By Wonderwall.com Editors
6:38am PST, Dec 8, 2021
Michael Strahan shares space prep update ahead of Blue Origin flight
On Dec. 9, Michael Strahan will board the Blue Origin New Shepard capsule and launch into space. When he does, he'll have a few personal items with him. As he explained on "Good Morning America" two days before launch, he's already picked out the objects he'll take along for the ride. "This is a once in a lifetime experience, of course, you want to have your most prized possessions and meaningful belongings with you," the "GMA" co-anchor explained. "I am taking my retired Giants jersey, my Hall of Fame ring, my Super Bowl ring, some special watches and the most special thing to me when my father passed away and had his military funeral." According to Michael, his bags are already aboard the vessel, as are those of the other passengers, each of whom may bring up to three pounds of belongings for the short flight. The former NFL star has been in West Texas training this week ahead of liftoff. "Getting prepped to head to space! We did some astronaut training with Kevin Sproge, who is CrewMember 7 and the chief trainer!" he werote on Instagram on Dec. 7 alongside photos from his training. "Got into the capsule for the first time… WOW moment for sure and much more! Today is day 2! #BlueOrigin #Space," he added. On "GMA," Michael explained that the training involves learning information about managing the "custom-made earpieces" used by passengers, "how to listen to … and respond to ground control," what protocols are in place should anything go wrong and "where all the cameras" are onboard — "which is important because that's how you get your selfies," Michael said. In October, William Shatner flew to space on the same Blue Origin vehicle, owned by Jeff Bezos.
Keep reading for Jennifer Lawrence's hilarious explanation of what she did during her acting hiatus…
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Pregnant Jennifer Lawrence jokes she spent her 3-year hiatus having 'a ton of sex'
With her new dark comedy, "Don't Look Up" in theaters Dec. 24, Jennifer Lawrence is back in the swing of the Hollywood thing following a long hiatus. The 31-year-old star is also quite pregnant — and ready to crack jokes about it. On Dec. 6, Jen stopped by "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where Stephen reminded her she hadn't been on the show since 2018. "What did you do for the last three years?" he asked, according to People. Laughing, she looked at her tummy. "I just had a ton of sex," she quipped before adding, "I'm joking." Stephen ws quick to commend his guest: "Good for you. Good for you," he told her. Jen said that she actually spent some time enjoying the domestic life. "[I] cooked a little … I mean, the pandemic happened, then I cooked and I cleaned a lot," she said, explaining later that she likes listening to podcasts about murder while cleaning the kitchen. Jen went on to explain that "found comfort" in the organization involved with having a schedule "on set where the world is one thing and very organized." But she also chose a good time to step away from the limelight. "I took a break and nobody really cared," she explained, "… and it was quiet and I got to like, I don't know, kind of feel like I could become part of the world again without fanfare, literal fanfare." The "Hunger Games" alum married art gallery director Cooke Maroney in 2019. Their baby-to-be will be their first.
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Hugh Hefner accused of coercive drug use, possible verbal abuse in Playboy Mansion doc
Former Playmate and "The Girls Next Door" star Holly Madison is opening up about what really went on behind closed doors during her tenure with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. "I felt like I was in the cycle of gross things and I didn't know what to do," Holly, now 41, says in a preview clip for A&E's "Secrets of Playboy" series, which the New York Post published on Dec. 7. "I got to a point where I kind of broke under that pressure and being made to feel like I needed to look exactly like everybody else," says Holly, who believes she was emotionally scarred from her experience with Hef, which spanned from 2001 to 2008. Recalling a time when she dared to get her hair cut, she says the Playboy founder "flipped out" when he saw her new look. "He was screaming at me and said it made me look old, hard and cheap," she recalled. In the clip, one of her former co-stars, Bridget Marquardt, as well as a former friend of Hef's back up Holly's take on his unfair treatment of her and its negative effect on her mental health. The teaser also shows an older onetime Playmate and Hef's former secretary discussing the publisher's alleged use of Quaaludes "for sex." "That was the whole point of them," says Lisa Loving Barrett, who worked at the mansion from 1977 until 1989. "They were a necessary evil, if you will, to the partying." The A&E docuseries premieres Jan. 24.
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Kristin Davis addresses Kim Cattrall's absence from 'SATC' revival
Kim Cattrall's very public disinterest in reprising her Samantha Jones character for the new "Sex and the City" revival isn't reflected in the storyline of "And Just Like That …" Kristin Davis, who returns in the upcoming HBO Max series as Charlotte York, addressed how the show deals with Samantha's absence on the Dec. 7 edition of the "Today" show. "We love Samantha. Samantha is never not going to be a part in some way, so there is respect for Samantha," Kristin said. "It's part of the story. We'd never disrespect Samantha." Citing rules about the show's "secrecy" ahead of its Dec. 9 debut, Kristin said she could only speak to plot matters that have shown up in the trailer. "I'm married to Harry, thankfully, and my two daughters have been growing up. They're adorable. And with parenthood comes surprises," she said, adding that the new show reflects how "the conversations that we're having culturally now are different than" what was being talked about when "SATC" aired from 1998 until 2004. Kim previously made it clear her departure is tied, at least in part, to her feud with the show's star, Sarah Jessica Parker. In a recent interview with the guardian, Chris Noth, who returns in the reboot as Mr. Big alongside SJP's Carrie, recently told The Guardian that when it comes to the "sad and uncomfortable" way the Kim-SJP feud played out, he feels "protective" of Sarah Jessica because of their friendship.
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Rebel Wilson says she 'got pushback' from her team on weight loss plan
After losing 70 pounds during her 2020 "year of health," Rebel Wilson has said that in addition to transforming her figure, she now enjoys a healthier relationship with food and better emotional and mental health. Despite all those positives, though, she met resistance when she announced her plan to lose weight in January of last year. "I got a lot of pushback from my own team actually, here in Hollywood, when I said, 'OK, I'm going to do this year of health. I feel like I'm really gonna physically transform and change my life,'" Rebel, 41, told the BBC on Dec. 6. "And they were like, 'Why? Why would you wanna do that?'" the "Pitch Perfect" star continued. "Because I was earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl and being that person." In the end, the pushback didn't stop Rebel from reaching her goals on multiple levels. "I knew deep down inside that some of the emotional eating behaviors I was doing [were] not healthy. Like, I did not need a tub of ice cream every night. That was me kind of numbing emotions using food, which wasn't the healthiest thing," she said. Looking back, she suspects the unhealthy food habits grew out of "not being a natural performer and having to perform every day and that pressure and internal stress to be able to perform like that."
Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Joan Jett and more to auction off instruments for a good cause
A-list musicians from Bruce Springsteen and Joan Jett to Elton John and Paul McCartney are auctioning off their instruments to help musicians whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic. The instruments are slated for auction this week, courtesy of U2's The Edge and producer Bob Ezrin, whose "Guitar Icons" benefit auction will support their musician assistance organization, Music Rising. As The Edge tells People in a new interview, he and Bob began working on the auction in 2020 "when the worst of the pandemic had really become obvious to us." He says the money raised by the auction will "help these musicians to get back to work," whether by helping them, "replace maybe the equipment they've had to sell to put food on the table, to encourage them to not change their occupations." Guitars played by on tour by Paul McCartney and Bono, a keyboard played in concert by Elton John and instruments owned by Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, Dave Grohl and more are among the items heading to the auction block, according to People. The Edge launched Music Rising to support New Orleans musicians and music students in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. "When you come across something as magical and kind of mind-blowing as the music scene in New Orleans, it affects you and it stays with you," he says. The "Guitar Icons" auction kicks off online and in-person at Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California, on Dec. 11.
Brooke Shields slams Barbara Walters for 'practically criminal' '80s interview about Calvin Klein campaign
During an appearance on this week's edition of Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, Brooke Shields reflected on the unfair response to her 1980 Calvin Klein jeans campaign. Shot when Brooke was just 15, the ads featured the young model saying things like, "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." As Brooke told Vogue in October, the double entendre was way over her head at the time, yet the public — including the media — attacked her for being over-sexualized at such a young age, as if she were somehow to blame. While discussing the response with Dax, who has two daughters at home, the podcast host recalled that Brooke did an interview with Barbara Walters in which the veteran journalist asked the teen some offensively invasive questions about her sexual past. When Dax called the whole thing "maddening," Brooke agreed. "It's practically criminal," she said. "It's not journalism." As for the people who failed to tell their 15-year-old model that what she was saying could be taken in a sexual way? "They knew exactly what they were doing," Brooke told Vogue in October, "and I think it did set the tone for decades."
Tristan Thompson's third child has reportedly arrived
NBA star Tristan Thompson is officially a father of three, according to the woman who sued him this year amid claims he fathered her child in March while he was still in a relationship with Khloe Kardashian. A rep for the woman, Maralee Nichols, tells People Maralee welcomed her son last week. Tristan, who currently plays for the Sacramento Kings, had not commented on the birth news as of Dec. 7. Tristan also shares a 3-year-old daughter, True, with Khloe, as well as a 4-year-old son with a previous girlfriend. According to a People source, Khloe "knows about the baby, but hasn't known for long" and "was upset to find out that [Tristan] cheated again." While Maralee is suing for child support and pregnancy-related costs, Tristan has also filed suit against Maralee and has asked for her to complete genetic testing to confirm whether the baby is actually his, per E! News. he and Khloe split in June after getting back together during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
