Month: February 2024

Stand-up comedian Richard Lewis, known for his role in Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, has died at the age of 76. Lewis’ publicist, Jeff Abraham, said in a statement that Lewis died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack. “His wife, Joyce Lapinsky, thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time,” Abraham said in a statement.

Lewis announced in a video posted on X last April he was retiring from stand-up and revealed he had Parkinson’s disease, which he had been diagnosed with two years prior. The comedian said that when he was in the middle of a comedy tour three and a half years ago, he thought to himself, “You know, I’m at the top of my game. After 50 years almost, I’m just gonna call it quits.”

Lewis was a late-night TV staple for decades. His other acting roles included co-starring opposite Jamie Lee Curtis in the ABC series “Anything But Love”, as well as his role as Prince John in “Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men In Tights.” He most recently appeared in Season 12 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” currently airing on HBO, and shared that longtime friend and show creator Larry David made accommodations for his illness while filming the final season. Lewis told Vanity Fair earlier this month: “I’ve got to tell you how he took care of me this year. The cast and a crew — just as I’m diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease—made sure that everything was right for me on the set. They assigned a third AD to me [to clear the path]. ‘Richard is coming!’ Everybody was so lovely on the set. It was all really heartwarming.”

Comedy Central named Lewis one of the top 50 stand-up comedians of all time and he was included in GQ magazine’s list of the “20th Century’s Most Influential Humorists.”  Lewis is survived by his wife Joyce Lapinsky, whom he married in 2005.

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Adele is being forced to pause her Las Vegas residency show due to health concerns.  The 35-year-old postponed dates of her Weekends with Adele residency show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in March, posting on X saying: “I love you, I’ll miss you like mad and I’m sorry for the inconvenience x”

A statement read: “Sadly I have to take a beat and pause my Vegas residency. I was sick at the end of the last leg and all the way through my break. I hadn’t quite gotten the chance to get back to full health before shows resumed and now I’m sick again, and unfortunately it’s all taken a toll on my voice. And so on Doctors orders I have no choice but to rest thoroughly. The remaining 5 weekends of this leg are being postponed to a later date. We are already working out the details and you will be sent the information asap.”  The shows affected were to take place March 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30.

Adele first launched her Weekends with Adele residency show in 2022, announcing new dates in March 2023 and a final run of dates for 2024 in October. She said at the time: “This residency, these shows have changed my life. I desperately needed to fall back in love with performing live again, and I have. I needed to reconnect with my songs and remember what they mean to me, and I have! Being on stage over the last year so up close and personal with an audience again after all these years has been a truly extraordinary restorative experience that I’ll never forget.”

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In a new lawsuit, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of sexual assault by a former employee. Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, a former producer and videographer for Diddy, filed the lawsuit in New York federal court alleging that Combs sexually harassed, drugged and threatened him for more than a year. Jones produced nine songs on Combs’ recent ‘Love’ album from September 2022 to November 2023; he is seeking $30 million in damages.

According to the 73-page lawsuit, Combs’ adult son, Justin; his chief of staff, Kristina Khorram; Universal Music Group CEO Sir Lucian Grainge; and former Motown Records CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam are also named as defendants. Jones said that while working on the ‘Love’ project, he lived with the Diddy, 54, in various U.S. cities and also also vacationed with him outside of the country. Jones claims that during this time, he “witnessed, experienced, and endured many things that went far beyond his role as a producer on the Love album.”

Jones alleges that due to his role as a videographer, he was “required to constantly record” Diddy, and “as a result, Mr. Jones has secured HUNDREDS of hours of footage and audio recordings of Mr. Combs, his staff, and his guests engaging in serious illegal activity .. throughout his time living with Mr. Combs, Mr. Jones was the victim of constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping and touching” by Mr. Combs. Jones also alleges that on Thanksgiving Day in 2022, the female cousin of Yung Miami (Combs’ girlfriend at the time), sexually assaulted him as well “in the presence of Mr. Combs and his staff.”

Shawn Holley, Combs’ lawyer, responded in a statement: “Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday. His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines. We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies. Our attempts to share this proof with Mr. Jones’ attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, have been ignored, as Mr. Blackburn refuses to return our calls. We will address these outlandish allegations in court and take all appropriate action against those who make them.”

A rep for Justin Combs told TMZ, “Justin Combs categorically denies these absurd allegations. They are all lies! This is a a clear example of a desperate person taking desperate measures in hopes of a pay day. There will be legal consequences for ALL defamatory statements made about the Combs family.”

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