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Tyler Perry denies “comforting” Will Smith after “painful” Oscars slap

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

In an interview with Gayle King as part of Tribeca Film Festival’s Directors Series Monday night, Tyler Perry shed light on Will Smith‘s infamous Oscar night slap of presenter Chris Rock.

Perry was seen by Smith’s side after the assault and foul-mouthed lambasting of Rock, who’d made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. He denied he was “comforting” Smith during a commercial break.

“There’s a difference between comforting and deescalating, that’s No. 1,” Perry explained, according to People. “And I left early to get to Chris to make sure he was okay.”

“Trust me, as painful as it was for all of us in the room, it was as painful for Chris,” Perry expressed, calling Rock “a pure champion for the way he handled it.”

He noted, “…something happened that was extremely painful for [Will] as well.”

Perry added, “That is no excuse. He was completely wrong for what he did. But something triggered him….”

“And I’ll tell you, when we walked over to him, he was devastated. He couldn’t believe…he did it.”

“I’m looking at this man in his eyes going, ‘What are you doing? This is your night,'” Perry recalled, explaining the incident sullied, “one of the crowning moments of his career…”

“I just read his book,” the actor continued of Smith, “and there’s this moment about not being able to protect his mother [as a child]…And if that trauma is not dealt with right away, as you get older it will show up in the most inappropriate, most horrible time. I know Will. I know him well.”

The filmmaker noted Smith is “very much in reflection” about the incident, for which the King Richard star apologized, and which got him banned from Motion Picture Academy events for 10 years.

Here’s how Tom Parker’s wife thanked Ed Sheeran for paying his medical bills

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The Wanted‘s Tom Parker passed away from brain cancer in March, and shortly after, it was revealed Ed Sheeran helped pay for his treatments.

His widow, Kelsey Parker, is ready to talk about Ed’s good deed and revealed how she thanked the “Shivers” singer for his kindness after running into him at a recent music festival.

“Ed was just amazing, just an unbelievable person,” she told the British talk show Lorraine. “I actually got him a gift and I got him some crystals.”

Kelsey admits it was difficult trying to think of how to thank Ed, noting, “What do you get someone who’s got everything?”

“What he did for us, for our family, to give me more time with Tom… He’s an unbelievable person. He didn’t need to do that,” she continued of Ed’s selflessness. “And he didn’t even ask me anything from it.”

It was revealed in Parker’s posthumous memoir, Hope, that Ed “helped out with my medical bills when I was seeking other treatment options and having private immunotherapy.”

Calling Ed a “very special man,” the memoir continued, “He didn’t need to do any of that, but my wife Kelsey and I are so grateful to him for his support. It meant the world.”

As previously reported, Parker was diagnosed in October 2020 with an inoperable glioblastoma, a stage four brain tumor. Kelsey confirmed his passing on March 30. Aside from his wife, he left behind their almost three-year-old daughter, Aurelia, and one-year-old son, Bodhi.

Ed paid tribute to Parker after the tragic news broke, writing on Instagram, “So sad to hear of Tom’s passing. Thoughts and love are with Kelsey, his children and his family. Very sad day, what a lovely guy.”

Metallica announces collaboration with guitar instruction platform Yousician

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Metallica has announced a collaboration with the guitar instruction platform Yousician.

The course allows you to jam alongside ‘Tallica members James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett as they take a deep dive into their approach and technique.

“So, you want to play like Metallica?” Hetfield asks in a trailer for the program. “The best way to play like us is to play with us.”

“The Metallica x Yousician courses get guitar players up close and personal with the master musicians they idolize,” says Hadley Spanier, Yousician’s Head of Artist Partnerships. “Players will have the opportunity to learn how to play like Metallica straight from Metallica!”

“The unique course pairs unmatched access to the band with Yousician’s AI technology so that guitarists-in-training not only get to learn from the masters, but also get the feedback they need to improve,” Spanier explains. “Players will feel like they are part of the band, playing alongside their idols as they try to master some of the greatest guitar-driven songs of all time.”

The course offers lessons on 10 Metallica songs including “Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Matters” and “Master of Puppets,” which, as Hetfield quips, you’ll learn to play “the real way.”

For more info, visit Yousician.com.

“Keep it classy”: Charlie Sheen blames ex Denise Richards for daughter Sami’s OnlyFans venture

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Charlie Sheen may have had a well-earned reputation for being a wild man, but he’s still a dad, and he’s apparently none too pleased his daughter Sam “Sami” Sheen now has an OnlyFans account.

According to Page Six, Sami’s recent launch on the controversial site, which occurred shortly after she turned 18, didn’t sit well with Charlie, who blamed his ex-wife Denise Richards for letting it happen.

“She is 18 years old now and living with her mother. This did not occur under my roof,” the former Two and a Half Men star told the publication,” adding, “I do not condone this, but since I’m unable to prevent it, I urged her to keep it classy, creative and not sacrifice her integrity.”

For her part, Richards, with whom Sami now lives after a rough patch in their relationship, replied to Page Six, “Sami is 18, and this decision wasn’t based on whose house she lives in. All I can do as a parent is guide her and trust her judgment, but she makes her own choices.”

Indeed, one of the first Instagram comments Sami had in announcing her racy venture was her mom’s. “I will always support you & always have your back. I love you,” Richards posted.

Sami Sheen promised her Instagram viewers that for a subscription price of $19.99 a month, they’d “see more” of her on OnlyFans, on which she’d upload content “2-3 times a week.”

Britney Spears drops $12 million on new Calabasas mansion

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Britney Spears drops million on new Calabasas mansion

After revealing in February that she was “in the process of buying a new home,” we finally know where Britney Spears is moving.

Dirt reports the Grammy winner picked up the keys to her new mansion in Calabasas, California, which cost her a cool $11.8 million. The double-gated home is armed to the teeth with security, meaning Britney doesn’t have to worry about unexpected or unwanted guests dropping by.

The six bedroom, nine bathroom mansion also comes with a wine cellar, 10-seat movie theater, hand-carved fireplaces, gourmet kitchen, a patio complete with a barbecue center, gym, 55-foot pool with tiered waterfalls, spa and many other luxurious amenities.

Britney also has some new neighbors — newlyweds Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker.

In other Britney news, TMZ reports the “Toxic” singer has signed a major prenup with husband Sam Asghari. Both have agreed the Iranian-born actor is not entitled to any of the earnings she made before they wed — meaning should they ever part ways, Sam won’t be able to take a slice out of Britney’s $60 million dollar fortune.

Yellowstone closes after ‘unprecedented’ rain washes out roads

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — All Yellowstone National Park entrances have been closed in the wake of “unprecedented” rainfall causing “substantial flooding, rockslides and mudslides on roadways,” the National Park Service announced Monday.

Some roads have been washed out and others are covered in mud or rocks, according to the park service. Power has also been knocked out in multiple parts of the park, officials said.

Park Superintendent Cam Sholly described it as “record flooding.”

The flooding was sparked by near record-high temperatures melting high-elevation snow over the weekend. Rivers are at peak levels now and are forecast to recede in the next few days.

The park service didn’t say when Yellowstone would reopen but noted that officials need time to assess the damage and wait for conditions to stabilize.

The closure will last through Wednesday at a minimum. The park service warned that many roads could be shuttered “for an extended period of time.”

The massive national park spans 2,219,789 acres, mostly in Wyoming but also in neighboring Montana and Idaho. Summer is the park’s busiest tourist season.

ABC News’ Max Golembo and Dan Peck contributed to this report.

Happy the elephant is not a person, court rules

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A yearslong legal attempt to get Happy, an elephant residing at the Bronx Zoo, transferred to an elephant sanctuary failed Tuesday when New York’s highest court rejected a petition from the Nonhuman Rights Project.

The group filed a writ of habeas corpus on Happy’s behalf, suggesting a legal instrument that has safeguarded the liberty of humans, by providing a means to secure release from illegal custody, should also apply to an elephant.

The New York Court of Appeals disagreed, though it said Happy was entitled to proper care.

“Because the writ of habeas corpus is intended to protect the liberty right of human beings to be free of unlawful confinement, it has no applicability to Happy, a nonhuman animal who is not a ‘person’ subjected to illegal detention,” the decision said. “Thus, while no one disputes that elephants are intelligent beings deserving of proper care and compassion, the courts below properly granted the motion to dismiss the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, and we therefore affirm.”

Happy has lived at the zoo for 50 years.

The elephant was part of a 2006 study published in the journal Science that described her ability to recognize herself in a mirror as evidence of human-like self-awareness. As such, Nonhuman Rights Project asserted, the elephant was not a thing lacking rights but akin to a person with a fundamental right to liberty based on the principle of habeas corpus, which guards against unlawful detention.

The Nonhuman Rights Project first filed a writ of habeas corpus arguing for Happy’s legal personhood and seeking her release from the zoo in 2018. A New York City judge denied the habeas corpus relief in 2020. The state Court of Appeals granted an appeal last year.

In a statement Tuesday, the Nonhuman Rights Project said that the court’s decision to reject its petition “is not just a loss for Happy, whose freedom was at stake in this case and who remains imprisoned in a Bronx Zoo exhibit. It’s also a loss for everyone who cares about upholding and strengthening our most cherished values and principles of justice — autonomy, liberty, equality, and fairness — and ensuring our legal system is free of arbitrary reasoning and that no one is denied basic rights simply because of who they are.”

The group said it plans to continue its campaign for her release and “consider our legal options and next steps in New York.”

ABC News has reached out to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo, for comment.

Does Elton John have another superstar duet up his (sequined) sleeve?

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Elton John‘s collaboration with Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart,” which combines four of his previous songs into one track, has become his biggest hit in years. Now, there’s a report that he’s working on a follow-up.

Showbiz411 reports that Elton is going to re-team with PNAU, the Australian trio who created “Cold Heart,” for another such mashup, and he’ll be joined by “a secret superstar” — likely “someone contemporary and young.”

The website reports that the song will arrive next month with an eye towards summer airplay. The report notes that this will not be a track from Elton’s star-studded duets album The Lockdown Sessions — it’ll be a completely new song.

The Lockdown Sessions featured Elton singing with everyone from Lil Nas X and Nicki Minaj to Eddie Vedder, Stevie Wonder and Stevie Nicks.

Also next month, Elton’s latest theatrical work, The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical, premieres at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre. Elton wrote the music, and Shaina Taub wrote the lyrics for the show, which launches July 19 and is based on the hit movie of the same name. Showbiz411 notes that this marks the first time Elton has collaborated with a female songwriter.

New Gorillaz song “Cracker Island” dropping next week

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Gorillaz has announced a new song called “Cracker Island.”

The track will arrive next Wednesday, June 22 and is available to presave now.

“Cracker Island” will be the first single to follow Gorillaz’s 2021 EP Meanwhile. The most recent album from the Damon Albarn-led cartoon band is 2020’s Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, which featured collaborations from The Cure‘s Robert Smith, Beck, St. Vincent and Elton John.

Last month, Gorillaz announced a North American tour, set to kick off in September. Along the way, the group will headline the 2022 Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival in Las Vegas.

Kix Brooks’ love of wine was a way to “act sophisticated” to impress girls in college

June 14, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Kix Brooks‘ passion for wine started in an unlikely way — trying to impress girls.

The Brooks & Dunn member developed a love for wine while attending Louisiana Tech University as a way to impress the women he was courting. But the hobby soon developed into a true passion that led Kix to owning and operating his own vineyard in Tennessee.

“I’ve always liked wine. I was like every other Romeo in college, it seemed like a great way to act sophisticated when you had a date who seemed a little out of your league,” he told Wine Spectator. Though his initial knowledge on wine was limited, Kix said that it slowly grew over time to the point where he was paying close attention to the wine he was drinking.

“I didn’t really know much other than I liked it and that [wine brand] Mateus made a good candleholder. Before I knew it, I was really paying attention to taste and to labels and, of course, to price tags,” he said.

Kix is now the proud owner of Arrington Vineyards in Arrington, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. In 2004, the country legend purchased a cattle farm in the area and began converting it into a vineyard. It was opened to the public in 2007 and continues to host wine tastings, weddings, live music and more.

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