So many changes, so little time!
Another week, another round of celebrity transformations, and this offering sure is interesting, to say the very least.
Not only did NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal have to pay up in an unusual way after losing a bet to a fellow basketball star, but two stars also took on new nicknames that no one was expecting but now can't stop thinking about. Obviously Nick Lachey.
Plus, The Bachelorette managed to pull off yet another franchise first, thanks to its unexpected pick for its season 16 lead, and Judge Judy, the world's highest paid TV host, made a major announcement no one was anticipating. But she wasn't the only host going through some ch-ch-changes, with one longtime TV announcer making the jump from host to reality TV contestant for the first time ever. And yes, the reveal was definitely something to taco 'bout. (Yes, that was a glaringly obvious hint.)
Here are the most surprising pop culture transformations of the week...
After 25 years, Judge Judith Sheindlin is ready to hang up her gavel, revealing on The Ellen Show that Judge Judy will be ending its historic run.
"Well, I've had a 25-year-long marriage with CBS, and it's been successful," the TV court judge said. "Next year will be our 25th season, silver anniversary, and CBS, I think, sort of felt they wanted to optimally utilize the repeats of my program because now they have 25 years of reruns. So what they decided to do was to sell a couple of years' worth of reruns."
But wait, it's not exactly a goodbye, as TV's highest paid judge revealed, "But I'm not tired, so Judy Justice will be coming out a year later."
Never say the NBA legend doesn't honor his bets! Shaq and his hairline went viral this week after he lost a bet to Dwyane Wade over a basketball game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat. When Wade won, Shaq had to honor his unusual request.
"I said, 'Well, what do you want me to do? Pay you?'" O'Neal recalled. "He said, 'No, you gotta let your hairline grow. We want to see your hairline looking like Kenny Smith.'"
And he debuted the 'do on the NBA on TNT pre-game show, saying, "I just lined it up for y'all, so y'all can see where my hairline starts. And I look good. And I'm proud to do it and I'm keeping it like this all week."
Forget Biebs as the "Intentions" singer revealed the pet name his wife Hailey Bieber loves to call him when he was on The Ellen Show. And yeah, it's definitely unexpected.
"Well, she calls me a bunch of weird things," he told Ellen DeGeneres while playing "Burning Questions." "She calls me 'Goo Goo,' which is kind of weird, but I like it. 'My little Goo Goo.'"
My. Little. Goo. Goo.
After all these years, The Bachelor producers still manage to surprise their fans, and their pick for their next Bachelorette did just that, with Clare Crawley, the runner-up from Juan Pablo Galavis' 2014 season (and two Bachelor in Paradise outings and The Bachelor Winter Games) was named the franchise's next lead, making her the oldest Bachelorette at 38.
By choosing Clare, it's clear that the producers heard many viewers' complaints throughout Peter Weber's season about the women's immaturity and endless catfights, wanting to course-correct as a source told E! News they knew they "needed to change it up."
Enter Clare, a fan-favorite who still has a following from her four previous stints (one that ended in a brief engagement). "They wanted someone who was older, more mature and had more life experience," a source explained of the unexpected choice.
To this we say: Yes, we will accept this Bachelorette!
For the first time in almost 15 years, Tom Bergeron went from reality TV host to reality TV contestant.
The beloved Dancing With the Stars host was revealed to be one of the contestants on Fox's The Masked Singer this week, with the former America's Funniest Home Videos host being unmasked as the Taco. (And no, the judges didn't even come close to guessing his identity right, even though most of them know him personally.)
Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to Netflix's hit reality show Love Is Blind, which the 98 Degrees singer hosts with wife Vanessa Lachey, Nick Lachey will now forever be referred to as "Obviously Nick Lachey." Update your records accordingly.