Hollywood Headlines: A crazy week in review
It was a great night for Phillip Phillips, but for “American Idol,” maybe not so much. Phillips, a husky-voiced troubadour, conquered Season 11 as expected on Wednesday night’s two-hour finale, slipping past his last competitor, 16-year-old chanteuse Jessica Sanchez. But the Fox show itself slunk to the lowest “Idol” finale ratings ever, with 20.7 million tuning in, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen. That’s an alarming 29% drop compared with last season and in line with “Idol’s” overall decline this year, as audiences have seemed to tire of a glut of singing shows that includes NBC’s “The Voice” and Fox’s own “The X Factor.” (John Shearer / Associated Press)
A look back at the week in entertainment and celebrity.
Kanye West took to the Cannes Film Festival with Kim Kardashian to show his new short film titled “Cruel Summer.” It features fellow rapper Kid Cudi and Lebanese actress Razan Jammal, who described West as “a little shy” -- a quality rarely ascribed previously to West. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)
“The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons is gay. And he’s been in a relationship for 10 years. This bit of personal revelation was shared with the public not in a People magazine cover story but casually slipped into a lengthy New York Times profile of the actor discussing his performance on Broadway in the play “Harvey.” Yes, the actor who plays Sheldon on CBS’ hit sitcom finally has gone on record with his sexuality. And though the news may not shock most fans, it’s a little surprising how he went about it. The New York Times isn’t commonly known as a place people turn to for personal revelations about celebrities. There’s a whole army of celebrity websites and magazines that has this corner of the culture staked out and guarded. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Miley Cyrus is no stranger to criticism for her sexually charged image, but the singer and actress wants you to know she’s not ashamed. In fact, she thinks sex is pretty awesome. “The girls that really base how much they’re worth on the sexual favors they can do for somebody, that makes me really sad,” she told Lifetime. “Because sex is actually really beautiful. It’s the only way we create, and it’s the only way the world keeps going.” (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
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After eight seasons on A&E, Duane “Dog” Chapman has nabbed his last bail jumper. The network has declined to order more episodes of “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” the reality series about a bail bondsman and his bounty hunting family business which made Chapman a celebrity and brought a host of problems A&E’s way. The show was briefly suspended in 2007 after tape was released of Chapman using racial slurs. In 2010, Chapman was sued by one of the men he arrested in 2009, who alleged that Chapman falsely claimed the man had shot at him and edited the footage on the show to make it appear that way. (Ronen Zilberman / Associated Press)
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver and dancer Peta Murgatroyd won the coveted Mirror Ball trophy for Season 14 of “Dancing With the Stars.” Driver, a self-professed fan of the show since Season 1, fought against rampant underscoring, steadily making his way up the ranks. But the news for ABC after the season finale was less victorious; the two-hour extravaganza averaged 17.5 million total viewers, making it the least-watched “DWTS” finale ever. (Adam Taylor/ Associated Press)
