*The Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson, has been pushed back to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second time the film has been delayed.

“Respect” is now moving from Jan. 15, 2021 to Aug. 13, 2021. 

We previously reported… Hudson has spoken out about the biopic, noting that she shared a special connection with Franklin. Before her passing in 2018, the music icon gave Hudson her blessing to play her on the big screen.

Directed by Broadway veteran Liesl Tommy, the film also stars Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Tituss Burgess, Marc Maron, Kimberly Scott, Saycon Sengbloh, Hailey Kilgore, Heather Headley, Skye Dakota Turner, Tate Donovan and Mary J. Blige.

READ MORE: Jennifer Hudson Shades Nat Geo’s Aretha Franklin Project: ’If It’s Not a Film, It’s Nothing’

Months after filming on the project wrapped, Hudson said this of Franklin: “I still feel like she’s in me, I really do. I just hope to meet her requests. You think you respect Aretha, but once you see the film and you learn her story, you can’t help but to have a newfound respect for her.”

She also had this to say about her personal connection with the Queen of Soul, “I still have the text chains, so every now and then I look back at them. The last time I spoke to her was Aug. 8, [2018,] and I can honestly say she sang until her last breath.”

In related news, filming on National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha starring Cynthia Enrivo has been halted after a background actor tested positive for COVID-19. The program is slated to debut in early 2021. 

When asked about the competing projects in an interview earlier this month, Hudson dropped some subtle shade, saying  “I know that Aretha was adamant that [her life] be a film. If it’s not a film, it’s nothing. I’m just honored that she picked me to play her.”

*Wayne Brady is calling out social media networks to take more responsibility in protecting minors. 

Brady appeared on “The Talk”, and expressed his concern about platforms like Facebook and Instagram making it easy for perverted men to send inappropriate private messages to underage users. 

Brady recalled the experience of his 17-year-old daughter Maile, and how he and his ex-wife Mandie have been monitoring her social media accounts, ET reports.

“Mandie monitors Maile’s Instagram and social media because even when she’s near-grown—’cause she’ll be 18 in February, you are still a child, so we have to monitor that,” he said. “And these grown men see her dancing and whatnot, and they just slide in.”

READ MORE: Wayne Brady on the ‘Fear’ Black People Have for Cop Culture [VIDEO]

Big thanks to @Kroger for helping my fam w a lil dessert battle w @Mangum1 and his fam! You know he can’t touch my quarantine baking skills! Any requests? https://t.co/RnInW2V0Mo

— Wayne Brady (@WayneBrady) October 19, 2020

Brady said Mandie once pretended to be their daughter and interacted with an older man.

“Mandie got on the line with one of them and was, you know, texting back and forth and he was talking slick, until he realized that it was her,” Brady said. “And then she’s like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ And he’s like, ‘I just broke up with my girlfriend, and I just saw her.’ That doesn’t mean anything. You tell that to your cellmate when we put you in jail. You can talk all about your post-breakup relationship then.”

Brady then called for social media companies to do better at implementing tools for reporting and removing child sex predators.

“You can try to block a person’s account and report them for hate speech… you can report them for trying to be someone else, but in order to really get to them to say, hey, this person is saying something damning or showing images to a young woman or even to a woman who gets a salacious pic, all of the tap dancing you need to do to get that person reported shouldn’t happen,” Brady said. “If this is what social media is, make the tools available to deal with these reprehensible people.”

Scroll up and hear/watch Wayne Brady tell it via the clip above. 

Tune in to “The Talk” weekdays at 2 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

*Iyanla Vanzant has announced that the upcoming season of her long running series “Fix My Life” will be the last.

“This is my last season. This is my legacy season, I’m out. We out. 2020,” she announced during a virtual press conference.

“This season we deal with the massive breakdowns that have occurred in families and relationships as a result of the pandemic, [and] as a result of the shutdown. We’re dealing with some very compelling issues,” Vanzant said.

We previously reported… “Love & Hip Hop: Miami” star Shay Johnson will kick off the season 7 premiere of “Iyanla: Fix My Life” on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network  on  Oct. 31. 

READ MORE: Iyanla Vanzant on Why She Refused to ‘Fix’ R. Kelly [WATCH]

Without your feelings, you would not know where you are in life. Nor would you know what areas you need to work on.

— Iyanla Vanzant (@IyanlaVanzant) October 29, 2020

Johnson and several relatives turn to the spiritual life coach for help with personal and family issues. In a preview clip, emotions run high and the reality star storms out and says, “I’m not willing to deal with this s–t. Lady, I’m out.” 

When Vanzant tells Johnson “You don’t know what the process is” Johnson responds, “F–k the process!”

Johnson addressed the episode teaser on Instagram, saying “I’ve never seen a therapist before so this was very new to me,” she shared.

“There were heated ‘situations’ between Iyanla and I, which I will explain more once the show airs, but definitely stay tuned,” she added. 

Comedian and actress Luenell will also appear on the series this season.

In a description OWN says: “Iyanla will guide in the healing of the mother-daughter relationship with comedienne Luenell, bring together broken families, heal failing marriages, and even ‘fix’ clients who are in crisis mode in their personal and professional lives. Secrets will be exposed, relationships will be changed, and tears will flow as the process of change is often more emotionally debilitating than anyone imagines.”

“Iyanla: Fix My Life” premieres on Oct. 31 from 9-11 p.m. ET/PT.

Watch the trailer below.