Morgan Wallen is speaking out about an incident at a Nashville bar earlier this month that ended with him in handcuffs. 

The country singer is currently facing multiple charges stemming from his April 7 arrest, which occurred after he threw a chair off the rooftop of Eric Church's six-story Chief's Bar. Those charges include three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

An arrest report for Wallen said the chair hit the ground feet away from where some Metro Nashville police officers were standing. Their review of footage showed the 30-year-old "lunging and throwing an object over the roof" while witnesses said he laughed. 

Wallen hadn't said anything about the episode, which took place in the middle of his One Night at a Time world tour, until Friday evening, when he made a post on his X account.

"I didn't feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks," the post read. "I've touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief's. I'm not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility."

I didn't feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I'm not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility.

— morgan wallen (@MorganWallen) April 20, 2024

"I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe," another post read. "Regarding my tour, there will be no change."

The singer is expected to face his charges in Nashville court on May 3. He's also set to play a show at the city's Nissan Stadium that day.

Wallen is one of the biggest names in country music, but this isn't the first time he's faced criticism and controversy over his behavior. 

In 2020, the singer faced charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct after being kicked out of a Nashville bar. And in 2021 after a video of him using a racial slur came out, he was suspended by his record label and removed from radio airplay. 

But since then, he's seen mass success. Last year, his third studio album "One Thing at a Time" topped the Billboard 200 list for 19 weeks total, and his single "Last Night" set the record for most weeks at No. 1 for any non-collaboration song. 

For the first time since 2012, all five Spice Girls sang and danced together.

No, it wasn’t a concert, but it was a major event: Victoria Beckham — Posh Spice — just turned 50.

At her celebrity-studded birthday party in London this weekend, Beckham’s former bandmates Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) and Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) danced together to their 1997 hit “Stop,” which Beckham’s husband David caught on video.

“Best night ever! Happy Birthday to me! I love you all so much!” Beckham wrote alongside the video in a post on her Instagram with the hashtag “#SpiceUpYourLife.”

A fan uploaded the 12-second clip to YouTube, where you can watch the Girls performing the choreography to the catchy earworm:

The Spice Girls formed in 1994 when the five women responded to an advertisement for a girl group, then quickly took the world by storm with their chart-topping pop hits including “Wannabe,” “Say You’ll Be There,” “2 Become 1,” “Who Do You Think You Are,” “Spice Up Your Life” and “Viva Forever.”

The group released two albums and a movie, 1997’s “Spice World,” before Halliwell left the group in 1998. The remaining four released one more album before splitting up in 2001. They’ve reconvened in the years since for tours in 2007, a performance at the London Olympics closing ceremony in 2012 and a European tour in 2019 sans Beckham, making it all the more special that the first time the five have “performed” together since 2012 was at her birthday.

There have been whispers of another true reunion in the intervening years, most recently just last month when “Scary Spice” Melanie Brown — better known to fans as Mel B — appeared on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” to promote her memoir, “Brutally Honest.”

“This is going to be really good,” Brown said when asked about what’s next for the Spice Girls, “The fans are going to be really happy about it.”

In the years since Spice Girls mania, Beckham has become a fashion designer and grown her family with her husband, who is a former professional English football player. The couple shares four children: sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz and daughter Harper.

This story was originally published by Simplemost.

It's been a little over two months since the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees were announced. On Sunday night during "American Idol," the Rock Hall announced who made the cut.

The inductees this year are:

Performer Category: 

-Mary J. Blige 

-Cher 

-Dave Matthews Band 

-Foreigner 

-Peter Frampton 

-Kool & The Gang 

-Ozzy Osbourne 

- A Tribe Called Quest 

Musical Influence Award: 

-Alexis Korner 

-John Mayall 

- Big Mama Thornton 

Musical Excellence Award: 

- Jimmy Buffett 

- MC5 

- Dionne Warwick 

- Norman Whitfield 

Ahmet Ertegun Award: 

- Suzanne de Passe 

“Rock & Roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.” 

Mariah Carey, Jane's Addiction, Lenny Kravitz, Sade and Sinéad O'Connor were among those who were nominated in February but not selected.

The Rock Hall says an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination to be considered. 

The induction ceremony will take place Oct. 19.

Dick Van Dyke is vying for a historic Daytime Emmy at age 98.

The actor was nominated Friday as guest performer in a daytime drama series for his part as amnesiac Timothy Robicheaux on Peacock's "Days of Our Lives."

Van Dyke is the oldest Daytime Emmy nominee. Producer Norman Lear was 100 when he received his final Primetime Emmy nomination in 2022 and died the next year.

Among those Van Dyke is up against is Australian actor Guy Pearce of Amazon Freevee's "Neighbours."

Van Dyke has won four Primetime Emmys, including three in the 1960s for his classic comedy series "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Actor-singer Selena Gomez is nominated in the culinary series category for her Food Network special "Selena + Chef: Home for the Holidays." Also nominated in that category is Food Network's "Valerie's Home Cooking," the show hosted by actor Valerie Bertinelli that ended last year.

SEE MORE: Quinta Brunson becomes 1st Black woman to win this Emmy in 41 years

CBS is ending "The Talk" after its 15th season later this year. The show's Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O'Connell and Sheryl Underwood were nominated for daytime talk series host.

The lead actress nominees are: Tamara Braun of "Days of Our Lives," Finola Hughes and Cynthia Watros of "General Hospital," Katherine Kelly Lang and Annika Noelle of "The Bold and the Beautiful" and Michelle Stafford of "The Young and the Restless."

The lead actor nominees are: Eric Braeden of "The Young and the Restless," Scott Clifton, Thorsten Kaye and John McCook of "The Bold and the Beautiful" and Eric Martsolf of "Days of Our Lives."

The Daytime Emmys will be presented June 7 in Los Angeles and air live on CBS. The show is returning to its usual schedule after being postponed until last December because of strikes by Hollywood actors and writers. The hosts and Lifetime Achievement honorees will be announced later.

Netflix has seen a spike in new members in the last year after it implemented changes to limit password sharing.

According to new financial data released by the company, Netflix had 82.7 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of the end of March, which was up from 74.4 million a year earlier. 

With average revenue per subscriber increasing by over $1 in the last year, the company raked in $4.2 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, an increase from $3.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023. 

In a call with investors, Netflix Co-CEO Gregory Peters said that engagement might be lower due to fewer people sharing a subscription, but the company expects to continue gaining subscribers. 

"Due to the work that we've been doing on password sharing, essentially cutting off some viewers who are not payers, and therefore, we're going to lose some viewing associated with that," Peters said. "So when you see our next engagement report, you are going to see some impact to our overall absolute view hours as a result of that. But despite that impact and despite the general pressure from strong competition, we think our engagement remains healthy. You can see it in terms of the Nielsen ratings and our modest growth in TV time in the United States."

SEE MORE: Disney+ will start its password-sharing crackdown this summer

Although Netflix has seen increased competition over the years in the streaming business, a growing number of consumers are gravitating toward streaming platforms. According to Netflix, 38.5% of U.S. TV viewership is streaming, which is up from 34% a year earlier. In March, 8.1% of all TV viewership was on Netflix's platform. 

Netflix said it hopes new live events will grow its subscriber base. The company plans to stream a live bout this summer between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. The platform also will become the home to WWE Monday Night Raw in 2025. 

"We're going to continue to try a lot of new things," said Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos. "But the core of it is, do our members love it? And judging from the early excitement around the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight, there's going to be a lot of people waking up in the middle of the night all over the world to watch this fight in real time.

Netflix developed three different price points. Its least expensive plan, which includes ads, is $6.99. The next tier is $15.49 a month, while the premium plan is $22.99 a month. The two top tiers allow customers to add another subscriber for $7.99 a month. 

It was all going as expected.

Taylor Swift dropped her new album "The Tortured Poets Department" at midnight, with 16 songs and a bonus track whose titles were previously announced.

But Swifties were in for a big surprise waking up Friday morning.

In true Tay fashion, the pop star had something up her sleeve.

At 2 a.m. ET, Swift announced a surprise double album, "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," with another album's worth of songs added to the original list.

"It's a 2 a.m. surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album️," said Swift on Instagram. 

"I'd written so much tortured poetry in the past two years and wanted to share it all with you, so here's the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn't mine anymore … it's all yours," she said.

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A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

Swifties have come to learn nothing is an accident with their favorite pop star, and this case was no different. 

Fans have been adding up the clues, known as "Easter eggs," with some even speculating about the meaning behind the number two. 

In her Grammys acceptance speech earlier this year, Taylor announced Tortured Poets and its April 19 release date, notably emphasizing the number two as she threw up two fingers. The gesture was widely dissected by fans online, with many speculating that meant her "Reputation (Taylor's Version)" was also on the way.

Little did they know it meant a double album.

A mysterious pop-up had also emerged in Los Angeles this week ahead of the singer's album release, sending fans on a journey to decode all the clues. Notably, in one part of the installation, a clock was set to 2:00.

Songs like "The Black Dog," "imgonnagetyouback" and "How Did It End?" were among those added to the mega album. 

"So High School," another of the unexpected tracks, is seemingly about boyfriend Travis Kelce. It features lyrics like "you know how to ball, I know Aristotle," a nod to Kelce's career as a Kansas City Chiefs player. She also sings, "you knew what you wanted, and boy, you got it." Kelce first put himself out there when he tried to send Tay a friendship bracelet — which are big in Swiftie culture — with his phone number on it during an "Eras Tour" concert. He publicly shared his unsuccessful attempt at getting her the bracelet, and said he invited her to see him play at that very same stadium in Kansas City.

Swift's album also reflects on her breakup with British actor Joe Alwyn, with songs like "So Long London." The pair dated for six years before breaking up a year ago.

'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology' full track list:

1. Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)

2. The Tortured Poets Department

3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

4. Down Bad

5. So Long, London

6. But Daddy I Love Him

7. Fresh Out the Slammer

8. Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)

9. Guilty as Sin?

10. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

12. loml

13. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

15. The Alchemy

16. Clara Bow

17. The Black Dog

18. imgonnagetyouback

19. The Albatross

20. Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

21. How Did It End?

22. So High School

23. I Hate It Here

24. thanK you alMee

25. I Look in People's Windows

26. The Prophecy

27. Cassandra

28. Peter

29. The Bolter

30. Robin

31. The Manuscript

Streaming movies, TV shows, and music has now become a part of daily life for many Americans.

But some music streaming services may be turning up the volume on their pricing, with reports of a possible Spotify price hike in the near future.

That may have you thinking of hitting "next" on how you listen to some tunes. Sure, you can listen to music for free, if you don't mind commercial breaks on the radio.

But many of today's music fans, like college student Awa Chong, prefer streaming, without the ads.

"I hate the free version with commercials," she said. "I feel like they always play commercials every 30 minutes, and you can't choose whatever music you want to listen to."

Fellow student Peter Albright also doesn't mind paying for Spotify.

"Spotify has great playlists," he said. "And great recommended music as well, so that's why I like it."

SEE MORE: Has Aldi found the solution to self-checkout's woes?

Price hikes may be on the way

Soon, Spotify subscribers could be paying more. Bloomberg reports Spotify may be raising prices, to help cover the cost of audio books.

So we broke down the numbers to see how the top streaming services compare.

The following are currently $10.99 a month for individual, ad-free accounts:

- Spotify

- Apple Music

- Amazon Music Unlimited

- Tidal

- YouTube Music

- Pandora premium, a bit less at $9.99 a month.

So with little wiggle room, how do you keep streaming costs down?

Simple ways to save

Jared Newman, tech reporter and author of the Advisorator newsletter, suggests bundling. 

"If you watch a lot of YouTube, and you want to get YouTube with no ads, then it makes sense to kind of bundle YouTube music," he said.

Most services offer family plans or student discounts, which Chong takes advantage of.

"I use the student version; it's about $4 a month and I also get free Hulu with it, so I like it." she said.

Or, Newman says, consider a cheaper tier. Pandora, for instance, has a plan that falls between its free plan and its $10 a month plan.

"So if you just want to throw something on and aren't particularly fussy about specific songs, that's $5 a month. So that's half the price," he said.

Another trick: Spotify offers annual gift cards for $99, saving you more than $30 a year.

Through mysterious social media posts, a pop-up installation in Los Angeles, and a real-life scavenger hunt across the world, pop star Taylor Swift is summoning her community of fans — better known as "Swifties"— for her latest album entitled “The Tortured Poets Department.”

"What we see now as Taylor — this unprecedented artist of today — is the byproduct or the result of having invested so much time in her community over the years," said marketing expert Marcus Collins. "People feel like 'I'm talking to my friend, like Taylor, that's my girl!'"

Collins is the author of the bestselling book "For the Culture," a marketing professor at the University of Michigan and the former digital strategist for Beyoncé. He says that Swift has "unique relationships with her fans" that feels more personal, especially as the singer-songwriter drops clues, Easter eggs and pieces of songwriting lore specifically for the fans that love piecing it all together.

"More than just 'artist to fan,' but it's almost 'community member to community member,'" described Collins. 

The market research company QuestionPro says Swifties spent about $1,300 per "Eras Tour" show in 2023, with 91% of those surveyed saying they’d go again. 

Experts say fans like Swifties help drive the live-events industry and boost local economies around the country. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that the total economic impact of the Eras Tour was $10 billion.

"If history is any indication, wherever she takes us, we're going to be walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her," said Collins. "I think that's going to be well-received and perhaps be sort of the next chapter of the Taylor Swift saga."

SEE MORE: Taylor Swift's music returns to TikTok despite feud with UMG

Actor Olivia Munn is getting more candid about her breast cancer journey. 

Since her diagnosis a year ago, Munn has endured four surgeries, a double mastectomy and is being put through medically induced menopause, she said in People magazine's cover story. 

"I'm basically on a treatment of suppressing all of my hormones. So I will go into menopause, and I will shut down all of the hormones in my tissues, and my ovaries, everything that's shut down," she told People. 

"[That's] more problems, but I figured as a woman, I can't escape menopause, so I'd rather just bring it on now," she said "I can tackle it head on." 

The decision made with her doctors to induce menopause came after Munn's double mastectomy. The actress said seeing herself for the first time after that procedure was a "shock to my system." 

"Nothing could prepare me for what it would feel like. What it would look like. How I would handle it emotionally. It was a lot tougher than I expected," said Munn. 

At the same time, Munn expressed gratitude for the ability to have a double mastectomy and for the opportunity to fight. She is focused on staying present. 

"For the first time in my life, I'm not thinking about the past, and I'm not thinking about the future. I'm just thinking about today," Munn said. 

"I'm really happy that I can just be here today — right now," she said. 

Before Munn's diagnosis, her mammogram had come back clear and she had also around that time tested negative for the BRCA cancer gene.

But then a gynecologist recommended she figure out her lifetime breast cancer score. Her doctor used a free online assessment tool to calculate Munn's score. Anything above 20% is considered high risk, and minutes later, Munn found out she scored an alarming 37.3%. This prompted further testing.

An MRI and subsequent ultrasound led to Munn's diagnosis of bilateral breast cancer, after luminal B, a rare and aggressive cancer, was found in both breasts, according to People. 

Now, Munn's mission is to raise awareness about breast cancer. Her 2-year-old son helps keep her strong. 

"When I'm with him, it's the only time my brain doesn't think about being sick. I'm just so happy with him. And it puts a lot of stuff into perspective. Because if my body changes, I'm still his mom. If I have hot flashes, I'm still his mom. If I lose my hair, I'm still his mom. That's really what matters the most to me. I get to be here for him," she said. 

Each year in the U.S., about 240,000 women and 2,100 men are diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

SEE MORE: Olivia Munn diagnosed with breast cancer, had double mastectomy

The sons of two Beatles have “come together” to release a song.

Sean Ono Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and James McCartney, son of Linda and Paul McCartney, released their single, “Primrose Hill,” on April 12. The tune is named after a north London park with gorgeous views of the city.

In an Instagram post, McCartney intimated that the collaboration may be the first of many. “Today I am so very excited to share my latest song co-written by my good friend @sean_ono_lennon,” he wrote. “With the release of this song it feels like we’re really getting the ball rolling and I am so excited to continue to share music with you.”

What does Paul McCartney think about his son teaming up with Sean Ono Lennon? In a Facebook post, he urges fans to check out the new song and sends “lots of love to Sean Ono Lennon.”

Both sons are established musicians in their own right. Lennon has been a member of alt-rock bands like Cibo Matto, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger and The Claypool Lennon Delirium. He has also worked as a film score composer.

James McCartney, an indie folk-rock singer-songwriter, has released a number of solo albums, including 2016’s “The Blackberry Train.”

“Primrose Hill” has a melodic folk-rock feel that nods to their dads without feeling too dated. Fans of Ed Sheeran or Joe Keery will definitely appreciate the acoustic guitars and soft vocals.

You can listen to “Primrose Hill” below:

In a post on Instagram a few weeks ago, James McCartney hinted at his inspiration for the song.

“I had a vision as a child in Scotland, on what was a lovely summers day,” he wrote. “Letting go, I saw my true love and saviour in my mind’s eye. ‘Primrose Hill’ is about getting the ball rolling with me & finding this person.”

This story was originally published by Jennifer Graham Kizer at Simplemost.

Travis Kelce has played games on TV his whole professional career, and now he's gearing up to join a whole new type of play. 

For his first TV series gig, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end will host game show "Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?" for Amazon Prime Video, a spinoff of the Fox game show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"

The 20-episode project will feature Kelce leading a classroom of his fellow industry folks to try to help an adult contestant answer 11 questions from an elementary-level curriculum. But the celebrities aren't the contestant's competition; they're the player's lifeline — and possibly a person they can "cheat" off of, a press release announcing the show said. 

The final question comes from the 6th-grade level, and a correct answer will get the contestant a $100,000 prize.

"I grew up loving game shows, and I'm excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with 'Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?'" Kelce said in a statement, per Prime. "I'm just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up."

The series will be produced by MGM Alternative, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, and will stream in more than 240 countries and territories. 

SEE MORE: Kelce Jam music fest to feature big acts. But what about Taylor Swift?

And it'll have some pretty big shoes to fill. The original series — co-created by MGM Alternative's general manager Barry Poznick — premiered to a record-breaking 27 million viewers in 2007 and still holds the title for No. 1 game-show premiere in broadcast TV history, per Prime. In total, its run garnered more than 800 million viewers during 3,000 globally distributed episodes, which wrapped in 2011. 

"Replacing the kids with celebrities gives us more laughs and surprises, like a roast, as contestants cheat off their famous classmates," Poznick said in a statement. "And now, with the ultimate class clown, Travis Kelce, hosting, viewers should expect the unexpected!"

Previous leads for the show include Jeff Foxworthy as the original Fox host and for its one-season revival in 2015. John Cena also hosted a single season for a 2019 reboot on Nickelodeon.

But Kelce isn't going into hosting or TV blind. The three-time Super Bowl champion co-hosts a top-charting podcast with his brother, recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, and has "Saturday Night Live" hosting experience under his belt. Plus in 2016, he starred in a reality dating series, "Catching Kelce."

He's also been widening his resume with other non-football ventures recently, like a music festival called "Kelce Jam" that the Chiefs' star is putting on April 28 in Kansas City. Plus, he's producing an upcoming documentary about artist Jean-Michel Basquiat called "King Pleasure."

In a bout of what he called "unfortunateness," former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce recalled losing his Super Bowl LII ring during the "New Heights" live show in Cincinnati. 

Kelce said the ring was used during the "Lombaby Games" portion of the show, which was held at the University of Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena. The "Lombaby Games" consisted of college athletes facing off against academics in a series of games, including one in which contestants searched in pools filled with Skyline Chili 3-ways for Jason's Super Bowl ring, along with other decoy rings.

"I legitimately lost my Super Bowl ring in this event," Kelce said during Wednesday's episode of "New Heights." "They could not find it."

The 36-year-old said he had one of the podcast's interns search the pool of chili with a shovel the following day, but the ring was never located. They also tried a metal detector, but unbeknownst to them, Skyline Chili has trace amounts of iron in it, meaning the metal detector was worthless. 

Kelce assumes the ring is "now in a landfill somewhere in the Cincinnati Tri-State area" after they ended up throwing away the remnants. 

SEE MORE: Jason Kelce announces official retirement after 13-year Eagles career

Travis Kelce, who co-hosts the podcast with his brother, sarcastically asked Jason what he expected to happen

"I thought that we'd just go in the pool and get the ring afterwards," Jason responded. 

Travis didn't have many words for his brother other than calling him an "imbecile."

"It's just a hunk of metal, I'll just have another one made I think," Jason said. "They can do that right?" 

Jason and Travis also reminisced on just how disgusting — and smelly — the challenge, aptly titled "Jason Lost His Ring," was, with Jason saying videos don't do it justice. 

"I love Skyline Chili," Jason said after admitting to having it twice over the weekend. "This chili had been sitting out for like some time period." 

"It smelled so bad in that part of the arena," Travis added. "It was disgusting." 

This story was originally published by Molly Schramm at Scripps News Cincinnati.

SEE MORE: Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes are opening a restaurant together

NBA YoungBoy, also known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, a rapper with millions of followers, was arrested Tuesday in Utah on multiple offenses including possession of a controlled substance and possession of a dangerous weapon while serving a house arrest sentence.

The Cache County Sheriff's Office reported that multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service and a SWAT team conducted a search warrant at the 24-year-old's residence located north of Salt Lake City. 

Additional charges for the artist, whose real name is Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, included a pattern of unlawful activity, identity fraud and forgery, according to jail records.

According to Utah code, a pattern of unlawful activity refers to "engaging in conduct which constitutes the commission of at least three episodes of unlawful activity."

No bail has been set yet.

Reports indicate the rapper was in Utah under house arrest after he was accused of federal gun and other charges.

Local media in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he is originally from, reported his lawyers had argued that moving Gaulden to Utah would keep him out of trouble while he awaits a trial.

In December 2023, a federal judge reportedly lessened Gaulden's house arrest conditions to allow him access to mental health treatment.

Also in 2023, the rapper made headlines when he announced his intention to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Further information about Gaulden's most recent Cache County arrest was not made available, with officials only saying an "ongoing investigation into criminal conduct" is underway.

This story was originally published by Melanie Porter at Scripps News Salt Lake City. 

The term "jelly roll" was once only known for being a sweet, sponge cake dessert you'd probably find at your grandma's house. Then came the musician Jelly Roll, and now the term isn't only a food; it's a person, too. But there's a third jelly roll wanting in on the list — a list they claim they started decades ago.

See, Jellyroll is also the name of a wedding band from Pennsylvania that says the Grammy-nominated country singer under the same stage name but in two words has infringed upon its trademark of the moniker.

In a lawsuit filed against Jelly Roll — whose real name is Jason DeFord — on April 8, the creator of the Jellyroll band, Kurt L. Titchenell, states his band has been using the name since 1980 but first registered it as a performing musical group with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2010, most recently renewing the registration in 2019 to last until 2029 at the earliest.

Now Titchenell says DeFord must stop using the name by law, claiming his alleged infringement on the band's trademark has caused consumer confusion and deception leading him to financial injury and harm, the suit states.

According to a Philadelphia wedding band website run by Titchenell, Jellyroll started in 1980 as a "group of guys who really enjoyed playing music" that soon took over the city's club scene. They eventually started booking private events, including "luxury weddings," and became one of the "hottest bands in the Philly area," the site states.

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A post shared by Jellyroll • BVTLive (@jellyroll_bvtlive)

Each year, the band performs at more than 120 events in the Northeast, but the site states they've performed across the country over the years, including two performances at the White House at former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush's invitations. 

Titchenell stresses that the band's name recognition has played a part in its success. The suit alleges a search for Jellyroll online would have returned results related to the band before DeFord came onto the scene as Jelly Roll. Now, Titchenell claims his group is as many as 18 to 20 references behind the country singer. 

In February, the plaintiff sent a cease-and-desist letter to DeFord, whose counsel allegedly "inquired as to whether defendant really was in competition with plaintiff," the suit says. And now that Jelly Roll's upcoming Beautifully Broken Tour has appearances planned in the Northeast, including Philadelphia, Titchenell says DeFord's "unapologetic continuing infringing acts" will cause further issues, such as confusion as to which "Jellyroll" will be at certain events.

"Defendant's unauthorized use of plaintiff's mark Jelly Roll in interstate commerce, and especially in the Northeast of the U.S. in connection with live musical performances … is causing, has already caused, and will continue to cause … actual confusion, mistake, and deception," the suit states, seeking injunctive relief against the country singer.

DeFord has said in interviews that his stage name stems from a nickname his mom gave him as a child, telling CBS in January that she still calls him "Jelly."

SEE MORE: Country singer Jelly Roll testifies at Senate hearing on fentanyl bill

Though he launched his career under the moniker in the early 2000s, Jelly Roll's stardom didn't really take off until May 2022, when he got his first No. 1 radio hit with the rock song "Dead Man Walking." 

In January of 2023, his country song "Son of a Sinner" went No. 1, and the next month he made history by sitting at No. 1 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart for a 25th week.

Later in 2023, Jelly Roll won New Artist of the Year at the 2023 CMA Awards and snagged all three CMT Music Awards that he was nominated for. In 2024, he was nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards. 

But his life outside of music has also put him under the spotlight, notably for how his life has changed since spending time in jail for aggravated robbery and drug dealing (a "troubled past" that Titchenell says in his lawsuit has further harmed his image as Jellyroll).

Earlier this year, DeFord testified before Congress in support of anti-fentanyl legislation and reflected on how his past landed him there. 

"I was a part of the problem. I am here now, standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution," he said before a Senate committee.

Alexa and Carlos PenaVega are opening up about the stillbirth of their fourth child. 

In an emotional Instagram post Monday, the couple announced their daughter, whom they had named Indy Rex, was "born at rest" after a "beautiful and peaceful delivery."

"There are never the right words to say when it comes to loss," the post read. "It has been a painful journey. But in the pain we have found peace."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alexa PenaVega (@vegaalexa)

The "Spy Kids" actress and "Big Time Rush" actor/band member have been married since 2014 and share sons Ocean, 6, Kingston, 4, and daughter Rio, 2. They revealed they were expecting a fourth child in a November Instagram post, saying, "Thank God we love adventures… Número cuatro!"

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A post shared by Alexa PenaVega (@vegaalexa)

Since the announcement, Alexa has posted a few videos documenting her pregnancy, including one last month in which she described being hospitalized for at least five days after noticing bleeding in her third trimester. She said her placenta had partially separated from her uterus but that her water didn't break and she was still considered low-risk.

"My history with this pregnancy has not been easy," Alexa said. "Every single day that I'm still pregnant here in this hospital is literally a miracle… It's just a waiting game for all of us. There really isn't anything anyone can do. We're just kind of seeing what my body does naturally."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alexa PenaVega (@vegaalexa)

In the Monday update, the PenaVegas didn't share further details about when or why Indy was delivered. They said prayers from their community have been "sustaining" as they mourn her, whom they said "looked just like daddy. Dark hair and all."

"Grief has come to us in waves. Moments of feeling absolutely gutted… then moments of feeling blessed by just getting a moment with her," the post continued. "We can't understand why things like this happen and we may never get those answers."

The CDC says stillbirths affect about 1 in every 175 births. The term refers to the death of a baby at or after 20 weeks, and those that occur farther along in a woman's pregnancy are more likely to be unexplained.

But despite it all, the PenaVegas said their daughter still "completely changed" their world in concluding their post. 

"You moved us to a new place. You gave us the community we have been longing for," the post read. "We love you can't wait to see how many other lives you change."

Several of the couple's former co-stars and friends like Daniella Monet, Derek Hough and Tiffany Thornton shared their condolences in the comments. 

"Love you so so much," Alexa's "Spy Kids" co-star Daryl Sabara said.

"Here for you guys. Can't imagine what you're going through," Carlos' "Big Time Rush" bandmate James Maslow wrote.

Serena Williams said she would be “super interested” in owning a WNBA team, adding that the sport of women’s basketball is having its moment while speaking with CNN on Monday.

The 23-time grand slam tennis champion said because of the infectious excitement surrounding women's sports, and especially women’s basketball, "it's an overly safe bet" for her to invest.

“I absolutely would be [interested]. With the right market, I would definitely be super-interested in that,” she said to CNN. 

Williams had been working on her investment portfolio before she started to venture from her tennis career. She’s one of the main investors in Angel City FC, a National Women’s Soccer League team, and she's part-owner of the Los Angeles Golf Club team in the Tomorrow Golf League. 

According to CNN, her company Serena Ventures has invested in 66 startups, and 78% of them were formed by women and people of color — something she specifically sought. 

Now is as good of a time as ever to invest in the WNBA. The resurgence of women’s basketball is credited partly to its stars like Caitlin Clark, who was selected as the first pick in the WNBA draft Monday night by the Indiana Fever. 

It was the first time fans were present for the draft in eight years. 

Clark just finished her senior year at Iowa, where she led the women’s basketball team to runner-up in the NCAA tournament after losing to South Carolina in the final and became the all-time leading scorer. It was the first time in history that the women’s NCAA final drew more TV viewers than the men's, marking a pivotal moment in a season that broke viewing records with each game. 

The WNBA and the Indiana Fever are hoping Clark’s captivation effect carries into her professional career. It’s seemingly already made a mark since 36 of the Fever’s 40 regular-season games will now be nationally televised.

But social media is already stirred up about the salaries that Clark and the other top four draft picks — Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and Rickea Jackson — will be making during their first few years in the WNBA. 

According to the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Clark will receive a four-year contract worth $338,056. In her first year, she will be paid $76,535. 

In comparison, the minimum salary for a first-year player in the men’s league is $1.12 million, according to Yahoo Sports. 

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, who was once the highest-paid NFL player, wrote on X in reference to Clark’s potential contract, “These ladies deserve so much more… Praying for the day!”

These ladies deserve so much more…
Praying for the day 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 l https://t.co/mIZmaXwPVi

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) April 16, 2024

The pay gaps between the WNBA and NBA have been a subject of passionate discussion over the last few years, particularly since WNBA star Brittney Griner was infamously detained in Russia for nearly a year after she went to the country to play for another league during the WNBA offseason. It’s something many WNBA stars do to supplement income since their maximum base salary is $228,000 a year.

SEE MORE: Brittney Griner and wife Cherelle expecting first baby

Book bans appear to be on the rise across American public schools.

There were 4,349 book bans during the first half of this school year, according to July 2023 to December 2023 statistics from PEN America that were released Tuesday.

During the entire 2022-2023 school year, the group recorded 3,362 book bans. These occurred in both red and blue districts.

PEN American is a nonprofit focused on the protection of free expression and keeps track of book bans in 42 states.

The organization has been monitoring book bans for the last two and a half academic years and documented more than 10,000 bans since July 2021.

@scrippsnews Book bans in schools reached a record high in the first half of this school year, according to a new report from PEN America. Here are the states that saw the most bans. #bannedbooks #booktok #educationtiktok ♬ original sound - Scripps News

The most targeted books include topics about sex, sexual violence, abortion, LGBTQ+ and race.

So which states saw the most book bans?

Florida topped the list with 3,135 bans across 11 school districts.

Next was Wisconsin with 481, Iowa with 142, and Texas with 141. Kentucky and Virginia also saw at least 100 bans each.

The American Library Association, which also keeps track of book challenges, found 1,247 demands to censor library books in 2023, a 65% surge compared to 2022.

The association also found that patrons and parents are the two most likely groups to initiate challenges.

SEE MORE: Libraries get insight on how censorship, library access impacts teens

Tick-tock on the clock, and his party has stopped as the fall of disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs continues.

Over the weekend, singer-songwriter Kesha changed the lyrics of one of her most popular hits, “Tik Tok,” to diss Combs. 

Kesha made a surprise appearance during Reneé Rapp’s Coachella performance Sunday, taking the stage and belting out the opening line of the song: “Wake up in the mornin' feelin' like P Diddy,” but with a new twist: "Wake up in the mornin' like f*** P Diddy." After dissing Combs, Kesha and Rapp gave him the middle finger.

The song, which was first released in 2010, is a party anthem subtly implying that nobody knows how to party quite like Combs. 

The lyrical rewrite came weeks after federal agents raided Combs' homes amidst numerous lawsuits, including one accusing him of sex trafficking and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations.

But even before Sunday, Kesha made her stance clear: She wants nothing to do with the music mogul.

Shortly after R&B singer Cassandra Ventura settled her lawsuit over the physical and sexual abuse she experienced with Combs, Kesha removed his name from the song completely and sang "Wake up in the morning feeling just like me" during a performance last year, Billboard reported.

SEE MORE: Lawsuit targets 'Diddy,' son: 'Apple does not fall far from the tree'

The armorer on the movie set for "Rust" was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday. 

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March of involuntary manslaughter for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. 

Gutierrez-Reed sat through hours of emotional victim impact statements during Monday's hearing, appearing downcast and tearful at times. 

In a recorded video from Ukraine, Hutchins' mother talked about how difficult this time has been for her, according to a translation provided by the court. 

Gutierrez-Reed offered a brief apology during the hearing, but New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she lacked remorse. 

"The word remorse, a deep regret coming from a sense of guilt for passed wrongs, that is not you," she said. 

Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of weapons on the New Mexico set of the Western movie starring Alec Baldwin. The actor was holding the gun that went off, striking Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who survived. 

Baldwin is also charged with involuntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty. In an interview following the shooting, Baldwin has maintained that he cocked the hammer of the gun but did not pull the trigger, claiming the gun malfunctioned. Baldwin is set to go on trial in July. 

It was like 1997 all over again at the Coachella music festival. 

During J Balvin's set Sunday night, Will Smith came out in a suit and sunglasses, rapping his hit throwback song "Men in Black." 

The timing was fitting as Balvin had a UFO-themed set, with a massive alien head and alien-styled dancers. 

"Men in Black" was released in conjunction with the movie of the same name 27 years ago. It starred Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, who played secret government agents who monitored aliens living on Earth. 

The song from the movie is one of Smith's biggest hits, hitting No. 1 on numerous Billboard charts. 

SEE MORE: Jada Pinkett Smith reveals she and Will Smith separated in 2016

Smith has kept a relatively low profile for the past two years after he slapped Chris Rock during the live telecast of the Academy Awards. 

He has issued numerous apologies to Rock and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, for reacting the way he did to one of Rock's jokes.

"That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. You know, there's many nuances and complexities to it but at the end of the day, I just — I lost it," Smith said on "The Daily Show" in November 2022. "And you just don't know what's going on with people, you know ... And I was going through something that night — not that that justifies my behavior at all."

Smith has quietly tried to rebuild his image. He starred in the critically acclaimed movie "Emancipation" in 2022. 

However, he is ineligible for any awards from the Academy of Motion Pictures. He is two years into a 10-year ban for the infamous slap. 

Smith was not the only artist to make a cameo at the annual festival in Indio, California.

Billie Eilish surprised fans as she joined Lana Del Ray for a duet; Shakira hit the stage with Bizarrap; and No Doubt performed with Olivia Rodrigo. 

Music fans can expect more surprises as the festival will pick back up this weekend. 

Hip-hop artist Drake has been dismissed from a lawsuit over the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston in which 10 people were killed, a judge has ruled.

Drake was a special guest of rap superstar Travis Scott, who had headlined the festival. He performed with Scott at the end of the concert on Nov. 5, 2021, as the crowd surged and attendees were packed so tightly that many could not breathe or move their arms or legs. Authorities and festival organizers were trying to shut down the show.

The families of the 10 people who died during the concert, as well as hundreds who were injured, sued Drake, Scott and Live Nation — the festival's promoter — as well as dozens of other individuals and entities.

Many of those who were sued, including Drake and Scott, have asked state District Judge Kristen Hawkins to dismiss the lawsuits against them. On Wednesday, Hawkins dismissed Drake from the case in a brief order.

Lawyers for Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, had argued during a court hearing April 1 in Houston that he was not involved in putting the concert together so was not liable for the deaths and injuries that had occurred.

During a deposition he gave in November in Toronto, the Canadian rapper said in the moments before he took the stage, no one told him that people in the crowd were suffering cardiac arrests or other injuries. He said when he was on stage, the crowd looked like a blur and he couldn't make out any details.

In the deposition, Drake was shown a video that the youngest victim, 9-year-old Ezra Blount, took as he sat on his father's shoulders.

"Do you see the panic in those people's eyes?" an attorney asked Drake about the video.

"I do, sir," the rapper responded.

SEE MORE: Astroworld tragedy: Rapper Travis Scott won't face criminal charges

Later, when asked by an attorney for Blount's family about whether it would be important for him to hear from those who put the concert together about why Blount died, Drake said, "I think I would want answers for what happened, yes."

On Monday, Hawkins dismissed seven companies and individual people who had been sued. But she denied motions to dismiss that were filed by 10 other companies and individuals, including Apple Inc., which produced a livestream of the concert, and two companies associated with Scott. Hawkins was set to hear other motions to dismiss, including one related to Scott as an individual, on Monday.

Following an investigation by Houston Police, no charges were filed against Scott. A grand jury in June declined to indict him and five other people on any criminal counts related to the deadly concert. Police Chief Troy Finner declined to say what was the overall conclusion of his agency's investigation.

In July, the police department made public its nearly 1,300-page investigative report in which festival workers highlighted problems and warned of possible deadly consequences.

Those killed, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.

The first trial from the lawsuits is scheduled for May 6.

Some of the lawsuits have since been settled, including those filed by the families of four of the people killed during the concert. The most recent settlement related to a person who was killed was announced in court filings on Feb. 5, with lawyers for the family of 23-year-old Rodolfo "Rudy" Peña saying they had settled their case.

The divorce between two Hollywood stars may head to trial, with both listed as potential witnesses, as they battle over rights and money relating to the "Magic Mike" franchise.

Actor Jenna Dewan filed for divorce from actor Channing Tatum on Oct. 26, 2018, but their case is far from closed. While both have moved on and are engaged to others, they remain legally married. 

But the "Magic Mike" franchise remains an outstanding issue for the couple nearly six years into their divorce proceedings. In a filing on April 11, Dewan asked the judge to separate the subject of the intellectual property and derivative assets from "Magic Mike," saying it is the "primary financial issue in this case."

A witness list filed by Tatum's attorneys and obtained by Court TV ahead of an as-yet unscheduled trial included both Tatum and Dewan as witnesses, along with Hollywood producer Steven Soderbergh and Dewan's current fiancé, Steve Kazee.

SEE MORE: 'Golden Bachelor' couple Gerry and Theresa are getting divorced

Tatum famously starred in "Magic Mike," as well as its sequels and live show. Dewan did not appear on screen or work on the project as a producer, but claims in her filing that it "was developed and co-financed by Channing with community effort and marital funds." The movie was shot in 2011, and Tatum participated in the 2015 sequel, "Magic Mike XXL," as well as the 2023 sequel, "Magic Mike's Last Dance." The first two movies alone grossed more than $300 million in ticket sales worldwide, according to The Associated Press.

Dewan also alleges in the filing that Tatum engaged in transactions designed to "disguise" the income from "Magic Mike" as "performance and consulting fees," as well as transferred ownership of some of the property without her consent.

The couple announced their separation more than six years ago in a post on social media saying, "We have lovingly chosen to separate as a couple." In the statement, the two said, "There are no secrets nor salacious events at the root of our decision — just two best-friends (sic) realizing it's time to take some space and help each other live the most joyous, fulfilled lives as possible."

Some of Taylor Swift’s songs are back on TikTok.

Her music had been removed from the platform in January along with Universal Music Group’s entire catalog of 78,000 albums after UMG and TikTok failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.

TikTok sounds featuring music from artists like Drake, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish had been wiped from the platform. But songs like Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” "Cardigan"and “Love Story (Taylor’s Version),” among others, are back.

Notably, it seems only songs by Swift have reappeared.

As pointed out by Variety, it’s likely the pop star may have reached a separate deal with TikTok. Because the artist owns her masters and has been rerecording old music to own it, it's possible she had the power to negotiate her own deal with the platform.

This comes a week before Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” is set to drop on April 19.

TikTok’s previous contract with UMG expired on Jan. 31. During negotiations, UMG accused TikTok of offering artists and songwriters a fraction of what other similarly situated social media platforms do.

TikTok fired back at the time, saying its platform of well over 1 billion users served as a free promotional tool for talent. The social media company called it “sad and disappointing” that UMG put its own greed above the interests of their artists.

Scripps News has reached out to both TikTok and Universal Music Group for comment and has not heard back yet. 

SEE MORE: Universal Music Group pulls entire catalog from TikTok

O.J. Simpson died Thursday without having paid the lion’s share of the $33.5 million judgment a California civil jury awarded to the families of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Acquitted at a criminal trial, Simpson was found liable by jurors in a 1997 wrongful death lawsuit.

The public is now likely to get a closer look Simpson's finances, and the families are likely to have a better shot at collecting — if there is anything to collect.

Here's how the next few months may play out.

The probate process

Whether or not he left behind a will, and whatever that document says, Simpson's assets will now almost certainly have to go through what's known as the probate process in court before his four children or other intended heirs can collect on any of them.

Different states have different probate laws. Generally, the case is filed in the state where the person was living when they died. In Simpson's case that's Nevada. But if significant assets are in California or Florida, where he also lived at various times, separate cases could emerge there.

Nevada law says an estate must go through the courts if its assets exceed $20,000, or if any real estate is involved, and this must be done within 30 days of the death. If a family fails to file documents, creditors themselves can begin the process.

A stronger claim in death?

Once the case is in court, creditors who say they are owed money can then seek a piece of the assets. The Goldman and Brown families will be on at least equal footing with other creditors, and will probably have an even stronger claim.

Under California law, creditors holding a judgment lien like the plaintiffs in the wrongful death case are deemed to have secured debt, and have priority over creditors with unsecured debt. And they are in a better position to get paid than they were before the defendant's death.

Arash Sadat, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in property disputes, says it is “100%” better for the claimant to have the debtor be deceased and their money in probate.

He said his firm had a jury trial where their clients got a $9 million jury award that the debtor appealed and delayed endlessly.

”He did everything he could to avoid paying this debt," Sadat said. "Three or four years later, he died. And within weeks, the estate cuts a check for $12 million. That’s the $9 million plus interest that I had accrued over this time.”

The executor or administrator of the estate has much more of an incentive to dispense with debts than the living person does. “That’s why you see things like that happening,” Sadat said.

But of course that doesn’t mean payment will be forthcoming.

“I do think it’s going to be quite difficult for them to collect,” attorney Christopher Melcher said. “We don’t know what O.J. has been able to earn over the years.”

Neither Sadat nor Melcher is involved with the Simpson estate or the court case.

What assets did Simpson have?

Simpson said he lived only on his NFL and private pensions. Hundreds of valuable possessions were seized as part of the jury award, and Simpson was forced to auction his Heisman Trophy, fetching $230,000.

Goldman's father Fred Goldman, the lead plaintiff, always said the issue was never the money, it was only about holding Simpson responsible. And he said in a statement Thursday that with Simpson's death, “the hope for true accountability has ended.”

What about trusts?

There are ways that a person can use trusts established during their life and other methods to make sure their chosen heirs get their assets in death. If such a trust is irrevocable, it can be especially strong.

But transfers of assets to others that are made to avoid creditors can be deemed fraudulent, and claimants like the Goldman and Brown families can file separate civil lawsuits that bring those assets into dispute.

"The Golden Bachelor" couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist are headed for divorce. 

The pair made the announcement together on "Good Morning America" Friday.

"Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we've looked closely at our situation, our living situation," Turner said, "and we've kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it's probably time for us to dissolve our marriage." 

The news comes just three months after their live televised wedding on Jan. 4. 

Turner and Nist made history as the first couple to come out of "The Bachelor" spinoff, a show that gave hope for love at later stages in life. Turner, 72, and Nist, 70, got engaged during the show's finale that aired in November.

"We have received so much love and support from so many people who watched 'The Golden Bachelor,' and I don't think we can tell you how many people told us that it gave them so much hope," Nist said. "We want none of that to change for anybody." 

During the show, the couple acknowledged being from separate states — with Turner from Indiana and Nist from New Jersey — but committed to finding a plan to make things work. On "GMA," the couple said they had looked at several homes to move into together, but never ended up pulling the trigger. Both wanted to be close to their families.

During their sit-down interview, Turner and Nist held hands in solidarity as they talked through their split. They both said they did not fall out of love.

"I still love this person, there is no doubt in my mind," Turner said. "I still am in love with her. I root for her every day."

The couple still hopes that people inspired by the show's message of finding love later in life hold on to hope.

"Don't give up. We say stay in it, stay hopeful," Nist said.

Both said they will continue to look for love.

Margot Robbie is trading in her pink wardrobe for a top hat and mustache. 

The "Barbie" producer and star is now working on a live-action "Monopoly" movie under her LuckyChap production company. The banner is co-headed by her husband, Tom Ackerley, and Josey McNamara, and is the same company that got the 2023 flick based on our other favorite childhood pastime to the big screen.

Robbie's new project won't be under Mattel's eye, but Hasbro Entertainment, the maker of the money-hungry game, will co-produce alongside Lionsgate as a distributor.

"I could not imagine a better production team for this beloved and iconic brand than LuckyChap," said Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in a statement. "They are exceptional producers who choose their projects with great thought and care, and join Monopoly with a clear point of view."

Fogelson said he believes this could be LuckyChap's "next blockbuster" — and boy does it have big shoes to fill, as "Barbie" made more than $1.4 billion in global ticket sales.

But LuckyChap believes "Monopoly is a top property — pun fully intended," per a statement.

The rest of the details about the adaptation are under wraps, so we don't know who will actually wear that top hat. Nonetheless, hopefully this means another run of fun red carpet looks are in store for Robbie and replicated by moviegoers.

SEE MORE: New Scrabble edition aims to make game more inclusive, less intimidating

Lovable football star, occasional actor, father of five, unsettling murder suspect — reflecting on the public and private-turned-public life of O.J. Simpson paints a complicated picture.

Simpson succumbed to prostate cancer at the age of 76 on Thursday, a post on his X account said. And while typically a celebrity death draws heartfelt tributes in droves — which in this case would focus on the first three attributes listed above — many for Simpson chose to focus on the last. 

While the football community and others in the entertainment space remained largely quiet, the overshadowing headlines and social media reactions to Simpson's death were filled with callbacks to what's now called the "trial of the century," in which Simpson was ultimately acquitted of fatally stabbing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. 

The jury's 1995 decision after the lengthy publicized trial was and still is considered controversial, particularly after Simpson was found liable for the deaths three years later in a civil suit from the victims' families, after which Simpson paid little of the $33.5 million judgment.

SEE MORE: O.J. Simpson dead from cancer at age 76, family says

The Goldman family's attorney, who has been pursuing the judgment for more than a decade, said in a statement to The Associated Press, "He died without penance. We don't know what he has, where it is or who is in control. We will pick up where we are and keep going with it."

But Goldman's father, Fred, told NBC News that Simpson's death is "just further reminder of Ron being gone all these years. It's no great loss to the world."

In a comment to TMZ, Brown Simpson's family attorney, Gloria Allred, appeared to call back to spousal abuse charges Simpson faced while the two were married, to which he pleaded no contest in 1989.

"Simpson's death reminds us that the legal system even 30 years later is still failing battered women and that the power of celebrity men to avoid true justice for the harm that they inflict on their wives or significant others is still a major obstacle to the right of women to be free of the gender violence to which they are still subjected," the comment read. 

Allred added that she sends her condolences to Simpson's children and "the very brave family of Nicole Brown Simpson. The truth about OJ Simpson can never be erased and should never be forgotten. OJ Simpson is dead. May his victims finally rest in peace."

In a short statement to multiple outlets, Marcia Clark, who served as the lead prosecutor during the murder trial, said "I send my condolence to Mr. Simpson's family."

A similar message came from Kato Kaelin, a witness who testified during the trial. He expressed his condolences to the football player's kids and his "love and compassion" to the Goldmans, who he hoped would find closure in a post on social media. To Brown Simpson's family, he requested "we always cherish her memories."

"Nicole was a beacon of light that burned bright, May we never forget her."

Statement @FoxNews @marthamaccallum @CNN @CBSNews @NBCNews @ABC @NEWSMAX @espn @NewsNation @RollingStone @people @TMZ @CourtTV @GMA @TODAYshow @CBSMornings @JesseBWatters @NBCLA @USATODAY @Outkick @dandakich @tomzenner @DrewandKB pic.twitter.com/KEgjdV0HYz

— Kato Kaelin🇺🇸 (@Kato_Kaelin) April 11, 2024

As for those in the sports and entertainment world who did comment on Simpson's death, the focus appeared to continue to be on his family and his achievements — if they weren't also commenting on the murder trial. 

Jim Porter, Pro Football Hall of Fame President, spoke of Simpson's "on-field contributions" in a statement to AP, while The Heisman Trophy posted on X saying it "mourns the passing" of its 1968 winner.

pic.twitter.com/dqUVjoihLt

— The Heisman Trophy (@HeismanTrophy) April 11, 2024

Joe Delamielleure, Simpson's Buffalo Bills teammate, said in a statement to AP that he'll still remember him as "an icon in the nation."

"He wasn't Muhammad Ali or anything, but he was doing things for athletes and not just Black athletes, but he kicked us into a really big thing. That's what I think of him. He was a groundbreaker," the statement read. 

Caitlyn Jenner, who was married to Kris Jenner at the time of the trial, said "Good Riddance" to Simpson in a post on X. Kris Jenner and her late ex-husband, Robert Kardashian, were known to be good friends of Nicole and O.J. But during the trial years later, Kris Jenner defended Brown Simpson and her family, while Kardashian was famously part of the legal "Dream Team" that defended Simpson. 

Good Riddance #OJSimpson

— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 11, 2024

Alan Dershowitz, who served as an adviser on the Dream Team, told NBC News Thursday he was upset to hear of his client's death, though he was aware of Simpson's illness.

"I got to know him fairly well during the trial," Dershowitz told the outlet. "It was one of the most divisive trials in American history along racial lines. He'll always be remembered for the Bronco chase, for the glove and for the moment of acquittal."

You may have lived through every second of the now-infamous "Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience" from behind your phone screen, but what if you were given the chance to live out the meme in real life?

Yes, the now-infamous Glasgow event that became a viral hit and made worldwide headlines is coming back — this time, to California.

According to a page on Eventbrite, which firstly states "YES THIS IS A REAL EVENT," "Willy's Chocolate Experience LA" will mark the return of the "highly-acclaimed" adventure and its debut in the U.S. following its "groundbreaking success" at the Glasgow event.

But those descriptions probably aren't how attendees would describe it — if they're not just laughing about it now.

Visitors attending the Glasgow event in February were promised an "immersive" Wonka-themed experience complete with giant props, dancing Oompa-Loompas and candy galore. Instead, they were met with a large warehouse filled with lackluster decorations, a half-inflated bouncy castle and two jellybeans each, one attendee told The New York Times.

SEE MORE: Underwhelming Willy Wonka experience ends with upset families

Attendees soon requested refunds or even called the police, and midway through, the event organizer, the House of Illuminati, abruptly canceled the experience. But that didn't end its life for good, as the internet soon took it up as its new sensation. 

Not long after, social media was full of photos, videos and memes from the experience, including one fan-favorite of a "sad" Oompa Loompa employee. That employee, Kirsty Paterson, is said to be making a comeback at the Los Angeles event.

him: you better not be a sad, low budget oompa loompa when I get there

me: pic.twitter.com/mf2RnfCpgr

— brian (@brian_cason) February 27, 2024

"Following its groundbreaking success in Glasgow, this fantastical event promises an immersive journey into the whimsical world of 'Willy' Wonka, featuring the notorious Scottish Oompa Loompa, Kirsty Paterson, in an exclusive absurdist Q&A and fan photo opportunity," the event page states.

And a few other traits from the Scotland event are being replicated in the states too, like its location of a "nondescript warehouse" in downtown Los Angeles. Attendees will also be given two complimentary jelly beans, no doubt a nod to the candy treats given at the first experience. 

Other "enchanting attractions" included in the $44 general admission fee will be an "immersive" silent film screening complemented by live music, local vendors selling sweet treats and perhaps even "Wonka" star Timothée Chalamet, who the event page states has "expressed interest in attending."

So if you're up for a potential Fyre Fest-esque night on April 28, tickets can be purchased here. They're non-refundable "because we're actually going to deliver," the page states, but all proceeds will be donated to a mental health charity.

Scrabble’s fan base is full of people who take their board games seriously. If you’re intimidated by the classic word game, a new version might be just right for you.

Scrabble Together Mode seeks to make the game more accessible and easier to play. The emphasis in the updated game is on cooperation and collaboration rather than competition. For those who found the original Scrabble a little too intense, the new version could be a breath of fresh air.

Scrabble Together Mode adds a second side to the board that encourages players to work together to complete goal cards. (Finally, you can pair up with that family member who has all the two-letter Scrabble words memorized and win!) It also includes helper cards — shown at left in the image below — and uses a simpler scoring system.

For now, Scrabble Together Mode is only available in Europe. The new version marks the game’s first major change since it was introduced 75 years ago.

“Scrabble has truly stood the test of time as one of the most popular board games in history, and we want to ensure the game continues to be inclusive for all players,” said Ray Adler, global head of games at Mattel, in a statement. “For anyone who’s ever thought, ‘Word games aren’t for me,’ or felt a little intimidated by the classic game, Scrabble Together Mode is an ideal option.”

Mattel launched Scrabble Together Mode after conducting research that showed younger generations aren’t as competitive as their older counterparts.

“We play the original game, but change is inevitable,” Gyles Brandreth, co-host of the language podcast "Something Rhymes With Purple," told BBC’s Radio 4 Today. “The makers of Scrabble found that younger people, Gen Z people, don’t quite like the competitive nature of Scrabble. They want a game where you can simply enjoy language, words, being together and having fun creating words.”

The winner of Scrabble Together Mode is the player who completes 20 challenges. A player loses when they have used up all the helper cards and cannot complete a goal.

This story was originally published by Kate Streit at Simplemost.

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The theater company bringing "Romeo & Juliet" to London's West End is decrying the "barrage of deplorable racial abuse" one of its stars has experienced since the cast was announced.

"This must stop," The Jamie Lloyd Company said in an Instagram post. "We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment."

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The statement didn't indicate which member of its cast was receiving the hateful response, but it's assumed to be about Francesca Amewudah-Rivers. 

Less than two weeks ago, the actress was announced as the production's Juliet, starring opposite Tom Holland as Romeo. Her comments section and that of the "Romeo & Juliet" Instagram page soon became full of vicious, racist remarks, and the option to respond has since been turned off on many posts.

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It's a story we've seen before: Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" drew questions, though it now draws praise, for casting diverse actors to play White historical figures. Halle Bailey was subject to a slew of hate when she was cast as Ariel in "The Little Mermaid." Even Holland's girlfriend, Zendaya, initially saw vitriol when she was cast as MJ opposite Holland's Peter Parker in the new "Spider-Man" films, where the two met.

As for Amewudah-Rivers' case, The Jamie Lloyd Company is making clear it will "continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported."

"Bullying and harassment have no place online, in our industry or in our wider communities," the company said in its statement. "Our rehearsal room is full of joy, compassion and kindness. We celebrate the extraordinary talent of our incredible collaborators."

This marks Holland's first stage run since he starred in "Billy Elliot: The Musical" as a child, and although this is her West End debut — which is considered the Broadway of London — Amewudah-Rivers has multiple other theater credits, including Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and "Othello."

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The diverse cast also includes Freema Agyeman, Michael Balogun, Tomiwa Edun, Mia Jerome, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ray Sesay, Nima Taleghani, Joshua-Alexander Williams, Callum Heinrich and Kody Mortimer.

According to its website, the 12-week run of "Romeo & Juliet," which begins in May, has already sold out, but it says to "please keep checking. We hope to have more news for you soon." Reports have circulated that it will transfer to New York's Broadway once it finishes its London run.

On Court TV, anchor Ashley Willcott took a moment to reflect on this week's arrest of Morgan Wallen. As a former judge, she broke down some of the legal ramifications for the country singer, providing her unique insight into the situation.

Wallen was charged with three counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for allegedly throwing a chair from the rooftop of a bar. That chair landed within several feet of officers. No one was hurt. Wallen is currently out on a $15,520 bond and is expected back in court on May 3.

"Here's the thing about going out to have a good time," Wilcott said. "There's always that line you just cannot afford to cross. One mess-up, and a fun time can turn into a crime that could literally have killed someone. Yes, one can argue it was simply a dumb mistake. But at the end of the day, if the allegations are proven true, he could be found guilty of multiple counts of reckless endangerment, which is a felony. And in Tennessee, the law provides that neither intent nor actual harm have to exist to be found guilty of this charge."

SEE MORE: Morgan Wallen arrested on felony charges in Nashville

Wilcott further explained that "a defendant can be found guilty if they showed a disregard for public safety that should have been adhered to and that disregard then posed a risk to others. This felony can result in a sentence of 1 to 15 years in prison per count. Note that in 2020, Wallet was arrested for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. And during the pandemic, he was also criticized for being seen out in public without a mask, drinking and hugging others."

As a judge, Wilcott said that she would take all of these things into account: "Having fun is one thing. Crossing a line and conducting criminal activity is another, and your track record will play a role in determining consequences once convicted."

This story was originally published on Court TV.

Beyoncé's new album "Act ll: Cowboy Carter" is proving that she really is the "it girl" of the moment. 

Nearly two weeks after the Mar. 29 release, the album is making history, and Beyoncé is now the first Black woman to debut at number one on the Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. Additionally, three songs from the album are in the top three on the Hot Country Songs chart, according to Billboard. 

“Texas Hold ’Em” reached the top of the list in the country charts in February, way before the album was released, and now has over 26 million streams. 

And the hits don't stop there.

Billboard says "Cowboy Carter" also has the most sales for an album so far in 2024, and it's also earned Beyoncé her biggest streaming week ever. 

The 27-track album features Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton, Post Malone, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy and many more well-known and amazing artists. 

According to Beyoncé, "Cowboy Carter" was a 5-year project that "was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t." She further states that she decided to dive deep and study country music's rich history, which has strong Black roots, to boost those voices in the industry.

SEE MORE: How Beyoncé's cross-genre album opened doors for Black country artists

A comic book in which Superman made his first appearance has just sold at auction for a record-breaking amount.

A copy of the original "Action Comics" No. 1 from 1938 sold for $6 million, according to Heritage Auctions, making it the most expensive comic of all time. The auction house called it "the most important comic ever published."

"Without Superman and Action Comics No. 1, who knows whether there ever would have been a Golden Age of comics — or if the medium would have become what it is today,” Heritage Auctions Vice President Barry Sandoval said in a statement.

Despite being released 86 years ago for just 10 cents, this particular copy of "Action Comics" No. 1 is still in relatively good shape. It was graded an 8.5/10 — or "Very Fine" — by the Certified Guaranty Company and according to Heritage, it is one of just four known pedigreed copies in existence out of the 200,000 that were originally printed.

Authored by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the three-page comic details Superman's origin story as a baby sent to Earth to escape the impending destruction of his home planet Krypton. It would go on to spawn a number of other comics, blockbuster movies, toys and more that helped make Superman one of the most recognizable figures in American pop culture.

According to CGC's list of the most expensive comics ever sold, this copy of "Action Comics" No. 1 surpassed another comic for the same hero — "Superman" No. 1 (1939) — that sold privately for $5.3 million in 2022. The previous world record holder before that was a nearly perfect copy of "Amazing Fantasy" No. 15, which debuted Spider-Man.

Actor Jonathan Majors was sentenced to probation but avoided jail time Monday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a high-profile case that derailed the once-promising star's career.

The 34-year-old star of "Creed III" and other films had faced up to a year behind bars after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault by a Manhattan jury in December.

Following the guilty verdict, Majors was immediately dropped by Marvel Studios, which had cast him as Kang the Conqueror, a role envisioned as the main villain in the entertainment empire's movies and television shows for years to come.

The conviction stems from an altercation in March 2023 in which Majors' then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari accused him of attacking her in the backseat of a chauffeured car, saying he hit her head with his open hand, twisted her arm behind her back and squeezed her middle finger until it fractured.

Majors claimed the 31-year-old British dancer was the aggressor, flying into a jealous rage after reading a text message from another woman on his phone. He maintained he was only trying to regain his phone and escape Jabbari safely.

The jury ultimately convicted him of one assault charge and a harassment violation, though acquitted him on a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment.

Majors was originally slated to be sentenced in February, but his lawyers sought to dismiss the conviction. A Manhattan judge denied the motion last week.

SEE MORE: Marvel reportedly drops Jonathan Majors after assault conviction

Majors had hoped his two-week criminal trial would vindicate him and restore his status in Hollywood.

In a television interview shortly after his conviction, he said he deserves a second chance.

"As he eagerly anticipates closing this chapter, he looks forward to redirecting his time and energy fully toward his family and his art," Majors' lawyers said in a statement last week after losing their bid to have the conviction tossed out.

But the 34-year-old California native and Yale University graduate still faces other legal hurdles. Last month, Jabbari filed a civil suit in Manhattan federal court, accusing the actor of assault, battery, defamation and inflicting emotional distress.

She claims Majors subjected her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship, which lasted from 2021 to 2023.

Majors' lawyers have declined to respond to the claims, saying only that they're preparing to file counterclaims against Jabbari.

The actor had his breakthrough role in 2019's "The Last Black Man in San Francisco." He also starred in the HBO horror series "Lovecraft Country," which earned him an Emmy nomination, and as the nemesis to fictional boxing champ Adonis Creed in the blockbuster "Creed III."

As for Marvel, a looming question remains whether the studio will recast the role of Kang or pivot in a new direction.

Majors' departure was among a recent series of high-profile setbacks for the vaunted superhero factory, which has earned an unprecedented $30 billion worldwide from 33 films.

Country singer Morgan Wallen was charged with three felony counts early Monday morning, in connection with an incident at Eric Church's new honky tonk bar in downtown Nashville.

According to an arrest report for the 30-year-old singer, some Metro Nashville police officers were standing in front of Chief's Bar on Broadway Sunday night when a chair fell from above them, hitting the ground just feet from where they were standing. Staff members of Chief's told those officers that Wallen was responsible for throwing the chair from the sixth story of the business, according to the arrest report.

Officers were able to view video which showed Wallen "lunging and throwing an object over the roof," his arrest report said. Witnesses told officers Wallen laughed afterward.

SEE MORE: Morgan Wallen to open 6-story Nashville bar named after hit single

Wallen was arrested for three counts of reckless endangerment for the two officers who were in the vicinity and for the danger to the public, the arrest report stated. Wallen was also charged with disorderly conduct. 

His bond was set at $15,250.

According to the Davidson County Criminal Court website, Wallen's next court date is May 3. He was already expected to be in Nashville on that date to perform.

Wallen's attorney, Worrick Robinson, released a brief statement Monday morning, saying:

“At 10:53p Sunday evening Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”

Wallen has since bonded out.

This story was originally published by Bethany Davison at Scripps News Nashville.

Elle Woods is coming back…this time, to the small screen.

Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, is developing a “Legally Blonde” spinoff series with Amazon MGM Studios, Deadline reported Thursday. “Gossip Girl” executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage are also contributing to the project.

“Legally Blonde” debuted in 2001, quickly becoming a beloved pop culture phenomenon and propelling Witherspoon to superstardom. Her character Elle Woods — the titular blonde — is a Harvard law student who triumphs over stereotypes to achieve her dreams, endearing and inspiring others in the process.

The sequel, “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde” came out in 2003, and a third installment, “Legally Blonde 3” is currently being cowritten by by Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor. It’s been in the works for a few years now, for good reason. In addition to delays due to the 2023 Writers Guild strike, Kaling has said she and her team are taking their time writing it because they want to do the project justice.

“I love this project. I am so excited about it. We are working on it,” Kaling told ET in 2022. “It is going, you know, a little more slowly than we like but [it’s] just because we really want it to be good. I think of it as like, Reese’s Avengers. Elle Woods is like her Captain America, so you don’t want to be the person that messes up that story. So for me, we are just taking our time because we want it to be really good.”

In addition to sequels 2 and 3, the franchise includes the 2009 direct-to-DVD movie “Legally Blondes” — a spinoff about younger twin cousins of Elle Woods who move from England to California — and the award-winning “Legally Blonde” Broadway musical adaptation released in 2007.

Clearly, there’s an appetite for more “Legally Blonde.” Deadline reports that there are potentially two spinoff series in the works: the aforementioned project helmed by Witherspoon and the “Gossip Girl” team as well as a second spinoff that is still in the “preliminary, idea stages.”

While no plot information is available yet for any of the projects, Witherspoon has previously expressed interest in revisiting a version of Elle Woods in her 40s. “I want to discover what age means to that character,” Witherspoon told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. “Aging, contemporary ideas, how things have evolved — or not evolved.”

This story was originally published by Taylor Kuether at Simplemost.

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A new lawsuit targeting hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs alleges that his son attacked an employee on a yacht in 2022, and also appears to confirm allegations from other lawsuits recently filed.

The newest lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, names both Sean and Christian Combs as defendants and alleges assault, sexual assault and battery on a young woman who had been working on a ship chartered by the family. 

The woman, who says that she grew up loving yachting and built her career on it, has now left the profession after the incident she said happened on the yacht named "Victorious."

SEE MORE: Cuba Gooding Jr. added as defendant in sex assault suit against Diddy

Sean has come under fire after a slew of recent lawsuits alleged a range of abuses, including sexual assault, rape and human trafficking. Among the most recent of the lawsuits was one filed by producer Rodney Jones, who noted the yacht as the site where he was sexually assaulted by actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

The newest lawsuit explicitly references the other lawsuits, not only corroborating claims from Jones, but noting that Christian’s behaviors are similar to his father's saying, "Unfortunately, as the saying has it, the apple does not fall far from the tree."

Court documents said, "Defendant Sean Combs … who has also been accused of several acts of sexual assault, rape, sexual violence, and drugging, among other deplorable conduct, is the father of Defendant C. Combs, who has seemingly taken after his father and the family business of reckless partying, drugging others, sexual violence, and other illegal conduct."

The woman who filed the lawsuit said she was 25 years old when she was hired to work on Victorious when Sean chartered it for the 2022 holiday period. 

While on board, she was assigned to work the "late shift" which spanned 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. She described that period as "very busy" and noted that the second week on board the ship there was a "significant amount of partying and drug use." 

The lawsuit describes the plaintiff as feeling increasingly uncomfortable seeing "suspected sex workers" unconscious on the yacht.

Documents read, "The make-up of the yacht quickly evolved from just defendant S. Combs and his family to include a constant rotation of suspected sex workers and other A-List celebrities such as French Montana and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Defendant S. Combs turned what was sold as a wholesome family excursion into a hedonistic environment."

According to the lawsuit, Christian, who had been staying nearby the yacht with his brother, came on board on Dec. 28, 2022, saying he wanted to record with Jones. Upon his arrival, the plaintiff says that he immediately demanded tequila shots be poured and pressured her into drinking one. 

She felt that the drink may have been spiked, and said "at this point, the mood changed, and things became sinister."

Within moments, the plaintiff said that Christian sexually assaulted her by grabbing private areas of her body. He also allegedly grabbed her arms and forced her to sit next to him, causing bruising. 

"Luckily for plaintiff, due to Defendant S. Combs' insistence on Mr. Jones recording everything, Mr. Jones has an audio recording of Defendant C. Combs drugging and sexually assaulting plaintiff." 

Shortly after, Christian allegedly cornered the plaintiff inside the yacht's cinema and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.

The lawsuit accuses the captain of dismissing the stewardess' report of the assault, as well as the same captain accepting a large tip from Sean.

An odd scene described in the lawsuit included a game called "Careesha Please," allegedly played while Hulu was filming onboard. Sean was allegedly dared to expose himself, and the lawsuit claims that he did so, by pulling down his pants while sitting next to his mother.

"S. Combs fostered and encouraged an environment of debauchery. There was always a party atmosphere filled with suspected sex workers, suspected laced alcohol, violence, and sheer disrespect of women and the yacht's crew," the documents allege. 

The plaintiff said that she was retaliated against after reporting the attack, and since then has suffered depression, anxiety and panic attacks, an eating disorder and epileptic seizures.

Aaron Dyer, attorney for Chris "King" Combs and Sean "Diddy" Combs made a statement in regards to the allegations. 

"This is just another lewd and meritless claim from Tyrone Blackburn — just like what he filed in the Rodney Jones lawsuit, which he still has not served. This complaint is filled with the same kind of manufactured lies and irrelevant facts we've come to expect from Blackburn. This is exactly why the federal judge in New York slapped him two days ago for a 'pattern of behavior' in 'improperly [filing] cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants with salacious allegations, and pressure defendants to settle quickly,' and why he was referred to the disciplinary committee in the Southern District of New York. We will be filing a motion to dismiss this outrageous claim," a statement read. 

This story was originally published by Lauren Silver at Court TV. 

Does time — and a new host — heal all wounds? Fourteen years after Conan O'Brien was messily ousted from NBC's “The Tonight Show” to make way for the return of Jay Leno — the comedian is finally back.

O'Brien will appear on the April 9 show to promote his new travel series “Conan O'Brien Must Go” for Max in conversation with Jimmy Fallon, who took over from Leno in 2014.

After more than 15 years of hosting “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” on NBC, O'Brien was promoted to lead the network's flagship late-night show in 2009, after it was announced Leno would be given a new prime-time show, also on NBC.

After seven months of slipping “Tonight Show” ratings and and pressure from affiliates who said “The Jay Leno Show” wasn't a strong enough lead-in to their nightly newscasts, NBC made a plan to shorten Leno's show to a half-hour and give it a 11:35 p.m. timeslot, which would have bumped “The Tonight Show” to 12:05 a.m.

SEE MORE: Joe Dombrowski says his time as a teacher made him a better comedian

“It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule," O'Brien said at the time in a statement.

He refused to accept the move, and the public spat ended with O'Brien and his staff receiving a multimillion-dollar payout to exit NBC in early 2010.

“And I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too,” O'Brien said in a monologue before his departure, calling “The Tonight Show” the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

O'Brien didn't stay off the airwaves for too long, returning to late-night in November 2010 on basic-cable network TBS. “Conan” would run for nearly 11 years. (The first episode beat Leno's “Tonight Show” in the ratings.)

SEE MORE: Comedian Chris Tucker on his return to film, new comedy tour

In 2012, O'Brien told The Hollywood Reporter that while he still had latent resentment, he acknowledged a onetime “amazing partnership with NBC.”

“There are moments of, ‘What the hell happened? Why did that person do that or say that?’ But there’s also lot of, ‘OK, let’s file this under There’s A Lot I Can’t Control,’” he told the trade publication, adding that he and Leno no longer spoke to one another.

O'Brien's return to “The Tonight Show” — which moved from Southern California to New York when Fallon took the helm — isn't the first time Fallon has used his show to extend an olive branch. On his first night as host, Joan Rivers made a brief appearance in a bit where celebrities paid up after betting money Fallon would never be host. Rivers had been infamously banned from the show when Johnny Carson was the host after she got her own late-night show on Fox. (After his acrimonious departure from NBC, O'Brien himself visited “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” in a surprise appearance.)

As for O'Brien, he now hosts the podcast “Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.” In his new travel show, O'Brien visits countries like Ireland, Thailand, Argentina and Norway.

The overall vibe among late-night talk show hosts has also evolved from the days of intense competition between Leno and CBS' David Letterman to congeniality — and even friendship. Last summer, Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel teamed up for a podcast called “Strike Force Five” to support their staff during the writers strike.

In the shadow of Kurt Cobain's Seattle home, an unofficial memorial draws fans to pay their respects to the Washington-born Nirvana frontman. Two benches in the park have been adorned with letters, trinkets and graffiti, all in honor of Cobain. 

"When you listened to Kurt, you never were expecting the next lyric to be, and you were never expecting these chord progressions that don't exactly go together," said fan Erin Bucher, who drove to Seattle from Arizona to pay tribute to Cobain and mark the 30th anniversary of the singer's death. Bucher said he turned 13 the day Cobain died by suicide in 1994.

"It's amazing that something he never expected to grow into what it did, you know, and something he was always against the fame and the popularity," Bucher said. 

Across town under the Space Needle, Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP, is home to the largest collection of Nirvana memorabilia in the world, covering Cobain's journey from a small logging town to immense fame in the band's seven-year history.

"He's an incredible songwriter writing these catchy songs. He has an amazing voice. His lyrics are nebulous enough that you can make up whatever narrative you want for them — and he's beautiful. There's a sort of tragic aspect to him that somehow draws people," said Jacob McMurray, the chief collections and exhibitions officer at MoPOP. 

McMurray curated the exhibit, which has been open since 2011. He says Cobain's appeal is multifaceted: While the mainstream music industry had never seen a rock star wearing thrifted flannels, the fans of the '90s were ready for it. Nirvana rose to meteoritic fame nearly instantaneously, thanks to the age of MTV, and Cobain's short career ended at its height, without the band ever having time to put out a bad album — freezing his success in time.

"That kind of mysteriousness, that disaffectedness, that idea that this is somebody that didn't come from a lot of opportunity, but with a lot of talent and ambition and luck became the biggest rock star in the world," McMurray said. 

The legacy of Cobain however, is a complicated one, mired in drugs and tragedy that followed him throughout his career. The day he died, memorials broke out as fans wrapped their heads around how so much young talent was ended abruptly.

"The end of Kurt Cobain doesn't diminish the path that he went through and the fact that he was a supremely talented musician that really changed the face of music," said McMurray. 

Back outside Cobain's home, Scott Feldman brought his son Josh, a high school senior, across the country to the memorial.

"We just came here pretty much to pay our respects today, and we're heading back to New Jersey tonight," said Scott. 

While new generations discover Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, McMurray says, despite his imperfections, Cobain's legacy lives on in everyone who finds inspiration in his talent. 

"This has become a cultural thing, this is more than just a tiny story that we're telling and encapsulating. It is something that is continuing to grow and evolve and is a living structure at this point," said McMurray. 

McMurray hopes that the exhibit shows what a group of 20-somethings from a small town were able to accomplish, and it is that aspect of Nirvana and Cobain's story that continues to inspire. 

If you are struggling with mental health and need someone to talk to today or any day, dial 988 for the National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline. 

SEE MORE: Kurt Cobain's smashed Fender guitar sells for nearly $600K

On the heels of his third career Super Bowl win, Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is proving that newfound love interest Taylor Swift isn't the only one in the relationship with a passion for music.

Kelce announced this week that he is bringing the Kelce Jam music festival back to Kansas City for a second-straight year.

"Kelce Jam is back, Baby!" he said in a statement. "I'm excited to once again welcome fans for the ultimate day of music, food, and an electric experience celebrating Kansas City."

Presented by Jim Beam whiskey, the second annual music festival will take place on Saturday, May 18, and will feature some big-time headliners including rappers Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, American DJ and music producer Diplo, and others. But one big question remains: Will Taylor Swift be in attendance?

At this point, it seems unlikely. The 14-time Grammy-award winner is currently scheduled to perform that same day in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of her "Eras Tour."

SEE MORE: 'Swiftonomics': How the NFL, Kansas City have cashed in on Kelce-Swift

Nonetheless, even if one of music's most captivating performers is halfway around the globe, Kelce is no stranger to handling his own when it comes to hopping on stage and entertaining thousands of people just like his significant other. He went viral for his solute to the Beastie Boys song "Fight For Your Right" after winning the AFC Championship. And who could forget his pleasingly chaotic — possibly drunken — Super Bowl parade speeches? 

And Kelce will look to do it all again next month when Kelce Jam returns to Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas — a suburb of Kansas City. Last year's sold-out event brought in more than 20,000 attendees and Kelce is hoping to go even bigger this year. 

"Last year, you exceeded my expectations when over 20,000 fans showed up in the rain to 'fight for your right to party,'" he said. "And this year promises to be even more over the top as we welcome Lil Wayne, Diplo, and 2Chainz to the stage!" 

Fans can register for the ticket presale, which begins Friday at 11 a.m. ET, at KelceJam.com. General admission lawn tickets start at $49.99, with VIP packages going for $249.99. But for those who can't make it, the event will also be livestreamed free online, with more details coming at a later date.

Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors on Wednesday that ESPN will launch a standalone app in the fall of 2025, allowing customers an opportunity to purchase the channel without needing cable. 

The announcement comes months after Disney formed a partnership with Fox and Warner Bros. to bring a direct-to-consumer product that bundles their sports programming into one app. The joint venture is set to launch in the fall of 2024 and will include sports programming from ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT and TBS, among others. 

While ESPN currently has a paid app, many major live sporting events are not included on ESPN Plus. For instance, basketball fans have been unable to watch the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament without a cable subscription. 

"In the fall of 2025, we will make the full suite of ESPN's channels available as a standalone and highly interactive digital destination," Iger said. "This will give consumers the ability to stream their favorite live games and studio programming and take advantage of an immersive customizable sports experience that includes betting, fantasy sports, e-commerce and more."

SEE MORE: LSU-Iowa game garners largest NCAA women's basketball TV audience ever

Iger said that this standalone service will be available as a bundle with Disney Plus and Hulu. 

Iger noted that ESPN has a long-term agreement now in place with the College Football Playoff, in addition to its rights to the NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL. ESPN has also seen astronomical viewership for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament with more than 12 million people tuned into Monday's Elite Eight game between Iowa and LSU. 

With its streaming platforms, Iger said he is confident Disney has created a "strong and sustainable streaming business." 

"We like our hand with Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, and with their combined power, I think Disney has a real chance to become the ultimate streaming destination for consumers," he said.

Beyoncé never said she was releasing a country album. But what the Beyhive wants, the Beyhive gets. And it didn’t take long for her to make history as the first Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart after dropping the first two singles from her album, “Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages.” 

Now that “Cowboy Carter” is out, it’s even more clear the album does not fit perfectly into the seemingly narrow walls of the genre — but the debate on whether or not it is considered country doesn’t reflect the bigger picture of how Beyoncé’s honey-coated touch has reignited the conversation of country’s forgotten history while clearcutting a place for rising country stars of color to shine.

“What I'm hoping is that Beyoncé has a big enough platform and a bold enough presence, that it can shift, a little bit more permanently, perceptions and fan resistances. But she's not the first, she's just in a really wonderfully poised position to make a bigger statement,” said Dr. Jocelyn Neal, a renowned scholar, professor and chair of the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill who has literally written the book on country music’s history. 

Neal said musical genres are complicated categories that are always in negotiation. While musical sound, legacy and history certainly play a role in sculpting a genre, audiences have more agency in defining it than many may think.

The rhetoric of debating what is or isn’t country music — or any genre, for that matter — is not a new phenomenon, Neal explained. Part of a fanbase’s bond over their shared taste in music can often include decrying whatever is being popularized at that time in the genre. 

However, country music’s history and origin are less disputable, though its roots are deeply tangled. 

Commercial recordings of country music began in the 1920s, with artists like The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers laying the foundation. “The First Family of Country Music” used a local African American musician named Lesley Riddle as an influence for their style of guitar-playing, and for helping to gather song material. “The Father of Country Music” said he drew inspiration from Black blues artists and chants he heard from Black railroad workers as he worked with them — all of which is documented in various historical accounts, including at the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

Even the banjo, one of the most notable sounds used throughout country music’s history, was created by enslaved Africans and their descendants, according to the Smithsonian.

You would be hard-pressed to find a corner of country music that isn’t connected with African American influence. And yet, in its 100-year history, country has never been marketed that way. The genre that has one of the most diverse convergences of audible elements has notoriously been the least diverse with its commercialized artists and audience. 

Enter Beyoncé. “Cowboy Carter” is not the Houstonian’s first step into the world of country music, but it is her biggest. 

In her own words, Beyoncé said, “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations.”

SEE MORE: Beyoncé makes history as the first Black woman artist to top country charts

“This is not really a test case of ‘can a Black musician get access to country radio or get recognized by the country fanbase?’ because Beyoncé is already so much bigger than that,” explained Neal. “She's shaping the conversation from the incredibly powerful platform of her own voice.”

And her voice is already amplifying other Black female country artists, like Reyna Roberts. 

Roberts gained over 100,000 followers on her social media and a spike in streams within a week of Beyoncé announcing Act II of her “Renaissance” trilogy. Even though Beyoncé said “Cowboy Carter” was not a country album, it ignited a search for Black country artists. 

Roberts is featured in one of the songs on the album, “Blackbiird,” alongside Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy. It’s a cover of a song originally written by Paul McCartney of The Beatles at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. McCartney said in a 2018 GQ interview he intended the ballad to inspire hope, specifically for Black girls. Beyoncé’s version of the track, with her deliberate decision to feature Black country women, was co-produced by McCartney. 

The feature opportunity was a dream come true for Roberts. The 26-year-old said her childhood was always filled with sounds from every genre of music, with her favorite artists ranging from Gretchen Wilson to Led Zeppelin. But her biggest inspiration has always been Beyoncé. 

“That has always been a goal of mine,” said Roberts. “As long as I can remember, she’s shaped my whole voice, my career and my artistry.”

One of the things Roberts loves the most about Beyoncé is her catalyzing ability to mix genres, emerging from any box the industry has tried to put her in. 

“You feel like you're immersed into the music,” explained Roberts. “It's not just like you're listening to a song. You feel like you're there in the song, because of all the things and all the elements that are used.”

Roberts, who refers to herself as the “Princess of outlaw country,” said when she began songwriting in high school, she found most of her music aligned with country music. While she has faced roadblocks in the industry, she said she’s also had many champions behind her, including Reba McIntire who recently took her on tour. 

Despite the limits that have historically existed for someone who looks like her, Roberts has been determined to fork out her own country back road by focusing on authenticity – with her fiery locks and unapologetic outfits. 

“When people listen to my music, I want them to feel like a bada**, like they're confident, like they can conquer anything,” said Roberts. “To me, that's what the meaning of outlaw country is. To break the mold and to do things that are different, to do things that are iconic.”

And what could be more iconic than being featured on a Beyoncé album? 

SEE MORE: From Miley to Dolly, here's who will be on Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter'

Ever wanted to stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, waving to crowds of onlookers as the royals do? Well this summer, you'll get your closest shot — though no promises you'll see as big of a crowd as, say, an agitated Prince Louis.

On Wednesday, the Royal Collection Trust announced the palace's East Wing, which encompasses the famous balcony, will be open for guided public tours in July and August.

And although visitors won't be able to stand on the balcony itself — where members of the Royal Family have for most big moments since 1851, including King Charles' 2023 coronation — they'll visit never-before-seen rooms on the Principal Floor, garnished by lavish art from the Royal Collection, and learn the history of the wing, which Queen Victoria and her family first occupied. The tour ends in the Centre Room, which leads onto the famous balcony. 

Though now used by the Royal Family for "official meetings and events," from 1847 to 1849, Queen Victoria commissioned a plan to turn what was once a horseshoe-shaped courtyard into the current East Wing because she needed more space for her "growing family," the Trust says.

The historic wing has been closed to the public since, but the decision to open it now comes after more than five years of "improvement works," completed by Buckingham Palace's Reservicing Program. The Trust says the work was an effort to update the building's infrastructure, "improve access and preserve it for future generations."

But it's not the only royal structure the public can see for the first time this summer: Balmoral Castle, the Royal Family's Scotland estate, is also kicking off guided indoor tours — a first since the castle was completed in 1855, according to its website.

Visitors will be taken through several rooms to learn more about the building's origins, "how it has been loved by generations of the Royal Family" and how they use it today, the castle's website states. 

Balmoral Castle is respected as one of Queen Elizabeth's favorite places. She had been summer vacationing there in 2022 when she died in September, becoming the first monarch to die at the estate.

Tours of Balmoral Castle will run July 1 through Aug. 4, with many dates already sold out. But general admission tickets, including a tour of the grounds and exhibitions, are still available. 

Meanwhile, tickets to see the East Wing must be purchased in addition to a standard State Room ticket. The Palace will be open for tours seven days a week — a first since 2019 — from July until September, when it will go back to five days a week.

SEE MORE: King Charles returns to public outings with Easter Sunday service

A former Yeezy and Donda Academy employee is accusing Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, of repeatedly spreading antisemitic and homophobic conspiracies, praising Adolf Hitler and threatening to create a "jail" at his school to "cage" students in yet another lawsuit involving the rapper's now-defunct school.

The new suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by Scripps News, details Trevor Phillips' nine-month employment under Ye beginning in November 2022, weeks after the musician's public antisemitic remarks led him to lose many of his music and business partnerships.

Though hired to work for Yeezy, Phillips states Ye soon pivoted him to work for Donda Academy, the musician's private K-12 school in Southern California. The plaintiff, who is Black, says it was "immediately apparent" that Ye "treated the Black staff considerably worse than white employees" and would "scream and berate Black employees, while never even as much raising his tone at the white staff."

The plaintiff also alleges that despite being "on call 24/7," employees temporarily went unpaid for weeks due to Yeezy's accounts being initially frozen, while Ye "gloated" to staff about spending $2 million of the school's budget on a trip to Paris.

Phillips also states he witnessed Ye "double down" and repeat his "dangerous rhetoric" throughout his employment, including making alleged comments like "the Jews are out to get me" and "the Jews are stealing my money," according to the lawsuit.

During one meeting, Phillips alleges Ye told two school children that "he wanted them to shave their heads and that he intended to put a jail at the school — and that they could be locked in cages," the lawsuit states.

SEE MORE: Ye apologizes in Hebrew to Jewish community for antisemitic 'outburst'

At a later private meeting between Ye and Phillips at Malibu's Nobu Hotel, the plaintiff claims the rapper turned "The Batman" on the TV and muted the volume. Then, Phillips alleges Ye erupted in an "unprovoked and bigoted rant attacking Jewish people" that included calling Hitler "great" and an "innovator," stating the Holocaust "was fake" and alleging "Jews are working with Adidas to freeze up my money to try and make me broke," according to the lawsuit.

Phillips claims Ye later pretended to masturbate while discussing his intimate life, then began threatening LGBTQ+ people, saying he would come for the community "next" and telling Phillips they "are not true Christians. And gay people are controlled by Bill Gates so that they don't have children for population control." 

The plaintiff also included a screenshot of a text message Ye allegedly sent him that states, "I am on some complete Hitler level stuff. Minus the gas chambers," per the lawsuit.

Phillips' other allegations include that Ye told staff no one "could be fat — otherwise he would fire them" and that he instructed staff to build a new Donda Academy on the lot of a "decrepit church" within weeks without gaining any permits. Phillips says he was demoted when he shared his concerns about the project.

The final event detailed in the lawsuit occurred in May of 2023, when Phillips claims Ye berated him in front of staff and students during a "Sunday Service" — a "pseudo-religious sermon" in which the rapper and a choir play gospel music. The plaintiff alleges the rapper told him he was fired and physically threatened him before briefly going on his phone. Then, Phillips states Ye imitated the "celebratory dance of Mario from the famous video game Super Mario Brothers," "jumped up with punching one fist in the air, while he said 'I'm gonna give you one more chance. Another life!'"

The "chance" was for Phillips to go to a farm property Ye was considering purchasing, but after the plaintiff scouted it, he alleges Ye fired him, according to the suit. Donda Academy's principal later apologized for Ye's actions, telling Phillips to "brush it under the rug." He then remained as an employee until August 2023, when the school shut down as part of a rebranding plan. 

SEE MORE: Adidas donating $150 million from Yeezy shoe sales to anti-hate groups

Phillips is seeking $35,000 and a jury trial under charges of discrimination, hostile work environment, harassment, wrongful termination and more. He also wants to get injunctive relief to prohibit the defendants from owning and operating any educational institution for minors in California.

"By filing this lawsuit, we hope our injured clients' rights are vindicated, and that the famous artist Mr. West understands that his messages — which we alleged preach discrimination, antisemitism and Hitler-love — have no place in the world," Phillips' lead attorney, Carney R. Shegerian, said in a statement to Scripps News.

Phillips now joins multiple other former employees in pursuing legal action against Donda Academy, with former teachers and an ex-assistant principal also claiming discrimination and wrongful termination. One lawsuit also details strange rules that were in place at the school, including that no chairs and tables were allowed.

Though requests for comment sent to Donda Academy and Ye have not garnered a reply, the rapper's lawyer said in previous court documents that the claims against Ye and the school were "meritless" and an attempt to "garner press attention and the resulting settlement pressure that comes with it."

"None of it is true and the allegations do a disservice to the Donda Academy's current staff and students and their parents who will attest to their positive experience," attorney Gregory Suhr said in a filing.

Congratulations, grumps of the world! Turns out you’re right: According to a just-published study, modern music is simpler and more repetitive than it used to be.

It’s also getting increasingly angry and self-obsessed, if that bothered you as well.

The new study, a collaboration between computer scientists and music experts, analyzed data collected from Last.fm, a music-focused social media site, and Genius, an online compendium of song lyrics. The researchers pulled out the general themes of popular music’s lyrical and musical content.

Their method also examined the complexity of the lyrics, assessing the diversity of vocabulary and structural characteristics.

The result: over time, pop music has become thematically darker and more simplistic.

“There’s more rhyming lines and also more chorus,” Eva Zangerle, the study’s senior author and a computer scientist at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, told Scientific American. “We basically found that lyrics [have gotten] easier to understand.”

But before you get too smug, you should know that the study’s sample was wide. It looked at more than 350,000 songs and crossed several popular music genres, from country to rap and hip-hop. The music was released between 1970 and 2020.

This isn’t a recent development. Those golden “oldies” aren’t necessarily exempt.

SEE MORE: Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, more sign letter calling for AI defenses

Some more key details to consider: All of the song data was from English-language music. The study takes care to mention that most users of Last.fm are concentrated in the United States, Europe, Russia and Brazil. It isn’t a complete picture of worldwide musical content; it skews to Western-influenced content.

Also, less complicated wording doesn’t mean other elements of modern songs — such as texture and rhythm — are also becoming simpler. Researchers and critics also say that there are additional aspects at play, including the evolution of certain genres, trends in the recording industry, and the sheer amount of music that is available today. When people find it difficult to process all the choices they have, they go for more easily digestible options.

As one professor noted to Scientific American, simplicity isn’t always a bad thing.

“Complex music isn’t necessarily better music,” said Wellesley College ethnomusicologist Kaleb Goldschmitt, who wasn’t involved with the study. “If that were the case, we’d all be listening to prog rock.”

After all, Zangerle told The Guardian, music is a “mirror of society.” Sometimes a catchy, anthemic tune with emotional lyrics is just what we all need.

This story was originally published by Kathleen St. John at Simplemost.

You may remember Jason Tartick back when he was looking for love on "The Bachelorette," but before he was collecting roses, he was crunching numbers as a banker.

And now he is sharing some financial insights through his new book, "Talk Money to Me," mostly when it comes to relationships. 

Discussing money in relationships can be awkward, but Tartick says it's crucial and these conversations should not be avoided. 

To broach the topic positively and early on without causing worry, focus on openness, understanding, and shared financial goals, he says. 

"One of the theories I have of why we don't talk about it, is because we were never taught it. So for us to talk about something we were never taught and then told not to talk about, is something that we know is creating massive, massive, issues and ripples in our relationship. It's the second-leading reason for divorce — 73% of couples that say they're having material-money arguments are saying that their intimacy is down 50%," said Tartick, adding that there are ways to talk about the topic in conversations in a fun way. 

"Introduce money in a fun and easy way. You can even do it on a first date. So you can ask someone, 'Okay, if you win $10,000 today, you gotta spend every dollar literally today, what are you going to spend it on? Or if you had to define your money relationship or your money behaviors In three words, what would you say?' ... There are ways to introduce money topics that aren't so scary and tough conversations to have," Tartick explained. 

In his book, he also shares the story of a woman deceived by her ex-boyfriend, who had a $57,000 tax lien from a previous marriage, and Tartick explains what kind of red flags we need to look out for. 

"The number one reason why people get divorced is infidelity. So if people are committing financial infidelity, there's a huge correlation to infidelity. So if we see people lying about their financials, they might be lying elsewhere. The other thing I tell people is to do your due diligence and don't do it through interpersonal loans and interpersonal contracts," Tartick said. 

Tartick suggests that a simple step you could take is to pull each other's credit scores and compare them, exploring how you can work together as a couple to enhance them.

SEE MORE: Suze Orman: Why many women struggle to save money

In the highly anticipated rematch of last year's championship game, Monday's Elite Eight battle between LSU and Iowa was the most-watched women's college basketball game on TV ever, ESPN said. 

According to the network, 12.3 million people tuned in to watch the game that featured LSU star Angel Reese going up against Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark. At its peak, it garnered 16.1 million viewers. 

ESPN said that it also marked the network's most-watched basketball game since 2012. 

The LSU-Iowa game was not the only one getting big ratings for ESPN. The network said this year's Elite Eight games garnered four of the five largest television audiences ever for the round. 

Monday's late matchup between UConn and Southern California, which followed LSU-Iowa, had an audience of 6.7 million. On Sunday, a matchup between Oregon State and South Carolina had 3.1 million viewers, while the N.C. State vs. Texas game had 2.5 million viewers. 

This year's Final Four will have Iowa vs. UConn and N.C. State against South Carolina. 

"You got four great programs coming to the Final Four," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder told reporters on Tuesday. "I think there was a lot of attention on both games last night, but certainly there was a lot of attention on our game just because it was a rematch of the national championship last year.

"Again, we didn't look at it like that, but a lot of people outside of our program did. So I'm sure the viewership was high. I think everybody that was here in the arena seemed to have a really good time and enjoyed the game. Anytime that we have the chance to elevate women's basketball and to showcase just how great our game is, we're going to take full advantage of that."

SEE MORE: LSU's Angel Reese: 'I've been sexualized, I've been threatened'

Television viewership was also up for the men's Elite Eight, the NCAA said. Sunday's matchup between Duke and N.C. State had over 15 million viewers, marking the largest television audience for an Elite Eight game in five years. 

The NCAA said men's March Madness games have averaged 9.4 million viewers across CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV, which is up 4% from a year ago. 

Although the men's game showed some growth this year, Bluder believes there is a reason the women's game is catching up in terms of popularity. 

"I think the rise has happened largely due to we're getting more media coverage," Bluder said. "I mean, when nobody knows about you, it's hard to get fan support, it's hard to get enthusiasm behind your program. But because we are on national television now, because we are in the spotlight more as a sport, as women's basketball, people are talking about it. People are recognizing how good of a game it is. People get to know these stars.

"In the men's game, they're there for one year and then they leave, the best players. In the women's game, they're staying for four years. I think that's really good for them because they can really develop their brand, but it's also good for our sport because the best players are still around as seniors and not playing in the league right away."

Billie Eilish, Elvis Costello, Jon Bon Jovi, Nicki Minaj and Smokey Robinson are among more than 200 musicians who called out tech and music companies' use of artificial intelligence in an open letter Monday, saying the "assault on human creativity must be stopped."

The letter, headlined "STOP DEVALUING MUSIC," was issued by the Artist Rights Alliance, an artist-led nonprofit that advocates for musicians' rights to economic and creative freedoms. In it, musicians from around the world prompted "AI developers, technology company platforms and digital music services to cease the use of AI to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists."

While acknowledging the technology has "enormous potential to advance human creativity" when used responsibly, the statement asserts that some entities are already using AI to irresponsibly "sabotage creativity and undermine" people in music. 

Namely, the letter states some companies are using artists' work without their authorization to train AI models. This, the letter claims, is an effort to replace the musicians' art with AI-created content that would "substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists" and be "catastrophic" for the many "just trying to make ends meet."

"Unchecked, AI will set in motion race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it," the letter says. "We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists' voices and likenesses, violate creators' rights and destroy the music ecosystem."

Other artists supporting the call include Billy Porter, Camila Cabello, Darius Rucker, J Balvin, Kate Hudson, Katy Perry, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, Pearl Jam and the estates of Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra. The full letter and list of signees can be read here. 

SEE MORE: YouTube requiring creators to label 'realistic' AI content

The letter comes as the entertainment industry grapples with a changing technological landscape that largely kicked off with the world of streaming, both for TV/film and music. 

A deal between actors guild SAG-AFTRA and studios gave broad protections in dealing with artificial intelligence but still left members in the dark on whether their digital replicas could be used — a similar issue for musicians, who largely remain unprotected from the technology.

However, in March, Tennessee became the first state to include AI rules in legislation. Starting July 1, the ELVIS Act — or Ensuring Likeness, Voice and Image Security Act — will prohibit the use of AI to copy an artist's voice without their authorization. 

Plus, Universal Music Publishing Group has cited AI concerns as one reason it pulled its music from the app. In a statement, the group stated TikTok may be depriving artists from fair compensation by using AI models instead of copyrighted recordings. 

Now only time will tell if the protections these artists are pushing for will come through and, if so, whether the government — like in Tennessee — or entertainment-related companies — like UMPG — will be the ones to help them.

Music producer Chad Hugo has accused his longtime friend Pharrell Williams of fraudulently seeking sole control over trademarks for “The Neptunes,” the name of the lucrative songwriting and producing duo Hugo and Williams formed together over 30 years ago. 

The notice of opposition filed last week with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Hugo and his attorney, Kenneth Freundlich,  claimed Williams filed trademark applications for the name “for his own benefit” without including Hugo and therefore committed fraud and “acted in bad faith,” according to Billboard, which first reported about the legal filing. 

Williams’ company, PW IP Holdings, LLC, submitted several applications in October 2022 to trademark “The Neptunes” for things like clothing, music, live entertainment, electronic publications and more. It was around the same time he applied to trademark the name of his music festival, “Something in the Water,” and “Strawberry Moon,” described as country club services. 

A representative for Pharrell told Billboard “there was no ill-intent” behind the filings and that his team had reached out to Hugo to share ownership of the trademark. The representative added that the goal of the filings was to make sure a third party didn’t get rights to the trademark. 

Hugo’s lawyer disputes those claims, Billboard reported. 

The Neptunes are the Grammy-award winning collaborative masterminds behind a lengthy list of chart-topping hits throughout the early 2000s, most notably Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” and Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” The list of artists they haven’t produced songs for might be shorter than the list of artists they have. 

Williams and Hugo met a summer camp in their hometown of Virginia Beach as children and later formed the duo in 1992. They were discovered by producer Teddy Riley after entering a local talent contest and the rest is history. 

While Williams began to take center stage and eventually launched his solo career, Hugo has always been known to be more behind the scenes. But both representatives for Williams and Hugo acknowledged the pair had an agreement to split everything down the middle when it came to their partnership.

SEE MORE: New York Times files copyright takedown requests against Wordle clones

Actor Angie Harmon is accusing an Instacart delivery driver of shooting and killing her family dog over the weekend. 

The 51-year-old actress took to social media on Monday to say that her beloved family dog Oliver had passed away after a man who was delivering groceries to her North Carolina home shot him.

"Our ring camera was charging in the house, which he saw & then knew he wasn’t being recorded," said Harmon in an Instagram post.  "He shot our dog with my daughters & myself at home & just kept saying, 'yeah, I shot your dog. Yeah I did.' We are completely traumatized & beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved boy & family member."

According to Harmon, when the police arrived, they let the man go because he claimed he shot the dog in "self-defense," which in North Carolina is legal to do under the law. 

"He did not have a scratch or bite on him nor were his pants torn. He was shopping under a woman’s identity named Merle," said Harmon.

In a statement obtained by Scripps News, the delivery company stated that it is investigating the incident.

“We were deeply saddened and disturbed to hear about this incident. We have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account was immediately suspended from our platform. We have been in direct contact with the customer and are cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation," Instacart said in the statement. 

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The character of Don Draper, an advertising executive on the award-winning show "Mad Men," is known for being a no-nonsense businessman who will go to any length to close a deal. But now actor Jon Hamm, who portrays the iconic character, is using his voice to share the inspiring story of a family business and how it's persevered for generations.

"When Business Is Love: The Spirit of Hästens: At Work, at Play, and Everywhere in Your Life" is written by Jan Ryde, the current CEO of Hästens and fifth-generation family member to head the Swedish bed manufacturer. 

In the audiobook, Hamm narrates the Hästens origin dating all the way back to 1852 and how the company has evolved over the years to become a prominent worldwide brand known for its high-quality, handmade luxury beds. The Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor joined Scripps News Tuesday morning to talk more about Hästens' history, lessons the company learned along its journey, and what inspired him to share the story.

"This project kind of came across my desk and I started looking into it and I thought it was actually kind of an inspiring story of a different way to kind of not only run your business, but how to think about life and engage with life on many levels ," Hamm reflected. "As you mentioned, this is a fifth-generation company — well over 100-year-old company — that started making saddles back in the 19th century, and beds, and has persisted throughout generation after generation after generation, and is now kind of the premier bedmaker in the world."

SEE MORE: First minority-owned stock exchange opening doors for Black business

Hästens has a longstanding reputation for manufacturing some of the finest beds in the world by using natural materials to create luxury pieces. And while some of their finest beds can sell for upwards of $400,000, Hamm says the story about Hästens is less about exclusivity and more about a company creating an inclusive and positive work environment — a symbolic antonym to the cutthroat character he plays in "Mad Men."

"There's a better way, and this [story] is sort of a roadmap for that better way," Hamm said. "Treat your customers, treat your employees, treat the business the way you would want to be treated. You can look at it antagonistically as this sort of zero-sum game ... but I think we've evolved, hopefully, evolved past that way of thinking to a more magnanimous and — as Jan puts it in the book — 'infinite' way of thinking of business."

Taylor Swift has a new title she can add to her name: billionaire. 

Amassing an estimated $1.1 billion fortune, the music superstar is among the 263 newcomers on Forbes' annual World's Billionaires List. 

The publication notes the success of Swift's Eras Tour, which has reportedly earned more than $1 billion in revenue. 

Swift is not the only household name making their first appearance on the list. Former NBA star Earvin "Magic" Johnson is now among the richest people in the world. After life on the court, Johnson has built a business empire that includes being part-owner of the NFL's Washington Commanders, investments in inner-city movie theaters and Starbucks locations. Forbes estimates Johnson's net worth to be $1.2 billion. 

SEE MORE: Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.09 billion after no winner

Other newcomers on the list include the co-founders of discount clothing retailer Shein: Maggie Gu, Molly Miao and Ren Xiaoqing. They reportedly each have a net worth of $4.2 billion. 

The top of the World's Billionaires list is largely unchanged. French businessman Bernard Arnault remains the world's richest person with a reported $195 billion net worth. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk edged out Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for the second spot. Musk reportedly has a net worth of $195 billion, while Bezos' fortune is estimated at $194 billion. 

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison rounded out the top 5. 

Forbes notes that there are now 2,781 billionaires in the world, surpassing a record set in 2021. 

Teacher-turned-comedian Joe Dombrowski is known for the viral videos of pranks he has played on his elementary school students, including making up words for a spelling test and convincing kids he was a mermaid. 

Dombrowski spent a decade teaching elementary school kids, simultaneously doing stand-up comedy. He told "Morning Rush" Hosts Alex Livingston and Rob Nelson that being a teacher made him a better comedian. 

“During the day I’m dealing with 5-year-olds who act like drunk adults and at night I’m dealing with drunk adults who act like 5-year-olds,” Dombrowski said. 

He said he found his niche in comedy when he started using inspiration from his experiences as a teacher. 

Dombrowski said one prank he wishes he could’ve done was to go under full prosthetic makeup and act like a substitute teacher for his students in disguise. 

He has a new stand-up special called “Don’t Eat the Crayons” that is free for anyone to watch on YouTube. 

Barbara Rush, a popular leading actor in the 1950 and 1960s who co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman and other top film performers and later had a thriving TV career, has died. She was 97.

Rush's death was announced by her daughter, Fox News reporter Claudia Cowan, who posted on Instagram that her mother died on Easter Sunday. Additional details were not immediately available.

Cowan praised her mother as "among the last of Old Hollywood Royalty" and called herself her mother's "biggest fan."

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Spotted in a play at the Pasadena Playhouse, Rush was given a contract at Paramount Studios in 1950 and made her film debut that same year with a small role in "The Goldbergs," based on the radio and TV series of the same name.

She would leave Paramount soon after, however, going to work for Universal International and later 20th Century Fox.

"Paramount wasn't geared for developing new talent," she recalled in 1954. "Every time a good role came along, they tried to borrow Elizabeth Taylor."

Rush went on to appear in a wide range of films. She starred opposite Rock Hudson in "Captain Lightfoot" and in Douglas Sirk's acclaimed remake of "Magnificent Obsession," Audie Murphy in "World in My Corner" and Richard Carlson in the 3D science-fiction classic "It Came From Outer Space," for which she received a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer.

Other film credits included the Nicholas Ray classic "Bigger Than Life"; "The Young Lions," with Marlon Brando, Dean Martin and Montgomery Clift and "The Young Philadelphians" with Newman. She made two films with Sinatra, "Come Blow Your Horn" and the Rat Pack spoof "Robin and the Seven Hoods," which also featured Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

Rush, who had made TV guest appearances for years, recalled fully making the transition as she approached middle age.

"There used to be this terrible Sahara Desert between 40 and 60 when you went from ingenue to old lady," she remarked in 1962. "You either didn't work or you pretended you were 20."

Instead, Rush took on roles in such series as "Peyton Place," "All My Children," "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" and "7th Heaven."

"I'm one of those kinds of people who will perform the minute you open the refrigerator door and the light goes on," she cracked in a 1997 interview.

Her first play was the road company version of "Forty Carats," a comedy that had been a hit in New York. The director, Abe Burrows, helped her with comedic acting.

"It was very, very difficult for me to learn timing at first, especially the business of waiting for a laugh," she remarked in 1970. But she learned, and the show lasted a year in Chicago and months more on the road.

She went on to appear in such tours as "Same Time, Next Year," "Father's Day," "Steel Magnolias" and her solo show, "A Woman of Independent Means."

Born in Denver, Rush spent her first 10 years on the move while her father, a mining company lawyer, was assigned from town to town. The family finally settled in Santa Barbara, California, where young Barbara played a mythical dryad in a school play and fell in love with acting.

Rush was married and divorced three times — to screen star Jeffrey Hunter, Hollywood publicity executive Warren Cowan and sculptor James Gruzalski.

King Charles III shook hands and chatted with onlookers after attending an Easter service at Windsor Castle on Sunday in his most significant public outing since being diagnosed with cancer last month.

The king, dressed in a dark overcoat and shiny blue tie, smiled as he made his way along a rope line outside St. George's Chapel for about five minutes, reaching into the crowd to greet supporters who waved get-well cards and snapped photos on a chilly early spring day. "You're very brave to stand out here in the cold," Charles told them.

"Keep going strong," one member of the crowd shouted as Charles and Queen Camilla walked by.

The 75-year-old monarch's appearance was seen as an effort to reassure the public after Charles stepped back from public duties in early February following an announcement by Buckingham Palace that he was undergoing treatment for an unspecified type of cancer.

The king has continued fulfilling his state duties, such as reviewing government papers and meeting with the prime minister. But his attendance at a traditional royal event like the Easter service is seen as a sign that he is beginning a managed return to public life. British media reported last week that Charles would slowly increase his public appearances after Easter.

The service itself was smaller than usual as Kate, the Princess of Wales, is also being treated for cancer and has paused public duties. The princess, her husband Prince William and their children did not attend.

SEE MORE: Princess Kate reveals she is being treated for cancer

Kate's shocking announcement that she, too, had cancer was made on March 22, after weeks of speculation about her health and whereabouts following major abdominal surgery in February.

Charles' enforced absence from public life has been a setback for a man who is eager to put his stamp on the monarchy after waiting almost 74 years — longer than any previous heir — to become king.

When he succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Charles faced the daunting task of demonstrating that the 1,000-year-old monarchy remains relevant in a modern nation whose citizens come from all corners of the globe. After less than two years on the throne, the king is still defining himself with the public as he tries to persuade young people and members of minority communities that the royal family can represent them.

"He knows that being seen by the public and having public goodwill is really what's at the core of a successful monarchy,'' royal commentator Jennie Bond told the BBC. "He needs to have that interaction and I think he quite enjoys it, actually.''

Although the duties of a constitutional monarch are largely ceremonial, the job of being a royal can be exhausting.

Besides the occasional procession in full royal regalia, there are meetings with political leaders, dedication ceremonies and events honoring the accomplishments of British citizens. That added up to 161 days of royal engagements during Charles's first year on the throne.

The palace has worked hard to keep the king in the public eye — even as he sought to limit contact to reduce his risk of infection while receiving treatment. Videos of the king reading get-well cards and an audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were released. He also attended a session of the Privy Council, an assembly of senior advisers.

While he skipped a pre-Easter service on Thursday, Charles released a prerecorded audio message in which he expressed his regret at missing an occasion traditionally attended by the monarch.

The king also reaffirmed his coronation pledge "not to be served, but to serve."

"That I have always tried to do and continue to do, with my whole heart," he said.

Actor Chance Perdomo, who rose to fame as a star of "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and "Gen V," has died at age 27 following a motorcycle crash.

"On behalf of the family and his representatives, it is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Chance Perdomo's untimely passing as a result of a motorcycle accident," a publicist said in a statement issued Saturday evening.

The statement said no one else was involved in the crash. No details about the crash, including when and where it took place, were immediately released.

Perdomo most recently played Andre Anderson on the first season of "Gen V," the college-centric spin-off of Amazon Prime's hit series "The Boys," set in a universe where superheroes are celebrities — and behave as badly as the most notorious. Perdomo's character was a student at Godolkin University, founded by the sinisterly omnipresent Vought International corporation, where "supes" train; his power involved the manipulation of metal.

SEE MORE: Toby Keith earned Country Music Hall of Fame vote 1 day after death

Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television, the makers of "Gen V," said the show's family was "devastated by the sudden passing."

"We can't quite wrap our heads around this. For those of us who knew him and worked with him, Chance was always charming and smiling, an enthusiastic force of nature, an incredibly talented performer, and more than anything else, just a very kind, lovely person," the producers of "Gen V" said in a statement. "Even writing about him in the past tense doesn't make sense."

It wasn't immediately clear from the statements how Perdomo's death would affect production on the show, which also featured Jaz Sinclair, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Shelley Conn among its sprawling ensemble cast.

One of Perdomo's most famous roles was as Ambrose Spellman, a lead character on "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina." The four-season show was a far cry from the Melissa Joan Hart-fronted "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Created by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the Netflix show set its Archie Comics characters a town over from the titular location of Aguirre-Sacasa's "Riverdale," and employed a more spooky and salacious tone than its forerunner — although some of the original "Sabrina" actors came calling.

Perdomo's character was a cousin to Sabrina Spellman and a powerful, pansexual warlock who specialized in necromancy and is initially under house arrest. He often served as a sort of voice of reason on the show, which wrapped in 2020. He starred alongside Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Tati Gabrielle, Ross Lynch and, again, Sinclair.

Perdomo, who was Black and Latino, was born in Los Angeles and raised in England.

"I was always getting into fights until I put my energy into acting. Then my grades picked up, and I became president of the student union. Before that, I was similar to Ambrose being so pent up. He doesn't know what to do with his energy because he’s trapped," Perdomo told them.us in 2018.

"At the same time, he's very open and loving. I identify with that now more than ever, because being away from family for so long really puts things into perspective. No matter the occasion, if I get that FaceTime or phone call from mom or my brothers, I’m picking it up right away. It's family first for Ambrose, and I’m the same way," he continued.

Perdomo also acted in several of the "After" movies and is credited in the upcoming "Bad Man" alongside Seann William Scott and Rob Riggle.

"His passion for the arts and insatiable appetite for life was felt by all who knew him, and his warmth will carry on in those who he loved dearest," the statement from Perdomo's publicist said.

A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected an effort by a movie set armorer to challenge her conviction of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film "Rust."

After hearing brief arguments during a virtual hearing, Santa Fe-based Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she would be staying the course and that armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would remain in custody pending her sentencing in April.

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury in early March in the October 2021 shooting on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, during a rehearsal. Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January and has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge, with trial set for July.

Defense attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed had filed a request earlier this month for a new trial and urged the judge to release their client from jail as deliberations proceeded. Attorney Jason Bowles told the judge Friday that his client had no violations during the trial, takes care of her father and has been in counseling.

"She hasn't done anything wrong. She's not a danger or a flight risk," he said.

The judge responded: "Keep in mind there was a death that the jury determined was caused by her so I'm not releasing her."

Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed is being held at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.

SEE MORE: In dismissal motion, Alec Baldwin says prosecutors abused the system

In court filings, defense attorneys asserted that the jury instructions in the case could confuse jurors and lead to a nonunanimous verdict. Similar objections to the jury instructions were rejected at trial, but Bowles on Friday brought up a new ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court in an unrelated case that addressed situations when jurors have two or more specific acts to consider when deliberating a charge.

In the case of Gutierrez-Reed, he explained that one act was loading a live round in the gun used on set and the other was the accusation that she did not perform an adequate safety check of the firearm. He was unsuccessful in his argument that jurors should have had separate instructions for each act.

Gutierrez-Reed could be sentenced as soon as April 15 under current scheduling orders.

Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun's hammer, but not the trigger. Testimony by an independent gun expert during Gutierrez-Reed's trial cast doubt on Baldwin's account that his gun went off without pulling the trigger.

Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of "Rust" where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.

"Rust" assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months unsupervised probation.

Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 87.

Gossett's nephew told The Associated Press that the actor died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California. No cause of death was revealed.

Gossett always thought of his early career as a reverse Cinderella story, with success finding him from an early age and propelling him forward, toward his Academy Award for “An Officer and a Gentleman.”

He earned his first acting credit in his Brooklyn high school’s production of “You Can’t Take It with You” while he was sidelined from the basketball team with an injury.

“I was hooked — and so was my audience,” he wrote in his 2010 memoir “An Actor and a Gentleman.”

SEE MORE: Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals he got a pacemaker

His English teacher urged him to go into Manhattan to try out for “Take a Giant Step.” He got the part and made his Broadway debut in 1953 at age 16.

“I knew too little to be nervous,” Gossett wrote. “In retrospect, I should have been scared to death as I walked onto that stage, but I wasn’t.”

Gossett attended New York University on a basketball and drama scholarship. He was soon acting and singing on TV shows hosted by David Susskind, Ed Sullivan, Red Buttons, Merv Griffin, Jack Paar and Steve Allen.

Gossett became friendly with James Dean and studied acting with Marilyn Monroe, Martin Landau and Steve McQueen at an offshoot of the Actors Studio taught by Frank Silvera.

In 1959, Gossett received critical acclaim for his role in the Broadway production of “A Raisin in the Sun” along with Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands.

He went on to become a star on Broadway, replacing Billy Daniels in “Golden Boy” with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964.

Gossett went to Hollywood for the first time in 1961 to make the film version of “A Raisin in the Sun.” He had bitter memories of that trip, staying in a cockroach-infested motel that was one of the few places to allow Black people.

In 1968, he returned to Hollywood for a major role in “Companions in Nightmare,” NBC’s first made-for-TV movie that starred Melvyn Douglas, Anne Baxter and Patrick O’Neal.

This time, Gossett was booked into the Beverly Hills Hotel and Universal Studios had rented him a convertible. Driving back to the hotel after picking up the car, he was stopped by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s officer who ordered him to turn down the radio and put up the car’s roof before letting him go.

Within minutes, he was stopped by eight sheriff’s officers, who had him lean against the car and made him open the trunk while they called the car rental agency before letting him go.

“Though I understood that I had no choice but to put up with this abuse, it was a terrible way to be treated, a humiliating way to feel,” Gossett wrote in his memoir. “I realized this was happening because I was Black and had been showing off with a fancy car — which, in their view, I had no right to be driving.”

After dinner at the hotel, he went for a walk and was stopped a block away by a police officer, who told him he broke a law prohibiting walking around residential Beverly Hills after 9 p.m. Two other officers arrived and Gossett said he was chained to a tree and handcuffed for three hours. He was eventually freed when the original police car returned.

"Now I had come face-to-face with racism, and it was an ugly sight,” he wrote. “But it was not going to destroy me.”

In the late 1990s, Gossett said he was pulled over by police on Pacific Coast Highway while driving his restored 1986 Rolls Royce Corniche II. The officer told him he looked like someone they were searching for, but the officer recognized Gossett and left.

He founded the Eracism Foundation to help create a world where racism doesn’t exist.

Gossett made a series of guest appearances on such shows as “Bonanza,” “The Rockford Files,” “The Mod Squad,” “McCloud” and a memorable turn with Richard Pryor on “The Partridge Family.”

William Shatner saw Earth from the highest view; now he's heading to the bottom of it — and inviting you to join him.

The 93-year-old is setting sail for Antarctica on Dec. 19, which will mark just over three years since the "Star Trek" actor returned from a trip to space in real life, not just as Captain James T. Kirk.

Fellow space traveler NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will join Shatner on the 10-day Space2Sea expedition, and 260 others can too — if they pay for their $37,500 ticket.

The cheapest suite — priced at $35,500 — along with the top three most expensive ones — reaching $91,500 — are already sold out.

Presented by Future of Space, the trip aboard the new "ultra-luxury" vessel is said to be full of "awe-inspiring experiences," including "intimate encounters" with penguins, visits to remote historical locations and evenings full of stories from "esteemed guests," like Shatner. Travelers can also kayak the waters or go down deep under the ice in submersibles, both for additional charges.

Future of Space says hopeful explorers should attend if they "value seeking new horizons while safe-guarding and protecting the places and communities we come from." 

But why is Shatner going, you ask? It might be a result of his post-space clarity.

SEE MORE: Blue Origin resumes test flights after 2022 rocket crash

When he returned from Blue Origin's second sub-orbital human spaceflight in October 2021 — in which he became the oldest person to fly into space — Shatner said he experienced something called the "overview effect" while viewing the Earth from space. 

The overview effect, coined by space philosopher and author Frank White, refers to a shift in how astronauts think about our life on the planet, described by White as "the feeling that the Earth itself is a whole system, and we're just a part of it." It's also realizing through experience that there are no borders or boundaries on Earth. It's often marked by feelings of increased appreciation of the planet's beauty.

Shatner's invitation to "fellow explorers" for the Space2Sea expedition seem to echo this phenomenon, with the actor saying he didn't expect to be "captivated by the fragile, blue curve of our planet" when flying on Blue Origin's rocket. 

"All that we have ever loved and treasured is down here, and until humanity, one day, establishes a permanent presence in space, Earth is truly our one and only home," Shatner said. "And yet, there is so much of this planet that remains a mystery… While we have mapped the planet Mars in greater detail than we have the ocean floor, one place remains out of sight for nearly everyone, and that is Antarctica."

Taylor Swift's father will not be charged over a paparazzi photographer's claim that Scott Swift assaulted him on the Sydney waterfront hours after the pop star's Australian tour ended last month.

Photographer Ben McDonald had alleged that one of Swift's security guards forced an umbrella into his face and camera and that Scott Swift then punched him at the Neutral Bay Wharf, where the father and daughter had just come ashore from a yacht Feb. 27.

"It was just a punch in the chops. It's a little tender, but I don't have any bruising and it didn't require medical assistance," McDonald told The Associated Press of the alleged incident.

Taylor Swift's representatives responded by accusing members of the media of aggression during the interaction.

SEE MORE: Paparazzi accuses Taylor Swift's dad of punching him in face in Sydney

Police began investigating the incident at the time and announced Wednesday that "no further police action" would be taken.

"No offenses were detected, and the investigation was concluded with no further police action required," said the statement from the New South Wales Police Force.

More than 600,000 fans saw the Australian leg of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour at seven Australian stadium concerts.

Her tour shattered records when it reportedly surpassed $1 billion last year, and her film adaptation of the tour quickly took No. 1 at the box office and became the highest-grossing concert film to date.

Beyoncé isn't heading into the "Cowboy Carter" era alone.

Previews of the genre-spanning musician's country album, set to be released March 29, have revealed a few friends in music will be joining B on the whopping 27-track project. 

As for duets, fans can expect to hear Miley Cyrus on the track "II Most Wanted," while Post Malone is set to lend his vocals on the track "Levii's Jeans." Country/hip-hop artist Shaboozey is also expected to sing on the song "Spaghetti."

And the rumors of a Dolly Parton collaboration turned out to be true. The country legend is set to appear in an interlude, as are other greats like Willie Nelson and Linda Martell, known as the first commercially successful Black female country artist.

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The interludes will play ahead of various tracks on the record as part of its conceptual "KNTRY radio station," according to Entertainment Weekly. This includes a Parton-led introduction to Beyoncé's rendition of the former's 1973 classic "Jolene" and a Martell-led interlude ahead of the song "Ya Ya," which includes part of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," the outlet reported.

Another familiar track Beyoncé is making her own on the album is the Beatles' classic, "Blackbird," stylized as "Blackbiird" on B's project. From the band's "White Album," Paul McCartney has said the song is about civil rights issues in the 1960s. 

Other appearances on the album include Black country artists Willie Jones, Tanner Adell and Rhiannon Giddens.

The confirmed collaborations put to bed the mill of rumored features fans convinced themselves they'd see on "Cowboy Carter" after Beyoncé said in a March 19 Instagram post, "I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect."

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Those rumors included a sequel to the Beyoncé-Lady Gaga duet, "Telephone," as the 2009 classic's music video ended with a "To Be Continued…" Other gossip was fixated on Taylor Swift and Travis Scott joining Beyoncé in her country era.

Beyoncé first announced her foray into country in February, when she surprise dropped two singles — "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages" — during the Super Bowl. "Texas Hold 'Em" went on to make history when it hit No. 1, making Beyoncé the first Black woman to hit the mark in Billboard's hot country songs list history.

In the March 19 post, Beyoncé said she was "honored" to hold the title after working on "Cowboy Carter" for more than five years. The album marks the second act of her 2022 album "Renaissance," of which she initially said would be a three-part project.

First, Beyoncé arrived at the 2024 Grammy Awards in full cowboy regalia — making a statement without saying a word. Then, during the Super Bowl, she dropped two hybrid country songs: “Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages.” All of that heralded her latest album, “Act ll: Cowboy Carter,” out Friday.

As a Black woman reclaiming country music, she stands in opposition to stereotypical associations of the genre with whiteness. “Cowboy Carter” was five years in the making, a direct result of what Beyoncé has called “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” most likely a reference to a 2016 CMAs performance that resulted in racist backlash.

Fast forward eight years, and last month, she became the first Black woman to ever top Billboard’s country music chart. The “Cowboy Carter” doesn't shy away from country: the track list has teased potential collaborations with Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson and included a mention of the "Chitlin' Circuit,” a Jim Crow-era network of Black entertainment venues. One song is titled "The Linda Martell Show,” after the performer who became the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry.

Nevertheless, she declared on social media, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album” — in 10 words separating herself from the industry while still identifying herself as someone working in and with the genre.

SEE MORE: Joni Mitchell's music catalog returns to Spotify after 2022 protest

BEYONCÉ, TEXAS AND ‘DADDY LESSONS

’Beyoncé hails from Houston, a city with a rich musical interplay of “blues and country and hip-hop,” says Francesca T. Royster, a DePaul University professor and author of “Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions.”

“The iconography of Texas as a place of freedom and boldness, those ideas have definitely been part of Beyonce’s ongoing star image,” Royster says.

Houston is also home to the rodeo, the country's oldest Black trail ride, and Black cowboy culture — in 1800s Texas, one in four cowhands were Black. Royster says Beyoncé has inherited this history by exploring country sounds, as evidenced on the country-zydeco-R&B barnburner “Daddy Lessons” from 2016's groundbreaking "Lemonade."

At the time, though, the Recording Academy rejected its inclusion in the Grammys' country categories. “Daddy Lessons” was also kept off country radio, says Alice Randall, author of “My Black Country” and the first Black woman to write a country No. 1 hit in Trisha Yearwood's “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)."The hybridized approach of “Daddy Lessons” came two years before Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road” would raise similar questions of what kind of artists are embraced by the country music industry when they experiment with different styles.

THE 2016 CMAs

If there is a lightning rod country music moment in Beyoncé's career to date, it's her performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the 2016 Country Music Awards with The Chicks, six days before Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election.

“The CMAs are an important place to stage and test the ways that the genre is willing to collaborate and connect,” says Royster.

The award show regularly welcomes pop musicians to perform alongside country acts in an attempt to reach new audiences — Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton performed together the year prior.

Critics celebrated the powerful performance, but online, Beyoncé was met with racist backlash and some viewers labeled her “anti-American.”

“This was an especially difficult time to perform racial crossing because of the heightened tensions around the election and the unresolved tension of The Chicks,” Royster says.

In 2003, just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, The Chicks' Natalie Maines said they were ashamed to be from the same state as then-President George W. Bush. There was immense backlash that “reflected the kind of preferences that country music ended up moving towards in that post-9/11 moment, where country radio shunned The Chicks, stopped playing their music, and instead, played these jingoistic anthems and helped popularize them,” says Amanda Martinez, author of the upcoming “Gone Country: How Nashville Transformed a Music Genre into a Lifestyle Brand."When they joined Beyoncé, it was their first time back at the CMAs.

Beyoncé had aligned herself with the Black Lives Matter movement and performed at the 2016 Super Bowl halftime show surrounded by Black dancers in black leather and black berets, reminiscent of the Black Panthers. Some football fans vowed to #BoycottBeyonce.

For Beyoncé and the Chicks — symbols of progressive politics in a traditionally conservative arena — “it was just too much,” says Martinez, who adds that the CMAs were very excited to get Beyoncé, and then quickly changed course, scrubbing any mention of her appearance from social media.

SEE MORE: Ariana Grande's grandmother becomes oldest person on Billboard Hot 100

COUNTRY MUSIC IS BLACK MUSIC

If “Lemonade” established Beyoncé's dedication to Black empowerment, and her last album, “Act l: Renaissance” is viewed as an exercise in reclaiming House music, on this album, “she is reclaiming the Black roots of country music,” says Martinez. That's evidenced in the inclusion of banjoist Rhiannon Giddens, whose music and scholarship highlights the contributions of Black Americans in folk and country.

Martinez sees Beyoncé’s direct predecessors in Martell, The Pointer Sisters and Tina Turner’s 1974 country album — and a present one in up-and-comer Tanner Adell, who sings, “looking like Beyoncé with a lasso,” on her 2023 single “Buckle Bunny.”“16 Carriages,” which pulls from gospel country and Beyoncé’s own rich ballad repertoire, functions “in conversation with (Johnny Cash's) ‘16 Tons,'" Randall says.

In Randall's view, the impossible-to-define origins of country music center on three forms: Celtic ballad storytelling, African influences and evangelical Christianity.“Country music can’t be country music without Black influences,” she says, pointing out that Hank Williams’ mentor was a Black musician from Alabama named Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne and that the American folk group The Carter Family learned from Lesley Riddle.

Black musicians' lack of visibility, too, in the genre is a factor for prevailing stereotypes: Martell's 1970 landmark record “Color Me Country” was incredibly influential and successful — only for her label to divest from her, instead funneling resources into a white performer.That extends to songwriters as well. “There is a word I use: as a songwriter, you can go ‘incog-negro.’ No one knows you’re Black when they’re listening to a song. I was writing songs about the Black experience, but I was incog-negro,” Randall says, using Charlie Pride as an example. 

“They did not let his audience know he was Black until he was popular.”

Add gender into the equation and “small towns are smaller for Black girls,” she says. “And Music Row is a small town.”

THIS AIN’T A COUNTRY ALBUM, IT’S A BEYONCÉ ALBUM

"Country music has a rigid, centralized power structure that has wielded a lot of power over ‘what country music is,’" says Martinez. Beyoncé is not beholden to those forces.“Beyoncé is Black, so she can be seen as an outsider," she says. "But she says, ‘This ain’t a country album.’ I think that this speaks to the distinction between country music as an art form without boundaries, and the industry of country music."Randall agrees: “The songs that have been released preserve the best of country and take country to places it has never been.""Evolving and preserving is a facet of the genius of Beyoncé,” she says.

Iowa women's basketball superstar Caitlin Clark has been offered a $5 million contract to join Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league, the rapper confirmed Wednesday.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media, linking to an article from TMZ. "But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

Clark is still currently competing in the NCAA women's March Madness tournament, but has said she plans to declare for the WNBA draft at the end of this season — and is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick. However, the lucrative offer from the BIG3 could sway the 22-year-old star in a different direction — both professionally and financially.

SEE MORE: Caitlin Clark attracts largest regular-season TV audience in 25 years

The average annual salary of a WNBA player was about $116,000 last year, according to Statista, with the highest-earning players making about $242,000 annually. This leads many WNBA players — like Brittney Griner — to seek out more fruitful deals overseas in countries like China and Russia during the offseason. 

"America's women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet," Ice Cube said. "And they should have more than just one professional option in the US. ...Our pathbreaking offer to Caitlin Clark demonstrates that BIG3 now offers another choice for athletes." 

The WNBA season consists of 36 regular season games — compared to just 10 in the BIG3. Hypothetically, that means the WNBA's best and highest-paid players made about $6,700 per regular season game last year, whereas Clark now has the option to go make half a million dollars per game in the BIG3.  

SEE MORE: Poll: Caitlin Clark is biggest name in NCAA basketball, male or female

Clark has not yet publicly commented on the job offer, but as the most popular college basketball player in the country — male or female — it doesn't all come down to salary differences. She'll also have to consider endorsement deals as well. 

According to ESPN, the WNBA said Clark stands to make more than $3 million in endorsements and partnerships if she signs with a team next season. That's in addition to deals she already has with big brands like Nike, State Farm, and Gatorade. 

The WNBA season tips off on May 13, about a month before the start of BIG3. Therefore, it's unlikely that Clark can participate in both leagues at the same time. But it's an option Ice Cube is still considering a possibility. 

"We've thought about it, it's definitely doable," he said on an episode of The Pat McAfee Show. "You know, both leagues play on CBS, so of course they love it if we can make it happen. So, it's up to the player. As a league we'll make it happen. We've always wanted to work with the WNBA."

The BIG3 is a professional 3-on-3 basketball league that was co-founded in 2017 by Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league features some former NBA players competing in a half-court format, with unique rules — including a four-point shot — and seeks to offer basketball fans competitive entertainment during the NBA offseason. 

The music producer who sued Sean "Diddy" Combs for sexual assault and other crimes last month has added another public figure to his lawsuit: Cuba Gooding Jr. 

Though Gooding's name was mentioned in the February filing, Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones officially amended his federal complaint to add the actor as a co-defendant Monday — the same day federal agents raided two of Combs' homes, reportedly as part of a sex-trafficking investigation. 

It's not clear whether the federal investigation has a direct connection to Jones' suit, which alleged sex trafficking as one crime against Combs. Other allegations included that Combs subjected Jones, who worked on the rapper's most recent album, to "constant unsolicited" groping and that he tried to groom the producer into engaging in sexual acts with others, including Gooding.

In the complaint, Jones alleges Combs suggested Gooding should "get to know" Jones better and then left them alone on his yacht in January 2023. Then, Jones claims, Gooding began sexually assaulting and harassing him. 

Jones states in his lawsuit he has video evidence of Gooding "touching, groping and fondling his legs, his upper inner thighs near his groin, the small of his back near his buttocks and his shoulders." And despite rejecting his advances, Jones claims Gooding didn't stop until he was forcibly pushed away.

Gooding has not commented on the allegations made in Jones' suit, which state Combs had a duty to protect Jones from the harm Gooding caused.

SEE MORE: Diddy accused of sex trafficking, assault, RICO crimes in vast lawsuit

This isn't the first time Gooding has been named in a sexual assault lawsuit. In April 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of forcibly touching a woman at a New York City bar in 2018 — a plea that allowed him to avoid jail time. And in 2023, the actor settled a lawsuit a woman brought against him in 2020, accusing him of raping her in his hotel room in 2013.

As for Combs, this is the fifth lawsuit since November that has alleged sexual crimes, among others. In November, Combs' longtime girlfriend Cassie sued him for rape and physical abuse, though the case was settled soon after. Later that month, two women filed similar suits on the same day, both claiming Diddy sexually assaulted them. Then in December, a Jane Doe sued claiming Diddy and two others gang-raped her when she was 17.

A spokesperson for Diddy said the claims of the two women who sued after Cassie were "fabricated" and an exploitation of the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed sexual assault survivors to file claims outside of the regular statute of limitations until November of last year. 

Then in an Instagram post in December, Diddy again denied the allegations, writing: "Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth."

In a statement to Billboard last month, Combs' attorney said Jones' suit was "nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines."

"We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies," the statement read.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is opening up about getting a pacemaker.

The former Governor of California and once-pro bodybuilder shared the news in his latest podcast episode that dropped Monday.

"Last Monday, I had surgery for a pacemaker and became a little bit more of a machine," he said on "Arnold's Pump Club." "I have to tell you, just saying this to all of you goes against so much of my upbringing in Austria, where nobody ever talked about medical issues. Everything related to health care was kept to yourself."

Schwarzenegger, 76, was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, which is a type of abnormality in the aortic valve in the heart, according to John Hopkins Medicine. In the case of a bicuspid aortic valve, the valve has only two small parts instead of the normal three.

Schwarzenegger said he was advised by doctors that it was time for a pacemaker after years of heart monitoring and checkups. He had scar tissue from a previous surgery that made his heart beat irregular. 

The actor thanked his team at the Cleveland Clinic for staying on top of his genetic heart condition and for a successful procedure. He said his mom and grandmother also had the same abnormality but were not as fortunate.

"My mother and her mother's bicuspid aortic valves killed them," Schwarzenegger said.

"I'm still here because of medical innovation and being very diligent about staying in touch with my doctors and listening to them," he said.

Schwarzenegger said his mother had refused to get a valve replacement, but at the time, treatment looked very different. He said her only option had been open heart surgery, but now the same procedure can be done as a noninvasive surgery where patients are discharged on the same day.

Schwarzenegger had his valves replaced for the first time in 1997, but at the time, open heart surgery was also his only option. He was told the valves would last him 12 to 15 years, but he was fortunate enough to go 21 years without needing another surgery.

In 2018, a noninvasive procedure was offered to him, but his surgery, which replaced only one valve, became open heart surgery because of "a little screwup," Schwarzenegger said. His other valve was replaced in 2020.

This time around, the noninvasive procedure worked seamlessly, and Schwarzenegger said he is feeling great.

He said he could've kept this information private but hopes his story gives people courage and hope with their own health struggles and makes them feel less alone.

"If you're putting something off out of fear, I hope I inspire you to listen to your doctors and take care of yourself," Schwarzenegger said.

The fitness mogul won't be able to resume serious workouts for a while, but he was able to attend a major environmental event the same week as his procedure. He said he'll be fine to return to filming for his Netflix show "Fubar" next month.

The U.K.'s National Health Service says strenuous activity should be avoided for four to six weeks after getting a pacemaker. Those who play contact sports should take caution to avoid collisions and may want to opt for a protective pad.

SEE MORE: Acupuncture may enhance post-surgery outcomes in cardiac patients

Jack Dawson's famous last words to Rose Dewitt Bukater, said while clinging to the Titanic's infamous wooden "door," were "Never let go."

Hailing from the pair's emotional final scene, the quote from the 1997 blockbuster "Titanic" comes as the female socialite floats on the prop and her lover is left to the icy waters beneath, eventually dying of hypothermia and sinking to the ocean floor.

In recent years, the moment garnered heated discussion, both because Rose did let go and because many believe both characters could have fit on the makeshift flotation device. And even though the film's director James Cameron has tried to squash the debate, one fan appears to truly have heeded Jack's request, never letting go of the piece of wood until it was in their possession — for a small fee of $718,750.

That's how much the fan paid for the balsa wood prop piece at Heritage Auctions' Treasures from Planet Hollywood event, which ran Wednesday through Sunday.

It was the most expensive piece sold during the auction, beating out other iconic props like the whip from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" — nabbed for $525,000 — and the ax from "The Shining." But four other pieces of "Titanic" memorabilia did join the wood panel in the highest-sellers list, including the ship's helm wheel — sold for $200,000 — and the dress Kate Winslet/Rose wore during that notable last scene, leaving for a price of $125,000.

Now it's up to the new owner of the door frame — which Heritage Auctions clarifies is often mistakenly referred to as part of a full door — to decide whether they'll carry out their own tests to settle the debate over Jack's death or to believe what Cameron says: that his decision to frame the final scene (no pun intended) the way he did was the right call.

The Oscar-winning director made this final argument around the film's anniversary last year, when he conducted his own study on the wood panel after years of being asked about it. The study consisted of test subjects who were the same size as Winslet and DiCaprio being put in the final scene's scenario. 

In the end, Cameron concluded that only one could have survived, but technically, he admitted he should have made the prop panel smaller to eliminate doubters, even as other variables would have come into play in a real-life scenario.

"[Jack] needed to die. It's like Romeo and Juliet. It's a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality. The love is measured by the sacrifice," he said about the storyline.

"Jack might've lived, but there's a lot of variables: How much swell is there, how long does it take the lifeboat to get there," he also said about the survivability. "In an experiment in a test pool, we can't possibly simulate the terror, the adrenaline, all the things that worked against them. He couldn't have anticipated what we know today about hypothermia. He didn't get to run a bunch of different experiments to see what worked the best … I think his thought process was, 'I'm not going to do one thing that jeopardizes her.'"

Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyer said Tuesday that the searches of his Los Angeles and Miami properties by federal authorities in a sex-trafficking investigation were "a gross use of military-level force" and that Combs is "innocent and will continue to fight" to clear his name.

It's the first public statement from the music mogul's team since Monday's raids by Homeland Security Investigations agents in the investigation being run by federal authorities in New York,

"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residences," said the statement from attorney Aaron Dyer. "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated."

The criminal investigation is a major escalation in the scrutiny of Combs, who has been the defendant in several sexual abuse lawsuits in recent months.

In a lawsuit Combs settled the day after it was filed in November, his former protege and girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape. The lawsuit said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them.

SEE MORE: Diddy accused of sex trafficking, assault, RICO crimes in vast lawsuit

In February a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.

Another of Combs' accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.

Combs and his attorneys have denied all of the lawsuits' allegations.

It is not clear whether the search is related to any of the allegations raised in the lawsuits.

Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he built one of hip-hop's biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.

Former "The Bachelor" contestant Jenn Tran has been named the newest "Bachelorette" looking for love.

The 26-year-old appeared on Season 28 of "The Bachelor," but she was eliminated in week seven. 

She is now the first Asian American to be named "The Bachelorette" in the show's 20-year history.

"Growing up, I've always wanted to see Asian representation on TV," Tran said during the "After the Final Rose" ceremony following the announcement. "And I feel like any time Asians were in the media, it was a supporting character role, to fulfill some kind of stereotype, and I always felt boxed in by that because I was like, I don't see myself on screen; I don't see myself as the main character."

Tran charmed audiences "with her bubbly personality" while appearing on Joey Graziadei's season of "The Bachelor," according to the press release.

"Tran is a sweet and compassionate woman who has dedicated her life to helping others and is currently studying to become a physician assistant," the press release says. "The bilingual Vietnamese beauty currently resides in Miami and is ready to find love with a man who's as reliable and thoughtful as she is. When she's not studying, Tran loves reading, paddleboarding and traveling whenever she has the chance."

You can watch Tran discuss her relationship with Graziadei before she was named the new Bachelorette, below:

Graziadei chose Kelsey Anderson during "The Bachelor" finale. Anderson accepted the final rose, and the two are now engaged.

You can watch Tran search for love on the 21st season of "The Bachelorette," which will air this summer on ABC and Hulu.

This story was originally published by Kaitlin Gates at Simplemost. 

Joni Mitchell has looked at Spotify from "Both Sides Now" — those sides being the one with her music off the streaming service and the one with it back on again.

The folk singer's catalog quietly returned to the platform last week to the joy of users who have had to go elsewhere to hear classics like "River" and "Big Yellow Taxi" over the last two-plus years. 

That's how long it's been since the 80-year-old, in solidarity with rocker Neil Young, pulled her music from Spotify to protest its then-exclusive deal with podcast host Joe Rogan, whom both singers — along with health care officials — said was spreading COVID-19 misinformation with the help of Spotify's distribution.

Young's music was first removed from the streaming service in January 2022 after he briefly posted a letter on his website saying Spotify was "spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them." He wrote, "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both," according to Rolling Stone.

Soon after, Mitchell said on her website that she decided to remove her music from Spotify to stand with Young and "the global scientific and medical communities on this issue."

"Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives," the statement also read.

The announcement came alongside an open letter to Spotify, which called on the platform to implement a misinformation policy to "mitigate the damage" allegedly created by hosts like Rogan who "repeatedly spread misleading and false claims on his podcast, provoking distrust in science and medicine."

The letter centered on an episode of Rogan's show that featured Dr. Robert Malone, who spoke of discredited theories about COVID-19 including that "societal leaders have 'hypnotized' the public," it said.

But now that Rogan's podcast is not exclusive to Spotify, meaning it's available to stream on other platforms, Young said the boycott's purpose is gone, and it appears Mitchell is again standing by her colleague. 

SEE MORE: Neil Young returning to Spotify after boycott over Joe Rogan

Though he didn't mention the controversial host by name, Young wrote on his website earlier this month that his decision to return his music to Spotify came as other music services, like Apple and Amazon, "have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify." 

"I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all, so I have returned to Spotify," he wrote. 

Mitchell hasn't commented on her music's return to the streaming platform, but it comes as she's stepped back into the spotlight after years largely away due to a serious health incident that left her unable to speak.

Now the folk singer is back to performing, including at the Grammy Awards in February. She's also set for two nights at the Hollywood Bowl this fall.

Federal agents raided homes belonging to Sean "Diddy" Combs on Monday as the music mogul faces multiple lawsuits, including one alleging sex trafficking and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) crimes.

Homeland Security agents conducted investigations at Combs' Miami and Los Angeles homes, according to TMZ and FOX 11. The former captured video of armed agents approaching Diddy's Miami home by water, while the latter posted footage of several people handcuffed outside the Los Angeles property.

In a statement, Homeland Security Investigations said it executed the raid "as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available," per TMZ and FOX 11. 

Both publications report the raid appears to be in connection to the sex trafficking allegations made in a lawsuit filed against Combs last month. In the suit, a music producer who worked on Combs’ most recent record claimed the rapper ran a RICO enterprise set up to acquire and transport drugs, firearms and sex workers — some being minors.

The plaintiff claimed he had "hundreds" of hours of footage and audio recordings capturing Diddy, his staff and his guests engaging in "serious illegal activity," including photos allegedly showing Diddy with underage girls — some of whom were given drug-laced drinks and forced to engage in sexual acts with the mogul.

SEE MORE: Diddy accused of sex trafficking, assault, RICO crimes in vast lawsuit

In a statement to Billboard at the time of the lawsuit, Combs' attorney said the plaintiff was a "liar" who was "shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday." 

"His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen and is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines. We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies," the statement read.

The suit followed that of four women who have accused Combs of sexual assault. In November, his longtime former girlfriend Cassie sued for rape and physical abuse, though the case was settled shortly after. Later that month, two women filed similar suits on the same day, both claiming Diddy sexually assaulted them. Then in December, a Jane Doe sued claiming Diddy and two others gang-raped her when she was 17.

A spokesperson for Diddy said the claims of the two women who sued after Cassie were "fabricated" and an exploitation of the Adult Survivors Act, which allowed sexual assault survivors to file claims outside of the regular statute of limitations until November of last year. 

Then in an Instagram post in December, Diddy again denied the allegations, writing: "Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth." 

Steve Burns wants to know if we're doing okay, and the world is sharing their burdens with him.

Burns, the original host of Nickelodeon’s "Blue's Clues," jumped on his TikTok account after a long hiatus to check on his followers.

The video, like most of the rest on his social media account, only had a few words and invited viewers to take a moment to reflect.

"Hey, I'm checking in," Burns said directly into the camera. "Tell me, what's going on?"

@hioutthereitsmesteve

♬ Untitled #6 (2022 Remaster) - Sigur Rós

He was the same Steve who gently and quietly invited '90s children into his world to find clues with Blue, the animated puppy. Only this time, it seems he knows the now grown-up children of the '90s are struggling.

This isn't the first time Burns has shared videos in which he's reached out in this fashion. However, the timing of Burns' latest post likely isn't coincidental. 

A new four-part documentary from Investigation Discovery, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," now streaming on Max, has pulled back the curtain on alleged predatory behavior directed at the child stars of Nickelodeon during the 1990s and 2000s. Fans of the shows at the center of this documentary were horrified to see how many of their favorite shows were impacted, as well as the stars who have spoken out as victims.

Burns, who worked as part of the Nick Jr. lineup, was not involved in any part of the scandal rocking the network, but his connection with the grown-ups who watched these shows 25 years ago remains strong. That's why when his video popped up on TikTok, fans poured into the comments to thank Burns for his compassion and empathy.

"Not me sitting laying in bed at almost 3 a.m. in tears because Steve from 'Blue's Clues' shows up on my FYP asking what's going on?" wrote @Laurenrocker93. "The one thing that we have left that is pure from our childhood."

SEE MORE: Elmo asks 'How is everybody doing?' and, well, the internet is not OK

Burns' post is the latest part of a viral trend in which a children's TV personality has tapped into the emotional needs of the world. In late January, Elmo of "Sesame Street" shared a post on X simply asking how everyone was doing. The post rocketed around the world on social media as people shared honest stories about what was going on in their lives.

Burns made no direct comment about the documentary in his latest post, which has nearly 7 million views so far. He simply sat, listening in silence while keeping engaged eye contact with the audience, and acknowledged them with nods and interested facial expressions — much like he did when he asked the "Blue's Clues" audience a question.

This story was originally published by Marie Rossiter on Simplemost.com.

Kevin Bacon will kick up his heels at the prom this spring back at the school where he made one of his most famous films.

The “Footloose” star will return to Payson High School in Utah to join students in celebrating their final prom. This school served as one of the locations for the 1984 movie, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

It’s taken nearly two years for Payson High School’s #BacontoPayson social media campaign to bring Bacon back to his old stomping grounds. From recreating iconic “Footloose” scenes, performing the musical and direct appeals, the Payson Lions went all out to grab Bacon’s attention.

Their most ambitious campaign started to be released by one of the school’s video classes, which recreated a film trailer and released a few episodes of their take on “Footloose.”

Time has been critical for Payson High School, because the building used in “Footloose” is scheduled to be demolished after this school year. If Bacon was going to come back, this had to be the year.

Then, on Monday, students were called into the gym for a surprise. Representatives from NBC’s “Today” talked with the students about their efforts and then brought Bacon into the conversation via Zoom.

“I have been so impressed with everything going on there with this crazy idea to get me to come back,” Bacon told the student body. “It hasn’t gone unnoticed by me … And, I’m gonna come. I gotta come. ”

Bacon also told the students he appreciated how their social media efforts also raised awareness of his charitable foundation, SixDegrees.org, which the actor created to help bring connection to people’s lives through youth programming around the country.

“I think that’s the reason it’s resonated so deeply with people,” Payson High School student council adviser Jenny Staheli told KUER 90.1. “I think it’s really because this is, this is such a feel-good idea that we can all get behind and we can all agree that good things need to happen in the world, and unexpected kindnesses are worth it.”

Payson High School students and Bacon will celebrate at the prom on April 20.

This story originally appeared on Simplemost.

Comedian Kevin Hart is the latest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

One of the highest honors in the comedy industry, the award was created in 1998 and is given to individuals who “have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, colloquially known as Mark Twain.”

Held at the Kennedy Center on March 24, the ceremony began with a performance by Robin Thicke and Nelly and included other famous faces from Jerry Seinfeld to Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon and Chelsea Handler.

“For over three decades, Kevin Hart has been a source of laughter across America and throughout the world with his iconic characters, inimitable physical comedy and relatable narratives,” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter in a press statement. “An accomplished writer, producer, actor and comedian, he has made lasting contributions to the comedic landscape and represents our celebration of American humor at the Kennedy Center.”

“I didn’t start doing what I was doing to get awards,” Hart said during the ceremony, according to The Associated Press. “I just fell in love with the idea of comedy.”

Hart received praise from his fellow comedians during the ceremony, including Dave Chappelle, who received the award in 2019. Saying Hart reminds him why he loves comedy, Chappelle also made sure Hart knew that he gave up a trip to Jamaica to attend the event.

“I am honored to know somebody like you,” he said. “I really wish you had come when I won this award.”

Last year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recipient was Adam Sandler, who credited his success in the industry to his family, who gives him “some insane weird confidence.” Other comedians who have received the Mark Twain Award include Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett and Jon Stewart.

You can watch Hart receive the award on Netflix on Saturday, May 11.

This story was originally published by Kaitlin Gates at Simplemost.

SEE MORE: Comedian Chris Tucker on his return to film, new comedy tour

It’s a rare — and expensive — privilege to own something that once belonged to Hollywood royalty. But what about spending eternity buried next to Hollywood royalty? 

The latest set of iconic lots from Julien’s Auctions, an exclusive auction house in Beverly Hills, will feature over 600 artifacts from Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner and Playboy Enterprises, including a single-space mausoleum crypt near where the two legends are buried. 

The mausoleum is in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary in Los Angeles, California. 

Monroe died unexpectedly in 1962 and, according to Julien’s, her ex-husband and baseball star Joe DiMaggio chose for her to be buried there because it was also the final resting place of two women who helped care for Monroe as a young girl. 

Hefner bought the spot to the immediate left of Monroe’s in 1992, where he was interred shortly after he died in 2017. He famously launched Playboy magazine in 1953, with Monroe on the cover of the first issue. 

Hefner discussed purchasing the crypt next to Monroe’s in a 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times, stating, “Spending eternity next to Marilyn is an opportunity too sweet to pass up.”

The crypts, located in the Corridor of Memories section of the burial grounds, are often visited by fans from around the world to pay their respects. 

The open crypt space that will be up for auction is one row above and four spaces to the left of Monroe’s, according to Julien’s. 

It’s not the first time a crypt near the movie star’s has been auctioned off or sold for a hefty price. Julien’s estimates that the lot will be sold anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 once the bidding ends. 

The auction, which begins on March 28, is mostly made up of rare, fine artwork that has not been seen since it was displayed in the infamous Playboy Mansion and Playboy’s offices. 

Authentic Playboy Bunny costumes, Andy Warhol’s iconic Playboy Bunny silkscreen, as well as Hefner’s famous pair of custom-made purple silk pajamas embroidered with his name and slippers, black velvet smoking jacket, and tobacco pipe, will also be up for sale.  

The selection of items from Monroe’s personal collection includes her 1962 John F. Kennedy birthday gala original program and ticket stub, where she notoriously sang to the president, an evening gown worn by Monroe in the film “The Seven Year Itch,” and her custom orange-red shade of Elizabeth Arden lipstick. 

SEE MORE: Dress worn by Princess Diana sells for new record of $1.14 million

Fans of Tim Burton's cult-classic movie "Beetlejuice" are getting a special treat this fall: Thirty-six years after the release of the 1988 original, Burton has filmed a sequel, and Michael Keaton is back in the title role. 

Based on the trailer, the follow-up appears to be every bit as kooky, funny and horror-tinged as the first one. It's set to hit theaters on Sept. 6.

The official title is "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice," which is no doubt a nod to the way you summon the ghastly lead character — one more utterance of that word makes it three times, which is when Beetlejuice appears.

Original "Beetlejuice" cast members — including Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara, who played Lydia and Delia Deetz, respectively — are also returning. 

There's also a new family member: Lydia's daughter, Astrid, who is played by Jenna Ortega. She's an apt pick, since she's already played another comedy/horror heroine, Wednesday Addams, in Burton's TV show "Wednesday."

The original "Beetlejuice" centered around a couple named Barbara, played by Geena Davis, and Adam Maitland, played by Alec Baldwin, who lose their lives in a car accident. Now they're ghosts haunting their old house, and they're unable to leave the premises when the insufferable new owners, the Deetz family, move in. They solicit help from the devilish Beetlejuice, who (comically) makes everything worse.

Since Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are not returning, we're expecting to learn that they made it out of the house, somehow. But there are some other new cast members arriving, including Willem Dafoe as a cop and former B-movie action star in the afterlife. Monica Bellucci (Burton's real-life love) will play Beetlejuice's wife, and Justin Theroux will play a mysterious character named Rory.

The sequel's first-look trailer gives a hint at what might kick off the new story. Delia, Lydia and Astrid stand by a gravesite with somber faces; could the story open with the death of Delia's husband, Charles, played by Jeffrey Jones in the original? 

Entertainment Weekly asked Burton about the opening scene, and he skirted the question, saying, "There's something that happens that sets things in motion."

In the moment we've been waiting for, Keaton appears as Beetlejuice at the end. Take a look:

The white-robed choir at the funeral sings strains from Harry Belafonte's "Day O," summoning one of the funniest scenes in the original movie. Though the trailer doesn't reveal much, it does seem like the sequel will also put a silly spin on death, which is what the original did best.

This story was originally published by Jennifer Graham Kizer on Simplemost.com.

Kate, the Princess of Wales, revealed on Friday that she is being treated for cancer. 

There have been a lot of questions surrounding her health ever since the palace announced she had abdominal surgery in January. The cancer was reportedly found following that surgery. 

"The surgery was successful," Kate said in a video statement. "However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present."

The princess did not say what type of cancer she was diagnosed with but explained that she is undergoing "preventative chemotherapy."

"This, of course, came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family," Kate said. 

Kate and William are parents to three children: George, Charlotte and Louis. 

The princess said they needed space so she could reassure her children that she would be OK.

"As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits," Kate said. 

Kate thanked the public for their prayers and concern but requested privacy during this time. There's no clear timetable on when the princess will return to public duties. 

"My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery," she said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle expressed their well wishes to the princess, saying in a statement obtained by The Associated Press, "We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace."

King Charles III, who is also being treated for an unspecified cancer discovered during a surgery, also shared that he "is so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did" and that he and Queen Camilla "will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time," a statement released by Buckingham Palace said, per the AP.

A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024

SEE MORE: Princess Kate apologizes for 'confusion' over edited photo

M. Emmet Walsh, the character actor who brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner,” has died at age 88, his manager said Wednesday.

Walsh died from cardiac arrest on Tuesday at a hospital in St. Albans, Vermont, his longtime manager Sandy Joseph said.

The ham-faced, heavyset Walsh often played good old boys with bad intentions, as he did in one of his rare leading roles as a crooked Texas private detective in the Coen brothers’ first film, the 1984 neo-noir “Blood Simple.”

Joel and Ethan Coen said they wrote the part for Walsh, who would win the first Film Independent Spirit Award for best male lead for the role.

Critics and film geeks relished the moments when he showed up on screen.

Roger Ebert once observed that “no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.”

Walsh played a crazed sniper in the 1979 Steve Martin comedy “The Jerk” and a prostate-examining doctor in the 1985 Chevy Chase vehicle “Fletch.”

In 1982's gritty, “Blade Runner,” a film he said was grueling and difficult to make with perfectionist director Ridley Scott, Walsh plays a hard-nosed police captain who pulls Harrison Ford from retirement to hunt down cyborgs.

Born Michael Emmet Walsh, his characters led people to believe he was from the American South, but he could hardly have been from any further north.

Walsh was raised on Lake Champlain in Swanton, Vermont, just a few miles from the U.S.-Canadian border, where his grandfather, father and brother worked as customs officers.

He went to a tiny local high school with a graduating class of 13, then to Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

He acted exclusively on the stage, with no intention of doing otherwise, for a decade, working in summer stock and repertory companies.

Walsh slowly started making film appearances in 1969 with a bit role in “Alice’s Restaurant,” and did not start playing prominent roles until nearly a decade after that when he was in his 40s, getting his breakthrough with 1978’s “Straight Time,” in which he played Dustin Hoffman's smug, boorish parole officer.

SEE MORE: Eric Carmen, 'All By Myself,' 'Hungry Eyes' singer, dies at 74

Walsh was shooting “Silkwood” with Meryl Streep in Dallas in the autumn of 1982 when he got the offer for “Blood Simple” from the Coen brothers, then-aspiring filmmakers who had seen and loved him in “Straight Time.”

“My agent called with a script written by some kids for a low-budget movie,” Walsh told The Guardian in 2017. “It was a Sydney Greenstreet kind of role, with a Panama suit and the hat. I thought it was kinda fun and interesting. They were 100 miles away in Austin, so I went down there early one day before shooting.”

Walsh said the filmmakers didn't even have enough money left to fly him to New York for the opening, but he would be stunned that first-time filmmakers had produced something so good.

“I saw it three or four days later when it opened in LA, and I was, like: Wow!" he said. "Suddenly my price went up five times. I was the guy everybody wanted.”

In the film he plays Loren Visser, a detective asked to trail a man’s wife, then is paid to kill her and her lover.

Visser also acts as narrator, and the opening monologue, delivered in a Texas drawl, included some of Walsh's most memorable lines.

“Now, in Russia they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else. That’s the theory, anyway," Visser says. “But what I know about is Texas. And down here, you’re on your own.”

He was still working into his late 80s, making recent appearances on the TV series “The Righteous Gemstones” and “American Gigolo.”

And his more than 100 film credits included director Rian Johnson’s 2019 family murder mystery, “Knives Out" and director Mario Van Peebles' Western “Outlaw Posse,” released this year.

Johnson was among those paying tribute to Walsh on social media.

“Emmet came to set with 2 things: a copy of his credits, which was a small-type single spaced double column list of modern classics that filled a whole page, & two-dollar bills which he passed out to the entire crew," Johnson tweeted. “'Don’t spend it and you’ll never be broke.' Absolute legend.”

Days after scaring fans by saying he was "dying" — then later apologizing for the "confusion" his misleading post caused — Richard Simmons has revealed he was treated for skin cancer years ago. 

The eccentric fitness personality opened up about his diagnosis in a series of posts on Facebook, later writing his intent in doing so was to encourage viewers to get any spots on their bodies checked out by a doctor.

That advice is what led the 75-year-old to learn he had basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of cancer, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association.

The slow-growing skin cancer can occasionally be mistaken for a pimple or scar, but if a doctor determines the spot contains cancerous basal cells, it can often be easily treated and cured, the AADA says. This is the process Simmons went through, according to his posts. 

SEE MORE: Doctor shares factors that can help reduce cancer risk

On Tuesday, Simmons wrote that he first went to the dermatologist after noticing a "strange looking bump" under his right eye that wouldn't go away. There, his doctor scraped it off to examine it under a microscope. 

"Now I am getting a little bit nervous," Simmons wrote on Facebook. "He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer. I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basel Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed."

Simmons said he then went to a specialist to have the cancer cells burned off, but the first and second attempts an hour-and-a-half apart did not succeed in fully removing them, he wrote before telling fans the story was "to be continued." 

Then Wednesday, Simmons posted again, this time writing it wasn't until after the third session that his doctor was able to stitch his face up, check the rest of his body for concerning marks and then tell him, "I don't want to see you back here again."

Simmons didn't say exactly when this happened, but later Wednesday, he said it was "so many years ago," adding "I guess I should be more careful about what I write about."

The comment seems to be a nod to his Sunday Facebook post that initially worried fans about his health. In it, the fitness coach said, "I have some news to tell you. Please don't be sad. I am … dying." The post continued with Simmons telling viewers to "enjoy your life to the fullest every single day" and giving nutrition and fitness advice. 

Then Monday, he apologized for upsetting those to whom he gave the wrong impression. 

"I am not dying," the post read. "It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have. Sorry for this confusion."

As for his cancer, it's unclear if that was the only time he's been treated. Though his cancer was removed, it can return and is more likely to if the patient doesn't practice recommended self-care, the AADA says. This includes regularly checking your skin for irregular marks, keeping up dermatology appointments and staying out of UV light while unprotected. This includes the sun and indoor tanning beds or equipment, both of which are the top causes of basal cell carcinoma.

Disgraced Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider said he owes “some people a pretty strong apology,” in a video interview posted to his YouTube channel on Tuesday, following detailed allegations about his inappropriate behavior in a new docuseries. 

“Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” produced by Investigation Discovery featured several former child stars — most from Nickelodeon — who described an abusive and toxic work environment on shows produced by Schneider.

In the YouTube video, Schneider spoke with Bobby Bowman, who played the character T-Bo on “iCarly,” about how it was “embarrassing” for him to watch the docuseries as it aired, and how he wanted to call the individuals interviewed in it and tell them he was sorry.

“Facing my past behaviors — some of which are embarrassing and that I regret — and I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology,” Schneider said. 

He created some of the network’s most successful shows throughout the 90s and early 2000s, including “All That,” “The Amanda Show,” “Drake and Josh” and “iCarly” before leaving Nickelodeon in 2018. 

The docuseries highlights recounts from former Nickelodeon production staff and actors Drake Bell from “Drake and Josh”; Raquel Lee Bolleau from “The Amanda Show”; Bryan Hearne, Katrina Johnson, Giovonnie Samuels and Kyle Sullivan from “All That”; and Alexis Nikolas from “Zoey 101.”

Some of the allegations made against Schneider in the series were that he asked a woman on the staff to give him a massage and that he wrote sexually suggestive jokes for the teen actors to portray in the shows, which were geared toward children.

Schneider continuously denies these allegations, and, in the YouTube interview, said any questionable jokes should be cut from reruns of his shows. 

“Every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny,” Schneider said. “Now we have some adults looking back at them 20 years later through their lens. And they’re looking at them and they’re saying ‘I don’t think that’s appropriate for a kid show. I have no problem with that if that’s how anyone feels. Let's cut those jokes out of the show.”

Schneider said the docuseries made him feel “awful” and “regretful” and there are things that he would do differently if he could back in time. 

“The main thing that I would change is how I treat people and everyone. I definitely at times didn’t give people the best of me,” Schneider said. “I could be cocky and definitely overambitious and sometimes just straight-up rude and obnoxious and I am just so sorry that I ever was.”

SEE MORE: Diddy accused of sex trafficking, assault, RICO crimes in vast lawsuit

Yes, And? 

Ariana Grande's grandmother may be 98, but that's not stopping her from appearing on the Billboard Hot 100.

Marjorie Grande, whom fans have come to know as "Nonna," made history with her feature on Ari's "Ordinary Things," which debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard chart for the week ending March 23. Marjorie is now the oldest living person to appear on the chart.

"Ordinary Things" is the final song on Ariana's new album "Eternal Sunshine," which dropped on March 8.

In the song, Nonna is heard speaking in a voice recording.

"When he'd come home and I'd see him, when he first gets off that train, it was like God almighty arrived — it was like seeing daylight," Marjorie says in the song. "I mean, I could've packed up and left a million times, you know? It's not that we never fought, you can overcome that."

Nonna closes the song with: "Never go to bed without kissing goodnight. That's the worst thing to do, don't ever, ever do that. And if you can't, and if you don't feel comfortable doing it — you're in the wrong place — get out."

Ariana described the choice to include her beloved grandmother in the song during an interview on the Zach Sang Show, saying it put a bow on the question asked in the album's first track, "Intro (end of the world)" — in which Ari asks in her lyrics, "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?" 

"The album starts with a question and ends with an answer from a person that I love and trust so implicitly," she told host Zach Sang.

Ariana explained that she sometimes will record her grandmother for hours because she'll say things that are funny and unexpected. In the recorded passage included on "Ordinary Things," Marjorie had been talking to her friend Shirley, Ariana told Sang.

The singer said her grandmother was touched to be on the album.

"She was very excited to be on the album, and she was very moved by it," Ari said.

Ariana joked that Nonna was quick to point out this wasn't her first time on one of her famous granddaughter's songs.

Nonna also made appearances on previous tracks "Daydreamin'" and "Bloodline," though she was not credited. 

Ariana's "We Can't Be Friends"from her new album is currently No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Previously, the album's single "Yes, And?" debuted at No. 1. in January.

SEE MORE: Ariana Grande ties Taylor Swift for major Billboard record

Country star Toby Keith, who died last month, is heading to the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

In a ceremony announcing the inductees on Monday, Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern said results came in that Keith had been elected in the Modern Era category just hours after the world learned of his passing.

“We woke up that morning to the heartbreaking news that our friend Toby Keith had lost his long battle with stomach cancer,” Trahern said.

“My heart sank,” she said, “knowing that we missed the chance to inform Toby while he was still with us. But I have no doubt that he is smiling down on us, knowing that he’ll always be, — quote —  ‘as good as he once was.’”

Trahern explained that election rules do not allow a person to be elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in the year of their death, but said that rule did not apply to Keith, who had already been selected prior to his passing. Voting was closed on Feb. 2 and official results were tallied by Feb. 6,  a day after the singer passed away.

The other inductees announced Monday were singer John Anderson and guitarist James Burton.

Keith died on Feb. 5 at the age of 62. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021, and shared the news publicly in June 2022.

Keith has produced 32 No. 1-ranked songs, and 42 songs that have appeared in the Top 10 of Billboard's country music chart. 

He is perhaps best known for his 1993 single "Should've Been a Cowboy." 

SEE MORE: After Toby Keith's death, doctors say stomach cancer is easy to miss

Dr. Dre was told he was lucky to be in good health after a stir of health scares in 2021.

In a recent interview on SiriusXM's "This Life of Mine with James Corden," the music mogul reflected on his brain aneurysm in January of that year that put him in the hospital, where he had three strokes within two weeks of being treated for the initial issue. 

The 59-year-old told Corden his condition dramatically worsened after first waking up one morning with pain behind his right ear. His son's friend insisted they take Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, to see a doctor, so they took him to urgent care, where he was quickly told his condition was "serious."

"Next thing you know, I'm blacking out. I'm in and out of consciousness, and I ended up in the ICU. I was there for two weeks," Dre said. "I'm hearing the doctors coming in and saying, 'You don't know how lucky you are.'"

The eight-time Grammy winner said "nobody could give me an answer" on what could've been done to prevent the brain aneurysm, but that he was surprised to learn he had high blood pressure despite keeping a healthy lifestyle.

SEE MORE: Brain aneurysm treatment may speed recovery and lessen complications

"I'm lifting weights, I'm running, I'm doing everything I can to keep myself healthy," he said to Corden. "High blood pressure in Black men; that's just what it is. They call it the silent killer."

While he said he hasn't made a "significant change" since the scare, Dre told the show's host it made him appreciate being alive. 

"It's crazy … knowing that I had no control over that. It's just something that could happen out of the blue," he said.

Dre's fame was kick-started as an original member of N.W.A. in the mid-1980s. From there, the Compton-born rapper founded Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics and co-founded Death Row Records. His solo career soon ballooned into producing with other artists, including Eminem and 50 Cent — both of whom he signed — plus Kendrick Lamar, Silk Sonic and Snoop Dogg.

When news of his hospitalization broke in 2022, many of his collaborators and other music industry icons showed their support. Dre thanked them and his other followers in a post on Instagram and sent a shout-out to his care team at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Hospital.

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A brain aneurysm occurs when a weak spot on an artery in the brain balloons and fills with blood, potentially putting pressure on the nerves or brain tissue, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The bulging aneurysm can also rupture and spill blood, which is called a hemorrhage. This causes hemorrhagic strokes, which leaves the part of the body controlled by the damaged area of the brain unable to work properly, Cedars Sinai says.

Celine Dion is sharing a message of encouragement amid her ongoing battle with stiff person syndrome.

Speaking out on Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day, which is March 15, the singer said she one day hopes to return to the stage and live as normally as possible despite her diagnosis. 

"Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage and to live as normal of a life as possible. I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you," Dion wrote on Instagram. 

The singer posted the message alongside a photo of her with her three sons.

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"I want to send my encouragement and support to all those around the world that have been affected by SPS. I want you to know you can do it! We can do it!" she said.

Dion first revealed in the fall of 2022 that she had stiff person syndrome, which is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that causes muscle stiffness and spasms that limit mobility, as well as other symptoms like double vision and slurred speech, according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

In December, the singer's sister Claudette Dion shared an update that Celine had lost control of her muscles. Prior to that, the singer had to cancel her European tour, which was scheduled to run from Aug. 26, 2023 through April 22, 2024.

While there is no cure for stiff person syndrome, working with a specialist and maintaining symptom control can make living with the disease more manageable, according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Celine made a surprise and rare public appearance during the 66th annual Grammy Awards last month.

SEE MORE: Celine Dion makes surprise appearance at Grammys to present award

In his State of the Union address earlier this month, President Joe Biden vowed to eliminate what he called "junk fees," the extra charges businesses charge consumers for mandatory fees. 

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted in favor of requiring cable and satellite TV companies to provide an "all-in" price." 

The FCC said that by employing all-in prices, consumers will have a better idea what they're paying for and an easier time doing comparison shopping. 

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said consumers have been clamoring for such a rule. 

"No one likes surprises on their bill," she said. "The advertised price for a service should be the price you pay when your bill arrives. It shouldn’t include a bunch of unexpected junk fees that are separate from the top-line price you were told when you signed up. But right now this isn’t the case. In fact, our record in this proceeding demonstrates that 24 to 33 percent of consumer bills are special fees like 'broadcast subscription' and "regional sports assessments.'"

SEE MORE: Amazon to invest in Diamond Sports as part of bankruptcy restructuring

The five-member FCC voted 3-2 in favor of the new rule. Commissioner Nathan Simington was among the two no votes. Simington argued that the FCC lacked the authority to implement such a rule.

"We are yet again adding additional regulatory burden and complexity to an industry that is shedding customers by the millions," he said. "Traditional linear video is on the way out, but we don’t have to shoo them away like the last guest who hasn’t gotten the hint that the party’s over. For every mote of regulatory complexity we add to legacy providers, unregulated online video providers become more nimble by comparison."

DirecTV said it has no comment in response to the FCC's decision. 

Music streaming and podcast platforms such as Spotify might have helped revive the radio star, but now they’re heading in the visual direction, as Spotify has just announced that it is beta testing a new music video feature.

By offering music videos on the platform, the app will be able to compete with similar services like YouTube and Apple Music.

The beta launch will be available to Premium users, but there’s a catch: It isn’t available in America yet. Instead, the product will be tested in the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Kenya.

A select catalog of music videos will be offered to Premium users in these countries, including music videos from Doja Cat, Ice Spice, Ed Sheeran and local favorites in the listener’s specific region.

Music videos make up the most popular content on YouTube, with 8 out of 10 of the most-viewed videos on the platform being music videos, according to data from 2022. This has been consistently true for YouTube since 2010, with artists like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber garnering views in the billions.

In offering music videos, Spotify hopes to reclaim users who have gone elsewhere for their music video fix, while also providing another avenue for artists on Spotify to reach new audiences.

“So many times in my own experience and for countless others, music videos play a key role in hooking you: taking you from being a listener to leaning in and becoming a fan,” Charlie Hellman, vice president and head of music product at Spotify, said in a press statement. “They’re an important part of so many artists’ toolkits, and it’s a natural fit for them to live in the same place that more than half a billion people choose to listen to music.”

For the select Premium users who will be part of the beta testing, Spotify’s music videos can be accessed by toggling to “Switch to Video” on supported tracks. While not everyone will get to test out this new feature yet, Spotify has told its users to “stay tuned” and that it hopes to add more catalogs and more countries to this offering soon.

This story originally appeared on Simplemost.

After a two-year standoff with Spotify over concerns regarding alleged misinformation on the platform, Neil Young has announced that his music will be returning to the streaming service.

The decision marks the end of a prolonged boycott initiated by Young in early 2022 over Spotify's exclusive deal to stream comedian Joe Rogan's widely popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," which Young accused of spreading "fake information" about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the Canadian-American musician demanded that Spotify either take steps to fact-check the podcast or he would pull his entire music catalog from the platform. His departure came after a group of more than 250 scientists and doctors published an open letter also demanding that Spotify "take action against the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform."

SEE MORE: The war on misinformation in modern wartime

In a statement published to his website Tuesday, Young said his decision to return to the platform came because other music services like Apple and Amazon continue to serve the same disinformation that led to his boycott of Spotify in the first place. This comes a month after Spotify announced a new multi-year deal with Rogan that removes exclusivity rights on his podcast, meaning it can now appear on other streaming services. 

"I cannot just leave Apple and Amazon, like I did Spotify, because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all," Young said. "So I have returned to Spotify." 

The "Heart of Gold" and "Harvest Moon" singer also took several digs at Spotify in his statement, referring to the platform as the "#1 streamer of low res music in the world." He urged Spotify to offer its listeners a high-resolution tier so that the platform can "Really be #1 in all ways."

Spotify has not publicly confirmed the return of Young's music to the platform.

“Hello, Sidney.”

Original “Scream” queen Neve Campbell announced she is returning to the multi-film franchise after sitting out of the sixth installment over a salary dispute. 

The 50-year-old actor took to Instagram on Tuesday to confirm the news with a photo of the script. 

"Sidney Prescott is coming back!!!!" Campbell wrote. "It's always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies. My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned."

Campbell has played the key character of Sidney Prescott in each of the franchise’s films, excluding “Scream VI,” since the first movie was released in 1996. 

"As a woman, I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to 'Scream,'" she said in a 2022 statement to Variety on her decision not to join the sixth movie. "I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise."

It was also revealed that the writer of the original “Scream” movie, Kevin Williamson, will return to direct the untitled seventh installment.

“I am overcome with gratitude and excitement, and I can’t wait to take this journey with Neve and the entire Scream family as we bring back Sidney Prescott in the next chapter of the Scream franchise,” Williamson wrote on his own Instagram. “Thank you to all the Scream fans. You are the gift that keeps giving.”

In addition to writing the scripts for the franchise’s debut, sequel and “Scream 4,” Williamson is known for his work on other slasher films like “I Know What You Did Last Summer” as well as popular shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “Vampire Diaries.” 

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A release date for “Scream 7” and the full cast have not yet been announced, but there are some faces that will be notably missing from the upcoming film. Actor Melissa Barrera, who starred alongside Jenna Ortega in lead roles for the fifth and sixth “Scream” movies, was fired by the production company following social media posts in which she was critical of Israel and supportive of Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war. 

A spokesperson for production company Spyglass Media Group told Variety it has "zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech." 

Following her firing, Christopher Landon announced he, too, was leaving the project that he was originally slated to direct. In a post on X, he described the gig as a "dream job that turned into a nightmare."

Ortega is also not returning for "Scream 7,” though reports stated it was due to a scheduling conflict and unrelated to her co-star’s dismissal. 

SEE MORE: How the 'Scream' franchise has continued to influence horror films

Actor Olivia Munn shared on social media that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the 43-year-old revealed that despite a negative genetic test result two months prior, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after a biopsy.

“In the past ten months I have had four surgeries, so many days spent in bed I can’t even count and have learned more about cancer, cancer treatment and hormones than I ever could have imagined,” Munn said. 

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Munn, known for her roles in "The Newsroom" and "X-Men: Apocalypse," says that in February 2023, she underwent a genetic test for 90 cancer genes, including BRCA, which increases breast or ovarian cancer risk. Both she and her sister tested negative. Despite this, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after an MRI and a biopsy two months later.

“I wouldn’t have found my cancer for another year — at my next scheduled mammogram — except that my OBGYN, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, decided to calculate my Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. The fact that she did saved my life,” Munn said. “Dr. Aliabadi looked at factors like my age, familial breast cancer history, and the fact that I had my first child after the age of 30. She discovered my lifetime risk was at 37%. Because of that score I was sent to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy. The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast-moving cancer.”

Munn disclosed that she underwent a double mastectomy just 30 days after her biopsy and hopes that sharing her story “will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey.”

"I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day," she said.

Eric Carmen, singer of "All By Myself" and "Hungry Eyes," has died at 74.

His wife Amy Carmen shared the news of his passing, saying he died in his sleep.

"It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen. Our sweet, loving and talented Eric passed away in his sleep, over the weekend," Amy said in a statement on his website.

"It brought him great joy to know, that for decades, his music touched so many and will be his lasting legacy. Please respect the family's privacy as we mourn our enormous loss," she said.

No cause of death was revealed.

Eric Carmen was born in Cleveland and was "singing before most kids could talk," he said in his website bio. Sensing his musical talents, his parents had already enrolled him at the Cleveland Institute of Music at 2 years old.

Carmen found inspiration in going to concerts with his grandmother, watching his Aunt Muriel play music, and in theater and films.

"After seeing The Beatles film, 'A Hard Day's Night,' I dropped everything and immediately decided I wanted to do THAT! I taught myself to play guitar (sort of) and joined my first band a few months later," Carmen wrote in his bio.

He was also moved by "West Side Story," which he saw 11 times.

Carmen rose to fame in 1970, when his band the Raspberries — of which he was the lead singer — went against the grain of what was considered "in" and made pop rock with melodies and power chords.

In 1975 he recorded his first solo album, self-titled "Eric Carmen." Its song "All By Myself" became the first single and became a top five international record. He went on to record several more albums.

Carmen went on to write for "Footloose" and later produced "Hungry Eyes" for "Dirty Dancing." He was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Footloose in 1985.

In 2004, the Raspberries reunited after over 30 years to perform at the new House of Blues in Cleveland, with the show selling out in four minutes. They embarked on a mini-tour the following year.

The group's final performance was in December 2007 at Cleveland's KeyBank State Theatre, according to CNN.

"Barbenheimer" brought a bump, not a boom, to Oscars ratings.

An estimated 19.5 million people watched Sunday night's 96th Academy Awards ceremony on ABC. That's the biggest number drawn by the telecast in four years.

But that upward trend comes from an all-time low during the pandemic, and is up just 4% from last year's estimated audience of 18.7 million, according to numbers released Monday by ABC.

The Academy experimented with starting this year's show an hour earlier, and for the first time in years had many nominations for huge hit movies that viewers had actually seen — "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer."

The viewership peaked in the final half-hour, when Ryan Gosling performed "I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" won best actor, best director and best picture.

For many years, the Oscars were often the second most-watched television program of the year behind the Super Bowl. Until 2018, the Oscar telecast had never slipped below 30 million viewers, according to Nielsen records. The high-water mark was the 55 million people who watched "Titanic" clean up in 1998.

From the 43.7 million who watched in 2014, viewership declined steadily to 26.5 million in 2018, then went back up to 29.6 million in 2019, and 23.6 million in 2020. The bottom fell out with the pandemic-diminished show in 2021, seen by 9.85 million. It began rebounding in 2022 — the year of "the Slap" — with 16.6 million.

SEE MORE: Watch Ryan Gosling's 'I'm Just Ken' performance at the Oscars

While the Oscars are typically a night to celebrate the biggest names in Hollywood, the celebrities at this year’s show were a bit overshadowed by a newcomer with an adorable furry face and four paws.

Looking dapper in a bow tie, “Anatomy of a Fall” star Messi the dog had his very own seat at this year’s ceremony.

The border collie from France plays the family dog, Snoop, in the film, which was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

The film follows a woman accused of murdering her husband, while their half-blind son is the main witness to the incident. Messi has a particularly upsetting scene in the film, which Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel called an “incredible” performance.

“Even though he’s a dog, [he] may have given the performance of the year in ‘Anatomy of a Fall,'” Kimmel said during his monologue.

We’ll choose not to go into detail about the scene to avoid spoilers for those that haven’t yet seen the film, but Kimmel mentions it quickly in the clip below, so avoid playing it if you don’t want to know what happens.

It was originally reported by several news outlets that Messi would not be attending the ceremony, so his appearance may have come as a surprise to some guests, many of whom had previously met him at the annual nominees luncheon last month.

After a clip of actor Ryan Gosling meeting Messi at the luncheon went viral, Messi’s trainer and mom Laura Martin told The Hollywood Reporter he bonded with a few celebrities that day.

“The big moment was with Billie Eilish, who bonded with Messi for almost 10 minutes,” Martin said. “They were hugging and petting and they really had a vibe. Then Bradley Cooper bumped into him in the hallway. The dog went right to him, so they also had a connection.”

While Messi may be new to the Oscar scene, he is not the first pooch to attend the ceremony.

Uggie, from the film “The Artist,” was on the stage when the movie won Best Picture in 2012, and Kimmel even brought "Jenny" the donkey on stage during last year’s show as a nod to Jenny, the donkey from “Banshees of Inisherin.”

Messi didn’t win an Oscar last night, but it’s safe to say we all hope to see him in more roles on the big screen in the future.

This story was originally published by Kaitlin Gates at Simplemost.

SEE MORE: Oscars: 'Oppenheimer' wins best picture, Emma Stone best actress

After a rousing performance at the Oscars on Sunday night, Ryan Gosling isn’t “just Ken” anymore. Or, at least Ken wasn’t playing second fiddle to anyone on Hollywood’s biggest stage.

Gosling brought his “Barbie” character Ken to nearly larger-than-life status with his performance of “I’m Just Ken,” one of the songs nominated for best original song. Decked out in a Barbiecore pink suit, Gosling began his performance seated behind co-star Margot Robbie, who couldn’t keep a straight face.

Sitting beside Gosling at the start of the song was singer/songwriter Billie Eilish, who eventually won the award for best original song Oscar for her runaway hit for “Barbie,” “What Was I Made For.”

Gosling quickly stormed the stage with a high-energy musical number not usually seen on the Oscars stage. As in the original number from “Barbie,” Gosling’s Ken had a collection of other dapper Kens backing him up on stage — and most of them were the original dancers from the film.

Amid the “Barbie” pink, the performance also paid homage to another iconic musical number in Hollywood history: Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend” from “Gentleman Prefer Blondes,” from Gosling’s diamond-studded pink suit to the set and choreography.

In another callback to another iconic movie, Gosling also connected with Emma Stone, his co-star from “La La Land,” who was in the audience and would eventually win the Academy Award for best actress for "Oppenheimer."

SEE MORE: Oscars: 'Oppenheimer' wins best picture, Emma Stone best actress

Stone was so blown away by Gosling’s performance, she blamed her wardrobe malfunction on his “Kenergy.” Apparently, the back of her Louis Vuitton mint-green dress ripped as she got a little too into the show.

“They sewed me back in,” she explained to reporters after winning her Oscar. “I genuinely do think I busted it during ‘I’m Just Ken.’ I was so amazed by Ryan and what he was doing, and that number just blew my mind. And I was right there, and I was just going for it, and you know, things happen.”

It was Gosling’s all-in performance that got the crowd off their feet, but to add to Ken’s rock cred, backing Gosling on guitar were none other than Slash of Guns N' Roses and Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late Eddie Van Halen, who both performed on the song’s original recording. In a surprise of choreography, Slash appeared suddenly on stage to play the song’s now-famous guitar riffs.

Gosling may not have won the best supporting actor for his portrayal of Ken in “Barbie.” There’s no doubt, however, that the actor and singer won the night with a fantastic show that will go down in Academy Award history.

Here’s the whole glorious performance for you to enjoy!

This story was originally published by Marie Rossiter at Simplemost.

May will mark 25 years since "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" first lit up movie screens.

Many fans are already celebrating the silver anniversary, thanks to a fresh round of published interviews with cast members, a new poster and news the film will soon be returning to theaters.

Noticeably absent from the recent coverage, however, is one key member of "The Phantom Menace" cast: Jake Lloyd.

The child actor, chosen over 3,000 others to play podracing phenom and Jedi-to-be Anakin Skywalker in the George Lucas space opera, turned 35 last week. Since the movie, Lloyd has been mostly out of the spotlight, his life largely a mystery to his devout fans.

In an exclusive interview with Scripps News, his mother, Lisa Lloyd, provided a glimpse into Jake’s personal saga in the years since appearing in that galaxy far, far away — sharing her son’s turbulent struggle with mental illness, family tragedy and the reasons she’s more hopeful today than she’s been in years.

She also wanted to set the record straight about what her son really thinks about "Star Wars."

Lisa noted that her son is aware that she is speaking out to tell his story.  

“Jake started having some trouble in high school,” Lisa said, recalling the time she first noticed her son’s personality changing. “He started talking about ‘realities.’ He didn't know if he was in this reality, or a different reality. I didn't really know exactly what to say to that.”

One day after school, Lisa asked her son if he’d finished his homework.

“And he was like, ‘Well, I don't even know if I need to do it. I don’t know which reality I’m in,’” she said. “And I'm like, ‘Well, you're in my reality today, so you have to do your homework.’”

Lisa took Jake to a doctor who suggested he might have bipolar disorder. They tried different medications to treat his symptoms, but she says nothing worked. Jake graduated from high school in 2007 and was looking forward to attending classes that fall at Columbia College Chicago.

His brief enrollment at the private arts school didn’t go great.

“He missed a lot of classes, and he was telling me that people were following him,” Lisa said. 

She could sense a downward spiral. Jake would sometimes mention seeing people with “black eyes” staring at him on the street, and having late-night conversations with "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart through his TV.

“He didn't tell us he was hearing voices at the time. But he was,” Lisa remembers.

After a semester and a half, Jake left college in March 2008 to live with Lisa in Indiana. A series of appointments with therapists and psychiatrists eventually led to a diagnosis: paranoid schizophrenia. 

“When they finally told him, it totally threw him off into an even worse depression,” Lisa said. “It was really hard.”

SEE MORE: He asked his fellow Star Wars fans for help. One saved his son's life

The American Psychiatric Association now uses the umbrella term “schizophrenia” to describe the disorder Jake was diagnosed with. It can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and a lack of motivation that can impact virtually every aspect of a patient’s life. Schizophrenia affects 1 in 300 people, or approximately 24 million worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. 

A neurological condition called anosognosia complicated efforts to treat Jake. The condition causes a patient to be unaware of, or unconsciously in denial, about their symptoms.

“He didn't think he needed to take medication because he wasn’t sick,” Lisa said. “He didn't think he needed to go to the therapist because there's nothing wrong with him.”

Lisa said certain medicines eventually lost their effectiveness or Jake would sometimes quit taking his medications entirely, opting to occasionally self-medicate with illicit drugs.

In 2015, Lisa got a phone call from the Colleton County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina. Jake — on a solo road trip from Florida to Canada — was under arrest and facing multiple charges after deputies said he led them on a multi-county chase before crashing his car.

Lisa hired an attorney to get her son out of lockup, but Jake wasn’t responding.

“I tried to call him and he wouldn't talk to me. Just flat out refused,” she said. “I was talking to the people at the jail and trying to explain to them that he's off his medication. But they wouldn't give him his medication.”

Lisa demanded Jake be sent to a hospital but was told there were no available beds. Jake would end up spending 10 months behind bars.

“As a mom, you're just pulling your hair out because your child needs help. You know that he's sick. You know that he's not going to get any better unless he gets some medication,” Lisa said.

Refusing to give up, Lisa kept mailing notes and cards to Jake while he was in jail. When he finally called, she was able to get him into a hospital for treatment, before eventually moving him to California.

Lisa said it was a struggle getting Jake to keep appointments with doctors and take his medications. He once called in a panic, she said, telling her he’d been shot by an intruder inside his apartment. After a few terrifying moments, Lisa realized her son was actually hallucinating. 

A real nightmare

Jake’s sister Madison was two years his junior. She had also appeared in "The Phantom Menace" as an extra in the film’s finale. Lisa said her daughter always had a knack for encouraging Jake to take better care of himself and stay on track.

In 2018, Madison unexpectedly died in her sleep of natural causes. She was 26.

“He just couldn't handle it. He didn't know how to process it,” Lisa said. “Sometimes he would just start saying that he really missed Madison. That's about as much of a conversation as we'd have about it. “

“At least he was acknowledging it,” she added.

In March 2023, Jake suffered what his mom calls a full-blown psychotic break. 

It happened as she was driving him home after picking up food at McDonald’s. Lisa noted that Jake was already having a bad day.

“He said he wanted to turn the car off. And he turned the car off in the middle of the three lanes, and we were in the middle lane,” Lisa recalled. “There was a lot of yelling and screaming.”

Drivers stuck in the traffic jam called 911. 

“The police got there, and they asked Jake some questions,” Lisa said. “He was talking to them, but none of it made sense. It was all word salad.”

Instead of jail, Jake was admitted to a hospital that day. A couple months later, he transferred to an inpatient program at a mental health rehabilitation facility.

SEE MORE: Antidepressant study yielded 'unexpected' results, researcher says

He’s currently about 10 months into an 18-month stay. Lisa hopes it will be a significant turning point for Jake, noting that he's been showing remarkable improvement with the help of therapy and treatments. 

“He’s doing much better than I expected,” Lisa said. “He is relating to people better and becoming a little bit more social, which is really nice. It's kind of like having more of the old Jake back, because he has always been incredibly social until he became schizophrenic.”

Jake is also starting to understand more about his condition and the importance of consistently taking his medication, according to his mom. For the first time in many years, Lisa says Jake is more enthusiastic about hanging out with family friends at barbecues and celebrating holidays. 

For his birthday, Lisa and Jake went to the movies and filled up on popcorn watching "Wonka."

“He really loved it,” Lisa said. “That was one of the things that we couldn’t do when he was off his medication was watch movies. He just didn’t have the attention span for it.”

As for "Star Wars," his mother said Jake is still a huge fan of the movies and shows. Most recently, he’s been watching episodes of the "Ahsoka" series on Disney+. Lisa even gave Jake an action figure of the lead character Ahsoka Tano last week as a birthday present.

“He loves all the new 'Star Wars' stuff,” she says. “People think Jake hates 'Star Wars.' He loves it.”

Lisa is also eager to dispel what she says is a common misconception: that an avalanche of negative reaction to "The Phantom Menace" drove Jake to quit acting and contributed to his mental illness.

“It would have happened anyway,” Lisa insists, pointing to a history of schizophrenia on his biological father’s side of the family. “I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic.”

She also insists that in 1999, Jake was largely shielded from the toxic vitriol swirling around the prequel film.

“I protected him from the backlash. He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care,” Lisa said. “Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it's rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn't really feel all that stuff because I didn't let him online.”

Lisa acknowledges that high school kids would sometimes bully Jake over "Star Wars," something he mentioned in past interviews. But she says walking away from Hollywood had more to do with family drama at home.

“People say he quit because of 'Star Wars.' Well, that's not true. It didn't have anything to do with 'Star Wars.' It had more to do with our family. And we were going through a divorce,” Lisa explained. “Things were unsettled and kind of rough. And Jake didn't seem to be having a lot of fun auditioning anymore.”

Lisa said Jake still likes wearing "Star Wars" T-shirts and sometimes gets recognized in public. When asked if she sees Jake one day starring in another "Star Wars" project, Lisa said it’s not something that’s in the cards.

“Jake loved filming 'Star Wars.' He had so much fun,” she recalled. “I would love for him to get well enough to be able to do a little bit of something, and I’m sure he would maybe like to do that. He couldn't at this point, but you never know how much he's going to improve. So we'll see.”

Lisa said though all the challenges, she’s learned important lessons about remaining calm and having the patience to listen and understand what Jake is feeling deep down. Exactly what his future holds is uncertain, but today his mother believes it’s brighter than it has been in a long time.

“We're in a lot better place. And we do have a lot of things to look forward to,” Lisa said. “We all love Jake, and we want to be around him. I just want him to be happy.”

Update: Kate, Princess of Wales, has spoken out about the "manipulated" photo in a statement. She admitted to editing the image "like many amateur photographers," and apologized for "any confusion" it may have caused. Read more about her response here.

The first photo of Kate, the Princess of Wales, since her abdominal surgery nearly two months ago was issued Sunday along with a statement thanking the public for its support.

Later on Sunday photo agencies, including the Associated Press, issued a notice asking that the photo be retracted and taken down after it was revealed that it may have been "manipulated." Further details were not immediately available on the exact circumstances surrounding the urgent request. 

The photo of her in a chair surrounded by her three children was credited to her husband, William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, and was said to be taken earlier in the week in Windsor.

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months," Kate said on social media. "Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day."

It follows weeks of wild speculation on social media about her whereabouts since she left a hospital Jan. 29 after a nearly two-week stay following planned surgery. She hadn't been seen publicly since Christmas Day.

The royal family has been under more scrutiny than usual in recent weeks, because both Kate and King Charles III can't carry out their usual public duties because of health problems.

Royal officials say Charles is undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, which was discovered during treatment for an enlarged prostate. The monarch has canceled all his public engagements while he receives treatment, though he's been photographed walking to church and meeting privately with government officials and dignitaries.

Kate, 42, underwent surgery Jan. 16 and her condition and the reason for the surgery have not been revealed, though Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate's office said it was not cancer-related.

SEE MORE: Princess Kate apologizes for 'confusion' over edited photo

Although the palace initially said it would only provide significant updates and that she would not return to royal duties before Easter — March 31 this year — it followed up with a statement last month amid the rumors and conspiracy theories by saying she was doing well and reiterating its previous statement.

"Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates," the palace said Feb. 29. "That guidance stands."

At the time, royal aides told The Sun newspaper: "We've seen the madness of social media and that is not going to change our strategy. There has been much on social media but the Princess has a right to privacy and asks the public to respect that."

Further questions were raised last week when the British military appeared to jump the gun in announcing Kate would attend a Trooping the Color ceremony in June, apparently without consulting palace officials.

The appearance would have been her first major official duty since the surgery but Kensington Palace didn't confirm any scheduled public events for Kate. It's up to palace officials, not government departments, to announce and confirm the royals' attendance at events.

The army later removed the reference to her attendance.

British media reported that the army did not seek approval from Kensington Palace before publishing details about Kate's appearance in June, and announced the event based on the expectation that Kate, in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards, would inspect the troops this year at the annual military ceremony.

Editor's note: The Associated Press, along with other photo agencies, issued a take down notice to the press late on Sunday after the photo was disseminated. The AP said in the notice, "It appears that the source has manipulated the image," but further details were not immediately available. Scripps News has replaced the photo with another file image of Kate, Princess of Wales.

SEE MORE: Prince William speaks out for 1st time since father's cancer diagnosis

"Oppenheimer," a solemn three-hour biopic that became an unlikely billion-dollar box-office sensation, was crowned best picture at a 96th Academy Awards that doubled as a coronation for Christopher Nolan.

After passing over arguably Hollywood’s foremost big-screen auteur for years, the Oscars made up for lost time by heaping seven awards on Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, including best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and best director for Nolan.

In anointing "Oppenheimer," the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did something it hasn't done for more than a decade: hand its top prize to a widely seen, big-budget studio film. In a film industry where a cape, dinosaur or Tom Cruise has often been a requirement for such box office, "Oppenheimer" brought droves of moviegoers to theaters with a complex, fission-filled drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb.

"For better or worse, we’re all living in Robert Oppenheimer’s world," said Murphy in his acceptance speech. "I'd like to dedicate this to the peacemakers."

As a film heavy with unease for human capacity for mass destruction, "Oppenheimer" also emerged – even over its partner in cultural phenomenon, "Barbie" – as a fittingly foreboding film for times rife with cataclysm, man-made or not. Sunday's Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles unfolded against the backdrop of wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and with a potentially momentous U.S. election on the horizon.

SEE MORE: Academy Museum of Motion Pictures tackling issues in film industry

The most closely watched contest of the Academy Awards went to Emma Stone, who won best best actress for her performance as Bella Baxter in "Poor Things." In what was seen as the night’s most nail-biting category, Stone won over Lily Gladstone of "Killers of the Flower Moon." Gladstone would have become the first Native American to win an Academy Award.

Instead, Oscar voters couldn't resist the full-bodied extremes of Stone’s "Poor Things" performance. The win for Stone, her second best actress Oscar following her 2017 win for "La La Land," confirmed the 35-year-old as arguably the preeminent big-screen actress of her generation. The list of women to win best actress two or more times is illustrious, including Katharine Hepburn, Frances McDormand, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis.

"Oh, boy, this is really overwhelming," said Stone, who fought back tears and a broken dress during her speech.

Sunday's broadcast had razzle dazzle, including a sprawling song-and-dance rendition of the "Barbie" hit "I'm Just Ken" by Ryan Gosling, with an assist on guitar by Slash and a sea of Kens who swarmed the stage.

But protest and politics intruded on an election-year Academy Awards, where demonstrations for Gaza raged outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Late during the show, host Jimmy Kimmel read a critical social media post from former president Donald Trump.

"Thank you for watching," said Kimmel. "Isn't it past your jail time?"

Nolan has had many movies in the Oscar mix before, including "Inception," "Dunkirk" and "The Dark Knight." But his win Sunday for direction is the first Academy Award for the 53-year-old filmmaker. Addressing the crowd, Nolan noted cinema is just over a hundred years old.

"We don't know where this incredible journey is going from here," said Nolan. "But to think that I’m a meaningful part of it means the world to me."

Downey, nominated twice before (for "Chaplin" and "Tropic Thunder"), also notched his first Oscar, crowning the illustrious second act of his up-and-down career.

"I'd like to thank my terrible childhood and the academy, in that order," said Downey, the son of filmmaker Robert Downey Sr.

"Barbie," last year's biggest box-office hit with more than $1.4 billion in ticket sales, ultimately won just one award: best song (sorry, Ken) for Billie Eilish and Finneas' "What Was I Made For?" It’s their second Oscar, two years after winning for their James Bond theme, "No Time to Die."

But after an awards season that stayed largely inside a Hollywood bubble, geopolitics played a prominent role. Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza snarled traffic around the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, slowing stars' arrival on the red carpet and turning the Oscar spotlight toward the ongoing conflict. Some protesters shouted "Shame!" at those trying to reach the awards.

Jonathan Glazer, the British filmmaker whose chilling Auschwitz drama "The Zone of Interest" won best international film, drew connections between the dehumanization depicted in his film and today.

"Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this dehumanization, how do we resist?"

The war in Gaza was on the minds of many attendees, as was the war in Ukraine. A year after "Navalny" won the same award, Mstyslav Chernov’s "20 Days in Mariupol," a harrowing chronicle of the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, won best documentary. The win, a first for The Associated Press and PBS' "Frontline," came as the war in Ukraine passed the two-year mark with no signs of abating.

Mstyslav Chernov, the Ukrainian filmmaker and AP journalist whose hometown was bombed the day he learned of his Oscar nomination, spoke forcefully about Russia's invasion.

"This is the first Oscar in Ukrainian history," said Chernov. "And I'm honored. Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I’d never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this (for) Russia never attacking Ukraine."

In the early going, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-riff "Poor Things" ran away with three prizes for its sumptuous craft, including awards for production design, makeup and hairstyling and costume design.

Kimmel, hosting the ABC telecast for the fourth time, opened the awards with an monologue that emphasized Hollywood as “a union town” following 2023's actor and writer strikes, drew a standing ovation for bringing out teamsters and behind-the-scenes workers — who are now entering their own labor negotiations.

The night's first award was one of its most predictable: Da'Vine Joy Randolph for best supporting actress, for her performance in Alexander Payne's “The Holdovers.” An emotional Randolph was accompanied to the stage by her “Holdovers” co-star Paul Giamatti.

"For so long I've always wanted to be different,” said Randolph. "And now I realize I just need to be myself."

Though Randolph’s win was widely expected, an upset quickly followed. Hayao Miyazaki’s "The Boy and the Heron” won for best animated feature, a surprise over the slightly favored "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." Miyazaki, the 83-year-old Japanese anime master who came out of retirement to make "The Boy and the Heron," didn’t attend the ceremony. He also didn’t attend the 2003 Oscars when his "Spirited Away" won the same award.

Best original screenplay went to "Anatomy of a Fall," which, like "Barbie," was penned by a couple: director Justine Triet and Arthur Harari. “This will help me through my midlife crisis, I think," said Triet.

In adapted screenplay, where "Barbie" was nominated — and where some suspected Greta Gerwig would win after being overlooked for director — the Oscar went to Cord Jefferson, who wrote and directed his feature film debut “American Fiction.” He pleaded for executives to take risks on young filmmakers like himself.

"Instead of making a $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies," said Jefferson, previously an award-winning TV writer.

The Oscars belonged largely to theatrical-first films. Though it came into the awards with 19 nominations, Netflix was a bit player. Its lone win came for live action short: Wes Anderson's "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar," based on the story by Roald Dahl.

Historically, having big movies in the mix for the Oscars’ top awards has been good for broadcast ratings. The Academy Awards' largest audience ever came when James Cameron’s "Titanic" swept the 1998 Oscars.

Oscar nominees will be itching to take home a golden statue this Sunday, but even if they end up without one, none of the acclaimed actors and directors will go home empty-handed. 

The prize for winning their respective categories is really just the cherry on top of a trove of other gifts each will receive for their work, no matter what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decides.

It's a courtesy of Distinctive Assets, a Los Angeles-based marketing company that's been giving the big category nominees an "Everybody Wins" gift bag for 22 years running.

The Academy stopped giving out gift bags in 2006 after the IRS insisted stars should pay taxes on the items they accepted. Now this unaffiliated replacement, which contains taxable items, has filled the void, giving nominees a lavish consolation prize full of lesser-known brands hoping to get into their eyelines.

"Just as any A-list actor doesn't 'need' millions of dollars to walk onto a film set, these gifts are given based on the invaluable stardust these nominees can bestow upon a brand," Distinctive Assets founder Lash Fary told CBS News. "Of course they can afford to buy these things; they are also in a uniquely favorable marketing position. This is a straightforward win-win transaction."

So who needs another item for the bookshelf anyway? Here's what's inside the so-called "gift bag" — more like a gift suitcase — and who will get one come March 10.

Who's the "everybody" in this year's "Everybody Wins" gifting crew?

The swag bag goes to all the acting and directing category nominees plus the evening's host. This year, Jimmy Kimmel has the role for the fourth year in a row, meaning he'll take home his fourth prize. 

As for directors, the nominees and gift bag recipients this year are Justine Triet for "Anatomy of a Fall," Martin Scorcese for "Killers of the Flower Moon," Yorgos Lanthimos for "Poor Things," Christopher Nolan for "Oppenheimer" and Jonathan Glazer for "The Zone of Interest."

Best actor nominees taking home the prizes include Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy, Jeffrey Wright, Bradley Cooper and Colman Domingo. Best supporting actors are Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling and Mark Ruffalo.

This year's best actress nominees are Annette Bening, Sandra Hüller, Carey Mulligan, Lily Gladstone and Emma Stone. And the final crew going home with gift bags are the best supporting actress nominees: America Ferrera, Jodie Foster, Danielle Brooks, Da'Vine Joy Randolph

and Emily Blunt.

What's in the bag, and how much is it worth?

This year's gift bag is worth $178,000 in value, but only if the recipients redeem everything that's offered, Fary told CNBC. This has never happened, he said. 

The most expensive item this year that nominees can choose to redeem is a three-night, $50,000 stay at Chalet Zermatt Peak in Switzerland. The trip to the popular ski destination includes daily gourmet chef-made meals and massages from an in-house therapist for up to nine guests, per CNBC.

The gift suitcase also holds a $24,000 ticket to Southern California's Golden Door spa, where nominees can get daily massages, farm-fresh meals and other holistic wellness experiences during a seven-day stay. And if skiing or spa-ing isn't their vibe, recipients also get a three-night stay at a private villa in St. Barts — a tropical vacay worth anywhere from $4,080 to $34,000, per CNBC.

There are also items for the homebodies, including a $1,350 portable Schwank Grill, a $139 Height red light sleep therapy device and a $15 retro Rubik's Cube.

The rest of the trove includes various beauty and hair products, kitchen appliances, a donation that provides plant-based meals to dogs, different drinks and treats, books and a slew of clothing and accessories. Nominees will also get a private session with "mentalist to the stars" Dr. Carl Christman and a consultation with a clinical sleep specialist. 

The rest of the full, name-brand list is available on CBS News.

Just ahead of the Academy Awards this Sunday, Scripps News National Correspondent Axel Turcios traveled to Los Angeles and paid a special visit to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Miles and miles of red carpet are ready to be rolled out for Hollywood's biggest night, the 96th Academy Awards.

At the Academy Museum, festivities are leading up to Oscars night.

"We will be featuring a panel where we're hosting nominees from this year's films. Some of the categories of panels that we have include visual effects and animated feature," said Amy Homma, chief audience officer at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. "And we all culminate with an amazing watch party on Sunday."

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is the largest museum in North America dedicated to the arts and sciences of moviemaking.

Homma says the Academy adheres to one big purpose.

"Celebrate and amplify inclusive and diverse film histories. It's really important for us to create a sense of belongingness for people of all backgrounds, all abilities, all ages from all countries and all ethnicities," said Homma.

Ahead of the Oscars, this year the museum says it's also elevating the LGBTQIA+ community.

"We have 'Breaking the Oscar Ceiling' where we're celebrating nominees this year represented in the LGBTQIA+ community," said Homma.

Movie enthusiasts can immerse themselves in exhibitions dedicated to moviemaking, the processes and themes of some of the most renowned filmmakers in history.

"We also have significant movies and moviemakers where our curators have taken a deep dive into looking at films like 'Casablanca,' 'Boyz n the Hood' and documentary filmmaker Lourdes Portillo," said Homma.

Inside the museum, visitors can visit the Academy Awards History Gallery where they can reflect on pivotal moments from Oscar wins and get the opportunity to listen to some of the most iconic, emotional and unforgettable Oscar speeches. 

"We are a place for our local community, and plus visitors from all over the world to come and learn from historically significant moments within film history, and also contemporary practices from the artists who are working on films today," said Homma.

Year-round the museum hosts programs aimed at connecting young students to filmmakers.

"In fact, today we have an amazing school tour that's happening where they're coming to see 'Princess and the Frog' with an introduction from one of the animators who worked on the film," added Homma.

This experience, Homma says, gives the youth an opportunity to imagine careers in film.

SEE MORE: Where to watch the 2024 Oscar-nominated films online

In "Air," comedian Chris Tucker moved right back into acting as if he had never taken a pause. It was his first film since 2016, in which he played Howard White, friend of Matt Damon's character Sonny Vaccaro. 

Tucker, who was approached by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon about auditioning for the part, said he wasn't originally planned to be in the film. Tucker said he was given creative leeway and that it was a film that inspired him to keep acting. 

The film, based on a true story, follows sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro and his pursuit to lead Nike into one of the greatest athlete partnerships in history: their deal to pair sportswear with legendary player Michael Jordan. The company's shoe division was struggling in 1984 with low sales, but the work of their marketing team was able to turn that around, and the rest is history. 

Tucker spoke to Scripps News about the film and his new "The Legends Tour," in which he's making a return to stand-up comedy, covering a range of topics on the industry, his life, current events and work. He says he'll talk about "everything" in his show. Tucker said the comedy scene has a lot of dirty laundry being aired right now, and a lot of negativity and conflict, and he said he "hopes that stops, and we get back to being funny."

SEE MORE: Meet the woman running the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Tucker, who grew up in the Atlanta area, attending school in Decatur, said he's happy to be back home, and enjoys his mother's cooking over any restaurant. 

The city is known for its lemon pepper wings, but Tucker said he doesn't care much for any version of them (dry rub or wet.) It's all about home cooking for the comedian, who said not just anyone is invited over to his family's house either — so don't come knocking at his door. 

Tucker is also a big Falcons fan, palling around with the team's new coach Raheem Morris and attending practices to see his friend wide receiver Mohamed Sanu play. 

It's an extremely busy time of year for Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She has the great responsibility of leading the organization ahead of Sunday's 96th Academy Awards. 

“I feel a great sense of pride and responsibility being one of the very few women and the first Asian American woman,” Yang told Scripps News national correspondent Axel Turcios. 

Yang is an award-winning Hollywood producer and one of only four women to ever be named president of the Academy. It's an accomplishment that doesn't go unnoticed, especially on International Women's Day. 

“I think it's a sign of the changing times. I really feel that I can very much be myself in this role, that I don't have to conform to a different culture at the Academy,” she said. 

Yang was born in Queens, New York, and raised by a family of Chinese immigrants. 

She rose to prominence through her work with Steven Spielberg on the 1987 film "Empire of the Sun." Yang's vast film production credits include the Golden Globe-winning movie "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and the Oscar-nominated animated feature "Over the Moon."

Yang became president of the Academy in 2022, bringing more diversity to the organization. 

“We have a board of more women than men and a lot of people of color, and it's also become very evident in the pictures that get nominated each year,” said Yang. “I feel really so gratified that the Asian American community has a lot more visibility now and representation both in front of and behind the camera.” 

A testament of that visibility was Michelle Yeoh's historic 2023 Oscar win.

Yeoh won in the best actress category for her role in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," making her the first Asian woman to win in the category in its nearly 100-year history. 

SEE MORE: Where to watch the 2024 Oscar-nominated films online

Progress in Hollywood hasn’t come easy. Yang helped pave the way with her 1993 iconic breakthrough movie "The Joy Luck Club."

Yang had no idea the film would be a massive hit. 

"Nobody had any idea. It was a struggle to make,” she said. 

The film defied a lot of Hollywood rules: There was no precedent for an all-Asian cast in a movie and no studio was willing to buy the idea. 

“They would maybe make suggestions like, 'Oh, can you put some more White people in there?' Like, no. We cannot. That would destroy the integrity of the book,” said Yang. 

It took a leap of faith to get the movie made. Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney gave the movie a green light. 

However, there were still roadblocks. 

“The marketing department seemed to be very hesitant to show Asian faces on the poster, and that was another battle that we had to fight, and finally it was released with the faces,” said Yang. 

The film has been credited for laying the foundations for another smash hit 25 years later, "Crazy Rich Asians."

“I was very aware of the stereotypes that most people had about Asians, and I felt like I needed to change that. When I found the opportunity, I saw a tool for helping change people's perceptions,” said Yang. “I was like, let people see these movies and see people who are very multidimensional who are Asian, and that became my sort of mission, and it continues to be my mission.” 

Yang says she’s aware that the fight for the advancement of diversity isn't over. 

“Right now, the top leadership positions in the industry are still not primarily held by women or women of color. So, there is work to be done, but there's also so much to be proud of, the progress that we've already made," she said. 

It's a mission that is personal for Yang.

"I know, No.1, what it feels like to not belong, and I know what it feels like to belong," she said. "We need to do what men have done for so long, which is boost each other and create opportunities from one another and uplift one another, and I see that happening everywhere and it makes me so happy,” said Yang. 

Yang is also co-founder of Gold House, a nonprofit that advocates for and celebrates the contributions of the most notable and impactful Asian Pacific figures. In addition, she’s a member of the Committee of 100, an organization of the most prominent Chinese Americans. She's also a mentor and advocate for Asian and Pacific Islander women and nonbinary filmmakers. 

As for Yang’s future, she says her quest for elevating women, especially women of color, in Hollywood continues. Her message to young women pursuing their dreams in film is to "keep the faith and follow your heart."

"There's no set timeline, but there is definitely progress and they can be part of that change," she said. "They can follow their dreams and be part of that change. I've seen it in my own life, in droves.” 

Watch the extended version of Scripps News national correspondent Axel Turcios’ interview with Janet Yang

Akira Toriyama, the Japanese creator behind the "Dragon Ball" comic series and other works, has died at 68.

His studio, Bird Studio, said Toriyama died on March 1 due to acute subdural hematoma, which is a blood clot in the brain.

"Thanks to the support of so many people around the world, he has been able to continue his creative activities for over 45 years. We hope that Akira Toriyama's unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come," said Bird Studio.

Toriyama, whose "Dragon Ball" manga series began in 1984 and sold millions of copies globally, according to The Associated Press, was widely influential on Japanese anime.

His studio said he had other projects in the works when he died.

"It's our deep regret that he still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm. Also, he would have many more things to achieve," Bird Studio said.

Messages of condolences and celebrations of Toriyama's legacy poured in across social media.

"Rest In Peace Akira Toriyama. I'm thankful for all the moments you gave me as a child. I remember we use to rush home every afternoon to watch your 'Master Piece' and all we wanted to hear was 'last time on Dragon Ball,'" said X user @JrChueu.

Another X user, @Asta486003, said he "wouldn't be who he is without [Dragon Ball Z], adding that "me and my brother bonded over and joined anime together with this show."

Eiichiro Oda, the creator behind popular manga "One Piece," spoke out on Toriyama's influence saying his presence was like a "big tree" to younger artists, according to a statement obtained by AP.

"He showed us all these things manga can do, a dream of going to another world," Oda said in a statement. His death leaves "a hole too big to fill," Oda said.

A television adaptation of Toriyama's "Sand Land," which debuted in 2000 and was made into an anime movie last year, is set to be released on Disney+ this spring.