upworthy

Celebrity

Images via Canva and Wikicommons

Justin Timberlake was ready to make every seat first class

Imagine you're on a flight to Argentina, getting settled into your seat and preparing for a boring (albeit important) safety rule announcement. Suddenly, a familiar voice pops up on the overhead speakers and you think… "Wait… that's not… could that be?" Why yes, it isJustin Timberlake, and he's ready to give you safety instructions and the flight route, usually delivered by the pilot.

Timberlake is continuing his "The Forget Tomorrow World Tour", his first world tour in five years. Of course, he's playing lots of hits, but the tour is to support his latest album Everything I Thought it Was, his sixth studio record.

On Justin's TikTok, posted on March 19th, we see him clad in a mint green hoodie with splashes of orange and darker green print, baggy trousers, and sneakers. He takes to the flight attendant's interphone with a sheet of instructions and begins: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to JT Live South American Leg."

@justintimberlake

South America, we’re coming for you!

The phone camera pans to the somewhat attentive, though possibly confused, rows of passengers and a flash of his name on the back of a seat. He continues while the flight attendants demonstrate how to use the life jackets, "The lifejacket is located in the pouch at the side of your seat. To inflate the lifejacket, pull firmly on the red toggles. If you have any questions, please keep them to yourselves."

This gets only a small laugh, so he verifies, "Oh, we're just kidding. Please ask the crew."

He then proceeds to share the flight path. "We will be flying over the beautiful countries of the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, until we make our way into Argentina." Adding, "We thank you for flying JT Live 25 Air — it’s gonna be lit."

This is met by clapping and cheers from many passengers, though others remain seemingly disinterested.

The TikTok comments, however, were filled with true fans. "You know what? There's nothing he can't do," says one. Another exclaims, "I'd give anything to be on that plane with him."

And this person hopes it means that Justin is adding something new to his already full career plate: "OK, so this is a preview of you narrating audiobooks for us, am I right? Please say I’m right!"

But there's more. Whether the reactions were good or indifferent on the actual flight didn't stop Justin from having a blast. At one point, he decides to use the aisle as his own personal putting green. With his putter, he gently hits a golf ball down the aisle, then excitedly takes a back-and-forth victory run, high-fiving some people on the way.

This was also shared on Justin's TikTok, underscored by a recording of the "Better than Most" PGA commentary when Tiger Woods famously made a 60-foot putt at TPC Sawgrass.

@justintimberlake

We love you, Big 🐅!!! Get well soon!

We hear, "I have seen a number of players putt from the back of this green. And the results have not been good." Justin takes the shot, then runs the aisle, and we hear, "Well, that's better than most. Better than most! You could hit that putt 50 times, and maybe make it once."

Adam Sandler Golf GIFGiphy

Again, the comment section blew up. "Imagine tryna nap on your flight and wake up to JT playing golf." And yet another suggestion for Justin's career? "JT needs to make a Happy Gilmore 2 cameo!"

Pop Culture

Matt LeBlanc describes his dream retirement of 'doing absolutely nothing' and it's so relatable

People are calling it a surprisingly "refreshing" take on wealth and success.

British Academy Television Awards/Wikipedia

If we had his money, we'd be doing the same thing.

With an estimated net worth of $85 million, Friends star Matt LeBlanc has the kind of monetary success many dream of, but very few actually have. And yet, people are calling how he’s chosen to live with his windfall “refreshingly” down to earth and relatable.

At the height of Friends fame, LeBlanc (along with his coasters) famously made an unprecedented $1 million per episode. And let’s not forget the estimated $20 million a year the cast earned through reruns of the hit sitcom.

While LeBlanc did go off to lead in the Joey spin-off for two years—as well as appearing in Episodes, and starring in the now cancelled Man With A Plan—he didn’t seem to be quite as busy as the other Friends stars. But perhaps this was by design.

Recently the TikTok account Outstanding Screenplays shared a now viral compilation video of a few of LeBlanc’s interviews throughout the years, in which he shares his love of “doing nothing.” For instance, in the clip from his 2017 appearance on Conan, he explained that he actually wanted to retire “earlier rather than later” fo the simple reason that “I think I would like to do not a fucking thing, that’s what I would like to do. Just nothing, absolutely nothing, zero.”


And just what does “nothing “ look like, according to LeBlanc? It looks like “sleeping as long as you want,” or “getting up as early as you want” any given day, not having “to be somewhere” or have “someone else telling you what to do,” having the choice to “go to the gym or not go to the gym,” and of “having nine cups of coffee or none.” In a nutshell: no rules.

As one viewer astutely noted, “he is describing freedom.”

Similarly, in a later interview on a Scandinavian TV show called Skavlan, expounded upon how he got this impulse.

“My plan was, I did 10 years of Friends, then two years of Joey, and then I said: ‘Right, I’m gonna take a year off, I wanna take a year off and just relax. I had such a good time I said ‘I’m gonna take another one,’ right? And then that one was even better. So I said ‘maybe one more,’ and then it turned into five or six years.”

After realizing that his "favorite thing to do in the world is nothing,” LeBlanc has pretty much been doing just that. God bless him.

One might think that this video, which has been viewed about 1.2million times, had the potential of stirring up some unsavory feelings, as even those among who can afford to retire likely will not do it in the style that LeBlanc does. But by and large people came into the comments to commend him for lifestyle choice.

“If I had his money I would do exactly the same," one of the top comments read.

“Nothingers unite!” exclaimed another.

What people really seemed to resonate with was the fact that his take is very counterintuitive to how celebrities often react to success. As one viewer put it, “So refreshing seeing someone really not caring about chasing more and more fame.”

Another person echoed, “I love that Matt LeBlanc knows he has had the fame, earned the money and now can enjoy it and does not still seek the limelight.”

There’s a lot to be said about how hard it is for this clearly common dream to come to fruition, but for now, let’s just take stock that collectively, in our heart of hearts, we all long for peace and freedom. Much of the other stuff is kind of arbitrary.

Celebrity

Steve Carell calls into high school assembly and announces he's buying 800 students' prom tickets

Carrell did a great thing, but that didn't stop him from going full Michael Scott.

alicewillhelp/Instagram

Steve Carell announces free prom tickets for seniors affected by southern California wildfires.

Actor Steve Carell showed up in a big way for high school students affected by the recent wildfires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles. The Office actor, 62, partnered with charity Alice's Kids (@alicewillhelp), to pay for all seniors to attend prom at six different high schools in Altadena, California.

According to Alice's Kids founder and executive director Ronald "Ron" Fitzsimmons, Carell will be sending about 800 seniors to prom for free. Fitzsimmons told USA Today that Alice's Kids will donate about $175,000 in total.

The uplifting news was shared via Alice's Kids Instagram page, with a personal message from Carell that was played at each high school via video projection in auditoriums. "A special message from our friend Steve Carell. Right now, this is being viewed by every senior at the six high schools in Altadena, CA!! @stevecarellofficial," the video's caption reads.

“Attention. Attention all seniors. This is Steve Carell with a very special announcement. I work with a wonderful charity based out of Virginia called Alice’s Kids. And Alice’s Kids wanted me to let you know that they will be paying for all of your prom tickets,” he said in the video. “And if you have already paid for your prom tickets, they will reimburse you for your prom tickets. It’s a pretty good deal. Have fun. Enjoy the prom, and remember, this is Steve Carell.”

Fans of The Office will notice that the video is a subtle nod to the hit NBC show, where Carell played boss Michael Scott. During a 2009 episode from the sitcom titled "Scott's Tots," he promises to pay the college tuition for a group of third graders if they graduate. But when the time comes to cough up the cash, he doesn't have it. Thankfully, Carell's donation to Altadena students had a different outcome.

The video got an overwhelming response from viewers, many who caught on to The Office reference. "'Hey Mr. Scott! Whatcha gon’ do? Whatcha gon’ do? Make our dreams come true!' This is beautiful," one wrote. Another commented, "Love this! Scott’s Tots for the win!" And another added, "Scott’s tots is coming true!!"

Another wrote, "thank you so much for blessing our students at Pasadena HS with an unforgettable night of memories ✨️🌹🙏🏼." And another shared, "What a thoughtful way to celebrate kids who’ve lost so much!"

One viewer was also personally impacted: "THANK YOU FOR THIS!! MY SISTER IS ABLE TO GO TO PROM!!🫶🫶🫶," they wrote. still another added, "Thank you @alicewillhelp and @stevecarellofficial on behalf of my Muir Senior 💙💛🐴🙏🏽. You all are awesome!!!!! 👏🏽"

Fitzsimmons told USA Today that Carell and his wife, Nancy, have been involved with the organization for over seven years. The idea to donate tickets to prom came after making numerous calls to schools affected by the wildfires.

"That's when I thought, 'Well, let's do something later on. Later on, all the charities will be gone. The kids who are seniors will be going off somewhere,'" Fitzsimmons told the publication. "So that's when I thought, 'What can we do to lift them a little bit in a few months from now?' That's when the idea of prom tickets came up."

Ariana Grande / YouTube

A resurface click of a 16-year-old Ariana Grande

Before she was Glinda the Good Witch, before she was a Grammy-winning music sensation, Ariana Grande-Butera was just a girl from Florida with huge dreams. After a quick stint in a Broadway musical, by the age of 15, she was part of the Nickelodeon world, beloved for her role as Cat Valentine in Victorious and it's spin-off Sam & Cat.

After a lot of hard work debuting her first album, the rest is history. But every so often, a picture or video of a teenage Ariana makes the rounds, and the internet goes wild. This time, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have revived an old clip of a 16-year-old Ariana singing "Happy Birthday" to customers at a Chili's restaurant.

This isn't the first, nor probably the last, time the algorithms have popped this one up to the surface, especially since Ariana is on fire right now. But the fans and comments continue to discuss—with passion—how much they love her, even beyond her latest Wicked sensation.

What's interesting is that many fans still get the whole premise of it wrong. In a clip posted on TikTok, it's described as "Ariana singing happy birthday when she was a waitress at Chili's," then adding, "it's giving Meena vibes" (a reference to a shy performer in the animated film Sing, voiced by Tori Kelly).

@cloud_ari3

it's giving Meena #fyp #foryoupage #arianagrande #arianator #viral #cloud_ari3

There are over 300,000 likes and thousands of comments, with many questioning the original post. One writes, "She was working as a waitress while working on the set of Victorious?? Cuz she didn’t have red hair till the producers made her dye it." Others agree and wonder why she's there, clad in an apron and a tank top.

Some swear they knew her while she worked at the restaurant. "No one believed me that she worked at Chili’s. I remember her photos working there!"

And some are just impressed by both Grande AND Chili's. "Of COURSE Ari would work somewhere as magical as Chili's."

Finally, enough comments reveal that no, she was not, in fact, a working actress, raising money for a St. Jude charity event. "Y'all, she was already semi-famous when she did this. She worked one day as a guest server for a St. Jude Children's Hospital fundraiser."

In fact, that very fundraiser was a Chili's-based campaign called "Create-A-Pepper," whose goal was to raise $50 million for St. Jude Children's Hospital. On Popstar! Magazine's YouTube channel, Ariana shares, "If you donate a dollar or more, they can color in a pepper. The proceeds will go to St. Jude and help raise awareness for kids with cancer."

- YouTube, Popstar! Magazine, Ariana Grande www.youtube.com

In the video, Ariana also gives her heartfelt gratitude to another Chili's employee whom she says has been teaching her "how to be a waitress." The woman commends Ariana on her skills, though admits she doesn't quite know the menu. Ariana laughs and jokes that she's been making up things. "We have a sandwich with bananas and peanut butter and Nutella and fluff."

The Create-A-Pepper campaign is still very much active, and Chili's holds their donation drive every September.