By Mark Gray
3:26am PDT, May 4, 2023
Health status update
More than three weeks after Jamie Foxx suffered a medical emergency — his family continues to tightly guard details of what happened — he's still in the hospital. And on May 3, TMZ reported that people close to the Oscar winner are saying he "needs all the prayers and well-wishes his fans can muster," TMZ wrote. Sources close to Jamie all made the same plea, telling the webloid, "Pray for Jamie."
The message is different from what was happening in the early period after Jamie suddenly fell ill in Atlanta, where he was working on a new movie. Though he remained hospitalized for a "medical complication" his family did not specify in the days following the April 11 incident, he was "steadily improving," a source told People magazine on April 14. TMZ further reported that Jamie was "doing better, even joking with family." On April 17, a source told "Entertainment Tonight," "He is healing. He feels the love from everyone."
Production of his new Netflix film "Back In Action" was "shut down" after the incident, TMZ reported, noting that Jamie had eight unfinished days of shooting left on the movie. On May 3, TMZ reported that Jamie's stunt and body doubles have since been seen shooting again.
Still, because the actor has his hands in so many pots in entertainment, his hospitalization is creating "a domino effect" for the movies and TV shows in which he's involved, meaning things are on hold. One project — his popular music lyrics game show "Beat Shazam," which airs on FOX — will not feature Jamie this season, TMZ reported. Filming was set to start on May 3, so a new host was brought in, the webloid reported, adding that Jamie's daughter Corinne, who DJs on the show, is also not returning as "she's been a fixture at the hospital in Atlanta by her dad's side," TMZ wrote.
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Charges dropped, back to work
Eighteen months after production of "Rust" was halted due to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, filming has again commenced. Production of the Alec Baldwin project started back up on April 20 at Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana. TMZ reported that the Montana set looks very similar to the New Mexico filming ranch where Halyna was accidentally shot by Alec as they rehearsed a scene. The actor was holding a prop gun that unbeknownst to him contained a live round. CNN reported that the movie will be completed as part of an agreement with Halyna's widow, Matthew Hutchins, who will also serve as an executive producer. Alec and director Joel Souza, who was also shot and injured in the October 2021 incident, are both returning to finish the project. Alec and "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the cinematographer's death. But on April 20, it was announced that prosecutors were dropping the charges against him. Hannah is still facing prosecution.
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Cause of death revealed
A lot of unknown has surrounded Aaron Carter's November 2022 death, but we now have a few more answers. On April 18, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed the singer's cause of death: As reported by TMZ, Aaron drowned in the bathtub of his Lancaster, California, home after taking alprazolam, which is generic Xanax, and inhaling compressed difluoroethane, which is a propellant used in cans of compressed air. According to the coroner's report, Aaron became "incapacitated while in the bathtub due to the effects" of the drugs and huffing, leading him to slip under the water and drown. The autopsy concluded that his death was accidental. Aaron's on-and-off fiancée, Melanie Martin, the mother of his son, said the report is "not closure" for her. "I don't understand the chain of events and this report only has us asking more questions," she said.
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Evicted princess
A former Playboy model-turned-Italian princess has been evicted from her $533 million Roman villa — Villa Aurora — amid an inheritance battle with her stepchildren. Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi was escorted out of the property by police on April 20 and the lcoks were immediately changed. Rita, a Texas native who appeared on the cover of Playboy twice in the early '80s, married Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi in 2009 and remained with him until his 2018 passing. After Nicolò's death, his children accused their stepmom of stealing their inheritance and letting Villa Aurora deteriorate, which she denies. "It's illegal. I think that it's a travesty this is a brutal ending and unnecessary," Rita said in a Twitter video. "It didn't have to happen this way I don't get it. Someone said it's because I'm a woman and I'm American. This is so illegal it's incomprehensible what they're doing. It's all about money obviously."
Big loser
Actor Billy Gardell weighed more than 370 pounds at his heaviest when he starred on the sitcom "Mike & Molly." But during the coronavirus pandemic — after he accepted advice to undergo bariatric weight loss surgery to help minimize his COVID risk (the surgery, however, is "just a tool," Billy previously told "Entertainment Tonight," adding that "the real battle is still in [the mind]") — he worked hard to have a better relationship with food and start on a health journey that saw him lose more than 150 pounds while starring on the sitcom "Bob Hearts Abishola." "Self-care is important, and I think I finally got there … I think you got to find peace with yourself and at some point, look in the mirror and go, 'You know, it's probably time to take care of you,'" he told "ET." "And I didn't get that note early on. But I'm a big believer that when you get it, you get it. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you get it."
Engaged
Her one and only. After just a few months of dating, "Sister Wives" star Christine Brown and David Woolley are planning to marry! Christine — who ended her plural marriage to Kody Brown in late 2021 after nearly 26 years together — confirmed to People magazine that she and David got engaged in Utah in early April. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," she told the magazine. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it. I'm so excited for the wonderful adventure we are going to embark on for the rest of our lives."
Reunited
Back on! One year after their split, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello are back together. Photos and video from the weekend of April 15 and 16 showed the duo kissing, hugging and dancing at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Then video of the music stars holding hands in Los Angeles on April 19 surfaced, all but proving the music festival hookup wasn't just a one-off. Reports claimed the two have actually been back together for several weeks but kept their reconciliation secret. The singers began dating in the summer 2019 and split in November 2021.
TV's newest duo
Daytime TV is entering a new era. On April 17, Mark Consuelos began his new gig opposite wife Kelly Ripa as the permanent co-host off "Live with Kelly and Mark." In the first few days of shows, reviews were not exactly kind. Social media felt the duo was "uncomfortable," showed too much PDA or spoke about their sex life too much. Some people felt the couple was boring too. Growing pains.
