Lil Nas X picked up the prestigious Hal David Starlight Award on Thursday night and was honored among the new class of inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The award is presented to “gifted young songwriters who are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs.” Previous winners include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keysand Drake.
Speaking with Extra on the red carpet, the “Industry Baby” rapper was asked about the significance of the moment and how he’s helping LGBTQ youth feel seen.
He said the recognition “means the world” to him, adding, “It’s always scary when you’re the first — or one of the first — people to take a big role in the world.” The 23-year-old Grammy winner continued, “I’m navigating my way through it and I’m happy that people are inspired by me [and] what I’m doing.”
Lil Nas X also offered a supportive message to LGBTQ fans who are being targeted and harassed either online or by their peers because of their sexuality. “I remember that everything happens for a reason and there’s nothing the world is going to give to me that I can’t take,” he offered.
Additionally, he shared a special message for fans during Pride month: “We need to get a certain word put into the dictionary.” He declined to say it out loud, as the term is not safe for work.
Lil Nas X previously made his case on Twitter to add the word “b*ssy” to the dictionary. Dictionary.com has since responded to his request, “We added WAP to the dictionary, so anything’s possible” — a reference to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion‘s hit song.
(BOSTON) — The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the NBA Finals Thursday night to take home their first championship title since 2018.
The 103-90 win over Boston marked Golden State’s seventh championship as a franchise and fourth title in eight years.
Warriors point guard Stephen Curry led the team with 34 points and was named the NBA Finals MVP for the first time in his career.
Selena Gomez is still coming off the high of being invited to Britney Spears‘ wedding and that she was able to hang out with fellow guests Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton and fashion icon Donatella Versace.
Appearing alongside her Only Murders in the Building co-stars Martin Short and Steve Martin on Jimmy KimmelLive, Selena spoke about the incredible event.
“I am really happy for her! It was beautiful,” Selena praised as Kimmel held up a photo of her posing with Britney, Madonna, Drew, Paris and Versace. Of course, Kimmel wasn’t concerned about Britney’s famous guests — he instead was more curious if the wedding had good food and fun events.
“What am I supposed to do with this? I don’t know,” Selena giggled, but said she was “under oath” not to give anything away.
Thankfully, Short redirected the conversation for Selena to rave about the impressive guest list — especially Madonna. “Here’s the thing about Madonna. She is 63 years of age and she has a boyfriend who is 28 years of age. She is trying to see how many times 28 goes into 63,” he joked, which earned him a rim shot from Kimmel’s band.
Britney tied the knot with Sam Asghari in an intimate ceremony earlier this month, nine months after announcing their engagement.
Tim McGraw wears many hats — country superstar and starring actor on the Yellowstone prequel 1883, for two — but none is more important than the title he has at home: Proud dad.
Tim and his fellow country superstar wife, Faith Hill, are parents to three adult daughters — Gracie, Maggie and Audrey — and in an interview with his record label ahead of Father’s Day, the singer says he couldn’t be prouder of the people they’ve grown up to become.
“They’re all completely different creatures,” he reflects. “But they all have big hearts, and they are all very polite and they really respect people, and they all feel like they wanna make a difference in the world. Hopefully we’ve instilled that into them.”
Though all three of his girls are their own unique people, Tim says that he and Faith can see the family resemblance in all three daughters.
“It’s funny because Faith and I have talked about that a little bit, and I think we see each other in all three of ‘em,” he says. “There’s little parts of us in all three of ‘em.”
L-Bryan Cranston; R- Steve Miller; L. Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall of Fame
Steve Miller is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Thursday night in New York City, he received an honor that he considers even better than that: He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On the red carpet before the event, Miller told ABC Audio that he never expected that he’d be honored for his songwriting.
“I was absolutely shocked when I was told that I was going to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame,” Miller told ABC Audio. “I went, ‘What?’ And I was in disbelief. But it’s such an honor and I’m so glad to be here.”
“When you look at the people on the list being inducted tonight, it’s just stunning,” he added, referring to fellow inductees like Eurythmics and The Isley Brothers. “And to be part of that…it’s the highest honor in my career.”
While Miller’s compositions include number-one hits like “The Joker,” “Rock’n Me” and “Abacadabra,” he says there’s one song he’s particularly proud of.
“I think ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ is one that stands out,” he says of his 1976 number-two hit. “It’s a really important song to a lot of people all over the world.”
“It’s about justice and equality. And so that means something that’s better than ‘ooh, baby, baby’ — even though I love the ‘ooh, baby, baby’ songs, you know?” he laughs. “But that one…it’s affected the world a little bit, so that makes it more valuable.”
Miller played “Fly Like an Eagle” at the ceremony after being inducted by his friend Bryan Cranston, who he met about three years ago backstage at Cranston’s Broadway show.
“I just dig the guy, y’know?” the actor told reporters. “He’s like a really cool guy who loves music…he loves blues and jazz and, you know, country. He explores, he stretches his musical talents and curiosities…he was destined to be in music and play the guitar.”
HBO Max has renewed its Emmy-winning original comedy series Hacks for a third season, the streamer announced Thursday. The series, which recently wrapped its sophomore season, explores a dark mentorship that forms between legendary Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance, played by Jean Smart, and an entitled 25-year-old outcast, played by Hannah Einbinder. Christopher McDonald, Kaitlin Olson, Downs, Poppy Liu, Rose Abdoo, Mark Indelicato, Meg Stalter, Angela E. Gibbs, Luenell, Johnny Sibilly, Joe Mande, Ally Maki and Lorenza Izzo also star. Season two also featured guest appearances from Laurie Metcalf, Ming-Na Wen and Margaret Cho, among others…
After a two-year hiatus, HBO dropped the official trailer for season four of Westworld on Thursday. The sci-fi series, starring Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, Aaron Paul and Angela Sarafyan, follows an android uprising that started at an adult theme park and has since spilled over into the real world. The fourth season is simply described as “a dark odyssey about the fate of sentient life on Earth.” The eight-episode fourth season kicks off June 26…
Jimmy Kimmel will once again take the summer off from his ABC late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and he’s gathered a slate of guest hosts to carry the ball while he’s away. Anthony Anderson, Nicole Byer, Al Franken, Jeff Goldblum, Chelsea Handler, Simu Liu, Rob McElhenney, Lamorne Morris, Desus Nice, Mark Rober, Kerry Washington and more are set to host throughout the summer session, beginning on Monday with Sean Hayes. Upon his return in the fall, Kimmel will head back to Brooklyn, New York, where he was born and lived until he was 9. It’s his sixth broadcast visit to the borough and first since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic put such trips on hold…
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton and Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Community writer-producer Andrew Guest are teaming up on a live-action series featuring the longtime Marvel character Wonder Man, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project is still in the early stages, but they hope to get rolling in 2023. Wonder Man was first introduced in 1964, initially a villain. He was re-conceived as a hero and Avenger in the late 1970s…
Nat Geo’s SharkFest will mark its 10th anniversary by bringing in sister Disney brands ABC, ESPN and Hulu to help air its largest programming slate of shows ever across the most platforms it has ever been on, according to Variety. Last year’s six-week SharkFest was limited to Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo, Disney XD and Disney+. This year’s event will feature nearly 30 hours of new content and 60 hours of “enhanced” programming over four weeks starting Monday. Every SharkFest premiere will be available to stream on Disney+ as they make their initial debuts on other platforms. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…
(WASHINGTON) — The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for kids as young as six months old, finding them both safe and effective.
“Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age. As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a press release Friday.
This comes after the FDA’s committee of independent experts voted to recommend the Moderna vaccine for kids under 6, which is a two-dose vaccine, and the Pfizer vaccine for kids under 5, which is a three-dose vaccine, on Wednesday. Both votes were unanimous.
The final step in the process is a recommendation from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, after which shots can be administered in doctors’ offices, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other locations.
The FDA authorization means the federal government can begin shipping doses out to states to get ready to go in arms.
“Those trusted with the care of children can have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of these COVID-19 vaccines and can be assured that the agency was thorough in its evaluation of the data,” Califf said in the Friday statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Vince McMahon, the chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and arguably the face of the brand, has “voluntarily” stepped down in the midst of an investigation into a multi-million dollar hush money probe.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that a special committee of the WWE board is looking into allegations McMahon, 76, paid $3 million to a former employee with whom he’d allegedly had an affair.
The unnamed former employee, 41, was reportedly hired at $100K a year, and allegedly saw her salary doubled when the affair started, according to the sports network.
McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, has stepped in as interim CEO, the organization noted.
WWE said in a statement that both Vincent McMahon and John Laurinaitis, WWE’s head of talent relations, are being investigated, and that “effective immediately, McMahon has voluntarily stepped back from his responsibilities as CEO and Chairman of the Board until the conclusion of the investigation.”
McMahon will “retain his role and responsibilities related to WWE’s creative content during this period,” the company stated.
In the announcement, McMahon vowed his “complete cooperation to the investigation,” and “pledged to accept the findings and outcome…whatever they are.”
Kierra Coles is seen on surveillance video making a withdrawal from an ATM just before she went missing in Oct. 2018. – Chicago PD
(CHICAGO) — Chicago authorities have released new information in the unsolved disappearance of postal worker Kierra Coles, including footage of a “person of interest” in Coles’ car, who police say gave “varying accounts of the last time he saw her.”
Coles vanished without a trace on Oct. 2, 2018. The 26-year-old was about three months pregnant and was eager to meet her first child, according to her mother, Karen Phillips.
Her case remains a “high-risk missing person investigation with potential foul play suspected,” Chicago police told ABC News on Thursday.
A video produced by police and published by the department on Tuesday sheds new light on the mystery.
The video revealed surveillance footage of Coles entering her home on Oct. 2, 2018.
“A man, who detectives identified as a person of interest, also arrived and entered the residence,” Lt. William Svilar said in the video. “Kierra and the man later got into her car and drove off — with Kierra in the driver’s seat.”
At about 10:43 p.m. that night, Coles was spotted on surveillance video making ATM withdrawals — the last known images of her, according to Svilar.
“Less than an hour later, [Coles’] vehicle was seen arriving and parking in another area of the city,” Svilar said. “The person of interest exits the passenger side of the vehicle, but nobody exits the driver’s side.”
The next day, on Oct. 3, “The person of interest is seen parking Kierra’s vehicle near her residence before entering the building and exiting with unknown items,” Svilar said.
The person of interest “then drives away in his personal vehicle that was parked on the block overnight,” Svilar said.
Svilar said in the video, “When officers questioned the person of interest after Kierra was reported missing, he gave varying accounts of the last time he saw her.”
Police won’t identify their person of interest. But Phillips told ABC News that Coles’ boyfriend lied to her about when he last texted the 26-year-old. The boyfriend could not be reached by ABC News for comment.
Phillips said she always knew the ATM and car surveillance footage existed, but hadn’t seen it until now.
“Just seeing her walking, in person, was heartbreaking,” Phillips said Thursday.
Police said this video showing newly made public footage from Coles’ case is part of a “series launched last month to tell the stories of homicide victims in hopes of solving their cases.” The department said “each episode focuses on a different case, with the goal of generating tips that could possibly lead to a break in the case, and in turn, an arrest.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service said it’s also still investigating Coles’ disappearance.
“We continue to urge the public to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s hotline at (877) 876-2455, if they have any information related to her disappearance,” a spokesperson said.
For Phillips, the daily pain of not knowing what happened to her daughter is unbearable.
“Not even my worst enemy would I wish this type of pain on,” she said.
Phillips urges anyone with information to come forward.
“I just hope somebody just has a heart and calls in, or gives a tip. Anything they may know, even if they don’t think it’s important enough — any small thing could lead to breaking this whole case,” she said.
Phillips vowed, “I’m not gonna let up until my daughter is found.”
Game of Thrones alum Kit Harington is attached to a live-action sequel to the blockbuster series centered on his Jon Snow character, currently in development at HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The eighth and final season of GoT, ended with Snow learning his true identity was Aegon Targaryen, a possible heir to the Iron Throne. The series concluded with his exile from Westeros as he rides into the Haunted Forest with Ghost the direwolf and the Wildlings to begin a new life.
Since the spinoff would take place after the events of the final season of GoT, it opens the possibility that other popular Game of Thrones characters — including Snow’s half-siblings Arya Stark and Sansa Stark, played respectively by Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner — could return as well.
The Jon Snow sequel brings the number of in-development GoT-themed projects to seven, including HBO’s upcoming House of the Dragon, prequel, which premieres on August 21. Other spinoffs include Tales of Dunk and Egg, 10,000 Ships, 9 Voyages and Flea Bottom. There are also three animated prequel projects, including The Golden Empire.
