Giving God the glory on MTV

In his acceptance speech at this week’s MTV Movie and TV Awards, actor Chris Pratt gave an unexpected testimony of Christian faith. Though the star of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galazy Vol. 2 has spoken openly of his beliefs before, he chose an unlikely forum in the MTV awards show to call young people to faith in God.

“Nobody is perfect,” Pratt said. “People will tell you that you are perfect just the way that you are—you are not! You are imperfect. You always will be, but there is a powerful force that designed you that way, and if you are willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. Like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else’s blood. Do not forget that. Don’t take that for granted.”

Pratt shared the brief gospel message at the end of a speech marked with his trademark goofiness and some PG scatological humor. MTV awarded him the Generation Award for memorable career achievements.

The actor’s faith story, according to a profanity-laced interview with Vanity Fair published in January 2017, began in a parking lot in Hawaii when he was just about to turn 21. Pratt was living in a van in Maui and waiting tables at a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant. He and his friends were outside a grocery store waiting for someone to buy them alcohol when a man came up and asked Pratt what he was doing that night and said, “Jesus told me to talk to you.”

“At that moment I was like, I think I have to go with this guy,” Pratt recalled. “He took me to church. Over the next few days I surprised my friends by declaring that I was going to change my life.”

Pratt speaks of himself as a supporting actor in his own life story, being led from one providential encounter to the next. He got his big break waiting on a movie producer at Bubba Gump. The movie, Cursed Part 3, took 10 days to shoot and was never released. “The whole reason that movie came along was just so I could be brought to Hollywood,” Pratt told Vanity Fair.

More recently, the actor spoke to Entertainment Weekly of his 2017 divorce from Anna Faris with a realism uncharacteristic of Hollywood actors. (Remember Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s “conscious uncoupling”?)

“Divorce sucks. But at the end of the day, we’ve got a great kid who’s got two parents who love him very much,” said Pratt, whose son, Jack, is 5. “And we’re finding a way to navigate this while still remaining friends and still being kind to one another. It's not ideal, but yeah, I think both of us are actually probably doing better.” Pratt has only said positive things in the media about Faris despite the obvious pain of their breakup. Perhaps it’s because he practices another point he preached in his MTV acceptance speech: “Strength and intelligence can be weapons, so do not wield them against the weak. That makes you a bully. Be bigger than that.”

A Roseanne-less Roseanne

ABC announced Thursday it would air a sitcom based on the now-canceled Roseanne without the original show’s star and namesake, Roseanne Barr. The network pulled the plug on Roseanne last month after Barr tweeted a racist comment.

“I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne, Barr said in a statement released by the show’s producer. “I wish the best for everyone involved.” Barr has agreed to relinquish any creative or financial control involving the new show, which has the working title The Conners and will feature the remaining cast members and crew.

Roseanne originally aired from 1988 to 1997 and was revived earlier this year, receiving high ratings and praise from supporters of President Donald Trump, who identified with the fictional and real-life Roseanne’s support of the president. ABC has not revealed how the show’s storyline will explain the absence of the Roseanne Conner character. —Mickey McLean

Mickey, Minnie, and Wolverine

Disney emerged the high bidder—at least for now—with a $71 billion offer this week to buy 21st Century Fox. The bid bested one last week by Comcast for nearly $66 billion. The deal would include Fox movie and TV studios, some cable networks and international assets, but not the Fox News Channel or the Fox television network. Fox CEO Rupert Murdoch said the company believes the combination with Disney “will create one of the greatest, most innovative companies in the world.”

But Fox said it was still weighing both offers and noted it could consider other bids, as well. If Disney wins, it will gain the rights to even more Marvel characters, including Deadpool, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. Fox also still owns the rights to the very first Star Wars film, which would be a boon for Disney and unite the entire series under one studio umbrella. —L.L.

In memory

Broward County, Fla., prosecutors have charged a 22-year-old man with murder in the death of rapper XXXTentacion, who was gunned down Monday outside a motorcycle shop. Police believe Dedrick Devonshay Williams intended to rob the rapper, who had just visited a bank to withdraw money to buy a motorcycle. Investigators say two men ambushed XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, and are looking for additional suspects. The 20-year-old rapper, who had dreadlocks and facial tattoos, notched a No. 1 album in March, his second release, and had a top 10 hit with “Sad!” He was facing trial on charges he beat up his pregnant girlfriend. —L.L.

Aca-inclusive

A group dedicated to preserving the art of barbershop singing announced this week it would allow women to join the organization. The Barbershop Harmony Society has only accepted male members for 80 years. Barbershop quartets are traditionally men’s a cappella singing groups, but CEO Skipp Kropp said now everyone can join in the fun: “Everyone means EVERYONE—people of every age, of every background, every gender identity, every race, every sexual orientation, every political opinion or spiritual belief,” Kropp said in a statement. “Every person who loves to harmonize has a place in our family.” —L.L.