London's Theatre Event of the Summer - Sean Hayes ("Just Jack" in Will & Grace) brings his Tony-winning performance as troubled and wickedly funny 1950s star Oscar Levant in Good Night, Oscar to the Barbican, 31 July-21 Sept. A tour-de-force performance concluding with a goosebump-inducing rendition of Rhapsody in Blue (Sean is a classically trained pianist). Must see so, go see!
"Marry synth, fuck tambourine, kill bass" - Danielle Haim
* Glasto sleb spotting
* Cast think Hull is shit
* PLUS: Baboon vs badger answered at last
“Gossip peddled as fact” - since 2000. Send us tips & trivia
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>> Below Deck <<
Katy want nuggies
Given the news Perry and Bloom are splitting, it feels like the perfect time to share a story from the bowels of the kitchen at the Royal Yacht Squadron.
Orlando and Katy couple were down on the Isle of Wight for Cowes Week in 2023, and decided to have a spot of lunch at the RYS. The only problem was that Katy wasn’t interested in the fine dining options on the set menu and instead requested fried chicken.
Bewildered staff dutifully served her chicken nuggets from the kids menu. Apparently Katy was happy enough with this - she returned again a couple of days later for more nugs, but this time got stuck into the drinks menu too, to the point that Orlando was visibly uncomfortable and apologetic to the landed gentry who were also dining there.
Rory Stewart was dining in Volta do Mar, Chelsea, wafflng on about Donald Trump with a group of Americans (and annoying the other customers in the process from the sounds of it).
>> Sober Curious <<
The sky’s the limit
It’s media summer party season (Popbitch’s invitations must have got lost in the post) and the revelling is in full swing. This is the time of year when hard-working hacks can finally kick back, celebrate success and get far too pissed in the process.
Well, in theory at least. In practice a lot of the bashes sound like fairly sedate affairs. At Sky’s summer party this week, for instance, there were some serious drinks restrictions in place at the free bar. The rules were:
NO doubles
NO shots
NO cocktails
NO bottles of wine or prosecco
House spirits ONLY
Really pushing the boat out.
Thoughts and prayers for Paddy Considine who was seen being attacked by Seagulls who nicked his dinner while eating outside in St Ives this week.
>> Big Question <<
Who’s asking what this week?
Which politician was fined and suspended by the Oxford Union when they were at university in the 90s - for secretly and illicitly recording a speech by OJ Simpson and flogging it to the tabloids?
A beer for people who like going out, not blacking out.
Introducing Thousand Cups: a low-alc IPA (1.2% ABV) that’s easy on your system. Glow-friendly, gluten-free, vegan, and brewed with nootropics. Available as a Classic IPA or with a twist of Lime. AND 40 calories a can! Reset how you think – and feel – about beer
>> Swipe Right <<
Profile says No Tories
Grindr threw a very swanky PR party in Mayfair last week, which was, judging by the competition for guest-list, the place to be.
But if you’re not on the list you’re not getting in, sadly. Kemi Badenoch and her team apparently discovered this to their utter despair.
They tried to get their names on the list but we’re told absolutely not. The suspicion is that while Kemi herself was, as usual, blissfully unaware of everything going on around her, CCHQ staffers were trying to use her names to get in for themselves.
George Michael’s favourite book was Danielle Steele’s The Gift. He would have been 62 this last week.
>> Cast-offs <<
Walkaway from the scene of the crime
In the run up to supporting Oasis this Summer, John Power of Cast has been excitedly talking about how this tour will help secure the band’s Britpop legacy.
But in fairness Cast have already secured a legacy of sorts back in the day at Hull University, as the only performing act to ever leave a freshly laid human turd on the changing room floor.
Tom Stoltman (the World’s Strongest Man) has weighed in (sorry) on the age-old baboon vs badger debate. As far as he’s concerned it’s “baboon all day”.
>> Thursday, Bloody Thursday <<
The emails haven’t gone away, you know
Look, we all get it a bit wrong sometimes. It’s hot outside. It’s the summer. It’s natural. And Forza Wine - uber-chic vino bar on the Southbank and Peckham - know natural (wine), to be fair.
Last weekend they sent out a promotional email entitled ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, which was quickly retracted, presumably, when someone pointed out that that song is not about having a glass of petnat on the terrace of the National Theatre.
“We’re really sorry about the subject line of our previous newsletter”, Forza followed up, with a strange U2-themed excuse.
“Despite Bono being one of the more annoyingly catchy musicians of our times, the song we were referencing is, of course, about an extremely serious event that shouldn’t be used lightly, especially in the world as it is now.
“Sorry that we’ve had to say sorry - we’ll stick to the ice creams and fritti from now on x”
Wimbledon nominative determinism of the Week: American tennis player, Katie Volynets.
>> Glasto Safari <<
DJ Big Driis down
Celebrities get to be normal people at Glastonbury. They drink, they dance, they mingle. And nobody enjoys a trip to Worthy Farm more than Glasto-stalwart Idris Elba.
This year he enjoyed it even more than usual. He was spotted at John Talabot’s Friday night set at San Remo, being helped through the front by security.
It looked like he had some sick down himself and was being trailed by his wife. If there’s a surer sign of a good weekend we don’t know it.
(Also on celeb safari at Glastonbury: Tilda Swinton spotted at NYC Downlow. She ordered her drinks then walked off without appearing to pay.)
Kiki & Herb, 3 – 5 July (tonight until Saturday) Soho Theatre. Wild, political, and unlike anything else, New York cabaret legends Kiki & Herb make their long-awaited return to London this July.
[£20 tickets with code KIKIBITCH]
And then next week Kiki (Justin Vivian Bond) is back with their band and a new show celebrating Marianne Faithful - Sex With Strangers.
The legendary ‘transatlantic cabaret messiah’ (Time Out) Mx Justin Vivian Bond comes to Soho Theatre Walthamstow with their band to celebrate another legend - the outrageously gorgeous mythical icon of dissolute glamour, singer/ songwriter and eternal muse to countless artists, Marianne Faithfull.
[PB readers get the best seats for £15 with promo code JVBPB]
>> Sir Becks II <<
Yet more Mr Nice Guy
Perhaps it’s harsh to assume that David Beckham’s good queueing behaviour (at Anya Hindmarch’s ice-cream project, Issue #1239, and also that time the queen died) is cynical and related to his knighthood. He has apparently always been nice to civilians in shops.
Back in Beckham’s 90s Man United heyday, when he was yet to marry Posh and become fashion royalty, he spent a lot of time hanging around Manchester’s Gap store. The staff reported him as shy and polite, but sometimes flanked by worse offenders, who liked to park their Ferraris out the front of the shop.
Among them? Ryan Giggs, who was apparently such a tight-arse that it’s remembered nearly 30 years later.
The Chinese equivalent of nepo baby is “pindie”, or “competing through one’s father”.
>> Indie Sleaze <<
Checking out the competition
PJMP writes:
”A Dylan Jones spot in Paddington WH Smith last Friday. He was furiously reading several arts and culture magazines (Spectator, Fence etc).
“I wondered why and then realised he was looking for whether his new book was reviewed”.
Travis Kelce’s horse, Swift Delivery, just got its first win on the track, at Woodbine, Toronto.
>> Wintour’s Over <<
A Conde Nasty end
Big changes at Conde Nast, with Anna Wintour finally getting the Vogue reins (sort of) prised from her cold, 73-year-old hands
Then again, despite the Anna publicity machine working overtime to convince us otherwise, inside Conde her iron grip on the business has been looser than you'd know for quite a while.
She has had to endure seeing some of her senior hires of colour (high profile names like Vanessa Kingori) getting the push, after tangling with other senior execs. Budgets have been slashed, the Manhattan office has seen bitter arguments break out over Israel-Palestine
And last year's Met Gala almost got derailed by big staff protests, only saved by an embarrassing climbdown a couple of hours before the first celebs arrived.
The government of Japan has appointed two official Sleep Ambassadors - Pikachu and Snorlax.
>> Anger Management <<
Always hiding in plain sight
J writes:
"I've been inside Puffy's house in the Hampton's for his 4th of July barbecue. Everything was good, wholesome, family fun with clowns and magicians for the kids until the sun went down. The kiddie entertainment was then replaced with strippers who danced in the garden around the pool for all to see.
"Puffy has a beautiful bedroom with an enormous and a view of the water. He had a temper tantrum when he found some guests getting it on in his bed. He was quite drunk and high and it was hilarious. He got even more angry when he found guests had gotten to his private stash of champagne."
Haven’t signed up to become a Popbitch VIP yet? Every Monday our Club Popbitch newsletter, for paying subscribers, dispenses an extra helping of gossip too niche, too NSFW or too salacious to make the grade for Thursday.
This week we had stories about Noel Edmonds, Madonna and Mike Tyson. Don’t miss next Monday’s edition - if you’d like to support Popbitch, sign up today.
>> Hmms <<
Internet bright spots of the week
Why are all the lesbians dating men?
[Read on Interview]
The UK’s biggest songs of the year so far
[Some bangers, some not so bangers]
Oh no, not the Bugger Inn! A flood has destroyed Noel Edmond’s NZ wellness centre
[Dev’d]
NZ also delivering some excellent nominative determinism
[What a country]
Friends are crowdfunding for rock journo Mick Wall who has just had a heart attack
[Get well soon, Mick]
Want to live in Stanley Kubrick’s old house?
[Eyes Wide Open]
Back in 2002 when P Diddy was feted as a fashion mogul
[Interesting read, New Yorker]
Thanks to: AR, GO, CP, LN, GC, MBD, Matt, Hubert Klomp, DH, HL, CL, bobbifleckmann, DB, OC, PJMP, JS.
Old Jokes Home
Q: What’s green, fuzzy and would kill you if it fell out of a tree?
A: A pool table.
Still Bored?
"Whenever I hear a news report of an avalanche involving British skiers I listen out with interest in the hope that I might catch the name 'Ben Shephard”. That’s the opening line on Half Man Half Biscuit's new Possible Side Effects.
[Anyone know why?]
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