By Wonderwall.com Editors
5:00am PST, Nov 12, 2023
Empire State of climb
On Nov. 9, Jared Leto made history by climbing to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City, making him the first person ever to accomplish the feat. "I made it, I'm alive, I made it to the top," the Oscar-winning actor said in an interview on "Today" after he reached the top of the 102-story building. "I was just saying I saw my mother in the window of the 80th floor and that was a nice surprise," he quipped. Jared launched his climbing mission to announce his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, is launching a world tour. "It was in celebration of the tour and doing those things that you aspire to do," he explained.
Soaring high above the Big Apple, the Empire State Building stands just over 1453 feet, including its pinnacle. Jared, 51, made the historic climb clad in a bright red jumpsuit with reflectors on the arms and legs. He was harnessed in by a series of orange and red ropes some of which matched the color his bloodied hands by the time he appeared on "Today."
"It's incredible, to watch the sun rise overlooking the city that's meant so much to me ever since I was a kid. New York's been the place you went to make your dreams come true. And as a young kid, I wanted to be an artist and New York was the place that you came to be an artist and the Empire State Building was always that symbol for me," Jared said. "I was more excited than nervous, to tell you the truth," he added. "But I have to be honest, it was very, very hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Just the endurance that it took, the stamina that it took, it was very sharp."
Thirty Seconds to Mars kicks off their Seasons World Tour in Latin America on March 15, 2024.
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Addressing concern
Fans on social media expressed concern for Wynonna Judd's health after her seemingly shaky performance with Jelly Roll at the top of the 2023 CMA Awards in Nashville on Nov. 8. But according to Wynonna, it was just a good, old-fashioned case of nerves that caused her to clutch her fellow performer's shoulder (and keep holding it until they were finished) during their rendition of his hit, "Need a Favor."
"I'm just gonna come clean with y'all: I was so freaking nervous," Wynonna said in a video on Instagram after the show. "I got out there and I looked at Jelly Roll, I wanted it to be so good for him … could cry right now, but I'm not going to because I'm such a fan of his and he asked me to sing and I said, 'Absolutely!'" she explained. "I got out there, and I was so nervous that I just held on for dear life. And that's the bottom line. All is well," she added.
In the end, the CMAs were "so good for" Jelly Roll, who was named new artist of the year.
MORE: Country music stars at their first ever CMA Awards
Health update
Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter, Tallulah Willis, shared some some good news — and some not-so-good news — about her dad on the "The Drew Barrymore Show" on Nov. 8. In March 2023, Bruce's family revealed he'd been diagnosed with a form of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), after announcing in 2022 that he was suffering from aphasia and was stepping away from acting. It's since come to light that Bruce, 68, was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a rare and less-understood form of FTD that "affects language skills, speaking, writing and comprehension," according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Bad news first: "What's going on with my dad, he has a really aggressive cognitive disease, a form of dementia that's very rare," Tallulah told Drew on her show, according to Today.com. As the name, primary progressive aphasia, suggests, the disorder worsens over time. (In October, the actor's close friend, "Moonlighting" creator Glenn Gordon Caron told the New York Post it's now as if Bruce is "seeing life through a screen door.")
Asked about her dad's current health, though, Tallulah was positive. "He is the same, which, I think, in this regard I've learned is the best thing you can ask for," she said. "I see love when I'm with him — and it's my dad and he loves me." The 29-year-old shared that she spends a lot of time "playing music" for Bruce, "and sitting in that and this energy of love, it's really special."
Along with her adult sisters and Bruce's wife, Emma Heming, Tallulah has been speaking openly about her dad's situation "because there's not enough information out there" about the disease, she told Drew. They hope to use "something that we're struggling with as a family," she added, to help others whose loved ones are suffering from FTD.
Mind over matter
Now in his tenth month of recovery from a snowplow accident that nearly killed him, Jeremy Renner's found his mind to be a more powerful asset than any physical treatment — and he's apparently tried them all. "I have been exploring EVERY type of therapy since Jan 14th," the "Hawkeye" star wrote on Instagram on Nov. 6, referencing the day he was crushed by a 14,300-pound snowcat outside his home in Nevada, breaking at least 30 bones.
"Everyday, countless hours of physical therapy, peptide injections, iv drips and pushes, stem cell and exosomes, red light / IR therapy, hyperbaric chamber 2.0 atmospheres, cold plunge, and the list goes on …," he continued. "BUT the greatest therapy has been my mind and the will to be here and push to recover and be better…. Be exceptional," he wrote. "I feel it's my duty to do so. Not to squander my life being spared, but to give back to my family, friends, and all of you whom have empowered me to endure. I thank you all."
Jeremy, who once joked he feels "like the Tin Man" because of all the metal plates and titanium rods he now has in his body, signed off with the hashtag, "#loveandtitanium."
Casting couch harassment
Sharon Stone says a former head of Sony Pictures exposed himself to her during a one-on-one meeting in his office early on in her Hollywood career. The Oscar nominated star shared her story publicly for this first time on Kelly Ripa's "Let's Talk Off Camera" podcast, where she recalled having been "so excited" to "meet the head of Sony" at the general meeting, which she said took place in the '80s, years before "Basic Instinct" and "Casino" put her on the map in the '90s.
According to Sharon, who did not name the executive, she was invited into his office and soon found herself being semi-swallowed up by his "very low, giant" couch as he paced around the room. Initially, she said (per Variety), he raved about her beauty. "'We haven't seen anyone like you in decades. Everybody's talking about you and look at you. You're the most articulate. You're so smart and beautiful and that hair,'" she recalled him saying.
"Then he came walking right up in front of me," Sharon continued, "… and he said, 'But first … " That's when he opened up his pants and exposed himself, "right out in my face," Sharon said. "I started laughing and crying at the same time and I couldn't stop because I became hysterical. I couldn't stop, so he didn't know what to do. So, of course, he put it away and he went through this door behind his desk, which I thought was that he left, so I didn't know what to do." Confused and upset, the young star continued sitting in the office until the man's secretary finally came in and escorted her out.
Sharon later determined it would be "a pointless exercise" to name the exec and others in the industry who sexually harassed her over the course of her career. "They know who they are," she explained, "but they 'so' know who they are that I haven't worked in 20 years."
Found liable
On Nov. 9, a New York City jury found Robert De Niro's company, Canal Productions, liable for gender discrimination and retaliation in the actor's protracted court battle against his former assistant, Graham Chase Robinson. As reported by the New York Post, Robert's company was ordered to fork over $1.2 million in damages to his ex-employee.
In her lawsuit, Chase claimed Robert was abusive at work, where he allegedly called her names and yelled at her regularly. She said he also demanded that she perform menial tasks — specifically, chores traditionally associated with women — like cleaning his sheets, even after she was promoted to a vice president position in the company. Chase further accused the star of sexually inappropriate behavior, alleging he would sometimes urinate while talking to her on the phone or direct her to scratch his back. Chase also alleged she was subjected to endless bullying from Robert's girlfriend, Tiffany Chen. When she quit in 2019, she said Robert refused to give her a referral.
The Oscar winner denied the allegations and countersued, accusing Chase of having stolen $60,000 worth of frequent flyer miles from him. In what became a heated, two-week trial to resolve both lawsuits, Robert reportedly lost his temper when he took the stand and called her claims "nonsense."
