BDAY LOVE

Warring exes, a violent Oscar winner, a controversial comic book movie actor, a rock 'n' roll good guy and more of the most-Googled stars of 2022

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Gisele Bündchen's NFL player ex-husband is expected to make $375 million over the next 10 years, plus more of the wildest, most outrageous examples of how stars were nothing like us in 2022

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Jada Pinkett Smith went glam with a massive emerald green gown before the Will Smith-Chris Rock slap fiasco, more of the most memorable red and green red carpet moments of 2022

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'Flip or Flop' star detoxing after lead and mercury poisoning, more news ICYMI

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Donald Trump, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and more stars react to Jan. 6 committee hearings and the former president's DOJ referral on criminal charges

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Simon Helberg's performances weren't even panned like this, more funny photos from late 2022

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Todd and Julie Chrisley catch a huge break with cushy Florida prison assignments, more news ICYMI

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'Real Housewives' alum drops major bombshells about her financial situation in new divorce documents, more news this week

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'Billions' and 'Homeland' actor stranded at Iceland airport amid severe weather, more news

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'Stranger Things' star brings the laughs as a butt-kicking Saint Nick, plus more actors who've portrayed Santa Claus over the years

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Megan Thee Stallion sent a powerful message with the purple suit she wore to testify against Tory Lanez — who's found guilty of shooting her, more courtroom fashion over the years

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Olivia Munn details sleepless night with John Mulaney as their baby boy welcomes a 'Christmas molar,' more news

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'Serial' subject lands university job after overturned murder conviction

Adnan Syed, the subject of the hugely popular podcast "Serial" who was incarcerated for 23 years, has landed an "amazing" job following his overturned conviction.

Georgetown University confirmed that it has employed Adnan, 41, to work as a program associate for the Prisons and Justice Initiative.

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In 1999, Adnan was arrested for the murder of ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. About 15 years later, "Serial" investigated his case and raised considerable doubt as to Adnan's criminality. Back in September 2022, a judge overturned Adnan's conviction and he was freed. A few weeks later, prosecutors dropped the charges. 

Adnan always maintained his innocence.

In a press release, Georgetown said Adnan was working to support the Making an Exoneree class "in which students reinvestigate decades-old wrongful convictions, create short documentaries about the cases and work to help bring innocent people home from prison."

The Prisons and Justice Initiative program, the university said, "addresses the root causes and consequences of mass incarceration and offers educational programs and training for incarcerated individuals and returning citizens."

When Adnan was released from prison after more than two decades, photos showed him carrying a Georgetown notebook. At the time, he was one of 25 incarcerated students in Georgetown's inaugural Bachelor of Liberal Arts program.

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Education, he said, helped him see beyond the walls of prison.

"For so many years, all we ever did was just wake up and be in prison. This was the first time that we would wake up and go to a classroom. What we learned helped us transcend the walls of the prison," he said in the press release. "We went to these places that our professors would take us, like discussions about philosophy in ancient Greece or ancient Rome. For the first time in 23 years, we didn't feel like we were in prison. We felt like we were college students learning."

Before being locked up, Adnan — who was an honors student as a teen — worked as an EMT while still in high school. The Georgetown gig is his first 9-to-5 job. 

"I've never had a job where I get a chance to be on the computer all day," he said. "It's a really normal feeling and an amazing feeling. I'm so grateful for it. Yesterday I was like, I can't wait to do this again tomorrow, you know?"

Adnan added, "To go from prison to being a Georgetown student and then to actually be on campus on a pathway to work for Georgetown at the Prisons and Justice Initiative, it's a full circle moment. PJI changed my life. It changed my family's life. Hopefully I can have the same kind of impact on others."

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'Selling Sunset' star Heather Rae El Moussa is 'not doing very good' in final weeks of pregnancy

Heather Rae El Moussa is in the final stages of her pregnancy, and she's struggling. 

On Thursday, Dec. 22, the "Selling Sunset" star posted an Instagram video after leaving her doctor's office for a routine checkup. 

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"Everything's good with baby," she said. "I'm not doing very good, the sciatica pain in just unbearable, worse than before."

The reality TV star has been ordered to lay down and rest, which she admits is "difficult" for her.

"But obviously the most important thing is feeling better and taking care of the baby," the Netflix personality said.

Sciatica is pain along the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. It extends from the back of the pelvis down the back of the thigh, according to Johns Hopkins University. It is most common during the third trimester of pregnancy.

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Although Heather and her husband, "Flip or Flop" star Tarek El Moussa, haven't revealed their baby's due date, they have said the baby — their first together — is expected to arrive in early 2023. On Thursday, Heather said it would still be "some time" before the little one enters the world.

Heather added that she's "still doing [her] physical therapy" and will be trying acupuncture.

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Gwen Stefani credited with helping superfan survive subway attack

Being a superfan of Gwen Stefani might have saved one woman's life — at least she sees it that way.

Back in September, a New York woman named Maddie Cole was at her subway stop awaiting a train's arrival when an unidentified man pushed her onto the tracks. Following the assault, Maddie was knocked unconscious and left battered and bruised.

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After regaining consciousness, Maddie realized she needed to pull herself up onto the platform to avoid getting run over by an oncoming train. It was then that she was reminded of all the times she's been called up on stage during Gwen's concerts. In those instances, she also had to pull herself up, albeit under much different circumstances. 

"It's because Gwen's called me on stage so many times. That's why my body knew what to do," she told Fox 5 News in New York.

Most recently, Maddie was called on stage during Gwen's Las Vegas residency show. The stage, she said, was the same height at the subway platform. In the life-and-death situation, Maddie was able to hoist herself up to safety. In a roundabout way, Gwen (or rather her stages) gave the 22-year-old confidence that she had the upper body strength to lift herself up and save her own life.

"You never think you're gonna be in a moment when you're like, 'I need to live,'" Maddie said. "That's all I could think about."

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The "Hollaback Girl" singer even spoke about the attack during a recent Wall Street Journal interview. 

"It's Maddie [Cole]. I know her and I follow her. In fact, I just saw her, right when we left 'The Drew Barrymore Show,'" Gwen said. "She's come to a million of my shows, she dresses like me. I don't follow a ton of fans, but a few years ago when I was doing the Vegas show, I started following people randomly. Then you think you know them because you see them every day. She happens to be one of them."

"The fact that that happened to her, I was like, 'You need to move out of the city,'" Gwen said. 

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Mindy Kaling responds to Instagram critic over 'eating' comment

An Instagram critic tried to get into a food fight with Mindy Kaling, but the actress wasn't having it.

On Wednesday, Dec. 21, "The Mindy Project" alum posted a photo from dinner at Pijja Palace, an Indian sports bar in Los Angeles. Images showed Mindy surrounded by pizza, pasta, wings and fried food. A few fans, though, said Mindy wasn't actually indulging in any of the photos. 

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"There is no eating in these pictures," an Instagram follower said, "just saying because it's kind of scary and I have been there."

Mindy saw the comment and clapped back, but did so rather nicely. 

"I actually think this concern is sweet. But I swear this is not my issue. But thank you being kind!" she said. 

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Mindy's weight has long been a topic of discussion, as she's slimmed down her significantly since most of us first met on her "The Office" in 2005. In May 2022, she told "Today" that she eats in moderation but doesn't diet. 

"I'm never going to stop being a foodie. I'm never going to be someone who can just have spinach and salmon every day. I just am really for the first time in my life, trying moderation, and I love it," she said.

The mother-of-two also enjoys exercise, which wasn't always the case.

"Sometimes I'll be like, 'Well, I have four different times today where I have 10 minutes so let's just walk instead of sitting down and checking Instagram,'" she said. "So instead of it being like one chunk of exercise in the beginning of the day or none at all, I'm now just deciding that I'm going to be a more active person all the time."

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Allison Holker breaks social media silence after husband Stephen 'tWitch' Boss's death

Allison Holker isn't hiding her pain in her first social media post since the death of her husband, Stephen "tWitch" Boss.

"My ONE and ONLY Oh how my heart aches. We miss you so much," she captioned a selfie with her late spouse. 

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On Tuesday, Dec. 13, the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" DJ and executive producer was discovered dead in the bathroom of his motel room at the Oak Tree Inn in Encino, California, by an employee after he missed his checkout time at 11 a.m. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner soon confirmed he'd died by suicide.

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TMZ reported that the "So You Think You Can Dance" alum left his house and stopped taking his wife's phone calls in the lead up to his tragic passing. There are reports that he put his phone in "airplane mode" after taking an Uber to the motel, which is about a mile from the home he and Allison shared with their children. She went to a police station to report him missing, explaining how out of character his disappearance was and welcomed authorities into her home to help look for clues as to why he left without argument or issue, TMZ reported. Their search proved to be too late.

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Allison formally announced his death in a statement, but Wednesday's post is her first social media activity since tWitch's passing. Many of Allison's "Dancing With The Stars" pals lent her support in the new post.

"We love you Ally. We all have you," Derek Hough commented. Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy added, "Sending you and your beautiful kids so much LOVE Allison." Ellen wrote, "There is so much love coming to you. I hope you can feel it."

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As Finn Wolfhard turns 20, see how much the young cast of 'Stranger Things' has changed and grown up since the show debuted 6 years ago

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Tori Spelling claims Andy Cohen nixed dream of joining 'Real Housewives' cast, plus more news

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Vanessa Paradis turns 50! Find out what she and more of Johnny Depp's exes are up to (and look like) now 

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Richard Gere's plans to build a cellphone tower on his NY estate infuriates wealthy locals

Richard Gere is angering residents of a wealthy New York town with plans to build a 130-foot cellphone tower on the grounds of his 14-acre hotel estate.

According the New York Post, the proposal is expected to be approved by the Bedford, New York, town planning board. The tower, which would be erected on the grounds of the Bedford Post Inn, would fill service gaps for emergency responders in the town.

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The "Pretty Woman" actor co-owns the ritzy eight-room inn with real estate developer Russell Hernandez. 

Reports said Bedford Town Supervisor Ellen Calves asked the co-owners over the summer if they would offer the grounds of their hotel for the tower. They agreed, but some people allege a quid pro quo was involved. Roxanne Spruance, who co-owns the hotel's Michelin-rated bistro, The Barn, and was once featured on "Chopped," said the Bedford Post Inn's expansion plans were immediately approved after the land was offered up. 

The site was settled on after the board rejected two previous cell tower locations and after Verizon sued the town. The telecom giant argued that Federal Telecommunications Act requires a tower within Bedford.

"Many members of the public were imploring the town board to find a less intrusive alternative," Ellen, the aforementioned Bedford Town Supervisor, told the New York Post. "Given that the Post Inn property is commercial, and in the town code commercial property is considered 'less intrusive' than residential sites, I was looking … to see if they would consider this."

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A-listers who live in and around Bedford include Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren, Matt Damon, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively and sisters Rooney and Kate Mara. Jerry Seinfeld's sister Carolyn Liebling is also a resident of the area, and she's argued against the tower. In fact, she and others have asked a judge to block the proposal. 

"Just because people who have money and power are threatening legal action, that doesn't mean that they get more deference than anyone else," Ellen said. "We have to make the right decision for the whole town. This is a matter of public safety and quality of life."

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Many in the town see the tower as both an eyesore and a headache. 

"They're trying to steamroll this through with little fanfare. It's rough," the "Chopped" winner said. "This will be right outside my living room window. And we've all been places with construction projects going on. It sucks."

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An Oscar-nominated 'Harry Potter' villain, more stars who turned 60 in 2022

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John Mayer reveals who 'Your Body is a Wonderland' is really about: All the women the musician has romanced over the years

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'Emily in Paris' season 3 is here: Reminisce with a look at the best fashion and photos from the show

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Eddie Cibrian responds to Brandi Glanville's claim he had affair with 'Yellowstone' actress

Brandi Glanville is making big claims about ex-husband's Eddie Cibrian's love life, claiming he had an affair with "Yellowstone" actress Piper Perabo on the set of 2005's "The Cave."

At the time of filming, Brandi and Eddie were married. 

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"They did a movie together and [my son] Mason was 1 year old and I went to the set and it was in another country, Romania, I think," the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alum told Page Six on Dec. 20. 

While there, Brandi claims Piper was not only "horrible" to her, but also openly flirtatious with Eddie.

"She was flirting with Eddie, like, right in front of me," Brandi alleged. "I was like, 'Am I here? Am I the only person [seeing this]? Like, what is happening?'"

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During the course of filming, Brandi claims she made friends with much of the crew and they kept her apprised on the alleged affair. When Eddie returned home from filming, Brandi said she confronted him about it. "When he got home, I'm like, 'I'm leaving, blah blah, I'm out,'" she said. "He convinced me that it wasn't true. We had a 1-year-old son and he was the love of my life at the time and, you know, there was a lot of convincing me of things."

Eddie later hit back in a statement to Page Six, telling the New York Post's gossip column, "I'm sad I have to address this, I really believed that we had come a long way, but this was untrue 19 years ago and it's untrue now." He continued, "Just because someone thinks something might be true does not make it true. This is all so unnecessary."

The actor, who maintains a co-parenting relationship with Brandi, sarcastically added, "fun times at the Christmas table await."

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Brandi and Eddie divorced in 2010 after nine years of marriage. Their split came after he had a confirmed affair with country music singer LeAnn Rimes when they co-starred in a TV movie together. Eddie and LeAnn are now married. Coincidentally, both LeAnn and Piper appeared in 2000's "Coyote Ugly."

Of Piper, Brandi said, "I don't like her as a person, because I think she f***** my husband."