Reese Witherspoon is still embarrassed about the time she thought she was supposed to roast a friend at an awards show.
It turns out Witherspoon, 48, was only supposed to present an award to her, and the mix-up led to the end of their relationship.
“It literally haunts me,” she told People in an interview published on Thursday, January 30. “So this friend of mine, who I didn’t really know that well but she was a very serious, proper actress, she asked me to give her an award. But I had never been to this award ceremony, so I thought it was, like, a roast. So I got up and I roasted her.”
Witherspoon called the event “British,” “elegant” and “classy,” and she simply read the room wrong.
“I was like, ‘Remember the time we got laser hair removal?’” she recalled. “I’m still embarrassed about it.”
The Legally Blonde star didn’t name the actress in question but said the two no longer speak. Still, she was able to look back on the incident with a laugh.
XNY/Star Max/GC Images
“We’re not friends anymore. I’m not even kidding — we’re not friends anymore,” she said. “I think she doesn’t like me anymore. I thought it was so funny and it was just, I had the wrong audience. It was pretty bad. Yeah. Not even kidding, she doesn’t talk to me anymore. Oh well.”
Witherspoon’s mis-roast wasn’t the first time the actress has added humor to an awards ceremony. She also broke out an Australian accent when presenting the AFI Lifetime Achievement award to her Big Little Lies costar Nicole Kidman in 2024.
Though Witherspoon may still cringe at the incident with the unnamed actress, her revelation comes just one day after she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she admitted she goes out of her way to embarrass her three kids to ensure they grow up with a sense of humor.
Witherspoon is a mother of three, sharing daughter Ava, 25, and son Deacon, 21 with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and son Tennessee, 12, with ex-husband Jim Toth.
“I think you should embarrass them enough that they’re funny later in life,” she explained on the Wednesday, January 29, episode.
“They’re not children anymore. They’re adults,” she added, before joking, “Which is weird because I’m 30, you know? It’s weird, but sometimes it works that way.”
Fallon seemed to understand where Witherspoon was coming from, calling her “one of the coolest moms.”
“Your kids gotta be proud of you,” he said, “but also, you post things [online] that make you embarrassed. … I love that about you.”
Courtesy of Everly and Alydia Livingston/Instagram
Sisters and figure skaters Everly and Alydia Livingston are among the victims of the American Airlines plane crash over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, January 29.
Everly, 11, and Alydia, 14, were members of the Washington Figure Skating Club. They were attending the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, according to their joint Instagram account.
In their final Instagram post, the sisters posed together rink-side at INTRUST Bank Arena, which hosted the event.
“If you look closely at Alydia’s badge… We were born ready for this but is @usfigureskating ready for this much Livingston at Nationals?” the caption read.
Since figure skating news outlet GoldenSkate broke the news of their deaths, commenters have filled the replies with their condolences.
“It has been a privilege to be able to watch you both grow up into beautiful skaters rest in peace angels,” wrote one follower.
Another added, “Fly high liddy and evy u guys were taken way too soon ”
The accident occurred when the flight collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter as it was attempting to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Emergency officials have recovered 28 bodies as of Thursday, January 30, and there are not believed to be any survivors. The plane, American Airlines flight 5342, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew. The helicopter held three U.S. soldiers.
GoldenSkate has so far confirmed 17 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team, coaches or parents aboard the flight. Russian skaters Yevgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were also on the plane.
“U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.” a statement from the organization read. “These athletes, coaches and family members were returning home from National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.”
The International Skating Union released a statement as well.
“We are heartbroken to learn that figure skaters, along with their families, friends, and coaches, are understood to be among those on board,” it read. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. Figure skating is more than a sport — it’s a close-knit family — and we stand together. We remain in close contact with U.S. Figure Skating and offer our full support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Not everyone is getting invited to Kelly Stafford’s house for birthday parties.
Kelly, wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, has one rule she wants parents to know about hosting birthday parties for her older daughters, twins Sawyer and Chandler, 7. (She and Matthew, 36, also share daughters Hunter, 6 and Tyler, 4.)
“When the girls have their birthday party, it will be a drop-off,” she told her friend and cohost Hank Winchester on the Thursday, January 30 episode of their podcast, “The Morning After.”
In other words, parents will be asked to drop their kids off at the party and come back later to pick them up. Kelly, 35, added that kids with parents unwilling to leave won’t be invited.
“I am not here to entertain not only your child but you,” she explained. “I’m not. I say ‘this is a drop-off. Please drop your child off.’”
Kelly understands concerns parents might have, especially if the family decides to open their pool for the party, and is prepared to make them feel at ease.
“If the pool was open I would say ‘there will be a lifeguard on staff, there will be extra eyes helping me,’” she continued. “But I’m sorry, I don’t want to entertain people while I’m also trying to also enjoy my kids’ birthday and make these memories with them.”
Courtesy of Kelly Stafford/Instagram
She understands that it works both ways. Both Kelly and Hank are “drop-off parents,” and Kelly added that she thinks that’s important for her older daughters.
“If you’re comfortable dropping your kid off, if you feel comfortable in the situation they’re in, I think it’s important to foster that independence a little bit, to get them out,” she said.
That’s not to say Kelly isn’t itching to spend time with her daughters. She spent January shuttling them to their dad’s playoff games for the Los Angeles Rams, even flying them to Arizona for the Rams’ Wild Card game against the Minnesota Vikings while one of her daughters was sick.
There’s also the independent time for mom and dad. Winchester joked that he observed two “very different” types of parents at his daughter’s birthday.
“I noticed two very different camps of parents. One camp could not get their kid in that place quick enough,” he said, mimicking the sound of their cars peeling out of the parking lot. “They’re going to Target, they’re going to have a mimosa, they’re living their best life. And let me tell you what, I am in that camp, mainly because my child does not want to see me.”
It may be time to retire the Dad Bod and embrace the Mahomes Bod — at least that’s what his former trainer, Bobby Stroupe, believes.
“I think the problem is you look at him and his body type is not what you would think of,” the performance trainer told The Athletic in a story published on Thursday, January 30.
He added that Patrick Mahomes excels at “forecasting momentum,” or using his vision to gauge his speed relative to his opponents, resulting in elite reaction time.
Stroupe has seen this phenomenon before. He has worked with Major League Baseball pitchers, who often have higher body fat percentage than other pro athletes. The Athletic pointed to newly minted Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, who spoke about it in an interview with Pat McAfee in 2023.
“I always say ‘mass equals gas.’ I need a big ass to throw hard,” he said.
That means Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, actually has a “dad bod,” in the original sense of the phrase — but a lack of six-pack abs doesn’t mean he’s not in peak physical condition.
Courtesy of Brittany Mahomes/Instagram
According to Mackenzie Pearson, who coined the term while she was a student at Clemson, “dad bod” was never supposed to be synonymous with out-of-shape men. She used it to describe the men who would go to frat parties on campus — often former athletes who have had “a few too many beers.”
“It’s the Patrick Mahomes [body],” she said. “It’s that version of someone that is objectively physically in good shape and attractive. But not washboard abs. That’s the big thing.”
Mahomes himself has spoken about the dad bod allegations, and he agrees that his physique is critical to his success.
“I use those hips and that obliques muscle to really rotate through there,” Mahomes said in an interview with Tom Brady in October 2024. “The people who have seen the dad bod, that’s for a reason — that’s the obliques. I’m getting them right.”
Brady, 47, agreed, humorously adding, “We have to keep a little padding in there. We’re getting hit all the time.”
Mahomes said roughly the same thing last April in a story for Time.
“I definitely have the dad bod a little bit,” he said. “I’ll also say I have a great body for a quarterback. You’ve got to have some padding in there to take the hits that we take.”
The pair’s exercise and fitness regime clearly works. Brady won seven Super Bowls in his Hall of Fame career and Mahomes is going for his fourth. His Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on February 9 in New Orleans.
Zayn Malik had a friend in attendance at his Wednesday, January 29, concert at Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
Louis Tomlinson was in the crowd to show his support just three months after their One Direction bandmate Liam Payne died unexpectedly after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires.
“Tonight’s something special. An old friend of mine is here for me tonight,” Malik, 32, told the crowd as the audience erupted in cheers, as seen in a fan video shared via X. “I don’t want to give his location away, but Louis is here tonight.”
The video showed Tomlinson, 33, seated in a box in the theater, tapping his heart in appreciation.
The pair were last seen together publicly at Payne’s Buckinghamshire, England, funeral in November, along with One Direction members Harry Styles and Niall Horan. Malik postponed his Stairway to the Sky tour after Payne’s death, finally launching the United States leg on January 21 in Washington, D.C.
Malik has honored Payne at his shows throughout the tour, showing a blue screen with “Liam Payne 1993 – 2024, love you bro” written across it with a red heart, as his song “Stardust” plays.
Tomlinson’s appearance at Malik’s concert has also fueled speculation about a One Direction reunion. Malik left the band in 2015, and the group released one more album after that before going on indefinite hiatus in 2016.
With Payne set to be honored at the Brit Awards on March 1, rumors have surfaced that the remaining One Direction members might reunite at the event. The band won seven Brit Awards prior to their hiatus.
CNN is looking back at the life and legacy of basketball great Kobe Bryant, from his on-court triumphs to the sexual assault allegation that cast a cloud over the second half of his career.
Part two of the three-part Kobe: The Making of a Legend series debuts on Saturday, February 1, and delves into the sexual assault complaint levied against the late Los Angeles Lakers star.
In an exclusive look provided to Us Weekly, the episode features video of Bryant heading into a Colorado courtroom before journalist Miki Turner, prosecutor Ingrid Bakke and district attorney Mark Hurlbert take turns reading the statement Bryant released after the charges against him were dropped.
Bryant was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman at a Colorado hotel in 2003. The alleged victim filed a police report and authorities questioned Bryant about bruising on her neck. Bryant initially denied the sexual encounter before admitting it took place but insisting it was consensual. The Lakers star was arrested that July and was preparing to stand trial the following when a prosecutor dismissed the charges after the accuser experienced harassment and death threats and opted not to testify.
“First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident,” his statement began. “I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure.”
Kobe Bryant appears in courtBarry Gutierrez-Pool/Getty Images
He went on to reinforce his claim that the sexual encounter was consensual, though he understood the alleged victim did not feel the same way.
“I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did,” he said. “After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney and even hearing her testify in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.”
Though the criminal charges against Bryant were dropped, the NBA star and his accuser settled a civil lawsuit out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.
Thomas Cooper/Getty Images
Bryant’s wife Vanessa, whom he married in 2001, stood by his side throughout the legal proceedings and until his death in 2020. The two shared four daughters, Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri. Gianna died with Kobe and seven others in a helicopter crash that took place while they were on their way to one of Gianna’s basketball games.
In the years after the alleged incident, Bryant began to regain the sponsors he lost and repair his reputation. He went on to win two more NBA championships and an MVP award. In 2020, he was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Episode 2 of Kobe: The Making of a Legend premieres Saturday, February 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Storm Wilson still doesn’t believe his showmance with Maria-Grace Cook on Deal or No Deal Island season 2 should have raised his threat level, even after his shocking ouster at the hands of former ally Dickson Wong.
Even so, Storm, 25, told Us Weekly exclusively that his bond with MG, 21, was strong enough to warrant some visits off the island.
“Without going too much into detail, we’ve visited each other a couple times off the island,” he said. “I went to L.A. where she just moved. We did a couple things there. She may or may not be coming to Austin soon.”
So does that mean there’s a future for the two, who first hit it off while waiting out a storm under a palm tree at the beginning of the episode that aired Tuesday, January 28?
“I’m not really sure,” he said. “We’ll circle around back that circle around on that. Whenever she’s in Austin, we’ll decide then.”
Monty Brinton/NBC
Storm and MG’s showmance was short-lived, but it caught the attention of the other players. Dr. Will Kirby, known for first popularizing the term on reality TV back on Big Brother 2, told the cameras it made them a huge threat because showmances often equate to unbreakable bonds.
Meanwhile, Storm and MG both knew others saw them under the palm tree and soon realized there was no use hiding their relationship. MG even gave Storm a good luck shoulder massage before his turn at the axe throwing challenge.
Despite his showmance, Storm didn’t seem to be in anyone’s crosshairs headed into the temple. He was allied with MG, who was endearing herself to The Family alliance (Dickson, David Genat and Parvati Shallow), while also having a side alliance with Alexis Lete, to whom he had grown close.
But Dickson wanted to make a big move. After playing one of the most unbelievable games of Deal or No Deal in the show’s history and banking $5 million for the game’s final case, he stunned the cast by cutting Storm instead of Courtney “CK” Kim, the easy target who he previously said he would eliminate.
“I remember thinking that was a stupid move because [Dickson] just told every single person on the island who you were gonna take out,” Storm explained. “It’s not because I was doing anything big and bad…It pissed off my entire team, which means that my team is now pissed off at him specifically, but also The Family, and so he just created animosity for no reason.”
Deal or No Deal Island airs on NBC on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. and is available to stream on Peacock the next day.
Justin Ryan Simpson.Courtesy of Justin Simpson/Facebook
Justin Simpson, son of O.J. Simpson, is being sued by his late father’s estate over the status of his Las Vegas house, according to a lawsuit filed on January 6.
O.J., who died in April 2024 at age 76, lived in the 2,900-square-foot Arbour Garden Avenue home, which Justin’s company, Primary Holdings, purchased in 2022 for $795,000.
Following O.J. ‘s death, Justin moved into the house and is allegedly refusing to vacate or repay O.J.’s estate the money that the former pro football player invested into the home. It has left the estate looking for payment from Justin or for him to sign over ownership of the property.
Read on for everything to know about Justin’s legal battle with his father’s estate.
O.J.’s estate is arguing that O.J. never intended to make his house separate from his estate. It alleges that Justin knew that when Primary Holdings purchased the home that O.J. was “intended to be the de facto owner of the Arbour Garden Property, and that Primary Holdings was the owner in name only.”
It also notes that O.J. continued to make mortgage and utilities payments on the house until his death, despite Primary Holdings being the owner on paper.
What is Justin’s Claim to the House?
Courtesy of Malcolm LaVergne/Instagram
As the sole owner of Primary Holdings, Justin is, technically, the owner of the house, despite him not living there while O.J. was alive and his late father being the one who continued to make payments on it. Now that O.J. is dead, Justin lives there full time and allegedly refuses to vacate.
Malcolm LaVergne, the special administrator of O.J.’s estate, told the Las Vegas Review-Journalin a story published Monday, January 27, that Justin’s actions have been “very selfish.”
How Does This Lawsuit Relate to O.J. Simpson’s Infamous Murder Trial?
VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images
According to the lawsuit, obtained by NBC News, Justin purchased the property as a means to help shield his father from creditors going after his house due to the money he owed, both to the IRS and the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
After O.J. was found not guilty of Brown Simpson and Goldman’s murders in 1995, he was later found liable in a civil suit and ordered to pay their families $33.5 million.
The effort to dodge creditors from collecting on that money has resulted in the legal battle over the house’s status after O.J.’s death.
What Have LaVergne and Justin Said About the Controversy?
LaVergne has outlined exactly what he is looking for from Justin.
“Either Justin writes me a check for what was put down for the property and the increase in the value, the equity of it, which is probably now roughly about a quarter of a million dollars,” LaVergne told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “or he can title the property to me and let me figure out what to do with the property.”
Justin has not yet commented publicly and Us Weekly has reached out.
Jeff Probst likes to tell players that “you have to dig deep” to make it on Survivor, and for the 48th time, a group of castaways is hitting the beach to do just that.
CBS has announced the cast for Survivor 48, which premieres with a two-hour episode on Wednesday, February 26, at 8 p.m. ET. Probst, 63, returns to host — as he has every season since the show premiered in 2000 — and will guide the 18 all-new players through every challenge, twist and blindside that the journey has to offer.
Like other seasons in Survivor’s “new era,” the players will be split into three tribes of six, leaving no place to hide.
“Even the strongest competitors will be tested and forced to dig deep mentally and physically to ensure their torch stays lit,” CBS teased in a release announcing the cast.
This season’s group is diverse in age, background and occupation, with a debate professor, stunt performer and surgeon all set to hit the beaches of Fiji.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Wahlberg, 55, and McCarthy, 52, who met in 2012 and married in 2014, recalled attending the Emmys shortly after their wedding, where they decided to sneak away for a few minutes. As they were making out in the hallway, Wahlberg could hear one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood.
“We hear this voice say, ‘Get a room,’” Wahlberg told Us. “I was like, ‘That sounded like the voice of God.’ It was Morgan Freeman. He walked by and winked at us and we were like, ‘Is there a bathroom around?’”
Since saying “I do”, peeling off by themselves during public events is a common occurrence. McCarthy added that the duo still “like to sneak off at parties.”
“If someone has a Christmas party, we’re going to find the basement bathroom, take advantage of the moment,” she teased.
Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg.Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
When there’s not a spare room available, the lovebirds like to think out of the box, and sometimes their spontaneity takes them on a quick drive, out of public view.
“And I think there was that one time where I was like, ‘We never did it in a car,’” she added. “And they were like, ‘Well, let’s do it.’ So we drove down the street just to do it.”
Whether it’s in front of the “voice of God” or in the privacy of their own car, Wahlberg says they try to “keep it spicy” a decade into their marriage.
“It’s like, treat yourselves in the good ways you did when you first started to fall for each other,” he explained. “That’s really it. That’s how you keep it alive, don’t take it for granted that it’s been 10 years now. We don’t have to do that stuff anymore. No, do it. Do all the things that showed how much you cared in the beginning. Keep doing it as best you can.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that Wahlberg and McCarthy seek out public places — or that they intended for Freeman to catch them kissing.
“We don’t want people to watch us,” McCarthy said. “We try to make sure it’s private, but it makes it more fun than the typical, your bedroom.”
For those interested in watching Wahlberg and McCarthy do something aside from packing on the PDA, the pair will cohost ID true-crime special Very Scary Lovers on February 2 at 10 p.m. ET, right after the finale of Wahlberg’s Very Scary People.
For more on Wahlberg and McCarthy, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly — on newsstands now.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the patient’s lymphatic system, with “white blood cells called lymphocytes [that] grow abnormally and can form growths (tumors) throughout the body,” according to the Mayo Clinic. With his wife Melissa Bring by his side, Coulier has relied on his doctors’ “very specific plan for how they were going to treat” the cancer.
“That was really a conscious decision of, I’m going to meet this head-on, and I want people to know it’s my life,” Coulier explained in a November 2024 episode of his “Full House Rewind” podcast after he revealed his diagnosis. “I’m not going to try and hide anything. I would rather talk about it and open the discussion and inspire people.”
Coulier’s treatment is ongoing, with the plan after his diagnosis being for him to complete chemotherapy in February 2025 and be in “total remission.”
“He has some really tough days, and as the chemo has been accumulating it gets a little tougher and more difficult,” Bring said during an interview with WXYZ published on Thursday, January 23.
She added that on good days, they play a song and have a “dance party with the dogs” to celebrate the positive moments.
Keep scrolling for everything Coulier has said about his cancer battle.
Coping With His Diagnosis
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Coulier was first diagnosed in October 2024 after he battled an upper-respiratory infection that resulted in severe swelling of his lymph nodes. When one area swelled to the size of a golf ball, he underwent PET and CT scans and a biopsy, which revealed the cancer.
“I went from, ‘I got a little bit of a head cold,’ to ‘I have cancer,’ and it was pretty overwhelming,” he told People. “This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.”
Coulier expanded on Bring’s comments about the good and bad days, adding that when things are going well, the lifelong hockey fan can even skate.
“Some days are nauseous and dizzy, and then there’s other days where the steroids kick in, and I feel like I have a ton of energy,” he told People. “I actually skated yesterday with some friends here in Detroit. We just went and skated around and shot pucks, and it was wonderful just to be out there doing something that I love and just trying to stay focused on all the great stuff that I have in my life.”
Early Detection
While Coulier continues his own battle, he’s also using his platform to help others understand the importance of early detection.
“There’s a lot to live for. And if that means talking with your doctors or getting a mammogram or a breast exam or a colonoscopy, it can really make a big change in your life,” he said, per People.
He added that since his diagnosis, he has heard from others who have gone for check-ups.
“I have heard from so many people who have been inspired enough by my words and actions to say that they are going to check in with their doctors and get mammograms, a colonoscopy or a prostate exam,” Coulier shared via Instagram in November 2024. “I’m still going to laugh in the face of adversity.”
Coulier expressed optimism about his recovery after a bone marrow test came back negative shortly after his diagnosis.
“At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to [the] 90 percent range,” he said. “And so that was a great day.”
Telling the Full House Cast
Fotos International/Getty Images
Coulier wanted to make sure his TV family, the cast of Full House, heard the news of his diagnosis from him.
“I didn’t want them to hear it from someone else, so I sent a text message out,” Coulier said. “It was just this outpouring of, ‘I will be there. You just name the time, and I know you’re in great hands with [wife Melissa Bring], but what can we do? It really is overwhelming the love that we have for each other. We’ve been there for so many years for each other, and it’s pretty remarkable.”
After learning of his friend’s diagnosis, Stamos paid him a visit while wearing a bald cap in a show of support. He and Coulier posted a photo to Instagram, and while many were supportive, others criticized Stamos for not shaving his head.
“I’m sorry to see a bunch of negative comments as I’ve just begun my cancer journey,” Coulier wrote via Instagram on November 19. “It’s our friendship (me and John) and this is how we are handling a very tough time. I’m a comedian and humor is what drives me. John knows how to cheer me up and I laughed out loud when he arrived wearing a bald cap — being a true loving friend and brother.”
The ‘Constant Fight’
Coulier’s treatment has been a “constant fight,” he said on a January 2025 episode of his “Full House Rewind” podcast.
“The side effects have side effects,” he said. “And then you take a drug to counteract that and this and that. So it’s this constant cocktail where your body is in fight or flight mode and you’re just trying to adjust to, ‘Okay, how am I adjusting to steroids? How am I adjusting to the chemo cocktail?’”
“It’s a little bit of an internal battle,” he added.
Billy Ray is a father of six, sharing his eldest son Christopher with ex-girlfriend Kristin Luckey and Miley, Noah, Braison, Brandi and Trace with ex-wife Tish Cyrus. Billy Ray adopted Brandi and Trace when he married Tish, who welcomed her eldest two kids in a previous relationship.
Billy Ray and Tish broke up a few times during their 29-year marriage and ended their on-again, off-again relationship for good in 2022.
While they both stayed close with the kids (for the most part), it hasn’t been smooth-sailing for either parent. The “Achy Breaky Heart” singer, for his part, made headlines in January 2025 with his rocky performance at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, causing Trace to pen an open letter to him via Instagram. In the letter, Trace expressed his worry for his father, who he said he barely recognizes.
Trace added that Billy Ray has grown apart from his daughters, who have been worried about him “for years.”
Keep scrolling to see where Billy Ray stands with each of his kids.
Miley
2193140264 BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 05: Miley Cyrus attends the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 05, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Miley and her dad have endured an up and down relationship over the years. The “Flowers” singer burst onto the national scene starring in Hannah Montana alongside Billy Ray, though he later said the show “destroyed” the family. (A remark Tish has denied.)
More recently, rumors of a rift between the two intensified when Miley left him out of her Record of the Year acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammys.
That June during an appearance on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, she opened up about her relationship with Billy Ray.
“He almost given me this map, and it’s a map of what to do and what not to do, and he’s guided me on both,” she said. “Without my dad, I know … who I am as a person wouldn’t exist. Because my dad as a creative and like, as an artist, and the way his brain works has always made me feel safer in my own mind.”
She continued, joking: “I also inherited the narcissism from my father. I don’t know anything about my own siblings except for the part that I was doing. … I was moving to L.A., and that’s all I really knew.”
“Happy Birthday Mile !!! Hope it’s the best one ever !” he wrote. “(I know I dropped the “y”. That’s what I called @mileycyrus most of her life. ).”
Trace
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Best known for his work with defunct pop rock band Metro Station and his past relationships with Brenda Song and ex-fiancée Taylor Lauren Sanders, Trace was adopted with Brandi into the Cyrus family in 1993.
In January 2025, he shared via Instagram a throwback photo of himself on stage with his dad. His lengthy caption explained that he was “genuinely worried” about Billy Ray’s health and that the two had not spoken “in a while.”
“The man that I wanted so desperately to be just like I barely recognize now,” Trace wrote. “It seems this world has beaten you down and it’s become obvious to everyone but you. You may be upset with me for posting this but I really could care less at this point.”
He continued, “Me and the girls have been genuinely worried about you for years but you’ve pushed all of us away. Noah desperately has wanted you to be a part of her life and you haven’t even been there for her. That’s your baby girl. She deserves better. Somehow just like me, she still idolizes you though. We are all hanging on to memories of the man we once knew and hoping for the day he returns.”
Noah
RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Though Trace mentioned that Billy Ray “has not been there” for Noah in his post, the youngest Cyrus kid has had a close relationship with her dad in the past. The two collaborated on the 2022 song “Noah (Stand Still).”
“The honor is mine daddy!!! so grateful to share this track I wrote about you, pappy and papaw Cyrus,” she wrote via Instagram. “You’re my hero and inspiration .. I love u.”
Amid Billy Ray’s divorce from estranged wife Firerose in 2024, he referenced the song in a post via Instagram.
“Sometimes you gotta take your daughter’s advice and just ‘Stand Still,’” he wrote.
“Love my daddy so much,” Noah, who Us reported had drama with her mother over Tish’s marriage to Dominic Purcell, commented on the post.
Braison and Billy Ray have been working closely as Braison is producing his dad’s next studio album. Though Trace wrote that Billy Ray has pushed much of his family away, Braison has valued the time he has spent working on the record.
“I’ve spent this past year getting to know my dad better than I ever have,” Braison said in a statement. “I’ve heard stories, jokes and songs that I don’t think anyone else has. It’s an opportunity to tell my dad’s story through music and I’m fortunate to be able to take it. Music, stories and family are the most important things to my dad so to bring the two together is a full circle endeavor.”
In a statement of his own, Billy Ray lauded his son’s talent.
“Braison is very talented and [2025] is his year,” he said. “I’m glad to be a part of it. This record is gonna be special. I’m gearing up for what will be the journey of a lifetime.”
Brandi
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Brandi, an actress, singer and now podcaster, is the oldest of Billy Ray’s kids. He adopted her in 1993 when he married Tish. Though she hasn’t spoken much about her relationship with Billy Ray, Trace said in his open letter that he “and the girls” have been worried about him for years.
Brandi did credit Billy Ray with encouraging her interest in horses when she was young.
“I have been riding horses since I was 6 years old,” she told World Equestrian Center in 2021. “I was very fortunate that, when my dad got his record deal in the early 90s, he took his money and bought a ton of land in Tennessee, so I grew up on a horse farm. My dad put me on a horse and just said, ‘Have at it.’ It was a hold on and figure it out kind of thing and I spent almost every day riding on the property with him.”
Christopher
Though Chris spoke positively of his relationship with Miley in a 2009 interview with the Mirror, Chris’ mother said that Billy Ray and Chris are not close. “[Chris] tried to keep a lot [of his emotions with his estranged dad] inside but I know when he’s hurting and really getting to him,” Luckey said at the time.
Olivia Wilde and Dane DiLiegroWireImage; FilmMagic
Los Angeles Lakers home games are about more than basketball — they’re often a celebrity spectacle, and their clash against the Boston Celtics Thursday night, January 23, was no different. Two stars that sat courtside, however, drew a little more attention than the others.
Both were dressed inconspicuously, with Wilde, 40, sporting a brown Los Angeles Dodgers hat with a white hoodie and blue jeans. DiLiegro, 36, went with a similar look, opting for a green hoodie and black cap. Us Weekly has reached out to reps for both stars for comment.
DiLiegro, who is best known for his roles in the films Prey and Imaginary, is a former pro basketball player himself. After a four-year playing career at the University of New Hampshire, the center played in Italy and Israel before turning to acting full-time.
It’s not unusual to see him enjoying an NBA game — he has friends throughout the league and even officiated the wedding of the Toronto Raptors’ Kelly Olynyk.
Olivia Wilde and Dane Diliegro sit behind Kelsi Taylor and Dane Cook during a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on January 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
As for Wilde, she has not dated anyone publicly since her breakup with Harry Styles — who she directed in Don’t Worry Darling — in 2022. She was previously married to Italian prince Tao Ruspoli from 2003 to 2011 and became engaged to Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis in 2013, though the two never married and split in 2020. Wilde and Sudekis share son Otis, 10, and daughter Daisy Josephine, 8.
The House actress has done her best to keep her personal life out of the public eye, explaining to Variety in 2022 that she has “never seen a relationship benefit from being dragged into the public arena.”
“I think what you realize is that when you’re really happy, it doesn’t matter what strangers think about you,” she said in a 2021 story for Vogue. “All that matters to you is what’s real, and what you love, and who you love.”
“In the past 10 years, as a society, we have placed so much more value on the opinion of strangers rather than the people closest to us,” she continued. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been. And I’m healthier than I’ve ever been, and it’s just wonderful to feel that.”
North West, FKA twigsKevork Djansezian;Aeon/GC Images/Getty Images(2)
North West is showing her multilingual mastery yet again.
The 11-year-old daughter of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian is featured on a track on FKA twigs’ new album, Eusexua, which dropped on Friday, January 24. North raps in Japanese on “Childlike Things,” the eighth track on the album.
“Where the wild things are I will be / Lost in a world of childlike things and fantasies,” FKA twigs sings, before North comes in and raps, in Japanese, lyrics that translate to, “Hello / My name is North-chan / California to Tokyo / Jesus king / God is praise / Jesus is the only true God.”
Kardashian, a proud mom, promoted the track to her 358 million Instagram followers via her story on Friday.
North previously rapped in Japanese on “Bomb,” featured on her dad’s Vulture 2 album, released last August. The music video for the track released in November and featured North and her sister, Chicago, 7, in the desert in a Tesla Cybertruck. (West and Kardashian also share sons Saint, 9, and Psalm, 5.).
North has spent time in Japan, telling Interview Magazine in October 2024 what she “loves” about the country, including that “everybody’s style is on point.”
Her appearance on FKA twigs’ album comes while the tween is working on an album of her own. North announced Elementary School Dropout, her debut album, last March. The name is a nod to her dad’s debut studio album, The College Dropout, from 2004.
Ye, 47, has seemingly been in the studio with North as recently as Tuesday, January 21, when he posted a black-and-white photo of her via his Instagram channel.
“This little girl made me love music again ,” he captioned the post. “She asked me to make beats for her I got back on the ASR Chopped up beats for her album and chopped every beats with my bare hand for BULLY.”
While North continues working on her own project, her featured appearance on Eusexua has been met with mixed reviews. Rolling Stone UK called it “a bizarre misstep on the album,” while The Quietus said, “it sticks out on an otherwise sophisticated album, and is just plain annoying.”
Many fans, however, reacted more positively, sharing their praise for twigs and North via X.
“Never in my life would i thought i be dancing to a fka twigs + north west collab yet here we are,” one fan wrote.
“THE NORTH WEST FEATURE ISNT BAD FKA TWIGS DID IT THIS SONG IS FUN AND CAMP I LOVE IT,” another exclaimed.
Marlee Matlin and actor William Hurt arrive at the 1987 Academy Awards.Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images
Marlee Matlin is looking back on her turbulent two-year relationship with actor William Hurt and what she called his “habit of abuse.”
Matlin, 59, met Hurt, who died in 2022 at age 71, while filming 1986’s Children of a Lesser God. She portrayed Sarah, a deaf woman who falls in love with her speech teacher, James (Hunt). The role landed her an Oscar for Best Actress, making her the first deaf actress to ever win the award.
Hunt was the one presenting that night, and Matlin said she was scared to go up on stage and accept the Oscar.
“I was afraid as I walked up the stairs to get the Oscar,” she recalls in Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, a new documentary about her life that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this month. “I was afraid because I knew in my gut that he wasn’t happy. Because I saw the look on his face, and my thought was, ‘s—!’”
Matlin described approaching the stage and hesitating, afraid to take the award from her boyfriend’s hands.
“I wish it were different,” she admitted. “I wish I had shown my joy. But I was afraid because he was standing right there.”
Marlee Matlin and actor William HurtBettmann/Getty Images
This isn’t the first time Matlin has spoken about that night. In Dave Karger’s 2024 book, 50 Oscar Nights, Matlin recalled an exchange she had with Hurt, who minimized her achievement.
“‘So you have that little man there next to you. What makes you think you deserve it?’” she remembered him saying. “I looked at him like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘A lot of people work a long time, especially the ones you were nominated with, for a lot of years to get what you got with one film.’”
The documentary also features Matlin’s sign language interpreter Jack Jason, who recounted an incident with the two on a private plane. Matlin, he claimed, had been in a room with Hurt and exited with a black eye.
Children of a Lesser God director Randa Haines recalls seeing alleged bruises on Matlin during filming.
“I could see that they were having arguments, fights,” she claimed. “I remember once noticing a bruise. But I didn’t know. Nobody felt that they had license to enter into a private relationship or comment on it or ask questions about it.”
Haines also spoke about how Hurt “would tell a joke and turn his back to [Matlin] so that she couldn’t see.”
“I tried to understand what was going on,” she added. “But I saw that she was suffering from it.”
Before his death, Hurt said that he had apologized to Matlin.
“My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives,” he said in a statement to E! News in 2009. “Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we have both grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good.”
Kylie Kelce.Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce/YouTube
Kylie Kelce knows there’s a dark-haired woman on Vanderpump Rules, but that’s pretty much where her knowledge of the Bravo hit ends.
Kelce, 32, brought pop culture expert Amanda Hirsch on to the Thursday, January 23, episode of her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast. There, the two participated in a segment Kelce calls “Coach Me Up,” where her guest gives her a quick lesson on whatever subject they’re an expert in.
“I’m not gonna lie, I am so bad at keeping up with [pop culture] I can’t even put it into words,” she admitted. “I do not watch, really, reality TV. I don’t keep up with celebrity happenings.”
While her first question was understandable for someone without much reality TV knowledge — she asked which Real Housewives franchise she should watch) — her second highlighted exactly how behind the times she really is.
“What is Vanderpump Rules?” she asked.
Hirsch turned away from the camera as she responded, “Oh my God, we have work to do.”
Kelce clarified, adding she does know something about the show.
“I know that there is, like, a pretty matriarch, dark-haired woman who is the head,” she said, describing Bravo icon Lisa Vanderpump. “That’s all I know. That’s all I got. I couldn’t tell you who else is involved in the show, I couldn’t tell you the woman’s name.”
Hirsch then gave Kelce a quick history lesson on how the show evolved out of Vanderpump’s origin on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, focusing on the drama between the staff at her restaurant, SUR.
“But they’re, like, 45 now so they haven’t been working at the restaurant,” Hirsch added. “But I’m so glad that now you know. I’m going to take this honor with me that now you know what it is.”
Kelce did not commit to catching up on all 11 seasons of the Bravo hit, but she did ask for advice on which dating show to start watching. She clarified that she has heard of Love Island but has not seen “a single episode.”
Hirsch recommended she start with Love Is Blind instead — a smaller commitment than Love Island, which has seasons that can run up to 49 episodes.
Like VPR, Kelce had the most basic knowledge of the show.
“Is Love Is Blind when they are speaking through a wall?” she asked. “And they meet up at the end in a weird little hallway? I’ve seen the hallway in TikTok clips.”
She assured Hirsch that she would try Love Is Blind, “If I get there.”
Fineman, 36, took her Instagram story on Tuesday, January 21, to write: “Remember when I got in trouble for calling out mr nazi salute? Ya, no regrets.” (Fineman was referencing Musk’s apparent Nazi salute at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.)
The SNL actress first admitted in November that she was the one Bowen Yang was talking about in an August interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen when he said a “male host” made a cast member cry.
“OK, I just saw some news article about Elon Musk being like butt-hurt about ‘SNL’ and his impression, but I’m like, you’re clearly watching the show. Like, what are you talking about?” Fineman said in a since-deleted video she posted to TikTok. “And I’m like, you know what? I’m gonna come out and say at long last that I’m the cast member that he made cry. And he’s the host that made someone cry. Maybe there’s others.”
“I’m like, no, if you’re gonna go on your platform and be rude like, guess what?” she continued. “You made I, Chloe Fineman, burst into tears because I stayed up all night writing the sketch, I was so excited, I came in, I asked if you have any questions, and you stared at me like you were firing me from Tesla and were like, ‘It’s not funny.’ I waited for you to be like, ‘Haha, JK.’ No. Then you started pawing through my script being like, ‘I didn’t laugh once. Not one time.’”
Fineman concluded her video by saying she had the last laugh.
“Cut to the sketch [that] made it on [TV] and it was fine and I actually had a really good time, and I thought you’re really funny in it, but have a little manners here, sir,” she said.
Yang had her back, not mentioning Fineman’s name in interviews, but defending her before she revealed herself.
“Imagine you stay up until 4 a.m. writing a sketch and then the host is like, ‘I f—ing hate this,’” said Yang in a September appearance on the “Fly on the Wall” podcast. “Your nerves are frayed, you’re going to have some weird, bizarre emotional response.”
Musk responded to Fineman’s TikTok via X shortly after, writing, “Frankly, it was only on the Thursday before the Saturday that ANY of the sketches generated laughs. I was worried. I was like damn my ‘SNL’ appearance is going to be so fucking unfunny that it will make a crackhead sober!! But then it worked out in the end.”
Mariano Rivera and Clara Rivera.Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera and his wife, Clara, are denying the accusation that they covered up child sexual abuse that allegedly happened in their Rye, NY home and at a summer camp connected to their church.
A lawsuit filed on January 16 in State Supreme Court in Westchester accuses Mariano, 55, and Clara of having pressured the plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, into keeping quiet about allegedly being sexually abused in the dorm and shower at the Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, FL, and later at the Rivera home by an older minor girl.
“Mariano and Clara Rivera do not tolerate child abuse of any kind and allegations that they knew about or failed to act on reports of child abuse are completely false,” Joseph A. Ruta, the Riveras’ attorney, said in a statement on Thursday. “The very first time they heard about these allegations was nearly four years after the alleged incident, when in 2022 a New York attorney sent a letter requesting a financial settlement. This was followed by a second letter in 2023, from a different Florida law firm, again requesting a financial settlement.
“The lawsuit, which seeks financial damages for the Riveras’ alleged failure to act on alleged incidents that were never reported to them, is full of inaccurate and misleading statements which we have no doubt will not hold up in a court of law.”
Mariano, the only player in baseball history to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame, is now the pastor at the Refuge of Hope church in New Rochelle, which supports the camp where the alleged abuse is said to have occurred.
Mariano RiveraJim McIsaac/Getty Images
According to court documents, Jane Doe complained to her mother about the alleged abuse, which she says happened during a 2018 summer internship at the camp. The mother allegedly raised the issue to Clara, who runs the church’s day-to-day operations, and she says Clara promised to investigate.
The lawsuit also accuses Ruben Tavarez Jr., the adult son of Refuge of Hope Associate Pastor Ruben Tavarez Sr., of abusing Jane Doe in August 2021. Tavarez has yet to address the allegations. Us has reached out for comment.
The complaint reads: “Rather than take sufficient action to end the sexual abuse of Jane Doe (the victim), the Riveras each separately isolated and intimidated Jane Doe to remain silent about her abuse by MG (the suspect) to avoid causing trouble for Refuge of Hope and the Ignite Life Summer Internship.”
The abuse is then said to have continued at the Riveras’ home during a barbecue that the plaintiff and suspect were invited to, but not the plaintiff’s parents.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Kylie Kelce is not going to name her fourth daughter Gary.
The wife of former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce revealed on the Thursday, January 23, episode of her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast that the family is still working on picking out a name for their baby girl, due this summer. (The couple already shares daughters Wyatt, 5, Elliotte, 3, and Bennett, 1.)
While the family has made “absolutely no progress whatsoever” on a name, Kylie, 32, said she knows what monikers she is not considering, thanks to suggestions from fans.
“When you suggest a baby name, think of the nicknames that would then go along with that name,” she cautioned on the Thursday episode. “I know a lot of great Garys but I cannot name my daughter Garrett knowing that her nickname would be Gary.”
The same goes for Merritt, which she said fans have suggested.
“I like Christmas but I don’t need to feel Merry,” she said.
Kylie then added an update that she admitted her followers might not like.
“There’s a good chance that this child doesn’t even get two Ts. I know. People are very invested in this but I just feel like a curveball might be fun,” she revealed. “And also, we’ve run out, I think. Just prepare yourselves. If we don’t have two Ts, it’s OK and she’s still one of us.”
This wasn’t the first time Kylie has addressed the baby naming saga on her podcast. She previously told listeners that the family is going for a gender-neutral name.
“We’re doing a little crossover action, I feel like we have to lean a little bit toward those sort of gender-neutral names for our fourth,” Kylie explained on the January 9 episode of “Not Gonna Lie.” “Because we have Wyatt, Elliotte, Bennett — so if we do a full commit to a girly name at this point, it would not sit well with the other three, I think? Eventually they’ll be like, ‘Why did they get a cute girly name?’”
She added that picking a name has been a “disaster” because “you’ve already used them all up, all bets are off.”
While Jason, 37, hasn’t publicly weighed in on the naming process, he did express excitement over the family’s new addition in an interview with E! News last year.
“I got it pretty easy, I’m not gonna lie,” he said. “There’s another girl, so the clothes are all going to be hand-me-downs or already bought. The crib is already situated. So, we’re pretty set. Kylie is definitely preparing more than I am because she’s actually growing a human being.”
Justin Timberlake.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
Lance Bass, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick were feelin’ so good while groovin’ to the beat at Justin Timberlake’s concert on Monday night, January 20, in a mini ‘NSync reunion.
Joey Fatone, who is in New York portraying Lance in Broadway’s & Juliet, was the only one absent from Timberlake’s Forget Tomorrow World Tour performance.
Bass, 45, captured the moment in a group photo of the four boy band members, which he posted to Instagram.
“In honor of Joey’s Broadway debut tonight, we had a date night without him,” he wrote in the caption.
Fatone, 47, took the FOMO in stride, replying, “You guys are the sweetest I appreciate it!!!! ”
Courtesy of Lance Bass/Instagram
He even posted a photo of his own to his Instagram account, crudely photoshopping himself into the original group shot.
“Thank you, Chris for putting me in the photo,” he wrote. “It is perfect! I was definitely there in spirit! May the flush be with you all !”
Bass also shared a video of the group dancing during the concert via his TikTok channel. In the video, Timberlake, 43, notices the trio and asks them “Why didn’t you guys text me?” before continuing his performance.
“On second thought, maybe we should have texted Justin before we showed up,” Bass wrote over the video.
While it may not have been the ‘NSync reunion fans were hoping for, the band’s got the gift of melody and there’s still hope they might bring it ‘til the end. Fatone told the New York Post in a story published January 17 that the band needs to “have a conversation” about it.
“That’s really what it boils down to. And we’re gonna hopefully do that soon. We keep saying soon, but it’s getting where it’s like either s— or get off the pot,” he said. “Let’s be real.”
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images for MTV
Fatone continued, wondering aloud what the reunion would look like.
“Do we want to do a tour? Is it just a tour? Is it an album? Is it an EP? Are we not going to do anything? Like, what exactly are we going to do?”
Bass also told Billboard in 2023 that he will “never say never” about a reunion.
“I always feel bad that there was no ending, because we didn’t have a final show, we didn’t have a final tour, because we didn’t know it was the final days,” he explained. “I think we owe it to the fans to give them something at some point. I just hope it’s before I’m 80 years old.”
“We all have to be inspired in the moment,” he added. “But I do think the world needs something again from ‘’NSync.”
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,” he captioned the post. “She asked me to make beats for her I got back on the ASR Chopped up beats for her album and chopped every beats with my bare hand for BULLY.”
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