Entertainment Archives

Garth Brooks accused of rape in lawsuit from hair-and-makeup artist

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup artist for Garth Brooks alleges in a lawsuit that the country music star raped and sexually assaulted her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019. The woman is not named and goes by Jane Roe in the lawsuit filed in LA Superior Court on Thursday. She alleges that Brooks booked only one hotel suite for the two of them on the trip from Nashville to California, and raped her in the suite. An email sent to Brooks’ publicist and attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.… Continue Reading

The Grammys’ voting body is more diverse, with 66% new members. What does it mean for the awards?

NEW YORK (AP) — For years, the Grammy Awards have been criticized over a lack of diversity, a a reflection of the Recording Academy’s electorate. An evolving voting body is working to remedy that. The Recording Academy announced Thursday that since 2019, more than 3,000 women have been added to the electorate, and now 66% of the voting body is made up of members who have joined in the past five years. There are now over 16,000 members and over 13,000 of them are voting members. The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. says it’s the most diverse Grammy electorate, ever.… Continue Reading

John Amos, patriarch on ‘Good Times’ and an Emmy nominee for the blockbuster ‘Roots,’ dies at 84

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 84. Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death Tuesday. He played James Evans Sr. on “Good Times,” which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” it ran from 1974-79 on CBS. Amos was Emmy nominated for playing the adult Kunta Kinte, the centerpiece of “Roots,” based on Alex Haley’s novel set during and after the era of slavery in the U.S.… Continue Reading

Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Martin Scorsese and more stars pay tribute to Kris Kristofferson

NEW YORK (AP) — Barbra Streisand has called him something special. Martin Scorsese called working with him one of his life’s highlights. Jimmy Webb hoped for Godspeed. Melissa Etheridge wrote of his beautiful heart. Those celebrities and more have reacted to the death of country superstar and actor Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson died at his Hawaii home Saturday surrounded by family. He was 88. Dolly Parton called him a great writer actor and friend. LeAnne Rimes said her friend was an epic human with the biggest heart. Reba McEntire said Kristofferson was a gentleman and kind soul. To Wynonna Judd, he was one of her favorite people on the planet.… Continue Reading

John Ashton, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ actor, dies at 76

NEW YORK (AP) — John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, has died. He was 76. Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released by Ashton’s manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately available. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ashton was a regular face across TV series and films, including “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.” But in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, Ashton played an essential part of an indelible trio.… Continue Reading

Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter and actor, dies at 88

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar who became a superstar songwriter, singer and actor, has died. A family spokeswoman says Kristofferson died at his home in Hawaii on Saturday. He was 88. Kristofferson brought a gritty realism to country music with compositions like “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” “Help Me Make it Through the Night” and and “Me and Bobby McGee.” As an actor, he played the leading man opposite Barbra Streisand and Ellen Burstyn, but also did shoot-out Westerns and cowboy dramas. With his long hair and bell-bottomed slacks, he represented a new breed of country songwriters with his peers like Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tom T. Hall.… Continue Reading

‘Megalopolis’ flops, ‘The Wild Robot’ soars at box office

NEW YORK (AP) — Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-in-the-making, self-financed epic “Megalopolis” flopped with moviegoers, while the acclaimed DreamWorks Animation family film “The Wild Robot” soared to No. 1 at the weekend box office. “The Wild Robot,” Chris Sanders’ adaptation of Peter Brown’s bestseller, outperformed expectations to launch with $35 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Megalopolis,” Coppola’s vision of a Roman epic set in modern-day New York, was never expected to perform close to that level. But the film’s $4 million debut was still sobering for a movie that Coppola bankrolled himself for $120 million. Critics have been mixed on Coppola’s first film in 13 years. Audiences gave in a D+ CinemaScore. By any financial measure, “Megalopolis” was a mega-flop.… Continue Reading

Maya Rudolph as Harris and Dana Carvey as Biden open the 50th season of ‘Saturday Night Live’

NEW YORK (AP) — Maya Rudolph playing Vice President Kamala Harris has led a parade of returning cast members at the opening of the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live.” Harris has done her impression at a mock rally and brought out ex-cast member Andy Samberg playing her husband Doug Emhoff and another former “SNL” star, Dana Carvey, to play President Joe Biden. Harris and Carvey jointly delivered the “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night” that launched season 50. “Designing Women” and “Hacks” star Jean Smart hosted for the first time. She says in her monologue this was the first Saturday in 50 years that fit her schedule.… Continue Reading

Mark Zuckerberg faces deposition in AI copyright lawsuit from Sarah Silverman and other authors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be deposed as part of a lawsuit brought by authors including comedian Sarah Silverman accusing the company of copyright infringement to train its artificial intelligence technology. U.S. District Judge Thomas Hixson rejected Meta’s bid to bar the deposition of Zuckerberg, pointing to evidence that he is the “principal decision maker” of the company’s AI platforms. Meta had argued that Zuckerberg doesn’t have unique knowledge of the company’s AI operations and that the same information could be obtained from depositions with other employees.… Continue Reading

Maggie Smith, scene-stealing actor famed for Harry Potter and ‘Downton Abbey,’ dies at 89

LONDON (AP) — Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and won new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in “Downton Abbey” and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, has died at 89. Smith’s publicist announced the news Friday. She was frequently rated the preeminent British female performer of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench. “Jean Brodie” brought her the Academy Award for best actress in 1969. Smith added a supporting actress Oscar for “California Suite” in 1978.… Continue Reading