By Wonderwall.com Editors
3:36pm PST, Nov 16, 2020
Sara Bareilles slams Scooter Braun for selling Taylor Swift's Big Machine masters for $300M
Scooter Braun has reportedly put some distance between himself and the masters for Taylor Swift's first six albums, which he acquired when he bought Big Machine Label Group in June 2019, sparking an online war with the singer, who branded him a "bully" in an open letter about the sale. At some point in the last two weeks, Scooter closed on a deal to sell the masters with an as yet unnamed investment fund for "north of $300 million," Variety reported on Monday, Nov. 16. If that figure's on target, it would mean Scooter, who reportedly paid $300 million for the whole label, has already made a profit on his purchase of the indie label, even if he never sells the rest of the Big Machine music. Taylor, meanwhile, became free to re-record those first six releases as of Nov. 1, and has said she intends to do just that. But the fact that Scooter flipped his ownership of the music so soon is already angering some in the pop world, given Taylor's claim that she, "was denied the chance to purchase [her] music outright." After spotting news of Scooter's sale, Taylor's former collaborator Sara Bareilles posted angrily that the move was straight-up "robbery." "Greed is a virus too," she snapped, "and it's everywhere."
RELATED: Taylor Swift's biggest career moments
Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney confirm takeover of Welsh soccer team with a spoof ad for horse trailers
Ryan Reynolds is branching out from Aviation Gin — but not from his proclivity for tongue-in-cheek promotions of his business interests. The actor and "It's Always Sunny …" creator Rob McElhenney appear in a vaguely confusing (eventually funny) video shared on Twitter on Monday, Nov. 16, by the Wrexham Football Club (that's soccer to you, America), which, it turns out, the stars now own. The video opens with back-and-forth shots of Ryan and Rob promoting a horse trailer company. "Not sure what to get your special someone this holiday?" Rob asks in the spoof ad. "Try, Ifor Williams Trailers," Ryan says, over-annunciation "ee-for." "Nothing says I'm thinking about you, or your horse, like Ifor Williams Trailers." After a bit more of that, Ryan asks, "Why are Rob and I pitching a North Wale-ian trailer manufacturer?" Says Rob: "Well, because we just became owners of Wrexham AFC, and they are our team sponsor. You may have never heard of Wrexham, The Racecourse ground, or Ifor Williams, but you will. So to the Wrexham supporter's trust, thank you, for your faith and trust in us." Ryan adds that the two "are humbled and we're already getting to work," before letting out a giggle. "Oh s—," he says. "This is really happening."
RELATED: All the reasons we love Ryan Reynolds
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson credits his '2-year-old boss' as 'You're Welcome' goes quadruple platinum
The business of being Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson just got even more lucrative. Over the weekend, The Rock hopped on Instagram to celebrate the news that his song, "You're Welcome," from "Moana," went platinum … times four. "I usually have a cool and calm demeanor when I hear good news," the star posted on Saturday, "… but admittedly when I heard this I said, 'HOLY S— MY SONG WENT QUADRUPLE F—— PLATINUM??' 😂🤦🏽♂️🙏🏾." He went on to thank his "brother – the one and only iconic maestro, Lin Manuel Miranda for writing this classic," as well as, "all of you around the world 🌎 who love the song and the swaggy, fun it brings." Before signing off, he credited one more VIP — his youngest daughter. "And finally, a huge daddy thank you to the real reason this song is 4Xs Platinum and growing," he wrote, "… my 2 year old boss, Baby Tia who LOVES hearing me sing this song to her, but has no idea I'm actually, Maui – which kinda makes this whole thing that much more awesome. 💁🏽♂️☺️."
RELATED: The Rock's life in photos
Richard Schiff hospitalized following COVID-19 diagnosis
"West Wing" star Richard Schiff, 65, has been hospitalized with COVID-19. The actor, who recently reunited with his former "West Wing" castmates for a virtual reading to benefit When We All Vote, tweeted a health update on Monday, Nov. 16, letting followers know where he and his wife are in their recovery nearly two weeks after they both tested positive for the coronavirus. "Thank you all for so much love and support. You're making it so much easier for @thesheilakelley and me," he shared. "I am in the hospital on Remdesivir, O2 and steroids showing some improvement every day. Sheila is home and doing better but still fairly ill. Love you all." Richard first announced his positive diagnosis on the social media platform last week.
Diddy honors his late ex, Kim Porter, on the anniversary of her death
It's been two years since Kim Porter, Diddy's ex, close friend and the mother of three of his children, passed away unexpectedly at age 47 from what was later determined to have been lobar pneumonia. Her death on Nov. 15, 2018, was devastating to the hip-hop mogul, as he's made clear in dozens of social media posts since. But on Sunday and Monday, as he marked the two-year anniversary of his family's loss, Diddy remained positive, sharing two series of photos of the late model and actress, most of which featured Kim interacting with Diddy and their kids. "QUEEN KIM PORTER!! IRREPLACEABLE … LOVE YOU FOREVER ❤️," he wrote in one post. Another, which led with an image of Kim spinning around while smiling in a long white dress, featured the caption, "The Ebony Goddess!!! I miss her so much!!! And always will!!!! 💔." Speaking to Essence last year, the Bad Boy Records founder said he believed Kim had prepared him for the challenge of parenting their kids after her death. "On some level I knew she was training me for this. I knew that I had to be ready to do whatever I was supposed to do if something like this ever happened," he said at the time. "There was screaming and crying when I heard the news, of course, but I had to ask myself, What would Kim do? I was scared, and I was crying out to God—and to her—and almost immediately Kim's voice kicked in, and I could hear her saying, 'Make sure you take care of my babies.'" Diddy and Kim shared twin daughters Jessie and D'Lila, 13, and son Christian, 22. He also helped raise her son from a previous relationship, Quincy, who's now 29.
Ellen DeGeneres thanks her 'amazing crew and staff,' fans 'for sticking by me,' as she accepts People's Choice Awards honor
Maybe Ellen DeGeneres will survive the lashing her reputation took this year, after all. On Sunday, Nov. 15, the comic snagged a People's Choice Awards trophy for Daytime Talk Show of 2020, beating out strong contenders like Jada Pinkett Smith's massively popular "Red Table Talk," as well as "Today," "Good Morning America" and a slew of other hit shows. In her speech, she made a point of thanking everyone who works on "Ellen," as well as the fans who continued tuning in this fall, when the hit series returned following allegations by former employees and guests that the host fostered hostility on-set and a highly toxic work environment, in general. "Thank you," Ellen told the audience. "From deep, deep down in my heart, I thank you. I am not only accepting this award for myself but on behalf of my amazing crew and staff who make the show possible they show up every single day, give 100 percent of themselves, 100 percent of the time," she continued. "That's 250 people, times 170 shows a year, times 18 years, if you carry the 2 and divide it by 11 … my point is, I love them all. And I thank them all." Before joking that she planned to "wipe … down" her award "with Lysol," she added a note of gratitude to viewers. "Thank you to all of my fans for supporting me, for sticking by me," she said. "I cannot tell you how grateful I am. This means more than I can say." Since returning to the air, Ellen has apologized to her staff and crew for allowing "things to happen that should not have happened" and vowed to make real and lasting changes behind the scenes.
GQ's Rapper of the Year Megan Thee Stallion wants 'Black women to be louder'
For Megan Thee Stallion, 2020 was a huge year — both because of her massive hits, "Savage" and "WAP," and because she managed to turn being shot by a man she considered a friend into a rallying cry, demanding society, "Protect Black women." For those reasons, among others, GQ is hailing Megan as its Rapper of the Year in the outlet's latest issue, which sees the artist reflecting on how "Black girls learn … early" in life not to burden anyone with the heavy truths they're secretly forced to deal with. Megan, of course, was memed mercilessly after rapper Tory Lanez denied her allegation that he's the one who shot her over the summer. Speaking to GQ, she said she didn't understand why she was expected "to be tough" after being rushed to the hospital for treatment following the incident, which left her feet bloodied and full of bullet fragments. "It was like, who really checks on us or who protected us?" she asked. "You just go your whole life with that mentality. And then when something actually happens to you, when you properly should have protected yourself, your first instinct was not to protect yourself, it was protecting other people.…" Ultimately, Megan transformed those feelings into something positive she could share with the world, as she did during an explosive "SNL" performance this fall that ended with the words, "protect Black women" on the backdrop and a powerful speech from Megan herself. "I want Black women to be louder," Megan told GQ. "I want us to be sassier. I want us to demand more, be more outspoken, keep speaking and just keep demanding what you deserve. Don't change—just get better. Grow from these situations. Don't be beating yourself up about these situations, because that'd be a lot of problems too," she continued. "I feel we keep this stuff in and there's some kind of way we flip it on ourselves. … We didn't do something wrong, and it's like, 'No, girl, relax. You just needed somebody to come stir the Kool-Aid.'" That "somebody," she says later, is her.
'The Crown' star Emma Corrin talks playing Princess Diana in Season 4 of the Netflix series
Season 4 of Netflix's "The Crown" landed over the weekend, giving fans their first (fictionalized) glimpse at Prince Charles' relationship with Lady Diana Spencer, as played by actress Emma Corrin. It may not be a glimpse Charles and Diana's real-life sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, are interested in seeing, though, and that's just fine with the 24-year-old actress. "I can't imagine," Emma recently told British GQ when asked how she thought Harry and William would respond to her performance as their late mother. "I'm not going to say it doesn't matter, because that would be ignorant," she explained. "If someone made a program about my grandma, who died last year, that would be difficult for me to watch." She added that while she'd "be interested to know what they think," that's not information she intends to find out in any direct way. "If I ever saw them at a party, I'd probably leave!" she admitted. Emma also shared what she most enjoyed about playing Diana as an unknown teenager who meets Prince Charles when he's firmly ensconced in an affair with his true love, Camilla Parker-Bowles, whom his family has forbidden him from marrying. "She has no idea what she's getting involved with. And it was more exciting to play that, because you are showing sides of somebody people don't know," Emma said. As for her take on the young Diana's feelings for Charles, Emma said she reflected on being 16 herself, and the silly things she'd do to try to impress guys she liked at the time. The new season also delves into the bulimia Diana developed during her unhappy marriage. According to Emma, the eating disorder was initially not as central to her character's story, but she felt it was important to give it more attention in the show. "It is a big part of someone's experience," she explained. "And [Diana] spoke candidly about it, which was incredibly ahead of its time. I wanted to do her and the condition justice." Emma's turn as Lady Di will only last one season, per the show's commitment to casting new actors to represent the characters as time goes by. Elizabeth Debicki takes over as the Princess of Wales in Seasons 5 and 6.
RELATED: Princess Diana's best fashion moments
Candace Cameron Bure shares note from Lori Loughlin about the end of 'Fuller House'
Candace Cameron Bure got nostalgic about her time working with Lori Loughlin over the weekend when she realized it was the one-year anniversary of their wrap on Season 5 of "Fuller House." Though she didn't share much in the way of details, Candace posted to her Instagram Story that Lori had sent her after the show came to an end. "Dearest Candace, Congratulations on a great run!" the note read (via JustJared). "Have a fabulous last week. I love you and miss you." At the bottom, the note was signed, "Lori," who was not involved in the second half of the season because of her involvement in the college admissions scandal. Lori and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are both currently serving time in federal prison after pleading guilty to fraud for paying off a fixer to get their daughters into college as fake rowing recruits.
Kim Kardashian West unveils new SKIMS loungewear collection for kids
North West, 7, and her 2-year-old sister, Chicago West, are the stars of a new ad campaign for their mom's new SKIMS Cozy Kids collection, a loungewear version of the adult shapewear brand. "The drop you've been waiting for: NEW @SKIMS Cozy styles and our first ever sets for KIDS!" Kim announced on Instagram this week in a post that included a photo of her and North snuggling up together in matching, fuzzy, gray tops, bottoms and slippers from the collection. The new line, which features hoodies, robes, shorts, pants and tanks, launches this Thursday, Nov. 19, Kim added, and will be available in five colors and a wide range of sizes. She gave fans more of a sneak peek on her Instagram Story, where she revealed Chicago also took part in the new campaign, as did some of North's friends, including Tracy Romulus and Khadijah Haqq McCray's daughters.
