Jenna Dewan and Steve Kazee take the next big step
Jenna Dewan's birthday on Tuesday, Dec. 3, came with an extra milestone — she moved in with her boyfriend, Steve Kazee ahead of the arrival of their first child together. "This woman. What an indelible mark she has put on my heart," Steve captioned a photo of Jenna on social media. "The day of her birth has been a full one for us so far … dropping off the kiddo at school," he continued, referring to Jenna and and her ex, Channing Tatum's 6-year-old daughter, Everly, "baby doc appointment, nursery planning, moving into our new home, picking the kiddo up from school and so many other little life moments." In spite of all the activity, Steve still sounded smitten with his lady. "Through it all I love catching eyes with her and knowing that she is the person I will be spending the rest of my life with," he wrote. Jenna and Steve were first linked last fall, about six months after Jenna announced she and Channing had decided to separate. "I couldn't be more grateful that she was put on this earth and that we found each other through all the noise," Steve ended his sweet post. "I love you Jenna and I hope you have the happiest of birthdays!"
Keep reading for the scoop on what Jennifer Aniston learned about herself in 2019 …
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Jennifer Aniston reflects on learning how much she's capable of
"The year I learned I could do anything." That's how People titled its year-end cover story featuring Jennifer Aniston, who returned to series television as both the star and co-executive producer of "The Morning Show" this fall, 15 years after the end of her career-making tenure on "Friends." "It was exhilarating and terrifying," she admitted to the outlet. "But at the same time, unbelievably rewarding." Part of that reward came from the knowledge she'd accomplished what she was once told would be impossible. Explaining how 2019 taught her, as she put it, "how much I'm capable of," the 50-year-old star recalled being challenged by her relatives when she announced she wanted to pursue acting professionally. She said the change started in her 20s, when she began to believe in herself in spite of "naysayers" in her family who didn't think she could "make a dime" in showbiz. "The words, 'I dare you' or 'No' always make me kind of go, 'Oh, OK. Well, let's just see,'" she said. As for those "you won't make a dime" comments? Jen laughed just thinking about them: "Just watch me. Don't threaten me that way. God knows now I'm going to make a couple of dimes."
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How Lionel Richie feels about Sofia Richie's romance with Scott Disick
A year into Sofia Richie and Scott Disick's relationship, Sofia's father, Lionel Richie, implied his then 19-year-old daughter's romance with Scott, who's 15 years her senior, was "a phase." Now that the couple has been together for two years, a source tells E! News the singer's feelings have changed — but only somewhat. "Lionel has accepted their relationship but still isn't entirely 100 percent on board with Scott mostly because of the age difference and how young Sofia is. Lionel can see how happy Sofia is though so he is definitely making more of an effort with Scott," the insider says, adding that Sofia, 21, and Scott, 36, spent Thanksgiving with Lionel. "He is a really honest, upfront kind of guy and feels like his father-daughter relationship with Sofia is more important than anything so he's trying to be there for Sofia and to be supportive of her despite his reservations about her relationship," says the source. "They all had a really great holiday together, though and progress is for sure being made between Lionel and Scott."
Khloe Kardashian defends best friends for helping Tristan Thompson find her a gift
After a dozen years on reality TV, Khloe Kardashian knows there will always be chatter about her personal life. But she draws the line when "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" fans make assumptions about the motives of her best friends. In the last episode, Khadijah and Malika Haqq were shown helping Khloe's ex and the father of her child, Tristan Thompson, choose a diamond necklace for her. "Tristan reached out to see if we would help him give Khloé this gift. Of course, we said yes," Malika told the cameras (via People). "I think that Khloe's priority is to have peace in her relationship with Tristan. And if this is just one step towards him showing her that he wants her to feel better, I think it's good." Khloe, who has been clear she won't get back together with Tristan after he cheated on her (again), agreed, saying later that the gift was the "sweetest, kindest gesture." "KUWTK" viewers, however, thought Khadijah and Malika should never have teamed up with Tristan — and that's not sitting well with their pal. "I keep seeing people criticizing my best friends. My best friends would never do anything to hurt me. I can say that with full confidence!" Khloe tweeted this week. "You guys don't know the entire story. EVER!! You watch 44 minutes of an episode and really think you know it all," she added. "Stop talking about my friends. Focus on your own lives, which I'm pretty sure is NOT perfect," Khloé continued. "People love to have an opinion when they're behind a computer screen. I'm fine with opinions. Just make sure you live the life you so quickly judge others about," Khloe continued. Before signing off, she reminded viewers the show is "a version" of her actual life, much like Instagram. "People can talk about me all they want," Khloe wrote. "I'm cool with that. I'm used to it. But don't talk about my friends! They are nothing but incredible."
Niall Horan addresses Selena Gomez rumors
Yes, Niall Horan and Selena Gomez are pals. No, they are not dating. The former One Direction member made that fact clear during an interview on Australia's Hit 90.9 radio this week after being asked, point-blank, if there was any truth to rumors he and Selena may be involved romantically. Those rumors first surfaced back in 2015. In October, after photos of the singers standing next to each other at a dinner with friends appeared on social media, Selena was photographed going to Niall's house. The two then shouted each other out on Instagram, leading to more speculation about the nature of their relationship. This week, though, when the radio host told Niall fans had said to "please ask him if he has a girlfriend because we've been looking at him tagging Selena Gomez on Instagram," Niall replied (via E! News), "Do I have a girlfriend? I don't. No, I'm very much single. Very much single."
Julia Louis-Dreyfus granted restraining order against alleged stalker
Police have granted Julia Louis-Dreyfus a restraining order to protect her from a woman the "Veep" star says threatened her and harassed her for "months." The Blast reports Julia's court filing indicated the woman allegedly threatened to toss a "molotov cocktail" at her home and, on another occasion, allegedly tacked a notice on Julia's car that said, "Julia Louis-Dreyfus is stealing from a homeless writer." According to court documents, Julia's lawyers claim the woman, "conjured up the delusion that Ms. Louis-Dreyfus somehow stole her writing for use in the award-winning television series, 'Veep' …" The Los Angeles Police Department reportedly confirmed it had followed Julia's claims for more than a year prior to granting the restraining order.
Willie Nelson says he no longer smokes weed
The man who once said marijuana saved his life is done smoking weed. Speaking to San Antonio, Texas' KSAT-TV last week (via USA Today), Willie Nelson said his health has to come first at 86. "I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful," the singer told the outlet. "I don't smoke anymore. I take better care of myself today." Willie, who also smoked cigarettes when he was young, has suffered from both emphysema and pneumonia in previous years. Though he didn't elaborate on his preferred method of consuming marijuana, his rep tells USA Today, "Willie does what he wants regarding smoking" and confirmed that he does still consume marijuana.
Detroit native Kid Rock announces he won't renew restaurant contract in Detroit amid criticism over Oprah Winfrey rant
Kid Rock has announced he won't renew his licensing agreement for his restaurant in Detroit's Little Caesers Arena ahead of a protest planned there by the Michigan National Action Network over his recent comments about Oprah Winfrey and others. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Dec. 4, he wrote: "I will not be renewing my licensing agreement for my Made In Detroit Restaurant this April. I appreciate all who have patronized our place and still have much love for the City of Detroit and the people / organizations that I have helped there for years, black, white, whatever, but learned long ago, go where you're celebrated, not tolerated." He appeared to be referring to his seemingly drunken tirade about how much he hates Oprah and how he's "not a racist" at his Nashville venue the week before Thanksgiving. That rant resulted in security removing his slumped figure from the stage. "I guess the millions of dollars I pumped into that town was not enough. I will let the NAN network and others go ahead and take the wheel now. Good luck," he continued on Facebook. "I may be guilty of being a loud mouth jerk at times, but trying to label me racist is a joke, and actually only does a disservice to the black community, which I have supported my entire life, by trying to alienate myself and many others," he wrote. At the end, he added, "PS – Hey Al Sharpton, you or your cronies will never beat me you tax evading, race baiting clown! Trump 2020!!" The reverend tells TMZ Kid is still peeved Sharpton's organization protested his use of the Confederate Flag in 2015 and urged General Motors not to collaborate with him.
Anna Faris thanks Fire Department for coming to her family's rescue on Thanksgiving
What began as the hilarious Thanksgiving bunker diary of a grown woman staring down a holiday with her extended family in Lake Tahoe ended with a heartfelt "thank you" from Anna Faris to the local Fire Department. The "what" in question is Anna's Twitter feed, which for two days leading up to her turkey-day meal featured time-stamped snapshots of holiday reality, many of them sent from the upstairs bathroom of a rented vacation house. ("… So we could have rooms," Anna explained, "you know, to make love in. Which always happens during the holidays. Mom is concerned we don't have enough garbage bags.") At first, it seemed Anna would sequester herself for the entire trip (case in point: "1204pm west coast time. Things are looking dire. Still hiding in bathroom. There must be others out there"). But after she griped for days about all-too familiar situations of family togetherness ("1150. Everyone is waiting for me to get my shoes on so we can go for this 'walk'" … "7:08pm … It's just like, why do I have to take the trash out again when my brother is just sitting there?????"), it turned out a close call with a gas leak could have made for a much more serious — and actually dire — situation. After the meal, Anna shared a photo of the Thanksgiving table alongside a tweet thanking local emergency responders for preventing a potential disaster. "I'm not quite sure how to express gratitude to the north Lake Tahoe fire department," she tweeted on Friday, Nov. 29. "…We were saved from carbon monoxide- it's a stupidly dramatic story but I'm feeling very fortunate."
Robert Redford meets Pope Francis
In 2015, Robert Redford wrote about his respect for Pope Francis' address to Congress on the necessity of climate action in a feature for EcoWatch. This week, the 83-year-old screen legend was able to shake hands with the pontiff in Vatican City. According to Page Six, Robert and his wife, Sibylle Szaggars, were among the fans who greeted the Pope at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Dec. 4. "The pontiff's timely message of more dialogue and less discord, respect for life in all of its stages, and a call to protect our common home was irrepressible and impossible to ignore," Robert wrote of the Pope in 2015. "Sometimes you need a friend to tell you the truth. It took someone from outside the US to come and remind us who we are – and who we are supposed to be."