Aretha Franklin is going to be buried in a $25,000 gold casket. Her family brought her to a Detroit museum yesterday where her body will lie in state for several days. Hundreds of fans slept on sidewalks outside of the museum in order to be the first to pay their respects to Aretha. Aretha is wearing a red dress. She chose to be buried in red because that is her sorority’s color. I have also heard that she will be buried in red five-inch Christian Louboutins high heels.
Ariana Grande has been chosen to perform at Aretha Franklin’s funeral on Friday. She will join Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia Barrino, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan and more. Ariana and Aretha met at the White House in 2014.
Johnny Depp has scored a big legal victory against his former talent lawyer, Jake Bloom. L.A. Judge Terry Green has ruled that Johnny’s oral contract with Jake is invalid. Johnny sued Jake in October, asserting that he collected more than $30 million in contingent fees without a formal contract; Jake countersued, claiming a 1999 oral agreement should be considered valid. The judge said, “I grew up in a showbiz family, I am aware that showbiz people think they live in a different universe, but they don’t. They’re not a different universe.” California law requires contingency fee agreements be put in writing so there you go.
Taylor Hanson is expecting a sixth child with wife Natalie. The 35-year-old pop star shared the news on Instagram yesterday, writing, “What’s better than being a dad of five? Perhaps being a dad of six. We are over the moon.” The Hansons’ oldest child is 15, and Natalie blogged earlier this month that the other kids “help out big time” now that Hanson is going back out on the road.
After photos emerged of Kanye West wearing what appeared to be too-small Yeezy slippers to his friend 2Chainz’s wedding in Miami a couple of weeks ago, the rapper found himself the subject of online mockery. However, Kanye wants everyone to know that he was merely doing things “the Japanese way.” He tweeted photos that showed people wearing Japanese-style sandals with their heel hanging slightly off the back of the shoe. No matter what you think of the look, it looks like Kanye’s getting the last laugh: His $150 Yeezy sandals are now completely sold out.
Katharine McPhee and David Foster are currently enjoying a romantic getaway in British Columbia, Canada. There is a bit of an age gap between the engaged couple. Katharine is 34 and David is 68. Katharine shared a photo of a scenic lake and captioned it, “Country album drops this week.” David’s 36-year-old daughter Erin Foster (yep, she’s older than Katharine) commented on the picture, “FEELS LIKE I COULD HAVE BEEN INVITED ON THIS BEAUTIFUL TRIP.” Katherine jokingly responded to her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, “@erinfoster mommy and daddy need alone time.” Erin has joked about Katharine being her mother. She has previously commented “Mommy” on Katharine’s photo and once shared a photo of David and Katharine, captioning it, “My parents.”
Salma Hayek’s husband Francois-Henri Pinault surprised her with a vow renewal during their recent getaway to Bora Bora. “The summer is coming to an end and my best moment was when my husband surprised me with a vow renewal,” Salma gushed on Instagram. “It was not what I would have chosen to wear to my wedding but I was told I was going to the spa! There were no mariachi band on the island but my husband found this one man band.” The couple’s daughter Valentina was the witness during the ceremony.
Not everyone thought Ben Affleck was a great Batman anyway, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise: My source tells me Ben’s issues with booze may have priced himself out of the role completely . . . because he’s too much of an insurance risk to be the star of a major movie like the upcoming flick “The Batman”, or a possible “Justice League” sequel.
An “expert” says, “More than likely the studio will replace him because the insurance costs are going to go through the roof. He would be bondable, but the deductible would be really high, probably the budget of the film.”
Robert Downey Jr. faced similar issues 20 years ago . . . but he rebounded in a major way.
In a new cover story for Cosmopolitan, Christina Aguilera explains why she would never date another famous person. She says, “I’ve had opportunities, but it isn’t my style to date another person in the business,” she continues, “There’s gotta be something wrong with you if you want to be in this business. I mean, hi! I definitely have my issues. I think that I can only handle one [celebrity] in the relationship, and I need to be it.”
That strategy seems to be working out well for her so far. She’s been engaged to Matthew Rutler since 2010 and the two share a four-year-old daughter, Summer Rain. Christina also has a 10-year-old son Max from her first marriage to Jordan Bratman.
Suits actor Wendell Pierce, who played Meghan Markle’s father on the show, has called out Thomas Markle for running his mouth to the press. “If you care about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, then that should be the first and foremost in your mind before you say anything,” Wendell said during a recent interview. “If you love your daughter, just love your daughter. It’s not for public consumption.” Boom!
Rumour on the street is that Daryl Hannah and Neil Young may have gotten secretly married last weekend
