“A New Beyoncé Visual Album Is Coming - Vogue” plus 1 more

A New Beyoncé Visual Album Is Coming - Vogue

Posted: 28 Jun 2020 12:19 PM PDT

Beyhive, unite: Beyoncé announced today that she will be releasing a new visual album on July 31. Titled Black Is King, the record will be available on the streaming service Disney Plus, and is based on songs from The Lion King: The Gift, the soundtrack to the remake of The Lion King, the 2019 animated film in which Beyoncé served as the voice of Nala. The new body of work will be written, directed, and executive produced by the Queen B herself. Because would you expect anything less?

According to Variety, the visual album will feature a star-studded lineup of collaborators including husband Jay-Z, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Pharrell, Tierra Whack, and many more. It will serve as a "celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience," read a release from Disney and Parkwood Entertainment, Beyoncé's company. "Black Is King pays tribute to voyages of Black families throughout time," the statement continues. "The visual album tells the story of a young king's 'transcendent journey through betrayal, love and self-identity.' His ancestors help guide him toward his destiny, and with his father's teachings and guidance from his childhood love, he earns the virtues needed to reclaim his home and throne."

A new, one-minute teaser trailer for the album was also released on Beyoncé's official website on Saturday night—and while it's just a tease of what's to come, it already looks epic. The singer has long a history of producing full-on visual productions in tandem with her albums, including 2013's Beyoncé and 2016's Lemonade. This upcoming visual album release will follow up Beyoncé's "Black Parade," her latest single that was released on Juneteenth.

Beyonce's mom defends singer against critics - Wonderwall

Posted: 05 Jul 2020 12:00 AM PDT

The Beyhive's No. 1 fan has some stinging responses to fans criticizing Beyonce.

The singer's mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, came out firing after several people on social media criticized Beyonce for her upcoming visual album "Black is King," claiming she's trying to capitalize on African culture.

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In a post, Tina noted that several of Beyonce's collaborators are from Africa.

"There's way, way more involved in the making of Black Is King but my point in posting this is simply that those who are criticizing the film (before they even see it) saying it's unauthentic, upset that B doesn't actually go to Africa or say that Bey is simply using African cultures for gain are wrong because 1. She makes less with her Afrocentric content. 2. She's actually taken the time studied African costumes and such and didn't just throw this together. She's worked with actual African dancers, film makers, directors etc on this project so for some African Americans and Africans to say it's a facade is truly discrediting the work of their own people," Tina wrote in a lengthy post.

Continues Tina, "While people whine about her not touring in Africa yet beg for more African representation in entertainment but are mad that they're getting it from one the world's greatest stars is strange to me. They'd rather have B come and they spend their money for a show once or twice every few years rather than have someone of African descent work with African creatives to create art that celebrates them that will last forever and it be done at no cost to them.)"

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In another post, Tina blasted critics who have essentially been telling Beyonce how to film the movie, calling on them to "stop being a social media terrorist to the wrong people."

"It is funny because it is so easy to criticize someone when they are doing something. You can always tell them how they could do it better especially if you're not paying for it," she wrote. "Some of you criticize under the thinly veiled guise of educating her. But you haven't seen anything but a 3 minute trailer and you judge so quickly. You can't tell her what to do in her movie! There is a storyline How do you know east or west works in this movie? She is working hard on getting it shown in Africa. But you really should not waste your time seeing it. You should be busy making your own."

"Black is King" premieres on Disney+ on July 31.

Kaitlynn Carter has been in high-profile relationships with men and women, but she doesn't quite know how she identifies in terms of her sexual preferences.

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"I don't feel like I specifically connect with anyone, like, I don't know. I don't feel like anything is quite the right fit for me — at least not yet," she said on the "Scissoring Isn't a Thing" podcast on Tuesday. "I think this is also all a little new to me, and so I just try to be real. … I want to learn myself a little better before I make a decision like that."

The "Hills: New Beginnings" star was in a five-year romance with Brody Jenner before they split in 2019. She then moved on with Miley Cyrus for two months — during which the romance filled up the pages of gossip magazines.

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Just before pictures surfaced of Kaitlynn and Miley kissing, the reality TV star was forced to come out to her family.

"Obviously it would have been nice to have the luxury of privacy and time to have that conversation with my family, but having said that, I didn't have any shame in telling my parents at the time," Kaitlynn, 31, said on the podcast, according to Page Six. "I was excited about where I was in the relationship and … I had just been through a very challenging period of time in my life and it finally felt like it was getting better. I was just feeling so happy that I honestly, at the time, didn't appreciate the magnitude of what was going on. I was just so absorbed in it."

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Her mom thinks her attraction to women is temporary, Kaitlynn said.

"My mom, she thinks that it was a phase or is a phase. She's like, 'Well, yeah, but you'll eventually end up with a man,'" Kaitlynn said. "This is something we actually just talked about on 'The Hills' the other day because it really irritates me when she says that. … I feel like part of the reason I was always dating and was with men the whole beginning of my life was because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. I never really thought outside the box."

"And so when my mom says that to me, I'm like, 'You're part of the problem.' I was like, 'I love you. I know you're not trying to be rude,' because my parents are amazing. They've always accepted anyone I've ever chosen to be with, and they're so supportive. They just want me to be happy. But I can sense it with my mom that that's how she thinks," she continued.

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Kaitlynn recently opened up about her fling with Miley, telling Nick Viall on his "The Viall Files" podcast that she never wants to have a public relationship again.

"What I've really realized is now with dating, I'm super private about it," she said. "Since last fall, once that whole situation [with Miley] came to a wrap, I was like, 'That's the last time I'm doing a public thing.'"

Chrissy Teigen wasn't having it after a troll questioned her appearance, implying that she might have cancer.

On Monday night, the "Lip Sync Battle" star posted a quick video from her family vacation to tell her 30.5 million Instagram followers that she was embracing the island life.

"For you kind folks asking me to drop the skincare regimen, I will admit I am def proud of my skin lately and feeling myself!" she wrote in the caption.

One person, though, was not feeling it.

"Ok… this isn't her or some app that changed her face. I had to look back and forth like 4 times…," the person wrote, adding, "either she dropped 50 lbs overnight or has cancer… this isn't right."

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Enter an annoyed Chrissy, who had a short conversation with the online hater.

"What would you prefer?" Chrissy asked.

The person replied, "Apologies for the lack of tact fullness…should have thought ahead. But, why did I have to go back and forth 3-4 x to make sure it was you? Is it an app?…you're unrecognizable."

Chrissy, who loves a good clapback, responded, "Why are you carrying on with this?? Why do you think I owe you anything especially after what you've said? You know you don't actually know me in real life, right? Thank God."

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The online tiff came just a few days after Chrissy had a brief online exchange with Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro.

On July 5, the "Justice With Judge Jeanine" star posted an innocuous photo to Twitter that showed her at an outdoor restaurant wearing a mask. However, Chrissy couldn't help but notice the small photo on (presumably) Jeanine's phone that sat directly in front of her on the table: it was a topless photo of Chrissy with a massive sunburn, a snap she had posted over the holiday weekend.

"Jeanine why are my boobs up on your phone," Chrissy commented on the snap.

Jeanine has not responded.

Former "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Yolanda Hadid is hitting back at speculation that she let Ghislaine Maxwell hide out at her family's Pennsylvania farmhouse last year.

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Ghislaine — a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein — has been accused of grooming minor girls for sex with the late financier at one of his many homes. In July 2019, he was arrested on sex trafficking charges and later hanged himself in jail. After his death, Ghislaine went into hiding.

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Yolanda became linked to the story after Dutch journalist Henk Van Ess claimed that the former reality TV star housed Ghislaine for a while. According to the New York Post, he claimed in since-deleted tweets that Ghislaine was tracked through her computer's IP address.

The journalist alleged that Ghislaine visited a doughnut shop in the vicinity of the Hadid family farmhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and contended that Ghislaine is "friendly with the Hadid family." He said Ghislaine "probably" stayed in the farmhouse. He also implied that Ghislaine may have hidden in Beverly Hills, where Yolanda also has a home.

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Yolanda, however, has refuted the claims.

"I do not know or have ever associated with Ghislane- the first time I have heard about her or any of this was watching the documentary, like the rest of the world, on Netflix — which became an in depth dinner conversation with my family in which we all discussed how it's possible that this woman was not already in jail ..?! I have been strictly quarantined with my family, as my daughter is pregnant and is at high risk for catching the virus," Yolanda tweeted, referring to daughter Gigi Hadid's pregnancy. She added that she learned via the press that Ghislane was "arrested in New Hampshire, which is multiple states away from where I live."

Yolanda also accused the journalist of failing to contact her for comment.

"So, I'm not sure how I have been brought into this narrative of yours, but I take these false claims very seriously," Yolanda wrote. "Please stop involving me. What that lady did is disturbing and she deserves to be in jail for a long time."

Ghislaine was arrested last week on sex abuse charges.

Kanye West has a big new project on his plate — and we're not talking about his plans to run for president or his Yeezy brand's recent trademark application to expand into the beauty and fragrance markets.

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According to a new report from TMZ, Kanye has just secured approval to build a 52,000-square-foot megamansion on one of his Wyoming ranches.

While CNN reports that the rapper-fashion designer has yet to take any legal steps to file to formalize his presidential candidacy, which he announced on Twitter on July 4, TMZ confirms that Kanye has filed building and zoning permits in Cody, Wyoming, for his new family home.

He purchased the 9,000-acre Monster Lake Ranch there in 2019 for a reported $14 million. It's been the site of multiple Kardashian-Jenner family getaways over the last year, including a June trip where he, wife Kim Kardashian West and their children as well as sister-in-law Kourtney Kardashian and her kids celebrated Ye's daughter North West's 7th birthday.

According to TMZ, which has seen the permits, in recent months, authorities have signed off on Kanye's plans to build a 10-bedroom single-family residence, which will replace the lakeside cabins and other buildings where he and his family and guests currently bunk when they're at the ranch.

Permission was also granted for Kanye to build two 10,000-square-foot underground parking garages on the property. He's also seeking to build two new lake houses atop existing structures. TMZ further points out that the rapper-designer has to get wastewater permits in order to install new septic systems before he can break ground.

He and Kim primarily live on a huge compound in Hidden Hills, California, that "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" momager Kris Jenner has said is worth $60 million. In late 2019, TMZ reported that Kanye purchased a second Wyoming property, the 6,700-acre Bighorn Mountain Ranch, for $14.5 million.

Are Chrissy Teigen and Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro entrenched in a boob feud?

On July 5, the "Justice With Judge Jeanine" star posted a photo to Twitter that showed her at an outdoor restaurant wearing a mask. The photo seemed innocuous enough.

However, Chrissy couldn't help but notice the small photo on (presumably) Jeanine's phone that sat directly in front of her on the table: it was a topless photo of Chrissy with a massive sunburn, a snap the "Lip Sync Battle" star posted over the holiday weekend.

"Jeanine why are my boobs up on your phone," Chrissy commented on the snap.

Jeanine has not responded.

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On Instagram on Monday, the Sports Illustrated model — still laughing about the situation — posted a close-up shot of Jeanine's phone, as well as the sun-kissed picture that she initially posted to her Instagram Story on July 2.

"I can't stop laughing. Best day ever," Chrissy wrote in the caption.

Andy Cohen commented, "This is next level."

Chrissy's breasts have been a topic of discussion of late, particularly after she had her implants removed last month.

"They've been great to me for many years but I'm just over it," she told her Twitter followers before the procedure. "I'd like to be able to zip a dress in my size, lay on my belly with pure comfort!"

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"Don't worry about me," she continued. "All good. I'll still have boobs, they'll just be pure fat. Which is all a t-t is in the first place. A dumb, miraculous bag of fat."

On July 4, she shared a photo of herself in a bikini. It was the first time she's worn a two-piece swimsuit since removing her implants.

"First two piece in a long, long time," she wrote in the caption.

A global pandemic isn't stopping "Big Brother" from coming back.

TMZ reports that the hugely popular reality show's 22nd season will feature an all-star cast, a change made because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"Big Brother" was reportedly in the middle of casting for its next season when the pandemic hit. The casting process was quickly shut down. Executives then opted to go with an all-star format because the contestants have already been vetted and are familiar with how the show works.

While the show is still happening, it has been delayed. TMZ notes that participants were initially scheduled to travel to Los Angeles at the beginning of July. Instead, their arrival date has been pushed back about a month.

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Taking a cue from professional sports organizations, producers will create a "bubble" environment while filming to keep everyone as safe as possible from exposure to the coronavirus.

The cast — particularly those flying to L.A. — "will be tested for the virus and then quarantined for two weeks before being cleared to enter the 'Big Brother' house," TMZ reported.

Pro wrestling is fake? Don't tell that to Chris Hemsworth.

Chris, 36, has played a superhero for the past decade, but he's about to transform his body to play Hulk Hogan in an upcoming biopic. For Chris, this means getting in better shape than ever.

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"As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical. I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor," he told Total Film, via TMZ.

There are also a few other things that Chris will have to master to play the wrestling icon.

"There is the accent as well as the physicality and the attitude," Chris said.

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In addition to his body transformation, Chris will also grow the Hulkster's trademark mustache. Hulk, who's real name is Terry Bollea, is often credited with making professional wrestling mainstream.

That fact that Chris believes this role will challenge him physically is surprising considering he's had numerous physical roles over the course of his career, having played Thor, of course, but also an Army hero in "12 Strong" and the titular huntsman, Eric, in "Snow White and the Huntsman." Plus, Chris's Instagram feed often shows him working out or participating in various physical activities.

Back in 2017, Chris opened up to W Magazine about the process of prepping to play Thor: "It's just a lot of heavy weightlifting, you know, isolated muscle groupings. I think how it's changed over the years. The first time I did it I would just do weightlifting. I didn't work in as much sort of cardio or functional flexibility, sort of movement training which I do now. It's much better," he said. "I was, I think, probably a little bigger the first time around, but I felt very stiff and sort of uncomfortable. Now, I feel much more, like it's useful kind of muscle, functional kind of movement and training."

Chris also did a lot of Pilates.

"You can have a completely cosmetic muscle, or just complete sort of cosmetic bodybuilding stuff which is fine on screen, but I think a lot of times it's about next level is when you can tell its function when people move differently, and it suits out lifestyle better," he said. "I feel with all the sort of back problems and knee problems and whatever, the more I kind of moved and had a larger range of motion, a lot of those issues with kneeling, certain joint pains were tended to dissipate the more I kind of… larger, more versatile sort of training."

On July 3 – more than a year after The New York Times released a detailed and upsetting #MeToo era exposé accusing rocker Ryan Adams of psychologically abusing or sexually harassing at least seven women in his life, including his ex-wife — DailyMail.com published a lengthy apology written by the rocker.

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Though Ryan also apologized back in 2019 — while criticizing the accuracy of the Times' reporting and denying any wrongdoing — he's since explained that he's now sober and wanted to say it again, this time after confronting his behavior. "All I can say is that I'm sorry. It's that simple. This period of isolation and reflection made me realize that I needed to make significant changes in my life," Ryan began his new mea culpa.

A few days later on July 6, ex-wife Mandy Moore — who's previously accused him of being controlling and psychologically abusive during their relationship (their divorce was finalized in 2016) — was asked by Hoda Kotb during an unrelated interview on the "Today" show, where she was promoting her hit NBC show "This Is Us," what she thought about her ex-husband's apology and if she believes he's changed.

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"You know, it's challenging because I feel like in many ways, I've said all I want to say about him and that situation," Mandy said, "but I find it curious that someone would make a public apology but not do it privately.

"I am speaking for myself," she added, "but I have not heard from him and I'm not looking for an apology necessarily, but I do find it curious that someone would sort of do an interview about it without actually making amends privately."

According to Ryan, he wanted to issue a more heartfelt public apology because he's "gotten past the point where I would be apologizing just for the sake of being let off the hook." He also said he knows "full well that any apology from me probably won't be accepted by those I've hurt. I get that and I also understand that there's no going back."

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He continued, "To a lot of people this will just seem like the same empty bulls— apology that I've always used when I was called out, and all I can say is, this time it is different. Having truly realized the harm that I've caused, it wrecked me, and I'm still reeling from the ripples of devastating effects that my actions triggered."

He said he's been working on himself but acknowledged that "no amount of growth will ever take away the suffering I had caused. I will never be off the hook and I am fully accountable for my harmful behavior, and will be for my actions moving forward." He insisted that "I'm really trying" and expressed his hope "that the people I've hurt will heal. And I hope that they will find a way to forgive me."