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Inauguration Goof: Bidens Inadvertently Snub Actual Official U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, First Native American Named to Post

Roger Friedman
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Inauguration Goof: Bidens Inadvertently Snub Actual Official U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, First Native American Named to Post

Everyone loved 22 year old Amanda Gorman when she read her poem this morning at the Presidential Inauguration. Only one problem: Gorman was introduced as the Poet Laureate of the United States. She is not the Poet Laureate, however. She’s the Youth Poet Laureate of the US.

Inadvertently, the Biden-Harris inaugural committee snubbed the actual US Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, of Oklahoma, Texas. Two and a half times the age of Gorman, Harjo is a much respected and published writer named the 23rd Poet Laureate two years ago by the Library of Congress.

Harjo, I’m told, was surprised this morning when she heard Gorman’s introduction. But she’s not upset. “It’s not her style,” says a source.

Still, the first Native American, a woman, as Poet Laureate? That was an opportunity kind of blown by the inaugural committee.

Harjo is the author of nine books of poetry, several other writings, and two memoirs including one I actually read years ago called “Crazy Brave.” She’s also a musician and a performer of note. She’s been interviewed by Oprah on TV, and Oprah recently selected an anthology she edited, “When the Light of the World was Sub­dued, Our Songs Came Through — A Nor­ton Anthol­o­gy of Native Nations Poet­ry,” as one of her favorite books of 2020.

Harjo’s appointment is no trivial thing. This is the pinnacle of success for a poet in America. Past laureates include such superstars as Robert Penn Warren, Louise Gluck, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Lowell, Maxine Kumin, James Dickey, and, of course, Robert Frost.

Appearing on the Inauguration certainly turned Gorman into a star. Now she has two books at the top of the Amazon best seller lists.

Twitter Relaunches POTUS, FLOTUS and Press Secretary Accounts to the Bidens and New Spokesperson

Roger Friedman
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Twitter Relaunches POTUS, FLOTUS and Press Secretary Accounts to the Bidens and New Spokesperson

Twitter –not my favorite company right now — has made inaugural changes.

They’ve turned over the @POTUS, @FLOTUS, and @PressSec accounts to the new occupants of the White House.

President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Jen Psaki now have the handles that used to belong to the people who are blessedly gone from power.

President Bidem starts with 4 million followers, Dr. Jill has 1 million. Psaki has 260,500 followers on her new account, and 295,000  under her private account.

Former accounts of Melania Trump and Kayleigh McEnemy are archived. The former account of the ex-president is also archived, ending on December 23, 2020 when it was suspended. Other members of the crime family still have accounts, although I’ve stopped following them now– no need t0–and I imagine others will follow suit.

On this day we also discharge the accounts of the Conway family, who no longer matter. Yesterday they had a brief last hurrah when daughter Claudia put up videos on TikTok accusing her mother of abuse. I hope they get the help they need so desperately. And I hope never ever to see or hear the mother again.

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Media Magnate: Bonnie Fuller Goes Indie, Buys Out Hollywoodlife.com from Penske Publications

Roger Friedman
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Media Magnate: Bonnie Fuller Goes Indie, Buys Out Hollywoodlife.com from Penske Publications

Many, many congrats to Bonnie Fuller. As of the end of this month, she’s taking her baby– Hollywoodlife.com — away from Penske Media. She’s bought herself out and is going independent. This is a big deal. Hollywood Life really was Bonnie’s creation. She’s what I’d call a quiet genius.

Back in 2002 she relaunched US Weekly under Jann Wenner and made it competitive for the first time with People magazine. It didn’t hurt that Britney Spears was having a weekly meltdown, and Bonnie was right on top of it! (I used to joke with her, what if Britney ever pulls it together? Luckily she never did!)

Bonnie has turned Hollywood Life into a thriving business. She gets all the credit. She really saw he intersection of celebrity, Hollywood, cosmetics, fashion, and kept her audience young. And she’s her own boss. Mazel tov!

Here’s the press release:

NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Penske Media Corporation (PMC) announced today that after a decade of partnership and co-ownership of Hollywood Life, founder Bonnie Fuller, President and Editor-in-Chief of Hollywood Life, will buy-out PMC’s stake in the company and assume full ownership and operations for the business effective January 31, 2021.

Fuller first partnered with PMC in 2009. She has been credited with helping create the modern celebrity news category when she relaunched Us Weekly for Wenner Media in 2002. In addition, Fuller launched the American version of Marie Claire and in 1996, she was appointed editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, succeeding the legendary Helen Gurley Brown.

Under Fuller’s leadership, HollywoodLife.com launched in 2009 as a website and key destination for millennials and Gen-Z women. The site covers celebrity, entertainment, fashion, beauty, women’s issue news and more. Hollywood Life is committed to delivering news, service information and informed opinions to its’ audience, including written and exclusive video content. Fuller is responsible for the dynamic growth of the site and brand. Daily content is created for the website as well as it’s lively and extensive social media channels: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, often featuring live interviews with talent and more. The brand also has a popular weekly podcast co-hosted by Fuller, featuring interviews with top entertainment talents and female leaders.

“Bonnie Fuller is an undeniable talent and pioneer in entertainment news. Over the last decade, she and the first-rate Hollywood Life team have built an exceptional brand. We are excited to support the transition to a fully owned Bonnie Fuller organization, and watch this dynamic entrepreneur take Hollywood Life forward,” said Chairman and CEO, Jay Penske.

“Jay Penske and PMC have been tremendous partners who have unwaveringly supported Hollywood Life, and I am grateful and very excited for the opportunity to build upon our success. As we transition to an independent company, we will continue to evolve and explore ways we can expand our engagement with our very loyal audience.” said Bonnie Fuller, President and Editor-In-Chief, Hollywood Life.

 

Tribute: Alex Trebek’s Last Week on “Jeopardy!” Jumps 29% from Previous Week, Final Episode is Huge

Roger Friedman
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Tribute: Alex Trebek’s Last Week on “Jeopardy!” Jumps 29% from Previous Week, Final Episode is Huge

God bless Alex Trebek.

His final week on “Jeopardy!” was huge, and even bigger was the rating for his final show.

Overall, he an average of 11 million viewers from Monday to Thursday, January 4th through 7th. That was up 29% from the previous week.

But the final show, on Friday the 8th, scored a whopping 14 million fans. That’s pretty great.

Now TV insiders will be studying the ratings for Ken Jennings, who came in a temporary host after Trebek’s exit. Jennings is supposed to be the permanent replacement, but there will be a faux ‘audition’ period with people like Katie Couric and football player Aaron Rodgers doing guest weeks.

But the reality is that “Jeopardy!” is filmed in Los Angeles. It’s not moving. Most of the guest hosts have other jobs or live in New York. Jennings was made a consulting producer on the show last year to groom him as Trebek’s replacement. He’s done a fine job so far.

“Live with Kelly and Ryan” is still the number 1 syndicated talk show. “Drew Barrymore” continues to flounder. Ellen DeGeneres is waiting for new episodes to air, otherwise her holiday reruns remain at less than a million, 900,000– a series low.

Maddow Trounces Hannity Again, Fox News Fires 1 Top Staffer, Ousts Another Who Predicted Trump Loss as Ratings Continue to Crash

Roger Friedman
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Maddow Trounces Hannity Again, Fox News Fires 1 Top Staffer, Ousts Another Who Predicted Trump Loss as Ratings Continue to Crash

Friday night: Rachel Maddow scored 3.993 million viewers on MSNBC and trounced Sean Hannity on Fox, who had just 2.723 million. It’s a ratings massacre.

Fox News ratings continued to crash on Friday night after a terrible week that saw much of its audience either leave, fall asleep, or die. Whatever, they’re gone.

Tucker Carlson had the highest Fox ratings on Friday, with 3.1 million viewers at 8pm. He was tied, basically, with Anderson Cooper on CNN.

But after Carlson, Fox collapsed, particularly Hannity and Laura Ingraham’s shows. At 10pm, following Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell shmeared Ingraham.

Now this morning Fox News has fired a top staffer who presided over Election coverage back on November 3rd, and ousted another one.  Chris Stirewalt and Bill Sammon were punished for correctly predicting early on election night that Arizona was lost to Donald Trump.

The New York Times also says that 20 people at Foxnews.com were laid off yesterday.

All of this is surprising. I’m often told that Lachlan and James Murdoch are pushing to mainstream Fox News because they’re embarrassed about its right wing bent. But all of this, plus Maria Bartiromo’s rewards for pushing Trump’s crazy election theories, indicate that Rupert Murdoch is prevailing and keeping Fox right on the fringe of lunacy. Rupert is afraid that Sinclair, Newsmax, and OANN are all coming for his nutty audience, and he wants to hold on to them. But the conservative right wing conspiracy theory audience is leaving, and fracturing into pieces.

Crime Pays: Trump Pardons Leonardo DiCaprio’s BFF, Art Dealer Helly Nahmad, Convicted in International Gambling Scheme

Roger Friedman
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Crime Pays: Trump Pardons Leonardo DiCaprio’s BFF, Art Dealer Helly Nahmad, Convicted in International Gambling Scheme

EXCLUSIVE Among Donald Trump’s 143 pardons and commutations: Helly Nahmad, the Madison Avenue art dealer who went to jail after he was convicted in an international gambling scheme. Nahmad spent a year in jail and a halfway house, and was remembered fictionally in the Aaron Sorkin movie, “Molly’s Game.”

Helly had unusual pull with Trump. He’s the BFF of Leonardo Di Caprio, a movie star with liberal public relations but a reality of friends who are convicted felons, questionable business dealings, and a private foundation that espouses help for the environment and has zero transparency. Nahmad’s pardon, the press release says vaguely, “is supported by members of his community.” Art dealers? I don’t think so. Gamblers? Maybe.

Nahmad, it should be noted, is a Trump pal and tenant. He ran an illegal gambling ring worth $100 million out of his apartment in Trump Tower in New York. He owns the building’s 51st floor, which reportedly cost a collective $21 million. He’s really going to have to tip the staff this year!

Coincidentally, another Hollywood name turns up in the official press release for the pardons. Michael Ovitz, also a close friend of DiCaprio, supported the pardon of Anthony Levandowski who, according to the release, pled guilty to a single criminal count arising from civil litigation. Ovitz is the former founder of Creative Artists Agency, and a major art collector. It’s not unreasonable to think he also supported Nahmad’s pardon.

You can read all about Helly and Leo here. I’ve no doubt they’re popping Champagne and laughing this morning. Leo has a history of friends in prison. In 2000, his financial advisor, and Ovitz’s “spiritual advisor,” Dana Giacchetto went to prison for creating a Ponzi scheme among Hollywood creatives like the group Phish and talent manager Rick Yorn. Giacchetto late committed suicide. Leo’s also been involved in the scandal surrounding the misuse of public funds in Malaysia, aka 1MDB, that resulted in funding of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” the laundering of Malaysian money via DiCaprio’s foundation, and Leo having to return paintings and other gifts given to him.

 

It’s Over, Hallelujah: Donald Trump’s Reign of Terror, Four Years of Cruelty and Criminality Come to an End

Roger Friedman
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It’s Over, Hallelujah: Donald Trump’s Reign of Terror, Four Years of Cruelty and Criminality Come to an End

He will go down in history as the very worst U.S. president.

Donald Trump’s four years in office were marked by cruelty and criminality, insensitivity to the human condition, a purposeful lack of insight. The four years are a blight on U.S. history, devoid of any investment or interest in culture, the arts, sciences, from a man with no intellectual curiosity.

While I’m sure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will act swiftly to erase and obliterate the Trump legacy, there were real victims. My own father died from COVID. So did many friends and acquaintances. This will be hard to recover from.

After three years of merely being evil, Trump devoted his fourth year to indulging his own stupidity and shortsightedness. He is responsible for the 400,000 deaths, the millions of people who got sick not to mention the separated border families and the unknown toll it took on them. Trump never looked at emigres as humans, just pawns in his sick game.

And that doesn’t include the polar bears, the wolves, the water. Whatever he touched turned to destruction. Everyone associated with him has either had their reputation destroyed, or they’re dead, or both. It’s no different than how we first encountered him, when he went behind the backs of the Landmark Commission and destroyed the historic doors to Bonwit Teller on Fifth Avenue to build his monstrous, ugly Trump Tower.

It was then that New Yorkers knew quite thoroughly how crass and vulgar Donald Trump was. We learned the hard way as he ripped up the far west side of Manhattan and walled it in with ugly glass boxes, lied about his finances, ruined lives in Atlantic City, had petty public fights with people like Merv Griffin and Rosie O’Donnell.

He was disgusting, coarse and low. When he carried on about Barack Obama’s birth certificate we stuck fingers in our ears. Certainly no one would listen to him. But we didn’t understand what he did: he could appeal to the lowest, most racist people within his reach, instill them with fear and hate. We laughed when it was suggested he could beat Hillary Clinton, why, she was brilliant and all the things Trump wasn’t. We tried to tell you.

‘Good people on both sides’ in Charlottesville and Mexicans as ‘rapists and drug dealers’ was just the beginning. Trump fomented hate. And kept ginning it up until January 6, 2021 when the whole construct fell in on him. There was just so much that America could take. A loser in his re-election bid, Trump wouldn’t give up. He doubled down on madness. The result was his distinction as the only president to be impeached twice. He leaves office in shame, possibly with legal ramifications. He and his horrible family leave our radar today at 12 noon. And we move forward without them.

 

Lucie Arnaz Responds to News of Lucille Ball Movie: “It’s not a biopic from cradle to grave…Just trust us, it’s a nice movie”

Roger Friedman
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Lucie Arnaz Responds to News of Lucille Ball Movie: “It’s not a biopic from cradle to grave…Just trust us, it’s a nice movie”

Lucie Arnaz — one of the great people around– has posted a video to Facebook explaining news of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz movie, “Being the Ricardos.”

I guess Lucie was being inundated with questions about the casting of Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as her famous and beloved parents. Lucie says the paperwork hasn’t even been signed yet for the Aaron Sorkin film, but she’s endorsing it.

“It’s not a biopic from cradle to grave,” she says. “It’s a soupcon, a slice of life. Just trust us, it’s a nice movie. ”

They’re not re-creating old skits from “I Love Lucy.” Arnaz cautions that Sorkin has placed the story on a week of shooting the show on a soundstage and what that entails. And remember, Nicole and Javier are playing Lucille and Desi, not Lucy and Ricky.

I love Lucie! She’s the best. And she knows what she’s doing.

 

Trump Snubs Famous Game Show Hosts for American Garden, Includes Only Alex Trebek: Where is Gene Rayburn?

Roger Friedman
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Trump Snubs Famous Game Show Hosts for American Garden, Includes Only Alex Trebek: Where is Gene Rayburn?

Today Donald Trump, sedated in his office and waiting to be taken away, has added names to his fictitious Garden of American Heroes.

But he’s included only one game show host, Alex Trebek, of “Jeopardy!”

By doing so, Trump has snubbed a long list of beloved television personalities including Hugh Downs, Gene Rayburn, Peter Marshall (still living), Monte Hall, Wink Martindale, Richard Dawson, Peter Tomarken, Art Fleming, Jack Narz, the guys from “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game,” and most beloved Allen Ludden, husband of Betty White.

He’s also bypassed the legends like Bud Collier, Garry Moore, John Daly, and so on who paved the way for those above. And what about Merv Griffin? Come on!

Tsk,tsk, Donald. What about a garden just for game show hosts?

Trump Vomits Up Random List of Famous Americans to Be Honored in a Garden Though Several Are Foreigners

Roger Friedman
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Trump Vomits Up Random List of Famous Americans to Be Honored in a Garden Though Several Are Foreigners

Donald Trump is doing nothing in his last 48 hours but busy work. He just vomited up, like a cat’s hair ball, a random list of celebrities to be honored in something called a National Garden of Famous Americans.

OK. The list is totally random, just throwing in a lot of famous names from the past and recent past– he threw in Antonin Scalia. But LOL some of the people are not and were not Americans.

The foreigners include Ingrid Bergman, Hannah Arendt, Roberto Clemente, the Marquis de La Fayette, Pierre Charles L’Enfant, Tadeusz Kościuszko, Lorenzo de Zavala, Bernardo de Gálvez, and most assuredly, Christopher Columbus.

What does it matter? Biden will just rip this thing up. It’s meaningless and hilarious. He’s included Alex Trebek, which just about shows you Trump’s grasp of history. (Even Alex would be laughing.)

All of this is because  Trump is mad they took down statues of confederates. The whole thing is a joke considering Trump doesn’t know who most of these people were anyway.

Here’s the full list. All these people are supposed to get statues. PS Hannah Arendt is already calling her lawyer.

Ansel Adams, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Muhammad Ali, Luis Walter Alvarez, Susan B. Anthony, Hannah Arendt, Louis Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, Crispus Attucks, John James Audubon, Lauren Bacall, Clara Barton, Todd Beamer, Alexander Graham Bell, Roy Benavidez, Ingrid Bergman, Irving Berlin, Humphrey Bogart, Daniel Boone, Norman Borlaug, William Bradford, Herb Brooks, Kobe Bryant, William F. Buckley, Jr., Sitting Bull, Frank Capra, Andrew Carnegie, Charles Carroll, John Carroll, George Washington Carver, Johnny Cash, Joshua Chamberlain, Whittaker Chambers, Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman, Ray Charles, Julia Child, Gordon Chung-Hoon, William Clark, Henry Clay, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Roberto Clemente, Grover Cleveland, Red Cloud, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Nat King Cole, Samuel Colt, Christopher Columbus, Calvin Coolidge, James Fenimore Cooper, Davy Crockett, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Miles Davis, Dorothy Day, Joseph H. De Castro, Emily Dickinson, Walt Disney, William “Wild Bill” Donovan, Jimmy Doolittle, Desmond Doss, Frederick Douglass, Herbert Henry Dow, Katharine Drexel, Peter Drucker, Amelia Earhart, Thomas Edison, Jonathan Edwards, Albert Einstein, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Duke Ellington, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Medgar Evers, David Farragut, the Marquis de La Fayette, Mary Fields, Henry Ford, George Fox, Aretha Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Milton Friedman, Robert Frost, Gabby Gabreski, Bernardo de Gálvez, Lou Gehrig, Theodor Seuss Geisel, Cass Gilbert, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Glenn, Barry Goldwater, Samuel Gompers, Alexander Goode, Carl Gorman, Billy Graham, Ulysses S. Grant, Nellie Gray, Nathanael Greene, Woody Guthrie, Nathan Hale, William Frederick “Bull” Halsey, Jr., Alexander Hamilton, Ira Hayes, Hans Christian Heg, Ernest Hemingway, Patrick Henry, Charlton Heston, Alfred Hitchcock, Billie Holiday, Bob Hope, Johns Hopkins, Grace Hopper, Sam Houston, Whitney Houston, Julia Ward Howe, Edwin Hubble, Daniel Inouye, Andrew Jackson, Robert H. Jackson, Mary Jackson, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, Katherine Johnson, Barbara Jordan, Chief Joseph, Elia Kazan, Helen Keller, John F. Kennedy, Francis Scott Key, Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Russell Kirk, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Henry Knox, Tadeusz Kościuszko, Harper Lee, Pierre Charles L’Enfant, Meriwether Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, Vince Lombardi, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Clare Boothe Luce, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, George Marshall, Thurgood Marshall, William Mayo, Christa McAuliffe, William McKinley, Louise McManus, Herman Melville, Thomas Merton, George P. Mitchell, Maria Mitchell, William “Billy” Mitchell, Samuel Morse, Lucretia Mott, John Muir, Audie Murphy, Edward Murrow, John Neumann, Annie Oakley, Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks, George S. Patton, Jr., Charles Willson Peale, William Penn, Oliver Hazard Perry, John J. Pershing, Edgar Allan Poe, Clark Poling, John Russell Pope, Elvis Presley, Jeannette Rankin, Ronald Reagan, Walter Reed, William Rehnquist, Paul Revere, Henry Hobson Richardson, Hyman Rickover, Sally Ride, Matthew Ridgway, Jackie Robinson, Norman Rockwell, Caesar Rodney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Betsy Ross, Babe Ruth, Sacagawea, Jonas Salk, John Singer Sargent, Antonin Scalia, Norman Schwarzkopf, Junípero Serra, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Robert Gould Shaw, Fulton Sheen, Alan Shepard, Frank Sinatra, Margaret Chase Smith, Bessie Smith, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jimmy Stewart, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Gilbert Stuart, Anne Sullivan, William Howard Taft, Maria Tallchief, Maxwell Taylor, Tecumseh, Kateri Tekakwitha, Shirley Temple, Nikola Tesla, Jefferson Thomas, Henry David Thoreau, Jim Thorpe, Augustus Tolton, Alex Trebek, Harry S. Truman, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Dorothy Vaughan, C. T. Vivian, John von Neumann, Thomas Ustick Walter, Sam Walton, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, John Washington, John Wayne, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Phillis Wheatley, Walt Whitman, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Roger Williams, John Winthrop, Frank Lloyd Wright, Orville Wright, Wilbur Wright, Alvin C. York, Cy Young, and Lorenzo de Zavala.”

Where’s Mickey Mantle?

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