Entertainment

After four seasons on The View, Meghan McCain announced Thursday that she’s leaving at the end of the season.

“It is a privilege to work alongside such strong, brilliant, intelligent, incredible broadcasters like the four of you. You are the most talented women on all of television hands down and it has been so incredible,” McCain said to her co-hosts in announcing her departure.

Declaring “This was not an easy decision,” McCain added, “I’m just eternally grateful to have had this opportunity here so, seriously, thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart.” She also implied that COVID-19 had something to do with her decision, sharing in part that the pandemic has “changed the way I’m looking at my life, the way I’m living my life, the way I want my life to look like.”

McCain, 36, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain. joined as a co-host of the Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show in October 2017, and as the lone conservative voice on the show would often spar with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar.  On Thursday’s show, Behar called McCain a “formidable opponent,” adding, “You’re no snowflake, missy!”

“It’s such a privilege to be on the show. It’s such an iconic show. It’s so iconic to be in this chair that [Elisabeth Hasselbeck] made so great,” McCain said at the top of her first show on Oct. 9, 2017. “I watched Elisabeth in college, and to be the conservative on this show is something I take very seriously, and I’m excited to bring a different perspective to the show.”

So far, there’s no public indication of what McCain may do next.

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Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says he hopes “to correct history” with his directorial debut Summer of Soul. 

The documentary, which chronicles the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, follows the series of concerts that took place at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem over the course of several weekends. Questlove tells ABC Audio that Summer of Soul actually “found [him].”

“I was approached thinking that I was this like wise music savant, who just so happened to write four books, made 17 albums, won five Grammys and had my hand in all things creative,” Thompson says. “And these guys are telling me that back in ’69 300,000 people saw Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, Ray Barretto and [Babatunde] Olatunji. And I’m sitting there… embarrassed like ‘How do I not know about this?'”

Questlove says it was that ignorance that motivated him to put on his filmmaker hat.

“To be told that this footage sat in a basement for 50 years… let me know how dangerous… the idea of Black erasure is,” he says. “Be it something as historical as this particular concert, or even something as minuscule [as] [Black TikTok] content creators… not getting proper credit.”

“I felt like this wasn’t about me,” Questlove continues. “This wasn’t about my directorial debut more than it was about my chance to correct history.”

And it’s safe to say Thompson accomplished his goal with his nearly two-hour film which includes never-before-seen concert performances and commentary from those who attended.

“[Because] if you don’t correct history, you’re going to repeat it again,” Questlove notes. “So… I hope that this film is… a paradigm shift to let artists know that they have a responsibility to use their voice in their activism.”

Summer of Soul is available in theaters and on Hulu July 2.

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Rumer Wills took a stand against body shaming after fans criticized her appearance in her latest Instagram post.

The actress, who is the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, had shared a playful photo of her posing in bright clothing on Tuesday, which drew sharp commentary from critics who claimed Willis looked too skinny and needed to eat something.

In a Wednesday Instagram story, Rumer shared an alternative photo from the shoot, saying it reflects “what I actually look like” and called out the harmful comments.

“After the barrage of some really inappropriate comments left on my pic I posted yesterday I was left really bummed cause I was really enjoying the silly pics I took,” said Rumer, 32. “It was a weird angle that even made me feel like I looked smaller than I do in real life.”

“Even though you may think it’s your job or even your right to leave your unfiltered thoughts or judgements about my body for me and others to read… it’s not,” the Masked Singer alum continued, adding she will not tolerate such negativity.

“If I was really struggling with any kind of food issues (which I’m gratefully not) coming for me in my comments and telling me how I’m too skinny or I need to eat is absolutely not helpful and extremely body shaming,” said Rumer, who laid out the appropriate way for concerned fans to reach out and offer help.

“If you were actually concerned for my health and welfare or anyone you think may be actually struggling send them a dm and have a private conversation and really ask how they are doing and if they would like support,” she continued, closing her statement with, “Body shaming of any kind is something I will not stand for.”

 

 

 

 

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Martha Stewart revealed Wednesday that she is on bed rest after injuring her Achilles tendon.  

Taking to Instagram, the 79-year-old lifestyle guru admitted her latest update was “not the prettiest photo nor the happiest back story” and shared a photo of her heavily bandaged ankle.

“Bad timing all around,” said Stewart. “Ruptured my Achilles’ tendon a while ago. Tried to get it to heal on its own to no avail.”

The Meatless author explained that she underwent a three-hour surgery the previous day “to repair the damage” and is now “recuperating at home.”

“I have been ordered to lay still with leg elevated for two weeks. After that another two to four weeks of crutches. Then maybe some more normal activity,” continued Stewart, who then described how she managed to injure herself.

“Most such ruptures occur when dancing or playing sports. Mine was caused by a surprise step into a hole in the dark getting out of the car,” Martha lamented before shouting out her doctors for “attempting to make me whole again.”

Several of Martha’s famous friends were quick to send in their well wishes, including Drew Barrymore, Ellen Pompeo and celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian.

“Glad to hear you are on your way to a full recovery,” wrote Pompeo, who referenced her long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy in her encouraging note. “Lots of love from your favorite fake doctor.”

Barrymore left Martha a cheeky pick-me-up with her comment, which read, “Your [sic] still so sexy !!! so so so sexy!”

 

 

 

 

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The shoulder injury Harrison Ford suffered while rehearsing a fight scene a week ago for the forthcoming Indiana Jones 5 movie hasn’t wreaked “chaos” on the U.K. set after all, as one report claimed. 

Director James Mangold tweeted this response to a concerned fan: “We’re all good. Shooting! But thanks!”

Filming on this latest installment, already delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, hit a snag last week when the 78-year-old star reportedly injured his shoulder while rehearsing a fight scene. A Disney spokesperson told ABC News at the time that filming would continue while the appropriate course of treatment is evaluated, but the U.K. tabloid The Sun then reported Wednesday that production on the film had “ground to a halt.” Mangold’s update appears to contradict that claim.

Indiana Jones 5, which was originally slated to hit theaters July 9, was pushed back to July 29, 2022 this past April over COVID-19 concerns. 

The as-yet-untitled fifth Indy adventure also stars Mads Mikkelsen, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Shaunette Renée Wilson and Mangold’s Logan baddie, Boyd Holbrook. The film is being produced by Lucasfilm, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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