Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Cele|bitchy

Cele|bitchy


Angelina Jolie shows off her engagement ring, looks happy in a new LA outing

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 09:30 AM PDT

New photos of Angelina Jolie! Angelina stepped out yesterday in LA for some business meetings, and she was wearing her engagement ring, of course. The photos of the ring aren't all that great – I don't know why the paparazzi couldn't get better-quality images of the ring. Maybe it was because Angelina kept moving? I swear, Angelina and Brad should have just done a photo call for their engagement, like Prince William and Kate Middleton did. Just stand there for ten minutes and let everyone take photos of them (and the ring). But in lieu of a formal photo call, we get this.

I feel like Angelina did this outing on purpose, so more photo agencies would get a chance to get pics of "Angelina the fiancée". She wore a cotton dress in a flattering grey, those nude wedges that she absolutely loves (which I'm tired of), and she paired her outfit with a $2000 Yves Saint Laurent Chyc Cabas satchel. I'm not in love with the bag (and I'm a purse person too), but I think it suits Angelina and this ensemble. I kind of love that Angelina came out and smiled and she was happy to show off her ring. She's our American royalty (for better or for worse, people).

As we discussed yesterday, People Magazine has a "special edition" this week all about Brangelina's engagement and the ring and everything. People Mag claims the ring is worth about $1 million, while Us Weekly has merely upped the price tag from $250,000 to $500,000. My guess is still on the higher end of the scale, not just because of the quality of the diamonds used, but also because of Brad's efforts in designing the piece, and you have to figure in "What would this go for at auction?" As I said yesterday, I'm not crazy about the ring – it's not my taste. It seems very dated and 1980s to me, but… that's Angelina's style. She loves big, chunky, 1970s jewelry, and God knows, she loves 1980s style (including shoulder pads and Dynasty hair). So… I bet she loves her ring.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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Kathy Lee and Hoda mocked the feeding tube diet, advocates are enraged

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 09:29 AM PDT


Kathy Lee and Hoda talk about feeding tubes at 5:15 to 7:15

A couple of years ago, I saw a lady on some idiotic talk show say in all seriousness that she wanted to get a tapeworm so she could lose 10 pounds. This boggled my mind, because it seems way more uncomfortable and nasty to have some parasite living in your gut than just to work hard and lose weight the old fashioned way. I have the same reaction to this ridiculous story about women going on a “feeding tube diet” of 800 calories a day to drop weight fast for events, like their weddings. It’s just outrageous and sounds so painful. If you’re going to do this to yourself willingly (and not because you need it to live, that’s of course different), why does the food have to go in your damn nose? Can’t you just go on a liquid diet, like a few slim fasts or juices a day? (Not that I’m advocating that at all either, just that it sounds better than a feeding tube for God’s sake!) Anyway apparently this is a new thing, women are actually doing this, and it just makes me sad. A Florida doctor outfits them with a feeding tube attached to a liquid diet in a purse at a whopping cost of $1,500 for 10 days. The women go out into the world, and onlookers and acquaintances assume they’re suffering from a terminal illness. The result is about 20 pounds lost in a week and a half. You can read more about this story on The NY Times and on DListed.

A reader sent this story to us as a tip, and she was personally outraged that Kathy Lee and Hoda made fun of the diet on The Today Show yesterday. They laughed about how ridiculous this diet was and joked about going around with the bag and the tube up your nose, but they didn’t make any mention of people who actually need feeding tubes to live. The people in the feeding tube community are upset that these two were making fun of the mechanism of feeding tubes, when they serve a very necessary purpose. Our tipster told us that she has a daughter who relies on a feeding tube and that she “was livid to see their immature, uneducated and asinine opinions.” She told us to check out Kathy Lee and Hoda’s facebook page, where they’re getting lambasted for this.

Here’s what Kathy Lee and Hoda said that people found offensive. These comments start at 6:19 in the video above:

Hoda: That tube has to stay down, there could be some infections who knows what the other problems are with it, but you’re carrying around a bag all the time. And if it gets knocked out, what if you fall down. (Laughs)

Kathy Lee: A nightmare, just flops out of your nose in the middle of the… you’ve got to think these things through.

And here are some of the comments on Facebook about their remarks:

I don’t think you realize how many individuals in the USA right now have a feeding tube. The numbers are stagering. Patients in the ICU, NICU, PICU, and Oncology departments all have the posibility of haveing a feeding tube. This doesn’t include the hundreds of thousands living at home with a fedding tube. For the individuals with a feeding tube it is a life line, not a way to lose 10 pounds. I am a nurse and mother to a child with a feeding tube. I will tell every person I work with about this story and because they know and love my son they will tell someone else…do you see where this is going? I hope so because you will see your ratings fall I am sure. I am sure you have a medical resource on your show…they need more education and so does your hosts Kathie Lee and Hoda.


I guess you didnt watch yesterday when they displayed their morals over feeding tubes and pretty much insulted the entire feeding tube community. Take a look at the pictures and see all of the children they decided to ultimately giggle about, call gross…those children have to carry around “that bag”. It’s disgusting and we are deserved an apology. Out children depend on “that bag” for survival.


I suppose a public apology from Kathie Lee and Hoda for their horrible comments about feeding tubes was too much to hope for. Their publicists are probably just thrilled they’re getting so much attention, even if it is negative. The best we can all do now is boycott the show, sign the petition, spread the word, and keep fighting!

On some level I do understand why people are upset about Kathy Lee and Hoda laughing about the way that feeding tubes work. If I had someone close to me that needed one, I might feel the same. They were making fun of an ill-advised diet, though, and they surely didn’t realize that they were also mocking people with medical issues who need feeding tubes to live. I think they should apologize, but I don’t blame them for laughing about it. Again, they were making fun of the mechanisms of the diet, not the medical application. They didn’t seem to mean it that way, and it came across as inadvertent. It was somewhat dumb, but once they get laughing they can make some stupid comments. I’m surprised this is the first time these two have been offensive. (It probably isn’t, it’s just the first I remember.) They drink wine half the morning most days.

These photos are from Halloween. Credit: WENN.com

Jennifer Aniston doesn’t care about Brangelina’s engagement: ‘She’s moved on’

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 08:39 AM PDT

What is going on lately? First I'm going out of my way to defend Kristen Stewart and now I'm about two seconds away from putting a blanket over my head and screaming "Leaving Aniston ALOOOOOONE!" Much like the Kristen Stewart thing (where she was pounced on for "criticizing Twilight" when she really didn't), I'm going to wait until Jennifer Aniston actually says something about Brad Pitt and Angelina's engagement, or until I see a tabloid story (probably in Us Weekly) that is ridiculously sympathetic to Aniston, to the point where it's obviously a plant by Aniston's publicist Stephen Huvane. Until that time, I consider all of these "Jennifer doesn't care, for real" stories to be the fantasies of professional gossips. So, with that in mind, here's E! News's story about Aniston not caring:

There are many questions still unanswered about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s engagement. We all still want to know how the proposal went down, when and where they will say their I-dos and what the wedding dress will look like.

And then there’s Jennifer Aniston—what does she think of all this? Well, I can tell you…

She isn’t thinking much about it—if she is at all.

“She doesn’t care,” an Aniston pal tells me. “She really doesn’t. She’s happy with Justin [Theroux]. She’ll probably marry him. She’s moved on. People don’t want to believe it, but she has.”

No doubt the celebrity tabloids are going to have a field day with Aniston and Brangelina, but be careful of what you read.

Another source tells us Aniston found out about the engagement at home. “She was happy and hanging out with her man,” the source said.

[From E! News]

As I said before, I think Aniston is probably fine. Emotionally and psychologically, she's in a good place right now with Justin, and yes, they might even get married and/or pregnant. God knows. What will be interesting to see is how Aniston plays it – because even though "people don’t want to believe" that she's moved on, she's actively played into that perception for years and years because "Aniston the Victim" is part of her brand. So will she use Brangelina's engagement to throw another public pity party? Or is has she "moved on" from that as well? I suspect tomorrow's tabloids will be revealing – not so much In Touch and Star, but I'm definitely interested to see what Us Weekly leads with.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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Rihanna releases more photos of her Hawaiian vacation: obnoxious or fun?

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 07:18 AM PDT

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Remember Rihanna’s fantastic, blunt-filled vacation from this past winter? Well now you can relive it in all its boob-soaked glory because Rihanna (more like one of her assistants) has uploaded 169 photos from this Hawaiian trip to the singer’s Facebook account. I’ve chosen a few of the more joyous (and in some people’s eyes, probably slightly obnoxious) photos to share in this post. Yes this is definitely that same vacation from a few months ago because it was before Rihanna started messing with her hair again, and I love how her hair looks in these photos. Let’s start off with RiRi going “topless” while frolicking near a waterfall.

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Of course, Rihanna also cops a feel on herself as well because she’s classy like that.

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Now before we get any further, can I just admit to being genuinely mesmerized by RiRi’s back end? Most of us would kill for an ass like that. She’s always had a nice one too — even when Rihanna was heavier during her trip to Barbados last summer, her butt was still flawless and without cellulite. Here it looks absolutely amazing.

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Rihanna also went swimming with the sharks too! Lucky bitch.

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Of course, there are also the obligatory photos of Rihanna waving a few bottles and a drink around as well. This looked like one hell of an enjoyable vacation, and I don’t even enjoy Hawaii. It’s too damn humid there, and showering more than twice per day is just not my idea of relaxation. But this vacation seems like a ton of fun.

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Photos courtesy of Facebook

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NY Jets’ Antonio Cromartie has 7 of his 8 baby mamas join together for reality show

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 06:29 AM PDT


Antonio and Jurzie, 2, from his wife, Terricka.

It’s hard to capture the absurdity of this story in just the headline, but I tried and it was just too long. Antonio Cromartie is a 28 year-old football player for the New York Jets. He’s a cornerback if that means anything to you. (It doesn’t to me, I have to admit.) This guy is very well paid, he has a $32 million four year contract, and he’s well known. Before I cover sports stories I sometimes call my dad and ask him if he’s heard of a certain player, and he said he was familiar with Cromartie and that he knows the story about how he has a bunch of kids from more than a handful of women. Well Cromartie just welcomed his tenth child from his eighth baby mama, his current wife Terricka. This story is making my brain hurt a little from trying to figure out the logistics, but I’ll keep it simple if possible. Antonio and Terricka live together in New Jersey with four children. They’re caring for their two biological children together, Terricka’s son from a previous relationship, and Antonio’s first child, his seven year-old son from another relationship.

Meanwhile all the other kids this guy has floating around, seven more from six different women*, (that makes eight women if you count the kid that’s living with him, and his wife) may star in a reality show. Apparently Cromartie’s other baby mamas keep in touch and they want to supplement their $3,500 a month child support (and up) with some reality show money. Plus they think it would be a great way for their kids to get to know their half siblings. To Cromartie’s credit, he’s blocking their attempts at a reality show and will not sign off on having his children filmed. Good for him. Here’s more and you can read more at the source:

Fix the scoreboard: Now it's 10 kids from eight women in six states.

Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie, 27*, recently had his second child with wife Terricka, making 10 — one short of a football squad.

Their baby boy, Jagger, joins sister Jurzie — and eight half-siblings from Cromartie baby mamas across the country.
But the happy occasion is mixed with turmoil. His far-flung fatherhood has intrigued a TV production company that wants to create a reality show about the clan "trying to co-exist as a modern family," a source told The Post.

Most of the moms want to do the show, but "Cro" says no.

The baby mamas he left behind have banded together so their kids can bond with their brothers and sisters in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey.

The single women can use the extra money to help raise their kids, but they also think it's important "to document their journey," the source said. "They want Antonio's support."

Cromartie has deflected the plan, blocking any filming of his offspring.

It's not the kind of spotlight sought by Cromartie, who famously fumbled the names of his brood on HBO's "Hard Knocks" in 2010 — and even forgot to count one kid.

Once busy playing the field, the fertile footballer has angered his first baby mama by wresting custody of their son, Alonzo, now 7.

[From The NY Post via Bossip]

Maybe this will be a reality check for Cromartie and he’ll start to wrap it up. All his 10 kids are under 7 and he’s not even 30 yet! He must have been really busy the past few years.

*Note that the number of women in the title may seem off. That’s because the mother of the son that’s living with Cromartie also wants to be in on this reality show. Also, Cromartie turned 28 on April 15, so he’s barely 28 now.

Antonio and Karis Marie Ford, 4. Her mom lives in San Diego

With his wife, Tarricka

Halle Berry confirms engagement: “I swore it off… never say never, people!”

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 04:59 AM PDT

I was surprised that so many of you cared about Halle Berry wearing a trashy-looking animal-print dress over the weekend, so now you're going to get even more Halle news. Excited? Sure you are. These are new photos of Halle promoting the "Celebrity Golf Classic" at the Wilshire Country Club. Is this appropriate golf gear? Maybe she's not golfing. Maybe she's just promoting and then retiring to the club for a martini. Anyway, while Halle was out and about over the weekend, Extra got a hold of her and they got her to confirm her engagement to Olivier Martinez:

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Sounds like Halle Berry has learned her lesson. The Oscar winning actress once swore she’d “never, never” get married again. Then Olivier Martinez entered her life.

Dating since 2010, Us Weekly broke the news in January that the French actor, 46, had proposed to Berry–who has been married twice before, to baseball player David Justice and R&B singer Eric Benet–over the holidays.

Still, Berry, 45, had refused to confirm her and Martinez’s happy news until now.

Opening up to Extra at an event Saturday, the Dark Tide star laughed when asked about her engagement to Martinez. “Who knew? I swore [marriage] off, right?”

Added Berry, “Never say never, people!”

Martinez, for his part, finally confirmed the couple’s engagement in March, telling Miami.com, “Yes, of course we’re engaged!”

Prior to meeting the actor-turned-restauranteur, a source told Us that Berry really had “given up” on marriage–but changed her tune as soon as she got to know Martinez, and saw how wonderful a father he would make to Nahla, her 4-year-old daughter with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry.

“She trusts Olivier,” the source shared. “He makes her feel safe. He’s a keeper!”

[From Us Weekly]

"…But changed her tune as soon as she got to know Martinez, and saw how wonderful a father he would make to Nahla." For the love of God. Halle is bound and determined to completely negate Gabriel's role in Nahla's life. It's really sad – I often feel like this whole custody battle with Gabriel has been an exercise in Halle's long-standing temperamental nature. As in, she has a hair-trigger temper and she holds crazy grudges for little to no reason. And it's still so unbelievable to me that Olivier Martinez is co-signing this whole thing with an engagement. What's the current over/under on whether Halle and Olivier will actually make it down the aisle?

Her skin is so amazing. Damn.

Photos courtesy of WENN.
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Heidi Klum: plastic surgery “doesn’t look pretty, especially on young girls”

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 04:35 AM PDT

Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum covers the May issue of Allure, and the photo shoot — which I think is supposed to be a homage to 1970s Vogue shoots — is just so zzzzzzzzzz. As much as I admire Heidi’s entrepreneurial spirit and business savviness, I can’t get excited about her as a model, which is weird, right? Like even with the below nude shot, she’s merely a bronzed, blonde Goddess of Boredom:

Maybe I’m being too hard on Heidi here, and it’s really the stylists to blame for this photo shoot atrocity. The interview is much more interesting, and here are some excerpts where Heidi talks about various things including breaking into modelling and how awful plastic surgery looks to her:

On her pre-Victoria’s Secret career: “I never did fashion shows–not in Paris or Berlin or even in New York City. I tried, but no one would book me. I was too curvy and too busty and a little too short. And I was a little bit self-conscious about it. But I was by no means heavy, I just–well, you have hips and boobs, and that’s it. Haute couture, you don’t really see girls with big boobs. And I always wanted first to be a model. So I had to say, ‘OK, you’re going to find other things to do in this industry, or it’s maybe not my industry.’”

Gay men are awesome: “They are like this kaleidoscope of interesting thoughts and opinions. They teach you so many things about men that are useful.”

She’s never had cosmetic surgery or botox: “Ask me again when I’m 65, but…I’m proud to be able to say, in this day and age, I haven’t done anything. Everyone has a view of what’s pretty and what’s not pretty, and [surgery'just doesn't look pretty to me. Especially when I see it on really young girls. I don't want to name names, but it's like, Wow, I remember you five years ago, looking to me so beautiful, and now it's like... who is this person? And I know girls half my age who do it. What are they gonna do at 40 or 50, when the sh-t really hits the fan?"

On marriage/divorce to Seal: "It's hard, just like for other couples. People go through our trash cans. It's crazy. And you know, we have four kids; they have to go to school. You know, I wouldn't change anything. If I had to go back in time and say, 'I should have changed this or that...' No. I don't resent anything that ever happened. Things just turn out the way they turn out... I'm still in the eye of the storm now, and it's all a little bit crazy. But sometimes you have to be apart in order to figure it out."

[From Allure]

Do I believe that Heidi has yet to alter her appearance with either cosmetic surgery or botox? Sure, she looks pretty damn natural to me. On a more amusing note, who do you think she was talking about when mentioning, “I don’t want to name names” … possibly Kim “Kat Face” Kardashian? That would be my first guess.

As far as Heidi talking about her marriage to Seal, eh. Of course she would change things that happened in the past, or she wouldn’t have just filed for divorce after word got out that she was probably banging Thomas Hayo. Then again, Seal is probably banging Delta Goodrem (who doesn’t look unlike Heidi) even though he insists that they’re just friends. Whatever.

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Photos courtesy of Allure

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Catherine Zeta-Jones wears sparkly black to support Michael Douglas: lovely?

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 04:33 AM PDT

Here are some new photos of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas last night at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 12th Annual Monte Cristo Award Gala. Michael received an award – the 12th annual Monte Cristo Award "in recognition of his achievements and contributions to the theater community, both internationally and in the U.S." Catherine presented the award to him… which is nice. Although… does Michael do much for theater? Catherine has been on Broadway, but has Michael? Does he produce theatre shows? Oh… I just saw this – Michael got his start at the O'Neill Theater back in 1966, and he's served on the board of trustees since 1980. Okay, that makes sense. He's spent the last 32 years on the board of an influential theater. Carry on!

As for 42-year-old (!!!) Catherine… well… she looks okay. The Mail has a glowing piece (here) about her appearance, including the phrases "the raven-haired beauty was so radiant…" and "showed off her enviably toned physique…" Sure. She looks fit and healthy and I sincerely hope she's doing a lot better this year. I like her dress too – it's conservative and pretty and it says "I'm a beautiful woman and I want to look nice, but this night is about my husband." Zeta is always great about dressing for the occasion.

Catherine has two films coming out this year, and both will probably garner more attention than her work has gotten in the past few years. First, she has a supporting part in Rock of Ages, which comes out this summer. Then, around Christmas, she's in that romantic comedy Playing the Field, with Gerard Butler and Jessica Biel. While Zeta's career isn't at Meryl-level, she's doing okay, I think. As for Michael… he’s due to film that long-gestating Liberace project soon. *crosses self*

Ooooh, look at Zeta's earrings! I love them.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
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Is Kristen Stewart dissing Twilight when she says she’s “proud” of ‘SWATH’?

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 04:31 AM PDT

What is it with me lately? I feel like I'm in the midst of a new Era of Kristen Stewart-Love. Maybe not "love" but I've been on her side a bit more lately. Kristen has a new interview with the Australian magazine Film Ink (sidenote: the source could also be the UK’s Total Film), and many outlets are interpreting these quotes as "Kristen disrespects Twilight, she's only proud of Snow White and the Huntsman." Except I don't think she's really drawing a direct parallel between the Bella Swan character and the Snow White character – she's just talking about how cool Snow White is, full-stop.

K-Stew delivers a major diss to Bella while talking about why she loves her upcoming blockbuster — see her shocking words!

Kristen Stewart loves Twilight, but it seems she has some harsh words for her passive character Bella Swan when comparing her to the thrilling heroine of her upcoming film Snow White and the Huntsman!

K-Stew, 22, tells Australia's Film Ink magazine that Snow White is a better role than Bella.

"It is fairly common to have your story as a woman, even if you're the protagonist, facilitated by all of the male characters," she said. "It's so rare to have a female lead character being so proactive. She pushers her own story forward, rather then being affected by all of the outside elements. Hopefully we do that, I'm really proud to be a part of something like that. It's always good for women to feel empowered."

Stewart's Snow White is more Joan of Arc that Disney's princess. “It's cool to play a character who's able to step outside of herself and consider others in an almost supernatural way. But, at the same time know that she's human and has those struggles and still fights for herself as well. She's the essential leader. The definitions of a hero… so many of our heroes are a–holes. They find pleasure in hurting people. She doesn't. Yet she can seriously take care of business.”

[From Hollywood Life, Kristen's fansite]

See? All the build-up is "OMG, she hates Bella, just read her quote!" And the quote is just about Snow White and only about Snow White. Look, I have no doubt that Kristen doesn't really have any respect or reverence for the franchise that made her a household name – at best, she has very mixed, angst-y feelings towards Twilight, and at worst, playing Bella has been the worst thing that's ever happened to her (in her mind). But I'm going to wait until she says something explicit about how much she hates Twilight, you know? Because right now she's just promoting SWATH, and she's talking about how much she likes THAT character. Which is fine. *throws glitter on the post* LEAVE KRISTEN ALONE!

Photos courtesy of WENN.
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Robert Downey Jr. blasts ego-trip interventions: “That’s recovery vulturism”

Posted: 17 Apr 2012 04:19 AM PDT

Robert Downey Jr. covers the May issue of Esquire – he's promoting The Avengers, which comes out next week, and should finally push The Hunger Games out of its box office domination. RDJ is reprising the Tony Stark/IronMan role, and early reviews indicate that The Avengers is WAY better than the last Iron Man (which sucked). Unfortunately for all of us, RDJ isn't discussing his kittens, Dart and Monty, in this interview. He does talk about his newborn baby, though. You can read all of the Esquire interview highlights here, and here are some of the best parts (IMO):

Downey on his new son: "Three weeks ago, we had a bun in the oven, and we were about to have a kid. There was all this trepidation, all this projection, all this anticipation and goodwill and a good vibe about it. But what you’re squeezing to the side — or what’s in the glove box — is these thousands of forms of fear. And then he was born and they’ve all just kind of scattered now. It seems like he’s always been here."

Downey on being a father: "I guess here’s what’s come to me in the last three weeks: That anticipation and fear are going to come back. Am I going to know what to do with them? Does any new parent, even if you’re not a first-time parent, ever really know what to do? Only thing you have to do, the only requirement, if you can hack it, is to not transfer your own discomfort in the moment to this fresh soul, right? … You got to be mindful. I don’t want to be so confident in myself. It’s that balance between being relaxed enough to not be communicating anxiety and present enough to not be creating the very thing that you were anxious about by being so relaxed — because I’ve seen that parenting style, too."

Downey on being a hero: "Do I want to be a hero to my son? No. I would like to be a very real human being. That’s hard enough. Every dad casts a shadow, you know? And that shadow is you’re disappointed, you’re resentful, or you feel so supported and loved you don’t understand why life is so hard anyway — or, you know, it’s so long and so dark that you can never step out of it, so you might as well not even try. Right? So. So hero to me is not applicable to the human experience…I think that we all do heroic things, but hero is not a noun, it’s a verb."

Downey on his wife: "If I picked for you the ten worst moments of my life, they were probably the ten most defining moments of my life. Whether they’re that complete rejection by a girl that doesn’t even know you’re crazy about her, and you are distracted riding your bike to school, and just as you look over at her, you take a complete ass-over flip into a shrub. And the girl just looks at you and keeps on walking with an expression that says, “Who is that schmuck?” And that’s every bit as significant to me as the moment I met Susan, in a rehearsal space with Halle Berry in Montreal ten years ago, and thought, Wow, she’s pretty damn cute for a boss."

Downey on addiction: "A link between addiction and creativity? Horsesh-t. No, I never told myself that lie. I’m not saying that the correctly timed intervention here and there is blah blah blah — look, it’s valiant to go waste days, weeks, months, and years trying to fish someone you care about out of their own abyss. But if your intuition asks, Is this a big O.K. Corral ego trip on the part of the people who are going to say, “All right, we’re going to go in and handle this”? Because you’re not. You’re not going to handle sh-t. No amount of effort is going to nudge somebody out of a situation that they deem is hopeless. And people sense when there’s an ego trip involved, when there’s a “I’m here to save your life!” It’s horsesh-t. It’s horsesh-t. I hate it. That’s recovery vulturism."

Downey on the ’80s vs. the 2010s: "Those were the challenges of our day. There’s a big, big, big infusion of truly, seriously, gifted, talented people, and everyone went however and wherever they were supposed to go. Nowadays I wonder what it’s like to enter the playing field. I mean, what does approval even mean when you can have a good night on a talent show and get a table everywhere for five years?"

Downey on Iron Man: "Yeah, I think Iron Man wound up being the first time I screen-tested since Chaplin. As far as I was concerned, it was destiny. Now, I can’t tell you how many people are sitting around with the cold, hard evidence that it wasn’t. I just wasn’t going to let lack of perseverance, lack of preparation, or lack of prayer get in the way. I just went crazy — in a good way. And suddenly it occurred to me, Oh my God, Stan Lee might not know this, but everything he created has all been leading to this moment. It’s me. Then I thought, Hold on a second, dude, is this just some sort of neurotic personality meltdown happening here? And then I thought, Nah, that feels different."

[From Esquire]

I love RDJ's stream-of-consciousness ramblings. He has a gift with words, and when you get into the right vibe, it’s always a rewarding exercise. My favorite part was RDJ's take on "recovery vulturism" – a phrase I've never heard before, but makes perfect sense. You could probably also call it "recovery concern-trolling" – an implied judgment that someone needs to get their life together and you are the one to make it happen for them because you are so awesome. Is Robert saying that at the end of the day, all interventions are bulls–t? Is he saying that a person isn't going to get help until THEY hit their rock bottom, and it's useless to say or do anything for them until that happens? Because I think that's what he's saying.

Photos courtesy of Esquire.
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