Singer

Donnie McClurkin, the Grammy-winning gospel singer and minister who has publicly denounced homosexuality, has been sued for sexually abusing his former male personal assistant.

McClurkin, 66, faces allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery and more in the civil lawsuit filed Friday in New York County Supreme Court. The singer’s accuser, identified in court documents as Giuseppe Corletto, accuses McClurkin of sexually assaulting him numerous times from the start of his employment in 2004 to 2015. The complaint also includes an alleged email from the singer, in which he apologizes for his actions and writes, “I am the actual epitome of a desperate dirty ‘old man.’”

A legal representative for McClurkin denied the allegations as “categorically false.”

“At no time did Pastor McClurkin engage in any form of sexual abuse, assault, or sexual coercion of Mr. Corletto,” McClurkin attorney Gregory S. Lisi said in a statement shared Tuesday. “The claims set forth in the lawsuit grossly mischaracterize their interactions, which occurred over a decade, and some accusations over 2 decades, ago. All these allegations are contradicted by the real facts.”

Lisi added: “Pastor McClurkin denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing and intends to vigorously defend against this lawsuit through the appropriate legal process. As this is now active litigation, Pastor McClurkin will not be commenting further at this time.”

The lawsuit claims Corletto was 21 years old and struggling with his sexuality when he met McClurkin, known for songs “I Call You Faithful” and “Wait on the Lord,” in August 2003. Corletto attended a reading for McClurkin’s 2001 book “Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor,” centered on the singer’s experience of “being delivered on homosexuality,” and met the singer, according to court documents. Corletto sought guidance from the Grammy winner, who hired him as a personal assistant.

The two men developed a mentor-mentee relationship and engaged in “pray the gay away” spiritual sessions “during which Defendant McClurkin groped Plaintiff’s genitals” without consent, according to the lawsuit. McClurkin had also allegedly “set up scenarios” between Corletto and other men and framed them as “tests from God.”

In 2007, Corletto and his girlfriend traveled with McClurkin and the singer’s family to California, where the artist allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto in a hotel room. The lawsuit alleges that McClurkin exposed himself to Corletto before pulling him onto a bed, forcefully kissing and grabbing his body and forcing Corletto to engage in anal sex. When Corletto confronted his boss about the alleged assault, McClurkin allegedly said he had no recollection and blamed Corletto’s behavior on medication. The singer “further manipulated Plaintiff, blaming him for the incident and convincing him that he was the sole culpable party,” confusing Corletto, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit alleges that McClurkin “exploited this tactic repeatedly, coercing Plaintiff into further unwanted sexual acts over the next six years,” including numerous alleged incidents while he was working at McClurkin’s church. The complaint details additional accounts of alleged sexual assault from 2007 to 2008.

Corletto had attempted to stop working for McClurkin multiple times, the lawsuit said, but the singer refused, telling his assistant “that his ‘deliverance’ and ‘purpose’ were tied” to him. The complaint adds that Corletto told several church staff members of the alleged sexual assault, but that “no action was taken.” Corletto stopped working for McClurkin in 2008, but continued running into the singer in the following years, the lawsuit said.

The “Again” artist allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto in 2012 in Orlando, where the latter was training for an airline job. McClurkin learned of his former employee’s location through one of Corletto’s friends and appeared at his hotel room. The lawsuit alleged McClurkin said he needed to talk to Corletto, who “reluctantly agreed to let” the singer into his room. Inside the hotel room, McClurkin allegedly “begged Plaintiff to have sex with him ‘one last time,’” but Corletto refused. Corletto alleges he woke up to find McClurkin masturbating and touching his body before the singer “forced himself again onto Corletto” and raped his former employee, the lawsuit says.

Corletto returned to McClurkin’s church in the summer of 2013 and joined the singer during a trip to Niagara Falls. McClurkin allegedly sexually assaulted Corletto again and days later sent an email apologizing for his actions, a screenshot included in the lawsuit shows. In addition to likening himself to a “desperate dirty ‘old man,’” per the lawsuit, McClurkin allegedly wrote to Corletto, “I forced myself on you … groping you … and when I think about it … you never touched me like that at all.” McClurkin also allegedly promised to be a friend and pastor to Corletto.

Two years after McClurkin sent the alleged email, Corletto returned to the singer’s church amid his struggles with mental health. The lawsuit claims McClurkin engaged in further sexual misconduct, “taking advantage of Plaintiff’s vulnerability and current fragile mental state.”

Corletto “sustained injury, emotional distress, physical pain, emotional pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life” as a result of the sexual assault, the complaint said. He seeks a jury trial, an unspecified amount in compensatory damages, legal fees and additional damages.

Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.

The Masked Singer UK fans believe they’ve worked out the identity of Gargoyle

The seventh season of The Masked Singer UK premiered on ITV on Saturday (January 3), with fans trying to work out the identities behind the first group of characters.

The debut episode saw performances from Sloth, Can of Worms, Gargoyle, Disc Jockey and Moth. At the end of the night, Disc Jockey and Gargoyle found themselves in the bottom two after receiving the least amount of votes from the audience.

The judges – Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan and Maya Jama – chose to save Gargoyle, meaning that Disc Jockey became the first star to be eliminated, with The One Show host Alex Jones soon being unmasked.

Now, several viewers believe they know the famous face behind Gargoyle, with Sheakspears Sister singer Marcella Detroit being named.

“My guess for Gargoyle. Marcella Detroit from Shakespears Sister. The voice fits, as she’s known for her high-pitched vocals,” one person wrote on Reddit.

“She put a photo of Sally Webster face down on a table, and Marcella co-wrote the song Lay Down Sally with Eric Clapton. She also worked on his 1976 album No Reason To Cry (Sally and 1976 being clues).

“She talking about not being pigeon holed, which makes sense for Marcella because she was ‘pigeon holed’ as a backing singer for big stars before joining Siobhan Fahey in Shakespears Sister, with Siobhan even suggesting Marcella change her name to give herself a new lease of life and leave the backing singer life behind.”

The viewer continued: “She said things in the clue package that hinted that she really was American, or from another country, and just visiting the UK. Shakespears Sister’s biggest song Stay was released [on] January 13th 1992 – which is why January 13th was one of the major clues.”

Others seemed to agree with this logic, with someone responding: “Oooh, I think you might be onto something here,” with another adding: “This is a good guess ngl.”

On Saturday night, Gargoyle sang the Scissor Sisters’ 2004 hit Filthy/Gorgeous. The judges shared several guesses, including Chrissie Hynde, Helen Flanagan, Ruby Wax, Frankie Bridge and Mollie King.

The follow-up episode, which aired on Sunday (January 4), saw six new characters take to the stage, with performances from Arctic Fox, Conkers, Toastie, Tea Bag, Yak and Monkey Business.

Yak and Tea Bag received the fewest votes from the audience, with Tea Bag becoming the second character to be eliminated. Rapper Professor Green was soon revealed to be behind the mask.

“[The mask] didn’t make singing any easier, I’ll tell you that much… It was quite fun. It was nice being able to hide behind a mask and just be silly for once and just really, really go for it,” he told host Joel Dommett after his unmasking.

The Masked Singer is available to stream on ITVX

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Yak performed for the first time on Sunday night’s episode of The Masked Singer and fans were convinced they knew who it was just moments into their performance

Yak took to the stage for the first time on Sunday night’s edition of The Masked Singer, and their identity has already been “rumbled” by viewers at home. The hit ITV singing competition features celebrities dressing up in extravagant costumes to belt out pop songs whilst judges Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama and Mo Gilligan try to work out who they are.

Just after taking to the stage as the seventh series of the hit TV show got underway, Yak laid out a set of clues for the panel and viewers at home to guess who they really are.

They then followed this up with a rendition of Tom Jones’ classic Sex Bomb. Davina thought it was Busted star Matt Willis, Jonathan suggested it could be Adrian Edmondson, whilst Maya guessed it was Fatboy Sl,im and Mo seemed convinced it was comedian Leigh Francis.

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Fans at home were quick to have their say, with many theorising that it was broadcaster and former politician Gyles Brandreth, who regularly debates topics of the day on This Morning alongside regular hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard. One viewer wrote on X: “Yak – possibly Gyles Brandreth??? Literally random guess lol Or someone Scottish??,” whilst another said: “Yak sounds like Gyles Brandreth.” and a third added: “Yak is making me laugh, what is going on hahaha! Is it Gyles Brandreth?.” However, another believed it could be Benidorm star Steve Pemberton.

In the first episode, The One Show star Alex Jones was unmasked as Disc Jockey following her performance of Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club. Mo guessed that it was radio legend Annie Mac, whilst Davina thought it might be Lioness Jill Scott, guest judge Anne-Marie was not present for the performance but guessed that it was “that bird on the cake show,”, meaning Dame Mary Berry. Jonathan guessed it was BBC Radio 2 star Sara Cox, and Maya Jama guessed Total Eclipse of the Heart songstress Bonnie Tyler, but evidently, all were incorrect.

Upon her unmasking, she told host Joel Dommett and the judges: “I have had a lot of fun. We love this programme, as a family, and I just thought, it would be a lot of fun and that to do it for my children would be wonderful. And it’s the most bizarre experience of my life! Thank you.” Emotionally dedicating her time on the programme, Alex, who is married to Charlie Thomson, said: “Teddy, Kit and Annie, this was for you. I hope that you’ve loved it.”

The former Strictly Come Dancing star, 48, then closed out her time on the competition with an unmasked rendition of Pink Pony Club to massive applause from the studio audience. Following her exit from the show, Alex admitted she wanted her performance to serve as an inspiration to her children.

She said: “I want them to know that overcoming fear is a good thing. I am not a singer but I gave it a go, and I think that’s the take home for them. I won’t be able to bear it but they will be so excited, hopefully it will be something special they remember when they grow up. They’ll think ‘God, our mother, do you remember when she dressed as a disc jockey and she sang on national television without any sort of voice?’”

As well as Gargoyle, other stars still in the competition include Red Panda, Can of Worms, Moth, and Sloth. On Sunday night, Monkey Business, Teabag, Toastie, Yak, Arctic Fox, and Conkers will perform for the first time.

It all came after Anne-Marie had been unmasked as Goldfish, having been performing as the lead singer of a group called No Trout in a first for the programme. After performing as Bruno Mars and Rose hit APT, the judges correctly guessed the identity of the singer.

Following her unmasking, the songstress said: “When I was at school, I had a very short attention span! I’m used to the voice just going that way [in front of me] but in the thing, it was like ‘Oh, that’s what I sound like!” She then gave her first unmasked performance for the studio audience of her signature track 2002, which famously references music icons like Britney Spears, Jay-Z and NSYNC.

The Masked Singer, ITV1/ITVX, Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th January, 6.30pm

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JESY Nelson has been flooded with support after sharing the heartbreaking diagnosis of her twin girls – including her ex, Chris Hughes.

The former Little Mix star took to Instagram on Sunday to open up about her twins, Ocean Jade and Story Munroe, revealing they have been diagnosed with a rare muscle wasting disease that could be fatal.

Speaking from her home, Jesy said the pair have been diagnosed with SMA Type 1, or Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, the most severe form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

The tearful star told the camera: “If it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”

Her stunningly honest discussion prompted a wave of support from celebrity pals, with Chris – who dated Jesy from 2018 to 2020 – one of the first to back her up and send her love.

“A warrior Jess. Be easy on yourself,” he told her. “Sending prayers to you all, everyone behind you guys 🤍”

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My son has the same disease as Jesy Nelson’s twins & was given one year to live

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Amy Childs added: “I’m so sorry jesy what your going through ❤️xx sending love and strength to you and your beautiful girls xxx”

Megan McKenna wrote: “My heart is breaking for the pain you are in right now. Sending so many prayers and love to your beautiful girls ♥️♥️”

Jess Wright also commented, telling Jesy: “Sending you so much love Jesy. Love & strength ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️”

Ashley James also noted: “Jesy I’m so sorry. I’m thinking of you and your girls and sending love ❤️❤️’

“Jes, There are no words big enough for how unfair and heartbreaking this is. I am so deeply sorry,” wrote I’m A Celeb star Shona McGarty. “My heart aches for you and for your beautiful little girls.

“Please know that their lives, no matter what, are already filled with love because of you. That love matters. It always will.

“You don’t have to be strong, and you don’t have to find the right words. However you feel, whatever you need, it’s okay.

“You are not alone in this, Jes. You are so loved, and your girls are so loved. I’m holding you all in my heart. 💔🤍”

While Shaughna Phillips also added: “Sending you and your girls so much love and positive prayers, you are a superwoman and they are lucky to have you ❤️❤️❤️”

Jesy’s Journey

Jesy has shared that her babies had to endure “months and months” of doctors appointments before finally getting diagnosed with SMA Type-1.

The twins, which Jesy shares with Zion Foster, were born two months premature in May 2025, following a difficult pregnancy that saw her diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a rare but serious condition in which blood flows unevenly between identical twins sharing a placenta.

In her newest video, Jesy revealed that her mother, Janice, raised concerns after the twins didn’t show much movement in their legs.

While their initial concerns were chalked up to the twins being premature and therefore unlikely to hit milestones at the same pace as other children, Jesy and Zion pushed for more tests after they had trouble feeding.

According to Jesy, it took three to four months of appointments before they finally got a diagnosis, with the pair then being treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“I feel like I’ve almost had to become a nurse in the space of two weeks,” Jesy added, explaining how she has had to put her daughters on breathing machines.

“The reason I wanted to make this video was because, the last few months has honestly been the most heartbreaking time of my life. I feel like my whole life has done a 360.

“I’m grieving a life I thought I was going to have with my children,” she emotionally said, before acknowledging that she is grateful to have them.

“I truly believe that my girls will defy all odds. And with the right help, they will fight this, and go on to do things that have never been done.”

“They probably will never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled,” she revealed, adding it’s also unlikely they’ll ever be able to walk.

“So the best thing we can do right now is get them treatment and just hope for the best.”

Jesy then said that she wanted to make the video because if the disease is detected early enough in the first few months of a baby’s life “a lot of this stuff could be prevented”.

Shortly after Jesy shared the highly emotional video, her partner Zion Foster spoke out about their daughters’ diagnosis.

Taking to his Instagram page, Zion shared a photo of his daughters in what looked a stroller.

With tubes attached to their noses, the two tots could still be smiling widely.

Alongside the photo, Zion wrote: “Still smiling through all the challenges. Daddy loves you so much.”

A huge pop star was revealed as Goldfish, the lead singer of a group called No Trout, in the launch episode of The Masked Singer as the hit series returned to ITV on Saturday

Anne-Marie was revealed as Goldfish on the launch episode of The Masked Singer. In a first for the programme, the first two episodes will feature a full band, and the panel also had to guess the identity of the lead singer.

After performing as Bruno Marse and Rose hit Apt part of a group called No Trout, the judges correctly guessed the identity of the singer. Following her unmasking, the songstress said: “When I was at school, I had a very short attention span! I’m used to the voice just going that way [in front of me] but in the thing, it was like ‘Oh, that’s what I sound like!” She then gave her first unmasked performance for the studio audience of her signature track 2002.

Fans were thrilled with the star’s appearance, with one writing on X: “Anne-Marie is sooooo good and such a lovely person, that unmasked performance was beautiful!!” But others had guessed it long before the unmasking took place, with one writing: “Knew it was Anne Marie purely by the way she stood” and another said: “Anne Marie was possibly the most obvious unmasking ever. I knew Goldfish was Anne Marie.”

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Prior to the revelation, Goldfish asked Davina: “How did it feel to be top of the Christmas tree?” and then asked Jonathan: “They say goldfish have a three-second memory. We’ll be the Judge of that!” Mo received: “54x4x10-166+8=X”, and Maya got a text that says: “I heard you became an award-winning billionaire by swimming upstream!”

The equation, which gives an answer of 2002, was possibly the biggest clue yet. The pop track was released by Anne-Marie in 2018, and references the period of time in which music icons like Britney Spears, Jay-Z and N*Sync ruled the charts. Eager fans who had spotted a preview of the series had already guessed who was behind the mask before it even went to air.

Previously, it was claimed that the new format with the bands was a way of keeping viewers guessing.

The Sun reported that a source said: “As The Masked Singer heads into series seven in the UK, bosses are keeping everyone on their toes by upping the ante on clues and throwing in even more unmaskings. “The franchise’s first-ever bands are going to blow everyone’s minds – but viewers will be left scratching their heads as to whether the band is a big clue or not. “The celebrities hiding inside might run solo in their real lives, or they might be part of some sort of group, or could even be exactly what it says on the tin – an actual frontman or woman.

“Viewers are going to be more bamboozled than ever, but it’s going to be lots of fun.” Viewers can expect to see four unmaskings in the first two episodes. Goldfish and Emperor Penguin are extra celebrities on top of the 12-person lineup.

Last year, the programme was won by West End legend Samantha Barks, who had dressed up as Puffer Fish throughout the series’ run. Samantha, who found fame on the BBC’s I’d Do Anything alongside Coronation Street actress Jodie Prenger and then starred in the film adaptation of Les Misérables with Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne.

Upon her victory, she said: “I feel like I’ve lived this double life because I’ve had these crazy experiences, but nobody in my life knows [about] this, so I’ve loved it!

“I’ve had the best time, I really have. Underneath the mask, it’s been hurting my cheeks because I’ve been smiling so hard! Thank you so much!”

Samantha, who is also known for having played the lead in the West End production of Disney’s Frozen, had fought off competition from celebrities like EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy, singer Macy Gray, and Celebrity Trators star Kate Garraway, amongst a host of others.

Other previous stars to have been brave enough to take part in the fun show include Dionne Warwick, Prue Leith, Daisy May Cooper, Glenn Hoddle, Mel Giedroyc, Sir Lenny Henry and Lorraine Kelly.

The Masked Singer, ITV1/ITVX, Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th January, 6.30pm

Barry Manilow has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will be postponing his January concerts.

“I’m very sorry that you have to change your plans,” the “Mandy” singer wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Monday revealing his diagnosis. According to Manilow, his doctors had discovered “a cancerous spot” on his left lung that he will have surgically removed.

“As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks,” Manilow wrote in the statement. “Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK.”

The “Copacabana (At the Copa)” singer said it was “pure luck” that the cancer was found early and that his doctors “do not believe it has spread.” He added that he is taking additional tests to confirm that diagnosis.

“[N]ow that the Christmas A Gift of Love concerts are over I’m going into surgery to have the spot removed,” Manilow continued in his statement. “So that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns.”

The January arena concerts have been rescheduled because recovery from the surgery will take a month, said the 82-year-old singer, whose hits also include “Could It Be Magic,” “I Write the Songs” and “Weekend in New England.” The new dates, starting in late February and continuing through April, were included in the Instagram post. Ticketholders for the canceled shows will be able to reschedule to the new dates.

Manilow also noted his next scheduled performances will be over Valentine’s Day weekend back at the Westgate Las Vegas, where he has a lifetime residency.

“Something tells me that February weekend is going to be one big party,” Manilow wrote, before wishing his fans “a wonderful Christmas and New Year.” “And remember, if you even have the slightest symptom… get tested!”

LEGENDARY British singer-songwriter Chris Rea has tragically passed away aged 74.

The singer, from Middlesbrough, penned the smash hit Driving Home For Christmas in 1978.

Christopher Rea was born on 4 March 1951 in Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire to an Italian father, Camillo Rea, and an Irish mother, Winifred K. Slee.

In 1973 he joined the local Middlesbrough band, Magdalene and began writing songs.

He went on to enjoy a long and sucesfull career on the British music scene.

His most famous song Driving Home for Christmas, song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007.

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It’s now a chart regular at this time of year, reaching its highest position in 2021 when it made it to number 10.

Rea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of just 33 and faced nine serious operations – spending a total of 32 weeks in hospital.

While appearing on the TV show Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing Christmas special in 1994 Rea told the hosts he had “never really gotten over” his diagnosis.

He has previously opened up on his health battle, revealing that some of his internal organs, his pancreas, gallbladder, and left quadrant of the liver were “all gone” after an operation.

It was after he had received the lifesaving surgery that the star discovered he had type 1 diabetes.

Speaking candidly about the moment he told his wife Joan Lesley about the diagnosis Rea said: “She pulled the car over and burst into tears.”

Chris has previously said he has to take “34 pills every day” after his health struggles.

His wife Joan was there when the hitmaker wrote the Christmas favourite Driving Home for Christmas.

The pair have been together since they met as 16 year olds in Middlesbrough and it is said Rea has the longest surviving relationship in the music industry.

The couple have two daughters together Josephine, born 16 September 1983, and Julia Christina, born 18 March 1989.

Speaking to Bob Mortimer about its origins, Chris previously said: “I was on the dole when I wrote that.

“My manager had just left me. I’d just been banned from driving.

“My now wife, Joan, had to drive down to London to pick me up in the Mini and take me home, and that’s when I wrote it.”

That Christmas drive up north was a magical one indeed, not only did he write a famous song, he also received a cheque for £15,000 upon stepping through his front door.

His song Fool (if you think it’s over) had become a hit in America and earned him a pretty sum. The timing couldn’t have been better given he was down to his last £200.

It was a while before Driving Home would make any money.

This is the moment Robbie Williams made a 94-year-old fan’s wish come true.

Norma, a resident of Humberston Care Home in North East Lincolnshire, told staff she had followed the singer from when he was in Take That and had always wanted to see him.

The home organised for her to see a Robbie Williams tribute act and then went one step further by organising for her to speak to the singer, who admitted he was urged to call her by his daughter, who had seen Norma’s story online.

Norma said: “I was absolutely amazed. I really was surprised.

“Nothing like this has happened to me before.

“He was in America, laid out on the bed. I nearly said to him you could have got done up for me!”

The moment was organised by Bailey Greetham, who holds fitness and wellbeing sessions with residents, and films videos on behalf of the home.

He added: “She said I was off to a Robbie Williams tribute but I am a little bit upset because it’s not the real Robbie.

“I had the camera with me so I said let’s film something and we put it on the internet and it got a million views and Robbie was tagged 5,000 times.”

Long Beach City College’s performing arts center is officially being named after Long Beach legend and LBCC alumna Jenni Rivera.

Last week LBCC’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name the new facility the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center.

“This naming recognizes not just an extraordinary performer, but a daughter of Long Beach whose voice and spirit transcended borders,” said Uduak-Joe Ntuk, president of LBCC’s board of trustees in a press statement. “Jenni Rivera inspired millions through her music, resilience, and advocacy. We are proud that future generations of artists will learn and create in a space that bears her name.”

Jenni Rivera Enterprises will donate $2 million over the next 10 years to the LBCC Foundation, with the bulk of the funds going toward scholarships and education programs, the Long Beach Post reported.

“Our family is deeply honored that Long Beach City College has chosen to memorialize Jenni in this extraordinary way,” said Jacqie Rivera, Rivera’s daughter and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises, in a press release. “Long Beach shaped who Jenni was — as an artist, a mother, and a woman — committed to her community. Knowing that young performers will grow, train, and find their creative voice in a center that carries her name is profoundly meaningful to us.”

The performing arts center, which is scheduled to open in spring 2026, is the second honor the “Inolvidable” singer has received from LBCC. Earlier this year, Rivera was inducted into the LBCC Hall of Fame alongside actor/activist Jennifer Kumiyama and attorney Norm Rasmussen.

Rivera was born and raised in Long Beach, attending Long Beach Poly High School in the 1980s, where she got pregnant as a sophomore. She later graduated from Reid Continuation High School as class valedictorian. She went on to attend LBCC before transferring to Cal State Long Beach to get a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

She immediately put that degree to use as a real estate agent, while simultaneously working at her father’s recording studio and record label.

Her father, Pedro Rivera, was a noted singer of corridos. In the 1980s he launched the record label Cintas Acuario. It began as a swap-meet booth and grew into an influential and taste-making independent outfit, fueling the careers of artists such as Chálino Sanchez. Jenni Rivera’s four brothers were associated with the music industry; her brother Lupillo, in particular, is a huge star in his own right.

She released her first album, “Somos Rivera,” in 1992, launching a prolific career that was tragically cut short when Rivera and six others were killed in a plane crash in Mexico on Dec. 9, 2012.

The self-proclaimed “Diva de la Banda” was a self-made star with a veritable rags-to-riches story. She was a true trailblazer, a U.S.-born woman who took up plenty of space in the male-dominated world of música mexicana.

In 2015, Long Beach city officials honored the singer’s legacy by bestowing her name on a park in Long Beach. On display along a brick wall at the Jenni Rivera Memorial Park is a 125-foot-long mural honoring Rivera’s life and heritage.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame also honored Rivera with a star in 2024, which her five children accepted on her behalf.

“One of my mom’s favorite exes used to work in this vicinity. We would come and check in on him and she always dreamt — I remember sitting in the car, in her Mercedes, and she always dreamt, ‘I’m gonna have my star here one day,’” Rivera’s daughter Jenicka Lopez said at the star unveiling ceremony.

“I thought it was impossible after she passed away, but God has a beautiful way of proving people wrong.”

Joel Dommett has admitted to a major blunder during filming of The Masked Singer Christmas special.

Joel Dommett has disclosed how he plunged The Masked Singer festive special into complete pandemonium during recording following an inadvertent gaffe.

The presenter is making his comeback to the cherished ITV contest, working alongside panellists Jonathan Ross, Maya Jama, Davina McCall and Mo Gilligan.

They’ll be attempting to uncover the true identities of the famous participants alongside audiences at home, using a series of cryptic hints.

Four well-known personalities will perform on stage whilst concealing their identities, disguised as Santa’s Sack, Mistletoe, a Goose A-Laying and Figgy Pudding.

The yuletide episode broadcasts on Boxing Day, with a complete series following several weeks afterwards, reports Wales Online.

It’s now emerged that recording for the seasonal show spiralled into mayhem when Joel inadvertently revealed one of the concealed celebrities.

He confessed to recognising the distinctive giggle from behind Mistletoe’s mask, blurting out their actual identity before realising his error and collapsing to the ground.

The I’m A Celebrity Unpacked presenter told The Sun: “I can’t believe I did it. This person was chuckling in the costume and it’s a chuckle I know well and I said their name. It just came out. Their actual name!”

He continued: “Thankfully, [the judges] had pretty much guessed who it was.

“But producers did reiterate to me that I wasn’t to do that again. I was on the naughty step.”

The Masked Singer UK Christmas special will also showcase a collection of pantomime legends, including Fairy Godmother (Su Pollard), the dame (Christopher Biggins), Wicked Stepmother (Lesley Joseph) and Prince Charming (Basil Brush), who will be offering hints to the judging panel.

This follows Joel’s recent mishap several weeks back whilst recording I’m A Celebrity’s companion show Unpacked.

The presenter was compelled to say sorry after inadvertently cursing, when his regular broadcast was dramatically disrupted after being “assaulted” by a flying insect.

He frantically jumped up from his chair whilst frantically batting at a fly, exclaiming: “Ohhh f***ing hell, that’s massive.”

He swiftly bounced back from the blunder, remembering he was on live television.

“I’m sorry I swore,” he said apologetically, before adding: “That was absolutely petrifying.”

The Masked Singer Christmas Special airs Boxing Day at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Carl Carlton, the funk and R&B singer known for upbeat, era-embodying singles like “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked)” has died. He was 72.

Carlton’s son, Carlton Hudgens II, posted to social media confirming the death on Sunday. “RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton singer of She’s a Bad Mama Jama. Long hard fight in life and you will be missed.” The post did not cite a cause of death.

Born Carlton Hudgens in Detroit in 1953, he debuted as “Little Carl” Carlton, but changed his stage name and moved to Houston after he was signed to the local label Back Beat Records. He had a minor soul-scene hit in 1971 with “I Can Feel It,” and broke through nationally in 1974 when his regal cover of Robert Knight’s “Everlasting Love” hit No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and spent 15 weeks on that chart.

Carlton is perhaps best known for his 1981 single, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” a grooving and awestruck ode to the female form that hit No. 22 on the Hot 100 and helped his self-titled album that year reach gold status.

The song has enjoyed a long life in popular culture — it’s been sampled by rappers like Foxy Brown, BigXThaPlug and Flo Milli, and frequently appeared on soundtracks for TV shows and films like “Friends.”

He continued releasing records into the ‘80s, and appeared several times on “American Bandstand” and “Soul Train,“ though his output slowed in the ‘90s. In 2003, he performed for Barry Glazer’s TV special, “American Soundtrack: Rhythm, Love, and Soul,” which featured Aretha Franklin and other marquee R&B and soul acts. His last album was 2010’s gospel LP “God Is Good.”

Michele Singer Reiner, who was killed along with her husband, filmmaker Rob Reiner, on Sunday at their home in Los Angeles, was a photographer who moved from still images into filmmaking and later into producing, with work that blended performance, politics and persuasion. She was 70.

Singer Reiner was gigging as a photographer in the late 1980s, visiting film sets as part of her income. One of those sets was “When Harry Met Sally …,” the romantic comedy Rob Reiner was directing in New York, a film that would go on to become one of the era’s defining hits. Having divorced actor and director Penny Marshall eight years earlier, Reiner said he noticed his future wife across the set and was immediately drawn to her.

Scripted by Nora Ephron, the film was originally written to leave its central couple, played by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, separate, crossing paths over the years without ending up together. But after meeting Singer Reiner, Reiner reconsidered. He rewrote the final scene so the characters reunite and marry, an ending that helped make the film a beloved classic.

The two married in 1989, months after the film’s release. They went on to have three children: Jake, born in 1991; Nick, born in 1993; and Romy, born in 1997.

Hours after the couple were found dead at their Brentwood home, Nick Reiner — who had struggled for years with substance-abuse issues — was taken into custody and booked into Los Angeles County jail on suspicion of murder, according to jail records. He had spoken publicly about getting sober by 2015, when he worked with his father on “Being Charlie,” a semi-autobiographical film about addiction and recovery that Rob Reiner directed and Nick co-wrote.

After their marriage, Singer Reiner worked on several of Reiner’s films, as a special photographer on “Misery,” his 1990 adaptation of the Stephen King novel, among others. Their marriage also became a working partnership. As Reiner’s career expanded beyond studio films into documentaries and political projects, Singer Reiner — who earlier in her career had photographed the cover of Donald Trump on the photo of his 1987 bestseller “The Art of the Deal” — was closely associated with those efforts, collaborating on films and advocacy campaigns that increasingly overlapped.

Their civic strand emerged early. In the 1990s, she and Reiner started the I Am Your Child project, an effort aimed at raising awareness about early childhood development and expanding access to support services for parents.

The initiative coincided with Reiner’s emergence as one of Hollywood’s most prominent political voices. He was a founding board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which led the legal fight to overturn Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage. He was also a central figure behind Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Initiative, a landmark policy that created an ambitious statewide early childhood development program.

In the last decade, Singer Reiner moved more fully into producing. Her credits included such Reiner-directed projects as “Shock and Awe” (2017), “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” (2023) and this year’s “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” as well as “God & Country,” a 2024 documentary examining Christian nationalism in the United States.

As news of their deaths spread, tributes emphasized the Reiners’ shared public life. Laurie David, an environmental activist and documentary filmmaker who was a close friend of the couple, wrote on Threads that “Rob & Michele — always referred to as Rob & Michele — were an extraordinary couple who worked side by side to make the world a safer, fairer and more just society.”

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a joint statement calling the couple’s deaths “heartbreaking” and pointing to what they described as the Reiners’ “active citizenship” in defense of “inclusive” democracy. “They were good, generous people who made everyone who knew them better,” the statement said.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the loss “devastating,” writing that while Reiner was creative, funny and beloved, Singer Reiner was his “indispensable partner, intellectual resource and loving wife” in all of their endeavors.

PREGNANT The Saturdays singer Vanessa White has wed her fiancé in a stylish London ceremony.

Vanessa looked stunning as she posed with her husband hunky model and musician Emmanuel Lawal.

The Saturdays singer confirmed the news on social media alongside some gorgeous snaps of her wedding.

Vanessa looked stunning in a white gown with lace insets as she showed off her baby bump, as Emmanuel looked stylish in a dark suit and white shirt.

The series of snaps showed the couple signing the wedding register, smiling in their car and holding hands together.

A sweet snap of Vanessa feeding her new husband as they sat in the restaurant was particularly beautiful.

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After the ceremony, the loved up couple headed to Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal for dinner.

Vanessa said: “We wanted it to feel like a long date.”

The couple travelled all day in a flying spur from Bentley Motors which saved Emmanuel from having to find a parking space near Regent Street.

The Chef closed the restaurant for them to use exclusively with endless courses arriving.

“We were there for hours,” the couple said. “We didn’t get home until 11pm.”

Vanessa captioned the images: “The Lawal’s such an honour for us to share our special day with @britishvogue.

“A few thank you’s. @bentleymotors, what a dream family you have been to us over the many years. @mytheresa.com@mytheresa.men you made us feel GREAT!

“My husband designed my engagement ring and surprised me with bespoke bands from @sholabranson… yeah.

“@christianlouboutin they will NEVER leave our wardrobes. @alexdillingcaferoyal@adills1 you my friend are a legend. Mind blown. Delicious. Hospitality we will never forget.

“15+ years with my darling talented friend @kom_makeup. adore you.

“And to the magician @georgewilliamvicary who you actually never notice taking any photo’s until you see them. Thank you for capturing life long memories in the moment.”

As one fifth of the band The Saturdays, Vanessa shot to fame in 2008 with her fellow girl pals Mollie King, Frankie Bridge, Una Healy and Rochelle Humes.

After the group split in 2014, Vanessa appeared on I’m A Celebrity in Australia and was the fourth celeb to be evicted from the jungle.

She’s now a model and influencer and regularly shows off her stunning stylish looks online.

Vanessa revealed only last month that she was pregnant and engaged.

The singer showed off her large bare bump in a series of stunning snaps on Instagram.

She wore a white vest top rolled up to show off her tum and blue jogging bottoms, and there was a noticeable sparkling ring on her engagement finger.

Vanessa wrote: “there’s a V and E in love.”

Vanessa keeps her personal life largely private on social media, but last year she rekindled her romance with her new husband, Emmanuel.

He is one half of production duo AUDIOCOMINGSOON with fellow fashionista Ashton Gohil.

The talented twosome have performed at prestigious events including Samuel L. Jackson’s One For The Boys Fundraiser and a Louboutin collection launch.