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‘SNL50’ Tops Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar to Win Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live)

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SNL50: The Anniversary Special won outstanding variety special (live) at the 2025 Primetime Emmys, beating an exceptionally high-powered field of nominees — The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé Bowl, SNL50: The Homecoming Concert and The Oscars. The awards were held on Sunday (Sept. 14) at the Ovation Theater at L.A. Live. Comedian Nate Bargatze served as host.

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Lorne Michaels, the show’s longtime executive producer, accepted the award by saying, “I won this award for the first time 50 years ago, in 1975. I was younger and I had a lot of dreams — and not one of those dreams was that I’d still be doing the same show for the next 50 years, however here we are. I want to thank NBC and Comcast for their support. The show was two years in the making.” [Editor’s Note: Michaels first won 49 years ago, in 1976.]

This was the 106th Primetime Emmy that SNL has won in competition, combining the flagship series and anniversary specials. That’s nearly twice as many Emmys as the runner-up show in total Emmy wins, Game of Thrones, with 59 awards. (SNL’s total does not count Hall of Fame citations to the show and its first-season cast.)

This was the third SNL anniversary special to win a top program Emmy. Saturday Night Live: The 25th Anniversary Special won outstanding variety, music or comedy special in 2000. The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special won outstanding variety special in 2015.

It’s rare for a special based on a regular TV program to win a top program Emmy. Three “Carpool Karaoke” specials based on the popular segment on The Late Late Show Starring James Corden won outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) from 2016 to 2019. In addition, five “Carpool Karaoke” specials won outstanding short-form program awards. The West Wing Documentary Special won outstanding special class program in 2002. Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons won outstanding variety special (live) in 2019. A similar special, Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times, won in the same category the following year.

Lorne Michaels was executive producer of SNL50: The Anniversary Special; it was his 24th Primetime Emmy (not counting his induction into the TV Hall of Fame in 1999).

Though she lost in the highest-profile variety category, Beyoncé won her first Primetime Emmy for Beyoncé Bowl prior to the main telecast — a juried award for outstanding costumes for variety, nonfiction or reality programming.

Likewise, though Kendrick Lamar lost in the highest-profile variety category, he won at the Creative Arts Emmys for outstanding music direction. He won in tandem with Tony Russell.

SNL50: The Anniversary Special featured several musical performances. Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound” as a cold open. Other performances were Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard teaming on the Prince song “Nothing Compares 2 U” (a song also famously recorded by Sinéad O’Connor), Adam Sandler playing “50 Years” (which received an Emmy nod for outstanding music and lyrics at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys), Lil Wayne and The Roots performing a hip-hop medley, and Paul McCartney performing the prized closing sequence from The Beatles’ 1969 masterwork Abbey Road.

Though the anniversary special won eight awards, SNL lost outstanding scripted variety series to Last Week Tonight With John Oliver for the third year in a row. John Oliver’s program has won an outstanding series award for 10 consecutive years. It won outstanding variety talk series for seven years before being moved to its current category, where it has won for three straight years.

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No ‘Good’ Deed Goes Unpunished for Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Final ‘Wicked: For Good’ Trailer

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In the final trailer for Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande‘s character learns that a big price comes with being Glinda the Good.

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Released on Wednesday (Sept. 24) — about two months before the Wicked sequel finally premieres in theaters on Nov. 21 — the preview shows how the blonde leading lady wrestles with her new role as Oz’s spokeswoman, as Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba attempts to expose the Wizard’s evil agenda while living in hiding. At first, Glinda is “obsess-ulated” with the gorgeous gown, tiara and mechanical flying bubble her public-facing life affords her — but everything quickly comes crashing down when she realizes that she’s on the wrong side of history, and that she just might be too late to save her former schoolmate from the wrath of Oz’s brainwashed citizens.

“I’m a public figure now, people expect me to …,” Glinda tells Elphaba at one point, with Dorothy’s fallen house and the Yellow Brick Road visible in the background.

“Lie?” the green-skinned witch cuts in, to which Glinda says defensively, “Be encouraging.”

Grande’s character is less sure of herself when she is confronted by Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, who accuses, “You can’t resist this.”

“Who could?” Glinda asks, to which the Winkie prince replies, “You know who could.”

Arriving one year after the first Wicked hit theaters and shattered movie-musical box-office records, For Good will serve as the film adaptation of the second act of the Broadway musical on which the live-actions are based. The soundtrack will also drop on Nov. 21, complete with two brand new songs sung by Grande and Erivo.

As revealed when the tracklist dropped a week prior to the new trailer, the title of Glinda’s bonus song is “The Girl in the Bubble,” while Elphaba’s added balled is called “No Place Like Home.”

Watch the final trailer for Wicked: For Good above.


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Priscilla Presley Says That Leaving Elvis Presley Was ‘The Only Way to Survive’ in New Memoir ‘Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis’

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Priscilla Presley was with Elvis Presley for around 14 years before they split; however, the pair had known each other for years before they wed in 1967.

The time in between and following Priscilla and Elvis’ divorce was a tough spot for Priscilla, and one she wasn’t super open about — that is, until now. In her new memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the actress shares the difficult but inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland post-split with the King, choosing to put herself and her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, first.

A hardcover version of the book is now on sale and can be purchased now on Amazon for $22.38, while paperback will run you $32. A Kindle version retails for $15.99. If you’re a superfan of Priscilla and the Presley family, you can also snag a signed version of the memoir via Barnes & Noble for $32. The piece makes a great gift for the avid Elvis collector in your life. If you’d rather listen to the memoir, we won’t judge, you can do so with Audible via a subscription which costs $7.95 a month, a price tag less than a physical copy.

Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis

Buy Now on amazon $22.38 $22.38
Buy Now at Barnes & noble $32 $32
Buy Now on audible $7.95 a month $7.95 a month

A new memoir by Priscilla Presley.


If you didn’t know, Priscilla met Elvis when she was just 14 and he was 24. The singer was serving in the U.S. Army in 1959 in Germany. The pair remained romantically connected for years, even with distance between them and in 1967, they were wed in a simple and very secret ceremony in Las Vegas. While their separation in 1973 was painful for Priscilla, this novel highlights why it was so important for the Naked Gun star to leave.

It seems that Priscilla lost touch with herself throughout her relationship with Elvis. Leaving allowed her to find herself again. Through the book, we are treated to snippets of Priscilla’s life pre- and post-Elvis and how she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother after the performer’s death in 1977.

Today, we are taken through how Priscilla was able to transform Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises, turning the King’s legacy into a full-on business. If you are an Elvis fan, this gives readers a unique perspective on his life, as told by his ex-wife. It also gives Priscilla’s story more context for those who aren’t too familiar with her life and career.

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Calvin Harris’ Ex-Business Manager Denies $22M Fraud Claims: ‘Categorically False’

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Calvin Harris‘ former longtime business manager is firing back against bombshell fraud claims, saying he never stole from anybody and that the Scottish DJ willingly agreed to invest in his Los Angeles real estate development project.

Thomas St. John, an entertainment industry-focused accountant who runs the eponymous firm Thomas St. John Group, is currently wrapped up in thorny arbitration proceedings with his former client Harris (Adam Wiles). He’s accused of abusing his access to Harris’ accounts in order to fund his side venture: the construction of a recording studio and office space complex in Hollywood.

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Harris claims that St. John tricked him into investing $22.5 million in the project, known as CMNTY Culture Campus, which he says turned out to be a “complete boondoggle” that he “has not received a single penny in return for” — while suggesting that St. John pocketed much of the money for himself.

However, a representative for St. John says in a new statement that the allegations are “categorically false.” The rep denies that St. John engaged in any self-dealing, adding that Harris is one of nine above-board investors who “knowingly signed investment agreements” to get involved in CMNTY Culture.

“Not a single dollar has been misappropriated, all investor entitlements remain intact, and the project continues to advance within the normal entitlement timeline,” says St. John’s rep in the Tuesday (Sept. 23) statement. “We will continue to take every necessary step to set the record straight and to ensure that these malicious, bad-faith attacks are recognized for what they are: entirely without merit.”

While CMNTY Culture was initially designed to house a recording studio and office space, St. John has since shifted the plans and is now developing a residential apartment complex on the same tract of land in Hollywood. According to his rep, the project is proceeding apace and “is expected to approach a $1 billion valuation” upon completion.

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“While the entitlement process has naturally taken longer than initially projected due to unprecedented interest, macroeconomic conditions and significant city red tape, it remains firmly within its promised schedule and is now on the verge of securing final entitlements, an important milestone that will unlock substantial value,” adds St. John’s rep.

Thomas St. John Group has offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The management firm’s U.S. arm recently filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in L.A. and multiple pending legal actions.

One creditor listed in the firm’s bankruptcy papers is Philip Lawrence, a songwriter and producer who made his name collaborating with Bruno Mars. Lawrence used to be a client of St. John’s and at one point invested $10 million from the sale of his catalog into CMNTY Culture Campus, according to court filings in Lawrence’s own personal bankruptcy case.

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