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Sharon Osbourne didn’t mince words about her controversial exit from the CBS daytime talk show, The Talk.
Speaking with the British publication Daily Mail, Osbourne maintained her claim that she was set up by her co-hosts and show executives.
Osbourne, 68, ignited a controversy in March during an intense debate with fellow host Sheryl Underwood about racism versus freedom of speech when defending embattled broadcaster Piers Morgan, who railed against Meghan Markle‘s explosive tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. Osbourne disagreed with Underwood, saying Morgan’s criticism wasn’t racist.
Osbourne, who starred on The Talk for 11 seasons, exited shortly after. Now she maintains that the rough exchange was pre-planned by show executives in hopes of boosting The Talk‘s ratings.
“To leave me for 20 minutes on live TV… unprepared, not produced, not knowing what’s going on… They could have cut at any time and gone to a commercial break,” she maintained. “They didn’t cut because they liked the controversy and they liked that everybody would be talking about this because they needed something for the show that was going into the toilet.”
“I felt totally betrayed, not protected… I felt used,” said Osbourne, noting that she began receiving death threats following the controversy. “They all knew the question and they all knew what was going down. I felt totally betrayed.”
As for her stance on Piers Morgan, Osbourne again insisted that criticizing Markle does not equate to racism.
“It was a freedom of speech matter,” she quipped. “A journalist friend of mine… wrote something that people didn’t like and then a few crazies out there, some thugs go, ‘You must be racist.'”
CBS refuted Osbourne’s claims when asked for comment, saying the exchange was not “orchestrated.”
Jeff Kravitz/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s Sebastian Stan plays Tommy Lee in the upcoming Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy, and the Mötley Crüe drummer is pleased with the casting.
“I know Sebastian, he’s playing me. From what he’s told me, [it’s a] really beautiful story,” Lee tells Entertainment Tonight. “I think a lot of people would think it’s one thing, but it’s really about privacy and how things got crazy then. There’s different laws now.”
Pam & Tommy chronicles Anderson and Lee’s tumultuous romance, including their 1995 wedding on the beach in Mexico after knowing each other for only 96 hours, and the private sex tape from their honeymoon that was made public and watched by millions without their consent.
Lily James plays Anderson while Seth Rogen will play the person who stole — and subsequently leaked — the couple’s personal sex tape.
Lee divorced Anderson in 1998. The ex-couple shares two sons: 25-year-old Brandon and 23-year-old Dylan.
“The story’s actually cool, what actually happened wasn’t,” Lee, 58, tells ET, insisting “people need to know” what occurred.
Lee was previously portrayed by Machine Gun Kelly in the 2019 Crüe biopic The Dirt.
Pam & Tommy also stars Nick Offerman, Taylor Schilling, Andrew Dice Clay, Pepi Sonuga, Spencer Granese and Mozhan Marnò. A release date has yet to be announced.
Matt Winkelmeyer/MG19/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Wondering why you didn’t see Halsey on the Met Gala red carpet Monday night? The new mom took to Twitter to explain why they didn’t attend.
“I’m still breastfeeding,” they wrote. “I only had my baby 7 weeks ago.”
Referencing the gala’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion theme,” the singer added, “There’s nothing more ‘American fashion’ than moms having to go back to work after just giving birth lol.”
When people on Twitter began criticizing Halsey for their response, pointing out that they had recently attended a party, Halsey responded, “Being out for 3 hours vs 9!!! I’m sorry I don’t know why I have to explain this.”
They clarified that they were “not complaining at all,” and that they understand they are “incredibly privileged to afford time off but the demands are still prevalent and the biology does not excuse me.”
“I am so grateful,” they wrote. “For my baby after everything I went through to get pregnant. For my undeserved comfort to spend time home. For the blessing to make art as a form of employment. But postpartum does not discriminate. That’s all I meant to say.”
Halsey welcomed their first child, Ender, in July with partner Alev Aydin.
(NEW YORK) — Children and young people around the world are experiencing increasing anxiety over the fate of the planet — specifically climate change and how lawmakers are handling the looming crisis, according to new research.
Scientists who surveyed 10,000 young people, ages 16 to 25, across 10 countries, found “widespread psychological distress” among them, and, for the first time, discovered that the anxiety was significantly related to perceived government inaction, according to a study published Tuesday in Lancet Planetary Health.
Nearly half of all young people surveyed, more than 45%, said their feelings about climate change negatively affect their daily life and functioning, according to the study.
Another 75% of those surveyed said they feel the future is frightening, while 64% said governments are not doing enough to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Of the young people surveyed, 58% said governments are betraying hem, while 61% said governments are not protecting them, the planet or future generations.
The study is the largest to ever research climate anxiety among children and young people and is the first to investigate how government action on climate change is related to widespread psychological distress among the youngest members of society, according to the authors.
“Climate change has significant implications for the health and futures of children and young people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to increased climate anxiety,” according to the researchers.
The results of the study were not surprising and indicate a lack of trust toward the government as well as the perception of institutional betrayal, Lisa Van Susteren, a general and forensic psychiatrist and co-author of the study, told ABC News. The findings are also “as much a measure” of climate denial among adults as they are a measure of kids’ anxiety, Van Susteren said.
“Kids are very media savvy. They’re not living in a cave,” Van Susteren said. “They have heard about what the future looks like. They’ve heard the warnings.”
Scientists warned of the dire situation the planet faces in the annual Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released last month.
“This report tells us that recent changes in the climate are widespread, rapid and intensifying, unprecedented in thousands of years,” said IPCC Vice Chair Ko Barrett, senior climate adviser for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Young people have been at the forefront of the climate fight for some years — with 18-year-old activist Greta Thunberg becoming a household name in 2018, and hundreds of thousands of young people around the world taking part in an organized global climate strike in 2019.
As an expert witness, Van Susteren performed psychological evaluations on the young people who were plaintiffs in Juliana V. United States, the 2015 federal lawsuit brought about by 21 youths who accused the government of failing to adequately combat climate change. She described it as “one of the most difficult experiences” in her career.
“You can clearly see that theirs depths of despair just are off the charts and are in part attributed to the sense that the future holds little promise,” Van Susteren said.
The case was dismissed in January 2020, but lawyers representing the plaintiffs intend to appeal the dismissal, they announced in February.
The researchers concluded that climate change and inadequate governmental response are associated with climate anxiety and distress in children and young people globally. Continued government inaction on climate change could lead to a public health crisis among the youth, the researchers warned.
Van Susteren described a “healing effect” that could take place if lawmakers and industry professionals were to do “the right thing” to significantly curb greenhouse gas emissions.
“They’re not going to heal with words alone,” she said. “They’re going to heal because of actions that are taken.”
The Grammy winner shared a TikTok video Monday showing her relaxing barefooted on her couch while strumming her guitar as she reminisces about the past year.
“I’ve loved making music during the pandemic to connect with fans from afar but…,” the narration begins before jump-cutting to various concerts that show Taylor interacting with swarms of her fans.
She captioned the video “I miss us” along with the hashtag “All I think about is you.”
In March, Swift announced that she would be permanently cancelling her Lover Fest shows, which were meant to celebrate her seventh studio album, Lover.
In a tweet, Taylor wrote, “It’s not my favorite thing in the world to have to tell you news I’m sad about. I’m so sorry, but I cannot reschedule the shows that we’ve postponed.”
“I’m so disappointed that I won’t be able to see you in person as soon as I wanted to,” Taylor added. “I miss you terribly and can’t wait til we can all safely be at shows together again.”
Since issuing Lover, Swift released two surprise albums she recorded while in quarantine — folklore and evermore. Plans — if any — for a tour supporting the albums haven’t been disclosed, but fans are hoping Tay’s latest admission is hinting at a future announcement.
Why? Her latest TikTok video is exactly 13 seconds long — and 13, of course, is Taylor’s lucky number.
(NEW YORK) — Travis and Emily Elwood never imagined that they would call Billings, Montana, home.
The couple moved here from Portland, Oregon, last year when the pandemic forced them to reevaluate their priorities.
“I think humans just… are creatures of habit,” Travis Elwood told “Nightline.” “The pandemic coming in and forcing a change, versus one that you volunteer for, really just shook things up and everybody’s day-to-day lives and just kind of opened their eyes. [The massive change] broke off those chains and shackles [that] kind of held them in place.”
He and his wife are part of a great reshuffling taking place in the U.S. According to American real estate company Zillow, more than one in ten Americans have moved in the past year.
“For a long time, people have thought to move closer to cities because that’s where jobs are and if you wanted to minimize your commute, you wanted to get as close as possible. Now, as a result of the pandemic, a lot of workers have been untethered from their offices. And so that means they can broaden their search horizons for real estate,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com, told ABC News.
“They’re looking for good value further away from those downtown cores. And that’s led to home price increases,” she added.
The Elwoods had long talked about leaving Portland for a more affordable city.
“Rent for like a small apartment is quite astronomical. I mean, you’re looking $1,700 to $1,900 a month for a two-bedroom apartment,” Travis Elwood said.
When his wife began working remotely, the change gave the couple financial security — and they decided to take the plunge.
“We never in Portland would have been able to afford a house there, at least nothing like what we have now,” Emily Elwood said. “We were making pretty good money, but we just realized we were never going to buy there.”
Billings happened to have almost everything they were looking for.
“We wanted to change, so we wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a side step from where we were and something that was different, provided us new or different opportunities than-than we originally had,” Travis Elwood said.
The Montana city is #1 on the Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com emerging housing markets index
“I think people are kind of waking up to what many of us here have known,” Bill Cole, the mayor of the city, told “Nightline.” “Covid reminded us that life is not all about jobs and money. It’s about relationships, quality of life, and being part of a community. And Billings has those intangibles.”
Hale explained the Wall Street Journal /Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index is designed to track real estate markets that are going to be attractive for investment.
“[It’s] looking at a lot of different data indicators on things like amenities and quality of life, like low commute times, things like decent wages and low unemployment rate,” Hale said. “That makes these areas well rounded places where you’d actually want to live. And if you invest in real estate in these markets, you can expect a good return.”
Rounding out the emerging markets index list is Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. These locales show that smaller, more affordable cities are becoming some of the most popular places to live in the country.
The Elwoods traded in their two-bedroom apartment for a four-bedroom house with a backyard for their two dogs.
“Our mortgage here is actually less than what we’re paying and rents in Portland,” Emily Elwood said.
Her husband found a local job almost immediately. Billings has a population of less than 200,000 people, but its unemployment rate hovers around 3% — lower than the national average of 5.2%.
“I had a handful of offers in my first week here, so within my second week of being in Montana, I had a job,” he said.
Husband and wife realtors Megan and Jason Wood sold the Elwoods their home.
“Living in Billings and living in south central Montana is all about being close to the mountains and having the access to the river and the desert and some of the other nice outdoor activities,” Jason Wood told “Nightline.”
Like many mid-sized cities, Billings is experiencing a pandemic real estate boom.
“Pre-pandemic in 2019, there was about three-and-a-half months worth of inventory sitting on the market. Today, we have about three weeks worth of inventory,” Megan Wood said.
Houses are flying off the market.
“Houses are moving very quickly here. So you have three, four or five days to get an offer in and get an offer accepted,” her husband said.
While still less expensive than many cities, prices are going up. The average single-family home price in Billings and the surrounding area was $376,248 in June, up almost 28% from a year earlier.
“Homes in Billings are definitely going above asking price at the moment,” Megan Wood told “Nightline.” “The median for the month of July, the median amount over the asking price was about 6% sales price versus the list price.”
It seems new homes can’t be built quickly enough to keep up with demand. Almost all the homes in the subdivision, which range from $350,000 to $700,000 are already sold.
“The demand for houses is very, very high this year. We’re selling houses as soon as they’re done or even before they’re done,” Chad Wagenhals, Builder/Realtor at CDW Construction said. “We probably get a house framed and within the first two weeks, the house is sold. So if the house goes on the market, it’s usually sold in two or three days, if not two or three hours.”
With remote work freeing many people from their daily commute, families looking to stretch their dollar and their square footage are being up the suburbs, too.
“It’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy,” real estate agent Pat Davis said. She’s been selling homes in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City for 30 years. “We have a lot of young people coming in with children that are looking for these types of homes, starter homes, three bedrooms, looking for it to entertain their families and have them come out.”
Davis just listed a house in Montclair, New Jersey, for $639,000. The town has become a magnet for families who want to live in the suburbs but still have easy access to New York City. With its direct trains, highly rated schools and quaint downtown area, it has much of what home buyers are willing to pay top dollar for.“What we’re seeing is a lot of families with young children, two and younger,” Pat Davis said.
Davis says the house went into contract for more than asking price, after just 13 days on the market.“We did a weekend open house on Saturday, Sunday. We had over 50 people come through,” Davis said.
Not everyone can afford this. The boom has locked out many first time buyers across the country, who are losing their dream homes to all-cash, above-ask offers.
“It’s really tough to compete in a market like this,” Davis said. “If you’re a first time home buyer and you don’t have the down payment money, if you’re using one of the products that’s available for people that are first time home buyers, that don’t have a lot of down payment money… They’re just not able to compete in this marketplace.”
“On the flip side, the one thing that is a positive for first time buyers is that they tend to take out larger loans,” Hale said. “They’re borrowing more money. And so low mortgage rates really help to benefit first time home buyers. But in today’s competitive market, the biggest challenge for many is finding a home that’s right for them and then winning the offer.
The Elwoods had to pay over asking price to close the deal on their house.
“We ended up having to put, you know, about $30,000 more or above the asking price. And even with that, we are one of 10 offers that came in,” Travis Elwood said. “So [that] really shows how crazy the house market has gotten over the last few months and so forth.”
But the couple says their new life in Billings makes it all worth it.
“I’d do it a hundred times over,” he added. “Thankfully, we’ve been blessed that it has come out in the best case.”
How low can Ryan Reynolds‘ voice go? Thanks to a new TikTok trend, fans almost found that out — had Will Ferrell not interrupted.
Taking to social media on Monday, the Deadpool star shared a video of him singing MIKA‘s 2009 hit “Grace Kelly,” with Reynolds lowering his voice an octave each time he repeats the chorus.
However, just as Reynolds, 44, begins to flex his vocals for the fourth part, Ferrell bursts in from the background while singing in a playful falsetto.
The Canadian actor whips around and feigns confusion as Ferrell, 54, goes ham on the microphone, shaking his head and closing his eyes as he continues to sing higher. During one point in the exchange, the Elf star stares at Reynolds, as if to challenge him, before settling back into his high-pitched serenade.
That leads to the two harmonizing beautifully to “Grace Kelly,” with Reynolds joking that the final part of the challenge is “acceptance.”
“Late to the Grace Kelly TikTok trend but WAY early for our Christmas movie musical,” Reynolds joked in the caption.
Several celebrities, including Octavia Spencer and Jeremy Renner, jumped into the comment section to approve of their shenanigans — in addition to a potential holiday movie starring the two comic legends.
The Grace Kelly Harmony Challenge, which gained traction over the summer, tasks people on TikTok to harmonize the vocals in MIKA’s 2009 single and mash it up into one epic cover.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Dick Clark Productions
(SEOUL, South Korea) — K-pop group BTS was appointed as “special presidential envoy for future generations and culture” by South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday.
After the ceremony, Moon presented each member of the group with diplomatic passports and fountain pens.
Moon thanked BTS for its participation in the Permission to Dance challenge for the hearing impaired and congratulated the group on winning three awards at the MTV Music Awards.
As part of their first official duties as special envoys, BTS will be accompanying Moon in his visit to the United States from Sept. 19 to 23. Moon and BTS will attend the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York for the second meeting of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Moment). The SDG Moment aims to reinforce the international community’s efforts to resolve global challenges, including poverty, hunger and climate issues.
The theme of the 76th General Assembly is “building resilience through hope to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.”
At the upcoming session, BTS will give a speech and a video clip of their performance will be played. BTS is also expected to deliver a message of consolation and hope to youth all over the world.
According to the Korean government, BTS’ attendance is expected to “serve as a meaningful opportunity to expand communication with future generations around the world and draw their sympathy on major international issues.”
BTS member RM said in a statement, “It is an honor to be able to do something with a title special presidential envoy for future generations and culture. We were always contemplating on ways to give back the love we received, and we are honored to have the opportunity given by the president to be special envoys.”
This is not the first time that Moon and BTS visited the United Nations together. In 2018, RM delivered a speech titled “Speak Yourself,” sharing a message about self-empowerment and love, while Moon discussed denuclearization efforts.
In 2020, BTS delivered a speech online for the 75th session of the UN General Assembly to encourage people amid the pandemic.
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Nicholas is pounding the South with rain after roaring ashore in Texas early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane.
In the Houston area, 410,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning. In Harris County, all public health testing and vaccination sites have stopped operations and Houston schools are closed.
Rain totals reached 8 to 9 inches south of Galveston, where flash flooding was reported. Storm surge in Port O’Connor, Texas, was at nearly 4 feet.
The heavy rain is moving from the Houston area into Louisiana and Alabama where flash flood watches have been issued, including in New Orleans. Southern Mississippi could also see heavy rain and flooding.
Slow-moving Nicholas does not bode well for Louisiana, which has already been hard hit by hurricanes this year. The storm is expected to stall in the state early Wednesday, sitting there for days with heavy rain.
Six to 10 inches of rain is expected in Louisiana, including in New Orleans, with isolated totals reaching 15 to 20 inches.
The heaviest rain will arrive in New Orleans Tuesday night into Wednesday when life-threatening flash flooding is expected.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards requested a federal declaration of emergency ahead of landfall, which was granted by President Joe Biden. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 17 counties.
(NEW YORK) — Nicholas made landfall in Texas early Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm.
The storm had been riding on the water, parallel to the Texas coast, causing it to strengthen from a tropical storm into a hurricane late Monday prior to hitting land early Tuesday. Nearly 200,000 customers were without power in the Lone Star State when Nicholas made landfall after midnight, and that figure soared to nearly 350,000 before dawn as the storm moved inland.
Hurricanes have 74 miles per hour or higher winds, and on Monday night, Nicholas reached sustained winds of 76 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Weather Service. The hurricane roared ashore Tuesday at around 12:30 a.m. CT on the eastern part of Texas’ Matagorda Peninsula, about 10 miles southwest of Sargent Beach. Maximum sustained winds at that time were 75 mph with higher gusts at landfall, according to the National Weather Service.
But by 4 a.m. CT, the National Weather Service said Nicholas had already been downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Hurricane watches and warnings in the region were discontinued, while tropical storm warnings were in effect from Sabine Pass to Cameron, Louisiana, from Matagorda to Freeport, Texas, and from Matagorda to Cameron, Louisiana.
Although Nicholas is forecast to weaken further over the next couple of days as the storm moves over land, the National Weather Service warned that it could still cause life-threatening flash floods across the Deep South.
Heavy rain, flash flooding, dangerous storm surge, isolated tornadoes and strong gusty winds were expected in Texas and Louisiana. A high-risk alert for “life-threatening” flash flooding was in effect for portions of southeast Texas overnight.
The high-risk areas stretch from Matagorda to Galveston to Port Arthur. Rain totals are predicted to be between 6 and 12 inches to isolated maximum amounts of up to 18 inches, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Some spots across southeast Texas, southern-central Louisiana and southern Mississippi could see near 10 inches of rainfall through Thursday. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Louisiana on Monday night ahead of Nicholas’ arrival.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 17 counties and has prepped resources, including boat teams and rescue aircrafts, to assist any affected areas.
In Houston, the heaviest rain will come Monday night, and flash flooding is possible.
In Harris County, which encompasses Houston, Judge Lina Hidalgo warned Monday afternoon: “We could get 10 to 15 inches of rain over the next 24 hours or so — and that would be very, very concerning.”
All public health testing and vaccination sites will stop operations in Harris County. Schools in Houston will be closed on Tuesday.
“What I need each resident of this county to do today is to get to where you are going to be by 6 p.m. tonight and stay there,” Hidalgo said.
Nicholas is slow-moving and will likely remain in Texas from Monday to Wednesday, according to the latest forecast.
Rainfall totals will be the highest around Galveston, which could see more than 10 inches.
Storm surge could be as high as 5 feet south of Galveston.
On Tuesday, Nicholas is forecast to bring heavy rain to eastern Texas and into Louisiana. By Wednesday, some of the heavy rain will begin to reach New Orleans.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in anticipation of Nicholas. Residents are still recovering from devastating hurricanes Laura and Ida.
During a news conference on Monday, Bel Edwards warned residents to take the storm seriously, even though it hadn’t reached hurricane status. More than 119,000 customers are currently without power in Louisiana and 1,425 people are still living in shelters there due to Ida, according to the governor.
“I know that bracing for another storm while we’re still responding to and trying to recover from Hurricane Ida is not the position that we wanted to be in, but it is a situation that we are prepared for,” Bel Edwards said.
The rainfall could be as intense as 2 inches per hour.
“The most severe threat to Louisiana is in the Southwest portion of the state, where recovery from Hurricane Laura and the May flooding is ongoing. In this area heavy rain and flash flooding are possible,” the governor said in a statement. “However, it is also likely that all of South Louisiana will see heavy rain this week, including areas recently affected by Hurricane Ida. This tropical storm has the potential to disrupt some power restoration and recovery work currently underway.”
