BEN AFFLECK and a bunch of other celebrities participated in an online poker tournament to raise money for Feeding America. It went down on Saturday, and as of last night, they’d raised more than $1.2 million.Other participants included Matt Damon, Tom Brady, Sarah Silverman, Jason Bateman, Bryan Cranston, Adam Levine, Tobey Maguire, and Jon Hamm. DIDDY hosted an online Dance-A-Thon to raise money for healthcare workers. Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, and Shaq were among the celebrities who took part. KYLIE JENNER’s cosmetics line has been making hand sanitizer for healthcare workers, and she and her mom KRIS have begun delivering it. Former NBA star GARY PAYTON brought barbecue sandwiches to staff at an Oakland hospital. MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY and his wife donated 80,000 masks to healthcare workers.
Is it possible that TOM BRADY LIGHTS UP the Buccaneers so much that people will want to start calling Tampa Bay “TOMPA Bay”? Apparently, Brady thinks so. His company filed two trademark requests . . . one for “Tompa Bay” and one for “Tampa Brady.” The filings indicate that he intends to sell clothing, headwear, and footwear using those trademarks. When people started making fun of his trademarks, he Tweeted, “I never understood why Drew [Brees] wasn’t making ‘Drew Orleans’ shirts.”
Parents, Disney knows you’re CONSTANTLY searching for things to do with the youngsters. This should help:
The “Disney Family Singalong” is coming to ABC Thursday night at 8:00 P.M. It’ll be hosted by Ryan Seacrest with appearances by John Stamos, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bublé, “Moana” star Auli’i Cravalho, Josh Gad from “Frozen”, Little Big Town, and Thomas Rhett, among others. The show will include songs from “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Little Mermaid”, “Toy Story”, “Moana”, “Frozen”, and “High School Musical”. And yes, the words will be on the screen, so you and your kids can sing along. There will also be public service announcements about the Feeding America charity, and what it’s doing for those affected by the coronavirus.
In the new bonus episode of “Tiger King”, one of the participants says JOE EXOTIC was actually AFRAID of Tigers. “He was scared to death of lions and tigers . . . It’s idiotic to think how he’s become famous as ‘The Tiger King’ when he’s so terrified of big cats.”
PAUL MCCARTNEY’s handwritten lyrics for “Hey Jude” were auctioned off on Friday, and someone paid $910,000 for them. The lyrics were originally expected to go for around $160,000.
STURGILL SIMPSON announced on Instagram that he has COVID-19. He and his wife went in for a drive-thru test last Monday in Alabama, and his results came back positive on Friday. She tested negative. But he’s probably had it for over a month. His last show was March 10th in Charleston, South Carolina, and he started feeling bad soon after that. He posted a photo on March 13th where he’s on a hospital bed wearing a mask and suffering from “chest pains, fever, and pre-stroke blood pressure levels.” He says that doctor refused to test him. “I spent an hour listening to a [highly condescending] doctor tell me why it was impossible that I had contracted the virus due to its extreme rarity.” He was left to suffer on his own and eventually started feeling better. Even though he’s been symptom-free for a while, he’s still contagious and is under quarantine until this coming Sunday.
CMT was talking to SAM HUNT about life during quarantine. They wanted to know what his “typical, new-normal days are like.” Here’s what Sam’s doing: He’s making more peanut butter and honey sandwiches than usual . . . he’s lounging around in sweatpants and hoodies until 10:30 in the morning . . . and he’s spending more time with his dogs. He’s also cleaning his boat. “I bought this little boat two years ago and I’ve not been able to take it out. It’s been full of leaves and water. So I finally got to pull the plug. Drained it. Got the leaves out. So that’s as far as I’ve gotten.” And, he’s reconnecting with friends and family. “I’ve been catching up with old buddies, talking to my mom, my grandmother, my brother. Shoot, I’ve probably had 10 to 15 calls a day, and that’s going from maybe one or two calls a day.”
TRACY MORGAN got into another vehicular mishap, when he ran into a pedestrian while turning a corner. The guy wasn’t hurt, but they got into a little argument.
Thanks to the virus, the “Friends” reunion special will NOT be ready when HBO Max launches next month.
AMY SCHUMER is shooting a cooking show for the Food Network. It’ll co-star her husband, who’s a professional chef.
SHANIA TWAIN had to cancel her May and June performances at Planet Hollywood in Vegas . . . “in accordance with CDC recommendations regarding events.” She’s hoping to return in August for the rest of the run, which will stretch into December.
ASHLEY MCBRYDE posted a clip of herself singing “Amazing Grace” to an empty house at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. She said, “I wouldn’t normally sing this song, but we all may need this right now.” It’s an emotional performance and she has to pause a couple of times, but that makes it even more poignant.
DOLLY PARTON posted a poem about the crazy stuff we’re all dealing with because of social distancing. She even manages to poke fun at politics without picking sides.
. BIG & RICH’s “Stay Home” video features clips that fans sent to them of their lives during quarantine. That’s mixed in with JOHN RICH playing his guitar poolside, and BIG KENNY ALPHIN eating peanuts aboard his spaceship, or something that looks like one.
Ricky Schroder is 50.
Tony Dow is 75.
