Batwoman and Supergirl met for the first time on the CW's "Elseworlds" crossover event recently—and there was some very clear sexual tension between the two powerful heroines, Out.com noted. This was the first time Ruby Rose appeared as the lesbian superhero and, as numerous fans have noted, she and Supergirl were shamelessly flirting.
Janet Jackson, Radiohead, The Cure, Def Leppard, Stevie Nicks, Roxy Music and The Zombies are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2019, TheWrap.com reported. ( LL Cool J, Rage Against the Machine, Devo, Rufus & Chaka Khan, John Prine, MC5, Kraftwerk and Todd Rundgren did not make the cut. ) The annual induction event will take place in March and air later on HBO.
The Golden Globe Awards will introduce a new TV special-achievement trophy at next month's telecast and name it after its first recipient: comedic icon Carol Burnett, USA Today noted. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said Tuesday the Carol Burnett Award—the small-screen version of the group's film counterpart, the Cecil B. DeMille Award—will annually honor someone "who has made outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen." The 85-year-old Burnett will be on hand to accept her namesake award during the Jan. 6 ceremony, live on NBC.
The new Deadpool movie has released a promotional poster that has made some Mormons pretty mad—and some say the Mormon church should file a copyright lawsuit, LGBTQ Nation reported. The advertisement for Once Upon a Deadpool—which features the pansexual superhero—is controversial because it resembles the painting,"The Second Coming." ( Actually, the artist who painted it was a 7th Day Adventist, but the image belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. )
A new all-trans boy band called Ladyboy is crowdfunding a reality web series called Born Stars that will follow the four trans male friends and bandmates as they navigate music, sex and life in Los Angeles, LGBTQ Nation noted. The show will feature Xander Idris, Ethan Remillard, Cole Hayes and Rowan Seitz. The show will take inspiration from shows like the HBO dramedy Entourage, the ABC/MTV boy-band reality series Making the Band and the long-running reality-TV show Big Brother.
Cher will kick off 2020 with a memoir and a new book, The Huffington Post noted. The news comes just over a week after a musical based on Cher's life opened on Broadway. Now playing at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York ( after premiering in Chicago ), The Cher Show features 35 of the diva's hits, including "If I Could Turn Back Time" and "Believe."
The first full trailer has been released for the upcoming biopic Mapplethorpe, NewNowNext.com noted. Matt Smith ( Doctor Who; The Crown ) stars as provocative and influential gay photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who died in 1989 from AIDS-related complications. Mapplethorpe—which is in theaters March 1, 2019— also stars Marianne Rendon, Mark Moses, Carolyn McCormick, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brandon Sklenar, McKinley Belcher III and Kerry Butler.
Floyd Estel Parton, the brother of country singer Dolly Parton, died at age 61, Page Six reported. Like his sister, he was involved in the music industry. Floyd was a songwriter and composer whose most famous songs were "Rockin' Years," which was recorded by his sister and Ricky Van Shelton; and "Nickels and Dimes," which was also recorded by his sister and later by George Burns.
Naomi Smalls—currently competing on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars—is releasing the ballroom house anthem "Pose," a press release noted. She enlisted music producers Cameron Traxxx and Todd Diederich as well as Weird Life Films for the song, which will drop on iTunes on Dec. 27. Smalls is best known for competing on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed as runner-up with Kim Chi, behind winner Bob The Drag Queen.
Lin-Manuel Miranda dropped an unreleased Hamilton song on Twitter, Deadline noted. The Mary Poppins Returns star surprised us all on Twitter with the track. "Here you go. George Washington's Death, cut from Act Two," wrote Miranda. "It comes after Dear Theodosia Reprise, also cut."
Modern Family has reportedly taken an important step toward a final 11th season, Deadline noted. The ABC comedy series' original adult cast—stars Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara—are close to deals with producing studio 20th Century Fox TV to return. In the most recent contract negotiation two years ago, O'Neill, Bowen, Burrell, Ferguson, Stonestreet and Vergara scored major salary increases to about $500,000 an episode. ( They also have a piece of the series' backend. ) A potential 11th season would consist of 18 episodes.
A judge in New York is resigning after he allegedly told a lawyer to perform oral sex on Viggo Mortensen, LGBTQ Nation noted. The odd story started in January, when Judge John Hallett was presiding over a case that involved a lawyer who was involved in a film festival honoring Mortensen; Hallett allegedly said that the festival was "about the gayest thing I have ever heard." He was also accused of telling the lawyer: "You and Viggo Mortensen should get a hotel room and suck each other's d—ks." According to a complaint filed with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Hallett brought up the insult again five months later.
Netflix announced a documentary about the disastrous Fyre Festival, a 2017 event that collapsed before it even started and landed its organizer, Billy McFarland, a six-year prison sentence, Variety reported. Fyre will be directed by Chris Smith, who helmed last year's documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, and "gives a first-hand look into the crash of Fyre as told by the organizers themselves," according to an announcement. The doc will be released Jan. 18.
A press release noted that dick clark productions and ABC announced that Christina Aguilera will perform for a live audience of more than one million people just minutes before the ball drops on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2019. ( Aguilera last performed on the show in 2007. ) She will be joined by Bastille, Dan + Shay and New Kids On The Block in the hours leading to the 2019 countdown.
Amy Adams recently rejected a hug from Brad Pitt—for what Time.com reported was a totally legitimate reason. Pitt's visit coincided with a day that she was playing an older Lynne Cheney, complete with "70-year old Lynne makeup" and a suit that made her look "quite a bit heavier." Also, Adams had just been diagnosed with pink eye. As she told talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, "And that's when I became the first woman in history to reject a hug from Brad Pitt."
A few months after his split with Joey Krietemeyer, Queer Eye co-star Antoni Porowski is in a new relationship, ExtraTV.com noted. Recently, Porowski made his first public appearance with new boyfriend and Flipping Out star Trace Lehnhoff at the GQ Men of the Year Party in Beverly Hills. Days later, the couple made their relationship official on Instagram; along with a pic of himself holding hands with Lehnhoff, Porowski wrote, "11 is my favorite prime number."
Miley Cyrus made a political statement with her T-shirt reading, "protect kids not guns," The Hollywood Reporter noted. The singer showed her support for stricter gun control with the DIY-style piece with crayon-like writing. She's previously supported the cause at March for Our Lives, where Cyrus wore an MSD Strong sweatshirt to support survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting. At the Washington, D.C., rally, she also held a "Never Again" sign.
XS Studio has released the visual album The Holiday Dragtacular, a press release noted. The special features drag queens Peppermint, Pandora Boxx, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Jaymes Mansfield, Alexis Michelle, Sherry Vine and Shuga Cane. Visit www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ey1hN3LQFsHkx5-IGTrsg.
Christian Bale opened up to Variety about meeting Donald Trump in 2011, according to Complex.com . "We were filming on Batman in Trump Tower and he said, 'Come on up to the office,'" he said. Bale jokingly added, "I think he thought I was Bruce Wayne because I was dressed as Bruce Wayne. So he talked to me like I was Bruce Wayne and I just went along with it, really. It was quite entertaining. I had no idea at the time that he would think about running for president."
Netflix will soon release a documentary about DJ superstar Avicii ( Avicii: True Stories ), eight months after the DJ passed away, Cosmopolitan noted. The documentary was filmed over the course of four years, and throughout that time, Avicii, whose real name is Tim Bergling, can be seen saying, "There was never an end to the shows, even when I hit a wall. My life is all about stress." Toward the end of the film, he said touring can be so stressful and difficult that "it will kill me."
Lightyear Entertainment, in partnership with Fonda, Inc., has announced the release of two more of the best-selling fitness videos of all time—the original Jane Fonda Workout—on DVD and Digital Media, a press release noted. This follows the successful release of five of the Fonda workouts in 2015, including the Original Workout, plus a DVD box set, The Jane Fonda Workout Collection. The new titles are the Lean Routine and Lower Body Solution Workouts, and they are being released in the United States and Canada through MVD Distribution.
Netflix has ordered a scripted series based on the life of the late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, E! News noted. The streaming platform announced Selena: The Series, which will be a scripted TV show, developed alongside and executive produced by the Quintanilla family.
The Los Angeles premiere of Alfonso Cuaron's latest film, Roma, paid tribute to millions of domestic workers—nannies, house cleaners, care workers—across the country, a DomesticWorkers.org press release stated. The premiere comes on the heels of Roma's three Golden Globe nominations. Set in the 1970's, the film chronicles the life of Cleo, played by debut actress Yalitza Aparicio, whose character is an indigenous woman working as a live-in nanny for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City.
At a special literary presentation in the West Hollywood Public Library hosted by Book Soup and the City of West Hollywood's WeHo Reads, a panel consisting of actor Ryan Gosling and activists John Prendergast, Fidel Bafilemba and Chouchou Namegabe discussed the new book Congo Stories: Battling Five Centuries of Exploitation and Greed, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Prendergast and Bafilemba co-authored the book, which features original photography taken on location by Gosling. The proceeds from the book's sales will go directly to support the Congolese Upstanders, who are working for peace and human rights in Congo.
Cybill Shepherd said on SiriusXM's The Michelle Collins Show that her '90s CBS sitcom Cybill could have "run another five years" if she hadn't spurned a still-married Les Moonves' advances during a dinner date with the former CBS chairman/CEO, TheWrap.com reported. "Yeah, I wasn't gonna fall at all for Les," she added, before detailing a dinner date she had with Moonves a few seasons into Cybill, when the CBS chief was married to his then-wife Nancy Wiesenfeld. Moonves was accused of sexual misconduct by six women in a July New Yorker article written by Ronan Farrow; six more women came forward in August.
Speaking of Moonves, the CBS board of directors has denied him any of the $120-million severance he was due under his employment contract after conducting a five-month internal probe of his conduct and the corporate culture at CBS Corp., Variety reported. He was forced out Sept. 9 amid a several sexual-assault and misconduct allegations. Moonves has denied many of the allegations against him and maintained that his sexual encounters were consensual.
An actress who filed a lawsuit against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein reportedly claims he boasted about sleeping with Jennifer Lawrence before her Oscar win—something both Weinstein and Lawrence deny, People.com reported. The actress ( referred in the suit as Jane Doe ) alleged that Weinstein "forcibly performed oral sex on her, repeatedly masturbated in front of her and threatened to harm her career if she objected." He also allegedly said to the victim, "I slept with Jennifer Lawrence and look where she is; she has just won an Oscar."
CBS agreed to pay Eliza Dushku a multimillion-dollar settlement in January following her complaint that she was written off the drama Bull after she confronted series star Michael Weatherly about multiple instances of inappropriate behavior, TheWrap.com noted. The New York Times broke the news about the $9.5 million settlement, citing a draft of a report by independent law firms investigating the culture at CBS at the request of the company's board. Last year, Dushku, best known as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was tapped to play a major role in three episodes of Bull, with the possibility of becoming a full-time cast member; however, she was written off the show after she confronted Weatherly, the series' star, over comments she said made her uncomfortable. Weatherly apologized for his behavior in a statement to the Times.
Disney Channel actor Stoney Westmoreland—who played Henry "Ham" Mack on Andi Mack—was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah, for allegedly trying to have sex with a person he thought was 13, ExtraTV.com noted. People magazine reported the arrest—in the city in which Andi Mack films—has cost Westmoreland his job. Westmoreland is accused of contacting a person he thought to be 13 on a hookup app, sending the person pornographic photos, and asking the teen to do the same.
On Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, actress Sophia Bush discussed why she quit the TV series Chicago P.D., Page Six noted. "I quit because, what I've learned is I've been so programmed to be a good girl and to be a workhorse and be a tugboat that I have always prioritized tugging the ship for the crew, for the show, for the group, ahead of my own health," she said. "The reality was that my body was, like, falling apart, because I was really, really unhappy."
The upcoming DC Universe series has cast Joel McHale as Starman, one of members of the Justice Society of America, TheWrap.com noted. A courageous and confident superhero, Starman wields a mysterious anti-gravity weapon called the Cosmic Staff. His longtime partner is his sidekick, Stripesy, better known as Courtney Whitmore's stepfather, Pat Dugan.
Primetime Emmy rule changes now include the length of a TV movie, Deadline noted. the TV Academy is setting a length threshold, 75 minutes, for a program to be eligible to compete as TV movie. The rule change is clearly intended to curb anthology series' invasion of the TV movie Emmy space. There also is a new category crated for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special ( Original Dramatic Underscore ), while the choreography category has been split into two.
The Incredible Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno, 67, was recently hospitalized, ExtraTV.com noted. Ferrigno revealed that his trip to the hospital was due to a pneumonia vaccine gone wrong. He wrote on Instagram, "Went in for a pneumonia shot and landed up here with fluid in my bicep," adding, "I'll be ok but it's important that you keep an eye on who's giving the shot and make sure they not only swab the spot correctly but that you watch the needle come out of the package."
Colin Kroll—the former co-founder of social-media sensation Vine and CEO of HQ Trivia—was found dead from what news reports quoting police sources claim was an apparent drug overdose, Deadline reported. The 35-year-old Kroll's body was discovered by police after his girlfriend told them she could not reach him.
Emily VanCamp and Josh Bowman—who co-starred on the former ABC series Revenge—are officially husband and wife, JustJared.com noted. The couple's former co-star Ashley Madekwe documented her travels to the Bahamas, where the nuptials took place.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey's Danielle Staub has been seeing R&B star Al B. Sure! amid her ongoing divorce from Marty Caffrey, Us Weekly noted. After the pair were spotted getting cozy at a Harlem hotel, a source told Us Weekly that they've been hooking up and that Staub has been telling her friends about her encounters with the "Nite and Day" singer. A rep for Staub, however, denied the dating rumors.
Ryan Kadro, the executive producer of CBS This Morning, is leaving the network after a lawsuit in which he was named as having ignored warnings about disgraced journalist Charlie Rose was settled, TheWrap.com reported. Kadro was named in a lawsuit settled on Tuesday in which three women accused the network of not doing enough to stop Rose, a host of CBS This Morning and a correspondent for 60 Minutes, from sexually harassing them.
MTV has ordered a third season of its hit reality series Jersey Shore Family Vacation to run in 2019, Deadline.com noted. The show features original housemates Deena Nicole Cortese, Paul "Pauly D" Delvecchio," Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Angelina Pivarnick, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.
