New Jersey is famous for its gambling venues, boardwalks, urban landscapes, and rich cultural tapestry. It has been an arena for intriguing celebrity stories involving renowned individuals from multiple public professions, and below, we run down five recent stories involving people in the limelight connected to New Jersey.
Caroline Manzo Sues Real Housewives of New Jersey
Caroline Manzo, the star of Manzo’d with Children and the Real Housewives of New Jersey, has filed a lawsuit against Shed Media and Bravo over things experienced during the filming of Ultimate Girls Trip, Real Housewives in Morocco. The details of her suit cite disturbing events of personnel enticing Brandi Glanville to engage in sexual harassment behavior towards her, including kissing her without Manzo giving her consent to do so. Moreover, on one occasion, Glanville allegedly forcibly held Caroline down, humping her and forcibly kissing her.
We must note this is one in a longer list of mounting lawsuits against Bravo. These have promoted the network to change its workplace practices and policies. Now, the behind-the-scenes drama is superseding the on-screen one.
Kelsey Grammer to Marshall Saint Patrick’s Day Parade
In October 2023, one of the most beloved TV characters ever, Frasier Winslow Crane, returned in a third show to help fictional patients and series viewers. After debuting as a supporting personality in the 1980s hit show Cheers and getting promoted to the starring role of the legendary 1990s/2000s primetime series Frasier, Kelsey Grammer came back to reprise the role of Fraiser in a new reboot of the mentioned version of this show.
Now, on January 30th, 2024, news broke that Grammer, a winner of Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes, will return to Atlantic City, the state’s casino capital and the home of NJ online iGaming, to assume the role of one of the two Grand Marshalls of the city’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. The other one will be the proprietor of Maynard’s in Margate, Steve Troiano. The parade will take place on March 9th, 2024, and Grammer’s participation should come as no surprise, as he has been a well-documented and frequent visitor to Atlantic City over the years. The actor spent much of his childhood in New Jersey’s Woodbridge Township and has previously partnered with the Faith American Brewing Company.
Blake Lively Filmed a Movie in New Jersey City
The star of The Age of Adaline, All I See Is You, and the Shallows, wife of Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, filmed scenes for her upcoming movie It Ends With Us in New Jersey City, per reports. Based on Colleen Hoover’s book of the same name, It Ends With Us gets helmed by Justin Baldoni, and it co-stars Brandon Sklenar. The story of the book, which the movie will follow, revolves around Lively’s character Lilly, who falls in love with a Ryle, played by director Baldoni, with her first love, Atlas (Sklenar), appearing in the mix, complicating Lilly’s life.
It Ends With Us started filming in the spring of 2023. However, it had to close down production because of the SAG strike. After the restart, Alex Neustaedter and Isabela Ferrer were added to the cast. There has yet to be any news regarding what NJ spots It Ends With Us used for filming. The production staff only stated that they filmed at undisclosed New Jersey City locations.
Teresa Giudice Admits Staging Prison Release Photo
American TV personality Teresa Giudice, best known for her participation in Donald Trump’s The Celebrity Apprentice 5 and The Real Housewives of New Jersey, recently admitted that she staged her 2015 prison release photo. Giudice entered a guilty plea to forty-one counts of fraud in March 2014 via a deal with federal prosecutors after they accused her of engaging in wire, mail, bank, and bankruptcy fraud. The deal led to a fifteen-month sentence, with Giudice getting released in December 2015.
In a recent Hollywood Raw Podcast, the former Real Housewives of New Jersey star transparently disclosed that she agreed in prison to have her photo taken by People Magazine upon her 5 AM prison exit on December 23rd, 2015. She did not wish to reveal how much she pocketed from the exclusive paparazzi photos but did reiterate multiple times that they did not feature an authentic moment.
Gia Giudice Joining Real Housewives of New Jersey Not a Certainty
Gia Giudice is the daughter of Teresa Giudice, her eldest of four. Fans of the Real Housewives of New Jersey are very familiar with Gia, as they have watched her grow up for almost a decade and a half on the massively popular TV series. In December 2023, the executive producer and host of the show, Andy Cohen, hinted that Gia could soon join the main cast, following her mother’s footsteps and becoming a TV housewife despite not having kids and being married.
Gia, who sees herself as her mom’s right hand, named the pair a power duo. But, it now appears that Gia will not experience a role shift, but the next season will put an added focus on her, and per Gia, viewers will be surprised by the extra glimpse into her life they will see in the upcoming season.
