By Wonderwall.com Editors
10:50am PST, Feb 20, 2018
Cruise to Colombia ends in fire, vomit and a boat rescue for 'Real Housewives' cast
Fun times! What sounded like a luxurious and fun cruise to Cartagena, Colombia, turned out to be a fiery nightmare for the "Real Housewives of New York City" cast, who recently embarked on a South American journey together. The New York Post reports their "cruise ship" turned out to be old, rickety and small — and that was just the beginning of the voyage's problems. "Once they were ushered on board, the boat couldn't even move. The anchor got stuck, so the crew had to saw the anchor off before they could sail anywhere. When they got out to sea, the engine caught fire. It was a huge blaze and the crew was fighting to put it out. They didn't have a fire extinguisher nor did they speak English," said a source. When the boat hit some rough water, the insider said "seats and other things on board that weren't nailed down started flying about." It didn't help that the boat had only come stocked with two or three life jackets — and at one point, the boat was starting to fill with water. The cast's response? General hysteria — and some vomiting. "They all thought they were going to die and they were hysterical. Bethenny [Frankel], Ramona [Singer] and Dorinda [Medley] were soaked and screaming hysterically, Carole [Radziwill] and Tinsley [Mortimer] were literally throwing up from seasickness. They were far out to sea and they thought they were going down like the Titanic," said the source. A "passing boat" ultimately managed to get the ladies to safety. They have reportedly been offered counseling by Bravo , which issued a statement about the report to the Post. "The 'Real Housewives of New York City' cast was recently on a boat in South America and encountered turbulent water," said a rep in a statement. "Thankfully, everyone is fine and was able to continue their vacation as planned. The safety of our cast and crew is paramount and, to that end, we are doing a full investigation."
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JAY-Z drops $110,000 on a night out on the town
Attention, club and restaurant owners: If you can lure JAY-Z into your establishment, it could be a major boon for your bank account. Over the weekend, Jay took some pals out to celebrate Roc Nation Sports president Juan "OG" Perez's birthday in New York City. By the end of the night, he'd dropped a cool $110,000 on the outing, according to the New York Post. First, Jay and friends hit Zuma in Midtown Manhattan, where Jay spent $13,000 on dinner for the group. The roving party then went out for drinks at Made in Mexico in the Big Apple's uptown Inwood neighborhood. Again, Jay scooped up the bill — this time, for $9,000 worth of booze. Finally, the six revelers who had not yet called it a night, headed to Playroom, a nightclub near Made in Mexico. After ordering 40 bottles of Jay's Ace of Spades Champagne — and passing out some of the bottles to other tables at the club — Jay paid full price for his tab. The grand total for the last stop, which included an $11,000 tip for the group's server (who posted the bill on Snapachat) came to $91,135. No big woop.
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Maddox Jolie-Pitt is reportedly avoiding the spotlight as his parents' custody battle continues
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 16-year-old son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, doesn't share his parents' interest in the spotlight. That's according to Life & Style, whose sources say that despite the teen's executive producer role on his mom's Khmer Rouge film, "First They Killed My Father," he's averse to the red carpets, constant photo snaps and other aspects of life as a celebrity. "Maddox hates the glitz and glamour that comes with being a Hollywood star. He doesn't really like attending any kind of showbiz event. He'll make a brief appearance if he has to, but celeb events aren't his thing," says the tab's insider. Maddox, who was born in Cambodia and helped Angelina with meetings, script development, reviewing dailies and preparing shoots for the 2017 movie, based on the non-fiction memoir by Luong Ung (right), reportedly skipped the last two major events where his mother and siblings made appearances. "He finds it all pretentious," the source says. "Maddox wants to lead as normal a life as possible." Angelina, the insider adds, is trying not to pressure her son either way as she and Brad continue their struggle to finalize a custody agreement for their six children.
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Random feud of the week: Kirstie Alley vs. the U.S. Men's Olympic Curling Team
When the U.S. Olympic curling teams take to the ice for their final round robin game this week, you can be pretty sure Kirstie Alley won't be cheering them on. It seems Kirstie got into an unexpected feud this week with the U.S. Men's Olympic Curling Team after she posted this curling dis on Twitter: "Im not trying to be mean but…… Curling is boring." Within a few hours, the men's curlers clapped back at the "Look Who's Talking" franchise star with this gem: "We're not trying to be mean either but your movies weren't exactly riveting theater Kirstie." Curling team member Matt Hamilton also weighed in, tweeting at Kirstie, "You're entitled to your wrong opinion," which Kirstie retweeted with a handful of crying/laughing Emojis. By Tuesday, Feb, 20, the tensions seemed to have waned. "Another day to try and be as 'sensitive' as possible to not offend anyone anywhere anytime …about anything..," Kristie tweeted. She capped the tweet with a sarcastic, eye roll-filled, "GOOD LUCK🙄🙄🙄."
Is Jennifer Lawrence really taking a year off?
Jennifer Lawrence seems to have been pining for some time off from acting for a while now. Whether she'll actually make that happen, however, remains to be seen. The actress recently announced she plans to take "the next year off" to focus on "trying to get young people engaged politically on a local level" through Represent.Us. A publicist for J.Law told a different story in a recent chat with the New York Post. According to the rep, Jen will be back on-set "as soon as one of a number of in-development movies is ready to start shooting." IMDB reports she's set to star in "Bad Blood," about a bio-tech entrepreneur named Elizabeth Holmes; the Post reports she's also slated to star in a Ron Howard film about Zelda Fitzgerald. The tab points out Jen's previously threatened to take time off, vowing to "turn [her] phone off for a year" after she finished "The Hunger Games" series. As the highest-paid actress in the world, she could certainly afford the downtime should she want a break.
Blac Chyna and her ex, Mechie, are contacting police about leaked sex tape
Following the leak of a sex tape starring Blac Chyna and her ex, Mechie, a lawyer for Chyna says she intends to enlist the help of police to investigate how the private, phone-shot video clip got out. According to TMZ, Mechie also plans to contact the authorities in the hopes they'll investigate. "Why do we think it's acceptable to sell, or publish, or seek revenge, or blackmail women in this way and without their consent? It's not," Chyna's lawyer Walter Mosley said on Instagram this week. "Men … we have to do better. I'm tired of telling my clients to not make videos because the men will put them out later. It's like I'm telling them not to wear short skirts because you're going to entice a man to rape you. #smh And like most rapes, these betrayals often come from those most close to us. We need to stop sharing these videos with each other in the club, at the barbershop or (and especially) online. It is a morally corrupt action, which is (at least in California) criminal. Maybe it is time to set an example. #blacchyna." According to TMZ, Mechie shot the video when he and Chyna were dating.
Ryan Reynolds welcomes Make-a-Wish kids to the 'Deadpool 2' set
Ryan Reynolds is making the most of the "Deadpool 2" reshoots he's doing in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada, this week. In a series of photos on Instagram, the 41-year-old star explained that the production teamed up with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to give kids battling life-threatening medical conditions a chance to hang out on the set of his film. "One of the best parts of playing the Big Red Jacka– is welcoming @makeawishamerica and @childrenswishfoundation onto set. Deadpool kicked Cancer in the t—-, but these kids do it for real every day," he captioned one collage of photos. "These foundations make dreams come true for a lot of of super-brave kids. They also make dreams come true for parents, who just wanna see their kid smile. HUGE thanks to our Prop Master, Dan Sissons, for making sure every kid left with his/her own sword. (Bamboo versions. Not stabby-stabby versions.) 🇨🇦⚔️." When a commenter noted that the R-rated "Deadpool" films might not be appropriate for kids, Ryan retorted: "Yup. Deadpool is Rated R. If my kid went through a fraction of the s*** these kids deal with daily, I think they can watch whatever they like. That's just my .02 cents." "Deadpool 2" hits theaters on May 18.
Gabrielle Union talks standing up, speaking out and demanding equity in Hollywood
As Hollywood navigates ongoing discussions about equal pay for equal work, sexual harassment and other issues that have come to the fore since the #MeToo movement took off, Gabrielle Union sees accountability as one of the most important paths toward progress. In Elle Canada's March cover story, the 45-year-old actress says she's known women who complained about things like a nudity contract on a film not being adhered to — and watched them disappear entirely from the industry. "It's what our industry, and the country, the world, does with women who dare to buck the system and ask for accountability," she says. "This is where real bravery comes in. Who's willing to stand up when you have everything to lose?" Gabrielle goes on to say that because she has financial security, she can afford to stand up for those who can't in such situations — although she admits she used to be less forthright and even adopted a "special voice" she thought would make her sound softer in negotiations. ("I think I've been in this business 22 years using that dumb-a– voice that I thought was helping me, and I'm sure it did at certain times," Gabrielle says. "But I wonder how my career could have been different if I had let that real voice out.") The actress sees other ways Hollywood can address its sexual misconduct problem, too. "We need equity. Studies have shown that when there is real equity in the workplace, sexual harassment claims, a lot of these issues, drop dramatically. That's one thing. Then, recognition outside Hollywood royalty or the corporate world: farm workers, domestic workers, anyone in the service industry, the voiceless. People in the clergy. People who aren't in unionized positions. We're all women, we've all been suffering — everybody's got to be in the same line to be seen and each story recognized in its own place," she says. "You have to recognize and identify people and hold them accountable in every facet of life."
Viola Davis pushes to close race-related wage gap in Hollywood
The many accolades under Viola Davis' belt include an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award, five SAG Awards, four Critics' Choice Awards, four NAACP Image Awards, a BET Award and four National Board of Review Awards. That's not even all of 'em — and yet, she continues to be paid less for her work than her white counterparts. As she told Tina Brown at the Women in the World Summit earlier this month, she's done with the pay disparity. "We get probably a tenth of what a Caucasian woman gets. And I'm number one on the call sheet," she said, according to Mashable. "I have a career that's probably comparable to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver. They had the same path as me, and yet I am nowhere near them. Not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities, nowhere close to it," Viola continued. "People say, 'You're a black Meryl Streep … We love you. There is no one like you.' OK, then if there's no one like me, you think I'm that, you pay me what I'm worth."
Josh Duhamel shares sweet 'love' quote from Axl after Fergie's National Anthem controversy
Fergie and Josh Duhamel may have called it quits as a couple but that clearly doesn't mean Josh is done supporting his ex. As critics continue to pan the oddly jazzed up rendition of the National Anthem Fergie delivered at the NBA All-Star Game, Josh has been all about showing Fergie his love. First, he was spotted bringing a bouquet of red and pink roses to the singer's home. Then, on Monday, Feb. 19, he shared a typed out quote from Axl, the 4-year-old son he and Fergie share, on Instagram. "Love is so strong. Love cannot be broken. Love is so strong nobody can break it not even Hulk. – Axl Jack Duhamel," the image read. Speaking to Us Weekly after her performance, Fergie explained why she sang a non-traditional version of the anthem. "I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA," she said. "I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best."
