It certainly has the makings for one of the more intriguing evenings to take place at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday, with rival functions expected to pull in what can only be described as an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of Australian society.
Action stations: Will the Museum of Contemporary Art be big enough for the rival parties?
On the ground floor in the Foundation Hall a roll call of some 300 VIPs, which PS hears is expected to include Anthony Albanese, Tony Abbott, Alan Jones, David and Skye Leckie and potentially Prime Minister Scott Morrison, will be there to see Graham Richardson, the one time "Senator for Kneecaps" and "Minister for Channel Nine", mark his 70th birthday.
Meanwhile, a few floors up over over looking Sydney Harbour, Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce will be in the midst of his wedding celebrations after tying the knot with his long-term partner Shane Lloyd.
Joyce has repeatedly refused to discuss his wedding with PS, despite being one of the largest benefactors of the same-sex marriage 'yes' campaign, but friends inform this column the airline boss is "pulling out all the stops" with the celebrations.
Birthday boy Graham “Richo” Richardson.Credit:Sasha Woolley
And given he earned a staggering $24 million in 2018 – more than any other chief executive in the country – he can certainly afford to.
Whispers that tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on flowers alone have been heard around Potts Point, were celebrity florist Saskia Havekes from Grandiflora is understood to have been working on the event for months.
Joyce has been a little more open about his wedding with the Irish press.
Three weeks ago the Dublin-born Qantas boss joked his marriage was “the most expensive wedding of a Tallaght man” after he donated $1 million to the Australian marriage equality campaign.
Tallaght is a suburb of Dublin, where Joyce was raised.
Speaking at a Dublin Chamber of Commerce dinner, Joyce also opened up about his decision to involve the company in the campaign for marriage equality down under.
“I think every business community should be involved and passionate about these issues,'' he told the audience.
“We decided and I decided that Qantas was better off being part of it.
“And we personally wanted to get involved in it and my partner worked in the campaign for two years.
“And we donated personally a million dollars to the campaign because we were massively outmatched by the church, who supported a 'no' campaign.
“So I can probably almost with complete certainty say that my marriage in three weeks' time is the most expensive wedding of a Tallaght man,” he said, to laughs from the crowd.
Alan Joyce and Shane Lloyd.Credit:Steve Christo
He also talked about the personal backlash for taking such a public stand.
“At an event in Perth, I had a very angry man throw a pie in my face because of supporting marriage equality,” he said.
“I did notice that Richard Branson, who runs our major competitor Virgin Australia, came down soon after that and said he supported marriage equality long before Alan Joyce did.
“Then Greyhound buses came out and said they supported marriage equality.”
He also said a senior member of the Australian government had told him not to get involved in social issues.
No prizes for picking who he was referring to, with both Morrison and his assistant minister Ben Morton launching scathing attacks on CEOs, and specifically Joyce, for actively involving their companies in social issues, such as the same-sex marriage debate.
Indeed, if the PM does make it to Richo's knees-up on Saturday night, he could quickly duck upstairs to wish Joyce and his new husband all the best on their marriage.
Cosmetic surgeon Ces Colagrande is suing the Cosmetic Journey online forum for defamation.
No kiss-and-make-up over cutting comments
A legal stoush between a high-profile cosmetic surgeon and an online cosmetic surgery forum is threatening to deflate even the most enthusiastic admirers of breast implants, lip fillers, face lifts and nose jobs.
Gold Coast cosmetic surgeon Cesidio Colagrande has retained Geoffrey Rush's former barrister, defamation specialist Sue Chrysanthou.
He is suing the online forum Cosmetic Journey claiming he was defamed by posts from it members which remained online after he successfully appealed a conviction for the sexual assault of a female patient. The original posts were eventually altered to reflect the appeal outcome and have since been taken down.
Colagrande was handed a nine-month suspended jail term in February 2017 after being found guilty by a district court jury of assaulting the 24-year-old patient in 2015. The court was told he pulled the patient towards him and asked her for sex, before telling her she had “blow job lips and porn star tits” during a follow-up consultation for her breast augmentation.
Last year the Queensland Court of Appeal found Colagrande's case had possibly been ''disadvantaged'' after the prosecutors belatedly passed on a statement five days into the trial from the alleged victim withdrawing her complaint.
In the statement to police, the woman said: “… I feel that Dr Colagrande has now felt some punishment from the investigative process, and that from reporting the matter I feel that he has learnt that ‘it is not OK’ and will reflect on his behaviour and practises towards patients.”
She has signed a formal withdrawal of complaint form.
A new trial was ordered, however it has not proceeded as the original complainant no longer supports the charges.
A spokesperson for the Cosmetic Journey told PS this week: "Cosmetic Journey exists as a forum to provide patients and prospective patients a platform to discuss cosmetic and medical procedures, including to access information and reviews about surgeons and health professionals. It is in the public interest that those considering plastic and/or cosmetic surgery have access to relevant information. As this matter is presently before the courts, we do not intend to make any further public comment, other than to say that we are vigorously defending the claim, including pleading a defence of truth and qualified privilege."
Online beauty host Cassie McNeill.
Last August PS revealed the Cosmetic Journey’s forum moderator and director Cassie McNeill had become embroiled in a stoush with Sydney's "breast master", Dr Michael Miroshnik, who claimed he had become the victim of a campaign to discredit him, after McNeill lodged a bullying complaint against him with several health authorities.
Miroshnik vehemently denied the complaint, which was rejected by the Health Care Complaints Commission and the Royal Australian College of Surgeons.
Model climate citizens
While the Climate Extinction Rebellion is one way to get your environmental message across, five of Australia's leading models have a slightly more, ahem, passive way to raise awareness.
Home-grown international models Alexandra Agoston, Gemma Ward, Georgia Fowler, Victoria Lee and Charlee Fraser, who was last week awarded Fashion Laureate Model Of The Year, have joined forces in a new fashion spread for Harper's BAZAAR Australia shot in the Whitsundays.
From left: Alexandra Agoston, Gemma Ward, Georgia Fowler, Victoria Lee and Charlee Fraser.Credit:Harper’s BAZAAR Australia/Darren McDonald
"I can see how ironic some people may think it is for a fashion magazine to be doing this, but it's our way to help raise awareness and the girls were really passionate about that," Harper's editor-in-chief Eugenie Kelly told PS.
So what are the models actually doing beyond posing in their bikinis on idyllic beaches?
Fowler says she doesn't use single-use plastic water bottles and offsets her carbon footprint when she travels, adding: "Everything makes a difference.”
Agoston is focused on plastics in the ocean: "Eight million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year. Avoid using single-use plastic. Express a demand for change."
For Fraser, it's little steps. "Take a small moment each day to appreciate where you are, be gracious and show that gratitude by simply walking or riding your bike to work in the morning. Reuse your water bottle or bath towel. Plant some flowers or grow some fruit. Put your rubbish in the bin. Everything helps.”
Slim pickings at Melbourne Cup
Cardboard king Anthony Pratt and the iron lady Gina Rinehart are both expected at Flemington today for Derby Day and the launch of Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival.
She’s back: Gina Rinehart is headed to Flemington for the Spring Racing Carnival. Credit:Getty Images
While Taylor Swift pulled out of her appearance at Tuesday's Melbourne Cup, it appears the offerings in the celebrity stakes are a little slim this year. Indeed the biggest name being spruiked was Lady Kitty Spencer, though given the strict conditions reporters have been given if they want to interview her (no questions about her personal life or her famous blue-blood family), is she really worth all the fuss?
Boyds putting on the Ritz
For a gossip columnist, it's not always easy getting into the homes of this town's rich and famous, but on Tuesday night I found myself soaring to the 43rd floor penthouse of millionaire property developer John Boyd and his glamorous wife Marly.
The Boyds, who have the enormous "sky mansion" on the market for a lazy $66 million, welcomed me – and a throng of other media types – into their home with open arms.
Developer John Boyd with wife Marly Boyd at home in their “Sky Mansion” on Tuesday night.
The couple had handed over their luxurious digs to the folk from the Ritz-Carlton who wanted to celebrate with a swanky dinner the hotel's return to Australian soil (they're about to open in Perth with an eye on Sydney's The Star).
As the Dom Perignon flowed, PS was ushered away by Boyd to go on a private tour, including the incredible 1920s timber panelled room he had shipped out from a wool broker's office in London to be reassembled as his private dining area. Sitting in the middle of the room was a bathtub-sized silver punch bowl festooned with tiny cherubs brandishing trumpets.
In his private office, overlooking the city below, Boyd has a 200-year-old book case for his collection of mementos. On a wall hung an antique American flag featuring 45 stars, which dated from the 1890s, and was the official flag before Utah became a state in 1896.
But the Boyds are not spending much time in the extraordinary home, having relocated to Bellevue Hill which is closer for Marly to do the daily pre-school drop off.
All your’s for a cool $66 million.
"We're in no hurry to sell, to be honest. Everyone tries to do a deal, one bloke wanted me to trade the place for a couple of vineyards but I'm not interested in that," Boyd explained, revealing he, Marly and the older of his two youngest children had thrown gold coins into the threshold when the place was under construction.
"It's supposed to bring you good luck," he said, flashing a beaming smile.
Friendly fire for Sam and her man
Just over a month ago Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage wrote on Twitter: "There is a special place in hell for people who work at Woman’s Day", helpfully including the fire emoji just to stress her point.
Richard Lavender and Samantha Armytage enjoying themselves at Royal Randwick during The Everest.Credit:Steven Siewert
Clearly she does not feel quite the same about her friends at Who magazine, which is still – but not for much longer – owned by Seven West Media, which also employs Armytage.
PS hears a team of hair and make-up artists, stylists and general fluffers were dispatched to a top secret photo shoot for Who in Bowral a week ago to capture images of Armytage with her new man, Bowral local Richard Lavender.
While there is no big announcement pending – despite reports the pair were buying engagement rings – PS understands the story is something of a "reveal" for the couple who have been dating for around six months after meeting at Skye Leckie's wild 60th birthday bash.
In the following months the couple have attempted to avoid publicity, though Armytage is a favourite of Sydney's paparazzi.
The timing of the Who spread could not have been more critical for Armytage considering the news that Woman's Day's parent company, Bauer Media, is about to swallow up Who, along with the rest of the magazine titles once owned by Seven West.
It is doubtful she will be receiving the same royal treatment once that deal goes through given he long-running feud with Woman's Day.
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