The 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” is off to a strong ratings start and is a record-breaker for the streaming service Peacock.

Before flying to Italy’s southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the Group of Seven summit, Pope Francis hosted a very different audience at the Vatican celebrating the importance of humor.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” opened with an estimated $56 million in theater sales over the weekend.

“Oppenheimer” continued to steamroll through Hollywood’s awards season on Saturday, winning the top prize, for outstanding cast, along with awards for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The casts of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer are gathered alongside far less famous Oscar hopefuls at the annual Academy Award nominees luncheon.

This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include Adam Sandler playing a 74-year-old elementary class lizard in the latest Netflix animation offering “Leo” and “Oppenheimer” finally arriving on home screens.

Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards for the second straight year and fourth time overall.

This week’s new entertainment releases include country superstar Chris Stapleton’s fifth studio album, Michael Fassbender playing a hitman in David Fincher’s “The Killer” and Tim Allen putting on his Santa suit for season two of “The Santa Clauses.”.

Jada Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith have lived what she says are “completely separate lives” since 2016.

After several quiet weeks in movie theaters, four films entered wide release over the weekend.

The traffic jam leaving the Burning Man festival has eased up considerably as the exodus from the mud-caked Nevada desert entered a second day Tuesday following massive rain that left tens of thousands of of partygoers stranded there for days.

After playing the con-artist attorney Saul Goodman for six seasons on “Better Call Saul," Bob Odenkirk is returning to his comedic roots with the series “Lucky Hank.”.

The Slap.

The metaphysical multiverse comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywood’s top prize Sunday, winning best picture at the 95th Academy Awards, along with awards for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.

An Associated Press reporter has spent the past several years watching from an opera box that gives him a unique perspective on the audience at the Oscars.

The Academy Awards are Sunday, but did last year’s Oscars ever really end.

A year after Will Smith smacked him on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock finally gave his rebuttal in a forceful stand-up special, streamed live on Netflix, in which the comedian bragged that he “took that hit like Pacquiao.”.

Angela Bassett won entertainer of the year at Saturday’s NAACP Image Awards on a night that also saw her take home a television acting trophy for “9-1-1.”.

Motion picture academy president Janet Yang told a room full of Oscar nominees that the organization's response to Will Smith's onstage slap of Chris Rock during last year's ceremony was inadequate.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are reteaming for a fourth “Bad Boys” movie, in one of Smith’s most high-profile new projects since the slap.

Memorable moments at the Golden Globe Awards, back on TV after a year off, included a wrongly accused pianist.

How much do you remember about what happened in 2022?

Dave Chappelle asked the crowd at his comedy show to make some noise for the world's richest man.

Taylor Swift was up.

2022's most notable quotations include a tart retort by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a U.S. offer of help.

While filming “Emancipation,” Will Smith routinely drew inspiration from the words “sacred motivation” that were written on the front page of a script.

Chris Rock is going where no comedian has gone before — live on Netflix.

Jimmy Kimmel is ready to host the Oscars again.

David O.

Jada Pinkett Smith has a lifetime of thoughts she’d like to set down.

After holding “Emancipation” in limbo following Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor’s next big project in December.

Tom Ford closed New York Fashion Week on Wednesday with a starry front row and a runway full of big hair, disco cowgirls and sequins for miles.

The Emmy Awards have spread honors around repeat winners – Zendaya, Jason Sudeikis and Jean Smart – and some first timers, like Sheryl Lee Ralph and Quinta Brunson of “Abbott Elementary.”.

The MTV Video Music Awards later this month will have not one emcee but three, with rap stars LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow all set to anchor the ceremony.

Producer Janet Yang has been elected the 36th president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Mo Ostin, a self-effacing giant of the music business who with rare integrity presided over Warner Bros.

Will Smith has again apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscar telecast, saying in an online video that his behavior was “unacceptable.”.

Actor Marlee Matlin, director Jason Reitman and producer Jason Blum are joining the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Mo'Nique and Netflix reportedly have settled her lawsuit that accused the streaming service of racial and sexual discrimination.

Millions of people around the world are affected by alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss and was thrown into the spotlight after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Jada Pinkett Smith turned her husband’s Oscar-night blowup into a teachable moment on “Red Table Talk,” her Facebook Watch show.

Next year’s Academy Awards will take place March 12.

Jesse Williams vowed not to be discouraged after leaked video and images of his onstage nude scene in the Broadway play “Take Me Out” were posted online.

“A Strange Loop,” Michael R.

Los Angeles County prosecutors say the man who tackled comedian Dave Chappelle during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl will not be charged with any felonies.

Comedian Dave Chappelle was tackled during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night and a man was later arrested.

Kris Jenner became emotional Friday while recalling a volatile 2016 argument she heard about between her son Rob Kardashian and his then-girlfriend Blac Chyna that traumatized him.

The motion picture academy has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

A group of inter-generational stars from film, TV, sports and music — including Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Elton John and Jon Bon Jovi, Jonas Brothers and Billie Eilish — have signed up for a social media campaign to show support for Ukraine.

Jon Batiste may have won the most Grammy Awards with five on Sunday night, but in some ways he was a surprise.

Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed.

Oscars producer Will Packer says Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over an Oscars ceremony punchline, other comedians felt the sting.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said that Will Smith was asked to leave Sunday’s Oscars after hitting Chris Rock but refused.

Chris Rock received several standing ovations before he told one joke at his first comedy show since Will Smith slapped him in the face onstage at the Oscars.

Wanda Sykes said she felt physically ill after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face at the Oscars.

The physical altercation between actor Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards stunned the crowd and the millions watching the globally televised ceremony.

Legal experts say Will Smith’s slap seen ’round the world at the Oscars was clearly a crime.

Will Smith's violent slap of Chris Rock during the Academy Awards ceremony had no appreciable difference on the size of the ABC broadcast's television audience.

Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that affects millions of people around the world.

In the minutes and hours after Will Smith accosted and slapped Chris Rock before a live Oscars audience of millions, many people hurried to social media platforms.

Will Smith has apologized to Chris Rock for slapping the comedian onstage at Sunday’s Oscars, writing in a statement that he was “out of line” and “wrong.”.

The television audience for the Academy Awards appears to be up from last year's record low, but is still not at the level that the annual awards show is accustomed to.

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss is at the root of the most talked-about moment at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony.

Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars provoked intense opinions online, especially from comedians who felt it was an assault on their art.

The next time someone tells you the Oscars are boring, remind them of the 2022 ceremony.

Will Smith danced with glee at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, waving his best actor Oscar in the air and rapping along to his own songs with wife Jada Pinkett Smith at his side.

Every Oscar show has its big moments, but Will Smith’s slap heard ’round the world overshadowed them all this year.

Will Smith marched on stage and smacked presenter Chris Rock during Sunday night’s Oscars after Rock made a joke about the appearance of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

After a movie year often light on crowds, the Academy Awards named an unabashed crowd-pleaser, the deaf family drama “CODA,” best picture Sunday, handing Hollywood’s top award to a streaming service for the first time.

Lady Gaga might have missed out on an Oscar nomination for her turn in “House of Gucci,” but she’ll still be gracing the stage at the Dolby Theatre on March 27.

Chris Rock on Sunday said he has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and sent a message to anyone still on the fence: “Get vaccinated.”.

Biz Markie, a hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable mastery and the 1989 classic “Just a Friend,” has died.

Fifteen months after shuttering for the pandemic, New York’s Radio City Music Hall reopened its doors Saturday for the Tribeca Festival premiere of a new Dave Chappelle documentary.

The Supreme Court is leaving in place an appeals court decision that the family of a Black driver who was fatally shot by a white police officer in a suburban Ohio city cannot sue the city or the officer.

Marc Maron always believed his long-running podcast “WTF with Marc Maron” should have gotten more award recognition over the years.

Elon Musk moved a cryptocurrency's value and TV ratings with his “Saturday Night Live” appearance.

Jimmy Kimmel and YouTube personality and engineer Mark Rober will host an online fundraiser to benefit those with autism.

CORRECTS DAY OF CONCERT - FILE - Patti Smith attends a special screening of "Pavarotti" at the iPic Theater in New York on May 28, 2019. Smith performed six songs as well as read poetry and excerpts from her book “Just Kids” in the Beaux-Arts Court at the museum, her voice bouncing off the skylight 60 feet above. It was a concert to also honor museum workers and drew just under 50 people, all socially distanced in widely spaced chairs. The Smith concert came on the same day in 1989 that Mapplethorpe died at age 42. It also marked the one-year anniversary of when Smith last performed live, at The Fillmore in San Francisco.

NEW YORK – When Eddie Murphy made the original “Coming to America,” he was, almost indisputably, the funniest man in America. “Now I take nothing for granted and appreciate everything.”Thirty-three years after “Coming to America,” Murphy and Hall have returned to Zamunda. At the barbershop, where Murphy and Hall also reprise their characters, the conversation bounces from Teslas to transgender people. Before making “Black Panther,” Murphy has said Ryan Coogler approached him about a “Coming to America” sequel. Ruth E. Carter designed the costumes of both “Black Panther” and “Coming 2 America.” Both were shot in Atlanta.

(Will Heath/NBC via AP)LOS ANGELES – “Saturday Night Live” went political with a parody of this week’s presidential debate, Chris Rock's jab at President Donald Trump and Megan Thee Stallion's message supporting Black people during her performance. The NBC late-night sketch series on Saturday night jumped into the reenactment of the recent debate between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. The series opened its 46th season, returning to the studio this week after the coronavirus pandemic halted production. Alec Baldwin returned to play Trump before the president’s COVID diagnosis, while Jim Carrey made his feature debut as Biden. “President Trump is in the hospital from COVID, and I just want to say that my heart goes out to COVID,” he joked.

The Robert Zemeckis adaptation of “Roald Dahl’s The Witches” has found a new home on HBO Max this month just in time for Halloween. Warner Bros. said Friday that “The Witches” will debut on the subscription streaming service, owned by parent company WarnerMedia, on Oct. 22. Dahl’s 1983 novel about an orphaned boy who discovers a coven of witches that hate children was previously adapted for the big screen in 1990 by director Nicolas Roeg. It starred Angelica Huston, Mai Zetterling and Rowan Atkinson and was a box office flop, despite its critical acclaim. This new version has actor Jahzir Bruno playing the boy who must try to stop the witches from turning the world's children into mice.

NEW YORK – Four years ago when he first moderated a general election presidential debate, Chris Wallace was firm and funny in trying to get Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to stop talking simultaneously. Wallace declined an interview request through Fox but his work offers clues about how he will approach the assignment. Trump has tweeted, more than once, that Chris will “never be his father.”Mike Wallace, it should be noted, never moderated a presidential debate. During interviews with Trump this summer, Wallace and Jonathan Swan of Axios proved particularly adept at challenging presidential misstatements. “I do not believe it is my job to be a truth squad,” Wallace told a Fox News colleague before the 2016 debate.

LOS ANGELES Ellen DeGeneres says she'll be ready to talk when her daytime show returns this month after a staff shake-up prompted by allegations of a toxic workplace. And, yes, were gonna talk about it, DeGeneres said in a statement announcing the show's Sept. 21 start of its 18th season. Tiffany Haddish will join DeGeneres for the kick-off episode, with The Ellen DeGeneres Show to be taped at Warner Bros. minus an in-studio audience, which is commonplace during the pandemic. Stephen tWitch Boss, a longtime guest DJ on the show and among those who have publicly supported DeGeneres, will guest host some fall episodes. Last month, three of the show's producers exited amid allegations of a dysfunctional workplace that harbored misbehavior including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks.

NEW YORK At the request of co-creator Tina Fey, four episodes of the comedy 30 Rock are being removed from circulation because they featured characters performing in blackface. The series aired on NBC from 2006 to 2013, but episodes are still being shown in television syndication and on streaming services including Hulu, Amazon Prime, iTunes and Peacock. Two of the four eliminated 30 Rock episodes originally aired in 2010, with the others first shown in 2008 and 2010. They include the East Coast version of an episode first shown live. Fallon, who did not appear in such makeup on 30 Rock, apologized last month after online circulation of an earlier Saturday Night Live skit where he wore blackface to impersonate Chris Rock.

NEW YORK Dwayne Johnson will host and Shakira, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson will perform on a globally broadcast concert calling on world leaders to make coronavirus tests and treatment available and equitable for all. The advocacy organization Global Citizen and the European Commission announced Monday that Global Goal: Unite for Our Future The Concert will air on June 27. The concert will also feature appearances from Billy Porter, Charlize Theron, Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Salma Hayek and David Beckham. It will be broadcast on NBC in the U.S. and other television stations, radio stations, websites and streaming outlets around the world. The event aims to lift up the global community that is tackling equitable access to healthcare, and other enormous injustices facing our world, Johnson said in a statement.

According to Variety, it was first posted on Twitter by a user named chefboyohdear, and showed Fallon, as Rock, appearing on a talk show. Fallon tweeted that it was a terrible decision to impersonate Rock, also a former Saturday Night Live cast member. I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable, the late-night star wrote. The history of minstrel shows and movies where white performers donned blackface to mock blacks has made its use considered offensive today. Sarah Silverman used blackface for a sketch on her Comedy Central show in 2007, a decision she later said she was horrified by.

NEW YORK A tribute to Andre Harrell, the influential music executive who discovered Sean Diddy Combs and died earlier this month, will air Sunday. It will air commercial free on BET, BET Jams, BET Soul and REVOLT TV, where Harrell served as vice chairman. Diddy often credits Harrell with giving him the tools to find success in music and life, even saying Harrell was like a father figure to him. In 1993, Harrell let go of Diddy, who then launched his uber-successful Bad Boy Records. Diddy posted multiple tributes to Harrell on social media following his death.