Frequently Asked Questions

Check below for our most commonly asked questions. Both technical and gossip-related so please have a read and if you don't find the answer you're looking for, shoot us a note here.

- Why don't you allow comments on your site?
- What is The Squawk and why would I want to subscribe?
- Lainey, your site contains articles that I found very offensive. How do you explain your behaviour?
- You used to have an App in the App store? What happened to it and are you bringing it back?
- There are too many ads on your site! They suck! Can you get rid of them?
- I heard you have a book out. Where can I find it?
- How do I know if you're recommending a product to me because you like it, or if you're just trying to sell me something without my knowing about it?

• Q: Why don't you allow comments on your site?

  We've debated this for quite some time and have always landed on the same answer, and that is that if you provide a forum for people to leave comments on a website page without adequate controls, the discussion inevitably deteriorates to base levels no one wants to see. However, we have found a better way for our readers to engage with us and each other in recent months, which brings us to the next question...

  
  
• Q: What is The Squawk and why would I want to subscribe?

  The Squawk is our answer to website comments. It's a lot more than that and you can read about it here (click "No Thanks" under the subscribe field that pops up if you're new to Substack and you'll continue to our Squawk home page and this about section), but at its core The Squawk is a sister site to LaineyGossip where readers who are invested in and enjoy what we do on LaineyGossip.com can engage in a lively community without the aggressive garbage that happens in 'free' forums and on open social media. Discussions on The Squawk are often thoughtful and supportive, and we're thrilled with the response we've had since its launch.

  
  
• Q: Lainey, your site contains articles that I found very offensive. How do you explain your behaviour?

  I am sorry for the offensive posts that were racist, misogynistic, homophobic, andtransphobic during the early years of this site. I started this blog in the early 2000s, at a time when snarking on celebrities in a performatively cruel way on the internet was part of the online culture. I thrived on and fed into that culture. I carelessly used offensive monikers, nicknames, and shameful critiques of body image and sexuality. I was brash, inappropriate, and said some incredibly offensive things about many celebrities. And in the process I offended those who have come to expect more of this site in the years that followed.

  Even though the work in the 2000s was hurtful and harmful, we ve also done some great work since in acknowledging blindspots and shortcomings, confronting unconscious bias, and advocating for change. I have been exposed to more diverse perspectives and those views are reflected in my writing and in the voices represented on this site. I have actively sought out diverse voices to contribute content, and have changed the way I approach the dissection of the celebrity ecosystem. But I can do better still and I hope you continue to join us.

  I ve been acknowledging my offensive behaviour for many years. This post sums it up. I am sorry for my past sins. I understand that accountability is not temporary and must be ongoing. I also understand that forgiveness is not guaranteed. If that is where you stand, thank you for taking the time to visit when you did.

  October 2020 update: over the last few weeks we have attempted to remove some of the most offensive and triggering words and expressions that appeared on this blog. Some posts have been deleted, while other have been edited. This is not an attempt to hide from my past, but having acknowledged and faced it both on this site and on television, I also feel it s important to remove those terms over time so we don t continue to offend and trigger those who were most affected by them. We will continue to run a disclaimer above those old posts, but we ve attempted to identify and remove the most hurtful and offensive terms from the site.

  
  
• Q: You used to have an App in the App store? What happened to it and are you bringing it back?

  We ran a test app for a period of about a year with a vendor we no longer work with. Building and maintaining apps is very cost prohibitive and we found that upgrading our mobile site (as we did in April 2013) provided most if not all of the features that our app previously offered. The new mobile site is responsive to screensize and should provide a quick, app-like experience (minus the offline reading capability) and we hope that it serves all the purposes you may find in an app..

  
  
• Q: There are too many ads on your site! They suck! Can you get rid of them?

  There is no fee to visit the site. We incur thousands of dollars worth of expenses to cover site infrastructure including hosting and delivery, paying our staff and writers, buying licenses for the photos we post, and a number of other expenses which advertising covers. Added to that, a good portion of internet users have taken to using ad blockers to view the sites they visit, and that places an additional burden on us to recover the cost of their visits. That said, we are very mindful of keeping a balance between monetizing website visits and maintaining a good reader experience, and we welcome any feedback you have.

  
  
• Q: I heard you have a book out. Where can I find it?

  My book is called Listen to the Squawking Chicken: When Mother Knows Best, What s a Daughter to Do? . It was published in Canada on April 1 by Random Houseof Canada and is available for via Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, McNally Robinson, and Random House of Canada via this link.

  It was published in the United States on April 22nd by Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It is available now at Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

  
  
• Q: How do I know if you're recommending a product to me because you like it, or if you're just trying to sell me something without my knowing about it?

  Beyond the banners that you see around and within the text of the articles, we do several other things to monetize the site. We occasionally write sponsored articles are clearly marked as advertisements with labels next to the title. We ve also used affiliate links in the past in Sasha Finds posts written prior to 2017, but have since moved aware from those kinds of posts. The Sasha Finds recommendations found in our archives are truly organic Sasha obsessions, though it should be mentioned that she is occasionally sent products to try before featuring them. And Maria's "As Seen on Social Media" posts are also totally organic. We do not monetize her recommendations and if we ever did, we would disclose that in the links provided.