Season two of the groundbreaking FX drama Pose will debut Tuesday, June 11, a press release touted. Pose is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York's underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s. Making television history, Pose features the largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles, including Mj Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross, who co-star with Tony Award winner Billy Porter and others. The second-season's plot: Three years later, it's 1990 and the ball scene is being exposed to the mainstream for the first time, forcing the House of Evangelista to re-evaluate its goals. Meanwhile, the AIDS crisis continues to ravage the community and the reaction from a group of activists reaches a fever pitch.
Actress Julia Roberts wants to make every public restroom safe for everyone no matter what that person's gender identity is, according to People.com . In an Instagram post that she shared on Tuesday, Roberts, 51, shared an image of herself in front of a restroom sign reading "Gender Neutral Restroom." Gesturing toward the sign, she captioned the photo, "I wish they all said this."
Grammy-nominated multiplatinum trio The Jonas Brothers announced the details for their 40-city Happiness Begins Tour this summer and fall, with special guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw, according to a press release. The announcement coincides with the launch of the pre-order for the band's highly anticipated comeback album Happiness Begins, as well as the launch of their official merch store online. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 10, at LiveNation.com .
Madonna delivered a moving speech at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards May 4 that honored the gay men who touched her life—many of whom died from complications related to HIV, LGBTQ Nation reported. Madonna accepted the Advocate for Change Award, and talked about the first gay man she ever met: "The first gay man I ever met was named Christopher Flynn. He was my ballet teacher in high school and he was the first person that believed in me, that made me feel special as a dancer, as an artist and as a human being." She added that he took her to her first gay club in Detroit.
Madonna has released the anthemic ballad "I Rise"—the second track of five songs to be previewed before her new studio album, Madame X, debuts globally June 14, a press release noted. Following the release of "Medellin," additional songs to be shared with fans include "Crave" ( featuring Swae Lee and produced by Mike Dean ) on May 10, the Jamaican dancehall vibes of "Future" ( featuring Quavo ) on May 17 and "Dark Ballet" on June 7.
LA Pride announced that Grammy-winning artist and onetime American Idol judge Paula Abdul will headline the 2019 LA Pride Festival opening ceremony with free performance on Friday, June 7, a press release noted. In addition to the headlining performance from Abdul, entertainment for the night will include a WeHo vogue ball & drag show, as well as a full night of music and dancing from local DJs.
About 550 people were expected to attend the Met Gala that took place May 6, according to a NPR.com item that cited The New York Times. The theme is "Camp: Notes on Fashion," in part a nod to the 1964 essay by Susan Sontag. Among the attendees/standouts were Janelle Monae, who wore multiple hats at once; Katy Perry, who came dressed as a chandelier; and Billy Porter, sporting a winged golden catsuit and being carried out on a gold-trimmed litter by six shirtless men wearing golden pants. Country-pop star Kacey Musgraves came as a life-size Barbie-meets-Elle-Woods. Zendaya, wearing a light-up Cinderella-esque dress, intentionally left a slipper on the staircase.
Non-binary actor Amandia Stenberg ( The Hate U Give ) will co-star in the forthcoming Netflix original series The Eddy, Deadline.com noted. In the musical-drama series, Stenberg will play Julie, the teenage daughter of Elliott ( Andre Holland ), who shows up suddenly in Paris and forces him to face his past. The series will include a stacked slate of directors including Academy Award-winner Damien Chazelle ( La La Land ), Cannes' Camera d'Or-winner Houda Benyamina ( Divines ) and more
It turns out that Kim Kardashian can pocket as much as $1 million for a single Instagram post, Page Six revealed. The reality star and beauty mogul claimed in legal papers associated with a suit against fast fashion company Missguided USA that she gets between $300,000 and $500,000 per post. However, TMZ sources said her lawyers are expected to amend the paperwork to up her take on her social media posts to $1 million a pop.
Out singer Lucy Spraggan has released her fifth studio album, Today Was A Good Day, on Cooking Vinyl, a press release noted. Lead single "Lucky Stars" has now had over half a million streams and is playlisted at Radio 2. After beginning the year as support for Melissa Etheridge across Europe and Scandinavia and playing SXSW, Spraggan now prepares for her own headline tour across the United States and Europe, including her own 13-date U.K. headline tour; the U.S. tour includes stops in Chicago, Detroit and Boston, among other places.
Kate McKinnon—the SNL cast member who has won plaudits for her impressions of everyone from Hilary Clinton to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—is nearing the end of her contract with the show, according to two people familiar with the matter, Variety reported. And while her representatives and SNL producers are working to find a way to keep her appearing on the program, it's entirely possible McKinnon's sketches over the next few weeks could be her last as a full-time member of the SNL cast.
On the heels of the second-season pickup of Lena Waithe's Boomerang reboot, BET has ordered Twenties, a single-camera comedy series from the Emmy-winning creator/writer/actor, Deadline.com noted. Created and written by Waithe when she was in her early 20s, the eight-episode half-hour series follows the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia.
Taylor Swift is set to perform at iHeartRadio's 2019 Wango Tango, iHeart.com noted. The event will also include performances by Halsey, 5 Seconds of Summer, Zedd, Ally Brooke with special guest Tyga, Ava Max, Fletcher, TXT and the Jonas Brothers. Wango Tango will take place June 1 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Jennifer Lopez announced World of Dance finalists Swing Latino and Briar Nolet, and season-one winners The Lab will join her as special guests on her highly anticipated It's My Party Tour, a press release noted. Produced by Live Nation, the It's My Party Tour will bring an all-new show to 25 cities across North America, making stops in Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, New York and more, before wrapping July 26 in Miami.
The 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards took place May 5 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium with Extra's Mario Lopez and The Talk's Sheryl Underwood co-hosting, Deadline noted. The Young and the Restless took home the statuette for Outstanding Drama Series. Some of the other winners included Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, Rachael Ray, Alex Trebek, Today Show with Kathie Lee & Hoda, Family Feud, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and DailyMailTV.
Drake made history at this year's Billboard Music Awards, surpassing Taylor Swift to become the top award recipient in BBMA history, the publication reported. He won 12 awards, bringing his career total to 27; Swift has won 23. Also, Ariana Grande won for top female artist for the first time, and BTS became the first K-pop act to win top duo/group. The Maroon 5/Cardi B collaboration "Girls Like You" took top Hot 100 song, and Imagine Dragons took top rock artist for the second year in a row and the third time overall.
When Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds—the founder of Utah's LoveLoud music festival—stepped onto center stage at the Billboard Music Awards on Wednesday, he took the opportunity to advocate for the LGBTQ community and against conversion therapy, the Salt Lake Tribune noted. "I just want to take this moment to say that there are still 34 states that have no laws banning conversion therapy—34!," Reynolds said as band received the award for best rock artists. "This can change, but it's going to take all of us talking to our state [legislators], pushing forward laws to protect our LGBTQ youth."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Oprah Winfrey talked about, among things, her 60 Minutes exit, the backlash against her from the Michael Jackson-focused documentary Leaving Neverland and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. Regarding her partnership with Apple, she said, "Apple exposes you to a whole lot more people [than her OWN]. The thing that I'm really, really excited about—as I said that day—is creating the world's largest book club." Concerning "Neverland," Winfrey said, "I haven't had that much hateration since "The Puppy Episode" with Ellen." ( Winfrey guested as the therapist on the 1997 Ellen sitcom episode in which Ellen DeGeneres' character comes out. )
Speaking of Leaving Neverland, the controversial film debuted March 3, but the estate of Michael Jackson and HBO are still fighting over the sex-abuse documentary in a $100-million lawsuit—and HBO has made a move to shut down a shift to arbitration by the deceased performer's lawyers, Deadline.com reported. The estate's lawyers previously ( and unsuccessfully ) tried to stop the airing of the documentary.
Now on DVD, director Kate Novack's documentary The Gospel According to Andre delves into the famously kaftan-clad Andre Leon Talley's journey, NewNowNext.com noted. The documentary also touches on the stinging racism Talley has faced during his career and life ( at one painful point revealing he was nicknamed Queen Kong because "they were saying I was a gay ape" ), and of course, some of the positive shifts in society and the fashion world he's witnessed and helped perpetuate. Talking with NewNowNext.com, Talley said the movie "validated who I am" and said the most awful recent fashion fad is vampire facials.
Charlize Theron was linked to Angelina Jolie's ex-husband Brad Pitt … and recent headlines claimed the women have fought over roles for years—but Theron recently claimed that it's all false, ExtraTV.com noted. On the Bravo show Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Theron said of Jolie, "I don't know her very well. I know her from events, but always so lovely. We really don't know each other. We're not friends or hang out, but she's never been anything but gracious and lovely and warm."
When Rose McGowan stepped out at the 1998 MTV VMA Video Music Awards wearing a completely see-through dress with an exposed thong, she was making more than just a style statement, Page Six noted. "I [wore] that for a reason. It was my first public appearance after being raped," McGowan told actress/activist Jameela Jamil for her I Weigh interview series, per People. A leader of the #MeToo movement, McGowan was one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, alleging that he raped her at his hotel during the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.
Actor Ricky Schroeder ( Silver Spoons; NYPD Blue ) was arrested on domestic-violence charges—his second arrest in the past month, Yahoo! News reported. Bond was set at $50,000. On April 2, he was also arrested by the Lost Hills Station Patrol; he was charged with a felony and bonded out, at another $50,000, just hours later.Tthat arrest was for felony domestic violence.
Patti Stanger claims she had hundreds of items stolen from her hotel room while filming Million Dollar Matchmaker—and now she's suing the Los Angeles hotel where she stayed and the reality series was taped, Page Six noted. Stanger states in legal documents, obtained by Page Six via The Blast, that she agreed to shoot her show at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in 2017 after she was repeatedly assured of the hotel's security.
