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Justin Verlander found himself in the hot seat after using his wife Kate Upton’s Zoom account for a recent press conference.
During a virtual press event on Monday, January 13, an NBC Sports reporter named Taylor Wirth had a hot mic moment that involved Verlander, 41 — but the MLB player didn’t mind.
As San Francisco Giants president of operations Buster Posey was speaking to the reporters, Wirth accidentally interrupted saying, “Look at Justin’s name!”
Wirth didn’t appear to know he was unmuted when he pointed out that Verlander’s Zoom moniker was his wife’s name.
Justin Verlander Denies Acting Like a 'Diva' While Playing for NY Mets
After the Giants’ vice president of media relationship Matt Chisholm reminded the reporters to stay muted unless they are asking a question, Verlander poked fun at his own mishap.
“I’ll change it, alright? I’ll change it,” Verlander quipped, referring to his Zoom name.
The pitcher made good on his promise, changing his moniker to “JUSTIN VERLANDER (not Kate)” for the remainder of the press conference.
Wirth, meanwhile, poked fun at his hot mic blunder by reposting a clip from the Zoom via X. He then shared a meme of a college guy pointing at himself while holding a beer, confirming he was the one who called out Verlander.
Verlander met Upton, 32, in 2012 while shooting a commercial for the Major League Baseball 2K12 video game. They went public with their romance in January 2013. After briefly splitting later that year, they reunited in January 2014.
After the former Houston Astros pitcher won the 2017 World Series with his team, he and Upton jetted off to Italy to get married.
The pair celebrated their one-year anniversary in November 2018 days before welcoming their daughter, Genevieve. The following year, Verlander reflected on the past decade and all of his life changes.
Celebrity Wives and Girlfriends of MLB Players
“It’s been such an incredible decade! Meeting my best friend, getting married and starting a family has been the most amazing gift ever!!! Nothing tops that,” he wrote via Instagram in December 2019. “On the field … winning a championship, throwing a couple no hitters and winning a few awards along the way has been an incredible journey. The friendships that have grown or began this past decade will continue on for decades to come. Truly blessed 
. Now bring on the next decade!!”
Since entering the 2020s, Verlander’s baseball trajectory has changed more than once. In December 2022 he said goodbye to the Astros after six years with the ball club. That same month he confirmed he was joining the New York Mets for the 2023 season, but by August of that year he was back with the Astros.
Earlier this month, Verlander entered another new phase of his MLB career as a pitcher for the Giants. He signed a one-year contract with the team on January 11 for $15 million.
© Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
Jessica Alba was out and about for the first time since news broke of her split from husband Cash Warren.
The actress, 43, was spotted in Los Angeles, according to photos obtained by Page Six on Tuesday, January 14. In the snaps, Alba was seen at the grocery store Erewhon grabbing a bite to eat.
Alba was all smiles as she walked in the parking lot. She rocked a cozy oversized brown sweater that she paired with a light blue jacket, baggy blue jeans and white sneakers. Alba opted to run errands with her hair down while wearing sunglasses on the bright California day. She completed the look with gold hoop earrings and a tan Chanel crossbody purse.
Alba did not appear to be wearing a wedding ring on her ring finger.
All the Clues Jessica Alba and Cash Warren Were Headed for a Split
The outlet also reported that Alba later spent the day with her son Hayes, 7, and one of his friends. The trio enjoyed a picnic at a park in Hollywood.
This is the first time Alba has been seen in public since TMZ first reported that she and Warren, 46, had separated after 16 years of marriage. Neither Alba nor Warren have publicly addressed the breakup.
Alba and Warren met in 2004 while they were working together on the set of Fantastic Four. Alba starred in the superhero blockbuster as Storm, while Warren worked behind the scenes as a production assistant.
In May 2008, the pair tied the knot. At the time of their nuptials, Alba was nine months pregnant with their first child Honor, now 16, whom they welcomed the following month. Alba and Warren expanded their family in August 2011 with daughter Haven, followed by Hayes in December 2017.
Six months before calling it quits, Warren opened up to Us Weekly about his relationship with Alba and how much effort they’ve devoted to their romance over the years.
Look Back at Jessica Alba and Cash Warren's Complete Relationship Timeline
“I think, ultimately, the friendship and support and just knowing that your partner has your back means everything to us,” Warren exclusively told Us in July 2024. “I think that would be the secret, is just having each other’s back. It’s hard work, but we roll up our sleeves and we do it. It’s wild. It’s the longest relationship I could have ever imagined.”
Three months prior, Alba got candid about her and Warren’s marriage in a conversation with Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt.
“It’s all rosy for 2 ½ years, but then after that you become roommates,” Alba revealed on Schwarzenegger’s “BDA Baby” podcast. “And it’s just, like, you’re roommates. You’re just going through the motion. It’s the responsibility. It’s a lot of, like, checking the boxes.”
© Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images
Justin Baldoni and his legal team are asking Marvel and Disney to “preserve evidence” relevant to anticipated claims against Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and other parties.
According to a litigation hold letter obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 14, The Walt Disney Company’s Bob Iger and Marvel Studio’s Kevin Feige received a request from Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, to “preserve all existing documents and data relevant to the Anticipated Claims.”
This information includes, but is not limited to, any and all documents and communications involving Reynolds’ conduct in connection with any film in the Deadpool franchise.
It also includes any and all documents “relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimate or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool.’”
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Alleged Feud and Lawsuits Explained
“It is important that Marvel take every reasonable step to preserve this information until further notice,” Freedman wrote.
The move comes as Baldoni, 40, finds himself in a legal battle with Lively, 37, who costarred alongside the director in the 2024 Sony movie It Ends With Us.
While It Ends With Us is not affiliated with Disney, Baldoni’s attorney previously alleged that Reynolds, 48, may have mocked Baldoni in Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which was released by Disney in July.
According to Freedman, Reynolds’ character ‘Nicepool’ — who is a man bun-sporting version of Deadpool — says such lines as, “Where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?!” and compliments Ladypool (voiced by Lively) for “snapping back” into shape after giving birth.
When Deadpool points out Nicepool’s misogyny in the scene, the latter replies, “It’s OK, I identify as a feminist.” (Baldoni has previously sported a man bun and has been vocal about his avid feminism. In December 2024, Baldoni received a Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices for his support of women. The reward was rescinded days later amid allegations of sexual harassment.)
Us has reached out to Baldoni’s team, Marvel, Disney and an attorney for Lively and Reynolds for comment.
In December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment. The lawsuit alleged that there was a meeting conducted to address Lively’s claims that there was a “hostile work environment” on the set of It Ends With Us.
She also accused the actor of allegedly launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation.
Every Counterclaim Made in Justin Baldoni’s New York Times Lawsuit
Baldoni’s lawyer called Lively’s accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” in a statement to Us, claiming that Lively filed the lawsuit to allegedly “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about the movie’s production.
Baldoni also responded with his own lawsuit, where he was listed as one of 10 plaintiffs suing The New York Times for $250 million after its reporting on Lively’s legal filing. Baldoni’s lawsuit alleged that Lively pursued a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign against him and that the Times “cherry picked” communications while leaving out key details in their reporting.
A spokesperson for The New York Times said that the publication is standing by the story and plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Alan Rickman died on January 14, 2016, but just seven months before his death, he opened up about seeing his young Harry Potter costars thrive as adults.
“I think it’s a relief as much as anything else,” Rickman said of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint‘s success in a June 2015 episode of Josh Horowitz‘s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “You watch that situation and as much as I was only doing it for seven weeks, they were doing it for 52 weeks. This was their life from 12 to 22. And you would watch it from the sidelines at times and throw the odd lifeline in because there was so little time for that.”
Rickman, who died of pancreatic cancer at age 69, played Severus Snape in all eight Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011, and he kept in touch with Radcliffe after filming concluded.
“It’s only in recent years that, for example, I’ve managed to sit down in a cafe in New York with Daniel,” Rickman continued in the interview. “At one point, he was down the road at one theater and I was up the road in another. Huge pride to go to see him in the musical [How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying]. How dare he be dancing as well as the New York dancers? Because he worked at it.”
'Harry Potter' Stars Reuniting Over the Years: Photos
It wasn’t until recently that Radcliffe heard Rickman’s words. Horowitz played the clip at an April 2024 “Happy Sad Confused” recording with Radcliffe in support of Merrily We Roll Along (for which Radcliffe won his first Tony Award).
“I was so intimidated by Alan Rickman. How can you not be by that voice?” Radcliffe, now 35, said after watching the clip of his late costar. “Even hearing that voice you forget quite how low it was until it echoes through you. I was so intimidated by him for the first three movies. I was terrified by him and was like, ‘This guy hates me.’ Somewhere along the line, he saw that I really wanted to do this and work at it.”
He added that Rickman was particularly supportive of his theater career on both Broadway and London’s West End. “He cut short a vacation in Canada to come and see me in Equus,” Radcliffe said. “He saw every piece of stage work I did when he was alive. He would take me out afterwards and we would talk about it. He was one of the first people to say, like, ‘You should look at voice coaching and Alexander technique and all this stuff.’ He was like, ‘You’re probably not going to get this otherwise, so you should just investigate all this stuff.’ I am so lucky. To hear him say that is really lovely. Thank you for showing me that.”
While Rickman called Radcliffe a “phenomenal” performer in the 2015 podcast, that wasn’t always how he felt. In his personal journals, published in 2022’s Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman, he recalled seeing Radcliffe become more professional during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
“He’s so concentrated now. Serious and focused — but with a sense of fun,” Rickman’s May 2003 entry reads of the third movie. “I still don’t think he’s really an actor but he will undoubtedly direct/produce. And he has such quiet, dignified support from his parents. Nothing is pushed.”
Obviously, that changed — Radcliffe has said on several occasions that he didn’t determine he wanted to be an actor post-Potter until the fifth film — and the younger actor didn’t mind hearing the bad along with the good. He even appreciated Rickman’s suggestion.
“I would love to [try] definitely directing,” Radcliffe said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in November 2022. “Producing seems like all the hard parts of the industry without any of the fun, so I don’t really have interest in doing that.”
Radcliffe added, “All the stuff Alan wrote was very lovely and nostalgic reading. Like, from his comments about us, being like, ‘These kids need to learn their lines. That’s kind of a nightmare right now.’ All of that stuff through to us meeting when I was over here [in NYC] when I was doing a play. It was very, very sweet to read all that.”
Rickman is survived by wife Rima Horton.
© Getty Images
Jesse Tyler Ferguson recalled having to choose between working on his craft or taking unemployment so he could eat during the beginning of his career.
“I started out in theater. I got my equity card pretty easily [when] I did Shakespeare in the Park,” Ferguson, 49, told Kathy Bates during the Tuesday, January 14, episode of his “Dinner’s on Me” podcast, which was taped before the Los Angeles wildfires broke out last week.
He noted that when the show moved to Broadway it “only lasted a few months” and his career stalled. To make ends meet he worked a few odd jobs.
“I worked at a gift shop. I worked at coffee shops,” Ferguson remembered.
Which ‘Modern Family’ Alum Does Jesse Tyler Ferguson Have on ‘Speed Dial’?
While he still dabbled in theater during that time frame the money was minimal. “I would do off Broadway things. But there [were] times when the paychecks that you would make doing these off-Broadway shows were not as good as the unemployment,” he explained, adding, “I would really have to think, like, ‘Do I want to eat, or do I want to grow my artistic self and take these great parts?’ And there [were] times when I was really nervous about it.”
He pointed out that “taking work would actually mean a pay cut because my unemployment was more.”
Ferguson made his Broadway debut in 1998’s On the Town. He later starred in the original cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which started in 2006. His Shakespeare in the Park gigs include 2007’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2010’s A Winter’s Tale and The Merchant of Venice and 2015’s The Tempest.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jokes 'Modern Family' Daughter Sends Him to 'Voicemail'
His small screen career took off in 2006 when he began playing Richie Velch on The Class before landing his biggest TV role to date playing Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family in 2009. The sitcom lasted 11 seasons, ending in 2020. (He was nominated for five Emmys during the show’s run.)
In 2022, Ferguson made a splash on Broadway once again with Take Me Out. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Mason Marzac. He returned to the big screen in 2023 for Cocaine Bear and followed it up with All That We Love in 2024. Ferguson also had a guest starring role on Elsbeth last year.
Outside of acting, Ferguson hosts his podcast and raises his two children with husband Justin Mikita. (The couple welcomed sons Beckett and Sullivan via surrogates in 2020 and 2022, respectively.)
How Just Like Us Is Jesse Tyler Ferguson? We Put Him to the Test
“We’re a little overbearing at times, and we want to hug them and snuggle them,” Ferguson exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2024 of his parenting style.
“Collectively, they’re both like, ‘OK, enough, back up and together we’re deciding that you guys are a little overwhelming,’” he teased. “I love that they’re kind of already, like, drawing a line in the sand together about us.”
Ferguson noted that he’s OK with his kids uniting against their parents, telling Us, “That’s really sweet. I love that they’re gonna have each other for their whole lives.”
In our minds, celebrities lead idyllic existences — but in reality, they struggle with all the same natural (and normal) issues we grapple with. As we grow and age, cellulite becomes more present on our skin. According to Healthline, 85% of women aged 21 years and older have cellulite (especially on the thigh area), but it’s not as normalized as it should be. While some of Us are able to fully embrace the skin texture, others may not love it as much — especially when we see our favorite stars looking flawless on the red carpet.
One of America’s most-discussed A-listers, however, opened up about her cellulite journey and even shared her go-to product to get rid of the stubborn dimples. According to a slew of sources, Kim Kardashian praised the Seaweed Bath Co.’s Firming Body Cream on her Snapchat story a few years back. The life-changing product isn’t only approved by the Kardashians star, it’s also affordable to boot.
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The luxurious body cream is on sale for just $15 right now, and is infused with botanical extracts to help boost circulation — as well as green coffee bean extracts and bladderwrack to increase skin elasticity. Unlike other cellulite-targeting creams, the Seaweed Bath Co.’s Firming Body Cream is scented with rosemary so you’re sure to feel like you’re getting a spa treatment at home.
Not only will it improve the appearance of your skin, it’s also made with hyaluronic acid which can prevent signs of aging and hold in moisture. The creamy formula is also sensitive skin-approved, plus includes over 65 vitamins and minerals to help nourish and detoxify the skin even more. Apply the Seaweed Bath Co.’s Firming Body Cream once per day — or as needed — and massage the product into the skin until it’s fully absorbed.
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One shopper referred to the cream as “gold in a bottle,” writing, “It is amazing how much better and firmer my skin looks and feels after starting to use this cream. I do not EVER want to use anything else. My cellulite is greatly diminished… This body lotion just does the trick. It tightens up certain weak areas and makes my skin feel better, smoother, and overall more even.” Another customer added, “I use it every night to treat my cellulite on my tummy, legs and arms! It leaves my skin very smooth and fresh! I recommend it highly!” A third gave the Seaweed Bath Co.’s Firming Body Cream a five-star review and wrote, “This cream feels amazing on my skin!”
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Kelly Ripa Swears by This Cult-Favorite Lip Mask for a ‘Nice and Juicy’ Pout
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Strawberry Nose? This 3-Step Pore Kit Is Dissolving Blackheads — 20% Off!
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Shields was only a newborn when she appeared in her first TV ad, setting off a chain reaction of events that would see her become a generational touchstone of beauty and youth. Her candid new book is a surprisingly optimistic take on aging full of lessons in self-love and self-advocacy, writes Annabel Nugent. But while definitely hopeful, these promises ring hollow in a society that’s yet to catch up with Shields
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Blue Ivy Carter has a Beyhive all her own.
Members include Jenna Bush Hager and Taraji P. Henson, who defended the gold strapless gown the 13-year-old wore to the Mufasa: The Lion King premiere in Los Angeles after internet trolls questioned if the look was “age appropriate.”
Christian Siriano — who designed the metallic stunner for Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s eldest daughter — appeared alongside Bush Hager and Henson on the Monday, January 14, episode of Today with Jenna & Friends who praised the Project Runway alum for the “gorgeous” gown.
“It’s so beautiful,” Henson, 54, gushed. “I thought she was age appropriate. She looked like a princess!”
Beyonce Praises Blue Ivy at 'Mufasa' Premiere Amid Jay-Z Rape Allegations
Bush Hager, 43, “totally” agreed with her temporary co-host and added, “For anybody that says differently, we say bye bye.”
“People need to shut up!” Henson quipped. “It was very classy.”
Siriano and his team had a mere 48 hours to make the dress, and they wanted to focus on ensuring the teen looked like Hollywood royalty.
“What girl doesn’t want to have a princess moment?” Siriano, 39, asked hypothetically. “And when your parents are Beyoncé and Jay-Z what are you supposed to wear? A doily? Like, you’re not going to wear a tutu. You want to look like a star, come on.”
Henson was quick to point out that Blue Ivy is still just “a child” and urged everyone to keep “our opinions to ourselves.”
“Kindness really matters, and it’s not as easy to do,” she continued. “You can sit on your phone and Twitter your thumbs all you want to, but let’s see you get on the red carpet and pull off a look.”
Bush Hager also gave Siriano props for how the dress’ golden finish resembled the color scheme of the film she starred in, so it was “what she should be wearing.” (Beyoncé, 43, voiced Queen Nala in the Disney live action prequel, while Blue Ivy voiced her daughter Kiara.)
Blue Ivy Carter Joins Beyonce in ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
Blue Ivy initially faced some criticism from trolls who deemed the dress “inappropriate,” to which Henson (a regular on the red-carpet best-dressed list) clapped back: “It was very appropriate,”
Several other celebrities — including Sherri Shepherd and Christina Milian — have also joined the conversation to voice their support for Blue Ivy’s show-stopping style.
For her part, Beyoncé hasn’t dignified the naysayers with a response and has yet to acknowledge the mixed reviews. Instead, she proudly joined her daughter at the premiere with her husband, Jay-Z, 55, — in a coordinated black-and-gold Balmain dress from the label’s limited-edition Disney x Balmain: The Lion King collection.
Designed by Creative Director Olivier Rousteing, the strapless column was adorned with gold polka dots made from metal leaves that, while on-theme, didn’t steal the spotlight from Blue Ivy.
After the red carpet was rolled up, the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer praised her mini-me in a heartfelt Instagram shoutout on December 9. “My gorgeous baby girl,” she captioned the post featuring photos of her daughter posing for photographers. “This is your night. You worked hard and you did such a beautiful job as the voice of Kiara. Your family could not be prouder. Keep shining.”
After all, Blue Ivy is a rising fashion star in the making — and according to Beyoncé’s stylist Shiona Turini, Blue Ivy “makes the final choice” when it comes to her stage looks.
Case in point? The all-white wardrobe Beyoncé recently donned for her much-talked-about halftime performance during the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens Christmas Day game. (The 13-minute performance, dubbed the “Beyoncé Bowl,” aired live on Netflix and is now streaming on the platform.)
For the set, the Grammy winner sang tracks from her Grammy-nominated country album Cowboy Carter. Flanked by a massive ensemble on the field — which included Blue Ivy — they all fittingly wore Western-inspired white costumes, with Beyoncé in a custom Roberto Cavalli feather coat and more than 350 carats of diamond Lorraine Schwartz jewelry.
Beyonce and Jay-Z's Daughter Blue Ivy Is Growing Up: Photos Over the Years
Meanwhile, Blue Ivy dressed like a mini “Cowboy Carter” in a crystal-covered corset and wide-leg pants from Ukrainian designer Frolov that were festooned with fringe. They both topped things off with a Stetson hat.
“When Bey said she wanted everyone in white, I knew we had to look at different textures, different patterns, different accents — whether it was fringe, suede, crystals, American flags,” Turini said in a December interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “You really have to lean into the elements that are going to make each section feel different so it doesn’t feel repetitive.”
Turini continued: “But for Blue, you can play around with her options because she will be different from anyone else, no matter what.” Standout style, indeed.
We get it — bra shopping isn’t the most exciting, but finding one that achieves the perfect fit is the best feeling. Too often, looking for a new bra comes with frustration: Bulky fit, itchy fabric, terribly uncomfortable . . . we could go on and on.
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The 15 Best Sports Bras That Deliver Superior Style, Comfort and Support
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Melissa Gorga Says This $22 Sports Bra Is a ‘Game Changer’
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O-Town is making it clear that they have no connection to Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“Of all the bands in Making the Band, we’re the only one not tied to him,” original member Jacob Underwood said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, January 14.“The more people confuse us with a Diddy band and post our pictures with his story, the more it goes against us. We make a living touring and can’t afford to have [bookers] Googling us to find the latest Diddy clickbait.”
Underwood, 44, pointed out that he has never even met the 55-year-old rapper.
O-Town was formed during the inaugural season of Making the Band, which aired in 2000 on ABC. During season 1, Lou Pearlman — who was the infamous mastermind behind the Backstreet Boys and ‘NSync — was on the hunt for the next great boyband. Underwood, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Ashley Parker Angel and Ikaika Kahoano were selected at first. However, Kahoano departed the group and current member Dan Miller was brought in as a replacement. (Angel later exited the group for good in 2003.)
Why O-Town Says ‘Liquid Dreams’ Is Their Least Favorite Song to Perform
After season 1 ended, O’Town was signed to a record label. Following O-Town’s success a new season of Making the Band was in the works. However, the show left ABC and was then broadcast on MTV. The MTV version brought in Diddy to scout the talent where he formed the musical acts Danity Kane, Da Band, Day26 and solo artist Donnie Klang.
While O-Town was not involved in Diddy’s version of the singing competition series, the group has claimed to suffer from fallout amid the rapper’s current legal situation. Diddy remains behind bars awaiting trial after being indicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering last year. Diddy has denied all the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.
“We already inherited our own infamous producer/manager from our version of Making the Band and now another version and its mogul is affecting us.”For our livelihood to be impacted this many years after the brand was moved to him is so unfortunate, ” Estrada, 45, said to The Hollywood Reporter, referring to Pearlman’s legal scandals. In 2008, Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements during a bankruptcy proceeding. He died of cardiac arrest in 2016 at age 62 while in prison.
The band’s agent Matt Rafal added that O-Town has had offers “pulled due to the perception of the group being attached to Diddy” despite making it clear there was no connection between them and Diddy.
“I can’t play victim because there are people who have experienced atrocities from this person and are scarred for life,” Estrada said to the outlet. “We have financial and booking stress, but they have emotional stress. We just have to take this on the chin and keep going.”
Before appearing on season 3 of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, Marion Jones had waged plenty of battles in the court of public opinion.
Jones, 49, won five medals — three gold and two bronze — at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but was later stripped of the medals after admitting to lying about taking performance-enhancing drugs.
In addition to giving her medals back, Jones was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008 for her role in the scandal.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly before the Special Forces premiere, Jones said the show gave her the chance to “revisit the intensity level” of her Olympic past.
Denise Richards Teases Her ‘Special Forces’ Experience: 'Never' Again
“I think the general public sees us excel in a small window, but you don’t know that from the time that we were 3, 4, 5 years old until whenever our sport ended, we’ve been at that level,” Jones said of her and her Special Forces castmates. “And when you’re removed from it, for whatever reason, and you start life there’s always something, at least for me, like, ‘Ah, there’s something more. I need to be challenged somehow.’”
She added, “No doubt this experience satisfied that for me.”
Special Forces soldier Rudy Reyes exclusively told Us Weekly that he looked at Jones’ appearance on the show as an attempt to rewrite her public narrative.
“She was the fastest woman on the planet,” Reyes said. “I really, really admired the work and her speed and her training. She had many world records. And then she got hit with the charges for doping, and she really became a scapegoat and a sacrificial lamb and ultimately went to prison.”
Reyes added, “I just love a comeback story. That’s really quintessentially American. We always give someone another chance. And it was really wonderful to see her out there.”
For everything to know about Marion Jones, keep reading.
During her time at the University of North Carolina, Jones was also a member of the women’s basketball team in addition to her starring role on the track and field team.
Jones was on the roster of the Tar Heel team that won the 1994 national title, and was a two-time All-ACC selection and the Most Valuable Player of the 1997 ACC Tournament.
Following her track and field career, Jones played two seasons in the WNBA with the Tulsa Shock from 2010-2011.
In December 2004, Victor Conte, the founder of a company called BALCO, said he had given Jones four different illegal performance-enhancing drugs before, during, and after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games during an interview on ABC’s 20/20.
Jones denied the allegations for years, before ultimately admitting to lying to federal agents under oath in October 2007.
Meet ‘Special Forces’ Season 3 Cast: Trista Sutter, Stephen Baldwin and More
In a press conference, Jones issued a mea culpa to the American public.
“It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust and you have the right to be angry with me,” Jones said. “I have let them down. I have let my country down. And I have let myself down.”
In July 2006, Jones was also linked to a check-counterfeiting scheme in which documents showed a $25,000 check had been deposited into Jones’ bank account. Jones eventually pleaded guilty to her knowledge of the scheme.
Jones was sentenced to six months in jail in 2008 for her involvement in the check fraud case and her use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Jones got married to shot putter C.J. Hunter in 1998 after the pair met while Jones was a student-athlete and Hunter was a coach at North Carolina.
At the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Hunter abruptly withdrew from the shot put competition, citing a knee injury. However, the International Olympic Committee announced shortly after that Hunter had failed four pre-Olympic drug tests.
The couple divorced in 2002. After their split, Hunter gave testimony to a grand jury in 2004 saying Jones’ steroid use started well before the Sydney Games.
Jones would not publicly admit to the drug use until years later.
Hunter died in 2021 at the age of 52.
In February 2007, Jones married Barbadian Olympian Obadele Thompson. Jones and Thompson had two children together before the couple divorced in 2017.
Jones also gave birth to a son with ex-boyfriend, Tim Montgomery Jr., in June 2003.
In 2024, Jones helped launch Driven Performance, which is “dedicated to helping you achieve your potential, and exceed what you thought possible by developing the discipline and mindset to start winning at every area of your life.”
During an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts in July 2024, Jones said she wants people to look at her life and “ultimately come to the conclusion that failure isn’t forever.”
“I would hope that when people see my story ultimately they say, ‘You know what? Yeah, she went through some stuff,’” Jones said. “Lot of it [is] because of her own choices. But she didn’t stay there, and she didn’t allow it all to ultimately consume her.”
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