Hollywood Headlines: A crazy week in review
A week after President Barack Obama voiced his support for gay marriage rights and Vice President Joe Biden credited sitcom “Will & Grace” with educating the American populace on gay rights, rapper Jay-Z took a stand on the issue.
Saying that denouncing gay rights “is no different than discriminating against blacks,” Jay-Z told CNN. “It’s discrimination, plain and simple.”
Jay-Z is one of the most powerful figures in a genre that over the last decade has been shedding its perceived anti-gay tendencies. He said he believed the refusal to allow gay couples to wed is “holding the country back.”
“What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love,” Jay-Z told CNN. “That’s their business.” (Matt Rourke / Associated Press)
It’s been a popular week for newborns in the celebrity world, with at least two star couples welcoming baby girls. Hammer-wielding Avenger Chris Hemsworth and his wife, actress Elsa Pataky, have a new baby girl, India Rose. This is the first child for Aussie Hemsworth, 28, and Spanish-born Pataky, 35, who married in December 2010.
Meanwhile, Rachel Uchitel, the infamous special friend of Tiger Woods and David Boreanaz, has completed her public journey from mistress to mom, giving birth to a baby girl with hubby Matt Hahn. The bouncing baby girl has an unusual name: Wyatt Lilly Hahn.
“I have no idea where [the name] came from,” Uchitel told Celebrity Baby Scoop. “It just came to us and we thought, ‘That is so beautiful for a girl’s name.’ We love it and if other people don’t like it, that’s fine. We gave her a middle name that’s very feminine to offset it.” (Stuart Wilson; Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
No matter who was eliminated on “American Idol” Thursday night, it would have felt like a shocker. All three finalists -- Joshua Ledet, Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips -- were in solid contention for the win. But heading into the finale, one of them had to go home, and that person was Ledet. Who will win the finale next week? Stay tuned. (Michael Becker / Associated Press)
When you’re Justin Bieber, milestones like an 18th birthday come with a bit more fanfare. And, apparently, with a few revelations about adult beverages and reality TV stars. Though the momentous occasion came March 1, the June issue of GQ celebrated Bieber’s coming of age with confessions such as “I mean, I’ve had a beer, like, before ... but I never get out of control” and a spirited defense of Kim Kardashian: “People say she doesn’t do anything; she actually does do stuff ... she works hard.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)
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Mitchell Guist, star of the History reality series “Swamp People,” died on the bayou Monday, four days before his 48th birthday.
Guist, a grizzled and bearded Cajun alligator hunter, collapsed in a boat being towed by a barge on the Intracoastal Waterway in Louisiana, roughly 70 miles west of New Orleans, according to Mike Waguespack, the sheriff of Assumption Parish.
Guist appeared on the hit series with his brother Glenn. The two were virtually inseparable, and it is unclear whether Glenn will continue on the show without his brother. The current season will run into the summer; fresh episodes will be shot in August and September, which is prime gator-hunting season. (Zach Dilgard / Associated Press)
Ellen DeGeneres has been selected to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, becoming the 15th comedian so honored by the Kennedy Center. “It’s such an honor to receive the Mark Twain Prize,” the talk-show host said in a statement about the award, which she’ll pick up in October. “To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder ... why didn’t I get this sooner?” (Michael Rozman / Associated Press)
Viewers gave a final goodbye wave to Wisteria Lane on Sunday, as the “Desperate Housewives” series concluded. The two-hour series finale of ABC’s suburban soap drew strong ratings. But let’s face it, Eva Longoria and her pals were nowhere near as popular as days of yore, when “Desperate Housewives” was a reliable top-10 performer. More recently, the show’s fate has been rockier than Bree’s personal life. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)
The second sexual-battery case against John Travolta has been dropped, with John Doe No. 2 -- like John Doe No. 1 before him -- jumping on the Gloria Allred bandwagon and considering refiling at a later date. “We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court and, therefore, the lawsuit that was on file was dismissed without prejudice,” Allred said Thursday, explaining that her team was talking to the second massage therapist about how he’d like to proceed. Travolta lawyer Martin Singer told TMZ he looked forward to “trying the case against Gloria Allred in a court of law, not in the media.” ( Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)
