Yesterday I received an email from a stranger:
To which I replied:
So, I kicked off this week’s live video chat with Rob Shuter, gossip king with a conscience, relieved that I don’t cover the British royal family full-time.
But I do want to know all the juice about them and other celebrities in the news. I had a list of people I wanted about whom Rob to provide the latest dish, and you can watch our delightful conversation above.
We covered, in order:
Harry and Meghan: They’ve settled quietly, more or less, in the Cotswolds. Today they make their first joint outing, in Nottingham. Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales was spotted with Princess Charlotte on the Tube: a lovely mother-daughter moment… or was it to show that London is so safe the Sussexes don’t need security?
Charles Spencer and Piers Morgan: Earl Spencer’s Diana memoir, Swan Song, hit number one, but there was a mistake in it and a legal kerfuffle in England that people here in the US may have missed. Spencer suggested Piers Morgan was behind tabloid gym photos of Diana in the Sunday Mirror, but Piers didn’t join the Mirror until years later. Spencer has apologized; Piers still vows to sue. The audiobook has already been amended.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: Rob is friends with Kimberly, who is out as ambassador to Greece after reports that she asked a donor to cover a $100,000 credit card bill, which she denies. Rob texted her to commiserate and she told him to use only Signal, and now that’s been deleted too… Rob says she’s more upset that Trump brushed her off as someone who once dated his son, than losing her job. But Kimberly is like a cat with nine lives. She’s only had four… five to go.
Kelly Clarkson: Rob swears she’s lovely! The real deal, no Ellen. His read on her row with Art of Play, a little Brooklyn store: a bit of hipster attitude reopened old wounds from her American Idol days, when red carpets snubbed her. His advice to her: apologize. Take the high road; even when you’re right, don’t punch down. Seems sensible to me.
Selma Blair: Charged with assault after allegedly biting (yes, biting) a flight attendant on a Delta flight to JFK, then kicking an officer and a nurse; she pleaded not guilty. Rob says she has done it before, and she should do herself and us a favor, not blame it on meds or Multiple Sclerosis, and be held accountable.
Diddy: Rushed from Fort Dix to hospital at 1 a.m. with a head injury and back before sunrise. Reports haven’t confirmed the cause; Rob’s sources say it was a scuffle with a more powerful inmate. Rob, who worked with him, thinks Diddy secretly loves the headlines.
Presley Gerber: Cindy Crawford’s son died at 27 in a Santa Monica sober living home, the kind California doesn’t license like rehab. Rob, who worked for Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks, calls modeling the ugliest business he’s seen. His advice: If your kid wants to go into it, just say no….
And finally, Luigi
Rob turned the tables and asked about my book (with James Patterson) on Luigi Mangione, which I’m racing to finish ahead of publication in February next year.
December is the big news month ahead. Luigi is due to be sentenced in federal court, where Brian Thompson’s family may give victim impact statements and Luigi gets his chance to speak. And as we’ve learned, Luigi likes to speak. Remember his “one plus one equals two” outburst about double jeopardy as the state judge left the bench?
The real swing factor is whether the state judge Gregory Carro lets a murder trial go ahead. Prosecutors just filed a blockbuster brief arguing that stalking and murder are different crimes, and the legal experts I’ve spoken to are divided.
Meanwhile, the book is available for pre-order now.
Until next week,
Vicky
Thank you Frank Arriola, Jeanne Elbe, An Mcgreevy, Don Buckter, Shannon Edrie, and many others for tuning into my live video with ROB SHUTER! Join me for my next live video in the app.
