Wedding bells
Sean Penn is a married man. On Aug. 3, the actor, who turned 60 on Aug. 17, confirmed that he'd married actress Leila George, 28, a few days earlier. "We did a COVID wedding," he told late night host Seth Meyers. "By that I mean it was a county commissioner on Zoom, we were at the house, my two children and her brother, and we did it that way." A friend of the happy couple had actually broken the news a few days before. "We are so happy for @leilageorge #seanpenn getting married. We love you," Irena Medavoy, the wife of "Black Swan" producer Mike Medavoy, wrote on Instagram, while also sharing an image of Leila's oval sapphire ring.
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Prison bound
Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have found out their fate. On Aug. 21, a judge, as expected, accepted a plea deal the couple had stuck with prosecutors in their college admissions scandal case. Mossimo is set to serve five months in prison, pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service. Lori was sentenced to two months in prison, a $150,000 fine and 100 hours of community service. The couple was accused of bribing a middleman to get their daughters accepted into the University of Southern California as crew recruits despite neither of them having experience in high-level rowing. During the hearing, which was conducted via Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lori tearfully apologized. "I've made an awful decision. I went along with a plan to give my daughters an unfair advantage in the college decision process. I thought I was acting out of love for my children, but in reality it only undermined my daughter's abilities and accomplishments. My decision helped exacerbate existing inequalities in society," she said. Due to the language in the plea deal, house arrest is off the table. The Federal Board of Prisons will now decide which prisons the couple will report to. Given that both are first-time offenders and convicted of non-violent crimes, it's highly likely that they'll serve their time in a minimum-security facility.
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D-R-A-M-A
For all intents and purposes, this might actually be the most dramatic season ever of "The Bachelorette" as it will start with one lead but end with a different one. (Spoiler alert!) In early 2020, producers announced that Clare Crawley would headline the 16th season of "The Bachelorette," making the 39-year-old hair stylist the oldest female to star on the show. However, according to reports, Clare fell in love with one of the men in the very, very early stages of filming and didn't want to continue, knowing that she'd already made up her mind. Clare abruptly exited and left producers in need of a new lead since filming had only just begun. Enter fan favorite Tayshia Adams, 28, who competed on Colton Underwood's season 23 of "The Bachelor" and later dated John Paul Jones on "Bachelor in Paradise." "The producers have told her that the season will still lead with Clare and her short-lived journey, and will show Clare falling in love with one of her suitors," a source told E! on Aug. 3. "Clare will then conclude her journey and announce that Tayshia is the lead." Oh yeah, somewhere along the way, host Chris Harrison even had to temporarily bow out of hosting duties due to a need to quarantine after taking his son to college.
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X-Man
A league of his own. On Aug. 3, Dwayne Johnson confirmed that he and some business partners — including his ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia, had purchased the defunct XFL for $15 million. The professional football league debuted in 2001 but folded after one season. In 2020, it was resurrected. However, after five weeks of games, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which proved to be the XFL's death sentence. In April the league filed for bankruptcy. Dwayne said he plans to bring the league back, and one prominent sports name, UFC boss Dana White, said the renewed The Rock-led XFL could be a hit. The XFL sale was finalized later in the month.
Image repair
Ellen DeGeneres spent much of the month trying to repair her battered image. On Aug. 17, Variety reported that "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" had parted ways with three top producers — executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman — in the wake of ongoing criticism of the show's culture and allegations of bad behavior. That same day, the show's resident DJ, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, was promoted to co-executive producer. Ellen also reportedly apologized to her staff on Aug. 17, saying she's "not perfect." According to People magazine, she added, "I'm a multi-layered person, and I try to be the best person I can be and I try to learn from my mistakes. I'm hearing that some people felt that I wasn't kind or too short with them, or too impatient. I apologize to anybody if I've hurt your feelings in any way." While the month saw Ellen's ex-DJ Tony Okungbowa — known as DJ Tony — acknowledging there was a "toxicity of the environment," it also saw something Ellen hasn't had in a while: support. Ellen's wife, Portia de Rossi, publicly stood by the comedian. After that, Katy Perry, Jerry O'Connell, Diane Keaton and Kevin Hart all publicly expressed their support for Ellen. Howard Stern told her to embrace her "mean girl" image. Ellen will return to the air on Sept. 9, and it will be her first show since the majority of the allegations were made public.
House fire
On Aug. 9, an inferno broke out in the chimney at Rachael Ray's upstate New York mansion, causing extensive damage to the second floor and roof. The first floor — where her state-of-art kitchen is located — mainly suffered water damage but largely avoided the flames. The affable TV star chef was able to escape the blaze along with her husband, mother and dog. "We're all OK," she said in a statement. "These are the days we all have to be grateful for what we have, not what we've lost." The home is located in a fairly remote area, so there are no nearby fire hydrants. Firefighters had to use pond water to douse the flames. Rachael had been filming her eponymous talk show and cooking segments at the home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
VP nod
History was made on Aug. 11 when Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris to be his running mate. She is now the first Black woman to appear on a major party ticket. Hollywood, which is a largely liberal bunch, erupted with glee over the announcement. "What a historic moment for women of color, little girls with big dreams, and mothers everywhere," Jessica Biel tweeted. "We are cheering for you." Pink was so happy that she was crying "real actual tears." Elizabeth Banks called the California senator a "powerhouse." John Legend said he was "very much looking forward to voting for the Biden-Harris ticket to begin the difficult work of recovering from this nightmare presidency and building an even better future." Later in the month, celebs also weighed in with their thoughts on both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention.
Drink up
Ryan Reynolds has banked on the bottle. On Aug. 17, beverage company Diageo announced that it had acquired Aviation American Gin, which Ryan co-owns. The deal was worth $610 million with a $335 million upfront payment. Despite the sale, Ryan will have an ongoing ownership interest in the gin. As news of the deal went public, Ryan said in a statement, "A little over two years ago, I became an owner of Aviation Gin because I love the taste of Aviation more than any other spirit. What I didn't expect was the sheer creative joy learning a new industry would bring. Growing the brand with my company, Maximum Effort Marketing, has been among the most fulfilling projects I've ever been involved with. I want to thank Diageo for their incredible team and passion. We're so excited for the next chapter of Aviation Gin, which, I promise, will require just as little reading."
Mom-to-be
On Aug. 11, lovable TV star and wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin announced that she and Chandler Powell, her husband of four and a half months, are expecting their first baby. "Baby Wildlife Warrior due 2021," she captioned a photo on Instagram. Soon afterward, her brother Robert Irwin celebrated on social media. "The most exciting news ever! I am so happy for Bindi and Chandler to be welcoming a new member of the family. I can't believe I'm going to be an uncle!!!" Terri Irwin said she was "over the moon" about the pregnancy. Bindi is in her first trimester. Crickey, that's gonna be a cute kid!
Awful accident
Simon Cowell suffered a broken back while riding his electric bike in Los Angeles. "Some good advice… If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time," he tweeted on Aug. 9. "I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages." According to witnesses of Simon's accident, speed was a factor; he was allegedly thrown in the air after the bike did a "giant wheelie." Page Six reported that Simon narrowly avoided being paralyzed. "He did a turn in his courtyard, changed gear, and then the bike went into a wheelie and threw him off the back," a source said. "Simon was in complete agony and was stretchered out of his home and taken in an ambulance to hospital." The source continued, "Friends at the scene quickly checked that he could move fingers and toes… When he fell off the bike, he landed right on his back, which broke in a number of places. He had to have a metal rod inserted into his back." After the injury, Kelly Clarkson took his place as a judge on "America's Got Talent."
Family of five!
Baby on the way! On April 13, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen confirmed that they are expecting their third child. John dropped the news in the new music video for his song "Wild," which was inspired by Chrissy. Toward the end of the video, Chrissy (who stars in it) is seen cradling her tummy. "For many years now, I've taken pregnancy tests almost every month, praying to see a positive one day," she tweeted. When asked if her two children — who were conceived via IVF — are excited, she tweeted, "Luna is very, very excited. Miles, not so much. Jealous!"
Splitsville
Well, it was fun while it lasted. After 10 months of dating, Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson have called it quits. On Aug. 14, Miley confirmed the split. "For right now, two halves can't make a whole, and we're individually just working on ourselves, becoming the people that we want to be. Like everybody else at this age, we're just deciding who we want to be with our lives, what we want to do with our lives," she said on Instagram Live. "And so, don't make it some drama story if next week we hang out and we're getting pizza. We've been friends for 10 years, and we're going to continue to be friends. Just don't make it something that it is not."
85 pounds lighter
Kelly Osbourne is a loser… and that's a good thing. In early August, fans started noticing that Kelly was a significantly slimmed down version of herself. After a friend spoke about Kelly's weight loss, the former "Fashion Police" panelist said she'd lost 85 pounds. She later revealed she lost weight with the help of gastric sleeve surgery. While chatting about her slimdown on the "Hollywood Raw with Dax Holt and Adam Glyn" podcast, Kelly also referenced her secret battle with alcohol (she's now been sober for three years). "Unless you were in my inner, inner, inner circle, you probably didn't even know I was drinking or drunk," she said. "I was a functioning alcoholic. Full-blown functioning alcoholic. I kept my job; I kept my friends. I reached a spiritual low where I was just so morbidly unhappy and lost and directionless and just broken in every way."
Baby bliss
Hey, girl! Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger are the proud parents of a baby girl. On Aug. 10, the actor officially announced the news on social media, posting a picture of himself and his wife of a year holding their baby's tiny hand. "We are beyond thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter, Lyla Maria Schwarzenegger Pratt," he wrote. "We couldn't be happier. Both mom and baby are doing great. We are extremely blessed." Before Chris's announcement, Katherine's brother Patrick accidentally confirmed the news to a paparazzi videographer.
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