Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: From Romance to Rancor

Desert Palm Achievement Award recipient actor Johnny Depp and wife actress Amber Heard pose at the 27th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in Palm Springs, California, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok
Desert Palm Achievement Award recipient actor Johnny Depp and wife actress Amber Heard pose at the 27th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in Palm Springs, California, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok
TT

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: From Romance to Rancor

Desert Palm Achievement Award recipient actor Johnny Depp and wife actress Amber Heard pose at the 27th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in Palm Springs, California, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok
Desert Palm Achievement Award recipient actor Johnny Depp and wife actress Amber Heard pose at the 27th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in Palm Springs, California, January 2, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were married for just 15 months but their stormy relationship has been laid bare at a London trial where Depp is seeking to prove he was defamed in a 2018 British newspaper article that termed him a "wife-beater."

The following are key facts about the romance that blossomed and turned sour for the stars of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Aquaman."

2009 - Depp and Heard meet on the set of "The Rum Diary," where they play each other's love interest.

2010 - Heard, who is in a relationship with artist Tasya van Ree, publicly comes out as bisexual.

2010 - Depp is ranked by Forbes.com as Hollywood's highest paid actor with an estimated $75 million earnings for the year largely due to his role in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

2012 - Depp splits with his partner of 14 years, French actress Vanessa Paradis. Depp was previously engaged to Winona Ryder. After their split in 1993, he changed a tattoo from Winona Forever to Wino Forever.

2013 - Depp and Heard appear together during promotions of his movie "The Lone Ranger."

April 2014 - Depp says he and Heard are engaged, calling her "sweet as can be and very good for me."

February 2015 - Depp, 51, and Heard, 28, marry. In July, Heard is charged with smuggling the couple's two dogs into Australia without a permit or observing quarantine.

May 2016 - Heard files for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Heard obtains a restraining order against Depp and claims Depp was abusive to her throughout their marriage. Depp denies the allegations and accuses Heard of trying to blackmail him into a better financial settlement.

August 2016 - Depp and Heard announce a divorce settlement. under which Heard receives $7 million, which she donates to charity. They issue a joint statement saying their relationship was "intensely passionate and at times volatile but always bound by love," and that there was "never any intent of physical or emotional harm." They also agree not to disparage each other in future. The divorce is finalized in January 2017.

January 2017 - Depp files a $25 million lawsuit accusing his former business managers of fraud and financial mismanagement. His former managers file a counter suit claiming $550,000 in unpaid fees and damages, and reveal details of lavish spending by Depp. The two sides reach a settlement in July 2018.

August 2017 - Heard splits with entrepreneur Elon Musk after about a year. Their romance is rekindled in January 2018 before they split for a second time.

December 2017 - Author J.K. Rowling defends the decision to cast Depp in her movie "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" after a backlash from fans over the fallout from Depp's divorce.

April 2018 - Britain's Sun newspaper publishes an article by its executive editor Dan Wootton that calls Depp a "wife-beater."

June 2018 - Depp files a libel lawsuit against the Sun.

December 2018 - Heard writes an opinion piece in the Washington Post about domestic violence but does not name Depp.

March 2019 - Depp files a $50 million defamation lawsuit over Heard's Washington Post opinion piece and claims Heard was the abusive partner. The lawsuit has yet to be settled.

July 7, 2020 - Depp begins testimony in London in his libel case against the Sun newspaper.

July 27 - Closing arguments are expected in London. A verdict is expected to be announced later.



Rapper Lil Jon Confirms Death of His Son, Nathan Smith

Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
TT

Rapper Lil Jon Confirms Death of His Son, Nathan Smith

Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)

American rapper Lil Jon said on Friday that his son, Nathan Smith, has died, the record producer confirmed in a joint statement with Smith’s mother.

"I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother (Nicole Smith) and I are devastated,” the statement said.

Lil Jon described his son as ‌an “amazingly talented ‌young man” who was ‌a ⁠music producer, artist, ‌engineer, and a New York University graduate.

“Thank you for all of the prayers and support in trying to locate him over the last several days. Thank you to the entire Milton police department involved,” the “Snap ⁠Yo Fingers” rapper added.

A missing persons report was ‌filed on Tuesday for Smith ‍in Milton, Georgia, authorities ‍said in a post on the ‍Milton government website.

Police officials added that a broader search for Smith, also known by the stage name DJ Young Slade, led divers from the Cherokee County Fire Department to recover a body from a pond near ⁠his home on Friday.

"The individual is believed to be Nathan Smith, pending official confirmation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office,” the post continued.

While no foul play is suspected, the Milton Police Department Criminal Investigations Division will be investigating the events surrounding Smith’s death.

Lil Jon is a Grammy-winning rapper known for a string ‌of chart-topping hits and collaborations, including “Get Low,” “Turn Down for What” and “Shots.”


Keke Palmer Is a Fish Out of Water in Horror-Comedy Series Based on Cult Movie ‘The ’Burbs’

Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
TT

Keke Palmer Is a Fish Out of Water in Horror-Comedy Series Based on Cult Movie ‘The ’Burbs’

Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall attend Premiere Event Of Peacock's "The 'Burbs" at Universal Studios Backlot on February 05, 2026 in Universal City, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

The suburbs are anything but bland in the new Peacock series “The 'Burbs,” where strange things are going on. Like how jokes mix with the dread.

Inspired by the 1989 Tom Hanks-led movie of the same name, “The 'Burbs” follows a new mom as she navigates a foreign world of white picket fences and manicured lawns while also investigating a possible murder.

“It’s got the comedy, it has the drama, it's got the mystery, it's got the horror, the thrills, the suspense — all of it,” says Celeste Hughey, the creator, writer and executive producer. All eight episodes drop Friday.

Hanks is replaced by Keke Palmer, who plays a newlywed and new mom who moves into her husband's family home in fictional Hinkley Hills, where everyone is in everybody else's business. “Suburbia is a spectator sport,” she is told.

Across the street is an abandoned home, where a local teen disappeared decades ago. Palmer's Samira soon joins forces with a band of off-beat suburbanites to help solve the case, even if her own husband had some sort of role.

“I really wanted to focus on that fish-out-of-water feeling, centering Samira as a Black woman in a white suburb who is a new mom, a new wife — new everything — and trying to figure out where she belongs in the environment,” says Hughey.

The cast includes Jack Whitehall as Samira's husband and the trio of Julia Duffy, Mark Proksch and Paula Pell as her wine-swilling, investigating neighbors who form a sort of found family.

“The movie came out when I was quite young, but I remember seeing it as a kid and it being like this terrifying movie to me,” says Hughey. “But revisiting it as an adult, it's just like the most timely movie.”

The scripts crackle with witty humor, from references to Marie Kondo to “Baby Reindeer,” and jokes often improvised by the actors. Chocolate brownies are described as “the Beyoncé of desserts” and there’s a joke about how white ladies love salad.

“The ’Burbs” also touches on more serious issues over its eight episodes — microaggressions, racial profiling, bullying and childhood trauma — but takes a kooky, off-beat approach.

“I always look at things with a sense of humor,” says Hughey. “I think comedy is a way to be able to examine all these pretty heavy subjects, but in a way that’s accessible, in a way that is clarifying.”

Palmer says she grew up watching Norman Lear shows and admired his ability to both entertain and address social tensions — something she found in “The 'Burbs.”

“When I read this script for the first time, then as we started doing the show, it started to become clear that we had an opportunity to do the same thing,” Palmer says. “We can expose cliches, we can lean into things, which is one of the greatest tools of satire and comedy in itself, and horror as well, because horror can play as a good allegory for the issues in our life.”

Whitehall, who grew up in the London suburb of Putney, says he appreciates that the social commentary never feels that heavy handed between the comedy and horror: “It was great to sort of be able to play in both genres.”

There are multiple nods to the original movie, like picking the last name Fisher after the late actor Carrie Fisher, who appeared in the Hanks-led version, and naming a dog Darla after the name of the pup who starred in the 1989 version. Hanks, himself, appears in a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it image.

There’s a scene where Samira steps onto her neighbor’s grass and leaves suddenly swirl around her feet menacingly, an echo to the original. And there’s a moment when sardines and pretzels are served, a riff off a classic moment in the movie. The creators even asked original actor Wendy Schaal to return to play the town librarian.

“I really wanted to honor the original fans of the movie and make sure that they see that someone who respects the original material and loves the movie had it in their hands,” says Hughey. “I see the fans.”

Hughey said she wrote the series with Palmer's voice in mind, a piece of manifesting that turned out to actually work when she first met Palmer over a year later.

The music ranges from Bill Withers' “Lovely Day” to Steve Lacy's “Dark Red” to Doechii’s “Anxiety” and Big Pun's “I'm Not a Player.”

“Music is very much a part of my creative process and something that I wanted to stand out in the show as well,” says Hughey. “I got to pull in so many of my inspiration songs.”


Kurt Cobain's 'Nevermind' Guitar Up for Sale

Guitars are displayed during a press preview of The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie's Los Angeles in Beverly Hills, California, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
Guitars are displayed during a press preview of The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie's Los Angeles in Beverly Hills, California, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
TT

Kurt Cobain's 'Nevermind' Guitar Up for Sale

Guitars are displayed during a press preview of The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie's Los Angeles in Beverly Hills, California, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)
Guitars are displayed during a press preview of The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie's Los Angeles in Beverly Hills, California, on February 5, 2026. (Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP)

The guitar played by late rock legend Kurt Cobain on the anthemic grunge track "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is going under the hammer next month.

 

The 1966 Fender Mustang is among a treasure trove of instruments and musical memorabilia that also includes the logo-emblazoned drum that announced The Beatles to the United States when the Fab Four played "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964.

 

The Jim Irsay collection -- put together by the one-time owner of the Indianapolis Colts NFL team -- includes guitars played by musicians who defined the 20th century, including Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour, The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, as well as Eric Clapton, John Coltrane and Johnny Cash.

 

But at the center of the collection are handwritten lyrics for The Beatles' smash "Hey Jude" as well as guitars played by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

 

"I think it's fair to say that this collection of Beatles instruments...is the most important assembled Beatles collection for somebody who wasn't a member of the band," Amelia Walker, the London-based head of private and iconic collections at Christie's, told AFP in Beverly Hills.

 

"There are five Beatles guitars in his collection, as well as Ringo Starr's first Ludwig drum kit (and) John Lennon's piano, on which he composed several songs from Sergeant Pepper."

 

Also included is "the drum skin from Ringo's second Ludwig kit, which is the vision which greeted 73 million Americans who tuned in to watch 'The Ed Sullivan Show' on the ninth of February 1964 when the Beatles broke America."

 

The drum kit is expected to fetch around $2 million, while the guitars could sell for around $1 million at the auction in New York, Christie's estimates.

Perhaps the most expensive item in the collection is Cobain's guitar, which experts say might sell for up to $5 million.

"It's a talismanic guitar for people of my generation... who lived through grunge," said Walker.

"(Smells Like Teen Spirit) was the anthem of that generation. That video is so iconic.

"We're incredibly proud and privileged to have that here."