Entertainment
Jason Momoa Calls His Dad’s Cameo in ‘Chief of War’ a ‘Pretty Beautiful Moment’
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NEED TO KNOW
- Jason Momoa’s dad plays a special role in his life and in his upcoming AppleTV+ series
- The movie star revealed that his father makes an important cameo in the historic drama, Chief of War
- Chief of War premieres with two episodes on Friday, Aug. 1
Jason Momoa cast a special star in his new project — his dad!
Speaking to NBC News in a segment that aired on the Today show on Thursday, July 31, the 45-year-old actor revealed that his father makes a cameo in the Apple TV+ historical drama, Chief of War.
“Pops is in it, yeah,” he told the outlet of Joseph Momoa. “He’s blowing the conch shell.”
Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty
The Baywatch alum added that the conch shell wasn’t just a made-up role for the series, but something that his father has always taken pride in.
“Any special gathering whatsoever, my dad was always doing that,” he said, adding, “To see him all in the in wardrobe was a pretty beautiful moment.”
The Game of Thrones alum was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and his father is Hawaiian, hailing from Nanakuli.
“This is everything I’ve ever wanted to do, to do something for my culture and my heritage,” Jason said of why the series is a passion project. “To be honest, guys, I’ve never seen anything quite like this show.”
Jason co-created and executive-produced the nine-episode series, which is based on true events surrounding the unification of the Hawaiian islands as they face colonization in the late 1700s.
“I feel like this whole thing has chosen me in a way, like this is my destiny,” Jason told PEOPLE at the premiere Wednesday, July 30, which was in Hawaii, not far from where he was born — and two miles from where he’d spend summers with his father. “I have no idea how I got to all this, but we’re here, and I’m very grateful. I’m living my dream doing what I love to do. To play my ancestors is such a responsibility. It’s scary and exciting.”
Apple TV+
His children, Lola, 18, and Nakoa-Wolf, 16, whom he shares with ex-wife Lisa Bonet, were also nearby for the event.
The Aquaman star also shared how his father’s presence continues to play a crucial role in his life.
“My dad is a coach at an outrigger canoe club, which is where I learned how to surf,” Jason said. “Just this morning, the sand pulled back and revealed massive petroglyphs [ancient sandstone carvings] right in the place where I grew up. It’s kind of insane. I’ve never experienced that before.”
Jason Momoa/Instagram
As for Jason’s mother, Coni Momoa is from Norwalk, Iowa. But like his father, Coni has also made a special cameo before.
Ahead of St. Patrick’s Day 2024, the mother-son duo starred in a Guinness commercial together.
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“[My mom] is the one that introduced Guinness to me. It only made sense for us to be together,” Jason told PEOPLE, adding that Coni was “so nervous” on set. “She did a great job, but it was really cute to see my mom kind of panicked on the lines.”
Chief of War premieres with two episodes on Aug. 1, with new episodes debuting weekly on Fridays on Apple TV+.
Entertainment
Rarely-seen ’80s star Kristy McNichol appears in ‘fangirl’ Carnie Wilson’s selfie

Carnie Wilson had a “fangirl” moment with Kristy McNichol decades after the actress’ retirement.
“Totally fangirling!!!” the singer, 58, recently gushed via Facebook. “Kris ( Kristy McNichol) was a part of my youth. I adored her in her movies … especially ‘Little Darlings’ and ‘The End.’”
The Wilson Phillips member told McNichol, who left the entertainment industry in 2001, “how meaningful her movies are to [her] and [her] bestie.”
Carnie noted in the July 20 upload that she and her pal “were just talking about her … and how special” the 63-year-old is.
Calling McNichol a “gracious sweetie,” she concluded that the “Bionic Woman” star “sure is loved.”
She snapped a selfie with the rarely-seen star, with McNichol smiling in a zip-up jacket and white tee.
Carnie, for her part, sported a patterned top and a black beanie in the cozy shot.
McNichol was a child star who won two Emmys for her role as Letitia “Buddy” Lawrence on “Family” between 1976 and 1980.
Her other notable TV role included Barbara Weston in “Empty Nest,” a “Golden Girls” spinoff.
She is best known for playing Angel in “Little Darlings” in 1980 and Polly in “Only When I Laugh” the following year.
McNichol was nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter.
When she retired from the entertainment industry, McNichol released a statement reading, “My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part – myself! I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I’m not currently acting; however, some may not realize that the process I’m in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness.”
She chatted with People about the decision in 2014.
“I was on the big stage between ages 8 and 30,” McNichol explained. “I left show business for a variety of reasons, but a big one was my interest in learning what else there is in life.
“This phase of my life is so good,” she continued. “My home life is happy and serene. I love singing. I also enjoy traveling and seeing the world. One of my favorite stops is Hawaii. I like everything about it and may eventually move there part-time.”
When asked about plans to return to her Hollywood career, McNichol quipped, “Never say never.”
Entertainment
Usher boots fan off stage after her painfully awkward response to his seductive dance moves

Usher quickly put a stop to sexily serenading a fan onstage after she got visibly uncomfortable.
In a now-viral moment from the singer’s performance in Nashville on The R&B Tour with Chris Brown on Saturday, a woman from the audience got pulled onstage as the chosen fan Usher sings to. But as a shirtless Usher started singing to her, she looked painfully uncomfortable, though he continued to try to interact with her by lightly touching her chin and face.
But when he tried to get her to recline on the onstage bed and she stiffly moved back, the 47-year-old singer pulled away.
“I don’t think she want to be on the stage, huh?” he asked the audience, looking bewildered.
Eventually, the “Yeah!” singer stepped away from her completely and waved his hand backwards towards the stage in a signal to bring the fan off, looking annoyed as some fans began to boo.
The fan later took to social media to clap back at criticism she received, responding to comments that she should have never agreed to go onstage if she didn’t want to be there.
“First off NOBODY is declining to go on stage,” she wrote. “I looked good asf, you think I wasn’t going to let THOUSANDS of people see me?”
She shared that she and her mom had floor seats to the show, and she was moved up to the VIP section before the concert even started due to “pretty privileges.”
“They don’t say who you’re going up there for!” she wrote. “Y’all wanted me to go up there and f–k him atp?”
On Sunday, she posted selfies, and pointedly captioned her post, “Unbothered 😘.”
But she continued to defend herself on her Instagram Stories, insisting her attitude wasn’t “nasty.”
“Y’all aren’t gonna get on the internet calling me out my name and disrespecting me and expect me to keep it cool!” she expressed, adding, “Don’t think that yall are gonna bully me about an experience that yall didn’t get!”
Usher is known for his spicy concert interactions with fans. His bodyguard hilariously went viral in 2024 for seemingly looking disgusted on the Past Present Future Tour, during the part of the singer’s show when he would let audience members seductively eat cherries.
Usher’s co-headliner, Chris Brown, also went viral in September 2025 but for an entirely different reaction that he got to pulling a fan onstage — that fan being Travis Kelce’s ex Kayla Nicole.
Brown, 37, gave Nicole, 34, a sensual lap dance while singing his 2007 hit, “Take You Down,” during the singer’s Breezy Bowl XX Tour stop in Los Angeles, prompting mixed reaction online. Some fans thought the two went too far, while others praised Nicole for seizing the moment.
Entertainment
John Cusack reveals why he stepped away from Hollywood after decades of films

John Cusack opened up about why he’s largely taken a step back from Hollywood.
The “Being John Malkovich” star, 60, said he wanted to tell stories without studio executives weighing in, prompting him to write his upcoming graphic novel “Momo.”
“I always thought [graphic novels] were the closest things to film, really,” he told Variety at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. “You’re picking out shots, they’re so cinematic.”
Cusack explained he turned to writing because he “didn’t [want to] negotiate telling a story.”
“When you ask somebody to put $20 million or $30 million into a bank account [for a film], they want to have an opinion and they’re afraid and all that stuff,” he said.
Instead, he teamed up with illustrator Ignacio Noé to create “Momo” on their own terms.
“This was just like, I wrote it, and I said, ‘I like the story,’ and then I got this beautiful, wonderful artist, Ignacio Noé, to do the illustrations and so nobody edited anything I wrote or that he drew,” Cusack said.
“So it’s really a piece of work that was just done by two people. It was just me and Ignacio’s story, and that doesn’t happen today.”
“There’s no bull, and there’s no committee. There’s no computer up in Seattle that’s poll testing it,” he added.
“Momo” — Cusack’s first graphic novel — is set to be released on Sept. 29.
The story follows two fugitives in 1972 who set out to recover an ancient artifact for TV icon Jackie Gleason.
The actor spent decades as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men, starring in “Grosse Pointe Blank,” “High Fidelity” and “Con Air,” but his acting career has become increasingly selective in recent years.
He appeared in the 2025 films “Fog of War” and the Mandarin-language film “Detective Chinatown 1900” after starring in the Chinese espionage thriller “Decoded” in 2024.
Before that, his only screen credits since 2020 were the action thriller “Pursuit” and Amazon’s dystopian series “Utopia.”
Cusack has been outspoken about the state of Hollywood for years.
“My friend Joe Roth ran Disney [until 2000],” he told the Guardian in 2014. “He made things like ‘The Rock’ and ‘Con Air’ to make shareholders happy, but then he also gave six or seven slots to people he liked.
“I got to make ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘Grosse Pointe Blank.’ Spike Lee got to make ‘Summer of Sam.’ Wes Anderson got to make ‘Rushmore.’ I had that memory of film and that’s gone.”
“Now it’s six for them — with a committee cutting the film who weren’t part of making it – and maybe one for you,” he added.
Cusack isn’t the only member of his family to step away from the spotlight.
His older sister, actress Joan Cusack, 63, made her first red-carpet appearance since 2015 in May when she attended the London premiere of “Toy Story 5,” ending an 11-year absence from public events.
“I feel so honored to have worked in this industry for a long time,” the actress told Variety in June. “But it’s also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person.”
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