By Mark Gray
8:40am PST, Nov 22, 2019
Cosmetics brand sale
Kylie Jenner's cosmetics empire is under new management. On Nov. 18, it was announced that the beauty mogul had sold a 51 percent stake in her Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin lines to Coty, the conglomerate behind Clairol, CoverGirl and Max Factor, among other top brands. The price? $600 million. Kylie, who still owns the other 49 percent herself, will continue to lead all creative efforts and communications initiatives, she and Coty said in a joint statement. Kylie added that she's "excited to partner with Coty to continue to reach even more fans of Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin around the world. This partnership will allow me and my team to stay focused on the creation and development of each product while building the brand into an international beauty powerhouse."
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Miscarriage
James Van Der Beek's wife, Kimberly, suffered a miscarriage that nearly cost her her life. The "Dawson's Creek" star announced the sad news on Nov. 18 on "Dancing With the Stars" before he was eliminated. "We lost the baby. The little soul that we had expected to welcome into our family took a shortcut to whatever lies beyond," he said. On Nov. 19, Kimberly thanked everyone for their love and support. "I don't even know how I'm going to begin to respond to it all so I think I'll just have to do it here," she said on Instagram. "In 48 hours we lost our baby — boy, by the way — and I almost lost my life. Which is not a story that has been told, but at some point I can dig into the details with you guys about what happened in the emergency room." Kimberly, certainly still grieving and recovery, said she's not "ready to talk further about everything yet, but at some point I will." Heartbreaking.
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Arrested
Sam Hunt was arrested in Nashville for driving under the influence on Nov. 21 after police saw him allegedly swerving and driving the wrong way down a road. Police told a local media outlet that the country music star smelled of booze, had bloodshot eyes and had two open beers in the car. He allegedly told police he had "recently" been drinking. He also handed them a passport and a credit card when they asked for his ID. He was booked into jail and later released.
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Nude scenes
Emilia Clarke said she felt pressure to do nude scenes on "Game of Thrones" so she wouldn't disappoint the fans. On Dax Shepard's Nov. 18 "Armchair Expert" podcast, the actress detailed those early days on the "GoT" set. "I'm floating through this first season and I have no idea what I'm doing; I have no idea what any of this is," she continued. "I've never been on a film set like this before, I'd been on a film set twice before then, and I'm now on a film set completely naked with all of these people, and I don't know what I'm meant to do, and I don't know what's expected of me, and I don't know what you want, and I don't know what I want. Regardless of there being nudity or not, I would have spent that first season thinking I'm not worthy of requiring anything; I'm not worthy of needing anything at all." As she got more seasoned, she found the power to speak up. "I'm a lot savvier with what I'm comfortable with, and what I am OK with doing," she said. "I've had fights on set before where I'm like, 'No, the sheet stays up,' and they're like, 'You don't wanna disappoint your 'Game of Thrones' fans.' And I'm like, 'F— you.'"
Music dispute
Taylor Swift can "Shake It Off" all she wants at the American Music Awards. You'll recall that on Nov. 14, Taylor claimed she was being blocked by her former record label, Big Machine, from performing her early hits on the AMAs on Nov. 24. Days later, a statement from Big Machine Label Group claimed it had reached an agreement with Dick Clark Productions, which produces the AMAs, so that Taylor could perform anything from her back catalog. The statement, which was issued on behalf of both companies, said the licensing agreement "approves [Big Machine's] artists' performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms" and added that "It should be noted that recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media." However, Dick Clark later came out and said it wasn't involved in that statement at all. "At no time did Dick Clark Productions agree to, create, authorize or distribute a statement in partnership with Big Machine Label Group regarding Taylor Swift's performance at the 2019 American Music Awards," they wrote. "Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift's management team. We have no further comment." This confusing story is now a she said/they said/they said.
Public plea
Scooter Brain is pleading with Taylor Swift to lower the temperature in their feud, claiming his family is getting death threats. In an open letter to the pop star posted to Instagram on Nov. 22, the music exec, who now owns her old label and has control over her back catalog, expressed a desire to find resolution, indicating he'd be more than willing to sit down with her and hash it out. "I came home tonight to find my wife had received a phone call threatening the safety of our children, as well as other threats seen above," he wrote, sharing a photo of a threat they received on his Instagram Story. "I won't go into the details of this past week. I have been at a loss. Thinking of my wife and children, my team and their families, I have gone through a range of emotions on how to deal with this. I write this now only after a deep breath and much reflection. I am certain there is no situation ever worth jeopardizing anyone's safety." Scooter said he's "open to ALL possibilities" to "rectify the situation." Taylor has not publicly responded. Scooter added that he has tried to get "mutual friends" involved to help set up a meeting, but has come up short. "It almost feels as if you have no interest in ever resolving the conflict. At this point with safety becoming a concern I have no choice other than to publicly ask for us to come together and try to find resolution," he wrote. "I have tried repeatedly through your representatives to achieve a solution but unfortunately here we are. The game of telephone isn't working."
Heartbreaking loss
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino's wife, Lauren, revealed that she suffered a miscarriage after getting pregnant the night that her reality TV star husband was released from prison in September after serving eight months for tax evasion. "And then at about six and half, seven weeks, I miscarried," she said on ABC's "Strahan, Sara and Keke" on Nov. 18. "When I found out we were pregnant I felt like this is why we went through all these challenges for years and that this was our time and it was our blessing," Lauren said, her husband by her side. "It was hard. It was really difficult." She added, "I didn't want to hold this in. I wanted to share it for other people going through it and just be honest so I can kind of heal through the process."
Lawsuit
Former "Empire" star Jussie Smollett went on the offensive on Nov. 19, filing a malicious prosecution counterclaim in federal court alleging that the city of Chicago created a false narrative that an alleged January hate crime assault on him was a hoax. That suggestion, he said, has had an enormous financial impact. Listed in the lawsuit, in addition to Chicago, are multiple Chicago Police Department officers as well as brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, two of Jussie's friends who previously said that they faked an attack on him earlier this year at his direction. "As a proximate result of the wrongful conduct engaged in by Counterclaim-Defendants, Mr. Smollett has suffered and continues to suffer substantial economic damages as well as reputational harm, humiliation, mental anguish and extreme emotional distress in an amount according to proof at trial," the lawsuit says.
Summer visits
Distance makes the heart grow fonder? Earlier in November, Teresa Giudice and her four daughters headed to Italy to see Joe Giudice, who's there awaiting news on his deportation appeal. The Bravo reality star has since she won't be seeing Joe again in person again until next summer! Teresa dropped the bombshell while speaking to Andy Cohen, who incredulously said, "Maybe this summer?! That's in like, eight, nine months!" Why so long? "Well, because the girls wanted to go back for Thanksgiving, but Joe's just getting his [Italian] passport, so we don't know if we're gonna, you know… They were gonna meet in the Bahamas, but I don't think he's gonna get his passport… He's gonna get his passport right around that time," Teresa explained. "So they're definitely going for Christmas. I have to work around that time, so that's why I can't go." Andy nodded while openly confused. "So, summer!" Teresa said. "That'll be my next break 'cause the girls have school!"
Say what?
A Hollywood executive once suggested that they get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman in a film about the abolitionist's life. Let that sink in. Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard, who wrote the new biopic "Harriet" starring actress Cynthia Erivo, explained this month that the film has been in the works since 1994. During a meeting back in the '90s, he recalled, an executive said, "This script is fantastic. Let's get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman." Someone pointed out that Harriet was black and Julia is not. The anonymous executive allegedly said, "It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference."
