The glam of Cannes! See Hollywood’s biggest stars walk the carpetMovies
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‘SNL’ star Sarah Sherman on Aimee Lou Wood ‘White Lotus’ sketch
Aimee Lou Wood slams ‘SNL’ sketch mocking her appearance
“White Lotus” star Aimee Lou Wood has called out “Saturday Night Live” for a sketch that aired in a recent episode, calling it “mean and unfunny.”
unbranded – Entertainment
“Saturday Night Live” star Sarah Sherman is breaking her silence about her controversial impression of Aimee Lou Wood.
The comedian, 32, told Vanity Fair she feels badly that the “White Lotus” actress was offended by a recent “SNL” sketch that made fun of her teeth.
“I was excited to play her because she’s so iconic, her character is so iconic,” Sherman said, adding that she “obviously never meant to hurt anyone’s feelings.” She continued, “Never in a million years did I get into comedy to make anyone upset. I feel terrible that anyone would feel bad.”
In April, Sherman played Wood’s “White Lotus” character, Chelsea, in an “SNL” parody of the HBO show that slotted President Donald Trump and his allies into the lead roles. Jon Hamm portrayed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said he wanted to remove fluoride from drinking water and asked, “What would that do to people’s teeth?” The sketch then cut to Sherman, who wore fake teeth and spoke in an exaggerated accent to portray Wood’s “White Lotus” character.
After the episode aired, Wood, 31, slammed the sketch as “mean and unfunny” and wrote on Instagram, “I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. I don’t mind caricature – I understand that’s what ‘SNL’ is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/Chelsea was the only one punched down on.”
Wood also criticized the accent that Sherman used. “At least get the accent right seriously. I respect accuracy even if it’s mean,” she said on Instagram. But Wood clarified she was “not hating on” Sherman and instead “hating on the concept” of the sketch.
The “Sex Education” actress later revealed that Sherman sent her a bouquet of “beautiful flowers.” Wood also said she received “apologies from ‘SNL,’” without providing details.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on May 5, Wood said she decided to speak out about the sketch and “just have it be said, and then I won’t spiral inwardly and feel terrible about myself,” though she was surprised at how much attention her comments received.
“It all got quite out of control,” Wood told ET.
Weeks after the sketch aired, Wood’s “White Lotus” co-star Walton Goggins hosted “SNL” on May 10. His episode did not address the controversy.
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50% off tickets on Wednesdays this summer
‘It is envisioned that if successful, this new AMC pricing initiative will be almost universally available at all AMC Theatres in the United States going forward,’ the movie theater chain said.
AMC, Regal investing $2.2B to upgrade movie theater experience
The eight biggest movie theater chains in the U.S. and Canada — including AMC and Regal — will invest $2.2 billion to make upgrades.
Straight Arrow News
AMC moviegoers will be able to cash in on a major discount at the theaters every Wednesday starting this summer.
The theater chain announced on May 12 that it will be offering 50% off movie tickets every Wednesday starting July 9 for members of AMC Stubs, the company’s loyalty program for customers.
AMC Stubs is free to join and offers existing rewards and discounts, including reduced rates on Tuesdays.
As part of the new 50% off Wednesdays promotion, AMC Stubs members will get half off the base price for adult-evening tickets all day long. The deal will be available at all AMC locations around the country.
AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron said in a statement that the company “could not afford to have made this change to our ticket pricing strategy until the box office showed true signs of sustained recovery.”
“But in April and now in May, the box office has been booming, and the remainder of 2025 appears poised to continue that upward box office trend,” Aron added.
Box office revenue dipped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic but started to bounce back in 2023 and 2024, according to Statista.
How does AMC 50% off Wednesdays work?
The half-off discount will begin on Wednesday, July 9, and continue every Wednesday after that, AMC said.
The company has not announced an end date for the program, so it’s possible the deal could extend beyond the summer months.
In order to be eligible for the discount, moviegoers have to be AMC Stubs members. The base AMC Stubs program is free to join, though other tiers offer paid subscription plans.
Customers can sign up for AMC Stubs online.
Which movies are eligible for AMC’s 50% off Wednesdays?
AMC Stubs members can get 50% off the adult-evening base ticket price, a deal available all day on Wednesdays at every location around the country.
Premium format movies such as IMAX at AMC, Dolby Cinema at AMC, PRIME at AMC and RealD 3D will be eligible for the base ticket price discount, though there may be additional charges.
Certain movies and holiday time periods may also be excluded from the promotion, though AMC is pushing to make it widely accessible, the company said.
“It is envisioned that if successful, this new AMC pricing initiative will be almost universally available at all AMC Theatres in the United States going forward,” the company said in a news release.
Melina Khan is a trending reporter covering national news for USA TODAY. She can be reached at [email protected].
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Salma Hayek on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue’s 2025 cover
Brittany Mahomes’s 2024 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo shoot
Brittany Mahomes traveled to Belize for her rookie photo shoot with photographer Derek Kettela.
Maven – Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Hollywood veteran and all around multi-hyphenate Salma Hayek is adding yet another title to her résumé this spring: swimsuit model.
Sports Illustrated announced May 13 that Hayek would grace the cover of the magazine’s flagship Swimsuit Issue. She is one of four cover stars along with Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, model and former NCAA gymnast Olivia Dunne and model and entrepreneur Lauren Chan.
Shot in Hayek’s native Mexico, the cover features the actress semi-nude in some shots and sporting various bikinis in others. She’s pictured laying on the beach, in front of zebras grazing, and frolicking in a pool.
At 58, she is among a newer trend adopted by the magazine of featuring older models. In 2023, the Swimsuit Issue featured Martha Stewart in a white one-piece at age 81 and in 2022, 74-year-old Maye Musk, a model and mother to Elon Musk, graced the magazine pages.
“I remember when I was young, a long, long time ago, I was always excited to see the Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated, and (thinking) ‘Who’s going to be in it?’” Hayek told SI while on location for the shoot. “Of course, I didn’t look like a model, so it never crossed my mind that one day I would be in it.
“If somebody had told me I was gonna be in it at 58, I would have sent them to the madhouse, but the world has changed, and that’s exciting,” she continued.
Last year’s cover stars included Sports Illustrated veterans Kate Upton and Chrissy Teigen as well as journalist Gayle King.
Hayek, who has been in the entertainment industry for more than three decades, also lauded the magazine for allowing her to feel “sexy” at a later stage in life.
“I could retire, but I don’t want to miss out on this time. I fought for it, you know, and I’ve been part of it,” she told the outlet. “I think it’s really remarkable that a magazine like Sports Illustrated says that it’s OK, maybe even cool, to be past 50 and still be able to feel not just sexy, but for me, to be free and not be self-conscious of your body like you have to hide.”
The magazine is set to hit newsstands on May 17.
(This story has been updated to add a photo.)
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‘Lost’ Sawyer cruises again with JJ Abrams
Josh Holloway loved working on new series ‘Duster.’ Here’s why
“Lost” star Josh Holloway reveals why he wanted to reunite with creator J.J. Abrams on new series “Duster.”
LOS ANGELES – Josh Holloway nearly crashed his role in “Duster” before the series even got going after missing three days of calls from his friend and “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams.
“J.J. was like, ‘Where have you been? You’re impossible to get a hold of,’ And I am,” Holloway says, waving towards his iPhone on the restaurant table. “I leave that at home mostly and don’t check it. My wife hates that.”
Thankfully, once Abrams connected with the actor who put the flowing hair and swagger into Sawyer during six star-making seasons of ABC’s “Lost,” he steered right into his awesome reunion idea.
“J.J. was like, ‘You’re a Mafia wheelman in 1972,’” Holloway recalls. “He started to blow my mind. I fell immediately in love with this character in this era that’s so rich – the ’70s. Everything J.J. said fueled this fire.”
The talk helped ignite the 1970s-tastic Max series “Duster,” created by Abrams and LaToya Morgan. The action crime thriller (premiering May 15, Thursdays at 9 ET/6 PT) stars Rachel Hilson as Nina Hayes, the FBI’s first Black female agent, who recruits criminal getaway driver Jim Ellis (Holloway) to bring down a powerful Arizona crime lord.
Intrepid agent Hayes brings the drama, maneuvering around her bigoted, sexist FBI boss (“Lost” alum Greg Grunberg, sporting mutton chops) while targeting Jim’s mafia boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David). However, as the title makes clear, the engine propelling “Duster” is the souped-up 1970s budget-friendly Plymouth muscle car with Holloway, 55, hitting the pedal.
To play Jim on the open highway, Holloway relied on the camera hair-flip training he received in “Lost” Hawaii wind conditions, which famously included helicopters.
“I learned how to work with the wind as Sawyer, just so you can get the damn take,” he says. “You have to do your dialogue into the wind to avoid your best takes being ruined because you’re chawing on a chomp of hair.”
Holloway never ‘Lost’ his desire to drive fast
Abrams learned during “Lost” that Holloway had the need for speed. Stories abounded about the actor cruising on the tranquil two-lane Oahu highways in his Mercedes SLK 350.
“That car was little, but way overpowered. And the Hawaiian drivers are so slow,” says Holloway, instantly exasperated. “J.J. might have heard about that time when I slammed on the gas to pass nine cars in a row on a double yellow line. Either way, he knows I drive too fast.”
For the new series, Abrams made Holloway promise to quit his beloved dirt-biking to avoid injury. The criminally underused Holloway’s post “Lost” characters tend to live hard and die faster, including IMF agent Trevor Hanaway in 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.” Hanaway was murdered in the first 10 minutes of the Tom Cruise-led caper during the crackerjack opening scene.
In 2021, Holloway died the most “Yellowstone” death of all time after two seasons of playing Dutton-family rival Roarke Morris in the modern cowboy series created by longtime friend Taylor Sheridan. Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) opened a cooler with an agitated rattlesnake onto the unsuspecting fly-fishing Roarke, who quickly perished from the bite.
Holloway gave up dirt-bike riding but stepped up the stunt training during the extended wait for the series, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hollywood labor strikes. To make the TV Duster-driving seamless (four like cars were used for filming), Holloway enrolled in legendary stuntman Rick Seaman’s driving school (now called the Motion Picture Driving Clinic) and supplemented his crash course with extensive private sessions.
“Jim’s comfort zone is when he’s driving super fast,” says Holloway. “I wanted to get used to being in the car like that. At the stunt school, they’re like, ‘If you don’t bust a tire here, you’re not doing your job.’”
Holloway, who insists he doesn’t use hairstyling products in his everyday life, credits some “movie magic” to make his mane more ’70s-magnificent in the series. Besides volumizing, that assistance included having Emmy-winning hair designer Michael Ward instruct him over the car radio during the money shots — the Duster closeups while highway cruising.
“The wind and hair are going everywhere,” says Holloway. “And Michael is like, ‘Shake it. The hair is across your eyes, so do the flick!’ That’s how they fix it.”
Even driving the car for the moving camera for these enhanced shots requires skills. But the trained Holloway pursued more advanced stunts as well, including slinging a successful full Duster skid-out turn right up next to a “pristine” vintage police car.
Holloway has been married for 20 years with two children
The master class for 1970s driving will be a thrill for his family, including his wife, Yessica Kumala. Holloway proposed to Kumala on the “Lost” set, and the duo celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last October. “That’s like a century of marriage in Hollywood,” he jokes.
Daughter Java Kumala, 16, just started driving (“And she has that little lead foot”) while son Hunter Lee, 11, is “my dirtbike mini-me.” Holloway still rolls in his black Toyota Tundra. “Just today, my 11-year-old told me, ‘Dad, you’re aggressive. You call your truck ‘The Stallion’ and you whistle at it before you take off somewhere.”
Seeing their father in the showcase role will bring some serious family cred, especially from the kids, who came after “Lost” ended its run in 2010.
“Basically, I work for the Holloway family. I’m their Uber driver, dishwasher, and cook,” says Holloway. “But now they are going to see that Dad does something else as well. I can’t wait.”
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Cardi B's best moments, fashion looks and performances: PhotosCelebrities
Cardi B’s best moments, fashion looks and performances: PhotosCelebrities
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Josh Holloway reveals how J.J. Abrams got him to star in ‘Duster’Entertain This!
Josh Holloway reveals how J.J. Abrams got him to star in ‘Duster’Entertain This!
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Jamie Lee Curtis blasts Mark Zuckerberg over AI dupe of her
Margo Martindale reveals why Jamie Lee Curtis called for ‘The Sticky’
Margo Martindale chats with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about working with Jamie Lee Curtis for Amazon Prime Video’s “The Sticky.”
Jamie Lee Curtis is taking her feud with Mark Zuckerberg to the court of public opinion.
In a social media post May 12, Curtis called out the Meta founder for failing to take down an AI-powered commercial on one of the company’s platforms that she claims used her likeness without permission.
“Hi. We have never met,” Curtis wrote alongside a screenshot of her unsuccessful attempt to message Zuckerberg on Instagram. “My name is Jamie Lee Curtis and I have gone through every proper channel to ask you and your team to take down this totally AI fake commercial for (something) … that I didn’t authorize, agree to or endorse,” she wrote.
“I tried to DM you and slide on in, but you don’t follow me so I’ve had to take to the public instaverse to try to reach you,” she continued.
“If I have a brand, besides being an actor and author and advocate, it is that I am known for telling the truth and saying it like it is and for having integrity,” Curtis wrote, revealing the commercial misused photos from an interview she had done with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle in the aftermath of the wildfires that ravaged the greater Los Angeles area earlier this year.
“This (MIS)use of my images,” Curtis wrote, “diminishes my opportunities to speak my truth. I’ve been told that if I ask you directly, maybe you will encourage your team to police it and remove it. I long ago deleted Twitter, so this is the only way I can think of reaching you.”
In a follow-up to her public request, Curtis commented just two hours after the post went live that the video had been taken down.
“IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET!” she wrote. “SHAME HAS IT’S VALUE! THANKS ALL WHO CHIMED IN AND HELPED RECTIFY!”
Curtis’ outcry comes as a growing number of celebrities speak out against the unauthorized use of their likeness for AI-generated photos or videos. The technology is trained on real-life content, but can then reproduce it in an altered form based on a user’s request.
Sir David Attenborough recently said he was “profoundly disturbed” by the use of an AI-generated dupe of his voice, and last year Tom Hanks warned fans that a company was using an AI version of him to promote a dental plan.
In May 2024, Scarlett Johansson also voiced concern, taking on the AI giant Sam Altman and his company OpenAI, alleging its ChatGPT product had copied her voice without consent.
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Shakira says huge tour isn’t ‘about my ego,’ but a love letter to fans
Shakira has been ‘reborn as a woman’ after a difficult two years
Pop star Shakira feels as if she has been “reborn as a woman” after splitting from Gerard Pique and releasing her new album ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’.
Bang Showbiz
Shakira is the bestselling female Latin artist of all time.
She’s also a musical technician who has achieved worldwide domination – along with four Grammy Awards and 15 Latin Grammy Awards – with rhythmically rich songs that mash pop, bachata, reggaeton and rock into aural fixations that underscore her Colombian roots (“La Tortura,” “Loca”) and seduce American listeners (“She Wolf,” “Whenever, Wherever”) with equal charm.
And lest we forget to mention those hip bones that seem to liquify every time she rotates them.
Following the February launch of her world tour in South America to support last year’s “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” her 12th studio album featuring collaborations with Cardi B, Karol G and Rauw Alejandro, Shakira tweaked her stadium spectacle for her North American fans.
At the May 13 kickoff, she’ll continue her record-breaking career as the first Latin female artist to headline a sold-out show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. She’ll crisscross the country – New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix and San Diego among her stops – through June before another round of shows in Mexico, where she recently broke Taylor Swift’s record of four sold out concerts at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City with her own seven (and counting).
On a brief break before leaving for the studio, Shakira, a seemingly ageless 48, chatted excitedly about the visual extravaganza she’s created, the guests she’s giddy about performing with (Wyclef Jean and Alejandro among them) and how her sons Milán, 12 and Sasha, 10, are her most constructive critics.
Question: You’ve had a bit of a break from the tour since basically taking over Mexico in March. How have you been spending the past month?
Answer: (Laughs) If you can call it a break. I’ve been taking my kids to doctor’s appointments, doing homework with them, but also working on the new wardrobe changes and surprises I have prepared for the North American tour. That all takes some time and preparation and then I also had to prepare for the Met Gala and the (May 6) appearance on Jimmy Fallon, so I haven’t had a day off. I’m completely exhausted but at the same time thrilled because I’ll soon be reuniting with my fans in America. It’s been a long time and it’s going to be epic. This is like a renewal of our vows!
What do you have to do to prepare to get back on stage again for a two-hour-plus stadium show?
I have to rehearse a few days and test everything again from the screens to the music. There are some new additions to the repertoire like “Underneath Your Clothes.” I know some of my American fans will want to hear the classics other than “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever.” There are a lot of things that are new to this tour, and then I have friends like Alejandro Sanz on the first date in Charlotte and Rauw Alejandro my second night in New York and Wyclef Jean in Charlotte, which will be a one-of-a-kind moment to share the stage with him after so many years.
I’m sure fans will love hearing him introduce “Hips Don’t Lie” with “Shakira, Shakira.” It’s hard to believe that song is 20 years old.
That’s a song that is timeless and performed for every single tour and every single performance. It was one of the first songs that had a reggaeton sound back in the day when it was a niche thing to do. I remember having discovered this groove from Puerto Rico and I started playing with it and decided to build a track on that (rhythmic) pattern. I never knew that years later it would have such an impact.
You said when this album came out that you used it to transform pain into productivity. Does playing live also give you a feeling of catharsis, because on stage you always look like you’re totally enraptured in the music.
I am. There’s no way out because the audience is right there and they are so immersed in the music and the connection is undeniable. The emotions we feel every night from joy, moments when we sing and dance and celebrate to moments where I see people emotional and crying and remembering moments in their own life. It’s more than a concert. It’s not about my ego. It’s a community and a union and a dialogue between the audience and an artist that has dedicated her entire life to making music that has been the soundtrack to their lives. I feel this identification that is truly unique. I’ve never seen more loyal, more militant fans. They protect me against anyone and lift me up when I need them the most.
You’re decades into a career and still setting milestones. You’re the first Latin female act to headline these stadiums in Charlotte and Boston and San Diego and you just broke Taylor Swift’s record at the stadium in Mexico City. Is it all a bit surreal?
Mexico City was crazy. We did seven nights and we’re going back and will make it 11. I never expected anything like that. It’s overwhelming and humbling and insane. It is totally surreal, but I’ve worked so much on every detail of this show. I’m building the biggest setlist of my career. There are going to be visuals I created, the narrative and the details of them. There are 145 people on this tour to make it happen every night. I’ve created original music for the transitions in the show, new choreography and arrangements. I have 13 costume changes, so all of what I’ve learned these years of making music, I feel like this is a recap of that journey.
You’ve been very open with sharing your musical life with your kids. As they get older, has motherhood changed the way you approach your music?
Last night I was at the studio and Milán was like, “Mommy come home, I miss you.” I was in the middle of a really creative moment and was like, “Sorry guys, I have to go.” I’m not just an artist. I am, first and foremost, a mother and they are my absolute priority in life and they know that. In a way I have less time to accomplish more, but to see them and how musical they are inspires me and I hope I’m showing them how hard you have to work to achieve a result. They are witnesses to how hard I work and how much I give of myself.
Do they tell you about new music?
They’re huge fans of Kendrick Lamar. And the reason I ended up collaborating with Bizarrap in 2023 was because of Milán. He told me you’ve gotta collaborate with him and I said “Who is that?” and he was like “He’s the Argentinian god.” He turned my attention to his music and we ended up doing (“Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53″) together and it was a No. 1 hit. I pick their brains and ask for their opinions on everything I do. They have a good eye and good ears, and they are very demanding (laughs). They give me notes after the shows they come to. They always give me comments like, “OK, tonight this happened …”
When you were first starting, there was a lot of emphasis on “crossover success” with artists like Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias also recording in English to break into the mainstream. What has it been like to see this new generation of Latin stars rewrite that playbook and succeed with all-Spanish music?
If you think about it, for me being Colombian and a woman and also singing in Spanish like with “La Tortura” (in 2005) and having the general market in America playing music in Spanish, that was a real challenge back then. That was one of the few songs that made it of that genre and that’s why it’s so important for me to have Alejandro (Sanz, who also sings on the track) back with me for opening night. It’s going to be a very special moment.
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Cassie Ventura Fine testifying in Diddy caseEntertainment
Cassie Ventura Fine testifying in Diddy caseEntertainment