Tag: People and Life

– Parenting influencer Bonnie Hoellein is distancing herself from her sister Ruby Franke, who was arrested on child abuse charges along with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt. The two women, who co-founded parent advice and counseling service ConneXions, are each facing six counts of felony child abuse.
– Bonnie has opened up about her estrangement from her sister, stating that Ruby and her husband Kevin cut off their family years ago. She has criticized Ruby’s controversial extreme parenting techniques and the practices of her company, ConneXions.
– Ruby and Jodi were arrested after one of Franke’s sons was found emaciated with open wounds and duct tape on his ankles and wrists. Ruby’s four minor children were taken into the care of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services. Kevin, who has been living apart from Ruby for 13 months, has not been arrested or charged.

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Bonnie Hoellein is creating some distance from her sister, Ruby Franke. This comes after Ruby, a parenting influencer, and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested on child abuse charges. The charges were laid in late August. Ruby and Jodi, who co-founded a parent advice and counseling service, are now facing six counts of felony child abuse each.

E! News has tried to reach out to Ruby and Jodi’s legal representation. Unfortunately, contact information hasn’t been made available. Previous attempts to reach them directly have also failed. In light of the scandal, Bonnie has decided to open up about her estrangement from her sister. She explains that Ruby and Kevin, her husband, cut ties with their family years ago.

Bonnie expressed her feelings in a nearly 10-minute video posted on September 13. She said, “The first thing that I want to say is that we have kept quiet for three years on the topic of our sister Ruby and Jody and Kevin and ConneXions. We did not know what they were doing because, like we said, we were cut off, we did not have access to anyone.”

Bonnie didn’t hold back in criticizing Ruby and her husband’s extreme parenting techniques. She also took a shot at their company. “My thoughts towards Ruby and Jody and Kevin and ConneXions is that it was all bullcrap,” Bonnie continued. “It was complete indoctrination of this thing that they created. I don’t agree with how extreme they are on everything. I knew they were weird. I knew that they were off. Those are the things that we kept quiet about because what was I gonna say? What was I going to do? I was not going to come out and publicly say that I don’t like my sister and I don’t like what she’s doing and I think she’s weird. That is what we kept quiet about.”

Bonnie made it clear that she is not her sister. She said, “I am not my sister. I am not my sister’s mistakes.” Ruby, 41, and Jodi, 54, were arrested Aug. 30 after one of the Frankes’ sons, 12, climbed out a window at the latter’s home and went to a neighbor’s house, asking for food and water. He was found to be emaciated and with open wounds and duct tape on his ankles and wrists, according to an affidavit obtained by NBC News. Police also found his 10-year-old sister was found at the home in a similar malnourished condition, the document said, with the children ultimately being transported to a hospital for treatment.

Ruby and Kevin’s four minor children were taken into the care of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services. As for Kevin, he has not been arrested or charged and his lawyer recently said on Good Morning America that his client has been living apart from Ruby for 13 months and is “distraught” over how the allegations are affecting his family.

Ruby and Jodi are currently being held in jail without bail ahead of a Sept. 21 hearing. “The more I learn, my feelings are turning more to anger,” Bonnie said in her video about the allegations. “I am mad. I am mad at what has happened. I am beyond disgusted and I feel like it makes me tremble. It makes me tremble because this is unheard of. It is truly unbelievable.”

She had previously spoken out against Ruby a day after her sister was arrested in a joint statement with sisters Ellie Mecham and Julie Deru. “For the last 3 years we have kept quiet on the subject of Ruby Franke for the sake of her children,” they wrote in their Aug. 31 note. “Behind the public scene, we have done everything to try and make sure the kids were safe. We wouldn’t feel right about moving forward with regular content without addressing the most recent events. Once we do, we will not be commenting on it any further.”

The sisters added, “Ruby was arrested which needed to happen. Jodi was arrested which needed to happen. The kids are now safe, which is the number one priority.” After Bonnie shared her YouTube video, Julie posted one of her own, saying that she did not think ConneXions was a good counseling resource for Ruby. “We all felt weird about this Jodi lady,” she noted. “We weren’t comfortable with it. We didn’t like it. We didn’t like the teachings Ruby was bringing to the family functions.”

Deru said that three years ago, Ruby “left the family,” adding, “I literally had no contact with her. She wouldn’t respond to any texts or emails.” “We are kind of in complete shock still as to what she had done,” she said, “because we had no idea of what was happening.” (E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)

– Comedian Elyse Myers and her husband Jonas Myers have welcomed their second child, a baby boy named Oliver.
– Elyse, who gained fame on TikTok for her honest and hilarious storytelling, first announced her pregnancy with a themed video based on the TV series ‘The Office’.
– The pregnancy announcement video attracted attention from fans and even the official Instagram account of ‘The Office’, with actress Jenna Fischer congratulating the couple.

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Hey, have you heard? Elyse Myers, the comedian, has a new bundle of joy. And no, it’s not a hundred Taco Bell tacos.

She and her husband, Jonas Myers, are already parents to a 2-year-old son named August. But now, they’ve welcomed their second baby. Elyse confirmed the family’s newest addition on social media. She shared photos with their baby boy and captioned the Sept. 13 post, “We love you so much, Oliver.”

Jonas couldn’t help but gush over his wife and sons in the comments. “Elyse is a superhero,” he wrote. “Oliver is a breath of life, August is a legend who can’t wait to meet him, and I am thrilled for all the Team Meyers sunsets.”

Elyse hosts the “funny cuz it’s true” podcast and rose to fame on TikTok. She’s known for her honest and always hilarious storytelling. In fact, she first shared that she and Jonas were expecting back in February. And the pregnancy announcement? Unforgettable.

They made an “The Office” themed pregnancy announcement starring her and her husband. The video was based on the series’ episode, “Local Ad.”

“It all starts with two people, but you can never tell where those people will end up,” Elyse could be saying in a voiceover in the Feb. 24 clip. “People fall in love, they change, they grow and then sometimes they have babies. And then babies become their whole world. And in a fast-moving world where good news moves at the speed of time, and bad news isn’t always what it seems. Because when push comes to shove, people deserve the chance to score.”

Just like the episode, the video saw a piece of paper being relayed to and from Elyse and Jonas. The 29-year-old eventually unwrapped a crumpled piece of paper that unveiled the words, “We are pregnant.” The pair then walked into frame holding “World’s Best Mom” and “Dad” mugs respectively.

The creative announcement even captured the attention of the show itself. “The Office”‘s official Instagram account commented, “Future regional manager in the making,” while actress Jenna Fischer added, “Congratulations!!!”

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App.

– Ten-year-old Everleigh Rose’s debut song “Like Taylor Swift” has gone viral and is being played on radio stations worldwide, as revealed by her mother, influencer Savannah LaBrant.
– The song, which mentions several of Taylor Swift’s songs and talks about moving to Tennessee, has received mixed reactions and has been compared to Rebecca Black’s infamous 2011 song “Friday.”
– Despite some criticism, others such as JoJo Siwa have defended Everleigh and her song, with Siwa condemning the bullying directed at the young singer and praising her for being one of the “kindest and hardest working kids.”

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Well, well, well, Everleigh Rose has just received some truly captivating news. A little over a week after the 10-year-old launched her debut song “Like Taylor Swift,” which has since gone viral, her mom, Savannah LaBrant, dropped a bombshell. The track has already made it to the airwaves!

On September 12, Savannah, an influential figure herself, shared a video on her Instagram Stories. In it, she’s seen telling Everleigh about her song’s significant achievement. “Everyone wanted me to film your reaction to this because it’s pretty cool. Are you ready?” Savannah said while picking Everleigh up from a dance class. Then she added, “Your song is playing on the radio.”

This news left Everleigh astounded. “What?” she responded, to which her mom continued, “All over the world.” As Everleigh expressed her disbelief, Savannah added, “Like, you could turn on the radio and it could possibly be on the radio. How crazy is that?”

Everleigh then exclaimed, “Only people like Taylor Swift are on the radio!” Savannah noted that the song is currently playing “in the U.K., in Norway, in Kansas” and in Guatemala. “How cool is that?” Savannah concluded her message. “Congrats, kiddo!”

Since its release on September 4, the song has indeed traveled far and wide. The music video, posted on YouTube, has been watched more than 1.3 million times. “Like Taylor Swift”—in which Everleigh name-drops several of the singer’s songs and sings about moving to Tennessee and listening to Taylor on the radio—has sparked mixed reactions. Some critics have even compared it to Rebecca Black’s infamous 2011 song “Friday.”

However, others, like JoJo Siwa, have defended Everleigh and “Like Taylor Swift” amid the criticism. “Saying all of this with love,” the former child star wrote in a September 8 TikTok video. In it, she’s seen lip-syncing to the song in a car. “As the now 20-year-old who once was the 10-year-old growing up in front of the internet, I wanna say to anyone that’s been saying negative things about this song or Everleigh herself, lose your ego and grow up.”

JoJo, who has appeared in LaBrant family videos in the past, continued, “First, this song is adorable (and insanely catchy). And second… Bullying isn’t cool, it’s not funny, and it’s not trendy, ever… especially when it’s directed at a 10-year-old and her first song by people much older than her. Some even adults. If you’ve posted something knocking this, you should be embarrassed.”

As for Everleigh? JoJo aimed a whole lot of praise her way. She noted that Everleigh is “one of the kindest and hardest working kids I’ve ever had the joy of getting to be around.” The dance star added, “She absolutely deserves all the love and success she has.” For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App.

– Ten-year-old influencer Everleigh Rose, who is featured in her mother Savannah LaBrant and stepfather Cole LaBrant’s social media content, released her first song “Like Taylor Swift” which sparked debate online.
– The song, which references many of Taylor Swift’s song titles, was defended by JoJo Siwa after it received criticism for its mature content and speculation about who wrote the song.
– Despite some negative comments, the song has received praise for its creativity and catchiness, and has garnered over 1.1 million views on YouTube.

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Well, well, well, let’s dive into this. Everleigh Rose is in her fearless era. She’s a 10-year-old influencer who stars in her mom, Savannah LaBrant, and stepdad, Cole LaBrant’s social media content.

She debuted her first song “Like Taylor Swift” and a music video on Sept. 4. The song, inspired by her love of Taylor Swift, sparked debate. JoJo Siwa even stepped in to defend Everleigh.

In “Like Taylor Swift,” Everleigh sings about moving to Tennessee to find out who she is. She talks about making her parents proud and, of course, listening to the radio with her hair undone in the backseat of a car.

“Mу hair іs blоwing through thе wind / Taylor Swift on the radio all weekend,” she sings in the chorus. “Ѕwеet teа, sixteen, on my trampоlіnе, yeah.” But in the bridge, the young dancer name-drops a bunch of Taylor Swift song titles—a portion that’s gone viral on TikTok.

“Every single dау all I wanna do iѕ this / And dо іt like Taylor Swift / Like a love story / Like а dеar Јohn / Like a bad bloоd / Аnd kind of like our song,” Everleigh belts out. “Like I knew you were trоuble / You bеlong with me / Are you ready for it? / Are уоu 22? / Mаdе you shake it off / Or look at what yоu made me do / Nevеr grow up / Never fіnd а lover / Sparkѕ fly, fifteеn / Can I get a cruel summer?”

Many fans praised her creativity—calling the track “so catchy”—and were happy to see their own childhood dreams become her reality. “This is canon,” one fan wrote. “If you don’t grow up making your own song and music video you didn’t actually grow up.”

But not everyone was enchanted. It was also dubbed the “Friday” of this generation, drawing comparisons to Rebecca Black’s 2011 debut that was endlessly mocked. (Rebecca has said that backlash over her song made her feel depressed and ashamed for years.)

Furthermore, social media users were confused by Everleigh’s lyrics, with one person writing, “like what does she mean ‘like a dear john,’” while some thought songs like “Cruel Summer” and “Dear John” were too mature for a 10-year-old to be referencing. Still others questioned who really wrote the track and accused her parents of being the masterminds. Cole, 27, said in a TikTok video that Everleigh wrote the lyrics, but the official music video—which has 1.1 million views on YouTube as of Sept. 11—says it was written by “LaBrant Fam.”

Ultimately, JoJo entered the chat to tell haters they need to calm down. “Saying all of this with love,” JoJo wrote in a Sept. 8 TikTok. “As the now 20 year old who once was the 10 year old growing up in front of the internet, I wanna say to anyone that’s been saying negative things about this song or Everleigh herself, lose your ego and grow up.”

The former child star continued, “First, this song is adorable (and insanely catchy). And second… Bullying isn’t cool, it’s not funny, and it’s not trendy, ever… especially when it’s directed at a 10 year old and her first song by people much older than her. Some even adults. If you’ve posted something knocking this, you should be embarrassed.”

JoJo—who previously appeared in LaBrant family videos and posed on the red carpet with Everleigh at the Industry Dance Awards last year—went on to praise her as “one of the kindest and hardest working kids I’ve ever had to joy of getting to be around,” adding, “She absolutely deserves all the love and success she has.”

Fans agreed with the Dance Moms alum in the comments section. “THIS EXACTLY,” one person wrote. “Making fun of a child for just having fun is insane in a world telling kids that they’re growing up too fast. No one can win.”

And of course, Everleigh’s biggest supporters appear to be her parents, who have 52 million TikTok followers and 12 million Instagram followers between them. As Cole wrote in one video, “when your 10 yr old daughter writes the best song you’ve ever heard.”

– Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Adriana Rivera has created a fictional alter ego, Lúconde, to explore new creative avenues in her music. Lúconde is a culmination of Rivera’s passion for music and acting, and serves as a vessel for other personas to emerge in her debut album, “La Actriz: Acto I.” The album is a collection of alt-perreo, conscious boleros, and progressive Latin soul.
– Lúconde is the product of Rivera’s upbringing in a home that valued music and performance. She grew up as a child of dancers from reggaeton’s early roots, and was enrolled in ballet and sang in her church’s chorus. She later joined her school’s drama club, where she connected with the process of acting and realized its potential to help her express her ideas.
– Rivera has plans to continue creating projects like “La Actriz: Acto I,” and has already started brainstorming new personas to introduce. She also plans to expand the visual side of her work by founding her own production company. She views her work as a way to explore and express different aspects of herself, and hopes to connect with fans who appreciate the creativity in her projects.

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Creating fictional alter egos is a popular strategy among musicians. This allows them to explore new sonic avenues and experiment with different styles. David Bowie, David Johansen, and Lady Gaga are just a few examples of artists who have adopted this approach. Some may argue these are publicity stunts, but for many artists, it’s a genuine creative desire.

Take Adriana Rivera, a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter. Her dream was to merge two artistic outputs: music and acting. She set her own identity aside and introduced Lúconde, the persona behind her debut album, “La Actriz: Acto I.” This album is a magical mix of alt-perreo, conscious boleros, and progressive Latin soul.

Rivera explains that Lúconde is a mother personality. It serves as a vessel for other personas to emerge. She encourages her listeners to address her by either name. Lúconde is an artist with many ideas, searching for a way to express them.

Born to parents who were dancers during reggaeton’s early “underground” days, she was raised in a home that valued music and performance. She was enrolled in ballet and sang in her church’s chorus. This is where she began to discover her voice and test its limits and range.

She was later convinced by friends to audition for her school’s drama club. The monologue she used for the audition was about a character suffering from dissociative identity disorder. She recalls, “I remember researching a lot. I remember practicing [the monologue] alone at home. I had no training whatsoever, but I remember clicking with that a lot.”

For “La Actriz: Acto I,” Lúconde channeled the lessons from her theater days. She appreciated how acting helped her connect with her inner thoughts and understand people’s behaviors. She learned not to take things at face value and to look at things from different perspectives.

During the 2020 lockdown, she started thinking about how she could merge her interests. She began to write and flesh out the concept of the EP. She created a roster of alter egos that embody each track: La Malasuerte, Näia Kiyomi, Lilu, Miss Quinn, Bo Aracnia, Adela, and Nina Sorei.

She got in touch with Gyanma, an indie fan favorite, who helped her produce the album. He was initially apprehensive about her ambitious ideas but was convinced once he heard her sing. He says, “From the beginning, I recognized it was a very unique concept. Throughout recording and producing the music, every track kept evolving, and when we listened to the final album put together, we knew it was something very, very special.”

Lúconde also produced, directed, and starred in music videos for the tracks. Each video showcases a different persona. For example, La Malasuerte is a trickster changeling in “Macacoa,” while Näia Kiyomi enacts empowered, violent revenge in “6eis.”

Reflecting on her work, Lúconde says, “This is very autobiographical. What I’m doing is just taking the Stanislavski technique of acting and transforming it into a philosophy of life, because that’s who I am. I feel like acting saved me. Acting gave me so much perspective of life, of people, of society, and of myself.”

Looking ahead, Lúconde plans more projects similar to “Acto I.” She’s already brainstorming which personas to use again and new ones to introduce. As the album’s title implies, it’s just the start of a larger project. She says, “This project is synonymous with where I am in life right now. I feel like I’m still in the midst of becoming.”

She also plans to expand the visual side by founding her own production company. This will allow her to control that aspect of development and help other artists with their projects. “La Actriz: Acto I” was a long time in the making, but for Lúconde, it was worth it.

She says, “Once I knew that I wanted to be La Actriz in the music industry, I had a direction. For me that’s really important; I’ve always [felt] like I have to have some idea of who I want to be. In that sense, now I realize how lucky I am to know who I am a little bit. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but I’ve always had the vision. I’ve always nourished that. I’ve always protected that.”

Lúconde hopes to highlight the connections between light and shadow within every human being. She says, “Everything is connected: our spirituality, our physicality, our mind, our emotions. As an actor, my body, my mind, my emotions are my tools. The more familiar I am with myself, the better human I will be. That’s what I’m trying to explore with music. I always say, ‘Through my work I am whole,’ because I get to express all of these different aspects of myself.”

In a Q&A with POPSUGAR, Lúconde shared her favorite word (curiosity), quote (“You don’t have a right to anything in this life, but there’s nothing you can’t achieve”), play (“No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre), and movie (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”). She also revealed her favorite fictional character (Raven from “Teen Titans”) and her current music playlist (Gesaffelstein, Belén Aguilera, and “Scarlet” by Doja Cat). When asked about her inspiration, she named her grandfather. She also confessed that she prefers to play the villain who becomes a hero.