Rose's Cantina

Ben Mulroney took to the airwaves this morning to announce that he is stepping down as the host of ETalk , CTV's popular infotainment show.  He did so after blowback from his wife Jessica Mulroney's tone deaf attack on a black fashion influencer  threatening her livelihood.  As a result of her antics, CTV cancelled the shoe heiress' wedding show, I Do, Redo. Now many people wonder why Ben has to step down because his wife showed bad and insensitive behaviour. He didn't. She is not him, he is not she. I'm sure the move was simply a public relations gesture, possible at the request of CTV where he is Everyman. Benedict is, after all, host of the flagship morning show, This Morning as well as host of ETalk and all of its red carpet specials. It's a pretty sweet deal but he probably doesn't mind losing the evening show as he has to get up so early to entertain Canada with cute dog videos, constant weather updates, and a smattering of news. "While...

There was a funny meme going round on the CBC Community page yesterday. "It could be worse," the post suggested over the symbol for Hockey Night in Canada. "We could have this guy." The guy they were talking about was Ben Mulroney, our sad Canadian version of Ryan Seacrest,, the belittled son of disgraced Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who has become the host of everything from CTV's coverage of the Oscars to our country's failed attempt to launch a homegrown version of Canadian Idol. I have never gotten what the appeal of Bennie was. He has nice teeth, I suppose, though his hair resembles that of Count Chocula and his smarmy nature harkens back to the days of "ya dance with the girl who brung ya." It would have been disturbing to have Vlad the Impaler as the replacement for Ron and Don, the muppet pair who look down from the balcony each weekend on HNIC and reminisce about Bobby Orr. But George Stromboulopoulos?(heretofore referred to as S...

There's an hilarious story in the Globe and Mail , the paper that fun usually forgets, about the Harper government's obsession with spending your tax dollars to bring the War of 1812 to homes across this great land in the form of Hollywood style commercials. The story reveals that little Harpos at the "Centre" became obsessed with continuity and rung their hands raw over the smallest details of the battle including the color and texture of Laura Secord's cape. (I would have colored it chocolate!) Anyways, the story brought back memories of Grade school field trips from my beloved St. Catharines home to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we got eat a bagged lunch and ogle the Brock monument. As kids, we put up with this nonsense because our real reward was to continue on to Niagara Falls where the real fun was at Madame Tussaud's and Ripley's Believe it or Not! I do not recollect much about the War of 1812, but I cannot forget seeing my firs...

UPDATE: Kelly Ripa called Ben Mulroney "Canadian royalty" today. I suppose she was referring to Prince Charles. If you have absolutely nothing better to do -- including taking out the trash, washing the floor or putting in a meaningful day's work -- it might be worth it to watch Live with Kelly! from Banff, Alberta today. That's because the son of "Fingers" Mulroney will be cohosting the show today. You say what? Yep. Ben Mulroney, the boy who threw away a promising future to become Canada's lame version of Ryan Seacrest, will be in the chair next to Kelly Ripa. Apparently, he will be dishing on what it's like to be the son of Karlheinz Shreiber's bumboy. Mila, surely, will be attending in a bunny suit. Be still my Canadian heart. Here's a scoop, by the way. Gelman lied. The show was actually taped early last week so it's not live at all. So Benji had an opportunity to sit down with the Calgary Herald following his perfor...

Breaking News. Live with Kelly will be visiting the lovely Banff, Alberta to do a series of shows the first week of April. Today, the show announced that Ben Mulroney will be sharing the stage, as co-anchor with Kelly Ripa. I'm thinking the town should change its name to Barf, Alberta. Did nobody tell Gelman that everyone in the country, with the exception of the Mulroney family and the suits at CTV, hates Ben Mulroney? He's the reason that Canadian Idol was cancelled. Canadian Idol was a good show but it was ruined by Ben Mulroney. And John Dore. People don't hate Benny because he's Lyin' Brian's son. Canadians hate him in his own right. Aside from his creepy Vlad the Impaler looks, Ben is smarmy, oily and creepy. And he's a lawyer. I don't know why CTV keeps putting him forward like some sort of cub from the Lion King. We can't escape him. He's on ETalk, he's always on Canada AM , he even hosts Canada's red carpet. America...

It seems NBC news is borrowing from a long Canadian tradition by hiring Chelsea Clinton as a roving television journo. This follows its hiring of Bush and McCain spawns. This is causing a fuss among the newsies in the U.S. who feel that hiring the daughters and sons of former presidents smacks of desperation on the part of the network. We, in Canada, say: why worry? Our airwaves are brimming with the expulsions of prime ministers. We have the ever-ready Ben Mulroney, Catherine Clark, Sasha Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau all littering up the national broadcasters. I'm presuming Ben Harper has a pretty good career lined up for himself with Sun TV when he's out of high school. I don't remember any of them doing time at journalism school, unless you count charm and prep schools as breeding grounds for investigative journalism. I don't think I'm wrong here, but I believe there is not one Canadian who likes Ben Mulroney except members of his immediate...