Celebs react to President Biden's action on guns, more news

Celebs react to President Biden's action on guns

In the wake of multiple recent mass shootings, President Biden announced this week what he called "just a start" to gun reforms his administration hopes will help reduce gun violence in America. Stars like Julianne Moore, who works with the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety, were quick to hop on social media to voice their reactions to the reforms, which include action to address the availability of DIY'd or modified firearms and support for community and family interventions. The president also urged the Senate to pass stronger legislation on background checks and to reinstate the Violence Against Women Act, which prevented partners and stalkers with domestic violence convictions from buying guns. Calling the announcement a "major win for gun safety," Julianne wrote on Instagram, "This is huge. Each of these executive actions will begin to address the devastating crisis of gun violence that has raged throughout the pandemic …" She also urged followers ⁠⁠to, "text CHECKS to 644-33 tell your senators to take action on background checks now." Kerry Washington showed her support for the new executive actions, too, and retweeted a headline about the president, "[calling] out 'phony' 2nd Amendment arguments," and added, "YES! Thank you @POTUS. Wow that feels good to tweet."

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'The Rock' for president? New poll suggests nearly half of voters would like to see Dwayne Johnson run

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson recently told USA Today he had not ruled out a possible White House bid, an idea he said he was "seriously considering" in 2017. Given Matthew McConaughey's current interest in a run for the Texas governor's seat, the consumer opinion research group Pipslay conducted an online survey to find out how the stars' potential campaigns would be received — and it turns out about half of voters would be open to the idea. According to Pipslay, 46 percent of Americans would like to see The Rock run for president, while 41 percent would like to see Matthew get in the Texas gubernatorial race. Asked if they'd support both celebs running, a whopping 58 percent of Americans polled said yes. The poll — which surveyed 30,138 adults from across the country between April 2 and April 4 — also checked in with participants about some hypothetical celebrity runs for office. Asked to choose from among seven male and seven female celebs, Americans leaned towards the idea of seeing Angelina Jolie (30 percent) or Oprah Winfrey (27 percent) run for office in the women's category, and Tom Hanks (22 percent) or Will Smith (21 percent) run for office in the guys' field. As for The Rock's latest thoughts the White House? "I would consider a presidential run in the future if that's what the people wanted," he told USA Today in February. "Truly, I mean that, and I'm not flippant in any way with my answer. That would be up to the people … So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground."

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Rihanna crashes a fan's birthday dinner, sings 'Happy Birthday'

For much of the past week, Rihanna's been popping all over New York City, from a Stop Asian Hate rally she attended over the weekend to her mom's birthday celebrations to at least one night out with her rumored boyfriend, A$AP Rocky. On April 7, she made another appearance in the Big Apple — courtesy of a fan's TikTok. According to ET, a group of friends was dining at Nobu that night in honor of their pal, Samirah Abdullah's birthday. Samirah's apparently a huge fan, so her friend Nini approached Rih and explained it would mean "the world" to the birthday girl if she would surprise her with a visit to their table. Rihanna took the surprise one step further, though. As Nini tells it in her post, the singer suggested Nini tell the table Rihanna declined the invite. Waiting for the right moment to ensure it would be a surprise, Rihanna followed the waiters to Samirah's table when they brought a cake over and joined the whole crew in singing "Happy Birthday." In the TikTok, Nini says she can't get over how "nice [Rihanna] was about" the whole thing. Samirah later told ET she "froze, like this couldn't be real life" when Rihanna appeared at her table to help sing. "Happy Birthday" may not be the singer's endlessly teased, as yet unreleased new studio album, but it's not a bad snack to tide fans over!

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Khloe Kardashian's response to bikini pic takedown sparks mixed reactions

Khloe Kardashian broke her silence this week about her family's efforts to remove a photo of the star in a bikini from the internet because she deemed it unflattering. Her response was met with an outpouring of support — as well a few raised eyebrows. In her post, Khloe told fans, "… as someone who's struggled with body image issues her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn't flattering, in bad lighting, or doesn't capture your body the way it is after working [too] hard to get it to this point — and then shares it to the world — you should have every right to ask for it not to be shared — no matter who you are." Looking back, she said, "… the pressure, constant ridicule, and judgment my entire life to be perfect and to meet other's standards of how I should look has been too much to bear." While plenty of fans, famous and otherwise, sent Khloe their love and agreed with her sentiment, others pointed out that her wealth and celebrity status gives her a unique degree of privilege. Khloe's ability to hire trainers, access regular injectables and cosmetic surgery and use professional photographers to take "candid" selfies for social media is not something most of us have. Katie Couric also expressed concern about Khloe's influence and the degree of editing she indulges in, writing, "This was raw and honest, but I agree with those who say the nonstop procedures and constant filters are promoting unrealistic and harmful beauty standards," (per Glamour). Jameela Jamil, meanwhile, suggested the whole saga might be grounds for a new outlook "I'm extremely sorry for what we all watched happen to you over the past decade," she tweeted. "It's so unacceptable. Now would be a great time to throw diet culture in the f*** it bucket, stop editing photos, admit to the help you get to look how you do, and be transparent with your fans."

David Harbour teases 'Stranger Things' spoilers in hilarious Instagram Live with Millie Bobby Brown

Forget Big Brother. For the cast of "Stranger Things," it's Netflix that's always watching — a point David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown made crystal clear in a hilarious Instagram Live on David's 'Gram this week. The actor, who plays Police Chief Jim Hopper and the adoptive dad of Millie's Eleven, popped up on Live with a closeup that showed him in costume with cuts and scrapes all over his face. "What's up, everybody? How's it going?" David asked (via E! News). "I haven't done Instagram Live in a little while. I think I can only be here for like three and a half minutes because I think I have to go to set fairly soon. … I'm here, shooting season four of our television show," he said. He then realized he maybe wasn't "supposed to be showing you these things," i.e., the cuts and scrapes or the fact that he was even on the set, given that it was still unclear by the end of Season 3 if we'd ever see Jim again. "Who wants to hear spoilers for Season 4?" he cracked. "Let me just read directly from the script." David went on to acknowledge it had been a "very tough day" and he was "exhausted," as anyone might be after having their face banged up the way his character's appeared to be. That's when he noticed Millie, his onscreen daughter, had tuned in to the Live. David burst into laughter. "Oh, s—! Millie! Oh, no," he said through giggles. "Millie, don't tell Netflix, don't tell Netflix that I'm doing Instagram Live from set. I'm just gonna read your sections of the script, Millie. I'm just gonna tell everybody what happens to Eleven this season." Millie then calls into the Live to ask her faux dad, while trying not to laugh, "What are you doing?" He admits he isn't sure. "I'm just so crazy, I shouldn't be doing this," he says. Stunned, she asks if he's in his costume. He is, but points out the Season 4 teaser that's already been released shows him in the same getup. "Get off of Live and go back to work!" she screams. "I'm getting fired," David says. Millie agrees, telling him he's "probably getting a phone call right now" from Netflix. After a long production delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, Season 4 has resumed filming, but no release date has been announced.

Regé-Jean Page reacts to report he wasn't cast as Superman's grandfather because he's Black

Among the many allegations of racism and workplace misconduct in The Hollywood Reporter's new feature on Ray Fischer's experience with "Justice League," Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. is a report that Regé-Jean Page wasn't cast in the now defunct SyFy series "Krypton" because he's Black. THR confirms that after Regé's audition, former DC Films exec Geoff Johns nixed the idea of having the actor play Superman's grandfather because of the color of his skin. On April 8, Regé weighed in on the report. "Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then," Regé tweeted on April 8. "The clarifications almost hurt more tbh. Still just doing my thing. Still we do the work. We still fly." Cameron Cuffe, who ended up landing the grandfather role, El-Seg, chimed in as well. "Regé is an inspiration to me and thousands of other artists," he posted in response to the erstwhile "Bridgerton" star's tweet. "No one should feel okay benefiting from individuals or institutions that treat their fellow humans so unjustly. Change must happen." Replied Regé: "You were awesome as Seg, and you are an absolute gift to us all ❤️." "Krypton" was cancelled in 2019 after only two season.

DMX showed no sign of regained brain function while on life support: Report

An April 8 report from TMZ suggests the brain functionality tests DMX underwent this week did not provide his loved ones with much hope. The rapper, 50, remains on life support a hospital in New York after a presumed overdose caused him to have a heart attack last week. At the time, TMZ reported he spent nearly 30 minutes without oxygen; in later updates the outlet said he was basically in "a vegetative state." Now, sources tell TMZ "X," born Earl Simmons, has not regained any brain function after nearly a week on life support. His close friend and manager, Steve Rifkind, is reportedly expected to ravel to New York on April 9. In the meantime, family members have visited, although coronavirus restrictions have prevented him from being surrounded by loved ones in the ICU.

Eddie Murphy reflects on turning 60 and more in new sit-down with Oprah Winfrey

Eddie Murphy just turned 60 on April 3 and as he tells Oprah Winfrey in a teaser clip for their upcoming "The Oprah Conversation" interview, he's kicking off the decade with a new sense of self-understanding and acceptance. And it sounds like Oprah, 67, started feeling the same way on her milestone birthday. "When I turned 60, I realized I was more secure in being myself than I've ever been," she says in the sneak peek (via People). "Maya Angelou had said to me that your fifties is all that you've been meaning to be, I feel that I fulfilled that. Turning 60 was a level of security that's really pretty solid. Where does this moment leave you?" Oprah asks. "I'm the most comfortable I've ever been in my skin," says the comic. "I feel great and optimistic and totally comfortable in Eddie. I always was comfortable in my skin, but not like now." And he has good reason to be comfortable. The long-awaited, star-packed "Coming 2 America" sequel had the best opening weekend, ratings-wise, of any other streaming movie in the previous year, according to Forbes. Eddie finally won his first Emmy Award in October. And the father of 10 (yep, 10), recently announced plans to revisit his '80s-era Axel Foley character in "Beverly Hills Cop 4." His full sit-down with Oprah airs on April 9 on Apple TV+.

John Prine's wife, son reflect on the first anniversary of the songwriting legend's death

In the bizarre time machine that the coronavirus pandemic brought upon us, it's hard to believe a whole year has passed since iconic singer-songwriter John Prine died of COVID-19 last spring. It's especially hard for John's wife, Fiona, and their son, Jody, to believe. But as they shared in a new interview with Variety, they've managed to get through the past year by focusing on their work, which largely revolves around John's nearly 50 years' worth of music. (Jody runs the Oh Boy Records label John founded, while his mom Fiona was her husband's longtime manager.) According to Fiona and Jody, the family is also finally starting to plan a celebration of John's life. "Some of us are fully vaccinated, and some of us are on our way there," Fiona says, "… and so we hope to gather together on John's anniversary for the first time since Christmas of 2019, which would have been the last time we were all together as a family." They also plan to release a second installment of the 2010 tribute to John, "Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows," complete with a series of events memorializing John and his musical contributions in Nashville this fall. "We're going to have a fun tribute record," Jody says, "but we also also take a week to — if it's safe — all come together to celebrate him." John lost his battle with COVID-19 on April 8, 2020. He was 73.