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Charice Pempengco Changes Name, Comes Out as Transgender

Charice Pempengco has a major announcement to make. And it is this: The singer/actress is no longer known as Charice Pempengco. The Filipino star, who rose to fame in American for her role on Glee, says she nows goes by the name Jake Zyrus. This change is consistent with what the artist told Oprah Winfrey in an interview three years ago, during which she told the talk show host that her “soul is male.” “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love and respect,” Zyrus wrote on Instagram on Monday. “I love you back and I’m sending peace to everyone.” The transgender entertainer deleted all previous social media posts, marking this name change as a fresh start in his life. He added on Twitter, shortly after making the above statement: “My first tweet as Jake. Overwhelmed. Saw all your love comments and I’m so happy. Finally. I love you, everyone and see you soon.” Dubbed by Oprah as “the most talented girl in the world,” Zyrus became the first Asian solo singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart with the release of 2010’s “Charice,” It debuted at the time at number-eight. The rising star also made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and other daytime programs. On those platforms, she covered such hits as “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” “I Will Always Love You,” “I Have Nothing,” and “My Heart Will Go On.” She is now 25 years old. But at the age of 16, Zyrus appeared at Madison Square Garden to perform a duet of “Because You Loved Me” with idol Céline Dion. Pretty darn impressive, no? On Glee Season 2, Zyrus came on board as Sunshine Corazon, a talented singer and foreign exchange student who teamed up with New Directions and immediately established a rivalry with Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry. The character eventually joined the glee club Vocal Adrenaline and appeared in three episodes of the show. Along the way, the actor sang the songs “Telephone,” “Listen,’ and “All By Myself.” Zyrus came out as a lesbian in 2013. He then talked to Oprah once again, this time for a segment on Winfrey’s “Where Are They Now,” discussing rumors of a gender transition head-on. “I’m not going to go through that stage where I change everything,” Zyrus said at that time. “I’ll cut my hair and wear boy clothes and everything, but that’s all.” He added: “I knew when I was 5. Then, when I was 10, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s it, I’m gay.’” Thankfully, social media users have been nothing but supportive in light of this announcement. We’d like to also send along our best wishes and congratulations fo Jake. Everyone should live a life true to who they are. Do whatever makes you happy, people. YOLO, after all. View Slideshow: 14 Noteworthy Transgender Pioneers

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George Clooney Sells Tequila Company For $1 BILLION

George Clooney turned 56 last month, and we think it’s a safe bet that most if not all of those years have been pretty damn good. There may have been some low points pre- ER when he was working for Roseanne and forced to compliment her ’80s wardrobe, but we’re guessing that on 95-99% of the mornings he’s gotten out of bed, George has looked and mirror and thought, Damn, it’s good to be The Cloon. (We have no real reason to believe he calls himself The Cloon, but George strikes us a man who wouldn’t want to waste a solid nickname.) We mention all this just to underscore how impressive it is that George continually manages to top himself in terms of baller status. It’s not like he set the bar low early on with a few decades living in his mom’s basement, ya know? As we approach the half way point of 2017, George has crossed off what were probably the only remaining items on his bucket list: Earlier this month Clooney became a dad , when his wife, Amal, gave birth to twins. And today, George became a billionaire. Okay, technically, George sold his tequila company, Casamigos, to liquor giant Diageo for $700 million with another $300 million to be paid out over the next ten years based on performance. But we’re not gonna split hairs with a dude who finalized a nine-figure business deal before we finished our breakfast Cheetos, ya know? Clooney founded Casamigos in 2013 with entertainment mogul and husband of Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber. It’s about time something went right for these guys, ya know? Casamigos (which means “house of friends” in Spanish) started out as a private tequila collective, producing small batches of booze to be gifter to family and friends. Yes, that’s the most baller thing you can find outside of Diddy video. And yes, George became a billionaire by accident because he clearly pledged his soul to the same demon who’s keeping Keith Richards alive. “If you asked us four years ago if we had a billion dollar company, I don’t think we would have said yes,” Clooney sad in a statement issued today. “This reflects Diageo’s belief in our company and our belief in Diageo. But we’re not going anywhere. We’ll still be very much a part of Casamigos. Starting with a shot tonight. Maybe two.” We’ll toast to that, George! Except we’ll be drinking some Tijuana-made rotgut with a worm in the bottom, because we have that pesky ” not being billionaires” thing to contend with. It’s getting seriously annoying, so if you wanted to help us out with a few mill, we wouldn’t yell at you.

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George Clooney Sells Tequila Company For $1 BILLION

Prodigy Choked on an Egg Before His Death

When the world learned that Prodigy the rapper had passed away at 42 , long-time fans immediately thought of his lifelong battle with sickle-cell anemia. His publicist’s statement confirmed that sickle-cell anemia was a factor, combined with the intense heat of his last venue. But it turns out that there’s more to this story. TMZ reports that, while in the hospital on Tuesday morning, while being treated for sickle-cell anemia, Prodigy choked on an egg . They report that their sources include both those close to Prodigy and those investigating his death. It’s still unclear if that caused or contributed to his death. But we can all imagine the horror of receiving treatment for a devastating illness … only to choke to death. And it’s easy to imagine happening. Prodigy would have been weakened and dehydrated by his condition. Hospital beds are also not really designed for comfortable eating. Laying on your back, as he may have been at the time, can make it much easier to choke. Prodigy has been a respected hip-hop artist. He’s been credited with essentially being one of the artists who defined the genre. He’s best known for being half of the duo known as Mobb Deep since 1992. The other member of the duo was Havoc. Those are both names of X-Men but we think that it’s a coincidence — rappers and superheroes have a lot of name overlap. But he’s performed with other artists, even in the days leading up to his hospitalization. Sometimes our curiosity has limits. Sometimes we find out things that nobody needed to know about celebrities when they die. We’ve already learned more than we want to about  Carrie Fisher’s toxicology report . And yes,  Carrie would want us to know , but not every celebrity wants their private life splayed open. We could absolutely understand if Prodigy’s loved ones are less happy with this news being shared. His fans certainly want to know the details of his passing. But those closest to him want to balance giving fans closure … … With preserving his dignity. We all remember the sensational and sad report about David Carradine’s death . That’s not how he would have wanted to be remembered. Realistically, even if he asphyxiated on an egg, it was the sickle-cell anemia that’s plagued him since birth that sealed his fate. It wasn’t even the devastating Las Vegas heat, where temperatures had reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Though that certainly exacerbated the situation. His sickle-cell anemia would have left his immune system compromised. And, more relevant to the scorching desert climate of Nevada, it would have made it easier for him to become dehydrated. So, while the investigation is ongoing, we don’t expect whatever the final determination is to change our view of the situation, egg or no egg. Just as it won’t change our view of the talented man Prodigy was in life. View Slideshow: Celebrities Who Died in 2017: In Memoriam

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Prodigy Choked on an Egg Before His Death

Prodigy Dies; Mobb Deep Rapper Was 42

Prodigy, the rapper best known for his work as one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep, has passed away at the age of 42. Though no cause of death has been reported, the hip hop icon’s passing is believed to be related to his long battle with sickle cell anemia. A statement issued by Mobb Deep’s publicist reports that Prodigy had been battling the disease and things recently took a turn for the worse.   He was hospitalized “a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis.” The representative added: “As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth.” The day before his death, Prodigy (born Albert Johnson) was in Las Vegas performing with The Art of Rap tour, alongside such artists as Ghostface Killah, Onyx, KRS-One, Ice-T. Along with fellow Queensbridge Housing Project resident Havoc (born Kejuan Muchita,) Prodigy formed Mobb Deep in 1992. The group has long held a position of great esteem amongst hip hop fans and critics as some of the seminal artists of the genre. Prodigy was widely considered to be one of the most gifted technical rappers of the ’90s and early 2000s. Mobb Deep quickly found mainstream success with hits such as “Shook Ones” and “The Quiet Storm.” The group signed to 50’s G-Unit production company in 2005 and began collaborating with the label’s roster of well-known rappers. Following a public feud, Johnson and Muchita went their separate ways in 2012, but reunited a year later and embarked on a number of successful tours in the years that followed. Considered a rap pioneer for his work alongside Havoc in the early ’90s, Prodigy is often cited as a major influence by such modern-day rappers as Eminem and 50 Cent. The duo’s back-to-back albums The Infamous and Hell On Earth were both tremendously successful both commercially and critically. Around the time of those albums, Prodigy and Havoc became embroiled in the infamous East Coast-West Coast hip hop feuds. These disputes between the two coasts often grew violent and even claimed the lives of both Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. Prodigy was imprisoned for three years for weapons possession, and released an autobiography shortly after his 2011 release. Tributes to Prodigy from friends, fans, and the many famous rappers he influenced have begun pouring in already today. Not surprisingly, given his legacy, the late emcee is currently a worldwide trending topic on social media. View Slideshow: Celebrities Who Died in 2017: In Memoriam

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Prodigy Dies; Mobb Deep Rapper Was 42

Steve Bannon: Sean Spicer Is Too Fat For Press Briefings

Steve Bannon is not the kind of guy you expect to engage in body-shaming. For starters, he looks like if someone put a suit and tie on Keith Richards’ liver and taught it words like “globalist” and “cuck.” On top of that, he’s a 63-year-old White House strategist, not a 15-year-old Taylor Swift fan trolling Katy Perry on Instagram. But body-shaming is just what President Bannon is being accused of today after comments he made regarding Sean Spicer’s reduced role behind the White House press room podium. Asked why more press briefings are taking place off-camera, Bannon didn’t give the obvious reply (“Have you seen those trainwrecks?!”), but instead delivered a one-liner that went over about as well as the first Trump Care proposal. “Sean got fatter,” Bannon reportedly told a reporter. The comment caught the attention of many social media users, including Chelsea Clinton, who called Bannon out for what she considers fat-shaming: “The White House using fat shaming to justify increased opacity. 2017,” Clinton tweeted. When several of Clinton’s followers pointed out that Bannon appeared to be joking, Clinton amended her statement slightly: “Oh ok. So using fat shaming to avoid answering questions about increasing opacity. Got it. 2017,” the former first daughter tweeted. Few White House press secretaries have received as much attention as Spicer, and that’s not by design. Spicer’s obvious ineptitude has made him a frequent target for ridicule and even inspired a series of memorable SNL sketches in which Spicer is played by Melissa McCarthy . Judging from the reaction to his joke today, Bannon should probably leave the humor to her. There have long been rumblings that President Trump would like to replace Spicer with Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders. Reducing the amount of time Spicy spends on camera is seen by many as the first step toward replacing him with Huckabee-Sanders, so it’s not hard to see why Bannon would be keen to laugh off questions from reporters. But we’re guessing Spicer wishes Bannon would’ve chosen a different way to change the topic. Even the most soulless of dead-eyed lackeys have feelings. We think … View Slideshow: Tiny Trump: Internet Cuts President Down to Size!

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Steve Bannon: Sean Spicer Is Too Fat For Press Briefings

Justin Bieber: I’m NEVER Going Back to Jail!

Remember Justin Bieber’s DUI arrest in Miami from a while back? Justin sure wants you to remember. He’s shared a throwback photo of his own mugshot, and his captions are fine on the surface, but might indicate an internal struggle. His mugshot also reminds us that, for all his faults, Justin takes really good mugshots. Over the years, Justin Bieber’s bad behavior hasn’t been a secret … at all. Like, we’re sure that there’s stuff that we haven’t heard about. But there’s also stuff like Justin egging his neighbors house . And, of course, the drunk driving (and drag racing!) in Florida that led to his arrest. Honestly, some of his antics came across like the stereotypical “bad kid” from any and every generic animated drama from the last two decades. But Justin’s shared this throwback photo of his own mugshot, and it’s apparently not to brag about how good he looked in it. (Though, let’s be honest, he looked great) He captioned the photo: “#jailisnotacoolplacetobe #notfun #neveragain” For those of you who don’t enjoy reading hashtags, that was: “Jail is not a cool place to be. Not fun. Never again.” For some reason, this feels like less of an after school special for his fans than a public statement about his own intentions. Like, a pledge to himself that he’s not going to repeat past mistakes. It makes us wonder if he’s been struggling with sobriety more than he’s let on. Justin’s mostly different now. These days, he’s more about his faith (like his parents, he’s a Christian, and pretty die-hard about it) and less about substance abuse. He might be leaning on his faith to stay sober, which can be tricky in the same way that staying sober for another person can be tricky, but that’s his business unless he starts doing crimes again. One of his many, many tattoos reads “Better at 70,” which seems to be a motto about becoming a better person throughout his life instead of just coasting along. Presumably, it also applies to his desire to remain in good legal standing. He put up a stencil of the tattoo on Instagram for fans to see if they wanted to also get the tattoo It’s not a great tattoo or even a great catchphrase, but you know that he still has some fans who are intense enough to get it. We don’t think that he’s necessarily conscious of the effect that his throwback photos can have. To him, they show only the consequences of his past bad behavior. To us, they’re a reminder that he’s recently seemed to just give up completely on having nice hair. Like, he’s had a few genuinely good hairstyles, including in that mugshot, and now he keep his head buzzed? There’s no personality there. Also his throwbacks remind us that his skin used to be more visible. It’s not that he doesn’t have the right to tattoo himself to his heart’s content, because he can decorate his meat prison however he likes. But … his tattoo choices tend to not be great. And we’re allowed to grimace at the photos. We’re also allowed to grimace at his captions about jail. Because some people might have been looking at an actual sentence for drag racing and a DUI. But Justin’s deal, if you’ll recall, involved him paying $50,000 (as a donation to a youth charity). In other words … he got out of prison time because he’s rich. Meanwhile, there are innocent people who can’t afford bail for crimes that they didn’t commit, so they spend months behind bars and eventually cop plea deals that admit guilt just so that they can see their families again. So, you know, maybe Justin shouldn’t be complaining about how little fun he had in jail. It can get so much worse than what little he experienced. But it’s really no surprise that he lives in a bubble, you know? View Slideshow: Justin Bieber: A Chronological List of 31 Women Who Slept With Him For Some Reason

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Justin Bieber: I’m NEVER Going Back to Jail!

Jeremy Vuolo SLAMMED for Calling Catholicism a Demonic, Pagan Religion!

A lot of people love the Duggars because of how strongly they value their religion, and how deeply they believe in it. But a lot of other people wish they would cool their jets about certain issues. For example, as we’ve seen in recent months, it’s always a big issue when one of the Duggar women dares to wear something other than a long, plain skirt. From what we’ve heard, Jinger wearing pants is about to damn near tear the family apart. There’s also the thing about having baby after baby after baby, regardless of the health of the woman popping out all those kids. Because the Lord isn’t down with contraception. And then there’s the unwavering forgiveness for Josh Duggar , who molested four of his sisters … The point is that the Duggars have many extreme views, and that they make a lot of people uncomfortable. And a sermon delivered by Jeremy Vuolo, Jinger’s brand new husband , is following in that same tradition. See, Jeremy as a pastor at a church in Laredo, Texas. And apparently a lot of Catholics live in Laredo. For him, that is not OK. In a recent sermon he preached at the church, he decided to offer up his stance on Catholicism, which he referred to as “demonic.” Yeah, he doesn’t seem to be too fond of the whole thing. “I just want to say this, kind of as an aside for us here in Laredo,” he said. “There are spiritual strongholds in our world today, aren’t there?” “Just as Paul and Silas encountered the demonic in Phillippi, so we encounter that here in Laredo. In this city we have the pagan religion of Catholicism gripping the souls of the majority.” Catholicism is a pagan religion? We thought it was a Christian religion, but OK, Jeremy. It really seems like he doesn’t see Catholicism as a different denomination of Christianity, but as a different religion altogether — he suggested this in another part of his sermon. “When the question comes, ‘What must I do to be saved?’, Catholicism tells you to clean up your life and adequately perform the sacramental duties,” he said.” For Islam, he said “the only way for you to be certain of paradise is if you die in jihad,” and “for those who claim to be Jews but are not” (???), the key is to follow the Torah and “just do your best.” However, “the message of the Christian is that of grace” — just not if you’re a Catholic Christian, it seems. His views fit in with the rest of the Duggars pretty well: remember, Jill and Derick Dillard are missionaries in El Salvador , which is 85% Christian, just with a Catholic majority. But still, Jeremy is getting a whole, whole lot of hate for the statements he made in his sermon. “What is with the pagan religion of Catholicism?” one person asked on Twitter. “Do we believe a reality show whore, or a 2k year church founded by an apostle?” “You should be ashamed for disrespect you show for Catholics,” another wrote. “Pagan? Please you and your church are spewing this hate. God is Judge, not you.” One person pointed out that “Referring to Catholicsm as ‘pagan’ not only insults Catholics, but Pagans. Study both before making such off-base comments.” A particularly upset Twitter user wrote “AS A PROUD CATHOLIC I AM DISTURBED BY THIS. BE ASHAMED! NOT CHRISTIAN OF YOU AT ALL! BLASPHEMY!” Even though Jeremy is getting this much criticism, we highly doubt he’ll change his opinion or consider these other points of view. That’s just not the Duggar way. View Slideshow: 21 Controversial Duggar Family Quotes

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Jeremy Vuolo SLAMMED for Calling Catholicism a Demonic, Pagan Religion!

Maci Bookout Reveals Tragic New Details of Ryan Edwards’ Drug Use

Every time we hear something new about Ryan Edwards and his newly revealed drug use, things just get worse and worse. Guess that’s one of the downsides to being high all the time, huh? Rumors have been circulating for months now that Ryan was using — there aren’t many other explanations for his bugged-out eyes and spacy behavior — but Maci Bookout recently confirmed things on an episode of Teen Mom OG. In the episode, Maci broke down to Amber Portwood and Catelynn Lowell while on vacation in Puerto Rico. She cried, saying that she’s the only person in Ryan’s life who cares about getting him clean — his parents and his then-fiancee, Mackenzie Standifer, weren’t pushing him to get help. She also expressed a fear that Ryan would die from his drug use, so you know the situation is dire. Shortly after the episode aired, Ryan did check into rehab , and as far as we know, he’s still there. Perhaps we’ll receive another update after Monday night’s episode, because Maci is getting real about the matter once again. In a new sneak peek for the upcoming episode, Maci calls a counselor to get some tips on how to deal with Ryan. “I’m not really sure exactly what it is that he’s using,” she admits, “but sometimes he’ll fall asleep while you’re trying to have a conversation with him.” She also says that other times he’s “extremely wide-eyed, and he doesn’t look right.” So we still don’t know exactly what Ryan’s in rehab for this time around, though his ex-girlfriend, Dalis Connell, has claimed that he went to rehab in 2012 for abusing prescription pain killers. Maci tells the counselor that she hasn’t spoken to Ryan directly about things, but that she does want to get him help. The counselor then asks her if she’d be willing to issue some sort of ultimatum to him — the suggestion he makes is legal action regarding the custody of their son, Bentley. “I’m hoping it doesn’t get to that point,” she says, “but that would be the ultimatum.” Maci’s always tried to push Ryan to be a more active father to Bentley, so if she’s willing to go this route, it’s clear that she believes things are very, very bad . But, she acknowledges, “The other aspect of that too would be that if I’m limiting access to him, then I’m also going to have to do that with his parents, because they’re pretty much the sole caregivers of our son when he’s with his dad.” The counselor says that it sounds like Ryan’s parents enable his bad behavior, and Maci readily agrees. And so does everyone who’s ever watched an episode of Teen Mom. He also says that it sounds like she’s got an uphill battle ahead of her, and again, everyone agrees. Poor Maci … View Slideshow: Teen Mom & Teen Mom 2: The Complete Babies and Children Guide!

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Maci Bookout Reveals Tragic New Details of Ryan Edwards’ Drug Use

Maci Bookout Reveals Tragic New Details of Ryan Edwards’ Drug Use

Every time we hear something new about Ryan Edwards and his newly revealed drug use, things just get worse and worse. Guess that’s one of the downsides to being high all the time, huh? Rumors have been circulating for months now that Ryan was using — there aren’t many other explanations for his bugged-out eyes and spacy behavior — but Maci Bookout recently confirmed things on an episode of Teen Mom OG. In the episode, Maci broke down to Amber Portwood and Catelynn Lowell while on vacation in Puerto Rico. She cried, saying that she’s the only person in Ryan’s life who cares about getting him clean — his parents and his then-fiancee, Mackenzie Standifer, weren’t pushing him to get help. She also expressed a fear that Ryan would die from his drug use, so you know the situation is dire. Shortly after the episode aired, Ryan did check into rehab , and as far as we know, he’s still there. Perhaps we’ll receive another update after Monday night’s episode, because Maci is getting real about the matter once again. In a new sneak peek for the upcoming episode, Maci calls a counselor to get some tips on how to deal with Ryan. “I’m not really sure exactly what it is that he’s using,” she admits, “but sometimes he’ll fall asleep while you’re trying to have a conversation with him.” She also says that other times he’s “extremely wide-eyed, and he doesn’t look right.” So we still don’t know exactly what Ryan’s in rehab for this time around, though his ex-girlfriend, Dalis Connell, has claimed that he went to rehab in 2012 for abusing prescription pain killers. Maci tells the counselor that she hasn’t spoken to Ryan directly about things, but that she does want to get him help. The counselor then asks her if she’d be willing to issue some sort of ultimatum to him — the suggestion he makes is legal action regarding the custody of their son, Bentley. “I’m hoping it doesn’t get to that point,” she says, “but that would be the ultimatum.” Maci’s always tried to push Ryan to be a more active father to Bentley, so if she’s willing to go this route, it’s clear that she believes things are very, very bad . But, she acknowledges, “The other aspect of that too would be that if I’m limiting access to him, then I’m also going to have to do that with his parents, because they’re pretty much the sole caregivers of our son when he’s with his dad.” The counselor says that it sounds like Ryan’s parents enable his bad behavior, and Maci readily agrees. And so does everyone who’s ever watched an episode of Teen Mom. He also says that it sounds like she’s got an uphill battle ahead of her, and again, everyone agrees. Poor Maci … View Slideshow: Teen Mom & Teen Mom 2: The Complete Babies and Children Guide!

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Maci Bookout Reveals Tragic New Details of Ryan Edwards’ Drug Use

19 Reasons Grandma Should Never Text Again

We've already listed a number of reasons why grandfather should never really send a text message . But what about grand mothers ? Are they more adept at this form of technology than their elderly counterparts? In short: No. However, this just makes it all the funnier for those of us who get to read what some grandmothers have texted over the years. Consider the following, hilarious cases in point… 1. Oklahoma! Sure, why not, Grandma? It’s lovely state. 2. Wild and Wooly Time! Whatever that means. 3. You Say Chicken, I Say Children But maybe we should call this whole dinner off if you get your way. 4. This Is a Lot to Take In But we hope Lil Wayne is okay. 5. Also, Oklahoma We assume this was the next thing she was gonna write. 6. This is Actually a Reason Why Grandma Should ALWAYS Text Nevermind. Belongs on a different list. View Slideshow

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19 Reasons Grandma Should Never Text Again