Fans of Ryan Murphy's Feud: Bette and Joan have come to learn all about the tumultuous and tense relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford—and The Hollywood Reporter reached out to 100-year-old actress Olivia de Havilland ( also featured in the series ) to find out the truth, People.com noted. Asked for her thoughts on the show, de Havilland emailed, "Having not seen the show, I cannot make a valid comment about it. ... As to the 1963 Oscar ceremony, which took place over half a century ago, I regret to say that I have no memory of it whatsoever and therefore cannot vouch for its accuracy." Show creator Ryan Murphy told E! News, "My favorite part of the quote was she said that she couldn't vouch for anything at the '63 Oscars because she couldn't remember it. I love that it was such a little blip in her life!"
Former Bravo star Jackie Warner has been formally charged with driving under the influence, felony assault on a police officer, and misdemeanor hit and run in conjunction with an incident from February—but she has said she was asleep at the wheel, and not drunk, according to NewNowNext. Warner, 48, registered .08 blood-alcohol content at the time, but insisted she only had one martini earlier in the day. The out fitness buff maintains she had taken an Ambien at home, and "the next thing she knew she was in the hospital under arrest," reported TMZ.
Luke Evans has talked about his private life and Hollywood, South Florida Gay News reported. In an interview with The Jackal, Evans said he tries to "keep my personal life and my private life separate." Regarding if a gay actor could play a leading action hero, Evans—who got his breakout role in Clash of the Titans in 2010—said he doesn't think an actor's personal life has much to do with their acting ability: "Talent, success, what you do in your personal life—I don't see how one should have an effect on the other."
Transgender Orange Is the New Black actress Laverne Cox talked about her life recently at Florida International University, The Miami Herald noted. Cox talked about her upbringing in Mobile, Alabama; being bullied in school; and the conflicts she had with her mother while trying to figure out who she was. She also discussed moving to New York City—where she was finally able to accept herself and make the transition—and her love of Beyonce. Also, Cox encouraged the audience to have those difficult conversations in the community in order to create a safe space where people can take risks and make mistakes.
SPOILER ALERT: The April 20 episode of Scandal featured the death of regular character, USA Today noted, as the Mystery Woman ( Zoe Perry ), swinging a golf club, killed Mellie's high-powered chief of staff Elizabeth "Lizzie" North ( Portia de Rossi ). It was a rare development, as Lizzie's demise marked the death of a long-running character who first appeared on the show in season four. Ellen DeGeneres, who's married to de Rossi in real life, tweeted, "I'm proud of my wife for her epic performance on #Scandal. I will miss Lizzie Bear, but I'm glad Portia Bear is sitting right next to me."
Hollywood Today Live!, the one-hour syndicated magazine show, has been nixed by Nexstar Media Group—the new owner of its producer, BiteSizeTV, Broadcasting & Cable noted. The show, which aired in partnership with Fox Television Stations, will air its final episode April 28. Among the hosts of the show were out entertainer Ross Mathews and actress Garcelle Beauvais.
Famed Hollywood talent manager Sandy Gallin has died at age 76 after a long battle with multiple myeloma, Gay Star News reported. During his career, the openly gay Gallin helped to guide the careers of such stars as Cher, Michael Jackson, Joan Rivers and Whoopi Goldberg, and partnered with Dolly Parton in a production company. His other clients over the years had included Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Lily Tomlin, Roseanne and Martin Lawrence, among others. His close friends included Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who paid a heartfelt tribute to Gallin.
Elton John is on the mend after a medical scare, People.com noted. The pop icon is canceling all of the April and May performances of his Las Vegas residency, The Million Dollar Piano, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. "During a recent, successful tour of South America, Elton contracted a harmful and unusual bacterial infection," a rep for John said. "During his return flight home from Santiago, Chile, he became violently ill. Upon returning to the U.K., Elton's doctors admitted him to hospital, where he underwent immediate treatment to remove the infection."
Sutton Foster, Daniel Craig, Judith Light, Sally Field and Anna Deveare Smith are among those receiving acting nominations for The Drama League Awards, according to Playbill. The Drama League Awards are the oldest theatrical honors in America, having been first presented in 1922 and subsequently formalized in 1935. At the center of the awards is the Distinguished Performance Award, which goes to one artist a year, and can only be won once in an artist's lifetime. Also, this year's Drama League Awards will present the Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre Award to Hello Dolly! star Bette Midler. The event will take place May 19.
Melanie "Mel B" Brown's former nanny claims in a lawsuit that the Spice Girls star seduced her when she was just 18 and proceeded to carry on a seven-year sexual relationship, People.com reported. Lorraine Gilles is suing Brown for defamation, claiming the singer lied about her in her declaration as part of her efforts to get a permanent restraining order against her estranged husband, Stephen Belafonte. Gilles believes Brown painted her as "a homewrecker, prostitute, and extortionist."
Jake Shears—lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the New York band Scissor Sisters—is stepping out on his own for the first time with a five-date Southern tour, a press release noted. During June, he will perform in Louisville, Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham and New Orleans.
Faye Dunaway has revealed she was left feeling "very guilty" over the Oscar-night fiasco that saw the best picture award going to the wrong film, BBC News noted. She told NBC's Nightly News she was also "completely stunned" after naming La La Land instead of Moonlight. Dunaway was speaking for the first time since the Academy Awards gaffe two months ago.
Aretha Franklin performed and Whitney Houston was remembered on the opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival, USA Today noted. A star-studded concert at Radio City Music Hall for the documentary Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives featured Franklin, Barry Manilow, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kenny G, Carly Simon, Dionne Warwick and Jennifer Hudson. Hudson performed a medley of Houston's songs, including "I'm Every Woman" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody."
Out singer Sam Gleaves, who specializes in Southern-roots music, has collaborated with Tyler Hughes for the album Sam Gleaves & Tyler Hughes, which will be released June 16, a press release stated. Among the songs are two originals: Hughes' "When We Love" and Gleaves' "Stockyard Hill." Also, songwriting women like Maybelle and Janette Carter as well as Ola Belle Reed inspired these musicians to sing about justice and their love of home places.
Bravo host Andy Cohen said that he's ready to interview the Trumps anytime, Page Six noted. Although Cohen—who shares his political views on social media—has never been contacted by the president's camp, he has some talking points ready if Trump were to ever make a Watch What Happens Live appearance. Among the things Cohen said he would do is "play old clips of himself saying the diametrically opposed things that he's doing now."
For the first time in its history, Miami Beach Gay Pride honored four individuals who have made significant contributions to the LGBTQ community, PRNewswire noted. Television personality Ross Mathews was celebrity grand marshal; bartender and cast member of iHeart Radio's "Elvis Duran and the Morning Show," "Uncle" Johnny Pool, was the advocate marshal; and advocates Liebe and Seth Gadinsky were ally marshals. Mathews is a strong supporter of the Human Rights Campaign, has hosted the GLAAD Media Awards and currently hosts the syndicated show Hollywood Today Live.
Kevin Spacey will host the 71st annual Tony Awards, to be telecast live by CBS on June 11 from Radio City Music Hall, Deadline reported. This will be the first time hosting for Spacey, who won a Tony in 1991 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers ( along with two Oscars, in 1996 for The Usual Suspects and 2000 for American Beauty ). He is currently known for playing U.S. President Francis Underwood on Netflix's House of Cards series.
Director Bryan Singer ( Legion ) will collaborate with digital media company Blackpills on August One, a futuristic thriller set in a world in which the Roman Empire never collapsed, Deadline reported. Blackpills describes August One as set in a society "on the brink of collapse" and "a world where the Roman Empire never fell but instead grew into a technologically advanced civilization, a society where the concepts of slavery, corruption and sin have been culturally normalized." No release date has been announced.
Candace Cameron Bure defended herself against people who called her homophobic on social media after she posted a photo of herself wearing a shirt that read, "Not today, Satan," US Weekly noted. The catch phrase, which was made popular by RuPaul's Drag Race champion Bianca Del Rio on season six of the hit VH1 series, immediately caught Del Rio's eye, and the drag queen took to Instagram, stating, "IF ONLY, THIS HOMOPHOBIC, REPUBLICAN KNEW……" Cameron Bure has responded to Del Rio and the performer's fans, saying, ""I'm not homophobic and always sad when people think otherwise. Loving Jesus doesn't mean I hate gay people or anyone." Bure's brother, Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron, has called homosexuality "unnatural" and "destructive" in the past.
Denver tattoo artist Alisha Rice has caused a stir with her latest ink—an illustration of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wearing a cut-off tee and jockstrap, according to NewNowNext. The tattoo has sparked everything from outrage to appreciation; Rice has said, "The person that got the tattoo is a gay Packers fan. That means he's attracted to men and likes football. If he were attracted to women, he might have gotten a female football pin-up. Not really sure why that is so difficult for you to understand."
Fitness icon Richard Simmons was briefly hospitalized in California for "severe indigestion," his rep told ABC News. "After a few days of battling severe indigestion and discomfort while eating, we agreed it was best for him to seek treatment," rep Michael Catalano said. The 68-year-old fitness star, who over the past few years has vanished from the public eye, signed a new business deal earlier this month for "merchandising, endorsements and licensing opportunities."
The Television Academy said that Netflix's Gilmore Girls revival will compete in the Primetime Emmy Awards as a limited series after a petition was submitted by show's producers, Deadline reported. The ruling puts the series in the same pool as the likes of Fargo, American Horror Story and American Crime. Netflix, this year, revived Gilmore Girls as four 90-minute telepics picking up nine years the original series, which ran from 2000-2006 on the WB and 2008-2007 on the CW.
