Tom Hiddleston on the False Stories Out There

When Tom Hiddleston was recently asked what he had learned about the culture of celebrity in recent weeks, he gave quite an interesting response. One thing he said was that there are lots of false stories out there, and the important thing was to not let those false stories affect one's life.

Fans of both Tom and Taylor Swift (and unfortunately Taylor haters too) immediately jumped to analyse those comments.

While I don't think there's anything in there regarding their relationship, what he said is quite true. And while the culture of celebrity, with all the media attention, allows quicker spread of false rumours, this problem is not limited to celebrities, especially in the age of social media.

It's something we should all take time to think about, really.


Download the full song here.

At Least Taylor Swift Helps Out

One reason, we suspect, that some people dislike Taylor Swift is because she is rich, and she was always rich too. She is, perhaps, the ultimate reminder that life is not fair, at least to some people.

But hey, let's not hate her for that. Because, at least, she uses her money to help out. Just this year, she's helped a cancer patient with their treatment, she's helped Kesha in her legal battles, and now she's helping the Louisiana flood victims, donating a million dollars their way.

I mean, wealth inequality is a fact in our society, unfortunately. But if some people must be rich, at least let them be those who will use it well.

When Ivanka Trump can't just Enjoy Her Jewellery, we've collectively Sunk to a New Low

Ivanka Trump recently ordered some Jewellery online, and she received something she didn't expect: a handwritten note notifying her that the proceeds from her purchase have been donated to, amongst other organisations, the Hillary Clinton campaign.

I get the people behind this really hate Donald Trump.

But this is still uncalled for. A real Princess would never do this. It is, in my opinion, trashy behaviour.

Sure, they are welcome to donate to Hillary's campaign. But this, in my opinion, has been deliberately done out of contempt for the Trumps. After all, nobody else ordering the jewellery has received something like this. And while it is okay to have a strong opinion about Donald Trump's politics, it's not okay to bully his family to make your point. Indeed, if this kind of behaviour ever becomes acceptable and normal in society, we will have become less civilised for it.

Sometimes, everyone should just remember, our political opponents are people too.

Wholesome Music of the Month: LeAnn Rimes - The Story

I know 'wholesome' and 'LeAnn Rimes' appearing in the same sentence is controversial. But this is about the music, not the person.

LeAnn Rimes has been unpopular with quite some people ever since her affair several years ago, but I think it's time we move on from that and just give her music another chance. I'm not excusing her behaviour there, but sometimes we just need to forgive what happened in the past. After all, her music is better than most of the stuff out there. And at least she doesn't SING about having affairs, like some other 'artists' regrettably do. And the song is indeed a 'meaningful' love song.

Anyway, here's her latest, a cover of The Story. Check it out:

Cara Delevingne wouldn't use the 'gay' label, but doesn't mind it either

Cara Delevingne recently said that she was very happy in her relationship with her girlfriend. However, she wouldn't put a label on it, and wouldn't call herself 'gay'. On the other hand, she wouldn't mind other people calling her that, either. What do we think?

Tara: Well, straight people don't go around calling themselves straight, so if there's to be equality, we shouldn't expect people in same-sex relationships to need to have a label if they don't want to.

Katie: I agree. She should just do what she wants to, and people have to accept that.

Jess: I don't see what difference it makes. People are calling her gay anyway, and she doesn't mind anyway.

Tara: It does make a difference. People may call you straight or heterosexual, and you likely don't mind, but what nobody expects you to do is to go around saying that you are 'proudly straight' or something like that. So Cara's attitude is another step towards equality.

Jess: OK, I see it now.


Download the full song here.

We're sick of Kim Kardashian and her corsets over loose clothing

I have lost count of the number of times Kim Kardashian has appeared in public dressed in some combination of loose-fitting clothes and a corset. Some are even speculating that she may be attempting at starting a trend, a trend that does not appear to be happening at all.

And why is it not happening? Maybe because it just doesn't look good. It's time that Kim K realised that people won't just copy what she does because she's doing it. Corsets over loose clothing just doesn't look good.

Of course, Kim K is free to not take our advice. It's not likely that she will, either. In that case, it would be her choice to look ugly then.

Hailee Steinfeld revealed she does not spend that much time with Taylor Swift. Another authenticity problem for Taylor?

Hailee Steinfeld's recent revelation (in a magazine interview) that she doesn't actually spend that much time together with Taylor Swift has apparently given the anti-Swifties another piece of 'evidence' about Taylor being 'fake'.

But let's look at this closer. People do have lives to live and things to do, and you wouldn't expect someone as busy as Taylor Swift to be able to spend time with her friends every day, right?

Perhaps the expectation that Taylor and her team have to see each other almost every week or so comes from a very teenage-centered perspective. You know, in high school people meet every day, and hang out with their friends every day. But real life isn't school, and when there's work to do, people often only see their friends once every several months, if they are even lucky enough for this. It's one of the main reasons some extraverted people start to feel 'lonely' in their mid to late twenties, and a major factor for the start of a quarter life crisis. (In fact, 'unpopular kids' in school should be happy knowing the fact that by 25 almost everyone ends up with only a few 'real' friends who they don't see very often).

So people have been making something out of nothing again. But that isn't surprising, right?

Selena Gomez - Same Old Love (cover/parody)

Justin Bieber appears to have mocked Taylor Swift on Instagram. Bad career move for the Biebs?

Justin Bieber has inserted himself into the Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West feud (otherwise known as the Taylor vs Kimye saga). All it took was an instagram post. So, bad career move?

Tara: I think so. Getting involved in others' business is not a good look. Justin's sort of recovering from a poor image, and this shatters any illusion of a 'changed man', so to say. He'll probably lose wavering fans who recently gave him a 'second chance' over this.

Jess: I think he's just doing it for the attention, and he's got it. So it may not be a bad career move.

Tara: This may be true from the 'any publicity is good publicity' school of thought. But in the real world, that's not really the case.

Jess: So the Biebs is a bad boy. I don't think people necessarily dislike that.

Tara: Some probably do. When Justin was in trouble about two years ago, his popularity certainly wasn't where it was back in around 2010, when he was a 'good boy'. Recently there appears to have been some recovery in his reputation. People have been giving him a second chance, because he's staying out of trouble. Until now.

Katie: As I've said all along, that boy really needs some tough love. I say people should boycott his music until he learns his lesson.

Tara: You see, Jess? For everyone that doesn't mind bad behaviour, there's someone else who does. And if you want to be Mr Popular, you don't go around pissing people off. I wouldn't advocate a boycott, but I hope Justin grows up. It's clear he still has a lot to learn, and if he doesn't learn it quickly, his career may be all over very soon.

How Adele may have Started a Revolution at her recent Seattle Concert

Adele isn't known for starting revolutions. But then, she might have just done so, in a recent concert in Seattle.

During the concert, Adele spotted a drag impersonator of herself in the crowd, and invited her on stage. It turns out that it was a dream come true for Kristie Champaigne, who has been regularly impersonating the singer twice a week.

Drag queens impersonating famous and glamours women are nothing new. But they generally get no attention or acknowledgement from their idols. I'm sure many such impersonators have attended the concerts and other events of their idols. It just hasn't been 'the norm' for stars to acknowledge their impersonators. It's just the way things have always been. But like everything, maybe it's time for a change. After all, these people have put in so much effort to look like you. If I were lucky enough to have a drag impersonator (not that it's likely at all), I would definitely make the effort to acknowledge them.

We hope this trend catches on. I'm sure that Beyonce, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift have plenty of drag impersonators too, after all.

Related: Adele's Hello: The Other Side of the Story?

Idina Menzel covering Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler? It looks likely in 2017!

Here at the TaraElla show, we all love Let It Go, especially the Idina Menzel version. You see, I even made a cover of it, with slightly altered lyrics:


Let It Go effectively introduced the great voice of Idina Menzel to the world (the part of the world that doesn't watch Glee or go to Broadway shows, anyway). And even without the extensive commercial promotion that top 40 charting usually requires, it peaked at #5 on the Billboard top 100 in 2014. I was wishing and waiting for it to grab that top spot, but sadly, it didn't happen.

But now, there may finally be a chance for Idina to get that number one. She has signed on for a remake of the 1988 classic movie Beaches, which features the Bette Midler classic Wind Beneath My Wings. The movie premiers on Lifetime in 2017. The question is: will she get to sing Wind Beneath My Wings? I think it's likely.

Will they release it for downloads? I hope so. It might just give her that chart topper.

Chloe Grace Moretz is Proud to Share her Voting Intentions, also Encourages You To Vote

Chloe Grace Moretz has told the world she is proud to be voting for Hillary Clinton as a first time voter.

So why is that significant? Because it adds another voice in the conversation that is politics. A conversation that is important to have for the sake of a healthy democracy, but a conversation many people won't have because they think it's boring. Therefore, who better than a young and popular actress to help kickstart the conversation?

Chloe also highlighted the fact that the vast majority of young adults did not vote in the 2014 mid-term elections, that they could have made a difference but that they did not. This is something I have felt passionately about for a long time. If young people don't enrol or don't vote, we don't get to have a say on the future, as a demographic. This would be ironic, since we are most affected by the future. It is why young people care the most about issues like climate change.

So thank you Chloe. And for the fencesitters, yes, you should go out and enrol to vote, and turn up on polling day. Your future, our future, will depend on it.