In Touch Publishing 2011, Pre-NDA Stormy Daniels Unpublished Details Of Trump Affair

In Touch Publishing 2011, Pre-NDA Stormy Daniels Unpublished Details Of Trump Affair

In Touch magazine ran today an excerpt from a 2011 interview with adult film star Stormy Daniels (née Stephanie Clifford), in  which she shares details of her 2006 affair with Melania's then-husband, Donald Trump. 

The Wall Street Journal reported a few days ago that Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet. And she is not. Given that this interview was given before Daniels signed an NDA, InTouch intends to publish the entire interview unedited -- all 5500 words of it. At the time the interview was conducted, Daniels took a polygraph test, and InTouch confirmed the story with two other sources -- her good friend Randy Spears and her ex-husband Mike Moz. 

Condé Nast Leads Fashion Industry In Suspending All Work With Mario Testino and Bruce Weber, Based On NYT Sexual Harassment Investigation

Condé Nast Leads Fashion Industry In Suspending All Work With Mario Testino and Bruce Weber, Based On NYT Sexual Harassment Investigation

Hours after a Saturday morning report on The New York Times about the very significant and growing number of accusations against Bruce Weber and Mario Testino,  Condé Nast's Anna Wintour issued a statement that the magazines will not commission any new work with the two men  "for the foreseeable future." Terry Richardson was previously banned in October. 

The Telegraph wrote today that Mario Testino, the front runner to photograph the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle given his long and close relationship with the royal family, was no longer under consideration. 

"Today, allegations have been made against Bruce Weber and Mario Testino, stories that have been hard to hear and heartbreaking to confront," Wintour wrote. Fashion industry insiders described the industry icon as being deeply upset. 

"Both are personal friends of mine who have made extraordinary contributions to Vogue and many other titles at Condé Nast over the years, and both have issued objections or denials to what has emerged. I believe strongly in the value of remorse and forgiveness, but I take the allegations very seriously, and we at Condé Nast have decided to put our working relationship with both photographers on hold for the foreseeable future."

Brands Michael Kors, Stuart Weitzman issued statements confirming that they will not work with Testino in the future. Burberry made the same pledge, although it hasn't work with Testino for a year. A spokesperson for Ralph Lauren, which frequently uses Weber to shoot its ad campaigns, said, “The allegations reported in the recent New York Times article are completely contrary to our values, and to our commitment to creating an environment where our employees and outside partners feel welcome, safe and can perform at their best. We will not do business with anyone who behaves in a way that compromises this commitment.”

Condé Nast also issued new guidelines for working with models appearing in their publications, and we will publish those guidelines separately. It's noteworthy that the organization again raised the age of its editorial models from 16 to 18. 

Donald Trump Personally Handled Sale Of Trump Tower Condo To Haitian Dictator Baby Doc

Donald Trump Personally Handled Sale Of Trump Tower Condo To Haitian Dictator Baby Doc

There's a note of irony in Trump's haughty views about places like Haiti. While Trump's all cash sales of his condos to Russians is well-established amid accusations of money laundering, even I didn't know that America's president personally handled the sale of a Trump Tower condo to the despised Haitian dictator Baby Doc. 

Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier lead a reign of terror in Haiti, accused by Human Rights Watch in 2011 of selling dead Haitians' body parts to finance his high-flying lifestyle. The Daily Beast wrote about Trump personally handling the condo sale, noting that "the Stroock & Stroock & Lavan law firm—hired by the Haitian government to search out assets Duvalier had stolen from the Caribbean island-nation—only found out Duvalier owned Apartment 54-K because the dictator hadn’t paid his phone bill. The Haitian government put a lien on the property after he fled."

Serena Williams Shares Details Of Health Scares In Childbirth & History Of Blood Clots

Serena Williams Shares Details Of Health Scares In Childbirth & History Of Blood Clots

When Serena Williams withdrew from the Australian Open last week, after her loss in Abu Dhabi, some fans were concerned. Williams won the Australian Open last year, playing seven-months pregnant with her daughter Olympia. The Guardianreported:

“After competing in Abu Dhabi I realised that, although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be,” Williams said.

“My coach and team always said, ‘only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way’. I can compete – but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time. Even though I am disappointed about it, I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.

Williams covers the February 2018 issue of Vogue, introducing us to daughter Olympia and an explanation of significant health issues associated with the birth of her daughter. It's totally clear now why healing time is a critical priority for this superstar athlete. 

Genesis 2.0 Documentary Inspires New GlamTribal Woolly Mammoth Pendants

Genesis 2.0 Documentary Inspires New GLAMTRIBAL Woolly Mammoth Pendants

Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei will premiere his documentary Genesis 2.0 in Sundance's World Documentary section. Frei co-directs the film focused on the efforts to bring the extinct woolly mammoth back to life with Maxim Arbugaev. The co-directors embed with a group of tusk hunters on the remote New Siberian Islands for an entire season, and the first trailer introduces these hunters who search for the ivory tusks of the animals that have been fully extinct for 10,000 years.

Noted geneticist George Church, whose team at Harvard successfully modified elephant cells with DNA retrieved from a preserved mammoth, also assumes an important role in the documentary. While many ethicists are opposed to "playing God" with cloning, many scientists and conservationists see cloning the woolly mammoth as an important step in insuring that elephants -- considered to be descendants of the woolly mammoth -- do not become extinct. 

GlamTribal Design has a strong commitment to elephant conservation, earmarking 5% of our revenues to support elephants, as well as 5% of revenues for the Kibera School for Girls in Nairobi. 

GlamTribal Design uses both woolly mammoth bone beads and featherweight, balsa wood beads decoupaged with woolly mammoth images printed on vellum as key components in our collections. These new silk cord pendants with and without leaf and ladybug earrings are ready with FREE SHIPPING in North America. 

Mark Wahlberg Donates Entire $1.5 Million Reshoot Fee To Time's Up In Honor Of Michelle Williams

Mark Wahlberg Donates Entire $1.5 Million Reshoot Fee To Time's Up In Honor Of Michelle Williams

The 'Time's Up' movement got a kick in the gut after The Golden Globes, learning that pay inequity in Hollywood is so rampant that Mark Wahlberg received an additional $1.5 million for reshoots, compared to the per diem allowance of about $1000 a day for Michelle Williams, one of the founders of 'Time's Up'. USA Today reported on Tuesday that this pay gap was the result of Ridley Scott's decision to reshoot scenes of the thriller about J Paul Getty, without the disgraced Kevin Spacey, who was replaced with Christopher Plummer. 

On Saturday Wahlberg bowed to the public outcry, agreeing to donate his fee to the Time's Up fund. 

"Over the last few days my reshoot fee for 'All the Money in the World' has become an important topic of conversation," Wahlberg said Saturday in a statement. "I 100 percent support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the $1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”

WME also responded to the injustice and pr nightmare, announcing: "The current conversation is a reminder that those of us in a position of influence have a responsibility to challenge inequities, including the gender wage gap. In recognition of the pay discrepancy on the 'All the Money in the World' reshoots, WME is donating an additional $500,000 to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name, following our $1 million pledge to the organization earlier this month. It’s crucial that this conversation continues within our community and we are committed to being part of the solution.” 

Artist Toyin Ojih Odutola Portrays Unconventional Visions Of Black Bodies

Artist Toyin Ojih Odutola Portrays Unconventional Visions Of Black Bodies

In Madagascar, Six Lemurs Are Among The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates

In Madagascar, Six Lemurs Are Among The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates

I met up with an old digital friend today, Dr. Patricia Wright who was featured on the Turkana Basin Institute website, referenced for her work in Madagascar on saving lemurs. Specifically, Dr. Wright was named a Natural World Hero by Natural World Safaris, organizing informed, wildlife adventures worldwide.

Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island, located in the Indian Ocean about 1400 miles southeast from Nairobi, or a 3 1/2 hr. plane flight. Having developed largely in isolation, Madagascar is known as one of the world's richest ecosystems. After gaining independence from France in 1960, Madagascar has fallen victim to repeated political instability, several coups including one in 2009, disputed elections and widespread violence.

Once a great source of paddy rice, coffee, vanilla and cloves -- and tourism -- Madagascar is among the poorest countries in the world and is highly dependent on foreign aid. Young girls on the island are pressed into having sex with men young and old, and their lives are severely impacted by the Trump administration's abandonment of US AID support for birth control. 

As for the lemurs and Dr. Patricia Wright, who we last wrote about in 2014, their fortunes seem worse than ever. A new report released in November 2017 by the world's greatest experts on primates focused on the plight of 25 of the Earth's most endangered primate species.

Women Directors Again Snubbed As London's BAFTA Announces 2018 Nominees

Women Directors Again Snubbed As London's BAFTA Announces 2018 Nominees

Minutes after Oprah delivered her earth-shaking speech at the Jan. 7, 2018 Golden Globes, Natalie Portman and Ron Howard arrived at the podium to announce the winner of Best Director.  

Howard thanked the Globes for asking them to ‘be here to present the award for Best Director’ before long-time activist Portman added: ‘And here are all the male nominees.’

The male nominees wore deer-caught-in-the-headlights looks on their faces as the TV cameras panned their faces. But Twitter went to bat for Portman, incredulous that she had the moxie to mimic and build on Oprah's momentum -- an act that few could follow. 

Two days after 'Time's Up' made history at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) nominations were announced. One again, nominees in the best-director category are all-male. 

Oprah Winfrey Sends Spirits Soaring In 2018 Golden Globes Speech On 'Time's Up' and #MeToo

Oprah Winfrey Sends Spirits Soaring In 2018 Golden Globes Speech On 'Time's Up' and #MeToo

Oprah Winfrey brought down the house last night at the 75th Golden Globes telecast, delivering the most motivating and inspiring words we've heard in one of the longest, harshest, most vulgar 12 months of an American presidency ever. Oprah gave us reason to hope -- which is probably why Oprah for President in 2020 Tweet flocks were flying in strict formation. Oprah was passionate and articulate, and not self-flattering in that obnoxious Trumpian way that so many of us loathe. She was confident in her wisdom, with no need to prove her credentials --  in contrast to a man who appears to be one of America's most insecure presidents ever and devotes every day of his life trying to convince us that he is a true genius and a great American progeny. 

Oprah delivered complete, focused sentences with nouns and verbs. She did not say "very, very" -- only "Amen, amen, amen." Read the entire transcript of her speech at the LA Times. We've highlighted the core themes from her rousing words. As for all the Oprah for president conversation, talk to us after the 2018 elections. It is clear that Oprah can do a lot for Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, as she did in getting Barack Obama elected president. 

BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie Resigns Over Refusal To Grant Her Equal Pay For Equal Status, Quality Work

BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie Resigns Over Refusal To Grant Her Equal Pay For Equal Status, Quality Work

We have a super high-profile resignation at the BBC. China editor Carrie Gracie gave the BBC months to rectify her unequal pay -- the very condition under which she came to the BBC in the first place three decades ago. In an open letter just published, she outlines all the ways the BBC tried to get around this fundamental concept -- that a woman editor should have salary parity with men, and especially one as qualified as Gracie.

Because British taxpayers funds the BBC, Gracie writes: "I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure."

No intelligent organization would want to run the risk that Gracie would go public and resign. It IS about power when a group of men calculate that an accomplished woman with a global following won't have the nerve to walk -- and tell the whole world her story, as she slams the door behind her.

They were wrong

Cate Blanchett Named Jury President Of 71st Cannes Film Festival

Cate Blanchett Named Jury President Of 71st Cannes Film Festival

Australian actor Cate Blanchett has been named jury president of the 71st Cannes Film Festival, opening May 8. She follows Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and becomes the 12th woman to head the Cannes jury.

Responding to the announcement, Blanchett said: “I have been to Cannes in many guises over the years; as an actress, producer, in the marketplace, the Gala-sphere and in Competition but never solely for the sheer pleasure of watching the cornucopia of films this great festival harbours.”

Blanchett, a two-time Oscar-winner, is prominent in the Hollywood campaign against sexual harassment. She is one of 300 influential women who launched 'Time's Up' on New Year's Day. 

Hoda Kotb Becomes 'Today' Co-Anchor! With Daughter Haley Joy, Hoda Says: 'Let's Go Girls!'

HODA KOTB, LEFT, AND SAVANNAH GUTHRIE IN NOVEMBER. CREDIT: HIROKO MASUIKE/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Hoda Kotb Becomes 'Today' Co-Anchor! With Daughter Haley Joy, Hoda Says: 'Let's Go Girls!'

Hoda Kotb (pronounced COT-bee) will permanently replace disgraced NBC Today show anchor Matt Lauer, the network announced on Tuesday. For the first time in 'Today's' history, NBC's most profitable franchise will be placed in the hands of two women -- Kotb and existing anchor Savannah Guthrie. 

“We are kicking off the year right, because Hoda is officially the co-anchor of ‘Today,’” Ms. Guthrie said, sitting next to Ms. Kotb. “This has to be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made, and I am so thrilled.”

Ms. Kotb, 53, responded: “I am pinching myself.”

Guthrie has been a 'Today' anchor since 2012 and Kotb joined NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent for 'Dateline'. In 2008 Kotb became the co-host of the fourth hour of 'Today' and rushed into the emergency substitute host spot on the morning that Laurer was fired.

An Egyptian-American, Kotb adopted in early 2017 a little girl Haley Joy and lives since fall 2016 with her longtime partner, financier Joel Shiffman. The event has completely changed her life, says Hoda, who has long wanted to be a mother but -- as a breast cancer survivor -- couldn't conceive children. 

Hollywood Launches Time's Up With Powerhouse Message To Working Class Women

Hollywood Launches Time's Up With Powerhouse Message To Working Class Women

Driven by disgust, disenchantment and disbelief that sexual harassment and gender inequality run rampant in America, 300 prominent and not-so-well-known Hollywood women have launched a sprawling initiative to fight the Hollywood power structure and blue-collar workplaces nationwide.

Born with a name that resonates deeply with women fighting this gender inequality battle for 60 years in the case of women like Jane Fonda, Time's Up has 1) a legal defense fund, backed now by $13 million in donations earmarked to help less privileged women protect themselves from sexual misconduct and threats of job loss among janitors, nurses and workers at farms, factories, restaurants and hotels. Articles like the New York Times' How Tough Is It to Change a Culture of Harassment? Ask Women at Ford astonished many professional women in and out of Hollywood. 

Carey Mulligan Wears Heavenly 'Feathers' By Richard Phibbs For Harper's Bazaar UK January 2018

Carey Mulligan Wears Heavenly 'Feathers' By Richard Phibbs For Harper's Bazaar UK January 2018

Actor Carey Mulligan covers the January 2018 issue of Harper's Bazaar UK. Miranda Almond styles Mulligan in heavenly, confectionery glamour for 'Feathers', lensed by Richard Phibbs./ Hair by Earl Simms; makeup by Zoe Taylor

Carey Mulligan had a major role in the Netflix film 'Mudbound' -- an exceptional film imo -- and is quotedin her interview about rumors of a real-life lynching taking place in Atlanta in July 2016.

“It was so crazy because, you know, that feels historical and it wasn’t. I think because I live in London, I suppose I have an idea that we’re all very multicultural and everyone is very accepting and I had no idea the extent to which racism is still rampant in America… I was naïve to how bad it is still today.”

Queen Elizabeth II & Ghana President Nkrumah In A 1961 Diplomat Foxtrot Watched In Black & White

Queen Elizabeth II & Ghana President Nkrumah In A 1961 Diplomat Foxtrot Watched In Black & White

In consenting to a foxtrot -- yes, it happened for real -- with Nkrumah, Elizabeth II achieves more in a few minutes than British diplomats dealing with the young nation have managed to achieve in weeks. The dance scene itself is quite dazzling, as Elizabeth finds her Jackie-O side. Comparing the images from 'The Crown' above and the real-life photos below,  there is more physical space between the couple in the real-life dance -- if these images don't distort the truth. And we must always remember that 'The Crown' is a fictionalized account of history, viewed through the lens of the British Empire and Britain's crumbling monarchy.  

In reality, the Akosombo Dam was completed in 1965, in a project jointly financed by Ghana, the World Bank, the United States and the United Kingdom. Few sources -- even those who write that 'The Crown' is racist ( well SURE it is, given that colonialism was racist) -- debate that this foxtrot between Elizabeth II and President Kwame Nkrumah -- The Lion of Africa --was a diplomatic success on multiple fronts.

Eye: As Phoebe Philo Prepares To Leave Céline, Will She Sink Deeply Into Her British Roots?

Eye: As Phoebe Philo Prepares To Leave Céline, Will She Sink Deeply Into Her British Roots?

Phoebe Philo is officially leaving Céline, after a decade spent restoring and reinvigorating the LVMH label as a favorite of powerful, working women. WWD reports that Philo's last collection for the label will debut at Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018, with succeeding collections crafted by various Céline employees until a new creative director is appointed. 

In a brief statement announcing the news, Ms. Philo thanked her team, and Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the luxury group that owns Céline, said: “What Phoebe has accomplished over the past 10 years represents a key chapter in the history of Céline. We are very grateful to Phoebe for having contributed to the great momentum of this Maison. A new era of development for Céline will now start, and I am extremely confident in the future success of this iconic Maison.”

Sabo Launches Viscious Street Art Attack Against Meryl Streep Claiming 'She Knew' About Weinstein

Sabo Launches Viscious Street Art Attack Against Meryl Streep Claiming 'She Knew' About Weinstein

A right-wing, LA-based street artist who goes by the name Sabo has claimed responsibility for a campaign targeting actress Meryl Streep in conjunction with the Harvey Weinstein debacle. The campaign features posters showing a beaming actress next to Harvey Weinstein but with a Barbara Kruger-style red banner across her eyes stating: “She knew.”

The words “She knew” in the posters are intended to suggest that Streep had knowledge but chose to ignore the disgraced movie mogul’s history of alleged sexual assaults. Sabo, who The Guardian says is 49, told the newspaper on Wednesday that he conceived the campaign with two collaborators—they are not named in the report—as retaliation for Streep using her most recent film, The Post, to criticize Donald Trump. “She’s swiping at us so we’re swiping back,” Sabo told The Guardian.

The posters began showing up on Tuesday in Los Angeles, including near Streep’s house, as well as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’s headquarters, and the studio lot of 20th Century Fox, according to the report.

Eye: Juergen Teller Captures Adwoa Aboah, Family & Friends For Burberry's Zeitgeist Images

Juergen Teller Captures Adwoa Aboah, Family & Friends For Burberry's Zeitgeist Images

British model Adwoa Aboah skyrockets into another rung of fashion industry achievement, teaming up with photographer Juergen Teller in a new photo collaboration for Burberry. The images will drop throughout 2018 and feature Aboah together with her friends and family. In almost USA southern tradition, we meet Adwoa's including her cousins Alfie Husband, George Husband, Richard Theodore-Aboah and Kwame N’Dow, as well as Montell Martin and Mae Muller. The group occupies a park bench along Regent’s Canal in North London, wearing pieces from the brand's new collection, which will be available to buy from January.

Juergen Teller's work is popping up everywhere right now, with his trademark vision of scraping off glossy fashion veneer. Last night AOC featured The Cut's luxury jewelry and accessory baubles arranged in a first cousin of flower-arranging style Ikebana -- a look writer Stella Bugbee calls 'Freakebana'. 

Perhaps I'm spending way too much time watching 'The Crown' in the age of Trump -- against the backdrop of Charlottesville and Harvey Weinstein. Writing for T Magazine, Deborah Needleman spoke of Ikebana's contemporary appeal to “its direct and personal connection to nature, its awareness of and emphasis on decay in an era in which our own ecological and environmental ruin feels more vivid than ever.”

There is something quite deep going on here, in these new Burberry images, in the shakeup at British Vogue and the rise of Edward Enninful as editor-in-chief.

Anita Hill Assumes Leadership Of Hollywood Commission On Sexual Harassment & Advancing Equality In Workplace

Anita Hill Assumes Leadership Of Hollywood Commission On Sexual Harassment & Advancing Equality In Workplace

Anita Hill, a woman who commands total respect among hard-line feminists and suburban moms alike, and is now a law professor at Brandeis University specializing in law and social policy, has agreed to lead a commission birthed out of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood debacle. Hill emerged in the national dialogue on sexual harassment, after infamously testifying against Clarence Thomas's supreme court confirmation hearings in 1991. Thomas had been Hill's boss at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and she claimed very boorish, tasteless and ongoing harassment of a sexual nature from now Supreme Court Justice Thomas.

Although over 70% of Americans didn't believe Hill's testimony, women's rights advocates did, and remain unhappy with how Obama VP Joe Biden handled Hill's testimony as head of the Judiciary Committee.  Biden refused to let more women coming forward against Thomas and suspended the hearing for a vote. As much as Democrat women like Joe Biden, they have never forgotten Anita's testimony and how she was treated by the white boys club in Congress. 

In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, former senator and vice-president Joe Biden, who led the inquisition og Hill, said he wished he “had been able to do more” for her. He added: “I owe her an apology.”

The Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace will be charged with tackling “the broad culture of abuse and power disparity” in media and entertainment, a statement from its organisers said. The commission on sexual misconduct has been organized and financed by Hollywood's most prominent figures, writes The Guardian. 

Commission organisers include Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm; Freada Kapor Klein, a venture capitalist and longtime advocate for sexual harassment victims; Nina Shaw, a Hollywood lawyer; and Maria Eitel, who co-chairs the Nike Foundation.