Ben Affleck is honored for his work in the Congo, plus more news

By Wonderwall.com Editors 10:56am PDT, Jul 17, 2017

Ben Affleck honored for humantiarian work at the Starkey Hearing Foundation awards gala

In recent months, headlines about Ben Affleck have centered around his split from Jennifer Garner and his new romance with Lindsay Shookus. On Sunday, July 16, public attention shifted to the actor's humanitarian work with the Eastern Congo Initiative when he was honored at the Starkey Hearing Foundation awards gala in St. Paul, Minnesota . As he told his Instagram followers recently, Ben helped found the Eastern Congo Initiative seven years ago "to help provide the Congolese people with economic opportunities and a stable civil society." The work he's done there, including getting hearing aids to people who need them in the Congo via the Starkey Hearing Foundation, has been "one of the greatest, most awe-inspiring experiences of my life," he told People ahead of the gala. Ben also opened up about why he wants his kids, Violet, 11, Seraphina, 8, and Samuel, 5, to learn about what's happening in the African country. "I think helping my children expand their consciousness of other cultures, struggles, and issues outside of their own and outside of our country is one of the most important responsibilities I have as a parent and as a citizen – now more than ever," he said. "With each trip I take, I always try to keep in mind that I not only have a chance to encourage positive change in Congo when I go, but to also raise a level of appreciation, awareness, empathy and reciprocity from within my own home. For their part, my kids are amazing – always asking a million questions, wanting to see photos and hear stories. I can't wait for them to be old enough to experience Congo for themselves." He also brought up the mother of his children, his ex Jennifer Garner in the speech, noting, "When I told my oldest daughter that I was getting this award, she said, 'Yeah, Dad. Mom already has that one."

RELATED: Ben Affleck's life in photos

Celebs react to 'Game of Thrones' Season 7 premiere

In case you missed the memo, winter came to HBO on Sunday, July 16, and it turns out Hollywood was glued to the "Game of Thrones" Season 7 premiere just like the rest of the TV-watching world. "Was #EdSheeran singing #ShapeofYou by campfire on #GameofThrones tonight?" Chris Kattan tweeted (via EW) after catching the singer's surprise cameo. By the time Chris saw the episode, Ed had quietly tweeted "watch Game of Thrones Tonight" to his followers. After the show aired, he shared a photo of himself from the set with the caption, "Throwback to the time I was a Lannister." Jennifer Lopez watched, as well, and she was all about the new plot direction. "Winter came for house Frey!!!! #gameofthones yasssssss," she posted. Leslie Jones was feelin' it, too. "Don't f— with the North son!!" she tweeted. "BEST SEASON OPENING EVER!! SHE WAS SO CALM!! YAAAAS!!"

Ryan Phillippe hospitalized with leg injury

Ouch! Ryan Phillippe ended up in the hospital over the weekend after enduring a serious looking leg injury. "i'm going to be ok & i appreciate your concern. -🖤 me," he captioned a photo of himself early in the morning on Monday, July 17 (via the New York Post). "This sucks," he wrote in another post. The outlet reported that the actor "badly" broke his leg during a "freak accident" while on a family outing the day before.

Duchess Kate, Prince William and their kids arrive in Poland

Poland and Germany began welcoming the royal family on Monday, July 17, after Prince William, Duchess Kate and their kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotte arrived at the airport in Warsaw. Later in the day, the Duchess chatted with a WWII vet at the Warsaw Rising Museum and joined her husband and President Andrzej Duda and his wife, Agata, to take in the Wall of Remembrance, a monument to those who died fighting the Nazis in Poland during the War. Kate and William are also expected to visit a concentration camp and meet with Holocaust survivors during their visit.

The Internet is not feeling Gwyneth Paltrow's jade egg defense

Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop lifestyle and commerce site if known for touting alternative, often natural practices aimed at making women healthier and happier. After critics including OB/GYN Dr. Jennifer Gunter questioned a GOOP post about the wonders of using jade eggs in certain parts of the female anatomy to "help cultivate sexual energy," Gwyneth and her team fired back in a newsletter last week. The letter included none of the usual flowery language found on the rest of the site. Instead, it featured two doctors taking aim directly at Jennifer, who pointed out the jade egg idea could cause infection, among other things. As HuffPo points out, Goop's defense didn't go over so well. Vox, Inverse and the New York Post all published takedowns of Goop's initial jade egg item. When Gwyneth tweeted about the doctors' defense post, she captioned a link to the post, "When they go low, we go high." One Twitter user responded, "Yeah so that's not 'going high'. Goop exists in a bubble of money & privilege. Shame on you for peddling this stuff, way to sisterhood. Not," while Jennifer Gunter posted, "I must be affecting @goop's bottom line," and, "Hey @GwynethPaltrow I give away my health info for free, you sure sell lots of stuff. Do you and your pals at @goop know about bias?" She later shared a "lovely, scientific reply" that slammed Goop's initial jade eggs post as "disjointed, inadequately researched, bloated, and mansplainy." Might be time to get back to repeating positive mantras to the water cooler at the Goop offices.

Emily Blunt wants her daughter to see her version of 'Mary Poppins' first

Thee's a whole new generation of kids who might end up associating Emily Blunt rather than Julie Andrews with " Mary Poppins " — and Emily's OK with that, at least when it comes to her eldest daughter, Hazel, 3. "I mean, God knows what she thinks I do for a living," she joked to ET over the weekend. "It must just be so confusing, you know? 'Cause her version of movies is animated films, so she hasn't seen the original 'Mary Poppins' yet. Yeah I'm sort of selfishly wanting her to wait for my version." Emily's "Mary Poppins," which costars LinManuel-Miranda, hits theaters next Christmas.

Caitlyn Jenner is considering a run for office

Add Caitlyn Jenner to the growing list of celebs considering a run for office in the wake of Donald Trump's win. Speaking to John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York City on over the weekend, Caitlyn suggested she wanted do more than simply meet with Republican party leaders to express her concerns about LGBQT rights and other issues. "I have considered it. I like the political side of it," she said on the show (via E! News. "The political side of it has always been very intriguing to me. Over the next six months or so, I gotta find out where I can do a better job. Can I do a better job from the outside? Kind of working the perimeter of the political scene, being open to talk to anybody? Or are you better off from the inside, and we are in the process of determining that. Yea, but I would look for a senatorial run." As Log Cabin Republicans national executive director Gregory Angelo pointed out, "One of the more interesting and exciting things about Caitlyn Jenner is that potential she has to bridge these two worlds of entertainment and politics."

Jenelle won't film with her mother unless the director 'really pushes'

"Teen Mom 2" returns Monday, July 17, and as Jenelle Evans recently told Us Weekly, viewers probably won't see any forgiving and forgetting between Jenelle and her mother, Barbara Evan. "We don't talk much. We only talk about Jace and meeting up to drop him off or pick him up and other than that, we aren't talking," said Jenelle, who lost custody of her son Jace to her mother in 2010. "I told her: If you want to be back in my life in any way, you can give me back my son and we can start from there.' As long as I don't have Jace, I don't see us having a real relationship," she said. "Ever since the court date, I haven't filmed with her," she added in reference to their May appearance in court, where Jenelle was given extended visitation with her son. "I think it'll just be pick up and drop offs unless my director really pushes," she said. "As for me and my mom on camera together having a conversation? No, you won't be seeing that."

Carmen Electra is worried about her safety after alleged stalker incident

Carmen Electra has filed a request for a restraining order against Daniel Lablanc, according to TMZ. Daniel, who believes Carmen is his fiancee, reportedly appeared at Carmen's home in June. He was taken into police custody where he underwent a mental evaluation. TMZ reports Daniel's friends expressed concern about his "anger issues," which apparently came to light when those close to him attempted to tell him he and the actress are not engaged. Carmen previously had a protective order against him that ensured he stayed 100 yards away from her, but it expired on July 7.

Aaron Carter wants to sue police for arresting him: Report

Was Aaron Carter arrested for a DUI because he was drunk — or because he was famous? According to Aaron, it's the latter, and he plans to do something about it. Sources close to the singer tell TMZ he intends to file suit against the police in Cornelia, Georgia, using surveillance footage he says show he was not behind the wheel when he was arrested at an AutoZone. Aaron refused to take a Breathalyzer or have his urine and blood tested when police stopped him.