Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has reached out to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a>, requesting that the company retain all documents pertaining to the development of the Nicepool character in “Deadpool &amp; Wolverine.” 
The 40-year-old director of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">It Ends With Us</a>” claims that the character was modeled after him as a mockery, which helps prove his allegation that Blake Lively’s lawsuits against him are exaggerations. 
Baldoni’s co-star, Blake Lively, filed an 80-page <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lawsuit">lawsuit</a> against Baldoni in December, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, and attempting to “destroy” her reputation. The director responded by announcing his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/never-witnessed-such-unethical-behavior-blake-livelys-co-star-countersues">intention to countersue</a> Lively, saying the actress engaged in “unethical behavior,” and intentionally misrepresented interactions to make Baldoni look guilty. 
Baldoni also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justin-baldoni-files-250m-libel-lawsuit-against-nyt-over-blake-lively-report">sued</a> The New York Times for $250 million in a defamation claim for an article about the drama, which he says is “rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions.”
Baldoni&#8217;s attorney, Bryan Freedman, sent a notice to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Marvel president Kevin Feige, and “Deadpool” director Tim Miller advising them that there were “anticipated claims” coming against Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, per <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/justin-baldoni-legal-letter-disney-marvel-nicepool-ryan-reynolds-1236274162/">Variety</a>. 
The execs were instructed to preserve “any and all documents relating to the development of the ‘Nicepool’ character” as well as “communications relating to the development, writing, and filming of storylines and scenes featuring ‘Nicepool.’” 
The letter demanded that the studio retain “all documents relating to or reflecting a deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of  &#8216;Nicepool.&#8217;”
Baldoni and his attorney claim that Reynolds was mocking Baldoni in “Deadpool &amp; Wolverine” via the character Nicepool, a knockoff version of the film’s protagonist Deadpool. The character has a man bun, which is a hairstyle Baldoni has worn, and refers to himself as a feminist, which Baldoni has also done publicly.
Disney released &#8220;Deadpool &amp; Wolverine&#8221; in July, during filming for “It Ends With Us.”
Some of Nicepool’s lines include, “Where in God’s name is the intimacy coordinator?!” and complimenting another character, Ladypool, for “snapping back” into shape after giving birth. Baldoni and his attorney say these are poorly veiled references to occurrences on the “It Ends With Us” set, which were mentioned in Lively’s lawsuit.
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In the end credits of “Deadpool &amp; Wolverine,” the actor who plays Nicepool is listed as “Gordon Reynolds,” the outlet noted, which is<a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1412199/blake-livelys-it-ends-with-us-credits-hint-at-deadpool-wolverine-connection"> reportedly</a> an alias for Ryan Reynolds. Lively thanked Gordon Reynolds in the end credits of “It Ends With Us.” 
Reynolds is a writer, producer, and star of “Deadpool” but has never confirmed the connection between Baldoni and Nicepool. Fans have speculated that the character is based on Baldoni since the film’s release. 
Freedman discussed the similarities between his client and the character during an appearance on “The Megyn Kelly Show” last week. He said the inclusion of Nicepool undermined Lively and Reynold’s claims of sexual harassment. 
“There’s no question it relates to Justin. I mean, anybody that watched that hair bun,” Freedman told Kelly. “If somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue,” he said.

Ryan Reynolds

Justin Baldoni Demands Disney Retain ‘Nicepool’ Docs, Says Ryan Reynolds Was Mocking Him

Justin Baldoni Demands Disney Retain 'Nicepool' Docs, Says Ryan Reynolds Was Mocking Him

Courts

Disney

Entertainment

Hollywood

Lawsuit

U.S.

The following is a transcribed excerpt from one of Dr. Jordan Peterson’s 2015 lectures. You can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listen to</a> or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast">watch</a> more from Dr. Peterson on DailyWire+.
“Pinocchio” is a story that includes an initiation ritual and a journey to the depths (the underworld). It is a story of the consequence of a collapse of previous personality and the disintegration of that previous personality into a chaotic state prior to rebirth.
Pinocchio, a puppet, tries to become a real boy. In the beginning, he is a marionette. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carl Jung</a> explained that is your habitual state of being: Something else is pulling your strings. Even the idea that you are autonomous is the consequence of something else pulling your strings, so for Jung, what you needed to do was find out exactly who and what is pulling your strings and decide if that is the direction in which you want to go. That is what happens to Pinocchio in the story.
Pinocchio is a marionette made by Geppetto, a good father. He is a marionette with a benevolent puppeteer. But as soon as he develops some autonomy, he becomes prey to forces that are elements of the demonic archetype. In fact, the worst bad guy in the entire story turns into Satan himself. So Pinocchio goes through a series of temptations of various sorts, including a Freudian temptation to remain weak and sickly instead of becoming a real person. Another temptation Pinocchio faces is being offered false celebrity as a way of solving his life’s problems. He is offered the opportunity to become an actor when a deceitful fate constructs a persona that makes him appear far more valuable than he really is. These are two pathological modes of movement towards maturity — one being a phony, and the other taking the easy way out and hyper-valuing pathologies to the degree he becomes dependent.
The third pathological development offered to Pinocchio occurs on Pleasure Island, which is to do nothing but engage in short-term impulsive and destructive play. But when he goes to Pleasure Island, he finds that the island is actually ruled by demonic forces, faceless entities who are transforming all the pleasure-seeking marionettes into donkeys who are slaves. Pinocchio escapes from that by jumping into the unknown, represented by jumping into the water, which is equivalent to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plunging into chaos</a> — his exposure to his initiation. In other words, chaos was an escape from pathological tyranny.
Now, the cricket. While I cannot tell you everything about this element of the story, I can tell you a couple strange notions about it. The initials are J.C., and Jiminy Cricket was a common, mild-form of Southern American cursing; it is the equivalent of Jesus Christ. So you might think, and of course, the cricket is Pinocchio’s conscience. So why in the world would a pejorative term for Jesus Christ be applied to a cricket who is guiding a puppet into the water to rescue his father from a whale? Why would any of that happen? You know why but you cannot say why. You cannot say why you know or what it is you know, but the mere fact that it makes sense — and it does — is an indication from a Jungian perspective that you are operating at an archetypal level.
Further, the cricket is a bug. Why might this be? Well, things bug you. You should do something about the things that bug you because that is your conscience calling to you. It is destiny, in some sense, manifesting itself as an unconscious impulse. Now, there are a lot of things out there that might bug you; some of them do not, but lots of them do. Why do certain things bug you and not other things? That is a complicated question, but one potential answer is that there is part of your psyche that is oriented <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">towards further development</a>. Jung would call that the self — essentially, the totality of everything you could be. It is a strange sort of entity because it is partly potential and it is potential that expands across time. But the way that your potential totality calls to you in the present is by placing things in front of you that are your problem. They announce themselves as your problem by bothering you. So if you pick up the task of fixing the thing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that bothers you</a>, then you find the pathway to further expansion of your personality.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Dr. Jordan B. Peterson&#8217;s podcast on DailyWire+</a></h3>
That is what happens with Pinocchio. Part of what makes the “Pinocchio” story so incredibly sophisticated is that despite the fact the cricket is an avatar of Christ, so to speak, the cricket has things to learn just like Pinocchio. That implies that you do have a conscience that guides you, but until you establish a dialogue with it, both you and the conscience are immature. You have to establish a conscious dialogue with it and interact together, which propels your development across time. That will stop you from being a marionette of external forces.
Many events at multiple levels of reality happen simultaneously when Pinocchio goes home, which is characteristic of an archetypal story. On one level, Pinocchio is too old to go home; he cannot go home to his father because, in some sense, he has already transcended his father Geppetto. That is on the personal level. On the transpersonal level, the deeper archetypal level, what is happening to Pinocchio is exactly what Nietzsche described at the end of the 19th century. Geppetto is his creator, and now he is dead; he is gone. So Pinocchio is bereft of placement. His soul has been corrupted, and he does not know what to do about it. When he returns to his family home, or to his tradition, he finds nothing.
But then a dove comes along and drops a note right in front of Pinocchio. The star from which the dove comes is a representation of the blue fairy, who is the positive element of the unknown. What this scene is basically saying is: When you are despairing because your father has died and your tradition has nothing to offer, the positive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">element of the unknown</a> may provide you with a message of where to go if you pay enough attention. That is an intuition of the automatic attraction of your interests to a new thing by forces you do not understand.
One of the real ways of coming to grips with the active unconscious is by understanding you cannot control what you are interested in. If it is not you, then you might ask who or what it is. And if you think about that problem long enough, you will start to understand what Jung was talking about. That is the way you can understand in your own life that the things that direct you as a being are not things that you consciously choose. In fact, they are not even things you can consciously choose.
* * *
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Jordan B. Peterson</a> is a clinical psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. From 1993 to 1998 he served as assistant and then associate professor of psychology at Harvard. He is the international bestselling author of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maps of Meaning</a>,” “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-role-of-the-holy-spirit-distinguishing-between-your-will-and-gods-will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12 Rules For Life,</a>” and “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Order-More-Rules-Life/dp/0593084640/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=AUTHOR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nbV0WtVit9busCddbjMST-Oe7hjueQrxfqnQ4L3HXXUFdIaqlEBr0sp9HQWIq9ut9NlHDAFA0YQoDWVZfDtKNJI7VvlzWv2rMhs2KcAAIIppPRMWq4GIiFerkrssvBABAjeKlg3OFs3H8IHs5D8ktJ5uBg3K-SZ4hpKltaKkrhY6j-RKn-tTkBz29JZXP3Rhm9SB14rHUX1nol5d4z4Fi6f8fwhxXWCVGgkvOHSqG6E.iVF1NljuBEwrpumO9rQBh9FotnzaIo4K7K8HvNnC46k&amp;qid=&amp;sr=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beyond Order.</a>” Be sure to order his newest book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Who-Wrestle-God-Jordan-Peterson/dp/0593542533/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=38kcw&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.f911c8db-3a2b-4b3e-952f-b80fdcee83f4&amp;pf_rd_p=f911c8db-3a2b-4b3e-952f-b80fdcee83f4&amp;pf_rd_r=133-1833056-3520340&amp;pd_rd_wg=3zvBk&amp;pd_rd_r=93a1419a-853b-4c49-a764-cbaa90d3073a&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We Who Wrestle with God</a>” (Portfolio/Penguin).
You can now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/the-jordan-b-peterson-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listen to</a> or <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/watch/jordan-peterson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch</a> his popular lectures on DailyWire+.

Readers Pass – Zeisloft – 5 Times Jordan Peterson Left His Opponents Speechless16x9

Psychology And ‘Pinocchio’

Psychology and 'Pinocchio'

Carl Jung

Children's Books

Friedrich Nietzsche

Jordan B. Peterson

Movies

Psychology

Happy New Year. It’s January, 2025, the beginning of the second quarter of the 21st century and the end of all your resolutions as you slowly sink back into a pear-shaped blob careening into oblivion like George Clooney in &#8220;Gravity&#8221; but without the paycheck.
So after you’ve canceled that gym membership and put all your new workout gear on eBay, let’s gather together around the crystal ball of the imagination while I pretend to gaze into the future so I can make ridiculous predictions that I hope you’ll forget by the time I get around to claiming I was right about everything.
In politics, I predict that Donald Trump will take office January 20, and on Day One, he’ll reduce corruption in government eighty percent by not being Joe Biden. I predict that on Day One, Trump will issue a blanket pardon of half the J6 demonstrators. The other half, who are undercover FBI agents, will be put in prison where they belong. And I predict that on Day One, Trump will issue a declaration that there are only two genders, and that men are the ones with testicles, unless they’re Republicans in the House of Representatives.
In journalism, I predict ABC will fire George Stephanopoulos for intimidating women into silence until they realize that&#8217;s why they hired him in the first place, then he&#8217;ll be rehired and assigned to &#8220;The View.&#8221; I predict that CNN will double its viewership when an old man in Milwaukee forgets how to use his remote. And I predict that the New York Times will save space by publishing nothing but Trump emojis followed by crap emojis followed by crying emojis, until the paper is so simplistic and repetitive it can be written by A.I. but without the I, so it’s just A, as in “A, this paper sucks, cancel my subscription.”
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
In the culture, I predict the Disney company will hire an armed security force to hunt down every last person who still occasionally feels inspired or delighted or even mildly entertained by a &#8220;Star Wars&#8221; movie and compel them to watch movies with unattractive lesbians in baggy clothes having totally absurd sword fights until the viewers confess there is no such thing as a god-like Force or Jedis or manhood and that everything is meaningless and they’re sorry they ever liked &#8220;Star Wars&#8221; in the first place and we should all just die.
I predict that a starlet will show up at a French film festival wearing a completely transparent dress, and a news site will describe the outfit as “shocking” even though no one is shocked or even particularly interested.
I predict June will be gay pride month, yet, in a stunning paradox, the entire month will pass without a single person feeling proud of being gay, although there will be a general sense of relief when it’s finally July and we can just drop the entire subject which has been making everyone feel oppressively uncomfortable.
Finally, I predict that in December, a pear-shaped man will go on eBay to buy some good-as-new workout gear and discover he has sent his money to himself and now has to dig the gear out of the closet and mail it to himself so he can put it on eBay.
Those are my 2025 predictions.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. He is the bestselling author of the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fourth installment, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613165536?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_3&amp;storeType=ebooks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A WOMAN UNDERGROUND</a>,” is now available. Follow him on X: @andrewklavan
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

250103_ArticlePhoto

My Predictions For 2025

2025

Andrew Klavan

Donald Trump

George Stephanopoulos

Humor

New Year's

Satire

Star Wars

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a> has released what they’re describing as an “inside look” into their upcoming live-action adaptation of the classic fairytale, “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/snow-white">Snow White</a>”. The new peek was posted yesterday.
The studio’s inside look was released as the full-length trailer, which dropped earlier this month, is racking up significantly more “dislikes” than likes on YouTube. The video streaming platform has hidden dislike counts on their platform but third-party sites estimate that the downvotes total 820,000. Meanwhile, the trailer only has roughly 33,000 likes.
An earlier version of the theatrical trailer for “Snow White” has gotten more than 1.4 million dislikes.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Disney’s Snow White | “Waiting On A Wish” Special Look | In Theaters March 21" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dZk76vGBsv8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This inside look includes a special look at Pasek and Paul’s new song, “Waiting On A Wish,” sung by the film’s lead Rachel Zegler. 
Many of the negative comments focus on the casting of Zegler for the part, which has been a point of contention for fans since the beginning. This sentiment has only increased as the actress made derogatory comments about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disneys-snow-white-star-slammed-as-she-continues-bashing-original-film-in-another-resurfaced-video">source material</a> and voiced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snow-white-star-rachel-zegler-apologizes-after-backlash-for-attacking-trump-voters">divisive political opinions</a> about the 2024 presidential election and people who voted for president-elect Donald Trump.
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Fans are overwhelmingly in favor of the Evil Queen, played by Gal Gadot, even though she’s meant to portray the film’s villain.
“The only way to get people on your side Disney is let Gal Gadot win,” one comment on the new video clip says.
“If the evil Queen doesn&#8217;t win we riot,” a second person agreed.
“I sincerely hope the Evil Queen wins,” echoed a third.
“Disney: We&#8217;re talking about Inner beauty… Audience: Gal Gadot is 100 times better than rachel zegler,” another comment says. “Disney: We&#8217;re talking about Outer beauty… Audience: Gal Gadot is 1000 times better than rachel zegler.”
Zegler isn’t the only complaint fans have about the official trailer. They also expressed disdain for the CGI created seven dwarves, which The Guardian described as “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fans-rip-disney-for-new-snow-white-trailer-especially-nightmare-fuel-cgi-dwarfs">nightmare fuel</a>.”
“This is the CGI dwarves that Disney will have in the new adaptation of Snow White? This movie is going to bomb so hard that it will make the Hindenburg look like a small camp fire,” one commenter wrote.
Rumor has it that live actors were originally cast as the dwarfs, but that plan was scrapped during filming when photos of the diverse group were leaked and mocked on social media.
Disney’s “Snow White” has a scheduled release date of March 21.

Snow White

Disney Releases ‘Special Look’ Into Snow White After Trailer Suffers Flood Of Dislikes On YouTube

Disney Releases 'Special Look' Into Snow White As Official Trailer Has 830K Dislikes On YouTube

President-elect Donald Trump declared on Sunday that his new administration would be up and running within hours of his inauguration, and his incoming Federal Communications Commission is apparently taking that directive seriously.
Brendan Carr, who currently serves as the FCC commissioner, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/23/media/fcc-brendan-carr-bob-iger-abc-letter/index.html">fired off a note</a> to Disney CEO Bob Iger, and indicated that he planned to hold news networks — like the Disney-owned ABC News — accountable during his tenure as chairman.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Incoming FCC chairman sends a letter to the CEO of Disney (owner of ABC) telling him “Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly.” <a href="https://t.co/9J5yZJgkbT">https://t.co/9J5yZJgkbT</a> <a href="https://t.co/WzzV7fZx1e">https://t.co/WzzV7fZx1e</a>
&mdash; Steve Herman (@W7VOA) <a href="https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1871323621949423651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the letter, Carr noted that the American people have largely lost trust in the national media — although most, according to polling data, still have much more positive views of their local media outlets.
“Dear Mr. Iger, Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly,” Carr’s letter began, before pivoting to address ABC’s recent $15 million settlement — and an additional $1 million in attorney fees — with Trump.
“ABC’s own conduct has certainly contributed to this erosion in public trust. For instance, ABC News recently agreed to pay $15 million to President Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum and an additional $1 million in attorney fees to settle a defamation case,” Carr wrote.
The defamation case sprung from a March broadcast of the network’s flagship Sunday morning show, “This Week,” when veteran anchor George Stephanopoulos said on a number of occasions that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic strategist, had been warned against using the word “rape” prior to the broadcast, but did it anyway.
Carr went on to suggest that by prioritizing Disney’s paid streaming services over content that might be made available to the local, and more trusted, affiliates, the company was only deepening the public’s mistrust.
“The fact that a massive trust divide has emerged between local news outlets and national programmers like ABC only increases the importance of retransmission consent revenues remaining available for local broadcast TV stations to invest in their local news operations and content that serves their communities,” he added.

CPAC 2024 in Maryland

Trump’s Incoming FCC Chair Fires Off Warning Letter To Disney CEO

ABC News

Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” — the prequel to the hugely popular 2019 live-action remake  “Lion King” — struggled at the holiday box office on its opening weekend, falling to Paramount’s “Sonic” sequel.
Coming in second place behind “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” was the highly anticipated backstory to the “Lion King,” which made $35 million at the domestic box office, falling well behind its pre-release expectations of $50 million, <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/box-office-sonic-the-hedgehog-3-starts-strong-mufasa-lion-king-misfires-opening-weekend-1236257432/">Variety</a> noted. It comes after Disney spent more than $200 million to make the film and another $100 million in worldwide promotions. 
“Sonic,” on the other hand, earned a total of $62 million from moviegoers — and cost $122 million to make — according to the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h/charts/">Hollywood Reporter.</a> 
“As we’ve seen this franchise’s audience grow, we saw a window in the marketplace in December where we thought we could stand out,” Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said. “We’ve been able to accomplish that. ‘Sonic’ is going to dominate through the holidays.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Mufasa” is projected for a $35 million opening weekend, which would mark a profound decline from the $191 million domestic debut of its 2019 predecessor. <a href="https://t.co/Xbf15uPj7N">https://t.co/Xbf15uPj7N</a> <a href="https://t.co/cvxrRkfIoT">pic.twitter.com/cvxrRkfIoT</a>
— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1870524158712660196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
“Mufasa” also struggled globally, earning $87 million after being projected to earn well over $120 million, Variety noted. In comparison, the 2019 “Lion King” had a domestic opening weekend of $191 million, per <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3321923073/weekend/?ref_=bo_tt_gr#table">Box Office Mojo</a>. 
Taking over third place was Universal’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wicked">Wicked</a>,” which has made $383.9 million since it opened before Thanksgiving holiday.
Disney also occupies the fourth spot at the box office with the sequel to “Moana,” earning another $13 million to bring the total to $359 million at the domestic box office.
Rounding out the fifth spot in the top 5 comes the apocalyptic thriller “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/studio-behind-sound-of-freedom-ready-to-release-new-apocalyptic-film-tv-series-homestead">Homestead</a>” from Angel Studios” — the same studio that brought the sleeper hit “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sound-of-freedom">Sound Of Freedom</a>” to the big screen in 2022. “Homestead” earned $6 million over the film’s opening weekend, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h/charts/">THR noted</a>.
Some have suggested the poor showing for “Mufasa” could be a sign of things to come for future live-action adaptations from Disney and could signal trouble ahead for its upcoming live action “Snow White,&#8221; Variety noted.
The star of “Snow White” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disneys-snow-white-star-slammed-as-she-continues-bashing-original-film-in-another-resurfaced-video">Rachel Zegler</a>, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-says-live-action-snow-white-will-be-delayed-one-year-just-weeks-after-backlash-to-lead-actress-bashing-original-film">vocal left-wing activist</a>, made headlines — and faced backlash — after she described the prince as a “stalker” and made it clear the live-action story she was part of would have nothing in common with the “weird” original love story from 1937.
Months later in an interview for <a href="https://x.com/realDailyWire/status/1734342385721844037">Variety</a> with fellow Disney actress Halle Bailey, Zegler appeared to sing a different tune when she gushed over the original “Snow White” as “a monumental moment in film history,” and said she “loves everything the Disney company has put out” since its inception.
Following Zegler’s remarks bashing the original film, The Daily Wire’s kids entertainment company <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_source=googlesearch&amp;utm_content=na_subscriptions&amp;mid=g&amp;cid=dailywire&amp;xid=0&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAudG5BhAREiwAWMlSjDtFJvH0hNmWFWoNpN27XnORbr00zIj739tvZaCKUXcX1pwQuB2CnBoCehsQAvD_BwE">Bentkey</a> announced it would make a live-action film titled “Snow White and the Evil Queen,” starring YouTube sensation Brett Cooper.

Mufasa

Disney’s ‘Lion King’ Prequel Falls To ‘Sonic’ In Holiday Box Office Upset

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The Real Reason ‘Am I Racist?’ Was Snubbed By The Oscars

The Real Reason 'Am I Racist?' Was Snubbed By The Oscars

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Am I Racist

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Transgender

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender">transgender</a>-identifying teenager who voices a character in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a>’s new animated series, “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/television">Win or Lose</a>,” is upset that the studio cut out a trans storyline from the show.
The Pixar series, which will air its first episode on February 19, follows a co-ed middle school softball team preparing for its big championship game. Initially, the series was slated to include a story arc about a player identifying as transgender, but Disney removed those references, a rep <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-pulls-transgender-storyline-from-upcoming-animated-series">confirmed</a> to The Hollywood Reporter.
“When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” the Disney spokesperson said in a statement. 
The outlet noted that the character will still appear in the show, but the lines about gender identity have been removed.
Now, the voiceover artist who is voicing that character is speaking out. 
Chanel Stewart learned about the role while scrolling social media and seeing a casting call for a “14-year-old transgender girl” to voice the part, per <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/12/win-or-lose-transgender-actress-speaks-after-disney-cuts-storyline-1236209109/">Deadline</a>. 
“I was exactly what they wanted to a T, and that’s why it felt so right. It felt just so right,” Stewart told the outlet. “I immediately asked my mom if I could do it, because I just felt like if I don’t do this, it wouldn’t make sense. You know what I mean?”
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“Oh my God, it was crazy,” Stewart, now 18, said of landing the role. “I wore it as a badge. I wore it with pride. I wore it with honor because it meant so much to me. The thought of authentically portraying a transgender teenage girl made me really happy. I wanted to make this for transgender kids like me.”
Stewart’s mom, Keisha, told Deadline that the call from Disney about the storyline being cut was “upsetting.”
“It was upsetting because my daughter is transgender and this is her life. I felt like it was very important that we not hide that fact,” she told the outlet. 
“There may be some parents out there who are not ready to have that conversation, but this is the world that we live in and everyone should be represented,&#8221; she went on. &#8220;Everyone deserves to be recognized. And it felt like it was just another setback for the LGBTQ community, because it’s very hard on transgender teenagers … transgender people, period. Especially when you’re young and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate this world that you live in and be able to grow into your own person.”
“I was very disheartened,” Stewart agreed. “From the moment I got the script, I was excited to share my journey to help empower other trans youth. I knew this would be a very important conversation. Trans stories matter, and they deserve to be heard.”
“It’s just that my character would now be a cis girl, a straight cis girl,” Stewart continued. “So yeah, that’s all they really told me and that I was still a part of the show.”
“I’m definitely one of the first [transgender girls] to do this!” the teen said. “It’s a true honor to be a part of queer history.”
Disney films that include LGBT storylines, such as “Onward” and “Lightyear,” have not performed well with audiences and have inspired negative attention from parents who feel the themes are not appropriate for younger audiences.

Win or Lose

Trans-Identifying Teen Who Voices Animated Character Reacts To Disney Cutting Storyline

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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a> is deleting a storyline about a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender">transgender</a>-identified character from an upcoming animated series, with a rep for the company stating that the topic is best left for parents to discuss with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/children">children</a> themselves.
Pixar’s original animated series “Win or Lose” is scheduled to air its first episode on February 19. The series follows a co-ed middle school softball team preparing for their big championship game. Each of the eight episodes follows one character and shows their point of view.
A rep from Disney confirmed with <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/disney-pulls-transgender-storyline-win-or-lose-1236088172/">The Hollywood Reporter</a> that the storyline about a transgender-identified individual from one of the later episodes has been removed. “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” the rep said.
The outlet noted that the character will still be in the show, but the lines about gender identity have been taken out. The Disney rep declined to share any more details about the decision or what exactly was changed.
The topic of LGBT themes in children’s content is nothing new for the company. In June of 2022, Disney released the “Toy Story” spinoff “Lightyear” and got a ton of negative press for the same-sex kiss included in the animated children’s feature. 
The film “Onward&#8221; (2020) also included an openly gay character. That movie, which opened just prior to the COVID pandemic, only brought in $76 million at the global box office, with some more conservative countries refusing to show the movie at all.
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Currently, the issue of transgenderism, especially as it relates to children, is an important topic of conversation. The Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-supreme-court-is-about-to-hear-a-major-child-gender-transition-case-heres-what-to-know">recently heard oral arguments</a> in a case dealing with Tennessee’s law banning irreversible gender transition procedures for children.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed Senate Bill 1 into law in March 2023. The bill bans doctors or health care providers from performing so-called “gender-affirming” surgeries or hormonal procedures on minors, including surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones.
The bill came about following a September 2022 investigation into Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) by Daily Wire host Matt Walsh. He brought attention to the issue by exposing VUMC’s gender transition procedures for children, including the fact that they called these procedures a “big money maker.”

Disney Pulls Transgender Storyline From Upcoming Animated Series

LGBT

A new trailer for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a>’s live-action “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/snow-white">Snow White</a>” just dropped, and it’s getting a lot of negative attention from fans. One of the biggest criticisms has to do with the computer-generated imagery (CGI) portrayal of the seven dwarfs.
Even overseas outlets are ripping on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">trailer</a>, with a writer from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/04/disney-snow-white-live-action-movie-cgi">The Guardian</a> calling it “hauntingly bad” and “the ugliest thing ever committed to screen.”
Most of those complaints revolve around the appearance of the CGI characters. “It treats the animals that Snow White finds in the woods with the same photorealistic CGI that was used in the most recent Lion King remake, which has the effect of transforming helpful woodland creatures into literal vermin. And then there are the dwarves. My God, the dwarves,” the writer continues.
“The new Snow White dwarves look like someone has snuck into Disneyland, grabbed the statues from Snow White’s Enchanted Wish and wrapped them in human flesh, as a serial killer would with a gift for their mother. They look like something a seaside caricaturist would draw of someone they openly hated. They look like animatronic figures that were struck by lightning and came to life before the fire was put out. They look like someone has shaved the Sonic the Hedgehog from that first Sonic the Hedgehog trailer that everyone hated,” The Guardian writer says, adding that they serve as “nightmare fuel.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Disney’s Snow White | Official Trailer | In Theaters March 21" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iV46TJKL8cU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Reactions on social media are not much better. 
“Are you honestly telling me that disney executives saw footage from the live action snow white movie and thought &#8216;yeah those dwarves look great, no notes&#8217;&#8230;Yikes,” one person <a href="https://x.com/mikehartigan/status/1864161794261934495">shared</a> on X. 
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“They look so fake to me,” another wrote.
“This is the CGI dwarves that Disney will have in the new adaptation of Snow White? This movie is going to bomb so hard that it will make the Hindenburg look like a small camp fire,” another agreed.
Rumor has it that live actors were originally cast as the dwarfs, but that plan was scrapped during filming when photos of the diverse group were leaked and mocked on social media. Actor Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism, also denounced the film in the early stages.
“Literally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fing-backward-story-peter-dinklage-slams-disney-for-attempting-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs-remake">said</a> during a podcast interview in 2022. “They were very proud to cast a Latin[a] actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but you’re still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
Since its beginning, “Snow White” has been plagued by controversy, thanks in part to lead actress Rachel Zegler&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disneys-snow-white-star-slammed-as-she-continues-bashing-original-film-in-another-resurfaced-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">negative remarks</a> about the fairytale and other <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/snow-white-star-rachel-zegler-apologizes-after-backlash-for-attacking-trump-voters">inflammatory statements</a>. Her comments have inspired many fans to boycott the film.

Seven dwarves

Fans Rip Disney For New ‘Snow White’ Trailer, Especially ‘Nightmare Fuel’ CGI Dwarfs

Fans Rip Disney For New 'Snow White' Trailer, Especially 'Nightmare Fuel' CGI Dwarfs

Thomas Kasza, a &#8220;Green Beret turned humanitarian,&#8221; told NewsNation on Tuesday that he warned filmmakers about showing the faces of America&#8217;s Afghan allies in a documentary on Green Berets before a man featured in the film was killed by the Taliban.
National Geographic, a Disney joint venture, removed its documentary, &#8220;Retrograde,&#8221; from its streaming platform over the summer after a 21-year-old Afghan contractor featured in the film was caught and murdered by the Taliban. The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2024/05/22/retrograde-documentary-film-taliban-heineman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this year that &#8220;Retrograde&#8221; director Matthew Heineman and producer Caitlin McNally decided to show close-ups of the Afghan man and others who helped U.S. forces clear mines. Kasza said that decision came after warnings from him and other former Green Berets and military members who said that showing the Afghan men in the film would put them in danger.
Kasza <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/danabramslive/retrograde-afghanistan-film/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NewsNation&#8217;s Dan Abrams that, according to an interpreter he&#8217;s in contact with, the Afghan man was shown &#8220;Retrograde&#8221; clips while the Taliban tortured him for up to 15 days. Kasza said, &#8220;It boggles the mind really why National Geographic, Disney &#8230; would actually kind of go to these lengths to not only just expose them, but then kind of abandon them after the fact, after this guy was killed.&#8221;
The former Green Beret added that he knows the filmmakers received warnings about releasing the documentary with the Afghans&#8217; faces unobscured because he was one of the five people mentioned in the Washington Post article who discussed the issues with them.
Kasza, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he and other military members initially saw the film as &#8220;a tremendous opportunity,&#8221; but after viewing the premiere of the documentary, he was concerned for the safety of U.S. allies in Afghanistan.
&#8220;Because we saw the behind-the-scenes and we knew the reality of the situation, we were able to convey the gravity of the situation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Unfortunately, they didn&#8217;t heed our warnings.&#8221;
Kasza added, &#8220;Our objectives are not to pick a fight with Disney or pick a fight with National Geographic. Our entire purpose here is to provide aid for these guys. And the fact that Disney, which was market-capped for $210 billion as of today, doesn&#8217;t want to contribute any assistance in any kind of matter is kind of preposterous.&#8221;
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Following the Washington Post&#8217;s story on the controversy, multiple awards the film won were revoked. Kasza <a href="https://x.com/TKasza1208/status/1855899229274947929" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> on X earlier this month that he hopes the developments will &#8220;spur @Disney, @NatGeo or @MattHeineman to finally render assistance to the widow and the remaining eight affected families.&#8221;

‘Retrograde’, a Film By Matthew Heineman – Special Screening

Green Beret Says Filmmakers ‘Didn’t Heed’ Warnings That Led To Taliban Killing Afghan Ally

Green Beret Says Filmmakers 'Didn't Heed' Warnings That Led To Taliban Killing Afghan Ally

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Outgoing Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jamaal-bowman">Jamaal Bowman</a> (D-NY) shared his thoughts on casting the upcoming “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/star-wars">Star Wars</a>” trilogy, which was just announced by Lucasfilm.
“If the lead Jedi is not a Black man I ain’t messing with yall,” Bowman posted on X. 
“Yall not about to make 12 Star Wars and have all white leads for all 12. Y’all wilding with that and I hate to say that I would not watch and will spend the rest of my days denouncing this franchise that I have loved forever. The new Jedi order better be multicultural with a Black super powerful lead. We ain’t playing yall!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
If the lead Jedi is not a Black man I ain’t messing with yall. Yall not about to make 12 Star Wars and have all white leads for all 12. Y’all wilding with that and I hate to say that I would not watch and will spend the rest of my days denouncing this franchise that I have loved… <a href="https://t.co/f2duXRwbg9">https://t.co/f2duXRwbg9</a>
&mdash; Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (@JamaalBowmanNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1859050653915488451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bowman was replying to the announcement that Simon Kinberg would be writing and producing Episodes X, XI, and XII of the film series. There have been many “Star Wars” movies over the past four decades with varying degrees of success.
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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a> acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 and immediately got to work on a new trilogy of Star Wars sequels to the existing six movies. Each of the three films had a different director attached, leading to fans saying they didn’t feel like a cohesive story was being told. 
Despite Bowman’s demand to have a black actor play the lead role, multiple outlets are reporting that Henry Cavill is in talks to star in the new trilogy, though no official casting decisions have been announced yet.
Several Disney films have featured different races and ethnicities in roles that originally had white leads. Some examples include the upcoming live-action “Snow White” starring Rachel Zegler and actress Halle Bailey playing Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” (2023).
Bowman is a leftist activist who was charged late last year with pulling a fire alarm in Congress. He’s also a member of what’s commonly referred to as “The Squad” — a group of far-left lawmakers that includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Cori Bush (D-MO), and others. He’s the first of The Squad to be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/far-left-democrat-jamaal-bowman-loses-primary-after-becoming-full-scale-anti-semite">ousted from Congress</a> after losing his primary race against moderate George Latimer in June.

Jamaal Bowman

Jamaal ‘Fire Alarm’ Bowman Vows To ‘Denounce’ New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy If Lead Is Not A Black Man

Jamaal 'Fire Alarm' Bowman Vows To 'Denounce' New 'Star Wars' Trilog If Lead Is Not A Black Man

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