By Wonderwall.com Editors
2:39pm PDT, Sep 21, 2020
Demi Lovato tells Ellen DeGeneres she loves her after TV apology
As promised, Ellen DeGeneres used her return to TV on Monday as a platform on which to address the allegations of workplace toxicity that have plagued her for months. "As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show, and then there was an investigation," she began in the show's opening segment (via JustJared). "I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I'm in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that with that comes responsibility and I take responsibility for what happens at my show. This is The Ellen DeGeneres Show, I am Ellen DeGeneres." She added that she's also more than her television personality: "I am a work in progress," she said. Ellen shared the monologue on Instagram, along with a caption that vowed, "Today, we're starting a new chapter." While her words didn't win over all her viewers, a number of celebrities weighed in to support the comic and show host's mea culpa. Chris was among those who "liked" the post. Ellie Kemper chimed in with multiple red heart emojis. Scooter Braun praised the monologue for its "beautiful words." And Demi Lovato shared this reassuring comment: "You are the person people see on TV. You are kind, generous and caring. This video was a perfect representation of that. I love, you, Ellen."
Keep reading for Beyonce's family-assisted corny joke clip, highlights from the Emmys and more …
RELATED: Biggest TV moments of 2020 so far
Blue Ivy Carter, Tina Knowles hilariously coach Beyonce on delivering a corny joke
It takes a village to coax a fashionable corny joke out of Beyonce, apparently. Bey, along with her sister, Solange, and other stars, participated in Tina Knowles Lawson's annual Wearable Art Gala benefit for the WACO Theater on Saturday, filming a take on her mom's Celebrity Corny Jokes segment for the virtual affair. The clip, which Tina and the theater later shared, shows a decidedly disinterested, makeup-free Beyonce, clad in a hoodie with the hood over her head, leaning half-heartedly on one hand as she starts tell the joke. She doesn't get too far. "Why does Snoop Dogg need an umbrell–" she starts to say before a small hand appears and covers her mouth. The hand belongs to Bey's 8-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter — and she is not impressed. "No, that voice? Mom, the voice, no," she scolds. The camera then pans to a black screen as we hear Tina leaving Beyonce a voicemail. And she's no more impressed with her daughter's performance than Blue was. "Hi B, I really appreciate you doing the joke because I know how busy you are," she says in a pained voice. "But can't you just put on some makeup and get in some good light and stuff? It's the gala, girl." Fast forward to Beyonce, having taken both her daughter and mother's advice. Sparkling in diamonds and dressed to the nines, she smiles and tries again. "Why does Snoop Dogg need an umbrella?" Bey asks. She pauses. "Fo' drizzle," she says … "Fo' drizzle." According to ET, Solange opted this for gem in her clip: "How do you plan a space party? .. You just planet." Oof.
RELATED: Stars are nothing like us, Beyonce edition
Jimmy Kimmel criticized for Emmys ICE joke, fire bit gone wrong
As the first-ever host of a virtual Emmy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel earned largely high marks from critics after critics gave Sunday's show, which the late-night host also helped produce. At least two jokes, however, raised more than a few eyebrows. First, there was the bit where he gave Jennifer Aniston a fire extinguisher to kill the flames he made by an over-the-top sanitizing process that involved spraying Lysol on an Emmy envelope, then lighting it on fire and tossing it in a trash can. Not surprisingly, this sparked shooting flames, not once but three times — all of which Jen valiantly put out. It was a questionable move, given the unprecedented wildfire destruction taking place across much of the Western part of America right now — and even Jimmy's wife, writer and producer Molly McNearny agreed. "Not a great time to be lighting things on fire in California," Molly, who's also the co-head writer of her husband's show, told Variety. "That's not the way it was supposed to go." Another problematic moment came when Jimmy lost in the Outstanding Talk Series to British comic John Oliver and "Last Week Tonight." "Congratulations again to John Oliver," Jimmy said after John accepted his award. "I will be reporting him to ICE tomorrow." Viewers quickly slammed the crack, calling it an offensive example of white privilege at a time when ICE is accused of a variety of atrocities waged against women and children in particular in border detention centers. Tweeted one viewer: "The amount of white privilege it took for Jimmy Kimmel to get up on stage at a nationally televised event and make a joke about ICE and have no one tell him that that isn't okay, is absolutely astonishing to me.
RELATED: The most buzzed-about Emmys moments of years past
Fans defend Zendaya after confusion about the term, 'upset win'
Nearly 24 hours after Zendaya made Emmy Awards history as the youngest person ever to win a Best Actress Emmy in the Drama category for her turn as Rue in "Euphoria," the 24-year-old star was still trying to wrap her brain around her win. "Still don't really have any words….feeling so much love right now, thank you," she tweeted Monday afternoon. Most of the replies to her post were congratulatory, but a number of comments questioned why some thought she didn't deserve to beat out Laura Linney ("Ozark"), Jennifer Aniston ("The Morning Show"), Olivia Colman ("The Crown") and Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer ("Killing Eve"). Those questions may have been raised less because anyone doubted whether Zendaya deserved the award than because of a New York Post tweet that Twitter later noted left users making a "talking point" out of the "term, 'upset win.'" "Biggest upset: Zendaya wins Emmys 2020 over Jennifer Aniston, Laura Linney," the Post tweeted Sunday night. Fans quickly came to Zendaya's defense, balking with posts like, "No ones upset." Eventually, other users explained or reminded those fans that "upset win" is an idiom meaning a "surprise win." The Post even ran an explanation of the term on Monday, couched in the Twitter clashes their original post had set off. In addition to being the youngest to lead the Drama category, Zendaya is now the second Black woman in history to win Best Actress in a Drama.
Cardi B's 2-year-old amasses more than half a million IG followers in 24 hours
Introducing hip-hop's newest 2-year-old influencer … Over the weekend, Cardi B set up an Instagram page for Kulture Kiari Cephus, the 2-year-old daughter she shares with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Offset. She then invited fans to check out the page, teasing there would be "so much cute baby stuff coming up." Within 24 hours, Kulture had more than half a million followers — and counting. As of Monday, more than 689,000 users were following Kulture and liking photos of her holding a miniature Louis Vuitton bag, swimming with friends and destroying some orchids as her mom repeatedly tells her to stop. "Throwback of my grandma giving me mash potatoes while my entourage records," reads the caption to a video of Kulture spitting out potatoes as a baby. "I didn't like mash potatoes before now they ok. I prefer rice 🍚 I love rice 🎀," the caption continues. Another clip simply shows the "Kulture" and Care Bear-themed bling the toddler's apparently got in her jewelry box. "I'm icey?" the caption teases. According to Kulture's bio, she likes "everything pink," she is "spoiled" and her Insta is "managed by my mommy."
Drew Barrymore calls Paris Hilton's boarding school trauma a 'mirror image' of her own
Drew Barrymore identifies with a lot of what Paris Hilton went through in boarding schools as a troubled child. Speaking to "The Simple Life" alum on her new talk show Monday, Drew even described the story Paris tells in her new documentary, "This Is Paris," as "a mirror image of everything I've been through," but only up to a point (via the Daily Mail). While Paris was traumatized by experiences like being carried out of her bedroom in the night by strangers and carted off to a school where she was "beaten," "drugged" and put in solitary confinement with no food or even a blanket, Drew recalled how the boarding school environment ultimately saved her from early substance abuse problems and more. "I've had the people come and take me away. I've been locked up in solitary confinement," Drew shared. "I've been in a place for lengthy periods of time — we are talking year, year and a half plus. I haven't seen a kind of story like this really reflected out there very often that's one I recognize so deeply." Still, she allowed that the people running her institution were "really good" at their jobs. And she admitted she herself "was very rebellious," adding, "I started riots there all the time." Besides, Drew said she left her mom with very few options. "I was doing drugs. I was out of control," the actress recalled. "She just threw her hands up and threw me in there not knowing where else to turn to." Looking back today, Drew would do it all over again, too: "That place really did help me and it did save my life and I actually wouldn't change a thing."
Katharine McPhee's LGBTQ fans react to news her Republican Senatorial Committee donations
If Katharine McPhee's Twitter starts taking a tumble this week, followers-wise, you can probably thank her politics. Over the weekend, a Jezebel writer noticed what looked like screenshots of a self-employed, California resident named Katharine McPhee donating — twice — to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, for a total of $500 this year. Jezebel later confirmed the donations via public records.) The NRSC works to elect Republican senators in the interest of hanging onto their Senate majority, according to Jezebel. "Smash" and Broadway star Katharine, meanwhile, has long worked to maintain a following in the gay community — and it's been a pretty successful campaign, at least until now. Per Edge Media Network and Queerty.com, news the singer supports a party whose candidates tend not to support or protect the LGBTQ community is already earning her backlash on social media. Riffing on her affection for addressing gay fans as "my gay boys," one user shared a sarcastic, "hi my log cabin republicans" over the weekend. "So Katharine McPhee donates to the GOP and Hugh Jackman is best buds with Ivanka & Jared," wrote another former fan. "Any other musical theater types out there I need to immediately un-stan?" Tweeted a third: "Kat McPhee said 'hi my gay boys' and 'bye to gay rights' huh."
Will Teddi Mellencamp be cut from 'RHOBH'?
After a summer full of "Real Housewives" departures, Teddi Mellencamp could be the next to go — and not by choice. The Daily Mail reported Monday that "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star has done little to woo Bravo, which allegedly "considered cutting her last season but gave her one last chance," according to a production source. Now, the plan is to axe her, the Mail reports. "The network has not been impressed with her performance on the show," said the insider. "She is boring and stale and does not offer anything to the franchise with her robotic and staged delivery when interacting with the other cast members." It's apparently not helping matters that she hasn't clicked with any of her castmates besides Kyle Richards. Teddi, 39, has been on the show since 2017. Last month, she got death threats on Instagram after teasing an episode that revolved around Brandi Glanville's alleged affair with Denise Richards, who is also leaving "RHOBH." Bravo also reportedly took issue with All In, the restricted diet-focused health and fitness program Teddi launched that's been slammed by clients. Network brass were reportedly concerned it was "unhealthy and downright dangerous" for the young women who comprise their main demographic. Last week, NeNe Leakes announced she's leaving "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" due to failed salary negotiations.
LeBron James points out white privilege in Lori Loughlin's sentencing terms
Amid reports Lori Loughlin will serve two months (at most) at a California prison that offers "recreational activities" like yoga and ceramics classes for paying bribes to get her daughters into college, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has some questions — and they're not even about the yoga classes. As he pointed out on social media Friday, it seems more than a little unfair that the (white) former "Fuller House" star, convicted of fraud, was able to pick the prison "of her choice." "Of her what!!??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. I'm laughing cause sometimes you have to just to stop from crying!" he posted, according to Deadline. "Lori Loughlin will get to serve her two-month sentence at prison of her choice. Don't make no …. sense to me. We just want the same treatment if committed of same crime that's all. Is that asking for to much??? Let me guess, it is huh. Yeah I know!! We'll just keep pushing forward and not expecting the handouts! STRONG, BLACK & POWERFUL! 🙏🏾✊🏾👑." Oscar winner Viola Davis was confused by the apparent double standard in sentencing, too. "Whaaaaatttt???!!!" she responded, "Uhh….is it punishment if you get to choose? Is she going to choose her meal[?]" LeBron's post
Melissa Etheridge 'didn't want to blame genetics' after the death of her son
Following her son Beckett's fatal overdose earlier this year, Melissa Etheridge has resisted pointing to his DNA when looking for answers. "I didn't want to blame genetics. I know we have predispositions," the singer said during a recent appearance on "The Tamron Hall Show" (via People). Twenty-one-year-old Beckett's biological father was Melissa's friend, David Crosby, who struggled for many years with addiction issues. "So the genes are there, but the choices then are the individual's to make and Beckett just, kind of, made the choices that made it harder and harder for him," Melissa told Tamron, adding that it's extremely painful "to see someone in that hole [of addiction] and you can't go pull them out." Ultimately, Melissa said, "They have to climb out or not." Over the summer, she announced she'd created a new charity, The Etheridge Foundation, to support "research into the causes and effects of opioid addiction."
