Keely's Korner

CELEBRITY NEWS: JUNE 4, 2020
http://www.imdb.com/news/celebrity

Cadence Bridges (Ludacris & Eudoxie Mbouguiengue’s daughter) – 5 years old
E.J. Johnson (Magic Johnson’s son) – 28 years old
Quincy Brown (Al. B. Sure & Kim Porter’s son) – 29 years old
Evan Spiegel (Co-Founder of Snapchat) – 30 years old
Oona Chaplin (“Quantum of Solace”, Charlie Chaplin’s Granddaughter) – 34 years old
Bar Refaeli (Model) – 35 years old
Brandon Jenner (Keeping Up With The Kardashians) – 39 years old
T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley) – 39 years old
Angelina Jolie (“Maleficent” movies/ “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”) – 45 years old
Russell Brand (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) – 45 years old
Jeremy Beiber (Justin’s Dad) – 45 years old
Noah Wyle (ER) – 49 years old
Horatio Sanz (formerly of Saturday Night Live) – 51 years old
Al B. Sure (R&B Singer) – 52 years old
Scott Wolf (Party of Five) – 52 years old
Mossimo Giannulli (Fashion Designer/ Lori Loughlin’s Husband) – 57 years old
El DeBarge (R&B Singer) – 59 years old
Julie White (“Transformers” movies) – 59 years old
Keith David (OWN’s Greenleaf/ “The Princess and The Frog”) – 64 years old
Parker Stevenson (Greenhouse Academy/ The Hardy Boys) – 68 years old
Michelle Phillips (Mamas And The Papas) – 76 years old
Bruce Dern (“The Hateful Eight”/ Big Love) – 84 years old
Dr. Ruth Westheimer (Sex Therapist) – 92 years old

FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news

ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 6/4/20)
CBS ALL ACCESS: The Thomas John Experience (Premiere)
FOOD NETWORK: Summer Rush (Premiere) at 10p
HISTORY: Mountain Men (Premiere) at 9p
HULU: In My Skin (Premiere)
ID: Dead Reckoning (Premiere) at 9p
ID: A Time to Kill (Premiere) at 10p
UPTV: Heartland (Premiere) at 8p
ABC: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Finale) at 8p
HBO: We’re Here (Finale) at 9p
SCIENCE: Mysteries of the Abandoned (Finale) at 9p

Snapchat said is no longer promoting President Trump’s content on its Discover platform. “We will not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice by giving them free promotion on Discover,” said the company. “Racial violence and injustice have no place in our society and we stand together with all who seek peace, love, equality, and justice in America.” Trump’s content remains available to users who subscribe or search for it.
(Source: Cynopsis)

The Center for Democracy and Technology, a tech group supported by Facebook, Google and Twitter, filed a lawsuit against President Trump, claiming his executive order on social media – which could allow the government to assume oversight of political speech on the internet – threatens to “curtail and chill constitutionally protected free speech.” The CDT said the White House violated the First Amendment, which “prohibits government officials from using government power to retaliate against and individual or entity for engaging in protected speech.” Trump issued the order after Twitter fact-checked one of his tweets.
(Source: Cynopsis)

As protests over the death of George Floyd continue, The Walt Disney Co. has pledged $5 million to support nonprofit social justice groups. “The killing of George Floyd has forced our nation to once again confront the long history of injustice that black people in America have suffered, and it is critical that we stand together, speak out and do everything in our power to ensure that acts of racism and violence are never tolerated,” said CEO Bob Chapek. “This $5 million pledge will continue to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations such as the NAACP that have worked tirelessly to ensure equality and justice.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

Google is donating $12 million to groups working to address racial inequities, said CEO Sundar Pichai in an email to employees. “Our black community is hurting, and many of us are searching for ways to stand up for what we believe, and reach out to people we love to show solidarity,” said Pichai. “Supporting worthy organizations is a step in the right direction, but it is not a replacement for doing the harder work ahead both within and outside of Google.” The first grants of $1 million each will go to the Center for Policy Equality and the Equal Justice Initiative.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Netflix canceled Astronomy Club: The Sketch Show after one season. The series, exec produced by Kenya Barris, launched December 6. “Seems like a good time to mention ‘Astronomy Club’ was sadly not renewed by Netflix,” said a post on the show’s Twitter account. “Thank you to all the fans who watched! Hoping that more black artists & comedians are given the platform to have voices in the future.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

The Real co-host Amanda Seales said in an Instagram Live video that she does not plan to renew her contract with the Fox daytime talker. “It doesn’t feel good to my soul to be at a place where I cannot speak to my people they way they need to be spoken to,” said Seales, who signed on as a permanent co-host six months ago.
(Source: Cynopsis)

A Florida sheriff has confirmed that the will of Don Lewis, late husband of Tiger King star Carole Baskin, was forged. “They had two experts declare it a forgery,” said Hillsborough County sheriff Chad Chronister in a video. “We knew that before, because the girl who came forward and said, ‘Hey, I was forced to say I witnessed these signatures.’” Basin responded with a statement saying, “All of the documents were authenticated by at least two expert firms and everyone involved in the conservatorship agreed by stipulation ratified by the court to their authenticity.” During the Netflix show, Joe Exotic – now in prison for hiring a hit man to kill Baskin – accused her of feeding Lewis to a tiger.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Responding to a Wall Street Journal report of imminent layoffs, Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman assured staffers in a memo on Wednesday that no employees are getting cut. “Nothing has changed since our last company meeting two weeks ago,” the memo said. “Quibi is in a good financial position. As we said in that meeting, we will look for ways to tighten our belt. We are not laying off staff as a part of cost saving measures. We’ve recently added a dozen new Quibi employees.” Senior executives agreed to take a 10% pay cut “because it’s the right thing to do,” according to the memo.
(Source: Cynopsis)

The CW’s Batwoman will have a new identity when the show returns for season two without Ruby Rose in the lead. Rather than recast Kate Kane, a casting notice called for a character named Ryan Wilder who is “likable, messy, a little goofy, and untamed” – unlike the character Rose played. Rose made the surprise announcement that she was leaving the show last month.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Local TV viewership is still significantly higher than pre-COVID-19 levels, but 18-24-year-olds are turning away from local TV as their news source, reports SmithGeiger. While 25% of the age group relied on local news in a March study, the number dipped to 23%in April and 11% in May. “We are post-peak in this environment; there is no question,” said Dr. Seth Geiger, President and co-founder of SmithGeiger. “But the trust that has been placed in local news has stayed relatively stable and is still at a very high level.”
(Source: Cynopsis)

FilmRise’s new linear channel FilmRise Action has debuted on The Roku Channel, with a lineup of movies like Stolen Blitz and Sharpshooter. All films have been edited to ensure a PG-13 rating suitable for family viewing.
(Source: Cynopsis)

COMING UP

PBS is broadcasting a series of films and new specials focused on race in America. In addition to re-broadcasting films focused on African American history by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Stanley Nelson, PBS will also curate a playlist of programs from Frontline, POV, Independent Lens and other series that explore the impact of racism on Black Americans and the larger country. Tonight, June 4, PBS is re-airing The Talk – Race in America at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Coverage of the preliminary hearing of the murder case of Ahmaud Arbery starts today, June 4 at 9a on Court TV. Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael are accused of felony murder in the shooting death of Arbery as he was jogging in Georgia.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Also airing today is a virtual town hall to discuss the current political and racial climate. We Are One: More Than A Hashtag will stream live at 8p on the digital platforms across the Urban One brands Radio One, Reach Media, TV One and iOne Digital.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Tubi has curated a collection of movies and documentaries under the banner, “United Against Inequality.” Among the offerings are Harriet Tubman: They Called Her Moses (1918), Up From Slavery (2011), Freedom Road (1979), and The Injustice System in America (2007).
(Source: Cynopsis)

Antenna TV celebrates Father’s Day with an all-day marathon of Coach, starting at 5a on Sunday, June 21.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Decades TV is airing Pandemic Amnesia: Recovering the Memory of the 1918 Influenza Outbreak, a documentary investigating the catastrophic impact of the 1918 health crisis, on Monday, June 8 at 9p.
(Source: Cynopsis)

Google is being sued for allegedly collecting data on Chrome users who were using the browser’s incognito mode, in what the lawsuit describes as a violation of California privacy laws and the federal wiretap law. “Google tracks and collects consumer browsing history and other web activity data no matter what safeguards consumers undertake to protect their data privacy,” allege two California residents and a Florida resident in a class-action complaint filed Tuesday in US District Court for the Northern District of California. A Google spokesperson said the company “strongly” disputes the claims.
(Source: Cynopsis)