APRIL 3, 2020

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI is picking up quite a following . . . but is he SEXY?  A few people seem to think so. Somebody started a petition on Change.org to have him named “People” magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.  As of last night, it had more than 3,400 signatures and the updated target goal was 5,000. The petition states, “His comforting and intelligent demeanor has helped to lessen our national anxiety.  He speaks truth to power, a strength few have at this time. His kind face and manner of speaking bring calm during the storm.  For sapiophiles and many others, he is the definitive Sexiest Man Alive in 2020.”  (A sapiophile is someone who is attracted to intelligence or intelligent people.) On the flip side, Fauci has been forced to beef up his security because he’s been getting DEATH THREATS.  Which may be from people who are upset about his quarantine recommendations. .

OPRAH is tossing her hat into the CELEBRITIES FIGHTING COVID-19 RING  Yesterday, she announced that she’s dropping a whopping $10 million to help Americans during the pandemic. (And yeah, Oprah is worth $2.6 billion, but you can’t say $10 million isn’t HUGE, because it’ll help a LOT of people.) She’s also specifically hyping a GoFundMe called “America’s Food Fund,” which aims to help feed the country’s most vulnerable populations . . . “children who are out of school and rely on school lunch programs, low-income families, the elderly, and individuals facing job disruptions.” Oprah didn’t launch it-it was actually started by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steve Jobs’ widow, along with Apple and the Ford Foundation. They gave $5 million combined . . . Apple matched it with another $5 million, the Ford Foundation gave $1 million, and Oprah gave $1 million of her $10 million total contribution to this fund.The GoFundMe started on Wednesday with a goal of $15 million . . . and last we checked, it had raised more than $12.5 million. Oprah hasn’t said how she’ll donate the remaining $9 million, but she did say it will go to Americans in cities across the country, as well as where she grew up, in rural Mississippi, Milwaukee, and Tennessee. Other billionaires are also chipping in:  Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, announced a $100 million gift to Feeding America, which supports food banks across the country. Bill Gates has also committed $100 million to the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control, to find treatment and a vaccine . . .Kylie Jenner donated $1 million to purchase masks . . . Ralph Lauren tossed in $10 million for the relief efforts . . . and L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife have pledged to donate $25 million dollars to COVID-19 relief.​

Would it surprise you that in these uncertain times, some celebrities are still doing whatever they want? Even though there’s a stay-at-home order in Florida, JENNIFER LOPEZ and ALEX RODRIGUEZ were photographed leaving a Miami gym. In some of the pics, you can even see a sign on the door that says, “The gym is not open.  Stay home stay safe.” Obviously, they made an exception, and as far as anyone knows, J-Lo and A-Rod were the only two people in the place.  But still.​

 ZAC EFRON got into AMAZING shape for the “Baywatch” movie.  But it DIDN’T make him a bodybuilding junkie. He said,  “I realized that when I was done with that movie, I don’t ever want to be in that good of shape again.  Really.  It was so hard. You’re working with almost no wiggle room, right?  You’ve got things like water under your skin that you’re worrying about, making your six-pack into a four-pack.  [Stuff] like that it’s . . . just stupid.” He added,  “I may do it again if it was something worthwhile but we’ll wait till it gets to that.  I’m good.  Take care of your heart, take care of your brain and you’re good.”​

“Billboard” chose the greatest pop star of every year since 1981.  They gave it to Ariana Grande for 2019.  Before her, in this order, were DrakeEd SheeranJustin Bieber, and Taylor Swift. ​

SAM HUNT revealed that he almost had to quarantine alone.  His wife Hannah was in a far-off land when the social distancing started. She was out of town for a couple of weeks before all this hit.  She was overseas so luckily she was able to get back in the country before things got crazy.  So we’ve been using this time to catch up.”  And Sam’s long-awaited second album “Southside” drops today.  It’s been over five years since “Montevallo” came out, so you might think he was stockpiling songs along the way.  Not so much. He says, “The majority of the songs on this record I wrote within the last year.  There are a few that were written prior to 12 months ago so I included a few of [those] songs.  [But] on the whole the album captures the last four years.” One last thing:  Due to coronavirus, Sam’s Southside Summer Tour 2020, which was originally scheduled to kick-off in May, has been postponed to June 11th.

Nobody seems happy with MICHAEL JORDAN being named the best college basketball player of all time.  Even MAGIC JOHNSON thinks it should have been KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR.

JOE EXOTIC from “Tiger King” had another husband who wasn’t mentioned on the show . . . probably because he’s a convicted murderer and pedophile.  Sales of “Tiger King” and generic tiger merchandise are skyrocketing. ​

JOANNA GAINES from “Fixer Upper” has a one-hour cooking special coming to Food Network.  It was filmed in her kitchen, mostly by her KIDS.

Sony is setting up a $100 million relief fund for people in music and other creative industries.

CMT is putting together a huge KENNY ROGERS tribute that will air next Wednesday.  It’s called “CMT Giants Kenny Rogers: A Benefit For MusiCares”, and performers include Dolly PartonLionel RichieRandy HouserRascal FlattsVince GillGavin DeGraw, and Lady Antebellum.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD and her husband Mike Fisher posted a video on Instagram asking everyone in their community to stay inside and practice social distancing.  They brought it home with this slug line:   “Do your part, stay apart.”​

LADY ANTEBELLUM has pushed back the dates of their Ocean 2020 Tour out of consideration of their “fans, band, and crew.”  Instead of starting in late May, it’ll kick-off July 2nd in Sacramento, California.

 

 

​This week’s CD Releases include new music from Sam HuntAshley McBride,

Paris Jackson is 22.

Amanda Bynes is 34.

Adam Scott is 47.  Ben Wyatt on “Parks and Recreation”.  Now he’s Reese Witherspoon’s husband on HBO’s Big Little Lies.

Jennie Garth is 48.

Eddie Murphy is 59.

David Hyde Pierce is 61.  Niles Crane on “Frasier”.

Alec Baldwin is 62.

Tony Orlando is 76.

Wayne Newton is 78.

Blogs

MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2024

The inventor of karaoke has died.  He was a Japanese businessman named Shigeichi Negishi, and he lived to be 100 years old. He invented the first karaoke machine in 1967, after one of his employees made fun of his singing voice.  It was originally called the SPARKO BOX. He never patented his inventionHere are some…

FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2024

 A list of movies to watch this St. Patrick’s Day includes “Far and Away”, “The Banshees of Inisherin”, and “The Boondock Saints”. Kristen Wiig says there won’t be a “Bridesmaids” sequel.  Jelly Roll said that he, “regrets 98% of his tattoos . . . almost all of them. A lot of the tattoos came from…