Steve Pond's Blog, page 1979
February 20, 2020
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Sets Special Edition at Showtime
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” is sashaying over to Showtime for a special edition that will premiere in June immediately following the Season 12 finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on sister channel VH1.
“Take VH1’s ‘Drag Race,’ for example.With a large and loyal following, we believe this franchise will be additive to Showtime’s subscriber dynamic, which is why we will air a special new season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ on Showtime on a first window basis,” Bob Bakish, the president and CEO of Showtime and VH1 parent company ViacomCBS, announced during the company’s earnings call Thursday.
Per Showtime, “‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ gives viewers the chance to catch their favorite queens as they return for a second attempt to earn the crown, win a cash prize of $100,000 and garner a spot in the ‘Drag Race Hall of Fame.'” The special season will premiere Friday, June 5 at 8/7c on Showtime, via its linear channel and streaming platform.
Also Read: ViacomCBS Whiffs on Wall Street's Estimates for First Quarterly Earnings
“‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ is a culture-defining show that fits perfectly within the contemporary programming Showtime offers in both scripted and unscripted,” Jana Winograde, co-president of entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc, said in a statement. “We are excited to take advantage of our relationship with our new sister company VH1 to present a special edition of this sensational series and bring in this passionate and robust fanbase. It’s the latest example of how we can leverage our combined portfolio to provide new experiences for our audience.”
Season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will debut Friday, February 28 at 8/7c on VH1 and feature guest judges like Nicki Minaj, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Robyn, Leslie Jones, Normani, Daisy Ridley, Winnie Harlow and Jeff Goldblum.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are produced by World of Wonder Productions with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangsang and RuPaul Charles serving as executive producers. Tim Palazzola serves as executive producer and Jen Passovoy serves as producer.
Related stories from TheWrap:
ViacomCBS Stock Sinks After Reporting Q4 Loss
ViacomCBS Whiffs on Wall Street's Estimates for First Quarterly Earnings
'RuPaul's Drag Race:' AOC, Whoopi Goldberg to Guest Judge Season 12 (Video)
ViacomCBS Stock Sinks After Reporting Q4 Loss
ViacomCBS stock has dropped 9% in premarket trading on Thursday, less than one hour after the recently recombined companies reported a Q4 loss.
The publicly traded corporation, lead by Bob Bakish (pictured above), also pretty badly missed Wall Street’s revenue and adjusted earnings estimates for the quarter. ViacomCBS blamed cord-cutting, less political advertising and a soft box office for falling short.
Wall Street forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44 on $7.36 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance. On Thursday, ViacomCBS actually reported adjusted EPS of 97 cents on $6.871 billion in revenue, down 3% from the $7.092 billion in revenue from the comparable 2018 quarter.
Those allowable adjustments are mostly due to the remerging of Viacom and CBS, which split in 2005.
Read more about the fourth-quarter earnings here.
Also Read: ViacomCBS Whiffs on Wall Street's Estimates for First Quarterly Earnings
ViacomCBS shares closed Wednesday afternoon at $35.67. They are currently down under $33 per share.
“In less than three months since completing our merger, we have made significant progress integrating and transforming ViacomCBS,” Bakish, the company’s president and CEO, said in a prepared statement accompanying the ViacomCBS earnings. “We see incredible opportunity to realize the full power of our position as one of the largest content producers and providers in the world. This is an exciting and valuable place to be at a time when demand for content has never been higher, and we will use our strength across genres, formats, demos and geographies to serve the largest addressable audience, on our own platforms and others.”
“In 2020, our priorities are maximizing the power of our content, unlocking more value from our biggest revenue lines and accelerating our momentum in streaming,” he continued. “With this as a backdrop, we’ve set clear targets for the year and are providing increased transparency around our business to demonstrate ViacomCBS’ ability to create shareholder value today, as we continue evolving and growing our business for tomorrow.”
Bakish and other members of the senior management team will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 in greater detail. The regular U.S. stock market trading day begins an hour later.
Related stories from TheWrap:
ViacomCBS Plans 2 Rounds of Layoffs
ViacomCBS Preps Streaming Service That Would Combine CBS All Access With Paramount, Other Assets
ViacomCBS Whiffs on Wall Street’s Estimates for First Quarterly Earnings
ViacomCBS reported its first quarterly earnings as a recombined company Thursday, missing Wall Street’s estimates and swinging to a loss.
Wall Street forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44 on $7.36 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance. On Thursday, ViacomCBS actually reported adjusted EPS of 97 cents on $6.871 billion in revenue, down 3% from the $7.092 billion in revenue from the comparable 2018 quarter.
ViacomCBS, which was formed by the finalized merger of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. in December, had a net loss of $258 million in Q4, compared to the $887 million in profit it posted in the comparable year-ago period. “Restructuring and other corporate matters” — in other words, the merger — cost ViacomCBS $468 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Also Read: ViacomCBS Plans 2 Rounds of Layoffs
Elsewhere, ViacomCBS was marred by a soft box office, cord-cutting, a decline in political advertising and lower publishing sales. Revenue from affiliates increased by 1%.
“In less than three months since completing our merger, we have made significant progress integrating and transforming ViacomCBS,” Viacom president and CEO Bob Bakish said in a prepared statement accompanying the financials. “We see incredible opportunity to realize the full power of our position as one of the largest content producers and providers in the world. This is an exciting and valuable place to be at a time when demand for content has never been higher, and we will use our strength across genres, formats, demos and geographies to serve the largest addressable audience, on our own platforms and others. In 2020, our priorities are maximizing the power of our content, unlocking more value from our biggest revenue lines and accelerating our momentum in streaming. With this as a backdrop, we’ve set clear targets for the year and are providing increased transparency around our business to demonstrate ViacomCBS’ ability to create shareholder value today, as we continue evolving and growing our business for tomorrow.”
In August of last year, when the two first reached their merger agreement, Viacom and CBS said that the merger would result in cost savings of $500 million annually. Today, ViacomCBS said in its earnings report that that synergy estimate has increased to $750 million.
Also Read: ViacomCBS Preps Streaming Service That Would Combine CBS All Access With Paramount, Other Assets
ViacomCBS stock closed Wednesday afternoon at $35.67 per share, up 57 cents from where it opened that morning. Though the regular trading day for the U.S. stock markets open at 9:30 a.m. ET, premarket numbers are looking rough.
As TheWrap reported earlier this month, ViacomCBS is planning the launch of a streaming service that would combine CBS All Access with the rest of its assets, including Paramount, Pluto TV and Viacom’s stable of channels. The company is also expected to enact two rounds of layoffs soon, with the first set to come as early as Feb. 26 — a little less than three months after Viacom and CBS closed their merger, bringing the two companies back together for the first time since 2006.
Next month, former NBCU studio executive George Cheeks will take over as CEO of CBS assets. He’ll effectively replace Joe Ianniello, who had filled the role since Les Moonves’ departure in Fall 2018.
Also Read: How George Cheeks Helps CBS Rid Itself of Les Moonves' Shadow
Bakish and other ViacomCBS executives will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the quarter and full-year earnings in greater detail.
Related stories from TheWrap:
ViacomCBS Plans 2 Rounds of Layoffs
ViacomCBS Preps Streaming Service That Would Combine CBS All Access With Paramount, Other Assets
CBS CEO Joe Ianniello Expected to Leave ViacomCBS in the Spring (Report)
February 19, 2020
Candidates Armed With Bloomberg Oppo Research (and Plenty of Zings) at 9th Democratic Debate
Six Democratic presidential candidates were in Las Vegas Wednesday night for the ninth Democratic debate hosted by MSNBC and NBC News. And after eight previous debates, the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, and a considerable thinning of the roster, the remaining candidates came ready to spar.
The lineup Wednesday included primary latecomer Mike Bloomberg, who qualified for the debate despite not appearing on the ballot in this weekend’s Nevada caucuses — and only after the Democratic National Committee changed qualification requirements to accommodate him.
Unsurprisingly, given those circumstances Bloomberg’s presence in the debate didn’t sit well with the other presidential hopefuls, and so it was that they tore into the former New York mayor from the get-go. But that wasn’t the only highlight. The night also featured a debate over Bernie Sanders’ allegedly toxic fans, yet another interruption by protesters, and many, many good zings.
Here are 5 of the spiciest moments from the big event, which took place at the Paris Las Vegas Theater.
Also Read: Sanders and Warren Waste No Time Going After Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate
1. A Bloomberg Pile-On Right Off the Bat
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren came out swinging as she responded to question about why any of the other Democratic contenders are more fit for the Democratic nomination than newcomer Bloomberg.
“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg,” she said.
WATCH: Sen. Warren kicks off the #DemDebate by launching a direct criticism of Mike Bloomberg's previous comments about women. pic.twitter.com/SROJoQXU9Z
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 20, 2020
Sanders meanwhile criticized Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk policy during his tenure as New York City’s mayor, which he noted “went after African American and Latino people in an outrageous way.”
“That is not a way you’re going to grow voter turnout. What our movement is about is bringing working-class people together. Black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American, around an agenda that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class,” Sanders said.
In order to beat Donald Trump we are going to need the largest voter turnout in the history of our country. Mr. Bloomberg’s record of stop-and-frisk is not going to do that. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/GD2CwkGi5b
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 20, 2020
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, meanwhile, took issue with insinuations from the Bloomberg campaign that she and other candidates “step aside” for Bloomberg.
“I think we need something different than Donald Trump. I don’t think you look at Donald Trump and say we need someone richer in the White House,” Klobuchar said.
Also Read: Protesters Interrupt Biden's Closing Remarks at Nevada Democratic Debate
2. Bernie Sanders Confronted Over His Supporters
Sanders has been frequently criticized for behavior attributed to a sizable fraction of his supporters, colloquially referred to as “Bernie Bros,” and for what critics say is his apparent indifference to that behavior. It was even mentioned in a recent “Saturday Night Live” sketch.
On Sunday, former vice president Joe Biden appeared on “Meet the Press,” where he accused Sanders’s followers of bullying and saying “vicious, malicious, misogynistic things” about union leaders in Nevada and asked if Sanders and his supporters were “making it harder for Democrats to unify in November.” And earlier this week, the issue was at the center of a Bloomberg ad.
Asked about Biden’s comments during the debate, Warren said “Look, I have said many times before, we are all responsible for our supporters. And we need to step up. That’s what leadership is all about.”
Sanders replied that such followers are a mere fraction of his actual base. “We have over 10.6 million people on Twitter, and 99.9 percent of them are decent human beings, are working people, are people who believe in justice, compassion, and love,” Sanders replied. “And if there are a few people who make ugly remarks, who attack trade union leaders, I disown those people. They are not part of our movement.”
Pete Buttigieg, however, honed in on why some of Sanders’ followers were behaving that way in the first place. “Senator, when you say that you disown these attacks and you didn’t personally direct them, I believe you,” he began. “But at a certain point, you got to ask yourself, why did this pattern arise? Why is it especially the case among your supporters that this happens?”
The two candidates continued to have a back and forth, with Sanders accusing the supporters of other candidates (who he did not name) of equally awful behavior, until Klobuchar chimed in.
“I have an idea of how we can stop sexism on the internet. We could nominate a woman for candidate for president of the United States,” she said.
Also Read: CNN Hires Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang as Political Commentator
3. Candidates Go After Bloomberg for Stop-and-Frisk and Accusations of Sexism (Again)
Several candidates attacked Bloomberg for the stop-and-frisk policy that in part defined policing during his three terms as New York mayor. The practice allowed NYPD officers to temporarily detain, question, and “frisk” people suspected of engaging in criminal activity.
Defenders claimed the policy reduced crime, but in fact the majority of the detainees targeted were innocent young black and Latinx men, and almost no crimes were ever discovered. And in 2013, a judge ruled that stop-and-frisk was deployed unconstitutionally and ordered the city to stop until it could articulate a clear, racially unbiased version of it.
“I’ve apologized. I’ve asked for forgiveness,” Bloomberg said when the policy was brought up during the debate. He also said the policy was “embarrassing” and that “it got out of control,” and claimed that as a result he reduced it by 95%.
In reality, Bloomberg consistently defended the policy as mayor and continued to do so until just before he announced his intention to enter the Democratic primary. He only apologized in 2019. And that 95% drop he mentioned occurred only after the judicial ruling, a ruling Bloomberg angrily denounced at the time.
Subsequently, the other candidates weren’t convinced. Warren for instance addressed him directly with one of the night’s most memorable mic-drops: “You need a different apology.”
“It’s not whether he apologized or not. It’s the policy. The policy was abhorrent. And it was a fact of violation of every right people have,” said Biden.
Later, Warren also hit Bloomberg hard for the non-disclosure agreements his companies required female employees to sign, which critics say are written so that they appear to protect abusive bosses. Warren, joined by Biden, asked Bloomberg to release women from those agreements right there during the debate. He declined.
“They signed the agreements and that’s what we’re going to live with,” Bloomberg said.
Also Read: Ocasio-Cortez Insists Bernie Sanders 'Works Very Hard' to Tamp Down Bernie Bros' 'Toxic' Messaging
4. Protesters Interrupt Proceedings (Not a Repeat)
For the fourth time, a Democratic primary event was interrupted by protesters, this time during Biden’s closing remarks. It was difficult to make out precisely what the demonstrators were chanting while watching the debate on television but, early on, one protester could be heard saying, “You deported 3 million people!” — a frequent criticism of the Obama administration’s immigration policies.
The activist wing of the immigrants-rights organization RAICES claimed credit for the demonstration on Twitter. Read more about it here.
5. Lots and Lots of One-Liners
As you probably noticed above, almost all the candidates came prepared with memorable zingers to fling at opportune times — almost too many to count. Some we didn’t mention above include:
Buttigieg called attention to Klobuchar’s recent foreign policy blunder –forgetting the name of Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at a recent candidates’ forum — to question her fitness to become the U.S. president. To that, said Klobuchar: “Are you trying to say I’m dumb? Are you mocking me here, Pete? I said I made an error. People sometimes forget names.”
Later on, Buttigieg presented himself as the unity candidate in between former Republican Bloomberg and self-declared democratic socialist Sanders. “Let’s put someone forward who’s actually a Democrat,” he said.
He continued: “Most Americans don’t see where they fit if they’ve got to choose between a socialist who thinks that capitalism is the root of all evil and a billionaire who thinks that money ought to be the root of all power,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to choose between one candidate who wants to burn this party down and another candidate who wants to buy this party out.”
Also Read: Randy Rainbow Lists Trump's Many Transgressions in Dua Lipa Song Parody (Video)
Sanders didn’t shy away from his retort, either. “If speaking to the needs and the pain of a long-neglected working class is polarizing, I think you got the wrong word,” he said. “What we are saying, Pete, is maybe it’s a time for the working class of this country to have a little bit of power in Washington, rather than your billionaire campaign contributors.”
At another point, while dismissing health care plans put forward by Buttigieg and Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren joked that Buttigieg’s proposal “is not a plan, it’s a power point. And Amy’s plan, it’s like a Post-It Note.”
But Klobuchar had a ready retort for that one: “I must say I take personal offense since Post-It Notes were invented in my state.” (This is true, incidentally.)
Related stories from TheWrap:
Elizabeth Warren Rips Michael Bloomberg Over His Response to Sexual Harassment NDAs
Sanders and Warren Waste No Time Going After Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate
Michael Bloomberg Qualifies for Wednesday's Democratic Debate – Here's How to Watch
Protesters Interrupt Biden’s Closing Remarks at Nevada Democratic Debate
In what has become something of a tradition at Democratic primary events, protesters interrupted Joe Biden as the former vice president was about to deliver his closing remarks at the Las Vegas Democratic debate on Wednesday night.
The protesters began shouting from the back of the room just after Biden was invited to speak. It was difficult to make out precisely what they were chanting while watching the debate on television, but early on, one protester could be heard saying “You deported 3 million people!,” a frequent criticism of the Obama administration’s immigration policies.
Toward the end of the demonstration, which lasted around a minute, other members of the audience began cheering; it was not entirely clear if the cheering was in support of the protest or to drown it out. Biden began his closing remarks after the protesters were escorted out of the auditorium.
Also Read: Elizabeth Warren Rips Michael Bloomberg Over His Response to Sexual Harassment NDAs
Moments later, the activist wing of Immigrants-rights organization RAICES claimed credit for the demonstration. “We are interrupting @JoeBiden at the #DemDebate chanting #DontLookAway and #NoKidsInCages. We need a Democratic candidate to adopt the #MigrantJusticePlatform and commit themselves to improve the lives of migrants and refugees!,” the organization said on Twitter.
For his part, Biden looked around silently as he waited for the demonstration to stop.
It was actually the fourth time protesters have interrupted a Democratic primary event, and the second time it’s happened to Biden. Protestors interrupted him during the third round of Democratic debates in September 2018, just as the former Delaware senator was preparing to answer a question about how he has responded to professional setbacks and resilience.
In that instance, the chanting was audible but not clearly identifiable due to the location of the protesters and fact they weren’t chanting in unison, but activist Jess Davidson, who attended the debate, said they were shouting, “We are DACA recipients. Our lives are at risk.”
Protesters also interrupted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s opening remarks during the Democratic debate in July. And in October, trans rights protesters interrupted Pete Buttigieg during a CNN town hall.
WATCH: Protesters interrupt the #DemDebate as the debate nears end. pic.twitter.com/pybqj99BKE
– MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 20, 2020
Related stories from TheWrap:
Elizabeth Warren Rips Michael Bloomberg Over His Response to Sexual Harassment NDAs
Sanders and Warren Waste No Time Going After Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate
Michael Bloomberg Qualifies for Wednesday's Democratic Debate – Here's How to Watch
Elizabeth Warren Rips Michael Bloomberg Over His Response to Sexual Harassment NDAs
Sen. Elizabeth Warren attacked Michael Bloomberg Tuesday night against over his use of non-disclosure agreements in settlements with former female employees who brought sexual harassment lawsuits against his company.
Warren called for Bloomberg to release the women from their NDAs and urged the audience to reflect on his defense in the face of those accusations, saying, “I hope you heard his defense. I’ve been nice to some women … That just doesn’t cut it.”
She continued, “He has gotten some number of women — dozens, who knows? — to sign non-disclosure agreements, both for sexual harassment and for gender discrimination in the workplace. So, Mr. Mayor, are you willing to release all of those women from those non-disclosure agreements so we can hear their side of the story?”
Also Read: Bernie and Warren Waste No Time Going After Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate
Warren’s question was met with rowdy cheers from the in-house audience at the Paris Las Vegas Theater. Once the crowd died down, Bloomberg was able to respond, “None of them accuse me of doing anything other than maybe they didn’t like a joke I told.”
Bloomberg’s answer was met with gasps and groans from the audience.
After Warren pressed Bloomberg again to release the women from their nondisclosure, Bloomberg gave an answer that indicated he has no plans to do so, saying, “They decided when they made an agreement that they wanted to keep it quiet for everybody’s interest. They signed the agreements and that’s what we’re going to live with.”
Also Read: Who Would Buy Bloomberg Media if Bloomberg Becomes President - and for How Much?
The heated exchange came after a fast and furious start to the debate, in which all of the candidates seemed to take turns piling on Bloomberg, who was making his debate debut.
Bernie Sanders began by criticizing Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk policy during his tenure as New York City’s mayor, which he noted “went after African American and Latino people in an outrageous way. That is not a way you’re going to grow voter turnout. What our movement is about is bringing working-class people together. Black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American, around an agenda that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class.” Sanders also pitched universal health care, a minimum wage increase, and fighting climate change as reasons.
Warren was blunt with her criticism of Bloomberg, calling attention to his history of numerous, and well-documented accusations of sexist and profane comments made by Bloomberg in front of his employees. “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”
Related stories from TheWrap:
Sanders and Warren Waste No Time Going After Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate
Who Would Buy Bloomberg Media if Bloomberg Becomes President – and for How Much?
Michael Bloomberg Qualifies for Wednesday's Democratic Debate – Here's How to Watch
Sanders and Warren Waste No Time Going After Bloomberg at Nevada Democratic Debate
The candidates at Wednesday evening’s Democratic presidential debate ahead of the Nevada primary wasted no time going in hard on Mike Bloomberg, with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren delivering particularly stinging rebukes of the former New York City mayor.
At the start of the debate, the candidates were asked to explain why they were the one to beat Donald Trump in November instead of Bloomberg, who has positioned himself as a “centrist” who could win come November.
First-to-respond Sanders meanwhile criticized Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk policy during his tenure as New York City’s mayor, which he noted “went after African American and Latino people in an outrageous way. That is not a way you’re going to grow voter turnout. What our movement is about is bringing working-class people together. Black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American, around an agenda that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class.” Sanders also pitched universal health care, a minimum wage increase, and fighting climate change as reasons.
In order to beat Donald Trump we are going to need the largest voter turnout in the history of our country. Mr. Bloomberg’s record of stop-and-frisk is not going to do that. #DemDebate pic.twitter.com/GD2CwkGi5b
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 20, 2020
Also Read: CNN Hires Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang as Political Commentator
Blomberg replied by accusing Sanders of plotting to take away “the plan that they love” from “160 million people,” and argued that this is in part why, in his view, Sanders would lose to Trump.
Responding immediately to this, Warren was blunt, calling attention to the history of numerous, and well-documented accusations of sexist and profane comments made by Bloomberg in front of his employees. “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against. A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”
Warren then implied commonalities with Trump. “Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee with a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, of supporting racist policies like redlining, and stop and frisk,” she said.
While she said she would support whoever ends up being the nominee, Warren added “Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another.”
WATCH: Sen. Warren kicks off the #DemDebate by launching a direct criticism of Mike Bloomberg's previous comments about women. pic.twitter.com/SROJoQXU9Z
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 20, 2020
Wednesday’s debate, hosted by NBC and MSNBC, took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joining Warren, Sanders, and Bloomberg on stage were Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Who Would Buy Bloomberg Media if Bloomberg Becomes President – and for How Much?
Bloomberg 2020? Hollywood Power Players Like Mike as the One to Beat Trump
Are the Media Erasing Elizabeth Warren's Presence in the Presidential Race?
Amie Harwick’s Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Murder, First-Degree Burglary
Amie Harwick’s former boyfriend has been re-arrested and charged with murder, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office announced on Wednesday.
Gareth Pursehouse faces one count each of murder and first-degree residential burglary with the special circumstance allegation of lying in wait for allegedly killing Harwick by throwing her over a third-floor balcony over the weekend.
If convicted on the two charges, Pursehouse faces the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The district attorney’s office said a decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made at a later date. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
Also Read: Amie Harwick Cause of Death Released by LA County Coroner
Harwick was found sometime after 1:16 a.m. Saturday morning when police responded to a radio call about a woman screaming in the Hollywood Hills area. She was found unresponsive and “gravely injured” beneath a third-floor balcony and later died, police said.
According to investigators, the 38-year-old had recently “expressed fear” about a former boyfriend and previously filed a restraining order against him. The restraining order expired prior to her death.
Pursehouse was initially taken into custody after the incident and posted $2 million bond. He was re-arrested Wednesday on a no bail warrant.
Also Read: 'The Price Is Right' Cancels Tapings Following Death of Drew Carey's Ex-Fiancee
Harwick, well-known as a Hollywood-based family and sex therapist, appeared in the 2015 documentary “Addicted to Sexting.” She was previously engaged to “The Price Is Right” host Drew Carey in 2018, though the engagement ended later that year. “The Price Is Right” has canceled tapings for the remainder of the week.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Amie Harwick Cause of Death Released by LA County Coroner
Wendy Williams Under Fire for Appearing to Make Light of Amie Harwick's Death
Amie Harwick, Sex Therapist and Drew Carey's Ex-Fiancee, Killed in Hollywood Hills Home at 38
‘The Masked Singer': Why the Elephant Turned Down the Taco Costume
(Spoiler alert: Do not read this post if you want to avoid knowing who was revealed to be the person behind the Elephant on Fox’s “The Masked Singer.”)
The Elephant skated into our lives Wednesday on Fox’s “The Masked Singer,” but it was a short-lived love affair between audience and performer.
This latest un-masked singer, the one-and-done representative from Group B, turned out to be skateboard legend Tony Hawk. (And thus NOT Dave Grohl, Travis Barker or even Beto O’Rourke, which were a few of the judges’ guesses. Hawk took the first two as compliments, he told us — Beto was just an “odd” one.)
Also Read: 'The Masked Singer' Reveals Another Celebrity Masked Singer: And the Elephant Is... (Video)
But why an elephant, anyway? Aside from the fact that a hawk would be way too on-the-nose.
“Well, they offered me a couple options and that was the best one,” Hawk told TheWrap. “They offered me the Taco and it just didn’t really fit my personality, or I didn’t really wanna show off my legs so much either, so I felt good about the Elephant. The Elephant just kinda looked like an ’80s robot movie, or it looks like a Transformer. So that was alright with me.”
The Taco is still an active participant on the show, also in Group B. He sang Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” tonight and generated judge guesses like Regis Philbin, Martin Short and Bob Saget.
Also Read: Lance Bass Shoots Down 'Masked Singer' Fan Theory That He's the Turtle
Earlier tonight, Hawk belted out The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love.” Aside from it being a kickass song, why did the kickflip king (OK, really he’s known as the first skater to ever land a 900) choose that one?
“The Cure has a special place in my heart. It’s something that my wife and I connected deeply on. We were big fans all through our lives and we had a Cure song for our wedding march,” Hawk said. “I just was kinda trying to bring my culture into the show as best I can. I mean, they weren’t gonna let me sing Dead Kennedys or anything, so that was my best entry point.”
Fair, which is about the same grade Hawk gave his performance.
“I feel like I was in tune for the most part, and I’m not much of a dancer or anything, so I did my best on stage,” Hawk said. “I think that maybe they were looking for something either a little more mainstream or a little more flashy.”
Also Read: 'The Masked Singer': Miss Monster on Why She Picked the Miss Monster Costume - and Now Regrets It
Either way, his run is now over — but Hawk’s not embarrassed over its brevity. This season, how could you be?
“I had a big fear about being first out and then when I saw this season, I saw Lil Wayne [get kicked off], I saw Chaka Khan…I feel like I’m in good company,” Hawk said. “I was more concerned that it was gonna be the non-singers out immediately, like me. And also, they guessed that I was a singer, on some level. So I feel OK about that too.”
Watch Hawk’s performance and unmasking here.
“The Masked Singer” airs Wednesdays on Fox starting at 8/7c.
Related stories from TheWrap:
'Masked Singer': Llama Can't Believe He Beat Lil Wayne – and He Feels 'Horrible' About It
The Most and Least Watched Post-Super Bowl TV Shows: 'World's Best,' 'Friends,' 'Glee,' 'This Is Us'
'The Masked Singer' Season 3 Premiere Lands 23.7 Million Viewers After Super Bowl LIV
‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Another Celebrity Masked Singer: And the Elephant Is… (Video)
(Warning: This post contains spoilers for Wednesday’s “The Masked Singer.”)
The third season of “The Masked Singer” continued Wednesday with an episode that moved on from Group A, a lineup viewers were following for the first three episodes, and introduced fans to the six contestants in Group B: Banana, Elephant, Kitty, Taco, Mouse and Frog. One of those competitors was cut and unmasked by the end of the hour.
After Banana, Elephant, Kitty, Taco, Mouse and Frog gave us their first performances — and first hints as to who they really are — it was time for “Masked Singer” panelists Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, along with the studio audience, to choose the “weakest” contestant for elimination.
They picked Elephant, who had performed The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love,” and unmasked him to reveal retired professional skateboarder Tony Hawk.
Also Read: 'The Masked Singer': Miss Monster on Why She Picked the Miss Monster Costume - and Now Regrets It
Along with the now-eliminated Elephant, Miss Monster (Chaka Khan), Llama (Drew Carey) and Robot (Lil Wayne), the full Season 3 lineup of masked contestants includes Banana, Frog, Mouse, Kangaroo, White Tiger, Turtle, Astronaut, Swan, Kitty, Bear, Elephant, Rhino, T-Rex, Night Angel and Taco.
Between those 18 contestants they’ve “amassed a combined 69 Grammy Award nominations, 88 Gold records, 11 Super Bowl appearances, three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, more than 160 tattoos and one title in the Guinness Book of World Records,” according to Fox.
Over the next two episodes, the remaining contestants in Group B — Banana, Kitty, Taco, Mouse and Frog — will compete until they are whittled down to three, just as Group A was condensed to White Tiger, Kangaroo and Turtle. The same will then be done with Group C.
Also Read: 'The Masked Singer' Reveals Another Celebrity Contestant: And Miss Monster Is... (Video)
The final “Super 9” contestants from these three groups will then come together and battle it out the rest of the season for the golden mask trophy.
Watch Elephant’s performance and his unmasking via the clips below. Readers can find TheWrap’s post-mortem interview with Hawk here.
#ElephantMask gave an elephant-astic performance! ???? #TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/GOHNeSZk6t
— The Masked Singer (@MaskedSingerFOX) February 20, 2020
“The Masked Singer” airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Fox.
Related stories from TheWrap:
'The Masked Singer': Miss Monster on Why She Picked the Miss Monster Costume – and Now Regrets It
'The Masked Singer' Reveals Another Celebrity Contestant: And Miss Monster Is… (Video)
Steve Pond's Blog
