show biz

A federal judge declined Thursday to rule immediately on a proposed settlement between Paramount Skydance and 12 state attorneys general, leaving the last major legal hurdle to the studio’s $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery unresolved for now.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín did not indicate how she would rule, but said she wanted more information before deciding whether to approve the proposed consent decree, a court-enforceable agreement that would allow the merger to proceed under certain conditions..

“I’m not the only one who has some questions for you all. There’s lots of interest,” said Judge Martínez-Olguín. “I appreciate people are interested, but I also want to make sure that I have everything that I’m going to consider in front of me.”

The judge said she would issue a ruling “in due course.”

The hearing comes three days after California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced that the two sides had reached an agreement.

It requires the combined company to release at least 30 films in theaters each year, commit at least an additional $1.5 billion to domestic film production and set aside $47.5 million for workers affected by the merger.

“When theater owners have publicly said that supply is the problem, those are voices that carry weight because they’re in the market,” said Paula Blizzard, an attorney for California, during the hearing. “They are the people we’re trying to protect — the businesses and the competition that we are trying to protect.”

The settlement proposal also includes stipulations on how basic cable channel negotiations must proceed, creates a board intended to protect the editorial independence of CBS News and CNN, and bars Paramount from selling or closing its Melrose Ave. lot or Warner Bros.’ Burbank lot while requiring the company to operate them “in a manner consistent with past practices.”

An independent monitor will oversee the settlement implementation. The agreement, if approved by the judge, will be in effect for five years.

“Paramount wants to get to work. Paramount is doing this deal because it wants to compete. Netflix, Amazon, Disney are far larger streaming undertakings,” said Josh Holian, an attorney for Paramount, during the hearing. “Paramount believes that a transaction like this can be transformative in fueling its ability to compete in that market.”

Before ending the hearing, Judge Martínez-Olguín assigned the parties several tasks, which included addressing a letter from U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) who echoed some concerns about the proposal.

Booker, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, asked the judge to conduct an “independent public-interest review” before approving the settlement agreement. Because the U.S. Justice Department closed its investigation of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger without seeking any remedies, Booker argued, the proposal is “the only enforceable instrument that will govern” the combined company.

Martínez-Olguín asked the parties to submit their responses to Booker’s letter by Monday, Sept. 28 at noon.

Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav had told staff earlier this week that he expected the deal to close no later than early October.

The settlement has divided Hollywood, with some saying Bonta bowed to political pressure from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. During negotiations, Paramount threatened to move its studio out of state, which Newsom said he took seriously.

After the proposed settlement was announced, Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison said the combined company would remain in L.A.

Many in Hollywood are concerned about the threat of layoffs from the merger. Paramount has told Wall Street it plans to make more than $6 billion in cost cuts. A recent report commissioned by L.A. County estimated that 4,500 jobs could be lost over three years.

SHARON Stone has entered the conversation surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s controversial naked sports betting ad.

Sydney, 29, sparked backlash earlier this month for posing completely naked in a campaign promoting the sports betting app, Novig.

Multiple well-known female figures – including Olympic athletes – have criticized the Euphoria actress’s racy photos for the male-focused app, accusing her of sexualizing women’s sports.

Sharon weighed in on the discussion on Wednesday while speaking to People at Variety’s 2026 Power of Women event in Los Angeles.

When asked for her thoughts regarding the X-rated ad, the Basic Instinct star said that Sydney should “take responsibility” for the campaign.

“I think that it’s up to her to take responsibility for her actions, not up to me to judge her for her actions.

Read More on Sydney Sweeney

CUP RUNNETH OVER

Sydney Sweeney’s nude Syrn bra can barely contain her double D chest

SYRN CALL

Sydney Sweeney’s lingerie brand Syrn teases fans with ‘send nudes’ promo

“It is up to me to be a cheerleader for the women who have made it through and become champions in women’s sports,” Sharon told the outlet.

“We can’t denigrate women’s sports to get men’s attention so they can gamble,” she added.

The ad captures Sydney in various compromising positions, using sports equipment to block her private parts.

Some photos show The Housemaid star straddling a basketball hoop, with her bare crotch against the rim.

In others, the TV star posed in a locker room wearing nothing but shoulder pads or holding two footballs to cover her breasts.

Team GB star Amy Hunt slammed Sydney for painting a false picture of women’s sports during a post-race interview.

Australian Olympic water polo star Tilly Kearns shared a similar message on Instagram about her disapproval of the provocative ad.

Former Olympic runner Hannah Williams also made her feelings known on social media, arguing that female competitors already have to fight to be taken seriously.

The shocking photos came after Sydney received heat for her extremely racy scenes in the third season of Euphoria, which premiered in May, as her character, Cassie Howard, pursued a career as an OnlyFans model.

Many fans thought her sexy scenes “went too far,” especially when Cassie dressed as a baby and posed seductively in a diaper.

At the time, it had been only a few months since Sydney’s other controversial jeans campaign with American Eagle sparked widespread fury.

Critics were outraged when the Anyone But You star seemingly implied in the ad that white women with blue eyes and blonde hair were the epitome of “good genes.”

Sharon commented on the campaign and the backlash that ensued at Variety’s Power of Women event last October.

“It’s okay to use what mama gave you. It’s really fine,” Sharon, who co-starred with Sydney in several episodes of Euphoria’s third season, said of the scandal.

“It’s hard to be hot, and I think we all know that. It’s really okay to use every bit of hotness you have — right here, right now — and go for whatever that is, because everybody has their own certain kind of hotness, their own certain thing, and you’re supposed to go for that.”

She added, “Because who are you not to be beautiful? You know, who you are isn’t an accident.”

Next year, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra — an intimate, 42-player group compared with the more than 100-member Los Angeles Philharmonic — will warm its new home, the highly anticipated, Frank Gehry-designed Terri and Jerry Kohl Hall. And it will do so with the help of a little light music: fanfares commissioned from half a dozen preeminent film composers — John Williams, Ludwig Göransson, Joel McNeely, Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard and John Powell — curated by none other than Seth MacFarlane (best known as the creator and star of “Family Guy”).

The buzzwords are lighting up, but this is far from a game of performing arts Mad Libs; it’s actually quite intentional. “We really thought about … ‘What statement can we make to Los Angeles and to the performing arts world that really shows who we are?’” said LACO Executive Director Ben Cadwallader. “Who is the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, specifically? And it really was this tie to Hollywood, to Los Angeles, to our musicians themselves.”

MacFarlane was a natural fit.

“I loved movies and I loved movie music,” MacFarlane said of his childhood in a recent interview. “I would go to the record store and buy the latest John Williams soundtrack, which was usually out before the movie was released. I remember buying the ‘Jurassic Park’ soundtrack not having seen the movie, and it didn’t matter. It was just great music. It was just great, symphonic music.”

LACO was founded by an assemblage of musicians and civic leaders in 1968, including the cellist James Arkatov. After emigrating from Russia as a child, Arkatov became the principal cellist at the Pittsburgh and San Francisco symphonies before landing in L.A. He arrived as a Hollywood studio musician, played on movie soundtracks and did backing for Ella Fitzgerald.

From the beginning, LACO served as “the artistic outlet of studio players … these incredibly gifted musicians who bring our movies and TV shows to life,” said Cadwallader, a situation that remains true to this day. LACO’s musicians know it’s “a place where they can play … Bach and Mozart, and make music at a really high level in a performance environment, not a studio environment.”

This is why the christening of LACO’s new home is also a homage to its roots: film composers. These giants of their fields will each write a spry, five- to seven-minute-long fanfare as openers for select LACO concerts throughout the season. (The works will also be performed at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, with John Williams’ piece arriving first, in fall 2027.)

MacFarlane knew just what to do, thanks to his long history with music. The actor, animator, filmmaker and comedian has released 10 studio albums, received five Grammy Award nominations and performed as a vocalist at the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall. (He also just released a 14-track album called “Seth MacFarlane Sings the Muppets.”) Plus, his parents raised him steeped in music.

Nothing has changed here — throughout his career, MacFarlane has been relentlessly committed to including live music in his projects. The musical numbers on “Family Guy” simply couldn’t (and wouldn’t) exist without an orchestra.

“It would somehow feel thin and hollow, and people may not know why their attention is drifting, but it would drift,” MacFarlane said. “I really think you need the muscular sound of 60 musicians in a room, and in the case of ‘The Orville,’ sometimes 90. … Hollywood has been doing it since pictures went to sound, and I hope they continue to do it for as long as we make film and television.”

MacFarlane noted that the only time many people actually hear a live orchestra is in film or television.

“I don’t know how many people go to the symphony,” MacFarlane said. “So that’s certainly a component. When I was a kid, even the syndicated afternoon cartoon shows used a live orchestra, and when you go back and you listen to them, oftentimes it’s pretty legit composing. And I think that was important to have heard. I think it’s just good for the brain to hear complex symphonic music.”

Composer, conductor and longtime MacFarlane collaborator Joel McNeely (whose wife, Margaret Batjer, is LACO’s concertmaster) got MacFarlane involved in this commissioning initiative. Then MacFarlane selected the participating composers (and supported the initiative financially). One final Mad Lib to solve: What exactly, you may be wondering, is a fanfare?

“The perfect example … is the beginning of ‘Star Wars,’” Cadwallader said, then hummed the intro. “There’s big, loud brass. You cannot help but pay attention. … It puts a smile on your face. It maybe gets your heart racing a little bit. It’s usually very rhythmic, very bright. It’s like a big warm smile, or like a popping of a Champagne cork, to start a concert. … A bursting, effervescent moment of music to get things started. An amuse-bouche, if you like.”

MADONNA is an expensive Material Girl – flogging a square of pink fabric for £40. 

The Queen of Pop, 68, posed in a pink veil on the cover of her No1 album Confessions II and is now selling replica versions on her online store. 

The item is described as a 58-inch sheer pink veil, with a “custom Madonna graphic tag” in the corner. 

However, fans are also being charged £5.54 in shipping fees on top of the £40 cost. 

One fan joked: “Madonna really said, ‘Why buy sheer pink voile for $3.99 a yard when you can buy it from me for $45 with a tiny tag sewn on it?’” 

Another fan account for the star wrote: “That’s a lot for a piece of fabric #Madonna.” 

TEARS FOR LIAM

Inside Niall Horan’s new UK tour with Liam Payne tribute & dancing with fans

Pitch perfect

Kylie Minogue reveals brutal reality of life on the road ahead of AFL final

The item is among a raft of new merchandise, including a £40 rhinestone drinks tumbler, £40 tote bag, £35 water bottle and £7 pencil set. 

Madonna will tomorrow release a remix of her track Danceteria featuring Charli xcx, 34, months after an online spat. 

They fell out in April when Charli gave an interview to Vogue and quoted a line from her track Rock Music, in which she sings: “The dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music”. 

But Madonna, who had just launched the campaign for her dance-inspired album Confessions II, clapped back in an Instagram post in which she wrote: “If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you’re playing the wrong music.” 

They made amends when they were photographed at Paris Fashion Week in June and then hosted a club night together. 

It is now hoped they will perform their track together for the first time at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night. 

With 11 nominations, Madonna is the frontrunner to win big at the event  

She will open the show – her first performance at the ceremony since 2003 when she famously kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on stage during a mash-up of her songs Like A Virgin and Hollywood. 

Sources in the US said she is likely to be joined by multiple guests although exact details of her set are being kept under wraps. 

Charli, who is nominated for four awards including Best Pop and Best Long Form Video, will be in the US at the same time as she is currently on a tour across North America. 

However, she played in Boston on the east coast last night (THURS) and is due to perform in Washington on Monday. 

Snoop Dogg, 54, will host the ceremony, which will be available to watch on streaming service Paramount+ and from 9pm on MTV on Monday. 

ITV have confirmed that gripping new six-part drama Winter starring Richard Armitage will replace Professor T in its schedule as the final episode of the fourth series airs

The fourth series of Professor T comes to an end tonight.

ITV airs the sixth and final episode of the latest season titled The Warrior Gene on Thursday (September 24) evening as Professor Jasper Tempest (Death in Paradise’s Ben Miller) wrestles with his feelings for Dr Helena Goldberg (Bend It Like Beckhams star Juliet Stevenson).

The synopsis reads: “In the run up to Wilfred and Zelda’s wedding, Jasper is wrestling with his feelings for Helena. Dan is stunned by a new case where he sees a dying man admit he killed someone.

“Whilst Dan and Chloe try to track down who’s been killed, Maiya thinks they are going on a wild goose chase, concerned this is about Dan’s grief over Lisa.

“Zelda has second thoughts about the wedding but when Jasper explains to her that ‘love is enough’, he realises his feelings for Helena and invites her to Zelda’s wedding.”

It continues: “Ms. Snares takes Jasper to Lyndon Collins’ lecture on the warrior gene and Jasper is intrigued by something Collins says about the case Dan is investigating.

“On the day of the wedding and Lisa’s memorial event, Jasper uses the case to get Dan to open up about Lisa and gain the strength to attend her memorial.

“After helping Dan, Jasper returns to Zelda and Wilfred’s wedding and is thrilled when Helena appears. Helena spots Jasper has finally removed his gloves. It’s clear he’s come a long way.”

ITV will fill the Professor T shaped gap in the schedule next week by airing Richard Armitage’s new drama Winter as the actor takes on the role of an unconventional forensic pathologist whose unique approach to murder investigations puts him at the heart of a series of complex cases.

Winter kicks off on ITV1 on Wednesday (September 30) at 9pm with each episode featuring a self-contained murder investigation alongside an ongoing personal storyline for Armitage’s character.

The synopsis for the new six-part series reads: “Although Winter does not always follow the expected rules, he has an exceptional ability to examine the evidence and uncover clues that others might miss.

“His skills bring him together with DI Lauren Bell, played by Annabel Scholey, a meticulous and no-nonsense detective who is equally determined when it comes to solving a case.

“Together, Winter and Bell form a formidable investigative partnership as they attempt to solve some of the most challenging murder cases.”

Professor X is available to stream on ITVX

TILLY Ramsay has celebrated her fourth anniversary with her very rarely seen boyfriend in a new social media snap.

The daughter of chef Gordon took to Instagram to mark the occasion by sharing a new loved-up image with her man, Henry Farrow.

Tilly and Henry have been dating for four years but unlike her sister Holly in her union with Adam Peaty, Tilly has aimed to keep the romance private where possible.

Sharing a snap from a recent luxe getaway together, Tilly paid tribute to Henry with a gushing post.

Tilly captioned the snap with: “Four years with the best.”

She then shared another mirror selfie of the pair with the caption: “Love love love you.”

Read More on Tilly Ramsay

SLIMMED STAR

Strictly’s Tilly Ramsay praised by fans as she reveals amazing weight loss

FUTURE SON IN LAW

Who is Tilly Ramsay’s boyfriend Henry Farrow?

Tilly and Harry have largely kept their romance out of view and only went public for the first time on Valentine’s Day 2023.

He only briefly appeared alongside her on the family’s Netflix programme and Harry has largely shunned taking on any of his own media appearances.

In episode 5 viewers caught a glimpse of Henry smiling supportively at Tilly.

He travels down with her family to surprise her whilst she is training in Cork, Ireland.

Henry is from Bristol and is the Son of an entrepreneur father.

Little else is known about him but he is believed to have graduated from Nottingham University in 2024 alongside Tilly.

Growing up, Alejandra Villarreal was accustomed to the dry Mexican heat, trapped inside the small historic venues where she and her sisters would perform as kids. But as temperatures hit 103 degrees outside the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, she couldn’t help but shout.

“¡Ay, qué calor!” she said, swinging her bass guitar.

Inside the nearly 100-year-old theater, Alejandra was onstage for a sound check. She ran through distorted, metal-influenced riffs as her sisters — drummer Paulina Villarreal and lead vocalist-guitarist Daniela Villarreal — prepared for the second of three sold-out shows at the Fonda, as the rapidly rising rock band the Warning.

The Warning has been shaking the walls of L.A. theaters since the group first landed in the city eight years ago — but this year feels especially monumental for the sisters.

Released in August, the band’s most recent album, “Everything’s Falling,” is a snarling, noisy and melodic rock joyride that rarely, if ever, slows down.

Written between L.A. and their hometown of Monterrey, the straight-to-the point lyricism documents the Villarreal sisters’ frustrations, anger and failures — most fiercely on “Kerosene,” which lambasts a jealous critic who “falls asleep with me on your screen,” so sings Daniela.

“Kerosene” recently shot up to the No.1 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, which made the Warning the first Mexican and first all-female band to make the spot. Another single, their Spanish-language anthem “Ego,” was nominated for rock song at the 2026 Latin Grammys.

Members of the Warning hold up Billboard No. 1 awards after performing at the Fonda Theatre.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

The legend of the Warning began in 2014, when Alejandra was just 9 years old and Paulina and Daniela were 12 and 14, respectively. The sisters came home from a Sunday carne asada with their family — and recorded a righteous cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

Dressed in floral blouses and white capris, the girls thundered through the song with a focus and technical ability that sparked the interest of audiences worldwide — earning them a current total of 27 million views, not to mention praise from Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett.

“We were wearing our sandalias, our church clothes,” Paulina said. “It’s just pretty crazy to think that one random Sunday afternoon we recorded that and it jump-started our whole career.”

The idea for the group came from playing the video game “Rock Band,” which led the sisters to performing at local “Battle of the Bands” competitions and posting cover songs to YouTube.

But the success of the “Enter Sandman” cover changed the course of their lives, taking them from local venues like Cafe Iguana — or, as Paulina calls it, “Monterrey’s Whisky a Go Go” — to appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and various international music festivals.

“We started having adult responsibilities way early in our lives,” Paulina said. “We didn’t have that [average] teenage experience at all.”

“We didn’t go to normal school, we didn’t go and hang out with other teenagers,” she continued. “We were mostly hanging out with adults like our parents, [or] on tour and working. So there was this huge disparity between what our friends were living through and what we were going through.”

Over the course of its 13-year career, the Warning has opened for acts ranging from the Foo Fighters to Yungblud, writing and recording tirelessly in between. Now that the bandmates are all in their 20s, they say they “wouldn’t change it for anything.”

“When I was 10, I was like, ‘This is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life,’” Alejandra said. “I guess I did miss out on high school and ‘the norm.’ But honestly, I’m very grateful that we did this.”

In “Everything’s Falling,” the Warning contends with self-imposed songwriting limits that boxed them in as children — and tear down old personas to reveal their continuous, however imperfect, process of growth.

“All of our lives, we felt like we needed to sound a certain way,” said Alejandra. “English is not our first language, so we always found ourselves using really complex words — so that people would say, ‘They know the language.’ The lyrics of this album are very straightforward. We don’t have anything to prove anymore. It was a very liberating album to make.”

1/4

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

2/4

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

3/4

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

4/4

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

The group’s highly technical progressive rock style, influenced early on by bands like Muse, Metallica and Paramore, brought it a legion of Gen X fans who admired the sisters’ dedication to shredding, mathematical guitar solos and classical training base.

On their latest album, the sisters introduce new levels of fuzz and overdrive that blur their usually crisp instrumentals, plus verses that “lean into femininity” and take inspiration from a source that may surprise some: K-pop.

The rising global genre, known for its catchy harmonies and bouncing performance style, inspired the sisters to bring pop elements to their recording sessions.

“We love getting inspired outside of our genre,” Paulina said. “I think what happens a lot in rock is that, it’s very purista [purist]. Especially as women, whatever you do is very scrutinized. So if you ever step out of those confines it’s like, ‘Well [if] you’re not rock, you shouldn’t even be participating.’”

The sisters’ desire to defy expectations is most apparent in their jam-packed touring schedule.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

“I fainted onstage [in July], and it was very dramatic,” recalled Paulina. “More than it being scary, I think people for the first time realized how hard we work. People were like, ‘Oh, your team is pushing you too hard.’”

“Nobody’s forcing us to be here,” she added, resolutely. “We’re grown women. We know what we’re doing and we know how much we can take.”

Daniela, the lead vocalist, had come down with a cold during the group’s L.A. shows, which required her to step back from interviews to rest her voice. The first night, she sang through the entire setlist, screaming and all — but by the third, she could only perform a few songs. Rather than cancel the concert, the Warning insisted that the show go on.

A la Karen Carpenter, Paulina sang lead vocals from behind the drum kit, calling on the crowd to clap and sing along to the music. They also brought out fans and collaborators to help them perform, including songwriter Annie Schindel, as well as rock acts Holy Wars and Dead Poet Society.

“We push forward through a lot of bad experiences,” Alejandra said. “One time I felt like I was dying — and that was the one of the few times we canceled a show. We only do it in extreme measures, because we know how much planning a show takes.”

One could blame it on the “Mexican work ethic,” they said.

Before taking on Hollywood, the sisters joined regional Mexican artist Carín León on the first night of his sold-out weekend at the Sphere in Las Vegas: the first time a Latin artist had ever headlined the venue. The band released the bluesy rock single “Love to be Loved” earlier this year with the Sonora native, recalling the first time they played it together “a highlight of our lives.”

“[Even if] we do our own thing in a different genre, we still shared that pride because of where we come from,” Paulina said. “Everything about that show was so Mexican … The unity, the community that we have outside of our country. Hopefully the people that went there felt how special it was.”

“I cried,” Alejandra added. “[Watching Carín perform], it was emotional.”

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

A week later, at the Fonda, they smiled as fans launched into chants like “Olé, Olé, Olé” and “Viva Mexico.” The line had been forming since 3 p.m., and once the show had begun, the Warning transformed from jovial 20-somethings to well-seasoned professionals.

“I feel like there will be a very clear change in what we do, ‘Everything’s Falling’-forward,” Paulina said. “I feel like we really allowed ourselves to be more emotional in the music and these shows, and that feels really powerful.”

Said Alejandra: “We opened Pandora’s box.”

RAPPER AJ Tracey has secretly tied the knot with his stunning girlfriend in an epic ceremony.

The Ladbroke Grove hitmaker, 32, has said ‘I do’ to model and influencer Liva, also 32, who is also known as Yung Peppermint on social media to her hundreds of thousands of followers.

The Sun can exclusively reveal the lovebirds made their union official in front of family and friends on September 12.

No expense was spared on the big day with a source telling The Sun that AJ, whose real name is Che, went all out to impress for the occasion.

The pair, who have aimed to keep their years-long romance under wraps, shunned the usual tradition of splashing photos from the big day online and ensured that all their guests were under strict instructions to not share any footage of the nuptials.

An insider told The Sun: “It was an epic wedding day fit for one of the UK’s most popular rappers.

little more love

Inside AJ Tracey’s secret romance with stunning Instagram influencer

Mic-Drop

 AJ Tracey announces new album after FOUR year wait

“AJ and Liva quietly got engaged earlier this year and then wasted no time on planning an incredible wedding celebration.

Our source continued: “AJ and Liva have always aimed to keep their romance out of the public eye and have rarely ever shared snaps of one another online.

“They asked all their guests to keep news of the wedding under their hats and insisted that no photos were to be shared.

“Despite being one of Britain’s most recognisable rappers, AJ has always been keen to keep his home life under wraps.

“But he had the most fantastic day marrying Liva earlier this month and was telling his pals he felt like the luckiest man alive.”

The Sun first revealed that AJ and Liva were dating earlier this year.

The couple had managed to keep their connection quiet for years before Liva gave a rare glimpse into one of their date nights on her social media page at the time.

They are understood to have first connected after both being signed to the same modelling agency years ago and romance very quickly blossomed.

Our source said at the time: “AJ’s known for being a charming man in the industry so it’s no surprise he has swept Liva off her feet.

“Everyone is really happy for them and their pals hope the romance continues to go the distance.”

AJ has been one of the leading faces of UK rap for close to ten years.

His 2019 hit Ladbroke Grove became a platinum hit and reached number three on the UK Singles Charts.

The star’s second album, Flu Game, became his biggest success reaching number two in 2021.

His track, Crush, featuring Jorja Smith was nominated for Song of the Year at this year’s MOBO Awards.

Last year, he also transitioned into television appearing alongside his cousin, TV presenter and chef Big Zuu, in their own Sky Max travel series titled Big Zuu and AJ Tracey’s Rich Flavours.

Meanwhile, Liva has built up her own following with the German-born model having developed a lucrative career as a social media influencer after moving to London after the Covid pandemic.

When the 52nd season premieres on Saturday at the usual time, usual place, “Saturday Night Live,” with host Jalen Brunson (of the champion Knicks) and musical guests Katseye, will again make history as the longest-running sketch comedy and variety show on television.

But week to week — multiplatform 50th-anniversary celebrations aside — the entertainment institution that is “SNL” does not dwell much on its history, focusing instead on trying to earn laughs sketch by sketch, moment by moment. Even when alumni like Tina Fey or Will Ferrell show up, it’s usually in the service of something topical, like a political cold open for a very recent event or happening. “SNL” lives in the now, and that can be a blessing and a curse, like when you feel like you’ve seen the same cold open lampooning President Trump 15 times already. James Austin Johnson is a brilliant impressionist, but read the room, guys.

“SNL” is the rare show for which quality is beside the point. As creator Lorne Michaels has said to cast members like Tina Fey, “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.”

That focus on effort over polish has, surprisingly, helped it survive. For every online hater who tediously comments that “SNL” hasn’t been good since the Dana Carvey era or earlier, there are enough of us stalwarts who will every week obsess about the future of “Weekend Update,” rate the monologue (sometimes harshly) and wait breathlessly at the start of every new sketch, hoping we’re about to watch an all-timer.

For those in that camp — who never give up hope that a great sketch is just a commercial break away — here’s what you can expect from the new season.

The first four episodes

Season 52 will kick off with Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson as the first guest host.

(Rosalind O’Connor / NBC)

New “SNL” episodes usually arrive in batches of three and then the show takes a break for a few weeks. For Season 52, not only was the first trio of hosts and musical guests announced but also the lineup for a Halloween episode.

In addition to Brunson, who might bring along famous friends like Mariska Hargitay or Taylor Swift, actor Dakota Johnson will host, with rock group Turnstile as the musical guest on Oct. 3. On Oct. 10, “SNL” will roll the dice a third time with comedian Shane Gillis, who did not fare too well the last two times he hosted. He’ll be joined by musical guest Rosalía.

The Halloween episode will be hosted by newly minted horror queen Inde Navarrette from the hit film “Obsession,” joined by musical guest Gracie Abrams.

Cast changes and new faces

Over the summer, cast member Chloe Fineman — who had a knack for impressions of celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Melania Trump — departed the show after seven seasons. It won’t be long before we see her onscreen again: She’s been cast in Netflix’s upcoming Harlan Coben adaptation, “Myron Bolitar.” Also departing was writer Martin Herlihy, the second member of the Please Don’t Destroy video trio to exit, leaving only Ben Marshall, who’s listed as a featured player. Last season, Herlihy did a few self-hosted video segments that tended to run late in the show.

Bowen Yang departed midway through Season 51, while Chloe Fineman announced her departure in July. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images)

Bowen Yang extended his run on “SNL” as his star was quickly rising in projects like “Wicked” and the “Las Culturistas Culture Awards,” but left midway through Season 51. Unlike previous transitions between seasons, no one was cut from the show, and those who left stepped away on their own.

However, two new cast members are joining the show: Grace Reiter and Saidah Belo-Osagie.

Saidah Belo-Osagie, left, and Grace Reiter are the newest “Saturday Night Live” cast members. (Mike Klubeck) (Jill Petracek)

Reiter has already had a supporting role in Tim Robinson’s “The Chair Company” on HBO, and she stars in “Minimum Wage,” which started as a web series and is coming to Netflix in October for a 28–episode run. She was also the star of the very funny “The Hunger Games (But Better),” a low-budget re-creation of the series made over four days by a group of friends.

Belo-Osagie may not have as high as a profile in entertainment yet, but don’t sleep on her TikTok account, which has some great videos including “(POV) Your face card expired” and “Girl who’s secretly happy her neighborhood is gentrifying.” She’s also been in the web series “Abigail’s Divine Comedy,” written and directed a short film and has done work on the stage in New York.

What and who to watch for in Season 52

“SNL” tends to thrive in the run-up to national elections, and with the midterms upon us, the show has its pick of hot-button topics on the campaign trail, from the Iran war to gas prices to the backlash against data centers and AI billionaires.

Johnson’s impression of Trump is likely to be at the center of a lot of these sketches, but the show does well when he serves as a ringleader for characters like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), Vice President JD Vance (Jeremy Culhane) and FBI Director Kash Patel (celebrity guest Aziz Ansari).

Jeremy Culhane as JD Vance, left, and James Austin Johnson as President Trump in a cold-open sketch.

(Lloyd Bishop / NBC)

Last season, Ashley Padilla emerged as a breakout star, carrying a heavy load of women’s roles after the departures of Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner. Even when she was giggling with Ryan Gosling because of a writers’ prank, Padilla was hilarious. She’s finally been upgraded to a repertory player and is likely to continue to play the lead in sketches featuring her grounded, emotionally shaky characters, some of whom have terrible haircuts.

Of the new featured players added last season, the two most likely to keep scoring are Culhane — who already has two great “Weekend Update” characters: Mr. On Blast and a masterful Tucker Carlson impression — and Veronika Slowikowska, who proved versatile whether she was portraying a “Guy’s girl” or a dryer with Sabrina Carpenter. Expect them both to be in more sketches this season.

Tommy Brennan, left, Jane Wickline and Ashley Padilla during the “Mom Confession” sketch featured in Season 51.

(Will Heath / NBC)

Marshall, the Please Don’t Destroy writer who joined the cast, has been fine as a utility player and straight man in sketches, but it’s hard to remember anything he was in last season apart from his role as Ron in “Heated Wizardry.”

Tommy Brennan and Kam Patterson both seem like they need to make their mark in sketches and do more than just perform as themselves in “Weekend Update” segments. Unless one or both of them is being groomed as a future “Update” co-host, time’s running out.

As for cast member Jane Wickline, who’s been described as “polarizing” but was also upgraded to repertory, we’re rooting for her. She brings musical talent, which the show needs plenty of, and her awkward vibes frequently add a different and unexpected dimension. An out-on-a-limb prediction: She’s going to have a great season.

What about Lorne?

Every discussion about the state of “SNL” must include a mention of how much longer the show’s steward, who is 81, will remain at the helm. This ongoing Lorne Watch, with predictions of his retirement and potential successors, began around Season 40 and continues. Many thought he’d exit at the end of Season 50, neatly capping an epic TV run.

That did not happen.

Creator Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of “Saturday Night Live” for much of its run.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

So now the talk has shifted to what happens if Michaels’ run is interrupted because, you know, something happens to him?

The names suggested (and bet on) as potential replacements, should anything happen, continue to include producers like Steve Higgins; former cast members like Fey and Seth Meyers, who’ve stayed close to Michaels’ orbit; as well as Conan O’Brien and John Mulaney, all of whom seem like good comedic shepherds who could lead the show into its next era. Michaels himself has said publicly that Fey could “easily” do it. But, they all have their own careers and may not want the all-consuming grind that running “SNL” entails. It may take multiple people.

One outlier pick would be Kenan Thompson, the longest-running “SNL” cast member, starting his 24th season on the show this week. For sheer longevity, having been around for nearly half of “SNL’s” run, and because he’s probably not leaving anytime soon, Thompson might be the pick that makes the most sense.

A “heartbroken” TOWIE star has split from her husband after they married in secret seven years ago.

Maria Fowler tied the knot with a motocross racer in an intimate ceremony in Cheshire surrounded by their nearest and dearest, back in 2019.

Maria and Kelvin Batey described the event as the “happiest day of our lives,” as she showed off her huge sparkler.

Now, it’s been revealed that the pair have gone their separate ways with Maria questioning “how it all went so wrong.”

A source close to Maria told The Sun: “Maria and Kelvin decided to call it quits at the start of the summer.

“It was a really tough decision but Maria ultimately felt like she wanted more.”

Read more on Maria Fowler

INSTA VS REALITY

Maria Fowler praised for sharing VERY honest look at pre-holiday shopping

MUMMY DIARIES

Towie’s Maria Fowler posts VERY honest C-section and ‘imperfect’ birth snaps

It seems Maria had big plans for her future but didn’t quite see how Kelvin would fit into them.

The source continued: “She has been really successful in business recently and it made her realise she could cope without him.

“It hasn’t been the easiest of transitions but they are getting there. Maria has been incredibly emotional, but has thrown herself into work.

“It’s when she’s not working that she is struggling and questioning how it went so wrong.”

The mum-of-two, who has taken a step back from the limelight in recent years, got engaged to Kelvin in 2017.

They wed at the Nunsmere Hall Hotel and went on to enjoy a minimoon in Bowness Bay Marina, Windermere.

Maria said at the time: “So this happened yesterday… we got married!

“The happiest day of our lives. What an absolutely incredible day surrounded by Incredible people.

“We had an intimate ceremony which was full of tears, laughs and sentiment.”

The former couple share two children – Evie, nine, and Nellie, five.

Maria, 40, shot to fame after appearing on TOWIE in 2010 – when the show first launched.

Something’s in the air this fall — and it’s not just the autumnal chill. For some reason, survival thrillers are all the rage; there are even two featuring a man and his dog. First, we had Ridley Scott’s “The Dog Stars” with Jacob Elordi and a Belgian Malinois traversing a postapocalyptic landscape.

The latest is “Heart of the Beast,” an Alaskan-set story about two combat veterans — one human, one canine — who set out for a post-retirement camping trip and find themselves in a perilous situation after the human, retired Special Forces officer James (Brad Pitt), suffers a heart attack while piloting his seaplane. James and his combat dog Odin survive the crash, just barely, but they’re stranded deep in the wilderness, miles from civilization.

The film is directed by David Ayer, a purveyor of wild action flicks and ballads of masculinity; the screenplay is the debut effort of Cameron Alexander. Their intent is to deliver something muscle-bound and emotional — if a man can’t cry about an Army dog, what can he cry about? But until the last two minutes of the film, “Heart of the Beast” is essentially “Homeward Bound” for adults. You know, the 1993 kids adventure film featuring a golden retriever, a bulldog and a cat named Sassy who have to make their way home through the wild. Marry the structure of that film with a Jack London-inspired milieu, add some blood, gore and rather cheesy Iraq war flashbacks, and you have “Heart of the Beast.”

We watch James as he’s rained on, chewed on, pulls trunks out of an icy lake, falls off a log, breaks his arm, faces down a bear, fights off wolves, sustains many head injuries and inexplicably keeps going, in hopes of saving if not himself his dog, the most important creature in his life.

And oh, is Odin worth it. Played by four different dogs named Uber, Seeka, Ryker and Hondo, the performance that these dogs collectively deliver is worthy company to an Oscar winner — the dogs may even eclipse Pitt for sheer screen presence. With every whimper, sigh, howl, bark and head tilt, these dogs create an empathetic portrayal of a highly intelligent creature that has been through battle and has the scars (and nightmares) to prove it. Odin is a bionic dog, with titanium teeth and a prosthetic foot from injuries sustained during wartime, but nothing slows him down, not even a plane crash. However, the film does have its limitations when it comes to the other wildlife, all digitally created and the CGI isn’t convincing in the slightest.

“Heart of the Beast” is an onslaught of danger and misery, alleviated only by the pleasure of watching James’ survival skills and ingenuity. This man makes a lot of mistakes on this journey (he’s constantly calling himself “stupid” and “dumb”), but he’s also kind of a MacGyver. He starts a fire with cotton balls and Neosporin. He carries an alarming number of knives. He splints his own arm. If anything, it’s an excellent lesson on carrying the right gear and always taking medical supplies on a camping trip — if you ever go camping again after this.

Pitt typically excels when there’s a little (or a lot) of levity for him to exercise his loose-limbed charms and there’s precisely none of that in “Heart of the Beast.” Ayer pushes the emotional and physical extremes and it feels like a dirge: a forced march through the muddy Alaskan wilderness with plenty of body horror on top. The one moment of camaraderie comes in the beginning, when James shares a beer with a mysterious stranger (J.K. Simmons) who happens upon his camp and might even be an apparition of an old miner. James does share moments of affection and victory with Odin but there’s nothing to relieve the constant danger, even though structurally, the film has already sapped its potential suspense.

“Heart of the Beast” has its highs and lows but cinematically, it’s a mixed bag — entirely predictable and just not great. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that the star of the movie is indeed Odin and he’s a very, very good boy.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

OASIS are warning fans to be wary of ticket scams ahead of the band’s huge ‘Live ’27’ world tour.

Genuine access codes for the highly anticipated shows are due to start dropping in email inboxes from today, September 24.

In a statement posted on social media, the band warned fans to remain vigilant over the next few days.

They said: “Important: We have been made aware of possible Oasis ticket scams.

“As ticket information and unique codes are about to be distributed, please remain vigilant. 

“Scammers may attempt to impersonate Oasis, our mailing list or our ticketing partners.”

DON’T LOOK BACK

Why you haven’t got an Oasis tour ticket code yet – and when one might come

SOME MIGHT PAY

Oasis announce TWO further UK 2027 tour dates due to ‘phenomenal demand’

The band stressed that anyone promising a code which has not been sent directly by Oasis is “not genuine”, and said legitimate emails will come only from oasis@openstageit.com.

“Any codes that are offered for sale are fraudulent and will not enable you to buy tickets,” they added.

Oasis also clarified that code emails will only be sent to fans between today and Sunday, September 27.

Fans who have been randomly selected will receive an email using the same name and email address with which they registered. 

It will contain a unique, personal and non-transferable code and will direct them exclusively to Ticketmaster.

The warning comes as the band add extra dates to the tour, including additional concerts in the UK, Munich, Rome and Paris.

Two additional Knebworth shows have been confirmed for September 25 and 26. This takes the band’s run at the historic site to six nights.

YouTube is holding onto its exclusive livestream deal with Coachella.

The tech giant in San Bruno, Calif., has renewed its partnership with festival promoter Goldenvoice, keeping exclusive livestream rights to the three-day desert festival through 2030. The next edition, in April 2027, will mark 15 years of Coachella on YouTube.

“We’re excited to bring the energy of the desert to millions of music fans around the world,” Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief executive officer, said at its Made On YouTube event in New York City on Wednesday morning.

This year’s Coachella, headlined by Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G, drew the most concurrent viewers in the history of Coachella on YouTube, according to the company. Bieber, who was discovered on YouTube, even included a nostalgic homage to the platform into his set.

Over the years, the livestream has become an essential part of the Coachella experience, especially for fans who can’t make it to the desert. What started as a single feed has evolved into live coverage of every stage across both weekends.

Beyond Coachella, YouTube doubled down on livestreaming during its presentation, unveiling a slew of new live and AI-powered tools. In August, more than 600 million logged-in viewers watched live content on the platform each day on average, according to YouTube. The new live features include a new co-hosting function in which two creators can appear on the same stream together, and a live auto-dubbing tool that automatically translates speech in real time. Several of the updates are slated to roll out in early 2027.

“Whether it’s a music festival or a creator’s livestream, fandom is no longer a spectator sport,” added Mohan. “Just look at the sheer scale of the live communities we’re seeing today.”

YouTube isn’t the only streamer leaning into live. Netflix has spent the last few years buliding out its own live business, which now includes NFL and MLB games.

What’s better than two Taylor Lautners?

On Wednesday, Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay Lautner (née Dome) announced the arrival of their first child in a shared Instagram post, a baby girl they named … drumroll please … Lennon Taylor Lautner.

“One week loving our sweet little Lenny,” the couple wrote in the Instagram caption. Lennon arrived Sept. 16, according to the social media post, which showed a partial image of the infant.

The new parents have been married since 2022 and met through the 34-year-old “Twilight” actor’s younger sister, Makena Moore.

They announced the pregnancy in March on their Instagram accounts, hinting that the future baby could share a matching name, with the photo carousel’s caption: “What’s better than two Taylor Lautners?”

A “weight lifted” off her shoulders when she shared the news, Tay said in April on her podcast “The Squeeze.” She was afraid the news would leak when she went among the public.

“It was really exciting that Taylor and I got to do that on our own terms,” Tay continued.

In June, the two revealed the baby‘s sex in an emotional Instagram Reel, with the “Twilight” actor later writing on his personal Instagram stories that his dream “has always been to become a girl dad,” according to People.

“All I wanted was a healthy baby but deep down this moment is what I was dreaming of. The weight that was lifted off my shoulders in this moment knowing that dream came true was unlike anything I’ve felt,” the actor wrote.

In her third trimester, Tay, a 29-year-old registered nurse who has been open about mental health, expressed her thoughts and feelings about pregnancy, sharing in an Aug. 12 episode of “The Squeeze” that she gained 50 pounds, experienced swelling and had stretch marks.

“Women don’t get enough credit for what we put our bodies through because it is truly just insane,” she said in the podcast. “Let the pregnant women live a little more. We need to just applaud them, praise them and give them a little more respect.”

IT was written all over Katie Holmes’s face as she arrived at the Calvin Klein show at this month’s New York Fashion Week. 

The reason for the actress’s mega-watt smile? The man on her arm, artist Jason Bard Yarmosky, whom Holmes, 47, has been dating since the start of the summer – and helped her get over the trauma of her doomed marriage to Tom Cruise. 

Holmes and her new man, 39,  attended four major fashion week events together, each time carefully co-ordinating their outfits – which in Hollywood terms says far more about relationship status than you might think. 

Their romance has been the talk of New York society this summer, since they were first spotted in the Hamptons together in early July. 

Handsome Jason is something of a name himself, building 40,000 followers on Instagram where he shares his work. 

A source tells The Sun that he and Holmes have fallen for one another – fast – and that engagement may well be the next move. 

“They have become close very quickly,” says the source.

“Something about Jason’s sense of self and passion for what he does really pulled Katie into his orbit and they’ve become inseparable. They are very much in love.”

They reportedly first met at a Tribeca Festival dinner in June, where Yarmosky had been selected for the festival’s Artist Awards Programme which was presented by Chanel. 

They immediately bonded, says a source, over their “shared creativity”, with Holmes impressed by his work and his “quietly confident” energy. 

Yarmosky is certainly cool, becoming something of a power player on the New York art scene, recently creating work for a special exhibition at iconic department store Bergdorf Goodman. 

His website describes his paintings and drawings as centring around “themes of aging, time and memory” with a lot of his recent work inspired by his grandparents. 

They made their relationship Instagram official this month, and shared sizzling photos from a trip they took to Lake Como in Italy as a collab post, the ultimate new power couple move. 

Our source said that the trip was a huge step for them, and their electric connection was plain to see in the series of bikini photos as they enjoyed a boat trip on the lake.

Her friend Amy Astley, the former Vogue editor, commented that she was “glowing”. 

“For Katie to make this romance so public is very telling,” said one friend. 

“She has deliberately kept her romantic life under wraps for decades.” 

Indeed, Holmes’s only long term relationship since her high-profile divorce from Tom Cruise, after almost six years of marriage, was with Jamie Foxx. 

They were said to have dated for five years and in that time they were photographed together out in public only a handful of times. 

In 2019, there were two – very rare – public appearances, first at the Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-Grammy Gala, then at the Met Gala. 

A few months later, the romance was said to be over – and Holmes hasn’t found a great love again, until now, despite being linked fleetingly to chef Emilio Vitolo Jr. in 2020 and musician Bobby Wooten III in 2022.

“Things feel very different for Katie now,” said the source. 

“For the first time since splitting from Tom, she wants to show the world how in love she is.”

And she certainly is – so much so that rumours are circulating that the pair could even be heading for engagement. 

“It’s been a complete whirlwind,” said one Hollywood source.

“Katie’s friends and – most importantly – her parents Martin and Kathleen, all approve of the relationship. It is a big deal that they are together so publicly, it says a lot about where they are at.”

Holmes has been notoriously private about every aspect of her life since her extremely high profile marriage, and subsequent divorce from Tom Cruise – something which left her feeling “shaken” and “cautious about living in the spotlight” said sources at the time. 

It has been almost twenty years since the pair married in a lavish Italian wedding, at Bracciano’s 15th-century Odescalchi Castle – a celebration that reportedly cost them upwards of $3 million and included a performance by Andrea Bocelli. 

Their relationship had been a whirlwind, from meeting in 2004, to getting engaged in 2005 and having their only child Suri in April 2006, just seven months prior to the wedding, the pair became a Hollywood power couple – known as TomKat – in record time. 

She told W magazine, “I’ve found the man of my dreams”.

But their downfall was almost as dramatic as the couch-jumping which defined the start of the romance. 

Holmes filed for divorce from Tom Cruise in 2012 after nearly six years of marriage through a carefully planned, covert exit from the relationship. 

The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that the couple had been at loggerheads about Scientology, the controversial religion of which Cruise has been a prominent member for over 40 years, calling it a “beautiful religion”. 

He said in 2016, “It’s something that has helped me incredibly in my life.” 

He added, “It’s something, you know, without it, I wouldn’t be where I am. So it’s a beautiful religion. I’m incredibly proud.”

Reports revealed that Holmes and Cruise had disagreements over how the couple’s daughter, Suri, would be raised, with Holmes wanting to raise Suri away from Scientology. 

During a court case in 2013, Cruise confirmed that it was “one of the assertions” made by his ex-wife which led to their split. 

Following the split, Holmes was granted custody of Suri and they set up home in New York where they lived an exceptionally quiet life. 

Cruise was last photographed with his daughter, now 20 and attending Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University, in 2012 and she is said to have dropped his last name going instead by Suri Noelle, her mother’s middle name, in a recent Edinburgh Festival performance. 

“They don’t have any kind of relationship,” a source has said of Suri and Cruise. “She was raised by Katie. They are incredibly close.”

Prior to her marriage Holmes had been riding high in her career which started with hit teen show Dawson’s Creek, and had just starred in Batman Begins in 2005. 

Following their dramatic split, however, Holmes found herself somewhat “iced out of Hollywood”, says one industry insider. 

Two years ago Holmes admitted: “Do I have 20 scripts at my door, all with the green light? No. Would that make life easier? Yes.” 

Her most notable role in the post-Cruise years was as Jaqueline Kennedy in the TV miniseries The Kennedys, but the big blockbuster offers dried up. 

Two years ago, she made a splash on Broadway with director Kenny Leon’s revival of Our Town. 

Since then Holmes has been busy stepping back into the spotlight. 

She has written and directed new romcom Happy Hours, in which she also stars alongside her former Dawson’s Creek co-star – and ex-boyfriend – Joshua Jackson. 

She said earlier this year that “working with Josh again was a dream.”

Their friendship, which has been renewed in recent years after going no-contact while Holmes was married to Cruise, has been a huge part of Holmes’s “finding herself” again, our source tells us.

“With Josh, Katie can be herself,” they revealed. “He’s known her since they were kids. He’s encouraged her to find her voice artistically and also lean into being in the spotlight once again.”

And Holmes is certainly doing that, with more public appearances with her new man this year than we’ve seen since she was with Cruise, and a renewed spotlight on her life and career which she appears to be enjoying. 

“Katie is happy and confident in who she is in a way that felt impossible even ten years ago,” said our source. 

“Going through such a high profile divorce from someone who is so powerful, like Tom Cruise, was a life-shattering thing for her. It’s taken time but Katie feels free – and Jason is a big part of that.” 

As Holmes said two years ago: “I’m adamant about having a life and not letting this industry dictate decisions as simple as what I wear or as complicated as what I do.” 

She added, “You don’t want to be afraid of anything, right?” 

It looks like Katie Holmes is really living by those words.

“Home Improvement” teen heartthrob of yore Jonathan Taylor Thomas spent the night in jail for allegedly getting unruly with police after a night of drinking.

The 45-year-old actor was detained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and taken to the Malibu/Lost Hills station in Agoura Hills shortly after midnight on Monday, according to Sheriff’s Department booking records.

Thomas’ trip to the slammer stemmed from a traffic stop that went awry in Westlake Village. He was the passenger in the car and exited the vehicle after a police officer told him to stay inside, according to TMZ. The outlet reported that Thomas was allegedly inebriated, refused the officer’s instructions and did not cooperate.

Arrest records show that the “Lion King” star was booked at the station on a felony-level charge, with total bail set at $0, which can be a temporary holding classification used during the initial intake before a prosecutor or district attorney formally evaluates the case.

Thomas spent the night in jail, but police let him go Tuesday afternoon, with records indicating that no formal criminal complaint was filed and the incident was reclassified as a detention only, rather than an arrest, which should wipe the arrest from the actor’s official record.

Thomas, perhaps best known for starring in the beloved 1990s sitcom “Home Improvement” opposite Tim Allen, also voiced Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King” and starred in other ’90s family films, including “Man of the House” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

After a decade of starring roles and magazine covers, Thomas stepped away from the limelight to focus on school, and attended Harvard, Columbia and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

“I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old,” he told People in 2013. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.”

Hayley Williams is speaking out days after her ex-husband, Chad Gilbert, the founding guitarist of pop-punk band New Found Glory, died at 45 following a battle with cancer.

Williams posted the statement on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, writing that she hasn’t known what to say or “if it’s appropriate” but that she wants to address her former husband’s death because “life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite.”

“Chad is indeed a legend in the scene and my time connected to him taught me a lot,” she wrote. “He introduced me to people that continue to shape my life in beautiful ways, and to music and culture that has made life a lot richer.

“There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about what he contributed to the musical world a lot of us grew up in. His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring and sticks with me.

“I will forever be grateful that from him I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore.”

Musician Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory and singer Hayley Williams of Paramore arrive at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards.

(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for PCA)

Williams concluded her statement by sending her love and sympathies to Gilbert’s family, friends and his New Found Glory bandmates Jordan Pundik, Cyrus Bolooki and Ian Grushka.

Gilbert died Sunday morning “peacefully in his sleep,” the band and his wife, musician Lisa Cimorelli, announced on social media. No cause of death was given, but the musician had been candid about his battle with cancer in recent years.

“He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished,” the joint statement posted Sunday to Instagram read.

Williams and Gilbert were married in February 2016 after nearly a decade of dating but split the following year in July 2017, saying at the time that marriage wasn’t for the faint of heart.

Gilbert later married Cimorelli in October 2020, and the two welcomed a daughter, Lily, in 2021.

HOME Improvement star Jonathan Taylor Thomas has been arrested and jailed in Los Angeles, The U.S. Sun can confirm.

A spokesperson for the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station told The U.S. Sun that the former actor, 45, was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over by police on September 21 around 12:30 am.

According to the police spokesperson, a DUI investigation was conducted.

“During the investigation, [Jonathan] stepped out of the vehicle and became uncooperative and resistant, and was subsequently arrested for [being] drunk in public,” the spokesperson said.

He was charged with being drunk in public and resisting or deterring an executive officer.

Jonathan has not yet spoken out about the incident.

TMZ was first to report the news.

Jonathan rose to fame in the 90s as a main cast member on Home Improvement opposite superstar Tim Allen.

He played middle son Randy for eight seasons, and soon jumped to bigger Hollywood projects.

He took on the role of Tom Sawyer in Tom and Huck in 1995, and voiced a young Simba in The Lion King in 1994.

Despite becoming a teen heartthrob in his younger years, he abruptly left the film industry altogether in the early 00s.

Jonathan attended Harvard University, and got a graduate degree from Columbia in 2010.

He made a very rare public appearance on Home Improvement mom Patricia Richardson’s Instagram with brother Taran Noah Smith in July.

Before his social media cameo, he was spotted going incognito on a walk in Hollywood in 2023.

“I never took the fame too seriously,” he said in 2013 in a very rare interview.

“It was a great period in my life, but it doesn’t define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink.

“I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers.”

DOLLY Parton’s nephew threatened to “destroy her entire brand” in shocking texts exposed by the late icon’s manager.

In a trove of messages and emails obtained by The U.S. Sun, Dolly’s nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, sent a flurry of messages to her manager, Danny Nozell, before and after her death on August 25 after a brief battle with cancer.

The texts have been revealed as part of a lawsuit filed by Nozell against Seaver alleging that he threatened various Dolly business entities just before and after his iconic aunt died unless his demands were met.

Nozell claimed her nephew’s threats were aimed at causing “fear and chaos to extort money for his personal gain.”

He claimed that he has been tasked with running Dolly’s businesses through She’s Alive LLC, which was created “through her trust and estate plan,” to “protect her professional property and business interests.”

Seaver, whom Nozell fired from his security role this week, texted the manager that was ready to “destroy the entire brand if you don’t get these [REDACTED] out of our bit,” he wrote, adding, “I’ll earn you more money by virtue of their exit,” he wrote.

Seaver then said to Nozell, “I am your ally. This is a long game you need to start doing on them. The Dollywood brand is dying.”

Dolly’s Dollywood theme park is worth an astounding $300 million, of which she had a 50% stake in.

In another text to Nozell, Seaver threatened to “set up a podcast dedicated to ruining Dolly’s brand partnerships.”

Seaver bragged in another text that, as he was the one to announce Dolly’s passing on her social media, he was “the face of the biggest social media post in human history.”

Seaver also said he “just sold $29 million dollars worth of ammo to Haiti,” to which Nozell saw as a statement to “magnify fear and demonstrate that Mr. Seaver could combine public notoriety with his means and stated willingness to inflict serious commercial damage.”

According to the complaint filed on Tuesday, Dolly’s manager claimed Seaver “has individually, and through his associates, made repeated, written threats to Ms. Parton’s staff, partners, legal and business advisors, and others.”

“These were not ordinary workplace disputes or heated words; they were deliberate threats from a self-proclaimed heavily armed, former security operative with a military-contractor background,” Nozell claimed in the complaint.

“Many of these people are now afraid to come to work or have resigned entirely because they do not feel safe.”

Nozell has filed a restraining order against Seaver and his security company, Squadron Augmented Protection Services LLP.

He is asking the court to order Seaver to stay at least 1,000 feet away from any person or entity that may have a business relationship with She’s Alive LLC and to bar him and his company from making any statements that may interfere with the business.

Nozell is asking for damages as well, though the complaint alleges that Seaver’s conduct has caused irreparable harm.

“The loss of safety, goodwill, trusted personnel, counsel, and business relationships cannot be fully remedied by money damages, and [Seaver’s] continuing threats create an ongoing and escalating risk of further harm,” the suit claimed.

The U.S. Sun reached out to Seaver and Nozell for comment.

As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Dolly was quietly getting her affairs squared away during her final months.

Just four months before she died, she appeared to lay the ground work in an attempt for an estate fight to be avoided.

Public records show that her expansive Willow Lake Plantation property was transferred from the DP Spousal Trust, which Dolly managed as the trustee, to the DP Dean Trust on April 21 for $0.

THE Wanted singer Nathan Sykes is set to become a dad for the first time!

Taking to Instagram, the musician revealed his wife Charlotte is pregnant with their first child with a sweet photobooth video.

Nathan and Charlotte shared a video of themselves in a photobooth with an ultrasound strip to reveal the pregnancy news.

Charlotte captioned: “We’ve been keeping a little secret…Baby Sykes is officially on the way 🤍”.

The video – which saw Nathan cradle his wife’s bump and the pair pose for various snaps – confirmed baby Sykes is due in April next year.

Numerous fans and friends took to the comment section to congratulate the pair.

ROO LOOK

Wayne Rooney shows off age-defying look after nose job and body transformation

SHOW’S OVER

Controversial Brit comedian cancels UK tour as they’re rushed to hospital

Nathan and Charlotte tied the knot in 2025 after several years together.

They wed in an intimate North Yorkshire ceremony at St Mary’s Church, Birdsall, with just 61 guests in attendance.

The pair were first seen together in public photos in November 2018 and announced their engagement in December 2022. 

Nathan rose to fame in the The Wanted along with the rest of the boys in 2009 and stayed until the band went on “hiatus” in 2014.

The star once briefly dated Ariana Grande and they have a song together, Almost Is Never Enough, which he recorded after going solo.

While he has been with Charlotte, who is a HR Manager, for near a decade now – with the exact story of how they met not shared publicly.

EMILY Atack has showed off yet another beautiful gown she wore during her Spanish wedding to other half Alistair Garner.

The actress, 36, had already tied the knot with husband Alistair Garner in the UK in August before jetting to Spain last week to host a second wedding surrounded by family and friends.

Her main dress was an off-the-shoulder gown with a stunning long white train, which was a different look from the shoulder-padded plunging dress Emily wore for her first ceremony.

And now, she has unveiled another dress she wore for the pre-wedding welcome drinks in Spain.

The beautiful number was satin with a feathered trim hem and a cowl neck design.

Donning the figure-hugging number, Emily had her blonde locks styled into a bouncy curl to welcome her wedding guests to the night one celebrations.

SO SYKED

The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes expecting first child with wife Charlotte

diva returns

Gemma Collins to enter Big Brother house for second time – days after Jedward

Sharing a picture from the evening to her Instagram Stories, Emily wrote: “Still can’t get over this dress. I wore this on the 1st night – the welcome drinks.”

Adding that it was a bespoke gown made for her, Emily then said: “Was having such a great time that I barely took any pics but here she is in all her feathery glory”.

Emily – who shares two-year-old son Barney with Alistair – said ‘I do’ again in the hilltop town of Mojácar, just three weeks after she tied the knot at a local church in Bedfordshire.

The wedding was held in the Costa Almería, a sentimental spot where the actress spent childhood holidays at her musician dad Keith’s old summer pad.

It was attended by many of her Rivals co-stars including David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Victoria Smurfit and Rufus Jones.

As well as her Rivals pals, a number of pictures show The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci and his wife Felicity Blunt front and centre.

The Real Rooneys gives fans a real insight into the lives of Wayne and Coleen Rooney and also some surprising details of what goes on

The Real Rooneys throws up some interesting and surprising scenes and a lot of nuggets of information and Wayne and Coleen which will be new for fans. Coleen says of the series: “We live in this in this extraordinary world, but we are normal at the end of the day.”

Wayne adds: “When you know you’re on TV or you’re doing something, you maybe tone things down a little bit, but at home with four young boys, that’s impossible. It’s real what you see.” Here are some of the more shocking and surprising things I spotted previewing the first four episodes…

WAYNE’S WINDOWLESS REQUEST

The Rooneys live in an incredible mansion with dozens of rooms and grounds which are big enough for them to race around in go karts, as we see on the show. But despite paying for the property, Wayne had just two slightly odd requests when it was built. He says: “I only wanted two things in here, a small little room with no windows, not because I am a psycho for playing PlayStation or watching a movie. And a snooker table. I didn’t really care what else.” Thanks to Coleen there is also other great rooms which have fun things in them like a swimming pool and a boxing ring.

COLEEN LUCKY TO BE ALIVE

Coleen’s mum reveals that her beloved daughter may never have met Wayne or survived beyond a brief childhood having been very ill as a small child.

Colette McLoughlin tells the cameras: “When Coleen was three, she got really sick. It turned out it was encephalitis, and her brain was swelling. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t speak. She was stumbling her words. When we got to Alder High Hospital, she ended up in a coma. For 24 hours it was touch and go. She had to learn to walk again. All the coordination had gone, but I’m so grateful because she was alive.” This help she got at hospital is one of the reasons Coleen’s parents became foster carers.

WAYNE WATERWORKS AT TV SOAPS

Wayne admits now he is older he gets emotional about lots of things. The subject comes up when Kai’s football career is being discussed and he is asked if he will cry if his eldest son gets a scholarship at Manchester United. Wayne replies: “Probably. I cry at everything anyway. I’ve cried over some mad things, Coronation Street, X Factor, when Barry got pushed off the hill by Janine in EastEnders, I’m pretty sure I was crying.”

COLEEN CONSIDERED SPLIT FROM WAYNE

His bad behaviour down the years is well documented and Wayne is not perfect husband material in the series either. Like most married couples there are some rows and at one stage Coleen says: “There’s times where I think ‘Is the answer to see what it’s like if we were separated?’.”

She then adds: “But the we still care for each other, we still have good times. You know, we still love each other.”

At another point she tells Wayne: “It’s been a bit of a lads holiday for you, staying up all night. You can’t just keep doing what you do. It is not fair of everyone else. It is only you that can fix it because no one else is doing it. I’m just hoping that things change.”

KAI MOCKS HIS DAD

It seems Wayne struggles with early starts as he is shown sleeping through alarms and missing doing the school run on at least one occasion.

But one morning – seemingly the first time the Disney+ cameras are at the home – Wayne is seen up early, although he seems in need of coffee. His eldest son Kai is clearly not used to seeing his dad before school. With a grin he says: “Bro’s up for the cameras”.

Kai also states he is the best footballer in the family, and that he wants people to “know the name Kai Rooney” so he is a star footballer in his own right in the future.

WAYNE SOMETIMES HATES FAME

Wayne and Coleen take their two youngest children Kit, 10; and Cass, eight to Poland for an educational trip.

Initially it goes well and Wayne goes unrecognised but a trip on a horse drawn cart in Krakow blows his cover and he is soon swamped for autographs and selfies, and then family need to beat a sharp exit.

Afterwards Wayne reflects on what happened and says his level of fame has changed him as a person and he would love to be able to live unrecognised more often. He says: “I’m not a celebrity. People who know me know, know that I want to be as normal as possible.

“Back to when I was a kid, and you wanted to be a football player. That’s all I ever wanted to do, and didn’t care about fame or money or whatever. I just wanted to be a football player. I think I’d be such a better husband, dad, person, friend without it(fame). It affects places I go, things I do.

“I bought a mask I saw on TikTok[to use as a disguise], it looked incredible but it was terrible.”

WAYNE’S JEWISH ROOTS

As part of the break with Kit, 10; and Cass, the family visit Auschwitz because Kit asked to visit while learning about the Second World War at school.

Wayne tells the cameras: “I recently found out my mum’s mum, so me nan, her family were Polish Jews.”

He is told by producers that would make him technically jewish. Wayne replies: “I’m Catholic, but then I’ve always asked questions like, why aren’t we Jewish?”

Told it could make a whole spin off show he says with a grin: “Roo the jew!”

* Stream The Real Rooneys on Disney+ from September 24.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .