ABFF Launches New Comedy Festival; Kenya Barris To Serve As Ambassador

Zack Sharf Elliot Page is “horrified” by Texas government officials declaring that medical care for transgender youth is child abuse. The “Juno” actor spoke out after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton proclaimed Monday that hormone therapy, puberty blockers and other types of gender-affirming health care for trans youth are forms of chid abuse.“There is no doubt that these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted,” Paxton said in a news release.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.Many of this year’s Oscar nominees are available to stream online, making it easier than every to watch the year’s buzziest films from your home ahead of the awards ceremony. .If you plan on making your way through all the Oscar nods — such as  Jane Campion’s “Power of the Dog” on Netflix or “Dune” on HBO Max —  it’s important that your viewing room is fitted with the best technology so you can give each film the cinematic experience it deserves. Luckily, the past year has seen immense advancements in 4k projectors, which you can use to watch the best movies from the past year, in addition to streaming the ceremony itself.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor“Barbie Girl,” the ridiculously catchy dance hit by ’90s one-hit-wonders Aqua, has joined the rarified ranks of YouTube’s billion-views club.The official video for the 1997 hit single has now surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube since it was uploaded to the video platform by the Danish-Norwegian pop group in 2010. According to YouTube, “Barbie Girl” has averaged more than 400,000 daily views over the past 12 months.The calculatedly kitschy “Barbie Girl” video features the group’s four members — Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif and Lene Nystrøm — on garishly colored sets.

Maude Apatow was born into a family of actors so it comes as no surprise that she's one of the stars of hit show Euphoria.MORE: Who are the cast members of Euphoria dating?And ahead of the finale on Sunday, her famous father Judd Apatow showed his support for his daughter in a tongue-in-cheek comment posted on Instagram.Last weekend, Maude wrote on Instagram: "SUNDAY!!! @euphoria," to which her dad replied: "I will watch right after I finish Yellowstone."VIDEO: Euphoria season two in a nutshellWhat's more, the official Yellowstone account then replied to Judd's remark, replying: "We support these priorities."Maude is the oldest daughter of Judd and Leslie Mann, and has a younger sister, Iris.MORE: Euphoria's Barbie Ferreira stuns in curve-hugging bikini on sun-soaked vacationThe pair grew up on movie sets and have both starred in a number of their dad's comedy films, including Knocked Up and This Is 40. Maude shares a close relationship with filmmaker dad Judd ApatowWhat's more, a camera was rolling a lot of the time during their childhood.

Piers Morgan, 56, are always back and forth on social media, with their opposing opinions clashing on many matters.The Loose Women panellist has taken to Twitter to call out Piers Morgan as he declared on Australian TV that he has asked Meghan Markle to come for an interview on his new show on TalkTV.Denise responded to an Express.co.uk story titled "'We have unfinished business' Piers Morgan reaches out to Meghan Markle for TV interview".The Loose Women star penned in view of her 518,500 followers in the now-deleted tweet: "Has it ever occured to Piers that Meghan didn't 'ghost' him. (sic)"She just decided that 2 hrs in the pub with him is something she didn't want to repeat?? (sic)"There is no unfinished business."Denise has since deleted the tweet, with social media users taking to Twitter to question Denise on this.Bukola34385188 said: "Why did you delete that response to Piers Morgan inviting Meghan to his new platform."You spoke your truth.

Wyatte Grantham-Philips editorBTS was named the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s Global Recording Artist of the Year Award for the second consecutive year, the organization announced Thursday.BTS (consisting of members RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook) has been on IFPI’s top 10 Global Artist Chart since 2018, when the iconic K-pop band entered the list in the No. 2 spot.

Dancing with the Stars alum Maks Chmerkovskiy had posted a devastating video from Kyiv in the hours after Russia invaded Ukraine. "I'm in Kyiv, contrary to what I probably should've done a while ago," he began.MORE: Strictly's Nikita Kuzmin inundated with support after Russian invasion into Ukraine"Everybody was hoping that the finality of this situation would be averted, that there wasn't going to be these kinds of aggressive measures," he added before posting a second video of military vehicles driving through the city center as he broke down in tears over the "reality" of the situation of his friends and family who "cannot just escape".WATCH: DWTS alum Maks Chmerkovskiy posts devastating video from Kyiv as Russia invades UkraineMaks is married to fellow DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd and shares one child, 5-year-old son Shai Aleksander, with her.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.BTS aren’t quite ready to stop dancing. The wildly popular K-pop group just announced this week that they will return with a four-night Permission to Dance residency at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.The group will take the stage at the 65,000-capacity stadium on April 8, 9, 15 and 16, the last of which will be streamed online for fans to watch live from home. The four-night residency is an extension of the group’s ultra-successful mini-residency at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

pic.twitter.com/42ZgKZIkmu"I mean, not the best timing," a user said while attaching a screenshot of a Twitter feed that shows The Weeknd's nondescript tweet sandwiched in between news stories of the invasion.After the tweet marinated for more than two hours, the rapper, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, essentially resigned himself to ignorance and decided to delay the announcement of his mysterious project.unfortunately i'm just now seeing what's happening with the conflict and will pause on tomorrow's announcement.

Gene Simmons and his Playboy model wife Shannon Tweed have reportedly found a buyer for their lavish and massive Las Vegas residence.According to a Thursday report from TMZ, the musician has received an offer in the $13.5million ballpark after dropping the price of the trophy property in November by$1.45million.The 72-year-old Kiss frontman shared last year that though he built the home of his dreams, his family does not want to spend time in the house because Sin City is too hot and is overall lacking in morality. Done:Gene Simmons has reportedly found a buyer for his lavish and massive Las Vegas residence.

Romantic reunions can be rare — so it’s always a treat to write about celebs getting back together!

Julia Haart and her estranged husband Silvio Scaglia are back to battling it out in court.

Emmerdale star shared a candid health update on Wednesday (24 February) after her son Ace, who she shares with co-star Matthew Wolfenden, was taken to hospital with a mystery illness.Posting the vulnerable clip to her 556,000 followers online, the actress explained how she has been looking after the tot all week after he took a dramatic “turn for the worse” last Friday (18 February).Concerned for his welfare, the pair made the decision to have their two-year-old rushed to hospital in an ambulance in order to get to the bottom of his strange illness which has taken him nearly a week to recover from.She told her loyal legion of fans: “Ace has been poorly since Friday being sick on an off but he’s just been really lethargic.“And then on Saturday he took a turn for the worse we had to get him into hospital, but then today he’s turned a bit of a corner, but it’s been really scary, [we had] the ambulance out and everything.“I think there is a sickness bug going around so just keep your eyes on that, but there’s nothing worse than when your kids are ill.”The star gave further insight into her traumatising situation in the captions alongside her video as she thanked the hospital staff and paramedics for their help.She wrote: “I’ve never had one so poorly and it’s been beyond scary. The hospital and paramedics were amazing with him.“So important to always follow your instinct.

Queen Elizabeth is continuing to focus on her health and only taking on “light duties” as she recovers from COVID-19. According to a Palace spokesperson, «the two virtual audiences that had previously been scheduled to take place today with the queen will be rescheduled for a later date. Her Majesty is continuing with light duties.

Boris Johnson and the nation's military leaders if a nuclear war breaks out. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed the world to the brink of war, it gives a snapshot into where Britain's leaders could be forced to retreat to if the situation escalates further.

The Chase lashed out at the show after feeling two contestants were robbed in the final round as their correct answer was marked as wrong.Fans of the hit ITV quiz show took to Twitter to air their disappointment when players Jackie and Steve missed out on all important points for the final round.The questionable move came when host Bradley Walsh disallowed a correct answer because the pronunciation was wrong.When asked "The term Dionysiac relates to what Greek God?" Steve responded to say "Dionysus," however her delivery missed the mark as she didn't pronounce the word correctly.Disgruntled viewers then took to Twitter to complain about the harsh judgment as they felt her answer had been "close enough."One wrote: "#TheChase #ITV is discriminatory against those who are well-read but may not know the pronunciation of a word #Dionysus."Another added: "Was the Dionysus pronunciation not close enough? #TheChase."A third continued: "Bit harsh on the Dionysus answer there! #TheChase."The round drew to a close with a score of 14 and Bradley addressed the situation as they moved forward to battle chaser Mark Labbett.He said: "Now here's the thing, that's been a winning score. Your second half was better than your first half.

Ukraine by Russia means that Brit holidaymakers could be forced to cough up more for their flights.Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian flights today (Thursday, February 24), amidst uncertainty caused by its neighbours invasion. While that won't affect too many UK flight paths, a knock on effect of Russia's oil ownership could mean flights could cost more.In response to the war, prices have surged above $100 (£75) a barrel.Russia produces a reported 10% of the world's oil supplies, meaning changes in the price of fuel could have a knock on effect because airlines hedge their fares against the expected future cost of jet fuel.The i reports that people could be asked to pay a surcharge of up to 8% for their holidays.

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Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Metcalfe is a soap legend.The 38-year-old actress has portrayed Mercedes McQueen on the Channel 4 soap since 2008 and her memorable debut paved the way for the rest of the McQueen clan.Mercedes finds herself in hot water this week as she learns the true identity of her son Bobby Costello's online chess partner 'G'.The concerned mother has been defending the youngster but is beginning to yield, with the risk of whatever's lurking behind the flat door proving an ever more sinister threat.But, who is Jennifer Metcalfe? And, what does her life look like away from the village?While Jennifer's name is synonymous with Hollyoaks, she actually got her soap start elsewhere.Jennifer began her acting career in 2001 when she was cast as a school bully in TV series At Home with the Braithwaites.A year later, she made her soap debut when she starred as a character called Jade Nicholls in three episodes of Emmerdale.The burgeoning actress later joined the cast of Hollyoaks.In 2011, Jennifer also appeared on reality competition Dancing on Ice where she met her ex-boyfriend, Sylvain Chamberlain.Jennifer and Sylvain began dating after growing close on Dancing on Ice.That changed when Sylvain was partnered with Coronation Street actress Samia Ghadie a year later, with Jennifer claiming Sylvain dumped her over the phone on Christmas Day.She previously told The Sun: 'He told me on the phone that Samia and himself had a conversation about their feelings for each other."Of her feelings after the split, Jennifer added: "It's like death. I felt gutted.

Russia have indeed declared war on Ukraine, clubs around the world have been dropping Russian sponsorships amid the ongoing crisis.Schalke have dropped Gazprom as their main shirt sponsor, and Manchester United have been urged to cut ties with Russian airline Aeroflot.United have been partnered with the airline since 2013, and a recent extension in 2017 was agreed in a deal worth £40million, but the club are now keen to distance themselves with the company.And pressure has mounted on United for a decision to be make, as the airline have now been banned from the UK by PM Boris Johnson.As part of the Prime Minister's sanctions against Russia, Johnson has banned Aeroflot from operating in Britain, leaving United with a decision to make as they provide planes to the club.Their current agreement with Aeroflot is set to expire in the summer of 2023, with United’s new CEO Richard Arnold admitting that he has no intention of renewing a deal.But following the UK ban, United have been urged to ditch the airline prematurely, and the club have already switched to alternative methods when travelling to Spain this week.United used airline Titan to fly to Madrid for their Champions League knockout tie against Atletico Madrid, and the competition have an issue to address themselves.The Champions League final was set to take place at Zenit St Petersburg's Gazprom Arena, but due to the ongoing crisis UEFA have called an "extraordinary meeting" of the Executive Committee for Friday to confirm the decision to move the match.UEFA released a statement, which read: "We are dealing with this situation with the utmost seriousness and urgency.

A friendly suggestion for the anxious and heavy-hearted (and, these days, who isn't?): a bedtime story read by Harry Styles. "Tonight I'm going to help you drift off to sleep with some soothing words and calming music," the rakish British musician will purr into a listener's ear with his lilting baritone.