3/21/2022: Britney Spears Shocks Fans
PLUS: The End of “Maury,” Kanye vs. Pete, and LeBron James’ Big Score
Today is Monday, March 21, 2022.
It is the 80th day of the year.
285 days remain.
TRENDING
Saturday was National Let’s Laugh Day.
Twitter users complained over the weekend about their busted March Madness brackets.
Sunday was National Ravioli Day & the First Day of Spring.
Twitter users celebrated the return of Spring with tweets about “warmth,” “sunshine,” “BBQs” and “patio cocktails.”
#AskAManAnyQuestion was trending on Sunday. Tweets included, “and whatever the answer is, it’ll be wrong according to his wife…,” “Why are you like this?,” “Why can’t you pick up after yourself?,” and “Why do you need a man cave?”
Kid Rock landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends Sunday ahead of his interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson. The sit-down airs tonight.
###
CHARTS
Weekend Box Office
10. Sing 2: $1.4 million (down from 8)
9. The Kashmir Files: $1.45 million (new)
8. The Outfit: $1.5 million (new)
7. Death on the Nile: $1.7 million (down from 6)
6. Spider-Man: No Way Home: $3.2 million (down from 5)
5. Dog: $4 million (down from 4)
4. X: $4.4 million (new)
3. Uncharted: $8 million (down from 2)
2. Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie: $14 million (new)
1. The Batman: $36 million (stayed at 1)
###
DEATHS
JOHN CLAYTON has died.
The NFL reporter, who covered the league for decades, passed away Friday at a Seattle-area hospital after a brief illness, according to a former colleague. Other details surrounding his passing were not shared.
He was 67.
###
BABY NEWS
SOULJA BOY, 31, is going to be a dad!
The rapper is expecting his first child with hairstylist JACKILYN MARTINEZ.
Soulja announced the news on his Instagram, with a post featuring the couple’s gender reveal — It’s a Boy!
###
SICK BAY
Supreme Court Justice CLARENCE THOMAS, 73, was admitted to the hospital Friday evening after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Per a statement from the court, he was diagnosed with an infection and is resting comfortably.
It is expected that he will be released in the next few days.
###
LOTTERY
No winner for Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Tuesday night’s drawing will be for a $39 million jackpot or a $25.3 million cash payout.
###
No winner for Saturday night’s Powerball drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $156 million jackpot or a $101.8 million cash payout.
###
SHOWBIZ NEWS
PETE DAVIDSON is no longer going to space.
After a schedule change, insiders told Variety that Davidson will no longer be able to blast off.
The Blue Origin flight was supposed to launch on Wednesday, but has now been rescheduled to March 29.
No reason was given for the delay.
ALSO: Blue Origin tweeted that they will announce who will take Davidson’s spot in the coming days.
###
BRITNEY SPEARS returned to Instagram on Friday, two days after her sudden disappearance.
She sent fans into a tizzy with her return after sharing a video of what appeared to be a baby bump, which she captioned “Mommy…get me out of here!!!”
Followers flooded the comment section questioning if the post is a pregnancy announcement.
Spears is already mom to two sons, Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15.
###
Several A-listers are heading to court to testify in JOHNNY DEPP and AMBER HEARD’s defamation lawsuit.
The trial, set to kickoff next month in Virginia, will see the likes of JAMES FRANCO, ELON MUSK and PAUL BETTANY, among others, take the stand.
As previously reported, the exes are suing each other for defamation and a judge has decided to lump both sides into one case.
###
TRAVIS BARKER, SHEILA E., DJ D-NICE and the SAMPLES are among those who will perform at the Academy Awards this month.
More musical guests will be announced in the coming days.
The 94th Academy Awards will air live from the Dolby Theater on March 27.
###
RICK ROSS was gifted two giant buffalos on Friday from his Ethika clothing line business partner.
One of the massive mammals is a 5-year-old named Champ who weighs 2,000 pounds. The other, who is not yet named, is a one-year-old who weighs 700 pounds.
###
NORMAN REEDUS will return to the set of “The Walking Dead” tomorrow.
The actor took a break from filming after suffering a concussion on set earlier this month.
Details surrounding the accident are not known.
###
CASTING CALL
“Maury” is ending after 31 years on the air.
Production sources confirmed to PEOPLE that the long-running daytime talk show, hosted by MAURY POVICH, will end with this season.
Original episodes will run through September and then the show will live on in syndication.
###
NICK JONAS is joining NBC competition series “Dancing with Myself” on the heels of SHAQUILLE O’NEAL’s exit.
Jonas will sit alongside actress LIZA KOSHY and singer SHAKIRA as one of the dance creators.
The series is hosted by CAMILLE KOSTEK.
ABOUT THE SHOW: The show features dancers, isolated in their own pods, who must learn a new routine, add their own style and then perform the dance in front of a live studio audience. The judging panel and audience members select their favorites to move forward. The best dancer of the night takes home the cash prize.
###
PHILIPPINE LEROY-BEAULIEU will appear in the forthcoming season of “The Crown.”
Her role in the Netflix series is unknown.
She currently stars as marketing boss Sylvie Grateau in “Emily in Paris.”
###
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD is joining Season 3 of “The Mandalorian.”
His role is being billed as a guest starring one, per Deadline. No other details were shared.
A premiere date for Season 3 has not been announced.
###
THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Social media star and professional boxer JAKE PAUL thinks KANYE WEST and PETE DAVIDSON need to settle their beef in the boxing ring, and says he has $60 million to make it happen.
Paul told TMZ that he is “sick” of seeing their spat play out on social media and he is worried about Ye and KIM KARDASHIAN’s children getting stuck in the middle.
Insiders say it is “highly unlikely” the two will accept Paul’s offer.
SPEAKING OF KANYE: His online antics have gotten him banned from performing at the Grammys.
###
WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
DUCHESS CAMILLA has taken over MEGHAN MARKLE’s role as Patron of the National Theater.
It is the first of Meghan’s patronages to be given to another member of the Royal Family. She still holds two other patronages — Smart Works Charity and Mayhew, an animal welfare group.
###
SPORTS
LEBRON JAMES is the No. 2 all-time regular season scorer in NBA history with 36,947 points. He falls short to former Laker KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR.
Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 is in reach for James by next year, however.
WORTH NOTING: James is No. 1 in all-time points scored (regular season AND playoffs), but the NBA only takes into consideration the regular season for this stat.
###
DAY OF THE YEAR
National California Strawberry Day
National Common Courtesy Day
National Countdown Day
National Fragrance Day
National French Bread Day
National Single Parent Day
World Down Syndrome Day
###
ON THIS DATE
1804 – French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte pushes through a set of laws called the Napoleonic Code.
The laws included dictates on property rights, family matters, and individual rights.
It defined commercial and criminal laws, and institutionalized rules that made men the legal heads of households. The Code also made women and illegitimate children second-class citizens.
###
1943 – An internal Nazi plan to capture and assassinate Hitler fails.
The higher-ups in the Nazi party planned to arrest the Fuhrer upon his visit to an army headquarters in the Soviet Union. They planned to later detain and kill him.
The plot fell apart instantly, with Hitler surrounded by loyal guards and an entourage.
###
1963 – Infamous prison Alcatraz closes down.
It became American property in 1849, when it was bought by the government.
At its peak in the 1950s, the island prison in San Francisco Bay was home to more than 200 prisoners, many of them iconic gangsters and criminals from the time.
It was one of the first prisons to use metal detector technology.
###
1965 – The Ranger 9 probe is launched by NASA.
The spacecraft carried still and video cameras to take shots of the moon before impacting it.
The major networks broadcast the images live.
###
1980 – President Carter announces to American Olympians that they would not participate in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
It was the only time the U.S. boycotted the games.
###
1980 – Hit TV show “Dallas” ends its second season with the most famous cliffhanger in TV history.
It capped off a season of JR ticking off a lot of people, and some mysterious person shooting him twice.
SPOILER ALERT: It was JR's mistress.
###
1995 – New Jersey dedicates a rest stop to radio personality Howard Stern.
The Howard Stern Rest Area is located along Route 295.
###
2018 – Mark Zuckerberg admits that Facebook “made mistakes” after data on 50 million users is harvested by Cambridge Analytica for political advertising purposes.
The illicit harvesting was first reported by a journalist for The Guardian in December 2015. Further reports surfaced with Facebook refusing to comment.
The scandal finally erupted in March with the emergence of whistle-blower Christopher Wylie, who previously worked for Cambridge Analytica. Following the reveal, more than $100 billion was knocked off of Facebook’s market capitalization and politicians demanded answers.
This all led to Zuckerberg testifying in front of Congress.
###
BIRTHDAYS
Jace Norman - actor, “Henry Danger” - 22
Miles Bridges - basketball player - 24
Diggy Simmons - rapper - 27
Jordi Alba - soccer player - 33
Charlie Clips - rapper - 35
Scott Eastwood - actor, “The Longest Ride” & “Suicide Squad” - 36
Adrian Peterson - football player - 37
Matthew Broderick - actor, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” - 60
Rosie O’Donnell - actress & TV show host - 60
Gary Oldman - actor, “Darkest Hour” & “True Romance” - 64
Born On This Date
Chris Candido - wrestler - 1972 (d. 2005)
Ayrton Senna - race car driver - 1960 (d. 1994)
Eddie Money - rock singer - 1949 (d. 2019)
###