R.I.P. Carson. Again.
@forfoxsakewildlife Carson dies again.
@forfoxsakewildlife Carson was alive for a moment.
@forfoxsakewildlife Carson dies again. #opossum #wildliferescue
Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News
“Why Marvel Is Rebranding Its Television Shows to Eliminate the ‘Pressure’ to ‘Watch Absolutely Everything” — BECAUSE IT’S INSANE? MAYBE BECAUSE IT’S INSANE?
Oh my God, The Book of Boba Fett has an Easter Egg nod to Patton Oswalt’s legendary Parks and Recreation filibuster. I could not love this more. (Also, it’s just a good excuse to include this clip once again.)
Has South Park just promised not to make fun of people’s weight anymore? I mean, maybe. As for Lizzo, who was mocked in the episode for spreading body positivity, she’s unbothered. “That’s crazy. I just feel like, damn, I’m really that bitch. I really showed the world how to love yourself and not give a f*** to the point where these men in Colorado know who the f*** I am and put it on their cartoon that’s been around for 25 years. I’m really that bitch and I show you how to not give a f*** and I’ll keep showing you how to not give a f***.”
I didn’t watch a single episode of Young Sheldon, but I have to admit this is pretty great:
Lance Barber attended his own character George Cooper’s funeral in disguise. pic.twitter.com/1mqLVmu2wg
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 18, 2024
Some U.K. lawyers discuss whether or not “The Real Martha” has a case against Netflix and Richard Gadd over Baby Reindeer. (And it sounds like they could be in a bit of trouble — though Fiona Harvey participating in that Piers Morgan interview and essentially outing herself don’t help her case.)
He also revealed how much contestants are paid per segment of show and it’s not as much as you might think: “The stipend for the pods is reportedly $5,000. The getaways which show the engaged couples on vacation are $2,500. “Reality”, or when the cast returns home, and to their normal life with their partner, is $3,000. The wedding stipend is $1,000 and the reunion is $1,500.”
Tamar Braxton is a hero for her explanation for why she declined to join RHOA: “I’ve had conversations, but the truth is, like, [there’s] just no way I’m going to sit in makeup and get a wig put on and get my face beat to argue with a bunch of b*tches about nothing.” WORD.
Love & Marriage: Huntsville star Maurice Jefferson Scott has been arrested for a third time this year, this time for a DUI.
This isn’t a TV story, but as you might have heard, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s wife flew an upside-down American flag in front of their house in the days between January 6th and President Biden’s inauguration, but we only heard about it now, three years later, because The New York Times ran with the story. Turns out The Washington Post actually had the story at the time (including a bit about Mrs. Alito’s full-blown meltdown at the Post reporter who came to investigate*) but chose not to run it for … reasons. Anyway, the Post editor is sorry about that now, whoops.
On Jan. 20, 2021 — the day of Biden’s inauguration, which the Alitos did not attend — Barnes went to their home to follow up on the tip about the flag. He encountered the couple coming out of the house. Martha-Ann Alito was visibly upset by his presence, demanding that he “get off my property.”
As he described the information he was seeking, she yelled, “It’s an international signal of distress!”
Alito intervened and directed his wife into a car parked in their driveway, where they had been headed on their way out of the neighborhood. The justice denied the flag was hung upside down as a political protest, saying it stemmed from a neighborhood dispute and indicating that his wife had raised it.
Martha-Ann Alito then got out of the car and shouted in apparent reference to the neighbors: “Ask them what they did!” She said yard signs about the couple had been placed in the neighborhood. After getting back in the car, she exited again and then brought out from their residence a novelty flag, the type that would typically decorate a garden. She hoisted it up the flagpole. “There! Is that better?” she yelled.
👀
"I don't see a good outcome for Donald Trump out of this." @gtconway3d on the NY election interference trial upcoming closing arguments. pic.twitter.com/RRAbfeTiZ9
— The Katie Phang Show (@katiephangshow) May 25, 2024
Fingers crossed George is right.
The terrible story about former General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor’s death has only become more tragic, as it turns out he was protecting a co-worker when he was shot and killed. His family has established a GoFundMe.
Keeping the entire Kimmel family in our thoughts.
#MeToo
It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve checked in with this section, so this will be a doozy. Skip ahead if you aren’t looking to be bummed out by the whole state of EVERYTHING.
The Sean “P. Diddy” Combs situation took a somehow even more horrific turn when hotel security footage emerged of the rapper beating, kicking, and dragging his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the hallway some eight years ago. The footage is horrifying and I do not encourage you to watch it if you are sensitive.
Combs has “apologized” but Ventura’s lawyer is unimpressed.
Ventura herself responded in an Instagram post:
Most infuriatingly, the statute of limitations on the assault has expired, so the Los Angeles police can not charge him with anything in this particular case. However, some are calling into an investigation into a cover-up: “Reports that Combs paid $50,000 to the hotel for the footage of the incident soon after it occurred could, I say could, present the possibility of intent to cover up a crime,” the source said. “On the surface, that could warrant opening an investigation.”
Though the rapper won’t face criminal charges for the abuse, there have been consequences:
Peloton is scrapping all of Combs’ music from their programs.
America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses is pulling his brand of eyewear from their shelves.
But his Hollywood Walk of Fame star will not be removed because the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is a bunch of fucking cowards.
Discussion of the attack prompted The View‘s Alyssa Farah Griffin to reveal that she is the survivor of domestic abuse; as well as Kristin Chenoweth who says she’s praying not only for Ventura, but also for Combs.
A reminder: You shouldn’t require visual proof that abuse happened to believe a victim.
Two more women have come forward to sue Combs for sexual assault: a model and a former Fashion Institute student.
Richard Dreyfus had a complete misogynistic, transphobic, and homophobic meltdown at “An Evening With Richard Dreyfuss” event in Massachusetts this weekend, prompting the audience to walk out and the venue to issue an apology.
The Cannes Film Festival recently came to a close, but not without a bunch of #MeToo controversy led in part by actress and filmmaker Judith Godreche, and her film Mon Aussi. Harvey Weinstein’s reversal also hangs over the entire festival, with this asshole reaching out to European colleagues with plans to restart his career (!!!!).
Speaking of, here’s a Pajiba piece that everyone in Hollywood and France needs to read: “There is Nothing Inevitable About an Accused Abuser’s Comeback.”
In particular, Sharon Stone, Liam Neeson, and Stephen Fry, who are all out here insisting that the entertainment industry “needs” Kevin Spacey, they need to read that piece above. It is especially galling to hear Sharon Stone, who has spent decades pointing out the abuses in the industry and the appalling ways she was treated, to put out a statement that includes this bit of victim-blaming: “It’s terrible that they are blaming him for not being able to come to terms with themselves for using him and negotiating with themselves because they didn’t get their secret agendas.” MA’AM.
Prison Break actress Sarah Wayne Callies recalled the misogyny she faced as one of the few actresses on the show, including the time one of her fellow actors spit in her face.
Victoria Justice has finally spoken out about Dan Schneider following the Quiet on the Set documentary, saying that Schneider treated her “unfairly,” there were moments between them that “were in poor taste,” and that she is one of the people he owes an apology to.
ID’s newest docuseries, Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter follows the Carter family tragedies, and the allegations against Nick Carter in particular. Here are the most shocking revelations from the first episode.
The CW is going to investigate the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants after both recent winners relinquished their crowns following accusations of harassment and bullying from the organizations.
16 women have come forward accusing magician David Copperfield of sexual misconduct, with more than half of them claiming they were under the age of 18 at the time of the incidents.
Charlene Yi claims they were sexually assaulted on the set of the upcoming Time Bandits series and that Paramount TV coerced them to quit.
Over in the U.K., Strictly Come Dancing is investigating former dancer Giovanni Pernice over unspecified complaints.
Former Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox was arrested in an anti-child predator sting.
Hannah Waddingham has her own “Arya list.”
Savannah Chrisley needs to get off the podcast and into therapy.
In Development
- The String Diaries is being adapted into a TV series.
- Secret Service, a thriller written by ITV anchor Tom Bradby, is being adapted into a TV series.
Mark Your Calendars
- Hierarchy will premiere on Netflix on June 7.
- Kubra will debut on Netflix on June 6.
- The British soap opera Hollyoaks is now available to stream on YouTube.
R.I.P.
Bill Walton, Emmy-winning NBA Hall of Fame player and broadcaster
WATCH THIS
America’s Got Talent: Season 19 premiere. 7 p.m., NBC
Beat Shazam: Jamie Foxx returns! Season premiere. 7 p.m., Fox
The Quiz with Balls: Jay Pharoah hosts this new game show in which people are knocked into a pool of water every time they answer a question wrong. Or something. Series premiere. 8 p.m., Fox
For Love & Life: No Ordinary Campaign: This documentary follows Brian Wallach and his wife Sarah as they fight to reform the healthcare system to better serve those like Brian who suffer from ALS and other rare and neurodegenerative diseases. My father just passed away recently after losing a three-year-long battle with ALS, so this one hits close to my heart. Premiere. Prime Video
| TUES. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (repeat) |
Celebrity Jeopardy! (repeat) |
The $100,000 Pyramid (repeat) |
| CBS | FBI (repeat) |
FBI: International (repeat) |
FBI: Most Wanted (repeat) |
| CW | Police 24/7 (new) |
Hostage Rescue (new) |
Local |
| FOX | Beat Shazam (new) |
The Quiz with Balls (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | America’s Got Talent (new) |
Password (new) |