Names and faces
■ Angelina Jolie has not ruled out a move into politics — and has joked that she might be tough enough to take the rough and tumble that comes with it.
The American actress and U.N. envoy told BBC radio that she “can take a lot on the chin” — a possible reference to her bitter divorce from Brad Pitt. When asked if she is moving in the direction of politics, the 43-year-old Oscar winner said, “I honestly will do whatever I think can really make change.” Jolie is a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency. She used her slot as a “guest editor” on the BBC to highlight refugee issues in the Middle East. She also included Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege on the show.
■ The estate of Aretha Franklin has paid at least $3 million in back taxes to the IRS since her death in August, an attorney for the late Queen of Soul’s estate said Thursday. The estate is being audited by the IRS, which filed a claim this month in a county probate court north of Detroit, David Bennett said in an interview. On Thursday, TMZ reported that legal documents it obtained showed the IRS claimed the singer owes more than $6.3 million in back taxes from 2012 to 2018 and $1.5 million in penalties. “We have a tax attorney. All of her returns have been filed,” Bennett said. “We have disputes with the IRS regarding what they claim was income. We claim it’s double-dipping income because they don’t understand how the business works.” He added that Franklin had a lot of expenses whenever she toured. “She had to pay for transportation, hotel rooms, backup singers, musicians. When she did that the IRS was questioning the returns she filed,” Bennett said. “We’re going through audits. Returns were filed as timely as we could get them filed.” Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in August in her Detroit apartment. She was 76 and left no will when she died. Documents filed in an Oakland County court after Franklin’s death did not mention the value of her estate, which could run into the tens of millions.
■ Ariana Grande has canceled a Las Vegas performance days before New Year’s Eve “due to unforeseeable health reasons.” Grande was originally scheduled to perform at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas today. On Friday, the hotel said in a statement that the pop star will not perform and that guests can receive refunds at their point of purchase. Grande has had a busy year:
Her song “Thank U, Next” is spending its sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, she recently earned two Grammy nominations and was named woman of the year by Billboard. Her year also included the end of her relationship with comedian-actor Pete Davidson and the death of her former boyfriend, the rapper Mac Miller.