Class of 2022 welcomes celebs too, La La speaks out on her divorce a year later, The Wendy Williams Show might make a comeback, and Netflix and chill, anyone?

BY JANIECE CAMPBELL

Angela Bassett, Taraji P. Henson and Ludacris receive honorary degrees!

Graduation season is upon us, and that counts for a handful of celebrities too.

Actress Angela Bassett announced via Instagram that she received an honorary doctorate from Old Dominion University in Virginia after delivering a keynote speech to the class of 2022.

“I’m so happy and humbled to receive an honorary doctorate,” she wrote in an Instagram caption. “Education is truly KEY! #stillmakingmommaproud.”

This is not the first time she’s been bestowed with an honorary degree. In December 2020, she received a doctorate from Morehouse College in Atlanta to honour her leadership in Hollywood, as well as she received another doctorate in 2018 from her alma mater, Yale University.

Actress Taraji P. Henson returned to her alma mater, Howard University in Washington D.C., as the commencement speaker. Moments before her speech, she was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. “Find your bigger picture, bet on yourself, and let your peers’ success be your fuel, not your distraction,” she said to the graduating class.

Atlanta rapper Ludacris returned to his alma mater, Georgia State University and received some southern hospitality. He was presented with an honorary degree in Bachelor of Science in Music Management.

After attending the college for a few years in the mid-90’s, he dropped out to sign a deal with Def Jam Records. With all the success that came soon after, he was clear to let the 800-person graduating class know that his heart never left the campus and getting a record deal was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

La La breaks her silence on divorce from Carmelo Anthony!

La La Anthony sat down with radio personality Charlamagne Tha God to discuss her divorce from NBA star, Carmelo Anthony.

In an interview for Hollywood Reporter’s series entitled Emerging Hollywood, she was outspoken about the difficult choices made in the midst of her filing for divorce in June 2021. Prior to that, the couple had been married for 11 years.

“Stepping away from that marriage was such an incredibly hard decision for me,” she said. “Staying is easier. Walking away is harder.”

She mentioned that it was also easier to stay for the sake of the son they share together, Kiyan Anthony. Despite not being with Carmelo, she mentions that co-parenting with Melo has been “amazing” and that her goal is to not have their 15-year-old son harbour dysfunctional relationships.

“We want to be a great example to our son. We have open conversations with him. We tell him, ‘You were made from love.’ We’re still a family, and we do things together. We go to his games together. We try to keep it as normal as possible.”

Could The Wendy Williams Show be coming back this fall?

After several months of worry and speculation, it seems that Wendy Williams may be feeling like her old self again. She has begun making public appearances again and there have been discussions about her potentially returning to television.

Wendy’s self-titled talk show aired in 2008, but it sadly came to an end in 2022 after Williams was forced to take a break due to a series of health issues. It was later revealed that the show would be cancelled, and that former The View host Sherri Shepherd would take over the timeslot with her own talk show.

In an interview with rapper Fat Joe, she mentions how she misses being on her show but she’s glad for the opportunity to talk about coming back. Wendy appears to imply that the show isn’t gone for good. When asked if she meant an entirely new series or if there were plans for her to come back to her old show, she didn’t hesitate. “I’m coming to The Wendy Williams Show,” she said firmly. “Absolutely. Absolutely.”

Wendy also stated that she will not be tuning into Sherri’s show.

“I won’t be watching her because I know what she’ll be doing and that’s not really my thing … you know what I’m saying?” she replied, quickly turning the focus back to her own plans for the future. “But I love, I love being on my own show. And I love that people love to watch it, you know, all the time.”

Sherri responded to Wendy’s comment via Instagram Live, ensuring that she is understanding of Wendy not wanting to watch her show. “She’s not well,” Sherri said. “There’s just a lot going on in Wendy’s life.  All I can do over here and pray.”

What’s on TV? Upcoming shows that should be added to your list!

Feeling like you’ve watched everything on TV? Well, there are quite a few shows and movies coming soon to your big screen that you should tap into!

• Savage Beauty (premieres May 12) is a South-African drama serious about a revenge-seeking mysterious woman who embeds herself in a powerful family who possess a global beauty empire and carries dark secrets.
• Bling Empire Season 2 (premieres May 13) is a reality series that follows the lives Los Angeles’ wildly wealthy East Asian and East Asian-American socialites as they go all out with fabulous parties, envious glamour, and endless drama.
• The Lincoln Lawyer (premieres May 13) is a crime-based drama series about a hotshot LA defense attorney who runs his law practice out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car. The television series is adapted from the 2005 novel of the same name by Michael Connelly.
• Love, Death & Robots: Volume 3 (premieres May 20) is an adult animated anthology series. This five-time Emmy winning show includes tales that explore alternate histories, terrifying creatures, and wicked surprises through a dark comedic lens.