The booth used in the final scene of the “The Sopranos” was put up for auction Wednesday night on eBay, with the highest bid over the first day of the sale exceeding $50,000.

The owners of Holsten’s in Bloomfield, New Jersey – where Tony Soprano and his family dined during the closing minutes of the HBO show’s 2007 finale – decided to part with the Hollywood memorabilia while renovating the old-fashioned ice cream parlor.   

“The dining room that’s there now was installed in the mid-1970s, and it’s just taken a lot of abuse over the years,” owner Chris Carley told NBC. “It’s starting to crack and fall apart and not be as sturdy as it used to be. So, we decided after a long deliberation, to replace the whole dining room, which we knew would mean that we’d lose the original ‘Sopranos’ table.”

The very table that has turned fans of the Emmy-winning mafia series into regulars at the shop over the last 17 years, with many traveling great distances to sit in the booth and take photos.

As the setting for arguably the most memorable and controversial finales in television history, the booth is now for sale in a high-priced bidding war. By Thursday evening – less than 24 hours after the auction began with a starting price of $3,000 – over 150 bids had been made.

“I’m actually shocked that it’s gone up so high considering we started at $3,000,” said Carley, who has co-owned the shop with Ron Stark since the 1980s. “I’m very surprised.”

The auction ends Monday, which is when the shop’s new booths are expected to be installed.

The winning bidder will receive both seats, the table and the divider wall with the plaque that reads, “Reserved for the Sopranos Family.” And a great spot to eat some gabagool.

“We are currently renovating our booths at Holsten’s,” the eBay post reads. “This is your once in a lifetime chance to own the ORIGINAL booth that the Soprano Family sat in for the final scene of the famous show!”

Not included is the table-top jukebox HBO prop that Tony used to put on Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” shortly before — spoiler alert — the screen abruptly cut to black, ambiguously leaving viewers to decide for themselves whether Tony was killed or not.

“That was probably one of the biggest questions we had for months and months,” Carley said of the reaction after the episode aired. “People thought we knew something different. Was Tony killed? You saw what I saw.”

But what does the owner of the shop where Tony was last seen actually think happened to him?

“I think he would have lived,” Carley said.

Crew members from the show first visited Holsten’s during the third or fourth season to take pictures of the shop, which is registered with the New Jersey Film Institute, Carley said. He didn’t hear back until the final season.    

“I think [show creator] David Chase having grown up in Clifton had an idea of what he wanted, and when he saw the pictures that was it,” Carley said. “They decided this was where they wanted to shoot the final scene, and we went from there.”

The filming of the roughly five-minute scene was completed over five days, with scenes shot out of sequence to maintain the secrecy of the finale, Carley said.

The two shop owners even landed roles in the scene as chefs flipping burgers at the grill.  

“If you blink, you missed us,” Carley said. “But we were in there.”

The shop’s cameo in the high-profile scene made the already-beloved Holsten’s even more of a local attraction. The Monday morning after the finale aired, all seats were occupied within 20 minutes of opening. 

“We were busy for literally two months, it was non-stop day and night,” Carley said. “Everybody was coming, everybody wanted to sit in the booth.”

And they still do to this day.

“Of course, it’s died off somewhat,” Carley said. “A lot of people come from all over, stopping on vacation. We still get on-location bus tours every week on Saturday.”

That’s why when the announcement of the auction was made on Holsten’s Facebook page, many begged the owners to reconsider. 

“Keep it!!!!” one user wrote. “It’s a great photo op and brought the company business. People want to sit EXACTLY where Tony sat, not a replica/replacement.”

Carley said if it was feasible, they would have kept the booth in place.

“It wasn’t a choice we took lightly or wanted to do, it was something we were sort of forced into doing,” Carley said. “It’s actually not going to look any different. You’d have a hard time realizing that we changed everything.”

The booth will be nearly identical. A new plaque will hang on the divider. The screen-used jukebox will sit atop the table.

Fans will continue to visit, the Soprano family will always be remembered, and more onion rings will be ordered.   

“Even though I’m putting something back that looks exactly like it, it’s not the original, and I’ll never lead people to believe that,” Carley said. “I’ll say it’s been replaced, it’s just part of our history.”

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In a new episode of “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” released Feb. 28, Ziggy Marley shared with Hoda his father’s last words to him. Bob Marley died at age 36 in 1981.

He recalled being in his dad’s intensive care hospital room a few days before the singer died from malignant melanoma.

“I was, like, peeping through the window,” Ziggy Marley, now 55, said. “And he was like, ‘Come here.’ So, I went in, and he was like, ‘Hey … well, young Bob, I have a song for you.’ And he said these words: ‘On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.'”

Shortly after, Ziggy Marley said he learned his dad had died while visiting his grandmother in Miami.

“I think I was downstairs and the call came,” he said. “I told you I’m very observant. I listen and I look a lot. Nobody didn’t say, ‘Oh, your father died.’ … Then I saw my sister. I saw her face. I knew.”

The heralded Jamaican reggae star is the namesake of the new film “Bob Marley: One Love,” released in theaters Feb. 14. Producers include his widow, Rita Marley, and two of his kids, Ziggy Marley and Cedella Marley. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch and James Norton star.

Ziggy Marley, plus Lynch and Ben-Adir, previously shared with TODAY.com what it was like to bring Bob Marley’s life story to the big screen. Read on to learn more about the music icon’s life.

Who are Bob Marley’s parents?

Norval Marley and Cedella Booker had Robert Nesta Marley in 1945. The film briefly mentions them in select scenes, but does not go in depth about how they met.

In the scenes, an adult Bob Marley, portrayed by Ben-Adir, grapples with never really knowing his dad, who did not claim him, and having a mom who lived in the U.S. when he was in Jamaica.

Ben-Adir says he listened to the singer’s discography to help him with his character development.

“Every week, I’d change an album. I was shifting between all of the music as we were filming. And the last song I really studied was ‘So Jah S’eh’ in Jamaica and I think that song has really stayed with me.”

The song, which highlights Marley’s Rastafarian religion, is a song about unity, hope and the need for social justice.

“Not one of my seeds shall sit on the sidewalk and beg bread,” the lyrics say. “And verily, verily, I’m saying unto thee, ignite oneself and love humanity.”

Who are Bob Marley’s children?

The “One Love” singer had 12 children.

Bob Marley had his three oldest children, Cedella Marley, Ziggy Marley and Stephen Marley, with his widow, Rita Marley, in 1967, 1968 and 1972, respectively. Bob Marley also adopted two of her kids, Sharon Marley, whom Rita Marley had in 1964 before marrying the singer, and Stephanie Marley, born in 1974. Rita Marley’s sixth child, Serita Stewart, was born in 1985, after Marley’s death.

Bob Marley also had Rohan Marley with Janet Hunt and Robbie Marley with Pat Williams in 1972. The reggae legend had Karen Marley the next year with Janet Bowen and Julian Marley in 1975 with Lucy Pounder. In 1976, Ky-Mani Marley was born to the singer and Anita Belnavis, a table tennis champion in Jamaica. Two years later, in 1978, Damian Marley was born to Cindy Breakspeare, a jazz musician and model who was crowned Miss World in 1976. Lastly, Bob Marley had Makeda Jahnesta in 1981 with Yvette Crichton.

Ziggy Marley tells TODAY.com that his father’s life and legacy was all about “being a good human (and) being, really, someone who is of service to others.”

“Not a selfish person — (he’s) a good example for all of us as human beings going into sacrifice for the betterment of the community and the people,” he added.

Keep reading to learn more about Bob Marley and the true story behind the film.

How did Bob Marley die?

Marley died of malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer, found when getting treatment for a foot injury sustained during a game of soccer. He was diagnosed in 1977 and died four years later at the age of 36.

One year before his diagnosis, the singer survived an assassination attempt, in which his wife was shot in the head. Rita Marley also survived the shooting.

Although there’s still debate over who shot Bob Marley and his wife, the documentary about the shooting, “Who Shot The Sheriff? A Bob Marley Story,” says that it was politically motivated.

Where is Bob Marley buried?

Marley is buried at a mausoleum in his honor in Nine Mile, Jamaica, his birthplace. Fans may visit and tour the burial grounds.

“I don’t have to go there to visit my dad,” Ziggy Marley said.

“Anywhere I go, I can visit my dad spiritually,” he added. “We’re spiritual people, so we live in that world. We’ll visit him or he visits me every now and again.”

Where is Bob Marley’s wife, Rita Marley, now?

Rita Marley currently lives in Miami. The couple married in 1966.

After Marley’s death in 1981, she converted their home in Kingston to the Bob Marley Museum in 1987 and founded the Bob Marley Foundation in 1986. She continues his work of loving people through these initiatives.

Lynch, who portrays Rita Marley in the film, met her on a few occasions and says her presence has a “kind of effect.”

“Going in just with my knowledge I had already about her as one of Jamaican heritage, I had an abundance of respect and love for her from afar,” Lynch says. “It was wonderful.”

“She was open and giving and loving, and just has such a generous spirit that it felt like anything that I needed was going to be provided just energetically,” she continues. “And I really appreciate her opening her doors for me because she didn’t have to. So to do that on multiple occasions felt like an honor.”

What did Ziggy Marley tell Hoda about his family on the ‘Making Space’ podcast?

Ziggy Marley opened up on the Feb. 28 episode of “Making Space with Hoda Kotb” about his father’s last words to him not long before Bob Marley died.

“I was, like, peeping through the window,” Ziggy Marley said. “And he was like, ‘Come here.’ So, I went in, and he was like, ‘Hey … well, young Bob, I have a song for you.’ And he said these words: ‘On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.’”

Shortly after, Ziggy Marley said he learned his dad had died while visiting his grandmother in Miami. Ziggy Marley was 12 at the time.

“I think I was downstairs and the call came,” he said. “I told you I’m very observant. I listen and I look a lot. Nobody didn’t say, ‘Oh, your father died.’ … Then I saw my sister. I saw her face. I knew.”

Before Bob Marley’s passing, Ziggy Marley said he tried to cut a deal with God that he’d be “a good boy” if he could see his father one more time. He also told Hoda that as a spiritual person, his father has never really left him.

“His presence is in me. I’m a part of his presence. And every now and again, I can see him in me. I can feel him in me and I can see some of his actions in me,” Ziggy Marley said.

Ziggy Marley said looking back, he wishes he had spent more time with his father during his last days to make decisions on his end-of-life care.

“He had a lot of people around him, but I don’t think he had the right people around him,” Ziggy Marley said.

“He was working hard and he was sick, and nobody could, like, pull the plug (and let him rest and heal),” he said. “It’s like those guys around him were — I don’t respect that at all.”

“So I wish that I was around, if I could have given him the right advice. He wasn’t getting it right,” he said.

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Stephen Baldwin is leaning on his faith.

The “Usual Suspects” actor raised eyebrows when he took to Instagram to reshare a post asking for prayers for daughter Hailey Bieber and son-in-law Justin Bieber.

“Christians, please when you think of Justin & Hailey, take a moment to offer a little prayer for them,” a Feb. 26 Instagram Reel from Victor Marx read, “to have wisdom, protection and to draw close to the Lord.” The All Things Possible Ministry founder also noted, “There are special challenges that folks in high visibility positions face.”

In the since-expired Instagram Story, shared by Page Six, Baldwin reposted the Reel, which features Justin playing the guitar and singing “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.”

Baldwin did not give a reason as to why he was asking for prayers, and E! News has reached out to reps for Baldwin, Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber for comment.

Justin Bieber, 29, has maintained a lower profile since 2022, when he canceled his Justice World Tour following his diagnosis with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which he explained “is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis.”

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“As the result of this illness, I was not able to complete the North America leg of the Justice Tour,” he posted to Instagram Stories at the time. “I realized that I need to make my health the priority right now. So I’m going to take a break from touring for the time being. I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better.”

Bieber added, “Thank you for your prayers and support throughout all of this! I love you all passionately!”

The “What Do You Mean” singer gave an update on his diagnosis in March 2023, sharing a video of himself, zooming in until he flashed a full grin with the caption, “Wait for it…”

He eventually made his return to the stage at the NHL All-Star Player draft in Toronto on Feb. 1, singing a medley of his hits.

And while fans were hoping he’d surprise audiences at the Super Bowl alongside friend and mentor Usher on Feb. 11, the “U Got it Bad” singer explained why Bieber opted not to participate.

“I think that it might’ve been the fact that he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now,” Usher said on The Breakfast Club Feb. 16, “and I understand that.”

The “Yeah!” singer added, “We’re gonna do something else in the future. No love lost or anything like that.”

The 25-year-old “Euphoria” star was part of a group of more than 100 demonstrators who packed the lobby at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Monday afternoon to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, the group Jewish Voice Peace said.

Schafer and other protesters wore black shirts reading, “Ceasefire Now” and “Not in Our Name” while chanting “Let Gaza Live” and other slogans as Biden’s motorcade pulled into the area, according to videos and photos of the event provided by Jewish Voice Peace.

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Schafer, who like many protesters also wore a facemask, is seen at one point seated on the floor as others hold up a banner behind her reading, “Jews to Biden: Stop Arming Genocide.”

Representatives for Schafer didn’t respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday, but protest organizers said she and others are due in court sometime next month.

“We commend her commitment to Palestinian freedom and to a future of justice for everyone,” Sonya Meyerson-Knox, of Jewish Voice for Peace, said in an emailed statement confirming the arrest Wednesday.

The NYPD on Wednesday said 30 people were taken into custody and issued summonses for trespassing following the hour-and-a-half-long demonstration.

Biden, meanwhile, said Monday he was optimistic a ceasefire would be reached in the coming days.

“I hope by the end of the weekend,” he told reporters after taping the late show interview. “My national security adviser tells me that we’re close. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire.”

Henley was testifying at an unrelated criminal trial, where three collectibles dealers are charged with conspiring to own and attempt to sell handwritten draft lyrics to “Hotel California” and other Eagles hits without the right to do so. The men have pleaded not guilty.

A prosecutor asked about the singer and drummer’s November 1980 arrest early on, apparently to get ahead of defense lawyers. They previously indicated that they planned to question the 76-year-old about his memory of the era and his lifestyle at the time.

The arrest was briefly reported on at the time, and it gained only a passing mention during the recent #MeToo movement, when many such incidents involving public figures were reexamined.

On Monday, Henley told the court that he called for a sex worker that night because he “wanted to escape the depression I was in” over the breakup of the superstar band.

“I wanted to forget about everything that was happening with the band, and I made a poor decision which I regret to this day. I’ve had to live with it for 44 years. I’m still living with it today, in this courtroom. Poor decision,” Henley testified in a raspy drawl.

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As he did in a 1991 interview with GQ magazine, Henley testified that he didn’t know the girl’s age until after his arrest and that he went to bed with the girl, but never had sex with her.

“I don’t remember the anatomical details, but I know there was no sex,” said Henley, who said they’d done cocaine together and talked for many hours about his band’s breakup and her estrangement from her family.

He said he called firefighters, who checked the girl’s health, found her to be OK and left, with him promising to take care of her. The paramedics, who found her in the nude, called police, authorities said at the time.

Henley said Monday that she recovered and was preparing to leave with a friend she’d had him call, when police arrived hours later.

At the time, authorities said they found cocaine, quaaludes and marijuana at his Los Angeles home.

Henley pleaded no contest in 1981 to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to probation and a $2,500 fine, and he requested a drug education program to get some possession charges dismissed.

Henley was asked about the incident on Monday before he gave the court his version of how handwritten pages from the development of the band’s blockbuster 1976 album made their way from his Southern California barn to New York auctions decades later.

A new face is officially joining the Fab 5.

Three months after Bobby Berk announced he would be exiting “Queer Eye” following its recently released eighth season, Netflix has found his replacement in famed interior designer Jeremiah Brent.

Brent will join returning hosts food and wine connoisseur Antoni Porowski, beauty expert Jonathan Van Ness, culture coach Karamo Brown and fashion stylist Tan France for season nine of the reality makeover show, Netflix announced Feb. 27. Production on the new season is set to begin later this spring in Las Vegas.

Brent previously hosted “Home Made Simple” for the Oprah Winfrey Network and Netflix’s “Say I Do,” in addition to starring alongside husband and fellow interior designer Nate Berkus on the HGTV docuseries “The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project.”

The 39-year-old’s home makeover expertise will definitely be needed in the wake of Berk’s recent departure. The interior design expert revealed in November his decision to exit the Emmy-winning series after six years.

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“It’s not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one,” Berk wrote on Instagram. “Although my journey with “Queer Eye” is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon.”

Calling the love he’s received from fans over the years “absolutely surreal,” the 42-year-old added, “You have tuned in and been dedicated fans and together we were able to share the healing powers of design. I learned from you all about kindness, love and acceptance and that has changed my life for the better.”

“The way you have embraced me and accepted me for who I am is something that l will truly carry with me for the rest of my life,” he concluded his heartfelt message. “Throughout these years, you, the die-hard fans of “Queer Eye,” have all shared so many stories with me about how the show has touched your lives and I could not be more grateful to each and every one of you for being brave enough to share your experiences.”

Berk’s final season on “Queer Eye” is streaming now on Netflix.

The first part of the doc aired on Feb. 24, which followed Wendy Williams after her daytime talkshow “The Wendy Williams Show” ended in June 2022.

Part one featured candid moments about the state of her health, including her addressing her struggles with alcohol and drug abuse as well as how lymphedema has effected her mobility.

It also featured those close to her, including tense moments with her manager, Will Selby, her publicist, Shawn Zanotti, and her only child, Kevin Hunter Jr.

Fans took the opportunity to share their unfiltered thoughts about the documentary on social media, with one fan calling the project “exploitative” given that Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in 2023.

“I hope that Wendy Williams gets the help she needs and maybe this show will help with that but something about this isn’t sitting right with me,” one user wrote on the social media site X. “She can’t consent to being on camera like this. It feels exploitative.”

Another fan wrote in a tweet, “That Wendy Williams documentary is SAD.”

“I’m not sure who greenlit #WhereIsWendyWilliams.. in my opinion it wasn’t a good idea,” one fan added.

Another viewer agreed, writing on X, “I’ve seen enough clips of #WhereIsWendyWilliams to know that this should NEVERRRRRRR have aired. It’s disgusting that they’ve captured this lady’s most vulnerable moments like this.”

Williams has a court-appointed legal guardian to oversee her money and health conditions. Just days before the premiere of the documentary, her court-appointed guardian filed a sealed lawsuit against Lifetime’s parent company, A&E Television Networks, but the network confirmed the doc would air as scheduled.

Fans had varied reactions to the people surrounding Williams in the documentary, with several viewers taking to X to call out her seemingly cruel behavior towards her team.

“Dementia or not, it is unacceptable to treat people this way. Period,” one user wrote. “Being unkind to assistants is simply terrible.”

However, some fans defended Williams’ behavior due to the state of her health, with one viewer writing, “How are people saying ‘dementia or not, she needs to show respect.’ Like do you know what dementia is?”

Viewers also shared their concern for the former talk show host, questioning her team’s motives on social media.

One fan shared a video of an interaction between Williams and her publicist talking about a trip to California, writing, “She is surrounded by ENABLERS and she is indenial and deluded into thinking she is still in control.”

Another moment in part one of the documentary that caused an uproar on social media was related to Williams’ finances, with one fan writing on X, “The name of the this should be ‘Where is Wendy William’s MONEY.’”

In 2022, NBC News reported that Williams’ bank, Wells Fargo, had frozen her accounts while awaiting a guardianship ruling.

Some viewers called out Williams’ son, who was questioned for charges to his mom’s account for tens of thousands of dollars. Hunter said in the doc that he never spent his mom’s money without her consent.

“This #WendyWilliams doc is all over the place. Her son is paying 80k in rent? $100k on Uber eats?” a viewer wrote on X. “This anonymous court appointed guardian that’s running her dry, Wells Fargo withholding her $, AND this sketchy a– lying ‘manager’..I’m giving EVERYONE the side eye at this point.”

One fan defended Williams and her son, writing, “Wendy Williams worked her a– off to provide for her child and to secure his future… Children usually inherit their parents’ property. There’s nothing ‘suspicious’ about him using her money.”

Even amid the controversy of the series, fans still praised Williams for her legacy in pop culture and media and sent her well wishes.

“I hope #WendyWilliams is celebrated for the career that she built,” one fan wrote. “Let’s honor the force that she is and was, and not fret about where she is now. So many stand on her shoulders.”

Wendy Williams always used her platform to help put me in a position to win,” actor Tami Roman wrote. “This documentary saddens me. Wendy you will forever be loved & respected by me & I haven’t stopped praying for you… the Queen of Media!”

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Stallone made the shocking announcement during Wednesday’s season 2 premiere of “The Family Stallone” reality show, which streams on Paramount+.

“After long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided, time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we’re going to go to Florida,” Stallone told daughters Scarlet, 21, Sistine, 25, and Sophia, 27, as he sat at a dancing table.

“We’re gonna sell this house,” the “Rocky” star added. “We already have the place; it’s a done deal,” he said as his daughters reacted surprised and confused.

According to People.com, the Stallone family decided it was time for a change after they became “an empty nest” when Sophia and Sistine moved together to New York City and Scarlet enrolled at the University of Miami in Florida.

“I raised all three of our daughters in California,” Jennifer Flavin Stallone said in the first season 2 episode according to People.com. “Everything’s a memory to me, memories of them not being there anymore… so I needed a big change and Sly went along with it,” she said.

Following the announcement, Casey DeSantis, wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, posted a welcome message on social media to the Stallones.

“Welcome to the Free State of Florida,” DeSantis said on Twitter.

In 2020, Stallone purchased a massive 13,241 square feet waterfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, for $35.38 million.

Other celebrities that call Palm Beach home are Jon Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart and former President Donald Trump.

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A sign of the times? Harry Styles just got promoted to uncle.

After all, his older sister Gemma Styles announced she gave birth to a daughter with partner of nine years Michal Mlynowski.

“Took some time off to ensure the safe arrival of our baby girl, who is adored by her whole family,” Gemma Styles shared in a Feb. 23 Instagram post, which included a photo of her daughter and Mlynowski. “I know that this news can be difficult for many people and I’m sending you lots of love.”

The news certainly didn’t drag down fans, who were quick to offer their congratulations. “Her daughter is the most luckiest person to have Harry as her uncle,” one fan wrote. “Congratulations Gemma!!!” Added another, “HARRY BEING UNCLE IS MY ENDGAME.”

And while Harry Styles has not publicly shared his excitement, it’s safe to say he adores his niece as much as he adores his big sis. He’ll likely be just as protective over her, too. After all, he once stopped a concert to let his sister know he was watching.

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“I’m sorry if I seem distracted,” he once told the crowd during a One Direction show in 2015. “My sister’s here on a date and I’m trying to keep an eye on it.”

It goes both ways, though. For her part, Gemma Styles is always there to support her baby brother, especially throughout his “Love On Tour.”

“Good GRIEF this show is fun—so proud of you @harrystyles,” Gemma Styles wrote in an Instagram post last June after attending one of her brother’s Wembley Stadium shows. “What a privilege to see you experience this much joy doing what you love.”

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Justin Chambers has been scrubbing in as a father for almost 30 years.

While the “Grey’s Anatomy” alum is generally quiet when it comes to his private life, he gave a heartwarming look at what it’s like being a dad to four girls: Isabella, 29, Maya and Kaila, 26 and Eva, 24, who he shares with wife Keisha Chambers.

“They’re great,” Chambers told People in an interview published Feb. 22. “They’re very independent, levelheaded, kind. I’m very blessed, very grateful.”

In fact, the 53-year-old—who also shares son Jackson, 22, with his wife of over thirty years—noted his oldest daughter has got an especially exciting year ahead of her.

“One’s going to hit 30 soon. That’s a big milestone,” he continued. “I’m proud of her. She’s very socially conscious and she’s just a very loving girl who is very involved with world issues and just kind.”

And what’s it like for him being surrounded by five women at home? His answer will make all girl dads proud.

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“They’re a little better read than I am. They’re little college graduates,” he added. “And they’re more academic. And sometimes I’m like, ‘Wow.’ I’m really impressed with how intelligent and interested they are in things. But most importantly, I’m just happy that they’re kind.”

Ultimately, his children were one of the reasons Justin left “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2020 after 16 seasons, telling Page Six at the time he was looking forward to “life, family, love and friendship.”

“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” he shared in a statement. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”

And while he has yet to reunite with his costars onscreen with a cameo role, he and his former Grey’s castmates did get back together at the 2023 Emmy Awards, where they thanked their “incredible fanbase” for supporting them over the years.

The statement from her team on Thursday — just two days before Williams was set to return to television — explained that the 59-year-old’s conditions have “presented significant hurdles” in her life, while acknowledging the ongoing speculation about Williams’ health. The diagnoses came “after undergoing a battery of medical tests,” a press release from her team said.

Two years after canceling her hit talk show, the former “The Wendy Williams Show” host and her family are set to address the speculation regarding Williams’ health and cognitive abilities in a new Lifetime documentary, “Where Is Wendy Williams?” coming out Feb. 24, 2024.

It is along the same lines as the diagnosis that the family of Bruce Willis announced he first received in 2022. The 68-year-old actor stepped away from Hollywood after his aphasia diagnosis at that time, and less than a year later, it progressed to the more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.

Willis’ wife, Emma, along with his ex-wife Demi Moore and their three adult daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout shared in identical Instagram posts in 2022 that his diagnosis “is impacting his cognitive abilities.”

As of Oct. 2023, Willis was “not totally verbal,” according to friend Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of the ’80s TV show “Moonlighting,” which co-starred Willis and Cybill Shepherd. Caron said that the “Die Hard” star’s “language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce.”

Read more about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, including the symptoms, causes and treatments below.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a condition that hinders the ability to communicate and can affect a person’s ability to speak, write and understand language, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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What causes aphasia?

The most common cause of aphasia is brain damage resulting from a stroke — the blockage or rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. Loss of blood to the brain leads to brain cell death or damage in areas that control language.

Brain damage caused by a severe head injury, a tumor, an infection or a degenerative disease also can cause aphasia. In these cases, the aphasia usually occurs with other types of cognitive problems, such as memory problems or confusion.

Meanwhile, the cause of frontotemporal dementia is not known.

What are the symptoms of aphasia?

According to the Mayo Clinic, a person with aphasia may:

• Speak in short or incomplete sentences
• Speak in sentences that don’t make sense
• Substitute one word for another or one sound for another
• Speak unrecognizable words
• Not understand other people’s conversation
• Write sentences that don’t make sense

How is it different than frontotemporal dementia?

Frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, is a progressive condition that effects cognitive function and tends to result in changes in behavior, speech and disposition. Primary progressive aphasia is a subtype of FTD impacting communication, including speech, writing and the ability to understand language.

Primary progressive aphasia is a type of FTD that usually results in no longer being able to speak, read, write or understand what people are saying, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

FTD is caused by shrinking in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control personality, behavior and language. Depending on which parts of the brain are affected, someone might experience personality changes, such as behaving erratically, inappropriately, or becoming distant, according to Mayo Clinic.

FTD is sometimes misdiagnosed as a mental health condition or Alzheimer’s disease, but it typically occurs at a younger age, between 40 and 65, than other types of dementia.

What are the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia?

Some of the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia are similar to the ones caused by aphasia, but some may be even more severe.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, here are a few symptoms that can develop as a result:

• Dramatic changes in personality and temperament, like swearing, stealing, mood swings, becoming easily agitated, increased sexual interest and possible decline in hygiene
• Socially inappropriate, impulsive, or repetitive behaviors
• Impaired judgment
• Apathy, a lack of empathy and losing interest in typical daily activities
• Decreased self-awareness
• Emotional withdrawal from others
• Loss of energy and motivation
• Speaking less frequently, and hesitating when they do speak
• Getting easily distracted and having trouble planning and organizing
• Increasing dependence

When to see a doctor

Because aphasia is often a sign of a serious problem, such as a stroke, the Mayo Clinic urges anyone to seek emergency medical care if they suddenly develop:

• Difficulty speaking
• Trouble understanding speech
• Difficulty with word recall
• Problems with reading or writing

How is aphasia treated?

Some people may be able to regain some ability to speak and communicate, and many undergo speech therapy to aid in that process. Other treatments, including certain medications and brain stimulation, are being studied for their potential to treat aphasia.

How is frontotemporal dementia treated?

There are no treatments currently available to cure or slow FTD progression, according to Johns Hopkins, but there are some things that can be done to address the symptoms.

The anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors can be helped with antidepressants, while prescription-strength sleep aids can help with problems like insomnia and other disturbances, Johns Hopkins said. Other irrational and compulsive behaviors can be reduced with antipsychotic medicine.

Other behaviors may have to be addressed with behavior modification. As for the speech difficulties that can arise, using speech and language pathologists, as well as physical and occupational therapists, can help treat the changes stemming from FTD.

Friends and colleagues are mourning the loss of Ewen MacIntosh.

The actor and comedian, best known for playing “Big Keith” in “The Office” U.K., has died. He was 50.

MacIntosh’s management company JustRight Management announced his passing on X, writing in the early hours of Feb. 21, “With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved comedy genius Ewen MacIntosh. His family thank all who supported him, especially Willow Green Care Home.”

The statement also noted that there would be a private cremation ceremony for friends and family followed by a “celebratory memorial” later this year.

E! News has reached out to MacIntosh’s rep for additional comment, but has not heard back. No further details have been shared about his cause of death at this time.

“The Office” creator Ricky Gervais also shared a tribute to his former costar on X, noting the news was “extremely sad” and describing the late actor as the “very funny and very lovely Ewen Macintosh […] an absolute original.”

Photos: Celebrity Deaths: 2024’s Fallen Stars

In addition to “The Office,” MacIntosh worked on a number of additional British comedy series including “Miranda” and “Little Britain.” Per the BBC, his most recent acting credit was for Britain’s 2017’s rom-com “Finding Fatimah.”

Miranda Hart—who starred in the series “Miranda,” which aired in Britain between 2009 and 2015—shared a sweet tribute to MacIntosh, who had guest starred on the sitcom.

“Thank you Ewen for making me laugh,” she wrote over an image of the comedian in a Feb. 21 Instagram post, adding in her caption, “We were the same age and crossed paths many times as we did our best to be funny and make a living out of it. It wasn’t always likely but we did it and I am glad we got to do a scene together. Thank you xx.”

Ed Scott, a music executive, also paid tribute to his late friend and the legacy MacIntosh left behind.

“I am completely devastated by the loss of my very good friend,” he tweeted. “He may have had a famous face known by millions as Keith from The Office but the person inside is what I will most remember.”

He continued of MacIntosh, “Ewen was so full of empathy, kindness, and integrity and above all a really good man. Sending love to his parents Sara and Ewen Sr, his brother Colin and his family, as well as his many friends and fans.”

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Malia Obama is voting for a fresh start.

As her Hollywood career takes off, Barack and Michelle Obama‘s oldest daughter has dropped her last name in favor of her middle name, officially going by Malia Ann for her newest film project “The Heart.”

Fans did a double take after Malia Obama’s pen name was revealed in the Sundance Institute’s “Meet the Artist” spotlight video, which introduced her as filmmaker Malia Ann, seemingly in an effort to distance herself from her powerful parents, who have also launched careers in entertainment with Higher Ground Productions.

Although the former president and first lady are now movie moguls, the two did not attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this month, when Malia Obama, 25, made her red carpet debut at the premiere of The Heart.

Malia Obama described her project as “an odd little story, somewhat of fable, abut a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will,” as she put it in her Sundance spotlight.

Photos: Malia Obama and Sasha Obama Over the Years

While the film—which was produced by Donald Glover‘s company Gilga—was Malia Obama’s first time directing, she already has writing credits under her belt as a staff writer on his Amazon Prime show “Swarm.”

“She’s a very professional person,” Swarm’s co-creator Janine Nabers said of the Harvard grad in a January 2023 Vanity Fair interview. “She’s an incredible writer and artist.”

Glover also echoed the sentiments, singing Malia Obama’s praises and noting her famous parents didn’t play a role in how she was treated on set.

“I feel like she’s just somebody who’s gonna have really good things coming soon,” he told Vanity Fair in March 2022. “Her writing style is great. We can’t be easy on her just because she’s the [former] President’s daughter.”

Of course, Malia Obama is not the first child of a celebrity to take a stage name in Hollywood in order to distance themselves from their families. Nicolas Cage changed his last name from Coppola, while Angelina Jolie dropped her surname, Voight.

The couple’s marriage ended, and both became single, on Friday, nine months after she filed for divorce, a judgment entered in Santa Barbara County court showed.

In the first months after their split, Costner And Baumgartner fought in court over child custody and support payments and appeared to be headed for a contentious trial. But they reached a settlement agreement in September that allowed them to avoid it.

The two will have joint custody of their sons, ages 16 and 15, and daughter, age 13. A judge in September ordered Costner to pay about $63,000 per month in child support, after she had sought about $175,000 per month.

Costner, 69, and Baumgartner, 48, a model and handbag designer, began dating in 1998 and married at his Colorado ranch in 2004.

It was the second marriage for Costner, the Oscar and Emmy winning star of TV’s “ Yellowstone ” and films including “Dances With Wolves,” “The Bodyguard” and “Bull Durham.”

He also has four adult children from previous relationships.

“It was just a feeling,” Ziggy Marley said of getting his father’s life on screen in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “We explored it without knowing that we definitely wanted to do it because we needed to make sure that the people we did it with was the right people. People who respected what we wanted to do, the culture, the authenticity that we wanted.”

This time, he said, they found the right partners. But it was a gamble for everyone: For Paramount Pictures and the other producers, wanting to do right by Bob Marley’s story, his music and his message and worried what would happen if they didn’t; For Kingsley Ben-Adir stepping into the shoes of an icon; For the family and friends who mined their memories for the more intimate story; And for a director, Reinaldo Marcus Green, who had to bring it all together and make it sing.

Early signs suggest that for moviegoing audiences, it worked. “Bob Marley: One Love” has only been in theaters for a few days, but it is already making waves at the box office. On its first day alone, it made $14 million in North America, a record for a midweek Valentine’s Day debut. As of Sunday it had already made an estimated $80 million globally. Though critics have been mixed, ticket buyers responded with enthusiasm giving the $70 million film the highest marks in exit polls.

“It’s such a rewarding validation of the thing that we set out to do,” said Mike Ireland, the co-president of Paramount Motion Picture Group. “The audience is the ultimate arbiter of every movie and everything you put into the world. And to have them respond in that way? It’s just fantastic.”

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The film focuses in on a specific period in Bob Marley’s life, from 1976 to 1978. During that time of political turmoil in Jamaica, the reggae legend survived an assassination attempt, produced his seminal album “Exodus” in an 18-month exile in London, was diagnosed with cancer and returned to Jamaica to reunite with his family and stage the famous “One Love” concert.

“I’m a movie guy,” multi-Grammy winner Ziggy Marley said. “My selfish goal was to have a movie that had entertainment and action. I said to them, ‘I don’t want a boring movie.’ And this period of time was the most active and entertaining.”

The story and script were derived from stories from Ziggy Marley and the legend’s widow, Rita Marley, played in the film by Lashana Lynch, and others who knew him well. They shot on location in the U.K. and Jamaica, where they worked with locals in front of and behind the camera, where many had personal or at least second-hand ties to Bob Marley.

For Green, one of the biggest challenges of a film like “One Love” was getting the patois language right and making it feel real without watering it down. They were, he said, essentially making a foreign language movie but without subtitles. It’s just one of the crucial ways that their largely Jamaican cast and crew added texture and legitimacy to everything.

“We cast, I would say, 98% Jamaicans,” Green said. “We have real musicians as well. It creates that authentic feeling. It doesn’t feel like you’re watching actors trying to play music. You have real music by real musicians.”

The studio and production companies leaned heavily on the local government and film commission for help filming in Trench Town and re-creating Bob Marley’s home exactly as it was.

“You have to get the people of Jamaica’s blessings first for something like this, you know?” Ziggy Marley said. “We couldn’t do it without Jamaica.”

And all hope they helped to contribute to Jamaica’s filmmaking infrastructure. It’s hardly a surprise that the film now holds the record for Jamaica’s biggest opening day ever, surpassing “Black Panther.”

On everyone’s mind was getting Bob Marley right — starting with the music that most audiences will come in knowing and expecting certain things from, and trickling down to the private and internal life of a larger-than-life figure. Ben-Adir learned to sing and play guitar, which he did during filming under Ziggy Marley’s guidance — who wanted an artistic interpretation and not an exact copy. The final film blends Ben-Adir’s voice with archival recordings.

“Kingsley did a good job,” Ziggy Marley said. “He did the work. He really studied.”

Sometimes when families and estates are involved in the biopic process, the life can get watered down and sanitized. But Ziggy Marley and his family went in clear-eyed about wanting to show a real person, flaws and all. And who better to steer the process and the large-scale re-creations of famous concerts than someone who also is an acclaimed musician in his own right?

Ziggy Marley hopes that the film makes “people feel like they are part of the family, part of the crew, part of the band,” he said. “You are inside now. You’re not a fan on the outside.”

But mostly, he said, it’s about the message.

“We’re shedding a light on the idea of unity for humanity, of one love for people,” he said. “That is what we are most proud of, that we are serving a purpose.”

While Paris Hilton has made the most of every chapter of her life so far, she’s never spent so much time over the moon.

In fact, consider that her permanent residence now.

Her dream of becoming a mom came true with the arrival of now-13-month-old son Phoenix, and then daughter London, born Nov. 11, was simply heaven-sent.

“She is just a little angel,” Hilton told TODAY‘s Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, rhapsodizing about her “mom era” a few days after announcing that she and husband Carter Reum had quietly become parents of two. “My life feels so complete.”

The children were born via surrogate, so the couple exercised the option both times to not share with the world that they were expecting until the babies were in their arms. And just as they kept Phoenix’s impending arrival a secret from Hilton’s parents, Kathy Hilton and Rick Hilton didn’t know exactly when his little sibling was coming, either.

As Hilton said of introducing London, “It was the best Thanksgiving surprise for everybody.”

Not that it was exactly a secret that the Hilton in Love star, who’s celebrating her 43rd birthday Feb. 17, was at least getting ready to have kids.

Photos: Paris Hilton & Carter Reum: Romance Rewind

“We talk about it all the time, and just planning our babies’ names and all of that,” she said on the Trend Reporter podcast a few weeks before she and Carter got engaged in February 2021. “So, I’m really excited just to move on to the next step of my life and finally just have, like, a real life.”

As it turned out, the “Simple Life” alum was biding her time until she found the right partner to make a family with.

“I really do believe that having a family and having children is the meaning of life,” she explained. And before she met Carter, “I don’t feel that anyone really deserved that love from me. And now I finally found the person who does. So, I cannot wait for that next step.”

They paused long enough on Nov. 11, 2021, to tie the knot amid their three-day wedding extravaganza, and then plans for their next phase commenced.

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But for those who assumed Hilton would want to document every step of the process, or at least give people a peek inside the baby showers or nursery decorating or something adorable, she made an unexpected move.

“I’ve given my whole life to everyone for so long,” she said while taping the second season of her Peacock show “Hilton in Love.” “It’s just been really important to me to keep this a secret…It’s just the first time that something is just mine.”

By the time of the Nov. 30 season premiere, London had arrived.

“These babies have just brought so much love into my life,” Hilton told SheKnows. “My heart feels so full, like it could burst, and every day is like a new adventure. Just seeing—especially with Phoenix—all these new steps…smiling and laughing and dancing. He’s the best. They both are.”

The 81-year-old Beach Boys co-founder and mastermind has a “major neurocognitive disorder” and is taking medication for dementia, according to a doctor’s declaration filed with the petition Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The petition asks a judge to appoint two longtime Wilson representatives — publicist Jean Sievers and manager LeeAnn Hard — to be conservators overseeing his personal and medical decisions because “Mr. Wilson is unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.”

The two women “have had a close relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson for many years, and Mr. Wilson trusts them,” according to the filing.

Ledbetter — whose husband credited her with stabilizing his famously troubled life — had managed his daily needs before her death on Jan. 30, the petition says.

The move came after consultation between Wilson, his seven children, caretaker Gloria Ramos, and his doctors, according to a statement posted Thursday on his social media accounts.

“This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of,” the posts said. “Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.”

Judges in California can appoint a conservator for the person, their finances — referred to as the estate — or both, as was the case with Britney Spears, whose court fight brought broad new attention to the legal standing.

The Wilson petition seeks only a conservatorship of his person, saying he does not need a conservator of the estate because his assets are in a trust, with Hard as a trustee.

Deeply revered and acclaimed as a member, producer, arranger and chief songwriter of the Beach Boys, Wilson struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues that upended his career in the 1960s.

He met Ledbetter when he was a customer at a car dealership where she was working in the mid-1980s. At the time, Wilson had for years been under the close supervision of psychologist Dr. Eugene Landy.

Ledbetter and others believed Landy was exploiting and mistreating Wilson, and feuded with Landy for years before he was barred in 1992 from any contact with Wilson.

Ledbetter died unexpectedly on Jan. 30, according to a Wilson spokesperson.

“Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost,” Wilson said on his web site. “Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior.”

While posting about the Feb. 16 Season Two premiere of her Hulu series “Life & Beth” on Instagram, Schumer sarcastically thanked those who have provided recent “input” about her “puffier” face.

“I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years. And you’re right it is puffier than normal right now,” Schumer began.

The actor and comedian noted that she has been diagnosed with endometriosis, which the Mayo Clinic describes as an often painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus.

The condition’s symptoms can include weight gain while some medical treatments for endometriosis can also cause people to gain weight.

“There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay,” wrote Schumer, who said all women “should read about endometriosis.”

“Historically women’s bodies have barely been studied medically compared to men,” she continued, while recommending Dr. Elizabeth Comen’s new book on the subject, “All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today.”

Though Schumer was candid about suffering with health issues that affect how she looks, she said she believed that a woman “doesn’t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation.”

The “Trainwreck” star added that she wanted to “take the opportunity to advocate for self love and acceptance of the skin you’re in.”

“Like every other women/person some days I feel confident and good as hell and others I want to put a bag over my head,” she wrote before she re-directed her post’s message to be about “Life & Beth.”

“But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud of this tv show I created. Wrote. Starred in and directed. Maybe just maybe we can focus on that for a little,” she wrote.

Schumer has previously been candid about experiencing health issues caused by endometriosis.

In September 2021, the former “Inside Amy Schumer” star revealed that she had her uterus and appendix removed because of effects of the painful condition.

She has also discussed her struggle with hyperemesis gravidarum during her first pregnancy with her son, Gene, as well as her difficult delivery because of complications caused by endometriosis.

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A heavyweight boxer, Foreman won the world heavyweight championship title twice in his career: once in 1973 and again at the remarkable age of 45 in 1994. Then, when he hung up his gloves in 1997, he picked up an apron and became a pitchman sensation, hawking a lean, mean, fat-reducing grilling machine.  

You can learn about all that in “Big George Foreman,” a biopic executive produced by Foreman himself, directed by George Tillman Jr., and starring Khris Davis as the man called Big George.

But here, we’re diving into the champ’s other favorite pastime: fatherhood. 

How many kids does George Foreman have?

George Foreman had 10 children across his five marriages, he wrote in his book “Fatherhood by George,” published in 2008.

A tribute passed by the Texas House of Representatives in honor of the late Houston native Freeda Foreman, who died in 2019, lists her as having two additional sisters not included in George Foreman’s book: Brenda Lilja Foreman and Courtney Isaac Foreman.

In 1985, George Foreman married Mary Joan Martelly. They have been together ever since.  

“Mary is a good wife. We call her Joan,” he told CBN.com in a conversation about his book. “But the best thing that happened to me was finding a good wife who understood that children are not just something you can have today and then say, ‘That was something that happened in the past.’ It’s an ever-present thing in your life and it’s wonderful to have a wife to understand that.” 

He continued, “You may have even an ex-wife or an ex-husband, but you can never have ex-children.”  

His daughters are Natalie Foreman, Leola Foreman, Georgetta Foreman, Freeda George Foreman and Michi Foreman.

His sons are George Jr., George III, George Foreman IV, George Foreman V and George Foreman VI. 

Georgetta Foreman shared a photo of her with Michi, Freeda and George III in 2020.

Why did George Foreman name all his sons George?

If you haven’t noticed by now, the boxer’s five sons are named George. In fact, they are all named George Edward Foreman, the same three-name moniker that belongs to their father. But why?

Foreman has offered up a few different explanations. In his book “George Foreman’s Guide to Life,” he said the decision went back to realizing the man who raised him was not his biological father.

“The joke is that I was too lazy to come up with something else … but the truth is that after I found out I didn’t have the roots I thought I had, I made a decision: I would plant some for my children that they could never lose. I wanted my kids to have a foundation that nobody could ever take from them — something they and their children and even their children’s children could depend on if they felt disconnected from their family or their past,” he said.

He added that each of his sons “goes by his own nickname,” because he feels it’s important “that they’re recognized and treated as individuals.”

George Jr. is “Junior,” George III is “Monk,” George IV is “Big Wheel,” George V is “Red” and George VI is “Little Joey.”

He’s offered other reasoning elsewhere.

“I named all my sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common,” he wrote on his website. “I say to them, ‘If one of us goes up, then we all go up together. And if one goes down, we all go down together!’”  

He also cheekily said to CBN.com, “I tell people, ‘If you’re going to get hit as many times as I’ve been hit by Mohammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Evander Holyfield, you’re not going to remember many names.’”

Years later, when chatting with Bossip about bringing his life to the big screen in his biopic, he offered another reason. One that moms might relate to.

“My mother, when I was a doing bad, my mom would get upset, and she said, ‘Come here!’” Foreman shared. “She called me all the children’s names, and by the time she called my name, I was out the door. I said, ‘This will never happen to me.’ I call George and they all come.” 

What are George Foreman’s children up to today?

Most of his children stayed out of the spotlight and led relatively quiet lives. But a few did follow in their dad’s footsteps.

George “Monk” Foreman III competed between 2009 and 2012. In January 2014, Monk co-founded the boxing gym EverybodyFights, offering classes, personal training and a fight school in several cities across the country.    

Freeda Foreman also strapped on the gloves, boxing professionally in 2000. She retired a year later with a record of 5-1 and three knockouts. She died suddenly in 2019 at the age of 42, leaving behind a husband, children and grandchildren. An autopsy found she died by suicide.

Natalie Foreman is a singer and a professor of education, per her LinkedIn.

Leola Foreman is a stand-up comedian with a YouTube channel.

Georgetta Foreman is a television producer behind some of your favorite shows: “Divorce Court” (1999), “Beyond the Glory” (2001), “Justice for the People With Judge Milian” (2023). 

“He has 10 kids, but growing up he made sure that we all had our special time,” Georgetta told CBN.com of her dad. “There was even a time when we all had our own days. There was a Georgetta day, or George the second day, or whatever. And he took that time out to make sure that that day you had whatever you wanted to eat, whatever you wanted to do and he took out time to get to know who we were and who we are now.”

How many grandkids does George Foreman have?

Per an interview with Bossip in 2023, Big George has 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, some of whom also share his name. 

“People don’t know but I have more fun imitating characters and making my grandkids and children laugh, that’s what makes me most happy, enjoying my grandkids,” Foreman told Bossip. “We even named a couple of them George.”

Speaking about his legacy with I Am Athlete in April 2023, the two-time champ offered a special tip he uses to ensure his children and grandchildren know that they are what matters most. 

“You walk through my house, the last thing you’re going to find are trophies and championship belts. Those things are put away, because it’s all about the next generation — my children, their children,” he said. “I don’t want them intimidated or seeing something that’s going to, ‘Ahhh.’ I just want them to know it’s about them. I display their trophies now. Their medals. It’s all about them.

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Meghan Markle is back in the world of podcasting.

One year after she and Prince Harry ended their partnership with Spotify, the Duchess of Sussex announced she is working with Lemonada Media on a new podcast.

“I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting,” Markle said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Being able to support a female founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024.”

But in addition to looking ahead at her new podcasting venture, she’s also looking back as she revealed Lemonada will be re-releasing “Archetypes,” previously a Spotify exclusive, “so that more people can now have access to it.”

Markle and Harry’s Archewell Audio, the audio arm of their production company, originally signed with Spotify in December 2020, following their decision to step back as working members of the royal family in January of that year.

Photos: Meghan Markle Through the Years

During its 12 episode run, “Archetypes,” which saw the 42-year-old unpack different kinds of stereotypes women face, featured interviews with Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Mindy Kaling.

However, back in June, after Spotify and the royals announced the decision to end their partnership, Markle indicated her work with the podcast hadn’t ended. At the time, her rep said to The Wall Street Journal that the Duchess “is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.”

But dispute their busy schedules — in addition to their various production work with Archewell, Harry oversees the Invictus Games for wounded veterans — the duo have given occasional insight into life with their kids Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.

And part of that has been shaping their family traditions. “We’re creating new ones,” she told E! News last fall, “now that our little ones are growing up.”

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Andrew Keegan hates the way people think he’s a cult leader.

The “10 Things I Hate About You” actor recently set the record straight on claims that he started his own religion after he bought an abandoned temple in 2014 to host a series of spiritual gatherings.

“There was this interesting group of hippie types, if you will, in Venice,” Keegan clarified on the Feb. 12 episode of “Pod Meets World.” “I was connected with some folks and we had this opportunity. This old Hare Krishna Temple, it was sitting there empty and we were like, ‘Why don’t we get some people together, and let’s open this place up?'”

Calling the group “Full Circle,” the “7th Heaven” alum and some friends organized a string of dinner parties and other spiritual events at the temple over three years — but Keegan said defining that group as a cult is simply “click-bait central.”

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“There was no doctrine,” Keegan insisted. “We were just getting people together.”

The 45-year-old added, “For all intents and purposes, it was a really cool community center for a bunch of people in Venice for a few years.”

Of course, not everyone saw it that way at the time, and the strange rumors continued. But while Keegan — who shares daughter Aiya Rose, 7, with partner Arista Ilona — admitted he could have been “a little more media trained” during interviews about the group when all the cult allegations first started, he doesn’t regret that period in his life.

“We opened it up and spent three years and really did build an amazing friend group,” Keegan shared. “We went through something really significant from 2014 to 2017.”

In fact, people still reach out to him to gush about how significant the events were for them, according to the “Party of Five” actor.

“It was really beneficial to a lot of people,” Keegan said. “I still hear about it now, where people are like, ‘That was such a great time.'”

Shortly thereafter, a little boy named Franklin arrived on the scene. He generally remained on the fringes of this idiosyncratic band of neighborhood kids, but he’s finally stepping into the spotlight in a new Apple TV+ special called “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin.”

In the thoughtfully-worded letter that has been preserved by the Charles M. Schulz Museum, Glickman wrote that she had been contemplating how she might be able to somehow make a difference in “the vast sea of misunderstanding, hate, fear, and violence” that led to King’s assassination. She thought that the introduction of a Black child in a comic strip may inspire the next generation to be more open and accepting of different types of people.

In a very honest response, Schulz wrote that he would love to introduce a Black character, but he was fearful that doing so would make it look like he was being “patronizing.”

“I don’t know what the solution is,” he concluded.

Undeterred, Glickman asked if she might share the dilemma with some of her Black friends, who also started writing to Schulz. Soon after, Franklin made his debut in a comic strip on July 31, 1968.

Describing Franklin as the “Switzerland” of the Peanuts gang, Craig Schulz, the Peanuts creator’s son, tells TODAY.com that Charles specifically wanted Franklin to be as well-grounded and neutral as possible so as not to stir up controversy. In that first appearance, Franklin sweetly rescues Charlie Brown’s beach ball from the ocean, sparking an instant connection.

Years later, Franklin received a last name — Armstrong — in honor of Robb Armstrong, a cartoonist who, like Glickman, introduced himself to Charles by writing a letter.

Armstrong tells TODAY.com that he was one of four Black cartoonists working professionally in 1989 when his comic strip, “Jump Start,” was signed to the same syndicate as Charles. As a huge fan of “Peanuts,” Armstrong’s first order of business was to request an introduction to Charles. When that attempt failed, Armstrong sent him a letter and some “Jump Start” comics instead.

The next year, Armstrong finally met his idol — and discovered that Charles had not only kept his comic strips but framed them and hung them on the wall of his studio.

Thus began a lengthy friendship that resulted in Charles asking Armstrong permission to give Franklin the last name “Armstrong” in his honor. Even now, Armstrong says that he still thinks of that moment on a weekly basis.

“It’s supernatural. It’s surreal,” Armstrong says of the request.

As the years went on, Charles teased some additional details about Franklin’s life. “We know that his family traveled because his dad was in the military,” but otherwise, he kept the character neutral, says the special’s Emmy Award-winning director, Raymond S. Persi. “We leaned into that and used this special as a chance to develop this character more.”

Persi notes that the special follows Franklin’s “struggle to fit into that world” in which a bossy girl is a psychiatrist-for-hire and a dog thinks he’s a World War I flying ace. Remarkably, this is the first time we’ll hear Franklin speak.

Armstrong was instrumental in shaping the character of Franklin in the new special. Like his father, Craig Schulz felt a bit apprehensive about rounding out Franklin’s character on his own, so he added Armstrong to the writing team to give the character more lived experience.

The move may have worked a little too well. “I began to identify with this character so strongly while writing the screenplay that it became a concern to my collaborators,” Armstrong laughs.

Over the course of the special, Franklin and Charlie Brown realize that they are both “outsiders” in certain ways, and that realization “transcends their racial differences,” says Armstrong.

It may seem like a fluke that Charles just happened to read that fated letter from Harriet Glickman, but it wasn’t. His son says that he would sit down and read every letter that was sent to him.

“It took up a lot of his time, but he liked responding to everybody who wrote him a letter. He would send them not only a letter [in return], but he would send drawings half the time,” Craig says. “He went above and beyond.”

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Everyone deserves a chance to fly — er — see the new “Wicked” trailer.

And it turns out, millions of people did get that chance as the new gravity-defying trailer for part one of the the 2024 musical adaptation, releasing later this year, dropped during Super Bowl LVIII commercials.

In the clip, “Wicked” fans get a live-action look at Cynthia Erivo wearing the signature all-black dress and pointed witch’s hat of her character Elphaba, a.k.a the future “Wicked Witch of the West,” as she arrives at Shiz University. There, she meets Ariana Grande’s Glinda Upland — the future Good Witch — who gasps, “You’re green,” upon meeting Elphaba.

And, of course, the clip gives a nod at Elphaba’s dark future.

“Something just takes over me,” she explains to Glinda in the clip, “and when it does, bad things happen.”

Elsewhere in the video, Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldbum’s Wizard also make their official trailer debut.

But the amazing character costumes and set design aren’t the only things the “Wicked” trailer gifted us with. After all, the video also gives fans a teaser of Erivo singing the musical’s classic ballad, “Defying Gravity.”

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And while the “Harriet” star surely impresses in the short audio clip, the 37-year-old has said she’s especially excited for fans to hear her and Grande sing together.

“I don’t know that we realized that our voices would fit so well together,” Erivo shared during a Dec. 22 appearance on the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” “Our voices are very, very different. But when we sing together, it just works.”

“Wicked: Part 1” is set to hit theaters Nov. 27, with Part 2 releasing Nov. 26, 2025.

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The Oscars will add a new award to recognize achievement in casting for films released in 2025 and beyond, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday.

Not counting the short-lived “ popular film Oscar ” which never came to be, this is the first time the academy has added a category since best animated feature film was established in 2001.

“Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a joint statement.

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The casting directors’ branch was created in July 2013 and currently has nearly 160 members.

“This award is a deserved acknowledgment of our casting directors’ exceptional talents and a testament to the dedicated efforts of our branch,” said Academy Casting Directors Branch governors Richard Hicks, Kim Taylor-Coleman and Debra Zane in a statement.

The first statuette will be presented starting with the 98th Academy Awards in 2026.

Casting directors, and stunt performers, have long lobbied for an Oscar category to recognize their specific contributions to film. But for now, the stunts will have to wait.

Johnny Galecki is starting this year off with a bang.

“The Big Bang Theory” alum revealed in an article for Architectural Digest‘s March issue that he privately married Morgan Galecki and that they’ve welcomed a daughter named Oona Evelena.

While the dates of the couple’s wedding and baby’s birth were not disclosed, the magazine noted Galecki and his wife were still waiting for the little one to make her debut at the time of the photo shoot and that she was born “soon after.”

In fact, one of the pictures gave fans a look at the nursery in the pair’s Nashville home—which AD shared featured a gold-painted cabin bed, tapestry-like wallpaper, antique Persian rug and large toy bunny.

Thanking the Architectural Digest team on Instagram for the “lovely profile on the beautiful backdrop of our lives as they stand and smile today,” the actor wrote, “We will place it in our family time capsule and cherish it for many, many years.”

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Evelena joins big brother Orbison, whom Galecki welcomed with his ex Alaina Meyer in November 2019 before news of their split broke the following year.

And while the actor has mostly kept his relationship with his present wife out of the spotlight, he has given his Instagram followers a few glimpses into their life together—such as by posting a picture of them at Disney World with his son last month.

However, this may not come as a huge surprise as Galecki has largely stayed out of the public eye following the end of “The Big Bang Theory ” in 2019.

“I think this is the first interview I’ve agreed to do in almost four years,” he told AD before going on to praise his design team, “and it’s purely because I’m excited to rave about Emily [Ward] and Louisa [Pierce].”

Mike Alfaro, an immigrant from Guatemala, came to the U.S. to build an advertising and public relations career. Even though he had a successful working life, he always dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur.

Alfaro’s successful career in advertising started with him working in copywriting and eventually climbing his way up to creative director. He produced Super Bowl commercials for Honda and was the brain behind some of Taco Bell’s campaigns.

After feeling that he needed to recharge and reorganize his goals, he quit his full-time job and traveled to his hometown to visit his family. The trip would end up being the beginning of an entrepreneurial career.

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After seeing a Lotería game set in his family home, Alfaro had an idea: It’d be fun to recreate the game, originally created in the 1700s, and make it more modern, or, as Alfaro calls it, “Millennial.”

Lotería is played very similarly to the original Bingo but with picture cards, which include things like “La Rosa,” “El Músico,” “La Dama,” “El Catrin,” “Las Jaras,” and many more.

In Alfaro’s version, Lotería is called Millennial Lotería and features parodies of the classic imagery. La Dama becomes La Feminist, El Catrín turns into El Hipster, and Las Jaras is replaced with La Hashtag. 

It has become a best-seller in stores and online while gaining a big following on social media.

“I realized I could make something that was modern, related to my generation, and spoke to us in a way that was still keeping the traditional feel of Lotería,” Alfaro said. “But also modernizing in a way that was more of the times that reflected our culture.”

Alfaro says that when he started looking for partners to publish his product, he always found help and support within the Latino community.

“Ninety-nine percent of the opportunities I’ve ever gotten are from someone Latino on the other end of the phone calling me, whether it’s a producer or, you know, a creative director or anyone just in the business,” Alfaro said. “Latinos are the ones that are pulling me up, the ones that are like recognizing what this product is.”

For his first mass publication, he partnered with Blue Star Press, a book publisher, and printed 10,000 copies, expecting to sell them for Christmas, but they sold faster than expected.

“They started selling those on Amazon at first; okay, they sold out before we even got to like Christmas, “Alfaro said. “By Christmas, everybody was like, where can I buy this game?”

One of the most significant moments of Alfaro’s career came after Target asked him to create a family version of Millennial Lotería to be sold exclusively at the store.

“They sold out at every Target when it launched, like the week that it launched, every single Target sold out of them,” Alfaro said.

Alfaro was determined to reach his goals because, as an immigrant, he felt that he needed to push harder than anyone else to show his parents that all the sacrifices they made to give him an education were worth it.

“When you’re an immigrant in this country, you have to be the best to succeed,” Alfaro said. “I think that’s why I just pushed so hard. You’ve got to get your money’s worth.”

Alfaro was interviewed for Bísness School, a series that tells the inspiring stories of Latino founders. Subscribe to Bísness School wherever you get your podcasts to get future episodes automatically. Remember, Business school is expensive. Bísness School is free.

The 48-year-old five-time Grammy Award winner seemingly joked he had microdosed on mushrooms before hitting the ice during the All-Star Game mock draft in Toronto on Thursday.

“My buddy told me this is just a microdose of mushrooms and he was lying,” Bublé told reporters as he sat next to actor Will Arnett on Thursday. “I thought I was in ‘Blades of Glory’ for most of the time that I was out there.”

“And then I realized, ‘Holy s—, I am at the NHL All-Star Game,” Bublé joked.

Bublé was referencing the classic 2007 comedy movie “Blades of Glory,” which starred Arnett, Will Ferrell and Jon Heder.

After Bublé’s apparent confession, Arnett took the opportunity to jokingly take a swing at him.

“It just occurs to be that through all the incredible songs that you’ve done over the years and all the hearts of women that you’ve won over around the world, with all that talk about fantasy hockey you lost them all in one sentence,” Arnett said.

“The mushroom talk cost me all of my contracts, too,” Bublé joked before Arnett asked reporters if they wanted to ask Bublé more questions “on the mushrooms,” topic.

The lighthearted moment unfolded during the NHL All-Star weekend, where stars like Bublé, Arnett, and Justin Bieber served as celebrity draft captains for the exhibition games.

Ultimately, Bublé later clarified his mushroom trip was just a joke after replying to a fan who inquired about the mushrooms.

“20 years and people still don’t get my humor. I just keep rolling. Lol,” Bublé replied on Instagram.

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During a panel in Florida this week, that was captured and posted online by an audience member, Milano opened up about the claims, noting that she wanted to be “thoughtful” in her response.

“I will just say that I’m sad,” Milano said, before explaining, “I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans.”

“I am the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day almost a quarter of a century later still happening,” she said.

Although the actor didn’t officially deny the claims that she was involved in the ousting of Doherty, the 51-year-old did say she felt “sad that people can’t move past it” and “celebrate” the show’s success.

“I have worked super hard in my life in the last 25 years to heal all of my trauma, and that’s not just all the trauma that I experienced while shooting but all of my trauma,” she explained. “I’ve worked really hard to heal bits because I understand that hurt people hurt people and my intention is to be a healed person that helps heal people.”

Milano then invited the idea that the three former costars — herself, Doherty and Holly Marie Combs — could all sit together on a stage at some point because “this was like over a quarter of a century ago.”

“How is it possible to continue to hold onto that?” she asked, before issuing an apology, saying, “I … want to take accountability and apologize for whatever part I played in the situation.”

The actor added that she doesn’t know “how else to fix it” and called the situation “heartbreaking.”

On an episode of the “Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty” podcast released Dec. 18, 2023, fellow former costar Holly Marie Combs said a producer told her that it wasn’t their intention to fire Doherty, but that they were “backed into this corner” by Milano.

“‘We were told it’s her or (Shannen) and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment,’” Combs said of the producer’s remarks.

Combs clarified, though, that the exchanges among the actors weren’t done in front of the producers, but rather, behind the scenes.

“There (were) no even harsh words exchanged. It was all behind the scenes, it was all in the trailer,” she said. “It was nothing that anybody or any of our guest stars ever noticed or noted.”

After three seasons, Doherty left “Charmed” and was replaced by Rose McGowan’s character, Paige. Doherty previously attributed her departure to “drama,” according to a 2001 ET interview.

“There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work,” she said at the time.

Milano addressed her co-star’s departure in a 2001 interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, “I think it’s hard when you put two very different people together. I’m very laid-back and passive. I have my Buddha. I come in here and meditate. (Shannen has) got a lot of energy, she’s very headstrong, she wants to get the job done.”

But 20 years later, Milano told ET in a 2021 interview that the two of them were on better terms.

“I would say we are cordial. You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had,” she said at the time. “I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I have some guilt about my part in that.”

“I have respect for her,” she later added. “Great actress, love her family so much, and I just wish I could’ve felt strong enough in who I was to recognize that back then.”

However, Doherty hinted during her podcast that she doesn’t expect a reconciliation with Milano any time soon.

“I heard that she addressed it [the competitiveness] in her book,” Doherty said, referring to Milano’s 2021 book “Sorry Not Sorry.” “Obviously, I’m never reading her book because it’s (called) ‘Sorry, Not Sorry.’ So right there it tells me you’re not freaking sorry.”

During another episode of her podcast released Dec. 11, 2023, Doherty spoke with Combs, 50, about the behind-the-scenes tension on the early 2000s hit — specifically the “lack of female support” with Milano.

During the first season of “Charmed,” Combs underwent surgery to remove a uterine tumor, per Entertainment Tonight, which brought filming to a temporary stop.

Doherty explained on her podcast that she tried to visit her friend and fellow actor in the hospital post-procedure, but said Milano got in the way.

“I waited 24 hours after your surgery to go, and then it wasn’t even easy for me to get in. I was being told I couldn’t even get in by Alyssa and her mom,” Doherty said. “They were blocking people from seeing you but at the time, you didn’t know.”

Following the situation at the hospital, Doherty and Combs experienced a strain in their relationship that led into the next season of the show.

“I remembered you texted me and were like, ‘Dude, are you going to come and see me?’ And I can feel your pain of feeling like I’d abandoned you,” Doherty said to Combs. “But I also felt like my anger at the situation of not being allowed to come see you, and how sort of family had swooped in and caused this sort of weird divide between the two of us that then continued throughout Season Two where I think I cried every single night of Season Two.”

TODAY.com had previously reached out to Milano about Doherty’s podcast remarks but did not receive a response.

As the original “power of three” sisters on the show, Doherty played Prue, Combs portrayed Piper and Milano took on Phoebe, all of whom discovered that they were witches.

When Doherty asked her about her take on the drama surrounding Season Two, Combs took a rather neutral position, but didn’t shy away from admitting there was tension.

“There was a lot going on behind the scenes,” she began. “I wanted everyone to get along. I wanted the show to be successful. There were no angels. There were no demons. We all had bad days we all had good days. We all could have behaved better at certain points.” 

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The Jan. 30 episode of the popular game show ended in controversy after viewers claim Megan, the contestant who made it to the bonus round, lost, even though they claim she guessed the correct answer, which was “Pink Orchid.”

Here’s the setup: The category was “Living Thing,” and the puzzle that appeared after she got the traditional R, S, T, L, N, and E and guessed her letters was “P_N_  _RC_ _ D.”

The first words out of Megan’s mouth once the timer started sounded like “pink orchid,” but nothing happened and she continued to try and work out the answer, to no avail.

If you rewatch the clip — and you know you will, right? — it sounds like Megan may have said “pink orchid” or “something orchid.”

“You might have been overthinking a type of orchid,” host Pat Sajak told her after the buzzer sounded and the missing letters were revealed.

“Pink,” Megan said while laughing, without any trace of anger that she had actually guessed it or surprise that she lost when she may have said the correct answer.

“I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you,” Sajak continued before he revealed she missed out on the big prize: $40,000.

Several people on X were livid Megan didn’t win.

“Hey @WheelofFortune I definitely heard the contestant say ‘pink orchid’ at the beginning of that final puzzle & rewound it to make sure. You owe her some $$$,” one fan wrote.

“Am I tripping or did she say pink orchid,” another irate person commented.

“The woman got screwed on #WheelOfFortune bonus puzzle tonight, she totally said ‘PINK ORCHID’ right at the start,” someone else pointed out.

“Honestly, it feels like this woman got robbed out of her bonus prize tonight on #WheelofFortune,” another person wrote. “Can you guys help me get #PinkOrchid trending? That was the actual answer to the puzzle & a bunch of us legitimately heard her say that right when the clock started.”

“I heard it too! She said Pink orchid. What the heck,” commented another shocked fan.

This doesn’t appear to be a black and (Vanna) white issue, though. Some viewers don’t believe Megan gave the right answer.

“I think she was talking it out and said som-PINK orchid. Like cut off ‘something’ in the middle?” one person commented. “Regardless a major bummer.”

“She said ‘something orchid’ as in she knew orchid but didn’t know the first word,” someone else pointed out. “She then said pony orchid lol she clearly was thinking it was a type of orchid and not a color. She didn’t even get mad when he said the answer. She definitely didn’t say pink.”

One viewer said it took some time, but she eventually figured out that Megan did not give the right answer.

“Ok. Totally a retract. I thought she said ‘Pink Orchid,’ but she said ‘Something Orchid. Literally 14 rewinds. Sorry, lol,” the person commented.

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After the Chiefs knocked off the Baltimore Ravens last weekend in the AFC Championship to advance to the big game, Reid was pictured pointing to the “Cruel Summer” hitmaker while she was on the field and he was on stage celebrating.

“This was the great photo tweeted out of Big Red showing a little love to Taylor up on the stage. He’s got a little point, they’re pointing at each other,” Jason Kelce said about the picture on the Jan. 31 episode of the “New Heights” podcast he does with his brother Travis Kelce.

“Going to the Super Bowl, baby,” Travis Kelce said. “We’re going to the Bowl. We did it.”

Reid and Swift have history, too, that goes back a lot further than this season when she began turning up at Chiefs games because of her romance with Travis Kelce. Reid used to coach the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce said Swift and Reid knew each other “from the Philly days,” before he mentioned her father, Scott Swift.

“Shoutout to big Scott,” he said. “Him and Andy are good friends.”

“That was a cool moment to see afterwards. I didn’t get to see it because I was up on the stage screaming, ‘Fight for your right.’ Yeah, that was a cool one,” he continued, while reflecting on the moment between Reid and Swift, who was on the field, as well as Jason Kelce and his parents.

Jason Kelce also congratulated Swift for her role this year.

“Shoutout to the newest members of the Chiefs kingdom, Taylor Swift, who has officially reached the Super Bowl in her rookie year,” he said, prompting Travis to laugh.

“Thanks for joining the team,” Travis said, before he thanked all of the Chiefs fans.

Reid, who once joked that he set up Swift and Travis Kelce, has talked about what life has been like with Swift around the team.

“She’s been great,” he said on the Jan. 29 episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast, while noting he already knew her from her dad playing football at the University of Delaware.

“That was the last thing Trav wanted to hear, that I knew her before him. She told him, ‘I know your coach,” he continued.

Reid says Swift has been a pleasure to have around.

“She’s a good girl and I’m happy for Trav and there has been no distraction that way, at all. And Travis handled it right. She’s handled it right. We just move forward, so it hasn’t been a problem at all.”

The Chiefs will now set their sights on winning the franchise’s third Super Bowl in the last five years when they play the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. The run to the big game was slightly different this season for the 11-6 Chiefs, who were not as dominant as past years. Travis Kelce says that makes this experience even more enjoyable than previous AFC titles.

“It feels like it’s a little bit sweeter, man,” he said on “New Heights.” “I don’t want to rip out anyone’s heart in KC, but this road to where we are now has been more of a challenge, which means you have to overcome more, which means it kind means a little bit more.”

Travis Kelce also said winning the game on the road in Baltimore, instead of their home field at Arrowhead Stadium, was something he won’t soon forget.

“Although I cherish all the games that I play in Arrowhead (Stadium), every single one of them, baby, this one meant a lot, man, because, it meant a lot because the guys we had and how we persevered through a lot of the things we weren’t doing during the season and it just felt that much better with those guys,” he said.

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Just over 24 hours later, the tweet has 137 million views (and still climbing!) and responses from big companies like Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle and Shake Shack, as well as celebrities as diverse as Dionne Warwick, T-Pain, Rachel Zegler, Garfield and TODAY’s very own Craig Melvin, who wrote, “Thanks for checking in, Elmo. Mondays are hard. Hope you’re doing great. Be sure to check on Oscar. He always seems to be in a mood.”

Mondays are hard, Craig. And maybe that’s why so many people decided to trauma dump (or overshare their personal traumas) with Elmo so publicly. Here’s a selection of responses:

• “Elmo I’m gonna be real I am at my f—ing limit”
• “Elmo I’ve got to level with you baby we are fighting for our lives”
• “Elmo each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror. one that was previously unfathomable in nature. our inevitable doom which once accelerated in years, or months, now accelerates in hours, even minutes. however I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thank you for asking.”
• “Elmo was just checking in. He didn’t ask for all this.”

He didn’t. Elmo was simply dropping pleasantries into the online conversation as he often does, which is why the volume of responses seems so surprising to everyone. Elmo himself took to social media today to respond, saying, “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon, friends! Elmo loves you. #EmotionalWellBeing“

Elmo’s friends jumped in to respond to their favorite red monster. Cookie Monster said, “Me here to talk it out whenever you want. Me will also supply cookies.” Snuffleupagus wrote, “I love being a Snuffleupagus because I have huge ears that are made to listen to you share your feelings.”

Even Oscar the Grouch chimed in, saying, “I’m not great at listening to others share their big feelings, but my worm Slimey is. You should talk with him if you ever need to chat. “

Though Elmo is only 3.5 years old (his birthday is coming up on Feb. 3!), he is quite active on social media. Technically, you’re supposed to be 13 years old to have an account on X (formerly Twitter), but “Elmo’s mommy and daddy” help him run the account, which has almost half a million followers. (And may we add, Elmo’s spelling and grammar are quite impressive for his age.)

Elmo often wishes his followers good morning or good night, he sends birthday messages to neighbors like Ernie, and he’s even had that #FridayFeeling. But his tweets haven’t had a reaction quite like this one.

“This is certainly a unique moment,” says Aaron Bisman, vice-president of Audience Development at Sesame Workshop. “Elmo has connected with audiences in big ways,” over the years, but this is one of the biggest Bisman has seen.

Perhaps it’s because Elmo is so friendly and curious and open — the trifecta of qualities of a good listener. Or maybe it’s because we grew up with Elmo and still maintain that wholesome and sincere bond from childhood that makes us want to share. But it could also be that it’s January, we’re tired and it’s easier to unload online than it is in real life.

Bisman agrees that the viral nature of the tweet is linked to its timing, and he also credits social media manager Christina Vittas for being the online “voice of Elmo” and performer Ryan Dillon for bringing Elmo to life. There is a true “magic in the connection” viewers have for this empathetic character. He tells TODAY.com, “There’s something about having a sweet, adorable 3.5-year-old monster asking you how you’re doing that makes you want to answer honestly.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• Sarah J. Maas reveals plans for her next books — including a 4th in the ‘Crescent City’ series
• Kristin Juszczyk lands NFL deal after making custom jacket for Taylor Swift
• Chita Rivera, revered and pioneering Tony-winning dancer and singer, dies at 91

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Vanessa Hudgens is soaring — flying — over a certain Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift comparison.

In fact, the “High School Musical” alum commented on a post that pointed out the similarities between Kelce and Swift’s love story and the plot of the 2006 film.

A fan recently wrote on social media that, “The Chiefs game and the Golden Globes being within hours of each other reminds me when Troy and Gabriella had the basketball game and the academic decathlon at the same time as the the audition for the school music.”

And it was exactly what Hudgens had been looking for, as she commented, “Hilarious.”

Kelce didn’t end up attending Swift’s decath — er — 2024 Golden Globes ceremony, where her “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film was nominated for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, and Swift didn’t make it to his Kansas City Chiefs game against the Chargers, but the couple will get another chance to beat the clock on Feb. 11.

That’s when Kelce’s Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 Super Bowl — only one day after the “Anti-Hero” singer finishes performing her “Eras Tour” concert in Tokyo, Japan. After calculating how much time she has between her show and the start of the biggest night in football, however, Swifties discovered Swift could still get her head in the game just in time.

25 High School Musical Secrets Revealed

And of course, social media users were quick to draw another connection between the impending time-crunch and the “HSM” movie about a superstar athlete and musical “It Girl,” with one fan writing on X, “Taylor having a concert across the world the same day as Travis is playing in the Super Bowl is so high school musical coded you can’t even make this up.”

“Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce having the Grammys, the Eras Tour Tokyo and the SuperBowl all in one week is literally the plot of high school [musical],” another user wrote, “but if Gabriella had a jet.”

Whether she makes it or not, Swift’s already proved herself to be the Gabriella to Kelce’s Troy. She’s attended 12 of his games since the couple went public with their romance in September 2023, and the “Blank Space” singer even shared a kiss with the NFL star on the field after his team clinched the AFC Championship on Jan. 28.

Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole the slippers in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He gave into temptation after an old associate with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value, his attorney revealed in a memo to the federal court ahead of his sentencing in Duluth.

Martin showed little emotion as the judge handed down the sentence and was unable to rise from his chair as the judge adjourned the hearing.

The FBI recovered the shoes in 2018 when someone else tried to claim a reward. Martin wasn’t charged with stealing them until last year.

He pleaded guilty in October to theft of a major artwork, admitting to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum door and display case to take the slippers. But his motivation remained mostly a mystery until defense attorney Dane DeKrey revealed it this month.

Martin, who lives near Grand Rapids, said at the October hearing that he hoped to remove what he thought were real rubies from the shoes and sell them. But a person who deals in stolen goods, known as a fence, informed him the rubies were sequins and glass beads, Martin said. So he got rid of the slippers.

DeKrey wrote in his memo that Martin’s unidentified former associate with mob ties persuaded him to steal the slippers as “one last score,” even though Martin had seemed to have “finally put his demons to rest” after finishing his last prison term nearly 10 years ago.

“At first, Terry declined the invitation to participate in the heist. But old habits die hard, and the thought of a ‘final score’ kept him up at night,” DeKrey wrote. “After much contemplation, Terry had a criminal relapse and decided to participate in the theft.”

Both sides recommended that Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz sentence Martin to time served because he is housebound in hospice care and is expected to die within six months. He requires constant oxygen therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and was in a wheelchair when he pleaded guilty.

Federal sentencing guidelines would have normally recommended a sentence of about 4 1/2 years to 6 years. Another prosecution filing said both sides agreed he should be ordered to pay $23,500 in restitution to the museum, even though he apparently does not have the money.

According to DeKrey, Martin had no idea about the cultural significance of the ruby slippers and had never seen “The Wizard of Oz.” Instead, DeKrey said, the “old Terry” with a lifelong history involving burglary and receiving stolen property beat out the “new Terry” who had become “a contributing member of society” after his 1996 release from prison.

After the fence told Martin the rubies were fake, DeKrey wrote, he gave the slippers to his old associate and told him he never wanted to see them again. The attorney said Martin never heard from the man again. Martin has refused to identify anyone else who was involved in the theft, and nobody else has ever been charged in the case.

The FBI never disclosed exactly how it tracked down the slippers. The bureau said a man approached the insurer in 2017 and claimed he could help recover them but demanded more than the $200,000 reward being offered. The slippers were recovered during an FBI sting in Minneapolis the next year.

Federal prosecutors have put the slippers’ market value at about $3.5 million.

In the classic 1939 musical, Garland’s character, Dorothy, had to click the heels of her ruby slippers three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home,” to return to Kansas from Oz. She wore several pairs during filming, but only four authentic pairs are known to remain.

Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned one pair to the museum before Martin stole them. The other three are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of American History and a private collector.

According to John Kelsh, founding director of the Judy Garland Museum, the slippers were returned to the collector and are being held for safekeeping by an auction house that plans to sell them after a promotional tour. He said he doubts they will ever come back to Grand Rapids.

Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922. She lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, until she was 4, when her family moved to Los Angeles. She died in 1969.

The Judy Garland Museum, located in the house where she lived, says it has the world’s largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

Penelope, a Daisy Scout, was excited to learn all about being a good cookie salesperson. The pair stopped at different stations and practiced knocking on doors, giving a cookie-sales speech, making decisions about safety and creating a sign for their troop’s cookie booth.

At the last station, there were older Girl Scouts pretending to be different types of customers the girls may encounter. When O’Neal saw that one of the stereotypes was “The Healthy Indulgence” customer, she says she “was immediately pretty surprised.” Then, the Girl Scout leading the presentation suggested that if a customer says they’re on a diet, you should offer them the cookies without artificial sweeteners.

“At that point,” O’Neal says, “I blacked out.”

Since it was the last station of the kickoff, O’Neal quickly shuffled her daughter to the car. “I was fuming,” she says.

Even so, she waited until she got home to mention the subject to her husband because she didn’t want to draw her daughter’s attention to what had just happened.

Upset by the “detrimental language” her daughter had heard at the cookie kickoff, O’Neal says, “I opened my phone. I typed out what I was seeing in the note section of my phone, and I posted it to Instagram.”

Stop giving unnecessary explanations

It can be difficult to resist the smiles of a sweet Scout asking, “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?” O’Neal certainly wouldn’t judge you if you did make a purchase, but if you are not interested, she begs you to refrain from mentioning diet, calories, body flaws or weight.

“A simple no thank you, is completely acceptable. In fact, it’s perfect,” O’Neal wrote in her post’s caption.

“Nobody is mentioning these things out of malice,” O’Neal says. She assumes that some potential cookie customers feel bad saying no and overcompensate by giving unnecessary explanations. “It’s just an awareness that people don’t have. I’m simply asking them for mindfulness.”

Interestingly, Girl Scouts USA shared a similar sentiment on their Instagram page two weeks ago with reminders to “curb ‘diet’ and ‘skinny’ talk” and “recognize the cycle of body drama.” They even included a post that says, “I am always jaw droppingly shocked at how many adults that visit booths find it appropriate to talk about their health issues with us about cookies.”

Be aware of your wording

If you think 6-year-olds are too young to be affected by talk of diets, weight and size, think again.

“I knew about my body size in kindergarten,” says O’Neal, mentioning an insult that has stuck with her through the years. “Little messages affirm and shape who we are when it comes to body image. I am uber aware of the way I talk and interact with food in front of my daughter.”

O’Neal has spent years struggling with disordered eating, which she describes as “an unhealthy or complicated relationship with food.” Because her disordered eating was affecting her everyday life, O’Neal sought therapy and then started her Instagram account, @MondayDieter, to process what she learned.

She even pursued and completed a master’s degree in food science and is studying to become a registered dietician.

O’Neal points out that one cookie customer making a comment about being on a diet may not be a big deal. But if a 6-year-old hears 10 people groan about being on a diet within an hour or two, it has a bigger impact. “Children aren’t born hating their bodies. They are born with an innate sense to self-regulate. They grow up around adults who talk about their own body flaws,” she says.

So, what should you say to Girl Scouts?

O’Neal plans to allow Penelope to participate in cookie sales. After all, she’ll be learning valuable lessons about teamwork, handling money and entrepreneurship.

But what if Penelope hears customers talking about their diets or asking about the “healthiest” cookie?

“My plan is to step in and say that all the cookies are a great choice,” she says. “I’ll redirect the conversation and add in appropriate messaging that all food is healthy because it gives us energy.”

We contacted Girl Scouts USA and a spokesperson shared a message for cookie customers with TODAY.com via email: “When people approach Girl Scouts at a cookie booth, we hope they celebrate the courage it takes for girls as young as 5 to conduct business transactions with customers. We encourage them to ask girls what they want to do with their cookie money (cookie proceeds stay local). Ask them what they love about selling cookies. It’s about more than the cookie boxes.”

In fact, if you want to support the girls but don’t want the cookies, troops often have a way for you to purchase a box that will be donated to organizations within your community.

And if you truly don’t want to make a purchase of any kind, O’Neal says, “Just say, ‘No thank you’ without giving a reason. Because the reason can be detrimental.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• ‘Teen Mom 2’ star Kailyn Lowry details twins’ NICU stay: ‘Nobody prepared me for that’
• Family goes viral after husband accidentally orders 200 chicken nuggets from McDonald’s
• Travis Kelce’s dad recalls meeting Taylor Swift for the first time — and not knowing her name

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Cena, 46, caused a stir in the wrestling world this week when he told “Entertainment Tonight” he will stop performing for WWE within the next few years. During an appearance on the 3rd hour of TODAY Jan. 26 to promote his new film, “Argylle,” he was asked whether he will indeed hang up his wrestling boots by the age of 50. “That sounds pretty accurate, right?” he answered. “Like, 50 is half of 100.”

In a follow-up interview with TODAY.com, Cena elaborated on his plans to retire from the performance side of the WWE.

“I’m giving myself, like, hey, if you don’t figure it out until (the age of 50), you’re just done,” he explains. “If we don’t come up with something that we can present to our WWE universe as a wave goodbye, if it doesn’t happen by then, I’ll just silently announce it on X or whatever the platform is.”

Cena, a 16-time world champion, debuted in WWE in 2002 and has appeared on its programming on and off in recent years, including a stint last fall. While the “Barbie” star has a passion for performing in the ring, he’s well aware that it will become more challenging to compete as he gets older.

“If I could do it infinitely, I would do it infinitely. It’s that energetic, it’s that much of an adrenaline rush, it’s that rewarding,” he says. “But I don’t think energy is — is neither created nor destroyed. And they’ve got such a wonderful crop of superstars. The WWE is loaded with marquee talent, and it’s their time.”

Historically, there are a number of examples of wrestlers who’ve announced their retirement, only to step back into the ring later on. Regarding how firm his intention is to retire within the next few years, Cena says, “Authentically over the years, my relationship with the WWE universe is based on honesty. And when I go, I’ll go.

“I’m not saying I won’t be involved integrally with the WWE,” he continues, citing his work mentoring young talent.

“I’ll never be away from the WWE family. But as far as in-ring and falling down and taking an ass-whooping, the clock is limited on that one.”

In the short term, it’s natural to wonder whether he’ll take part in WrestleMania this April after kicking off WWE’s signature event last year with a match against then-United States Champion Austin Theory. As of now, he’s unsure whether he’ll have a match at the upcoming WrestleMania, which will be held in Philadelphia.

“That’s beyond my control,” he says, before later adding, “It’s on a weekend. I don’t see myself shooting on a weekend in a movie. I’d love to be there. But those decisions are beyond my paygrade.” 

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

• One mom’s ‘rules’ for saying no to Girl Scout cookies are striking a nerve — see why
• ‘Teen Mom 2’ star Kailyn Lowry details twins’ NICU stay: ‘Nobody prepared me for that’
• Family goes viral after husband accidentally orders 200 chicken nuggets from McDonald’s

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

“I was elated. It was just like, oh my gosh,” she told TODAY in a segment that aired on Jan. 25.

Alas, it wasn’t Jacob, and the person imitating the journalist quickly encouraged Head to private message them on WhatsApp instead of the public Facebook page.

After connecting in May 2023, the pair exchanged thousands of messages over the course of six months. Head, who lives in Tennessee, said she was in communication with the imposter “almost every day” and there were days when they were in contact “all day long.”

Head’s daughter was skeptical that a network news correspondent with a hectic schedule could find the time to chat with her — and her instincts proved to be right.

Over the course of six months, the scammer convinced Head to send them over $17,000 in bitcoin and gift cards, even if it didn’t quite sit right with her.

“I would say no, no, I can’t. And this person said, ‘Well, just let your bills go this month,'” she recalled.

Head’s daughter Joni admitted that it was “very hard” for her to broach the subject with her mother. She ultimately turned to NBC News for help.

“I feel the strain. But it’s only because I love her,” Joni said.

Head felt compelled to share her story with TODAY viewers to help prevent similar scenarios for others. While filming the segment, she even got some face time with Jacob.

“Thank you so much for your support. And I’m so terribly sorry that you’ve gone through something now that so many people have gone through. You’re going to help a lot of people by having this conversation…,” he said.

Head shared the following advice for others in her situation.

“My journey brought me extreme happiness, and then mortifying sadness. But I think I’m here to point out to other people to be careful,” she said.

Celebrity imposter scams are widespread on social media

Head certainly isn’t alone in her experience. Celebrity imposter scams are a dime a dozen these days and the Federal Trade Commission says that imposter scams in general are the number one fraud reported to the agency.

While researching Head’s story, NBC News Senior Consumer Investigative Correspondent Vicky Nguyen learned about several similar incidents.

For example. a victim in Kansas lost $94,000 to someone who impersonated country singer Neal McCoy. Another scammer pretending to be actor Johnny Depp conned a Pennsylvania resident out of $41,000. Another woman in Pennsylvania sent $290,000 to a scammer who posed as golfer Phil Mickelson after they met on Facebook.

These imposter scams cost Americans $2 billion in 2023 and FBI Special Agent Andrew Innocenti said that scammers often seek out super fans.

“There’s an allure about celebrities and people wanting to believe that they’re actually talking to those people that they see on TV and in the movies every day,” he told TODAY.

After the segment aired on Jan. 25, Hoda Kotb mentioned how TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie once had an imposter create a skin care line in her name.

“It’s not OK,” Savannah said.

In February, Savannah will also release a new book called “Mostly What God Does,” and she’s already noticed scammers trying to profit off of it.

“There’s a workbook that’s being sold on some of these sites that has nothing to do with us,” she said. “Even my mom was like, ‘Oh, should I buy the workbook?’ I’m like, ‘What workbook? No.'”

What are social media companies doing to protect users?

TODAY reached out to Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, for comment on what they’re doing to protect users against these sort of social media scams. They sent the following response:

“Scammers have always existed and they continuously adapt their tactics to new technology to manipulate people in various ways. That’s why Meta, alongside our industry peers, continues to take steps to improve detection and enforcement,” they wrote, adding that Meta removed 827 million fake accounts between July and September 2023.

X, formerly known as Twitter, did not respond to TODAY’s request for comment.

How to protect yourself from online scams

There are several ways you can fend off online scammers:

• Be skeptical when someone reaches out to you claiming to be a celebrity.
• Never send money or gift cards to someone you don’t know.
• If you’ve already lost money to a scammer, cut off contact immediately and contact the bank or gift card company to see if they can reverse the transaction.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from Today:

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• Drew Barrymore and ‘Bad Girls’ co-star Dermot Mulroney share tears, tissues in surprise reunion
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William Austin Aldama, 27, from Dallas, was arrested Thursday in Navarro County, Texas, and now faces 10 counts of possession with intent to promote child pornography, according to Navarro County court filings.

Investigators allege Austin Aldama was found possessing around 10 digital video files that contained graphic images of children as young as 2 years old being abused, according to an indictment filed on Jan. 17 in Navarro County.

In a statement to NBC News, Austin Aldama’s attorneys, Heather Barbieri and Kerri Donica called the charges a “witch hunt” and reiterated his innocence.

“Let us be absolutely clear – Austin is innocent. The charges against him lack legal merit, and we are confident that the facts, which will prove his innocence, will come to light during the legal proceedings,” the statement read.

Possession with intent to promote child pornography is a third-degree felony in Texas and can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Austin Aldama was released on bond but his release conditions state he must submit to random drug testing, pay a monthly $60 reporting fee, and submit to voluntary searches of his cellphone and computer, court documents state.

As part of his release Austin Aldama was also “prohibited from viewing pornographic images by any means including through the use of the internet,” documents show.

Austin Aldama’s mother, Monica Aldama was Navarro College’s cheerleading coach, which was featured in Netflix’s “Cheer” docuseries. Austin Aldama appeared in two episodes of the show’s two-season long run.

Ralph spoke about her one-sided feud with Ross during a conversation with Oprah Winfrey.

The entire conversation — which touches on aging, her stylist daughter and more — will air during Oprah Daily’s “The Life You Want’ Class: A Conversation with Sheryl Lee Ralph,” airing Jan. 24.

“Dreamgirls” follows a girl group trio as they try to break into the music industry as young Black women coming up in the racially divided ‘60s. It was turned into a 2006 movie starring Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in the lead role of Deena Jones, the character Ralph first portrayed in the musical. People likened the characters and storylines to Diana Ross and the Supremes.

Ross said, during a 2007 interview with David Letterman, that she didn’t see the musical version of “Dreamgirls,” and had a plan to see the movie adaptation, then airing in theaters.

“I have not seen it … I’ve heard a lot about it. I’m going to see it with my lawyers,” she quipped.

“It has been said to me that there’s a lot of my image and likeness in the movie. What I would like to do is be able to see it. I like to inspire the talent that is out there today,” she said. “If I’ve done that, it’s a good thing.”

When Letterman tried to draw a line between the movie’s plot and Ross, she said, “It’s been a lot of talk about it. I think I need to see it,” she said.

Speaking to Winfrey, Ralph emphasized that Ross was not meant to be an inspiration when preparing for her Tony-nominated role.

“There was one thing that I was told in the development of ‘Dreamgirls:’ I could love Diana Ross as much as I want, but if I played Diana Ross we would get sued,” Ralph said.

Ralph said Ross “was upset” and “believed what she believed” about the musical, and demonstrated her feelings to the star during an encounter at the Russian Tea Room, a restaurant in New York.

“At that moment, she walked into the Russian Tea Room and I was like, ‘There she was,'” Ralph said, enamored. “I just got up and walked over to her. And she turned around in the way that you could smell her perfume. It was beautiful. And the smile left her face looking at me. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. She doesn’t like me because of the show.'”

“She said, ‘I know who you are.’ And I was just like, OK. And she turned around and she was gone,” Ralph said.

Ralph said they reconciled “years later” with the help of one of Ross’ sons (Ralph didn’t specify which, but Ross has two sons, Evan Ross and Ross Naess).

“How it was fixed is years later, we were together and she has beautiful children. And I don’t mean just the way they look. They’re just like great human beings, which lets me know she’s a great human being,” Ralph started. “Her son said, ‘She’s right there, mom. Right there.’ He was yelling at the time because we were all in the same place.”

“And she didn’t want to see me but then she saw me and she came over and we talked and it was wonderful,” Ralph said. “It was lipstick and lashes under the bridge. It was gone. She said, ‘Girl, that was such a long time ago. I understand now.’ I was like, ‘Aw, here’s the moment.’ It was great.”

“Dreamgirls” the Broadway musical landed 13 Tony nominations and won six. The film got eight Oscar nominations and won two, plus five Golden Globe nominations and three wins.

Ralph also took issue with the film, telling Essence in 2023 that it “ignored” the play’s cast.

“Yes, they ignored us when they made the movie. Whatever that choice was, it hurt my feelings because we literally created ‘Dreamgirls.’ Tom Eyen handpicked us, put us all together and we improvised and put those moments together that became that groundbreaking musical. And when they chose to go to Hollywood and make the movie, to act like we weren’t a part of it—there were so many things they could have done. They could have added us, but the choice was made not to. And God and Goddess know why. I’m just like, “It’s OK.” Because we are moving forward,” Ralph said.

Beyoncé sent Ralph flowers after the Emmy winner first won the award in 2022 for her work in “Abbott Elementary.”

“To the original Dreamgirl, sending you a beautiful congratulations,” the card read in a video Ralph posted of it on Instagram.

The full circle connection came when Ross sang happy birthday to Beyoncé along the “Renaissance” tour.

“Thank you so much,” Beyoncé beamed. “You are so amazing. This is the legendary Diana Ross.”

Ralph’s full conversation with Oprah Daily will air at 4 p.m. on Jan. 24. Sign up to watch here.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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Timothy Bobrovitsky, 22, has used TikTok to document his journey with Stage 4 cancer. On Sunday, he posted a plea to fellow users on the platform: Help him reach the actor.

“I have Stage 4 cancer in my lungs and my leg and everywhere else. I really need your help to make my childhood dreams come true,” he said, describing himself as Gomez’s No. 1 fan. “One of my bucket list items since having cancer has always been to either meet Selena Gomez … even if she saw this video, I could die peacefully.”  

By Monday, the wish had reached over 4 million people, including Gomez, who responded to Bobrovitsky on her TikTok and Instagram. She posted a duet, or a video showing her own reaction side by side in split-screen format. In the text of the video, she wrote that he should directly message her. 

Bobrovitsky, who was unavailable for an interview Tuesday, quickly replied to the Rare Beauty founder online.

Representatives for Gomez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

The Material Girl will make a second appearance at Madison Square Garden Tuesday. It wasn’t clear exactly what time she got on stage the prior evening, but she did lead the audience in a resounding rendition of “Happy Birthday” for her daughter, Mercy, who turned 18.

The two fans suing her — Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden — say she didn’t take the stage in Brooklyn until after 10:45 p.m. for her Dec. 13 show, though the tickets for her “Celebration” tour show indicated the performance started at 8:30 p.m. It was a Wednesday, and Fellows and Hadden were angry because they had to get up early the next day.

The men claim that by the time they left the venue at 1 a.m., they were “stranded” due to limited public transportation options and had to pay more to order a ride-share, which was also experiencing surge pricing due to demand.

Fellows and Hadden are suing Madonna and Live Nation for “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices.” Barclays Center is also listed as a defendant.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court, seeks class-action status, alleging the 65-year-old popstar has a “years-long history” of starting concerts late, including at other “Celebration” tour stops.

Representatives for Madonna and Live Nation did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC New York. Multiple outlets reported her reps blamed “sound check issues” for her lateness last month.

Sofía Vergara is sharing more insight into her split from Joe Manganiello.

About six months after the “Magic Mike” actor, 47, and the “Modern Family” star, 51, filed for divorce, she set the record straight on what led to their breakup.

“My marriage broke up because my husband was younger; he wanted to have kids and I didn’t want to be an old mom,” she recently told Spanish newspaper El País. “I feel it’s not fair to the baby. I respect whoever does it, but that’s not for me anymore.”

And Vergara—who shares son Manolo with ex-husband Joe Gonzalez—noted she’s ready for a different chapter.

“I had a son at 19, who is now 32, and I’m ready to be a grandmother, not a mother,” she continued. “So, if love comes along, he has to come with [his own] children. I’m almost in menopause; it’s the natural way of things. When my son becomes a dad, let him bring the baby to me for a while and then I’ll give it back to him and go on with my life; that’s what I have to do.”

2023 Celebrity Breakups

Manganiello and Vergara filed for divorce in July 2023 after seven and a half years of marriage, with the breakup making headlines.

“That’s part of being a celebrity,” she said on an episode of CBS Sunday Morning earlier this month. “I knew it was going to happen. You can’t hide those things.”

What the “Griselda” actress didn’t know, however, was exactly how those headlines would read.

“It wasn’t bad,” Vergara continued. “I have to say the press was very respectful and very nice. I thought they were going to invent more things. You know how they usually [do], and I was surprised. They kind of just said what it was, and that was it. I’ve been moving on.”

And she isn’t the only one. Last month, Manganiello and actress Caitlin O’Connor made their red carpet debut as a couple.

A representative of Ye initially confirmed to TODAY.com on Jan. 18 that the performer got “titanium dentures” installed recently by Dr. Thomas Connelly, a Beverly Hills, California, based dentist. On Friday, a rep clarified that they are “permanent titanium teeth.”

A separate source close to Ye elaborated that the artist got new metal “fixed prosthodontics.”

“They are, as the name suggests, fixed and permanent. This goes way beyond veneers or grills,” the source added. “And his particular implant is quite unlike anything that has been done before.”

In posts to his Instagram story on Jan. 17, Ye shared a glimpse of his new metallic teeth.

The source said the implants are “experimental dentistry to say the least” and were designed “entirely by Ye with the assistance of medical and dental experts including Dr. Connelly.”

They were sure to clarify that the singer did not have his teeth removed.

The implants are made of titanium and other precious metals, “including palladium and platinum in various places according to the properties required of various elements,” the source said.

In another post to his Instagram story, Ye compared his new look to James Bond henchman Jaws, who appeared in “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker” and was played by actor Richard Kiel.

The total cost of the install is rumored to be around $850,000.

Ye has previously done elaborate dental work. In 2010, he appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and told the host he’d replaced his entire bottom row of teeth with diamond and gold implants.

“I just thought the diamonds were cooler,” he told DeGeneres as the audience laughed. A close up of Ye’s dental work in the segment appeared to show that the rapper’s teeth were still intact under the diamond and gold façade.

“I used to always clean my jewelry with toothpaste anyway so it works out,” he chuckled, adding he has to go to the dentist “all the time just to maintain it.”

“I mean, it’s just certain stuff that rock stars are supposed to do, you know?” he said.

“Oh, I did not realize that,” DeGeneres responded.

In 2022, Ye was temporarily suspended from Twitter and Instagram for posting antisemitic posts. The artist eventually returned to platforms, and has most recently been uploading photos of his rumored wife Bianca Censori. Ye, meanwhile, shares four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

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“The Challenge” alum Ashley Cain has welcomed his second child, more than two years after the death of his baby girl.

The retired soccer star, who competed on the MTV competition series in 2019, announced the birth of his son Jan. 18. He had revealed last month that a longtime friend he had been seeing romantically told him she was pregnant with their child.

The reality star and ex-girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee’s daughter, Azaylia Diamond Cain, died at age 8 months in April 2021 after a battle with leukemia, which her parents had documented on social media.

“Welcome to the world my son,” Cain wrote in his post. “May your body be strong, your mind be wise, your heart be loving and your spirit be pure and truly powerful.”

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He later explained the meaning behind his son’s name, whose initials and middle and last names match those of his late daughter—a fact that drew criticism from several followers.

“What the letter ‘A’ holds is a family tradition, being the first letter of my father’s and all of my uncles first names,” he wrote in a comment. “The name ‘Diamond’ is from my grandma and their mother. It’s our family name along with Cain, it’s our Vincentian roots, all the way from our small island and from our great people.”

Following the criticism, he also stated his Instagram Stories, writing, “It has been a turbulent time as you can imagine. But one that has been worth all of the sticks, the stones and the storms that have come with it. I am a proud and loving father to both of my children and nothing will ever change that. So all that matters to me now is honoring my daughter in heaven and nurturing my son on earth. No matter what, MY KIDS COME FIRST. It’s that simple.”

Last month, Cain shared his feelings about expecting a second child, a baby boy, revealing that he wanted to find out the sex of his second baby ahead of his due date.

“It could have been heartbreak all over again,” he told The Sun in an emotional on-camera interview. “So when I found out I was having a little boy, not only did I think Azaylia would love a little brother, but it was probably slightly easier news to hear straight away.”

Cain told the newspaper that he spoke with his ex, with whom he split in 2022, about the pregnancy news. “I know that Safiyya would always support me and I will always be there to support Saffiya and so will my family,” he said. “As you can imagine, it wasn’t an easy conversation.”

Vorajee later told The Sun in an interview posted Dec. 16 that Cain had actually asked her to have another baby with him following their breakup but did not offer to get back together.

She continued, “I was ready to start again with him by my side, to welcome another child into this world and be the united family together, to make Azalia proud, so she could watch down on Earth and she could cheer us on.”

She also recalled her reaction when Cain told her he was expecting another child with another woman. “I was winded and I was taken by surprise and shock,” she said. “I absolutely thought Ashley would come back to me.”

The ex-girlfriend said she felt like she was “grieving all over again,” saying, “It actually pained me to even think that I would have to tell [Azalia] that she’s having another sibling but it’s not from Mummy.”

Cain told The Sun in response to his ex’s comments, “Safiyya and I have shared an intense emotional journey together since losing Azaylia. “When there are intense emotions involved, be that from loss, breakups or my recent baby announcement, recollection of events may vary. What has never varied is our mutual commitment to our daughter’s foundation, which has never been stronger.”

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Harrison family spokesperson Laura Herlovich confirmed Adam Harrison died Friday, said his death was from a suspected drug overdose and issued a short statement.

“Our family is extremely saddened by the death of Adam,” the statement said. “We ask for privacy as we grieve his loss.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that police were investigating Adam Harrison’s death, which was first reported by celebrity website TMZ. Las Vegas police did not immediately respond Saturday to messages from The Associated Press.

Herlovich said she did not know where Harrison died or the overdose substance.

Adam Harrison was not featured on “Pawn Stars.” The show does feature Harrison’s oldest son, Corey Harrison.

Both Richard Harrison and Corey Harrison posted short memorial comments on their Instagram accounts.

The History Channel program started in 2009. It centers on family relationships and business operations of a storefront business on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Family patriarch Richard Harrison, who was characterized on the show as “The Old Man,” died in June 2018 at age 77.

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Jodie Foster just wanted to foster a normal childhood for her boys.

That is why, when the two-time Oscar winner sons Charles “Charlie” Bernard Foster, 25, and Christopher “Kit” Bernard Foster, 22, were growing up, she kept quiet about her job. As she put it, “I guess I just didn’t want them to know me that way.”

“I wanted them to know me as their mom and the person who went away to work and stuff,” Foster explained during her Jan. 19 appearance on “The View.” “I just didn’t want them to be confused about what I did for a living,” she added.

In fact, the “Silence of the Lambs” alum’s oldest spent his toddler years thinking she worked in construction.

“I brought him to set one day and I bought him a little plastic tool belt and stuff,” recalled the actress, who shares her kids with former partner Cydney Bernard. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, and this is this set and this set and this set.’ And for a really long time, he thought I was a construction worker.”

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Nowadays, the “Panic Room” actress’ sons are well-aware of her decades-long acting career. And though Charlie has followed his mom’s footsteps into the entertainment industry, according to the actress, he and his younger brother “have no interest in watching my movies with me.”

“I think they’re going to catch “True Detective,” the 61-year-old said, “’cause they’re really into that.”

However, she noted that there are “a few films that I would never show them because I would be worried about being teased.”

One example is “Nell,” the 1995 movie about a young woman who was raised in isolation and struggles to communicate with the outside world.

“They do tease me often about that,” noted Foster, whose performance in the film landed her a fourth Oscar nomination, “even though they’ve never seen the movie.”

Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden wanted to get into the groove and purchased tickets for Madonna’s Dec. 13 concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

According to the lawsuit, the tickets for the “Celebration” tour show stated the performance would start at 8:30 p.m. However, Madonna did not take the stage until some time after 10:45 p.m., a habit that appears to be en vogue for the pop superstar.

The men claim that by the time they left the venue at 1 a.m., they were “stranded” due to limited public transportation options and had to pay more to order a ride-share, which was also experiencing surge pricing due to demand. The concert was held on a Wednesday, and are hung up over the fact that they “had to get up early to work” the next day.

Fellows and Hadden are suing Madonna and Live Nation for “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices,” claiming a breach of contract. Barclays Center is also listed as a defendant.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court, seeks class action status, alleging other the 65-year-old popstar has a “years-long history” of starting concerts late, including at other “Celebration” tour stops.

Representatives for Madonna and Live Nation did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC New York.

Kylie Jenner is thinking pink.

The Kardashians star got her fans feeling nostalgic when she debuted a new rosy hairstyle reminiscent of her teen days.

In the photos posted to Instagram on Jan. 16, Jenner swapped her signature dark locks for blush-colored tresses as she posed in her car.

The makeup mogul caption her post, “hiiiii remember me,” a cheeky nod to what fans called her “King Kylie” era.

Naturally, the look reminded fans of when Jenner used to switch up her hair color more often, rocking yellow, purple and—most notably—blue. Jenner last showed off a pink ‘do in 2020, when she wore a long wig to a birthday party for pal Victoria Villarroel.

“King kylie returning is proof the earth is infact healing,” a fan wrote on IG, while another commenter quipped, “KING KYLIE. IM DECEASED.”

During the regal era, she was emerging as a star in her own right, ultimately launching her Kylie Cosmetics empire in November 2015. At the time, she was dating rapper Tyga, who also loves a royal title, even naming his 11-year-old son with Blac Chyna King Cairo.

Photos: Kylie Jenner’s Hair Evolution

She also starred in “Life of Kylie” during that period. The reality show, which was a spinoff of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” followed Jenner and her then-BFF Jordyn Woods as she managed her makeup brand.

Jenner’s life has definitely changed a lot since then. She’s continued dominating the makeup world, dated Travis Scott and given birth to their two children: Stormi, 5, and Aire, 23 months.

More recently, she’s made headlines for her new romance with Timothée Chalamet. The couple were loved up at the 2024 Golden Globes, packing on the PDA, with Jenner seemingly saying “I love you” to the Wonka star.

Hogan said on the social media platform X that he used a ball point pen to puncture the car’s airbag and free the girl after witnessing the accident Sunday night in Tampa.

His new wife, yoga instructor Sky Daily, took to Facebook to praise the quick action taken by her 70-year-old husband and the couple’s friend Jake Rask.

“By all appearances, she was unscathed, just really rattled, which is an absolute miracle!” Daily wrote.

The Tampa Police Department said in an email Tuesday that there were only minor injuries from the crash.

Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame and lives in the Tampa Bay area.

“Thank you God, all is well even now,” he said on X. “Amen HH.”

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The Oscar winner, who turned 65 last November and is out with a new children’s book called “Just One More Sleep,” said she is loving her age on TODAY Jan. 16.

“Sixty-five is a moment of reflection and excitement,” she told Hoda Kotb.

“So, for me, I feel more excited, more turned on creatively. I have a new book. I’m heading to go make a movie. I got to be in a TV show. I’m having a creative time.”

Curtis says she has come to a point where she sees her own personal evolution.

“I’m much less hard on myself,” she said. “I’m very much in acceptance of what I look like and I own what I think and feel. And that, to me, is what maturity is. You own what you think and feel. I say what I mean. I mean what I say. I try not to say it mean. And that’s a way then to grow into my old age.”

Hoda was awed by the notion of saying what you mean and meaning what you say without being mean about it, prompting her to ask Curtis when she became comfortable with that idea.

“Yesterday,” Curtis responded while laughing.

The “Halloween” star then said “it’s all about the future” when people have children, but that eventually changes.

“The present is very hard because they’re growing,” she said. “You’re thinking about new shoes, new clothes, dentists, schools, things. Everything is the future. And when you’re my age, that isn’t — you’re not thinking about the future because the future means you’re going to be dead,” she joked.

“I mean it. What it means is that you’re very much more in the present moment.”

She said she remains focused on the here and now.

“I’m here and I’m really happy to be. And that’s really what to me 65 has yielded,” she said.

Curtis is no stranger to voicing her take on aging.

“This word ‘anti-aging’ has to be struck,” she said in March 2022 at the Radically Reframing Aging Summit hosted by Maria Shriver. “I am pro-aging. I want to age with intelligence, and grace, and dignity, and verve, and energy.”

“I don’t want to hide from it,” she added.

Curtis has also passed on her views about aging to her daughters, Annie and Ruby.

“Don’t mess with your face,” she told TODAY in October 2022 about her advice to them.

“I did plastic surgery,” she added. “I put Botox in my head. Does Botox make the big wrinkle go away? Yes. But then you look like a plastic figurine.”

She also said she tries to serve as a model for them.

“Walk a mile in my shoes. I have done it. It did not work. And all I see is people now focusing their life on that,” she said.

Last year was a watershed year for Curtis, who won her first Oscar for her work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” She said she had been around long enough to know the value in appreciating what she had accomplished.

“My goal in life now as an old lady is just to say ‘Relax, you are enough. You are enough. This is a perfect moment right now. Call off the search. Just relax,’” she told E! on the red carpet before the ceremony.

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Sofía Vergara expected quite a different reaction to the end of her marriage with Joe Manganiello.

The “Modern Family” actress, who’s become beloved for playing Gloria Delgato-Pritchett on the ABC sitcom, knew her divorce from the “Magic Mike” actor last year would stir up some talk in the press.

“You’re out there and people know — that’s part of being a celebrity,” Vergara explained during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning on Jan. 14. “I knew it was going to happen. You can’t hide those things.”

However, the 51-year-old thought the conversation surrounding the split was going to be a little, er, less kind.

“It wasn’t bad,” the former “America’s Got Talent” judge revealed. “I have to say the press was very respectful and very nice, and I thought that they were going to invent more things. I was surprised that they kind of just said what it was and that was it.”

Photos: Sofia Vergara’s Best Looks

Manganiello, 47, and Vergara were married for eight years before calling it quits in July 2023, and Vergara said she’s since been “moving on” with her life. Her latest gig, playing real-life Colombian businesswoman Griselda Blanco on the upcoming Netflix drama series, “Griselda,” is certainly proof — it’s the total opposite of her light-hearted “Modern Family” role.

“[Griselda] was this Colombian woman in the ’70s and the ’80s that actually took over the drug dealing business not only in Columbia [but] here in the United States too,” Vergara said of the character. “When I thought of Griselda, I wanted her to be like Tony Soprano. I wanted her to be a character you didn’t hate even though they are a bad guy.”

“Griselda” is set to premiere on Netflix on Jan. 25, less than a year after the Colombia native reflected on going through a “very difficult” time personally and professionally in the wake of her breakup.

“I went through a divorce this year, the SAG strike that went on for so long,” Vergara told People in November. “I’ve seen my friends struggle — some had to take their kids out of their schools or had problems with their mortgages, so it’s been a weird, weird year.”

Still, she ended on a hopeful note, adding, “It’s not like it’s bad. I think all the things are resolving, everything is going to be okay and I’m very excited for next year.”