Top Entertainment Headlines

Friday, February 21

“Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer, who is one of the most prominent transgender woman in Hollywood, revealed Friday that her new passport was issued with a male gender marker. 

In an eight-minute video she posted on her TikTok story, the actor, who is best known for playing transgender high school student Jules on the hit HBO series, said she that marked herself off as female in her passport application. Schafer, 26, added that the gender markers on her government-issued IDs have been female since she was a teenager.

Schafer’s passport application goes against recently implemented State Department guidance that uses sex assigned at birth to determine gender markers on newly issued passports. Schafer said that she was aware of the policy, but did not believe it would be implemented. 

What could possibly be controversial about a heart-shaped cake?

A debate has been raging on TikTok over Walmart’s vintage-style heart-shaped cakes, the retailer’s take on the photogenic, Victorian-inspired piped pastries, which have long been popular on social media.

Although some of these ornately decorated desserts have been sold at Walmart for years, they recently went viral on TikTok around Valentine’s Day due to their affordable prices: from $7 to $25, by many of these videos’ estimations.

Fans of Betty White are bound to give this news their stamp of approval.

The United States Postal Service announced Feb. 20 it will honor the legendary late actor with a stamp in her image.

“The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the warmth, wit and charisma of Betty White by honoring the late actress and comedienne with a new stamp bearing her likeness,” the agency said.

Jerry Butler, a premier soul singer of the 1960s and after whose rich, intimate baritone graced such hits as “For Your Precious Love,” “Only the Strong Survive” and “Make It Easy On Yourself,” has died at age 85.

Butler’s niece, Yolanda Goff, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Butler died Thursday at his home in Chicago. Butler was a former Cook County board commissioner who would still perform on weekends and identify himself as Jerry “Iceman” Butler, a show business nickname given for his understated style.

A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a three-time Grammy Award nominee, Butler was a voice for two major soul music hubs: Chicago and Philadelphia. Along with childhood friend Curtis Mayfield, he helped found the Chicago-based Impressions and sang lead on the breakthrough hit “For Your Precious Love,” a deeply emotional, gospel-influenced ballad that made Butler a star before the age of 20. A decade later, in the late ’60s, he joined the Philadelphia-based production team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, who worked with him on “Only the Strong Survive,” “Hey Western Union Man” and other hits. His albums “Ice on Ice” and “The Iceman Cometh” are regarded as early models for the danceable, string-powered productions that became the classic “Sound of Philadelphia.”

Steve Martin says that Martin Short and Maya Rudolph have tested positive for Covid after attending the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special on Sunday.

“Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real,” Martin posted to Instagram on Thursday, along with a photo of the “Bridesmaids” star and his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star star sharing a kiss at the star-studded special.

Short’s illness has forced changes to his and Martin’s upcoming “Dukes of Funnytown” Tour.”Unfortunately, we have to reschedule this weekend’s sold out Durham and Knoxville dates to 10/17 Knoxville and 10/18 Durham. So sorry for the inconvenience,” said Martin. “I think we’ll be funnier then, anyway.”

STOCKHOLM — Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk once turned down half a million dollars in future royalties from the popular video game Pro Skater — and he says it was the “best financial decision” of his life.

Hawk was offered $500,000 in a one-time buyout deal for use of his name and likeness for Activision’s Pro Skater title, which was released in 1999.

Speaking at the Techarena technology conference in Stockholm on Thursday, Hawk said that, when he received the proposal, it “didn’t seem like a real number to me.”