By Wonderwall.com Editors
2:44pm PDT, Aug 10, 2020
Should Ellen DeGeneres embrace her 'mean'-girl reputation?
As Ellen DeGeneres continues to fight criticism of her allegedly "mean" persona and the toxic work environment on her show, one very close friend has a suggestion for how she might survive, professionally. On the Monday edition of his SiriusXM radio show, Howard Stern said Ellen should embrace her new reputation rather than trying to counter it. "You know what I'd do if I was Ellen? I would change my whole image," Howard declared, according to JustJared. He explained that his opinion comes from personal experience, having had so many guests over the years who come to his show expecting him to be, well, awful. At some point, he said he just went for it and acted as badly as guests ever imagined he might. Ultimately, he said that allowed his personal reputation "as a great guy, for the most part," to stay intact, despite his notoriously negative on-air persona. Last fall, Howard famously remarried his wife, Beth Stern, on Ellen's show.
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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are reportedly getting along better now than they did prior to their current custody agreement, but their ongoing divorce proceedings just hit a new roadblock. On Monday, Angelina's lawyers filed a request to disqualify the private judge handling their case, citing his alleged business relationships with an attorney for Brad, Page Six reports. It seems Judge John W. Ouderkirk was "not forthcoming enough" about other cases he's been hired to work on that have ties to Brad's lawyer, Anne C. Kiley. The filing complains that the judge never disclosed his "ongoing, repeat-customer relationship" with the attorney, who, according to court documents, "actively advocated for Judge Ouderkirk's financial interests in moving — over the opposing party's opposition — to have his appointment (and his ability to continue to receive fees) extended in a high profile case," according to the outlet. Angelina's legal team has reportedly asked the judge to disqualify himself, but says Brad's team has demanded he stay on the case. Brad and Angelina are currently shelling out big bucks for a private judge because it allows them to maintain more privacy regarding personal and financial information. Following Angelina's 2016 divorce filing, she and Brad were declared divorced in April 2019 via a bifurcated judgment, which allows a former couple to legally end their marriage while they continue to hash out unresolved matters like finances and custody arrangements.
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Zoe Kravitz calls out Hulu for its lack of diverse programming after 'High Fidelity' cancellation
Last week, after Hulu revealed its Zoe Kravitz-centric "High Fidelity" reboot wouldn't be back for a second season, Zoe shared a polite thank-you note/goodbye post to the cast, crew and supporters of the show. As comments from her fans and industry peers poured in, though, Zoe called out Hulu on its lack of diverse shows. Replying to a comment from Tessa Thompson ("I will miss you alllllllllllll so much," she lamented), Zoe took a dig at the network. "It's cool," she wrote to Tessa. "At least Hulu has a ton of other shows starring women of color we can watch. Oh wait." According to Vogue, the cancellation of "High Fidelity" leaves "Little Fires Everywhere" as the only original, scripted Hulu series starring a Black woman. The fact that "High Fidelity" was a gender-flipped take on the John Cusack movie version (of a Nick Hornby book) — complete with a gay best friend character — highlighted how diverse voices can add depth to a story, too. All of which can add viewers and build a fan base. Asked about the show's reception back in June, Zoe told Variety: "The amount of comments, DMs, things on Twitter, articles written about Brown women who love music, were afraid of commitment, who've never seen a person like them on television — they feel seen for the first time." As of Monday, Hulu had yet to comment.
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Rachael Ray's kitchen reportedly survived weekend house fire
Rachael Ray is staying positive after her home in upstate New York was ravaged by a fire on Sunday evening. "Thank you to our local first responders for being kind and gracious and saving what they could of our home," she tweeted Monday. "Grateful that my mom, my husband, my dog… we're all okay. These are the days we all have to be grateful for what we have, not what we've lost." One thing the celebrity chef has to be grateful for is, amazingly, her kitchen, which somehow survived the fire, according to the Daily Mail. The rest of her house was not so lucky. According to Syracuse.com, the Lake Luzerne estate in the Adirondacks was badly damaged by the fire, which appeared to have started in the chimney on Sunday. Since the pandemic forced her to stop shooting her show in the studio, Rachael has been filming from home.
Post Malone multi-tasks with a new tattoo during dental surgery
Post Malone may have just become the first person to get tattooed while having dental work done. Over the weekend, tattoo artist Ganga and Dr. Thomas Connelly shared photos of Post's multi-tasking visit to the dentist's office, where he added a skeleton to his large collection, which already spans much of his face and scalp."Epic work gong down on the legend @postmalone ….. wait for it ………" the doctor captioned a few shots of Post from the appointment (via People). "My man @postmalone with the freshest choppers on earth," he wrote alongside another pic. Ganga shared similar pics, captioning them: "@postmalone thank you so much for your trust, the first time in the world that this is done! In the operating room working hand in hand with @connellydds ❤️."
Gwyneth Paltrow didn't expect to fall in love again after Chris Martin
When Gwyneth Paltrow split from Chris Martin in 2014 after a decade of marriage, she figured there was a good chance that was it in the serious relationship department. Then Brad Falchuk came along. "It was great to fall in love again at a mature age," the Goop creator, 47, recently told Heat! magazine (via the Daily Mail). "It was a wonderful surprise and I didn't necessarily think that it would happen for me and I got very, very, very lucky – very lucky." Gwyneth met the "Glee" co-creator and producer in 2010 when she guest starred on the show. They reconnected a few years later after her split from Chris and went public as a couple in 2015. "So I'm very, very grateful," she continued. "And I think when it happens to you when you're a bit older in life you place a value and an importance on it that you don't do when you're in your 20s because you don't know the difference at that age." What Gwyneth has learned, she added, is that she's "very much the marrying kind." She's also managed to stay close with Chris, maintaining a familial friendship she's attributed to their "conscious uncoupling" approach to breaking up. Today, she and Chris frequently share family time with their two kids, Chris' girlfriend Dakota Johnson and Brad and his children. "It's been amazing," she says. "I don't think I would define myself as a trendsetter. But I suppose if I look back at everything I've said and done I guess I am in a certain way.'
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner urge followers to 'wear a mask' amid the coronavirus pandemic
New parents Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner took a brief break from mommy and daddy time this week for a good cause. In a new selfie on his Instagram Story, Joe smiles alongside his wife as they hold up their hands in front of their faces. "Wear a mask," he urges in the text over the shot (via People), which appears to have been taken from their couch. The couple, who said "I do" last year, recently welcomed their first child, Willa.
Melanie Griffith celebrates her birthday with FaceTimes from her exes and 'stealth' birthday decorations
Melanie Griffith's 63rd birthday was one to remember, thanks to the copious love that came her way from her kids, her friends and even her ex-husbands. "I woke up this morning, my 63rd Birthday morning, to this beautiful Happy Birthday on my gate. But I had no idea who did it!!!" the actress wrote on Instagram Sunday, showing off the b-day banner and balloons that adorned the entrance to her property. "Then my friends Eli and Kevin dropped off Cake and cookies for me," she continued. "We chatted, I told them I had no idea who did this beautiful gate display! They said maybe I should check my security camera system. Then they left! Finally…. they sent the last 2 photos in this triplet. Stealth decorators they are!!" The last pics in her post showed Melanie's friends posing with their secret birthday handiwork in the dark. "I love all of my friends so much," Melanie gushed. "I've gotten flowers and gifts and sweet texts and FaceTimes from my children, my ex-husbands and sooo many dear friends. I am so grateful to all of you!! Thank you for thinking of me and showing me so much love!!!" One of those ex-husbands is Antonio Banderas, who turned 60 on Monday, though chances are he had a somewhat less happy birthday than Melanie. The actor recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Prince Harry explores how to fight online hate with Color of Change president, Rashad Robinson
It will take "every single person on the planet to defeat racism." That's according to Prince Harry, who recently sat down with civil rights activist Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, to discuss online hate speech as part the organization's Stop Hate for Profit initiative. "As we've discussed before, it is going to take every single one of us, this is not just down to the Black community, it's going to take every single person on the planet right now," Harry said in a clip from the conversation published on Twitter (via the Daily Mail). Part of that anti-racism work, the pair agreed, needs to focus on how social media companies can maintain safe public spaces where hate speech doesn't flourish, something Harry said he and Duchess Mehgan have been working on as part of their forthcoming Archewell charity. "We spoke to a number of CEOS, but we as a couple take no credit or responsibility for the decision of companies. So our job was to inform, and to have an honest conversation as parents and say 'this is principle over profit," Harry explained of the meetings they've had with social media execs. "The real key now is to make sure this change lasts," he added. The conversation also covered issues around systemic racism and what philanthropic organizations can and cannot accomplish when it comes to changing that. "We have to go to the root of the problem, the source of the problem," Harry said, "and actually fix it there."
