Month: January 2022

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Entertainment Daypop

“The Real’s” Jeannie Mai Jenkins and Jeezy welcome their 1st child together

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“The Real” co-host Jeannie Mai Jenkins and her husband, rapper Jeezy (real name is Jay Wayne Jenkins), have welcomed their first child together.  Jenkins, 43, wrote on Instagram: “I asked God for a life of love and happiness. He sent me my family. Baby Jenkins is here.”  She also shared a photo of the newborn’s hospital bassinet containing a swaddle blanket and a name card that reads “Jenkins” but did not disclose the child’s name or sex.

Jenkins and Jeezy, 44, tied the knot in March of last year, and shortly after their wedding, Jenkins experienced a miscarriage. Said Mai Jenkins: “I wondered if I was being punished. I wondered if I’d jinxed myself or cursed myself. My entire life, I never wanted children. When I say never, I’m talking a hard-stop.” Jenkins had a change of heart about having children of her own after she began dating Jeezy in 2018. He has three children from previous relationships.

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Entertainment Daypop

Kanye ‘Ye’ West named as suspect in Los Angeles criminal battery investigation

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Kanye ‘Ye’ West was allegedly involved in a battery incident in Los Angeles on Wednesday, January 12.  The 44-year-old “is a named suspect in a battery report,” the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Thursday, January 13. According to authorities, the report was taken around 3 a.m. after a supposed argument occurred at the corners of Santa Fe and Bay Streets.  Police were unable to specify the details of the investigation, however, they confirmed that no arrests were made. Police sources as saying the incident is being investigated as misdemeanor battery, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 6 months.

Reportedly, Ye allegedly punched a male fan who had asked him for an autograph, and knocked him to the ground. Multiple outlets report that Ye had already left the scene by the time officers arrived. TMZ posted its own video of the rapper “shot sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.”  In the clip, Ye is heard yelling, “Did y’all say that or not? Did y’all say that or not? ‘Cause that’s what happened right f–king now” to a couple of people.  Earlier that night, Ye was spotted with new flame Julia Fox at West Hollywood hotspot Delilah. The 31-year-old Fox stayed at the club after West left alone.

The news comes just one day after Billboard confirmed Ye, Billie Eilish and Harry Styles were the headliners for 2022 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

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Entertainment Daypop

Full lineup for Coachella 2022 announced: Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Kanye ‘Ye’ West to headline

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The full Coachella 2022 has been announced, with Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ye headlining.  Coachella announced the lineup on social media, tweeting: “Presale for Weekend 2 starts Friday 1/14 at 10am PT. Weekend 1 is sold out. Register now at http://coachella.com“.  Ye (formerly Kanye West) was the first headliner to return to the SoCal festival, which will be held back-to-back the weekends of April 15-17 and April 22-24, 2022.

Other performers include Phoebe Bridgers, Lil Baby, Big Sean and Daniel Caesar, who will perform alongside Friday headliner Harry Styles; Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Anitta and Giveon joined Saturday headliner Billie Eilish; And Doja Cat, Run the Jewels, Karol G, Maggie Rogers and Ari Lennox to join headliner Ye on Sunday.

The last time Coachella was held was in 2019; the 2020 and 2021 iterations were canceled due to COVID-19. Rage Against The Machine had been announced as the headliner along with Travis Scott and Frank Ocean 2020, but none will be performing at the 2022 festival.

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News Daypop

U.S. judge rejects motion to dismiss sex abuse lawsuit against Britain’s Prince Andrew

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A U.S. district judge rejected a motion by Britain’s Prince Andrew on Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre that alleges he sexually abused her when she was 17.  U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said the 2009 deal “cannot be seen” to benefit Andrew, adding, “Independent of whether the release language applies to Prince Andrew, the agreement, at a minimum, is ‘reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation’ on the equally important question of whether this defendant may invoke it.”

Prince Andrew’s lawyers argued that the suit should be thrown out because of a 2009 deal that Guiffre signed with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In 2009, Giuffre accepted $500,000 from Jeffrey Epstein to settle a lawsuit she had filed against him in Florida. Part of that agreement extends protection to “any other person or entity who could have been included as a potential defendant (‘Other Potential Defendants’) from all, and all manner of [claims] that said First Parties ever had… or may have, against Jeffrey Epstein, or Other Potential Defendants.”  Andrew’s lawyers argued that he was among the “Other Potential Defendants” protected under that 2009 deal, and that he should therefore be released from any claims Giuffre might make against him.

Giuffre’s lawyers argued that Andrew was not among the “Other Potential Defendants” that the deal referred to, and was not named in the Florida lawsuit. Giuffre did allege in that suit that she was flown around the world by Epstein to have sexual encounters with men, “including royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and/or professional and personal acquaintances.” Giuffre filed the civil suit against Andrew in New York in August, saying she was coerced into sexual encounters with him 2001 by Epstein.  Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019; his companion Ghislaine Maxwell, was recently convicted of sex trafficking.

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West Virginia Governor Jim Justice says he is “extremely unwell” after testing positive for COVID-19

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West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has tested positive for COVID-19. Justice, who is vaccinated and boosted, said he sought out tests Tuesday following a “sudden onset of symptoms.”

The governor’s office described his symptoms as “moderate.” However, Justice wrote that he feels “extremely unwell.”  He said in a statement: “I feel extremely unwell at this point, and I have no choice but to postpone my State of the State address to the Legislature. I woke up this morning with congestion and a cough. A little while later, I developed a headache and fever, so I decided to get tested right away. The rapid test that I took came back negative, but by the late afternoon, my symptoms were still getting much worse. My blood pressure and heart rate were extremely elevated, and I had a high fever. Finally, my PCR test results this evening confirmed I was positive.”

Justice has long pushed for vaccines and boosters, but is against mask mandates.  As COVID-19 cases in West Virginia skyrocketed recently, Justice said, “I absolutely do not think it’s time to put in a mask mandate.”   However, Justice continued his endorsement of vaccines, telling reporters he sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allow West Virginia to immediately start offering fourth doses to some at-risk residents.

Justice is now isolating at home and receiving a monoclonal antibody treatment per his doctors’ recommendation, his office said. Those individuals who came in close contact with the governor is being notified; West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice tested negative for the virus.

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Country Daypop

Maddie & Tae’s Taylor Dye Kerr hospitalized due to pregnancy complications

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After canceling all upcoming tour dates last month, Maddie & Tae revealed that Taylor Dye Kerr has been in the hospital experiencing pregnancy complications. The news was first shared by Kerr’s husband, fellow singer/songwriter, Josh Kerr, and later reposted by Maddie & Tae on Wednesday (Jan. 12).

Said the update from Taylor’s husband: “Today marks 1 month of being in the hospital. T went in for a routine check up at 24 weeks then we were immediately admitted, and we have been here since.” The couple shared that their daughter is “doing great” and thanked fans and friends for supporting them during this difficult time:  “This hasn’t been easy, but we’re leaning on God and trusting His plan. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.”

Josh and Taylor wed on February 21, 2020, in Nashville after getting engaged in the fall of 2019. Taylor announced her pregnancy in late November, revealing that she was expecting a baby girl with her husband.   Maddie & Tae were to headline the CMT Next Women of Country: All Song No Static Tour before the duo shared that Taylor was on “bed rest” and that they were postponing the dates “out of precaution.”

Maddie & Tae are also set to release Through The Madness Vol 1 on January 28. The project includes six new tracks, plus “Madness” and “Woman You Got.” Through The Madness Vol 1 is available for pre-order now.

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Country Daypop

Turnpike Troubadours announce new 2022 tour dates

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The Turnpike Troubadours reunited late last year after a two-year hiatus. Back in November, the band announced a now sold-out show at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre on May 14; and now the group has announced additional 2022 tour dates.

Turnpike Troubadour will play two shows at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Okla. on April 8 and April 9, two shows at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas on April 22 and April 23 and a show at John T. Floore’s Country store in Helotes, Texas. Tickets for the Tulsa, Fort Worth and Helotes shows go on sale on Jan. 14.  You can find more information on ticketing via Turnpike Troubadours’ official website.

Turnpike Troubadours released their breakout album Diamonds & Gasoline in 2010, followed by Goodbye Normal Street. Their self-titled 2015 album featured “The Mercury” and “The Bird Hunters” and in 2017, the band released the critically-acclaimed album A Long Way From Your Heart.  During the band’s hiatus, Turnpike members created projects of their own. Fiddler Kyle Nix released Lightning on the Mountain & Other Short Stories, and bass player R.C. Edwards’ band, RC and the Ambers, released Big Country.

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Entertainment Daypop

Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet split after 4 years of marriage

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Jason Momoa, 42, and wife Lisa Bonet, 54, announced their separation in a joint statement on Momoa’s Instagram Wednesday.

The statement read: “We have all felt the squeeze and changes of these transformational times… A revolution is unfolding and our family is of no exception… feeling and growing from the seismic shifts occurring,” the joint statement read. “And so we share our Family news that we are parting ways in marriage.”

“We share this not because we think it’s newsworthy but so that as we go about our lives we may do so with dignity and honesty,” the statement continued. “The love between us carries on, evolving in ways it wishes to be known and lived. We free each other to be who we are learning to become…”

The statement concluded, “Our devotion unwavering to this sacred life our children. Teaching our children what’s possible. Living the Prayer. May Love Prevail✨ J & L.”

The couple started dating in 2004 after being introduced by mutual friends at a jazz club.  In July 2007, the pair had their first child, Lola, and welcomed their second child, Nakoa-Wolf, in December 2008.  Bonet also shares daughter Zoë Kravitz, 33, with ex-husband Lenny Kravitz, whom she was married to from 1987-1993.  While it was widely believed that Momoa and Bonet married in 2007, the couple actually were married in October 2017.

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Entertainment Daypop

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly announce their engagement

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Actress Megan Fox and musician Machine Gun Kelly are engaged.

On Wednesday, Fox wrote in the caption of an Instagram post announcing the engagement:  “In July of 2020 we sat under this banyan tree. We asked for magic. We were oblivious to the pain we would face together in such a short, frenetic period of time. Unaware of the work and sacrifices the relationship would require from us but intoxicated off of the love. And the karma.  Somehow a year and a half later, having walked through hell together, and having laughed more than I ever imagined possible, he asked me to marry him.  And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes … and then we drank each other’s blood.”

Kelly wrote on his Instagram along with a picture of the couple’s ring: “Beneath the same branches we fell in love under, I brought her back to ask her to marry me. I know tradition is one ring, but I designed it with Stephen Webster to be two: the emerald (her birth stone) and the diamond (my birth stone) set on two magnetic bands of thorns that draw together as two halves of the same soul forming the obscure heart that is our love. 1-11-2022.”

The pair met in March of 2020 while filming “Midnight in the Switchgrass,” and the couple confirmed their relationship in June 2020. This will be MGK’s first marriage, and Fox’s second.  Fox was married to ‘90210’ actor Brian Austin Green for 10 years, with whom she shares three sons.

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President Biden calls for change to filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation during Atlanta trip

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During a visit on Tuesday to Atlanta, Presiden Biden called for a change in Senate rules on the filibuster to allow Democrats to pass a voting rights bill. The President and Vice President Harris traveled to Georgia for a series of events to promote legislation designed to safeguard voting rights in an era when some states are taking action to make it tougher to cast a ballot.

During remarks at Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College, Biden marked the recent one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. During the riots, supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to prevent Congress from certifying the election in Biden’s favor.  Said Biden: “Today, we come to Atlanta, the cradle of civil rights, to make clear what must come after that dreadful day, when a dagger was literally held at the throat of American democracy. They want chaos to reign, we want the people to rule. Hear me plainly — the battle for the soul of America is not over.”

Georgia was one of the first states to pass stricter laws on voting after the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden carried the state. Critics have denounced the state for pandering to false claims of election fraud by former President Donald Trump.

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