The gang — both old and new — have descended upon Point Place, Wisc., and That ’90s Show is finally available to stream on Netflix in all its nostalgia.
A lot has changed over at Red and Kitty Forman’s house, which remains the de-facto hangout for both the original characters from That ’70s Show, as well as a new cast of (for now) relatively unknown teens.
The premiere episode kicks off on the Fourth of July weekend of 1995 and the Formans, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith), are preparing to welcome their son Eric (Topher Grace), daughter-in-law Donna (Laura Prepon), and granddaughter Leia (Callie Haverda) for a long weekend celebration.
It’s a reunion at the Forman house.
Courtesy / Netflix
That’s right — Eric is still a huge Star Wars fan and has named his daughter after one of the franchise’s main characters. He’s even managed to turn his fandom into a career and we learn that he’s an adjunct professor in charge of teaching a class called “The Religion of Star Wars.” (To dream.) We also learn that Donna is now a published author.
Eric and Leia are supposed to leave for a two-week father/daughter space camp after their weekend with the Formans, but that plan quickly dissolves when Leia — a self-professed nerd — meets some of the local kids and decides she wants to spend the summer with her grandparents and make some friends.
One of those friends, audiences soon learn, is none other than Jay Kelso, the son of original characters Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis). The real-life couple appears for a couple of minutes at the end of the pilot episode, revealing that they’re going to get “remarried” for the second time.
Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso and Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart.
Courtesy / Netflix
Fans of the first series will remember that Jackie ended up with Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), so it comes as a bit of a surprise to find Kelso and Jackie back together. In the second episode, Fez reveals to Kitty that 15 years before, he and Jackie were vacationing at a resort in Jamaica when he caught her talking to Kelso on the phone. Jackie left the resort to go back and be with Kelso, but Fez remained until the resort kicked him out “for talking too much in the hot tub.”
But don’t worry too much about Fez; he owns a successful line of hair salons called “Chez Fez,” still loves Tootsie Rolls, and is pursuing a (somewhat reluctant) love interest.
Aside from the characters, the biggest shakeup viewers see are upgrades to the Formans’ home. Kitty has ditched the owl décor in her kitchen (save for two small owls on a shelf), opting for a new ’90s design that’s heavy on pale yellow, flowers and roosters.
The Forman’s kitchen got a ’90s makeover.
Courtesy / Netflix
Red and Kitty’s living room has also gotten an upgrade with some very ’90s pink plaid sofas and ruffled, floral throw pillows, and we see the former show’s mid-century couch and chair are now relegated to the Forman’s famous basement hangout.
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The Formans have moved their old sofa to the basement and picked up some era-appropriate couches for the living room.
Courtesy / Netflix
According to Netflix, the sets were painstakingly rebuilt and some of the original cast brought back set items from That ’70s Show to add continuity. Kutcher and Kunis brought back a trunk, stool, and the multicoloured round pillow in the basement set. Rupp supplied the basement coffee table’s glass grapes.
The kitchen also still holds Kitty’s many Pyrex dishes and Tupperware containers she collected throughout the ’70s and ’80s, which is not surprising because the colourful cookware of that era continues to be coveted in today’s kitchens.
And, next door, we get to see the ’90s treatment given to Donna Pinciotti’s old bedroom. A new family lives in the home now, and daughter Gwen (played by Ashley Aufderheide) has put down purple shag carpet, owns several Caboodles makeup cases (lucky!) and has plastered her walls with “riot grrrl” band posters.
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Donna’s old bedroom has undergone a ’90s transformation.
Courtesy / Netflix
Without giving away too much of the first season of That ’90s Show, it appears as much as things change, things also stay the same. The original characters carry forward many of their quirky characteristics — Red is still a grump, Kitty maintains her wide-eye innocence and funny giggle, Kelso is still a lovable idiot and Fez is still leaning into his slightly problematic-but-well-intentioned ways.
And, of course, the infamous weed-smoking circle remains a big plot point in the new series, as are extracurricular field trips to drink at the Point Place water tower.
Fans can have fun picking out all the Easter eggs left behind from That ’70s Show, while also revelling in all the series’ references to the ’90s. It’s groovy and it’s totally rad and it’s a fun trip down more than one memory lane.
Prince Harry has said he had enough material for two memoirs, but that he held back because he didn’t think his father and brother would “ever forgive” him.
In an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph published Saturday, he also said that releasing his memoir wasn’t an attempt “to collapse the monarchy. This is about trying to save them from themselves.”
“And I know that I will get crucified by numerous people for saying that,” he said.
Harry’s candid autobiography, “Spare,” sold 1.4 million English-language copies on the first day it was published. Many of its revelations and accusations were splashed across the global media this week. In the book, the 38-year-old revealed how his grief at the death of his mother, Princess Diana, affected him, and saw Harry detail his resentment at being the “spare to the heir.”
“It could have been two books, put it that way,” Harry said in the interview. “But there are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”
Prince Harry reveals reason for sharing how many people he killed in Afghanistan
Harry also said in the interview that he worried about William’s children, saying he felt “a responsibility knowing that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare. And that hurts, that worries me.”
He said he felt this way despite William making it clear to him that “his kids are not my responsibility.”
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace haven’t commented on Harry’s book or his string of media interviews to publicize it.
A viral video posted by Ellen DeGeneres is drawing attention to the extraordinary flooding hitting California amid a storm-related state of emergency.
The former talk show host posted a clip of herself standing on the bank of a raging stream on her property in Montecito, where other celebrities like Oprah and Prince Harry also reside.
“It’s probably about nine feet up, and it could go another two feet up,” DeGeneres said in the clip, noting that this stream on her property usually “never flows.”
Montecito, where DeGeneres lives, was also put under evacuation orders on Monday, the five-year anniversary of a similar deadly storm that hit the seaside town in 2018, claiming the lives of 23 people.
“This is the five-year anniversary of the fire and mudslides that killed so many people and people lost their homes, their lives,” DeGeneres said. “This is crazy. On the five-year anniversary, we’re having unprecedented rain.”
“We need to be nicer to Mother Nature ’cause Mother Nature is not happy with us,” she added. “Let’s all do our part. Stay safe everybody.”
The official death toll attributed to the storm rose to 14 on Monday and a five-year-old boy who was swept away from his mother’s car by the floods is still missing. He has not been declared dead, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, but the roughly seven-hour search for him only turned up a shoe before water levels were too dangerous for divers.
Flooding from huge amounts of rain is seen in a neighborhood off of Holohan Road near Watsonville, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.
Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
California has been in a state of emergency since Sunday when President Joe Biden authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to step in and help coordinate disaster relief efforts.
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Prince Harry’s favourability has fallen to an all-time low amongst Britons just one day ahead of the official release of his autobiography, Spare, new polling has found.
Close to two-thirds (64 per cent) of Brits now have a negative view of Harry, and only a quarter (26 per cent) view him in a favourable light, the YouGov survey has found.
(YouGov is a British internet-based market research and data analytics firm that conducts polls in the U.K. and beyond.)
This latest poll was conducted Jan. 5 and 6 in the days following a number of bombshell claims Harry made against the British Royal Family, which were reported after bookstores in Spain broke Spare’s embargo date and began selling copies of the book early.
Prince Harry’s popularity falls to new record low in run up to ‘Spare’ launch (survey conducted 5-6 Jan)
The latest figures show that in just one month, Harry’s positive opinion rating has dropped seven per cent, while his negative opinion rating has increased by five per cent.
This image provided by the Random House Group shows the cover of “Spare,” Prince Harry’s memoir. The book is an object of obsessive anticipation worldwide since first announced last year, is coming out Jan. 10.
Random House Group
It appears fatigue for the prince and his recent domination of headlines is settling in. Over the past two days, three interviews have aired — on ITV in the U.K., as well as 60 Minutes and Good Morning America in North America — where Harry has further shared revelations and explanations about the book’s contents.
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On the press tour, he’s focused on his strained relationship with his family, accusing members of his family of getting “into bed with the devil” to gain favourable tabloid coverage, claiming his stepmother Camilla, the queen consort, had leaked private conversations to the media and said his family was “complicit” in his wife Meghan’s “pain and suffering.”
He’s also defended his decision to publish his book.
In his interview with GMA’s Michael Strahan Monday morning, Harry said his book is a step forward to finding “peace” with his family.
“I don’t think that we can ever have peace with my family unless the truth is out there. There’s a lot that I can forgive, but there needs to be conversations in order for reconciliation, and part of that has to be accountability,” said Harry.
He later added that he accepts his memoir is “feeding the beast” of media attention but insisted “the only way that I can protect us and the only way that I can correct those mistruths is by writing something, the truth, in one place.”
“I don’t know how staying silent is ever going to make things better,” he echoed while speaking to ITV’s Tom Bradby.
However, while the prince insists he wants to salvage what remains of his relationship with his brother and father, King Charles III, some have pointed out that airing his family’s dirty laundry in such a public, and furious, fashion might have the opposite effect.
Veteran British journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of Charles, told The Associated Press that Harry’s revelations were the type “that you’d expect … from a sort of B-list celebrity,” and that the king would be hurt by Harry’s disclosures.
‘He’s gone too far’: Prince Harry’s claim of killing 25 people in Afghanistan sparks outrage
He “is doing some gaslighting himself, frankly, because the fact is … here he is selling out his family for money, essentially, when he’s talked so often about the agony of being betrayed,” she told the outlet.
Brown also said Harry was “quite happy” to have the royal palace “spin on his behalf when it suited him,” like when he was using drugs.
“He was doing a tremendous amount of drugs. He was totally out of hand … and yet the palace had to go out and sort of clean up after him and spin and kill stories, and make things go away,” Brown said. “They were always doing that for Harry, so he doesn’t acknowledge that there’s a two-way street here.”
Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley also spoke out against Harry, after Sunday’s ITV interview where the prince denied accusing the Royal Family of racism in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In his interview with Bradby on Sunday, Prince Harry was asked about the previous claims he and Meghan made to Oprah.
“No,” Harry interjected. “The British press said that, right? Did Meghan ever mention, ‘they’re racists’?”
“She said there were troubling comments about Archie’s skin colour. Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?” Bradby asked the prince.
Harry replied that he would not describe the incident as racist, “not having lived within that family.”
“The difference between racism and unconscious bias… the two things are different,” he said.
Madeley, however, questioned why Harry allowed the “accusations of racism” against the royal family to continue — especially considering he and Meghan had plenty of platforms to correct the issue.
.@itvnews Royal Editor @chrisshipitv discusses Prince Harry’s interview that aired on ITV1 last night.
He reacts to Harry’s comments that he didn’t accuse the royal family of racism. pic.twitter.com/uKpgJ6StJA
“If we misunderstood it overnight and it was the front page story in the world, why didn’t they correct it?” he asked. “Why didn’t anybody, why didn’t Harry or Meghan say at some point on one of their podcasts or all the opportunities that they’ve had and say, ‘Oh, by the way, we didn’t mean it the way you guys took it, we weren’t accusing the family of racism?’”
“It was never corrected. It was corrected last night, but two-and-a-half, three years too late. You can’t have it both ways, Harry. I’m sorry, you can’t.”
Despite the critics, however, Harry insists that Spare is a last resort. When speaking to Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes Sunday, Harry said he was continuing to speak out publicly because “every single time I’ve tried to do it privately, there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife.”
And although many have criticized Harry for sharing so many deeply intimate and dysfunctional details about his family, others have applauded him speaking up.
Jessica MacNair, a professional counsellor, told USA Today that Harry is showing courage by sharing his side of the story, especially considering how his public image was controlled by the royal family and media for so long.
“Being able to take some of that (control) back by sharing — or not sharing — what you want on your own terms can be liberating and healing,” she said.
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So far, there has been no comment from Buckingham Palace or anyone who speaks for the royal family, a stance that has been lauded by much of the British media as a dignified silence.
— With a file from Reuters
Prince Harry memoir leak: Londoners react to ‘shocking’ claim of physical fight with William
Allies of Britain’s royal family pushed back Saturday against claims made by Prince Harry in his new memoir, which paints the monarchy as a cold and callous institution that failed to nurture or support him.
Buckingham Palace hasn’t officially commented on the book. But British newspapers and websites brimmed with quotes from unnamed “royal insiders,” rebutting Harry’s accusations. One said his public attacks on the royal family took a “toll” on the health of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
Veteran journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of King Charles III, said Harry’s revelations were the type “that you’d expect? from a sort of B-list celebrity,” and that the king would be pained and frustrated by them.
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“His concern is to act as head of state for a nation which we all know is in pretty troubled condition,” Dimbleby told the BBC. “I think he will think this gets in the way.“
Harry’s book, “Spare,” is the latest in a string of very public pronouncements by the prince and his wife Meghan since they quit royal life and moved to California in 2020, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan, who is biracial, and a lack of support from the palace. It follows an interview with Oprah Winfrey and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month.
Prince Harry memoir leak: Londoners react to ‘shocking’ claim of physical fight with William
Harry is not the first British royal to air family secrets _ both his parents used the media as their marriage fell apart. Charles cooperated on Dimbleby’s 1994 book and accompanying television documentary, which revealed that the then heir to the throne had had an affair during his marriage to Princess Diana.
Diana gave her side of the story in a BBC interview the following year, famously saying “there were three of us in this marriage” in reference to Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
But “Spare” goes into far more detail about private conversations and personal grievances than any previous royal revelation.
In the ghostwritten memoir, Harry discusses his grief at the death of his mother in 1997 and his long-simmering resentment at the role of royal “spare,” overshadowed by the “heir” _ older brother Prince William. He recounts arguments and a physical altercation with William, reveals how he lost his virginity (in a field) and describes using cocaine and cannabis.
He also says he killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan _ a claim criticized by both the Taliban and British military veterans.
“Spare” is due to be published around the world on Tuesday. The Associated Press obtained an early Spanish-language copy.
Harry has said he expects counterattacks from the palace. He has long complained of “leaks” and “plants” of stories to the media by members of the royal household.
In an interview due to be broadcast on ITV on Sunday _ one of several he has recorded to promote the book _ Harry says people who accuse him of invading his family’s privacy “don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family have been briefing the press.”
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“I don’t know how staying silent is ever going to make things better,” he said.
Avengers star star Jeremy Renner shared a photo of himself on Instagram Tuesday after he underwent surgery on Monday following a snowplow accident.
The accident left Renner, 51, with “blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.”
In the Instagram post, Renner said thank you to everyone for their kind words.
“I’m too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all,” he wrote.
Renner’s publicist Samantha Mast confirmed that the actor’s condition is stable but critical. The statement said Renner, 51, is still in the intensive care unit.
The actor was injured at his Reno, Nev., home after a “weather related” accident occurred while he was operating a snowplow on Sunday, Mast said after the incident.
He was airlifted to hospital. Renner, who is best known for his portrayal of sharpshooting Marvel superhero Hawkeye, was the only person injured in the accident. Local authorities said they are still investigating the incident.
TMZ reported that Renner’s neighbours said his snowplow accidentally ran over one of the actor’s legs. The neighbour said Renner lost a lot of blood as a result of the injury, and the outlet said another neighbour put a tourniquet around Renner’s leg until paramedics could reach the scene.
This account of the events doesn’t explain how the actor suffered chest injuries.
The snowplow was towed on Sunday night, several hours after the accident.
“Jeremy’s family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff, Reno City Mayor Hillary Schieve and the Carano and Murdock families,” Mast said. “They are also tremendously overwhelmed and appreciative of the outpouring of love and support from his fans.”
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A few weeks ago, Renner shared a photo to his social media of the kind of snowfall seen at his Reno home this winter. He wrote that the snowfall was “no joke.”
In a post to his Instagram account on Monday, Marvel star Mark Ruffalo asked fans to pray for Renner.
“Please send healing goodness his way,” Ruffalo wrote.
Mark Ruffalo asked fans to pray for fellow Marvel star Jeremy Renner following Renner’s snowplow accident on Jan. 1, 2023.
Instagram / @markruffalo
Renner is a two-time Oscar nominee, scoring back-to-back nods for The Hurt Locker and The Town. Renner’s portrayal of a bomb disposal specialist in Iraq in 2009’s The Hurt Locker helped turn him into a household name.
The Avengers in 2012 cemented him as part of Marvel’s grand storytelling ambitions, with his character appearing in several sequels and getting his own Disney+ series, Hawkeye.
A Los Angeles jury on Friday found rapper Tory Lanez guilty of three felonies in the 2020 shooting of hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion that left her wounded with bullet fragments in her feet.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for one day before convicting the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The counts could lead to up to 22 years in prison.
Lanez, who was wearing a powder pink winter coat with matching pants, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read. He was handcuffed while in the courtroom.
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After the jury left the courtroom, Lanez’s father, Sonstar Peterson, leapt up and began shouting. “This wicked system stands judged before God almighty!” He shouted, as deputies closed in on him. He then pointed to the two prosecutors in the case and yelled “You two are evil, wicked people. You know exactly what you did.”
Deputies removed him from the courtroom, where he continued to shout in the hallway.
Members of the media and public were forced to remain in the courtroom for a few minutes after the hearing while the hallway was cleared.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified during the trial that Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding in the Hollywood Hills in the summer of 2020. She said the two had gotten into a dispute that got especially heated when she began insulting his music.
The shooting set off a storm of cultural issues and arguments that peaked during the trial, including the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, the protection of Black women, gender politics in hip-hop, and online toxicity.
In closing arguments, prosecutors emphasized the courage it took for Megan come forward and the vitriol the 27-year-old has faced for it. They said she had no incentive to tell anything but the truth.
“Why would she lie?” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said. “She’s been subjected to a stream of hate. For what? For coming forward as a victim of domestic violence?”
Lanez’s lawyer alleged in his closing argument that the shots were actually fired by Megan’s then-best friend Kelsey Harris in a jealous fight over Lanez, who tried to stop the shooting. The attorney, George Mgdesyan, argued Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by pinning the shooting on Lanez.
“Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case from the beginning,” Mgdesyan said. “She lied under oath here.”
Harris denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun. Her attorney, in an email, declined to comment on her involvement.
Lanez began releasing mixtapes in 2009 and saw a steady rise in popularity, moving on to major-label albums. His last two reached the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.
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Megan Thee Stallion was already a major rising star at the time of the shooting, and her prominence has surged since. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and had No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with her own song “Savage,” featuring Beyonce, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”
A Kentucky family caused quite the commotion this week with their “Cousin Eddie” Christmas display, prompting a police response after a concerned neighbour called in a half-naked man standing on a lawn.
Officers were tipped off to the Shepherdsville display on Dec. 21 by a dispatcher, who described the scene as “a male standing outside. He is naked. He has a robe covering part of his body. He is exposing himself, and he has a hose between his legs,” reports The Associated Press.
A ‘Cousin Eddie’ Christmas display is shown in the Dogwood subdivision of Shepherdsville, Ky., on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.
WDRB via The Associated Press
Joni Keeney told Fox affiliate WDRB that she and her husband wanted to bring some chuckles to passersby and set up the display as a tribute to Randy Quaid’s gassy, foul-mouthed character in the 1989 holiday film.
The finishing touch was an orange hose — a callback to the scene where Cousin Eddie’s RV plumbing becomes “full” in the movie and he pumps sewage onto Clark Griswold’s property.
A ‘Cousin Eddie’ Christmas display is shown in the Dogwood subdivision of Shepherdsville, Ky., on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. The display looked a little too real and police were called to check it out.
WDRB via The Associated Press
Photos of the display also include callbacks to other scenes in the movie — a flipped-over armchair shows the outline of the Griswolds’ cat, who viewers will recall got cooked in an unfortunate Christmas tree light mishap.
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Kenney told Fox News that apart from the one call to police, the display had delighted her neighbours and she plans to add to it in coming years. She said she’ll also hang a Clark Griswold mannequin from her roof, too.
As far as the police response, an officer told Fox that they didn’t make any arrests or issue a citation. Instead, they had a laugh and took a few photos.
Jurors began deliberations Thursday at the trial of rapper Tory Lanez, who is charged with shooting and wounding hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in the feet.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for just over three hours after hearing the last part of the defense’s closing argument that began a day earlier and a brief rebuttal from Los Angeles County prosecutors.
They did not reach a verdict and will return Friday to resume talks on the three felony counts brought against the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, who has pleaded not guilty: discharging a firearm with gross negligence, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The counts could lead to up to 22 years in prison and deportation.
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Megan Thee Stallion, 27, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified that Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding in the Hollywood Hills in the summer of 2020. She needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet.
In closing arguments, prosecutors emphasized the courage it took for her to come forward and the vitriol she has faced for it. They said she had no incentive to tell anything but the truth.
Lanez’s lawyer alleged in his closing that the shots were actually fired by Megan’s then-best-friend Kelsey Harris in a jealous fight over Lanez, who tried to stop the shooting. The attorney, George Mgdesyan, alleges Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by pinning the shooting on Lanez.
Harris denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun. Her attorney, in an email, declined to comment on her involvement.
The jury on Thursday asked for a read-back of the testimony of the only eye witness to the incident who was not involved in it, a man on a nearby balcony with his children, who said his concerns for their safety kept him from watching closely.
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Sean Kelly was called by the defense, but both sides argued his account favored them. He said he saw muzzle flashes that appeared to come from a woman, but also said he saw a small man “firing everywhere.”
Lanez — whose legal name is Daystar Peterson — began releasing mixtapes in 2009 and saw a steady rise in popularity, moving on to major-label albums. His last two reached the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.
Megan Thee Stallion was already a major rising star at the time of the shooting, and her prominence has surged since. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and had No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with her own song “Savage,” featuring Beyonce, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”
As the title suggests, That ’90s Show is set 20 years in the future, as Red and Kitty Forman reopen their Point Place, Wisc., basement to a new generation of teenagers.
The new show focuses on the misadventures of Leia Forman, the teenage daughter of That ’70s Show characters Donna and Eric. Leia (Callie Haverda) has been shipped off to her grandparents’ home for the summer of 1995.
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‘That ‘90s show’ official teaser released by Netflix
And while an earlier teaser for the reboot showed recurring stars Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith) welcoming a host of new characters into their home, Netflix’s latest trailer gives viewers a long-promised glimpse of what the original cast has been up to since we last saw them.
First off, we learn that Fez (Valderrama) has opened his own chain of hair salons called “Chez Fez” — which he advertises with a wonderfully cheesy commercial.
We get a glimpse of Jackie (Kunis) and Michael Kelso (Kutcher) looking all grown up in business suits. The first canon couple from That ’70s Show now have a son, Jay Kelso, who appears to take after his dad and isn’t afraid to smoke pot in the Formans’ basement.
We also see Eric (Grace) and Donna (Prepon) chatting with Red and Kitty in the kitchen, where Red shows he hasn’t softened at all with age, and Kitty is as chipper as she’s ever been, making plans to buy the new generation of teens Doritos, Fritos, Tostitos and any other -itos she can think of.
There’s even an appearance by Tommy Chong, who reprises his role as Leo, the insightful and chronically-high owner of the Foto Hut.
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Absent from the original cast, however, is character Steven Hyde, who was played by Danny Masterson. Masterson stood trial earlier this year for rape charges, but a mistrial was declared over a deadlocked jury.
That ’90s Show begins streaming on Netflix on Jan. 19.
Justin Bieber reportedly has Intentions to sell his music catalogue to the tune of $200 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported about the alleged deal, Bieber’s catalogue is likely to sell the rights to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital in the coming days. The acquisition has not yet been completed.
The $200-million deal — which would be the largest Hipgnosis music rights acquisition to date — would include Bieber’s shares of his publishing and recorded-music catalogue (all dollars U.S.).
Both Bieber and Hipgnosis have yet to comment publicly on the reported deal.
Since 2010, Bieber, 28, has released six albums and numerous singles featuring some of the biggest artists in the music industry. The potential deal with Hipgnosis would include Bieber’s biggest hits like Baby, Despacito and Love Yourself.
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It is normally uncommon for companies to purchase catalogues from newer artists, but Hipgnosis has made a habit of the unconventional practice. In recent years, the company purchased music rights for Justin Timberlake, Jack Antonoff, Mark Ronson and Timbaland.
Despite the potential payout, it hasn’t been an easy year for Bieber.
In June, the singer postponed part of his Justice World Tour after he was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which left half of his face temporarily paralyzed. The tour was originally slated for 2020 but had to be delayed several times due to COVID-19 and Bieber’s health.
It’s unclear if Bieber’s current health status has anything to do with this potential deal.
Justin Bieber reveals he has facial paralysis as a result of Ramsay Hunt syndrome
The music catalogue market peaked in 2020, according to Variety.
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That year, Bob Dylan sold his entire 60-year-long catalogue to Universal Music Publishing Group for an estimated $300 million. Bruce Springsteen also sold his music rights to Sony for around reportedly $500 million.
It was in 2017 when veteran actor Neena Gupta asked for work by putting up an Instagram post which read, “I live in Mumbai and working am a good actor looking for good parts to play.” Post that, Neena started getting work and has appeared in a number of films. While it was being said that the actress somehow opened the doors for other senior actresses, Sarika has chosen to disagree with the notion saying that it was Neena’s individual story. Also Read – Uunchai movie review: Amitabh Bachchan starrer gets a thumbs up from fans; call it ‘an emotional roller coaster ride’
When Sarika was asked about her views on it, she said that it was not that senior actors were not getting roles. She praised Neena saying that it was her individual story that she asked for work by putting herself out there and openly saying that she needs work. However, Sarika believes that it did not open the gates as such for all the other senior actors. Also Read – Filmy Friday: When Shruti Haasan refused to call Kamal Haasan’s ex-wife Gautami as her mom
“I think Shefali has been doing great work. There are so many good actresses who have been working. I love Sheeba. I just love Sheeba’s work. We worked together in Parzania also. Now when I see her work, it is amazing. So, I don’t think Neena ji opened the gate for all other actresses, it was in her case that she did something which was praiseworthy,” Sarikd told Siddharth Kannan. Also Read – Neha Dhupia to Neena Gupta: Bollywood actresses who were pregnant before their marriage
Sarika started her film career as a child artist at the age of five. Her first film was Majhli Didi, which helped her bag roles in movies such as Hamraaz, Satyakam, Devi among others. She then went on become a leading lady and appeared in films like Geet Gaata Chal, Madhu Malti, Jaan-E-Bahaar, and Jaani Dushman among others.
When she married Kamal Haasan in 1988, Sarika’s acting career took a backseat. She returned to showbiz in the mid-2000s and featured in films such as Bheja Fry and Parzania, which helped her won the National Award. She was recently seen in Sooraj Barjatya‘s Uunchai. The film also featured Neena Gupta, among other senior actors.
Justin Bieber is upset that H&M is selling clothing featuring his likeness and lyrics, saying that the fast fashion giant didn’t ask for his approval to put his face on their clothes.
The Canadian pop star used his Instagram story to call out the retailer on Monday, calling the clothing “trash.”
“The H&M merch they made of me is trash and I didn’t approve it,” Bieber wrote, encouraging his 270 million followers to avoid purchasing it.
Justin Bieber says fashion giant H&M didn’t ask for his approval to use his face and lyrics on their clothing.
@justinbieber / Instagram
“I didn’t approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M,” he wrote in another slide. “All without my permission and approval.”
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Clothes in the Hennes & Mauritz AB collection include T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies featuring Bieber’s face, branding and lyrics, reports Bloomberg.
A representative for H&M disputed Bieber’s claims, telling CNN “as with all other licensed products and partnerships, H&M followed proper approval procedures.”
Bieber had previously partnered with the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, allowing them to sell merchandise from his 2017 Purpose tour, as well as a follow-up collection in the same year.
It’s not the first time the brand’s faced backlash from a Canadian music celebrity. In 2018 Toronto’s The Weeknd said he would no longer work with H&M after they used a photo on their website of a young Black boy wearing a hoodie that said “Coolest monkey in the jungle.”
It’s not just the Grinch who tried to steal Christmas.
A 30-year-old woman was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning when she was caught attempting to steal Christmas presents from under Robert De Niro‘s tree in his Manhattan townhouse, local police reported.
According to The Associated Press, officers from the New York Police Department (NYPD) discovered the woman in De Niro’s living room “attempting to remove property” around 2:45 a.m.
The New York Times identified the woman as Shanice Aviles. The outlet reported that Aviles was seen entering De Niro’s Upper East Side rental home through a basement door, which had visible signs of forced entry.
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She was arrested at the scene. A publicist for De Niro, 79, confirmed the break-in, but did not comment publicly.
ABC7 claimed Aviles — whom the outlet described as a “prolific” burglar — was followed by police after she was spotted trying to open doors to various buildings in De Niro’s neighbourhood.
Police reportedly followed Aviles into De Niro’s home after they spotted the still-open basement door but did not know the residence belonged to the actor. Police claimed Aviles was discovered taking items from the house and putting them in a bag.
Aviles is currently in police custody with charges still pending.
Reported details about the alleged burglary are muddled.
Tom Cruise skydives to celebrate upcoming VOD release of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
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ABC7 claimed there was no interaction between Aviles and De Niro, but The Associated Press reported De Niro had awoken to the commotion of Aviles’ arrest and come downstairs.
NBC New York alleged that police discovered Aviles using De Niro’s iPad after the break in, not stealing Christmas presents. The outlet also claimed De Niro is expected to press charges against Aviles.
Regardless, De Niro’s publicist said the actor would not speak publicly about the break-in.
De Niro is one of the most well-beloved actors in Hollywood. He is a two-time Academy Award winner who scored acclaim for his 1974 performance in The Godfather Part II and his role in the 1980 film Raging Bull.
** NOTE: This article contains spoilers from the ‘Harry & Meghan’ docuseries on Netflix. **
The first three episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix documentary didn’t ruffle too many feathers at Buckingham Palace, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex upped the ante in Episodes 4, 5 and 6, detailing how jealousy, betrayal and the palace’s refusal to protect Markle from a rabid press increasingly led to an untenable situation that, they say, ultimately forced their hand.
The second instalment of Harry & Meghan went live Thursday, offering up a deeply personal — and sometimes shocking — account of how the couple’s relationship with the Royal Family began to circle the drain following their 2018 wedding, eventually causing them to step down as working members of the royal institution and leave for the United States.
Harry, in particular, levelled some pretty serious accusations against his brother, Prince William, father, King Charles III, as well as the palace’s press offices, detailing animosity among the senior-most members of the family and how his wife suffered most as a result.
While Volume 2 of the docuseries opened on a sweet note, with the couple sharing the darling details of their nuptials, it quickly took a dark turn, delivering on Netflix’s promises of a behind-the-curtain look at an increasingly toxic situation. Here are five of the most dramatic revelations uncovered in the final instalment of the series.
Prince Harry “hates himself” for the way he handled Markle’s suicidal thoughts
In Episode 4, Harry and Markle expanded on the escalating vitriol and racism they faced at the hands of the U.K.’s tabloid newspapers in the year following their wedding, which eventually drove an increasingly depressed Markle to contemplate suicide.
Meghan Markle.
AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File/CP Images
“It was like, all of this will stop if I’m not here,” she said. “And that was the scariest thing about it because it was such clear thinking.”
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Harry, reflecting back on that period, said he “was devastated.”
“I knew she was struggling,” he said. “We were both struggling, but I never thought it would get to that stage — and the fact that it got to that stage, I felt angry and ashamed.”
The Duke said, due to his upbringing, he “dealt with it as institutional Harry as opposed to husband Harry.”
“What took over my feelings was my royal role,” he said. “I had been trained to worry more about, ‘What are people going to think if we don’t go to this event? We’re going to be late,’ and looking back on it now, I hate myself for it.
“What she needed from me was so much more than I was able to give.”
Doria Ragland, Markle’s mom, also spoke about how helpless she felt watching her daughter struggle.
“To be constantly be picked at by these vultures — just picking away at her spirit — that she would actually think of not wanting to be here … that, that’s not an easy one for a mom to hear,” Ragland told the camera through tears.
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Doria Ragland.
Netflix
Markle and Harry both said that despite being fully aware of how bad things had gotten, the palace was unwilling to help them.
“They thought, ‘Why couldn’t she just deal with it?’ As if to say, ‘Well, everyone else has dealt with it, why can’t she deal with it?’ But it was different. This was different,” said Harry.
“I wanted to go somewhere to get help, but I wasn’t allowed to,” said Markle. “They were concerned about how that would look for the institution.”
Harry accuses his father’s office of leaking private correspondence over plans to move to Canada
In Episode 5, Harry said he and Markle were contemplating a move to Canada between December 2019 and January 2020, while spending Christmas on Vancouver Island with their son, Archie.
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“We thought it would be good to give ourselves some breathing space, but also we were really passionate about continuing our work throughout the Commonwealth, to support the queen,” Harry explained, adding that the royal rota reporters wouldn’t have access to them in Canada, which would alleviate the pressure on his wife.
The couple also planned to make their own money in Canada, which would give the press little reason to pry into their private affairs, as they would no longer be bankrolled by the taxpayer.
However, Harry said when he approached his dad (then-Prince Charles) about the arrangement, Charles asked him to put the plan in writing before he signed off on it. Harry claimed he wrote Charles several emails over the course of the first three days of January –– one of the emails mentioned that “we would be willing to relinquish our Sussex titles if need be. So that was the plan.”
Meanwhile, Harry said, he contacted his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, about a meeting to discuss the plan. She was enthusiastic about having Harry and Markle come stay with her for a night, he said, adding that the queen told him her schedule was free that week.
Meghan recalled that a few days later they were returning to the U.K. when her husband learned he wouldn’t be allowed to see his grandmother, as her schedule was suddenly full.
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Royals ‘happy to lie’ to protect William, Prince Harry claims in new trailer
“That was certainly the opposite to what she had told me,” Harry said of his prior conversation with the late monarch. “Later that afternoon, we found out that this story was coming out — somehow the tabloids knew about this proposal (to move to Canada).
“It became clear that the institution leaked the fact that we were going to move back to Canada and the key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our Sussex titles. That was the giveaway,” accused Harry. “I was like, ‘Wow, like our story, our life literally got taken from underneath us.’ ”
Prince William allegedly broke a pact between the brothers
In Episode 4, Harry also charges that William broke a long-standing agreement between the brothers that they would never allow their press offices to trade negative stories about each other.
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Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales, left and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, walk behind the coffin, during a procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall in London, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
(Richard Heathcote/Pool Photo via AP)
Although he did not name a specific past instance, he said, “William and I both saw what happened in our dad’s office and we made an agreement that we would never let that happen to our office.”
“I would far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or business of trading,” he said, expressing his disappointment in the Prince of Wales, noting, “and to see my brother’s office doing the same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking.”
Harry said overwhelmingly positive headlines about his and Markle’s successful first tour as a married couple in Australia drastically shifted when they came home, hinting that his brother’s alleged jealousy might have had something to do with the sudden change in tone from the press.
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“The issue is when someone who’s marrying in, who should be a supporting act is then stealing the limelight or is doing the job better than the person who was born to do this, that upsets people,” Harry explained of his American bride, who was a natural with Australian fans.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet 98-year-old Daphne Dunne during a meet and greet at the Sydney Opera House on Oct. 16, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.
Paul Edwards / Getty Images
“It shifts the balance because you’ve been led to believe that the only way that your charities can succeed and the only way that your reputation can be grown or improved is if you’re the front page of those newspapers.”
Harry says William screamed at him in front of the queen
In the penultimate episode, Harry discussed a 2020 crisis meeting at Sandringham estate where he claimed William screamed and shouted at him in front of their grandmother.
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“It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and have my father say things that simply weren’t true, and my grandmother sit there and sort of take it all in,” Harry said in the fifth episode.
The meeting, which involved Harry, William, Prince Charles and the queen, was a high-stakes discussion to determine how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would continue to operate within the Royal Family.
Queen Elizabeth II as proud grandmother smiles at Prince Harry as she inspects soldiers at their passing-out Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst Military Academy on April 12, 2006 in Surrey, England.
Tim Graham Photo Library / Getty Images
Harry said he and his wife had proposed to be “half-in and half-out” of the family, working to support the queen, but also having their own jobs and supporting themselves financially.
Shortly after the Sandringham meeting, said Harry, media reports emerged suggesting William was bullying the Sussexes out of their duties. Harry was then told by a palace press office that a joint statement was to be released by both brothers denying the reports.
But Harry said he didn’t sign off on the statement.
“I couldn’t believe it. No one had asked me to put my name to a statement like that,” he said. “I called (Meghan) and she burst into flood of tears, because within four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
Public has mixed reactions to ‘Harry and Meghan’ Netflix series
Markle and Harry both said this was the moment they knew their tenure as working royals was over.
Later in the documentary, Harry also revealed that he’s not holding his breath for an apology from his brother or father.
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“It was hard. Especially spending time, having chats with my brother and my father, (they) were very much focused on the same misinterpretation of the whole situation,” he explained, referring to his and Markle’s decision to leave the U.K.
Exploring how and why the Netflix series ‘Harry and Meghan’ is so magnetizing
The Duke also said he doesn’t think William and Charles will properly address their issues.
“I’ve had to make peace with the fact that we’re probably never gonna get genuine accountability or a genuine apology. My wife and I, we’re moving on. We’re focused on what’s coming next.”
Harry blames the stress of the court case against The Daily Mail for Meghan’s miscarriage
In 2020, Markle penned a deeply personal op-ed for the New York Times, detailing a miscarriage she had between the births of her children Archie and Lilibet.
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In Episode 6 of the series, Markle explains that after moving into their new home in Santa Barbara, Calif., she started experiencing “a lot of pain” and then collapsed to the ground while holding Archie.
Meghan Markle in ‘Harry & Meghan.’.
Netflix
She said, “I was pregnant, I really wasn’t sleeping. The first morning that we woke up in our new home is when I miscarried.”
Harry explained that at the time his wife was involved in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, which owns the Daily Mail, MailOnline and The Mail on Sunday tabloid newspapers. The Daily Mail had published a private letter the Duchess had sent to her father, Thomas Markle, without her permission.
Prince Harry in ‘Harry & Meghan.’.
Netflix
“I believe my wife suffered a miscarriage because of what the (Daily) Mail did,” Harry said. “I watched the whole thing. Now, do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was caused by that? Of course we don’t. But bearing in mind the stress that that caused, the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say, from what I saw, that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her.”
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In the same episode, the Duke and Duchess also said lawsuits like Markle’s are a lucrative affair for the tabloids, explaining that the litigation process only gives the newspapers more fodder for their pages, meaning more readers and more revenue.
Markle eventually won the case against Associated Newspapers.
New trailer for Harry & Meghan doc puts royal rift at forefront
TikTok’s algorithms are promoting videos about self-harm and eating disorders to vulnerable teens, according to a report published Wednesday that highlights concerns about social media and its impact on youth mental health.
Researchers at the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate created TikTok accounts for fictional teen personas in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The researchers operating the accounts then “liked” videos about self-harm and eating disorders to see how TikTok’s algorithm would respond.
Within minutes, the wildly popular platform was recommending videos about losing weight and self-harm, including ones featuring pictures of models and idealized body types, images of razor blades and discussions of suicide.
When the researchers created accounts with user names that suggested a particular vulnerability to eating disorders — names that included the words “lose weight” for example—the accounts were fed even more harmful content.
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“It’s like being stuck in a hall of distorted mirrors where you’re constantly being told you’re ugly, you’re not good enough, maybe you should kill yourself,” said the center’s CEO Imran Ahmed, whose organization has offices in the U.S. and U.K. “It is literally pumping the most dangerous possible messages to young people.”
Social media algorithms work by identifying topics and content of interest to a user, who is then sent more of the same as a way to maximize their time on the site. But social media critics say the same algorithms that promote content about a particular sports team, hobby or dance craze can send users down a rabbit hole of harmful content.
Going viral: Health misinformation spreading on social media such as TikTok
It’s a particular problem for teens and children, who tend to spend more time online and are more vulnerable to bullying, peer pressure or negative content about eating disorders or suicide, according to Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, a nonprofit that supporters greater online protections for children.
He added that TikTok is not the only platform failing to protect young users from harmful content and aggressive data collection.
“All of these harms are linked to the business model,” Golin said. “It doesn’t make any difference what the social media platform is.”
In a statement from a company spokesperson, TikTok disputed the findings, noting that the researchers didn’t use the platform like typical users, and saying that the results were skewed as a result. The company also said a user’s account name shouldn’t affect the kind of content the user receives.
TikTok or Not? Putting viral beauty trends to the test
TikTok prohibits users who are younger than 13, and its official rules prohibit videos that encourage eating disorders or suicide. Users in the U.S. who search for content about eating disorders on TikTok receive a prompt offering mental health resources and contact information for the National Eating Disorder Association.
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“We regularly consult with health experts, remove violations of our policies, and provide access to supportive resources for anyone in need,” said the statement from TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance Ltd., a Chinese company now based in Singapore.
Despite the platform’s efforts, researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that content about eating disorders had been viewed on TikTok billions of times. In some cases, researchers found, young TikTok users were using coded language about eating disorders in an effort to evade TikTok’s content moderation.
The sheer amount of harmful content being fed to teens on TikTok shows that self-regulation has failed, Ahmed said, adding that federal rules are needed to force platforms to do more to protect children.
Ahmed noted that the version of TikTok offered to domestic Chinese audiences is designed to promote content about math and science to young users, and limits how long 13- and 14-year-olds can be on the site each day.
A proposal before Congress would impose new rules limiting the data that social media platforms can collect regarding young users and create a new office within the Federal Trade Commission focused on protecting young social media users ‘ privacy.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said Wednesday that he’s optimistic lawmakers from both parties can agree on the need for tougher regulations on how platforms are accessing and using the information of young users.
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“Data is the raw material that big tech uses to track, to manipulate, and to traumatize young people in our country every single day,” Markey said.
The Brown family’s relationships are getting messier and messier on TLC’sSister Wives.
In a teaser for an upcoming Sister Wives: One-on-One special hosted by Sukanya Krishnan, Kody Brown and second wife Janelle confirmed that they have “separated.” The pair has been together, though not legally married — as polygamy is illegal in Utah where they live — for nearly 30 years.
Janelle, 53, told Krishnan that she and Kody, also 53, have been “separated for several months.” Kody confirmed the split in a solo interview of his own.
“Janelle has made it pretty clear to me that she’s enjoying her life without me,” Kody said.
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Janelle seemed to think a little more highly of Kody.
“I think if we both really sat down, we’d look at each other and say, ‘Really?’” she said.
Kody also confirmed that he is now divorced from his third wife Christine. In 2021, Christine announced her separation from Cody, claiming they had “grown apart” after 25 years together.
“For Janelle, I think she’s frustrated and she’s so hurt, and I think that man that she was married to, she realizes that he’s totally different, but she’s different too,” said Christine, 50.
Kody is still with his first wife Meri (though their relationship has become platonic) and his fourth wife Robyn, whom he is legally married to.
The Sister Wives: One-on-One special will see solo interviews with Kody, Janelle, Meri, Robyn and Christine. In the trailer, Kody admits that the relationships between his wives “aren’t good.” The emotional interviews range in topic from reconciliation (or lack thereof) to past arguments between the sister wives and which of the women is Kody’s “favourite” wife.
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Earlier this year, amid rising tensions in the Brown family, Kody asked his wives to “conform to patriarchy.”
During a solo confessional in the same episode, Janelle told the cameras she “didn’t know I’d signed up for patriarchy,” as that was “not what we all agreed on in the very beginning.” She ended the comment with a shrug.
Kody legally married his first wife Meri in 1990. He spiritually married Janelle, his second wife, in 1993. Christine and Kody entered into a spiritual marriage in 1994, making her his third wife. His fourth wife, Robyn, joined the Brown family in 2010.
In 2014, Kody divorced Meri and legally married Robyn in order to adopt her three children from an earlier marriage.
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The three-part Sister Wives: One-on-One special will air Dec. 18, Jan. 1 and Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. E.T. on TLC.
The first volume of the docuseries launched on the streaming platform Thursday, taking the British media to task for what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex say is racist, intruding and unkind coverage of Markle over the years — and it’s sent many of the tabloid newspapers into overdrive.
Britain’s press did not hold back their outrage Friday, clearly taking umbrage with the televised dressing-down.
While none of the major tabloids used their front pages to address the specific claims levelled at them, some splashed angry headlines attacking the couple and channelling their ire into unflattering screengrabs from the series.
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The Daily Mail’s headline accused the couple of an “assault on the queen’s legacy,” and cited palace insiders who claim “it’s as if” the Sussexes “want to bring down the monarchy.”
The series, so far, takes a deep dive into the toxic but symbiotic relationship between the palace and the press. The palace relies on the media to share its messaging, but the tabloid newspapers also feel entitled to publish intimate (and sometimes false) stories about members of the Royal Family, since British taxpayers fund their lives.
This unwritten contract, Harry and Markle explain, often leaves members of the Royal Family feeling as though they have to “perform” for the media — they call it a “we pay, you pose” arrangement.
The Daily Express accused Harry of hurling “slurs” that it claims have made members of the Royal Family “deeply upset.”
So far, for the record, neither the palace nor any senior members of the family have officially commented on the contents of the documentary. They royals are notoriously tight-lipped, and it’s generally accepted protocol that they rarely publicly respond to matters of the press or politics.
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Front page: So hurtful! Royals ‘deeply upset’ by Harry’s slurs #TomorrowsPaperToday
The Mirror went a different direction, leading with the documentary but chastizing all parties — it included a photo of the Sussexes as well as a photo of Prince William and Kate Middleton — for sparring while the British people endure a cost-of-living crisis. “Meanwhile, thousands of ordinary Brits are choosing between heating and eating,” the subhead read.
Even the broadsheet newspapers, like The Guardian and The Times of London, featured the Sussexes on their front pages, though their coverage was decidedly less sensational and focused more on the series’ content than reaction.
Guardian front page, Monday 5 December 2022: ‘Sicker and poorer’: report reveals Britain’s widening health divide pic.twitter.com/j94txZzfBJ
Meanwhile, royal experts, critics and columnists across the U.K. have been offering their takes on the series, ranging from anger to pure indifference.
Nick Bullen, editor-in-chief of True Royalty TV, told Reuters it was the most “self-serving piece of television” he had seen in quite a while, describing it as more like a reality show than a documentary.
Lester Holloway, editor of The Voice, Britain’s only Black national newspaper, was more impressed, calling it a “love story” which talked about the struggles and challenges they have faced as a couple and their battles with the media.
Key takeaways from Harry and Meghan’s explosive new doc series
Other critics found it a satisfying glimpse into the private lives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Does Meghan and Harry’s Netflix documentary live up to its no-holds-barred expectations?” wrote Jessie Thompson from British newspaper The Independent. “Well, within the first five minutes we’ve seen a makeup-less Meghan, hair wrapped in a towel, crying into her phone camera — so I’m going to say yes.”
Bob Seely, a lawmaker with the governing Conservative Party, said he would try to introduce a bill in Parliament to strip the couple of their royal titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Seely said Prince Harry was attacking important British institutions, “as well as trashing his family and monetizing his misery for public consumption.”
Employment Minister Guy Opperman branded the couple “utterly irrelevant” in an interview with BBC and urged people “to boycott Netflix and make sure that we actually focus on the things that matter.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on a walkabout at Trinity College during their visit to Dublin, Ireland.
Joe Giddens / Getty Images
King Charles declined to comment on the series during public engagements in London on Thursday or during a visit Friday to Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, where he met the team’s owners, Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
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King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, meet with co-owners of Wrexham AFC, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, during their visit to Wrexham Association Football Club (AFC) on Thursday in Wrexham, Wales.
Arthur Edwards / Getty Images
Both said they had not watched the series, with McElhenney joking, “I’ve never heard of it.”
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
NOTE: The following article contains disturbing content. Please read at your own discretion.
A new lawsuit has accused Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter of raping a 17-year-old girl on a tour bus during the boy band’s 2001 Black & Blue concert tour.
The legal filing, which was first reported by TMZ, comes from Shannon “Shay” Ruth, who claims Carter, now 42, invited her onto a tour bus after a concert in Tacoma, Wash., when she was a minor.
Ruth alleges Carter offered her what he called “VIP juice” — which she says tasted alcoholic — before he led her to a bathroom and forced her to perform oral sex. In the lawsuit, Ruth said she was a virgin and cried throughout.
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She claims Carter then “pushed” her onto a bed and raped her as she “begged him to stop.”
Through his own lawyer, Carter vehemently denied Ruth’s allegations in a statement. He said the claims are “not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue.”
“Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick — and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time,” wrote Carter’s lawyer Michael Holtz.
“No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer — there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize.”
Ruth, who lives with autism and cerebral palsy, said Carter called her a “r——d little bi—h” when she threatened to report him in 2001.
At a press conference on Thursday, Ruth claimed “Carter tried to scare me into silence.” Through tears, Ruth said Carter told her that “he’d turn people against me because he was Nick Carter and had the power to wreck my life.”
“The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame, and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me,” Ruth said. “Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe nothing has affected me more … than what Nick Carter did to me.”
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At the press conference, Ruth said Carter should not be excused for his alleged crime because he is a celebrity.
The lawsuit also includes allegations from three other women, who are all identified only as Jane Doe.
The allegations from the Jane Does are similar to Ruth’s; Jane Doe 1 alleges Carter abused her in 2003. Jane Doe 3 claims Carter abused her at a Florida house party in 2006. Both Ruth and Jane Doe 2 (who was 15 at the time) allege they contracted HPV from Carter after being assaulted.
The civil lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages and punitive damages for past and future pain and suffering.
The allegations in the new lawsuit are not the first against Carter. In 2017, the Backstreet Boy was accused of sexually assaulting Melissa Schuman, a former member of girl group Dream.
Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter accused of rape by member of girl-group Dream
Schuman’s claim was investigated by police, but later dropped because the allegation was outside the 10-year statute of limitations.
Carter also denied Schuman’s accusation at the time and said he was “shocked” because “Melissa never expressed to me while we were together or at any time since that anything we did was not consensual.”
On Thursday, ABC announced it will no longer air the Backstreet Boys’ Christmas special as a result of the new allegations against Carter. The special was filmed this month in Los Angeles and was set to air on Dec. 14.
It’s unclear if the Christmas special will be aired elsewhere.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
The first half of the Harry & Meghan docuseries — consisting of three episodes released in Thursday’s early-morning hours — doesn’t take any major jabs at the Royal Family, but instead offers an in-depth criticism of the U.K.’s tabloid newspapers. It delivers on the Netflix promise of a series that “explores…the challenges that led (Markle and Harry to feel) forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution.”
Viewers are given perspectives from Harry, Markle and their inner circle of friends and colleagues. But anyone holding their breath for salacious stories or gossip about the inner workings of Britain’s most influential family will have to hold on until the next three episodes are released on Dec. 15 — if those type of stories are told at all.
Much of the docuseries, so far, goes deeper into topics addressed in last year’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, including Markle’s difficult transition into life as a royal, the unfortunate fallout with certain members of her own family and the ruthlessness of the U.K.’s tabs.
Instead of a hit job on the Royal Family, as some expected, viewers are given a more intimate, albeit entirely uncritical, look at how Harry and Markle have navigated their relationship — from the beginning of their secret courtship to glimpses of their current life in Montecito, California.
From the couple’s meeting to surprise guest interviews and the drama that unfolded during the early days of their relationship, here are five of the top moments from the first volume of Harry & Meghan.
Markle’s mom, Doria, speaks out for the first time
The world caught glimpses of Doria Ragland accompanying her daughter during her 2018 wedding to Harry, but up until now she’s never shared her side of the story with the press.
She makes her debut in Episode 2 of the series, telling the camera that “the last five years have been challenging,” but she’s now “ready to have (her) voice heard, that’s for sure.”
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This official christening photograph released by the Duke and Duchess shows Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex with their son, Archie and the Duchess of Cornwall, Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Windsor Castle, near London, Britain July 6, 2019.
Chris Allerton/Pool via REUTERS
Ragland gives her take several times throughout the second and third episodes, speaking about her first impression of Harry — she noticed he was “handsome” and “really nice” upon first meeting him, with “really great manners — as well as documenting the fear she felt while being “stalked by the paparazzi” in the U.S.
“I felt unsafe a lot. I can’t just go walk my dogs. I can’t just go to work. There was always someone there waiting for me,” she explained.
Doria Ragland.
Netflix
At one point, Ragland also expressed regret for not candidly speaking to Markle about the judgement she might face one day as a mixed-race woman.
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“As a parent, in hindsight, absolutely, I would like to go back and have that kind of real conversation about how the world sees you.”
Harry and Markle’s surprising meet cute and secret courtship
Perhaps one of the most interesting revelations of the series is that Harry and his bride initially met through Instagram in 2016, which also means that Harry had (has?) a secret Instagram account.
“I was scrolling through my feed, and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them, like a Snapchat,” Harry recalled.
Harry & Meghan: Official trailer
After seeing the snap of Markle with a dog-ears filter, the prince was curious to know more.
“I was like, ‘Who is THAT?’” he shared.
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The mutual friend told Markle that “Prince Haz” wanted to meet her, but she wasn’t familiar with the royal’s nickname.
“Who’s that?” she remembered, saying she then scrolled his feed as a “barometer” and was impressed by his nature photography and philanthropic work in Africa.
The two then set out on an intense, clandestine courtship. They met for drinks and dinner in the following two days, before she had to return to North America for work.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the early days of their romance.
Netflix
Two weeks later, on a leap of faith, she met up with Harry in Botswana. Shielded from prying press, the two began their romance in the African bush, sleeping in a tent for five days.
That time together was critical, said Harry. “We had to get to know each other before the rest of the world, and the media, sort of joined it.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle together in Botswana.
Netflix
The unrelenting U.K. media followed Markle to Toronto
After just a few months of dating, with Markle making frequent under-the-radar trips to royal properties in the U.K., the press finally got hip to the fact Harry was dating an American actress.
Knowing the story would be in the papers the next morning, Harry and Markle had one last hurrah in late October 2016, a Halloween gathering with a few friends where they dressed up in costumes and partied the night away.
Markle said she felt tremendous relief when the news first broke. Everyone seemed thrilled for them, both in the U.K. and stateside. The press was favourable and she was lauded for her philanthropic work.
It didn’t take long, though, for the press patina to wear off. Markle, who had returned to Toronto to begin filming another season of Suits, recalled members of the U.K. media sleeping in their cars outside her house. She also claimed they had paid neighbours to install livestream cameras that would point into her backyard.
Scared, she said she approached Toronto police, but they ignored her pleas for help and protection.
“I would say to the police, ‘If any other woman in Toronto said to you, I have six grown men who are sleeping in their cars around my house and following me everywhere that I go, and I feel scared, wouldn’t you say that was stalking?’” she said in the documentary.
A still shot from “Harry & Meghan.”
Courtesy / Netflix
Toronto police allegedly said they couldn’t help her because of “who you’re dating,” she said.
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An in-depth look at the tabloids’ racist turn against Markle
What was first painted in those tabloids as a fairytale story of a biracial woman joining the Royal Family with the potential to boost the monarchy’s modernization, soon spiralled into negative stories about Markle being an entitled actor who did nothing more than bully her staff.
Harry, along with expert voices in the series, explain an “unwritten contract” that exists between the tabloids and the Royal Family. The palace, they said, has granted privileged access to six newspapers that feel they are entitled to learn intimate details about members of the Royal Family, since British taxpayers fund their lives.
‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer
Harry and Markle said they initially tried to follow palace advice to remain silent about the press coverage as other members of the family said it was a rite of passage. But the couple said they felt compelled to tell their story because there was something different about the way Markle was treated.
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“The difference here is the race element,” Harry said.
The series dissects how the U.K. media –— specifically the tabloid newspapers — feed into societal racism that is, in part, bolstered by a history of racism inflicted by the British Empire, which enslaved Black people and extracted wealth from British colonies in the Caribbean, Africa, India and Asia.
Historian David Olusoga explains that while large numbers of Black and Asian people moved to Britain after World War II, changing the face of the nation, those changes aren’t reflected in the media.
Black people make up about 3.5 per cent of Britain’s population but account for just 0.2 per cent of the journalists, Olusoga said.
“We have to recognize that this is a white industry,” he said. “So people who come up with these headlines, they are doing so in a newsroom that’s almost entirely white, and they get to decide whether something has crossed the line of being racist.”
Harry blames himself for Markle’s fallout with her dad
In Episode 3, we learn that Harry thinks he’s the one to blame for the unresolved rift between Markle and her dad, Thomas Markle.
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In the days leading up to their 2018 wedding, the world learned Thomas had declined to attend, despite previously agreeing to escort his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day.
The fallout happened when the media revealed that Thomas had accepted $100,000 from a U.K. tabloid in exchange for staged photos and planted stories in the weeks before the May nuptials. When Markle questioned him on it and asked him to tell the truth, he refused the allegations, but she said she believes he lied to her.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day in 2018.
Ben STANSALL – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Ragland also weighed in on her ex-husband’s public drama in the docuseries.
“I felt sad that the media would run with this. That he would capitalize… Certainly, as a parent, that’s not what you do. That’s not parenting,” she said.
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Days before the ceremony, Thomas also claimed he had a heart attack and was unable to fly to the U.K. to see his daughter get married. Markle said in the documentary that she was desperate to help her dad and make sure he was OK, but claimed he refused to answer her texts.
Harry said he feels “incredibly sad” and blames himself for Markle no longer speaking to her father.
“Now she doesn’t have a father. I shouldered that. Because if Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be her dad,” Harry explained, referring to the photo scandal. “It’s amazing what people would do when offered a huge amount of money. Fifty thousand, a hundred thousand (dollars), to hand over photographs, to create a story. And thank God most of them said no.”
— With a file from The Associated Press
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