By Wonderwall.com Editors
3:50pm PST, Dec 4, 2020
The cast of 'Glee' keeps Naya Rivera's giving spirit alive with a holiday fundraiser for her favorite women's organization
In the wake of Naya Rivera's death earlier this year, her former "Glee" co-stars have found a way to keep her spirit of giving — and celebrating — alive. On Friday, Dec. 4, Heather Morris, Amber Riley, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale and other members of the "Glee" family announced the launch of the SNIXXMASs Charity Drive to benefit Alexandria House, a nonprofit transitional housing resource for women and children in Los Angeles. Named after Naya's annual "SNIXXMAS" holiday party and created to support a charity that was close to her heart, the fundraiser got shout-outs from a slew of "Glee" alums as well as Naya's friends and family. "If you were lucky enough to know Naya, you know she threw some epic parties," the GoFundMe page for the drive explains. "The best of them all was her annual Christmas party, which she dubbed Snixxmas. Snixxmas was like Naya herself… sparkling, fabulous and one h– of a good time! But it wasn't only glitz, glamour and gay apparel. Every holiday season, Naya found ways to give back." The GoFundMe continues: "Recently, Naya began working with a local non-profit in Los Angeles called Alexandria House. She not only raised and contributed funds for them, but also volunteered her time and effort to the organization." Just hours after the "Glee" cast announced the drive, the GoFundMe had thousands of dollars pouring in. "In less than 6 hrs, 1200+ of you have donated and have raised 30k out of our 50k objective for @AHouse_LA," Kevin tweeted late Friday afternoon. "This is absolutely incredible, we're all in shock and so thankful." Naya, 33, died in July while out for a boat ride with her young son Josey on California's Lake Piru.
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Miley Cyrus says marrying Liam Hemsworth was a 'last attempt to save' herself
For Miley Cyrus, marrying Liam Hemsworth after all those years of on-off dating and engagements was a "last attempt to save" herself, she tells Rolling Stone in the magazine's January cover story. Pegged to the release of her new ode to glam rock, "Plastic Hearts," the interview features plenty of candor from the singer, who opens up about marrying Liam in 2018 just one month after they lost their Malibu home in the Woolsey fire. "In a way, it did what I couldn't do for myself," she says of the fire. "It removed me from what no longer was serving its purpose. And then as you drown, you reach for that lifesaver and you want to save yourself," she said. "I think that's really what, ultimately, getting married was for me. One last attempt to save myself." Miley explained that her music around that time, namely her love song-filled album, "Younger Now," fit a similar mold. But inside, she wasn't where she needed to be. "I was playing house, which felt really good at the time," Miley said. "A couple of years ago, it looked like I was living some fairy tale. It really wasn't. At that time, my experimentation with drugs and booze and the circle of people around me was not fulfilling or sustainable or ever going to get me to my fullest potential and purpose." Miley's sober now and says she feels more "weighted and grounded" than she has in a long time. "I'm free, but I feel responsibility," she added. "I take my mental and physical health a lot more seriously than I ever did before."
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Heidi Klum's 16-year-old daughter wants to model and maybe even take over 'Next Top Model'
Is the fashion world ready for Heidi Klum 2.0? In a new interview with People, Heidi revealed her 16-year-old daughter, Leni, wants to pursuing modeling like her mom. She may even dip her toes in the TV world. "She kind of comes [on-set] and looks and learns not just what I do but also what all the different people are doing on a TV set. I think it's very interesting to her," the "Germany's Next Top Model" recently told People. "When you're that age you're still trying to figure out who you are, what you want to be and kind of see for the first time what are all these different jobs to make a TV show happen. She does want to do what I do," explained Heidi, who shares Leni — as well as Henry, 15, Johan, 14, and Lou, 11 — with her ex, Seal. With her long blonde hair and willowy frame, Leni's already taking after her mother in the looks department. In fact, Leni's been courted for modeling jobs in the past but Heidi said she worried Leni "was too young." She and Seal were also committed to keeping their kids' lives private. "But she's driving a car now, she's 16, so I figured if you can do that, you can also model now if this is what you wish to do," Heidi explained. As for Leni's TV aspirations? "Who knows," Heidi said. "Maybe in five years when I'm not hosting the show anymore maybe it's going to be like 'Germany's Next Top Model' by Leni Klum instead of Heidi Klum. … She's kind of playing with this idea."
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Letitia Wright responds to backlash over anti-vaccination video
Amid optimism about forthcoming vaccines for the coronavirus, "Black Panther" star Letitia Wright is standing by her decision to post video featuring unsubstantiated claims about the alleged dangers of getting vaccinated. The "On the Table" video Letitia linked to on Thursday, Dec. 3 — in which host Tomi Arayomi says, among other things, that anyone who gets vaccinated should "hope to God it doesn't make extra limbs grow" — had been taken down by Friday, according to CBS News. But the backlash Letitia's post sparked was still raging by the time she addressed the controversy on Twitter, where even celebs like Don Cheadle chimed in to slam the video and its claims. After calling the clip "hot garbage," the actor tweeted a caveat that Letitia's post didn't warrant the wrath of cancel culture. "I would never defend anybody posting this. but i still won't throw her away over it," he wrote. Responding to one critic, Letitia defended herself by saying, "Just using my own mind to think – which I'm free to do." In another tweet, she griped, "if you don't conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled." A third tweet read, "My ONLY intention of posting the video was it raised my concerns with what the vaccine contains and what we are putting in our bodies. Nothing else."
Justin Bieber defends wife Hailey from online bullying
Justin Bieber lashed out on his Instagram Story this week after spotting a social media video in which an unidentified woman urged viewers to bully Justin's wife, Hailey Bieber, with comments about "how [Justin's ex] Selena [Gomez] is better. "This sad excuse of a human just encouraged people on video to literally go after my wife telling people to say that my previous relationship was better so on and so forth," he wrote in a long post about the attack, according to People. "I just wanted to share this so that people get an idea of what we face day to day," he posted. "It is extremely hard to choose the high road when I see people like this try and rally to gather people to bully the person I love most in this world. It is not right." He added a request for fans "who have it in them to lift us up in prayer," telling followers he and Hailey "need prayer and support as we continue to put ourselves out there!" Before moving on, Justin shared another post in which he said that he wouldn't let the video "steal [his] joy," because it only showed "how miserable she must be to want to spend her life trying to make others feel small." Finally, the singer said that the "lesson" from the incident is that, "Life is fulfilling when you uplift and add value to people." Justin and Hailey tied the knot in 2018 following Justin's years-long, on-off relationship with Selena.
Chance the Rapper shares an update on Jeremih's COVID-19 recovery
After a long battle with COVID-19, singer Jeremih was expected to be released from the hospital on Friday, Dec. 4, according to his friend Chance the Rapper. Chance shared the news on Twitter Thursday, telling followers that he was "filled with praise" after hearing the 33-year-old's voice, "for the first time in almost a month." One of Def Jam's rising star artists, Jeremih was on a ventilator in the ICU as of mid-November, according to TMZ. On Nov. 21, his family announced he'd been transferred out of the ICU, but not much information about his condition followed. In a separate tweet, Chance thanked the "…the medical staff at northwestern" that cared for Jeremih, as well as "everyone who held him up in prayer even when it seemed so grim."
Kathie Lee Gifford reflects on her uncomfortable moment with Bill Cosby
Kathie Lee Gifford is opening up about an uncomfortable moment she shared with Bill Cosby decades ago after they'd worked together and become good friends. "He tried to kiss me," she recently told People while promoting her new memoir, "Never Too Late." "He was not the first man during a multi-decade career that came on to me, and I'm just very grateful that I never let any of them take it any further than that," she added. Unlike the dozens of women who came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against the comic before he went to prison in 2018 on sexual assault and rape charges, Kathie's line-crossing moment with Bill ended with his kiss attempt. "I said, 'No. Bill, you're my friend.' He goes, 'You're right. Good night,'" she recalled. "So I found those accusations against him very painful, because that's not the man I knew." The former "Today" host also noted that while she "didn't doubt the women's stories" who spoke out against the former "Cosby Show" star, she but never witnessed any such behavior. Kathie's new book, "It's Never Too Late," hit shelves this week.
RDJ, Don Cheadle to honor Chadwick Boseman on the 'MTV Movie & TV Awards'
On Sunday, Dec. 6, Marvel stars Don Cheadle and Robert Downey Jr. are set to honor their late colleague, Chadwick Boseman, on the "MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time" special. Chadwick, who lost his private battle with colon cancer this summer at age 43, will be named this year's Hero for the Ages, a posthumous award reserved for someone "whose heroism onscreen was only surpassed by the true hero they were off-screen," ET reports. The special focuses on TV and film's most memorable moments since the '80s.
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone help raise $1.5M for the Trevor Project, Girls Who Code and more charities
After a rocky start, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone have wrapped up their 20 Days of Kindness campaign on solid ground — to the tune of more than $1.5 million for various charities. People reports the "Superintelligence" stars worked with HBO Max to funnel $20,000 in donations to 20 different charities in 20 days, with Melissa giving some extra love to each of the organizations on her social media pages. The groups that won donations from the campaign and the actress' posts included The Trevor Project, the Make a Wish Foundation and Girls Who Code, which got a cool $1 million extra via a donation from AT&T, according to the outlet. "I can honestly say these have been some of the most inspiring, eye-opening days of my life," Melissa said of the campaign. "There have been quite a few rough moments in 2020 but being able to learn and talk about all these incredible organizations has really warmed my heart." Last month, shortly after she announced the initiative, Melissa and HBO found themselves apologizing to fans for accidentally supporting the controversial group Exodus Cry, which has been linked to homophobic and anti-abortion viewpoints. HBO later nixed that donation.
