Super Bowl commercials… Bravo lawsuit… Mel B teases something in the works… Austin Butler faced a serious career dilemma… and Nicki Minaj vs Megan Thee Stallion

Listen to “Showbiz – Jan 30, 2024” on Spreaker.

 

Last year, about 200M people watched the Super Bowl and some of them paid attention to the ads. Back in the day, you had to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to see commercials featuring surprise appearances by huge celebrities. These spots cost millions to produce, and then millions more to air during the Super Bowl. A lot of advertisers decided they would get more bang for their buck by releasing the ads before Super Bowl Sunday, which ruined the anticipation for those of us who only watched the game for the commercials. Now advertisers have gotten more savvy, releasing teasers of commercials that will air in their entirety on Super Bowl Sunday, and I’m not mad about it. How will Lionel Messi react when the beach bartender runs out of Michelob Ultra? Will Jenna Ortega find out who bought up all the Dorito Dinamitas? Is Chris Pratt going to be the new face of Pringles? Who is a Nerds-popping Addison Rae’s mystery dance student? What does Ken Jeong sitting in a cryo chamber have to do with Popeye’s chicken? And what is this new twist with Oreos Kris Jenner has to warn her kids about? Advertisers are hoping you’ll keep your butt planted in front of the TV on Super Bowl Sunday to find out. By the way, CBS reportedly is charging more than $7M for a 30-second spot this year. 60-second spots, but all advertising slots are sold out.

I wouldn’t say I’m a Bravoholic, but I am fascinated by all things Real Housewives. For fellow Housewives enthusiasts, Bravo created the Ultimate Girls Trip spinoffs. Basically, they throw a bunch of Housewives together for a fabulous vacation and film the fallout. For what would’ve been the fourth season of this spinoff, Bravo sent a bunch of former Housewives on a dream vacation to Morocco. But for Caroline Manzo, it quickly became a nightmare. She claims Brandi Glanville sexually harassed her, ultimately forcing an unwelcome kiss. Caroline was so upset, she packed her bags and left. About a year after this alleged incident, Caroline has filed a lawsuit against Bravo, not Brandi, claiming producers and show runners basically poured alcohol down the women’s throats, creating this drunken environment that put cast members at risk. She’s suing for negligence, sexual harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more.

The last time all five of the Spice Girls performed together was at the 2012 Olympics in London. Back in 2019, four out of five got together for a mini-tour, but Victoria Beckham took a pass. However, with this year being the 30th anniversary of the girl group, Mel B said ALL FIVE women are “definitely working on something together. “ Mel told Jennifer Hudson that’s she’s probably going to get into trouble for spilling the beans, but she said, “I’m such a blabbermouth. I get told off all the time for announcing stuff that I’m not meant to announce.”

Austin Butler had a choice to make: Do a screen test for Top Gun: Maverick or take a take a role in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Austin told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he had wanted to work with Quentin for so long that he wasn’t going to let a chance of potentially being in a Tom Cruise blockbuster stand in his way. So Austin chose to play a member of Charles Manson’s cult in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood rather than take a chance he’d land the role of Rooster, which ultimately went to Miles Teller.

In her new song Hiss, Megan Thee Stallion includes a lyric about Megan’s Law, which Nicki Minaj took very personally. Megan’s Law is named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was murdered by her neighbor — a convicted sex offender whose two roommates were also convicted sex offenders. After her death, Megan’s Law was created, requiring communities to be notified when sex offenders move into their neighborhoods. Nicki took Megan’s lyric as a dig because her husband Kenneth Petty is a registered sex offender in New York. But Megan isn’t the only one upset. Megan Kanka’s father Richard is furious, telling TMZ that using his daughter’s name to fuel this ongoing feud between Megan and Nicki is disrespectful and offensive. He’s even considering looking into his legal options.

 

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