Entertainment

Netflix has revealed that comedian and former talk show giant Ellen DeGeneres‘ final stand-up special ever will hit the streamer on Sept. 24. 

Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval will be her second original comedy special for the streamer following 2018’s Relatable.

Ellen’s daytime talk show ended its 19-year run in 2022, following a BuzzFeed expose in 2020 that The Ellen DeGeneres Show‘s behind-the-scenes environment was the opposite of its “be kind” mantra: accusations of racism, sexual misconduct and intimidation were leveled by former staffers.

Following that, supposed examples of DeGeneres being “mean” went viral.

Her fall from grace will apparently be a part of the new show, which was teased with the tagline, “This will be Ellen’s last special and yes, she’s going to talk about it.”

Netflix further teases, “Ellen gets personal and reveals what she’s been doing since being ‘kicked out of show business.’ From the mundane world of raising chickens and parallel parking to the harsh reality of becoming a brand name celebrity, she goes deep into her stand-up roots and brings the laughs through life’s most real and absurd realities.”

As reported in July, DeGeneres has been talking onstage about being “canceled,” with SFGate reporting she told an audience member at a show at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, “This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done.”

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Supermodel Elle MacPherson has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer seven years ago and underwent nontraditional treatment on her journey to remission.

Australia’s Women’s Weekly magazine excerpted the 60-year-old’s new memoir, Elle, in which she explained she underwent a lumpectomy, calling it a “shock” when she found out the growth doctors removed was cancerous.

However, while she was advised to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she instead took “an intuitive, heart-led, holistic approach” to her health. 

“I realised I was going to need my own truth, my belief system to support me through it,” MacPherson writes. “And that’s what I did. So, it was a wonderful exercise in being true to myself, trusting myself and trusting the nature of my body and the course of action that I had chosen.”

Incidentally, the model, entrepreneur and self-described accidental actress said she reached out to fellow Australian entertainer Olivia Newton-John, who died of cancer in 2022 after decades battling the disease. “[We] spoke a few times when I was diagnosed and also through
both of our healing journeys. We did things differently, but we did share experiences with each other and how we feel and how we approach things.”

Seven years after she was diagnosed, Elle tells the magazine, “In traditional terms, they’d say I’m in clinical remission, but I would say I’m in utter wellness. And I am!”

More specifically, MacPherson says, “Truly, from every perspective, every blood test, every scan, every imaging test … but also emotionally, spiritually and mentally – not only physically. It’s not only what your blood tests say, it’s how and why you are living your life on all levels.”

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Fans weren’t the only ones hoping for more of Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness when WandaVision ended more than three years ago.

“I was always interested in more Agatha,” Jac Schaeffer, who created that series, as well as the new Agatha-centric spin-off, Agatha All Along, told Good Morning America.

Schaeffer said viewers’ overwhelming response to Hahn’s performance as the witchy breakout character — and that viral song — was a whirlwind ride, but a series focused on her “didn’t seem within the realm of possibility.”

The showrunner said a year or so after WandaVision ended, she was “exploring different characters and different worlds” for other Marvel projects, but she couldn’t get Agatha out of her head.

“It just kept going back to her,” she recalled, crediting Hahn. “The joy and complexity and the continued interest in this character is because of her.”

Hahn called it “an actor’s dream” to be able to embrace all aspects of her character — from the dramatic to the kooky.

“I’ve been blessed enough in this career to be able to jump into different genres,” she said. “I’ve never been really pigeonholed … so I feel like this is, weirdly, the culmination of that ability.”

As for whether or not Agatha is a true villain, Hahn and Schaeffer have a few thoughts.

Hahn said, “It feels very binary to call someone just bad” — even Agatha.

“There is much more to explore there,” Schaeffer said, adding that she also wouldn’t call Agatha “evil.”

“I think that as a young person she was told she was bad … and that kind of thing imprints on a person,” she said.

Also starring Patti LuPone and Aubrey Plaza, Agatha All Along premieres with two episodes Sept. 18 on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White are excited and gearing up to work alongside each other on Wheel of Fortune.

“I mean, it’s Wheel of Fortune. How could you not be happy?” Seacrest told ABC News’ Ginger Zee in an interview that aired Tuesday on Good Morning America.

White added, “It’s energetic, it’s positive, it’s fun. I’m so excited.”

It was announced in June 2023 that Seacrest would take over Pat Sajak‘s decadeslong role as co-host of the iconic show. Seacrest begins his new role as the co-host of “Wheel of Fortune” this fall for the show’s 42nd season.

Seacrest opened up about his experience working with White, who has been co-hosting the show with Sajak since 1982.

“I mean, it’s out of body,” Ryan tells GMA. “It’s out of body for me, you know, to have watched Vanna, and watched this show and Pat, and what they’ve built with audiences across this country. And what this show means to people in their living rooms every night, and their families, and generations of people who have watched this show, it is a very special thing that just doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

As part of his preparation to take the reins from Sajak, Seacrest said he has “watched endless episodes of Pat and Vanna on Wheel of Fortune.”

“We have played mock Wheel of Fortune games in many cities across America, depending on where I am, on conference tables, in meeting rooms,” he shared. “We’ve had makeshift wheels and makeshift contestants for months, just to sort of get the gameplay down, and the time and the pacing down. And hopefully it all pays off.”

In July, Seacrest shared a Reel on Instagram from his first day on the Wheel of Fortune set, which was recorded earlier in the year.

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Brad Pitt and girlfriend Ines de Ramon made their red carpet debut together at the 2024 Venice Film Festival over the weekend.

The pair attended the premiere of Pitt’s new film Wolfs on Sunday, posing on the carpet together and wrapping their arms around each other.

Pitt wore a custom Louis Vuitton ensemble for the occasion that included a black, double-breasted tuxedo jacket and matching pants. De Ramon stunned in a white, one-shoulder gown, pairing the dress with a glittering gold clutch and matching gold heels.

The duo was joined on the carpet by Pitt’s co-star and fellow Wolfs producer George Clooney and his wife, international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

Pitt and de Ramon have not confirmed their romance publicly. The Sunday sighting marks the pair’s first official red carpet appearance together, although they have attended other events together including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s annual gala, the British Grand Prix and the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

That said, the two did not pose for photos at those events.

ABC News has reached out to the pair’s representatives for comment.

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Ian McKellen says he’s been approached by director/actor Andy Serkis for his Lord of the Rings follow-up film The Hunt for Gollum, but he only has one caveat about reprising his role: Time. The 85-year-old tells Big Issue, “When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So they better be quick!” The movie is set for a 2026 release…

Oscar-winning filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar screened his first film in English, The Room Next Door, at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, and was rewarded for his latest cinematic effort with an 18-minute-long standing ovation, according to Deadline. His two leading ladies, Oscar winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, were on hand, and also applauded along with the crowd. The film centers on the pair, playing friends who reunite in New York City after decades, as Swinton’s character battles cancer…

James Darren, who was a teen idol thanks to Gidget, and went on to star in shows including T.J. Hooker and Star Trek: Deep Stace Nine, has died. Variety reports the actor passed away on Monday, August 26, at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital. He was 88…

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The summer movie season came to a close with a lackluster Labor Day weekend at the box office.

Deadpool & Wolverine was number one again in its sixth week with $19.4 across the three-day weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, the film has now surpassed $600 million in its domestic haul. 

Number two on the list was Alien: Romulus in its third week of release, with an estimated $11.2 million domestically through the Monday holiday. 

One of the weekend’s new releases, Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid as former President Ronald Reagan, opened in third place with a better-than-expected $10 million. 

It was a close race for fourth and fifth place, with Twisters just narrowly beating out It Ends with Us. Twisters took in $9.56 million in its seventh week of release, while It Ends with Us earned $9.5 million in its fourth week.

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Joey Chestnut beat his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi by gobbling down a record 83 hot dogs and buns to Kobayashi’s 66 on Sunday, during Netflix’s live Las Vegas special Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef.

There was also a side of personal drama hanging over the match-up: The co-hosts of the live event were comic actor Rob Riggle and Nikki Garcia — days after the husband of the latter, Dancing with the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev, was arrested for domestic violence.

There was no mention of the situation on-air, but Garcia wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.

Chestnut and Kobiyashi used to go head-to-head during Nathan’s annual hot dog eating contest every July 4 — with Joey finally beating Kobayashi in 2007.

However, a contract dispute between Kobayashi and Major League Eating saw him banned from the competition since 2010, clearing the way for Chestnut to dominate virtually unchallenged since.

In June, MLE banned Chestnut from the July 4 contest due to his decision to endorse vegan hot dogs instead of Nathan’s.

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The lawyer for one of the two doctors charged in connection with Matthew Perry‘s ketamine death said his client feels “incredibly remorseful” for the role the medical professional played in the actor’s death as he appeared in court Friday.

Dr. Mark Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and has signed a plea agreement, according to federal prosecutors. He appeared in Los Angeles federal court Friday afternoon for his arraignment in the case. Chavez answered the judge’s questions, saying he understood the case against him.

“He is trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here,” Matthew Binninger, Chavez’s attorney, told reporters following the arraignment. “He is doing everything in his power to cooperate, to help in this situation, and he’s incredibly remorseful.”

Binninger told reporters before the court appearance Friday that Chavez fully accepts responsibility for his role in the death of Perry.

Chavez also agreed, as part of the deal, to immediately give up his medical license. He formally pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Friday, though a change of plea proceeding will be scheduled for a later date, at which point he will plead guilty, according to Binninger. The lawyer said he expects the hearing to occur sometime in October.

Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said. Chavez is one of five people facing federal charges in the wake of Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose at his home on Oct. 28, 2024, at the age of 54. 

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Tom Hanks is once again issuing a warning to his followers to be vigilant online against artificial intelligence.

The actor shared a “public service announcement” post to Instagram on Thursday, addressing AI-generated ads using him to promote medical products he does not endorse.

“There are multiple ads over the internet falsely using my name, likeness, and voice promoting miracle cures and wonder drugs,” Hanks wrote. “These ads have been created without my consent, fraudulently and through AI.”

“I have nothing to do with these posts or the products and treatments, or the spokespeople touting these cures,” he continued. “I have type 2 diabetes, and I ONLY work with my board certified doctor regarding my treatment.”

Hanks ended the post with a firm message of caution to his followers, saying, “DO NOT BE FOOLED. DO NOT BE SWINDLED. DO NOT LOSE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.”

A representative for Hanks told Good Morning America the actor had no additional comment on the matter.

This isn’t the first time the Toy Story actor has spoken out against AI-generated ads using his likeness to promote products.

In October 2023, he warned his followers about an ad for a dental plan using an aged-down version of him, saying, “I have nothing to do with it.”

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