Where in the World Do Hampton Celebrities Play?

According to Webster’s Unabridged New International Dictionary, Second Edition (a 3,000 page behemoth in our Dan’s Papers office) “pop,” /päp/, as a noun means to “make a light explosive sound;” as a verb, “to burst with a pop” or “to move, go, come, etc. suddenly.” This particular edition was copyrighted in 1960, a full two years before the Beatles broke world culture wide open with “Love Me Do” and essentially created a new definition of “pop”—Pop Music. The greatest asset of the English language is its ability to grow and expand. And grow it continues to do.

While East Hampton’s Jay–Z may not have snagged any Grammys at last month’s award ceremony, with the most recent update of the Oxford English Dictionary, he received his fifth citation in the esteemed volume. According to the people at the OED: “A new entry has been added for ‘swag,’ n.², derived from swagger, and used in slang to denote ‘bold self-assurance in style or manner’, or ‘an air of great self-confidence or superiority.’” They continue: “The OED’s first citation for this particular sense comes from the track ‘December 4th’ on Jay-Z’s The Black Album (2003): ‘My self-esteem went through the roof, man. I got my swag.’”

Jay’s better half, Beyoncé recently broke records and had records broken. The Queen Bey has become the first artist in Spotify history with three albums—4, I Am…Sasha Fierce and Beyoncé—with 1 billion streams each. Lemonade isn’t even available on Spotify…. Meanwhile her reign as Instagram queen is over. Bey’s baby bump pic seen round the world has garnered 11.2 million likes since its debut last year, but Kylie Jenner’s snap of new baby girl Stormi Webster has eclipsed that mark with more than 14 million.

Another record breaker, Sag Harbor’s Ellen Pompeo, stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live last Thursday. Among other topics, the Grey’s Anatomy star discussed her willingness to share salary information with The Hollywood Reporter last month. Said Pompeo, “As women, it’s not only about what’s done to us or what’s not given to us. It’s what we don’t ask for…We have to own part of it. And sometimes we’re too shy. We’re too afraid to be seen as difficult to really speak our mind.” The actress recently signed a new ABC contract for $20 million annually.

Speaking of divas… On a recent episode of VH1’s hit show RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, the queens channeled full(er) diva. In their latest challenge—a RuPaul-themed edition of VH1 Divas—the queens brought to life the likes of iconic songstresses like Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Patti Labelle, Dolly Parton and more. Seattle-based BenDeLaCreme transformed into the Hamptons own diva, North Haven’s Dame Julie Andrews.

If George Clooney were a woman, he’d surely be diva-status, and Hulu announced that he’ll direct and star in a six-part limited series based on the 1961 novel Catch–22, by late East Hamptonite Joseph Heller, which is set during World War II. The novel explores the experiences of Captain John Yossarian and the other airmen in the camp, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home.

Given the current political climate, WWIII would start on the Korean peninsula and that’s were Katie Couric finds herself nowadays. The East Hampton resident received rave reviews for her coverage of the XXII Winter Olympics opening ceremony last Friday. The beloved journalist co-hosted the event for the fifth time, and was joined by Mike Tircio of NBC Sports. During the pair’s coverage, Couric reminded viewers that America Inside Out with Katie Couric, a new docu-series, premieres on April 11 on National Geographic.

In other news, Bridgehampton’s Bethenny Frankel joined Shelter Island’s Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live last Tuesday. During her appearance, the SkinnyGirl entrepreneur shared that, following a Page Six post about her high expectations of assistants, she received hundreds of applications for the open positions. That very same day, Amagansett’s Sarah Jessica Parker joined Sagaponack’s Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. The pair played Fallon’s Mad Libs game, then participated in a dinner-date sketch inspired by the game’s answers.