Benedict Cumberbatch talks about his ‘stupid’ birth name with the WSJ

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Celebatchy Log: Day 16

It has been over two weeks since Benedict Cumberbatch announced his engagement to his girlfriend of less than six months, Sophie Hunter. The Starship Celebatchy is still on lockdown, dealing with the fallout. But I am fine. All is well. It occurred to me as we reach the pre-Thanksgiving gossip slowdown that the past two weeks would have been super-boring for celebrity gossip without our Otter King. Which is why I continue to write about the many interviews Otterbatch has given in the past week – there is literally nothing else to write about. So with that in mind, you can read Benedict’s full Wall Street Journal interview here. Some highlights:

As Richard III, the costume designers are hiding the “hunchback”: “We figured there would be a certain amount of disguise going on in order for him to function as a luminary in the court and to be a figure of power… When you start talking about the entitlement that his family, the Plantagenets, are heir to—this beautiful, Adonis, athletic family, this sort of English Kennedy family—Richard is this dark embarrassment in the corner that everyone wants to quietly ignore or patronize, this disabled child. Being an outsider festers, and fosters the sociopathic, the anger and sense of entitlement to seize the crown.”

He tried to replicate & study Alan Turing’s drawings: “In a way it’s an actor’s trick—how he holds himself, his body, his pen, what sounds are distracting to him. For all the extraordinarily complex ideas and mathematics and science, this was a man who was incredibly sensitive to his environment. It could be as simple as a particular use of language.”

Breaking down in one of Turing’s last scenes: “It had to be contained, the emotion I felt in the last scenes, because it was near the end of the schedule of shooting. I couldn’t control my grief, and I realized it wasn’t me in the role being upset as Turing. It was me outside of the role grieving for the loss of this extraordinary man that I had this great sympathy for.”

Sherlock versus Turing: “People may think, ‘Oh, he’s playing another difficult genius,’ but they’re very different. Sherlock is an extrovert, who uses people. He’s asexual and sociopathic. Alan is just slightly awkward, he’s more guileless in his behavior.”

On Sherlock: “He’s iconic. He’s a man of the digital age. He’s incredibly intelligent. The asexuality is interesting. He’s unobtainable and that drives people kind of crazy. I think you can take ownership of someone who’s not a predatory heterosexual, as a lot of heroes can be, whether it’s a kind of Bond character or what else. He’s not a threat and that I think makes him a safe fascination you can own in a fan world, because in reality it would be very messy and very different.”

He almost went by Benedict Carlton: “I was going to be Benedict Carlton,” Mr. Cumberbatch said. He wasn’t getting work, and when his agents suggested using his catchier original name, he resisted. “I said, ‘It sounds a bit like a fart in the bath. It’s clumsy. Dad doesn’t use it.’” The agents argued that people would remember it, if only to wonder, Cumber-what? “When people started suggesting I’d made it up, I was like, ‘Well thank you for crediting me with that much imagination. I don’t think I could possibly make up a name as stupid as the one I was born with.’”

Benedict’s “moment”: “I’ve got so much that’s fortunate going on in my life right now,” he says, referring to his recent engagement to Sophie Hunter, a theater director. “I was very happy in this world as a working actor before any furor kicked off and I will continue to be that person. The work is wonderful and I’m in it for the long game. People say, ‘This is your moment.’ Well, I hate to say it, but I don’t believe in moments. I don’t believe in one-offs. I believe in something continuing and continuing, and I want to be doing this job for the next 50 years if I live that long.”

[From the Wall Street Journal]

Showing that I can still learn new things about Lord Otter, I totally didn’t know that he actually did use the stage name “Carlton” for a time early in his career. That was a smart decision, to go back to his real last name. Would a Cumberbatch by any other name smell as sweet/ottery? His funky, ridiculous, painfully-English name is part of his charm. I’m not sure he would be the internet’s boyfriend if he was Benedict Carlton.

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Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

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607 Responses to “Benedict Cumberbatch talks about his ‘stupid’ birth name with the WSJ”

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  1. Maya says:

    I know I am going to see the full force of the cumberbitches but I have gone off Benedict.

    He seems like a lovely man but comes across as someone who tries too hard to be accepted by the public.

    Better run and hide behind Kaiser now.

    • vauvert says:

      I will hide with you. My love for him is fading fast. What I don’t understand is why WSJ would interview him. Who arranges these things, does WSJ seriously up and calls his agent or does someone approach the publication first?
      Because if this is the movie PR machine in motion, it may work for them with the Oscar committee (despite the competition), but do they miss the fact that if people get turned off enough by this relentless press, we will just go “to hell with it, I will watch it on video next year instead”? And Ben, bless his heart, is not established enough yet to carry a film in North America yet so it may well affect his future. Turn off enough of your diehard but still relatively small fan base and then what?
      And finally, if he makes one more stupid comment regarding Sherlock’s sexuality, I will barf. Because first of all, that guesswork and all the other “sparkly, tingly” comments are not required if he wants to lock in his “I am a serious actor, hope my craziest fans calm down, look at me, happily engaged man”, and second, he can’t even keep this narrative straight. One day Sherlock gets it on with Irene, another day he details a graphic story of what Sherlock would do… Then he claims Sherlock us asexual. Please Ben, stop. Just stop bringing this in altogether. Find something else to talk about (books you read, hobbies you have, research on your role, whatever).

      • j says:

        that’s not new, he’s always bounced back and forth since Series 2. but if you want to get technical asexual ≠ never having sex. That is a myth.

        idc what he says, tbh, they’re headcanons he’s entitled to have but hes not in charge of writing the show lol

      • aly says:

        I generally ignore what he says about Sherlock. I wonder whether he rewatches himself playing Sherlock. Sociopath? huh? In Moffat’s words: Sherlock only wishes he was a sociopath, but he’s so fucking not (paraphrasing)

        @j: and thank god for that (re: not being in charge of writing the show)

      • Isadora says:

        “And finally, if he makes one more stupid comment regarding Sherlock’s sexuality, I will barf.” THIS!!!

        I’m not a big fan of the Irene Adler storyline in BBC Sherlock because to me it lacks the subtlety that the original Scandal in Bohemia had. Of course Holmes’ sexuality had people guessing for over 100 years, so yes, it’s intriguing. On the other hand the whole intrigue is there because Doyle hardly ever wrote about it. He concentrated on the cases instead.

        And to me that’s where BBC Sherlock and Ben go wrong: they have this great cast and interesting setting in modern times which is extremely clever at times. But I think they don’t focus enough on well written cases and instead it becomes more and more a study of Sherlock, Sherlock and girlfriends, Johnlock, John’s relationship whatever. I guess they want to cater to a certain fan community who just loves the relationship element of the series (meaning: tumblr), but for me as a Doyle-Holmes fan it has become a bit much. Reading Ben’s comments about Sherlock in interviews makes it way worse. He clearly proves that subtlety and old-fashioned intrigue aren’t his forte.

      • MtnRunner says:

        @Vauvert, this I avow. The disingenuity and inconsistency of this campaign annoys the hell out of me. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick with Sherlock when it returns next year. Already, I have no plans to see TIG in the theater and praying to the Oscar gods that that they hand him a long promo break starting Jan 16th. CB will have Hiddles back for click-bait by then, so business should be booming.

        I keep clicking expecting one more eye-rolling remark (Sherlock is asexual again, Ben??) and for the entertaining comments that he generates. Damn you Kaiser, you MasterBaiter you!

      • Lu says:

        @Isadora, I agree completely. I was fine with opening out the Conan Doyle characterizations as they did, adding new characters and reinventing old ones (though the Adler reinterpretation was a big mistake). Seasons One and Two were great, though far from flawless, of course. They were really, really enjoyable.

        Then in the last season, they turned to ALL that emotional crap, big bangs, constant danger and drama, etc., with only slight nods to the canon stories. They got carried away with their feeling that they could do anything with these characters and lose all but the most tenuous connection to ACD.

        And now they are promising more BIG. DRAMA. TRAGEDY. TEARS. and whatever else it is they want to get off on in Season Four to aggrandize their enterprise. I had already reached my limit with that (and their giant plot holes) in Season Three, so I am not looking forward to anything but the Christmas special with any kind of anticipation. I don’t care if they never make another series, frankly, because I don’t feel that the characters they made me love in the first two series are safe in their hands anymore.

    • Anon says:

      I’ll join you in hiding.
      I was at the point of being obsessed this time last year (I know! I know!) but lately he is makes me feel….meh! The overload lately is too much.

    • moodgirl says:

      @vauvert – Attribute the WSJ article to Harvey Weinstein; his company bought the rights to this movie and the public has been paying for it ever since. Ben is everywhere and his fiancee’s CV has been scrubbed and polished to make her look like the second coming of Jesus. Ridiculous.

      • vauvert says:

        I would not mind the everywhere so much if he said intelligent things. I also would suggest more relevant media as the WSJ seems a bit of a reach in this case. (I work in marketing, but admittedly not in the entertainment industry, so maybe the logic of this campaign eludes me.) What annoys me to bits at this point is: his inconsistent statements, his visibly attention-getting comments (all the sex talk and reference to his more fringe fans etc). and the timing of his engagement announcement after the “Oh I am such a private person” stance. I am starting to doubt that he is remotely as smart as I had thought him to be. Even if all these shenanigans are PR dictated, I assume he has some say in what comes out of his mouth…
        As far as Sophie goes, I don’t understand why the two of them need to pretend that she is more than a struggling actor. There is no shame in that, she sounds like she comes from a well off family so she didn’t have to juggle three jobs to pay the bills, and from the first bits about her i got the impression that she dabbled in university studies but did not actually complete anything. There is nothing wrong in any of that, but I resent their effort to make her come across as this super talented avant-grade artiste. Please…. Shades of Amber Heard – same delusions. But whatever floats their boat. I strongly suspect all this will end reflecting badly on him, which is too bad as he is a talented actor. He can reach the pinnacle of his career based on that, without all the circus.

    • moodgirl says:

      Delete duplicate.

    • Imqrious2 says:

      Last night, at dinner, when we were talking about the new movies out, my 16 year old nephew told us all the kids he knows referred to him (Benedict) as “Benadryl Cumberbund”. I thought that was too funny!

  2. lindy79 says:

    I actually thought we wouldn’t get a BC post today..
    Hes done promoting…
    Silly Lindy

    • Abbott says:

      Girl please. We are in this til March. Everyone hold on to their favorite semiaquatic mammal because we’ve only just begun.

    • Crocuta says:

      Me too. I just joked yesterday how we’re getting BC news every day, sometimes even twice a day. I open CB and here we go again. And again, nothing really interesting.

      Nasty click-baiting. 😀

    • j says:

      click-bait, it’s all stuff staggered from the same junket lol

      should start ebbing off now, he’s back filming. i wonder is this was his ‘big’ push, usually they do it jan/feb but i think sherlock’s filming schedule is a bit rigid.

    • 'P'enny says:

      Silly Lindy

      :-p

    • moodgirl says:

      Oh Lindy, you should know better than that. Batch may be gone but he has left “gifts” for us that will last until he again graces us with his presence. This WSJ piece is just the beginning. Next will be singing telegrams.

      • MissMary says:

        THIS. He may be back in the UK filming Hollow Crown but there’s a stockpile of “I’m so happy TWILTWIPT” interviews waiting to be released, and mysteriously appropriate pics from “when they started dating” to be leaked, and a few other things as well (like confusing behavior/remarks about fans, Sherlock’s sexuality, and a lack of meaningful discussion about TIG).

      • Claire says:

        MissMary can we switch from TWILTWIPT to TLIMLATM? Cause that second one is the real gem (and the most suspect of phrases he’s used to describe her).

      • MissMary says:

        I can get with that lol. TLIMLATM she is! (though now I want to read it as “timtam” lol)

      • Lu says:

        What does TLIMLATM stand for? I can’t figure it out.
        I liked TWILTWIPT. I said it to myself “Twilpit.” 🙂

      • Claire says:

        ‘the love in my life at the moment’, replacing ‘the woman i love the woman i proposed to’ as the weirdest epithet he’s since come up with to describe her, and the most telling

  3. Lilacflowers says:

    I too am sticking with my awkwardly English birth name. Now, where’s my Oscar?

    • LadySlippers says:

      •Lilacflowers•

      *stamps roots angrily*

      What’s so terrible about your name? Are you implying all flowers have quaint names?!? We do but we actually sport *Latin* names which is fair worse than English ones.

      *mellows*

      Which should entitle us to a whole slew of awards. Right?

      Yours In The Garden,

      Cypripedium reginae
      AKA LadySlippers

      (Sorry Dearest I didn’t know which lovely Lilac you were so I didn’t want to be presumptuous!)

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Uhm, actually, dear LadySlipers, er, Cypripedium reginae, I was referring to my actual name, which has far too many consonants and only two vowels, both of which are forever being mispronounced to the point that I don’t recognize what the speaker just said or the speaker takes one look at the name, pronounces the first letter incorrectly, then gives up and asks what language that is. When I reply “English”, the glances at me are not kind. Your Latin name is lovely as it indicates the royalty you are whereas mine, Syringa Vulgaris, well, let’s not go there.

      • icerose says:

        The name Cumberbatch comes from Comberbach a village in Cheshire.The variation in Northants is Cumberpatch.
        Hiddleston and Cumberbatch do lend themselves to a lot of word play which probably helped with their bonding.

      • MtnRunner says:

        @Lilac, why must you bait an old, lusty woman proclaiming your Latin name like a shameless hussy? The Mr won’t be home for another 8 hours, goddamnit.

        *disrobing for imminent cold shower*

      • LadySlippers says:

        •Lilacflowers•

        Your *actual* name?!? What does that mean???

        *steps out of character*

        (My birth name and married name give people fits so I get it)

        *steps back into character*

        •MountainRunner•

        What?!? Am I not sexy????

        *mutters*

        Today is a bad day and •Tulup• has tidied the Garden Shed so I haven’t found her stash yet.

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        I like mine…. Solanaceae… or Nightshade…. And he complains, complains, complains.. dah…

      • LadySlippers says:

        •NightShade•

        Is that you?!?!?
        Oh how I’ve missed my fellow love plant!!!!

        ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

        *blushes deeply and whispers*

        •MountainRunner•

        I’d get the ice as apparently Lilacs’ branches swing BOTH ways…

      • MtnRunner says:

        @Ladyslippers, I love you for your body. Have you considered modeling for O’Keefe?

        *heads back to the shower*

      • MtnRunner says:

        @LadySlippers

        Oh dear. The Mr is home in an hour and I’m standing here with a bottle of Ménage à Trois whilst writing salaciously with not one, but two lady blooms. This does not look good.

        *erases all CB history from computer, adorns herself appropriately for MtnBiker*

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        @Ladyslippers… My darling…
        That’s me, yep… How are you?

        I’m still here, though work (thank god) is keeping me busy for long, long hours a day and don’t have much time to come here as often as I’d like,…. 🙂

        *one gets lost in these long threads….*

      • LadySlippers says:

        •MountainRunner•

        I’m too saucy for O’Keefe! 😉

        And hopefully your Mr enjoyed the fire stoked by mere blooms…

        *giggles behind hand*

        And I’m guessing some beau swept our lovely •Lilac• off for a romantic weekend…she has been working ever so much.

        •NightShade•

        {{HUGS}} I’m so glad to see you again. Be well my friend. 😊

    • Grace says:

      What? Colin has not given you his? *shockhorror*

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Colin is my butler. One does not usually take the name of one’s butler. As I have two husbands, Chris and Tom, I have not taken either of their names. They’re both fine with that.

      • Grace says:

        No, I meant his Oscar. Which Chris are we talking about?

  4. MediaD says:

    I really like the detail on that suit. I want it – ladies suits are so dull.

  5. Kali says:

    Kaiser, I hope you’re holding up under the onslaught of Cumberbatch (the Batchening? The Cumberslaught? God, I’m really not good at this….). Please let us know if you need help. Blink once for yes, twice for no…

    • EscapedConvent says:

      Both of those are very good. I like “The Batchening” especially. I hope that next year there will be a Stephen King story with this title.

  6. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I don’t think Cumberbatch is such a bad name. It doesn’t roll tripping ly off the tongue, but I’ve heard worse.

  7. Soothy says:

    Even I’m fatigued now. But still I’ll comment. He’s sapping the life out of me.

    *swigs red bull*

  8. Abbott says:

    Who is this fellow? Seems like a nice man who is going places. Anyone know where I can get more information on this elusive chanteuse?

    • Lindy79 says:

      I’m told that on the 4th sunny day of St Swivens month, if you see a bumblebee, go to the top of the tallest tree in the land, and whisper “Oscar” 15 times he will appear. But be warned, he’s very very shy and gives nothing away.

    • j.eyre says:

      I am not sure who he is but the lady on his arm looks familiar. I think I have seen something with her in it.

      Do we know with whom he keeps company? Like who his good friends are?

      • EscapedConvent says:

        @Lilacflowers,

        That’s funny.

        @Miss Eyre,

        Are you thinking of the video in which she swims with dolphins? VERY avant-garde. And I believe that Anna Wintour is one of his closest friends. She picks out all his hats.

    • Bota says:

      He is about to adopt Honey Boo Boo.

    • Cee says:

      “elusive chanteuse” – I can’t deal with so much humour so early in the morning (on my side of the world, at least). *drowns in very strong, black tea*

      • Jaderu says:

        Elusive chanteuse gave me an image of Benny in a slinky, shimmering evening gown belting out “Misty” in a smoky nightclub.

  9. maybeiamcrazy says:

    If this guy doesn’t get an Oscar nomination, i will be laughing so hard. I like him, he is a great actor but i have had enough.

    • Isadora says:

      Oh… I just imagined: no nomination and Harvey Weinstein doing a full on Rumpelstiltskin. It would be so worth it. 😀

      • aly says:

        Guys, HW got August Osage county nominated for a bunch of categories, he got Jennifer Lawrence and Gwyneth Paltrow an Oscar…if he pulled that off, he can do anything…

  10. Beth says:

    Am I the only one in the world who thinks his name is not that obnoxious or wacky? “Benedict” is a perfectly normal boy’s name and “Cumberbatch” may sound British but it’s not exactly LOL-worthy? I honestly didn’t bat an eyelid when I first read his name and it was only later that I realised it was a running gag.

    I mean, I know people called Barnabas, Estella, Benaiah and Theodore, and BC’s name is weak sauce compared to these.

    • **sighs** says:

      How do you pronounce that last one?

      Not Theodore, that B-one?

    • Lu says:

      Beth, do you live in a Dickens novel? 😉 Actually, I think Theodore is a common name, and even Estella is, IMO. But anyway, I kind of agree with the author that he might not have gotten so much attention without that name. It certainly caught my eye. I remember seeing it in the credits of “Fortysomething” and thinking, “That young man is the one with that Dickensian name?” It piqued my interest, at least a little (before I got Cumberbatch’d).

    • Isadora says:

      I really like Theodore. But then… I’m also totally in love with “Alistair”, I’m probably not one to judge.

      And I’m prone to give children names from medieval epics just for the hell of it. They sometimes had the funniest names. So… pray that my children aren’t “Dindrane” and “Aglovale” one day. 😀

      But I have to admit, “Galahad Hiddleston” does have a certain ring to it (because I will totally be the Dragonfly King’s baby momma). I’d also take Fassbender, but I would have to go with a more German sounding name then, like… “Kriemhild Fassbender” and that’s very teutonic. We are entering Wagnerian territory here.

      • Mimi Jones says:

        Hi Isadora-
        I have friends who named their kids Siegfried, Wotan, and Ozzie Jr! I’m all for Wotan Hiddleston.
        And seriously, you guys have made me giggle far too much this morning, which is NOT helping my bronchitis.

  11. Bota says:

    Jesus H Christbatch in a hand Basket – so Sherlock is asexual again? Make up you blooming mind!
    It’s like he has so many lines to remember when it comes to answering simple questions that he cannot remember all the correct responses.
    You know what is easy to remember, the truth. Every time you regurgitate someone else’s thoughts/words you pass on a Chinese whisper.
    Hotty Otty needs to write his own scripts because this is getting beyond ridiculous. It’s contradiction city all up in his batch.

    • Lu says:

      I know. As for me, after I started reading the article, I thought to myself, “Well, at least he’s moved on to ‘stupid’ and stopped using that disgusting ‘fa** in a bath’ line.” Aaannd, boom, there it was. Ew.

      • Soothy says:

        I loves me some fart humour. Trufax.

        The most fun I’ve ever had in my life is the night I discovered the fart app.

  12. Koodles says:

    My personal favorite thing is singing his name to the song “another one bites the dust.”

  13. Soothy says:

    Deleted. Forget it, I’m losing my mind. Nothing to see here..

  14. PunkyMomma says:

    Being an aquatic mammal, I would fully expect that The Otter King would know what a fart in the bath sounds like. 👀

    @maybeiamcrazy – I, too, will laugh my Otter A** off if Benny doesn’t get a nomination.

    • **sighs** says:

      Must admit I’ll get a good guffaw out of it if he doesn’t get the nom. At least he’ll have lots of tentacles wrapped around him to console himself in the off chance that happens.

    • maybeiamcrazy says:

      What if he breaks off the engagement if he doesn’t get a nomination. LOL, I hope that won’t happen becauae i wouldn’t be able to watch Sherlock with a straight face but i am worried about Ben.

    • Isadora says:

      But… but…. I just had an epiphany. Someone probably already mentioned it in one of the 600+ post threads, but here’s the reason Sophie doesn’t look extremely thrilled on the red carpet. I found a recent picture of the couple: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cPQVP8FdB38/TTDRTWAkm3I/AAAAAAAAAeY/7PbH4A_q3WI/s1600/Otter%2Band%2BOctopus3web.jpg

      She’s probably very much afraid, it doesn’t look too good for her, so to speak. And that’s also why the Cumhards act that way, we totally have a Twilight situation here, “the lion” and “the lamb” and all that stuff…

  15. Nonnie says:

    Anyone knows why this woman is hiding? She was only rolled out on the red carpet and was never seen again. Did they put her back in hibernation? Not that there’s much life in her anyway.

    • **sighs** says:

      Maybe she lives in Narnia? That’s why she was able to disappear without anyone seeing her.

      • Lu says:

        lol. Did anyone check the wardrobe in his hotel room?

      • Nonnie says:

        I’m just starting to wonder if she actually exists at all. Maybe she is a contagious collective hallucination? An emanation of BC’s brooding desire? She doesn’t look a real human, admit it. More like a ‘real human’ from Real Humans, this Scandinavian series. Yes, they have feelings, but it’s still creepy.

      • EscapedConvent says:

        I think she’s still at Tiffany’s, trying to upgrade her engagement ring.

      • Cate says:

        She only exists in our alternative ‘Celebatchy’ universe. I’m plotting my escape, but I haven’t made much progress yet. I think I’m stuck here…

      • Ingrid says:

        @Cate – I think we are all stuck in limbo like in Inception. No wonder none of this really makes any sense.

    • Green Eyes says:

      La Chantreuse is NOT hiding. It’s just that every time she makes an appearance it is costing someone (HW, Le Batch) a whole lotta money (or diamond rings).

      Ka-Ching!

      Octopuses and hipster musician boyfriends are not cheap to keep, ya know!

    • Lindy79 says:

      How DARE you! She’s very, very busy! Too busy for this tomfoolery, which is why she looked so miserable.
      She recorded an album in 2005, did a short odd film with him in 2009 and has done some arty plays a few years ago and she’s STILL doing the bloody paperwork and filing. She was left to clean up the theaters and steam iron all the octopus costumes, do you have any idea how long it takes to clean an octopus costume. Do you??
      Admin is such a bitch.

      • Bota says:

        You know, I told that chick, I said “Soph, it’s better to go with a sea creature minus the tentacles, how about a blowfish?”.
        I knew thems tentacles would take forever to steam iron.
        No comment on the blowfish.

      • Nonnie says:

        I bet she bursts in laughing herself, when reading how ‘busy’ she is.

      • Cate says:

        I thought she was busy fishing for octopi, in a very humane way of course. She’s a card carrying member of The Octopi Liberation Front. But anyway, since she’s an accomplished sailer, she sails there by herself, while shooting a documentary on it. All by herself. I mean, this lady, I think I want her for myself.

        *Pushes Batch out of the way and elopes with Sophie*

  16. tasha_nat says:

    I am sick of Benny, but I love the comments, so here I am!

  17. InvaderTak says:

    Dude, you could have solved a lot of the name clumsy ness by just going by Ben. Cumberbatch is still odd, but with a plain first name it’s ok. Quit whining.

    • Just me says:

      Yes! Seemingly his friends call him Ben, going from the more candid moments in interviews. Why not be Ben Cumberbatch? And that fart in the bath thing is an old joke from years ago about the late British actor Edward Woodward. At least that’s where I first heard it.

  18. Grace says:

    Is it me or Benny boy really needs to find new things to talk about? Yes, people used to make fun of his name, or they still do, with good humour – all of this is just not news. He’s been talking about it since forever. It’s like, yes, Benedict, what new ways people have come up to re-arrange your name? Or have they come up with new anagram? I wholeheartedly agree with @vauvert upthread. Talk about books, talk about films, talk about music, other things that might have inspired him, in relation to Alan Turing or just in general. Just, please find new talking points if we’re all in this until March.

    • j says:

      eh in US press, you’re going to see some intro-type question/answers still. he’s not super well known here

    • Ingrid says:

      They tried the new talking points -> engagement. And that backfired badly.

      I think he really should stick with analyzing his name. At this point in time, it’s the only sane thing coming out of his mouth.

      • aly says:

        I love when he talks about his projects, I don’t give a damn about his sexual prowress, St. Hunter, the love story of the century. This whole clusterf**k only interests me because it’s part of a PR campaign…I wish he focused on his job/roles

      • blended says:

        i think he would like to focus on the work, but that’s not what sells to the masses unfortunately. especially not in hollywood. i wish he would just do small movies, british stuff, some tv, theatre, etc. things that don’t require the machinery behind it. i’m hoping this whole experience will make him re-evaluate who he is and what he wants.

      • aly says:

        Yeah, Ingrid. To think TIG was borne as an indipendent movie:( damn…

  19. Hodgkiss says:

    Yes but when he was promoting his LAST thing, he said Sherlock had a sex drive that he merely reeled in for the sake of his work, and then he regaled everybody with the porny fanfic he’d written. I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO THINK ANYMORE.

    I’m exhausted. I’m moving on with Cillian Murphy. It’s not me, Benedict, it’s you.

  20. OTHER RENEE says:

    Cumberbatch. Timberlake. Dumbledore. Thumbelina. Bumblebee. All cool.

  21. 'P'enny says:

    I’m moving on to Hugh Laurie – buy Benedict, Tom, Cillian, David, and move over Hugh is my new man. Yes, older, scruffier, blue eyes, and nice hands.

    • Grace says:

      Penny, you are cheating on PuddleTom’s hands??? Although I can’t fault you. Have you seen the documentary on Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry reunite?

      • 'P'enny says:

        not yet, but I am catching up with all Hughie stuff, working through House, then Blackadder and then Fry and Laurie.

        I am sort of cheating on Hiddles, until he comes out of hiding and hopefully charms me once more. I need to find new celeb crushes, and Hugh has landed right on my lap.

      • icerose says:

        Well lets hope that the Night Manager comes off and you can have them both. I loved his Jeeves and Wooster character. Such a sweet fluffy empty headed bunny and not a bit of House snark anywhere. His transition was amazing.

      • Isadora says:

        I love Hugh. (And I LOVE Blackadder.)

        The only thing I can say regarding Tom and Hugh is The Night Manager! It will be glorious! (If someone writes a decent script.)

    • Lilacflowers says:

      And he is going to be on Veep!

    • EscapedConvent says:

      And a beautiful voice. I adore Hugh Laurie.

      • noneyadambus says:

        Wanted to jump in on Hugh Laurie/Stephen Fry. You know they were in a series with Ben and Peter Capaldi? LOL I swear sometimes there are only 10 Actors in Britain

    • OTHER RENEE says:

      Penny, I have an awesome pic of me and Dr. House taken a few months ago after his concert. Sigh of happiness.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Neither of them has actually confirmed for Night Managet, have they? I do hope it happens. Also hope they cast great actresses in the roles of Jeds and Sophia.

      • icerose says:

        I am getting a bit perturbed because he is home mid December and as yet we have nothing on his imdb re any production dates for next year not even Skull. Not that I do not want him to have a relaxed time up until Xmas.
        Hadley is back at the Donmar before Xmas and I wonder if Tom will show up.

  22. Soothy says:

    Clueless Brit question..

    I thought the Wall Street journal was like a ..y’know.. Financial type publication?

    • Heheheh says:

      Oh, don’t worry…Soothy
      Excellent point…
      American here…and feeling clueless also, because yea…Wall Street Journal is a financial type publication.
      Why would WSJ ask about his name…and why would he answer it?
      OH! Maybe he is going to copyright his name and use it as a branding somehow…will be the next big financial trademark since…since….ugh..

      Was bad enough Time had him rather than Alan Turing on their Genius cover…

      Hey…maybe, just maybe…BC will be starring in a remake of Wold of Wall Street? Maybe this is the angle?

      American journalism at it’s finest! :/

      • moodgirl says:

        Harvey Weinstein Company has tentacles of its own when it comes to marketing his minions. Look how well they turned Sophie from barely working woman to the next coming of HRH Diana. Amal is only good for cleaning Sophie’s toilet.

      • Isadora says:

        Copyright his name and use it as branding? Yeah.. maybe he starts his own shoe design line. You know, because he obviously loves shoes. And openings of shoe shops and such. 😉

      • MissMary says:

        WSJ often prints “entertainment news” esp if it’s anything remotely related to a big name or a company traded on Wall Street. And a lot of money goes into movies, so I’m sure there’s investors out there wanting to see what they’re getting for their dollars. And, you know, financial news is dull, lol, so throw in a celeb now and then to break up the routine.

      • Soothy says:

        Oh god how mercenary and seedy.

      • moodgirl says:

        That’s Harvey!

  23. Bota says:

    I have to ask, so Benny boo boo, when will princess Sophia come out to play?

  24. Just me says:

    Can I say something? As far as the Cumberbatch backlash, I think he’s pretty much brought it on himself. Sure, there’s some crazies out there, but for the most part I think this whole thing has just been a major PR screw-up. What do I mean by that?

    1) All that cloak and dagger nonsense. If they’d just behaved normally and gone out in public together people would have known they were a couple and no one would have been surprised by the engagement (assuming its real, for what it’s worth I don’t care either way). The problem is how this whole dog and pony show was presented. All that cloak and dagger shite makes people think you’ve got something to hide. It looks shady. It invites speculation. But if its just a PR stunt then it was seriously amateur hour, ’cause god what a mess.

    Personally, I’m not that interested in the dating history of celebs but a relationship that goes from zero to engagement in 5 months, just in time for the premiere of an Oscar contender? — Yeah I can see why that’s getting some serious side-eyes.

    2) Benedict veering wildly between fan-baiting (Elle interview) and making disparaging comments about his fan (NY mag photo-shoot, just for starters). He can’t just bathe in the adoration one day and then make snide comments whenever he feels like. That Penguins Q&A? Very unprofessional. Fans can’t be turned on/off like a switch. He may want to distance himself from the crazies but they’ll cling as hard as ever. All it really does is alienate the more casual fans. That’s a serious problem, mate. I know everyone gets bad moods occasionally and says snarky things. In the past, he’d just have an occasional slip-up which would eventually fade from people’s memories but unfortunately he’s everywhere lately and the negative BS is beginning to pile up.

    3) Not to mention the schizophrenic clusterf**k that’s become his marketing campaign in general. Ben’s a serious intellectual Oscar-worthy actor — no wait he’s a sex machine that all the girls go gooey for. WTF.

    Hopefully, things will eventually cool down. Though I worry this may have long term ramifications for BC’s popularity, which is a shame. (I loved Sherlock and now I can’t watch without cringing) It certainly seems to be overshadowing TIG.

    As for the people who come here, I don’t think you’re nuts. Its fun to gossip. Its fun to take the piss out celebs for the dumb shite they do. I don’t think anyone really takes it seriously. There’s been some wild conspiracies, but I think it’s just people being joking around, seeing what bizarre theories could possibly fit BC’s equally bizarre soap opera life. Mostly fans are just joking or sarcastically dissing BC for the inconsistent crap he comes up with. I think outsiders take things out of context and put the worst spin on it. Lighten up. It’s just for fun. It may not be your idea of fun but it works for others.

    I’m not a obsessed stalker. I’ve never met a celebrity. Most likely never will and that’s just fine by me. I will however reserve the right to take the piss out of BC’s crap clothes and interview faux pas (It’s “WE think WE will have a private wedding,” Ben. Not I, WE. )

    I know people like to paint BC fans as crazies. But if you actually read through the posts you’ll see that the fan response to BC’s engagement is not sobbing hysteria (Not that I’ve seen anyway). Am I upset he’s not marrying me? You’ve must be joking! I’ve never met him. What do I care whom he marries? I’ll gossip about it, but I’m not emotionally invested, not by a long shot. Maybe there’s been some snarkiness going around, mostly about SH’s career or lack thereof, but it’s not that bad. That whole TruLuv/settling/PR stunt debate? – that’s just water cooler talk. No big deal. There’s been some venting but again, that’s about BC’s recent rude/pissy behavior, not the engagement. Most people just say, “What an ass!” and move on to discussing they’re other celebrity crushes.

    We’ll be just fine without BC, don’t worry about us. They’re some crazies out there, no doubt, every star gets them — but I am not one of those. I just enjoy a bit of gossip. And I think that goes for most of us here.

    Sorry for the long rant, but I just needed to get that off my chest. Now, back to the idle gossip: The Hobbit premiere is coming up. Anyone want to lay odds on seeing The Dress for the third time? LMAO.

    • gg says:

      If we do see the dress again, I’m betting there will be a whole thread on imdb about how good Sophie is for the environment (recycling and all). And just who are the crazies here?

      • MissMary says:

        They’ll compare her to Colin Firth’s wife, who does the “recycled dress” movement and they’ll try to make it her “thing” where SH is “showing other H’wood women that you can look beautiful in the same dress worn multiple occasions”.

    • Lucifer says:

      so well put just me. I wish i could put it in the IMDB pages. so true. Cumber-backlash was merely a matter of time.
      wonder why we never get a fassbender or mcavoy backlas?? oh wait. they are much bigger stars with a REAL film career and leading roles in successful fims and they’re alwys pleasant.

    • Lu says:

      *applause*

    • Floribunda says:

      Brilliantly put Just me – you’ve summed up the madness nicely! *applauds*. ITA about BC risking alienating the normal, reasonable people who make up the majority of his fan base, which is why this whole strategy seems so bizarre and counter-productive. Sadly, the crazies will remain crazy regardless of what he does – meanwhile, the rest of us will switch off.

      For me the most grating thing (so far, given that we’ve a scarily long way to go yet!) has been the Penguins Q&A. This is an out-and-out kids’ movie. I’m a teacher, and many of the kids I work with adore the Madagascar series and are looking forward to seeing it (a few of them can recite whole scenes from the previous movies verbatim). Plenty of them are on Tumblr. Some of them might even have submitted questions. These aren’t hormonal teens who write pornographic Sherlock fan-fiction and bake him cupcakes – they’re 10 and 11-year-old kids. Not to mention their parents, who have every right to be royally p*ssed off by his BS answers. I mean, glass on a pizza…? Not funny on any level.

      On the plus side, I’m hoping someone will be moved to create a fly-on-the-wall-style satire/sitcom about all these PR shenanigans, a bit like the BBC did recently with the fabulous 2012 and W1A (about the London Olympics and the inner workings of the BBC itself – ’twas all very meta!) I’m confident that there’ll be more than enough comedy material for at least the first season come February.

      • Just me says:

        Well thanks guys! I don’t like that people talk about us like we’re some kind of loonies, like I’ve been hearing other places. I just wanted to explain to people that our discussion about Ben’s recent behavior doesn’t really have anything to do with some weird “Why won’t he marry me!” complex its about how he’s been representing himself lately.

        And yeah, Floribunda, I have to say that Q&A upset me to. That was set up to promote a kids movie. It’s not like he was being accosted by some random crazed fans on the street.

        Say a company (dreamworks) set up a board meeting with their shareholders (the audience) to sell a new product (PoM). They bring in their sales rep (BC) to promote that new product. The shareholders quite rightly want to ask questions about this new product. The sales rep then behaves rudely to the customer and basically gives them the metaphorical finger. Is that acceptable behavior? Not in my book. Not by a long shot.

        Its likely that DreamWorks have their own PR watching the promos and aren’t too happy with it. That’s not how I’d want to promote a movie I spent millions on.

        And I’m sure some of those questions were posed by kids. For someone who seems to be obsessed with having children I would have thought he’d behave in a friendlier, more gracious manner. Not cool, mate.

  25. blended says:

    question for those of you who still think the relationship is real: why do you think this? i was willing to concede maybe, just maybe, they were in some sort of a relationship (not a real engagement though), but after seeing that red carpet footage, and them leaving that night in the car, there is no way they even like each other. it looks like they are straining themselves just to be around each other. if you google anything about spotting a liar, or body language of couples, it’s very obvious that these two are exhibiting deceptive behaviour.
    and let’s not forget his previous behaviour with OP and AJ, plus how he acts with keira and his co-stars. he doesn’t like this woman.

    • gg says:

      Yeah, until I saw them on the red carpet I was willing to consider “oops pregnancy + broody man = quickie wedding” but now I cannot even imagine those two have ever done the do.

      In fact, I can picture him lying in a hospital bed after the Oscars (exhaustion, dontcha know) and Sophie goes to visit him. “Just once would have been nice,” she says…..

      • blended says:

        yes i’m sensing a lot of contempt for each other, and for the situation they are in.

      • aly says:

        Same. Until I saw the red carpet pictures, the video, the one from FO, I was firmly in the camp of real relationship used for PR purposes.
        A friend of mine has the theory that he probably has a girlfriend/lady love in his life and that he’s protecting her by having a very public girlfriend/fiancee for Oscar season
        or that he’s asexual

      • blended says:

        maybe the lady he took to the theatre in august?
        i think he resents that he can’t date around and look for someone he really has chemistry with, and she was picked for him by HW. i think she is in love with someone else.
        also that they both have to sell this fake engagement for the People mag crowd. i believe him when he says he wants his privacy. he is being forced to do this.

      • Renee says:

        @aly, I’m with your friend, definitely willing to believe he’s got someone else in his life he’s protecting and who couldn’t/wouldn’t do this. Now I’m getting way out on the conspiracy train but this possibility has crossed my mind. *grabs a tinfoil hat*

      • Ingrid says:

        I think the lack of eye contact is the most telling part. We look at people we like/love and avoid looking at people we hate. It’s involuntary and very simple. Hell, scarp the eye contact, they cannot even look at each others direction.

        It’s also very clear that PR currently monitors online conversations and tries to patch up things. They wouldn’t be bothered to do that if the whole thing was real.

        And cue the intense eye contact photos in 1..2…3 (Hello, Harvey & Co!)

      • moodgirl says:

        If he has an actual girlfriend hiding out somewhere watching another woman parade around as his fiance she must be smoking a lot of crack. I can’t imagine any sane woman who would put with that. What’s next…”Honey, I’m just marrying her to protect you. You know we’ll see each other twice a week!”. Reminds me of the star football player who uses the ugly girls for sex but takes the head cheerleader to the prom.

      • Lucifer says:

        no eye contact. to skin contact. no smiling at each other. utter disgust in her eyes. i donno what thr problem is

      • Ingrid says:

        Hey! I found a picture of the lovebirds looking very much in love and enjoying each other’s company. A miracle!

        https://31.media.tumblr.com/fad27e8d498a1d72713386888827ef0d/tumblr_nfb12pfRSO1rujq2eo10_1280.jpg

        No, wait…that’s Morten and Benedict.

      • Renee says:

        Also willing to believe SH is in love with someone else…adjusting tin foil hat..

      • MissMary says:

        @Renee: That is actually a theory I’m seeing a lot of floating around–SH is in this for PR, money, fame, whatever, and she has a bf who “understands”

      • **sighs** says:

        That’s extra sh*tty if he has someone else and is doing all this.

        I don’t think that’s the case though.

      • Beth says:

        “In fact, I can picture him lying in a hospital bed after the Oscars (exhaustion, dontcha know) and Sophie goes to visit him. “Just once would have been nice,” she says…..”

        I caught the reference and am dying of laughter. This is why I keep coming back to the Batch threads even though I am sick of him – the snark and comments are comedy gold. 🙂

        A genuine question: If this engagement is fake, why would BC hate/dislike the Octopussy? If it’s a fauxmance, she’s just a hired hand. And he is in this charade too so he doesn’t really have much moral ground to stand on.

        There were some photos from the red carpet where they both look rather smiley. I’d have been sold… until I saw this particular pic of SH tilting, or should I say, craning her neck towards BC to look more couple-y, but neck down, her body is stiff as ever and facing outwards. If I wanna look more couple-y with my boyfriend, I’d move my ENTIRE body closer to him and not just stretch my neck towards him like a pelican. In the video you can see she tilts her head towards BC and then straightens her posture again quickly… cos it is not convincing?

      • Cate says:

        Him being in love with someone else isn’t that far-fetched, I mean, I have no idea. It might just be PR without someone else in the picture, but it happens. Just yesterday I read an article about a country singer (name escapes me rn) who just came out of the closet at 52, he’s was married TWICE, with 3 kids and his wives both knew what was up. He had also came out to his family at 20 already. I mean, truth is something stranger than fiction indeed.

      • blended says:

        @beth, to answer your question on why would he not like her. maybe she’s not very likeable. ben has always been drawn to people who exude warmth. she’s the very opposite of that. i’m sticking to the theory that she was chosen specifically for the job by weinstein, and he wouldn’t normally date someone like her.

    • Renee says:

      blended, that video pushed me over to the not-real camp. That’s not the normal behavior of two people in love/just got engaged. He seems to not even really like her very much. I sat thinking, are we really supposed to believe this sham? Whatever their deal is, real or fake, they can’t sell this as any kind of a functioning, loving relationship.

      If other fans of his see this as some great love, so be it. I’m not seeing what they are. I think they’re seeing something that isn’t there. Even if this a real deal between them, he/they forced the engagement for PR and that’s not good either.

      • Lucifer says:

        she is so uttely disgusted in those videos. dont u think renee?

      • Renee says:

        Lucifer. She doesn’t look too thrilled but she certainly doesn’t seem scared or nervous as some people suggested. If they’re for real, they’re a creepy couple. Big ick factor.

      • blended says:

        no she is definitely not a nervous kind of girl. the thing about being nervous is that it makes you more clingy to your partner, and physically turn towards them for comfort, not act like he repelled you. also ben is the type of guy who would put his lady at ease; we’ve seen him be courteous and loving before.

      • Lucifer says:

        ITA @blended @renee remember our first school days we all used to cling to our moms. Nervousness nada.disgust it is

      • moodgirl says:

        @Renee – If they show such disdain for each other after the engagement I can imagine how they felt before that event. If they were a real couple before the announcement they would be closer after. No one can fall that far that fast. So I believe the “relationship” is PR based. Not love me one day hate me the next.

    • EscapedConvent says:

      He looks practically giddy in his pics with Olivia. There are lots of pics of them together, and they looked happy. Or drunk. I think both.

      And look at his pics with Keira. He can barely contain himself.

    • aly says:

      @moodgirl: I would smother him in his sleep if I was a secret gf, but then again it’s Hollywood, Weinstein…so who the hell knows…
      I think (puts on tinfoil hat) that Ben would never act like he has publicily done, say the things he has said lately about SH if he was really in love. It’s like he talks about an iphone…an accessory, and he has never been like that. (puts out tinfoil hat)
      My friends’s theory made me pause and consider though…

    • moodgirl says:

      I haven’t seen the video; what happened on the way to the car?

      • EscapedConvent says:

        I haven’t seen it either. Is there a link?

        Did he not lift her & carry her to the car after putting his raincoat down on the pavement for her? What a fiend he is!

      • Victoria says:

        @moodgirl The video of them leaving shows her walking all the way around the SUV into the front seat while BC heads to the backseat. He looks like he could give a you-know-what about her.

        It’s such a shame to see a nice guy not be himself while he’s promoting a movie.

      • Soothy says:

        I have to say though, it’s a weird idea that a woman needs escorting to a car door.
        I would’ve thought she’s quite capable of finding her way in to a vehicle on her own.

      • blended says:

        in the vid, they are holding hands at the door, as there is a gang of photogs waiting for them. then as soon as they exit, they abruptly stop holding hands, she goes around to the street side to get in front seat, ben gets in the back with karon on the curbside. and they never look at each other even once.

      • moodgirl says:

        Maybe Sophie agreed to be his Oscar season gf/fiancee in name only and didn’t anticipate having to make a public appearance. A public appearance wasn’t part of her contract so she really didn’t show up prepared and with a bad attitude. This may explain why she didn’t return with him to Europe.

    • anon says:

      I have always (since the “announcement” thought that a wedding would occur within weeks.
      in England you have to announce your intent to marry at least 15 days ahead of time.
      Sophie wore the same dress to 2 premieres, but posts on multiple sites said it fitted her better on the second night.
      BC quit smoking a month ago.

      My prediction- wedding between NCIS and Sherlock with baby news shortly thereafter.

      Bush!

      • claire says:

        Nice trolling

      • MissMary says:

        Announcement isn’t the same as banns. I can announce that I’m marrying Nikolai Tesla and if I pay the fee, the paper will run it. Doesn’t mean I’m about to go dig up his corpse and marry him in the next two weeks.

        HW is known for making his “stars” stop smoking and drinking (at least in public) during campaigns–he wants them to have that healthy wholesome image to appeal to certain demographics. JLaw did the same thing “for” him.

      • moodgirl says:

        Anon, pick up your $10.00.

      • Lu says:

        The 15-day notice thing is not true, though people keep trying to make it happen. That said, I’ve always thought that if they go through with the wedding, it will be soon and secret; I imagined December, with wedding announcement after the fact. We’ll see, though.

  26. EscapedConvent says:

    It’s been a couple of days since Sherlock was a sexy beast. I see today he’s back to asexual. Cumby, can you make up your mind, please? This is silly.

    And doesn’t he use the word “sociopathic” an awful lot?

    Finally, I’m puzzled as to what he’s doing in the Wall Street Journal. At my next doctor’s appointment, I’m going to look for him in Good Housekeeping and Field and Stream.

    • moodgirl says:

      Don’t forget American Girl; they’ll want to catch the young ones to replace the people he has already pissed off.

      • EscapedConvent says:

        Oh, of course. And I also forgot Cosmopolitan— won’t they want an artcle called “Sexy Sherlock Secrets! Where To Put Your Tongue!”

    • Lucifer says:

      he uses 10 big words in every interview. pseudo intellectual

  27. jammypants says:

    Someone throw a dictionary at him with these words marked and highlighted: Genius, Sociopath, and Asexual.

    • 'P'enny says:

      And someone throw him a Book of Names with the name ‘Sophie’ marked and highlighted so he can remember to say it.

      • Felice says:

        And more accuracy of autism.

      • moodgirl says:

        And a list of phrases to throw around when he talks about her other than “My life is so fortunate….” I’m off today, I feel “fortunate”.

      • MissMary says:

        @Felice: YES PLEASE. My child, my SO, and I are all on the spectrum and that really gets up my nose. His inaccuracy, that is, not us being on the spectrum. That just is what it is.

      • Felice says:

        I wouldn’t aggressively call him ableist, either. The first time he did it, I knew he was just uneducated on it but it’s crazy that NO ONE is telling him about it. It also kind of shows that people on all ends of the spectrum are thrown under the bus, which is a travesty.

        If no one tells him, sooner or later he will say something REALLY bad

      • Grace says:

        A list of words that are interchangeable in his dictionary:

        Introverted = Autistic
        Celibate = Asexual
        Anti-social personality = Sociopath

        And I am not touching genuis.

    • EscapedConvent says:

      I couldn’t agree more. He’s all mixed up with his definitions.

      Didn’t he go to a fancy school? Harrow, was it?

  28. Lucifer says:

    m late to the party again!! you had to put the couple pics ehh kaiser??
    dnt u get bored by those 5 pics?

  29. MissMary says:

    Amusing that he can’t keep things straight. No pics from Edinburgh but the Vogue article talks about them being papped there. And the stories about why he announced it in the times… It’s like watching a kid lie and they keep getting deeper and deeper, trying to be more convincing or cover their eff-ups in the details.

    • aly says:

      It’s like a slot machine, everytime he talks some new combination of BS come out:)

      (pr? Less is more. Focus on something else)

    • Lucifer says:

      hahaha. edinburgh was a staging after the failure of the LFF stunt

      • aly says:

        Maybe the pics were too blurred? Or they hoped they would get papped? Or Ben threw a fit and decided that it was a line he would not cross? (staged pap pics.)

      • Lucifer says:

        maybe if she looked a bit more star like(not like a dead fish sorry octopus) someone would have paid attention.
        gawd i have my mean pants on today. sorry

      • Ingrid says:

        Maybe the pics didn’t showcase her noble, delicate beauty. It might have been windy…

      • Renee says:

        I wonder how long it will be before the two crazy lovebirds get papped, complete with lovey-dovey poses. I’ll need a large supply of barf bags when that happens.

      • Ingrid says:

        @Renee – I give them 48 hours. PR is currently arranging it, I’m 100% sure.

      • Felice says:

        Twitter said because of the rain they left really quickly. If they stage these pics now, people will be able to tell because of his hair lmao

      • MissMary says:

        Nah, he’d wear a hat. Allegedly, they both had on hats so maybe they can just hire a stunt double and he won’t have to go through the wooden motions of looking affectionate with her.

      • Felice says:

        Shhhhhhhhh. If you say they were wearing hats then they will have to wear hats when they reshoot them :p

      • moodgirl says:

        Maybe the fake pap photos were to add reinforcement to the engagement announcement. Romantic pictures of the couple strolling through the gardens. Damn, their PR thought of everything. Well, up to that point anyway.

      • Lucifer says:

        wow u guys are genius. so what backdrop will be these hat wearing, snogging pics??
        book store
        ?

      • MissMary says:

        @Felice: Damn it! *ahem* Yes, the, er, twitter account of their visit said she wore a fetching Alice band with a gigantic bow on it, and he wore a towel twisted into a post-shower turban.

      • Just me says:

        No, no, no. Surely it will have to be staged on the front of an ocean liner like in Titanic. True wuv and all that.

        “I’m flying! Eh…What’s your name again?”

      • moodgirl says:

        Just me – 😅 You ladies are on a roll today!

      • Cate says:

        I picture them as Heathcliff and Catherine on the ‘wild moors’, shot on Hampstead Heath. Like St. Sophie’s FB picture, but then with Benedict in it. She’ll be posing with her eyes closed demurely, while he embraces her passionately. Sort of. (Now I kind of picture Sophie running around, while singing Kate Bush’ ‘Wuthering Heights’, with an octopus wrapped around of course, duh…)

        ‘Benecliffffff, it’s me, oh Sophie, I’ve come hooooooommmmmee, I’m so cooooldddddd.’

      • Floribunda says:

        @Cate Ha – I do love a bit of Kate! And I’m sure SH would be a natural at all that wafty arm-waving and gyrating. In reality, though, it’s probably more like ‘Running Up That Hill’, what with all the work they’re having to put in to sell this PR campaign nonsense.

      • Cate says:

        Ha! Running Up That Hill would totally work as well. And as Sophie is an amazing ‘chanteuse’ as well, singing it shouldn’t be a problem. But she’s probably composing her own avant-garde opera titled ‘The Private Engagement’ as we speak anyway. 😉

    • blended says:

      the comment about getting papped in edinburgh, which obviously didn’t happen, makes me think that the plan WAS to get papped or at least talked about. that was the whole purpose of the outing, but the plan didn’t materialize.

      • MissMary says:

        I keep coming back to the fact two people–the only two who legit saw them at the gardens, said they were only there 15 minutes. I understand it was raining but a.) who goes to an outdoor venue when it’s raining? and b.) sounds like they went, found out the pap wouldn’t be there as planned/arranged (maybe due to the weather), left with some b.s. to the desk agent about how long the tix were good for (maybe, devil’s advocate, planned to come back after the rain stopped, maybe, conspiracy train and tin foil hat in place, they wanted to come back once they were sure the pap was there/on their way).

      • **sighs** says:

        I’m so glad my tinfoil hat theory makes you guys scratch your heads as well! I think we should all start our own detective agency. We could call it the Collective.
        😉

    • Wait I'm Typing says:

      Interesting. I was just thinking about something….. there were only what, two sightings of them at the botanic garden? The only people I recall mentioning it were the fans on EB and twitter who pay attention to just about his every move. But it didn’t exactly make waves and spread throughout the interwebs….so why is Vogue writing about it? Why do they know about that specific outing? Why mention that and not that they did Hay fest together where there were actually photos taken? Or mention JR’s wedding photos -the ones of both of them- being spread all over the place?
      Surely someone mentioned it but the only person I can think of is Ben saying it offhand, like maybe when that ONE man recognized him he assumed the man took a sneaky picture? or the journalist read about the visit in that ONE little article from the scottish paper. But then…
      I really agree with you ladies on this one. It was too obscure a thing to mention in VOGUE.

      • tsmiv says:

        That’s exactly what I was thinking. Why didn’t Vogue mention the restaurant pictures? You know, pics that actually exist and appeared in the tabloids.

      • j says:

        the daily fail included it in their ‘he went to edinburgh’ gossip piece actually because their gossip reporters search twitter. he may not realize that though and assumed someone got a pic ’cause thats more logical lol

  30. Ingrid says:

    Oh the Daily Fail:
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2844103/Did-Benedict-Cumberbatch-propose-300-000-ring.html

    So we went from a $15,000 ring to a £300,000 ring in 72 hours? No, it’s not worth that much and no, he didn’t pay that. Harvey paid. Do you research, Anderson!

    The Daily Fail -Anderson of tabloids.

    • Lucifer says:

      dnt humiliate anderson 😉

      • Lucifer says:

        how do they know its 3.5 carat? how? how? victoria beckham’s is 3 carat and its huge. these ppl are nuts. atleast bennyboo cn now shred his frugal name LOL

      • Ingrid says:

        Sorry, I wasn’t thinking clearly. Too much stupidity.

        But points to DM for “Channel moody florals”. I cannot stop laughing, too perfect. 😀

        It’s not 3.5. It’s not even 2 carats.

      • Lucifer says:

        yes. thats wht was even written in the catalog. its so loose fitting. last min sham

    • Renee says:

      Ingrid, that ring is on the Tiffany website. Can’t they see how much it costs?? The DF also neglected to point out that she wasn’t wearing the ring when she arrived because they had to send some poor lackey over to Tiffanys to pick it up with HW’s Amex card.

      • Cate says:

        NO way Benedict coughed up that amount for a ring. It’s absurd anyway, only an extremely rich extravagant billionaire would buy such. As if she got that kind of ring, but then wears the same designer dress twice. Does not compute.

      • Felice says:

        It doesn’t even fit. Yes, sometimes they don’t get fitted immediately but not even a ring guard.

      • Lu says:

        It can be hard to fit a ring properly on some people, me included. I have skinny hands with knuckles that are larger than my finger bones, so if a ring goes over the knuckle, it tends to spin around. I don’t think there’s a fix for that. So I could never wear the giant diamond my erstwhile fantasy Internet boyfriend, Benedict, would buy me.

    • moodgirl says:

      No way. I look at rings all the time and not in a million years did an “average” ring like that cost more than 25,000 if even that much. That ring is so small that even accounting for the 4 C’s it wouldn’t even approach 600,000 dollars. It looks like the ring my neighbor has and far less than what you normally see in Hollywood.

      AND even if it did, how rude is it for someone to discuss it. He hasn’t seen it so how can he give an estimate? Boy, Harvey and company are just desperate BUT BC is going along with it. So………

    • OhHey says:

      I saw that and guffawed. A., What an absurd amount of money to spend on such an unextraordinary ring, and B., isn’t that just proof that his minions are reading the gossip columns, now they have to defend the price he paid for the ring when The Tiffany’s ring turned up? Oh, how predictable…

  31. may23 says:

    Sophie Hunter-Cumberbatch! Even their names sound amazing together!

  32. Lucky Charm says:

    Why is he called Otter? Merely curious where that nickname came from. I must have missed class that day (not unusual, lol!)

    • Just me says:

      Someone posted pictures of side by side comparisons of Ben with otters in various poses. Go to Google images and search: “Benedict Cumberbatch otter meme” that should do the trick.

      While your at it you could check Martin Freeman and hedgehogs.

  33. Vvvoid says:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2549773/How-Benedict-Cumberbatchs-family-fortune-slavery-And-roles-films-like-12-Years-A-Slave-bid-atone-sins.html

    An interesting history of his family, both the Cumberbacht and Carleton names. I know how this feels, the Caston family of Amite, Mississippi (my mothers family) is guilty of the same. When I meet an African American with the surname Caston, I cringe with guilt.

    • Soothy says:

      Nobody should feel guilty for what their ancestors have done. Hell, I have despicable people in my immediate family and I don’t acknowledge their existence at all. The very idea that I’m in anyway accountable for anything to do with them is beyond crazy and makes me furious. So I’m sure I’m certainly not going to start feeling shame for my ancestors.

    • Asha says:

      My grandfathers fought in my country’s civil war, so I guess they probably killed people. And one of them is a really shitty person (he tormented his family). I don’t cringe every time I see somebody of my nationality or when I hear someone has gone through the same shit my grandad’s family did. Why should I? I haven’t killed anybody. I haven’t beaten anybody up. I haven’t done anything wrong to any of them.
      I don’t think we should kill rapist’s kids just because they had the bad luck of being born to a shitty parent and I don’t think I should be miserable because my late late late late late late family probably did something shitty. I’d like to be judged by the content of my character and not the choices of people I’ve never even known.

      • Vvvoid says:

        Who said anything about me wanting to be judged for my ancestors crimes against humanity? I just expressed lament, as did Benedict Cumberbacht when he discussed the issue. If ancestry is so irrelevant beyond a century or two, why should anyone take pride in their family origins? If it makes sense for me to be, say, proud of my Bavarian heritage why wouldn’t it make sense for me to be ashamed to be descended from repulsive subhuman salve owners? It isn’t my FAULT but it is my lineage, my blood. Just as I myself did not endure the Trail Of Tears like my Choctaw forbears, but am still proud that their brave and strong blood runs through my mundane modern veins, I also did not ever in my life enslave or even think less of African American people, but the legacy of those who did, and egregiously so (it was no menial operation, my great great great great grandpa had 40 to 100 slaves at any given time, sometimes 300). This was in Choctaw County Mississippi to boot. If you watch Django Unchained (largely set one county North) you will have an idea of just how brutal the white regime in those parts was. Chief among them was my gggggrandpa.
        I am not less of a person as a result of this, not is Benedict, but it doesn’t inspire much pride to know that your family fortune is soaked in the blood of slaves. Maybe you just have to experience it.

    • claire says:

      You should feel shame because of the injustice done then and how you are a beneficiary of it either directly or indirectly. This is the other thing that pisses me off about some of his fans, their putting their head in the sand on this issue bc a great actor’s ancestors were very brutal slaveowners.

      • Soothy says:

        No. He should NOT feel shame. This is not putting your head in the sand, this is called being a rational human being. It’s ludicrous that you think he should be accountable for actions perpetrated by people he never met, couldn’t influence and is entirely disassociated from despite an unfortunate ancestral connection he cannot escape or change. What do you want him to do? Relinquish every penny he owns and live in a dark garret, self flagellating? Would that atone for his sins? Seriously. Just listen to yourself.

      • claire says:

        You’re not that bright are you? Either that or you’re deliberately putting words in my mouth. Holding someone accountable and taking all their earnings is not the same as a feeling of shame responsibility and that he should acknowlede his ancestors’ actions enabled him to enjoy his privileges today. So get that thru your little head or stfu

      • Soothy says:

        Wow. You’re pleasant.
        Um, yeah I am pretty bright actually. Please don’t insult me due to your own nonsensical claptrap. It seems as if it’s you who has issues with comprehension here. My point was, how do you expect him to manifest this ‘shame’ that you insist he should feel for actions far beyond his control? What are you expecting to see from the man?
        He is not responsible for the actions of his ancestors. The end. Any fortune he may have accrued from his ancestral connections should not be shrouded in scorn because he had no choice in it, hence the ‘do you want him to relinquish it’ comment.
        How about the children of notorious serial killers fred and rose west? Do you feel that they should be shamed for their parentage?
        Honestly, this desperate attempt to seem socially aware by some people is ridiculous. That’s actual injustice going on in the world right here and now and attempting to throw ignominy at a person for their ancestral connections is ludicrous.
        I think it’s perhaps you who needs to stfu.

      • lola says:

        @claire
        No, he should not feel shame because of it. If he picked him as a relative … that would be another story.

        BC (at least the old version of him) has been vocal about slavery – in comments and that documentary on slavery he did. Why should he do more? And what on earth is he in your opinion supposed do? I don’t believe no one in your family has never done anything wrong?

      • Claire says:

        my, the white entitlement and privilege is strong here…

      • lola says:

        @claire
        For me it isn’t. The “responsibility” for your relative’s actions goes bothy ways: it can be positive/privileged or negative. For neither anyone down the line should be and isn’t responsible. My biological father is a drunk and owns a lot of money to a lot of people. I haven’t seen, spoken to him for for more than 20 years and what you are saying is that I should acknowledge that or take any responsibility for his actions? Why, I didn’t make them.

      • claire says:

        @lola my dad was a drunk too but it’s incomparable to having a family that built a fortune that made it one of the richest families in Britain off the backs of thousands. And his family were some of the most sadistic of slaveowners

      • lola says:

        But what is he supposed to do about it now? He’s said what he thinks (and feels) about it multiple times. I don’t even like him anymore after sh*t he’s made during promotion but when it comes to this subject I’d always defend him.

      • Just me says:

        Claire, people aren’t responsible for the actions of their ancestors. They had no say in it.

        Blaming people for having rich ancestors and saying they should feel shame about it is no different than saying the poor should feel ashamed for having poor ancestors. The descendants of slaves didn’t choose for their ancestors to be slaves anymore than Ben chose for his ancestors to be slave owners.

        By the way, we’re talking about something that happened approx. 200 years ago. If you do the math, considering that a generation is roughly 20 years long and grows exponentially, after 200 years we each of us probably have at least 1,000 ancestors.

        (http://mb-soft.com/public/genealog.html)

        Should Ben feel responsible and shamed about each and every one of these people? Do you personally know that all his ancestors have shameful histories? Do you know the actions and character of each of your 1,000 relatives all the way back to the 1800’s? Did you confirm that they were all fine, upstanding citizens before you started casting stones?

        Somehow I doubt it.

      • vvvoid says:

        I am surprised this turned into an argument.
        I don’t think people MUST and SHOULD feel shame for their family history of slave ownership, but I think anyone with a conscience inevitably does feel some shame. Hell, even being from the South is a source of shame for some young people, just because we all know who fought to continue slavery and who fought to end it. To not feel any shame or dismay whatsoever that your family made its money by enslaving, torturing, indeed at times murdering, and all around terrorizing people they forced to work for free [even though we all have seen the “benevolent” slave owner trope plenty of times, the truth is there is very little benevolence about OWNING another human being, depriving them of freedom] so they had lower overhead and could rake in the money. I doubt very seriously most of them believed Africans were less than human, it was even more evil than that ignorance: it was convenient to espouse the belief in black inferiority, but the truth is, these people lived closely with and were often raised BY their slaves. They knew well enough that they were not different beneath the skin. They only feigned this belief in order to justify their enslavement of a whole race of people. To go from not paying a dime to have your whole field harvested to having to pay each and every person in that field for their work? No way. But to just admit they were enslaving the human beings unlucky enough to find themselves in the position to be enslaved, by virtue of your own ability to do so, was too unsavory to admit.
        Also, I have to wonder: if behaviors and personality traits and beliefs are all passed down through the family, what does that mean about me? I had ancestors, as did Cumberbacht, loathsome enough to participate in slavery [including selling children away from their mothers, forcing men and women to breed like cattle, whipping the disobedient, letting the weak die of heat exhaustion or blood loss…etc] then what character traits might I have inherited from those monsters? My dad likes to say “it was a different time, don’t hate your ancestors” but even in that time, there existed abolitionists and civil rights activists. It was possible to have a soul back then. My ancestors just didn’t. What does that mean about me only less than 2 centuries later? Glass raised his son, who raised his son, who raised his, who raised his son, who was my grandpa’s father. My grandpa raised my mother. When you put it like that you see this is not ancient history. I am not lamenting the fact that I descend from King Pharamond of the Franks or the Lord Mayor of London from the 1500s. This is so recent you can almost touch it.
        Anyway, there is no need to defend Cumberbacht. He has expressed shame regarding his ancestry, right or wrong. It isn’t his fault he was born, but as a human being with a heart, he feels bad that his ancestors were monstrous and evil. So do I. Isn’t that perfectly normal? This is the strangest, most roundabout argument I’ve ever witnessed, lol. No one is saying he is to blame, or that he isn’t simply lovely and brilliant!

      • Vvvoid says:

        @Claire
        Yes, exactly, there is shame in knowing I actually BENEFITTED from my ancestor’s brutality , greed, abhorrent racism. Even if the money was all gone, the breeding, the stature, the opportunity my not so distant ancestors enjoyed as a result of wealth and privilege at the expense of innocent victims who suffered from the day they were born until the day death had mercy on them and freed them of this unfair world, all of that shaped what would become the slot in society I was born into, the leg up I had over the descendants of the very people my family brutalized and tormented. I was born into a well off, educated family in part because that family profiteered off of the suffering of millions. Their descendants get too look forward to institutionalized racism, economic disparity, racial profiling, political disadvantage and the list goes on. and are in fact born at a disadvantage in many cases due to the fact that not very long ago their ancestors were lucky to be both alive and free, with nothing but obstacles in the way of attaining an education and plying a well paying trade.
        White guilt is a sign that you have a conscience and the ability to empathize. Whether or not it is MY fault the world is this way is irrelevant to my sense of remorse for the fact that this system of injustice still benefits me whether I like it or not.

      • Claire says:

        Thank you for your beautiful post, vvvoid. I wish there were more white people like you. Unfortunately when POC bring this topic up they are shouted down and abused: it’s only when socially conscious people like yourself speak up that other whites start to consider this seriously.

      • j says:

        ummm…white guilt is widely held to be useless because it serves no purpose and often allows ppl to focus on themselves for forgiveness rather than to fight for change now, which actually has a purpose

        that being said not just white ppl benefited from slavery, we all did.

      • Claire says:

        Widely held by whom? LOL

        And since when is white guilt confined to the sins of the past, and not the present? Or that if white guilt were somehow fallacious, it should absolve you from trying to right the wrongs of the past? Someone who does not feel shame for the things of the past is not likely to be sympathetic to the injustices of the present either: it is the past that got us to Ferguson and Trayvon Martin, after all.

        Just when I thought I’d heard all the excuses about this issue.

        And no not everyone benefited from slavery. Slaves and the descendants of slaves did not benefit from it FFS.

        And thanks again to vvvoid. I didn’t see her other reply above: she raises a good point and I’ll take it one step further. Not only should anyone with a conscience feel shame for benefiting from white privilege, even if their ancestors weren’t slaveholders, but anyone who insists they shouldn’t feel guilt or shame for their privilege is a racist. It is as simple as that, and any sort of mitigating language (like “white guilt doesn’t work so i’m off the hook”) is a piss poor attempt to avoid saying how they really feel, that they don’t care about racial inequality and or they are happy to benefit from it. I bet most of them aren’t even aware how they do benefit from it every day of their lives.

        If all you can say about racism in the US is ‘what happened in the past wasn’t my fault’, you need to sit the eff down and listen for once in your life.

      • j says:

        re: white guilt, a lot of people, but Shelby Steele from Stanford U is a good place to start, although hes a bit extreme tbh

        and: “And no not everyone benefited from slavery. Slaves and the descendants of slaves did not benefit from it FFS.”

        not entirely correct, we all benefited indirectly because slave labor built a chunk of the country’s infrastructure. im arab and as far as i know, my family wasnt involved in the arab slave trade, but that doesnt mean i dont benefit from it living here

        youre also mixing white guilt with white privilege, which are 2 different concepts. a person can acknowledge white privilege and work on change without the self-pity of white guilt which often is a selfish act, as it focuses on that person’s feelings rather than that of people who are actually oppressed

      • Anne tommy says:

        I thought a bit of a change of topic might be refreshing after all the “he loves her he loves her not ” but this white privilege stuff has changed my mind. Oppression and violence, and being on the receiving end of it, are not the preserve of white or black . Not much white privilege for Jews murdered in the holocaust or irish people dying in the famine of the 1840s. And the worst genocide in recent years was the black on black massacres in Rwanda. Injustice is perpetuated by all creeds and colours. Slavery in the states was a horrible example of it. Slavery goes on in many parts of the world. Injustice should be resisted whether one is white or black, male or female, gay or straight, and this stuff kinda deflects from that.

  34. Alexandra says:

    They look very similar – long faces and their chins are sort of alike. In some of the pictures they have a striking resemblance to each other. I think, anyway…..

    • Illyra says:

      I agree. They both have the same distinctive mouth shape/upper lip line too.

      • moodgirl says:

        AGAIN, GO AWAY!!!

      • Lu says:

        No, they don’t. His mouth is unique; I’ve literally never seen anyone with lips like that, and it’s a look that I found borderline freaky until I learned to love it. 😉

      • Illyra says:

        Lu,
        Well obviously their mouths aren’t *exactly* alike, main difference in his upper lip being that the cupid’s bow is much deeper and sharper. But IMO there’s a strong similarity overall in their faces, as though they could be first cousins.

        LOL @ “borderline freaky” 😛

  35. PD says:

    GO AWAY!!!!!

  36. Hexentanz says:

    If I would hear these quotes ( they are not the exact quotes, but the way I hear them), without knowing who said them:
    “In reality I am the opposite, I am a f…… fantastic lover”
    “Downton Abbey is shit”
    “I only need the support of one person, the rest can screw themselves”
    “ I like calling Johnny Depp my friend and rolling fags with him ( good one after last Friday night)” could just say he is a cool guy to hang out with, why mention the rolling of things?
    Most answers to the Q&A for the PoM movie.
    And then I would be shown the pics from the NY Mag photo shoot, with the face of the guy blurred and asked :
    Who is this????
    I would for sure think these are the answers from someone like Justin Bieber, or some Rapper…someone who is for sure under the age of 25 or just an idiot in general.

    I do not come to this board for any info on him, but for the comments..they make me laugh. The image of them in the gardens with the crazy hat and the towel turban…priceless

    One more thought. If BC could meet people from any of those online boards to have a chat, a real one, not for PR, who do you guys think he would rather hang out with? The CB people or the imdb’s?

    • Lucifer says:

      atm imdb people. he hs turned into such a megalomaniac u c

    • Lu says:

      I know, I love the towel turban. Make it so, Internet!
      To be fair, he didn’t say “the rest can screw themselves.” (But it was probably his subtext.)

    • Cate says:

      I’d like to think he’d go for CB, he’s just as bad and snarky as us, ahem. And he has a low tolerance for saccharine cuteness, so he won’t be hanging with cupcake topper enthusiasts. *Cheshire cat grin*

    • CandyK says:

      He’d probably rather ‘hang’ with other posh people, but amongst his fans; the ones that would kiss his **** would probably be right up his street these days, it seems anyway…

    • Lu says:

      @Felice, I think Lucifer is answering the question as to whether he’d rather hang out with IMDB people than us. He would like them better because he’s “megalomaniacal” and would want to hear only good things about himself.

  37. Lucifer says:

    Russian “Channel One” announced “The Fifth Estate” today and added that BC/SH wedding is likely a pre-Oscar PR action. Beware, Mr Weinstein, something is going wrong.

    • moodgirl says:

      Ouch!

    • ukbound says:

      You must hand it to the Russians, they are no nonsense. They cut straight through the BS of many news topics. It’s funny. They are not blinded by a lifetime of rampant consumerism.

      • Lu says:

        Even though they announced “The Fifth Estate” today, which came out last year? LOL. Kidding, I know it was a slip of the keyboard. But this is the second time I’ve seen this posted somewhere today, so it caught my eye.

      • Lucifer says:

        no its coming in thr tv chnl thats what they announced/advertised @lu. the sham enGAGemnt hit thr tabloid news too

      • Lu says:

        Oh, @Lucifer, I didn’t understand. I thought the announcement was something about this year’s movie premiere, not an airing of TFE on television. Thanks for clearing it up.

    • claire says:

      oop, the Russians are on it. The jig is up Benedict

  38. claire says:

    So new theory: anyone notice how EB was nowhere to be found for almost a day after the engagement was announced and has been sparsely on since? She says her life suddenly got more interesting and for the better. This week she is almost never around. She started the tumblr in June.

    Anyone?

    • lola says:

      What about it? Maybe she actually has a real life outside the internet. If it’s good -> good for her.

    • CandyK says:

      What are you implying? She’s PR or *dun dun dunnnnn* Sophie? hahaha… wait a minute…

    • Renee says:

      @claire…you lost me. You think EB is PR?? I’m confused…

      • Claire says:

        Possibly. It benefits his PR team to aggregate all the things fans are thinking and saying about his private life on social media, if only to make their jobs easier.

    • Cate says:

      I don’t know, I think she might be behind the Sophie Hunter Tumblr and is posting there, she says she isn’t, but who knows? I could say I’m the Princess of China or that I’m, erm, engaged to a very busy, incredibly talented individual and it’d be hard to prove I wasn’t speaking the absolute truth. I’d just smile shyly and everyone would believe me…

      • Claire says:

        Nah that blog is very negative about her – not OTT nasty but justifiably calling out both of their bs.

      • Cate says:

        I probably didn’t pay enough attention to the messages there, but if that’s the case it’s probably not the same person then. Ah well, it’s all confusing, those Tumblr blog been popping up all over the place. Next: The Octopi Appreciation Society Tumblr, a parody Tumblr about the elusive chanteuse herself. I’m calling dibs!

      • Just me says:

        I’ve read EggsBeneDish and no I wouldn’t suspect that board being PR. On the whole they’re just as snarky about BC/SH as here (and I love it!). I could see PR reading people’s post to keep an eye on things but I’d think they’d edit out the more negative stuff. There’s endless references to SH’s music video and the octopussy. I suspect she is just busy in RL and the site is inundated with stuff since this whole PR debacle started and she can’t keep up. Nothing says that just because you start a tumblr site you have to let it rule your life.

        Now CumberBuddy being on the pay roll that I could buy.

      • MissMary says:

        Cumberbuddy and Cumberbatchweb I could buy being on the payroll, absolutely. Or getting perks at least.

      • Felice says:

        I don’t want to believe she is but she made that very nauseating Mirror piece about the fans and the engagement. I am annoyed at the 180 they took on his romantic life though.

        They used to be so damn aggressive when anyone brought up anything about girlfriends.

      • Claire says:

        People are misreading what I wrote. I’m not saying the blog is a PR shill. If it was it would be nothing but positive things. I’m saying it could be run by someone affiliated with him for other purposes (see my above comments). Running a positive comment only tumblr about his private life is too “obvious” (to quote Sherlock…because one has to in such a situation, cough).

    • ukbound says:

      Surely Eggsy is bored to tears with that blog. I doubt anyone in his camp would want that twaddle posted as is. Some horrific things are said there. It goes well beyond gossip.

      She is doing the right thing and stepping away from it. Let’s face it, it has become a huge time suck to keep up with all this lately. It has gone beyond light entertainment for many of us. We are all Sherlock, trying to figure out what has gone wrong with Sherlock.

    • Lucifer says:

      no EB was totally active untill this mon/tuesday. she had her personal things going on . away fron the intrnt. m pretty sure she is not bought nd paid for hahaha

  39. claire says:

    Also there are two really obvious things that make the engagement more than likely staged, and they both have to do with things ben stated consistently. But I won’t say what they are since it’s likely his PR reads these posts and in case he does have a mental issue I really want no part in pushing him.

    • CandyK says:

      Now I’m intrigued. He’s said a lot of things, mostly ****, so I’m wondering what they were… 🙂

      • Claire says:

        not something he’s said after the engagement, but prior

      • CandyK says:

        He stated on two different occassions that he’s single? And that was when he was supposedly in a relationship with her.

        I don’t get people when they say that single = not yet married/engaged.
        That’s ridiculous; single implies exactly what it says – unattached, not in a relationship.

        If I’m in an exclusive relationship with someone, and have been for months, I wouldn’t say I’m single. I’m going to sound incredibly non-pc but, it comes across as though the person has commitment issues or, at the very least, doesn’t have any respect for that person they’re supposed to be in a relationship with.

      • Claire says:

        no not that. it’s more subtle than that. sorry to sound all mysterious but like i say above, if his mental state is being taxed because of this like we suspect, i don’t want to extend this cat and mouse game via his PR team monitoring what we say.

        but just think about what he’s always said and match it up

      • lola says:

        Those two statements (if they actually were honest answers) raise even more questions about this mess. If this is PR shouldn’t he be aware of it? Wouldn’t this imply he was blindsided by SH-HW?

        However I turn it … it is weird as heck.

      • CandyK says:

        @lola – If you read the announcement in the Times you can see an initial was missed out. Now, if Ben or his parents placed that ad do you think they’d make that mistake?? I know, I know, people think that’s reaching but, seriously, that’s a glaring error for something that’s supposed to be ‘proper’ and it is the Times so it can’t be easily attributed to an editorial error.

        I’m inclined to think maybe someone else placed the ad, and MAYBE, it is PR.
        Either way, it’s a big ol’ mess!

      • lola says:

        @CandyK
        Yes, I know about the initial and about name placement. Whatever angle I look at this thing something doesn’t add up. It is always off. But what I am fairly certain is. if I were first introduced to BC now with this PR thing I’d never be interested in him nor his work (it’s quality wouldn’t matter – I’d skip it).

      • CandyK says:

        @lola
        Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound confrontational!
        I agree, no matter how many times I try to look at it reasonably/logically it just doesn’t add up. There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense, I mean, maybe the whole thing is just a mess because it is genuine and not PR? but I really doubt it…

        Either way, they’ve done an excellent job alienating/dividing his fan base – on top of that, the general public are sick of seeing/hearing about him.
        GG guyyys! /sarcasm

      • tsmiv says:

        I have dismissed the missing initial as a newspaper mistake or not a big deal. However, he says he really likes the name Carlton in this interview, so that makes me think he wouldn’t want to leave it out. Hmm…the plot thickens!

      • lola says:

        @CandyK
        I didn’t take it as a confrontation:-) Hope I didn’t imply sth like that.

        I agree that it doesn’t add up, from any perspective imo.

    • moodgirl says:

      @Claire – Are you going to give us another hint because I haven’t figured it out yet.

      • Claire says:

        @Moodgirl: How about this: if/when (most likely when hehe) they break up, come back to me and I’ll tell you. I’m sure we’ll still be chatting about it on here by then anyways.

        It’s two things he’s said in the past that he was clearly sincere about that don’t add up. And it’s not the things that people have been pointing to this past fortnight.

        Sorry for being shadowy and everything, but again it’s a bit pointless/going against our posting here if his PR is monitoring what we say and changing his PR strategy accordingly. And also, as I said above, if this whole PR thing is taxing his mental health as we’ve speculated about in the past couple weeks, I don’t want to be responsible for taking this whole force down another level of weirdness. I’m also thinking and acting strategically. 🙂

      • moodgirl says:

        Got it.

  40. Grace says:

    Why am I getting a miss thing vibe here?

  41. noneyadambus says:

    Anybody else notice that weird comment Ben keeps making about the “Wolf pack” Daniel Day Lewis, and Christian Bale. Aren’t they all Ex HW oscar favorites? LOL Did he have to go Mano a Mano for the privilege of being Harvey’s boy toy this year?

    • CandyK says:

      I did notice he keeps bringing that up too, I just skim past anything he has said before now – which basically means I didn’t really read most of it…

      Boy toy – That sounds seriously creepy lol! In hollyweird it seems almost like prostitution when it comes to the stars, at least the female ones.. wonder if the men get the same treatment. 😐

      • Felice says:

        Well there were rumours about TH with Kenneth Branagh (just repeating whispers I hear online I don’t think there’s any merit to it at all)

      • Grace says:

        @Felice, that’s a funny one. I wonder if it has anything to do with Richard Curtis’ joke.

    • aly says:

      He was alluding to the fact that they’re both method actors who do all kind of extreme things to become their characters. It was a joke:)

  42. Nonnie says:

    Nah, this mess is way too much all over the place to be staged. I think it’s more simple: what if the puzzling paucity of their sightings together literally means they really just didn’t see each other that often at all? What if he just meant what he meant when he said that he went out on weekends with Sophie, not even every weekend, since he has been very busy (we know that)? Which again means that he really had just been dating a girl for a couple of months, very casually, with no strings attached and all that, nothing overly serious. It goes reasonably well, till somebody (?) gets the brilliant idea of the engagement two days before his American tour. Why not, you guys get along so well, don’t you? And THAT’s where it went wrong, because they find themselves forced into acting grand feelings which are not there (at least as yet), and it’s more difficult than they thought!
    What do you thinK?

    • lindy79 says:

      I agree.
      If the film hadn’t had oscar buzz/had harvey working overtime they’d have dated under the radar, and who knows he could have and probably was dating others this year, I genuinely don’t think it was planned from Feb but the whole engagement seems forced (how could the timing be anything BUT Pr? In all seriousness?) and they sure as hell don’t look like a couple of people who are loved up and really really really happy.

      • Nonnie says:

        Yes, and I do believe there are feelings here, but definitely no undying love they’re (HE is, really) kind of trying to profess now, and whenever he’s up to talking about this, he comes off as contradicting himself and inauthentic, because he gets to describe feeling which are not there. He talks in ridiculous hyperboles, like ‘love bomb’ and ‘bowled over’, but it just sounds so false – his non-verbal behaviour and intonation don’t support the words.

      • Lucifer says:

        i really really dnt believe it. They cnt convince me now if they make out on the red carpet now. NOT BUYING IT

    • tsmiv says:

      Maybe, except on Monday night, she looked like she couldn’t stand him!

    • Ingrid says:

      @Nonnie -ITA. I think that’s what happened. The truth usually lies somewhere in between. And the rushed enGAGment is the thing that will eventually cost them the relationship. They obviously are starting to despise each other already.

      Did anyone else notice that during the red carpet with SH the only time BC actually gave a (brief) real smile was when he turned away from SH. (see the last picture of this thread and the video) Maybe Keira arrived? LOL

      And I’m willing to bet my right arm, this is the conversation BC and PR are currently having. LOL
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WtD23tWJAM

    • Angie says:

      I’m partly with you, my thought is that she was brought in some time early this year, but just to make a GF, some one B could walk with through the award season, some one to make him look more serious/stable/established, so they really were just seeing each other on and off, but it didn’t work, and B didn’t want to play along, so BOOM, the announcement.

      As why I said she was brought in, is because of all the connection she has with HW, and personally I really don’t think she is B’s type, I saw this today on, I think it’s SoGo, that when they were in NT, she fell asleep during the play… if it’s true, well…

      • moodgirl says:

        Can you imagine waking up one morning and finding your engagement announcement in the newspaper – and you didn’t put it there? I don’t know if the word panic would cover it. More like Twilight Zone. Maybe this is why his parents have gotten lost somewhere.

      • Angie says:

        yeah, I’ve been thinking about all the timing and things seem weird to me and every possibilities.

        And if the announcement was not planned, it could also explain the timing of CV polishing to me, or they could have had it done already.

        Actually I even went as far as considering the enGaGement was true, though B somehow was forced to put the announcement at that moment as some kind of middle finger to HW, like “see? I can do whatever I want?” . But the way he treats her, no matter in pictures, footages or even in print, I don’t think anyone would put someone he is truly in love with in that kind of situation. It’s just embarrassing. Nope, that’s not love.

        One of my thoughts now is, even if they were in some sort of relationship, no matter what that was, it probably wouldn’t survive the campaign.

      • moodgirl says:

        I think the polishing and hustling of both her and her CV was good indication that this was a professional PR job. It just wasn’t natural no matter how you look at it. Too many coincidences.

  43. Admiring Bog says:

    Why the fascination with this show biz mediocrity?

  44. Too crazy here says:

    So in course of one evening Claire’s said that

    1) BC should feel “shame” for something his ancestors did centuries ago
    2) We’re re all suffering from “white entitlement”
    3) EB is in the pocket of BC’s PR or someone affiliated with him
    4) BC may have a “mental issue”

    Seriously scraping the bottom of the barrel there. I think even I may have reached my celeb-BITCHY threshold.

    • claire says:

      Hi soothy nice try with the bs and conflating my speculation with my beliefs. Dont let the door hit your arse on the way out

      • Too crazy here says:

        Nope, sorry, not soothy. I’m saying there’s a difference between crazy fun and plain old bats**t crazy. I think you may have been drinking the kool-aid a little too long. Try taking a break, get out of the house, before you end up gnawing off your own leg. (Backing away slowly)

      • Claire says:

        I suggest reading rainbow and some psych meds, soothy bee. that way you won’t get all frustrated when you think people said things they never said. BYE.

      • Anne tommy says:

        Too crazy here seems to sum up what I took from your posts Claire. If that’s not what you meant to convey, that’s pretty much how it came over. And try being a bit less confrontational, we can debate without nastiness

    • claire says:

      I suggest reading rainbow, soothy. Then you won’t get so flustered after you put words in other people’s mouths, bee

      • aly says:

        What Soothy said.

      • Just me says:

        I’m with you Soothy. A little idle gossip can be fun, but when we start getting nasty and turning on each other, the fun stops.

        Me, I’m just worn out with it all.

        I know I take the piss out of Ben for the dumb things he says but he’s still a human being and running around hinting that he has a “mental issue” is taking it a bit far in my book.

  45. tsmiv says:

    The more I think about the Botanical Garden thing, the weirder it gets. There were no pictures, just one guy tweeting about it and from that some tabloid goes to talk to someone at the desk? That makes no sense at all. The person that talked to the desk was probably the pap that was supposed to show up.

    • Lucifer says:

      hehehe. it was a failed staging aftr the LFF stunt. due to rain or bad timing the paps did/could not show up and their staging fell flat again

    • blended says:

      also the FO pics weren’t exactly ‘pap’ pics. it was the final of a major sporting event, they were in a sponsor’s box, they were sitting very close to centre court, and they looked like they knew they were being photographed. that was completely an outing to be seen and talked about. the part that back fired was how bored they looked, and their lack of chemistry. no one actually believed they were ‘dating’.

      • Wait I'm Typing says:

        That’s the funniest part to me! If that was meant to get people talking about them or to sort of “show” that he was seeing someone it failed hilariously because no one, NO ONE (I don’t think even nannies) believed that they were dating. All I saw was “well, it looks like another old female friend” “Oh, they worked together when he was with Olivia, yep, old friends” from everyone. EVERYONE.
        I think that’s what threw people for a loop when they announced the engagement. They went from 0 to 100 so fast.

        edited to add: I also think that’s where the theories are coming from. They didn’t look particularly interested in each other so everyone assumed friends instantly. I can’t even remember anyone even suggesting it was a date. Hilarious, I tell you.
        If they really are a couple I suspect they’ll just be like best friends who live together, maybe have a kid and barely have sex/show real passion.

      • Felice says:

        I don’t get why they are on her imdb page. No one has photos that candid on their pages.

      • Soothy says:

        Who’s in control of her imdb page though?

        Maybe senyorita has got hold of it? Lol

      • OhHey says:

        I just saw now her red carpet pictures are on her IMDB page – why the hell would she do that – nothing else to declare? Not appropriate…..the picture of her being dry humped in a field is actual WORK, for heaven’s sake.

      • Felice says:

        B’s face is basically the center of the profile pic too.

      • Claire says:

        that desperation is real, son. ah well at least now she’ll have something to show the grandkids after she fades into obscurity

      • Soothy says:

        I bet that’s senyorita. Wow, whoever this person is has problems.

      • Alice says:

        I looked at her page after the FO. It was dead – no pictures, nothing. Then, after LFF, this appeared in her bio section – ” Since September, she has been dating actor Benedict Cumberbatch.” Shortly after, that disappeared and it was dead again. Then, after the announcement, her page burst into life. Pictures galore!! Not of her “work”, of course, but of any picture of her near BC that her little elves could dredge up. Must make her proud that her accomplishment is being connected to Benedict C. I guess that’s better than no accomplishments.

      • moodgirl says:

        Alice – Ummm….SH’s IMDB page noted that she had been dating BC since SEPTEMBER? I thought they had supposedly dating since the spring. Come to think of it in the VOGUE article he said they had been dating a couple of months. So they really got engaged after about six weeks. No wonder they are trying to kill each other. I’m lost.

      • Alice says:

        @moodgirl. Yep, it said “since September”. I think it was just after the LFF and that, coupled with JR’s wedding ramped up the tizzy of gossip. I don’t recall for sure if it made its way onto her puffed up wiki page also, but I think it did. Anyway, a week or so later when I checked imdb, it was gone. I had checked her page originally because I had seen the Isis video and the Meadow thing and wondered what BC could see in such a twit, surely there must be work of some substance. Nope, couldn’t find any.

      • Claire says:

        “wondered what BC could see in such a twit, surely there must be work of some substance. Nope, couldn’t find any.”

        hahaha so sad, so true.

    • scarf girl says:

      TSMIV maybe it is me, and maybe I have spent far too much time avoiding laundry and housecleaning this morning and reading up on the comment thread, but it almost seems like these events are being scattered in interviews to close up loop holes in a carefully constructed storyline. I am not implying the BC/SH relationship is a PR stunt. Not on the conspiracy train yet (although pricing tickets). I think information is being put out in interviews to address statements made by fans on social media. It’s like an email is floating around with key issues to address as comments are made and because these interviews were done at different times in the past few months, the talking points being issued are starting to conflict. Hope those thoughts made sense.

      • moodgirl says:

        It’s not just you; I think we have reached a consensus that these boards are being browsed for feedback. By the way conspiracy train tickets are free and include continental breakfast.

      • scarf girl says:

        Mood girl does the train have a dining car or a dining cart? Full tea service? Tempted to jump on anyway.

        Totally off topic. A cat started to come to my house and I fed her. Afraid she was someone’s pet and didn’t take her in, then she disappeared. Out of guilt scoured shelters, found 1 I thought was her, but not and took that cat in. Now first cat coming around obviously no home. Will be crazy cat lady with two black cats commenting on BC fan boards.

      • moodgirl says:

        The conspiracy train is fully loaded, including fully staffed dining car with free drinks and TEA SERVICE. I appreciate your kindness towards the cats. Many wouldn’t have that kind of heart.

  46. claire says:

    Off that TH blog: “If you want confirmation that the SH thing is a sham, investigate someone called Ashley Rolfe. It’s a “well known secret” in the London theatre scene that SH and he maybe a little bit comfortable with each other.”

    • aly says:

      Uh…that’s interesting…

    • MissMary says:

      Keep in mind that it was also a “well known secret” in “London theatre circles” that KB and BC were “really in love” and “about to take the next step” so…grain of salt whenever someone on tumblr posts “connect the dots” type things.

    • InvaderTak says:

      Also that blog has posted BS and been forced to admit it too, if I’m thinking of the right blog.

  47. tasha_nat says:

    I find it hilarious that Cumby got thoroughly trounced by Colin Morgan in BBC America’s Anglophenia Anglo Fan Favorites poll, with Morgan at 67.8% to Cumby’s 32.2%.

    Who’s Colin Morgan? Exactly.

    • Felice says:

      He was Merlin on a BBC show and play a very well loved one-off character on a well known David Tennant Doctor Who episode.

    • Grace says:

      Someone mentioned about votes not being counted, but Colin does have a HUGE following. I wouldn’t be surprised he won: it’s just the difference in percentage seems a little… Fans usually find out about poll information on tumblr. Maybe they can’t be bothered?

  48. Koodles says:

    Claire-only thing I found was that they worked together on something back in 2009.

    If we are going that route, I’d say we have more evidence with that gambles guy.

    • Claire says:

      OT but is Gambles not the dumbest name for a singer-songwriter ever? (Sodious came up with that name for him.) He sounds like a clown.

      “Gambles the Clown”

      • Lu says:

        Same here. It’s a real eye-roller.

      • MissMary says:

        It makes me think of those people I knew in h.s. and uni who would come up with very hipstery nicknames for themselves and insist they only be called “Sir Waffles” or something. And would get super high and expound on Hawking while effing it all up when it came to his theories and research but insist it was true because they’d, like, totally shunned the overarching patriarchy and knew the TRUTH and that’s why they’re Sir Waffles now, you know? Because fuck patriarchy and just look at my art I made out of roach clips and my kid sister’s Dora the Explorer backpack. Because I’m Sir Waffles.

        (Not that I think Gambles is a wtf name or anything)

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        Sir Waffles??? LOL

        Now, I’m craving for waffles and muffins…. not fair….

  49. Scarfgirl says:

    Remember that antidote about BC refusing a selfie with a fan (or autograph hound) at the NY TIG premiere? Being noted on a Vanity Fair blurb about how well BC handles fame. Vanity Fair even notes the girl snuck a selfie anyway (hmm, wonder how they know-was the writer there watching everyone to see if they snuck pictures of Ben)? How much does HW spend on Oscar campaigns and getting people to troll the Internet and gossip boards for these stories so responses can appear in magazines and interviews? For reals?

    • Soothy says:

      I don’t think any actor can complain about people taking pics of them at a premiere.
      And he did pose with that girl. I saw him looking into the camera in her photo.

      • scarfgirl says:

        Not that one Soothy. The other one-her dad ended up taking the picture with BC, SH and KK standing in the background. Made rounds on EB, TBC, and that other blog. I thought it was discussed here as well.

      • Soothy says:

        Oh right, sorry. Yeah, that’s odd to mention that.

      • scarfgirl says:

        I will correct one statement: girl took selfie herself not her dad. Originally picture with story is on sherlockshirt tumblr. I don’t think BC was rude-I didn’t get that impression. I just found it so odd it was used by Vanity Fair as an example. How did they know she took the selfie anyway? That was my question not necessarily his behavior. I am far more interested in watching how the news stories appear to be responding to comments here, on tumblr, etc. than I am in speculating on his behavior or character, if that makes sense. I can’t remember anything quite like this. I am a bit baffled. Are a few commenters here and on tumblr really necessary to monitor and respond to via PR planted stories? Are the stories merely coincidence-am I way too invested as a fan? These are the questions that interest me at this point. I did want to clarify I did not think he was being incredibly rude and my misstatement that the girl’s father took the picture.

      • Just me says:

        I know what your talking about scarfgirl. I think his PR campaign is out of whack. Their running around trying to orchestrate answers to every little thing and it’s coming of forced and unnatural.

        I saw Ben on Charlie Rose and he was fine there. Maybe a bit boring but okay. Charlie Rose if you don’t know is a more serious news/politics program I had to sit through 15 min on immigration before Ben came on….anyway) so you can’t really expect Chewbacca impressions. LOL. He just talked about TIG and that was it. And it was fine, nothing objectionable.

        If they are PR watching this board: Can I make a suggestion?. Just drop the whole engagement angle. I know PR will try to use any angle to stir up interest in their clients but it’s really not working for you.

        As far as I can see there are three main camps out there. You have middle America who have no idea who Ben is and therefore couldn’t care less that he’s getting married, so it’s not helping you there. You have the crazed Cumberbuddies and Nannies who are totally invested in the wedding (CB would probably like to catch the bouquet). The more Ben talks about the wedding the more invested they’ll be, the more information they’ll want, and I think Ben would want to be more private about that stuff. Once you start going down that road you’re screwed (providing of course that the is a real relationship). And thirdly you have the hardcore conspiracy people who would refuse to believe it was real even if it lasted for 20 years.

        For the record, I don’t have a side in this fight. I don’t care whether the relationship is real or not. I’m interested in his work as an actor. What he does when he’s off the clock is his own business. I may gossip about it but I’m not really all that interested.

        Every time the engagement is mentioned people get all stirred up again. The whole engagement brouhaha is distracting from the work. I think it would be better to drop the subject entirely. If someone asks just have Ben say we (WE, Ben, We, LOL) are very happy and excited and then move on.

        I think Ben should just focus his interviews on the films from now on, keep his head down and try to ride out the storm. If he doesn’t mention the relationship at all there wouldn’t be any reason to spin doctor his personal life and there wouldn’t be anything for the fans to obsess over. Just let it go. He’s much better when he’s just being himself and talking about his work as an actor rather than trying to present his personal life as some grand romance. It’s coming off as inauthentic and unappealing. All that frantic damage control is coming off as schizophrenic and desperate. Just stick to the work Ben. No more engagement talk, no more fan baiting (Elle mag) no more fan slagging. Just be yourself and let blow over.

        I really am starting to feel sorry for the guy. I know he’s a big boy and can make his own decisions and I know that lately he’s been a bit of an ass. Still…. it’s all a bit much, don’t ya think?

        Just my 2 cents, for what it’s worth.

      • Soothy says:

        Yeah it’s odd that anyone would care what a few internet fans think. I don’t understand. But I’m beginning to suspect his ‘people’ are a bit….shit?

      • Ingrid says:

        @Just Me +10000. To everything.

        P.S. The PR damage control is very telling. They wouldn’t bother with it if the enGAGment was a real deal. So, dear PR, stop that too.

      • Soothy says:

        I feel bad for him too. I really do have the softest of soft spots for him, and even though this whole thing is weird and he has said some strange things, I still believe him to be a very nice man with his heart in very much the right place. I genuinely hope he’s very happy with whatever is happening in his life.

        I will say this..
        If someone was dangling the sparkliest and most spectacular award that has ever existed in the history of my profession at me, would I do everything (within the realms of all that’s decent) to get it? …F**k yeah.

      • Lu says:

        @Soothy, I understand a lot of actors feel that way, but I wouldn’t, so I don’t understand it. I’ve never “gotten” the idea of an Oscar campaign. I wouldn’t want an award that the voters had to be convinced to give me; I wouldn’t feel honored if I’d gotten it that way. I do understand this is the way the game is played nowadays, but I find it completely cheapens the idea of winning. It’s supposed to be something your peers award you because of your performance in a particular role, not because they think you’re cool, or they feel sorry for you because you have an illness, or they like your wife, or you missed out on it in a previous year, or any other reason. [And that includes because HW paid them off or twisted their arm, or whatever.] I would just look at that Oscar on my shelf and think that I earned it not for my work but my schmoozing, and feel empty.

    • Claire says:

      we’re talking about the girl who he declined (politely?) and after she took it anyways, Sodious gave her the look of murder, right?

      • blended says:

        umm so now that tumblr girl has changed her tune and said ben did take pics with her, and that sophie is so beautiful. i truly don’t know what to make of this! i’m losing my mind.

      • Claire says:

        i hope you took screencaps 🙂

        wondering if she caved into pressure from the obsessive fans.

      • gg says:

        I think there is a post about it on SoGo now. Very curious that Vanity Fair chose to link to the more “fan-friendly” version

      • Soothy says:

        @gg

        Sorry, but vanity fair have linked to a tumblr post of some weird fan being refused a ‘selfie’?? Wtf? Why?

      • MissMary says:

        I want to see how PR spins it ngl. I’m sure it’ll not be mentioned but anyone who points out the wtfery online will be descended upon by slavering Nannies and Stans because how DARE we doubt the perfection of SH and the gentlemanly swagger of BC.

        Still, since they do seem to be addressing just about everything brought up online, I wonder if there will be a tumblr post later about “oh, I didn’t want to invade his privacy so I said x first” or it’ll come up later in an interview about how SH loves meeting fans and is flattered they think she’s gorgeous.

      • Lu says:

        @Soothy, maybe Vanity Fair have a special feeling for SH because her only documented speaking role to date* was in the 10-yr-old movie “Vanity Fair”?

        *OK she was a witch in Macbeth, but I’m really just kidding anyway.

      • Felice says:

        Of course the prints will say sh loves it but I’ll believe that when I see it. She looks like she would gag if anyone below her stepped towards her.

      • gg says:

        @soothy: not only that, but a post with only 18 freakin’ notes

  50. scarfgirl says:

    Just Me ^^^^^ this to infinity squared

    • Just me says:

      Thanks everybody. I just think his people need to stop presenting him as some kind of sex “idol” that young girls go “gooey” for and all that nonsense. Not all his fans are that young. Maybe the young people are the most visible because they have more free time on their hands to watch the Sherlock filming and that sort of thing but he has a wider fan base than that.

      And all that grand romance crap can go as well. To give them the benefit of a doubt even if they really are the happiest couple in the world they don’t come across that way, its not selling, or doing him any favors. Its not like a big event like the George Clooney wedding or something. That whole his fans should feel happy because he’s found someone worthy of him, yeesh. Real love or not, that’s just cringe-worthy.

      Its like his people are trying to play both sides of a game. Hyping up the sexiness with the NY mag and that wet shirt Mr. Darcy thing (Which I really think Ben’s too awkward to pull off effectively and even if he could, I wouldn’t want to see him try) and then play the other side as more mature thoughtful actor who’s ready to settle down and is Oscar worthy. Those two sides don’t mesh. You can’t say “Look at all the hot girls chasing me” and the go “I’m really, truly, madly, deeply, passionately, deliciously, juicily love” her (Alan Rickman reference anyone? Truly, Madly Deeply 1991? Anyone? Er… guess not. Just me. LOL).

      His people need to stop trying to second guessing what the fans want. Ooh there’s some young girls screaming. Let’s have him posed in a sprawl with his shirt half off. Oooh CBs seem really happy about the engagement. Let’s push that angle. Constantly trying to change the narrative or tweak his image just results in some really jacked up patch-work quilt that no one’s buying. Occasionally, yes in the past he has said some problematic things. But on the whole, up until lately, I would have said he had been doing just fine for years. He can be funny and charming. I enjoy listening to the Sherlock commentaries. I miss Dorkybatch. Just let the man be himself and cut out the rest of the marketing crap.

      Focus on the work and let it speak for itself. You want to be taken seriously as an actor? Then just be an actor. Nothing more, nothing less.

      • MissMary says:

        the “sad” thing is, most of the people they’re trying to hit with this narrative either aren’t aware of the inconsistencies or think they’re “omg he’s trying to protect her!” type things.

      • Soothy says:

        Where’s the evidence for ‘he’s trying to protect her’ come from?

      • Felice says:

        *sigh* any fanny who says that lack of chemistry is protecting her. Holy crap guys I’m so famous now I can’t stand within 2 feet of my future wife.

      • MissMary says:

        @Soothy there isn’t any. But some Nannies and Stans are crying that whenever someone questions wtf behavior/comments. “He’s trying to protect her! She’s shye and nervous around cameras!” etc. But yeah no.

      • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

        I would buy the shy part if she wasn’t in the industry, if she was a doctor, teacher, etc… She’s an actress, she can’t afford to be shy… Plus, her videos don’t show her as a shy person..

  51. Kazlock 1307 says:

    Hello lovelies.

    Could you tell me about the selfie incident please?
    I’m not sure if I deleted it from my mind palace,but can’t remember it.

    • solanaceae (Nighty) says:

      A fan who apparently wanted a selfie, she took a pic without his knowldge, and she posted it with a sentence saying something in the lines of “meeting BC not what I expected but not going to comment any further on that..”

      • j says:

        no, nighty, that was an autohound on Instagram who did get a picture with him

        the girl you’re talking about was on Tumblr and was happy

        everyone is getting mixed up here

      • scarf girl says:

        You are right J. The Vanity Fair article came out on Novemeber 20 and was updated to link to the kid’s account. I saw her original post and link. No, she wasn’t happy. She had a comment that stated she talked to BC and wasnt a nice experience and she didn’t want to say anything else.

        But to avoid being all telephone, let us say I am wrong. Why would Vanity Fair link to that particular post. Why link at all? What did it add to the story?

        I don’t think anyone leaned on a kid to get her to change her story. I think she was emotional and live blogging her experiences and at first was disappointed, and then freaking out to be in the same room as her idol). But yeah, I do think it was intentional to link to a fan having a geek out moment and update the article. I think that was a suggestion on the part of HW’s team to VF. Aren’t he and Graydon Carter besties?

        This is going to be a fascinating award season. Thoroughly enjoying watching the indescrepancies and having people in addition to me point it out.

      • j says:

        “She had a comment that stated she talked to BC and wasnt a nice experience and she didn’t want to say anything else.”

        no, that is an autohound from Instagram. different woman. this is what i mean, it’s telephone in here lol

        The tumblr girl VF linked literally reblogged her own post the same day to add stuff since ppl were asking questions. the post VF linked to includes stuff she added to her first post when she reblogged.

        vf used is as an example, it’s not hard to find that stuff on twitter, but their main point was to just add the audio i think

      • scarf girl says:

        J: thank you for correcting me, I am sorry I was getting the two confused.

        In general, I have a few questions. No one has to answer, but I just wanted to throw it out to the universe. I understand there is always wackiness with Oscar campaigns or even promotions of movies. I think publicity surrounding the enGAGment, suspicion of PR lurking on boards and sound bites/articles being issued, modified-whatever- is clearly on the radar of many people on this board and others. I really haven’t followed campaigns closely in the past-is this normal? I mean, I r ember cringing during Hathaway’s interviews during Les Mis but I didn’t follow that closely.

        It just seems like every day there is a new, and I might add unnecessary in ways, article about BC which has nothing to do with his performance in TIG. Just me?

        Also, there seem to be really bizarre rumors being planted to just continue to hype interest (example: random fight with an actress on RIII) set. Don’t want to go into more detail because a) I can get my facts wrong and I just haven’t dug that deep on that rumor and b) for reasons I can’t really articulate to myself, that rumor feels vindictive to me.

        Not intending to crash any parties, or stir the pot. But really curious. Does this PR feel off to me because I don’t follow other actors as close and this is normal for Oscar?

      • Soothy says:

        Are you sure the woman on instagram is an auto hound? She looked like a fan to me. She had another girl with her.
        And do auto hounds usually ask for photos?

      • Soothy says:

        @scarfgirl

        The actress on richard 3 rumours are just the product of crazy fans minds. Some troll posted it and some fools with nothing better to do found an actress working on set (that’s literally all the evidence there is), posted it here and people are still giving it the time of day.

        My only reaction when it was originally posted here was ‘LMAO’ because it was so hysterically rubbish and it didn’t even try to sound convincing. But it seems that doesn’t matter to some people as it gained legs anyway. Mystifying.

      • scarf girl says:

        Soothe, I have no clue if this will end up anywhere near your comment. I only used the term autographs hound because others stated she had lots of pictures with celebrities on her feed. But as I type, I realized I never checked this out for myself and spreading an unfair impression perhaps? I really feel like I need to double check everything I read. And I don’t think I care that much, or don’t want to be crazy cat lady who crochets.

        The thing about the actress that made me uncomfortable was how all of her social media accounts have been posted. I agree with tumblr thing and what I read-i just discounted it. But the fact someone seemingly plucked this woman out of nowhere-it is either really vindictive or she did it herself. Both are equally disturbing to me.

    • MissMary says:

      So apparently (from what I can gather via SoGo and here), a fan posted on their tumblr about wanting a selfie w/BC but he politely declined. Vanity Fair mentioned it and linked to said blog, but now, instead of the original story, the post says he DID take a pic with her and the girl saw Sophie and declares her beautiful. Not at all what the first post said (no mention of SH, just the pic thing). SO… did VF lean on her? Is she lying? Both? Neither?

      • blended says:

        you’re missing the most important detail: in the original post by the fan, you could see SH glaring at the camera. in the one linked to by VF, SH is talking to someone else, and the fan remarks about how beautiful she is in ALL CAPS! wtf.

      • MissMary says:

        Ooooooooh, true! Nice *snort*. I hope the poster got some decent perks.

      • Soothy says:

        The fan is weird. Apart from the odd crying, her blog bio she says ‘I’ve met sophie and Ben’ or something. Wth VF are doing linking that shit,I just don’t know.

      • Heheheh says:

        Exactly blended!
        Also, from what I can see…the original post is still there…sooooo??

        Gosh, at least when telling/paying the poor girl to change her story, they could have mentioned/suggested that she remove the first? 😉

        Just another flubb on behalf of the pathetic PR people?

        No matter what is going on…he’s happy/he’s not, real romantic relationship/pr relationship…whatever…the total failure of the PR people in all of this is what would have me on edge/cranky/tired alone at this point…

      • Soothy says:

        I think to say the least, it’s a huge reach to suggest that people would lean on some crazy fan to say something positive on tumblr. C’mon now, people.
        But the weird issue to me is why their linking to that crap anyway? Some crying fan turned down for a ‘selfie’? Wtf

      • Claire says:

        What is sogo?

        Also I hope of you ladies is screencapping all this 🙂

        Love the murderous look on her face in the photo. Just love it.

      • MissMary says:

        @Claire: SoGo: Sophiehuntergossipblog on tumblr.

        And about the changed story on tumblr… okay and this is me on the conspiracy train again with my tinfoil hat chinstrapped on, lol… I don’t think VF paid her off, or HW leaned on her, but I do think she was contacted about linking the post and a “oh, you know what’d be great? If you said something positive about Sophie in there. Ben would REALLY appreciate it” was said, or something along those lines. Not a threat, not a pay off, but a manipulation.

        (sidebar on that: a writer from one of the NY papers/mags has been contacting fans on tumblr and asking if they can write up a blurb about BC for her to quote, sounding super nice and sweet and “fannish” herself, but someone posted that they need to be careful b/c she’s known for her slam pieces and epic snark on his fans so… reporters and journos aren’t above contacting fans and being manipulative, and tumblr is just the latest medium for them to do so)

        Or who knows… maybe she sat on it a day or two and changed her story for whatever reason and that’s the one VF seized upon.

      • j says:

        it’s gotten so telephone over here…

        she made more than one post in the same timeframe, including reblogs. also added that Hunter was pretty on the first one the same day. none of her posts say she got of pic him, including the one VF linked to

        the VF article went up 2 days before any of the tumblr posts, they just added it when they updated to add a link to something else

        soothy is right lol

      • Claire says:

        Thanks for that MissMary. And yes I think regarding the VF thing, that’s the most likely scenario of what went down. Fan too eager to change story to have her 15 secs of fame.

        Do you know which NY mag?

      • blended says:

        yeah i don’t think they need to pay anyone off for this. just the mere suggestion that ben (and/or sophie) will really appreciate their kind words is enough for some fans to change stories or start gushing. these are the fans who give the rest of the fandom a weird reputation. if it were me, you can be sure i would tell you guys the straight dope, and i wouldn’t change my story for anyone. but then again, i would never beg for an autograph and then cry and act all entitled if the celeb declines.

      • MissMary says:

        New York Magazine, the writer being Jada Yuan. Professorfangirl and a few others have posted threads regarding the requests with some links to her previous works on BC showing her remarks towards/about fans, his work, etc that would lead me, if I were a fanworks type who had a fan tumblr or site, to be SUPER suspicious about motivations and very hesitant to give her any quotes with my name attached. She also has work in Vulture.

        ETA a link to a fanwork creator’s tumblr discussing the request (basically the same info I just gave lol but this is where I saw it first): http://emmagrant01.tumblr.com/post/102937433210/re-jada-asking-cumberbatch-fans-on-tumblr-for

  52. scarf girl says:

    Do you know I just saw something very interesting about that Vanity Fair/Sherlockshirt selfie. When that story circulated on the EB and SoGo tumblrs, there were 3-4 pictures (and the girl did say her dad took the picture). There were 118 notes from tumblr likes and re logs. But the post that is linked in the Vanity Fair article? Slightly different narrative which is more favorable to BC and different picture. It is a different post-only 18 tumblr likes or reblogs.

    The SoGo tumblr picked up on it and there is a post comparing two links. Could be a very simple explanation.

    Yes, I feel like a little person for visiting tumblr and will do penance tomorrow. But still, kinda makes me go, hmm? Well, isn’t that special (in best Church Lady voice).

    • scarf girl says:

      Sorry for duplicate story telling. Didn’t see where it had been picked up.

    • Kazlock 1307 says:

      Thanks to all of you.
      BC wasn’t playing nice from the sounds of it.Which is surprising considering it was a red carpet event. He usually does selfies and autographs at those.

      Odd that the girls post was altered for VF though.

      • lola says:

        He was standing next to SH and … he wanted to protect her, you know.:-P

      • MissMary says:

        Something I keep giggling over, probably because I’m an awful person according to Nannies who frown on this behavior, is the video clip of the NY red carpet where you can see Karon directing them and it looks like she says “get back there!” when SH starts to move (I can’t be positive that’s what’s being said, tbh). Between that and the altered VF tumblr thing, I’m ready to send his PR team “How to do PR for Dummies” the number of a good safehouse for when HW loses his sh*t over this promo debacle because this has far reaching tentacles (ha).

      • blended says:

        the only way HW would count this as a debacle is if the nominations don’t materialize. nomination or not, i’m more scared that this is a personal debacle for ben because HW won’t give a flying fig what happens to him post-oscars. so ben’s peeps should be aware of this.

      • Felice says:

        The true pageant mom

      • MissMary says:

        @Blended: you’re right. The more I see of what’s going on, I’m sure his career isn’t going to take any hits it can’t recover from, but I do wonder if he was prepared on a personal level for the pressures and demands of an Oscar campaign, esp a Weinstein-mandated/lead one. Once HW is done with you, he’s done until he needs you again.

      • lola says:

        I just can not understand how/why this went so wrong. It’s completely derailed. If it is PR why didn’t they audition her and/or test the chemistry of the happy couple? Aren’t they in the business that is supposed to master things like that?

      • MissMary says:

        @Lola: Thing is, to the wider public outside the microcosm of some gossip sites and fan blogs, it looks “fine”. He’s not as famous in meatspace as he is online, so people, by and large, aren’t familiar with his history like the fans online are, and there’s not a lot of crossover in the readership of some of these articles so inconsistencies aren’t as obvious to folks as they are to those of us who are dissecting this online. It’ll take longer, if ever, for the weirdness to really get noticed by the larger “viewership.” And maybe PR figured that he knew SH before, she’s in with HW’s outer circle of peeps and wasn’t terribly busy *cough*, so they said “her, she’ll do”.

      • Claire says:

        at this point i’d be willing to say he chose her specifically for this.

        i hope he had her sign some non-disclosure agreement. if it ever comes out, is he going to look bad.

      • moodgirl says:

        Why would he choose someone that he so obviously loathes?

      • Claire says:

        I think if he really loathed her, he’s a good enough actor to act like he cared for her. His lack of keeping up such a simple appearance points to the likelihood his heart really isn’t in this farce and this is his way of subtly letting everyone know. It all comes back to the body language, it tends not to lie.

      • Sunflower says:

        I agree with @MissMary….no one else is going to notice how weird this all is, and they’re working extra hard to paint anyone who does as a devastated fan who can’t wrap their head around the fact that their idol is engaged.

        I’ve been checking out the top posts on Tumblr. While there are a few “Welcome to the Family!” style posts, a lot of them are starting to wonder what’s going on. Not to mention that there are now 3 blogs on the conspiracy train (EB, SoGo and Cumberleaks). And that several of the top posts show gifs from interviews with him and Keira (they’re shipping it hard!)

      • Claire says:

        LOL so hard at Cumberleaks. What kind of skeptical things are they saying on tumblr? Not those three blogs but the general pop (yes I’m comparing it to prison)

      • gg says:

        Cumberleaks and Wiki should really stop taking themselves so seriously

      • Sunflower says:

        I haven’t seen too many of the questioning posts (there were a lot right after the Tumblr Q&A) but this is exactly why the fan-girl dissing routine is so perfect! *adjusts tinfoil hat* Most of the fans, right from the very beginning, were just happy for Ben and annoyed that they were being portrayed otherwise. So not only are the ones on the conspiracy train being discredited, others don’t want to hop on because they don’t want to be perceived as jealous or nutty.

      • MissMary says:

        The subtle fan-shaming that’s started in is camp is…annoying. “Well, if they like me, they’ll like her” which translates to “don’t pay any attention to the people saying this is weird–they just want to bash me.”

  53. MissMary says:

    Not to derail our theorizing, but to comment on something he said in the interview re hiding Richard III’s “hunchback”: That’s a chump move. It couldn’t have been hidden IRL, based on recent findings and research using a Real Live Human ™ who has the same degree of curvature Richard III apparently had. I have a weird “minimizing the disability” vibe off of that and don’t like it. The study DID show that, even with the curvature to a severe degree, it was very possible he was just as excellent a horseman and mounted fighter as stories claimed but would have also suffered in close, foot-based combat (also as stories claimed). Maybe I’m too twitchy about ableism and disability visibility, or maybe I’m misunderstanding the quote.

    • j says:

      ?? all the studies i saw said he didn’t have a hunchback and it could have been concealed with clothing or armor. plus there’s old accounts of his looks that debunked that before they found his remains anyway, it was tudor propaganda

      that being said you are misunderstanding it, i think, as hes saying richard would have tried to hide it because of his familys reputation and the way ppl thought back then

      • MissMary says:

        I used the quotes around hunchback because the skeletal remains found and anecdotal historical evidence suggest a severe curvature of the spine, raising his right shoulder higher than the left but not the “hunchback” of Shakespearean myth. The university of Leicester has some pictures and research notes on their site explaining the type and degree of the curvature. Research was also shown on the PBS series “Secrets of the Dead” (I don’t know what the original broadcast was called in the UK) where scientists not only did some amazing work using Richard III’s remains but also a modern man who has a similar degree of severity in his scoliosis and is also a War of the Roses re-enactor so was able to demonstrate sword work, wearing specialized armor that R3 would have had access to as royalty able to have pieces custom made, etc, and showed that, even with the evident scoliosis and problems it caused, he would have been able to fight. And it would’ve been damn near impossible to hide, esp in armor.

        All that said, lol, I can buy that I’m misreading it or it’s coming off differently to me than was intended so I’ll get off my high horse about it lol.

      • j says:

        thats whats funny though is that Dr Appleby from Leicester literally said: “but this could have been disguised by custom-made armour and by having a good tailor.”

        so IDK. I’m confused on that end of it i guess 🙂 tudors were ruthless though!

      • MissMary says:

        I guess we’ll never truly know until some un-Tudor-fied pictures come out, lol.

      • scarf girl says:

        Miss Mary-I saw that show where they taught the man how to ride and fight in a way that would minimize the disability. They also speculated very special arm our would have to be used to give Richard III the ability to use his weaker arm. Really found it fascinating how the arm our was specialized, and watching them try out different theories with the actor in the show. So fascinating they found Richard and the curved spine was confirmed. They are having an exhibition in Yorkshire to coincide with the internment.

    • Claire says:

      All hunchback arguments totally made irrelevant because damn he looks hot as RIII.

      jk. sort of.

  54. tasha_nat says:

    @Claire/MissMary

    New York journo is Jada Yuan. She also hit up the reddit cumberbitches for that Vulture article (with the accompanying photos being the running from screaming fans and the getting mobbed in the car)

    http://www.reddit.com/r/Cumberbitches/comments/2ljgnx/why_you_love_benedict/

    • Claire says:

      Thanks for that. so on the scale of crazy, who houses the most deranged contingency of BC fan? IMDB, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit?

      These people pop up out of the woodwork like the zombies in Thriller, i can’t keep track anymore

      • tasha_nat says:

        I would rank from most to least batsh!t: tumblr, imdb, twitter, reddit. I’m biased because im also a redditor, but they’re progressively becoming more IMDB ish in there.

      • Dara says:

        @Claire – crazy is in the eye of the beholder. CB-ites will point and laugh at some of the Tumblr-folk and their Stepford-like joy at anything the ‘Batch does. IMDB side-eyes CB as the home for any and all tinfoil-hat conspiracy theories. Who the hell knows what goes on in the Twitter-verse…it changes direction like a murmuration of starlings from one moment to the next. The fine folks at D-listed think all fans everywhere are nuttier than a Texas fruitcake at Christmas.

        At the end of the day, it’s probably all of the above – each venue has its own particular brand of wacky. It’s all good by me – diversity makes life interesting, you know. As long as no one takes it too seriously – this is celebrity gossip after all, not world peace. Now then, I’m just going to step over here and grab my own homemade freak flag and wave it proudly. Everyone carry on…

      • delorb says:

        I think its a tie between this place and Tumblr. There has been a marked increase in postings to his threads since his engagement. So much so, that the moderators have increased the number of links. Most people on IMDB are laughing at the fuss.

      • tasha_nat says:

        duplicate.

      • Soothy says:

        @delorb

        Are you kidding? This site is the only one that has some non obsessed crazies with the power of independent thought ..or any thought at all it would seem. Sure there’s a few weirdos on here like anywhere else, but it’s largely people sideeying some strange behaviour on his part.
        And IMDB just ‘laughing at the fuss’? Are you joking? IMDB is RIGHT at the top of the list as far as deranged and obsessed crazy goes. IMDB is the biggest laughing stock with a frightening stock of rabid nannies who snarl and foam at the mouth if anyone dares to not worship this bloke. Do they really think he’d be happy or grateful for that? Didn’t you get the memo? He doesn’t want the cupcake, scrapbooks and congrats? It seems bizarre to me, that people eyerolling over some of his behaviour are the ones that the frighteningly devoted nannies are trying to paint as crazy. Laughable, actually.

    • MissMary says:

      Ah, I guess my post upthread didn’t go through! Yep, Jada Yuan. there’s some discussion on tumblr fanworks blogs about this and some people foolishly sending her quotes but most others she’s approached going “NO WAIT STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING”.

      Ugh in terms of most, um, ardent fans… IDK. IMDB has the most strident Nannies, but Tumblr has the scarily devoted nannies (the scrapbook-senders, the open letter writers…) I avoid Reddit of late but they strike me as a mix of the two with a larger mix-in of fans who were willing not to blindly adore him, until the nanny population there just exploded recently. Several refugees from Reddit have popped up on SoGo.

  55. joe spider says:

    Here’s is one article that made me laugh:

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/22/cumberbabe-modern-tribe-benedict-cumberbatch?commentpage=1

    And the comments underneath. 🙂

  56. Ingrid says:

    Ladies, we have more names for TWILTWIPT. From NY Daily News “the woman I’m engaged to”. I think we should hyphenate because, after all, she’s a noble, delicate beauty. TWILTWIPT-TWIET sounds really regal.

    • tasha_nat says:

      Oh how posh and lovely, a double barreled name. Of course, nothing but the best for the lady TWILTWIPT-TWIET. 🙂

    • moodgirl says:

      Wow. It sounds so passive aggressive, like he is really trying to get the message across that he is seething inside. I can’t see anything love related in that. Sounds flat out rude. You can’t make this stuff up.

  57. Kazlock 1307 says:

    According to the Mirror the ring is now worth £50,000!
    And the journalist is gloating about the fact that he was right all along!
    Bloody ring!Wish Gollum would come and get it back….oh sorry its wearing it!

  58. Ingrid says:

    92Y Reel Talk:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSnFhU5T6Wk
    (I had problems with Chrome, Firefox works fine)

    I don’t know if this interview was covered here. IIRC, it was released at the same time as the red carpet clusterf*ck was happening. But it’s really, really, really (see what I did there. LOL) lovely interview. Three things that came to my mind when I finally had time to watch it.

    1. He was early? EARLY? (from 10:15)
    Who are you and what have you done to Benedict?

    2. He’s clearly an emotional mess.
    “It’s late and I’m emotional” (from 11.00)
    He’s holding back tears when he talks about the last scene in TIG. (from 43.00, spoilers)

    Theories, ladies? This was right after POM premiere and Tumblr mess, a day before TIG premiere, right?

    3. Eddie. (from 25.00)
    I truly think Eddie is a problem for Benedict. Benedict want’s the Oscar, but he doesn’t want to go against Eddie. Harvey, in the other hand, is known for his smear campaigns. That’s all he does. Ever. It’s his go-to move in Oscar campaigns. (See Meryl and Emma last year).

    Benedict speaks very highly of “his friend” Eddie and calls it “awkward” to talk about Hawking with him during round-tables. It’s very obvious that BC is struggling with friend/competition aspect when it comes to ER.

    I’m starting to really think *Eddie* is behind all of this. Benedict refused to do a smear campaign against ER which is what Harvey would have done in a heartbeat. So Harvey and BC compromised and looked for other ways to raise BC’s profile ->The enGAGment. Benedict went with it because it was either this or his friendship with Eddie.

    If this is the case, anyone would be lucky to have a friend like Benedict.

    • gg says:

      You know it just occurred to me that the Oscar noms come out January 15 – Benedict will be filming Sherlock special by then, and episodes take about 5 weeks to film. No way is he going to be able to campaign if he gets a nom. So wth? Are they even going for a win here or thinking that even a nom is enough?

      And yes @Ingrid maybe I am naive but I think part of the reason why this has been such a clusterf*ck has been that BC is a fundamentally decent person and can’t convincingly pull off some of the stuff HW has been asking him to do

      • blended says:

        HW may be going for the win, and may campaign behind the scenes on ben’s behalf (which is where most campaigning takes place), but i don’t think ben cares if he wins. look how unhappy and out of it he was from just a week of this mess. everyone is nervous right now because a nomination isn’t guaranteed because of eddie, and because box office numbers were predicted to be mediocre. hence the media onslaught (and showmance of course).

      • MissMary says:

        If HW is doing/having campaigning done on BC’s behalf, we can expect some more wtf news stories and interviews–I’m willing to bet he’s got a stockpile of ’em ready to be released in January.

      • Alice says:

        @gg. I agree. When BC signed for TIG it was a low budget movie with an important story to tell. Then HW got involved and it all changed, it became an OSCAR CONTENDER. I truly think BC wants as many people as possible to learn about AT but he didn’t bargain for how far HW would go in PR. The very first pictures that surfaced – arriving at LAX on 11/7/14 – just two days after the announcement, I noticed how pissed he looked. That, coupled with some later pics, led me to comment on another site that something was wrong. Nobody wanted to hear it. The sexed up interviews that have been coming out in all the magazines are a 180 turn from all of his previous ones. I think he may have agreed to go along with that, but the engagement – pure Harvey.

      • moodgirl says:

        I agree. I can’t imagine any other reason why he would be so angry when, two days after his announcement, he should have been the happiest man on earth.

    • aly says:

      I loved how much he praised Eddie in one of his interviews. I think HW will push the angle of “been there, done that” …highlighting how Ben played Hawking, got a bafta nomination for that. See Time’s review, for example. We’ll see against which movie or actor the smear campaign will take place in January. It’s still too soon to predict, IMHO

      • MissMary says:

        I wondered early on if BC felt awkward or bummed out that ER’s getting so much praise for playing Hawking when, not that long ago, his own turn in the role of Hawking was always being cited as “amazing” and “definitive” and the like. But I agree and also think HW is going to lean on the “that’s old hat for my boy Ben here” card.

      • aly says:

        For the record, I think Ben and TIG’s real competition will be Selma and Oyelowo.

    • inmyownworld says:

      To add fuel to the fire, very decent WEBRIp of TOE(with chinese subtitles) showed up on a lot of websites yesterday. It usually takes a month or more to get a good quality version. Didn’t see any other Oscar’s contenders.

      • aly says:

        I read that it happened with boyhood too. Huh…weird.

        SAG screeners for TOE were sent out last week from what I read

    • Ingrid says:

      I saw Theory of Everything today. Eddie was absolutely extraordinary. Just utterly brilliant. BC was brilliant in Hawking, but it only covered 2 years. Eddie’s transformation was astonishing.

      Hope BC sees ToE soon and bows out like a gentleman, because damn, Eddie…

      (Full disclosure: I haven’t seen TIG yet though.)

      • aly says:

        Even if he wanted to (and I doubt it) HW wouldn’t let him. All main contenders gave amazing and baity performances, it’s an interesting race for sure. 🙂

      • blended says:

        yes it was a great performance by eddie, but ben’s was very poignant, sharp, and touching. the thing is, there is very little separating all the top performances in any year, and it’s difficult to compare them. hence the cutthroat campaigning and PR stunts.

      • gg says:

        I have seen both ToE and TIG and tbh Eddie deserves it more this year. No comparison between the two Hawkings because ToE covers much broader time span and has studio budget as opposed to BBC budget for BC’s Hawking.

      • lola says:

        @gg I actually do not agree. One of the reasons is what and how much info and data Eddie was able to work with (and in comparison how much Benedict was). And even with all the data in his hands Eddie still managed to make neurological mistakes. I was more blown away with Felicity Jones’s performance (that is what i think hard work).

      • aly says:

        gg: you’re probably right, but should I remind you that Emma Thompson got raves for Saving Mr Banks last year and how it ended up?
        Unfortunately it’s not about how good you are…

      • Daisy says:

        I saw TOE the other night and agree that Eddie was great, but, like Lola, I was blown away by Felicity Jones. I think she’s the person who should get an Oscar nomination for that movie. The movie itself is very good: it felt a bit light and choppy in parts, and they barely bother even trying with the physics, but it’s worth seeing. It’s not a contender to win Best Picture, but it should expect some nominations in the visual categories, especially for its costuming.

  59. Kazlock 1307 says:

    Any sightings of BC or the most wonderful woman in the world since they got back?

    • MissMary says:

      Assuming SH is back in London and not in NYC *tinfoil hat firmly chinstrapped on, tickets for conspiracy train in hand*? No. But now that you’ve said it, lol, I’m sure someone will pap them after PR calls the press, er, I mean purely by chance, leaving a store or walking down the pavement.

    • Victoria says:

      @Kazlock 1307: Maybe SH just went home while BC went to find that writer everyone’s been talking about.

    • Lucifer says:

      most INCREDIBLE woman @kazlock, you see dnt observe 😀 😀

      #justkiddin

    • aly says:

      After the media onslaught of the past two weeks he’d be nuts to go looking for more, especially since the movie opens next week and there’s the Hobbit premiere on Dec 1.

      • MissMary says:

        Chances are, he won’t have much of a choice if he’s on the campaign trail for an Oscar. Esp if HW and co are “helping”. He’s their dancing bear for the next several months, either till the nominations skip him, or until March when the Oscar season is finally over and all the lingering “what’s it like to finally get an Oscar?” interviews are done.

  60. Koodles says:

    Kaz-nope, we haven’t seen the delicate flower since the red carpet event. She could still be in ny for all we know. BC hopefully has been napping.

  61. Kazlock 1307 says:

    SHGB just posted a picture of BC and a woman they think is SH.Taken in Paris.

    • MissMary says:

      I see a brunette walking behind him… Maybe it is her. Maybe it isn’t. Did the fan who took the pic with him as he was heading back to London from Paris ever change their story? The one that said no, he was alone, no brunette with him? Or the person who saw him eating solo ever change their story that he was alone, no brunette with him? Despite seynorita’s best badgering?

    • Ingrid says:

      Thanks. Might be her, might not. IDK

      If it’s her, these two seem to be unable to stand/walk/sit/breathe/be next to each other. Jesus, what a couple…

      • Kazlock 1307 says:

        Ingrid… She may have to walk 10 paces behind him because faced with her delicate,noble beauty he loses all sense.And forgets her name?
        Does anyone remember the fan pic taken at Paris airport?Just been asked by a friend if BC was carrying a Tiffany’s bag in it?Can’t bloody find picture anywhere now!!!!

      • Kazlock 1307 says:

        Ingrid… She may have to walk 10 paces behind him because faced with her delicate,noble beauty he loses all sense.And forgets her name?
        Does anyone remember the fan pic taken at Paris airport?Just been asked by a friend if BC was carrying a Tiffany’s bag in it?Can’t bloody find picture anywhere now!!!!

      • Kazlock 1307 says:

        Ingrid… She may have to walk 10 paces behind him because faced with her delicate,noble beauty he loses all sense.And forgets her name?
        Does anyone remember the fan pic taken at Paris airport?Just been asked by a friend if BC was carrying a Tiffany’s bag in it?Can’t bloody find picture anywhere now!!!!

      • MissMary says:

        Kaz: No he wasn’t carrying a Tiffany’s bag in the pic. He had his hand luggage iirc. But no blue paper bag. Nor did he have a tiffany’s bag in the sneaky pic someone took of him eating lunch solo in Paris.

      • Lucifer says:

        its the old oct6 pic. I thought this was of this week . my bad

    • Grace says:

      I am losing tracks with blog names as well as his interviews. Someone please tell me what SHGB stand for?

    • tsmiv says:

      I never saw the pic of BC eating a sandwich in Paris. Does anybody have a link?
      I don’t think you can definitively say that is SH in the picture posted on SOGO. It might be her or just a woman walking behind him. If it is her, it sure is strange that she is always walking behind him. He does have a long stride, but she is tall so she shouldn’t have trouble keeping up with him. It’s just weird that not a single candid shot shows them so much as even looking at each other.

  62. prenup says:

    On SoGo somebody just submitted a photo of BC and SH from their Paris getaway during his Dad’s Bday. Only show shows their back walking away and wait for it……….STILL NO CHEMISTRY!!! Are these two even really going out and living together during that time?!?! WTF BC! He’s walking away from her, what kind of Bf/fiancee is he?? Now I’m starting to believe his SGF/F*Buddy from hollow crown may be true. At least I wouldn’t be surprised anymore.

    • MissMary says:

      Add this to the pics from Hay where they didn’t know they were being papped and they still were not looking at one another, standing near one another, etc. I have more chemistry with TSA agents while I get searched than these two have supposedly loved up.

      • Ingrid says:

        MissMary, never question the love between these two.

        *The grand 2-5 month whirlwind romance*, remember?

      • Kazlock 1307 says:

        MissMary… Could it still be a sham?
        Would she be there if it was?
        And why has it taken so long to come to light?
        Wasn’t Paris in August/early September?
        Sorry.
        Just when it seems obvious it’s crap,something like this pops up

      • Lucifer says:

        missmary stop complaining about not being loved up. I dnt want to c a snogging picture of this two. where ll I get 12 buses to me thn 😛

      • Grace says:

        Some couples are not big on PDA? Maybe it’s an upper class thing that we’re not getting? Perhaps they’d sleep in separate bedrooms too once they’re married?

      • **sighs** says:

        Oh, kaz. This makes it even more obvious. Someone just happens to come up with a photo of them from months ago? Why would it only surface now? They need to negate the narrative that it’s a complete pr scam.

      • moodgirl says:

        @Kazlock – More stuff will come out to keep the story going.

      • MissMary says:

        @Lucifer: Sh-t! Sorry, y’all! This next PR stunt is all my fault, sorry! Brace yourselves for more awkward handholding and pained smiles.

        @**sighs** It’s interesting how all these “old” pics keep appearing to show how they’ve been together a while…suddenly. Now. Out of the blue. When people wonder why there’s no pap shots of them together.

      • Lucifer says:

        its crapfest out here

    • Cate says:

      It just strikes me as odd that in the few true candid (and unaware) pics of them there’s still so much space between the two. Like not even walking hand in hand for a couple newly in love. (Dating a few months only mind) Perfectly reasonable for friends though. And they could indeed be an item, but then it must be born out of convenience. *Puts on broken record* Where’s the love?!

      • Renee says:

        They really don’t seem to have much chemistry between them. Seems odd for someone like Benedict who has always appeared to be pretty touchy-feely with so many others. Que the fake PDA pap pics. They’ll probably show up tomorrow.

      • Kazlock 1307 says:

        I’m confused(I know you’re surprised lol).

        It still looks as if something’s not right,but I don’t get why she was there!

        If they weren’t papped?

      • moodgirl says:

        There always seems to be “dead” space between them. Spouses, bf/gf, parents with kids, even bffs close up their dead space. It’s human nature to want to be close to another person but these two just don’t have it. They repel each other rather than attract. When they are close it is unnatural for them. If you saw them in public you would never guess in a million years that they are supposed to be a couple.

      • moodgirl says:

        Doesn’t she appear to be hired help, like she is only there to carry his luggage or something? Maybe there is a penalty for looking him in his face.

      • prenup says:

        BC currently filming at Winchester. Next pic of the happy couple will be SH visiting her dearly beloved at Richard 3 set! …courtesy of Harvey of course.

      • lola says:

        @moodgirl
        Now, that’s a job for the most extraordinary woman he’s met.

    • Alice says:

      They come across as a couple who’s been married for twenty years and are sick of each other’s quirks and jokes. Just together out of habit.

    • Angie says:

      Well, m from CN actually, and the pic in Paris was posted on Weibo (Chinese Twitter) on 6 Oct Chinese local time. The girl first posted that she passed by B when she went inside, she had no idea who’s with him, that’s in the afternoon on 5 Oct, Pairs local time. Then she posted the snap. I’m not so sure if that was SH tbh, the height seens right but the hair is reddish and thicker to me.

      Anyway, I just don’t get it, why there’s always the distance, if there hasn’t been all the SGF/SH talk, I would think it’s just some stranger happening to walk after him. I’m pretty sure if I show the pic to friends IRL, they would agree with me.

      TBH, I have been wondering about this for some time, I don’t know how people get this sightings/repos from Twitter, as you know, there’re sooooo many people out there, it isn’t that easy to get solid/first hand info by just searching the hash tag, is it? At least, that’s not the case here in CN. The girl in weibo is just a normal people, studying in Netherland probably, there isn’t a single note (comment/like/retweet) in any of both posts (w or w/o the snap), I think none of her followers is a fan of B, even herself isn’t actually a fan I suppose. Besides, I don’t think senyorita speaks Chinese, though her IP seems from Asia, lol.

      Anyway, I have no idea either, why some one would submit it atm, but yeah, people from Asia also come here/tumblr, etc. . Though as far as I’ve seen, most of the fans in weibo r nannies/teenage girls, who’re still cheering about the enGAGment and how happy B is and how nice they look together *eyeroll

  63. Koodles says:

    There is not liking PDA or being nervous, then there is bc and sh. Bc has been known to be comfortable showing affection with his significant others and friends for that matter. There is a gif of bc and Anna where she looks like she could be nervous walking the red carpet and he leans in and tells her a joke or something to make her laugh. They actually look like they want to rush of to find someplace private actually. With sh on the red carpet, they never once looked at each other in the eye. If one is nervous about anything they would gravitate to something or someone that calms them down. Wouldn’t that be your fiancée? All I felt was cold from the both of them. Benedict did light up when he saw Keira. And there are pics of sophie with friends being affectionate and her ex.

  64. Ash says:

    Hi Ladies! Long-time reader, first time poster. You have a great place here, I love it! This is like a breath of a fresh air.
    Just want to share something with you, I think it makes a lot of sense! At least it explains a lot to me.
    http://sophiehuntergossipblog.tumblr.com/post/103371184975/this-could-be-a-real-mess#notes

  65. prenup says:

    That certainly makes sense Ash, especially what his sister said about him and his ideal woman. As for the rushed engagement, do you think SH played her cards right by playing hard to get?? If they had starting seeing each other in May but didn’t get serious til late August I wonder what changed? They certainly weren’t exclusive til September where there was multiple sighting of tall skinny brunette with BC. We know he is traditional English gentleman and it seems like SH comes off as Old school posh british lady. What if her game was to forgo sex or other forms of PDA until they are married?! It could explain the rush engagement and lack of affection coz they’re not used to each other in that way…yet….hence the lack of chemistry!

    • blended says:

      ok some of these theories are becoming laughable now. “forgo” sex until marriage?! what century are you living in?! do you really think a person like SH, who has done a lot of nudity, is ‘avant-garde’, has a circle of friends who use sexuality in their ‘art’, is the kind of person who is into abstinence?
      do you think ben would want to marry a woman like that? ‘let’s get married just so we can finally have sex’. no wonder the fandom has a reputation for weirdness.

      • aly says:

        +100000000

      • Koodles says:

        @blended-can I just marry your post? I promise to give it eye contact and be lovey dovey to it. But in all seriousness, sh is not a delicate virginal flower and neither is benedict for that matter. Do I think they have had sex with each other….nope. They would be far more relaxed with each other if they had, I think.

      • blended says:

        @koodles, just promise me you’ll get the ring sized properly and it’s a deal 😉

      • Koodles says:

        Done:)

    • Grace says:

      *bang my head against the wall* he’s really not that traditional! And there is no requirement for two people to have had sex in order to be attracted to each other. Or at least look attracted to each other. Smiles, leaning towards each other, twinkle in the eye, those things don’t lie.

  66. ellesbelles says:

    Alright, ive just finished watching hawking for the first time. I found it overall meh, but my god he’s beautiful in that film.

    My only addition to the engagement kefluffle commentary is that I watched a clip with him and Keira, and he was smiling and lit up like a Christmas tree. I wish he would look like that at his fiance

    • Lu says:

      Yeah, he really was beautiful in “Hawking.” I felt bad for lusting after Hawking (BC) in his hospital jammies, with that thatch of smooth, shiny hair and glowing skin … What a doll he was.

  67. noneyadambus says:

    So does anyone think it’s a coincidence that Hawking and Into the Universe are running right now on Science channel? LOL I love B don’t get me wrong, I could listen to him read the phone book, just stay away from those hard H’s! LOL I’ve never seen Hawking so at least this PR stunt is beneficial in some way, right? Onward and upward or some thing like that, I wasn’t really listening.

    • rosie says:

      No, not a coincidence at all. It’s to diminish TTOE, get more exposure for BC. The universe is rarely so lazy. 🙂

    • Lu says:

      “stay away from those hard H’s” … ? Could you explain? I’m wondering if Ben has an additional vocal idiosyncrasy that I need to be made aware of. 🙂

    • lola says:

      BC campaign has so far been in my opinion messy (mildly put) but I agree with this move (= to show other Hawking movies). As much the viewers sympathize with ER’s role, he actually didn’t do that much.

    • tasha_nat says:

      Ooh, more fun speculation! Re: Hawking/Into the Universe, if it is a timed PR move by Weinstein & co., I hope it backfires horribly and drums up interest for people to watch TTOE.

      • aly says:

        Or one might think: why should I pay bucks for a mushy romance if I can watch stuff about Hawking for free?

  68. tasha_nat says:

    My my. Someone’s been keeping track of the comments on social media about how the cumberb***hes are portrayed. Thanks for defending us (after you agreed to that photoshoot where ladies ran after you). Ugh. *rolls eyes* From Film News UK:

    “I wish people wouldn’t call them that. My fans are incredibly smart and expressive people and Cumberb***hes was a name that some of them thought to call themselves early and it just caught on,” he said. “But what they really are is a bunch of self-regulating, intelligent, witty, creative, inspiring and determined young people – or if they’re not young, they’re young in spirit. And by the way, they come from both sexes too. I’m sure they’ll get over my being engaged – they’re smart, they’ll get used to the idea.”

    • **sighs** says:

      Check.

      Err… Thanks Ben. I think.

    • aly says:

      Baby steps…

    • MissMary says:

      He’s going to get athlete’s mouth at this rate.

    • **sighs** says:

      You know, he had me right until the end.
      “I’m sure they’ll get over my being engaged – they’re smart, they’ll get used to the idea.”

      And there’s the dig. Just saying we’re all stupid and obsessive, but throwing a “they’re smart” in there as a bone, I guess.

      We don’t have anything to get over. Ego, much?

      A$$hat.

      • Milly T says:

        Maybe we are seeing the real Benedict. An arrogant and condescending man. Remember the old saying ” The bigger they are the harder they fall ” If this was indeed a PR stunt, and he breaks the engagement in the future after not winning an Oscar, he will look like a fraud and loose credibility with his fan base. I really hope I am wrong. I would like to think better of him . As far as Sophie is concerned. When I looked at the picture of her giving someone the finger , I could not help but notice the angry look in her eyes. This is a woman with some issues. Wonder how long before she turns that anger towards Ben .

      • Soothy says:

        I don’t think he’ll lose credibility for anything he may or may not choose to do in his private life. When it comes down to it, it’s his life and whether he gets engaged, married etc ..nobody knows or can make assumptions on the whys and why nots. If he continues to produce great work then he will retain credibility.
        The opinions of a small group of fans won’t change any of that.
        I also think it’s harsh to label him as arrogant and condescending. Tbf, reporters will lead the questions with erroneous tales of heartbroken fans.

      • aly says:

        @sighs: it’s like living in a parallel universe: the one media depicts, with heartbroken fans, and the real one where there are mostly 3 reactions: 1) happiness for him 2) indifference 3) side-eyeing the whole thing…but I guess those three narratives aren’t interesting enough for journalists and it doesn’t serve any pr purpose.
        The heartbroken fans are, I think, a minority…

        @Soothy: I agree with you.

      • MtnRunner says:

        Ben has always had a big ego. Remember his remark about punching above his weight after Sherlock turned him into a sex symbol? He’s just not hiding it well, nowadays. His sense of his own popularity is inflated because he mainly sees the fans that will pay $150 to get an autograph or wait 20 hours to get a seat in Hall H at Comic Con or post their praises every friggin’ day like a broken record. A pretty small percentage, really

        Most of us could care less if he gets married, but some of us will call him out when he acts like a disingenuous moron.

      • aly says:

        Of course there’s always the possibility, like it happens to many celebrities, that some quotes might not entirely be correct, or might be invented altogether. Not saying this is the case, but it happens all the time

      • OhHey says:

        I agree with Mtn Runner, although I never saw him as displaying a big ego, you have to have SOME kind of big ego to be in that business- to get naked on stage every night for months, (Wossy even accused him of fluffing himself before the curtain went up so he’d ‘look his best’, LOL), to deal with all of the other projects and never ending gushing and praise, and the OTT gushing of the fans, etc. I never saw him as a jerk though, he always acted outwardly humble, grateful and down to earth, and pretty much always the same. That’s why I find this recent behavior so utterly disappointing, because it’s so much out of character and disingenuous from the person that I’ve always seen. I honestly doubted that he’d be the kind to have two faces, he always acted so honest and the same in every interview. Until recently.

      • Claire says:

        OhHey, fame changes people. He wouldn’t be the first to reach that point where you snap and start believing your own hype.

        I’m not saying this is what happened but it is one explanation. I think he’s always been a bit over-confident particularly on social matters he clearly isn’t schooled up on but I don’t think that’s being a jerk as much as ignorant.

        What’s happening now is either the snap or, as has been discussed here, this is deliberate on his part for one reason or another. If not for the oscar campaign, but he’s going through the motions of this farce and this is what he’d think he’d say if he really were as committed to this person as much as he’d like us to believe.

        Bullies and trolls get ignored.

        But again, time will tell.

      • Claire says:

        And also there is, again, the mental illness possibility. I forget how off he appeared and sounded in those first days…

      • OhHey says:

        Claire, I can see how fame can change people but not this fast. I think it must be near overwhelming to cope with this much attention but he’s doing himself no favors by continuing to run his mouth (when all he wanted was to keep it private, he says) and it’s ALL HIM. She has said NOTHING. He is the one blabbing on about her as if she is incapable of uttering a sound. I feel like Loki, I want to scream at him “SAY HER NAME!!!” Just to see if he actually can say it out loud and not die. I think his statement about him being impulsive and doing stupid things is bang on, I think he’s in the middle of being impulsive and doing stupid things right now.

    • Grace says:

      I don’t know about you, Ben, but nothing in my life has changed because you got engaged.

    • Just me says:

      Yep someone’s definitely monitoring social media.

      But really, Ben! Just stop with the fan comments. Stop trying to give us what you think we want to hear. It just comes off as staged and condescending. The more you try to dig yourself out of this hole, the deeper you end up.

      And I totally agree with Grace, nothing in my life has changed just because some actor I’ve never met “might” be getting married. Get over yourself, dumba$$.

      How about from now on his PR people just send out the wax dummy version of him with an audio recording of a carefully orchestrated non-patronizing statement about the movie and nothing else. No mention of the engagement, no fan slagging. Do you think you can manage that?

      I’ve really likes his work in the past and I want to get back to liking him in the future but the conceited man-child routine does make it rather difficult.

      • MissMary says:

        I sincerely hope, if (ha, there’s no ‘if’) PR is checking social media, they realize this looks bad on many levels, it’s being handled poorly, and he needs to just stop talking for like a month. Just stfu, film Hollow Crown, do some voice over work, and stop giving interviews.

      • aly says:

        @MissMary: I think that by his next public outing things will be back to normal; the engagement is old news now, so pr will focus on the movie. This mess was only needed to kickstart the campaign, since he started it later than the others in the US.

      • Felice says:

        So will they marry or will there be “commitment differences?”

      • gg says:

        as someone pointed out, he mentioned in that interview he gave to the newspaper in the Phillipines that they are both so incredibly busy that it is a minor miracle they even met. That right there was laying the groundwork for the breakup – conflicting schedules, too much time spent apart.

    • OhHey says:

      FANWANKER. I’m getting whiplash from his statements about his ‘fans’. Ugh. Please god, for the love of all that is true, someone tell him to put a sock in it and stop talking.

  69. Miss Jupitero says:

    Breaking news: Hiddles may have gotten secretly married. He was photographed wearing a wedding band. Prepare for Tumblr apocalypse…..

    • **sighs** says:

      He’s shooting a movie playing a married character. Looks like it was from the set.

    • MissMary says:

      Same thing happened when he was filming Crimson Peak and was photographed with the prop ring on between shoots. He’s not married. It’s for his role.

      • Miss Jupitero says:

        Oh sure, he just went for a walk wearing the prop jewelry, but otherwise not in costume. Yeah right. Innocent little oversight.

        I think someone wants attention.

      • MissMary says:

        It’s very easy to forget a prop ring, or prop jewelry, esp when you’re just getting out of costume (which it looks like he’s doing, esp as those are vintage sunglasses also, not his usual style). Or maybe he’s taking the piss out of BC by starting his own rumors…

      • OhHey says:

        MissMary, LOL, I’m sure he’s not that cynical, but I am, I would find it hilarious if he did that as a poke. He’s way nicer than I am, I think.

      • Miss Jupitero says:

        Awwww damn. I was hoping for a Tumblr bloodbath. I even made popcorn.

        I think he is tweaking his fans though. One doesn’t just “accidentally” wear a prop on the street and not notice.

      • OhHey says:

        I think it would be entirely possible, given what is coming out of the set they are working very long hours, I imagine everyone’s beat, probably easy to overlook something like that. Or he’s totally got a secret, hidden girlfriend that no one has ever seen (except at a tennis match) and now he’s gone and jumped the broom…thought a newspaper announcement was gauche so just decided to do the whole ‘shock and awe’ thing. Yeah, that’s it.

    • tasha_nat says:

      LOL look at that face and tell me he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing, cheeky man hahaha. It’s a prop. https://33.media.tumblr.com/e0bc6fb840b85340a58222884cc5515d/tumblr_nfir4km8oJ1s24jb7o2_500.jpg

      • OhHey says:

        A couple of people got squeaky voice on twitter “what’s that!”, but I don’t think it’s anything, how the hell would he have time to have any relationship when he’s been working day and night for almost six months? If he can manage that, he’d good…..

  70. rosie says:

    He just doesn’t know when to stop talking.

    He could have ended his sentence at “caught on” and left it at that. But noooo, he has to go on and on. He could make some brief statement about his engagement, but nooo he has to go on and on about TWIL, TWIPT.

    Not only does he not have a filter, he also doesn’t have an “off” switch.
    I’m getting pretty tired of him, he’s so full of himself.

  71. Lucifer says:

    okay ladies. Lets promise ourselves one thing. We shall not make fun of “B” when this enGAGement falls apart. We shall pretend that it never happened and continue with whatever story he tells us.
    Lets not put pressure on the man anymore.