Entertainment Brief: Jan. 13

From deaths to abandoned pigs, this is your entertainment brief from this week’s biggest entertainment news.

Lisa Marie Presley Dead at 54 

Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, died on Jan. 12 after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas. 

TMZ first broke the news at 2:00 p.m. CT, saying paramedics performed CPR before rushing her to a local hospital.

Nearly five hours later, Presley’s mother, Priscilla, confirmed her daughter’s death in a statement to People Magazine.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Presley said. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known.” 

Presley, along with her mother, were at the 80^th Golden Globe awards this past Tuesday, where they supported Austin Butler who won the Best Lead Actor in a Drama award for his portrayal of her father, the late King of Rock n’ Roll.

While Presley sold Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2005, she still owns Graceland, her father’s legendary Memphis home. With her death, it would seem her mother would take over, although this has not been confirmed. 

Jeff Beck Dead at 78

Legendary guitarist and English rock musician Jeff Beck died on Jan. 11, age 78.

The news was broken by Beck’s publicity firm, describing his death as relatively sudden, but peaceful.

“On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing,” the statement read. “After contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away.”

Beck’s music career dates to 1965 when he experienced a short, yet prominent tenure as a member of the band The Yardbirds, replacing Eric Clapton and overlapping with Jimmy Page.

After his departure from The Yardbirds, Beck embarked on a solo career and formed The Jeff Beck Group, which included future Rolling Stones bassist Ronnie Wood and singer Rod Stewart. Beck also teamed up with Vanilla Fudge’s Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice to form the supergroup Beck Bogart and Appice.

Many of Beck’s old bandmates took to their respective social media platforms and paid tribute to their friend.

“I am so sorry that my old friend and this tremendous talent has passed away,” Appice said. “He was the greatest. Love you, Jeff.”

Ozzy Osbourne, whose album Beck played guitar on, also posted a tribute, calling the rocker’s death a “terrible loss.”

In addition to performing on Osbourne’s 13th album, Beck spent 2022 releasing an album with actor Johnny Depp entitled 18.

Logan Paul’s Pet Pig Found Abandoned

On Jan. 9, a TikTok video surfaced about an abandoned pig being brought into a California animal sanctuary, The Gentle Barn.

While the video did not mention anyone by name, they said it was “originally purchased from a breeder by an influencer.”

The same day Gentle Barn’s TikTok was posted, the sanctuary received an email from influencer Logan Paul apparently thanking them for taking the pig into custody.

“Pearl lived very happily at my home in Encino for about two years,” Paul said. “She was treated like the princess she is, bathed regularly, ate a variety of healthy meals, roamed the yard and had a shelter and a pen of her own.”

In Feb. 2021, Paul announced he was leaving Encino for Puerto Rico. He proceeded to tell the sanctuary the pig could not go with him and was therefore rehomed at a ranch in Santa Clarita.

“From my understanding, she lived fruitfully there for about 10 months until that homeowner moved as well,” Paul said. “Pearl was then rehomed to the farmer across the street with the promise of care. I’ve heard that he called your organization to pick her up.”

According to Gentle Barn, people typically buy “mini pigs,” also known as “teacup pigs,” for notoriety and clout. Oftentimes, when the pigs grow up, they are ultimately discarded.

However, according to the Best Friends Animal Society, “teacup” is not recognized as an official breed of pig. The organization continues to point out teacup pig “breeders” usually underfeed animals.

Jeremy Renner Recovering from Injury

Nearly two weeks after a horrific snowplow accident, actor Jeremy Renner is reportedly recovering smoothly.

The actor’s sister, Kym, provided a health update to People magazine.

“We are so thrilled with his progress,” Renner’s sister said. “If anyone knows Jeremy, he is a fighter and doesn’t mess around.”

Renner said her brother was “crushing all the progress goals” and she was very positive.

On Jan. 1, Renner was helping a family member extract a stuck vehicle after an estimated three feet of snow had fallen in Reno the night before.

Using a 14,000-pound snowcat, Renner successfully retrieved the vehicle and was talking to his relative when the snowplow began to move. While the actor tried to stop the plow, he was ultimately run over by the heavy machinery.

Many neighbors came to the 52-year-old actor’s aid, and he was swiftly airlifted to a Reno hospital. He underwent surgery the next day, where it was confirmed he had suffered from blunt chest trauma.