WASHINGTON (AP) — Trevor Noah, the host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will be the featured entertainer for the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 30.
It will be the first time the event, usually held annually, will take place since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Trevor is an incredible talent who keeps us laughing — and thinking — four nights a week,” said a statement from Steven Portnoy, the association president and a reporter for CBS News Radio. “We can’t wait for him to help bring our 100-year Washington tradition ‘Back to Abnormal.’”
Noah is also scheduled to host this year’s Grammy awards.
Although former President Donald Trump skipped the annual dinner during his term, the association suggested that President Joe Biden will be there.
The event, the association said in a press release, will “offer the first opportunity since 2016 for the press and the president to share a few laughs for a good cause.”
The dinner is normally attended by prominent journalists, politicians and celebrities, and it raises money for scholarships.
NEW YORK (AP) — Whoopi Goldberg returned to “The View” on Monday after a two-week suspension for remarks about the Holocaust, expressing surprise at some people who had reached out to her during her absence.
Goldberg had been criticized for comments Jan. 31 on the daytime talk show where she said the Holocaust was not about race, but rather about man’s inhumanity to others. She apologized, but ABC News President Kim Godwin told her to sit out two weeks.
“I want to thank everybody who reached out while I was away,” Goldberg said at the opening of Monday’s show. “I’m telling you, people reached out from places that made me go, ’wait, wait, what? Really? OK. I listened to what everybody was saying and I was grateful.”
She did not specify any of the people who reached out to her.
Jewish leaders had criticized her initial statement, noting that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had referred to Jews as an inferior race. Goldberg apologized online the night she made the remark, and on the next day’s show.
“Yes, I am back,” Goldberg said as she took the stage with her co-hosts on Monday.
“There is something kind of marvelous about being on a show like this because we are ‘The View’ and this is what we do,” she said. “Sometimes we don’t do it as elegantly as we could. But it’s five minutes to get in information about topics and that’s what we try to do everyday.”
She said the hosts will continue to have tough conversations.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After three years without a host, the Oscars are reportedly making up for lost time with three hosts for this year’s awards: Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes are in final talks to host the 94th Academy Awards, the trade publication Variety reported Monday.
Reports say that each actor will be responsible for one hour of the three-hour broadcast, airing live on ABC on March 27. Neither the academy nor representatives for Schumer, Hall and Sykes immediately responded to request for comment by The Associated Press. The hosts will be confirmed Tuesday morning on “Good Morning America.”
“Girls Trip” producer Will Packer is producing this year’s ceremony. Hall has been in several of Packer’s movies, including “Think Like a Man” and “Little.”
The show is hoping to rebound from the dismal viewership of last year’s broadcast, which was both an all-time low and the norm for pandemic-era awards shows. In addition to bringing back starry hosts and bumping the best picture nominees to a set ten, the Academy is also hoping to spike interest through social media voting for a “fan favorite” movie that will be announced during the show, as well as a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles for the ceremony.
Dave Chappelle threatened to pull his various business ventures from his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, if the village council went ahead with a plan to build — wait for it — more affordable housing in the area.
As the Dayton Daily News reports, Yellow Springs had been working with Oberer Homes on a new development project that was set to include a mix of single-family homes, duplexes, and townhouses; Oberer was also set to donate an additional 1.75 acres to the town where more affordable housing could be built in the future.
But thanks to opposition from Chappelle — who threatened to pull his business ventures from Yellow Springs if the plan moved forward — and other members of the Yellow Springs community, the council rejected the proposal Monday night, Feb 7, and instead went with the original plan: 143 single-family homes with a starting price of about $300,000.
The Friday film franchise spawned a number of lovable characters, including Smokey (played by Chris Tucker), Pops (played by the late John Witherspoon), and Deebo (played by the late Tiny Lister Jr.). But even the smaller roles made a lasting impression.
Anthony “AJ” Johnson, who portrayed the neighborhood crackhead Ezal, made a lasting impression in the 1995 original. But like Witherspoon and Lister, he won’t be making it to another Friday film — if a fourth installment ever does happen.
Anthony Johnson passed away last September at the age of 55 and now, there’s a cause of death. According to TMZ, the actor/comedian died due to “chronic ethanol abuse,” meaning he drank himself to death.
The medical examiner also noted the manner of his death was “natural” and no alcohol or common drugs of abuse came up in his toxicology test. And while the coroner’s office found he’d recently tested positive for COVID-19, there were no signs of pneumonia at the time of death either. Johnson’s widow Lexis Jones Mason wants people to know the dangers of drinking and plans to teach teenagers at her church about the potential outcomes of substance abuse.
Johnson was recently the recipient of an elaborate headstone courtesy of “Cemetery Tim,” who designed both Nate Dogg and Eazy-E’s grave markers. The gravestone commemorates Johnson’s career with photos of him as Ezal from Friday and E.Z.E. in House Party. The inscription reads, “Don’t cry for me, I lived and made your ass laugh … tell me I’m lying!” Mason worked closely with Cemetery Tim on the design and made sure it included Johnson’s signature.
Cemetery Tim shared a photo of the birthday gift to his Instagram account on February 1 with the caption, “Happy Birthday AJ. Thank you for all the laughs and memories Brother. Today we set his headstone in Rose Hills Cemetery.”
Johnson’s Friday co-star Ice Cube was among the many celebrities paying their respects on Twitter. As the news of Johnson’s death made the rounds, Cube re-tweeted DJ Pooh’s clip of Johnson in the film and expressed his sorrow in the caption.
“Sad to wake up to the news about AJ Johnson passing away,” he wrote. “Naturally funny dude who straight outta Compton at the same time. Sorry I couldn’t bring your character Ezal back to the big screen in Last Friday.”
ABC is looking to turn The Rookie into its latest franchise.
The network on Tuesday announced plans for a potential spinoff series starring Niecy Nash. The Claws alum will guest star in a two-episode arc as the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. The episodes will serve as a backdoor pilot as the Disney-owned network looks to launch a new franchise out of the fourth-year Nathan Fillion cop drama.
Nash will play Simone Clark, who is described as the living embodiment of a dream deferred. In the episodes, her trainee will unite with LAPD officer John Nolan (Fillion) and the L.A. division of the FBI who enlist Clark when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station. Airdates for the episodes have not yet been determined.
“I’m so excited to guest star on The Rookie and bring Simone Clark to life! She is a spirited and spicy fish out of water,” Nash said in a statement announcing the news Tuesday. “The cast is amazing and I can’t wait to play!”
The potential Rookie spinoff arrives as ABC, under network topper Craig Erwich, is looking to broaden out its franchises. The network currently has stalwart Grey’s Anatomy with firefighter offshoot Station 19 (both renewed for next season). Meanwhile, Black-ish — which has produced Freeform spinoff Grown-ish and since-canceled ABC offshoot Mixed-ish — is ending this season with plans for the previously announced Old-ish seemingly stalled though there have been talks of the spinoff moving to Erwich-led Hulu. Elsewhere, The Goldbergs is showing its age and has already produced the since-canceled spinoff Schooled.
Franchises remain a major piece of the broadcast puzzle. NBC has three Chicago and Law & Order shows; Fox has a pair of 911 procedurals; and CBS has multiple FBI and NCIS shows with the revival of CSI also in the works. The latter franchise has produced multiple offshoots over the years. Over at The CW, the network has the connected DC universe, a pair of All American shows as well as an upcoming Nancy Drew spinoff, Tom Swift. The network’s pilot roster also includes a Supernatural prequel and Walker spinoff.
The Rookie is created by Alexi Hawley and is a co-production between ABC Signature and Entertainment One.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Wendy Williams will not be returning to her daytime talk show this season, but the future of her show remains in flux.
Meanwhile, Sherri Shepherd is in advanced discussions with Debmar-Mercury for her own daytime talk show, which could potentially replace Williams’ series, sources say.
Currently in its 13th season, “The Wendy Williams Show” is one of the biggest hits in daytime TV history. Launching in national syndication from Debmar-Mercury in 2008, the show was built around Williams, who, at the time the show premiered, was a popular radio host known for her no-holds-barred take on celebrity gossip.
Williams has been absent from her show all this season, as she has been battling ongoing health issues. Williams suffers from Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder.
While Williams has been gone from her talk show in 2021 and 2022, guest hosts have filled in for her throughout this entire season, including Shepherd, who has been popular with audiences and who, sources say, has emerged as the frontrunner to possibly take over Williams’ timeslot — that is, if Williams does not return and if station partners would greenlight a show hosted by Shepherd for a full season.
A source says it’s unclear whether Williams will ever come back to her show, but if she is in good enough health to do so and wants to return, executives would be thrilled to welcome her back with open arms. After all, Williams has been a huge hit for Debmar-Mercury and a stalwart in daytime television on the Fox TV Stations.
“We’ll deal with the fall when we get there, but she’s not returning this season,” a source close to Williams says.
Williams’ spokesperson, PR veteran Howard Bragman, declined to comment on this story.
In the meantime, Shepherd is in advanced talks with Debmar-Mercury, the same production company behind “The Wendy Williams Show,” to star in her own talk show.
If Williams does not return next season, a show starring Shepherd would be a sensible option to fill the daytime slot. Insiders say the show being developed would fully be Shepherd’s own show — not a replacement for Williams on that show. A deal is currently being negotiated, but the paperwork is not signed.
Aside from Shepherd, “The Wendy Williams Show” has had a slew of guest hosts during its current season, including Leah Remini, Michael Rapaport, Whitney Cummings, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Kym Whitley, Finesse Mitchell, Devyn Simone, Julissa Bermudez, and correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. Next week, Bevy Smith and Terrence J will host, and then Shepherd will return the following week.
A source close to Williams says the host is “incredibly grateful for all of the guest hosts who have held down the fort” on her show.
A spokesperson for Debmar-Mercury told Variety that they are not commenting on any speculation regarding Williams or Shepherd.
Earlier in the season, Debmar-Mercury released this statement, in support of Williams: “Wendy is a valued and stalwart member of the Debmar-Mercury family and has been so for 12 years. We want her health to be her top priority,” the statement continued. “As soon as she’s ready, she will be back in her treasured purple chair. We very much appreciate the respect for Wendy’s privacy, as well as all the good wishes from her fans, station partners and advertisers.”
Source: Variety
In this exclusive interview we conduct with Guy Torry and Executive Producer Reggie Hudlin, we discuss the early comparisons of Phat Tuesdays to the legendary HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and BET’s Comic View. Torry talks how the show was able to get started and more. Hudlin speaks about how the two came together for this iconic project.
If you are not familiar, Prime Video has released the documentary which includes interviews from Anthony Anderson, Tiffany Haddish, Steve Harvey, Regina King, and many more.
Its Black history month and Phat Tuesdays tells the unbelievable black history moment of how Torry, moved mountains to launch an all-Black comedy night at The Comedy Store. What started as an experiment in 90’s Los Angeles turned into a breeding ground for today’s greatest comedians, elevating Black voices to have their turn on the stage.
Watch the interview below;
Laugh Out Loud, the multi-platform comedy brand founded by Kevin Hart announced the addition of special guest comedian TIP “T.I” HARRIS along with Tony Roberts and special guest DJ Spinderella to the long-anticipated return of “All Star Comedy Jam.” The iconic event, originally dreamed up as a partnership between basketball hall of Famer, media personality and entrepreneur, Shaquille O’Neal and LOL CEO Jeff Clanagan, will kick-off Superbowl Weekend, live from Downtown Los Angeles, with a special one-night-only experience on Thursday, February 10 at Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live.
The event, known for breaking stars and celebrating legends, will be hosted by DeRay Davis, and present hilarious performances from some of the biggest names in comedy including Bill Bellamy, Michael Blackson, Earthquake, Tony Roberts, and Mo’Nique and featuring surprise special guests, musical acts, and from the front row—the man himself—Shaquille O’Neal.
“From delivering numerous sold-out tours to being among the first to give a national stage to current comedy legends such as Mike Epps, DeRay Davis, and Kevin Hart, All Star Comedy Jam has been a fixture on the comedy scene, dedicated to elevating the brightest up-and-coming comedic voices,” said Shaquille O’Neal. “I’m looking forward to working with the Laugh Out Loud team to bring this iconic franchise back to a live audience for what is sure to be an unforgettable night of comedy.”
“There is nothing like a night of live comedy, and I couldn’t be more excited for the return of All Star Comedy Jam,” said Laugh Out Loud CEO, Jeff Clanagan. “What started as an idea between Shaq and I for a comedy show during All-Star weekend, has grown into a true comedy staple that showcases some of the heaviest hitters in comedy alongside the most promising up-and-comers, and this return feels better than ever. LOL’s mission is to keep the world laughing together, and right now, a good night with a lot of laughs is exactly what we need.”
Tickets are on sale now at axs.com.
WHEN: Thursday, February 10, 2022, at 8 PM PT
WHO: DeRay Davis (host), Bill Bellamy, Michael Blackson, Earthquake, Mo’Nique, Tony Roberts, Spinderella