Tag Archives: Entertainment

Sarah Michelle Gellar Says There’s One Part Of Buffy She Refuses To Show Her Kids

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Sarah Michelle Gellar wants her son to remain Team Spike.

The former Buffy The Vampire Slayer star has told The Hollywood Reporter that earlier in the pandemic, she decided to rewatch the show with her kids, since they were now old enough and expressed interest.

Gellar has two kids, Charlotte, 13, and Rocky, 10, with her husband of 20 years, actor Freddie Prinze Jr.

“We watched seasons one through five,” Gellar said, adding that after viewing these seasons, her kids have taken sides on which of Buffy’s vampiric romances they prefer.

Gellar said her daughter is a fan of broody, tortured Angel, while her son likes the punk-rock villain-turned-hero Spike.

And it seems like Gellar curated which episodes of the show’s seven seasons her kids would watch in order for her son to retain his opinion.

“We skipped around a lot on those last two [seasons],” Gellar told the outlet. “I have trouble with six. It wasn’t appropriate for them at the time, and I just don’t want to rewatch it.”

Gellar, David Boreanaz, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, Seth Green in a cast photo for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Gellar, David Boreanaz, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, Seth Green in a cast photo for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Getty Images via Getty Images

Season 6 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is certainly the series’ most controversial — and marked a network switch from The WB to the now defunct UPN in 2002.

In that season, Buffy is resurrected from the dead, is traumatised by it, and has a season-long depression. During this time, she engages in a toxic sexual relationship with her former enemy, the vampire Spike.

Spike, portrayed by the charming James Marsters, was a beloved, three-dimensional character with a strong redemption arc at this point in the long-running series. His romance with Buffy wasn’t healthy, but his friendship with her certainly was.

James Marsters in 2002.
James Marsters in 2002.

Albert L. Ortega via Getty Images

So, it seemed completely out of character and unnecessarily disturbing when Spike attempts to rape Buffy in the Season 6 episode Seeing Read.

The violent and stomach-churning scene left many fans feeling “betrayed” by the show because there never seemed to be any real repercussions for Spike’s actions. Instead, the show attempts to manipulate the audience into rooting for Spike, who uses the experience as inspiration to get a soul. This leads to his Season 7 arc in which he gains Buffy’s love and becomes one of the show’s biggest heroes.

The episode has been condemned in CNN, Salon and Vulture as irresponsible and harmful storytelling.

Marsters, who played Spike, told Vice in 2017 that the “scene sent me into therapy, which turned out to be a very good thing for me.”

He also told Vice that although he still thought the scene was a “worthy risk,” he understands why fans find it such a misstep.

“We did traumatise the audience maybe a little too much,” he told Vice at the time. “I’ll now routinely turn down roles with rape scenes in them. Not again.”

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

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You Can Actually Rent The Dreamy Italian Villa From ‘The White Lotus’ On Airbnb

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If you’ve been dying to book a Sicilian vacation after watching the second season of The White Lotus (pun totally intended), here’s your chance to live out all your Italian summer fantasies.

Now fans can book the very same irresistible palazzo that Harper Spiller (Aubrey Plaza) and Daphne Sullivan (Meghann Fahy) visited for a day trip turned dizzying girls’ night in episode three of the hit HBO show.

The grand three-story mansion, Villa Tasca, is available to rent on Airbnb. But as you might expect, you need to brace yourself for a whopping price tag.

The historic and lavish villa, which dates back to the 16th century, boasts four bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, massive windows, dazzling high ceilings and a swanky double staircase — all for $5,946 (£4,813) per night.

The property also features a swoon-worthy 20-acre manicured garden with citrus groves, a greenhouse and a swimming pool where you can channel your inner Daphne and Harper.

Villa Tasca, located in Palermo, is available for rent on Airbnb.
Villa Tasca, located in Palermo, is available for rent on Airbnb.

Though the series places the manor in the city of Noto, it’s actually located roughly four hours away in Palermo, the capital of the Italian island of Sicily.

The show’s sophomore season was filmed in multiple picturesque destinations across the island of Sicily, including Taormina, Palermo, Noto and the Ionian Sea.

From Castello degli Schiavi, one of ‘The Godfather’ trilogy’s most significant filming locations, to the Greek Theatre of Taormina where gladiator games were hosted during the Roman Empire, the show’s latest season is full of dream getaways to add to your Pinterest board.

And if the views from the Palermo-based villa weren’t enough to make you feel like Italian royalty, the property also comes with butler service from a full staff, a formal dining area that seats 10, a fully furnished terrace, a billiards room, music room and bar to kick back drinks with friends and family.

“All the glories of Italy’s past—stately neoclassical architecture, trompe-l’oeil frescoes, Murano chandeliers, gilt-framed paintings—make for a sumptuous present at this Renaissance villa between Palermo and Monreale,” the Airbnb property’s listing reads.

You can rent the entire estate for you and up to eight of your closest pals for a minimum of three nights — hopefully sans the show’s murderous ending.

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Jennifer Coolidge’s TikTok Debut Features A ‘Poem’ And A Seriously A-List Guest

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Just when you thought you couldn’t love Jennifer Coolidge any more than you already did.

The White Lotus star has joined TikTok and gifted us all with a truly iconic debut clip featuring a (ahem) “poem” and one seriously A-list cameo.

“Hi, this is my first TikTok,” the Legally Blonde star begins.

“And I was trying to think of something cool to do, and I think I’m just gonna do a poem that I like.”

And no, Jen didn’t choose Shakespeare…

Jennifer and J-Lo’s appearance in the TikTok clip comes as the two stars promote their new rom-com, Shotgun Wedding.

Speaking to ET about working with the recent Emmy and Golden Globe-winning star on the film, J-Lo said “iIt was one of those things where everything came together.”

Their co-star Josh Duhamel was also full of praise for the American Pie star, admitting he was a “huge fan”.

“She is a wonderful person to have around the set. She’s very chill,” he said.

“What I’ll never forget about working with Jennifer was that we didn’t know if she was like, doing it on purpose or if it was like part of her thing ― it’s almost like an Andy Kaufman thing,” he said of Jennifer’’s oddball character choices.

“It makes everybody feel like we need another take, and she’s like, ‘No, I’m good.’ And then you see it, and it’s brilliant… She’s one of those enigmas.”

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ITV Boss Responds To Calls For Jeremy Clarkson To Be Dropped Over Meghan Markle Column

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ITV chief Dame Carolyn McCall has said there is “no place” at the channel for comments like those made by Jeremy Clarkson about Meghan Markle in his now-infamous column for The Sun.

Last month, the former Top Gear host faced widespread criticism over an opinion piece he penned in which he said he “hated” the Duchess of Sussex on a “cellular level”.

He added in the piece that he “dreamed” of the day she’d be “made to parade naked through the streets” while crowds “throw lumps of excrement at her”.

The Sun later issued an apology over the column, and pulled it from their website at Clarkson’s request.

Shortly after its publication, Clarkson faced calls to be dropped as the host of ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, which the channel’s CEO responded to at the time in a letter that was made public this week.

In the letter, McCall told one complainant their “concerns are completely understandable”.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Chris Jackson via Getty Images

“ITV has no editorial control over Jeremy Clarkson’s independent journalistic output in The Sun or anywhere else he chooses to publish,” she wrote (via Deadline).

“Everyone at ITV is very aware of our responsibilities as a Public Service Broadcaster and I’d like to be clear that the comments made were Jeremy Clarkson’s own and are in no way endorsed by ITV. There is no place on ITV for the comments made in that article.”

McCall added: “It is also worth adding that Jeremy Clarkson is not an ITV employee and that when he appears on ITV it is as a quiz show host on a show which does not provide a platform for his opinions.”

Carolyn McCall
Carolyn McCall

LEON NEAL via Getty Images

At the height the controversy last month, Clarkson said he was “horrified to have caused so much hurt”, but stopped short of an actual apology at the time.

Since then, he shared a lengthy statement on Instagram claiming he’d sent an email to both Meghan and her husband Prince Harry on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been “disgraceful” and he was “profoundly sorry”.

He claimed: “Usually, I read what I’ve written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, and in a hurry. So when I’d finished, I just pressed send.

“And then, when the column appeared the next day, the land mine exploded.”

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex later said: “On December 25, 2022, Mr Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked Private and Confidential.

“While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny.

“Unless each of his other pieces were also written ‘in a hurry’, as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.”

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British Actor Julian Sands Missing In California Mountains Amid ‘Dangerous Weather’

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British actor Julian Sands, known for his work in films like A Room With A View and Snakehead, has been identified as one of two hikers recently reported missing in California’s San Gabriel Mountains.

Authorities are also searching separately for another hiker, Bob Gregory, whose family reported him missing on Monday, according to ABC News.

Sands was reported missing in the Mt. Baldy area on Friday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department told the Los Angeles Times.

Ground crews promptly began searching the area but had to stop on Saturday evening due to avalanche risks and unsafe trail conditions, a department spokesperson said. However, aerial searches have continued with helicopters and drones. Ground searches will resume when conditions improve.

Sands had been in the Baldy Bowl hiking area, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles, Variety reported.

The actor has dozens of film and TV credits, including the Warlock series, Leaving Las Vegas, Smallville, Arachnophobia and Naked Lunch.

A representative for the actor did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.

On Wednesday morning, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department issued a warning about dangerous winter weather on Mt. Baldy. It said its search and rescue teams had responded to 14 rescue missions in the area over the past four weeks for lost, stranded or injured hikers.

“Please know the current conditions on Mt Baldy are adverse and extremely dangerous,” the alert read. “Due to the high winds, the snow has turned to ice making hiking extremely dangerous. Sheriff’s Search and Rescue efforts are often hampered by poor weather along with dangerous avalanche conditions.”

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Madonna’s Iconic VMAs Kiss Almost Included A Completely Different Pop Diva

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It’s been almost 20 years since Madonna made pop culture history when she locked lips with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on stage at the 2003 VMAs.

But it’s now been revealed that the performance almost looked very different – with a whole other diva claiming she was initially supposed to have been involved too.

During a recent interview with E! News, Jennifer Lopez claimed that she met with Madonna and Britney at the Queen of Pop’s home to discuss a group performance.

“I was filming a movie in Canada, and we had met – me, her and Britney — to do it at her home,” she said (via People). “And then I just couldn’t get off the film. So, we couldn’t do it.”

Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez

Amy Sussman via Getty Images

Apparently J-Lo’s loss was Xtina’s gain, though, with the Jenny From The Block singer adding: “They got Christina Aguilera, I think, to do it, and I didn’t wind up doing it. I love Madonna. I’m a huge fan. I always have been.”

However, Jen isn’t the only star who’s claimed she was supposed to be part of the iconic number.

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Shortly after the performance in 2003, Pink claimed that both she and Gwen Stefani had been approached to be part of the routine.

“It was supposed to be me, Gwen and Britney,” the So What singer reportedly told the Daily Record. “Me and Gwen backed out of it and they got Christina.

“Madonna originally wanted me, Britney and Gwen. But I know how Madonna’s mind works. She was the boss. She was the groom. While everyone else was her 20 years ago. And I am nobody’s bitch.”

Pink later told MTV that “the kiss wasn’t even talked about” when she was approached to perform with Madonna.

P!nk
P!nk

Kevin Winter via Getty Images

“I had one vacation all year, and I was not leaving my vacation to go into a rehearsal studio,” she added. “Which sounds ridiculous.

“But you know, I just said, ‘I can’t be at those rehearsals, but I can learn it for that day, and I’m sure that I’ll be more than capable of doing it.’ ”

Anyone hoping to see Madonna live for themselves can look forward to the pop icon’s upcoming Celebration tour.

The global jaunt will commemorate the Like A Prayer singer’s 40th year in the music industry, and is set to feature hits from across the decades.

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