When then-Amal Alamuddin got together with George Clooney, Clooney’s publicity machine went a little bit overboard trying to sell Amal to the world. I like to think of it as The Unicornization of Amal. It wasn’t enough that Amal was a smart, educated, beautiful lawyer. She had to the brightest, most exciting, most educated, most fashionable and most magnificent creature ever created for the man who was the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor. The Unicornization of Amal was silly, but many people bought it. The whole thing made me sort of dislike her and it made me think George was thirstier than I had previously believed.
But what if one of the unintended consequences of The Unicornization of Amal was that the whole process hid an uncomfortable truth: George and Amal are kind of ill-suited for each other? She’s a smart, educated lawyer in London and he’s King of the Hollywood Bros. What do they really have in common? What do they have to talk about? And what if Amal is kind of tired of the Hollywood Bro Scene?
Since marrying George Clooney in a lavish ceremony in Venice, Amal Clooney has gone from rubbing elbows with the world’s elite to hanging with her hubby’s chowderhead friends. And while many would assume Amal would fit right in, insiders claim she’s already grown tired of the Hollywood social scene she feels is beneath her.
“Amal is one of London’s top attorneys,” claims a source to Star. “She’s highly educated and accustomed to spending her time with judges, doctors, scientists and writers. To go from that to hanging out with people like Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, two of George’s good buddies, just isn’t her style.”
Amal is also fed up with George’s habit of having his friends tag along on their vacations.
“She doesn’t want to hurt George’s feelings but she can’t stand being around ‘guys’. She struggles to find anything talk about with them.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
What’s funny is that none of George’s previous girlfriends ever complained about those endless vacations with Cindy and Rande. None of the other girls were bothered by the dudes-only motorcycle trips and the Just Bros Basketball Games. Why was that? Oh, right. Because all the other girls didn’t have anything else going on. They were easily amused beck-and-call girls. Amal is different, isn’t she? Isn’t that what The Unicornization was all about? George finally got married because he met “his equal,” a woman with her own life, her own interests, her own friends, her own powerbase? And what if a woman like that actually finds George Clooney kind of boring and vapid once the bloom’s off the rose?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
This will hurt taterho, I apologize in advance, but I would lose my mind if I had to spend an entire vacation with tatum.
Oh, I don’t know. It might be tolerable if I could get him to continually dance for me.
I could tolerate it, if Channing were alway nude…sorry, dirty old lady here!
that marriage doomed.. guess she doesnt want to be a bearde that bad
No offense taken Kiddo. Can you imagine? Slobber and think naughty thoughts for hours on end…sure. But spend any length of time with the real thing? I imagine it would involve a lot of fist bumps and an official chest hair shaving ceremony.
Well…that part might not be too bad…
My husband and I occasionally do the joint vacation thing, usually with family or very close friends, but it’s not our favorite. I think the most relaxing vacations are spent with just the two of you. It would bother me if my husband always wanted to have his guy friends tagging along. I think it says something about the relationship, too.
I think there is some truth to this story. Amal didn’t know GC well, if at all, before they married. She only chose to know the generous “gentlemanly” side. She didn’t think through what living with him would be like.
They may have shared interests, politics/causes etc, but GC has many issues . A teenage immaturity fueled by alcohol is just one of them. Not great marriage material for any woman.
@GNAT…the first trip my husband and I had taken, since our Honymoon, alone, by ourselves, no kids, no family, no friends was awesome! On the second day, I looked at my hubby and said “I really like being alone with you”, he said “I know this is great”! You don’t have to worry about what anyone else wants to do, what time they want to do it, etc…now that I know how nice “just the two of us, is” I try to limit “group” vacations. It would especially drive me nuts, if it was me, my husband, and a group of HIS friends! Plus George is known as a practical joker, I can’t imagine Amal constantly worrying if George is going to jump out of a closet to scare her…its fun to imagine, though!
Exactly, MrsBPitt. It’s so nice to just do exactly what you want to do with your favorite person. There are positive things about friend and family time – of course – but I only consider it a true vacation if we are just the two of us.
My ex, btw, NEVER wanted it to be just the two of us – he always needed a big party going on, and it made me feel like my company was not enough for him. (Well, turns out it wasn’t). So I especially treasure the fact that my husband loves to be just with me.
We take an annual trip with a bunch of families and after about 3 days of socializing I’m fried and hitting the road, whereas everyone else extends it to a week and is wanting more. I chalked it up to being an introvert.
Forget the Tater, imagine spending a vacation with Jonah Hill.
I don;t have that kind of imagination.
You’re not already imagining Jonah in those shorts Bradley Cooper wore in American Sniper?
I saw that image last week– a guy strutting around the pool! And by his swagger, he was playing “Can’t Touch This” in his head.
Still makes me feel like I need to spit up a hairball.
I’m trying, and I’m imagining lots of time hiding in my hotel room with a book. Which isn’t that awful of a vacation, now that I think of it.
What did she think he was when she married him- a neurosurgeon? He hardly kept his rat pack exploits quiet – although I don’t suppose she is a People magazine kind of gal. He does seem to be an intelligent guy with political interests, but don’t marry someone Amal in the expectation their whole character will change post- wedding.
@ Bridget~OMG, LOL, GREAT POINT😆
I don’t get why Amal just can’t invite HER friends for one of the vacations with George,
Bring George into HER circle of friends for a vacation.
Does she have her own circle of friends, or is it just her boss who she was close friends with?
We’re any of her friends at the wedding , girlfriends or guy friends even or couples from Amal’s law school days etc?
Maybe she’s too ashamed that she’d have to introduce them to the dense potato.
I’m not entirely sure this story is even true, but to the extent it is, Amal’s friends probably don’t have that sort of free time. George is seemingly on vacation for much of the year, and Amal’s professional friends likely have careers and may also have children.
She actually has a lot of female friends, the wife of one of her lawyer co-workers, a quite well known comedienne in her own right, was chatting on one of the morning shows in Australia and she said she was a very nice person, very friendly, articulate and fun, buddies with most of the other ladies and wives of men at the law firm. Interestingly when talking about her husband she said that human rights lawyers don’t actually make that much money, its the firm who takes the lions share. So maybe one of the reasons for marrying George was his bank balance and that £10million home he just bought for her on the Thames.
I would imagine some of these Hollywood types aren’t that interesting in real life so there could be some truth to this story. But then again wouldn’t she want to get away from those high powered types on vacation, maybe just talk about simpler things? So if she was with scientists, lawyers, judges, etc., if they’re not talking about business, aren’t they just like most other people? This marriage obviously is not going to last forever, but if this is true, it’s too bad they’re already having problems of this nature.
LOL @ KIDDO “Maybe she’s too ashamed that she’d have to introduce them to the dense potato.” LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe she wants her friends to think he’s smarter than he is and it would destroy the illusion. LOVE IT!
Late to the game but this so-called article is simply more subterfuge designed to allay ‘suspicions’ as to the validity of the relationship. Potato head and flounder face aside. She has no qualms whatsoever if it doesn’t have to do with certain predetermined leeway in contract negotiations. They will be the happiest, most loving couple at the Globes and she will win the coveted ‘best dressed’ to boot!
……look through the wedding photos and spot the friends who aren’t her family or sister.
could be Amal’s friends are not keen on hanging out with Mr. Clooney although I think he is quite intelligent and can get serious about issues important to him
Yes Guiliana Rancic is already saying everyone is waiting for Amal to appear on the redcarpet and how she is going to be Best Dressed.
I still believe George’s goal has always been to rectify him being the laughing stock of last years GoldenG , with the joke heard around the world and do to a victory lap in front of a worldwide audience with a wife on his arm,
In one year since Tina Fey’s joke, he has married, the Most accomplished, most beautiful, most intelligent , best Dressed woman in the world according to HIS PR.
(In those Sony emails,IMO, it was obvious he’s someone who worries deeply about how he or his is percieved.)
Maybe Celebrity and George’s money was a huge attraction for her.
She made her bed, so until her contract is up, she’ll just have to deal with his friends.
From what Howard Stern said when he met Amal, at George’s house at a party ,when they were dating, she talked (to Howard) almost an hour (48minutes) about HERSELF, before she bothered to ask him even one question about himself!
Ha, that’s funny about Stern. I think the expectation with celebs is that they will always will the main topic of interest. So probably when the convo was more equal, it blew his mind & he perceived her as dominating it.
From what I’ve heard on a lot of sites, Tatum himself is actually quite humble and friendly in person. It’s Jonah Hill that would make me want to scream.
Unless she SAID this, this sounds like stereptypical ‘anti-female’ tabloidism to me. (evil if she has confidence, evil if she isnt pregnant, evil if shes single, evil if she has an opinion, evil if she has an education but stupid if she doesnt, etc etc)
To be honest, a smart woman has every right to be bored with other people if that is the case. So what?? Women werent put on this earth to make OTHER people feel better abotu themselves. *AHEM*
It’s from the Star, so it’s probably BS.
+1
+2
All true, and don’t forget the tabloids favorite game – building her up to the point where she’s a perfect specimen of every good quality, then ripping her to pieces for everything you were praising about her two months ago. How do these tabloid writers look in the mirror every morning? What a sordid, pathetic way to make a living.
Exactly! It’s all about building them up just so they can be torn down because, lets face it, that’s the “fun” part that sells magazines. It all sounds like complete nonsense. But look at the source. Star Magazine? Pffft…’nuf said.
In this case, the great build up was also assisted by family and friends who went right with the whole ‘on his level’ hype.
On his level, my foot. They are very, very different.
Amen. I’m a freelancer who does a lot of online ghostwriting, and the celebrity gossip stories are often pretty lucrative for very little work (I do all my research browsing CB in the morning, haha). But even when money’s tight, I refuse to take most of those assignments. “Disney Channel” and “sexy” shouldn’t be in the same headline, nor should “pregnancy” and “weight loss” or “Oscar” and “catfight”. They make the easiest money, though, which is why the sexist and perverse angles just keep coming, every time, to every female public figure. I refuse to participate, but it’s clear that a whole industry is thriving because other people don’t mind doing this dirty work. It’s not harmless when it affects the way young people think about themselves and others.
@Brittney B
I hope you know I was referring to the kind of tabloid writers who just make stuff up. I think you can write about celebrities, as they do on here, with intelligence and integrity.
I’m assuming it’s made up. I mean, it’s Star.
YES!!!
SPOT ON TEEHEE!!!!!!!!!! She SHOULD be bored of them….it would be hard to hang out with people beneath your intellect all the time. It’s called being human.
I agree. Considering the kind of stuff she deals with every day in her work environment, celebs bitching about insults and which movie parts they didn’t get WOULD be boring to her. I think she knew what she was getting when she married Clooney (I think it was a negotiated marriage-partnership that was supposed to make him look good and make her rich). But I know from experience that being around 50 year old (ish) men who act like college kids and live the “bro” culture can get boring fast. I feel her couture-clad pain.
Imagine that, an intellectual bored of the vapid, shallow Hollywood professionals. Who would have guessed??
/s
This, exactly! I’m not the smartest person by any means, but I’ve educated myself on many different topics and I have various interests. I’d be bored out of my skull if I were surrounded by people who talked about a whole lot of nothing all day. Amal shouldn’t have to dumb herself down. Nobody should. It’s like the saying, “Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.” Amal isn’t vapid.
Eh…I dont know. An educated person is not necessarily smart. That illusion crumbled into a million pieces after working a few years in corporate america. Whatever pedestal she may have been on came crashing down the minute she married George Cloony.
Racer is right. Educated does not = smart. Educated and/or smart also does not = interesting. Quite often the smartest people are the most boring. Not that the idea of hanging out with potato boy or Jonah Hill sounds particularly enlightening, either. But Clooney has other friends that don’t seem like idiots.
I used to belong to Mensa, and most of these ‘smart’ people are just really good at taking IQ-type tests. I went to a local get together and tried to initiate a discussion about the possibility of extraterrestrial life and they literally laughed me out the door. The online forum was filled with rednecks and misogynists who got off on bullying other posters. And this is supposed to be the top 1%.
What Diane Said. I’m also an ex-Mensa member. I quit as soon as I realized that “high IQ” means nothing more than “good at taking particular kinds of tests.”
I think Clooney is a lot smarter than he’s generally given credit for.
My goodness she looks amazing on that Vanity Fair cover. I’ve mostly thought she was pretty enough, but she looks stunning there. And I know she’s smart, and powerful, and more than her looks…but still. So pretty.
I don’t really find her pretty. I find her to be what is described as a handsome woman.
Yes. Handsome; elegant, maybe, but not particularly pretty.
I agree, she’s beautiful. Possibly the prettiest out of all Geroge’s girlfriends.
I think she’s got weird angles and looks a bit hunchback and tooth bucked from some angles.
I don’t think she’s pretty at all, even with the hype telling us we should think she is. She has looks similar to Elisabetta, George’s ex and I found her to be a bit hard looking.
The one thing nice is her hair.
I agree, she’s just stunning. Love her hair and skin, and her make-up always looks great. She makes interesting fashion choices and isn’t always wearing the typical short/tight/sexy dress that all of George’s previous partners wore. I love her casual street style especially.
My only negative is that I prefer a slightly heavier body type… but I’m not looking to start a “she’s anorexic!” finger pointing session, just personal preference for a curvier figure.
I just don’t see it, I find her unattractive. Just too many pointy angles and bones.
I agree-she used to have a “fuller” figure when they first started dating, and I thought it looked a lot better on her. No body-shaming, just an observation.
I’m still waiting for someone to comment on her veiny arms and hands, but then they’d have to admit ‘someone else’ isn’t the only thin woman who has them. I think Amal has weird angles and bones because she’s constantly turning her body parts ‘outward’ so she doesn’t appear too thin. For example, I’ve noticed that if she’s wearing sleeveless tops/dresses she turns her arms facing out (see wedding cover pose above) instead of the normal state of facing inward toward the body. Does that make sense?
Ugh. George and his smug face are both bimbos.
I bet the role closest to his real-life self is the dumbass he played in “Burn After Reading”.
I would go with Danny Ocean. The visible leader, has good ideas and surrounds himself with good people, but not always right and not always bright.
Aw, bummer. I was really hoping he’d actually own a sex machine in his basement. Boo.
You know it’s interesting because I live in NY and there is a whole social set in NY that has nothing to do with celebs and entertainers but rather with the elite in the worlds of academia, wall street, science or “old money.” You may not know the names of these individuals as well as Brad Pitt or George Clooney but they have their own worlds that are very powerful and have nothing to do with the hollywood set.
I say this to say I TOTALLY get how Amal Clooney would not only be bored by George Clooney’s friends, but also feel like she’s wasting her time both in terms of the company she’s keeping when she’s not working but also thinking that all that nonsense is actually taking away from important things she’s accomplishing on a global level. If you’re a true advocate for human rights, would you rather be having some stupid conversation with Jonah Hill about his next movie or . . . well . . . saving the world.
George Clooney not only married up, he also married out of his league.
I agree there.
Ok Maxine, what I said Downthreatd you expressed Much Better… Like Imagine the Oxford and international Crowd (and their social code/mores/concerns etc) that she mingles with ….compared to Hollywood Types.. It must be few friends for her there… And YESSsS Ive been saying to cut the crap about equals.. This is an aging actor with movies that most people dont go see anymore marrying a FAR SUPERIOR you ger, prettier, smarter chick with her stuff together
Yep, but she kinda made her bed, didn’t she? Was it all about the money?
You’ve got it – and you expressed it extremely well. It’s like the debutante ball that happens at the Waldorf every year in New York. Yeah, you might get the random celeb child (like Warren Beatty and Annette Bening’s daughter) but basically this is OLD MONEY, elite socialites. They could care less about the hollywood set and really have very little to say to them . Same with elites in other areas and this is where Amal falls. This will be tough going for both of them.
Who are these people? Maxine, give us the tea!
Based on her work, I wouldn’t really classify her as a true advocate for human rights, but rather the opposite…
Yes, quite the opposite of human rights
I like how you put that, and get what you’re saying. I’m assuming though either that Amal isn’t that classy (for lack of a better word) or into that social circle, or she is OK with George’s IQ and his friends. People partner up for all sorts of reasons… maybe she has sufficient intellectual stimulation from other relationships (assuming George isn’t that bright, that is).
Sure she knew his friends before, and still wanted to marry him, it’s not like she married all of them. I don’t like all the guys hubby hangs out with, but unless he would ask them to crash at our house for the week, I don’t care. We have common friends, and also I have my friends and he has his. No big deal… This is just tabloid crap.
Vauvert, it appears that his friends are his extended family. I was married to a guy with a large clingy, intrusive family who always wanted to be around. When one of my sisters-in-law said to me, ‘you didn’t just marry my brother, you married the whole family,’ I knew the marriage was doomed.
Yes, they are not a good match. Unless he goes into politics.
That is the only thing that would make this marriage worthwhile.
Intellectually he is far beneaf her.
She not a good choice politically for US, she’s too controversial with her client list.
George on his own is not really a great choice either, one never knows what he really got up to in Vegas all these years, which I’ll bet Steve Wynn knows plenty.
My husband has guys-only activities. I don’t mind at all. And not because I don’t have anything going on in my own life. I thnk it’s imperative to a healthy, lasting relationship, is all. Plus who in their right mind would complain about a luxurious vacation?
I agree. First of all, you don’t need to go to fancy schools and have a certain profession or degree to be smart. Some of my best friends are doctors and lawyers and they aren’t any smarter than some of my friends who didn’t attend college.
I’m sure George’s other girls had interests outside of George. Even this story is anti-female.
@Senflex, who wrote: “My husband has guys-only activities. I don’t mind at all. And not because I don’t have anything going on in my own life. I thnk it’s imperative to a healthy, lasting relationship, is all.”
I totally agreed with this. I have never understood women whose first agenda after entering into marriage (or even a relationship) is to stop their husbands/boyfriends from enjoying their ‘guys-only’ activities. Most of the same women have no problem enjoying ‘girls only’ activities well into their golden years because it’s ‘not the same thing.’ It ‘is’ the same thing. A husband/boyfriend is not a ‘new best girlfriend’ … he’s a man.
I have a lot of guy friends and have gotten a lot of flack over the years for going on vacations with guys or visiting guy friends or simply hanging out with guy friends on the regular. I get so many questions: isn’t your guy upset by that? As if I should ask permission and if he shoots it down, just have zero friends if I choose to not be around women. It is so 1900. Same goes for guys/girls only trips IMO. Why does there have to be a separation of genders? I’d prefer to be going on a guy’s trip over a girl’s trip.
@Andrea …
I mean no offense by this, honest … but were you hanging out with guy friends because they are indeed your guy friends or were you hanging out with guy friends because one of the ‘guys’ was your man and you didn’t want to be excluded?
I’ve hung out with my guy friends 95% of the time sans my boyfriend(who is a bit of a loner). I even befriended his guy friends and started going to lunch, dinner, movies, bars, etc with them (inviting them over to watch tv shows with me exclusively) without him when he didn’t feel like going out or hanging out. Now that we have moved away from some of those friends, I am the only one who keeps in touch with his guy friends and they confide in me on their relationship woes, goings on etc. I also have two long term male friends (one for 22+ years since we were in middle school and one for 10 years) whom I talk via text and phone more times per week than anyone else including my boyfriend.
Here is Amal recently in Cabo, literally bored to tears and I don’t blame her! 😀
https://amalalamuddinstyle.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/header.jpg
She chose to marry him for a reason and he wouldn’t have married her if she didn’t have law degree for obvious reason. Read that he was trying to date another 29 yrs old LA attorney after Stacy but she rejected him saying that that’s not her goal right now. Amal made her bed and she has to lie in it now. Doesn’t look like she has too many friends anyway, better get along with hubby’s dumb ones. Her older sister Tala seems to have more confidence and smarts than her, she lives the way she wants to unlike her sister.
Hope it works out for Amal in the long run, right now it’s a fake, shallow life she has chosen to lead. GC is very manipulative and controlling based on reading his many interviews, he will use her as long as she lets him. Hope her family wakes her up and soon!!
Well…get ready for more hair tossing on 11th, doesn’t seem like she minds at all to me.
She looked genuinely happy at the wedding events in Venice. Since then, something has def changed. As Gob Bluth might put it, she has made a huge mistake.
I thought she looked as though she had made a mistake, the morning after their first night as a married couple.
The only thing that photo of her in a butterfly print dress tells me is that she still fancies juvenile themed clothing. To say she looks bored to tears is really a stretch.
I doubt that Amal will ever be a victim. There are wrongful motives ascribed to her decision to marry George (money and fame); however, those are theories, and I wait for Amal to prevail in her life, and impress us all. I think that George is ridiculous! He married Amal, almost as a put down to all the women he has “womanized”.
Do they have anything in common?
I don’t see this as being too far fetched tbh cause think of the busy-ness and the actual social circle she must be used to, the difference in topics they might speak about/the wheeling and dealing and from that to the Cabo tequila shilling crowd of menchildren with their “sexy wives” and their vapid interests on Idk.. Scripts, Keeping their looks going..part-ay.. Seems like to a person of substance with stuff on their plate At first it might be cute but then It’d wear thin?
‘Cabo tequila shilling crowd of menchildren with their “sexy wives” and their vapid interests on Idk.. Scripts’
too good.
Totally agree, however, GC has this one long term friend, John Prendergast, whose resume matches upto Amal. Of course John doesn’t appear to spend much time in Cabo, but if Amal wanted to hang out with intellectual friends on her hubby’s side, then John is it.
Ps: John is the hilarious starting point of a really good book about child soldiers called ‘the worst date ever’ by Jane Bussman.
I don’t get why Amal can’t create vacations for them with HER friends too?
Why is it all about what George wants to do and with whom?
Can’t she arrange for them to holiday with some of HER set?
She married the Bachelor of Hollywood. He is used to being able to do these things, and when he was involved with a woman, they weren’t lawyers from other countries
Nicole Pearson, LA attorney who rejected GC who wanted to date her right after Stacy (and Eva Langoria) just weeks before he hooked Amal in Italy. He had a plan as always and poor Amal got Cloonified hard and fast!
http://calvinblanco.com/george-clooney-nicole-pearson-girlfriend-couple-new/
Interesting. After years of dating cocktail waitresses and wrestlers – and letting them and the world know that he has no intention of getting married, GC suddenly goes after an attorney. Shortly after she turns him down, he goes after another attorney – and marries her. He definitely seems to have some kind of plan in mind.
Governor of California. Hell, if Arnie could do it……….
If I recall correctly — didn’t he date a French law student for several years at one point?
She’s bored now!!! She must have the same attention span as the tabloids who think she is pregnant, and that he wants a baby she won’t have one, and they are getting a divorce all in the span of hours.
Whereas this scenario seems entirely plausible to me, I think it would take a bit longer for her to come to this conclusion. Perhaps once she realizes that she really has put her own career in neutral for him, she will think this way.
I love the people who think otherwise because she is from London and barristers work different over there. I want someone to show me one high profile Human Rights International lawyer, as she was “unicorned,” who doesn’t work a ton of hours in an office, not in Cabo, LA, etc., not some nameless friend. Now she just seems to be a high class PR person for her cases. She brought attention to the Elgin Marbles case and also to the Al Jezeera journalist by speaking to the Gaurdian about her work in 2013 pre-Clooney where she was told by some Egyptian Officials that she would be arrested. Funny the Egyptian officials back down on that statement now that she is Amal Clooney. This has to be a let down to someone who by all accounts was rising up the ladder. Her association with him will help her publicize her cases, but not help her career in general.
“Now she just seems to be a high class PR person for her cases.”
Agreed.
I have a hard time seeing Amal as a victim. I think she-probably with the collusion of her mother, Baria-went into this marriage for the money. Maybe she thought that she would have more control over things and that hasn’t worked out; George has the $, so George has the power.
I don’t think of her as a victim either. I just think this is her role now and she may not have anticipated that, or she may have and that is the role she wanted. Which considering the way her Mom among others helped in her role-out is an entirely plausible scenario.
A person who has personal connections to the royal family of Bahrain, as well as high officials in the Syrian government isn’t going to be marrying a hollywood actor for the money.
Not money publicity, and George certainly brings that.
She thought she knew what she was getting into, but I doubt she really did. George is a control freak, always has been, always will be. He’ll give her as much space as it suits HIM, not an inch more. She was hoping for more publicity- and boy, did she get it! Even when her influence is small, or very limited, she’s sold to us as THE human rights queen. For that, she has to put up with his pals, and get used to George’s kind of humor, which can undoubtedly be challenging. But she’s not a victim, if at all, she is a victim of her own stupidity. Intelligence, and wisdom are not the same, and I could also imagine his friends becoming bored/annoyed with HER, talking politics while having tequila shots in Cabo, or being overdressed for the occasion…
This is so true. The whole selling of her as “The human rights queen” always bugged me. What was wrong with her career and who she was. I know some people say she has a few strange familial and client connections, but basically she was mid-level barrister who was moving up career wise. It’s not like Clooney is curing cancer. He makes some good movies and some mediocre to bad movies and is good looking. He hardly needs the image of a “perfect” women. They oversold her, and now even if this story isn’t true this is what you get for overselling her.
Egypt did not back down. Amal did: “Egypt: Amal Clooney Denies She Was Threatened With Arrest in Egypt”. Writing in an op-ed for the Huffington Post, Mrs. Clooney wrote: ‘The journalist has since apologized for the misleading presentation of this matter in the article and corrections were made to the text to attempt to address this.’
Adhering to the right to respond to inaccurate reports and following the ethics of journalism, it is expected that The Guardian newspaper would publish a correction based on Mrs. Clonney’s denial of this misleading information as your readers have the right to get acquainted with facts on this score.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201501070817.html
The Guardian journalist, Patrick Kingsley, stated on his twitter account:
“For the record, Amal Clooney checked and confirmed the quotation before publication.”
Those who have threatened her, are threatening and menacing to many others. Perhaps being a “Mrs. Clooney”, does not give her the protection that one might expect.
Load of bollocks. Has Jonah Hill even met Amal? He wasn’t in Cabo around Christmas, he was photographed constantly in New York both before and after Christmas
Out of curiosity and randomness, I wonder how it would be like if Amal and Cumberbatch dated.
Anyway, this story sounds rubbish. It’s the usual gossip narrative. It is however quite amazing that Amal has garnered this much attention by marrying a celeb. I can’t think of a non-celeb spouse of a celeb that has garnered this much publicity. It is quite amazing and I guess she is a pretty unique combination and / or has pretty good PR! Quite a good case study if I were to major in entertainment studies. If there is such a module, let me know….
I said this as soon as they got married! I said it would be boring being married to him! Thanks for a little vindication of my feelings 🙂
A woman who’s so special, elite, smart, and worldly certainly has better things to do than hang around when Clooney is with his bros, correct? Then why isn’t she? Does she not have real friends?
As for being used to hanging around those types of people, the way the article is written reminds me of how my sister spoke of Mensa meetings. She got caught up in all of the elitist crap which absolutely bored me. lol I just wanted the newsletter because I was considering selling my eggs to a family who only wanted them from a Mensa member; I have bipolar disorder, so that made me unworthy in their eyes. My sister eventually tired of the “elite” conversation and stopped going to the meetings. I was glad. lol
I’m sure she has friends. It sounds like she doesn’t want to alienate herself from his friends so she’s attempting to hang out with the.
Wait…I’m confused.
She’s a smart cookie. Didn’t she see this coming when they were dating and while they were engaged?
Why should this be such a surprise?
Not a popular view here but, I believe part of the issue may be that George himself, not being the brightest bulb, over estimated Amal’s abilities and potential to become convincingly “unicornised”. His team were quick to pad and revise her CV and clear her internet presence of all less than glowing endorsements but the fact remains that she was not as accomplished as has been made out. Since then her mistakes galore in the handling of both the visit to Greece and her end of the Fahmy case have highlighted her immaturity as a lawyer. In fairness, she is only a two year called to Bar Junior, so in any other circumstances, not played out in public, she would be doing little more than research and brief case carrying for a more seasoned Senior.
Doughty Street Chambers were keen to bump her up into a free PR role at the outset but it appears, especially since last week’s gross error of judgement on her part, there are concerns that her profile and overly elevated status is hindering her work and that of others. John Baird , Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, withdrawing from a “near” fixed meeting with her on the back of the problems over her careless statements has furthered concern that she may have become a liability.
I think it’s unfortunate that a woman who, if given time, may have developed her career skills is now unlikely to do so in the environment created but, she did accept such an environment, implicitly. She strikes me as someone who, although academically qualified to a sufficient degree, has been quite cosseted throughout life and, as a consequence, lacks some personal and professional maturity. Handling the last few months required, perhaps perveresly given the expected aura of elite glamour, a person strengthened through less privilege and more attuned to the realities of her stage in life and career and with greater perception to understand that not every day would be a “fairytale”.
But, yes, I cannot imagine George’s continuation of his bachelor lifestyle is quite what she thought she’d signed up for.
JAM I agree. She has made some big bloopers already so her PR value plummeted.
Seconded on the recent legal bloopers on her part.
+1000 Excellent post.
This is such a good post, very solid and fair. George basically married a little princess- an highly educated one. Her best friend’s speech at the wedding comes to mind, where she told about all the nightly discussions with Amal about finding the “perfect man”, and what he should be like. Did strike me already then as incredibly immature.
Her personal maturity level is questionable because she apparently did not factor in the “set in his / her ways” aspects of the relationship. They have entirely different circles and geographic preferences. He is Cali/Kentucky/Como. I cannot see him completely changing everything for her, and she should have realized that. Add to that his repeated statements that he would never marry again. Yet she chose to dive right in.
However, I think she laps up the media attention and showing off her latest blowout, so maybe all will be fine for a while longer.
Very thoughtful post. I also was concerned when she donned all the bizarre outfits, including the flapper dress. These people seem to have about as much class as the Kardashians.
So, I obviously think Amal Alamuddin is way above the Cloons, and the fact that she is “his equal” in the eyes of the tabloids makes me mad, but that’s beside the point. The point is, I really enjoyed this post. I think it’s a very insightful cultural piece and the sort of thing that makes me feel ok about reading gossip.
Amal strikes me as someone who loves the attention from the press so a celebrity is her perfect partner. George is a self-proclaimed politician who suddenly realized that he can not have his usual type of girlfriend in order to get politician status among the people – in other words: they are meant to be.
No matter her degrees, Amal is simply NOT a good choice for political wife in the US.
So now she’s bored with his dumb-assed pals? She must’ve met them all before the wedding – or did she think his “lad” credentials would disappear when she married him? She is now an HR pin-up girl – all she has to do now is just turn up. He is a Hollywood actor – he’s no intellectual. Yes, he’s very cool in a Brat Pack sort of way but thats it. The whole thing was a sham from the get-go so I’m not going to feel sorry for poor, elitest Amal. She saw what his world was like before she married him and chose to go ahead and do it. God Im also so sick of all the intellectual snobbery and elitist bs that goes on the UK – its everywhere…
First of all, I love the word “chowderhead” and I’m going to adopt it into my vocabulary: “Don’t be such a chowderhead!” “Wow, he is really a dumbass chowderhead!”
Also, on a vacation such as Cabo, Amal would be the 4th wheel, being forced to listen to those 3 relive years of shared adventures. No wonder she looks bored. Probably thinking to herself: “Why am I spending my precious time with all these chowderheads?”
She loves the cameras on her. The bloom isn’t off the rose because of his friends.
Just the outings in California when they would go to dinner and some paps would catch them at their car, she would be smiling and looking over towards them. She can’t even hide her glee that they are there.
She’s fine with him, not rethinking her career and what it means to have married him. She just wants the award seasons to happen and hopes they will be on a few red carpets.
Yes, I think awards season will re-energize her. She may or may not enjoy conversation with his HW buddies, but it is evident she does enjoy the pap attention.
True
Marriage is all about compromise. I don’t know how much of that GC has done, but it seems like Amal has done her fair share. (Saying this with a grain of salt, since we really don’t know what’s going on in their relationship.)
I wouldn’t blame her for being bored to tears by GC and his dummy friends. But she signed up for this and even a cursory review of US Weekly’s over the past few years would have given her a good sense of what she was getting herself into before she said vows.
Today I found out that GC has been a routine visitor (for personal reasons) to my little nondescript town in recent years. Can’t say what his purpose was, but it’s nothing scandalous and makes me feel a bit sympathetic towards him. I will say that it might support one of Kaiser’s theories.
So, I will now refrain (for today) in saying that sooner or later, the differences in their backgrounds and their own egos will likely clash.
I would actually quite like it if it comes around that what you now know (not hinting for a reveal, promise) involves him quietly getting around to getting himself something of a better formal education. I’ve not been enamoured with the recent media splurge, what ever their motive (and I hate that I incline towards thinking ‘suspect’ on that), but he has always appeared committed at heart and well-intentioned re certain causes. But the dangerous aspect of his good intention has been his lack of basic knowledge allowing him to sometimes be gulled by vested interests, not necessarily those which truly share his good intentions. That, for me, has led to some of his high media profile efforts being little more than set-dressing. And I still prefer to believe Clooney wants more than that.
As a side-note, I’m suspicious of some attached to Amal Alamuddin (as was) – stress *utterly non-theist* reason. Whether she might be a knowing participant or not, I can’t help get the whiff that others are managing this marriage in order to use the spotlight which comes as standard with Clooney. There are aspects of a more recent shift in ‘his’ endeavours in Sudan which seem questionable.
Anyhow, just a musing but instinct tells me he’s always looked up to those he thinks of as better educated and informed than he, but he might not always have known enough himself to choose those he’s admired wisely. I suspect he might, for personal reasons, be finding the time to remedy that.
/*muse-off
PS, I do kinda regret my “not the brightest bulb” in my first post on this – I ought to have made it more clear that this was meant within the context of those with whom he often now finds himself. However, I wish I had tempered my phrasing better.
It’s not anything to do with education. Let’s just say, I sympathize with him a bit more and feel his pain.
I have never been able to figure him out. Everyone has complexities, but his are especially interesting in light of this marriage.
Oh well, still have the hope he might take the odd course or two. I’m trying to think “complex” because I’m not fond of writing anyone off as plain dumb; unless the evidence is overwhelming, naturally.
Bad back rumours have been around for a while. Official story is an injury sustained whilst filming Gravity; some blinds suggest longer term damage wrought from um less mundane use of harnesses and whatnot.
I can’t help having a guess now, but I think it’s some sort of therapy he might do. Could be related to his sexuality…
No, it’s personal yet not anything along those lines. Jam guessed close to the mark in a post above yours.
I think he may have just wanted to find a place that wasn’t known for paps. Our little non-destination has a handful of world-famous people who are from the area (famous in the music business, mainly), so seeing someone well known would not be entirely shocking. Plus, I have heard he has a relative in the area who may have suggested he could obtain help here under the radar.
@Christin: well…than it might be simply his back injury, haunting him since he got injured on the Syriana set. Chiropractitioner, or something like that. He was in Germany at a university hospital for the same reason- still it seems to get worse. Or his well-documented insomnia. Very hard to treat, and can drive people nuts.
George seems media savvy and can swim with the sharks in Hollywood.
G. seems very nonchalant about fame, but perhaps he is sedated from painkillers.
Never thought George was dumb. Just emotionally immature and selfish.
Yeah, I’d bet it’s his health that Christin is talking about.
Just looking at George in pics and in interviews on the red carpet you can see something isn’t right.
The years of chronic headaches (not back pain) from his Syriana injury are likely the cause of his squinting eyes and use of light deflecting glasses. He has said mornings are his best time, he gets very tired and in more pain as the day goes on, ergo the tired look at late night events.
He claimed that even drinking didn’t always help the pain, so he’s used alcohol as a medicine on top of his usual daily drinking.
His PR team finally admitted George takes pills every day for his condition.
But there may be more too it. He looks pale and jaundice quite a lot. That could be the pills and alcohol, but possibly even Hepatitis. Not saying he has it, just one possibility of many. All his years of mucking around, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he picked something up.
JMO, of course.
George is nothing but a frat boy at heart.He always has been and he always will be.I don’t think him being married now as changed that fact at all.
If she really feels this way, she should stop trying so hard to look glammed up and all hollywood all the time. I think she cares an awful lot about her image, so she at least has that in common with the hollywood commoners. I bet she and Gwyneth Paltrow could be best buds. Is Gwynnie a Clooney fan?
Hey, I’d love to hear the Cabo conversations among the Clooneys, Crawford/Gerber, Blunt/Krasinski, and Aniston/Theroux. Theroux being the Inaleckshool in that crowd?
Not that a college education is the end all be all, but I was curious so I looked up everyone above and believe it or not the most impressive education is Krasinski with a degree from Brown. Blunt I couldn’t tell if she got her degree as she was discovered at a performing arts college. Maybe she can talk to him, but they are never there apparently as was said in another tabloid story. Gerber and Theroux both have degrees too. Matt Damon not mentioned was only a few credits shy from a Harvard degree I would say that is impressive.
I don’t believed any of this. It’s The Star.
Maybe George should have chosen Aniston. She likes the same type of life.
Intelligent and/or educated does not equal interesting or amusing companion.
Of the 4-some in Cabo, Cindy is the one most likely to bore me to tears. And there is enough evidence to conclude that she has above average intelligence b/c she had an academic scholarship to attend Northwestern Univ majoring in chem engineering. She reportedly dropped out after 1 semester to pursue her modeling career.
I would love asking Cindy about those Supermodel days , that fashion era fascinates me, but that would be just one day of the holiday. 🙂
Still Amal should start inviting her own friends if she wants intellectual conversation.
Perfect! She needs her own friends in the mix, perhaps to tone the boredom down. Why should it all be about him?
I think George’s big goal is to be in politics. Tactful man as he is he could be making his way with hint of push called Amal but as we’ve seen, he’s a talentless man.
But why is Amal a good choice for US politics as a wife. I really don’t believe she is. No matter how much some pr might want to convey.
Well he better cracking then, he’s getting pretty long in the tooth.
I think Amal is a shallow, spoiled rich girl whose way in life was paved with gold and whose career has benefited from unearned favors. She’s stuck with her contractual sham marriage arrangement, so yeah — bored and biding her time. She has nothing to say except when stumbling through prepared speeches written by others and should be wearing a sandwich board that says “I’d rather be shopping.”
Well said. I say that sums up similar thoughts I have of her.
Yup, and then when she fluffs the script she blames someone else. I know one trainee carried the can for one minor screw up in her big press statement in Greece. If she hadn’t been too busy preening (personal hairdresser on a business trip, urgh) then she might have read the thing before cameras rolled and spotted the error. Or maybe not… because fast forward a few weeks and she’s trying to blame a journalist for a conflation of quotes she gave from Cabo over the Egypt/Fahmy case. Lo and behold, she had pre-publishing approval and “checked and confirmed” it as good to go.
“Hot-shot” lawyer is a myth just as much as her previously having run in the really tonier or salon London circles. Even with the Oxford connexion she was, still is but just with new temporary novelty value, non-established “nouveau riche” to them. Not saying that’s right but no way did she or her family ever buy themselves over to the other side of those Society tracks. Maybe she thought Clooney would give her transit that way, but she’s always destined as a side-show visitor. Wrong but the way of these things and Clooney was sold a pup if he thought, conversely, she was his entry ticket to those circles too.
I say, await the reality TV show mother Baria is rumoured to be shopping around – then this “unicorn”, that never was, officially becomes extinct.
Interesting. So she’s blaming her screw-ups on others. On top of no values and no brains we have no integrity. Add that to no sex and no love… What a charade.
Well, people are predicting two years. Either that, or something’s gotta give.
Sounds like a version of Mrs.Eastwood&Company…George would not be amused…That thing with the Fahmy case was clearly unprofessional, as well as stupid, given the fact that she doesn’t really have a big say in any of this, and that the ‘threats’ by yet unnamed people have, if at all, happened almost a year ago. And of course, it jeopardizes the process in Egypt. Not very ‘humanitarian’…
Perfect – you said it all!
Sounds like the kind of item publicity agents float to magazines on behalf of clients seeking to retain some relevance. The clients pay for that. Hmmm.
My husband was a diamond in the rough so most of his old friends are idiots and so are their wives. He’s a lot more tolerant of ignorant people than I am so I usually just make small talk about the kids if I’m stuck at functions we them. He usually owes me one after so it works out. Haha.
None of them know who Julian Assange is I’m sure
LOL!! I so can relate. I used the word ‘sophomoric’ at our last double date and received blank stares. They would probably think Julian Assange was some new type of shot involving Fireball.
The ‘Unicornization of Amal’!? Is she pretty enough to be considered a a ‘unicorn’? My husband says no. LOL!!
If Amal is so smart she should of seen this coming before she got married, so I doubt this story is true.
Amal’s mother’s guiding light is the one that I wonder about. Her mother was a well-connected journalist, aware of the ways of the world; I think that she is the “behind the scenes” person. Amal will be just fine. What if she breaks George’s heart?
More of Star’s sexist fanfic. I’ve known lots and lots and LOTS of attorneys, thanks to having a super-social lawyer father. One thing they all love to do is party, and they aren’t intellectual snobs at all.
Amal has lot’s of friends really? Because she is usually only pictured with family and I can believe this. Amal Clooney gives off this I’m better then you vibe. The only reason she married George was for the money and attention love just isn’t there and you can tell. Lot’s of problems in this marriage already I think both aren’t happy with what they have. George is paying through the nose to give Amal the lifestyle she believes they should be living. Give it three years max.
Her social media profile was deleted, most likely by Clooney’s team, at the same time as her professional credits were given a lot of housekeeping polish. The bits that have leaked out, at the personal level, smack of entitled faux ingenue looking for a shot at the big-time and getting way too long in the tooth to play that much longer. Mother Baria seems a bit Mrs Bennet meets Momager Ktrash. And as obvious: “they’ll renew their vows this time next year” (Telegraph) as directly quoted the morning after the 2nd/3rd/#ndrd wedding bash (the one of the ceramic cockatoos, so we can timeline it).
Not quite expunged from Amal’s record, but little noted: 1/ at NYU the Sotomayor ‘clerkship’ was little more than basic summer intern; 2/ her NYU time had her concentrating on Entertainment Law; and 3/ Baria, though acknowledged as a former journalist within the Middle East, mainly runs a PR company.
I reckon “friends” have been an optional extra for Amal, advantageous contacts having been where it’s all at.
Some things just don’t add up correctly and the bottom line on The Clooneys’ is one, in sum.
Love the Austen/Kardash connection. Good work!
hmmmmm. didn’t know london had “attorneys”. barristers, yes. solicitors, yes. attorneys??? nope
I read somewhere that she’s like Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones, and George is the Bridget in this relationship… made me laugh… I could just imagine her friends saying “Isn’t it cute how George thinks Yulia Tymoshenko is a new luxury brand from Eastern Europe? The poor dear!”
“She’s highly educated and accustomed to spending her time with judges, doctors, scientists and writers. To go from that to hanging out with people like Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, two of George’s good buddies, just isn’t her style.”
Yeah. I can normally find something to connect with just about anyone, no matter their background, interests, etc. (I’m like a 50s hostess that way, for some reason–seriously, it’s not that hard to find something in common with everyone) and I enjoy the variety. Hell, I think we all need it. If I didn’t want to gossip about lightweight stuff some of the time, I wouldn’t read Celebitchy (which I’ve noticed attracts PhDs probably because: what I just said). That said, I need a decent chunk of my social time to include people with more than half a clue. I have been there–call me an intellectual snob. And Jonah Hill? I would feeeeking baaaarf.
So true. Variety is what makes life interesting. And as we can witness on this site, you can even have deep discussions on some rather un-deep subjects;-) I guess Amal is just not used to that. Looks like her preferred crowd is the guys that work/studied with her, which would make her horizon a bit narrow. And although I believe this is a totally manufactured story, in essence, it might be true. That picture with the butterfly Versace dress, the long red nails, and the black hat…behind her at the table in Cabo were all the other guys in beach wear…she doesn’t really know how to ‘connect’, or how to adjust to a ‘relaxed’ situation. It doesn’t have to be Jonah Hill…Krasinsky might be less of a challenge for her;-)
“She’s highly educated and accustomed to spending her time with judges, doctors, scientists and writers. To go from that to hanging out with people like Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, two of George’s good buddies, just isn’t her style.”
Yeah. I can normally find something to connect with just about anyone, no matter their background, interests, etc. (I’m like a 50s hostess that way, for some reason–seriously, it’s not that hard to find something in common with everyone) and I enjoy the variety. Hell, I think we all need it. If I didn’t want to gossip about lightweight stuff some of the time, I wouldn’t read Celebitchy (which I’ve noticed attracts PhDs probably because: what I just said). That said, I need a decent chunk of my social time to include people with more than half a clue. I have been there–call me an intellectual snob. And Jonah Hill? I would feeeeking baaaarf. Yes, “intellectuals” can be assholes and bigots and awful, just like a subset of any group, but there really is a *different type of conversation* happening, most of the time, with my egghead friends. I would miss it too much if a new hubs towed me too far away from it. (A type that rears up on Celebitchy quite a lot because y’all rock!)
Hm…not sure what happened…sorry for the double post! This one is the complete version.
omg, WHat Is With You Guys?????????
This is not a real marriage.
They are NOT IN LOVE.
Have you EVER seen two people married with LESS chemistry?
Oh yeah, Kimye. Also Business relationship
Amal Clooney is such a stupid sounding name. She should have kept hers.
Amal Amuludun has quite the ring!
I wouldn’t immediately assume she’s a snob, but I could very much see a disconnect. Because, really, can you imagine how vapid most Hollywooders are? That’s a pretty self-involved group of people we’re talking about. Even the movie stars I like make me roll my eyes sometimes.
I guess I’m saying…it seems like an easy potshot to take at her. The media loves to take downsize women at any turn, so undermining her appeal by saying that her education makes her incapable of dealing with “low brow” peons reeks of intentional character slander.
Maybe she should own this high mindedness. It worked for GOOP until she decided to come down from her ivory tower.
Pro-tip for the intellectual elite: don’t marry someone who plays make believe for a living.
haha!
‘Be careful of what you wish for young lady, for you will surely get it!’
Here’s the real irony…if you dropped out of college after your jr year, in England you could have a law degree..that’s it..3 yr program after high school. Here, you couldn’t get an asst job with that. This is all crap..she married for the name, celeb and money..she’s undergone a lot of scalpels to prepare for the job she wants..and it isn’t law.
I am a solicitor and I do not recognise what you have said. I did an undergraduate History degree, a three years in one law “conversion” course to get the equivalent law degree, a one year legal course that everyone who does law or non-law degrees must take and then a two year mandatory on the job training contract. All in all four years after my undergraduate degree before I qualified.
I can’t even imagine what Amal would have in common with George’s pals. While they’re all bright successful people obviously, Amal’s work centers on serious issues. After the initial excitement of rubbing shoulders with celebs, Amal’s probably bored silly by them.
If they’re each so smart, then how did they end up getting married to each other?
Did she think she could change him?
Did he think she would change for him?
With her being an attorney and all, surely she would have read the fine print.