friends say that he is determined not to be in the same waiting role his father has occupied for decades, and that he loves being a pilot. “Often he comes home physically and emotionally shattered and he just flops in front of the TV,” says one of the Duke’s closest friends. “But there’s no doubt he loves the job. It gives him a sense of purpose and normality.” But they will have to work more, and soon. “I do think we are going to see things change this year,” says one well-placed source. “The Queen is 90 and there’s talk that more responsibility is going to be handed down to the younger royals, which is right. I expect this will come at a time when it’s necessary for William, Kate, and Harry to do more to support the Queen and Prince Charles.” [From Vanity Fair] I’ve long believed that Kate is the one who wants a third child and William couldn’t care less, so we’ll see how that plays out. I suspect that if Kate is really going to have a third child, she will get pregnant this year so the kids will be close in age (like Kate and her siblings). There’s a lot of other stuff in Nicholl’s story, about how Will and Kate are all about their family and they’re very hands-on parents, etc. But after that quote about how William is so exhausted from working as a pilot a few days a week (with extensive, month-long holidays throughout the year), I’m not sure I even believe that Will and Kate are spending that much time being hands-on parents. Maybe Kate is, but William? I have literally no idea how he spends his days. Oh, and I would LOVE to know how many household staffers Kate and William really employ. Because it is absolutely more than two. Plus her mother. Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.

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Sources: Calvin Harris dumped Taylor because he couldn’t handle her success

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A lot of people think I’m a Taylor Swift-hater. I’m really not! I like to call her out on her bulls—t, of course, but I actually love her. I love that she rarely takes the high road. I love that she’s so smart in business and an absolute idiot when it comes to romance. I love that you can always count on Taylor to be a melodramatic narcissist. I even love the fact that absolutely NO ONE believed that Taylor and Calvin Harris’s split was going to be drama-free. Where’s the fun in that? So I had a smile on my face when I read People Magazine’s new exclusive story on The End of the Fairy Tale. Guess how Team Swifty is spinning the fact that Taylor got dumped again? Calvin Harris was intimidated by her success! Calvin Harris and Taylor Swift’s relationship ended because the DJ was “intimidated” by her success, a friend of the singer tells PEOPLE. “[Harris] said on multiple occasions that he was intimidated by Taylor, which is why he would not attend any events where she was being honored, or any award shows unless he was nominated,” explains Swift’s friend. Harris, 32, was notably absent when Swift co-chaired the Met Gala last month, as well as at the Grammys ceremony in February, and when the “Bad Blood” singer accepted an award named after her at the May BMI Pop Awards. But Swift is holding her head high, adds the pal. “Taylor is an independent young woman, and she realizes it will take a very secure man to handle her success,” says her friend. A source close to the DJ – whom sources confirm ultimately pulled the plug on the relationship – tells PEOPLE that the split “wasn’t a shock” for Swift because the couple had ongoing issues. “They come from very different worlds,” the source explains. “Taylor is used to being treated a certain way.” The Harris insider added that he didn’t feel like the relationship was “leading anywhere.” “It wasn’t an equal relationship. Their age difference might not be significant for many couples, but for them it was part of the problem too,” says the Harris source. “Taylor somewhat lacks real-life experience. They will not be getting back together.” Regardless, the insider says that Harris still has high praise for his ex, noting that the Scottish star “very much admires her as a person and what she has been able to do with her career. This is what drew him to her in the first place. She works incredibly hard for things that she believes in,” the Harris source says. He always saw that as an amazing quality. They are still friendly.” [From People] “She realizes it will take a very secure man to handle her success…” You guys, I’m telling you… I love Taylor Swift. SO MUCH DRAMA! She’s basically telling the world that she got dumped because poor little Calvin Harris felt emasculated by her success. She’s calling him insecure. She’s saying that he couldn’t handle the fact that she’s so rich, beautiful and acclaimed. Is that the truth? Does it matter? As for the quotes from Team Calvin sources… well, this was always the reason why Calvin and Taylor were perfect together. He gives as good as he gets, and he’s great at unleashing his inner bitch. “Taylor somewhat lacks real-life experience.” OUCH. He’s saying she’s immature, naïve and insular. “They will not be getting back together.” As in, she wanted to get back together and he didn’t. Meanwhile, the National Enquirer says that Taylor was convinced that Calvin was cheating on her after that now-infamous massage parlor incident. And sources claim Calvin was convinced that Taylor was cheating on him after he heard about her behavior with Tom Hiddleston at the Met Gala. There are a lot of people who think TIDDLES (Taylor + Hiddles) could be a reality soon. Still, other people want to see Taylor go for Prince Harry. I don’t see that, mostly because Taylor is SO not Harry’s type. Blake Lively is Harry’s type. I think TIDDLES is a better possibility than TARRY. Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.

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Debra Messing apologizes for gun safety selfie at time of UCLA shooting

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Debra Messing is involved with the same charity for gun safety and awareness which Julianne Moore supports: Everytown for Gun Safety. The way Moore has explained it, Everytown has some very practical solutions to control access to guns, namely running background checks and closing the loopholes which exist for gun shows and online sales. Incidentally Obama issued an executive order earlier this year to accomplish this, but without the support of the legislative branch it will be hard to effect change. Hopefully we can see some of these changes under President Clinton. (Yes I’m an optimist on several fronts.) Wednesday there was a tragic shooting at UCLA, which ended up being a murder suicide in which a man from Minnesota murdered his former engineering professor, William S. Klug. The latest in that terrible case is that the shooter also murdered his estranged wife in Minnesota before driving to Los Angeles, where he intended to kill Klug and another professor, who was not harmed. It was yet another senseless shooting which organizations like Everytown hope to prevent. Messing was taking part in a pre-planned awareness day for gun safety, and so instead of putting it off or just tweeting support for the victims at UCLA, she decided to incorporate the shootings into her selfie, and the result was… not good. She posted a photo of herself in a gun control T-shirt and tweeted that she was watching the shooting on TV. (She’s since deleted the tweet but the NY Daily News had it.) Yes that came across as self absorbed. At least she didn’t use a bunch of hashtags though, props for that. Many people started calling her out for it and the good news is that she apologized. Here’s her apology. I would assume that someone else wrote it for her, judging by her tweets. PLEASE READ: pic.twitter.com/LccmvPpOcn — Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) June 1, 2016 If that was the case why didn’t Messing just tweet a simple message that she was saddened by events at UCLA, that she hopes everyone is safe and her thoughts go out to the families and loved ones? Instead she made it about herself and it was tone deaf, but it does make sense in context. Just before posting her full apology, Messing posted a series of tweets explaining herself, stating “The pix was being taken just AS the news broke. I thought the horrendous irony of the timing shown [sic] a brighter light in the crisis and need for all of us to do something together to make the US safer. Sorry if it was misconstrued and caused offense. That’s the last thing I want to do.” As far as celebrity apologies go, her full apology is a decent one. I wish celebrities wouldn’t use the “sorry you misunderstood/sorry you were offended” line. She should have just said “I messed up, this was dumb and I acted in the heat of the moment,” but she explained the circumstances and it wasn’t bad. photos credit: WENN.com

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Calvin Harris has a ‘huge amount of love & respect’ for Swifty, but was he ‘bored’?

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Considering that Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris’s breakup went from zero to DRAMA in the span of an hour on Wednesday, it’s sort of interesting that Calvin is trying to reclaim the higher ground. After some particularly juicy gossip came out about the breakup last night, Calvin tweeted this: The only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect — Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) June 2, 2016 “A huge amount of love and respect…” Sure. For what it’s worth, I think they really did care about each other. I know there were always claims that this was all a contractual relationship, but I think they were for real. And now she’s heartbroken and he’s doing damage control and their teams are leaking damaging stories and it’s all so petty and melodramatic and amazing. Speaking of, as I covered earlier today, People Magazine had a bitchy he-said/she-said story last night, with Swifty sources claiming that Calvin dumped Swifty because he was intimidated by her success. This is what Page Six had to say about that: Calvin Harris breaking up with Taylor Swift because he’s “intimidated by her success is a bunch of crap,” a source close to the DJ told Page Six. “She broke up with him this week,” the source said. “She gave a bulls - - t excuse about her career. He was ring shopping.” A friend of Swift’s had told People magazine that Harris was “intimidated” by her success and “would not attend any events where she was being honored.” But another source told us, “He’s not intimidated. He’s a global success.” The couple dated for 15 months. [From Page Six] Love it. Love everything about it! And no, I don’t believe he was ring-shopping. And no, I don’t believe Taylor dumped Calvin. Taylor only acts this crazy when she’s the one who gets dumped, and all of the other sources are still sticking to the original story, that he dumped her last week. Still, E! News’ sources claim that Calvin was unhappy for months: For Calvin Harris, the spark in his relationship with Taylor Swift had fizzled out long before he called it quits, E! News has learned. “Adam has been bored for a while and was hoping the spark would come back but it hasn’t,” a source told E! News exclusively Thursday. “Friends were even surprised it lasted this long because of the lack of chemistry.” [From E! News] I do think that Calvin Harris’s pre-Swifty girlfriends were “sexy” ladies, more of the model/bombshell variety. And while I love Swifty, she has always come across as somewhat asexual, like she’s more about cats, baking and antiquing. Still, I think there’s something mean about all of these Team Calvin sources insisting that Tay and Calvin had no heat together. Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of Getty, Fame/Flynet.

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People Mag: Johnny Depp & Amber Heard ‘should have never gotten married’

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Here are some photos of Johnny Depp in Stockholm on Monday. He’s still touring Europe with his band, the Hollywood Vampires. Do you think Team Depp’s crisis management just operates without him? Or is Depp on those conference calls, suggesting quotes that need to be placed in People Magazine? The only thing I know for sure is that Team Depp was hard at work on Memorial Day. Their current vibe is “let’s throw everything against the wall and see what sticks.” Which is the only explanation for two of the most blatantly pro-Depp pieces thus far, in People Magazine and TMZ. Some highlights: TMZ’s police sources are chatty. TMZ’s “law enforcement sources” want you to know that Amber Heard did not tell police officers that Johnny Depp had smashed her in the face with an iPhone. TMZ’s sources have already claimed that Amber was sporting no visible injuries and now they’re reiterating that Amber did not tell cops the whole story. TMZ ends their story with this: “We’re told Amber still has not filed a police report. If Johnny’s right and he never touched her … had she filed an official report she could be prosecuted for a felony — filing a phony police report.” Just what every victim of domestic abuse wants to hear, right? If you do come forward and tell (gossipy) police officers about your abuse, you could be prosecuted. Thanks, TMZ! Update: Oh, great, TMZ has another story about how Amber tried to “set up” Johnny by screaming for security when they were 20 feet away from each other. Amber and Johnny should have never gotten married. And now for the “derp” part of Team Depp’s media strategy, People Magazine has unnamed sources saying the most obvious things. Things like “they are just not good together. They had lots of problems before they got married, and should have never gotten married. Their personalities are just not compatible.” YA THINK? People’s source also says Heard caused a lot of “drama” and that she “exacerbates” his “jealousy issues,” and Depp is “very insecure when it comes to Amber.” I love that she’s getting the blame for “exacerbating” his unhinged jealousy. OH SHE MADE HIM JELLY. Then she totally deserved it, right? Amber is incredibly upset. E! News has one of the few pieces with quotes from pro-Amber sources. E!’s source says: “This has been incredibly upsetting for Amber but she knows she is doing the right thing. It has been very traumatic for her to finally speak out, but she needs to do what she can to protect herself.” The source also says that Amber “tried to hide what was really happening in the marriage from most of her friends because she wanted to believe that it would get better. That things would change. But ultimately they didn’t and so she had to do what she did to stop it.” I believe that. You know why? Because it happens all the time. The victim believes that things will change for the better. The victim is embarrassed that this is happening. The victim doesn’t think anyone will believe her/him. The victim doesn’t want to tell other people because then it becomes real. Meanwhile, Amber’s team finally responded to Doug Stanhope’s guest column in The Wrap (you can see our coverage here). Stanhope claimed that Amber was “blackmailing” Depp, and Stanhope based his accusations on stuff that Depp had told him. Amber’s lawyer tells The Wrap that Stanhope’s “allegations against Ms. Heard are absolutely and unequivocally false” and that the guest column “has no basis in reality and is nothing but the typical celebrity muckraking for profit.” Amber’s lawyer demanded that The Wrap take the column down and they’re currently speaking to their lawyers, but Amber’s lawyer told The Wrap: “It is highly offensive and disturbing that you would choose to publish it in the first place.” Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

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Amber Heard’s restraining order request has details of Depp’s alleged attacks

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Amber Heard looks somber, bruised leaving court after accusing Johnny Depp of domestic violence: https://t.co/w97XhAfGbo — Us Weekly (@usweekly) May 27, 2016 Various outlets have obtained the text of Amber Heard’s restraining order request against Johnny Depp, which was granted. The details of Johnny’s alleged attacks, and of his behavior in general, are chilling. The court documents detail two incidents of abuse (update: another incident is referenced, see this article), each a month apart and the most recent one this Saturday. Johnny allegedly pulled Amber’s hair, threw things at her, and abused her. She states that he threw a cell phone at her this Saturday, hitting her in the eye. Photos of her bruises, including photos taken at her court appearance earlier today, support this. Amber maintains that Johnny has a substance abuse problem and has been abusive to her throughout their relationship: Johnny has been abusive for their entire relationship, has a drug and alcohol problem “During the entirety of our relationship, Johnny has been verbally and physically abusive to me “I endured excessive emotional, verbal, and physical abuse from Johnny, which has included angry, hostile, humiliating and threatening assaults to me whenever I questioned his authority or disagreed with him. “I live in fear that Johnny will return to (our house) unannounced to terrorize me, physically and emotionally, “Johnny has a long-held and widely-acknowledged public and private history of drug and alcohol abuse. “He has a short fuse. He is often paranoid and his temper is exceptionally scary for me, as it has many times proven to be physically dangerous and/or life-threatening to me. Johnny [sic] relationship with reality oscillates, depending on his interaction with alcohol and drugs. “As Johnny’s paranoia, delusions and aggression increase throughout our relationship, so has my awareness of his continued substance abuse. Because of this, I am extremely afraid of Johnny and for my safety… I am petrified…” Amber states that Johnny abused her on April 21 Heard claims that on April 21, he showed up to a birthday party at their home “inebriated and high.” As a “bad argument” developed, she claims he threw a magnum bottle of champagne at the wall, and a wine glass on her. “He then grabbed me by the hair and violently shoved me to the floor.” – From Radar and The AP Amber had not seen Johnny for a month until this Saturday On Saturday, May 21, Heard claims that she was having a conversation with two friends when Depp, 52, entered their downtown Los Angeles apartment. As the group of friends began to talk about the recent passing of Depp’s mom, the actor “began obsessing about something that was untrue” and became “extremely angry,” she states in the documents. In attempt to help relieve the situation, Heard began calling a friend who Depp was requesting to speak to, she states. “Johnny ripped the cell phone from my hand and began screaming profanities and insults at iO [the friend],” she said. “I heard iO yell at me to get out of the house. Johnny then grabbed the cellphone, wound up his arm like a baseball pitcher and threw the cellphone at me striking my cheek and eye with great force.” Heard submitted photos appearing to show a bruised eye as evidence. Heard says she covered her face and began to cry, then actor “charged” at her and “taunted” her, questioning if the phone actually hit her. “He then forcibly pulled back my hair as I attempted to stand up from the sofa,” she said. “I then yelled ‘Call 911′ – hoping it would be heard by iO who was still on the phone.” “Johnny continued screaming at me, pulling my hair, striking me and violently grabbing my face,” she continued. After a friend from next door entered the apartment with a key previously provided by Heard, Depp ran out of the apartment “smashing everything he could” with a wine bottle, Heard claims. She also submitted photos of damaged possessions. – From People [From People and Radar] Amber’s friend also submitted a declaration on her behalf stating that “Many times over the past few years, Amber has confided and complained to me about Johnny’s abusing her, both physically and verbally.” Some people are saying they don’t believe Amber based on the fact that the police found no evidence of a crime. Bruises take some time to appear, and Amber chose not press charges or provide a statement to police. She’s married to an incredibly famous man and she’s an actress, she probably weighed her options at a time when she was under extreme stress and decided not to bring attention to the situation. People Magazine has more photos of the scene and of Amber’s injuries which were submitted to the court. After seeing the photos of Amber’s injuries, and of how distraught she was outside of court, I absolutely believe her. Details of Amber Heard's alleged attack 2 days before she filed for divorce https://t.co/hfJ4FJod5M pic.twitter.com/hIaqMDphgn — People Magazine (@people) May 27, 2016 Photos credit: WENN.com