Mr. T pities the fool who doesn't watch curling at the Olympics! The actor was among celebrities and former Olympians watching the 2018 Winter Games and expressing their admiration and support for Team USA. 

The actor, born Laurence Tureaud, said Saturday on Twitter that he was "pumped to watch the Winter Olympics" and that curling was one of the winter sports he never thought he'd care to watch. 

"You heard me, curling Fool!" the "A-Team" star said, using his trademark phrase. 

"Curling is kind of different, but it’s Exciting," Mr. T added. "It’s not as easy as it looks. It takes some skills that’s for sure. I like it!"

On Friday, the day of the Pyeongchang opening ceremony, Mr. T sent Team USA his good wishes. 

"When I saw the American Flag, followed by over 240 Olympians, it made me feel really good. I Wish All of them Success! Go USA #2018WinterOlympics," he wrote. 

[[473728493, C]]

"Saturday Night Live" star Leslie Jones has been tweeting all things Olympics since Feb. 8. Known for her prolific Twitter commentary during the Rio Games, Jones was back in front of the TV, firing off passionate commentary during figure skating and other events. 

She also voiced her support for Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, NBC’s prime-time figure skating announcers whose painfully honest commentary received some backlash on social media.

"Yo Tara and Johnny are the new ice skating announcers to me!!! They are brutal and not letting nobody get away with anything but you have to expect that from champions!! I love what they doing!! @NBCOlympics @Olympics," Jones wrote. 

Former Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi wished brother-sister ice dance team of Maia and Alex Shibutani good luck before their short dance Saturday and Apolo Ohno urged everyone to check out an "incredible" men's long track 5,000m speedskating event.

[[473728453, C]]

NBC’s primetime figure skating announcers Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski promised to wear lots of bling and high heels at the 2018 Olympics Winter Games. Oh, how they've delivered.

It's only been several days into the Pyeongchang Games but the former Olympians who are known for their coordinating outfits have given the audience at home a peek into their many suitcases.

On Friday, their outfits shined in the commentators' booth. Weir's ensemble featured a bright red sequin blazer while Lipinski wore a matching short dress.

[[473680863, C]]

On Saturday, the duo toned it down a bit, in nearly all black outfits with leather accents. But Weir wore a jeweled harness that added a special flair. 

Not to be missed is Weir's hair, usually featuring a blowout with more folds than a Frank Gehry building. 

He is known for his eccentric and over-the-top style, like the multiple sparkly blazers or the golden Coach hair piece he wore during the 2014 Sochi Games.

"On camera, you have to bring it," Weir said in a pre-Olympics interview in October. "In this day and age of fashion bloggers and Vogue you really have to make sure that you’re on point every day and not repeating, because people are waiting to see what we’re going to choose."

[[454432683, C]]

Lipinski and Weir said then that they were planning to choose his clothes first and Lipinski’s second so that they can match and create themes.

For Rio Games, Weir packed 52 pairs of shorts, 37 pairs of shoes, 26 bathing suits, nine hats and and three pounds of jewels. He might've brought just as many items, if not more, to Pyeongchang. His Instagram photo showed him surrounded by nine bags and suitcases at the airport in South Korea on Jan. 28. 

What other whimsical outfits are in store? 

Take a look at Weir and Lipinsk's Pyeongchang fashion here: 

[[473730413, C]]

Two-time Olympian Johnny Weir made his mark on the world of figure skating thanks in part to his extravagant costumes. But the former figure skater takes plenty of fashion risks off the ice, too.

Weir, who teamed up with former Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski as figure skating analysts during the 2018 Winter Games, has captivated NBC’s primetime fans with his eclectic, sparkly and showstopping outfits.

But during Sunday’s figure skating team event coverage, Weir’s mountain-high pompadour hairstyle paired with a Zadige Voltaire sequin-fitted blazer, black button down shirt and a chunky embellished necklace had many on Twitter wondering if he should be hosting the "Hunger Games."

Many noted the similarities between Weir and "The Hunger Games" character Caesar Flickerman, the host for the movie's show of the same name. 

Weir promised to bring on the drama at the 2018 Olympic Winter games. He and Lipinski are donning coordinating outfits during their commentating gigs and have yet to disappoint fans. 

The National Portrait Gallery revealed the portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama Monday morning, prompting people on social media to draw comparisons of the artwork.

Obama’s portrait shows him sitting on a chair with arms crossed in front of a background of what appears to be a bush or green foliage.

“How about that? That's pretty sharp," the 44th president said. He also joked about opting for less gray hair and smaller ears.

The artist, Kehinde Wiley, used leaves to symbolize a prosperous and life-affirming time in office. The flowers behind him hold strong symbolism as well. The chrysanthemums are the official flower of Chicago and represent where Obama began his political career and met his wife. The jasmine represents his childhood home of Hawaii and African blue lilies serve as a touch to his late Kenyan-born father, Barack Obama Sr.

"When you look at this painting, you see a sure and amazing handsome man," Wiley said. "But you see the botanicals which speak to his story...In a symbolic way, I'm charting his path on earth."

However, people on social media were reminded of other things when looking at Obama's new portrait.

The portrait is undoubtedly distinct from portraits created for presidents before Obama. Past portraits captured a relatively serious tone, picturing the man sitting at a desk or standing tall at a mantle. This portrait very much portrays the style of the artist.

Wiley "engages the signs and visual rhetoric of the heroic, powerful, majestic and the sublime in his representation of urban, black and brown men found throughout the world," according to his website.

Wiley is a Yale University-trained painter and Brooklyn-based artist most known for his depictions of African Americans posed in a regal style with intense pops of color. He is the first African American to create a presidential portrait for the National Portrait Gallery.

The gallery began commissioning portraits of first ladies in 2006, beginning with former first lady Hillary Clinton, who would go on to become secretary of state under Obama.

Michelle Obama’s portrait was painted by Amy Sherald, a Baltimore-based artist, whose themes tend to touch on social justice. She often paints black skin tones in gray to remove assigned color from subjects. Her portrait for Obama shows the former first lady sitting in a long, color-blocked dress with a light blue background. Some people on social media worried whether the painting was true to the subject.

President Obama’s portrait will be on display in the “American Presidents” exhibit on the gallery’s second floor.

“The ability to be the first African American painter to paint the first African American president of the United States was absolutely overwhelming," Wiley said. "It doesn't get any better than that."

Watch as former Olympian Julia Mancuso gears up for her first Olympics as a spectator at the Winter Olympics Superstore in Pyeongchang.

Chloe Kim may have made Olympic history on Tuesday in Pyeongchang after her gold medal performance in the snowboard halfpipe, but for the 17-year-old, reality hasn’t sunk in yet.

"I don’t know where I am, what I’m doing here,” Kim told Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie on the "Today" show Tuesday night, saying that the fact that she became the youngest female snowboarding medalist at the Olympics “hasn’t sunken yet."

Nor did she remember what song was playing before she scored a near-perfect 98.25 points on her final run down the halfpipe, having already clinched the gold. 

“I don’t really remember. It’s been such a huge blur. It could have been ‘Paparazzi’ by Lady Gaga. Or it could have been ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears,” Kim said. She also said it could have been something by Lana Del Rey.

Guthrie said Kim “melted her heart” when she stood on the podium, listening to the national anthem, and asked Kim about how she was feeling at that moment.

“I was trying so hard to hold the tears back, I can’t cry right now. I can’t do this. I worked so hard on my eyeliner,” Kim joked.

While Kim already had the gold medal in her pocket after scoring 93.75 on her first run, with no other snowboarder topping her score, but she said she didn’t want to go home knowing she could have done better at the Olympics.

Having scored a 41.50 on her second run after wiping out, she said she needed redemption and wanted to put her best run possible.

Kim became a fan favorite on Twitter after tweeting about churro, ice cream and a breakfast sandwich during her competition. Kotb and Guthrie didn’t want Kim to be hungry anymore and offered her food from the "Today" show.

“Is the food coming? You got me so excited,” the Olympian exclaimed.

She did get the vote, trying all three at once. The verdict? Kim wouldn't recommend it but she was glad to have tried it.

Wakanda, the fictional home of Marvel's "Black Panther," rests on the continent that real-life President Trump reportedly derided in coarse terms last month.

Perhaps the nation’s supply of vibranium, the potent metal used to help fashion Captain America's shield, would draw more than just knee-jerk scorn from profiteers and other exploiters.

But that would be missing the point: In all countries, rich or poor, the greatest resource is the people.

The leading export of technological powerhouse Wakanda – its king and protector, T'Challa, aka the Black Panther – lands in theaters Friday, a proud son of Africa poised to rise as a hero beyond the big screen.

The film arrives amid the biggest hype for a superhero movie since DC's "Wonder Woman" lassoed last year's summer box office. In both cases, high expectations – and hopes – ride on far more than past comic book popularity.

Wonder Woman's first major solo movie, 76 years after her debut in All Star Comics No. 8, drew cheers from girls and women at a time when many feel under attack in Washington and Hollywood.

It’s been more than five decades since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the Black Panther via a Fantastic Four adventure in the turbulent 1960s. But his cinematic star turn is no less meaningful to movie audiences long starved for a powerful, black male superhero.

While comparisons to "Wonder Woman" are apt, the advent of "Black Panther" also recalls the excitement that greeted Spike Lee's "Malcolm X" in 1992.

Denzel Washington, at age 38, solidified his place as one of our great actors with his nuanced, searing performance. Chadwick Boseman tackles Black Panther at age 41 after giving vibrant movie life to groundbreakers likes Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall.

In "Black Panther," he leads a stellar cast that includes Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o and Michael B. Jordan, directed for Disney by Ryan Coogler ("Fruitvale Station," "Creed").

"Black Panther" already is racking up strong reviews, amid predictions for a record February opening. But more significantly, the film is being touted as a cultural benchmark, even before the public flocks to theaters.

That's a lot to put on the latest in a long line of comic book-derived popcorn flicks.

But Black Panther beats with a heart as strong as vibranium, and powered by the many people he represents.

Far more than the potential for box office glory weighs on his broad shoulders.

Hester is Director of News Products and Projects at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

There's another reason to love Philly as the city celebrated the return of an icon Tuesday: The Robert Indiana-designed "Love" sculpture was reinstalled at its namesake park at the base of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The city hosted a parade to celebrate the return of the sculpture (and that's what it really is, not a statue).

Dubbed "Love on the Move", the parade started at 25th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue before winding its way around Eakins Oval and down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. 

The parade made seven specially designated "Love stops" at other sculptures and parks on the way.

The parade will offer the city its first opportunity to see "Love" in its original colors. Two previous restorations in 1988 and 1998 resulted in the sculpture being painted red, green and blue. But during renovations, representatives of the sculptor provided the city with records showing the statue was originally red, green and purple.

[[473935583, C]]

The purple was restored during the $55,000 restoration process.

The correction makes Philadelphia’s version of Indiana’s iconic LOVE unique, as it's the only one with purple color, according to city officials.

Though the sculpture has become a symbol of Philadelphia, there are many versions of it, including on Sixth Avenue in New York, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and even in Montreal, Bilbao and Armenia.

It's been just under one year since Philadelphia's "Love" was removed from public view to accommodate restoration of the sculpture and a complete multi-million dollar makeover of its namesake park, which has seen the addition of new green spaces and fountains.

A grand reopening of the entire park will come later this spring, but the focus on Tuesday is the celebration of the return of "Love" just in time for Valentine's Day.

When you're training and working with the same people every day, romantic sparks are bound to fly. In honor of Valentine's Day, check out these Olympic athlete couples that show there's more than just snow and ice in the air in Pyeongchang this year. 

Elana Meyers Taylor and Nic Taylor, Bobsled

Two-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor met her husband Nic Taylor through the sport of bobsled in 2011. Taylor even proposed to Meyers Taylor on the podium of the 2013 World Championships. In 2014, the couple got married in a bobsled-themed wedding, with nutrition-based vows and bobsled training innuendos.

Meyers Taylor explained how much her relationship with Taylor means not only in her sport but in her personal life.

"He has pushed for me several times as a brakeman on my four-man sled. He serves as my best friend, teammate, coach, sports psych, mechanic, sounding board and everything in between," Meyers Taylor told NBC Olympics.

The couple will be looking to secure gold medals together in the Winter Olympics this month.

Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim, Figure Skating 
Figure skating partners Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim first met through their coach, Delilah Sappenfield, in April 2012. The relationship blossomed after Scimeca Knierim ended her figure skating partnership with Ivan Dimitrov. 

The two figure skaters had immediate chemistry and teamed up to win the U.S. National Title in 2015. They were married a year later in 2016 with Sappenfield as an officiant.

Scimeca Knierim credits her husband for supporting her throughout her career and through a life-threatening sickness on the morning of their wedding. She had been up all night vomiting into a toilet while Knierim held her hair back.

"If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have been able to survive or find out the problem, honestly," Scimeca Knierim told NBC OlympicTalk last year. 

With the help of her husband and family, Scimeca Knierim was able to recover and is now stronger than ever before.

"It's kind of a blessing, I think because now we don't take our training and lives for granted. We're just excited for the future and grateful the worst is behind us." Scimeca Knierim said.

The Knierims are the first married couple to compete in skating pairs at an Olympic Games since 1998.

Jamie Greubel Poser and Christian Poser, Bobsled
Team USA's Jamie Greubel Poser and Germany's Christian Poser are competing for different countries in Pyeongchang, and their love has overcome a language and distance barrier.

The couple met at a World Cup Race in 2012. At first, they couldn't even talk to each other, as Greubel Poser didn't know German and Poser didn't know English. 

They used Google Translate to communicate, and were married in 2014 after the Sochi Olympics.

Greubel Poser relies heavily on technology to communicate with her husband throughout the year and sometimes goes months without seeing him in person.

"In the very beginning, when we would be talking or catching up I'd have to be sitting down at my computer or opening up Skype to making sure I had a good connection," Greubel Poser told NBC Olympics.

They both hope to reach the podium in their second Olympics and understand the sacrifice needed in the relationship to make their dreams come true.

"It works because we get it. I don't have to justify or explain why I'm doing things. Because we are both in it and going after the same things, it just works." Greubel Poser said.

Jamie Anderson and Tyler Nicholson, Snowboarding
Jamie Anderson, who won her second gold medal in the women's slopestyle on Monday, and Canadian Tyler Nicholson are ready to take on the slopes of Pyeongchang together.

The two snowboarders met in a Canadian bar and became friends five years ago. They just recently celebrated their three-year anniversary.

Anderson calls her boyfriend a huge inspiration to her and one of the snowboarders she talks to the most.

"He is very supportive and a big part of my life. We push and train each other and it makes it that much more fun," Anderson told NBC Olympics.

Nicholson finished seventh in the men's slopestyle event.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Figure Skating

Figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates found out that their relationship with each other took some time to grow. They went on their first date when Chock was only 16 years old but it wasn’t until they paired up as figure skating partners in 2011 that signs of love began to show.

Chock and Bates have won two U.S. silver medals, a World Team title, and gold in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship. They made their relationship official about a year ago.

Chock feels that her romance with Bates has had a positive effect on their skating relationship as well.

“We’ve always gotten along so well,"Chock toldNBC Olympics."Skating together is something that we love doing, and we love doing it together. Now we’re together on and off the ice and it makes it even more powerful. It feels completely genuine and real.”

The duo is looking to take home gold for the U.S. in Pyeongchang and show the judges the incredible chemistry they share both on and off the ice.

Mariah Bell and Romain Ponsart, Figure Skating
Figure skater Mariah Bell started dating French skater Romain Ponsart two years ago.

Bell, a 2017 World Championship bronze medalist, is looking to secure her first medal in the Winter Olympics this year and says her boyfriend is one of her greatest influences in her sport.

“He trains with me every day and always pushes and motivates me to be better," Bell told NBC Olympics. "Since he skates also he can understand me so well because he is doing the same thing as me every day.”

While Ponsart won’t be competing in Pyeongchang, he will be in the stands cheering on Bell as her number one fan.

At Least One Olympian Is Still Looking for Love in Pyeongchang...
U.S. Alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn tweeted that she was single and looking for a Valentine.

Actor Luke Wilson was indirectly involved in a fatal head-on collision Tuesday after a Ferrari and a BMW crashed in the Pacific Palisades, according to the Los Angeles Police Department West Traffic Division.

Wilson was driving northbound in the 500 block of Chautauqua Boulevard when a Ferrari, driven by a 71-year-old man who died as a result of the crash, clipped his vehicle then collided with the BMW.

The Ferrari's passenger, PGA Tour professional William "Bill" Haas, was transported to a hospital and is expected to be OK.

Details on what led up to the collision were not immediately available.

NBC Sports figure skating commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir have some sage advice about Valentine’s Day gifts.

U.S. alpine skier Lindsey Vonn tweeted on Wednesday that she forgot about Valentine’s Day.

Love is in the air this Valentine's Day.

A Virgin Atlantic Airbus drew a giant heart 30,000 feet above the ground early Wednesday. The company decided to "have a little fun" with a holiday-themed training flight, Cpt. JJ Burrows, the director of Aircraft Operations for Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement.

Virgin posted a video of the flight path on Twitter along with the hashtag #LoveIsInTheAirbus.

Flight tracker FlightRadar24 also posted a map of the 100-mile-wide Valentine.

The Airbus A330, called "HonkyTonk Woman," began its journey at London's Gatwick Airport and flew over the southwest coast of England, where it flew in the shape of a heart before turning back to Gatwick. The flight lasted over an hour.

Some Twitter users wondered if the stunt was an appropriate use of time and fuel. Virgin responded by explaining that it was a "required training flight that happened to take place on Valentines Day, so we altered the flight path slightly to make a heart shape."

Alexander Polinsky, a star on the 80s sitcom "Charles in Charge," is speaking out Wednesday on what he says was the sexual harassment and abuse he experienced from his co-star Scott Baio.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday with his attorney Lisa Bloom, Polinsky said Baio cut a hole in his dressing area wall and exposed himself, pulled down his pants on set and also threw a cup of hot tea in his face. Polinsky also claimed Baio spoke to him using gay slurs. 

Baio scheduled his own press conference later Wednesday, where his lawyer read a statement from the actor calling Polinsky's allegations "false claims" and the attention on him a "media witch hunt."

"I've tried my best to let the proper authorities handle this matter. It now seems they want a 'horse & pony' show," Baio wrote on Twitter.

Polinksy is the second person to accuse Baio of misconduct. Actress Nicole Eggert alleged that Baio abused her while she was underage and starring in "Charles in Charge." She is also represented by Bloom and will join Polinsky at the conference.

Eggert claimed that Baio molested her when she was 14 and he was 25. She also said they had consensual sexual intercourse when she was 17. The age of consent in California is 18, and Baio is 11 years older than Eggert.

Baio denied Eggert's claims of sexual abuse, saying it would have been "absolutely impossible" to molest Eggert on the crowded "Charles" set. He added that the sexual encounter happened when she was of legal age and echoed her description of the encounter as consensual.

Shaun White resorted to snowboarding imagery, invoking the "twists and turns" of life, when "Today" host Savannah Guthrie asked him Wednesday about a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him in 2016 and later settled out of court.

White, who won his third gold medal hours before the interview, might be an Olympian great on the slopes. But he plays a lousy game of verbal dodgeball.

His by-the-books apology for initially dismissing sexual misconduct allegations as "gossip" and his refusal to address the lawsuit head-on underscored what could become the biggest story of the Pyeongchang Games: #MeToo has arrived at the Olympics – taking the movement from Hollywood and Washington to the world stage.

The Olympic ideal of athletic purity talks a good game. But harsh reality often intrudes, from doping scandals to politically charged boycotts and bans to travesties like the serial sexual abuse of young athletes by former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.

The Summer and Winter Games, while raising the spirits, also can serve as a uncomfortable, imperfect – and sometimes inevitable – forum to confront gravely serious issues.

Part of the planning in Pyeongchang included the opening of four "Gender Equality Support Centers" at Olympic sites to deal with sexual violence and related matters. Meanwhile, hockey star Slava Voynov, suspended indefinitely from the NHL over a domestic abuse conviction, is playing beside fellow Russian athletes.

Voynov doesn’t command the name recognition of White, who gained a Times Up/Me Too hashtag when the details of the lawsuit, settled last year, recently resurfaced on social media.

The 31-year-old American athlete told NBC’s Guthrie he was "truly sorry" for characterizing allegations by Lena Zawaideh, a former drummer in his band, Bad Things, as "gossip and stuff." She accused him of repeatedly sexually harassing her and withholding pay after firing her.

White unspooled a string of platitudes when Guthrie asked about the lawsuit: "It’s amazing how life works, and twists and turns and lessons learned, so you know every experience in my life, I feel like it’s taught me a lesson and I definitely feel like I’m a much more changed person than I was when I was younger and yeah, I’m proud of who I am today," he said. 

There’s certainly a change afoot, one that goes far beyond White’s self-assessed personal development. And the larger lesson is that the Olympics are now a prime #MeToo movement platform for the world to watch and judge.

Hester is Director of News Products and Projects at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

Meghan Markle embraced the power of hugs on the day before Valentines Day. Prince Harry's future wife got affectionate with a woman she met during a trip to Edinburgh, bringing back memories of her fiance's late mother.

As part of a public engagement tour with her fiance, Markle and Harry on Wednesday visited Scotland's Social Bite cafe, which serves meals to the homeless. Co-founder Alice Thompson shared with Markle that she was inspired by a speech from Markle at the 2015 UN Women’s Conference, in which the activist supported gender equality and women's empowerment. Video showed Markle thanking Thompson with a warm embrace.

"They were completely authentic and really wonderful," Thompson told NBC News of the royal couple and her conversation with Markle.

Members of the royal family typically strike a formal tone in public, sticking to handshakes and waves during official visits. So Markle's special embrace brought back memories of a notable exception to that tradition: Princess Diana.

Harry's late mother was often seen hugging people she met at hospitals, charities and other organizations. Photos show her holding an HIV-positive child in Brazil, cradling a sick child in Pakistan and holding hands with Mother Theresa in New York.

Markle has not been shy about showing affection in public. She's often seen out holding hands and linking arms with Prince Harry, a stark contrast from Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. 

Julia Mancuso and her husband travel to Seoul for Valentine’s Day. They plan on visiting a local palace during their stay, but they’ll have to dress the part before doing so.