Teen Choice Awards take shot at ending gun violence
Also in Tattle: Ellen Gray in L.A., Charles Barkley, Riley Keough, Kat Dennings, Josh Groban, Miss America,m Channing Tatum and more
THE TEEN CHOICE Awards took on a somber tone Sunday when
Jessica Alba
,
Ne-Yo
and teenagers related to shooting victims in San Bernardino, Newtown and Orlando, called for an end to gun violence.
Good luck with that.
Alba and singer Ne-Yo, who performed Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," asked the audience to stand and for everyone to post on social media using the hashtag #StopTheViolence.
Apologies. We hadn't realized they hashtagged it.
Justin Timberlake also brought seriousness to the otherwise silly ceremony when Kobe Bryant gave JT the show's version of a lifetime achievement award. Timberlake used his moment in the spotlight to honor late boxer Muhammad Ali, address the importance of diversity and impart wisdom to the young crowd gathered at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
The speech marked the first time Timberlake has accepted an award since he apologized after responding to online backlash following writing that he was inspired by Jessie Williams' speech at the BET Awards, where Williams spoke out about racial issues and cultural appropriation.
"The truth is, we are all different, but that does not mean we all don't want the same thing," said Timberlake.
Actually, at the moment, it appears as if half the country wants one thing and half wants the opposite thing.
Ellen Gray in L.A.
Inside the NBA
analyst and former Sixers star
Charles Barkley
has a new gig that's likely to take him further than usual from sports.
On Sunday, during a meeting with reporters at the Television Critics Association's summer meetings in Beverly Hills, Calif., TNT announced it had greenlighted a series-working title The Race Card-that "will follow Barkley as he goes on a personal journey to explore and understand why our country is so divided right now."
It's expected to premiere early in 2017.
"I really love his ambition," TBS/TNT president Kevin Reilly told TV critic Ellen Gray during a Turner Entertainment party in Los Angeles Sunday night. "First of all, Charles is one of the few guys who is not afraid to get in the middle of the very thorny, and unfortunately, all-too-real and complex issue of race relations . . . and just tension in our society in general. And to take a provocative position that's usually not necessarily predictable.
The way Reilly sees it, "it would be really, really easy for [Barkley] to not take this on, but he felt strongly about it . . . and I think it's to be applauded."
The concept of a divided America-as illustrated by the recent political conventions-seems to have caught Hollywood's attention. On Saturday, the premium cable channel Epix announced a new documentary series, America Divided, that's being produced by Norman Lear (All in the Family), Shonda Rhimes (Scandal) and Common.
TATTBITS
* Bryn Mawr native
Kat Dennings
(
2 Broke Girls
) has split with neo-classical crooner
Josh Groban
after two years.
They're still friends because how could they not be?
* Shark Tank entrepreneur Mark Cuban, actress Sara Foster (VH1's Barely Famous), country star Cole Swindell and 1985 Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes will serve as celebrity judges for the 2017 Miss America competition.
The finale will air live from Atlantic City on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 11, hosted by Chris Harrison and Sage Steele.
* Variety reports that Disney is in early discussions with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment to make a new version of Splash. Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell are attached to star.
In the original, Darryl Hannah played the mermaid who fell for human Tom Hanks. In the new version, Tatum will play the mermaid, er, merman.
Now Tatum as Ethel Merman would be a movie to see.
- Daily News wire services
contributed to this report.
215-854-5678 @DNTattle