Lady Gaga, Chris Rock, Zoë Kravitz will be among Oscars presenters

LOS ANGELES » Lady Gaga might have missed out on an Oscar nomination for her turn in “House of Gucci,” but she’ll still be gracing the stage at the Dolby Theatre on March 27. Gaga will be one of the presenters at the 94th Oscars, show producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan said Thursday.

Others set to present awards include Kevin Costner, Chris Rock, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Perez and Youn Yuhjung, who won the supporting actress award last year for “Minari.” More will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Movies inspire us, entertain us and unite us across the globe,” Packer said in a statement. “That’s the precise goal of the show this year, and we’re thrilled to welcome the first of a stellar lineup joining the Oscars stage to help us celebrate the power of film and honor the year’s best in filmmaking.”

Janet Jackson, Kevin Hart, Nicki Minaj on tap for Essence

NEW ORLEANS » Janet Jackson, Kevin Hart and Nicki Minaj are among the headliners announced Thursday for this summer’s Essence Festival of Culture, which returns to New Orleans after a two-year hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Others tapped to entertain June 30 through July 3 include New Edition, The Isley Brothers, Jazmine Sullivan, Summer Walker, The Roots & Friends and D-Nice & Friends, Essence Communications Inc. said in a news release. Additional talent and details will be announced later.

“We are excited to welcome the family back live to New Orleans and thrilled to connect with more of our diasporic family through new digital experiences,” Essence CEO Caroline Wanga said in the announcement.

In addition to the nightly concerts inside the Superdome, the festival will include programming on networking, finance, career, wellness, fashion, beauty and more at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and other entertainment in venues citywide.