Pop Culture Roundup: Michelle Obama Gets a Boost and A New Look at ‘Michael’ Took Over Our Timeline This Week
By Elizabeth Paige Richardson | February 6, 2026 | Celebrity & Culture
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in Michael. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate
Whether you get your news from People magazine spreads, podcasts, or scrolling through Instagram, there’s a lot to keep up with in the celebrity sphere. From dating drama to new drops from artists that have lit up social media all week, we’ve kept up with all the online chatter. We’ve handpicked the gossip-worthy celebrity stories that will get the group chat talking nonstop this weekend.
For the week of Feb 1 to 6:
The Drama: Sherri Shepherd’s talk show gets cut short
Sherri Shepherd’s time in the Sherri talk show chair was cut short when the show’s production company, Debmar-Mercury, announced that the series’ fourth season will be its last. Some side-eyed the fact that the comedian wasn’t able to personally announce the cancelation to dedicated fans, while other hosts like Kelly Clarkson got the chance to exit gracefully by breaking the news to her fans through her own words on her own platform.
Posts on the breaking news had their comment sections filled with Sherri fans demanding to know why it was targeted as part of the shrinking pool of daytime TV and lamenting how they’ll miss hearing “hey family” as a part of their day. Others argued that the cancellation wasn’t a shock, seeing that it was an uphill battle for the show to replace the cultural force that was The Wendy Williams Show.
It’s no secret that the traditional TV landscape is on shaky ground (and has been for a long time), so talent might want to start carving out more spaces for their voices to be heard.
The Spotlight: Michelle Obama’s 2020 doc gets a second wind on Netflix
Michelle Obama is having a moment right now (how fitting for February). Her documentary Becoming may be five years old, but views this week have been amplified by over 13,000%, according to data service Luminate. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the dots between Becoming’s recent boom and the release of a new first lady documentary, Melania.
If you haven’t checked out Obama’s doc, which follows the former first lady’s book tour across the country and her journey to her life post-White House, now is the perfect time to do so. You might also want to check out her latest book, “The Look,” which is all about being fashion-forward to send a message.
What sent fans in a frenzy: Fans won’t stop posting ‘til they get enough of the new trailer for Michael
Of course, clips and screengrabs from the new trailer for Michael flooded our Explore and For You pages this week as viewers can barely contain their excitement about the biopic centering on the King of Pop. Those famous beats in the background, the iconic MJ outfits donned by Jafaar Jackson, and small snippets of blockbuster moments like the Motown moonwalk performance got us hyped.
Some fans are already placing bets on which roles will earn their actors future Oscar nods, with favorites including Nia Long as Katherine Jackson and Colman Domingo’s portrayal of the Jackson family patriarch. We place our bet on opening night being packed with MJ look-alikes.
Wanna be startin’ an MJ binge before the April release (no more puns, we swear)? Check out 1992’s TV movie The Jacksons: An American Dream, 2009’s concert movie Michael Jackson’s This Is It, and maybe cop some tickets to MJ the Musical.
