Advertisement

People in the news

By United Press International
Cast member Will Chase (who plays John Lennon) is joined onstage by Yoko Ono Lennon during the August 14, 2005 opening night curtain call bows for the Broadway musical "Lennon" Yoko was a consultant on the production. (UPI Photo/Ezio Petersen)
1 of 2 | Cast member Will Chase (who plays John Lennon) is joined onstage by Yoko Ono Lennon during the August 14, 2005 opening night curtain call bows for the Broadway musical "Lennon" Yoko was a consultant on the production. (UPI Photo/Ezio Petersen) | License Photo

The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...

'ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM:' The next edition of "All-American Muslim" explores the lasting impact the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks had on the cast and their community, producers said.

Advertisement

A synopsis described Sunday's episode, called "The Day the World Changed," as "arguably the most nuanced and complex view about the terror attacks from the American Muslim perspective ever seen on television."

"When I first heard it was a Muslim extremist that had done this, immediately, my thought, like every other Muslim's thought, was these people are not Muslim. Who are these people? Where did they come from? I've never heard of the Taliban. I've never heard of Osama bin Laden," docu-series star Nina Bazzy says in the episode. "They've labeled themselves as Muslim. But they are not Muslim. A real Muslim would never do anything like that."

Advertisement

"'All-American Muslim' offers us a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of our Muslim neighbors and experience the pain and suffering they have endured, not just once, but twice," the Rev. Dr. Katharine Henderson, president of Auburn Seminary in New York, said in a statement Thursday. "The first time because terrorists attacked their country on 9/11 and the second time because some fellow Americans turned on them, simply because of their religion, which is absolutely unacceptable."

"At a time when perceptions of Muslims are at an all-time low, 'All-American Muslim' has managed to flip the switch and help many Americans see the commonalities we share with one another," said Eboo Patel, president of Interfaith Youth Core and a member of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships advisory council. "By showing the gray areas, not just the black and the white, the series has laid bare the complex and valid range of emotions that these families have experienced over the past ten years. And, instead of soundbites, this nuance adds value by showing very real, very human responses to the events that changed our world."


KATY PERRY: U.S. pop star Katy Perry and British comedian Russell Brand spent Christmas apart after weeks of fighting, E! News reported.

Advertisement

The couple wed in 2010 after dating for about a year.

A source close to them told E! News they have been having "problems" and are spending "a lot of time apart."

Perry was photographed in Hawaii last weekend while Brand was in England.


DEBRA MESSING: Debra Messing has been dating Will Chase, her co-star on the New York-set drama series "Smash," for about six weeks, a show insider told People.com.

"It all happened very fast and it's a difficult situation," the source told the celebrity news Web site.

Messing announced last week she and Daniel Zelman had separated after 10 years of marriage. The former couple are parents of a 7-year-old son.

Chase recently separated from his wife, Broadway actress Stephanie Gibson.


MGM GRAND: The lion habitat that opened at the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas in 1999 is to close at the end of January, resort officials announced.

"That is part of an overall property-wide renovation project," MGM Resorts spokeswoman Yvette Monet told the Las Vegas Sun.

"There are going to be significant changes in the casino and hotel," she said. "We're always assessing our properties to determine how we can provide a new and fresh product to our customers."

Advertisement

MGM Resorts began a yearlong $160 million remodeling of the MGM Grand in October.

The Sun said the lions will be moved to The Cat House, a ranch outside Las Vegas where they live with trainer Keith Evans. It is unclear what will take the animal attraction's place at the MGM Grand.

"I never understand corporate thinking," Evans told the newspaper of the decision to close the habitat. "The lion is the hotel's logo, but times change I guess, and we're a free show."

Latest Headlines