Celebrity Buzz

FORMER MISS AMERICAS CALL FOR GRETCHEN CARLSON TO STEP DOWN: Gretchen Carlson is hitting back at allegations that she bullied current Miss America Cara Mund, but other former titleholders aren’t hearing it. In a letter last week, Mund alleged that Carlson (a former Miss America herself) and CEO Regina Hopper took over the organization after the previous leaders were ousted for slut-and-fat-shaming contestants, and managed to make a bad situation worse. Mund wrote they “systematically silenced me, reduced me, marginalized me, and essentially erased me in my role as Miss America in subtle and not-so-subtle ways on a daily basis.” After Carlson rejected her claims, former Miss America Suzette Charles told NBC‘s Megyn Kelly: “She’s the chairman and there’s a CEO. They’re required as businesspeople to raise money for the organization for the scholarship to have money to run the program and she’s now putting that responsibility on our current Miss America?” Charles, former Miss America Heather Whitestone McCallum and 11 other former Miss America winners have called for Carlson, Hopper and the current Board of Trustees to resign in a petition.

BEN AFFLECK AND LINDSAY SHOOKUS ARE DONE: Ben Affleck, 46, and Lindsay Shookus, 38, have split after a year together, E! News reports. This news comes on the heels of the Batman star being seen out on the town with a 22-year-old Playboy model. E! claims they’ve been broken up for a few weeks, but that they’re still friends. Affleck shares three children with his ex Jennifer Garner, and was recently seen celebrating his birthday with them.

CHAMPIONS‘ JOSIE TOTAH COMES OUT AS TRANSGENDER: Josie Totah is sharing her truth. In an essay for Time, the teen star revealed that she is transgender. “Acting has always been my passion. I’m grateful for roles I’ve gotten to play on shows like Champions, and I know I’m lucky to be able to do what I love,” the 17-year-old, who had worked under the name J.J. Totah, said. “But I also feel like I let myself be shoved into a box: ‘J.J. Totah, gay boy.’” She continued, explaining it all “clicked” for her when she was 14. “As I learned more information about hormone replacement therapy, I knew that this was what I had to do. I looked over at [my mother] in the middle of the show and said, ‘This is me. I’m transgender. And I need to go through this.’ My mother, who is immensely supportive and gracious, said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ Three days later I was meeting with my pediatrician, who referred me to a specialist, who put me on a hormone blocker. From that point on, I hit the ground running.”

JENNIFER GARNER BRINGS KIDS FOR WALK OF FAME STAR: Jennifer Garner got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the 46-year-old Golden Globe winner brought her three kids along for a rare public appearance.The actress shares Violet, 12, Seraphina, 9, and Samuel, 6, with ex Ben Affleck, who did not attend. Judy Greer, Bryan Cranston and Steve Carell all supported their former co-star as well. She gave her kids a special shout-out during the ceremony, telling them she loved them and that the star was “about hard work and good luck and not a whole lot else.”