October 21, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Getty Images for Twentieth Century Fox(LOS ANGELES) — Jennifer Garner may be one of the most down-to-earth actresses in Hollywood, but fans might not realize that the reason why the 48-year-old Golden Globe winner is so grounded is because of her mother.

Garner, during her recent appearance on the Tell Me More With Kelly Corrigan show, explained how her mother, Patricia Ann Garner, shaped and molded her values.

“My mom grew up really poor in Locust Grover, Oklahoma, on a farm. I think my mom was so poor, it’s just unbelievable that she managed to leave,” the 13 Going on 30 actress explained. “When I moved to New York after college, my mom said, ‘Jennifer, no matter what you do, it will never be as big of a deal as it was for me to leave that farm.'”

The actress added that her mother is very proud of her background, telling Corrigan, “She said, ‘I’m never ashamed of growing up poor. Rather, I am amazed by the grace and dignity that my parents had throughout my childhood.'”

Garner revealed that her mother saved up all the money she made while babysitting for a family that lived down the street, earning a dollar a day, and developed an passion for traveling after flipping through their collection of Life magazines — where she singled out all the interesting places she wanted to visit.

The Alias alum explained that her mother left the farm after securing a job as a Girl Scout counselor and boarded a bus to Maine. 

Her mother then obtained her graduate degree after starting a family and began teaching remedial reading at West Virginia State.

“Now she has been to 50 states and to seven continents,” Garner smiled, glad she was able to help her mother achieve her traveling dreams.

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

October 21, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) — There are a lot of Chrises in Hollywood, like Chris Evans or Chris Pine, and the debate continues over which one is actually the best.  On the flipside, when it came to naming the worst Chris, Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt drew the short end of the stick.

The debate reignited over the weekend when filmmaker Amy Berg asked her fans on Twitter to name the worst Chris in Hollywood and Pratt seemingly won by a landslide.  Some followers explained they disliked him because of his religious and political affiliations, which didn’t sit well with a few of the actor’s famous costars.

Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr., who starred alongside Pratt in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame not only slammed the poll but shamed fans for participating in such a negative conversation.

“You all, @prattprattpratt is as solid a man there is,” Ruffalo tweeted on Tuesday. “I know him personally, and instead of casting aspersions, look at how he lives his life. He is just not overtly political as a rule.”

The Thor: Ragnarok star then reminded fans that they should be focusing on the upcoming election instead, calling the discourse a “distraction.”

Downey Jr. took to Instagram also on Tuesday to defend his costar’s honor and rebuked, “What a world… The ‘sinless’ are casting stones at my brother, Chris Pratt… A real Christian who lives by principle, has never demonstrated anything but positivity and gratitude.”

The Iron Man star then challenged Pratt’s haters, “If you take issue with Chris,,, I’ve got a novel idea. Delete your social media accounts, sit with your OWN defects of character, work on THEM, then celebrate your humanness.”

Pratt has yet to respond to the ongoing debate. 

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

October 21, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Eric McCandless(LOS ANGELES) — Dancing with the Stars dance pro Peta Murgatroyd was sent home this week alongside partner Vernon Davis.  While the 34-year-old dancer is understandably disappointed that she will not be hoisting up the Mirror Ball Trophy this year, she revealed that her dismissal came on the heels of a painful injury.

During the season’s 80s night, Murgatroyd managed to pull three ribs while performing the tango to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

“When I was getting the judges’ scores last week, I was standing there, I’m like, ‘Something’s not right.’ I was saying it to myself while trying to have a decent face on [for] the cameras,” she told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, adding that her shoulder started stiffening up almost immediately.

By the time she left the ballroom floor, she “couldn’t turn my head. It had locked up to the point.”

Murgatroyd first thought it was a sore muscle and scheduled to have the area massaged, but soon discovered, “I had three ribs that had pulled out,” which required therapy.

“I was in, like, a lot of pain,” the professional dancer continued, noting that her neck was the sorest of all. “I think it’s because [my ribs] pulled out from this [top right] side and the pain went up through my neck. It was strange, I know.”

“I don’t know how it happened, it just happened,” Murgatroyd remarked, adding that she’s now “totally fine.”

Unfortunately, she and Davis were sent home on Monday, but the dancer says she will always cherish her partnership with the Super Bowl MVP.

“We have a nice bond that was formed and I truly hope we can carry it over into our lives forever,” she smiled. “It has been a pleasure getting to know him.”

DWTS airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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

October 21, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures(LOS ANGELES) — Hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since people fell in love with aspiring attorney Elle Woods and the cast of Legally Blonde is also amazed by how fast time flew.

Reese Witherspoon, who starred in the beloved 2001 film, reassembled the cast and crew for a virtual reunion on Tuesday to benefit the Chefs for America Initiative, which helps provide food for needy families.

When discussing why the movie survived the test of time, Witherspoon credited her character, saying Elle Woods “inspired people to believe in themselves. She just has a true sense of herself and she always wants to see the best in others.”

Witherspoon was also joined by the film’s other stars, Matthew Davis, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Ali Larter, Jessica Cauffiel and Alanna Ubach.

When asked by moderator Chloe Fineman if the cast had any idea how massive Legally Blonde would become, Witherspoon admitted that they were clueless.

“I don’t think any of us knew what this film was going to turn out to be or how much it would inspire young women and people across the world,” the 44-year-old actress confessed.

The Big Little Lies star added that she absolutely adores hearing women tell her that Elle Woods inspired them to pursue a law degree, which she says “really warms my heart.”

Of course, the team also reflected on the most quotable moment of the film, the iconic “Bend and Snap” and even synchronized a hilarious group reenactment over their Zoom call.

Witherspoon then spilled that the scene was actually a “full musical sequence that we wound up cutting out of the movie,” with Coolidge bitterly deadpanning, “We filmed that for a month!”

You can watch the entire reunion on Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine YouTube page. 

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

October 21, 2020 • No Comments • Entertainment News

ABC/Craig Sjodin(LOS ANGELES) — On Tuesday’s episode of The Bachelorette, Clare Crawley challenged the men to bare their souls… among other things.

The Bachelorette was interested in finding out everything she could about her suitors and she attempted to accomplish that in a series of dates, the first of which consisted of a series of challenges aimed at letting Riley, Jordan, Yosef, Ivan, Ben, Bennett, Zac C., Zach J. and Dale demonstrate their knowledge of love languages — words, gestures and physical touch.

Clare was impressed with all of them, that is until the after-party, when no one seemed interested in spending time alone with her, which forced her to get the ball rolling.  When she expressed her anger over the situation, the men sheepishly apologized, except for Yosef, who thought her response was over the top.

The one-on-one date went to Jason, whom Clare believed was using his energy and humor to cover up a painful past.  Sitting by a crackling fire, she challenged him to join her in a series of exercises aimed at helping open them up and reveal their deepest, darkest secrets.  The 31-year-old former pro football lineman from Arlington, Virginia accepted the challenge and his honesty was rewarded with a rose.  The date ended with Clare exorcising her own demons by throwing the dress she wore for the finale of Juan Pablo’s season of The Bachelor into the fire and the two of them watched it burn.

Another group date featured another group of suitors, among them Brandon, Blake Moynes, Eazy, Kenny, Garin, Joe, Demar, Jay and Chasen, splitting into teams of five for a game of strip dodgeball.  The winners got some precious alone time with Clare while the losers took a walk of shame home wearing nothing but their birthday suits.

At the after-party, Brandon hit all the wrong notes with Clare when she asked what brought him to the competition. The only answer he could come up with was that he was attracted to her looks, so she showed him the door.

Chasen, on the other hand, whose confession about being bullied as a child touched Clare, received the date rose.

Blake, a member of the losing dodgeball team who broke the rules once before by contacting Clare prior to the competition, broke the rules again by crashing the after-party.  The risk seemed to backfire this time, when an attempt to kiss Clare was met with a rebuke.

Later, however, at the pre-rose ceremony cocktail party, Blake — and the other men — were shocked when Clare pulled him aside and handed him a rose, explaining that the gesture, while wrong, was flattering nonetheless.

Who else will get a rose?  Who will survive another week?  We’ll find out when The Bachelorette returns Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

By George Costantino
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.