Music

There’s no such thing as a good Commander. The Handmaid’s Tale‘s writers have been passing along that message to viewers throughout the sixth and final season of the Hulu series. When Nick (Max Minghella) shocked his lover June (Elisabeth Moss) with the Jezebel’s betrayal, her husband Luke (O-T Fagbenle) argued it’s because he’s a Nazi. When Wharton (Josh Charles) surprised his new wife with a handmaid on their wedding night, Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) remembered June’s warning: Wharton can’t be a good man, because he’s a man of Gilead. Yet killing three High Commanders is still a shocking final-season surprise: In the penultimate episode, titled “Execution” (written by co-showrunner Eric Tuchman and directed by star Elisabeth Moss), Nick Blaine, Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) and Gabriel Wharton all perished. Lawrence was planning to plant an altitude-triggered bomb on a plane of High Commanders and...

Michelle Williams is looking back on her time filming Blue Valentine. The Oscar nominee starred in Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 romantic drama alongside Ryan Gosling as a couple who were once in love but drifted apart. After shooting early scenes where their characters were “young and in love,” Williams said they “took a two-week break” in filming and were encouraged to live together to “figure out ways to annoy each other.” “We took a break in filming, and we lived together, office hours , like 9 to 5,” she said on a recent episode of the Armchair Expert podcast. “We did these improvisations during the day, honestly, to figure out ways to annoy each other and to destroy this thing that we had made.” The Dying for Sex star admitted “we weren’t even going to take that break” but they did because “we were having such a...

George Wendt, who bellied up to the bar to portray the beer-quaffing everyman Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the fabled NBC sitcom Cheers, has died. He was 76. Wendt died Tuesday of natural causes in his sleep at home in Los Angeles, his family and a rep announced. “George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” the rep said in a statement. “He will be missed forever.” Born in Chicago and raised on the South Side, Wendt got his start in the 1970s with Second City, the famed improvisational comedy troupe that was based in his hometown. Later, he popped up on Saturday Night Live as Bob Swerski, one of the “superfans” who gathered at Coach Mike Ditka’s restaurant in the Windy City to watch “Da Bears.” Wendt...

“The law is a dirty game,” says the effervescent host of Tisa Tells. The YouTube personality has built a sizable and loyal following dissecting the scandals of the day, covering such controversial subjects as the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef and the latest involving Kanye West and Bianca Censori, with her signature girlfriend-speak. Tisa now boasts more than 550,000 subscribers on YouTube, her go-to-platform, taking her real-time commentary to the steps of New York’s Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial as ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura tells her side of this sordid story. Tisa, who doesn’t use her last name due to personal safety concerns, has been seated inside the courtroom since the proceedings’ start, providing updates during breaks and recaps that can go for hours. Her credentials don’t include a law degree — yet — but she’s conversant in legalese in a manner...

Daniel Williams, the former drummer of the band The Devil Wears Prada, and Dave Shapiro, the owner of Sound Talent Group, were among those killed in a plane crash in San Diego early Thursday morning. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the total number of fatalities is unknown at this point, but there were six people on board the private jet, the Associated Press reported. Sound Talent Group confirmed three employees died, including Shapiro, 42, but didn’t share the other victims’ names. “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” Shapiro’s agency shared in a statement to Billboard. “Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.” Following his time at the Agency Group and United Talent Agency, Shapiro went on...

Before Donald Trump took to Truth Social to rage against Bruce Springsteen — calling him a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker” and threatening ominously that “we’ll all see how it goes for him” — another American president once tried to silence a politically outspoken rock star. But Richard Nixon didn’t just tweet insults at John Lennon. He tried to deport him. That 1970s-era culture war — now resurrected in a new doc, One to One: John & Yoko — echoes eerily in Trump’s latest feud with American music royalty. Lennon, a British citizen with a U.S. green card living in New York at the time, had aligned himself with the radical left and spoken out forcefully against the Vietnam War and Nixon’s re-election. The Nixon administration responded by weaponizing immigration law, trying to boot Lennon back to the UK over an old pot bust. It...

CBS and Dick Clark Productions presents the 51st Annual American Music Awards live from Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on Monday, May 26. The awards ceremony celebrates the most popular music of the year with star-studded performances and appearances. AMA winner Jennifer Lopez hosts this year’s event, while Janet Jackson is set to receive the Icon Award and Rod Stewart will accept the Lifetime Achievement Award. At a Glance: How to Watch the American Music Awards 2025 When: May 26 at 5 p.m PT/8 p.m. ET Channel: CBS Stream online: DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Paramount+ with Showtime The 2025 American Music Awards will feature performances by Benson Boone, Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson and Reneé Rapp. Check out a complete list of AMA 2025 nominees here. How to Watch the American Music Awards 2025: Date, Time The awards ceremony airs live on CBS on Monday, May 26, at 5 p.m PT/8...

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial finished its second week of testimony on Thursday, with the jury hearing a wide range of evidence as prosecutors try to prove that, over two decades, the rap and fashion mogul abused women, engaged in the trafficking of sex workers and turned his music and fashion empire into a criminal enterprise. Combs’ defense countered these allegations this week with strategic cross-examinations of most of the witnesses brought by federal prosecutors, aiming to discredit and minimize their allegations, testimony and expert witness status as Combs maintains that he is innocent of all charges in the case. Sharp and tough questioning has pervaded the trial, which is expected to last for five more weeks and, if it ends with a guilty verdict from the eight-man and four-woman jury, could result in the onetime high-flying superstar...

Miley Cyrus revealed that she got a “brutal infection” after rolling around on the Hollywood Walk of Fame while shooting her upcoming film, accompanying her new album, Something Beautiful. The Grammy-winning singer shared during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that due to her budget for the project, she decided to go to the iconic landmark at night to film, as there would be fewer people around. However, she “caught something” in the process. “I filmed this video in October, and by November, on Thanksgiving, I was put in ICU for a moment,” Cyrus said, clarifying that she was put in the intensive care unit, specifically, because the hospital was full due to the holiday. “My leg began to disintegrate…around the kneecap area,” she told host Jimmy Kimmel. “And then the doctor goes, ‘Do you have any idea why you would have such a...

SZA had a surprise in store for fans at SoFi Stadium on Friday night (May 23): special guest Justin Bieber. The second L.A. stop of Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National Tour, Bieber joined the five-time Grammy Award nominee on-stage to perform their rendition of “Snooze.” His appearance was quite the shock for the tens of thousands in attendance, and his presence audibly ignited the crowd. Bieber graced the stage sporting an all-black outfit with a Balenciaga jacket. After taking turns singing the chorus, he gave SZA a few kisses on the hand — maybe one too many? — and the two danced through the rest of the track together. The duo notably collaborated on an acoustic version of track after Bieber, alongside Young Mazino, Woody McClain and Benny Blanco, starred in the 2023 music video. The last time Bieber performed in front of a stadium-sized crowd...