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Actor LeVar Burton sits for a portrait to promote his new television movie "The Jensen Project" in New York, July 13, 2010.KEITH BEDFORD/Reuters

TOO SOON?

LeVar Burton is catching Twitter heat for making a joke about the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman. The former Star Trek: The Next Generation star has been called out on Twitter for an insensitive comment he made on Sunday in regard to the shocking heroin-overdose death of Hoffman, who was allegedly found in a New York apartment in his underwear and with a syringe still hanging out of his arm. Burton's tweet: "Damn, PSH was SO talented. However, if y'all should find me dead with a needle in my arm, in my underwear, please put my pants on!" Following dozens of critical tweets on his remarks, Burton responded on Twitter with the comment, "Lash out at me if you want to…I ain't going out like that!"

Source: Toofab.com

STILL NOTHING

So that's what Jerry Seinfeld's top-secret project was about. Seinfeld and former co-stars Jason Alexander and Wayne Knight collectively reprised their Seinfeld roles in a TV commercial for the Crackle web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday. The spot was filmed in the familiar setting of Tom's Restaurant, where Jerry explains to George (Alexander) why they didn't get invited to a Super Bowl party. The spot closes with the appearance of Knight, to whom Seinfeld delivers the familiar disdainful line, "Newman." Comedians in Cars recently topped 25-million streams, making it Crackle's most-watched original series.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

OBAMA'S ZINGERS

Super Bowl XLVIII was a blowout, but that didn't stop U.S. president Barack Obama from getting in a few shots at Fox News. The pregame interview between Obama and Fox News mainstay Bill O'Reilly touched on a wide range of topics, including health care, possible IRS corruption and the Benghazi attacks. When O'Reilly asked the commander-in-chief if the American people were mislead about the attacks because the president was running for re-election at the time, Obama replied curtly, "They believe it because folks like you are telling them." Obama issued a similar response when O'Reilly asked about the IRS unfairly scrutinizing conservative groups. "These kinds of things keep on surfacing in part because you and your TV station will promote them," said Obama.

Source: Zap2it

PINK-SLIPPED

Moving The Tonight Show from Los Angeles to New York will end up costing 164 employees their jobs. NBC Universal intends to lay off the entire current Tonight Show staff – that's 164 employees – when the venerable talk show moves to the Big Apple next month in order to accommodate incoming host Jimmy Fallon. NBC Universal informed the California Employment Development Department last month that they plan to eliminate the positions. The layoffs are scheduled to commence on Feb. 14 (yes, on Valentine's Day) and be staggered to early April. Jay Leno's last day hosting The Tonight Show will be Friday, February 7.

Source: The Wrap

FUR FOLLIES

That's correct: Football legend Joe Namath really did wear a fur coat to the Super Bowl. The Hall of Fame quarterback wore the furry garment to toss the coin toss at the beginning of Sunday's big game. The coat was not unlike the garment that Namath wore on the sidelines of a 1971 NFL contest and immediately prompted NPR personality Julie Rovner to tweet, "Joe Namath's coat need a Twitter account, stat" (it had one within the hour). The coat also elicited a Twitter response from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who tweeted, "The fur on your massive coat was meant for ANIMALS :( … Please consider FAUX." The Twitter site for The Muppets also weighed in with, "For the record: We had nothing to do with @RealJoeNamath's jacket."

Source: NPR

SPACE TRUCKING

Is Zac Efron about to be cast in the new Star Wars movie? The former High School Musical star has admitted that he's been in talks with Disney in regard to a possible lead role in the upcoming film reboot of the fantasy sci-fi story. Efron recently told MTV News, "I just went and met with them. So I don't know. It would be cool. I love [the Star Wars movies], I love them, but who knows?" Other stars rumoured to be up for roles in the seventh instalment in the franchise include Chiwetel Ejiofor and Dame Judi Dench. Stars Wars Episode 7 is slated for theatrical release in December, 2015.

Source: Metro.co.uk

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