From Lizzo's backups backing her up to a big week of ups and downs for Britney Spears, here's what's happening in entertainment.
Lizzo's Crew Speaks
Lizzo is receiving public support on Instagram amid allegations of creating a hostile work environment and sexual harassment.
A note signed by "the Big Grrls and Big Boiiis," her backup dancers, says that their experience has been "beyond just #Special!"
"The commitment to character and culture taking precedence over every movement and moment has been one of the Greatest lessons and Blessings that we could possibly ask for," the message continued.
Lizzo has been mostly quiet about the lawsuit since her initial address earlier this month when she said the former employees hurling the accusations "have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.
Amid news of a pending divorce, Britney Spears is set to record a new album.
Page Six reported that collaborations with "some big artists" are in the works as she prepares for a writers boot camp. Spears is also set to release a memoir in October titled The Woman in Me.
News of the album comes the same week that Spears' husband Sam Asghari filed for divorce. He asked the public to be kind as reports floated about him seeking spousal support and a renegotiated prenuptial agreement.
Asghari cited irreconcilable differences amid rumors that Spears cheated.
Don Lemon Speaks
Former CNN host Don Lemon finally spoke in depth about being ousted from the network in April.
During an interview on the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher, Lemon said he felt vindicated after former CNN president Chris Licht was fired in June.
"Read the story, and you speak to the people who are there, and I think people get what happened. All you have to do is read The Atlantic story, read the subsequent stories that came out and how it played out," he said.
As far as next steps go, Lemon said he will likely end up in the digital space or on a streaming platform.
Natalie Fertig, federal cannabis policy reporter at Politico Pro, joins Cheddar News to discuss a new YouGov poll that looks at how Americans feel about marijuana and politics.
A virtual gathering in the online space, Decentraland, of Elvis Presley impersonators is looking to grab the Guinness World Record for most Elvis impersonators in one place after the record-keeping org recently approved the use of avatars as stand-ins for people.
A powerful winter storm hit the Northeast over the weekend leaving 100,000 New Yorkers in the dark as well as snowfall up to 30.9 inches in parts of Massachusetts. The nor'easter hit with blizzard conditions of wind speed and poor visibility.
After classic rocker Neil Young demanded removal of his music from Spotify over vaccine misinformation coming from The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the platform made the decision to take down Young's songs and continue supporting Rogan with whom they have an exclusive contract. The move touched off a firestorm of controversy, leading to responses from both the streaming service and the podcasting host. Evan Nierman, CEO of Red Banyan Crisis PR, joined Cheddar to break down the latest on the fracas. "I think when [Spotify] initially said, we're not going to be commenting on that, that was a silly move because guess what? They did end up commenting about it, and nine times out of 10, when an organization says they're not going to be issuing a comment, they ultimately do," Nierman noted.
The 1999 cult classic "Fight Club" has been given a very different ending in China — and this time, the authorities win. Cheddar News speaks with Joan Solsman, senior media reporter at CNET who breaks down how China is using films for political messaging.
NFT art platform TRLab recently raised $4.2 million in funding. TRLab launched just last year but says its platform focused on NFT curation and distribution is growing quickly. The company hopes to bridge traditional and digital art worlds and help artists explore NFTs as an emerging medium. TRLab co-founder and chairwoman Xin Li-Cohen and co-founder and CEO Audrey Ou joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
