(NOTE LANGUAGE) Florence Pugh doesn’t care if you don’t like her or her relationship with Zach Braff.
Speaking with the U.K. newspaper The Times in a piece published Sunday, the Black Widow star opened up about the criticism and bullying she receives from people who apparently don’t understand her relationship with Braff, who’s 21 years older than the 25-year-old actress.
“It’s my life,” Pugh said, according to BuzzFeed News. “And I’m not doing anything to please people or to make it a better headline or story.”
She added, “I want to also be a person!”
The Black Widow star also addressed the bullying she’s dealt with on Instagram as a result of her romance with the Scrubs actor.
“It’s so weird to me to go on to someone’s page and s*** on it,” she shared. “That’s so not my nature — to go and bully for the sake of bullying. It’s such an odd thing that we’ve become OK with in the past 10 years of social media.”
“The thing is, people want Instagram to be a nicer place,” she continued. “They want to see nice things. They want to be inspired and they want to be happy.”
“I don’t mind you not liking me,” she concluded. “That’s absolutely fine. In which case, don’t follow me.”
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello sweetly marked their second dating anniversary over the weekend by sharing never-before-seen photos with fans on Instagram.
Camila shared a series of photos of the two enjoying a beachy vacation and gushed in the caption, “happy anniversary Kuko [heart emoji] here’s to more joy, more friendship, and more love.”
Included in the sweet slideshow are photos of the two trying to eat a slice of watermelon at the same time and making funny faces at the camera.
The next day, the Cinderella star shared another collection of photos and videos of their recent trip, captioning it “The best of vibes.”
As for Shawn, the “Stitches” singer posted a tender photo of the two sharing a kiss on the beach.
Tagging the location as “The Caribbean Islands,” Shawn wrote in the caption, “Happy 2 years my baby.”
Shawn, 22, and Camila, 24, first met in 2015 and collaborated on the top 20 hit “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”
L-Britney Spears, R-Larry Rudolph; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Following Britney Spears‘s bombshell testimony over her controversial conservatorship, the “Toxic” singer’s longtime manager has resigned.
In a letter of resignation obtained by Deadline, Larry Rudolph explained why he wanted to step down from his role, which he’s held since 1995.
“It has been over 2 1/2 years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus,” wrote Rudolph, noting he recently became aware of Britney’s “intention to officially retire.”
He continued, “As you know, I have never been a part of the conservatorship nor its operations, so I am not privy to many of these details. I was originally hired at Britney’s request to help manage and assist her with her career. And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney’s best interest for me to resign from her team, as my professional services are no longer needed.”
The letter, addressed to Britney’s co-executors of her conservatorship — James Spears and Jodi Montgomery — ended with Rudolph’s request to resign as manager.
“I will always be incredibly proud of what we accomplished over our 25 years together,” he expressed. “I wish Britney all the health and happiness in the world, and I’ll be there for her if she ever needs me again, just as I always have been.”
Britney pleaded with a judge last month to end her 13-year conservatorship, claiming that it is “abusive” and is “doing me way more harm than good.” Her attorney, Samuel Ingham III, previously told the court that his client wouldn’t perform as long as her father had control over her estate.
Last week, Judge Brenda Penny, who heard Britney’s testimony, denied the star’s request to remove her father from her conservatorship.
Matthew McConaughey issued an inspiring and encouraging speech marking the Fourth of July.
Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the Oscar-winning actor celebrated America’s birthday in a heartfelt message about the state of the country.
“Let’s admit that this last year — this trip around the sun — was also another head-scratcher,” said McConaughey, 51. “But let’s also remember that we are babies, you know, as a country.”
“We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timeline, and we’re going to go through growing pains. We are going through growing pains,” McConaughey continued. “This is not an excuse, to say, this is just the reality.”
McConaughey looked on the bright side of the country’s relatively young age and explained that he views it as an opportunity to grow and learn from the past.
“This is good,” he said. “We gotta keep learning, we gotta keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building.” The only way to do that, said McConaughey, is to “maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve… Because the alternative sucks.”
“I believe in America,” McConaughey declared. “We’re constantly in motion, we’re on the way trying to get wiser, trying to get braver, trying to dream more, trying to do more, trying to be more fair — take the right kind of responsibilities to gain the right kind of freedoms.”
McConaughey noted people need to be “appreciative and supportive” of the nation’s collective triumphs and evolution, stressing, “We are all in this together.”
“[We’re] on the way to being the best we can be,” he closed. “Why? Because that’s who we are.”
It’s official: F9 is the biggest movie to come out of the pandemic. The latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise raced past the $500 million mark during the holiday weekend, leaving its competition in the dust.
F9, which opened in the U.S. June 25, grossed an additional $30 million across 4,203 American theaters over the long July 4th weekend, boosting its global numbers past the half-billion-dollar mark. The movie is currently the only American film to earn more than $500 million globally since 2019.
Coming in second is the animated newcomer The Boss Baby: Family Business, which earned $20 million in its opening weekend. The movie stars Alec Baldwin, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Sedaris and James Marsden.
Universal Studios cleaned house this weekend, claiming the top three spots in the holiday box office roundup, with its other newcomer, The Forever Purge, coming in third, with $15.6 million. The movie is the fifth and, reportedly, final film of The Purge franchise.
Dropping to fourth with $5 million in its sixth week of release is Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II. The thriller is only another five million away from crossing the $150 million mark in domestic ticket sales.
Rounding out the top five is the Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson action-comedy sequel The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which drew in another $3.9 million in its third week of release.
(NEW YORK) — David and Sabrina Jaramillo took their family to an amusement park on Saturday to celebrate their eldest son’s birthday, hoping to “have a good time.” But a tragic accident on a water ride left one of their children dead and another in a medically induced coma.
“I will never get a chance to see him grow up or get a chance to see him graduate,” Sabrina Jaramillo told ABC News in an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday on Good Morning America.
“He was just taken from us,” David Jaramillo added. “Love your kids. You just don’t know when they’ll be taken.”
The Jaramillos had gone on several other rides before getting in line for the Raging River at Adventureland Park, a family-owned amusement park in Altoona, a suburb of Iowa’s capital city, Des Moines. The parents boarded a raft with their 15-year-old son, David, their 11-year-old son, Michael, their youngest son, Gus, and their niece, Mila. As they buckled their seatbelts and embarked on the river rapids ride, their tube suddenly flipped over, leaving them all trapped underwater.
“I see the silhouettes of my sons trying to grab each other, grab us,” the father recalled. “They want us to help them. We couldn’t do it.”
Both parents as well as one of their sons and their niece ultimately managed to break free and swim to the surface. But David and Michael were still stuck and no one could reach them.
“I’m drowning,” the father said. “The river was so intense, it was like a suction.”
The family screamed for help. Witnesses and first responders jumped in the water and eventually helped get the other kids out of the tube.
Both David and Michael were transported to a local hospital in critical condition, while the others were treated for minor injuries. Michael died from his injuries on Sunday, while David remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to the Altoona Police Department.
“Our thoughts and prayers are are with the Jaramillo family as they navigate the heartbreaking loss of their child,” police said in a statement Monday. “Altoona Detective are working with the State Inspector and Adventureland Park to understand this tragic accident.”
The Jaramillos described Michael as a “good kid.”
“His heart was bigger than him,” the father told ABC News.
“He was a baby and I feel like Adventureland robbed me of my baby,” the mother added, breaking down in tears.
Adventureland Park said in a statement Sunday that it was “saddened to learn of the passing of one Guest.” An investigation into the deadly incident is ongoing and the ride remains closed for a “thorough inspection,” the park said. The Raging River ride was last inspected on Friday and “was found to be in sound working order,” according to the park.
“Adventureland is working closely with both the State and local authorities, and would like to thank them again for their efforts,” the park added. “At this time, we ask for your thoughts and prayers for the Guest and their family, as well as for our team members who were onsite.”
An attorney for Adventureland Park insisted that the Raging River ride is “safe.”
“The Raging River ride has been in operation for nearly four decades,” the attorney told ABC News in a statement Monday. “The ride was inspected by the State of Iowa the day before the incident and was in good working order.”
But it’s not the first fatal accident to occur on that ride. A seasonal employee, 68-year-old Steve Booher, was killed in June 2106 after falling onto the conveyor belt while helping guests get in and out of their rafts.
The Jaramillos have been in the hospital by David’s side, waiting for their eldest son to wake up from the medically induced coma as he fights for his life. He turns 16 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, their youngest son, Gus, is struggling to cope with what happened.
“He’s scared. It is a nightmare,” the father told ABC News. “He closes his eyes and thinks about the water. When he wakes up, he realizes the nightmare’s true. So there’s no peace.”
(PHOENIX) — The stage is set for Game 1 of the NBA Finals Tuesday night.
The Phoenix Suns will battle it out with the Milwaukee Bucks as both teams look to take home the title.
The Suns are seeking to win their first ever championship while Milwaukee is hoping to add its second title in franchise history. The Bucks were last crowned champions 50 years ago with star Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Resorts World Las Vegas
Britney Spears has a supporter in Miley Cyrus.
Miley performed at Resorts World in Las Vegas on July 4 to help ring in the national holiday and, during her show, advocated for her fellow pop star.
Video footage obtained by TMZ shows the 28-year-old singer displaying her support by changing the lyrics from her hit “Party in the U.S.A” to say, “The taxi man turned on the radio, he turned to me and said, ‘free Britney, free Britney!”
Addressing the track’s original lyrics that say “And a Jay-Z song was on” the radio, she told the crowd, “We love Jay-Z, but we got to free this b****. It’s stressing me the f*** out!”
This isn’t the first time Miley has supported Britney, who recently expressed a desire to end her 13-year-long conservatorship.
In February, while performing the same song during her TikTok Tailgate performance, she shouted “We love Britney.”
(HONG KONG) — American corporate lawyer Samuel Phillip Bickett was given a term of four months and two weeks for assaulting a police officer in Hong Kong during a period of citywide unrest about 18 months ago.
The 37-year-old has been in custody since July 22, when a Hong Kong magistrate found him guilty of assaulting Senior Constable Yu Shu-sang in December 2019. Bickett was denied bail.
Hong Kong magistrate Arthur Lam pointed out that the police officer had sustained multiple injuries and called Bickett’s crime a “serious threat to public order.”
In a statement seen by ABC News, Bickett said he would appeal the “outrageous” verdict and “will not rest until justice is done.” The trial’s outcome, he added, is “entirely unsupportable by both the law and the evidence in this case.”
A State Department spokesperson said the United States was aware of Bickett’s case and that it was working to provide consular assistance: “We take seriously our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens abroad, and are monitoring the situation.”
Bickett, a former compliance director at Bank of America, reportedly was on his way to dinner when he tried to stop a man from attacking a commuter at an underground train station.
That man, it turned out, was an off-duty police officer who said he was using a baton to try to stop a turnstile jumper. At the time, Hong Kong officers were allowed to carry retractable batons during off-the-clock hours because of the ongoing protests.
Bickett claims the officer was threatening commuters and that he intervened in an attempt to prevent someone from getting hurt.
In his statement, Bickett said that in Hong Kong’s judicial system “rulings suggest a willful abandonment of fundamental legal principles by this magistrate, and make me sad for the state of rule of law in this city.”
Bickett’s case takes place amid a tense political backdrop. There have been a slew of arrests and prosecutions since last summer when Beijing imposed a national security law in the city, where crackdowns have affected a number of key sectors.
Last month, the city’s only remaining opposition newspaper, Apple Daily, was forced to close after the government froze its assets and arrested a handful of executives.
On Wednesday, Amnesty International said that Hong Kong is “on a rapid path to becoming a police state.”
The remarks came after the city’s former security secretary, John Lee, was promoted to Hong Kong’s second-highest job, while Lee’s post was handed over to police head Chris Tang.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam repeatedly has denied that the former colony’s freedoms and autonomy — meant to be guaranteed when the U.K. handed it back to China in 1997 — are being diminished.
But whether that assurance is enough for the American and international businesses, families and individuals who remain in Hong Kong remains to be seen.
American Chamber of Commerce President Tara Joseph said, “These are sensitive times for American business in Hong Kong, wrestling not just with the National Security Law but also heightened U.S.-China tensions and strict COVID travel restrictions.”
A survey of members conducted by the chamber in May indicated that some 42% are considering leaving, but, as Joseph noted, Hong Kong remains a vital economic center: “For many sectors, Hong Kong remains an important business hub. Many companies will try to adjust to a new normal.”
(HOUSTON) — Two women have been arrested for allegedly stealing a 14-week-old French bulldog puppy worth thousands of dollars from a Texas pet store.
The alleged theft occurred at approximately 12:25 p.m. at the Petland Woodlands store in Shenandoah, about 30 miles north of Houston. Local police received a call from the pet store saying that two women had just run out of the establishment with a puppy, according to a report from ABC News’ Houston station KTRK-TV.
“[The two women] asked to see a French bulldog, which we allowed them to see per our protocol, and they immediately took the dog and ran out the door,” Petland Woodlands manager Andrew Jones told KTRK. “Our employees went outside to get a description of the vehicle.”
Jones said his employees immediately called 911 and that authorities found the two women near the Woodlands Mall, attempting to reattach the license plates onto a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser that they allegedly fled the scene of the crime in.
“They were smart enough to take the license plate off but not smart enough to wait until they were further away before they put it back on,” Jones told KTRK.
Both women were taken into custody on July 5, shortly after the incident. It was unclear what charges they face.
The puppy, named Mario, who is worth an estimated $10,000, was returned to the pet store, where he is doing well and receiving a lot of attention, according to Jones.
Jones said it’s not the first time that this kind of theft has been attempted at one of his stores.
“This happens more often than we would like to say,” he told KTRK. “French bulldogs are very highly sought after and, as a result, it is what people are attempting to steal.”
Jones said his business has procedures in place to prevent such burglaries, including a security system with 36 different cameras and additional staff members on the clock.
The store also asks for proof of identity if someone expresses interest in buying a puppy but does not require ID just to play with the dogs because it is important for the animals to get as much play time as possible, according to Jones, who said he will be evaluating if this is the safest and most secure procedure.
“We are relieved that Mario was safely returned to his Petland family and that he is unharmed,” he told KTRK. “Our thanks to the dedicated men and women of the Shenandoah Police Department for responding immediately and helping us bring Mario home.”
