Celeb Superlatives: A monument to Prince
Paste BN’s Maria Puente digs through the latest celebrity news for highlights ... and lowlights. Think high school yearbook superlatives — if Sarah Jessica Parker and The Rock were classmates.
Best possible news for still-grieving Prince fans: A museum to honor him
Paisley Park, Prince's home/state-of-the-art studio and creative oasis in Chanhassen, Minn., has mythic status for fans, and now they'll get to see it up close. It will be turned into a museum and opened for public tours beginning Oct. 6, Prince's estate administrators announced last week. Administrators, trying to raise revenue to help pay estate taxes, have teamed with the company behind Elvis Presley's iconic house museum, Graceland, in Memphis. Sister Tyka Nelson said it was what her brother always planned, way before his death April 21 from a drug overdose in an elevator at the 65,000-square-foot complex. Tickets for tours through Dec. 31 went on sale Aug. 26 at $38.50 per general admission and $100 for a VIP tour.
Most despicable attack on a celebrity: The Leslie Jones hack
The racists and other trolls tormenting the SNL comedian and Ghostbusters star had better watch out: After hackers breached her website last week, spilling her documents and intimate photos along with hateful and racist images, federal Homeland Security officials announced they were investigating, suggesting the hackers might be out of the country. This followed a Twitter barrage against Jones last month of racial slurs and obscene photos. Twitter banned some users but ... small consolation. An outraged army of supporters stood up for Jones, including Katy Perry, who tweeted to her followers: "Do not give your eyeballs to this racist, hate-filled, misogynoir crime. I #StandWithLeslie," followed by a heart emoji.
Most head-smacking celebrity salary contrast: Dwayne Johnson vs. Jennifer Lawrence
Earning data compiled by Forbes magazine and released last week once again illustrated Hollywood's longstanding and persistent pay disparities: The annual lists of top-earning stars shows that Lawrence, who topped the magazine's list of female stars with $46 million, earned only about 71% of what top male star Johnson earned, at $64.5 million. This is an even wider gap than that for ordinary working women, who get paid about 79 cents for every dollar paid to men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Best celebrity stand on principle: Sarah Jessica Parker
She's the mother of a son with a severe peanut allergy, so she has been associated with pharmaceutical giant Mylan N.V., sole maker of lifesaving EpiPens. Not any more: Parker joined the national outrage over a 500% price increase in the allergy drug. In a dramatic Instagram post, Parker announced she couldn’t condone putting the drug out of reach for so many people who need it to survive, “and I have ended my relationship with Mylan as a direct result of it.”
Worst. Celebrity. Idea. Ever: Ryan Lochte on Dancing With the Stars?
The Rio Olympics' great exaggerator is going to compete in a new arena — on Dancing With the Stars, Paste BN Sports reported last week. The gig was in the works before the 12-time Olympic medalist made a fool of himself around the globe last month for exaggerating what happened when he and three teammates, all drunk, tried to use a bathroom at a Rio gas station and ended up facing guns held by men with badges. Will Lochte have to return to Rio now that he has been charged there with falsely reporting a crime? And can dancing redeem the aggrandizing Lochte? Dancing's 23rd season premieres Sept. 12.
Cutest, most knee-slapping celebrity birthday tweets: Ryan Reynolds to ... uh, Billy Ray Cyrus?
It was his pregnant wife Blake Lively's birthday last week, so naturally goofy guy Reynolds just had to tweet sweet thoughts, tongue-in-cheek: "Just want to wish Billy Ray Cyrus the most special, magical birthday ever. I love you with all my heart. Also, Happy Birthday to my wife." Very cute, and so was Cyrus, who tweeted back. "Thanks man, you really know how to mend an Achy Breaky Heart! Tell your wife happy birthday."
Most anticipated celeb marriage proposal ... that didn't happen: Drake and Rihanna
It was certainly a profession of love. At MTV's Video Music Awards Aug. 28, many viewers thought the frequent collaborators, long rumored to be more than just "friends," were about to ring engagement bells, maybe right then and there on stage. Clad in a black tuxedo, Drake melted the audience into a puddle with a heartfelt presentation of the VMA's highest honor, the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, to Rihanna, praising her performances, style and sense of self. "She's someone I've been in love with since I was 22 years old," he said. Digital pandemonium ensued on Twitter, which reported later the duo got the most social media buzz of the night. "Is it official now?" tweeted some fans. Maybe not. Drake handed RiRi the award, but the jury's out on whether he went in for a kiss that was deflected. And backstage, Instagram video showed he accidentally stepped on her tan silk satin gown by Alexandre Vauthier. Ooops.