Here's the Scoop...
Cha-Ching! Music superstars Diddy and Beyoncé are among the world's highest-paid celebrities of 2017, according to Forbes.
The magazine reported Monday that 47-year-old Diddy, a rapper and entrepreneur born Sean Combs, earned $130 million pretax between June 2016 and June 2017.
Diddy sold one third of his Sean John clothing line for an estimated $70 million in November. He also holds a lucrative deal with Ciroc vodka, and performed on the Bad Boy Family Reunion tour in 2016.
"All I try to do is build the maximum value for my companies," the star told Forbes in 2013. "I'd be blessed to become a billionaire ... hopefully someday it'll come true and I'll be able to do some good with it."
Fellow recording artist Beyoncé came in at No. 2 with $105 million in earnings. The 35-year-old singer, who is pregnant and expecting twins with husband and rapper Jay Z, promoted her album Lemonade on her Formation tour in 2016.
"My parents taught me how to work hard and smart," she said in the May 2016 issue of Elle. "They taught me that nothing worth having comes easily."
Beyoncé was followed by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling with $95 million, singer Drake with $94 million and Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo with $93 million.
I wish I was on that Forbes list, just for a minute... and then I'd buy a diamond studded jacuzzi filled with Evian water. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll use hose water.
Be Well,
Steve
Comments? Questions? Nooz?
Email Steve
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Katy Perry apologizes to Taylor Swift: 'I am ready to let it go'
Katy Perry is "ready" to let go of her bad blood with fellow singer Taylor Swift.
The 32-year-old pop star attempted to end her longtime feud with Swift in an interview Saturday with Ariana Huffington on The Thrive Global Podcast.
"I am ready to let it go," Perry told Huffington. "I forgive her and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her. I think it's actually like, I think it's time. There are bigger fish to fry, and there are real problems in the world.
"I love her, and I want the best for her," she added. "I think she's a fantastic songwriter, and I think that, you know, if we, both her and I, can be representatives of strong women that come together despite their differences, I think the whole world is going to go like, 'Yeah, well we can do this.'"
Perry confirmed on "Carpool Karaoke" with James Corden in May that her beef with Swift began over backup dancers. She explained in an interview with NME last week that she called out Swift to share her "side of the story."
"I wish that I could turn the cheek every single time, but I'm also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls. That's so messed up!" the star said.
Perry told Huffington she hopes she and Swift can put their conflict behind them even if they still don't necessarily agree. She accentuated her point by breaking out into the song "Let It Go" from the Disney movie Frozen.
"I just really truly want to come together in a place of love and forgiveness and understanding and compassion," the singer said.
"There's a lot of other things out there in the world that people need to be focused on, and I truly, like, God bless her on her journey. God bless her. Honestly," she added.
Perry's apology came one day after the release of her new album, Witness. The record includes the singles "Chained to the Rhythm" and "Swish Swish" -- the latter of which is believed to be about Swift.
'Luther' starring Idris Elba to return for Season 5
Popular crime drama Luther will return for a fifth season.
British actor Idris Elba will reprise Det. John Luther in a new, four-episode season of the show on BBC One and BBC America, the network announced in a press release Monday.
"[Series creator] Neil Cross, the BBC and I have been talking about a further season and I am thrilled that we have been able to bring it all together. I look forward to putting the coat back on," Elba said.
Season 5 will begin filming in early 2018, but has yet to set a premiere date. Cross, who will write the new episodes, said in the release that the season will resolve some "unfinished business."
"Now what? It's a question Idris and I get asked a lot. What happened to John Luther after we last saw him striding unbowed through the streets of his city, his blood red London? It can't be over, can it? There's so much we don't know," the screenwriter acknowledged.
"In the end, we picked up the phone to some old friends and asked if they'd like to find out what happens next. It turns out, they would. So that's what we're going to do. W're going to find out what happens next," he teased.
Luther last aired a fourth season co-starring Dermot Crowley, Michael Smiley and Rose Leslie in December 2015. Elba has since starred in the Showtime miniseries Guerilla, and is slated for a film adaptation of The Dark Tower.
"Luther is compulsive, unnerving television," BBC America president Sarah Barnett said, according to Deadline. "Neil Cross, Idris Elba and the team are geniuses and we all wait with bated breath to see what happens next in this blindingly brilliant show."
LOOSE LIPS:
"I know, I'm kind of crazy. If you look up the word crazy in the dictionary, I'm like, kind of like to the left of it."
--Katy Perry, responding to her adorable 7-year-old interviewer, to W Magazine
??? Guess Who ???
Which actors have booked roles on future episodes of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'?
Julia Stiles is pregnant with her first child
Julia Stiles is going to be a first-time mom.
The 36-year-old actress' rep confirmed Monday to E! News that Stiles is expecting a baby with fiancé Preston J. Cook later this year.
Stiles later debuted her baby bump during an appearance on the British radio show Magic in the Morning. Host Nick Snaith shared a photo on Twitter of the star, who showed off her growing belly in a fitted black dress.
"Great to see @MissJuliaStiles to chat all things #Riviera on @skyatlantic from this thus," he tweeted of Stiles' forthcoming Sky Atlantic miniseries Riviera. "She will be on @magicfm #MagicInTheMorning on wed."
Stiles and Cook, an actor and camera assistant, met on the set of the 2015 movie Go with Me. The couple got engaged in Isla Grande, Columbia, on Christmas Eve in 2015.
"All around, it was a really wonderful trip," Stiles told People in August. "We stayed on an island that was really beautiful and there was a lot of great snorkeling."
"I'm not getting a ton of marital advice. We're really slow on the wedding planning so I haven't really been soliciting advice," she added.
Stiles is known for such films as 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance and The Bourne Identity. Riviera co-stars Anthony LaPaglia and Iwan Rheon, and will premiere June 15 on Sky Atlantic.
'Battle of the Network Stars' to feature Mischa Barton, Lance Bass
Battle of the Network Stars stars is returning with Mischa Barton, Lance Bass and dozens of other celebrities.
Barton, Bass, Taye Diggs, Lou Ferrigno, Nick and Vanessa Lachey and 94 other actors and television personalities will compete in an ABC revival of the reality competition, the network said in a press release Monday.
Retired NFL star DeMarcus Ware and MMA fighter Ronda Rousey will serve as team captains, with ESPN commentators Mike Greenberg and Joe Tessitore as hosts. ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth and Cari Champion will act as sideline reporters
The new season will see 100 stars from 14 network and cable companies compete in a variety of athletic challenges, such as Tug of War, Archery and Obstacle Course. The celebrities are divided into 20 themed teams, including TV Sitcoms, TV Kids, and TV Sex Symbols.
Battle of the Network Stars initially ran from 1976 to 1988 on ABC. Ferrigno, Todd Bridges and Donna Mills are among the original competitors who will return for the revival.
??? Guess Who ???
Which actors have booked roles on future episodes of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'?
Nathan Fillion, Lucy Punch, Tony Hale and Roger Bart are to appear in Season 2 of A Series of Unfortunate Events, Netflix announced.
Fillion is to play Jacques Snicket, while Punch will portray Esmé Squalor. Hale has been cast as Jerome Squalor and Bart as Vice Principal Nero.
Based on the children's books by Daniel Handler, the show stars Emmy and Tony Award-winner Neil Patrick Harris as the evil, frequently disguised Count Olaf and Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes and Presley Smith as his wards Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. Patrick Warburton narrates the show as Lemony Snicket.
Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.