November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC News/Steve Iervolino(NEW YORK) — After nearly 25 years, Johnny Brennan and his prank phone call alter egos Frank Rizzo, Sol Rosenberg and countless others are back, in a new self-titled Jerky Boys album. 

And it’s not a minute too soon, the multi-platinum prankster and voiceover star tells ABC Audio. “You know, the crap going on, you know, all that unrest, you know, and the Jerky Boys — it’s just at the perfect time,” Brennan says.

He explains, “You don’t know how many thousands of emails I got over the years — or people coming up to me and just saying — ‘Johnny, you have no idea how your work and the Jerky Boys got me through some really rough times.’ And I really appreciate that.”

Johnny is a regular on Family Guy, playing Mort Goldberg. He was hired by longtime Jerkys fan and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, which has only broadened the Jerkys fan base, Johnny B explains.

“It’s funny, a lot of the younger ones now they’re getting in through Family Guy, so they come in the back door kind of thing,” says Brennan, “and a lot of them just grow up with parents that love to share the Jerky Boys with them. And so it’s…just very cool.”

He adds, “It really blows me away to see how the people have really loved this project, and I firmly believe it’s because of the characters. You know, the characters are so endearing.”

On the new album, Johnny occasionally plies his handiwork on a very deserving target: telephone scammers trying to bilk people out of their Social Security information, and also overseas customer service operators. “People have been asking me to get those guys for years,” Brennan says with a laugh. 

The fifth Jerky Boys album is now available.

By Stephen Iervolino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. 

November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC(LOS ANGELES) — Orange Is the New Black alum Laverne Cox and a friend were involved in an attack over the weekend.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, the actress and transgender rights activist said the incident “triggered” her because it brought back the harassment and bullying she faced throughout the years.

Cox, who declined to identify her friend, said they were on a socially distanced walk in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park to “catch up” on Saturday.

“[I’m] just walking through the park, talking with my friend and then we pass this guy, and the guy very aggressively asks for the time,” recounts the Bad Hair star, who adds she didn’t entertain the stranger and continued walking because “that’s the New Yorker in me.”

Her friend, however, did answer the man, who then allegedly asked them “guy or girl?”

Cox claims the man began physically assaulting her friend after being told to leave.  But, by the time the actress grabbed her phone to call 911, she claims the attacker fled the scene.

“It just happened really quickly,” the 48-year-old sighed while fighting back tears.  “It’s not safe in the world. I don’t like to think about that a lot, but it is the truth. It’s not safe if you’re a trans person.”

Cox, who claims she and her friend are “fine,” spoke directly to trans individuals suffering from harassment and trauma, saying, “It’s not your fault that there are people who are not cool with you existing in the world.”

“We have a right to walk in the park,” the actress furthered. “It’s not your fault if something like this happens to you. If you can, travel with friends. It’s great to be safe out there. Be careful. I love you.”

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

November 30, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Warner Bros./HBO Max(LOS ANGELES) — Anne Hathaway, who starred in the 2020 remake of The Witches, says she isn’t upset by her performance being constantly compared to Anjelica Huston’s, who played the Grand High Witch in the 1990 version of the movie.  

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph‘s Stellar magazine, the 38-year-old revealed how she kept herself from becoming emotionally invested in the constant comparisons.

“I just keep reminding myself that there have been, like, six Batmen and four Jokers and seven James Bonds,” the 38-year-old Oscar-winner said. “We seem to get a little more into comparisons when it’s two women and we seem to get a little more excited when it’s two men.”

“Anjelica’s performance is flawless and it’s iconic and it’s just right for the film she’s in. My hope is that my performance is just right for the film that I’m in,” added Hathaway, who believes “each performance can be celebrated for what it is.”

The Ocean’s 8 actress continued that her version of The Witches is drastically different than the 1990 version, which called for her to make the character her own.

“When [director Robert Zemeckis] showed me that ear-splitting grin with the fangs, I thought: ‘Oh, this isn’t something that you can get out of your head. This is terrifying,'” confessed Hathaway, who said she remedied that by making the character more comedic than scary to teach children that they can “laugh at evil.”

As for whether or not Hathaway feared that fans would not enjoy seeing her play such a vile character, the Oscar winner shrugged, “I haven’t felt fear surrounding being labelled for a very long time” but admitted that she “was afraid of being boxed in as an actress” when she was a lot younger.

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.