Ethan Shanfeld Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Ethan Shanfeld Atlanta rapper Gunna will remain in jail ahead of his January trial on gang-related charges after a judge denied his release due to fears it might lead to witness intimidation. Prosecutors claimed that a co-defendant in the trial offered to “whack someone” on Gunna’s behalf, Billboard reports. Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, has already been denied pre-trial release twice due to Fulton County prosecutors’ fears that it might lead to witness intimidation. Gunna’s attorneys argue that there is not a “shred of evidence” to justify keeping him behind bars before he has been proven guilty.

Ethan Shanfeld Willie Spence, who came in second place in “American Idol” Season 19, has died in a car crash. He was 23. Spence was driving from Tennessee to his home in Atlanta when he crashed into a semi-truck that was parked on the side of the road. A post on the “American Idol” Instagram reads, “We are devastated about the passing of our beloved ‘American Idol’ family member, Willie Spence. He was a true talent who lit up every room he entered and will be deeply missed. We send our condolences to his loved ones.” The post features a video of Spence singing Rihanna’s “Diamonds” from his “American Idol” audition. Judges Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan praised Spence’s performance, with Bryan saying, “You are a special, special human being. I did not want it to end.”

Ethan Shanfeld English pop singer Rex Orange County, whose real name is Alexander O’Connor, has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman on six separate occasions in London. The 24-year-old artist appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday to deny the allegations. After pleading not guilty to all six charges, O’Connor was released on unconditional bail. A provisional trial date has been set for Jan. 3, 2023. O’Connor allegedly assaulted the woman twice in the West End on June 1 and four additional times the next day, once in a taxi and three times at his home in Notting Hill.

Ethan Shanfeld “Blonde” director Andrew Dominik has previously said he was unfamiliar with Marilyn Monroe’s filmography before adapting Joyce Carol Oates’ book about the late actor. Now, Dominik says Monroe starred in a “whole lot of movies that nobody really watches,” calling her famous romance film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” a movie about “well-dressed whores.” Dominik’s comments were part of an outtake from an interview with the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound Magazine. Journalist Christina Newland, who conducted the interview, posted the transcript on Twitter, in which Dominik asked, “Does anyone watch Marilyn Monroe movies?” Newland added in a follow-up tweet: “I do want to make sure I’m doing my due diligence here: [Dominik] did talk about and reference many of her films. He clearly had studied and watched everything: whether he liked it (bar ‘Some Like it Hot,’ which he loves) another story, evidently.”

Ethan Shanfeld Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas Sinclair on “Stranger Things,” opened up about facing racism as a young actor on Netflix’s hit sci-fi series. “It definitely took a toll on me as a younger kid,” the actor said at the Heroes Comic Con Belgium convention on Sunday. “My very first Comic-Con, some people didn’t stand in my line because I was Black. Some people told me, ‘Oh I didn’t want to be in your line because you were mean to Eleven [Millie Bobby Brown].'” McLaughlin continued, “Even now some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m Black. Sometimes overseas you feel the racism, you feel the bigotry. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about and for people to understand, but when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot.”

Ethan Shanfeld Ryan Grantham, a Canadian actor whose credits include “Riverdale,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Supernatural,” has been sentenced to life in prison with parole ineligibility of 14 years for the second-degree murder of his mother, CBC reports. In March 2020, the actor shot his mom, Barbara Waite, in the back of the head with a .22 rifle as she played piano in their home in Squamish, British Columbia. As shown in court, Grantham then took a GoPro video shortly after the murder, in which he confesses to killing his mother and shows her body. The following day, he covered the body with a sheet, surrounded it with lit candles and hung a rosary from the piano, before driving east to Ottawa in a car packed with guns, ammunition and Molotov cocktails. His intention was to kill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Instead, he drove to Hope, B.C., with thoughts of committing a mass shooting at Simon Fraser University — where he was enrolled — or on the Lions Gate Bridge. Ultimately he decided to turn himself in at the Vancouver Police Department building in East Vancouver.

Ethan Shanfeld Jack Antonoff, who has produced some of Taylor Swift’s most popular songs, from “Out of the Woods” to “Lover,” and who shared her album of the year Grammy for 2020’s “Folklore,” returns for her upcoming album “Midnights,” out Oct. 21. Antonoff appears prominently in a new behind-the-scenes video posted to Swift’s Instagram, with the caption: “The making of ‘Midnights.'” In the clip, the pair are seen working on music in Antonoff’s studio for Swift’s next record, playing keyboards and MIDI controllers while Swift cuts vocal takes. An uncredited song snippet with the lyric, “It’s just the life you lead, but it’s yours,” soundtracks the video, but it’s unclear whether this is original material being teased, as the voices seems to be male. Meanwhile, a shot of Swift walking through a snowstorm indicates she and her co-pilot have been working on “Midnights” for a while. Another clip showcases test pressings of differently colored vinyl records, presumably the ones Swift put on sale in her web store for a limited time over Labor Day weekend.

Ethan Shanfeld When up-and-coming artists vie for the attention of A&Rs, producers and managers, it often means being ignored and discouraged, while music industry professionals end up flooded with DMs and emails that are nearly impossible to organize and sift through. Enter: Xposure Music, a Montreal-based start-up whose goal is to unlock a “new front door” to the music industry by providing a platform that benefits both musicians and those hoping to discover them. “We see our mission as not only streamlining access, but enabling serendipity,” Gregory Walfish, co-founder of Xposure, tells Variety. “We wanted to compress what might take months of outreach or thousands of dollars to get to the right place at the right time, into an engaging interaction for artists and pros. We want to help people find that breakout moment.”

Ethan Shanfeld Emily Carey, who plays young Alicent Hightower in HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” opened up about being “scared” of doing sex scenes in the “Game of Thrones” prequel due to the “violence upon women” in its predecessor. In Sunday night’s episode, titled “King of the Narrow Sea,” Carey appears in two intimate scenes — one in which Alicent bathes her husband, the much older King Viserys (Paddy Considine), and another in which she has sex with him. In the latter scene, it is clear Alicent is reluctant to engage with Viserys and is not enjoying their intimacy. Carey, who was 17 upon reading the scripts and 18 when filming, told Newsweek that the scene “scared” her “because at that point I still hadn’t met Paddy, I didn’t know how much of a joy he was and how easy he was going to make [the scene], and all I saw was, you know, a 47-year-old man and me. I was a bit concerned.”

Ethan Shanfeld Barack Obama is officially three-fourths of the way to an EGOT, as the former president of the United States nabbed his first Emmy for outstanding narrator. Obama lent his voice to the Netflix docuseries “Our Great National Parks,” narrating its five episodes that span from Patagonia, Chile, to Tsavo, Kenya. Netflix submitted the first episode, “A World of Wonder,” for Emmy consideration. In 2020, both Barack and Michelle Obama took home Oscars for the documentary “American Factory,” which they produced under their banner, Higher Ground. The doc tells the story of what happens when a Chinese company opens an automotive glass plant at a former General Motors location in Ohio, facing intense community skepticism and cultural differences.

Ethan Shanfeld Courtenay Valenti, president of production and development for Warner Bros. Pictures, will depart from the studio after 33 years. Valenti will carry out her role until the end of October. “We’ve known Courtenay and been admirers of her work for many years,” said Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, in a joint statement provided to Variety. “She’s been an integral part of Warner Bros. Pictures’ success for over three decades and has had a hand in guiding some of the studio’s most popular and successful films. She’s well-respected across the creative community, she’s beloved here on the lot, and she will be greatly missed. We know that she’ll be hugely successful in her next endeavor and join all of her colleagues in wishing her the very best.”  

Ethan Shanfeld Florida Georgia Line waved goodbye to an era, as Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley played their final show as a country duo at the Minnesota State Fair Wednesday night. “You’ve enabled us to chase this crazy dream of writing songs and playing shows and hoping someone will show up to listen, so thank you guys,” Hubbard said, addressing the crowd. “It’s the closing of an incredible, incredible chapter for us. It’s very exciting for us to look at what’s ahead, see what’s next. And the next chapter ahead is very exciting, but we want to celebrate this chapter with you guys.” Beginning the next chapter, Hubbard will release his solo album next year and is set to join Keith Urban and Ingrid Andress on their ongoing tour. This week, he signed with UTA for solo bookings. Kelley is jumping into a Florida residency where he will perform his solo material. He’s also in the cast of scripted comedy-country podcast “Uncle Drank” alongside Luke Wilson, Uncle Kracker and Will Sasso.

Ethan Shanfeld When “Stranger Things” first aired on Netflix in 2016, its main cast ranged from around 12 to 14 years old, matching the age of their seventh grade characters. But as it progressed, the series’ timeline moved slower than real life, and soon enough, the young actors were hitting puberty before their characters, creating a challenge for the show’s directors and producers. According to Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on the hit sci-fi show, a producer approached him during an earlier season and asked if he could raise the pitch of his voice and change his posture to better emulate Will’s age. While Will is either 14 or 15 in Season 4 of “Stranger Things,” Schnapp is nearing 18.

Ethan Shanfeld “House of the Dragon” star Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Corlys Velaryon a.k.a. “The Sea Snake” on the series, slammed viewers of the “Game of Thrones” prequel who took issue with his casting.“It seems to be very hard for people to swallow,” Toussaint said in an interview with Men’s Health.

Ethan Shanfeld “The Sandman,” Netflix’s TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s sprawling comic book series, is approaching its third week at the top of Netflix’s Global Top 10 list. The series has racked up over 127.5 million hours viewed, but Gaiman thinks that “may not be enough” for Netflix to renew it for a second season.Answering some questions on Twitter over the weekend, Gaiman explained why fans shouldn’t assume the show’s massive popularity will lead to a Season 2.“Because ‘Sandman’ is a really expensive show,” Gaiman tweeted, responding to a commenter asking why “S2 is even a question.”Gaiman continued, “And for Netflix to release the money to let us make another season we have to perform incredibly well.

Ethan Shanfeld “Little Ellen” co-creator Jennifer Skelly found out her show would be removed from HBO Max earlier this month by reading the news. These past few days, she’s witnessed dozens of other series meet the chopping block as Warner Bros. Discovery purges the HBO streaming platform in order to reduce costs.Not only are the first two seasons of the animated show, centered around a young Ellen DeGeneres, gone from HBO Max.

Ethan Shanfeld A judge has ordered Kevin Spacey to pay “House of Cards” production company MRC nearly $31 million for alleged sexual misconduct behind the scenes of the Netflix White House drama.Spacey, who played Frank Underwood, was kicked off the series during its sixth season after facing allegations that he had sexually assaulted and preyed upon young men, including a “House of Cards” production assistant who said Spacey groped him, prompting MRC’s investigation.Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana confirmed an award previously handed down by an arbitrator in October 2020, which consisted of around $29.5 million in damages and $1.5 million in costs and fees.MRC had argued that Spacey owed them millions in lost profits because his misconduct forced them to remove him from the sixth season of the show, and it had to trim the season from 13 episodes to eight. Ruling in the producer’s favor, the arbitrator found that Spacey’s behavior constituted a material breach of his agreements as an actor and executive producing agreements.

Ethan Shanfeld New York City nightlife and drag queen legend Kevin Aviance didn’t know Beyoncé sampled his song “C—y” on her new album “Renaissance” until a friend reached out to him late Thursday night.“She sent me the track and the credits and said, ‘What is this?’” Aviance told me Friday afternoon. “And then my phone was blowing up.

Ethan Shanfeld “Curb Your Enthusiasm” will return for Season 12, Larry David confirmed on Sunday night.David broke the news at an Emmys event at the DGA presented by HBO Max. The event included a screening of Season 11 episode “The Watermelon” as well as a live panel discussion hosted by Rich Eisen and featuring David, executive producer Jeff Schaffer, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, J.B.

Ethan Shanfeld K-pop fans are anxiously awaiting BTS’ return to South Korea this week for three concerts at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul. However, the BTS Army will have to curb its enthusiasm, as clapping, shouting and standing up are strictly prohibited per government COVID protocols.BTS’ management company Big Hit Music said in a statement, “Cheering loudly, yelling, chanting and standing up during ‘BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul’ is strictly prohibited according to government guidelines.”Instead, the company will be providing concert attendees with clappers to emulate crowd noise.

Ethan Shanfeld A Billy Joel biopic titled “Piano Man” is in the works at Michael Jai White’s Jaigantic Studios, with Adam Ripp attached to write and direct.The biopic will follow Joel’s early years — from being discovered by his first manager Irwin Mazur at age 16, to playing in a Long Island cover band in the 1960s, to his breakout performance in 1972 that captured the attention of Clive Davis.However, Billy Joel’s rep says that Joel is not involved with this film project, and that no rights in music, name/likeness or life story will be granted.Instead, Jaigantic has acquired the life rights to Mazur, who managed Joel from 1965 to 1972, the year before his commercial breakthrough. Joel’s hit album and song “Piano Man” were released in 1973.

Ethan Shanfeld Los Angeles County is expected to lift its indoor mask mandate on Friday, March 4, as local health data backs the latest COVID-19 policy shift, NBC Los Angeles reports.The decision comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially placed L.A.

Ethan Shanfeld Judd Apatow’s upcoming, star-studded Netflix film “The Bubble” follows a group of actors stuck inside a pandemic bubble while shooting a movie at a hotel. That movie — “Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle for Everest: Memories of a Requiem” — just got its own official teaser.“The Bubble” stars Karen Gillan, Fred Armisen, Maria Bakalova, Keegan-Michael Key, David Duchovny, Leslie Mann, Pedro Pascal, Peter Serafinowicz, Vir Das, Rob Delaney and Apatow’s daughter, Iris Apatow.Apatow directs, produces and co-wrote the script for “The Bubble” with Pam Brady, who executive produces alongside Donald Sabourin and Apatow’s longtime partner Barry Mendel.

Ethan Shanfeld Ralph Ahn, who played the fan-favorite “New Girl” character Tran, died on Feb. 26, the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles reported. He was 95.Ahn appeared in seven episodes of the sitcom alongside Jake Johnson, who played Nick Miller.

Ethan Shanfeld Olivia Rodrigo will flaunt her driver’s license in her upcoming Disney Plus movie “Driving Home 2 U (A Sour Film)” as she takes fans on a road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album, to Los Angeles.Along the way, Rodrigo will tell the stories behind “Sour,” and discuss how it feels to be a woman navigating pop stardom in her teens. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage in and out of the recording studio, the film will debut exclusively on Disney Plus on March 25.The movie will also feature 11 songs from the triple-platinum album performed with new arrangements in unique locations, from Roy’s Motel & Café to Red Rock Canyon State Park.

Ethan Shanfeld Frank Pesce, a character actor who appeared in both “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, “Top Gun,” “Midnight Run” and “Miami Vice,” died on Feb. 6 due to dementia complications. He was 75.Born in 1946 in New York City, Pesce’s circle of friends included Sylvester Stallone, Tony Danza and Robert Forster, among others.

Ethan Shanfeld LGBTQ+ representation on broadcast television reached an all-time high during the 2021-2022 season, according to GLAAD’s annual Where We Are on TV report.According to the media advocacy organization, 11.9% of series regular characters this programming season are LGBTQ+, an increase of 2.8% from last year and a record-high in television history. This year’s study found that of the 775 series regular characters who have appeared or will appear on scripted programming between May 2021 and June 2022, 92 characters are LGBTQ+.

Ethan Shanfeld Los Angeles County is expected to lift its outdoor mask mandate Wednesday following a decrease in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19. The indoor mask requirement could be lifted by the end of March if case rates continue to decline.With guidelines imposed earlier this month, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the county would lift its mask requirement if hospitalizations remained under 2,500 for seven consecutive days.

Ethan Shanfeld “The Righteous Gemstones” is jam-packed with comedy, action, music and religion. But the beating heart of the HBO megachurch series is the charmingly bizarre romance between middle child Judy (Edi Patterson) and her sheepish husband BJ (Tim Baltz).Created by Danny McBride, the show — whose seventh episode (of nine) aired on Sunday — offers a gold mine of opportunities for Patterson and Baltz to unravel their strange and hilarious relationship.

Ethan Shanfeld Sarah Palin’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times will be dismissed, a federal judge announced on Monday, saying the former Alaska governor’s team failed to meet the court’s high standards for public figures to make their case.Palin’s team was unable to prove that the newspaper acted with actual malice when it published a 2017 editorial erroneously connecting Palin to a 2011 mass shooting in Tuscon, Ariz., NPR reported. According to Judge Jed Rakoff, Palin’s lawyers failed to present sufficient evidence against the paper or former page editor James Bennet. Palin’s team would have had to prove that Bennet, who inserted the Palin-related language in the article, knew the characterization was false or that the probability of it being false was so great as to mean he was acting with reckless indifference to the facts.