Zizzlezazzle

I almost (almost!) feel bad for both couples. They, with a lot of help from Bravo, have now backed themselves into a corner that’s going to be incredibly awkward to wiggle out from if/when they breakup or divorce. That goes for any couple willingly signing up to be on TV, but Paige and Craig seem to have an especially high pedestal to tumble from right now in the viewerships’ eyes. It will be awhile before they can escape constant references to the other. I’m more cynical about Lindsay and Carl, but in the event that their relationship isn’t just a mutually beneficial publicity stunt, I worry about Carl’s mental health if/when things go south. They aren’t babies, but they are still pretty young for the stakes to be set so high.

Best thing about comments like these, now captured for all cringey posterity, is that years from now when younger women inevitably make the same kinds of cracks about her, she gets to replay this moment in her head over and over. Of course, any regret or self awareness will be drowned in the ocean of Botox and filler required to convince herself she’ll always be young and hot—but she’ll know the truth.

Yes, well said. I am making my way through rewatching all of the older Challenges on Paramount+ Right now that start well after the old school Road Rules and Battle of the Seasons/Sexes (which they don’t have) with the first one being the Inferno 2 up to present day. It’s a masochist exercise that I don’t particularly recommend unless you’re looking for some background noise. The early aughts challenges are *horrifying* in so many ways. Of course the Tonya sexual assault lingers in everyone’s minds along with Kenny, Evan, Bananas, CT, Wes, Veronica, Tina, etc just generally behaving terribly, but some of the bullying and rampant misogyny got so dark on certain seasons and episodes that it almost made me want to cry: Tonya getting called a r*tard by the boys and viciously ganged up on by the women; clothes getting dumped in pools; women getting called sluts or dumb and stupid and having inferior strength that’s weighing the men down; sooooo many sizeist and negative comments from women and men about challengers’ weights. The Gauntlet 3 finale where Big Easy appears ready to die with his eyes rolling back in his head as he’s being dragged through the final challenge and getting screamed at by Evan and Kenny is the one I finally had to turn off. BMP is lucky someone hasn’t actually died on one of these things or that there haven’t been further lawsuits despite the draconian contracts they all have to sign. Like the earlier RW seasons not appearing on TV, you can watch some of the very early Road Rules seasons on Dailymotion, on your computer or phone, and that’s probably what I should be doing (I started RR European Adventure the other day).

It’s not looking great for future seasons 😩.

Not much of an update…they lost to Drag Race, and Melissa posted a photo of their table roster—Julie was not seated with them and must have been at a separate table with some of the other show producers. No pics from her or from Beth after her glam was finished. Some cute pics and candid videos of the rest of them all decked out and in the elevator, but no one has posted a formal group shot yet of the attending cast, with or without That Woman. Imagine attending an event like this and your poor behavior and choices leading you to be seated at an entirely separate table from the rest of your cast. Again, my literal nightmare. If she ever addresses this she’ll doubtless frame it in victim mode as “oh the cool kids wouldn’t let me sit with them.” Someone should also probably do a quick safety check on Jeff Goldblum today.

It won’t let me post a screenshot because the jpeg size is too big, but Julie is on Beth’s IG Live right now getting made up for the CCA show tonight…I guess they’re closer than I thought (but Beth also never, ever misses an opportunity to promote her line of false eyelashes). Jon Brennan also popped in for a minute to say “hi”, but no real tea to spill. Julie is being as OTT and extra as always gushing about how she hopes she sees Jeff Goldblum at the show tonight and will lose her sh*t if she does; thanking people who compliment her, notably saying “oh i like you-can I follow you?” to a woman who posted in the comments that “Kelley is a Karen” (pretty sure that title is firmly Julie’s now). And Beth mentioned something about how sweet it was “that the whole cast came together in the end,” with Julie doing absolutely nothing to dissuade her from that fallacy. I know the whole cast was invited, but this also solidifies that this woman has zero, zero shame (I mean duh, but wow). Any normal person would be so mortified at the current backlash against them and the prospect of seeing these people again that they’d stay far, far away from them. I’m now getting anxious just thinking about it. Do they all have to sit at the same table or in the same section together?! Holy freaking awkward hell.

Great line from that Variety article: “Julie is doing “The Comeback” — the fictional reality show about a faded star who will try any gambit to get back onto magazine covers — while her castmates are doing “42 Up.”

Thank you so much for linking to that timeline! That Redditor is doing the lord’s work and deserves a trophy of their own this week. Feel like such an ass for going so hard on Kelley-but also, shame on BMP for that total hatchet job of editing, and more importantly for not removing Julie from the house. Or further shame on me for expecting better of them, I suppose. Clearly we are already some super invested fans of this show—I don’t know why they thought showing the actual chronology of events would make us stop watching it. Honor your audience!

Wow wow WOW.….we got our “more to the story” context! And now I feel completely terrible and relieved that Kelley and the rest of the cast mates were only emotionally scarred and not physically hurt by this f**king loon. Cornering someone and verbally abusing them over a busted coffee maker?! And I don’t know if there’s ever been a more chilling sentence uttered than “If I stop, will you stay?” Coincidentally I also just learned about the term “fawning” yesterday as a method of placating and flattering your abuser to calm them down and hopefully appeal to their ego to help you escape from them. This was in a podcast about people sharing their stories about their relationships with toxic, harmful abusers (it’s called “Something Was Wrong”-highly recommend). The particular episode mentioning fawning was also referencing a serial killer, so you know, great company, Julie. Congrats?

She’s on board for Tokyo live-streaming his appearance at the Critics Choice Awards on 6/12 and hinted she may also be in for making the trip to the ceremony in LA. At least that’s how I interpreted her comment: “Oh I’m in. And I may also… be in” David says “we’ll” be attending, but if Kelley is even considering attending I have to assume Julie won’t go. It’d probably be Tokyo/Danny/Melissa, maybe Kelley and Jamie, doubtful Matt and Julie.

Love that expression :) I find Jamie extremely attractive, dorky oculus and all.

This! None of this would be a problem if they’d all just let her regress 22 years like she was hoping. Pretending you’re still a child is much easier than confronting the reasons why your adult life and relationships haven’t turned out the way you thought they would. In her original season it wasn’t a facade—she was practically a child. There was still some artifice around her cluelessness and naivety, since I think she knew exactly what role she’d play in the house, but she had no history with her cast and was an eager, open sponge for new experiences and viewpoints. I remember finding Julie annoying, but she was also light and clearly had a lot of fun with everyone. Then her hunger for extending her 15 minutes and turning that fame into her primary source of income took over, bleeding directly into marrying at 24 and starting a family. I’m her age and barely felt ready for all of that at 34! It does look like after she married Spencer she earned a degree, got into diving, and now manages some properties they own in addition to motherhood, but well-adjusted she ain’t. I think it’s very possible Julie has no idea who she is and still holds a ton of resentment toward a church that still got its claws into her by duping her into thinking marriage and kids were the end all be all, no further identity required. OR, to quote the Simpsons, “Some people are just jerks.”

Once again: Ohhh Beth! She just can't get out of her own way on these challenges, and social awkwardness aside, why is somebody still so deathly afraid of heights coming back into the game in denial that she’ll be able to avoid that element? If you haven’t dealt with those fears in 20+ years, what incentive is there to do so now? Waste of a spot for sure.

You take that back from putting it in the universe *right now*!!! (It would definitely be on TLC, or like Discovery+)

That’s interesting about Kelley ducking production by going to the movies, I had no idea! Another thing I didn’t notice earlier about those comfy oversized FLOW sweatshirts she gave them all is that the cameras openly show the acronym along with the words spelled out on the backs (Finding Love Over Worry)—but blur out the word FLOW on the fronts. Now I’m wondering if she ran into copyright issues across the board on the concept (maybe it’s trademarked by a yoga company or something like that?) which would also mean traditional publishers wouldn’t touch her book unless she first agreed to alter the branding.