Dr. Umar Johnson is speaking out after Keffe D‘s conviction for Tupac Shakur‘s murder. Furthermore, he believes he was set up. Not only that, but Johnson revealed that he thinks Keffe D is a “mule” in a larger conspiracy.

RELATED: Next Up, Closings! Duane Keffe D Davis’ Trial Winds Down As Prosecution & Defense Rest In Tupac Shakur Murder Trial

Dr. Umar Believed Keffe D Was “Mule” In Conspiracy

Dr. Umar Johnson appeared for an interview on ‘The Art Of Dialogue,’ released on Wednesday, September 2, and revealed he thinks Keffe D was set up. Not only that, but he thinks Keffe’s lawyer was involved.

The Shade Room reported that Duane “Keffe D” Davis was found guilty on Monday, August 31, of first-degree murder. Tupac died on September 13, 1996, in Las Vegas following a drive-by shooting. Davis allegedly did not shoot Tupac. But he admitted that he was present when the shooting occurred on September 7. He shared what went down in his 2019 memoir, ‘Compton Street Legend: Notorious Keffe D’s Street-Level Accounts of Tupac and Biggie Murders, Death Row Origins, Suge Knight, Puffy Combs, and Crooked Cops.’

Furthermore, Keffe D was arrested in 2023, but Johnson said he thinks Davis is a mule in a “much larger conspiracy.”

“… I spoke of the fact that I felt Keffe D was a mule for a much larger conspiracy in the death of Tupac Shakur,” said Johnson. “Here’s the thing, Art. When you deal with any high-level assassination — I don’t care if we talking political like Malcolm X, Dr. King, Patrice Lumumba, Medgar Evers. I don’t care if we’re talking about in the music industry, Notorious Big, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, or Tupac Shakur; those murders are not carried out by individuals. That takes a lot of planning, and it takes a lot of teams.”

Dr. Umar Johnson went on to say that the government knows who really murdered Tupac Shakur. This, because they allegedly had the rap star under surveillance in the time before his passing.

“He was a mule,” Johnson continued. “That’s what Keffe D was. You’re trying to tell me he paid for this? He orchestrated this? He planned this? The Tupac Jakur assassination was extremely well planned. It involved a lot of different moving parts. And to only bring Keffe D to the table, Art, is to say that we are really not interested in bringing anybody to justice.”

Keffe D Had An Agreement With The Feds In 2008

According to NBC News, federal investigators made an agreement with Davis back in 2008. Federal prosecutors were investigating Marion “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace’s murder. Subsequently, a deal was made, and Davis was told that the proffer agreement gave him full immunity, per ABC7 News.

The ex-gang member said that his late nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, shot the ‘Changes‘ artist.

“I said before, there’s so many other higher-ups involved in Tupac’s assassination that the only way to prevent them from ever being brought to justice is to make sure there’s a fall guy who can take the blame. Because remember, there’s no statute of limitations on murder. There are no statute of limitations on murder. So you can be brought as we saw with Keffe D… it’s 30 years old,” he said. 

“It is not complete immunity, but Keffe D was led to believe it was,” he added. “I truly believe, Art, that they set Keffe D up to take the fall back in 2008, 2009, almost 20 years ago. Almost 20 years ago. You’re talking 17 years ago….. I believe Keffe D’s lawyer, who led him into that proffer agreement, which I’m going to call a trap, because I think it was a trap.”

Johnson explained that he believes Keffe’s lawyers should have made sure that information about Tupac’s murder could not have been discussed.

“I believe he was set up to take the fall until such time that they needed to go public with this,” he concluded. “So, somebody involved in Tupac’s murder, for whatever reason, Art, they felt somebody was getting close to the truth, and they needed Keffe to be the fall guy.”

RELATED: Lawyers For Keffe D Seek To Suppress Evidence In Tupac Shakur’s Fatal Shooting Case (UPDATE)

Inde Navarrette is continuing her rapid rise in Hollywood, signing on to both star in and executive produce Apple Original Films’ upcoming sci-fi thriller The Waffle House Index.

Apple has acquired the project, which will come from Apple Studios with Plan B Entertainment producing. Louis Paxtonis set to direct from a screenplay written by Andrew Nunnelly.

For Navarrette, the project represents another major step forward following the massive success of Obsession, while also giving the actress a significant role behind the camera as an executive producer.

A Waffle House, Killer Crocodiles and Aliens

Despite its unusual title, The Waffle House Index appears ready to take audiences on an even stranger ride than its name suggests.

The film centers on a Waffle House waitress whose already difficult night takes a dangerous turn when an armed stranger arrives during her shift.

From there, things escalate dramatically.

Inde Navarrette for Schön!

The story reportedly involves a massive flood, killer crocodiles, a nuclear explosion, a mysterious bunker beneath the Waffle House and even aliens, combining elements of disaster movies, survival thrillers and science fiction into one ambitious story.

The title itself is inspired by the real-world “Waffle House Index,” an informal method of measuring the severity of a natural disaster based on whether local Waffle House restaurants are able to remain operational.

The concept generally uses three levels. Green indicates a restaurant is operating normally, yellow signals limited service or supplies, while red means the restaurant has closed entirely and conditions in the surrounding area could be severe.

That real-world concept appears to serve as the jumping-off point for a movie that quickly ventures into much bigger sci-fi territory.

Navarrette’s Breakout Run Continues

The Waffle House Index arrives as Navarrette continues what has become a breakout period in her career.

She currently stars as Nikki Freeman in Obsession, the horror thriller that became a major theatrical success after earning strong attention following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Navarrette’s performance has also generated awards attention, with Focus Features reportedly preparing a Best Actress Oscar campaign for the actress.

Her career is expanding well beyond Obsession.

Navarrette has also landed the role of Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men film and is attached to the upcoming horror project Invertigo.

Before her recent run of major film roles, Navarrette appeared as Estela de la Cruz in 13 Reasons Why and played Sarah Cushing on Superman & Lois. Her other credits include Trap House and Wander Darkly.

Now, The Waffle House Index gives Navarrette the opportunity to take another major step in her career by serving as both the film’s leading star and an executive producer.

Apple has not yet announced a release date for The Waffle House Index.

Days of Our Lives big comings and goings news for you and two huge tidbits that tie back to Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney). Not only has her youngest daughter Sydney DiMera (Sidney Malakeh) been recast. But her fiancé Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti) that we first heard about many months ago has finally been cast and he is actually in town soon. Plus, we’ve got a lot of other casting news with big ins and outs for the Peacock soap.

Days of our Lives: Sydney DiMera Recast Confirmed

Let’s dive into this casting stuff. So, this week it was finally confirmed that Sydney Malakeh will indeed be portraying Sami Brady and EJ DiMera‘s (Dan Feuerriegel) only daughter, Sydney DiMera. The last time that we saw Sydney on the soap was 5 years ago.

It was in 2021 in the holiday digital spin-off A Very Salem Christmas. At that time, Sydney was played by young actress Evelyn Stevenson. And now she’s been aged up. And since Sydney DiMera has been mentioned numerous times over the past few months. We already assumed that Sami and EJ’s daughter was coming to Salem.

So, we had kind of figured this out. But Sydney and EJ have spoken on the phone many times. And we also saw Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) trying to cozy up to Sydney. Because she was asking her niece to meet her for fashion week in Milan.

Kristen Targets Sydney on DOOL

But Kristen was just trying to torment EJ. And once he found out that Kristen was targeting Sydney after Kristen tried to kill his son Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman), you know, that was why he kidnapped Kristen and was going to send her back to the island. But Lexie Carver (Nikki Crawford) thwarted it. And now Kristen is on the loose.

EJ is on his way to Italy with Chad DiMera (Connor Floyd). This is where Sydney and his ex-wife Sami currently live with her fiancée Dante Vitali. So, Sydney’s first appearance on Days of Our Lives will be next week on Wednesday, September 9th. I’m assuming it’s going to be in Italy. You know, when EJ is reunited with his daughter Sydney. But it’s not going to be until the following week on September 14th when we meet Sami’s mystery fiancé, Dante Vitali, for the first time ever.

He’s going to be played by Franco LoPresti. So, he has been on Tracker. He was on Schitt’s Creek. He’s done a bunch of prime time stuff. And Franco is a total hunk. The last time Sami was in Salem, if you remember, it was November 2025. And she tried to make her ex-husbands EJ, Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering), and Lucas Horton (Bryan Dattilo) all jealous when she announced her engagement to mystery billionaire Dante. That was almost a year ago.

Days of our Lives: The Vitali Name Spooks Everyone

But what Sami’s exes were most concerned about was his last name, Vitali. But Sami reassured everybody that Dante, while related to Ava Vitali (Tamara Braun), had nothing to do with the Philly mobster side of his extended family. So, there’s a lot of online speculation and I tend to agree that Dante is the real buyer of the Kiriakis mansion. Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney) told EJ that the buyer’s name who made the all-cash offer was Dominic Mariano. But that could be an alias of Dante’s or it could be a minion that he has doing the real estate transaction for him.

But what’s bizarre is that Dante’s bride to be Sami doesn’t return to Days until June of 2027. Yet Dante is going to be on screen in a little more than a week. So, I wonder if he’s going to stick around for a while or if he’s in and out and then returns when Sami does next summer. I mean, Days is a revolving door of characters. So, as we reported a while back, Alison Sweeney, Christie Clark, Brian Datillo, and Chandler Massey are returning in June to reprise their roles of Sami Brady, Carrie Brady, Lucas Horton, and Will Horton, respectively.

Big Story Ahead on Days of our Lives

And the four actors filmed their arc this July. But right now they’re taping days more than 10 months ahead. So, it’s kind of crazy. The return of several Hortons and Bradys was reported to be a limited run for a huge story. I tend to think it may be about Sami’s wedding to Dante. And in fact, if he is buying the Kiriakis mansion, maybe that’s where Sami and Dante are going to get married.

Moving right along, we just saw the arrival of a brand new character this week when Mason Whitfield (Brandon Butler) arrived on Days on September 1st. This time he was not playing Zack Brady in a dream sequence who is the dead son of Bo and Hope Brady. Instead, Brandon now plays Mason Whitfield. And as far so far, we know Mason is a former Marine. He’s out of the service. He’s attending Salem U.

And we also know he does not like Holly Jonas (Ashley Puzemis) for some reason. When she was almost mugged and Lani Price (Sal Stowers) saved her, Mason didn’t even care to find out if Holly was okay or not. Now, the only other Marine I know of in Salem is Philip Kiriakis. (John-Paul Lavoisier).

Days of our Lives: Mason Knows Holly?

And we last saw him in uniform on Memorial Day, and he was offering his condolences to Amy Choi (Shi Ne Nielson) on the day of Sophia Choi’s (Rachel Boyd) memorial. I mentioned this because I do wonder if Mason has a tie to the Choi family and that’s why he hates Holly. Because Mason’s reaction to Holly was triggered by her name alone.

He didn’t seem to physically recognize her. So, he refused to shake her hand and Mason walked away from Holly in a huff. So, Mason thinks he knows Holly obviously and that may be based on her reputation or her past behavior. And if Mason cared about Sophia, he’ll obviously keep hating Holly. And speaking of her and her boyfriend Tate Black (Leo Howard) were now on a countdown to their exit.

Days of our Lives: Holly & Tate Exit Soon

Ashley Puzemis and Leo Howard were fired in January of this year when they came back from their Christmas break. But we still don’t know when their last air date will be. I’m expecting the pressure in Salem gets to be too much on Holly and she and Tate relocate to Paris to be near her mom Nicole Walker and her baby brother and all that. So, we have kind of the same thing going on for Chanel and Johnny actors Raven Bowens and Carson Boatman.

They were fired at the same exact time as the Tate and Holly actors. So, we’re on a countdown for all four to exit Salem despite Chanel, Johnny, Tate, and Holly all being still very active on front burner storylines. So, it remains to be seen if all four characters will exit or if just the actors are going to exit and they’re recasting the roles of Johnny, Tate, Holly, and Chanel.

And speaking of recast, Swedish American actress Sofia Mattsson well, technically she was born Swedish and she’s become an American citizen, could be playing a familiar character. She makes her debut in Salem in early 2027.

Days of our Lives: Sofia Mattsson Role Revealed?

Nadia Bjorlin said in a recent interview she was asked to return to Days, but turned down the offer, which means the writers have a storyline they want to do for Chloe Lane. So, we may see Sofia Mattsson playing a recast Chloe Lane. Sofia described her character as complex and interesting and that fits Chloe to a tea. And just like Nadia Bjorlin, Sofia Mattsson is actually a singer, not an opera singer. But the actress was in a band and was the lead singer years ago in a group in Stockholm, Sweden.

So, if she is recast Chloe, maybe she’s coming back to help heartbroken Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) pick up the pieces once Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) goes back to Xander Cook (Paul Telfer), which we know is happening. And one last casting tidbit is that Days of Our Lives has hired Britney Sarpy. She is going to show up around the same time as Sami and the other Bradys and Hortons in mid-2027. But so far her role is undisclosed.

I think you guys are really going to like Britney Sarpy. She’s gorgeous. She’s talented. She was on General Hospital for a while. She was on The Young and the Restless for a while. And in the meantime, we’ve got some new faces to look forward to in the next couple of weeks. So, be sure and watch for Sydney DiMera and Dante Vitali on September 9th and the 14th.

‘Family Reunion’ actor Isaiah Russell-Bailey is showing love to his mom after Chingy publicly revealed he’s his father.

RELATED: Father Of Friend Who Traveled To Horn Island With Nolan Wells Reportedly Offers $50K Reward For Information In His Death

Actor Isaiah Russell-Bailey Shows Love To His Mom After Chingy Reveals He’s His Father

On Wednesday, September 2, an episode of ‘The Jason Lee Show’ was released on YouTube, featuring Chingy as a guest. During his appearance on the show, Chingy shared that he has four kids — two boys and two girls. In response, Lee asked why the public knows about the girls and not the boys. This, to which Chingy replied, “Actually, my youngest son, Isaiah, is a big actor out here in California.” 

“Isaiah Russell-Bailey,” Chingy revealed.

Russell-Bailey appeared to catch wind of Chingy’s public revelation. Subsequently, he took to Instagram to share a carousel with a photo of himself alongside his mom.

“Everything I am, I owe to the woman who has always been there. Grateful for you always🙏🏽 #Mom,” he captioned the post.

Social Media Reacts To Isaiah Russell-Bailey Showing Love To His Mom After Father’s Revelation

Social media users reacted to Isaiah Russell-Bailey showing love to his mom in TSR’s comment section.

Chingy Previously Made Headlines With A New Look

As The Shade Room previously reported, in June, Chingy made headlines when he popped out with an apparent new look — showing off his freshly shaved head.

“So I cut my hair off trying sumin different and I actually like it. Let me know what yall think. No matter what is said I’m rocking with it. #bald #newlook #confident,” he wrote in the caption of the post at the time.

RELATED: Wayment! Chingy Has The Internet Going Wild After Seemingly Debuting Fresh NEW Look (PHOTO)

Beyoncé may have one of the most devoted fan bases in music, but even members of the BeyHive are questioning her latest pricey release. The superstar celebrated her 45th birthday and the 20th anniversary of her hit album “B’Day” with a new collection of merchandise. However, a limited-edition wooden box costing $948.01 quickly stole the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The collector’s item is designed to hold Beyoncé vinyl records, but fans were stunned to discover that the nearly $1,000 purchase does not come with a single album inside.

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The Bey Keeper Collector’s Box is limited to 500 units and is described on Beyoncé’s official store as a display and storage case for her vinyl collection. The pine box reportedly features a green velvet lining, a faux alligator-skin strap, gold-colored hardware, and a numbered brass plate. It measures approximately 18 inches wide, 14.75 inches deep, and 14 inches tall.

However, Beyoncé’s exclusive vinyl releases are not included with the purchase. That detail left some shoppers struggling to understand how the storage box alone could command such a high price. The unusual $948.01 price appears to be a reference to Beyoncé’s birth date. The singer was born on September 4, 1981. Still, some fans argued that $94.81 would have been a more reasonable way to honor the date.

BeyHive Accuses Beyoncé Of Going Too Far

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Followers flooded the Instagram page for Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment company with criticism after the collector’s box was revealed. One person branded the expensive release a “disgusting display of greed,” while another could not believe what buyers would actually receive for the price. “$1K and it’s an empty box, Beyoncé. You have lost your damn mind!” the fan wrote.

Beyoncé Releases Selena Quintanilla Duet 31 Years After Tejano Icon’s Death

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Beyoncé brought two legendary Texas voices together with “Irreemplazable (Como La Flor),” a posthumous collaboration featuring Selena Quintanilla that appears on the digital deluxe edition of “B’Day.” The track is not a newly recorded duet. Instead, it brings together Beyoncé’s Spanish-language version of “Irreplaceable,” originally released as “Irreemplazable” in 2007, and Selena’s original recording of “Como La Flor.”

The collaboration was made possible with approval from Selena’s estate, which rarely authorizes the use of the late singer’s music, according to Parkwood Entertainment.

The pairing also carries a personal connection for Beyoncé, who grew up listening to Selena on the radio in Houston. Parkwood noted that the Tejano icon helped inspire Beyoncé’s decision to record “Irreemplazable” and release a Spanish-language EP in 2007.

“Como La Flor” was released in 1992, three years before Selena’s death in 1995. More than three decades later, the new track creates a musical meeting between two Texas-born artists whose careers broke cultural barriers and expanded representation in popular music.

Tina Knowles Marks Beyoncé’s 45th Birthday With Emotional Hospital Photo

Tina Knowles celebrated Beyoncé’s 45th birthday by looking back at the moment their powerful mother-daughter bond began. In an emotional Instagram post, Knowles shared a hospital photo of herself holding newborn Beyoncé on September 4, 1981. She revealed that she had spent nine hours in labor before the picture captured the first time they made eye contact.

“Reminiscing on this day 45 years ago. You took nine hours to come. I am exhausted in this photo, but the happiest I’ve ever been in my life up to this point on this day, Sept 4th, 1981. We are making our first eye contact. The connection is so strong and so beautiful and so powerful,” she shared.

Tina Knowles Praises Beyoncé’s ‘Huge Heart’ Amid The ‘Noise’

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Knowles said that the connection formed during that first meeting has never been broken. Although the birthday tribute recognized Beyoncé’s accomplishments, the proud mother placed most of the focus on her daughter’s character.

She praised Beyoncé’s “huge heart” and her determination to continue creating, loving, and uplifting others despite the “sometimes terrible noise” surrounding her.

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The reason for Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton’s suspension has emerged.

Thornton, 61, was involved in a troubling incident on a flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles in May, according to a TMZ article published on Thursday, September 3.

A passenger saw and snapped photos of Thornton engaging in what appeared to be a chat room for pedophiles while using a laptop on the airplane.

Images obtained by the outlet show messages that read, “Couple of cute boys and a hot little girl” and “All-you-can-eat Boyfett.”

Related: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Announcer Jim Thornton Suspended, Role Recast

Jim Thornton, the longtime Wheel of Fortune announcer, has been suspended from the popular game show amid unspecified allegations. “We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton. He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation,” Sony Pictures Television said in a statement […]

The passenger alerted a flight attendant and provided the photos to the crew. According to the report, the captain then contacted authorities, who met the plane after it landed at LAX.

Authorities reportedly questioned Thornton before allowing him to leave. Thornton has not been arrested or charged in connection with the incident.

In a statement to Page Six on Thursday, Thornton’s attorney, Allison Hart, claimed he had clicked on the website by mistake.

“My client has become active in suicide-prevention advocacy since losing a close family member to suicide two years ago, and he has spent time visiting chat rooms offering support to individuals suffering from suicidal ideation,” the statement read. “One of the sites my client has visited is 988lifeline.org, and its chat forum chat.988lifeline.org. … Through an acquaintance in the suicide prevention space, my client was misdirected to a forum with a similar URL … which my client understood to be a forum offering suicide prevention support similar to 988lifeline.org and chat.988lifeline.org.”

Hart claimed Thornton was initially unaware that the site he was accessing provided mental health support to individuals with pedophilic thoughts and left the page after realizing its content. (TMZ noted, however, that the timestamps in the photos indicate Thornton had been in the chat room for at least 57 minutes.)

“When my client understood what the website was about, he left the page and has not visited since,” Hart claimed in her statement. “The website … itself is not unlawful, there is no unlawful child pornography or other pedophilic content, and my client has never viewed, downloaded or consumed any child pornography, whether on that commercial flight in May or at any other time.”

Us has reached out to LAXPD and Thornton’s attorney for comment.

Earlier this week, news broke that Thornton had been suspended from the popular game show for an unspecified reason.

“We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton. He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune, and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation,” Sony Pictures Television said in a statement to multiple media outlets on Tuesday, September 1.

TMZ reported at the time that Thornton had been involved in an incident on a commercial flight in May, in which a passenger complained to a flight attendant about him.

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Thornton’s attorney later told the outlet that he “did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested and has not been charged with any crime,” adding, “When questioned about the complaint made by a fellow passenger on the flight, law enforcement spoke to him for five minutes or less, immediately determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and told my client he was free to go.”

Thornton has been Wheel of Fortune’s resident announcer since 2011 after he took over following the death of longtime announcer Charlie O’Donnell in 2010. He also serves as announcer on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, which premiered in 2021 and airs in primetime on ABC.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.

Not only is today Beyoncé‘s 45th birthday, but she’s also celebrating the 20-year anniversary of her second studio album, “B’DAY.” The coming-of-age project, released on September 4, 2006, introduced the world to a “bold, new voice” as Beyoncé sought to show a new side of herself beyond her Destiny’s Child image. The album, which earned the singer two Grammys in the early 2000s, was recorded in two weeks, and according to the mother of three, the tracks were created to bring energy to every party.

According to a new press release, Beyoncé recalled what was going through her mind when she created “B’DAY” in 2006. “I wanted the album to be big, percussive, hard, up-tempo, and energized, and it was important to me that we used live instrumentation,” she said, noting that she wanted to highlight bridges, melodies, and harmonies while hip-hop was taking over.

“The goal was to blend those two worlds through the art of sampling. I loved the minimalism of a beautiful vocal arrangement over a simple drum loop or a classic guitar like ‘Irreplaceable’…but only if that 808 was banging underneath,” she continued.

‘B’DAY’ Reissue Will Feature Remastered Beyoncé Music Videos

While Beyoncé coined the phrase “visual album” with her 2013 self-titled album, “BEYONCÉ,” “B’DAY” was the singer’s first visual album, featuring short films with each song that explored the making of a relationship.

To celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary, Beyoncé and her team remastered and recolored the videos and published them in 4K, including “Déjà Vu,” directed by Sophie Muller.

And that’s not all that’s new. Beyoncé got back into the studio booth this time around, remastering the songs, which include chart-toppers like “Irreplaceable” and “Check On It.”

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The 20-year anniversary will also include new images from the original “B’DAY” shoot, shot on location in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Beyoncé Released ‘Morning Dew’ Earlier This Year

Beyoncé kicked off the reissue of “B’DAY” earlier this year, when she released “Morning Dew (DONK)” on July 4th. According to The Blast, “Morning Dew” is a four-minute sultry track all about enjoying the special moments with a romantic partner.

“And he said girl, you s-xy in the mornin’, you know you turn me on, babe / You know the sun rise for you, give me that mornin’ dew / You know that I wanted you, want your mornin’ / You know the sun rise for you, give me that mornin’ dew / Donk-ey, donk-ey, donk-ey, donk-ey, donk’ / Donk-ey, donk-ey, donk-ey, donk-ey, donk,” Beyoncé sings.

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New Music Has Arrived

In addition to “Morning Dew,” Beyoncé included Spanish-language songs that speak to the singer’s “love and admiration for the culture and incredible artists who contributed and continue to build up the genre.”

“Irreemplazable (Como La Flor),” featuring Selena, is a “momentous inclusion,” the press release reads, and “Cuerpo Tumbao (Get Me Bodied)” feat. Maluma marks the first time Beyoncé has collaborated with the Colombian artist, whom she greatly respects.

Beyoncé Releases $1,000 Merch

New videos and surprise tracks aren’t the only things Beyoncé surprised her fans with on her 45th birthday. On her website, the singer/songwriter dropped a massive line of “B’DAY” merchandise, from clothing bundles to hoodies to exclusive vinyls.

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Most of the apparel includes images of Beyoncé from the “B’DAY” photo shoot, while others include behind-the-scenes material from her “Beyoncé Experience” tour.

The reaction wasn’t necessarily positive, however, considering the bundles range from $190 to $350. And that’s not all. Also on the merch list is a wooden box meant to store the singers’ vinyls, priced at $950.

“A $1,000 wooden box, Beyoncé????” someone wrote on X. “$350 dollars for gold strips, a makeup bag, and a half ounce of Creole spritz?” another wrote.

“These prices… SHE DONE LOST HER MOTHER MIND,” a third posted, prompting a fourth to say, “Beyoncé needs to have Afterpay/Klarna set up for her website, bro.”

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Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for the Furious Season 1 finale.

Hulu’s new crime thriller Furious from creator Liz Meriwether is certainly rooted in darkness based on its very premise, but there have been welcome elements of levity — and even romance — as the cat-and-mouse chase between fledgling serial killer Catherine Grace (Lola Petticrew) and FBI agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum) ramps up. While Alice begins the series grappling with lingering trauma from an abusive relationship in her past, one character who’s immediately framed as both a supportive friend and investigative ally is NYPD detective Danny Kelly (Scoot McNairy).

Despite the very mutual interest between them, there are a lot of personal and professional obstacles that initially interfere with the possibility of Alice and Danny taking their relationship to the next level, but as the two work together to solve the season’s biggest mystery, they slowly reach a place of new understanding. There’s no telling what the future has in store for their romance, especially since Alice is holding onto a particularly dark secret regarding her hand in Jay Easton’s (Peter McRobbie) death, but Furious‘ Season 2 renewal establishes a possible crossroads where Alice will ultimately have to choose between her newly achieved happiness and a possible vengeance mission.

Before the finale’s premiere, Collider spoke with McNairy about cracking the code on Danny’s biggest defense mechanism, why he was excited to flip the script on the “toxic” male detective trope, the parallels between Season 1’s two shower scenes (and what they mean for Alice and Danny’s overall dynamic), how Danny would react to the Furious finale’s most shocking twist, and more.

COLLIDER: What was your journey to becoming involved with Furious and being cast as Danny?

SCOOT MCNAIRY: Liz [Meriwether] reached out to me first. It wasn’t a big process. I’ve been watching Forensic Files for 20 years, and I went on the whole COVID binge of crime novels and crime documentaries, so I was really wanting to explore this world. But Liz is an incredible writer, and I was well aware of her beforehand. I got a call that she was doing a show about a homicide detective and a murder set in New York, and I read the script, but I was like, “Sign me up. I’m in. I want to work with her. I want to work with this writer.” I think she’s incredible.

There’s more detail about Danny spooled out over the season, like his son and the situation between them. When did you learn about that facet of the character, and how did that better inform who Danny was for you?

MCNAIRY: Liz did a phenomenal job at piling everything she could on top of this character. He’s going through a divorce, he’s in financial trouble, he’s got to put his kid into care, and everybody at work hates him. And now, the one person in his life isn’t being honest with him. I mean, he just has nothing. A lot of what came from that is that when so much stuff is piled on top of somebody, I started to embrace this facade that Danny doesn’t care about anything. Like, “Fuck that. Who cares? Who gives a shit? Fuck him. Eat a dick. Screw you.” It’s got this cadence to it that he doesn’t care, and really, what it is is a protective shield, as well as his humor, to keep everyone away, or from knowing what he’s dealing with.

That’s what makes Alice and his relationship so strong. These two know each other’s flaws and the worst things about them, and they still love each other and care for each other and accept each other, regardless of all the shit that comes with them. That part, the relationship between Alice and Danny, is what helped to define Danny’s character for me, as well as those things that Liz told me.

She gave me a huge hole to have to crawl out of, with nowhere really to crawl out of. I love that this relationship is not defined through the characters, Alice and Danny, but it’s also not defined to the viewer. They’re getting to understand and uncover this slowly, in pieces. Liz just did an incredible job at satelliting these themes with the shower, and through all that, you see that Danny is rock-solid. He’s the same, no matter what. All those things are what helped me, but I’ll be honest, Liz teed it all up on a silver platter for me. All I had to do was read it. She writes, and she puts this stuff on the page somehow. You can see it. You don’t have to uncover it or excavate it.

Scoot McNairy Explains His Approach To Those Parallel Shower Scenes in ‘Furious’

“He does become caretaker at that point.”

Image via Hulu

There are so many aspects of Danny’s life that feel messy, to your point, but at the same time, he presents as almost a safe space for Alice. The first time Danny hears from Alice’s sister about why she has so much post-traumatic stress wrapped up in taking a shower, he offers to just sit in the bathroom with her, and that’s paralleled in the finale. How did you and Emmy want to approach those scenes, which are inherently intimate without being sexual? They’re simple moments, but there’s so much at play, as well.

MCNAIRY: I think you just said it: Simple. Don’t overthink it. But for me, I think the payoff of that scene is the scene before it, with the sister, because what you’re seeing is a moment for Danny to make a discovery. He’s just pleaded to himself that, “Nobody at the department likes me. You don’t know what this is like. I’m telling you something about myself, so this is when you tell me something about yourself.” When the sister tells him that, that is a massive discovery for Danny. “Something’s going on with my partner, my friend, and she’s not telling me about it. This has never happened before. Something’s really, really, really wrong, and what she needs right now is a friend. That’s all she needs.”

That moment is a payoff to the discovery that he needs to make his character transition. He does become caretaker at that point. What I love that Liz has done is taken societal norms and flipped them. Women in society are seen as caregivers, but yet Danny is the caregiver in this. All those juxtapositions and taking norms and turning them upside down has been what’s been really fun — to be a part of a show like this and also to play a character that’s not a toxic masculine detective. To play a sensitive, caring, vulnerable human being that does the job of a detective. Those are roles that don’t get written like that, so I got really lucky that this thing came to me.

The season really builds up to everything that’s going on with the drive and what’s on it, and it comes into Danny’s possession via Steve [Way]’s character, Alden. Danny isn’t sure what to do with the drive, but he takes it to Alice and admits that she’s on it. He also tells her that he loves her, but confesses he can’t get the sight of her in the video out of his head.

MCNAIRY: I think that’s another incredible defining moment of him giving the control back to her, and saying, “I’m not going to control this part of your life, but I can control my part of my life. My part of my life is: Here’s the drive. You do what you will with it. I’m done. I’m out. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. I just want to be a part of you.” We’re trying to define this relationship the entire season, and I think at the very end, he’s saying, “Let’s define it. Let’s define this.”

Going back to Liz turning things on their heel — when Jake’s character [Marshall] says, “I can’t stand people in a wheelchair. Freaks me out.” He ends up in a wheelchair in the end. It’s peppered all over the whole thing, just really, really incredible TV moments that she’s kind of flipped. Liz did — I’m sorry I keep going back to Liz — a really great job at showing this really intricate, difficult detective crime thriller. It’s hard to do, and I’m just in awe and impressed by it.

Scoot McNairy Has 1 Big Memory From Filming That ‘Furious’ Finale Beach Scene

“When I say freezing, I mean it was freezing.”

Image via Hulu

I wanted to talk about those scenes between Alice and Danny on the beach and in the condo. I’ve got to be honest: Danny saying they don’t have to do anything? Probably one of the hottest things that he could say in the moment. There’s also the fact that he submits to letting her undress him. He even says, “I can’t get rough with you,” because he knows that she’s had those experiences with other men. How did you and Emmy want to approach that subversion of roles, like you said, where Danny’s letting Alice dictate the pace of their intimacy?

MCNAIRY: It was freezing that day on the beach. When I say freezing, I mean it was freezing. So when you’re asking, what do you remember? [Laughs] I remember trying to get warm. We literally had to take off our coats, run over there, stand in the sand, do the thing, and that’s normal, but it was cold. It was really nice to get it moving to the condo. It’s just so much warmer.

There were some conversations about blocking. I think it was more so with [director] Cory [Finley] and Emmy and me trying to figure out, like, what’s the best place for this scene? We started out with a bar in between us, and I just remember being like, “This doesn’t feel right. This is a moment of connecting, and there’s something in between us.” Other than that, we wanted to keep it simple. Knowing how much you’ve already shot in the relationship that you have, and from being at work for three months, there usually doesn’t need to be a lot of discussion because you’ve already got yourself there as the actor. You kind of know or feel it.

If anything, what it’s showing is, “I walk. I don’t run. I’m a rock. I’m steady. I’m the same guy you’ve known. I don’t waver.” The shower scene in the finale stands for that. To me, it shows that this guy is the same. He doesn’t change. He has his ways, and he sticks to them. What Alice needs in her life right now is stability. What it’s showing is, “Okay, well, take it or leave it, but it’s right there. Here’s somebody who’s stable, who loves you, and cares about you, who is going to show up for you. It’s in your ballpark now. You make the move. You tell me what you want.”

The finale ends with that big reveal of what really happened between Alice and Jay Easton, which could potentially hang over another season. What do you think Danny’s reaction would be if he found out?

MCNAIRY: I think everybody has a line. It may be way up there. You could murder a thousand people, and okay, that’s not crossing the line, but the point is that everybody has one. I would imagine that he’s going to have that line crossed, and we’re going to have to see how that unfolds. I would gamble. But yeah, Danny has a line, 100%. He has a line he won’t cross for anybody. I don’t know what that is yet, but I’m sure Liz does.

All episodes of Furious Season 1 are now streaming on Hulu.

The Bold and the Beautiful hot new spoilers for the next couple of months, including Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Katie Logan (Heather Tom) upping the stakes in their sister squabble.

Darcy Dylan (Kelly Sullivan) sticking around and clapping back really hard. And Will Spencer (Crew Morrow) soon gets in much deeper with Melissa Dylan (Sydney Bullock).

We’ll also be touching on Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood)’s trouble being far from over, including the double date from Hell coming soon. Plus, we’ll have more of Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) scheming, and we’ll tell you why.

Bold and the Beautiful: Katie Makes Big Moves

But first, let’s talk about Brooke versus Katie. So, right now, Dylan is the object of Katie’s scorn, but she and Brooke will be back to their battles on the fashion front very soon. Katie makes more moves in coming months that are going to really provoke Brooke. And in fact, Katie may go too far.

I’m really wondering if Zende Forrester (Delon de Metz) is going to end up over at Logan because of RJ Forrester (Brayan Nicoletti) excluding him from the Electra youth line. I also expect as much as Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) and RJ have harped on keeping the youth line secret that it will come out and Logan will get the heads up and will steal their thunder again, but we’ll see.

Brooke also has a plot coming that’s all hers and it’s supposed to have significant consequences. Also, the money problems keep piling up for Forrester Creations and that could put Eric Forrester (John McCook) and Steffy’s legacy at risk and I’m sure Ridge and Steffy are going to want to blame all of this on Katie and Bill and their company Logan.

Spencers on a Mission on B&B

Plus, the Spencers are all locked in over at Logan working really hard. We’ll see lots more of them at Spencer Tower with Hope Logan (Annika Noelle), Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton), Wyatt Spencer (Darin Brooks), Will, and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) all taking care of business. Katie’s in the mix working hard, too, but half of her attention is on Will’s love life, which Katie is overly involved in.

Speaking of the Forresters, let’s talk about Electra Forrester (Laneya Grace). She and RJ are going to be hard at work on the new youth line that Ridge and Eric are hoping will pull Forrester Creations out of its slump and that they can also use it to get some revenge on Logan. We’ll also see RJ getting closer to Electra professionally because of this special project.

But we’ll see how far RJ gets personally because Electra still harbors very strong feelings for Will Spencer because he was her first love. And we are actually going to be meeting some of Electra’s family. So, these are the Forresters that live outside of LA, and it sounds like we may be meeting Electra’s parents.

Double Trouble on Bold and Beautiful

Now, let’s talk about a double date that sounds really regrettable. This all starts with the huge secret that Carter and Steffy are keeping from Finn Finnegan (Tanner Novlan) and Daphne Rose (Murielle Hilaire) and everybody else. So, Ridge recently told Carter how much he disliked it when Carter was with Hope. So, imagine how unhappy Ridge is going to be to find out that Carter was with his daughter Steffy and that they were cheating.

That night together was a drunken mistake when both Carter and Steffy thought their marriages were over. Obviously, the secret is going to come out, but the question is when will it come out? Brad Bell said something kind of disturbing about the timeline and mentioned that we’ll see how it rolls out in the months and years to come.

With that long of a timeline, I’m leaning towards the theory that Carter got Steffy pregnant because why else would it last for years? So, we’ll see. Steffy is still desperate to clear her conscience and tell Finn the truth, but Carter has insisted that Steffy cannot do it because he knows Daphne will dump him and he will lose everything. So, with no idea his wife Steffy was in bed with Carter, we are soon going to see Finn setting up a double date dinner.

B&B Spoilers: Carter & Steffy Panic

So, it sounds like Finn is going to invite Carter and Daphne over to their place for dinner, and Steffy may try and discourage Finn, but she really can’t protest too much, or it’ll seem really suspicious. The same for Carter, because given Steffy and Daphne’s Los Angeles BFF status, them having dinner together seems like a natural couple thing to do.

But the official Bold and the Beautiful spoilers say the dinner is unforgettable. Maybe it’s about really good steaks or maybe it’s about cheaters awkwardness, but it sounds intriguing. I’m hoping for some high stakes drama and for Daphne to sense that something’s really off, especially after that locked door incident.

Bold and the Beautiful:

Now, let’s talk about some romantic things. Deke Sharpe (Harrison Cone) going to be getting a new man in his life, which is nice, but if Remy Pryce (Christian Weissmann) still in LA, I cannot imagine he will take it well if Deke is moving on with a new guy. And given how psycho Remy was with Electra, I think he would be twice as psycho about Deke. Now, let’s talk about Will’s love life.

So, this week, Katie is going hard against Dylan still, and she thinks the worst of her because she held things back from her mom. I tend to think that Darcy was kept in the dark about Dylan being homeless because she didn’t want her mom, Darcy, trying to send her money she didn’t have. Just like when Dylan refused Darcy handing her that envelope of money after telling her that all her credit cards were maxed out.

So, Dylan will explain herself and then Darcy’s going to end up at Will’s house on Friday and she’s chewing Katie a new one because she was ugly to Dylan right in front of Darcy. So, it looks like the answers Dylan gives are to Will’s satisfaction because official Bold and the Beautiful spoilers say that he is soon all in with Melissa Dylan. And the spoiler says specifically that Will pours everything into this new relationship with Dylan.

Katie Digs in Her Heels on Bold

And of course, Katie’s going to continue her opposition. She’s even more opposed now that she has met Darcy. So, Katie seeing red flags because Dylan kept things from her mom. But Darcy is going to read Katie for filth this week, saying that she is not better than them just because she’s rich and famous. And we’ll find out more of Dylan’s backstory now that her mom is in town.

And Bold and the Beautiful didn’t cast soap vet Kelly Sullivan for nothing. We are going to see Dylan’s mom staying in LA. She came intending to stay a few days, but Brad Bell says Darcy stays much longer. Meanwhile, we know that Katie is going to be keeping an eagle eye on both Dylan and Darcy as she continues to be mistrustful. But the showrunner teased Katie may warm up to Melissa Dylan and realize she’s not a threat to Will.

 Sheila Carter News on B&B

Now, let’s talk about Sheila. In coming weeks, official Bold and the Beautiful spoilers say she promises to turn over a new leaf with Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan). But we’ve seen Sheila being pretty nice with him despite the split. So, the spoiler’s kind of strange, but there are new spoilers saying that Sheila is doubling down and not just on Deacon. Sheila does want her ex-husband back.

She is also not done trying to get back into Finn and Steffy’s lives so she can be a real grandma to Hayes Forrester Finnegan (Bryan Garlick). On the Deacon front, what helps Sheila is that Deacon just can’t get past Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig) rejecting his proposal. And bottom line, Deacon still really wants to marry Taylor. But given that she already rejected Deacon once, the question is, will she reject Deacon again if he tries to get that ring on her finger a second time?

Sheila Gets in Deacon’s Head on Bold and the Beautiful

Sheila pointed out Taylor married Ridge many times and that’s got Deacon thinking and he may use the Ridge thing to convince Taylor to accept his proposal because Deacon is having some second thoughts because he left Sheila with the idea in his mind that he was going to marry Taylor and that hasn’t manifested and Sheila accepted Deacon divorcing her to be with Taylor because she thought they were really serious.

But now that Taylor rejected Deacon’s proposal, Sheila’s having some second thoughts about maybe giving up on her marriage too fast because now she thinks Taylor isn’t worthy of Deacon after rejecting him. So, it looks good. I’m excited to see how all of this plays out, especially with the Darcy stuff and the Dylan stuff and the Brooke and Katie war.