Ellen DeGeneres vows to address backlash on 'Ellen' amid new domestic worker allegations, more news

By Wonderwall.com Editors 3:03pm PDT, Sep 8, 2020

Ellen DeGeneres says she'll address toxic workplace claims in the new season

"Yes, we're gonna talk about it." That's how Ellen DeGeneres confirmed in a statement this week that she'll address claims she fostered a toxic work environment when "Ellen" returns for Season 18 on Sept. 21. Deadline reports the show will be filmed onstage at the Warner Bros. lot, this time without a live audience, due to coronavirus precautions. Ellen came under fire this spring after a comic accused her of being nasty to staff and guests alike on her show. A flood of complaints seemingly corroborating that claim followed, as did an investigation, the firing of three senior producers and a reported vow from Ellen to treat employees with more courtesy. In fact, Ellen's promise to address the backlash comes on the same day as a new report from the Daily Mail featuring claims of mistreatment from an unnamed former household employee. The former domestic worker alleges Ellen took "pleasure" in firing people at her mansion, where workers were supposedly subjected to lists of things they did wrong the day before and "traps" the TV host allegedly set to catch any potentially uncleaned areas in the massive home. The source also said employees tended not to last long before quitting or being fired. "Sometimes she would yell at us but it was more about the incredibly condescending tone she would use," the person told the Mail. "She treated you like you were nothing." The premiere of "Ellen" is set to feature Tiffany Haddish, with guest appearances from Kerry Washington, Alec Baldwin and Chrissy Teigen slated for other shows that same week.

Keep reading to see the moving tribute Joshua Jackson posted for Jodie Turner-Smith's birthday and more …

Joshua Jackson honors Jodie Turner-Smith on her birthday with moving message of love and appreciation

Joshua Jackson is at it again … and by "it," we mean sharing poetic, moving and inspired tributes to his wife, Jodie Turner-Smith. In this case, the occasion was Jodie's 34th birthday on Monday, which Josh celebrated by posting a photo of the "Queen & Slim" star alongside a few words of gratitude for her very existence. "Happy Birthday my beautiful wife," Josh wrote on Instagram. "Thank you for choosing to share your light with me. Thank you for walking this path of life as my wife. Thank you for bringing our daughter into the world. This last year has been the happiest whirlwind of my life. I can't wait to see what all the years to come bring our way. Love, Josh." The "Big Little Lies" star shared a similarly gushing homage to Jodie on Mother's Day this year, her first as a mom. And the smitten vibes are most definitely mutual. "We are obsessed with each other," Jodie admitted in an interview with Britain's The Sunday Times earlier this year. She added that she'd recently "rewatched a lot of [Josh's] movies," explaining, "I do it whenever we're apart because I miss him so much. He loves that I am obsessed with him."

Bradley Cooper reunites with ex, Irina Shayk, in NYC

It looks like Bradley Cooper and his ex, Irina Shayk, are on great terms more than one year after their split. Though the two haven't been seen together in public since February, the Daily Mail spotted the former couple sharing a close hug in New York City's West Village neighborhood this week, as a beaming Irina pushed their 3-year-old daughter, Lea, in a stroller. B. Coop and Irina began dating in 2015 before calling it quits four years later. "I think in all good relationships you bring your best and your worst, it's just the nature of a human being," Irina told Harper's Bazaar in January when asked about the relationship. "Two great people don't have to make a good couple," she added, pointing out that she thinks the two were "very lucky to experience what we had with each other." Irina was recently linked to Vito Schnabel. Bradley, meanwhile, spent much of the pandemic observing strict quarantine rules while spending time with his elderly mother and Lea. Despite whispers about his recent beach hang with Jennifer Garner (and Lea), multiple outlets have confirmed the two are simply longtime pals.

Lupita Nyong'o remembers her 'Black Panther' costar, Chadwick Boseman

Lupita Nyong'o is speaking out about the death of her "Black Panther" costar, Chadwick Boseman, whose rep announced last month that the 28-year-old had lost a secret battle with colon cancer. In a long gallery of text slides posted to Instagram, Lupita acknowledged she felt "a punch to [her] gut every morning" since Chadwick's death. She went on to praise the late star's "generosity of spirit" as well as his acting skills. "I write these words from a place of hopelessness, to honor a man who had great hope. I am struggling to think and speak about my friend, Chadwick Boseman, in the past tense. It doesn't make sense," she wrote. "I am aware that we are all mortal, but you come across some people in life that possess a immortal energy, that seem like they have existed before, that are exactly where they are supposed to always be – here! … that seem ageless…. Chadwick was one of those people." She marveled that, "Chadwick was a man who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time," saying she was, "struck by his quiet, powerful presence," when they worked together." Lupita also gave examples of how Chadwick was able to create "an ego-free environment by sheer example," how he was "was impeccable with his word," and rarely, if ever, complained. "He used his mouth to build, to edify, never to break," she wrote. "And he used it to tell some regrettably lame bad jokes. He practiced not going against himself. He really seemed to love himself; he expressed who he really was, even when it meant he didn't smile when you thought he should. He accepted himself. And perhaps that's why he was capable of loving so many, so deeply." After sharing more thoughts about her experience becoming friends with Chadwick, she vowed to take his advice. "I'm going to take my time…and in his honor, I promise not to waste my time. I hope you will do the same," she wrote. "My deepest condolences to his family, friends and to his loving wife, Simone, from whom I heard this phrase articulated so resonantly," she added, "#TakeYourTimeButDontWasteYourTime."

Selena Gomez says all her exes think she's 'crazy'

Selena Gomez has some bad news for any potential suitors out there: the single life is treating her just fine. Selena appears in a new NikkieTutorial video with makeup artist Nikkie de Jage, and when the conversation turns to Selena's own makeup artist, Hung Vanngo, she jokes that Hung "will be doing my makeup for my wedding … which is never gonna happen." Selena's discussed her single status a few times with press this year, generally telling interviewers she remains focused on working on herself, as well as her music and new beauty line, Rare Beauty. Chatting with Nikkie, though, Selena admits she has other reasons not to keep guys off her list of priorities. "It's hard in quarantine," she says, noting that her statement is "not an invitation" for date wannabe's to contact her. "It's just funny that I release things that, like, say I want a boyfriend and stuff …," Selena continues, "and I'm like, 'I didn't really mean it, though. Guys are a lot of work.'" Besides, she adds, "Every one of my exes thinks I'm crazy. So I don't care." Those exes, of course, include Justin Bieber, The Weeknd and Nick Jonas, among other famous former flames.

Mariah Carey teams up with her daughter, Monroe, to remind fans to vote

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's 9-year-old daughter won't be voting for nearly a decade, but she's still getting involved in November's election — with some help from her famous mom. In a TikTok video Mariah posted on Monday, the curly-haired duo use their dance skills to inspire viewers to get to the polls this fall. The adorable clip shows Mariah in a T-shirt that reads, "vote, vote, vote," dancing behind and around Monroe — who's clad in a "Your Voice Matters" top — to Mariah's "Save the Day." "#SaveTheDay #VOTE #GirlPower," Mariah captioned the clip, crediting "Monroe C. a.k.a. 'Roe Roe Diva'👯‍♂️" with the vid's "Choreography/Interpretive Dance" routine. Although the singer has traditionally avoided discussing politics publicly, she made her disdain for Donald Trump known last year after meeting Hillary Clinton, whom she called "President Clinton" in an apparent riff on her infamous "I don't know her" assertion about Jennifer Lopez.

How Chrissy Teigen talks to her children about race and injustice

Whether she's in family mode or running one of her companies, Chrissy Teigen's thoughts are never far from the various forms of injustice that have sparked months of protests across America this year. In a new interview with Marie Claire, the soon-to-be mother of three opens up about how she talks to the kids she shares with her husband, John Legend, about the state of the world in 2020. As Chrissy reminds the outlet, her children, Luna, 4, and Miles, 2, may have Black, Asian and white heritage — as well as money and privilege — but "they're always going to have their skin color." She allows that she's yet to find a book explaining privilege to kids. When it comes to the country's reckoning on race, though, Chrissy says she and John, "just try to talk to them like little adults, saying it in words they'll understand, making it known that it's very serious, and letting them ask as many questions as they need." Now that she's been with John for more than a decade, Chrissy's also learned more about what it's like to be Black in America. At one point in the interview, she shares a story about a time when she and John were driving around Fredericksburg, Virginia, looking for John's godmother's house. They soon noticed a pair of "neighborhood-watch-type" white men were following them. "These two guys were in a pickup truck slowly tailing us, flashing their lights and trying to speak to us. When we pulled over, they were like, 'What are you guys looking for?' and we gave them the address," she recalls. The men then followed the couple into John's godmother's driveway before telling them, in profane terms, to "get out" of the neighborhood. "They got out of the car and stared at us as we knocked on the door and went inside. It was a terrible, scary experience." Crying, she continues: "That was my first taste of seeing what happens to Black men everyday. It was horrifying and could have gone wrong so quickly. I was sobbing afterward for hours, and I noticed John wasn't emotional about it. Seeing that he wasn't very thrown by it was really upsetting because he obviously had experienced it before." Chrissy, who's long vocalized her hatred of Donald Trump, adds that the current administration's views seem to have given "confidence" to racists across the country. "It's become such a hurtful, weird presidency for so many Americans, and I'm going to fight to get this person out of office because I can't live another four years with this kind of hatred boiling through America," she says.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne reflect on the time he tried to kill her

To say Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne have been through a lot together since they tied the knot in 1982 would be something of an understatement. A new documentary from A&E, "Biography: Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne," reminded fans of that fact when it premiered on Monday night. Among the stories Ozzy and Sharon recount in the two-hour doc is the time Ozzy — whoops — tried to kill his wife in 1989. "[It was] not exactly one of my greatest achievements," the rocker says in the A&E doc, as reported by Us Weekly. "I felt the calmest I had ever felt in my life. I was just peaceful. … All I remember is waking up in Amersham jail and I asked the cop, 'Why am I here?' And he says, 'You want me to read your charge?' So he read, 'John Michael Osbourne, you have been arrested for attempted murder.'" Now 71 and sober, Ozzy was apparently so inebriated that night that Sharon, 67, "didn't recognize him," she admitted. "I had no idea who was sat across from me on the sofa but it wasn't my husband," Sharon explained. "He goes to a stage where he gets that look in his eyes, the shutters were down and I just couldn't get through to him. And he just said, 'We've come to a decision that you've got to die.' He was calm — very calm — then suddenly he lunged across at me and just dived on me and started to choke me. He got me down on the ground on top of me." Sharon recalled that she used a free hand to feel around for whatever was "on the table" as Ozzy tried to choke her. Finding "the panic button," she said, "I just pressed it and the next thing I know, the cops were there." The Black Sabbath singer was ordered to spend six months getting clean in "medical detention," during which time Sharon, who was also his longtime manager, considered what both she and he "should do." Ultimately, she opted for a warning. "I told him, 'I don't want the money…," she recalled, "but if you do this again, either I am going to kill you or you are going to kill me. And do you want that for the kids?'" Ozzy did eventually fall back into using drugs, but he didn't go after Sharon again (that we know of).

Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert welcome baby No. 2

It was a Labor Day weekend to remember for singer Teyana Taylor and her husband, former Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Iman Shumpert, who welcomed their second child together on Sunday. "At 3:28 am on Sept 6th 2020 Rue Rose decided that the baby shower thrown for her and mommy was too lit," the proud dad announced on Instagram, sharing a video of the couple's new daughter looking cozy and happy as she snoozed on a blanket. "She didn't make the party but she managed to make the next day her birthdate!!!" he continued. Turns out Rue Rose also made her big entrance the same way her older sister Junie did in 2015 — at home, in the bathroom, with some delivery help from her dad. "Now…when we buy homes, we always find a bathroom with great energy… but not in a million years would you be able to tell me we'd deliver both of our daughters in a bathroom without the assistance of a hospital!" Iman marveled. "Our newest edition entered the world in the water and came out looking around and ready to explore!" Iman added: "A healthy child. A little sister. Another daughter," he wrote. "Black love wins….again. Welcome babygirl…we love you!" Teyana, whose first major moment in pop came at age 15 when she choreographed the video for Beyonce's "Ring the Alarm," released "The Album" in June. It features both Iman and Junie's voices in the intro.

R. Kelly loses another appeal

An appeals court isn't budging on the decision a federal judge made about R. Kelly's bail requests. "We perceive no clear error in the district court's determination," read a decision from a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals Second Circuit on Tuesday, according to Page Six. "The government has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that Kelly presents a risk of danger to the community." The panel also agreed that the singer is a flight risk in his sex-trafficking case. Kelly is currently being held in prison in Chicago on separate child abuse charges. His lawyer told the Post he believes "there's a double standard applied to R. Kelly, that he absolutely should be released and that there is zero chance that he can have a fair trial if he is not."