That murderer got to live too long and too good a life for what he did to his two poor victims, his ex-wife Nicole Brown, and her good guy pal Ron Goldman.

The last picture of OJ Simpson, looking way older than his seventy-six years, and like he’s suffering.

I’m not saying that lightly—I slightly knew everyone involved. So even though I, of course, didn’t witness the horror firsthand, in my heart I know he did it.

I first met OJ Simpson at a friend’s house in the early ’90s. I was best friends with the wife, while he was best friends with the husband, who was a throat doctor we both saw. At the time, I was having the same vocal cord issues that OJ had previously suffered through, so he spent a good while convincing me to go to his speech pathologist to re-learn how to talk without hurting the cords. (That’s probably the only nice thing he ever did in his life!)

His wife, Nicole, was there, as well, but she and I never spoke more than a quick hello.

And then just about a year later, that whole gang, their young children, and I went to the circus one day. I sat with OJ on the party bus, and then with his whole family in the arena. He, of course, was very friendly, but Nicole was not. I later learned that she, rightly, did not trust her husband around other girls, so she would be cold to them. I was naïve then, so I didn’t understand at the time, but later I got it completely.

The next New Year’s Day, Mr. X and I were at the doctor’s house when he received a phone call from OJ, and he took it in the next room. The man came back upset and told us that OJ had beaten-up Nicole again, and was looking for her.

Oj Simpson, in court in 2008, worrying about going to prison, which he did.

This was the same doctor whose receipt was found in Nicole’s safe deposit box after she was killed, alongside a picture of her black-and-blue face after one of the beatings. I still cannot believe the prosecutors never called him to testify! He told me that he was absolutely sure OJ had killed her and poor innocent-in-all-of-this Ron Goldman.

So, after that New Year’s Day, fast forward a couple of years to early June 1994, a couple of weeks before the murders. I had become friends with some young club guys, and was hanging-out with one of them, Nick, one day when he said that a trio of them were starting a hospitality company, and asked for my help, since I was a restaurant critic. He and I called Jeff, who asked me if I had met “Ronnie” yet, which I had not. He said, “Well, you’ve met the Greek kid, [Nick,] you’re talking to the Japanese kid, so now you have to meet the Jewish Kid!,” who turned-out to be Ron Goldman. They set-up for me to meet with all three of them in the next couple of weeks.

And then I came home one morning after an appointment, and Mr. X broke the news to me about Nicole Simpson having been murdered, and people thinking OJ was the one who did it, which I tried not to believe for a few days, until the evidence started coming forward, and I couldn’t deny it to myself anymore.

Two days later, Nick called me and asked if I knew who had just died. I told him that I was reeling from Nicole’s murder, so I couldn’t deal with hearing more bad news right then. And he said, “That’s it! Ronnie was murdered with her!!!” I couldn’t wrap my brain around that Ron was the guy I was going to meet in the next few days! It was even more horrific than I had imagined.

Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman; let us never forget them.

And let me clear something up right now—Ron was friendly with Nicole, but they weren’t friends who hung-out together. They knew each other from dance clubs, and he was a waiter at a local eatery where Nicole and her parents had eaten that night. So when she called the restaurant after they left to say that her mother had left her eyeglasses behind, Ron simply offered to drop them off, which is the kind deed he was doing when he was slaughtered.

And that is all I know personally.

But my two more interactions with OJ before all this were that he was on the board of a famous watch company, so we all got very discounted timepieces through him. And he was also repping a company that made life-size dollhouses, one of which was in his front yard for his little daughter. I loved it, so he was going to help me get one, as well, if I could find space for it somewhere. After the murders, I stopped wanting the dollhouse and I never wore the watch again.

But having watched the entire trial, and meeting him those few times, and knowing all the private situations from the mutual doctor pal, I have never wavered in my belief that OJ killed Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Never ever.

Besides that I just knew it in my heart, as soon as his good friend and initial lawyer on the case, Howard Weitzman, quit early into it, my brain knew that OJ was guilty, too. Howard never admitted his knowledge before his death, (at least not publicly,) but it was obvious.

Attorney Howard Weitzman with OJ Simpson the day after the murders. The look on Weitzman’s face says he knows that OJ committed the brutal killings.

And, if you noticed, OJ, the evil ex-husband, with all the money and connections in the world, has never tried to find whom he referred to as “the real killer,” (because he knew it was himself,) although he said that he did.

And that sick creep actually wrote a book about how he would have committed the murders if he indeed had. The publishers finally thought better of the insane project, so the book never saw the light of day, but OJ did interviews about it. In 2006, he did one where he gave a “hypothetical confession,” in which he said a friend told him that something was going on at Nicole’s house. So OJ stated about that, “In the hypothetical, I put on the cap and gloves. I always kept a knife in the car for the crazies and stuff because you can’t travel with a gun.” He said that he had “words” with Ron, and then Nicole came out. He said, “As things got heated, I just remember that Nicole fell and hurt herself and this guy kind of got into a karate thing, and I said, ‘Well, you think you can kick my ass?’” He added that he “blacked-out” during the actual murders. None of that sounds “hypothetical” to me. Does it to anyone?

OJ Simpson finally behind bars, a few decades too late, though.

I’m sure that I’m not the only person who is grateful that OJ Simpson wound-up spending at least a few years in prison, albeit for yet another crime of his, kidnapping and armed robbery. He served nine years of his thirty-three year sentence, and was released seven years ago. I’m sad that he got to have any time of freedom and happiness after murdering Nicole and Ron.

Along with the rest of the world, I hope he rots in hell.

Good riddance, OJ Simpson.

I hope that now Ron and Nicole can finally really rest in peace.

I was deciding between two already-written articles about recent fun LA events to publish today, but then it hit me—nothing is as important right now, (to my shallow self, anyway,) as the news that Hugh Jackman and his wife, Deborra-lee Furness, have just split up!!!

A recent pic of the Jackmans, before the split.

My teeth almost fell out of my head when I read the news on Friday! If Mr. X had learned of the split before I did, and tried to make me guess who it was, even with five hundred clues, I would never have guessed this one in a million years!!!

The weird thing is that, after having an undying non-stop crush on Hugh since I first heard him sing on SNL in 2001, I had told Mr. X that I was finally over Hugh just two nights prior to the break-up news! I’m not sure why the crush had lessened, but that he sat in Novak Djokovic’s box during this summer’s Wimbledon Men’s Championship certainly contributed to the demise. (Hugh’s Wolverine vibes didn’t help Novak, thank goodness—he lost to twenty-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.) Hugh had also tweeted his support of my least favorite player back then. So I believe seeing him do all that is where my love for him began to wane.

Just look at that gorgeous face!

But the embers of my flame never went totally away. My heart does still flutter a tiny bit when I hear Hugh talk or see him smile.

As you’re reading this diatribe on my love for him, the show biz folk among you may be thinking, “Does Karen not know he’s gay???” Well, first of all, I don’t know anything for sure unless I’ve witnessed it for myself! (We should all try to live by the old famous admonition, “Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear.”)

But of course I know that that’s the prevailing word on him. And even though I very rarely pass rumors around, I heard some inside info from an incredibly reliable source some years ago. So here it is:  When I saw Hugh’s amazing performance in The Boy From Oz in New York in 2004, I had breakfast shortly after with a producer of a different Broadway show, (whom I’ll call “Tom” here,) and we discussed my massive crush on Hugh, of course. Tom laughed and told me that everyone in the theatre scene there knows that Hugh is in a relationship with his assistant, John. I was shocked. I protested that, just because Hugh plays a gay icon, (Peter Allen,) in the show, doesn’t make him gay in real life. Tom insisted it was true and that everyone knew it but kept it as quiet as possible because they adored Hugh.

Hugh Jackman in the middle, (of course,) his wife on the right, and his assistant on the left, back in the day.

I still took it with a grain of salt, but then, I witnessed something that caught my attention. It was when Hugh won either the Tony for the show just a few months later, or when he won an Emmy the next year for hosting that earlier Tonys show. Whichever it was, he not only thanked his wife, but his assistant John, who was shown on camera in his seat, practically bubbling over with love. I literally gasped seeing their interaction. I didn’t want it to be true, (only so I would still have a chance with him, if my beloved Mr. X and I ever broke up, God forbid, and bite my tongue,) but it did sort-of explain his marriage to a chubby woman who is thirteen years older than he is. (Actually, his choice of an older, not-thin wife means I still have a chance! But I always have better footwear than her nerdy choices! That’s for sure.)

Just a couple of examples of Deborra-lee’s dreadful footwear! And there are sooo mnay more! This one was just the other day.

And this one was a few years ago. How has no one told her to do better with the shoes??? (Perhaps that’s why he’s leaving her.)

Then a few years later, I saw a picture on the internet, (of course,) of Hugh and another hunky guy at the beach holding hands. A few months after that, a woman whose show business website I occasionally wrote for called me when I was packing for a trip, so I wasn’t paying attention while we chatted. For some unremembered reason, we got on the subject of the Jackmans, and I absentmindedly mentioned that picture I had seen. The woman was gay herself, and in the biz, so I figured it was not a big deal. But she went nuts on me, saying she was friends with Mrs. Jackman, who she was sure would “not stand for” Hugh being gay. She was so upset that she never called me again, even though I was still supposed to be writing for her endeavor! If I hadn’t been distracted by actively packing during our convo, I would not even have mentioned it. And I’ve kept that whole Broadway rumor to myself ever since, as though Hugh was my friend whose secret I was protecting.

But gay or straight, it doesn’t matter, not even one little bit. Hugh Jackman is still my second choice to Mr. X. But a word of warning to him…Paul McCartney is still waiting in the wings…of my heart.

High Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness on their wedding day, looking sort-of like a boy and his mom, don’t you think?

Whatever happened between the Jackman duo, it has worked for all these years, and I think it’s very brave of them to do whatever it is they want to do solo now, especially in these awful days of celebs’ every move being watched, recorded, and scrutinized by strangers.

The one thing I absolutely do believe is that Hugh and Deborra-lee are best friends and will always be.

Someone on a comments page when the news hit last week wrote that people don’t break up after this long together if one or both of them don’t have a new love interest on tap. I assume that person will be on Hugh’s part because he has a gazillion options, while I feel that poor Deb doesn’t have any. And I semi-agree; why rock the steady boat with someone you’ve loved for decades, on whatever level it was, except for a newer shinier option?

So, anyway, we can all speculate all we want about why the Jackmans broke-up, (or were together to begin with, for that matter,)  but I doubt we’ll ever find-out. And it’s none of our business, anyway!  We should all just wish them the best, and then focus on our own lives.

One of the pix of Hugh Jackman and a friend at the beach several years ago. And this is the last I’m going to say on the subject.

But here’s one funny thing about this situation: When I first saw the news on Friday, after I picked my jaw up off the floor, I just knew I had to comment on social media about it. So I jotted off a quick little missive about how Mr. X has to watch his step now. I originally wrote, “This is shocking! Mr. X better be nice to me now–my celebrity crush is finally single!!! But Hugh Jackman has to shave that beard first,” that last part referring to his facial hair in the pic. And then about ten minutes, later, I realized that people probably thought I was referring to his wife! (For you innocents among us, that’s how relationship partners of gay people are referred to, because they cover them up.) So I had to go back and add an explanation of my use of “beard” to my posts.

Lastly, no matter how huge my crush on Hugh is, the demise of his long marriage still saddens me. I may be jokey about it all, but I really do wish those two, and their children, the best. Now all of us, including yours truly, need to leave that family alone.

Along with much of the world, I’m crushed that Queen Elizabeth has died.

I have always been a fan of the Queen, since I was a little girl, but I’ve actually loved her for very many years. And my admiration has grown over the past two decades or so.

Her death yesterday happened really quickly. On just Tuesday, she was pictured welcoming the new Prime Minister, all dressed smartly yet casually, and all smiles. While she was taking care of that official business, little ole moi was at home, not even being able to get out of my PJs! Just one more reason to respect the lady.

Queen Elizabeth just two days before she passed on!

Queen Elizabeth was one of my idols—always classy, lovely, intelligent, caring, and well-spoken. Or, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put it when he heard the sad news, “She was thoughtful, wise, curious, helpful, funny, and so much more. She was one of my favorite people in the world.”

Her Majesty is one of the only people in the world I wanted to meet, even more than I did Hugh Jackman. I’ve been worried about her since her beloved husband died last year. I even composed a missive to her, to post on Prince Philip’s condolence book. But it had already closed, so I planned to just send my note to her in a card, in case the person who does her mail would read it to her, (which I understand often happened,) just so that she’d know that even one more person in the world cared.  Sadly, because of the pandemic, I never made it to the post office. But, because she was so timeless, I always thought I had more time.

Even though she was ninety-six-years-old, it seemed that she would live forever. She had slowed down a bit recently, but still always looked great and vibrant. Heck, she was just riding her beloved horse a couple of months ago!

The Queen on a ride with her horse groom just this past June!

Still, for some unknown-even-to-me reason, I had been more concerned for her than usual this week. But, because I’ve been watching the US Open tennis non-stop for almost two weeks, and was always behind, I’ve been shunning all news so as to not find out any results that I haven’t witnessed for myself. But something woke me at 5:30AM yesterday morning, on very little sleep, and I felt compelled to check the Daily Mail,(don’t judge,) to see if there was any news of the Queen feeling better. And there was the shocking news that her doctor had told her family to rush to her side.

I couldn’t believe it; it just seemed that if she wasn’t feeling well, the Queen would either rally completely, as she always has, or hold on for at least a few more days. I had to get right out of bed and check on the news about her health every few minutes. And then I took off for my first event in a week and a half.

When I saw that Mr. X was calling me while I was out, my heart stopped—I knew right away that the Queen had died.

The sky over Windsor Castle right after Queen Elizabeth died. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

I skipped dessert, (which you know means I was incredibly upset,) and came home to write this tiny tribute to her.

But my head is spinning. I can’t get it together to write anything very coherent right now. I just wanted to pay my public respects to her as soon as possible. And I felt it would be just way too inappropriate to post anything else in this spot today, especially the planned article about certain people not being “stars” on a shallow dance show.

I’ll try to write a more heartfelt tribute to her in a few weeks, when I’ve stopped crying and have begun to wrap my mind around the woman who has been my only Queen in my lifetime not being such anymore.

But for now, even though I think the world will have a hard time adjusting to the world without her, I’m happy for Queen Elizabeth to finally be at peace and with her beloved Philip once again.

The Queen, Paddington Bear, and one of her beloved corgis. Enough said.

Two last things that I want to note today:

First is that, as much as I hate that she’s gone, I’m grateful that she went peacefully, and incredibly quickly, with her beloved family by her side.

The other is that at least one news channel showed the famous clip of Elizabeth’s twenty-first birthday speech, which reminded us of just how much class this woman has always been, even as a young girl. In it, she said, “I declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.” And that’s exactly what she did. Gratefully, her life was very long.

R.I.P., Queen Elizabeth.

There’s soooo much to say about this year’s strange Oscars, and I was planning to say it all right now.

The slap heard ’round the world!

But Will Smith ruined so much for so many with his selfish thuggishness, (including me, by making double the work for me in these past two days,) that I have to postpone my entire show review until tomorrow, to address just his insanity in this article.

He dragged the Oscars down to street level with his oh-soooo classless display. I think that just about everyone else in the world knows that you don’t street-brawl on live TV, ever.

In case you don’t know what happened at Sunday night’s Oscars, (which seems impossible,) presenter Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head. He said, “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” referencing the 1997 film where Demi Moore shaved her head.

Will Smith, laughing at Chris Rock’s joke, (while his wife disapproves of it,) minutes before rushing the stage and slapping him. Photo by Karen Salkin.

It was probably the most benign joke that Chris has ever told. It wasn’t insulting at all, so when Will Smith jumped on stage and walked over to Chris, Chris was laughing along with the rest of us. We all thought it was what we show biz folks refer to as “a bit.” And then Will hauled-off and slapped him! For reals. It was horrible.

Will said he was defending his wife, but he had even just laughed at the GI Jane joke! Heartily! He laughed, and then sauntered on to the stage. Which means he had plenty of time to think it over and stop himself. So he can’t even lie and say it was in the heat of the moment because there’s all that video proof that it definitely was not.

I sure wish they had some footage of what happened in the minute between him happily laughing at Rock’s joke, then strolling on up there to be violent. My guess is that the always-controlling Jada told him to do that for her.

But they seemed absolutely fine when earlier in the telecast, Regina Hall, one of the three hosts of the show, intimated that they swing. She was doing a repulsive bit about swabbing male celebrities’ throats with the back of her tongue, (more on that tomorrow,) and was calling some men up to the stage for that bit of disgustingness. After she chose a few of them, she said, “Will Smith, you’re married, but you know what–you’re on the list, and it looks like Jada approved you. So you get on up here.” He declined to go, but both Smiths were laughing and applauding the whole time.

That bit harked back to the fact that the duo had to finally admit that Jada had been having an affair for years, with Will adding that they were not monogamous. And then, over the years, they’ve tried to walk back from all that. So, if they had to have a beef with someone at the Oscars, why not get angry at Hall for dredging-up their private lives in such a public forum??? That’s so much worse than the basically nothing joke that Chris made, so why didn’t Will defend his wife’s virtue at that point?

Conversely, they were both all smiles earlier, when one of the female hosts joked about making-out with Will! Photo by Karen Salkin.

And what if Smith had smacked Hall for her joke? Would the reaction of the assemblage and the producers, and the world, for that matter, be the same as it’s been for his assaulting a man?

As I tweeted when it happened, Smith should have been arrested for assault! After all, Chris has millions of witnesses!!! And he could have been seriously injured. If that hard slap had knocked him down, he could have hit his head and gotten a concussion, or worse. But he has turned the other cheek, and declined to press charges. Heck, I have a feeling that he’ll even be the one to apologize!!! (Although he definitely should not.)

And let me be the first to point-out, (because I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere in these past two days,) that Chris Rock did nothing to retaliate! I have no idea how he held himself back; if someone assaulted me, weak as I am, I would have hit him back, pronto. But Chris stood there, in shock, with his hands behind his back, and didn’t even swear back at the foul-mouthed Will Smith, who cursed at him like he was any place other than the revered Oscars.

Will Smith, cursing Chris Rock out once he got back to the his seat in the audience. Note the shock on the face of Lupita Nyong’o. Photo by Karen Salkin.

When the slap happened, the sound was so loud that I, thinking it was a staged comedy bit, was impressed that the sound people could time it that exactly. I went back over it several times trying to figure-out how it had been accomplished. I deduced that somehow, Will had hit Chris’ microphone on purpose, as a gag. So when I moved the show on, and saw him screaming a profanity at Chris from the audience, I was in shock!

How did Will Smith have no control over himself, especially in such a public place as that??? He could have just gone backstage when Chris’ award presentation was over, and yelled at him. Was Smith not aware that he was up for an Oscar in a little bit???

By the way—nobody in the world knew that Jada has alopecia!!! I’m sure Chris Rock has better things to do than learn about whatever-the-heck goes on in that weird family. If he knew, he would have just made a joke about someone else.

Chris Rock still thought that Will Smith was doing a “bit,” up until he got slapped. He’s still laughing at this point, and saying, “Uh-oh.” Photo by Karen Salkin.

Those two Smiths are so desperate for Hollywood to love them; they just can’t take being so reviled, which they are even moreso now.

Here’s an update since this horror show occurred:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences say that they “strongly considered” kicking Will Smith out of the Oscars ceremony after he slapped Chris Rock, and have now launched a formal review into the incident.

The statement they released yesterday reads, “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct, and California law.”

It’s good they’re doing that because the Academy’s Standards of Conduct state that it is “categorically opposed to any form of abuse.” But I have a feeling they’ll do nothing, except maybe kick him out of the Academy itself, if he’s even already in there.

All that being said, I’m torn over what they should do about this horrible situation. On one hand, he should have been thrown-out on the spot. And I do feel that he definitely needs to be stripped of his Oscar. Behaviors have consequences.

Will Smith walking back to his seat, after assaulting Chris Rock live on-air, looking satisfied with his rotten self. Photo by Karen Salkin.

But on the other hand, I would also feel terrible if an Oscar, (especially a deserved one, as in this case,) would be taken away for something outside of the voting on the performances. I voted for him for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, because even though I am soooooo not a fan, his work deserved it this year. Especially up against one of the weakest crops of actors ever. (For examples of stronger fields, Morgan Freeman would have won in any other year for Driving Miss Daisy, but he had to lose out to one of the most  incredible performances ever–Daniel-Day Lewis in My Left Foot. And Robert DeNiro had to win for Raging Bull, while John Hurt was also worthy for his astonishing portrayal of The Elephant Man. But this year, the other four nominees’ performances were just up to the standard of what movie stars should be doing, not anything above and beyond.)

Meanwhile, where have Smith’s publicists been in all of this?! Why haven’t they released some sort of “mea culpa” statement, even though we all know how insincere it would be. [Update since I first penned this article: Now we know where they were since the incident—crafting an apology to Chris supposedly from Smith, which he finally issued late yesterday. Too little, too late, in my opinion.]

Still, I’m sure nothing will happen to derail Smith’s career. Alec Baldwin killed someone last year, for God’s sake, and he’s still doing movies right now!!!

Will Smith ended his acceptance speech later on that evening with, “I hope the Academy invites me back.” Let’s all hope they never do. (But I predict that Rock and Smith will be presenting, or even hosting, together next year! Bite my tongue. And that the show will go back to having a proper stage that won’t be as easy to jump on to!)

Chris Rock standing on stage in shock after getting bitch-slapped by Will Smith. Photo by Karen Salkin.

We do know one thing—all the talk show hosts are scrambling to book both those dudes, and anyone else who was in that front area of the audience the other night.

There’s one more truly sad and shameful aspect to this debacle. I always hear African-Americans say that they have to behave better than everyone else, which should not be the case, at all. But, if that does have even a modicum of truth, we all witnessed Will Smith shaming not only himself and his family, but his race, and setting their progress back decades. So now expect another “Oscars So White” next year.

I could go on and on about this slap topic. But Will Smith has wasted soooo much time out of all of our lives that I have to just move on now, and finish my review of the entire Oscars presentation. So I have to end this one here.

But please follow me on Twitter, @MajorCelebrity, to make sure not to miss the rest of my bon mots on this topic; you never know what else may occur to me at any time.

Update: With a day to think it all over, I predict that Will Smith, per his PR people, will enter rehab very soon, for both anger management and PTSD from his father abusing his mother. Most of us will see through that ploy, but I do hope the Academy lets him keep his Oscar, because it was voted on before the slap. But they really need to kick him out of the Academy and ban him from future Oscars. That’s the best solution for all.

Even though I absolutely will never abandon ItsNotAboutMe.TV, (INAM,) every now and then throughout the life of this e-zine I’ve accepted other freelance writing gigs. I don’t usually announce any of them on here, (like when I wrote for People.com, BeverlyHillsPeople.com, Millennium Magazine, *etc.,) but I recently began a new one which is sort-of fun and different for me, so I figured you’d get a kick out of it. *(You can find-out what the rest of my freelance works have been in the About section on this site.)

Karen Salkin’s debut blog post for ClearClub.

So after going a long while without doing another auxiliary writing job, because there just aren’t enough hours in the day, I finally agreed to one because my columns will mostly be in the health category, which means that most of the information I’m imparting will be useful to people. So here it is, folks–I’m now doing a weekly blog post for a company who makes…night guards! (If you’re not sure what that is, you should check it out on their site, the link to which is at the end of this article.)

After being contacted by Noelle, the Marketing Director, (which I think is her title, but if not, it should be,) I had a really fun Zoom meeting with her and Pablo, the owner of ClearClub. With a team like that, and such a worthwhile product, (it helps you stop grinding your teeth,) when they offered me the job, how could I say no?

I appreciated that Pablo is not only allowing me to keep my written personality, he actually insisted on it! So I actually can make it all about me!

Karen Salkin’s second ClearClub blog post.

Even though my columns’ concentration is on their night guards, of course, (it is a business, after all,) I’m getting to write articles about all kinds of health, beauty, and lifestyle issues, which is great. As you all know, I adore helping people be their best selves.

So if you get a chance, please go ahead and check it out. Every Friday will bring a new column from me. And I can honestly say that I’m pretty happy with all the ones I’ve written for the rest of 2021, so I hope you enjoy them.

Here’s the link: www.clearclub.com/blogs/the-weekly-grind. So go check-out the new one that just dropped today. And tell them Karen sent you!

When I started writing this article, it was about finding joy in little things. But as I continued working on it, I found myself ranting on about the many people in America who seem to think the pandemic is over, when in reality it’s still in its critical stages!

If these numbers don’t scare you, I don’t know what will.

So my suggestions of how to find joy in this crazy year will have to wait a bit, while I break life down for you right now. (And that’s a clue—it gives you the joy of having something to look forward to!)

What upsets me most these days is seeing people acting like it’s all clear now. I don’t understand how anyone can be dancing on TV, dining out, getting their hair and nails done, having get-togethers, going to sporting events (when allowed by the organizers,) etc., like there’s not a care in the world. Even worse is that many of them make believe they’re wearing masks and socially-distancing!

Just last week, I received an invitation for a cocktail party in the tiniest eatery in New York. It’s bad enough that they’re having a soiree now to begin with, but the invite said, “Masks must be worn upon entry; Social Distancing practices apply.” Notice the “upon entry” part—it means you can take it off for the duration of the party since everyone will be eating and drinking. And in this self-described “cozy” fifteen-seat space, no more than a handful of guests will be able to be 6’ apart, which is how “social distancing” is basically defined at the moment. (The experts say it really should be much more than that, though.) Despite my admiration for the food and atmosphere in that place, you couldn’t pay me to attend! (Nor to fly now, to get there!)

Here’s the pertinent part of that current tiny-place cocktail party invitation.

And here’s an awful recent experience I had that takes the cake!: I was invited to a friend’s wedding shower in her mother’s massive backyard. I hadn’t been anywhere but the market and an emergency dentist visit in over seven months, (and still have not, other than for the debacle I’m about to describe for you,) but I love this friend. So, even though she was good enough to let me off the hook about it, I decided to attend because her mother and aunt assured me that it would be only fourteen people, who would be staying 6″ apart, and would all be wearing masks, (except when eating.) I even told them both that I would be bringing a pool noodle to make sure everyone was at least that far away from me, (which I forgot to do.)

But…not one single person was wearing a mask (except for me, of course, who was even rocking a shield over my masked face,) they were all sitting together at tables with no distancing whatsoever, and there were at least eighteen guests and six staff members!!!

And the kicker is—a couple of them (not the bride) made fun of me for sitting apart and wearing a mask and not even walking near the others! The mother even had the nerve to tell me that I’m upsetting everyone!!! Needless to say, I was in and out of there in about fifteen minutes, (which the bride totally understood. I have yet to hear from the mother and aunt, though, and it’s been almost a month!)

On top of all that, I know people who: have flown places…for fun, (not out of necessity!); eaten inside restaurants; been in cars with people not from their households; gotten pedicures; had parties; been in very large groups, either for protests, celebrations, or events; and have even gone on blind-dates! [Note: I’m happy for them to be having a good time; I just don’t want to be at their funerals, wishing that they had not engaged in that dangerous behavior.]

What is wrong with everyone??? Why did so few people learn to listen to directions in grade school??? This is really of the utmost importance right now! Are Mr. X and I the only people who are still worried about the virus???

Yes, we are a couple of the lucky ones during all this, knock on wood—we have each other, so neither of us is alone, (though I’m sure he would prefer to be!) I’m especially blessed to be locked-up with the funniest person in the world, who also appreciates my mind and humor, so we’re laughing all the time. We can pay our bills, and don’t have children or elderly parents to worry about. (Which may be why I worry about everybody else!) I’ve become a great cook and don’t mind doing it (too much.)

But it seems to me that people like us are the ones who are flouting the rules the most! I’m not surprised that lunatics who think the virus is a hoax don’t heed the advice of experts in the field. And I totally understand that my friends who are doctors, nurses, medical personnel, supermarket staff, etc., have no real choice but to continue to work, for the greater good.

Infectious disease expert, Michael Osterholm.

But at this point, other than those essential workers, there is no excuse whatsoever to be going on trips, dining out, going shopping for other-than-necessary supplies, and congregating in general. Just stay the frig home already!!! It’s not that difficult. If the ultimate Bon Vivette of life, moi, can do it, I guarantee that everybody has that ability!

A highly-regarded infectious disease expert, Michael Osterholm, just issued an ominous warning, that we all need to pay absolute attention to. On this week’s reputable news show, Meet the Press, he said, “The next six to twelve weeks are going to be the darkest of the pandemic.” So can everyone please be a good person, if even just to themselves, for the next three months, and stay home, if you have that luxury, so that we can all get back to life safely after that?

Thank you. End of rant.

My Grammys review was supposed to be in this spot today, but my heart is just not into writing it right now. All I can think about is those poor families who lost so many loved ones in that tragic helicopter crash yesterday. It’s not just the loss of Kobe Bryant—hardly anyone is talking about the other four families involved. I didn’t even learn the names of three of the deceased until this morning! (I pay tribute to all of them by name at the end of this column.)

So I feel shallow discussing music business awards right now. But then again, tragedies occur every day. So I will try to buck-up tomorrow (or the next day) and review the 2020 Grammys in my next column. (But if you just can’t wait for my snark thoughts until then, you can always read my still-up-there tweets, @MajorCelebrity. I did cover a lot of the proceedings live, once I was able to control my emotions about the crash, and get rolling.)

Gianna and Kobe Bryant.

There is one thought on the Grammys, in general, that I’m going to share right now, though. It seems like something heartbreaking always happens around that awards show, doesn’t it? In 2009, in the wee hours of the morning prior to the Grammy Awards that evening, Chris Brown beat-up his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, on the way home from producer Clive Davis’ renowned pre-Grammys soiree. Chris was due to perform on the show that night, so the producers had to quickly, (and I do mean quickly—in a matter of a couple of hours!,) come up with another number to use in his slot. (Because God forbid the show would miss one act and come in on time!)

And then in 2012, just the day before the Grammys, (and the afternoon of Clive Davis’ party,) Whitney Houston shockingly drowned in the bathtub of her room at the very hotel the fete was being thrown in!

And now comes yesterday’s extreme tragedy, on the very morning of the show. Even though none of the deceased were anywhere close to being involved in the music business, many of the attendees were actual friends of Kobe Bryant, and absolutely every single person there knew who he was, of course, with probably at least half being fans of his mega-talent. [Note: For those of you who are wondering, this is not the time nor place for me to discuss anything negative about him.]

This Grammys-day catastrophe is especially devastating because it involves so many incredibly sad stories, and one sports superstar. There was a somber pall over the entire show.

Yes, I have met Kobe a couple of times, (mainly at the clubs I ran back in the day,) but that is far from being foremost in my mind right now. All I can think about is the many mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, offspring, parents, friends, and other family members who have lost one to three loved ones in this beyond-tragic way. It’s almost unfathomable.

The nine people who perished in that horrific helicopter crash.

So I hope that we can spare a thought, or many, for all the families involved, who are most certainly left with holes the size of a universe in their worlds today. The deceased are: Orange Coast College baseball coach, John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their teen-age daughter, Alyssa—they leave behind two other children, the girl of whom I fear is still a teenager; Christina Mauser, who was a girls’ basketball coach at a local elementary school, and more importantly, a wife and mother of three small children; Sarah Chester and her teen-age daughter, Payton; the pilot (whose fault it is said to not be,) Ara Zobayan; and, of course, Kobe and his thirteen-year-old basketball-playing daughter, Gianna Bryant. (I’m sick just writing this!)

Please remember to not leave your homes without telling your loved ones how you feel about them. It’s important.

And try to always be as safe as you possibly can. There’s a house with a helipad right in my neighborhood, and I hear that helicopter all the time. I have a feeling that for the foreseeable future it will frighten me even more than usual. And make me sad.

R.I.P., to the poor unfortunate souls who were just trying to live their basic lives. I pray that these now-angels can help the ones left behind to find peace at some time down the road.

The man walking to his seat. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of the page, of the duo standing up after the show.

You have to read this entire article to get the full impact of what I’m about to tell you. (I wish I had better pix of it to share, but there was no way to take them. You’ll see why in a second. But I do have at least one other eye witness.)

Just the other day, Mr. X and I were joking about that he should be more affectionate in one tender moment.  I had come home from a long hard day out, and as we collapsed on the bed together, I was telling him that he should be tenderly rubbing my arm and kissing my head.  So, instead, he kept making me laugh by doing weird kisses and knocking on my arm like on a door.

The laughter was so much better than what I had been requesting. But still, when I was at a theatre the very next night, (a mere twelve hours prior to this writing, actually,) and noticed that the couple right in front of me could not keep their hands off each other for the entire two hours, I paid rapt attention. (And this place is very close-together stadium seating, so I could see their every move perfectly, which I now wish I had not been able to! I’m really regretting that no one has invented a memory-erase pill yet!)

Look at the filthy hair on this man. Photo by Karen Salkin.

They continually massaged each other’s hands, (and not in a therapeutic way,) the man occasionally rested his hand on the girl’s thigh, her head kept resting on the man’s shoulder, and she even ran her hands through the man’s absolutely filthy, product-laden hair! At one point, he even took off his shoes and put his knee on her leg so he could massage his own feet!!! Gag me with a spoon. (Although you didn’t have to because I threw up in my mouth a little when he did that uber-piggy move!) The guy next to him had to move forward in his seat because the foot was so near his face!!!

I was aghast at all of this weird and rude public behavior to begin with, but then I realized that it was troubled-home-life actor Willian H. Macy and…not his prison-bound wife, Felicity Huffman. So I paid even more attention because I thought I had an exclusive on an affair to share with you today.

But no—it was not an affair at all—it was so much worse than that—the girl was his teen-age daughter!!! That is so beyond ewwww. I swear—it was like one of those Saturday Night Live skits where the entire family makes-out with each other. Now we know why Felicity begged for a short prison sentence; she doesn’t want to leave those two alone for a big chunk of time!

The duo, post-show. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I promise you—this was the creepiest familial display that I’ve ever witnessed. The girl is not a young teen, who might be tired so she has to lean on her parent because she’s falling asleep—this girl is closer to twenty. To be clear, I so admire when fathers are affectionate to their little girls, but this was nothing like that—it was more than I’ve ever seen any couple do in a public setting. I was actually embarrassed to be witnessing it so up-close. At first my friend and I were like “get a room” about it, when we thought it was an affair. But when we realized it was a man and his child, we were literally shocked. And repulsed. And if this is what they’re willing to do in public, I shudder to think what goes on behind closed doors!

How would a man who’s in the public eye to begin with, and under so much scrutiny at the moment, especially knowing that his family’s every move is being reported, not have better sense than this??? The whole unfortunate episode is just mind-boggling. I can’t wait to read the book that girl will write in a few years, if you get my drift!

But one good thing came out of it for me—the play was not great, so at least I had a more interesting show to watch!

Updates to the article below:

The premiere of DWTS pretty much went according to what I wrote oriiginally, below, with a few exceptions. They wound-up nixing Keo altogether and moved that new guy, Pasha, up to pro partnering, with Kate Flannery, (who will now most likely be the first to go.)

Some of the partners that had previously been leaked turned-out to be incorrect. So:

I’m thrilled that my fave to win, James Van Der Beek, got paired with lovely Emma Slater instead of now-matronly Peta Murgatroyd, who now dances with Lamar Odom.

And, because of height issues, Mary Wilson is now dancing with Brandon Armstrong, which gives diminutive singer Ally Brooks to equally petite Sasha Farber.

All the other pairings in this article are correct.

And I forgot to mention that everyone I know still detests creepy co-host Erin Andrews.

Breaking News: Christie Brinkley broke her arm yesterday, so she’s being replaced on DWTS by…her twenty-one-year-old daughter, Sailor, who has had just one day to learn tonight’s dance! [Note: If she is, indeed, partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy, his new wife, Jenna, might not be too happy with this development. But at least Val has a much better chance of winning this season with a young, spry chick than he did with her old mother.] Or is the injury news just smoke and mirrors because Christie couldn’t hack it, and her daughter has been practicing all along? Hmmm. Show biz.

Read on for what I wrote before this update.

Well, another season of Dancing With The Stars is finally upon us, beginning tonight. The network dispensed with doing this show twice a year, so we haven’t had our ballroom dance fix since last November!!!

How many of these supposed “star” can you name?

But a lot of the decline in the show’s popularity is due to them never getting “stars” anymore. Actually, they’ve rarely had one on there to begin with! While this season’s roster is not exactly a sparkling one, either, at least I’ve heard of almost all of them this time. And about half of the dozen are actually somewhat famous, if not exactly really celebrities.

Before I break-down this year’s guest cast, I have to first address the major professional dancers controversy. I do feel a tad bad for Artem Chigvintsev and Sharna Burgess, who will not be on this season and are pretty upset about that diss, but the dozen chosen pros this year are part of the usual rotation. It sucks that each year there are no guarantees for these incredible professionals. The dancers are all aware of that creepy policy, but shame on the producers for not figuring-out a better way to keep the dancers on hold; they have to give-up other jobs while waiting to hear if they’re on DWTS each season, and they do not receive any type of payment at all if they wind-up not being hired for the show! That really sucks.

Perhaps the powers-that-be over there are trying to save some bucks. They did away with the auxiliary dance troupe this year, and replaced them with just one female and one male, thereby saving not only four to six salaries, but they probably give the new two a lot less money than they did the former regulars, whose salary most likely increased each season.

One more observation is that this season, out of the twelve pros, only three are single! There are two married couples, (Emma Slater and Sasha Farber, and Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson,) and another five are married to regular people. So they paired all those unavailable folks with “celebs” who there is absolutely no chance of a flirtation with.

Same with these obscure peeps–how many can you name?

In the single category, Keo Motsepe is way too young for old former Supreme, Mary Wilson. And he’s an honest dude, (I’ve met him,) so there’s little to no chance of the producers making them fabricate a flirtation, either. So, the only two opportunities for the producers to manufacture a “showmance” is with pro Brandon Armstrong and his Fifth Harmony girl partner, and, more likely, recent Bachorlette Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten, who they tried to whip one up with his skinny weirdo partner last season.

And here’s a personal shocker–believe it or not, there’s one celeb on there whom I detest even more than Sean Spicer. Read on to find-out just who that is.

Okay, here are my first thoughts on the supposed “stars” and their pro pairings. [Note: These are the pairings that were announced originally about a month ago, but now the show is being coy about them, saying we’ll have to find-out by tuning-in tonight. So, if I have any wrong, I apologize in advance.]

I’m beginning with the only ones I’ll be happy to see, and go down to my bottom two:

My pre-show faves:

Actor James Van Der Beek and pro partner Peta Murgatroyd—This one is a conundrum for me, because I’m a big fan of surprisingly-amusing James, but Peta, not so much. If he had been paired with the likable and shunned-this-season Sharna Burgess, I would have been rooting for them all the way. I most likely still will, though.

Country singer Lauren Alaina and pro partner Gleb Savchenko—While I don’t really care about her, I’ve always thought she was sweet since she was the runner-up on American Idol eight years ago, so I expect more of that same sunshiny-ness on this show.

Comedian Kel Mitchell and pro partner Witney Carson—I have never even seen this guy in my life, yet I’ve always felt bad for him. He started-out in show biz as the teen-age partner of Keenan Thompson, who has moved right along in his career. Keenan is not only my favorite SNL performer perhaps of all time, but he’s uber-famous all-around now, while Kel has not advanced even a tad since their young days on TV. And I love naive Witney, so I hope to really get behind this duo.

Former Supreme Mary Wilson and pro partner Keo Motsepe—I’m rooting for them a bit just because Mary got so screwed by Diana Ross and Berry Gordy back in the day.

Former NBA basketball player Lamar Odom and pro partner Emma Slater—His lunacy is sort-of entertaining; it’s a special kind of fun watching a nutty train wreck. And Emma is so sweet, so even though I don’t expect them to last too long, I might just be in their corner a tad.

Ones I don’t care about at all:

Former model Christie Brinkley and pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy—Even though she’s danced Fosse-style on Broadway (in Chicago,) I don’t see Christie as being very graceful. And I have a feeling her all-plastic-by-now face will annoy me. But I am a fan of Val, so we’ll see on this one.

Fifth Harmony singer Ally Brooke and pro partner Brandon Armstrong—I’ve never seen nor heard of this girl, but I feel for her because a couple of her former band-mates have achieved solo fame, and she’s still obscure. So this is her attempt at getting a modicum of mainstream publicity, as well.

Recent Bachorlette Hannah Brown and pro partner Alan Bersten—I’ve never seen this girl, of course, (because I’m not classless enough to watch crap like the Bachelor  franchise,) but she looks pretty enough, and Alan seems like a nice guy. So I’m willing to give them a chance.

Queer Eye guy Karamo Brown and pro partner Jenna Johnson—Again, I never watch classless crap like Queer Eye, so I have no idea who this guy is. And Jenna is never very good; she won on the shortened season after the Olympics only because she was paired with uber-popular and fabulous Olympic ice skater, Adam Rippon. So this pair could possibly be a snoozefest.  Then again, Karamo is a gay guy of color, so he has dance-skills possibilities. (Is that not politically correct to say? But it’s a compliment, so it has to get a pass, right?)

Actress Kate Flannery and pro partner Sasha Farber—I have no idea who this woman is, but from her picture, she doesn’t stand a chance. Except maybe with the pity vote. Just saying’.

Ones I can’t stand:

Political aide Sean Spicer and pro partner Lindsay Arnold—I feel bad because Mr. X adores Lindsay, but Sean has got to be the first to go. However, he’s not even my most hated one on there! That honor goes to:

NFL football player Ray Lewis and pro partner Cheryl Burke—This is the one contestant I desist so much more than Sean Spicer. Sean is just a moron, but Ray Lewis is a killer. Literally. He should be in jail, not on a dance floor. Or our TVs. (Here’s the story, if you don’t know it:  www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/01/10/ray-lewis-baltimore-ravens-atlanta-murder-2000/1566198.)

In addition to the the show’s changes this season that I mentioned at the top, here are some more:

I believe that the viewers have always been able to vote during the show, without having to wait till the end, which is never fair. But now they’ll show the results of that “live vote” at the end of each show. Of course, it’s far from representative of the real vote—first of all, only people on the east coast, (and others who lied when they ordered their satellite plans,) get to see the show live! So we will never know what’s really going on with the entire voting population. Staying the same, though, is that many people will be voting for just the duos they like, in general, without even seeing anyone perform, which is beyond unfair. But, I have to keep reminding myself that it’s just a stupid TV show.

The same old judges, only one of whom (Len Goodman, in the middle) knows anything about ballroom dance!

Also, for this go-round, the “judges save” will be introduced. That means that each week, that trio will decide which bottom two duo will be eliminated. That’s probably for the best. I have a feeling it’s being implemented to prevent travesties like dreadful dancer Bobby Bones being kept in the competition to be able to win like he did last year. Many of us feel his victory is the reason that DWTS was relegated to just one season this year instead of its usual double-dip.

Okay, I’m willing to give it all a chance. Check-out my tweets as the season goes along, (@MajorCelebrity,) to see if any of my thoughts have changed.

Happy Dancing!

OMG! I swear–I just got chills, and choked-up, as I shared this very exciting news with Mr. X! (We try to scoop each other with sports news. He got me first on the day I wrote this by telling me that Giannis Antetokounmpo’s little bro, Kostas, just got claimed by the Lakers, but I got the jump on him with this much bigger news. When does a recent NBA legend take a job as an assistant coach??? I’d venture to guess only for the even more legendary Coach Pop!)

Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan–what a winning pair!

ESPN’s SportsCenter quoted the brilliant San Antonio Spurs’ head coach, Gregg Popovich, as saying, “It is only fitting that, after I served loyally for nineteen years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he return the favor.” I love that! (For you non-sports fans, of course Pop was not Tim’s assistant—Tim was the star player and Pop was the coach. But that’s the witticism. Oysh.)

This is soooo exciting! Now the Spurs just may be my team again next year. Let me explain:

Although I never waiver in claiming baseball’s Yankees and Mets and football’s NY Giants as my teams for life, I do it differently for basketball. I always look at the ever-changing personnel before deciding just which team to back each season. Once, in 2008, I even shockingly rooted for the Celtics, (whom I had always hated up to that point,) and they wound-up winning the Championship that year!

And this coming season was going to present my biggest conundrum ever. That’s because so many players changed teams in this off-season. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it in sports! It’s usually just one or two big players jumping ship, like in 2008 when LeBron James infamously “took his talents” to Miami to join the Heat, flat-leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in the process. But this summer has seen off-the-charts insanity! I had recently told Mr. X that I might have to root for the Oklahoma City Thunder next year because Russell Westbrook seemed to be the only loyal player left in the NBA, and then even he deserted to join the Houston Rockets! What is going on here?!

I’ve actually never seen Tim Duncan laught this much! But Pop is really, really funny.

For most of 1997-2016, the Tim Duncan-led Spurs were my team, during which span they won an amazing five NBA titles!!! Wow. When Tim retired from the league in 2016, I still rooted for his former teammates, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. So when Manu retired last year, and Tony left for another city (before he, too, just retired,) I was a woman without a team.

But when these recent 2019 play-offs came around, I rooted hard for the Milwaukee Bucks for two reasons: A) It was only fair for them to win the Championship, having the best record for the season, and B) I’m a big fan of their star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who very deservedly received the 2019 Most Valuable Player Award. But when the Bucks went down to the Toronto Raptors in the East Finals, I had to go with the Raps over the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. And that’s what happened, so I was still triumphant.

But I always had a nagging problem with the Raptors’ star, Kawhi Leonard, because, even though I’m a huge fan of his amazing talent, he had deserted the Spurs in an uber-mysterious way in the 2018 play-offs, which I feel was the cause of them not going far that year. And now, after winning the Championship, Kawhi also left Toronto, so I was at a loss for where to place my basketball affections next season.

I hope that all Spurs fans will be smiling this much all next season!

Which brings us back to this unbelievably exciting news—the most even-keeled player I’ve ever seen will be back in the sport, only this time helping-out his beloved Spurs from the grown-up side of the bench. And with Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan teaming-up again, (in their nineteen years together, they participated in the most games by a player-head coach duo in NBA history, with 1,392!,) it will hopefully be great news for my new 2019 team. (And beyond—at seventy years of age, and being the longest-tenured active coach in not only the NBA, but throughout all major sports in the United States!, I have a feeling Pop may retire sooner rather than later. Though that inevitable day will be an extremely sad occasion for all basketball fans, perhaps Tim will even take over then as Spurs Head Coach!)

One last note on this subject. As amazing as it is that Tim Duncan even played so many years to begin with, it’s even moreso that he did all those years with just one team. And it goes beyond that, now that he’s returning to them to coach! Such longevity and loyalty anywhere in the world is rare, but especially in sports. Even the legendary Celtic, Larry Bird, (whose nickname is even Larry Legend,) switched teams after he retired. After his entire career as the star of the Celts, he wound-up in Indiana, where he grew up, first as Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers for three years, and then as their President of Basketball Operations. So for Tim Duncan to return to the only professional organization that he’s ever been a part of is just stunning!

All that’s left for me to say now is: Go Spurs!!!