Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for WSJ Magazine!
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is on the cover of WSJ. Magazine December/January issue, out on newsstands on Saturday, December 14th.
Here’s what the 47-year-old actor had to share with the mag…
On if his first marriage not working out caused him to wait over a decade to marry his wife Lauren: “That’s a good question. I think so, yeah. My divorce did a number on me. I wasn’t fearful of getting married again, there was just some hesitancy. But Lauren was incredibly patient: ‘I love you, you love me, we have this amazing life together—no presh.’”
On his top secret wedding: “We had a full security detail in case there were helicopters,” he says. “But there was no press, no paparazzi. No one knew. I was shocked but so grateful. My life is so loud and noisy; the fact that it was quiet was a big win.”
Kevin Hart, on what The Rock is bad at: “He can’t run. It’s not attractive at all. But he doesn’t shy away from it. He’s fine with going, ‘So? I’ve done a lot. These legs are tired.’”
For more from The Rock, visit WSJ.com.
#RHOA: Kenya Moore Clashes with Husband Marc Daly over NeNe Leakes!
“Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kenya Moore has hit a rough patch in her marriage. She’s expressed that Marc Daly has been distant. And he’s more interested in their daughter Brooklyn than Kenya.
On the latest episode, Kenya also revealed that she doesn’t have a prenup. So she worries that she could lose everything if she and Marc were to divorce. In order to protect her assets, Kenya is looking into estate planning.
Well, it looks like the couple will have even more cracks shown on the upcoming episode. In fact, Marc ends up defending NeNe Lakes when she becomes the topic of conversation.
The upcoming episode of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” will be an interesting one. In fact, Kenya Moore’s marriage to Marc Daly will be a focal point. When the couple goes out to eat with a couple of the other couples on the show, it’s clear that they really aren’t on the same page.
Kenya isn’t in the best place with NeNe Leakes. But that didn’t stop Marc from having some positive things to say about NeNe, much to the confusion of Kenya and Kandi Burruss.
Then the couple clashed over Kenya’s spending habits. Apparently, Marc believes Kenya likes to be “flashy” and buy things like a Bentley. Kenya doesn’t see the issue because she feels like she should be able to spend her money the way she wants.
#Empire: Jussie Smollett could return for ‘Empire’ finale, says showrunner!
Actor Jussie Smollett, who was written out of the Fox series “Empire” after claiming he was beaten up by men who yelled “This is MAGA country!” and put a noose around his neck, may be returning to the Fox melodrama for its series finale next year.
Showrunner Brett Mahoney told TV Line that the show is in discussions with Smollett, who has not worked since last June, when series creator Lee Daniels put a stop to that, via Twitter, saying, “Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire.”
“It would be weird in my mind to end this family show and this family drama of which he was such a significant part of without seeing him,” Mahoney says. “It’s fair to say it’s being discussed, but there’s no plan as of yet to bring him back. There’s been no decision made.”
Smollett, who had played Lucious’ (Terrence Howard) son Jamal since the show started in 2015, was written out of later Season 5 episodes after the media storm regarding his experience with the Chicago police, who determined that his original claim was a fabrication. Smollett was charged with filing a false report and, while they were later dropped, Smollett’s run on “Empire” was presumably over.
While the network extended his contract when the show was renewed for its final season last May, it said there were “no plans” to bring him back, according to TV Line.
#MusicNews: K-Ci Hailey Announces New Deal Reviving His Solo Career!
K-Ci Hailey has officially announced the re-launch of his solo career with a signing to P Music Group. That management group is also the home of Charlie Wilson and Johnny Gill.
K-Ci is officially set to begin releasing new music in early 2020. When he does finally release a new album, it will be his first since his debut “My Book” in 2006. Not much else is known at this time about the sound of the music, but you surely can expect to hear that timeless soulful voice that carried both K-Ci & JoJo and Jodeci. Stay tuned!
#HipHopNews: The Notorious B.I.G.’S Family Celebrates His Legacy At Biggie Inspires Event!
Biggie received plenty of love the Brooklyn way this fall thanks to Optimo Cigars. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the release of The Notorious B.I.G.'s classic 1994 album, Ready to Die, Optimo Cigars held their Biggie Inspires art exhibit and celebration event on Sept. 13 at the William Vale Hotel's Westlight Lounge in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The star-studded event showcased artworks submitted to Optimo Cigars' Biggie Inspires contest. Over 170 artists created and submitted their creative works to the competition. Two first-place winners were chosen: Seattle art teacher Hoa Hong and Dayton, Ohio artist Cinque Smith. Hong's work was turned into a life-size mural on display in Biggie's Brooklyn hometown of Bedford–Stuyvesant while Smith's art was presented in Williamsburg. A third mural, commissioned by Optimo Cigars, was on display in Atlanta.
At the event, several Biggie portraits from the contest were displayed throughout the lounge area for attendees to take photos and share on social media. Biggie's mother, Voletta Wallace, was at the celebration, along with his children, Christopher Jordan Wallace and T'yanna Wallace. Other guests who attended the party included Rick Ross, Faith Evans, Stevie J, Lil' Kim, Christian Combs, DRoc and Lil Cease, among others.
Rick Ross, who was in attendance at the event, told Billboard that B.I.G.'s musical legacy will last forever. "He blew my mind," Ross said. "If Biggie we're here right now, I wish I could tell him that. Even on the way here, we were just talking about how he's the first rapper we heard to use the word 'stupendous.' The wordplay is next level. The flows are so grimy, yet so classic. He will live on."
16 Year Old Teen Karol Sanchez reportedly staged Her own kidnapping!
Karol Sanchez, a 16-year-old who allegedly was snatched off a New York street while walking with her mother, reportedly staged her own kidnapping, according to a CBS New York reporter.
No charges have been filed in the case after the teen turned up unharmed Tuesday afternoon in the Bronx.
The grainy black-and-white video showed a nightmarish scene Monday.
The mother and her teen daughter were walking down a quiet street when out of nowhere a beige, four-door sedan stopped and two men forcibly dragged the teenager, identified as Karol, into the vehicle.
The alleged kidnapping happened Monday about 11:20 p.m. in the Melrose section of the Bronx.
On Tuesday morning, police released footage from a security camera near the scene and asked for the public’s help in solving the crime.
The police said the unsuspecting mother and her daughter were out for a stroll Monday night when the sedan, occupied by four men clad in black, stopped in front of 745 Eagle Ave. Two of the men, believed to be in their 20s, then got out of the vehicle and snatched the teenager.
When the mother tried to intervene, she was pushed to the ground, police said. She was not seriously injured.
The van immediately fled east on East 156th Street, police said.The details of the kidnapping were so shocking that the police department’s chief of patrol, Fausto Pichardo, took to Twitter to ask the public for help identifying the men and locating Karol. “Have you seen Karol Sanchez?” Pichardo wrote.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea also used Twitter to publicize the security camera video that captured the attack. The department offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information about the kidnapping.
And the winner of ‘The Voice’ Season 17 is…Jake Hoot!
On Tuesday’s Season 17 finale, Team Kelly’s country crooner Jake Hoot made The Voice history, becoming the first true one-chair contestant to win the show. (Season 12 champ Chris Blue was technically a one-chair turn, but he auditioned last, when Alicia Keys was the only coach with an open spot left on her team, so that doesn’t really count.) However, many Voice viewers seemed to focus more on who didn’t win — namely Team Legend’s dynamite show-woman Katie Kadan, who surprisingly placed third. Katie’s fellow diva, Team Gwen’s Rose Short, came in fourth.
Some fans may have been shocked by this outcome, and spectators in the studio audience seemed deflated when Carson Daly read Katie’s results. Katie was the star of Season 17, and she definitely had the strongest and most consistent run — from the moment she cold-opened the premiere as the first auditioner, right up through Monday’s final competitive performances. Rose also got the “pimp spot” Monday and closed the show in spectacular fashion, thus seemingly having some advantage.
Perhaps on Wednesday there will be multiple angry thinkpieces in the blogosphere about the fact that two plus-sized, thirtysomething women — one of color — lost out to two everymen. But really, Voice viewers should never underestimate the power of the country music genre... or the power of a popular country music superstar like Blake Shelton, who coached second-place rocker Ricky Duran. And Jake is an extremely marketable and recordable singer — it’s still surprising to me that only Kelly Clarkson turned for him in the first place — so it’s understandable why he connected with mainstream viewers. Once the season got to the voting round, Jake almost always was the most-streamed contestant on Apple Music... so, perhaps his victory was no surprise after all. The numbers don’t lie.
Really, Katie sort of won the night anyway, by performing the most flawless duet of the finale with Adam Lambert, on his famous ballad version of Cher’s “Believe.” This song was a game-changer for Adam during Hollywood Week of his American Idol season, announcing the arrival of an exciting new talent, and it seemed to do the same for Katie. Remember, Adam didn’t win on Idol, either, and that was a huge shock at the time. And, well, Adam did quite all right for himself. So, Katie will be just fine. Someone please book her to sing on the Kennedy Center Honors next year.
Kevin Hart’s wife, Eniko Parrish, cries about his cheating in Netflix trailer!
Kevin Hart and his wife will directly address his cheating scandal in his forthcoming Netflix docuseries, “Don’t F–k This Up.”
A new trailer for the six-part series, which will premiere Dec. 27 on Netflix, shows Eniko Parrish sobbing and asking her comedian husband how he could betray her while she was pregnant.
“You publicly humiliated me,” Parrish, 35, says as she wipes away tears. “I just kept saying, ‘How the f–k did you let that happen?'”
Hart, 40, cheated on Parrish with model Montia Sabbag while on a trip to Las Vegas in 2017. The romp was caught on video, which was later released in an alleged attempt to extort the “”Jumanji: The Next Level” actor.
Sabbia publicly maintained she wasn’t the extortionist who released the tape and agreed Hart was as much a victim as she was. She changed her tune in September 2019 when she sued Hart for $60 million, claiming that Hart and his friend J.T. Jackson set her up and hid a camera during their rendezvous.
“Don’t F–k This Up” will also dive into the controversy surrounding Hart’s previous homophobic jokes that ultimately led to him stepping down from hosting the 2019 Academy Awards.
Hart and Parrish share one child, son Kenzo. He also shares two children with first wife Torrei Hart: daughter Heaven and son Hendrix.
‘Real Housewives Of New Jersey’ Star Teresa Giudice & Joe Giudice Split After 20 Years!
Another reality TV couple bites the dust! “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice has officially split from her husband, Joe Giudice after 20 years of marriage.
The two married in October 1999, but according to one source, things haven’t been right between them since Joe Giudice went to jail on fraud charges in 2016 to serve his 41-month sentence. He was deported to Italy after finishing his time behind bars. He was born in Italy but relocated to the U.S. with his parents when he was a child.
The insider said Teresa has been living her best life for quite a while.
“Teresa has been living the life of a single mother ever since Joe was incarcerated. She has dedicated herself to her children, her career and has focused only on that. She always knew there was a possibility that Joe would get deported but it all happened so fast after his release.”
“Teresa is very realistic about the past. She has known for a while that things weren’t going to work out between them. Their marriage had been through far too much for them to start over. She’s ready for a new start for 2020.”
Joe Giudice seemed to confirm the split with a cryptic Instagram message Tuesday (Dec. 17) and referenced a link about their separation.
The two also got real about their issues when they accused each other of being unfaithful while the other was in jail. Teresa Giudice was sentenced to 15 months for the same charges as Joe.
He also shared a message Saturday (Dec. 14), where Teresa left a comment.
“Life is too short to be angry. Life is too short to be resentful. Life is too short to hold on to the past. Life is too short not to love. Life is too short not to be happy. Life is too short not to forgive. Life is too short not to live our lives the way we want it.”
“Love life. Appreciate the people in it. Enjoy the present. Seize the moment. Life is worth living for, so let’s LIVE!” Teresa commented “Very True” with a heart-eyed Emoji.
They’ll very much be a part of one another’s lives as they share four daughters Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 10.
The Game Says Michael Jackson Asked Him To End His Feud With 50 Cent!
Talk about an unlikely peacemaker! Hip-hop fans know that former G-Unit labelmates – rappers The Game and 50 Cent – were once embroiled in a beef so tense, that many believed that it would end in physical violence. However, The Game says one person tried to intervene in the conflict by offering a collaboration as a peace offering – iconic musician, Michael Jackson.
Still, The Game says that MJ’s camp tried to portray their phone conversation as The Game reaching out to the gloved one, when in reality it was the other way around. The Game told Hip-Hop DX:
“I’m in Canada on tour- I’m like, ‘Michael Jackson wants to talk about what?'”
He detailed their conversation: “That was weird as f*ck. It’s like, this ain’t how I wanna meet Michael Jackson or talk to Michael Jackson. I kinda felt like Mike was on some lame sh*t. Like, who sent you type sh*t, but at the same time it was like, you know that voice, Michael Jackson’s voice that you hear. Like, that n*gga wasn’t talking like that. It was like, lowkey deep. You could still tell it was Michael Jackson but it was more like…it was like regular.” “[Michael Jackson said,] ‘I think that you and 50 did great work. It would be a travesty if the world never got to hear you guys again. Would you be open to having a conversation and squashing that beef and doing something for my album?’
At that time I was so in it with 50 I actually hated 50. I wanted to kill him at that time. He probably had the same mutual feelings for me. That’s where Mike lost me. In my head, I was just not open to doing that. I can’t remember how we ended the conversation or whatnot. I didn’t tell Mike no, but it never came to fruition.
What do you think a song featuring Michael Jackson, The Game, and 50 Cent have sounded like?
Beyonce Gives Fans A New Look At Ivy Park x Adidas Collection In BTS Video!
Beyoncé's Ivy Park x adidas collection is on the way! As we await the arrival of her latest fashion collab, which drops on January 18, Bey gave fans a fresh look at the upcoming collection on Instagram Tuesday (December 17).
Sharing a behind-the-scenes-video from her ELLE magazine cover shoot, the 38-year-old entertainer graciously allowed fans to see how her stunning ELLE cover, which was shot by Queen & Slim director Melina Matsoukas, came to life while she additionally gifted fans another look at the Ivy Park x Adidas collab.
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Bey spoke about her partnership with the iconic brand in ELLE, explaining that the collection is the embodiment of her overcoming her fears. "My mother instilled in me the idea that creativity starts with taking a leap of faith—telling your fears they are not allowed where you are headed. And I’m proud to do that with adidas," she told the mag. "I am excited for you to see the campaign for the first collection of this new partnership. It incorporates my personal style and expands that to include something for everyone."
"I love experimenting with fashion, mixing high and low, sportswear with couture, even masculine and feminine," she continued. "This new line is fun and lends itself to creativity, the ultimate power."
Bey went on to share that the collection of footwear and apparel is unisex because she "saw so many men in IVY PARK."
"The way they have embraced the brand is an unexpected gift," the legendary songstress shared. "I appreciate the beauty of gender-neutral clothing and breaking the so-called fashion rules. I took a chance on myself when I bought my company back. We all have the confidence in us to take chances and bet on ourselves."
The CW Announces Hourlong Revival of ‘The Game’ From Creator Mara Brock Akil!
*The CW is developing a one-hour revival to the 2006 half-hour comedy “The Game,” from original series’ creator Mara Brock Akil and “American Soul” co-creator Devon Greggory, who will serve as showrunner. \
The revival will have a new East Coast (Baltimore) setting, and some of the original cast members are set to return, Deadline reports.
Like the original series, the revival will center on a team of pro football players and their wives and girlfriends.
“This time, our out-of-touch old-timers are determined to help a bunch of knucklehead new-schoolers navigate the ruthless game of football on and off the field. They will clash through the pitfalls of fame, fortune and love,” according to the official description.
“The Game” is a spinoff from Akil’s long-running comedy series “Girlfriends,” and started off as a multi-camera sitcom on the network, which ran for three seasons before being canceled. The show was later picked up by BET where it aired for six more seasons as a single-camera half-hour dramedy, ending its run in 2015.
Akil spoke about the production changes at the time of series finale.
“I’m really proud of the look of our show, that we took a multi-cam budget and turned it into a single camera show. Its look, its tone, its approach, the characters’ development — that, yes, we were a half-hour comedy but we used our moments to deepen the characters. We also offered drama in a half-hour space. And that was my own personal desire, but it was also reflective of what the audience has been wanting, which is more well-rounded, deeper, richer, layered characters, and they got that in The Game.”
The original main cast included Tia Mowry, Pooch Hall, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Hosea Sanchez, Brittany Daniel and Coby Bell.
Andre 3000 Says ‘Lack of Confidence’ is Reason Why He Hasn’t Dropped New Music!
*André 3000 and Rick Rubin chopped it up on the latest episode of the Broken Record podcast, during which the two music icons dished about their creative process
Andre revealed that he hasn’t been making much music these days because his “confidence is not there.” Instead, he’s “mainly” been listening to instrumental music as of late, per Complex.
“I haven’t been making much music, man,” he said. “My focus is not there. My confidence is not there. I tinker a lot. I’ll just go to a piano and I’ll set my iPhone down and just record what I’m doing, moving my fingers and whatever happens, but I haven’t been motivated to do a serious project.”
André continued, “In my own self, I’m trying to figure out where do I sit,” he said. “I don’t even know what I am and maybe I’m nothing. Maybe I’m not supposed to be anything. Maybe my history is kinda handicapping, in a way, so I’m just trying to find out what makes me feel the best right now. And what makes me feel the best is when I just do these random instrumental things. They make me feel the most rebellious . . . I don’t like to go with the flow, really. I don’t know why but I just feel best when I don’t, so I have to honor that.”
In related news, last time we checked in with Andre 3000, he was playing his flute in airports and other random locations like Philly, where he was spotted filming the upcoming Jason Segel-directed anthology series “Dispatches from Elsewhere.”
According to AJC, the 10-episode AMC series was created by and will star Segel, best known for his recurring role on “How I Met Your Mother.”
The series will center around a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life. They will come to find that the mystery winds far deeper than they ever imagined, per IMDB.
The series debuts next year on AMC.
#LGBTQNEWS: Bogota's history-making mayor-elect weds partner in Colombia!
BOGOTA, Colombia — The first woman to be elected mayor of Colombia’s capital city has married her partner in a private civil ceremony before taking office.
Claudia López announced her wedding to Angélica Lozano Monday evening by sharing an enthusiastic message and several photographs on social media.
“On my way to the happiest moment of my life!” López wrote on Twitter. The incoming mayor of Bogota, who takes office in January, thanked her bride for “loving me always” and promised “to honor and love” her the rest of their days. Photographs show the pair dressed in white, holding a simple bouquet of flowers and smiling.
The couple’s union has become a rallying cause among supporters promoting LGBTQ rights in the traditionally conservative, Catholic country – though Colombia has permitted gay marriage since a landmark Constitutional Court ruling in 2016.
Lozano told Colombia’s BLU Radio that the couple has tried to marry previously but their schedules made organizing a wedding complicated.
“We told ourselves, ‘We have to do it now or another four years will pass by,” Lozano said. “Because Claudia’s priority the next four years will be her job.”
When she is sworn into office, López will become the first openly lesbian mayor of a capital city in Latin America, a region slowly advancing in improving LGBTQ rights but where long-standing cultural biases and inequality remain barriers.
Curtis Flowers, tried six times for the same murders, released on bail
López has been making waves in Colombia for years, starting from her days as an analyst shedding light on corruption in the highest echelons of power. In her personal life, she’s been equally upfront and transparent, sharing a passionate kiss with Lozano as the election results came in during the October vote for Bogota mayor.
Few details about the ceremony were released, but López said their white pant suits were crafted by Colombian designer Ángel Yañez.
“Thank you life for this marvelous year!” López hailed on social media. “I graduated with my doctorate, won mayoral office and married the love of my life!”
Wedding Crashers Beat Groom To Death With Bats During His Reception, Men Charged With Murder!
Wedding crashers brutally beat a man to death on his wedding day in Chino, California.
Joe Melgoza, 30, and his wife had just been wed and were celebrating at their reception Saturday night into Sunday at his sister’s Chino home. That’s when police say Rony Castaneda Ramirez, 28, and his 19-year-old brother, Josue Castañeda Ramirez came into the reception uninvited. The family says they asked the men to leave after they started a fight with some of the guests. They reportedly didn’t know the men, but the two lived nearby.
Eventually, the men left but then returned with baseball bats, that’s when Melgoza confronted them. However, the siblings eventually got ahold of the groom, pulled him away, and brutally beat him. “Those cowards came back with bats. They were in the alley, and it was dark… My brother tried to go get them. They pulled him into the house, and they killed him,” said Andy Valesquez, Melgoza’s brother. “My brother did not deserve to die like that, he was a good man; he was a solid man.”
Melgoza was found in the backyard of another home where he died, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter and his new bride. Melgoza’s mother and siblings say they will now take care of his 11-year-old daughter, who he had full custody of.
Chino police say the two suspects were arrested Sunday. They have been charged with the groom’s murder. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover Melgoza’s funeral costs and to support his daughter.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘8 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS’
It’s almost 2020, sleighs pulled by reindeer are a thing of the past. It’s tech time for Santa.
EGGPLANT NATION: Meet John Behr
Meet John! You can see more when GO HERE TO SEE THE PICS! And remember they’re NSFW!
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HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
