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Rhett Akins Reveals Why His 6-Year-Old Son Is ‘Banned’ From The Grand Ole Opry [Exclusive]

It appears Rhett Akins’ son Brody may have inherited the family’s love of performing, but he’s still learning that life on stage comes with a few rules. He recently revealed the hilarious moment that led to his 6-year-old getting “banned” from the Grand Ole Opry.

Akins told Country Now that he sees many similarities between Brody and his other son/fellow country star, Thomas Rhett, including their love for being a part of the action on stage.

“I never pushed my kids to do music or anything, but Thomas Rhett could not stay off the stage when he was five years old. He wanted to be out there and now my little boy doing the exact same thing,” the hit songwriter shared.

Rhett Akins with Family at Grand Ole Opry; Photo Courtesy Sonya Akins
Rhett Akins with Family at Grand Ole Opry; Photo Courtesy Sonya Akins

Akins would regularly allow Brody to join him during performances at the Opry until one night when he had a bit of breakdown in front of the audience.

“We’ve had to ban him from the Opry so far,” Akins joked. “He used to come out and sing with me a few times. And the last time he had a little meltdown on stage. And so we’re having to retrain him for the Opry right now, but hopefully he’ll get it back together.”

The “That Ain’t My Truck” singer then recalled calling up Dan Rogers, Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of the Opry, and apologizing for his son’s behavior.

“I called Dan Rogers the next thing. I was like, ‘Dan, don’t ever have me back. Seriously.’ I’m so sorry. But he goes, ‘Buddy, that’s the least of our worries because we’ve seen so much more than that.’ He goes, ‘We ain’t worried about that at all.’”

Hopefully, one day, Brody will earn his way back into the coveted circle and stand beside his dad once again.

This conversation with Country Now took place backstage at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest, where Rhett Akins helped kick off the first night of the 2026 festival with a special performance. He is certainly no stranger to CMA Fest. In fact, Akins has been attending the event since 1994, except back then it was called Fan Fair and it was held at the Nashville Speedway Fairgrounds.

“I played it for the first time in 1995. Used to have a booth that people would come line up for five hours to get your autograph,” he recalled. “It’s changed so much over the years and I’ve played all the stages during CMA Fest, but never in a many years did I think I was going to be playing at the stadium tonight.”

Rhett Akins at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 4, 2026, during CMA Fest presented by SoFi in downtown Nashville; Photo Courtesy CMA
Rhett Akins at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 4, 2026, during CMA Fest presented by SoFi in downtown Nashville; Photo Courtesy CMA

Akins explains in that era of CMA Fest, the artists would each have their own booth that they would decorate in a way that was most fitting for them. The country hitmaker opted to lean into his Georgia roots and have baskets full of peaches at his booth as well as a map of where he was from and even the state flag.  

“It was all about Georgia. And I still have a lot of those. I think I had old license plates from Georgia. And that was a big thing, man.”

He continued, “I used to sit in the booth…there would literally be people that you just saw last weekend in concert in Kansas. The Hardcore fans. And they drove to Nashville to stand in line to see you again. And then when this weekend’s over, they go to the next town that you’re in. ‘Y’all don’t have enough pictures of us together?’ But it’s so cool. And nowadays it’s gotten so worldwide. It’s not only just american fans, but they’re coming from England and Australia and everywhere.”

Next week, Fans will finally get the chance to relive all the fun and must-see performances of one of the biggest weekends in country music as the stars of the genre take over the small screen for CMA Fest presented by SoFi, hosted by Riley Green and Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer.

CMA Fest 2026

The star-studded concert special will feature performances from Bailey Zimmerman, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Deana Carter, Ella Langley, Fetty Wap, Florida Georgia Line, Gretchen Wilson, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Jordan Davis, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, Michael McDonald, Molly Tuttle, The Red Clay Strays, Ricky Skaggs, Riley Green, Russell Dickerson, Shaboozey, Shay Morgan, Stephen Wilson Jr., Tim McGraw, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top.

Tune into the special Thursday, June 25 at 8/7c on ABC or stream it the next day on Hulu.

The post Rhett Akins Reveals Why His 6-Year-Old Son Is ‘Banned’ From The Grand Ole Opry [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

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Gilgo Beach Killer Rex Heuermann Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Confessing to 8 …

Reading Time: 3 minutes

From 1993 until 2010, an unseen killer terrorized women in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island.

In 2023, authorities arrested Rex Heuermann after finding substantial evidence — from his car to DNA to electronic contact with multiple victims — linking him to some of the crimes.

He has been definitively linked to eight of the murder victims.

Now, he has been sentenced — and he’s never getting out.

This is the mugshot of Rex Heuermann, who has now been convicted of and sentenced for a string of murders in the Gilgo Beach area.
This is the mugshot of Rex Heuermann, who has now been convicted of and sentenced for a string of murders in the Gilgo Beach area. (Photo Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office)

There are real debates as to how many Gilgo Beach victims died by his hand

In November of 1993, Sandra Costilla went missing from New York. Her remains were found later that month.

She was, as far as investigators can tell, the first of many.

Off and on, often with years between the killings, women vanished or were found — in part or on whole — in the general vicinity of Gilgo Beach on Long Island.

It was not until July of 2023 that Heuermann was charged with seven of the murders.

These were not the only women who died horribly in this area. They were just the ones that investigators had successfully linked to Heuermann.

Heuermann was a Manhattan architectural consultant and a resident of Massapequa Park.

Investigators determined that, in addition to other evidence, these horrific killings had taken place when his wife and children were traveling out of state.

Multiple pieces of evidence led authorities to Heuermann, including DNA evidence from a discarded pizza crust and also hair fiber analysis.

In April of 2026, Heuermann pleaded guilty to the seven murders for which he had been charged.

He also admitted to another killing, that of Karen Vergata, though he had not been charged in her death.

Life without the possibility of parole

On Wednesday, June 17, TMZ reports that the court sentenced Heuermann to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

The judge is said to have accurately referred to him as “a disgusting and despicable man” during the hearing.

In that same session, the judge also reportedly called Heuermann a “coward.”

Seventeen years of stalking and lethally strangling women, some of whom he’d had previous electronic contact with, is not the behavior of a courageous or righteous individual.

Heuermann also used his computer to search for things like child sex-abuse material (CSAM) and photos of the family members of his victims. If anything, the judge was being nice.

Our culture sometimes mythologizes serial killers, due in no small part to a long history of police dragging their heels or simply missing evidence.

Serial killers are not geniuses, or artists, or misunderstood victims. Most serial killers are at or below average intelligence.

Heuermann chose to end the lives of at least eight women. Serial killers have varying conscious motives and backgrounds, but the vast majority have a hatred of women at the core of what drives them to kill.

Someone who does things like this cannot be among us. He needs to be incarcerated for the public good.

Perhaps, in time, police can find evidence linking him to more victims. It won’t bring them back, but it may give more families a sense of closure.

Or, if they do not find more evidence, it may show investigators that there are more killers to be found.

Gilgo Beach Killer Rex Heuermann Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Confessing to 8 … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

​The Hollywood Gossip

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Emilie Kiser Opens Up About Forgiving Husband Following Drowning Death of Son

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Back in May of 2025, Emilie Kiser’s 3-year-old son, Trigg, lost his life six days after he fell into her in-ground pool and drowned.

Now, more than a year after that heartbreaking loss, Kiser is opening up about one of the most difficult parts of her grief journey.

The social media influencer appeared on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast this week, marking her first interview since Trigg’s passing 13 months ago.

Avery Woods and Emilie Kiser attend the Poppi Soda's Back Beach Bash at Gurney's Montauk on July 28, 2023 in Montauk, New York.
Avery Woods and Emilie Kiser attend the Poppi Soda’s Back Beach Bash at Gurney’s Montauk on July 28, 2023 in Montauk, New York. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Poppi)

During the emotional conversation, Kiser spoke candidly about her decision to forgive her husband, Brady Kiser, who was home with the couple’s children when the tragedy occurred.

According to Emilie, reaching that point required her to confront a painful realization.

“This could have just as easily been me in Brady’s position,” she said.

At the time of the incident, Emilie was not at home. Brady was caring for both Trigg and the couple’s newborn son, Teddy.

Kiser acknowledged that her empathy for her husband did not erase the reality of what happened.

Brady was taking care of our newborn child. When I left for dinner that night, he was de-thawing my breast milk, trying to get Teddy settled, a 5-week-old baby,” Emilie explained.

“That doesn’t excuse anything. It doesn’t excuse what happened. It doesn’t excuse any of the series of events after that,” she continued.

Still, she said recognizing the ways circumstances could have unfolded differently helped her develop compassion for her husband during an unimaginable period of grief.

“But taking that accountability, along with all the other things I know I could have changed, gave me so much true, deep, real, raw empathy for him of, this could have been me.”

Kiser admitted there was a time when she wondered if her marriage would survive the devastating loss.

She said that even if their roles had been reversed, she would have hoped for forgiveness because she knows neither parent intended for the tragedy to happen.

“That’s exactly how I feel for Brady,” she said. “I really just have so much empathy and love for him.”

The influencer also praised her husband for the way he has handled the family’s grief.

“He is so strong,” she said, adding that she is “really proud of us” and the way they have navigated the loss together.

Our thoughts are with Emilie and Brady as they continue to navigate their healing journey together.

Emilie Kiser Opens Up About Forgiving Husband Following Drowning Death of Son was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.

​The Hollywood Gossip

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