By Mark Gray
2:43pm PST, Nov 9, 2023
Cause of death revealed
More than a year after he died, more has come to light about Ray Liotta's death.
The "Goodfellas" star died from respiratory insufficiency, pulmonary edema and acute heart failure, according to documents obtained by TMZ. In other words, Ray had heart and respiratory system issues including fluid in his lungs.
The 67-year-old actor passed away in May 2022 in his hotel room in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the thriller "Dangerous Waters." Death documents note that he died of natural causes and in a nonviolent manner.
TMZ reported that Ray also suffered from atherosclerosis — a thickening of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque in the inner lining — which often leads to diabetes and other health issues.
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Oscars thoughts
Richard Dreyfuss isn't mincing words when discussing the Academy Awards' new diversity requirements for best picture nominees. "They make me vomit. Because this is an art form. It's also a form of commerce, and it makes money. But it's an art. And no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is," the "Mr. Holland's Opus" actor, 75, said in an interview on the PBS show "Firing Line with Margaret Hoover."
The Oscar-winning actor went on to name several iconic films that would either cause controversy in today's world or would no longer qualify under the new terms. "What are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people's feelings? You can't legislate that, and you have to let life be life," the "Jaws" icon said. "And I'm sorry, I don't think that there is a minority or a majority in the country that has to be catered to like that." The new rule is "so patronizing," he added. "It's so thoughtless and treating people like children."
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Secretly sending messages?
Taylor Swift and her rumored boyfriend, The 1975's Matt Healy, may have been covertly communicating on stage… and there's alleged evidence. On May 3, while the 1975 frontman was performing in the Philippines, he looked directly into a camera and mouthed the words, "This is about you, you know who you are. I love you." Fast forward to Friday, May 5: While performing in Nashville as part of her The Eras Tour, Taylor coyly looked into a camera and appeared to mouth the exact same words, a TikTok video shows. Matty — who was linked to the "Delicate" singer for several weeks earlier this year — attended all three of Taylor's Nashville shows including the rain-soaked performance on Sunday, May 7, which was delayed several times and let out after 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning. "You guys have been through a lot tonight," the pop star told the crowd. "We all look like we were sprayed by a garden hose. We all look like river otters."
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'Faithful' partner isn't important?
Shakira is finding herself after separating from her long-term partner, Gerard Pique. While accepting Billboard's first Woman of the Year award at the inaugural Latin Women in Music gala, the pop star referenced her less-than-amicable 2022 split from the soccer star in the wake of a cheating scandal: "This has been a year of seismic change in my life where I've felt more than ever — and very personally — what it is to be a woman," she told the crowd. "It's been a year where I've realized we women are stronger than we think, braver than we believed, more independent than we were taught to be. Because what woman hasn't at some time in her life forgotten herself because she's seeking the attention and love of someone else? It happened to me, more than once."
"But there comes a time in the life of every woman where she no longer depends on someone else to love and accept herself just as she is," she continued. "A time when the search for someone else is replaced by the search for oneself. A time when the desire to be perfect is replaced by the desire to be authentic, and where finding someone who is faithful is less important than being faithful to ourselves."
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Book it
A slew of A-listers are growing increasingly nervous about Britney Spears' long-awaited memoir, and a few of them are reportedly making legal moves to keep it on ice. The US Sun reported that Simon & Schuster, the book's publisher, received "strongly worded legal letters" from those who fear what the "Toxic" singer has written. "Britney is brutally honest in the book — there are a lot of nervous A-listers," a source said. "Strongly worded legal letters have been sent to the publishers by people who know Britney and who fear what she has written." Her memoir, "The Woman in Me," is due in late October.
Divorcing and in debt
Kim Zolciak-Biermann filed to divorce her husband of 11 years, Kroy Biermann, amid seven-figure financial struggles. In legal documents, Kim said the marriage was "irretrievably broken with no hope of reconciliation." She listed their date of separation as April 30. The split came after a report claimed the duo owes over $1 million in unpaid taxes. The debt has been building up for a decade. According to legal docs obtained by TMZ, the couple owes $1.1 million to the IRS for unpaid taxes, interest and penalties from 2013, 2017, and 2018. They also owe the state of Georgia $15,000 for unpaid taxes for 2018.
Both reports come several months after Kim and Kroy's home went into foreclosure and was set to be auctioned off. At the time, in February, the former "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star told friends the whole thing was a "misunderstanding." Kim and Kroy were able to work out a deal to keep the home.
They've since reconciled and made moves to handle their financial woes.
Fight nights
Chris Brown was involved in not one but two different scuffles in Las Vegas over the weekend of May 5. The first went down late Friday night at the singer's birthday bash at a skating rink. According to TMZ, Chris became upset with party guest Teyana Taylor and got into it with Usher, who was apparently defending her. Although reports said Chris punched Usher in the face and left him bloodied, the "Confessions" singer looked no worse for wear at the Lovers & Friends music festival on Saturday, May 6. (Chris played the same festival.)
Also on May 6, Chris got into a backstage skirmish during Missy Elliott's set. He later claimed he didn't do anything wrong, insisting that he was simply protecting his child, who was not seen in video that surfaced online following the altercation. "yall been geeked all weekend, y'all dragging it now. It was mad people backstage and security was trying to clear everyone off the stage. People started pushing back.. I INTERVENED To let them know MY CHILD WAS BACK THERE," he wrote on Instagram. "So y'all can keep ya narrative."
