If you ever wondered what Madonna inspired her to write “Express Yourself,” look no further than Jennifer Grey. The Dirty Dancing star revealed she and Madge used to be close friends in the 80s.
“We did Bloodhounds of Broadway together,” Grey told People of the 1989 film. “She told me she wrote ‘Express Yourself’ about me breaking up with Matthew [Broderick],” whom Grey dated for four years after meeting on the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off set. She then dated Johnny Depp, whom she described as a “bonfire.”
Grey clearly remembers what happened when she first heard “Express Yourself,” saying Madonna “played it for me in her car. I was in my log cabin with Johnny and she said, ‘Come into my car.’ And I got in her Mercedes where she had a really good sound system and she was like, ‘Listen to this song I just did. It’s about you.'”
Grey said it made sense the song was about her, based on the lyrics alone. She also said that she may have been subtly shouted out in the 1989 hit, with Madonna mentioning the name of her Dirty Dancing character, Baby. Grey notes the lyrics “You deserve the best in life/ So if the time isn’t right, then move on/ Second best is never enough/ You’ll do much better, Baby, on your own.”
But, the actress isn’t convinced the song is entirely about her, adding she recently emailed Madonna about her in-the-car confession and asked, “Did you just tell that to everyone?”
Grey did say “Express Herself” taught her a valuable lesson, which was that back then, “I demanded second best.”
Grey later married Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Clark Gregg, whom she divorced last year after 20 years together.
Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Miranda Lambert are just a few of the artists getting the spotlight in a new Grammy Museum exhibit celebrating the genre’s female superstars.
“I was thrilled to have my very own exhibit at the Grammy Museum a few years ago. They are fantastic at bringing music memorabilia to the fans,” Dolly says. “So, of course I wanted to support the Women in Country exhibit. I hope you enjoy a little glimpse into my world, from one country fan to another.”
Called The Power of Women in Country Music, the exhibit launches May 27 and will run into October. Tickets for the general public go on sale April 30, but Museum members can pick up their tickets starting April 28.
The items on display include Shania’s outfit from her 1997 “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” music video — including the top hat — Reba McEntire’s pink dressing gown from her “Does He Love You” video, and Dolly’s custom, butterfly-inlaid Gibson banjo, which she used to perform “Joshua” on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry in 1971.
The genre’s current superstars are represented, too: Ingrid Andress, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, Maren Morris and Caylee Hammack all have artifacts featured in the exhibit.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures has announced it has made some moves within its own Spider-Verse. First off, the studio has moved the sequel to its Oscar-winning animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse from October 7, 2022 to June 2, 2023.
Furthermore, the film formerly known as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), has dropped the “(Part One)” from its title, but it will remain the first chapter in a two-part story, concluding with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part II on March 29, 2024.
On a related note, Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson, has been given a release date of July 7, 2023. As reported, S.J. Johnson, the executive producer and lead director of Netflix’s acclaimed Marvel series Jessica Jones, is calling the shots on the film, with Johnson playing the title character, first introduced in the pages of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man #210 in 1980.
In non-superhero news, Sony Pictures also announced that a third Equalizer film, starring Oscar winner Denzel Washington, will hit theaters September 1, 2023.
Harry Styles kickstarted Coachella with a bang, attracting over 100,000 people to his opening night concert last weekend.
Variety reports the numbers are pretty fantastic considering COVID-19 postponed the music festival for two years in a row. While those attending Harry’s concert weren’t a record-sized crowd, since the venue maxes out capacity at 125,000, sources tell Variety his set was considered sold out.
Sources add the remaining 20,000 or so concertgoers watched musicians performing at other stages at the time the “Adore You” singer was headlining.
As previously reported, Harry dazzled on Friday night by performing several unreleased songs and also invited country legend Shania Twain onto the stage to perform “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “Still the One.”
Variety also reports Apple CEO Tim Cook and late-night show host James Corden were among Coachella attendees Friday
While Coachella itself has yet to release its official numbers, Variety noted the potential for “fluctuating” numbers due to the ongoing pandemic. The music festival reportedly declined their request for comment.
Harry will take the stage again on Friday night for the second and final weekend of the iconic music festival.
(NEW YORK) — A New York City mother found stabbed to death inside a duffel bag was allegedly killed by a handyman she’d been having an off-and-on affair with for two years, the NYPD said.
The suspect, David Bonola, was arrested just before 1 a.m. Thursday, days after he allegedly dumped Orsolya Gaal’s body in her son’s hockey bag, police said at a news conference Thursday.
Bonola, 44, allegedly stabbed 51-year-old Gaal dozens of times at her Queens home early Saturday morning while her 13-year-old son was upstairs, according to police sources.
Police described it as a domestic dispute, saying “their relationship was considered at an end.”
After the murder, police believe Bonola sent a text message to Gaal’s husband from her phone that referenced a previous crime and indicated the rest of the family was in danger. Police said there was no past crime and no danger to Gaal’s husband and two children.
Authorities said Bonola was seen on video rolling the duffel bag, leaving a bloody trail behind him.
After disposing of the body, Bonola allegedly fled through a park, where police said they found his jacket.
Gaal’s body was found Saturday morning.
Bonola turned himself in Wednesday night after officers canvassed his Queens neighborhood, according to police sources. He’s charged with murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Bonola “made incriminating statements” but he didn’t elaborate.
Beastie Boys has announced a reissue of the Check Your Head box set in honor of the album’s 30th anniversary.
The four-LP collection, which was first available in 2009 but has since been out of print, comes with a host of bonus tracks including remixes, B-sides and live recordings. It’s set to be released June, and you can pre-order it now exclusively via the Beastie Boys website.
Check Your Head, the third Beastie Boys album, was originally released April 21, 1992 — 30 years ago Thursday. It was certified double-Platinum by the RIAA, and spawned the single “So What’cha Want.”
The Beasties will also be celebrating Check Your Head’s milestone anniversary during a special block of programming today on Apple Music Hits, including an episode of Mike D‘s The Echo Chamber Show with guests Ad-Rock, producer Mario C and keyboardist Money Mark.
Keith Urban is busy hearing blind auditions as a coach on this season of The Voice Australia, and one contestant, Kaylee, shocked the country superstar with a song she wrote just for him.
Aptly titled “Keith,” the song name drops more than 10 of Keith’s biggest hits, including “Somewhere in Your Car,” “Long Hot Summer” and “We Were.”
Kaylee’s tribute to the country superstar didn’t hurt her case, but it was her powerhouse voice and guitar skills that earned her a four-chair turn. Keith was the first to decide he wanted her on his team, of course, with fellow coaches Jess Mauboy, Rita Ora and Guy Sebastian quickly following suit.
It seemed like a no-brainer that Kaylee would choose Keith to be her coach, but there was a twist: Jess hit the block button, preventing Kaylee from joining the country superstar’s team, in an attempt to woo her into joining her team instead. The cut-throat move paid off: Ultimately, Kaylee joined Team Jess.
But Keith still shared some kind words for his superfan contestant, according to The Daily Mail’s recap.
“I’ve never had any song written about me before,” he professed. “That’s so touching, Kaylee. It really is. I can’t thank you enough for that.”
Eddie Van Halen and Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation’s Felice Mancini in 2012; Frazer Harrison/Getty Imagesin 2015; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Solters
The late Eddie Van Halen put aside a substantial amount of money that was recently donated to the youth music education organization Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, the nonprofit has announced.
According to a statement, the rock guitar great, who died of cancer in October 2020 at age 65, left “a meaningful percentage of his estate to the organization in his will.” In the decade before his passing, Van Halen forged a close relationship with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and embraced the organization’s mission of helping students who attend at-risk public schools develop a passion for music.
The statement notes that Eddie’s donation will help the foundation to assist more schools, hire more employees, improve its technology and more.
“Eddie’s support and friendship over the years meant the world to us and to his fans. His passion for music and our work created a strong bond, which is evident in his extraordinary bequest,” says the foundation’s president and CEO, Felice Mancini. “To know how much our foundation meant to Eddie is intensely humbling and gratifying to all of us — and we know that Eddie’s family is confident that his powerful legacy and values live on through our efforts.”
Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, also has become a major supporter of Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, and has been carrying on the partnership his dad began with the charity. In tribute to his father, he donated the proceeds from his group Mammoth WVH‘s solo single, “Distance,” to the foundation.
“Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and the work they do for music education was always something that was important to my father,” says Wolfgang. “I am incredibly proud to help facilitate this donation as he wished.”
On the stand in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard Thursday morning, Johnny Depp was again cross-examined by her attorney, who grilled the star about his drug use with, and controversial texts he sent to, his friend, WandaVision actor Paul Bettany.
Attorney J. Benjamin Rottenborn tried to contrast Depp’s living up to the “standards of a Southern gentleman” with his alleged conduct with Bettany.
“Paul Bettany is a friend who’ve you done drugs with, yes?” Rottenborn asked.
“That’s a strange question,” Depp countered, before admitting he had, “at times.”
Her attorney asked if Heard didn’t like Depp being high on drugs, to which the actor replied, “She didn’t like it when it was her perception that I was high on drugs,” but Heard’s perception wasn’t necessarily the truth, Depp claimed.
Depp was quizzed about texts he sent to Bettany, including one reading, “Let’s burn Amber,” and another that followed, “Let’s drown her before we burn her.”
On the stand, Depp also again mentioned his attempts to get sober, and texts to Elton John were entered into evidence. “I would have been swallowed up by the monster, if it wasn’t for you,” Depp reportedly texted the star in 2012.
Heard’s attorney fixated on the word “monster,” which was either Depp or Heard’s term for his addictions.
“Elton was a dear friend who has been sober for 40 years, 30 years, and we’ve had discussions, and he wanted me to get clean and sober,” Johnny said, mentioning Elton even offered the assistance of a friend who helped the “Rocket Man” singer in his recovery.
Depp continued abusing substances until, as he claimed in court Wednesday, he underwent a painful detox with the help of a physician in 2015. He subsequently fell off the wagon, he claimed in court Wednesday, after a fight that escalated to the point of Heard allegedly hurling vodka bottles at him, which he claims severed the tip of his right middle finger.
Depp is suing Heard over her 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse,” implying Depp abused her without mentioning his name. He claims the piece had a devastating effect on him personally, and on his career.
(NEW YORK) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have rippling effects in populations far outside the two countries in conflict — especially in the global food supply, experts are warning.
The war in Ukraine could plunge millions into malnutrition if governments, donors and funders do not act now to prevent a shortage of the nutritional staples typically exported out of the region, according to an op-ed published Thursday in Nature.
Women and children in low- and middle-income countries are particularly vulnerable, according to the op-ed, which was authored by 10 nutrition and food supply experts from all over the world. The nutritional needs of children are high, relative to their body size, and women’s nutritional needs are especially high when pregnant and breastfeeding.
“Impacts of malnutrition might be less immediately visible than those of hunger. But left untreated, they can be multi-generational and irreversible,” the authors wrote.
The biggest concern is the long-term implications malnutrition will have on children, Saskia Osendarp, executive director of the Micronutrient Forum and co-coordinator of Standing Together for Nutrition, a consortium of nutrition, economics, food and health system experts, told ABC News. This could include cognitive development, school performance, and, later in life, social capital and the increased risk of chronic diseases, she said.
Nutrient deficiencies, particularly in the first 1,000 days in a child’s life — beginning from conception and lasting until the child’s second birthday — can have “irreversible, lifelong consequences,” Osendarp said.
Existing gender inequality and power imbalances — which are often exacerbated during crises — result in women having less agency to direct resources toward feeding themselves and their children, the experts said. Increased prices, the reduced availability of food or difficulties accessing it will directly affect the quality of people’s diets, and increased prices and trade problems will reduce the reach of humanitarian services that prevent and treat acute malnutrition, the experts said.
When food prices increase, households switch to cheaper staple foods and processed foods instead of buying more nutritious — and generally more expensive– foods, such as fruits, vegetables, dairy meat, decreasing the quality of their diets, Osendarp, one of the authors of the op-ed, said.
“So they may be able to cope and to to keep their caloric intakes at a level to some point, but then they will suffer from nutrient deficiencies,” she said.
In addition, budgets currently devoted to improving people’s nutritional status could be redirected to other, more urgent needs as a result of the war, according to the op-ed.
The World Food Programme estimated that in 2022, 323 million people would be in urgent need of assistance when it comes to obtaining sufficient food and nutrients.
Ukraine is considered on one of the breadbaskets of the world and is a top 10 global exporter of a number of key agricultural products, including wheat, barley, corn, sunflower oil, soybeans and poultry. An estimated 70% of the country is used for farmland — land that is currently being devastated by assaults by Russian forces.
Countries in Africa and the Middle East are particularly vulnerable, while Somalia and Benin have a total dependence on imports of mostly Russian and Ukrainian wheat, according to a rapid assessment by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Several countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for more than half their wheat imports.
The number of malnourished people, especially women and children, is expected to increase as a result of record-high price hikes and disruptions in the trade of food, fertilizer and fuel, according to the paper.
Cities such as Odessa and Mariupol, where about 70% of Ukraine’s exports are moved from, have now been blocked due to incessant Russian shelling, according to USAID.
This is not an isolated crisis, Osendarp said. Two years into the pandemic, governments are still recovering from the global economic stressors of the virus as well as climate change-related events, such as severe droughts in the Horn of Africa, as well as increased conflict in other war-torn regions, such as Ethiopia and in Yemen, she said.
The authors called for the cessation of trade restrictions that affect access to nutrition and for the use of social protection measures, such as food or cash transfers, specifically tailored to address malnutrition. Protection of financial commitments already made for nutrition, both within nations and globally, and increased investment in humanitarian resources beyond the promises already made will also be necessary, they said.
Without an immediate humanitarian response, it is almost guaranteed that the numbers of malnourished children and mothers will increase and will affect generations to come, Osendarp said.
“It will affect millions and millions of mothers and children, and we can just simply not afford to lose that generation,” she said.
ABC News’ Guy Davies and Dragana Jovanovic contributed to this report.
