Archives for March 2024

Stephen Colbert Sent Legal Notice After Shameless ‘Joke’ About Princess Kate What began as a tempest in a teapot has morphed into a PR disaster for the celebrities who capitalized on the public frenzy surrounding the “disappearance” of Catherine, Princess of Wales, from public life following major abdominal surgery. From hysterical conspiracy theories, to celebrities like actress Blake Lively and professional useless person Kim Kardashian making tasteless jokes about the royal’s absence from public life, many internet denizens gleefully roasted a woman who we now know was undergoing cancer treatments. Among the most shameless was liberal shill and alleged late-night “comedian” Stephen Colbert who, before the release of Catherine’s video message that shocked the world, decided to spotlight one of the more disgusting rumors floating around at the time. Namely, that Catherine’s supposed disappearance was related to Prince William, Catherine’s husband and heir to the British throne, allegedly having an affair with family friend the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, Rose Hanbury. In response, the news and entertainment publication In Touch reported, Hanbury and her legal team have sent a legal notice to Colbert over the tasteless “joke.” In a statement, according to In Touch, Hanbury’s lawyers said the “rumor appears to have entered into the mainstream media recently as a result of another joke made about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. We have written on our client’s behalf to CBS and various other reputable media organisations to confirm that the allegation is false.” Now, while these rumors have been floating around the internet for years, there has never been any evidence that William engaged in the same home-wrecking behavior that doomed the marriage of his parents, now-King Charles and the now-deceased Princess Diana, in the ’90s. That, unfortunately, didn’t stop Colbert from spotlighting the rumor. As reported by Vanity Fair, Colbert took a shot at Prince William, Catherine, and Hanbury in his opening monologue on March 12, broaching the topic by saying “the kingdom has been all aflutter by the seeming disappearance of Kate Middleton.” Colbert then continued with his unseemly speculations, saying “internet sleuths are guessing that Kate’s absence may be related to her husband and the future king of England, William, having an affair,” Colbert said. “So I think we all know who the alleged other woman is. Say it with me: the Marchioness of Cholmondeley—what a beautiful name.” The U.K. Guardian reported on how Colbert continued ridiculing a sick woman, her husband, and her friend. Mocking Hanbury’s title by calling her the “Marching Band of Chicanery” and “Marcus Mumford of Chumbawumba,” Colbert noted that these tabloid rumors originated in 2019, and those tabloids claimed at the time that, when Catherine confronted William about the alleged infidelity, he merely laughed it off. Hanbury, who has been married since 2009 and given birth to three children since then, did not find Colbert’s jokes nearly as funny as he seemed to. Hanbury’s legal team began pushing back by publishing a statement, reported by Business Insider, that said “the rumors are completely false.” And now, she and her legal team have singled out Colbert specifically for dredging up these rumors. From the beginning, the internet speculation around Catherine’s absence was completely unfounded, considering that Buckingham Palace had clearly said back in January, when it announced that she had had surgery, that Catherine would not return to public duties until after Easter. However, considering Catherine’s visibility and worldwide profile, that wasn’t enough to quell the online rumor mill, especially the cruel rumors of an alleged affair. But someone like Colbert should’ve recognized what a disgusting thing it was to dredge up a painful rumor like that, during such a painful time for the royal family. Even though few people knew at that time how life-threatening Catherine’s health issues really were, most still understood that she had undergone a significant surgery requiring a lengthy recovery period. Colbert, knowing that and using his show to platform an affair rumor anyway, was absolutely shameless. If Colbert had any shred of dignity, he would absolutely walk it back, and publicly apologize to the Prince and Princess of Wales. Of course, Colbert has used his position as a “comedian” for years to attack those he doesn’t like and shill for the establishment. Why would he stop at spreading vicious rumors about a woman — a wife and mother — suffering from cancer? Truth and Accuracy We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson couldn’t control his laughter during his primetime show after listening to MSNBC’s Joy Reid’s on-air remarks: “In the greatest clip ever recorded on cable news..guess Joy Reid’s IQ.” MSNBC host Joy Reid got blowback from both Democrats and Republicans over remarks she made on her show The ReidOut . The statement was described as so remarkably ridiculous and tone-deaf that Tucker Carlson couldn’t stop laughing when he discussed it during his show. According to reports, Reid said the word “inflation” isn’t part of the common language and has been “taught” to Americans by Republicans. “The only people I ever hear use the word inflation are journalists and economists,” Reid said. “Right? So, that is not part of the normal lexicon of the way people talk. So, it’s interesting that Republicans are doing something they don’t normally do which is not use the common tongue—not use common English like they do on their campaign.” “But what they’ve done is they’ve taught people the word inflation,” she added. “Most people who would have never used that word ever in their lives are using it now because they’ve been taught it. Including on TV, including in newspapers, they’ve been taught this word and are wrapping it around the reasons they really want to vote.” Tucker Carlson discussed the MSNBC host’s remarks by giving a sarcastic introduction. “In the greatest clip ever recorded on cable news,” Carlson began. “Joy Reid of MSNBC explained that voters are upset about inflation because Republicans taught them the word. They didn’t know the word inflation! But Republicans taught them that. Taught them to be upset about it. But actually, according to people who know what they are talking about, inflation really is real. It’s higher than it’s been in nearly forty years.” After showing the clip of Joy Reid, Tucker Carlson blasted her. “Someday we’re going to do a reoccurring segment called Guess Joy Reid’s IQ ,” he said. “That’ll be fun…What they’ve done, says the Harvard lady. What they’ve done! They taught people the word inflation. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the Republican Party running around teaching people words. Even three-syllable words: in…fla…tion. Inflation. It’s scary.” According to Fox News , Carlson wasn’t the only one who was laughing at Reid’s claim. Margaret Nichols, who said she’s a Democrat, laughed and called Reid’s assertion absurd. “It’s ridiculous that we’re being told that we’re taught this or fed this through the media as though we aren’t intelligent, individual people that understand what’s happening around us and what’s happening in our pocketbooks,” she said. Podcast host Jason Whitlock also weighed in. “My grandmother finished 8th grade,” he wrote. “She talked about inflation non-stop during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. I remember listening to her and my mother complain about it on the phone. Joy Reid went to an Ivy League school. This is sad and embarrassing.” Journalist Glen Greenwald also took aim at Reid: “These were the *first three paragraphs* of the nationally televised speech Jimmy Carter delivered in 1978 because Americans regarded inflation as a grave national crisis. Joy Reid thinks the GOP invented this term this year and nobody used it before.” https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1588597677692178432 Republican voter Frank Gregory explained that the American public is living with inflation every day, despite being told that they may not understand the situation. “American voters are not stupid people,” he said. “These people in their ivory towers, they’re the ones with no concept, and they think we’re stupid.” Beth Parlato, a lifelong Republican voter, said the key problem behind most issues is the inability to debate and discuss with people of opposing viewpoints in a friendly, cordial manner. “I’ve always been a conservative, and you’re a liberal, and we’re able to have a conversation,” she said to a liberal panelist. Parlato stressed the necessity of discussing real problems like inflation with all viewpoints in order to come to an understanding and possibly work toward solutions. “That’s what has to happen,” she said. “Because, I think that when we come to the table when we have real conversations, we agree on a lot.”

The UK’s most senior civil servant, Simon Case, described the government as looking like a “terrible, tragic joke” in its handling of the Covid pandemic in expletive-laden WhatsApp messages handed to the Covid inquiry.

The messages – which are likely to prompt questions over Case’s professionalism – also lamented that Boris Johnson’s wife, Carrie, appeared to be “the real person in charge” at Downing Street.

Case, who had been permanent secretary at 10 Downing Street and was appointed as head of the civil service in September 2020, expressed frustration at the government’s handling of the pandemic, writing in one message: “not sure I can cope”.

In messages read to the inquiry on Friday, Case said: “The government doesn’t have the credibility needed to be imposing stuff within only days of deciding not too [sic]. We look like a terrible, tragic joke. If we were going hard, that decision was needed weeks ago. I cannot cope with this I cannot cope with this.”

Lee Cain, who was Johnson’s director of communications until November 2020, said Carrie “doesn’t know wtf she is talking about”.

The messages appeared on the screen during today’s session of the inquiry which is focusing on core UK decision-making and political governance. They are thought to have been from 14 October 2020.

A letter from Dominic Cummings contained an email dated 13 July 2020 about “the problems of the No 10/CabOff (Cabinet Office) set up that is relevant to the inquiry”.

He said it was copied to the PM “but he never engaged seriously”.

Case wrote: “Am not sure I can cope with today. Might just go home. Matt just called, having spoken to PM. According to Matt (so aim off, obvs), PM has asked Matt to work up regional circuit breakers for the North (as per Northern Ireland) today – and to bring recommendations. I am going to scream …”

Cain asked: “Wtf are we talking about.”

To which Case replied: “Whatever Carrie cares about, I guess.

“I was always told that Dom [Dominic Cummings] was the secret PM. How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow – ‘oh, fuck no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie’”, Case added.

A witness to the inquiry Alex Thomas, formerly at the Cabinet Office and now at the Institute for Government, described some of the language in the messages as “unfortunate”.

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“It’s clear to me that the consistency of decision-making was something that could be criticised and be a cause for concern,” he said. “They are not comfortable to read. If you are a victim or related to someone who suffered or died from Covid this is appalling to read. It should be called out as regrettable.”

Prof Chris Brightling and Dr Rachael Evans, both experts in long Covid, also gave evidence to the inquiry, which was attended by members of various long Covid support groups.

In notes that appeared on the inquiry screen Johnson scribbled “bollocks” on one and on another said: “Do we really believe in long Covid. Why can’t we hedge it more. I bet it is complete Gulf War Syndrome.”

Brightling said: “I’m deeply saddened and extremely angry at the same time. I’m not even sure what he means – bollocks to the science or does he mean bollocks to the patients?”

Evans said of Johnson’s comments: “It’s just another unbelievable thing. It’s shocking and beyond disappointing. We have people here living through this absolutely dreadful illness and to see your own prime minister has written something like this …”

The inquiry continues.

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