It's been a glorious time for Teen Mom gossip, hasn't it? That's because Jenelle's just been on fire lately. We don't want to say that her life has been falling apart, but … well, it's not going great. It rarely is, honestly, but we think a divorce usually qualifies as extra bad, right? But is she even getting divorced? What is going on with this girl?! 1. Recap Time! OK, so there sure has been a lot going on with our favorite hot mess Teen Mom, huh? 2. Bad Times Whatever happened between Jenelle and David, it happened sometime last week — just in time for her to skip her traditional Valentine’s Day gushing. 3. More Fights? The general consensus, and this has been mentioned in a report we’ll get to in a little bit, is that they got into some kind of fight after last week’s episode of Teen Mom 2. 4. Yikes You know, the one that showed us what happened after Jenelle’s infamous 911 call. 5. One More Time You’ve almost definitely heard the call by now, but for the sake of being thorough, here it is again: you can hear Jenelle sobbing hysterically and telling the operator that she thinks David may have broken her collarbone. 6. Oooh, Barbara We always knew the call and its aftermath would have to be a big part of this season, and it has been — we even saw Barbara directly say that she believes her daughter is the victim of domestic violence. View Slideshow
Jussie Smollett is officially in major trouble with the law. About three weeks after the Empire star told police that he was savagely beaten by a pair of Donald Trump-loving racist, Smollett has been made a suspect by this same police force. Over the past several days days, there has been chatter that cops in Chicago believed Smollett orchestrated his own attack and then continually lied to the public and to authorities about what happened. Now, spokesman Anthony Guglielmi has Tweeted the following: Jussie Smollett is now officially classified as a suspect in a criminal investigation by #ChicagoPolice for filing a false police report. Detectives are currently presenting evidence before a Cook County Grand Jury. If Smollett is charged with the felony cited here, he could face up to three years in prison. UPDATE : Guglielmi has now Tweeted the following… Felony criminal charges have been approved by @CookCountySAO against Jussie Smollett for Disorderly Conduct / Filing a False Police Report. Detectives will make contact with his legal team to negotiate a reasonable surrender for his arrest. A Cook County Grand Jury handed down the indictment late Wednesday, after grand jurors heard testimonies and evaluated evidence. The details of this case have grown more troubling and bizarre each day. After initially receiving support and sympathy from friends, politicians and celebrities around the world due to his claim that he was a victim of a hate crime, Smollett is now the subject of extreme scorn. He was questioned on Wednesday by prosecutors from the Cook County District Attorney’s Office regarding various details of his assault explanation that simply do not add up. Perhaps more disturbing is this: Two brothers from Nigeria were briefly arrested by the police after surveillance footage depicted them in the area of the alleged beating around the time Smollett said it took place. However, these siblings formerly worked as extra on Empire. They’re pictured below: After speaking to these siblings, however, the cops released them without charging them with any crimes — and they released this statement in the process: “We can confirm that the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has in fact shifted the trajectory of the investigation.” It has since been reported that the brothers are cooperating with the police and pointing a finger at Smollett, alleging that he paid them to fake the assault and that they even rehearsed how it would go . TMZ writes that Smollett cut the brothers a check for $3,500, but he wrote “training” in the memo line. There’s also now video evidence of them purchasing supplies for the incident, presumably at the behest of Smollet. Smollett, who is openly gay, said late last month that two assailants taunted him with homophobic slurs around 2 a.m. and screamed that he was in “MAGA country.” He said they punched him, tied a rope around his neck and poured bleach all over him. In an interview with Robin Roberts, excerpted below, he stuck by this story: Jussie Smollett Speaks on Horrific Attack And then he did so again through his legal team just a few days ago, saying the following: As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with. He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying. Various sources have claimed that producers are in the process of writing Smollett out of Empire, but executives deny this is the case. If he’s arrested for falsifying a police report, however, his the future of his acting career may be the least of his concerns. View Slideshow: Jussie Smollett: Did He REALLY Stage His Own Attack?! Empire Star Under Investigation [UPDATED]
(Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images) Fabolous Indicted On Four Felony Charges Over Domestic Violence Arrest Rapper Fabolous is facing some pretty severe charges over his alleged violent brawl with longtime girlfriend Emily B. and her family. Video spread everywhere months ago of Fab threatening Emily B., her father, and brother. The rapper tried to make it go away several times, as we reported, by trying to sort out a plea deal. Ultimately the rapper rejected the state’s deal. This afternoon, TMZ is reporting he was indicted on FOUR felony charges and could serve up 5 YEARS on each charge if found guilty. That’s 20 years total…d-d-d-d-damn!!! Reportedly, a grand jury in New Jersey indicted the rapper last week on 1 count of domestic violence with significant bodily injury, 2 counts of threatening to kill and 1 count of possession of a weapon (a pair of scissors). Earlier today we reported that Emily B. and Fab are rumored to have gotten hitched, could this all be fro a reason??? According to to something call the “marital communications privilege”, neither spouse can be compelled to testify as to private, confidential communications between them in either criminal or civil proceedings. So this might work in Fab’s favor. But there’s also video! Ouch! So far Fab nor his team have addressed his new charges. He has, however, referenced life giving him “lemons” in a recent post… This is a lot for Fab and Emil B. to digest right now surely. What do YOU think the outcome of all of this will be?
A Texas Woman Is Facing 5 Years For Voting Crystal Mason, 43, was slapped with a five-year prison sentence for voting in the 2016 presidential election while being on probation. She had recently been released from prison for a 2012 tax fraud conviction after pleading guilty to falsely inflating returns for her clients when her mother convinced her to vote in the election. Still on community supervision at the time of the election but no one, including her probation officer, told her that meant she wasn’t allowed to vote. So she was then charged with illegally casting a ballot in Tarrant County, Tex. and sentenced to five years. “You think I would jeopardize my freedom? You honestly think I would ever want to leave my babies again? That was the hardest thing in my life to deal with. Who would — as a mother, as a provider — leave their kids over voting?” Mason said in a statement. Continue reading →
A Texas Woman Is Facing 5 Years For Voting Crystal Mason, 43, was slapped with a five-year prison sentence for voting in the 2016 presidential election while being on probation. She had recently been released from prison for a 2012 tax fraud conviction after pleading guilty to falsely inflating returns for her clients when her mother convinced her to vote in the election. Still on community supervision at the time of the election but no one, including her probation officer, told her that meant she wasn’t allowed to vote. So she was then charged with illegally casting a ballot in Tarrant County, Tex. and sentenced to five years. “You think I would jeopardize my freedom? You honestly think I would ever want to leave my babies again? That was the hardest thing in my life to deal with. Who would — as a mother, as a provider — leave their kids over voting?” Mason said in a statement. Continue reading →
Missouri Man Charged With Felony After Racist Comment To Black Waitress A racist Missouri restaurant customer is getting exactly what he deserves after making outwardly prejudice comments towards an African-American waitress before physically assaulting her. via Fox 2 Now St. Louis A white northwest Missouri man is charged with felony assault after he allegedly confronted a black waitress as she served him breakfast. Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice announced Wednesday that he charged 65-year-old Tommy Dean Gaa, of Maryville, with felony assault motivated by discrimination. The Maryville Daily Forum reports Gaa is accused of confronting the waitress on Sunday and grabbing her arm, causing bruising. A probable cause statement says Gaa said “I have a place I would like to take you where I hung your grandpa” and used racial slurs. Gaa was released from the Nodaway County Jail on $4,900 bond. Online records don’t indicate if he has an attorney. Rice says the comments were bad enough but Gaa crossed the line when he grabbed the waitress. This bum sounds like a real jerk. Good to know that his racist foolery won’t go unpunished.
Popular singer/songwriter The Dream is facing some trouble in the form of two felonies and three misdemeanors. The musician was placed under arrest stemming from…
Movieline is pleased to introduce Inessential Essentials, a regular feature about some of the most intriguing — if not necessarily most obvious — new home-viewing options on the market. We begin today with a film practically doomed by controversy a quarter-century ago, resurrected for DVD and finally given the treatment it truly deserves this week on Blu-ray. — Ed. What’s the Film : The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), new on Blu-ray via Criterion Collection Why it’s an Inessential Essential : Adapted from Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel by the same, The Last Temptation of Christ is a moving and heart-felt testament of religious faith. It’s also probably not the first film you’d think of when you think of when you think of Martin Scorsese’s filmography. Temptation follows Jesus of Nazareth (Willem Dafoe) in his long journey from looking at God’s presence as “the ultimate headache,” to quote Temptation screenwriter Paul Schrader, towards seeing death in the service of God as an act of divine mercy. The Last Temptation of Christ isn’t the only film of Scorsese’s to focus on a troubled protagonist’s spiritual crisis. Like several of Scorsese’s protagonists, Jesus gradually comes to understand the difference between how he can behave and how he should behave according to his moral principles. He’s a man first, and only by film’s end does he really become the messiah, too. Still, because of its sexual implications, the film was a source of major controversy when it was released in 1988 and even before then when Scorsese originally tried unsuccessfully to make The Last Temptation of Christ with Paramount Studios in 1983 on a considerably bigger budget. According to David Ehrenstein’s liner notes, Scorsese was told he could make the picture with a budget of $15-20 million. But then a letter-writing campaign from Christian fundamentalists stopped the 1983 production dead in its tracks. Scorsese would go on to make Temptation with a considerably smaller $7 million with Universal Studios. Nearly 25 years later, as comedian Billy Crystal “joked” during the most recent Oscars telecast, Scorsese is still always going to be the guy that did Goodfellas and other “crime pictures.” How the DVD/Blu Makes the Case for the Film : Predictably enough for a Criterion release, the Blu-ray features a number of exceptional special features, including a terrific audio commentary track that selectively alternates between Scorsese, Schrader, Dafoe and screenwriter Jay Cocks. The track is especially good since it only lets any one of these four talking heads speak when they have something worth saying, such as when Scorsese explains the background behind Mary Magdalene’s tattoos, or Cocks’s description of Scorsese’s filmmaking approach: “The simplest, most direct way is usually the most heart-felt, the way which technology can interfere the least in the way of the emotion.” Both the Criterion Collection’s DVD and Blu-Ray releases of The Last Temptation of Christ also feature a decent interview with Peter Gabriel, who scored the film. Gabriel talks a little about how he and Scorsese worked toward “avoid[ing] the clichés of Christ goes to the movies […] Marty had some strong opinions of some people he wanted me to integrate and whose work he wanted me to play with. I spent some time in the National Sound Archive doing some research and trying to educate myself a bit. And although I didn’t try and master Arabic scales, I was just trying to soak in some of the feelings and find key performers that could bring power and passion.” Other Interesting Trivia : Also according to Ehrenstein’s liner notes, director Franco Zeffirelli pulled his Young Toscanini from the 1988 Venice Film Festival line-up when he heard that Temptation would also be screening that year. Zeffirelli hadn’t yet seen Scorsese’s film when he made that appropriately theatrical gesture. But he still was outraged by Temptation , saying that it was “truly horrible and completely deranged.”
Movieline is pleased to introduce Inessential Essentials, a regular feature about some of the most intriguing — if not necessarily most obvious — new home-viewing options on the market. We begin today with a film practically doomed by controversy a quarter-century ago, resurrected for DVD and finally given the treatment it truly deserves this week on Blu-ray. — Ed. What’s the Film : The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), new on Blu-ray via Criterion Collection Why it’s an Inessential Essential : Adapted from Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel by the same, The Last Temptation of Christ is a moving and heart-felt testament of religious faith. It’s also probably not the first film you’d think of when you think of when you think of Martin Scorsese’s filmography. Temptation follows Jesus of Nazareth (Willem Dafoe) in his long journey from looking at God’s presence as “the ultimate headache,” to quote Temptation screenwriter Paul Schrader, towards seeing death in the service of God as an act of divine mercy. The Last Temptation of Christ isn’t the only film of Scorsese’s to focus on a troubled protagonist’s spiritual crisis. Like several of Scorsese’s protagonists, Jesus gradually comes to understand the difference between how he can behave and how he should behave according to his moral principles. He’s a man first, and only by film’s end does he really become the messiah, too. Still, because of its sexual implications, the film was a source of major controversy when it was released in 1988 and even before then when Scorsese originally tried unsuccessfully to make The Last Temptation of Christ with Paramount Studios in 1983 on a considerably bigger budget. According to David Ehrenstein’s liner notes, Scorsese was told he could make the picture with a budget of $15-20 million. But then a letter-writing campaign from Christian fundamentalists stopped the 1983 production dead in its tracks. Scorsese would go on to make Temptation with a considerably smaller $7 million with Universal Studios. Nearly 25 years later, as comedian Billy Crystal “joked” during the most recent Oscars telecast, Scorsese is still always going to be the guy that did Goodfellas and other “crime pictures.” How the DVD/Blu Makes the Case for the Film : Predictably enough for a Criterion release, the Blu-ray features a number of exceptional special features, including a terrific audio commentary track that selectively alternates between Scorsese, Schrader, Dafoe and screenwriter Jay Cocks. The track is especially good since it only lets any one of these four talking heads speak when they have something worth saying, such as when Scorsese explains the background behind Mary Magdalene’s tattoos, or Cocks’s description of Scorsese’s filmmaking approach: “The simplest, most direct way is usually the most heart-felt, the way which technology can interfere the least in the way of the emotion.” Both the Criterion Collection’s DVD and Blu-Ray releases of The Last Temptation of Christ also feature a decent interview with Peter Gabriel, who scored the film. Gabriel talks a little about how he and Scorsese worked toward “avoid[ing] the clichés of Christ goes to the movies […] Marty had some strong opinions of some people he wanted me to integrate and whose work he wanted me to play with. I spent some time in the National Sound Archive doing some research and trying to educate myself a bit. And although I didn’t try and master Arabic scales, I was just trying to soak in some of the feelings and find key performers that could bring power and passion.” Other Interesting Trivia : Also according to Ehrenstein’s liner notes, director Franco Zeffirelli pulled his Young Toscanini from the 1988 Venice Film Festival line-up when he heard that Temptation would also be screening that year. Zeffirelli hadn’t yet seen Scorsese’s film when he made that appropriately theatrical gesture. But he still was outraged by Temptation , saying that it was “truly horrible and completely deranged.”
” Russell Brand was NOT arrested for a misdemeanor yesterday … turns out it was a FELONY, and the late Steve Jobs may be to blame. We did some digging and just found out … in Louisiana property damage that exceeds $500 triggers a felony arrest. You’ll recall, Brand allegedly snatched a photog’s iPhone Monday night and hurled it through a plate glass window . The iPhone alone costs more than $500…Steve Jobs famously believed he could charge a lot for the iPhone — and did. And now Russell is paying dearly for it.” [ TMZ ]
