Celebrity Scoop – 12/16/2019
TAYLOR SWIFT WINS BILLBOARD AWARD, TAKES AIM AT SCOOTER BRAUN; HEADLINING GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY – (12/16/2019)
Taylor Swift was honored with the Woman of the Decade Award at Billboard’s Women in Music 2019 event at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Swift delivered a lengthy speech that touched on her career, sexism in the music industry, struggles she has endured due to being a woman, and how Scooter Braun has acquired her music catalog from her former label Big Machine Records:
[“I saw that as a female in this industry some people will always have slight reservations about you. Whether you deserve to be there, whether your male producer or co-writer is the reason for your success or whether it was a savvy record label. It wasn’t. I saw that people love to explain away a woman’s success in the music industry and I saw something in me change due to this realization. This was the decade when I became a mirror from my detractors. Whatever they decided I couldn’t do, is exactly what I did.”]
The singer then launched into how Braun’s Ithaca Holdings was unfairly able to purchase her catalogue without her approval, consultation or consent after she was denied the right to purchase the catalogue herself.
[“Scooter never contacted me or my team to discuss it prior to the sale or even when it was announced. I’m fairly certain he knew exactly how I would feel about it though and let me just say that the definition of the toxic male privilege in our industry is people saying, ‘but he’s always been nice to me,’ when I’m raising valid concerns about artists and their rights to own their music. And of course he’s nice to you – if you’re in this room, you have something he needs. The fact is that private equity is what enabled this man to think according to his own social media post that he could buy me, but I’m obviously not going willingly.”]
Swift ended her speech on a note that summed up her decade:
[“Lately I’ve been focusing less on doing what they say I can’t do and more on doing whatever the hell I want. Thank you for a magnificent, happy, free, confused, sometimes lonely, but mostly golden decade.”]
Nicki Minaj was also on hand to honor late rapper Juice WRLD following his death as she accepted the Game-Changer Award. “I felt like he was a kindred spirit,” she said.
Meanwhile, Taylor has announced that she will be headlining the 2020 Glastonbury Festival on June 28, 2020. “I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ll be headlining Glastonbury on its 50th anniversary – See you there! 💋,” she shared on social media with a selfie.
“From Christmas Tree Farm to Worthy Farm,” the newspaper in the photo reads. “Sunday night Taylor made for Glastonbury!”
The 50th anniversary of the Glastonbury Festival will take place from June 24-28, 2020, at Worthy Farm in England. Paul McCartney will also headline the annual event on June 27th.
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Full Story: Billboard
CHUY BRAVO DEAD AT 63: Chuy Bravo, Chelsea Handler’s sidekick on her E! show Chelsea Lately died at 63 in Mexico City. The star died suddenly after being hospitalized with stomach pain. Handler posted a tribute to him on social media, writing: “I loved this nugget in a big way, and I took great pleasure in how many people loved him as much as I did and do. Chuy Bravo gave us so much laughter and I’ll never forget the sound of his laughter coming from his office into mine.” (Page Six)
PATTERN? GABRIELLE UNION REACTS TO FIRING OF ORLANDO JONES – (12/16/2019)
Please note the following story contains language that could be considered offensive.
Gabrielle Union is reaching out to Orlando Jones, who has reportedly been fired by the same production company who ousted her for questionable reasons. Union, of course, was let go from NBC’s America’s Got Talent, allegedly for objecting to racist jokes and being told her hairstyle was “too black.”
Jones was reportedly fired from the third season of American Gods, also produced by AGT’s producer Fremantle. The 51-year-old posted a message on Twitter slamming AG showrunner Charles Eglee, saying he was booted from the Starz series September 10th.
According to Jones: “There will be no more Mr. Nancy. Don’t let these motherf—ers tell you they love Mr. Nancy. They don’t. I’m not going to name names but the new season three showrunner is Connecticut-born and Yale-educated, so he’s very smart and he thinks that Mr. Nancy’s angry, get s— done is the wrong message for black America.”
A rep for Eglee responded, saying he was not from Connecticut, but they didn’t disput any of the other allegations.
Fremantle responded in a statement, saying: “The storylines of American Gods have continually shifted and evolved to reflect the complex mythology of the source material. Mr. Jones’ option was not picked up because Mr. Nancy, among other characters, is not featured in the portion of the book we are focusing on within season three. Several new characters, many of which have already been announced, will be introduced into Shadow Moon’s world that will further contribute to the show’s legacy as one of the most diverse series on television.”
Jones wrote that Fremantle is “a nightmare.” He continued: “They treated you like a 2nd class citizen for doing your job [too] well,” tagging Union, as well as former America’s Got Talent judges and hosts Nick Cannon, Mel B and Heidi Klum.
Union responded, writing, “Ohhhhhhhh let’s chat my friend. #StrongerTogether.”
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Read the Full Story: https://bit.ly/2RTVrtC
JOHN TRAVOLTA AND OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN GREASE UP: More than 40 years after Grease dropped, stars John Travolta, 65, and Olivia Newton-John, 71, reunited as Danny and Sandy at West Palm Beach’s Coral Sky Ampitheater for a sing along Friday. First she donned a yellow cardigan and matching skirt a la “good girl” Sandy, then ditched them for a leather jacket and black leggings, like the ones she wore in the Grease finale. The pair also held a Q&A.
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