Veteran film actor Danny Aiello, known for his roles in "Do The Right Thing" and "The Godfather Part II," has died. He was 86.
His literary agent told Fox News on Friday that the actor died Thursday night.
Per TMZ, who was first to report the news, the actor’s family said he died at a medical facility in New Jersey where he was being treated for a sudden illness. The outlet reports that he was dealing with an infection related to an injection site and died shortly after his family left following a visit.
Portrait of American actor Danny Aiello, in costume (as 'Sal') smiles as he poses on the set of the film 'Do the Right Thing' (directed by Spike Lee), New York, 1989.
(Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
The veteran of stage and film got his big break in the early 1970s in the Robert De Niro-led baseball drama “Bang the Drum Slowly.” However, he is perhaps best known for his role as Sal the pizza guy in Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do The Right Thing” for which he earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
Cinema fans may also recognize Aiello from his role in “The Godfather Part II,” where he played Tony Rosato, the man who uttered the now-famous line: “Michael Corleone says hello!"
Taylor repeated her claim that Scooter never contacted her prior to him buying the label, and she said she resented record companies treating a singer's art like a commodity such as a shoe.
She went on to say no one from Scooter's camp has ever contacted her or her team prior to the purchase of Big Machine. As we reported, Braun publicly said a few weeks ago he wanted to sit down with Taylor to resolve things but neither she nor her team ever contacted them.
She went on to say the definition of toxic male privilege is, "Well, he's always been nice to me."
The reaction to Taylor's speech seemed mixed. When she finished speaking about Scooter, she seemed to wait for applause, and it did not come immediately ... and when it did it was less than thunderous.
One female exec in the room said afterward, "The night was supposed to be about inspiration, but it turned into another, 'poor little Taylor Swift.' It's hard to watch someone who's had such incredible privilege ... to complain about their own personal issues."
Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Billboard’s Woman of the Decade award was a reckoning. After handing off her award to The Good Place’s Jameela Jamil, Swift used her platform to call out the music industry for its treatment of women in general, and her/Lana Del Rey in particular. “What does it mean to be a woman of this decade?” she asked. “Well, it means I’ve seen a lot.” Swift went on to say that she’s seen women’s success questioned “whether a male was really responsible in the studio… or whether it was a savvy record label.” She’s also seen Lana Del Rey “ruthlessly criticized early in her career,” only to become “in my opinion, the most influential artist in pop.”
Swift of course also used her stage time to highlight her ongoing struggle with Scooter Braun, the Carlyle Group et al. over her back catalogue. Swift specifically brought the fight to private equity buying intellectual property “like it’s a shoe line.” Swift also called out supporters of Braun, saying, “The definition of the toxic male privilege in our industry is people saying, ‘but he’s always been nice to me?’ when I’m raising valid concerns about artists to own their music. Of course he’s nice to you. If you’re in this room you have something he needs.”
Rose Tico is one of the most divisive characters in Star Wars. Played by Kelly Marie Tran, some found the character engaging while others felt she was pointless and dull. Sadly, Tran faced a huge, unwarranted backlash on social media because people didn’t like Rose. Tran’s co-star John Boyega recently made comments that some fans felt were an attack on Tran. Here’s what he had to say.
The disgusting attacks on Kelly Marie Tran
Many of the hurtful comments Tran received were directed at her race or appearance. According to The A.V. Club, Tran began to internalize these toxic messages because of the harassment she received, before ultimately rejecting them. After this backlash, she deleted her social media.
Fans are free to dislike Rose or any other Star Wars character. There is nothing wrong with expressing criticism of a movie or character online. However, this backlash clearly crossed the line into abuse very quickly. There’s no shame in Tran deleting her social media if that’s better for her emotional well-being.
John Boyega breaks silence
On Dec. 11, 2009, Vanity Fair mentioned the harassment to Boyega. He responded “Being in this position, you just understand the masses, how the masses think, you know. Through social media, we get to engage, we get to have fun.”
He continued, “But at the same time, for those who are not mentally strong, you are weak to believe in every single thing that you read. That’s, you know, it is what it is. I don’t know, for me anyway, when I see that [backlash], I’m like, well, that’s actually not true. But no, it is actually not true. So…it is what it is.”
Many fans were upset by these comments. Some felt Boyeaga was framing Tran as weak for deleting her social media. Others thought Boyega was framing Tran as the one with the problem, not her tormentors.
What was he trying to say?
Although Boyega was asked about Tran’s harassment before making his comments, he insists he was not referring to his co-star. On Dec. 12, 2019, he said “In no way was I referring to Kelly when I made my comments although the interviewer mentioned her given the topic. I was really speaking from my own perspective throughout this franchise.”
He added “Sometimes I’ve felt strong and sometimes I’ve felt weak. Badly worded though. I apologize.” Some fans accepted Boyega’s apology as sincere. Others felt he was definitely talking about Tran during this interview and thought his apology was phony.
How John Boyega deals with harrassment
Boyega’s comments are notable given he’s also been targeted on social media. Specifically, he’s been attacked for being a black man in the Star Wars franchise. He told The Guardian he’s “fine” with this.
“I’m grounded in who I am, and I am a confident black man. I wasn’t raised to fear people with a difference of opinion…To get into a serious dialogue with people who judge a person based on the melanin in their skin? They’re stupid, and I’m not going to lose sleep over people.”
Online harassment is one of the most horrid aspects of the internet era. Everyone gets to choose if social media is right for them. Hopefully, Tran’s decision has helped her to avoid any further distress.
Toys and CollectiblesAction figures, statues, exclusives, and other merchandise. Beware: if you look here, you’re probably going to spend some money afterwards.
Always more, we want.
When the first Baby Yoda merch was revealed, everyone said it stunk. Then Funko and Disney released some stuff and we complained again. Now, finally, Hasbro is throwing its hat into the Baby Yoda ring and the results should have someone for everyone.
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Starting right now, most major retailers are taking pre-orders on four new Baby Yoda toys (or “The Child” if you want to be technical about it). There’s a talking plush that retails for $25; a 6.5 inch figure for $20; a “Bounty Collection” which includes six different versions for $8 each; and, everyone’s favorite, The Black Series, for $10. Most importantly, that last one comes with “bone broth bowl, toy knob, and Sorgan frog” but it’s also the smallest of the bunch at just over an inch tall. To go with your Mandalorian Black Series, of course.
While you can pre-order these now, they are all coming out in May 2020. Here are the preliminary images. First, is the Black Series figure.
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Here’s the talking plush.
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And here’s a VIDEO of the talking plush. So adorable.
Courtesy of Hasbro
Here’s the 6.5 inch.
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And here is the Bounty Collection, which are six individual toys (available as single and two-packs). You can buy them all or just your favorite pose.
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Unfortunately, as you can plainly see, only the talking plush is an actual physical toy right now; the rest seem to be computer-generated images. That’s what happens when a toy company is instantly met with huge demand and it just wants to get a product out into the marketplace. The potential is there though for all levels of collectors.
Here’s the link to Amazon, but it should be up on Hasbro Pulse, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, etc.
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Are you preordering any of these? Which is your favorite?
For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.
The actress in a now infamous Peloton commercial spoke out about the viral ad exclusively on the “TODAY” show Thursday, saying she thinks the reaction to the commercial was largely in response to her facial expressions.
"My eyebrows look, like, worried, I guess," Ruiz said. "People were like, 'She looks scared.'"
The ad, which was made in November but went viral recently, featured Ruiz playing a wife whose husband has purchased her the piece of fitness equipment as a gift. Ruiz’s character subsequently documents her “fitness journey" in the ad, which is titled, “The Gift That Gives Back.” The wife says, "I didn't realize how much this would change me."
On social media, many people roasted the ad, calling it sexist and classist.
Ruiz said she didn't expect that reaction, and then was surprised that the backlash did not blow over quickly.
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"I'm telling you it was my face, that was the problem, and it just exploded from there," she said.
Peloton responded to the criticism, saying in a statement that it was "disappointed" its holiday commercial had been "misinterpreted."
In a follow-up to the Peloton ad, Ruiz appeared in a commercial for Aviation Gin, a liquor brand owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, that poked fun at the Peloton ad.
Ruiz is shown is the liquor ad downing a martini, presumably from the stress of her viral fame. Reynolds tweeted the 41-second advertisement with the phrase, "Exercise bike not included."
The actress said her first reaction to the proposal that she do the liquor ad was, "Oh, I don't think so," because she said she had an "amazing experience" shooting the Peloton commercial and didn't want to look like she was mocking the company.
But she said that she was assured that the gin ad "was an idea that was just taking air out of the situation."
Reynolds joined Ruiz on the "TODAY" show, saying he wanted to make a funny ad "without contributing to the divide."
“For us it seemed like a no-brainer," Reynolds said of the gin ad. "It was a lot of fun to do, and it was a rush. We did this thing in 36 hours."
Ruiz, a mother of two, said she hopes the backlash to the Peloton ad won't limit her acting opportunities. "I hope people can remember that I'm not actually the Peloton lady and let me work other jobs."
“People turned down a pretty dark path, and it turned into a nasty thing,” the actor told "Good Morning America" in an interview. "Once something goes viral, and it turns viral, people jump on that negative bandwagon and start to create any dialogue they want."
Juice WRLD's family is breaking their silence on the death of the 21-year-old rapper, shedding light on his battle with prescription drug abuse and his fight to help others beat their addictions.
In an exclusive statement to TMZ, the family says, "We loved Jarad with all of our hearts and cannot believe our time with him has been cut short. As he often addressed in his music and to his fans, Jarad battled with prescription drug dependency."
Juice rapped about drugs often, something his family says wasn't to promote using ... but instead to help those battling addiction who may have felt alone in their fight.
The family continues, "Addiction knows no boundaries and its impact goes way beyond the person fighting it. Jarad was a son, brother, grandson, friend and so much more to so many people who wanted more than anything to see him defeat addiction."
However, his family believes his story can help others moving forward, they tell TMZ, "We hope the conversations he started in his music and his legacy will help others win their battles as that is what he wanted more than anything."
The family wraps by thanking Juice's fans, friends and family for their support during the incredibly difficult time, saying, "We know that Jarad's legacy of love, joy and emotional honesty will live on."
TMZ broke the story ... Juice WRLD died after a private flight from L.A. to Chicago Sunday. Law enforcement sources tell us the rapper swallowed several Percocet pills upon landing when he learned federal agents were going to search the plane.
In total, 70 lbs. of marijuana, some codeine and 3 handguns were found on the plane.