By Wonderwall.com Editors
9:29am PDT, Oct 7, 2021
Kanye West is reportedly helping estranged wife Kim Kardashian prep for 'SNL'
An extremely Balenciaga-ed out Kim Kardashian West arrived in New York City this week to begin rehearsals with the "Saturday Night Live" cast ahead of her "SNL" hosting debut on Oct. 9. According to Page Six, Kim's ex, Kanye West, has joined the soon-to-be Hulu star in the Big Apple, where he's said to be helping her prepare for her performance. "Kim is nervous about hosting 'SNL,'" a source tells the outlet. "It's a big challenge but she is determined to be a success. Kanye is quietly advising her on her performance, her opening monologue, even her costumes for the show." The costume advising hardly comes as a surprise after Kim supported Kanye by appearing in a wedding gown as part of his final "Donda" listening event production. Her viral, face-obscuring Balenciaga Met Gala look also appeared to have been inspired at least in part by Kanye. Kim's "SNL" week in NYC got underway on Oct. 5 with a cast dinner for which Kim donned a huge tinsel coat designed by — you guessed it — Balenciaga. Prior to her East Coast trip, Kim was busy filming her new Hulu show with her sisters, Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian.
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Lena Dunham to trolls: 'When will we stop equating thinness with health?'
Lena Dunham has some thoughts — and a big smile — for all the body-shamers who came after her on social media in the wake of her happy news that and she and musician Luis Felber recently tied the knot. On Oct. 6, the "Girls" creator and star shared a sweet, makeup-free selfie and a message to those who left comments on her wedding pic posts that criticized her for having gained weight. She opened her lengthy caption by ticking off the reasons her wedding week had been "so lovely." Lena said after sharing those "moments of joy," she "I saw some gnarly s***" in the comments, noting most of it wasn't worth rehashing. "But one narrative I take issue with … is that I should somehow be ashamed because my body has changed since I was last on television." She continued: "Secondly, it's ironic to have my body compared to a body that was also the subject of public scorn … But lastly, when will we learn to stop equating thinness with health/happiness? Of course weight loss can be the result of positive change in habits, but guess what? So can weight gain." Lena, 35, said she's been sober for four years and is now "someone who aspires toward health and not just achievement." She explained: "These have allowed me to be the kind of sister/friend/daughter that I want to be and yes- meet my husband …" In closing, she urged others who may look different to remember, "it's okay to live in your present body without treating it as transitional," as she is doing now. In addition to Luis, who praised Lena with multiple red heart emojis, the writer, actor and director got love in the comments from celebs including Amy Schumer, Lily Collins and others.
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Lisa Rinna sounds off on $1.2M lawsuit over paparazzi pics
Lisa Rinna recently sat down with the Los Angeles Times to discuss her $1.2 million legal battle with a photo agency over paparazzi pictures of the reality star and her family. Lisa was sued for copyright infringement by the agency Backgrid in June after the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star shared "at least eight" of the agency's photos on her social media pages, according to the Times. The watermarked photos all featured either Lisa or her daughters. According to Backgrid's lawyers, her use of the pics on social media made them less marketable — to the tune of the $1.2 million in damages they're asking for. Speaking to the Times, Lisa said being photographed by the paparazzi has always been "part of the game, if you're going to be in this business" that she's in. "I've been nice, I've never fought with them, I've never run from them. My kids grew up with them jumping out of the bushes in Malibu," she said. "We've had a very good relationship with the press and the paparazzi. That's why this is so shocking to me." U.S. copyright law, however, may not be on Lisa's side. The law states: "The owner of copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and, in the case of certain works, publicly perform or display the work." In a formal response, Lisa's attorneys claimed Backgrid is "taking advantage" of the Copyright Act in this case, per court docs. "I understand paying a little bit," the told the Times. "But to pay this much, it's very hard for me to say that's OK." In recent years, stars including Gigi Hadid, Jennifer Lopez and Ariana Grande have also been sued by celebrity photo agencies for using their images without permission.
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Rihanna to open brick-and-mortar lingerie shops in 2022
Rihanna's poised to add a few more dollars to her billion-dollar empire. According to Bloomberg, the singer, designer and beauty mogul plans to open her own retail stores where she'll sell her massively successful Savage X Fenty lingerie pieces in 2022. Savage X Fenty's co-president and chief merchandising and design officer, Christiane Pendarvis, tells the outlet the stores will be key to the line's "growth" in the coming year. "Because fit and comfort are so important, there are just customers who don't feel comfortable purchasing online," she explained. She added that the stores will launch in the U.S., "but we're absolutely having conversations" about potentially expanding into Europe. Earlier this year, Forbes named Rihanna a billionaire, estimating she's worth about $1.7 billion.
Dolly Parton reveals crush on 'precious' Jimmy Fallon
Dolly Parton may have been married to Carl Dean for the last 55 years, but just like most of us, she's allowed to have a few celebrity crushes. And for Dolly, a certain late-night host is at the top of her list. "Well, I have a crush on Jimmy Fallon, but I'm big now, I can't excuse myself on that!" the singer, 75, told W magazine with a giggle. "I think he is precious. He's so funny. We get along so good," she explained. It seems late-night TV hosts have always been a slam-dunk for Dolly in the human connection department. "I've always had good luck with late-night guys, you know?" she continued. "I always had a nice relationship with David Letterman and with Johnny Carson. I guess there's something about that late-night people that kinda hits my fancy and I hit theirs somehow. I guess it's 'cause you feel like you can be more free late at night. You don't have to worry about what you say." Dolly's also not afraid of admitting she is a big fan of "boys" in general, including her late country music peer, Johnny Cash. "I love boys. I still do," she said. "In the early days, I had a big crush on Johnny Cash. He was young and skinny, and he just had that magnetism. The way he moved around — you know, so sexy." Dolly then delivered this zinger: "I found out later he was just having withdrawals from drugs, but it still touched me. He was so, so sexy." Yep, definitely cut out for late-night!
Kathy Griffin gets COVID-19 booster shot after stage 1 cancer diagnosis
On Oct. 5, Kathy Griffin showed off a photo of herself getting a booster shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. "3rd Moderna shot AND a flu shot! Yes. Fear me," the comic captioned the post. Over on Twitter, she told followers, "Ummm, just got 3rd shot of Moderna AND a flu shot in the other arm." Kathy's booster comes almost exactly two months after she had surgery to remove part of her left lung following a stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis over the summer. Cancer treatments can compromise the immune systems of both survivors and those undergoing active cancer treatments, according to Cancer.org, which the CDC has said may put them at greater risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. When the 60-year-old comic got her second Moderna shot in May, presumably before the cancer diagnosis, she made a crack on social media about Dolly Parton's major contribution to the research that brought us the Moderna vaccine, joking that Dolly "put a 5G mind control chip in my head and I love it!" Kathy's held onto her sense of humor, at least on social media, since she began her recovery process following surgery in early August.
Chris Rock jokes about his breakthrough COVID-19 in surprise appearance with Dave Chappelle
During a surprise appearance in New York City on Oct. 4, Chris Rock joked he was "back from the dead" after testing positive for COVID-19 last month. "I'm back from the dead! I had COVID," Chris told the audience at pianist Robert Glasper's show at the Blue Note Jazz Club, per Page Six. According to concert-goers, Chris, who revealed he had a rare breakthrough case of the illness despite being fully vaccinated against it, "just showed up unannounced" with Dave Chappelle at the show "and introduced" Robert, much to the delight of the crowd. "It wasn't quite as hard as being Black …," Chris cracked as his Covid routine continued. "But it was close. That's why everyone's trying to avoid it, man." When he added, "I think I got it on this Civil Rights movie," his friend and fellow comic, Dave chimed in. "That's a noble way to get COVID," Dave said.
Dave Grohl details 'trauma' of losing Kurt Cobain in new memoir
In his new memoir, "The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music," out Oct. 4, Dave Grohl revisits decades' worth of rock 'n roll stories, from performances with Iggy Pop, ACDC and Paul McCartney to "bedtime stories" shared with Joan Jett and beyond. The rocker, now 52, also writes candidly about his friendship and working relationship with the late Kurt Cobain until his untimely death in 1994. According to the New York Post, one revelation Dave includes is that he was told Kurt was gone one month before the Nirvana frontman's actual death. "My quiet, introverted roommate who I'd shared a tiny little apartment with in Olympia was gone. The loving father who played with his beautiful baby daughter backstage every night before each show was gone," Dave writes of that premature phone call. "I was overcome with a more profound sadness than I had ever imagined." He goes on to describe the "trauma" of learning Kurt had survived the overdose — only to find out, weeks later, that he was "really gone." Speaking to People about his memoir in a story published this week, Dave admitted he still thinks about his late former bandmate "all the time," telling the magazine: "I just had a dream about him two nights ago. I only knew Kurt for about three and a half years, but in that time we went through multiple lifetimes. Kurt's songs touched the world."
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