Chris Brown addresses controversial photos, plus more news

By Wonderwall.com Editors 10:49am PDT, Mar 30, 2018

Chris Brown addresses controversial photos

Photos showing Chris Brown putting his arms around a distressed looking woman's neck as another person appears to try and stop him surfaced this week, prompting Chris to defend himself — well, sort of. "THANKS for all the publicity today. Y'all know damn well I ain't going down that road," he wrote in a post on Thursday, March 29. "There is no need to even defend myself on the matter. Everyone that's around (girl/guy) are my HOMIES. NO FOUL PLAY … NO IGNORANT S—. END of discussion. LOVE." According to the Daily Mail, the photos were taken in Miami, where Chris was renting a house during the Ultra electronic music festival. His lawyer has already dismissed suggestions Chris was trying to harm the woman, telling TMZ, "She's a friend. It's obviously playful as she confirmed. Whoever invaded their privacy will be held accountable." The lawyer has also claimed the woman whose throat Chris appeared to grab called his office and said there was no wrongdoing. Since the singer assaulted Rihanna before the Grammys in 2009, Chris has reportedly been involved in physical incidents with Drake, Frank Ocean, his former manager, a man he allegedly punched in Washington, D.C. and a woman he allegedly punched at his house. Two years ago, he was also arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

Romance rumors grow louder for Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario

These two are doing little to quash rumors there may be more to their relationship than a shared "Baywatch" gig. Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario were spotted buying pet supplies, each with a dog in tow, at a pet store in Los Angeles this week and while they showed no outward signs of romance, outlets like E! News couldn't help but ask if their get-together might have been proof the stars are dating. Last week, a birthday Instagram post from Zac to Alexandra sure seemed more like a message from one lover to another than a casual greeting between friends. "Happy birthday to one of the the most real, down to [earth], stunning, intelligent, creative, loving, and most rare Pokémon ever created #alexdaddario," Zac wrote, sharing a photo of Alexandra sitting on his lap. Following the release of "Baywatch" in 2017, Alexandra refused to confirm or deny rumors the two are involved. "We work together closely," she told E! at the time. "He's my love interest in the film. I understand why people would go crazy over something like that, but Zac and I are very good friends." She then added, "We would have very blue-eyed children, wouldn't we?"

Jennifer Lopez surprises Alex Rodriguez at opening day

Thursday, March 29 marked opening day for the MLB baseball season and Jennifer Lopez wasn't about to leave her man on his own for his first official broadcast as a baseball commentator. J.Lo, along with her son Max, surprised A-Rod in the ESPN broadcast booth during the fourth inning of the Dodgers – Giants game at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, according to E! News. "She's an enormous sports fan, especially a baseball fan," Alex told viewers after getting a quick kiss from Jen. "Her father David's here and he grew up an enormous New York Met's fan and is thrilled to be here on opening day." Baseball fandom aside, it seemed like Jen was returning the favor to her boyfriend of just over a year — earlier this week, the two shared photos of Alex at one of Jen's dance rehearsals.

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Ronnie Ortiz-Magro addresses cheating rumors as cast reunites for 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation' premiere

They're baa-aaack. Snooki, JWoww, Ronnie, The Situation, Pauly D, Deena and Vinny reunited in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 29 for the premiere of their "Jersey Shore" reboot, "Jesey Shore: Family Vacation." The cast's new series is headed back to TV on Thursday, April 5, and judging from Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's explanation of the trailer — which sure makes it look like he cheated on his pregnant girlfriend — the crew didn't hesitate to ensure there was plenty of drama involved for the cameras when they were shooting. Asked about the teaser's implication that he cheated, Ronnie told Us Weekly, "So you get put in that house and you get put in certain predicaments where, you know, we're 10 years in, so you have to do what you have to do to make sure that you get back on TV." Getting even more candid, he continued: "It's like, do you want to see people go home and go to sleep? Or do you want to see people go home and do what they have to do? And that's the point that you get to — you'll see at the end, I don't do what you think I do." The soon-to-be father also admitted that while he put himself "in a lot of weird situations" for the show, he "never [followed] through with anything," meaning, we assume, hooking up with people who are not his girlfriend. Said Ronnie: "It's just always — hey, we got a second season, so we're doing something right."

Janice Dickinson will testify in Bill Cosby sexual assault trial

After being accused of lying about her claim Bill Cosby raped her in a hotel room in 1982, it was decided Janice Dickinson should testify in court against the comic when his retrial begins next week. According to Us Weekly, Janice was interviewed by a prosecutor in the sexual assault case earlier this month. The attorney reportedly wanted to speak with her in person "to determine if she should be called to the witness stand as one of the five women that the judge said could testify," a source tells the magazine, adding that the interview "was extremely traumatic for Janice, and emotional." Janice filed a defamation suit against Cosby after his spokespeople said she'd invented her claim her drugged and raped her. The source said the interview helped determine "that the jury should hear what she has to say as one of the alleged prior bad acts committed by Mr. Cosby."

Is Cardi B's song one big Offset dis?

Cardi B seems to be taking a page from Beyonce's book when it comes to venting her frustrations about a cheating partner. In a new song excerpted by E! News, the rapper slams someone for his "creeping" ways, accusing him of creating trust issues and pointing out he would have been furious if she did to him what he did to her. The song, titled "Be Careful," goes on to see Cardi telling the person in question, whom she does not name of treating her with "disrespect" and causing her to start believing something is wrong with her, though she knows she's good to him. The track comes six months after her fiance, Offset, had his iCloud account hacked. Videos later leaked online that implicated him in having cheated on her. "Between a rock and a hard place, the mud and the dirt / It's gon' hurt me to hate you, but lovin' you's worse," she raps at one point. At the end of the song, she tells him he makes her "sick." Cardi recently talked about her issues with Offset in the April issue of Cosmopolitan. "It's like everybody is coming down my neck like, 'Why are you not leaving him? You have low self-esteem.' I don't have low self-esteem. I know I look good. I know I'm rich, I know I'm talented. I know I could get any man I want—any basketball player, football player," she told the magazine. "But, I want to work out my s— with my man, and I don't got to explain why."

Tyga sued by Simon Cowell's ex

Tyga's got a new round of money problems. TMZ reports Simon Cowell's ex, Mezhgan Hussainy, is suing the rapper for allegedly not paying rent on the $40,000-a-month home she's leasing him in the Beverly Hills section of Los Angeles. The lawsuit reportedly names Tyga's 5-year-old son as another defendant because the child's name appears on the lease. According to TMZ, Tyga moved in last March and stopped paying rent in January of this year. Mezghan wants to evict Tyga and is demanding the back rent he owes her.

Padma Lakshmi asks Tyler Henry for help contacting her late partner Teddy Forstmann

It's been seven years since Padma Lakshmi's late partner Teddy Forstmann died of brain cancer but she doesn't seem convinced it's OK for her to move forward with her current relationship. The "Top Chef" host dated Adam Dell on and off for years and fell for Teddy during one of those "off" periods before he passed away. She later reunited and remains with Adam. In a new episode of "Hollywood Medium With Tyler Henry," Padma asks for help contacting Teddy. "I want to know if I have his blessing to be with who I am with," she says, according to the New York Post. Tyler responds by telling her Teddy is OK with her romance with Adam. "Thumbs up. That's a good approval, 100 percent," he says. "He doesn't want you to have to parent alone. And he's acknowledging this feeling that he will always be connected to you, but you should absolutely feel like you have permission to love who you want to love."

Lindsay Lohan's bid to reinstate 'Grand Theft Auto' suit stalls

"Grand Theft Auto" avatar Lacey Jonas is not based on Lindsay Lohan. That's according to a panel of judges in New York state who rejected Lindsay's claim that the makers of the game had based the character — a "really famous" "actress slash singer" who wears a tiny bikini and flashes a peace sign while taking a selfie at one point –on Linds, who sued the game makers for unspecified damages on grounds they stole her likeness. "The artistic renderings are indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman that are not reasonably identifiable as [Lindsay]," the judges said in their ruling, according to the New York Post. The ruling continued: "The Jonas character simply is not recognizable as [Lindsay] in as much as a generic artistic depiction of a 'twenty something' woman without any particular identifying physical characteristics … It is undisputed that defendants did not refer to plaintiff in GTA, did not use her name in GTA, and did not use a photograph of her in that game." The case was originally dismissed in 2016, but Lindsay appealed.

John Goodman opens up about getting sober: 'I was drinking at work'

Between the record-setting ratings his reboot of "Roseanne" got this week and his recent, 100-pound weight loss, it's fair to say John Goodman's in a great place. As he told Willie Geist in a teaser for "Sunday Today with Willie Geist," however, it's been a long road for the actor. "I got so lucky because I was still getting hired for things, but the fact is I was drinking at work," John says in the clip (via Us Weekly). "My speech would be slurred. I thought I was fooling people. My cheeks would turn bright red when I was liquored up. I just looked like a stop sign." He reveals that he finally hit bottom when he missed the rehearsal for the Emmy Awards, where he was supposed to accept an award, because he was drunk. "And then by the time Sunday morning rolled around, I was shaking. I was still drinking, but I was still shaking. I had the clarity of thought that I needed to be hospitalized," he recalls. He admitted what was happening to his wife, Anna Beth Goodman,, who acted fast on his behalf. "She made some phone calls. She got me into a treatment center, and I detoxed there and decided I liked the feeling," he says. "And it's been 10 years." The full interview airs Sunday, April 1.