By Mark Gray
6:34am PDT, Aug 18, 2023
Why does she do it?
"Vanderpump Rules" star Rachel Leviss — who was previously known as Raquel Leviss — is airing it all out. On the Aug. 16 episode of Bethenny Frankel's "Just B" podcast, the reality star spoke candidly about her affair with Tom Sandoval, becoming the Bravo show's villain and her decision to seek mental health treatment. "Part of the reason why I wanted to go to a treatment facility was to understand my behaviors and my goal was to really get down to the bottom of, 'OK, why am I choosing men that are unavailable? Why do I keep finding myself in unhealthy relationships? What are the things that I need to change about my behavior?'" she said. Rachel also thinks it's incredibly unfair that she became the show's punching bag — especially considering many of her castmates have also cheated on partners over the years. "With the cast it's almost been normalized," she said of cheating. "It's uncanny to see the hate that this specific affair brought up in people when almost every single one of the cast members have been in an affair. … It's bad in normal life, but with producers, it's good. … Affairs are good for TV."
Rachel had an ongoing relationship with Tom in spite of his nine-year relationship with her friend Ariana Madix. Initially, Rachel "believed" that she was "in love" with Tom. With time to reflect, she now says that's not the case – not even close. "I also don't believe that he truly was in love with me either," she said. In detailing what she saw in Tom throughout their secret romance, she said, "I felt seen and heard by him. I haven't really had that connection with other people in the cast, nor people in my real life. I was filming in a tumultuous environment. I was needing some validation and somebody to hear what I was going through. Here comes along Tom who really gave me that time of day to share my side of the story in a non-judgment zone. That's exactly what I needed in that moment."
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Charges coming?
Alec Baldwin might not actually be in the clear for his role in the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of the western-indie "Rust." In April, involuntary manslaughter charges against the actor were dropped, but the possibility exists that they could be refiled amid a new forensics report. The actor has long said that he never pulled the trigger of a gun that, unbeknownst to him, contained a live round on the set of the film. Still, as he rehearsed a scene, a bullet left the barrel of the pistol, striking and killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. A new report says the trigger had to be pulled because the gun fired normally and did not malfunction. "From an examination of the fired cartridge case and the operationally restored evidence revolver, this fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger," the report said, per CNN. In addition, the forensics examination said the gun had not been modified, as Alec's attorneys had previously suggested. When charges against the "Boss Baby" star were dropped earlier this summer, prosecutors said charges may be refiled if it were determined that the gun worked properly. It's unclear whether prosecutors will file charges again.
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Hurting hands
Kaley Cuoco can't stop holding her daughter, Matilda, and she's suffering the health consequences of it. The actress has developed carpal tunnel syndrome from carrying the four-month-old. "So some of you may know I have this, like, major wrist/hand injury from holding the baby. It's a very real thing. Google it," she said on her trainer Ryan Sorenson's Instagram while wearing stabilizing wrist braces. "And I think the only thing to make them better is for us to start working out without using my hands. And without using any body weight on my hands, which sounds crazy, and how can you get a workout like that?" The Mayo Clinic says carpal tunnel starts as tingling or numbness in the hand or fingers.
Mea culpa
The Killers issued an apology to their fans after inviting a Russian fan on stage and calling him their "brother." The rock band was performed in the country of Georgia, which borders Russia, when frontman Brandon Flowers invited a fan up to play drums, something that is very common at Killers concerts. "We don't know the etiquette of this land but this guy's a Russian, are you okay with a Russian coming up here? I'm okay with it," Brandon stated. The arena was immediately filled with loud boos. Knowing he had to address the sudden dissatisfaction, Brandon explained, "One of the things that we've come to appreciate being in this band is it brings people together, and tonight I want us to celebrate that we're here together and I don't want it to turn ugly." The crowd wasn't having it, and the jeers grew louder. Many people left the show and voiced their opinions on both the band's Instagram page and Brandon's page. Comments were not kind and many pointed out that Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, and some of the country is still occupied by Vladimir Putin's forces. After the curtain closed, The Killers tried to tamp down the vitriol on social media with a bit of a mea culpa. "Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone," a statement said. "We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight's audience participation member coming onstage with us. We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers' audience and fans are 'brothers and sisters,' could be misconstrued." The group said it "stands with" Georgians.
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Retirement chatter
Kelly Ripa may be ready to throw in the towel soon… The "Live With Kelly and Mark" co-host said she's not quite ready to sign off for good just yet, but the end is nigh. "I think the risk-averse quality I have is probably the reason I stayed with the same job for so long," she told The Purist. "Other offers come along, but I like to stick with what I know. I am very steadfast in everything I do, and so when you have me, you have me for life. Having said that, I don't intend to work at this job for the rest of my life. I do talk about retirement with great interest, but right now I'm very happy, especially working with Mark." The former soap opera star has headlined the daytime talk show since she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford in 2001. Kelly's husband, Mark Consuelos, replaced Ryan Seacrest on "Live" in April.
Airport drama continues
Dax Shepard continues to be "really confused" over the "outrage" that came from his family's recent airport fiasco. Last month, Dax was stuck at the Boston airport along with his wife, Kristen Bell, and their two kids, and the family couldn't find a hotel room within 50 miles. Dax and Kristen humorously documented their situation on social media and equated it to "camping," as they were laying on the floor of the terminal. "The thing I got worried about when it got on the news is like, I would hate for people to think that we were upset or complaining about the experience," Dax shared on his Armchair Quarterback podcast. "I just thought it was novel and funny." The former "Punk'd" star noted it was "insane" that TSA workers kicked them (and others) out of the airport at 1 a.m. After detailing their airport drama, some on social media accused the mom and dad of lying or complaining, which confused Dax. Kristen argued, "You're treating everyone like they have the emotional capacity you have. A lot of people just get on the internet and google angry, mad stuff. So it was just anything. It was like, 'You're not being kicked out!' 'Of course there were hotels.' 'I can't believe you spent $600 on pillows.'" Thinking of the critical messages, Dax said, "My favorite one was, 'No hotel up to your standards.' I was just like, 'Yet we're sleeping on the floor.'"
