"Synthetic" babies? Elton John fights back against IVF criticism

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Elton John is leading the charge for a boycott of fashion label Dolce & Gabbana in response to the designing duo's recent "archaic" comments regarding children born via in vitro fertlization.

In an interview with Italy's Panorama magazine, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, both openly gay, make the controversial claim that "The only family is the traditional one." The pair add that they oppose both gay adoptions and IVF.

Asserting that procreation should be "an act of love," they go on, "You are born to a mother and a father. Or at least that's how it should be. I call children of chemistry 'synthetic children.' Rented wombs, semen chosen from a catalogue."

Not surprisingly, the statements drew the ire of many readers, including Sir Elton John himself. The singer, who has sons Zachary and Elijah with his husband David Furnish, quickly took to social media to issue a response.

"How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic," Elton wrote. "And shame on you for wagging your judgemental [sic] little fingers at IVF - a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil [sic] their dream of having children. Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana."

His call for a boycott got some A-list backing from Ricky Martin, Courtney Love, Ryan Murphy and others. Even Victoria Beckham offered her support, Tweeting, "Sending love to Elton David Zachary Elijah & all the beautiful IVF babies x vb."

Elton John and David Furnish and their sons in December 2014.

Dolce and Gabbana issued a statement in response to the growing backlash, though it's far from conciliatory: "We firmly believe in democracy and the fundamental principle of freedom of expression that upholds it," it reads. "We talked about our way of seeing reality, but it was never our intention to judge other people's choices. We do believe in freedom and love."

Perhaps something was lost in translation, but the pair's comments don't strike me as reflecting a belief in love. They seem closed-minded and judgmental and, really, quite sad.

Taking a look at Twitter today, I think the best thing to come from this controversy are the messages of love and gratitude coming from IVF children and parents and other "non-traditional" families.

I exist because of #IVF I am not synthetic and neither is the love my mother and father have for me. #BoycottDolceGabbana #ivfbaby

— Marina Buonopane (@LilReen) March 15, 2015

However it happens and whatever it looks like, a child who grows up feeling loved and secure seems to me to be cause for celebration, not condemnation.

Here are some more famous families who welcomed their babies through IVF...

Photo: INFphoto.com, Matthew Impey/Rex/REX USA

Chris Brown changes his ways thanks to new daughter Royalty?

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Did you hear the news? Chris Brown is reportedly a dad.

According to several sources, the 25-year-old singer welcomed a baby girl named Royalty 9 months ago. The mother isn't Chris' longtime girlfriend Karrueche Tran, but a former model named Nia who he's known for years.

Though he's yet to address the reports, they were enough to make Karrueche publicly call off their on-again-off-again relationship: "Listen. One can only take so much," she Tweeted when the baby news broke. "The best of luck to Chris and his family. No baby drama for me."

Think Royalty is an odd choice for a baby name? Take a look at these Hollywood picks...

Karrueche isn't the only one who's had a change of heart. Sources close to the controversial singer insist that becoming a father has "humbled" him and forced him to think twice about the way he refers to women in his music.

"He would hate for someone to one day call his daughter a bitch or a hoe. That would make him very upset and he would have a big problem with someone disrespecting his daughter. Everyday he realises he's a father, to a girl no less, and he wants to start making changes to raise his girl right and to be a good example of a man," a source tells HollywoodLife.com. "He really doesn't want to continue making music where he's calling women bitches and hoes and other derogatory words."

You may recall Jay-Z, whose lyrics famously declare he has "99 problems but a bitch ain't one," came to a similar realization after he and Beyonce welcomed daughter Blue Ivy in 2012.

A week after her birth he rapped, “Before I got in the game, made a change, and got rich/I didn’t think hard about using the word bitch/I rapped, I flipped it, I sold it, I lived it/Now with my daughter in this world I curse those that give it.”

I find it a bit curious that it takes having a daughter to make some men think twice about the way they refer to women. What about their mothers? Sisters? Female teachers and colleagues? Wives? Surely they're all deserving of that same respect, too.

Whatever the reason, though, here's hoping it's a change that sticks. Young girls don't need to grow up hearing that they're bitches and hoes, that their worth is determined by what they can do for a man or how good they look in a g-string. We hear all of this so often that even I'm guilty of not paying it too much attention. If there's a good beat behind it, who cares how derogatory the lyrics are?

We should care, though. Whether we're writing them or speaking them or singing them or consuming them, words have power.

Comments

What do you think of Chris Brown's apparent change of heart?

Should celebrities set a good example for our kids? Here's what they think...

Photo: PR Photos

Kate recycles favorite maternity outfit for 3rd trimester outing

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

The big day is almost here for Duchess Kate!

With her due date just around the corner, the expectant mom put in what is likely to be one of her final public appearances before she and Prince William welcome baby #2.

Visiting the Turner Contemporary gallery in Kent, England, Kate showed off her growing bump in a chic dalmatian-print coat by Hobbs, one of her favorite labels. If the outfit looks familiar, that's because she's worn it in the past. It's the same coat she wore for her last royal outing before Prince George's birth in 2013.

I love that Kate regularly recycles items from her wardrobe - even evening gowns! - for public appearances when she could clearly afford to splash out on a new look every day of the week.

By now the 33-year-old mom must be used to fielding questions about her pregnancy weight, so it likely came as no surprise that the topic came up yet again as she chatted with folks gathered at the event.

"I said, 'You're looking very trim,'" one resident relayed to reporters of her conversation with the Duchess. "She said, 'I sometimes forget I'm pregnant.' I had five children, and I know how good she looks!"

Is it just me, or is it a little inappropriate to be bringing up a pregnant woman's weight gain? I feel like it should be added to the list of comments to politely avoid, along with "Wow, you look tired!" and "Oh my gosh, you must be having that baby any minute!" Actually, I'm still in my 2nd trimester, thanks.

In any case, Kate seemed to weather the questions in royal style, also dishing on what her busy toddler George is up to these days.

"He sounds quite a handful," reveals another woman in the crowd today. "She is chasing after him a little bit."

Though Kate and William haven't revealed their exact due date, they did confirm that the baby is due in April. So it shouldn't be too long before we hear the happy news!

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What do you think? Will it be a boy or a girl?

A look back at Kate's second pregnancy...

Photos: REX USA

Is this really Ryan Gosling's new "dad tattoo?"

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Oh, Ryan Gosling. Stop making us love you.

The new dad was spotted out and about in Los Angeles last week sporting what looks like some fresh ink.

Dressed down in jeans and a hoodie, Ryan's attempt at going incognito was a bust as he was soon spotted by the paparazzi. Their cameras spotted something else, too: The letters "ESME" spelled out across his fingers. Short, of course, for his daughter Esmerelda, who was born last September.

Could this be Ryan's new tattoo in honor of his baby girl? Take a look at the photo and see what you think!

Some are wondering if this is really a tattoo, or if Ryan, who is engaged to actress Eva Mendes, just scrawled Esme's name on his knuckles with a ballpoint pen. I'll admit it looks a little amateur for a permanent inking, but that doesn't mean much. After all, Ryan's collection of tattoos is rather eclectic.

On his upper left arm the Crazy, Stupid Love star has a depiction of the cover of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, a book his mom used to read to him when he was growing up. While that seems sentimental, he has called the book "the worst" in interviews, saying, "I mean, at the end the tree is a stump and the old guy just sitting on him, he's just used him to death, and you're supposed to want to be the tree? F*ck you. You be the tree. I don't want to be the tree."

(Sidebar: I have to say he makes an excellent point. I've never liked that story.)

Back to the body art: On the inside of his left arm Ryan has a simple tattoo of Theda Bara, an actress from the silent film era. He also has at least two other DIY tattoos: On his forearm is a drawing that was, in his own words, "supposed to be a monster's hand dropping a bloody heart but I did it myself with a tattoo kit so it looks like a cactus." And on his inner wrist, something that kind of resembles a bar code.

All this considered, I think it's very possible that Ryan's "Esme" inking is the latest addition to his collection of homemade tattoos. It may not be particularly pretty, but the inspiration behind it is very sweet.

Tell us!

Do you have a tattoo for your kids?

Don't miss this post: 14 ‘Hey, Girl’ pics perfect for pregnancy

Which famous mamas have tattoos? Take a look!

Photo: PR Photos

Baby news: Cate Blanchett adopts!

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Cate Blanchett is now a mom-of-four!

Already parents to boys Dashiell, 13, Roman, 10, and Ignatius, 6, the Australian actress and her husband Andrew Upton have added a baby girl to their busy brood.

The happy news was confirmed today by a rep after Cate, 45, was recently spotted boarding a plane with her new daughter.

"The Upton family (Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton) have adopted a baby girl," the rep said in a statement. "No further details will be provided."

We don't have too much info on the family's new addition, but we can tell you her name: Vivienne!

Cate has talked in the past about the possibility of having a fourth child, insisting the gender wouldn't matter.

“Everyone says, ‘Oh, you must have [been trying] to have a girl.... If the next one was a boy, then that’s just our lot! It’s true you do get a bit demented [with three boys but] the chaos of it is great.”

I think Cate Blanchett is just so lovely. What wonderful news!

My two girls are going on 9- and 5-years old. Occasionally I feel a touch of sadness knowing my baby days are behind me, but in all honesty I can't imagine jumping back into diaper duty at this point!

What's the age gap between your kids?

Cate joins the long list of famous parents who have adopted...

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Photo: PR Photos

Kim Kardashian goes bleach blonde: Love it?

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Blonde bombshell!

Kim Kardashian debuted a very bold new look in Paris today, ditching her dark tresses for a platinum blonde 'do. While North's mama has rocked some light highlights in the past, her new style is pretty shocking.

Check out Kim's before and after...

Wow. I'm not sure I'm loving the new look, but I'll give her credit for being brave enough to go for it.

One person who does love Kim's bleach blonde locks? Her husband Kanye West. The reality star has admitted in the past that he'd been urging her go blonde, but said she wasn't confident enough to do it after her pregnancy.

“He asked if I would ever go back to blonde. I was like, ‘Not right after a baby,' because my face was so swollen and it looked like my lips were huge," Kim explained. "My face was just off.”

I may not be a card-carrying member of the Kim Kardashian fan club, but I do think she's quite beautiful, particularly when she's not all done up. Take a look through the photos below - to me, she's at her most stunning when she's dressed down and looking a little more natural.

While platinum hair isn't really my thing, I understand the urge to change things up style-wise. It's easy to get stuck in a rut, especially after having kids.

Maybe that's because most of my shopping budget goes towards my daughters' clothes these days. (Have you seen the Spring dresses at the Children's Place? So cute!) Maybe it's because a messy ponytail may not be taking the fashion world by storm, but it's fast and it's easy and for now those are my priorities.

If Kim Kardashian is hoping to spark a blonde tress trend, I think I'll have to take a pass. I may finally take the leap and get that shoulder-length bob I've been debating, though.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

See how Kim's style has changed since she became a mom...

Photo: PR Photos

He's here! Carrie Underwood introduces new son

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Carrie Underwood will be brushing up on her lullabies for the next little while!

The country music superstar took to Twitter this morning to share some very happy news: She and her husband Mike Fisher welcomed a baby boy on Friday, February 27.

Carrie, 31, posted a sweet photo of her son's little lips and fingers, writing, "Tiny hands and tiny feet... God has blessed us with an amazing gift! Isaiah Michael Fisher - born February 27."

Carrie and Mike chose not to wait for the delivery room gender reveal, instead finding out last fall. The Grammy-winner revealed that they had the doctor write the news on a slip of paper, which they later read together over dinner. It turns out it wasn't a big surprise, though.

“Just the two of us in a nicer setting, but we both knew,” Carrie said. “So, that was just confirming our suspicions. We didn’t really speak of it before, ’cause we were both just like, ‘Whatever. It’s all good.’ But we knew it was a boy.”

I can't say I share their intuition. I was pretty convinced my first was a boy, so had to do a double take when the doctor finally announced, "It's a girl!"

Congratulations to Carrie and Mike on their new addition!

Comment

Did you correctly predict your baby's gender?

Which celebs found out their baby's gender? Which waited?

Photo: PR Photos