Joe Exotic’s ex-husband, John Finlay, said that his marriage to the zookeeper and another man was a “fake” to help get publicity for a reality show. Finlay said he was “young and dumb and didn’t know a nail from a hole in the wall” at 19 when he first met the “Tiger King.” The triad was completely fake so Joe Exotic could get a reality show. Finlay said he is now married to a woman Stormey.
WILL SMITH is ready to ditch his pandemic dad bod. He says, “I love this body, but I wanna feel better. No more midnight muffins . . . this is it! Imma get in the best shape of my life!!!!!”
ANDERSON COOPER has picked up a lot of accolades over his career, and now he has a new one: He’s the LOWEST-rated “Jeopardy!” guest host . . . even worse than DR. OZ. The numbers just came in from Anderson’s first week, which began on April 19th. According to reports, he drew a 5.1 rating. That’s the worst of ALL the post-ALEX TREBEK guest hosts. Dr. Oz was the next lowest at 5.2. The numbers for Anderson’s second week, which aired LAST week, haven’t been released . . . so if they’re up a few ticks, maybe the average will lift him above Dr. Oz overall. The highest rated guest host so far is Ken Jennings, but he was also the FIRST guest following Alex’s death . . . so the curiosity factor might have boosted his audience a bit. Bill Whitaker from CBS News is hosting this week and next . . . and he’ll be followed by former contestant Buzzy Cohen, Mayim Bialik, Savannah Guthrie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber from CNBC, and sportscaster Joe Buck.
Sitcoms have been comfort food for a lot of people during the pandemic, so Rolling Stone” has put out a list of the 100 Best Sitcoms of All Time. They eliminated sketch shows like “SNL”, and hour-long comedy-dramas like “Freaks and Geeks”. And even some shorter shows like “The Wonder Years” was cut for being too dramatic. They were looking for “a consistent group of characters and settings” . . . and considered both how funny they were, and also how much they influenced other shows. Here’s the Top 20:
- “The Simpsons”, Fox, 1989-Present
- “Cheers”, NBC, 1982-1993
- “Seinfeld”, NBC, 1989-1998
- “I Love Lucy”, CBS, 1951-1957
- “All in the Family”, CBS, 1971-1979
- “M*A*S*H”, CBS, 1972-1983
- “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, CBS, 1970-1977
- “The Honeymooners”, CBS, 1955-1956
- “Parks and Recreation”, NBC, 2009-2015
- “The Larry Sanders Show”, HBO, 1992-1998
- “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, CBS, 1961-1966
- “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, HBO, 2000-Present
- “Frasier”, NBC, 1993-2004
- “The Andy Griffith Show”, CBS, 1960-1968
- “Arrested Development”, Fox / Netflix, 2003-2006, 2013-2019
- “The Cosby Show”, NBC, 1984-1992
- “Taxi”, ABC / NBC, 1978-1983
- “30 Rock”, NBC, 2006-2013
- “Roseanne”, ABC, 1988-1997
LUKE BRYAN was on yesterday’s “Ellen” talking about his recent ACM Entertainer of the Year award. She congratulated him for “taking it away from that previous guy” . . . THOMAS RHETT.
BRAD PAISLEY announced the dates of his “Tour 2021”. It starts at the Gulf Coast Jam on June 5th . . . and will wrap October 9th in Irvine, California. JIMMIE ALLEN will open select shows. A portion of ticket sales will benefit The Store. That’s the non-profit grocery store that Brad and his wife Kimberly co-founded. Details are at BradPaisley.com.
RAELYNN and her husband Josh are expecting a baby girl in September. This will be their first child together. They were married back in 2016. They’ve known since January but announced it yesterday, because it was RaeLynn’s 27th birthday.
She says, “Every year is special in its own way, but what’s going to make my 27th year so special on this earth is that I get to be a momma to a beautiful baby girl. That’s why I wanted to wait because it’s the best birthday present.”
OLD DOMINION are gearing up to launch their “Band Behind the Curtain Tour.” It kicks off May 27th in Durant, Oklahoma and will stretch into December. It’s not a continuous run, though. There are breaks here and there. You’ll find the dates on their Instagram.
INGRID ANDRESS is the subject of an Amazon Music short film called “A Lady Like That”. She says, “The film explains where I’m coming from as far as being a woman in country music and a new artist.” It premieres May 14th on Amazon Music’s YouTube page.
JORDAN DAVIS will be releasing a new EP called “Buy Dirt” on May 21st.
Is everything rosy between Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell? That’s the burning question Bachelor Nation fans want to know, especially after they reunited in California’s Orange County area late last month. The exes, who broke up earlier this year following Rachael’s controversial past, appear to be giving their love another shot. A source close to Matt says “Matt and Rachael are working on getting back together but are not putting pressure on their relationship. They are in a great place right now. Matt and Rachael talk every day and have seen each other multiple times in the last few weeks. They reconnected while spending a whole week together in the O.C. They both want to make it work and are still working on their issues. Matt and Rachael both want to get back together and be exclusive. They are taking it slow and seeing where it goes.”
Queen Elizabeth may soon be responsible for your bar tab! Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the 95-year-old monarch has approved the sale of a range of beer brewed from plants grown on her Sandringham estate. Sold at the Sandringham gift shop at $5.50 for a bottle, the beers come in two varieties: a cold-filtered, traditional English “bitter” and a stronger Golden IPA described by the gift shop as “uniquely natural.”
The Duchess of Sussex, is adding “author” to her post-royal résumé! Meghan is releasing her debut children’s book, titled The Bench, on June 8. The story focuses on the special bond between a father and son, viewed through a mother’s eyes. It was inspired by Meghan’s own family experience with her husband, Prince Harry, and son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. According to an official press release, the book “captures the evolving and expanding relationship between fathers and sons” as well as “reminds us of the many ways that love can take shape and be expressed in a modern family.” The Bench, published by Random House Children’s Books, is illustrated by award-winning artist Christian Robinson. Meghan will also narrate the audiobook edition.
Reese Witherspoon’s newest puppy Major has some explaining to do! The actress, 45, revealed the black Labrador had eaten her couch in a series of posts on her Instagram Stories, starting with a video of the large hole in the bottom corner of her couch, which she captioned “Wait! What is this??” In a second video, Major is sitting next to the couch, looking a little guilty. “Major, who ate the couch? Who did that? Did you do that?” Witherspoon asks the pup as he looks away. Witherspoon and her family just welcomed Major in January.
Adele is 33.
Danielle Fishel is 40. Topanga from “Boy Meets World” and “Girl Meets World”.
Tina Yothers is 48. “Family Ties”.
Brian Williams is 62. Former “NBC Nightly News” anchor. Current host of “The 11th Hour” on MSNBC.
