By Wonderwall.com Editors
7:20am PDT, May 14, 2021
Channing Tatum is now a bestselling author, thanks to his 7-year-old daughter
No. 1 Girl Dad much? Channing Tatum is celebrating the news that his first children's book, "The One and Only Sparkella," took the top spot on the New York Times' Best Sellers list this week. The book was inspired by Channing's relationship with his 7-year-old daughter, Everly, whom he shares with his ex, Jenna Dewan. "Say what?!?! #1 on the @NYTimes Bestseller List!!" he tweeted on May 12. "I'm literally speechless right now!!! Ten year old me would never believe this. Evie and I want to thank each and every one of you for all of the #Sparkella love. I couldn't be more excited right now! THANK YOU!!" As he told People earlier this month, he didn't have "this giant idea that I wanted to write a kids' book." Instead, he said, "It was just something that I noticed in my daughter, watching her for the very first time become self-conscious." He recalled seeing Everly refuse to wear a fun watermelon slice cape she loved to school. "… When I asked her why, she said, 'I don't want to get made fun of,'" he recalled. "So I wanted to make this little story about this girl who is very unique and really likes to shine." He also wanted to show other girl dads they can "go into her world" if they want to really connect with their daughters. "A lot [in the book] is stuff that Evie and I do. Like I do call her 'Glitter Poop,'" he admitted. "I was really nervous when I became a single dad, and having to raise a little girl, not being able to have the resource of a woman there to be able to lean into how to relate to her as she grows up. I literally went to YouTube and learned how to braid hair." Between the hair braiding and the book writing, we'd say you're doing just fine in the pop department, Channing.
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Prince Harry gets candid about the 'pain and suffering' he's seen in the royal family and more
Only time will tell if Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family can work out their differences. For now, the Duke of Sussex seems devoted to finding happiness and making a difference in the world via his new life in California with Duchess Meghan, their son Archie and their soon-to-be daughter. As he said in a wide-ranging conversation with Dax Shepard on this week's "Armchair Expert" podcast, he also wants to "break [the[ cycle" that he believes caused his parents pain — and that caused his own mental health to suffer. Part of that cycle was what he described as "a mix between 'The Truman Show' and living in a zoo." Though he understood that as a senior royal, that's part of the "job," there came a time many years ago he realized that job couldn't make him happy. "I was in my early 20s, and I was thinking, I don't want this job, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mum," he recalled, per People. The late Princess Diana, of course, was killed in a car accident while being chased by paparazzi when Harry was 12, which he said left him wondering how he could ever "settle down" without worrying that would "happen again." But given his "position of privilege," Harry said he decided to "stop complaining … [and] make this different," asking himself, "how are you going to make your mum proud and use this platform to really affect change?" Harry's upcoming mental health series with Oprah Winfrey, "The Me You Can't See," is one way he's answering that question. Another is by giving his son, Archie, and future daughter a different life than what he and his father, Prince Charles, had before him. "There's no blame. I don't think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody," he cautioned. "But certainly when it comes to parenting, if I've experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I'm going to make sure that I break that cycle so that I don't pass it on," he said. "There's a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway. We parents, we should be doing the most of we can to try and say, you know what? That happened to me. I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you."
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Dionne Warwick weighs in on 'news' of her own death
Ah, to be blessed with the wit and charm of Dionne Warwick. While most celebs tend to ignore death hoaxes when they see their names circulating on social media alongside "RIP," Dionne, 80, not only weighed in on a YouTube video she recently spotted about her supposed death, she kind of gave the best and pithiest response ever. Sharing a screenshot from the video, which was titled "The Life and Sad Ending of Dionne Warwick," another Twitter user posted, "according to youtube @dionnewarwick is dead," per E! News The legendary singer and Twitter comedy queen's response? "Oh no!"
Machine Gun Kelly would marry Megan Fox 'in a heartbeat'
While the engagement buzz surrounding Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly (Colson Baker) eventually fizzled, the singer would happily put a ring on Megan's finger, according to an ET source. "[He] would marry Megan in a heartbeat," the insider claimed this week, adding that she seems to be the one taking things slow in the relationship. While she's "definitely in love," the source says Megan's "having a great time with where things are at now," one year after they were first linked romantically. "She really takes her kids into consideration and knows that taking that next step would be a big adjustment, but it's not off the table," the source explains, referencing the three boys the actress shares with Brian Austin Green. The couple may not have exchanged rings, but Megan did put something a bit less conventional around her boyfriend's neck. Uh, that would be a drop of her own blood, which Colson wears on a necklace. He explained the backstory to Ellen DeGeneres on May 12, revealing that Megan was heading out of the country to film a movie early on in their relationship. "I didn't have a passport either," he said. "So, she was going out to Bulgaria so I was kind of freaking out, like, 'You're gonna leave and I can't even come see you.'" And then … ta-da! Megan found a way he could keep her with him all the time. "Some people give, like, a handkerchief to their partner or whatever," he said. "She gave me her DNA."
'Friends' reunion gets a release date and a slew of guest stars
At long last, HBO Max has revealed when the world can return to Central Perk one last time. Yep, the much-discussed (yet mostly delayed) "Friends" reunion is coming your way May 27. And while the unscripted reunion special will have some familiar elements — including the cast and original soundstage — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schimmer will also be joined by a slew of other famous faces. Those making appearances, according to EW, are … BTS, Lady Gaga, David Beckham, Justin Bieber, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon, and, rather confusingly, Malala Yousafzai. No word yet on how or why Malala got involved, but a number of recent reunion specials have doubled as fundraisers for a good cause, including last month's "E.R." reunion, which benefitted The Waterkeeper Alliance.
Why Tiffany Haddish could land her own daytime talk show when 'Ellen' wraps
Could Tiffany Haddish be the next major face of daytime talk TV? In the wake of Ellen DeGeneres' announcement she will end her long-running show after Season 19 next year, the rumor mill's already churning with chatter suggesting the "Girls Trip" star and comic could pick up where Ellen left off. Page Six recently spoke to an NBC insider who said Tiffany's "humor and empathy," as well as the fact that she's "a fresh voice" all make her "a favorite" as execs consider how to fill the void Ellen will leave in 2022. It doesn't hurt that she's already subbed in as the host of "Ellen" — or that she's hosted "Kids Say the Darndest Things" for NBC rival CBS. Asked how Tiffany might fare in a key slot like Ellen's, Gayle King told ET this week she thinks Tiffany would be "great fun" as a daytime host. "They know she can do the job," Gayle said. "Kelly Clarkson is doing great. So they've got some options," she added, "but there still is only one Ellen."
Charlyne Yi has a 'checklist' for Seth Rogen after he distanced himself from James Franco
As far as Charlyne Yi is concerned, James Franco's "enabler" Seth Rogen is not off the hook yet. Seth recently told The Sunday Times he has "no plans" to work with his longtime collaborator again, having reflected further on the multiple sexual misconduct allegations James faces. In the same interview, Seth apologized for making light of one of those claims on "Saturday Night Live" years ago. It was Charlyne whose post calling Seth an "enabler" inspired The Guardian's question to Seth about his current relationship with James. Now, she's offering Seth a "checklist" for what he can do to make good on his remarks to the outlet, including "I despise abuse and harassment." Charlyne shared the "checklist for SR" on Instagram this week. It included, "Apologize to survivors for making their lives even more vulnerable by publicly siding with an abuser, further damaging their careers and safety; commit to educating self about coercion, sexual assault, and how to be a protective ally; promote protecting and hiring survivors; protect survivors; hire survivors." She then detailed the names of everyone who has said they were victimized by James, suggesting to Seth that he apologize directly to them "and all the unnamed people" who may or may not have shared what they experienced.
Laverne Cox's voice dubbed by male actor in Italian translation of 'Promising Young Woman'
Universal Pictures International is facing a wave of backlash after using a deep-voiced male actor as the Italian dub for Laverne Cox in the trailer for "Promising Young Woman." The actor used by Universal was Roberto Pedicini, a cis male voice actor who's previously handled the dubbing for the voices of Jim Carrey and Woody Harrelson, according to The Guardian (via Refinery29). Amid widespread social media outrage — Vittoria Schisano, an Italian actress who is trans, called the move "a straight-up act of violence" — Universal Pictures International has apologized and postponed the release. In a statement to variety, a rep said Laverne's voice will be redubbed by a woman for the Italian version of the film. "We are deeply grateful to Laverne and the transgender community for opening our eyes to a bias that neither we nor many in our industry had recognized," the statement said, adding, "We are sorry for the pain caused but are thankful that we can address the situation on this film and prevent similar mistakes from happening again on future projects." Universal previously dubbed Laverne's voice in both 'Orange Is The New Black' and 'The Mindy Project' with male voice actors, according to Refinery29.
Gal Gadot silences comments after post about Israel-Hamas conflict
Gal Gadot has disabled the comments on a post about the violent Israel-Hamas conflict after reportedly being criticized for sounding off in seeming support of both sides of the bloody rocket attacks, despite having once served in the army in her native Israel, as is mandatory. "Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation. Our neighbours deserve the same," she tweeted earlier this week. According to Deadline and the BBC, the post garnered thousands of replies, many negative, before she turned off comments. "My country is at war. I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for my people. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on for far too long," the post continued. "I pray for the victims and their families. I pray for this unimaginable hostility to end, I pray for our leaders to find the solution so we could live side by side in peace. I pray for better days." Among the critics were those who thought she sounded like she was selling "propaganda" for Israel, and others who couldn't get past her military service.
