Stars call for 'justice for George Floyd' in Chauvin trial, more news

Kerry Washington, Chris Evans and more stars weigh in on Derek Chauvin trial amid closing arguments, deliberations

On April 19, jurors heard closing arguments in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in George Floyd’s death last spring. As people around the world awaited a verdict in the case, stars like Kerry Washington focused on Floyd and his loved ones, and her hope for justice. “Sending love to George Floyd’s family and friends today as we all wait for the jury’s decision in the #ChauvinTrial,” Washington posted early in the day. “Justice needs to be served. #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd,” she added. That afternoon, Chris Evans reacted to the final court proceedings, referencing the prosecutor who reminded jurors they were asked to use “common sense” while deciding whether Chauvin’s act of kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes constituted a “use of force.” “As if COMMON SENSE didn’t already make things crystal clear, these closing arguments certainly have,” Chris tweeted. “Time for justice.” Patricia Arquette voiced concern, as well, sharing links to stories about hundreds of students walking out of their schools across Minnesota “in protest of racial inequality” and video from the closing arguments.

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Chrissy Teigen teams up with Fertility Out Loud campaign after pregnancy loss

 Chrissy Teigen is continuing to speak out about the loss she and John Legend experienced when their unborn son, Jack, died 20 weeks into her pregnancy last year. On Sept. 30, Chrissy shared a gut-wrenching post on social media from her hospital bed, revealing that the couple said “goodbye” to Jack after hours of unsuccessful attempts to stop dangerously heavy bleeding caused by a pregnancy complication. “… I just know that the way we shared it was super hard, and it was super hard for John. But for some reason, I knew that it would help a lot of people,” she explained in a segment on “Today” this week. Chrissy, who shares a boy and a girl with John, later wrote a long and emotionally raw piece on Medium about what she’d gone through — something that’s rarely discussed publicly, despite its common occurrence. “There was one moment that really struck me, and that was being at the grocery store and somebody just quietly laying flowers in my cart,” she recalled. “And then I realized that there’s so many women that don’t get this kind of attention because you just don’t know that it happened to them. They’re living through this privately and quietly, and it just was a big moment for me where I realized that I could be this person that people could see and look up to as somebody that had a platform, where their stories were going to be recognized.” Chrissy said that she often felt like she had nowhere to turn with questions about the aftermath of the painful experience. That’s why she’s signed on as a spokesperson for Fertility Out Loud, which empowers people facing fertility challenges to get the support they need while making the subject less taboo. “I think the more we share our stories, the more people will realize that they connect with one of those stories,” Chrissy said. “There’s something so beautiful about that.“

Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ is the year’s biggest album debut as the singer breaks a record set by the Beatles

Taylor Swift may never regain control of her old masters thanks to Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta — but who needs old masters when your new ones are making music history? “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” — the singer’s latest in a line of albums she set out to re-record after Scott blocked her from buying her own masters, then sold them to her nemesis, Scooter — opened at the top of the Billboard charts this week. With the equivalent of 291,000-plus sales in the United States, that makes it the biggest album debut of 2021. Given the No. 1 debuts of her last releases, 2020’s “folklore” and evermore,” and the fact that those albums came out within 259 days of “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor also just broke a record previously held by the Beatles for the most No. 1 albums released in the shortest amount of time. The Fab Four set that record more than 50 years ago when they snagged No. 1 albums with 1965’s “Help!” and “Rubber Soul” and 1966’s “Revolver,” which they released over the course of 364 days. Taylor beat the Beatles’ 3 x No. 1 release speed by 105 days. She’s also now the first woman to have released three No. 1 albums in less than a year. And she’s just getting started. Tweeting out a link to Billboard’s coverage of her latest success, Taylor wrote over the weekend, “Been in the studio all day recording the next one,” then thanked fans for their support, adding, “it’s really so amazing what you all have done here.”

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Chris Evans responds to Lizzo after her drunk and flirty DMs

“No shame in a drunk DM.” So said Chris Evans in a message to Lizzo after the weekend after she shared a hilarious TikTok admitting she’d slid into Chris’ Instagram direct messages, when her judgment was maybe a little bit compromised. “Don’t drink and DM, kids…. for legal porpoises this is a joke,” she captioned the TikTok, which showed the flirty emojis she’d sent the “Avengers: Endgame” star. “The reason I’m upset about this one is because I know I’m not gonna be able to marry him,” Lizzo mouthed along to Tatayanna Mitchell’s audio. “And honestly, it hurts me to the core,” she continued (via CNN), “because d— papa, he a rare breed, no comparing. Like, Chris…” Lizzo’s reached out to her celeb crush on social media before, having proposed to him on Twitter a couple of years back, but maybe she felt emboldened to give it another try since Chris recently had his own … shall we say … “adult oops” moment on Instagram Story. After assuring her a “drunk DM” is no biggie, Chris wrote in his note to Lizzo: “God knows I’ve done worse on this app lol.”

Prince Harry could extend U.K. visit through Queen Elizabeth’s birthday

What’s next for Prince Harry now that his grandfather, Prince Philip has been laid to rest? According to Metro (via Page Six), the Duke of Sussex booked an open flight to the U.K., where he arrived a week before Philip’s funeral amid heightened family tensions, particularly between Harry and his brother, Prince William. At the funeral on April 17, the siblings walked in the procession on either side of their cousin, Princess Anne’s son Peter Philips, separated per Prince William’s request, The Sun reported over the weekend. Despite intentionally being kept apart in the wake of Harry and Duchess Meghan’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, William and Harry were seen chatting at one point during the funeral and are believed to have spent a couple hours talking together afterwards with their father, Prince Charles, who reportedly hoped Harry’s return visit home could help the family begin to heal. (Meghan’s doctors did not want her to travel given her pregnancy; she instead shared a handwritten letter to Philip that was included alongside a wreath at the services.) Lip readers later revealed Harry could be seen remarking to his brother, “… it was great, wasn’t it?” William reportedly replied, “It was as he wanted it,” according to the Daily Express. The outlet noted William was seen commenting on the “beautiful service” and “music” to his brother, as well. Looking ahead, there’s speculation Harry will extend his visit for at least a few days. “If all goes well, [Harry] could stay for the Queen’s birthday,” a source told the Sun. Queen Elizabeth turns 95 on April 21. And though she won’t celebrate as she usually does, by releasing a new portrait, given her husband’s recent death, People reports members of the royal family will likely make time to visit with her this week in honor of her milestone. Plans for the usual summer Trooping the Colour — the queen’s more public, official birthday celebration — have been canceled for the second year due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19 safety. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away on April 9. He was 99.

Katie Holmes shares sweet tribute to Suri Cruise on her15th birthday

Katie Holmes usually keeps private family photos off social media, but the actress couldn’t help but go public with a sweet birthday message for her daughter, Suri Cruise, over the weekend. Sharing three black and white photos of Suri — one showed her as a toddler at a table with another little pal, while the second and third pics featured Katie and Suri hugging — Katie wrote, “Happy 15th Birthday Sweetheart! I love you!!!!!!!! ❤️💕😘 I can’t believe you are already 15!” Katie, who shares Suri with ex Tom Cruise, was also spotted out and about in New York City on April 18, as her daughter celebrated her big day with friends, a bouquet of fresh flowers and ice cream. As Katie shared in a piece for Vogue Australia last year, the coronavirus pandemic allowed her to spend more time with her daughter, a treat she didn’t take lightly. “To live for a moment in time without the pressure of results and instead appreciate the natural rhythms of mother and daughter was the most precious gift,” she wrote.

Kate Winslet opens up about her daughter, Mia, following in her acting footsteps

Kate Winslet’s eldest has launched an acting career — without leaning on her famous mom’s name for assistance. Speaking to Lorraine Kelly in an interview recently, Kate, 45, explained that her daughter, Mia Threapleton, whom she shares with ex-husband, Jim Threapleton, wasn’t recognized as the Oscar-winner’s daughter when she was cast in her first role. “[She’s] 20 and acting. She’s away now in the Czech Republic about to start on a TV series over there,” Kate said, according to People. “I think I knew [it] was coming, I always suspected … And then a few years ago she turned around and said, ‘I’d like to give it a go.'” It wasn’t long before Mia, who starred in a film called “Shadows” in 2020, began working. “What’s great for her is she has a different surname so she slipped under the radar and the people who cast her didn’t know she was my daughter,” Kate said, adding, “that was important for her self-esteem, of course.” While promoting “Shadows,” Mia told Variety that growing up, she “never spent much time around sets” where her mom was working. “It’s a very different experience when it is happening to you, and not just something I was getting to observe from time to time,” she said. Kate and Jim were married from 1998 until 2001. Kate also shares a son, Joe, with ex, Sam Mendes, and another son, Bear, with her husband Edward Abel Smith.

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake quietly welcomed their second son, Phineas, last year, and as Jessica explained to Ellen DeGeneres on the April 19 edition of “Ellen,” there’s a big difference between being a mom to one child and being a mom to two. Quoting a very wise friend, Jessica said with a laugh, “One is a lot. And two is a thousand. … That’s exactly the way it feels.” She explained, “You’re like, man-on-man defense, one person’s here, one person’s over there. It is a wild, wild ride.” That ride’s even more wild since Phineas is apparently not sleeping. “We started to sleep train, and he was doing so great, and then all of his teeth started to come in. And now, nobody is sleeping again,” Jessica admitted. The actress and producer went on to acknowledge that “it’s so hard to let them cry for even a few minutes,” which is required in sleep training. Still, she praised Phineas, saying he “did a beautiful job” before he started teething. “We never really followed through with Silas in a big way with the sleep training. I think it was because he was a first child, we were nervous, we couldn’t bear the thought,” she added. “Now it’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re going to be fine. You’re going to make it. You’ll be OK.'” It doesn’t hurt that Silas, 6, gets along famously with his little brother. “It is so cute to see these two together. They both think the other one is hilarious,” Jessica gushed. While Silas “wants to make the jokes and he wants all the attention on him, so Phin only has eyes for him,” Jessica said the feeling is mutual for the boys, who “just laugh at each other all day long.” Justin, 40, and Jessica, 39, said “I do” in 2012.

Diddy will reportedly help cover the cost of funeral services for rapper Black Rob, who died on April 17 at 51 amid multiple health problems. According to Page Six, Diddy “reconnected” with Rob, who was once on his Bad Boy Records label, shortly before his death. “Diddy offered help for Rob but sadly, it was too late,” an insider told the outlet. “But he wants to make sure that Rob is laid to rest with dignity and according to his wishes. He is helping to make the funeral arrangements.” In the meantime, Diddy honored the “Whoa!” hitmaker on Instagram, sharing a photo of the two. “Rest in power King!” he wrote alongside the shot. “As I listen to your records today there’s one thing that they all have in common! You have made millions of people all over the world feel good and dance! You are one of a kind! GOD BLESS! Love. You will be truly missed!!!!” Some fans didn’t find the tribute appropriate given that the former friends apparently didn’t stay in touch when Rob was in a dark place in his life. “Where … were you when he was homeless,” asked one critic. Born Robert Ross, Rob reportedly died of cardiac arrest triggered by a rare kidney disease.

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