By Wonderwall.com Editors
6:27am PDT, Oct 8, 2022
Dwayne Johnson says he won't run for president, after all
After years of flirting with a possible White House bid, Dwayne Johnson says a presidential campaign is now "off the table." Instead, he says his first priority is fatherhood. "The Rock" addressed his on-off interest in the Oval Office in a teaser clip from the next edition of "CBS Sunday Morning." "It's off the table. Yes. It is off the table," he emphasized in the clip, released Friday (Oct. 7), via Consequence Film. "I will say this because it requires a B side to this. I love our country and everyone in it. I also love being a daddy. Especially during this time, this critical time in my daughters' lives," said "The Rock," who shares Simone, 21, with ex Dany Garcia, and Jasmine, 6, and Tiana, 4, with wife Lauren Hashian. "Because I know what it was like to be on the road and be so busy that I was absent for a lot of years in my first daughter's growing up in this critical age and at this critical time in her life." Dwayne, 50, said in 2017 that running for office was "a real possibility." Three years later, he said he'd "seriously considered" it again. He was still open to the idea in 2021, when he told USA Today he'd consider a presidential run "if that's what the people wanted." Speaking to CBS, however, he clarified that's no longer the case. "My No. 1 priority is my daughters," he said. "Sure, CEO sounds great. But the No. 1 thing I want to be is daddy. That's it."
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Taylor Swift says 6-year romance with Joe Alwyn is behind 'Lavender Haze'
Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, had writing credits on her "Folklore" and "Evermore" album. Now, the actor's inspired the very first track of Taylor's upcoming release, "Midnights," due out Oct. 21. "I happened upon the phrase 'lavender haze' when I was watching 'Mad Men,'" Taylor explained in an Instagram video posted in the early hours of Friday (Oct. 7). "And I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool, and it turns out that it's a common phrase used in the '50s where they would just describe being in love. Like, if you were in the lavender haze, then that meant that you were in that all-encompassing love glow – and I thought that was really beautiful," she continued. Despite all the public scrutiny about her romance with Joe, Taylor said the couple tends to shrug it off and focus on what matters — their love. "My relationship for six years, we've had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it," she said. "And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff. I hope you guys like it." On TikTok and Instagram, Taylor also unveiled the track listing for "Midnights," which includes a song with Lana Del Rey called "Snow on the Beach."
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Beyonce slams Right Said Fred's claim she never got permission to use 'I'm Too Sexy' on 'Renaissance'
Beyonce vehemently denies she sampled Right Said Fred's 1991 hit "I'm Too Sexy" on her new track, "Alien Superstar." The British pop duo — brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass — claimed in an interview with The Sun earlier this week that Beyonce never asked permission to use their music "because she is such an arrogant person." They also suggested they weren't credited as co-writers or properly paid for use of their song. Beyonce's reps, however, slammed every one of those claims as "erroneous and incredibly disparaging" in a statement published by The Daily Mail on Friday (Oct. 7). "Permission was not only granted for its use, but [Right Said Fred] publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album," the statement read: "For their song, there was no sound recording use, only the composition was utilized. Permission was asked of their publisher on May 11, 2022 and the publisher approved the use on June 15, 2022. They were paid for the usage in August, 2022. Furthermore, the copyright percentage of the Right Said Fred writers with respect to the use of 'I'm Too Sexy' is a substantial portion of the composition. Collectively, the Right Said Fred writers own more than any other singular writer and have co-writer credit. This accusation is false." In Right Side Fred's initial interview, the brothers were quoted as saying were never approached by the singer to begin with. "Normally the artist approaches us but Beyonce didn't because she is such an arrogant person she just had probably thought 'come and get me.' So we heard about it after the fact …," they claimed, adding, "To use our melody they need our permission so they send us the demo and we approve it and if so we get a co-write credit."
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William Shatner declares everything he thought about space 'was wrong' one year after Blue Origin trip
William Shatner says he had it all "wrong" about space. In his new book, "Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder," the "Star Trek" alum reveals his 2021 space shuttle flight on the Blue Origin completely changed his mind, but not in the way he expected. "I love the mystery of the universe. I love all the questions that have come to us over thousands of years of exploration and hypotheses," he writes in an excerpt published this week by Variety. When he left the Earth's atmosphere and looked out into space, however, he says, "There was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold … all I saw was death." Earth, not space, turned out to be the compelling part of his trip. "It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her," he explains. "Everything I had thought was wrong. I had thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things — that being up there would be the next beautiful step to understanding the harmony of the universe." For the actor, 91, the experience ultimately made him appreciate his own planet more than ever. "I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound," he writes. It turns out, William "was not alone in this feeling." Known as the "Overview Effect," it's "not uncommon among astronauts," according to the star's book. "It reinforced tenfold my own view on the power of our beautiful, mysterious collective human entanglement," he concludes, "and eventually, it returned a feeling of hope to my heart." William's trip on Oct. 13, 2021, made him the oldest person to ever travel into space.
Melissa McCarthy gets nostalgic about 'Gilmore Girls' as the beloved WB dramedy turns 22
Melissa McCarthy celebrated the 22nd anniversary of "Gilmore Girls" — and her long-running friendship with series costar Lauren Graham, aka Lorelai — in a series of posts on Instagram this week. "Happy Stars Hollow season to all those who celebrate!! 😊🍂✨☕️ How was this 22 years ago?!" she captioned a sweet throwback pic of the two on Thursday (Oct. 6). Melissa, who played Lorelai's bestie, Sookie, on the show, followed that up with a handful of old pics of the pair with Yanic Truesdale, who played the French concierge Michele. In one photo, Lauren and Michele are both towering over Melissa as they all stand side-by-side. "I remember someone (randomly) saying Yanic's French accent was terrible- we laughed so hard," she wrote in the post. "He had only spoken English for like 10 months. He had ONLY spoken french his entire life. Oh, people. Also I had no idea I was this short?!" Finally, she shared another set pic of her and Lauren. "I have no idea how LG did all that dialog- she was amazing!!" Melissa gushed. The beloved and famously quick-witted series focused on the close bond between young single mom Lorelai her teen daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel). The show aired from 2000 until 2007 and was followed by 2016's Netflix reboot, "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."
Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan's Archewell Foundation launches $1M grant program for women who've inspired teens
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are back to work at their Archewell Foundation after traveling to London to say goodbye Queen Elizabeth II. On Friday (Oct. 7), the couple's nonprofit announced a new venture in partnership with the VING Project to donate $1 million in grants to women who've inspired teens and "defied life's hardships," according to Today.com. The idea grew out of Meghan's "Archetypes" podcast, which sees Meghan and guests like Serena Williams and Mariah Carey "investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back," according to Spotify. "Two things that bring me great joy are supporting women, and the spirit of giving," Meghan said in a statement about the campaign. "With the return of 'Archetypes,' Archewell Foundation and VING have come together to create the perfect combination of these loves. By donating $1 million in grants to women in need, our hope is not to only provide support where it may be felt deepest, but also empower young adults to embrace the gift of giving at an early age." Teens aged 14 to 18 are invited to nominate women who've inspired them; chosen nominees will each receive $1,000, Today reports. It hasn't been all work and no play for Harry and Meghan since their return, though. On Wednesday, TMZ spotted the couple snuggling up to one another and dancing to Jack Johnson at his show at the Santa Barbara Bowl.
Tori Spelling clarifies comments about reuniting with her mom, brother for the first time in 20 years
When Tori Spelling shared a photo from her recent reunion dinner with her mom Candy and brother, Randy, her caption, "I don't think the 3 of us { just the 3 of us} have gone out to dinner together in 20 years," left followers thinking she'd been estranged from her family for two decades. That's not the case, she recently clarified to Entertainment Tonight. "I meant that just the three of us have not had dinner in 20 years because it was always, like, with our families," she explained, adding that Randy has two kids, she has five and they live in different states. Randy hadn't flown anywhere since before the pandemic, she said, so his appearance in Los Angeles was a special surprise for their mom. But the gathering was extra-meaningful to Tori because it can be so easy not to make time for the people we love, especially after two years of lockdowns and health dangers. "It's so important and I feel like life is too short and we forget that," she said. "I think because life keeps going and so you say to yourself, 'I gotta make plans with this person, I gotta make an effort,' and then you don't because your life keeps going. And it's important now to really take that time and I think I'm finally starting to get that."
