JANUARY 9, 2020

LEONARDO DICAPRIO rescued a guy who fell off a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Leo and his girlfriend Camila Marrone were on a boat near St. Barts on December 30th when they found out there was an emergency search for the guy. So they joined in. He was an employee on a Club Med ship, but he got too drunk and fell overboard.  It was Leo’s boat that found him. The poor guy had been treading water for ELEVEN HOURS before he was rescued.

 

PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE announced yesterday that they’re going to “step back” as senior members of the Royal Family. They’ve just decided to, “carve out a progressive new role within this institution.” Part of that carving includes becoming FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT. They’re also going to split their time between the U.K. and North America.  Harry has a series on mental health in the works for Apple TV+. They also want to be free to interact with the media in any way they see fit. The family currently participates in something called the Royal Rota system.  It’s basically a pool of British press organizations that get exclusive access to official engagements of the Royal Family. Harry and Meghan haven’t been happy with how the British media’s been treating them.  Harry recently complained about the way they’ve been trying to juice up a feud between him and his brother, PRINCE WILLIAM. And Meghan said, “The biggest thing that I know is that I never thought this would be easy.  But I thought it would be fair.  And that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile.” No matter what happens, they say they still plan to, “honor our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.” Harry and Meghan didn’t clear any of this with the family beforehand, and it threw them for a loop.  The response from Buckingham Palace said, “Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage.  We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.” There have been some great reactions on Twitter, like, “Harry and Meghan are resigning to spend less time with their family.” There’s already a snappy hashtag for this:  #Megxit . . . Someone else congratulated her on “Yoko Ono-ing” the Royal Family.

 

JUSTIN BIEBER has been working on his mental health lately, but it turns out he’s been dealing with some heavy physical issues, too. In an Instagram post yesterday, he said, “A lot of people failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease. Not only that but I had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health. These things will be explained further in a docu series I’m putting on YouTube shortly. “You can learn all that I’ve been battling and OVERCOMING!!  It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.” The show is dropping on January 27th.

 

The NO-HOST thing worked out so well for the Oscars last year that they’re doing it again because they want to build on the “successful formula” that worked last year.   The ratings were UP last year, stopping a four-year slide. The show did move at a brisker pace.  Last year’s telecast was three hours, 13 minutes long, while the previous year it was just under FOUR hours. This year’s show airs on Sunday, February 9th.  The nominees will be announced on Monday, January 13th.

 

 

ABC announced that their next live musical will be “Young Frankenstein” – an adaptation of the 1974 MEL BROOKS movie, and the more recent Broadway version. Mel is 93, and he’s serving as a producer. The live production will feature music from the stage show, which Mel composed. There’s no word on casting or a premiere date, but it’ll air sometime this fall.

 

The number of “Bachelor” shows on TV just keep MULTIPLYING. ABC is developing a “music-centric” spinoff of “The Bachelor” called “Listen to Your Heart”. Here’s how it’ll work:  20 single men and women will sing covers of songs individually AND as couples and then they’ll “explore relationships, while living together and going on dates with a musical flair.” The show premieres on April 13th.

 

DOLLY PARTON has talked about her tattoos but she’s always been shy about where they’re located, and what they look like. She said on the “Dolly Parton’s America” podcast – “I have a few tattoos on my body.  They are not meant to be tattoos for the sake of tattoos.  I’m very fair-skinned, and when I have any kind of surgery or any kind of scarring – I kind of discolor. So, when I started getting a few things done, I had a few little tattoos to cover up the scarring.  But I’m not tattooed all over like a bike woman or anything.  I do have a few but they’re very delicate.  I don’t have the dark ones, they’re all pastels.” She still wouldn’t reveal where they are on her body.  But she did say, “I have some butterflies, I have some lace, and some little bows . . . a couple things like that.”

 

Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich are going through a change in their relationship. A source says that the former Dancing With the Stars pro and the Canadian hockey player have been “spending time apart”. This news comes just over two years after the couple tied the knot. Hough and Laich wed in July 2017.

 

Buck Henry, the legendary screenwriter behind The Graduate and What’s Up, Doc? who also co-created Get Smart and was a regular presence in the early years of Saturday Night Live, died last night of a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Health Center in Los Angeles. He was 89.

 

Jillian Michaels is getting some backlash for her thoughts on Lizzo. The 45-year-old personal trainer and businesswoman questioned embracing Lizzo‘s body. “I love her music, 100%…but why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter? That’s what I’m saying. Why aren’t we celebrating her music? ‘Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes. I’m just being honest,” Jillian said. “There’s never a moment where I’m like: I’m so glad she’s overweight!”

 

Taylor Swift will always be there to support best friend Selena Gomez, no matter what. The musicians opened up about their “instant” friendship in a Wall Street Journal cover story ahead of the release of Rare, 27-year-old Disney Gomez’s first album in four years. “I knew from when I met her I would always have her back,” Swift, 30, said. “In my life, I have the ability to forgive people who have hurt me. But I don’t know if I can forgive someone who hurts her.” The two have been a dynamic duo ever since their respective relationships with Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas in 2008.

 

Jason Momoa has been immortalized in the form of an adult coloring book. With just $10 and access to Amazon, you can purchase a coloring book filled with highly detailed illustrations of the Aquaman and Game of Thrones star. Crush and Color: Jason Momoa: A Coloring Book of Fantasies With an Epic Dreamboat was released on January 7, and it’s already the number one new release among comics and coloring books for grown-ups on Amazon.

 

Seven months after its syndication run ended, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is returning to television. ABC has ordered a new primetime, special batch of eight episodes. Jimmy Kimmel is the revived show’s host. Set to air Wednesday, April 8, on ABC, the new show will feature celebrity contestants playing for charity. And a new interactive game app will allow viewers at home to play alongside the stars and win the same amount of money the celebrities are playing for on the show.

 

LAUREN ALAINA’s “That Girl Was Me Tour” kicks off next week. That’s the one she postponed to do “Dancing with the Stars”.  And she’s still taking FILMORE along as her opener.  To get the word out she released a video where she’s trying to teach him the kind of dance moves he’ll need for the tour.  AND she hung out with WWE star Ron “The Truth” Killings on New Year’s Eve, and he posted a photo of it on Tuesday.  They’re in Times Square, and he’s letting her wear his championship belt.

 

Alex Trebek provided an update on his health at the Television Critics Association meeting. He said, “Some days are better than others.  My resistance is lower than most, of course, because of the treatments … I have a cold that seems to be going around, but this is the second time I’ve had one in the past month and a half.  They’ve gotten me off one of my chemo drugs, which were killing me.”

 

Monday’s episode of “The Bachelor” had a contestant that you may have recognized. Her name is Hannah Ann Sluss, and she played the love interest in Chris Lane’s “I Don’t Know About You” video.

 

 

 

Kate Middleton is 38.

Mark Martin is 61. NASCAR

Crystal Gayle is 69.

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