Here's the Scoop...

Have you heard about the Richard Simmons being held hostage story?

Health and fitness guru Richard Simmons has been out of the media spotlight for some time. Did he retired? Did he die? Or is he just Sweating to the Oldies?

Reports and rumors swirled that Simmons was being held against his will by his housekeeper. Weird, right?

Well, worry no more! Detective Kevin Becker of the LAPD has confirmed that Richard Simmons is not being held hostage by his housekeeper and said he is 'perfectly fine.'

Becker confirmed to People magazine that the LAPD visited Simmons' home as part of a welfare check.

"There was something about his housekeeper holding him hostage and not allowing people to see him and preventing him from making phone calls and it was all garbage and that's why we went out to see him. None of it is true," Becker said.

"The fact of the matter is we went out and talked to him. He is fine, nobody is holding him hostage. He is doing exactly what he wants to do. If he wants to go out in public or see anybody he will do that," he continued. "He is perfectly fine and he is very happy. I don't know what he is going to do, but right now he is doing what he wants to do and it is his business."

Becker also added that Simmons was welcoming every time he was visited by the LAPD. "He was very nice. He was very cordial. He couldn't have been nicer to us," Becker added.

Concerns were raised about Simmons' well-being following the recent release of Episode 3 of Dan Taberski's podcast titled Missing Richard Simmons which seeks to uncover the truth behind Simmons' disappearance from the public eye.

In the episode, Taberski speaks with Simmons' longtime friend and former masseuse Mauro Oliveira who shared his claims that the workout mogul is being held hostage by his housekeeper Teresa Reveles.

"She realized that I was in the house, she started screaming like a witch, 'No, no, no, no, get out, get out! I don't want him here!' Richard looked at me and said, 'You got to go.' I said, 'Really? Is she controlling your life now?' and he said, 'Yes.' And that I have to leave," Oliveira recalled about Reveles and Simmons on the episode.

A rep for Richard Simmons, Tom Estey, denied the allegations and defended Reveles.

"Teresa has been working with him for 27 years. So, holding him hostage is the biggest, I mean...Teresa is the housekeeper, she's the caretaker, she is extraordinary, she is amazing, she takes impeccable care of Richard and she has for as long as I have been working with Richard. So that is a complete load of crap," Estey said in a statement.

Simmons was last seen in public in February of 2014. In a statement on Facebook, Simmons assured fans he was doing okay.

"I am finally taking my own advice. I am being kind to myself and putting myself first," the 68-year-old said on Facebook at the time. "I am making changes and taking time to do the things I want to do. Please know that I am in good health and I am happy. No one has ever been able to tell me what to do and the same is true today."

I'm glad he's okay. It's weird how a celebrity can be seen all over the place and then they seem to have completely fallen off of the face of the Earth. No, I'm not talking about you, Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



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Zazie Beetz cast as mutant mercenary Domino in 'Deadpool 2'
Atlanta star Zazie Beetz has landed the role of mutant mercenary Domino in Deadpool 2.

Star and producer Ryan Reynolds announced the casting on Twitter Thursday alongside an image featuring Beetz's name spelled out using dominoes.

A second tweet featured the cover of a comic book titled "Deadpool & The Mission for Money" which featured Beetz as Domino riding on top top of a flying Deadpool.

Beetz is best known for portraying Van in Donald Glover's FX series Atlanta.

Within the X-Men mythology, Domino is involved with mercenary group Six Pack and then later X-Men associated group X-Force. With telekinetic powers that allow her to control probability, Domino often crosses paths with Deadpool within the pages of Marvel comics alongside X-Men character Cable who is also set to appear in Deadpool 2.

Deadpool 2, which is expected to hit theaters in 2018, is directed by David Leitch (John Wick) after original director Tim Miller abandoned the project over creative differences.

A teaser for Deadpool 2 was released recently to coincide with the release of Logan that features Reynolds unable to stop a mugging after changing into his costume inside a phone booth.


'Game of Thrones' announces July 16 premier in Facebook live stream
HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones will return to the network for its seventh season beginning July 16, 2017.

The show announced the premier date through a Facebook live stream that encouraged fans to comment "FIRE" or "DRACARYS" to melt a giant block of ice.

Once the flames melted the center portion of the ice, a cloth was removed to reveal the numbers "07. 16. 17," followed by a brief teaser trailer.

The stunt used the theme of fire and ice as a reference to the George R.R. Martin novels on which the series is based. Cast members delivered messages to fans while they watched the block melt.

The 70-minute stream stopped and started abruptly twice before the date was finally revealed as more flamethrowers were brought in and moved closer to the block of ice.

Season seven of Game of Thrones will feature only seven episodes, as opposed to the usual 10, as it winds down before its eighth and final season, which will also be truncated.


LOOSE LIPS:
"It took many years of getting knocked down and getting back up to finally say, 'Okay, I think I'm pretty tough. I've got this.'"
--Viola Davis, on gaining confidence, in this week's issue of PEOPLE



??? Guess Who ???
Which former Batman will guest star on NBC's 'Powerless'?


Gabourey Sidibe talks weight-loss surgery: 'I love my body now'
Gabourey Sidibe says she's loving her body after having weight-loss surgery.

The 33-year-old actress opened up in her memoir, This is My Face: Try Not to Stare, about secretly undergoing laproscopic bariatric surgery.

"It has taken me years to realize that what I was born with is all beautiful," Sidibe wrote, according to People. "I did not get this surgery to be beautiful. I did it so I can walk around comfortably in heels. I want to do a cartwheel. I want not to be in pain every time I walk up a flight of stairs."

"There's nothing ugly about me. Anyone trying to convince me that I am -- and it's usually me -- is wasting her time," she added. "I was in a war with my body for a long time. If I'd started treating it better sooner, I wouldn't have spent so many years hating myself. But I love my body now."

Sidibe said she quietly had the surgery in May after she and her older brother, Ahmed, were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She has since changed her eating habits and increased her fitness regimen.

"I have a goal now, and I'm almost there," the star shared. "And then once I've got it, I'll set another. But my starting weight and my goal weight, they're personal. If too many people are involved, I'll shut down."

Sidibe had showed off her weight loss on the red carpet at the NAACP Image Awards in February. She shared a photo of her slimmer figure on Instagram the month before as she headed to the gym.

"Sometimes the only motivation I have to go to the gym is a coordinated outfit. Turns out, that's enough. #Pink," she wrote.

Sidibe is known for the movie Precious, and has since appeared on three seasons of American Horror Story. She presently plays Becky Williams on Empire, which will return to Fox on March 22.


Samuel L. Jackson recreates film career on 'Late Late Show'
Samuel L. Jackson paid homage to some of his most iconic roles Wednesday alongside James Corden on The Late Late Show.

The pair started by acting out two scenes from Pulp Fiction before launching into renditions of Shaft, Jurassic Park, Do the Right Thing, Snakes on a Plane, Star Wars, Unbreakable and Jackson's various appearances as Nick Fury throughout the Marvel cinematic universe and more.

"Nature can be lethal, but it doesn't hold a candle to man. So we're not going to fight anymore," Jackson says before Corden attacks the actor dressed in a shark costume.

At one point, Corden dressed up as King Kong in order to promote Jackson's latest role in Kong: Skull Island which reaches theaters Friday.

Corden and Jackson ended things by singing side-by-side as a reference to Soul Men.


??? Guess Who ???
Which former Batman will guest star on NBC's 'Powerless'?

Adam West is returning to the world of DC Comics as a guest character in NBC's workplace comedy, Powerless.

The series, which takes place inside Wayne Enterprises subsidiary Wayne Security which is owned by Batman's alter-ego Bruce Wayne, will feature West in an upcoming episode as company chairman Dean West, Entertainment Weekly reported.

West, who famously portrayed the caped crusader in the 1960s Batman series, will be seen informing Bruce Wayne's cousin Van (Alan Tudyk) and his employee Emily (Vanessa Hudgens), that the company has to make cuts following an attack on Gotham City.

In November, West returned to the role of Batman alongside Burt Ward as Robin in animated feature Batman: Return of the Caped Crusader which recreated the look and feel of the 1960s series.