GEORGE CLOONEY recently turned down $35 million for one day’s work. It was an airline commercial, but it was for a country that engages in questionable practices. He and his wife AMAL, who’s an international human rights attorney, decided it was best to pass.
CHRIS CUOMO has been fired by CNN for using the network’s resources to help his brother ANDREW CUOMO battle sexual harassment allegations. Also, Chris has been hit with a new sexual misconduct allegation himself.
It’s never too early in the season to argue about Christmas songs. CMT has a couple of lists to get us in the fighting spirit. One is the Top Five classics that are supposedly SO good, not even the biggest Scrooge can get sick of them. They are: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”, Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock”, Burl Ives’ “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas”, and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. This Top Five “gets thrown the most shade”: Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad”, The Singing Dogs’ “Jingle Bells”, The Beach Boys’ “The Man with All the Toys”, Barbra Streisand’s “Jingle Bells”, and Gayla Peevey’s “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”.
New Jersey will have a new country music festival next year. The first-ever TidalWave Festival is going down August 12th through the 14th in Atlantic City. Performers include Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Lauren Alaina, Riley Green, Lindsay Ell, Hardy, Chase Rice, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Lainey Wilson. More acts will be announced soon. Tickets go on sale December 13th at TidalWaveFest.com.
A surprise guest showed up at GEORGE STRAIT’s concert last Friday in Las Vegas. MIRANDA LAMBERT joined George for a performance of “Run”. It’s one of the songs from George’s 2001 album, “The Road Less Traveled”.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD is a vegetarian who is willing to cook meat for her family at Christmas. Quote, “I’ll make a small turkey, even though I don’t eat turkey. I’ll make myself some tofurkey [with] cranberry sauce. Of course, sweet potato casserole. That’s one of my favorites because it’s a side dish and dessert.”
Lainey Wilson is SO looking forward to hanging with her “crazy family” this Christmas. “Billboard” asked if she has any big holiday plans. She said, quote, “I’m headed home to Baskin to see my crazy family and have some fantastic Louisiana food like my granny’s chicken and dumplings, jambalaya, and chicken etouffee. That’s how we do it up in Louisiana.”
Grand Ole Opry legend STONEWALL JACKSON passed away on Saturday, following a battle with vascular dementia. He was 89. His biggest hit was “Waterloo”, which topped the country charts in 1959. By the way, he really was named after Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.
Martha Stewart is off the market. The business mogul is currently in a relationship, though she wouldn’t reveal any additional details during her Thursday night interview on “Watch What Happens Live,” as reported by People. “No,” she told host Andy Cohen, before clarifying, “I shouldn’t say no. I mean yes, but I’m not going to tell you.” The 80-year-old kept her lips zipped about the romance, but did open up about her previous short-lived romantic connection to the late Larry King. Stewart said that she thought the two of them were just friends when they went out to dinner at Elio’s in New York City. She didn’t share any other details about her evening out with King, who passed away in January, but gushed over how he was one of the “nicest” people to ever interview her.
Former Senator BOB DOLE died yesterday. He was 98.
The college football playoff picture is set. The two semifinal matchups are Alabama vs. Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl and Michigan vs. Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
WILLIAM SHATNER’s trip into space was made into a one-hour documentary called “Shatner in Space”. It hits Amazon on December 15th.
