#MAGFAB: Ariana DeBose Covers MARIE CLAIRE’s ‘Ambition’ Issue
Ariana DeBose covers MARIE CLAIRE’s Ambition Issue photographed by Lelanie Foster and styled by Eliza Yerry. In the piece she opens up about being an openly queer woman voicing a Disney character, on making history as the first openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting and her mocked BAFTA Awards performance.
On being an openly queer woman voicing a Disney character in WISH: “Even with the tumultuous times that we live in and with all the anti-LGBTQ+ hate legislation, what’s going on in Florida, they’ve stood by me,” she says of Disney. “They’ve allowed me to be a real partner in the making of this movie. If I can create a great working environment and be a part of the positive things that are going on, that makes more room for other people who look like me, who identify like me to come in and do the same.”
On making history as the first openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting and only the second Latina ever to take home an acting Oscar: “It’s everything that I wanted. It’s everything that I had prayed for and thought maybe one day in my fifties I would experience, and then it showed up [20 years earlier]!”
On ambition: “Ambition is scary to some people, because when people see someone going after their dreams, it can be a reminder of all the things that they did not move forward to accomplish. That can create animosity and resentment, and that can feel threatening. It takes courage to be ambitious, to dare to go after what you want or believe you can achieve. And that is not for everybody. And that’s okay.”
On her mocked BAFTA Awards performance: “What I initially started out with was much simpler. It was just a list of names, to be honest.” The producers, however, wanted something showier, and, in the spirit of collaboration, Debose worked with their team and “we came up with something that was as far as I was willing to go, and that also met their needs. Lessons were learned. Every time you step out on a stage, there’s a chance it’s not going to go well for either you or for the audience for whatever reason. And it seems that that was one of those performances. You win some, you lose some.”
“I did cry once, but it was because I felt so bad that my grandmother was seeing the really horrible things that were being said that had actually nothing to do with the performance, that were just ripping me apart. That’s when I cried, because my grandmother loves me, and she doesn’t want to read that.”
#RHOA: Marlo Finally Confronts Kandi Over Reaction to Her Nephew's Murder in Explosive Sneak Peek
Kandi Burruss and Marlo Hampton are once again at odds. In E! News' exclusive sneak peek at The Real Housewives of Atlanta's June 11 episode, Marlo confronts Kandi over feeling like her co-star wasn't sympathetic enough after her nephew Quentin—who previously worked at the former XScape singer's Old Lady Gang restaurant—was shot and killed in 2020.
However, Kandi maintains that they never had an in-depth conversation about Quentin's death, telling Marlo, "You sent me a text and asked me did I know your nephew."
But that's not how Marlo remembers things. "I sent you text but also while we were packing for Riley's thing, I came to you," Marlo explains. "I was so emotional that day. But when I brought it up to you, I could tell you didn't want to deal with it."
The comment infuriates Kandi.
"Hold on, why would I not want to deal with it?" the Grammy winner fires back. "You are trying to attach your nephew's shooting to me and it had nothing to do with me. I told you he no longer worked for us, so I don't understand why you're running it back to her as if his shooting had something to do with me and my damn restaurant. Don't do that!"
In a confessional, Kandi explains why she's so angry with Marlo associating Quentin's murder with one of her businesses, especially after there was an unrelated shooting between two employees at her other eatery, Blaze, in September 2022.
"Anything she can use to tear me down, she just trying to run with it," Kandi notes, "and I have a problem with that."
However, in her own confessional, Marlo explains her frustration with her longtime frenemy.
"I'm not mad at you for my nephew's death—Quentin wasn't working there because of COVID," she adds. "I'm mad at you because you ignore things and people allow you to get away with it."
See the tense exchange HERE.
During a May 21 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Marlo opened up to host Andy Cohen about how the incident at Blaze triggered her emotionally.
"It was a shooting, it was her nephew," she explained. "At the time, I reached out to Kandi, I talked to her two days later, I taped at her home—she didn't acknowledge it. To me, I just wanted some condolences like, 'Hey, I'm sorry. Can I send flowers?' My nephew has a thousand pictures in my phone of you, him in the back, cooking in the kitchen."
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
#MusicNews: Janelle Monáe Releases Her New Album 'The Age Of Pleasure'
Janelle Monáe has ended her five-year hiatus with the release of her latest album, The Age Of Pleasure. A stellar amalgamation of the singer-songwriter’s diverse artistic elements, the album invites listeners to a world of self-love, acceptance, and freedom. Building on her prior work, it represents a highly anticipated evolution of Monáe’s musical journey while retaining her playful and energetic style.
Across 14 tracks, the album boasts an eclectic list of collaborations featuring artists like Seun Kuti, Egypt 80, Doechii, Grace Jones, Nia Long, Amaarae, Sister Nancy, and CKay. It also arrives alongside the announcement of her upcoming North American tour across 26 cities, which will make stops in major cities like Toronto, New York, and Atlanta, to name a few.
Not a newcomer to the art of blending genres, the musician’s latest body of work serves as a testament to her artistic audacity. With a runtime of a little over half an hour, the album packs a punch, presenting a sonic tapestry that spans the Black diaspora.
Unlike 2018’s Dirty Computer, the project floats away from “dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves.” Instead, the music becomes the medium of communication, sending a message of community and unity. It stands as a tribute to life’s delights, a toast to the joys of being alive, with an open invitation to listeners of all gender identities and affirmations.
Tracks such as “The Rush” and “Haute” offer nods to the spectrum of gender fluidity, while “Lipstick Lover” is an anthem celebrating queer Black bodies. Its accompanying music video, which was recently given a censored makeover, has stirred up conversations and led to a toned-down version for mainstream viewers.
Throughout the release, the singer boldly encourages listeners to live their truth, whether it’s through emotional self-reflection or physical exploration. Ultimately, it attempts to resonate with themes of self-growth, affirmations, and personal liberation, with tracks like the pre-release single “Float” celebrating personal victories.
Listen to Janelle Monáe’s The Age Of Pleasure HERE
#HipHopNews: City Girls Have A New Single Out Titled "Piñata"
On Thursday (June 8), City Girls dropped off an infectious new single titled “I Need A Thug,” an LL Cool J-sampled offering that immediately raised hopes for an impending album. Today (June 9), the Miami duo added to that with “Piñata,” which is produced by London on da Track and is full of the aggressive, sexually oriented vibes that they’ve become well-known for.
“P**sy make him do the cha cha, he wanna hit it like a piñata, I need a n**ga wit’ a big stick, no broke d**k, n**ga, gotta be rich rich, 20 pointers for Christmas, gotta play for the Spurs or the Clippers, tell b**ch mind her business, I don’t wanna be your main b**ch or your mistress, I’m a dime, she a penny, hoppin’ out the Lambo truck drippin’ Fendi, n**a, back back, where the stacks at? Wrap my legs ’round your head like a snapback, let you taste that, that aqua, now you wanna hit it like a piñata…”
LISTEN HERE
Back in 2020, City Girls liberated their sophomore studio LP, City On Lock, a 15-track effort with additional contributions from Yo Gotti, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, and Lil Baby. Since then, they’ve kept fans fed with singles like “Twerkulator,” “Scared,” “Top Notch” with Fivio Foreign, and “Good Love” with Usher — all of which are expected to appear on JT and Yung Miami’s forthcoming project. Outside of their own work, they appeared on songs like Latto’s “In n Out,” Moneybagg Yo’s “Said Sum (Remix),” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Do It On The Tip,” Summer Walker’s “Ex For A Reason,” Saucy Santana’s “Shisha,” DJ Khaled’s “BILLS PAID,” and Diddy’s “Act Bad.”
Alicia Keys Announces Original Stage Musical “Hell’s Kitchen” In New York City
Alicia Keys has just announced her upcoming new original stage musical “Hell’s Kitchen”. The show ill open on November 19th as part of New York theatrical institution The Public Theater’s 2023-2024 Season.
The musical production features new music and lyrics by the global superstar and is inspired by and loosely based on Keys’ own early life in the famed New York City neighborhood.
HELL’S KITCHEN runs October 24-December 10.
Keys and Pulitzer Prize-finalist playwright Kristoffer Diaz bring their exhilarating coming-of-age musical HELL’S KITCHEN to The Public this fall with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown, direction by musical theatre giant and Tony Award nominee Michael Greif and Music Supervisor and Co-Orchestrator Adam Blackstone. HELL’S KITCHEN is an unforgettable new show featuring original, new music as well as the soulful, iconic hit songs of New York’s own Alicia Keys. It explores many societal issues facing young people about identity, belonging and finding yourself in the concrete jungle and elsewhere, navigating life and love.
In a cramped apartment hanging off the side of Times Square, 17-year-old Ali is desperate to get her piece of the New York dream. Ali’s mother is just as determined to protect her daughter from the same mistakes she made. When Ali falls for a talented young drummer, both mother and daughter must face hard truths about race, defiance, and growing up. Ali feels trapped, until the sound of a neighbors playing piano opens the door to an unexpected friendship and a radically different future
Lady GaGa Seeks To Dismiss Lawsuit Filed By Woman Who Returned Her Stolen Dogs
Lady Gaga rejects to pay a $500,000 reward for the return of her French bulldogs, insisting the woman was aware of them being stolen. The "Bad Romance" singer was taken to court in February by Jennifer McBride - who handed over the pop star's dogs in February 2021, two days after they were taken from her dog walker - after she refused to hand over the "no questions" sum in exchange for the safe return of her pooches and the 37-year-old star has now filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, insisting the woman was part of a conspiracy to steal the animals.
"Plaintiff Jennifer McBride seeks to profit from her participation in a crime. The law does not allow a person to commit a crime and then profit from it," documents obtained by CBS News stated.
Attorneys for Gaga said McBride claimed to have been a good Samaritan who found the dogs on the street by chance and had "no idea" they belonged to the "Star Is Born" actress, but they argued she was in fact a "direct and knowing participant in the criminal enterprise."
In December, McBride was sentenced to two years probation after pleading no contest to knowingly receiving stolen property. She has maintained she performed her obligation under the terms of the reward contract but Gaga had no intention of paying it, so she is suing for breach of contract, fraud by false promise and fraud by misrepresentation.
She is also seeking legal fees and compensation for financial damages, pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life but Gaga's team argued she has not suffered any damages in returning the dogs. A hearing on the motion to dismiss has been scheduled for July 10.
Ted Kaczynski, known as the 'Unabomber,' has died in prison at age 81
Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. He was 81.
Branded the "Unabomber" by the FBI, Kaczynski died at the federal prison medical center in Butner, North Carolina, Kristie Breshears, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons, told The Associated Press. He was found unresponsive in his cell early Saturday morning and was pronounced dead around 8 a.m., she said. A cause of death was not immediately known.
Before his transfer to the prison medical facility, he had been held in the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, since May 1998, when he was sentenced to four life sentences plus 30 years for a campaign of terror that set universities nationwide on edge. He admitted committing 16 bombings from 1978 and 1995, permanently maiming several of his victims.
Years before the Sept. 11 attacks and the anthrax mailing, the "Unabomber's" deadly homemade bombs changed the way Americans mailed packages and boarded airplanes, even virtually shutting down air travel on the West Coast in July 1995.
He forced The Washington Post, in conjunction with The New York Times, to make the agonizing decision in September 1995 to publish his 35,000-word manifesto, "Industrial Society and Its Future," which claimed modern society and technology was leading to a sense of powerlessness and alienation.
But it led to his undoing. Kaczynski's brother David and David's wife, Linda Patrik, recognized the treatise's tone and tipped off the FBI, which had been searching for the "Unabomber" for years in nation's longest, costliest manhunt.
Authorities in April 1996 found him in a 10-by-14-foot (3-by-4-meter) plywood and tarpaper cabin outside Lincoln, Montana, that was filled with journals, a coded diary, explosive ingredients and two completed bombs.
As an elusive criminal mastermind, the Unabomber won his share of sympathizers and comparisons to Daniel Boone, Edward Abbey and Henry David Thoreau.
But once revealed as a wild-eyed hermit with long hair and beard who weathered Montana winters in a one-room shack, Kaczynski struck many as more of a pathetic loner than romantic anti-hero.
Even in his own journals, Kaczynski came across as not a committed revolutionary, but a vengeful hermit driven by petty grievances.
"I certainly don't claim to be an altruist or to be acting for the 'good' (whatever that is) of the human race," he wrote on April 6, 1971. "I act merely from a desire for revenge."
A psychiatrist who interviewed Kaczynski in prison diagnosed him as a paranoid schizophrenic.
"Mr. Kaczynski's delusions are mostly persecutory in nature," Sally Johnson wrote in a 47-page report. "The central themes involve his belief that he is being maligned and harassed by family members and modern society."
Kaczynski hated the idea of being viewed as mentally ill and when his lawyers attempted to present an insanity defense, he tried to fire them. When that failed, he tried to hang himself with his underwear.
Kaczynski eventually pleaded guilty rather than let his defense team proceed with an insanity defense.
"I'm confident that I'm sane," Kaczynski told Time magazine in 1999. "I don't get delusions and so forth."
He was certainly brilliant.
Kaczynski skipped two grades to attend Harvard at age 16 and had published papers in prestigious mathematics journals. His explosives were carefully tested and came in meticulously handcrafted wooden boxes sanded to remove possible fingerprints. Later bombs bore the signature "FC" for "Freedom Club."
The FBI called him the "Unabomber" because his early targets seemed to be universities and airlines. An altitude-triggered bomb he mailed in 1979 went off as planned aboard an American Airlines flight; a dozen people aboard suffered from smoke inhalation.
Kaczynski killed computer rental store owner Hugh Scrutton, advertising executive Thomas Mosser and timber industry lobbyist Gilbert Murray. California geneticist Charles Epstein and Yale University computer expert David Gelernter were maimed by bombs two days apart in June 1993.
Mosser was killed in his North Caldwell, New Jersey, home on Dec. 10, 1994, a day he was supposed to be picking out a Christmas tree with his family. His wife, Susan, found him grievously wounded by a barrage of razor blades, pipes and nails.
"He was moaning very softly," she said at Kaczynski's 1998 sentencing. "The fingers on his right hand were dangling. I held his left hand. I told him help was coming. I told him I loved him."
When Kaczynski stepped up his bombs and letters to newspapers and scientists in 1995, experts speculated the "Unabomber" was jealous of the attention being paid to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
A threat to blow up a plane out of Los Angeles before the end of the July Fourth weekend threw air travel and mail delivery into chaos. The "Unabomber" later claimed it was a "prank."
The Washington Post printed the "Unabomber's" manifesto at the urging of federal authorities, after the bomber said he would desist from terrorism if a national publication published his treatise.
Patrik had had a disturbing feeling about her brother-in-law even before seeing the manifesto and eventually persuaded her husband to read a copy at the library. After two months of arguments, they took some of Ted Kaczynski's letters to Patrik's childhood friend Susan Swanson, a private investigator in Chicago.
Swanson in turn passed them along to former FBI behavior science expert Clint Van Zandt, whose analysts said whoever wrote them had also probably written the "Unabomber's" manifesto.
"It was a nightmare," David Kaczynski, who as a child had idolized his older brother, said in a 2005 speech at Bennington College. "I was literally thinking, 'My brother's a serial killer, the most wanted man in America.'"
Swanson turned to a corporate lawyer friend, Anthony Bisceglie, who contacted the FBI.
David Kaczynski wanted his role kept confidential, but his identity quickly leaked out and Ted Kaczynski vowed never to forgive his younger sibling. He ignored his letters, turned his back on him at court hearings and described David Kaczynski in a 1999 book draft as a "Judas Iscariot (who) ... doesn't even have enough courage to go hang himself."
Ted Kaczynski was born May 22, 1942, in Chicago, the son of second-generation Polish Catholics — a sausage-maker and a homemaker. He played the trombone in the school band, collected coins and skipped the sixth and 11th grades.
His high school classmates thought him odd, particularly after he showed a school wrestler how to make a mini-bomb that detonated during chemistry class.
Harvard classmates recalled him as a lonely, thin boy with poor personal hygiene and a room that smelled of spoiled milk, rotting food and foot powder.
After graduate studies at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, he got a job teaching math at the University of California at Berkeley but found the work difficult and quit abruptly. In 1971, he bought a 1½-acre parcel about 4 miles (6 kilometers) outside of Lincoln and built a cabin there without heating, plumbing or electricity.
He learned to garden, hunt, make tools and sew, living on a few hundred dollars a year.
He left his cabin in Montana in the late 1970s to work at a foam rubber products manufacturer outside Chicago with his father and brother. But when a female supervisor dumped him after two dates, he began posting insulting limericks about her and wouldn't stop.
His brother fired him and Ted Kaczynski soon returned to the wilderness to continue plotting his vengeful killing spree.
MCU’s Namor Star Tenoch Huerta Accused of Sexual Assault by Mexican Musician
Tenoch Huerta made his MCU debut in last year’s Black Panther sequel, but new revelations could damage his chances of a return.
Tenoch Huerta in Black Panther Wakanda Forever as NamorWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Marvel Studios are stuck in another controversy as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta has been accused of sexual assault by Mexican saxophonist Maria Elena Rios. In a series of social media posts, Rios claimed the Namor actor is a “sexual predator” who has been protected by anti-racism group Poder Prieto after she claimed the group published a podcast featuring her without paying her. When they disputed the musician and activist’s version of events she said they were simply protecting Huerta.
The accounts and details are yet to see any kind of reaction from Huerta, but have already attracted a lot of attention on social media from Marvel fans making comparisons between this case and the recent issues faced by Jonathan Majors, who is still caught up in claims that he assaulted his girlfriend back in March. In the post made by Rios in her native Spanish, she said:
"I made it very clear to them when I left their group that they protect the violent and sexual PREDATOR of @TenochHuerta that they did not publish anything about me. They still went to look for me at a concert of hypocrites to avoid scandals for their @MarvelLATAM movie.”
She expanded on this in a subsequent post, in which she continued to say:
"It is very difficult to talk about the emotional abuse and abuse of power of a sexual predator who is loved in the world for playing a movie character like @TenochHuerta. Charming in appearance, the great hallmark of a narcissist + a good helping of victimization.'And why didn't you report?' They say those who live in a macho country, where justice is unattainable where they almost kill you and still they don't believe you or justice comes. And no, I don't want to be famous. And no, I don't want money because I know how to work."
Who is Musician Maria Elena Rios?
Since being a young girl, Maria Elena Rios has been a well-known saxophonist, who in recent years has become heavily involved in activism. Having been the victim of an acid attack herself, Rios has become a voice for other women who have suffered similar attacks. This led to her working with Poder Prieto, although her relationship with the group now seems to have been soured.
Just like the accusations against Jonathan Majors earlier this year, the response from social media has been immediate, but that is before Huerta has given any kind of reply and the details are to be fully explained in any real capacity. There will likely be several updates on the matter in the next few days, and until the full story is known, Marvel Studios executives will no doubt be bracing themselves for another rough time with the personal life of one of their up and coming stars hitting headlines.
Huerta is expected to return to the MCU in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which is also set to star Majors as the titular Marvel villain.
Ms. Jacky Oh's best friends pay tribute to her after regal celebration of life send-off
The impact Ms. Jacky Oh had on so many people who knew and loved her continues to be felt. The former television personality was laid to rest after a celebration of life service in Atlanta on Saturday (June 10).
As previously reported, Jacky, 33, suddenly passed away more than a week ago, on May 31, while in Miami. She was reportedly in town for a mommy makeover after teasing that her results from the cosmetic surgery would be shared with her followers on YouTube. An official cause of death remains unknown at this time.
Several clips have surfaced online of her longtime partner, DC Young Fly, paying tribute to Jacky in a moving eulogy. Other clips show her loved ones dressed in white and pink as they released white doves to the sky after her service, as well as footage of her friends gathered at a repass. Some of the individuals include B. Simone, Brittney Elena, Leticia Gardner, Lauren Wood, and Ernestine Morrison. The five women and others wore shirts with a photo collage of the beloved mother screen-printed on them as they released lanterns and honored the life she lived.
“Jacky had a spirit of community. She loved bringing people together. She was everything beautiful, everything that shines or shimmers. A real unicorn always covered in body glitter,” wrote Gardner in a post. The actress continued, “She lit up every room she walked in and was always so happy. She was successful at everything she touched. She loved being a mom more than anything else. She was the best friend, my best friend (twin), mother, and partner anyone could ask for. The last time we talked, we said we love you to each other and that you were going to get some rest. I never thought it would be [eternal] rest. I miss you so much. Forever in my heart til we meet again. I love you.”
Morrison, who also shared footage of the repass festivities, shared an equally emotion-laced post about her dear friend. She wrote, “Wow. You were sent off in the classiest of ways, like the true queen you are. The freeway was shut down for you. You went off in a horse and carriage. Grand. Just like you. It still doesn’t seem real, but like the pastor said today, ‘To be continued.’ You were surrounded by so much genuine love and support today, and it was beautiful to see.”
The actress went on to acknowledge DC’s moving speech about his and Jacky’s children being covered by God’s grace during their time of sorrow. “Leticia Marie Gardner, Kira, [and] Brittney Elena did what any best friend would do and stood 10 toes down, seeing you off with loving words and unwavering support. B. Simone carried your flowers, and it reminded me of how she always gave you your flowers when you were here, so there are no regrets. Your Cali crew, [your] Atlanta crew, and all who loved you were all there. Still loving you like we always have. We love you now and forever. Go awf, Jacky.”
#BoxOfficeNews: ‘Transformers’ Topples ‘Spider-Verse’ With $60 Million Debut After Heated Box Office Battle
Spider-Man put up a good fight, but the Autobots came out on top.
After an unusually close box office battle, Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” pulled ahead of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” debuting in first place to $60.5 million from 3,678 theaters. Sony’s animated “Spider-Verse sequel still managed a mighty second weekend, landing in second place with $55.4 million from 4,332 theaters.
Thanks to the better-than-expected turnouts for those films, box office returns from the first few weeks of summer (May 1 and June 11) are up 5% from 2022, according to Comscore. Analysts hope that popcorn season is able to stay strong as blockbuster-hopefuls like “The Flash” and Pixar’s “Elemental” join the fray in the coming days.
Initial ticket sales for “Rise of the Beasts,” which is the seventh installment in the “Transformers” franchise,” were notably better than the prior two entries, 2018’s “Bumblebee” ($21.6 million) and 2017’s “The Last Knight” ($44.68 million). It’s an encouraging sign that Paramount’s 16-year-old action series isn’t yet running on fumes. That’s been a concern because the more recent chapters brought back diminishing returns after softer starts. Reviews for “Rise of the Beasts” were mixed, but audiences embraced the film with an “A-” CinemaScore.
“The jump above the previous film’s opening is excellent,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Episodes six and seven are where action series either find new creative energy and extend their run (‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Fast & Furious,’ ‘Planet of the Apes’) or start winding down (‘Terminator,’ ‘Predator’). Only James Bond lives forever.”
But the tentpole, directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, cost $200 million. It’ll need to resonate at the international box office to justify that hefty price tag. Prior “Transformers” films have earned as much as 70% of overall box office returns outside of the U.S. and Canada. Overseas, “Rise of the Beasts” ignited to $110 million from 68 markets, boosting its global total to $170.5 million.
Even in second place, there’s still plenty to celebrate for “Spider-Verse,” which is already a huge theatrical winner with $226 million domestically and $290 million globally after 10 days in theaters. Over the weekend, the superhero follow-up surpassed the entire domestic and worldwide tally of its predecessor, 2018’s Oscar-winning “Into the Spider-Verse,” which ended its box office run with $190 million in North America and $384 million globally. It now stands as Sony’s highest-grossing animated release in history.
Elsewhere at the box office, three holdovers from Disney rounded out the top of North American charts. In third place, “The Little Mermaid” added $22.8 million from 4,320 theaters, declining 46% from the weekend prior. After three weeks of release, the live-action remake is swimming along with $228 million at the domestic box office. But the big-budget film has been struggling at the international box office, where ticket sales have been floundering with $185 million. (Yes, that’s considered “floundering” for a movie that cost $250 million.) At one point, there was hope “The Little Mermaid” would near the $1 billion mark but after a disappointing turnout overseas, it’ll be lucky to hit $500 million.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” took the No. 4 spot with $7 million from 3,175 venues in its sixth weekend on the big screen. So far, the comic book adventure has grossed $335 million in North America and $805 million worldwide, which is above the original 2014 “Guardians of the Galaxy” ($333 million domestically, $773 million worldwide) but below the 2017 sequel ($389 million domestically, $863 million worldwide).
In fifth place, “The Boogeyman” added $6.9 million from 3,205 theaters, marking a 46% decline from its debut. The movie, adapted from Stephen King’s short story of the same name, has generated $24.7 million domestically and $39.6 million globally to date.
Kelis Reacts After Fan Asks Her to Address Bill Murray Dating Rumors: 'I Wouldn't Bother at All'
The rumored romance between the singer and actor comes over a year after Kelis lost her husband Mike Mora to stomach cancer
Kelis is making light of the rumors that she is involved romantically with Bill Murray.
The "Milkshake" singer, 43, replied to a user who commented on her latest Instagram post Saturday asking if she is dating the 72-year-old actor.
"Ma’am would you care to address these Bill Murray allegations?!? Cuz damn! What he doing with all that?!?" the user wrote, to which Kelis responded, "lol no babe, I wouldn’t bother at all."
Earlier this week, The Sun claimed Kelis was seeing the Ghostbusters star, just over a year after the singer lost her husband Mike Mora to stomach cancer.
Murray — whose second wife Jennifer Butler died in 2021, 13 years after their divorce — was previously photographed watching Kelis' performance at the Mighty Hoopla music festival in London on June 3.
Representatives for both Kelis and Murray did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’S request for comment.
Kelis has been open about her grief in the year since losing her husband. In March, she shared an emotional Instagram post marking "exactly a year" since his death. She and Mora, 37, shared daughter Galilee, 2, and son Shepherd, 7, while Kelis is also mom to son Knight, 13, with ex-husband Nas.
"I'm a very private person generally, especially when there is family involved. But there is no denying the impact and evolution my husband's passing has had on my life," she wrote. "I get asked all the time how I started this journey. It's a much longer conversation but in short what we were dealing with here pushed me so deep into understanding our bodies and how our minds and emotions are so interlocked you can not treat one without the other."
She continued: "Our thoughts and intentions are as powerful and key as our skin health and fitness. I want to live well and this is me sharing what I know to be true."
Murray, meanwhile, is a father of six. He shares sons Homer, 41, and Luke, 38, with first wife Margaret Kelly, and sons Caleb, 30, Jackson, 27, Cooper, 26, and Lincoln, 22, with Butler.
In 2014, he opened up about enjoying life as a single man, telling Howard Stern that he hardly felt "lonely."
"It would be nice to go to some of these things and have a date... to have someone to bring along [to George Clooney's wedding]," he said. "But there's a lot that I am not doing that I need to do, [like] working on yourself or self-development or something... becoming more connected to myself."
Takeoff’s Mother Sues Houston Venue Where Rapper Was Fatally Shot
*The mother of late rapper Takeoff has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of the venue where her son was fatally shot last year.
Titania Davenport is seeking $1 million in damages from 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston, according to Complex.
We reported previously via CNN, Takeoff was an innocent bystander to an argument that took place outside the bowling alley in November that led to the shooting, according to police. He was unarmed and not involved in the argument. Takeoff was shot in the head and the torso, according to the coroner’s report.
According to Rolling Stone, Davenport accuses 810 Billiards & Bowling of failing to provide proper security on the day Takeoff was killed. The lawsuit claims the venue didn’t utilize “screening mechanisms, [or] after-hour controls or security measures.”
“In fact, social media posting in advance of the party made it clear that not only basic security measures needed to be followed, but advance planning and consideration should have been taken into account, which defendants were negligent in failing to do,” the suit alleges.
Davenport is seeking “compensatory, special, economic, consequential, general, punitive, and all other damages permissible under Texas law.”
Last month, a Texas grand jury charged Patrick Xavier Clark, also known as DJ Pat, in the killing of the artist.
Clark was indicted on murder charges on May 25. In a statement to TMZ, his attorney, Carl Moore said, “Today’s action by the grand jury is not unexpected.”
Moore continued, “We would ask people to remember that getting an indictment requires meeting a very, very minimal standard of proof. When we get inside a courtroom and in front of a jury, where we will be able to put on our evidence and cross-examine the state’s witnesses— where the standard of proof is guilt beyond a reasonable doubt— we expect the jury will come back with a verdict of not guilty.”
Jimmie Allen Allegedly Recorded Himself Raping Woman Who Refused Unprotected Sex With Him
Country star Jimmie Allen is facing new sexual assault allegations, accused of recording a woman without her consent.
The latest claim comes from a woman who alleges that Allen sexually assaulted her in his Las Vegas hotel room and recorded the incident on his phone. The victim, identified as Jane Doe 2, met Allen on a flight but was unaware of his celebrity status. He informed her that he was separated from his wife, and they began talking regularly. After months of long-distance communication, they arranged to meet in Vegas. Their initial sexual encounter started consensually. However, when Allen attempted to engage in unprotected intercourse, she objected. Despite her repeated refusals, Allen proceeded to have unprotected sex with her. Afterward, Jane Doe 2 discovered Allen’s cell phone hidden in the hotel closet, recording the encounter. She seized the phone and handed it over to the police when she filed her criminal complaint.
This lawsuit follows another troubling case filed last month. Allen’s former manager made the complaint, alleging that he sexually abused her over an 18-month period. She claims to have been raped by him and threatened with termination if she reported the abuse. The employee also asserts that Allen recorded their encounters. During her employment, Allen displayed extremely aggressive sexual behavior in public, including groping her on a plane and exposing himself to her in front of others. She further alleges that he watched pornography on her work computers.
Allen has denied all these accusations, but his record label, BBR Music Group, has decided to drop him.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Receives Backlash For Supporting The LGBTQ+ Community During Pride Month
Cracker Barrel is facing backlash for posting a photo on Instagram featuring a rainbow chair outside one of its restaurants as a celebration of Pride Month.
After sharing the photo, many conservative customers expressed their dissatisfaction. The purpose of the post was to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community and bring attention to Pride Month. Cracker Barrel displayed a rainbow-colored rocking chair alongside its usual chairs.
The caption of the post read, “We are excited to celebrate Pride Month with our employees and guests. Everyone is always welcome at our table (and our rainbow rocker). Happy Pride!” However, this sparked immediate outrage among some guests, who took to social media to voice their opinions. One Twitter user expressed being “shocked” by the restaurant’s decision to share the image. In response, Cracker Barrel stated that they take pride in creating a welcoming and safe environment.
The official Twitter account of the restaurant replied, “Thanks for sharing. Our teams take pride in creating a welcoming, safe atmosphere where people can enjoy time with family and friends the moment they walk through our doors.”
Even Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson joined the controversy, declaring that he will “NEVER eat there again!!” However, Cracker Barrel’s website emphasizes its commitment to diversity and inclusion, stating that any form of discrimination is strictly prohibited within their establishment.
“Our teams work hard to create a culture of hospitality that’s welcoming, respectful, and inclusive to everyone who walks through our doors. Our food and decor celebrate warm memories of the past,” the website states. “And our inclusive culture and beliefs help us make way for an even brighter future, together. Discrimination, whether overt or through unconscious bias, has no place at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.”
Men Wore It Better?
LOL!
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