David Lynch, the writer-director whose hallucinogenic films and television shows such as “Eraserhead,” “Mulholland Drive,” and “Twin Peaks” reveled in dreams and darkness, in revealing the mysterious and the sinister teeming just below the surface of ordinary white-picket-fence America has died. He was 78.
New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael called David Lynch “the first populist surrealist — a Frank Capra of dream logic” for his keen ability to bridge mainstream filmmaking and arthouse success. 
Lynch’s family <a href="https://www.facebook.com/davidlynchofficial/posts/pfbid04LuZED6SrWevszQ1UZoEED6x95znKc7scJxXFL5B1icBKgCiu4T2qYLHsErFNzELl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> his death on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/davidlynchofficial/posts/pfbid04LuZED6SrWevszQ1UZoEED6x95znKc7scJxXFL5B1icBKgCiu4T2qYLHsErFNzELl?rdid=581XjlBlb3GqM8zP#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his Facebook page</a> on Thursday. “There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us,” they wrote. “But, as he would say, ‘Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.’ It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way.”
<div id="attachment_860901" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860901" class="size-large wp-image-860901" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-52974879-865x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 01: Filmmaker David Lynch poses for photos in his private movie studio on September 1, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilles Mingasson/Gettty Images)" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-52974879-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-52974879-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-52974879-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-52974879.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Gilles Mingasson/Getty Images</div>
Lynch revealed in an interview with <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/news/sight-sound-september-2024-issue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sight and Sound</a> in 2024, that he was suffering from emphysema after many years of smoking, was housebound, and could only direct any future films remotely. He later posted <a href="https://x.com/DAVID_LYNCH/status/1820561669216686367/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> on X amid speculation about his health and career, writing, “I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire.”
Lynch’s smoking habit was almost literally lifelong. A native of Missoula, Montana, Lynch grew up in rural Idaho and Washington and began smoking at the age of 8. He stopped smoking in 2022 after needing supplemental oxygen for anything more difficult than walking across a room and in an interview with <a href="https://people.com/david-lynch-smoking-at-age-8-now-he-needs-oxygen-copd-exclusive-8743594" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People Magazine</a> last year, Lynch said although the consequences of smoking have been “a big price to pay, I don’t regret it. It was important to me. I wish what every addict wishes for: that what we love is good for us.”
A painter turned avant-garde filmmaker, Lynch debuted his first feature “Eraserhead” in 1977. Shot over several years, the black-and-white surrealist horror film tells the story of a bewildered man grappling with the anxieties of fatherhood after the birth of his sickly, grotesque child—a mutant being that scarcely resembles a human infant. 
Initially debuting to limited fanfare, “Eraserhead” gradually built a devoted following through extended runs as a midnight movie, solidifying its status as a cult classic.
Released three years before Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic “The Shining,” “Eraserhead” left an indelible mark on the influential director, who cited Lynch’s debut feature as one of his favorite films. So captivated was Kubrick by Lynch’s unnerving vision that he required his actors and film crew to watch “Eraserhead” before filming started on “The Shining” so that everyone on set was on the same tonal page. 
Another enthusiastic fan was comedian Mel Brooks, who, after seeing “Eraserhead,” hired Lynch to direct his first true Hollywood picture, “The Elephant Man” in 1980. Brooks called Lynch “Jimmy Stewart from Mars,” for his spectrum of wild ideas and dressing as if he had stepped right out of the 1950s, with a messy pompadour and simple outfits of slacks and white dress shirts worn without a tie, buttoned all the way to the top.
<div id="attachment_860893" style="width: 866px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860893" class="size-large wp-image-860893" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-451084295-856x576.jpg" alt="Actor John Hurt in a scene from the film 'The Elephant Man', 1980. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)" width="856" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-451084295-856x576.jpg 856w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-451084295-300x202.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-451084295-768x517.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-451084295.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 856px) 100vw, 856px" />&#8216;The Elephant Man&#8217;, 1980. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)</div>
“The Elephant Man” proved to be Lynch’s mainstream breakthrough. A poignant film (also in black-and-white) starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, and based on the true story of a severely deformed British man, the movie garnered widespread acclaim and became a hit at the box office.  It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including two for Lynch.
Lynch’s films were not always successful, however, or well received. After receiving several directing offers post “Elephant Man” and turning down an opportunity from George Lucas to direct “Return of the Jedi,” Lynch opted instead to make an adaptation of the space opera “Dune” from the science-fiction novel by Frank Herbert. The attempt to make a ‘Star Wars for adults’ was a $40 million fiasco and the movie was named by Roger Ebert as the worst of 1984. Plans for two sequels were quickly scrapped.
Lynch roared back in 1986 with his one of his signature movies, “Blue Velvet,” an erotic detective story that peels back the placid exterior of a sweet-as-cherry-pie small town in North Carolina to reveal a seething underworld of dark surreal violence and depravity.
<div id="attachment_860885" style="width: 752px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860885" class="size-large wp-image-860885" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-110866344-742x576.jpg" alt="LAS VEGAS, NV - FEBRUARY 24: Director David Lynch and Isabella Rossellini attend ShoWest Convention on February 24, 1988 at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)" width="742" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-110866344-742x576.jpg 742w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-110866344-300x233.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-110866344-768x596.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-110866344.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 742px) 100vw, 742px" />Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images</div>
The movie plays as if directed by a psychopathic Norman Rockwell and polarized critics for its unsettling blend of innocence and white-picket-fence whimsy, brimming over with sexual violence and perverse evil. 
Mr. Lynch’s follow-up, the highly controversial albeit forgettable, “Wild at Heart,” a sexed-up, graphically violent road movie starring Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage as a young couple on the run in the American Southwest, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1990. It struck many critics as erratic, cartoony, self-indulgent and, despite some inspired moments, pointless.
In 1990, Lynch with co-creator Mark Frost ushered in a network TV revolution with their cutting-edge series, “Twin Peaks.” The show is an eerie mystery drama about the murder of high school student Laura Palmer and the investigation by an eccentric FBI agent played by Kyle MacLachlan. It is the spiritual spinoff of “Blue Velvet” with Lynch again illuminating the sinister underbelly of Apple Pie America, pitting ordinary good people against depraved and supernatural evil — Andy Griffith vs. Charles Manson — in perhaps Lynch’s most popular work.
<div id="attachment_860889" style="width: 849px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860889" class="size-large wp-image-860889" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139467895-839x576.jpg" alt="TWIN PEAKS - Pilot - &quot;Northwest Passage&quot; - Airdate: April 8, 1990. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)PRODUCTION SHOT OF KYLE MACLACHLAN, MICHAEL ONTKEAN AND DAVID LYNCH" width="839" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139467895-839x576.jpg 839w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139467895-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139467895-768x527.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139467895.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" />TWIN PEAKS &#8211; Pilot &#8211; &#8220;Northwest Passage&#8221; &#8211; Airdate: April 8, 1990. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)</div>
After 1991, however, it seemed as though Lynch could do nothing right. Viewership for season two of “Twin Peaks” fell off a cliff after the ABC Network insisted on an early season reveal of Laura Palmer’s killer and as Lynch himself seemed to lose interest in the show. Throughout the early 90s, he continued to produce multiple TV shows that were unsuccessful and disappeared from television almost immediately.
Lynch then made “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” a 1992 film companion to the television series, which was ravaged by critics, with Vincent Canby of the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/29/movies/review-film-one-long-last-gasp-for-laura-palmer.html">writing</a>, “It’s not the worst movie ever made; it just seems to be.”
Lynch’s lackluster 1997 neo-noir thriller “Lost Highway” a few years later didn’t fare much better.
A turn came in 1998 when Lynch improbably took on the challenge of directing a G-rated Disney movie and created what he called “my most experimental movie”, saying “Tenderness can be just as abstract as insanity.”
“The Straight Story” is a one of Lynch’s finest films. Based on the true story of 73-year-old Alvin Straight, who in 1994 rode his lawnmower more than 300 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to reconcile with his ailing and estranged brother. It is a profoundly spiritual film about family, forgiveness and healing that celebrates America and the simple, unsentimentalized beauty of the rural Midwest. Perhaps the least likely to do it, Lynch shows the flip side of &#8220;Blue Velvet&#8221; and reframes America’s heartland as wholesome and its people as good and caring and true in a supremely moving triumph.
<div id="attachment_860895" style="width: 892px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860895" class="size-large wp-image-860895" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-543905970-882x576.jpg" alt="American director David Lynch (C) and actor Richard Farnsworth (R) on set of the film The Straight Story. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE D YVOIRE/Sygma via Getty Images)" width="882" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-543905970-882x576.jpg 882w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-543905970-300x196.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-543905970-768x502.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-543905970.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 882px) 100vw, 882px" />The Straight Story. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE D YVOIRE/Sygma via Getty Images)</div>
Then came “Mulholland Drive,” Lynch’s much-heralded masterpiece regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, a poison-pen letter to Hollywood wrapped in Nancy Drew mystery.
That the movie became anything was something of a miracle itself, having started as yet another TV series that was killed by ABC. The pilot was filmed in 1999 and a year and a half later, Lynch cobbled together the original cast, shot additional footage and rounded out his twisted plot.
<h3><a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a></h3>
Lynch again used his favorite film structure, a mystery and an investigation. “Mulholland Drive” follows a budding actress who’s just arrived in Los Angeles as she forms a friendship with another young woman, who has become an amnesiac following a horrific car accident that left her for dead. The two women attempt to learn about the amnesiac’s mysterious past, leading them into an ever-stranger world of mobsters, actors, cops, singers and filmmakers.
In this, his most artistically and philosophically complex work, Lynch portrays “the Hollywood golden dream turning rancid, curdling into a poisonous stew of hatred, envy, sleazy compromise and soul-killing failure. This is the underbelly of our glamorous fantasies”, as Michael Wilmington wrote in the Chicago Tribune.
Following “Mulholland Drive,” Lynch’s filmic output sputtered in the final decades of his life and seemed to halt for lengthy stretches following his descent into near self-parody with his enigmatic last feature, “Inland Empire.” In 2017, he revived the “Twin Peaks” franchise with a baffling yet acclaimed season 3 for Showtime, which he described as an 18-hour movie.
<div id="attachment_860915" style="width: 722px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860915" class="size-large wp-image-860915" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139424230-712x576.jpg" alt="TWIN PEAKS - Gallery - Shoot Date: March 22, 1990. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)DAVID LYNCH" width="712" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139424230-712x576.jpg 712w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139424230-300x243.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139424230-768x621.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-139424230.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px" />March 22, 1990. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)</div>
After that, Lynch then largely devoted himself to his paintings, his comic strip, his coffee-making business and transcendental meditation, the Buddhist practice he first embraced in his late 20s. He continued to frequent and praise the restaurant Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, California.
It is now very quiet out in David Lynch land and all the dreams have floated off into the dark. The dancing dwarfs are idle and The Log Lady no longer shares clairvoyant visions transmitted by The Log. David Lynch has crossed over the River Styx. Requiescat in pace.
* * *
Matt Kemp is the Director of Post-Production at The Daily Wire.

Black and White Celebrity Photography By Chris Weeks

David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker And Creator Of ‘Twin Peaks,’ Dead At 78

David Lynch, Visionary Filmmaker And Creator Of ‘Twin Peaks’, Dead At 78

Celebrities

Entertainment

Film

Hollywood

Movies

Obituaries

Filmmaker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mel-gibson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mel Gibson</a> has become the latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/patricia-heaton-blows-up-on-la-mayor-as-fires-rage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrity to torch</a> Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after losing his home in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southern California fires</a>.
Speaking on the “Arroyo Grande” <a href="https://x.com/RaymondArroyo/status/1879912134114513236">podcast</a>, the 69-year-old actor reflected on the destruction of the Palisades Fire and what was left of his home due to the failure of the state&#8217;s leadership.
&#8220;Well, first I thought it was, &#8216;Oh gee, bad luck, tragedy,'&#8221; Gibson explained. “But then I came to realize that it was monumental mismanagement by our elected officials; and that’s the nicest thing you can say about it.”
&#8220;I mean, as a citizen here, Newsom and Bass, they want us to trust them to reimagine the city, our city, and how they think it should be,” he added. “I mean, look at what they’ve done so far to this town. You got nothing but rampant crime, acute homelessness, high taxes, mismanagement of water, firefighters, defunding the department, and we’re supposed to trust them with millions of dollars to sort of remake where we live?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Mel Gibson on LA 2.0: “Newsom and Bass, they want us to trust them to re-imagine the city, our city… look at what they&#8217;ve done so far to this town, you know…It&#8217;s our city, it&#8217;s the city of the people, and they have another plan.” 
Subscribe to the full ARROYO GRANDE… <a href="https://t.co/nFnTUfVsIM">pic.twitter.com/nFnTUfVsIM</a>
— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) <a href="https://twitter.com/RaymondArroyo/status/1879912134114513236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
“It’s our city, it’s the city of the people, and they have another plan,” the director continued. “There’s still people from the Woolsey Fire still living in trailers. … When have you seen the government ‘build back better?’ It’s just social engineering, environmental regulation, and spending; that’s the last thing any of us who have been burned out need are a bunch of bureaucrats tellings us how to rebuild our communities.&#8221;
Gibson recently spoke to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hE9VvdUXf8">NewsNation</a> and said he wasn’t even in town when the fires consumed his Malibu home because he was in Austin, Texas, recording an episode with Joe Rogan for “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-heart-just-breaks-jeff-bridges-mel-gibson-and-others-become-latest-to-lose-homes-in-fires">reported</a>.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
“I was doing the Rogan podcast. … And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there,” Gibson said. “I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.”
The &#8220;Braveheart&#8221; actor admitted he was still dealing with the “devastating” impact of losing the home that he’d lived in for more than a decade.
“It is obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional,” the famed actor said. “You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. You remember George Carlin talking about your stuff? I had my stuff there, and it’s all like, I’ve been relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders.”
Gibson remarked on the destruction left by the fire and said he’d never “seen a place so perfectly burnt. You could put it in an urn … I’ve never seen such complete burn.”
“It’s like someone did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it,” the actor said. “My place looked like Dresden. It’s emotional and I lived there for about 14, 15 years, so it was home to me. I had a lot of personal things there I can’t get back.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-heart-just-breaks-jeff-bridges-mel-gibson-and-others-become-latest-to-lose-homes-in-fires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Your Heart Just Breaks’: Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson, And Others Become Latest To Lose Homes In Fires</a>

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson Becomes Latest Celebrity To Torch Newsom, LA Mayor After Losing Home

California

Fire

Gavin Newsom

Karen Bass

Los Angeles

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Blake Lively</a> has responded to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lawsuit">lawsuit</a> that her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni filed yesterday.
The 179-page lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and two publicists. The suit alleged crimes including extortion, defamation, and claims related to breach of contract, per Variety.
“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” a statement from Lively’s lawyers to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday said in response to the suit.
The drama between Lively and Baldoni has been ongoing after rumors of issues between the two persisted last year.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said the lawsuit is “based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.”
“It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret,” he said.
This lawsuit comes on the heels of Lively suing Baldoni and his public relations team for sexual harassment, retaliation, and attempting to “destroy” her reputation.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
At first, Baldoni responded by suing 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.” He promised to countersue Lively, too, which he did on January 16.
“In over three decades of legal practice, I’ve never witnessed such unethical behavior, fueled by those who abuse their power and manipulate the truth,” Freedman’s statement said of the lawsuit against the Times. “This isn’t an isolated case; it’s a recurring pattern in Hollywood and the mainstream media where careers and reputations are destroyed to maintain control.”
The lawyer added, “Legacy media has long weaponized their platforms to distort the truth, exploit vulnerabilities, and destroy lives without accountability.”

Blake Lively

Blake Lively Issues Response To Justin Baldoni $400M Lawsuit

Lawsuit

Sitcom stars are supposed to fade away, toil in the reality show trenches or spark sad TMZ headlines.
Justine Bateman hasn’t just shattered those low expectations. She’s become Tinsel Town’s voice of uncommon reason.
Bateman played Mallory on the ‘80s smash “Family Ties.” The NBC sitcom made Micheal J. Fox a superstar and showed a wholesome clash between the Left and the Right during the Reagan era.
<div id="attachment_860471" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860471" class="wp-image-860471 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Family-Ties-mallory.jpg" alt="Justine Bateman. &quot;Family Ties.&quot; 1982. Episode: &quot;Read It and Weep: Part 2. Paramount Television. Ubu Productions. IMDB." width="500" height="375" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Family-Ties-mallory.jpg 500w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Family-Ties-mallory-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" />&#8220;Family Ties.&#8221; 1982. Paramount Television. Ubu Productions. IMDB.</div>
This wasn’t a “Crossfire” style shooting match but a family pushing past their political differences. The show ran for seven seasons and propelled Bateman into the running for a feature film career.
Her breakout role in “Satisfaction” (1988) didn’t catch fire. She still appeared on the big and small screen for the next two decades.
<div id="attachment_860425" style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860425" class="wp-image-860425 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Satisfaction-1988.jpg" alt="20th Century Fox." width="350" height="500" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Satisfaction-1988.jpg 350w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Satisfaction-1988-210x300.jpg 210w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" />20th Century Fox.</div>
She eventually switched to gigs behind the camera, writing and directing indie films. She directed the 2008 documentary “Speechless” about the Writer’s Guild of America strike. And 2021’s “Violet” may not have crashed the zeitgeist but it did attract reputable stars like Justin Theroux and Olivia Munn.
She also formed her own production company, Section 5. By 2018 she officially became a published author with the release of “FAME: The Hijacking of Reality.” Her second book, “FACE: One Square Foot of Skin,” would soon follow in 2021.
Still, she was working on her craft and, more importantly, observing the cultural landscape.
Now, she has a lot to say and plenty of people are nodding along. Bateman started speaking out in 2023 against AI’s reach into Hollywood fare.
Along with a host of Hollywood pals, she then launched the non-profit Credo 23 Film Festival, whose stated mission is to support and certify filmmakers who pledge not to use AI in their films. She became a voice during the dueling Hollywood strikes, warning what it meant to <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/11/justine-bateman-sag-aftra-deal-ai-1235616848/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remove humans from the creative process.</a>
“I think generative AI is one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had in this society,” she told Deadline after the SAG AFTRA strike ended in 2023.
<div id="attachment_860829" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860829" class="size-large wp-image-860829" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971-768x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 18: Noah Wyle and Justine Bateman are seen at SAG-AFTRA Strike at Warner Brothers Studios on October 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/GettyImages-1734215971.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images</div>
She spoke with confidence and clarity at a time when many stars might have been too afraid to even touch how AI could impact the creative process. She was back in the spotlight but on her terms.
Her breakout moment came last year after the presidential election results poured in.
“Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years,” she posted on X, a line that has now generated more than 6 million views.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years.
&mdash; Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustineBateman/status/1854911656289071200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That cryptic quote touched a nerve. And, like a Hollywood veteran who understands her audience, she leaned into the sentiment. She excoriated Cancel Culture and the “woke mind virus” without using those specific terms. She sensed a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/family-ties-star-justine-bateman-says-trumps-election-lifted-suffocating-cloud-free-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free speech comeback</a> under a second Trump administration without ever putting on a red hat.
<blockquote>I feel like there was this kind of suffocating cloud that was kind of over us… Regular people who had questions about decisions that were being made were threatened subtly or obviously into silence. And I feel like that&#8217;s been broken, that sort of suppression has been kind of broken.</blockquote>
She embraced X and Substack as her platforms of choice, snagging major interviews with the likes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-gqn0PA5cU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Megyn Kelly</a> along the way.
Through her metamorphosis, she refused to align with a political party. It’s not about politics, she insisted, drawing more fans in the process.
Sometimes common sense has a political bias in the 21st century.
<h3><a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a></h3>
She also began a series of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actress-delivers-brutal-film-critics-take-on-trump-victory-meltdown-videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tongue-in-cheek video reviews</a> where she assessed amateur filmmakers melting down over the election results. She wasn’t cruel or cutting, but she offered professional advice that similarly went viral.
Hashtag #SocialMediaVideoCritique
Here’s just one example:
“The second major issue is the unpredictability of the camera movements. Because the emotions are high, the scene would have benefitted from a locked-off camera position, or a slow, graceful movement. The jiggling of the camera doubles down on the emotions and is overkill.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8211; The second major issue is the unpredictability of the camera movements. Because the emotions are high, the scene would have benefitted from a locked-off camera position, or a slow, graceful movement. The jiggling of the camera doubles down on the emotions, and is overkill. 2/
&mdash; Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustineBateman/status/1854370733624881596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
She has called out <a href="https://x.com/JustineBateman/status/1859834375904559444" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incompetent California Democrats</a> for the wildfires fiasco while high-profile comedians like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2LFwMKbr5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jon Stewart spin on their behalf</a>. It’s not partisan to excoriate a mayor who directs those impacted by wildfires to visit “<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/09/us-news/la-mayor-karen-bass-blunders-way-through-warnings-on-the-big-one/">URL</a>.”
She even blasted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for depositing themselves in the middle of the wildfires tragedy, dubbing them <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/family-ties-star-justine-bateman-says-trumps-election-lifted-suffocating-cloud-free-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Disaster Tourists.”</a> That label may linger.
She’s even struck a blow against Hollywood ageism. She’s refused to get plastic surgery or Botox, letting the world see her 50-something face without apology. It’s not easy to greet the public as a fresh-faced teen on a hit sitcom and age like the rest of us. She’s proud of her accomplishments over her vanity.
<div id="attachment_860487" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-860487" class="wp-image-860487 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-864x576.jpg" alt="Justine Bateman directing her film short, &quot;Five Minutes.&quot; Photo by Steven Meiers." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Bateman-filmming-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Justine Bateman directing her film short, &#8220;Five Minutes.&#8221; Photo by Steven Meiers.</div>
One irony stands out.
Bateman’s brother, Jason Bateman, has been one of Hollywood’s more popular stars through the years. He, too, cut his teeth on sitcom fare like “Silver Spoons” and “The Hogan Family.” He kept working on high-profile projects, from iconic comedies (“Arrested Development”) to comedic film franchises (“Horrible Bosses”).
His star rose higher when he anchored Netflix’s “Ozark,” and his recent string of successes includes “Air” (2023) and “Carry On,” one of Netflix’s most popular original films. He also co-hosts “Smartless,” one of the podcasting realm’s biggest shows alongside Will Arnett and Sean Hayes.
Jason Bateman has been mostly silent on the culture war front. He’s a Democrat but he hasn’t shouted his views from the rafters. He proved more sly, literally <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UIZER9rMe8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lending his voice</a> to the progressive cause. He appears to be of a different mindset than his older sister, but the two speak fondly of one another in public forums.
He’s been far more “successful” in Hollywood parlance, but Justine Bateman’s cultural impact appears far greater at the moment. She has found her cultural voice, and she’s only warming up.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
This article has been edited for clarity.

MixCollage-17-Jan-2025-01-13-PM-125

Tinsel Town’s Voice Of Uncommon Reason

Tinsel Town's Voice Of Uncommon Reason

actors

Cancel Culture

Donald Trump

Woke Culture

Filmmaker Justine Bateman warned that California Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gavin-newsom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gavin Newsom</a> needs to be removed immediately following the disaster of the fires in Los Angeles “before something worse happens&#8221; in the state.
In a post on <a href="https://x.com/JustineBateman/status/1879389040085983501">X</a>, the 58-year-old actress called on voters in the Golden State to watch how insincere Newsom appeared in a video of him talking about working with President-elect Donald Trump to provide resources to those affected by the Southern California fires, while at the same he has set aside tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to fight Trump.
“I really want other CA voters to see the lack of sincerity, the dismissiveness, the dedication to pretentiousness, and the dereliction of care for the citizens of California,” Bateman wrote. “He has always demonstrated this. In every video.”
“You cannot trust this kind of person with any role, and especially not one upon which our wellbeing depends,” she added. “Gavin Newsom needs to be removed, before something worse happens here.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I really want other CA voters to see the lack of sincerity, the dismissiveness, the dedication to pretentiousness, and the dereliction of care for the citizens of California. He has always demonstrated this. In every video. 
You cannot trust this kind of person with any role, and… <a href="https://t.co/tvO977cWKn">https://t.co/tvO977cWKn</a>
— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustineBateman/status/1879389040085983501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
In an earlier <a href="https://x.com/JustineBateman/status/1879674563979608465">post</a>, Bateman said not only should Newsom be replaced, but Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, too, following the mismanagement of the city’s resources, which led to the disaster of the three fires in LA.
“We already knew that the city and state was being mismanaged, before these fire disasters,” the filmmaker said.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
“This will only get worse. I am not willing to find out how unprepared the city and state is for a major earthquake, structure-destroying mudslides, water system poisonings, power grid collapses, or any of the other things that could befall us here,” she added. “We have all the demonstration[s] we need to want something different.”
The actress’ comments were similar to ones she made during her appearance with <a href="https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/1877528141951840593">Jesse Watters on Fox News</a>.
“If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that’s make sure that your fire and your police department are well funded,” Bateman said, noting that it includes being prepared for when disasters occur in the area like fire, earthquake, rain, and the mudslides afterward.
“If you are not doing everything you can to [mitigate disasters] if they arise, then get out,” she added. “You are useless to us. If you can’t cover the basics, get out of our city. You are useless to us, you are a liability and you have destroyed people’s lives because you didn’t do your job.”
“You didn’t do what we paid you for and you should resign out of shame and responsibility for the people whose lives you’ve destroyed right now,” Bateman continued.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/patricia-heaton-blows-up-on-la-mayor-as-fires-rage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patricia Heaton Blows Up On LA Mayor As Fires Rage</a>

Justine Bateman

Filmmaker Justine Bateman Warns Newsom Has To Be Removed ‘Before Something Worse Happens’

Wildfires

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transgender</a> advocates are big mad about Hollywood’s buzziest new trans-centric film.
The musical crime thriller “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">Emilia Pérez</a>” recently swept the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/golden-globes">Golden Globes</a>, bringing home four statuettes for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Song, and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña.
This was after earning the second most nominations in Golden Globes history, including the first Best Actress nomination for a transgender-identifying actor that went to the film’s lead, Karla Sofía Gascón.
Now the movie is generating a lot of Oscars buzz after getting a whopping 11 BAFTA nominations in mid-January. 
Maybe this shouldn’t be surprising since the narrative follows a Mexican drug cartel leader who fakes his own death to undergo gender transition surgery and live a new life. Considering Hollywood’s obsession with radical left-wing gender theory, it would make sense for this movie to be heaped in praise. 
Instead, it’s gotten a ton of backlash for being inauthentic and, interestingly enough, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender">transphobic</a>.
While director Jacques Audiard likely scored points for finding a trans-identifying actor to play the titular role, in the end, that wasn&#8217;t enough: Transgender advocates hated “Emilia Pérez.”
GLAAD, a non-profit that advocates against defamatory coverage of gay, lesbian, &#8220;queer&#8221; and transgender-identifying people, <a href="https://glaad.org/emilia-perez-is-not-good-trans-representation/">called it</a> a &#8220;profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and “a step backward for trans representation.”
NPR journalist Reanna Cruz, who uses <a href="https://x.com/bippburger">they/them</a> pronouns and self-identifies as &#8220;queer and trans,&#8221; also complained about the transgender representation, saying it made those individuals look like “liars.”
“The entire time I was watching it I had a really weird feeling in my stomach because to me it seemed like the filmmaker was painting trans women as liars,” Cruz <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/11/13/1212604211/emilia-perez-is-netflixs-divisive-musical-about-a-trans-cartel-boss">said</a>. “Liars and people that can’t tell the truth and they don’t know who they are. And the songs kind of lean into that. Where half of the songs you have Emilia singing ‘Who am I?’ or talking about ‘I was a he and now I’m a she.’”
A &#8220;queer media&#8221; writer for the website them.com said &#8220;Emilia Perez&#8221; had no good qualities. &#8220;I was ready to find something to like about it — or at the very least, something I would hate so much it would be one of those so-bad-it’s-good movies. But it was neither. I hate, hate, hate this film,&#8221; Fran Tirado <a href="https://www.them.us/story/emilia-perez-awards-season-discussion-transgender-representation">wrote</a>.
Transgender representation wasn&#8217;t the only concern. Another major issue critics had was over the film&#8217;s authenticity.
“Emilia Pérez” follows cartel kingpin Juan &#8220;Manitas&#8221; Del Monte (Gascón), who petitions attorney Rita Mora Castro (Saldaña) for help with staging his death. The entirety of the events are set in Mexico, but the movie’s director is French. The Spanish-language movie was filmed in France. And Audiard? He doesn&#8217;t even speak Spanish.
The director also admitted to not doing much research before making the film. “I didn’t study [Mexico] much,” Audiard said during an <a href="https://x.com/carlasantni/status/1876096636658778365">interview</a> that’s been circulating on X. “What I needed to know I already knew a little bit.”
There’s been much backlash to the film on social media, especially from Mexican viewers who say the portrayal of their country is inaccurate and damaging, particularly when it comes to the portrayal of drug cartels. Viewers also lamented the fact that none of the cast members were Mexican, reigniting a familiar argument about casting actors in roles that don’t match their nationality. 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044212122000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mp2MZNwEXBk00lKmCtOss">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
&#8220;This is a message to the Academy: Mexico hates Emilia Pérez. It is a racist, Eurocentric mockery. Nearly 500,000 are dead, and France decides to make a musical with no Mexicans in the crew or cast,&#8221; one popular <a href="https://x.com/siteptbr/status/1876304128701587708">X post</a> says.
Another user on X agreed, writing, &#8220;Emilia Pérez is a case study in how to combine every cliché, ignorance, and lack of respect toward one of the most serious humanitarian crises of our time. Poorly acted, with a weak script, and a disastrously executed musical.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Emilia Pérez Trailer #1 (2024)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qlbr7gJgBus?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>
“It just doesn’t make sense. A French guy making a movie without really knowing what happens in Mexico, simply unbelievable. Bad acting, dialogues, story doesn’t make sense and so on. Please, for your own good, don’t watch it,” one reviewer <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/emilia_perez/reviews?type=user">wrote</a>.
Another agreed, writing, “I am Mexican and I found it completely disrespectful. It looks like a bad comedy made to entertain and promote stereotypes raised from an ignorant perspective of the country they want to represent on screen.”
“Only Murders in the Building” actress Selena Gomez also caught heat for her Spanish speaking skills. &#8220;CODA&#8221; actor Eugenio Derbez spoke out publicly about her Spanish pronunciation during a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@elviboreo/video/7445195042647477559">podcast</a> appearance in December, saying, “Selena is indefensible.”
Derbez added, “I was there [watching the movie] with people, and every time a scene came [with her in it], we looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, what is this?’”
Gomez responded to the criticism via TikTok, saying, &#8220;I understand where you are coming from. I&#8217;m sorry I did the best I could with the time I was given. Doesn&#8217;t take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie.&#8221;
Derbez later <a href="https://www.hola.com/us/celebrities/20241209734904/eugenio-derbez-criticizes-selena-gomez-spanish/">apologized</a> to Gomez, saying his &#8220;careless comments&#8221; went against &#8220;everything I stand for.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s no excuse. I was wrong, and I deeply admire your career and your kind heart,” he said. 
But plenty of other critics share his feelings.
Despite all the backlash, many critics who do not write for &#8220;queer media&#8221; and industry bigwigs loved “Emilia Pérez.” Kevin Maher from The Times <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/emilia-perez-film-review-zoe-saldana-selena-gomez-ksk9fr008">said</a>, &#8220;This mad musical is one of the year&#8217;s best films,” while Stephanie Zacharek from Time <a href="https://time.com/7175205/emilia-perez-review-netflix/">said</a> it was &#8220;fierce and glorious, a radical act of the imagination with kindness in its heart.&#8221;
New York Times critic Manohla Dargis agreed, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/movies/emilia-perez-review.html">writing</a>, &#8220;It&#8217;s Gascón&#8217;s performance that centers and grounds the story.&#8221;
“Titanic” director James Cameron also had rave reviews. &#8220;What I saw that blew me away was Emilia Pérez. I have seen it three times now,&#8221; Cameron <a href="https://youtu.be/1OnDUpjNqiw">said</a> in December. &#8220;It’s just not like any other film that’s ever been made, you know? I mean, I think it’s bold, it&#8217;s daring, it&#8217;s a vision. It’s beautifully executed. It’s a beautiful piece of filmmaking.&#8221;
“Emilia Pérez” currently has a 76% critics rating and a 38% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It is expected to take home some prizes at the British Academy Film Awards and later at the Oscars in March, despite the fact that audiences – even those who you’d think would be cheering for a trans-centric storyline – really, really don’t like it.

Emilia Perez

Trans Advocates Can’t Stand Pro-Trans Golden Globe Winner ‘Emilia Pérez’ — Here’s Why

Trans Advocates Can't Stand Pro-Trans Golden Globe Winner 'Emilia Pérez' — Here's Why

Selena Gomez

Transgender

World

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.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl=1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?_gl%3D1*1lail3r*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MzIyMDEyNDkuQ2owS0NRaUEwZnU1QmhEUUFSSXNBTVhVQk9JSkM0VnNsMFVreURxYXUxVWVEVWdOdjZkNzR2Y1pEeEZQeHVBcGl2R3BLaTdBMjVzT1p5TWFBdG1nRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*NDUxNDQ0NzYwLjE3MzY3ODI2NDY.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczNjk1NzYwMy4zNDAuMS4xNzM2OTU3NzE2LjYwLjAuMA..&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1737044249231000&amp;usg=AOvVaw15fpgzSqdekU8AKrqgMU6V">CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT</a>
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

Hollywood star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/julia-roberts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Julia Roberts</a> got torched on Tuesday when she slammed those looting during the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wildfires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles fires</a> after she has overwhelmingly supported Democratic weak-on-crime policies.
On Monday, the 57-year-old actress posted a message on her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DExvYb-xdRF/">Instagram</a> about a SoCal Fire fund set up to “assist in providing Immediate and Long Term support for all those impacted” by the multiple wildfires burning in southern California.
“There is so much healing and help needed,” Roberts wrote. “We will get through this. #F.U.Looters. To donate and have a direct impact, please visit the link in my bio.” Her post follows reports that $10 million dollar homes were being looted after families have been forced to evacuate their mansions due to the fires raging in the area, the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-14280151/Julia-Roberts-says-f-looters-10M-homes-continue-robbed-LA-fires.html?ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;ito=social-twitter_mailonline">Daily Mail</a> noted.
It was the line about “F.U. looters” that seemed to get everyone’s attention, with many on social media pointing out that the movie star has fundraised for Democrats who have supported things like Defund the Police and soft on crime DAs who refused to punish looters of Black Lives Matter riots and more.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Julia is a big supporter of CA Democrats and recently urged wives of male Trump voters to secretly vote for Kamala Harris. The same CA Dems she supported are the ones who made looting so easy for so long. At some point she needs to direct her comments to her mirror. 👀 <a href="https://t.co/uOhl2rhhja">https://t.co/uOhl2rhhja</a>
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) <a href="https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1879023108650319990?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
“Julia is a big supporter of CA Democrats and recently urged wives of male [Donald] Trump voters to secretly vote for Kamala Harris,” one person <a href="https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1879023108650319990">wrote</a>. “The same CA Dems she supported are the ones who made looting so easy for so long. At some point she needs to direct her comments to her mirror.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/">JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25</a>
Another person <a href="https://x.com/bonchieredstate/status/1878981007770374593">added</a>, “No one&#8217;s home should be looted. Also, people like Julia Roberts supported the policies that created this mess. Only getting mad when it starts to affect them instead of an inner-city Walgreens is pretty scummy.”
A third person <a href="https://x.com/TexasBelle/status/1878921618971578875">wrote</a>, “She voted for all of it. The thieves, the fires, the destruction. Her signature is on all of it. I&#8217;m finding it difficult to sympathize.&#8221;
While a <a href="https://x.com/TomiLahren/status/1879215187875512485">fourth person noted</a>, “Julia Roberts says &#8216;f*** you&#8217; to looters as $10M homes continue to be robbed during LA fires. Question, Julia, why is looting unacceptable now BUT in the name of George Floyd y’all were cool with it…”
During the 2024 election, Roberts made headlines when she narrated a cringe ad for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kamala-harris">Harris</a> targeting the wives of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Trump</a> supporters, encouraging them to secretly vote for the Democratic candidate without telling their spouses, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/julia-roberts-tells-wives-of-trump-supporters-to-secretly-vote-for-kamala-in-cringe-ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously reported</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/julia-roberts-tells-wives-of-trump-supporters-to-secretly-vote-for-kamala-in-cringe-ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Julia Roberts Tells Wives Of Trump Supporters To Secretly Vote For Kamala In Cringe Ad</a>

“Ticket to Paradise” Premiere – Red Carpet

Julia Roberts Torched For Slamming Looters Of LA Fires After Supporting Dem Policies

Black Lives Matter

Crime

Defund The Police

Julia Roberts

Los Angeles Fires

Oscar-nominated actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">Djimon Hounsou</a> says he’s struggling to make ends meet despite his successful <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">Hollywood</a> career.
The 60-year-old has appeared in major films such as “Amistad,” “Gladiator,” “In America,” “Blood Diamond,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain Marvel,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Shazam!,” “A Quiet Place Part II,” “A Quiet Place: Day One,” and both “Rebel Moon” films. But he says he hasn’t gotten the recognition he deserves.
Hounsou made the remarks during a conversation on CNN’s African Voices Changemakers. 
&#8220;I’m still struggling to make a living,&#8221; he said, per <a href="https://people.com/djimon-hounsou-says-hes-still-struggling-to-make-a-living-in-hollywood-8773111">People</a>. &#8220;I’ve been in the filmmaking business for over two decades with two Oscar nominations and many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially. I’m definitely underpaid.&#8221;
The actor said he thinks The Academy snubbed him for his role in Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad” (1997). Hounsou pointed out that he received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance but didn’t get a nod for the Oscars.
&#8220;I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars because they thought that I had just come off the boat and the streets,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Even though I successfully did that, they just didn’t feel like I was an actor to whom they should pay any respect.&#8221;
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/">JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25</a>
&#8220;This conceptual idea of diversity still has a long way to go. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/systemic-racism">Systemic racism</a> won’t change like that anytime soon,&#8221; Hounsou added.
The Beninese-born actor emigrated to the United States at 23 after establishing a modeling career in Paris. He appeared in music videos and a few small parts before his breakout role as Cinqué in “Amistad.” Since then, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in “In America” (2004) and “Blood Diamond” (2007). 
Hounsou has made similar statements before. In March 2023, he told The Guardian he had “yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.&#8221;
“I still have to prove why I need to get paid,&#8221; the actor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/16/i-felt-seriously-cheated-djimon-hounsou-on-the-oscars-poor-pay-days-stardom-and-struggle">said</a> at the time. &#8220;They always come at me with a complete low ball: &#8216;We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much.&#8217;”
&#8220;Viola Davis said it beautifully. She&#8217;s won an Oscar, she&#8217;s won an Emmy, she&#8217;s won a Tony and she still can&#8217;t get paid,” he added.

Djimon Honsou

Oscar-Nominated Actor Says He’s ‘Underpaid,’ ‘Struggling’ Because Of ‘Systemic Racism’

Oscar-Nominated Actor Says He's 'Underpaid,' 'Struggling' Because Of 'Systemic Racism'

Systemic Racism

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

Psychology

Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson, and Milo Ventimiglia have become the latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anna-faris-adam-brody-mandy-moore-become-latest-celebs-to-lose-homes-in-socal-fires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrities</a> to share the heartbreaking news that they’ve lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires.
Bridges&#8217; representative <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jeff-bridges-family-home-malibu-destroyed-palisades-fire-1236105814/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> to The Hollywood Reporter that the Palisades home he shares with his siblings, that originally belonged to his parents, has burned to the ground as firefighters continue to deal with high winds in the area that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in multiple wildfires in Southern California.
The “Big Lebowski” star primarily lives with his wife Susan Geston at their Santa Barbara home, THR noted.
Actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hE9VvdUXf8">NewsNation</a> he wasn’t even in town when the fires consumed his Malibu home because he was in Austin, Texas, recording an episode with Joe Rogan for “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mel Gibson shared in a NewsNation interview that his Malibu home burnt down in the fires — but his chickens survived.
&#8220;We gave them some grain and some water and they’re happy and laying eggs and stuff. So there you go, they weren’t roast chickens.” <a href="https://t.co/9fv1yNsO4t">https://t.co/9fv1yNsO4t</a> <a href="https://t.co/drqB6aWFV3">pic.twitter.com/drqB6aWFV3</a>
— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1877704480063361347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
“I was doing the Rogan podcast. … And [I was] kind of ill at ease while we were talking, because I knew my neighborhood was on fire, so I thought, I wonder if my place is still there. But when I got home, sure enough, it wasn’t there,” Gibson said. “I went home and I said to myself, well, at least I haven’t got any of those pesky plumbing problems anymore.”
The 69-year-old actor admitted he was still dealing with the “devastating” impact of losing the home that he’d lived in for more than a decade.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/">JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25</a>
“It is obviously, it’s kind of devastating. It’s emotional,” the famed actor said. “You live there for a long time, and you had all your stuff. You remember George Carlin talking about your stuff? I had my stuff there, and it’s all like, I’ve been relieved from the burden of my stuff, because it’s all in cinders.”
Gibson remarked on the destruction left by the fire and said he’d never “seen a place so perfectly burnt. You could put it in an urn … I’ve never seen such complete burn.”
“It’s like someone did it on purpose to really destroy every aspect of it,” the actor said. “My place looked like Dresden. It’s emotional and I lived there for about 14, 15 years, so it was home to me. I had a lot of personal things there I can’t get back.”
Actor Milo Ventimiglia and his pregnant wife Jarah Mariano, also lost their Malibu home. Ventimiglia said that his “heart just breaks” thinking of the memories they were going to have in the home, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/milo-ventimiglia-pregnant-wife-lose-malibu-home-la-wildfires-1236105865/">THR</a> noted.
“I think there’s a kind of shock moment where you’re going, ‘Oh, this is real and this is happening,’ and then at a certain point, we just turn it off,” the 47-year-old actor said. “It’s like, what good is it to continue watching, you know. We kind of accepted the loss.”
“You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and whatnot, and then you see your neighbors’ houses and everything kind of around, and your heart just breaks,” he <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-is-us-star-milo-ventimiglia-loses-home-los-angeles-fires/">added</a>. “We got good friends and we got good people we&#8217;re working with and we&#8217;ll make do. Wife and baby and dog, most important.”
Wife of the late TV producer Aaron Spelling, Candy Spelling, said the home they owned for 50 years was gone, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/01/09/jeff-bridges-candy-spelling-lose-homes-los-angeles-wildfires/">TMZ noted</a>.
“I’m in shock and processing this massive loss for our family,” Spelling said. “I am beyond grateful for the memories. It was truly a wonderful gift to have.”
Other celebrities like James Woods, Billy Crystal, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cameron Mathison, and so many others have also shared the sad news that nothing was left of their homes due to the fires, as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-is-gone-celebrities-post-about-losing-their-homes-in-california-fires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/everything-is-gone-celebrities-post-about-losing-their-homes-in-california-fires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Everything Is Gone’: Celebrities Post About Losing Their Homes In California Fires</a>

2024 Disney Upfront

‘Your Heart Just Breaks’: Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson, And Others Become Latest To Lose Homes In Fires

Jeff Bridges

Natural Disaster

Hollywood star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/patricia-heaton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patricia Heaton</a> did not hold back her thoughts about Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and blew up on her and Governor Gavin Newsom as the wildfires continue to burn in Southern California.
In a viral video posted on <a href="https://x.com/PatriciaHeaton/status/1877112025207419073">X</a>, the 66-year-old actress said it was mind blowing to her to learn that Bass cut the fire department budget by millions of dollars when fire is the number one hazard in the area.
“It is just so heartbreaking to see what’s happening in the Pacific Palisades in California, in Los Angeles,” Heaton said. “So many good friends who worked really hard for years and created beautiful homes for themselves and their families, it’s all going up in smoke, and preventable, by the way.”
“We have a mayor who cut the budget of the fire department in California by over $17 million dollars,” she added. “Fire is the biggest hazard in Los Angeles. Why would you cut that budget? There was no water in the fire hydrants in the Palisades.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The primary role of government is to secure infrastructure, make sure disaster preparedness is up to date, and protect citizens from harm both criminally and otherwise. Newsome &amp; Co have done the exact opposite. Infuriating. <a href="https://t.co/sdYWR2oE3g">pic.twitter.com/sdYWR2oE3g</a>
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatriciaHeaton/status/1877112025207419073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
The TV star noted how Bass wasn’t even in town during the wildfires because she was taking a “completely stupid trip to Ghana” on “taxpayer funds.”
“Maybe stop doing those trips and fund the fire department,” Heaton said. “The people running the show just decimated [CA]. Drugs, homelessness with mentally ill people on the streets, crime … taxes. What do you pay all these taxes for to see your neighborhood go up in smoke?”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/">JOIN THE MOVEMENT IN ’25 WITH 25% OFF DAILYWIRE+ ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS WITH CODE DW25</a>
“It is so enraging,” she added. “That they took one of the most beautiful states, maybe the most beautiful state in the union and just continue to destroy it. Gavin Newsom standing there with his hands in his pockets … I just really feel for everybody there.”
The actress’ comments were similar to ones made by filmmaker and author <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actress-delivers-brutal-film-critics-take-on-trump-victory-meltdown-videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justine Bateman</a> who told <a href="https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/1877528141951840593">Jesse Watters on Fox News</a> that she was “pretty pissed,” and blasted Bass.
“If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that’s make sure that your fire and your police department are well funded,” Bateman said, noting that it includes being prepared for when disasters occur in the area like fire, earthquake, rain, and the mudslides afterward.
“If you are not doing everything you can to [mitigate disasters] if they arise, then get out,” she added. “You are useless to us. If you can’t cover the basics, get out of our city. You are useless to us, you are a liability and you have destroyed people’s lives because you didn’t do your job.”
“You didn’t do what we paid you for and you should resign out of shame and responsibility for the people whose lives you’ve destroyed right now,” Bateman continued.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anna-faris-adam-brody-mandy-moore-become-latest-celebs-to-lose-homes-in-socal-fires" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Faris, Adam Brody, Mandy Moore Become Latest Celebs To Lose Homes In SoCal Fires</a>

Patricia Heaton-2

Patricia Heaton Blows Up On LA Mayor As Fires Rage

Los Angles

Patricia Heaton

Menu