For The Culture

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Let's talk about the Chappell Roan situation, because it's a lot. 

It started when soccer player Jorginho posted about an incident involving his daughter and Roan's security team. The short version: his daughter, a fan, was eating breakfast at the same hotel as Roan, walked past her table, smiled and went back to sit with her mom. No approach, no ask, nothing. A security guard then came over and aggressively accused the girl of harassment. 

To her credit, Roan addressed it quickly, clarifying she never asked security to intervene and apologizing to the mother and child in an Instagram post. Fine. Good. That part is fine. 

Here's the thing though. This incident doesn't exist in a vacuum. Roan has made a habit of very publicly reacting to what she frames as invasive press attention, including yelling at a photographer on a red carpet and confronting paparazzi outside a celebrity-frequented restaurant. These aren't exactly ambush situations. They're pretty standard interactions that come with the territory of being famous. 

At a certain point, the pattern starts to feel less like boundary-setting and more like performance. And when your security is yelling at children in hotel restaurants, maybe it's time to recalibrate. 

H. Alan Scott is Newsweek’s Senior Editor for Entertainment, host of the celebrity interview podcast ‘The Parting Shot’, and author of the entertainment newsletter For The Culture. Follow H. Alan Scott on Twitter and Instagram at @HAlanScott.

Industry Tea

Discord Addams Exits ‘Drag Race’ With No Regrets

Discord Addams made it to the top six of RuPaul's Drag Race season 18 and left with zero regrets. The queen, best known for her gloriously stiff runway walk, was eliminated during the makeover challenge, but she's not losing sleep over it. She never landed in the bottom, never had to lip sync and delivered one of the season's best Snatch Game performances. "I was consistently good," she told Newsweek. "I feel like I was good at Drag Race." 

As for the elimination itself, Discord pushed back on the judges' critique, maintaining that she and her makeover partner genuinely looked like siblings on that runway. She also reflected on being misread as standoffish in the workroom, clarifying that quiet focus is just how she operates. 

Oh, and when safety pin gate hit? She dropped merch the same day and made five thousand dollars in 24 hours. Discord Addams is going to be just fine. 

The Royal Report

US Military Team Backs Prince Harry After Criticism From Author

Prince Harry got a boost after the U.S. Invictus Games Team disputed a key passage of an upcoming royal biography by an old Sussex nemesis.

Tom Bower's first book about Harry and Meghan Markle sparked a war of words between the two sides and his second, Betrayal, has already triggered a new public argument, with Harry labeling the book "deranged conspiracy and melodrama."

Now though, Harry has the backing of the director of the U.S. Warrior Games team, speaking also on behalf of America's Invictus Games team.

Newsweek’s chief royal correspondent Jack Royston has the latest. Read more.

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