International superstar Janet Jackson breezed into the Big Apple on Dec. 16 to surprise Sherri Shepherd in her first television appearance since she announced her upcoming tour, Together Again. During the week leading up to Jackson’s appearance on the show, Sherri’s executive producer and best friend Jawn Murray teased the talk show host that she was going to receive a big surprise. When Janet walked on the stage as Sherri cried, the iconic entertainer presented her with a concert T-shirt, telling the overwhelmed host, “I’m kicking off my Together Again [33-city] tour and I wanted to invite you to the first show. If you want to come.”
The youngest producer on Broadway, Jordan E. Cooper, announced that the history-making and critically acclaimed Broadway production of “Ain’t No Mo,’” presented by Lee Daniels, will extend through Friday at the Belasco Theatre on West 44th Street in New York City. When Cooper launched the #SaveAintNoMo campaign the previous week after it posted closing notices to prolong the show’s life, audiences sold out. Celebrities who stepped up to the plate to show a symbol of solidarity by buying out performances included Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade, Queen Latifah, Tyler Perry, Shonda Rhymes, and Sara Ramirez. The Rev. Al Sharpton, Swizz Beatz, D-Nice and Debbie Allen also made significant contributions.
Tired of being misjudged and constantly feeling as if he has to prove himself in the Black community, biracial comedian and actor Pierre Edwards speaks his truth in a witty stand-up micro-special on race called “Half/Truths.” The thought-provoking film was released recently with the soft launch of Comedy Hype’s new streaming platform, HypePlsTV.com. “Half/Truths” provides the audience with a glimpse of a very real and raw Pierre as he jokes about challenges he experienced when he was 11 years old and his German mother and African American father shipped him away from the comforts of his nonracial life in Germany, to live with his Black family in race-obsessed Washington, D.C. Aside from his comedic credentials that include HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Showtime at the Apollo and others, Pierre also portrayed the boyfriend of Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, in “B.A.P.s.,” along with other roles in various movies.
Disney+ recently announced the second season of the Emmy Award-winning Original series “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” which will premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. From Disney Branded Television, the series is the critically acclaimed revival of Disney’s groundbreaking “The Proud Family.” A season two cast featurette, spotlighting guest stars Gabrielle Union, Chance the Rapper, Leslie Odom Jr., Holly Robinson Peete, Normani and more, is now available. The series recently won Outstanding Casting for an Animated Program at the inaugural Children’s & Family Emmy Awards.