By Mark Gray
7:11am PST, Jan 13, 2023
Family secret
Julia Roberts has been living under a pseudonym this whole time: Her last name should actually be Mitchell! While appearing on Ancestry's "Finding Your Roots," the Oscar-winning actress learned about a family scandal in the 1850s that changed the course of her family history. Through DNA archives and genealogical work, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. told Julia that her great-great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts had an affair with a married man after husband Willis Roberts died. "Julia carries Willis' last name. But Willis passed away in 1864, over a decade before Rhoda gave birth to Julia's great-grandfather, John, leading to an inescapable conclusion," Dr. Gates said. "Willis Roberts could not possibly be your great-great-grandfather. He was dead." He continued, "We found a cluster of matches that tie Julia and her cousin to one man… Henry MacDonald Mitchell Jr." A confused Julia said, "So we're Mitchells?" Yes, she's actually a Mitchell, not a Roberts. "Truly my mind is blown. It is fascinating. And on the other hand there's you know part of me that you know that when I'm calmer, you know can still wrap my arms around the idea that my family is my family," Julia said. "I do prefer the name Roberts. This was a very unexpected turn." Say hello to Julia Mitchell.
MORE: Stars who changed their names
Tune in
Shakira is taking aim at her ex. The songstress released a diss track this week — "BZRP Music Session #53" — and the lyrics take not-so-veiled shots at ex Gerard Pique and his new girlfriend, Clara Chia Marti. "You're acting so weird I don't even recognize you / I'm worth two 22-year-olds / You traded in a Ferrari for a Twingo / You traded in a Rolex for a Casio," Shakira sings, making a direct reference to Clara's age. She goes on to insult Gerard's intelligence and make reference to her tax evasion trial. "I was out of your league that's why you've settled for someone just like you," she ends. After the song was released, Gerard appeared to respond, tweeting several circus-themed emojis (think: merry-go-round, ferris wheel, etc.) In code, he's called her a clown.
MORE: Notorious cheating scandals
Friend 'til the end
A "devastated" Johnny Depp was by Jeff Beck's bedside before his death, a source tells People magazine. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor and Jeff have been close for years and recently toured together for a series of concerts. They also released an album together this past summer titled "18." "They had a really tight friendship, they were extremely close, and he got even closer over this past summer when they were touring together," a source told People magazine. "The sickness came on really quickly and it all deteriorated rapidly in the last couple weeks… Johnny is still processing this news. He's devastated." While on his deathbed, the guitarist was joined by not only Johnny but "some other rock stars," the source said.
MORE: Stars who died in 2023
Book fallout
Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," is lifting the lid on secrets that Buckingham Palace would certainly like to keep closed. Harry's book, which was released on Tuesday, Jan. 10, has been moved to the "top of the agenda" at the Palace, a source told Us Weekly. The royals are in "constant talks" about "how to handle" the allegations Harry is making. "It's obviously business as usual as far as their royal duties go," Us' insider said, adding that senior working royals "speak via phone and have met in person numerous times" to discuss the book. King Charles and Prince Williams are not expected to "dignify" Harry's allegations publicly.
Millions upon millions
Dr. Dre is the verge of netting a big payday. According to Variety, the rapper is selling some of his music catalog and streaming ventures, and he'll get $250 million for his troubles. Dre, it should be noted, is not selling the entirety of his catalog. In fact, Billboard said the transactions are "passive income streams" that generate about $10 million annually. He is not selling his ownership stake in his record label, Aftermath. The assets are being acquired by Shamrock Holdings and Universal Music Group in two separate transactions.
The ex-factor
Anna Kendrick is detailing how she find out about an ex's cheating ways. "[I] was exposed to [a] year-long text exchange and went, 'Oh, I was right about everything. Oh, OK.' It was actually way worse than I even thought," the "Pitch Perfect" actress told Dax Shepard on his "Armchair Expert" podcast. Anna said she confronted the unnamed ex about the texts and he began "screaming" at her, telling the "Noelle" star that she was "insecure." He denied the infidelity and labeled it nothing more than a "passing crush." More texts, though, proved otherwise and Anna reached out to the woman on the other end of those messages. "We talked on the phone for about an hour and she was just like, 'I'm so embarrassed and I'm so sorry. This was a mistake,'" Anna said. After hearing confirmation of her then-boyfriend's cheating, Anna felt relieved. "My whole body just went, 'You can grieve. You're not crazy. You're safe. You can grieve. You can eat nachos. You can have a glass of wine,'" she said. "It was like my whole body got whatever it needed. It at least stopped that total panicked state that I'd kind of been in for a year."
Health reveal
Ashley Tisdale is suffering from alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss. On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the "High School Musical" actress posted a blog about the condition, saying it's "nothing to be ashamed of." Still, she understands the stigma surrounding the condition. "Any type of hair loss can affect your self-esteem, especially if you feel like you're the only one going through it," she said. "That's why I want to talk about it openly — because it's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes (hair loss) is connected to hormones, other times to heredity, and for me, it's connected to stress overload." The actress first noticed hair loss in her 20s. To assist with her alopecia, Ashley, 37, had a platelet rich plasma injection in the spot on her hairline a few years ago. "[Hair] grew back super fast, and it hasn't ever affected that area again," she said. "PRP is more of an expensive route, but I do find that it is really helpful for alopecia."
