By Mark Gray
8:32am PST, Mar 6, 2020
Pregnant
Katy Perry is having a baby! The singer and "American Idol" judge announced her pregnancy news in a music video for "Never Worn White," which she released on March 4. At the end of the video, Katy revealed her baby bump. On social media afterward, she formally confirmed it. "omg so glad I don't have to suck it in anymore," she wrote on Twitter, adding, "or carry around a big purse lol." Later on Instagram Live, she said the pregnancy was the "longest secret" she's ever had to keep, adding that she's been craving burritos. Katy and her fiancé, Orlando Bloom — who has a 9-year-old son with ex Miranda Kerr — are reportedly set to marry later this year.
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Looking rosy
Stop and smell the roses, Clare Crawley. On March 2, ABC announced that Clare would be leading the next installment of "The Bachelorette." At 38, she will be the oldest "Bachelorette" star in the franchise's 16 seasons. Clare is no stranger to fans of the show. She first appeared on Juan Pablo Galavis's 2014 season of "The Bachelor," finishing as the runner-up. She's also appeared on "Bachelor in Paradise" and "The Bachelor Winter Games." After a recent run of 20-something "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" stars, the move to cast Clare was widely praised.
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CBS feud
Judy Sheindlin is ending her long partnership with CBS after the 25th season of her popular court TV show, "Judge Judy," airs next year. The reality TV star will then launch a new show called "Judy Justice" on another network. After Judy's March 2 announcement, a report claimed she and CBS have been at odds behind the scenes for months. The ongoing disagreements led her to call it quits, TMZ reported, noting that Judy's feud with the network began after Les Moonves was ousted as its leader in 2018. Judy and the new top dogs "haven't been seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things she and Les were square on," the website explained.
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R.I.P.
James Lipton, the beloved creator and host of "Inside The Actors Studio," passed away from bladder cancer on March 2. He as 93. James shared some 18 Emmy nominations for "Inside the Actors Studio" with his fellow producers. After the show found mainstream success, James was parodied on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons." James stepped down as host of the show in 2018 after 25 years at the helm. He interviewed over 250 guests. After his death, many celebrities and colleagues paid tribute to him. Andy Cohen called him "a warm, meticulous man with a great appreciation of the arts and wicked sense of humor."
Sudden retirement
Longtime "Hardball" host Chris Matthews abruptly retired from MSNBC on March 2 amid multiple controversies. While announcing his retirement, the political guru hinted that the decision wasn't totally his. "Obviously, this isn't for lack of interest in politics," he said. Chris' retirement comes after a woman claimed he made sexist remarks when she was a guest on the show in 2016. "Compliments on a woman's appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK, were never OK. Not then and certainly not today," Chris said during his announcement. "And for making such comments in the past, I'm sorry." Chris also caused embarrassment when he misidentified a South Carolina politician and when he likened the Bernie Sanders campaign to the Nazis.
Nashville's hurting
Just after midnight on March 3, Music City USA — otherwise known as Nashville, Tennessee — was hit with a gut punch when a tornado touched down and destroyed everything in its path. Carrie Underwood, who was in New York at the time, said her husband rushed to get their kids into a "safe room." "He said he had to go upstairs at like 2 a.m. and grab the boys and take them down to, we have like a little safe room in our house, and I bet everybody was crying," she said. Dolly Parton said there was utter devastation through the city and Central Tennessee. Dierks Bentley's longtime drummer lost his home in the storm. While the country (and country music) rallied around Tennessee, Taylor Swift donated $1 million to tornado relief. "Nashville is my home and the fact that so many people have lost their homes and so much more in Middle Tennessee is devastating to me," she said.
Fired
Legendary rap group Public Enemy is lacking "flavor" these days. On March 1, Public Enemy announced that it had fired Flavor Flav after he slapped presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders with a cease-and-desist letter after the politician claimed the group would perform at a rally in Los Angeles. One day after the firing, Flavor Flav voice his anger with the group and frontman Chuck D on Twitter. "@MrChuckD are you kidding me right now???,,,over Bernie Sanders??? You wanna destroy something we've built over 35 years OVER POLITICS???,,,all because I don't wanna endorse a candidate,,,I'm very disappointed in you and your decisions right now Chuck,,," he wrote. "And @MrChuckD,,,i didn't sue you on Friday,,,i asked the @berniesanders campaign to correct misleading marketing,,,that's all it was,,,I'm not your employee,,,i'm your partner,,,you can't fire me,,,there is no Public Enemy without Flavor Flav,,,so let's get it right Chuck,,,"
Arrested
Nicki Minaj's new husband, Kenneth Petty, surrendered to federal authorities on March 4 after failing to register as a sex offender in California, TMZ reported. Kenneth was indicted by a grand jury in February, according to court documents. In 1995, Kenneth was convicted of attempted first-degree rape in New York. When he moved to California last summer, he was required by law to register as a sexual offender, which he failed to do. Sexual offenders are "required to update their registration in each jurisdiction they reside, are employed, or attend school," the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act states. The rapper married Kenneth last October.
Health update
One year down! On March 4, "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek delivered an update on his health, revealing he's hit a major milestone in his cancer battle. The one-year survival rate for stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients is 18%, and Alex just passed that. "Now, I'd be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one. There were some good days but a lot of not-so-good days," he said in a Twitter video. "I joked with friends that the cancer won't kill me, the chemo treatments will. There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer function and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it really was worth fighting on." Alex, who is not in remission, thanked his wife and friends. "You know my oncologist tried to cheer me up the other day. He said, 'Alex, even though the two-year survival rate is only 7%,' he was certain that one year from now, the two of us would be sitting in his office celebrating my second anniversary of survival," Alex said. "And you know something, if I, no, if we — because so many of us are involved in this same situation — if we take it just one day at a time with a positive attitude, anything is possible. I'll keep you posted."
Divorced
Brooke Burke and David Charvet's divorce has been finalized… two years after they pulled the plug on their marriage. TMZ reported on March 5 that the breakup, despite a lengthy divorce process, was fairly amicable. The duo agreed to a 50/50 split of physical and legal custody of their two children and they've agreed to equally split all the expenses surrounding their children. They're also divvying up their cache of assets, with the former "Dancing With the Stars" host getting homes in Malibu and Santa Monica and the "Baywatch" getting a separate Malibu home. Brooke gets to claim rights to two fitness companies and David gets a few other companies that he and Brooke owned together. The exes also plan to divide up their extensive art collection in the future, and they'll also split their bank accounts. They've both since moved on to other relationships.
