“Quavo and Karrueche Tran are dating. Things are causal between them, but they are seeing each other and like spending time together,” an insider tells the outlet.
Rumors that the rapper, whose birth name is Quavious Keyate Marshall, and the Claws actress are dating were fueled earlier this month when the duo was spotted dining at West Hollywood hot spot The Nice Guy. This isn’t the first time the duo have sparked romance rumors, though. Back in 2017, Quavo, 30, and Tran, 33, furled speculation when they seemed to be vacationing together with others in St. Martin.
However, they both went on to have separate relationships. Tran dated former NFL star Victor Cruz for three years before splitting in February 2021, while the “Stir Fry” rapper dated Saweetie for three years before it was revealed they’d ended things in March 2021.
(NOTE LANGUAGE) It’s all love over here. Cardi B is joining Summer Walker and SZA to bring fans “No Love (Extended),” dropping Friday.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, Summer announced, “Yall guessed it, my girl @IamcardiB jumped on “No Love” with me & @Sza.”
The 25-year-old singer added, “I can’t wait for y’all to see the video Friday!”
Shortly after the reveal, Summer and Cardi hopped on Instagram Live to celebrate, where they showered each other with compliments and shared their excitement for fans to hear the song. In her own social media posts, the “Up” rapper expressed that she’s bringing a new sound to the record that fans haven’t heard form her before.
“Ommmmmggg I’m soooo excited and nervous!” Cardi wrote alongside a photo of the song’s artwork. “I have never sounded the way I do on this record but I love it ! Hope you guys love it too.”
Over on Twitter, Cardi provided some more context, sharing, “If you’re going through a break up, but you still low key want the d*** you going to relate to this verse ….. I’m so proud of myself I stepped out my element.”
The original “No Love” with SZA was featured on Summer’s sophomore album, Still Over It, which dropped in November 2021.
“No Love (Extended)” is available for pre-save now.
Last week, Ed Sheeran said his next release would be something of a “curveball,” and he wasn’t lying: He’s releasing two songs with Latin superstar J Balvin — and he’s singing in Spanish.
In an Instagram post, Ed explains, “So I want to share something with you that I’ve been working on. I met @jbalvin in a gym in New York last year. It was just me and him very early in the morning. I recognized his voice when he was on the phone so I just went up and said hi.”
“We chatted so long we ended up having lunch and then afternoon tea. Then just went to being mates who chatted non stop,” Ed continues. “I was in New York at Christmas for shows so we decided to have one day in the studio that led to so so much more, which you’ll find out about soon. But the first two songs we wrote are ‘Sigue’ and ‘Forever My Love,’ they are out soon, and I absolutely love them.”
“He wanted to bring me into his world, and I wanted to bring him into mine,” Ed concludes. “Was a proper challenge learning Spanish for this and I had so much fun doing it. Hope you guys love it as much as I do, and look out for more to come.”
The post is accompanied by sped-up footage of what appears to be a video shoot for either one or both songs. No release date has been announced yet.
J Balvin is one of the best-selling artists in Latin music, and has collaborated with Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, The Black Eyed Peas and Dua Lipa. He also topped the charts along with Cardi B and Bad Bunny with the number-one 2018 smash, “I Like It.”
(WASHINGTON) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, faces up to 11 hours of grilling Tuesday on Day 2 of her four-day confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Jackson, 51, who currently sits on the nation’s second most powerful court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, will be questioned by each of the committee’s 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats over two days, starting Tuesday. On Thursday, senators can ask questions of the American Bar Association and other outside witnesses.
While Democrats have the votes to confirm President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee on their own, and hope to by the middle of April, the hearings could prove critical to the White House goal of securing at least some Republican support and shoring up the court’s credibility.
Here is how the news is developing Tuesday. Check back for updates:
Mar 22, 9:11 am
Confirmation hearings gavel back in
The second day of confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson — Biden’s first nominee to the Supreme Court and the first Black woman considered to the nation’s highest court in its 233-year history — are officially underway.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., gaveled in the hearing room just after 9 a.m. In a show of support, Jackson’s husband, Patrick, was seated behind her in the room, as he was Monday.
Jackson faces a marathon day of questioning from the committee’s 22 members, with each senator receiving 30-minutes to question Jackson one on one for a total of 11 hours Tuesday. Senators, in order of seniority, will take turns probing her judicial philosophy, her record as a public defender and her legal opinions spanning nearly nine years on the bench.
In a sign of COVID restrictions easing across the country, almost no one in the hearing room was wearing a mask, and for the first time since the pandemic, for each half-hour of the proceedings, up to 60 members of the public invited by senators will also be allowed to attend.
Mar 22, 9:01 am
KBJ arrives on Capitol Hill
Judge Jackson arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to continue a marathon week of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will need to approve sending her nomination to the Supreme Court to the full Senate for a floor vote.
The hearings will gavel in at 9 a.m. and each of the committee’s 11 Republican and 11 Democratic members will have up to 30 minutes to question Jackson one on one.
Jackson, 51, was sworn in Monday and delivered an opening statement to reintroduce herself to the nation.
“I hope that you will see how much I love our country, and the Constitution and the rights that make us free,” she told the senators who will vote on her historic nomination.
She also hinted at how she might address GOP critiques on Tuesday, telling senators that she adopts a “neutral posture” and sees her judicial role as “a limited one.”
Mar 22, 8:59 am
Republicans preview how they’ll question KBJ
While Democrats have emphasized the historic nature of Judge Jackson’s nomination and her compelling personal story, Republicans have vowed “thorough and civil” scrutiny of her record in hundreds of cases, which several have alleged shows she is “soft on crime.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., leveled the most pointed critique of Jackson’s record so far in his opening statement Monday, accusing her of a “long record” of letting child porn offenders “off the hook” in sentencing. The White House, several independent fact-checkers, and conservative outlet The National Review have called the claims misleading and unfair.
Republicans including Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., have also made clear they will also take aim at Jackson’s defense of an accused terrorist held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay — a case she was assigned to as a federal public defender. Jackson has previously explained her service as an example of belief in constitutional values.
Others indicated they planned to press Jackson to characterize her judicial philosophy, though she’s said outright she doesn’t have one, and to answer for progressive legal advocacy groups backing both her nomination and expanding the Supreme Court’s bench.
Mar 22, 8:25 am
Questioning could prove critical in securing GOP votes
Questioning over the next two days could prove critical to the White House goal of securing at least some Republican support for Judge Jackson’s confirmation.
Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Lindsey Graham — voted in favor of Jackson’s confirmation to the D.C. Circuit last June, but after private meetings with Biden’s nominee this month, all three were noncommittal about supporting her again.
Jackson has been vetted twice previously by the Judiciary Committee and twice confirmed by the full Senate as a judge. She was also Senate confirmed in 2010 as vice-chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
No Republican senator has publicly disputed Jackson’s qualification to be a justice, though several have raised concerns about her rulings and presumed judicial philosophy, which she has insisted she does not have.
Even without bipartisan support, Democrats have the votes on their own for Jackson’s confirmation, which party leaders have said they plan to complete before Easter.
Mar 22, 8:08 am
KBJ faces fourth Senate grilling Tuesday
Confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson — the first Black woman to be considered for the U.S. Supreme Court — continue on Tuesday at 9 a.m. when she’ll face up to 19 hours of questions from Senate Judiciary Committee members over two days.
Jackson will lean on her three prior experiences being questioned by the Judiciary Committee — more than any other nominee in 30 years — as its 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats take turns probing her judicial philosophy, her record as a public defender and her legal opinions spanning nearly nine years on the bench.
Jackson has spent the past few weeks practicing for the spotlight during mock sessions conducted with White House staff, sources familiar with the preparations told ABC News. She also met individually with each of the committee’s members and 23 other senators from both parties.
Each senator will get a 30-minute solo round of questioning on Tuesday, totaling more than 11 hours if each uses all of his or her allotted time, ahead of 20-minute rounds on Wednesday. The grilling is unlike any other for federal judges or political nominees in large part because of the lifetime tenure on the line.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — LGBTQ workers and employee allies at The Walt Disney Company are planning to stage a walkout in protest of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents.
Some employees have been walking out each day since Tuesday, March 15, from 3 to 3:15 p.m. On Tuesday, March 22, protesters are planning a full-length walkout from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The Walt Disney Company’s (TWDC) LGBTQIA+ community and their allies are determined to take a stand against TWDC’s apathy in the face of the bigoted ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill put forth by the FL state legislature,” the protest’s website states.
“The recent statements and lack of action by TWDC leadership regarding the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,” the website says.
Opponents of the bill say it would shame and silence LGBTQ youth and could have major negative consequences on their mental health.
The bill prohibits instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten to third grade and would limit or prohibit what classrooms can teach about sexual orientation and gender identity in other grades unless they are “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate,” a threshold criticized as vague by the bill’s opponents. It would also allow parents to sue schools that engage in these topics.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek has been criticized for his response to the bill, first for his silence on the legislation and later for not outright condemning the bill in his public statements.
Chapek has since said he would pledge $5 million to groups advocating for LGTBQ+ rights and protections and added that he has contacted Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office in opposition of the bill. He also said political donations in Florida will be paused pending review for any connection to the bill.
“We are hard at work creating a new framework for our political giving that will ensure our advocacy better reflects our values,” Chapek said in an email to Disney employees. “I am committed to this work and to you all, and will continue to engage with the LGBTQ+ community so that I can become a better ally.”
Several Disney figures, including ESPN sports anchor Elle Duncan, have shown support for the walkouts during televised broadcasts.
According to Duncan, ESPN employees have also been participating in the daily walkouts. Duncan herself took a moment of silence during her broadcast in protest.
“We understand the gravity of this legislation and also how it is affecting so many families across this country, and because of that our allyship is going to take a front seat, and with that, we’re going to pause in solidarity,” Duncan said.
ESPN’s Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle also remained silent for two minutes in solidarity with their coworkers during the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
“A threat to any human rights is a threat to all human rights,” Peck said during the March 18 broadcast.
In a list of demands on the protest website, organizers demand that Disney “immediately and indefinitely cease all campaign donations” to politicians linked to the bill and “commit to an actionable plan” that could protect employees from discriminatory legislation.
Organizers also ask that the company reaffirms its commitment to LGBTQ employees and communities, make contributions to human rights advocacy groups and allocate spending and resources to invest in LGBTQ representation.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News.
Ahead of the Oscars on March 27, here’s a look at the leading contenders for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Will Smith is nominated for Best Actor for his role in King Richard as the father of tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams. This is Smith’s third Oscar nomination, and so far, he’s won quite a few of the awards that are key indicators of Oscar glory, including the Screen Actors Guild and the BAFTA Awards for Best Actor.
Benedict Cumberbatch earned his second Oscar nod this year for his role as an abusive cowboy in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. He’s won a few awards so far this season, but not as many as Smith.
In the Best Actress category, Jessica Chastain may be the one to beat. She’s earned her third Oscar nod for her starring role as the late televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye — and she’s won the most awards of any other female acting nominee leading up to the Oscars.
But don’t count out Nicole Kidman. A previous Oscar-winner, she received her fifth career nomination for her portrayal of TV icon Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos.
The rest of the Best Actor field includes Andrew Garfield for tick, tick…Boom!, two-time Oscar-winner Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, and previous winner Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos.
The rest of the Best Actress nominees include Bardem’s wife Penélope Cruz — also a past Oscar winner — for Parallel Mothers. Olivia Colman, nominated for The Lost Daughter, has an Oscar at home as well. The only first-time nominee in the category is Kristen Stewart, for Spencer.
Tune into the 94th annual Academy Awards March 27 on ABC to see who takes home the prizes.
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Billie Eilish and her brother/producer FINNEAS will perform their Oscar-nominated song “No Time to Die,” from the James Bond film of the same name, during the 94th Oscars ceremony on Sunday night, a source involved with the show tells The Hollywood Reporter.
The Grammy-winning siblings are considered odds-on favorites to take home the Best Original song Oscar, following wins at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and Grammy Awards.
Two other Bond songs have nabbed Oscars over the past decade: Adele’s “Skyfall,” from the 2012 film of the same name, and Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall,” from 2015’s Spectre.
The 94th Annual Academy Awards will air live on ABC on Sunday at 8 p.m. from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Heeeere’s Benji! Deadline reports A new London stage adaptation of Stephen King‘s horror classic The Shining is in the works with Ben Stiller in talks to play the role of crazed, haunted dad Jack Torrance, portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1980 film. Rehearsals are set to begin in the fall, in anticipation of a January 2023 opening. The play is expected to eventually move to Broadway…
Betty Gilpin will reunite with Damon Lindelof, co-writer of the 2020 film The Hunt, for the Peacock drama series Mrs. Davis. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the streamer confirms it’s “an exploration of faith versus technology -— an epic battle of biblical and binary proportions.” Lindelof’s previous credits include HBO’s Watchmen and The Leftovers, as well as ABC’s Lost, all of which he co-created and directed. Gilpin will next be seen starring alongside Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in the Starz anthology series Gaslit, premiering April 24…
American Housewife‘s Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger have been cast as the leads in a pilot for The Winchesters, the CW’s prequel to the hit series Supernatural, according to Variety. Donnelly and Rodger will play Mary Campbell and John Winchester, respectively, the parents of Supernatural protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester, played respectively by Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Per Variety, Ackles will narrate Dean’s parents’ love story, detailing how they put it all on the line to not only save their relationship, but the entire world…
The Suicide Squad‘s Daniela Melchior has joined the cast of Fast and Furious 10, according to Deadline. She joins Jason Momoa and franchise stars Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez and Sung Kang, who all are expected to return. Diesel will co-produce with Justin Lin, who’s also on board to direct…
(NEW YORK) — Phil Mickelson won’t be on the green when the 2022 Masters kicks off at Augusta National Golf Club next month.
Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, was expected to play in the golf tournament but his name was moved to the list of “past champions not playing” on the Masters’ website Monday.
Had he participated, it would have been the 51-year-old’s 30th Masters start. Instead, his absence will mark the first time since 1994 that Mickelson hasn’t competed in Augusta, Georgia.
The news comes after Mickelson received backlash last month over comments he made supporting a Saudi Arabia-backed golf tour.
In the comments, which the pro golfer made to author Alan Shipnuck in November but were released in February, Mickelson expressed no reservations about working with the Saudis despite the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which a United Nations probe determined was a “premeditated execution” for which Saudi Arabia was responsible.
“They’re scary … to get involved with,” Mickelson told Shipnuck about working with the Saudis on the new league. “We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay. Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
Mickelson later apologized for his comments but not before they cost him one of his biggest sponsors, global tax firm KPMG.
Pharrell Williams’ non-profit Black Ambition has announced that applications for its second annual Black Ambition Prize are now open.
The company, founded by Williams in 2020 to empower Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, is looking to fund and support ventures in consumer products and services, media and entertainment, healthcare, technology and Web 3.0.
To enter, ventures must have at least one founder or co-founder that identifies as Black or Latinx. The grand prize winner will receive a $1 million prize. At least six additional teams will receive smaller prizes.
Black Ambition is also offering the HBCU Prize, in which current and former students at HBCUs have the chance to win prizes and mentorship as they develop ideas and launch companies. The grand prize winner will receive a $100,000 prize, while at least seven other teams will receive smaller prizes.
“When you realize how lucky you are to be in the constellation of the universe and when you learn how it really works, you stop buying vehicles and you create vehicles to drive you. That’s what Black Ambition is, it’s a vehicle for impact,” Pharrell says in a statement. “At Black Ambition, we find you and then we fund you.”
