Pamela Anderson may be enjoying some of the best reviews of her career, but she says she isn’t too vexed about not snagging an Oscar nomination.
Anderson had become a surprise award season contender for “The Last Showgirl,” directed by Gia Coppola. But when the Academy Award nominations were unveiled Thursday, the actor ― and “The Last Showgirl” as a whole ― were noticeably absent from the list.
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Speaking to Elle shortly after the nominations were announced, the “Baywatch” actor reiterated how “The Last Showgirl” represented a major step up for her as an actor nonetheless.
“Oh my gosh, it’s not something I ever expected. Doing the work is the win,” she told the outlet. “That’s what I like to do, and I think we can lose sight of that sometimes in this whole crazy awards season, but it’s nice to be recognized, and it’s all a bonus.”
Pamela Anderson attended the 2025 Golden Globes with her son, Brandon Thomas Lee.
ETIENNE LAURENT via Getty Images
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And while Anderson may have missed out on an Oscar nod, she remains grateful at having received her first Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nomination for her performance.
“I couldn’t imagine [it] anyway. I’m happy for the SAG nomination, that’s [voted on by] your peers,” she said. “That’s really cool. This has been a long road promoting this film.”
Released last month, “The Last Showgirl” follows Shelly (played by Anderson), a Las Vegas performer thrust into economic uncertainty when her long-running casino show is axed. The film co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis, who received a SAG and BAFTA nomination, and Dave Bautista.
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Anderson has described the success of “The Last Showgirl” as “the best payback” for Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy,” which was made without her involvement and depicted her mid-1990s sex tape scandal with now-ex-husband Tommy Lee.
The accolades are paying off in other ways, too. It was recently announced that Anderson joined the cast of “Rosebush Pruning,” an upcoming thriller that stars Elle Fanning and Riley Keough. She’s also set to star opposite Liam Neeson in a remake of the crime spoof comedy “The Naked Gun.”
The rap superstar is currently gearing up to perform at the major sporting event next month, with Apple Music – who sponsors the show – sharing a teaser on Friday morning.
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In the clip, Kendrick can be heard making a phone call on the pitch about what he’s got planned for his show, before declaring that he’s “been thinking about a guest performer”.
At that moment, SZA runs up behind him and douses him with a bucket of cold water, with Apple Music confirming that she’ll be joining Kendrick during his performance.
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Kendrick and SZA have collaborated numerous times during their respective times in the spotlight, most notably on the Black Panther soundtrack cut All The Stars.
All The Stars wound up earning both Kendrick and SZA their first Oscar nominations.
The two have also worked together on Kendrick’s songs Luther and Gloria, as well as SZA’s SOS deluxe track 30 For 30 and the Ctrl offering Doves In The Wind.
“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” the Grammy winner said in September when he was first announced as the Super Bowl headliner. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”
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This year’s Super Bowl is due to take place at the Ceasars Superdrome stadium in New Orleans on Sunday 9 February.
Recent Halftime Show performers have included Usher, Rihanna and The Weeknd, while Kendrick was among the stars who took part in a group performance in 2022 celebrating hip hop music alongside the likes of Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Mary J Blige.
But, of course, not everyone will be feeling quite so jubilant.
With only a handful of slots to fill, some of the biggest and most-celebrated performances of the past 12 months have gone unchecked by the Academy, with cinephiles on social media already going off about this year’s most notable “snubs”.
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Here are 11 of them…
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig in Queer
Timothée Chalamet, Adrien Brody, Colman Domingo and Ralph Fiennes’ spots in the Best Actor category were pretty much dead certs by the time the Oscar nominations rolled around, leaving a few big names competing for the one remaining spot.
In the end, it’s gone to Sebastian Stan for his performance as Donald Trump in The Apprentice, but there are sure to be a few disappointed Daniel Craig fans.
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The former James Bond actor couldn’t have been further from the roles that have made him most famous in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, in which he plays William Lee (a fictionalised version of the author William S Burroughs), an American writer who embarks on a journey of sexual and substance exploration.
Danielle Deadwyler and Ray Fisher in The Piano Lesson
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American performer Danielle Deadwyler received a wave of acclaim for her performance in the August Wilson adaptation The Piano Lesson.
While the film itself failed to score much awards season buzz, fans had hoped Danielle might scrape through in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role as Berniece, a woman determined to hold onto her late father’s piano when the rest of her family are hoping to sell it.
Considering the original Gladiator was a Best Picture recipient, it might come as a surprise to some to see the sequel pick up just one nomination in 2025, in the Best Costume Design category.
Lead actor Paul Mescal was among those to be singled out for praise when the action-packed epic hit cinemas last year, but it’s Denzel Washington who was really being tipped for awards buzz.
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After scoring a nomination at the Golden Globes last month, however, both the Baftas (who, interestingly, have never nominated Denzel in his entire 40-year screen career) and Oscars have paid him dust, making him one of this year’s most noticeable snubs.
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As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win.\n \nFOLLOW SONY SOUNDTRACKS: \n► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SonyMusicSoundtracks/\n► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonymusicsoundtracks/ \n► Twitter: https://twitter.com/sonysoundtracks/\n► Discord: https://discord.com/invite/DCKp3RYRK3 \n► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sonysoundtracks \n► Newsletter: https://soundtracks.lnk.to/newsletter \n \nFOLLOW MILAN RECORDS: \n► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milanrecords\n► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milanrecords/\n► Twitter: https://twitter.com/MilanRecLabel\n \nFOLLOW CHALLENGERS:\n► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/challengersmovie\n► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/challengersmovie/\n► Twitter: https://twitter.com/challengersmov\n► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@challengersmovie\n \nSUBSCRIBE to our channels for more: \n► https://soundtracks.lnk.to/sonysoundtracksvevoID\n► https://milanrecords.lnk.to/youtube \n \nCHALLENGERS (ORIGINAL SCORE)\n \nTRACKLISTING – \n1. 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It’s rare that you’ll find outcry over a snub in the Best Score category – but then again, it’s rare a score will capture people’s attention in the way that Challengers’ did.
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The Nine Inch Nails musicians delivered one of last year’s most iconic contributions to the world of cinema when they scored Luca Guadagnino’s tennis-themed romance drama Challengers, perfectly amping up the tension between its central trio with their musical output.
We’re sure we’re not the only ones confused to see the score – which won a Golden Globe just a matter of weeks ago – not even nominated for an Oscar when it felt like such a shoo-in.
Margaret Qualley
Margaret Qualley in The Substance
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The Substance has been the surprise hit of 2025’s awards season, and we’re over the moon to see not just Demi Moore landing an acting nomination, but Coralie Fargeat’s name popping up on the Best Director shortlist.
However, there’s no denying that The Substance was a two-header, and while we’re over the moon for Demi scoring her first Oscar nomination at this stage of her career, we’re still a little sad there wasn’t space for Margaret Qualley in the Best Supporting Actress category.
The Maid star has made no secret of what she put herself through to help bring the character of Sue (and, perhaps more impressively, Monstro Elisasue) to life, and she was the perfect foil to her Golden Globe-winning co-star’s character in the graphic body horror.
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Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths
She may not have had the fanfare and loud push behind her that the likes of Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo or even Demi Moore have had over the last few months, but Marianne Jean-Baptiste had quietly been climbing up the ranks as a contender for a Best Actress nomination thanks to her role in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths.
When Hard Truths premiered at Toronto Film Festival towards the end of last year, Marianne’s performance as a pessimistic woman struggling to connect with those closest to her saw her being met with a wave of praise, which has translated into recognition from the Baftas and Critics’ Choice Awards.
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The British performer was nominated for an Oscar once before for her role in another of Mike Leigh’s projects, Secrets & Lies.
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl
Alright, we know this one was always going to be a long shot, but “Oscar nominee Pamela Anderson” had such a ring to it that we couldn’t help crossing our fingers that this could be her year.
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Oscar nomination or not, we’ll still be seeing The Last Showgirl the second it hits UK cinemas, and we’re certain this is the beginning of a new era of the former Baywatch star’s career.
For the past few months, Stanley Tucci has been hovering around the middle of the list of favourites to score a Best Supporting Actor nod (which would have marked his second ever nomination, after 2009’s The Lovely Bones) but sadly, it wasn’t to be.
He’ll just have to make do with being the entire internet’s imaginary husband instead, we suppose…
","type":"video","meta":{"author":"Warner Bros. Pictures","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmJDM5pRKbUlVIzDYYWb6g","cache_age":86400,"description":"Long Live the Fighters. #DunePartTwo only in theaters March 15.\n\n—————–\nhttps://www.instagram.com/dunemovie/\nhttps://www.facebook.com/dune\nhttps://twitter.com/dunemovie \nhttps://www.tiktok.com/@dunemovie \n—————–\nThe saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on “Dune: Part Two,” the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning “Dune.”\nThe big-screen epic continues the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller Dune with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet (“Wonka,” “Call Me by Your Name”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Malcolm & Marie,” “Euphoria”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning”), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Avengers: End Game,” “Milk”), Oscar nominee Austin Butler (“Elvis,” “Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood”), Oscar nominee Florence Pugh (“Black Widow,” “Little Women”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Thor: Love and Thunder”), Oscar winner Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter,” “Hairspray”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Léa Seydoux (the “James Bond” franchise and “Crimes of the Future”), with Stellan Skarsgård (the “Mamma Mia!” films, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Being the Ricardos”).\n“Dune: Part Two” will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. \nVilleneuve directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts based on Herbert’s novel. The film is produced by Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Villeneuve, Tanya Lapointe and Patrick McCormick. The executive producers are Josh Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, Kim Herbert, with Kevin J. Anderson serving as creative consultant.\nVilleneuve is again collaborating with his “Dune” creatives: Oscar-winning director of photography Greig Fraser; Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette; Oscar-winning editor Joe Walker; Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert; Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West. Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is again on hand to create the score.\n“Dune: Part Two” was filmed on location in Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and Italy. The film is slated for a March 15, 2024 worldwide release from Warner Bros. 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With 10 slots in the Best Picture category and only five in Best Director, there’s always going to be someone who winds up disappointed.
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But considering everything that Denis Villeneuve had to contend with to make Dune: Part Two the epic that it was (it’s one of the year’s most-nominated films thanks to recognition in more technical categories, which is no mean feat for a sequel), a Best Director nomination would have been fitting.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie in character as Maria Callas
The Best Actress category was absolutely heaving with competition this year, and we understand there can’t be room for everyone, but Angelina Jolie’s major comeback to the cinema world after a few years away felt so triumphant that an Oscar nomination would have been more fitting – especially given the performance she delivers in Maria.
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While this may not be the year the former Best Supporting Actress wins over the Academy yet again, there’s no denying that it’s great to have Angelina back, and we can’t wait to see what this unusual thinker chooses for her next project.
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez in Emilia Pérez
Emilia Pérez may not have been to everyone’s tastes, but do a quick search on social media for Selena Gomez’s name, and you’ll see it for yourself, there are a lot of people seriously pissed off that she didn’t make the cut.
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The divisive Netflix musical is, of course, this year’s most-nominated film at the Oscars, with 13 nods in total. Had Selena been recognised, that number would have matched Emilia Pérez with Titanic, All About Eve and La La Land as the joint most-nominated films in history.
Still, some better news… Yesterday, Variety shared a happy fact about the future of the show.
A preview of The White Lotus season 3
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The publication said that season four has been given the go-ahead by HBO, and producers hope it’ll come out in 2026.
The news comes after the show’s creator Mike White announced last November that he’d pitched his ideas for a further season.
“Mike, obviously — if he wants to move forward and do the four seasons — he will do the fourth season,” HBO and Max executive Casey Bloys said at the time.
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Season four has been confirmed before season three, which is set to hit our screens on February 13, comes out.
A director’s clapboard for The White Lotus
Fabio Lovino /HBO
We don’t know much about season 4 ― neither writers nor execs have shared where the show, which has previously been shot in Hawaii and Sicily, will be filmed.
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But let’s be real ― so long as the Emmy-winning show sticks to its “rich people’s opulent nuttiness” theme, we reckon fans are bound to be satisfied.
Ed Sheeran has denied reports that he recently attended an event thrown by JK Rowling.
Journalist India Willoughby shared a screenshot earlier this week of an opinion piece claiming that Ed had “brought joy to wounded IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers”. She then alleged he’d also attended a New Year’s Eve party at the home of the Harry Potter author, based on recent reports in the press.
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Ed later responded to both of the claims in India’s post on his Instagram story, insisting: “Respectfully, India Willoughby, and any other journalist who has reported both these stories, neither are true.”
JK Rowling in 2019
via Associated Press
“I spent New Year with my family and friends,” he wrote. “The story about wounded soldiers at my show, was a charity that sourced tickets to my show in Cyprus last year, which was a large scale public concert.”
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The Lego House singer added: “This sort of reporting is [divisive] and damaging, please research before you post things.”
The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate then responded: “This is great to hear. I used the word ‘reportedly’ about JK Rowling’s NYE party, because it was widely reported by UK and international media at the time.
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“I also reached out directly to you in the first [week of January] via Twitter to ask if the story was correct – but no reply. Delighted to hear you didn’t go!”
“Delighted I can still be an Ed Sheeran fan,” she added in a follow-up post.
Here’s my original tweet asking directly. I note the Daily Express has now removed their made-up story. Delighted I can still be an @edsheeran fan 😊✌️❤️🏳️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/oMN9KhxrTC
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Delighted I can still be an @edsheeran fan 😊✌️❤️🏳️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/oMN9KhxrTC— India Willoughby (@IndiaWilloughby) January 21, 2025\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":814,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gh1lDRjWwAAlzPA.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1170,"title":"India Willoughby on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/IndiaWilloughby/status/1881771331764810094","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"67920532e4b06448cdc87e63","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ed-sheeran-addresses-jk-rowling-party-reports_uk_67920532e4b06448cdc87e63","entryTagsList":"ed-sheeran,jk-rowling,india-willoughby","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"67920532e4b06448cdc87e63","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"Ed Sheeran","slug":"ed-sheeran","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ed-sheeran","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ed-sheeran","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ed-sheeran"},"relegenceId":6019493,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ed-sheeran/"},{"name":"JK Rowling","slug":"jk-rowling","links":{"relativeLink":"news/jk-rowling","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/jk-rowling","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/jk-rowling"},"relegenceId":3687670,"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/jk-rowling/"},{"name":"india willoughby","slug":"india-willoughby","links":{"relativeLink":"news/india-willoughby","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/india-willoughby","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/india-willoughby"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/india-willoughby/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["
Here’s my original tweet asking directly. I note the Daily Express has now removed their made-up story. Delighted I can still be an @edsheeran fan 😊✌️❤️🏳️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/oMN9KhxrTC
The tabloid’s article on Rowling’s party is still live, but makes no reference to Ed Sheeran, having been updated five days after it was originally published on New Year’s Day.
David Schwimmer has claimed he couldn’t let Friends’ recent milestone anniversary go past without commemorating it.
Towards the end of last year, the beloved sitcom celebrated 30 years since it first aired on US television and became a global phenomenon, winning a string of Emmys and running for 10 years in total.
Speaking to the Australian radio station Nova, David – who played Ross Geller in all 10 seasons – was asked by host Smallzy: “Do you reflect when you hit a milestone like 30 years? Do you think ‘wow what a great run’? Or do you go, ‘god, I feel really old, don’t say that’?”
“All of the above,” the Emmy nominee admitted with a big laugh, before revealing he “happened to be back in Los Angeles around the day that marked the 30th year of when we aired”.
“I took [Matt] LeBlanc out to dinner, actually,” he shared. “We reminisced and toasted to the 30 years.”
Reflecting on Friends’ continued success, David added: “It’s amazing to me that people are still watching and finding it funny and comforting, and I feel nothing but gratitude.”
In 2021, the entire cast came together for a star-studded reunion special looking back at what made the show such a success.
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We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.\n\nSubscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe\nPBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts\nStream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG\nFind more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour\nSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6\n\nFollow us:\nTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews\nX: http://www.twitter.com/newshour \nInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour\nFacebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":"339"},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until 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Few people are singing the praises of Billy Ray Cyrus’ performance at the Liberty Ball celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration — and the singer has blamed the bizarre set on technical issues.
On Tuesday, the country performer told People that he “wouldn’t have missed the honour of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not”.
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“I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me,” he said.
During his Monday night performance, the Billy Ray strummed his guitar and gravelly sang the lyrics to Old Town Road, his 2019 collaboration with Lil Nas X, while the song’s music video was shown behind him.
After the video ended, he continued playing Old Town Road on his guitar while whistling before attempting to sing the song a cappella.
“If you encourage me, I’ll keep going,” he said to the audience. “They told me to kill as much time as possible.”
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Then, his guitar cut out as he tried to go into his 1992 hit, Achy Breaky Heart.
“Is my guitar still on? I think they cut me off. Is my guitar on, guys?” he called out to the tech crew.
“Is anybody awake?” he continued. “Where’s everybody at? Is anyone back there? Can somebody turn my guitar back on?”
Shortly after, two people from the tech crew came onstage to help Billy Ray with his guitar, but nothing worked. After a few more minutes, he resorted to performing a monotone, a cappella version of Achy Breaky Heart before finally exiting the stage.
Still, Billy Ray said that he had “a ball at the Liberty Ball” in his interview with People.
“I’ve learned through all these years when the producer says, ‘You’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell,” he told the outlet. “I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock ‘n’ roll!”
Last year’s hit film adaptation of Wicked was full of cameos for fans of the original stage show – but there was one that never actually made it to the big screen.
After dominating the box office in 2024, the movie musical recently had its home release, one iteration of which features commentary from director Jon M Chu.
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During his commentary, Jon discloses that he was contacted by a certain heavyweight from the musical theatre world, who had a very specific cameo in mind before production got underway.
Referring to opening number No One Mourns The Wicked, Jon said (as reported by Gizmodo): “When that woman says, ‘Glinda, is it true you were her friend?’, I got many calls from Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“He might have publicly also tweeted that he wanted to be that voice and that person.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda
via Associated Press
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However, after mulling it over, Jon ultimately decided it would be “too distracting” to have Lin-Manuel pop up so early on in the film.
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Two of the stand-out cameos from Wicked came from Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who played the original Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway.
“It’s just so fun,” Jon said of Idina and Kristin’s unexpected appearances, explaining: “It was the middle of the night, and I think [for them] to see this giant set that we had built for a movie of a legacy that they built, these characters that they built from the ground up, was a beautiful thing for them to see.
“We were all, again, all in tears all the time. And then Idina gets to do her iconic war cry and same thing with Kristin, she gets to do her soprano. So fun.”
Rapper Nelly is defending his decision to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s Liberty Inaugural Ball on Monday amid backlash from social media users.
“I respect the office,” Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr., said during Saturday’s episode of the “Willie D. Live” podcast hosted by rapper William “Willie D” Dennis.
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“This isn’t politics. The politics, for me, it’s over. He won. He’s the president. He’s the commander-in-chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world.”
Nelly said that it’s “an honour” for him to “perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office”.
“If President Biden would have asked me to perform, I would have performed. If Vice President Kamala Harris would have won and asked me to perform, I would have performed,” he declared.
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After Dennis asked him directly if he is a “Trump supporter,” Nelly responded, “I support the office. I support the president of the United States, regardless of who’s in office. Regardless, I respect the office.”
“I’m not here to take up for Trump, I’m not here to take up for Republicans. I’m not here to take up for Democrats,” Nelly added.
The Dilemma musician admitted that he’s not saying that Trump “ain’t got some fucked up ways,” but told Dennis that “performing for somebody and voting for somebody is two different things.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Nelly, who said he grew up on a military base and has multiple family members who served, compared his forthcoming performance to that of military soldiers protecting their country.
“I’m not doing this for money, I’m doing this because it’s an honour. I respect the office. It doesn’t matter who is in office,” he said. “The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever is in office.”
Nelly added, “So if they can put their life on the line for whoever in office, I can damn sure perform.”
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HuffPost has reached out to Nelly’s reps for comment.
Nelly’s comments on the backlash come after fellow rappers Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy also faced criticism for reportedly performing at Trump’s Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Watch Nelly’s interview on the “Willie D. Live” podcast below.
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Towards the end of last year, the presenter announced he’d be taking an extended break from his slot on Heart Breakfast after being told he had stage one laryngeal cancer.
During Friday’s show, he surprised listeners when he returned to the studio, and explained: “Today is the four-month anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. So it’s been four months, and I’ve had enough of hospitals and operations, and it’s just lovely to be back, and I’ve got some news for you. Because I can tell you that as of today, I’m cancer free.”
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Speaking to his usual co-host Amanda Holden and stand-in Jason King, Jamie admitted that his initial diagnosis came as “an enormous shock”.
“I was fully intended to be told that I had a sore throat. And when I was told, ‘oh, it’s probably cancer,’ just, literally, I just didn’t even know what to say,” he recalled. “I mean, it just blew my mind.
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“And so then it’s all about statistics. So the first is, ‘well, you’ll have a one in 10 chance you won’t survive it.’ And you kind of go, ‘oh okay, I’ll take that.’ And then I had to do several surgeries.
“The first surgery wasn’t as successful as we hoped, had a second surgery, and then a third surgery, and each time, I was doing more and more damage to my vocal cords. So, in actual fact, by the third one, they said, ‘well, look, you’ve got a one in six chance you might not be able to talk again’.”
Fortunately, Jamie has now been told he is cancer-free, and will return to work on a permanent basis from Monday onwards.
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Jamie said: “Everyone has been so supportive. It’s been unbelievable and it’s just blown me away. So, I wanted to thank everyone who sent me messages.
“Every single person I’ve ever met or known has been in touch. People I’ve forgotten all about have been in touch. So that has just been amazing.”
Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston were reunited on Friday morning
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Praising guest presenter Jason, Jamie added: “You’ve done such an amazing job. You came in at the last minute, and I know what an upheaval it is.
“You’ve got a young family, and literally, you were told, ‘oh, you’ve got to come in tomorrow,’ and then from then on, you didn’t know how long you were going to do it for – one month, then two months, and then it was three months. And you’ve done such a fantastic job.”
