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Cheryl Hines-RFK Jr UPDATE: “My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive”

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UPDATE Cheryl Hines must be getting ready to leave her marriage to RFK Jr. She posted this morning to Twitter a second refutation of his comments about Anne Frank. She’s definitely outta there. So glad to see she’s curbed her enthusiasm for this dangerous nutcase.

“My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive. The atrocities that millions endured during the Holocaust should never be compared to anyone or anything. His opinions are not a reflection of my own.”

This time, as opposed to last night, she doesn’t say “we love each other.”

 

At Last! Actress Cheryl Hines Distances Herself from Crazy Statements Made by Husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Sunday Night: “Billions” Returns and Beats Cult Hit “Euphoria,” Which Struggles to Attract Audience

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“Billions” was back on Showtime Sunday night to the delight of its many fans.

It turns out those fans number 321,000, at least in its first viewing. It’s not great but not terrible either. This is the sixth season for the intelligent soap opera about money and power in New York. That number is consistent with last season. It’s hoped that there will be a 7th season to wrap up this story.

“Billions” did do one important thing: it beat “Euphoria” on HBO. “Euphoria” is a cult show and it’s on the border of being X rated. Zendaya, who’s a movie star, is the lead, and there is a lot of sex. (There’s almost none on “Billions.”)

I’ve seen five episodes of this season, and they just get better and better. Paul Giamatti deserves an Emmy, and frankly so does David Costabile.

“Euphoria” scored just 264,000 viewers on HBO Prime at 9pm. It may have scored more on HBO Max but there’s no reporting on that and HBO hasn’t issued any numbers since the premiere week. It’s a brutally unfunny show with no heart so I’m not surprised the audience on the main network is small. By contrast, “Succession” would be considered a comedy.

These aren’t big numbers for either HBO or Showtime. Attracting audiences to quality dramas on Sunday night isn’t easy. Last night, HBO premiered “The Gilded Age,” which was killed by the TV reviewers and rightly so. It looked like “Downton Abbey” translated into American.

Originally planned for NBC, “The Gilded Age” had network production values– shiny, coarse, and devoid of artistic endeavor. The acting was uniformly bad except for some notable players like Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald. Kristine Nielsen, one of my favorite actors, seemed to be playing Mrs. Patmore. Everyone had strange eyebrows. Carrie Coons was in the wrong show. I’ll have more about “The Gilded Age,” but I don’t think there will be more of it. A real shame.

Dylan McDermott Will Join Dick Wolf’s “FBI Most Wanted,” Which Means He’s Out of “Organized Crime”

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The end is near for Richard Wheatley. Color us all grateful.

Dylan McDermott, who plays Wheatley on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” on NBC, is moving to a new Dick Wolf show on a different network.

Deadline.com reports that McDermott will succeed departing star Julian McMahon on “FBI Most Wanted.” McMahon announced that he’s leaving the show in April after three seasons. No one knows if he was written out or actually resigned but the former is more likely than the latter.

Wheatley’s storyline must come to an end on “Organized Crime” and the show starring Chris Meloni needs to be retooled if it’s going to be renewed. They need to make it a “Law & Order” show with Meloni leading a group of detectives investigating different mobs, and some government lawyers who are prosecuting them. This endless story of Stabler avenging his wife’s death has proved to a dead end.

So we can assume Wheatley (whose real name is, lol, Sinatra) will be killed off, by Stabler presumably, or one of his kids, and his entire retinue will be gone. Maybe then “OC” will become enjoyable entertainment instead of punishment.

 

At Last! Actress Cheryl Hines Distances Herself from Crazy Statements Made by Husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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At last, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Cheryl Hines has refuted the crazy ramblings of her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Hines just wrote on Twitter: “My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own. While we love each other, we differ on many current issues.”

Among others she directed the Tweet to the National Holocaust Museum.

A short time later, Hines told another Twitter user that she wasn’t referencing “WWII.” The Tweeter, @bdlatt, wrote to her: “How about this? “No one should compare anything to the horrors of the Holocaust. My husband was wrong to do so.” Hines answered: “Yes, I agree with you.”

What brought all this about? During a rally Sunday, Kennedy– an avowed anti-vaxxer who has written a book attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci– let loose with his most offensive and insane statements ever. He said: “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.”

Kennedy Jr. went on say that today, “the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run and none of us can hide,” and complained about 5G, the newest generation of wireless communication networks, and about vaccine passports.

RFK Jr. has clearly lost his mind, and people wondered what Hines must be thinking. Last year RFK Jr. endorsed the parole of his father’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. Luckily, the parole board in California ignored him. Kennedy’s siblings, cousins, and mother have spoken out against him.

But this was the worst thing he’s done in a lifetime of egregious behavior or terrible incidents. (Let’s not forget the tragic suicide of his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, in 2012. She clearly was not happy.) He’s also defended his cousin, Michael Skakel, notoriously accused and convicted of killing Martha Moxley when they were teens. Skakel spent 11 years in jail until Kennedy managed to get his conviction overturned. Now a guilty man walks free (see also OJ Simpson).

I always thought Hines was a very smart woman. For her to say this now, she knows things have gone too far. RFK Jr. suffers from Parkinson’s, we don’t know what meds he’s taken or what procedures he’s had; it’s possible his judgement has been clouded over time. But his whole stance on Dr. Fauci, the book, the rallies, the people he’s encouraged in this madness– it’s time to reel him in. His father is turning in his grave.

Neil Young’s Anti-Spotify Screed Disappears from His Website as Fast As It Was Posted

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Big day today for Neil Young, the house contrarian.

The famed rocker announced on his website, Neil Young Archives, that he was withdrawing his music from Spotify. Why? Because Joe Rogan, crazy right wing anti-vaxxer, is spouting misinformation on his Spotify podcast.

Rolling Stone was either alerted to this or someone there spotted it. Either way, they reported the news and linked to it. Funny thing is, there’s no sign of this screed on Neil Young Archives. And everyone who links to it finds a blank page with the click.

Young apparently wrote: ““I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he added. “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both. I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them. Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule.”

Uh huh. Well, that’s nice. But it’s not so easy. First of all, it’s unclear what Young can mandate to be removed. And second, who cares? Young is not a big streaming artist on Spotify. His biggest hit is “Heart of Gold (2009 Remaster)” with around 232 million streams. I was actually surprised by his low numbers. “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” is at around 20 million. This is chump change for streaming. If he does leave not many people will care or notice.

Not that I disagree with Young. But Spotify diversified a long time ago into podcasts with all kinds of opinions. And frankly, there was a time when Young himself was a Reagan Republican and not so enlightened. So I hope he takes a deep breath. My guess is his lawyers told him that, too, seeing as his music is still on the service and the announcement is gone from site.

Neil, keep on rocking in the free world. We need you. But count to a thousand the next time before you post something.

PS Kind of funny to think of Neil as the anti-Eric Clapton. I like it!

“Jeopardy!” Queen: Amy Schneider Beats Matt Amodio’s Record of 38 Wins in a Row, Becomes Number 2 on All Time List

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On “Jeopardy” tonight, a record.

Amy Schneider beat Matt Amodio’s 38-game streak, becoming the contestant with the second highest number of consecutive wins in the show’s history.

Schneider has a long way to go to beat Ken Jennings’s 74-game streak from 2004, which remains the longest in history. Jennings is also host of the show currently, which would be an irony of ironies.

For now, though, Schneider’s run is driving “Jeopardy!” ratings. She is the Tom Brady of “Jeopardy!” that’s for sure. The other contestants sort of stare at her in disbelief.

How long can this on for? So far Schneider has earned a total of $1,319,800. Schneider wasn’t so smart on tonight’s show, however. She bet $25,000 on Final Jeopardy and lost. The answer was the Field Museum in Chicago. She didn’t get it. But she still picked up $12,700 today.

 

 

Taylor Swift Insulted (Rightly So) Over Accusation in L.A. Times That She Doesn’t Write Her Own Songs

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Taylor Swift is absolutely justified to be mad at singer Damon Albarn of the group Blur. He asserts in the LA Times today that Swift doesn’t write her own songs. WTF? You can be critical of Swift, I guess, on some matters but not penning her own material? That’s utterly ridiculous.

After Albarn says this in a Q&A with Mikael Wood, here’s the exchange:

Wood: Of course she does. Co-writes some of them.
Albarn: That doesn’t count. I know what co-writing is. Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.

Taylor Swift writes plenty of songs without co-writers. She certainly writes her own lyrics. If she gives credit to Jack Antonoff or anyone else I’m sure it’s because they help on orchestration or arrangement. Taylor Swift is one artist I have no doubts about when it comes to writing music.

Also, does that mean every famous songwriting team in history were not songwriters? From Lennon-McCartney and Jagger-Richards to Goffin-King, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein or Lorenz Hart, Ashford and Simpson, Holland Dozier Holland, and so on? Just stupid.

Taylor’s comments below, followed by Antonoff.

Swift 1, Albarn 0.

Review: Two Time Oscar Winner Mahershala Ali Shouldn’t Be Overlooked This Time Around in “Swan Song”

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Oscar voting starts Thursday and one performance that should not be overlooked is Mahershala Ali’s nuanced turn playing two identical characters in the moody and melancholic Apple TV Plus’s “Swan Song.”

Benjamin Cleary wrote and directed this taut, emotionally gripping sci-fi drama. Ali plays Cameron, an artist in the near future who has terminal cancer. He has kept it a secret from his loving wife (Naomie Harris) and young son Cory (Dax Rey.) Enter Dr. Jo Scott, played with chilling perfection by Glenn Close, who has the cure/answer, but not really. Dr. Scott can recreate Cameron’s body and brain and upload his memories, even the darkest, most troubling ones, buried deep in his subconscious into a new identical body named Jack (also played by Ali.) Cameron has a short time to live and a short time to give his life over to Jack, and Jack will only know he’s Jack and not Cameron for a brief time as well.

“Swan Song” could be complicated if not for the clear, understated and thrilling performance of Ali. He is consistently heartbreaking and luminous on screen, one of the most accomplished actors working today. Awkwafina also deserves a shout out as a fellow dying patient who turned her life over to a double. Awards tastemaker Colleen Camp is making sure that this film is being giving the respect it should, she recently hosted a Q & A moderated by Barry Jenkins with Ali and Harris, and she’s right once again. Ali’s internal struggle is what makes his powerhouse performance in “Swan Song” worthy of an Oscar nod.

Ex-Rock Star Eric Clapton, Slow Mind, Triples Down Anti-Vax Babble: “Mass hypnosis”

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You’ve got to see this to believe it. Eric Clapton is tripling down on his anti-vax babble with a new video interview. He found some guy in Florida to conduct this crazy interview in which Clapton says that before the pandemic he allowed a doctor to give him many shots for pain in his back. But when virus came he bridled at the idea of a vaccine. He’s a total nut job.

Clapton also says that before the pandemic he thought his career was over. (Not sure why he thought that.) He says that people getting the vaccine under some kind of “mass hypnosis.”

It’s really sad to see that Clapton has spiraled down into being a cranky conspiracy theorist who’s lost his mind.

“I have a calling and I can make use of it,” he says. Thanks, no.

Baby You’re a Rich Man If You Want to Buy Julian Lennon’s Beatles Memorabilia as NFTs

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Julian Lennon is auctioning off some of prized Beatles memorabilia.

Well, not really. They’re going to be NFTs– non fungible tokens in the pretend world. He’s keeping the items.

The tokens will include exclusive images of the items with video memories supplied by Julian.

“As an artist, I have great respect for all that my father accomplished in his career,” Julian Lennon said in a statement. “As a son, I hold dear the good memories I have of my time with him. I feel incredibly lucky to live in a day and age where innovation allows me to share such personal pieces of my Lennon family history. Through this NFT collection, I’m able to grant exclusive access to special items that I cherish and carry on the legacy of my father in a new way.”

The Lennon Connection: The NFT Collection sale will take place online on Feb. 7 via Julien’s Auctions. It includes Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to “Hey Jude,” John Lennon’s “Magical Mystery Tour” Afghan coat, the black cape John wore in “Help!” and three Lennon Beatles guitars. Again, you don’t get to have these items in your house. You have the virtual version of them.

Julian is in a tough spot, which is why he’s looking for ways to raise money. John Lennon was murdered in 1980, leaving all his estate to Yoko Ono. Julian eventually had to sue Yoko for some part of the estate and reportedly settled on $25 million.

That’s chicken scratch compared to what Lennon’s Beatles and solo records and publishing are worth now– probably $500 million. All of that goes to Yoko and her son Sean Ono Lennon.It’s inequitable to say the least. Julian and Sean should be splitting their father’s estate in half.

But that’s the way it is. Of course Lennon never expected to die at age 40. But he should have had some plan laid out even then. Artists– you gotta love ’em. The nice thing is, Julian and Sean seem to have a very good relationship as brothers.