Celebrity Scoop – 09/26/2018

NICKI MINAJ DONATES $25K TO ‘COSBY SHOW’ ACTOR GEOFFREY OWENS – (09/26/2018)

Nicki Minaj made good on her promise to donate $25,000 to former ‘Cosby Show’ actor, Geoffrey Owens. According to TMZ, Nicki’s team reached out to the actor and sent him a check after vowing to give him $25,000 on her Queen Radio show. Nicki’s gesture was in response to someone trying to shame Owens by posting a photo of him working at Trader Joe’s. 

Owens, however, decided to pay it forward. According to Rap-Up, he donated all of the money to the Actor’s Fund, in memory of his late ‘Cosby Show’ co-star, Earle Hyman, who played Bill Cosby’s father, Russell Huxtable. Owens said, “I would like to give this donation of 25k to the Actor’s Fund in memory of the late, great Earle Hyman—who played Cosby’s father, Russell, on ‘The Cosby Show’—who lived his last many years and died at the Actors’ Home, (funded and run by the Actor’s Fund). I am extremely grateful to Nicki Minaj for enabling struggling actors to continue pursuing their dreams.” 

Nicki commended Owens’ donation and said, “I’m happy to be a part of a great cause. I wish Geoffrey much success and want him to know how loved he is. Rest in Peace to Earle Hyman.”

Following the photo of Owens going viral, he has received a number of job offers, including a 10-episode gig on Tyler Perry’s OWN hit show, The Haves and the Have Nots.

MARIAH CAREY, HALSEY, KHALID AND MORE ADDED TO AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS LINEUP: The American Music Awards has announced another group of performers. Halsey, Khalid and producer Benny Blanco will team up for their first-ever live performance of their hit “Eastside,” which reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. In addition, Mariah Carey will take the stage to debut her new single, “With You.” This will be Mariah’s first time on the AMA stage since 2008. Her first-ever performance on the telecast was in 1991. They join previously announced performers Imagine Dragons, Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Carrie Underwood, with more stars to be announced in the coming weeks. Tracee Ellis Ross is set to host the show again this year, which will air on October 9th on ABC.

WILL SMITH JUMPS INTO THE GRAND CANYON: Will Smith accepted a challenge from YouTube star Yes Theory to do a helibungee jump. Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds. Smith jumped out of a helicopter, but instead of doing it just anywhere, Smith did it into the Grand Canyon and used to platform to raise funds for  for education charity Global Citizen. Smith took the plunge Tuesday on his 50thbirthday.

‘THIS IS US’ STARS GET MEGA-RAISES – (09/26/2018)

The five main stars of This Is Us are getting hefty raises ahead of the NBC drama’s Season 3 return. This Is Us is currently the network’s No. 1 drama. 

Stars Milo Ventimiglia (Jack), Mandy Moore (Rebecca), Sterling K. Brown (Randall), Chrissy Metz (Kate) and Justin Hartley (Kevin) will see their per-episode salary jump to $250,000 per episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Season 3, which returned last night, consisted of 18 episodes, bringing their total haul to $4.5 million this season.

The stars didn’t start out with level playing fields. Ventimiglia, for example, made $115,000 per episode, while Hartley earned $75,000 and Metz earned $40,000. Metz had just $0.81 in her bank account when she booked the show, making this coup especially notable for her. 

The family drama, created by Dan Fogelman, averaged a 5.4 rating in the coveted 18-49 demo seven days later; that’s nearly double NBC’s No. 2 scripted series, Will & Grace. 

FAST FACTS:

  • This Is Us has won two straight Emmy nominations and has landed stars Ventimiglia and Brown two wins, as well as a supporting actress nom for Metz. 
  • Salary negotiations are common on popular shows. The seven stars of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory trump them all, with $900,000 per episode plus points on the hit’s back end. The stars of Netflix’s Stranger Things are sitting pretty too, and will now earn up to $350,000 per episode.