Olivia Palermo
Gossip

This week on The City, the gang headed to the Hamptons for some fun in the sun. Unfortunately, Freddie Fackelmayer was there, but that create some good drama.

Below, The Hollywood Gossip staff breaks down all the events of the latest episode of The Hills spinoff, awarding and deducting points as many points we see fit ...

Whitney Port and Roxy Olin stripping down to bikinis in the middle of Central Park, acting like there's no one around? Really? Eh, we'll buy it, and like it! Plus 4.

Safe to say Freddie Fackelmeyer didn't become less of a tool since last week's episode. Minus 2 for his hilariously fake tennis banter and attempt to look casual.

Erin Kaplan and Olivia Palermo are doing a feature on bloggers. Sure, they're fashion-oriented, not celebrity gossip-oriented, but nice industry shout-out! Plus 3.

Whitney, Roxy and Samantha Swetra roll to the Hamptons as "Good Girls Go Bad" plays. They talk about ... good girls going bad. Plus 3 for the Cobra Starship and Leighton Meester song, but Minus 3 for obviousness, so Even.

Olivia interviews some celebrity fashion bloggers and - here's a shocker - Erin doesn't think she does a good enough job. Seriously, the same plot every week? Minus 5.

Freddie Fackelmayer gets jealous when his 19-year-old brother Harry kind of flirts with Whitney. Lame, but we'll buy it, because Harry is much better looking. Plus 2.

Harry "lets it slip" (i.e. rats out) that Freddie has a girlfriend! Gasp, is it true? WTF! It's like The Bachelorette: Manhattan Blue-Blood Yuppie Family Edition. Minus 4.

Wow, Eric Zee finally lays the smackdown on Olivia! Plus 8.

Whitney: "Harry told me you have a girlfriend." Freddie: [pause] "But ... I don't know." Compelling response, you douche. Minus 3, but Plus 6 for Roxy chiming in, almost as an aside, that Harry was cock-blocking his older bro.

Another eye-rolling music tie-in: Beyonce's "Ego." Minus 1.

TOTAL: +8. SEASON TOTAL: -7. The City has picked up its game in recent weeks. We hate to admit it, but sometimes you need a complete putz like F-squared to stir up trouble. Sorta like The Bachelorette and Wes Hayden.

This week on The City, Whitney Port went on another date with Freddie Fackelmayer, while Jay Lyon also wanted to know the status of their relationship.

Below, THG staff members pick apart the latest episode of the Whitney-centric Hills spinoff, awarding and deducting points as we see fit throughout ...

In the opening moments, we learn that Whit basically booty-called Jay Lyon while he was back in town, then quit him for good. Hence the title. Plus 8.

Kelly says how she started her own company to promote things she believes in. Wow, now our interns are even less motivated to write this. Minus 2.

Olivia Palermo actually interacts with Roxy and Whitney this week! Amazing. It's almost as if she has a reason for being on the show. Almost. Plus 4.

Freddie Fackelmayer invites his father, Fridolin, out to dinner with Whitney. Minus 2 for Fred's faux pas, and Minus 1 more because Fridolin was so awk.

It takes Roxy Olin 12 seconds to realize Olivia is bad at her job and painful in general. She's perceptive, but Minus 1 because we still had to tolerate Olivia.

This is off-topic, but Roxy was on Brothers & Sisters this week and wasn't terrible. The fact that her parents are both on that show helps, but still, Plus 5.

Could MTV have set Whitney up with a lamer guy? Dude fake tans, bleaches his teeth, spends way too lonf on his hair and is not even interesting! Minus 10.

Samantha Swetra and Whitney debate if a dude can be a socialite. We don't know the answer, but if so, Whitney's fake boyfriend is so the epitome. Plus 2.

How long until Erin Kaplan goes postal on Olivia? Plus only 2, because they're dragging it out and she's too passive-aggressive, not aggressive-aggressive.

We never thought we'd say it, but we missed Jay Lyon. He's not without fault, but at least the guy has personality. Too bad this was just a cameo. Minus 3.

TOTAL: +2. SEASON TOTAL: -15. Scores were boosted by Olivia's integration into the rest of the show and the remergence of Jay and romantic tension.

It's got a long way to go, but positive steps, City. Positive steps.

Last night on The City, Whitney Port decided it was time she started dating again. MTV apparently agreed and dug up some guy named Freddie Fackelmayer.

Below, our staffers review the latest episode of The Hills spinoff and quote-unquote workplace drama, awarding and deducting as many points as we see fit ...

Whitney and Samantha Swetra compare designer shoes to boroughs of New York City. Even Gossip Girl wouldn't try to fabricate those stereotypes, but Plus 4.

At Elle, Joe Zee totally loves Olivia Palermo. Erin Kaplan totally doesn't! This not only feels contrived, we've been over it about 375 times by now. Minus 5.

Roxy Olin hangs out with a guy named Zac and expresses that she's jealous of Whitney and her life. Refreshing honesty, and use of a bra as a top. Plus 3.

Whitney decides she's going to date again. Enter Harry Fackelmayer, Sam's cute friend, who totally has a hot older brother! What are the odds? Minus 2.

Whitney agrees to meet up with Freddie Fackelmeyer at a barbecue. One that happens to be held at the apartment of Adam Senn and Whit's ex, Jay Lyon (who's out of town). How downright Kristin Cavallari of Whitney Port to show. Plus 7.

Kelly Cutrone tells Whitney to pee on the wall of the apartment to mark her territory. Plus 5, because that's funny stuff to hear from your boss, although we would have preferred if she instructed Whitney to top shelf the bathroom.

Adam Senn is a moron, but no longer really on the show, so just Minus 1.

Speaking of people who need to get kicked off the show, when will MTV pull the plug on Olivia Palermo? She has no redeeming qualities, her life is boring and has nothing to do with Whitney. Break out the pink slip already! Minus 24.

Putting aside the fact that his name is Freddie Fackelmayer, this Freddie Fackelmayer seems like a fairly large douche. La dee freakin' da, he works on Wall Street, wears preppy clothes and talks about surfing. Are we supposed to care? Minus 17.

Throw in another Minus 10 for the fake tan. In the Northeast.

But Plus 16 because we heard that they broke up before we even knew they dated, which is both hilarious and slightly comforting. Whit is redeemed. A little.

TOTAL: -24. SEASON TOTAL: -17. This week's scores are skewed by the sleep-inducing awfulness that is Olivia, but still, mediocre overall. Step up, City!

Whitney Port and Freddie Fackelmeyer. Yes, that's really him.

Last night on The City, Whitney again took Roxy's advice and tried to further her fashion aspirations, while Olivia butted heads with Erin yet again at Elle.

Below, our staffers review the latest episode of the new "workplace drama" (slash The Hills spinoff), awarding and deducting as many points as we see fit ...

Whitney Port has by far the best pronunciation of any celebrity. Girl paid attention in school. We even love how she says "Previously. On. The. City." Plus 2.

This isn't really relevant, but Spencer Pratt seemed pretty certain on Twitter that Whitney had plastic surgery in high school. Say it aint' so, Whit! Minus 1.

Roxy Olin on Whitney's designs: "I would definitely wear like half of those sketches. I'm very impressed." Plus 1 for that obviously backhanded compliment.

Surprise, surprise, Olivia Palermo looks bored and passive-aggressively feuds with Elle PR boss Erin Kaplan for the third consecutive week. Zzzz. Minus 3.

Kelly Cutrone rules. Plus 4. She doesn't beat around the bush at all when criticism is needed, but also tells Whitney Port she'll always be her "loyal bitch."

At the Roberta Freyman Showroom, and Rachel Roy's offices, Olivia attempts to show that she can hack it in this business. Can she? Still unclear to us, but apparently yes, according to her boss. Plus 2 for how much Erin hates it.

Minus 1 for Samantha Swetra trying to rip off that cute Lauren Conrad hairstyle!

Roxy is the Stephanie Pratt of The City. Useless, and just kinda there. Minus 3.

The Bergdorf Goodman buyer Whit meets with is named Sunni. Yes, Sunny, only spelled wrong. Minus 1. But Plus 2 for giving it to Whitney straight and kind of blowing her off. You can't expect to be a famous designer overnight!

Kelly on Whitney's visit to Sunni, which was Roxy's idea: "Yeah. It's always a good move to take advice from a girl from California who's been in New York all of two weeks and knows [bleep]." Burn! So sarcastic. So true. Plus 5.

Whitney Port as a celebrity fashion designer is something we can actually kind of buy. She seems invested in her career and at least semi-legit. We're only giving it a Plus 3, though, because that doesn't always make it fun to watch.

TOTAL: +10. SEASON TOTAL: +7. Not necessarily the most compelling half hour, but refreshingly light on the staged confrontations and BS this week.

Last night on The City, Whitney Port's pal Roxy Olin made quite a splash during one of her first days on the job, while Olivia Palermo struggled yet again at Elle.

Below, our staff reviews the latest episode of the new "workplace drama" (and The Hills spinoff), awarding and deducting points as we see deem appropriate ...

Roxy Olin: "I feel like I can get Kelly in, like, a second. I am, like, so serious about work." No. If you have to say that, girlfriend, it ain't true. Minus 7.

Kelly Cutrone drives a Ford so she doesn't get carjacked in NYC. Plus 4.

Meanwhile, over at Elle, Erin Kaplan assigns Olivia Palermo to buy some fake handbags off the street for an upcoming segment they're doing. The mere thought of this has gotta hurt for a silver-spoon fed rich girl like Olivia. Plus 3.

Their little sting not only involves a girl who's a quasi-famous socialite and on a reality TV show, but involves an MTV crew filming it. Real discreet. Minus 5.

In the end, Olivia can't even do this right. Work is, like, so hard compared to what she normally does. Which is, like, go to fancy parties and stuff. Minus 2.

Holy hell, that is one skinny model at the photo shoot. We're talking like Mischa Barton style. Minus 3. Way to promote a healthy body image, gang.

Roxy's big idea is for the model to get topless. A model for jeans. This is treated as if it were a revolutionary concept. Has no one seen a Calvin Klein ad before? All of their models are topless! Not that we're complaining. Even.

Plus 5 for Whitney warning Roxy that Kelly would be pissed if she didn't ask her before pitching this idea, and for being right. Always trust sage Whitney.

Poor Whitney Port worries that she's seen as the little girl that people walk all over. Don't be silly, Whit. You're the tall girl people walk all over. Minus 2.

The shady bag dealer is wearing a Konvict Muzik jacket. Akon would be proud. Plus 5.

TOTAL: -2. SEASON TOTAL: -3. Try it they might to make all this interesting, The City sort of falls short on execution. A lot more could have been done with Olivia's handbag drama, and there was far too little Whitney in general.

Last night on the season premiere of The City, Whitney Port was greeted by old friend Roxy Olin, who she tried to help find a job at People's Revolution. Meanwhile, at Elle, Olivia Palermo clashed big-time with new boss Erin Kaplan.

Below, our staff reviews the first episode of the new iteration of MTV's Whitney-centric Hills spinoff, awarding and deducting points as we deem appropriate ...

In the opening intro, Whitney reflects that nothing is the same as when she first moved to New York. In other words, MTV revamped the whole thing. Minus 2.

Roxy Olin makes her grand entrance two seconds in. Peeps are sure to mention her first and last names whenever they reference her. Solid marketing. Plus 3.

Whitney lives in the West Village now. Even, since both that area and Gramercy Park are quite trendy. Just pointing out that EVERYTHING is SO different now.

Olivia Palermo was apparently retained, and got a job at Elle magazine. Erin Kaplan is introduced as her boss. She's a tough cookie! Must. Create. Conflict. Minus 1.

Erin and her boss discuss how they're going to "break" Olivia and knock this "social" off her high horse. We're holding out hope for full-on hazing. Plus 6.

Whitney and Roxy meet for lunch and talk about how great it is to be single. Roxy reminds us a little of Stephanie Pratt. That's not a compliment. Minus 8.

Roxy may have been onto something when she bashed Whitney's fashion sense. Whit's outfit on the roof is heinous. Plus 1 in any case, though, because she's just so cute talking about how she doesn't want to annoy the neighbors.

"Do your job," Olivia instructs Erin, having been at Elle herself for like a day. Minus 3 for her pompousness, and Minus 2 more for The City casting another Erin right after Whitney's friend Erin Lucas got axed for being dull. Confusing!

Kelly tells Whitney Port that she hopes her friends are worth it and treat her as nicely as she treats them. Words to live by from sage Mrs. Cutrone. Plus 7.

Five guys and 30 girls at Roxy's party ... What's the opposite of a sausage-fest? Plus 3 for the girl who complained about this, but Minus 5 for the neighbor who called the cops on a pretty tame gathering. How lame is Whitney's building?

TOTAL: -1. Not the worst we've ever seen by far, but The City 2.0 still needs to step it up and decide what the heck it is before it becomes a must-see.

Previously, we examined the fashion of Taylor Lautner and Justin Timberlake at last night's CFDA event in New York. Now, we examine a couple of city girls.

The City stars, that is. Gorgeous leading lady Whitney Port was the epitome of urban chic in a silver Luca Luca gown with criss-cross detailing on the back.

She was pushing the fashion envelope with the short shorts she wore last week, but here, she returns to classic, upscale glory. But what about her co-star?

Whitney's "social" rival supported designer David Meister in a blush strapless dress from his line. Can Olivia Palermo keep up with her style counterpart?

Tell us who you think looked better in the poll below!

Who looked better?

Whitney Port has posted some thoughts on Monday's episode of The City on her official blog. In "Mingling with the Commoners," plenty of tension (and more than a little class warfare) was in the air between Whitney, Olivia Palermo and Jay Lyon.

Here's what Whitney Port had to say  ...

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In this week's episode of The City, we definitely had quite the range of drama. The episode began with Jay and I discussing his upcoming show over lunch.

When I mentioned that I had invited Olivia Palermo, he made a smart ass comment about roping an area off so she wouldn't have to "mingle with the commoners," (hence the title of the episode, "Mingling With The Commoners").

Erin Lucas and I met Olivia at her apartment before heading to the show.

But Olivia wasn't exactly in as big a rush as I was to get there, and by the time she was finally ready to go, Jay's band had already started playing.

Whitney Port was far from pleased with Olivia Palermo's actions.

I guess Olivia felt bad about making us late, so she got Jay Lyon a gig at a charity event she was hosting. What initially seemed like a kind gesture, however, suddenly became an awkward and uncomfortable situation when at the event, all Olivia, Nevan and friends did was make fun of Jay and his band, Tamarama.

They definitely didn't try to hide it. It's an understatement to say that Jay was more than ready to go when he finished his set!

Continue Reading...

Olivia Palermo, the socialite co-star and "co-worker" of Whitney Port of MTV's The City, has actually been an aspiring actress for a few years now.

But despite what you might have read, what she does on the glamorous reality show isn't pretend. At least that's what she tells New York Magazine.

"Acting is one of the things I'm interested in, but I completely respect it as an art form that requires lots of talent, dedication and hard work," she said.

Still, getting in front of the cameras does help prepare Olivia Palermo for a life onscreen: "I've gotten so much more comfortable being in front of the cameras over the course of shooting this season. The first few days were a little bit awkward!"

Olivia Palermo, left, with Whitney Port and Erin Lucas.

"Of course, nothing feels 100 percent natural when you're being followed by a camera crew, but I've definitely acclimated. I think that in the first few episodes, that level of discomfort and awkwardness I felt really came through on camera."

Olivia Palermo says she hopes that over the rest of the season on The City, you see more of "the real her," whatever that means. Unfortunately for the young glamazon, even she's not sure what that might look like.

"I never know ahead of time what's going to end up on the show," she said. "So watching all of our stories unfold has been really exciting for me."

Wow, watching your own life as told and interpreted by somebody else. Sounds like what Lauren Conrad has been doing for years now!

Click to enlarge more photos of Olivia Palermo, the self-described "social" from The City (with her co-stars in some shots) ...

Aspiring fashionista Whitney Port may be sufficiently blond and likable to pass as a reality TV star. But everyone agrees she's no Lauren Conrad.

That may be trouble, not only for Port's fledgling show, The City, a spinoff of the hugely successful The Hills, but for the whole documentary-soap genre that Lauren and her cohorts pioneered, according to the UK's Globe and Mail.

Lauren Conrad will return for her fifth season of The Hills this spring, but her show is clearly nearing an end: Last fall's Season Four ratings were down 25 percent, and LC herself has indicated she may be tiring of being filmed.

Therefore, The City, which was renewed for a second season this week, may hold the future of MTV's flagship franchise in its fumbling little hands.

The new show has certainly struggled to keep the format alive.

Last week, Whitney Port and her gang were getting together at an art opening, knowing that model Alli would be in the same room with the same woman who had allegedly kissed her boyfriend while she was out of town on a fashion shoot.

But as Whitney dutifully discussed the tense situation with her colleague at DVF, Olivia Palermo, and then with her Aussie rocker boyfriend, Jay Lyon, nobody really seemed all that interested in this manufactured City crisis.

Moreover, Olivia Palermo even interrupted Port midstream to tell her this was, like, TMI, a ghastly faux pas in this celebrity gossip-dependent genre.

“Jay doesn't know why [Whitney Port] cares, and Olivia doesn't care at all,” offered Jessi Cruickshank, co-host of The After Show, an MTV Canada series devoted to dissecting the lives of the apparently real people on these youth soaps.

So can MTV trust Whitney Port to carry this show - and people to watch?

Continue reading about The City in the Globe and Mail ...