From breakups, collaborations and more, this is your entertainment brief from last week’s biggest entertainment news.
Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin File for Divorce
After reaching their 25th wedding anniversary in May, Jennifer Flavin filed to divorce husband Sylvester Stallone on August 19, 2022.
The Rocky actor, 76, along with the entrepreneur and former model, 54, shared separate statements with People Magazine.
“I love my family,” Stallone’s statement said. “We are amicably and privately addressing these personal issues.”
Flavin’s statement said both individuals, while not joined by marriage, will still be committed to their three daughters.
“I will always cherish the more than 30-year relationship we shared,” Flavin’s statement said. “I know we are both committed to our beautiful daughters, [and] I ask for privacy for our family as we amicably move forward.”
According to Yahoo! Entertainment, many speculated the couple ended their relationship after an argument regarding a potential Rottweiler for the family, with Stallone being for the dog and Flavin being against it. According to Stallone, per TMZ, these rumors are not true.
“We did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument,” Stallone said. “We just went in different directions.”
Olivia Rodrigo Appears on Stage with Billy Joel
On August 24, Olivia Rodrigo joined Billy Joel on stage at the Piano Man’s Madison Square Garden concert.
The two performed Rodrigo’s song “Déjà Vu,” whose lyrics mention Joel by name. They also performed Joel’s 1983 hit “Uptown Girl,” a song also mentioned in Rodrigo’s track.
After her brief appearance halfway through the concert, Rodrigo posted an Instagram story about the event.
“I sang with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden today are you kidding?” the story said. “Biggest honor ever. Still crying. Thank you, Billy!”
Joel has played one concert a month at the Garden since 2014, excluding 2020 and most of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joel currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most concerts played at Madison Square Garden, boasting a total number of 107 as of February 2019.
Elton John and Brittany Spears Release Collaborative Single
On August 26, Elton John released “Hold Me Closer,” a collaboration with pop singer Brittany Spears. This single marks Spears’ first musical release since her 13-year conservatorship ended.
Much like “Cold Heart,” John’s 2021 collaboration with Dua Lipa, this song is a reimagination of the Rocketman’s earlier tracks, namely “The One” and “Tiny Dancer.”
The instrumentation of this new single is similar to “Cold Heart,” although Spears and John’s vocals seem to merge into one, making it hard to differentiate between the two singers unlike last year’s single.
According to Ultimate Classic Rock, John hopes the song will inspire Spears to make a return to music.
“I’m so excited to be able to do [a song] with her,” John said. “If it is a big hit, and I think it may be, it will give her so much more confidence than she’s got already, and she will realize people actually love her and care for her and want her to be happy.”
Just in the first 24 hours, “Hold Me Closer” has gone to top the charts in nearly 40 different countries.
John partnered with producer Andrew Watt on the track. According to The Guardian, John plans to release one reimagined track per year as a “happy summer record.”
Last year’s “Cold Heart” remains a popular track, peaking at number one in multiple charts. This achievement makes John the first artist to score a UK top 10 single in six different decades.
Richard Simmons Speaks Out After Years of Silence
Richard Simmons has briefly spoken out after a documentary on TMZ examined his sudden departure from the public eye.
On Aug. 24, two days after the documentary’s premiere, Simmons took to Facebook to show love and appreciation to his fans.
“Thank you everyone, for your kindness and love!” Simmons wrote, signing it “Love, Richard.”
According to E! News, a Simmons representative echoed the sentiment.
“[Richard] is so gratified by the outpouring of love and good wishes from his fans,” the representative said. “He wants them to know he is doing well and sends all his best wishes to them.”
Simmons has not been seen in public since 2014 after he began missing classes at his workout studio. This caused many to question his health and speculate if he was being held hostage in his own home.
Simmons went to tell the Today Show via telephone these rumors were not true
“No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” Simmons said. “I sort of wanted to be a loner for a while. I had hurt my knee…right now I just want to take care of me.”
The TMZ documentary is titled TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons, and first premiered on Hulu and Fox on Aug. 22. It centers around Simmons’ life and career as well as his sudden disappearance and the theories which spawned because of it.
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