By Wonderwall.com Editors
1:58pm PDT, Jul 7, 2020
Paris Jackson looks back at her battles with depression on new Facebook Watch series
Paris Jackson certainly isn't sugar-coating much in her new Facebook Watch series, "Unfiltered: Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn." After revealing in the show's first episode that she grappled with sexuality issues as a young child, Michael Jackson's daughter delves into her battles with severe depression and self-harm in the second installment. "I would cut and burn myself," she admits at one point, according to Page Six. "I never thought that I would die from it because I was the one that was in control with the razor. … I knew how deep I was going, and it was kind of, part of it was the dopamine release." Jackson, 22, says the cutting started in her teenage years after she gained weight when her dad's mom, Katherine Jackson, passed away. The self-harm was a "distraction from emotional pain," she explains. It apparently wasn't enough of a distraction, though. The young singer/songwriter later admits she attempted suicide multiple times prior to her stint at a "therapeutic boarding school" in Utah. "The problems I went there for got fixed, but I left there with many more," she says. Today, Jackson still wrestles with feelings of depression but she says she's stopped taking antidepressants and mood stabilizers. "For me, my depression comes in waves, so even though the lows are unbearably low, I would still rather [feel] that than nothing," she explains. "Pain is way better than numb because at least you're feeling something."
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Billionaire, MAGA fan Kanye West awarded millions in PPP loan money for Yeezy fashion line
When Forbes declared Kanye West a billionaire in late April, the outlet noted his Yeezy fashion line "brought in close to $1.3 billion in 2019." Despite that massive profit margin, West, who owns 100 percent of Yeezy, got a $2 to $5 million loan during the pandemic through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to a report from the U.S. Treasury's Small Business Administration (SBA) released this week. The report, excerpted by Forbes and other outlets, also shows quite a few of the larger loans went to large corporations with close ties to Donald Trump, his family and members of his administration. West has long wavered back and forth on his support of Trump — the rapper/designer didn't even mention him when he tweeted over the holiday weekend that he plans to run for president himself. But West said in no uncertain terms that he planned to vote for Trump this fall during a GQ interview published in April … the same month the SBA started taking applications for PPP loans like the multi-million dollar one West's Yeezy brand was awarded. The Yeezy cash influx was reportedly used to save 100-odd jobs at West's company. But it also comes at a good time for West, who "just secured approval to build a 52,000-square-foot megamansion on one of his Wyoming ranches," according to TMZ.
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Nick Cordero's $480k GoFundMe has raised almost $1M for late actor's wife, son
In mid-April, Broadway star Nick Cordero's loved ones set up a GoFundMe to help support the actor's wife, Amanda Kloots, and their young son, Elvis, as Cordero's COVID-19 complications began to worsen. Now, two days after his death Sunday, that GoFundMe has more than doubled its original goal of $480,000. As of Tuesday morning, the account had raised $949,298, and donations were still pouring in. The text on the page has been updated to say, "We are heartbroken to update this account to a memorial." It also includes Kloots' moving Instagram announcement about her husband's death. The donations will help Kloots pay the cost of her late husband's 90-plus day stay at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, where he underwent multiple intense procedures including the amputation of his leg and the installation of a temporary pacemaker. Kloots and the couple's son aren't just getting monetary support, of course. Since Cordero's death, Kloots has posted about how invaluable her family has been through the ordeal. Cordero's best friend Zach Braff also promised on social media to always look after Kloots and Elvis, per Cordero's request in the last text he sent Braff. The late Tony-nominated star was 41.
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Emilia Clarke thanks nurses, hospital cleaners, cooks and doctors who saved her life in new book
Celebs including Paul McCartney, Emma Thompson and Ed Sheeran contributed their personal stories to a new book that thanks Britain's National Health Service workers for all that they do. But Emilia Clarke's open letter of gratitude is one of the most moving pieces in "Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You." In her letter, the "Game of Thrones" star thanks hospital professionals who helped save her life after she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2011 and was diagnosed with "a life-threatening form of stroke known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)," according to People. "The memories I will hold dearest … are ones that fill me with awe," she writes. "In all those moments, over those three weeks, I was not, not ever, truly alone." Clarke goes on to honor the nurse who suggested she get an MRI after she arrived in the ER ("she saved my life"), the surgeon who operated on her for three hours and avoided "letting on how close to death I had been" and the anesthesiologist, who made her family smile, even "in the process of what was about to happen to my brain." The actress also thanks everyone in the hospital who supported her as she dealt with a serious depression that left her asking staff to let her die. She thanks the cooks who prepared the only meal she could keep down and the janitorial staff "who mopped the floor when my bedpan fell to the ground, shame and embarrassment filling the room along with disinfectant, and then a reassuring smile and a knowledge that they'd seen worse." And finally, the actress praises "the countless unthanked nurses," especially the ones who changed her into her PJs "with as much kindness as if I had been their own daughter." "Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You," is in stores now.
Why Kourtney Kardashian is 'reclaiming' herself and feeling 'free'
Now that she's stepped back from her role on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," Kourtney Kardashian feels as if she's been set "free." She opens up about her new relationship with the long-running show in the July/August edition of Vogue Arabia, which features Kardashian's handwritten words around her face on the cover. They read: "The power of reclaiming yourself. Kourtney Kardashian sets free," according to E! News. "I have been filming the show non-stop for 13 years, 19 seasons and six spin-off seasons," she tells the magazine. "I was feeling unfulfilled and it became a toxic environment for me to continue to have it occupy as much of my life as it was." The mother of three previously told viewers during a confessional that she was taking "a big step back from filming" and would only be giving the show access to her life "when I have something that I find is interesting to film, or that I would feel excited to film." Now that she has more downtime at her disposal, Kardashian says she's able to get more QT in with her kids, Mason, 10, Penelope, 7, and Reign, 5. "I usually take one day on the weekend where we have no plans, we hang out at the house in pajamas or sweats. We sleep in," the Poosh.com founder explains. "I like to not be on a schedule on that day."
Lin-Manuel Miranda responds to critics on how 'Hamilton' deals with slavery
Over the weekend, Lin-Manuel Miranda faced some backlash when he briefly set his Twitter account to private after the Disney+ debut of the filmed version of "Hamilton." He reset the account to public and resumed tweeting the next day, but some of the backlash conversation lingered — namely, around how slavery is dealt with in the musical. On Monday, he responded directly to critics who say the show "glosses over" slavery, according to CNN. Sharing a series of posts from writer Tracy Clayton, the "Hamilton" creator, writer and star tweeted, "All criticisms are valid." In her posts, Clayton had written, among other things, "Hamilton the play and the movie were given to us in two different worlds & our willingness to interrogate things in this way feels like a clear sign of change … I totally get the frustration about it being a play about slaveholders that is not about slavery. I've felt that in lots of things i watch, but i flex the same muscle i use when i listen to hip hop as a black woman. we enjoy problematic things all the time." She then added: "after reading the critiques i would have appreciated more context about hamilton & slavery. but to lump it in with statues of columbus and robert e lee denies this conversation the nuance it deserves & we're capable of giving it that … humans are flawed and messy, both the ones who lived then & the ones reading and writing about them now." In his response, Miranda wrote: "All the criticisms are valid. The sheer tonnage of complexities & failings of these people I couldn't get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical. Did my best. It's all fair game."
Why Keke Palmer is optimistic about the Black Lives Matter movement and more
"I feel as if we can't go back now. It's only going forward." That's how Keke Palmer sees the push for equality and an end to racial injustice that have sent her and so many others into the streets since George Floyd's death in May. In the new issue of Cosmopolitan, the 26-year-old actress, singer and talk show host, who recently urged a National Guardsman to march with protesters at a demonstration, also explains why she's optimistic that the country is seeing real change take place in 2020. "Of course no one wanted the coronavirus pandemic to happen, but I think quarantine allowed us to be more reflective, says Palmer. "Maybe before, we'd be able to gloss over it because of work. It's also been a buildup. There have been so many names turned into hashtags, so much pain. It blows me away because our language has progressed — I don't mean specifically Black people, I mean, young people, millennials — naming white supremacy, saying that out loud." She adds that she thinks "President Trump plays into it, too," explaining: "He's inciting a race war. His craziness is inspiring us to just really get him the f— out! It's like we needed somebody who riled us up so much for us to be activated to the point of saying, 'Oh, hell no. I can't let this guy continue.'" Though she cautions that she sees herself as "an entertainer" not an activist, Palmer says, "at the end of the day … I don't have all the answers, I just speak to what I believe in." She wants others to do the same. "Let's speak our voice," she says. "Let's not let up."
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez add a modest Encino home to their sprawling real estate portfolio
Between them, engaged lovebirds Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez already own a $28 million estate in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, an oceanfront home in Malibu, a New York vacation getaway in the Hamptons, a $20 million penthouse in Manhattan and A-Rod's custom-built Miami mansion. Welp, they now also have an accommodation option in L.A.'s Encino neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. Variety reports J.Lo plunked down almost $1.4 million for a modest, single-story pad featuring a cream-colored stucco exterior walls and a red tile roof. Inside, the 2,200 square-foot home boasts a "midcentury ranch-style layout" with hardwood plank floors in the living/dining room combo area, a vaulted wood ceiling and den with a fireplace. There's also an open kitchen connected to a covered patio by a set of French doors. Variety suggests the home is so unlike the couple's others that it seems likely to have been bought as an investment property or for a relative. According to Page Six, it's been renovated to be as eco-friendly as possible.
Prince William, Prince Harry divide contents of the Diana Fund into their separate charities
With Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan focused on their new life in North America and Archewell, their new charity organization, Harry and William have divided the contents of a large fund in their mother's name established for them after her death. People reports the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund is being split into two shares, each of which will go toward the brothers' charity work. William's portion is expected to be funneled into the Royal Foundation, which he and Duchess Kate took over when Harry and Meghan stepped down from their positions as senior members of the royal family. That's where proceeds from the fund have been going since 2013. Now, according to People, Harry's half of the fund will be earmarked for Sentebale, the HIV/AIDS charity he established with with his friend, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, Africa, in honor of Princess Diana's work to fight the AIDS epidemic.
