WHO 06 January 2020

While the royals not surprisingly dominated headlines this year, Taylor Swift gave them a run for their money. In 2019, she released her new album, Lover, broke the record for the most wins by an artist at the American Music Awards and managed to plan her star-studded 30th birthday bash on December 13 attended by the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Halsey and Gigi Hadid. Well, she probably had a bit of help with that last one. But it was her impassioned speech as she received Billboard’s inaugural Woman of the Decade Award on December 12 which has been my favourite Taylor moment of the year. By now you might have guessed I’m a proud Swiftie! Presented with the award by actress Jameela Jamil, Swift spoke for 15 minutes about…

VETERAN RAPPER DIDDY celebrated reaching his half century in style at the weekend with a celebrity-infested party at his $58 million LA mansion. The guest list included Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West, Khloé Kardashian, Kylie and Kris Jenner, Cardi B, Naomi Campbell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton, Dr Dre, Pharrell Williams, Post Malone and Snoop Dog. Among the performers were Mary J Blige and Usher. By far the most shocking sight was Kanye and Jay-Z shaking hands and making up after years of feuding. The latter had laid the bad feeling bare in his song ‘Kill Jay Z’, while Kanye had described Beyoncé as a ‘diva’ and complained that Jay-Z didn’t bring his daughter over for a play date. There were no reports of their respective wives reconciling.…

HIS FANS HAVE SPECULATED ABOUT HIS LOVE life for years, but former One Direction star Harry Styles has always remained tight-lipped and tantalisingly vague. But this week, with the release of his new album Fine Line, the 25-year-old has addressed those long-running rumours in an interview with The Guardian.“I just think sexuality’s something that’s fun,” he smiles.“Honestly? I can’t say I’ve given it any more thought than that.” Over the years he has fuelled such gossip through his gender fluid fashions, support of the LGBTQI+ community and waving the rainbow-coloured Pride flag on stage. He even told Rolling Stone in August that he“dates amazing women, or men, whatever”. He denies he’s being deliberately playful with the press.“It’s not like I’m sitting on an answer, and protecting it, and holding it back,” he tells…

AUSSIE COMMONWEALTH GAMES GOLD MEDALLIST Shayna Jack fought back tears this week as she denied taking banned steroids. The 21-year-old tested positive for prohibited drug Ligandrol in June and faces a four-year ban. But in an emotional interview with The Sunday Project’s Lisa Wilkinson, Jack stated she was innocent, claiming she could have come into contact with it through another person. “There was a case in the past called the ‘cocaine kiss case’ where someone had taken cocaine and then the partner, who was an athlete, kissed that person and they were contaminated,” she said. The scandal has hit her family hard. “I’m 21 and I’m paying for a lawyer, a barrister, testing fees – it’s more than what my parents could pay, with them having a house mortgage,” she said. “I…

HE’S BEEN THRUST BACK INTO the spotlight this year with stellar roles in the critically acclaimed films Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood and Ad Astra, but Brad Pitt admitted last week for the first time that at the height of his fame, he couldn’t cope with all the attention and pressure and became dependent on drugs and alcohol. “I’ve seen pictures of myself from years ago and gone, ‘That kid looks all right’. But I didn’t feel that way inside,” Pitt told The New York Times last week. “I spent most of the ’90s hiding out and smoking pot. I was too uncomfortable with all the attention.” The 56-year-old opened up about how it really felt to become a megastar in the ’90s, after a string of hit films including Interview with…

SHE’S DATED A STRING OF MEN who are decades younger than her, but this week Madonna, 61, seemed to confirm that her latest squeeze is 26-year-old Ahlamalik Williams, one of her backing dancers on her Madam X world tour. The couple were spotted hugging and smooching on a hotel balcony in Miami, with Madonna’s daughter Lourdes, 23, also getting flirty with a mystery man. Three of Madonna’s younger kids were also present. Williams, a former Cirque du Soleil performer, embraced the ‘Material Girl’ star from behind, lovingly nuzzling her blonde curls with his head, placing his hands around her waist and later massaging her shoulders as they laughed together. He then took off his shirt and enjoyed a smoke. Their 35-year age gap is her biggest yet. After her divorce from Guy Ritchie…