Feature the First — The Invoice of Consequence
A Most Unfortunate Bill of Particulars
Several persons of rank, melody, and excellent tailoring have this week discovered that legal combat, like an overdecorated ballroom, is vastly dearer than it first appears. Prince Harry and Sir Elton John, among a small consortium of claimants, pursued a privacy action against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, only to see the case collapse . The presiding judge went so far as to describe the claimants' conduct of the litigation as unreasonable, a phrase which in Society circles is roughly equivalent to being asked to leave the club by the back stair .
The interim costs order alone is said to run to £9.54 million, payable to the very publisher His Grace set out to chastise . The Committee for the Preservation of Consequences respectfully submits that this sum is a bracing tonic for confidence, administered without anaesthetic.
Humbled, But Not Yet Reformed
Sealed Correspondence: The Modern Particulars
Reporting indicates the privacy claim against Associated Newspapers was discontinued, and the claimants — including Prince Harry, Elton John, David Furnish, and others — were ordered to pay an interim sum of £9.54 million toward the publisher's legal costs, with the judge critical of how the case had been run .
Feature the Second — The Silicon Salon Incident
Mrs. Paltrow's Electrical Supper
Word has reached the Gazette that Mrs. Gwyneth Paltrow was said to be arranging a private dinner in honour of a certain Mr. Sam Altman, proprietor of a great mechanical-thinking concern . The mere report of such an evening produced considerable online mockery and condemnation, the public apparently unconvinced that a candlelit supper is the correct venue for reconciling humanity with its algorithmic future .
The Committee stresses that no wrongdoing has been established — only that Society finds it very funny indeed when its hostesses attempt to charm the machines before the machines have finished deciding what to do with the rest of us.
Humbled, But Not Yet Reformed
Sealed Correspondence: The Modern Particulars
Reports of Paltrow hosting a private dinner for OpenAI's Sam Altman drew widespread online criticism and mockery, largely concerning optics rather than any confirmed misconduct .
Feature the Third — The Concert of Regrettable Association
Two Esteemed Gentlemen Attend an Ill-Advised Musical Assembly
Members of the popular musical fellowship known as BTS, namely the gentlemen RM and J-Hope, were this week the subject of fan criticism after attending a concert performance by Mr. Chris Brown in Canada and appearing in a photograph he subsequently published . Devotees were quick to note Mr. Brown's history of violent conduct, including a 2009 conviction for domestic violence, and expressed disappointment that the gentlemen had not exercised the basic art of reading the room .
Society members clutch their pearl-handled fans. A photograph, once taken, cannot be un-taken; a room, once entered, cannot be un-entered.
Humbled, But Not Yet Reformed
Sealed Correspondence: The Modern Particulars
RM and J-Hope faced fan backlash for attending a Chris Brown concert and appearing in a photo Brown posted, given his 2009 domestic violence conviction and history of violent incidents .
