Ruby Rose shocked fans in May of last year with the announcement that she would be leaving the groundbreaking CW series Batwoman after just one season. Now she’s finally revealed why.
During an interview on Australia’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show, the 35-year-old actress and model said the real reason she stepped down from her role as Kate Kane was because she was allergic to her latex costume.
“I did find out that I was allergic to latex…unfortunately, my mask is latex,” Rose explained. “I was getting worse and worse, because as you get more contact with it, I guess you get more reactions. I took off the [mask] at the end, and my face was just hives. My throat was all messed up.”
Adds the Australian actress, “It was like it was out of a scary movie.”
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly last year, the Orange Is the New Black alum cited a back injury she suffered while filming Batwoman as the reason for leaving the show.
“I was told I needed an emergency surgery or I was risking becoming paralyzed. I had herniated two discs doing stunts, and they were close to severing my spinal cord,” she revealed back then.
Rose made history as the first lesbian superhero to be cast in a scripted live-action TV series.
Kate Kane was recast with 26-year-old English actress Wallis Day. Javicia Leslie assumed the role of Ryan Wilder/Batwoman, becoming the first Black woman to play the crime fighter.
It wasn’t much of a challenge for Iron Man star Don Cheadle to go from superhero to a Looney Tunes supervillain in his new film Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Cheadle, who plays Al-G Rhythm, a tyrannical computer A.I. who hopes to “delete” his competition, says his “evil” Space Jam character isn’t as bad as everyone makes him out to be.
“I think he’s still the good guy,” Cheadle tells ABC Audio. “I’ve played all kinds of guys: good guys, bad guys, unscrupulous characters. Al-G was a lot of fun.”
It was also “a lot of fun” for Sonequa Martin-Green to take on her role of Kamiyah, a character loosely based on LeBron James‘ wife, Savannah. Martin-Green says she “appreciated the way her character was written” because she’s the “matriarch” and “nucleus” of the family.
“You get to see the strength and ferocity met with the grace and the patience,” says Sonequa. “And you see this woman navigating perfectly in and out of these relationships, knowing exactly how to say what, and when to say it… And I think it pays homage to Savannah.”
While both actors can agree that the compelling characters are what make the film authentic and entertaining, Cheadle notes that it’s the messages in the film that provide the important takeaway.
“It’s about individualism and letting people be who they’re going to be,” he says. “Not trying to dictate who people have to be so that you feel comfortable.”
Cheadle continues, “Even as a dad, being a father, that’s one of the biggest challenges… So… it’s about people being who they want to be and letting people experience their lives for themselves and supporting that as a parent at all costs.”
Metallica has announced a pair of concerts to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary this year.
The shows will take place December 17 and 19 at the Chase Center in the metal legends’ hometown of San Francisco. The venue was also the site of ‘Tallica’s 2019 S&M2 concerts, which were accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony.
Tickets will be available exclusively for members of Metallica’s Fifth Member fan club. If you are a member, you’ll be able to enter a raffle to win a reservation code to purchase tickets, which will be sent out randomly.
If you happen to be in the S.F. area but couldn’t secure tickets to the big shows, Metallica will also hosting a series of live music and comedy events, as well as tastings for their Blackened Whiskey, throughout the city starting December 16.
Metallica was formed in 1981 when James Hetfield met Lars Ulrich after the drummer posted a newspaper ad looking to start a band.
Meanwhile, Metallica will also celebrate another big milestone when their 1991 self-titled record, aka The Black Album, turns 30 in August. That anniversary will be celebrated with a remastered deluxe reissue, as well as a 53-track tribute compilation dubbed The Metallica Blacklist.
Ty O’Neil/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — The already devastating wildfire conditions in the West are expected to worsen Wednesday as the region sees an increase of gusty, dry winds — which is fuel for fire.
More than 60 wildfires are burning across the West. Red flag warnings and heat advisories have been issued in Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Wildfire season has only just begun, but there are already 14,000 firefighters on the front lines.
In the Pacific Northwest, the Wednesday forecast shows winds gusting up to 35 mph, temperatures soaring near 105 degrees and relative humidity falling to 7%.
The Bootleg Fire in Klamath County, Oregon, is currently the nation’s largest wildfire, clocking in at over 200,000 acres, ABC Portland affiliate KATU reported.
In Nespelem, Washington, all residents were evacuated as a wildfire caused by lightning raced across town, The Spokesman-Review reported.
In Madera County, California, local authorities have declared a state of emergency as the River Fire ravages the area. The blaze has covered 9,500 acres and is 15% contained, according to Cal Fire.
“The extreme heat and winds have proven to be challenging for not only fire personnel, but those working to support those efforts,” Sheriff Tyson Pogue said Tuesday. “This proclamation will provide much needed resources to support our community.”
The massive fires have sent smoke halfway across the country, reaching as far as the Upper Midwest and the Great Lakes. Air quality alerts have been issued from Colorado to Minnesota.
Under “unexpected collaborations,” you can put “She’s Fire,” a new track from famed songwriter Diane Warren‘s debut album that features rapper G-Eazy and legendary rock guitarist Carlos Santana.
“I’m so excited for everyone to hear ‘She’s Fire!!'” Diane said in a statement. “To be able to work with Carlos Santana has always been a dream of mine…I’ve also been very much wanting to collaborate with G-Eazy and this seemed like the perfect song for the two of them to do together. I expected it to be great, and it turned out even better than I imagined, pure fire.”
Diane’s album Diane Warren: The Cave Sessions Vol. 1. will be out later this year, and features collaborations with artists including Celine Dion, John Legend and many others. The first advance track came out this past November. Called “Times Like These,” it features vocals by Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish.
Diane’s long list of credits and achievements include nine number-one hits and 32 top-10 singles. She’s also been nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar 12 times, most recently earlier this year. Among the hits she’s composed: Aerosmith‘s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Starship‘s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” Cher‘s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” Toni Braxton‘s “Unbreak My Heart,” and LeAnn Rimes‘ “How Do I Live.”
You can all “Save Your Tears,” because it seems like a new album from The Weeknd may be close to being finished.
On Tuesday, the “Blinding Lights” singer sent out a series of tweets alluding to his new body of work, beginning with the cryptic message, “we gettin’ there.”
“Really proud of this one. wow,” he followed up and added, “Massaging it now, being sweet to it. giving it some tlc.”
The 31-year-old Canadian singer then clarified “just so there’s no confusion, it’s a full body of work” and revealed his plans for a tour, which he said “is gonna be MADNESS.”
This isn’t the first time that The Weeknd has hinted at what would be his fifth studio album.He previously tweeted about the project in April. In May, while chatting with Variety, he coyly addressed the topic, stating, “If the last record [After Hours] is the after hours of the night, then the dawn is coming.”
He also previously told Rolling Stone, “I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over.”
“I’m guilty of wanting to outdo my last album, but it’s never like, ‘I’ve got to do the same type of song,'” he explained. “I’m so happy I’m not like that. My palette is so wide.”
BTS gave the first-ever television performance of their latest hit “Permission to Dance” Tuesday on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The septet, who were beamed in from their native South Korea, pulled out all the stops for their song’s big debut, as they took over a mall and brought back the flash mob craze.
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook also chatted with Fallon, in order to dispel or confirm some rumors the late-night host found floating around the internet.
One such rumor centered around the group’s early days, when they were trying to come up with a name for their fanbase, ARMY. Prior to landing on that name, the group confirmed that they were considering the name Bell because, as RM explained, “When you say ‘bell’ in Korean, it sounds like ‘power.'”
RM noted that the group initially thought it would be cool if fans brought bells to their concerts and started ringing them. “But, thank God… ARMY is so much better,” RM laughed as the rest of the group jokingly started ringing bells and making a racket.
Jimin was also put on the hot seat, with Fallon asking if it was true he once considered going by the stage name “Baby J.” He confirmed it, but confessed that saying the name in English “sounded really weird.”
V also confirmed the rumor that he didn’t originally try out for BTS, but simply went to the auditions in order to support a friend. “He failed,” V added of his friend.
Tuesday was part one of the group’s two-night takeover of the late night show. Tonight, they’ll perform their number-one hit, “Butter.”
(PRETORIA, South Africa) — At least 72 people have been killed in ongoing riots across South Africa, despite the efforts of heavily outnumbered authorities to quell the violent unrest sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.
The South African Police Service said in a statement Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 27 in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal and to 45 in the economic hub of Gauteng province, with many of the fatalities occurring in “stampedes” as scores of people looted food, liquor, clothes and electrical appliances from shops in poor areas. Other deaths were caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines as well as shootings, according to police.
At least one police officer was killed in an attack on law enforcement, while seven others were injured while responding to the riots, police said.
So far, 1,234 people have been arrested, according to police, but the chaos has continued. Looters were seen ransacking warehouses and supermarkets in the port city of Durban on Tuesday, while rioters set fire to a chemical plant near the town of Umhlanga, just north of Durban.
The South African Police Service has recalled officers from leave and rest days, while the South African National Defence Forces has deployed thousands of soldiers to assist the overstretched law enforcement agencies on the ground.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to “restore calm and order,” describing the unrest as the worst the country has witnessed since the 1990s, before the end of the apartheid regime,
“Over the past few days and nights, there have been acts of public violence of a kind rarely seen in the history of our democracy,” Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation on Monday evening. “Let me be clear: We will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting. We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law.”
The lawlessness has disrupted South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which Ramaphosa warned will have “lasting effects on our ability to consolidate some of the progress we were already witnessing in our economic recovery.” Vaccine shots are urgently needed in the country, which — along with other nations in Africa — is fighting a new wave of COVID-19 infections. The South African government recently reimposed and extended tight restrictions, including a nightly nationwide curfew, school closures, a ban on gatherings and limits on alcohol sales.
Violence and unrest has gripped parts of South Africa since Zuma turned himself in to police on July 7 to begin his 15-month jail term for contempt of court. South Africa’s highest court handed down the sentence after Zuma failed to appear before an inquiry examining corruption during the nine years that he served as president. Zuma has maintained his innocence, saying he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt, and his supporters took to the streets last week. But the protests appear to have reawakened deep-seated grievances over persistent poverty, unemployment and inequality, some 27 years after apartheid ended.
Following job layoffs and an economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, South Africa’s unemployment rate stands at a record high of 32.6% and is even higher among the youth, at 46.3%, according to official numbers released in June by the national statistical service. Meanwhile, more than half of the country’s 60 million people were living in poverty last year, according to data collected by the World Bank Group.
“There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction that we have seen in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng,” Ramaphosa said. “The path of violence, of looting and anarchy, leads only to more violence and devastation. It leads to more poverty, more unemployment, and more loss of innocent life. This is not who we are as a people.”
Tuesday marked the somber anniversary of Glee star Cory Monteith‘s unexpected death. And for the eighth year in a row, Lea Michelle honored her late boyfriend and Glee co-star.
Sharing a black and white photo of the actor to her Instagram story on Tuesday, Michele added a single red heart emoji to the the snap, which depicts a smiling Cory wearing a varsity jacket and waving to the audience.
The Broadway star has consistently honored Monteith on July 13 and, in 2016, revealed she’d gotten two tattoos in his honor. The actress unveiled her first ink on Instagram, which was the number 5. Monteith played the character Finn — a quarterback who wore the number 5 on his jersey — on Glee.
“And one more.. for my Quarterback.. #5,” Michele wrote.
She also has the name “Finn” inscribed on her back, which she previously showed off when posing for the cover of Women’s Health UK.
Michele, 34, also spoke about the struggle to put her life back together following Monteith’s passing.
“I worked very, very, very hard and I got back to that place where I was genuinely happy and strong and ready to live again and see the world and, you know, bring in more beautiful experiences,” she told FLAREmagazine two years following Monteith’s death.
The actress married entrepreneur Zandy Reich in 2019 and, last year, the two welcomed a son named Ever Leo.
Monteith died in 2013 of a heroin and alcohol overdose at age 31.
NBA legend and two-time Olympic gold medalist Scottie Pippen, along with Airbnb, is handing over the keys to his Chicago home to let some lucky fans watch the 2021 Olympics in style.
“I’m allowing 3 guests to come into my house for one individual night to really experience watching the Games,” the Chicago Bulls legend said, who was also a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, a.k.a The Dream Team. He noted fans can even watch the Olympics “from my pool [because] I got a beautiful 80-inch TV outside!”
There are other perks to be had as well. “I think they’re going to love the fact that, when they get to my house, I’m going to be the one… giving them a nice welcome into my home,” said Pippen, adding he will virtually greet his guests, and promised that he’ll hook everyone up with “some nice memorabilia… that they will never, ever forget.”
Pippen noted “the doors are just going to be open” to the renters, where they will be able to freely “enjoy my little home gym. They can enjoy my movie theater, the basketball court. They can enjoy my air hockey game, the swimming pool.”
Guests will also “get to sleep in my bed at the end of the night,” Pippen teased, adding there are even more surprises in store.
Booking opens July 22 at 1 p.m. ET on Airbnb. Three reservations are available for an overnight stay on either August 2, August 4 or August 6 for $92, a nod to The Dream Team’s historic Olympic run. Those selected to spend a night in Scottie’s home will be able to invite up to three friends.
The 2021 Summer Olympics’ opening ceremony starts Friday, July 23.
