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Jussie Smollett Hits Back at Harsh Reprimand on ‘Special Forces’ Season Four Premiere: ‘I Don’t Like Being Disrespected’

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There’s a reason the show is called Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. And on Thursday night’s (Sept. 25) season four premiere of the Fox reality competition series former Empire star Jussie Smollett quickly found out why.

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In the first minutes, after the group of influencers, athletes, models, podcasters and actors are driven into the the desert in Morocco, their military manhandlers storm the bus and put black hoods over the heads, marching them into the unknown.

Placed in Team Alpha with reality TV personality Gia Giudice, former NFL long snapper Andrew East and Sister Wives cast member Kody Brown, among others, Smollett instantly drew the eye of Jason “Foxy” Fox, the former UK Special Forces soldier in charge of whipping them into shape.

“You’re on the wrong bus,” Fox told Smollett after taking off his hood. In a confessional, Smollett said, “I’m here because I’ve been through some s–t and it’s been very public. I was called a liar with everybody believing something that was not true.” Smollett calls the show a “reset” after his career went into a tailspin following four well-received years on the Fox music drama Empire.

In Jan. 2019, Smollett claimed that two men had attacked him outside his Chicago apartment building using racial and homophobic slurs and that they placed a noose around his neck. A grand jury later charged him with a class four felony for filing a false police report, charges that were later dropped, though Smollett was indicted again on similar counts in Feb. 2020. At that time he was found guilty of five of six counts of felony disorderly conduct and making four false police reports. The case drew international attention over allegations that Smollett had allegedly staged the attack and paid two bodybuilding brothers to pretend to be his assailants.

Smollett did 150 days in county jail and his professional reputation took a major hit, despite the charges being reversed by the Illinois Supreme Court in Nov. 2024. Smollett, who has hardly worked since the incident, recently appeared in the Netflix documentary The Truth About Jussie Smollett? in which he once again asserted his innocence in the case.

After being made to low crawl across a mud pit and having their faces shoved in a muddy puddle, Team Alpha were ordered to haul bags of sand up a steep hill, with Smollett stalling out halfway up, saying “I’m gonna die.” He was immediately called out by a member of the Directing Staff, who addressed him harshly by his team number.

“Sixteen, what are you doing? What is your problem?” asked veteran Navy SEAL Jovon Quarles when he spotted Smollett taking a breather. “You are all truly p–sing me off, especially you, Sixteen. Sixteen, y’all better hurry up!” he shouted.

“I’m okay with taking orders,” Smollett said in a confessional. “I just don’t like to be yelled at all up in my face… I don’t like being disrespected.” After repelling from a helicopter and settling into their barracks for the night, the show lost Vanderpump Rules star Brittany Cartwright on night one after she quit on the first day.

Among the other contestants on the show are podcaster Brianna LaPaglia, supermodel Chanel Iman, former pro soccer player Christie Pearce Rampone, singer Jessie James Decker, NFL quarterback flame-out Johnny Manziel, TikTok influencer Mark Estes and others.

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sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’

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At his recent show in London, sombr paused the program to call out event staff after a fan appeared to faint in the audience without receiving help.

While in the midst of singing his breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Back to Friends” on Tuesday at O2 Academy Brixton, the Gen Z pop star suddenly waved at his band to stop playing. “Stop the show,” he said before addressing people working the concert, as captured in videos posted on social media. “Guys, there’s someone passed out over there.”

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“This is the most poorly managed venue I’ve ever played at in my life,” he continued. “You need to pay attention. It’s insane. I’ve played three nights here, and I’ve never played at a more poorly managed venue.”

Billboard has reached out to reps for sombr and O2 Academy Brixton.

Before proceeding with the show, the artist told the crowd, “Let me know when everyone’s good.”

sombr is currently on a run of shows in Europe, with dates planned for venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. This summer, he’ll play a slew of festivals, including Coachella and BottleRock Napa Valley.

The New York native also had another mid-show interruption recently, this time during his performance at the BRIT Awards. While he was singing “Undressed” at the ceremony, a man wearing a “Sombr is a homewrecker” shirt ran out on stage and appeared to hit Sombr; as it turned out, it was a pre-planned stint to help promote his new single “Homewrecker,” which recently debuted at No. 26 on the Hot 100.

And despite the momentary frustration, Sombr had only kind words to say about his overall experience playing for fans in London. “I love you so much,” he wrote over a video of the crowd at O2 Academy Brixton on his Instagram Story. “Thanks so much for an unforgettable past 3 nights. I’ll be back London.”

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The 15 Most Surprising Member Exits From K-Pop Groups

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While the K-pop world is grappling with the unexpected news that ENHYPEN is no longer seven members following member Heeseung’s seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of his departure, the industry has certainly been blindsided by such abrupt exits many times.

While Heeseung’s situation was shocking, it unfolded fairly calmly. On March 10, announcements came from ENHYPEN’s official channels, alongside a handwritten letter from Heeseung himself and ENHYPEN’s own statement on social media. Comparatively, some of K-pop’s biggest groups have been changed forever by dramatic announcements from members, via notices of legal action or vague updates from their agencies — the latter of which can sometimes be the most heartbreaking for fans.

From one of K-pop’s most landmark member exits in Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong from TVXQ! in 2009 (which ultimately rid the industry of so-called “slave contracts”) to years like 2014, 2019 or even last year, where multiple popular groups saw members drop from their groups, Billboard is sharing a timeline of the 15 most shocking exits from K-pop groups.

Membership changes are never easy, even when fans suspect something may have shifted for the group or there is an internal or external issue. Members of K-pop groups have left for the sake of their mental health or sometimes due to ongoing external pressure from issues from their past arising. For the purposes of this timeline and its relation to the news surrounding ENHYPEN and Heeseung, we’re focusing on K-pop member exits that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no prior indication, hiatuses or controversy.

Read on to learn how rare it is to have Heeseung remain under the same label as his former group in BELIFT LAB to pursue his solo career and more, in this look through K-pop’s most unexpected member departures.

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Watch Harry Styles Bust Marcello Hernandez for Impersonating Him Ahead of ‘SNL’: ‘Are Those My Clothes?’

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Sorry, Marcello Hernandez — there’s only one Harry Styles. On the set of Saturday Night Live ahead of the pop star’s upcoming hosting and performing stint, the comedian got a little too comfortable impersonating that week’s guest in a promo video posted Wednesday (March 11).

The teaser opens as a spoof on Styles’ One Night in Manchester concert special trailer, with the piano intro to his new single “American Girls” playing over shots of what looks like the singer’s silhouette striking poses and dancing across the stage. A record-scratch moment happens when the real Styles walks in with SNL castmember Kenan Thompson, busting Hernandez, who’d been pretending to be the Grammy winner that whole time.

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“What are you doing, Marcello? Are those my clothes?” Styles asks a visibly embarrassed Hernandez.

“Yeah, sorry,” the stand-up comic stutters, suddenly shy about wearing Styles’ pinstriped, flared slacks. “I thought you weren’t coming, so I thought I’d just go on as your understudy.”

Perplexed, Styles explains where he and Thompson had been. “I’m 15 minutes late, because Kenan and I went out for pain au chocolat. It’s a tradition when I host.”

Suffice to say, it’ll be Styles — the real Styles — helming SNL on Saturday (March 14), returning to host for the second time. He previously led an episode of the show in 2019.

The Brit will also serve as musical guest on the new episode, having just dropped his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The project was led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Aperture” and features second single “American Girls,” both of which are strong contenders for the tracks Styles will perform at 30 Rock — although fans will have to tune in to the live show to find out.

Watch Styles’ SNL promo above.

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