After Chris Rock’s younger brother, Kenny Rock, told TMZ that he wants to fight Will Smith, Ray J says he’ll offer a fortune for Chris and Will to face off in a boxing match.
When asked if he thinks Chris and Will should box, Kenny said: “No, they shouldn’t. But I should get in the ring with Will Smith.”
The Shade Room posted Kenny’s response on Instagram, and Ray J responded, “It can only be Will vs. Chris, my investors are ready right now — $50M fight no less. That’s each.”
In other news, Anthony Anderson admitted Monday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that he cried while taping the final episode of black-ish.
“I didn’t cry as much as Tracee Ellis Ross, though. She cried every day. I think I cried a little bit more than [Ross] did, and I didn’t think it was going to hit me the way that it did,” Anderson added.
“In the last scene on the last day is when I lost it, and it was unexpected for me,” the 51-year-old actor continued. “I didn’t expect to lose it the way that I did, but that just goes to show how much I love what I do [and] love doing it with the people that I did it with for the last eight years.”
The final episode of black-ish airs Tuesday, April 19 at 9 p.m. on ABC.
Finally, over the weekend, Major League Baseball celebrated the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in 1947. LeBron James is paying tribute to the late Hall of Famer by producing a documentary about how Robinson’s paved the way for minority players. Titled After Jackie, it’ll premiere Saturday June 18 on The History Channel.
Piers Morgan, who famously stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain last year following his comments that he didn’t “believe a word” of the racism accusations Meghan Markle leveled last year against the Royal Family, is coming back to TV.
Following the incident, some 500,000 people complained about his comments to a U.K. watchdog group, and he chose to walk rather than apologize. He now tells theDaily Mail that he’s looking to help those who were in his shoes — or as he puts it, to “uncancel those who have been cancelled” — with his new show Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV.
The show will air in the U.K., but will also be available via YouTube, and via streaming on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and other services. It debuts on April 25.
He tells the paper, “I want to re-platform those who’ve been de-platformed. I want to uncancel those who have been cancelled.”
He adds, “I want to basically make a point that cancel culture is as dangerous to society, in its own way, in terms of its attack on free speech and freedom of expression, as coronavirus has been.
Morgan continues, “So, I think if a democracy, like ours, or America or Australia, where this show will be airing, if a democracy loses that sense of what free speech means, and stops defending an individual’s right to an opinion, you’re not a democracy. This show, I hope, and the network will be standing up for democracy.”
Incidentally, another collaborator on TalkTV will be Sharon Osborne, who herself was canceled, dismissed from The Talk for defending Morgan’s right to make his comments. She later called the segment “an ambush” that network executives orchestrated against her.
(NEW YORK) — South Carolina police have arrested a second suspect in the mall shooting that injured more than a dozen people and are continuing a manhunt for a third.
The Columbia Police Department has obtained an arrest warrant for 21-year-old Amari Sincere-Jamal Smith, Police Chief Skip Holbrook announced in a press briefing Monday afternoon, asking for anyone who sees him or knows of his whereabouts to call 911.
Marquis Love Robinson, 20, was arrested Monday on aggravated assault and attempted murder charges. Both he and Smith live in Columbia, Holbrook said.
At least 15 people ranging in age from 15 to 73 were injured Saturday when gunfire erupted at the Columbiana Centre mall in Columbia, Holbrook said. Nine people sustained gunshot wounds, while six people were injured in another manner, Holbrook said, adding that one victim remains in intensive care.
Investigators do not believe that it was a random act of violence, Holbrook said Saturday.
“We don’t believe this was random,” he said after the shooting. “We believe the individuals who were armed knew each other.”
MORE: 9 injured in shooting at South Carolina restaurant, police say
Jewayne M. Price, 22, was arrested Saturday on a charge of unlawful carrying of a pistol and has since received upgraded charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder, Holbrook said.
Holbrook called on lawmakers to do more work to ensure gun safety in the country, saying the “availability of firearms on the street for people that have illegal intentions or nefarious intentions to use those firearms against others” has gotten out of control.
“Something’s got to change,” he said Monday. “We need our legislators to legislate. We need more accountability for people that illegally carry firearms.”
ABC News’ Will McDuffie and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
After Cardi B and husband Offset revealed the name and shared the first photos of their second child on Friday, she explained why she waited seven months to do so.
Wave Set Cephus was born on September 4, 2021, and the “WAP” rapper says one reason she and Offset waited so long was the social media abuse aimed at their first child, who’s now three years old.
“We went through a lot of sad things when it comes to Kulture,” Cardi reveals in Essence‘s May/June cover story. “So many people will post mean, disgusting things, just to get a reaction from us.”
As their fifth wedding anniversary approaches in September, the superstar rappers enjoy leading a blended family. In addition to Kulture and Wave, Offset is also a father to three older children from previous relationships: daughter Kalea, 7, and sons Jordan, 12, and Kody, also 7.
Offset loves how his wife has brought all the children into one family.
“It’s a blessing to be able to have them all together, and to have a wife who’s open and treats them as if they’re her kids,” he says. “It could be an issue, but I don’t have to go through that, and that’s beautiful.”
Explaining the key to their successful marriage, the Migos member says, “It might sound weird, but we don’t always put love first — because sometimes you can put love before work and mess up your career.
He adds, “Love is important, but if you’ve got that foundation, we should respect each other and what we have going on. I had never experienced a woman that was working like me and doing what I’m doing. It turns me on. She does her own thing. She likes the hustle, so that ain’t never getting in between our love.”
Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Latest headlines:
-Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
-US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
-Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
-Russian forces seize town in war-torn Luhansk region
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 18, 4:54 pm
Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing “shaping” operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.
“We’re not disputing that there’s not combat going on in the Donbas,” Kirby said. “What we’re saying is that we still consider that what we’re seeing to be a piece of shaping operations.”
“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” he said.
Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: “We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see … that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks.”
Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are “trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas.”
He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.
Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez
Apr 18, 4:45 pm
US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
Kirby said he would not describe Monday’s airstrike as a “bombardment” and said he did not know Russia’s intent.
“We don’t have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don’t have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed,” Kirby said.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 18, 3:23 pm
US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11
The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.
The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months — until Oct. 19, 2023.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government’s request.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Apr 18, 12:49 pm
Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
There are now 76 Russian battalion tactical groups — each made up of about 800 to 1,000 troops — inside Ukraine, all in the south or east of the country, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday. Last week there were 65 battalion tactical groups.
There are about 22 additional battalion tactical groups in the north of Ukraine, most likely refitting and resupplying after being depleted from earlier combat, the official said.
The besieged port city of Mariupol is still under threat of missile and artillery bombardment as Ukrainian forces continue to fight to push back Russian troops, according to the official.
Kyiv and Lviv are under long-range fire, the official said. Russian long-range bombers have hit both cities with air-launched cruise missiles over the last couple of days, the official said.
“Our initial assessment is that they were going after primarily military targets, or what they believed to be military targets,” the official said.
The U.S. is sending 18 howitzers — short cannons used to fire projectiles — to Ukraine and plans to begin training Ukrainians on the artillery in the coming days, the official said.
Bon Jovi is currently on their long-delayed tour in support of their album 2020, but let’s hope Jon Bon Jovi’s got an easy way to eat his meals on the road. He admits that while he was away from home during the pandemic, his kids had to order him food on Grubhub so he wouldn’t “starve.”
Speaking to the Indianapolis Star, Jon explains that when he decided to write some last-minute songs for the 2020 album, he chartered a plane and flew from New Jersey to LA. There, he recorded the additional tracks in a private studio, and stayed in an empty hotel where normal amenities like cleaning and room service had been suspended due to COVID-19.
“I called down to the front desk, and I said, ‘What are you supposed to do about any kind of food?'” Jon recalls. “And they said, ‘Most people call Grubhub, and they’ll deliver food to your door.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah…Grubhub,’ and thinking to myself, ‘I don’t know what that means. I’m going to starve.'”
He laughs, “I had to call one of my kids, who from 3,000 miles away ordered me a burger and had it delivered to my room!”
Now, after two-and-a-half years, the band’s finally back on the road. But Jon admits that, had there been any further delays, “I honest to God may have considered not doing it.”
“Three and a half years is enough time to think, ‘You know, ‘I’m over it,'” he explains. “But it would be a sin. We’ve worked hard, and we want to share 2020 the album, and I want to go out there and celebrate [our] 40th [anniversary in 2023] and the continued success that we’ve had.”
Actor Brett Goldstein got great mileage out of the “f” word in Ted Lasso — and even out of character used it profusely in accepting his Emmy last year. But now he’s taught it to the fuzzy residents of Sesame Street.
However, it’s not the same F-word we’re used to seeing TV’s Roy Kent saying: it’s “fairness.”
“Today’s word begins with the letter ‘F'” says the Muppet Tamir, in the just-posted sketch.
“Ooh, I love the letter ‘F’,” Goldstein growls, smiling.
With the help of his puppet pals, Goldstein gives Cookie Monster a lesson in fairness — by sharing the cookies the actor just baked, rather than gobbling them all up like, well, a monster.
“I had no idea you liked to bake!” Tamir also comments in the bit.
“I do. It relaxes me,” Goldstein deadpans.
ABC Audio recently spoke with Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on Sesame Street for 44 years before leaving in 2015, about the decades-old tradition of stars getting starstruck when they cameo on the celebrated kids show.
“I love to see these big celebrities, absolutely, get gaga over Elmo and Big Bird, and they’re just thrilled to meet the characters, and they’re very disarming!” said Manzano. “I love it when great actors who can are in great movies are sort of disarmed by Elmo, and Elmo makes them forget their lines and break their concentration because they can’t keep a straight face when they’re talking to these fuzzy monsters.”
Five Finger Death Punch is previewing another new song off the band’s upcoming album, AfterLife.
You can listen to a clip of the track, titled “Welcome to the Circus,” via guitarist Zoltan Bathory‘s Instagram.
“We are just as impatient as you are…so here is another sneak peek,” Bathory writes in the caption, adding that he thinks “Welcome to the Circus” is “our best one yet.”
“Welcome to the Circus” will follow the previously released AfterLife title track, which just dropped last week. The full album doesn’t yet have an exact release date, though it’s expected to arrive later this year.
Five Finger Death Punch will launch a U.S. tour in support of AfterLife in August. The trek also includes Megadeth, The Hu and Fire from the Gods on the bill.
After waiting five years, Kendrick Lamar fans are celebrating the news of a new album dropping next month.
Lamar tweeted a link to his Oklama website Monday revealing that his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, will be released May 13. This will be his final release on Top Dawg Entertainment, and follows his 2017 release, DAMN., which won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music and was RIAA-certified triple-Platinum. It includes the number-one hit “Humble,” and “Loyalty,” featuring Rihanna.
Following a long recording hiatus, the 14-time Grammy winner was featured in October 2021 on BustaRhymes’ song “Look Over Your Shoulder” before joining his cousin, Baby Keem, on “Range Brothers” and “Family Ties.”
The Compton, California MC may perform some of his new music when he closes the Rolling Loud Miami festival on Sunday, July 24. In February, Kendrick performed with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem and Mary J. Blige during halftime of Super Bowl 56 at Sofi Stadium in Englewood, California.
Carly Pearce is giving back to her local community with a major donation.
During her show at Marathon Music Works in Nashville earlier this month, Carly announced that she was donating a portion of the proceeds to help people in her home state of Kentucky who were impacted by the storms in March.
True to her word, the singer donated $10,000 through the Nashville-based Music Has Value Fund to the Kentucky Music Educators Association in partnership with the National Association for Music Education, specifically for the Mayfield, KY school music programs. The family of Phil Noel, Carly’s bass player, lives in Mayfield, one of the towns that was hit hardest by the storm.
“I am grateful to have had the support of my strong Kentucky lineage and embrace from true lovers of Country music so it’s an honor to help give back to the community that raised me. This donation from the Music Has Value Fund is a way to uplift some other dreamers in the face of chaos,” Carly shares in a statement.
Inside 29: Written in Stone Live From Music City will be released later this year.
