#FASHIONFILES: Burberry Upgrades Winter with Key Outerwear Styles
Burberry’s “Open Spaces” campaign extends into the winter months. The British fashion house showcases its outerwear and contemporary accessories in honor of the occasion. Models Ben Loader and Joshua Smith are the campaign’s faces, helping bring the season to life.
This season’s fashion rules draw inspiration from a neutral color palette and monochromatic attire. Riccardo Tisci’s love of urban style is on full display in his selection of on-trend outerwear and loose-fitting silhouettes. James Campbell’s styling brings the ensembles together.
Model Ben Loader appears in Burberry’s winter 2021 campaign.
For its eye-catching ad campaign, Burberry turns to photographer Ewen Spencer. Ben and Joshua’s unforced poses help Spencer elicit a laid-back vibe. Wearing puffer jackets and vests, as well as sunglasses and checked bags, the pair comfortably reside in the moment.
The Golden Girl of them all The Iconic Betty White, Has Died at 99🙏🏽💔😢🌺
Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, whether as a man-crazy TV hostess on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or the loopy housemate on “The Golden Girls,” has died. She was 99.
White’s death was confirmed Friday by Jeff Witjas, her longtime agent and friend. She would have turned 100 on Jan. 17.
“I truly never thought she was going to pass away,” Witjas told The Associated Press. “She meant the world to me as a friend. She was the most positive person I’ve ever known.”
Witjas said White had been staying close to her Los Angeles home during the pandemic out of caution but had no diagnosed illness. It was unclear if she died Thursday night or Friday, he said.
Her death brought tributes from celebrities and politicians alike.
“We loved Betty White,” first lady Jill Biden said as she and President Joe Biden left a restaurant in Wilmington, Delaware. Added the president: “Ninety-nine years old. As my mother would say, ‘God love her.’”
“She was great at defying expectation,” Ryan Reynolds, who starred alongside her in the comedy “The Proposal,” tweeted. “She managed to grow very old and somehow, not old enough. We’ll miss you, Betty.”
White launched her TV career in daytime talk shows when the medium was still in its infancy and endured well into the age of cable and streaming. Her combination of sweetness and edginess gave life to a roster of quirky characters in shows from the sitcom “Life With Elizabeth” in the early 1950s to oddball Rose Nylund in “The Golden Girls” in the ’80s to “Boston Legal,” which ran from 2004 to 2008.
But it was in 2010 that White’s stardom erupted as never before.
In a Snickers commercial that premiered during that year’s Super Bowl telecast, she impersonated an energy-sapped dude getting tackled during a backlot football game.
“Mike, you’re playing like Betty White out there,” jeered one of his chums. White, flat on the ground and covered in mud, fired back, “That’s not what your girlfriend said!”
The instantly-viral video helped spark a Facebook campaign called “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!,” whose half-million fans led to her co-hosting “Saturday Night Live” in a much-watched, much-hailed edition that Mother’s Day weekend. The appearance won her a seventh Emmy award.
A month later, cable’s TV Land premiered “Hot In Cleveland,” the network’s first original scripted series, which starred Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick as three past-their-prime show-biz veterans who move to Cleveland to escape the youth obsession of Hollywood. They move into a home being looked after by an elderly Polish widow — a character, played by White, who was meant to appear only in the pilot episode.
But White stole the show, and the salty Elka Ostrovsky became a key part of the series, an immediate hit. She was voted the Entertainer of the Year by members of The Associated Press.
“It’s ridiculous,” White said of the honor. “They haven’t caught on to me, and I hope they never do.”
By then, White had not only become the hippest star around, but also a role model for how to grow old joyously.
“Don’t try to be young,” she told The AP. “Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.”
Such was her popularity that even White’s birthday became a national event: In January 2012, NBC aired “Betty White’s 90th Birthday Party” as a star-studded prime-time special. She would later appear in such series as “Bones” and “Fireside Chat With Esther” and in 2019 gave voice to one of the toys, “Bitey White,” in “Toy Story 4.”
In a People cover story on White’s upcoming 100th birthday, the magazine’s Jan. 10 issue touted White’s secrets for longevity and quoted her as saying, “Funny never gets old.”
Witjas said it was as if Betty insisted on a last laugh: “It’s a wonderful tribute, and she has to pull this.”
A film honoring White on her birthday will be released as planned for a one-day showing in more than 900 theaters nationwide, said Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, producers of “Betty White: 100 Years Young — A Birthday Celebration.”
“We will go forward with our plans to show the film on Jan. 17 in hopes our film will provide a way for all who loved her to celebrate her life — and experience what made her such a national treasure,” they said in a statement.
White remained youthful in part through her skill at playing bawdy or naughty while radiating niceness. The horror spoof “Lake Placid” and “The Proposal” were marked by her characters’ surprisingly salty language. And her character Catherine Piper killed a man with a skillet on “Boston Legal.”
But she almost wasn’t cast as “Happy Homemaker” Sue Ann Nivens in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1973. She and her husband, Allen Ludden, were close friends of Moore and Moore’s then-husband, producer Grant Tinker. It was feared that if White failed on the show, which already was a huge hit, it would be embarrassing for all four. But CBS casting head Ethel Winant declared White the logical choice. Originally planned as a one-shot appearance, the role of Sue Ann (which humorously foreshadowed Martha Stewart) lasted until Moore ended the series in 1977.
“While she’s icky-sweet on her cooking show, Sue is really a piranha type,” White once said. The role brought her two Emmys as supporting actress in a comedy series.
In 1985, White starred on NBC with Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty in “The Golden Girls.” Its cast of mature actors, playing single women in Miami retirement, presented a gamble in a youth-conscious industry. But it proved a solid hit and lasted until 1992.
White played Rose, a gentle, dim widow who managed to misinterpret most situations. She drove her roommates crazy with off-the-wall tales of childhood in fictional St. Olaf, Minnesota, an off-kilter version of Lake Wobegon.
The role won her another Emmy, and she reprised it in a short-lived spinoff, “The Golden Palace.”
After her co-star Arthur died in 2009, White told “Entertainment Tonight”: “She showed me how to be very brave in playing comedy. I’ll miss that courage.”
White’s other TV series included “Mama’s Family,” as Vicki Lawrence’s irascible mother; “Just Men,” a game show in which women tried to predict answers to questions directed to male celebrities; and “Ladies Man,” as the catty mother of Alfred Molina.
“Just Men” brought her a daytime Emmy, while she won a fourth prime time Emmy in 1996 for a guest shot on “The John Larroquette Show.”
She also appeared in numerous miniseries and TV movies and made her film debut as a female U.S. senator in Otto Preminger’s 1962 Capitol Hill drama “Advise and Consent.”
White began her television career as $50-a-week sidekick to a local Los Angeles TV personality in 1949. She was hired for a local daytime show starring Al Jarvis, the best-known disc jockey in Los Angeles.
It was then she got a tip to start lying about her age.
“We are so age-conscious in this country,” she said in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. “It’s silly, but that’s the way we are. So I was told, ‘Knock four years off right now. You’ll be blessing yourself down the road.’
“I was born in 1922. So I thought, ‘I must always remember that I was born in 1926.’ But then I would have to do the math. Finally, I decided to heck with it.”
White proved to be a natural for the new medium. She was bright, pretty and likable, with a dimpled, eye-crinkling smile. A 1951 Los Angeles Times headline said: “Betty White Hailed as TV’s Busiest Gal.”
“I did that show 5½ hours a day, six days a week, for 4½ years,” she recalled in 1975. Jarvis was replaced by actor Eddie Albert, and when he went to Europe for the film “Roman Holiday,” she headed the show.
A sketch she had done with Jarvis turned into a syndicated series, “Life With Elizabeth,” which won her first Emmy. For a time she did interviews on “The Betty White Show” in the daytime, filmed the series at night and often turned up on a late-night talk show. She also appeared on commercials and every New Year’s narrated the Pasadena Rose Parade.
With the glib tongue and quick responses nurtured in the Jarvis years, she was a welcome guest on “I’ve Got a Secret,” “To Tell the Truth,” “What’s My Line” and other game shows — all the way up to the 2008 “Million Dollar Password,” which revived the game once hosted by Ludden, whom she had met when a contestant on his original “Password.”
That was in 1961, and the next year, while touring in summer theater during television’s off season, she starred with Ludden — by then a widower with three children — in the comedy “Critic’s Choice.”
White, who had claimed to be “militantly single” since a 1947-1949 marriage, weakened in her resolve.
“I had always said on `The Tonight Show’ and everywhere else that I would never get married again,” she told a reporter in 1963. “But Allen outnumbered me. He started in and even the children got in the act. And I surrendered — willingly.”
The marriage lasted from 1963 until his death from cancer in 1981.
Off-screen, White tirelessly raised money for animal causes such as the Morris Animal Foundation and the Los Angeles Zoo. In 1970-1971, she wrote, produced and hosted a syndicated TV show, “The Pet Set,” to which celebrities brought their dogs and cats. She wrote a 1983 book titled “Betty White’s Pet Love: How Pets Take Care of Us,” and, in 2011, published “Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo.”
Her devotion to pets was such that she declined a plum role in the hit 1997 movie “As Good As It Gets.” She objected to a scene in which Jack Nicholson drops a small dog down a laundry chute.
In her 2011 book “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” White explained the origins of her love for dogs. During the Depression, her dad made radios to sell to make extra money. But since few people had money to buy the radios, he willingly traded them for dogs, which, housed in kennels in the backyard, at times numbered as many as 15 and made White’s happy childhood even happier.
Are there any critters she doesn’t like?
“No,” White told the AP. “Anything with a leg on each corner.”
Then what about snakes?
“Ohhh, I LOVE snakes!”
She was born Betty Marion White in Oak Park, Illinois, and the family moved to Los Angeles when she was a toddler.
“I’m an only child, and I had a mother and dad who never drew a straight line: They just thought funny,” she told The Associated Press in 2015. “We’d sit around the breakfast table and then we’d start kicking it around. My dad was a salesman and he would come home with jokes. He’d say, `Sweetheart, you can take THAT one to school. But I wouldn’t take THIS one.′ We had such a wonderful time.”
Her early ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her grammar school graduation play, giving herself the leading role.
At Beverly Hills High School, her ambition turned to acting, and she appeared in several school plays. Her parents hoped she’d go to college, but instead she took roles in a small theater and played bit parts in radio dramas.
Explaining in 2011 how she kept up her frantic pace even as an octogenarian, she explained that she only needed four hours of sleep each night.
And when asked how she had managed to be universally beloved during her decades-spanning career, she summed up with a dimpled smile: “I just make it my business to get along with people so I can have fun. It’s that simple.”
Thank You Ms. White for being a Friend!
#RHOA: Marlo Hampton Says Some RHOA Stars Are Mad She Secured Her Peach
Real Housewives of Atlanta” fans have heard a lot of rumors about the upcoming season. Porsha Williams and Cynthia Bailey are out. While Cynthia decided to walk away from reality television completely, Porsha secured a spinoff show. “Porsha’s Family Matters” is the platform Porsha has chosen to address her controversial engagement. Plus, fans are getting a closer glimpse into her fractured co-parenting relationship with Dennis McKinley. The season 14 cast consists of Marlo Hampton, Kenya Moore, Kandi Burruss, Drew Sidora, Sheree Whitfield, and Sanya Richards-Ross. This is the first season that Marlo has ever had a peach. While some fans are indifferent, others are elated Marlo was finally promoted.
Well, some of the other women on the show may not be happy for Marlo. Although Kandi has always said Marlo deserved a peach, Marlo is convinced there are others who are mad about her promotion.
In fact, Marlo addressed this on Instagram. Differences aside, Marlo can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t support her having a peach after she’s just been a friend on the show for many years. In Marlo’s opinion, some of the women are just hating on her. And it’s unfortunate to see them be so unsupportive.
Are some of the RHOA stars salty about Marlo Hampton securing a peach for season 14?
Marlo Hampton made her first appearance on “Real Housewives of Atlanta” as a friend to NeNe Leakes in season 4. Since then, many have questioned why Marlo never held a peach. Some people felt Marlo brought a lot of drama to the show and should have been crowned a main cast member years ago. But the departure of Porsha Williams and Cynthia Bailey made Marlo’s debut as a peach holder possible.
Interestingly enough, Marlo recently opened up about finally getting a peach while she was on Instagram Live. She said that some of the other women are mad about her promotion. This came up when fans asked her what her tagline will be for season 14.
Marlo said, “Y’all need to help me come up with a tagline. Sh*t I don’t know what it’s gon be. These b*tches be hating. They are not happy…they’re not happy I got a peach. We have some people mad. It’s like b*tch I’ve been here 10 years. D*mn, you can’t be happy for me? Be happy for me! What NeNe said? ‘Support me, b*tch!'”
She continued, “I’ve played in the background for long enough. D*mn!”
Marlo also said that the cast isn’t able to say too much about the drama that has unfolded while filming the upcoming season. But Marlo wanted fans to know that season 14 will be exceptional. And according to multiple reports, Marlo has been busy feuding with Kenya Moore.
#MusicNews: Ne-Yo Tapped To Host the 2022 Edition of the Urban One Honors
It has just been announced that Ne-Yo will host the upcoming 2022 Urban One Honors. Honorees for the event will include Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Lifetime Achievement Award), Timbaland (Music Innovation Award), Gamble and Huff (Living Legends Award), Tasha Cobbs Leonard (Inspirational Impact) and Jennifer Hudson (Entertainment Icon).
The show will premiere on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday January 17th, 2022, on TV One. Also featured will be previously announced presenters included Jermaine Dupri, Marlon Wayans and Vashawn Mitchell, alongside performances by Inspirational Impact honoree Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Kelly Price and Tank.
Additionally, TV & Radio Personality Eva Marcille will host a special backstage pass segment, featuring exclusive interviews with the show’s honorees, performers and presenters. Tony McCuin serves as Director with Kim Burse on board as Musical Director.
#HipHopNews: Quavo Sued By Limo Driver For Alleged Beatdown
Quavo’s name is being attached to another lawsuit. According to TMZ, a lawsuit has been filed against Quavo for his role in the beatdown of a limousine driver over the summer.
The alleged assault potentially happened the night of July 3 in Las Vegas when a driver claimed that he was on duty to take the Migos and their entourage safely from a nightclub to the Virgin Hotel.
The driver alleges that the confrontation began once he forgot a person in their crew at the nightclub and he was then “repeatedly kicked and punched” by the five passengers.
He continued to say that someone told him to “shut the fuck up” and had a bottle hurled in his direction.
In the suit, the driver names Quavo directly, along with Migos touring and the Virgin Hotel, who he claims did nothing and had their security team just watch from the sidelines while the beatdown ensued.
Migos is no stranger to Las Vegas as the ATL trio is often enlisted to perform as a special guest at Drai’s Nightclub throughout the year.
Damages are unspecified in the report but the injured limo driver says he’s still suffering from physical and mental pain as well as disfigurement.
If he ends up having to pay up, Huncho might be able to use some of the money he won from YK Osiris earlier this week. Osiris and Quavo allegedly played a game of one-on-one basketball and it looks like the Migos co-leader took home the victory and the $20,000 prize in the process.
Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty In Sex Abuse Trial
The British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
The verdict capped a monthlong trial featuring sordid accounts of the sexual exploitation of girls as young as 14, told by four women who described being abused as teens in the 1990s and early 2000s at Epstein’s palatial homes in Florida, New York and New Mexico.
Jurors deliberated for five full days before finding Maxwell guilty of five of six counts. As the verdict was read, Maxwell was largely stoic behind a black mask. She stood with her hands folded as the jury filed out, and glanced at her siblings — who faithfully attended each day of the trial — as she herself was led from the courtroom. She did not hug her lawyers on the way out, a marked change from previous days during which Maxwell and her team were often physically affectionate with one another.
She faces the likelihood of years in prison — an outcome long sought by women who spent years fighting in civil courts to hold Maxwell accountable for her role in recruiting and grooming Epstein’s teenage victims and sometimes joining in the sexual abuse.
Maxwell was convicted of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking of minors, the last of which carries a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison.
She was acquitted of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts.
The defense had insisted Maxwell was a victim of a vindictive prosecution devised to deliver justice to women deprived of their main villain when Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial in 2019.
During the trial, prosecutors called 24 witnesses to give jurors a picture of life inside Epstein’s homes — a subject of public fascination and speculation ever since his 2006 arrest in Florida in a child sex case.
A housekeeper testified he was expected to be “blind, deaf and dumb” about the private lives of Epstein, a financier who cultivated friendships with influential politicians and business tycoons, and Maxwell, who had led a jet-setting lifestyle as the favorite child of a media mogul.
Pilots took the witness stand and dropped the names of luminaries — Britain’s Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump — who flew on Epstein’s private jets.
Jurors saw physical evidence like a folding massage table once used by Epstein and a “black book” that listed contact information for some of the victims under the heading “massages.”
There were bank records showing he had transferred $30.7 million to Maxwell, his longtime companion — onetime girlfriend, later employee.
But the core of the prosecution was the testimony of four women who said they were victimized by Maxwell and Epstein at tender ages.
Three testified using first names or pseudonyms to protect their privacy: Jane, a television actress; Kate, a former model from Great Britain; and Carolyn, now a mom recovering from drug addiction. The fourth was Annie Farmer, a psychologist who chose to use her real name after being vocal about her allegations in recent years.
They echoed one another in their descriptions of Maxwell’s behavior: She used charm and gifts to gain their trust, taking an interest in their adolescent challenges and giving them assurances that Epstein could use his wealth and connections to fulfill their dreams.
They said the script would darken when Maxwell coaxed them into giving massages to Epstein that turned sexual, encounters she played off as normal: After one sexual massage, Kate, then 17, said Maxwell asked her if she’d had fun and told her: “You are such a good girl.”
Carolyn testified that she was one of several underprivileged teens who lived near Epstein’s Florida home in the early 2000s and took up an offer to give massages in exchange for $100 bills, which prosecutors described as “a pyramid of abuse.”
Maxwell made all the arrangements, Carolyn told the jury, even though she knew the girl was only 14 at the time.
Jane said in 1994, when she was only 14, she was instructed to follow Epstein into a pool house at his Palm Beach estate, where he masturbated on her.
The lone count on which Maxwell was acquitted applied only to Jane.
“I was frozen in fear,” she told the jury, adding that assault was the first time she had ever seen a penis. She also directly accused Maxwell of participating in her abuse.
Maxwell’s lawyer asked Jane why it had taken so long to come forward.
“I was scared,” she said, choking back tears. “I was embarrassed, ashamed. I didn’t want anybody to know any of this about me.”
The last to testify, Farmer described how Maxwell touched her breasts while giving her a massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch and how Epstein unexpectedly crawled into bed and pressed himself against her.
Maxwell, 60, vehemently denied the charges through her lawyers.
Still, she declined to take the risk of testifying, telling the judge: “The government has not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt so there is no reason for me to testify.”
“The charges against Ghislaine Maxwell are for things that Jeffrey Epstein did,” one of Maxwell’s lawyers, Bobbi Sternheim, emphasized to the jury. “But she is not Jeffrey Epstein and she is not like Jeffrey Epstein.”
Maxwell’s legal team questioned whether the accusers’ memories were faulty, or had been influenced by lawyers seeking big payouts from Maxwell and from Epstein’s estate in civil court.
During their two-day presentation, they called as a witness Elizabeth Loftus, a University of California Irvine professor who has testified as a memory expert for defense lawyers at about 300 trials, including the rape trial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
She said memory can be contaminated by suggestions made by an interviewer, particularly law enforcement or the media
Maxwell’s family — faithfully in attendance each day of the trial — complained she was under duress from harsh conditions at the Brooklyn jail where she’s been held since her arrest in July 2020. She had repeatedly, and futilely, sought bail, arguing that she was unable to adequately contribute to her defense.
The legal fights involving Epstein and Maxwell are not over.
Maxwell still awaits trial on two counts of perjury.
Lawsuits involving the abuse allegations also continue, including one in which a woman not involved in the trial, Virginia Giuffre, says she was coerced into sexual encounters with Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew has denied her account and that lawsuit is not expected to come to trial for many months.
Oprah Winfrey Weighs in on Dr. Oz's Republican Senate Campaign in Pennsylvania!
Oprah has spoken — sort of. The iconic talk show host has made a comment about her protégé Dr. Mehmet Oz and his announcement in November that he's running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania as a Republican in next year's midterm elections.
"One of the great things about our democracy is that every citizen can decide to run for public office," Winfrey, 67, told New York magazine in a statement from her spokeswoman, Nicole Nichols. "Mehmet Oz has made that decision. And now it's up to the residents of Pennsylvania to decide who will represent them."
The comment certainly falls short of a political endorsement, but Winfrey has a history of supporting Oz, 61, whom she called "America's Doctor" when he was a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Winfrey produced 13 episodes of Second Opinion With Dr. Oz for the Discovery Health Channel in 2003 and later offered to produce The Dr. Oz Show, which debuted in 2009, through her company, Harpo Productions.
Oz, who graduated from Harvard University and went on to earn medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, will end his show in January amid his senate bid.
The Dr. Oz Show will be replaced by The Good Dish, a cooking show hosted by his daughter, Daphne Oz.
Faizon Love defends Ice Cube, clears the air over 'Friday' pay controversy
Faizon Love is clearing the air after his comments about how much he was paid to appear in Friday went viral. As reported, Love, who starred as Big Worm in the 1995 cult comedy; told the Atlanta Black Star he was only paid $2,500 to appear in the film, which led him to turn down a role in the franchise’s sequel, Next Friday.
As a result, Friday fans accused Ice Cube, who co-wrote and executive produced the film, of underpaying its actors. However, Love and other franchise stars have since come to his defense.
On Wednesday evening (Dec. 29), Love took to Instagram to clarify that even though he thought he was underpaid for his Friday role, he has nothing but love for Cube.
“First of all I not only consider Ice Cube a comrade, but my brother and I’m still a fan,” Love captioned a photo of himself with the N.W.A. rapper. “I think he’s one of the dopest n***as to ever touch a mic. I guess it’s a slow news week, so let me say what I got paid is a moot point, it was the price of admission to a game. I have zero regrets. Actually, I want to take this time to thank Cube, DJ Pooh and Felix Gary Grey for letting me be apart of such an iconic picture. I truly have nothing but love For these brothers.”
On Twitter, Cube also re-posted Love’s message, letting fans know it’s all good between the two stars.
As reported, Cube clarified earlier on Wednesday that he didn’t “rob” any of the Friday actors and explained the film’s budget.
“The 1995 Friday movie cost $2.3m to make. Shot it in 20 days. Faizon worked 1 day, maybe 2. All the actors got paid scale to do the movie,” he tweeted. “They could’ve simply said ‘No,’ but they didn’t. So, miss me with that shit.”
Cube also refuted claims that Chris Tucker left the franchise due to pay, as it was previously revealed he only earned $10,000 for his role as Smokey. Cube said the actor was offered $10 to $12 million to reprise his role in Next Friday, but refused due to “religious reasons.”
On Wednesday, comedian Michael Blackson also defended Cube.
“Ice Cube is not to blame for us getting paid so little,” he tweeted. “It’s the film industry’s pay scale. I got paid $800 a day when I did Next Friday plus overtime. I made $1200 for my one day’s work of ‘I can’t get giggy with this shit.’ Thanks to Next Friday I became the biggest African comic.”
Normani Opens Up to Ciara About Her Steamy Music Video & Her Upcoming Debut Album
Ciara is taking over! The 36-year-old “Goodies” superstar 1, 2 stepped in as a guest host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, airing Thursday (December 30).
During her time as a guest host, Ciara welcomed Normani to the show, who sweetly sung the praises of the “Level Up” superstar who she’s looked up to since she was a little girl.
The two also discussed dancing together in Italy with Megan Thee Stallion recently, as well as Normani‘s music career, including the progress of her long-awaited debut album, as well as her dad’s feelings about the very hot video for her single, “Wild Side.”
Ciara also recently shared a very sweet message for her husband Russell Wilson for a special day.
Tiffany Haddish on Common Breakup: ‘I Miss Him’
For anyone in a relationship, breaking up is hard to do. Tiffany Haddish is no different as she opens up about the split with her now ex-boyfriend Common.
During an appearance on an episode of “Hollywood Unlocked Uncensored with Jason Lee,” Haddish admitted that although she misses the rapper, she is “fine with it.”
“I miss him,” Haddish confessed. “I miss him from time to time but that’s with, I think, any intimate relationship that you might have, you miss them. But I’m fine with it. It’s cool.”
Haddish’s comments come after gave his take on the “Hollywood Unlocked” podcast earlier this month. According to the rhymesayer, it was a case of he and Haddish having different and busy schedules that caused the end of their relationship.
Haddish, on the other hand, wasn’t on board with Common’s reasoning as she alluded to something different that was behind their split. The 42-year-old entertainer was candid in her assessment of Common’s comments on the split, saying she felt “very disappointed” in the “Glory” rapper because “that’s not what you told me.”
Despite the circumstances, Haddish took the break up in stride as she figured it was more or less due to Common being who he is.
“He might be the type of person that never really settles with somebody, maybe he’s like, you know, like a bee going from flower to flower to flower,” Haddish told “Hollywood Unlocked” host Jason Lee, as she referenced Common’s past high profile relationships. “I don’t know. I wish him nothing but joy and happiness, you know.”
Haddish and Common’s breakup comes after the pair was dating for one year after meeting and hitting it off on the set of the 2019 film “The Kitchen.” According to an insider, the split centered on their busy schedules, with the source saying, “They are never in the same city together and both of them are just too busy for a serious relationship.”
Dwayne Johnson confirms there’s “no chance” of him returning for ‘Fast & Furious 10’
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has confirmed that he will not be returning for the final instalment of the Fast & Furious series.
Last month, Vin Diesel called on Johnson to return to the franchise to reprise his role as Hobbs for one last time.
“I say this out of love… but you must show up, do not leave the franchise idle you have a very important role to play. Hobbs can’t be played by no other. I hope that you rise to the occasion and fulfill your destiny,” Diesel wrote.
But Johnson has now said in a new interview with CNN that he will not be returning.
“This past June, when Vin and I actually connected not over social media, I told him directly – and privately – that I would not be returning to the franchise,” Johnson said.
“I was firm yet cordial with my words and said that I would always be supportive of the cast and always root for the franchise to be successful, but that there was no chance I would return. I privately spoke with my partners at Universal as well, all of whom were very supportive as they understand the problem.”
Addressing Diesel’s post directly, Dwayne Johnson added: “I was very surprised by Vin’s recent post. Vin’s recent public post was an example of his manipulation. I didn’t like that he brought up his children in the post, as well as Paul Walker’s death. Leave them out of it.
“We had spoken months ago about this and came to a clear understanding. My goal all along was to end my amazing journey with this incredible Fast & Furious franchise with gratitude and grace. It’s unfortunate that this public dialogue has muddied the waters.”
Johnson’s last appearance in the Fast & Furious series was in the 2019 spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, alongside Jason Statham. He debuted as DSS agent Luke Hobbs in 2011’s Fast Five, continuing his arc in 2013’s Fast & Furious 6, 2015’s Furious 7 and 2017’s The Fate Of The Furious.
Tentatively set for release on April 7, 2023, Fast & Furious 10 will see the return of Cardi B’s character Leysa, and may be split into two parts.
Kardashian Family and Nicki Minaj Pay Respects to Business Manager Found Dead
Following the news of business manager Angela Kukawski’s death, the Kardashian family and Nicki Minaj have paid their respects.
"Angela was truly the best. She cared about every one of us and made things happen that were impossible," said the Kardashian-Jenner family in comments shared with People. "She will be greatly missed and we send our sincere condolences to her family and loved ones during this most difficult time." Kukawski worked with the family as part of her time at Boulevard Management.
In a post on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Nicki Minaj also shared a statement. “Hardest working, most reliable, sweetest person you could ever know,” she wrote. “You didn’t deserve this, Angela. My heart is breaking for your children. Rest in peace.”
Per the Los Angeles Police Department’s most recent statement on the case, Kukawski’s boyfriend Jason Barker is being held at the Van Nuys County Jail on charges of murder and torture. Detectives believe Barker killed her inside their shared Sherman Oaks home, and then transported her body in her car to Simi Valley.
Angela Kukawski, a Los Angeles-based business manager who has worked with such clients as the Kardashians and Nicki Minaj, has died in an apparent homicide, according to police.
Per Variety, the 55-year-old manager was discovered dead in the trunk of a car just north of Los Angeles on Dec. 23. The Los Angeles police department has since arrested 49-year-old Jason Barker, who detectives say was her boyfriend. He was arrested on suspicion of murder, and the Office of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has filed murder charges against him.
It is believed that Barker transported Kukawski’s body during the morning of Dec. 23, from Van Nuys to Simi Valley. Police have yet to determine a motive, but Deadline reports that detectives have alleged Barker killed her inside their shared Sherman Oaks residence. She was reported missing on Dec. 22. Kukawski, who also worked with Kanye West, Offset, and the 2Pac estate, leaves behind five children.
“We are saddened and heartbroken by the loss of our colleague, Angie Kukawski,” said Todd Bozick of Boulevard Management, where Kukawski worked. “Angie was a kind, wonderful person, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Our deepest condolences go out to all of Angie’s family and friends.”
Simi Valley officer Casey Nicholson, in a statement provided to local news outlet Angelino News, said no other incidents or injuries have been reported in connection with the suspected homicide.
Kim Kardashian’s Skims Thong Slammed Over ‘Troubling’ Sizing: ‘There’s No Way You’re Getting Your A– In This’
A SKIMS customer is calling Kim Kardashian out for allegedly undersizing her $34 core control thong girdle.
In a TikTok video posted by Jasmine Alexandria, the shopper shares how shocked and disappointed she was after gifting herself Kim’s products for Christmas. Jasmine starts the clip by saying, “Now Kim Kardashian, we are going to have a f—king conversation. I got Skims for Christmas … and let me talk about the sizing because the sizing is what’s really troubling me.”
The 29-year-old California native shared that she purchased the shapewear in size “Large/Extra Large,” and went on to display the underwear: “This is a Large/Extra Large and b–ch this does not stretch,” she shared. “It does not stretch. When I tell you I couldn’t even get this past up my thigh.” She added, “It’s crazy to me because with the Kardashians, it’s like you guys buy your bodies, right?,” the TikToker added but that wasn’t all she had to say:
“You bought that a–, you bought them t—–s. So, you know damn well this ain’t gonna do anything,” she continued, referring to the super-small waist-cincher. “So my question to Kim Kardashian is what size are you wearing in your line? ‘Cause you are not wearing a large/extra-large,” said Alexandria. “And I understand that the thighs might not match, but there’s no way you’re getting your a– in this.”
To prove her struggle, Alexandria even demonstrated how difficult it was to fit into the core control underwear. She captioned the clip, “I posted the try-on video [laughing emoji] Skims-1, Me.”
So far, reps for Skims and for Kim Kardashian have not publicly commented on this viral clip.
Mariah Carey Hits The Hot Tub In A Sequined Gown
From the Hot 100 to the hot tub. Mariah Carey made a splash again this holiday season, sporting a sequined dress for a snowy dip.
The 52-year-old Queen of Christmas posed for a pic in her signature festive fashion on Wednesday, celebrating her holiday hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spending another week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In true Mimi style, she perched on the side of a hot tub for the wintry outdoor shoot, teaming her plunging black Louis Vuitton look with a pair of matching “Cyclone” sunglasses ($855) from the same luxury label.
“Feeling blessed and elated. Another week at #1 on the Hot 100! Thank you Lambily… ‘Love you till the end of time,’” she captioned the post, adding the hashtags “#GetFestive” and “#StayFestive.”
It’s safe to say many fans were “Obsessed” with her outfit, as one commented, “Only Mariah can wear a dress in the pool and look flawless in it,” while another dubbed her “ASPENriah.”
Carey’s never been one to shy away from wearing her festive finery in unconventional locations. Just last week, she added some sparkle to a fast food run by wearing a plunging red gown – covered in crystals, of course – while checking out her Mariah Menu at a McDonald’s in Aspen.
And mixing pools and plunging dresses has become something of a tradition for the Grammy winner; she wore another shimmering designer gown in the hot tub during a trip to the Dominican Republic in January 2020, and while ringing in 2017 a few years ago.
One blinged-out outfit she won’t be taking swimming, however? The gold Dolce & Gabbana gown she wore for her Apple TV+ holiday special this year. She said in a recent appearance on Lorraine that it weighed in at about 60 pounds, and required “six grown men” to carry its elaborate train
LL Cool J Test Positive For Covid-19, Call Off New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Set
Rock and Roll Hall-of-Fame recording artist and actor LL Cool J cancels the 50th Annual Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022 performance due to a positive COVID-19 test. The NCIS: Los Angeles star was scheduled to perform a pre-midnight set in Time Square on Friday (Dec. 31).
“I know it’s disappointing to the millions of fans but my test came back positive for COVID, which means I’ll no longer be able to perform as scheduled at ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,’” LL Cool J said in a released statement. “We were ready and I was really looking forward to ringing in 2022 in my hometown in a special way, but for now I wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year. The best is yet to come!“
The New York legend’s cancelation is joined by ABC and the producer’s announcement of the removal of R&B star Chlöe, who was scheduled to perform her hit single “Have Mercy.” LL Cool J adds to a laundry list of COVID-19 positive testing celebrities in recent weeks. This year’s performance list includes a-list superstars such as Daddy Yankee, Big Boi, French Montana, Don Omar and so many more.
While Omicron variant cases have skyrocketed in New York, there is no word of the annual show’s possible cancellation at press time
Man Crashes Virtual School, Threatens to Lynch Fifth-Graders
The FBI is investigating a violently racist man who stormed a virtual classroom and threatened to lynch a class of fifth-graders.
The disturbing incident took place on October 14th, 2020, as most schools continued with online education amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Brian Adams of Paintsville, Kentucky, accessed a virtual Laureate Academy Charter School fifth-grade class in Harvey, Louisiana. Once logged in, Adams called the majority Black class a “bunch of dirty n—-s.” He threatened the children, stating he would “hang you by the tree.” Many students covered their ears and began crying during the incident, which was recorded.
At one point, teachers were able to kick Adams out of the virtual classroom, but he was able to log back in and continue verbally assaulting students. The attack caused Laureate Academy to cancel classes for the next two days.
The day after the “Zoombombing,” two students discovered a YouTube channel called “Archangel gaming,” which posted a video of Adams attacking the students on the Zoom session. The channel also featured footage of Google searches for swastikas. The 45-year-old man used the handle “Alex Jones” during the Zoombombing, referring to the conspiracy theorist far-right radio host.
Google, which owns YouTube, provided authorities with an email address associated with Adams, which led them to his home address. On November 3rd of this year, federal agents raided the house and seized multiple electronics. Following the raid, Adams admitted to threatening the children and posting the incident to YouTube. He also confessed to stealing over $1,000 worth of computer equipment by stealing someone’s Best Buy reward points from their email.
He has not yet been charged with a crime, but federal authorities are likely to charge him with several serious offenses, including threatening interstate communications, interference with federally protected activities, and wire fraud.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
SAD BALD
At this point ,I think he doesn’t care anymore.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!
EFREM
