Open Thread

President Biden writes for the Washington Post: Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials and assaulted brave law enforcement officers. We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year. But we should not forget. We must remember the wisdom …

The BBC reports: James Lee Williams, better known as drag queen The Vivienne, has died aged 32. Publicist Simon Jones said the performer, who died over the weekend, was “an incredibly loved, warm-hearted and amazing person”. The Vivienne starred in musical theatre and TV productions, and won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019. The show paid …

Variety reports: Up until taking on Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live, Jim Gaffigan tended to stay away from politics in his comedy. But the Emmy-winning comedian doesn’t regret the times he spoke his mind, including a 2020 tweet in which he called Donald Trump “a liar and a criminal,” despite losing some Trump supporters as fans. “I regret …

Billboard Magazine reports: Heidi Klum is ready to make it work — again. As exclusively confirmed by People Friday (Jan. 3), the German supermodel is returning to Project Runway as host, a role she served for 16 seasons before stepping away in 2017. The news comes more than two decades after Klum helmed the debut season of Project Runway alongside …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who was found guilty of murdering singer Selena Quintanilla, has filed for parole in Texas. Saldivar was found guilty in 1995 of killing Quintanilla and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, which will be in 2025. The parole review process begins six months before becoming eligible, …

Variety reports: Diplo rang in 2025 in an altered state. The DJ and music producer shocked and delighted Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN’s New Year’s Eve special by revealing that he was tripping while he appeared virtually on the cable news network. “I’m so curious, what’s the most conventional place that you’ve done LSD?” Cohen asked the music …

Variety reports: Michelle Buteau slammed Dave Chappelle and his controversial jokes about the transgender community in her new comedy special “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall,” which debuted Tuesday on Netflix. Buteau began criticizing Chappelle after telling a story about her “Black lesbian friend.” She noted the subject matter elicited a spectrum of reactions from the …

Billboard Magazine reports: Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” crowns the Billboard Hot 100 for an 18th total week. The carol, which leads for a fourth consecutive week this holiday season, moves to within one week of the longest domination in the chart’s 66-year history, after only the 19-week rules of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” this …

Variety reports: Universal’s “Wicked” is officially the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in global box office history, overtaking 2008’s “Mamma Mia” to notch the harmonious milestone. “Wicked” has generated $634 million worldwide after six weeks of release while “Mamma Mia” amassed $611 million (not adjusted for inflation) by the end of its box office run. “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, …

Variety reports: The list of the year’s top 25 most-watched entertainment specials is topped by NBC’s Turkey Day telecast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which hauled in 23.4 million viewers. Two Oprah Winfrey-hosted specials made the list, one for ABC (coming in at No. 19) and one for CBS (No. 24). Billy Joel’s milestone 100th consecutive performance in his …

Variety reports: There’s a reason why even streamers like Netflix now want a piece of the live sports action. It’s what rules our viewing habits, as witnessed by Variety‘s annual list of the year’s 100 most-watched primetime telecasts. A full 75 out of those 100 slots went to sports (up from 56 last year), thanks to 45 NFL games (the …

Deadline Hollywood reports: It was a white Christmas on Wednesday as Beyoncé made a Houston homecoming in classic Texas style. Clad in all white, the 32x Grammy winner rode into NRG Stadium on a white horse, performing ’16 Carriages’ and her Beatles ‘Blackbiird’ cover to kick off her A Cowboy Carter Christmas NFL halftime show at the Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens …

Variety reports: There’s officially a new companion in the Whoniverse. The first teaser for the second season of Disney+ and the BBC’s “Doctor Who” introduces Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra, who assertively tells Ncuti Gatwa‘s Doctor: “You need to get me home!” The clip seems to tease an apocalyptic invasion of some sort, with spaceships and robots roaming about as …

Deadline Hollywood reports:  More than three years after Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a bullet from Alec Baldwin‘s gun on the New Mexico set of the indie Western, the involuntary manslaughter criminal case against the actor has been put to rest. A month after Special Prosecutor Karri Morrissey tried to revive the matter, which had been dismissed just …

Variety reports: Burt, the reptilian star of 1980s classic “Crocodile Dundee,” has died at the age of at least 90 years old. The croc’s death was announced by Australian reptile park Crocosaurus Cove, where Burt lived out his final years. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Burt, the iconic Saltwater crocodile and star of the …

Variety reports: Piers Morgan is speaking out against the controversial audience response to a “Weekend Update” joke about Luigi Mangione. During last night’s “Weekend Update” segment, when host Colin Jost mentioned Mangione, the prime suspect charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the crowd immediately erupted into cheers, prompting figures like Morgan to criticize the show. While Jost …

Deadline reports: Wham!’s festive song Last Christmas never got to number one in the year of its release 1984, but it has scored a historical first, becoming the first track to occupy the festive chart’s top slot for a second consecutive year. 40 years after its debut, the song penned by George Michael beat off competition by Mariah Carey, Gracie …

Billboard Magazine reports: Robbie Williams’ song “Forbidden Road” was removed from the 2025 Oscar shortlist for best original song on the grounds that song incorporates material from an existing song that was not written for the film in which it appears, Better Man. Williams co-wrote the song with Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & …

Variety reports: “Home. Take me home.” There is a remarkable amount of symbolism packed into these words, the only ones spoken by the titular Man of Steel in the first teaser trailer for “Superman.” The footage premiered Thursday following a press preview on Dec. 17, introduced by writer and director James Gunn. The filmmaker has said for two years now …

Broadway World reports: Sing along with Elphaba in a new promo for Wicked! Beginning on December 25, audiences are invited to sing along with the movie musical in interactive screenings which feature on-screen lyrics and a special introduction from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Check out the new clip of The Wizard and I from the movie now. The sing-along …