Debbie Allen Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

BreAnna Bell When “Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes” first came across Debbie Allen’s desk for a potential partnership, both parties realized what a good fit they could be with their common interests. The original action-adventure animated series follows Kiya, a seven-year-old African girl, whose passions in life are dancing and martial arts, which also become her superpowers. Set in the southern Africa-inspired Kimoja City, each 11-minute episode focuses on themes of community, empathy and unity and features African and Asian-lead characters. When Allen isn’t working on “Grey’s Anatomy,” she’s leading her dance academy and middle school — both of which are based in Los Angeles. She offers a slew of programming aimed at educating kids (some of whom are as young as 3 years old) in academics and the arts. Her academy’s “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” has become a popular holiday staple. Previously, Allen showcased the preparation process for the big show with members of her dance academy in Netflix’s “Dance Dreams” documentary in 2020.

 star Ellen Pompeo, co-star Debbie Allen is sure this won't be her final time on the long-running medical drama.Speaking with ET's Nischelle Turner on the red carpet at the premiere of at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Monday, Allen opened up about Pompeo's exit — and some of the chatter from fans who were a little disappointed that her departure didn't get a bit more fanfare in the episode.«A lot of people have a lot to say,» Allen quipped. «You know, Meredith Grey is taking a journey to another direction, [but] she's still alive.

SPOILER ALERT: The story includes details about the Feb. 23 midseason premiere of Grey’s Anatomy.

Stephen “tWitch” Boss’ loved ones gathered together to pay tribute to him in an emotional and inspiring celebration of life service on Saturday in Los Angeles.

ABC has released more information and a new promo for Grey’s Anatomy’s Feb 23 winter return, entitled “I’ll Follow the Sun,” which will mark Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) departure from Grey Sloan Memorial.

Ain’t No Mo’, playwright Jordan E. Cooper’s acclaimed but struggling Broadway comedy, has extended its run for another week and will now play through Friday, December 23, at the Belasco Theatre.

EXCLUSIVE: Award-winning director, actress, dancer, choreographer and producer Debbie Allen is adding talk show host to her resume.

.Jesse Williams will return in season 19 to guest star in the fifth episode, which he also directed, ET can confirm. The episode, titled «When I Get to the Border,» airs Thursday, Nov.

EXCLUSIVE: Jesse Williams is returning as director and guest star in the fifth episode of the medical drama’s upcoming 19th season, reprising his role as Dr. Jackson Avery. Airing Nov. 3 and titled “When I Get to the Border,” it will be the fourth episode of the show that Williams has directed.

Kevin McKidd has spent nearly 15 years portraying Dr. Owen Hunt on, but he's yet to decorate the trailer he uses while filming the medical drama.

Michael Appler In 1958, an unknown actor spoke just one line from the stage of the Cort Theatre on Broadway: “Mrs. Roosevelt, supper is served.” Then, a 27-year old James Earl Jones could barely make it through his five words. His stutter had yet to smooth into a defining voice. On Monday afternoon, in a ceremony attended by Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen and Mayor Eric Adams, that same theater was rededicated in honor of the now 91 year-old actor. “I spoke my first line ever on Broadway in this theater,” Jones said in a video played during the ceremony, taped when Jones and his family toured the renovated theater privately. “I was a kid,” he said from the stage, looking out to an empty audience.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Debbie Allen and Amber Riley are moving into “The Lower Bottoms.” The two actors join the scripted dark comedy podcast — about denizens in a gentrifying neighborhood in West Oakland, Calif. — for Season 2. Also appearing in the second season of “The Lower Bottoms” is Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Walker, who will guest star alongside returning stars including Kelsey Grammer, Theo Rossi and Annie Ilonzeh. The show is coproduced by iHeartMedia and Will Packer Media. Season 2’s first episode premieres Monday (Sept. 12) with new episodes released every Monday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other audio platforms. The second season will have a 10-episode run, the same as the first season, which was released in the summer of 2021.

Oprah Winfrey is back on the red carpet at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival!

The first trailer for Tyler Perry's upcoming Netflix drama,  is finally here. Set in the 1940s Deep South, the film follows star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne, whose forbidden love is the backdrop for 40 years of secrets and lies. «That was our first kiss,» Bayou says in the trailer.

Angelique Jackson Ahead of the film’s world premiere next month at TIFF, Netflix has released the first trailer for Tyler Perry’s “A Jazzman’s Blues,” the billionaire media mogul’s longtime passion project. Written, directed and produced by Perry, the period drama tells the tale of forbidden love, starring Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as Bayou and Leanne, a star-crossed couple navigating the world as young Black people in the deep South during the 1940s and through the decades that follow.  “That was our first kiss. Ain’t nothing felt that good in all my life,” Boone’s Bayou narrates as the trailer opens on the lovers sharing a sweet smooch while sitting in a sun-soaked tree.

Loretta Devine has had a storied career in film, TV, and on the stage and is still going strong as a beloved industry veteran.MORE: Grey's Anatomy welcomes five new cast members after Ellen Pompeo announces step backHowever, one of her most memorable roles to date definitely comes via her recurring appearance on the hit long-running medical drama Grey's Anatomy.VIDEO: Grey's Anatomy hits milestone 400 episodesShe played Adele Webber, the wife of Dr. Richard Webber, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was in the care of her husband's hospital.The role brought her significant acclaim and won her the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThe Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media will be honored with this year’s Governors Award at the Emmys, the Television Academy announced on Monday. The institute, which was founded by Oscar-winning actor Geena Davis in 2004, will be recognized for its work in promoting gender balance and fostering inclusion in the entertainment industry.First awarded in 1978, the Governors Award “honors an individual, company or organization that has made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television,” according to the Television Academy.

I sat in the green room waiting for actor and director Tyler Perry to arrive backstage at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center for the Colors of Conversation event during the Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival. Before he hit the stage for the panel, there was only a short window to interview him about his new project, A Jazzman’s Blues, a script he had written in the 1990s. 

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorIf he wins for “Annie Live!,” choreographer Sergio Trujillo will add an Emmy to his Tony Award. Trujillo wanted to make the classic musical accessible to a younger generation.

signed a pledge promising to portray guns in a responsible way onscreen.A batch of writers, actors, producers and directors — including Jimmy Kimmel, Mark Ruffalo and Amy Schumer — have endorsed an agreement titled #ShowYourSafety for Brady United.The organization is a gun-safety lobby launched in 1981 after Jim Brady, Ronald Reagan’s White House Press Secretary, was shot by a gunman who was attempting to assassinate the former president.“Hollywood has modeled positive culture change before: Seatbelt use, smoking, teen pregnancy, marriage equality,” the company explained on its website Monday. “Now, as America’s gun violence epidemic worsens, is the time to undertake a responsibility in storytelling depicting firearms and gun safety.”Other A-listers who notarized their signature include Debbie Allen, Judd Apatow, Betsy Beers, Adam Brody, Shonda Rhimes, Adam McKay, Liz Tigelaar, Chris Van Dusen, Krista Vernoff, Julianne Moore and many more.The petition does not ask Hollywood to rid of guns and gun violence on TV and film completely, but for creatives to be “mindful” of onscreen weapons and how they are depicted.The pledge implored “America’s storytellers” to entertain audiences, but also to “acknowledge that stories have the power to effect change.”“Guns are prominently featured in TV and movies in every corner of the globe, but only America has a gun violence epidemic,” the memo went on.

Jesse Williams isn’t paying attention to the hype surrounding his stripped-down performance in Broadway’s On Monday, Twitter went wild when a clip featuring the actor going full frontal during the show leaked, making him one of social media's highest ranked searches.  During an appearance on Monday’s, the 40-year-old actor, who has been nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the play, discussed the reactions he may receive from friends, family and fans who see him bare it all on the stage.  «Everyone around me [was] going, ‘Are you sure? Nude, nude?’ and everybody makes such a big deal,” he told Andy Cohen.

Jesse Williams fielded some questions about his full frontal scene in the new Broadway play Take Me Out.

Clayton Davis An exciting and welcomed twist to the Emmy race for outstanding television movie has arrived, as Mimi Cave’s horror-comedy “Fresh,” starring Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones, is being submitted for Primetime Emmy consideration.This offers an interesting possibility in a category that hasn’t drummed up much excitement over the last couple of years. While buzzy titles like “Bad Education” and three consecutive “Black Mirror” episodes dominated, the soulful purpose of the category has seemed to be missing.

Wilson Chapman editorAfter almost 20 years of medical emergencies and juicy drama, “Grey’s Anatomy” is gearing up for its landmark 400th episode this May.Set to air on May 26, the 400th episode of the series will air as a two-part Season 18 finale. The episode’s plot remains unknown, but will feature the return appearance of cast members Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew, as the super couple Jackson and April (aka “Japril”).

Kate Aurthur editorThe once-and-future “Grey’s Anatomy” super couple of Jackson and April — played by Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew — are set to appear on the finale of the medical drama’s 18th season on May 26, Variety has confirmed.Williams left “Grey’s Anatomy” last season, having played Jackson since the show’s sixth season. Drew, who’d departed the show in 2018, returned for a guest appearance in May 2021 to send Jackson off to his new life in Boston, where he was taking over his family’s foundation.

An interesting situation. Ellen Pompeo and Debbie Allen, Grey’s Anatomy mainstays, were eager to support former costar Jesse Williams’ Broadway debut — except they had one concern.

Jada Pinkett Smith made her first red carpet appearance over the weekend following the much-talked-about Oscar altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock.MORE: Jada Pinkett Smith showcases baby bump in gorgeous photoNow fully back on social media, the star has been sharing pictures from her weekend, including a proud moment involving her daughter Willow Smith.Taking to Instagram, the A Different World actress shared a picture of her daughter and Camila Cabello posing together backstage at Saturday Night Live.VIDEO: Will Smith punches Chris Rock at the OscarsIn the caption, Jada wrote: "Who got to see these two talented beauties @willowsmith @camila_cabello on SNL last night?"MORE: Jada Pinkett Smith makes red carpet return following Oscars nightMORE: Jada Pinkett Smith looks like a Bond girl at Critics' Choice AwardsThe Hollywood star added a series of emojis including a love heart and a flexing muscle alongside her message.Jada also shared pictures from her night out on Saturday too, where she stepped out in a dazzling gold gown to support her friend Debbie Allen for the opening of her Dance Academy. Jada Pinkett Smith paid tribute to her daughter Willow SmithAlongside photos of her walking the red carpet, Jada wrote: "@therealdebbieallen said wrap it all in gold and come let the kids fill your soul.

Jada Pinkett Smith is back on the red carpet. The 50-year-old actress had her first public appearance on Saturday night since The Academy banned Will Smith from the Oscars for slapping Chris Rock.  Pinkett Smith was joined by Shonda Rhimes and Debbie Allen at the grand opening of the Rhimes Performing Arts Center, which will also be the home for Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy.  Jada Pinkett Smith made her first public appearance since the 2022 Oscars on Saturday night.

Stepping out. Jada Pinkett Smith was photographed on the red carpet for the first time since her husband, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock at the 94th annual Academy Awards.