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Chris Lane reveals he "blacked out" when proposing to wife Lauren Bushnell

• No Comments • Country Music News

Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMTFans saw the moment Chris Lane proposed to Lauren Bushnell in the first video for his hit single “Big, Big Plans.” Now, Chris has offered some behind-the-scenes insight into the special moment during his and Lauren’s appearance on Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East‘s podcast, Couple Things. 

Chris reveals that while at Lauren’s parents’ house in Portland, Oregon for Father’s Day in 2019, he explained why cameras were there by telling his future wife that he wanted to shoot photos and videos with her family.

“She had no idea what the real plan was,” he says. 

He also told Lauren that he had a new song he’d written specifically for her. Chris admitted he was a bundle of nerves as he started to sing “Big, Big Plans” in the backyard — so much so that he went into the house in the middle of the performance to jot down a word on his hand so he wouldn’t forget what to say.

“When that song started playing I blacked out. I was about as nervous as I could be,” he recalled.

The singer said he was “trembling” as he approached the third verse with the lyrics “And I’m down on one knee/I guess she finally figured out/I’m gonna ask her to marry me,” sending Lauren into tears.

“Thankfully, she said yes. Honestly I don’t remember what I said in that moment because I was blacked out,” he laughs.

“That might be the one time in my life where I’ve been the most in the moment, truly not thinking about anything else,” Lauren reflects. “I was just so present that I don’t even think I really was thinking about what was happening.”

The couple wed in October 2019 and are expecting their first child, a boy, in June. 

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Harry Shearer confirms he will no longer voice Black characters on 'The Simpsons'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Voice actor Harry Shearer is stepping down from voicing Dr. Julius Hibbert on The Simpsons as the longtime animated show faces increasing calls to diversify its cast. 

The Hollywood Reporter says Kevin Michael Richardson will take over for Shearer, starting with the February 28 episode “Wad Goals.”

The final episode featuring Shearer’s voice aired on Sunday.

Aside from voicing Dr. Hibbert, Shearer will remain on the show bringing life to other beloved characters characters, such as Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner.  The voice actor has been a part of the show since 1989, first appearing in the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.”

Simpsons producers confirmed over the summer that the show will no longer have white actors voicing characters of color.

Prior to the announcement about Shearer, Hank Azaria stepped down from playing Homer’s work friend, Carl Carlson and Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu.

The animation industry as a whole has been making strides towards hiring nonwhite actors to play nonwhite characters.  Previously, shows like Big Mouth and Central Park also made changes to their casting under similar circumstances.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Shailene Woodley confirms engagement to Aaron Rodgers: "We’ve been engaged for a while"

• No Comments • Entertainment News

NBC(LOS ANGELES) — Shailene Woodley confirmed that wedding bells are ringing for her and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Appearing Monday on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 29-year-old actress confirmed she and Rodgers are getting married.

When speaking about Rodgers’ past comments about having a fiancee when he was honored with the NFL MVP Award earlier this month, the Divergent star affirmed, “Yes, we are engaged. But for us, it’s not new news.”

Finding fans’ reaction “funny,” Woodley continued with a laugh, “Everybody right now is freaking out over it, but we’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve been engaged for a while.'”

The Emmy Award nominee couldn’t stop gushing about the love of her life, calling Rodgers “a wonderful, incredible human being.”  She also coyly admitted she “never thought I’d be engaged with somebody who threw balls for a living.”

Woodley also recounted how the two met, pinning the blame squarely on her dog.

“When I first met him, I think my dog like pulled me aside and was like, ‘If you don’t date this dude, I will disown you as my mother because the three feet that I run with you when you throw a ball is nothing compared to the marathon I’m able to run with him,'” she deadpanned. 

While Woodley didn’t specify exact dates, she did hint that their relationship is relatively new by confessing, “We met during this whacky, whacky time and all the stadiums were closed that he was playing in, so I have yet to go to a football game.”

The Fault in Our Stars alum furthered that, even though Rodgers is a successful athlete, she doesn’t see him as “a football guy.”

“I know him as, like, the nerd who wants to host Jeopardy!,” she confessed. “That’s the dude I know.”

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mather steps down following comments

• No Comments • Sports News

33ft/iStockBy JEANETTE TORRES-PEREZ, ABC News

(SEATTLE) — Kevin Mather, the president and CEO of the Seattle Mariners, stepped down Monday following comments he made earlier this month that were released online this past weekend.

In a statement Monday, Mariners chairman and managing partner John Stanton said Mather “has resigned his position effective immediately.”

Over the weekend, Mather’s comments to a local rotary club surfaced on YouTube. In the clip, which has since been taken down, Mather makes remarks about the team’s international players and discusses sensitive topics about the organization.

The MLB released a statement condemning Mather’s “offensive and disrespectful comments about several players.”

“We are proud of the international players who have made baseball better through their outstanding examples of courage and determination, and our global game is far better because of their contributions. His misguided remarks do not represent the values of our game and have no place in our sport,” the league said.

Stanton also noted he was “extremely disappointed” after hearing about Mather’s comments.

“His comments were inappropriate and do not represent our organization’s feelings about our players, staff, and fans,” Stanton said in his statement. “There is no excuse for what was said, and I won’t try to make one. I offer my sincere apology on behalf of the club and my partners to our players and fans. We must be, and do, better.”

Until Mather’s successor is chosen, Stanton will step in and serve as the acting president and CEO.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ryan Reynolds shuts down speculation he will cameo in 'Justice League: The Snyder Cut'

• No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Lou Rocco(CANADA) — Sorry, Ryan Reynolds and Green Lantern fans — wait: were there fans of the 2011 film that even Reynolds still derides to this day? At any rate, it looks like his version of the superhero won’t be making a cameo in the anticipated Zack Snyder cut of the Justice League movie.

Rumors that Reynolds would reprise his role as Hal Jordan, a.k.a. the Green Lantern, sparked after a Vanity Fair article, published on Monday, mentioned that the film’s ending contains a “hero cameo that will blow hard-core fans’ minds.” 

The Golden Globe nominee quickly took to Twitter to shut down the rumors and insist his time with the DC Universe has come to an end.

“It’s not me,” the actor tweeted. “But what a cool pirate flag to cameo as Hal. Maybe it’s another GL? But for me, the suit stays in the closet. I mean, computer.”

The reference is just another jab at the film, in which his costume was fully computer generated. He made a similar crack in his hit 2016 film Deadpool, in which his character Wade Wilson asks for a super suit “as long as it’s not green. Or animated.” 

In fact, in the closing of Deadpool 2, Wilson’s fourth wall-breaking mercenary travels through time just to murder Reynolds so that he doesn’t ever shoot the maligned superhero movie. “You’re welcome, Canada,” Wilson says to camera, for sparing Wilson;s — and Reynolds’ — fellow natives of the Great White North the future embarrassment. 

Justice League: The Snyder Cut is scheduled for a worldwide release on March 18.

By Danielle Long and Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.