Zayn Malik has released a statement following allegations that he “struck” Gigi Hadid’s mom, Yolanda.
In the message posted to Twitter Thursday, the singer begins by saying that he’s a private person and wants to create a safe space for his one-year-old daughter, Khai, but he felt the need to speak out after the accusations were “leaked” to the press.
He does not mention Yolanda by name in the post but says there was an “argument” with one of Gigi’s “family members” several weeks ago.
“This was and still should be a private matter but it seems for now there is divisiveness and despite my efforts to restore us to a peaceful family environment that will allow for me to co-parent my daughter in a manner in which she deserves, this has been ‘leaked’ to the press,” Zayn continues.
He concludes, “I am hopeful though for healing for all involved with the harsh words shared and more importantly I remain vigilant to protect Khai and give her the privacy she deserves.”
In a statement to TMZ, which first reported the allegations, Zayn says, “I adamantly deny striking Yolanda Hadid and for the sake of my daughter I decline to give any further details and I hope that Yolanda will reconsider her false allegations and move towards healing these family issues in private.”
(PHOENIX) — The Green Bay Packers will be short-handed at wide receiver when they take on the Arizona Cardinals tonight.
Davante Adams and Allen Lazard will both miss the game after being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list this week. Adams is vaccinated but tested positive. Lazard is unvaccinated and was deemed a close contact of Adams.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling will also miss the game after the team did not activate him. He has missed the past four games with a hamstring injury.
Adams ranks third in the NFL with 744 receiving yards and second in catches with 52.
Packer defensive coordinate Joe Barry will also miss the game because of COVID-19 protocols.
(NEW YORK) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been charged with a misdemeanor sex crime in Albany City Court, according to a spokesman for the New York State Court System.
The complaint, filed by an Albany County Sheriff’s Department investigator, accused Cuomo of forcible touching.
The alleged crime took place at the governor’s mansion on December 7, 2020 when Cuomo “intentionally and for no legitimate purpose” forcibly placed his hand under the blouse of an unnamed victim and onto an intimate body part.
“Specifically, the victims left breast for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires, all contrary to the provisions of the statute in such case made and provided,” the complaint said.
Cuomo resigned in August following a monthslong investigation by State Attorney General Letitia James that found he sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former state employees.
“Specifically, we find that the Governor sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees by, among other things, engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching, as well as making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women,” the report said.
Following his resignation, Cuomo said the report was politicized and that there was a rush to judgment.
“Let me say now that when government politicizes allegations and the headlines condemn without facts, you undermine the justice system and that doesn’t serve women and it doesn’t serve men or society,” Cuomo said during his farewell address. “I understand that there are moments of intense political pressure and media frenzy that cause a rush to judgment, but that is not right. It’s not fair or sustainable. Facts still matter.”
Cuomo was replaced by then Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ryan Reynolds covers the November issue of WSJ. Magazine, which named him the publication’s 2021 Entertainment & Entrepreneurship Innovator.
The actor and producer was hailed for his efforts as a marketing guru, with viral ads for not only his 2016 hit Deadpool, but clever spots for his companies Mint Mobile and Aviation American Gin. Some interview highlights:
For Deadpool, Reynolds saw getting creative control of the then-obscure property a make-or break moment for his career. “While I was obscenely privileged to star in movies, a lot of times they weren’t working,” he admits. “That’s when I said, ‘I need to have some authorship here.'”
The movie became an unlikely blockbuster, and spawned a franchise.
Deadpool also taught him “invaluable life lessons,” many of which insped his company Maximum Effort, which produces everything from hits like his recent movie Free Guy, to viral ads.
“We had so little to make that movie and even less to market the movie,” said Reynolds. The unconventional character meant “marketing it had to step outside any semblance of normalcy.”
He says of Maximum Effort, “We love storytelling. Marketing, to a certain extent, is diet storytelling…,” noting that the “scrappy” ads focus on character over budget.
Reynolds admits, “I tend to bite off way more than I could or should chew,” and blames it on a “Canadian sensibility.”
“I fixate on things….I lay awake at night, wrapping and unwrapping every possible scenario,” he declared, then quipping, “I slept at a perfect right angle for so many years.”
Ryan says he tends to, “pave over anxiety with work and, to a lesser extent, achievement.”
He says, “You want to tick boxes sometimes. So these days, my goal is to be as present as I can and not just tick a box just to do it. I’m fully embracing and living that right now. It’s been amazing.” Making a “check mark” in the air with his finger, he adds, “OK. Heartfelt personal-growth quote: check.”
As Kristen Stewart committed to transforming into the late Princess Diana for the movie Spencer, the actress recalled one fleeting scene that gave her goosebumps.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, the 31-year-old admitted it felt “so spooky” to wear a replica of the late royal’s wedding dress, even if it was for a brief moment.
“When we put that dress on, it is embedded in a montage that kind of flashed her life before you. Even though the movie takes place over a three-day period… We still wanted to give a taste of the scope of her life,” Stewart explained. “Kind of touch on every part, even if it was in kind of lyrical dance. And the wedding dress is embedded in that montage and putting that on was a spooky day.”
As for what Stewart star had to do while wearing a replica of the wedding gown, she revealed, “We didn’t have to do the wedding scene but I still had one walk, walking outside of this castle.”
Stewart says director Pablo Larraín encouraged her to turn that brief scene into a standout, as it was a pivotal moment in Diana’s life.
“[He] was like, ‘Take everything you learned about that day, all of your emotional responses that you have accumulated, put them all right here. What does it feel like to believe in an ideal that then becomes very, very apparently farcical?'” she recalled him saying, adding that he wanted her to “let your heart break in a moment.”
When asked what she hopes the Royal Family will say, should they watch Spencer, said Stewart, “I would say is that we led with love and curiosity. And professed to know nothing. We’re literally just sort of admirers.”
The final season of black-ish has added a real-life icon to its lineup.
On Thursday, the show announced via social media that former First Lady Michelle Obama will be making a guest appearance on the eighth and final season of the ABC comedy. “#blackish is going all out for the final season! We are honored to have trailblazer @michelleobama join us as an upcoming guest star,” reads the Instagram caption of a photo of Mrs. Obama with the black-ish cast. While details on Mrs. Obama’s appearance are few, this isn’t the first time she’s appeared on a popular sitcom. The former First Lady also guest starred on the sixth-season finale of Parks and Recreation. The final season of black-ish is set for sometime in 2022.
In other news, The CW has tapped Taye Diggs and recording artists Ne-Yo and Eric Bellinger to headline two upcoming variety specials. The three will star in The Black Pack: We Three Kings and The Black Pack: Excellence, which will highlight Black performers. We Three Kings will premiere on November 29 and feature classic Christmas music, comedy and dance. It will also have appearances by Bre-Z, Tank, Sevyn Streeter and Jordin Sparks. The Black Pack: Excellence will air sometime in 2022 and will commemorate the Juneteenth holiday with music, dance and guest stars. It will also include a tribute to original Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr.
Finally, Deadline has learned that Isaiah Mustafa has been added to the cast of Boy Kills World, a forthcoming action film set in a “dystopian fever dream reality.” The film follows Bill Skarsgard as Boy, a deaf mute who’s trained by a mysterious shaman and becomes “an instrument of death.” A release date for Boy Kills World has yet to be announced.
(NEW YORK) — PETA has asked Major League Baseball to end the use of the term ‘bullpen.”
The organization says they would like a more animal-friendly term that doesn’t reference the area where bulls are held before slaughter.
Their suggestion: The Arm Barn!
“Words matter, and baseball ‘bullpens’ devalue talented players and mock the misery of sensitive animals,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages Major League Baseball coaches, announcers, players, and fans to changeuptheir language and embrace the ‘arm barn’ instead.”
(NEW YORK) — In the shadow of mounting controversies for his beleaguered tech firm, CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out his vision for the future of the internet at a company conference Thursday, which he sees as evolving on the so-called “metaverse.”
Zuckerberg also announced that the name of his tech giant will be changed to “Meta” to reflect the shifting interests, though critics have accused the company of attempting to use its high-profile name change announcement to shift focus from the renewed scrutiny it has faced from lawmakers and beyond in recent weeks.
The metaverse, a three-dimensional digital world created by augmented and virtual reality products and services, will be “the successor to the mobile internet,” Zuckerberg said during his keynote speech to kick off Facebook’s Connect conference on Thursday. The chief executive demonstrated some of the experiences he said will soon be available in the digital realm — including connecting with friends and family, gaming, working out and even working remotely via a digital avatar and VR hardware.
“We’re now looking at and reporting on our business as two different segments, one for our family of apps and one for work on future platforms, and as part of this, it is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do to reflect who we are and what we hope to build,” he said.
“I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now meta,” Zuckerberg added.
The Facebook chief said the word comes from the Greek term for “beyond,” and is meant to symbolize that “there is always more to build, there is always a next chapter to the story.”
“Our mission remains the same still about bringing people together, our apps and their brands, they’re not changing either,” the CEO added. “We’re still the company that designs technology around people, now we have a new North Star to help bring the metaverse to life, and we have a new name that reflects the full breadth of what we do and the future that we want to help build.”
Finally, Zuckerberg said, “From now on, we’re going to be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.”
The name change announcement comes just weeks after a company whistleblower, Frances Haugen, testified before lawmakers, alleging blatant disregard from Facebook executives when they learned their platform could have harmful effects on democracy and the mental health of young people.
Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, accused Facebook of “choosing to prioritize its profits over people” in her opening statement before lawmakers on the Senate Commerce subcommittee.
“You can declare moral bankruptcy and we can figure out a fix [to] these things together because we solve problems together,” Haugen said.
Zuckerberg did not directly address Haugen’s claims during his remarks Thursday, saying only, “the last few years have been humbling for me and our company in a lot of ways.” During his remarks, which lasted over an hour, he mostly demonstrated how he sees people could use the metaverse and virtual or augmented reality tools in the near and far-off future.
Puscifer is collecting all of the band’s concert films in one place.
Maynard James Keenan and company have Puscifer TV, an online library of their filmed performances and projects, which will be available on-demand for purchase and rental starting November 12.
The first titles to be released on Puscifer TV include the two streaming concerts Puscifer played over the past year, as well as their 2013 live title What Is…Puscifer. For more info, visit Puscifer.com.
Puscifer released their latest album, Existential Reckoning, last October.
Chanté Moore is living the title of her 1999 top ten hit, “Chanté’s Got A Man.”
Wednesday she announced her engagement to former BET President of Programming Stephen Hill, one day after his 60th birthday.
The American Music, Soul Train Music, and NAACP Image Award winner began with lyrics from “Happier Than the Morning Sun” by Stevie Wonder.
“I’m happier than the morning sun… and that’s the way you said that I would be… so glad I gave you a chance to come inside my life… I couldn’t think of a better way to say what love, peace and joy I feel because of you @stephengranthill.” the 54-year-old singer wrote on Instagram with a photo of the two of them enjoying an ocean sunset on a yacht
“Thank you for showering me with more than I ever expected!! Happy Birthday and I love you! Who knew 30 years ago, through many chance meetings, we would end up HERE!?!?,” she continued. “But, here we are…. WE will enjoy OUR gift of the “PRESENT!”
Hill commented, “This has been my best year ever and the continuation of that best is just beginning. Celebrating a solar spin today and am brand new. After 21,915 days…this ol’ heart is skipping the right beats on the regular. May you, right now, at whatever age you are, feel as strong, vibrant and in love as I am right now…at 60. Best birthday ever. I love you.”
Stephen also shared a 21 minute video dancing with Moore to Junior’s “Mama Used to Say,” with the caption, “A lil’ loopin with my fianceé.”
Chanté has been married three times before, including to Kadeem Hardison, with whom she shares daughter Sophia, 25, and Kenny Lattimore, with whom she shares son Kenny Jr., 18.
