Why Ariana Grande won't release her next album now, plus more news

By Wonderwall.com Editors 2:25pm PDT, May 14, 2020

Ariana Grande thinks 'it's time' for Rihanna to release that album, though she's not ready to release her own

For the past few weeks, Ariana Grande's fans have been cheering her on via Instagram as she posts about making new music from home. Those fans will have to wait to hear the finished product, though. During a chat with Zane Lowe for the Thursday, May 14, edition of his "At Home" podcast, Ariana talked about her new Justin Bieber charity single collaboration, "Stuck With U," which they released as a fundraiser for the First Responders Children's Fund and as a way to lift "people's spirits," Ariana said (via Billboard). She also teased a forthcoming track she recorded with Doja Cat, but said she wants "to save" it "for whenever it's time again to drop." And that's not now, apparently. "It's a great time to create because you're stuck with your thoughts and left in your head a little bit, so I think all creatives are extra inspired right now …," she explained, adding that her new home recording set-up has been "fun, but also so bad for my sleep schedule and my eating schedule …," since she has to remind herself to move away from the computer sometimes. "I think as far as creating goes, it feels really good. But I know that a lot of people don't have that luxury and a lot of people [have] … jobs they can't do … from home, so I feel guilty and blessed," she continued. "But also, I don't really feel comfortable putting anything out right now, because it's just like other than ['Stuck With U'], it's a really tricky time for all of that." Zane then asked directly if she was working on a new album. "There's nothing to tell," she said. "I'm not putting one out … I've been making a lot of stuff, but that's not where my head is at right now." Her head is, however, devoted to waiting for another pop star's much anticipated next studio release. Yep, turns out Ariana's totally board with the hordes of Rihanna fans who are flat-out begging for an "Anti" followup. "I get it. I appreciate it. And I'm really glad that she's putting in so much effort," Ariana said of Rih's not-so-quick recording process. Cue the "but": "I think it's time … I need it," Ariana admitted. "You know what I mean? Sorry. She's going to hate me for saying that, but I want it so bad. I get it. I appreciate it. Can you just post it and then just leave and then go back to work?"

Keep reading to see Rihanna's latest 'R9' fan-tease …

Um, now Rihanna says she lost her new album …

Unfortunately for Ariana Grande and the rest of Rihanna's fans, the album Rih promised in 2018 would land in 2019 is still not here almost halfway through 2020. The singer sure is having fun trolling her fans about it, though. In fact, we can't help but wonder if the new "Off Record" sunglasses she put out this week via Fenty were named in honor of the album in all its nonexistent glory. On Wednesday, Rihanna had yet another coy exchange with fans about "R9" in the comments beneath a video for the new shades. "OffRecord on Fenty.com now….can't say I didn't warn ya! @fenty," she captioned a clip that showed her toying with the colorful specs in the sun while flipping her braids around. Buried within the comments was one of the now par-for-the-course demands. "WHERES THE ALBUM," it read (via BuzzFeed). Exactly six minutes later, the commenter got his or her answer from @badgirlriri herself: "I lost it." A second fan gave it a shot, too, joking, "DON'T DROP DAT ALBUM." They were rewarded with some personalized finger-pointing from Rihanna, who used an Emoji to point at the "DON'T DROP DAT" commenter and wrote, "this who to blame. right here, look." BuzzFeed, meanwhile, seems to be holding onto the hope we could see something in early fall, having spotted a Savage X Fenty lingerie promo shot in January in which Rihanna was seated on the floor by a pile of records. One of them said "Savage Fenty" inside a heart shape on the front. Peeking out from the pile, a second had the word "September" scrawled across the top. But as long as we're reading grand meanings into cryptic visual cues, we should mention that behind Rih's shoulder in the same shot was a candy heart-sticker emblazoned with the words: "No way." Sigh …

Jonah Hill jokes he's 'humbled' as study shows he's topped Samuel L. Jackson in profanity on film

Life in the time of COVID has a way of making activities like color-coding sock drawers or alphabetizing the contents of the fridge seem like solid Saturday night options. So it's (almost) reasonable that someone at BuzzBingo.com recently pored over 3,500+ movie scripts for a "Profanity in Film" study. The results provide helpful stats on categories like "The Sweariest Film Characters" and "The Most Foul-Mouthed Films." Turns out Jonah Hill tops the list of actors who have cumulatively sworn the most times in their movies, a fact he learned courtesy of The Wrap this week. As the outlet reported in a story titled, "Jonah Hill Passes Samuel L Jackson With Most F-ing Swear Words on Film," the combined "F" bomb-yness of Jonah's characters is king, especially when you take into account "The Wolf of Wall Street," which notched 715 cusses in its 180 minutes, according to BuzzBingo. Jonah's "Wolf" costar Leonardo DiCaprio got a major bump from the movie, too, having sworn 332 times during the flick. "So many people to thank," Jonah joked on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of The Wrap report. "@martinscorsese_ thanks for pushing me over the edge. And of course the great @samuelljackson . Humbled," he continued. "(Also 'new report'? Lol what team of scientists cracked this one?). Lots of love ❤️." Jonah's pal Seth Rogen chimed in, too quipping that the honor was "the dream."

Tina Knowles Lawson celebrates Beyonce's latest Billboard achievement

After teaming up with Beyonce's BeyGOOD Foundation to bring 1,000 free coronavirus tests to their hometown of Houston, Bey's mom, Tina Knowles Lawson, took a moment to shout-out her daughter's latest Billboard charts milestone. "Beyonce has now charted at least one song on the Hot 100 in each of the last 24 years (1997 – 2020)," read a post from @chartdata earlier this week. Tina reposted it on her own Instagram on Tuesday, writing, "Congratulations Beyonce' you've been doing the damn thing since you were 16 years old," before throwing in some love for another Houston-bred artist. "The Meghan Thee Stallion remix Savage makes the 2020 list !" Tina wrote. "Congrats Meghan !!!"

Amy Schumer shares an inside look at her difficult pregnancy in new docuseries, 'Expecting Amy'

One person who's definitely not bored during quarantine is new mom, Amy Schumer. In the past week, the comic's already celebrated her son Gene's first birthday and debuted "Amy Schumer Learns to Cook," a new Food Network series starring Amy and her chef husband Chris Fischer. On Wednesday, Amy announced she has another project in the works. According to her Twitter, Amy worked with Alexander Hammer, of Beyonce's "Homecoming" fame, to make a new docuseries for HBO Max that details her life on tour as she struggled with a sever bout of hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme form of morning sickness that landed her in the hospital multiple times. "Expecting Amy" hits HBO's new streaming platform July 9.

Adele lives across the street from her ex-husband

Angelo Konecki — the 7-year-old son Adele shares with her ex-husband Simon Konecki — never has to travel far to see either of his parents, no matter which one he's staying with. According to People, Adele and Simon currently live across the street from one another in the interest of their little boy. "They are doing what's best for Angelo," a source tells the magazine. "Her son is her world." As the family waits out the coronavirus pandemic, Adele's reportedly been loving the time she now has to spend cooking and helping her little guy with his homework. "She very much enjoys being a stay-at-home mom right now," the insider adds. Adele and Simon announced their separation in April 2019 after eight years of dating.

Guns 'N Roses turns anti-Trump sentiment into a charity fundraiser with new 'Live and Let Die' T-shirt

In early May, a clip surfaced from Donald Trump's maskless visit to an Arizona plant where N95 masks are being manufactured. As the 45th president inspects a pile of newly made masks without wearing one himself, the Guns 'N Roses cover of "Live and Let Die" starts blaring in the background. The ironic moment went viral. Now, Axl Rose and his band are riffing on what happened to raise money for a good cause. Rolling Stone reports G'N'R is now selling a T-shirt that says, "Live and Let Die with COVID 45," with all proceeds going to the Recording Academy's MusiCares fund. Axl has been speaking out about the Trump administration on Twitter this spring, sparking a feud with Steve Mnuchin after the Treasury Secretary said on a Fox News program that now would be a "great time for people to explore America," in spite of the pandemic that's killed more than 85,000 people as of Thursday.

Anderson Cooper opens up about coming out as gay

Anderson Cooper's Thursday visit to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" was his first in a decade. The timeline made Ellen realize the CNN journalist hadn't come out as gay last time he was on her show. "I came out in high school to my friends and my family and stuff, and was open at work. But yes, in a public way, I was not. I hadn't made a statement about it. I never said I wasn't gay or tried to hide it or pretend that [I was] anything else. I just… didn't want to talk about it," Anderson told Ellen, according to ET. "But it got to a point in my life where… by not saying something, that seemed like I was indicating that I was somehow ashamed of something or not happy being gay. And the complete opposite has always been the case." Once he made the announcement in July 2012, he said he recalls feeling "happy, comfortable with myself, and proud." Looking back, he says being gay is "one of the greatest blessings" in his life, right up there with becoming a dad. "Even though you think you're out, and even though you think everybody knows and it doesn't matter," he said, "it does matter, and it makes a difference."

Helen Hunt throws a social distancing-friendly drive-by Sweet 16 for her daughter

Helen Hunt's daughter Makena turned 16 this week and her family found a way to celebrate without violating any social distancing requirements in Los Angeles. According to the Daily Mail Helen, 56, was spotted on the sidewalk outside Pacific Palisades home on Wednesday as she hosted a drive-by Sweet 16 for the birthday girl, complete with balloons and pizza. As Helen held onto gifts for Makena while she greeted her "guests," the actress' 22-year-old son Emmett carried the party snacks. Helen's ex/Makena's dad, Matthew Carnahan, 59, was on hand for the mobile gathering, as well.

Johnny Depp's lawyers get no pushback on statements from exes in defamation case

Lawyers representing Johnny Depp in the actor's defamation case against Dan Wootten, the executive editor of The Sun, appear to have gotten a green light on using statements from Johnny's exes, Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, in the case. At a remotely held High Court hearing on Wednesday, the defense did not oppose the request to use either statement in an effort to prove calling Depp a "wife-beater" in print, as the Sun did in 2018, was defamatory, according to Deadline. The "wife-beater" comment was a reference to his relationship with Amber Heard, whose claims of abuse the actor has repeatedly denied. "I have known Johnny for more than 25 years," Paradis says in her filing. "We've been partners for 14 years and we raised our two children together. Through all these years I've known Johnny to be a kind, attentive, generous, and non-violent person and father." Ryder echoes that statement in her own contribution to the case. "I cannot wrap my head around [Heard's] accusations," she says in the court doc. "He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me." The case is due back in court on July 7.