Jay Ellis says he stepped into the fifth and final season of Insecure with some real life connections to his character Lawrence.
Ellis tells ABC Audio that when he started to film the new season, he and co-star Christina Elmore, who plays his ex and soon-to-be baby mother Condola, both found themselves identifying with their characters because they were both new parents in real life.
“At the time, Christina and I were the only parents on set,” he says, before explaining some of the things that new parents say to their partners. “So I think there were a lot of things that we were like, ‘Oooh, if you ever! Oooh, you bet not never — Ooh!’ … Especially new parents [who] don’t even realize they’re doing it.”
As first-time parents, Ellis says he and Elmore could easily empathize with their characters and the challenges they faced in co-parenting.
“We were realizing all these things that come up when you’re new parents that could only be 20 times more difficult if you and someone you’re co-parenting with aren’t on the same page,” he shares. “So… a lot of that stuff… came out as we got into shooting episode [three]. And just the feeling of, ‘What does it feel like for a new mother to be away from her kid, or for a new father, to be away from his kid?'”
Ellis believes that those real life connections are what make Issa Rae‘s HBO comedy series so relatable.
“Season after season, Issa and Prentice Penny would bring us into the room and they would tell us what the arc was for the season and we would talk about [our] stories — [and] how [to] infuse [them with]… what our characters were going through.”
(NEW YORK) — Notorious serial killer Keith Jesperson, better known by the “Happy Face Killer” nickname he was given in the ’90s, has spent decades behind bars but his daughter believes he would kill again if released from prison today.
“I sometimes now wonder, if he was freed now, if he was released, would he kill again? And I believe he would,” Melissa Moore told “20/20” in a new interview. “I don’t believe my dad is sorry at all … what he is sorry about, though, is that he got caught.”
Jesperson, now 66, is serving five non-consecutive life sentences in Oregon’s state penitentiary.
A Canadian-born long-haul truck driver and divorced father of three, Jesperson claimed to have killed eight women in five states: Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Oregon.
Watch the full story on “20/20” TONIGHT at 9 p.m. ET on ABC
His killing spree spanned from 1990 until 1995, when he turned himself into authorities. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of his last known victim, 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend.
In a 2010 interview with ABC News, Jesperson equated committing murder to “shoplifting.” When ABC News’ Juju Chang challenged him on that framing, Jesperson doubled down, saying his killings were “everything like shoplifting.”
“It became a nonchalant type thing, because I got away with it,” he continued. “It is everything like shoplifting. You’re breaking the law but you’re getting away with it. And so, there’s a thrill of getting away with it.”
He was dubbed the “Happy Face Killer” for the smiley face drawings he included on a letter he sent to a Portland, Oregon, newspaper, in which he bragged about his crimes.
“It’s just a moment in time when situations present themselves, and you become what you are,” Jesperson told ABC News in a previous interview. “I’m sorry it happened, [I] wish it never happened … it’s done, it’s over with.”
After Jesperson came forward in March 1995, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges for his first known victim, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett, and Winningham. Both women’s bodies were found on opposite sides of the Columbia River from each other.
“What really stood out to me about my father is that once he killed Taunja Bennett, it’s like he got a taste for blood and power and control that he’s probably never had in his life and that excited him. So much so that he seemed to start killing very rapidly again after Taunja,” Moore said.
Jesperson was linked to murdering six other women, some of which remain unknown to this day: an unidentified woman who Jesperson said was named “Claudia” in August 1992 near Blythe, California; Cynthia Lynn Rose in September 1992 in Turlock, California; Lori Ann Pentland in November 1992 in Salem, Oregon; an unidentified woman who Jesperson said was named “Carla” in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California; an unidentified woman who Jesperson said was named “Suzanne” in September 1994 in Crestview, Florida; and Angela Subrize in January 1995 in Laramie County, Wyoming.
Moore believes her father has no remorse. Even now, she said, if her father could go back in time to change anything, it would be to have never turned himself in so he could keep killing.
“I believe he would be killing more women” if he were a free man, she said.
Growing up, Moore said the father she knew as a young child wasn’t violent. He was a man who carried her on his shoulders and made her feel “on top of the world,” she said, someone who made up bedtime stories about a princess and tucked her in at night.
One of the last things he bought her, Moore said, was a karaoke and music recording system for her 10th birthday. Shortly after that, her parents got divorced and that’s when she said her father changed.
Dr. Robert Schug, a forensic psychologist, has spoken to Jesperson multiple times. He said that Jesperson’s violent outbursts may have stemmed from his divorce.
“Keith mentions this period of his marriage when things really went south, so all of this really starts creating a very turbulent emotional period for the entire family,” Schug said. “But, particularly for Keith.”
Moore said she thought her father unleashed his anger over the divorce into his killing of Bennett.
“Then after that release and that excitement and the thought that he got away with it, plus two other people getting the blame, he was free to kill again, and he did very quickly,” she said.
A jury first convicted a Portland, Oregon, woman named Laverne Pavlinac for Bennett’s murder in 1990, largely based on her detailed confession to police in which she falsely claimed she helped her boyfriend John Sosnovske rape and kill the young woman.
Sosnovske later pleaded no contest to the murder charge.
In reality, neither had anything to do with the crime. Jesperson told investigators one of the reasons he wanted to come forward was he wanted credit for Bennett’s murder and to get Pavlinac and Sosnovske out of prison. The two were released in 1995.
It had been more than 15 years since Moore spoke to her father until she said he called her this past Father’s Day. With all the time that had passed, she decided to accept the call.
“It was interesting to hear his voice again, and just that old, familiar voice. It’s aged … He sounds more like my grandfather,” Moore said. “As we signed off, he said, ‘Goodbye, my daughter,’ and it definitely asserted that he wanted to control that I would have a relationship with him.”
Now a parent herself, Moore said her children are curious about their grandfather. They had visited him in prison when they were young, but they have no memory of the meeting. In letters to ABC News, Jesperson expressed how much he would like to reunite with his family.
“For years, I have reached out to my children to be a part of their lives,” Jesperson wrote in one of these letters. “They’re in my thoughts daily and I love them and am proud of them.”
Still, Moore said she doesn’t want her children to have a relationship with her father.
“I don’t want my dad to get into the psyche of my children and hurt them in any way because he is manipulative. He is a psychopath. He has the potential, still, to hurt, even if not with physical violence or murder, but with his words,” she said.
Moore’s 21-year-old daughter Aspen Moore, who said she learned the truth about her grandfather when she was about 10 years old, agrees that she doesn’t want to meet him.
“I think that he has excuses for his actions,” she said. “I don’t feel that his actions can be just brushed off.”
Melissa Moore maintains she doesn’t want to have a relationship with her father and said there was nothing he could offer her to bring her “any kind of closure.”
“There isn’t going to be closure,” she said. “But I’m okay with that. I’m content with my life, and I don’t need him to say sorry. I don’t need him to ask for forgiveness, and I frankly wouldn’t believe in his request for forgiveness.”
“These songs were fun explorations on the album journey,” Lorde shares. “They didn’t quite fit into the track list for whatever reason but they’re both big tunes.”
The deluxe Solar Power album is available now via digital outlets.
Lorde first released Solar Power, her third studio album, this past August. She’ll launch a world tour in support of the record in 2022.
Kelly Clarkson‘s got a new Christmas album called …When Christmas Comes Around, so of course, she’s going to promote it with a Christmas TV special.
Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Aroundwill premiere December 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. It’ll feature guest stars like Ariana Grande and country star Brett Eldredge — both of whom are on her album — plus Jay Leno, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Poehler, Leslie Odom Jr. and even Santa.
Kelly will also present some “everyday heroes” with “life-changing surprises.” And as part of the special, Wayfair, the company that Kelly partnered with for her home collection, is donating to a deserving organization that helps support communities in need.
In a statement, Kelly says, “People celebrate the holidays in different ways and that is the inspiration behind the original songs and the curated classics that are featured in this special. No matter what your heart is feeling this holiday season, I hope that this hour brings you joy and happiness exactly where you are.”
Kelly’s last holiday special was 2013’s Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Music Tale, also on NBC.
It’s been two years since Slipknot delighted fans with new music and, on Friday, the dry spell finally came to an end with their new single, “The Chapeltown Rag.”
The punishing new single blends frontman Corey Taylor‘ssignature growls and wails into a frenetic mash of guitar riffs and punishing drums.
The masked metallers paint the single around the chaos of misinformation, calling out those who cannot handle the truth and instead turn to a “Scandalous know it all – feedback chamber / Nobody wants the proof – they want a number.”
“All the ligatures are getting tight, like a style / Murder another mouth before the trial / Scalpel and then you scalp em to f***** death / Kills for the other vampires and surrogates / It’s a ploy for attention and evidence / All your f****** monsters are flaws in your common sense,” the band criticizes in the vitriolic lyrics, who close on a warning that “When everything is God online… nothing is.”
The frenetic single is named after the seemingly sleepy West Yorkshire suburb of Chapeltown, which was actually the playground of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed the “Yorkshire Ripper,” in the 1970s. Sutcliffe was the subject of a Netflix documentary that Taylor saw and was inspired to create something around it.
“The Chapeltown Rag” is the first new Slipknot song to follow the band’s 2019 album, We Are Not Your Kind. They will also perform the song live tonight at their headlining set at Knotfest Los Angeles.
If you’ve been searching for a new, upbeat track to soundtrack your weekend, look no further than Green Day‘s infectious new single, “Holy Toledo!,” which they released Friday… just don’t listen too closely to the lyrics.
The rockers once again invoke their clever happy song/dark lyrics format for their latest offering. “Holy Toledo!” rides a whimsical yet nostalgic ska-like beat and, while the music presents itself as the perfect tune to sway your shoulders to, the lyrics paint a completely different picture.
“We’re hell raisers, death wish cravers/ We’re running with razor blades/ Party favors, sex with strangers/ We don’t care what the neighbors say,” the Grammy winners celebrate in the chorus, as they sing about “crawling out of the dead man’s bed” all to catch the high of getting “sick again.”
The single was created for the rom-com Mark, Mary & Some Other People, which follows a newlywed couple exploring the world of ethical non-monogamy in an attempt to spice up their love life. The movie is in theaters and streaming on-demand now.
“Holy Toledo!” follows Green Day’s previously released singles “Pollyanna” and “Here Comes the Shock.” The punk trio also released a cover of the KISS classic “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which was recorded during their Hella Mega tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer.
Chris Pratt found himself in hot water yesterday by not only angering fans of his ex-wife Anna Faris, but also took some heat from his own followers for calling his baby daughter “healthy.”
The Jurassic World star recently took to Instagram to mark wife Katherine Schwarzenegger‘s birthday ahead of schedule, but some took issue with one of his compliments when speaking about their daughter, one-year-old Lyla.
Some believe Pratt’s remark, “She’s given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter,” is a veiled dig at his ex, whom he divorced in 2018.
He and Faris share a nine-year-old son, Jack, who was born premature and suffers from several medical issues.
Some of his fans admitted the remark made them “wince,” but felt that was not the actor’s intention. Meanwhile, others said the word seems deliberate considering his son’s traumatic birth.
Faris previously opened up about Jack’s medical issues and his premature birth in her Anna Faris Is Unqualified podcast, and said in 2018, “Jack had a few surgeries — he had a few hernia surgeries, he’s had a few eye surgeries and he had a little heart issue as well,” according to E! News.
The Scary Movie star revealed Jack was born “two months early” and weighed three pounds and 12 ounces. She said the experience inspired her and Pratt to become supporters of the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS).
Faris nor Pratt have responded to the controversy and the Guardians of the Galaxy star has yet to change the language in his controversial post.
Silk Sonic — the duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak — are back with the third single from their upcoming debut album.
As with their previous singles “Leave the Door Open” and “Skate,” “Smokin Out the Window” nods to the classic sounds of ’70s soul, and a retro video features Bruno, Anderson and their backup singers performing choreography on the stage set of a non-existent TV show.
The comical song about heartbreak finds the guys singing about a woman who has them “paying her rent, paying for trips, diamonds on her neck, diamonds on her wrist,” only to find that she’s cheating.
They sing, “I thought that girl belonged to only me/But I was wrong/’Cause she belong to everybody.”
Silk Sonic’s debut album An Evening with Silk Sonic is out November 12.
Last month, Coldplay christened Seattle’s new Climate Pledge Arena with a special concert, but if you couldn’t make it, a live EP captured at the show is available today.
Live From Climate Pledge Arena includes four songs: “Fix You,” “Viva La Vida” and two songs from their new album Music of the Spheres — “People of the Pride” and “Human Heart,” with We Are KING. The EP is available exclusively at Amazon Music.
The original concert was streamed live via Amazon Music, Prime Video and Twitch, but it’ll also be released to Prime Video on November 12 if you didn’t happen to catch it then.
In other Coldplay news, there’s yet another remix of the band’s current single with BTS, “My Universe,” this time by Swedish duo Galantis.
Will Smith is ready to talk about one of the darkest periods in his life, which he says happened before striking gold with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Entertainment Tonightobtained an advanced clip of the actor’s interview with Oprah Winfrey as part of her The Oprah Conversation series on Apple TV+.
Smith elaborates on what he wrote in his upcoming memoir, Will, where he speaks about the time in his life where he “basically lost everything.”
The King Richard star revealed that the government seized his assets, including his money, home and cars. Later, he was arrested and put in jail.
“When it rains, it pours,” remarked Smith. “So getting into the fight at the radio station, Charlie [Mack] punching the dude that landed me in jail, so the money is gone, the car is gone. I am laying on the floor in a jail cell and I am like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!'”
The 53-year-old said, eight months prior to hitting rock bottom, he had won a Grammy for his 1988 single “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” which added to the sting.
“It’s just the spiral when it starts going the other way. It’s like, sometimes you just have to get out the way and wait until the downward spiral stops,” he said.
Smith eventually turned his life around following the success of the Fresh Prince sitcom, which ran for six seasons on NBC and helped revitalize his career as a recording artist and an actor.
The complete interview premieres Friday, November 5, on Apple TV+.
