Jennifer Hudson has opened up about her highly anticipated return to American Idol, describing the experience of joining the judging panel as an “insane” full-circle moment. 

Appearing as a guest judge for the 20 April episode, the 44-year-old star reflected on how much has changed since she first appeared as a contestant during the show’s third season over two decades ago.

Speaking to E! News at a tribute for Eddie Murphy, the Oscar winner admitted that being on the other side of the desk has put her incredible career trajectory into perspective, noting with surprise that her original Idol run was 22 years ago and Dreamgirls followed shortly after.

The passage of time has clearly been a blessing for the EGOT winner, who is now finding joy in helping the next generation of talent find their feet. 

Beyond her guest stint on the show that made her a household name, Hudson is also part of the producing team for the upcoming Broadway revival of Dreamgirls. 

She explained that she is at a stage in her life where she feels ready to transition from being the one in the spotlight to being on the production side, allowing her to watch someone else get their big break.

This spirit of mentorship and connection is something Hudson has carried into her television career, specifically with The Jennifer Hudson Show, which was recently renewed for its fifth season. 

She previously shared with fellow EGOT winner Viola Davis that the talk show was a conscious choice to show the world who she really is. 

After years of the public only knowing her through her music or her film characters, she felt the show provided a much-needed space to just be herself, the “Jenny Kate from the South Side of Chicago.”

Two UK MPs were kicked out of the House of Commons after they accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of lying.

Reform UK’s Lee Anderson and Your Party’s Zara Sultana were both ejected from parliament after they accused PM Starmer of lying during a statement regarding the appointment of a former UK ambassador to the U.S. Lord Peter Mandelson.

For the unversed, Mandelson was fired from his position after the Epstein documents, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, accused him of having close ties with disgraced and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

During the session on Monday, Anderson said: “The problem the prime minister’s got is that no one believes him. The public don’t believe him. The MPs on this side of the House don’t believe him. His own gullible backbenchers don’t believe him. So does the prime minister agree with me, he’s been lying?”

Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle intervened immediately and asked him to withdraw his words; however, the Reform MP refused, saying, “I will not withdraw it. That man couldn’t lie straight in bed.”

He was asked to leave. 

Later in the seassion, MP Zarah Sultana described the prime minister as a “bare-faced liar” and accused him of gaslighting the nation.

The speaker asked her to leave but she insisted on staying. Later, MPs voted in favour of a motion to suspend Ms Sultana from the services of the House. It was brought by government whip Gen Kitchen.

The suspention didn’t deter her as she doubled down on PM Starmer and called for his resignation. In a post on X, Ms Sultana wrote: “Keir Starmer is a barefaced liar and if he had any decency, he would resign.”

The suspension marks first such action in the UK parliament since 2022. House of Commons rules prohibit MPs from accusing one another of lying or deliberately misleading.

The Education Department had announced loan forgiveness for more than 21,200 borrowers.

According to new court filings, the loan forgiveness comes under income-driven repayment plans.

However, this relief is short-lived as sweeping changes to the student loan system take effect.

March discharges will consist of 800 PAYE borrowers, 9,900 ICR borrowers, and 10,500 IBR borrowers. All income-driven discharges except those under the SAVE plan are being processed. The SAVE program will be discontinued as soon as possible.

But borrowers who get forgiveness in 2026 have to face new changes.

Student loan discharge is now taxable again. As the American Rescue Plan Act’s tax exemption expired on December 31, 2025, Congress declined to extend it.

This means no matter whether the portion of the loan is forgiven or cancelled, the IRS still treats that forgiven amount as taxable income.

Authorities decide to exempt those who met their repayment milestone before January 1, 2026.

As per new changes, the SAVE plan is ending, and borrowers who were enrolled in it have a deadline till July to switch to another plan.

Those who will fail to switch will automatically be placed into a Standard plan.

From July onwards, the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will come into effect, allowing for lower payments each month, as well as interest subsidies. However, the borrower has to make payments for at least 30 years before getting any forgiveness, which is more than double the 20 or 25 years currently required by the existing programs.

Students who have taken out a loan from July onwards are no longer eligible for PAYE, ICR, and IBR programs. Instead, their only choice would be RAP.

The scenario is not very different for the estimated 2 million students who are about to graduate this spring. The grace period remains the same at six months.