Entertainment Daypop Archives

Neil Diamond has decided to retire from touring after learning that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring. I have been so honored to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years,” Diamond, 76, said in a statement on Monday, January 22. “My sincerest apologies to everyone who purchased tickets and were planning to come to the upcoming shows.” Diamond did, however, say he plans to still work in some capacity.  “I plan to remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come,” he continued in his statement. Diamond was scheduled to perform at several outdoor stadiums, arenas and winery shows during his Australian and New Zealand tour dates, which have since been canceled.

The 2018 Academy Award nominations were announced this morning and The Shape of Water leads the pack with 13 nods. Guillermo del Toro’s horror/fantasy/romance received the most nominations, including nods for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original screenplay. Dunkirk followed with eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a favorite before the nominations, received seven nominations, but was shut out of the Best Director category. Other big contenders include Phantom Thread (six nominations), Darkest Hour (six nominations) Lady Bird (five nominations), Get Out (four nominations), and Call Me By Your Name (four nominations).

Actress and comedian Mo’Nique called out Netflix for an offer that was considerably less than her male and white comedian colleagues. The Academy Award-winning actress took to Instagram with a video saying, ” I am asking that you stand with me and boycott Netflix for gender bias and color bias. I was offered a $500,000 deal last week to do a comedy special. However, Amy Schumer was offered $11 million, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle $20 million.” Shortly after, actress and fellow comedian Wanda Sykes tweeted at Mo’Nique saying, “Thank you for speaking out, [Netflix] offered me less than half of your $500k. I was offended but found another home.” Mo’Nique reiterated that she and Sykes are two black female comedians with 50-plus years of experience at the top of their game and were offered $750,000 by Netflix.

Megyn Kelly took her public feud with Jane Fonda to a new level on Monday, after the actress slammed the NBC host for her “inappropriate” question during a segment that aired in September. At the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, Fonda addressed the hype around the interview from September, when Kelly asked Fonda about her thoughts on plastic surgery.”I was stunned [by the plastic surgery question; it was so inappropriate. It showed that she’s not that good an interviewer.” Kelly reacted to Fonda’s criticism on her show, “Megyn Kelly Today,” on Monday. “First, some context. Fonda was on to promote a film about aging. For years she has spoken openly about her joy in giving a cultural face to older women. I have no regrets about the question.” 

Tracee Ellis Ross took to Twitter on January 20 to address speculation that she demanded a higher salary to continue starring on Black-ish. “There has been a lot of conversation and speculation the last few days regarding my Black-ish salary. I was in a renegotiation, like many actors find themselves in during the fourth season of a successful show,” Ross, 45, began. “I wanted to be compensated in a way that matches my contribution to a show that I love for many reasons.”  Referring to a report published by The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, January 18, which stated she was getting paid significantly less than her costar Anthony Anderson, Ross wrote: “The words and thoughts that were in the original article that started this public conversation were not mine; there were never any threats. I wish I would have been called by the reporter to confirm that.”