ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Thomas Rhett's Wife Lauren Akins Gives Birth to Baby Girl. ...and baby makes four! Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins welcomed a baby girl Saturday. "Last night at 10:28 PM Ada James Akins was born and it was truly the most amazing thing I have ever experienced," the singer wrote on Instagram Sunday morning, alongside a photo of the three. Their newest bundle of love comes just months after the country star and his lady love adopted daughter, Willa Gray Akins in May. "I can't believe that we have two daughters!!" Thomas Rhett wrote. "My wife @laur_akins labored almost 36 hours...She is by far the strongest human being I have ever met and I have a new found respect for moms around the world. We are so excited that Willa Gray has a baby sister! Thank you Lord and everyone for the prayers... #outnumbered." "Our baby girl is here," Lauren wrote on her own page, alongside the same pic. "Sweet Ada James Akins came into the world at 10:28 last night after almost 36 hours of labor (only Jesus got me through that-& she is sooo worth it). She weighs 7 pounds 3 ounces and is so stinking cute I just can't take it! We are all doing well now, just resting. Thank y'all for your prayers-she is a miracle and God is so good. Thomas Rhett and I are so I love with her. And Willa Gray is so excited to finally have a baby sister." In February, the couple shared the double-dose of baby news with fans via social media. The twosome took to Instagram to say that Lauren was expecting and that the couple would also be adopting a baby from Africa. On Feb. 15, Lauren wrote, "OH BABY! actually...BABIES! Our hearts are exploding with happiness for y'all to meet our new baby who we are bringing home from Africa soon who is also going to have a little brother or sister because, SURPRISE! there's a sweet baby in my belly too #adopting&pregnant #cominginhot2017." True to their word, the expecting couple adopted Willa on May 12. E! News previously reported that the couple first met the 18-month-old in 2016 while Lauren was visiting Willa's home in Uganda on a trip with 147 Million Orphans. Before officially adopting Willa, Lauren and Thomas Rhett have made over a dozen trips to the country. As for how she discovered she was with child, Lauren realized she was pregnant while on safari in Africa after she and Thomas had temporarily stopped trying on their own. After struggling to conceive, they decided to adopt, she told People magazine. "When we began the adoption process, we said, 'Let's wait, let's give this adopted child his or her time with us and then we'll continue our family'," said Lauren. "So I was convinced it was food poisoning." "We tried to get pregnant for a little bit before," admitted the 27-year-old. "It was a good chunk of time and our family is extremely fertile, so I was expecting it to happen easily. I was like, 'Maybe this is the Lord's way of telling me adoption is what he wants me to do.' And I was okay with that." The couple adorably met as kindergartners. The pair were married on Oct. 12, 2012, and will be celebrating their five-year anniversary soon. Congrats, you four! (Eonline)
Scott Porter and Wife Kelsey Mayfield Welcome Baby Girl. And baby makes four for Scott Porter! The Friday Night Lights alum and his wife of four years, Kelsey Mayfield, have welcomed the newest member of their family -- a baby girl. The newborn is the second child for the couple and their first daughter, though have not yet revealed her name. Porter announced the little one's arrival on Instagram early Friday morning, teasing fans first with a photo of himself in hospital scrubs, writing, "Go time..." 16 hours later, the Scorpion star shared a picture of himself cuddling his baby. "Sweet Dreams, world," he captioned the sweet snap. Welcome to the world, little lady! A day before the birth, the husband and wife squeezed in some quality time with their son before his little sister's big debut. "Spent our last day as a family of three at an amazing park with a picnic and a waterfall and with a love that will never change for our little boy," Porter wrote along with a family photo. The couple, who met on the set of the hit NBC show in 2008 and married five years later, announced the news of their pregnancy on Easter in April. "Happy Easter from our growing family," the actor wrote on Instagram along with a photo of his wife cupping her baby bump with him and their 2-year-old son, McCoy Lee Porter. In July, the proud dad revealed they were expecting their first daughter. "Our baby girl is going to have a tough time deciding who to cheer for...but we'll love her no matter what school she chooses...right, @kiwiporter?" he joked to his wife on Instagram with a photo of adorable pint-sized uniforms emblazoned with the symbols for University of Texas and University of Nebraska. Their little cheerleader has officially arrived! Congratulations to mom, dad and big brother McCoy! (Eonline)
Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross Gives Birth to First Child With NFL Star Aaron Ross. Congrats to the new parents! Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross went the distance and gave birth to her first child. The athlete and her husband, former NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champ Aaron Ross, welcomed a son named Aaron Jermaine Ross II earlier. The first-time mom took to her Instagram soon after giving birth to her bundle of joy to confirm the news, writing, "8/12/17.... my prince has arrived!!!! There is no greater love #AJRII #FirstTimeMommy #MyLove." People reports that the wee one was born on 3:50 a.m. on Saturday morning, weighed 7 lbs., 13 oz. and 21 inches long. The athletes dated for seven years before getting married on the Olympian's birthday in 2010. Richards-Ross made headlines in June when she revealed in her memoir Chasing Grace: What The Quarter Mile Has Taught Me About God and Life, that the day before flying to Beijing for the summer games in 2008, she'd had an abortion. At the time, she was engaged to Ross, however, the pregnancy was unexpected and so she terminated it. That Olympic games, she took home the gold in the 4x400 meter relay and has since celebrated great success in her athletic career, being named the world champion in the 400 meter in 2010. However, she said in the memoir that the decision took a toll on their relationship until they eventually decided to tell each other the things they always wanted to say -- and that brought them closer together than ever before. The couple recently opened up to People about their pregnancy news and said, "Many parts of our lives have felt like a fairy tale, but this is our biggest blessing yet," the couple told "We are so excited to start a family and can't wait to begin this new adventure!" During his time in the NFL, Ross played with the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens. (Eonline)
Million Dollar Listing's Fredrik Eklund Expecting Twins With Husband Derek Kaplan. Here's some million dollar baby news! Million Dollar Listing star Fredrik Eklund and his husband, artist Derek Kaplan, are expecting twins (a boy and a girl) via surrogacy. The real estate mogul shared the wonderful news on Instagram Thursday evening with a heartfelt post. "We've been blessed two times over - we're six months pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl!" he captioned a celebratory photo of the couple kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower. "It was important for us to take the time to keep the news for ourselves, but now we are ready to celebrate all the love." He continued, "We thank you for supporting us in this journey and your well wishes.... We are finally going to be dads! Finally! #grateful" Fredrik and Derek, who wed in 2013, have long documented their desire to become parents on the hit Bravo series. Unfortunately, in 2015, they suffered major heartbreak when a previous surrogate miscarried. "I'm sad to share we've had a failed pregnancy. I have cried so much that I can't cry anymore. We were pregnant with twins but we're not anymore," Eklund wrote on social media months after initially discussing the pregnancy publicly and on the show. The day's Instagram announcement comes on the heels of Million Dollar Listing's season finale, where viewers at home got to witness the exact moment the soon-to-be dads learned the news in April while celebrating Eklund's 40th birthday in Paris. The famous broker also spoke to The Daily Dish about why they've kept this aspect of their personal lives a little less public than usual. "I think that I shared so much for so long, maybe too much, which is important," Fredrik explained. "But I feel like what's happening right now, I won't talk about for a little longer. But it's a good thing, I think. It feels really good, you know? It's so beautiful, and it's very private. I'll share it when the time is ready." Eklund continued, "We had multiple miscarriages, and the first one, I share that on the show. And then as that was airing, we had our second one... At the time, it was like, why am I doing this to me and Derek? But it's gonna all make sense soon." And makes sense it does! Congratulations, you two! (Eonline)
Evelyn Lozada and Carl Crawford Split and Call Off Engagement. It's over for Evelyn Lozada and Carl Crawford. The 41-year-old Basketball Wives star and 36-year-old former MLB player, who have been engaged for more than three years and share a 3-year-old son, broke up earlier this year. "They did break up but it was over infidelity back in February," Lozada's rep said in a statement to E! News Thursday, without elaborating. Crawford has not commented. Lozada and Crawford got engaged in December 2013. He proposed with a $1.4 million, 14.5 carat emerald-cut diamond ring. In March 2014, Lozada gave birth to their first child together and her second overall, son Carl Leo Crawford, who joined big sister Shaniece, the reality star's now-24-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. News of the split was first reported by Us Weekly. Lozada and Crawford had sparked breakup rumors recently by posting photos showing them taking separate trips. "Right now they are focused on being responsible and loving parents to their 3-year-old kid," Lozada's rep said, adding that they are living apart but "do remain friends." In 2015, Lozada announced on her OWN show Livin' Lozada that she had gotten pregnant again and suffered a miscarriage at six weeks. In December 2016, she said on The Real that she had had three miscarriages over the past year and a half and was struggling to have another baby. "I'm open to wanting another child and if it happens, that's great," she told E! News in 2015. "But I also have my family and I'm awfully grateful for that." (Eonline)
David Ayer -- the guy who wrote "Training Day," "S.W.A.T." and a bunch of other action thrillers and also directed "Suicide Squad" -- wants out of his 14-year marriage. David filed for divorce Wednesday in L.A., citing irreconcilable differences. He married Mireya on September 26, 2002 and lists the date of separation as July 29. There's a sign this one is amicable. David's lawyer, disso queen Laura Wasser, checked the box agreeing that her client would pay Mireya spousal support. They have 4 minor children -- 14, 12, 11 and 8. David is asking for joint custody. David -- who also wrote "The Fast and the Furious" and "End of Watch" -- will be writing a big check, because we've learned there was no prenup, and we're told he's made a bloody fortune. (TMZ)
Alex Rodriguez Confesses Jennifer Lopez Is a "Much Better Athlete Than Me" In the game of fitness, Alex Rodriguez may not want to face off against Jennifer Lopez. While he's one of the best players to grace the baseball field, the former New York Yankees infielder admits that his girlfriend knows how to break a sweat and work hard in and out of any gym. "We work out together all the time. She is a fitness enthusiast and she's a much better athlete than me," Alex shared with E! News exclusively at the UFC Gym grand opening in Kendall, Fla. "She's a former track star from junior high." As for where or how she trains, Alex knows that she'll be stopping at the UFC Gym sooner rather than later. "She'll be here. She goes to TruFusion," he shared. "She does all types of workouts which I don't try to keep up." After playing his final game of baseball in August of 2016, Alex has taken a new turn in his career as a baseball analyst and sports broadcaster. In addition, he recently signed on to contribute to Good Morning America as well as continue his work with Fox Sports and CNBC. Through all his work commitments and trips to the gym, Alex is also enjoying time with Jennifer. While fans may think the athlete has a jam-packed schedule, Jennifer isn't bored by any means. When asked to name something he's learned about his leading lady, Alex couldn't help but gush about her work ethic. "I think humility, work ethic, what an incredible daughter and mother she is and just a great team player," he gushed. "I've never seen anyone work and have the type of work ethic as she does." The couple that works hard together, stays together! (Eonline)
The engagement's off ... but if you think Evelyn Lozada is giving back that 14.5 carat diamond engagement ring she got from Carl Crawford you're out of your mind. The ex-MLB superstar -- who once signed a $142 MILLION contract -- proposed to the "Basketball Wives" star with the $1.4 million ring back in 2013. Evelyn obviously said, "Yes." The two were set to get married 3 weeks ago -- but Evelyn pulled the plug after getting suspicious about Carl's fidelity. Legally, Lozada is obligated to give the ring back -- since an engagement ring is considered a conditional gift in California, the condition being she has to get married. But sources close to Lozada tell us ... Crawford ain't getting it back, period. We're told she's planning on keeping the ring in a safe and passing it on to her kids one day. And at this point, she's not expecting Carl to put up a fight. Talk about a fabulous parting gift. (TMZ)
Justin Bieber rejected by gym beauty on Twitter. Justin Bieber seems like the lonely one. The "One Less Lonely Girl" crooner was rebuffed in an embarrassingly public Twitter display, after he desperately DM'd a gym's Instagram to try and get contact info for one of their pretty employees, Jessica Gober. The former child star -- seemingly turned internet creeper -- DM'd the Georgia gym where Gober works after seeing a snap of her on its Instagram page, reports Maxim. The baffled receptionist announced the weird come-on via Twitter. "Did this actually just happen... lmao Justin Bieber just messaged the gym that I work at and asked who I was hahahaha WTF," she tweeted. Gober also posted a screen-grab of the messages, which read: "Who is that girl," followed by a heart emoji. The fit blonde seemingly caught the 23-year-old's eye after her Savanna employer, Fitness on Broughton, posted a Boomerang on the social media platform that showed her posing with an energy drink. Unfortunately for the "Love Yourself" singer, Gober then tweeted out a photo collage of pictures of her snuggling up to her boyfriend. "I've got everything I need right here," she captioned the Tweet. Incredibly, this isn't the first woman Bieber has sought over Instagram. In Dec. 2015, The "Never Say Never" star shared a snap of a young beauty -- asking his followers "Omg who is this!!" She was later identified as Dutch-born Cindy Kimberly, 17, and signed with a modeling agency two months later. (PageSix)
Usher says there's no way he went to a Days Inn to hook up with the woman suing him ... because he was too busy falling in love with the woman who's now his wife. Sources close to the singer tell TMZ ... he says there was never a hotel hookup with Quantasia Sharpton, telling friends, in November 2014 he was on the verge of getting engaged to Grace Miguel. Usher tells them at the time of his alleged encounter, Grace was his manager and they spent ALL their free time together. His people say when the two weren't enjoying free time, it was all business, and they were inseparable. The couple got engaged less than 2 months after the alleged Days Inn tryst. Usher's people also say on the night in question his show ran late, which pushed the meet-and-greet well after midnight ... and that flies in the face with Quantasia's timeline in which she claims she hooked up with the singer around 12. We're told his travel schedule was super tight too ... making it even more unlikely he even had time to step out for a secret trip to the Days Inn. (TMZ)
Judge Throws Out DJ's Case Against Taylor Swift in Ongoing Groping Trial. Taylor Swift just earned a major legal victory in her ongoing sexual assault trial against Colorado DJ David Mueller. A federal judge dismissed Muller's claim against Swift on Friday, claiming he couldn't prove the pop star ruined his career over allegations that he groped her during a 2013 meet-and-greet, E! News can confirm. The judge cited lack of evidence and witness testimony. As a result, Swift will not be held liable for his subsequent firing from KYGO radio station. Mueller was seeking up to $3 million in damages. Additionally, four of the five claims made by Mueller against Frank Bell, her radio liaison, and mom Andrea Swift were dismissed. Andrea and Frank remain defendants in his first suit alleging tortious interference with prospective business relations. This, as well as the pop star's sexual assault and battery countersuit, will move ahead to jury deliberation next Monday. Both parties will receive 60 minutes for closing statements, as well as an opening statement and rebuttal. Swift is seeking $1 in damages. Her legal team filed a motion earlier to throw out Mueller's case entirely without jury deliberation, citing insufficient evidence. The Grammy winner took the stand on Thursday, delivering a graphic testimony of what happened when Mueller and his girlfriend at the time, Shannon Melcher, were brought backstage to take a photograph with Swift at Denver's Pepsi Center. "It was a definite grab. A very long grab," she recalled to Mueller's attorney, Gabriel McFarland. When asked "how long" the alleged incident occurred, Swift replied, "I don't think it would be wise to estimate time in court, but I know it was long enough for me to be completely sure that it was intentional." McFarland asked further questions about the incident, including whether his client had grabbed her "bare bottom." "Yes," she answered. "He stayed latched on to my bare ass cheek... I felt him grab onto my ass cheek underneath my skirt. The first couple of milliseconds I thought it must be a mistake, so I moved to the side very quickly so that his side would be removed from my ass cheek, but it didn't let go." As for her immediate reaction, Taylor further testified, "It was a very shocking thing that has never happened to me before. This was not something I had ever dealt with. I got as far away from him as I possibly could." On Wednesday, Swift's mother, who was there at the Red tour meet-and-greet broke down in tears as she remembered her daughter sharing the information. "I was upset to the point where I wanted to vomit and cry at the same time," Andrea said, adding, "We felt it was imperative to let his employers know what happened." Two days later, Robert Call, a vice president at KYGO, made the decision to fire Mueller. While taking the stand, he reportedly said he weighed several factors in the firing, including the gap between Mueller and Swift in the photo, his conversation with Frank Bell, whose allegations aligned with Swift's, and Mueller's own account of the encounter, which allegedly changed. Most recently, Swift's former bodyguard Greg Dent shared his side of the story earlier. "His hand went under her skirt," he said. "I did not see his hand touch her physically; I saw his hand under her skirt. She reacted, pushed her skirt down and moved over closer to [Mueller's girlfriend]. So in my opinion, I knew he touched her." As for why Dent didn't step in when he sensed something was wrong, he explained, "Because [Swift] stayed there to finish the meet-and-greet. She continued with the photo. So no, I didn't go and jump in in front of the photo...my focus was on her. I looked at her to see if she was looking at me and wanted me to move in and she proceeded with the picture." Swift has not commented publicly on the ruling. (Eonline)
Tennis superstar Victoria Azerenka is furious a judge has given her a real-life Sophie's choice -- tennis or her kid -- that is making her drop out the US open. The former #1 player in the world is locked in a nasty dispute with Billy McKeague -- the father of her 8-month-old son, Leo. The two split back in July. Here's the problem ... McKeague filed custody papers in L.A. (where Victoria has a home) and the case has gone to a judge who told Azerenka she's not allowed to take the child out of California while the custody trial rages ... and it's not going to end until October at the earliest. The dilemma -- the US Open kicks off August 28 in New York. Victoria will not leave her child -- whom she's been breastfeeding until a month ago -- with McKeague because she doesn't believe he's capable of caring for the kid. Her attorney, "Disso Queen" Laura Wasser, told the judge her client is more than willing to buy a plane ticket for McKeague and put him up in a hotel for the 2-week tournament, but the judge said no. Wasser also told the judge her client already has a valid custody order from Belarus, the country where Victoria, Leo and Billy are all residents, so it should be game, set, match. But for some reason the judge won't defer to the Belarus court. (TMZ)
YG refused to follow orders and get out of his car during a traffic stop because he was afraid cops would do bad things to him. Law enforcement sources tell us ... the rapper was cruising Wednesday night in his Mercedes-Maybach in Burbank when cops noticed dark tinted windows. We're told they asked YG for his driver's license and registration ... and that's when things went awry. We're told YG replied with a simple "no." He was asked to get out of the car -- and same answer, "no." He told cops he just didn't trust them. The standoff continued with YG saying he was afraid police would hurt him if he exited the vehicle. A bunch of patrol cars raced to the scene for backup and YG eventually got out. He had no ID and played the "do you know who I am" card. YG was cited for having no ID, tinted windows and no license plates. We've reached out to the rapper, so far no word back. (TMZ)
THE OTHER STUFF . . .
Bruno Mars Donates $1 Million to Aid Victims of Flint Water Crisis. Bruno Mars is spreading some of his 24K magic to help people who are in need. During a stop on his sold-out 24K Magic World Tour, the powerhouse singer surprised the audience at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, when he announced that he would be donating a whopping $1 million from the show to provide aid to the victims of the Flint water crisis. The "Versace on the Floor" singer wowed the crowd when he briefly stopped the show to make the big announcement. "I'm very thankful to the Michigan audience for joining me in supporting this cause," Mars said in a statement. "Ongoing challenges remain years later for Flint residents, and it's important that we don't forget our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster. As people, especially as Americans, we need to stand together to make sure something like this never happens in any community ever again," continued the singer. From the show tonight, Mars and Live Nation have redirected funds to The Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The Community Foundation of Greater Flint is currently addressing the multitude of issues facing the city after the water crisis and resulting disaster from the effects of the population's exposure to lead. Mars kicked off the North American leg of his tour, which consists of 85 dates, in Las Vegas on July 15th. After his North American tour, the 31-year-old will then hit Europe for three months. (Eonline)
Chris Pratt is sticking to what he knows in the fallout of his separation from estranged wife Anna Faris ... and that involves family and faith. Chris was out Sunday taking his 4-year-old son, Jack, to Church in L.A. -- with Anna nowhere in sight. It appears to be the first time he's been seen public since his split from Anna last weekend ... when the ex-couple announced they were separating on social media. We broke the story ... Chris and Anna are parting ways because of differences in their vision on family and work -- she wants to have more kids and to settle down in L.A., while Chris doesn't want to do either considering his movie career is just now taking off. Still ... Chris seems to be trying to keep things normal between he and his boy. As normal as they can be without mom, anyway. (TMZ)
Ryan Seacrest signs multi-year deal with ABC Studios. Ryan Seacrest is expanding his relationship with ABC in a big way. His Ryan Seacrest Productions has signed a multi-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the pact, RSP's scripted division will develop scripted projects exclusively for ABC Studios at all TV networks and platforms, including broadcast, basic and premium cable and on-demand services. Nina Wass, president of RSP's Scripted Programming, extended her deal to lead the division, as did EVP Andrea Shay. "Under Nina's leadership, our scripted team has achieved great success," said Seacrest. "Her creativity, hard work and key talent relationships have helped us achieve an impressive slate in a short period of time. We've all worked with ABC Studios in the past, and we hope our partnership will serve to further our collective success. It's an honor for us to now call ABC Studios home for our scripted division." Said Wass: "I've worked with Patrick Moran and his team on many shows over the years, and it's wonderful to be returning to the studio, said I can't wait to get started on creating new series together again." Said ABC Studios president Patrick Moran: "Nina and RSP are tremendous assets to our studio. Her taste, contacts and abilities are the best in the industry, and we're thrilled to be back in business with her and with Ryan Seacrest Productions," The deal comes on the heels of Seacrest joining Kelly Ripa as co-host and fellow executive producer on the Disney|ABC syndicated entertainment TV talk show renamed "Live with Kelly & Ryan." ABC/Fremantle also recently announced that Seacrest will join "American Idol" for its first season on the network. Seacrest also is host and executive producer of ABC's annual program "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest." Wass was responsible for launching RSP's foray into scripted programming in 2012, as well as managing its ongoing creative development and production slates. RSP produces NBC's "Shades of Blue," alongside Seacrest, Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina and Jack Orman, and recently received a series order from Netflix for Lauren Gussis' dark comedy "Insatiable." Prior to joining RSP, Wass served as SVP Creative Affairs at the Oprah Winfrey Network. Before that, Wass, along with partner Gene Stein, had a multiyear deal with Touchstone Television/ABC Studios, where she produced a variety of comedy, drama and animation projects. Veteran TV producer Shay joined Ryan Seacrest Prods in 2015 as a senior executive in development and production for the scripted team. Prior to joining RSP, Shay was head of comedy development at The Mark Gordon Company. She also served as VP comedy development at Regency Television and director of current programming at Fox. Ryan Seacrest Prods' scripted division previously had an overall deal at CBS TV Studios. (PageSix)
Lauren Conrad Selling L.A. Home for $4.5 Million While Retaining Laguna Beach Property. It looks like Lauren Conrad has had enough of L.A. Conrad and her husband William Tell's 4,300-square-foot, six-bedroom and five-bathroom home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood was put on the market Thursday with an asking price of $4.495 million. According to real estate records, it appears to be the final L.A. home belonging to the fashion designer and former star of The Hills, who recently welcomed her first child, son Liam. She bought the property in 2013 for $3.65 million. Flipping Out star and interior designer Jeff Lewis had renovated it for a previous owner, Variety reported. The house is gated and sits on almost 12,000 square feet of land and contains a huge backyard and patio but no pool. It also has a massive kitchen with white wood cabinets and white stone countertops, a double stainless steel oven. The property has dark hardwood floors, French doors and a wood-burning fireplace. Conrad and her husband currently own two beachfront homes in her native Laguna Beach, CA. One is a 3-bedroom house she bought in 2009 for $2 million. She tried to sell it in early 2014, months before she wed Tell, but then took it off the market. It is currently worth around $3 million. Around the same time of the canceled sale, Conrad bought a 3-bedroom house on the same street for $8.5 million. Conrad had recently sold a 5-bedroom home in the posh Los Angeles coastal community of Pacific Palisades. She bought the property in 2015 for a $4.4 million and sold it this past May for $4.75 million. In 2016, she sold a newly renovated 2-bedroom Beverly Hills penthouse condo for $2.8 million -- more than double the $1.35 million she paid in 2012. In 2011, during the housing crisis, Conrad sold the Spanish-style 3-bedroom Hollywood house she lived in on The Hills for an even $2 million -- a loss; She had purchased the property in 2008 for $2.36 million, renovated it and rented it out for a couple of years. The house had become a tourist attraction due to her and her show's popularity and paparazzi were also often spotted lurking around it. "You can hear the tour guides like, 'Just yesterday, we saw Lauren Conrad pulling into her driveway and she stopped to get the mail,'" Conrad told E! News at the time. "And Lo [Lauren Bosworth] was walking down the street one day and they were like, 'Here on the left we have a celebrity dog walker walking Chloe.' They knew my dog's name and Lo was like, 'They just called me a celebrity dog walker!' " Conrad also said at the time she "would love to return to Orange County," adding, "L.A. is a really young city and it's great for now, but eventually I'm going to want to settle down a little bit." (Eonline)
The fiery aftermath of the police helicopter crash in Charlottesville, VA was captured on video obtained by TMZ. The chopper exploded in a ball of flames in a residential neighborhood Saturday afternoon. The person who shot the video lives across the street from where the helicopter crashed. He tells TMZ, he heard a loud noise coming from the helicopter and felt it was hovering too low. The man saw the chopper "spinning around violently in the air" and suddenly a piece of the tail broke off and it flipped upside down and nosedived in the ground. The chopper was monitoring the white nationalist rally taking place Saturday ... although it's unclear at this point what exactly caused it to go down. Two officers died in the crash. (TMZ)
Music
Houston Rockets legend Kenny Smith believes the chances of Beyonce becoming a part owner of the team are "very good" -- and would immediately "change the whole dynamic of sports." The singer is reportedly interested in buying a stake of the NBA team -- with current owner Les Alexander recently announcing he's looking to sell. Smith -- who won 2 NBA Championships with the Rockets -- is still close with the team and even had a "date" with management last year about possibly being the head coach. So, we hit up Smith for the 411 -- and it's obvious, he's all about getting Beyonce into that owners' box. "I would love to see that," Kenny tells TMZ Sports ... "That would be something I look at my daughters and say, 'Look, see you don't have to be a part of the team. Own the team!" (TMZ)
Fifth Harmony Surprises Fans With New Music Video "Angel." Attention Harmonizers! Fifth Harmony just dropped the official music video for their new song "Angel" and we are even more "down" for this one. Just a day after releasing the track, the girl group unexpectedly revealed the music video Friday morning. Needless to say, the ladies are excited. "Yassssssss," member Normani Kordei tweeted after the official release of the new visual. Directed by David Camarena, the video features members Kordei, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and Ally Brooke in an entirely new light. With flashing images and dark, neon lighting, the ladies are bringing hip-hop influences to this "Who said I was an angel?" hit. This will be their second track off their third studio album, following "Down" which was the first song they released since Camila Cabello left the group. Cabello left the five person group in December 2016 to start a solo career. This will be a new chapter for the four fierce ladies, telling Billboard, "the fans...are our fifth member." Fifth Harmony's new album is expected to debut August 25. (Eonline)
Live Nation put on a huge music festival knowing it would become a drug-fueled rave -- caring more about money than attendee safety -- and now a 22-year-old girl is dead because of it ... according to a new suit. The parents of Roxanne Ngo, who died after consuming the drug "Molly" at Hard Fest 2016 in Fontana, CA, claim the events company ignored the fact that festivalgoers do drugs ... and that drugs cause serious injury or death due to dehydration, especially outdoors in the summer heat. According to the docs ... after Roxanne took Molly, she got dehydrated because Live Nation failed to provide enough water outlets. She showed clear signs of dehydration before collapsing. Ngo's parents claim EMTs were delayed more than an hour because of the crowd crush and the fact that there were only 4 medical stations for over 147,000 concertgoers. They say their daughter went into full cardiac arrest while waiting for treatment. She was pronounced dead the next day at the hospital. Live Nation also failed to provide enough cops to curb drug usage, and ignored the history of drug-related deaths at their concerts, all because it would stand in the way of the almighty buck ... according to the suit. Live Nation tells TMZ it does not comment on ongoing litigation. (TMZ)
Drag-On -- one of the original members of the Ruff Ryders label -- had a rough time at an outdoor concert ... ending up in the ER. The rapper was performing in Atlantic City late last week, went into the crowd -- which is where the video starts -- and complained he was short of breath because he had been smokin' weed. He composed himself and attempted to rap ... but it was a struggle. Drag-On tried making it back on the stage but fell to the ground ... medics had to come to his aid and he left in an emergency vehicle and went to the ER. We reached out to Drag-On, who tells us he was just dehydrated after a long night working in the studio and got light-headed during the show. He says doctors gave him fluids ... now he's fine. (TMZ)
Movies
Tom Cruise was injured during a building-jumping stunt on the set of "Mission Impossible 6." The 55-year-old actor was in London Sunday when he attempted to leap from a rigging onto a building but he fell short of the mark and hit the building pretty hard. You see Cruise try to limp away and then collapse. He then limps back to the edge of the building and is pulled away by crew members on the safety team. We don't know the extent of his injuries. (TMZ)
Vin Diesel Announces Fast & Furious Live Tour. Fast & Furious is hitting the road. Star Vin Diesel announced on Facebook Live this week an international tour of arena stunt shows based on the hit franchise, in which he plays main character Dom Toretto. "As you know, my work with Fast & Furious never ends, which I'm grateful for because of you all," he said, wearing a mechanic's work shirt with his character's name on it "So now, I am in New York, believe it or not, and we are filming something that is going to be pretty state-of-the-art, something no one's ever seen before, which is a live show, which will be, I think it's first gonna be a show at the O2 Arena in London that's gonna go all over the world and we're really excited about it. But it'll be a way for you to kind of see the action firsthand." "I'm in the middle of shooting it right now," he added. "It's amazing how many studios there are in New York City now." Part of the most recently released Fast & Furious film, The Fate of the Furious, movie No. 8, takes place in the city. A website for the new Fast & Furious Live tour has already been set up. "Using the most advanced technology and your favorite cars from the series, Fast & Furious Live will faithfully evoke the most outrageous moments from the beloved series," it states. "Recreating the underground streets of Los Angeles to locations that criss-cross the globe, Fast & Furious Live lets you relive the most extreme action as our precision performance drivers execute pulse-pounding stunts surrounded by blockbuster set design, authentic digital projections and state-of-the-art physical obstacles." "You'll feel the heat from flaming, nitrous charged exhausts, marvel at mind-blowing vehicular acrobatics and wonder 'how'd they do that' as scene after scene unfolds with the most immersive, entertaining technology imaginable," it says. "Get up close to everything you love from the explosive saga in a cutting-edge live experience that makes you part of the Fast & Furious family in a way never before possible. Real Action. Real Fast! The global tour hits the road January 2018." (Eonline)
TV
Orphan Black Series Finale: A Sweet and Occasionally Bloody Goodbye. After five seasons of often hair-raising insanity, it's kind of nice that Orphan Black ended in such peace. While the first half of the BBC America drama featured brutal murders and a lot of blood, the second half was surprisingly calm. Serene, even. All of the clones we know seem to have found a nice neolution-free life, and all the clones we don't know will soon be vaccinated against that disease that kills clones. All is well in clone world, but of course it took some serious strife to get there. The finale picked up where the last episode left off, with Helena's water breaking just as she and Sarah were trying to escape from Coady and the dying Westmoreland. Coady eventually tracked Helena down, alone on the basement floor, and while Coady tried to help with the delivery, Helena grabbed a screwdriver and rammed it into her throat. Elsewhere, Sarah ran into Westmoreland, and despite his dilapidated state, he tried to physically fight her. She ended up smashing his face in with an oxygen tank, which was fun. She and Art then helped Helena deliver her twin boys, all while Sarah flashed back to Mrs. S helping to deliver Kira, just because we weren't emotional enough already. Cut to Helena living in Donnie and Allison's guest house with her two babies, who had been temporarily named Purple and Orange. (Though we wouldn't put it past Helena to permanently name them that.) Donnie and Boho Allison hosted a big party for the babies, where all the clones and all the kids gathered for food and games and bothering Sarah about how her GED test went. It didn't actually go anywhere because she skipped it, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that. She finally did lay everything out on the table about not knowing where to go or what to do, whether she was a good mother or not, and wanting to sell her house because Mrs. S. died in it (understandable), and her sisters all spilled on their worries and failures too. Meanwhile, Felix met up with a sad friend named Rachel, who arrived in an Uber to deliver something to him: a list of names and contact info of every single Leda clone in the world, so Cosima and Delphine can track them down. When we last saw all the clones, that's exactly what Cosima and Delphine were doing -- traveling the world giving vaccinations. Allison had taken up keyboarding and was being treated to a strip tease from Donnie, Sarah was still living in her house and taking Kira and Felix to the beach, and Helena not only wrote a memoir called Orphan Black, but she finally decided to name her babies after "real men:" Arthur and Donnie. It was a relatively simple ending, but it was also one that felt deserved after everything these sisters have been through over the past five seasons, and everything that Tatiana Maslany has been through over these past five seasons, playing 3,000 characters. Hopefully she has taken many naps since filming wrapped. And now, for the last time: We're really going to miss Sarah (Tatiana Maslany), Helena (Tatiana Maslany), Allison (Tatiana Maslany), Cosima (Tatiana Maslany), Rachel (Tatiana Maslany), Crystal (Tatiana Maslany), M.K. (Tatiana Maslany), Beth (Tatiana Maslany), Camilla (Tatiana Maslany) and all the other ones (Tatiana Maslany). (Eonline)
Brooke Shields Joins Law & Order: SVU in a Role That Will Shake Up Benson's World. Olivia Benson's world is about to get turned on its head thanks to a very famous face. E! News has confirmed Brooke Shields will recur on season 19 of Law & Order: SVU in a role that will shake up Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) world. No other details have been announced about the role, but we can wildly speculate right now. Will she be Benson's new lover? Viewers saw the character break up with Tucker (Robert John Burke) during season 18 and she doesn't exactly have the greatest track record with men, maybe this is why... Could she be somehow related to Noah, Benson's adopted son? Or is she Benson's new boss? A new member of the SVU squad? Benson had a brother she wasn't exactly aware of, what if there's a sister? Could she be the new villain a la Pablo Schreiber's William Lewis? "I play a very different character from any I have ever played," Shields said in a statement. "I'm excited to stir the SVU pot a bit." The Hollywood Reporter originally broke the news of Shield's casting. Her other credits include Suddenly Susan, The Blue Lagoon and the upcoming Daisy Winters. Season 19 will also see Philip Winchester move over from Chicago Justice. He'll be playing the same character, Peter Stone, the son of Law & Order's Benjamin Stone (Michael Moriarty). Expect to see him midway through the season on SVU where he'll be an ADA in New York. Law & Order: SVU's new showrunner is Chicago Justice's Michael Chernuchin. Law & Order SVU airs Wednesdays, 9 p.m. on NBC. Season 19 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 27. (Eonline)
Daphne Oz Is Leaving The Chew After Six Seasons. Daphne Oz is parting ways with The Chew. The co-host announced her exit from the ABC daytime talk show on social media Friday, releasing a heartfelt statement about the six seasons she spent with The Chew. "It has been an incredible 6 seasons with the @abcthechew crew, and I am honored to always be a part of this wild family of 5! thank you for being the BEST audience, and for spending your lunch time with me," Daphne captioned a group photo with fellow hosts Carla Hall, Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly. Daphne, who is the daughter of famed TV personality Dr. Oz, joined The Chew in its first season back in 2011. She was known for bringing a healthy-living perspective to the show, as well as recipe ideas from her cookbooks including The Dorm Room Diet and The Happy Cook. It's currently unclear what led to Daphne's departure, but she is expecting her third child with husband John Jovanovic in the near future. A spokesperson for The Chew told TV Line , who was first to report the news, there are currently no plans in place to replace Oz. "She is one of the greatest natural broadcasters I have ever worked with," The Chew's creator and executive producer Gordon Elliott told the outlet in a statement. "The moment she sat at the table with Mario, Clinton, Michael and Carla, I knew we had a great television show. Her chemistry, honesty and intelligence are her trademarks, and they will stand with her wherever she goes." Oz is also currently a judge on Food Network's Cooks vs. Cons. Are you sad to see Daphne go? (Eonline)
Anna Paquin Was Amused Her True Blood Sex Scene Was Accidentally Shown on BBC Newscast. The mystery of Boobgate has been solved! As you scrolled bleary-eyed down your Facebook feed this week, avoiding posts about impending nuclear winter and various mindless memes from relatives you thought you'd hidden, you may have read a headline about footage of a topless woman being screened accidentally on a TV in the background during a BBC newscast in the U.K. Popular nude scene online archivist Mr. Skin identified the video as a sex scene from True Blood, featuring main star Anna Paquin. "MY BREASTS!! SO FUNNY ON SO MANY LEVELS," she tweeted Friday. "Now that I know what u guys were talking about...this some of the funniest s--t I've seen in a while!!! Thanks for the giggle! #FreeTheNipple." Stephen Moyer, her real-life husband and former co-star and onscreen love interest (who does not appear in the scene), retweeted her. "Ya know you've made when.... your t-ts photo bomb the news at 10," she continued. And the jokes continued. "Good question for @BBCNews and @HBO does #photoboobing count as "syndication"?" she asked. (Eonline)
Scott Porter and Wife Kelsey Mayfield Welcome Baby Girl. And baby makes four for Scott Porter! The Friday Night Lights alum and his wife of four years, Kelsey Mayfield, have welcomed the newest member of their family -- a baby girl. The newborn is the second child for the couple and their first daughter, though have not yet revealed her name. Porter announced the little one's arrival on Instagram early Friday morning, teasing fans first with a photo of himself in hospital scrubs, writing, "Go time..." 16 hours later, the Scorpion star shared a picture of himself cuddling his baby. "Sweet Dreams, world," he captioned the sweet snap. Welcome to the world, little lady! A day before the birth, the husband and wife squeezed in some quality time with their son before his little sister's big debut. "Spent our last day as a family of three at an amazing park with a picnic and a waterfall and with a love that will never change for our little boy," Porter wrote along with a family photo. The couple, who met on the set of the hit NBC show in 2008 and married five years later, announced the news of their pregnancy on Easter in April. "Happy Easter from our growing family," the actor wrote on Instagram along with a photo of his wife cupping her baby bump with him and their 2-year-old son, McCoy Lee Porter. In July, the proud dad revealed they were expecting their first daughter. "Our baby girl is going to have a tough time deciding who to cheer for...but we'll love her no matter what school she chooses...right, @kiwiporter?" he joked to his wife on Instagram with a photo of adorable pint-sized uniforms emblazoned with the symbols for University of Texas and University of Nebraska. Their little cheerleader has officially arrived! Congratulations to mom, dad and big brother McCoy! (Eonline)
Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross Gives Birth to First Child With NFL Star Aaron Ross. Congrats to the new parents! Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross went the distance and gave birth to her first child. The athlete and her husband, former NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champ Aaron Ross, welcomed a son named Aaron Jermaine Ross II earlier. The first-time mom took to her Instagram soon after giving birth to her bundle of joy to confirm the news, writing, "8/12/17.... my prince has arrived!!!! There is no greater love #AJRII #FirstTimeMommy #MyLove." People reports that the wee one was born on 3:50 a.m. on Saturday morning, weighed 7 lbs., 13 oz. and 21 inches long. The athletes dated for seven years before getting married on the Olympian's birthday in 2010. Richards-Ross made headlines in June when she revealed in her memoir Chasing Grace: What The Quarter Mile Has Taught Me About God and Life, that the day before flying to Beijing for the summer games in 2008, she'd had an abortion. At the time, she was engaged to Ross, however, the pregnancy was unexpected and so she terminated it. That Olympic games, she took home the gold in the 4x400 meter relay and has since celebrated great success in her athletic career, being named the world champion in the 400 meter in 2010. However, she said in the memoir that the decision took a toll on their relationship until they eventually decided to tell each other the things they always wanted to say -- and that brought them closer together than ever before. The couple recently opened up to People about their pregnancy news and said, "Many parts of our lives have felt like a fairy tale, but this is our biggest blessing yet," the couple told "We are so excited to start a family and can't wait to begin this new adventure!" During his time in the NFL, Ross played with the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens. (Eonline)
Million Dollar Listing's Fredrik Eklund Expecting Twins With Husband Derek Kaplan. Here's some million dollar baby news! Million Dollar Listing star Fredrik Eklund and his husband, artist Derek Kaplan, are expecting twins (a boy and a girl) via surrogacy. The real estate mogul shared the wonderful news on Instagram Thursday evening with a heartfelt post. "We've been blessed two times over - we're six months pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl!" he captioned a celebratory photo of the couple kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower. "It was important for us to take the time to keep the news for ourselves, but now we are ready to celebrate all the love." He continued, "We thank you for supporting us in this journey and your well wishes.... We are finally going to be dads! Finally! #grateful" Fredrik and Derek, who wed in 2013, have long documented their desire to become parents on the hit Bravo series. Unfortunately, in 2015, they suffered major heartbreak when a previous surrogate miscarried. "I'm sad to share we've had a failed pregnancy. I have cried so much that I can't cry anymore. We were pregnant with twins but we're not anymore," Eklund wrote on social media months after initially discussing the pregnancy publicly and on the show. The day's Instagram announcement comes on the heels of Million Dollar Listing's season finale, where viewers at home got to witness the exact moment the soon-to-be dads learned the news in April while celebrating Eklund's 40th birthday in Paris. The famous broker also spoke to The Daily Dish about why they've kept this aspect of their personal lives a little less public than usual. "I think that I shared so much for so long, maybe too much, which is important," Fredrik explained. "But I feel like what's happening right now, I won't talk about for a little longer. But it's a good thing, I think. It feels really good, you know? It's so beautiful, and it's very private. I'll share it when the time is ready." Eklund continued, "We had multiple miscarriages, and the first one, I share that on the show. And then as that was airing, we had our second one... At the time, it was like, why am I doing this to me and Derek? But it's gonna all make sense soon." And makes sense it does! Congratulations, you two! (Eonline)
Evelyn Lozada and Carl Crawford Split and Call Off Engagement. It's over for Evelyn Lozada and Carl Crawford. The 41-year-old Basketball Wives star and 36-year-old former MLB player, who have been engaged for more than three years and share a 3-year-old son, broke up earlier this year. "They did break up but it was over infidelity back in February," Lozada's rep said in a statement to E! News Thursday, without elaborating. Crawford has not commented. Lozada and Crawford got engaged in December 2013. He proposed with a $1.4 million, 14.5 carat emerald-cut diamond ring. In March 2014, Lozada gave birth to their first child together and her second overall, son Carl Leo Crawford, who joined big sister Shaniece, the reality star's now-24-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. News of the split was first reported by Us Weekly. Lozada and Crawford had sparked breakup rumors recently by posting photos showing them taking separate trips. "Right now they are focused on being responsible and loving parents to their 3-year-old kid," Lozada's rep said, adding that they are living apart but "do remain friends." In 2015, Lozada announced on her OWN show Livin' Lozada that she had gotten pregnant again and suffered a miscarriage at six weeks. In December 2016, she said on The Real that she had had three miscarriages over the past year and a half and was struggling to have another baby. "I'm open to wanting another child and if it happens, that's great," she told E! News in 2015. "But I also have my family and I'm awfully grateful for that." (Eonline)
David Ayer -- the guy who wrote "Training Day," "S.W.A.T." and a bunch of other action thrillers and also directed "Suicide Squad" -- wants out of his 14-year marriage. David filed for divorce Wednesday in L.A., citing irreconcilable differences. He married Mireya on September 26, 2002 and lists the date of separation as July 29. There's a sign this one is amicable. David's lawyer, disso queen Laura Wasser, checked the box agreeing that her client would pay Mireya spousal support. They have 4 minor children -- 14, 12, 11 and 8. David is asking for joint custody. David -- who also wrote "The Fast and the Furious" and "End of Watch" -- will be writing a big check, because we've learned there was no prenup, and we're told he's made a bloody fortune. (TMZ)
Alex Rodriguez Confesses Jennifer Lopez Is a "Much Better Athlete Than Me" In the game of fitness, Alex Rodriguez may not want to face off against Jennifer Lopez. While he's one of the best players to grace the baseball field, the former New York Yankees infielder admits that his girlfriend knows how to break a sweat and work hard in and out of any gym. "We work out together all the time. She is a fitness enthusiast and she's a much better athlete than me," Alex shared with E! News exclusively at the UFC Gym grand opening in Kendall, Fla. "She's a former track star from junior high." As for where or how she trains, Alex knows that she'll be stopping at the UFC Gym sooner rather than later. "She'll be here. She goes to TruFusion," he shared. "She does all types of workouts which I don't try to keep up." After playing his final game of baseball in August of 2016, Alex has taken a new turn in his career as a baseball analyst and sports broadcaster. In addition, he recently signed on to contribute to Good Morning America as well as continue his work with Fox Sports and CNBC. Through all his work commitments and trips to the gym, Alex is also enjoying time with Jennifer. While fans may think the athlete has a jam-packed schedule, Jennifer isn't bored by any means. When asked to name something he's learned about his leading lady, Alex couldn't help but gush about her work ethic. "I think humility, work ethic, what an incredible daughter and mother she is and just a great team player," he gushed. "I've never seen anyone work and have the type of work ethic as she does." The couple that works hard together, stays together! (Eonline)
The engagement's off ... but if you think Evelyn Lozada is giving back that 14.5 carat diamond engagement ring she got from Carl Crawford you're out of your mind. The ex-MLB superstar -- who once signed a $142 MILLION contract -- proposed to the "Basketball Wives" star with the $1.4 million ring back in 2013. Evelyn obviously said, "Yes." The two were set to get married 3 weeks ago -- but Evelyn pulled the plug after getting suspicious about Carl's fidelity. Legally, Lozada is obligated to give the ring back -- since an engagement ring is considered a conditional gift in California, the condition being she has to get married. But sources close to Lozada tell us ... Crawford ain't getting it back, period. We're told she's planning on keeping the ring in a safe and passing it on to her kids one day. And at this point, she's not expecting Carl to put up a fight. Talk about a fabulous parting gift. (TMZ)
Justin Bieber rejected by gym beauty on Twitter. Justin Bieber seems like the lonely one. The "One Less Lonely Girl" crooner was rebuffed in an embarrassingly public Twitter display, after he desperately DM'd a gym's Instagram to try and get contact info for one of their pretty employees, Jessica Gober. The former child star -- seemingly turned internet creeper -- DM'd the Georgia gym where Gober works after seeing a snap of her on its Instagram page, reports Maxim. The baffled receptionist announced the weird come-on via Twitter. "Did this actually just happen... lmao Justin Bieber just messaged the gym that I work at and asked who I was hahahaha WTF," she tweeted. Gober also posted a screen-grab of the messages, which read: "Who is that girl," followed by a heart emoji. The fit blonde seemingly caught the 23-year-old's eye after her Savanna employer, Fitness on Broughton, posted a Boomerang on the social media platform that showed her posing with an energy drink. Unfortunately for the "Love Yourself" singer, Gober then tweeted out a photo collage of pictures of her snuggling up to her boyfriend. "I've got everything I need right here," she captioned the Tweet. Incredibly, this isn't the first woman Bieber has sought over Instagram. In Dec. 2015, The "Never Say Never" star shared a snap of a young beauty -- asking his followers "Omg who is this!!" She was later identified as Dutch-born Cindy Kimberly, 17, and signed with a modeling agency two months later. (PageSix)
Usher says there's no way he went to a Days Inn to hook up with the woman suing him ... because he was too busy falling in love with the woman who's now his wife. Sources close to the singer tell TMZ ... he says there was never a hotel hookup with Quantasia Sharpton, telling friends, in November 2014 he was on the verge of getting engaged to Grace Miguel. Usher tells them at the time of his alleged encounter, Grace was his manager and they spent ALL their free time together. His people say when the two weren't enjoying free time, it was all business, and they were inseparable. The couple got engaged less than 2 months after the alleged Days Inn tryst. Usher's people also say on the night in question his show ran late, which pushed the meet-and-greet well after midnight ... and that flies in the face with Quantasia's timeline in which she claims she hooked up with the singer around 12. We're told his travel schedule was super tight too ... making it even more unlikely he even had time to step out for a secret trip to the Days Inn. (TMZ)
Judge Throws Out DJ's Case Against Taylor Swift in Ongoing Groping Trial. Taylor Swift just earned a major legal victory in her ongoing sexual assault trial against Colorado DJ David Mueller. A federal judge dismissed Muller's claim against Swift on Friday, claiming he couldn't prove the pop star ruined his career over allegations that he groped her during a 2013 meet-and-greet, E! News can confirm. The judge cited lack of evidence and witness testimony. As a result, Swift will not be held liable for his subsequent firing from KYGO radio station. Mueller was seeking up to $3 million in damages. Additionally, four of the five claims made by Mueller against Frank Bell, her radio liaison, and mom Andrea Swift were dismissed. Andrea and Frank remain defendants in his first suit alleging tortious interference with prospective business relations. This, as well as the pop star's sexual assault and battery countersuit, will move ahead to jury deliberation next Monday. Both parties will receive 60 minutes for closing statements, as well as an opening statement and rebuttal. Swift is seeking $1 in damages. Her legal team filed a motion earlier to throw out Mueller's case entirely without jury deliberation, citing insufficient evidence. The Grammy winner took the stand on Thursday, delivering a graphic testimony of what happened when Mueller and his girlfriend at the time, Shannon Melcher, were brought backstage to take a photograph with Swift at Denver's Pepsi Center. "It was a definite grab. A very long grab," she recalled to Mueller's attorney, Gabriel McFarland. When asked "how long" the alleged incident occurred, Swift replied, "I don't think it would be wise to estimate time in court, but I know it was long enough for me to be completely sure that it was intentional." McFarland asked further questions about the incident, including whether his client had grabbed her "bare bottom." "Yes," she answered. "He stayed latched on to my bare ass cheek... I felt him grab onto my ass cheek underneath my skirt. The first couple of milliseconds I thought it must be a mistake, so I moved to the side very quickly so that his side would be removed from my ass cheek, but it didn't let go." As for her immediate reaction, Taylor further testified, "It was a very shocking thing that has never happened to me before. This was not something I had ever dealt with. I got as far away from him as I possibly could." On Wednesday, Swift's mother, who was there at the Red tour meet-and-greet broke down in tears as she remembered her daughter sharing the information. "I was upset to the point where I wanted to vomit and cry at the same time," Andrea said, adding, "We felt it was imperative to let his employers know what happened." Two days later, Robert Call, a vice president at KYGO, made the decision to fire Mueller. While taking the stand, he reportedly said he weighed several factors in the firing, including the gap between Mueller and Swift in the photo, his conversation with Frank Bell, whose allegations aligned with Swift's, and Mueller's own account of the encounter, which allegedly changed. Most recently, Swift's former bodyguard Greg Dent shared his side of the story earlier. "His hand went under her skirt," he said. "I did not see his hand touch her physically; I saw his hand under her skirt. She reacted, pushed her skirt down and moved over closer to [Mueller's girlfriend]. So in my opinion, I knew he touched her." As for why Dent didn't step in when he sensed something was wrong, he explained, "Because [Swift] stayed there to finish the meet-and-greet. She continued with the photo. So no, I didn't go and jump in in front of the photo...my focus was on her. I looked at her to see if she was looking at me and wanted me to move in and she proceeded with the picture." Swift has not commented publicly on the ruling. (Eonline)
Tennis superstar Victoria Azerenka is furious a judge has given her a real-life Sophie's choice -- tennis or her kid -- that is making her drop out the US open. The former #1 player in the world is locked in a nasty dispute with Billy McKeague -- the father of her 8-month-old son, Leo. The two split back in July. Here's the problem ... McKeague filed custody papers in L.A. (where Victoria has a home) and the case has gone to a judge who told Azerenka she's not allowed to take the child out of California while the custody trial rages ... and it's not going to end until October at the earliest. The dilemma -- the US Open kicks off August 28 in New York. Victoria will not leave her child -- whom she's been breastfeeding until a month ago -- with McKeague because she doesn't believe he's capable of caring for the kid. Her attorney, "Disso Queen" Laura Wasser, told the judge her client is more than willing to buy a plane ticket for McKeague and put him up in a hotel for the 2-week tournament, but the judge said no. Wasser also told the judge her client already has a valid custody order from Belarus, the country where Victoria, Leo and Billy are all residents, so it should be game, set, match. But for some reason the judge won't defer to the Belarus court. (TMZ)
YG refused to follow orders and get out of his car during a traffic stop because he was afraid cops would do bad things to him. Law enforcement sources tell us ... the rapper was cruising Wednesday night in his Mercedes-Maybach in Burbank when cops noticed dark tinted windows. We're told they asked YG for his driver's license and registration ... and that's when things went awry. We're told YG replied with a simple "no." He was asked to get out of the car -- and same answer, "no." He told cops he just didn't trust them. The standoff continued with YG saying he was afraid police would hurt him if he exited the vehicle. A bunch of patrol cars raced to the scene for backup and YG eventually got out. He had no ID and played the "do you know who I am" card. YG was cited for having no ID, tinted windows and no license plates. We've reached out to the rapper, so far no word back. (TMZ)
THE OTHER STUFF . . .
Bruno Mars Donates $1 Million to Aid Victims of Flint Water Crisis. Bruno Mars is spreading some of his 24K magic to help people who are in need. During a stop on his sold-out 24K Magic World Tour, the powerhouse singer surprised the audience at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, when he announced that he would be donating a whopping $1 million from the show to provide aid to the victims of the Flint water crisis. The "Versace on the Floor" singer wowed the crowd when he briefly stopped the show to make the big announcement. "I'm very thankful to the Michigan audience for joining me in supporting this cause," Mars said in a statement. "Ongoing challenges remain years later for Flint residents, and it's important that we don't forget our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster. As people, especially as Americans, we need to stand together to make sure something like this never happens in any community ever again," continued the singer. From the show tonight, Mars and Live Nation have redirected funds to The Community Foundation of Greater Flint. The Community Foundation of Greater Flint is currently addressing the multitude of issues facing the city after the water crisis and resulting disaster from the effects of the population's exposure to lead. Mars kicked off the North American leg of his tour, which consists of 85 dates, in Las Vegas on July 15th. After his North American tour, the 31-year-old will then hit Europe for three months. (Eonline)
Chris Pratt is sticking to what he knows in the fallout of his separation from estranged wife Anna Faris ... and that involves family and faith. Chris was out Sunday taking his 4-year-old son, Jack, to Church in L.A. -- with Anna nowhere in sight. It appears to be the first time he's been seen public since his split from Anna last weekend ... when the ex-couple announced they were separating on social media. We broke the story ... Chris and Anna are parting ways because of differences in their vision on family and work -- she wants to have more kids and to settle down in L.A., while Chris doesn't want to do either considering his movie career is just now taking off. Still ... Chris seems to be trying to keep things normal between he and his boy. As normal as they can be without mom, anyway. (TMZ)
Ryan Seacrest signs multi-year deal with ABC Studios. Ryan Seacrest is expanding his relationship with ABC in a big way. His Ryan Seacrest Productions has signed a multi-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the pact, RSP's scripted division will develop scripted projects exclusively for ABC Studios at all TV networks and platforms, including broadcast, basic and premium cable and on-demand services. Nina Wass, president of RSP's Scripted Programming, extended her deal to lead the division, as did EVP Andrea Shay. "Under Nina's leadership, our scripted team has achieved great success," said Seacrest. "Her creativity, hard work and key talent relationships have helped us achieve an impressive slate in a short period of time. We've all worked with ABC Studios in the past, and we hope our partnership will serve to further our collective success. It's an honor for us to now call ABC Studios home for our scripted division." Said Wass: "I've worked with Patrick Moran and his team on many shows over the years, and it's wonderful to be returning to the studio, said I can't wait to get started on creating new series together again." Said ABC Studios president Patrick Moran: "Nina and RSP are tremendous assets to our studio. Her taste, contacts and abilities are the best in the industry, and we're thrilled to be back in business with her and with Ryan Seacrest Productions," The deal comes on the heels of Seacrest joining Kelly Ripa as co-host and fellow executive producer on the Disney|ABC syndicated entertainment TV talk show renamed "Live with Kelly & Ryan." ABC/Fremantle also recently announced that Seacrest will join "American Idol" for its first season on the network. Seacrest also is host and executive producer of ABC's annual program "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest." Wass was responsible for launching RSP's foray into scripted programming in 2012, as well as managing its ongoing creative development and production slates. RSP produces NBC's "Shades of Blue," alongside Seacrest, Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina and Jack Orman, and recently received a series order from Netflix for Lauren Gussis' dark comedy "Insatiable." Prior to joining RSP, Wass served as SVP Creative Affairs at the Oprah Winfrey Network. Before that, Wass, along with partner Gene Stein, had a multiyear deal with Touchstone Television/ABC Studios, where she produced a variety of comedy, drama and animation projects. Veteran TV producer Shay joined Ryan Seacrest Prods in 2015 as a senior executive in development and production for the scripted team. Prior to joining RSP, Shay was head of comedy development at The Mark Gordon Company. She also served as VP comedy development at Regency Television and director of current programming at Fox. Ryan Seacrest Prods' scripted division previously had an overall deal at CBS TV Studios. (PageSix)
Lauren Conrad Selling L.A. Home for $4.5 Million While Retaining Laguna Beach Property. It looks like Lauren Conrad has had enough of L.A. Conrad and her husband William Tell's 4,300-square-foot, six-bedroom and five-bathroom home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood was put on the market Thursday with an asking price of $4.495 million. According to real estate records, it appears to be the final L.A. home belonging to the fashion designer and former star of The Hills, who recently welcomed her first child, son Liam. She bought the property in 2013 for $3.65 million. Flipping Out star and interior designer Jeff Lewis had renovated it for a previous owner, Variety reported. The house is gated and sits on almost 12,000 square feet of land and contains a huge backyard and patio but no pool. It also has a massive kitchen with white wood cabinets and white stone countertops, a double stainless steel oven. The property has dark hardwood floors, French doors and a wood-burning fireplace. Conrad and her husband currently own two beachfront homes in her native Laguna Beach, CA. One is a 3-bedroom house she bought in 2009 for $2 million. She tried to sell it in early 2014, months before she wed Tell, but then took it off the market. It is currently worth around $3 million. Around the same time of the canceled sale, Conrad bought a 3-bedroom house on the same street for $8.5 million. Conrad had recently sold a 5-bedroom home in the posh Los Angeles coastal community of Pacific Palisades. She bought the property in 2015 for a $4.4 million and sold it this past May for $4.75 million. In 2016, she sold a newly renovated 2-bedroom Beverly Hills penthouse condo for $2.8 million -- more than double the $1.35 million she paid in 2012. In 2011, during the housing crisis, Conrad sold the Spanish-style 3-bedroom Hollywood house she lived in on The Hills for an even $2 million -- a loss; She had purchased the property in 2008 for $2.36 million, renovated it and rented it out for a couple of years. The house had become a tourist attraction due to her and her show's popularity and paparazzi were also often spotted lurking around it. "You can hear the tour guides like, 'Just yesterday, we saw Lauren Conrad pulling into her driveway and she stopped to get the mail,'" Conrad told E! News at the time. "And Lo [Lauren Bosworth] was walking down the street one day and they were like, 'Here on the left we have a celebrity dog walker walking Chloe.' They knew my dog's name and Lo was like, 'They just called me a celebrity dog walker!' " Conrad also said at the time she "would love to return to Orange County," adding, "L.A. is a really young city and it's great for now, but eventually I'm going to want to settle down a little bit." (Eonline)
The fiery aftermath of the police helicopter crash in Charlottesville, VA was captured on video obtained by TMZ. The chopper exploded in a ball of flames in a residential neighborhood Saturday afternoon. The person who shot the video lives across the street from where the helicopter crashed. He tells TMZ, he heard a loud noise coming from the helicopter and felt it was hovering too low. The man saw the chopper "spinning around violently in the air" and suddenly a piece of the tail broke off and it flipped upside down and nosedived in the ground. The chopper was monitoring the white nationalist rally taking place Saturday ... although it's unclear at this point what exactly caused it to go down. Two officers died in the crash. (TMZ)
Music
Houston Rockets legend Kenny Smith believes the chances of Beyonce becoming a part owner of the team are "very good" -- and would immediately "change the whole dynamic of sports." The singer is reportedly interested in buying a stake of the NBA team -- with current owner Les Alexander recently announcing he's looking to sell. Smith -- who won 2 NBA Championships with the Rockets -- is still close with the team and even had a "date" with management last year about possibly being the head coach. So, we hit up Smith for the 411 -- and it's obvious, he's all about getting Beyonce into that owners' box. "I would love to see that," Kenny tells TMZ Sports ... "That would be something I look at my daughters and say, 'Look, see you don't have to be a part of the team. Own the team!" (TMZ)
Fifth Harmony Surprises Fans With New Music Video "Angel." Attention Harmonizers! Fifth Harmony just dropped the official music video for their new song "Angel" and we are even more "down" for this one. Just a day after releasing the track, the girl group unexpectedly revealed the music video Friday morning. Needless to say, the ladies are excited. "Yassssssss," member Normani Kordei tweeted after the official release of the new visual. Directed by David Camarena, the video features members Kordei, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and Ally Brooke in an entirely new light. With flashing images and dark, neon lighting, the ladies are bringing hip-hop influences to this "Who said I was an angel?" hit. This will be their second track off their third studio album, following "Down" which was the first song they released since Camila Cabello left the group. Cabello left the five person group in December 2016 to start a solo career. This will be a new chapter for the four fierce ladies, telling Billboard, "the fans...are our fifth member." Fifth Harmony's new album is expected to debut August 25. (Eonline)
Live Nation put on a huge music festival knowing it would become a drug-fueled rave -- caring more about money than attendee safety -- and now a 22-year-old girl is dead because of it ... according to a new suit. The parents of Roxanne Ngo, who died after consuming the drug "Molly" at Hard Fest 2016 in Fontana, CA, claim the events company ignored the fact that festivalgoers do drugs ... and that drugs cause serious injury or death due to dehydration, especially outdoors in the summer heat. According to the docs ... after Roxanne took Molly, she got dehydrated because Live Nation failed to provide enough water outlets. She showed clear signs of dehydration before collapsing. Ngo's parents claim EMTs were delayed more than an hour because of the crowd crush and the fact that there were only 4 medical stations for over 147,000 concertgoers. They say their daughter went into full cardiac arrest while waiting for treatment. She was pronounced dead the next day at the hospital. Live Nation also failed to provide enough cops to curb drug usage, and ignored the history of drug-related deaths at their concerts, all because it would stand in the way of the almighty buck ... according to the suit. Live Nation tells TMZ it does not comment on ongoing litigation. (TMZ)
Drag-On -- one of the original members of the Ruff Ryders label -- had a rough time at an outdoor concert ... ending up in the ER. The rapper was performing in Atlantic City late last week, went into the crowd -- which is where the video starts -- and complained he was short of breath because he had been smokin' weed. He composed himself and attempted to rap ... but it was a struggle. Drag-On tried making it back on the stage but fell to the ground ... medics had to come to his aid and he left in an emergency vehicle and went to the ER. We reached out to Drag-On, who tells us he was just dehydrated after a long night working in the studio and got light-headed during the show. He says doctors gave him fluids ... now he's fine. (TMZ)
Movies
Tom Cruise was injured during a building-jumping stunt on the set of "Mission Impossible 6." The 55-year-old actor was in London Sunday when he attempted to leap from a rigging onto a building but he fell short of the mark and hit the building pretty hard. You see Cruise try to limp away and then collapse. He then limps back to the edge of the building and is pulled away by crew members on the safety team. We don't know the extent of his injuries. (TMZ)
Vin Diesel Announces Fast & Furious Live Tour. Fast & Furious is hitting the road. Star Vin Diesel announced on Facebook Live this week an international tour of arena stunt shows based on the hit franchise, in which he plays main character Dom Toretto. "As you know, my work with Fast & Furious never ends, which I'm grateful for because of you all," he said, wearing a mechanic's work shirt with his character's name on it "So now, I am in New York, believe it or not, and we are filming something that is going to be pretty state-of-the-art, something no one's ever seen before, which is a live show, which will be, I think it's first gonna be a show at the O2 Arena in London that's gonna go all over the world and we're really excited about it. But it'll be a way for you to kind of see the action firsthand." "I'm in the middle of shooting it right now," he added. "It's amazing how many studios there are in New York City now." Part of the most recently released Fast & Furious film, The Fate of the Furious, movie No. 8, takes place in the city. A website for the new Fast & Furious Live tour has already been set up. "Using the most advanced technology and your favorite cars from the series, Fast & Furious Live will faithfully evoke the most outrageous moments from the beloved series," it states. "Recreating the underground streets of Los Angeles to locations that criss-cross the globe, Fast & Furious Live lets you relive the most extreme action as our precision performance drivers execute pulse-pounding stunts surrounded by blockbuster set design, authentic digital projections and state-of-the-art physical obstacles." "You'll feel the heat from flaming, nitrous charged exhausts, marvel at mind-blowing vehicular acrobatics and wonder 'how'd they do that' as scene after scene unfolds with the most immersive, entertaining technology imaginable," it says. "Get up close to everything you love from the explosive saga in a cutting-edge live experience that makes you part of the Fast & Furious family in a way never before possible. Real Action. Real Fast! The global tour hits the road January 2018." (Eonline)
TV
Orphan Black Series Finale: A Sweet and Occasionally Bloody Goodbye. After five seasons of often hair-raising insanity, it's kind of nice that Orphan Black ended in such peace. While the first half of the BBC America drama featured brutal murders and a lot of blood, the second half was surprisingly calm. Serene, even. All of the clones we know seem to have found a nice neolution-free life, and all the clones we don't know will soon be vaccinated against that disease that kills clones. All is well in clone world, but of course it took some serious strife to get there. The finale picked up where the last episode left off, with Helena's water breaking just as she and Sarah were trying to escape from Coady and the dying Westmoreland. Coady eventually tracked Helena down, alone on the basement floor, and while Coady tried to help with the delivery, Helena grabbed a screwdriver and rammed it into her throat. Elsewhere, Sarah ran into Westmoreland, and despite his dilapidated state, he tried to physically fight her. She ended up smashing his face in with an oxygen tank, which was fun. She and Art then helped Helena deliver her twin boys, all while Sarah flashed back to Mrs. S helping to deliver Kira, just because we weren't emotional enough already. Cut to Helena living in Donnie and Allison's guest house with her two babies, who had been temporarily named Purple and Orange. (Though we wouldn't put it past Helena to permanently name them that.) Donnie and Boho Allison hosted a big party for the babies, where all the clones and all the kids gathered for food and games and bothering Sarah about how her GED test went. It didn't actually go anywhere because she skipped it, but she wasn't about to tell anyone that. She finally did lay everything out on the table about not knowing where to go or what to do, whether she was a good mother or not, and wanting to sell her house because Mrs. S. died in it (understandable), and her sisters all spilled on their worries and failures too. Meanwhile, Felix met up with a sad friend named Rachel, who arrived in an Uber to deliver something to him: a list of names and contact info of every single Leda clone in the world, so Cosima and Delphine can track them down. When we last saw all the clones, that's exactly what Cosima and Delphine were doing -- traveling the world giving vaccinations. Allison had taken up keyboarding and was being treated to a strip tease from Donnie, Sarah was still living in her house and taking Kira and Felix to the beach, and Helena not only wrote a memoir called Orphan Black, but she finally decided to name her babies after "real men:" Arthur and Donnie. It was a relatively simple ending, but it was also one that felt deserved after everything these sisters have been through over the past five seasons, and everything that Tatiana Maslany has been through over these past five seasons, playing 3,000 characters. Hopefully she has taken many naps since filming wrapped. And now, for the last time: We're really going to miss Sarah (Tatiana Maslany), Helena (Tatiana Maslany), Allison (Tatiana Maslany), Cosima (Tatiana Maslany), Rachel (Tatiana Maslany), Crystal (Tatiana Maslany), M.K. (Tatiana Maslany), Beth (Tatiana Maslany), Camilla (Tatiana Maslany) and all the other ones (Tatiana Maslany). (Eonline)
Brooke Shields Joins Law & Order: SVU in a Role That Will Shake Up Benson's World. Olivia Benson's world is about to get turned on its head thanks to a very famous face. E! News has confirmed Brooke Shields will recur on season 19 of Law & Order: SVU in a role that will shake up Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) world. No other details have been announced about the role, but we can wildly speculate right now. Will she be Benson's new lover? Viewers saw the character break up with Tucker (Robert John Burke) during season 18 and she doesn't exactly have the greatest track record with men, maybe this is why... Could she be somehow related to Noah, Benson's adopted son? Or is she Benson's new boss? A new member of the SVU squad? Benson had a brother she wasn't exactly aware of, what if there's a sister? Could she be the new villain a la Pablo Schreiber's William Lewis? "I play a very different character from any I have ever played," Shields said in a statement. "I'm excited to stir the SVU pot a bit." The Hollywood Reporter originally broke the news of Shield's casting. Her other credits include Suddenly Susan, The Blue Lagoon and the upcoming Daisy Winters. Season 19 will also see Philip Winchester move over from Chicago Justice. He'll be playing the same character, Peter Stone, the son of Law & Order's Benjamin Stone (Michael Moriarty). Expect to see him midway through the season on SVU where he'll be an ADA in New York. Law & Order: SVU's new showrunner is Chicago Justice's Michael Chernuchin. Law & Order SVU airs Wednesdays, 9 p.m. on NBC. Season 19 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 27. (Eonline)
Daphne Oz Is Leaving The Chew After Six Seasons. Daphne Oz is parting ways with The Chew. The co-host announced her exit from the ABC daytime talk show on social media Friday, releasing a heartfelt statement about the six seasons she spent with The Chew. "It has been an incredible 6 seasons with the @abcthechew crew, and I am honored to always be a part of this wild family of 5! thank you for being the BEST audience, and for spending your lunch time with me," Daphne captioned a group photo with fellow hosts Carla Hall, Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly. Daphne, who is the daughter of famed TV personality Dr. Oz, joined The Chew in its first season back in 2011. She was known for bringing a healthy-living perspective to the show, as well as recipe ideas from her cookbooks including The Dorm Room Diet and The Happy Cook. It's currently unclear what led to Daphne's departure, but she is expecting her third child with husband John Jovanovic in the near future. A spokesperson for The Chew told TV Line , who was first to report the news, there are currently no plans in place to replace Oz. "She is one of the greatest natural broadcasters I have ever worked with," The Chew's creator and executive producer Gordon Elliott told the outlet in a statement. "The moment she sat at the table with Mario, Clinton, Michael and Carla, I knew we had a great television show. Her chemistry, honesty and intelligence are her trademarks, and they will stand with her wherever she goes." Oz is also currently a judge on Food Network's Cooks vs. Cons. Are you sad to see Daphne go? (Eonline)
Anna Paquin Was Amused Her True Blood Sex Scene Was Accidentally Shown on BBC Newscast. The mystery of Boobgate has been solved! As you scrolled bleary-eyed down your Facebook feed this week, avoiding posts about impending nuclear winter and various mindless memes from relatives you thought you'd hidden, you may have read a headline about footage of a topless woman being screened accidentally on a TV in the background during a BBC newscast in the U.K. Popular nude scene online archivist Mr. Skin identified the video as a sex scene from True Blood, featuring main star Anna Paquin. "MY BREASTS!! SO FUNNY ON SO MANY LEVELS," she tweeted Friday. "Now that I know what u guys were talking about...this some of the funniest s--t I've seen in a while!!! Thanks for the giggle! #FreeTheNipple." Stephen Moyer, her real-life husband and former co-star and onscreen love interest (who does not appear in the scene), retweeted her. "Ya know you've made when.... your t-ts photo bomb the news at 10," she continued. And the jokes continued. "Good question for @BBCNews and @HBO does #photoboobing count as "syndication"?" she asked. (Eonline)
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