I Just Learned Why Lemons Look So Juicy On TV, And Frankly I Feel Betrayed

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how forecasters know where to point on green screens when announcing the weather.

We’ve even shared how actors manage to look so, well, dead while playing corpses; so you’d think we’d be pretty familiar with Hollywood magic by now.

But it never even occurred to me ― until now, at least ― to ask how lemons on TV look so darn juicy.

It took a TikTok from director and filmmaker David Ma, who shoots commercials and movies alike, to realise that what I’d been seeing on-screen had been a scam all along.

How?

He started his video with a syringe, injecting water into a plump slice of lemon.

“This is the trick to getting the perfect squeeze,” he captioned his video, revealing a slow-mo shot of the artificially juiced-up citrus splashing its droplets of lies over some broccoli.

I knew stars tended to use more injectables than we think, but I wasn’t aware the procedure extended to their dinner.

Other sneaky food-filming tricks include placing a water-soaked, microwaved tampon behind a bowl of food to create the illusion of a steaming meal and using acrylic ice cubes (which don’t melt) for cold drink campaigns.

Meanwhile, most on-screen “ice cream” is basically a form of buttercream made from vegetable shortening, corn syrup, and icing sugar.

Oh, and that “frost” on the glass of beer in adverts? Yeah, that’s more than likely aerosol deodorant sprayed onto the container to give the illusion of cold condensation.

Don’t even get me started on poultry in adverts, which is usually so raw it’s bloody on the inside (!!) and brushed with dish soap to get that perfect glisten.

People had *thoughts* in the comments

“Here I’ve been thinking I had all dry lemons for the last 10 years,” one commenter wrote.

“Not lemon filler…” another commented.

“I thought those gains were natural,” yet another TikTok user joked about the falsely turgid segment.

Looks like Hollywood’s not above setting unrealistic beauty standards for fruit, too…

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Christina Applegate Shares 2 Things She Wants To Do In ‘The Days I Have Left’

“There are things I want to do with the days I have left in life,” the Anchorman actor wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

“I want to work with Shirley MacLaine,” she continued, referring to the Academy Award-winning actor. “And do shots with Cher!”

“And yes my days are so big,” she added. “Just saying.”

In 2021, while shooting the Netflix series Dead to Me, Christina was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, also known as MS, a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.

Symptoms can include cognitive issues, slurred speech, mood disturbances and numbness in limbs, according to the Mayo Clinic.

She co-hosts a podcast about living with MS, MeSsy, with Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler.

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Bridgerton Casting Director Reveals She Receives ‘Unsolicited’ X-Rated Audition Videos Daily

Some would-be stars are so eager to be in the next season of Bridgerton that they’ve been bombarding casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry’s inbox with “unsolicited” videos.

While appearing on the latest episode of the Should I Delete That? podcast, Kelly, who has worked on the Netflix period drama since it first aired in 2020, admitted that NSFW clips land in her inbox like clockwork.

“It’s every day … I get the most unbelievable videos, unsolicited,” she told the podcast’s hosts, Em Clarkson and Alex Light. “It’s sex basically.

“It’s not actual sex but it’s quite punchy. … It’s not nudie pictures, but it’s not far off.”

She added: “It’s a bit sad, really.”

Kelly went on to reveal that many of the actors who reach out hoping to join the romance series want to star as Sophie Beckett despite the role not being officially confirmed yet.

In Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, Sophie is the love interest of Benedict Bridgerton (played by Luke Thompson in the Netflix series).

Luke Thompson in Bridgerton
Luke Thompson in Bridgerton

LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX

It’s probably not too shocking for actors to submit racy clips considering the popular show is known for its steamy scenes.

Back in May, Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington, revealed that she took on some especially steamy scenes in the recently released third season in order to shut down trolls who criticised her appearance.

“I specifically asked for certain lines and moments to be included,” the Derry Girls recalled of collaborating with the series’ intimacy coordinator, Lizzy Talbot.

“There’s one scene where I’m very naked on camera, and that was my idea, my choice,” she added. “It just felt like the biggest ‘fuck you’ to all the conversation surrounding my body; it was amazingly empowering.”

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Banksy Responds After James Cleverly Brands His Glastonbury Stunt ‘Vile And Unacceptable’

Banksy has issued a response to home secretary James Cleverly’s claim that his recent stunt at Glastonbury was “vile and unacceptable”.

During a performance by Idles at the music event on Friday night, an inflatable boat filled with dummies wearing orange life jackets, intended to represent refugees trying to pass through treacherous seas, was passed out to the crowd.

The band had initially been unaware of the stunt that was carried out during their song Danny Nedelko, which opens with the lines: “My blood brother is an immigrant. A beautiful immigrant.”

An Idles spokesperson later confirmed the boat was, indeed, a Banksy piece.

According to a photo shared on X by Glastonbury Live, the boat also returned to the crowd for Little Simz’s set on the Pyramid Stage the following day.

The stunt was met with condemnation from the Home Secretary, who told Sky News: “People die in the Mediterranean, they die on the Channel. This is not funny. It is vile. This is a celebration of the loss of life in the Channel.”

He added: “To joke about it, to celebrate it at a pop festival when there have been children dying in the Channel, is completely unacceptable.”

James Cleverly
James Cleverly

Wiktor Szymanowicz via Getty Images

Now, the anonymous street artist has responded to Cleverly’s comments on Instagram.

The home secretary called my Glastonbury boat vile and unacceptable’ which seemed a bit over the top,” Banksy wrote.

“The real boat I fund, the MV Louise Michel rescued 17 unaccompanied children from the central Med on Monday night.

“As punishment the Italian authorities have detained it – which seems vile and unacceptable to me.”

The MV Louise Michel, provides life-saving support to those in distress crossing the Mediterranean, and was purchased with the proceeds from the sale of Banksy artwork.

Banksy’s Glastonbury stunt comes after he returned with his first art instalment of 2024 back in March.

The mural featured a stencil of a woman who had sprayed green paint over a white wall behind a pollarded tree, which gave the illusion of leaves.

Last year, he also unveiled a divisive new piece of street artwork centring around domestic violence against women.

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Man Found Guilty Of Plotting To Kidnap, Rape And Murder Holly Willoughby

This article contains discussions of violence and sexual assault.

A man facing trial for plotting to kidnap, rape and murder the TV personality Holly Willoughy has been found guilty.

Back in October of last year, it was first reported by The Sun that the former This Morning host was “under police guard” after “sinister” messages were found on a man’s phone reportedly threatening to “seriously harm” the daytime TV presenter.

Security guard Gavin Plumb – who did not know the presenter personally – was subsequently charged with soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap, with his trial getting underway on Monday 24 June.

Following eight days of trial, Plumb – who had denied the allegations made against him – was found guilty of three charges at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday. He will be sentenced on Friday 12 July.

Prosecution Alison Morgan KC previously told the court that Plumb had developed an “obsession with Holly Willoughby that had developed over a number of years” and had a serious and “real intention” to kidnap the daytime star from her home and take her to “a location where she would be raped repeatedly”, before murdering her.

“It was not just the ramblings of a fantasist; the defendant had carefully planned what he would do,” Morgan said on the first day of the trial.

Plumb had two previous convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment, dating back to 2006 and 2008.

It was previously noted that Plumb’s alleged plans only came to light after he shared them with an undercover police officer based in the US, with whom he’d been speaking online.

Greg Wood of Essex Police told BBC News: “If the American officer hadn’t have contacted us… I’ve got no doubt that Gavin Plumb could’ve gone on to commit some really horrific crimes.”

Holly Willoughby at the NTAs last year
Holly Willoughby at the NTAs last year

Jeff Spicer via Getty Images

According to The Guardian, Nicola Rice of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Gavin Plumb is a dangerous man who plotted unspeakable violence against one of the nation’s most familiar faces.

“Despite his attempts to pass himself off as a harmless fantasist, the prosecution persuaded the jury that Plumb posed a very real threat.

“The chilling details of his plans were laid bare with the help of an undercover officer from the US who alerted the FBI to the threat, and the seriousness of Plumb’s scheme was exposed when the prosecution successfully applied to tell the jury about Plumb’s previous convictions.

“I hope his conviction brings some comfort to Holly Willoughby and her family and shows others that the Crown Prosecution Service will always seek the strongest possible charges against those who plot violence against women.”

When details of the kidnap plot were first made public last year, it was reported that Holly was “under police guard at her home”.

She subsequently made the decision to step down from This Morning after 14 years at the helm, which she said was “for me and my family”.

Holly then took an extended break from the media spotlight, before making her return to TV in January, when she and new co-host Stephen Mulhern presented the latest series of Dancing On Ice.

Help and support:

  • Rape Crisis services for women and girls who have been raped or have experienced sexual violence – 0808 802 9999
  • Survivors UK offers support for men and boys – 0203 598 3898
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House Of The Dragon Director Clears Up Our 1 Big Question About Aemond’s Nude Scene

One of the biggest criticisms levelled at Game Of Thrones was its disparity between male and female on-screen nudity – and it seems spin-off House Of The Dragon is keen to remedy that.

The latest instalment of the prequel series featured an extended sequence set in a brothel, which made TV history of sorts as the first scene in any Game Of Thrones show to feature an erect penis.

Not only that, the scene came to a climax (sorry!) with Aegon Targaryen catching his brother Aemond in the act, only to wind up humiliating him in a manner reminiscent of the bullying Aegon subjected Aemond to in their younger years.

At the end of the exchange, Aemond coldly walks away from the scene without bothering to dress, with director Geeta Vasant Patel telling Variety that Ewan Mitchell threw himself into going fully nude for the sequence, rather than using a double or prosthetic.

Ewan is such a great actor. He understands what he needs to do in order to portray Aemond,” she enthused.

“When I spoke with him originally about the nudity, I said to him, ‘Let’s just go through the story. If you don’t feel comfortable being nude, then you’re not going to be nude’. We were both on the same page in that way. We started walking through, and he walked me through his character.

“One thing about directing that’s really important is to surrender to the actors, and the actors surrender. It’s a mutual surrendering. In this case, Ewan knew his character so well that I was listening to him and walking with him as we went through every episode before this.”

A (cropped) still of Ewan Mitchell's nude scene from the latest instalment of House Of The Dragon
A (cropped) still of Ewan Mitchell’s nude scene from the latest instalment of House Of The Dragon

She explained: “What we came to is that Aemond was hurt. He was bullied when he was little. Since he was hurt, he had created this persona that was the exact opposite of how he was feeling.

“He created the persona of a someone who is callous and has no regard for what others think of him. That shift, from someone who’s vulnerable to literally watching him put on his armour, was what we were going for in that scene. It’s one of the few times you see the young child in him and you see the pain in him.

“Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift. And so, of course, Ewan was like, ‘I want to be fully nude in that moment. It’s important to me because that’s who my character is. That’s what he would do’. And that’s what we did.”

Geeta Vasant Patel at the season 2 premiere of House Of The Dragon
Geeta Vasant Patel at the season 2 premiere of House Of The Dragon

Arturo Holmes via Getty Images

In a separate interview with Vulture, Ewan agreed it was “encoded in Aemond’s DNA” for the character to leave the scene in the way he does.

“He’s humiliated by his brother and all his crew, and it’s like this switch flips,” he said of his character.

“The madam is no more. All of these people in front of him? They mean nothing. He stands up, he owns it. ‘Yeah, I’m bulletproof. Anything you say, it will not work’.”

Ewan added: “Scenes like this start with a conversation about how far you’re prepared to go. It wasn’t a choice we made lightly. But it’s true to Aemond that he shocks the audience. Weakness is not part of Aemond’s vocabulary.”

House Of The Dragon airs on Mondays on Sky and Now.

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Suki Waterhouse Debuts New Vogue Photo-Shoot Alongside Newborn Daughter

Suki Waterhouse has introduced her newborn daughter to the world in a new photo-shoot for British Vogue.

On Tuesday afternoon, the British fashion outlet unveiled its latest cover, in which the singer and actor is seen posing with her baby, whose name she has not disclosed.

In her accompanying interview, Suki revealed that she and her partner, fellow actor Robert Pattinson, had “really planned” their decision to become parents.

Breaking into what Vogue described as “the hugest ear-to-ear smile”, she told the magazine: “One day we looked at each other and said, ‘Well, this is as ready as we’re going to be’.”

“I was like, ‘What can make more chaos?’,” she added with a laugh.

Describing the early stages of motherhood as “shocking”, Suki went on to recall how the former Twilight actor was “there with me and like all dads”.

“He was really nervous, but for someone who’s quite an anxious person, he’s been very calm,” Suki noted, describing the Batman actor as “the dad I could have hoped for”.

Suki also admitted that her initial reaction to the news she was having a baby girl was to phone her mum “in floods of tears”.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, am I going to have to go through what [you] went through with me?’” she said.

“I was just such a little bitch. [My mum] usually loves telling my terrible teenage stories, but she was like, ’No, no, you were great. You were amazing, you were fine.”

Rumours that Suki and Robert were expecting a baby began last year, when she appeared on stage at the Corona Capital 2023 Music Festival in November.

During her performance, Suki joked to her fans that she wanted to “wear something sparkly today because I thought it might distract you from something else that’s going on”, referring to her pregnancy bump.

Back in March, the couple were also photographed pushing a pram while out for a walk in LA.

Suki finally confirmed her new arrival in a heartfelt Instagram post back in April, describing the new addition to her family as her “angel”.

Read Suki Waterhouse’s full interview in the August issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 16 July.

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This Is What Usher Actually Said During His Heavily-Censored BET Awards Speech

The former Super Bowl headliner was awarded the Lifetime Achievement prize as part of Sunday night’s ceremony, but when it came to accepting his award, the Burn singer had censors reaching for the mute button pretty much immediately.

“By the way, I should caution you that I like to talk and I have a way with words,” he said at the beginning of his speech, which aired live on the US network BET.

“I’m sorry I’m cursing, this is how I really feel,” he told the crowd at one point during his speech. “At one point it got really thick, and motherfuckers wasn’t fucking with me. I get it, I understand, sometimes you gotta go through some shit to get to something.”

Later in the speech, he turned his attention to his male role models, saying (via Vibe): “They’re solid, and it ain’t about a motherfucking hit record. They’re solid, and they’re going to always have my back. And I will always have theirs.”

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Strictly Come Dancing Star Shirley Ballas Doubles Down On Comments About Giovanni Pernice Drama

Shirley Ballas has reiterated her support for former Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice.

Last month, the Strictly judge weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding the show, after the BBC began investigating complaints made by three of Giovanni’s former celebrity dance partners (including actor Amanda Abbington) about his conduct behind the scenes of the show.

The Italian dancer – who will not be returning to Strictly in 2024 – has refuted the claims that have been made about him, and vowed to “clear his name” in the investigation.

Over the weekend, Shirley and Giovanni took part in a dance workshop together, where the Daily Mail reported that she told those in attendance: “I’ve known him for 10 years and we’re good friends.”

She reportedly added: “I will be one person who will be by his side forever. What you see is what you get with him.”

Giovanni at a Strictly Come Dancing launch event in 2018
Giovanni at a Strictly Come Dancing launch event in 2018

Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images

Two weeks ago, Shirley was quoted by The Mirror as saying: “I don’t condone bullying on any path, but also I don’t believe gossip and what you read in the newspapers, because things get escalated and they are blown way out of all proportion and it can turn into a great big snowball.

“My feeling for Giovanni is, let them do this investigation, or whatever it is they are doing, and the truth will come out. So we don’t judge anybody until I know absolutely 100 percent. I won’t pass on the gossip unless I know 100 percent it is true.”

Insisting she’s “never ever ever experienced any ill will or bad feeling or bad sportsmanship or rudeness” from Giovanni, Shirley apparently added: “I can only talk from my own perspective. He has always been to me – and I will make that clear, to me – a perfect gentleman.”

Giovanni told fans last month: “I am co-operating fully with the ongoing BBC investigation, which will determine the truth.

“As requested, I have stayed silent, but I am looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation and ultimately clearing my name and establishing the truth.

“I am so happy to be back on tour. Thank you all for your continued support – [your] messages and love mean so very much to me. I will hopefully see many of you very soon and I look forward to clearing my name.”

Meanwhile, the BBC has issued a rare statement amid the investigation, although they did not explicitly name any individual or show.

“It is a longstanding position that the BBC does not comment on specific matters related to individuals,” a spokesperson said. “Nor ordinarily, would we comment on whether we are reviewing any individual complaints.

“Recently, we have seen a number of media reports about a high profile show. We would urge people not to indulge in speculation. Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process.

“If a complaint is made to the BBC, we assess and take any necessary steps to establish the facts, whether there is a case to answer, and, if appropriate, what action should be taken.”

“This is all within the context of the BBC having duties of care to everyone linked to a complaint – that applies to those that have raised the complaint and to those that have been complained about,” the statement added.

“Whilst we know our shows have been positive experiences for many of those who have taken part, we will always look at any issues raised with care, fairness and sensitivity to everyone concerned.”

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A Family Affair Is Just Another Example Of The Sad State Of Rom-Coms

“No great tryst ever started with someone being rational,” says the always-wise Kathy Bates as grandmother Leila Ford in Netflix’s newest rom-com, A Family Affair. One could argue that the same truism also applies to romantic comedies, especially the great ones.

Like all movies, rom-coms ask us to suspend our disbelief, to settle into our couch and let ourselves believe in anonymously heartfelt email exchanges and wish for bouquets of sharpened pencils. We watch them with the belief that things will work out, that a seemingly dysfunctional friendship can make two people surprisingly good wedding dates and even better lovers. From Nora Ephron classics such as You’ve Got Mail to more recent indie films such as Plus One and Rye Lane, great romantic comedies, like a life-changing love affair, offer both escape and self-discovery. And, most importantly, they remind us to hope.

Admittedly, this is a high bar for a genre that is so often dismissed and undervalued, but when I learned that Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and Joey King would be starring in a romantic comedy together, I thought they just might be able to reach it. However, instead of lifting up a genre, A Family Affair reinforces the sad state of rom-coms right now.

In it, Zac plays difficult movie star Chris Cole who falls for Brooke, the mother of his 24-year-old assistant, Zara. Like the cast, the premise is promising. On its surface, the film could even be touted as a mash-up of the recent age-gap romance The Idea Of You with a classic Notting Hill-esque twist (a movie star falling in love with a non-celebrity).

However, in execution, A Family Affair misses the mark and often doesn’t feel like a rom-com at all. Is the movie supposed to be a rom-com with emotional depth or a parody of one? It doesn’t know. This problem is most evident in the stark dichotomy between the characters’ trope-y personas and their sincere relationships.

Joey King as Zara Ford and Kathy Bates as Leila Ford in A Family Affair
Joey King as Zara Ford and Kathy Bates as Leila Ford in A Family Affair

Tina Rowden/Netflix

Zac plays a caricature of a movie star, embodying the stereotype of being an out-of-touch celebrity (he hasn’t been to a grocery store in 10 years) who has forgotten how to treat other people with respect, especially his assistant Zara. Zara is the quintessential entitled young person who is working her first job and struggling because she’s a – dare I use the term – “nepo baby” (her mum is basically Joan Didion) who feels like her producing career should begin sooner, so she can step outside of her mum’s shadow. That mum, Brooke, is suffering from writer’s block and hasn’t dated in the decade since her husband died, and she longs to remember what it feels like to be a woman, not a mother or wife to a man who was jealous of her success.

In the opening scene, Zara is cursing in standstill traffic because she’s late to deliver a pair of diamond earrings to Chris, so he can break up with the latest woman he is seeing. Simultaneously, Brooke is across Los Angeles bemoaning to Kathy Bates’ character (her former editor and mother-in-law) about her inability to write. Neither of these tropes play well.

But the actors do. The result is that Nicole, Zac and Joey’s delivery of Carrie Solomon’s unbalanced script swings the film from satire to sincerity in a disorienting way. For example, when Chris and Brooke first meet, their conversation is stilted and interesting and unobtrusively funny (he doesn’t know the myth of Icarus despite starring in a huge franchise called Icarus Rush). Their first kiss is part of a sweet exchange of dialogue that is one of the movie’s few swoon-y moments. But, as the encounter becomes steamier, the tone shifts.

Suddenly, a widow who hasn’t kissed someone in a long time is letting a man rip off her dress (but it’s OK because it was 50% off at Nordstrom) and tearing his bespoke shirt made from the wool of an endangered animal off his unbelievably toned body (but she’s worth the unethical clothing’s damage). When Joey’s character walks in on them and runs into the door, adding physical comedy to the mix, the moment becomes even more confusing. Was it supposed to be sweet, sexy, satirical or silly?

This tonal inconsistency plagues the film. It also emphasises its plot holes. For example, Chris is so famous that he’s unable to grocery shop, but he can sit in his assistant’s pediatrician office (a setting that is supposed to play as comedic) next to her and her mum who he just slept with. This is the kind of disbelief one might be able to suspend if the other components of the movie were working, but they aren’t.

In "A Family Affair," Efron plays a difficult movie star who falls for the mother (Kidman) of his 24-year-old assistant, Zara (King).
In “A Family Affair,” Efron plays a difficult movie star who falls for the mother (Kidman) of his 24-year-old assistant, Zara (King).

Tina Rowden/Netflix

Ultimately, the tropes and tonal shifts overshadow the less produced moments that are fresh and interesting and could have underpinned a truly great rom-com. Most of these moments occur during conversations, especially in the second half of the movie.

Zara is struggling with the realisation that her mum’s life is about more than mothering, and she is a person who deserves happiness, but she also doesn’t want Chris to hurt her mum. Brooke is having a hard time opening herself up to a relationship that could end with hurt. This mother-daughter dynamic and depiction of coming-of-age as a lifelong process are easily the film’s highlights, and it should have leaned into them.

Instead, A Family Affair is just another iteration of an overproduced rom-com like December’s Anyone But You. And, like April’s The Idea Of You, it glosses over the complexities it presents to become a generic version of palatable and consumable.

While these rom-coms (and Anyone But You’s box office success and the resurgence of rom-coms on streaming platforms) have been lauded as proof that the genre is back, all of them have left me rubbing my eyes in disbelief, wondering if I just watched the same movie that other critics and viewers said they loved.

I’m not writing this to be a contrarian or detract from a viewer’s enjoyment (all art is subjective), but I do want to know what happened to the modern rom-com in its purest form? When did we lose the plot of clandestine emails and No. 2 pencils, and why is it so rare to capture that magic in movies today? Why is Plus One an aberration?

In our hyperbolic, engagement-driven world, everything is either “the greatest” or “the worst”, and A Family Affair is neither. It is mediocre, run-of-the-mill, exactly what we have come to expect from most content. And that’s the problem. It’s watchable.

When the goal is getting eyes on the small screen, rom-coms like this and The Idea Of You become successes not because they are great but because we are willing to consume them in large volumes. I still hold this up as proof that people want rom-coms, but I’m losing faith in the new movies we now qualify as “great” ones.

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