Entertainment

In a video posted to his Instagram Monday, Dave Chappelle has responded to those who protested his Netflix special The Closer, claiming it was “transphobic.”

“I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said,” he says in the clip while seated on stage in front of an audience.

“You said you want a safe environment at Netflix,” he says of his detractors, “but it seems like I’m the only one who can’t go to the office anymore.”

“Even though the media frames this as if it’s me vs. that community, that’s not what it is,” the Mark Twain Prize winner explains. “I do not blame the LGBT community for any of this s***…This is about corporate interests and what I say and what I cannot say!”

Dave explains to the crowd, “Everyone I know from this community has been nothing but loving and supporting. So I don’t know what all this nonsense is about.”

Chappelle says he’s willing to meet members of trans community, but adds, “I am not bending to anyone’s demands. And if you want to meet with me…I have some conditions: First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.”

Gadsby had slammed Chappelle’s comedy, as well as Sarandos for posting the specials.

Chappelle also notes that he’s being dis-invited from film festivals that previously asked him to screen his documentary Untitled, so he’s releasing it to 10 American cities.

“…You cannot have this conversation and exclude my voice from it!” he emphasized. “You have to answer the question: Am I cancelled or not?” To which the audience yelled, “NO!”

“Then let’s go!” he exclaimed before thanking the audience, and tossing the mic.

The video then listed the 10 cities:

11/4 – San Francisco
11/7 – Minneapolis
11/9 – Des Moines
11/12 – Indianapolis
11/14 – Cleveland
11/15 – Toronto
11/17 – Cincinnati
11/19 – Columbus
11/21 – Atlanta
11/22 New York

(Video contains uncensored profanity)

 

 

 

 

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Add one more person to the list of 14 people claiming to be the offspring of the late DMX.

Raven Barmer-Simmons from Georgia contacted DMX’s alleged adult children, and all of them will be DNA tested to confirm their paternity, Page Six reports.

The “Party Up (Up in Here)” rapper, born Earl Simmons, died on April 9 at age 50 from a heart attack. He did not leave a will, and his estate is estimated to be worth one million dollars.

On Friday, DMX’s three sons — Xavier, Tacoma and Sean Simmons — from his 16-year marriage to Tashera Simmons, were appointed as temporary administrators of his estate by Judge Helen Blackwood.

The fiancée of the three-time Grammy nominee, Desiree Lindstrom, who is the mother to DMX’s 5-year-old son, Exodus, asked to be legally declared his “common-law wife,” but her request was denied, reports Page Six.

“The next big thing is to determine who are the rightful heirs. The estate is going to ask everyone to prove paternity through DNA testing,” said Herbert Nass, the trusts and and estates attorney for Xavier, Tacoma and Sean Simmons. “All the legal children of DMX will be entitled to an equal share of his estate.”

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(SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD) Sure, superheroes exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but thanks to a couple of lines in the Eternals, costumed do-gooders from Marvel Comics competitor DC are apparently also a thing. 

There’s a line in the yet-to-be released film that acknowledges for the first time that regular people in the MCU are aware of Superman and Batman, and that’s because of Eternals‘ Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao. “I take responsibility of that,” she tells Variety.

At one point in the movie, a young character recognizes Richard Madden‘s Ikaris from seeing in action, and exclaims, “That’s Superman!…With the cape, and you were shooting laser beams out of your eyes!”

Ikaris then winks, “I don’t wear a cape.”

Another scene has Don Lee‘s Gilgamesh referring to the butler of Kumail Nanjiani‘s Kingo as “Alfred,” who is, of course, the keeper of the Caped Crusader’s secrets.

While the reveals blew fans’ minds, Zhao explains to Variety how the multiverse-shaking name-drops came to be. “We’re playing on a genre that draws so much from mythology, and Superman, for example, was created in the comics and also by these brilliant filmmakers along the way — they’re modern reinterpretations of a mythical characters that exist in different cultures.” 

She says, “Ikaris is our interpretation of it. It doesn’t mean we can’t pay tribute to the really iconic version that we’ve all grown to love and has influenced us.”

The unprecedented references obviously got the blessing of Marvel Studios’ head Kevin Feige. “I don’t think there was a conversation…except, he goes, ‘Oh, that’s cool,'” Zhao says.

Eternals hits theaters November 5. 

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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Warner Bros. Television has fired back again at former Batwoman star Ruby Rose, this time in defense of co-star Dougray Scott, who Rose accused of “abusing women” on set.

“We condemn the comments made by Ruby Rose about Dougray Scott,” the studio said in a statement quoted by Deadline. “Warner Bros. has found Mr. Scott to be a consummate professional, and never received any allegation against him of bullying, or of abusive behavior on his part.”

The studio added that Scott, who played Rose’s onscreen dad, “was greatly respected and admired by his colleagues,” and called him a “leader on the set.” 

WBTV had fired back against what they described as Rose’s “revisionist history,” regarding claims that she was fired from the series for speaking up against unsafe working conditions.

“Warner Bros. Television did not pick up Ruby Rose’s option for an additional season because of multiple complaints about workplace behavior [against her] that were extensively reviewed by the Studio,” the studio said.

Over the weekend, Rose added to her accusations, with Deadline quoting her Instagram story as saying, “Dougray. I have too many witnesses coming forward with worse than just your anger Issues .. but [your suing] me for 10 million cos [Batwoman producer Greg Berlanti] shared his lawyer with you.. please.. come first so I can use the money from that case to take on [Berlanti].”

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Hilaria Baldwin has broken her silence over the deadly accidental shooting that occurred last Thursday, when her husband, Alec Baldwin, fired a pistol allegedly containing a live round, fatally striking cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring the film’s director. 

“My heart is with Halyna,” Hilaria said on Instagram. “Her husband. Her son. Their family and loved ones. And my Alec.”

“It’s said ‘There are no words’ because it’s impossible to express the shock and heartache of such a tragic incident,” Hilaria continued, concluding with, “Heartbreak. Loss. Support.”

Police are still investigating the incident on set of the Western Rust. It’s suspected that a live bullet was loaded into a pistol Baldwin fired while rehearsing for a scene, striking 42-year-old camera operator Hutchins and grazing director Joel Souza.  Alec Baldwin was also a producer of the movie.

The pistol that was used in the fatal scene was reportedly left on a cart by the movie’s armorer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and picked up and declared “cold” — or safe — by the film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, who told investigators he handed it to Baldwin before the incident.  Halls told police he didn’t know the pistol was loaded.

There were already safety concerns raised by crew members on the film’s New Mexico set, ABC News has learned. Gun safety concerns had been “brushed off” by its producers, a camera crew member told ABC News after the incident.

Producers are cooperating with local authorites’ investigation.

Only a week earlier, Hilaria Baldwin posted a photo of a smiling Alec in costume on the New Mexico set of the film. “Told ya I was gonna marry a cowboy soon,” she captioned it, adding a cowboy emoji.

 

 

 

 

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Kristen Stewart has been acting since she was 10, but the actress who rose to pop culture icon status with the Twilight films admits, “I’ve probably made five really good films.”

The actress told this to the Sunday Times, explaining she’s made dozens of films, but there aren’t many she’s still passionate about. “[O]ut of 45 or 50 films? Ones that I go, ‘Wow, that person made a top-to-bottom beautiful piece of work!,'” those are, “few and far between,” she admits.

Having said that, Stewart says she “doesn’t regret the experience” of working on any of her films. She explains, “I’ve only regretted saying yes to a couple of films and not because of the result, but because it wasn’t fun. The worst is when you’re in the middle of something and know that not only is it probably going to be a bad movie, but we’re all bracing until the end.”

For the record, two of those “four or five”good films include 2014’s Clouds of Sils Maria and 2016’s Personal Shopper, both thrillers directed by French filmmaker Oliver Assayas.

Stewart called her choices in the past “a total crapshoot,” but added she’s now acquired a “better nose for what’s going to be fruitful.”

That seems to have been the case with Spencer, in which she plays the late Princess Diana and that already has the one-time Twilight Razzie Award winner on the Oscars short list.

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Congratulations are in order for Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg, who announced they’ve welcomed twins!

Greenberg shared the happy news on Sunday, sharing a video of the two little ones snuggling on his chest. He captioned the clip, “We got double the trouble now @jamiejchung,” followed by two baby emojis. The gender of the children was not disclosed. 

Although Chung has yet to share the news on her own page, she commented a pair of red hearts under her husband’s post. Many of the couple’s famous friends also flooded the comments, including Mindy Kaling, who wrote, “Omg omg!!! Congrats!!,” comedian Chris D’Elia, who wrote, “ALL IS RIGHT!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!,” and Hilary Duff, who commented, “Whaaaaaaaat!!!!!.”

Chung and Greenberg began dating shortly after they starred in Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong. They married three years later in 2015. 

 

 

 

 

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Within minutes of news that Star Wars prequel star Hayden Christensen would be co-starring in the live-action Disney+ series Ahsoka, that show’s star posted a sweet in-character greeting. 

Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in two prequel films, was already announced as a cast member of the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor, headed for Disney+. 

However, for fans, Christensen’s participation in Ahsoka was, to quote Palpatine, “a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.”

Dawson, who played the live-action version of the Clone Wars animated series character Ahsoka Tano in The  Mandalorian, appeared to be champing at the bit to let the secret out. 

In a now-deleted Instagram post referencing The Hollywood Reporter‘s casting news, Dawson noted, “Skyguy, …They know!!! See you soon, Snips.” 

The names were nicknames the characters gave each other in the animated series; Skywalker was voiced by actor Matt Lanter, while Ashley Eckstein voiced Tano in her animated form. 

Tano was created by Clone Wars Emmy winning animator Dave Filoni, who is now an executive producer on The Mandalorian. She began as something of a hanger-on to the headstrong Jedi Skywalker, who reluctantly trains her, and has since evolved into a fan favorite.

Ahsoka should premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2022. 

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Dune, Denis Villenueve’s sci-fi epic starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem, topped the box office on its opening weekend, grabbing an estimated $40.1 million. The film, also available to stream on HBO Max, was predicted to make somewhere between $30-$35 million.

Dune, which opened internationally several weeks ago, has racked up an additional $180.6 million overseas.

Halloween Kills, last week’s #1, landed in second place, earning an estimated $14.5 million. It’s two-week total now sits at $73.1 million.

No Time to Die, in its third week of release, finished third with an estimated $11.9 million. The latest Bond flick has racked up $120 million here in the States and $405 million overseas.

Fourth place belongs to Venom: Let There Be Carnage, delivering an estimated 9.1 million. Its four-week total is now at $181.8 million. The Venom sequel added another $170.6 million internationally, bringing its worldwide tally to $352.4 million.

Rounding out the top five is this week’s only other major release: Ron’s Gone Wrong, the animated tale featuring the voices of Zach Galifianakis, Olivia Colman and Ed Helms. It earned an estimated $7.3 million, short of its predicted $10 million.

Wes Anderson‘s latest independent release, The French Dispatch, starring Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton and Timothée Chalamet, had an impressive opening, finishing in ninth place with an estimated $1.3 million.

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The cast and crew of Friends are mourning the loss of James Michael Tyler, The actor, who played Gunther on the hit sitcom, lost his battle with prostate cancer over the weekend. He was 59. 

Taking to Instagram Sunday evening Jennifer Aniston shared her condolences alongside a clip of a scene they had together on Friends. In the scene, Gunther confesses his love to Aniston’s Rachel, saying “I love you,” to which she responds, “I love you too,” before explaining that her love is more platonic than romantic. 

Alongside the snippet, the actress wrote, “Friends would not have been the same without you. Thank you for the laughter you brought to the show and to all of our lives. You will be so missed #JamesMichaelTaylor,” followed by the broken hearty emoji.

Courteney Cox, who played Monica on the series, also took to Instagram to pay tribute to Tyler, writing, “The size of gratitude you brought into the room and showed every day on set is the size of the gratitude I hold for having known you. Rest In peace James. [red heart emoji].”

News of Tyler’s death made waves after Friends producer Kevin Bright tweeted on Sunday, “James Michael Tyler Our Gunther passed away last night. He was an incredible person who spent his final days helping others. God bless you James, Gunther lives forever.”

The official Friends Twitter account also posted a tribute, writing, “Warner Bros. Television mourns the loss of James Michael Tyler, a beloved actor and integral part of our FRIENDS family. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and fans.”

 

 

 

 

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