Entertainment

Tyrese was ordered in a divorce hearing to pay over $10,000 a month in child support to his estranged wife, Samantha Lee Gibson.

Fulton County, Georgia, Judge Kevin F. Farmer ruled that Samantha will receive $10,690 per month, according to TMZ. She will split child care and education costs for their 3-year-old daughter, Soraya, with the singer/actor.

Tyrese will also pay the same amount in child support to his ex-wife, Norma Mitchell. They share 15-year-old daughter Shayla, who lives in California.

Farmer declared Tyrese and Samantha legally single and denied spousal support for each party.

“This is not a punishment for you,” the judge told the 43-year-old entertainer. “Put that money where it belongs, in the child. … I want you both to love your kid, and I want you both to tell your kid to love the other parent, because that’s how we get successful human beings.”

“Nobody won here and nobody lost,” Farmer continued. “The kid lost, because she doesn’t have her parents together. Minimize the effects of that loss. Minimize it in every way, shape and form you can.”

Tyrese and Samantha married on Valentine’s Day in 2017. She filed for divorce in September 2020, and claimed that he cut her off financially and locked her out of their house. Samantha had requested $20,000 in monthly child support.

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In New York City Wednesday night, Amazon Studios prepared a special feast inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Middle-earth and the streaming service’s about-to-debut The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

At the helm of the event was Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, who was tasked with transporting guests gastronomically to the Second Age, and into the dining halls of the respective kingdoms of Dwarves and Elves and men.

On the menu was a fried chicken dish inspired by the realm of the Ñoldorin Elves called Eregion; a spiced lamb shoulder that could have been found within the stone walls of the Dwarf kingdom of Moria; and an almond cake to celebrate the establishment of Númenor, the human Kingdom of Man.

ABC Audio caught up with Samuelsson after the feast, and he said it was a thrill “just to be asked, being such a fan of the show and the books, to the films.”

He added, “You know, coming from a Nordic background like it was, like foraging: some of the foods — I really felt like, ‘OK, I’m inspired by this, I can do this, let’s have some fun with this!'”

“It was super fun,” he continued. “You’ve got to kind of, like, put your ‘serious chef hat’ away and just be like, ‘I’m going to go for it.'”

Those who use Amazon Echo devices can now ask Alexa for all of Samuelsson’s Middle-earth recipes.

“Alexa also gives you just sort of [a] tool to really engage,” the chef said.

“And now food is really part of pop culture, right? Because this is entertainment, technology and bringing people together, what can be better than that?”

The Rings of Power debuts today on Amazon Prime.

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Saturday Night Live veteran Rob Schneider has a very different view of Kate McKinnon‘s tribute to Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign loss than McKinnon does.

The now-conservative-leaning actor said on The Glenn Beck Podcast Saturday that it showed the long-running sketch series took a turn away from comedy.

“I hate to crap on my own show,” he admitted.

“… Hillary Clinton lost, which is understandable, she’s not exactly the most likable person in the room,” Schneider opined. “And then when Kate McKinnon went out there on Saturday Night Live in the cold opening and all that … dressed as Hillary Clinton, and she started playing ‘Hallelujah.’ I literally prayed, ‘Please have a joke at the end.'”

He recalled thinking, “‘Don’t do this. Please don’t go down there.’ And there was no joke at the end, and I went, ‘It’s over. It’s over. It’s not gonna come back.'”

As it turns out, Schneider’s comedic instincts weren’t rusty: There was debate about whether the performance was “too somber” for a comedy show following former President Donald Trump‘s electoral victory, McKinnon admitted in a recent emotional interview with Esquire.

That said, she had a very different view of her viral performance of Leonard Cohen‘s classic.

McKinnon said, “In my tenure at the show, I got the most response about this one thing.”

She told the magazine, “… in this moment when it was so emotional for everyone in the country … I suddenly understood [the song] as, like, the love of this idea that is America. That all people are created equal, and that’s the most beautiful idea … but the execution has been long and tough and we’re still just trying to get it right. But that it’s worth it, and that it will always be worth it.”

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A star-studded audience filled the stands while Serena Williams played under the lights during the second round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday night.

Celebrities across all industries — entertainment, music and sports — came to support Williams in one of her last singles matches as a professional tennis player.

Although all eyes were on Williams, here are a few famous faces spotted in the crowd, including Zendaya, Tiger Woods, Dionne Warwick, fashion icon Anna Wintour, Oscar winners Jared Leto and Spike Lee, and tennis legends Billie Jean King and Serena’s already-retired sister, Venus.

Serena, who announced her “evolution” away from tennis earlier this month in a personal essay in Vogue, battled 26-year-old WTA #2-ranked player, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

Williams won in three sets, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2, in an upset victory for the 40-year-old legend in what could be her last-ever tournament.

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House of the Dragon co-showrunner, executive producer and director Miguel Sapochnik is exiting the HBO series, Variety reports. “It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally,” Sapochnik said in a statement. Sapochnik will reportedly still be credited as an EP on the project with Ryan Condal becoming the sole showrunner. Prior to House of the Dragon, Sapochnik directed multiple episodes of Game of Thrones…

In a lengthy Instagram Story on Wednesday, Dancing with the Stars’ Sharna Burgess confirmed she will not be returning as a pro for season 31. The 37-year-old, who recently welcomed her first child with Brian Austin Green, said she’s “not ready to spend a minimum of 10 hours a day” away from their newborn. Sharna shared that while she won’t appear as a pro, there have been talks of her being a part of DWTS “in some capacity.” The news comes ahead of the show’s 31st season, which is preparing to debut on Disney+…

Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty will be gaining two new faces with Kyra Sedgwick and Elsie Fisher joining the cast for season two, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The actresses will have recurring roles in the Young Adult series, which is based on a novel by Jenny Han. The Summer I Turned Pretty, which debuted in June, is about a teen who finds herself in a love triangle with two brothers…

Jason Bateman is reportedly in negotiations to join the Netflix action thriller Carry On, according to Deadline sources. Bateman would co-star opposite Taron Egerton in the film, which “centers on Ethan Kopek, a young TSA agent who gets blackmailed by a mysterious traveler to let a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight,” per Deadline, which reports Bateman will be portraying the mysterious traveler…

Amanda Mackey, the award-winning casting director for the 1992 film A League of Their Own has died, Variety reports. She was 70. “We are heartbroken to hear about the passing of Casting Director Amanda Mackey. She was an inspiration to many in our field and everyone at CSA sends our condolences to her family and friends,” the Casting Society said in a statement, per Variety. Mackey’s other credits include Bad Moms, Smoking’ Aces, and many more…

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Fantasy fans everywhere can rejoice – the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are finally here. The cast of the Prime Video series tells ABC Audio what to expect from the new adaptation, set 1,000 years before J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic stories.

Morfydd Clark stars as the Elf warrior Galadriel and she says even if you haven’t seen any of the movies or read any of the books, you’ll have no problem jumping into the show.

“I think you can come in at any point,” Clark said. “I started with The Hobbit, some people start with Lord of the Rings, and I guess some people start with ours. And hopefully it will take them to the books, as well.”

Nazanin Boniadi plays the human healer Bronwyn in the series, and she says that the five realms that the series portrays are all unique and “magnificent in their own right.”

“When you watch it, you almost feel like you’re immersed in that world,” Boniadi says. “The costumes are distinct. The accents are distinct, the color schemes, the everything – it’s just really gorgeous to watch.”

Clark enjoyed almost everything about working on the series, but says her favorite part was learning stunt choreography.

“They made me feel really powerful, made me do things that I never imagined I could do,” Clark says. “And the more powerful I felt physically, the closer I felt to an immensely powerful Elf.”

Charlie Vickers, who plays Halbrand, a human from the Southlands, wants to make one thing clear. While this show is distinctly its own, it’s still Tolkien “at its core” and focuses on themes “we can all relate to. Stories of hope and stories of love and loss and despair.”

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The trailblazing film and television career of the late John Singleton will be celebrated at his alma mater, the University of Southern California.

The USC School of Cinematic Arts announced Tuesday that it is hosting “John Singleton: A Celebration,” a yearlong tribute to the filmmaker, who passed away in April 2019 at age 51.

The events will include a special screening series of his most notable films, featuring conversations with cast and crew members. Screenings will take place on the USC Campus, and are free and open to the public, with RSVP required on the USC School of Cinematic Arts website.

Singleton made history with his 1991 debut film, Boyz N the Hood. At age 24, he became the youngest person, and the first African American, to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Singleton was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

A screening of Boyz N the Hood will kick off the tribute on Friday, September 9. Director Robert Townsend will moderate a conversation with selected stars from the film.

The cast included Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Angela Bassett, Regina King and Laurence Fishburne.

The next movie in the series will be Poetic Justice on September 21, followed by Higher Learning on October 12, Rosewood on November 9 and Shaft starring Samuel L. Jackson on November 30.

The celebration will continue into 2023 on January 25 with Baby Boy, 2 Fast 2 Furious in February and concludes with Four Brothers on March 22.

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It appears that Shia LaBeouf may be primed for a comeback, as legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola reportedly tapped him for the star-studded epic Megalopolis. 

Variety reports the Peanut Butter Falcon star, who recently made headlines by rebutting Olivia Wilde‘s accusations she “fired” him from her new movie Don’t Worry Darling, has landed a leading role in the movie. 

Written decades ago by the Godfather icon himself, Coppola has assembled an all-star cast for Megalopolis, including Oscar nominees Adam Driver and Laurence Fishburne, and Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker and Jon Voight, along with Fast and Furious series and Game of Thrones alumna Nathalie Emmanuel.

Five-time Oscar winner Coppola is financing the reportedly $120 million passion project himself. While the exact plot is a secret, it has been described as an “epic story of political ambition, genius, and conflicting interests,” centering on the goal of creating of an ideal society.

LaBeouf hasn’t appeared in a Hollywood project since he was sued in 2020 for physically and emotionally  abusing ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs. The actor has since undergone rehab and became a practicing Roman Catholic, which he began studying to play the lead role in Abel Ferrara‘s film Padre Pio, which will debut at the Venice Film Festival.

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What was supposed to be a luxury cruise aboard the Diamond Princess in January 2020 turned into a floating horror story when passengers and crew members were infected with COVID-19.

That’s the subject of Peacock’s upcoming documentary Hell of a Cruise, the teaser for which just dropped. The streamer teases, “When passengers and crew members boarded … they had no idea that the deadly novel coronavirus boarded the ship with them,” and what began as a floating paradise became a “claustrophobic nightmare.”

Passengers and crew members were quarantined aboard the ship for 14 days, many in tiny rooms, turning the ship into a floating prison.

“The Diamond Princess was ground zero” for the pandemic, one interviewee says in the snippet.

The film boasts hours of never-before-seen self-shot footage from people who found themselves stranded aboard the ship, as case numbers rose — and fear and uncertainty reached epidemic levels.

Making matters worse, a week after their trip to nowhere began, other cruise ships were put to sea, “where the same nightmare occurred again.”

The documentary debuts September 14.

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Madam C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire in the United Stats, is being honored by Mattel as the next female role model to be featured in Barbie’s line of Inspiring Women dolls.

Walker made her fortune beginning in 1910 in Indianapolis by developing a line of haircare products and cosmetics designed for Black women. In 1998, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Madam C. J. Walker commemorative stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series.

The Madam C.J. Walker doll features a rendition of the entrepreneur holding her original product, “Wonderful Hair Grower.”

Walker’s great-great granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles worked with Mattel on the collaboration and introduced the doll in an Instagram video. 

“As a collector of Black dolls, I can tell you this really makes my heart sing!” she commented. Bundles is elated that Walker follows other trailblazing women in this special Barbie collection.

“I love that she joins Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Sally Ride and Eleanor Roosevelt,” added Bundles, who wrote the 2001 biography On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker.

The Barbie Inspiring Women Series pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before.

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