In very sad news, Jenni Rivera passed away yesterday in Mexico after her plane crashed shortly after takeoff, leaving no survivors. She was 43. The other passengers reported to be on board with Jenni were her publicist, lawyer and makeup artist, as well as two pilots. The plane was headed from Monterrey to Toluca, after Jenni performed in Monterrey on Saturday night. Jenni was named one of the 25 most powerful women by People en Español and was in the midst of taping the third season of her reality series, “I Love Jenni.” She has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. And last week, it was announced Jenni — who was born and raised in Long Beach, Calif. — had signed a deal with ABC to star in her own comedy pilot about a single Latina mother running a family business.
Should Jennifer Garner be worried? Kristen Stewart has confirmed that she will star in the new movie “Focus” with Ben Affleck. Kristen says it’s a comedy and she’s really excited about it. “Focus” is about a veteran con artist, played by Ben Affleck, who teams up with a young woman who’s new to the “dishonest” lifestyle. Production will begin in April.
Kate Middleton is once again suffering from another round of a severe form of morning sickness. Prince William was supposed to attend an event last night, but had to cancel because Kate was so sick. On Saturday night, Prince William went alone to a Gala in London, where he joked: “I don’t know why they call it morning sickness. They should call it all day and all night sickness. It’s a long old process but she is getting there. She feels like it is going to go on forever.”
Beyonce has signed a $50 million deal with Pepsi. It will include standard advertising like commercials as well as a multimillion-dollar fund to support her chosen creative projects. The campaign will go along with promotion for her next album, which has no title or release date so far but is expected in 2013. Sometime after she performs at the Super Bowl halftime show on February 3rd (which is also sponsored by Pepsi), Beyoncé will appear in a new TV ad — her fifth for Pepsi since 2002 — and her face will be on a limited-edition line of soda cans.
Kevin Clash… the voice of Elmo… has been sued by a 4TH accuser who claims he also had an intimate relationship with Kevin while he was a minor. The accuser claims he first met Kevin in Miami while he was 16 or 17 and Kevin was in his mid '30s. Kevin eventually flew him out to New York City and gave him money and a place to stay. According to the lawsuit, the man claims he's suffered tremendous emotional, mental and psychological damage as a result of the relationship.
