WebProNews

Tag: kirstie alley

  • Kirstie Alley Pitches Jenny Craig, Oprah Winfrey Touts Weight Watchers–Which Celebrity Endorsement Will Reign Supreme?

    Kirstie Alley is pitching the Jenny Craig method of weight loss as Oprah Winfrey touts the merits of Weight Watchers and the fact that she can eat bread–every day.

    The average person looking to shed a few pounds in the New Year has these two big-name endorsements to consider when deciding how to implement a weight loss plan. Will one reign supreme over the other?

    If you turn to social media, you’ll see that Kirstie Alley is using her old Cheers backdrop to show off her new physique. Might that be the Jenny Craig way of including men in the weight loss wars? John Ratzenberger and George Wendt appear as they did decades ago, seated at the bar, as Alley poses in the foreground.

    Not everyone sees it as a weight loss ad. Some view it as a Cheers reunion of sorts instead.

    Others clearly don’t get the notion that Kirstie Alley is a paid spokesperson, and have opted to throw her Church of Scientology ties in her face.

    One Twitter user seems to have grown bored with Kirstie Alley touting Jenny Craig.

    Then There’s Oprah Winfrey and her Weight Watchers campaign–setting out to convince the average television viewer that she’s just like the rest of us, because she eats bread–every day. Who out there doesn’t understand that someone prepares every bite of food Oprah puts in her mouth? You could lose weight and have your “best body” if a chef prepared your meals, too.

    One Twitter user seems a bit tired of the bread ruse.

    Are you looking to shed a few pounds before donning your spring wardrobe? Which of these two celebrities are you more likely to endorse–Kirstie Alley or Oprah Winfrey? Or have each spokesperson’s ads prompted you to look elsewhere for your weight loss encouragement?

  • Kirstie Alley Advises Older Men to Stop Being ‘So Freaking Boring’

    Kirstie Alley is looking fine after her 50-pound weight loss, leaving her single and ready to mingle.

    However, the 64-year-old actress seems to be having some trouble finding men that leave her breathless. Instead, they apparently leave her ready for a snooze.

    To help the fellas of a certain age out there, Kirstie offered some advice via Entertainment Tonight.

    “I wanted to say something to men over 45. Don’t be so freaking boring!” Alley said. “Don’t have the life already sucked out of you.”

    While her words may seem harsh, the Cheers actress says she would rather date someone her own age… if only they would be a little more interesting and fun.

    “All it does is leave women to date young men and be really embarrassed, because we are dating guys in tank tops,” Alley continued.” I want some men around my age that aren’t boring, and act like they are tired.”

    Alley’s dramatic weight loss was announced last year. At the time, she said she was ready to “hook up,” and while she was out in the dating arena, she was just not finding “the one.”

    Alley made a resolution in 2014 to drop 30 pounds and revealed on the Today show that she finished out the year a full 50 pounds lighter.

    “I lost it on Jenny Craig,” she told Matt Lauer.

    And she has kept it off.

    “This time it’s different,” Kirstie Alley said at the time. “My goal is to keep this and maintain this throughout my life. … I feel like I’ve conquered that now. I’m sort of hardheaded. You know, when I used to do drugs, it took me a while to quit, quit, quit — and then it was done. And I feel like that’s occurred for me [with my weight now].”

  • Leah Remini Praises ‘Brave’ Documentary That Calls Out Scientology

    Leah Remini praised a controversial HBO Scientology documentary, calling the filmmakers “brave.”

    Just hours after the airing of Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Leah Remini tweeted her admiration for the film.

    “Thank you to the brave who did something about it. And to those who didn’t have a voice, you do now. #GoingClear,” tweeted the 44-year-old actress, who made headlines when she left Scientology in July 2013.

    The film, directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney, is based on Lawrence Wright’s 2013 book, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief, which takes an in-depth look at the religion and includes interviews with former members of the church.

    First premiering at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim, the church has denounced the film through statements and a twitter campaign against the film.

    “The accusations made in the film are entirely false and alleged without ever asking the Church,” Scientology officials said in a statement. “The Church is committed to free speech. However, free speech is not a free pass to broadcast or publish false information.”

    The most recent tweets in a Twitter campaign launched through an account called Freedom Media Ethics to slam the documentary show a number of photos of men and women sleeping in a movie theater while watching the film, with captions such as “HBOring..Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”

    Leah Remini made headlines when she left Scientology more than two years ago, claiming that she had lived through years of “interrogations” and “thought modification.”

    “I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and from fans around the world. I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support,” said Leah Remini in a statement.

    Needless to say, the backlash was immediate from other celebrity Scientology followers, including Kirstie Alley.

    “When you are generalizing and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group—there are tens of millions of Scientologists in the world—when you decide to blanket statement that Scientology is evil, you are my enemy,” said Kirstie Alley.

    Remini told Buzzfeed several months after leaving the church that she did so for her daughter.

    “In my house, it’s family first—but I was spending most of my time at the church,” she said. “So, I was saying ‘family first,’ but I wasn’t showing that. I didn’t like the message that sent my daughter.”

  • Kirstie Alley Sheds 50 Pounds, Again

    Kirstie Alley, known for her yo-yo dieting throughout the years, has shed yet another 50 pounds and is looking thin and trim. How did she do it this time? She went back on the Jenny Craig plan on which she lost 75 pounds while serving as the company’s spokesperson.

    “It was so easy for me when I did it before,” Alley said during a recent interview with People magazine.

    Kirstie Alley’s last significant weight loss came while she was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. The constant rehearsals and romps on the ballroom floor had her looking and feeling amazing. But when the show ended, so did the dancing–and the weight came back.

    The former Cheers star only set out to lose 30 pounds this time, but kept going. She dropped from a size 12 or 14 down to a six six or eight.

    “There’s this certain place I hit where I felt really energetic and agile. I was like, I want to keep going with this!” she said.

    The actress knew if she didn’t incorporate both the diet plan and the exercise this time, she would yo-yo yet again.

    “I thought, how am I going to solve the problem of hitting a goal and having enough fun to keep that going?” she asked herself.

    The answer came in the form of a bicycle.

    “I got a yellow townie bike and I ride over to friends’ houses. I bribe people. I’ll say, let’s ride to this restaurant and I’ll pay for dinner,” she said. “And believe me: If I bike four miles to a restaurant, I don’t wreck it with my order!”

    Having a consultant through the Jenny Craig program has proven noteworthy this time.

    “I started looking at myself as an athlete. I was a competitive swimmer for a very long time and I remember that I wouldn’t have won anything or done well in swimming if I didn’t have a coach,” she explained.

    Kirstie Alley is hoping that a combination of her past weight loss successes will soon become lifestyle changes.

    “My goal is to keep this and maintain this throughout my life,” she explained. “I feel like I’ve conquered that now. I’m sort of hardheaded. You know, when I used to do drugs, it took me a while to quit, quit, quit–and then it was done. And I feel like that’s occurred for me.”

    Lots of people are starting diets or fitness routines now that the holidays are over. They might just find Kirstie Alley’s most recent weight loss inspiring.

    Do you?

  • Kirstie Alley Slams Maksim Chmerkovskiy On Twitter

    Kirstie Alley has never been one to hold back when she has an opinion about something, and her feelings on her former Dancing With The Stars partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy are no exception.

    The actress took to Twitter over the weekend to vent about her frustrations with Chmerkovskiy, who said in a recent interview on Watch What Happens Live that their friendship had gone downhill, reportedly due to his continued friendship with Leah Remini. Remini famously left the Church of Scientology last year and said the group had kept her from family and friends.

    “If you leave Scientology publicly, you have to be shunned… and that is the sad truth of it. In the church of Scientology…you are not allowed to speak to anyone who’s left the church in any way,” Remini said.

    “I thought we had a great relationship, and if it was something else or not, I don’t know. But I got a message that now that I’m associating with other people that she can’t be associated with, I am no longer to be spoken with, and sorry, but that is what it is … but I still think the world of her and I wish her the best,” he said.

    Chmerkovskiy hasn’t responded to the tweets, although he did mention the interview on Twitter.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kirstie Alley: TV Land Cancels Her Sitcom

    Kirstie Alley: TV Land Cancels Her Sitcom

    Kirstie Alley was hoping for a huge comeback with her TV Land sitcom, Kirstie. Now it seems as though that comeback simply wasn’t meant to be. The network has officially cancelled the show after just one season.

    Alley played the role of Madison Banks, a woman who gave up her son at birth twenty-six years ago. When that son (played by Eric Peterson) wants to reconnect, things change. That reconnection wreaks all sorts of havoc in her life as a Broadway star. Kirstie Alley actually had a pretty impressive cast on Kirstie that included Rhea Perlman (Cheers) and Michael Richards of Seinfeld fame.

    Alley took to Twitter to express her momentary disappointment.

    Shortly thereafter she turned her attention to philanthropy instead of wallowing in her sorrow.

    Kirstie Alley hasn’t been part of a huge hit show on TV since she played her long-running role as Rebecca Howe on the critically acclaimed sitcom Cheers. Her most recent successful TV appearance came on Dancing With the Stars. She was a contestant on the show during its twelfth season, and even though she didn’t win, she and pro dance partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy were the runners up.

    In addition to her acting career, Kirstie Alley launched a weight loss company called Organic Liaison. She claims the products from her line helped facilitate her successful weight loss back in 2011. Alley is also a devout Scientologist and was very outspoken when actress Leah Remini (King of Queens) recently defected from the organization.

    Kirstie likely had more glitches during its first (and ultimately final) season than most sitcoms experience. The show’s creator and showrunner exited the series at the end of season one.

    Were you a fan of Kirstie Alley’s TV Land show Kirstie? Are you disappointed to learn that the network isn’t renewing it for a second season?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kirstie Alley’s Show Cancelled After One Season

    Kirstie Alley’s attempt to make a comeback to the small screen was apparently unsuccessful.

    According to Deadline, Alley’s new sitcom Kirstie has been cancelled by TV Land after only one season.

    Everyone expected the show to be an instant hit with its lineup of actors. However, the ratings did not meet up with expectations and TV Land made the decision not to renew Kirstie for a second season. “It’s pretty much the dream team,” Alley previously said of her cast, which included Michael Richards and her former Cheers costar Rhea Perlman. “When we got who we wanted, it was sort of shocking. It shocked even me.”

    The sitcom starred Alley as Maddie Banks, a Broadway star that gave up her son for adoption 26 years ago. The show followed Banks as her life was turned upside down by her son returning to reconnect with her. Perlman played the part of Banks’ personal assistant and best friend, Thelma Katz.

    Alley and Perlman have remained friends since their days on Cheers and Perlman said she was excited when Alley asked her to co-star on her new show. “We did a lot of physical stuff this year, we got a little bit of the Lucy-Ethel thing going on as well, which is very wacky — that’s quite different from Cheers and a lot of fun to play,” Perlman said.

    The pilot episode aired in December, and the final episode wrapped up in February.

    Will you miss Kirstie? Leave your comments below.

    Image via Twitter

  • Leah Remini Says Leaving Scientology Made Her Family Stronger

    Leah Remini recently told Ellen DeGeneres that leaving Scientology has made her family stronger.

    Remini appeared on Ellen on Wednesday to discuss the new reality series she’s starring in along with her family. The 12-episode half-hour docuseries will premiere on TLC this summer.

    Not surprisingly, Remini’s highly-publicized departure from the Church of Scientology tied into the discussion:

    “We’re learning new ways to reconnect with each other, so it really has brought us closer together,” Remini told DeGeneres. “We’re stronger and we’re having so much fun together and this is something that the family loves to do.”

    Remini left Scientology last summer, after having been a member of the often-controversial church for over 30 years.

    Remini’s defection from the church caused a relative uproar, with church leaders and high profile members such as Kirstie Alley speaking out against Remini.

    “In my house, it’s family first – but I was spending most of my time at the church. So I was saying ‘family first,’ but I wasn’t showing that. I didn’t like the message that sent my daughter….In the church, you’re taught that everybody is lost,” Remini has said of her decision. “They say they’re loving, caring, nonjudgmental people, but secretly, they were judging the world for not believing what they believed. To me, that is not a spiritual person. That’s a judgmental person, and that is the person that I was. I was a hypocrite, and the worst thing you can be in this world is a hypocrite.”

    Remini has a nine-year-old daughter, Sofia Bella, with her husband of ten years, Angelo Pagán.

    “It all began when Leah questioned the validity of excommunication of people,” a source said in July 2013. “She is stepping back from a regime she thinks is corrupt. She thinks no religion should tear apart a family or abuse someone under the umbrella of ‘religion.’”

    Remini was reportedly chastised back in 2006 – at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes – for asking where church leader David Miscavige’s wife Shelly was.

    Remini grew increasingly concerned about Shelly, eventually filing a missing persons report on her behalf in August 2013. At that point, Shelly Miscavige hadn’t been seen in public for six years.

    The church condemned the filing of the report as “ill-advised, ludicrous self-promotion” and the Los Angeles Police Department eventually ruled that the report was “unfounded” and closed the case.

    “I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and from fans around the world. I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support,” Remini said in a statement last July.

    One of the colleagues who supported Remini’s decision to leave Scientology was fellow actress and close friend Jennifer Lopez, whom Remini was once accused of trying to convert to the religion.

    Image via YouTube

  • Kirstie Alley Clears ‘Circus Fat’ Comment

    Kirstie Alley Clears ‘Circus Fat’ Comment

    Kirstie Alley cleared the issue about what she said in her Jenny Craig advertisement that was released on Monday. In the ad, the 63-year-old actress said, “I’m not circus fat, I just wanna lose 20 pounds.”

    The term “circus fat” angered many and they turned to Twitter for their harsh comments against the actress saying that what she said was offensive and demeaning.

    Alley was forced to explain what she meant during an interview for Today with Matt Lauer. She said that she did not mean to be offensive. In another explanation on “Diets in Review,” Alley said, “That’s how I see me,” referring to herself and not overweight people in general.

    Alley defends her “circus fat” comment

    The actress is known to poke fun at her own weight. She has been very open to the public with her journey to weight loss, too. Recently, Alley said that she wants to lose 30 pounds.

    This is not the first time Alley will be working with Jenny Craig, the nutrition and weight loss company. In 2004, Alley was able to lose a total of 75 pounds that can be attributed to the company’s healthy pre-packaged meals. This is the second time Alley has endorsed the company, since she resigned as Jenny Craig’s spokeswoman in 2007.

    In her interview with Lauer, she said that she has regained some of the pounds that she lost due to holiday eating and “man troubles.” The public has seen her weight go up and down through the years, but Alley claims that she has lost 100 pounds since leaving Jenny Craig in 2007. The additional weight loss is said to be because of a weight loss program she co-developed called “Organic Liaison.”

    Alley will now be sticking to Jenny Craig meals and taking supplements from her own line to help shed her 30-pound weight loss goal.

    Here’s the ad. Was it offensive?

    Image via YouTube

  • Kirstie Alley Is Back On Jenny Craig

    Kirstie Alley Is Back On Jenny Craig

    Kirstie Alley has spent the majority of her adult life struggling with her weight.

    From 2004 to 2007, Alley served as a spokeswoman for the weight loss program Jenny Craig, and was able to lose 75 pounds. She maintained that weight for several years, but recently realized that she had gained 30 of those pounds back. “I was good for a while and then I wasn’t good, and the weight crept up,” Alley told PEOPLE. “Like I say in the ad, I’m not circus fat. I didn’t hugely screw up. I didn’t gain 75. I gained 30.”

    It wasn’t until she saw herself on her new sitcom Kristie that she realized she had been packing the pounds back on. “I was like, you look OK on the street, but you don’t look [OK] on TV, not so much,” she told Today. Alley admitted that a combination of man troubles and over indulging herself during the holiday season contributed to her weight gain. “Listen, men, stop upsetting your women. You make them fat,” she joked.

    Alley decided to rejoin Jenny Craig because she said the program has proven successful for her, and she likes to have a coach to offer their support. “I love that you have a consultant,” Alley explained. “It’s like being an athlete. No athlete is going to do well without having a coach. We have to equate that to life. Without a coach helping us along the way, I don’t think someone can make it for the long haul.”

    Alley has always been a very confident woman and she said that she wants to be able to feel that way again. “I need to get myself to where I feel cocky again,” she said.

    Image via Twitter

  • Leah Remini To Star In Reality Series On TLC

    Leah Remini is set to become the star of a reality series that will air on TLC, along with her other family members, and the show track their activity as they go about their daily lives.

    Although she did not become a huge star after her big show like her co-star Kevin James did, Leah Remini was the wife on the popular sitcom The King Of Queens. The show aired on CBS, and ran from 1998 until 2007.

    The show will be presented to audiences from Gurney Productions, the producers behind Duck Dynasty. Remini’s family’s show does not currently have a title, but the network announced that it had picked up 12-episodes of a half-hour docu-series.

    Typically, celebrities have not been known to switch to reality television, but Mark Wahlberg and his family have also been seen on the new A&E reality series The Wahlburgers, showing that other people can do it too. Leah Remini is not as big as the Wahlberg’s though, and it is hard to know if people would be interested in a show that will focus on her family.

    She is a native of Brooklyn, New York, although the actress is currently living in Los Angeles. She has been married to her husband Angelo for 10 years, and he helps run their family diner. In addition to following their activities as a couple, the show will focus on their 9-year-old daughter Sofia, Remini’s opinionated mother, and eccentric stepfather, and her sister, and brother-in-law.

    Remini has been in the news a lot as of recently due to her recent break from Scientology. She was even referred to as a bigot by Kirstie Alley, and admitted that she was a hypocrite.

    Nancy Daniels, the general manager of TLC, spoke of Leah Remini’s character, and how she will work well with the network when saying “Leah is a no-nonsense, hard-working, relatable mom, wife, daughter, and sister. Her sharp humor and unfiltered family are a perfect match for the network.”

    In addition to her time spent on The King Of Queens, she has appeared briefly on shows such as Dancing With The Stars and The Exes, and was also a co-host of The Talk.

    Leah Remini’s upcoming reality series is set to debut this summer. Production will begin next week.

    Image via Youtube

  • Leah Remini Reveals Why She Left Scientology

    Up until now, Leah Remini has been pretty quiet about her very public and very controversial split from Scientology. Even when prominent Scientologists like Kirstie Alley spoke out about the former King of Queens actress, Remini kept mum. Until now, that is.

    Remini wants to set the record straight, and did so in an interview, in which she talked about her separation from the religion and why she did it. A lot of it had to do with her horrific introduction to the church and how that would affect her daughter, she says.

    “We went from a middle-class lifestyle [in Brooklyn] to living in a roach-infested motel with six other girls off a freeway in Clearwater,” she stated. “We were separated from our mother. We had to sign billion-year contracts we didn’t understand. And we kept saying, ‘Why are you doing this to us? Why are we here?’”

    Her past affects her and family now, as this is the time she would have to acclimate her nine-year-old daughter, Sofia, into the religion.

    “I started thinking of my own childhood and how I grew up resenting my mother because she was never home. In my house, it’s family first, but I was spending most of my time at the church,” she explained. ”So, I was saying ‘family first,’ but I wasn’t showing that. I didn’t like the message that sent my daughter.”

    Remini looked for help from other Scientology members, but was met with resistance. Although she received support from her mother, other friends weren’t so welcoming.

    See what Kirstie Alley has to say about Remini:

    “We had a chance to make a change from within, but they didn’t want to,” she said in the interview. “They only cared that their lives would be disrupted if they stood with me. They didn’t care about doing the right thing. That showed me everything the church taught me was a lie.”

    The former Dancing With the Stars alum plans on writing a memoir in order to tell the truth about the religion.

    Image via YouTube

  • Leah Remini Is A “Bigot” Says Kirstie Alley

    Leah Remini Is A “Bigot” Says Kirstie Alley

    Kirstie Alley seems to be upset by Leah Remini’s public criticism of the Church of Scientology. Alley, who was a guest on “The Howard Stern Show” Wednesday, ended up calling Remini a Bigot for attacking her religion.

    Alley has been a staunch and vocal supporter of the controversial church and says she joined the church to overcome her cocaine addiction when she was younger. Alley was asked whether she feels offended when people attack her because of her beliefs. “I think that is the most repulsive thing a person can do, attack another person’s faith,” she said, “Because a faith is what you look to to have hope, and is what you look to to help other people, and I just think it’s really wrong.”

    Actress Leah Remini has been on the offensive against the Church of Scientology, an organization she broke away from since July. Remini had been one of the church’s celebrity members for almost 30 years but broke away from the church because according to her, the church attempted to modify thoughts and use interrogations on members. “I don’t think everybody knows that’s what is required when you leave… its the friends and family members, mothers and daughters, that is what is required,” Remini said on “The View.”  “They can no longer have relationships with me, my family, so I don’t get to see my god kids, friends that we’ve known for 34 years.” said Remini.

    Now, the former “King of Queens” star is receiving push back from Alley, who thinks that the 43-year-old (Remini) is a bigot.

    “When you are generalizing, and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group — there are tens of millions of Scientologists in the world — when you decide to blanket statement, ‘Scientology is evil,’ you are my enemy,” Alley said.

    Alley also admitted that she had blocked Remini on her Twitter although they had not seen each other for seven or eight years. “She’s a bigot,” Alley said, as she seemed quite unapologetic on her aggressive stand against Remini, “If someone was out there attacking your religion, would they be your friend? They wouldn’t be mine .. It’s not selective, I just won’t have people in my life that are bigots.”

    Kirstie Alley Defends Church Of Scientology On Howard Stern

    http://youtu.be/INmZ9lFm7vU

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Leah Remini Called A Bigot by Kirstie Alley

    Leah Remini was bashed by former fellow Scientologist Kirstie Alley, who called this season’s Dancing With the Stars contestant and former King of Queens star a bigot. The two have engaged in a bit of a war of words since Remini left the Church of Scientology and spoke out about its practices several times.

    Alley appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday and called out Leah Remini on comments she made recently while a guest on The View.

    Remini explained to Barbara Walters that she faced many repercussions for having left the organization, including severing ties with many people she loved.

    “You’re not shunned, you’re not chased. All that’s just (expletive),” Alley said to Stern on Wednesday. “I want everyone to know I have hundreds of friends and people that I know that have come into Scientology and left Scientology. When you are generalizing and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group … when you decide to blanket statement that Scientology is evil, you are my enemy.”

    “She’s a bigot,” Alley added.

    You can check out Howard Stern’s interview with Kirstie Alley for yourself.

    Alley doesn’t seem to be getting much support from Twitter followers.

    It will be interesting to learn if the name calling ends on Kirstie Alley’s behalf. She admitted she hadn’t even seen Leah Remini for years, so it seems strange she’d take such a hard stance on the subject of Leah speaking her mind about the Church of Scientology.

    Do you think Leah Remnini is telling the truth about the Church of Scientology and Kirstie Alley is trying to save face for the organization or is Leah Remini bashing where bashing isn’t due? If Twitter serves as any kind of scorecard, it seems more people are siding with Leah Remini.

    Image via Facebook

  • Kirstie Alley Slams Former Scientologist Leah Remini

    Kirstie Alley is known for speaking her mind, and the actress recently spoke up in defense of Scientology while addressing old friend Leah Remini on “The Howard Stern Show”.

    Remini made a dramatic departure from the Church of Scientology earlier this year, and while she hasn’t commented much on her decision to leave, a “source” said at the time that she was questioning things that got her into trouble.

    “It all began when Leah questioned the validity of excommunication of people,” the source said. “She is stepping back from a regime she thinks is corrupt. She thinks no religion should tear apart a family or abuse someone under the umbrella of ‘religion.’ ”

    Alley says that’s all a big crock.

    “First of all, I just want everyone to know: I have hundreds of friends and people that I know that have come into Scientology and left Scientology. … You’re not shunned; you’re not chased. All that’s just bulls***,” Alley said. “When you are generalizing and when your goal is to malign and to say things about an entire group…when you decide to blanket statement ‘Scientology is evil,’ you are my enemy.”

    Alley says she has blocked Remini on Twitter and hasn’t spoken to her in quite some time.

    “It’s not selective. I just won’t have people in my life that are that. … If somebody’s sitting there badmouthing your religion and saying that it’s hideous and evil, that’s not going to be your friend.”

    Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • Kirstie Alley Is Back With New Show

    Kirstie Alley is back with a new television sitcom on TV Land! Kirstie stars not only Alley herself, but Michael Richards and her former Cheers costar, Rhea Perlman, as well.

    “It’s pretty much the dream team,” Alley said of her cast. “When we got who we wanted, it was sort of shocking. It shocked even me.”

    Alley says she and Perlman have been close friends since they co-starred alongside each other on Cheers, and they always wanted to do another television show together. So, when they got the opportunity to do so, they jumped on it.

    The new sitcom stars Alley as Broadway star, Maddie Banks. Banks’ gave up a son for adoption 26 years ago, and her life is turned upside down when he shows up at her door hoping to reconnect with his birth mother. Perlman plays Banks’ personal assistant and best friend, Thelma Katz.

    Below is a sneak peek of the pilot episode:

    Perlman says that it is a lot of fun to act with Alley again. “We did a lot of physical stuff this year, we got a little bit of the Lucy-Ethel thing going on as well, which is very wacky — that’s quite different from ‘Cheers’ and a lot of fun to play,” Perlman said.

    (image)

    Several other high-profile stars will be making appearances on the new sitcom as well. Another Cheers co-star, George Wendt, will be on the February 5th episode and will play Katz’ ex-husband. John Travolta will also be stopping by on one of the 12 episodes scheduled for this season.

    The sitcom will premiere tonight on TV Land at 10 p.m. EST.

    [Image via Twitter]

  • Kirstie Alley Has A Lot To Say In Her New Book

    Kirstie Alley has revealed a whole lot of things during promotion for her new book, “The Art Of Men”, including the fact that she propositioned Patrick Swayze back when they were working on “North And South” together and he turned her down.

    A quick look at the book’s profile on Amazon.com, however, shows she has much more to say, and some of it might get her some backlash when it makes the rounds in curious reader circles (it was released yesterday). One of the chapters, entitled, “The Art Of Retarded Young Men”, tells the story of how she was pranked by her old “Cheers” buddy Woody Harrelson.

    Just as we were filming the last shot of the evening, an airline captain approached me. He informed me that his 20-year-old “retarded” son had recently been in a horrible car accident that had almost taken his life. He had been badly burned and had broken both legs and an arm. He told me his son was my number one fan and that he’d brought him to the set to meet me. He inquired as to whether it was possible, right after we finished shooting, that I could come into the hangar and take just a minute to meet him. Suddenly me being pregnant and freezing my ass off didn’t have much relevance. A retarded (it wasn’t politically incorrect to say that word back then), badly burned, and broken lad had traveled all this way just to meet me. Of course I said yes!

    When we completed the final shot of the night, the director yelled, “Cut, print, wrap.” John escorted me to the hangar, and I set eyes on the poor, retarded, bandaged young man sitting in a wheelchair. I took a deep breath because he was covered in gauze and splints and was more damaged than I had imagined. When I approached him he began to laugh and gyrate in his wheelchair back and forth. He was ecstatic to meet me. These are the times being a celebrity really pays off—to bring that much joy to an individual is . . . joyous.

    He put his bandaged hand out—I took it. He said in his retarded way, “I love you.” I reciprocated, “I love you, too.” He pulled me closer. He was really strong! “I love you,” a little louder and more audible. “I love you, too,” I said. He then took both my arms and pulled me much closer. “I love you, I love you, I love you,” he said, and I proclaimed, “I looove you soooo much” in the sort of half-real, half-anxiety-ridden way you’d act if a retarded boy was mauling you. He was holding me so tightly it was actually hurting me, but he was retarded, so I persevered.

    Though the young man was actually Harrelson in disguise, it’s surprising to some that Alley would use the word “retarded” so brashly, even when describing something that happened years ago. The actress and “Dancing With The Stars” competitor is already garnering some heated discussion with the revelation that she ruined her first marriage because of her feelings for Swayze, who passed away in 2009.

  • Patrick Swayze Turned Kirstie Alley Down

    Patrick Swayze Turned Kirstie Alley Down

    While promoting her new book, “The Art Of Men”, Kirstie Alley revealed that she propositioned Patrick Swayze during their time together on the set of the 1985 film “North And South”…and he straight turned her down.

    “We did not have an affair,” Alley said. “But again, I think what I did was worse. Because I think when you fall in love with someone when you’re married, you jeopardize your own marriage and their marriage. It’s doubly bad. After Patrick, I made a decision that I was not ever going to involve myself with anyone married.”

    Swayze was married to dancer wife Lisa Niemi from 1975 until his death from cancer in 2009; Niemi has thus far had no comment on Alley’s confession.

  • Kirstie Alley Sued by Angry Dieter Over Supplement Claims

    Kirstie Alley is kind of like the yo-yo of celebrity weight loss. She’s up, she’s down, up, down — her weight could rise and fall at the drop of a hat. Alley has struggled to maintain her weight for years, which, to be fair, is a problem a lot of us are experiencing at the moment. However, most of us don’t feel the need to sue the “Cheers” alumni because the supplement she uses didn’t work for us. That’s just silly.

    Marina Abramyan, who is obviously among those who want to lose pounds without doing any real work, is kind of irritated that Alley’s wonder supplement Organic Liaison didn’t cause her excess weight to magically disappear. Although Alley has said the pills helped her lose pounds — the key word being helped — Abramyan did not experience the same results. So, like many Americans who are irritated about one thing or another, she’s decided to sue poor Kirstie for engaging in a “healthy deception”.

    According to the lawsuit, Marina claims that Alley’s weight loss was the “result of hours and hours of dancing every day for several months”. No kidding. Abramyan adds that she purchased and followed the Organic Liaison Weight Loss Program to the letter, only to discover that she weighed about the same as she did when she began. Poor thing.

    To be fair, Organic Liaison does use before and after photos of Kirstie Alley from DWTS in their marketing campaign, but only someone lacking a lifetime’s worth of common sense would believe that a supplement could help you lose that much weight without a proper diet and a hell of a lot of exercise. Then again, I suppose that’s all the legal system is good for nowadays: helping folks feel less moronic about putting their faith and money into a miracle pill.

    Organic Liaison and representatives from Kirstie Alley’s camp have not commented on the lawsuit as of this writing.