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Billie, who was let go from the Bravo show after season 7 back in 2019, shares that as an activist, being silenced by Lisa Vanderpump after the firing ‘really hurt me.’
Jun 12, 2020
AceShowbiz – More “Vanderpump Rules” stars speak out about their experience on the show following the firing of Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute due to their past racist behavior against former co-star Faith Stowers. Now, Billie Lee is talking about the time when she was let go from the Bravo show.
“I personally tried to go public, and I did a little bit with regards to the reunion on season 7 and how I felt like I was gaslit and silenced,” she told HollywoodLife.com about her 2019 firing. “And then when I publicly talked about how there were not enough Black people or LGBTQ people on [Bravo].”
Later, she alluded that Lisa Vanderpump tried to silence her about it. “Lisa herself called me and told me that I needed to not talk negatively about the show, that it would hurt my career and she made my TV career, and she could take it away if I didn’t stop saying negative things about the show,” she claimed.
Billie, who was a recurring cast member in the sixth and seventh seasons of the show, shared that as an activist, being silenced “really hurt me.” She added, “It was really disappointing to find out that someone I looked up to had their own privileges and didn’t understand where I was coming from.”
“And then to see everything that came out with Faith,” Billie continued, referring to Faith who claimed that Stassi and Kristen tried to call police on her as they thought she was the culprit of a robbery case. “I’m part of all these marches and I’m very much a part of the Black Lives Matter movement and I was really proud of [Faith]. Like I said, I struggled very much leaving that show, not having money and I can’t imagine someone of color doing the same thing.”

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The good friend of Meghan Markle issues a public apology after the lifestyle influencer called her out for threatening her following their disagreement over the Black Lives Matter movement.
Jun 12, 2020
AceShowbiz – Jessica Mulroney is owning up to her mistake amid the Black Lives Matter movement. One day after being called out by for using her “white privilege” to threaten influencer Sasha Exeter’s livelihood, the good friend of Meghan Markle has her “I Do, Redo” series pulled off the air by Bell Media, and she was quick to accept her blunder.
“The events that have transpired over the last few days have made it clear that I have work to do. I realize more than ever how being a white, privileged woman has put me far ahead of so many, and in particular those in the Black community,” Mulroney began her statement posted on Instagram Story on Thursday, June 11. “And while I can’t change the past, I can do my part to do better in the future.”
Claiming that she respected the decision made by CTV, the 40-year-old stylist took it further by announcing her choice to step away from her professional engagements. She added that she will be using the time “to reflect, learn and focus on my family.” In her statement, she also clarified, “I have no intention of pursuing any legal action. I was wrong, and for that I am truly sorry.”

Jessica Mulroney reacted to CTV’s decision to pull ‘I Do Redo’ off the air.
Mulroney came out with the apologetic post shortly after CTV announced her firing. “Because recent conduct by one of our shows hosts, Jessica Mulroney, conflicts with our commitment to diversity and equality, CTV has removed ‘I DO REDO’ from all Bell Media channels and platforms effective immediately,” the media company declared.

Mulroney herself was slammed by Exeter in a 12-minute long video the latter posted on Instagram on Wednesday, June 10. According to Exeter, the two of them argued offline over white privilege and racism after Mulroney took “offence to a very generic call to action” she made on social media to “help combat the race war and what’s happening to the Black community.”
“What happened next was a series of very problematic behavior and antics that ultimately resulted in [Mulroney] sending me a threat in writing last Wednesday,” Exeter further recalled. “Listen, I am by no means calling [Mulroney] a racist but what I will say is this, she is very well aware of her wealth, her perceived power and privilege because of the color of her skin. And that, my friends, gave her the momentary confidence to come for my livelihood in writing.”
Exeter went on to reveal that Mulroney claimed to have spoken to “companies and people about the way you have treated me unfairly,” leaving her “paralyzed with fear.” She added, “For her to threaten me – a single mom, a single black mom – during a racial pandemic blows my mind. The goal here is genuine, transformative change – not optical and performative bulls**t. You cannot be posting that you stand in solidarity while attempting to silence somebody via text.”
In response to Exeter’s accusations, Mulroney issued a separate apology. “I want to say from my heart that every word of my apologies to Sasha over the course of the last two weeks privately, and again both publicly and privately today is true,” she said in an Instagram post. “I did not intend in any way to jeopardize her livelihood. We had a disagreement and it got out of hand. For that I am sorry.”

Mulroney continued to share her commitment to make a better use of her platform. “As I’ve considered what to say publicly, I recognize that isn’t enough,” she wrote. “That is why I’m going to be stepping back from social media in the coming days and giving my microphone to Black voices by having them take over my account and share their experience.”

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The Jane Hayward depicter who was the first to expose the former ‘Glee’ leading star as a ‘mean girl’ has detailed the torment she received while working on the set.
Jun 12, 2020
AceShowbiz – The actress who first exposed Lea Michele as an alleged ‘mean girl’ has now detailed how the “Glee” star made her life hell on the set of the TV show.
Michele has apologised for her bad behaviour behind the scenes after several of her former castmates – led by Samantha Ware – accused her of bullying last month, May 2020.
Ware has since suggested her former co-star should donate cash to a Black Lives Matter cause as a way of saying sorry to her – a proud African-American woman, and now she’s going into details about how Lea tormented her.
In a new interview with Variety, Samantha says, “I knew from day one (I didn’t like her) when I attempted to introduce myself. There was nothing gradual about it. As soon as she decided that she didn’t like me, it was very evident.”
“It was after I did my first performance, that’s when it started – the silent treatment, the stare-downs, the looks, the comments under her breath, the weird passive aggressiveness. It all built up.”
Ware admits she tried to raise Michele’s bad behaviour with other castmembers but they just “shrugged it off.” She adds, “No one was stopping these things, which is an issue because the environment was helping perpetuate this abuse.”
Samantha thinks Lea decided not to welcome her to the set after unintentionally offending the show’s leading lady off camera.
“When you’re shooting a scene, sometimes the camera is on you and sometimes it’s not, but you still have to be in the scene,” she explains. “The camera wasn’t on us, so it’s not like we had to give a full throttle performance, but apparently, I was goofing around when the camera wasn’t on me, and she took that as me being disrespectful to her.”
“She waited until the scene was over and she stopped in the middle of the stage and did a ‘come here’ gesture, like how a mother does to their child… I said ‘no’, and that’s when she decided to threaten my job, and said she would call Ryan Murphy in to come and fire me. It’s scary. For the full week, I was thinking I’m probably going to get an email and I might not be able to do the last three episodes, or I might not be able to sing another song.”
“When I tried to speak up for myself, she told me to shut my mouth. She said I don’t deserve to have that job. She talked about how she has reign. And here’s the thing: I completely understood that, and I was ready to be like, ‘This is your show. I’m not here to be disrespectful.’ But at that point, we were already past the respect and she was just abusing her power.”
And Ware feels Lea went too far by threatening to defecate in her wig – a claim she made while calling out the actress last month.
“She had an issue because I had laughed and that’s when the ‘I’m going to s**t in your wig’ comment happened. Some chuckled and some gasped. It was mortifying. The whole point was for her to embarrass me. People heard her, but no one was going to stand up to her… Black women historically are known for their wigs.”
“Everyone minded their business or said, ‘I’m sorry, I wish I had the power to stop this, but this is just the way it is, and this is just how it’s been’, which means I wasn’t the first person to have been in that situation… Am I calling Lea a racist? No. Does Lea have racist tendencies? I think Lea suffers from a symptom of living in this world in an industry that is tailored to white people.”
Heather Morris has also spoken out about Lea’s bad behaviour on the set of “Glee” but made it clear that it’s wrong to imply she’s racist, and another “Glee” regular, Iqbal Theba, added, “Being called a racist is too heavy & unfair a burden 4 most of us, specially in these troubled times, so please be compassionate, careful & responsible before we accuse anyone of this horrible thing called racism.”

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The former Disney actress is allegedly in negotiations to play the new leading lady in the upcoming sophomore season of the DC superhero television series.
Jun 12, 2020
AceShowbiz – “Riverdale” star Vanessa Morgan is reportedly circling the role of Ryan Wilder ahead of “Batwoman” second season.
The TV hit’s producers have opted to replace Ruby Rose’s character Kate Kane after the Australian actress quit the show last month, May 2020 and reports suggest 28-year-old Morgan is the front-runner to lead the show.
The news comes a week after Morgan accused “Riverdale” writers of failing to properly represent black people and vowed to only accept roles that put African-Americans in the driving seat.
“Riverdale” boss Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa accepted Vanessa’s criticism and vowed to do better.

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The ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ actress coyly says in a new interview that the cast of the period drama TV series might ‘have had some discussions’ about having a reunion.
Jun 12, 2020
AceShowbiz – Elisabeth Moss has heavily hinted that her hit TV show “Mad Men” could be set for a reunion.
The actress had a breakout role as the long-suffering Peggy Olson in AMC’s award-winning series, starring alongside Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, and January Jones.
Set in the cutthroat world of advertising, its cast became stars overnight and it ran for six seasons before ending in 2015.
However, in a chat with Entertainment Tonight, the star of “The Handmaid’s Tale” teased that the cast may have had discussions about a potential reunion.
When asked if the cast had considered reuniting via Zoom as other TV shows have done during quarantine, Moss answered, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we have! (Laughs) I don’t know. Maybe we have had some discussions about this.”
“I don’t think I am in a position to officially share anything. But, yes, we are aware that people are doing reunions and we’ve never done one, which is so crazy. We really all haven’t been together in five years. So I’ll just leave you with that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the actress’ whose new movie “Shirley”, is out now on demand, joked that she’s happy she can provide people with an incentive to stay home during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“It’s like, ‘Oh god, how terrible. I have to sit around and watch TV and read books for a while,’ ” she quipped. “If that’s the sacrifice we have to make in order to keep everybody safe and healthy, sign me up.”
“I am very grateful to be safe and healthy. My family and friends are safe and healthy. And I am a true believer that if that is the case, you don’t really have a whole lot to complain about.”

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The former ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge has teamed up with LGBTQ+ activist George M. Johnson to turn the latter’s tell-all book into a new television show.
Jun 12, 2020
AceShowbiz – Gabrielle Union will develop a television series based on LGBTQ+ activist and journalist George M. Johnson’s bestselling memoir “All Boys Aren’t Blue”.
According to editors at Deadline, the “L.A.’s Finest” star’s production company, I’ll Have Another, has optioned Johnson’s book as part of her first-look deal with Sony Pictures TV.
The young adult memoir, published by Macmillan in April 2020, showcases Johnson’s life of growing up being both black and queer in Plainfield, New Jersey, as well as his years attending a historically black college in Virginia. The book’s title is a play on the association of the colour blue for boys and pink for girls.
“Queer black existence has been here forever yet rarely has that experience been shown in literature or film and television,” Union said in a statement to Deadline. “Being a parent to a queer identifying daughter has given me the platform to make sure that these stories are being told in a truthful and authentic way and George’s memoir gives you the blueprint for that and more.”
The “Bad Boys” star is a stepmum to her husband Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya, previously known as Zion, who he shares with his ex Siohvaughn Funches.
She added, “What I love about this book is that it not only offers a space for queer kids of colour to be seen and heard but it also offers those who see themselves outside of that standpoint to be held accountable and help them better understand what it takes to truly have acceptance with someone who is considered other.”
Johnson shared that he is “incredibly excited’ to work with Union who he described as an LGBTQ+ ally.
“She’s someone who is not only a champion in the fight for supporting marginalised communities of colour but the work she’s doing as a storyteller and producer is lifting every voice who hasn’t had the opportunity to be heard,” he said.

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LOS ANGELES — Disney, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS, the National Basketball Association and the National Football League are expanding deals to supply Snapchat with customized short-form content, underscoring the platform’s renewed momentum.Snap, which makes the ephemeral-messaging app, unveiled the multiyear deals on Thursday, along with a spate of original series and a breaking news feature called “Happening Now” that counts The Washington Post, Bloomberg and ESPN as partners. Maggie Suniewick, president of NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises, said in an email that Snapchat was “a brand-safe environment where we can reach millions of new viewers.”Snapchat’s reassertion of itself in entertainment and news comes as one would-be competitor, Quibi, an app offering short-form shows designed for viewing on phones, attempts to regroup after a disastrous arrival in April. Quibi fell out of the list of the 50 most downloaded free iPhone apps in the United States a week after it went live. On Thursday it ranked No. 285.Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul behind Quibi, blamed the coronavirus pandemic for its rough start, but people have been spending more time on platforms like Snapchat and TikTok, an app for making and sharing short videos, since the shutdowns began. Snap said in April that daily active users had grown more rapidly than expected, reaching 229 million people. To compare, Twitter had about 166 million. Snap said time spent watching its original shows had doubled in recent months compared to a year earlier.Snap sells six-second, non-skippable ads for its originals. The company, based in Santa Monica, Calif., introduced scripted programs and docuseries in 2018 and unscripted shows in 2016. “The Rundown,” an E! News series, just celebrated its 500th episode. Episodes for scripted shows are typically five minutes long, with eight to 12 episodes in a season.Entertainment and news programming is still a small part of Snap’s business, however. “It’s not enough to move the needle — yet,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.Snap’s programming emphasizes inclusion and new storytelling tools, notably augmented reality lenses. A continuing unscripted series, “Nikita Unfiltered,” stars the transgender beauty influencer Nikita Dragun. Shows announced on Thursday include “Coach Kev,” billed as a daily dose of “positivity and wisdom” from the comedian Kevin Hart, and “Life by the Horns,” a docuseries about Ezekiel Mitchell, an African-American bull rider.Scripted shows coming to Snapchat include “Frogtown,” about an all-female skate crew (directed by Catherine Hardwicke of “Twilight” fame), and “Action Royale,” about a teenager who starts an underground e-sports gambling ring.“We’re getting better and better at programming,” Sean Mills, Snap’s content chief, said by phone. “It’s not about episode length. It’s not about aspect ratio. It’s not about how many stars you have. It’s how you tell the story and how well you know your audience.”Mr. Mills declined to give many specifics about the company deals that Snap unveiled, including how long “multiyear” meant. (“At least two,” he said.) All the deals call for expanded programming commitments. For instance, Disney has long had an agreement with Snap that covers exclusive content from ESPN; the new deal also covers Disney-owned properties like ABC and Freeform, a cable channel aimed at young adults, as well as unspecified Disney franchises.Under the expanded N.F.L. deal, the league will triple the number of what it calls “near real-time” highlights shows on Snapchat. The league will also continue to supply Snapchat with other video programming year-round and develop augmented-reality lenses and filters tied to specific teams and events, including the Super Bowl.Blake Stuchin, the league’s vice president for digital media business development, said that 70 percent of Snapchat users that view N.F.L. content are under the age of 25. Courting younger fans is crucial for the league’s future. Snapchat reaches more 13 to 34 year olds in the United States than Facebook or Instagram, according to public data from the companies.“We want to meet our fans where they already are, whether that means making sure they know there is a game coming up or telling them more about a favorite player or giving them creative tools to express themselves,” Mr. Stuchin said. More

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The former ‘Heroes’ star has teamed up with ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ writer/director Rodney Rothman for the Amazon project for Vertigo Entertainment.
Jun 11, 2020
AceShowbiz – “Heroes” star Masi Oka is to bring hit Japanese manga “Promised Neverland” to Amazon.
The actor has partnered with “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” writer/director Rodney Rothman to produce the live-action adaptation for Vertigo Entertainment.
Rothman’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” co-writer Meghan Malloy will pen the screenplay for the pilot.
“Promised Neverland”, which was originally written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, centers on a group of the smartest kids at an orphanage, who uncover a dark truth when they defy the rules and leave the grounds of the institution.
The story has sold 20 million copies worldwide.
Oka previously developed an adaptation of the Japanese anime series “Death Note” for Netflix and last year (19), he brought the Kurumi Inui manga “Repeat” to life for CBS.

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