By Wonderwall.com Editors
12:30pm PDT, Oct 13, 2022
Rachel Bilson talks forgiveness with Bling Ring member who once burglarized her home
Despite having "conflicting feelings" about the idea, Rachel Bilson recently used her "Broad Ideas" podcast to confront one of the Bling Ring members who burglarized her home more than a decade ago. "To be grown up and actually have real conversations is more important than harboring any awkwardness, animosity, any negative feelings that might come along with it," Rachel told her guests, sisters Alexis Haines and Gabby Neiers, according to ET. As the conversation kicked off, Alexis said she hadn't been part of the group when it targeted Rachel's house. Gabby, however, had broken in and taken belongings including Rachel's mother's engagement ring. "I am so sorry that I ever made the choice to go into your home that night," Gabby told Rachel. "I wish that I could take it back. It's been a living nightmare for you for the past 10 years, 11 years. As a mother now, all you want to do is protect your babies, and I know that I stripped you of feeling safe in your home and I am so sorry," she said later in the show. Rachel, 41, replied by saying she believes Gabby is "genuinely sorry" for what she did when she was only 15. "I learned the lesson to detach from material possessions, because every material possession of mine was taken," she recalled. "That feeling of violation, it's hard to describe unless it's happened to you personally." At another point, Gabby described having tried to "forget" about what she'd done, telling Rachel, "I stole your ability to feel safe in your own home. That's the pain that I sit with." Rachel ultimately urged her to "let go" of those feelings, saying she'd done so long ago. "You obviously have remorse for going into the house and taking things and I see that," Rachel told Gabby. "You guys did come here. It's a very vulnerable position to be in. It takes a lot to confront anything in your past that is uncomfortable in any way." According to Alexis, Gabby apologized on-camera to Rachel for Netflix's "The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist," but the network edited it out.
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Tom Cruise slated to take the first-ever civilian spacewalk outside the International Space Station
Tom Cruise could soon become "the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the [International] Space Station." That's according to Universal Pictures Chair Donna Langley, who recently shared an update on the studio's plan to launch the "Top Gun: Maverick" star into space to shoot part of an action film that's been in the works since 2020. Tom, who's famously done most of his own stunts for the "Mission Impossible" films, and director Doug Liman pitched the movie to Donna on Zoom at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she told the BBC in an interview published this week. "[The movie] takes place on earth, and then the character needs to go up to space to save the day." When the project got a green light two years ago, Universal boasted it would be the first scripted feature film to shoot in space. As of last year, both NASA and Elon Musk's SpaceX had signed on to prepare and send Tom on his way, though it's unclear if they're still involved, according to Insider. Deadline reports the cost of producing Tom's space film could soar as high as an estimated $200 million. That's not too bad, considering the star's latest project, "Top Gun: Maverick," has already grossed $1.48 billion worldwide since its May 2022 release.
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Paris Hilton says reform school staff performed sexually abusive 'medical exams' on her as a teen
Paris Hilton has come forward with new allegations she was sexually abused as a teen by staff at Provo Canyon School, the Utah reform facility where she's previously said, under oath, she was abused physically and emotionally in the late '90s. "I opened up in a @NYTimes video about something I've never discussed before," Paris tweeted on Tuesday (Oct. 11). "At Provo Canyon School, I was woken up in the middle of the night by male staff who ushered me into a private room and performed cervical exams on me in the middle of the night," she wrote, sharing a link to her interview with the New York Times. The outlet spoke with multiple people who, like Paris, say they were sent away to facilities for troubled teens that ended up traumatizing them even further. "Very late at night, this would be around like three or four in the morning, they would take myself and other girls into this room and they would perform medical exams," Paris recalled in the video. She went on to allege the nonconsensual "exams" were performed not by doctors but by staff members, who used "their fingers." Said Paris: "And it was really scary, and it's something that I really had blocked out for many year. But it's coming back all the time now, and I think about it. And now, looking back as an adult, that was definitely sexual abuse." At least one other survivor replied to Paris' tweet by saying the same thing happened to her "both times" she attended the school. On Twitter, Paris recalled, "I cried while they held me down & said, 'No!' They just said, 'Shut up. Be quiet. Stop struggling or you'll go to Obs.'" Now 41 and married, she said she's going public now with "these painful memories" so she can "heal and help put an end to this abuse."
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'American Idol' runner-up Willie Spence dies at 23
Soul singer Willie Spence, whose "American Idol" performance of Rihanna's "Diamonds" helped him land the Season 19 runner-up title, has died, the show confirmed on Wednesday (Oct. 12). He was 23. Douglas Now, a local news outlet in Willie's hometown of Douglas, Georgia, reported on Tuesday that he died "due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Tennessee." Katharine McPhee, who worked with Willie when she returned to "Idol" as a mentor last year, posted about the "tragic news" on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday night. "Sweet @williespenceofficial passed away in a car accident. Only 23 years old," she shared (via Us Weekly). "Life is so unfair and nothing is ever promised. God rest your soul Willie. It was a pleasure to sing with you and to know you." She also shared a clip of the two talking about their shared experience of dedicating their music to loved ones they'd recently lost. "One of the things I think is really special about you and that I love about singers is their ability to make you feel like you're telling a story," she said in the video. Season 19 finalist Caleb Kennedy, posted about Willie as well, telling the late singer, "Your voice will forever be in my heart. I'm gonna miss you so much big guy can't wait to hear that voice when I make it up there!! 💔." The official "American Idol" Instagram remembered Willie as "a true talent who lit up every room he entered and will be deeply missed."
John Stamos can't see a 'Full House' reboot without Bob Saget
John Stamos says he can't imagine rebooting "Full House" now that his best friend and longtime co-star Bob Saget is gone. "It's just not the same without him," John told E! News when asked if he would ever reprise his role as Jesse in a reboot. "There's something missing, there's a piece missing." Bob, who played Danny Tanner on the beloved sitcom, was found dead in his Florida hotel room in January at age 65. His death inspired an ongoing wave of tributes to the late comic and actor, including one for Netflix that John described as "beautiful" in his conversation with E!. "Every chance I get, I talk about him," he said of his friend. "If we're real quiet, we could hear him complaining right now that I don't talk about him enough," he joked. "We'll continue to do tributes to him, but I don't know about a 'Full House' one, though." The longtime friends starred in all eight seasons of the original show, which ran from 1987 until 1985. They also appeared in Netflix's "Full House" revival, "Fuller House," which aired for five seasons beginning in 2016.
Oprah Winfrey reveals she underwent double knee surgery
Oprah Winfrey has a newfound appreciation for every part of her body after undergoing not one, but two knee surgeries in 2021. "I had double knee surgery last year," Oprah, 68, said in a class on gratitude for her series, "The Life You Want" on Tuesday (Oct. 11). "I had knee surgery in August, and then I had another knee surgery in November," she shared. "When I came home the first time, I literally could not lift my leg. I couldn't lift my heel off of the bed, and I vowed if I was ever able to get up, walk around, and move again — that I would take advantage of movement, exercise, and of being able to be fully in my body." Despite the severe pain, she eventually exercise to her recovery routine. "As I was rehabilitating, I started hiking. Everyday, I tried to hike more and do more," she said. "My appreciation for every organ and every limb has expanded exponentially," Oprah added.
Cyndi Lauper credits late mom with inspiring new abortion fund
Cyndi Lauper has launched of a new fund in support of organizations fighting to protect and advance women's rights — including their right to access safe reproductive healthcare. Named in honor of her classic '80s hit and the Women's March signs it inspired a few years ago, the new Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund is a response to the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade earlier this year, Cyndi told People. "If you don't have control over your own body, how can you be anything but a second-class citizen?" she asked. "Now, the government has control over your body — not you. What should be a private medical decision between you and your doctor is now a government decision. So, this is a big issue for me." The singer, 69, also credited her late mom, Catrine, with helping to inspire her push to protect women's rights. Having watched her mom go through two difficult divorces when Cyndi was young, she recalled, "I got to see firsthand the inequalities and the dichotomy of what it was like to be a woman in the world." As part of the fundraising efforts, the pop star has also released a video for a new version of her moving 1993 song, "Sally's Pigeons," which tackled the unnecessary death of a teenage girl caused by an illegal abortion. Reflecting on the deaths she read about earlier in her life when "you couldn't have a safe [abortion] procedure," Cyndi added, "Young people don't know what it was like. I saw it every day. I knew how it affected a lot of young women."
