By Wonderwall.com Editors
5:12am PST, Mar 2, 2021
Angelina Jolie's Winston Churchill painting sets a new sale price record at auction
Angelina Jolie just made history as an art collector — and seller. On Monday, March 1, auction house Christie's of London sold "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque," a painting by Winston Churchill that Angelina and her now-ex, Brad Pitt bought together in 2011, for nearly $12 million. According to the Associated Press, the exact bid came in at $11,590,715 — a massive boost from the previous record for an original by Churchill, which was about $2.5 million. The piece shows a 12th century mosque against the backdrop of a mountain sunset in Marrakech and is believed to be the only wartime painting created by the late British Prime Minister, who painted it in the wake of the 1943 Casablanca Conference, where he and President Franklin D. Roosevelt came up with their plan to defeat Nazi Germany. The Prime Minister later gifted the painting to F.D.R. The official seller of the painting is listed as the Jolie Family Collection. Christie's has not released the name of the buyer.
Keep reading to see why Taylor Swift's slamming Netflix and more …
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Taylor Swift slams Netflix, 'Ginny & Georgia' for 'lazy, deeply sexist joke'
Netflix and its new series, "Georgia & Ginny" are learning the hard way that there are consequences to offending Taylor Swift — and, frankly, women in general. Over the weekend, the singer's fans caught a line in one episode in which one character asks another, "What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift." It wasn't long before Taylor's fans flooded Twitter with posts about their disapproval of the would-be joke, which took aim at Taylor's dating history in a way that's seldom applied to male pop stars. "Shaming women in 2021? Funny, [because] I never see anything like this about men," tweeted one offended fan. They added, "RESPECT TAYLOR SWIFT," which became a rallying cry for Taylor's fans as it continued trending on Sunday, Feb. 28. While #RespectTaylorSwift gained momentum, fans worked to lower ratings for "Ginny & Georgia" across platforms including Rotten Tomatoes, metacritic and imdb. They appear to have succeeded, too — one Swiftie shared screenshots that showed audience ratings dropping wildly for the series. Eventually, Taylor herself chimed in. "Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back," she posted along with a screenshot of the joke on Sunday. "How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse s— as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn't look cute on you," she continued, referencing her 2020 Netflix documentary. "Happy Women's History Month I guess." A number of users, however, also pointed out that the line seems "meant to EXPOSE misogyny and how it shapes young girls' lives," as one person put it. Taylor, who's been in a happy relationship with Joe Alwyn for years, has spoken out in the past about the double standard applied to women in music when it comes to their love lives, versus those of men. And — as fans reminded us on Twitter — she explained in her Netflix doc why it's problematic and why she wrote a song about the unfair phenomenon.
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Andra Day on how Billie Holiday's 'fashion was part of her activism'
Andra Day's Golden Globes win on Sunday, Feb. 28, marked the first time a Black woman won the Best Actress, Drama award in 35 years, the last being Whoopi Goldberg, who made history when she won for 1986's "The Color Purple." So Andra was understandably emotional when she accepted the statue for "The United States vs. Billie Holiday," telling viewers the legendary jazz icon she played in the film, "just transformed me with this role and with her presence and with her spirit." Speaking to EW, Andra elaborated on the importance of her own onscreen transformation, including the meaning behind the vintage Prada dresses costume designer Paolo Nieddu picked out for her. As Andra explained to EW, Billie's simple act of wearing diamonds and designer clothing "was [considered] offensive … for her to be a Black woman wearing [all that]." It didn't stop her from donning what Andra thinks of as the singer's "armor," though. "Her fashion was very much a part of her activism," Andra said, adding that part of it was also "just fun."
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Why Duchess Meghan wore Princess Diana's bracelet for the Sussexes' Oprah Winfrey interview
When Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan sat down with Oprah Winfrey for their upcoming interview special, they did so with a third family member in their hearts — by way of one piece of jewelry. According to People, Meghan wore a delicate bracelet that previously belonged Harry's mom, Princess Diana, so that the late royal could "be with them" during the the conversation, which airs March 7 as part of "Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special." It's reportedly the same bracelet Harry incorporated into Meghan's engagement ring, which features two stones from the historic piece in its three-stone design. In trailers for the special released over the weekend. Oprah tells viewers, "there is no subject that's off-limits," during the wide-ranging interview, which sees the expectant couple address their controversial decision to step back from their royal duties. "My biggest concern was history repeating itself," Harry says at one point, seemingly referring to his mother's experience dealing with members of the British press, some of whom were chasing her for a photo when she was killed in a car accident. "You know, for me, I'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here, talking to you with my wife by my side," Harry says in a second clip, "because I can't begin to imagine what it must've been like for [my mother] going through this process by herself all those years ago." The interview comes on the heels of Harry's revelatory sit-down with James Corden for "The Late Late Show."
Kaley Cuoco celebrates Golden Globes loss with a carbs-fueled afterparty-for-one
And the award for Best At-Home Golden Globes Celebration goes to … Kaley Cuoco, no contest. The "Big Bang Theory" star was nominated for Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy, for her turn in "The Flight Attendant." As you might suspect from her post-op Instagram pic — a selfie showing Kaley in a poufy, princess-esque gown and tiara, plopped on the floor of her home noshing on pizza and surrounded by an array of carbs, glorious carbs — she did not end the night with a Golden Globe of her own. (She did, however, steal our hearts with the mini hair falls attached to her head and tangled up in her lap.) Kaley's afterparty-for-one caption? "I would like to thank…never mind !!"
Jason Bateman attends the Golden Globes virtually from Jennifer Aniston's house
Longtime buddies Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston reunited for the Golden Globes in true pandemic style — which is to say, they never left Jen's house. As the "Friends" star told followers on her Instagram Story, Jason — whose work on the latest season of "Ozark" scored him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Drama — virtually attended the awards ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 28, from a cozy nook in Jen's home. "Bateman came over and brought the @goldenglobes with him," Jen quipped, sharing a photo of Jason flanked by his daughters, Francesca and Maple (per HuffPo). The pic also showed a framed photo of Jennifer and her father nearby. "Dad and I made a lil cameo," she joked. Unfortunately, Papa Aniston didn't bring Jason much luck, Globes-wise. He ultimately lost out to "The Crown" star, Josh O'Connor.
Police nab alleged trespasser at Kim Kardashian's home
Five years after Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint in her apartment in Paris, a man broke into her property in the Hidden Hills community of Los Angeles. Police tell TMZ the alleged trespasser "breached the main entrance gate" at Kim's home on Wednesday, Feb. 24. He reportedly told cops he was there to "visit" Kim, whom he apparently claimed was his wife. Security stopped the man, according to TMZ, before the Sheriff's department was called to the scene. The man was reportedly released with a trespassing citation.
T.I. and Tiny sued for defamation as lawyer seeks criminal investigation on behalf of their alleged sex abuse victims
Amid mounting sex abuse allegations against singer T.I. and his wife, Tameka "Tiny" Harris, the couple is now also facing a defamation suit filed by Sabrina Peterson, who previously claimed she was victimized by the stars and threatened at gunpoint by T.I. Documents excerpted by TMZ on Monday, March 1, show Sabrina's suing the pair on grounds of defamation and infliction of emotional abuse. The claims stem from what she says was their response to her initial allegations on social media. Sabrina claims, among other things, that Tiny "insulted" her on social media and shared a photo of her 8-year-old son, subjecting him to potential danger. The couple's attorney tells TMZ his clients, "deny in the strongest possible terms these unsubstantiated and baseless allegations," calling them, "the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media." The defamation suit comes on the heels of a New York Times report showing a lawyer who represents 11 of T.I. and Tiny's alleged victims is now seeking a criminal investigation of the couple in two states.
Hailey Bieber celebrates Justin Bieber's birthday with a sweet Instagram tribute
Happy birthday, Justin Bieber! The singer kicked off his 27th year on Monday, March 1, with some sweet words of praise from his wife, Hailey Bieber. "Another year around the sun with you, another year of getting to love you, grow with you and laugh with you," Hailey captioned a series of photos of the two on Instagram. "Happy 27th birthday, you are my favorite human and I'm grateful to be by your side. ❤️," she added. The loving sentiment clearly moved Justin, who replied in the comments, "😢 I love you baby." Justin and Hailey are reportedly spending time together in Europe to celebrate the milestone ahead of the release of Justin's new album, "Justice," due out March 19.
The iconic, white ruffled silk shirt Prince wore in the 1984 film, "Purple Rain" — complete with a letter from Sheila E.'s mother saying it was custom made for the late artist, who later gave it to Sheila — is set to find a new owner, most likely, a wealthy one. The piece recently hit the auction block along with a number of Prince's other belongings via Boston's RR Auctions, where it's expected to rake in about $60,000. Also up for grabs with an estimated $60,000 price tag is a custom yellow Cloud guitar the late rock legend toured with in the mid-'90s. A gold ensemble Prince wore onstage during his Jam of the Year tour, the first pressing edition of "The Black Album" and a variety of other pieces of memorabilia are open to bidders through March 10, as well. The executors of Prince's estate, meanwhile, were recently sent a bill from the IRS, which determined the estate was undervalued by about $80 million. Executors have been ordered to fork over another $40 million to cover the cost of taxes due on the IRS' valuation of the estate as well as a $6.4 million "accuracy-related penalty," according to the Daily Mail. Prince died in 2016 without a will. A Minnesota judge later ruled his sister and five half-siblings are the heirs to his fortune.
