By Mark Gray
8:32am PDT, Jun 21, 2019
No more beef
Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have finally found peace. For years, there was no love lost between the pop stars, but they are now on good terms — good enough, in fact, for Katy to appear in Taylor's music video for "You Need to Calm Down." Toward the end of the video, Taylor, dressed as french fries, sees Katy, dressed as a cheeseburger. The two hug. "She and I have been on good terms for a while," Taylor told Capital FM on June 17. "She sent me a really nice note and an olive branch to my tour when it started a while ago. From that point on, we've been on good terms. Then we saw each other at a party and walked up to each other and hugged it out and talked about things." Taylor said she felt "lighter" after making up. "We'd grown past allowing ourselves to be pitted against each other," she added. As for the costumes, she said, after seeing that Katy wore a burger costume to Met Gala afterparties in May, "I was like, 'Can we do a burger and fries as a metaphor for two people that belong together?'"
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Engaged
In the end, Chris Lane's "Take Back Home Girl" was a "The Bachelor" alum. On June 16, the country music singer proposed to his girlfriend of nearly a year, Lauren Bushnell (who won Season 20 of "The Bachelor" and later ended her engagement to star Ben Higgins). A few days later on June 18, he released a music video for his new song "Big, Big Plans," which he called "a video for Lauren," revealing how he popped the question. Chris opens the video saying he's going to let everyone hear a song he wrote for his lady love. Based on the lyrics, it soon became evident that he was going to propose, and he did just that at the end of the song in the backyard of her parent's Oregon home. "Baby, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he told an emotional Lauren. "I have to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Chris then presented her with a 3.5 carat, emerald-cut diamond ring. Oh yeah, she said yes.
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R.I.P.
Heiress, socialite, author and fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt passed away on June 17. She was 95. Her son, CNN host Anderson Cooper, announced the news on his network. "Earlier this month, we had to take her to the hospital. That's where we learned she had very advanced cancer in her stomach and that it had spread," he said. "When the doctor told her she had cancer, she was silent for a while, and then she said, 'Well, it's like that old song: Show me the way to get out of this world, because that's where everything is.'" Anderson added that his mom was "a painter, a writer and designer but also a remarkable mother, wife, and friend… She was 95 years old, but ask anyone close to her and they'd tell you: She was the youngest person they knew — the coolest and most modern." Anderson's BFF, Bravo's Andy Cohen, said Anderson inherited his giggle from Gloria.
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Engagement off
"The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Porsha Williams and fiancé Dennis McKinley have split and called off their engagement. The breakup comes less than three months after the duo welcomed a baby girl, Pilar Jhena McKinley. Fans of the reality TV star noticed there was trouble in paradise when Porsha unfollowed Dennis on Instagram. Despite the split, Dennis still appears on Porsha's Instagram page. In fact, on Father's Day, she shared a black-and-white image of him with their newborn daughter.
Erased
It was almost like Matt Lauer was never at the "Today" show. On June 20, the NBC morning program celebrated its 25th anniversary with a five and a half minute montage of its best moments. Former anchor Matt, who was the face of the show for more than 20 years, was nowhere to be found. NBC has been erasing Matt from its history ever since he was fired in November 2017 for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace. Still, the fact that the disgraced journalist was intentionally left out of the "greatest hits" didn't go unnoticed. "I have to say, the Today Show editing of their 25 years of …something is a master class in the removal of Matt Lauer," one Twitter user wrote. "I actually forgot he was part of the show."
Costly repairs
Remember when Tracy Morgan got into a fender bender in his brand new $2 million Bugatti earlier this month? Well, the cost to repair the car is in… and it's ugly. TMZ reported on June 17 that there was no structural damage, but replacing the damaged front bumper alone will cost $22,000. Plus, it's another $10,000 to replace the damaged fender on the driver side quarter panel. Oh yeah, and that doesn't include labor costs. TMZ noted that "fixing a scratch is the equivalent of plunking down enough money to buy the car that sideswiped it." The woman who hit Tracy claimed the actor was at fault, but the NYPD said otherwise. What's not known yet is who is paying for the repairs to the pricey ride.
In mourning
Lisa Vanderpump's reality TV show "Vanderpump Rules" was put on hold this week in the wake of the news that her mother had passed away. Jean Vanderpump died in England on June 17 at 84. Her death comes 14 months after Lisa's brother, Mark Vanderpump, died of a drug overdose that was ruled a suicide, People magazine reported. Lisa, her rep said, is "devastated and shocked" by her mom's passing. The reality TV star is making plans to travel to England and handle funeral arrangements.
Witness stand
Wayne Newton was in a Las Vegas courtroom on June 18 testifying against two alleged burglars who entered his home on June 13, 2018. The legendary singer revealed for the first time that he had a gun on him and actually fired a shot to scare the men away. The men ran off after the discharge. "I decided to take one shot in the air. That was the last time I saw them," Wayne said. The "Danke Shoen" singer's Las Vegas home had also been burglarized 10 days earlier. The trial, however, pertains to the second burglary. While on the witness stand, Wayne said one of the two burglars also raised a tire iron with every intention of hurting him and his family, but one of the family's two dogs attacked the man while the other chased them away. Both dogs were injured but have since recovered.
Thoughts of leaving
James Corden's time on late night TV (at least in the United States) could be coming to an end. During an interview with "The Best of Chris Evans Breakfast Show With Sky," the funnyman said he often thinks about returning to England. "There are questions [like], Where do we want our kids to go to school? There's people getting older. Time is the key. And time with people," he said. "And all of those things will be factors, which are far greater than, 'Do I still want to carry on doing ['The Late Late Show'] show or not?' It's a greater question than that." He has a year remaining on his current CBS contract. "There's things that I miss greatly and muscles that I enjoy using from time to time," he said. "We'll see, really. I don't know. We'll sort of cross or burn that bridge when we get to it, you know?" If he were to sign another contract, he thinks it would be for only a few years. "My hunch is that we'll continue to do it for a while," he said.
Indicted
Cardi B has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges in connection with a brawl at a New York strip club last August, including two felonies. The rapper was arrested last October for allegedly ordering an attack on two strip club bartenders after Cardi accused one of them of sleeping with her husband, Offset. TMZ said on June 21 that the grand jury indicted Cardi on 14 charges, including 2 counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious physical injury. Other charges include misdemeanor reckless endangerment, assault, criminal solicitation, conspiracy and harassment. Cardi, for what it's worth, didn't seem bothered by the legal matter on June 20, as she hit up the ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards in Los Angeles and won an award for Songwriter of the Year.
