Ben Affleck talks bored Grammys meme, alleged J.Lo argument
Ben Affleck is well aware of the memes he inspired after the 2023 Grammy Awards, where he was photographed looking alternately bored and miserable next to his wife Jennifer Lopez. The couple was also filmed having a seemingly tense exchange, all of which triggered a viral wave of responses on social media. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ben was asked if he minded the memes and gave a definitive "no." He also explained what really went down between him and Jennifer at the their table during the show.
"I had a good time at the Grammys," Ben said in the interview, published Thursday (March 16). "My wife was going, and I thought, 'Well, there'll be good music. It might be fun.'" He continued: "I saw [Grammy host Trevor Noah approach] and I was like, 'Oh, God.' They were framing us in this shot, but I didn't know they were rolling. I leaned into her and I was like, 'As soon they start rolling, I'm going to slide away from you and leave you sitting next to Trevor.'" Jen's response? "She goes, 'You better f****** not leave.' That's a husband-and-wife thing," he said, adding later that some of their chatter was him asking her questions like "who is this act?" since "it is your wife's work event." What seemed to get under his skin a bit, however, were claims he was drunk. Acknowledging he's "gone to events" both "bored" and "drunk" in the past, Ben, who's been in recovery from alcoholism for years. said he was never accused of having been drinking in those cases. That the speculation surfaced this time shows that "there is still a tremendous stigma" about addiction, he said. "I do think it disincentivizes people from making their lives better."
Keep reading for the latest on Billie Eilish's acting debut, Justin Bieber's health and more news …
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Justin Bieber shares facial paralysis update after Ramsay Hunt diagnosis
After canceling most of his "Justice" world tour last year due to facial paralysis related to Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Justin Bieber revealed he's made significant progress overcoming his symptoms. In a video shared to the singer's Instagram Stories on Wednesday (March 15), Justin, 29, points at his face as he moves his eyes and eyebrows. "Wait for it …," he captioned the clip, which ends with him bursting into a big smile. Justin announced he'd been diagnosed with the syndrome in June 2022, telling fans at the time he was taking a breather to rest and try to recover from what he called "full paralysis on [one] side of my face." He eventually performed a few shows in Europe and one in Brazil, but later canceled the remaining tour dates, citing ongoing health issues.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. It "occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of your ears," and causes a painful rash and in some cases "facial paralysis and hearing loss in the affected ear," according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Billie Eilish confirms acting debut rumors with 'Swarm' teaser
Seven-time Grammy winner Billie Eilish is making her acting debut. On Thursday (March 16), the singer confirmed weeks of rumors she could appear in Donald Glover and Janine Nabors' new series "Swarm" by sharing a teaser clip from the show on Instagram. The clip shows Billie in character as she creepily asks co-star Dominique Fishback, "Did you hurt someone?" The closeup shot shows the unblinking singer break out into a weird smile. "Good," she says, before the "Swarm" title appears on the screen and the clip cuts out. Prime Video also shared a Billie-centric teaser clip on social media Thursday.
The LA Times describes the Amazon Prime show as "a limited series about a deranged fan willing to murder in defense of her idol." As outlets like Uproxx reported Thursday, Billie had not been credited with a role on the show until now, despite speculation on social media in recent weeks. After this week's "Swarm" premiere, The Hollywood Reporter described Billie's unexpected attendance "a special appearance." Uproxx also points out Donald Glover made a cameo at Billie's Los Angeles concert in December, where he performed "Redbone." "Swarm" airs on Prime starting Friday.
Kelly Rizzo says she found Bob Saget marital home could be 'very triggering' after his death
In the wake of Bob Saget's sudden death in January 2022, his widow Kelly Rizzo found it was "triggering" to live in the home her husband loved. That's why she opted to sell the Los Angele estate this year, Kelly explained on a recent episode of "The Tamron Hall Show." "It's such a strange thing because the home situation, you know there's so many things about Bob that he is still so present in my life," Kelly shared on the Wednesday (March 15) edition of the daytime talk show, according to People. "If you go into my new house, there's pictures of him everywhere. It's like just shy of a Bob museum. But you know, he's still everywhere. I look at videos of him all the time. I see photos of him all the time." Now that Kelly's further along in her grief process, she said she's learned a new lesson about coping with loss. "Something about the home that you shared sometimes can be very triggering … even if you had wonderful memories there, even if it was such a positive experience — which it was, I mean he loved our house — and it was such a positive memory, but there's something about when somebody passes, the home itself can be a situation," she said. "So that's why it was so nice to get a fresh start. I didn't realize that until recently."
Sherri Shepherd says past jail time helped inspire current success
In the early '90s, before her TV career took off, Sherri Shepherd found herself behind on $10,000 worth of moving violations. She ended up serving eight days behind bars — an experience she now sees as one of the keys to her subsequent success. "Yeah, I went to jail for not paying my tickets," she recently told Page Six. "At the time I did not think being in jail was a good moment, but looking back I learned to pay all my bills. Jail, that was a classroom … it was a life lesson, and now I pay my bills on time." That's not just because of the punishment. The former co-host of "The View" also shouted-out a woman she met during that time who believed in her, which helped Sheri foster a sense of self-confidence. "One of the girls in jail said, 'Leave Sherri alone because she's gonna be somebody and we are going to be here for the rest of our lives …,'" Sherri recalled. "Her name was Shelby and she came to both my weddings when I got out. But sometimes people see things in you that you don't see yourself, and when she said those words, 'Sherri is gonna be somebody,' I never thought that for myself. So I just knew that something was going to happen." The Emmy-winning daytime talk show host is now worth about $10 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com — more than enough to cover those traffic tickets and beyond.
Christina Ricci says she was threatened with a lawsuit for wanting to modify a sex scene
During an appearance on "The View" this week, Christina Ricci said she was once threatened with a lawsuit for wanting to change a sex scene, presumably so she would feel comfortable performing it. The former child star, now 43, works alongside a cast of both teens and adult actors on "The Yellowjackets," which features "then" and "now" narratives of the main characters. Asked "how different" Hollywood seems to be for her younger female co-stars today — compared to what she experienced on sets at their age — Christina praised the progress that's been made in terms of protection and boundaries on-set.
"It's really great. Us older ladies talk about it all the time," she told Sara Haines. "It's amazing to see that they don't necessarily have to go through the things we had to go through. They're able to say, 'I don't want to do this sex scene,'" or establish that they won't take their clothes off, according to Entertainment Weekly. "They can set boundaries for themselves that we were never allowed to do," Christina said. "Someone threatened to sue me once because I didn't want to do this sex scene in a certain way. It's really changed and it's great to see."
Paris Hilton reflects on her partying past: 'People don't know how to have fun today'
Paris Hilton stopped by "The Drew Barrymore Show" with her sister, Nicky Hilton in tow this week to promote her new book, "Paris: The Memoir." Much of Paris' press for the book has focused on more serious aspects of her past — issues she never discussed while rising to stardom as one of the early aughts' super-party girls. Drew, however, was quick to remind her guest that they were both in pretty wild phases, hitting the Hollywood club circuit, at the same time. When Drew showed a photo of the pair circa 2001 — Drew was holding a bottle of champagne and Paris was clad in a tiny pink dress — Drew had to admit, "That was fun." Paris agreed. "That was so fun," she said. "People don't know what fun is today I feel like." Paris, 42, then segued into her current version of fun — being a new mom to son Phoenix, whom she shares with her husband, Carter Reum. "I just feel that this is a whole new phase of my life, and even with his name Phoenix, I feel like this is all about transforming and becoming a new person and growing in ways that I couldn't even imagine before," she said.