Nolan Wells Was ‘Drinking Heavily’ Before Tragic Death, Friends Say

Reading Time: 2 minutes

There has been a new update in the tragic case of Nolan Wells.

The circumstances of the teenager’s death remain shrouded in mystery.

However, a claim that he was “drinking heavily” has come to light.

Does that tell us how he died?

People listen as attorney Ben Crump holds a press conference with Elmore Wonsley and Christine Wells-Wonsley, the parents of Nolan Wells, on July 22, 2026. (Photo Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

‘Drinking heavily with friends’

18-year-old Wells vanished after partying with friends on July 4, 2026.

He was later found face-down, still in his swim trunks.

After two days in this state on the beach, his identity was confirmed with dental records.

Now, ABC News reports that witnesses told investigators that Wells was “drinking heavily with friends” during the fateful trip to Horn Island.

What does that tell us?

From the start, investigators have suspected that Wells may have died by drowning.

(He was found in swim trunks and along the beach.)

It is more likely for someone who has been drinking heavily, as Wells allegedly was, to drown accidentally.

Certainly, it is a preferable answer to someone having been struck hard enough to render them unconscious in the water or physically held underwater.

Those images of a homicide — deliberate or accidental — have plagued Wells’ loved ones and the general public since news first broke of his death. Is the case now over?

We need to wait for the toxicology report (among other things)

Obviously not.

For one thing, friends reporting that Wells was “drinking heavily” — those precise words coming by way of what searchers were informed when given a description of Wells on July 5 — doesn’t really tell us much.

Alcohol consumption impairs judgment and can cause someone to collapse.

A sufficiently intoxicated victim could certainly have accidentally slipped and fallen and been brought in by the tide. They could also have fallen asleep in the sand and been overtaken by high tide.

But we do not actually know how much alcohol may have been in Wells’ system when he died.

The Medical Examiner’s Office’s toxicology tests will be part of the official autopsy results. And those are still pending.

Mississippi authorities have believed that Wells drowned.

His family wants real answers. And so does the broader community.

A young Black man’s mysterious death is, too often in the history of our nation, not an accident. Everyone wants to be sure.

Even if Wells was drinking, that would potentially make it easier for an unknown adversary to surprise or overpower him, such as by striking him on the back of the head.

Whatever happened, Wells’ family deserves the truth. They deserve closure so that they can grieve in peace.

Nolan Wells Was ‘Drinking Heavily’ Before Tragic Death, Friends Say was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More

Natalie Portman Feels ‘Betrayed’ Scathing New Book Allegedly Based on Her …

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Natalie Portman has been in the spotlight since childhood, and for the most part, she’s managed to steer clear of scandal.

But now, the Oscar-winner finds herself at the center of a surprising controversy involving a critically acclaimed novelist.

Portman, who is currently pregnant with her third child, once described Rachel Cusk as “one of my favorite writers.”

But now that Cusk is set to release a novel about an actress whose life bears a striking resemblance to Portman’s, that assessment may change.

Natalie Portman attends Apple’s “Fountain of Youth” premiere at American Museum of Natural History on May 19, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

According to The Times of London, Cusk — a major name in the literary world thanks to books like Outline and Second Place — may have based her upcoming release, The Story of M, on Portman.

The book tells the story of an author who asks her famous actress friend if she can write about her.

“A little while ago, I told the actor M that I was thinking of writing her autobiography. She liked the idea. She’s a good sport,” the story reportedly begins.

The main character — known only as M — is a former child star who, at one point, is cast in a film about ballet (Portman won an Oscar for playing a ballerina in 2011’s Black Swan).

It’s hard not to notice the similarities, and insiders say Portman feels “betrayed” and “outraged” and is attempting to “distance herself” from the book.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Natalie Portman (@natalieportman)

“It’s very identifiably a portrait of Natalie Portman that doesn’t seem to recognize her as fully human, suggesting she’s been subsumed by her own fame,” one literary critic who’s close to the situation told the Times.

“But she seems one of the last actresses you’d say that about, because she is highly intelligent and present. I think it dehumanizes her. Her not naming Portman is her way of pretending this is in the dominion of fiction, rather than her being a real person that you have responsibilities to.”

In the final pages of The Story of M, the title character confronts the narrator.

M complains that her portrayal is “hurtful” and contains “things she herself didn’t recognize” about herself.

“It isn’t you,” the narrator pushes back. “It isn’t anyone.”

Is that Cusk’s way of pre-empting claims that the main character was based on Portman? Or is she sincere in her assertion that there was no real-life inspiration for M?

We may never know. But it sounds like Natalie has already reached her conclusion.

The Story of M is set to hit bookstores in August.

Natalie Portman Feels ‘Betrayed’ Scathing New Book Allegedly Based on Her … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More

Brooks Nader & Taron Egerton: It’s Already Over!

Reading Time: 2 minutes

It’s over.

About four months ago, Brooks Nader and Taron Egerton became publicly linked.

Now, the 29-year-old Baywatch star and the 36-year-old Kingsman actor have parted ways.

Nader is apparently in her “Euro Summer” era.

Brooks Nader attends Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Beach Club on May 29, 2026. (Photo Credit: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Sports Illustrated)

It’s over

Us Weekly reports that Nader and Egerton have split after what appears to be about four months.

“Their relationship was casual,” the inside source shared, “but Brooks ended things with him.”

As you may have gathered already, it sounds like this insider is from Nader’s camp.

“She is living her best single life right now,” the source characterized.

“And,” the insider continued, “is embracing ‘Euro Summer’ in St. Tropez.”

The source emphasized that Nader is “having a lot of fun” during down time while filming Baywatch.

She is also said to be working on other projects at the same time.

“She’s very busy and is excited to be single,” the insider reported.

So, again, it really sounds like this source is very close to Nader and is putting Nader’s best foot forward.

That doesn’t mean that this characterization of the split is necessarily false. But it is just something for us to keep in mind. A source can be both real and biased.

It doesn’t sound like it was every really serious

Back in March, Nader and Egerton were spotted out and about in Los Angeles.

He is far from the first prominent actor with whom she has been linked, by the way.

She’s been rumored to be entangled with multiple big names, from Ben Affleck to Tom Brady.

In fact, if some wild reports are to be believed, Nader was in a Challengers-esque situation not so long ago. (Good for her if true!)

It is likely that her name is only likely to grow with Baywatch and these other projects.

Reportedly, Nader liked that Egerton was such a gentleman.

However, she very understandably did not want to be tied down to any one relationship.

Going on multiple dates, as reports say that they did, may have led somewhere, but that doesn’t make it a forever romance. Or a roamnce at all.

In fact, Nader publicly declared that she was “just going on fun dates.” However, she characterized herself as single even back in June.

She also told TMZ: “I’m just baywatching.” Amazing. No notes.

Brooks Nader & Taron Egerton: It’s Already Over! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More

Suri Legally Ditches Tom Cruise’s Last Name: What’s Her New Surname?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Over a dozen years later, Katie Holmes has thoroughly moved on from the Tom Cruise chapter of her life.

So has her daughter.

Continuing the pattern of celebrity kids reaching adulthood and ditching the surnames of their dads who were really hot in the early 1990s, Suri has a new legal name.

There’s no “Cruise” in sight. And, interestingly, no “Holmes.”

Tom Cruise promotes the upcoming film “Digger” on April 14, 2026. (Photo Credit: Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

It’s official!

Page Six reports that Suri registered to vote during her freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University.

What makes this very standard activity — particularly for an election year (Suri was a freshman in autumn 2024) — remarkable is that voter registrations must be under one’s legal name.

She is registered to vote as “Suri Noelle.” That is the same name that she used in a pamphlet at the end of high school.

Registering to vote like this can only mean that Suri has changed her legal name.

Ditching the “Cruise” surname makes sense. Notably, she has done this very quietly while leading a relatively normal life.

NEW

Suri, Katie Holmes’s daughter, who was abandoned by her biological father, Tom Cruise, legally dropped the last name “Cruise” at some point, per a new report from Page Six.

Suri Noelle is the name she used to register to vote.

Good for her.

A reminder: Tom Cruise… pic.twitter.com/jOkY988VU0

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 27, 2026

The report mentions that Suri did not file for her name change in Allegheny County.

From that, most conclude that she likely sought her name change in New York — before she left for college.

Having a legal name change carries many advantages.

Only one of which is not having to explain to multiple professors, resident advisors, and more why you’d prefer to not have your former name read aloud to a room full of your peers and potential friends.

That has broad applications even if your former surname wasn’t “Cruise.” It was smart of Suri to seek this change beforehand — possibly right after she turned 18.

She’s following Katie Holmes’ example (and saying very little)

Those of us old enough to remember Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch likely do not need a reminder of how things ended with Katie Holmes.

In 2012, Holmes filed to divorce Cruise after 6 years of marriage.

Divorcing Cruise is a notoriously daunting prospect. To this day, Nicole Kidman avoids speaking ill of Cruise or of Scientology, which some governments have branded as a predatory business rather than as a “religion.”

Holmes has not been outspoken about her erstwhile marriage or about her experiences during that time.

However, in December of 2024, she did confirm that Suri did not have a trust fund from her estranged father. (There were reports of such a fund, which Holmes denied.)

Shiloh Jolie 🤝 Suri Noelle dropping the last names of their problematic, deadbeat dads

— ᴊᴇʟᴀ (@jelevision) June 25, 2024

TMZ reports that, according to their source, Suri has been estranged from her father since she was 7 years old.

With that in mind, the 2024 revelation that she’d used “Suri Noelle” towards the end of high school made a lot of sense.

Only now do we have confirmation that she made this change legally.

Celebrity kids could have any number of reasons to obfuscate a famous — or infamous — parent’s surname. Cruise is both famous and infamous.

But to do this legally seems pretty personal.

It’s easy to ask if Tom Cruise ever cared about her. But many would argue that the best thing that he ever did for Suri was vanishing from her life.

Suri Legally Ditches Tom Cruise’s Last Name: What’s Her New Surname? was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More

Sara Gilson Exposed ‘Pedophile’ Ex on TikTok Before Her Murder, Died …

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Until earlier this month, 43-year-old Sara Gilson was yet another mother who was also a TikTok influencer.

Now, she is the victim of a brutal crime — and an apparent murder-suicide.

Just days before her killing, she accused her now-ex of being a “pedophile.”

In the horrific 911 call, she can be heard “screaming and crying” in her final moments.

Police lights flash in this stock photo from 2017. (Photo Credit: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

A tragic murder-suicide

On Thursday, July 23, 911 dispatchers received an emergency call after Gilson’s estranged husband, Jeremiah “Shawn” Duffey, allegedly shot her to death.

(He then apparently killed himself, making it an alleged murder-suicide.)

The 911 call was not placed by Gilson, but by the couple’s son.

The child on the phone reported that his stepfather had shot his mother inside their Owasso, Oklahoma home.

Meanwhile, it appears that dispatchers may have heard — and recorded — audio of at least part of the crime.

“I’m trying to reach him back,” a dispatcher explained to first responders, “but I could hear a female in the background screaming and crying.”

The 911 dispatcher then described: “Some sort of loud bang in the background.”

Once they arrived, police confirmed that Gilson had been fatally shot, seemingly by Duffey.

The crime scene then indicated that Duffey had taken his own life using the same firearm.

Officially, the motive is not known. However, Gilson’s video just days earlier, calling Duffey a pedophile and predicting a Netflix documentary, seems like a pretty strong — if unproven — motive.

@mrsgilson I wish I was joking. #plottwist #netflix #documentary ♬ original sound – Sara 🌸🐚🌺

‘My soon-to-be ex husband, who I just found out is a pedophile’

On July 11, Gilson had publicly accused Duffey — her husband — of being a “pedophile.” On TikTok, she explained why.

“Preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband who I just found out is a pedophile,” the word above her read. “I wish I [were] joking.”

Unfortunately, she was not joking. And while somewhat absurd allegations of predatory behavior sometimes circulate, especially on social media, she wasn’t accusing Duffey because of fanart that he liked or a story that he read.

Last month, a woman in Owasso filed a protective order against Duffey on behalf of her 15-year-old daughter. Her daughter played basketball on a team that he coached.

According to the report, another coach caught Duffey kissing and touching the child, who later confirmed to her mother that this was not the first time.

Sara Gilson’s TikTok post’s caption exposed her ex. Did it cost her her life? (Image Credit: TikTok/YouTube)

The 15-year-old reported to her mother that Duffey had sent her inappropriate messages, including inviting him to her hotel room during a tournament trip.

He had also offered her money, the report listed, “to keep her quiet.”

Duffey was not arrested or charged. It is unclear if authorities planned to do so.

Gilson filed her own protective order, and alleged that he “proceeded to threaten suicide and went on the run.”

Duffey was not legally allowed near Gilson or her children. Unfortunately, as countless victims instinctively know often happens, he did not abide by the protective order.

It sounds like Gilson took swift action as a responsible mother to protect her own children after she was alerted to her husband’s true nature. She paid the ultimate price for it in a society that too often protects bad adults over children.

Sara Gilson Exposed ‘Pedophile’ Ex on TikTok Before Her Murder, Died … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More

Eric Bieniemy’s Son Arrested For Shooting His Mother; Kansas City Chiefs Issue …

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We have some very troubling news to report from the world of sports today:

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is dealing with a frightening family emergency after his wife, Mia Bieniemy, was reportedly shot at the couple’s Virginia home Sunday night.

According to ESPN, Mia, 57, was hospitalized after the shooting.

Police tape hangs across a street in front of a house in Park City, Kansas. (Photo by Larry W. Smith/Getty Images)

Thankfully, she is currently in stable condition.

Authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, confirmed they responded to a residence in Ashburn at approximately 7:32 pm ET following reports of a person suffering serious injuries, though they did not initially identify the victim.

According to TMZ, Eric and Mia’s son, Elijah, was arrested and charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and discharge of a firearm inside of a dwelling as a result of the shooting.

At the time of the incident, Eric was with the Chiefs in St. Joseph, Missouri, where the team had wrapped up its second practice of training camp.

The Chiefs acknowledged the situation in a brief statement.

“The club is aware of the incident involving Eric Bieniemy’s family,” the organization said, adding that it would have no further comment out of respect for the family’s privacy.

Few additional details have been released about the shooting, and investigators have not publicly discussed what led to the incident. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by NFL (@nfl)

Eric, 56, returned to Kansas City earlier this year after spending the 2025 season as the Chicago Bears’ running backs coach.

He previously served as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator from 2018 through 2022, helping the franchise win two Super Bowls before departing for the Washington Commanders in 2023.

His return to Kansas City was viewed as a significant offseason move as the Chiefs look to rebound following an injury-plagued 2025 campaign.

For now, however, football has understandably taken a back seat.

As of Monday morning, Mia remained hospitalized in stable condition, and neither the family nor law enforcement had released additional information regarding the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The investigation remains ongoing, and more details are expected as authorities continue their work.

We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.

Eric Bieniemy’s Son Arrested For Shooting His Mother; Kansas City Chiefs Issue … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More

Rebecca Luna Cause of Death: Influencer, 49, Passes Via Medical Aid In Dying

Reading Time: 2 minutes

We have tragic news to report from the world of social media.

Rebecca Luna, the TikTok creator who gained fame by documenting her battle with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease and advocating for Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, has died.

She was 49.

@wheredidrebeccago

MAID—1 (maybe 2) years left #dying #terminal #alzheimer #dementia #saddness #grief #loss #anger #denial #death

♬ original sound – wheredidrebeccago

News of Luna;s death comes courtesy of a statement posted to her TikTok account.

“Rebecca passed away July 25th at approximately 1:15 p.m. surrounded by her loved ones,” the post read (via People). “Thank you for your support and privacy.”

The Victoria, British Columbia, resident became widely known in 2025 after revealing that she had been diagnosed with young-onset Alzheimer’s at age 48.

Her candid videos chronicled the realities of living with the progressive neurological disease, as well as her decision to pursue MAID, Canada’s legal physician-assisted dying program for eligible patients.

Over the following year, Luna amassed a large following by providing updates on her health, discussing the legal and medical process surrounding MAID, and sharing resources for others facing similar end-of-life decisions.

The single mother also fulfilled one of her longtime dreams during her final year after meeting singer Lily Allen, whom she had described as one of her heroes. Luna later called the experience “the best.”

Hospital beds seen within a private box at the new Dragon’s Heart Hospital on April 20, 2020 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Just days before her death, Luna announced that she had moved the date of her MAID procedure from early August to July 25, explaining that the decision had become too difficult to postpone.

“Prior to the dates changing for the last year and a half has been legally and medically not my choice,” she said in a farewell video.

“But for the last two weeks I’ve been making the decision. And it’s a hard decision to make, because I’m living in a body that doesn’t feel comfortable, safe, good, nothing. It feels terrible. And so the idea of waiting two weeks felt like too much.”

Luna also reflected on the hardships she had endured throughout her life, saying they ultimately helped her better understand herself.

“I’ve suffered enough in this world,” she said. “But at the same time, the suffering has brought me to this place of ‘I really know who I am and I really know that I have a good f—ing heart.'”

She concluded her final message by encouraging others to value themselves and advocate for their own well-being.

“If I leave this planet, that’s the only thing I teach — and that’s the only thing that somebody gets something out of — is that you just need to act your way into loving yourself,” Luna said. “If I can do it, you can do it too.”

Our condolences go out to Rebecca Luna’s loved ones during this enormously difficult time.

Rebecca Luna Cause of Death: Influencer, 49, Passes Via Medical Aid In Dying was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

Read More