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Author: Pam Wright

  • Joan Tarshis Describes Alleged Sexual Assaults by Bill Cosby

    Joan Tarshis is the latest woman to come forward with allegations of rape against actor and comedian Bill Cosby.

    In an essay published Sunday on the online magazine Hollywood Elsewhere, the former actress and music industry professional describes her first meeting with Cosby.

    Tarshis said Cosby “took a liking” to the 19-year-old during a visit to Universal Studios in Los Angeles in 1969, where the comedian was shooting The Bill Cosby Show. Tarshis alleges that during her visits with Cosby, the comedian would attempt to get her drunk. She recalled one of the alleged episodes after drinking several Bloody Marys, which were topped with beer by Cosby.

    “The next thing I remember was coming to on his couch while being undressed,” wrote Tarshis.

    “I was sickened by what was happening to me and shocked that this man I had idolized was now raping me. Of course I told no one.”

    Tarshis alleges it was after attending one of his gigs that she woke up in Cosby’s hotel suite, naked in his bed.

    “It took me about 20 years to admit this to anyone,” wrote Tarshis. “And though I knew I should say something, I still felt ashamed. Ashamed that I didn’t earlier.”

    Tarshis said in the essay “the time is right to join them,” referring to other women who have also accused the beloved actor, including former teen actress and model, Barbara Bowman, who wrote an editorial in the Washington Post last week claiming Cosby drugged and raped her in the 1980s.

    Accusations have plagued Cosby for years. In 2006, he settled a civil lawsuit with a Canadian woman who claimed she was drugged and sexually assaulted at his home.

    Cosby‘s attorney, John P. Schmitt, addressed the “decade-old, discredited allegations” Sunday by posting a message on the comedian’s official website.

    “The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true,” wrote Schmitt. “Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment.”

  • Rebecca Ferguson, UK X Factor Star, Describes the Heartbreak of Being Dumped During Her Pregnancy

    Rebecca Ferguson recently described the heartbreak of being dumped by the father of her newborn daughter after she announced her pregnancy.

    The UK X Factor star, who gave birth to daughter Arabella two weeks ago, told Hello! magazine that Karl Dures not only dumped her, but told her at the time he had another girlfriend.

    Keeping the heartbreak a secret for months, Ferguson says Dures has now had a change of heart — not about their relationship but with his newborn daughter.

    “Karl has been a huge support, we’re really good friends,” said Ferguson. “He was there for the birth and he has offered to adopt her and be her dad too. He has given her his name, which is lovely, so she will be the same as the other kids.”

    Ferguson admitted that it was difficult keeping her heartbreak to herself those many months.

    “On the outside everyone must have thought everything was rosy at home,” she said. “I kept a smile on my face and kept all my feelings inside because I had this awful feeling of shame, but I was heartbroken.

    “I was fuming when I found out, I was so angry. The way I was treated was wrong. I think some people think you’re devastated because you want the man, but it’s not that. It’s devastating for a woman because it’s a normal thing for your child to be wanted.”

    Deciding to forego any feelings of bitterness towards her ex, Ferguson says she is able to focus on her daughter, who she describes as a “gift from God”.

    “I don’t hold any hate towards him,” she said. “He wasn’t ready to be a dad and that’s up to him. I’m not in his shoes and I can’t force him. I’m happy with his decision now and I wish him and his partner well.”

  • Jadeveon Clowney, Injured Houston Texans player, Returned to Action, Saying He ‘Felt Great’

    Jadeveon Clowney, the Houston Texans rookie who suffered a knee injury in a week one game against the Washington Redskins, returned to play Sunday for the team’s 23-7 win over the Cleveland Browns and said he “felt great” after the game.

    Seven weeks after incurring his injury, the outside linebacker’s return wasn’t earth-shattering, but he did have several key plays, including two tackles. His teammate, J.J. Watt, filled in the gaps as Clowney gingerly returned to play.

    Despite a less than stellar performance, Clowney said he was thrilled to suit up once again for his team.

    “I felt great. I moved around like I wanted to,” said Clowney following the game. “I could have been better but I felt better than I did against Tennessee. I had a lot more confidence in my knee.”

    Although Clowney may not have been 100 percent and had little impact during the game, the rest of the team’s defense held three Browns running backs to 58 yards on 24 carries. His tackle against former Texan Ben Tate resulted in a loss of nine yards for the Browns.

    Clowney did have one brief appearance in the week eight game against the Tennessee Titans, but sat out week nine’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles due to illness.

    I had a good time at media day

    A photo posted by Clowney_7 (@clowney_7) on

    Texans coach Bill O’Brien said that with Clowney‘s return, he is counting on the former South Carolina standout to demonstrate some consistency during the final six regular-season games.

    “Being able to do it week-to-week, day-to-day,” O’Brien said Monday at NRG Stadium. “He’s a disruptive player when he gets in there, and he’s got the ability to really disrupt plays. When he understands his role and what his job is in the different packages … and keeps getting a better understanding of those things, he’s going to be more and more disruptive as he goes.”

  • Demi Moore’s Daughter, Rumer, Says Ashton Kutcher Was ‘Crazy’ to Date Her Mother

    Rumer Willis says Ashton Kutcher must have been a little crazy to have started dating Demi Moore back in 2003.

    The 26-year-old actress told Access Hollywood she’s been thinking a lot about her mother’s relationship and marriage with the 36-year-old Kutcher. When Kutcher began dating Moore, he was 25, only a year younger than Willis is now. At the time, Moore was 42 with three children.

    “I realized the other day that he was a year younger than me when he and my mom started going out,” she said. “That would be like me meeting someone who already had three teenage kids. Kind of going into that situation was crazy.”

    Willis said she has a great deal of respect for both her parents in how they always put their kids before anything or anyone.

    “My mom has always made how [my sisters and I] feel about situations the most important thing,” she said. “I think it was more her going, ‘Hey, this is my life and these are my kids and my priorities. So if you want to come and kind of join our crazy claim, this is what I already have kind of built.’”

    “I find [that] so amazing and respectful,” she said, with admiration. “It’s one of the things that I admire most about my parents, is that they set such an incredible example for kind of putting their children first and keeping a family together, no matter what.”

    Kutcher became engaged to Mila Kunis in February, and the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Wyatt Isabelle, in September. Willis said she contacted her former step-dad after the arrival of their baby.

    “I reached out to him when he [and Mila Kunis] had the baby, which is so awesome,” said Willis. “I saw photos of her. She’s very cute…”

  • Jennifer Lawrence Talks About Her Transformation From Tomboy to Red Carpet Beauty

    Jennifer Lawrence may seem like a natural on the red carpet. However, the new face of Dior says it’s still a little unnatural for the self-proclaimed former tomboy.

    “I hated my first dress for red carpets, because I never felt comfortable in these glamorous dresses,” Lawrence told Madame Figaro. “In Louisville, when I was a child, I inherited clothes from my two older brothers [Ben and Blaine] that I put together with thing that my mother unearthed out of yard sales. I was a tomboy.”

    The 24-year-old actress said that she’s starting to change her mind about getting all dolled up for the red carpet because she “only recently discovered the beauty of high fashion.” She says this change of heart came after starring in The Hunger Games franchise and winning an Oscar for her work in Silver Linings Playbook.

    Lawrence said she never really longed to be a part of the Hollywood A-listers. In fact, she waited “three long days” before accepting Hunger Games when she was offered the huge role a few years back because she envisioned a different career path.

    “I dreamed of independent films. I was afraid of being identified as a prominent character for young people,” she said.

    Lawrence said she wasn’t sure she wanted “this life,” but “I was afraid of one day regretting having missed the [opportunity]. Since then, I realized that whatever I do, at any level, I would lose a part of my private life.”

  • Alyson Hannigan Returning to TV to Spend Christmas With ‘The McCarthys’

    Alyson Hannigan of How I Met Your Mother is returning to CBS to guest star on the Christmas episode of The McCarthys.

    Entertainment Weekly reports that Hannigan will play Marjorie (Laurie Metcalf) and Arthur’s (Jack McGee) upstairs tenant, Pam, on the Christmas-themed episode, which will air on Thursday, Dec. 18.

    According to EW, “Pam is a sweet girl who has just gone through a painful breakup and is heartbroken. In order to cheer her up, Marjorie invites Pam to join the family for Christmas Eve. Pam joins the festivities but is shocked when she experiences the McCarthys’ competitive annual gift-exchange swap.”

    EW spoke to star Tyler Ritter, son of John Ritter, about how close the cast has become, despite rumors that the show will likely be cancelled.

    “Anytime you get the six of us together, we’re going to have a blast,” he said. “The chemistry has been there from day one.”

    Ritter tweeted a photo of himself recently in his Christmas attire for the episode.

    Hannigan is perhaps best known for her role as Lily Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother. She also starred in the cult favorite series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and movie credits include American Pie, American Pie 2, American Wedding and Date Movie.

  • Sue Ann Hamm to Appeal $1 Billion Divorce Settlement From Oil Magnate Harold Hamm, Saying It’s Not Enough

    Sue Ann Hamm to Appeal $1 Billion Divorce Settlement From Oil Magnate Harold Hamm, Saying It’s Not Enough

    Sue Ann Hamm thinks a $1 billion divorce settlement is not enough.

    The ex-wife of Oklahoma oil magnate Harold Hamm says she plans to appeal the judgment on “grounds that it grossly undervalues the marital wealth she is entitled to,” according to NBC News.

    Sue Ann was awarded cash and assets worth more than $1 billion in the couple’s divorce this week by Oklahoma County Court Judge Howard Haralson, but is unhappy with a ruling that allows her ex, who is believed to own more oil than any other American, to keep nearly all of an estimated $18 billion rise in his Continental Resources shares during their 26-year marriage.

    “Sue Ann is disappointed in the outcome of this case. She dedicated 25 years as Harold’s faithful partner in family and business,” her attorney Ron Barber told Reuters. “She plans to appeal the court’s decision.”

    The Hamm v. Hamm divorce judgment is one of the largest in U.S. history, but the award to Sue Ann is a small fraction of the wealth Haralson allowed Harold Hamm to keep.

    The CEO holds more than 68 percent of Continental’s stock, a stake valued at around $13.5 billion today.

    The Hamms had no prenuptial agreement, and the filing by Sue Ann claims her husband was unfaithful to her.

    Hamm, who was the 13th child of sharecroppers, became Oklahoma’s richest person when Continental’s share value increased by around 400-fold.

  • Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s Brother Dies After Unexpected Brain Hemorrhage

    Jamie-Lynn Sigler is in mourning after her brother, Adam, died Wednesday at the age of 41.

    Adam was the oldest brother of The Sopranos actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler. He reportedly fell into a coma after having a massive brain hemorrhage last week.

    The hemorrhage came as a shock to that family since Adam was apparently in good health prior to the hemorrhage.

    “Words cannot express how deeply saddened we are by the sudden loss of Adam Sigler,” a rep for Sigler said in a statement to People. “He brought love and joy to everyone around him especially his family, who were by his side when he passed. Adam will continue to be a source of strength and inspiration.”

    Other survivors include parents Steve and Connie Sigler, another brother Brian, the middle child, and fiancé Danielle Piro.

    “Adam was always so happy and inspired Jamie to be a better person every day,” a source told Us Weekly. “She loved him dearly and will miss him more than anyone can ever imagine. The family was with him every second he was in a coma and was surrounded by his entire family when he passed.”

    Sigler’s rep asked that “the family’s privacy be respected during this time.”

    Sigler changed her Facebook profile picture to one with her oldest sibling on Tuesday, Nov. 11, while still in a coma.

    The 33-year-old actress is best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos. She has alsoalso appeared on Entourage, Ugly Betty and Guys with Kids.

    Sigler and her fiancé, Cutter Dykstra, welcomed their son, Beau Kyle, in August 2013.

  • Adam West, the Beloved TV Batman, Recalls the Early Days When He Was ‘the Bright Knight’

    Adam West, like most young kids of his generation, devoured Batman comic books growing up and loved playing Batman and Robin with other kids.

    “Then I forgot about it,” said West in a phone interview to The Seattle Times.

    It was many years later when West received a phone call about playing the DC Comics’ superhero in a Television series, that Batman would again enter his life for good.

    West, 86, said he thought the idea was a little ludicrous at first.

    “I thought, ‘I’m trying to have a serious career,’” he remembered.

    But, after reading the scripts for the first two episodes, he changed his mind.

    “I fell down laughing,” said West. “I said, ‘I have got to do that.’ It was easy. Your sense memory comes back to when you were a kid playing Batman.”

    He reiterated how important that first interview was for him in an interview with U-T San Diego.

    “From the moment I read that first script by Lorenzo Semple Jr., I said, ‘Sign me up.’ I found it so amusing, so incredibly funny, but so exciting for kids that I just wanted the chance to cook with that character.”

    Warner Home Video has released the entire series, which also starred Burt Ward as Robin, Alan Napier as butler Alfred and Neil Hamilton as the police commissioner, for the first time on Blu-ray and DVD. The set features all 120 episodes, which have been digitally remastered, as well as some added features.

    “It was a classy show,” said West. “I have become convinced that everything that is classy doesn’t go away.”

    The show became a huge hit and was renowned for its slap-stick humor.

    “It was an absurdist comedy and a social satire,” said West. “We worked very hard to shape it in that direction — fun for the kids and exciting for adults who could get the laughs.”

    West said he still enjoys participating in conventions such as Comic-Con in San Diego.

    “People love Batman, and I would be stupid, I would be a fool if I didn’t love Batman,” said West. “There is no better way to keep a career going and keep your fans.”

    Neither Tim Burton nor Christopher Nolan ever asked West to be in either the Batman movies, he said, but he doesn’t worry doubt that.

    “I don’t even think about that stuff,” he said. “They have the Dark Knight. I was the Bright Knight.”

  • Ashley Tisdale Loving Married Life, In No Hurry to Start a Family

    Ashley Tisdale can’t say enough good things about married life. However, don’t expect the pitter-patter of little feet anytime soon.

    Tisdale talked to E! News Wednesday at the ShoeDazzle Cares benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital charity event about life with new husband, Christopher French.

    “It’s great, it doesn’t feel any different but it is,” Tisdale said. “We wake up every morning and I’m like, ‘Hi, husband’ just to able to feel somewhat different because I married my best friend and it’s been so amazing.”

    “We’re very natural with each other, so it’s been great, it’s been awesome,” said Tisdale, who married her musician hubby on Sept. 8.

    The High School Musical alum shared about the “shocking” experience of referring to French as her husband for the first time.

    “You’re not used to it,” she said. “But it’s also so exciting…I have a husband, that’s awesome.”

    Fans hoping the actress will have children quickly will be disappointed. The 29-year-old actress said they have no plans for children anytime soon, preferring to accomplish a few things before adding on to their family.

    “Not for a while,” she laughed when asked. “We’re both so busy with work!”

    Tisdale has very personal reasons for supporting the St. Jude charity — her grandmother and aunt both passed away from cancer.

    “It’s a tribute to my grandmother’s passing,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “And when I chose the charity, they said they would love for me to actually spend some time at the charity before I give them any money, which I thought was really admirable.”

  • Angela Bassett Dishes ‘I Can’t Believe I Get To Work With Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates’

    Angela Bassett opened up recently in a phone interview with Inquisitr about American Horror Story and what it’s like to work with legendary actresses Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates as part of a huge ensemble cast.

    Bassett, 56, says it was the lure of working with two of Hollywood’s most-acclaimed actresses that drew her to the show in the first place.

    “It was one of the prevailing reasons for me to join the cast,” said Bassett. “I can’t believe I get to work with Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates in a lifetime, especially at the same time. It’s wonderful. Last year most of my scenes were with Kathy and Jessica. Everyone is the ultimate professional and we have a good time. We all have an appreciation for this crazy world and the things we’re asked to do stretches us and grows us. The fact that we get to come back year after year is a plus.”

    Bassett joined the cast last season as Marie Laveau in American Horror Story: Coven. This season she plays Desiree Dupree, who is described as a “three breasted woman” with a “ding-a-ling,” in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Bassett says, while she’s used to portraying different characters, there’s a unique aspect that comes with working on a television show that is different each season.

    “As an actor you’re used to putting on characters and taking them off — becoming characters and doing your research, but I think what I found most challenging about television and shedding one character and come up with another, is that there’s this lag time before I get to see what the character is looking or sounding like,” said Bassett. “We start filming in July and the first episode is in October, and as an actor, you wonder if you’re getting it right because you don’t have the immediate reaction of the audience just yet. That’s the little caveat of frustration.”

  • Michelle Williams On Her Own ‘Journey to Freedom’

    Michelle Williams may seem like she’s always had it going on, but the Fix My Choir actress recently told Chris Witherspoon of MSNBC2 that she once struggled to feel accepted.

    The 34-year-old actress has learned how to deal with the pressures and negativity that she comes across as a celebrity.

    “The backlash is there, but I just ignore it. I used to let it affect me, because it was like that little girl complex,” the Destiny’s Child singer said. “I’m still human; I still have those feelings sometimes. But I have to just continue to do what I do.”

    Williams echoed those thoughts in an interview with HuffpostLive.

    “Being free from negative thoughts, it’s a daily process. I can’t read comments on blogs because people will tear you down and make you feel worthless because unfortunately, a part of you might believe what was said,” she said.

    The singer, who recently released her solo album Journey to Freedom, has been very frank about insecurities and how she finds freedom from confidence issues.

    “I was guilty of attaching my self-worth according to how people viewed me. So I encourage people not to attach their value to your career. Attach your value to how you treat people; not to what you have in the bank,” she said.

    “When you’re no longer looking for permission to do your calling, you’re no longer looking for permission to be who you are,” Williams told The Christian Post. “You might be a goofy, outgoing person, and people probably can’t handle your personality, but hey, that’s the way God made you.”

    The singer has dedicated her album to those who desire to be free, but admits freedom from her hangups is a work in progress.

    “People might tell you ‘Oh my gosh you’re great, you have a great calling on your life,’ or ‘Oh your hair is so pretty today,’” Williams told The Christian Post in September. “If I come to you and give you a compliment, it probably should be confirmation of what you already know. I just did not believe, I didn’t think I was as good as other people around me.”

    Williams credits her faith in overcoming life-long insecurities.

    “God keeps showing me time after time with the different things that He does in the industry that He’s with me and that He believes in me,” she said. “I know that it’s only Him that makes a way.”

  • Jennifer Lawrence Steals the Show on ‘Letterman’ by Singing — or Trying to Sing

    Jennifer Lawrence stopped by the Late Show With David Letterman on Wednesday to promote The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 and gave the world a treat — sort of.

    The Kentucky native stole the show by singing with Letterman in a rendition of Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

    The song came about after Lawrence shared about having to face her fear of singing in public while filming the highly anticipated movie. In the film, her character, Katniss Everdeen, sings The Hanging Tree to a Capitol cameraman, bringing him to tears.

    “I do not like singing in front of other people, that’s like my biggest fear,” she told Letterman. “I cried on set that day. I’m scarred from my childhood.”

    The 24-year-old actress, who recently said she’ll never join Twitter, admits that singing is not her forte. She told Letterman that since she was eight years old, she possessed a “tone-deaf Amy Winehouse” voice that her parents made fun, all the while telling her how great she sounded.

    “I have a Southern mother that used to tell me I was amazing at everything and I could do everything, but I can’t,” she said. “I had this tone-deaf-Amy-Winehouse voice and I sang in front of the school when I was eight, because I thought I could.”

    After filming both installments of Mockingjay at the same time, she took some needed time off. However, Lawrence admits that too much time off was not necessarily a good thing.

    “I took some time off. I lost my mind. It was awful,” she said. “I don’t even know how crazy I went.”

  • Katniss Everdeen Would Be a ‘Huge’ Fan of Lorde and Taylor Swift, Says Jennifer Lawrence

    Katniss Everdeen would be a huge fan of Lorde and Taylor Swift, says Jennifer Lawrence, the actress who portrays the heroine in the Hunger Games movie franchise.

    “I think Katniss [Everdeen] would be a huge Lorde fan and obviously Taylor Swift,” Lawrence said at a photocall for Mockingjay — Part 1, the third episode of the series in London.

    Makes sense since Swift co-wrote two tracks for the first film and Lorde curated the soundtrack for the latest installment, according to Stuff.

    “It was so bizarre really to hear a musical version of what emotionally you feel. She captured that character so magically,” Lawrence said of Lorde‘s song, Yellow Flicker Beat, which she wrote for the latest film.

    Lawrence said she can relate to Katniss, even though this is really the first time she’s felt an affinity for a hero from a young adult novel.

    “I’ve never really felt that inspired by somebody who’s from a young adult novel,” said Lawrence. “But [Katniss] has this kind of raw, embodied confidence and the way she makes decisions is very impulsive and just driven by this very clear moral compass she has, so that’s pretty appealing to me as someone who makes decisions in a similar way.”

    Although Lawrence admires her character, she’s quick to point out how she differs from Katniss.

    “She’s completely bare and has to rebuild herself,” she said of Katniss. “I would have just been crying every day, ‘Where’s my mom?’”

  • Keira Knightley on Why She Decided to Pose Topless

    Keira Knightley says that her decision to pose topless in a recent photo shoot was to protest against “unrealistic expectations that are placed on women, especially those in the public eye.”

    The British actress was photographed for Interview magazine in August by famed photographer Patrick Demarcherlier.

    In an interview with The Times of London, Knightley explained her reasons for taking her top off for the shoot.

    “I’ve had my body manipulated so many different times for so many different reasons, whether it’s paparazzi photographers or for film posters,” she said.

    “That [shoot] was one of the ones where I said: ‘OK, I’m fine doing the topless shot so long as you don’t make them any bigger or retouch.’ Because it does feel important to say it really doesn’t matter what shape you are,” explained Knightley, who was angry several years ago when her bosom was digitally enlarged for the poster of King Arthur.

    Knightley has posed nude or semi-nude in the past. In 2006, she posed naked for the cover of Vanity Fair with Scarlett Johansson. Fashion designer Tom Ford was also included in the photo fully-clothed. Knightley said the threesome wanted to emphasis conflicting demands on men and women’s sexuality.

    “I think women’s bodies are a battleground and photography is partly to blame,” she told The Times. “It’s much easier to take a picture of somebody without a shape; it simply is. Whereas actually you need tremendous skill to be able get a woman’s shape and make it look like it does in life, which is always beautiful. But our society is so photographic now, it becomes more difficult to see all of those different varieties of shape.”

    Knightley also addressed the difficulty women face as they age.

    “It’s really desperate, the image we have of women, and when women became invisible or when you hear someone say, ‘She’s let herself go,’ whatever the f— that means. What — because she’s got grey hair? I do think it’s something that needs to be addressed,” she said.

  • Lily Allen Opens Up About the Heartbreak of Delivering a Stillborn Son

    Lily Allen opened up about the heartbreak of giving birth to a stillborn son in 2010 during an emotional interview on The Jonathan Ross Show.

    “I think it’s difficult for anybody regardless of what world they live in…it was the most unfortunate thing that can ever happen to a person,” admitted the singer.

    The Air Balloon singer told Us Weekly that, despite having to spend three weeks in a psychiatric clinic due to depression following the miscarriage, her husband, Sam Cooper, was a source of strength for her.

    “Actually what I took home from that experience was…I was very fortunate in the sense that I have a loving partner to go home to and share that experience with,” she said.

    “There are…17 stillbirths in the UK every day… and there are many women that go home and they don’t have that support, they have to go home and deal with that on their own so I am kind of in a…count-my-blessings scenario rather than feeling sorry for myself,” said Allen.

    Happily Allen, who also miscarried in 2008, has had two children since those early days trying to have a family. Daughter Ethel Mary was born in November 2012, and a second daughter, Marnie Rose, was born in January 2013.

    Allen admits that she’d love to add another child to her growing family.

    “I’d love a boy. And I’d also like another girl just so I can call her Auxiliary Jane or Pizza,” the singer joked. “I quite like Pizza for a kid, or Megan Lolz that would be good. Megan Lolz.”

  • Maureen O’Hara, Harry Belafonte Receive Honorary Oscars in Front of Star-Studded Audience.

    Maureen O’Hara and Harry Belafonte were awarded honorary Academy Awards Saturday night in front of a star-studded audience at the Governor’s Awards Ceremony.

    Joining the legendary Irish actress and the social activist in receiving an honorary Academy Award were filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere. The event was held at a private dinner ceremony at Hollywood & Highland’s Ray Dolby Ballroom.

    Liam Neeson and Clint Eastwood introduced the 94-year-old O’Hara and concurred that both once had a crush on the beautiful actress. Described by Neeson as “one of the true legends of cinema” and “one of the most adventurous women who ever lived,” he said she was a pioneer in the industry for women by doing her own stunt work, notably in several John Wayne films.

    Arriving on stage in a wheelchair, O’Hara thanked filmmakers Charles Laughton and John Ford, and her late friend and co-star Wayne.

    “What’s this?!” said O’Hara when the award was handed to her. “I only hope it’s silver or gold and not like a spoon out of the kitchen.”

    Belafonte, 87, was introduced by Chris Rock and Susan Sarandon and accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his social activism.

    “I’m not here to honor you,” Rock said. “I’m here to thank you.”

    Sarandon called the actor and singer “a real-life, flesh and blood hero.”

    Belafonte accepted his award with his typical grace and eloquence.

    “To be rewarded by my peers for my work for human rights, civil rights and for peace… It powerfully mutes the enemy’s thunder,” he said.

    Belafonte said he shared the award with friend and colleague Sidney Poitier.

    “He redirected the ship of racial hatred in American culture,” Belafonte said, mentioning the actor’s long list of films, including 12 Years a Slave, noting the influential power of the film.

    “Maybe, just maybe, it could be civilization’s game-changer,” he said.

    Other attendees of the ceremony included Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Kevin Costner, Mark Wahlberg, Ed Norton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Ron Howard and Hilary Swank.

    The Governors Awards was established by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009. Highlights from the ceremony will be featured in the 2015 Oscar telecast in February.

  • James Earl Jones to Be Honored For His Famous Voice

    James Earl Jones, 83, will be honored tonight for his famous voice as the recipient of the Voice Icon Award during the first-ever Voice Arts Awards at the Museum of the Moving Image.

    Jones may have the most recognizable voice known to man and has loaned his vocal cords to create the personas of Darth Vader and Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King, among many others.

    Oddly enough, the Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actor will be celebrated for something that gave him great pain as a child. Jones said he had a stutter so severe that he refused to speak at all.

    “I once did not speak. I was mute. When I finally did speak, though, I spoke as an adult,” Jones said.

    Jones gives credit to his teacher for the deep, rich voice that emanates from the actor today.

    “I was 16 or 17, and my teacher said, ‘You remember yourself speaking as a child, you’re now hearing yourself as an adult, don’t get impressed with it. Don’t listen to it, because you can fall in love with the melodious of it. If you listen to it, then nobody else will,’” he said.

    The new annual event will honor the best voices of the year from television, film, video games, commercials, and audiobooks.

    “There is magic in the human voice,” Jones, who will fittingly receive the first Voice Icon Award ever, said to The Associated Press. “And I’m honored.”

    Jones said he was thrilled when he learned how his iconic CNN tagline touched soldiers returning from the Gulf War.

    “The time I was most proud of that was during the first Iraq war. Fliers would come back to base; they would mention that once they got inside and they heard, ‘This is CNN,’ they knew they were home, or a piece of home. I’m very proud to represent that,” he said.

    Jones said he loves many of the characters that he has brought to life with his voice, but he has a particular affinity with Mufasa.

    “I found myself as an adult watching it with great interest and great involvement. When Mufasa died, I understood Simba breaking down and crying because Daddy is gone. … That had an effect on me, that film.”

    Jones said it’s not likely he’ll reprise the role of Darth Vader anytime soon, despite rumors to the contrary.

    “Oh, Darth is dead. Darth is dead,” he said.

    Jones is currently starring in You Can’t Take It With You on Broadway.

  • Tori Spelling Apologizes to Dean McDermott’s Ex-Wife For Sleeping With Her Husband While They Were Still Married

    Tori Spelling has apologized to her husband’s ex-wife for commencing their affair while McDermott was still married to his former wife.

    On an upcoming episode of True Tori, the former 90210 actress meets up with Mary Jo Eustace, according to RadarOnline.

    Spelling and McDermott, who have been married for eight years and have four children together, have made numerous headlines of late after he reportedly admitted he has had sex with at least five other women during their marriage.

    “No one else knows better what I’m going through better than her,” Spelling says about wanting to meet Eustace in the episode.

    When they finally meet, Spelling attempts to apologize.

    “I can’t help the fact that I fell in love with him,” she says. “And I’m sorry that we didn’t handle it a different way.”

    Eustace responds with a what goes around, comes around kind of answer to the apology.

    “Well, I appreciate your apology, but every choice has a consequence,” Eustace responds.

    The meeting and apology come after a discussion during a couples therapy session about a meeting she had with her ex-husband Charlie Shanian, who she left for McDermitt.

    “There’s been a definite disconnect since I saw Charlie,” Spelling says.

    McDermott tells Spelling he feels he is “not the person” for Spelling.

    “That makes me scared that you’re going to leave me,” she responds to his revelation.

    McDermott recently revealed that he is leaving the show for good.

    “We have five more shows left… I can’t do this anymore,” he told Access Hollywood earlier this week.

    “I can’t keep opening a vein, opening my soul and sharing my feelings and thoughts and demons with the world,” he said.

  • Man Eaten By Anaconda: Animal Activists Outraged Over Man in ‘Snake-proof’ Suit Eaten Alive by Snake on Reality Show

    Animal rights activists are outraged over a man’s decision to suit up in a snake-proof suit and be eaten alive by an enormous anaconda constrictor snake.

    Self-proclaimed naturalist and wildlife filmmaker Paul Rosolie promises his audience to be eaten alive by the snake in a promo for the Discovery Channel special, Eaten Alive.

    Staff at The Columbus (Ohio) Zoo & Aquarium expressed their outrage over the spectacle.

    “If this snake would ingest something very large, like a human, and then have to regurgitate that prey or that food, that obviously could be harmful to the snake,” said Tom Stalf, CEO and President of the Columbus Zoo.

    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have likewise condemned the stunt.

    “This blatant publicity stunt sounds far-fetched, but if the description is accurate, the snake was tormented and suffered for the sake of ratings – as animals usually do when they’re used for entertainment,” PETA said in a statement.

    “Anacondas go days without eating and expend the energy needed to do so selectively. Making this snake use up energy by swallowing this fool and then possibly regurgitating him would have left the poor animal exhausted and deprived of the energy that he or she needs.”

    Rosolie — who is a naturalist, author, and until this WTH-stunt, a respected conservationist — is likely to see his career take a hit, at least in animal activist and conservation circles.

    “What I think is a shame is that his credibility will be just absolutely ruined now, and as we talk about Jack Hanna, Marlin Perkins, Steve Irwin, these are people that explore this beautiful planet, and we only have one, and so the message is to protect that planet and learn about conservations,” Stalf said.

    Eaten Alive is set to air 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, on the Discovery Channel.

  • Gabrielle Union Pens Emotionally Raw Open Letter Fighting Against Nude Photo Leak

    Gabrielle Union is still reeling after nude photos of the Being Mary Jane actress were stolen from the iCloud and leaked through social media in September.

    Union is so upset over the incident that she penned an open letter to Cosmopolitan magazine, in which she compares the experience to being raped.

    Union was very frank in her letter and described her disgust over the theft of her private photos and how it nearly ruined the her wedding and honeymoon with NBA great Dwyane Wade.

    “My honeymoon was plagued by thoughts of when I would get hit. It was always in the back of my mind: Will today be the day my life gets ruined? I thought about my family and everyone the scandal would affect — my mom, who teaches classes about Catholicism to kids, and the three boys I had become a stepmother to when I married Dwyane. My husband, meanwhile, would always have to wonder who had seen intimate photos of me that only he was supposed to see,” wrote Union.

    Union lamented the fact that, even though she and her new husband had deleted some of the photos, they were still recovered from the iCloud.

    “I wondered how a photo that was shot and deleted three years ago could be found. Sure enough, later that night, more pictures started popping up, one after another. All of them had been shot and deleted years ago. Yet there they were, online for the world to see. I felt extreme anxiety, a complete loss of control. I suddenly understood that deleting things means nothing. You think it’s gone? It’s not. What is the point of even including a delete function on a phone if it doesn’t really delete? I had deleted the photos from my phone, but apparently they had remained on some server somewhere, unbeknownst to me, where hackers could find them,” she wrote.

    “I called my reps and attorneys, pleading, ‘Get the photos taken down.’ They said it takes time — the shots were spreading fast, to some 50 sites within the first few hours. Nude pictures of other celebrities were appearing in this second wave too, including Rihanna and a new round of Jennifer Lawrence shots. I thought, this is a targeted attack, a hate crime against women. Photos of my friend Meagan Good showed up as well, and that really hurt — she’s like my little sister. We had become close while filming Deliver Us From Eva. She’s married to a pastor. I wanted to protect her from the inevitable character assassination. She was the target of a crime and did not deserve to be attacked,” wrote Union.

    Union wrote that something like this is a life-changing event, much like her experience of being raped in college.

    “I am adjusting to my new reality. Everything feels tainted. On Instagram, people tell me they’ve seen me naked. Walking into my favorite pizza place, I wonder who has seen the photos and what they are thinking. It’s part of daily life now. Some people have told me, ‘On the bright side, you look amazing in the photos.’ I know they mean well, but this is a criminal act, a gross violation. It reminds me of the time someone asked me if my rapist was ‘cute.’ That kind of misguided thinking lessens the severity of the crime and the horror of the experience.”

    Union offered hope and encouragement to others who feel betrayed and hurt, no matter the circumstances.

    “Here’s the way I choose to look at it: Bad things happen to people every day. It’s what we do with them that counts. If someone betrays your trust, such as a former boyfriend who posts photos of you online, you might feel like you’re alone on an island. You’re not. Talk to people who care for you. Just keep going. Whatever your dreams were before, they still remain. You might feel like nothing will ever be the same. And that’s true — nothing will be the same. Take that and change things,” encouraged Union.

    You can read Union’s entire letter here.