ICYMI: Celeb news for Nov. 26-Dec. 1

By Mark Gray 8:44am PST, Dec 1, 2017

It's officially time to get ready for the second coming of the royal wedding. On Nov. 27, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged. The wedding will take place in May 2018 in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle (some unconfirmed reports have it pegged for May 26). The queen is expected to attend. The day the engagement was announced, Harry and Meghan publicly spoke together for the first time, telling the BBC that the proposal happened a few weeks ago at their cottage in Kensington Palace. "It was a cozy night," Meghan said. "We were roasting chicken. It was just an amazing surprise. It was so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got down on one knee." Harry said, "It was a really nice moment — it was just the two of us. I think I managed to catch her by surprise." Meghan said, "Yes, as a matter of fact I could barely let you finish proposing! I said, 'Can I say 'yes' now?!'" Harry designed the ring himself. "The ring is obviously yellow gold because that's … her favorite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the little diamonds either side are from my mother's jewelry collection to make sure that she's with us on this… on this crazy journey together," Harry said. The engaged couple hit the ground running: On Dec. 1, they stepped out for their first official royal work day as a couple, doing a walkabout and attending a celebration for World AIDS Day in Nottingham, England.

Mom-shamed

On Nov. 29, Jessica Simpson posted a photo with her lookalike 5-year-old daughter, Maxwell Johnson, during a mommy-daughter day. She was quickly mom-shamed by many of her social media followers. In the image, Jessica and Maxwell are both wearing makeup. Maxwell is seen with dark lipstick on while sitting in the makeup chair inside of MAC Cosmetics. Jess said that MAC was Maxi's "favorite store." That's when the parent police entered and told Jess how to raise her own daughter. "Her favorite store?? OMG. She should be playing outside or learning about the world not sitting in a chair putting on make up at MAC. What's wrong with you," one person wrote. Others said Maxi was "too young" for makeup. Just a thought: Maybe we should let Jessica raise her child the way she sees fit?

Engaged

Kaley Cuoco is an engaged lady. The actress took to Instagram on Dec. 1 to announce that her beau, Karl Cook, popped the question. She even shared a video that was filmed moments after the proposal. Kaley fights back tears of joys in the video while wearing the ring. "We're engaged," she said. Karl then reminds her, "You still haven't said yes yet." Kaley immediately and adorably screams, "Yes, I say yes." The "Big Bang Theory" actress was still emotional while captioning the video of the moment. "Still crying," she wrote alongside a ring emoji. "Every part of this night has been perfection just like you @mrtankcook I love you forever!" Karl shared several engagement posts, too. "Well after nearly two years I finally got up the courage to ask her to marry me," he said. "This is the best night of my life and I think the video shows it is the best night for kaley as well…..if she said yes!!!!!" He also shared an image of the ring, which he gave to her on her 32nd birthday. In another video of he and Kaley dancing (the ring on her finger,) he said, "You are my everything."

Fired

The sexual misconduct scandal that has swept through the country has taken down one of TV's most familiar and, up until this week, beloved faces. NBC's Matt Lauer, who ruled the "Today" show airwaves for over 20 years, was fired after a serious allegation of sexual misconduct. NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack issued a memo to staff that read, "On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer." The allegation, the letter said, "represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment… While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident." Multiple media outlets were apparently investigating claims made against the fallen TV icon. Several respected media outlets said the woman who first spoke out alleged that the inappropriate behavior occurred while Matt was in Russia covering the Winter Olympics in 2014, but that it continued for months afterward. Other serious allegations followed. Savannah Guthrie made the announcement on Nov. 29 at the top of the "Today" show. "We are devastated," she said. On Nov. 30, Matt issued a lengthy apology in which he admitted to some of the bad behavior and expressed "sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused."

Grammy noms

It's good to be JAY-Z this week. The rapper, who released his album "4:44" this summer, was the leader in Grammy nominations as they were announced on Nov. 28. Jay is nominated for eight honors, including album, song and record of the year. Bruno Mars is also nominated for the big three. Kendrick Lamar earned seven nominations. Rap and R&B are typically not popular genres at the Grammys, so this is quite a coup. After the announcement, some of the discussion wasn't on those who were nominated, but rather those who were not. Ed Sheeran was expected to be among the top nominees, but was largely shunned, only getting two nods (for best pop vocal album and best pop solo performance). Harry Styles, who many expected would garner a nomination or two, got shut out. So did Katy Perry. Many were aghast that the first two singles off Taylor Swift's "Reputation" weren't nominated for any awards, however, under Grammy rules, the album itself wasn't eligible based on its release date (which means the 2019 Grammys could be very Swift-tastic). The 2018 Grammys will take place on Jan. 28.

Custody agreement

This week Jennifer Hudson dropped her protective order against her ex, David Otunga, and the two came to a settlement regarding custody of their 8-year-old son. David is now the primary custodial parent of David. Jr. after the feuding parents struck a deal. TMZ reported on Nov. 28 that J.Hud and David, her partner for nearly a decade, reached a temporary custody agreement that gives him custody over David Jr. the majority of the time. Jen's travel schedule was one of the main factors in the decision, as she is currently in London shooting "The Voice UK." She's also traveling to Los Angeles often for the American version of "The Voice." David, who got his law degree at Harvard before becoming a reality star and professional wrestler, has reportedly been the primary caretaker of their son since he was born due to Jen's work schedule.

Sex tape update

Spice Girl Melanie Brown can rest a little easier these days knowing that she won't be exposed in public. Her ex, Stephen Belafonte, agreed in court to destroy all the sex tapes that they had made together during their marriage. Mel had feared the tapes would get out. As part of their new legal agreement, Stephen will also receive an unspecified amount of spousal support for the next three years. The former duo will also now share custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Madison, and neither parent will pay child support.

More money for Mariah

Remember that 35-carat engagement ring Mariah Carey got from James Packer last year? Well, it's now hers to keep forever. She'll also get a few million dollars. When the diva and the Australian businessman split in late 2016, she demanded that he pay her a huge amount of money for her troubles. She asked for $50 million, according to reports. At the time, she claimed he got her to move from New York to Los Angeles, uprooting her entire life, so he could be near his kids from a previous marriage. She said he also made "financial promises" to her. On Nov. 29, The Blast reported that the two finally came to an agreement. All and all, between the ring and the cash, Mariah is reportedly walking away with between $5 and $10 million. For James, a certified billionaire, that's chump change. For Mariah, well dah-ling, it will probably go toward something fabulous.

Christmas request

There's certainly no doubt that Prince George leads a charmed life, but that doesn't mean he has everything. That's where Santa Claus comes in… maybe. During a visit to Finland this week, George's dad, Prince William, caught up with the jolly one. During a brief chat, Will took out a handwritten Christmas wish list his son had drawn up. "Dear Father Christmas," the note read, along with five blank lines for him to write in the things he'd love to find under the tree this year. But there was only one item on the list — a police car. The tyke added, "Love, George" at the end. George might only be 4 years old, but he's already the king at home.

Staying a private citizen

Governor Springer? Eh, no. After toying with the idea of running for the 2018 Democratic nomination for governor in Ohio, Jerry Springer decided on Nov. 30 that he would not enter the political arena again. Before he became host of "The Jerry Springer Show" for 26 years, Jerry was the mayor of Cincinnati. He was also a Cincinnati councilman. Still, he felt he had "a real possibility of winning." He said on his podcast that the decision was "purely personal" and that he didn't think he couldn't make a five-year commitment to campaigning and then governing during a four-year term.