Here's the Scoop...

Let's get right to the nooz!

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



************************
Madonna adopts 4-year-old twin girls from Malawi
Madonna welcomed two more children to her family this week by adopting twin girls from Malawi.

The 58-year-old American singer was granted permission from the Malawian high court to adopt 4-year-old sisters Stella and Esther, according to The Guardian.

Malawi judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula told People Madonna and her lawyer appeared in court Tuesday with Stella, Esther, their father and their uncle. The girls' mom reportedly died a week after she gave birth in August 2012.

"After their mother died, the children were looked after by their grandmother, who could not fully provide for them, so they were taken into an orphanage," Mvula said.

"[Madonna] exuded happiness [after the adoption]," he added. "She smiled while she was making her way out of the courtroom, and then she drove away [with her new daughters]."

The "Living for Love" singer had shared a photo on Instagram of her daughter Lourdes, aka Lola, with Stella and Esther in 2016. She and Lourdes spent time with the sisters at Home of Hope orphanage in July.

"3 Beauties! Lola spends time with twins, Stella and Esther at Home of Hope Orphanage," the star captioned the picture.

Madonna previously adopted son David, now 11, and daughter Mercy, also 11, from Malawi. She is mom to Lourdes, 20, with ex-partner Carlos Leon, and son Rocco, 16, with ex-husband Guy Ritchie.


Lady Gaga responds to body shamers after Super Bowl LI
Lady Gaga shut down body shamers Tuesday following her Super Bowl LI performance.

The 30-year-old singer shared a body-positive message on Instagram after social media users criticized her appearance during the Super Bowl LI halftime show Sunday.

"I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too. No matter who you are or what you do," Lady Gaga told her 21.8 million followers.

"I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That's the stuff of champions. thank you so much everyone for supporting me. I love you guys. Xoxo, gaga," she added.

More than 117 million viewers tuned in for Lady Gaga's performance at NRG Stadium in Houston, according to Fox Sports. The singer started the show in a silver Versace bodysuit and ended in a white crop top and silver shorts.

"Am I the only one that peeped lady Gaga had a muffin top / lil pudge there," one person wrote.

"Lady Gaga should've been in the gym getting ready for this performance cause that lil gut was not cute," another added.

Lady Gaga last released the album Joanne in October, which includes the singles "Perfect Illusion" and "Million Reasons." She will perform with Metallica at the 2017 Grammy Awards on Feb. 12.


LOOSE LIPS:
"There's no way I would be at [No. 23] without her."
--Serena Williams, thanking sister Venus after winning her 23rd Grand Slam, in her speech



??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Girls' star went blonde for Allure magazine?


Tom Hiddleston on dating Taylor Swift: 'Of course it was real'
Tom Hiddleston says what he and ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift had was unequivocally "real."

The 35-year-old English actor discussed his short-lived but highly-publicized romance with the 27-year-old American singer in the March issue of GQ.

"Taylor is an amazing woman. She's generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time," he told the magazine. "Of course it was real."

"I only know the woman I met. She's incredible," he said. "[But] a relationship in the limelight... A relationship always takes work. A relationship in the limelight takes work. And it's not just the limelight. It's everything else."

Hiddleston and Swift were first linked in June following the singer's split from DJ Calvin Harris. The actor was seen the next month in a "I Heart T.S." tank top, fueling speculation the relationship was a publicity stunt.

"The truth is, it was the Fourth of July and a public holiday and we were playing a game and I slipped and hurt my back. And I wanted to protect the graze from the sun and said, 'Does anyone have a T-shirt?' And one of her friends said, 'I've got this.' And we all laughed about it. It was a joke," Hiddleston explained.

"I have to be so psychologically strong about not letting other people's interpretations about my life affect my life. A relationship exists between two people. We will always know what it was," he said. "Nobody had the context for that story.

"I just, I was surprised. I was surprised that it got so much attention," the star admitted. "The tank top became an emblem of this thing."

Hiddleston and Swift split in September after three months of dating. Sources told E! News at the time that the couple disagreed about putting their relationship in the spotlight.

"Taylor felt he wanted to take the relationship to be too public and she was not happy about it and thought it was too much publicity," an insider said.

Hiddleston is known for playing Loki in Thor and other movies in the Marvel cinematic universe. He will reprise the role in Thor: Ragnarok, and will also star in the King Kong prequel film Kong: Skull Island.


Grammys announce plans to pay tribute to Prince, George Michael
Late musicians Prince and George Michael are set to be honored at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday.

"While the primary focus of the Grammy Awards is to celebrate and honor the year's best in music, we consider it our responsibility to tell music's broader story by honoring its legends lost-that's what we strive to achieve with our annual tributes," Grammys executive producer Ken Ehrlich said in a statement.

"While it's nearly impossible to convey the full depth of an artist's cultural impact in a single performance, it's that very challenge that has led us to some of our most memorable Grammy moments," he continued.

The Recording Academy has yet to announce which musical acts will be taking part in the tributes to the iconic singers, however, John Legend is on tap to perform the show's In Memoriam segment according to Rolling Stone.

Other performers scheduled for the event include Adele, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Chance the Rapper, Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Anderson .Paak, Maren Morris, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Metallica.


??? Guess Who ???
Which 'Girls' star went blonde for Allure magazine?

Allison Williams recently switched up her look for Allure.

The 28-year-old actress debuted new, platinum blonde hair on the magazine's March cover and discussed the transformation in the interview.

"I like it," the Girls star said of her new 'do. "Especially this blonde -- it feels like it is just a new twist on the same old me. It's just hair! But it's fun. Maybe I'll become this gorgeous bombshell vixen. Or maybe I'll still just be the adult-spelling-bee spirit I've always been."

"I think if I'd used my middle name professionally -- Howell Williams -- I'd have a totally different career," she added. "I'd be an indie darling. I'd be fighting with Greta Gerwig for parts. I'd have gone blonde earlier."

Williams, the daughter of longtime NBC journalist Brian Williams and TV producer Jane Stoddard, also shared a photo of her new look Wednesday on Instagram. She explained she dyed her hair after filming the final season of Girls.

"Here it is IRL. Still getting used to it, but I dig it. Thank you @auracolorist and @rebekahforecast for helping me say goodbye to Marnie -- and to @allure for the nudge!" the star wrote.

Williams, who sported brunette hair for years, previously discussed her approach to beauty in a 2013 interview with Harper's Bazaar. She admitted at the time that her real-life look is much different from Marnie's.

"I definitely hand myself over to the hair and makeup gods of Girls. Our look on the show is very specific and it's different from mine in real life, although I've definitely learned things from working with both the hair and makeup people for the show," she said.

Girls will premiere a sixth and final season Feb. 12. The HBO series co-stars Lena Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Adam Driver.