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We have an update on the arrest of Josh Duggar.

A troubling, disturbing, truly disgusting and heinous update on the arrest of Josh Duggar, to be more specific.

The former 19 Kids and Counting star, who was fired from that program in 2015 after confirming a leaked story that he molested his own sisters as a teenager, was taken into federal custody on Thursday.

At the time, there was no word on the charges he faced. Now there is.

Most observers believed that U.S. Marshals arrested Josh Duggar in connection with a raid in November 2019 on his since-closed-down used car dealership.

Back then, federal agents said there was some kind of investigation into Josh's business, though nothing official or legal came out of the raid.

We can now confirm, however, that Duggar is not accused of anything related to that business.

Instead, he's been charged with two counts of child pornography.

The father of six (whose wife just announced one week ago that she's pregnant with child number-seven) appeared before a judge on Friday.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Duggar may never be a free man again.

He allegedly received this child pornography in May of 2019, downloading this sort of inappropriate material off the Internet himself.

To be specific, the disgraced reality star is accused of knowingly possessing images of child pornography.

Including images of minors below the age of 12.

It's absolutely incredible and yet, given his history, simultaneously not. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 on each count.

Duggar’s trial date is scheduled for Tuesday, July 6.

He will remain in custody at least for another week, until a detention hearing on May 5.

We can also confirm at this time that the Department of Homeland Security is involved in the case.

In what way? 

It sounds as if the aforementioned raid in 2019 on his car dealership may have stemmed from Josh using a computer at that address to download the illegal photos and videos.

Duggar was ordered on Friday to forfeit any material related to the case to authorities, including turning over any and all computer equipment.

Again. Just... wow, right?

We didn't think we could be any more shocked or grossed out at this point by Josh Duggar's behavior, and yet: Here we are.

To be clear and fair, of course, Duggar is entitled to due process and is innocent until proven guilty.

His past is not necessarily prologue.

Nothing from his younger days means that he for certain committed to atrocities described above.

But it's worth noting that Duggar confessed to inappropriately touching young girls back when he was 14 years old.

"I hurt others, including my family and close friends," he said in a 2015 statement.

"Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret."

"I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation," Josh added back then.

"We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing."

"My parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling."

It later came out that Josh attended a program of some kind run by a family friend who was in the home-modeling business.

"We watched him like all the time," said Jim Bob to Megyn Kelly six years ago of his role in covering up his oldest son's apparent crimes. "I took him to work with me. We just poured our life into him."

Also in 2015, Josh confessed to cheating on his wife.

He was outed at the time as a user of the website Ashley Madison, which arranged for spouses to cheat on their significant others with random men or women.

"I have been the biggest hypocrite ever," he said in a mea culpa for those actions.

"While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife."

Perhaps pertinent to this arrest, Josh also claimed to have an addiction to pornography back then, even entering rehab for the problem.

"I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family," he said.

"And most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him."

Anna has not yet commented on her husband's arrest.

Neither has Jesus.

"Do you understand what you've been charged with?" a judge asked Duggar over Zoom on Friday.

"Yes, your honor," he replied.

If these sick charges are legitimate - and according to reports, his family knew this was coming - he may never see the outside of a cell.

He has six children, and has already struggled to support them, despite Anna insisting he's a good provider and that they can afford it.

Anna is currently pregnant with the couple's seventh child.

We can't imagine what must be going through her mind right now.

More news on this horrifying story as it breaks.

Season 13 of Real Housewives of New York is going to show off some major changes. Dorinda Medley has exited the show and will be “making it nice” at the Bezerkshires without Bravo’s cameras. Eboni K. Williams joined the franchise, becoming the first Black RHONY cast member.

Viewers were concerned when sophomore Housewife Leah McSweeney wanted a pay raise to return. Well, batten down your tiki torches, because she signed on the dotted line. Leah is sober this season, so viewers may see a different side of her.

Mama Heather Thomson returned as a Friend of the Housewives. Holla! Heather left the franchise in 2015 but popped up last season at Dorinda’s dinner party in the Berkshires. In November of 2020, Heather confirmed that she would be part of Season 13. “I really like dropping in on the show. Since I left, I’ve been back,” Heather commented.

Heather’s return was short-lived. In the RHONY Season 13 trailer, Leah screamed at Heather, “Why do you have to be in everyone’s business like a Karen?” Wow!

US Weekly reported that Heather seemingly slammed Leah during an interview on the Friends of Dorothy podcast. “I get assaulted this season. The show has changed a lot, breaking the fourth wall,” Heather explained. “People were interested in putting me down, dragging me down and showing me who is the queen bee,” she shared.

 

RELATED: Leah McSweeney Denies Rumors She Bullied Heather Thomson Off Of Real Housewives Of New York ; Claims Heather “Slut-Shamed” Women

 

“I just don’t have time for that stuff. It’s the new girl who was intimidated and wanted to show who’s the queen bee,” Heather added. Heather quit filming RHONY in March, supposedly because of her issues with Leah.

Heather had “minimal interaction” with Leah until this season, so she was surprised by Leah’s outbursts. A source stated, “Heather could see Leah was acting up for the cameras and using behavior she considered demeaning and exploitative and frankly, crossed a line.” Well, that sounds like Leah all of last season. “Heather wanted no part of Leah so after she left that weekend Heather had no interest in continuing the season at all and stopped filming,” the source added.

 

RELATED: Carole Radziwill Says Heather Thomson Has No Interest In Returning To Real Housewives Of New York Full-Time

 

Leah reacted on her Instagram Story, and Queens of Bravo shared the screenshots on Twitter. “I don’t like women who… slut-shame other women. Act morally superior to other women. Plastic surgery shame other women,” Leah said. “Gossip about other women doing drugs when you know damn well they’ve done drugs also.” Oh, the shade! “And lastly I don’t like when white women who call black women ‘articulate.’ Especially while acting like the queen of wokeness,” Leah added.

Leah was likely referencing Heather making a comment about  co-star Sonja Morgan getting a face lift during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. Heather also alleged that some of her co-stars used “strong drugs” during a RHONY trip.

 

RELATED: Heather Thomson And Carole Radziwill Claim Former Co-Stars Used “Strong Drugs” On Real Housewives Of New York Cast Trip

 

Leah shared a screenshot in another post, which showed her reaching out to Heather. Leah’s caption denied that she bullied Heather. (There is some rough grammar ahead.) “This narrative that I bullied her off the show and she is a victim is so False I typically wouldn’t say anything but it’s just so far from the truth that I must,” Leah wrote. “Was also dealing with losing my grandmother during that time and I reached out to her to apologize for yelling at her and calling her a karen.”

TELL US- ARE YOU TEAM HEATHER OR TEAM LEAH? DID LEAH BULLY HEATHER? DO YOU LIKE SEEING HEATHER ON THE SHOW?

[Photo Credit: Bravo]

The post Heather Thomson Claims She “Was Assaulted” By Unnamed “Queen Bee” On Real Housewives Of New York appeared first on Reality Tea.

Chloé Zhao is already a legend. The Chinese filmmaker has become the second woman and first woman of color to win Best Director with Nomadland. Her next big project is going to be Marvel’s The Eternals and on top of all that—she writes fanfiction.

The internet has unearthed an interview from late last year where the director shared that during juggling Nomadland and The Eternals she still made time for fanfiction, like a hero.

Chloé is somewhere among us writing fanfics while working on ETERNALS 😭 pic.twitter.com/QgNZcJNWnu

— ETERNALS UPDATES (@ETERNALSnews) April 30, 2021

 

While making “Nomadland,” Zhao was juggling Marvel’s “The Eternals,” she says of the experience, “It’s been beneficial to work on these two films together, sometimes you get so locked into one thing, so it’s been really nice to force yourself to step out and come back and say, ‘Okay’. Creatively, it’s been nice, they keep each other in check.”

Zhao also still finds time to write fan fiction. Which canon? She won’t reveal. She does admit she used to write on Livejournal, an old blogging site, and has dabbled in fanfiction.net. But, she cautions, “Never reveal your pen name. Many people ask me, but you will never find out.”

I don’t ever want to know. I want her to be one of the legends of the internet who gets to just make her headcanons like everyone else. Which, I will admit I’d love to know what she ships more than anything else. Is she a Spuffy shipper? These are the secrets that will keep me up at night.

Zhao’s reasons for keeping her pseudonym to herself are unknown, but it can be freeing to write anonymously. There is also still, for some reason, often a stigma against people who interact with that side of fan culture. Just earlier this month, mangaka Kumiko Suekane got mocked on the internet for having started out creating Yaoi doujinshi. Something that is very common and not embarrassing, but got called out by people online.

can we go back to the time when it was common knowledge that most mangaka started out creating doujinshi and it’s not embarrassing or something to mock pic.twitter.com/DhIp1tnRBa

— Hnery 🐂 minotaur kissing hours (@theslowesthnery) April 18, 2021

Fanfiction and fanart right now have the double-edged sword of being stigmatized by a lot of people who see it as inherently a lesser form of creation, but also who try to turn certain kinds of fanart and fanfiction into weapons for a weirdly puritanical culture that is happening online. While it can be destigmatizing to see more artists and creators, especially ones like Zhao talk about writing fanfiction, the stigma is part of why even if they do—they want to keep their distance between themselves and what they have written.

Still, we know that in the MCU one of us fanfic nerds walks among them. That’s pretty neat.

(image: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

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The post Chloé Zhao Writing Fanfiction While Working on The Eternals Is Everything I Could Want first appeared on The Mary Sue.

Heather Thomson is outta there, folks.

And it doesn't sound like she'll be back any time soon... if at all.

Late last month, we detailed how Thomson returned for Season 13 of The Real Housewives of New York City, only to then stop shooting amid an alleged feud with Leah McSweeney.

We now have an update on this feud.

During a podcast appearance this week, Thomson claimed she assaulted during filming ... prior to delving into her controversial exit, her thoughts on McSweeney and the suggestion that she accused Luann de Lesseps of drug use.

“I filmed a little bit and then I remembered why I left,” Thomson said on the April 28 installment of Friends of Dorothy.

“It’s just not how I want to spend my time.

"My whole DNA is about encouraging people and fixing things and making it better and that’s a bad thing on this show.”

It's not exactly a surprise to hear that any Real Housewive franchise pushes drama and wants the women to fight with each other.

HOWEVER...

“I get assaulted this season on the show, believe it or not, but I’m fine,” Heather alleged on air.

Thomson, who was a full-time Housewife from seasons five through seven, hinted that McSweeney was the one coming for her.

“People were interested in putting me down, dragging me down and showing me who is the queen bee," she said ominously.

"I just don’t have time for that stuff. It’s the new girl who was intimidated and wanted to show who’s the queen bee."

Back in March, Us Weekly reported that Thomson stopped filming the upcoming season after a “messy” exchange with McSweeney, who only hopped on board the show last year.

“Heather’s popular history with the old cast and the excitement about new cast member Eboni Williams prompted production to maneuver her return,” an insider told this outlet ahead of the May premiere.

“Shortly after she arrived, Leah and Heather butt heads.

Heather could see Leah was acting up for the cameras and using behavior she considered demeaning and exploitative and frankly, crossed a line.”

Some of her colleagues simply “do not give a sh-t," Heather added on this podcast, saying:

"It’s about fame and fortune and they’ll show up and look crazy and act terrible and mean.

"They don’t care because the fame and all of that is more important to them and that’s their goal for the show.

"When people show up for those reasons, [they] can do some pretty nasty things and [they] can turn into [pretty nasty people]."

Thomson, meanwhile, may not be a fan of de Lesseps, but she clarified on the podcast that she did NOT accuse the long-time star of falling off the wagon.

“It’s totally taken out of context. They kept accusing me of talking sh-t about them behind their backs. They said I was saying Luann was doing all sorts of drugs.

"I never said that.

"I said hard drugs came out and I wasn’t into it."

As for any parting shots?

“The casting of the show and the [women] behaving badly, the bar never got raised. It is what it is,” she concluded, expressing no remorse of her departure.

"I had no agenda when I went on the show. I didn’t study the women. I didn’t try to be popular. I genuinely went in there to experience a new opportunity, to forge new relationships, [and] to meet new people.

"It makes me a sh-tty housewife for like, long-term because I don’t play the game and I don’t turn up the volume."

Tom Holland and Anthony Mackie have a feud. Since the introduction of Peter Parker in the Marvel movies, the two have jokingly bickered back and forth because, well, it’s Anthony Mackie and Tom Holland. From making fun of each other in interviews to Mackie continually calling Holland a diva and beyond, the feud is famous among fans because it’s one of those hilarious Marvel things that happened and just keeps coming back. And delightfully, the actors continue to feed us. (Sometimes Sebastian Stan joins in—on Team Mackie, of course.)

No really, it keeps coming back. Whenever they’re even close to each other, Mackie and Holland will bring up how much they “hate” the other. (It’s a joke. Sometimes I think that fans think these actors really dislike each other but it is very much just a bit they’re doing. Tom Holland does not, in fact, need juice boxes.)

Now, it seems, as if Anthony Mackie got the last laugh.

Pulling up to #TOMHOLLAND house like…#Spideybuddy pic.twitter.com/1XMdOx6USE

— Anthony Mackie (@AnthonyMackie) April 28, 2021

During an ACE Comic-Con Panel in 2018 (the one with the infamous “EDUCATE YOURSELF” question), Mackie admitted that he hadn’t seen Spider-Man: Homecoming yet. Tom Holland, always quick with the responses, joked: “I haven’t seen the Falcon movie. Oh, no! There isn’t one. Sorry.”

From The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to the upcoming Captain America 4, it is now Anthony Mackie’s time to shine as Captain America. So sure, Holland was right that he wasn’t going to see a movie about the Falcon. Instead, he’ll see Mackie as Captain America. So … sorry to my Spider boy, but Mackie took this round.

The “feud” really started because Holland was the youngest member of the Avengers. At around 19 years old when he made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, Holland was just a kid compared to the Marvel cast (who were all in their late twenties/thirties and beyond). Mackie, always ready with dry humor, took Holland’s age and turned it into quips about the actor. From making sure he had a juice box to just giving little jabs about the new Spidey, their “feud” began and we, as fans, ran with it. What’s fun to see is how much the actors are willing to continue with the bit for us.

So, now that Mackie has seemingly won this round, does that mean the feud is over and done with? Not at all. If anything, Mackie and Sebastian Stan have proven time and time again that they love to keep a bit going. So with Mackie being Captain America and Tom Holland still being our Spider-Man … this feud is probably going to go back and forth for the foreseeable future. At least right now we know that the rankings stand as:

Mackie: 1 Holland: 0.

Can’t wait to see how this continues with Spider-Man: No Way Home and the upcoming Mackie-led projects, because you just know that neither Holland nor Mackie are going to let this go. Not now that they both are huge players in the next level of Avengers.

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

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The post Anthony Mackie Got the Last Laugh in His “Feud” With Tom Holland first appeared on The Mary Sue.

In a matter of weeks, Britney Spears will address the court directly about her conservatorship.

This is by her request, and fans are eager for her to be able to express herself.

In the meantime, a friend who performed by her side for years is speaking about what a blessing this will be.

Britney, he notes, deserves to be able to live her life without her dad's interference.

Brian Friedman was a guest on Lorraine, a famous talk show hosted by the titular Lorraine Kelly.

He tuned in to discuss Britney, with whom he worked for some of her most famous performances.

Their history goes back to 1999, when her career was still beginning to blossom.

Brian also recalls when Britney was "unraveling" in 2007 and 2008.

This is when she was placed under a conservatorship ... on that has now lasted for 13 long years.

Brian notes that so much about Britney's life and mental state have changed in that time.

"In my opinion, if she’s able to perform on stage and do a show and make all this money," Brian says in this clip.

He argues that "she should be rewarded the basic luxuries of life."

Brian lists: "like driving a car, having a phone to call your friends, being able to be in a room alone with someone like me."

Brian notes that his friendship with Britney had them spending plenty of time together ... before her conservatorship.

"I haven’t been in a room alone with her since the early 2000s," Brian recalls.

"It's virtually impossible [to get in contact with her]," he laments.

"There’s always someone around," Brian explains of his contact with Britney as her career continued.

"And you don’t really get to have that intimate, personal friend time, like we used to," he regrets.

Brian points out that "She deserves that."

Brian affirms: "She deserves to make her decisions for her personal life."

"I want to see the sparkle," he expresses later in the interview.

Brian characterizes it as "the sparkle she had when we were first working together."

"I have missed that sparkle," Brian admits.

"And," he adds, "I haven’t seen that exact glimmer in a very long time."

Perhaps he, and everyone else who loves Britney from afar, will be able to do that soon.

His conversation with Lorraine was not without nuance.

Brian noted that, at the outset, the conservatorship didn't seem like a bad idea and existed for good reason.

(Notably, it sounds like even Britney herself would agree -- her request was that her dad not be involved)

Brian and Lorraine discussed how Britney experiencing freedoms to live her life as a human being could look.

That could mean that this mother of two, who is nearly forty, could access her phone without restriction or drive her own car.

Britney could make decisions about her future, her relationship, and more.

Lorraine also noted that there are aspects of a conservatorship that might help Britney.

While admitting that she was speculating, she noted that on the financial side, if someone tried to take advantage of Britney's sympathies, that could protect her.

But the current system, where Britney's father controls her life and pays himself for doing so from her fortune, must change.

Meghan Markle is undeniably one of the most famous women on the planet, and she'll certainly never want for anything from a material standpoint.

But it seems unlikely that her ambitions could ever be satisfied by mere fame and fortune. 

Meghan is soon to welcome her second child, and it may seem that she has just about everything that a person could want.

From the start of their relationship, however, Harry and Meghan have made it clear that the thing they desire most is to give back.

And as the pair continue to put down roots in the US, it seems increasingly likely that that desire will lead them into the political arena.

Rumors about Meghan's desire to run for president have been circulating for months now, but don't expect the Duchess to throw her hat in the ring anytime soon.

Meghan is only 39, and she seems well aware that there's nothing to be gained by rushing her political career.

Instead, according to a new report from UK tabloid The Sun, Meghan is hard at work "building a network of contacts and supporters" that will be able to offer assistance when she finally makes her first foray into politics.

The outlet claims that Meghan and Harry have already formed close friendships with several high-profile couples, including the Obamas and the Clintons.

"Michelle has been giving Meghan and Harry guidance on a variety of issues from public and political perception, building charities and working within the Netflix family," a source tells The Sun.

"Meghan is gathering high profile allies in the Democratic Party and positioning herself towards becoming politically active in the not too distant future," the insider adds.

"She feels that by entering into the political world she can really make a difference where it counts."

Marrying into a foreign royal family and then returning to your home country to run for office isn't the most orthodox way to kick off a political career, but it seems the Sussexes are none too concerned about the "normal" way of doing things.

"Harry and Meghan are not doing things in any conventional way in any aspect of their lives and careers," one source says.

"While others take years to break into aspects of society and political circles, this couple have smashed through all barriers."

And it appears as though the same qualities that attracted criticism in the UK are earning Meghan praise from all the right people on this side of the pond.

"Meghan has impressed with her purpose and brave desire to speak her truth," says the insider.

"Certainly speaking out against her in-laws and their courtiers took guts and showed she is not afraid to voice her beliefs, no matter the implications."

And while Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview has been a subject of scorn and derision overseas, in the US, it's earned her a slew of new fans.

"That interview really resonated with Democrat leaders. Not only did they see a woman have poise, control, believability and relatable emotion, but also someone whose words reached all communities across the country," one source tells The Sun.

"For the party she is a potential vessel, who they know shares many of their beliefs. If she is not considering an immediate entrance into politics, certainly having her support for certain candidates is huge...a real endorsement," the insider adds.

"And that is why many Democratic officials are interested in working with Meghan. Conversations and alliances are already growing."

And you can be sure those "conversations and alliances" are causing grave concern in London.

After all, it's looking more and more like Meghan and Harry ditched the dusty figureheads who were holding them back in order to associate with people who have real power.