An unusual ‘best performance’

When the New York Times released its ”Best Performances of 2020” list, scenes from two Netflix hits, “Mank” and “Ozark,” were on it, and that made sense. But a scene of professional wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman singing “Me and My Shadow” during an All Elite Wrestling star telecast while wearing a white suit, bow tie and Burberry scarf? Form your own opinion by checking it out:

When asked about being a Jewish pro wrestler, Friedman (whose real name is … Maxwell T. Friedman) said, “I have found now more than ever, especially in my company AEW, we are so open and we have people who are gay, people who are transgender, Black, white, Asian, we have it all … We run the whole gamut.”

Carole gets her due

Fifty years after her breakthrough album “Tapestry,” Carole King has been nominated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In a way, it’s for the second time — she’s already recognized by the organization for her songs written with erstwhile husband Gerry Goffin, but not for her own performing career. Until now. However, “Tapestry” did spend 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the longest ever by a female solo artist at the time.

Time magazine says they’re ‘next’

What do new Senate member Jon Ossoff, Israeli actor Shira Haas and American singer Doja Cat have in common? They’re all on the new annual list from Time magazine of the “100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future,” known as the Time 100 Next. Ossoff was selected for the list by Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., who wrote that in his election she “saw a moment of recompense and redemption for Black and Jewish Americans in the South, and the U.S. as a whole.”

Kravitz on the prowl

Zoë Kravitz is having a good year. The actor, fresh off her Hulu show “High Fidelity,” which was canceled after one season but was well received by critics, plays Catwoman in the highly anticipated DC superhero film “The Batman,” scheduled to hit theaters in March 2022. After that, she is set to begin work on Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film “KIMI,” about a tech worker who stumbles upon a crime.

Punky returns

Soleil Moon Frye is rebooting “Punky Brewster,” the TV show that made her a child star. Frye plays the grown-up Punky, once a foster child and now a single mom, who meets a young girl who reminds her of herself. “Rediscovering Punky has really allowed me to rediscover myself,” the actress said in a video announcing the reboot, adding that she doesn’t shy away from her iconic role. “If I’m 80 years old and they’re still calling me Punky, I’m good!” she said.

It’s not that easy, Azealia

No one goes to rapper Azealia Banks’ social media expecting calm. But the scandal-prone Banks is now confusing and offending pretty much everybody with her claim to be Jewish after getting engaged to her Jewish boyfriend, artist Ryder Ripps, comparing it to being transgender. She showed a ring with a menorah on her engagement announcement on Instagram: “I’m crying….I’m Jewish now. MAZEL TOV B—ES! WE IN HERE….YERRRRRRR.” A few days later, she announced she had “dumped” Ripps but was keeping the ring. “The heirloom is mine,” she posted. “The Jewcy Diva lives on.”

nah azealia banks is something else bro 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/IYhpEg30Xd

— blonded (@siya_jpeg) February 22, 2021