#MAGFAB: Harrison Ford for Esquire - Summer 2023
Indiana Jones is back, with Harrison Ford in the role for the last time, and Esquire caught up with the actor for two days in LA, in his airplane hangar, at his house — drinking bourbon and talking about what really matters in life.
In this excerpt, Ford talks about why he decided to come back and make another Indiana Jones film.
Why Make Another Indiana Jones Movie, Filmed When He Was Pushing Eighty? “I Wanted An Ambitious Movie To Be The Last One,” He Says. “And I Don’t Mean That We Didn’t Make Ambitious Movies Before—They Were Ambitious In Many Different Ways. But Not Necessarily As Ambitious With The Character As I Wanted The Last One To Be.”
Early In The Dial Of Destiny, There’s A Scene In Which Jones Is Riding A Horse On A Subway Platform In Manhattan. As Ford Finished The Scene, He Felt Hands All Over His Legs And, He Says, “I Thought, What The Fuck? Like I Was Being Attacked By Gropers. I Look Down And There’s Three Stunt Guys There Making Sure I Didn’t Fall Off The Stirrup. They Said, Oh, We Were Just Afraid Because We Thought, You Know, And Bah Bah Bah Bah. And I Said, Leave Me The Fuck Alone, I’m An Old Man—”
He’s Raising His Voice Now.
“Sorry.” He Lowers His Voice, But His Fingers Are Drumming Like Mad. “Leave Me Alone, I’m An Old Man Getting Off A Horse And”—Loud Voice Again, He Can’t Help It—“I Want It To Look Like That!”
There’s Another Moment In The Dial Of Destiny: Indiana Jones Is In Hand-To-Hand Combat With The Villain On A Speeding Train, And He Holds His Famous Hat Over The Villain’s Face Before Punching Him, As If To Take Him By Surprise. It’s A Brilliant Bit Of Jonesian Theatrics, And It Was Ford’s Idea—The Kind Of Thing Only He Would Think Of, Having Inhabited Jones For So Long.
Over A Fifty-Year Career And An Eight-Decade Life, Ford Had Banged Himself Up From Time To Time—Snowboards, Horses, Stunts. Something Must Have Weakened His Shoulder, Because When He Held His Hat In The Face Of Actor Mads Mikkelsen And Pulled His Hand Back To Demonstrate The Punch—Someone Was In The Way And He Had To Adjust Mid-Strike—Ford Pulled The Subscapularis Muscle Off His Right Shoulder. Production Shut Down For Two Weeks, And Ford Had To Sit Out An Extra Six Weeks After That.
“Well,” I Offer, “You’ve Always Been Known For Doing So Many Of Your Own Action Scenes.”
“Yeah, Well, I’m Also Known For Shutting Movies Down Because I Get Hurt, Which Is Not Something You Want To Be Known For. But Hey, Shit Happens.”
Read the interview in full here, and see Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in the UK and Ireland from June 28th, 2023, and two days later in the USA.
#RHOA: Uh Oh? Cast Members Worried About Show Being Recast as Dismal Ratings for Season 15 Continue To Drop
The Real Housewives franchise is such an industry juggernaut that there’s something strange when one of its iterations flops. Such is the case for Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 15, which seems ludicrous. 14 successful seasons and now the show is flopping?
Well, successful is a relative term. Truth is, RHOA’s viewership has been on the decline for a few years. However, it was only recently that Season 15 saw the lowest viewership in years, with Episode 4 only netting 657,000 viewers.
Yes, the decline has been steady and somewhat expected. Season 12 averaged 1.8 million viewers, Season 13 had 1.25 million, and Season 14 averaged 950,000. Compare this to the days of yore. In Season 7, back in Nene Leakes’ heyday, the show pulled an average of over three million viewers.
Coming soon: Regular Housewives of Atlanta
Unfortunately for the Housewives, they are all too aware of the numbers. An insider close to the cast reported to Radar Online that “They are worried Bravo will pull a recast on them as they did to the cast of Real Housewives of New York. None of them feel safe, even Kandi.”
As many know, RHONY was rebooted with a new cast of younger and more diverse housewives. This hard reset came in the face of declining ratings. While the original RHONY cast was shuffled around and retained jobs in the reality TV space, they made significantly less than they did on their main franchise, and that must be, in part, what the Housewives of Atlanta are worried about.
Ultimately, fans have just found the show boring recently. None of the current cast members engage them presently. Many have called for Andy Cohen to let Nene and Porsha Williams return. But given his complicated dynamic with Nene, that seems unlikely. For now, RHOA might have to flounder before it can swim again, one way or another.
Real Housewives of Atlanta continues Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.
#MusicNews: Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ Jumps Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 After Release of Deluxe Editions
Taylor Swift’s Midnights jumps back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 10), for a sixth nonconsecutive week atop the list. The set bumps 3-1 after the May 26 release of two deluxe editions of the album, along with a new color vinyl variant of the original standard album.
Midnights earned 282,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending June 1 (up 389%), according to Luminate – the second-largest week of 2023 for any album. Only the debut frame of Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time posted a bigger week this year, when it launched at No. 1 with 501,000 (chart dated March 18).
Midnights debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 5, 2022, and spent its first two weeks at No. 1. It then notched three further weeks at No. 1 on the charts dated Nov. 26-Dec. 10, 2022. The album has never left the top 10 in its 32 weeks on the chart.
Midnights’ return to No. 1 halts the chart-topping run of Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which falls to No. 2 after spending its first 12 weeks at No. 1 – the most weeks atop the chart for a country album in over 30 years. (Country albums are those that have charted on, or are eligible for, Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 chart, rapper Lil Durk score his sixth top 10, as Almost Healed starts at No. 3.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new June 10, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 6. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Midnights’ 282,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 1, album sales comprise 196,000 (up 1,529% — the largest sales week for any album in 2023 and the biggest since Midnights itself debuted with 1.114 million sold on the Nov. 5-dated chart), SEA units comprise 80,000 (up 79%, equaling 107.6 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 6,000 (up 618%).
Midnights had an array of drivers assisting its return to No. 1 on the Billboard 200. On May 26, Swift released a new deluxe edition of Midnights, dubbed The Til Dawn Edition, through digital retailers, Swift’s webstore and streaming services. The 23-track set includes the original standard album’s 13 tracks, plus the seven bonus tracks from the earlier-released Midnights (The 3am Edition, originally released on Oct. 21, 2022, shortly after the standard album), and three bonus tracks: “Hits Different,” which was previously only on the Target-exclusive CD edition of the standard edition of Midnights; a new version of the standard album’s “Snow on the Beach,” featuring more Lana Del Rey, and a remix of the standard set’s “Karma,” adding Ice Spice as a featured artist.
The “Karma” remix, alongside its official music video, also premiered across streamers and digital retailers as a single on May 26. Swift and Ice Spice gave the first live performance of the track at Swift’s May 26 The Eras Tour concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
In addition to the Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition), on May 26 Swift introduced a further iteration of the album, named Midnights (The Late Night Edition). The 21-track set contains the original standard album’s 13 tracks, plus five of the seven bonus tracks from The 3am Edition and three bonus tracks: the previously noted new versions of “Snow on the Beach” and “Karma,” along with a previously unreleased track titled “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault).” The Late Night Edition version of the album is available only as a CD sold at merch stands at Swift’s The Eras Tour stops (having started on May 26) for $10 and was briefly sold through Swift’s webstore (for 24 hours only) as a digital download album for $5.99 (from 8 p.m. ET on May 26 to 8 p.m. ET on May 27). “You’re Losing Me” is exclusive to The Late Night edition of the album and is not available to stream anywhere officially, nor sold as a stand-alone track.
There is no word on when, or if, The Late Night Edition will be widely released, nor if “You’re Losing Me” will be released a la carte.
Beyond the above drivers, the standard Midnights vinyl album was reissued in a color variant on May 26. The day, the Love Potion purple marble color variant of Midnights was available in select independent record stores, after being previously sold in a short pre-order window through Swift’s webstore (with orders shipping out starting May 26).
Wallen’s One Thing at a Time surrenders the No. 1 slot after spending its first 12 weeks at No. 1, as the album dips to No. 2 with 126,000 equivalent album units earned (down 2%).
Lil Durk notches his sixth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as Almost Healed debuts at No. 3 with 125,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 122,000 (equaling 167.82 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 2,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. Notably, the 125,000-unit start marks Durk’s best week, outside of his collaborative set with Lil Baby, which bowed at No. 1 with 150,000 (June 19, 2021, chart).
A trio of former No. 1s is next on the Billboard 200, as SZA’s SOS dips 2-4 (55,000 equivalent album units earned; down 29%), Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album falls 4-5 (48,000; up 2%) and Swift’s Lover is a non-mover at No. 6 (38,000; down 1%). Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old rises one rung to No. 7 with 33,000 (down 4%).
Bad Bunny’s chart-topping Un Verano Sin Ti climbs one spot to No. 8 (nearly 33,000 equivalent album units; down 3%), Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak bumps 10-9 (31,000; down 1%) and Bailey Zimmerman’s Religiously. The Album. climbs back to the top 10, up 11-10 (30,000; down 4%).
As the top 10 contains Wallen’s two albums (One Thing at a Time and Dangerous at Nos. 2 and 5), Combs’ Gettin’ Old (No. 7), Bryan’s American Heartbreak (No. 9) and Zimmerman’s Religiously. The Album. (No. 10), there are five country albums in the top 10 for the first time in nearly a decade. The chart last had at least five country sets in the top 10 on the Oct. 5, 2013-dated list. That week, Justin Moore’s Off the Beaten Path debuted at No. 2, Chris Young’s A.M. launched at No. 3, Luke Bryan’s former leader Crash My Party fell 4-6, Keith Urban’s Fuse fell 1-8 and Billy Currington’s We Are Tonight debuted at No. 10.
#HipHopNews: Mc Lyte On Honoring Hip Hop’s Women At Kennedy Center: ‘It Feels Invigorating’
MC Lyte has always been a vocal proponent of the role of women in Hip Hop, but the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop has the legendary MC reflecting on how the female force has been silenced…until now.
The “Ice Cream Dream” rapper spoke to Hip Hop Wired ahead of the I AM Woman event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., which takes place on Sunday (June 4). The second annual event, which celebrates women in Hip Hop, has the history maker reflecting on what the culture would look like without female influences.
“The importance of the 50th is that it started 50 years ago, and it’s still going,” she said. “So everybody’s participation is important whether it started it or helped to maintain it, or helped to propel it into other areas. I’m excited to be a part of anything that has lasted 50 years. Everybody has their own relationship to Hip-Hop – it’s almost like a person. We do know that it has inspired all of us in one way or another.”
She continued: “It feels invigorating. It feels like there’s room and space. I feel like we’re at a crossroads. It feels like the importance of where and when you entered Hip Hop doesn’t matter. We all contributed. Period.”
While MC Lyte is among the first to give female MCs their flowers, she’s also now been at the receiving end of some awards of her own.
Back in March, she was selected by the Hip Hop Alliance to celebrate her inspirational career and highlight how she helped pave the way for future generations.
The Hip-Hop Alliance, which strives to help musicians earn fair wages, royalties, health benefits, etc., has chosen to shine a spotlight on MC Lyte as part of its new segment, “Legendary Flowers.” The organization — helmed by Kurtis Blow, KRS-One and Chuck D, among others — shared the announcement via Instagram.
MC Lyte, who also happens to be the organization’s vice-president, has been a pioneer for women in Hip Hop since the late 1980s, breaking down barriers and inspiring future female rappers. The Brooklyn native was the first female solo rapper to release a full album with 1988’s Lyte as a Rock.
“Introducing LEGENDARY FLOWERS, a new segment by the Hip Hop Alliance where we honor and celebrate the trailblazers and icons of our beloved Hip Hop culture,” the caption read. “In our first installment during Women’s Month, we’re excited to celebrate the unstoppable force that is our very own Vice President of the Hip Hop Alliance – MC Lyte.”
#BoxOfficeNews: ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ swings to massive $120.5 million opening
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” opened in U.S. and Canadian theaters with a massive $120.5 million, more than tripling the debut of the 2018 animated original and showing the kind of movie-to-movie box-office growth that would be the envy of even the mightiest of Hollywood franchises.
Sony Pictures’ “Across the Spider-Verse,” the multi-verse spinning animated Spider-Man spinoff, sailed way past expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday, riding terrific reviews (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and strong buzz for the hotly anticipated follow-up to the Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
In the sometimes formulaic realm of superhero movies, 2018′s “Into the Spider-Verse” offered a blast of originality, introducing a teenage webslinger from Brooklyn, Miles Morales ( Shameik Moore ), a punk-rock Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and a host of other Spider-People. It launched with $35.4 million on its way to $384.3 million worldwide.
“Across the Spider-Verse,” which exponentially expands the film’s universe-skipping worlds, cost $100 million to make, about half the cost of the average live-action comic-book movie. So at even the forecast $80 million that “Spider-Verse” had been expected to open, “Across the Spider-Verse” would have been a hit.
Instead, it has turned out to be a box-office sensation, and the second largest domestic opening of 2023, trailing only “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” “Across the Spider-Verse,” directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, even topped “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which debuted with $118 million, for best opening weekend of the summer so far.
The film, shepherded by writer-producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is part two in a trilogy that will conclude with a third chapter to be released next year. “Across the Spider-Verse” over-performed abroad, too, with $88.1 million overseas.
After few family offerings for much of the first half of 2023, theaters are suddenly flush with kid-friendly entertainment. Last week’s top film, the Walt Disney Co.’s live action remake “The Little Mermaid,” slid to second with $40.6 million in it second weekend.
After launching with $95.5 million and $117.5 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, “The Little Mermaid” dipped 57%, partly due to the formidable competition from “Across the Spider-Verse.”
Having cost a reported $250 million to make, “The Little Mermaid” was met with mixed reviews but more enthusiasm from audiences, which gave it an “A” CinemaScore. But overseas, where previous Disney live-action remakes have thrived, is proving harder territory this time. The film added $42.4 million internationally over the weekend.
Disney also supplied the weekend’s top counter-programming option in “The Boogeyman,” a mostly well-received horror adaptation of a Stephen King short story. Director Rob Savage’s $35 million film, starring Sophie Thatcher and Chris Messina, had originally been intended to debut on Hulu before the studio pivoted. It opened with $12.3 million in ticket sales.
In limited release, the Sundance breakout film “Past Lives” launched with an impressive $58,067 per-screen average on four screens. Celine Song’s directorial debut stars Greta Lee as a woman torn between a childhood friend from Korea (Teo Yoo) and her American husband (John Magaro).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” $120.5 million.
2. “The Little Mermaid,” $40.6 million.
3. “The Boogeyman,” $12.3 million.
4. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” $10.2 million.
5. “Fast X,” $9.2 million.
6. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” $3.4 million.
7. “About My Father,” $2.1 million.
8. “The Machine,” $1.8 million.
9. “Suga: Agust D Tour Live in Japan,” $1.2 million.
10. “You Hurt My Feelings,” $770,000.
Diddy's Son Justin Combs Arrested In Beverly Hills On DUI
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' oldest son Justin Combs had a run-in with the law. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that Justin was arrested for driving under the influence on Sunday, June 4.
According to police, the 29-year-old was arrested after running a red light near Beverly Hills at around 8:00 A.M. As an officer initiated the stop, the officer found Justin behind the wheel. He had his car searched, and police observed a smell of alcohol coming out of the car.
"Officers conducted a traffic stop, and they observed the driver possibly under the influence of unknown alcohol or drugs," the Los Angeles Police Department told Fox News, adding, "The investigation revealed that he was under the influence."
The LAPD also told Entertainment Tonight that Justin "was put through a sobriety test that he failed." Meanwhile, a video obtained by TMZ saw Justin interacting with the officer.
He was charged with misdemeanor DUI with his bail set at $5,000. Per The U.S. Sun, he was released on his own recognizance.
Diddy shares Justin with Misa Hylton. He played college football at UCLA before graduating in 2016. After college, Justin followed in his father's steps by entering the entertainment industry, embarking on several businesses and making appearances in shows such as "Power Book II: Ghost".
In addition to Justin, the rap mogul and alcohol connoisseur is a dad to Quincy (31), whom he adopted, King (25), and twins Jessie James and D'Lila (16) from his relationship with the late Kim Porter. Later in 2006, Diddy welcomed daughter Chance with Sarah Chapman, and he most recently welcomed daughter Love with Dana Tran.
Thee Icon Grace Jones, 75, hula-hoops for 6 minutes straight at WeHo Pride
In a true queens-respecting-queens moment, the ageless post-disco diva's equally statuesque famous friend was spotted “grooving” in the Outloud Festival VIP section.
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“You guys are the show!” iconic, ageless art-pop fusionist Grace Jones told the West Hollywood Park audience Saturday, as she headlined Los Angeles’s Outloud @ WeHo Pride festival. “I could just look at you, and not sing a word! But then I’d be crucified.”
Untruer words have never been spoken. First of all, Jones could have sat silently onstage in front of a canvas of slowly drying paint, and the adoring audience still would have been transfixed. And second, while the Outloud crowd came to slay in their Saturday best, all sequins and rainbows and glitter, that was nothing to Jones’s lewks. The androgynous chanteuse’s many rapidly rotating headpieces, all dutifully handed to her (along with an occasional goblet of “communion wine”) by her worshipful minions, included a Michael Schmidt-masterminded spiky sculpture of neon rods that seemed to float, like DNA helix, around her famously chiseled features; a rhinestoned Sally Bowles bowler hat; a waist-length Aphrodite wig fashioned from actual gold leaves; a plumed equestrian helmet; a royal Philip Treacy wedding hat and “little Keith Haring church outfit” for the fittingly titled “Amazing Grace”; and a fit-for-a-queen red, gold, and green striped headdress/caftan during “My Jamaican Guy.” And these space-age chapeaus were all paired with a molded suede corset, thigh-high stiletto boots, and a thong that revealed that Jones’s signature Haring bodypaint really did cover her entire body.
Oh, and then there was the finale moment when the post-disco diva, who incredibly turned 75 last month, purred her biggest hit, the Trevor Horn-produced “Slave to the Rhythm,” while spinning a hula hoop around her corseted torso. She never missed a beat or a note, and stayed true to that song’s “keep it up, keep it up” refrain by never dropping that hoop for the song's six-plus minutes, despite having already breathlessly performed for nearly an hour by that point.
And there was also a rare celebrity sighting, a true queens-respecting-queens moment, when Jones’s equally statuesque and high-cheekboned longtime friend, Brigitte Nielsen (Jones dated Nielsen’s Rocky IV co-star Dolph Lundgren in the early ‘80s), was — quite easily — spotted “grooving” in the VIP section.
While Jones’s Outloud set — which took place on a main stage that included earlier performances by Australian dreampop band Cub Sport, aughts electro-rock provocateur Santigold, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars trailblazing trans winner Kylie Sonique Love, American Idol alumnus Rayvon Owen, and masked country crooner Orville Peck — did not boast the massive production of Jones’s other recent live tour de forces (including her previous L.A.-area concert at the Hollywood Bowl last September), her formidable presence was more than enough. In fact, her delightfully self-deprecating banter would have been worth the price of admission alone, and the relatively scaled-down presentation actually made her seem a little less formidable.
Jones relatably teetered in her five-inch heels, complaining about being unable to see her feet, as one of her genteel gentleman crew members assisted her down the stairs. When she and another assistant struggled to switch hats as her hair got in the way, Jones amusingly imagined aloud that she’d one day impulsively chop off her dreadlocks onstage and throw them into the audience. She even remarked, “I need a little bit more ass!” — doing a quick round of effortless squats as she pounding her bared, paint-scribbled butt on a stage riser — before performing her set's penultimate classic, “Pull Up to My Bumper,” while riding a security guard’s shoulders, victory-lap-style, across the West Hollywood Park field.
Grace Jones’s short but stunning Outloud @ WeHo Pride setlist is below. The festival, which kicked off Friday with Idina Menzel, Tinashe, and Jessie Ware, concludes Sunday with Carly Rae Jepsen, Passion Pit, Princess Nokia, and more.
“Nightclubbing”
“This Is”
“Private Life”
“My Jamaican Guy”
“Williams’s Blood”
“Amazing Grace”
“Love Is the Drug”
“Pull Up to the Bumper”
“Slave to the Rhythm”
Abbott Elementary Tyler James Williams Addresses Sexuality Speculation in Heartfelt Pride Message ‘PERMISSION TO BE OURSELVES’
Tyler James Williams took to Instagram early Sunday to dispel any rumors of his sexuality, instead urging his followers to deconstruct stereotypes forced onto both straight and gay people on representation.
“Usually I wouldn’t address stuff like this but I feel like it as a conversation is bigger than me,” he wrote in a Notes-app message posted to his Instagram story. “I’m not gay; but I think the culture of trying to ‘find’ some kind of hidden trait or behavior that a closeted person ‘let slip’ is very dangerous.”
Williams wrote that the culture of trying to force someone into coming out “contributes directly to the anxiety a lot of queer and queer questioning people feel when they fear living in their truth.”
“It makes the most pedestrian of conversations and interactions in spaces feel less safe for our gay brothers and sisters and those who may be questioning.” the Abbott Elementary star wrote.
It is unclear what prompted Williams to address his sexuality directly, as his recent interviews—notably, a comedy actor roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter—had not referenced it. He has previously said the Black community was “notoriously homophobic,” noting his role in 2014’s Dear White People as a gay college student broke the oft-portrayed view of gay men as feminine.
“For so long there was so little, I guess, portrayals of the average Black American, that the average Black American male associated himself with whoever was on TV,” he told HuffPost at the time. “So in this way, there’s still this mentality of, ‘Okay, you’re a black male on TV. I am you. Wait, you’re gay? I’m not gay! No, no never mind, we’re not the same thing. Forget you. We shun you now.’”
Williams wrote on Sunday that his platform was also dedicated to resisting straight archetypes that were “often times unrealistic, less free, and limits individual expression” as much as possible.
“Being straight doesn’t look one way. Being gay doesn’t look one way,” he wrote, later wishing that those celebrating Pride Month felt safe and seen. “As an ally I continue to be committed to assisting in that where I can and helping to cultivate a future where we are all accepted and given permission to be ourselves.”
Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good spotted shopping in Morocco together
Last month, it was revealed that Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good have been dating, as that came as a surprise to many fans. That is as a result of Majors’ ongoing assault case that occurred in New York City, in late March. Furthermore, that reportedly involved a woman that Majors was seeing at the time. This incident came after Majors starred in the new “Creed III” film, in March. However, after the arrest occurred, he lost his management and PR representation.
Meanwhile, Majors and Good continue to be spotted at various locations together, and having a good time. Last week, the two ate at Red Lobster together, as Good’s mother and sister also joined them. This Red Lobster location was at Woodland Hills, CA.
This weekend, Good and Majors also decided to go overseas together. According to TMZ, they were seen in Fez, Morocco together, inside of a pottery shop. The store was identified as Art Naji. It’s also said to be the biggest handmade factory shop of pottery and zellige in the country.
Lauryn Hill reunites The Fugees in full circle moment at the Roots Picnic
Saturday night’s headlining performance at the Roots Picnic was one for the books as fans witnessed what could be the last time Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel rock the stage together.
The iconic female emcee ended the long day of festivities in Philadelphia with a set list celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. That in itself was a treat considering it is the only album she has released, and it continues to top lists as a magnum opus among music lovers. But, the eight-time Grammy Award winner raised the bar when she surprised festivalgoers with an impromptu reunion of The Fugees toward the end of her set.
WATCH
The legendary trio performed six records, including their hits “How Many Mics,” “Ready or Not,” “Killing Me Softly,” and “Fu-Gee-La.” The Roots musician Questlove reflected on the jaw-dropping moment by taking fans on a trip down memory lane. In an Instagram post, he recalled one of The Fugees’ earliest performances as an opening act for his band in 1993. “Now, 30 years later [and] look at us now,” began the Grammy Award and Academy Award winner. “What a journey. @MsLaurnyHill did us a solid by letting us not only letting us celebrate with her the classic #MiseducationOfLaurynHill, but she also made a moment by bringing together her bredren @WyclefJean [and] @PrasMichel in what could possibly be one of the last times we will see this institution together in this setting.”
Hill last took the stage with her brothers in 2021, when they did a pop-up performance to acknowledge the 25th anniversary of their debut album, The Score. Soon after, a 12-city reunion tour was announced, but it was swiftly postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Last July, Jean implored fans not to give up hope that the proposed tour dates would be rescheduled.
Kanye West's Wife Bianca Censori Wears Full Nylon Dress For Church Service
Kanye West‘s wife Bianca Censori was wearing a very unique look!
The recently married duo were seen arriving for a church service in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon (June 4), with Bianca wearing a constraining look.
Bianca seemed to be wearing a giant nylon over a black dress, which also featured a large piece of fabric shaped like a bucket around her shoulders. Kanye was seen in his now staple shoulder pads and Polizei shirt for the service.
At one point, Kanye was seen helping Bianca adjust her look as her hands were bound inside the nylon material.
Kanye and Bianca tied the knot in January. She is the Architectural Designer for Kanye‘s brand, Yeezy.
In a recent sighting, Bianca and Kanye were seen out in more casual looks.
Jennifer Lopez Movie ‘Unstoppable’ Suspended Amid Writers Strike
More production shutdown as Artists Equity’s feature Unstoppable has been halted against the backdrop of the writers strike, we hear.
Logically, these stopped productions will return when the strike ends, at the latest. The news comes in the wake of picketers forcing Unstoppable to shut down on Wednesday, which was lensing at USC in Los Angeles.
Filming on the Jennifer Lopez-Jharrel Jerome wrestling drama had been going on for the past two weeks. The project is in talks to be sold to Amazon. Two weeks ago, the Aziz Ansari-directed Keanu Reeves-Seth Rogen Lionsgate feature, Good Fortune, was coerced to suspend production amid the writers strike as picketing heated up at its LA Koreatown location.
Unstoppable is based on the story of Anthony Robles (Jerome), a 3x All-American wrestler born with one leg who prevailed in a national championship at Arizona State. Oscar-winning Argo editor Billy Goldenberg is making his feature directorial debut on Unstoppable, which Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity is financing (that firm co-founded with Red Bird Capital). The pic reps the second feature from Artists Equity following Amazon pivoting the financier producer’s Air from Prime Video to a theatrical release where it grossed over $90M WW.
Reps for Artists Equity did not return request for comment.
Kristen Welker Replacing Chuck Todd on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’
Chuck Todd, the longtime host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” is stepping down from his role, he shared with the audience on Sunday. Colleague Kristen Welker, who is a regular fill-in on the Sunday broadcast, will take over the role.
Welker, who has been with NBC News since 2010, was Todd’s co-anchor on election nights beginning in 2021, a memo from NBC News President of Editorial Rebecca Blumenstein and NBC News Senior Vice President of Politics Carrie Budoff Brown said.
“When I took over ‘Meet the Press,’ it was a Sunday show that had a lot of people questioning whether it still could have a place in the modern media space,” Todd said on the show. “Well, I think we’ve answered that question and then some.”
Todd became the show’s moderator in September 2014, leading the show through two presidential election cycles, the memo said.
“But it’s important media leaders do not “overstay their welcome,” Todd said on the show. “I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long.”
It’s an important time for his personal life, he added.
“I’ve let work consume me for nearly 30 years,” Todd said. “I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up before 5 or 6 a.m., and as I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late, I promised my family I wouldn’t do that.”
Todd will remain at NBC – he will begin a new position as chief political analyst for the network. NBC said he will focus on long-form journalism and continue producing the “Chuck Toddcast” and “Meet the Press Reports.”
Todd will “maintain his role as a leading voice at NBC News for politics, both in the field and for important events,” the memo said.
Welker will take over the show in September.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with (Welker) from essentially her first day and let me just say she’s the right person in the right moment,” Todd said.
Todd said he is leaving at a time when he is concerned about “this moment in history,” doubling down on the responsibility of political journalists to report the facts rather than build a brand.
“If you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly,” Todd said. “I take the attacks from partisans as compliments. And I take the genuine compliments with a grain of salt when they come from partisans.”
The flagship Sunday program did “not tolerate” propagandists and “never will,” he added.
“But it doesn’t mean sticking your head in the sand either; if you ignore reality, you’ll miss the biggest story,” Todd said.
Republican Lawmaker In Long Island Tried and Failed To Block Part of Summer Jam
Officials in Nassau County tried to get a section of Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam concert canceled and failed to do so, according to News 12 Long Island.
The 2023 edition of the festival is taking place on Sunday at the UBS Arena in Long Island, and Cardi B is headlining the show, but not everyone is fond of the festivities. Hot 97 usually has an outdoor stage set up for new artists to perform before the main event kicks off inside whatever venue the radio station rents out.
The outdoor festival stage struck a chord with a few Republican lawmakers in Long Island all because of issues Hot 97 had in the past with arrests that happened at the 2015 and 2017 editions of the show. The lawmakers decided to take matters into their own hands and filed a lawsuit aimed at canceling the outdoor festival stage.
Due to the number of arrests at previous concerts, the lawsuit labeled Summer Jam a "public nuisance" filled with "riot-like behavior and criminal violations." Despite the reasoning, some community members feel the lawsuit is racially charged.
Jermaine Brown, a man who lives down the street from the UBS Arena, told News 12 he had witnessed unruly crowds from horse races in the Elmont area, but no one ever filed a lawsuit to curb that event.
"When we have the races, I don't hear of a lawsuit, and I have people passing out on my lawn, drinking. It gets really crazy around here," Brown said.
Democratic Legislator Carrie Solages pointed fingers at Nassau County Republican Executive Bruce Blakeman and claimed the lawsuit was a political stunt while accusing him of targeting Black and brown people.
"This last minute political stunt may cause tension and a crisis rather than prevent one,” Solages said. “He had no problem promoting a Joan Jett concert despite past violence at her concerts. Why is he targeting hip-hop and criminalizing our culture?”
The county executive released a statement in response saying: "I am shocked that any legislator would not be concerned about a public activity where the promoter in the past has been banned from other jurisdictions due to the high level of criminal activity and illegal drug use."
Fortunately, a deal was reached for Summer Jam to move forward as planned. The agreement between the parties included increased security measures, such as an additional 80 police officers paid for by Hot 97.
Fans can expect acts such as Ice Spice, Coi Leray, GloRilla, Lola Brooke, French Montana, Fivio Foreign, and Lil TJay to perform alongside Cardi B on Sunday. Hot 97 will also be celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with an appearance by The LOX.
SWV’s Coko Says She Never Wanted to Record Smash Hit ‘Weak,’ Explains Why She Hid In the Bathroom to Avoid Recording It
SWV (Sister With Voices) has sold more than 30 million records throughout their career, which spans three decades. One of the hits that helped launch them to stardom with their debut album, “It’s About Time,” is “Weak.” The record has remained a fan favorite for decades, but its existence almost did not happen.
Group members Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George and Cheryl “Coko” Clemons — the third member is Leanne “LeeLee” Lyons — are the latest guests to appear on the “We Sound Crazy” podcast, hosted by music executives Phil Thornton and Tamone Bacon and Grammy Award-winning songwriters Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony.
SWV group members Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George and Cheryl “Coko” Clemons appear on the “We Sound Crazy” podcast. Photo: We Sound Crazy podcast/YouTube
“Every time you record something, you think it’s great, right?” began Taj, while explaining the trio’s perception of their 1992 album’s tracklist, which boasts other successful singles such as “I’m So Into You” and “Right Here.”
Harmony pressed on, asking, “It wasn’t something a little special about ‘Weak’?” As it pertains to that specific track, not everyone was on board with the vision. Coko immediately responded, “Oh no. I hated ‘Weak.’ ” Taj quipped, “I love that song. She didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t want to understand it. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to sing it,” added Coko, the lead vocalist. “That song, they could have flushed it in the toilet.”
“Could you imagine? What if they’d listened to her?” asked Taj before her longtime bandmate went on to disclose more of her initial disdain for the song.
Coko revealed that her efforts to not record the track included: “[I] locked myself in the bathroom. They had to call my mama to get me out. ‘Weak’ was not it for me … I think at that young age, I just really did not understand it. I didn’t get it, the way he wanted me to approach the song. I was a church girl.”
Fan reactions to the revelation include:
“Glad they didn’t listen to you…cause BAYBEEEEE…”
“Yes I can finally say I HATE THAT SONG!!!! It was sang badly at every talent sow and played on every radio station and car stereo in Chicago that year…”
“Weak is a FOREVER SONG…it hits different everytime it comes on.”
“She stays throwing his but I love her.”
Brian Alexander Morgan penned and produced the R&B cut. The hitmaker told Complex in a 2014 interview that he was inspired by a crush he had on singer Chante Moore. He originally wrote the song for Charlie Wilson, but The Gap Band crooner passed on the record, leading it to find its way to SWV.
According to Billboard, the song debuted on the Hot 100 chart in April 1993. It spent two weeks in the No. 1 spot, dethroning Janet Jackson’s 8-week run at the top with “That’s the Way Love Goes,” and spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart.
On Spotify, “Weak” has been streamed more than 144,000,000 times. In September 2022, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the record three times platinum.
Powerhouse vocalist JoJo covered the popular hit for her self-titled debut album in 2004. But what may be fans’ most favorite recent take on the record came from Tamar Braxton. Unsurprisingly, the talented songstress belted out the record with seemingly little to no effort.
Judge Will Allow 3 Women To Testify In Sexual Assault Case Against Cuba Gooding, Jr.
A New York judge has granted a request to allow three women who accused actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. of sexual abuse.
The women will be able to testify at a federal civil trial next week. The women are there to support the plaintiff identified as Jane Doe who alleges the actor raped her in his Manhattan hotel room after they met in a bar in 2013.
However, Judge Paul A. Crotty issued a separate order that the woman will have to reveal her true name at the trial, Fox News reported.
The alleged victim is seeking $6 million.
In her ruling, Crotty said the claims by the three women who can testify “are sufficiently similar” to the claims at issue in the trial because “all involve sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults” allegedly involving Gooding Jr.
Gooding Jr. allegedly raped the women in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
But the actor’s lawyers claimed one of the women involved had consensual sex with their client, saying she allegedly joined him at a nearby hotel bar and then agreed to go to his hotel room so he could change clothes.
Once in the room, he was “completely naked” and “forcibly and without consent” put one hand on her top while placing another hand up her dress. “Jane Doe” claimed to repeatedly tell Gooding Jr. “no,” but he did not stop his advances and then raped her.
Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty last year in another case involving a woman named Kelsey Harbert, who broke down in tears and said she never got her day in court.
In 2019, Harbert told police that Gooding Jr. fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Manhattan.
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