Latest news with #NewYorkComedyFestival
Kuwait Times
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Springsteen releases surprise EP, including scathing Trump criticism
Bruce Springsteen performs during the 18th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Benefit Presented By Bob Woodruff Foundation And New York Comedy Festival at David Geffen Hall on November 11, 2024 in New York City. -- AFP Rock star Bruce Springsteen released a surprise EP on Wednesday, with the six-track album including scathing criticism of US President Donald Trump that prompted an online diatribe from the Republican billionaire last week. The EP, titled 'Land of Hope and Dreams' - the name of his ongoing tour - features recordings of four songs performed live in Manchester, England on May 14. Two tracks feature Springsteen describing his disappointment with Trump's 'corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,' although he does not name the president directly. The comments had prompted the right-wing populist to label Springsteen, 75, an 'obnoxious JERK' last week, and on Wednesday Trump posted a video edited to make it seem like he had hit the New Jersey rocker with a golf drive. On Monday, Trump had gone further than mere rhetoric, calling for a 'major investigation' into Springsteen, genre-smashing music icon Beyonce and other celebrities. He alleged - without evidence and in the face of denials by those involved - that the celebrities had been paid millions of dollars to endorse his Democratic opponent in the 2024 election, Kamala Harris. The collection of tracks released Wednesday featured Springsteen's full comments as he introduced the songs 'Land of Hope and Dreams' and 'My City in Ruins.' 'In my home, the America I love, the America I have written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,' he said, addressing the Manchester crowd. 'Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.' In the second introduction track, he decried 'some very weird, strange and dangerous stuff going on out there right now.' 'In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent,' he said, while also taking aim at the 'sadistic pleasure' some were taking in launching crackdowns on migrants, the poor and workers. Springsteen then launched into a spirited rendition of 'My City in Ruins,' ending with a rousing repetition of the words: 'Come on, rise up!' — AFP
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joan Rivers' tribute to bring out the stars including Aubrey Plaza
"I enjoy life when things are happening. I don't care if it's good things or bad things. That means you're alive. Things are happening." ~ Joan Rivers A new comedy special will bring Joan Rivers back from the dead, at least for one night. NBC will honor the life and legacy of the late comic with "Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute," an hour-long television special set to air May 13. It will be available to stream on the Peacock network later this month. "Given that I'm dead, I assume someone will finally decide to honor me," Rivers said in a letter she left for her daughter, Melissa Rivers. "Well, it's about time." The comedy special, which stars Delaware's own Aubrey Plaza and cameos from many famous comics, was filmed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on the opening night of the 2024 New York Comedy Festival, NBC said in a news release. You won't get far down the list of most influential comedians of the 20th century without landing on Joan Rivers. The comedy pioneer, died in 2014 at the age of 81. Here's what to know: Joan Rivers was a comedian and television personality who was a regular on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and made frequent appearances on other shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show." Rivers also served as host of daytime talk show "The Joan Rivers Show," for which she earned her first and only Emmy Award. She later hosted Fox's version of "The Tonight Show," dubbed "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers." Rivers is best known for her fashion commentary on E! Network's "Fashion Police" and "E!'s Live from the Red Carpet" telecasts before every major award show, from the Golden Globes to the Grammys. She discussed the dos and don'ts of celebrity fashion from 2010 up until her death in 2014. Rivers also famously coined the phrase, "Who are you wearing?" Rivers also was a Grammy Award winning performer, a Tony Award-nominated actress, bestselling author, playwright, screenwriter, film director, columnist, lecturer, radio host, jewelry designer, entrepreneur and the renowned creator of the modern-day red-carpet interview show. As first reported by Deadline, the tribute to Rivers next month will feature a long line of comedians including Aubrey Plaza, Tracy Morgan, Sarah Silverman, Margaret Cho, Chelsea Handler, Howie Mandel, Patton Oswalt and many more. With her sharp tongue and daring wit, Rivers didn't hold back, and neither will the tribute special. Other celebrities on the bill for "Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute'' include Nikki Glaser, Bill Maher, Rachel Brosnahan, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, Joel McHale, Jean Smart and Rita Wilson. Also featured in the special, which was recorded at the historic Apollo Theater in New York City last fall, will be Rivers' daughter, Melissa Rivers. According to NBC, "Performers will deliver a mix of classic Rivers zingers and modern stand-up, and there will be musical bits, as well.'' The group, including Chelsea Handler, will "pay homage to Rivers' razor-sharp humor and impact on pop culture" through standup, musical bits and tributes. They will also revisit "Rivers' legendary cabinet of jokes" but add their own personal spin to the material to make it timely and a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. "Given that I'm dead, I assume someone will finally decide to honor me. Well, it's about time,' Rivers wrote in a letter she left for her daughter, Melissa Rivers, NBC reports. "This tribute is everything my mother would have wanted — hilarious, unfiltered and filled with people she respected (and roasted). And as usual, she was still the funniest person in the room," Melissa Rivers said in a statement. "It's incredibly moving to see so many iconic comedians come together to celebrate her legacy, especially the women whose careers she helped make possible by breaking down so many doors." Aubrey Plaza has been keeping a low profiile since the death of her husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena, who died earlier this year at the age of 47. Plaza made her first public appearance since Baena's death on Feb. 16 when "Saturday Night Live" celebrated turning 50 that weekend. The Wilmington actor Plaza once interned for "SNL,'' served as a page for NBC and also hosted the show in 2023. Plaza, who stars in Marvel's "Agatha All Along,'' also appeared in previously recorded Super Bowl commercial for Ritz crackers. The award-winning actress has several films due out later this year including Ethan Coen's "Honey, Don't,'' and Zach Woods' "The Accompanist,'' starring Susan Sarandon. You can watch the Joan Rivers tribute on NBC on May 13 at 10 p.m. EST, and subscribers also will be able to stream an 'extended and uncensored version' of the special on Peacock on May 14. The longer version will include more artists to be announced. And on June 5, an encore presentation of the original special will air on E! You can learn more by visiting Delaware and Hollywood: What movies & TV shows were made in Delaware? If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 988. The United States' first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text 'HOME' to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: How to watch 'Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute,' Aubrey Plaza
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Melissa Rivers got famous comedians in a room together to honor her mom, Joan. Just don't call it a roast.
No, those are not Joan Rivers's actual ashes. Ahead of Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute special, airing on May 13 on NBC, Melissa Rivers and an A-list group of comedians and actors struck a pose with a gold urn. Nikki Glaser pretended she almost dropped it. Rachel Brosnahan acted like she was going to pour a martini in it. Tiffany Haddish balanced it precariously on the palm of one hand. 'That's not the real urn,' Melissa told Yahoo Entertainment as if the idea was unfathomable, even though Joan's actual ashes were literally shipped around the world after her death in 2014. 'I originally wanted to do a bit in the greenroom called 'urn point of view,'' said Melissa, who produced the special. 'Have a GoPro camera in the urn and have it judging people — looking everyone's outfits up and down. The urn cam. I got shot down on that one.' For what it's worth, Joan's actual ashes were lost after the special taped. More on that in a minute. The televised tribute came together somewhat miraculously, said the Melissa Rivers' Group Text Podcast host. It taped in one night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, during the 20th annual New York Comedy Festival in November 2024, with a talent roster also including Chelsea Handler, Aubrey Plaza, Joel McHale, Jeff Ross, Sarah Silverman, Margaret Cho and Tracy Morgan. Getting the comics there, from their tours and sets, for the brief window was tricky, but they showed up in force for the comedy trailblazer. 'What was amazing was how many people found a way to get there, even if it meant staying somewhere, flying in from somewhere or flying out to somewhere,' said Melissa. 'It was a 'meant to be' kind of thing, and I'm really proud of my work on this.' Despite the title and the urn photo shoot, 'It's not a roast. It's a celebration,' she said. 'And yet they do make fun of her.' Glaser, who's had a meteoric rise over the last year, 'was a huge fan of my mother's … and thrilled to be asked to be a part of it,' Melissa said, adding that she thinks Joan 'would really like' the Golden Globe host's comedy. She said that 'stylistically,' their 'timing is very similar.' How would Joan, who was sharp-tongued with biting wit, have fared professionally in 2025 amid this era of cancel culture? 'I think she would have found a way to make fun of cancel culture,' Melissa said. 'She would have turned cancel culture on its head and made fun of what you cannot do … just like Dave Chappelle — and I would hope she would be grandfathered in like Dave Chappelle was.' Being the gatekeeper for her larger-than-life mother's legacy is not easy, but it's something she takes seriously. This summer, the National Comedy Center will open its Joan Rivers exhibition, complete with her famed joke archive. While a limited TV series with Kathryn Hahn never happened, Joan fans may get a biopic — eventually. 'We've had a movie in development with Sony for quite a while,' Melissa said. 'The conversation started during the very end of COVID. We've been going through the script process, the writing process and then we had the [Hollywood writers] strike, so now we're just getting back on track. Coming out of TV, [where] things go so fast, I don't know how these movie people do it … having to be that slow.' As for the former Fashion Police host's dream casting, 'I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that,' she said. There are 'conversations in progress.' Personally, 2025 has been a wild year for Melissa. In January, she lost everything — including Joan's actual ashes and those of her father, Edgar Rosenberg, who died by suicide in 1987 — in the Palisades Fire. 'Unfortunately, no, the ashes did not survive,' she said. 'I just didn't think to grab them. Why would I? I didn't think our house was going to burn down. It's L.A. — it's not like we haven't evacuated before. I could just go get a scoop of the house and call it a day, and have my mom, Uncle Tommy, and my dad and all the dogs. I'm probably going to go do that.' Melissa did take her mother's Emmy, a photo of her father and a drawing her mother did of Melissa and son Cooper when evacuating. She also had a ring of her mother's that she had recently worn to an event as well as her parents' watches. After the fire, Melissa moved five times in 11 weeks. She's now settled in a rental in the L.A. area. Will she rebuild? She's thinking about it but taking a 'wait and see' approach. 'I don't know yet,' she said. 'I'm not letting go of my lot, but I'm trying to stay very disciplined in our thinking because, honestly, nobody knows how anything is going to go. Luckily, my house has its plans, so it would be a much easier process. … Fortunately, I can sort of take a wait and see. I don't want to be the first one, and don't want to be the last one.' On the brighter side, two months after the fires, Melissa, the self-described 'worst bride ever,' married attorney Steve Mitchel in Jackson Hole, Wyo. They 'absolutely' thought about postponing the wedding. 'A lot of people said we should, and a lot of people said we shouldn't,' she said. However, the 'loudest voices saying, 'Do not cancel,'' were friends who had also lost homes in the L.A. fires, so they pressed on. The wedding was 'very nontraditional,' which is what she wanted. 'I always said, 'I want to have a party where a wedding breaks out,' Melissa said, 'and that is what we did.' Her vows fit the nontraditional theme because 'I'm not gonna promise anything in a room full of people,' she said of her second wedding. 'I'm not having you put that on tape to come back and bite me. And I don't think I can vow to do something, but I can vow to not to.' The one thing she did do was a mother-son dance with 'my little man,' Cooper. The 24-year-old recently moved out on his own but also lost everything in the fire. 'He's been rebuilding too,' she said of her only child. How does she stay positive when bad things happen? 'I don't think I necessarily stay positive,' Melissa replied. 'I stay in forward momentum. My mom used to say: 'You get a weekend wallow.' Obviously, that's a saying, [you may need more than one weekend], but that means you get an appropriate amount of time, and then you get up and you start moving forward.' She continued, 'I learned that with my dad. Some days, moving forward was only that I was able to get out of bed. And the same with my mom. You had to allow yourself to have the days where you couldn't, and then the next day you could get across the room. It's about chin out, eyes forward, because your forward momentum will make things change. Better or worse, that's to be seen. But if you're just sitting in it, you're doing nothing. So it's not so much optimism or good attitude, it's more I've been raised and taught: You go forward.' airs May 13 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. The uncensored cut streams on May 14 on Peacock.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Melissa Rivers got famous comedians in a room together to honor her mom, Joan. Just don't call it a roast.
No, those are not Joan Rivers's actual ashes. Ahead of Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute special, airing on May 13 on NBC, Melissa Rivers and an A-list group of comedians and actors struck a pose with a gold urn. Nikki Glaser pretended she almost dropped it. Rachel Brosnahan acted like she was going to pour a martini in it. Tiffany Haddish balanced it precariously on the palm of one hand. 'That's not the real urn,' Melissa told Yahoo Entertainment as if the idea was unfathomable, even though Joan's actual ashes were literally shipped around the world after her death in 2014. 'I originally wanted to do a bit in the greenroom called 'urn point of view,'' said Melissa, who produced the special. 'Have a GoPro camera in the urn and have it judging people — looking everyone's outfits up and down. The urn cam. I got shot down on that one.' For what it's worth, Joan's actual ashes were lost after the special taped. More on that in a minute. The televised tribute came together somewhat miraculously, said the Melissa Rivers' Group Text Podcast host. It taped in one night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, during the 20th annual New York Comedy Festival in November 2024, with a talent roster also including Chelsea Handler, Aubrey Plaza, Joel McHale, Jeff Ross, Sarah Silverman, Margaret Cho and Tracy Morgan. Getting the comics there, from their tours and sets, for the brief window was tricky, but they showed up in force for the comedy trailblazer. 'What was amazing was how many people found a way to get there, even if it meant staying somewhere, flying in from somewhere or flying out to somewhere,' said Melissa. 'It was a 'meant to be' kind of thing, and I'm really proud of my work on this.' Despite the title and the urn photo shoot, 'It's not a roast. It's a celebration,' she said. 'And yet they do make fun of her.' Glaser, who's had a meteoric rise over the last year, 'was a huge fan of my mother's … and thrilled to be asked to be a part of it,' Melissa said, adding that she thinks Joan 'would really like' the Golden Globe host's comedy. She said that 'stylistically,' their 'timing is very similar.' How would Joan, who was sharp-tongued with biting wit, have fared professionally in 2025 amid this era of cancel culture? 'I think she would have found a way to make fun of cancel culture,' Melissa said. 'She would have turned cancel culture on its head and made fun of what you cannot do … just like Dave Chappelle — and I would hope she would be grandfathered in like Dave Chappelle was.' Being the gatekeeper for her larger-than-life mother's legacy is not easy, but it's something she takes seriously. This summer, the National Comedy Center will open its Joan Rivers exhibition, complete with her famed joke archive. While a limited TV series with Kathryn Hahn never happened, Joan fans may get a biopic — eventually. 'We've had a movie in development with Sony for quite a while,' Melissa said. 'The conversation started during the very end of COVID. We've been going through the script process, the writing process and then we had the [Hollywood writers] strike, so now we're just getting back on track. Coming out of TV, [where] things go so fast, I don't know how these movie people do it … having to be that slow.' As for the former Fashion Police host's dream casting, 'I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that,' she said. There are 'conversations in progress.' Personally, 2025 has been a wild year for Melissa. In January, she lost everything — including Joan's actual ashes and those of her father, Edgar Rosenberg, who died by suicide in 1987 — in the Palisades Fire. 'Unfortunately, no, the ashes did not survive,' she said. 'I just didn't think to grab them. Why would I? I didn't think our house was going to burn down. It's L.A. — it's not like we haven't evacuated before. I could just go get a scoop of the house and call it a day, and have my mom, Uncle Tommy, and my dad and all the dogs. I'm probably going to go do that.' Melissa did take her mother's Emmy, a photo of her father and a drawing her mother did of Melissa and son Cooper when evacuating. She also had a ring of her mother's that she had recently worn to an event as well as her parents' watches. After the fire, Melissa moved five times in 11 weeks. She's now settled in a rental in the L.A. area. Will she rebuild? She's thinking about it but taking a 'wait and see' approach. 'I don't know yet,' she said. 'I'm not letting go of my lot, but I'm trying to stay very disciplined in our thinking because, honestly, nobody knows how anything is going to go. Luckily, my house has its plans, so it would be a much easier process. … Fortunately, I can sort of take a wait and see. I don't want to be the first one, and don't want to be the last one.' On the brighter side, two months after the fires, Melissa, the self-described 'worst bride ever,' married attorney Steve Mitchel in Jackson Hole, Wyo. They 'absolutely' thought about postponing the wedding. 'A lot of people said we should, and a lot of people said we shouldn't,' she said. However, the 'loudest voices saying, 'Do not cancel,'' were friends who had also lost homes in the L.A. fires, so they pressed on. The wedding was 'very nontraditional,' which is what she wanted. 'I always said, 'I want to have a party where a wedding breaks out,' Melissa said, 'and that is what we did.' Her vows fit the nontraditional theme because 'I'm not gonna promise anything in a room full of people,' she said of her second wedding. 'I'm not having you put that on tape to come back and bite me. And I don't think I can vow to do something, but I can vow to not to.' The one thing she did do was a mother-son dance with 'my little man,' Cooper. The 24-year-old recently moved out on his own but also lost everything in the fire. 'He's been rebuilding too,' she said of her only child. How does she stay positive when bad things happen? 'I don't think I necessarily stay positive,' Melissa replied. 'I stay in forward momentum. My mom used to say: 'You get a weekend wallow.' Obviously, that's a saying, [you may need more than one weekend], but that means you get an appropriate amount of time, and then you get up and you start moving forward.' She continued, 'I learned that with my dad. Some days, moving forward was only that I was able to get out of bed. And the same with my mom. You had to allow yourself to have the days where you couldn't, and then the next day you could get across the room. It's about chin out, eyes forward, because your forward momentum will make things change. Better or worse, that's to be seen. But if you're just sitting in it, you're doing nothing. So it's not so much optimism or good attitude, it's more I've been raised and taught: You go forward.' airs May 13 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC. The uncensored cut streams on May 14 on Peacock.
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
When does 'Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute' come out? How to watch TV special
When does 'Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute' come out? How to watch TV special Show Caption Hide Caption Met Gala: Bad Bunny pays tribute to Puerto Rico with his Met Gala look Bad Bunny pays tribute to Puerto Rico with his 2025 Met Gala look. The Grammy-winning superstar announced a world tour on the same day. A new comedy special is bringing Joan Rivers back from the dead, at least for one night. NBC is honoring the life and legacy of the late comic with "Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute," an hour-long television special set to air May 13. "Given that I'm dead, I assume someone will finally decide to honor me," Rivers said in a letter she left for her daughter, Melissa Rivers. "Well, it's about time." The comedy special, which features cameos from famous comics, was filmed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on the opening night of the 2024 New York Comedy Festival, NBC said in a news release. The group, including Chelsea Handler, will "pay homage to Rivers' razor-sharp humor and impact on pop culture" through standup, musical bits and tributes. They will also revisit "Rivers' legendary cabinet of jokes" but add their own personal spin to the material to make it timely and new. "This tribute is everything my mother would have wanted — hilarious, unfiltered and filled with people she respected (and roasted). And as usual, she was still the funniest person in the room," Melissa Rivers said in a statement. "It's incredibly moving to see so many iconic comedians come together to celebrate her legacy, especially the women whose careers she helped make possible by breaking down so many doors." Here's what to know about "Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute," including how to tune in. Who was Joan Rivers? Joan Rivers was a comedian and television personality who was a regular on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and made frequent appearances on other shows, including "The Ed Sullivan Show." Rivers also served as host of daytime talk show "The Joan Rivers Show," for which she earned her first and only Emmy Award. She later hosted Fox's version of "The Tonight Show," dubbed "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers." Rivers is best known for her fashion commentary on E! Network's "Fashion Police" and "E!'s Live from the Red Carpet" telecasts before every major award show, from the Golden Globes to the Grammys. She discussed the dos and don'ts of celebrity fashion from 2010 up until her death in 2014. Rivers also famously coined the phrase, "Who are you wearing?" Rivers also received various accolades in her 50-year career. She was a Grammy Award winning performer, a Tony Award-nominated actress, bestselling author, playwright, screenwriter, film director, columnist, lecturer, radio host, jewelry designer, entrepreneur and the renowned creator of the modern-day red-carpet interview show. "An unparalleled legend in the entertainment industry, Rivers was more than just a comedian, she was a force of nature," NBC said in a news release. "... Rivers was also the first woman to break the glass ceiling of male-hosted late-night television." 'Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute' teaser How to watch 'Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute' "Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute" airs May 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. An extended and uncensored version of the comedy special will debut on Peacock on May 14 and will feature additional comics, who will be announced later. An encore presentation will air June 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on E!. We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
