Entertainment

Katie Thurston concluded her turbulent journey on Monday night’s The Bachelorette season 17 finale where she, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams were joined by a studio audience, who watched the final moments unravel with an engagement to Blake Moynes, the 30-year-old a wildlife manager from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Monday’s episode picked up with Katie, heartbroken and defeated after Greg‘s sudden departure, insisting that she’d had enough.

“So, what do you want to happen?” asked mentor Kaitlyn Bristowe, to which Katie answered, “I want someone to book my flight home.”

The following morning, Kaitlyn and Tayshia delivered the news to Blake and Justin that Katie decided to see her journey through to the end and that each of the guys would have the chance to spend an overnight date with Katie in the fantasy suite.

Her first overnight date was with Blake.  After bringing him up to speed on what had happened between her and Greg, as well as her thoughts about leaving, the revelation left Blake questioning how strong his relationship with Katie really was.

“I don’t play games with love,” said Blake, adding that he absolutely loved Katie.  She reciprocated by telling him that she was in love with him as well.  The date ended with the two disappearing into the fantasy suite, before reemerging the following morning, enjoying breakfast in bed.

“Best date of my life,” Katie would tell Kaitlyn the next morning, adding unabashedly, “I was plenty happy — many times!”

She then declared, “My heart officially belongs to Blake.”

So where did that leave Justin?  The Baltimore investment sales consultant, anxiously looking forward to his date, was instead greeted with Katie’s announcement that she had told Blake she loved him, and could only be in love with one person.

Later at the “After the Final Rose” portion of the show, Justin would tell Kaitlyn and Tayshia that he was “blindsided” by the breakup and watching it played back hurt “just as much now as it did then.” He believed Katie didn’t give him a fair shot.

Next, it was time for Blake to meet Katie’s family, who held nothing back — especially her aunt, who relentlessly grilled Blake in an effort to find out if he was ready for the ups and downs of marriage.

Katie’s mom was a little more forgiving, but still left Blake doubting if he was ready for that big leap with Katie.

Katie’s journey ended with Blake proposing to her — but not before making Bachelor Nation hold their collective breaths for a few seconds.

“I can’t give you what you came here for,” he teased, before taking a long pause, followed by “because you deserve so much more,” after which he dropped to one knee.

There was also a tense showdown between Katie and Greg during the After the Final Rose segment.  When responding to rumors she heard about Greg attending acting school, she claimed his “shy guy” persona was all an act, and that he was actually a “confident, cocky boy” from New Jersey.

Defending his behavior following their hometown date, Greg said, “I’m sorry, honestly if you feel like I was talking down to you…”

“Gaslighting is probably, I think, a better word,” she interrupted.

Katie also revealed on “After the Final Rose” that her family only found out they were engaged on Monday — along with the rest of us.

The Bachelorette season 18, featuring Michelle Young is set to premiere October 19, following Bachelor in Paradise, kicking off Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

As Ellen DeGeneres gears up for the farewell season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she’s compiling nearly two decades worth of highlights with appearances by Michelle Obama, George Clooney, Taylor Swift, Sandra Bullock and more. 

A 30-second promo video for the final season includes a montage of signature scares featuring George, Taylor and Modern Family‘s Eric Stonestreet, in addition to the talk show host dancing with the likes of the former first lady and Justin Timberlake, as the voiceover announcer declares “two decades of television, hundreds of scares, 4,000 guests, countless lives changed.” 

Several giveaways are also highlighted, including gifting scholarships to students in the class of 2017 and a grateful family touring their new home. “You’ve changed my life,” Ellen tells the audience in another snippet.

The comedian announced in May that the show’s 19th season would be its last. The news arrived months after Buzzfeed published an expose in 2020 in which current and former staff members reported multiple instances of a toxic workplace environment at the show. 

After the report surfaced, Ellen issued a letter to her staff in which she stated, “It’s been way too long, but we’re finally having conversations about fairness and justice. We all have to be more mindful about the way our words and actions affect others, and I’m glad the issues at our show were brought to my attention. I promise to do my part in continuing to push myself and everyone around me to learn and grow.” 

The farewell season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show premieres on September 13.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Tracee Ellis Ross says it wasn’t always a perfect union between her and black-ish co-star, Anthony Anderson, who plays her character Rainbow’s supportive husband Dre on the ABC series.

Ross tells Entertainment Weekly that there was a time when she actually “hated” Anderson.

“He did something while we were working [and] I thought it was totally inappropriate!” recalls Ross, referring to when they co-hosted the Vibe Awards on UPN in 2005. 

“I made a fart joke!” responds Anderson, before Ross injects, “You made a fart joke at my expense on stage!”

“I was like, ‘Not appropriate! I don’t know you that well!,” she continues. “What are you thinking?’ And I held this resentment forever.”

However, it’s safe to say that time has healed all wounds. Ross says she and Anderson have long since mended those fences.

“And now, look — I love this man!,” she says. “This man is like the best TV husband ever.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Elliot Page is being honored for his loyal advocacy to the LGBTQIA+ community. 

At the upcoming Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, Elliot will be bestowed with the Outfest Annual Achievement Award, the highest honor at the festival that works to elevate empathy for the queer community, careers in entertainment, and spotlights LGBTQIA+ stories and voices.

Elliot came out as transgender last year and later shared that he identifies as queer and nonbinary. As an actor, he’s appeared in critically acclaimed films including Juno, Inception and the X-Men series. He’s been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a SAG Award, among many others. 

“It gives me great honor to be the recipient of this year’s Outfest Annual Achievement Award and represent the LGBTQ+ community. Now more than ever, it is so important for our voices to be amplified and represented in film and media, and for people to hear our stories,” Elliot shares in a statement.

The Umbrella Academy star will will be presented with the award by Kieran Medina, lead programmer of Outfest LA’s Annual Trans & Nonbinary Summit, at the Closing Night Gala on August 22 at the Orpheum Theatre.   

Outfest takes place August 13-22.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

A New Jersey woman has gone viral after sharing her story of how Modern Family star Julie Bowen and her sister, Annie Luetkemeyer, came to her aid after she fell while hiking in Utah. 

In a three–part Facebook post, Minnie John shares that she and her family were hiking to see the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park in Moab when she felt light-headed and faint, leaving her husband and son to finish the journey while she waited on the trail. 

Julie and Annie came to her rescue when their tour guide noticed Minnie had fallen face-first, hitting her head on a rock that left her with cuts and bruises around her nose. 

“All I remember is sitting there with my head in my hands secure on the rock. Next thing I hear someone with a familiar voice kept asking me questions. I wondered if I might be watching TV,” Minnie recalls. “My eyes were closed and they said I will be fine and they were cleaning my face and bandaging me up. I heard that familiar voice saying I am going to be ok, a doctor is cleaning me up.” 

“As my eyes started to focus more, she smiled and took her hair tie off and shook her hair for me to figure out. Her sister the doctor asked me to guess and I told her I just hit my head, I can’t remember. She said smiling ‘Modern Family‘ and I said of course!” Minnie continues. 

In addition to bandaging her wounds and gave her electrolytes, Julie and Annie posed for photos with Minnie. She later went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a fractured nose and is now recovering at home.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson have teamed up to create NYC Still Rising After 20 Years: A Comedy Celebration, to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, with several comedy greats coming together to celebrate New York City.    

Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, Colin Quinn, Ronny Chieng, Tom Segura and Dave Attell will all take the stage at Madison Square Garden at the one-night-only event on September 12. Jon and Pete will also perform, along with Saturday Night Live cast members of past and present Colin Jost, Jay Pharoah, John Mulaney and Michael Che. 

“We wanted to put on a fun celebration to honor this great city’s resilience,” Jon and Pete share in a joint statement. “It’s nice to be able to do this with friends and people we love.”

Proceeds from the star-studded event will benefit 9/11 charities. Both Stewart and Davidson have personal connections to the attacks.  Pete’s father, Scott Davidson, was a firefighter in New York City and perished during the 9/11 attacks, while Stewart has been a vocal and dedicated advocate for 9/11 first responders and their families, helping to pass the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.  

All guests must provide proof of full vaccination in order to attend. Tickets go on sale Friday at 12 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kit Harington is opening up about getting sober and the tough times he faced after Game of Thrones ended in 2019. 

According to People, the 34-year-old actor revealed to the U.K.’s Sunday Times, “Things that have happened to me since Thrones ended, and that were happening during Thrones, were of a pretty traumatic nature and they did include alcohol.”

“You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person,” Harington continued. “And you feel that there’s no way out, that’s just who you are. And getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change.'”

The GoT alum added, “One of my favorite things I learnt recently is that the expression ‘a leopard doesn’t change its spots’ is completely false: that a leopard actually does change its spots. I just think that’s the most beautiful thing. It really helped. That was something I kind of clung to; the idea that I could make this huge fundamental change in who I was and how I went about my life.”

Harington, who recently welcomed his first child, a baby boy, with wife and former Game of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie, also got candid about suffering from depression and whether he faced suicidal thoughts. 

“I will give you an answer to that question: the answer is yes. Yes of course,” he said. “I went through periods of real depression where I wanted to do all sorts of things… maybe [speaking about this will] help someone, somewhere. But I definitely don’t want to be seen as a martyr or special. I’ve been through something, it’s my stuff. If it helps someone, that’s good.”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also reach the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741741.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Molly Ringwald honored her late father, jazz great Bob Ringwald, over the weekend by penning a heartfelt obituary in The Sacramento Bee. 

“Jazz musician Robert Scott Ringwald, known to most as Bob, and to a lucky few as Dad and PopPop, died Tuesday, Aug. 3. He was 80,” the actress eulogized on Saturday, sharing how he overcame blindness to become a professional musician.

Bob established the first-ever Sacramento Jazz Festival in 1974 and, in 2012, was honored with the title “The Emperor of Jazz” by the same festival he co-founded — a title that “both touched and embarrassed him,” said Molly.

“Anyone who knew Bob also knew his mischievous streak, and his ever-present, slightly ribald sense of humor,” the Pretty in Pink star continued. ” If you didn’t sufficiently beg to get off of his email joke list, you would have received one just a couple of days before he died.”

“Though he never wanted to be defined by his blindness, he couldn’t help being an ambassador for changing the perception of what is possible to do while living with a disability,” she closed. “His dignity, humor, strength of character and courage will always be remembered and cherished by everyone whose lives were touched by his.”

In addition to writing her father’s obituary, Molly alerted fans of her father’s passing on Instagram. Sharing a series of throwback photos, the Breakfast Club actress wrote, “It’s with a heavy heart that my family says goodbye to my father. I consider myself very lucky to have had in my life as long as I did.”

Besides Molly, Bob Ringwald is survived by his wife of 60 years, Adele, and children Beth and Kelly.  He is predeceased by son Robert Scott Jr., who died at age three from leukemia.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Molly Ringwald?? (@mollyringwald)

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Dwayne Johnson has entered the chat — the shower chat. 

After celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Kristen Bell and Jake Gyllenhaal recently revealed their not-so-daily showering habits, Johnson has entered the conversation to let fans know that not all actors are the same. 

Responding to a Twitter user who expressed that he “can’t possibly be one of those stinky ones,” the 49-year-old actor confirmed, “Nope, I’m the opposite of a ‘not washing themselves’ celeb.”

The Jungle Cruise star then went on to detail his daily regimen, writing, “Shower (cold) when I roll outta bed to get my day rollin’. Shower (warm) after my workout before work. Shower (hot) after I get home from work.”

“Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower,” he added.

Kutcher, along with his wife, Mila Kunis, first sparked the conversation surrounding bathing habits while appearing on Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast last month. At one point in the conversation the pair admitted to not bathing daily, and extended the habit to their children — Wyatt, 6, and Dimitri, 4. 

“If you can see the dirt on them, clean them. Otherwise, there’s no point,” Kutcher declared. 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.