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Published by AFP The Super Bowl, this year between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, features top-dollar commercials New York (AFP) – After a starring role in last year’s Super Bowl broadcast, cryptocurrency firms are expected to sit out the 2023 game. But the annual advertising extravaganza — a kind of competition among marketers that runs parallel to the American football championship — features an array of beer and car companies, along with other familiar brands like M&M’s candies, which has been teasing its spot since last month. This year’s slate of commercials revives the cult hit “Breaking Bad,” whose cast reunites to pitch PopCorners chips, as well as a collaboration between General Motors and Netflix that shows an electric car navigating “Squid Games” and other settings from streaming hits. The spots garner top dollar, typically $6 or $7 million for 30 seconds of air time. That’s roughly 10 times the cost of an ad during the 2022 World Cup match between the United States and Britain. Last year’s game generated $578 million in advertising revenues for NBC, up $143.8 million from the prior year’s telecast, according to Kantar, a data analytics and brand consultancy. This year’s game is being telecast by Fox Sports. “It’s a lot of money for a media spot,” said Derek Rucker, a marketing professor at Northwestern University. But “where else can you get 100 million people to see an ad at the same time?” The ads have become such as big component of the game in the United States that among “a massive number of people, you have consumers who actively watch and discuss the commercials” at gatherings, Rucker said. Keeping it light Held each year in the dead of winter, “Super Bowl Sunday” marks an occasion for families and friends to gather for several hours of competition, revelry and entertainment. This year’s game will be between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. As always, the show includes A-list half-time entertainment, this time headlined by Rihanna. Over-the-top ads are an old tradition and include such epochal spots as Ridley Scott’s minute-long commercial for Apple in 1984 announcing the Macintosh computer. The spot, which features a female athlete smashing a screen showing a “Big Brother” figure, riffs on the famous novel by George Orwell, concluding with a vow that the computer’s arrival will show “why 1984 won’t be like ‘1984.’” This year’s most anticipated commercial may be for M&M’s, which began tiptoeing into the US cultural wars a few weeks ago. On January 24, M&M’s, which is owned by Mars, announced it was freezing a publicity drive featuring cartoon mascots of the colored candies after the campaign was criticized as “woke” by US conservatives because of stylistic changes, such as the introduction of a purple character, a color associated with the LGBTQ community. M&M’s announced an “indefinite pause” of the “spokescandies” and unveiled a new brand ambassador — the popular comedian Maya Rudolph — in a shift that was timed perfectly for grabbing public attention ahead of a splashy Super Bowl ad. Andrew Frank, an analyst at Gartner, does not expect politically controversial ads this year, predicting brands will navigate carefully in a divided country where strident messages can backfire. “The antidote to backlash is humor, keeping it light,” Frank said. “I think they would like to deescalate all of the toxicity around culture wars and things like that.” Beer bash Last year’s game featured several prominent spots on the emerging cryptocurrency market, led by the then-titan FTX and its founder Samuel Bankman-Fried. Since then, FTX has collapsed and Bankman-Fried has been indicted for fraud. The fall of FTX and Bankman-Fried has created “an appropriate time for them to take a pause,” Frank said. Countering that loss of advertising, broadcaster Fox can count on revenues from a wider range of beer companies following the expiration of a longstanding exclusivity deal with Anheuser-Busch, the owner of the Budweiser brand. Frank expects most spots will go after “leisure spending with lighthearted messages of escapist entertainment,” he said. The aim is to “impart a sense that everything is okay and that you don’t need to be so frugal about your discretionary spending.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Donald Trump didn’t hold back his feelings on Rihanna days before she’s scheduled to take the stage at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The former President of the United States slammed the “Rude Boy” singer as talentless and poked fun at her fashion sense in a recent social media outburst after he was reminded that she didn’t support him in the 2020 election. mega “Rihanna spray painted ‘F*** Donald Trump’ on a car at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo,” Texas congressman Ronny Jackson wrote on Truth Social, referring to an August 2020 tweet made by the Grammy Award winner in which she posed in front of a spray-painted art installation. “She’s made a career of spewing degenerate filth while badmouthing America every chance she gets,” the politician continued. “Why is the NFL showcasing this crap? Rihanna SHOULD NOT be the halftime performer!!” mega Donald quickly joined in on the vent session, sharing the post and adding, “Without her ‘Stylist’ she’d be NOTHING. Bad everything, and NO TALENT!” Rihanna has not responded to the congressman or the former POTUS regarding their inflammatory comments. The mother-of-one — who welcomed her first child with partner A$AP Rocky last May — is likely more focused on gearing up for her bombshell performance at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, February 12. mega Rihanna famously boycotted the high profile sporting event — which is set to take place in Glendale, Ariz. this year — back in 2018 in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers alum Colin Kaepernick‘s peaceful protests. However, last year, it was announced the “Pon de Replay” artist had finally accepted the gig. “It’s going to be a celebration of my catalog in the best way we could have put it together,” RiRi revealed in a pre-Super Bowl press conference. “You’re trying to cram 17 years of work into 13 minutes, so it’s difficult,” she explained. “Some songs we had to lose because of that, and that’s going to be okay, but I think we did a pretty good job of narrowing it down.” Super Bowl LVI will air on Fox at 6:30 p.m. ET. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mirrorpix / MEGA; MEGA Suzanne Somers and her husband, Alan Hamel, ditched their Palm Springs desert home after neighbors allegedly pushed them out over her “political views,” RadarOnline.com has learned. Somers listed her sprawling Palm Springs property for $8.5 million in January 2021 and now insiders say nearby residents may have been yet another factor leading the pair to relocate. MEGA The Three’s Company actress wasn’t afraid to reveal that she approved of former president Donald Trump‘s performance in the oval office a few years ago, quipping that openly speaking out about her support may cost her some fans and be career suicide. “I’m happy about him,” she gushed in 2018, noting that one improvement she noticed was the economy at the time. Somers’ pro-Trump stance came four years after she spoke out about then-president Barack Obama‘s time in the White House. Mirrorpix / MEGA “This has been the most divisive of all the administrations that I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime,” she told Fox Business. “And it’s become divisive in the industry that if you’re not part of the group, you should probably keep your thoughts to yourself.” Insiders said that people who lived in the same area as the couple specifically took issue with her remarks on #45, who is vying for the commander-in-chief position once again. “Their vocal support of Donald Trump didn’t make them everyone’s favorite neighbor anymore,” one source spilled. “Suzanne has lost friends because of her political views. It’s sad, but she knows when she’s not wanted.” Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. MEGA Months after listing their abode, Somers spilled about her decision to sell the compound they had called home since the late 1970s, revealing their plans to stay for a few more months while waiting for construction on their new pad to be completed. “We’re going to give parties, it’s a party house, a very sexy house,” she told the New York Post. “It sold because I finally let it go — emotionally, spiritually and physically,” Somers said. “It was not the right home anymore.” Joe Russo/MEGA Despite some critics, Somers and Hamel luckily have each other. “It’s about honoring and respecting one another and giving your partner what they need,” she said about their strong relationship during an interview with First For Women. “He starts off my day in a romantic bliss, and we just try to keep it going.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Britney Spears feels “sick to [her] stomach” over claims her loved ones wanted to stage an intervention because they feared she “would die”. The ‘Toxic’ singer – who regained charge of her personal and financial affairs in November 2021 after the conservatorship she’d been under for 13 years was dissolved – allegedly concerned her friends so much they feared she’d lose her life due to mental health issues and escalating substance abuse, and she’s now blasted reports they were planning to confront her at a safe house. She wrote on Instagram: “It makes me sick to my stomach that it’s even legal for people to make up stories that I almost died … I mean at some point enough is enough !!! (sic)” The 41-year-old pop singer insisted she was “not surprised” by the claims and warned fans she may withdraw from social media again in a bit to quiet the speculation. She wrote: ” I’m probably going to have to stop posting on Instagram because even though I enjoy doing it, there’s obviously a lot of people who don’t wish me well !!! I’m honestly not surprised at all … Again doing the best I can !!! “Again, the conservatorship has been over for almost a year … No folks, it’s not 2007 … it’s 2023 and I’m making my first homemade lasagna at home !!! I finally got my fireplace to work in my living room !!! As my hubby says it best: don’t believe everything you read !!! All that love right back at ya !!!(sic)” Britney’s comments came shortly after her husband, Sam Asghari, also maintained that his wife was still in control of her affairs. He told ‘Access Hollywood’: “An intervention did not occur. My wife is in full control of her life and will continue to make all decisions involving her care regardless of circumstances. Speculation on her health is inappropriate and should end immediately.” Sources had told both TMZ and People magazine that Britney’s inner circle were planning an intervention to express their worried about the ‘Gimme More’ hitmaker’s recent antics, but it was scrapped at the last minute. A source told the latter outlet: “Britney has been acting increasingly erratically and those around her have grown more concerned. She is often up all night, sleeps during [the] day and has a lot of anger. “Everyone had hoped Britney could be convinced to seek treatment before things got any worse but they knew it wouldn’t be easy. She’s been going through a lot and has been increasingly combative.” However, the insider did reveal Britney met with a doctor on Wednesday (08.02.23) night but while the meeting went well, it is unsure what will happen next. According to TMZ, Britney’s manager had rented a house in Los Angeles for several months and the plan was to take the ‘Womanizer’ singer there, where Sam, her team and doctors would be present, in an attempt to convince her she needed help. The plan was for Britney to live in the property for up to two months while receiving medical treatment and psychological counselling, but it was scrapped earlier this week when she became “somewhat aware” of what was being arranged. View the full article

Published by DPA After years of allowing tourists and locals to smoke joints in public, Amsterdam is now changing its policy. Oliver Berg/dpa After cracking down on Airbnb rentals, tourist buses and red light district tours, Amsterdam now wants to scale back its tolerance for smoking joints in public in an effort to improve the quality of life for locals. Tourists and residents will no longer be permitted to smoke marijuana in public spaces in the historic areas of Amsterdam as of mid-May, as Dutch officials seek to limit on the negative effects of mass tourism. In further changes, restaurants must close earlier and prostitutes halt their work earlier in the city’s Wallen red light district, according to an announcement by the city. The measure is just one of many from municipal officials aimed at making Amsterdam a more liveable city in spite of the massive tourist draw of famous galleries, canal walkways and legal marijuana. The latest moves aim to make the neighbourhood safer and more comfortable for residents, the announcement said, noting that at night, the atmosphere can sometimes be “very grim.” Locals have been complaining about the boozing, shouting and pot smoking over the years. Tourists also attract drug dealers, who in turn create crime, raising the dangers on the streets, the city said in the announcement. One reason tourists are drawn to Amsterdam are the coffee shops where tourists are permitted to purchase small quantities of hashish and marijuana. City officials are considering whether to restrict coffee shop sales to between the hours of 4 pm and 1 am. The new rules are part of a broader set of measures to protect locals, with further rules seeing pubs stop admitting patrons after 1 am. Prostitutes must close their windows by 3 am, rather than 6 am. Meanwhile, from 2024 onwards, tourist buses will no longer be allowed to drive into the centre of Amsterdam, Dutch officials previously announced, citing issues with overcrowding, pedestrian safety and the risk of damaging to historic city infrastructure. Amsterdam has been trying to curb mass tourism for years and had announced extra measures at the end of 2022. Last year, about 18 million visitors spent at least one night in the city. In addition, there are millions of day visitors. As part of a number of measures to slow tourist numbers, the city previously stopped landlords from renting out properties in central parts of the city on platforms like Airbnb, while also cracking down on guide tours through the red-light district. View the full article

Published by AFP Peter Mayhew at the Hollywood premiere Of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' in 2015 London (AFP) – A British auction house on Friday dropped the sale of “Star Wars” memorabilia once owned by actor Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, after a public plea from his widow. Mayhew, who died in 2019, was a British-born actor who towered 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 metres) and played Chewbacca in the original film and sequels until 2015. He and his American wife Angie sold their house in Keighley in northern England around 25 years ago, leaving early Star Wars memorabilia behind in the attic. The next owners, who have not been named, found the material and eventually took it to local auctioneers, who were excited by the find and publicised it in national media, announcing its sale later this month. The lots included memos, scripts and call sheets from the production of the original film and “The Empire Strikes Back”, as well as signed photos and a scrapbook. Ryedale Auctioneers set modest estimates of around £150 ($180) per item but said they expected wide interest. Mayhew’s widow then posted on the Twitter account of the Peter Mayhew Foundation, a charity set up in his memory, saying: “It really breaks my heart to see our belongings auctioned off like this.” She said that when the couple moved, Mayhew’s “movement challenges made it impossible for him to get into the attic to get the rest of these memories”. She said that it was “one of Peter’s and my biggest regrets that we had to leave these items behind but his knees and joints had gotten to be so painful that he was no longer able to go into the attic to get them”. The foundation later said that it had held a video call with auctioneer Angus Ashworth and told him of “our desire that Peter’s items be returned to Angie and the Mayhew family”. The auction house on Friday removed pictures of the lots from its website. Ashworth said: “Knowing how much (the memorabilia) means to the foundation… the vendors are quite happy to donate it to the foundation to have permanently within their personal collection, not for profit, so that fans can access it in perpetuity”. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jane Fonda joked exercise is essential for older people to still be able to “make love”. The 85-year-old actress admitted she thanks God “every day” she has been staying active for decades because she is still reaping the benefits of being strong and flexible. She said: “You’ve got to stay strong. I have a grandson who’s three years old, and I can still pick him up. I mean, I have to bend my knees and, you know, it takes a long time to get him up there, but I can still pick him up. You want to be able to carry your own bags. “You have to be able to, you know, make love. I don’t remember much [about that], but do I remember you need flexibility!” But the ’80 For Brady’ star admitted she wasn’t always a big fan of exercise and only realised how “important” it was in her 30s. Speaking at the launch of H+M Williamsburg’s Move Studio in New York this week, she said during a Q and A session: “I didn’t know that it was important to do ’til I was in my 30s. I had a ‘constant period’ all during school so that I couldn’t do gym — anything to get out of gym. “It wasn’t until my late 30s [or] early 40s that I started to actually become active … [and] life before I was active, it wasn’t nearly as good as when I started to move.” As well as noticing how the “shape of [her] body” changed as a result of working out, Jane also reaped the mental health benefits. She said: “I come from a long line of really depressed people, and the best way to fight depression is to keep moving.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega; @thecherryvalentine/instagram RuPaul’s Drag Race star Cherry Valentine died by suicide, RadarOnline.com. Law enforcement revealed that Valentine, who was born George Ward, was found dead by their friend Kate inside a home in Hornsey, North London. The star had hanged herself. Valentine was only 28 years old. mega Cherry Valentine, who was non-binary and used they-them pronouns, was a star on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, which is the spin-off of the popular US show. Valentine’s career took off after RuPaul’s Drag Race and even appeared in a BBC documentary titled Gypsy Queen and Proud. An investigation into Valentine’s death revealed they had been “struggling” to deal with fame. As a result, they were dealing with depression and had trouble sleeping. “[Kate] stated that they seemed normal but recently noticed that they had been sleeping late and getting up late,” read an investigation report obtained by The Sun. @thecherryvalentine/instagram The report added, “The subject was a successful drag queen, and [their friend] believes they had been struggling with their rise to fame after being on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ “[Kate] also said [Ward]’s ex-partner had recently got engaged. [The friends] would regularly chat about their struggles, but [Kate] believed that Ward’s extravagant behavior was a mask,” the report continued. “[Ward] previously suffered from depression… this is something they have battled with.” mega The report noted that Valentine left behind a 3-page note for Kate and their family. “It is with the most heart-wrenching and deepest sadness to inform you that our George — Cherry Valentine — has tragically passed away,” Valentine’s family said at the time of his death. “This will come as a profound shock to most people and we understand there is no easy way for this to be announced. As his family, we are still processing his death and our lives will never be the same,” the family added. Friends close to Valentine shared tributes after their death. One said, “I can’t find the right words. I’m not sure they exist.” @thecherryvalentine/instagram The friend added, “You saw what others didn’t and showed nothing but kindness, patience and grace. A pure soul. I’ll cherish our memories and the things you taught me. You will continue to inspire me, forever.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The FBI on Friday conducted a consensual search at the Indianapolis residence of former Vice President Mike Pence, after classified documents were discovered at his house last month, a Justice Department official told Reuters. The search comes just a few weeks after Pence’s attorney Greg Jacobs notified the National Archives in a Jan. 18 letter about the discovery of records with classified markings. The records were then turned over to the FBI. The search of Pence’s home comes as former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden face investigations by two special counsels over the retention of classified records. Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating whether Trump or his associates may have obstructed the Justice Department’s probe into his retention of thousands of government records, several hundred of which were marked as classified, after he departed the White House in January 2021. The FBI conducted a court-approved search of Trump’s Florida estate on Aug. 8, where they collected about 13,000 records, about 100 of which contained classified markings. Separately, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Special Counsel Robert Hur in January, after Biden’s legal team revealed they discovered classified documents in November at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a University of Pennsylvania think tank. Biden had an office there after he served as vice president under Barack Obama and before his presidential election. Since then, additional records were also found at Biden’s residence in Wilmington. A third search of Biden’s Delaware beach home earlier this month did not find any additional documents. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Heather Timmons and David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Caged Tiger King Joe Exotic plans to officially claw his way into the 2024 Presidential race, RadarOnline.comcan exclusively report. In a handwritten letter from a federal penitentiary in Texas, where he is serving 22 years in a murder-for-hire plot to eliminate his archenemy Carole Baskin, the Netflix star told this outlet that he’s on a mission to clear his name. “I will be announcing that I am running for President for 2024 in the next couple of weeks,” Joe, aka Joseph Maldonado,wrote in the one-page letter obtained by RadarOnline.com. mega “It has only been done 3 times from federal prison,” he added. “I will make the world listen to the evidence that the DOJ (Department of Justice) is corrupt….My federal election papers will be (filed) next week to make it official.” Ever since his 2019 conviction, which also included eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act, Joe has maintained an active social media campaign calling his incarceration “bogus.” RadarOnline.com can confirm Exotic was later resentenced to 21 years as he began treatment for early-stage cancer. He charges the convictions were based on “false testimony” and “suppressed evidence.” The brash gun-toting tiger man recently made headlines when he ripped into Baskin’s claim that her long-missing husbandDon Lewis is “alive and well” in Costa Rica based on an already discounted 1998 U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigative report she made public. “Don Lewis is NOT alive, I have her original diary and trust me she hated him so bad she could not kill him fast enough,” said the 59-year-old reality star told RadarOnline.com. “When this story came out, I said I would voluntarily move to death row if he was alive and it made world headlines,” he added. “I investigated her so much I am 100% sure she, her father who is now passed away and …. killed Don Lewis and ground him up.” mega Baskin, 61, created a media firestorm on January 18, 2023, when she rediscovered Homeland Security investigative report claiming her ex, who vanished in 1997 and was declared legally dead in 2002, was spotted in the Central American country. As RadarOnline.com reported, her claim was immediately shot down by Tampa’s Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, who said the case was active. It is unknown if Joe Exotic plans to use his presidential powers, if elected, to go after Baskin, but based on his past bids for the White House, his chances look pretty slim. He only obtained 962 votes nationwide during his 2016 run, and in 2018 received only 664 votes when he tried to become Governor of Oklahoma – his home state. Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. mega Joe Exotic will become the fourth person in the country to run a presidential campaign from federal prison. He joins the ranks of Labor Leader Eugene V. Debs, wholost the 1920 election while serving 10 years for violating the Espionage Act after delivering an antiwar speech, Leftist Lyndon LaRouche, who was serving five years for fraud when he ran in 1992, and Keith Judd aka “Dark Priest,” who was serving 17 years for extortion when he tried to become the Democratic candidate in 2008, 2012, and 2016. View the full article

Published by AFP New York Fashion Week runs from February 10 to February 15, 2023 New York (AFP) – New York Fashion Week kicks off Friday with several big names absent from the runway but a calendar packed full of young designers and emerging labels — increasingly the event’s trademark. Opening the Fall-Winter 2023 parade on Friday is Rodarte, one of the few major brands returning this year. Thom Browne, the new head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) that runs the event, showcases on Tuesday. Among the other headliners are regulars Proenza Schouler, Altuzarra, Coach, Sergio Hudson, Carolina Herrera, Gabriela Hearst and Michael Kors. But the program, which ends Wednesday in the middle of the Big Apple’s cold month of February, again has a notable absence of high-profilers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and previous CFDA lead Tom Ford. Pop icon Rihanna, who has exhibited her lingerie collection Fenty at New York in the past, will instead be performing at the much-watched Super Bowl half-time show on Sunday. “Very few names are brands that are prominent in the US market,” said Jacqueline Quinn of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), confiding that her students are focusing their eyes on Paris and Milan instead. Instead, the collection of ready-to-wear designs serves up a large helping of young talents and new brands, such as Elena Velez. The 28-year-old was named “emerging designer of the year” at the 2022 CFDA awards for her non-traditional creations that merge high fashion with the metalsmith heritage of her hometown Milwaukee. ‘Era of renaissance’ Some 20 designers are under 30 years old, including the Nigerian-born, New York-based Taofeek Abijako and his label Head of State, Indian Kanika Goyal (KGL) and Emma Gage (Melke), who uses recycled materials for a more sustainable fashion. For Velez, the Covid-19 pandemic has spurred an “era of renaissance.” “I think there’s a renewed lust for life and a reminder of the precariousness of life that inspires young people like myself to embolden ourselves with our passions,” she told AFP. And Velez is determined to enjoy it while it lasts. “If we’re being honest, the shelf-life of a startup fashion brand isn’t exactly lengthy,” she added. Denmark’s Christian Juul Nielsen, the creative director at Herve Leger, already has several years of experience behind him having worked at Dior, Nina Ricci and Oscar de la Renta. In 2019, he launched his own brand, Aknvas, whose designs “focus on drape, flattering silhouettes, innovative knits and an elevated palette,” according to its website. “I try to translate the drama I got from John Galliano and the modernity I got from Raf Simmons,” he told AFP. For Nielsen, and others like him, New York presents an opportunity. “A lot of small brands in Paris, they just don’t get on the calendar. In America, there is this excitement of newness (and) I want to be part of making the New York fashion scene exciting,” Nielsen added. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega John Stamos was hit hard by the scandal and heartache plaguing his Full House costars. Following the sudden death of Bob Saget in January of 2022, Lori Loughlin doing prison time for her role in the college admissions scandal and Candace Cameron Bure opposing LGBTQIA+ rights, the tight bond between the cast of the beloved sitcom seemed to dissolve while navigating headline-making situations. mega “John is a get-along kind of guy,” an insider spilled to Radar about Stamos, emphasizing how the heartthrob “really believed” in the wholesome values of the show as well as the “loving atmosphere” his costars always brought forward. “Losing Bob and seeing his other co-stars’ lives take strange turns has really been tough on him,” the source continued of the Glee star, who played fun-loving Uncle Jessie on the series from 1987 to 1995. mega Stamos fiercely defended his television wife after she plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, which landed her behind bars for two months as she paid for her two daughters to get into an elite college. However, the father-of-one has found it more difficult to stand behind the former cohost of The View following her statements that she does not support gay marriage. “John loves Candace but he caught a lot of crap for defending Lori,” the insider spilled. “John has always wanted everything to be perfect for his TV family. He’s devastated it’s turned upside down.” mega Bure, who is a staunch conservative, expressed her opposition to same sex marriage and her desire to bring stories of heterosexual relationships to the forefront with her new television network. Jodie Sweetin, who played her younger sister Stephanie Tanner on the show, subtly slammed the actress’ shocking statements by showing her support under a post by JoJo Siwa, which clapped back at Bure. “You know I love you,” Sweetin wrote to the Dance Moms alum under the update all while shading her on-screen sibling. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! “That’s what’s f**ked up,” Siwa made clear about Bure’s statements in a TikTok. “You notliking gay marriage, do your thing girl. You being religious, do your thing girl. Of course, I would want everybody to do what they want to do. But to purposely exclude someone because of who they love, that’s sh**ty.” View the full article

Published by DPA Not since the "Harry Potter" films has a release from the wizarding world been this eagerly awaited. And yet even a vague association of "Hogwarts Legacy" with author J.K. Rowling is making it hard for many would-be fans to enjoy this blockbuster game. Avalanche Software/dpa About as hyped as it is controversial, “Hogwarts Legacy” is a game that easily could have been the biggest and most popular release of 2023. Instead, it has landed right at the centre of a fierce debate about the rights of trans people. “Hogwarts Legacy”, the first major video game from the “Harry Potter” empire in years, is getting its long-awaited public release on Friday. The ability to explore Hogwarts castle and the grounds surrounding it in an open-world narrative that pre-dates the original stories had been longed for by many fans of the original series. But the launch has been soured by the transphobic online presence of author J.K. Rowling, whose criticism of trans women and trans activists have sparked calls for a complete boycott of this role-playing game. Time and again, the 57-year-old has spoken out against the social and legal equality of trans women with women who were already born with female sex organs. Even “Harry” actor Daniel Radcliffe has distanced himself from the author. In Scotland, where Rowling is involved in an initiative against violence against girls and women, the debate is particularly heated, notably since the regional government passed a law to simplify the long, bureaucratic process of gender reassignment in official documents. Critics like Rowling warn that the law facilitates men’s access to spaces where women undress and are vulnerable. The Conservative British central government wants to block the changes. Because of its close association with Rowling, there have long been vocal calls to boycott “Hogwarts Legacy”. The gaming forum ResetEra has banned any mention of the game, and the website GameSpot published an essay about Rowling’s “anti-transgender stance.” Others gaming media have meanwhile reflected a torn gaming scene, eager to explore Hogwarts but reluctant to indirectly fund Rowling’s campaign against trans women. Rowling herself is demonstratively calm. Asked how she was coping with losing so many fans because of her stance, she replied dryly on Twitter in October 2022: “I read my most recent royalty cheques and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.” The game’s developers at Avalanche are acutely aware of the delicate subject, and have even noted that Rowling is not directly involved in the game’s development. However developers did work closely with Rowling’s team, they admit, and the company says the author is “one of the world’s greatest storytellers.” “Hogwarts Legacy” is by no means the first game to be spawned from Rowling’s wizarding world, but it is the first major one in about a decade, and it had the potential to be the biggest and best-reviewed game yet. The game takes players back to Hogwarts decades before the events of the Harry Potter books, allowing them to slip into the robes of a freshly placed student at the wizarding school at a time when a nefarious dark arts threat is rising. The game’s character editor lets you choose voice, gender and appearance (now often standard in role-playing games), and a trans woman plays a larger supporting role. For all its efforts, the boycott campaign does not seem to be halting the game’s potential for success. Millions of people recently watched streamers playing the game on Twitch, and according to the site steamdb.info, “Hogwarts Legacy” has been one of the best-selling titles for weeks – even before it was released. According to opencritic.com, the game has so far been receiving very favourable reviews. Gaming reporter Martin Kimber called the game a “beautifully crafted love letter” to the Potter universe. Many fans are torn. Trangender Potter enthusiast Asher Chelder of fan site MuggleNet admitted to Sky News that Rowling’s views hurt people. But he has been looking forward to the game since it was announced. “I found a lot of solace in the series and it’s something I can’t shake. It’s part of who I am.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Gay actor Dan Levy was told doing DIY made him “almost a real man” backstage at ‘MTV Live’. The ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star made his onscreen debut on the MTV Canada show in 2006 and he recalled how he felt out of place because of the behind-the-scenes culture, which offered no scope for discussion and saw him subjected to casual homophobia. Speaking to his former ‘MTV Live’ co-host Jessi Cruickshank on the ‘Phone a Friend’ podcast, Dan said: “It was kind of like, ‘Conform to the culture of the workplace or sit it out.’ But it was never like, ‘Let’s pause what we’re doing to listen to you.’ “I remember walking into work one day and someone asked me what I did on the weekend. “I said, ‘Well, I installed a dimmer switch in my apartment.’ And that person said, ‘Wow, it’s almost like you’re a real man.’ “And I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’ But at the time, there was no sensitivity, and there was nobody to go to because it was a different time.” The 39-year-old actor noted at the time there was a worrying trend for bloggers to make it “their job to out people without their consent, like it was some kind of news responsibility” and there weren’t “a ton of out actors that were thriving and drowning in work”, but acknowledged thinks are different now. He said: “We didn’t have the sensitivity, I think, that we do now, at least around people’s coming out and the fact that it’s an incredibly personal experience. “I mean, I think we all knew it at the time. “So, when you do feel like there’s this hunt to out gay people of note in culture, it almost makes you want to hide even more because you don’t want to draw any attention to yourself.” View the full article

Published by Raw Story Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) claimed this week that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) told him to “hang in there” as the two crossed paths at the State of the Union this week. It was another “lie,” Sinema’s office responded. Talking to Newsmax, Santos said the exchange came after Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), told him he doesn’t belong in Congress, Newsweek reported. Santos said “he shot back at Romney, saying that he was ‘not meant for television,'” reported Newsweek’s Kaitlin Lewis. “According to Santos’ reenactment of the incident, Sinema passed by him around the same time Romney spoke out, and … Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story A Donald Trump appointee to the federal bench, who was too extreme even for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), is living up to the low expectations his critics had for him as he has become the go-to guy for far-right figures pushing culture war issues. According to a report from the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has already done damage to civil liberties during his four years on the bench in Amarillo, Texas, and is poised and likely to make a devastating ruling that could further limit a woman’s right to control her own health by imposing “a nationwide injunction that would in effe… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Dawn Chmielewski (Reuters) – Florida lawmakers granted Governor Ron DeSantis effective control of the board that oversees development in and around Walt Disney Co’s central Florida theme parks, escalating the Republican’s battle with the emblematic company. The bill, filed Monday and passed by both houses of the legislature on Friday, gives the governor the authority to appoint five supervisors to run what is now known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a quasi-government entity with oversight of the 25,000 acres surrounding the Walt Disney World resort. The board members will be confirmed by the Senate, and will have no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the theme parks. “Reedy Creek gifted extraordinary special privileges to a single corporation,” DeSantis’ spokesman Bryan Griffin wrote on Twitter. “Until Gov. Ron DeSantis acted, Disney maintained sole control. This amounted to an unaccountable Corporate Kingdom. This is over, and we are beginning a new era of accountability and transparency.” Disney World is the largest employer in central Florida with close to 75,000 employees, drawing 36.2 million visitors in 2021, according to the Themed Entertainment Association. The legislature voted last year to dissolve the special district, which for more than a half-century had provided Disney with the autonomy to govern itself, providing such government services as fire protection, water, sewer and waste removal services and infrastructure. The action, seen as retaliation for Disney’s then-Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek speaking out against a state law limiting classroom discussion of LGBTQ issues, came with unintended consequences. Tax experts and legislators warned that eliminating the district in June 2023 would leave county taxpayers liable for nearly $1.2 billion in bond debt. The new bill preserves the Reedy Creek special district, though within two years it will be renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. It will have the authority to collect revenue, pay off debt and provide a range of government services. The district is prohibited from operating its own airport or building nuclear power plants. The legislation also expressly prevents anyone with ties to the theme parks over the past three years from serving on the board. “Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world,” Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle said in a statement. “And regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit each year.” Florida Senator Geraldine F. “Geri” Thompson, whose district includes Orlando, said she worries the governor’s appointees will reflect DeSantis’ views on diversity and inclusion. Last year, DeSantis championed a law known was the “Stop W.O.K.E.” act, that restricted conversations about race in schools and workplace training. A federal judge blocked it from taking effect in the state’s public universities. “I’m concerned that with his emphasis on eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion, if he’s going to try to get into the programmatic side of Disney,” Thompson told Reuters. (Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Mary Milliken and Chris Reese) View the full article

Published by Raw Story A northern Kentucky mother was banned from refereeing youth basketball games because she’s a lesbian. Ayanna Mckinney and her wife signed three or their six children up for basketball and cheerleading through Upward Sports, a nationwide nonprofit affiliated with Florence Baptist Temple, and she volunteered through six weeks of the season without incident — until two church officials came to her home and forbid her from calling games due to her sexual orientation, reported WCPO-TV. “I was just in disbelief,” she said. “I don’t know how they were that comfortable to come to our house and just t… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Michael Tedder One of the singer’s brand extensions isn’t taking off. The paradox of Beyoncé Knowles is that while she’s one of the most famous, popular and critically acclaimed entertainers of her generation, many, many people view her as the sort of underdog you can’t help but root for. Can a person who tours stadiums and can claim eight number one Billboard hits to their credit, really be considered in any way underappreciated? The answer is a heavily qualified yes. See for example Sunday’s 65th Grammy Awards, for which Beyoncé officially broke the record for the most wins in the institu… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jaden Smith’s new clothes range was inspired by a “super embarrassing” episode of ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’. The actor and designer, 24, has been obsessed with fashion since he launched his brand aged 14, a year before he moved out of his dad Will and mum Jada’s home, and says he thought back to an episode of the sitcom that shot his father to fame when creating his new MSFTSrep collection. Jaden told the new issue of Footwear News about including a sunflower-shaped hat with the range: “I wanted to make people into plants, to turn people into flowers. Being part of nature is the highest level of consciousness. “I thought back to an episode of the ‘Fresh Prince’, where something happens that my dad has to dress up like a sunflower. “The episode was super embarrassing for him. But I was like this is an amazing idea of how to turn someone into a flower.” He added about his other innovations: “I’ve been making these new headpieces as a kind of psychedelic statement piece that you would wear to show people how you feel about the world and how different and strange you might be.” Jaden also said his brand is “catered to people who feel different and weird, like they don’t fit in”. He added: “There’s a pain sometimes, when you feel like you are something else, that you can’t express yourself, and there’s a pain when you can’t express yourself. “So this is for those people who just want to express themselves. It makes people smile.” Jaden also said about deciding to go into fashion after making his acting debut aged eight alongside Will, 54, in 2006 film ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’: “I took the time to see multiple perspectives of the world and decided what was best for me and how I wanted to make an impact.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Elizabeth Banks wanted to break down myths with ‘Cocaine Bear’. The 48-year-old director is helming the horror comedy about a bear that goes on a murderous rampage after ingesting a bag full of cocaine and loved having the chance to make a movie that is “muscular and masculine”. In an interview with Variety, Elizabeth said: “I definitely wanted to make something muscular and masculine. “I wanted to break down some of the mythology around what kinds of movies women are interested in making. For some bizarre reason, there are still executives in Hollywood who are like, ‘I don’t know if women can do technical stuff.’ There are literally who are like, ‘Women don’t like math.’ It just persists.” Elizabeth is aware that the film’s outrageous subject matter means that she is putting her career behind the camera at risk by making the project. She explained: “‘Cocaine Bear’ is a ginormous risk. This could be a career ender for me.” The ‘Charlie’s Angels’ filmmaker explained that she had to do some graphic research to understand how bears would attack humans. Elizabeth said: “I don’t recommend anyone do this, but if you go down the internet hole of looking at actual animal attacks on humans, it’s f****** gnarly as s***. I love gore. I grew up on ‘Evil Dead’. The gore is part of the fun of the ride.” Banks stressed that the audience needs to believe that the drug-addled animal is real and wanted her flick to have a “documentary” feel. She said: “It had to feel like a NatGeo documentary about a bear that did cocaine. It couldn’t be something silly. It couldn’t seem animated in any way.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Barbra Streisand is releasing her memoir later this year. The legendary 80-year-old singer will publish ‘My Name Is Barbra’ – which was first announced in 2015 and set to be released two years later – on November 7 as she looks to share his life story “in her own words”. A press release from publisher Viking teases: “Barbra Streisand is a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment, and this engrossing and delightful book will be eagerly welcomed by her millions of fans. “Dozens of books have been written about Streisand, and now in ‘My Name Is Barbra’, she tells her story in her own words.” The book shares its name with the music icon’s 1965 album and a TV special, and it will cover her early years in Brooklyn and New York City as well as her singing career and projects such as ‘The Prince of Tides’. The star will also address her 24-year marriage to James Brolin, friendships with the lieks of Marlon Brando and her political advocacy. The synopsis adds: “The book is, like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated, and charming.” Barbara previously revealed she started a draft of the book in 1999 but only “really started writing” nine years later, until the COVID-19 pandemic gave her more time to “finish” the project. The news has gone done well with fans and fellow stars including Lea Michele, who had some fun with the conspiracy theory that she can’t read. She posted a TikTok video following Barbra’s announced and joked that she has “265 days to learn to read” before the book comes out. Referencing the rumours more directly last year, Lea said: “I went to ‘Glee’ every single day; I knew my lines every single day. And then there’s a rumor online that I can’t read or write? “It’s sad. It really is. I think often if I were a man, a lot of this wouldn’t be the case.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Google’s parent company lost more than $100 billion in its market value after chatbot Bard got an answer wrong. The tech giant’s new AI machine has been released to a team of specialist testers and is yet to be rolled out to the public, but investors wiped a fortune off the value of the search engine’s parent firm Alphabet after experts pointed out Bard’s error while answering a question about space photography. Promotional material for Bard – Google’s competitor to Microsoft-backed ChatGPT – contained a mistake in the response by the chatbot to the query: “What new discoveries from the James Webb space telescope (JWST) can I tell my nine-year old about?” Bard’s response, contained in a video demo posted online, included an answer suggesting the JWST was used to take the very first pictures of a planet outside the Earth’s solar system, or exoplanets. The first picture was actually taken by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in 2004, according to NASA. On Wednesday (08.02.23), Alphabet stock opened lower at $102.05 per share against the previous closing price of $107.64 on the NASDAQ. During the day’s trading session, the tech stock declined as much as 8.9% to hit a low of $98.04, before the share settled 7.68% lower at $99.37 – erasing more than $100 billion in market capitalisation. The Bard error was picked up by experts including Grant Tremblay, an astrophysicist at the US Center for Astrophysics. He tweeted about the mistake: “Not to be a – well, actually – jerk, and I’m sure Bard will be impressive, but for the record: JWST did not take ‘the very first image of a planet outside our solar system’.” Bruce Macintosh, director of University of California Observatories, also tweeted: “Speaking as someone who imaged an exoplanet 14 years before JWST was launched, it feels like you should find a better example?” Bard is based on a “large language” artificial intelligence model, which is meant to mimic the underlying architecture of the brain in computer form. It is fed huge amounts of text from the web to teach it how to respond to text-based prompts, but the input can lead to the bot repeating errors from the information it absorbed. Google said the error, first reported by Reuters, underlined the need for testing new systems, with a spokesperson for the company adding: “This highlights the importance of a rigorous testing process, something that we’re kicking off this week with our trusted tester program. “We’ll combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bard’s responses meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information.” Gil Luria, senior software analyst at D.A. Davidson, said “while Google has been a leader in AI innovation” over the last several years, they “seemed to have fallen asleep on implementing this technology into their search product”. View the full article

Published by AFP Legendary pop composer Bacharach, who produced a string of hit songs over decades, has died in Los Angeles at age 94 Los Angeles (AFP) – Legendary American pop composer, songwriter and pianist Burt Bacharach, whose prolific output provided a chart-topping playlist for the 1960s and 1970s with hits like “I Say a Little Prayer,” has died in Los Angeles at the age of 94. Bacharach worked with a constellation of stars during his decades-long career, from Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin, to Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones, to Elvis Costello and the White Stripes. Bacharach — who died on Wednesday of natural causes, his publicist Tina Brausman told AFP — was known for romantic and melancholic ballads that blurred the line between jazz and pop, and regularly topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. He earned a flurry of accolades including three Oscars including for the score of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” eight Grammy awards including a lifetime achievement prize, two Golden Globes and induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The list of hits is long: “Walk On By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” are only a few of the best known. He penned nearly 50 Top 100 hits and nine songs that went to number one on the charts. Bacharach enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with Dionne Warwick, including on the 1985 power collaboration “That’s What Friends Are For,” a cover of a song first co-written in 1982 with Carole Bayer Sager, who was one of his four wives along with actress Angie Dickinson. “Keep smilin’, keep shinin’ // Knowing you can always count on me for sure // That’s what friends are for,” said the lyrics, which brought Warwick together with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight for a fundraiser to combat the AIDS epidemic. Arranger, singer, writer A pianist passionate about jazz, Bacharach was born on May 12, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, and studied the art of composition in several American universities. After his military service, he was hired by Marlene Dietrich as an arranger and musical director for her tours. In 1957, he met lyricist Hal David, who died in 2012, with whom he would form one of the most successful partnerships in the music industry. Four years later, they would discover during a recording session a young chorus girl who would become their standard bearer: Warwick. Between 1962 and 1968, they wrote 15 titles that rose into the American Top 40. The songwriting duo won two Oscars for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”: best original score, and best original song for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” In 1973, a financial dispute broke out between the two men. For 10 years, they spoke only through lawyers and never worked together again. Thereafter, he traveled around the world performing with elite orchestras, though the coronavirus pandemic curtailed his touring schedule. In 2012, then president Barack Obama awarded him with the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Demonstrating his longevity and cross-generational fan base, Bacharach sang at the Glastonbury festival in Britain in 2015 at age 87, serenading the crowd with an hour-long set of hits. The crowd bathed “in the romantic, rose-tinted glow of the easy-listening king,” reported the Guardian, adding that Adele was among those watching in admiration. Bacharach is survived by his fourth wife Jane and three children. A fourth child, Nikki, predeceased him. “RIP Maestro. It was a pleasure to have known you,” Oasis singer Noel Gallagher wrote on Instagram. View the full article