Prince Andrew, who was so bad at spinning his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein he got fired from his public-facing “job” as a royal, didn’t get to do the big fancy fun Christmas walk to church with the rest of his family. Instead, he had to go to church early with Mom, a true punishment for Bad Sons everywhere.
Reuters reports:
He was filmed walking along a path with his brother Prince Charles to St Mary Magdalene church near the Queen’s estate in Sandringham, eastern England in time for a 9 a.m. service.
He did not join other members of the family walking along a road to the 11 a.m. service – one of the staples of the royal calendar.
The Queen attended both services, which means Prince Andrew probably had to sit next to her and make sure he didn’t cough too loud during the sermon, lest he be shot down with a glare. Church without a photo opp? C’est terrible! And do not forget that this hellfire damnation is thanks to Andrew’s disastrous interview with the BBC in November, in which he unrolled a bunch of extremely unsatisfactory explanations for why he kept getting photographed with Epstein and claimed, equally unsatisfactorily, that he could not possibly have had sex with accuser 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre because he was at a Pizza Express.
Now he has been banished the shadows, while the Royal Family trots out all of the Queen’s cute great-grandchildren as a distraction. Although one grandchild missed the Christmas walk, too—Baby Archie is spending Christmas in Canada with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, which will probably be a lot more fun for him, honestly. [Reuters]
Allee Williams, who famously wrote the Friends theme song in addition to Earth, Wind & Fire hits like “September,” has died. She was 72.
Per Variety:
Among her many awards, Willis was a two-time Grammy winner — for “The Color Purple” as best musical theater album in 2016, and her contribution to the “Beverly Hills Cop” soundtrack two decades earlier — and was nominated for a Tony (for “The Color Purple”) and Emmy (for the “Friends” theme).
Her most fruitful collaboration, with Earth, Wind & Fire, began in 1978 after Patti LaBelle and Herbie Hancock recommended her to Verdine White, who, she said, called her up and said, “I want you to come write the next Earth, Wind & Fire album.” The next day, she said, she met up with him and co-wrote the enduring smash “September,” the first of several hits she co-wrote with or for the band, including “Boogie Wonderland.”
The cause was cardiac arrest. She died at a Los Angeles hospital on Tuesday morning. [Variety]
- Even James Corden heard Cats sucked. [Deadline]
- Newly-single Joe Giudice is spending the holiday in Italy with his daughters, but not with Teresa 🙁 [E! Online]
- Drake and The Weeknd have reportedly ended their feud, just in time for Christmas! [E! Online]
- Justin Bieber says he’s “excited for life again,” which is genuinely nice to hear. [People]