Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
Jennifer Aniston launches children’s book series
NEW YORK | Inspired by her beloved dog, Jennifer Aniston will soon become a children’s author.
The “Friends” star has a four-book deal with HarperCollins Publishers and animation studio Invisible Studio for a series of works featuring the animated dog Clydeo, based on the actor’s own rescue pet, Clyde. The first book, “Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life,” with illustrations by Bruno Jacob, is scheduled for release on Oct. 1.
Clydeo is already a favorite on social media, with more than 100 million views across platforms since Aniston first posted about him on Instagram in 2021. “Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life,” billed as a “deliciously fun-filled journey of self-discovery and self-confidence,” will tell of Clydeo’s discovery that he’s a gifted cook.
“I could not be more thrilled to be taking Clydeo and his stories to publishing, where he will hopefully inspire children and dog lovers alike with his adorable journey to find his true passion,” Aniston said in a statement.
‘The Boys,’ Amazon’s hit superhero satire show, will end
LOS ANGELES | “The Boys,” Amazon Prime Video’s epic superhero satire series, will end with its fifth season.
The show’s creator and showrunner Eric Kripke announced “the end has begun” while promoting the series’ fourth season, which premieres Thursday on Prime Video.
“Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought,” Kripke wrote on X, referencing the powerful company that manages the celebrity-like superheroes on the show. “Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax.”
To accompany the announcement, Kripke shared an image of what appears to be a redacted script for the final episode of the fourth season, with a profane message at the bottom referencing the final season.
The series, which is based on a comic of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, follows a team of vigilantes who take on a group of superheroes who are treated like A-listers and abuse their power. As The Boys, led by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hughie Campbell ( Jack Quaid ), also take on the Vought conglomerate that monetizes these superheroes, the show comments on capitalism and corruption while maintaining its status as a sharp, gory action show.
“The Boys” has been one of Prime Video’s most popular original series, spawning two spinoffs, “Gen V” and “Diabolical.” Both take place in the same universe as “The Boys,” with “Gen V” focusing on college-aged heroes mastering their powers, and “Diabolical” telling a series of short stories through animated episodes.
In response to a request for comment, Amazon said it had no further information to share on the end of “The Boys” or the status of “Gen V.”
Kripke executive produces “The Boys” with several collaborators, including comedy production duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg under their production company, Point Grey Pictures. The collaborators also worked on developing “Gen V” together, and the show’s second season is in development.
Kripke said he and the production team had to “rethink everything” about the spinoff’s second season when one of the show’s stars, Chance Perdomo, died in a motorcycle accident. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kripke said the revised storyline will honor the late actor and his legacy. “It’s the least we could do,” he said.
Season 4 of “The Boys” will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday. Season 5’s release date has not yet been announced.
Roc Nation to drum up support for private school vouchers
PHILADELPHIA | Jay-Z is putting his weight behind an effort to fund private school vouchers in Philadelphia.
The entertainment mogul’s Roc Nation announced it is funding a campaign this month to drum up support for the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success, a statewide legislative proposal to spend taxpayer money on private school scholarships for low-income families in neighborhoods with low-achieving schools.
“We have enjoyed such a special connection with Philadelphians, so we’ve made it our mission to invest in the long-term success of the city’s changemakers,” Roc Nation Managing Director of Philanthropy Dania Diaz said in a news release last week.
Jay-Z has developed close ties to Philadelphia through Roc Nation’s annual Made In America festival and involvement in the REFORM Alliance, which advocates for criminal justice reform.
Vouchers are controversial in a lot of states — including Pennsylvania, where Republicans promote them as a way to help students escape underperforming schools, and teachers unions, school boards and many Democrats oppose sending taxpayer money to private and religious schools.
Jay-Z’s support of the voucher bill drew pushback online. The AFT Pennsylvania teachers union said on the social platform X: “This ain’t it,” over a photo of Jay-Z and Jeffrey Yass, a billionaire who is the biggest donor to Republican campaigns in Pennsylvania. Yass’s top issue in the state is school choice.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a first-term Democrat, supported a Republican-backed proposal last year to send $100 million to families for private school tuition and school supplies. Shapiro later backed down in the face of House Democratic opposition.
Singer sues hospital, says staff thought he was mentally ill
WARREN, Mich. | The lead singer of the Four Tops said a Detroit-area hospital restrained him and ordered a psychological exam after refusing to believe that he was part of the Motown music group.
Alexander Morris, who is Black, filed a lawsuit Monday against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, alleging racial discrimination and other misconduct during an April 2023 visit for chest pain and breathing problems.
Hospital staff “wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill when he revealed his identity as a celebrity figure,” the lawsuit says.
The Four Tops started in the 1950s and had hits such as “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” and “It’s The Same Old Song.” The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Morris is not an original member, but he joined the group in 2019.
The lawsuit says a nurse finally believed Morris was in the Four Tops and the psychological exam was canceled.
The hospital offered a $25 gift card as an apology, but Morris refused to accept it, the lawsuit says.
“We remain committed to honoring human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all persons and the community,” the hospital said in response to the lawsuit. “We do not condone racial discrimination of any kind. We will not comment on pending litigation.”
Morris talked publicly about the incident last year, saying he had returned to Detroit, his hometown, and was “being told that I’m insane or schizophrenic.”
—From AP reports
