Cele|bitchy

Enquirer: Raven-Symone is a lesbian and she’s living with her model girlfriend
Prince William has a year to choose between his military career & his royal duties
Justin Bieber in GQ: “I’ve had a beer … I’ve never made a bad song.”
Sean Penn and Petra Nemcova are back together – what do women see in him?
Aishwarya Rai criticized for not losing her postpartum baby weight fast enough
In Touch: Kim Kardashian is being abandoned by all of her celebrity friends
Ryan Gosling “grew distant” with Eva Mendes last month, doesn’t want to live with her
Is Jennifer Lopez leaving ‘Idol’ after 2 seasons, or is she being pushed out?
Kristen Stewart in a BCBG minidress in Madrid: boring or awesome?
Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t whining: “Because I’m posh, I do get cast in posh roles”

Enquirer: Raven-Symone is a lesbian and she’s living with her model girlfriend

Posted: 17 May 2012 08:43 AM PDT

Call me out-of-touch, because I've never heard any of the (seemingly widespread?) rumors that Raven-Symone could possibly be a lesbian. Apparently, people have been saying it for years. And now The Enquirer – the go-to tabloid for outing celebrities against their will – reports that Raven-Symone is not only a lesbian, but she's currently in a relationship with a woman. And Raven is fighting with her family about all of it!

FORMER "Cosby Show" cutie RAVEN-SYMONE's family is furious that she's fallen in love with another woman and has moved the sexy model into her home, say sources.

Lesbian rumors have hounded the talented 26-year-old actress for years, and as recently as 2008 she denied them, stating: "It's false that I'm dating a girl right now."

But sources close to Raven say she's gay and has shacked up with AzMarie Livingston, the androgynous beauty recently seen on "America's Next Top Model." The two are living together in Raven's luxury $11,000-a-month New York City condo.

"Raven has lost almost 30 pounds, has done a whole image makeover, and now she is the star of 'Sister Act' on Broadway," said a close source. "She's at a point now where she doesn't care what her family thinks, and she's in love with AzMarie. She's a lesbian and wants to live that way. She feels her parents are still trying to treat her like she's a kid, and she's told them she's going to do what she wants."

And that includes Raven maintaining her own love-nest apartment with her 24-year-old girlfriend, say insiders.

Best remembered as Olivia, the adorable 3-year-old on "The Cosby Show" in the late '80s, the talented entertainer went on to star in the Disney Channel series "That's So Raven." She's also appeared in "The Cheetah Girls" TV movies.

"Raven has hidden being gay for a long time now," said the source. "But about a year ago, she was introduced by a friend to AzMarie, who is absolutely gorgeous. "The two began seeing each other, and a few months ago, Raven finally got the nerve to ask her to move into her lavish Manhattan condo. When her family found out, they blew their stack and it's created a gay scandal for Raven."

"She told her parents she loves them, but her home – especially her bedroom – is nobody's business, and she was not going to back down, so they needed to accept it, period."

[From The National Enquirer]

One of the most startling things to me is that Raven-Symone is only 26 years old? Wow. Anyway, I tend to believe this. I think The Enquirer wouldn't be running with this story, framing it in this way without some big, off-the-record confirmations from someone close to Raven. As for AzMarie – she IS beautiful. And I think they make a lovely pair. They should totally get married.

Oh, and Raven really has lost some weight – she looks really good! She looked good before too, I thought.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Archive images of AzMarie.

Prince William has a year to choose between his military career & his royal duties

Posted: 17 May 2012 08:13 AM PDT

We keep getting requests to cover this story, and at this point, I'm kind of kicking myself for missing it over the past few weeks. I get enchanted by Duchess Kate's sausage curls and I can't concentrate on what's going on with Prince William – that's my excuse. So, you remember how William and Kate are completely normal and boring and of course they don't go on vacation every month and of course they're not "full-time royals" because William has a real job and Kate… well, Kate is William's wife! Someone has to order around the staff. Which they still deny they have. Yes, William works as a search-and-rescue pilot for the RAF. Allegedly, William and Kate live practically full-time in Wales (although they seem to be in London at the drop of a hat), where William will be stationed until 2013. Two weeks ago, some grumbling started – the RAF's chain of command issued William an ultimatum: William has a year to decide whether to continue to work for the RAF.

Prince William is considering his future with the RAF after being told he has until the end of the year to decide whether he wants to continue flying. The Duke of Cambridge, a fully qualified search-and-rescue pilot with the RAF, must decide whether he wants to continue his flying career, transfer to another branch of the military or quit the Forces altogether and take on a life of Royal duties. The deadline has been imposed by the RAF's chain of command.

An aide to William yesterday confirmed he has until the end of 2012 to make the decision. The spokesman said: 'The Duke has to make a decision during this year (by the end of 2012) and he has not yet made a decision. Whatever decision he takes, he will take jointly with his wife as you would expect.'

His decision will also take into account how much public work he and Kate are expected to take on over the next few years – so he will also consult his father and grandmother. William has been told he can continue his career at RAF Valley, or relocate to another RAF base for a second three-year tour of duty. He could also extend his current tour of duty for a short period or take another posting within the Armed Forces, something he is said to be seriously considering. The final option is for him to quit the Forces and focus full-time on the work of his charitable foundation and Royal duties.

'William is thinking deep and hard about his future,' adds the source. 'He loves the service, but there are other things to take into account. He and Catherine have a future and a family to plan and he will be expected to take on more official engagements.'

[Via The Mail]

There were some reports that the military command were not happy with how much "time off" William got to attend to his royal duties, or to go on his endless vacations. While I respect William's choice to serve in the military, it often feels like he is getting special treatment from his superiors, and it often feels like this whole RAF search-and-rescue training was a gigantic waste of taxpayer money. William was never going to do this full-time, for the rest of his life. It was always going to be a temporary gig.

Anyway, Us Weekly got some quotes from William's spokesman too. The spokesman says, "[Prince William] will have to make a decision in due course about his future career. His options include taking another tour of duty with the RAF Search and Rescue Force; applying for a new positions within the Armed Forces; or ending his military role and taking on full-time Royal duties. His current tour with the Search and Rescue Force is due to end mid-next year, so he will need to make a decision with his chain of command in the military, and, of course, his family by then.”

With the Queen cutting back on her appearances (she's 86!), I do think William and Kate are going to be encouraged to be more active in royal life and actually just come and out and be full-time royals.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Justin Bieber in GQ: “I’ve had a beer … I’ve never made a bad song.”

Posted: 17 May 2012 08:07 AM PDT

Justin Bieber appears in a feature interview for the June issue of GQ, which just happens to be the issue covered by Michael Fassbender. That’s almost a cruel contrast in masculinity, and it doesn’t help that Justin’s piece is entitled, “Man Up, Bieber.” The interview was conducted back in March just and was intended to commemorate the birth of “Bieber 2.0,” but the journalist treats the entire piece like a joke and even kicks things off by noting that “his voice is so high, it sounds like a ringtone.” Indeed, I almost feel sorry for Bieber because the vast majority of the interview itself is a narrative that discusses just how much the journalist hates spending time with an 18-year-old object of tweener fantasies. Not that Bieber doesn’t deserve a little bashing though, but his attitude and remarks must be taken in context, for he’s not some evil entity but merely an immature manchild. Here are some excerpts:

On not getting wasted: “For me, it’s just like, I like to be in control of myself. I mean, I’ve had a beer, like, before…. But I never get out of control.”

On fame: “I mean, I keep my guard up a lot, because you know, you can’t trust anyone in this business. That’s what’s sad. You can’t trust anybody. I learned the hard way.” I assume he’s talking about the paternity suit that was filed against him (reportedly withdrawn).

He loves pre-”Black Album” Metallica: “Those are my jams.”

He wants to f–k his newest car: He is euphoric. So much so that he has decided to pledge his loyalty to West Coast Customs forever and to decry its rival, Platinum Motorsport. “F–k Platinum. Platinum can suck a d-ck, man. West Coast all day.”

On maturity: “I’m 18 years old and I’m a swaggy adult!” he yells. “Come on, swaggy bros!”

On his music: Bieber himself puts it to me, with casual bravado: “I’ve never made a bad song.”

He sticks up for Kim Kardashian: “You guys are so mean, bro…. People say she doesn’t do anything; she actually does do stuff…. She works hard.”

[From GQ]

Okay, I can sort of see why he’d defend Kim Kardashian because she comes from the same internet-spawned school of fame as Justin, who was a YouTube sensation. Other than that, I can’t really hate on him for being an 18-year-old boy who has been living within a bubble of delusion for the past four years since shooting to fame. He’ll grow up eventually, and he’ll be embarrassed for wearing the waist of his pants around his ankles. Or so we can hope.

Photos courtesy of GQ

Sean Penn and Petra Nemcova are back together – what do women see in him?

Posted: 17 May 2012 07:50 AM PDT

This photo is from 2008

This news may have come out a little while ago, but I barely paid attention to it at the time. Apparently Sean Penn and model Petra Nemcova have rekindled their romance. Since his split with Robin Wright (and perhaps before) Sean Penn has been drawing in gorgeous women like flies. He’s been with Scarlett Johannson of course, and was also rumored to be dating Garcelle Beauvais, Charlize Theron, and a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model named Jessica White. Back in 2008 he dated Petra Nemcova, and she seems to be giving him another chance. The way US explains it, Petra jumped back into it with Sean almost immediately after she broke up with her fiance last month. Here’s more:

After a weeks-long fling in February, 2008, Sean Penn and Petra Nemcova are giving it another go. On May 10, a witness saw the pair, “holding hands” during u2 frontman Bono’s star-filled 52nd birthday bash at NYC’s The Spotted Pig. After Penn, 51, and the Czech model, 32, mingled with revelers… “they left together,” adds a second onlooker. It’s Penn’s first high profile hookup since Scarlett Johansson, 27, with whom he split after four months in June, 2011. And the Oscar winner’s quite the rebound for Nemcova, who announced April 11 she had called off her engagement to British actor Jamie Belman, 26. Explains a source “Petra started going on dates with Sean right after the split.”

[From US Weekly, print edition, May 28, 2012]

Rebound being the operative word here. I’ve heard plenty of stories of people being heartbroken by breakups, contacting an earlier ex and rekindling romances.

Penn generally seems like a grumpy, chain-smoking old man and it’s hard to imagine what women see in him. He regularly talks smack about his career, his critics, anyone else involved in charity like he is and about politics, and he just strikes me as unpleasant. I guess there are women who find that somehow attractive. They may find his intelligence impressive or something. The rest of us see him as an a-hole.

Petra is shown in 2008 with Penn and at the Tribeca Film Festival on 4-20 and at Fashion Week on 2-15 – in Marchesa of course. Penn is shown on a trip to Argentina on 2-13. Credit: WENN.com

Aishwarya Rai criticized for not losing her postpartum baby weight fast enough

Posted: 17 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT

If anyone screams "WHO?" in the post, there will be harsh consequences. Aishwarya Rai is one of the biggest stars in India – she's the Angelina Jolie of Bollywood. Here is her IMBD. She's gotten some attention in the UK and the US as well, notably some beauty contracts and some roles in Hollywood films here and there (The Pink Panther 2, The Last Legion). She married Abhishek Bachchan in 2007, and she gave birth to their first child, a daughter, last November. I'm including our most recent photos of her, from France in May and June of 2011 – she was pregnant then, but she was barely showing. Rai did gain a significant amount of weight during her pregnancy, and now she's being bashed for not losing the weight fast enough. You should go look at this recent photo of her – someone caught a photo of her double chin. So… it's a thing now. Someone put together this video (complete with elephant sounds) and people are really pissed off.

She is a former Miss World, a successful Bollywood star and married to the son of one of India’s best-loved stars. She found international fame in the Hollywood film Bride and Prejudice, and Julia Roberts billed her as the world’s most beautiful woman. Thanks to the notoriety such fame and fortune has brought her, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has become one of the most admired and revered women in India, and indeed the world. But such fame has come at a cost for the 38-year-old star.

Since the birth of her daughter in November last year, Aishwarya Rai has been open about the fact that she is in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy. The model and actress, who won the Miss World title in 1994, defended her choice, saying she wanted simply to ‘enjoy motherhood.’

But with the star, who married Abhishek Bachchan, the son of India’s most loved film star Amitabh Bachnan in 2007, tipped for her 10th appearance at Cannes next week, furious speculation is mounting as to how she will look. Commentators have been unkind, lambasting the star for letting her fans down. Many have gone a step further, suggesting the star has a ‘duty’ to her fans to regain her pre-pregnancy figure.

One website posted a video of the star looking less than her usual svelte self, flicking between photographs of her pre-birth, and photos now. Called ‘Aishwarya Rai’s shocking weight gain’, the clip, which came accompanied by elephant sound effects, has been seen more than 500,000 times. Dozens more videos in a similar vein have been posted, each with viewing figures in the tens or hundreds of thousands.

Comments left after the video prove that many of those watching have little sympathy for Aishwarya.

‘She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit,’ one said. Another added: ‘She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery.’

It has opened up a debate in the country, and beyond, about the attitudes held towards women in the public eye.

‘Aishwarya is like a goddess,’ said showbusiness columnist Shobhaa Dé in the New York Daily News by way of explanation. ‘She is held up as the ideal of beauty and so there is an expectation on her to look perfect at all times. The role models being held up are Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham, but our body frames are different – we have wider hips and curves – so this whole business of looking desperately skinny two weeks after giving birth is a western import.’

Cinema professor Shohini Ghosh added that women in India were up against an almost impossible task. ‘There is a glorification of motherhood in India and Indian cinema,’ he told the paper. ‘But people are confused because they don’t know whether to glorify Aishwarya in her new motherhood or lament that she is not looking like a runway model.’

[From The Mail]

For the love of God. She's not even that much bigger – she just looks like a petite woman who hasn't taken off her baby weight yet. As for the whole "people are imposing Western values on the traditional Indian body type" – I have mixed feelings about that too. Rai is so popular internationally because – in my opinion – she does look like a very Anglicized Indian woman. She's made a career out of her borderless beauty, so let's not ring the "this is how all Indian women look" bell too hard. But yeah – give her a break. She's a first time mom and Jesus (Krishna?), stop making it into a thing.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

In Touch: Kim Kardashian is being abandoned by all of her celebrity friends

Posted: 17 May 2012 05:31 AM PDT

Last week, one of our biggest stories was about the Met Gala – specifically, who did NOT come to the Met Gala. Kim Kardashian was a no-show, which was surprising because her boyfriend Kanye West was there, dateless, and because Kim is a self-styled fashion girl. Early reports indicated that Vogue editor and Met Gala co-chair Anna Wintour had "banned" Kim because Anna hates all things Kardashian. Team Kat-Face claimed Kim was not "banned" though. Who knows the truth? In any case, the story just added to the new gossip trend: "Everybody hates Kim Kardashian and no one wants to hang out with her." They say Kanye's BFFs Jay-Z and Beyonce have snubbed Kim too, and that Kim isn't welcome at any A-list party. In Touch Weekly pulls out the tiny violins for Kat-Face:

The fame Kim Kardashian has worked so hard to achieve is slipping away and even boyfriend Kanye West can't help the reality star!

Banned from the swanky annual Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala by the host herself, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, Kim was forced to stay home poring over pictures of the event's A-list guests. Now, In Touch has learned that Kanye went as far as to ask renowned designer Tory Burch, who dressed him for the exclusive gala, for help.

"He asked Tory if Kim could accompany him as his date," a fashion insider tells In Touch. "There was nothing Tory could do against Anna's wishes, but if Kanye had requested to invite a well-liked celebrity, it surely wouldn't have been an issue."

Kim also thought she might attend the Met gala with Kanye, and asked Michael Kors to dress her. He didn’t respond.

"She was so upset that he went to the Met event without her," an insider shares of the star. After Kim's quickie divorce filing, her onetime friends began abandoning her in droves, with former pals like Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and Eva Longoria keeping their distance.

Kim's splashy TV wedding "didn't sit well" with Gwyneth Paltrow either. "She'd die if she were photographed next to Kim," a pal tells In Touch. "She hates what she stands for."

Sadly, Kim is far from well-liked these days. "Poor Kim doesn’t have a friend in the world. She's always wanted to surround herself with famous people, but they don't want anything to do with her anymore," confides a source close to the 31-year-old.

[From In Touch Weekly & Jezebel]

Apparently, Halle Berry also hates Kim Kardashian too – but that's because Kim and Gabriel Aubry "dated" for a month or two… when was it? In late 2010. And In Touch even says that Anderson Cooper has no sympathy for any Kardashian. So it has been written! Anderson is over it. Whatever, y'all. I know people are going to scream about this, but I just think that the Kardashians are "here to stay" – in the sense that they're always going to have some level of fame. Now, at some point I'm sure it will drop off, like Paris Hilton's fame. But you still know who Paris Hilton is, don't you?

Here are some photos of Kim and Kanye yesterday and today in London. Um… I like her short-sleeved outfit. A lot.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Ryan Gosling “grew distant” with Eva Mendes last month, doesn’t want to live with her

Posted: 17 May 2012 04:35 AM PDT

Almost one week ago, Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes stepped out for what seemed like their first big, blatant candid photo op since their holiday in the City of Lights last November. Can you believe they've been together… something like eight or nine months? I'm counting that September trip to Disneyland as "the beginning" of their relationship, just because it seems like Gosling took all of his girls there in the first stages of dating (and then post-Disneyland, he would dump them).

Now, Gosling and Eva had been photographed together a few times in between Thanksgiving and last week, but it really seemed like Eva was trying to tone down her famewhore, perhaps under orders from Ryan Gosling, who must realize that he's become somewhat overexposed. In those dark months, Eva and Ryan often faced speculation (which I started) that their relationship wasn't for real, that they weren't really into each other, that he had already dumped her, etc. The photo op last week was a bold move, I thought. All of a sudden, I thought, "Wow, they're way more solid than I previously believed." Especially considering that pre-photo-op, it really seemed like Eva and Ryan were barely seeing each other any more. Well… we were sort of right, according to Us Weekly. Throughout April, Eva and Ryan were kind of on the outs. Sort of.

Eva Mendes got to play house with Ryan Gosling all spring when she tagged along to Thailand for his Only God Forgives shoot. The actress cooked up a storm for their dinners, marvels a Mendes pal: "This was a girl who once couldn't make pasta!"

But come late April, when the duo were back in LA, it got complicated. Gosling, 31, grew distant, and Mendes, 38, confronted him, says the pal.

"He says he wants to slow down and not live with her yet. But he doesn't want to lose her."

[From Us Weekly, print edition]

I have wondered how Ryan managed to go from girl to girl so quickly, and how he managed to do it all with his "sweet heartthrob" image intact (when really the guy goes through girls like a Gerard Butler). Is this how Ryan does it? He does the "growing distant" and the "phase out" breakup? That sucks. But Eva managed to hold on to him for some reason. Maybe Ryan finds it beneficial to have an "official" girlfriend right now. Jesus, is he turning into Justin Timberlake?

Oh, and In Touch Weekly (via Jezebel) has a story this week about Ryan meeting Eva Mendes’s mom. Apparently Mother Mendes loves and adores Ryan and she was seen "gushing, hugging and kissing" Ryan in the front yard of somebody's house. Hm…

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Is Jennifer Lopez leaving ‘Idol’ after 2 seasons, or is she being pushed out?

Posted: 17 May 2012 04:34 AM PDT

I should admit this at the beginning: I have never, ever watched an episode of American Idol. Ever. I'll see a few minutes here and there, but quite honestly, I'm just not that into it. It's not an elitism thing, I swear. I love TV. I just prefer scripted TV and PBS programming for the most part. Antiques Roadshow will always be more interesting to me than whatever "singing competition" show is popular right now.

I stated all of that to justify my lack of concentrated interest in this story: Jennifer Lopez is leaving American Idol after two years as a judge (it's only been two years, right?). J.Lo's career was faltering (at best) and at its lowest ebb (at worst) before Idol, and now that she's found career rejuvenation, she's quitting that bitch. Will you miss her?

Jennifer Lopez may have just been named by Forbes magazine today as the most powerful celebrity, but her reign at American Idol is coming to an end. While J.Lo has publicly said she has yet to make a decision about her future on Idol, sources exclusively tell me that she she’s planning on calling it quits.

“She’s just too busy,” one source said. That’s so very true.

She’s about to launch a mega concert tour with Enrique Iglesias that kicks off this summer in Latin America and the U.S. She plans to go worldwide in the fall. I’m told Lopez will be on the road, at the very least, through the end of the year. The next round of Idol auditions will begin while she’s overseas.

The superstar apparently wants to free up her schedule next year, possibly taking a little hiatus from work to be with her kids.

“It is just like any working mom’s dilemma,” Lopez told us at Monday’s premiere of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. “It’s tough. It’s a balancing act. You put them first and then you have all these other things that you have to do, that you have to give your time to as well, and you have to make sure that they’re OK in the process.”

Fox declined to comment on Lopez’s future with the show. Meanwhile, a source close to the production tells E! News that “Fox does not want to let her go. They love her.”

Lopez has been on Idol for two seasons with one-year contracts for both. Now the question is, will Fox try to change Lopez’s mind with a much bigger payday?

[From E! News]

Considering the story originated at E! news, home of everything Ryan Seacrest and Seacrest-adjacent, I'd be willing to bet it's close to the truth. <em>Us Weekly is cosigning E!'s report too – a source tells Us Weekly, "She regrets she can’t stay on the show. It’s been an incredible experience and she is forever grateful that she did it.” My question: is it rude/unprofessional/tacky to quit the reality show that gave your career a second act? I think it is. Especially since they're paying her so, so much money (and Jennifer has expensive tastes). I wonder if Casper is encouraging her to quit, or if Jennifer feels like she has to choose between her lover and her career. Ugh. Typing that sentence made me nauseous. Whatever, peeps. You know LeAnn Rimes is totally going to try to get cast as Jennifer's replacement.

CB reminded me that there’s been tabloid speculation for several weeks that Jennifer is being pushed out of AI because she hasn’t been delivering the ratings they were hoping for. At the Fox Upfronts, AI producers were also hinting at some “reconfigurations” for the show too. So maybe Jennifer was fired? Although… my gut says no.

By the way, the photos are Jennifer’s Mario Testino photo shoot for the June issue of Vogue. She’s modeling swimsuits. Sure. You can see the Vogue pictorial here.

More photos of Jennifer looking horrible at the What To Expect premiere a few days ago:

Photos courtesy of Mario Testino/Vogue and WENN.

Kristen Stewart in a BCBG minidress in Madrid: boring or awesome?

Posted: 17 May 2012 04:23 AM PDT

New photos of Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron! Somehow, they managed to only do a photo call in Berlin yesterday, and they didn't have a premiere…? I can't find the photos if there was a Berlin premiere. So they're on to their next stop: Madrid! These are the pics from the Madrid photo call. Charlize is wearing this red Giambattista Valli which… I'm not sure about. It's a great color on her, for sure. And I like the idea of it. But the execution, with the puffy shoulder embellishments – it's kind of rough on her tall, broad figure. It makes her look top-heavy and football-player-ish. Kristen's dress is BCBG Max Azaria. It's cute… eh. I would like it better without the leather faux-suspenders. Beyond that, it's a silhouette that Kristen goes to all too often – the sleeveless, half-shift minidress. Accessorized by bad posture. It's just kind of meh.

Incidentally, while promoting SWATH, Kristen was asked by Celebuzz about all of those casting rumors regarding 50 Shades of Grey. As you know, 50 Shades was based on Twilight fan-fiction, and the book is completely AWFUL. But, as I said, it was written with Kristen and Sparkles in mind. So what does Kristen think about it?

Kristen says: "I haven't read the book yet– so I don't know…I’m dying to make another movie with Rob, I think that we’re a good team… I just haven’t read it, so I don’t know what it is, but I would love to work with him again.” Sure. Fine. If Kristen and Sparkles get wrangled into this mess, that would be fine with me. Just keep g–damn Michael Fassbender OUT OF IT.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t whining: “Because I’m posh, I do get cast in posh roles”

Posted: 17 May 2012 04:22 AM PDT

These are some new photos of Benedict Cumberbatch. They're not his best. They never are. The man does not photograph all that well. You really do have to see this insanely tall, posh bastard in motion, and hear him speak. Because once you hear his rich voice, it really does take you to another level. Which is exactly why Benedict is now getting into the voiceover game! Apparently, he was tapped to do voiceover work for Jaguar's new ad campaign several months ago, and now he's even starring in a new ad too. Here are the commercials. HIS VOICE.

(Is it weird that I hate the way the Brits say "aluminum"? They add extra syllables.)

In addition to doing this oh-so-posh shill for Jaguar (I love Jags!), Benedict also appears in something called "Jaguar Magazine". For real. There's an interview and everything, and the "magazine" did this photo shoot with him. Cumby talks a lot about his voice and how happy he is to do voice work and such, and I'm just going to do some highlights from the piece. I do want to point out that Cumby is denying (or "re-imagining") his early comments on being typecast as posh, asexual, intellectual sociopaths – we covered that interview months ago! Anyway, the highlights:

His voice: "I've grown up around people who know how to speak beautifully, but I was relatively old when my voice broke. I was about 15, and went from playing female roles in plays at an all-boys school to playing old men! It wasn't until later that I began to develop a richer voice… I used to smoke quite a bit and it deepened my voice!"

On being typecast as posh Englishmen: "Something got taken completely out of context in the newspapers recently – they were claiming I was moaning about the parts I get, which isn't true. It's wonderful work and it's very varied. I made a casual point about the fact that we're still quite class-oriented in the UK, and that sometimes limits what you're seen to be able to do as an actor. I wasn't moaning. Because I'm posh, I do get cast in posh roles."

He really knows how to sell Jaguars: "I have a [Jaguar] XKR and every time I step out of it, I look forward to getting back in – and that's a rare thing to say these days about any journey. I love pressing the start button and hearing that Jaguar sound – it's like a beast being gently awakened in a cage."

[Via Jaguar Magazine, print edition]

"Like a beast being gently awakened in a cage…" Amazing imagery, Cumby. He must have learned something from Michael Fassbender: talking about BEASTS will always bring the ladies in. God, I love a posh bastard. And he walks a careful line between smugness and a sort of magnanimous noblesse oblige. I love him. He is everything Gwyneth Paltrow WISHES she was.

Photos courtesy of Jaguar Magazine.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

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