Weekend box office news… Celebrities health… Angry NBC reality stars… Rachel Leviss update… and Jennifer Aniston addresses antisemitism Jamie Foxx post

Listen to “Showbiz – Aug 7, 2023” on Spreaker.

 

For the third week in a row, “Barbie” is number one in the US, taking in another $53M. And in just 17 days, “Barbie” has crossed the billion dollar mark worldwide. “Meg 2: The Trench” debuted in second with $30M, which was toward the high end of what the experts predicted. That pushed “Oppenheimer” down to third with $29M. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” earned $43M since Wednesday, but they only count Friday thru Sunday for the weekend box office totals. So with $28M, the Turtles finished in fourth. Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” rounded out the top five with $9M.

Music Icon Health Update — Madonna was supposed to have kicked off her 35-city tour in Vancouver on July 15, but they slammed the brakes on that after she collapsed with a bacterial infection in June. As her health continues to improve, Madonna announced on her IG Story on Friday, “Thank you again for your incredible support and patience over these past few weeks! I’m happy to report that the re-routed tour schedule will be coming in the next few days! See you soon for a well deserved Celebration!!” But as of this morning, the rescheduled tour dates haven’t been posted. Meantime, the news is not as optimistic for Celine Dion. Back in December, Celine announced she was canceling her world tour, revealing that she’d been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that causes painful muscle spasms. Her sister Claudette recently spoke to “Le Journal de Montreal” and said Celine has been struggling to find any medicine that gives her relief, but she is working closely with researchers who specialize in this condition. Claudette said, “We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important.” Claudette says the family trusts that Celine will find a way to minimize her symptoms and get back on stage. In the meantime, Claudette said their sister Linda has moved in with Celine to help care for her and her three sons.

Being a reality star is way harder than it looks. In fact, some of them are so upset about what they are put through, they’ve hired high-profile attorneys Mark Geragos and Bryan Freedman to address their grievances. Page Six got a copy of the letter sent to NBC by the attorneys, who say they’re representing individuals employed by or contracted by Bravo, E! and CNBC who’ve been subjected to “grotesque and depraved mistreatment.” Among their complaints:

  • Intentional attempts to cause mental instability by consuming copious amounts of alcohol and depriving cast members of sleep and food
  • Refusing to provide mental health care to cast members who are exhibiting clear and concerning indicators of mental decline
  • Using children for unpaid, occasionally protracted appearances on NBC reality TV series
  • Disseminating non-consensual pornography and/or approving its dissemination
  • Hiding sexual assault crimes
  • Denying cast members the right to quit their shows, even in urgent situations

According to the attorneys, NBC threatened to ruin cast members if they ever spoke about about their mistreatment. So why now? Point the finger at Bethenny Frankel. Page Six says she personally contacted Freedman and Geragos to take on NBC, and she’s been recruiting other reality show personalities to join the fight. She reportedly has about 50 reality stars so far who are willing to be a part of this potential lawsuit. A source wouldn’t name names, but told Page Six that it’s “definitely ‘Housewife’ heavy” with multiple cast members from multiple ‘Housewives’ franchises, as well as people from all different Bravo shows.

Cameras have been rolling on “Vanderpump Rules” since June, but so far, there’s still no sign of Rachel Leviss, FKA Raquel. Sources are telling TMZ that cast members are feeling pretty confident that she won’t be part of Season 11. Their sources say the cast believes Rachel’s therapists convinced her to stay away from filming, but they wouldn’t be shocked if she shows up at the very last minute to share her side of the story with whomever is willing to speak to her. That would be a very small number because reportedly, Tom Sandoval is the only one who’s been in touch with her since the reunion taping in March.

In a now-deleted Instagram Story, Jamie Foxx posted on Friday, “They killed this dude called Jesus…what do you think they’ll do to you???! #fakefriends #fake love.” Those who saw it took it to be antisemitic, and they also noticed that the messaged appeared to have been liked by Jennifer Aniston. She quickly cleared that up on her own IG Story, posting, “This really makes me sick. I did not ‘like’ this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my friends and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds — I do NOT support any form of antisemitism. And I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. Period.” But the rude comments continued, so Jennifer has turned off the comments on her Instagram. Jamie Foxx posted a statement on Saturday, which is still posted on his feed: “I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I’m sorry. That was never my intent. To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that’s what I meant with ‘they’ not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended. Nothing but love always, Jamie Foxx.” Unlike Jennifer, Jamie did NOT turn off his comments. And while Jamie is getting tons of support, Jennifer is being attacked for not standing up for him!

 

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