The Death and Funeral of Memorable Actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman 

On Sunday, February 2, Phillip Seymour Hoffman was declared dead at the age of 46. "The Hunger Games" actor died in his West Village apartment, where it is believed he died from a heroin overdose.  NYPD confirmed with THR that nearly 50 envelopes of heroin were found in Hoffman’s apartment, while CNN added that an undeclared number of bags filled with white powder, prescription drugs, and 20 used syringes were also found. After failing to pick up his children, a friend of the memorable actor called the police. 

Hoffman was open about his drug addiction and admitted to a relapse in 2013, when he checked into a rehabilitation center.

Since his death, many stars have spoken out and have sent their condolences including Tom Hanks, George Clooney, and Ellen DeGeneres. 

On Friday afternoon, family, friends, and celebrities gathered for the funeral at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City. Celebrities who attended the funeral included Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Ethan Hawk, Michelle Williams, and Julianne Moore. 

Woody Allen and Dylan Farrow Speak Out About Family Scandal 

Last weekend, the New York  Times released a revealing confessional by Dylan Farrow, in which she describes how Woody Allen allegedly sexually assaulted her. Farrow’s confessional came after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored Allen with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Award at the Golden Globes. Farrow’s letter describes the assault at the young age of seven.

“When I seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house. He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did, whispering that I was a good girl, that it was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies,” said Farrow.

Celebrities have responded to Farrow's open letter.

Writer Jenny Johnson tweeted, “Maybe this will help other victims and convince Hollywood to stop kissing Woody Allen’s ass.”

Lena Dunham, actor and writer of the show Girls, also tweeted, “To share in this way is courageous, powerful, and generous. Please read.”

New York Times published an opinion piece on Friday, where Allen lashed out with his side of the story. The op-ed is clearly a response to Dylan Farrow’s account made last week that Hollywood praises her sex offender and that "society fails" victims of sexual abuse. Allen adopted Dylan with Mia Farrow, whom he had a 12 year relationship with. 

“Not that I doubt Dylan hasn’t come to believe she’s been molested, but if from the age of 7 a vulnerable child is taught by a strong mother to hate her father because he is a monster who abused her, is it so inconceivable that after many years of this indoctrination the image of me Mia wanted to establish had taken root?” said Allen.

Allen wed (another) adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Soon-Yi, whom he has been married to for almost 15 years. The feud remains unsettled between Allen and the Farrow family. 

Selena Gomez Takes a Trip to Rehab

 

Earlier this week, news that Selena Gomez went to rehab surfaced. Her reps say she checked into Meadows in Wickenberg, Arizona, where she had treatment for two weeks. 

TMZ reported Gomez checked into the center for alcohol, pot and prescription drugs including Ambien while E! Online reported that Gomez’s rep stated the contrary. 

Her reps confirmed she was not in rehab for a substance abuse problem, but rather to deal with the highly publicized break-up in late 2012 with troublemaker, Justin Bieber. 

Days before her rehab stint, Gomez and Bieber were spotted riding Segways in Calabasas and subsequently after, Bieber posted a photo of the two on Instagram. He captioned the photo, “Love the way you look at me.” The photo remains on Bieber’s Instagram, where he recently changed his Instagram name to “Bizzle.”

In January, Gomez cancelled her tour in Australia to focus on herself. 

“My fans are so important to me and I would never want to disappoint,” she said, “But it has become clear to me and those close to me that after many years of putting my work first, I need to spend some time on myself in order to be the best person I can be. To my fans, I sincerely apologize and I hope you guys know how much each and every one of you mean to me,” said Gomez.

Gomez rarely speaks out about her public relationship with Bieber, but implies her song, “Love Will Remember” is about the personal break-up. The singer's performance of the song surfaced on YouTube in late 2013, where it was made apparent that the break-up was difficult for her as she teared up while singing the final verses of the song. 

Since the news surfaced, Gomez remains silent about her rehab experience. She has recently been spotted at the Beats Music Launch party and the Sundance Film Festival, where she was promoting her upcoming film, "Rudderless."

Jay Leno’s Last Episode of "The Tonight Show" after 22 years

Jay Leno’s final episode of the "The Tonight Show" aired on Thursday (February 6th). THR reported the show brought in 14.6 million viewers on its final night. 

The finale begun with an approximate 12 minute monologue, where he made jokes about Justin Bieber and O.J. Simpson. He even made a snarky comment about NBC stating, “I don’t like goodbyes - NBC does.” 

NBC previously replaced Leno on the "The Tonight Show" with Conan O’Brien, yet O'Brien did not garner as many viewers as Leno. As a result, Leno returned to "The Tonight Show," where he continued to lead the most watched late night show.

A noted guest of the finale (other than Leno himself) was Billy Crystal who was Leno’s very first guest on the show back in 1992. 

"And you know, I'm just here out of pure friendship. And I was told you called. I'm not here to plug anything. I mean I could easily plug my book, 'Still Foolin' 'Em,' coming out in paperback in April," said Crystal to Leno. "But I won't. I won't do that. Or mention that '700 Sundays' will be on HBO on April 19th. I'm not going to do any of that."

Crystal, then, led A-list celebrities to sing their adapted version of "The Sound of Music" song, “So Long, Farewell,” to Leno. Those involved included Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Chris Paul, and Jack Black. 

The finale continued with even more memorable moments when Leno received a video collage from celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Olivia Wilde, and even President Barack Obama sending him best wishes for the future. 

The comedian ended the show teary eyed, saying, “This is tricky. I have to thank the audience. We wouldn’t be on the air without you people. This has been the greatest 22 years of my life.” 

After 22 years of Leno hosting "The Tonight Show," Jimmy Fallon will take over for the veteran comic in the 11:35 p.m. spot. Fallon’s takeover will air February 17th. 

Reach Staff Reporter Lauren Alvarez here or follow her on Twitter here.