Tom Hiddleston: licensed to kill…his credibility.
My new column on THAT T-shirt & tattoo. https://t.co/OUaAcAUekR pic.twitter.com/aGr6vKOc8t— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 5, 2016
About a month ago, Jezebel had a piece called “It’s Time To Ignore Piers Morgan.” It came after Piers inexplicably decided to go after Beyonce and Mohammad Ali, amongst other hot-button targets. Piers has very real issues, and much like Stacey Dash, his career at this point is “professional troll.” I would have been content to ignore him, except Piers decided to focus his trolling on… Tom Hiddleston. And Piers versus Hiddles is enough to make me sort of halfheartedly defend Tom Hiddleston. Piers wrote a lengthy column – a column in which every sentence is a paragraph, because who dares to edit THE Piers Morgan? – about how Tom Hiddleston is embarassing himself completely and the “I HEART T.S.” t-shirt was a twee too far. You can read the full piece here. The basics:
Oh Tom. Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom, TOM. What the hell were you thinking????? I could handle the beach canoodling in Rhode Island. I could handle the hand-in-hand strolls through the streets of Rome. I could even handle the country walks with Tom’s mum in the wind-swept UK county of Suffolk, albeit with slight concern at the haste with which things had moved to parental introduction. All seemed perfectly natural displays of blind adoration consistent with the first flush of new love. But then came the T-shirt and tattoo. I stared at these latest photos for several long minutes, soaking in the full horror of Mr Hiddleston’s crime. Surely Britain’s hottest thespian talent hadn’t morphed into a fawning, love-struck pop star fan-boy? This, after all, is the man who wants to be the next James Bond, the most rugged, tough, manly movie icon of them all. He’s also 35 years old, so no spring chicken in Tinsel Town years. But it was sadly, shockingly true: he had.
There was our Tom, the Night Manager himself, in a white vest crying ‘I (heart) T.S.’ To compound the horror, he also had a love heart inked on his right arm with a ‘T’ on it. The pair frolicked together in the Atlantic ocean with a bunch of Taylor’s young friends including Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, Ruby Rose and Uzo Aruba, giggling away as they hugged, kissed and piggy-backed through the surf. When one left the water, so did the other. It was like watching recently separated Siamese twins having a reunion play-date. All perfectly fine, if it wasn’t for the T-shirt and tattoo.
When a man tries so hard to publicly prove his love for a woman, it usually has the opposite effect. We’ve been here before with a famous Hollywood heart-throb called Tom. Eleven years ago, Tom Cruise destroyed his image in five minutes of utter madness during an appearance on Oprah in which he shrieked about his love for Katie Holmes whilst treating the couch like a trampoline.
‘He’s gone,’ sighed Oprah. ‘He’s gone. The boy is gone.’ She was right. Cruise became an instant global laughing stock and has never recovered. Neither, of course, did the romance itself; Ms Holmes departing stage left a few years later from the hideous train-wreck of life as Mrs Cruise. Tom Hiddleston’s T-shirt and tattoo are just as cringe-worthy as Cruise’s couch-hopping, and may prove to be similarly disastrous to his career…Tom, I’m a massive fan, but for the love of God, what are you doing? This is NOT how you win the Bond gig.
Men think you’ve completely lost the plot and women think…. you’ve completely lost the plot. It’s just so shudderingly uncool to behave like this in the full knowing glare of the paparazzi. Even if, and let’s be generous here by espousing this theory, you’re just trying to have a little joke on the media. No real man would indulge in such a stunt, even if it was a joke, especially not one who has aspirations to be a macho movie star. It’s beyond excruciating, right up there with the time I stumbled upon two married co-workers sharing a Big Mac by literally passing bits of meat to each other using only their mouths. They thought it was sweet, I thought it was sickening, as would anyone else who had the misfortune to witness it.
Let’s cut to the quick here: Daniel Craig would rather shoot himself with his own Beretta than be seen wearing a T-shirt and tattoo like this. He would instinctively know it would be the death knell to his personal Bond brand. I now have to hope and pray Swift-Hiddleton really IS all some weird, elaborate hoax on the media and unsuspecting public. The alternative explanation is unthinkable: the man who would be Bond is a gigantic, toe-curling, insufferably infatuated and sycophantic wuss with women.
In the grand scheme of things, I don’t really mind the “I HEART T.S.” t-shirt. Meaning, I don’t think the t-shirt means that Tom is insufferably weak or unmanly or whatever. Meaning, the whole Glorious Tiddlesbanging of 2016 has been like a crazy fever dream, but the t-shirt wasn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was just another drop in the bucket of shady, crazy, twee nonsense from these two. And I personally would find it cute if Daniel Craig wore an “I HEART R.W.” t-shirt, but the difference is that Daniel and Rachel Weisz have been together for years. What consistently bugs me about the Tiddles stuff is that it SO EXTRA so quickly. The Tiddlesbanging isn’t even a month old and that’s what bothers me.
Still, I can’t help but think that on a fundamental level, Piers Morgan is (gulp) right: Tom Hiddleston is doing real, long-term damage to his career. Many Dragonflies won’t look at him the same way after this nonsense and this really isn’t the “right kind of exposure” for an actor.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet, Twitter.
The damage is not irreparable. If he ended this nonsense and remerged in a few months as a broody thespian, in time we’d forget all this. Swifty would be off dating a race car driver or something more appropriate and this would seem like a weird dream we collectively had.
Why…I ask you WHY are you giving Taylor Swift ideas?! Especially this year that she will be performing at the F1 event in Austin. I have been celebrating this Swiddles/Tiddles/Swoki/Tayto love because I’d rather see her with him than with a hot F1 race driver. My two long time crushes are married, but you know… Taylor Swift always gets what she wants, even if it is for photo-ops and a 3-month-old romance.
Bettyrose, I am leaving now, so this penguin heart doesn’t have a major meltdown with the thought of your idea happening… :/
Yes, and he’ll be in a dermatologist’s office, trying to get that tattoo lasered off!
It was a glued-on tattoo, not an actual tattoo (not even a temporary one). It looked like that to me at least. It was already smeared in those pictures. They can be waterproof but still last only a few days.
The heart “tattoo” was just paint and it started washing off in the water
God, let’s hope the stain on his credibility and image washes off as easily as the heart tattoo.
Hahaha OMG Lewis Hamilton as a rebound after TIDDLES implodes. I love it!
He has the preferred accent! 😜
I’m shipping this already. PLEASE JESUS LET THIS HAPPEN!
@Miss M, @Snazzy: you guys, let’s gossip genie this, let’s make a Taylor Swift – Lewis Hamilton hook-up a reality. It would be Epic. The paddock would be full of cameras all the time, Swifty would anxiously watch his races and Mercedes’ PR would go through the roof.
Other than Hamilton I don’t think there’s a lot to hope for in Formula 1. IMO all the drivers there are smarter than Hiddlestone, only Hamilton is famewhorish and boring enough to make it happen.
Actually let’s get her hooked up with Jenson Button please. Get him to ditch the playboy girl.
Not a problem but it seems even harder to do than the Hamilton story. I mean LH really would be up for it. He is already trying to break into the American celebrity market, the other drivers don’t seem to appreciate it as much.
@justanon: no F***ing way! I mentally shanked you for thinking that.
Besides, Button is married! Yay!!!
Does Taylor want to be a side chick?!
I think you are right. I know this is silly, but I honestly can’t think of who would be tall enough for TS in the paddock (that’s what she said). Maybe Ricciardo or Hulkenberg, but both those guys are down-to-earth and lovely, and probably not into the intense PR-ness of a Taylor Swift relationship.
@Miss M: I thought Jenson’s relationship with Jessica ended a few months ago, or they were at least separated, and one of the weird circumstances surrounding their separation was that they had never actually lived together during any point pre or post marriage? My googling abilities on these facts are hampered because I have not actually seen last weekend’s race yet.
There is also Jolyon Palmer, rookie this year, who looks like a caricature of a generically handsome and well-to-do British man, and maybe access to TS levels of fame could get him into a better team in the coming years.
@Senna (!): I didn’t know… Clearly I am not following my man closely *heart eyes at him*.
I curse you JustAnon for suggesting that!
BettyRose: I still like you, but H&ll to the noooooooooooooo to your suggestions. Well, unless she wants to date Lewis H., but I don’t think he is her type…
@als: actually, this is not a bad idea. But I doubt it will happen. I don’t think he is her type and he hangs out with Bieber.
I don’t think this stunt-a-thon is career ending, but is probably career altering.
I can’t even imagine at his point who will be her next conquest.
An athlete for sure… Maybe a football player like Julian Edelman? She will try to collect Gisele B. to her squad…
@BettyRose
My goodness, exactly! The damage is far from irreparable. Hiddles is a white guy in Hollywood with obsessive fans and many more who want success for him that kind of following always comes with industrial-strength convenient amnesia and denial.
All that’s happening is he’s becoming a household name for the wrong reason but the new recognisability will help, and then all it will take is two well-received films by the right directors back to back and no one will care. All he’d have to do is pull an old school Affleck reboot and everyone will be screaming Oscar.
But still, nice to see Piers taking a break from his constant and pathetic attempts at baiting Black Twitter.
Frankly, he’s as extra as the one he’s griping about.
Well hello to FF, Tom’s British agent and/or publicist! Fancy meeting you here.
Using an “s” instead of a “z” was a dead giveaway.
He could have at least fact checked Uzo Aduba’s name.
It’s Piers … He is above fact checking.
Hiddleston will not be Bond, not because of this, but because he said so months ago when the rumours fist started. So there’s another fact Piers doesn’t care about. Morgan just likes to believe he knows everything … (I have a long-time bad blood for him, ugh.)
There is also the major fact that Daniel Craig is still contracted to play Bond and Barbsra Broccoli shows no indication of a willingness to release him from that contract. All this Bond talk is just the Britidh tabs generating fake news stories for ad revenue and opportunists like Piers and Wendy Williams jumping on board because their opinions about fake news matter so much
“No real man would indulge in such a stunt, even if it was a joke, especially not one who has aspirations to be a macho movie star.”
😡😡😡
This really bothers me.
First of all, Taylor is a huge success and this reeks of sexism to me. The idea that he’s somehow a lesser (or in fact not even a “real”) man bc he’s having fun in the whirlwind of early blessed out love – and 35 is YOUNG for a “serious” actor in Hollywood. Many men work more once they get a few wrinkles. Did Clooney or Dicaprio lose all credibility for dating a series of models all over the globe? Of course not (well maybe with celebitches but certainly not with men and many women).
If it’s such a glaring eye sore by all means look away.
How bout no one asked you Piers.
I am willing to forgive Hiddleston of a lot. The staged photos. Pimping his family out for pap strolls. Selena Gomez. That shirt and faux tat. But what I can NEVER forgive is forcing me to agree with Piers Morgan. Piers f@cking Morgan!!!!! I loathe that man. He is the most disgusting, despicable human on the planet next to Trump, and you, Thomas, are making me agree with the bastard. I think I just vomited a little in my mouth. That’s it. I’m done. I just can’t with Piers making sense. I am off to drown my sorrows in a bottle of tequila. Ffs!!!!!! This is a nightmare. I agree with Piers Morgan. Does this mean that I have turned to the darkside? You go your entire life believing that there are lines that you would never cross and then you do. And it’s all your fault Tommy.
@Stormsmama
I don’t understand the “sexism” label thrown at those who point out a 35? year old man’s relationship with Swifty as cringeworthy. Up to now HER OWN self created image is that of a 15 year old girl with cheesy, petty songs aimed at ex-boyfriends for her 11year old pre-teen fans! Even her adult and Mommy fans use the “she’s only a little girl” defense whenever anyone calls her on her B.S. Whether Tina Fey, Kanye, or music critics (forgot she also wrote a petty song for them too).
Clooney and DiCarpio’s dating behavior gets laughed at plenty but are never considered cringeworthy because they date young woman who present them selves as ADULT WOMEN, of adult sexuality and adult behavior. Swifty even at age 26 sells herself as a teenager with teen-like behavior. Please let us retire the word sexism when people refer to her realistic image of herself. Also wasn’t it only a few months ago she did a loved up photo shoot on the beach with Calvin?
@ cyn I hear ya! I comfort myself with the old adage that even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day … 😕
Good god. Aruba?
OMG. The woman has 2 Emmys for Pete’s sake, he should know her name.
Could’ve been auto-correct. Damn nuisance, except it just helped me spell nuisance… It has it’s uses.
I read your name, and heard the Muppets’ Swedish Chef in my mind!!
Not really. It’s a deliberate mis-spelling, and part of his attempted baiting/trolling ‘strategy’. Sad w*nker that he is.
Calm down, Piers. It’s Hollywood, not global politics.
Ha! I find all three of the insufferable.
As do I! yet here I am…
He’s changed his tune, he was defending Taylor a week or so ago.
I’m beginning to but into “this is the filming of a music video” his age alone makes me think this is some kind of PR move. We shall see.
I don’t want him to be Bond as I am a Craig Girl. As for Piers, dislike dislike
I found Piers’ diatribe somewhat entertaining. The fact that Piers is getting all riled up over an actor’s overexuberant display of the loves over his 15 day sweetheart is pretty funny to me.
Yeah the I <3 TS shirt was a bit much, but whatever. I doubt it will have much effect on his career. I mean, the article talks about Tom Cruise, but Tom Cruise is out there still doing leading roles in movies.
One of the few actors that can still carry films on his own, even. Something newcomers can only dream of.
And I think people mock Cruise more because of Scientology than that couch jumping. The couch was a one-time deal that sometimes gets brought up. Scientology is here to stay.
+1, I don’t care if Tom Cruise hops on another couch, the main issue with him is $COS$.
Yeah, I have to say if Cruise just did the couch jumping thing and wasn’t involved in CO$, we probably would have just laughed about it and moved on. Boyish exuberance is funny but not that memorable. It’s the couch jumping as a manifestation of his intense personality, which is also deeply enmeshed in a creepy cult, that turned people off. The CO$ thing was really getting sketchy at that point, and suddenly Tom ripped off the mask of normal and revealed a maniac to the world, if just for a few minutes, and we were creeped the hell out. That’s why that incident was such a turning point in Cruise’s public image. Not that it seems to have hurt him much, he’s still carrying movies and being best bro-dogs with the CO$ leader.
The thing is Cruise coasts on his prior reputation. Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, etc. Even on that he is pretty much stuck in action blockbusters. When is the last time he did a prestige picture? It’s been YEARS.
Hiddleston has nothing like that reputation to coast on. He’s Internet famous, he’s Loki, he’s never opened a movie to anything substantial. When you’re trying to build a reputation doing Kellan Lutz level stunts seems…ill advised.
But Cruise was a leading man BEFORE Katie Holmes.
Yes. He stood to loose more but he didn’t.
Hiddleston’s got only his Tumblr fans to loose and those aren’t enough to make him a leading man, so in truth he looses nothing. Now of course if we get a new weird pic every day for the next three months and he screws up on Thor 3 set, than he could be damaged, I suppose. But if his reputation of a hard worker stays intact after Thor 3, he’ll be fine.
Far too sensible Crox 🙂
The whole T-shirt wearing was discussed on This Morning and one if the hosts, Philip Schofield said he’d spoken to someone who knows Tom very well who said “it’s not in his nature” to do something like that.
Sexist much?
Had to scroll back up – “sycophantic wuss with women”. Ugh.
Right?
IKR??? Irreparable damage to HIS career, not hers. She’s behaving just as silly, but she can’t help it, she’s a woman.
Piers, it’s 2016. A man can publicly declare his love for a woman without being called a ‘gigantic, toe-curling, insufferably infatuated and sycophantic wuss with women’. Being in love does not make one a wuss. It’s ok to show you have feelings- even if you are man. Especially if you are a man.
That said- yeah, it’s all a bit much.
But cutsey and silly Is her career. I didn’t take that part as sexist because she’s pulled him into her world, not the other way around.
Not to mention she isn’t an actor.
Being cutesy and silly and overdramatic has damaged female actor’s careers. (Anne Hathaway comes to mind) because it eliminates some of the mystique needed to believably watch the person in new roles and not constantly be hit over the head about their real life personality.
Someone below said it and I think it hit the nail on the head perfectly. It’s not about ‘love’ it’s that we’ve been here enough times that we’ve stopped believing on a certain level that ANY Taylor Swift relationship is real. So when a 35 yr old man signs up to be the Prince in a popular 20 something female songwriter’s fan fiction, it comes with much head shaking and predictions of career doom.
No, Tay Tay will come out of this stronger than ever– her career and her image are built upon this stuff. Her demographic is very young, and they *love* this. She has fodder for her next album, everything is right on track, AND she gets to have the perfect revenge on her ex.
Maybe so but it’s still laughable to see an almost 40 year old man acting like a teenage school girl.
@Miss Jupitero-
This is the only thing that I find cringe- worthy… that as a man in his mid- to late- thirties (depending on how long TayTo last), he will be subject to her revenge lyrics.
Gah.
Please don’t call a 35 year old man almost 40 What. Time passes quickly enough without zooming over half a decade.
Piers is sexist but so are most people, audiences and industry decision makers. I read a piece a few months ago about when Benifer 1.0 was so damaging for Ben and the writer argued it was because that type of coverage “feminises” a man. Thats why none of the other internet bfs like Gosling or Tatum court this type of cutesy coverage. They may toy with it but its always clearly tongue in cheek and never sustained. Tom is doing what Ben and Cruise did, going in with a sustained campaign that takes itself way too seriously. It makes him look silly in a world where men are expected to be either too-cool-for-school or jokey jokesters.
Sure it is very problematice advice but its also sound advice for the world Tom myst survive in. He needs to cut it out ASAP.
It doesn’t make him look feminine. It makes him look ridiculous.
Yeah. It makes him look even younger than she is. He’s acting like he’s about ten years old. I mean, his face and haircut and ridiculous poses make him look like a stupid, nerdy little kid, but this is taking it too far. What a Hiddiot.
–TheRealPinky
@Pinky, you are a genius! Hiddiot is right up there with Extraosity, and is my new favourite word for the embarrassment that is LEGS>
Yep, I was actually right with him… up until the point he started throwing around his “real man” BS. Though it is interesting to witness famous men shaming other famous and popular men for not conforming to blatantly sexist ideals. I’d like to know why Piers Morgan is so freaking affronted by another man not following what amounts to unwritten man code? Perhaps Piers should try being the one sliding down a gigantic blowup slide in the Hamptons with 19yr old models (and one very very distressed looking Ryan Reynolds) instead of harping on Tom’s man “cred”.
Tiddles over-the-top right-out-of-the-gate relationship may damage his image but not because of his misplaced machismo. It all just screams scripted PR stunt, and poorly scripted at that. Tom is a very talented actor, but this is just cringeworthy in my opinion. Not because “a real man” wouldn’t behave that way, but because a talented 30-something adult shouldn’t undermine his credibility with such a juvenile PR stunt. Its tacky as hell.
Plz, he is a white me actor and he will be okay, also why does his fan think Taylor is forcing him to be in a relationship with her. It does not help her image at all.
It is confusing what it does for her other than keep her from being single and songless.
The 4th of July installment of this ‘dear Jackie’ picture album was a set up too far.
12yr olds are less embarrassing.
Every new picture brings more mortification on his behalf. How will he pull back from this??
I agree. My husband would freely submit to castration before he’d go out in public with an I (heart) bluhare t shirt on. And I think that would have also been true in the heady early days, although back then I think he might have at least thought about it before he said no or it had a terrible accident with the lawnmower.
Seriously? An “I <3 [your lover's initials]" t-shirt may be embarrassing (for some reason), but castration is permanent. Your man would seriously rather lose his testicles than wear an "I <3 [your lover's initials]" t-shirt?
That was hyperbole to make the point.
ETA: Ha, Kai! I should have let you take this one!
ETAA: No apologies necessary at all.
It’s called hyperbole Trixie.
Edited: sorry bluhare … we posted at almost the same time.
I don’t see any way this almost non-stop, three-week juvenile jaunt will be erased from public perception, even if it ends right now or is later framed as some sort of hoax/video.
I can’t make the connection between the actor onscreen and this strange “I heart TS” PR parade. I’m confused. If he wanted Bond he isn’t going to get it now. Agree with Piers – it’s on par with Cruise’s couch jumping…the actor we love onscreen does not match the real person.
Yes, but it’s fantastically funny, right? It’s making me happy!
It’s honestly not come as a surprise, though, has it? He’s always had his sights set on a career stateside and the status/ranking he wanted was not coming with the previous branding of thespian gentleman. Presumably, he’s decided to sacrifice stature in the UK theatre world for name recognition in the States. That aspect of his reputation will never be pulled back in snobby Britland, but does it matter if that branding/reputation was only ever a stepping stone in his mind anyway?
Wow. It’s good to read about the ‘fun’ aspects that make you (Sixer) and others laugh and shake their heads in glee, but in one paragraph, Sixer, you have delivered a more damning verdict than Piers did in his entire essay.
“…he’s decided to sacrifice stature in the UK theatre world for name recognition in the States. That aspect of his reputation will never be pulled back in snobby Britland…”
Ouch. I think that will matter very much, ultimately.
That pretty much sums it up for me, Sixer. It’s all about branding and stepping stones toward…. this.
I think the Dragonfly Meltdown is primarily because so many of his fans thought that the old “thespian gentleman” brand was the Real Tom, and now that is being blown permanently out of the water.
And yes, it is fantastically funny!
I started looking at the pictures as a distraction from ongoing family matters, but now i’m so mortified on his behalf that one would think it were me or a good friend in his place. It’s horrible.
I really hope it’s performance art on his part because i can’t think how else he can walk this back.
And i agree about his exchanging his thespian reputation for American recognition.
Yet Henry Cavill, who barely had a reputation in Britain, managed to pull the plug on this sort of shenanigans in days, before it permanently damaged what reputation he had.
Gosh can you imagine the sort of ribbing Tom will get the next time he is in a rehearsal room in London? I’m already imagining the witty putdowns from Ian MacKelkan or Rupert Everett.
Taylor has always been a tween, so she loses nothing here.
I really, truly, honestly, love Tiddles. It’s funny. The only thing funnier I can imagine if it were to be Prince Harry and Swifty! And LEGS can do whatever he likes, whether it’s true love or a PR fauxmance or a combination of the two. As can Swifty.
It’s also true that Britland is overly snobby about this sort of thing. And, if I’m perfectly honest, I don’t really approve of that. It’s still true though. And LEGS knows it to be true.
So he really does know he’s burning a particular part of his reputation on the UK side of the Pond. I’m not American nor involved in any way with Hollywood, so what I don’t know is how much this whole Tiddles thing will burn a serious reputation on the US side. I’m seeing conflicting opinions about that. But perhaps he doesn’t even want to be seen as a serious actor anywhere. Perhaps fame and big box office movies is what he wants. Don’t know. But more Tiddles suits me!
But I agree with LAK – the only risk is on his side.
Sixer, interesting perspective, maybe he doesn’t value his rep in the UK as a serious actor despite the “it’s all about the work” comments.
Isn’t the US press ribbing him as well, and serious publications like the WSJ? I’m also a Brit but I got the impression that they are taking the p as well, even though there’s a different celebrity culture.
God, @LAK, what I wouldn’t give to watch THAT show: “British Putdowns,” starring Sir Ian MacKelkan. With special guest stars Rupert Everett, John Cleese, Sir Ben Kingsley, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Helen Mirren, and Dame Judi Dench. The topic of this week’s show? Tom Hiddleston, aka Milquetoast,
–TheRealPinky
Harry would never!!! Take it back, Sixer, right now!!!
I agree with sixer. Good luck to him if this is what he wants. I have my doubts that he will become a big a list leading man. He seems not to know where he fits. I think he could become a very good supporting actor. This quest for Hollywood leading man glory appears delusional and vain.
Haha @ bluhare. It would be fantastic if he did, though. I would die laughing even more.
Becky – no idea what his end game actually is. But he’s not stupid and he knows the world of British theatre and media as well, in fact much better, than I do. Whatever it is, I hope he gets it. But he won’t be the subject of any more fawning articles in the broadsheet weekend supplements or get an automatic love-the-luvvies reaction to his next theatre role, if he ever gets another prestigious one. I don’t say this because I approve. I say this simply because it’s the truth of snobby, elitist theatre and media in Britain. How this stuff quite works stateside, I don’t know. I’m not American and I don’t know the way it all works well enough.
Yes, Hiddleston’s association with Taylor Swift definitely raised his profile. He’s gone from “Internet famous” and known for playing Loki to being known as Swift’s latest boy-toy! Rumor has it that she’s going to accompany him to Oz during the Thor 3 filming. That could prove problematic if the romance/showmance/fauxmance and attending paparazzi feeding frenzy interferes with production OR Tiddleswift overshadows Hemsworth (Pataky) et al. Much as his coworkers like and respect Tom, I think patience will wear thin after weeks/months of a continuous press feeding frenzy.
Sixer, I remember you commenting about the snobbishness of UK theatre on a prior post and I wondered if that would hold true for those that have worked with him in the past such as Branagh. Is there no loyalty there? I thought I’d read somewhere that Tom and Ken were talking about Much Ado at some point in the future.
My suspicion is that his TayTo shenanigans wouldn’t impact any desired work on Broadway, but that’s due to the sheer number of movie stars that dabble in that theatre work in between projects. I think his best bet in HW is a good, memorable TV role, but I doubt that’s what he’s gunning for.
bonzo – I honestly don’t know. I’m not suggesting he’d be blackballed or anything. It’s a U and non-U thing and it’s VERY hard to explain to non-Britishers how it works. I’ve seen people saying but Cumberbatch made a twit of himself, how is this any different? It’s different in a UK poshie context because limousine liberal nonsense and a shotgun wedding with SOMEONE FROM YOUR OWN SET isn’t non-U. Pink tattoos and other tweenie/tabloid nonsense is the very definition of non-U.
I do not approve of this state of affairs. But it is the state of affairs nonetheless. That’s why I say he’s burning a CERTAIN ASPECT of his reputation, not the whole thing.
LAK – help me out? I’m not explaining it well.
Becky–WSJ hasn’t been a serious publication since Rupert Murdoch bought it.
Sixer–weirdly, there’s a quote going around supposedly from a producer on Coriolanus that they “had spoken to Tom, and he said he is just blowing off steam.”
As for the ‘friend’ who said he would never act like that, the statement seems at odds with the Josh Horowitz videos (as a completely biased fan, I loved the first Loki’d video and the slumber party, but the wheelchair/gun Loki’d vid and the ‘party’ scenes with Jessica Chastain went a bit off my odd-meter.)
It also seems at odds with cast party pics and stories, Angry Bird mall riding, and his entire visit to Sydney for Thor:TDW.
Thanks TB, I didn’t know about the WSJ. There were other articles but that was the one that came to mind.
I just had a thought: the person who Philip Schofield mentioned, maybe they didn’t think it was something he would do in his personal life. He has no problem doing skits with Josh Horowitz because that’s creative ie work.
I’m turning into a conspiracy theorist now haha!
It looked like an advert for Abercrombie or Tommy Hilfiger.
Maybe in an SNL skit. Like LAK says each day brings more cringe worthy photos.. I mean come on now the one in the slide with him in front and the ladies like a bob sled team. I wonder if he is going to wake up and be like what was I thinking? Like a drunken weekend gone Hangover movie.
I predict an SNL skit on TIDDLES. Soon.
It reminds me of the Kaley Cuoco / Henry Cavill for-the-paps relationship.
I agree with Kaiser, it’s too much too soon, its like those friends that start dating and make out in your face and giggle too much for no good reason and it’s kinda sketchy because one of them is older and trying to be cool while the other one is and always has been boy-crazy (and you, as the friend, know they’re going to break up, but you feel bad enough that you let them act all crazy and twitterpated and just wait with the popcorn for the whole thing to inevitably implode and brace yourself for the next relationships they both have because they’re both going to be disasters and they’re going to talk about their ex’s for years to come)
also, I just re-read this and I’ve never watched it, but is this how those ‘reality shows’ like The OC and The Hills work?
Is Swift’s ‘real life’ just a reality show to set up each of her albums and put them into context of some sort?
I’m not so sure about reality shows. To me that seems more scripted; people play the roles they’ve been given and producers create drama (set-ups, incentivize snitching/tear downs, turn a blind eye, etc).
I think for Swift it’s less of a set-up, and more that she goes too far too fast, her relationships fizzle out, and then she figures she might as well get back at her ex AND make money off it at the same time.
^This. So much. I’ve been witness to the sparkly cupcake implosion of super fast relationships more times than i care to admit, and this is following the script almost too perfectly.
Normally, I’m the first one to shout “Whatever Piers Morgan says, do/think/believe the exact opposite!”. But, his usual hyperbole aside, he’s not too off-base. I hope they reel it back a bit soon, because honestly. The way this is going, studios are going to second-guess casting him in movies (because all the press will want to talk about is TayTay, not the movies). Icky reality of the Hollywood machine. It’s all great and good if it sells tickets, but not if it detracts from the revenue stream.
I think I need a drink. Gin, anyone?
Well said, MissMerry and Kaiser; this Dragonfly has lost every interest in Hiddles
Any guy hanging out with this ‘squad’ is doomed. Like what are they thinking? both Tom and Ryan are out of their minds to hang with this crowd.
This doesn’t hurt Ryan at all, imo. Ryan is coming off as the good sport husband who is humoring his heavily pregnant wife and showing her a good time. She has girlfriends, they got invited to a party. He didn’t sit in the corner and pout. This whole thing kind of makes him endearing. Am I the only one?
Ryan should be thankful that the one porch photo deemed suitable for posting happens to capture him looking so disengaged.
@OriginalTessa – not alone do I agree with you, I’m not even seeing this so-called ‘kill me now’ grimace on Ryan’s face.
I think there’s a lot of projection going on here, people feeling that he should be mortified because they find the whole set-up mortifying, therefore projecting mortification on what imo is a pretty neutral, not to mention split-second, expression!
Agree with Tessa. If anything, he looks exhausted. He seems a guy who hates the beach and the sun and would rather go for a trekking expedition on the mountains. Yeah, he must be an easy-going guy. Aren’t people exaggerating about this thing? Whether it is fake or not, Hiddleston would make quite a good Bond. Less surly than the actual one.
I dont think it hurts his career at all but maybe the fact that he is the trending meme right now may bother his wife given that they imply that she is overbearing and she is right at this moment trying to sell herself as an action star or atleast as a serious actress.
No I totally agree with you. Ryan looks like a good husband in this scenario. It’s endearing. Actually Ryan/Blake make Tiddles seem even more absurd.
Even if he did look into it, he’s there with his wife, not a girlfriend of what, a few weeks?
It’s embarrassing in the context of his far more private previous relationships and the fact that Deadpool means he really shouldn’t have to stoop to this level of famewhoring anymore, but really pales next to Hiddiot (thanks, Pinky!) and Tweelor’s antics.
Good news for Hiddles: Piers Morgan is consistently wrong.
(That story about the Big Mac was both funny and gross lolol)
Yep when Piers Morgan slags you off, you must be doing something right.
Exactly Shelly & Keaton! Piers recently had some conniption over Susan Sarandon’s bust and if he wants to get in a time machine and go back to Victorian England and stay there (!) I would chip in for it. He’s trying to stay relevant and it’s not worth the pixels or newsprint. Since he won Celebrity Apprentice, why doesn’t he use his expertise and cover Trump on a daily basis? What is his opinion on the new rape case and the 2 RICO cases against Trump? Surely he can use his British “tut, tut, tut!” skills for something more worthy of his time. Or maybe he should take Elizabeth of Windsor’s gentle coaching that we would all be well served by calm and reflective moments. The United Kingdom is not united at all right now, it’s going through honest and valid turmoil and THIS is what he needs to write about?
Honestly I’ve never really liked Tom Hiddleston or got what everyone was so over the top about because he’s really dorky and not much to look at. BUT I really think the interwebs is overreacting. I think he will at least be nominated for an Emmy and may end up long term with Taylor (whether PR showmance or real I don’t know but those two kids are perfect for eachother)and everyone will just calm the heck down eventually, I don’t think he’s ruined anything. Most people didn’t know or care who the heck he was before this.
The interwebs consistently overreact. This is a fun overreaction imo.
Yeah it’s highly entertaining but anyone whose taking this seriously is a dolt.
He’s 35??? I had no idea, that makes this really embarrassing. If this doesn’t work out for him, what will be his next step, dating a Kardashian?
While I think everything he’s doing is childish for sb his age, why would his credibility as Bond be damaged? After all, he’s an actor. He could well be this twee in real life and still be successful at portraying a rough guy on screen… because that is what he does for a living: act. I do not have any strong opinion on him one way or the other, but I guess I could forget about all of this if I saw him offering a convincing performance in a movie.
That’s not how the Bond franchise operates though.
Yeah, there’s a certain level of cool that the actor has to have in order to be given the role of Bond. It’s part of the reason many have said Idris would be perfect, because he already fits the package and ideal of a would-be Bond so perfectly. Hiddleston was a bit of a struggle even without Taylor just going by his looks, now with this its just unlikely to ever happen.
I don’t see how he’d ever be considered Bond material in the first place. He’s too small and nerdy-looking.
Because the Bond franchise operates on a level of mystique. They don’t do thirst buckets
One reason why the privacy-obsessed Daniel Craig is such a good fit for the role. He gets downright surly when asked personal questions, which fits into the Bond mystique.
Must admit I never paid much attention to the work the franchise (this or any of them!) works. I see your point. However, is it really OK to pay attention to the personal lives of the actors? If we all agree to this, wouldn’t we be in a way supporting exclusion from parts in movies based on any other private aspects, such as sexual preferences? Just asking, but then I repeat, I watch films but I am not aware of industry facts/customs
Well in this case they are actively putting this out there. Again if they didn’t WANT to be seen they wouldn’t be. All of the places they’ve been papped at do not have active pap presence whatsoever.
To the second point actors lose jobs all the time based on their personal lives. Personally I don’t see Woody Allen movies because he’s a creep. Lilo stopped getting jobs because she was out of control and on drugs. Sometimes the public cannot separate a person’s messy lives from their movies and execs take that into account
LILO couldn’t get work because she was uninsurable. To get insurance for each project, actors must pass a physical, demonstrate a record of showing up on time so that production is not delayed, and not be in imminent danger of arrest. LILO was failing on all points.
Wearing a fake heart tattoo doesn’t affect insurance
What Tom seems to not understand is that he has replaced dudes like Harry Styles and that Kennedy child. She hasn’t grown up even a little since then so really, he’s dating the same girl that Harry Styles of One f*cking Direction dated and ran from (which wasn’t cool but, you know). It’s not the shirt and it’s not unmanly (because really, Piers?). It’s the fact that he’s being used as a prop in fan fiction. I don’t get it at all. What does he think he’s doing? This is on-brand for her, sure. I love her for it, in fact. But … why, Tom? Tom Cruise worked hard to recover and he kinda did but my god, that was after 20 years of being a movie star.
Also, why didn’t this happen during The Night Manager promotion? I want Hugh Laurie to make fun of him.
Piers Morgan has no right to judge anyone though.
“Tom Cruise worked hard to recover and he kinda did but my god, that was after 20 years of being a movie star.”
Ben Affleck was also a well-established movie star when the JLo thing happened. If I remember correctly, Brendan Frasier made a fool of himself during a time he had a bunch of flops, and his career hasn’t recovered. And at the time, I think he was more famous than Tom.
I’m defending them. How did I get here? Imagine this is 100% real and somehow paps are just… there. Piers is advising Tom that no woman he ‘loves’ (or shows public OTT affection for) is worth putting a role at risk. Gross.
If Ben Affleck can win an Oscar after Gigli, and Tom Cruise still brings in box office hits after couch jumping… I think Tom Hiddes will be forgiven a rub on tattoo IF he can produce a hit (monetarily or critically). Right now that big hit he needs (w/o Thor) still eludes him. Kong…. is still a question mark.
Ben Affleck won an Oscar for producing Argo. I think it took directing/producing a lot of gritty movies for Ben Affleck to overcome the Bennifer 1.0 disaster.
It took Ben Affleck a decade to recover his reputation before anyone would let him direct and even so it took a few directing gigs before he won that Oscar. Let’s not forget the image make-over with the minivan majority wife and kids.
Tom Cruise was fired from his studio deal, flopped a few films (VALKYRIE, LIONS FOR LAMBS) and struggled for years until he re-packaged himself with aide of Publicists trained by his previous dragon publicists via aggressive, cutesy family pap pics of him, Katie and Suri. Not to mention an apology tour and toning down all his antics to extent that he doesn’t give interviews any more, just like in the old days with dragon publicist.
He only bounced back with MI and that was years after a very aggressive image make-over.
Yes, Cruise was fired from his studio deal but not because of Katie Holmes.
It’s been said over and over here… You can’t compare Hiddles to Ben A and Tom C because the latter two were A-list actors when they had their big PR fails. Tom is at best a C-lister so it’s harder to climb to the top of the heap than it is to be the comeback kid. For most people watching TayTo, this is their first impression of Tom.
Ben has real talent as a director and that along with the image upgrade of marrying Garner helped him recover his dignity — until nannygate at least. I think he can recover from that too with appropriate penance and another great project to direct.
I haven’t watched a Cruise film since the 2nd MI film but it sounds like he still has BO draw for his action films despite the Scientology and absentee dad reputation. Perhaps he’s seen as a victim whose brainwashed by CO$ and not blamed as harshly for his bad parenting. Who knows.
Yes but the salient difference between Hiddleston and the actors/producers you mention like Affleck and Cruise is that both were established in Hollywood and had many hits under their collective belts. Affleck, for instance scored both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting (which he shared with Matt Damon). Affleck also had quite a few hits under his belt (e.g. Shakespeare in Love, Sum of All Fears etc) and had also branched out into directing/producing/writing BEFORE his career took a nosedive with clunkers like Gigli and his reputation took a hit with his romance with JLo. Ditto for Tom Cruise who’s had an amazing run in Hollywood by any standard before the CO$ and couch jumping pecadilloes eroded his brand.
Both were much more established and therefore had a lot more to fall back on than Hiddleston. While an accomplished stage and more recently TV actor, Hiddleston has yet to prove to the studios that he can carry a big film as a leading man. Swift is a MUCH bigger name, with a more recognized brand. These shenanigans can damage his career. I’m not saying it’s irreparable, but it does negate a lot of the great PR and boost he got from The Night Manager. The other downside: Swift is a much bigger name and a more recognized brand. Hiddleston does raise his profile — although not in a good way — BUT he also takes second billing and a backseat to HER money and fame. It’s clear that Hiddleston is following Taylor around and that she’s calling the shots. That certainly doesn’t make him look like Bond material or an Alpha Male by any stretch of the imagination.
Forget about Piers Morgan — even legitimate news organizations have been dragging him. You know it’s bad when Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher are shading him. Hiddleswift have not been pictured with any of his friends; his father stayed away from the staged pap stroll and most tellingly, the silence from his co-workers has been deafening. It also doesn’t help that the first reaction from many of the Swifties was: who’s the old balding guy that Taylor’s dating?
Of course, Swift could decide to bankroll his career and buy him his own production company and fund movies for him to star in. Stranger things have happened.
You said it better than I. Agree 100%.
His father lives a fair distance from Aldeburgh. And of course his parents are divorced. But you never hear about his dad anyway.
I agree. The problem is that it’s not coming across as a balanced relationship, and Tom appears as a creepy old dude that’s being played around by a pop star.
He always pretended to be better than that, and suddenly he’s just another one of Taylor’s human accessories.
Best synoposis I’ve read of the Hiddleswift saga.
Piers also just came out with an article stating how Taylor is a perfect feminist, so I’m going to hold off on my agreement on this. I think his career might take a bit of a hit right now (just because it’s so fresh in people’s mind, and it’s all so in your face), but I don’t think in the long run it will cause much damage. It’s just an embarrassing relationship, not a crime.
I don’t know much about Piers Morgan except that’s he’s English(?) and has show somewhere. I dunno, but I do think he’s correct. This whole spectacle is so high school.
Just check his wiki page – he is not respected in the Uk, even lower than most tabloid journalists.
Piers Morgan needs to shut his stuffy pie-hole and mind his own dam business!
This will hurt Hiddles as Loki, possibly, but I agree I don’t think Bond was ever happening.
I’m seriously starting to wonder if the pregnancy rumors are true, which is why they’re building this up as so serious, so fast. That would be something to see.
It pains me to say this but I agree with Piers, Tom is in his desperation for fame in the US is ruining his acting creds. He’s a great actor who can have an amazing career in HW without the PR stunts. A serious actor getting involved with a tween PR stunt Queen is just asking not to be taken seriously.
It also pains me to agree with PM, but in this case I do as well. (even total asses are occasionally right)
I normally think of Piers as a rampant complainer of just about anything. However, I agree with you. Piers (though a bit over-dramatic) is right. Tom is screwing with his image.
Yep was not expecting to agree with Piers but found myself nodding “yep” to his whole diatribe!
I don’t know, I actually think Tom was trolling when he wore that t-shirt and that fake tattoo.
that’s what I thought
Gosh, I hope so!
I do too! I think they’re snickering about it while the Internet goes insane.
That’s exactly what I was thinking 🙂
This. I saw it as a two-fingered salute to the world.
Then again, that may be because I can’t imagine how anyone would do it for any other reason.
Ok. I can precis that for you. Piers said,
“LEGS has gone TOWIE and I don’t like it.”
Or,
“LEGS has turned into a male WAG and I don’t like it.”
I am a fan of brevity. In my world, LEGS has gone full TOWIE and WAG, and it’s the best thing of 2016.
😂Why do you call him LEGS? Is it because of his chicken legs?
You know what’s better than LEGS gone full TOWIE and WAG?? You and your squeeing of it all! It’s the most positive you’ve been about TommyAnnE in years. 🙂
You are the anti-Piers.
I agree with both of you, if that makes sense.
Hann – I like leggy men. It’s as simple as that. I used to call him PuddleTom because he reminded me of the leggy marshwiggle in the Narnia stories.
bonzo – don’t forget my love of the JArthy. I hope she’s still waiting when this Tiddles thing goes tits up!
Ahhh…The JArthy, our favorite fan trolling gf. Shall we click our heels three times in hopes she’ll make a triumphant return? He may need a mature professional to help him recover his dignity after TIDDLES has imploded.
I am 100% behind the return of JArthy! Loved her. That picture that surfaced of them in Fiji, or where ever it was, was gold. Especially since people were trying to say it was his sister or cousin or anyone one but her.
Unless his goal is transitioning to crappy rom-coms, it’s definitely going to hurt his career. He had credibility as a theatre actor and he was making interesting film/TV choices. Now all anyone’s going to see is the old loser trailing after a teenybopper idol. It’s embarrassing and completely at odds with his career choices.
It’s like when Affleck did that terrible J.Lo video, except so much worse because he didn’t have nearly as far to fall.
I’m not sure how he bounces back. He’s not that famous and not yet established enough in the theatre and indie world, so this is going to be the thing most people know him for, being TS’s boyfriend. It’s a tiny half step away from being a Kardashian.
Yeah, Ben Affleck didn’t have as much to fall. He just had an Oscar.
Ben was a joke in critic circles before Jlo. Everybody believed that Matt wrote that script and Ben just tagged along, so much so it was a constant theme in comedy sketches about them. The Bennifer business just took away all he had left, his box office potential.
An Oscar he followed up with an incredible string of absolutely terrible films like Bounce, Reindeer Games, Paycheck, Pearl Harbor, The Sum of All Fears, Changing Lanes, Daredevil, Gigli, Surviving Christmas, Jersey Girl and Man About Town. He wasn’t at all respected as an actor. Even now the kudo’s mostly come for his directing, he’s not making anyone’s best actor lists and I’m guessing he’s not getting anything like first look at the best dramatic scripts given he still chooses to make dreck like Runner, Runner.
Tom isn’t a famous but he did have far more credibility as an actor.
He may be named Tom, but a Hanks or Cruise he’s not. Or a Ben level of fame (before J Lo). At least not in the US.
I knew little about this Tom, but now all I associate with him are a bad Notebook re-enactment, fast-paced summer tour and this silly party.
I hate to say this but I agree. I mean, if he ends it now he can just say it was a fun, short thing and get with a Margot Robbie type. He is making a huge mistake. Plus, the guy is 35, not trying to be an ageist here but he’s being a little immature by moving this fast with a girl he just met. TBD.
I am now desperate to see Daniel Craig go out in a white t-hirt that says “I heart P.M.”.
Piers, Piers, Piers, PIERS! You don’t understand sh*t. Tom Hiddleston’s manhood is in no danger. There are as many ways to be a man as there are men in this world, so no worries.
I’m still not sure whether or not this is just an elaborate media stunt, and at some point Ashton Kutcher may jump out behind a Rhode Island rock and scream: “PUNK’D!”. Could be. What I AM sure about is that Piers Morgan doesn’t understand sh*t. Attacking Tom Hiddleston’s masculinity is unnecessary, and it says more about PM’s beliefs than it says about Tom Hiddleston as a person. Is Hiddles’ behaviour over the top, is it very much in-your-face, is it different from what we’ve come to know from Hiddles? Yes.
Does it compare in any shape or form to the crazy that is Tommy and his destructive, mind-controlling, human rights violations-comitting cult? No.
Take a seat, Piers, and learn about apples and oranges. Oh, and cucumber, while you’re at it.
Standing ovation! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you! 🙂
Tbh I agree with him, though screw him for not being able to get the lovely Uzo’s name right.
I happened to be flipping through TV with a friend when they showed the ‘I Heart T.S.’ shirt and with an eyeroll she said, “God can you imagine when he’s sitting down for a serious movie interview and they pull out these photos and ask him if the shirt was printed or handmade?” and it just made me realize take away Bond, take away this moment and THIS will be his big interview material.
Barely concealing their snickering as they flip through the photos and poke at him for appearing like a lovesick loon. It’s just not going to work. There’s a certain level of cool professionalism that ALL actors need in order to make their transition from movie to movie seamless and credible. When I look at Tiddles I can’t picture him being offered a serious role while these photos are being passed around.
Tom had Thorki and stripper!Loki fanart pulled out on him during interviews. Having those pictures show up during a Q&A sounds like a walk in the park, tbh.
Am I the only one who thought that the “I heart TS” shirt might have been a joke? I think their endless pap walks are insufferable, but I seriously doubt Hiddles career will take a long-term hit.
I took it as a joke too.
But Piers wouldn’t be caught dead in such a girly (?) shirt. He has to maintain his credibility … Oh, wait …
I also think it’s a joke. I think he wore it knowing full well how ridiculous it was but did it anyway because he was having fun and he knew it would make people laugh. That endears me to him. The dancing bear at it again. Did he expect the media to go apeshit over it? I don’t know about that, but he can act the complete fool sometimes. See his Robert de Niro impression in front of Robert de Niro.
Tom may be erring on the far side of ridiculous at the minute but he’s still essentially a reasonably decent, nice albeit needy guy. No one could ever accuse the oily, obsequious Morgan of that.
Dear God people, it’s just a bloody shirt. I get people making jokes about it because it probably was a joke. But three articles in the telegraph so far and think pieces about a bloody shirt? I’m more embarrassed for the press than I am for Tom and Taylor.
Agree.
Seriously. Is there no other news?
Not in the Tom Hiddleston thread because it’s the Tom Hiddleston thread. Perhaps you should check in at CNN.
I was referring to Piers Morgan not having any other topic to discuss but I suspect you knew that.
Agreed. The press are losing their heads over this. It’s pretty spectacular.
Part of me wishes that Tom’s friends, all those people who have said so many nice things about him, would band together to support him and all wear t-shirts that say “I <3 T.H." Like, all of the Avengers in a group photo that is then disseminated on Twitter and Instagram.
I want him to make that t-shirt into a meme, meaning he should wear it and pose with:
* A book of T.S. Eliot poems.
* Trey Songz
* Tilda Swinton
* Robert Downey Jr. dressed up as Tony Stark
etc. and so forth.
@OhDear-
Best idea ever!
Agreed the press and Internet are making a much ado about very little.
when legit journalism hangs on tweets and instagram photos debating over someone’s entire career in the balance over the frikin shirt and fake tat, you know journalism is no longer legit
I agree. The media has exploded in the most ridiculous, head-scratching way over this. I don’t understand it.
Insofar as the British media is concerned, it’s inverted snobbery. They are delighting in the fall from classy by a poshie.
After several “whaaaaaat????” moments, all i decided to take away was the impression that Piers is probably a somewhat misogynistic, self-loathing closeted man who has a big crush on Daniel Craig, and maybe a now waning crush on Hiddles.
( shrug emoji would go here if I knew how to type it)
He’s gay, she’s just a beard. 😂
She is a hundred times bigger, more famous and wealthier than him. If there is bearding; he is doing it for her not the other way around.
She’s a lesbian, he’s bi, both are famehungry.
For those saying it’s just a t-shirt: Ask Julia R. how a message t-shirt can live on for 15 or more years. A Low Vera, anyone?
The TS message shirt is silly versus JR’s passive aggressiveness, yet it will be a reminder of a larger, very public, very silly chapter. He’s not exactly a Tom Hanks, who might be able to pull off a stunt and have the public just momentarily laugh and forget it before his next movie role.
I had to Google “A Low Vera” to find out what that’s about. I haven’t seen that thing mentioned alongside Julia Roberts ever (not saying nobody does it, but it surely isn’t common). So if your point was that it caused a long term damage on her career, I respectfully disagree.
Furthermore, the message of both shirts is very different. But I think if Hiddleston wore “I beat you, Calvin” instead, he’d probably be praised, not mocked, because guys can be aggressive, but not publicly affectionate.
the reason why A Low Vera didn’t get Julia Roberts immediately consigned to the Hollywood dust pile was that she was the tippy-top of the Hollywood A-list and its biggest female star.
Tommy boy here is no Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise.
Julia’s shirt stunt has been mentioned on nearly every post I recall about her on this site, not to mention even her niece’s at times.
Anyone who doesn’t recall that pap stroll and shirt (which was just before social media) likely also does not remember how significantly bigger her success was prior to it. Anyone talking about her last role? That movie vanished in a hurry like several others.
And, to gently repeat what I said in my original post, Julia’s was clearly passive aggressive (plus it was part of a larger personal matter that played out quite publicly). Tom’s is silly, but it’s part of a larger, rather showy personal relationship.
Julia had a lot of ground to lose, which I believe she did, given the momentum her career once had. Tom gained public awareness, but likely lost momentum for a broader range of roles. He’s certainly not following the acting approach that C. Bale does — Don’t let the public know a lot about your personal life, as it can affect perception in a role.
I wasn’t reading Celebitchy till rather recently, so I indeed don’t know what was said about Julia here, but I am familiar with her films and her career (more than with Cloony, Cruise, Hiddleston, Swift and others mentioned here, except maybe DiCaprio) and I’ve never seen this brought up before. I guess I mostly read different sources.
Julia Roberts took time out to have babies. That, not a t-shirt slowed her career
Her family time was a convenient reason or excuse after the affair / Vera mocking fallout that tarnished the ‘sweetheart’ image. Many A-listers keep steadily working after marrying and having children. What projects she did were far from the successes she had in the 1990s.
Even she and George together apparently could not carry Jodie’s project to any apparent acclaim.
MSN has a recent chart of Julia’s box office results, pre-2000 and post-2009, and for whatever reason did not include Brockovich and Notting Hill. Her results were 200M-plus in the earlier period, and are now typically 10-15 percent of that (average 20-30M). The worst of all was Mother’s Day, released this year and reportedly only bringing in 10M.
That t-shirt opened the doors to people coming forward and admitting that she was extremely unpleasant behind closed doors. Demanding, picky, treated the underlings badly. It opened some eyes about her vs. her PR image.
I agree that “it’s not just a t-shirt”. It would’ve been funny if he was a teenager, but at his age and so soon after getting together is comes across as desperate.
Swiddles need to leak a sex tape of themselves dry humping on a giant paper mache effigy of Piers Morgan, like yesterday!
Bye the bye, shouldn’t Mr. Morgan be delivering commentary on Brexit rather than mourning the lost of Tom Hiddleston’s posh balls? Would that not be a worthier exercise for his exquisite mind?
An exquisite rebuttal Plum and the mental image of Tayto doing just such a thing, is oxygen to me.
Thanks Shelly. Oxygen is good. ;>
Dude, chill, it’s just a bloody shirt, y’know? 😂😉
Also: Is it terribly wicked of me to look forward to the Grand Tiddles Breakup? I’m curious as to how they will manage their respective careers afterwards.
NO, the T-Shirt is NOT OK….it is totally ridiculous. AND, I actually agree wit hPiers Morgan that he is doing irreparable damage to his career. This guy is almost 40 years old and he is running around with a bunch of 20 year old girls wearing an I HEART T.S TANK TOP…yes, a tank top…it is creepy and bizarre and really embarrassing for him. He went from 100 to Zero in my book in two weeks….kaka.
He lost me at what we refer to as “wife beater”/tank top.
I love how 35 is “young and a lot ahead” before swiddles and now it’s “he’s almost 40 and should know better”. They’re both born in the same decade. Chill.
My brother is 35 WOULD be weird for him to be hanging around with 20something year old girls. Don’t tell me to chill..
I don’t know – it’s what, an 8 year age gap? It’s not like he’s 35 and she’s 21… I don’t see how it’s THAT big of a deal.
@Erinn, pretty much. I’m in between their ages groups and plenty of my friends date anywhere within 5-10 years of each other.
I’ve commented above about (not) calling someone of 35 almost 40. On those grounds, Taylor is almost 30. There is nothing remarkable in any way about the age difference. I suggest you let your brother sort out his own love life Kimma.
I don’t think he was every really in the running for Bond, and I think he knows that.
I think he actually is shooting for the Tay Tay millions and a more sugar-coated popstar brand– because he is certainly blowing his old “Eton/Cambridge/Rada, I am all about art” brand out of the water.
The problem I have with him is what I have had all along: he just seems very inauthentic. All PR veneer of one sort or another, and not much there there. This kind of seals it in a very dramatic and over the top kind of way.
I think his career has been taking a hit all along. He will always be rich, privileged, and well-connected though. With Tay Tay he can buy not rent a Jaguar.
Now would SOMEONE release that photo of him in a start spangled jumpsuit?
Star comment.
Sad but true Tom must be getting paid allot of $$ to allow his brand to be racked through the mud like this. Wonder if he will get Bond after this.
He was never “all about art” actor. Or, alternatively, he thought everything is art. He loves blockbusters and wants to be in them and has never denied that. The Hiddleston that is now no more never existed at all.
People act like he can only be one thing. He was always twee and eager, but he’s always been a serious thesp too. Suddenly, dating Swift, he’s fake, and all PR, and presented a false image. Er, no.
@jammypants Right? You’re speaking the truth. The lack of acknowledgement that people have multiple facets to their personality continuously confuses me. He can be all of these things at once. He’s human. And seeing “Tom in lurve,” or whatever this is, I think only goes to show that he has always been rather forthcoming about his personality, flaws and all, lol.
@KC people see what they want to see, then get mad when he makes life decisions for himself that literally does not affect their daily lives whatsoever.
What would a Mr Swift career look like? What would be the roles?
That’s honestly a genuine question because I don’t really have any knowledge of the movie equivalent of the pop world.
A bunch of C- Hugh Grant rom-coms? I know Tom has repeatedly said he wants to do one.
I guess. Well, y’know, if that’s what he wants, why ever not? He would be like Hugh Grant, only in American films?
And Hugh Grant got arrested in the act with a prostitute – and not the high end, expensive escort service type. Yet his career survived.
Yes. His career as a solely rom-com actor. I don’t think anyone – least of all me, and not even Piers – is saying the LEGS career won’t survive or even prosper.
But this tween fanzine nonsense *will* cause long-term damage to his carefully-crafted thespian reputation on this side of the Pond. He can say goodbye to fawning and deferential broadsheet supplement spreads and many other career-boosting perks he’s enjoyed as a gentleman thespian. I complained about this favouritism given to poshies in Britland while he was behaving to type and benefiting from it. I disapprove equally that he’ll stop benefiting from it now he’s behaving in a clearly non-U fashion. My disapproval of the snobbery in either direction doesn’t change the facts on the ground.
Like I say, it’s impossible to credit he isn’t aware of this and whatever it is that he is doing, it hasn’t been a conscious decision.
My theory is his PR team floated the bond rumour as a way to get him attention in America.I don’t believe he was ever a serious candidate. Sam Mendes comments more or less confirm this.
Miss Jupitero: You nailed it: Tommy-Anne has his eyes firmly fixed on the prize – Taylor’s $250Million bank account. Otherwise, there is NO WAY he would be following her around the globe and engaging in this OTT teenybopper pap frenzy. Forget about feminism. For the last five years since he split with Susannah Fielding, Tommy-Anne has played coy about his love life and kept all of his less famous GFs under wraps, even when it was obvious what was going on. The Arthy got jettisoned for good after Bora-Bora pics hit. And why EO agreed to be undercover after she had seemingly normal relationships out and about with prior BFs is beyond me.
Tommy’s worth maybe $20M and Taylor is worth >$250M, has mansions and luxury apartments in four or five states, ferries him around in her private jets accompanied by her body guards. Tommy-Anne is a bird in a very gilded cage. And he’s loving it.
I can’t stand Piers.. during our 4th of july party we talk about everything.. and someone mentioned Taylor and Tom.. they the men thought he shouldn’t be Bond. Not the Shirt really; but how he just seems so less some how.. and that is not a good thing for him. I personally have no problem with him and Taylor dating.. not my business..I just don’t get the IN YOUR FACE all the time. Are they trying to be the Great Romance.. because it doesn’t feel that way.
Hopefully this is real and will last. otherwise it will be a bad mark on them both IMO
My marvel fanboy husband, who knows nothing about celebrity gossip, saw a headline about Taylor and Tom. His comment, “Loki snagged a superstar”, nothing else about this coverage has ever reached him or crossed his mind.
I think he’s partially right. He has damaged his rabid fan base irreparably, that much is true. Like someone else on here said, it’s not global politics, it’s Hollywood. I still question WHY at 35 you would want to carry on like this in the public eye…he’s acting like he’s never had strong feelings before. I just sort of want to shake him and say “Dude, you’re having a summer lust-fling. Chill out.”…but for Gods sake, he’s a grown-ass man, so I guess we all just have to watch in horror. So yeah, partially right. Hell, as a gossip writer, I too am really enjoying this lapse of judgement on both of their parts. While I can’t believe that I am agreeing with ANY part of ANYTHING that arrogant gas bag Morgan says, I guess even a stopped clock is right twice a day….
It’s not the fling itself that is questionable. Stranger pairings have come and gone. It’s the 12yr old, very public antics from 2 grown ups. If i recall, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez occassionally acted this way, and everyone shrugged because that’s what teens are supposed to do.
Now if this ends in a marriage, people will be OK if alittle nutty – see Pam Anderson/Tommy Lee public rollercoaster of a relationship which was equally public, butnif it’s just tween, summer fling…..oh dear!!! And especially him!!!
I was thinking that. His only way out now is marriage – and a stable, lasting one; not a BOOM splattered all over the press meltdown, Brand/Perry style. They need to be Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward to live this down.
That’s a big ask, in context.
I’m mean because I find this whole thing hilarious. It’s a nice change of pace, in a month with Oscar Pitorius and Johnny Depp ghouling up the gossip pages.
I know I am being a Pollyanna about this, but can’t we just let two adults fall in love? Yes, its probably crazy love, the kind that is way too intense and can’t last. But everyone deserves to fall and love and be happy.
I realize a lot of the uproar is about how calculating and controlled Ms. Swift is regarding her image, but still, falling in love feels amazing. And why should we begrudge someone their own version of happiness (reasonable limits apply).
When your mental age is 13-15, yes. Yes we can comment on this RIDICULOUSNESS.
I read just now somewhere that Tom told one of his producer friends he was just “letting off steam.” Yes that’s exactly what you say about your so called serious relationship. Also they’re apparently moving in together because they “can’t be apart from each other.”
I think it’s open season on them at this point, there will be made up sources and quotes everywhere to gain clicks and who will know what is true?
Piers Morgan is an ass in the world and is just piling in with comment about the latest water cooler moment. The UK media often help build up ‘celebs’ and knock them down, lest they get too comfortable on their pedestal. It gives them more to write about and then there is always the option to redeem them later. Tom has a rather large target on his ample forehead right now and he drew it himself.
I agree…all these “sources” and “quotes”… smacks of media desperation to run any kind of story with a new twist. If the two of them would just get on with the business of being in love, getting to know each other, and letting their relationship develop as would any other non-celebrity couple (and many celebrity couples) have, much of this non-stop speculation about the legitimacy of their relationship would end. I get that privacy is a relative term for famous people; but these two have egged the media on with pap strolls that have been clearly orchestrated and the organized release of professional photos taken at a personal party.
You mean Tommy-Anne is moving his three changes of clothes and shoes into Taylor’s five mansions, right?
Lol, I guess he’ll become a Nashville resident. Will she make him sell his London house, or let him keep it as an occasional weekend getaway cottage?
This IS about branding and image and right now, TH has become the subject of widespread ridicule. Even if it’s not true, the perception in respectable media that “talks have closed” on the Bond role because of this Tomfoolery isn’t good for his career. Piers may be a bombastic, self-important twat, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in while. TH allowing himself to be used as a prop in TS’s fairy tale has already cost him his dignity and possibly the Bond role (which may be the best thing that comes out of this. I hated Bond for him).
#FreeLoki
MoochieDad has already said to me, “Guess no more Loki for you?” Yeah. Loki would have none of this shit. I get he’s an actor but my God, have some self-respect.
Actually, Loki would have all of this shit. That’s his MO.
Piers nailed it. I’ve moved on. I’m not saying I won’t see his movies, but as a woman 2 months older than Tom, I could not possibly be more repelled by this behavior. He fell off that pedestal I put him on.
Same here. Even if there was a true romance here – the whole thing could have been enjoyed more discreetly instead of Tom looking like such a putz.
I’m no longer a fan too. He’s even worse than Kim Kardashian.
And that is a strong statement but sadly becoming true by the day. 🙁
Hiddleston looks ridiculous but his career will survive. There are actors who’ve broken laws but their careers survived.
Yes, actors have been in car accidents that killed people, been arrested for a variety of offenses, been raging alcoholics or drug addicts, punched out colleagues or crew members on set, developed reputations for being extremely difficult and yet they get work. But apparently, wearing a t-shirt proclaiming your infatuation ruins a career.
and two consenting adults are now 12
You can survive almost anything EXCEPT making yourself ridiculous. As the movie producer in The Godfather bawled, “He made me look ridiculous and a man in my position cannot afford to look ridiculous!” I guess it depends what Hiddles is after: being taken seriously as an actor and movie star, or celebrity.
Piers is full of shit. But he’s right about credibility.
And look, St Vincent and Ed Sheeran were there they kept a low profile. They did not take part in all Taylor’s photo ops. If zayn was there, he too stayed away from the professional photographer.
It was possible to be at this party without jumping in front of the camera. The people who did part take are the ones that are known to be thirsty, cara, ruby, Gigi and yep Tom.
Tom isn’t a victim caught in the net of cruella de Ville. He made this choice.
I actually agree with Piers here. Although clearly the arm “tattoo” isn’t permanent, the concept and traipsing around town together is too much. It’s too much in the sense of Gwen and Blake. We get it —your love saved you. It burns bright and pure and not for the media at all.
I think if the first pics we saw of the couple were these beach party shots we would think they were cute and let it go. But it wasn’t just the beach, or Rome, or Nashville, or the concert or the two walks with his mom and sister. It’s all too fast, too over the top, too photographed, too perfect to not be heavily scripted. I think they are together for real but that reality seems to play out for our consumption.
How old is Swifty now, mid 20’s? I’m stunned anyone finds her giggly, immature routine attractive. She is like nails on a chalkboard.
Maybe TH realizes that it would be more lucrative for him to be Mr. Swifty, than to be James Bond…Swifty is loaded!!!!
Well that would say something unfortunate about TH, as he was born into wealth, owns a home in Belsize Park, and could hardly be in danger of starving on the street.
@MrsBPitt: YESSSS, he wants to be Mr. Swifty!
Tommy-Anne is rich by the standards of everyday people but he’s not mega-rich. Swift is. Tommy-Anne is bought and paid for.
He definitely could be following the career plan of one fellow thespian Mr, Edward C. Cibrian.
Goodness gracious, the reaction to their relationship is the most over-the-top aspect of this whole situation. He wore a tank top at a party, not on the red carpet. He has had serious roles and takes his job seriously, but he was never this buttoned-up actor everyone seems to think he once was. Are we talking about the guy who just recently reported the weather as Loki? The one who did a De Niro impression in front of De Niro? The one who did that ridiculous “Loki’d” short film? Have I been transported to an alternate universe? This guy has always rather openly been uncool.
apparently what they do on their own time somehow changes them professionally, which is utterly ridiculous. They are literally doing nothing more than kissing, walking, holding hands, and having fun in the photos. So much offense. So fake. Seriously, the outrage is ott.
The over reaction and threats of dire consequences for what is basically just a couple going about their business, albeit in public and at breakneck speed, are hilarious. Of course, if you go back and read the threads from the TDW tour, Tom’s career was never going to recover and he would never be a serious actor because Shakespeare to ducks, Cookie Monster, and bad karaoke in cars.
The whole time making sure a photographer is on hand and the pics get to the popular press, and they’ve still only been dating for 3 weeks.
It can be argued that certain actors’ appeal is based on not knowing about their private life. Tom is ditching that image, which he’s taken a lot of care to build up over the last few years.
@Lilac, breakneck indeed! but the outrage, can we save that for the real horrors of the world? Not two people who don’t have a PDA filter.
@Becky, true, but he hasn’t really spoken about his relationship. We are getting snapshots of moments between them. This doesn’t exactly stitch the whole picture together either. I think we are moreso seeing the narrative from Taylor’s Lisa Frank goggles. Is it all too in your face? Very. Is he getting much needed down time after working nonstop? Yes. He’s been single for years and he’s getting laid. Good for him. Is he going along for the crazy ride? Definitely. Does he really deserve so much backlash over dating her? Not really.
@jammypants You bring up a point a lot of people keep missing—they haven’t even commented on their relationship! This very lengthy narrative that the media/onlookers are constructing is going off photos only. There have been a lot of photos, certainly. But they’re just photos. People are taking this and running with it in some crazy ways.
I think what a lot of people are seeing is staged pics and PR overload, all calculated – so much so that serious press like the Guardian and WSJ have made scathing commentaries on it – and this has damaged his image. It looks like he’s sold out and has turned into a huge famewhore.
I say this as someone who always thought his pr was dodgy, pointed it out last year with the infamous pap outing (which some posters insisted was them just going out to dinner). I thought his date at Wimbledon in 2013 was pr too (re gay rumours). I could see him have a high profile gf but not at this level, so highly publicised and staged.
The vibe I get now is this will damage his reputation as a serious actor, and I don’t think he’s leading man material either so potentially it could affect his career at least in the short term.
@jammypants, very true. Neither of them has spoken about their relationship at all. We agree there are many far more outrageous things in the world.
@Becky, the WSJ on several occasions interviewed me and then attributed my comments to someone else. I don’t take the WSJ seriously.
@lilac and yet people are so bitter. Your cocktails might need a spruce-me-up recipe for the salty.
Exactly KC!!! This dude had no dignity well before Swift and was regularly beloved for it now everyone is shocked because he’s behaving pretty much the way he always has. Like a hammy, dorky, bloke who has some talent despite all the extra.
@Luca76 The confusing thing is that even though there was some secondhand embarrassment involved, people generally liked him for his silliness because despite the hamminess, he seemed like a nice enough guy and his enthusiasm was rather endearing. Now it’s suddenly hugely offensive, over-the-top, and a career killer. I know it’s trendy to make fun of Swift—that’s the only factor that has changed here, and that’s apparently the problem. I know there are multiple factors that go along with that—their little world tour, their age difference, etc. But even so, this media reaction is totally absurd to me. Pretty sure Tom has been quoted as saying he is easily mocked because of how excitable and showy he can be. So…this isn’t new.
They’re just having fun. Doing a pap walk or two doesn’t mean they asked to be shoved down our throats 24/7 by every media outlet known to man with think-pieces (seriously, what’s that about?) and the like. This is getting so tiresome, and not because of Tiddles.
Well Tom Hiddleston’s fan base is the same people who went in on Benedict Cumberbatch’s wife Sophie who is the most milquetoast and boring socialite on the planet. Of course they were going to freak out that Taylor stole their imaginary boyfriend.
@Luca76 True. I have little interest in BC and only heard things here and there about the pandemonium that went down regarding his wife, so maybe why this over-the-top reaction is so weird to me, haha.
KC, it wasn’t just a pap walk or 2 though it was a whole tour. That whole week in Nashville Taylor made sure there were pics taken at nearly every outing, sitting by window staring at the camera etc.
And this is what you sign up for when you get involved with Taylor, it’s PR overload, she’s done this before, Calvin was an exception. Once you start this type of strategy all the other press will latch onto it and keep posting articles because it gets them hits.
Well Tom Hiddleston’s fan base is the same people who went in on Benedict Cumberbatch’s wife – I think some Hiddles and C’batch fans would take issue with that. I’ve frequently seen fans of one slagging off the other actor.
Thank you!
Thank you K.C. — I look forward to your comments because you put into words what I feel.
My problem with this relationship is it makes him look like a joke. If they had been photographed from day 1 going out with Tom’s friends at the local pub, West End play, & Wimbledon nobody would be laughing at him. If she really loves him, she should be concerned about how he appears. Also, she is a pop star, her life style is her work. Hiddles is an actor, work is to convince people that he is someone else and his lifestyle should be kept under wraps as much as possible.
I think Taylor narcissism, immaturity and entitlement would explain why she doesn’t give a rat’s ass about how TIDDLES impacts Tom’s reputation. She’s just protecting her own brand.
And Tom is an optimist and may be to busy enjoying his newfound fame to see that he’ll be cleaning up the mess in the end, not her.
But here’s the thing- WHY? Why should she have to behave in a certain way to make sure he maintains his image? Because based on what most people complaining about this relationship are saying – she is acting exactly the way she always acts. HE is the one who is supposedly somehow changing. HE is the one in control of his image. HE is the one who decided to date her. HE is the one who is responsible for all things Tom Hiddleston.
I find so much of the narrative about these two so incredibly sexist. He’s somehow above all of this – and somehow Taylor is MAKING him only hang out with her friends because she’s a naggy naggerson woman just refusing to let him soar.
Erinn, I think you’re reading more into what’s actually being said in this particular thread. No one’s being sexist. Taylor is the one in the power position and Tom is exercising his free will to live in her shadow and have the publicity for their affair orchestrated by her PR team. Tom’s got an agenda that he’s willing to sacrifice some of his dignity for. Simple as that.
And I’d bet my bank account that she doesn’t care what the fallout for Tom is as long as her image remains intact. Each of them are looking to their interests. She isn’t any worse than him in that regard.
It’s simple:
-Taylor- this has been her MO since she turned 18. Date famous guys, dump them, write a song. Nothing new. Her award show antics were starting to be called out in recent years so it was only a matter of time her dating pattern would be too.
-Tom- “nothing to write home about”, private life is private stance. Then seemingly does a 180. The last thing on his list for PR was a high profile relationship. None of you can be that surprised by this. But it is surprising he is doing this with Taylor.
-Both- love the fame and the attention. Tom may not want to be Bond but you all know damn well he loved the attention and this is putting his name out there.
Now, I think I will finish my coffee.
Don’t kill me, but I am rooting for Tiddles. I particularly don’t mind the T-shirt, nor did I even think twice about it. I just thought it was a funny over the top kind of shirt, poking fun at themselves. Then again, I don’t read into this kind of thing like the media does, cause who cares? On a side note, some of these comments are aggravating to me. “Oh you are over 30, you must be in super serious mode! No fun for you!” I am 34 years old, pay my bills, have a career, and do all the “adult” things someone my age is expected. However, from time to time, I like being goofy, dorky, and doing “childish” things. There are times where I get happy, that I do the dorkiest little dance in public, just because I can. Those moments of child-like glee, do not take away from me as a person, just because I am 34 and expected “not to be silly”. And don’t get me started on the whole “Oh he’s 35 dating a 25 year old! He should find someone his own age!” Cause this girl right here, has a serious boyfriend that is 25, and I am damn proud to skip around with him in public as well. Because maybe, just maybe, even in their 30’s or older, a person may not have experienced love that some of you seem to have been lucky enough to have had at a younger age. I hate how society deems to tell you how you should love a person based on your age. Let them love whom they love, the way they want to love.
Bravo Nicole, Bravo!!! 55 here and still waiting to find love
I am a Tiddles supporter as well. Almost forty, with my own career, geeky and dorky and probably childish in the eyes of some people I know, but having loads of fun in the process. And my husband, slightly older than me, is an equally fun-loving person that would wear a shirt like that for giggles.
I hope for the sake of Hiddleston’s career that this dies down (for the most part) when he goes to Australia. Not because they’re doing anything wrong – they’re not – but because the media and the public are so incredibly judgemental. They actively want him to fail just because he chose to be “unmanly” (by Piers Morgan standard, yuck) in public.
You’re over 30 and you can’t slide down a water slide! Despite the fact that thousands do daily!
Serious question–how many STDs are spreading around with them? I’m not saying she’s been with a lot of guys, BUT the guys she has been with (i.e. Harry Styles, John Mayer, Calvin Harris who has been with Rita Ora)…umm, don’t have the best reputation and have been with A LOT of women. I hope Tom is safe with her, at least.
Oh!! And one more thing, I would love to be a fly on the wall once he starts shooting with Chris H., Tilda, etc. And I predict Taylor will also visit him on set in Australia, too
Your comment is gross, truly. You hope Tom is “safe with her?” Slut shaming at its best! If anything, Taylor probably has sex with a full-body condom on.
@NONAME Wow, that is… wow. I guess all of Katy Perry, Rhiannna, Madonna’s potential partners better watch out too, because they’ve all had sex with some sketchy people too!
Piers is a professional troll. Taylor is white bread and not someone out to destroy Tom Hiddleston by giving him syphilis.
WOW. It truly amazes me the levels people will go to attack another woman doing nothing but dating.
That’s not why she’s being attacked, dating is the least of it at this point. It’s everything else that goes with it that is making everyone lose their minds – in my opinion.
It didn’t hurt Jake Gyllenhaal. It won’t hurt Tom Hiddleston.
Except jake was already a big star and his stunts with Taylor pales in comparison to this dude.
There was less photographic evidence, true, but there was still “What is Jakey doing to his career?” handwringing and the answer was: nothing. Let’s say Tiddles breaks up by the end of the year (summer). By the time Thor 3 comes out next Thanksgiving, will anyone still care about this? No.
Jake Gyllenhall kept working, all right, but it took several years for his image to get back to ‘promising serious actor status’ which is where he was before he engaged in a cheesy showmance and became the butt of her revenge album’s jokes. As in, it didn’t happen till 2014 when Nightcrawler finally did the trick.
The widespread sentiment among people who followed him at the time was ‘ewww, a country music star writing cheesy boyfriend songs is a huge downgrade from Reese Witherspoon and Kirsten Dunst’ and her subsequent antics did not help.
teacakes – right, forgot about that! And that was about time Prince of Persia bombed too.
It’s easy to forget those gaps, just like LAK reminded us how T. Cruise had to slow his roll after the couch jumping. Jake was definitely higher on the ladder, and he did slip for some time.
Jake had two well received stints on Broadway following his Taylor time, and while you may not have noticed until Nightcrawler, everyone else was on his “comeback” train as of Prisoners/End of Watch in 2012-13. At best you could say it took him two years to “bounce back”, except within those two years he did his first Broadway run and made both movies that signalled his transition back to “serious” actor. I just don’t think dating Taylor Swift is the Doom of Valyria for actors.
I had no idea until much later on that Jake had had any involvement with Taylor Swift. Choosing bad films is what affected him adversely. Prince of Persia can’t be blamed on his relationship status.
I just wonder : if she’s some kind of jinx to all the men she’s dating.
I would agree with Hann here. From what I remember that was nowhere near as over the top.
Also Jake Gyllenhaal and Hiddles are not (and were never) in the same league. I wouldn’t say Gyllenhaal is a movie star per se, but he is well known, a very versatile actor, critics love him and I think he can take his pick when it comes to scripts. Don’t think Hiddles is/was ever in the same position.
I agree Jake was more established with the general public, and having (much) less photographic evidence makes a difference. But people still bring up Taylor Swift to Jake: Howard Stern was asking about her just last year. So it’s always there, photos or no. I just don’t think career-wise, Taylor Swift is going to do anything for or to Tom except maybe make a few more people remember his name. It’s not the end of his career. It’s never the end of anyone’s career.
Algernon – oh I’m not saying it’s all doom and gloom for Hiddles! Just that when you compare him to Jake, they never were in the same position (I thought both End of Watch and Prisoners were really good).
Hiddles can bounce back but as he is not as established it will be more difficult and he (and his team) will have to strategize carefully if he is after blockbusters and prestige movies (and you know that’s what they are all after).
My original point was, assuming this is a summer fling/short relationship, by the time Thor 3 comes out this won’t be relevant at all. I don’t think Tom has to strategize any harder than he already is. We’re never really going to know what impact this may or may not have on his Bond odds, but that ship seems to have sailed before all this anyway. I think Tiddles, in terms of career, is being blown way out of proportion. The impact will be that Taylor will get an album out of it (love songs or break up anthems, dealer’s choice), and a few more people will know Tom’s name. I don’t think it will have any relevant impact on his career, long term.
I agree with you that the Bond ship has sailed long ago (if he ever was properly in the running). But I have to disagree and say I think this will definitely impact his career (short term at least). In the UK (as I think Sixer mentioned above) there is a certain level of elitism and snobbishness in the media circles. And these are TOWIE levels of shenanigans. So yeah, in the UK he’ll definitely feel it.
As far as the US goes, that I don’t know.
Prince of Persia hurt him, not Taylor Swift. As other pointed out, he goes back and forth between Broadway and films. He has had at least 2 to 3 movies out per year. A lot of the movies that he has taken on are either not mainstream or didn’t make a big bang since he leans towards darker roles.
Prince of Persia bombed before he got involved with Taylor Swift if I’m not mistaken? So probably all of it didn’t really help. But again different league of actor in my opinion.
Prince of Persia came out in May of 2010. Taylor was in the fall of that year I believe.
I re-watched the film the other day. His acting isn’t terrible but I still hate the British accent and the story line was…well, it’s based off a video game.
Piers Morgan is one of those people who, if he doesn’t like something, that only serves to make me like it more.
So. TIDDLES 4 EVAH!
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Sorry, I have to with Piers on this one.
The whole thing seems contrived. I keep getting the impression (from the photos) that he’s not as into her as she is into him. The shirt seems like it’s supposed to look twee but actually comes across like product placement. It may as well be I Heart Coke.
I have not commented on posts about them because it doesn’t really amuse anymore. I just roll my eyes and move along and have not even opened the posts. But today, I essentially agree with piers Morgan and that disturbs me.
And because I am a cynic, I believe that when people who have serious careers decide to engage with media at this level, in this thirsty famewhoring context, sooner or later it will come back to bite them. When it happens, I’ll grab the pop corn. Can’t wait to read Tom complaining about the attention when he finds out that it doesn’t benefits him like he thought it would.
I have to kind of give this point to Piers. I mean, it’s going to be really really hard to even try to be James Bond when you are more famous now as Taylor Swift’s New Boyfriend. Seriously. Let’s just take a look at at the fact that gads of people had NO IDEA who Hiddleston was until he started cavorting with Swifty. I still find that utterly unbelievable, but it’s apparently true – no one has ever seen “Crimson Peak,” or “Only Lovers Left Alive,” and apparently NO ONE KNOWS WHO PLAYS LOKI, for God’s sake. However, if his “rise” is literally being the newest arm candy of Twee Taylor, how is he going to fare as James Bond? He’s definitely not going to prevail there.
I think there is an entire world out there that just isn’t that clued into the celeb gossip culture. I saw a tweet from someone at the beach on the now infamous day, and I swear to God she was excited that she saw, “Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris holding hands.” Part of me thought she was being ironic, but I doubt it.
Most of the world is not clued into celeb gossip culture. Yes, it is a big business but so is NASCAR and I can’t tell you a thing about NASCAR.
Lol why did anyone ever think this guy is authentic? This is a guy who dyes his ginger hair blonde and uses fake tan. He is desperate for fame and Hollywood stardom.
He dyes his hair?!
I think he didn’t look desperate because he acted all dorky, but taking that away I suppose he really does seem to love the attention.
I’m gonna need to unlike him on FB cause the latest is AWFUL. Something was posted about Night Manager and it is all comments on TS. I can’t. I’m go hit up my Renner and McAvoy because these two, I think can get me over any remaining Hiddleshat I might have. I am so down two party with those two.
Maybe it’s a good move for Tom.
Relative to Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Riz Ahmed, Ben Whishaw, Cillian Murphy, and Benedict Cumberbatch I wouldn’t put Tom Hiddleston in the top ranks of UK actors.
If he can trade his smaller fan base for Taylor Swift’s larger one that’s great for his career.
it would be more delicious if Swiftness behind ended up with Gerard Butler instead…. oh the tears. 🙂
I completely agree with piers. Tom is a laughing stock right now and barely anyone will be taking him seriously after this mess with Taylor.
Well he has a point. What next Tom? Are you going full on “Say Anything” and stand in front of Taylor’s house with a boom box to declare your eternal love?
Also Taymerica should be banned what an awful misapropriation of America’s name.
I’m almost scared to comment because I did yesterday and I really am not a huge fan of either and this will be more Taylor swift defending in a week than time
Spent listening to her music but I just don’t know why this is all such a problem? So they are feeling in love and it’s too soon- ok well don’t look? And what is too soon? And what is too much? I think we have all been a little crazy in love at some point. I know I have been a straight up loser about my now husband (like a crazy person jealousy level that was. Not. Cute.) in the grand scheme of things- none of this seems so awful to me
Document every aspect of your life with profesional photographers after weeks of reliationship might be over the top for some of us.
This is Bennifer 2.0 except for the fact that Tom was not as famous as Ben over the in the US. It took Ben Affleck 10+ years for my friends to mention him again and for anyone to take him seriously. If that happens to Tom, he will be 45.
Ah, pretty sure Gigli and Jersey Girl were the one-two punches that did it for Ben Affleck. Unless Tom and Tay are planning on making a couple of really bad movies in the immediate future, it’s apples and oranges.
Even though I’m not all that fussed about Tiddles (I still like Tom and am ambivalent about Taylor Swift–although I do think that it is an odd pairing), I did briefly wonder today who is going to be his Jennifer Gardner?
I can’t with the dramatic reactions to Swift and Hiddleston. It’s as over the top as everyone accuses them of being.
what a sad commentary on our society, that being in love (real or not) could potentially damage a career beyond repair.
The same society that rewards rapists and abusers with awards, public defending, and the potential for so much money it makes my head spin.
it’s truly despicable.
In tears from reading a relatively old interview (as in a couple of weeks ago, but soooo much has happened since then!) that Spencer Pratt of all people did with Cosmo mag about Hiddleswift. This is the best gossip in a long, long time. #untzuntzuntz to this endless party.
“She met the next James Bond with his British accent, and he was talking all smart to her, doing his special dance moves, and then she came home to Calvin being all, ‘Untz untz untz, can’t talk right now; I’m making a beat,’ and she was like, ‘Uh, this isn’t working. Don’t touch my cats.’ “
Hahaha.
I recognized him before this and appreciated him in Thor, once I realized who he is. I’m a 34 year old gal who does go to the movies and now I think more of him… I think he’s a cutie and would go see him in anything 🙂
I can believe I’m saying it but Piers is spot on. These photos were the real nail in the coffin http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3676105/Internet-reacts-Ryan-Reynolds-facial-expression-gets-trapped-Hiddleswift-zone.html
Well, this says much more about Tom than it does about Taylor, so yeah, I hate Piers, but he has a point.
In regard, to the I heart TS tshirt–love it! English humor, very cheeky! Congruent with his adorable playful sense of humor. I see it as a brave man standing up to the cynicism of the net! A real man stands strong with the woman he loves and vice versa (be it after 3 weeks to 3 years–time is irrelevant with love). Respect, which often requires defending your mate as well as your relationship from the onsayers is the foundation of love that evolves into a healthy & stable relationship. Something most of you hateful imbeciles know nothing about! Thus, your cynicism is probably why you remain single or allow yourselves to be used & abused continuously!
Love seeing a healthy earnest relationship built on admirable characteristics, instead of jealousy & viciosness. Maybe this is why TS & TH have been as successful as they have been professionally. Maybe it’s time, they discover as well as deserve such success in their private lives!
To Hiddleswift ignore the haters and LOVE, love like no one is watching! Show the world what they all wish they could have! Because the world is watching, including the haters…teach them how it’s done! Show them all how to love, especially the haters!
TEAM HIDDLESWIFT!
He’s known her for 5 minute, let’s not get carried away. Btw It’s not English humour sorry. I totally believe he was taking the Micky but he also knew he would get tons of attention so yeah same thing.. Btw Who trolls the media and paps? Kanye, Kardashians, Lohans that type of media obsessed people. Great company to be in.
Strange you say that it’s English humor, and not ‘humour’ which makes me think you’re not British but are happily categorizing their humor.
Stranger still, a whole lot of British people commenting on the shirt do not find it funny or cheeky.
I don’t really care find him to be extremly overrated in looks and talent. He’s like a poor mans Michael Fassbender. I suspect that’s why he never made it big and has to resort to this spectacle. He’ll probably be a laughing stock for a while but he’s white and rich so he will probably be fine,
I like them together. Both tall and lanky goof balls whom seem to have fun together. I don’t know if the relationship is real obviously but I hope it is.
LOL. Sure, now that Piers is anti-Taylor, he’s right? And worth listening to? Geezus, the anti-Taylor hate is crazy. It wouldn’t be so bad if any of the standards were applied equally to other celebs.
Hmm. At first when she got with T.H. I was thinking, Taylor Swift again with the older men, why? I don’t get her taste. But I think his shirt and tattoo(?) Makes him kinda hot! Now I can see more why she’s feeling it! A man in love, a man who loves you and shamelessly like that, is hot to me. Its not unmanly, i feel like its only real alpha men, or men comfortable in who they are, who love their woman like that. And I’m goddamn 40.
This just makes Piers seem kinda sad to me. Like he needs to fall in love.
I’m with you 100%, Jen! And I’m over 50, as is SOTotallyB.
Having a face painter paint a tattoo-like red heart with your girlfriend’s initial on your arm is hardly a sign of weakness, or in any way being less than a real man.
My oldest sister’s husband does stuff like this all the time. He’s an overly sentimental goofball. Sends her flowers for no reason Has had t-shirts made proclaiming his devotion to her. My oldest sister is probably the least sentimental person on the planet and gets a bit embarrassed by it all but accepts that this is the way her man is and admits that there are worse things in the world than a husband who is an overly sentimental and demonstrative goofball.
Precisely. It’s actually really sweet.
I think they honestly make sense. They both seem kind of hyper, annoying, geeky people. More power to them.
I think the most interesting thing about all this is that Elizabeth Olsen was really the one who didn’t want media exposure.
She is nuts. A forever teeny bopper trapped in an adult body..I’m surprised her displays of immaturity aren’t affecting her career.
It wouldn’t when the majority of her fans are 12-15. She’s at their level.
My question has been — how long can she maintain that demographic? Will she still be catering to rainbows, girl squads and fairy tales when she’s 40? I thought she might be rebranding within the last year, but this has shaken that thought.
No, the countdown’s started for her and she’s worried. Her Debbie Harry, Vogue rocker chick persona last year and this was her attempt to age up. It didn’t work so she’s reverted back to her Forever 21 persona and is trying to re-strategize.
That’s why I think the people who say he is gaining a new fan base are a bit off. His name is in the press for sure, but other than Loki I don’t see the appeal of TH’s resume/CV to tween/teens/Taylor fans.
I think at some point she will have to rebrand herself as pop stars age out of their current fandom and need to engage a more mature audience. She’s doing fine as is, but it will be interesting to see if her next album goes in a new direction. Based on what we’re seeing the past couple of months, I wouldn’t expect it to be a more mature one. 🙂
That jezebel article in which publicists give their thoughts on TIDDLES brought up some interesting points. She’s due to release a new album in September, if she wants to be considered for Grammy nods. Tom’s got Skull Island promo at Comic Con just before and Emmys that same month. I’m expecting an engagement by then to ramp up the PR as they promote their work.
Tom – please go to Australia already.
Wimbledon first. Then maybe Paris. Then perhaps a hot air balloon ride over her Cali mansion…photographer in nearby balloon.
I’m confused. Sure, Tiddles seems a little silly, but not career-destroying. I mean, what do some silly pictures of him giggling and frolicking with his girlfriend have to do with his acting? Could it mean that he’s kinda silly? Sure, so what? Even if it’s just a PR stunt, the whole thing is so innocuous that I doubt people outside of the niche group of celebrity gossip followers care or even know about it. Outside of this site and a few others like it, I haven’t read nor heard of anyone breathing a word about it. It’s just… not that outrageous. Nobody is getting hurt. Honestly, it’s barely eyebrow-raising.
He’ll be fine. If his career sinks, it won’t be this that does it.
People on this site have been predicting the imminent demise of his career for years.
It’s not career destroying in any way. If people who are into dog fighting, abuse their partners, are known divas, are horrible to fans, etc. can keep their careers, his career will be just fine, even with a girlfriend that isn’t well-liked by some.
I wanted to watch The Night Manager, however, now I am not sure I could watch it without thinking about him sliding down a giant inflatable slide at Taylor Swift’s house wearing a ill fitting tank top with that ridiculous message. Part of me thinks he wore it because he knew he would be photographed and instead of people finding it funny, it made most people want to vomit. I wonder if his management has told him to turn it down a notch. As far as Taylor Swift’s maturity goes, this is an adult woman who posted a photo of a cake which said “one year,” referring to her anniversary with Calvin Harris. I am convinced she is an emotionally stunted fifteen year old inside an adult woman’s body.
Lewis Hamilton looks mixed race to me. Have you ever seen her hook-up with anyone not lily white? I can’t think of any.
The video in DM is very interesting. I’ve seen Tom give better piggy back rides to fans!! And he looks not particularly interested in her whilst she looks more fond on finding the photographer. Their behaviour is contradictory to the photos they are releasing. Odd.
The charade has gone on for too long and at this point I think it’s sad. It has helped Tom as not a lot of people knew who he was before this but to me he doesn’t belong in this “category”. Tom is not a pretty boy, he looks older than his age, is not fashionable, and his strengths are how eloquent he is, his brainy side, classy, gentleman type. This makes him look like a middle age man in crisis thinking he can be a part of an Abercrombie and Fitch add. It’s painful to see…I’m not against this, but if it’s eye candy I would
Much rather see Chris Evans frolicking in speedos.
Also, does anyone know if Luke is still his publicist? Or does he have another agency and hence the new image??
agree about the video – it’s weird as he doesn’t seem into it and when they run back to the house, he is jumping ahead of her scrambling up the rocks and she can barely keep up with him. not the behavior of a guy who “hearts” t.s. i’m not invested in whether they’re real – had no prior opinion on TS but i admit i would click on TH stories after they got so many comments here and found myself debating internally whether he’s hot or not. this spectacle has resolved the question for me 🙂
i find the whole PR aspect of this fascinating. it’s so Over The Top, yet they aren’t trying to temper it even when faced with ridicule. i’m assuming what people are objecting to are not the PDA but what appear to be totally FDA (fake displays of affection).
I think he realizes he is not attractive enough to become bond….and he isn’t. He met Taylor and saw the perks that come along with being her boyfriend (17 million dollar vacay house-I doubt he can afford that) and decided to embrace the crazy for the perks
And her very best friend just got engaged…I bet Taylor and Tom will be engaged VERY soon…
To be honest he isn’t that far wrong, who isn’t looking for the vomit bag when assailed by this nauseatingly staged public romance everytime we click on a gossip site, pass a magazine rack or open an on line newspaper. No unseeing it now after being beaten over the head with it for so long, it WILL follow him around like Tom’s couch jumping act.
They are taking her jet from RI to? Who is running Taymerica!?
He’s a 35 year old man acting like a teenager. Urgh I agree with Piers
Tom Hiddleston has always been the guy who wanted to be invited to the party. That’s part of why I’m not bothered by Tiddles/Swoki/whatever – it just makes *sense* to me on a fundamental level that these two would wind up together. The internet created a version of him in their minds that erased this aspect of his personality, and now they’re upset about it being on display and ruining their fantasy. If this winds up “ruining” his career, I don’t see it hurting him anymore than the inertia he was experiencing already. Hiddleston, for all his charisma and talent, may not have that IT factor that allows for mainstream crossover. Maybe he’ll always be a character and stage actor. Maybe this will actually launch him and give him the name recognition he wants in America. Who knows?
“The internet created a version of him in their minds that erased this aspect of his personality, and now they’re upset about it being on display and ruining their fantasy.”
Pretty much.
TnT are here in LA. If there”s not enough room at your pad Tay for all those body guards let me know!
I think it’s fabulous that Hiddleston is acting this way and not taking himself too seriously. What he’s doing his harmless. Acting is just a job and in their free time actors are entitled to be as silly as everyone else.
what is this pierce morgan? is it one of the brand name of toilet tissue?
Don’t know about pierce but Piers Morgan is a shitbag of the lowest order and is universally despised in the UK.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3716151.stm
https://www.byline.com/project/11/article/255
@spidey lol I thought there was some mistake about the name. so I tried to correct it 😉
so this thing is really poop mopper 😀
Serious question…..what are the “dragonflies”? I’ve seen several references to this in posts regarding Hiddleston, but I don’t know what it means. (I’ve been wanting to ask for a while now)
Tom did a Flaunt photo shoot back in 2013 (?) in which he wore a jacket with dragonflies on it. Kaiser began calling his CB fans here the name and they owned it as a distinction from the Hiddlestoners. He’s sometimes referred to as Lord Dragonfly as well.