Many, many people do not like Brett Ratner. Many people don’t like him because they think he’s a hack as a director. Many people don’t like him because he once said vile things about Olivia Munn (“She wasn’t Asian back then… I banged her a few times … but I forgot her… she’s bitter.”). Many people don’t like him because when he was hired as the producer for the Oscars a few years back, he actually said (on the record), “Rehearsal is for f-gs.” And guess what? That same Brett Ratner is maybe Mariah Carey’s new boyfriend.

For what it’s worth, Mariah and Brett have been friends for years. And it’s not like they went on vacation – to sunny St. Bart’s – all by themselves. There was an entourage involved, probably on both sides. I’m including some photos of Brett, Mariah and an unidentified woman walking around St. Bart’s this weekend, plus I’m adding some Instagram photos of Brett and Mimi. They don’t seem to be hiding at all. Which makes me wonder if they’re really on. Also note: in the St. Bart’s photos, both Mariah and the unidentified woman are carrying jewelry bags. Did Brett buy them both jewelry gifts?

TMZ’s sources say that Mariah is “over” Nick Cannon and she has already “moved on.” TMZ says they’re staying on a yacht belonging to one of Brett’s friends and the yacht is really nice. They’ve dubbed it “The Love Boat” – go here to see a loved-up-seeming photo. But!! Brett’s rep went to People and said the dating rumors are “ridiculous” and that Brett and Mariah have “been best friends for a very long time.”

Personally, I could see them dating. It would be a hot mess and it would only last a few months, probably. But Mariah is a needy mess and Brett is a starf—ker. If she was throwing herself at him, he would probably take her up on the offer.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Instagram.

Justin Timberlake the musician? No problem. His talent as an entertainer, in that respect, has never been disputed here. So if he lives here, at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, as a living legend, yeah, of course. I mean, what a “journey”, you know? Like when you consider all that he’s had to overc…      

Congratulations are in order for Coco Rocha and James Conran.

The supermodel, 26, and her artist husband welcomed their first child – daughter Ioni James Conran – on Saturday, March 28, she announced via Twitter.

“James and I are so proud to welcome into the world our healthy and beautiful baby girl, Ioni James Conran!,” the Canadian model Tweeted. “#Ioniconran”

The proud new dad also shared a sweet family photo on Twitter.

“And then 2 became 3! Coco and I are so excited to be joined by our sweet baby girl, Ioni James Conran. #IoniConran,” he captioned the black and white image from his wife’s hospital bed.

The couple – who were wed in June 2010 – announced their pregnancy news in October with an Instagram video.

And then 2 became 3! Coco and I are so excited to be joined by our sweet baby girl, Ioni James Conran. #IoniConran pic.twitter.com/bbPpBkWtfO

— James Conran (@jamesconran) March 28, 2015

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View image | gettyimages.com

In February, Jon Stewart announced that he would be leaving The Daily Show at some point this year. It was a shock. Many people believed Jon was very happy at TDS, although he had been pursuing other interests – like directing his first feature film – for a few years. Still, some of us still can’t believe that he’s going to leave us before another presidential election cycle. What the hell, man?!

Anyway, the hunt was on for Jon’s replacement and speculation ran rampant. John Oliver would have been an obvious (and brilliant) replacement, but Oliver left TDS for HBO months ago (and his show is a massive success). Some people thought TDS should get a female host, which would have been awesome. TDS has a deep bench of talent, male and female, and it would have been great to see Jason Jones, Rob Riggle, Samantha Bee or Jessica Williams take over. But no. The new host has been named and it’s a guy we barely know: South African comedian Trevor Noah. Noah is biracial. He’s been featured on TDS before. But he’s still pretty unknown and untested. The NYT spoke to Noah after the announcement:

“You don’t believe it for the first few hours,” Mr. Noah said of learning about his new job. “You need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.”

The appointment of Mr. Noah, a newcomer to American television, promises to add youthful vitality and international perspective to “The Daily Show.” It puts a nonwhite performer at the head of this flagship Comedy Central franchise, and one who comes with Mr. Stewart’s endorsement.

“I’m thrilled for the show and for Trevor,” Mr. Stewart said in a statement. “He’s a tremendous comic and talent that we’ve loved working with.” Mr. Stewart added that he “may rejoin as a correspondent just to be a part of it!!!”

[From The NYT]

The Comedy Central president said that they saw everyone, male, female, black, white, whatever. And I would guess that some of the correspondents honestly didn’t want the gig. But it just feels like… I don’t know, they pulled this guy’s name out of a hat! We’ll see, Comedy Central. We’ll see.

Here’s Trevor’s first appearance on TDS several months ago:

Photos courtesy of Instagram, Getty, WENN.

Taylor Swift tried to clarify for us that it’s not “Starbucks lovers” in Blank Space last night at the iHeartRadio Music Awards when she won for Best Lyrics but it all just ended up sounding like promotion for her upcoming tour. Right? Every time she was on stage, speaking, it was about the tour….      

Girls’ night out!

A-lister Angelina Jolie stepped out with two of her daughters – Zahara, 10, and Shiloh, 8 – a the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday (March 28). The Unbroken director, 39, was all smiles with her kids in a black dress, alongside Shiloh in a graphic T-shirt and gray hoodie and Zahara in a cute white sweater.

The mom-of-six won the Favorite Villain award for her role in Maleficent. The Academy-Award-winning actress gave her kids a big hug before heading up to the stage, where she delivered an acceptance speech encouraging fans to embrace their differences.

The trio were seen posing with singer Meghan Trainor, who was nominated for Favorite New Artist and Favorite Song of the Year (for All About That Bass). As well, the girls were all smiles while meeting Nick Jonas, the show’s host.

The trio were not joined by papa Brad Pitt and sibs Maddox, 13, Pax, 11, and 6-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

This marks Angelina’s first public appearance since announcing she’d had surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes following a recent cancer scare.

“I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family,” she shared. “I know my children will never have to say, ‘Mom died of ovarian cancer.’”

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Spoilers follow for the finale of The Walking Dead, which aired last night
The hour and a half finale of the fifth season of The Walking Dead aired last night. While I enjoyed it, there were several filler scenes which could have been cut to bring the show back to its standard time. I particularly didn’t care about Father Gabriel’s nihilism at all, nor did I care about Abraham and Rosita’s posse, who were bonding over Tara as she recovered from her injuries. Eugene’s dialog still feels so forced, and that group seems ripped from the comics and not as “real” as the rest of the characters.

One character who does seem genuine despite his incredible turnaround is Morgan, who swooped in and saved Daryl and Aaron from a hoard of walkers who had descended on them in a trap. When Morgan reunited with Rick in a key moment, there was satisfaction and a hope that he would bring the peace and perspective that the group lacks. Morgan represents a sort of bridge between the people of Alexandria and Rick’s group: he lost his sanity while surviving alone among zombies, but he came out the other side with a renewed respect for life. I really hope he sticks around. On The Talking Dead last night, actor Lennie James would only say that he’s set to appear in at least one episode of season six. He explained that his whole return was so cloaked in secrecy that he had to stay in separate accommodation from the other actors in a B&B in a small town.

Instead of a full recap, which you can find multiple places including People and Access Hollywood, I’m just going to do bullet points along with my thoughts.

Overall I thought that more people needed to die this episode. I know that sounds cold, but there have been so many deaths of good people that I wanted balance with more a**holes biting it. Yes Pete got killed, but that was inevitable. Father Gabriel and Nicholas are unnecessary and will surely continue to cause trouble. It would have been more fitting if they both got killed. I think the “all life is precious” sentiment was the theme for this episode and helped hammer home the point that Rick’s group, however flawed, is more fair and humane than the people who have been sheltered.

I take issue with how fake Carole is. She’s doing what she has to do to survive, and on The Talking Dead actress Melissa McBride explained that her behavior is tied to Carole’s past as a domestic abuse victim walking on eggshells around her husband. Carole’s duplicity is being overdone, I think, and that’s due to the script more than McBride’s portrayal.

Walking Dead does not return to AMC until October (presumably), but we’ll be able to get our zombie fix quicker. Last night they also aired a trailer for “Fear The Walking Dead,” a new spin off set in LA in the early days of the zombie apocalypse. We’ve heard some casting details already and now we know that “Fear The Walking Dead” is set to air this summer. I wish they had given it a more original title, but they have such great name recognition they must not want to risk it.

Here’s the trailer for “Fear The Walking Dead”

Photos credit: AMC. Frontpage photo via Daily Mail

The Academy didn’t care for Unbroken. But Angelina Jolie would probably say that her Oscar moment of 2015 happened on Saturday night at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards where she was joined by daughters Zahara and Shiloh. The Jolie won Best Villain for her performance as Maleficent.

And he…      

We talked last week about the overwhelming hysteria over Zayn Malik quitting One Direction in the middle of a world tour. Zayn made a huge fuss about wanting to be “a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” Then he hit the recording studio the next day to work on his solo album. There are new photos of Zayn hanging with his producer, Naughty Boy, outside the studio. Zayn looked quite pleased with himself in the pics and gave a little smile to the camera. No wonder the 1D boys felt “misled.”

A source close to Zayn spoke with Now magazine about Zayn’s new music. He’s “been writing for a while now” and already laid down two tracks. Zayn’s new sound? It will be “very slowed down R&B and quite sexual” and different from 1D’s pop tunes.

How was Zayn able to extricate himself so easily from the band? A new report from The Sun (via the Mail) says Simon Cowell had designs: “Simon was very understanding about him leaving the band but quickly made it clear he would stay a Syco artist for his future projects.” So he’s still under Simon’s thumb, and Billboard adds that the remaining members of 1D are stuck. They have to do at least two more albums as a 4-piece band, and they’ll probably receive less money now that Zayn’s gone. Billboard also has more theories on Zayn’s maneuvers:

Billboard’s forthcoming 2014 Money Makers list, an annual compilation of the top earners in U.S. recorded music and touring, will report One Direction at No. 1 for the first time, with a total take of $42 million. That’s why Malik’s label management team has already positioned him for a future as a solo act: Malik is signed to Syco as a group member and individually. A “leaving member clause” in the band’s deal allows the act to continue as a foursome, and it also offers the label the option to pick up Malik’s contract as a solo artist.

The remaining 1D four-piece still owes two more albums to Sony as part of a three-album renewal inked in 2013. Beyond that, “the theory is, because there are fewer members in the group, the label should pay less [of an advance for future work] because they’re likely to be less viable,” explains attorney Doug Davis, principal at The Davis Firm, whose clients include Lil Jon and Swizz Beatz. “But if Zayn is properly represented, he will negotiate a more substantial solo deal than the percentage he’s entitled to as part of a group.”

Malik had been withdrawn from the band for months, suffering from what one source calls “terrible anxiety” (for which he allegedly took medication) and dropping out of a key promotional appearance for Four on NBC’s Today in Orlando, Fla., in fall 2014. “There have been rumors of substance abuse,” hinted Today host Matt Lauer of Malik’s illness excuse. Indeed, another source contends, “Zayn wasn’t sick when he missed Orlando … he’s had one foot out the door since then.” Offers a third, well-placed insider: “He just didn’t want to do it anymore.”

[From Billboard]

I feel rude for saying this, but dude’s been planning his exit for awhile. We’ve heard tales of Zayn’s discomfort onstage and how he was uncomfortable with being super famous. But his shady behavior since leaving the band doesn’t jibe.

Perrie Edwards and Zayn are still together. Fans are still angry because Perrie had the nerve to smile in public after Zayn quit the band. She may not be smiling for long. DListed has steamy details of a Swedish model claiming to be yet another tour hookup of Zayn. This girl’s story may or may not be legit, but it adds to the growing pile of cheating allegations. Perrie may not care. She and Zayn were mansion house hunting over the weekend and “plan to marry as soon as possible.” Guuurl, dump him.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 16 recap.

SPOILERS SERIOUSLY

So we finally learn what the deal is with the W-zombies, and it is, in fact, a human hunting operation. The “wolves” are a couple of guys—so far as we know—who have baited and rigged traps to catch and turn people. We learn th…