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Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White dies at 67: Lenny Kravitz posts a tribute

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Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White has died at the age of 67.

The sad news was shard by his 71-year-old brother Verdine White – who was a founder and bassist on Earth, Wind & Fire – on Sunday on social media.

Fred’s cause of death was not disclosed. 

The band Earth, Wind & Fire, which thrived during the 1970s and 1980s and continued to tour for decades afterwards, was responsible for the hit songs September, Shining Star and After The Love Is Gone.

Earth, Wind & Fire has sold over 90million records and is considered one of the most successful bands of all time. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Sad goodbye: One of the members of the 1970s band Earth, Wind & Fire – which was responsible for the hit songs September and After The Love Is Gone – has passed away. On Sunday it was posted that the eclectic band’s drummer Fred White had died at the age of 67

‘Dearest Family Friends and Fans….. Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member, our beloved brother Frederick Eugene “Freddie” White,’ he wrote.

‘He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels! Child protégé, member of the EWF ORIGINAL 9, with gold records at the young age of 16 years old! He was brother number 4 in the family lineup,’ it was added.

White was called a ‘wonderful bro’ who was ‘always entertaining and delightfully mischievous!’

A high point: The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000; seen in 1972

Then the note said: ‘And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light hearted!’

The musician added: ‘He will live in our hearts forever, rest in power beloved Freddie!! We thank you all for your love, blessings and support at this time. Soar high baby bro, we love you to the shining [stars] and back!’

Fred was born in Chicago and started touring as early as age 15 for a band called The Salty Peppers. The Salty Peppers turned into Earth, Wind & Fire in 1974.

The band had a number of successes in the 1970s and the 1980s with one of their top songs being the up tempo dance hit Shining Star.

The look: Earth, Wind & Fire is one of the most dynamic bands to come out of the 1970s as they had several hit songs that included jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco and pop. The band was founded in Chicago in 1969 by Maurice White. Seen in 1960

Lenny Kravitz shared a tribute on Instagram: ‘Sending my love and deepest condolences to you and the family. I was blessed to have been in his presence and blessed to have been influenced by him. A true king. Rest in power.’

Earth, Wind & Fire is one of the most dynamic bands to come out of the 1970s as they had several hit songs that included jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco and pop.

The band was founded in Chicago in 1969 by Maurice White and they went by the name the Salty Peppers; their first hit was La La Time but it was not a chart topper.

But when they moved to Los Angeles he had better luck as he added Sherry Scott and Yackov Ben Israel.

Early days: His pals started the band. From left, Lorry Dunn, Andrew and Philip Bailey in 1972

The self-titled album that came out in 1971 made waves and The Need Of Love came next with a jazzy feel.

In 1972, the founders shook up the band added vocalist Helena Davis, Ronnie Laws on the flute and saxophone, rhythm guitarist Roland Bautista, keyboardist Larry Dunn, vocalist Philip Bailey and percussionist Ralph Johnson to the group.  Davis was replaced by Jessica Cleaves.

Then later Andrew stepped in to replace Laws.

The band had a new sound that made it come together.

And it was EW&F’s fourth studio album, Head to the Sky, from 1973 that finally gained some traction.

That’s the Way of the World in 1975 went to No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top Soul Albums charts thanks to the singles Shining Star and That’s the Way of the World. 

The band has morphed over the decades with more disco then a mire electric sound. Their last album was The Classic Christmas Album from 2015.    

Sad loss: In April, Earth, Wind & Fire saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk passed away at the age of 71. Seen in the 1980s in the Netherlands

In April, Earth, Wind & Fire saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk passed away at the age of 71.

The artist died after he spent the past six years battling an illness, the band’s lead falsetto singer Philip Bailey shared on Instagram. 

The musician was one of the original members of the band and helped them create some of the biggest hit songs of the 1970s.

Bailey shared on Instagram: ‘I met him in High School, and we quickly became friends and band mates. Andrew Paul Woolfolk was his name. We lost him today.’

He had talent: The musician was one of the original members of the band and helped them create some of the biggest hit songs of the 1970s, including September, Boogie Wonderland and Shining Star; seen in 1982

With a pal on stage: Andrew, right, with Maurice White, left in 1982

He then said: ‘Funny. Competitive. Quick witted. And always styling. Booski… I’ll see you on the other side, my friend.’

EW&F Drummer John Paris shared on Instagram: ‘Rest well brother Andrew [prayer and heart emojis].’ 

Woolfolk also worked on the hit songs Reasons, Let’s Groove, That’s the Way of the World, Sing a Song, Fantasy, and After the Love Has Gone.

During his long career, Andrew also collaborated with artists Deniece Williams, Phil Collins and Stanley Turrentine.

In the late Eighties Woolfolk took a break from Earth, Wind & Fire but then joined up with them again to perform and tour after the millennium.

More recent: (L-R) Ralph Johnson, Verdine White and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre in 1999

The band must go on: (L-R) Verdine White, Philip Bailey, and Ralph Johnson of the band Earth, Wind & Fire attend the Clive Davis 90th Birthday Celebration at Casa Cipriani on April 6, 2022 in New York City

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Sports

Fred McGriff elected to Baseball Hall of Fame via Contemporary Era Committee

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By: David O’Brien, Keith Law and Andrew Baggarly

Fred McGriff was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Contemporary Era Committee Sunday night. Here’s what you need to know:

  • The Contemporary Era Committee consists of 16 members, comprised of members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, executives and veteran media members.
  • McGriff was no longer eligible for election by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).
  • Among those who did not receive the necessary 12 votes from the 16-person committee: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Don Mattingly.

Evaluating McGriff’s career

McGriff played 19 seasons from 1986 through 2004 and hit .284 with 493 home runs, 1,550 RBIs and .886 OPS in 2,460 games. He finished in the top 10 in league MVP balloting six times including a fourth place in 1993, the year he was traded from San Diego to Atlanta in July and helped guide the 104-win Braves past San Francisco in one of the great playoff races of the modern era.

The first baseman was a five-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and McGriff thrived in postseason play, particularly with the Braves. He hit .303 with 37 RBIs and a .917 OPS in 50 career postseason games, and with Atlanta he had 10 home runs, a .411 OBP, a .581 slugging percentage and .992 OPS in 45 postseason games.

During the Braves’ 1995 postseason run to the city’s first pro-sports title, McGriff hit .333 (19-for-57) with six doubles, four homers, nine RBIs and 1.065 OPS, including two homers and a .955 OPS in the World Series win against Cleveland.

He had a career-best 37 home runs in 1993 with San Diego and Atlanta, the sixth of McGriff’s seven consecutive seasons with more than 30 homers. Though he never had more than 37, he had 10 seasons with at least 30 homers, and was the home-run leader once in each league.

McGriff had eight seasons with more than 100 RBIs, six with a .300 or higher batting average, 11 seasons with an OPS of at least .923, five with more than 90 walks, and only three seasons with more than 120 strikeouts. In 1989 with Toronto he led the AL in homers (36), OPS (.924) and OPS+ (165).

Another stat that often goes overlooked: McGriff played more than 150 games in 10 of his 19 seasons, and that’s not counting 1995, when he led the National League by playing all 144 games for Atlanta in a season that started late due to the work stoppage that had begun the previous fall.

If not for games lost to the work stoppage – the Braves played only 114 games in 1994; McGriff played 113 – there is little doubt he would have finished with more than 500 career homers, which some believe was one reason he was left off the ballot of many voters years ago when statistical milestones such as 3,000 hits, 500 homers or 300 wins virtually assured HOF induction.

He was well on his way to a career high for homers in 1994 before the season was halted, finishing with 34 in 113 games. McGriff had 61 homers in 257 games during those 1994-1995 seasons with Atlanta, playing all but one team game in that span. His 61 home runs in 258 team games in those two years projects to 76 homers if the full seasons had been played, and the additional 15 homers – or even if he’d slumped and hit only half that many – would’ve given McGriff at least 500. — O’Brien

Significance of McGriff getting into the Hall of Fame

McGriff is the most inoffensive candidate the committee could possibly have put in the Hall of Fame. He finished his career with 52.6 rWAR and 56.9 fWAR, making him neither a definite Hall of Famer nor a player who doesn’t belong at all. His 493 home runs — which in a pre-2000 era would have made him a slam dunk — puts him 8th among inactive players who aren’t in the Hall, with six of the guys ahead of him tainted by at least rumors of PED use. One of the arguments in his favor has long been that he’s one of the few sluggers of his era who was never hit with those allegations, and given what else happened in the committee’s voting, that may actually have boosted McGriff’s results. — Law

Evaluating Bonds, Clemens’ Hall of Fame chances

Last year, Bonds received 66 percent of the BBWAA vote in his 10th and final ballot with the writers. He got much less support when a committee of Hall of Fame players, executives and media members reviewed his candidacy for the first time Sunday. Bonds received “fewer than four votes,” according to the Hall. It’s possible he didn’t receive any votes at all. But percentages really don’t matter here. It’s all gamesmanship.

Committee members could vote for no more than three of eight candidates. If it became clear in the committee’s discussions that Bonds didn’t have 12 votes in the room, then it would’ve been a waste to check his name. In other words, getting fewer than four votes has to be viewed as a disappointment for Bonds, but it doesn’t crater his candidacy. Look at Don Mattingly, who received little to no support in past committee votes but received eight votes on Sunday. Perhaps if the committee composition changes enough by the time the Contemporary Era panel votes again in December 2025, then Bonds might stand a better chance. Or maybe Bonds gets shut out again while Jeff Kent sails through in his first time on a committee ballot. Which would be hilarious. — Baggarly

GO DEEPER

Stark: 5 things we learned from the Hall of Fame Contemporary Era election

Bonds and Clemens received fewer than four votes each and I can only conclude that this means neither of them will ever get into the Hall of Fame without a ticket. This was the last real hope for either player, and it couldn’t have gone worse for them, as they’d have to triple that vote total to earn enshrinement. So the all-time leader in home runs won’t be in the Hall, even though Bonds is also the all-time leader in WAR on Baseball Reference by 0.1 over Babe Ruth. He’s seventh all-time in OBP, eighth in slugging, sixth in RBI, first in walks and third in runs scored. New stats, old stats, awards, any way you measure it, he’s one of the best players in MLB history.

Clemens is third all-time in WAR, the best pitcher since integration by a huge margin, owner of the most Cy Young Awards, third all-time in strikeouts and ninth in pitcher wins. Regardless of your personal view on performance-enhancing drugs, the Contemporary Era Committee has made it extremely clear what their view is, and it means Bonds and Clemens are out – and it’s a terrible harbinger for Alex Rodríguez, too. — Law

Required reading

GO DEEPER

Barry Bonds wasn’t elected to the Hall of Fame by a special committee, and it wasn’t close

(Photo: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)



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Sports

Fred McGriff Elected To Baseball Hall Of Fame

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Longtime first baseman Fred McGriff was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the only player elected out of the eight nominees under consideration by the 16-person Era Committee. McGriff was a unanimous vote, getting votes from all 16 members.

Twelve votes were required for selection, and of the other seven players on the ballot, Don Mattingly came closest with eight votes.  Curt Schilling received seven votes, Dale Murphy six votes, and the other candidates (Albert Belle, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro) each got fewer than four votes.

McGriff hit .284/.377/.509 with 493 home runs over his career, which spanned 19 seasons (1986-2004) with the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Rays, Cubs, and Dodgers.  The Crime Dog’s impressive resume included a World Series ring with the 1995 Braves, as well as the individual honors of five All-Star appearances, three Silver Slugger awards, and six top-10 finishes in MVP voting.  McGriff’s highest finish in the MVP race was fourth, during a 1993 season split between San Diego and Atlanta.

Long considered one of the game’s best hitters, McGriff was also somewhat underrated during his career, perhaps owing to the fact that he played for several teams during his career rather than becoming an iconic figure for one particular franchise.  The 1994-95 players’ strike was also often cited as a reason for McGriff’s lack of Cooperstown recognition, as those lost games surely cost McGriff the chance of surpassing the 500-homer threshold, leaving him with “only” 493 big flies.

These may have been reasons why McGriff never came close to the 75% voting threshold required for induction via the writers.  It also didn’t help that McGriff had the bad luck of being up for election amidst a crowded era for candidates, including several players dogged by PED suspicions or other off-the-field issues — including Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro, and Schilling.

The “veterans committee” is the catch-all name for an annual panel of rotating membership, organized by the Hall Of Fame every year to gauge the cases of players who weren’t elected or considered by the writers, or non-playing personnel who aren’t a part of the writers’ ballot.  Candidates are considered from the “Contemporary Baseball” (1980-present) and “Classic Baseball” (1980 and earlier) time periods, and broken down into a three-year rotation…

  • Contemporary Baseball, players: 2022, 2025, 2028, etc.
  • Contemporary Baseball, managers/executives/umpires: 2023, 2026, 2029, etc.
  • Classic Baseball, all candidates: 2024, 2027, 2030, etc.

As such, the seven players who weren’t voted in on this year’s ballot will have to wait until December 2025 to receive another look, and it isn’t necessarily a guarantee that any of those seven will even make the 2025 shortlist.  However, since several of the names on the veterans committee change every year, it is quite possible that a HOF candidate who missed out this time might be regarded more favorably by a future committee.

That being said, the rather drastic lack of support for Bonds and Clemens on this ballot might be a strong hint that it will be some time before the hard feelings dissipate over the two superstars’ alleged use of PEDs.  While Bonds and Clemens weren’t inducted by the writers, their final year on the ballot saw them each obtain at least 65% of the vote, falling respectably close to that 75% threshold.  Likewise, Palmeiro (who was suspended for PED usage in 2005) lasted only four years on the writers’ ballot before falling off, and was perhaps even a surprise candidate for inclusion on this year’s Contemporary Baseball shortlist.  Schilling’s history of inflammatory and controversial public statements and tweets also stalled his support from the writers, and his first appearance on an Era Committee also saw him fall well short of induction.

This year’s 16-person committee was comprised of Angels owner Arte Moreno, former Blue Jays president Paul Beeston, Twins president/CEO Dave St. Peter, Diamondbacks president/CEO Derrick Hall, White Sox executive VP Ken Williams, Marlins GM Kim Ng, former Red Sox/Cubs front office boss Theo Epstein, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, longtime statistician and broadcaster Steve Hirdt, and Hall-of-Fame players Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Frank Thomas and Alan Trammell.  Chipper Jones was initially supposed to be part of the committee, but couldn’t participate due to illness and was replaced by Hall.

More to come…

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Entertainment

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson pay tribute to Harry Potter’s Robbie Coltrane

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Robbie Coltrane, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Alan Rickman at a preview for Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban in 2004
Photo: DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images (Getty Images)

Robbie Coltrane died this week, ending a career that spanned decades of both comedy and drama—but which, for many, will always be synonymous with the Harry Potter film franchise, where Coltrane spent roughly a decade playing half-giant Hogwarts groundskeeper Hagrid. Now, several of Coltrane’s co-stars from the films have issued statements this weekend, remembering a man who always went out of his way to keep the young actors he worked with laughing and feeling comfortable on the films’ sets.

That includes series star Daniel Radcliffe, who gave The New York Post a statement about Coltrane, saying that, “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set. I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on Prisoner Of Azkaban, when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut, and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man.”

Radcliffe’s co-star Emma Watson issued a tribute of her own, with EW noting that she posted an Instagram Story in which she wrote that, “Robbie was like the most fun uncle I’ve ever had, but most of all, he was deeply caring and compassionate towards me as a child and an adult. His talent was so immense that it made sense he played a giant—he could fill ANY space with his brilliance. Robbie, if I ever get to be so kind as you were to me on a film set I promise I’ll do it in your name and memory. Know how much I adore and admire you. I’ll really miss your sweetness, your nicknames, your warmth, your laughs, and your hugs. You made us a family. Know you were that to us.”

Other Harry Potter kids sharing their memories included brothers Oliver and James Phelps, who played Fred and George Weasley: James Phelps wrote on Twitter about how “I’ll never forget in September 2000, Robbie Coltrane came over to a very nervous 14yr old me on my 1st ever day on a movie set and said ‘Enjoy it, you’ll be great’. Thank you for that.” There’s also Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, and who reminisced about “Robbie. Bobser. He called me Space Boy. We shared a love of the final frontier. He didn’t give a fuck and it always made you smile. A giant, in more ways than one. We had some times.”

Harry Potter Reunion – Robbie Coltrane: “I’ll Not be here… but Hagrid will”

Amidst the other tributes this week, fans have also been passing around a moment from the recent Harry Potter reunion special, where Coltrane himself reflected on the films’ legacy. “My children will show them to their children, so you could be watching in 50 years times—easy,” he said, alternating between sincerity and laughter in his typical style. “I’ll not be here, sadly. But Hagrid will.”



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Entertainment

Beyoncé brands Right Said Fred accusation ‘false’ and ‘disparaging’

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They got her Heated.

Beyoncé set the record straight after UK pop duo Right Said Fred said she was too “arrogant” to ask permission to sample their salacious track “I’m Too Sexy” for her new album.

In a statement to The Post, the “Break My Soul” hitmaker, 41, denied the claim, calling it “incredibly disparaging.”

“The comments made by Right Said Fred stating that used ‘I’m Too Sexy’ in ‘Alien Superstar’ without permission are erroneous and incredibly disparaging,” Beyonce’s team told The Post.

The group, which was formed in 1989 by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass, accused the singer of using their salacious 1992 hit for her track “Alien Superstar,” The Sun reported.

The single was part of her hit album “Renaissance,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in August after being leaked online two days ahead of its July release.

The British duo says Beyoncé’s new hit “Alien Superstar” sounds very similar to their hit “I’m Too Sexy.”
FilmMagic

Beyoncé’s team said permission was asked for and granted, and the group was subsequently paid.

“Permission was not only granted for its use, but they publicly spoke of their gratitude for being on the album. For their song, there was no sound recording use, only the composition was utilized.

“Permission was asked of their publisher on May 11, 2022, and the publisher approved the use on June 15, 2022. They were paid for the usage in August 2022.”

Beyoncé’s team said “the copyright percentage of the Right Said Fred writers with respect to the use of ‘I’m Too Sexy’ is a substantial portion of the composition.”

“Collectively, the Right Said Fred writers own more than any other singular writer and have co-writer credit. This accusation is false,” the statement concluded.

The Post has reached out to Beyoncé’s reps for further comment.

Beyoncé’s team has said they were granted permission and paid for the usage of the composition.
Beyonce

Right Said Fred found the supposed song-sampling particularly perturbing as prior artists had reportedly asked permission to include the track. “Everyone else, Drake and Taylor Swift, they came to us,” the sibling pop sensations insisted.

Indeed, Drake sampled the track for his 2021 hit “Way 2 Sexy” while Swift employed the song in her 2017 “Reputation” lead single “Look What You Made Me Do.”

This isn’t the first time Beyoncé was accused of stealing music for “Renaissance.”

Ahead of the album’s release in July, singer Kelis accused Beyoncé of allegedly using a sample of her 2000 song “Get Along With You” without her permission. The “Milkshake” singer claims she found out about the sample on Bey’s song “Energy” when the entire world did.

Knowles has since removed the sample from the track.

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Business

Fred Franzia, creator of ‘Two Buck Chuck,’ has died

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Bronco Wine Company, the 49-year-old company he helped create with his brother and cousin, announced his death on Facebook, writing that it’s “truly saddened by the passing of its founder and CEO, Fred Franzia.” He passed away early Tuesday morning with his family by his side at his home in Denair, California, the company said.

Franzia championed affordable wine for the masses and frequently criticized his higher-priced competitors. “Who says we’re lower priced? We’re the best price. The others, I think, are overpriced,” Franzia told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2009.

Perhaps his most notable contribution to American culture is Charles Shaw, a.k.a. “Two Buck Chuck.” The wine, sold exclusively at Trader Joe’s since 2002, earned that nickname for its affordable price that undercuts its higher-priced competitors. “Take that and shove it, Napa,” he once said in an interview.

“Core to his vision was a belief that wine should be enjoyed and consumed on every American table,” Bronco’s statement said. “When asked how Bronco Wine Company can sell wine less expensive than a bottle of water, Fred T. Franzia famously countered, ‘They’re overcharging for the water — don’t you get it?'”

Bronco Wine is one of Ameria’s biggest wine companies, with a portfolio of more than 100 brands spanning from wine, spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails. Wine Spectator estimates that it’s the 13th largest wine marketer in the US, moving more than 3.4 million cases last year.

Notably, he never owned the boxed-wine brand that bares his family’s name. His parents sold the label in 1973 to Coca-Cola prompting him to start Bronco Wine. “My dad, he was not a fighter,” Franzia told the New Yorker in 2009. “He just folded. And he and I went through a period of no communication, I think for five years. I just was pissed.” (Franzia boxed wine is currently owned by the Wine Group.)

He’s survived by his five children, fourteen grandchildren and two sisters. In the statement, Bronco said that his “entrepreneurial spirit, tireless dedication, and his commitment to both his family and to the Bronco family will forever be remembered. His legacy will endure for generations to come.”

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Entertainment

Fred Savage Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Ex-‘Wonder Years’ Staffer

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A former crewmember on the reboot of The Wonder Years has accused Fred Savage of forcing himself on her at a bar one night in a new Hollywood Reporter piece detailing some of the allegations that may have led to Savage’s ouster from the show earlier this year.

Back in May, Savage was fired from his role as executive producer and director of The Wonder Years following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct. Executives at Disney, which owns ABC — the network on which The Wonder Years aired — declined to share details, though reports at the time highlighted incidents of “verbal outbursts and inappropriate behavior.” 

According to the new THR piece, Savage’s exit came after a group of six women who worked on the show sent a complaint to Disney and spoke to an HR executive about their concerns in February. While they all acknowledged that Savage could be kind, charismatic, and supportive, they claim he was also prone to bouts of anger and verbal harassment, especially towards women. The group added that they were concerned about Savage’s relationship with a much younger woman on the crew, as well as the “very blatant favoritism” he showed towards the women who said Savage later assaulted her in a bar bathroom. 

A rep for Savage did not return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment, though Savage did share a statement with The Hollywood Reporter: “Since I was 6 years old, I have worked on hundreds of sets with thousands of people, and have always strived to contribute to an inclusive, safe and supportive work environment. It is devastating to learn that there are co-workers who feel I have fallen short of these goals. While there are some incidents being reported that absolutely did not and could not have happened, any one person who feels hurt or offended by my actions is one person too many. I will work to address and change any behavior that has negatively affected anyone, as nothing in this world is more important to me than being a supportive co-worker, friend, husband, father and person.”

A rep for ABC/Disney referred back to the statement Disney shared in May: “Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched. Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of The Wonder Years.”

The woman who claims Savage forced himself on her at a bar said she and Savage became friends over the course of many months, and described their relationship as “very platonic.” She claimed Savage would take her to dinner, tried to boost her writing and comedy career, and even met her parents (he also reportedly tried to buy her expensive gifts, though the woman said she declined). Though the woman was abruptly fired from The Wonder Years, she said she doesn’t believe Savage made that call, and said he remained supportive.

One night in early December 2021, the woman alleged Savage invited her to join a group of Wonder Years folks at a bar near the house in Atlanta where Savage stayed during production. After going to the bathroom, the woman claims Savage entered the restroom as she was walking out of the stall and approached her with “just like, dead eyes,” and pushed her against the wall. 

“I said, `Please, don’t do this.’ I meant ruining the friendship,” the woman claimed. “I was pleading, not from fear so much, but this was no going back.” She continued: “He put his mouth on mine very forcefully. He went for the top of my pants. I brushed him away. Then he put his mouth on mine again, grabbed my hand and pulled it on his groin area. I was pulling back. He stopped very angrily. I shoulder checked him so I could get out.”

After the alleged incident, the woman claims Savage tried to contact her numerous times to meet, though she never accepted his invitations. She also shared a voicemail Savage left her that she never responded to: “It’s your old friend Fred,” Savage allegedly said in the message. “We worked together for a while and then we didn’t and then I was a huge asshole. A huge asshole. And I’m really sorry. And I’ve kind of owed you an apology for a minute here and so, uh, the truth is I really like you and I really want to be friends and I’m so sorry that I fucked that up.”

The other younger crew member Savage allegedly grew close to on The Wonder Years declined to speak with The Hollywood Reporter. One colleague, however, said Savage could be “extremely controlling of her daily behaviors,” and added, “He was manipulative and erratic.” Another woman said she once tried to protect the younger crew member from Savage, who “proceeded to verbally harass me and belittle me.”

There were also additional claims that the young woman had essentially moved into the house Savage was living in during production. The group of six women who reported Savage to Disney said this relationship was one of the main reasons they lodged their complaint.

“We all felt supported by Fred. We truly thought he supported women,” one of the six women said. “He told us he supported women. But this kind of support isn’t real.”



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Entertainment

Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst Has Married for a Fourth Time

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Congrats are in order for Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, as TMZ is reporting that singer is once again a married man.

The singer’s new bride recently changed her name on Instagram to Arles Durst. According to TMZ, a marriage certificate was filed with the County Clerk in Los Angeles county, but the actual date of their wedding remained confidential.

As reported by TMZ, the couple have been together at least dating back to May, with video showing Arles joining Fred onstage at a concert as they slow-danced to the George Michael ’80s hit “Careless Whisper,” as seen below.

Fred Durst Dances With New Wife Arles to “Careless Whisper” During Concert

This would be the fourth marriage for Durst, following previous wives Rachel Tergesen, Esther Nazarov and Kseniya Beryazina. The singer’s most recent marriage to Beryazina was finalized in 2019.

Limp Bizkit had been out touring in support of their 2021 album Still Sucks, but most recently called off their 2022 U.K. and European tour after Durst cited “health concerns” for the reasoning.

Though not disclosing the nature of the health issue, Durst told fans in a video message, “In preparation for the 2022 summer tour of the U.K. and Europe, I have decided to do some tests to make sure I’m in good physical condition and that everything’s okay. And to my surprise my doctor has decided to send me a letter telling me he would not like me to tour at this time and he would like me to stay close by to do some more tests. That being said, this was very unexpected news and I’m so sorry and I look forward to making it up to you as soon as possible and I can only thank you so much for your support.”

So while touring may be on hold at the moment, the singer did recently have a joyous moment with his new bride. We send out congrats to the happy couple.

Top 50 Nu-Metal Albums of All-Time



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Sports

Fred Kerley runs down astonishing gold as US men sweep 100m at Worlds | Sport

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When Fred Kerley was a young boy, sleeping on a pallet with 12 other kids in a single room in Texas, he would dream of travelling the world. Instead, on a night of impossible drama in Eugene, he conquered it.

In the final desperate strides of this world 100m final, Kerley instinctively stuck his chest out and thrust his arms back like an aerodynamic Superman. As he did so, his compatriots Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell, were straining, flailing, losing form. In a blurred finish, the 6ft 3in Kerley somehow got up on the line to snatch gold in 9.86sec, with Bracy taking silver and Bromell bronze both in 9.88sec.

It was the first American clean sweep of the men’s 100m podium since Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell in 1991. But long before the stadium announcer had confirmed the result, and the crowd had started to chant “U-S-A! U-S-A!”, Kerley was charging down the back straight, deliriously celebrating one of sport’s great rags to riches tales.

The bare bones of how the 27-year-old’s story would surely be rejected by Hollywood for stretching the boundaries of the impossible. At two his dad was in jail and his mum was absent having taken “wrong turns in life”. And so his aunt Virginia adopted him and his four siblings and raised them with eight of her own in Taylor, a small city 30 minutes outside Austin, under the tiniest of roofs. It was a tough upbringing, but Kerley was always encouraged to dream and to soar.

“Me and my brother and sisters got adopted by my aunt Virginia,” he explained afterwards. “We had one bedroom. There were 13 of us in one bedroom. We were on the pallet. At the end of the day, we all had fun, we enjoyed ourselves and are doing great things right now.”

“What motivates me is coming from what I come from and not being in the same predicament,” added Kerley, who has the words ‘Aunt’ and ‘Meme’ – his pet name for her – tattooed inside his bicep. “Keep on accomplishing great things. You don’t want to be in the same position as you were when you were younger.”

Touchingly, he said he also now speaks to his parents. “Every day,” he said. “What happened before doesn’t happen now.”

Along the way there have been many sliding doors moments. Kerley wanted to be an American football player and only switched sports after breaking his collarbone in the final game of his high school career. And until 2019 he was a 400m runner, good enough to win a bronze medal at the world championships, before switching to the 100m and 200m when his ankles felt a little sore at the 2021 US Olympic trials.

A month later he won a 100m silver medal in Tokyo – but finishing just 0.04 behind Marcell Jacobs left him with a burning sense of frustration. For the past 11 months, Kerley hasn’t been able to stop himself from shouting “push” whenever he watches back a video of the final. In Eugene, though, that push was timed to perfection.

Fred Kerley spreads his arms and pips his US teammates to the 100m gold medal. Photograph: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“I saw Bracy in front of me,” he recalled. “He dipped early. I dipped at the right time and got the job done. It’s amazing to get a clean sweep, the greats did in 1991 and the greats of 2022 did today.”

It helped, of course, that Jacobs was missing from the final, having suffered a leg injury in the heats. While the Tokyo bronze medallist, Andre De Grasse, was a shadow of his former self after injuries and Covid. But Kerley, as he has done so many times in his life, seized the day.

But everyone on the medal podium had a story that deserved to be amplified. Bracy, for instance, ran in the 2016 Olympics before chancing his arm in the NFL – only to later break it in his first game in a developmental league in 2019.

“I made the decision right then to come back to track,” said Bracy, who had spells at the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks. But still the challenges mounted. His silver medal came after an appendix rupture and an intestinal blockage, which has left him with eight staples from his belly button down to his pelvic area.

And Bromell? Well, he spent close to $300,000 between 2016 and 2019 to repair a severely damaged achilles tendon that led to him being wheeled out of the Rio Olympics. In 2018 things got so bad he even wrote a draft letter to his agent announcing his retirement. “It’s hard to wake up sometimes,” he said on Saturday night. “In practice my ankles be cracking, hips be cracking. I sound like an old man. But nights like this make it all worth it.”

In another era, these stories would be absorbed into the mainstream of US sport and life: amplified and celebrated. No more. Even in Eugene, which bills itself as Tracktown USA, the 15,000-seater Hayward Field stadium was maybe only 80% full.

Perhaps there is still time for things to change, especially if Kerley wins more medals in the 200m and 4x100m relay. It surely helps too that he is quite the renaissance man, with tattoos across his body and a love of growing veg. “My crops are actually doing good,” he said. “Before I left, I cut some squash off. I ate spinach out of the garden and it was amazing.”

With that he slapped his left bicep and smiled. But athletics’ new Popeye isn’t only thinking of adding more muscle on the track. He also wants to inspire the next generation. “Every day a bunch of youths are looking up to me,” he said. “If I can do it, they can do it.”

What a story. What a performance. And what a human being too.

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Science

13,000-Year-Old Tusk Reveals Life of ‘Fred,’ a Mastodon Who Died in Battle

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A mounted skeleton of the Buesching mastodon.
Photo: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

Researchers have detailed the life and grisly death of a male mastodon that died 13,200 years ago by scrutinizing the chemical composition of one of its tusks. The tusk revealed the mastodon grew up in the Great Lakes area and, later in life, made annual trips to a mating ground in northeastern Indiana—until it died there at age 34, after being stabbed in the face by another mastodon.

Mastodons (Mammut americanum) were proboscideans that roamed across North America before their extinction around 11,000 years ago. The animals’ migration patterns have previously been investigated using isotopes locked away in their tooth enamel, but the recent investigation of one individual’s right tusk shows in detail how male mastodons’ movements would change as the animals matured. The team’s research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Certainly for mastodons, there’s never been a study to look at changes in landscape use within an individual’s lifetime over many, many, many years, and certainly none that have indicated that there are annual migrations that are seasonally driven,” Joshua Miller, a paleoecologist at the University of Cincinnati and lead author of the study, told Gizmodo in a phone call.

The animal the team studied is called the Buesching mastodon, after the family who owns the land on which it was found (and who later donated the specimen to the Indiana State Museum). It’s nicknamed Fred, after a member of the Buesching family.

Though Fred (the mastodon) died over 13,000 years ago, the details of its travels could still be lifted from isotopes in its 9.5-foot tusk.

Isotopes of elements like oxygen and strontium have natural abundances that differ across time and location. Because those elements end up in soils and waterways, living things (mastodons, humans, Neanderthals—you name it) consume them, offering researchers a way of tracking the movements of ancient beings. Because mastodon tusks are really elongated teeth, the same scientific techniques can be applied to them.

Fisher handling Fred’s right tusk.
Photo: Daniel Fisher

Based on the isotopes in the tusk, the term determined that the male mastodon began to roam the Great Lakes area when it separated from its herd at 12 years old. (Some elephant herds today are matriarchal; mastodon herds may have functioned the same way.)

“There’s this growth of home range as the animal goes through adolescence,” Miller said. “As [an adult] male, it’s doing something very, very different than it was when the young male was in closer proximity to the maternal herd.” Fred died nearly 100 miles from its home territory, indicating the large range of the 8-ton adult.

Before this study, researchers knew “basically bupkis” about how individual extinct animals interacted with their environment seasonally, Miller said, and for mastodons, life revolved around seasonal change.

Like elephants, female mastodons had long gestation periods of about 22 months. Females would give birth to big baby mastodons in spring, to ensure their young could take in as many nutrients as possible before the next winter set in.

Males also would try to find mates in the spring—hence how the recently studied mastodon ended up in what is today northeastern Indiana. According to Daniel Fisher, a paleontologist at the University of Michigan, even if a fight between male mastodons wasn’t fatal (as was the case with Fred), when male mastodons fought, their tusks would basically twist in their sockets, stunting the growth of nascent cells at the base of the tusks.

“Every time spring comes around, we get an arc of these defects that that represents tusk damage [in male specimens],” Fisher said. The team could read the tusks chronologically, and they were able to line up springtime with the damage incurred by battles with competitors.

Ancient isotopes in teeth reveal animal’s past movements.
Photo: Daniel LeClaire (Getty Images)

The team found that Fred went to the same place in Indiana annually in the last three years of its 34-year life. They also confirmed that Fred never ventured to that region before adulthood—further evidence that this may have been a mating ground. Fred’s last trip ended with a fatal fight with another male, based on the puncture wound in the side of its head.

“I’ve got at least a half-dozen individuals that have the same kind of hole in the same place, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right—in one awful case, on both sides,” Fisher said, indicating the extent to which combat was a regular part of mastodon life.

These findings “squarely fit” with what others have theorized about how mastodons roamed, Miller said.

Now, the researchers plan to study the isotopes in other tusks, to get a better sense of how mastodons migrated more generally and whether the specimen from Indiana had a typical or superlative amount of miles on its stocky legs. Future work may show if Fred was the rule or an exception for how male mastodons lived.

More: Monumental DNA Study Reveals Secrets of North American Mastodons

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