I have such mixed feelings about Amal Clooney’s visible pleasure at being the center of attention. On one side, I would absolutely hate it if she tried to play it off like “oh no, I’m a shy wallflower, please don’t take my photo even though I’m married to George Clooney!” Amal doesn’t play that game and I respect her for it. She’s a woman, not a coquettish “girl” and she owns her sh-t. On the other side, Amal does seem… I dunno, preening? It’s such a fine line. Anyway, as we discussed over the weekend, Amal and George did the big, splashy premiere of Suburbicon at the Venice Film Festival. Amal wore Versace. When doing press for the film, George ended up talking about their twin babies, Ella and Alexander.
George Clooney’s twins may only be 12 weeks old, but they’ve already got their own distinct personalities! The 56-year-old star sat down with ET’s Carly Steel while promoting his new film, Suburbicon, at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, where he revealed that Alexander and Ella actually couldn’t be more different.
“They start out with a personality right off the bat,” Clooney admitted. “[Alexander] is a thug already. You saw him,” he said to pal Matt Damon. “He’s a moose! Literally, he just sits and he eats.”
“He looks like he could bounce right now, some place in Hollywood,” Damon agreed.
“Like, checking IDs on the way into the nursery,” Clooney continued, before describing Ella’s personality. “She’s very elegant, and all eyes. She looks like Amal, thank god.”
As for the twin’s names, the Oscar winner explained that he and his attorney wife “just didn’t want to have really dumb names. We figured these kids are going to be looked at a lot and watched and [have their] every move sort of judged, and we wanted them to at least have a break with the names. So we looked for some sort of normal names. We didn’t have any great inspiration. It wasn’t Alexander the Great and Ella Fitzgerald.”
And while Clooney had been preparing for fatherhood since finding out Amal was pregant last fall, he admitted that the idea that he would be a dad didn’t really sink in until they were born in June. “I suppose [the realest moment is] just the minute they came out,” he said of fatherhood. “None of it is real until all of a sudden they’re standing there covered in slime and crying. You’re like, wait a minute, what is that? We were just two and now we’re four. Everything changes pretty quickly,” he added.
…SLIME? That’s how he talks about the first time he held his babies? SLIME? Granted, I think so much of childbirth and babies is pretty gross too, but still… slime, man. As for what he says about wanting to choose simple names because he knew they would be famous from birth… in some ways, that’s sort of smart, I guess. Except I do worry that Ella and Sasha will be in first grade with a dozen other Ellas and Sashas. As for babies already having little personalities… the way he describes Alexander as a bruiser is funny. I hope Ella did get Amal’s doe eyes.
Also: after the Venice premiere of Suburbicon on Saturday, there was an after-party event. Amal changed into a vintage dress! This is “William Vintage Parisian haute couture,” just in case you thought that maybe Amal just picked up some cheap lime green monstrosity. IT IS COUTURE. And she spent a lot of money on it. And she’s getting her makeup done by Charlotte Tilbury, who does Kim Kardashian’s makeup for a lot of events.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.
I don’t know – maybe I am projecting from what I know of his stance re marriage and kids in the past…but he really doesn’t sound that enamoured with his children, as you would expect a first time parent to be. There almost seems to be…disgust? Maybe disgust is not the right word, but possibly disdain? Perhaps he is just keeping up with his image – remember the official statement about Amal being happy and him being ‘sedated’?
I don’t see it. I think he’s just being humorous. But in any case, it can take a while to bond with your newborn. If anything he could still be shellshocked.
I agree.
I find sometimes men use humor instead of sharing their vulnerable emotions. George may want to keep that special moment for him and Amal.
My husband doesn’t tell anyone else how he got on the nurse’s last nerve because he wanted to do everything for the baby. He was emotional with tears, but he tells the story like a self-deprecating joke.
George may have done the same.
I dunno, I hate the early stage. they are slimy little crying poop grubs and they smell funny. Once they get personalities though, I’m all for it. Maybe Georgie is just an infant hater like me,
LOLOLOL @ “slimy little crying poop grubs”
Gagging on the gender typing. Otherwise cute story.
That’s what I was going to say. If you’re going to pretend your less-than-three-month babies already have fully-formed personalities, you could at least not go with the most obvious gender stereotypes.
That’s my only complaint as well. The boys are always macho and the girls are always pretty and dainty. Ugghh.
But he is so politically savvy, lol! ’14 going on 12′ as my grandmother would say. Ghostbusters and bars, check.
Hopefully Amal will shut this kind of blather down before real life parenting begins in earnest. Ugh.
Although many newborns do have distinct personalities–I was shocked by this–I was struck by the gender typing too.
Ughhhh me to! Such nonsense. I love how Melissa McCarthy described one of her daughters as if.she.is.the.devil – hilarious. No stereotyping, just decribing, well, a personality, not an idea of a personality.
He even uses gender language for their physiques.
Elegant vs moose. With the boy he describes mostly personality, the girl, her physical looks.
It’s so easy for people to slide into gendr essentialism, and new babies seem to bring that out more than ever.
He’s just kidding around. What’s he going to say? He’s keeping it light and humorous, nothing wrong with that. His true thoughts are private or between him and his wife.
So true.
omg….really. just as people respect gender fluidity you can learn to respect a mans gloating and joking about his new born kids and his (he is their parent) perception / assumption of their personalities…. yal doing too much
I’m wondering if the fact that they’ll be in class with other kids who have the same name is part of the point? I guess to help them feel more normal. I imagine it’s already hard to be the child of a celebrity but then to also have the name Apple or Pilot Inspektor would probably set them over the edge a bit, at least for a year or two lol
I have a friend who’s currently in a Ph.D. program and just had a baby. Once she and her partner chose the names they liked, she did a regression analysis to find out which would be likeliest to be more and less popular so their eventual kindergartner wouldn’t be one of 15 similarly-named kids in her class. The winning name? Ramona. (Bonus: She was born on Beverly Cleary’s birthday.)
I think there’s a balance in choosing names. Along with the decision about how usual/unusual/individual to make it, you want it to work with the surname, and then, once you’ve got more than one or two (children), you also want those to harmonize. (i.e.: once we had Leeza and Alexandra, naming the next one “Jane” would felt weird. We ended up calling her Talia.)
(Postscript: In an ironic twist, Talia was a year behind a girl who spelled her first name the same way but pronounced it differently, so spent her grade- and middle-school years being called “Ta-LIA,” a different name than the one we’d given her.)
First off, I love your name 🙂
That’s super interesting! Naming our baby was anxiety inducing for my husband and I until we ended up reading the same name at basically the same time off of different sites and fell in love with it! It just felt right I suppose.
Ramona and Talia are beautiful names!
@HelloSunshine: Thanks – that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about it – also the first, but what a lovely thing. You just made my day!
Yeah – names are important. After I had my kids I worked at a newspaper and one of my jobs was to call Carla at the hospital every morning and get the names of the babies that had been born the night before, and the parents and siblings (if there were any)’s as well. It is truly unbelievable what some people do to children. (Also, you could tell who was watching what soap operas….)
No problems with the slime comment. Babies are slimy when they pop out — he’s just speaking the messy truth.
I’ve never heard anyone refers to new born babies as slimy. I always remember George swearing never to get married again or never have children. I guess George still cannot believe he’s a dad. I would love ❤️ to see the twins, I guess they will sell the photos to People magazine for their Christmas cover.
I don’t think we will see the babies until they are six months old. They had them out the day after she wore the lilac gown, but they were in baby carriers covered.
No problem with it, either. I guess he same people who say (loudly) that all babies are cute also think they come out of the womb shiny and clean and smelling like roses,
And he said covered in slime, not slimy. Accurate observation. I enjoy his talk about his kids and am sure he loves them very much.
I agree. They aren’t attractive and they have yuck stuck to them. It is weird when you see it.
Yup. They wipe some of the slime off, but it’s actually kind of good for them, I think? Biodome and all. Mine had goo stuck to him for at least 12 hours, when I finally felt like giving him a bath.
I could see George being kind of shocked. Birth is messy and gross, but also stupidly amazing.
Yes, they delay giving them a bath for a few hours at least because the slime is good for them. And newborns are kind of gross.
Well, they do come out covered in slime actually. My husband, who was not in the delivery room because he’s the queasy, might pass out sort, was asked if he wanted to see the baby. He politely asked them to clean said baby first, lol. Queasy…
I like the names although I didn’t know “Sasha” was a thing for Alexander. And couture… with what Clooney et al just got for their tequila company, they can afford couture diapers for the twins if they want. 😉
I have no shade for Amal. I think she’s great. Who cares if she likes the limelight? She’s an intelligent woman with an important career. I like someone like that having the limelight. The attention on her has enabled her to bring more attention to some key humanitarian issues.
Completely agree. Plus, getting close enough to your pre-baby body that you can look glamorous rather than wearing a sack dress is kind of a giddy feeling. She looks to me that she’s thoroughly enjoying that, which is perfectly normal.
I bet she did a tummy tuck right after having the babies. Then having a diatician, cook any nannys is a god sent. I must say three months after giving birth 🤰 she looks the same. It took me about six months to get the tummy back to normal.
She was wearing a corset under the lilac dress, so I’d say no tummy tuck. Hence the loose, layered floaty after party dress, she must have been dying to get out of that. She’s definitely not yet back to her prelbaby weight, but it suits her.
I just think she is a confident woman and doesn’t feel like she needs to stand behind George. Sure he is the star, but she is an accomplished woman herself and loves fashion. All of his previous gfs were the support team, but he didn’t choose them, he chose her and he likes her the way she is.
Basically, you are as lucky to have me as I am to have you. I am your partner, not your shadow.
I agree – lovely to see a woman carrying herself with poise and elegance. There are enough stars who slouch and pout through these occasions. I think she is glowing, and why not? I am sure she is very happy with her new babies and she is there on the carpet to work and represent her husband’s project.
Agreed. She’s so accomplished in her own field-why does Hollywood take some kind of priority? And good for her that she likes fashion.
Totally agree. I love seeing an accomplished woman in the limelight who can carry herself with so much confidence and elegance. Makes me think more of Clooney too.
“Thug?” Extremely poor choice of words there, George.
thank you
IMO she looks lovely in both dresses, I even like the short green one better.
That woman in the black dress, though! O_O Clooney’s face is perfectly voicing my opinion on her dress!
I actually like the green one too, kind of like a “glam and tanned Liz Taylor fights with Richard Burton on a yacht off Corfu before making up with diamonds” number.
Perfect description!
I can go with that. I wasn’t crazy about it but I like your description.
This description redeems a dress that looks like it was made in someones polyester fever dream after a late night of too much absinthe and rereadings of Peter Pan.
Amal’s William Vintage dresses are always loaners. The dress will likely be back on the rack already – I’ve seen her do this before. (William Vintage is in London, not Paris). Nice of Charlotte to drop the plug, though.
The look on George’s face is hilarious!!! I love, love the short green dress! It fun and sexy at the same time and it definitely reminds me of the Liz Taylor/R Burton years!
I actually love both of her dresses here.
I do, too. I think the green one is my favorite. Love her shoes and her legs look great. I’m not trying to shade her pre-baby body, but I think looks like she’s gained some weight. It looks good on her. More soft and youthful, not so many angles from her bones.
I’ve said this before, but I don’t know why people expect a barrister to be anything other than extremely comfortable with attention.
She chose a high profile career that involved a lot of public speaking and a fair bit of showmanship. She worked a lot with Geoffrey Robertson, who is, let’s just say, not exactly shy of the press. Before Clooney she’d been involved in the Assange case, which was just crazy as far as media interest went, and the Yulia Temoshenko case, which required her to do interviews.
She may not have been a celebrity but before she started dating Clooney she’d faced a media scrum, she’d had paparazzi swarming her when she was alongside Assange, she’d done on camera work…it would ring extremely false if she looked shy or overwhelmed walking down a red carpet.
I don’t know why you think his son is going to be called Sasha. George is old school all the way. His son will probably go by his full name, with maybe a nickname of Alex as he gets older in school, or not.
Agree. I don’t actually know anyone non-Eastern European who uses Sasha as a nickname for Alexander. People without that background just straight up name their kids Sasha if they want that as a name.
In New York, I know a few Xanders, but not Sasha.
I am so over these stories of babies having personalities. They’re still babies! but I guess you have to give a humorous/cute baby story for the press.
On another note good for them for the name choice, I see it as giving them a clean slate.
Babies have personalities. My son had a very distinct personality starting at about 8 weeks. All very obvious even in pictures (he’s 13 now and still has the same personality).
Yes babies are born with innate temperament leanings that can be modified to some extent by environment but there is still that innate core. They’re not blank slates and we don’t mold them, only influence. Nature is still incharge, though nurture is a worthy contributor.
I would agree.
My daughter reached each milestone on her terms. She held her head up early, talked clearly early, potty trained in 2 days, began to walk once she figured out she couldn’t keep up with her step brothers so one day she stood up and never crawled again. Naturally, she leads and is willing to stand up for herself or anyone she feels is weaker. I would try to help her, and she would say I can do it by myself. Let me try. That has always been the way she is.
With each one there were little things that were there all along. Stubborn baby, stubborn toddler and still stubborn. My risk taker is still a risk taker. My happy charmer was a giggly baby. He would laugh so hard he would topple over. Etc.
Besides when parents are so excited about their babies they say things like he did.
I have fraternal twin boys, and IN THE HOSPITAL after their birth, I was able to see their distinct and very different personalities. Six years later, and one is still self-centered, and the other an introverted hot head, just like when they were babies. One of my boys is more dramatic and flamboyant, and the other – as Clooney put it – a “brute.” It’s much easier to pick out personalities when there are two!
I have no shade on the Klooneys these days. But since I woke up early and I need a cup of coffee, I am going tot ask a b*tchy question:
Does Ella look like Amal pre-surgery or post-surgery?
Yeah, which nose does she get? lol
Seems matt damon is the mouthpiece to go to regarding the Clooney family now. Why does the press never call Clooney out for being media savvy & maniplative like they always do with women. Clooney plays the press with the best of them & always get a free pass. I don’t know why, but there’s something that just doesn’t seem genuine with him.
IA.
I generally really dislike Clooney – he’s way too self-important- but I don’t have a problem with what he said here. Infants are slimy when they come out of the womb. It doesn’t indicate that he doesn’t like them or anything.
Yes-and call me a ninny but despite having natural non medicated childbirth (so you’d assume I’d be crunchy), wipe him off before you hand him over! Yuck!
They are smart about the names. Like you wrote, there will be lots of Ella’s and Alex’s in their classes, so they can blend in more. Not like an Apple. No one will look up when they are calling their kids at the park, and that is good thing.
I dunno- saw the video for these quotes-I thought it was pretty funny. Face it, if he gushed about how they are the most amazing babies in the history of the world (which all new parents have the absolute privilege to do😀), folks would be ripping on that. And I have yet to meet a new dad of a daughter who doesn’t think the new baby looks like -to the dad at any rate- his much more attractive wife/partner. I think he’s pretty smitten with his babies.
I keep forgetting about these two.
I also keep forgetting that George is a Dad.
Sorry I find old George with these babies cringe worthy, but keep trying!
I love that green dress! She went from being strapped, taped and poured into the purple dress, to absolute comfort in the green dress. I’d totally wear the green dress.
George is going to say goofy/odd things about his kids. He’s not going to give out intimate detail at all. I think we all need to stop parsing his every word and just roll our eyes, chortle, whatever, which is what he wants.
And newborns are slimy and gross and made of poop. And the most adorable things ever.
So true. I’m sure there were tears shed by George when the babies came during the delivery. It’s an emotional moment. He’s never been comfortable in interviews pouring his heart out about things so intimate. He deflects and makes a joke. Although, it’s so true that during pregnancy you can think you are prepared, but when the baby comes and is now here, a reality in your arms, in this case two, you realize life really has changed, going from a couple to a family in an instant.
But someday in the right interview, like a long-form print interview in GQ, he will probably go a little deeper.
Shoot, I was watching Flipping Out last week. Gage and Jeff’s surrogate delivered their baby. Gage had tears and wonderment in his face, and even tough guy Jeff, who doesn’t like to share his emotions, was so choked up. Hell, I was sobbing watching it.
I think she looks beautiful and happy. I don’t know why people get their panties in a twist because Amal seems to enjoy the limelight? All because she bagged George Clooney. Would you prefer she were a shy humble wall flower? To her own credit we don’t really know that much about her apart from where she is from and what she does for a living. It’s not like she is going around left and right giving interviews to any media outlet that will listen. We mostly see her on red carpets with George and that’s about it and even then I don’t think she talks that much to reporters.
that’s actually a good point about her not giving many interviews. I guess she enjoys the attention every now and then and afterwards goes back to her private life.
I dislike when people make disparaging comments about their children. Like William and George. And now George and Alex. It’s not cute.
if you are at a loss as to what to say about your kids, describe an accomplishment or the last activity they did. If you can’t come up with one, on the spot, well, ffs.
Leave what YOU think their personality is out of it. It’s not up to you to label who they are.
As for babies, read a baby milestone book. At 3 months? starting tummy time, sitting up propped with pillows, starting to laugh.
That’s all you need to say, George. The babies are starting tummy time, to laugh and giggle and sit up propped with pillows. End of.
His comments are awful, plus the added bonus of being incredibly sexist.
Oh, please. Parents shouldn’t make negative comments about their children? That’s ridiculous. We’re supposed to act like they’re special, delicate snowflakes, right? And parents talk about their children’s personalities ALL. THE. TIME. Everyone is born with in inherent personality, why is it bad to recognize, identify it, and learn to work with what you’ve got? You seem uptight.
Meh.
Other than the sexist ramblings, I prefer to hear comments that some people will think are negative.
How many people have babies and just go on and on about how wonderful pregnancy was, how wonderful labor was, how fulfilled they feel from breast feeding, how absolutely whole they feel now that their perfect little prince/princess has come into their lives. Then someone who has gone through life hearing nothing but wonderful things about pregnancy/childbirth/whatever has a baby and things AREN’T absolutely darling and beautiful all of the time, and they feel like failures.
So I fully support some more realistic comments coming out from new parents. I’m so sick of the people who can only rave about how amazing the experience was/is – because there’s NO way it’s like that all of the time – and it seems to be those sorts of people who are so quick to jump on the sanctimommy bandwagon. It’s the whole “I need to convince myself that my choices were the best ones so anyone who experiences something different/makes different decisions HAS to be wrong”. Babies are slimy/slime covered – at least at first. And I think for a lot of dads – first time dads especially – it isn’t all that real until all of a sudden they are holding a baby.
,
Literally all babies sit and eat George. Your girl does it too. That’s what babies do and almost nothing else until they’re like a year old.
I work in kindergarden at the moment and of the kids dads looks just like Clooney so now I kind of imagine Alex being like the one kid I know, sounds a bit similar lol.
idk im a white girl, maybe even a BWG but im cringing at him using ‘thug’
am I alone?
I’ve heard That the word thug is racist, that it essentially equates to the n word. The thing is, I hear it used all the time in my social/work circles when people are describing white supremacists. So I don’t know.
I do think it’s a very negative word, and I did wonder at his choice.
Can’t she be both a respected barrister and someone who loves the glamour that comes with being married to a movie star?
No.
She is a thirsty social climber and Clooney is famous for his taste in cheap, tacky and opportunistic women. Just because she went to law school it doesn’t mean anything is different. It is tough not to graduate from some type of college when you come from a family of means.
Well, I was right, that he would be more serious and in depth about the babies in a long-form print interview. It’s out in The Hollywood Reporter. Amal went into premature labor, a month early. The babies were four and a half pounds (Ella) and five and a half pounds (Alexander). He was sweet in the interview about loving Amal, and what he wants for his children. He said they didn’t use in vitro. It may be true, but most celebs with twins say they didn’t use in vitro, and most are lying.
They don’t get passes from me. Two narcissists. George got married and bred to stay relevant. He talks about his newborns in a weird, distancing way, like he lacks genuine emotions for them. He used to be private. Now it’s all about George the family man and excited new father – performance living.
Amal shows a distinct lack of self-awareness with her over-the-top wardrobe. Tolerable at celeb events but when lawyering for Nadia Murad at the UN? She was still looking around for the cameras this time at Venice too, from the looks of the Daily Fail photos. You’d think she’d know better by now.
The recent leak about her going back to work is to keep her “legal” cred going, when it’s apparent she doesn’t do much work and will probably not ever become a QC. Some poster noted on the other article about Amal skepticism re her career. The point is George has sold her like she’s the one and only. For those in the know, he comes across as naive and used-car-salesman-ish. She’s successful but there are thousands of other lawyers just as successful or more so.
Holding hands at the UN with luminaries such as POTUS present? And I still remember how George called that reporter a “b!tch” for daring to question how much he does with his humanitarian-advocacy work. And the cringeworthy PDA on the red carpet (George leaning in for a kiss and Amal beaming with her eyes closed) at every movie premiere?
They’re odious and ghastly. So contrived and obviously setting George up for some political role. And if you look at the comments section of various sites, there’s a big backlash against George’s obvious PR campaign.
+1
SoyFrappe, I agree with everything you say, these two are as fake as you can get.
Clooney should say as little as possible about his kids if he is as serious as he claims to be about wanting their privacy. Normally, when he goes for humor I like it … but the way he’s approaching his kids … as thugs who vomit really is kind of stupid and not funny. He can just say they’re lovely and leave it at that. Once you start giving the public a taste of their personalities, even if its fictional, things get out of hand. I like how Sandra Bullock handles things … very privately and quietly. Have respect for the people who can’t speak for themselves. Stop with the labels and name-calling.
George just appears a bit phony to me. He’s seems so eager to please and exhausting.
Yuck! he looks so old and grandfather-ly. Can’t believe he is a father to babies. It is gross in every way. Why is he so gaunt and weathered now?
His wife is supposed to be this big time lawyer who is yet to win a single case.
I enjoy the dynamic they put forth and admire how they play their roles as man and wife. SB- babies are born slimey so what LOL
she is bomb.com and it oozes from her, thats how she got him & I aint mad!!