worldwidewave

Russell Brand is being investigated in the U.K. After a joint exposé by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4's Dispatches accused the 48-year-old comedian of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse over a seven-year period, the Metropolitan Police told ET that they're investigating him. Brand has denied the claims against him.

Per the Met, since the exposé, they've received a number of allegations of sexual offenses in London, as well as a number of allegations of sexual offenses committed elsewhere in the country. The Met is investigating the claims, all of which are non-recent, they said.

Officers will be offering specialist support to all of the women who have made allegations. The investigation is being carried out by detectives in the Met's Central Specialist Crime Command, led by Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy.

"We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offense, no matter how long ago it was, to contact us," Furphy told ET in a statement. "We understand it can feel like a difficult step to take and I want to reassure that we have a team of specialist officers available to advise and support."

The four women included in the exposé claimed the sexual assaults happened between 2006 and 2013. One day before the story was published, Brand took to social media to "absolutely refute" its claims, which he referred to as "extremely egregious and aggressive attacks."

"As I've written about extensively in my books, I was very, very promiscuous. Now during that time of promiscuity, the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual... I was always transparent about that then, almost too transparent," Brand said in part. "And I'm being transparent about it now as well. And to see that transparency metastasized into something criminal, that I absolutely deny."

In light of the allegations against Brand, his live tour has been postponed and YouTube has suspended his ability to monetize his channel on the platform.

Bam Margera has hit a fantastic milestone on his road to recovery ... we're told he's been sober for a month and is even hitting the skate park again.

Sources close to Bam tell TMZ ... Bam recently reached the 1-month mark and has been living on a farm owned by another professional skateboarder just outside of Philadelphia.

We're told he's been on the farm with his girlfriend, Dannii -- the 2 have been going to the gym every day and hiking with their dogs, and Bam's lost a ton of weight ... which has given him the ability to start skating again, and he's once again making it look easy.

Our sources say he's been loving getting back into the sport, but more importantly, has kept a really tight circle of positive friends and influences. Dannii even gave him an ultimatum that seems to have helped -- he picked her over the booze.

We're told the former "Jackass" star feels this is the first time he's wanted to get sober for himself ... as opposed to being forced by family or friends through an intervention.

As we reported, Bam's been in a legal battle with his estranged wife, Nikki, over custody of their 5-year-old kid, Phoenix -- she was granted temporary sole custody of the boy last month, following an arrest and citation for separate instances of public intoxication. Bam has been able to FaceTime with Phoenix 4 times a week.

BTW, Bam's brother, Jess, revealed earlier this year Bam destroyed a guitar they got from Billy Idol in a fit of rage. We're told Bam and Dannii hung out with the singer in Philly last weekend after a concert, and Billy actually signed a new guitar for him.

Way to go, Bam ... keep it up.

The cause of the death of Paul Reubens, best known for playing character Pee-wee Herman on TV and in films, has been made public. The actor died at age 70 on July 30, 2023.

The cause of the death of Paul Reubens, best known for playing comedic alter-ego Pee-wee Herman, has been made public.

The actor, who passed away July 30 at age 70, died of acute hypoxic respiratory failure, People reported Sept. 8, citing his death certificate. The underlying cause of his death was listed as acute myelogenous leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer, and had in the months prior to his passing been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, which meant his cancer had spread to his lungs.

When his death was first announced in July, a message posted to his social media pages had stated that "Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit."

"A gifted and prolific talent," the post continued, "he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit."

In addition, Reubens himself was quoted as saying in a statement to The New York Times, "Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

The actor created his bow-tied alter-ego Pee-wee Herman in the late '70s when he was a member of the Los Angeles comedy troupe the Groundlings, the newspaper reported. Reubens then played the character on The Pee-wee Herman Show, a live onstage TV pilot that premiered at the Groundlings Theater and was adapted into a comedy special in 1981.

Next up was the 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure, directed by Tim Burton, and a year later, his children's TV show Pee-wee's Playhouse debuted. Also in 1986, he portrayed Max in the cult sci-fi film Flight of the Navigator.

In 1991, Reubens was arrested for indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in Florida, which led to a fine and stalled his acting career.

Over the next couple of decades, Reubens had small roles on TV shows and also did much voiceover work, playing characters in films such as Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and Disney's straight-to-video Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

He also played the superhero Spleen in the 1999 comic book movie Mystery Men and reprised his role in the music video for Smash Mouth's hit single "All Star," which is featured in the film's soundtrack. The band's longtime lead singer, Steve Harwell, died at age 56 on Sept. 4.

Also in the '90s, Reubens had a recurring part on the sitcom Murphy Brown, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2001, the actor starred with Johnny Depp in the crime drama film Blow.

Nine years later, the actor revived his Pee-wee Herman stage show, which opened in Los Angeles and later moved to Broadway. The production was adapted into an HBO special, which was nominated for an Emmy.

In 2016, Reubens reprised his signature role in the Netflix movie Pee-Wee's Big Holiday. Over the next few years, he continued to do mostly TV and voiceover work.

Following the actor's death, a slew of fellow celebs took to social media to pay tribute to the actor.

"No tweet can capture the magic, generosity, artistry, and devout silliness of Paul Reubens," Conan O'Brien tweeted. "Everyone I know received countless nonsensical memes from Paul on their birthday, and I mean EVERYONE. His surreal comedy and unrelenting kindness were a gift to us all. Damn, this hurts."

Look back at Reubens' life and career in pictures below:

The threat was made just as the musician was set to walk the red carpet.

The world premiere of Lil Nas X's documentary Long Live Montero was delayed Saturday night at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival after a bomb threat was made moments prior to the 24-year-old walking the red carpet, EW has confirmed.

Shortly before the screening was set to begin at 10 p.m. local time, documentary co-directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel arrived to the event with film editor Andrew Morrow, but TIFF organizers were informed that a bomb threat had been made upon Lil Nas X's arrival to the Roy Thomson Hall venue, and the Grammy winner was told to hold off on walking the carpet.

Variety was first to report the news, indicating that a source revealed that Lil Nas X was specifically targeted by a phoned-in threat because he's a Black queer artist. However, new information from TIFF representatives and law enforcement dispute those details.

"Earlier this evening, we were made aware by the Toronto Police Service of an investigation in the vicinity of the red carpet for the Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero screening," said Judy Lung, TIFF's VP of public relations, in a statement to EW overnight. "Our standard security measures remained in place during this time and the screening commenced with a slight delay. To our knowledge, this was a general threat and not directed at the film or the artist."

Victor Kwong, a representative for the Toronto police, told EW via email on Sunday morning that "a passerby uttered a threat towards private security" outside of the hall. "Out of an abundance of caution, the Toronto Police and the private security swept the scene and cleared within 20 minutes. The threat was general and did not target any one person," he said.

The screening began 30 minutes later, after Lil Nas X walked the red carpet with his family.

Though the premiere continued without further incident, the film itself — which follows the singer-songwriter as he tours the country — charts intense pushback he's received throughout his career, including from religious protestors who often hold anti-LGBTQIA+ demonstrations outside of his concerts.

Long Live Montero does not have a confirmed release date, but is scheduled for two additional public screenings at TIFF on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 p.m. ET and Saturday, Sept. 16 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Corey Harrison, famous for his work on History Channel's hit show "Pawn Stars," was arrested for DUI in Las Vegas ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the reality TV star was arrested in Sin City early Friday morning around 1 AM.

Corey Harrison tells TMZ ... he had flown back into town from Minnesota late Thursday and went to check on a few short-term rental properties he manages in Las Vegas.

Corey says he was driving and got pulled over, with the cop telling him it was because he was swerving. He says the officer asked him if he was drinking and he told the cop he had one drink 7 hours ago on his flight home.

Corey says the cop asked him to step out of the car and take a field sobriety test. He says he took the test and asked to take a breathalyzer, but claims the cop told him the breathalyzer was broken.

From there, Corey says the cop handcuffed him, explaining he had failed his field sobriety test. He says he was then hauled off to a police station where he claims another breathalyzer was not working.

Corey says police informed him he would be held in custody all weekend if he did not take a blood test ... and he says they took a blood test and cops released him about 8 hours later.

CH tells us police let him keep his driver's license and his driver's license was NOT suspended ... and he says cops offered him a ride home.

Sharon Osbourne has never been one to mask her true feelings, and now she’s getting candid about one of her worst experiences with a fellow celebrity.

Osbourne, 70, recently identified the rudest star she’s ever met while playing a game called “Stirring the Pot” in an E! News segment — although she couldn’t immediately remember his name. “The guy that’s married to an actress and he used to do That ’70s Show,” she said in the Thursday, September 7, video.

Her daughter Kelly Osbourne helpfully reminded Sharon of the name “Ashton Kutcher,” and Sharon confirmed that’s who she meant. “Yes! Oh, rude, rude, rude, rude little boy,” she said.

Sharon went on to call Kutcher, 45, a “dastardly little thing,” but she didn’t offer any further details about what he did that she found so “rude.” That, however, is what the internet is for.

Back in 2018, Sharon sat down with the late Larry King, who asked her whether she’d ever done an interview on The Talk that didn’t go the way she expected. She was a cohost on the CBS talk show from 2010 to 2021.

“We’ve had a couple of meanies, for me,” she said. “Everybody’s take is different. Somebody can come in and I can go, ‘That was amazing,’ and the other girls will go, ‘Do you think?’ But I didn’t get on with one guy, that Ashton Kutcher.”

King called Kutcher a “tech guy,” seemingly in reference to his early investments in companies like Uber and Airbnb, but Sharon clarified that he’s an actor — “ish.”

“I didn’t get on with him at all,” she continued. As King informed her that Kutcher was once the highest paid actor on television, Sharon rolled her eyes. “Lordy Lord!” she exclaimed.

When asked what she didn’t like about the publicly genial actor, Sharon claimed he had a “bad attitude,” which she acknowledged may have been because she mispronounced his name during his appearance on The Talk. “So, he was pissed and he comes on with an attitude,” she recalled. “And he goes, ‘And what are you? What have you done in this industry?’ And I was like, ‘Kid, don’t start with me, because I’m gonna eat you up and s–t you out.’ I was just like, ‘You don’t know what you’re dealing with kid.’”

Kutcher has never commented on the alleged beef between him and Sharon.