'Bridgerton' star asks fans not to comment on her body
"Bridgerton" star Nicola Coughlan asked Instagram users to refrain from sharing their opinions about her body on Jan. 31, telling followers that even the well-intentioned comments can be hard to take after a while. "Hello! So just a thing- if you have an opinion about my body please, please don't share it with me," wrote Nicola, who plays Penelope Featherington on the hit show. "Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it's really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day." She added, "If you have an opinion about me that's ok, I understand I'm on TV and that people will have things to think and say but I beg you not to send it to me directly." The actress, 35, then changed the subject to something more positive about her appearance. "Anyways here's a pic of me in my hotel in NY about to go to SNL," she wrote. "It's unrelated to this post but delighted with my hair in it." Back in 2020, before "Bridgerton" premiered, Nicola told The Irish Times she got unwanted comments about her body when she was on "Derry Girls." "It was wild, because I was size 10 filming series one and I got called 'the big one.' I was, like, 'Are you serious?' I'm not this gigantic sumo wrestler, and even if I were, would it matter? Would it be relevant?" she recalled, according to Entertainment Weekly. She said she appreciates that on "Bridgerton," her size is "referenced, but it's not the defining characteristic of Penelope," telling the outlet: "I think that's what bothers me: we try and reduce women to the size of their body, and there's so much more than that."
Now keep reading for more celeb news…
RELATED: Celeb weight loss transformations
Kristen Bell was 'stumped' when her daughter demanded proof she's human
Kristen Bell's 7-year-old daughter, Delta, suspects her mom might be a zombie. The actress had stopped by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Jan. 31 to talk about her new Netflix show, "The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window," when Ellen asked about the kids Kristen shares with husband Dax Shepard, Delta and Lincoln, 8. It turns out the girls have started questioning various aspects of life in a way they weren't doing when they were younger. Cue Delta, who on a recent evening, asked Kristen, "How do I know you're my real mom?" The "Good Place" star was at a loss. "I don't know any other way to prove it to you other than like, you lived in my body," she recalled telling her daughter, according to TooFab. "I can show you the DNA proof and she said, 'Just how do I know you're not really a zombie and you're gonna peel my mom's face off and prove that you're a zombie?'" She giggled and explained, "I couldn't prove that that wouldn't happen … like, 'Well …' I was really stumped." Fast forward to last week and the actress managed to bump into a chair in the dark while putting the girls to bed, injuring her nose. That was all Delta needed to confirm her mom-zombie theory. "And then I had this big bruise and like my nose was swollen and the next morning," Kristen recalled, "and [Delta] was like, 'I knew it!'"
RELATED: Celebrity kids, then and now
Nick Cannon is expecting baby No. 8 with 'close friend' Bre Tiesi
Nick Cannon has confirmed he's expecting his eighth child in the wake of the death of his young son, Zen. He shared the news on Jan. 31, telling his studio audience on "The Nick Cannon Show" that he and model Bre Tiesi will soon welcome a baby boy after the two hosted a gender reveal party in Malibu, California, over the weekend. He also acknowledged some fans have teased him on Twitter for his prolific baby-making in recent years. In addition to 5-month-old Zen, who died in December after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Nick shares 1-year-old daughter Powerful Queen and 4-year-old son Golden "Sagon" with Brittany Bell; 7-month-old twins, Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir, with Abby De La Rosa; and 10-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan, with ex Mariah Carey. Zen's mom is Alyssa Scott. "Everyone knows I have a lot of children. It's never a competition. Each one is special," said Nick, 41, on the show. He went on to admit he struggled with how to celebrate the news, given Zen's death, which he said came after he learned Bre was pregnant. "So even going through all of that, this was always in the back of my mind, like, 'What is the right time? How do I share this?'" he explained. "I wanted to definitely respect the grieving process with Alyssa, and Bre was respectful enough — she held off making our announcements and speaking on social media." He added that they hadn't planned to share the news before it surfaced on social media. According to an ET source, Nick and Bre "have been very close friends for a while" and "know each other extremely well." The insider adds, "Their relationship has a strong foundation and Bre is so excited to be having Nick's baby."
RELATED: Janis from 'Mean Girls' welcomes first child, plus more celebs who've had babies in 2022
Bob Saget's famous friends honor him with 'a punk rock shiva' at The Comedy Store
John Mayer, John Stamos, Dave Chappelle, Marc Maron, Seth Green, Jeff Ross and more loved ones of the late Bob Saget gathered at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California, over the weekend, to pay tribute to the comic, who died unexpectedly in Florida on Jan. 9. "After Bob's fancy funeral we threw him a small impromptu punk rock shiva upstairs at the @thecomedystore," Jeff wrote on Instagram ahead of the event on Jan. 31. "We laughed and cried for four hours. Tonight we are doing it again in the Main Room for his friends and family." He also shared photos from what appeared to have been the first "punk rock shiva," that showed the same group, plus Bob's daughters Aubrey and Lara and a few more "Full House" alums sharing laughter and tears as they remembered happier times. The gallery also included a photo of the front of the venue, where the marquee read, "RIP Bob Saget." "Love you!! I'm so sad I won't be there tonight to give you all a big hug!!" Jodie Sweetin replied in the comments to Jeff's post. Candace Cameron Bure also sent her love via three red heart emojis. In closing, Jeff urged fans to donate in Bob's honor to Scleroderma Research Foundation. Chris Rock, Jim Carrey and Jackson Browne were also spotted at the Jan. 30 event, according to TMZ.
Janet Jackson wants the world to 'move on' from 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show controversy
In the new A&E/Lifetime documentary, "Janet Jackson," the singer says "it's time" for the world to "move on" from the scandal that erupted after Justin Timberlake ripped off a piece of her costume and exposed part of her chest during their 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. In the second hour of the doc, which aired over two nights and spans four hours, Janet also asserts there's no one to "blame" for what happened and says she and Justin are still friends a decade after the incident. In an interview, Janet says Justin contacted her after the show. "We talked once, and he said, 'I don't know if I should come out and make a statement,'" she recalled, according to Yahoo. "I said, 'Listen, I don't want any drama for you. They're aiming all of this at me.' So I just said, 'if I were you, I wouldn't say anything.'" The music and film industries did "aim" the backlash at Janet in the end, yanking lucrative contracts as she saw music sales drop and acting opportunities dry up amid an FCC investigation. "Honestly, this whole thing was blown way out of proportion," she says in the doc. "Of course, it was an accident. That should not have happened, but everyone is looking for someone to blame, and that's got to stop. Justin and I are very good friends, and we will always be very good friends. We spoke just a few days ago, and he and I have moved on, and it's time for everyone else to do the same." Justin apologized publicly to Janet and to his ex, Britney Spears last year for his past "missteps," after fans of both women slammed him on social media for his handling of the Super Bowl fiasco and his high-profile romance with and split from Britney.
Joe Rogan addresses Spotify protests over COVID-19 misinformation
On Jan. 30, podcast host Joe Rogan shared a nearly 10-minute video on Instagram in which he addressed recent protests against Spotify over COVID-19 misinformation on his show. Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have both asked the streamer to remove their music due to the company's $100 million deal with Joe, whose phenomenally successful podcast often features guests known for promoting conspiracy theories and disproven claims about the coronavirus vaccines. The subscription streamer did not nix its contract with Joe, as Neil had initially requested, but over the weekend, it did announce that going forward, a content advisory will be included in all podcast episodes that touch on COVID-19 in any way, according to CNN. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also said the advisory will link to a "coronavirus hub" featuring info about the pandemic that comes from "trusted sources." In his apology, Joe said he was sharing "opinions," rather than misinformation. "I do not know if they're right," he said. "I'm not a doctor. I'm not a scientist. I'm just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them. Do I get things wrong? Absolutely. I get things wrong. But I try to correct them. … I'm interested in telling the truth. I'm interested in finding out what the truth is." He also said he was fine with Spotify's plan to tack an advisory on what he called "controversial" podcasts. (In fact, the advisory will appear on all podcasts that touch on the virus.) Joe also said that from now on he will "maybe try harder to get people with differing opinions on" the show after controversial guests appear, "… and do my best to make sure I've researched these topics, the controversial ones in particular, and have all the pertinent facts at hand before I discuss them." One day after his post, shares in Spotify surged on Wall Street, according to CNN.
Bella Hadid says she was 'abused' in past relationships
In a new interview with Amanda de Cadenet for Victoria's Secret's VS Voices podcast series, Bella Hadid opens up about having been "abused" in past relationships. "I constantly went back to men – and also women – that had abused me and that's where the people pleasing came in. I started not having boundaries, not only sexually, physically, emotionally, but then it went into my workspace," the 25-year-old shares in a wide-ranging conversation about mental health, creativity and more. She goes on to recall isolating herself because of the experiences — which eventually backfired. "I didn't want to associate with any people. I didn't want to have any friends, I didn't want to have any family," she says. "I became a people pleaser with my job. And it was everyone else's opinion of me that mattered except for my own because I essentially was putting my worth into the hands of everyone else." In another part of the interview, the model says she felt like her "voice was never heard growing up," which she says contributed to her trouble with boundaries and left her feeling she couldn't "stick up for" herself. Finally, the combination of those feelings often got her to a point "where my nervous system would crash," she said. "It was like fight or flight; either I would become silent and cry and just go inward, or I would lash out and leave." Today, Bella says she's healed from a lot of those scars, thanks to therapy, meditation and intentional social media breaks. She also recently revealed she gave up drinking about six months ago, having found it was no longer worth the anxiety it caused afterwards.
Blake Shelton invites young awaiting heart transplant onstage for duet
A 6-year-old who says he's Blake Shelton's "smallest biggest fan" performed a duet with the singer in Durant, Oklahoma, on Jan. 29, after Blake spotted him in the crowd and invited him on stage. According to TMZ, Wyatt McKee was holding a handmade sign that read, "Your smallest biggest fan from lake Texoma, 6 yo waiting on a [heart] transplant," when Blake saw Wyatt and his moving note. After presenting Wyatt with a guitar pick, he asked him to come onstage, where they sang Wyatt's favorite Blake song, "God's Country" together, with Wyatt adorably hollering out the lyrics. His mom later told the outlet he suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital heart problem in which the left side fails to develop properly. He's reportedly had open heart surgery twice so far because of the condition.