Source: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Jussie Smollett was thought to be persona non grata on the set of Fox’s Empire , but sources close to the case are saying otherwise. Smollett’s colleagues allegedly want the actor back to continue playing his character Jamal Lyons, although the network might have other plans . TMZ reports : Sources on the show tell us cast members — including Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard — feel Jussie deserves a fair shake, and that should include a full return to the show. Just last week, Fox announced Jussie got an extension through season 6, but also … it had no plans to bring his character back to the show. Our sources say as soon as the announcement was made, Jussie’s costars got busy contacting “Empire” brass and pushing for his return. As for why … we’re told the cast feels Jussie’s character was an incredibly important part of the show, and they don’t feel his return will hurt ratings. In one of the final episodes of season 5, Jussie’s character, Jamal, got married in the first gay, black wedding on primetime TV. The outlet adds that while Smollett is signed with the show through season six, it didn’t have plans to feature him in the series. — Photo: Getty
Source: Jason LaVeris / Getty Via Madamenoire : The legal drama between Jesse Williams and his estranged wife, Aryn Drake-Lee, continues to escalate as the two dispute the cost of legal bills. According to The Blast , Williams recently asked a judge to deny Drake-Lee’s motion which asked Williams to pay $200,000, split between the cost of legal fees and the cost to hire a forensic accountant in preparation for their upcoming divorce hearing. In the filing, Williams claims that he has already paid Lee $270,000 to cover her attorney’s fees and plans on offering no more financial support. Text “RICKEY” to 71007 to join the Rickey Smiley Morning Show mobile club for exclusive news. ( Terms and conditions ). Williams argues that his ex is capable of work and should be able to support herself based on the monthly support allotted from his paycheck. “Aryn has been able to avoid seeking meaningful employment, preferring instead to comfortably live off her substantial support…and save money while insisting that only Jesse should pay for the litigation fees for BOTH parties in this case,” Williams’ filing reads. Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit “This court should send Aryn a message that she too is responsible to pay for the attorneys’ fees and that this is not a free ride whereby she can continue to drive up the fees in the case and expect Jesse to foot the bill. Accordingly, if the Court orders and additional contribution to Aryn’s fees, the contribution should come from the $75,000 blocked account subject to relocation at trial,” the filing continues. SEE ALSO: Jesse Williams & Taylour Page Confirm Relationship In Cute Post [PHOTO] During the custody battle over the former couple’s two children, it was revealed that the Grey’s Anatomy actor pays $100,000 in support, which includes $50K for their two children and $50K for spousal support. Williams and Drake-Lee are also embroiled in a battle over the support fee as the actor has asked a judge to lower the payments. The total was based on Williams’ monthly income which amounts to $521,000 a month. Drake-Lee is also expected to combat the lowered payments in the ongoing divorce proceedings. She feels she is owed $1M in retroactive support. The couple split in 2017 after they were married in 2012. [ione_media_gallery src=”https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com” id=”1775848″ overlay=”true”] ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : K. Michelle’s Surrogate Confirms She’s Carrying Twins [VIDEO] RHOA Star Eva Marcille Is Pregnant With Baby No. 3! Oprah Winfrey Drops $10,000 On A Wedding Dress For One Of Her Former Students Follow @TheRSMS
The Boyz N The Hood family suffered another major loss last week as Jessie Lawrence Ferguson , the actor who played the dirty cop in John Singleton ‘s iconic film passed away last Friday at his California home. Ferguson was 76. Ferguson’s death preceded that of Singleton who passed away on Monday following complications from an April 17 stroke . Ferguson’s son Jace reportedly found his father next to his bed with the television on according to TMZ . His death came as a shock to the family as he appeared to be in great health prior to his death. “He was a strong, beautiful intelligent black man and he wanted the best for his son and all people,” Jace said of his father. Born in The Bronx, NY in 1942, Ferguson appeared in Starsky and Hutch , Star Trek: The Next Generation and more. His most known role as Officer Coffey in Boyz N The Hood became canon as he was the same cop that accosted Furious ( Laurence Fishburne ) when Tre ( Cuba Gooding Jr ) was a young man. RELATED: 20 Reasons We Love John Singleton’s ‘Boyz N The Hood’ RELATED: Stars Who Got Their Big Break In John Singleton Movies RELATED: John Singleton Changed Morris Chestnut’s Life
Sorry ladies, I know you love you some Idris Elba , but he’s officially off the market. On Friday (April 26), the actor married his love Sabrina Dhowre in a beautiful ceremony in Marakesh, Morocco. View this post on Instagram Congratulations to newlyweds #IdrisElba and #SabrinaDhowre who exchanged vows in Morocco on April 26 2019. Celebrations were spread over three days in Marrakech. See more in the world exclusive in the July 2019 issue of #BritishVogue. Photographed by @SeanThomas_Photo. A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue) on Apr 27, 2019 at 2:10am PDT According to British Vogue, Elba wore a custom suit by Ozwald Boateng and Dhowre stunned in a Vera Wang gown with an off-the-shoulder detail. For the reception, the glowing bride had a wardrobe change to another Wang classic, a V-neck dress complete with couture lace. View this post on Instagram #IdrisElba wears custom @Ozwald_Boateng tailoring as he weds #SabrinaDhowre. See more of the world exclusive in the upcoming July 2019 issue of #BritishVogue. Photographed by @SeanThomas_Photo. A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue) on Apr 27, 2019 at 1:43am PDT Apparently, their nuptials will be three-day event, with the newly married couple hosting an all-white party on Saturday. And on Thursday, they hosted an extravagant rehearsal dinner at Amanjena on Thursday, according to Vogue . “There was a huge festive party with camels and fire dancers and dancing,” a source told PEOPLE . The couple got engaged back in 2018 at the film screening for Yardie after dating for a year. They met while he was making his 2017 thriller The Mountain Between Us. Congrats to the happy couple! RELATED NEWS: Idris Elba’s Daughter Isan Elba Is Freakin’ Gorgeous It’s About Time! Idris Elba Named People Magazine’s 2018 Sexiest Man Alive British Pound Cakes: Idris Elba & Sabrina Dhowre’s Romantic Vacation Is Serving Real Body Goals [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”2983782″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com / WENN Jussie Smollett’s brother is coming to his defense after the actor was accused of staging his own attack back in January. According to Jojo, who penned What If Jussie Smollett Is Telling The Truth? for BET, Jussie “didn’t even want to contact police” to begin with. “He was weary and didn’t care for the unnecessary attention it might garner. His choreographer insisted, and the choreographer contacted the police himself,” Jojo wrote in the op-ed, also claiming Jussie is now suffering mentally. The Empire actor has since been acquitted but faces a civil lawsuit from the city of Chicago who claims he intentionally misled police . “I WAS SHOCKED AT HOW EASILY easily everyone accepted the ridiculous motive about Jussie’s career that was promulgated. Jussie had actually begun directing episodes of Empire , which brought additional compensation. He worked out a deal with Fox to own 100% of his music masters, released an album, which lead to a sold out world tour and he donated every cent of ticket sales to charity,” he wrote. “He even signed the group, June’s Diary, to his label. My brother was developing two films with one of the biggest producers in Hollywood, had the lead to a Broadway show on the table and owns the option rights to the authorized autobiography of his idol, Alvin Ailey. All pointing to not only an advancing career but a business savvy mind. To suggest that he staged his own attack to boost a sagging career is ludicrous. Jussie has a team of extremely effective agents, managers, publicists, and attorneys who helped him acquire career advancement. He wouldn’t need to roll around on the icy ground of a Chicago street, staging an attack on himself to make this happen.” Read the piece in full here and let us know where you stand. — Photo: WENN
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have not been a couple in about two and a half years. Not since the actress stunned most of the free world by filing for divorce from the actor back in September 2017. But it’s taken all the way until now, until mid April of 2019, to announce the following… … these superstars are, at last, SINGLE! In an official and legal sense, we mean. Based on court documents that were released on Friday, a judge has ruled that the celebrities can go back to being legitimately single before they finalize their divorce settlement, a legal move known as bifurcation that both parties requested. Neither Pitt nor Jolie has commented on this development, which was first reported by The Blast. Such a bifurcated judgment essentially ends the marriage between Jolie and Pitt while they keep negotiating a final settlement agreement for assets and custody of their many children. The pair formerly known as Brangelina are the parents to six kids overall. They are: Maddox, 17, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-olds Vivienne and Knox. There’s been silly/speculative chatter ever since Jolie filed for divorce that the couple may get back together — but this has really been exactly what we just described it as: Silly and speculative. This simply is not going to happen. Nor is Pitt going to get back together with Jennifer Anistion . The global sueperstars married in a small ceremony at their chateau in the South of France in 2014, about nine years after going public as a very attractice couple. Just two years later, in September of 2016, Jolie filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Things were a big ugly afterward, with Jolie accusing Pitt of being a bad father; specifically referencing an alleged incident on board an airplane between Pitt and his oldest son, Maddox. At one point, the FBI was even called in to investigate. But Pitt was never charged with any sort of crime and neither he nor Jolie has spoken much at all about the split or about their differences since. In November of 2018, the pair reached a temporary child custody agreement, which a source told People Magazine at the time was “to keep things moving along in the right direction.” There still appears to be disagreement, however, over how much time Pitt can spend with his kids. The actor was to share custody with Jolie, while Angelina wants primary custody. “Brad is hoping the worst is behind them and that they can move on from the fighting and painful past,” a source has told E! News, adding: “He knows in the long run the kids are best with both their mom and dad in the picture. He can now move forward and try be a stable and constant positive influence in their lives.” The question on everyone’s minds now is this: Who will get into a serious relationship first, Pitt or Jolie? Pitt has randomly been connected to such women as Charlize Theron , but we never really believed that story. Jolie, meanwhile, has been focusing on work and parenthood. We haven’t heard a peep about her and anyone else since her marriage ended. So we’ll go ahead and put this question out there to the masses: Will Pitt or Jolie get involved in a public romance first? And will it be with anyone else famous? View Slideshow: 13 Reasons Angelina Jolie is the Antichrist
Jussie Smollett may not be prosecuted for almost definitely staging his own attack on the streets of Chicago a few months ago. But this doesn’t mean the polarizing Empire star is finished with the legal system. According to TMZ, Smollett will soon be sued by the Windy City itself and may effectively even go on trial for his role in the January 27 “assault.” As you must know by now, this word has been placed in quotation marks because Smollett is accused of staging an assault against… himself. He claimed several weeks ago that two white men screamed racial and homophobic epithets at him, while also saying he was living in “MAGA country,” prior to beating him up and tying a rope around his neck. The star even alleges that doused him with bleach. After being the subject of sympathy from basically everyone in America, Smollett quickly turned into the subject of scorn and derision. Because it started to become clear that he actually concoted this entire story. Smollett was even arrested and charged with multiple felonies related to falsifying a police report. The Chicago Police Department subsequently held a press conference in which it trashed the actor for wasting its time and resources. However, on March 26, Smollett was cleared of all charges . The city’s Mayor still thinks he’s very guilty, however, and even the lawyer who chose to set him free has said there’s mounting evidence that points to Smollett’s guilt… it just didn’t seem worthwhile to prosecute him. While observers remain stunned and confused over the development, Chicago is now trying to hold Smollett at least somewhat liable. As previously reported, the City of Chicago recently fired off a letter to Jussie’s people, demanding $130,000 for the cost of investigating the case. Smollett scoffed at such a request, but Chicago isn’t giving up. Per TMZ, the city had to wait seven days before filing a civil lawsuit against the actor — and now that the week is up, it has every intention of moving forward with this action. Says a spokesperson for the City of Chicago: “Mr. Smollett has refused to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false police report on January 29, 2019. “The Law Department is now drafting a civil complaint that will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Once it is filed, the Law Department will send a courtesy copy of the complaint to Mr. Smollett’s L.A. based legal team.” Apparently Chicago can ask for up to $390,000 from Smollett, three times what the investigation cost. In order to win and receive this payout, the City must prove that it’s more likely than not that Jussie faked the “attack.” This, in effect, will place Jussie on trial before an administrative law judge. And the burden of proof will NOT be to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Are things about to get ugly in very public fashion again? It sounds that way. Smollett has “no plans on paying investigative costs being outrageously demanded,” an insider tells Us Weekly. Instead, the source suggests that “the Chicago Police Department should be investigating the way this matter was mishandled from the beginning.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, though, is pissed. We doubt he’s going to let this issue go. In an earlier statement, he referred to Smollett getting cleared as a ” whitewash of justice ,” wondering what kind of terrible human being exploits actual hate crimes in the manner Smollett allegedly did here. “When Smollett does pay the city back on just what the taxpayers have fronted, in that memo section [of the check], he can write, ‘I’m sorry and I’m accountable for what I’ve done,'” Emanuel said in a press conference late last month, concluding as follows: It’s just wrong. … Does he have no decency? View Slideshow: Jussie Smollett: This is How He Staged His Alleged Assault
Omari Hardwick shot his shot at the 2019 NAACP Awards. And now the actor is being shot down left and right all over Twitter and other social media platforms. In a video that has spread around the Internet faster than the rumor that Donald Trump once slept with Kim Kardashian , Hardwick is seen giving Beyonce a kiss on the cheek. He then engulfs the global superstar in a long hug. And then he kisses her again! Sort of near her lips! Loyal Beyonce fans, affectionately and passionately often referred to as members of the “Beyhive,” reacted to the clip with rage and shock, largely due to the look on Beyonce's face after Hardwick finally let her go. As you can see in the video featured here, Beyonce looks mighty shook. “Damn, Beyoncé looked extremely uncomfortable,” one fan wrote. “Omari Hardwick might have just got the new season of Power cancelled messing around with the Beyhive.” The main beef seems to be twofold: That Jay-Z is actually standing right nect to Beyonce when Hardwick goes in for his hug and kiss. That he kisses Beyonce twice! “I dont presume to know how Beyonce feels but…ughhh that Omari Hardwick shit reminds me of encounters I've had with some men,” another woman added. “Then you dont want to say anything because then people will look at you like you're overreacting, so you just suffer being uncomfortable.” Along with an angry face emoji, meanwhile, someone else let his/her anger be known as follows: 2nd kiss was unnecessary & uncomfortable. Don't do that again. We women so often get touched, kissed, groped & poked in instances exactly like this (at an event, at work, etc). WE DON'T LIKE IT. It's time to no longer let these moments of discomfort slide. Other users said that Hardwick should have gone for a “respectable handshake” and that he “encroached” on Beyonce's “boundaries,” which does seem like an apt description based on how she reacted. Do you agree? Are you a woman who can totally relate to what Beyonce appears to be going through here? Or is this viral incident and reaction much ado about nearly nothing? Watch and decide now!
Join Our Text Club To Get The Latest Music, Entertainment, Contests And Breaking News On Your Phone. Text BALTIMORE to 24042 to join! Source: Kris Connor / Getty Jussie Smollett may not be getting off entirely scot-free. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday the city plans on billing the Empire actor for the police investigation into his January report of a hate crime. See Also: Report: Criminal Charges Dropped Against Jussie Smollett “The police are right now finalizing the cost that was used, police resources to come to the understanding this was a hoax and not a real hate crime,” Emanuel said on WGN Radio. “What we spent. The corporation counsel, once they have the finalized and feel good about the numbers, will then send a letter to Jussie Smollett and his attorneys, trying to recoup those costs for the city.” Smollett could be charged upwards of six figures. Both the police department and Emanuel were reportedly very upset when charges were dropped against the actor earlier this week. Smollett only forfeited his $10,000 bond. Do you think Smollett should foot the bill? Source: Hollywood Reporter
Source: DEREK HENKLE / Getty Jussie Smollett Pleads “Not Guilty” At Arraignment As previously reported, Jussie Smollett was indicted on 16 charges after Chicago PD accused him of staging his own attack back in January. The indictment reportedly includes a charge for each supposed lie Jussie told police —but the Empire actor maintains his innocence, as he pled “not guilty” PERIODT. According to The Hollywood Reporter … “Jussie Smollett entered a plea of not guilty on Thursday in a Chicago courtroom on charges he lied to police when he reported that he was the victim of a hate crime earlier this year. The Empire actor was initially charged with disorderly conduct via the class 4 felony false report allegation and later indicted on 16 felony counts for allegedly lying to authorities about an attack that took place in January wherein he claimed he was targeted by two Donald Trump supporters and beaten because he is African-American and homosexual. Just Jared states the actor will return to court on April 17. Meanwhile, Empire —Jussie included— has returned to television with its first new episode since his attack. Tune into FOX on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET. to watch him work.
