By Mark Gray
9:00pm PST, Jan 7, 2023
9-year-old rumor
Ellie Goulding is clearing up a years-long rumor that she cheated on Ed Sheeran with One Direction's Niall Horan. After the "Lights" singer posted an innocuous TikTok video, a social media user said, "Can't believe u cheated on Ed with Niall, but slay [for real.]" Ellie shot back, "False!!!!! But also slay." Ed and Ellie were first linked in 2013 after they held hands at an award's show. The romance fizzled out quickly. Then, in 2014, Ed released "Don't," which seemed to imply that he was cheated on. Fans zeroed in on Ellie, and an English tabloid claimed the "Love Me Like You Do" singer cheated on Ed with Niall. For his part, Ed has never revealed the subject of the song. "I never let it slip [who the song was about]," Ed told Entertainment Weekly in May 2015. "What happened was one of the newspapers in England just printed that it was confirmed when it never was."
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Grateful to be leaving Marvel
Dave Bautista is happily bidding farewell to Drax the Destroyer, the Marvel character he's played in seven different films. "I'm so grateful for Drax. I love him. But there's a relief [that it's over]," the former pro wrestler recently told GQ magazine. "It wasn't all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don't know if I want Drax to be my legacy — it's a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff." After a lengthy WWE career, Dave broke into Hollywood via Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy." He's been part of the Marvel world for 10 years. Last year he told Collider that he felt Marvel was doing Drax an injustice. "I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally," he said. "Because I think Drax has more of a story to tell. I think Drax has a really interesting backstory, which they dropped the ball on. That's no dig on Marvel. They had their slate, I know what they're focused on, that's what they have [it] slated out. But man, I think they really missed the ball on Drax. He has such a great backstory."
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Back soon
Wynonna Judd is providing some insight into her canceled New Year's Eve performance in Nashville, indicating she just needed to focus on herself. Still, she says she's "broken." "I am working so hard on my mental, physical and spiritual well-being. I have a great team and I'm really blessed and I'm broken and I'm working really hard at self-care, which is not selfish, it's sacred," she said in an Instagram video. "So just know that yeah, I'm me. I work really hard. We call it Wynonna Incorporated because I incorporate a lot into my life. I have a very full schedule, but I also have time off to be on the farm and to walk in the woods and take the dogs and tonight is Mexican night. We're playing games and it's family." Wynonna's mother and bandmate, Naomi Judd, died in April 2022. In ending her message, Wynonna implied that she'll be back on stage soon. "So I'm OK and the last thing I'll say is, can't keep a good woman down for too long," she said.
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Not worried
It's been more than three weeks since ABC began its review of T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach's alleged workplace affair, but he's not sweating it. "Of course, he's taking [the review] seriously, but he's confident he's done nothing wrong that would merit him to lose his job," a source told Page Six. The report implies that ABC is taking its time with the review to make sure other workplace affairs don't come to light (something he has previously been accused of.) As the review continues, T.J. Holmes' estranged wife, Marilee Fiebig, finally broke her silence about his alleged workplace affair and T.J. and Amy's PDA. We continue to be disappointed by T.J's lack of discretion, respect and sensitivity toward Marilee and the party's daughter," a statement said.
In pain
Adele is singing through the pain. Guests at one of Adele's Las Vegas residency shows claimed the songstress has been gingerly walking around the stage. She admits she was and recently addressed the situation, telling fans she has chronic back pain. "I have to waddle these days as I have really bad sciatica," she said in a social media video filmed during one of her Caesars Palace shows. Mayo Clinic said Sciatica refers to pain that travels along the path of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.
Will and Kate's alleged costume co-sign
Prince Harry caught major flak in 2005 after he was photographed wearing a nazi outfit to a costume party. He now says the getup wasn't totally his idea. In fact, he claims Prince William — who also attended the party — and Duchess Kate urged him to wear it to the "Native and Colonial" theme party. Page Six, citing a snippet from Harry's upcoming book "Spare," said the prince was deciding between going as a pilot or a Nazi. "I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said," Harry wrote, adding that he tried on the costume for the his brother and sister-in-law. "They both howled. Worse than Willy's leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point."
Talk show dismissal
All judgement! Simon Cowell has revealed that he came close to once getting his own talk show, but he pulled out at the 11th hour because talking at length is not in his wheelhouse. "I got to the point where they built the set and I started to get anxious and then really stressed out, and I just walked out the meeting," he told E! News. "I just said I literally couldn't do this. I just couldn't talk to people all day long. I'm not very good at talking." Had Simon signed on, he would have joined Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson — two of his "American Idol" discoveries — on daytime TV.
