Aunt Becky is headed to jail. Actress Lori Loughlin spent years on the family sitcom Full House and various TV movies and shows. Then the college admission cheating scandal came to light. Loughlin was one of dozens of parents the feds busted. Allegations for some of the accused parents ranged from out and out bribes to administrators to faking SAT test scores and doctored sports history resumes. Actress Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives; When They See Us) pleaded guilty back in May after she was charged with paying out a $15,000 bribe to get her daughter into college. Huffman served 14 days in prison and 11 days at a federal facility. Loughlin and her husband, Fashion Designer Mossimo Giannulli, were both charged and, unlike Huffman, both turned down deals with prosecutors early on. The prosecutors then added more charges and the pressure was on. A judge still needs to accept the agreement, but Loughlin and Giannulli both submitted court papers pleading guilty. Reportedly, the deal will see Loughlin spend two months in prison, 100 hours of community service and a $150,000 fine. Mossimo would receive five months, a $250,000 fine and 250 of community service for his alleged more active role. Quite a difference a year makes because the couple was ready to fight and was filing court papers on prosecution problems they felt influenced the case, but now a turnaround. As a result of the scandal, the Netflix removed Loughlin from the Full House reboot Fuller House, Hallmark dropped her TV series When Calls The Heart and Hewlett-Packard dropped her and one of her daughters from their advertising campaign. The COVID-19 court backlog is part of the delay in a judge reviewing the agreement, which at press time, could still be refused.
Comedian George Lopez is coming to Netflix in June. It’s his first special for the streaming network. We’ll Do It For Half will cover everything from politics and race to gender reveal parties and life lessons to be learned from the Latino community. Perfect timing for Lopez because ordinarily in June, he’d be hosting the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, and has been doing it since he took over from Bill Cosby in 2013. The June 6th festival was cancelled amid the COVID-19 outbreak. So now you can catch Lopez on Netflix when We’ll Do It For Half begins streaming Tuesday, June 30th.
Kerry Washington (Scandal) and Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us) teaming up? Yes. Remember the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie film Mr. & Mrs. Smith where the two played professional assassins who happened to be married to each other in the 2005 spy/espionage thriller? Well now Washington and Brown are taking their shot at that genre. Their version is called Shadow Force. I’m hearing it’s going to be lots of action.
Kevin Hart is getting in the motivation field with The Decision. The Decision is a five hour audio book where the Philly born comedian/actor is putting on his life coach hat. You know what I love about “My Nephew?” He’s transparent and he learns from the past because nobody’s perfect. He opened up about the car crash that nearly killed him. The vertebrae in his back are metal because of the damage. Because he was so physically fit to begin with, that saved him. Hart refused pain pills because of his dad’s addiction problems. Hart chose to just go through the pain. Incredible! Hart’s audio book, The Decision, is out now.
Did the late Queen Of Soul Aretha Franklin get love advice from Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds? She sure did. Songwriters get the best scoop!!! Babyface tells a story that the Queen wanted his advice since he appears to be so knowing in the ways of love from his songs. Franklin was seeing a man who was giving her mixed signals and asked Babyface’s opinion. The songwriter/producer advised The Queen to back away because that was a sign the man wasn’t ready to be serious. Sometime goes by, Franklin and the mystery man hook up again and Franklin comes back to Babyface and tells him he was right. The mystery man wasn’t serious. Take it from me, your Auntie, and Babyface too, if someone’s giving you mixed signals, they aren’t serious. Don’t pursue it!
Tonight Show Host Jimmy Fallon has apologized for a blackface skit that has some folks calling for him to be cancelled. First, Fallon has been doing The Tonight Show from home because of the New York shutdown from the coronavirus. But an old Saturday Night Live sketch from 2000 emerged where Fallon did an impression of Chris Rock appearing with Regis Philbin. Regis was played by Darrell Hammond. The problem is Fallon did his impression in blackface. As of press time, Rock hasn’t commented on this. Fallon has issued an apology, but not before the hashtag Jimmy Fallon Is Over Party began trending on social media. Fallon says he made a terrible mistake and there’s no excuse. He also thanked people for holding him accountable. Fallon has hosted NBC’s Tonight Show since 2014 when he took over from Jay Leno. NBC cancelled Megyn Kelly’s hour of The Today Show after her controversial comments on blackface. How will the same network handle the Jimmy Fallon controversy?
Actress/Producer Tracee Ellis Ross is on a roll. Though she’s the daughter of the legendary Diana Ross, Tracee is making it on her own and being embraced on many platforms. First, there’s her Golden Globe winning role on the ABC sitcom Black-ish, which she produces with her on screen hubby Anthony Anderson and occasionally directs. Then there’s the spinoff Mixed-ish, which follows her character’s childhood in the 1980’s. Ross co-created the show is an executive producer and narrates. Now it’s Ross returns to feature films as lead actress and she makes her musical debut in The High Note. She teams up with Dakota Johnson, Bill Pullman and Ice Cube. Ross plays a super successful singer battling ageism and becomes jaded with the music industry until her personal assistant (Johnson) writes an album of songs that revitalize her career and spirit. Ross makes her feature film singing debut in the movie, and her song Love Myself has just been released as a single. Because of the pandemic The High Note will move to video on demand beginning today.
It’s Barack and Michelle Obama on Saturday, June 6th as YouTube presents Dear Class Of 2020.The Obamas are delivering the commencement address. The lineup for this event includes BTX, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Kelly Rowland and Kerry Washington.
Naomi Campbell and Essence magazine mark two golden anniversaries in the new normal as both turn 50 in the month of May.
Megan Thee Stallion is on the cover of Marie Claire’s May issue.
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