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Tag: Entertainment

  • Did Ed Sheeran copy Marvin Gaye? Singer breaks out guitar in court defence – National | Globalnews.ca

    Did Ed Sheeran copy Marvin Gaye? Singer breaks out guitar in court defence – National | Globalnews.ca

    Singer Ed Sheeran is used to performing in sold-out stadiums, but he traded that in on Thursday when he briefly played for a packed New York courtroom in an ongoing copyright lawsuit over Marvin Gaye’s soul classic Let’s Get It On.

    Sheeran, the first witness in his own defence, testified for about an hour and performed a fragment of his hit song in question, Thinking Out Loud. 

    Sheeran has been in court this week as part of a lawsuit filed in 2017 by the heirs of a Let’s Get It On co-writer, Ed Townsend, who created the soulful song alongside Gaye. The lawsuit claims Sheeran, 32, and his co-writer, Amy Wadge, knowingly plagiarized the song’s iconic four-chord sequence.

    Sheeran has staunchly denied that he copied or was influenced by Let’s Get It On.

    On the stand, Sheeran discussed his songwriting process, which he said is inspired by his real life. He said Thinking Out Loud was written about the lifelong love between his grandparents, his grandfather’s then-recent death and a blooming romantic relationship of his own.

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    Sheeran said he and Wadge wrote the song collaboratively while she visited his home in England. He testified that while Wadge was strumming chords, he sang the brainstormed line “I’m singing out now,” which would eventually become “I’m thinking out loud,” in the song’s chorus.

    “When I write vocal melodies, it’s like phonetics,” he said.

    Sheeran then retrieved an acoustic guitar from behind the witness stand and strummed the chords to Thinking Out Loud. He sang the opening lyrics, “When your legs don’t work like they used to.” The Associated Press reported the short musical outbreak brought smiles to people watching in the gallery.

    “And then words fall in,” Sheeran explained, adding that co-writer Wadge developed the song’s opening chord progression.

    He said songwriting came naturally to him and was often a quick, single-day process. Sheeran testified he could write up to nine songs in a single day.

    Earlier in the trial, lawyers for the Townsend heirs showed the jury what they said was “a smoking gun” that proved Sheeran copied Let’s Get It On — a concert video of a live mashup performance in which he sang both songs. Townsend lawyer Ben Crump said the performance was “a confession” of plagiarism.

    During his initial testimony on Tuesday, Sheeran denied the video is proof and said it is “quite simple to weave in and out of songs” if they are in the same key.

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    “I’d be an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that,” Sheeran said of blatant plagiarism. “Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs.”

    A musicologist called by the Townsend heirs testified on Wednesday that Thinking Out Loud and Let’s Get It On share striking similarities.

    Let’s Get It On has been heard in countless films and commercials and garnered hundreds of millions of streams, spins and radio plays since it came out in 1973. Thinking Out Loud won a Grammy for Song of the Year in 2016.

    Townsend, who also wrote the 1958 R&B doo-wop hit For Your Love, was a singer, songwriter and lawyer. He died in 2003. His daughter, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, is leading the lawsuit. She is suing alongside Townsend’s sister Helen McDonald and the estate of Ed Townsend’s ex-wife Cherrigale Townsend.


    Click to play video: 'Woman suing Ed Sheeran for copyright infringement speaks outside courthouse'


    Woman suing Ed Sheeran for copyright infringement speaks outside courthouse


    “I think Mr. Sheeran is a great artist with a great future,” she said in her testimony, adding that she didn’t want it to get to this point. “But I have to protect my father’s legacy.”

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    This trial comes one year after Sheeran won a similar copyright lawsuit over his biggest hit, Shape of You. At the time, Sheeran called the lawsuit “really damaging to the songwriting industry.”

    Earlier in 2017, Sheeran settled out of court over claims that his song Photograph shared striking similarities to the Matt Cardle song Amazing. He has since said he regrets the settlement because it opened the “floodgates” for more bogus copyright claims.

    The trial between Sheeran and the Townsend heirs is set to resume on Monday.

    — With files from The Associated Press 

    &copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

    Sarah Do Couto

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  • Prince’s Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

    Prince’s Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

    NEW YORK — The star-studded Prince’s Trust Global Gala raised more than $1.7 million Thursday night at Casa Cipriani in New York City, as a wide range of grantees — past and present — explained how King Charles III’s charity has improved their lives.

    “Luther” star Idris Elba revealed that without a grant from The Prince’s Trust when he was 17, he would not have been able to join the National Youth Music Theatre, which launched his career.

    “One thing The Prince’s Trust gave me was confidence,” said Elba, who mingled among celebrities including actress Sienna Miller, supermodels Kate Moss and Winnie Harlow and fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors among others. “It gave me the confidence to believe in what I do, who I am and what I can be.”

    The Prince’s Trust hopes to offer that kind of support in the United States, where it plans to further expand this year.

    “His majesty couldn’t be with us this evening — I know he wanted to be,” said Charlotte Mensah, owner of the Hairlounge salon in London and a past grantee of The Prince’s Trust.

    “He has something next week,” joked Mensah, referring to King Charles III’s coronation on May 6.

    In a letter to the gala’s attendees, read by Mensah, King Charles III said he could not have dreamed The Prince’s Trust would have expanded to 23 countries when he launched it in 1976 with his severance pay from the Royal Navy.

    “I am thrilled to say that it has now worked with over 1 million young people, helping them to start careers, launch businesses and reengage with education,” King Charles III wrote. “I am enormously inspired by the determination and commitment of young people.”

    Will Straw, CEO of The Prince’s Trust International, told The Associated Press that the charity’s mission is as essential as ever.

    “This year, we’ll support around 100,000 young people directly around the world, helping them gain the skills for meaningful work,” Straw said. “And this is so important because young people have been hit so hard economically by the pandemic.”

    The International Labor Organization and others have highlighted a gap between the skills that employers need and those young people gain during their education, he said.

    “Something’s missing,” Straw said. “But all around the world, our programs are closing that gap.”

    Greece’s Crown Prince Pavlos said he has seen what The Prince’s Trust accomplished in his homeland and is hopeful it can succeed on the same level in the U.S., where he now lives.

    “We have so much capacity in America for people to help entrepreneurially, but we also have a lot of people in need,” he said. “This can be a real stronghold for The Prince’s Trust.”

    British singer Rita Ora stepped in to perform at the gala Thursday night after original host Lionel Richie had to travel to the United Kingdom to prepare his performance for the king’s forthcoming coronation.

    Ora, who performed her new single “Praising You” in public for the first time, said she was happy to show her support for the cause.

    “It’s everything I believe in,” she said. “I think the truth really lies in the results and that’s why I back it.” ____

    Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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  • Prince’s Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

    Prince’s Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

    NEW YORK — The star-studded Prince’s Trust Global Gala raised more than $1.7 million Thursday night at Casa Cipriani in New York City, as a wide range of grantees — past and present — explained how King Charles III’s charity has improved their lives.

    “Luther” star Idris Elba revealed that without a grant from The Prince’s Trust when he was 17, he would not have been able to join the National Youth Music Theatre, which launched his career.

    “One thing The Prince’s Trust gave me was confidence,” said Elba, who mingled among celebrities including actress Sienna Miller, supermodels Kate Moss and Winnie Harlow and fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors among others. “It gave me the confidence to believe in what I do, who I am and what I can be.”

    The Prince’s Trust hopes to offer that kind of support in the United States, where it plans to further expand this year.

    “His majesty couldn’t be with us this evening — I know he wanted to be,” said Charlotte Mensah, owner of the Hairlounge salon in London and a past grantee of The Prince’s Trust.

    “He has something next week,” joked Mensah, referring to King Charles III’s coronation on May 6.

    In a letter to the gala’s attendees, read by Mensah, King Charles III said he could not have dreamed The Prince’s Trust would have expanded to 23 countries when he launched it in 1976 with his severance pay from the Royal Navy.

    “I am thrilled to say that it has now worked with over 1 million young people, helping them to start careers, launch businesses and reengage with education,” King Charles III wrote. “I am enormously inspired by the determination and commitment of young people.”

    Will Straw, CEO of The Prince’s Trust International, told The Associated Press that the charity’s mission is as essential as ever.

    “This year, we’ll support around 100,000 young people directly around the world, helping them gain the skills for meaningful work,” Straw said. “And this is so important because young people have been hit so hard economically by the pandemic.”

    The International Labor Organization and others have highlighted a gap between the skills that employers need and those young people gain during their education, he said.

    “Something’s missing,” Straw said. “But all around the world, our programs are closing that gap.”

    Greece’s Crown Prince Pavlos said he has seen what The Prince’s Trust accomplished in his homeland and is hopeful it can succeed on the same level in the U.S., where he now lives.

    “We have so much capacity in America for people to help entrepreneurially, but we also have a lot of people in need,” he said. “This can be a real stronghold for The Prince’s Trust.”

    British singer Rita Ora stepped in to perform at the gala Thursday night after original host Lionel Richie had to travel to the United Kingdom to prepare his performance for the king’s forthcoming coronation.

    Ora, who performed her new single “Praising You” in public for the first time, said she was happy to show her support for the cause.

    “It’s everything I believe in,” she said. “I think the truth really lies in the results and that’s why I back it.” ____

    Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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  • Summer Movie Guide: What to watch from May through Labor Day

    Summer Movie Guide: What to watch from May through Labor Day

    There is something for everyone at the movies this summer, both in theaters and streaming at home. In May, audiences can bid farewell to the Guardians of the Galaxy, go to Italy with Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen, or under the sea with Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy.

    June brings “Indiana Jones 5,” a “Spider-Verse” sequel, “The Flash” a new Pixar pic and one film many have already called the best of the year (“Past Lives”).

    And things get really exciting in July with the highly anticipated debuts of “Oppenheimer,” “Mission: Impossible 7,” “Barbie,” while August promises a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and introduces a new DC superhero, Blue Beetle.

    Here’s a month-by-month guide of this summer’s new movies.

    May 5

    “ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” (Disney/Marvel, theaters): Nine years after the non-comic obsessed world was introduced to Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the misfits are closing out the trilogy and saying goodbye to director James Gunn, who is now leading rival DC.

    “ What’s Love Got to Do with It? ” (Shout! Studios, theaters): Lily James plays a documentary filmmaker whose next project follows her neighbor (Shazad Latif) on his road to an arranged marriage in this charming romantic comedy.

    May 12

    “ Book Club: The Next Chapter ” (Focus Features, theaters): Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen travel to Italy to celebrate an engagement.

    “ The Mother,” (Netflix, streaming): Jennifer Lopez is an assassin and a mother in this action pic timed to Mother’s Day.

    “ Love Again ” (Sony, theaters): Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a woman mourning the death of her boyfriend who texts his old number not knowing it belongs to someone new (Sam Heughan). Celine Dion (and her music) co-star in this romantic drama.

    “ STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie ” (AppleTV+): Davis Guggenheim helps Michael J. Fox tell his story, from his rise in Hollywood to his Parkinson’s diagnosis and beyond.

    “ Monica ” (IFC, theaters): A transgender woman, estranged from her family, goes home to visit her dying mother in this film starring Tracee Lysette and Patricia Clarkson.

    “ The Starling Girl ” (Bleecker Street, theaters): Eliza Scanlen plays a 17-year-old girl living in a fundamentalist Christian community in Kentucky whose life changes with the arrival of Lewis Pullman’s charismatic youth pastor.

    “ Fool’s Paradise ” (Roadside Attractions, theaters): Charlie Day writes, directs and plays dual roles in this comedic Hollywood satire.

    “ Hypnotic ” (Ketchup Entertainment): Ben Affleck plays a detective whose daughter goes missing in this Robert Rodriguez movie.

    “It Ain’t Over” (Sony Pictures Classics): A documentary about Lawrence Peter ‘Yogi’ Berra.

    “Blackberry” (IFC): Cary Elwes stars in this movie about the rise of the Blackberry.

    May 19

    “ Fast X ” (Universal, theaters): In the tenth installment of the Fast franchise, Jason Momoa joins as the vengeful son of a slain drug lord intent to take out Vin Diesel’s Dom.

    “ White Men Can’t Jump ” (20th Century Studios, streaming on Hulu): Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow co-star in this remake of the 1992 film, co-written by Kenya Barris and featuring the late Lance Reddick.

    “ Master Gardener ” (Magnolia, theaters): Joel Edgerton is a horticulturist in this Paul Schrader drama, co-starring Sigourney Weaver as a wealthy dowager.

    “ Sanctuary ” (Neon, theaters): A dark comedy about a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and her wealth client (Christopher Abbott).

    May 26

    “ The Little Mermaid ” (Disney, theaters): Halle Bailey plays Ariel in this technically ambitious live-action remake of a recent Disney classic directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and co-starring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.

    “ You Hurt My Feelings ” (A24, theaters): Nicole Holofcener takes a nuanced and funny look at a white lie that unsettles the marriage between a New York City writer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and a therapist (Tobias Menzies).

    “ About My Father ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco co-wrote this culture clash movie in which he takes his Italian-American father (Robert De Niro) on a vacation with his wife’s WASPy family.

    “ Victim/Suspect ” (Netflix, on May 23): This documentary explores how law enforcement sometimes indicts victims of sexual assault instead of helping.

    “ The Machine,” (Sony, theaters): Stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer brings Mark Hamill into the fray for this action-comedy.

    “ Kandahar ” (Open Road Films, theaters): Gerard Butler plays an undercover CIA operative in hostile territory in Afghanistan.

    June 2

    “ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ” (Sony, theaters): Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is back, but with things not going so well in Brooklyn, he opts to visit the multiverse with his old pal Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), where he encounters the Spider-Society.

    “ The Boogeyman ” (20th Century Studios, theaters): “It’s the thing that comes for your kids when you’re not paying attention,” David Dastmalchian explains to Chris Messina in this Stephen King adaptation.

    “ Past Lives ” (A24, theaters): Already being hailed as one of the best of the year after its Sundance debut, Celine Song’s directorial debut is a decades and continent-spanning romance about two friends separated in childhood who meet 20 years later in New York.

    June 9

    “ Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ” (Paramount, theaters): Steven Caple Jr directs the seventh Transformers movie, starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback.

    “ Strays ” (Universal, theaters): Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice dogs in this not-animated, R-rated comedy.

    “ Blue Jean ” (Magnolia, theaters): It’s 1988 in England and hostilities are mounting towards the LGBTQ community in Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA-nominated directorial debut about a gym teacher (Rosy McEwan) and the arrival of a new student.

    “Daliland” (Magnolia, theaters): Mary Harron directs Ben Kingsley as Salvador Dalí.

    June 16

    “ The Flash ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Batmans past Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton assemble for this standalone Flash movie directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller as the titular superhero.

    “ Elemental ” (Pixar, theatrical): In Element City, residents include Air, Earth, Water and Fire in the new Pixar original, featuring the voices of Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie and Catherine O’Hara.

    “ Extraction 2 ” (Netflix, streaming): Chris Hemsworth’s mercenary Tyler Rake is back for another dangerous mission.

    “ Asteroid City ” (Focus Features, limited and expanding June 23): Wes Anderson assembles Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Jeffrey Wright for a stargazer convention in the mid-century American desert.

    “ The Blackening ” (Lionsgate, theaters): This scary movie satire sends a group of Black friends including Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg and X Mayo to a cabin in the woods.

    June 23

    “ No Hard Feelings ” (Sony, theaters): Jennifer Lawrence leads a raunchy comedy about a woman hired by a shy teen’s parents to help him get out of his shell before Princeton.

    June 30

    “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ” (Lucasfilm, theaters): Harrison Ford puts his iconic fedora back on for a fifth outing as Indy in this new adventure directed by James Mangold and co-starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

    “Every Body” (Focus Features, theaters): Oscar-nominated documentarian Julie Cohen turns her lens on three intersex individuals in her latest film.

    “ Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken ” (Universal, theaters): Lana Condor (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) lends her voice to this animated action-comedy about a shy teenager trying to survive high school as a part-Kraken.

    “Harold and the Purple Crayon” (Sony, theaters): Zachary Levi, Zooey Deschanel and Lil Rel Howery help bring this adaptation of the children’s bedtime story to life.

    July 7

    ” Insidious: The Red Door ” (Sony, theaters): Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are back to scare everyone in the fifth edition.

    “ Joy Ride ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Adele Lim directs this raucous comedy about a girls trip to China to find someone’s birth mother, starring Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu.

    “The Lesson” (Bleecker Street): A young novelist helps an acclaimed author in this thriller with Richard E. Grant.

    “ Biosphere ” (IFC): Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown are the last two men on Earth.

    July 14

    “ Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I” (Paramount, theaters, on July 12): Tom Cruise? Death-defying stunts in Venice? The return of Kittridge? What more do you need?

    “Theater Camp”(Searchlight, theaters): Musical theater nerds (and comedy fans) will delight in this loving satire of a childhood institution, with Ben Platt and Molly Gordon.

    July 21

    “ Oppenheimer ” (Universal, theaters): Christopher Nolan takes audiences into the mind of the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he and his peers build up to the trinity test at Los Alamos.

    “ Barbie ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Margot Robbie plays the world’s most famous doll (as do many others) opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their perfect world.

    “Stephen Curry: Underrated” (Apple TV+): Peter Nicks directs a documentary about the four-time NBA champion.

    “ They Cloned Tyrone ” (Netflix): John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx lead this mystery caper.

    July 28

    “ Haunted Mansion ” (Disney, theaters): A Disney ride comes to life in with the help of Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito.

    “ Talk to Me ” (A24, theaters): A group of friends conjure spirits in this horror starring Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird.

    “Happiness for Beginners” (Netflix, on July 27): Ellie Kemper is a newly divorced woman looking to shake things up.

    “Sympathy for the Devil” (IFC): Joel Kinnaman is forced to drive a mysterious gunman (Nicolas Cage) in this thriller.

    “Kokomo City” (Magnolia): This documentary follows four Black transgender sex workers.

    August 4

    “ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ” (Paramount, theaters): This animated movie puts the teenage back in the equation with a very funny voice cast including Seth Rogen and John Cena as Bebop and Rocksteady.

    “Meg 2: The Trench” (Warner Bros., theaters): Jason Statham is back fighting sharks.

    “ Passages ” (Mubi): The relationship of a longtime couple (Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw) is thrown when one begins an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

    “ A Compassionate Spy ” (Magnolia): Steve James’ documentary about the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project who fed information to the Soviets.

    “Dreamin’ Wild” (Roadside Attractions): Casey Affleck stars in this film about musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson.

    August 11

    “ Gran Turismo ” (Sony, theaters): A gamer gets a chance to drive a professional course in this video game adaptation starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom.

    “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (Universal, theaters): This supernatural horror film draws from a chapter of “Dracula.”

    “ Heart of Stone ” (Netflix): Gal Gadot played an intelligence operative in this action thriller, with Jamie Dornan.

    “The Eternal Memory” (MTV Documentary Films): This documentary explores a marriage and Alzheimer’s disease.

    August 18

    “ Blue Beetle ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Xolo Maridueña plays the DC superhero Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in this origin story.

    “Please Don’t Destroy” (Universal, theaters): The “SNL” trio Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy expand their popular sketch for the big screen.

    “birth/rebirth” (IFC, theaters): A woman and a morgue technician bring a little girl back to life in this horror.

    “ White Bird: A Wonder Story ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Helen Mirren tells her grandson, expelled from school for bullying, a story about herself in Nazi-occupied France.

    “Landscape with Invisible Hand” (MGM, theaters): Teens come up with a unique moneymaking scheme in a world taken over by aliens.

    “The Hill” (Briarcliff Entertainment): This baseball drama starring Dennis Quaid is based on the true story of Rickey Hill.

    August 25

    “They Listen” (Sony, theaters): John Cho and Katherine Waterston lead this secretive Blumhouse horror.

    “Golda” (Bleecker Street): Helen Mirren stars in this drama about Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

    “The Dive” (IFC, theaters): In this suspense pic about two sisters out for a dive, one gets hurt and is trapped underwater.

    September 1

    “ The Equalizer 3 ” (Sony, theaters): Denzel Washington is back as Robert McCall, who is supposed to be retired from the assassin business but things get complicated in Southern Italy.

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  • Jerry Springer dies at age 79 after illness

    Jerry Springer dies at age 79 after illness

    Jerry Springer dies at age 79 after illness – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Jerry Springer, whose controversial talk show was a staple of daytime television for three decades, has died at the age of 79. Prior to becoming a TV host, Springer also briefly served as mayor of Cincinnati in the late 1970s.

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  • ‘Big Brother Canada’: Two Houseguests Are Sent To Jury In Shocking Double Eviction 

    ‘Big Brother Canada’: Two Houseguests Are Sent To Jury In Shocking Double Eviction 

    By Melissa Romualdi.

    No houseguest was safe in tonight’s dreaded double eviction on “Big Brother Canada”.

    As alliances begin to crumble and tensions continue to rise, viewers weren’t sure who’d be safe and who was headed to jury when host Arisa Cox shocked the houseguests with an unexpected double eviction.

    Ultimately, Victoria’s Queen Kuzivakwashe “Kuzie” Mujakachi and Shanaya “Naynay” Carter were dethroned and sent packing from the “Big Brother Canada” Manor.


    READ MORE:
    ‘Big Brother Canada’ Season 11: Hope Agbolosoo Exits The House, Says ‘You’ve Got To Be Unique’

    Kuzie and Anika await first eviction, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    — Photo credit: Global TV

    Queen Kuzie became the night’s first evictee and the sixth jury member when her fellow houseguests united to eliminate a strong player.

    Earlier this week, Renee Mior, from Vaughan, Ontario, rose to first-time competition winner at an integral time in the game as she became the new Head of Household. When her appointed nominee, Terrell “Ty” McDonald, secured his third POV win of the season and took himself off the block, Mior decided to make a resume move and named the replacement nominee- Queen Kuzie. Though Kuzie campaigned hard, the numbers were stacked against her and she was evicted by a vote of 3 to 1.

    Ty wins the Power of Veto, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    Ty wins the Power of Veto, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    — Photo credit: Global TV

    “I told myself I fear no one in this house,” said Kuzie. “I came alone, I came to prove a point, and I hope that everyone who is watching me has seen the great in me rather than the bad.”


    READ MORE:
    ‘Big Brother Canada’: Surprise Chain Of Safety Eviction After ‘Fatal Feast’ Wreaks Havoc

    Kuzivakwashe “Kuzie” Mujakachi exits the BBCAN Manor, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    Kuzivakwashe “Kuzie” Mujakachi exits the BBCAN Manor, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    — Photo credit: Global TV

    Immediately after Kuzie’s departure, the remaining houseguests feared their fate after Cox announced the unexpected double eviction.

    Shanaya’s fate was then revealed, making her the seventh houseguest to join the jury house.

    She was tearfully chosen as a replacement nominee by Claudia Campbell, who was forced to nominate one of her fellow “Girlie Pops” alliance members for eviction after the reigning “Smashpots” Veto champ, Ty, smashed his way to victory. Ty used the Power of Veto to save Anika Mysha, whom Claudia had initially nominated in addition to him.

    Ty wins the “Smashpots” Veto competition, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    Ty wins the “Smashpots” Veto competition, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    — Photo credit: Global TV
    Ty uses the Power of Veto to save Anika, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    Ty uses the Power of Veto to save Anika, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    — Photo credit: Global TV


    READ MORE:
    ‘Big Brother Canada’ Season 11: Fisherman Jonathan Leonard Becomes Fourth Houseguest To Be Evicted From BBCAN Manor

    With only three voters left in the house, the numbers weren’t in the “Girlie Pops’” favour, as their ally Shanaya received a 2 to 1 vote, sending her to jury.

    “Anything can happen in this house,” said Shanaya. “But I’m truly heartbroken for her [Claudia] and for me.”

    Shanaya “Naynay” Carter exits the BBCAN Manor, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    Shanaya “Naynay” Carter exits the BBCAN Manor, “Big Brother Canada” Season 11
    — Photo credit: Global TV

    See who becomes the new Head of Household when “Big Brother Canada” returns Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Global or STACKTV. Fans can also stream season 11 live and on demand with STACKTV or the Global TV App.

    “Big Brother Canada” season 11 airs three nights a week featuring new episodes every Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET/PT (Head of Household), Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT (Power of Veto) and Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/PT (Eviction).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t35AM_BlVU

    Melissa Romualdi

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  • Jerry Springer, iconic TV show host and former mayor of Cincinnati, dead at 79

    Jerry Springer, iconic TV show host and former mayor of Cincinnati, dead at 79

    Jerry Springer, the TV talk show host and television personality who briefly served as mayor of Cincinnati, has died, his publicist confirmed to CBS News on Thursday morning. He was 79.

    Springer died peacefully on Thursday morning at his home in Chicago after an illness, the Associated Press reported.

    “Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said Jene Galvin, a family spokesperson and friend of Springer’s since 1970, in a statement after his death, according to the AP. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”

    A former attorney and politician, Springer was elected the 56th mayor of Cincinnati in 1977 and held the role until 1978. He is known best for his namesake talk series, “Jerry Springer,” a raucous show often featuring dysfunctional families which ran for nearly three decades. Springer later appeared on the popular competition show “America’s Got Talent” for a short stint between 2007 and 2008, before moving on to host the NBC courtroom reality series “Judge Jerry.”

    Before rising to public prominence on television, Springer began his career in politics with a congressional campaign in 1970. Although unsuccessful, the race preceded his election the following year to the Cincinnati City Council, where he served for three years until his resignation in 1974 after a well-documented sex scandal. Springer launched a campaign in the early 1980s for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Ohio, but did not win.

    In this April 15, 2010, file photo, talk show host Jerry Springer speaks in New York.

    Richard Drew / AP


    Springer reached global fame with his transition into daytime television, which came with the debut of his extraordinarily popular albeit culturally criticized talk show “Jerry Springer” in 1991. The series remembered for chair-throwing as well as other dramatic onscreen outbursts consistently pulled top ratings and went on to air more than 4,000 episodes until its eventual finale in 2018.

    Throughout his ascent in the entertainment industry, Springer continued to generate some buzz in political arenas. In 2003, there was talk of whether he would file to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, but his path to Congress was eventually thwarted by the show.

    Born on February 13, 1944, in London, Springer and his family moved to the United States during his childhood and settled in Queens. He spent the earlier part of his political career as an adviser to Robert F. Kennedy and later moved into a role at a Cincinnati law firm following Kennedy’s death.

    Springer married Micki Velton in 1973 and the pair remained together for almost 20 years until their divorce in 1994. They share one child, Katie Springer, who was born in 1976.

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  • James Corden reflects on success of

    James Corden reflects on success of

    Los Angeles — With the final episode of “The Late Late Show With James Corden” airing Thursday night following a successful eight-year run, the British entertainer opened up about what has become one of the most iconic sketches in late night television history.  

    Corden kicked off “Carpool Karaoke” in March of 2015, and it was instantly a hit. 

    “I was like, ‘this is bulletproof, this will work as a segment, I know it will,’” Corden told CBS News.

    The first episode, featuring Mariah Carey and Corden driving around Los Angeles, has garnered more than 36 million views on YouTube.  

    “Mariah Carey came out of the house and said to me, ‘I’m not singing today, I was up all night,’” Corden said. “And you can see me in the car, ‘like c’mon.’” 

    Corden said it was when he received a call from the White House that he knew it was working.

    “Michelle Obama, you know, her team calling the office direct to say, ‘the first lady would really like to do a ‘Carpool Karaoke,’” Corden said. “And you’re like, ‘I guess this is working.’”

    First lady Michelle Obama joins James Corden for Carpool Karaoke on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in July 2016 

    CBS Television Network


    Corden’s 2016 sing-a-long with Adele has been viewed more than 260 million times on YouTube. And in 2018, he took “Carpool Karaoke” overseas to England, driving the streets of Liverpool with Sir Paul McCartney. The episode was emotional, with McCartney giving Corden a tour of his childhood home.

    Speaking to “60 Minutes” in 2020, Corden described what he thinks was the key to “Carpool Karaoke” becoming such a hit. 

    “There is a common thread… All of these are about showing a human being inside this very, very famous person. That’s actually what it is,” Corden said at the time. “The core of it is the intimacy of the interview. That these are some of the most famous people on planet Earth. You know, the biggest singers in the world, and they’re in an environment which is completely humanizing.” 

    This week, Corden aired his final “Carpool Karaoke,” which, fittingly, was with Adele. This time though, Corden was finally riding shotgun. 

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  • ‘The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’: A Young Coriolanus Snow Becomes Predator In First Trailer For ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel 

    ‘The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’: A Young Coriolanus Snow Becomes Predator In First Trailer For ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel 

    By Melissa Romualdi.

    The first trailer for “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes” has finally arrived.

    The nearly three-minute clip begins with an introduction to the creator of The Hunger Games, Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), who has summoned the districts of Panem together for the 10th Annual Reaping Ceremony, “in which we choose two children from each district to fight to the death in the Hunger Games,” he’s heard saying in the trailer.

    The prequel film to “The Hunger Games” trilogy goes back to the beginning, 64 years before Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) became the tyrannical President of Panem.


    READ MORE:
    First Look At Rachel Zegler And Tom Blyth In ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel ‘The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes’

    “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
    — Photo: Lionsgate

    “Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes” follows “a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12,” as per the official synopsis.

    Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
    Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
    — Photo Credit: Murray Close

    In the trailer, Dean reveals that, this year, “there has been a change” in The Hunger Games.

    “As a mentor, Mr. Snow, your role is to turn these children into spectacles, not survivors,” he tells Blyth.


    READ MORE:
    Cast Revealed For New ‘Hunger Games’ Sequel, Starring Rachel Zegler & Tom Blyth

    As “Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates,” the synopsis continues. “With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favour. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.”

    “What happens in there, fuelled with the terror of becoming prey, see how quickly we become predator?” the Head Gamemaker, Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) tells Snow, who later says “everything is about winning.”

    Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”.
    Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”.
    — Photo Credit: Murray Close
    “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
    “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”
    — Photo: Lionsgate


    READ MORE:
    Lionsgate Drops First Official Teaser For ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel ‘The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’

    The anticipated film, directed by Francis Lawrence, also stars Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera and Jason Schwartzman.

    “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes” hits theatres on November 17.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgnskuH676o

    Melissa Romualdi

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  • Fox ratings tumble in Tucker Carlson slot after his firing

    Fox ratings tumble in Tucker Carlson slot after his firing

    NEW YORK — Hundreds of thousands of Fox News viewers are reacting to Tucker Carlson’s firing by abandoning the network in his old time slot — at least temporarily.

    Fox drew 1.33 million viewers for substitute host Brian Kilmeade in the 8 p.m. Eastern hour on Wednesday night, putting the network second to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes in a competition Carlson used to dominate, the Nielsen company said.

    That’s down 56% from the 3.05 million viewers Carlson reached last Wednesday, Nielsen said. For all of 2022, Carlson averaged 3.03 million viewers, second only to Fox’s “The Five” as the most popular program on cable television.

    Carlson offered his own alternative to Kilmeade on Wednesday, posting a two-minute monologue on Twitter at 8 p.m. By Thursday afternoon, that video had been viewed 62.7 million times, according to Twitter.

    Kilmeade had 1.7 million viewers on Tuesday and 2.59 million on Monday, when he told people who hadn’t already heard the news that Carlson would no longer be there.

    Carlson had 2.65 million viewers on Friday for what he didn’t know at the time would be his last show on Fox. He was fired on Monday with no explanation given publicly, although there are no shortage of theories — including a former employee’s lawsuit that cited a toxic work atmosphere at his show, offensive statements by Carlson that came out as part of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox and his embrace of political conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 insurrection.

    The ratings slump echoes what happened at Fox following the 2020 election, when many viewers angered by the network’s crucial election night declaration that Joe Biden had won Arizona followed then-President Donald Trump’s advice to seek alternatives. That caused tremendous angst behind the scenes at Fox, which was illustrated in documents released as part of the Dominion case.

    Asked for comment, Fox responded with a statement noting that Fox has been cable news’ most-watched network for 21 years with its team “trusted more by viewers than any other news source.”

    In the wake of Carlson’s firing, viewing at the conservative network Newsmax has shot up for Eric Bolling, who hosts a show in the same 8 p.m. Eastern slot.

    For example, Bolling had 510,000 viewers Wednesday night, compared to 168,000 on Wednesday a week ago, Nielsen said. On Tuesday, Bolling had 562,000 viewers, up from 122,000 the same day a week earlier.

    The challenge for Newsmax will be making it last. Fox surged again following Biden’s inauguration as president, and Newsmax couldn’t keep up the momentum.

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  • 19 Exciting, Cozy Games Coming Out In 2023

    19 Exciting, Cozy Games Coming Out In 2023

    Pikselnesia / GameTrailers

    Vibes: Slice-of-life journeys through heartache, music, and moving on
    Availability: 2023 Windows, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5

    Set in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, Afterlove EP explores the life of Rama, whose romantic partner passes away. It’s definitely a heavy subject, but with the manga-inspired artstyle, and use of music in rhythm mini-games, Rama’s story looks like a slow, delicate tale of what it means to move on after losing someone.

    Afterlove EP describes itself as a mashup of a narrative adventure, dating sim, and rhythm game, along with branching narratives and different endings.

    Claire Jackson

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  • ‘Fatal Attraction’ series attempts to balance affair blame

    ‘Fatal Attraction’ series attempts to balance affair blame

    PASADENA, Calif. — PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — “ Fatal Attraction,″ the 1987 thriller film, introduced a female character (played by Glenn Close) who has a fling with a married man (played by Michael Douglas) and then obsesses and stalks him and his family after he tries to end it. Close’s character entered a new label for women – “bunny boiler”– into pop culture lexicon.

    A Paramount+ TV series debuting Sunday is based on the movie but attempts to make both Dan and Alex — played by Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan — accountable for their actions. Amanda Peet plays Dan’s wife Beth. The story unfolds over two timelines, following Dan, Alex and Beth at the time of the affair and years later, when Dan and Beth’s daughter Ellen (Alyssa Jirrels) is an adult.

    When Caplan was approached to play Alex, it was not an immediate yes, and she wondered if the world needed another “Fatal Attraction.” Although she enjoyed the film, the depiction of Alex disturbed her.

    “I re-watched the film and I found it very difficult to watch in the spirit in which I assume it was made,” Caplan told The Associated Press. “I couldn’t see it as, ‘Alex is an evil person who’s trying to destroy this really kind man.’”

    Joshua Jackson, who plays Dan in the series, agrees that the original character is portrayed as almost blameless, even though he is married.

    “The lack of consequence or even like acceptance of guilt or culpability on Dan’s part is shocking from the lens of 2023,” he said. “We don’t have to dance around it. There’s a underlying misogyny to the film that is just part of the time that it came out of. The sympathy of the story is with the man in this case. It very much paints the Alex character as the villain.”

    Caplan and Jackson agreed to sign on when they read the scripts and saw they kept the thrills and shock value of the film, but also got into the “why” of the affair, which there was time to do in eight episodes.

    “There’s a lot more space to get into each of the characters’ perspectives,” said Jackson. “We also see what repercussions look like for Dan. We get into his life and see that these things don’t — no matter how much you want them to — go away.”

    This angle is exactly what Alexandra Cunningham and Kevin J. Hynes, who developed this new take, had in mind.

    After watching the 1987 film, Cunningham liked the idea of a future timeline for Dan and his family. She was left with questions about what happened next — particularly with Dan’s marriage to Beth and what became of their young daughter Ellen.

    “The movie ends with just the camera panning over to a photo of a perfect family,” said Cunningham. “And it’s like, ‘Everything will be fine now that woman’s gone.’”

    Cunningham wondered, ‘Is this child going to get any psychiatric help? Are they going to go to marriage counseling? Is Dan going to spend any time thinking about why this might have happened? Will he make this mistake again?’

    The TV version also gives Alex a past and touches upon her mental heath, which somewhat explains her behavior. Caplan wants to be clear though that “this is not a straight up examination of mental illness. It’s ‘Fatal Attraction’, which is a very fun ride… What it is a full take on is how we as audience members have changed. I think this is the way we can hold a mirror up to ourselves and be like, ‘This was only this many years ago’… there’s no place for that version of this story in today’s world.”

    There is one scene in the final episode that Jackson says was triggering for him emotionally. In the scene, Dan speaks to Ellen, who is now an adult, and takes some accountability for his actions.

    “Shooting that scene absolutely sucked,” said Jackson. “I’m a father now, and I’m also the child of a man who didn’t want to be in my life, and to be at the crossroads of that conversation, playing this scene… was impactful for me in a way that I wasn’t expecting on that day. It was quite an intense experience shooting that scene.”

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  • Snap stock sinks nearly 20% on revenue miss

    Snap stock sinks nearly 20% on revenue miss

    Snap Inc.’s stock plunged more than 18% in extended trading Thursday after the social-media company reported a decline in revenue as it retools its ad platform.

    Revenue dropped 7% to $988.6 million, from $1.06 billion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected on average a net loss of a penny a share on revenue of $1 billion.

    Sales…

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  • ‘The Crown’ reveals 1st look at Prince William, Kate Middleton in last season – National | Globalnews.ca

    ‘The Crown’ reveals 1st look at Prince William, Kate Middleton in last season – National | Globalnews.ca

    Netflix has started teasing the sixth and final season of The Crown with the first look at the actors playing a young Prince William and Kate Middleton.

    The new images feature a photo of a loved-up, fictionalized Prince William and Middleton holding hands at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where the real-life couple first began their romance.

    Two close-up images of the actors in costume were also released. Middleton, who is appearing as a character for the first time in The Crown, will be played by Meg Bellamy.


    Meg Bellamy as a young Kate Middleton in Season 6 of ‘The Crown.’.


    Netflix

    Prince William will be played by newcomer Ed McVey, who was photographed in what appears to be a lavish-looking living room in one of the royal abodes.

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    Ed McVey as a university-aged Prince William in ‘The Crown.’.


    Netflix

    Netflix even included a cheeky behind-the-scenes snap of the actors posing outside the famous Northpoint Cafe where Middleton and Prince William met in 2001.


    Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy stand outside the Northpoint Cafe where Prince Harry and Kate Middleton met.


    Netflix

    Buzz about the casting for Prince William and Middleton has been circling online for many weeks now, beginning when the actors were first seen filming on location at the University of St Andrews. Many social media users shared footage of the production online.

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    The Crown follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022 at the age of 96, having served 70 years on the throne. The new season, which is quickly creeping up on the era of the modern-day monarchy, will in part follow Prince William as he attempts to blend in at university — and begin a romance with his one-day-wife, Middleton.


    Click to play video: '‘She was just a happy person’: Canadians share fond memories of encounters with the Queen'


    ‘She was just a happy person’: Canadians share fond memories of encounters with the Queen


    The Crown, especially in recent years, isn’t without its critics. As the dramatized royal story pushes closer and closer to modern times, some have complained the production is too sensationalized.

    In an open letter to The Times UK last year, Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench wrote that The Crown presents “an inaccurate and hurtful account of history.”

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    “Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism,” wrote Dench.

    She worried audiences, particularly overseas, may take The Crown as truth.

    At the time, Netflix responded and claimed The Crown “is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”

    The Crown will air on Netflix later this year.

    &copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

    Sarah Do Couto

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  • ‘Kenny vs. Spenny’: Iconic Canadian frenemies prove some things never change  | Globalnews.ca

    ‘Kenny vs. Spenny’: Iconic Canadian frenemies prove some things never change | Globalnews.ca

    While their show has been off the air for more than a decade, Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice are, for the most part, up to their same old antics.

    The stars of the provocative and, at times, wildly offensive Canadian television hit Kenny vs. Spenny admit that while the show hasn’t aged particularly well, they’re still playing the same old schtick — Hotz continues to mercilessly mock and humiliate Rice for laughs, while Rice endures the dressing down for a paycheque.

    For those who need a refresher, Kenny vs. Spenny centred around the pair, who were living as roommates in Toronto at the time. They would challenge each other to absurd and ridiculous competitions of the will. Whoever lost was subjected to mean-spirited humiliation as punishment.

    Since the series wrapped in 2010, the comedic duo has been travelling off-and-on, bringing their live stage shows to audiences across North America. Now, they’re hitting the road on the East Coast of Canada with a live stand-up comedy special to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show.

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    Global News sat down with the pair to discuss what fans can expect at a live show, how their comedy has changed over the years, the legacy of Kenny vs. Spenny and why they consider themselves to be “uncancellable.”

    (You can watch a video of the interview, above, but here is a snippet of the conversation.)

    Global News: What does a live show look like? How does it differ from what you guys did on the show?
    Rice: Everyone wants us to compete but that would not work without the bells and whistles of a television production team. But it’s a very personal show, as we’ve known each other forever — our fathers were friends — and (Hotz) knows everything about me, unfortunately, and I know everything about him. And it’s really, fundamentally, just me trying to survive in a very hostile environment.

    I don’t like the fans, they don’t like me, they love Kenny — so that’s what I deal with.

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    Hotz: I kind of disagree with the competitive aspect. I think we’re both instinctually competing to be more loved. Maybe not Spencer, so much, because I totally overpower him and push his buttons, but the show is about you spending a night with us as though we were spending a night together in your basement.

    We basically try to do everything in our power to make the audience laugh. I throw Spencer under the bus, I make him angry, the audience laughs and the more the audience laughs, the angrier he gets with them. My job is to make the audience hate Spencer as much as he hates them and once that happens, it escalates into something extremely unique for a live comedy show.

    We have a very unique demographic and cult-ish group of fans who grew up with us. When we started comedy in Canada, the comedy was mostly politics based and there wasn’t a lot of comedy outside that.

    Rice: We don’t do (former Ontario premier) Dalton McGuinty jokes, is what Kenny’s trying to say.

    A lot of people watched the show when I was in a phase of my life where I was trying to do good — trying to save the world, trying to be a good person and use our platform properly.

    But when the live show came around, Kenny, quite amazingly with his memory, remembers before the television show, when I wasn’t such a good guy — I was actually a terrible person. So, he uses those stories to rile me up, so the audience gets to see a side of me that never made the show.

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    Hotz: I try to expose and eviscerate him on stage as being a monster, try to get him cancelled, try to use the #MeToo movement to help destroy him. But for this show, the 20th-anniversary show, I’ve systematically gone into drives and old footage and pulled out the stuff I, frankly, can’t even believe they’re letting us show. It’s very, very abrasive content that didn’t even clear the broadcasters at the time of the television show. It’s insanely graphic and controversial.

    Rice: Without my consultation, he’s picked clips that make me look particularly bad, but the funny thing is that he’s chosen clips of himself that make him look bad. It’s a mish-mash of self-deprecation and male ego on full display.

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    GN: You can look back on the television footage and see why broadcasters and streaming services would now be hesitant to syndicate the old episodes. It’s so wildly inappropriate for today’s standards, but it wasn’t really like that at the time it aired.
    Rice: The content that’s not appreciated anymore but it was at the time — it’s frustrating for me, because Kenny’s sense of humour is a shock sense of humour which means he has to say things and wants to say things that are politically incorrect. But I’ve known Kenny my whole life and he’s not homophobic, he’s not racist, he’s none of those things that people think he is from seeing his character on the show.

    Hotz: Of course I’m not! My best friend is!

    Rice: Yeah, yeah. Shut up, Kenny. But, yeah, I’ve always asked myself, “What should we do?” Do we clean up the act? But, no. We don’t. We do what we’ve always done, knowing in our hearts that we’re good people.

    Hotz: We continue to do the live show, we continue coming back, because we have a rabid group of international fans that won’t let the show die. We’ve tried to let it die.

    People have to realize the show started at a time that the internet was just being born, it was the inception of social media. I mean, I started Kenny vs. Spenny on MySpace. Our studio claims that our show was one of the forefounders of YouTube-style comedy where you prank your friends and screw with your folks.

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    We were some of the first to expose the fragility of the male ego, to expose just how stupid men are.

    Rice: And we’re hot.

    Hotz: Yes, we were very hot. I looked like George Clooney, now I look like George Clooney waiting for a kidney. Spencer looks like Slash married Salad Fingers.

    Rice: The dynamic you see between us in the show and, now, in the live show, is very much how we are in real life.

    Hotz: In reality, the competitions didn’t matter as much as who we were as individuals and our dynamic. The show really juxtaposed happy vs. unhappy, or “I care” vs. “I don’t care” — Spenny cared, I didn’t — and it’s a show that glorified a cheater in a country where we’re all so kind and moral. Everyone’s lived vicariously through us because we’re just so sick of being polite.

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    GN: What are you looking forward to on the East Coast?
    Hotz: Getting away from our families.

    Rice: *making a claw gesture with both hands* Lobster.

    Seriously, though, I’m not going to kiss a fish, no matter what anybody says.

    Hotz: Your wife’s not coming?

    Rice: Shut up, Kenny.

    Hotz: I drove out there once to score some hash and now I’ve been going there for many, many years. I love it out there.

    Fans can catch Rice and Hotz’s show, now on tour, in the following locations:
    April 27: Summerside, P.E.I., at the Harbourfront Theatre
    April 28: Fredericton, N.B. at the Fredericton Playhouse
    April 29: Moncton, N.B. at the Tide & Boar
    April 30: Saint John, N.B. at the Imperial Theatre
    May 10: Halifax, N.S., at the Spatz Theatre
    May 11: Truro, N.S., at the MacDonald Room
    May 12: St. John’s, N.L., at the Holy Heart Theatre
    May 13: Corner Brook, N.L., at Marble Mountain Resort

    Full episodes of Kenny vs. Spenny are available on YouTube.

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    Michelle Butterfield

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  • Jerry Springer, legendary talk show host, dead at 79 – National | Globalnews.ca

    Jerry Springer, legendary talk show host, dead at 79 – National | Globalnews.ca

    Jerry Springer, the legendary talk show host and former mayor of Cincinnati, has died. He was 79.

    Springer’s family confirmed his death to several media outlets Thursday morning, saying in a provided statement that he died peacefully Thursday at his home in the Chicago suburbs.

    “Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family, said in a statement to NBC affiliate WLWT5. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”


    Click to play video: '‘The Jerry Springer Show’ ceases production after 27 years'


    ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ ceases production after 27 years


    While most famous for his popular, and at times controversial, talk show, The Jerry Springer Show, Springer wore many hats over the course of his life, including actor, producer, lawyer and politician.

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    He served as the 56th mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978.

    His long-running talk show, and all the subsequent on-stage drama, ran from September 1991 to July 2018. He also hosted the Jerry Springer Podcast for seven years, from 2015 to 2022, and hosted a show called Judge Jerry from 2019 to 2022.

    Springer’s namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional families willing to bare all on weekday afternoons including brawls, obscenities and blurred images of nudity.

    At its peak, The Jerry Springer Show was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show.

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    Springer called it “escapist entertainment,” while others saw the show as contributing to a dumbing-down decline in American social values.

    On his Twitter profile, Springer jokingly declared himself as “Talk show host, ringmaster of civilization’s end.” He also often had told people, tongue in cheek, that his wish for them was “may you never be on my show.”

    After more than 4,000 episodes, the show ended in 2018, never straying from its core salaciousness: Some of its last episodes had such titles as Stripper Sex Turned Me Straight, Stop Pimpin’ My Twin Sister, and Hooking Up With My Therapist.

    In a Too Hot For TV video released as his daily show neared 7 million viewers in the late 1990s, Springer offered a defense against disgust.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAu5bEu4pRU

    “Look, television does not and must not create values, it’s merely a picture of all that’s out there — the good, the bad, the ugly,” Springer said, adding: “Believe this: The politicians and companies that seek to control what each of us may watch are a far greater danger to America and our treasured freedom than any of our guests ever were or could be.”

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    He also contended that the people on his show volunteered to be subjected to whatever ridicule or humiliation awaited them.

    With files from The Associated Press

    &copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

    Michelle Butterfield

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  • New AP/ABC film probes white supremacy in law enforcement

    New AP/ABC film probes white supremacy in law enforcement

    GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of robed Ku Klux Klansmen gathered around a burning cross in a remote field in North Florida. It was December 2014, and after the cross lighting ceremony ended, three klansmen asked for a quiet aside with the group’s Grand Knighthawk, a klan hitman. The knighthawk was Joe Moore, a former Army sniper who’d joined the group and quickly risen through the ranks due to his military background. The men handed Moore a photograph of a Black man that they wanted killed.

    The story of the klan’s murder plot and the hitman’s secret recordings made over months in 2015 formed the basis of an Associated Press 2021 investigative series called “The Badge and The Cross,” which used the story as a jumping off point to explore the issue of white supremacist group infiltration of law enforcement.

    Now, a new Hulu documentary, “Grand Knighthawk: Infiltrating the KKK,” based on The AP’s award-winning investigative series, begins streaming on Thursday. It was produced by ABC News Studios and George Stephanopoulos Productions in a first-time collaboration with The AP.

    A MURDER PLOT, THE KKK & INFILTRATION of LAW ENFORCEMENT

    The FBI said the infiltration of U.S. law enforcement agencies by white supremacist groups has been a serious threat since at least 2006. The AP’s series highlighted such infiltration.

    It started with the story of the modern-day murder plot by members of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Florida, who also had been officers in the Florida Department of Corrections.

    In 2020, AP journalist Jason Dearen obtained hours of secretly recorded audio and video conversations by the klan group in Florida that detailed a plot to murder a Black man in 2015.

    The first story in this series shows why this tale, which at first blush seems like the one-off plot, is in truth a view into the violent world of white supremacists in law enforcement. He talked with experts on police violence, racism, and white supremacist groups and identified other officers in Florida and across the U.S.

    RACISM IN FLORIDA PRISONS

    Dearen followed up with a second story showing how the racism problem is allowed to fester because of systemic indifference by Florida’s corrections officials.

    Records and interviews with current and former guards and state prison investigators showed officers who were reported for white supremacist group affiliation were rarely investigated and could move from prison to prison with impunity.

    A whistleblower’s story helped show how the state’s corrections system is designed to keep such reports inside prison walls.

    AN FBI INFORMANT COMES OUT OF HIDING

    Finally, after the first two stories exposed the systemic problem, Dearen received an email with the subject line “I am Joseph Moore.” The FBI informant had come out of hiding and wanted to tell his story only to Dearen. His message: White Supremacist infiltration of law enforcement was worse than even Dearen’s stories were describing.

    In 10 years undercover in two KKK groups, Joe Moore told the FBI about klan members who worked as officers at the local, county and state levels.

    “Grand Knighthawk: Infiltrating the KKK” starts streaming only on Hulu on Thursday.

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  • New AP/ABC film probes white supremacy in law enforcement

    New AP/ABC film probes white supremacy in law enforcement

    GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of robed Ku Klux Klansmen gathered around a burning cross in a remote field in North Florida. It was December 2014, and after the cross lighting ceremony ended, three klansmen asked for a quiet aside with the group’s Grand Knighthawk, a klan hitman. The knighthawk was Joe Moore, a former Army sniper who’d joined the group and quickly risen through the ranks due to his military background. The men handed Moore a photograph of a Black man that they wanted killed.

    The story of the klan’s murder plot and the hitman’s secret recordings made over months in 2015 formed the basis of an Associated Press 2021 investigative series called “The Badge and The Cross,” which used the story as a jumping off point to explore the issue of white supremacist group infiltration of law enforcement.

    Now, a new Hulu documentary, “Grand Knighthawk: Infiltrating the KKK,” based on The AP’s award-winning investigative series, begins streaming on Thursday. It was produced by ABC News Studios and George Stephanopoulos Productions in a first-time collaboration with The AP.

    A MURDER PLOT, THE KKK & INFILTRATION of LAW ENFORCEMENT

    The FBI said the infiltration of U.S. law enforcement agencies by white supremacist groups has been a serious threat since at least 2006. The AP’s series highlighted such infiltration.

    It started with the story of the modern-day murder plot by members of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Florida, who also had been officers in the Florida Department of Corrections.

    In 2020, AP journalist Jason Dearen obtained hours of secretly recorded audio and video conversations by the klan group in Florida that detailed a plot to murder a Black man in 2015.

    The first story in this series shows why this tale, which at first blush seems like the one-off plot, is in truth a view into the violent world of white supremacists in law enforcement. He talked with experts on police violence, racism, and white supremacist groups and identified other officers in Florida and across the U.S.

    RACISM IN FLORIDA PRISONS

    Dearen followed up with a second story showing how the racism problem is allowed to fester because of systemic indifference by Florida’s corrections officials.

    Records and interviews with current and former guards and state prison investigators showed officers who were reported for white supremacist group affiliation were rarely investigated and could move from prison to prison with impunity.

    A whistleblower’s story helped show how the state’s corrections system is designed to keep such reports inside prison walls.

    AN FBI INFORMANT COMES OUT OF HIDING

    Finally, after the first two stories exposed the systemic problem, Dearen received an email with the subject line “I am Joseph Moore.” The FBI informant had come out of hiding and wanted to tell his story only to Dearen. His message: White Supremacist infiltration of law enforcement was worse than even Dearen’s stories were describing.

    In 10 years undercover in two KKK groups, Joe Moore told the FBI about klan members who worked as officers at the local, county and state levels.

    “Grand Knighthawk: Infiltrating the KKK” starts streaming only on Hulu on Thursday.

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  • Angelina Jolie And Son Maddox Attend State Dinner With President Joe Biden And South Korean President

    Angelina Jolie And Son Maddox Attend State Dinner With President Joe Biden And South Korean President

    By Sophie Schillaci‍, ETOnline.com.

    Angelina Jolie and Maddox Jolie-Pitt enjoyed a high-profile night out on Wednesday.

    The mother-son duo looked chic as they attended the State Dinner hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, honouring South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

    Maddox, 21, wore a black suit for the occasion with Jolie, 47, opting for a flowy cream-coloured dress and jacket. The actress styled her tresses down in loose waves and completed the look with a red lip and classic pearl jewelry.

    According to a White House press release issued last month, the dinner marked the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, “which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world.”

    Angelina Jolie and Maddox Jolie-Pitt arrive to attend a state dinner in honour of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee hosted by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Photographer: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    Among the other celebrity guests at Wednesday’s dinner were Chip and Joanna Gaines. Earlier this month, the Magnolia Network stars shared touching footage from their family’s recent visit to Seoul, Korea, where Joanna’s mom, Nan Stevens, is from.

    “For years, my mother has talked about taking her three daughters to Seoul, Korea when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. And for years, that’s all it was — a dream we’d talk about in that ‘maybe, someday’ way we all do when something feels just a little out of reach,” the mother of five shared. “But this year, we decided to finally book it, and we convinced 24 members of our family to come with us to visit the place where my mom grew up.”

    While on the trip, Joanna said that she met family she’d only ever seen pictures of and saw the famous cherry blossom trees in full bloom.

    “We walked the same streets my mother did as a young girl, and then again as a young woman with my dad’s hand in hers. In a lot of ways, this trip felt like coming home,” the home renovator wrote. “Somehow, connecting with my mom’s past made my own story feel more complete. Feeling grateful for every moment this trip gave us ❤️🇰🇷”

    Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim and L.A. Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park, the first South Korea-born player in U.S. Major League Baseball history, were also among the attendees.

    Broadway stars Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga and Jessica Vosk also performed at the event.

    Jolie notably visited South Korea in 2019 while dropping Maddox, her eldest child, off for his first year of college at Yonsei University, where he planned to study biochemistry. Later that year, the “Maleficent” star re-lived the relatable parental experience in an interview with ET.

    “What was very beautiful is the way everybody said goodbye. When it was time to take him to the airport — some jumped into the car to take him — and everybody was, it was very…,” Jolie told ET on the red carpet, her voice trailing off. “When you know that your kids love each other and you see the way they all — without any kind of prompting or pushing — give each other notes, hug each other, take each other, support each other, then you feel like they’re going to be okay and they’re always going to have each other.”

    Jolie adorably admitted to embarrassing her children with an “ugly cry,” revealing that she had a difficult time walking away from Maddox.

    “I also, just at some point, had the big [sun]glasses and the amount of times I turned and waved. I do know it was the one moment in my life I think I turned around six times before the airport just… and he sweetly stayed and kept waving, knowing that I was going to keep turning around. You could feel he knew he couldn’t leave,” she said. “It’s nice to know how much he knows he’s loved.”

    Jolie continued gushing over her child, whom she adopted from an orphanage in Cambodia when he was seven months old, in a separate 2019 interview with ET.

    “I’m so happy for him that [Maddox has] grown up into such a good man,” she shared. “I say that ’cause he’s smart and he’s doing his work but he’s also wild. He’s balanced in his teenage years.”

    Jolie also revealed, “He got tattooed.”

    Maddox returned to the U.S. in 2020 amid the pandemic.

    Including Maddox, Jolie shares six children with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt: Pax Thien, 19, Zahara Marley, 18, Shiloh Nouvel, 16, and twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, 14.

    Wednesday’s appearance comes months after Jolie stepped down from her role with the United Nations, where she also served on the high-profile U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees Special Envoy, after more than 20 years.

    “I am stepping down today from my work with the UN Refugee Agency,” Jolie said in an Instagram post. “I believe in many things the UN does, particularly the lives it saves through emergency relief. UNHCR is full of amazing people making a difference to people’s lives every day. Refugees are the people I admire most in the world and I am dedicated to working with them for the rest of my life. I will be working now with organizations led by people most directly affected by conflict, that give the greatest voice to them.”

    MORE FROM ET:

    Brad Pitt Sells Los Angeles Home For Nearly $40 Million (Exclusive)

    Brad Pitt Recalls Crashing a Wedding While Filming ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’

    Angelina Jolie, ‘Normal People’ Star Paul Mescal Hang Out in London

    Angelina Jolie Steps Down From High-Profile United Nations Role

    Becca Longmire

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  • If Lana Del Rey’s Greatest Hits Had Matching Perfumes, These 14 Would Be It

    If Lana Del Rey’s Greatest Hits Had Matching Perfumes, These 14 Would Be It

    Whether you’re a die-hard fan of Lana Del Rey’s indie-pop music or just an admirer of her fashion evolution, there’s something to be said about her impact on pop culture. While she isn’t always at the top of the charts or front and center in the public eye, she’s continued to surprise us with her talents, releasing Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass, a collection of original poems and photographs later accompanied by a spoken word album of the same name.

    We’re diving into the Lana Del Rey universe through fragrance, exploring the intersection between music and the imagery and emotions evoked through unique olfactory experiences. Over the years, we’ve met many different versions of Lana Del Rey, from her exploration of ’50s Americana to embracing unbothered ‘that girl’ vibes. If you’re wondering which of the songstress’s greatest hits we’ve found fragrance matches for, you’ll want to keep reading.

    Maya Thomas

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