ICYMI: Celeb news for May 20-25

By Mark Gray 3:10pm PDT, May 25, 2018

Avril Lavigne has a new man, and he's a billionaire… with a B. According to E! News, the singer has been dating Phillip Sarofim for the past two or three months. Phillip, whose dad is Texas billionaire Fayez Sarofim, works in a variety of fund management capacities and is reportedly a part owner of the Houston Texans. He and Avril were spotted holding hands after a grocery shopping trip in Los Angeles last month. They reportedly met at a dinner party hosted by mutual friends. They travel "back and forth to each other's home bases," a source said. Avril has been married twice before.

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Sexual harassment accusations

Morgan Freeman apologized after he was accused of sexual harassment by eight women who claim his alleged misconduct has been going on for years on the sets of his movies. CNN broke the story on May 24 after speaking to 16 people, eight of whom said they were victims. The other eight said they witnessed Morgan's alleged actions. After the report was made public, the legendary actor said, "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected — that was never my intent."

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First outing as a duchess

In her first outing as a royal following her May 19 wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle — the new Duchess of Sussex — was all giggles during a garden party at Buckingham Palace to mark Prince Charles's 70th birthday later this year. While Harry spoke to a crowd from a podium, a bee buzzed around his ear. "Sorry, that bee really got me!" he said. With that, Meghan erupted in a fit of laughter. Other than that, she was in full duchess mode, and she looked the part too, donning a pinky-taupe silk crepe "Flavia" dress by London brand Goat with a matching custom hat by Philip Treacy and, unexpectedly, a pair of pantyhose.

Severe estrangement

Anthony Hopkins' relationship with his lone child is so strained and so nonexistent that he doesn't even know if he's a grandfather. He also doesn't care. In an interview with the Radio Times, Anthony was asked if his daughter, Abigail Harrison, has children. He replied, "I don't have any idea. People break up. Families split and, you know, get on with your life. People make choices. I don't care one way or the other." When told that his response sounded "cold," he said, "It is cold. Because life is cold. It's like [renowned playwright] John Osborne's response when someone said to him, 'Mr. Osborne, your play is so offensive,' and he said, 'Life is offensive.'"

Married

Bachelor no more! Hugh Grant, who has long been one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, is married. The actor and his longtime girlfriend, Swedish TV producer Anna Eberstein, tied the knot in London on May 25. Anna is the mother to three of his five children. Earlier in the week, reports surfaced that the actor and Anna were set to wed after a photograph of the wedding banns — a notice publicly displayed in the register office for 28 days that includes details of where you intend to get married — ran in several British newspapers.

Huge donation

The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund, which helps preserve African wildlife — namely, endangered gorillas — just got a LOT more funding thanks to Ashton Kutcher. Ashton and investment partner Guy Oseary made an unannounced visit to her talk show on May 23 and donated $4 million to the fund. Ashton said Ellen is always so giving, so he wanted to return the favor. "You never ask anyone for help, ever," he said. "You're always thinking about everyone else and we wanted to show you that people are thinking about you. So, on behalf of Ripple, we'd like to give you $4 million." Ellen, naturally, was moved to tears. "I love to make my friends cry tears of joy," Ashton tweeted afterward. Ellen tweeted to Ashton and Guy, "I don't surprise easily, but this really got me. I am so grateful. I love you both so much." The whole thing really served as an advertisement for Ripple, the money-transfer app that Ashton is an investor in, but still, $4 million is nothing to sneeze at.

Wedding bells

"The Bachelor" couple Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham will marry next year in Hawaii. While appearing on "The View," the controversial former "Bachelor" star said he and Lauren will get hitched in a private ceremony at Maui's Haiku Mill on Jan. 12, 2019. "It's a private wedding, so not on TV," he said. "It's not your typical beach wedding. It's so pretty." Arie said about 100 people will attend the nuptials.

Cleared

Scott Baio will not be prosecuted over claims that he sexually assaulted actress Nicole Eggert while she was as young as 14 years old. Scott has denied her allegations but admitted that they had sex when she was 18. However, just because he won't be prosecuted doesn't mean that authorities believe him. According to TMZ, authorities believe Nicole's claims are "credible" and that the case was "potentially prosecutable." However, the statute of limitations has run out. After the news came on May 23, Nicole said, "I always knew this case was beyond statutes of limitations and unfortunately the DA would not be able to prosecute Scott Baio. However I also knew the importance of laying the groundwork for any future victims of Baio's that may come forward and to warn parents who might unknowingly allow their children to be alone with this molester." A rep for Scott said TMZ is wrong. "Ms. Eggert is now also subject to a restraining order for stalking a Baio fan using social media, which she has already violated. We believe Scott will be fully vindicated when this matter actually concludes, and Ms. Eggert will then be held fully accountable for her untrue and defamatory claims."

Holy smokes

Praise Bey! Beyonce has bought a church in New Orleans. TMZ reported that Queen Bey is the new owner of a 7,500-square-foot stone structure that was used as a house of worship for decades. It's not known how much she paid, but the church was listed for $850,000. According to the report, the church is more than 100 years old.

Surrender

And the first shoe has dropped. On May 25, Harvey Weinstein surrendered to New York City police, and he was arraigned in court on charges of first- and third-degree rape and committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree. He walked into the courthouse in handcuffs. The legal proceeding comes about seven months after many, many women came forward alleging sexual misconduct against Harvey. The legendary producer's bail was set at $10 million. He was released after posting $1 million cash, and he was also fitted with a monitoring device. Harvey could also be facing federal charges in the future. He didn't enter a plea, but his attorney said, "Mr. Weinstein has always maintained that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual behavior with anyone. Nothing about today's proceedings changes Mr. Weinstein's position. Mr. Weinstein maintains that he is Not Guilty of the charges filed today and is confident that he will be fully exonerated." One of his accusers, actress Rose McGowan, says she's looking forward to the upcoming trial. "If I'm allowed to, I will attend," she told AP. "And hopefully that will actually heal a lot of the kind of trauma I get whenever I see his face or whenever I hear his name or whenever I have to read or hear that he says it was consensual."