Louis CK and French comic Blanche Gardin spark romance rumors

By Wonderwall.com Editors 1:35pm PDT, Oct 24, 2018

Romance rumors hit Louis CK, French actress, amid sexual misconduct scandal

Despite the sexual misconduct scandal that rocked Louis CK last fall, the comic seems to be getting cozy with French actress, Blanche Gardin, People reports the pair were spotted clutching hands on an apparent shopping trip in New York City on Tuesday, Oct. 23. In the months since Louis admitted to and apologized for his actions, which reportedly included masturbating in front of multiple up-and-coming female comics, he's performed a handful of times around the Big Apple. One recent performance was said to have featured a joke about rape whistles that left some women in the audience shaken, according to reports. Like Louis, 51, Blanche, 41, works as a comedian, writer and actor.

How Jada Pinkett Smith dealt with Willow Smith's self-harm revelation

How should a mother react when her daughter reveals — in a public way — that she's struggled with self-harm issues? For Jada Pinkett Smith, whose daughter, Willow Smith announced in May on Jada's "Red Table Talk" Facebook show that she went through a phase of cutting herself after the success of 2010's "Whip My Hair," the best approach was to remember Willow said she got through the dark feelings she was experienced, realized cutting was not the answer and moved forward. She also had a serious heart-to-heart with her daughter after the two were done with the show that day this spring. Jada reflected on the experience during a sit-down with the hosts of "The MOMspodcast" that aired this week. "I wanted to make sure she was OK," Jada said (via Page Six). "We went through what happened and in the moment I realized as a mother you also have to give your children space to deal with their own shadow." When Willow spoke about the cutting on "Red Table Talk," she sounded as if she'd had that space, too. "I never talk about it because it was such a short, weird point in my life, but you have to pull yourself … out of it," Willow said at the time, showing a scar on her wrist to her mother. On this week's podcast, Jada went on to explain, "I focused more on how [Willow] got herself out versus what got her there," adding, I was just most proud about that she could share it in the way she did, which let me know she had come through in a major way that she could put it on the table like that."

Scooter Braun says Ariana Grande once fired him when she was dating a 's—– boyfriend'

Things have not always been so rosy between Ariana Grande and Scooter Braun. As the prolific pop manager admits in a new profile for Variety, he and Ariana have grown much closer since then — which was helpful when a bomber targeted her concert in Manchester last year — but their relationship took a hit once when Ariana fired him. "I watched this other manager get fired, and I saw him defend himself instantly and put out a lot of truths. And I watched the artist see those truths, not want to deal with it, and then forever hate that manager," he explained. "And with Ariana, I could have said a lot of stuff, and in fact my team wanted me to, because they were pissed. But I said 'We're not gonna say a word, and this is gonna come back around.' They were like, 'Never take her back!,' but I just said, 'Let's stay quiet and let our truth be our actions.'" That's when Scooter revealed what may have been the motive for her decision to axe him. "And when s—ty boyfriends leave," he said, "she starts to see the light on some stuff, and one day I got a phone call. She said 'Can I see you tomorrow?' and I said, 'No, I'm busy' — I actually couldn't, so I said, 'I could see you Thursday' or whatever and I went over there and we had a very honest conversation." He added, "…it allowed me to know that I can be fired. I had never been fired before. And that relationship we had, from being fired to getting back together, really gave us the strength for what we never imagined would come that following year," he said. After the May 2018 terrorist attack that killed 22 people at her show at Manchester Arena, Ariana and Scooter were able to come to together and stage a benefit concert with a slew of huge names — all of whom were asked personally to perform by Scooter, according to Variety. The One Love Manchester event ultimately raised some $22 million for survivors of the attack and the families of the victims. Scooter, who also manages Justin Bieber and Kanye West, did not reveal who the "s—– boyfriend" Ariana had been dating when she fired him was.

Diddy pledges $1M to a Bronx charter school

Next September, more than 100 children in New York City will have a brand new school, thanks to Sean "Diddy" Combs. The Bad Boy Records exec announced this week he's donating $1 million toward the establishment of a charter school in the Bronx as part of the Capital Preparatory Schools network, according to Billboard. "I know from my own experience that receiving a great education makes a huge impact on a child's future," he wrote on Instagram on Tuesday, Oct. 23. I want our kids to have access to everything they need to succeed, in school and life. Which is why I'm also pledging $1,000,000 to help give our kids every advantage possible." He went on to thank everyone involved for helping to make the school come to life before telling his followers, "This is bigger than just me, this is my passion, this is my calling, and we still have lots of work to do … so LET'S GOOOO!!!" The new school is slated to open next fall with 160 sixth and seventh grade students and expand from there. "I came from the same environment these kids live in every day," the Harlem native said in a statement. "I understand the importance of access to a great education, and the critical role it plays in a child's future. Our school provides historically disadvantaged students with the college and career skills needed to become responsible and engaged citizens for social justice."

Michelle Williams secretly called off her engagement to Chad Johnson before seeking help for depression

It's been an intense year for Destiny's Child singer, Michelle Williams, who announced she was checking into a treatment center for help with depression over the summer. Prior to her hospitalization, Michelle got engaged to Chad Johnson, secretly broke up with her fiance a few weeks later, performed at Coachella with Beyonce and Kelly Rowland after a long period of grueling rehearsals, patched things up with Chad, then ended the romance again in late July shortly before seeking professional help. "I thought I was over depression. I thought, 'I'm good!' I've got love, I'm working out. But I was so angry. The rage built up in me. I did not attempt suicide, but I was questioning [life]," she recalls in the new issue of People. "The entire year we were rehearsing every day for hours. I was burying [the depression], and before you knew it, I was looking up out of the pit like, 'Oh my God.'" Michelle says she battled depression as a teenager but this past spring it was all too much to bear. "I'd been there before in that darkness. I was like 'No, you better go [to the hospital].' By the time I got there, I was stable," she says. As for Chad, Michelle says she "would've understood [if he left]," but he continued to support instead. "Some of the things said and done were very hurtful," he tells the magazine. "But I was like, 'I don't even want to talk about what happened. Get well and we can work on us later.'" Today, the couple is happily engaged again and getting ready to premiere a reality show, "Chad Loves Michelle," on OWN. They're also committed to counseling and therapy. "People fall off the fitness wagon, people fall of the wellness wagon, but I can't fall off the [therapy] wagon. I have to get healed to live this happy life," Michelle says. "It's not just about marrying Chad. I finally found someone to do life with."

Charlamagne Tha God is concerned too many people are 'bypassing the conversation' about Kanye West being off his meds

When Charlamagne Tha God canceled a TimesTalk with Kanye West that was intended to focus on mental health, he said on social media he thought having "that conversation with [Kanye] right now would not be productive," given his hope to help chip away at the stigma around mental health issues that exists in African-American communities. The rapper and radio show host stopped by "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" this week and elaborated on his decision to the nix the chat. "I felt like everyone was bypassing that conversation," he said, according to Page Six. "Even when he sat down with TMZ and Harvey Levin, he talked about not being on his meds and Harvey just kind of breezed past it. I'm like, 'Uhh that's where the period that should've been on the sentence. There's nothing else to talk about after that. Let's have a conversation about that. Why are you not on your medication? … I think he needed to figure that out." Adding that his whole goal was to "elevate the conversation" about mental health, he reiterated that involving Kanye at a time when he's said he's not taking his bipolar meds "would be a distraction." He also pointed out that Kanye's team "felt like that was the best thing" and all felt "kind of relieved."

Ben Affleck has no problem with Jennifer Garner's new romance

News that Jennifer Garner is dating tech company founder John Miller is sitting just fine with her ex-husband, Ben Affleck. That's according to Us Weekly, which recently checked in with someone close to the former couple who assured the mag Jen's well being is all ben cares about at the end of the day. "Ben and Jen have immense love and respect for one another. They still co-parent together and that will always come first. He will always be supportive of any decisions she makes and ultimately just wants her to be happy," said the source. As Jen navigates her new relationship — she and John have reportedly been quietly dating for about six months — Ben is preparing to get back to work now that he's completed a 40-day rehab program for alcohol addiction. "He is going to a lot of meetings and meditation, committed to continuing his sobriety," an insider tells the magazine. In Ben's next film, he'll play a character he can probably relate to — "Torrance" revolves around the life of a man battling alcohol addiction whose ex-wife "still cares for him," according to Collider.

Kylie Jenner worries nothing will ever fit her again after giving birth

"Nothing in my closet fits me." So says a deflated looking Kylie Jenner in a clip from the next "Keeping up With the Kardashians" (via the Daily Mail). Promising to toss everything in her closet given her baby weight since welcoming Stormi, the Lip Kit maven goes on to tell viewers she's feeling "insecure" and that her "favorite jeans … feel like they're never going to fit" her again. The clip also reveals Kylie's been dealing with plenty of negative comments from trolls. "I feel like some people don't get it. Some people are just body-shamers." Eventualy, her sister Kim Kardashian West comes to her rescue, telling her younger sib she should "just wear two pairs of shape-wear" to slim things down "and get out of the house." She goes on to assure her sister, "You just have to be confident, get some things that make you feel good about yourself and find your balance." By the end of the clip, Kylie's telling Kim she inspires her.

Rebecca Gayheart talks coparenting with Eric Dane: 'It isn't easy … but we're comitted'

After 14 years of marriage, Rebecca Gayheart divorce from Eric Dane in February, citing irreconcilable differences. Now, the pair find themselves working through the challenges of raising their daughters, Billie and Georgie, as coparents. "We're doing our best. It isn't easy," Rebecca recently told Us Weekly. "But we are trying and we are committed." The actress wasn't able to pinpoint one element of coparenting that felt like the greatest struggle, saying only, "There are so many things." At the same time, she said, she's more aware that her daughters now see her as an independent woman and she wants to ensure they understand certain aspects about that. "I think that as a female you need to be able too always take care of of yourself and never depend on a man," she said. "I'm going back to work and I think it's partly because I want my daughters to see me work. I took some time off to have my kids."

Megyn Kelly slammed by Al Roker after blackface apology

Megyn Kelly's apology for questioning the racist underpinnings of blackface was nowhere near adequate, according to Al Roker, who addressed his colleague's controversial statement on the Wednesday, Oct. 24 edition of "Today." The fact is, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the county," Al said, according to People. "This is a history, going back to the 1830s [with] minstrel shows. To demean and denigrate a race wasn't right. I'm old enough to have lived through 'Amos 'n' Andy' where you had white people in blackface playing two black characters just magnifying the stereotypes about black people. And that's what the big problem is. … No good comes from it. It's just not right." When Megyn appeared on the show Wednesday, she told viewers: "I defended the idea, saying as long as it was respectful and part of a Halloween costume, it seemed OK. Well, I am wrong and I am sorry. One of the great parts of sitting in this chair each day is getting to discuss different points of view. Sometimes I talk and sometimes I listen. And yesterday I learned," she continued. "I learned that given the history of blackface being used in awful ways by racists in this country it is not okay for that to be part of any costume, Halloween or otherwise." She then admitted, "I have never been a PC kind of person," before acknowledging, " I do understand the value in being sensitive to our history, particularly on race and ethnicity. This past year has been painful for many people of color. The country feels so divided and I have no wish to add to that pain and offense. I believe this is a time for more understanding, more love, more sensitivity and honor. I want to be part of that. Thank you for listening and for helping me listen too." In her initial comments, Megyn had asked, "What is racist? Because truly you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface at Halloween or a black person who puts on white face for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as like a character.