Joe Francis claims… Meryl Streep & Martin romance Buzz… Casting for ‘MR. & MRS. SMITH’ Season 2… Serena Williams health update… and Former One Direction members mourn death of Liam Payne

 

Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis is sharing a pretty wild story. He claims a sick person was trying to extort him, threatening to release police photos along with some sensitive information. So Joe decided to get ahead of it, releasing the photos himself and telling his side of what he claims transpired. Joe claims he was jogging by the golf course in the Punta Mita Resort — running by by Bill Gates’ house there, in fact — with his bodyguard trailing behind him in a Mercedes-Benz. That’s when he claims 8 masked gunmen appeared, grabbed him and pulled him into the bushes at gunpoint. After tying him up, beating and robbing him, Joe says they threw him into the car with his bodyguard and forced him to drive back to his home, where they were let in my Punta Mita security. The men proceeded to rob the house, all while Joe was bound and gagged. He believes this was all an inside job and that his bodyguard and Punta Mita security were in on it. Joe says he managed to free himself and walk a mile to the hospital, where he called the police. They took photos of his injuries, that included a black eye, bruises and a cut on his leg. But despite having any life-threatening injuries, Joe claims the hospital put him in a medically induced coma for 10 days, just to rack up huge bills for the insurance company! Now Joe says his insurance company is suing the hospital, and his bodyguard is still on the run.

Is this art spilling over into real life? They play lovers on Only Murders in the Building, but Martin Short and Meryl Streep are looking like they’re falling in love for real. The rumors of them dating first started after they looked super cozy together during the Golden Globes in January. Since then, they held hands at the Season 4 premiere of their show, but that could just be to promote the storyline. However, that dinner date this week in Santa Monica looked more like a real date. Their reps insist these two are just friends, but we’re hoping it’s the real thing! We recently found out 75-year-old Meryl and her husband DonGummer secretly split six years ago, and 74-year-old Martin has been widowed since his wife of 30 years passed away in 2010.

Deadline is first to report that after the shocking Season 1 finale of Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Prime Video, they’re looking for new leads. Co-created by Donald Glover, he and Maya Erskine play two strangers paired as a married couple as they begin new careers as spies, taking on the aliases John and Jane Smith. No spoilers (hopefully!) but we’re not sure if their characters survived in a shootout at the end of the season. However, Deadline’s sources say the studio is now looking for an actor and actress in their 20s to play John and Jane in Season 2, but it would strictly be a one-year deal. And Billie Eilish is among the names being considered for Jane.

Serena Williams shared a TikTok video about a recent health scare. She explained she first noticed a lump on the side of her neck back in May. Two months later, Serena hosted the ESPYs but the lump wasn’t visible to us. After testing, she learned it was a benign cyst, but it kept getting bigger and bigger. When it finally reached the size of a grapefruit, Serena said her doctors advised her it was time to take it out or it could get infected. She recently underwent surgery to have it removed, sharing that she’s feeling “so grateful and fortunate everything worked out” and that she is healthy. She’s also still healing. At the end of her video, Serena was going into an American Girl store with her 7-year-old daughter Olympia. She said, “Mommy is suffering, but mom has to keep showing up.”

On Wednesday, Liam Payne passed away after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina. He was 31. Yesterday, the One Direction Instagram posted: “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly. The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever. For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam. Louis, Zayn, Niall and Harry”

Shortly after, Louis was the first to post, in part, “I am beyond devastated to be writing this but yesterday I lost a brother…we often spoke of getting back in the studio together to try and recreate the writing chemistry we had built up in the band. And for the record, Liam was in my opinion the most vital part of One Direction….A message to you Liam if you’re listening, I feel beyond lucky to have had you in my life but I’m really struggling with the idea of saying goodbye…I want you to know that if Bear ever needs me I will be the Uncle he needs in his life and tell him stories of how amazing his dad was…Payno, my boy, one of my best friends, my brother, I love you mate. Sleep well X”

Louis was followed by Zayn, who posted, “Liam, I have found myself talking out loud to you, hoping you can hear me. I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives. I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life … Even though you were younger than me you were always more sensible than me, you were headstrong, opinionated, and gave no (blanks) about telling people when they were wrong. Even though we butted heads because of this a few times (laughing crying emoji) I always secretly respected you for it…”

Then Harry posted, “I am truly devastated by Liam’s passing. His greatest joy was making other people happy, and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it. Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious. He was warm, supportive, and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend…”

Niall took a little more time to process before posting this morning, “I’m absolutely devastated about the passing of my amazing friend, Liam. It just doesn’t feel real. Liam had an energy for life and a passion for work that was infectious. He was the brightest in every room and always made everyone feel happy and secure. …We got to live out our wildest dreams together and I will cherish every moment we had forever…I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking….Thank you for everything, Payno. Love you brother. Nialler”

 

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