Entertainment Daypop Archives

Elton John announced during a special live-streamed event Wednesday that he will be retiring from touring, following an upcoming 300-date farewell tour.  “I’m not going to be touring and traveling the world. My priorities have changed. I have young children,” the music icon said to moderator Anderson Cooper onstage during the event, which included John playing songs such as “Tiny Dancer” and “I’m Still Standing.”  The singer also confirmed that he will still be making music following the tour and that he is healthy after being forced to cancel a series of shows in April due to contracting a rare infection in South America.  The 70-year-old said he will kick off his final world tour in September. 

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.”