Oprah recently had a close personal one on one conversation with pop superstar Usher. Oprah was heard saying that it was one of the best interviews that she has done on her “Next Chapter” series. “It’s good, really good.” says Oprah.
Announcing the Diamond-selling, Grammy-winning R&B singer as her next guest to appear on “Oprah’s Next Chapter” late Tuesday, Winfrey appears to have come away with a groundbreaking exclusive that answers many questions.
“He said that he would talk to me then he’s never going to talk again about his marriage, the fact his mother never came to the marriage, the fact that he has now gone through three years of a custody battle and now has primary custody of his own children,” Winfrey says in video below.
As widely reported, Usher had a turbulent summer that included an emotional breakdown in court during his custody battle with ex-wife Tameka Raymond, the death of his stepson (Tameka’s son) and garnering custody of his two boys.
According to Oprah, the “Confessions” and “Looking 4 Myself” singer will also discuss breaking down on stage in Berlin and what really made him cry during his custody case.
“He talks about everything no holds barred,” says Winfrey.
Usher joins recent “Oprah’s Next Chapter” guests including Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Lady Gaga, Fifty Cent, Carrie Underwood and The Kardashians.
It’s definitely no secret that Giuliana and Bill Rancic have been waiting a long time for their first child, so now they are reveling in new parenthood. Just two weeks after Edward Duke Rancic was born, the proud parents are showing off their miracle baby.
After a gestational carrier gave birth to their 7 pound, 4 ounce bundle of love on August 29, the proud parents immediately bonded with their baby. “I was sobbing and yet had the biggest smile,” Giuliana, 37, tells Life & Style in its new issue. “It was very emotional. I just kept saying, ‘He’s so cute.'” Bill, 41, says Duke (the baby will be known by his middle name) gets his looks from his mother. “The baby’s got Giuliana’s dimples,” the proud dad gushes. “Every day he’s changing — it’s just remarkable to see. He’s a very cool customer, one happy little guy.”
So what is the inspiration behind that happy little guy’s name? “Edward Duke was pretty much picked out when he was conceived,” Giuliana tells the magazine. “Edward is Bill’s late dad’s name and my dad’s name. It was a way to honor them. And Duke means leader.” The Rancics are so happy to be parents that they are even enjoying the less fun tasks of parenthood, including diaper duty and waking up for late-night feedings. “I’d never changed more than a diaper or two in my life,” Giuliana tells Life & Style. “Now it’s like the little things that make me happy — happier than I’ve ever been.” As for those feedings, “we alternate,” she explains. “I don’t need much sleep, so Bill will do the 8 p.m. before-bed feeding, and I’ll do the 12 a.m. and typically the 4 a.m. — though he did do the 4 a.m. last night. Bill just jumped out of bed and was like, ‘I’ll do it!'”
The couple, who recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary, had a long road to parenthood. On their Style Network reality series, “Giuliana and Bill,” they openly shared their struggle to conceive. While Giuliana was being treated by a fertility specialist that the doctor insisted that she have a mammogram, which revealed that she had breast cancer. She immediately underwent a double mastectomy last fall. Because she is taking an oral medication for the cancer over the next four-and-a-half years, Giuliana was told she could no longer try to conceive. So the couple took embryos they had stored prior to the cancer diagnosis and tried their luck with a gestational carrier, who immediately became pregnant.
Giuliana, who is on maternity leave from “E! News” and “Fashion Police” until November 13 (though she will be covering the Emmys on September 23), says they are so happy with the surrogate process, they plan to do it again. “There will definitely be more kids in our future,” she tells Life & Style. “Nothing too soon though. … We’d have to go down the surrogate path again. We got so lucky this first time around, we just hope that we can be so lucky again. We’ll see.” For the full story on the new addition to the Rancic Family make sure to grab the September 24 issue of Lifestyle Magazine.
Tom Hanks, Jay Leno, Holly Robinson Peete, Loretta Devine and Stevie Wonder were among those who helped celebrate the life of Michael Clarke Duncan during a nearly four-hour memorial service marked by heartfelt speeches, rousing gospel performances and photos of the always-smiling actor.
Hanks and Leno shared stories about “The Green Mile” star at Monday’s service. Peete talked about meeting Duncan while he was still a celebrity bodyguard. Devine spoke of how the actor would do anything for a laugh.
Wonder appeared via video, solemnly playing piano and singing the opening verses of his life-affirming song “As” for the man he called “a gentle giant.”
Duncan died Sept. 3 at 54, having never fully recovered from a heart attack in July. His physician, who revealed Duncan used a pacemaker, was among the speakers at the service at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries in Los Angeles.
Former reality TV star the Rev. Omarosa O. Manigault, who was Duncan’s fiance’, also attended along with Duncan’s mother, sister and nephews.
Backed by a gospel choir, singers Angie Stone, Kelly Price, Kenny Lattimore and Abraham McDonald lent their voices to the private funeral. State Assemblyman Mike Davis and Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson also attended, with the council declaring Monday as “Michael Clarke Duncan Day.”
Leno said he was touched by the actor’s positivity and lack of cynicism.
“Just to see such a pure heart and pure kindness, and to see it taken so early,” the comedian said, his voice cracking. “There are no sadder words than what might have been.”
Leno said Duncan’s sunny smile “grew another millimeter on each end” when he met Manigault. The two had planned to marry in December.
Christian Bale may not save lives in reality, but the actor definitely tries to make a difference in the lives of his fans.
The Dark Knight Rises star flew 4-year-old leukemia patient Jayden Barber and his family out to California for a lunch date at Disneyland’s Club 33 earlier this week.
“Finally can share!!! Christian sent us to LA and we had lunch at Disney club 33 on wed,” Barber’s mother wrote with a picture of the two on her Lighting the Batsignal for Jayden Facebook page. “He and his family were so awesome and down to earth!!!”
Christian Bale also visited shooting victims in Colorado hospitals in July. Charlene Barber continued by sharing her family’s experience with Bale at the Anaheim theme park, “The entire interaction was like old friends having lunch. Jayden did not get star struck but was well aware of who we were with!”
“They talked movies and super Heros an he was genuinely happy to hear about everything Jayden wanted to tell him. Christian, his wife and daughter are three of the most beautiful people we have ever met! Christian made these arrangements for us personally and ensured we were treated like royalty. I don’t have even one negative thing to say about them. I can tell you that they were just as impressed w Jayden as Jayden was w them :)”
According to WYTV in Ohio, Barber was undergoing chemotherapy for bone cancer for two years before it turned into MDS leukemia last year. Jayden is now in remission. Just a couple months ago, Bale was spotted in Colorado visiting shooting victims who were impacted by the Dark Knight Rises tragedy.
Shannon Eastin, who has spent time officiating high school and college games, will be part of the replacement crew officiating Thursday’s Packers-Chargers game. Eastin has worked Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games, and she also has worked the Arizona Cardinals’ Red and White game, a preseason scrimmage.
Coincidentally, at this time last season, the NFL’s head of officials said the league was considering hiring a female referee full time.
“We have some in our pipeline, and I expect we’ll see it soon,” he said.
Male or female, former NFL head of officials Mike Pereira said using replacement referees will ultimately hurt the integrity of the game.
“Now you’re going to get a group of people out there with no experience,” Pereira told The Dan Patrick Show, “and you’ve got such a mix of people — some with barely more than high school experience, you’ve got guys that have been out of the game for years, you’ve got guys that have officiated in the lingerie football league … you’ve got such a mix right now that it’s not good for the game.”
This is the first referee labor dispute since 2001 when a contract issue led to the referees missing the last exhibition game and first regular-season game of the season.
When Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively said “I do” over the weekend, they selected a venue thousands of miles away from the hubbub of Hollywood, but Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, does have ties to Tinseltown.
The place where Reynolds, 35, and Lively, 25, exchanged vows in front of 6o family members and friends on Sunday night has been the backdrop of several movie and TV productions. Most notably, scenes from 2004’s “The Notebook” were filmed there. You may remember that in the movie a young Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) visited her family’s summer home. Well, Boone Hall Plantation served as the family’s lavish estate. It was outside the historic home that they had lunch – and the well-to-do Hamiltons were horrified to learn that Noah, who worked at a local mill, earned a very small salary. Later, Allie and Noah went for a boat ride during which Noah stripped and jumped into the water. Her family looked on displeased as Allie followed suit.
In a funny twist, Lively actually dated Gosling in late 2010. Their brief time together, during which they enjoyed an ice cream date at Disneyland, took place after she split with her “Gossip Girl” co-star Penn Badgley and before she started seeing Leonardo DiCaprio in May 2011. Lively and Reynolds, who met on the set of 2011’s “Green Lantern,” started dating in October 2011 — less than a year ago.
A high-profile manager, producer, multi-instrumentalist, screenwriter, and director, Chris Stokes guided Immature/IMx and B2K, two of the most successful R&B groups of the ’90s and early 2000s (respectively). He also produced material by Bell Biv DeVoe, Shanice, and Debelah Morgan, and was part of the group Wataz (which released a 1998 album, Natural High), but he helped build something of an empire with the members of the groups he managed, parlaying their successes into screenwriting and directing. House Party 4, You Got Served, and Somebody Help Me each featured the likes of Omarion, Marques Houston, and other members of Stokes’ groups. In 2012, Stokes and Houston paired together again for the Stokes-directed dramatic film Battlefield America about underground dance competitions.
