Megyn Kelly expected to take top ‘Today’ spot alongside Lauer
After the dramatic departure of Tamron Hall from “Today,” TV insiders are buzzing that Megyn Kelly could next unseat Savannah Guthrie as the star co-anchor with Matt Lauer. Multiple sources tell Page Six that Kelly is likely to take the lead role on the NBC morning show with Lauer when she starts in September. Guthrie, who recently signed a new long-term deal with “Today,” could be bumped to another role or even take over Hall’s 9 a.m. slot, we’re told. “NBC is not paying Megyn $12 to $15 million a year to be on at 9 a.m. The word is that Savannah could take the 9 a.m. slot and Megyn will go right in at 7 a.m. Andy Lack is completely behind all of this,” a source told us, adding, “There’s no way Megyn would have signed with NBC unless she was promised a big role down the line.”
Tamron Hall donates her work clothes after leaving ‘Today’
After dramatically exiting “Today” after her show was axed to make way for Megyn Kelly, Tamron Hall spent the day getting rid of her work clothes. Hall literally cleaned out her closet on Thursday, posting an online video of herself packing up her “Today” clothes to donate to Housing Works. Showing herself packing up bags of clothes, she said, “These are good times for everybody and good times for one of my favorite organizations, Housing Works. I’ve got Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin [shoes], I’ve got work clothes, I’ve got party clothes, I have packed up a mother lode heading to Housing Works.” She added to her fans, “Thank you guys so much for your sweet social media messages, it has meant so much to me.”
National Assoc. of Black Journalists accuses NBC of ‘whitewashing’
NBC News is coming under fire for replacing “Today’s” first black female anchor Tamron Hall with Megyn Kelly. The National Association of Black Journalists sent a letter to NBC, accusing the network of “whitewashing” after Hall announced she was leaving on Wednesday. “The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is saddened by Tamron Hall’s departure from NBC. She broke ground as the first black female ‘Today’ show co-host and was enjoying ratings success alongside Al Roker during the show’s third hour of programming,” the organization wrote. “NBC has been a leader for diversity in broadcasting, but recent reports that Hall and Roker will be replaced by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly are being seen by industry professionals as whitewashing.”
And For Her Next Trick, Pregnant Beyoncé Will Save The Grammys
When it rains Beyoncé, it pours Beyoncé. Bey might as well make the Grammys stage her permanent home because not only is she nominated nine times for her album “Lemonade,” but according to multiple reports, the singer will perform at the award show next weekend. That’s right, all loyal subjects with a cable connection and access to an espresso machine might actually have a reason to stay awake during the ceremony this year because our Queen is set to slay. According to Entertainment Tonight, which first broke the news of her performance, Beyoncé was caught rehearsing for the show with a group of dancers in Los Angeles Thursday. The Huffington Post has reached out to the Recording Academy and Beyoncé’s representatives and will update the post accordingly.
Pregnant Beyoncé to perform at the Grammys
Beyoncé’s baby bump will be making its on-stage debut. “Entertainment Tonight” reports that the “Lemonade” singer, who has nine nominations this year, will be performing at the ceremony. Citing sources, “ET” says the singer was spotted at rehearsal with a glam squad, camera crew and dancers in tow. On Wednesday, the 35-year-old sparked a social media storm when she announced on Instagram that she’s having twins — making the Grammys her first performance during her pregnancy. Other artists taking the stage at this year include Chance the Rapper, Alicia Keys and Adele. Justin Bieber and Kanye West have opted out.
BEYONCE SHE COULD GET BIG COACHELLA MONEY Even if She’s MIA
Beyonce could easily make a million dollars by laying in her bed during Coachella … TMZ has learned. Bey has not told the folks who produce the festival whether she’ll be able to headline during the April event. It’s unclear how far along she is in her pregnancy, but it seems 4 to 5 months would not be an unreasonable guess, which would mean she could be at least 6 months pregnant when she’s scheduled to perform. Sources connected with the festival, along with several huge 2016 performers, tell us Beyonce was set to make north of $1 mil for her two-night performance.
Get to know the artist behind Beyoncé’s pregnancy portrait
Beyoncé announced she was expecting twins Wednesday with a portrait that brought the internet to a standstill for a few hours. And now we know who was behind the image: New York- and Los Angeles-based artist Awol Erizku. The reveal was first reported by ARTnews, which confirmed Erizku’s involvement with a source close to Miami’s Nina Johnson gallery, where the artist exhibited late last year. Born in Ethiopia, the 20-something artist grew up in the South Bronx and attended college at Cooper Union School of Art before going on to Yale University School of Art, where he earned a BFA in 2014. During this period, he also worked under photographers David LaChapelle, Lorna Simpson, Margaret Morton and Christine Osinski.
Chance the Rapper to perform at the Grammys
Top Grammy contenders Sturgill Simpson and Chance the Rapper are set to perform at the awards show this month. The Recording Academy announced Thursday that fellow nominee William Bell and Grammy winners Little Big Town and Gary Clark Jr. will also perform on the live telecast on Feb. 12. Previously announced performers include Adele, Bruno Mars, the Weeknd, Daft Punk, A Tribe Called Quest, Alicia Keys and Dave Grohl. Simpson is nominated for album of the year and best country album for “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth.” Chance the Rapper is nominated for seven awards, including three for best rap song.
Donald Trump too hard to satirise, say South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone
While the most recent series of their animated sitcom featured a character that clearly resembles Mr Trump, the pair made the decision to “back off” making fun of the latest US political events. “It’s tricky now because satire has become reality,” Parker told 7.30. “It’s really hard to make fun of and in the last season of South Park, which just ended a month-and-a-half ago, we were really trying to make fun of what was going on but we couldn’t keep up and what was actually happening was much funnier than anything we could come up with. “So we decided to kind of back off and let them do their comedy and we’ll do ours.”
J.K. Rowling doesn’t care if you burn her books
Harry Potter fans launched a Twitter war with J.K. Rowling over the famed British author’s very public opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. “I will now burn your books and movies too,” one fan tweeted Sunday at Rowling, 51, who has sold more than 400 million copies of the fantasy series, Entertainment Weekly reported. Hours later, Rowling tweeted a snarky reply: “Well, the fumes from the DVDs might be toxic and I’ve still got your money, so by all means borrow my lighter,” People reported.
