'Friends' creator apologizes for having no Black actors in sitcom, pledges $4M to Brandeis University

Duran Duran and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi are set to open the 2022 Commonwealth Games next week.Both acts will perform in their home city at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium for the opening ceremony next Thursday (July 28).Peaky Blinders director Steven Knight will also executive produce the event, which will be broadcast live on the BBC.“The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is a momentous event for the great city of Birmingham,” said frontman Simon Le Bon in a statement. “And we in Duran Duran are honoured to be a part of it in our home town.”“We are so proud to be returning to our home town to close the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony,” wrote drummer Roger Taylor on Twitter.“We are so proud to be returning to our home town to close the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.” – Roger TaylorDuran Duran join @birminghamcg22 for unforgettable Opening Ceremony – tickets avail but selling fast- visit https://t.co/dNyWW8V8xc for details! pic.twitter.com/jnqA5Syppn— Duran Duran (@duranduran) July 20, 2022Also on the night, Iommi and saxophonist Soweto Kinch will lead a dream sequence entitled ‘Hear My Voice’, based on the title track from 2020 film Trial Of The Chicago Seven, re-imagined by Birmingham-born R&B vocalists Indigo Marshall and Gambimi.Mezzo-soprano Samantha Oxborough, a graduate of The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, will also perform the national anthem with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) on the night.

Royals in the Big Apple! Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are in New York City for the U.N. General Assembly’s celebration of Nelson Mandela Day.

Former  star Blake Jenner was arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles County, ET has confirmed. The actor was pulled over for a traffic violation after he allegedly failed to stop at a red light in Burbank, California on July 9. Officers conducted a safety test and allegedly discovered Jenner was driving above the legal blood alcohol content limit.

Kodak Black was arrested on drug possession charges yesterday (July 15) in Florida.According to reports in the US, Black, real name Bill K. Kapri, was initially pulled over for allegedly having window tinting “which appeared to be darker than the legal limit”, according to a statement from the police.Officers then found what they described as 31 oxycodone pills and $74,960 (£63,230) in cash during a search. Oxycodone is a prescription opioid which treats pain that can become highly addictive.Black was later arrested on trafficking oxycodone of less than 25 grams, as well as possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Online records revealed that he was taken to Broward County Jail in Florid where he still remains without bond.Black’s lawyer Bradford Cohen tweeted: “Never judge a case based on an arrest.

Kodak Black was arrested on felony drug charges following a traffic stop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.According to multiple reports, the Florida Highway Patrol arrested the rapper Friday after pulling him over while he was behind the wheel of a bulletproof Dodge Durango. Cops say illegal window tint and expired registration tags got the trooper's attention, and a search of the vehicle later revealed $74,960 in cash inside as well as a small bag that contained 31 oxycodone pills.

Carter. The clip introduces us to the titular Agent Carter (played by Joo Won), who engages in non-stop intense physical combat, chases through the rural countryside and helicopter stunts, as he follows the instructions through the phone from an unknown female voice in order to avoid getting killed by the CIA.Carter, directed by The Villainess and Confession Of Murder‘s Jung Byung-gil, is slated to premiere on Netflix on August 5.The “one-scene, one-cut film” will follow Carter, who awakens two months into a deadly pandemic originating from the DMZ that has devastated both the US and North Korea, with no recollections of his past. He finds a mysterious device in his head, and a lethal bomb in his mouth.

The original Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter, voiced her support for trans women amid their ongoing fight for equality.

Amanda Kloots paid tribute to her late husband, Nick Cordero, on the second anniversary of his death Monday with a video compilation of a few of their favorite moments together shared to Instagram. "Two years ago today Elvis and I said goodbye to Nick. It was the hardest day of my life," she captioned the short clip.

regret the cast’s lack of diversity, she also feels bad about the show’s portrayal of a transgender character. In a clip from Kauffman’s upcoming interview on the Conversation on the BBC World Service, she recalled the choice to refer to the transgender mother of Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) as his “dad.” “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood,” Kauffman admitted.

Sasha Urban editorAfter pledging $4 million to Brandeis University over “guilt” about the lack of racial diversity on “Friends,” co-creator Marta Kauffman is now expressing regret over how the show represented another demographic: transgender people.In an interview with The Conversation on the BBC World Service that will air on July 11, Kauffman called it a “mistake” to refer to the transgender mother of Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) as his “father.”“Pronouns were not yet something that I understood,” Kauffman told the BBC. “So we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she.’ That was a mistake.’”The character, Amanda Bing, was played by Kathleen Turner, who said on “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” in 2019 that she wouldn’t have accepted the role if it was offered to her again “because there would be real people able to do [the role].” Kauffman is also the creator of the hit Netflix series “Grace and Frankie,” and explained that she now tries to cultivate a welcoming environment on set for all people.“I like very much to create an environment where we have a happy set and a happy crew.

Marta Kauffman is looking back on things she wishes she’d done differently on “Friends”.

Los Angeles Times, the television writer said she began understanding the criticism directed at her series — the uber-popular ’90s sitcom that continues to dominate the zeitgeist thanks to syndication and era-specific nostalgia — following the waves of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.“It was after what happened to George Floyd that I began to wrestle with my having bought into systemic racism in ways I was never aware of,” Kauffman said. “That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct.”The Marta F.

Zack Sharf “Friends” creator Marta Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times that she’s so “embarrassed” by and feels such “guilt” over the lack of diversity on her classic NBC sitcom that she’s donating $4 million to create the Marta F. Kauffman ‘78 Professorship in African and African American Studies at Brandeis University.

Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has pledged $4million (£3.2million) to African American studies as an apology for the show’s lack of diversity.Kauffman, who is also the co-creator of Netflix series Grace And Frankie, made the pledge to her alma mater, Brandeis University in Boston, to establish an endowed professorship in the school’s African and African American studies department.Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Kauffman said she had a change of heart on the diversity criticism against the show following the death of George Floyd in 2020 by Minneapolis police – which sparked worldwide protests.“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” Kauffman said. “Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror.

The woman behind “Friends” is trying to make things right.

criticized for its lack of diversity, but co-creator Marta Kauffman is finally ready to admit her failure — with a $4 million apology. Kauffman initially struggled to grasp the “difficult and frustrating” criticisms of her television series, choosing to believe the successful show was being singled out, she told the Los Angeles Times. But nearly two decades after the show wrapped, Kauffman has begun to see the error of her ways.