Federal judge strikes down Texas law that would have required age verification for porn sites
A federal judge has struck down on constitutional grounds a Texas law that would have required users to submit age verification and view health warnings before they viewed pornographic websites.
According to The Associated Press, on Thursday, U.S. District Judge David Ezra agreed with critics who asserted House Bill 1181, signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in June, violated Americans' First Amendment rights.
Further, he blocked the state attorney general's office from enforcing the measure, which he deemed "overbroad" and "vague."
The state was sued over the law on August 4 by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, and on behalf of an unidentified adult entertainer whose content appeared on sites that would have been affected, including Pornhub.
Ezra took issue with the age verification, noting users had legitimate concerns their activity could be tracked, particularly when they wouldn't be able to surf porn anonymously.
The law, which would have taken effect Friday, September 1, would have forced websites to include warnings linking watching pornography with prostitution and child abuse.
On that point, the judge said those claims "range from heavily contested to unsupported by the evidence."
The Texas Attorney General's Office filed an immediate appeal against the decision to the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
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Reality Roundup: A 'Summer House' breakup, a 'Bachelor' baby and more
Have no fear, your reality roundup is here! Here's a look at what's happened in the world of reality television this week.
The Kardashians (Hulu)
Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson have legally changed their son's name to Tatum Thompson, over a year following his birth. The Los Angeles court approved the change from "Kardashian" to "Tatum Thompson," according to documents obtained by Page Six. Originally listed as "Baby" on the birth certificate, the Good American co-founder, 39, reportedly found it challenging to finalize a name for her son.
Summer House (Bravo)
Summer House stars Lindsay Hubbard and Carl Radke have ended their engagement, an exclusive report by ET reveals. Multiple sources tell ET, "Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard have called off their engagement. The two were set to get married in November, but Carl told Lindsay he couldn't move forward with the wedding. The breakup was filmed and will most likely play out on the next season of Summer House." The couple had planned to tie the knot in November.
Bachelor in Paradise (ABC)
Former Bachelor in Paradise contestant Lace Morris, 33, took to Instagram to announce that she's expecting her first child with partner Ryan John Nelson. The couple shared an adorable post featuring their dog, Lola, adorned with a "baby security" bandana. A onesie reading "protected by Lola" and an ultrasound image complete the heartwarming picture. Morris captioned the post, "Baby has entered the chat What a beautiful surprise," also revealing that "Baby Nelson" is expected to arrive in March.
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Report: Rihanna makes huge donation to support homeless veterans
Rihanna has reportedly made a “huge” donation to the Always for the People Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for homeless veterans and victims of systemic injustice.
A source told Page Six that Rihanna reached out to the organization’s founder, Sennett Devermont, about donating to the foundation, which is based in Los Angeles.
After they spoke on the phone, Devermont “distributed hundreds of hygiene kits, socks, clothes, sleeping bags, food, 50-plus pairs of shoes, toilet paper, dog food, you name it,” the source said.
While a source said that Rihanna could not show her support physically as “things are crazy with the new babies,” in 2022 she appeared in person to support the homeless and disabled veterans who live at the encampment outside of the VA Medical Center in LA while she was pregnant with her first child, RZA.
Rihanna recently welcomed her second son with A$AP Rocky.
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Some 'Friends' fans have an unfriendly response to director's diss of "not particularly funny" cast member
Deadline just excerpted veteran TV director James Burrows' new book, but one comment about a particular recurring guest cast member on Friends got a decidedly unfriendly response in the trade's comments section.
In Burrows' memoir, Directed By James Burrows, he said of Helen Baxendale, who played Ross Geller’s English girlfriend-turned-wife Emily: "She was nice, but not particularly funny."
Baxendale joined the show in season 4 and left the next season, after Emily married Ross in a ceremony where he blurted out the name of Jennifer Aniston's Rachel during his vows.
Further, Burrows says, she lacked "chemistry" with her onscreen love interest, played by David Schwimmer. "Schwimmer had no one to bounce off. It was like clapping with one hand," he expressed.
"[T]he funny is just as important as the chemistry," he added. "We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel."
Burrows even revealed they plotted recasting the actress, but said a tight schedule nixed that proposition. "Sometimes you start an arc and it ain't working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it's a day player, it's a quick goodbye."
Considering it's been a long time since an unexpected real-life pregnancy led to Baxendale quitting the show — and indeed the show itself has been off the air since 2004 — more than one person saw Burrows' comments as unnecessarily "petty."
Another hissed, "Tacky comments from Burrows, for sure."
Other Friends fans who chimed in thought her performance perfectly fit the character, who was thrust into the longtime group of pals.
Another asked, "What did this woman do to deserve this blurb? Nothing."
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Miley Cyrus reveals truth behind controversial 2009 Teen Choice Awards performance
In the newest video in Miley Cyrus’ ongoing Used to Be Young TikTok series, she reveals the truth behind her controversial 2009 Teen Choice Awards performance.
When Cyrus performed “Party in the U.S.A.” for the first time at the award ceremony, she danced with what was described at the time as “a stripper pole.”
The stage featured an ice cream cart that had a pole sticking out of the middle of it. Cyrus faced backlash for dancing on top of the cart from those who found the performance "too adult" for her audience. At the time, Cyrus was still acting on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.
“So, apparently, me dancing on top of an ice cream cart with a stripper pole – but it wasn’t a stripper pole, it was actually just for stability,” Cyrus said. “I had a heel on. Guys, what did you want from me? Was I really going to do my performance without dancing on top of an ice cream cart?”
Cyrus then shows off a headline that appeared in a magazine at the time. “Is Miley turning into the next Britney [Spears]?” Cyrus read. “Hopefully. If God is good, which, we know she is,” she said.
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'What We Do in the Shadows' stars talk longevity, vampiric — and gif — immortality
The two-part season 5 finale of FX's Emmy-nominated comedy series What We Do in the Shadows is now streaming on Hulu.
The mockumentary series spun off from the Taika Waititi/Jermaine Clement film of the same name centers on a group of vampires living in secret on Staten Island, New York. ABC Audio caught up with the cast before the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Harvey Guillén plays Guillermo, the vampire human familiar, or assistant, to Kayvan Novak's Nandor the Relentless. "I was going to be content that I [just] shot the pilot, because I was like, 'Oh, I get to ... work with Taika and Jermaine and these comedians ... I just want that footage ... for my reel!"
He adds, "And so I can't believe ... that we're starting production on season 6 this fall. And so it's kind of a half a decade of our lives have been in the world of bats. And so it's an honor. And, you know, here's to the rest of the decade," he adds with a laugh.
Fans have been showing their love with cosplay and making Shadows gifs popular online.
Has Novak seen it?
"Yeah. And the fan art, too, the homoerotic fan art that keeps popping up. You know, I think people ... they want Nandor and Guillermo to make passionate love to each other, and to those people watching: it's never going to happen. All right?" the actor says, before imitating his character, "Over my dead body. I'm already dead."
Mark Proksch plays energy vampire Colin Robinson. He says he watches just like any other fan. "I'm always excited because I forget storylines. I mean, you know, we filmed back in September, October ... So it's always exciting and ... new for me when I get to watch them."
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AMC launches monster-sized, 700-hour FearFest event running through Halloween
If you're one of those people who wished Halloween was more than one day a year, you're in luck: AMC has announced plans for a supersized version of its annual FearFest.
For the very first time, there will be more than 700 hours of films, series and specials curated by Shudder, AMC Networks' streaming service, for fans of horror, thrillers and the supernatural.
The content will roll out across AMC, AMC+ and Shudder.
Countdown to FearFest begins on AMC on September 1 at 11 p.m. with Shudder's 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time. It will air every subsequent Friday evening, "leading into a primetime takeover the last week of September featuring iconic horror movies every night of the week," including the Scream and Halloween franchises, as well as Stephen King classics like The Shining and Firestarter.
September 1 will also see the Shudder and AMC+ premiere of its original film Perpetrator, starring Alicia Silverstone.
AMC will also celebrate the 50thanniversary of The Exorcist paired with its 101 Scariest Movie Moments of All Time episode on Friday, September 29, at 8:15 p.m.
In October, the scary coverage goes wall to wall, with AMC hosting Shudder movies and series each Friday night leading up to Halloween.
The 55th anniversary of Rosemary’s Baby will be celebrated on Monday, October 2, at 8 p.m., along with the Cursed Films documentary about the film.
Friday, October 6, will see a double-feature of Shudders' V/H/S franchise; the 45thanniversary of Halloween will be celebrated with The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs special on Tuesday, October 10, at 10 p.m.
Check out all the creepy details at AMCNetworks.com.
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Voting for four new MTV VMA categories, including Song of the Summer, goes live starting this weekend
Taylor Swift is still the leading nominee for this year's MTV VMAs, even with the announcement of four new categories, which begin going live for voting this Sunday, September 3.
With these new categories — Show of the Summer, Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Summer — Taylor now has 11 nominations, followed by SZA with eight and BLACKPINK, Doja Cat, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and Olivia Rodrigo with six.
Here are the nominees and directions on how to vote:
Show of the Summer — launching 9/3 at 11 a.m. ET on @MTV Instagram Story
(1 round, tap to vote, closes 9/4 at 11 a.m. ET)
Beyoncé
BLACKPINK
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Karol G
Taylor Swift
Group of the Year — launching 9/4 around 11 a.m. ET on @MTV Instagram Story
(2 rounds, bracket-style face-off, final round tap to vote; closes 9/7 around 11 a.m. ET)
BLACKPINK
FIFTY FIFTY
FLO
Jonas Brothers
Måneskin
NewJeans
SEVENTEEN
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
Song of Summer — launching 9/7 around 11 a.m. ET on @MTV Instagram Story
(3 rounds, bracket-style face-off, final round tap to vote, closes 9/11 around 11 a.m. ET)
Beyoncé – “Cuff It”
Billie Eilish – "What Was I Made For?" (From The Motion Picture Barbie)
Doja Cat – "Paint the Town Red"
Doechii ft. Kodak Black – "What It Is (Block Boy)"
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night" (From Barbie: The Album)
FIFTY FIFTY – "Cupid"
Gunna – “fukumean”
Jung Kook ft. Latto – "Seven"
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice– “Barbie World" (with Aqua) (From Barbie: The Album)
Olivia Rodrigo – "vampire”
SZA – "Kill Bill"
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice - "Karma"
TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Jonas Brothers – “Do It Like That”
Luke Combs – “Fast Car”
Troye Sivan – “Rush”
Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – “La Bebe (Remix)"
Album of the Year — launching 9/11 around 11 a.m. ET on @MTV Instagram Story
(1 round, tap to vote, closes 9/12 around 11 a.m. ET)
Beyoncé – Renaissance
Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation
SZA – SOS
Taylor Swift – Midnights
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Lady Gaga speaks out with "Born This Way" performance at Vegas 'Jazz & Piano' show
Lady Gaga returned to her Las Vegas Jazz & Piano residency the night of August 31 and took the opportunity to make a statement during her set.
In fan-captured video, Gaga said, "I've got something to say about trans rights in this country." She then started playing a slowed-down piano ballad version of "Born This Way."
"When you got something to say, you gotta speak up, right?" she asked, before she started singing.
Toward the end, she stopped singing and added, "And you know, sometimes you hear people say, like, 'I don't always know what to say.'"
She paused and said, "Just listen. Don't say nothin'. Listen to the stories of real people's lives."
She then sang the song's second verse, which includes the lyrics, "No matter gay, straight, or bi/ lesbian, transgender life/ I'm on the right track, baby, I was born to survive."
Gaga's set list for the show was slightly different than the one from the last time she did the residency, back in the spring of 2022. One addition was a jazz version of "Stupid Love," from her album Chromatica.
Another addition was "Steppin' Out with My Baby," made famous by her late friend Tony Bennett. His 1993 version of the song, as well as the MTV Unplugged version he did in 1994, helped revive his career and turn him into a pop culture icon.
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Report: Ariana Grande is weighing her options after split with Scooter Braun
It looks like we can add Ariana Grande to the list of artists who have recently parted ways with manager Scooter Braun.
While there were some claims to the contrary, Variety reports that a source with inside knowledge of the situation has confirmed the split.
“Scooter’s team is spinning the story. Ariana is leaving both Scooter and [Braun's company] HYBE. There is no truth to her staying,” the source said in a statement. “They are friendly but she’s outgrown him and is excited to go in a different direction.”
The source confirmed that negotiations with Braun are happening due to contracts, but that “this is her choice. It’s time for something new.”
Notably, Grande has also unfollowed Braun on her social media accounts.
As for what’s next, another source said that Grande is looking to build her own team, in a style like the model Taylor Swift and other major artists follow. It’s also been reported that Grande has received inquiries from a number of other potential managers.
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