Dear Gossips,

Cameron Diaz hasn’t worked in years, has repeatedly said that she has no plans to return to acting, and I believe her. But over the last few weeks, during this lockdown, she’s been as visible as she’s been since her retirement, appearing on her friends’ podcast and social media and, most recently, this weekend she joined Leslie Jones on Instagram Live.

Because this is Leslie, the conversation is about as unproduced and therefore candid as you’ll ever get between two celebrities. They go on, for a long time, about Drag Race, analysing specific queens, running through their favourite moments, their favourite performances, and if there had been a producer or an editor involved, some of that would have been trimmed for sure. Leslie and Cameron, though, are out here meandering for over an hour. And while there are certain celebrities who should not be given more time than one block on a late night talk show, if that, these two are so entertaining together, and their chemistry is so good, that the time passes pretty quickly, especially when they start talking about Leslie’s love life, and whether or not she’ll find a boyfriend, and whether or not her age (52) might be a barrier. Which is when Cameron tells Leslie that:

“These guys who want younger girls? You don’t want them – you know why? Guys who want younger girls, are like, developmentally, they’re like not advanced. They don’t want the challenge of a woman who knows who she is or who wants, or you know they have the opportunity to not develop themselves. It’s like a regression, emotionally. And they want to stay in this place where they don’t have to do the work.”

This happens around the 50 minute mark of the conversation. Cameron is generalising, of course, and what she says obviously doesn’t apply to every single relationship involving an older man and a younger woman. But … whose name popped into your head with her description? She worked with Leonardo DiCaprio in Gangs of New York. There were all kinds of rumours at the time that they were a thing. At the time, she was already approaching 30 so… probably not.

But back to Leslie and Cameron and their friendship. They’ve known each other since at least 2014 when Cameron last hosted Saturday Night Live and Leslie had just joined the show. And Leslie and Cam talk about how at the after-party is when Cam and Benji Madden told Leslie that they were engaged, at that point a secret. They got married just a few weeks later in January 2015. That episode was solid episode. It was the episode that gave us “Back Home Ballers”.

And “Office Boss”, with Beck Bennett doing his impression of an executive baby which still makes me laugh.

Duana and I talk all the time about SNL and the long-held assumption that the SNL writers enjoy writing for certain celebrities more than others and I would imagine that Cameron Diaz would be one of them because she’s game for anything. She’s always been known to be fun, to be goofy, with a big laugh and that expressive face – and we’re getting some of that here, with Leslie, on Instagram: the Cameron you remember, the one who’s raunchy when she’s in the mood, the one who will make your party that much more lively. Even though she’s partying away from the spotlight now, she’s still there.

And so is her affinity for green accessories, particularly turquoise. Duana, who loves colour, could always count on Cam on a red carpet to bring the green – all different shades of it. At the Oscars, a turquoise bangle:

Cameron Diaz attends the 74th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater on March 24, 2002 in Hollywood, California. — Cameron Diaz attends the 74th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theater on March 24, 2002 in Hollywood, California

And again at the Oscars and this time it’s emerald:

Cameron Diaz at the The 79th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California, January 25, 2007

At the Met Gala, turquoise earrings and a turquoise necklace:

Cameron Diaz attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala "Poiret: King Of Fashion" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2007 in New York City

I covered that Met Gala in 2007, I saw Cam’s turquoise pop in real time right in front of me. My friend Lara was the producer on that shoot and I remember us saying to each other that Cam will never give up the turquoise. That she’s so good in green. And you can see, the green pops up again in her IG Live with Leslie – two rings, one on each hand, both green.

This moment in Gossip Nostalgia was brought to you by Cameron Diaz and Jared Leto. REMEMBER THAT?

Jared Leto & Cameron Diaz at the Miramax Golden Globes Party, January 19. 2003

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

Leslie Jones Gossip

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