It’s common knowledge that the best comics come from messed up backgrounds, and Trevor Noah is no different. He’s a brilliant comic, and I love watching his stand-up, but after learning about his childhood, you can admire him for turning that into some great art.
Trevor Noah knows a thing or two about resilience and strength. It’s a trait he learned from his mother, Patricia Noah, who was shot in the head by his stepfather.
Talking with People, the host of “The Daily Show,” 33, recalls asking his mother why she didn’t leave.
“She said, ‘Because if I leave, he will kill us,’” Noah said. “I said to her, ‘That’s extreme. I don’t think that’s real.’ I thought she was being overly dramatic; I didn’t understand it, and she left, and as I talk about it in [my] book, within a matter of a few years, he tried to kill the family.”
Noah wrote about his stepfather’s abuse in his memoir, “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood.”
An adult Noah remembers getting a call from his brother, who said that their stepfather had shot their mother following the couple’s divorce. The bullet entered the back of her head and exited through her nose — narrowly missing her brain.
“I remember after the shooting, my mother was in the hospital, and all I felt was rage,” he said. “My mother said to me, ‘Don’t hate him for doing this, but rather pity him because he too is a victim, in his own way, of a world that has thrust upon him an idea of masculinity that he has subscribed to and is now part of. As for myself, I do not wish to imbue myself with a hatred that only I will carry.’”
Noah says he didn’t initially understand her thoughts, that it took some time for them to sink in. “I think watching my mom, her growth post-shooting, our family and the way we became strong, really became the example that I chose to live by,” he said. “That’s really what I’ve stuck to, and that’s how I try to live my life every day.”
Noah’s stepfather was convicted of attempted murder but was only sentenced to probation.
You likely remember, just a few weeks back, Kendall Jenner was at the epicenter of controversy when her Pepsi commercial faced ample backlash from viewers around the world. Back in April, the supermodel teamed up with the company to create a politically charged ad, which did not get the favorable reaction they were hoping for.
In the ad, Kendall is seen presenting a police officer, who is in the midst controlling a crowd of protesters, with a can of Pepsi. Inevitably, the model and Pepsi, were both slammed for making light of the civil unrest that has recently taken over American headlines.
Following the controversy, Kendall went into hiding, as she was reportedly “mortified” by how viewers reacted to the commercial. While several few weeks have passed since the ad was released, Kendall has still not commented on the whole ordeal. However, on Sunday night, Kendall’s older sister Kim Kardashian appeared on Bravo’s late night talk show Watch What Happens Live!, where she briefly discussed Kendall’s Pepsi scandal with host Andy Cohen.
During her interview with Andy, Kim revealed, “[Kendall] totally understood at the end of the day and she felt really awful for it. She just wants to move on from it.” The reality starlet went on to say, “I think any time someone does anything they don’t have bad intentions – especially Kendall, who’s so sensitive. She would never mean for anyone to perceive anything in a negative way.”
Fortunately, Kendall has since been able to move on from the whole incident. In fact, the super model was seen enjoying a casual dinner with her mom on Sunday night (the night Kim’s episode of WWHL! aired) in West Hollywood, California.
Sofia Richie is no stranger to having her love life picked apart by fans and followers all over social media. You may remember, back in 2016, Sofia was being talked about all over various online platforms, as she briefly had a fling with pop singer Justin Bieber. The young model even wound up blocking the comments on her Instagram pictures temporarily, as her feeds were being flooded by thousands of loyal Bieber fans (some complimenting, but most tormenting, the starlet).
This experience [dating Bieber] likely played a role in Sofia’s decision to quickly come out and shut down the recent rumors involving her and a particular reality star bad boy. Over the past few days, countless media outlets have been reporting that Sofia is getting close to Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Scott Disick. This was prompted after photos were taken of Scott and Sofia hanging out in Cannes.
Early on Sunday, Sofia took to her Twitter account to dispel the romance rumors. The 18-year-old model bluntly assured her followers, “Just so everyone can get their panties out of their a**es, Scott and I are just homies #relax.”
Sofia Richie, Twitter post:
https://twitter.com/sofiarichie/status/868894668695777285
While they may be just “homies,” the duo did seem to be particularly flirty while in Cannes. In fact, Sofia and Scott were photographed frolicking around on a yacht. In addition, Scott was seen with his arm draped around the young starlet, as well as playfully carrying her around the boat.
Nonetheless, it is probably wise of Sofia to (at least try to) shut down the rumors about her and Scott, as Scott is certainly not making a good name for himself these days.
Amber Rose and Blac Chyna may be household names today, but they haven’t forgotten their strip club roots.
Despite moving on to new careers — Rose landing her own talk show and Chyna becoming a fixture on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” before getting her own spin-off with her daughter’s father, Rob Kardashian — Chyna, 29, and Rose, 33, frequently visit their old stomping grounds and make paid appearances at clubs like Aces New York and Studio 23 in Miami.
Lynda Rose, a bartender at Aces and up-and-coming host, told media outlets not every former dancer gets the same warm welcome the duo often receive.
“You have to have the oomph where you are remembered, so when you do come through that door everyone knows who you are and they’re going to give you that love,” she explained. “That’s a good surprise.”
Just don’t expect for Rose and Chyna to be mingling with the masses.
“The club has a section for them. We have two places where we hold the bigger artists, but sometimes if it’s a guest and we don’t know that they’re popping up, they still accommodate you and make sure you’re seated away from the chaos,” Rose told media outlets, noting that big names can earn up to $50,000 per appearance. “The club gets out of control, but in a good way.”
A successful appearance from Rose or Chyna, who has stopped by Aces with ex-fiancé Kardashian on more than one occasion, or rappers such as DJ Khaled and French Montana, requires an incredible amount of planning.
With so much pressure to impress and please A-list talent, Miloš Klimović, owner of Miami’s Studio 23, told media outlets in a separate interview that it’s imperative to “curate” the crowd properly. When Studio 23 brings in a celebrity to host a night, Klimović makes sure the crowd will be up to snuff.
“If they host a party where alongside with them there’s another eight or nine influencers of the same level and they know the crowd is curated, why would they say no?” he asked, rhetorically. “They all feed off it. Khaled didn’t get addicted to social media because it was fun. He thought being silly on social media would make him popular with his fan base. If you dig into his fan base, you’ll realize 85 percent of them are jobless. They don’t have the money or power behind them but they do have an influence of sharing the media. They always have to consistently improve their influence.”
Thanks to social media, the nightclub industry “has completely changed,” he explained.
Klimović and his nightclub, which plans on opening more locations in London and Chicago, have built a relationship with Rose over time, frequently luring her back to his Miami hotspot.
“It becomes their comfortable hub,” he explained. “They’re not treated there as a celebrity. They’re treated as an in-house guest.”
With such careful crowd selection, Studio 23 gives clubgoers the opportunity to hang out with the stars instead of Rose and other stars off in their own VIP section.
“Artists are expecting to mingle with people,” he said. “Now I know my celebrities are going to interact with the regular crowd.”
But given how “out of control” these clubs can get, Klimović has learned to “stay away from any scandals that could damage the brand especially when the celebrity or artists involved.”
With more and more people gaining popularity on social media, Klimović has learned it doesn’t matter what makes a celebrity famous.
“Who cares about music anymore today?” he asked us. “Rose hasn’t released a single song, but if you book her, she has influence.”
“The Bachelorette” contestant Michael Nance has died, media outlets have confirmed. He was 31.
Nance appeared on the eighth season of the hit reality series in 2012, where he competed for Emily Maynard‘s heart.
“At this point it is not a suspicious death and the manner will be determined by the medical examiner,” a spokesperson for the Austin Police Department Homicide Unit in Texas told Page Six on Tuesday.
Officers were dispatched at 2:10 a.m. Monday, May 29, in reference to an unresponsive male. Upon arrival, the responding police officers located the male, who was later identified as Nance. He was pronounced deceased at 2:54 a.m.
Maynard took to Twitter to express her condolences. “So sad waking up to the news about Michael Nance. Such a kind heart with so much talent,” she tweeted. “Sending prayers and love to his family and friends.”
Other “Bachelorette” contestants from Maynard’s season also paid tribute to Nance on social media.