Ray J‘s former manager claims he has a second sex tape of him with Kim Kardashian, and Ray isn’t happy about it.
During a podcast, Wack 100 stated that he had a tape that “was more graphic and better than the first one,” which was titled Kim Kardashian, Superstar.
That tape was recorded in 2002 while Ray and Kim were celebrating her 23rd birthday in Mexico. It was released in 2007 by Vivid Entertainment.
“This ain’t cool,” Ray J commented on Instagram about Wack’s 100’s claim. “I been staying off the Raydar — Just staying focused and being humble and thankful for all the blessings I’m receiving.”
“How can I show growth and maturity if this kinda of stuff keeps happening?” he added. “I’m a father now and my job is to be a great parent and put them first. This is not the message I want to send out.”
Ray J has two kids with Princess Love: Melody, 3, and Epik, 1.
After the sex tape was released, Kardashian filed a lawsuit against Vivid Entertainment, then later dropped the suit and settled for a reported $5 million.
Kim’s attorney, Marty Singer, says a second sex tape doesn’t exist.
“The claim that there is an unreleased sex tape is unequivocally false,” Singer told Page Six. “It is unfortunate that people make these statements to try and get their 15 minutes of fame.”
Following enormous publicity spurred by the original tape, the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians debuted in October 2007, launching the multi-million dollar Kardashian brand franchise. Last year, Kim’s celebrity took a different direction when she starred in the Oxygen channel documentary The Justice Project.
Nicole Richie is bringing in her 40s on fire — literally.
The actress celebrated her birthday on Tuesday and shared a short clip of herself blowing out the candles on her cake.
In the video, which was shared on Instagram, Nicole’s cheered on by people off camera. However, the cheers quickly turn to scream, when her hair dangles into the flames of the still-lit candles, causing both sides of her hair to catch on fire. While someone sitting next to her was able to quickly pat out one side, the other side appeared to get a bit worse before fizzling out.
The mom of two jokingly captioned the snippet, “Well… so far 40 is [fire emoji].”
Many of Richie’s celebrity friends took to the comments to wish her a “happy birthday” including Chelsea Handler and Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski, who wrote, “I feel awful for laughing I’m sry also happy birthday!!”
Meanwhile Katherine Power, who apparently witnessed the event in person, quipped, “A moment I’ll never forget.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden for the first time admitted the diplomatic fallout with France over a recent defense deal could have been better handled, the White House said Wednesday in a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron’s office.
Biden and Macron spoke on the phone Wednesday, in a bid to smooth over the diplomatic fallout from a defense partnership the U.S. struck with Australia and the United Kingdom.
“The two leaders agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners,” the statement from the White House and Élysée Palace said. “President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard.”
The reconciliatory note could signal that France may tone down its criticism of Biden after he agreed to share nuclear submarine technology with Australia.
France’s leaders have compared Biden to his predecessor, President Donald Trump, saying the U.S. surprised France, a key ally, with the agreement — which resulted in Australia scuttling a major deal that had been underway with France.
Biden and Macron plan to meet in Europe in October, according to the statement. Biden is set to head to Glasgow, Scotland, that month for a summit on the climate crisis, although the two sides did not say where the leaders planned to meet.
Meanwhile, Macron will return the French ambassador to Washington next week — France had recalled him in response to the defense news — and the ambassador will who will “then start intensive work with senior U.S, officials,” the statement reads.
The two leaders “have decided to open a process of in-depth consultations, aimed at creating the conditions for ensuring confidence and proposing concrete measures toward common objectives,” the White House and Élysée Palace said. “They will meet in Europe at the end of October to reach shared understandings and maintain momentum in this process.”
The statement also said Biden “reaffirms the strategic importance of French and European engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Nicole Richie accidentally turned up the heat as she celebrated her 40th birthday Tuesday.
The House of Harlow founder shared a video to Instagram of her blowing the candles out on her birthday cake, which was decorated with a photo of her younger self. As she leans, she quickly realizes her hair is on fire.
The video abruptly ends as those around Richie attempt to extinguish the flames.
“Well… so far 40 is 🔥,” she hilariously captioned the video.
Richie’s celebrity friends took to the comments to send their birthday wishes and to express their concern, including pop star Katy Perry, “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo, comedian Amy Schumer and supermodel Naomi Campbell, just to name a few.
Family members including her husband, Joel Madden, and her sister, Sofia Richie, also chimed in, both replying the same thing: “That’s hot.”
Paris Hilton, who starred with Richie on the iconic 2000s reality show “The Simple Life” and actually coined the phrase “that’s hot,” also sent some birthday love in the comments.
“Happy Birthday Nicole,” Madden wrote in a separate post. “You’ve made love feel timeless I’ve forgotten how old we are.”
Richie and Madden married in 2010 and share two children together: daughter, Harlow, 13, and son, Sparrow, 12.
Luke Combs and Garth Brooks are among the most in-demand acts for 2021, according to ticket marketplace StubHub. Luke came in second on the list, while Garth — who canceled the remainder of his Stadium Tour amid COVID-19 concerns — came in fourth.
Chris Stapleton landed at fifth place on the list, with the Eagles — which now include Vince Gill — landing in the ninth spot.
The list, which is based on StubHub’s ticket sales from now through December, is topped by pop star Harry Styles. The Rolling Stones came in third, with Phish landing in the seventh spot, followed by the Dave Matthews Band, and Genesis rounding out the top 10.
Kenny Chesney made the decision to cancel his Chillaxification Tour in 2021, but will he hit the road next year on his Here and Now Tour. Kenny lands in ninth place on the top 10 list of most in-demand tours of 2022. Elton John comes in the first spot on that list, followed by Mötley Crüe, Billie Ellish, Bad Bunny and Rage Against the Machine.
(WASHINGTON) — Months before the Haitian migrant surge at the southern border, Border Patrol agents on the front lines in Texas sounded alarms that Del Rio was vulnerable and resources could become overwhelmed, according to email messages reviewed by ABC News.
Despite the warnings, officials say preparations for the migrant surge only began when large waves started showing up this week. Now the Biden administration is scrambling to track, process and remove those gathered under an international bridge in the South Texas town of Del Rio that at one point ballooned to more than 14,000.
In one email to Del Rio sector management dated June 1, 2021, members of the National Border Patrol Council expressed the need for additional measures to process migrants in the field in the event that facilities became overwhelmed. Agents offered specific suggestions including the use of digital tablets to allow for early initiation of the migrant intake process immediately after encounters with Customs and Border Protection.
In a second email days later, the Del Rio agents went so far as to ensure the tablets had wireless data capabilities with the right network provider so they could be used along the international boundary line.
The emails were sent to Del Rio Sector Border Patrol management, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Management responded weeks later to the June emails with a single line in red typeface:
“This is being explored, several other platforms are being considered which are more efficient.”
“The agency did indeed consider the tablets, but it never materialized into anything of substance,” said Jon Anfinsen, National Border Patrol Council vice president. “As the months went on, the groups continued to increase in size and frequency, but the temporary facilities are only now starting to come online over the past few days, after things had already spun out of control.”
Anfinsen said the groundwork for the migrant surge only began last week as the border became overwhelmed.
Asked by Republican Rep. Michael McCaul on Wednesday about the emails, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his Department does track migration in Central and South America but that the rate at which this group came together at the border was unprecedented.
“We watch the flow of individuals who are seeking to migrate irregularly through Mexico from the Northern Triangle countries, and further south we do indeed track it,” Mayorkas said. “And nevertheless, a congressman, as I previously articulated the speed with which this materialized is unprecedented.”
“Did you see this threat coming? And if so — what if anything did you do?” McCaul pressed.
“We have not seen before such a rapid migration — irregular migration — of individuals as we have observed and experienced with respect to the Haitians who have crossed the border in Del Rio Texas,” Mayorkas said. “That has been an unprecedented speed.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request to comment on the email exchange. U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to comment.
There were other early warning signs, including reports of large migrants groups moving into Panama in the early weeks of summer. Panama’s foreign minister was concerned about the mounting pressure after the country’s migration division reported a 477% increase in border crossings between January and April, according to a June report from Bloomberg News.
Haitian migrants have been leaving the island nation in large numbers since the massive earthquake of January 2010. Many moved to reside in Brazil and Chile but have faced a lack of economic stability and security in South America.
Arrests at the border have neared record levels over the summer. CBP has made more than 1.5 million arrests or detentions so far this budget year. Immigration officials point out a significant portion, sometimes as much as a third, of those arrests involve repeat offenders and the administration has taken steps to send migrants further into the interior of Mexico to prevent recidivism.
Haiti has been devastated by natural disasters and political unrest with two major earthquakes in roughly the past decade. The first in 2010 sent thousands seeking refuge in South America. A less expansive, but still deadly, earthquake last month killed more than 2,200. But this most recent quake occurred after the July 29 deadline set by the Biden administration for any Haitians to receive refuge in the U.S.
In a letter to fans, Sam Smith reveals that they’ve got new music in the pipeline, and that they’ve learned some valuable lessons from the events of the past year and a half.
“It feels like a life time has gone by since I’ve seen you and I really want you to know I miss you all desperately,” Sam writes, adding, “Over the past 18 months, I honestly didn’t know who I was without you.”
They continue, “I’m writing from California where I’ve been busy writing and working on new music for a few weeks. It’s the first time I’ve been outside of the U.K. since the beginning of 2020, and while it feels strange…it feels massively exciting to be creating something new again. I can’t wait for you to hear the magic that’s happening.”
The “Dancing with a Stranger” star declares, “I’m learning for the first time ever to TAKE MY TIME and that new approach is SO exciting. [2020’s] Love Goes [album] was a time of change in my life, both personally and professionally. I want this next album to celebrate where I ended up after Love Goes. I want it to celebrate my strength and will forever be grateful for your patience and support.”
Sam then notes that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated hardships, “We have all GROWN. No matter what has happened, we are all two years older, wiser and more experienced in this weird and wonderful thing called life.”
They add, “I’ve ceased trying to gain control of the things that we just can’t…life is still going to do whatever the hell it wants. And our only real job in this is to survive, to help others survive too and to try keep smiling while we do it.”
The fourth studio effort from the “Left Hand Free” outfit is set to arrive February 11, 2022. It’s the follow-up to 2017’s Relaxer.
You can check out the lead single from The Dream, titled “U&ME,” now via digital outlets.
Alt-J will be supporting The Dream next year on a tour with Portugal. the Man. The outing will kick off February 25 in Pittsburgh, and will conclude April 17 in Toronto.
Tickets will go on sale next Friday, October 1, at 10 a.m. local time. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit AltJandPTM.com.
Last month, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts returned to the road for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the band has now decided to postpone most of the remainder of its 2021 shows because of the ongoing health crisis.
In a joint statement on their official Facebook page, Jett and her group say, “It’s been a thrill to be back on tour recently. We all missed being on the road, playing for the fans and playing together again.”
Having said that, the band notes, “The continuing surge of COVID cases due to the Delta variant should be of concern to all of us. While we are fully vaccinated, we are still being extremely cautious to protect our fans, our crew and everyone else that work so hard to put on our shows. For that reason, we have decided to postpone the remaining performances that were planned for 2021.”
Jett and the Blackhearts report that they will play one more concert on their 2021 schedule, a September 28 gig at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York.
The band ends the message by saying, “We’re disappointed to have to take this step but we feel it is necessary to protect the health of everyone. Stay safe and we’ll see you in 2022!”
According to JoanJett.com, the band had seven other shows on its 2021 itinerary, spanning from an October 2 concert in Laughlin, Nevada, through a November 21 performance in Reading, Pennsylvania. No word yet if or when those dates will be rescheduled.
Jett and the Blackhearts’ 2022 schedule is slated to begin on June 16 in Atlanta, when the long-delayed Stadium Tour, which also features Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and Poison, is set to kick off.
Tonight, ABC is relaunching its beloved series The Wonder Years from a new perspective.
Narrated by Don Cheadle, the show is set in the late 1960s, and centers on a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama.
Aside from serving as a director on tonight’s pilot, Fred Savage himself is one of the executive producers, along with Empire‘s Lee Daniels.
E.J. Williams plays Dean, who is taking the place of Savage’s Kevin Arnold in the original. The young actor explains his parents were big fans of the first show, which ran from 1988-1993 on the network.
Saycon Sengbloh plays Dean’s mother Lillian. “I always tell people I think I went to high school with Fred Savage. No, I didn’t. But I think I grew up with him because…I totally was into the show,” she enthuses.
For his part, Williams was a big fan of having Savage so connected to the reboot. “I probably should have warned Fred when I first met him, but I’d definitely ask him a lot of questions to the point that he might get annoyed with me,” EJ jokes.
“But…he directs and he’s an executive producer on it. So it’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
With the show centering on a Black family, The Wonder Years deals with topics the Arnolds didn’t have to face. Twelve-year-old Williams explains he used to switch the channel from footage of those times of racial strife.
“Now that I’m in a situation where my character is my age, dealing with these things, it’s like I mean, I’m stuck with it now.”
He adds, “But it’s definitely great being able to hear experiences and seeing the joy and laughter side of all the madness.”
