Intro for April 2, 2020

Dear Gossips,

As we’ve seen over the last few weeks, some celebrities suck at social media during self-isolation. Maybe it’s because they don’t have advisors around looking over their shoulder before they hit “post”. That, combined with a lack of self-awareness, and the famewhore gene, has resulted in some… well… eventual apologies. 

There are others, however, who don’t suck at all. Like Patti LuPone, who’s been coming to us from her basement. And here’s the latest installment if you missed it: 

This is excellent work – and Duana has pitched it for the next episode of Show Your Work so I won’t say too much about it here except that we are learning that in show business, even boredom is a skill. Certain celebrities are just better at it. 

And then there’s Ina Garten. I am not an expert on Ina Garten. All I know is that I don’t love chicken but my friend Danielle Graham recommended Ina’s roast chicken recipe (which apparently is world famous so I’m a couple of decades behind) to me a few months ago and now I make it once a week because you can turn it into at least two meals – one for dinner and then, after shredding, one or two for lunch or dinner the next day. (I’ve been making Thai chicken noodle soup with it.) As far as chicken is concerned, because, again, I’m not that hot on chicken, it’s not bad. And it’s not hard, not even for me. It’s so not hard that I’ve actually modified the recipe by doubling the garlic (there is never too much garlic) and substituting with different herbs when I can’t find thyme. For some of you, this is not a big deal. But I’m terrified of western style cookbooks because there’s a lot about western cooking that I don’t understand so a freestyle substitution, for me, is an accomplishment. 

Anyway, Ina went viral this week because she decided to make a giant ass quarantine cocktail at 930am. I support this life choice (for those who don’t struggle with substance abuse – and if you do struggle with substance abuse, I apologise that this was unavoidable on your timeline): 

She’s adorable, right? And helpful! I’m totally going to make the frittata she posted about right before she made her cosmo. As Sophie Gilbert wrote yesterday in The Atlantic, Ina’s “Instagram page has become one of the most soothing and wholesome places on the internet”. But even that should come with a disclaimer, because it is a privilege to find Ina’s Instagram soothing and wholesome, since it probably isn’t either of those things if you’re short on groceries and money for groceries and stressed about feeding your family. The only point I’m trying to make is that she and Patti are two examples of celebrities who’ve been able to balance not being a total mess during lockdown and also not super thirsty either. 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey