Naomi Judd, of Grammy-winning duo The Judds, dies at 76 - The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Naomi Judd, whose family harmonies with daughter Wynonna turned them into the Grammy-winning country stars The Judds, has died. She was 76.

Her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley, announced her death on Saturday in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”

Naomi Judd died near Nashville, Tennessee, said a statement on behalf of her husband and fellow singer, Larry Strickland. It said no further details about her death would be released and asked for privacy as the family grieves.

The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday and they had just announced an arena tour to begin in the fall, their first tour together in over a decade.

The mother-daughter performers scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decades. The red-headed duo combined the traditional Appalachian sounds of bluegrass with polished pop stylings, scoring hit after hit in the 1980s. Wynonna led the duo with her powerful vocals, while Naomi provided harmonies and stylish looks on stage.

They also made a return to awards shows when they performed at the CMT Music Awards earlier this month.

“Honored to have witnessed “Love Can Build a Bridge” just a few short weeks ago,” singer Maren Morris posted on Twitter on Saturday.

“This is heartbreaking news! Naomi Judd was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known,” singer Travis Tritt posted on Twitter, noting that he had worked with Judd several times on screen and during performances.

“Country music lost a true legend…sing with the angels, Naomi!!! We’re all sending up prayers for the Judd family today,” singer Carrie Underwood wrote on Twitter.

After rising to the top of country music, they called it quits in 1991 after doctors diagnosed Naomi Judd with hepatitis C. Wynonna continued her solo career.

The Judds’ hits included “Love Can Build a Bridge” in 1990,“Mama He’s Crazy” in 1984, “Why Not Me” in 1984,“Turn It Loose” in 1988, “Girls Night Out” in 1985, “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” in 1986 and “Grandpa” in 1986.

Born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, Naomi was working as a single mother and nurse in Nashville, when she and Wynonna started singing together professionally. Their unique harmonies, together with elements of acoustic music, bluegrass and blues, made them stand out in the genre at the time.

“We had a such a stamp of originality on what we were trying to do,” Naomi Judd told The AP after it was announced that they would be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In an interview with the AP in March, Naomi Judd said she was already deep into preparation for the upcoming tour and was looking forward to the Hall of Fame induction.

“To have all the incredible opportunities that I’ve had, being reminded of all that just makes me very humbled and I just want to bask in the moment,” Judd said.

Wynonna Judd remarked that throughout their lives, their music had kept them together.

“Music is the bridge between mom and me, and it it bonds us together,” she told the AP. “Even in the not easy times.”

The Judds released six studio albums and an EP between 1984 and 1991 and won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven from the Academy of Country Music. They earned a total of five Grammy Awards together on hits like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love,” and Naomi earned a sixth Grammy for writing “Love Can Build a Bridge.”

The Judds also performed at the halftime of the 1994 Super Bowl, along with Travis Tritt, Clint Black and Tanya Tucker.

The Judds sang about family, the belief in marriage and the virtue of fidelity. Because Naomi was so young looking, the two were mistaken for sisters early in their career. She was also known to prefer flashy stage outfits, full of sparkles and rhinestones, over casual boots and cowboy style clothing.

They first got attention singing on Ralph Emery’s morning show in early 1980, where the host named them the “Soap Sisters” because Naomi said she used to make her own soap.

After the success of “Mama He’s Crazy,” they won the Horizon Award at the 1984 CMA Awards. Naomi started her speech by saying “Slap the dog and spit in the fire!”

Naomi Judd was open about her health struggles, as well as severe depression and anxiety. In her memoir, “River of Time,” she described her diagnosis of hepatitis C, which she said she unknowingly contracted during her time as a nurse. She said that by 1995, her doctors had told her she was completely free of the virus.

In the memoir, she described feeling like she had lost her identity when she returned home after a 2010 reunion tour, isolating herself at her home and dealing with crippling panic attacks. She also said that she had been dealing with trauma from childhood sexual abuse. She was admitted to a psychiatric ward at a hospital and spent time in an outpatient treatment program.

Daughter Ashley Judd is an actor and humanitarian known for her roles in such movies as “Kiss the Girls,” ″Double Jeopardy” and “Heat.”

Strickland, who was a backup singer for Elvis Presley, was married to Naomi Judd for 32 years.

__

Follow Kristin M. Hall at https://twitter.com/kmhall

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Naomi Judd, of Grammy-winning duo The Judds, dies at 76 - The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Naomi Judd, whose family harmonies with daughter Wynonna turned them into the Grammy-winning country stars The Judds, has died. She was 76.

Her daughters, Wynonna and Ashley, announced her death on Saturday in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”

Naomi Judd died near Nashville, Tennessee, said a statement on behalf of her husband and fellow singer, Larry Strickland. It said no further details about her death would be released and asked for privacy as the family grieves.

The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday and they had just announced an arena tour to begin in the fall, their first tour together in over a decade.

The mother-daughter performers scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decades. The red-headed duo combined the traditional Appalachian sounds of bluegrass with polished pop stylings, scoring hit after hit in the 1980s. Wynonna led the duo with her powerful vocals, while Naomi provided harmonies and stylish looks on stage.

They also made a return to awards shows when they performed at the CMT Music Awards earlier this month.

“Honored to have witnessed “Love Can Build a Bridge” just a few short weeks ago,” singer Maren Morris posted on Twitter on Saturday.

“This is heartbreaking news! Naomi Judd was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known,” singer Travis Tritt posted on Twitter, noting that he had worked with Judd several times on screen and during performances.

“Country music lost a true legend…sing with the angels, Naomi!!! We’re all sending up prayers for the Judd family today,” singer Carrie Underwood wrote on Twitter.

After rising to the top of country music, they called it quits in 1991 after doctors diagnosed Naomi Judd with hepatitis C. Wynonna continued her solo career.

The Judds’ hits included “Love Can Build a Bridge” in 1990,“Mama He’s Crazy” in 1984, “Why Not Me” in 1984,“Turn It Loose” in 1988, “Girls Night Out” in 1985, “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” in 1986 and “Grandpa” in 1986.

Born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, Naomi was working as a single mother and nurse in Nashville, when she and Wynonna started singing together professionally. Their unique harmonies, together with elements of acoustic music, bluegrass and blues, made them stand out in the genre at the time.

“We had a such a stamp of originality on what we were trying to do,” Naomi Judd told The AP after it was announced that they would be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In an interview with the AP in March, Naomi Judd said she was already deep into preparation for the upcoming tour and was looking forward to the Hall of Fame induction.

“To have all the incredible opportunities that I’ve had, being reminded of all that just makes me very humbled and I just want to bask in the moment,” Judd said.

Wynonna Judd remarked that throughout their lives, their music had kept them together.

“Music is the bridge between mom and me, and it it bonds us together,” she told the AP. “Even in the not easy times.”

The Judds released six studio albums and an EP between 1984 and 1991 and won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven from the Academy of Country Music. They earned a total of five Grammy Awards together on hits like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love,” and Naomi earned a sixth Grammy for writing “Love Can Build a Bridge.”

The Judds also performed at the halftime of the 1994 Super Bowl, along with Travis Tritt, Clint Black and Tanya Tucker.

The Judds sang about family, the belief in marriage and the virtue of fidelity. Because Naomi was so young looking, the two were mistaken for sisters early in their career. She was also known to prefer flashy stage outfits, full of sparkles and rhinestones, over casual boots and cowboy style clothing.

They first got attention singing on Ralph Emery’s morning show in early 1980, where the host named them the “Soap Sisters” because Naomi said she used to make her own soap.

After the success of “Mama He’s Crazy,” they won the Horizon Award at the 1984 CMA Awards. Naomi started her speech by saying “Slap the dog and spit in the fire!”

Naomi Judd was open about her health struggles, as well as severe depression and anxiety. In her memoir, “River of Time,” she described her diagnosis of hepatitis C, which she said she unknowingly contracted during her time as a nurse. She said that by 1995, her doctors had told her she was completely free of the virus.

In the memoir, she described feeling like she had lost her identity when she returned home after a 2010 reunion tour, isolating herself at her home and dealing with crippling panic attacks. She also said that she had been dealing with trauma from childhood sexual abuse. She was admitted to a psychiatric ward at a hospital and spent time in an outpatient treatment program.

Daughter Ashley Judd is an actor and humanitarian known for her roles in such movies as “Kiss the Girls,” ″Double Jeopardy” and “Heat.”

Strickland, who was a backup singer for Elvis Presley, was married to Naomi Judd for 32 years.

__

Follow Kristin M. Hall at https://twitter.com/kmhall

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Bill Murray Speaks Out After ‘Being Mortal’ Set Complaint - Hollywood Reporter

Bill Murray is addressing the Being Mortal set complaint that led to the production suspension on the Aziz Ansari-directed film.

Speaking to CNBC on Saturday, the actor said there was a “difference of opinion” with a woman that he was working with that led to the complaint and production pause. “I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn’t taken that way,” he told the outlet.

He did not provide further detail on what exactly happened on set, but CNBC reported that Murray, who spoke about the incident during an on-camera interview with the business network at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, “was optimistic” that production would restart and that the incident would be settled between him and the woman.

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“As of now we are talking, and we are trying to make peace with each other,” the actor-comedian, who is also reportedly a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder, said. “We are both professionals. We like each others’ work. We like each other, I think, and if we can’t really get along and trust each other, there’s no point in going further working together or making the movie as well. It’s been quite an education for me.”

Murray said he’s been spending time since production was shut down thinking about what happened.

“The world is different than it was when I was a little kid. You know, what I always thought was funny as a little kid isn’t necessarily the same as what’s funny now,” he said. “Things change and the times change, so it’s important for me to figure it out. And I think the most important thing is that it’s best for the other person. I thought about it, and if it’s not best for the other person, doesn’t matter what happens for me.”

Murray stated that “what would make me the happiest” is if both he and the woman are able to “go back into work and…trust each other and work at the work that we’ve both spent a lot of time developing the skill of.”

As for his behavior and learning from his mistakes, Murray stated that “I think it’s a sad dog that can’t learn anymore.”

“That’s a really sad puppy that can’t learn anymore,” he continued. “I don’t want to be that sad dog, and I have no intention of it.”

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed on April 21 that Searchlight Pictures suspended production on Ansari’s feature directorial debut after there was a complaint of inappropriate behavior, filed the previous week, involving Murray. A source close to the Being Mortal production told THR that the director and his producing partner Youree Henley were working with the Disney-backed studio to figure out the next steps.

Searchlight is currently investigating the matter but told THR in a statement that they do not “comment on investigations.”

The film, based on the Atul Gawande nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, also stars Ansari — who wrote the script — Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.

Watch Murray’s CNBC interview below.

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Naomi Judd, of Grammy-winning duo The Judds, dies at 76 - The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Naomi Judd, the Kentucky-born singer of the Grammy-winning duo The Judds and mother of Wynonna and Ashley Judd, has died. She was 76.

The daughters announced her death on Saturday in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”

Naomi Judd died near Nashville, Tennessee, said a statement on behalf of her husband and fellow singer, Larry Strickland. It said no further details about her death would be released and asked for privacy as the family grieves.

The Judds were to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday and they had just announced an arena tour to begin in the fall, their first tour together in over a decade. They also made a return to awards shows when they performed at the CMT Music Awards earlier this month.

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• Judge tosses part of Blac Chyna case against Kim Kardashian

“Honored to have witnessed “Love Can Build a Bridge” just a few short weeks ago,” singer Maren Morris posted on Twitter on Saturday.

“This is heartbreaking news! Naomi Judd was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever known,” singer Travis Tritt posted on Twitter, noting that he had worked with Judd several times on screen and during performances.

The mother-daughter performers scored 14 No. 1 songs in a career that spanned nearly three decades. After rising to the top of country music, they called it quits in 1991 after doctors diagnosed Naomi Judd with hepatitis. Wynonna continued her solo career.

The Judds’ hits included “Love Can Build a Bridge” in 1990,“Mama He’s Crazy” in 1984, “Why Not Me” in 1984,“Turn It Loose” in 1988, “Girls Night Out” in 1985, “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” in 1986 and “Grandpa” in 1986.

Born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, Naomi was working as a nurse in Nashville, when she and Wynonna started singing together professionally. Their unique harmonies, together with elements of acoustic music, bluegrass and blues, made them stand out in the genre at the time.

“We had a such a stamp of originality on what we were trying to do,” Naomi Judd told The AP after it was announced that they would be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The Judds released six studio albums and an EP between 1984 and 1991 and won nine Country Music Association Awards and seven from the Academy of Country Music. They earned a total of five Grammy Awards together on hits like “Why Not Me” and “Give A Little Love.”

The Judds sang about family, the belief in marriage and the virtue of fidelity. Because Naomi was so young looking, the two were mistaken for sisters early in their career.

They first got attention singing on Ralph Emery’s morning show in early 1980, where the host named them the “Soap Sisters” because Naomi said she used to make her own soap.

After the success of “Mama He’s Crazy,” they won the Horizon Award at the 1984 CMA Awards. Naomi started her speech by saying “Slap the dog and spit in the fire!”

Daughter Ashley Judd is an actor known for her roles in such movies as “Kiss the Girls,” ″Double Jeopardy” and “Heat.”

Strickland, who was a backup singer for Elvis Presley, was married to Naomi Judd for 32 years.

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American Idol Winner Laine Hardy Arrested - Taste of Country

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Kim Kardashian cleared of defamation in Blac Chyna trial - Page Six

A Los Angeles judge ruled Kim Kardashian should not be held liable against Blac Chyna’s defamation claim.

Documents obtained by Page Six show the court ruled that “no statement” made by the Skims founder, 41, was “alleged to be defamatory” against the “Rob & Chyna” alum, 33.

Chyna’s team previously argued they only needed to prove that each defendant in the case — including Kim, Khloé Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner — took a “responsible part” in defaming Chyna, whose real name is Angela White.

Jurors were told to consider evidence, including emails and messages made by Khloé, Kylie and Kris to network executives.

The court agreed on Friday that there is “no evidence” to support that Kim had a “responsible part” in defaming Chyna, per the documents, so the Skims founder was dropped from the defamation claim.

The ruling was based on the lawyers’ arguments, the court record and papers from the counsel.

Although Kim was absolved of the defamation charge, she is potentially still on the hook for alleged intentional interference with a contract.

Kim Kardashian was cleared Friday of defaming Blac Chyna.

Getty; SplashNews

Chyna has accused the Kardashian-Jenner family of using their influence to cancel a potential second season of her and ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian’s E! reality show.

However, Jeff Jenkins, former co-president of Bunim-Murray and executive producer of the series, testified last week that networks including BET, VH1, Lifetime and MTV were also uninterested in picking up “Rob & Chyna.”

Chyna is seeking more than $100 million for economic damages, including loss of earnings from social media posts, club and TV appearances and general damages for emotional distress.

“Rob & Chyna” aired for one season in 2016.

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The Kardashian-Jenner family’s attorney, Michael Rhodes, tried to get the case dismissed altogether last Friday, arguing that Chyna’s claims were “absurd.”

He also said the total damages amount is based on “unsupported and wildly speculative claims” since she has not provided the appropriate accounting records.

The jury has been deliberating since 9:30 a.m. local time and could make a decision in the case by Friday’s end.

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Marvel gives us a glimpse at Professor X in new Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness footage - The A.V. Club

A hand that definitely belongs to Professor X...right?!

Screenshot: Marvel Studios

After that whole thing with Marvel Studios (and Andrew Garfield) trying its best to hide that Spider-Man: No Way Home would feature the three Spider-Men basically recreating the pointing meme, Marvel is back to teasing major cameos without officially confirming them.

On Thursday, a 10-second trailer for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness dropped, published by Marvel Studios Canada. The clip teases the inclusion of Peggy Carter as Captain Carter. And there’s also another glimpse at Professor X, whose cameo had already been teased in a previous trailer .We don’t get to see Patrick Stewart’s face; instead we see Professor X resting his hand on his wheelchair—and this time, it’s just like the one from X-Men: The Animated Series.

Though Marvel eventually removed the teaser, CoveredGeekly uploaded it so you can still watch it.

Marvel is so strict with spoilers that director Sam Raimi told Fandango “I couldn’t promise you that Patrick Stewart’s in the picture. That’s all that Marvel will let me say.”

But Stewart seems less worried about confirming that yeah, it was his voice in the previous trailer.

He told CBR, “Well, I had my phone turned off as it happened, so I didn’t hear anything. It wasn’t until the next morning when I woke up and looked at my phone and found that I had been bombarded with responses and that my PR people had sent me reactions that they had detailed and passed onto me.”

He added, “I actually didn’t recognize my own voice, it sounded different. Whether I had a cold or something at the time, I don’t know. But I was astonished, and all they saw was the back of my shoulder, and I think my earlobe, nothing else. There would have been so many connections made. But, uh, it pleased me.”

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Pete Davidson Spotted at Kardashian Trial as Lawyer Calls Blac Chyna 'the Central Problem' in Case - PEOPLE

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‘Schitt’s Creek’ Will Leave Netflix for Hulu in the U.S. - Variety

Emmy-winning comedy series “Schitt’s Creek” will cycle off Netflix in the U.S. later this year, to become available exclusively on Disney’s Hulu.

Hulu announced that it will be the dedicated subscription video on-demand home “Schitt’s Creek” in the U.S. beginning Oct. 3, 2022. The fan-favorite show, which originally aired in the U.S. on Paramount’s Pop TV, ended its six-season run in 2020.

In 2020, the series made history by sweeping all Primetime Emmy Awards comedy categories — notching the most wins in a single season for a comedy. That included lead actor and actress trophies for Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, as well as supporting actress and actor wins for Annie Murphy and Daniel Levy. “Schitt’s Creek” also won the Emmy that year for directing for a comedy series for Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy, as well as a writing win for Daniel Levy.

“Schitt’s Creek” centers on an outrageously wealthy video store magnate, Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy); his former soap-star wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara); and their two adult children – the self-described black sheep of the family David (Daniel Levy) and career socialite Alexis (Annie Murphy). When the family suddenly find themselves broke, they have no choice but to move to Schitt’s Creek, a small-town Johnny once bought as a joke. Forced to live out of a motel, with their pampered lives a memory, they struggle to find jobs and relationships and, most importantly, figure out what it means to be a family in the loveable town they’ve reluctantly come to call home.

“Based on the number of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ GIFs we Slack every day, it’s no surprise that we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Johnny, Moira, Alexis, ‘Daviiid’ and the wonderfully unique residents of Schitt’s Creek to Hulu,” Joe Earley, president of Hulu, said in announcing the deal. “We can’t wait to share the award-winning, blisteringly-funny, yet heartwarming series and characters with our subscribers. We know they’ll fit in nicely.”

The series, commissioned by Canada’s CBC, is produced by Not a Real Company Productions and created by Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy. Executive producers are Eugene Levy, Daniel Levy, Andrew Barnsley, Fred Levy, David West Read, and Ben Feigin. “Schitt’s Creek” is produced in association with CBC and Pop TV and distributed domestically by Lionsgate, and internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

“Schitt’s Creek” will join Hulu’s library of comedies including ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and “Home Economics,” Freeform’s “Single Drunk Female,” FX’s “Dave,” and originals including “Only Murders in the Building,” “Life and Beth” and “How I Met Your Father.”

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Harley Quinn's Kite Man is getting his own spinoff - The Verge

Between his lack of superpowers and proper fighting skills, the Kite Man of HBO Max’s Harley Quinn series is barely anyone in Gotham’s idea of a real supervillain, but that isn’t stopping him from starring in his own spinoff show.

Ahead of Harley Quinn’s upcoming third season, HBO Max announced today that Kite Man (Matt Oberg) will soon also feature in Noonan’s, a new 10-episode comedy from Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey about Gotham’s seediest dive bar. Noonan’s will focus on Kite Man as he partners up with the villainous Golden Glider to make a new name for himself in the time after Poison Ivy dumps him for Harley. In a press release about the show, Warner Bros. Animation executive vice president of alternative programming Peter Girardi intoned that while Kite Man will be one viewers’ introduction to Noonan’s, he won’t be the only classic DC character — heroic or villainous — to appear.

“‘Harley Quinn’ unlocked a world of hilarious possibilities with the iconic super heroes and super-villains of the DC Universe,” Peter Girardi said. “Exploring this world further with our partners at HBO Max and DC is going to be a lot of fun. Plus, after getting dumped by Poison Ivy, the least we could do was give Kite Man his own show.”

There’s no word currently on when Noonan’s is set to begin production or when the series might premiere, but Harley Quinn’s third season is slated to air sometime this summer.

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Olivia Wilde CinemaCon Envelope Mystery: It Was Jason Sudeikis Legal Documents - Deadline

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Avatar 2 finally has a title, and the first trailer will debut with Doctor Strange - The Verge

The first Avatar sequel will be called Avatar: The Way of Water, Disney announced Wednesday at CinemaCon, perhaps the biggest indication yet that the long-delayed movie is actually going to be released on December 16th. And we might have even more potential proof soon, as the first teaser trailer is set to debut alongside Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which premieres on May 6th.

Here is Disney’s synopsis of the film, which is quite vague:

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

I would like to call your attention to that “begins to tell” language because The Way of Water isn’t the only Avatar film to look forward to. Avatars 3, 4, and 5 are also in the works, each set to release about two years after the one before it. I’m not quite sure what to expect, but hopefully they’re good; after all, director James Cameron once said the sequels will make you “shit yourself with your mouth wide open.”

The first Avatar came out in 2009, and it remains one of the top-grossing movies of all time. But if you are a little fuzzy on the details of the film — and I can’t blame you if that’s the case — Disney will be re-releasing Avatar in theaters on September 23rd.

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Travis Scott books first official concert since crowd crush at his Astroworld Festival left 10 dead - Daily Mail

Travis Scott to headline festival in South America in front of 100,000 people in first major concert since his Astroworld tragedy that left ten dead

• Travis will be headlining the Primavera festival in South America this fall
• It is his first major concert since his Astroworld tragedy that left 10 dead
• Scott, 30, is expected to booked for more concerts over the summer
• He will first perform at a Miami nightclub on May 7  

By Cassie Carpenter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 17:02 BST, 27 April 2022 | Updated: 19:34 BST, 27 April 2022

Travis Scott is set to headline series of festivals in South America this year, which will mark his first major concert performance since his Astroworld crowd crush tragedy left 10 people dead.

Scott, 30, is expected to be performing in front of crowds larger than 100,000 at the Primavera Festival which will visit Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

The boyfriend of Kylie Jenner is headlining in November, and will play three shows, with New Zealand singer Lorde scheduled on the lineup before him.

TMZ also reports that Scott is expected to appear at more concerts this summer.

It was also announced on Wednesday that the rapper - who turns 31 this Saturday - is scheduled to perform May 7 at 8pm at the 20K-square-foot nightclub E11EVEN Miami.

The nightclub will be his first official concert since the deadly Astroworld crowd crush at his show in Houston on November 5 that left 10 people dead. 

Tickets cost $150 for women and $250 for men at the 21+ Florida venue, and TMZ reports that VIP tables might cost well over $100K.

E11EVEN Miami features a hydraulic elevating stage, fully-equipped DJ booth, seven private VIP rooms, 32 VIP conversation rooms, and a 'party pit' with 600 square feet of LED video walls and lighting.

Travis (born Jacques Webster) previously performed short impromptu sets at an April 17 Coachella after-party for Bootsy Bellows, and at Richie Akiva and Darren Dzienciol's pre-Oscars party in Bel-Air on March 26.

Autopsies revealed all 10 Astroworld victims died of 'compression asphyxia' - Madison Dubiski, 23; John Hilgert, 14; Bharti Shahani, 22; Axel Acosta, 21; Brianna Rodriguez, 16; Mirza Baig, 27; Franco Patino, 21; Jacob Jurinek, 21; Rodolfo Angel Peña, 23; and Ezra Blount, 9.

In addition, 300 Astroworld attendees were injured and 25 were hospitalized after the negligent concert at NRG Park where hundreds of fans were seen forcefully storming the entrance.

On April 19, Governor Greg Abbott's Texas Task Force on Concert Safety concluded that 'an inconsistent permitting process across Texas and lack of event security training and communication as contributing factors to the tragedy.'

Scott has shed no tears and taken no responsibility for the 'mass casualty' event aside from launching a $5M philanthropic and safety initiative called Project HEAL.

Texas judge Kristen Hawkins is presiding over many of the 500 lawsuits against the Cactus Jack owner and the other organizers of Astroworld Festival.

The millionaire father-of-two was previously arrested for disorderly conduct in 2015 for encouraging fans to jump the barricades at Lollapalooza, and in 2017 for inciting a riot at an Arkansas show.

On April 22, Travis was featured on rappers Southside and Future's song Hold That Heat (heater is slang for gun), which has amassed 4.9M views on YouTube.

Scott also rented four billboards along the 10 freeway around Palm Springs during Coachella to advertise his fourth studio album Utopia, which HipHop24-7 reported is dropping in June.

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Kim Kardashian demanded Blac Chyna leave 'Keeping Up' because of 'toxic work environment' - KABC-TV

LOS ANGELES -- Kim Kardashian testified Tuesday that she had no memory of making any attempt to kill the reality show that starred her brother Rob Kardashian and his then-fiancée Blac Chyna. But she acknowledged demanding that Chyna be kept off of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" after hearing Chyna had abused her brother.

"I will not go into a toxic work environment," Kardashian said of her refusal to work with Chyna. "On my own show, I have the power to do that."

Kardashian took the stand for an hour in a Los Angeles courtroom in a civil trial in which Chyna alleges that Kardashian and three other members of her family defamed Chyna and convinced producers and the E! network to cancel the spinoff show, "Rob & Chyna."

READ MORE: Kris Jenner alleges during testimony that Blac Chyna 'tried to murder' her son Rob Kardashian

Her testimony was mostly unremarkable - she spent much of it saying "I don't remember" - but as the biggest star by far to testify in a trial full of stars, she caused a stir when she walked from the gallery to the witness stand wearing a dark gray pinstriped suit with white sneakers. The moment she stepped down, several reporters dashed from the courtroom to file stories.

Chyna's attorney Lynne Ciani showed Kardashian a series of text messages from late 2016 and early 2017 with Kardashian's name attached.

In every case, Kardashian said she had no memory of sending them, though she didn't deny their likely legitimacy.

"I don't remember text messages that I sent this morning," Kardashian said.

READ MORE: Kris Jenner says daughter Kylie told her Blac Chyna threatened to kill her

In response to viewing one text exchange, a long conversation with a producer from production company Bunim Murray, which produced both shows, Kardashian acknowledged "this definitely sounds like something I would say."

In it, she expressed anger that Chyna might still be filmed for "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," which Chyna occasionally appeared on along with her own show.

"I think we all need to take a break from filming at this point until we figure out what's going on. She is not going to be on our show," the text read. "So if you guys are going to film with Rob and Chyna, and then you are going to lose the Kardashians and Jenners."

The text exchange includes several seemingly damning demands surrounding Chyna being filmed for "her" show, but Kardashian insisted that was a quirk of technology.

"This is clearly voice dictated, as is everything I text that's so long, and it's sometimes rendering 'our' as 'her,'" Kardashian testified. "I would never refer to her show as 'her' show, I would say 'Rob's show' since it's a spin-off of 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians.'"

READ MORE: Blac Chyna testifies she was joking when she wrapped phone-charger cord around Rob Kardashian's neck

She added that the recipient, Amanda Weinstein, did not work on "Rob & Chyna."

Kim Kardashian said the text exchange showed that she and her family had no power over what the producers and the network ultimately decided about the shows.

"No one listens to us, no one respects us," one text message reads.

What they could do was withhold their own participation in the case of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

"I have a right as a cast member to say we really need a break," Kardashian testified.

Much of the trial now in its seventh day, including the testimony of Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, and sister Kylie Jenner, has focused on a fight between Chyna and Rob Kardashian on Dec. 15, 2016, which led to the couple's eventual breakup and their show's cancellation.

READ MORE: Blac Chyna vs. Kardashians defamation trial: Chyna's attorney recites client's steady career rise

Ciani asked Kardashian if she saw any injuries on her brother that day.

"I just remember in that moment him being super emotional, and it's really all such a blur," Kardashian said. "I remember him being really red, but I don't remember anything very specific, just him looking puffy and red."

Repeatedly asked whether she directed her sisters to tell executives and producers about the attack, which the lawsuit alleges, Kardashian said she had no recollection of doing that, eventually growing mildly angry with Ciani but remaining composed.

"I know you want my answer to change," Kardashian said. "You've asked the same question like four times, I wish I had a better answer for you, but I just don't remember."

Asked specifically if she had directed Kylie Jenner to send an email on the issue, Kardashian replied, "I do not control my sisters' lives, and I do not have conversations with them before they send emails."

A video deposition of Ryan Seacrest, the "American Idol" host who co-created "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" with Kris Jenner, was played for the jury later Tuesday.

Seacrest said his role as an executive producer on "Rob & Chyna" included no duties. He said his "Kardashians" contract automatically gave him the title for any spin-offs.

But he did promote the series including on his radio show.

Asked his first impression of Chyna he said "she was bold and memorable."

"Do bold and memorable people make good television?" Ciani asked him on the video.

"Sometimes yes and sometimes no. In the episode that I saw, I must have thought yes."

"Why?" Ciani asked.

"Because I went on to promote it," Seacrest said.

Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Earth, Wind & Fire saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk dies at 71 - CNN

(CNN)"September," Earth, Wind & Fire's effervescent ode to the last night of summer, is an enduring jam for all seasons. Part of its alchemy lies in Andrew Woolfolk's jubilant saxophone.

Woolfolk, a longtime Earth, Wind & Fire member whose sweet signature instrument made songs like "September" impossible not to dance to, has died, group member Philip Bailey announced. Woolfolk was 71.

Bailey, co-lead singer of the genre-spanning band, said on Instagram that Woolfolk died after a six-year illness.

"I met him in High School, and we quickly became friends and band mates," Bailey wrote. "Great memories. Great talent. Funny. Competitive. Quick witted. And always styling."

Woolfolk joined the band in the early 1970s, according to the band's official roster. The EW&F lineup changed often throughout the years, but Woolfolk officially played the sax (as well as flute and percussion) with the group on and off until 1993.

But he hadn't originally planned on joining the band -- as Bailey describes in the 2014 memoir "Shining Star: Braving the Elements of Earth, Wind & Fire," Woolfolk was studying music in New York when Bailey called him and asked him to join the group after the two had played together in Denver. Woolfolk became known as one of the "original nine," Bailey wrote.

When he toured with the band, Woolfolk would stop the concert cold with rip-roaring saxophone solos, commandeering the stage until the rest of his bandmates joined in. He wasn't the group's lead, but onstage, he possessed the unmistakable charisma of a star.

Offstage, Bailey wrote in his memoir, Woolfolk was a "jolly prankster" who "might fill your hotel room trash can with hot water and balance it atop your bedroom door, just waiting for you to return late at night."

Aside from EW&F albums, Woolfolk also recorded with Phil Collins and Bailey for the latter's solo efforts.

In 2000, Woolfolk was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with his fellow original Earth, Wind & Fire members. That evening, Woollfolk, the only member of the group dressed in a fiery red suit jacket, performed a victorious solo on "Shining Star."

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Viola Davis responds to The First Lady criticism - The A.V. Club

Viola Davis

Photo: Jon Kopaloff (Getty Images)

Viola Davis has become the target of online fodder following her performance as Michelle Obama in The First Lady; audiences and critics alike pointed out the strange and strained-looking way she held her face while playing the former first lady. Davis’ Michelle has heavily pursed lips and high arched eyebrows.

The Emmy-winner tells the BBC that it’s “incredibly hurtful when people say negative things about your work.”

“How do you move on from the hurt, from failure?” she adds. “But you have to. Not everything is going to be an awards-worthy performance.”

The How To Get Away With Murder actor also took a moment to shut down the social media criticism and viral tweets directed at her performance.

“Critics absolutely serve no purpose. And I’m not saying that to be nasty, either,” Davis says.

“They always feel like they’re telling you something that you don’t know,” she continues. “Somehow that you’re living a life that you’re surrounded by people who lie to you and ‘I’m going to be the person that leans in and tells you the truth,’ so it gives them an opportunity to be cruel to you. But ultimately I feel like it is my job as a leader to make bold choices. Win or fail it is my duty to do that.”

It’s not like Davis does not have a long list of lauded and awarded performances throughout her career, spanning from her Oscar win for her performance in Denzel Washington’s Fences, to the Emmy she earned for her role in How To Get Away With Murder. The actor has also received Academy Award nominations for her work in Doubt, The Help, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Not to mention, she’s also a two-time Tony winner for King Hedley II and the stage version of Fences.

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Jon Stewart's Twain Prize speech: 'Comedy survives every moment' - The Washington Post

It was exceedingly clear that Washington needed a laugh on Sunday night. Luckily, some of the country’s top satirical minds had gathered at the Kennedy Center to praise Jon Stewart at the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

It was the 23rd ceremony but the first in 2½ fairly dark years. Dave Chappelle was honored in October 2019, a ceremony that later aired as a slickly produced Netflix special. (This one will be broadcast on PBS on June 21.) It’s also the first in the now-permanent spring slot.

In his speech, a clearly touched Stewart said he was pleased to get the award, since “almost none of the other recipients turned out to be serial rapists.” (Earlier in the ceremony, Jimmy Kimmel had joked that they were actually recycling Bill Cosby’s award, saying, “It’s better for your precious environment.”)

Throughout his speech, Stewart riffed about the masked audience (“like something from an O. Henry story”), the planning of Washington, D.C. (“There are four Eighth streets in Washington, and they don’t connect”), and his elder statesman looks (”The Jews, we age like avocados”).

Most of the comedian’s speech, though, focused on his family. He praised his mother for largely raising him alone and told stories about his children — and about meeting his wife on a blind date during which she barely spoke while a nervous Stewart “gave a monologue.”

Stewart, 59, then discussed the job of being a comic, describing it as “an iterative business. It’s a grind. It’s work. The best amongst us just keep at it.”

“When you’re a comic, you look in a room and 200 seats are facing one way. And there’s one stool, and it has a light shining on it, and you walk into that room and go, ‘That’s gonna be my chair,’ ” he added. “And you spend the rest of your career trying to earn that stool.”

He closed his speech by discussing frequently parroted concerns that comedy is somehow in peril in today’s world, scoffing at the idea: “Comedy survives every moment.” And good thing it does, Stewart said, because “comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether. We’re the banana peel in the coal mine. When society is under threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first.”

“What we have is fragile and precious, and the way to guard against it isn’t to change how audiences think, but to change how leaders lead,” he concluded.

Jon Stewart cares less about his legacy than you do

During the more than 2½-hour ceremony, friends and collaborators, including Chappelle, Kimmel and former “Daily Show” correspondents Olivia Munn and Samantha Bee, took turns offering praise, sharing stories and roasting the comedian.

The specter of the coronavirus vaguely hung over the night, but — with apologies to Stephen Colbert, who had to Zoom in after contracting the virus and jokingly blamed Stewart for the politicization of late night — its hauntings were relatively minor: just a masked audience and a few lame pandemic jokes.

Instead, after Bruce Springsteen and Gary Clark Jr. kicked things off with a thundering version of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” it became clear that both the crowd and Stewart himself had come to laugh.

Stewart, who sat with his wife, Tracey, and their two children in a box overlooking the Concert Hall stage, was usually swaying back and forth with laughter. He cried a few times, but that seemed mostly because of a lack of oxygen from cackling until breathless.

One of those moments came as Steve Carell told the story of his first assignment on Stewart’s long-running “The Daily Show” to interview a venom researcher, who turned out to be a guy in a camper with a bunch of snakes (some “free range.”) After managing to produce the segment without getting bit and, you know, dying, Carell brought it to his boss.

“I remember him saying, ‘That would have been great had you been bitten by one of those snakes,’ ” Carell said. “ ‘That would have been funny.’ ”

The prize comes at a transitional time in Stewart’s career. He left “The Daily Show” in 2015 after 16 years on Comedy Central and launched an Apple TV Plus show in 2021. The new show is far more probing, and more interested in exploring the world’s problems rather than turning them into comedic fodder.

One theme that emerged over the evening was the legacy of Stewart’s comedy, with Carell describing him as “striving to make sense out of the insane.” Bee called him the “godfather of righteous anger.” Munn said her generation was raised on his comedy.

Munn also praised him for his humility, remembering seeing his desk, “a garbage can,” where — amid a clothing-covered treadmill, an old bottle of yellow mustard and everything he’d ever been given over the years — was his dusty box of Emmys.

Things you learn about Jon Stewart from talking to him and his friends

Showcasing the global impact of “The Daily Show” was Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian comic who, after discovering Stewart, stopped practicing medicine to focus on satirizing his government. He said he launched a “cheap knockoff” of “The Daily Show” on YouTube, which eventually led to a television show. When Youssef found himself being investigated by the Egyptian government, he said, Stewart gave him some advice: “Do you want to do comedy or do you want to do something that lasts for a lifetime?”

And that, Youssef said in a half-joke that turned Stewart’s misty eyes to tittering ones, is why he was forced to flee Egypt.

Of course, the night would be nothing without goofy-to-downright-dumb bits. John Oliver, convinced that Stewart had died, gave a fake eulogy. Ed Helms, dressed in a carnival barker’s red stripes and straw hat, sat at an organ and played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” a nod to Stewart’s love of baseball.

These juxtaposed nicely with the more serious moments, including Springsteen returning with an acoustic guitar to play “Born to Run” and clips of Stewart’s monologue after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The political faces in attendance, who unsurprisingly came from the left side of the aisle, included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (who said he “grew up on Jon Stewart”) and his husband, Chasten; White House press secretary Jen Psaki; and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Before the show, Pelosi praised the comedian for not being a celebrity who wades blindly into politics, but one who is “focused on what he knows about and what he cares about.”

She was referring, in part, to Stewart’s work advocating for veterans of the wars in the Middle East and advocating for 9/11 first responders, publicly and repeatedly protesting and criticizing Congress for stalling on a victims’ compensation bill, a passion mentioned throughout the night. Pete Davidson — who joked, “Who couldn’t love this guy? The most controversial thing he’s done is be friends with me” — evoked the memory of his own father, a firefighter who died in the terrorist attacks, saying, “He’d be happy you were looking after him and his friends after all these years.”

As a surprise, several of those for whom Stewart has advocated were in the room. Among them was Israel Del Toro, who was severely wounded by an IED attack while serving in Afghanistan, and who said before the show that comedy, like Stewart’s, “helps healing.”

Del Toro and John Feal, a first responder injured in the 9/11 attacks, presented Stewart with the award.

The final speaker of the night was the previous recipient: Chappelle. “I wish you’d run for president,” he said. He was far from the first to bring up that prospect, both during the show and on the red carpet beforehand.

“I would give as much as the law would allow” to Stewart’s campaign, Kimmel joked before the show. The night, of course, would be full of jokes. But the praise for not just Stewart’s comedy chops, but also his serious work, only reinforced Kimmel’s earlier assessment: “We just need Jon Stewart around watching over us.”

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