Netflix(FLORIDA) — Controversial Tiger King star and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Carole Baskin was not surprised that her nemesis Joe Exotic did not receive the last-minute presidential pardon as he hoped.
The former Oklahoma zoo owner, real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 22-year sentence for his murder-for-hire plot, where the prosecution claims he paid Allen Glover $3,000 to eliminate Baskin.
He also was convicted of illegally euthanizing five tigers and selling tiger cubs, which defies federal wildlife laws, as well as falsifying records.
Speaking to Buzzfeed News, Baskin expressed relief that the man who wants her dead will remain behind bars.
“I think only Joe’s team and the media were ever even thinking about a pardon for Joe,” said the big cat advocate, who had no love for the so-called Tiger King.
“There is no benefit, other than a feeble attempt to deflect attention, for anyone to pardon someone who walked up to five tigers and shot them in the head in order to clear cage space for the circus, who was going to pay him to board their tigers during the offseason,” she continued. “Tigers are the world’s favorite animal and Joe Schreibvogel Maldonado Passage is right where he belongs: in a cage.”
Reports that Exotic’s legal team was entreating the former president for a pardon surfaced last spring and gained traction when Donald Trump joked he would pardon the 57-year-old Netflix star for the memes “and just for frankly watching the media reaction to this thing.”
ABC(LOS ANGELES) — As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took the oath of office Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, weeks after violent pro-Trump protestors stormed the building, the two were sworn in as the 46th president and 49th vice president of the United States, respectively.
Harris not only becomes the first woman to serve the second highest office in the nation, she is also the first woman of color elected vice president.
Here are reactions and messages from celebrities who marked the historic occasion:
Elizabeth Banks: Crying crying crying tears of joy and loving the purple (honoring Shirley Chisholm and red + blue) #inauguration
Angela Bassett: Hey Everybody, today we’re ALLLL good! God bless you REAL good @joebiden & @kamalaharris ! Our country in your hands is a great good thing! Amen, Amen, and AMEN! #inauguration #theywalkeduptheweststeps #sayitagain
Bobby Berk: We’re back baby!!!! @JoeBiden@POTUS#InaugurationDay
Valerie Bertinelli: I knew I’d be relieved, but good Lord, I didn’t realize the weight on my heart and soul was so heavy until it was just now lifted. Praise God and God Bless #PresidentBiden
Mayim Bialik: We did it. In so many ways. We, the people.
Richard Branson: Wishing the very best of luck to President Biden, Vice President Harris, their families and their teams as they strive for pathways to positive change in the White House
Connie Britton: Tearful. Celebratory. Grateful. “It’s time for boldness. For there is so much to do.” -President Joe Biden Congratulations @joebiden and @kamalaharris! And God bless America. #inauguration2021
Sophia Bush: Scenes from #Inauguration Day. From our pod, to some of my best friends on FaceTime who we’re distanced from today, to our entire @iamavoter team on zoom. Today is historic. And it felt so, deeply, watching two of the most important little girls in my life witness the @vp and so many women on that stage. Today is healing. For a nation that came so close to being destroyed. For a nation that, today, finally has the most diverse presidential cabinet in history. Today is just day one. There is much justice to be done. We must keep our collective foot on the gas for progress. We must work to right wrongs, finally cut out the cancer of white supremacy from America’s roots, make and pass policy that reflects our morals and standards in the image of America: diverse in all ways, and better for it. And we both can and must finally get closer to our esteemed “more perfect Union.” We can. And we shall, so long as we remain committed, involved, and humble before democracy. As our profoundly gifted poet, @amandascgorman said today, “we weather and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished. There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to be it.” Let’s be the light. No compromising with darkness. Let’s be the light. Bright. Bold. Demanding. Relentless. Bright. Light. #iamavoter
Stephen Colbert: Real fans of oath-taking use The Bible: Director’s Cut Extended Edition
Jamie Lee Curtis: Well HERE WE ARE. A time for healing. A time of compassion. A time for US ALL! Wearing my pearls from my godparents so many years ago. Honoring this moment for WOMEN! @joebiden @kamalaharris in tea towel @dearsirmadam
Eliza Dushku: hat fist bump w Obama just gave me life! @JoeBiden#InaugurationDay #Inauguration2021
Billy Eichner: It’s a good speech. Thank god this is happening
Vivica A. Fox: AND IT IS DONE!! WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT!! CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 46TH @JoeBiden #BIDENHARRIS2020
Jesse Tyler Ferguson: It’s been a long four years. Very Long. Finally, hope is on the way. So happy we made it to today
America Ferrera: Why you crying?” “What is democracy?” “Where did JLo go?” – a little easier to answer Baz’s questions today. So much work ahead to build the world we want our babies to inherit. Grateful for today’s victory and for @amandascgorman ‘s words: “There is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be it.” #bethelight #inauguration #BidenHarris
Jimmy Fallon: Congratulations to President @JoeBiden and Vice President @KamalaHarris. I’m honored and proud to witness this moment in history. #InaugurationDay
Tan France: A new era. Hope. We’re nowhere near where we need to be, but we’re back on track. Even if you don’t agree with my Politics, I want you to know that Im hopeful for a better future for ALL of us, regardless of party. I pray for a less divided nation. Proud to be American, today.
Josh Gad: Congratulations to you Mr. President and to @VP Harris. I cannot imagine two greater human beings picking up the mantle of our communal hardships and guiding us through the darkness into the light.
Danai Gurira: It may be a pandemic but we can still celebrate the historic inauguration of @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris safely from home!
Anne Hathaway:I am so, so happy for the Biden Family! I am full of emotions today, and I am grateful and humbled to see a lifetime of service rewarded. Congratulations, Mr. President!
Sarah Hyland: Today was a good day #46 Turning off comments cause some of y’all can’t be trusted not to fight
Jason Isaacs: If you’re not watching the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris you’re missing out on a moment of much needed hope in the world. Enormous challenges face them but they’re good, smart and dedicated people intent on improving lives. What a contrast.
Jameela Jamil: Happy Inauguration Day America. Wishing everyone love, safety and peace.
Mindy Kaling: I was at work, but apparently [my daughter] said: “Is that mommy? It looks like mommy.” Best compliment I ever got! It matters. Happy Inauguration everyone.8h
Daniel Dae Kim: “There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Jimmy Kimmel: Congratulations to our new President @JoeBiden and VP @KamalaHarris We know you will do your best to make America good again.
Allison Janney: Congratulations to @joebiden and @kamalaHarris on becoming the 46th @potus and @vp of these United States of America!! Finally, honest and empathetic leadership! “We the people seek a more perfect union.”
Leslie Jones: YAAAAAAAAASSSS SHE IS OUR VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
Eva Longoria: Today, we make history! Today, we celebrate leaders like President @joebiden and our first Madam Vice President, @kamalaharris. Today is only the beginning.
Meghan McCain: God speed Mr. President ?@JoeBiden?! Please heal this incredible republic and lead us to a new dawn!
Oprah: In tears watching this extraordinary moment for women in the U.S. and the world. Vice President @kamalaharris
Keke Palmer: What a tremendous day! To be there in person was a true gift to those that were there. So happy I got to watch from afar and take others on the ride of #Inauguration2021
Billy Porter: FEELING HOPEFUL Congratulations President Biden & Vice President Harris…. this was a long time coming and now we are HERE!!!! I’M READY! Living in this moment and looking towards a brighter future. We’ve only just begun but we’re walking in the right direction.
Rob Reiner: Joseph R. Biden Jr. is the 46th President of the United States. Democracy exhales.
Shonda Rhimes: Brown girls no longer just dreaming. #bidenharris2020
Mark Ruffalo: He is finally gone. The nightmare has come to its fitful end. A bunch of trump elite criminals pardoned in the shroud of night. The Golden Toilet Presidency is over. A turd is a turd no matter where it lays.
Amy Schumer: Emotional day. Everyone who used their personal power and energy to fight for this I see you. Especially my lil homies.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: I’m rooting for you ?@JoeBiden?. Your success is the country’s success.
Maria Shriver: What @JoeBiden and @DrBiden have been through… May we all take inspiration from their story. Good people do finish first #Inauguration2021
Jada Pinkett Smith: There is so much work that needs to be done. But … the ground work has been laid that in America … anything is possible. Congratulations to President @joebiden and Vice President @kamalaharris
Wanda Sykes: What?! We’re gonna get some truth up in here! #Inauguration2021
George Takei: “We must reject a culture where facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.” — President Biden
Chrissy Teigen: hello @joebiden I have been blocked by the president for four years can I get a follow plz
Robin Thede: Do not let the white supremacy of the last presidency outshine the HISTORIC achievements of @VP Kamala Harris!
Jonathan Van Ness: President Biden sounds so much better than I thought it even could
Courtney B. Vance: “Let the be peace on earth; and let it begin with me.” May God bless you & keep you @joebiden & @kamalaharris ! Let the healing begin!
Jeffrey Wright: President Joe Biden. (11 mins early.) New day. Get after it. Work to do.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Dallas 124, Indiana 112 Philadelphia 117, Boston 109 Cleveland 147, Brooklyn 135 (2OT) Miami 111, Toronto 102 Atlanta 123, Detroit 115 (OT) Orlando 97, Minnesota 96 Phoenix 109, Houston 103 LA Clippers 115, Sacramento 96 Golden State 121, San Antonio 99 Washington at Charlotte (Postponed) Memphis at Portland (Postponed)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Edmonton 3, Toronto 1 San Jose 2, St. Louis 1 (SO) Minnesota 3, Anaheim 2 Vegas 5, Arizona 2 Vancouver 6, Montreal 5 (SO)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Houston 86, Tulsa 59 Wisconsin 68, Northwestern 52 Providence 74, Creighton 70 Georgia Tech 83, Clemson 65 Texas at Iowa St. (Postponed) Texas Tech at TCU (Postponed) NC State at Virginia (Postponed) Boston College at Virginia Tech (Postponed) Minnesota at Nebraska (Postponed) Xavier at UConn (Postponed) Saint Louis at UMass (Postponed)
ABC This week, Luke Combs extends his string of number ones to ten, as “Better Together” tops the country chart.
Having inspired hits like “Beautiful Crazy,” “Lovin’ on You,” and his current chart topper, there’s no denying that Luke’s wife Nicole is his muse — one with a sense of humor.
“She always loves it, you know, I mean, she’s always pumped about it,” Luke says of his tributes in song. “But me and her have a really good back and forth, you know, and we don’t take almost anything too seriously.”
“So we joke around a lot,” he reveals, “and she jokes around with me about that stuff, too, saying I’m all gushy and everything like that. So we do enjoy giving each other crap from time to time.”
If we seem to be seeing a more laidback side of Luke these days, he says it’s solely Nicole’s fault.
“I enjoy writing that kind of stuff, and it’s something that I feel like I have a little bit of a knack for,” he admits. “I don’t necessarily want to be the love song guy, but I feel like kind of I am right now, which is just kind of where I was and happened to be at the moment.”
“So I don’t really have any control over that. You know, if she wasn’t so great, then this wouldn’t be happening…” he laughs. “I got her to blame!”
Luke’s sophomore album, What You See Is What You Get, has just been certified Double Platinum. And you can check out its deluxe edition, titled What You See Ain’t Always What You Get.
Terence Patrick/CBS via Getty Image(LOS ANGELES) — Armie Hammer’s most recent online scandal has drawn the interest of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.
The Lone Ranger star spoke to police on Friday over a provocative video of a scantily clad woman, captioned “Miss Cayman,” the New York Post confirmed on Wednesday.
“On January 15, 2021, the RCIPS received an allegation of misuse of ICT in relation to a suggestive video which had been posted on social media,” police told the newspaper in a statement. “Officers investigated the matter and spoke to the suspect, who was warned about his conduct, in accordance with the wishes of the complainant.”
Hammer was not brought into police custody or arrested, and the case is now closed.
The official Miss Cayman organization later distanced itself from the woman in the video, saying it was “disturbed” by the clip.
The 34-year-old actor later apologized in a statement to the Cayman Compass newspaper.
“I would like to clarify that the person in my video, which was stolen from my private Instagram, is not Miss Cayman,” the actor said, adding, “I am genuinely sorry for any confusion my foolish attempt at humor may have caused.”