Nicole Scherzinger won acclaim and a Tony Award for her performance as faded film star Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd., but some producers seem pleased to see the back of her.
A source at the production company behind Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, which closed in July after a ten-month run on Broadway, has revealed a string of complaints about the behaviour of the Pussycat Dolls singer.
It is claimed that Scherzinger, who performed at the Royal Albert Hall last night, had agreed to attend a session with a renowned make-up artist on the day of the Tony Awards, as well as a dinner co-hosted by one of the producers of the show at Casa Cipriani in New York. The producer extended this invitation to the show’s other lead actors. However, the singer allegedly insisted on the exclusion of her co-stars.
A few days before the ceremony, Scherzinger called off the dinner and the appointment with the make-up artist. She then accepted paid endorsements from beauty brands Revlon and Clairol on the morning of the awards – unapproved by the producers of Sunset Blvd., which at the time was ‘bleeding money’.
Nicole Scherzinger attended parties sponsored by a tequila brand during her Sunset Blvd. run
The source claims that Scherzinger, 47, used the Sunset Blvd. name and image to secure these endorsements but gave none of the profits back to the production, which she knew was struggling. Perhaps a weekly $150,000 (£111,000) pay cheque was not enough to satisfy her.
And on the night of the show’s Broadway premiere, she emailed her agent Ben Coleman to fire him. He had secured her role on the West End stage and subsequent transfer to Broadway.
During the Sunset Blvd. run, Scherzinger accepted paid endorsements and attended parties sponsored by a tequila brand which has OnlyFans models and porn stars as ambassadors. None of these appearances were approved by the production and, again, she used the show’s name to her benefit and to the detriment of the production.
Spokesmen for Scherzinger and Neptune Productions declined to comment.
Does Emma’s sparkling ring hold a secret?
Emma Watson, 35, was wearing a vintage-style sparkler on her ring finger – triggering rumours
Savaged by Harry Potter author JK Rowling last week for being ‘ignorant of how ignorant she is’ over her backing of transgender rights, Emma Watson nevertheless arrived at Paris Fashion Week with a beaming smile.
And a clue to her happiness could, perhaps, be on her left hand.
The actress, 35, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, was wearing an impressive, vintage-style sparkler on her ring finger, which boasted a large diamond.
And she seemed unusually keen to spend time in front of the cameras.
Her boyfriend is Kieran Brown, whom she met while studying for her master’s degree in creative writing at Oxford, where he is pursuing a PHD. It’s thought that they’ve been going out for more than a year.
Her spokesman declined to comment on whether they are engaged.
Last month, Emma described the societal pressure to marry as a ‘violence and cruelty’ against women. But she added of marriage on Jay Shetty’s podcast: ‘I hope it happens to me.’
Brasserie loved by stars set to close
It’s the stylish side-street restaurant which fed the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Sean Connery and David Frost, and has author Jeffrey Archer and rocker Bob Geldof among its regulars.
But Le Colombier, off King’s Road in Chelsea, west London, is to serve its last plate of steak tartare on New Year’s Eve.
‘After 27 incredible years, it’s with a heavy heart that we announce the imminent closure of Le Colombier,’ confirms the owner of the much-loved French brasserie, Didier Garnier.
‘Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to renew our lease.’
A spokesman for the landlord, Dow Properties, tells me the site is to be gutted for renovation works.
Saturdays child is… a diet diva
Roz with her daughter, the former Saturdays singer and now presenter Rochelle Humes
Presenter Rochelle Humes has voiced frustration at her mother’s refusal to take her advice on how to treat a serious health problem.
The former Saturdays singer’s mum Roz suffers from primary biliary cholangitis, a liver disease that can get worse over time. Without treatment, it may lead to liver failure.
‘She annoys me, because she doesn’t try and figure it out herself with [her] diet,’ says Rochelle, 36. ‘I’m really into alternative medicine and healthy ways of eating… She could find alternative ways to subside her symptoms but she’s rattling with all these tablets. I’ve been trying to research how she could eat differently. But, you can take a horse to water…’
Novelist Andrew O’Hagan is no fan of one particular pop group.
‘Everybody knows Coldplay are pish,’ the Mayflies writer declares. ‘They are total and utter mince. They are inflamed, swollen and possibly gangrenous b******s, and as sentimental as Mr Kipling’s exceedingly good cakes, except Kipling’s cakes are actually boss and Chris Martin, who was once voted the world’s sexiest vegetarian, wouldn’t know a good cake if the sky was full of them and they began dropping on to him like V-2 rockets.’
Amber Rudd, who stood down from Parliament in 2019, has won a new vote – with a very select electorate. The former home secretary, 62, has been chosen as one of the first female members of the Garrick Club.
She joins The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel star Celia Imrie, who became the first woman to be elected a member earlier this year, as I reported at the time. They join Dames Judi Dench and Sian Phillips, who were fast-tracked without a vote into the venerable Covent Garden institution in the wake of the men-only rule being jettisoned last year.
