Names and faces
■ When he was Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen was hellbent on silencing Stormy Daniels, even arranging a hush-money payment to the porn actress that landed him in federal prison.
Now, as one of many of the former president’s insiders-turned-critics, Cohen is broadcasting Daniels’ story — including intimate new details of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump — in a discussion ranging from shame and scandal to a haunted house in New Orleans. Seeking to bury the hatchet, Cohen interviewed Daniels for the latest episode of his podcast, “Mea Culpa,” in which the two commiserate over life-altering experiences with Trump and his recent departure from office. “My battle is just now starting,” Daniels tells Cohen in their conversation, referring to litigation she said had been in a holding pattern before Trump left office. “People are really upset, and they’re just going to get more p***ed off at me.” Cohen, in keeping with the title of his program, apologizes for “the needless pain” he put Daniels through when he arranged a $130,000 payment during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an alleged dalliance with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair. Cohen pleaded guilty to skirting campaign contribution rules by arranging the hush-money payment to Daniels and a similar payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal, as well as lying to Congress and tax evasion — and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Cohen has been producing his podcast, distributed by Live X Live’s Podcast One and produced by Audio Up, from his Manhattan apartment, where he is serving the remainder of his sentence.
■ Christina Milian is stepping into Naya Rivera’s dancing shoes. The 39-yearold New Jersey native has joined the cast of Starz’s “Step Up” series, replacing Rivera as the lead role of Collette
after her July death, the network announced Monday. Rivera, 33, drowned in July while boating with her 4-year-old son, Josey, in Lake Piru, Calif. “I am so excited to join the ‘Step Up’ family,” Milian said in a statement. “I know I have massive shoes to fill. Naya was incredible. I hope to honor Naya, her family, friends and fans with a great performance.” The series, which lived on YouTube for two seasons before being resurrected by Starz last year, takes place at Atlanta’s famed High Water Performing Arts School, its founder Sage Odom, played by Ne-Yo, and his professional and personal partner Collette. “Christina has big shoes to fill and she knows it, which speaks to her poise and respect as a person and an artist,” Ne-Yo said in a statement. “I’m more than certain of her ability to bring an energy and light to this character that Naya’s fans as well as the rest of the world will love.”