Did you know that Paula Abdul is Jewish? Paula is the former judge of American Idol and star of one of the greatest crash-and-burn reality shows ever (that would be Hey Paula), and now she’s in Israel touring the country as an official guest of the country’s board of tourism. Paula is visiting religious sites, going to museums, and even hanging out with the country’s president, Shimon Peres. (Fun fact: Peres is the first cousin of Lauren Bacall. I guess... Read more
Britney Spears has a new album coming out and is about to kick off a two-year residency in Las Vegas, so she’s out there working the publicity machine. During a recent Twitter chat, a fan asked Britney what her favorite book was, and the singer replied, “Anything by Max Lucado.” Lucado is a Texas-based preacher and author of a hundred (yes, a hundred) Christian-themed adults and kids’ books. Their titles include Grace for the Moment, Outlive Your Life: You Were... Read more
Her new movie, Paradise, is all about religion. In the movie, which was originally titled Lamb of God, a young religious woman (Julianne Hough) is in a terrible accident, which causes her to question G-d and run off to Las Vegas to see what sin feels like. Well, it looks like screenwriter/director Diablo Cody had some pretty specific pop-culture inspirations for the movie: The Duggars. Particularly Jinger. Diablo recently tweeted that if Jinger ever wants to run away from her... Read more
Jim Bob Duggar has never kept his values a secret, even if they are somewhat downplayed on his TLC series 19 Kids and Counting. The former Arkansas state representative appeared at the Values Voter Summit and made a speech about the evils of abortion. In his speech, Jim Bob relayed a story about Mike Huckabee visiting a former concentration camp (which he defines as “where a lot of Jewish people were killed,” in case you hadn’t heard) and then drew... Read more
Although they love to go on and on about modesty, Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar sure don’t mind sharing TMI details about their sex life on national TV. The couple constantly brags about how they’re “trying” for yet another kid (yes, we do know where babies come from, but thanks for the visual) and Jim Bob’s pre-wedding “sex talk” with son Josh Duggar is still one of the most cringeworthy things I’ve ever seen on TV. This week’s episode,... Read more
Actor/reality star Stephen Baldwin scored a $110,000 book advance to write a book entitled Ready to Get Dangerous? The book was supposed to be a memoir about Stephen’s life with a heavy dose of Christianity. A press release described the book, which was sold in 2007, as “what it means to live everyday as ‘a sold out, hardcore, nothing held back Jesus freak.'” However, Stephen has not actually written the book, which puts him in violation of his contract. His... Read more
The supertrailer for the new season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills just came out, and it hints at some interesting storylines this season. It also features two new cast members, Joyce Giraud and Carlton Gebbia. It’s not clear whether both are full-on Housewives or “Friends of the Housewives” but each gets a pretty decent amount of screen time. Although Carlton’s smooch with castmate Brandi Glanville is definitely going to be on the show, it’s not clear whether Carlton’s... Read more
Before Katy Perry was an animal-print-and-candy-loving pop star, she was Katy Hudson, aspiring Christian singer. Though her switch to the secular side of music helped make her a star, Katy (whose parents are pastors) hasn’t given up on her Christian background. Her new album Prism features the ballad “By the Grace of God,” which probably won’t ever be released as a single but does a bang-up job appealing to one of her core constituencies. But what does John Mayer think? Read more
Man, has it been a busy fall for relationships with kids from huge reality TV families! Jessa Duggar is the first Duggar daughter to enter courtship, which means she should be getting engaged fairly soon unless something major happens, and Erin Bates and Chad Paine are getting hitched in November. But Erin isn’t the only Bates kid settling down – her brother Zach Bates just proposed to his girlfriend Whitney. As is typical with the Bates clan, mom Kelly Bates... Read more
Rabbi Philip Berg, who founded the celebrity-beloved Kabbalah Centre in LA, died last weekend. A funeral was held for him in Safed, Israel, a town known for its mystic roots and connection to Kabbalah (the Jewish kind, not the pop-culture kind). Among the white-clad attendees was Ashton Kutcher, who was there with girlfriend Mila Kunis. Mila is Jewish, but I have no idea if she considers herself a Kabbalist. Ashton, however, is one of the celebrities most committed to the... Read more
Faith Goes Pop
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