Amal Clooney: ‘I don’t really see myself’ as an Angelina Jolie-type celebrity

amal1

Amal Clooney has been suspiciously quiet for weeks now. We don’t even know where she and George Clooney spent the holidays, do we? I kind of hoped/wished that the Clooneys-going-undercover was part of a strategy to do a big pregnancy reveal soon, but it doesn’t seem like that’s happening right now. Amal gave her first-ever TV interview to an American news outlet this week, but it wasn’t about her marriage, her style or an Alamooney Baby. No, Amal was in Washington this week on behalf of her client, Maldives’ former president Mohamed Nasheed. Amal has been working on Nasheed’s case pro bono for months, and she was in Washington to gin up American support for the human-rights case from senators and Obama administration officials. Behold, the first time Amal has spoken on-camera to an American journalist!

Some superficial notes – I’m doubting a surprise pregnancy announcement is in the works, just because Amal looks as small as she’s ever looked. Hair issue: much like the Duchess of Cambridge, Amal does have a hair-touching problem. It’s not as bad as Kate’s, but it’s still there, especially in the glamorous beauty shots of Amal walking around Washington (that footage looks like unaired scenes from The West Wing). And did you see Amal’s hot pink phone?! Amazing.

As for what Amal is actually talking about, first she drives home why Americans should care about the Maldives by name-checking ISIS. She says democracy is “dead” in the Maldives because “Literally, if there were an election now there would be no one to run against the president. Every opposition leader is either behind bars or being pursued by the government through the courts.” But here are the bits that everyone cares about.

How Amal feels about celebrities like Angelina Jolie working on human rights issues: “I think it’s wonderful that celebrities would choose to spend their time or energy or, you know, the spotlight that they have to raise awareness about these causes. I don’t really see myself in the same way because I’m still doing the same job that I used to do before.”

How she gets more attention now that she’s Mrs. Clooney: “If there’s more attention paid – for whatever reason – to that, then I think that’s good. I think there is a certain responsibility that comes with that. And you know, I think I’m exercising it in an appropriate manner by continuing to do this kind of work.”

[From People]

Amal does not see herself as a celebrity! She’s not Angelina Jolie because Amal has always had a full-time job in human rights. I actually have to give Amal some credit there, because even though she was being interviewed by a “real journalist,” the Jolie question was framed in a way that could have easily given over to a shade-tastic answer in which Amal criticized human-rights weekend warriors or limousine liberals or whatever. She didn’t do that.

Amal’s co-counsel has been posting photos of Amal all week on his Twitter:

amal7

amal5

Photos courtesy of Jared Genser’s Twitter, screencaps from NBC.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

170 Responses to “Amal Clooney: ‘I don’t really see myself’ as an Angelina Jolie-type celebrity”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. CornyBlue says:

    I do not know why people bother hating her. She is amazing and poised.

    • Who ARE these people? says:

      Ditto. Articulate and gracious.

      • timber says:

        why? because she was oversold by clooneys team. it made people weary – that ridiculous wedding roll out made her look fake and try hard. if he would have just let her work speak for her instead of building her up for a fall, it would have been better all around.

      • vauvert says:

        Me either. I like her. I think she is very bright, has her own career completely independent of her husband and has been nothing but poised and brilliant at dealing with the circus since she started dating George.

      • V4Real says:

        “Ditto. Articulate and gracious”

        Of course she’s articulate you know, because and you know”

        She reminds me of Mariah Carey who constantly says “like” about 10 times in an a single interview.

        This woman is loving the spotlight and you know it. She’s always pap ready. It doesn’t matter that she already had a career before Clooney, now she has the fame and the spotlight. Not many of us knew who she was before she got with George.

        I will say this; she has a very nice speaking voice.

    • GreenieWeenie says:

      I don’t get it either. And I don’t get why anyone would call Angelina a limousine liberal. By all accounts from people who are there with her, she does her homework, she understands the issues as best as a non-policy person can, and she’s committed. I don’t really know what more you can ask of a celebrity–at this point, she’s only half celebrity and half public figure for int’l issues.

      ETA: Glad to hear other people say it Mal-deeves. For a while there, I kept running into people saying Mal-DIVES. Wut?!

      • GreenieWeenie says:

        ^^I wasn’t getting worked up about it or accusing Celebitchy of doing so. Just genuinely puzzled.

      • Lady Mimosa says:

        She cannot be compared to Angelina anyway on any level. Angelina didn’t go to college, this woman is a lawyer.

    • Josefina says:

      Thank you. If she really was a famewhore, we’d hear A LOT more about her than we do. She was all over the place when they got married but I put that on Clooney more than Amal.

      • Jib says:

        The woman has never seen a camera she didn’t love. She preens and turns and smiles – she may be a lawyer, she may be intelligent, but she is also loving celebrity.

        Want to see pictures of a woman who wasn’t a famewhore? Google Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

      • Lady D says:

        I’d google Carolynn just to admire her poise and her clothing choices, again. What a tragedy that was.

    • Heather says:

      Exactly. The culture of hatred for successful, hard-working “winners” on the internet is disturbing and just points to a lack of self-esteem in the hater. I admire her!

    • AntiSocialButterfly says:

      Yes. So refreshing to see her for what and who she is/ stand s for, rather than how she is portrayed through still photos of evening social events and outfit critiques.

    • Saks says:

      I like Amal a lot.

    • Priya says:

      Agreed. It seems so pointless to expend that kind of disdain towards anyone. In the end, you’re the one taking the poison pill.

    • LeAnn Stinks says:

      Obviously, I can only speak for myself, I find her to be very hypocritical. Just google old images of her before she married Clooney and after.

      She has had quite a bit of work done to her face and got herself a stylist. She is a lawyer trying to look like a celebrity. So yeah, she’s full of it.

    • hera says:

      Amal “I don’t see myself as a celebrity” on The Hill surprisingly touching her hair. http://amaltouchingherhair.tumblr.com/

  2. ali.hanlon says:

    Love Amal.

  3. lilacflowers says:

    Does John McCain know who she is?

    • Sea Dragon says:

      And why does he look like he’s wearing a girdle?

      • Debbie Do says:

        It’s probably a back brace. He has a lot of physical problems left over from his POW days. Of course, according to Trump, he’s a loser because he got captured.

      • ISO says:

        I love McCain- he was strong, thoughtful and a gentleman in the face of many ignorant comments about his opponent. I would have voted for him if it wasn’t for whatzerPalinful. Shame on Trump if he actually said that about McCain.

  4. Naya says:

    Amal, yet again putting the haters to shame one at a time. Go girl.

  5. Little Darling says:

    So she definitely doesn’t sound at all like I pictured her sounding! I don’t know why I was expecting a heavy Italian accent.

    I think she’s very lovely, very smart, very put together and is a fresh face. I love how Tina and Amy gave her props for her accomplishments while giving Clooney a lifetime achievement award!

    Her style has changed so much, remember her first pap outfits when she had more of a boho chic look? Wide leg pants and funky shoes? Am I imagining that??

    • GreenieWeenie says:

      Her workwear and casual wear are comPLETEly different (to the point of wow).

    • taxi says:

      Lil darling, Why? She’s not Italian.

      • Little Darling says:

        Haha I don’t know why! I just have been under the impression she was Italian…not sure why but I don’t really follow her. Now I realize how silly that was. Still, totally surprised me! (:

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Maybe during the Italian wedding extravaganza you got confused? No worries, it’s Friday! 🙂

      • Tonka says:

        LoL! Probably confusing her with Elizabetta Canalis (or whatever her name was).

        I like Amal. I think she enjoys the celebrity, but it’s not her driving motivation. She’s mortal, after all.

    • Jayna says:

      Her work outfits were always appropriate work attire.

    • KB says:

      Lol why Italian? Isn’t she British?

    • Jaded says:

      Amal is of Lebanese background but moved to the UK in the early eighties, hence the British accent. She is not Italian.

    • LAK says:

      She looks like the sort of stereotypical south Italy ladies that you see in a Dolce and Gabbana ad. all dark and glamorous like Sophia Loren/Gina Lollabrigida [sp] in their heyday without the curves. if you didn’t know anything about her, you could easily think she was Italian.

      • AntiSocialButterfly says:

        And, she employs the catwalk model walk with one foot crossing over the other ( except when she looks over her shoulder. 😉

      • BossyKat says:

        @LAK

        In truth, if you put Lebanese, Syrian, Saudi Arabian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Iranian, Italian, Greek, and Turkish women in a room – most people would be hard pressed to distinguish what woman was of what ethnicity.

  6. Jegede says:

    I saw the headline and thought – Insert gif *Here Hell go come*.

    Read the actual interview, and it’s not that bad at all.

  7. emmet says:

    Oh please – this was a make up for the “wife from hell” – enquirer cover
    with everything in the world going on – this merits an interview on at two separate times

    Team Clooney in panic over the mother-in-law and the flooded house in Sonning

    • Jaded says:

      The Enquirer is tabloid junk. She didn’t do the interview to sidestep what is obviously fatuous nonsense, the MIL or flooded house. She’s just doing her job.

    • Luca76 says:

      Ah yes she set up a private meeting with the Congress to counter an Enquirer article makes perfect logical sense.

      • Naya says:

        But the Enquirer is THE paper of record and has a global circulation of billions. I mean, name me one person of power or influence or an IQ over 65 that doesnt believe the Enquirer
        (Answer: all of them)

    • Jaded says:

      Amal couldn’t give two sh*ts about the Enquirer. This meeting and interview were likely set up months before the Enquirer ran its drivel. Honestly….

      • emmet says:

        OK, everyone since I started this-
        anytime a story comes out that there is a divorce or possible pregnancy – a swift denial is issued to Michael L at Gossip Cop

        The “wife from hell” was never attacked or denied – go look at the webiste

        absolute silence to something that was a lot nastier than the usual and a cover no less
        remember all the celebs feed and deny the blogs at the same time
        ALL of them
        MY comment was what is she doing any differently now than before
        ding ding ding
        sorry and we’ll (Stan – Team Clooney’s PR) get her on US TV now

        Let’s not forget the movie coming out soon
        someone needs a hit BADLY!

      • Jaded says:

        @emmet…take your meds.

      • Brittney B. says:

        @Jaded … please don’t use mental illness and psychiatric medication as a way to disparage someone else.

        I used to make comments like yours, too… it was a self-effacing way to make light of medication, because it has ruled my life for two decades. But I encourage you to think a little harder about the implications, as I did.

        http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-217490.html

  8. Lucy2 says:

    I thought she handled the question about celebrity pretty well. What is she supposed to say “Yes, I’m a huge star now!” ?
    The Maldives situation is scary. I hope things improve for the people there, and applaud anyone trying to help.

    • Luca76 says:

      Agreed

    • Lesley says:

      Lucy2 It is so kind of you to think of the people of Maldives at this time. We survive on tourism. The Maldives are not a scary place to go. I have never met an IS member. Please ever person come to the beautiful Maldives. Last month we hosted famous footballer David Beckham Mrs Beckham and all four children. They were alongside famous chef Mr Ramsey Gordon his Mrs Gordon and all four children. They would not come if it were true what Mrs Clooney say? Please come.

  9. Nancy says:

    She isn’t a celebrity, she is married to one. She was set up with the Jolie question and didn’t take the bait. She seems like an intelligent women, so props to her.

  10. LAK says:

    what a soft ball interview. considering the lead in AND the subject matter, i was expecting a hard nose interview, not this soft glow pat on the head padded with lots of glamour shots of her walking around Washington.

    someone get Paxxo!!!

    • SideEyeSally says:

      Very true. The soft lighting -a la Barbra Streisand- was also effective. Great staging.

  11. cass says:

    Why the Kate comparison – I don’t see any connection beyond being famous. Amal is a highly intelligent, well-educated, hard-working professional. Kate is….NOT.

    • Esmom says:

      I think the comparison began and ended with the hair.

    • Gwen says:

      Highly intelligent? Because she is a Lawyer, LOL that’s not how it works.
      Well-Educated, privileged rich Family, so all options…she used the opportunity, nothing more.
      Hard-working, if you say so, i see a lot of travelling (not Job-related)…normal hard-working Lawyers have no Time for so much Jet-Set Lifestyle, nor the Money. They do overtime, if they do Vacation once a Year, that’s good, i’m talking about “real” hard-working Lawyers.
      I don’t think she had a hard Life, she is no goddess, only a regular Woman with a normal Job, who married a Hollywood Celebrity, so what?

      I don’t know her, like you, but the worshipping seems overzealous, i don’t get the Hate either, generally, but the ardent worshipper give me the creeps…

  12. Ellie says:

    She is amazing. Let the haters hate.

    • lisa2 says:

      I don’t think many people are hating.. just pointing out some obvious things.

    • Gwen says:

      @Ellie, you don’t know her, she is a stranger….let the overzealous worshipper worship….as weird as it is….

  13. EM says:

    I don’t get the negatives either. She is highly educated – unlike others, who basically reiterate everything the UN tells them to utter. She has a mind of her own and isn’t a UN instrument.

  14. Gg says:

    Lolol I LOVE it!!! Total shade on Jolie. “So cute when celebrities have causes, but you know I actually have a real job.” Amal maybe the only one who can so masterfully shade the Jolie and get away with it.

    • lisa2 says:

      I think Angie will survive..

      But interesting how you made it all about Angelina and not the cause that Amal was there to promote. I guess her having a “real JOB” didn’t impress you enough to focus on that part of the interview. Angelina has nothing to do with Amal.. Yet her name is the one being used in the headline. Again she has to stand in the ring to face every single woman in the world regardless of the work or whatever. That is a lot on her shoulders.. But then she is AMAZING so she (Angelina) can handle it well.

      • Esmom says:

        I don’t think Gg made it all about Angelina, the interviewer mentioned Angelina. And I don’t think Amal shaded her, just pointed out that this has been her career all along, whereas Angelina and other celebs are using their fame to help humanitarian causes while their primary careers are still acting or music or whatever. There’s a difference and I don’t think she was slamming her or them in any way. She was gracious.

      • GoOnGirl says:

        And how many of those “real job cases” has Amal won lately? Shading The Jolie? Puhleeze, she has a lot to do and a lot to learn!

      • Lady Mimosa says:

        You don’t win cases in th UN, you mostly work on causes like war crimes.lol

      • Gwen says:

        Wow you Amal-Worshippers are so overzealous…..weird….

    • Colette says:

      @Gg Well they didn’t interview Amal’ s co counsel Jared Genser so obviously the reason she was interviewed is because she is married to a celebrity.I wonder how she feels to know a journalist wants to talk to her because who she is married to and not her “real job”.Well at least she is intelligent enough to know she made the Nightly News partly because she sleeps with Clooney.

    • Franny says:

      angie has a real job, too. she is a movie actress and a film director. Her part time job is that of a humanitarian and a UNHCR special envoy.

      Yes amal’s only job is being a lawyer and she is neither a humanitarian nor a celebrity. Although, she is married to one.

      I dont know why Amal is even compared to Angelina, she is not in same league as her. Angir has done a lot for UNHCR and other major humanitarian causes.

      Amal is only a paid lawyer, an expensive lawyer, she has not done anything or accomplish anything that is admirable. She has not help any global causes, and she gets paid for evrything that she does. No charity for her.

      • lucy2 says:

        From the post above: “Amal has been working on Nasheed’s case pro bono for months”.

        I don’t know why they are being compared either, apples and oranges, or why one must be “better” than the other.

      • dippit says:

        @Lisa2 iirc, Nasheed’s family mentioned Amal as working for a reduced rate initially. Pro bono was only trotted out after she had received criticism for Clooney PR terming her a Humanitarian when she has no history of voluntary work or low-paid advocacy.

        They tried to blur the line between Humanitarian and paid lawyer working in the field of Human Rights and International Law for PR purposes. Two entirely different things – especially as Amal’s client based, prior to Clooney PR imperatives, consisted largely of regimes, dictators, and former Presidents or high profile figures thought to have committed human rights violations or sexual violence crimes; or fled extradition warrants.

        ‘Pro bono’ became a PR pitch last late Summer when Amal’s credibility status for Clooney failed to gain the hoped for traction. Around the time she spent time with a Social Media advisor.

        Also, in the interview it is stated she’s worked 15 years in her current field. Not true. 15 years ago she was working for Cromwell Sullivan (White Shoe – Private) and defending Enron.

        More fact shrouded in PR blurring to serve the new image.

      • Liberty says:

        Franny, I agree with you. She’s not someone to hate, but she is just what she is, a paid lawyer who is not unique, not charitable, reps not particularly admirable dictators, and who married celebrity. As covered many times before on this site, the PR overkill on her is suspect, and is what makes some of us roll our eyes.

    • Jayna says:

      How is it shade on Angelina? Her husband has been very active in causes over the years. That would have to mean she was shading her own husband.

    • Monalisa says:

      At least AJ did visit Syrians war victims in Lebanon unlike Amal so busy buying hundred of dresses and posing for camera ..Amal give scholarship to a girl from Lebanon to study only 2 years in Armenia ANY DEGREE TAKE AT LEAST 3 YEARS ,what great education can you get in poor country like Armenia anyway ? you are a young teen driven by media propaganda.

      Amal studied law and it’s real but we are not in 1900 ,millions of women graduate every year from UNI AROUND THE WORLD ,THE BIG SURPRISE HERE THAT George Clooney is with this woman instead of models or showgirls but it’s not our fault he was choosing those women who would like to use their beauty and bodies to make a living but that doesn’t make Amal so great ,Amal still junior lawyer who never won a case.

  15. BNA. FN says:

    Amal is still doing the same job, but if she was not married to George Clooney no one would be talking to her. Cynthia would not be interviewing her on primetime. So, in other words, she is using her husband’s celebrity to get attention to her cause. She was trying to throw shade on Angelina when she says she has been doing the same job she has been doing.

    Angelina has educated herself and evolved in her life. she turned a negative, the Hugh spotlight on her, to do good for others. Now her children nine and 11 years old are giving back at their tender age by sponsoring a family of twelve. Angelina made her own money, did not married for money. I’m so proud of her for being a shining light for many women. Angelina is making a difference in the world. You go girl!!

    • Luca76 says:

      Sorry no I don’t think she was throwing any shade on Angelina. I just don’t think she wants to identify herself as simply a celebrity when she’s after all a lawyer advocating for a client.

      • Josefina says:

        This, this, this.

        Why does everything have to be a read and a shade nowadays? Amal is a lawyer who works in Human Rights. Angelina’s charity is Amal’s job. That’s not a read on Angie, it’s just the blunt truth.

    • Yepisaidit says:

      It wasn’t shade. The headline tried to make you think it was going to be shade. #ClickBait using Jolie’s name always works 🤓

  16. Ib says:

    She is so painfully thin.

  17. dippit says:

    It’s interesting everyone is taking the entirety of Amal Clooney’s take on, and strategy for, Nasheed and the Maldives as unnuanced gospel. The question of his fairness of trial has almost become moot and lost in the noting of Amal (the ‘reluctant Celeb’).

    As has been lost the nature of the crime for which Nasheed stood accused – ordering the unlawful detention of a Judge with view opposing His Govt and failing to allow said judge the right to legal representation or due process.

    Nasheed then subsequently lost a democratic election as monitored by international agencies.

    His earlier standing down, after mass protest by citizenry, has been determined as voluntary.

    He chose not to appeal his verdict, yet now chooses a Celeb led team to make ‘case’ for him in public opinion. Public opinion clearly considered easily swayed and with greater access to media and power by the addition of the Clooney name.

    His trial may have been unfairly conducted but I find the lack of curiosity as to detail surrounding his Presidency and the background odd. Hard done by because he got a Celeb and better PR team. One prepared to issue threats of sanctions in an already fraught nation and also prepared to exploit further threat of IS agitation and radicalisation.

    Anyhow, just odd the way the veil of Hollywood shrouds things strategically.

    • LAK says:

      this is what i felt about the interview. it’s really a series of glamour shots of Amal around washington and no/few actual words about her case. very shallow and very one sided.

      • SideEyeSally says:

        Indeed. What is the major concern for your client…and WHY should Americans (or the rest of the world) care?

    • siri says:

      Thank you for putting things into perspective. Nasheed actually denied said judge his rights, but is now using a “celeb” lawyer to very publicly defend his. It’s called the making of a hero, probably with green lights from the US government.

    • Lori says:

      @ dippit……Actually, all three interviews (the NBC nightly news interview, the Today Show, and the Meet the Press interview this morning) could have benefited from some basic exercises of journalistic diligence. As you noted above, the claim that Amal Clooney has been practicing human rights law “at the highest levels for the past 15 years” contradicts both her official CV on the Doughty Street Chambers website and basic math. If she is, indeed, 37 years old, she would have been a 22-year-old law student 15 years ago. The earliest that she could be considered a full-time human rights lawyer was 2004 (after a 2-3 year stint as a *very* junior associate in Sullivan and Cromwell’s white collar criminal litigation practice group), and there were significant gaps in her resume between 2004 and her “call” to the UK bar in 2010.

      I would think that NBC News would have questioned these circumstances, as well as the following circumstances that remain in dispute concerning Nasheed:
      – whether his alleged directive to arrest and detain Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed in 2012 (which, in turn, led to his own arrest and detention in 2015) comported with both constitutional and international human rights mandates (circumstances which led Amnesty International and UNHCR, among other orgs, to call for investigations into Nasheed’s conduct)
      – whether he, in fact, resigned the presidency of the Maldives under duress or voluntarily (an international commission found the latter, and the US State Department ratified that determination, but Nasheed disputes this)
      – whether there was, in fact, a viable appeal process within the Maldives to address improprieties during the trial proceedings, that Nasheed bypassed by hiring Amal & co. to advocate for him internationally (Amal claimed on MTP that she attended a sham hearing for Nasheed’s unsucessful appeal, while opposing counsel claims that Nasheed voluntarily forfeited his appellate rights)

      As to the last point, Chuck Todd asked Amal during MTP whether she represented Mr. Nasheed in court in the Maldives. Amal answered that she visited him in jail and “attended” a hearing for his alleged appeal, which was denied, but stopped short of confirming his in-court representation. hmmm….

      Anyway, none of this remedies the alleged unlawful trial proceedings and conditions of Nasheed’s detention. My cursory review of the State Department report for the Maldives raises substantial questions concerning the qualifications and impartiality of Maldivian (?) jurists. However, the above circumstances call into question Nasheed’s characterization as a “hero” (Amal’s words, not mine) and the credibility of his account regarding his alleged mistreatment by authorities in the Maldives…..things that, IMO, a competent journalist should have questioned, on the record.

      • dippit says:

        Excellent post Lori.

        I too noted her swerving of the question relating to her “attendance” in court in the Maldives. It was established at the time that she (and Genser) were outwith their jurisdiction and had no leave to practise there. She sat on the public benches.

        Nasheed’s team were reported to have opposed an extension to his right of appeal in abrogation of any intention to exhaust the matter within its rightful jurisdiction prior to recourse to international bodies elsewhere.

        It was clear they had predetermined to take the high profile media blitz route for maximum exposure for all concerned; clear as soon as Amal was instructed I would hazard.

  18. Sarah01 says:

    She is spot on, Maldives is on the front line for sea level changes. They needed a democracy where the President Nasheed lead the cause to bring about change. Maldives is facing the end and all its dictator wants to do is squeeze every last penny out of it then f**k off.
    President Nasheed is in prison under false allegations.
    Amal is truly fighting a great cause, I really hope they win and for once might is not right.

    For me Amal is class, I enjoy her quirkiness. But she is smart, articulate and charming I can see how George fell for her cause his other gfs were anything but.

  19. Citresse says:

    Sometimes we see Amal photographed in loud clothing, you know; really bright (garish even) colours, and sometimes busy patterns, but really she looks best in light, neutral colors and classic patterns. I’d like to see her in a small print, mild cobalt blue houndstooth suit.

  20. perplexed says:

    Well, nothing to see here, folks.

    • Rockin Robin says:

      Thank you. I just don’t understand the fascination with her other than her being Clooney’s wife.

  21. Harryg says:

    Amal looks so much like George it’s weird. And Joe Jonas could be their son.

  22. Josefina says:

    So glad to see people finally defending Amal. Last year she received SO. MUCH. HATE. for just marrying this guy. We literally never even heard her speak and people were saying she was the biggest famewhore ever and they were SO over her. Mysogyny, something much more rooted in female psychology than we’d like to admit.

    Love her. I’m a young law school student and I look at her as a role model. I wish I was as accomplished and savvy as she is. She’s smart and poised and gorgeous. What’s not to love?

    • Don't kill me I'm French says:

      With her wedding,she became overexposed .

      • Josefina says:

        Yeah. Because George Clooney is a famewhore and wanted the whole world to know he was marrying a prestigious attorney and not a 22 year old model, because he’s so serious and all. He is the Hollywood actor with a PR team who has to make sure people like him. He’s the one who benefits from pimping the hell out of his wedding. But sure, why not. Let’s blame the woman once again.

      • Nic919 says:

        No one held a gun to her to pose for Vogue among other things. She also posed for the cameras after one of her court appearances and did it inside the court. To pretend she didn’t have a say in the PR is to remove her agency, which is hard to believe from someone who us supposedly a star litigator.

        The overdone PR is both their faults.

  23. Meena says:

    I watched the piece. It was fluff. Also I call BS on this trend of celebrity lawyering. For a better understanding of the facts: http://dailycaller.com/2015/10/13/in-the-maldives-its-hollywood-against-the-facts/

    • siri says:

      George is probably already writing a script;-)

      • emmet says:

        my gift to you
        directly from Sony leaks

        ” Grant and I love this project. It’s my wife’s client. I know the story pretty well. It takes on Putin but it’s great. Any interest?

        Sent from my iPhone
        Begin forwarded message:

        From: “Lourd Asst 2, Bryan (Lindsay Thomas)”
        Date: October 9, 2014 at 2:36:01 PM PDT
        To: “George Clooney (batmansenior@me.com)”
        Cc: “Angel McConnell (privatesecretary@mac.com)” , “Lourd Asst, Bryan (Rhys Broussard)”

      • siri says:

        Thank you, @emmet! People tend to be naive about these folks. They do absolutely nothing without personal gain. And in Amal, he has found a ‘partner in crime’. Unfortunately, he’s not a good writer, and he doesn’t understand the bigger picture of events- then you get films like The Monuments Men.

      • dippit says:

        Is the implication to be drawn from this one of George suggesting he has an inside track on a bio-pic through the proposed subject being a client of Amal?

        If so, that sounds questionable from an ethics pov.

        On a side note: seems at least one article today is citing CB as THE site for an ‘Amal Fans’ fight-back. Seemed an odd article to have appeared unbidden, unless judiciously placed or arranged for by PR.

      • emmet says:

        actually @siri
        thank you more!
        jaded was just particularly nasty to me on this board
        see comments under #7

        this “union of minds” is such a farce
        and this media rollout for her is the beginning of the exit strategy

      • siri says:

        @emmet: It would be better if people just inform themselves, and get deeper into the details of a story instead of putting out inferior, and discriminating jokes. Then we could have the kind of discussion that allows all of us to learn something, even if we disagree on everything.

    • Lori says:

      Well, they certainly seem to be writing some script for their personal gain……whether it’s for Amal’s personal gain or George’s personal gain is another question.

      Evidently, Julia Pacetti, the CEO and president of JMP Verdant (a NY PR firm), posted the photos of Amal and her entourage (?) during their meetings with Congressional leaders on Twitter. Her own bio describes her work as follows: “Julia is an expert media strategist, specializing in maximizing impact for current affairs and entertainment campaigns. She has deep expertise in executing media and public affairs strategies for projects that lie at the intersection of politics and entertainment.” The “highly successful” publicity campaigns that she has “executed” through her firm include one for “President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives.” She appears to have an extensive background doing publicity for various prestige films for Miramax when Harvey Weinstein was in charge of the company:

      https://twitter.com/juliapacetti
      http://www.jmpverdant.com/team/

      In addition, I find it discomfiting that George is so willing to publicize the travails of Amal’s client in cinematic form. I know that the client in question is probably a public figure, but how do Amal’s disclosures of information about her client to George implicate any duty of confidentiality she might have to him?

      • siri says:

        Let’s not forget that Amal received the Jack J. Katz Memorial Award for excellence in entertainment law while at New York University School of Law for her LLM. So it’s not too far-fetched to think that that was her goal- to become a lawyer specialised in that area. That’s the kind of ‘human rights’ lawyer who picks clients according to their potential to be publicly exploited, or, as in this case, even become a subject of “artistic” expression. There’s a lot of questionable (work) ethics here, and I’m sure her mother and her PR firm are behind this. So there might also be a political agenda.

      • Ain't No Telling says:

        All good points, Lori. Your questions and objections, are very well thought out.. However, George & Amal, have not played it out as far as you have, thus, the disscognisannce.

    • dippit says:

      It’s interesting that Toby Cadman, now with Omnia and acting on behalf of the current Maldivian Govt, has gone on record yesterday stating that, whilst he was originally considered for instruction by Nasheed and may have taken the case on, he has subsequently determined that much outlined to him by Nasheed’s reps (when pitching the case to him) was misleading or inaccurate.

      That’s quite a bold statement for a barrister to willingly make public. I can only surmise that due to Nasheed’s team escalating their PR Celeb driven approach, rather than remain within the typical ‘boundaries’ of advocacy through proper Law practises, he felt compelled to try and redress/reassert some balance on the matter when asked to comment by NBC.

      Still, a telling moment of candour on his part.

  24. lowercaselois says:

    Don’t mean to be nasayer,but let’s see if Washington pays any attention to George Clooneys wife, with Gun Control, ISIS, homeland secuity, Presidential race,Syria,Afghanistan, Iraq, Isreal,
    North Korea, Iran, China and loss of jobs overseas, loss of the middle class, let’s see if she gets any attention. I have worked on the hill, they will be polite and take her out to lunch, but that is about it.

    • Lori says:

      I had that question too. At least some of the meetings with Senators Leahy and Murphy (the ones where she has the camel coat) transpired on January 12, 2016, just hours before President Obama’s last State of the Union address. I highly doubt that the Senators were engaged in any intense transactions before the speech.

  25. Jayna says:

    I like Amal when she’s not looking for a camera on nights out with George. Very poised and articulate and striking.

    This is an interview last year with someone from Armenian Public Television regarding the European Court of Human Rights’ Armenian Genocide Decision.

    I think Amal is very pretty. I also think George loves her and is very proud of her. I agree that he pushed her on everybody too strongly and thus the backlash.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6UijBvFW0c

  26. april says:

    Classy, smart, amazing. George married up.

  27. Grant says:

    Well she has beautiful hair so I don’t blame her for constantly touching it one bit!

  28. Carol says:

    Its nice to see a well-educated woman on TV talking about something of substance. Whether or not she got the interview because she is married to George Clooney is irrelevant. We need to see more women like her who can speak intelligently on any subject. I hope the media will take a bigger interest in interviewing successful women or women who are making a difference in people’s lives because there are plenty of them. I hope people will be more receptive in watching those interviews and not so interested in tearing women down.

  29. dibba says:

    I like her alot, but she might have eating disorder

    • Ain't No Telling says:

      She most definitely has an eating disorder. My best friend has an ED, and her frame was quite similar, in high school, before her family forced her to get help. I remember getting ready to go to the beach. We were trying on different swim suits, and as I was watching her pose in front of the mirror, I thought to myself, “OMG, she looks so sick. How on earth can she feel healthy?” I said something to her immediately, and she did not speak to me fo over a year. People w/ an ED are FIERCELY protective about their condition. If you care about them just a little bit more than enough to bring it up, they will cut you out. This is why I am certain Clooney chose this emotionally sick woman, as his beard. She doesn’t want him to get too close, and actually “care”. But hey, guess what? Neither does he.

      • rosyb says:

        @ain’t no telling
        What an offensive statement. I also have the same frame as Amal Clooney and certainly do not have an eating disorder. Moreover, I work in the medical field and often have very stressful days as I imagine she does too, which probably plays a part in my inability to easily gain weight. Finally, as someone in the medical field, let me categorically make it clear to you that you cannot diagnose someone with an eating disorder based on photos or videos or their body frame or even their BMI. There are strict diagnostic criteria for diagnosing someone with an eating disorder and demoralising thin people by calling them emotionally sick doesnt help.

  30. Amelie says:

    Angelina and Amal couldn’t be more different. One has made a career of being an international human rights lawyer/barrister. The other is an actress/director who later on became interested in the the plight of refugees and has brought awareness to their situation. I commend Angelina for her humanitarian work but it isn’t her main occupation.

    They do share an interest in social justice which is great. But apart from their husbands being friends, do they really have that much in common? Not really. I don’t think Angelina and Brad even went to George and Amal’s wedding.

    • Monalisa says:

      FYI AJ fight for victims and earn no money ,AA make living and work for tyrants and corrupted people ,don’t believe !read the past list of her clients .so i agree they are totally different women.
      AJ all the way,am not AJ fan BTW.

    • lisa2 says:

      Wait a minute.. LATER ON. Angie started her UN work near 15 years ago.. Hardly something she did on the fly.

      She has built a TB/Aids clinic. in Cambodia
      She has built and funded schools for girls to get an education who otherwise would not
      She has visited more than 40 countries
      Spent time visiting the soldiers in War Zones
      She started and funds a program to help unaccompanied minors entering this country.
      She has built another clinic in Africa
      She funds a wild life preserve in Cambodia along with establishing the Maddox Jolie Pitt foundation
      She and her husband fund so many other programs I could be her all day noting them.

      And considering her Humanitarian work is not her “Main Occupation” she sure has done a lot for it to be a part time endeavor; not to mention she was a single mother for several of those years.. and now raising 6 kids.

      And as someone else said.. NO she and Amal couldn’t be more different. Imagine what Angie could have done with her 15 year side job if she was doing it solely.

      *** And I didn’t know not going to George and Amal wedding was that important. But then he wasn’t invited to their wedding

  31. Me ThreeI says:

    I like her but it was the first time I heard her voice and while I love most English accents, hers just sounded snooty. I don’t think she’s an arrogant or smug person but good God I couldn’t listen to her for very long. All the English people on this site please don’t hate on me!

    • Sarah01 says:

      her accent is similar to Emma Thompson or Helen Mirren, so I guess you may not like listening to them a whole lot either.

      • Pondering thoughts says:

        @ Sarah 01

        Amal Clooney’s accent is definitely very very posh. Thomspon and Mirren have an educated accent but not that overly posh just a little bit.

        Well, Amal Clooney comes from a wealthy family and attended a good and posh university and works in a very posh-traditional-stuffy profession. So that might explain her accent.

      • no says:

        C’mon Pondering it’s only an accent and it doesn’t sound that good,Amal family “mom,dad,sis,bros”are not rich from trusted sources.
        if you lived in china since 3 year old ,i bet you will speak thier language too no big deal,forigen accents sound exotic,you make accent big deal.

  32. Zucchini says:

    I swear this is a PR move advised by George and her mother. As a lobbyist, she doesn’t really need to do this sort of mainstream thing. It wouldn’t really help her current clients (but it could help her GET more high-profile cases). The story is a fluff piece about her “work of 15 years.” Sorry, she’s repped all kinds of clients, as she’s supposed to as a lawyer.
    I suspect George reads the DM religiously (which is why he bothered to refute one of its stories when they first got married – I think about Baria, her mother, disliking him or something). They must be aware of the amount of hate Amal gets about her pap-loving and smug attitude. She might be a great human rights lawyer, but it’s true she looks for the cameras whenever they’re out and seems to delight in it. They’re really trying to turn her public image around.

  33. Tania says:

    I think George’s PR team really did this lady a disservice. I wish they had kept things quiet, not made such a spectacle of their romance and wedding. It made them both look so thirsty and that’s when it all backfired on Amal since it made her look fame hungry. She’s a high powered lawyer. Let her work speak for itself and enjoy your marriage. I’m glad to see that they’re more private now, it should have been that way from the start.

    • sasha says:

      What makes you think that this is all George’s doing? She’s a grown woman, and if you believe what’s being said above, a highly esteemed woman in her own right. Right? So how could this paragon of righteousness ever allow herself to be exploited in such a way, I ask you.
      Bullshit. She’s as much, if not more, into all of this celebrity-ism.
      After all, she married the queen of public relations spin.

  34. Ain't No Telling says:

    I have not read any of the previous comments. So here we go. Why on earth marry this ultra famous man, sit around giving interviews that you may not have given otherwise, and then defer your celebrity status? She’s full of it. Sorry, Amal. She’s just way too much into the paparazzi, hair, & makeup, for me to ever take her seriously. She reminds me of an Instagram makeup artist, not an educated barrister.

    • LeAnn Stinks says:

      Thank you, I pretty much said the same thing above.

    • Gwen says:

      Agree, only a Lawyer, and not even a hard-working one doing overtime, having at most one vacation a Year, def. no Jet-Set lifestyle……
      And being a Lawyer doesn’t mean automatically she is highly-intelligent like her worshipper seems to believe….that’s not how it works.

      • SunnyD says:

        I am not a “worshipper” – I have no idea what her personality is like because I do not know her. However I am a British lawyer and I can say, I believe with some authority, that to attended the university she attended to and be working for Doughty Street she will be intelligent and accomplished.

    • Pondering thoughts says:

      I think it is a bit pathetic if some British lawyer asks some US politicians to put pressure on another country to support democracy. Great media story but otherwise?
      It won’t be that efficient as there are reasons why ISIS exists and keeps getting stronger.
      You have to involve the local population in order to keep democracy alive.
      You have to start thinking about what the West has done in recent decades to support ISIS and in how far the West has to change its ways.
      You have to think about why many many people think that democracy doesn’t really work so well: because they experience an enormous amount of heteronomy and corruption in “democratic” countries. And they experience that so-called democratic countries exploit them to the max. So why should they like it?

      She should have made a few demands concerning changes to US foreign politics.

  35. Ain't No Telling says:

    Also, before I forget… I am now absolutely convinced that George Clooney married this woman as a beard. They have absolutely NOTHING in common, lifestyle, wise. He looked at her, and thought, here is a lady who will be too busy to be home with me, and that’s exactly what I want. Some really weird stuff is happening with Clooney; more than just being a celeb, in the closet. This woman, purposefully, married a man, as an arrangement, rather than for true love. That, in itself, makes her phony as fuck. True story.

    • nicole says:

      Aint no telling, I think youre right, this whole thing is completly setup. I bet there will never be any children between them, it makes me beleive he is more in the closet than ever.

  36. Amal is not a celebrity, George is. If it wasn’t for George, none of us would have heard of her. I’ve been tired of Amal for a long time.

  37. LimeSlushie says:

    She presents herself very well but I’ve seen too many pics of her being smug and looking for the cameras to take her seriously. I find her quite strange, actually. I’m sure she’s good at her job and highly intelligent but she’s very, very hungry for the fame and encouraged by George in that regard too.

    And both of them seem to think it’s natural that everyone should just bow down to their greatness and worship them. Let’s see. He’s an older heartthrob type, and she spends all her time parading around in insanely expensive clothes (probably all given to her, mind you) and doesn’t seem to do any work. At least she did until about mid-December 2015, when George seems to have put a muzzle on her pap works to rework their PR strategy.

    In sum: Weird and out of touch. Both so hungry for it.

  38. Madge says:

    This woman has had so much bad press it’s unbelievable especially in England. She is perceived as haughty, arrogant and more concerned with spending George’s money on designer dresses than practicing the law. The National Enquirer cover calling her the wife from hell has provoked a change in PR strategy which is what we are seeing now. An image shaping exercise because all of George’s movies tanked last year.

  39. julies29 says:

    Yikes. I usually expect some kind of voice of reason on this site but I am out of luck today. Surprised at the aggressiveness on both sides. I think the truth is much closer to the middle than anyone has stated here.

  40. Petra says:

    She has an eating disorder I suspect. But I doubt George cares. I suspect they’re not even sleeping together or rarely do as I see an “arrangement” here. As others have said, she is indeed skeletal and I for one would not want to see her in a bikini as the hip bones would jut out. This woman doesn’t leave the house without wearing $10,000 worth of haute couture and designer accessories plus her $750,000 engagement ring. She has the Vogue editors on speed dial wiring them the cost of her outfits and that’s why so many people don’t like her.