There’s a new documentary about Jussie Smollett on Netflix, and as expected, the disgraced actor is still trying to claim his innocence.
“The Truth About Jussie Smollett??” has two question marks in its title on purpose, and the director says the aim of the project is to cast doubt and let viewers form their own conclusions.
“You can tilt it one way [and] it will look like one thing,” documentary filmmaker Gagan Rehill <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/jussie-smollett-truth-in-new-netflix-documentary-1236348143/">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter of the project. “You can tilt it another and there’s another story behind it.”
“I want … viewers to have a conversation, a debate about that themselves,” he added. “That’s part of the documentary for me — the after conversation, the aftermath of watching it. For that reason, I’m sort of taking myself out of the equation in terms of where I land.”
Smollett told police on January 29, 2019, that he was attacked by two men in Chicago at 2 a.m., who he claimed made racist and homophobic slurs, wrapped a rope around his neck, poured an “unknown substance” on him, and yelled that this is “MAGA country.” It was later found that Smollett had hired two Nigerian brothers to help him stage the attack.
The “Empire” star was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct in 2021 and spent just six days in jail after appealing his 150-day sentence. Smollett was charged with 16 counts of lying to police, but those charges were dropped.
In November 2024, Smollett’s conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court, which also deemed he could not be retried.
Smollett has insisted upon his innocence all along.
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“As an entertainer, as a businessman, I probably should [stop fighting the charges],” Smollett told Entertainment Tonight during a 2024 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jussie-smollett-says-he-spent-3m-appealing-hoax-case-maintains-his-original-story?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Jussie+Smollett+Says+He+Spent+%243M+Appealing+Hoax+Case%2C+Maintains+His+Original+Story">interview</a>.
“But as a human being and as a man, as a black man and as an openly gay black man, I have a problem with letting them win on something they shouldn’t be able to,” the actor continued. “I’m a grown man and something happened. I can’t tell exactly what did happen, but I can tell you what did not happen. That’s what I have to sit on. No matter how much people are yelling in my face, saying ‘You’re a liar, you’re a liar.’ No, I’m not. No, I’m not. I don’t want them to believe that, but if that is what they believe, that’s on you.”
Rehill also claimed that the truth is “up to interpretation” and may depend on which news channel you tune into.
“This film is about whether you believe Jussie or not, but it’s also about a reaction to [the news coverage of his case] as well,” Rehill told THR. “It’s just very interesting that people’s trust in mainstream media and in the police has been eroded so much that they have to open the door to alternate truths, or alternate results or verdicts.”
&#8220;Every single other person’s story has changed multiple times. Mine has never,&#8221; Smollett told Variety in a new interview. &#8220;I saw firsthand how narratives are built. I saw firsthand the way that someone can take the exact opposite of who you are and literally sell it.&#8221;
“The Truth About Jussie Smollett??” is currently streaming on Netflix.

Jussie Smollett

Jussie Smollett Is Still Whining That He’s Innocent In New Netflix Documentary

Documentaries

Entertainment

Netflix

U.S.

Fitness influencer Jillian Michaels is not pleased with her portrayal in a new documentary about the reality competition show “The Biggest Loser.”
“Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser” debuted on Netflix on August 15 and became an instant hit. The three-part limited series explored incidents from behind the scenes at NBC’s popular reality series, which featured overweight contestants vying to lose the most weight and win a cash prize. Michaels was a trainer on the series for several seasons, but did not participate in the Netflix documentary. 
Now the fitness expert is breaking her silence on some of the allegations made in the documentary by former co-host Bob Harper, former medical consultant Dr. Robert Huizenga, and former contestants. 
Michaels shared her thoughts on the allegations through a series of social media posts. The first showed alleged email communication about supplying contestants with caffeine pills, which the workout coach said was done with the full support of both Harper and Huizenga.
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 “Wild how some folks still lie like it’s 1985 before texts and email were a thing,” Michaels wrote in one of the posts, saying her co-host and the medical consultant “not only knew about the caffeine pills,” but approved of them being used. 
“Caffeine was NEVER banned on The Biggest Loser,” she added.  
In a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNi3TDhJLt8/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">second post</a>, Michaels responded to “the allegation that I restricted contestants from eating enough calories” by sharing “direct written correspondence” from Season 11 winner Olivia Ward. 
The email shows Michaels instructing Ward to “eat 1600 [calories] tomorrow,” directly contradicting contestant Suzanne Mendonca’s claim in the documentary that she and others were restricted to just 800 calories per day.
A third Instagram post refuted the claim about something Michaels allegedly said during the show’s finale.
“In response to the claim in the documentary that I told a contestant at the show’s finale, ‘You’re going to make me a millionaire,’ I want to state unequivocally that this is false,” she wrote. “The full moment was captured on camera, and both the contestant and I were wearing microphones. If such a comment had been made, it would exist on the audio record.”
“Furthermore, two of the show’s executive producers, Mark Koops and Dave Broome, have each provided written statements in text messages to my business partner confirming that this exchange never occurred,” the post went on. “For clarity, below are their texts verifying that no such comment was ever made.”
Michaels also <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/08/19/jillian-michaels-interview-documentary-lawsuit/">told</a> TMZ on Tuesday that the docuseries is “filled with so many lies, and, of course, I have the emails and the text messages to back all this up.”
She told the outlet that she was meeting with her lawyer to potentially pursue legal action against Netflix, Harper, and Huizenga.

Jillian Michaels

Fitness Guru Jillian Michaels Blasts Her Portrayal In ‘Biggest Loser’ Documentary, Brings Receipts

Jillian Michaels Blasts Her Portrayal In 'Biggest Loser' Documentary, Brings Receipts

Celebrities

Reality TV

Television

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not have their multi-year deal with Netflix renewed when it expires in September, according to a <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/royals/35969847/prince-harry-meghan-netflix-deal-axed/">report</a> from The Sun.
The royal couple has launched several projects with the streaming giant since the announcement of their $100 million deal in 2020. These specials and shows have had varying degrees of success, with the 2022 docuseries “Harry &amp; Meghan” remaining the most popular among them. 
Meanwhile, other projects, such as Prince Harry’s “Polo” and Markle’s lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan,” have failed to capture the attention of Netflix’s audience. In a recent <a href="https://about.netflix.com/en/news/what-we-watched-the-first-half-of-2025">Engagement Report</a> put out by the streamer, the “Polo” documentary was listed as number 3,436 on the list of shows ranked by most-watched, while Markle’s new series came in at number 383.
A second season of “With Love, Meghan” has already been filmed and is set to debut in September. Her first <a href="https://people.com/chrissy-teigen-appear-season-2-meghan-markle-netflix-series-with-love-meghan-11736557">confirmed</a> guest star is Chrissy Teigen.
“There’s no animosity from either side,” an unnamed source told The Sun of Netflix’s decision not to renew the contract. “Things have just run their course.”
The insider also discussed why “Harry &amp; Meghan” was the most successful project so far. 
“Netflix were clever in that they got a hell of a lot of viewers for the first documentary series, and knew, realistically, it would prove the zenith of content from the Montecito pair,&#8221; the source said, noting that the partnership ending represents a &#8220;huge loss of revenue.&#8221;
“They’re not unhappy with how things turned out — they got those initial hits, and produced one of the most talked-about shows of all time,&#8221; the insider added. 
Prince Harry and Markle have had a hard time achieving fame and success in the United States after quitting their full-time working royal roles in 2020 and moving to California permanently. Critics have been vocal in their distaste, as reflected on social media after news of the Netflix partnership&#8217;s end came to light.
“Good. The grifters are out of business,” one person <a href="https://x.com/TerryinSoCalif/status/1948052133389213733">wrote</a>, echoing what many others were saying.
“I am only surprised that Netflix thought this was a good business decision in the first place,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/julie_mcbane/status/1947997610658128182">observed</a>.
“Thank goodness. Insufferable fools,” a third agreed.
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Harry and Meghan

Netflix Pulls Plug On $100M Deal With Prince Harry And Meghan Markle

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle's $100M Netflix Deal Not Getting Renewed

Meghan Markle

Prince Harry

Royal Family

World

This summer, Netflix will team up with NASA to livestream rocket launches, spacewalks, mission coverage, and live views of Earth from the stars.
The streaming giant announced these plans in an X post on Monday, saying they are excited to “bring space a little closer to home.”
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Netflix is teaming up with NASA to bring space a little closer to home.
Beginning this summer, Netflix will begin to stream LIVE rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, mission coverage, and breathtaking live views of Earth from the International Space Station. <a href="https://t.co/vBDMCkz0yP">pic.twitter.com/vBDMCkz0yP</a>
— Netflix (@netflix) <a href="https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1939730654440153198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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NASA dubbed the partnership “NASA+,” and the agency says their work in science and exploration will become more accessible than ever, as Netflix harbors a global audience of over 300 million subscribers.
Their stated goal is “to bring the excitement of the agency’s discoveries, inventions, and space exploration to people, wherever they are.”
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“The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 calls on us to share our story of space exploration with the broadest possible audience,” Rebecca Sirmons, general manager of NASA+ at the agency’s Washington headquarters, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-is-coming-to-netflix-this-summer/">said</a>. “Together, we’re committed to a Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration — inspiring new generations — right from the comfort of their couch or in the palm of their hand from their phone.”
The partnership comes after a surge in rocket launches, particularly by tech-titan Elon Musk’s SpaceX. According to <a href="https://spaceexplored.com/spacex-launches-2025/">Space Explored</a>, the billionaire has already launched 81 rockets this year. Currently, NASA’s missions remain in low-Earth orbit.
NASA+ will be available for free through the NASA app and on the agency’s <a href="https://plus.nasa.gov/">website</a>.

NASA

Netflix Partners With NASA To ‘Bring Space A Little Closer To Home’

Outer Space

Home Depot, Netflix, and Delta Airlines are just some of the companies being warned to cut ties with a left-wing program that pushes companies to cover sex change procedures for employees, a letter from a former attorney general obtained by The Daily Wire reveals.
The <a href="https://1792exchange.com/">1792 Exchange</a>, which fights the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda in corporate America, is urging 92 companies to end their participation in the Corporate Equality Index, a rubric used by the far-left Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to grade companies’ adherence to left-wing gender ideology.
The Corporate Equality Index, the 1792 Exchange says, “functions as a social credit scoring system, promoting partisan initiatives that impede sound corporate governance” and even “pressures companies to adopt unlawful policies that only sow division.”
“You should cease participation in this index immediately,” the letter charges.
The 1792 Exchange is run by former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who told The Daily Wire that some companies simply don’t understand just how radical the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index really is.
“Unfortunately, many companies have no idea what they’re actually signing up for when they participate in the HRC’s survey. This should be a wake-up call,” Cameron told The Daily Wire. “As we move forward with America’s renewal, 1792 Exchange urges every responsible HR leader to reconsider their involvement with HRC and refocus on merit, excellence, and integrity in the workplace.”
Other notable companies that received the letter include Costco, Cracker Barrel, Lowe&#8217;s, Albertson’s, Autozone, and Rite Aid.
In order to receive a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-left-wing-activists-are-trying-to-save-corporate-wokeness">perfect score</a> on the Corporate Equality Index, companies in previous years had to offer healthcare coverage for so-called “medically necessary” transgender hormone replacement therapy, sex change operations, and puberty blockers for youth, while also establishing supplier diversity pipelines focused on LGBTQ+ suppliers.
Several companies, including Walmart, McDonald’s, and Tractor Supply, have <a href="https://1792exchange.com/dei-tracker/">ended their participation</a> in the Corporate Equality Index in recent years. Ford Motor Company similarly backed out of the left-wing organization’s scoring system, <a href="https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1828820035118518737">announcing in a memo</a> last year that it would “stop participating in external culture surveys such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.”
Now, Cameron is calling on the 92 corporations addressed in his letter to follow suit.
“As you prepare for the upcoming 2026 CEI survey, I encourage you to carefully consider the risks and consequences of continued participation,” Cameron writes before offering them assistance in decoupling from the far-left organization. “We are here to support you&#8230;your team of experienced professionals offers confidential, pro bono assistance to help you align your company’s policies with both business success and legal prudence.”
“Let’s ensure that workplaces remain welcoming, productive, and focused on excellence,” Cameron’s letter concludes. “Withdrawing participation in the CEI represents a responsible step in this direction.”

Home Depot

EXCLUSIVE: Home Depot, Netflix Hit Over Involvement In LGBT ‘Social Credit’ System

Corporations

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

LGBT

Woke Culture

One of President Donald Trump’s better qualities flies far under the radar. He doesn’t hold a grudge. That’s especially true when there’s a greater good in play.
Then-candidate Trump sparred aggressively with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly during the 2016 campaign. Late last year, Kelly endorsed Trump, speaking at a MAGA rally days before the Nov. 5 election.
The president once dubbed a presidential rival “Little” Marco Rubio. That politician is currently Trump’s trusted Secretary of State.
Now, Trump wants to make amends with Hollywood, an industry that loathes him with the heat of a thousand suns. This act of forgiveness dwarfs them all, but Trump sees movies as a vital part of the nation’s soft power as well as a critical industry.
<div id="attachment_877383" style="width: 873px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-877383" class="size-large wp-image-877383" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-863x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 06: Donald Trump star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California on Dec. 6, 2016." width="863" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-863x576.jpg 863w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-877916002-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 863px) 100vw, 863px" />shalunts. Getty Images.</div>
It’s why Hollywood should swallow hard and play nice with President Trump. Or, at the very least, lend him its collective ear.
Trump’s shocking outreach began with, what else, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-movie-industry-is-dying-puts-plan-in-place-to-save-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a social media post</a>. He promised 100% tariffs on movies made outside of the U.S.
<blockquote>I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands,” he added. “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!&#8221;</blockquote>
All heck broke loose in La La Land, with entertainment news outlets spinning furiously against the vague proposal.
Call it Trump’s opening volley, part of the president’s knack for starting with big claims and negotiating from there. It’s similar to Trump’s earlier announcement that movie superstars Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight would form a group of “Ambassadors” to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-appoints-a-list-stars-as-ambassadors-to-hollywood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revive the flailing film industry.</a>
<blockquote>It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!</blockquote>
Except the news seemed to have caught the trio by surprise and, only recently, did one of the actors, Voight, step forward with <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/jon-voight-trump-hollywood-tariff-1236390109/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concrete plans</a> on making Hollywood great again.
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/07/nx-s1-5389865/trump-movie-tariffs-jon-voight-tax-incentives-hollywood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NPR described Voight’s vision</a> as “federal tax incentives, co-production treaties with other countries and subsidies for theater owners and film and TV production companies.”
<div id="attachment_861225" style="width: 987px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-861225" class="size-large wp-image-861225" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Jon-Voight-977x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: Actor Jon Voight speaks at Donald Trump's victory rally on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn in on January 20. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)" width="977" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Jon-Voight-977x576.jpg 977w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Jon-Voight-300x177.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Jon-Voight-768x453.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/01/Jon-Voight.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 977px) 100vw, 977px" />Scott Olson/Getty Images</div>
The “Midnight Cowboy” star acknowledged the rift between Trump and Hollywood, adding that it shouldn&#8217;t distract from the big picture.
“I think he’s been treated unfairly. I think I have too. But what’s the difference? Who cares?” Voight asks. “I mean, there’s been a battle, but now it’s time to put that aside. And I must say, in all of the interactions we’ve had [on addressing runaway production], politics has never come up. Never.”
Hollywood, Inc. would be foolish not to listen.
Yes, the box office came roaring back in recent weeks, courtesy of hits like “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie.” That doesn’t camouflage the sizable issues confronting movie studios, from the death of the modern movie star to escalating film budgets.
Case in point? The upcoming “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” has a <a href="https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/3/25/mission-impossible-8-has-a-400m-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$400 million budget</a>, meaning it will have to dramatically out-perform the best films in the series to make a profit.
Hollywood’s problems would make a depressing feature.
Film and TV productions have been fleeing Los Angeles for some time. Streaming platforms have proven to be far less profitable than hoped, with Netflix emerging as the strongest money maker for now.
The DVD/Blu-ray gravy train slowed some time ago, removing a safety net for films that didn’t catch fire at theaters.
Dueling 2023 strikes hurt the industry more than anticipated, and the threat of A.I. to the creative community looms in the not-so-distant future. Social media, YouTube and other distractions now dominate the culture, making young consumers <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/deloitte-gen-z-creator-content-streaming-price-1236171227/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less invested in Hollywood product</a>.
Meanwhile, California Democrats are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-05-06/newsom-called-for-a-federal-tax-incentive-to-save-hollywood-but-will-that-actually-happen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrambling to prevent productions</a> from leaving the City of Angels for more receptive states and countries. That’s left countless Calif.-based crew members desperate for work. <a href="https://variety.com/2025/biz/news/new-york-film-subsidy-jersey-1236392167/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York just followed suit</a>.
Hollywood players hate Trump so much some wish they could erase his presence from pop culture of yore. “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/home-alone-2-director-trump-cameo-removed-1236369779/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">director said just that about Trump’s seconds-long cameo</a> in his 1992 film.
<div id="attachment_908099" style="width: 832px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908099" class="size-large wp-image-908099" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donald-Trump-Macauley-Culkin-822x576.jpg" alt="Macaulay Culkin" width="822" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donald-Trump-Macauley-Culkin-822x576.jpg 822w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donald-Trump-Macauley-Culkin-300x210.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donald-Trump-Macauley-Culkin-768x538.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Donald-Trump-Macauley-Culkin.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 822px) 100vw, 822px" />Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images</div>
Others have alternately <a href="https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/louis-c-k-donald-trump-insane-bigot-dangerous-1201723679/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dubbed him Hitler</a> or <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/celebrities-wished-trump-dead/">wished him dead</a>. That sentiment may be hard to overcome.
The perfect storm of problems facing Hollywood may be too much for any presidential plan to solve. Gen Z’s drift away from movie watching can’t be assuaged by new policies. Stars still insist on <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/fantastic-four-rachel-zegler-problem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insulting potential customers</a>, from “Snow White’s” Rachel Zegler to the cast of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
The two sides need to put aside their differences for the greater good. A healthy film market impacts more than just studio executives, theater owners and various crew members.
Hollywood movies send a message to the world. Films like “The Pursuit of Happyness” (2006) showcase the power of the American capitalist system. Others promote values like individual liberty (2012’s “Still Mine”) and triumphs over adversity (2016’s “Hidden Figures”).
It’s why China invests so heavily in its movie industry. The Communist nation wants to put the nation’s best foot forward on the big screen, removing sequences from foreign films that cast the country in a negative light.
President Trump may not make Hollywood great again. He could help the industry thrive against all odds.
* * *
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.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Trump Wants To Make Hollywood Great Again — Will The Industry Listen?

California

Film

Hollywood

Jon Voight

Los Angeles

Mel Gibson

Movies

New York City

President Trump

Sylvester Stallone

There have been a lot of changes in the second Trump administration, as we all know. But there was one change from the very beginning that hasn&#8217;t gotten nearly as much attention as it should. It&#8217;s when Trump stood up during his inauguration speech and invoked the idea of Manifest Destiny, which is of course deeply rooted in the idea of American exceptionalism.
For the first time in many generations, a U.S. president felt no shame in proclaiming that America is the greatest nation on the planet. And crucially, Donald Trump didn&#8217;t make this proclamation as a platitude. He wasn&#8217;t seeking to get a quick sound bite out of it, by reminding people of history class when they heard terms like &#8220;Manifest Destiny&#8221; and American exceptionalism. Instead, Trump meant it, in a practical sense. We&#8217;re the best nation, he said. And therefore we can do what we want. We can impose tariffs and force everyone to the negotiating table. We can deport criminals and ignore corrupt judges who tell us otherwise. In a matter of weeks, we can eliminate bureaucracy, talk about acquiring Greenland, and become energy independent — which is no small thing when the entire continent of Europe teeters on the verge of a blackout.  We can do all of these things because, in very real terms, we are unique. Period. We have a fighting spirit that no other nation on the planet can match.
If you attended college in the last 50 years, you&#8217;ve probably been conditioned not to say things like this. You&#8217;re told it&#8217;s gaudy, or a relic of colonialism or something like that. But it happens to be true. And every day, we&#8217;re reminded it&#8217;s true. We can see, right out in the open, that other nations are inferior to our own. Look closely enough, and you&#8217;ll see that they&#8217;ll admit it. They are preoccupied with their own destruction.
Let&#8217;s start with the UK, which is allegedly one of our closest allies. A couple of weeks ago, you might remember, we <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg3G_P1jO_c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">talked about</a> the Netflix show &#8220;Adolescence,&#8221; and how it&#8217;s essentially taken over the entire country. 
&#8220;Adolescence&#8221; is a mini-series in which a white 13-year-old boy named Jamie stabs a girl to death after the girl rejects his advances. The &#8220;hook,&#8221; if you can call it that, is that the show blames online culture for the killer&#8217;s actions, at least to some extent. The victim had bullied the 13-year-old boy on Instagram, for example. He had been called an &#8220;incel&#8221; and so on. The point of the show is that &#8220;male rage&#8221; is fueled by online misogyny and bullying, and that children are liable to become murderers at any moment, even if they live in a loving, stable two-parent household. That&#8217;s the message the showrunners wanted to convey, even though it flies in the face of common sense and every data point we have. Beyond that, there wasn&#8217;t anything very interesting about the show. The cameraman is doing more interesting things than any of the actors, since everything is supposedly shot in one take.
So it was reasonable to assume that, after the initial hype died down over this mini-series, that the UK would move on pretty quickly. That&#8217;s the normal trajectory that shows like this tend to follow. And indeed, that&#8217;s what many in my audience said would happen. I received dozens of comments on my last monologue on &#8220;Adolescence&#8221;, where several people who live in Britain explained that, actually, the show isn&#8217;t that popular over there to begin with. Additionally, as we discussed, there was an infamous interview broadcast on the BBC, where the anchors grill a conservative politician about the fact that she hasn&#8217;t seen the show. They were stunned, for the entire interview, that she hadn&#8217;t watched it. And no matter how much the politician tried to explain to these anchors that the show isn&#8217;t real, they kept doubling down. When we played that footage two weeks ago, it seemed like it was safe to assume that the obsession over this show had officially jumped the shark. It seemed too absurd to continue. Everyone, even fans of the show, would certainly walk away slowly and find something else to fixate on.
But that hasn&#8217;t happened in the UK. Instead, &#8220;Adolescence&#8221; isn&#8217;t simply dominating political discussions anymore. Now the show is being used to justify new legislation that would dramatically curtail free speech rights in the country — almost as if that was the point of the show all along. In fact, the show&#8217;s creators just testified in parliament to demand this new legislation. Yes, the government held an entire hearing on a fictional television show, in which the show&#8217;s writer testified as an expert before the government&#8217;s &#8220;Women and Equalities Committee.&#8221; That is the very dire and hopeless state of the so-called United Kingdom at the moment.
We&#8217;ll start at the beginning of the hearing, when a member of parliament named Sarah Owen begins questioning Jack Thorne, who&#8217;s the creator and executive producer of &#8220;Adolescence.&#8221; And this member of parliament is very interested in knowing more about Jamie, and why he snapped and decided to kill a girl. But there&#8217;s a bit of a snag, because the politician clearly doesn&#8217;t understand what the creator of the show was getting at, which leads to this mildly amusing exchange. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Discussing fake character" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SlPhT8p7xqU?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>
There&#8217;s a couple of layers of embarrassment here. First of all, of course, they&#8217;re talking about a fake person as if he&#8217;s real. He&#8217;s saying it would take him &#8220;nine years&#8221; to unpack the brain of a fictional character named Jamie, who, because he doesn&#8217;t actually exist, does not therefore have a brain, or a history, or emotions. And for her part, the politician — who apparently chairs this committee in parliament — keeps pressing for more information about this fictional individual. She&#8217;s really determined to understand what makes him tick, even though he doesn&#8217;t exist. This went on for something like two hours, by the way. The hearing was full of moments like this.
As it went on, it became clear that Jack Thorne is especially concerned about &#8220;conspiracy theories,&#8221; as he calls them. And at one point in the hearing, Thorne elaborated on the term &#8220;conspiracy theories.&#8221; It turns out that — stop me if you&#8217;ve heard this one before — a conspiracy theory is something that&#8217;s completely true, but highly inconvenient for the political Left. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="003 conspiracy" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_pNtI0EQBpg?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>
That&#8217;s his response, when he&#8217;s asked about the race-swap in &#8220;Adolescence.&#8221; He&#8217;s asked about a conservative politician who pointed out that, unlike what you see on Netflix, white kids from stable households are not stabbing many people in the UK. That&#8217;s the truth. It&#8217;s kids from broken homes, along with jihadists, who are doing most of the damage. And in response to that point, which is obviously true, Thorne states that the conservative politician must be &#8220;consuming&#8221; the wrong content online. The implication, of course, is that anyone who tells the truth about knife crime in the UK — and violent crime in general — should be censored. You&#8217;re required to think that it&#8217;s young white kids from loving two-parent households that are knifing everyone, and you&#8217;re supposed to ignore the literal jihadist with an Al Qaeda training manual in his backpack who murders young girls at a dance studio.
Again, this is the state of the UK — a country that we once had a lot in common with. But this is what they&#8217;re reduced to. I want to show one more clip from this hearing, because it just kept getting more and more comical as it went on. Eventually Jack Thorne left, and he was replaced by a bunch of self-described &#8220;experts&#8221; and government officials who — supposedly — would provide some hard evidence in support of more online censorship. 
But then, a funny thing happened. 
When they were asked for evidence that misogyny is on the rise in the UK, they didn&#8217;t have any data. They couldn&#8217;t point to any objective, verifiable information about all the young white men who are going out and killing women because of Andrew Tate or whatever. Instead — and I&#8217;m not making this up — the experts turned around and cited the show &#8220;Adolescence,&#8221; and the testimony from Jack Thorne. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 Experts cite show" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8KCdtC9tgIU?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>
&nbsp;
So they don&#8217;t have any data, actually. They just have the show &#8220;Adolescence,&#8221; and the testimony from its &#8220;executive producer.&#8221; According to the government expert, that qualifies as &#8220;evidence&#8221; in the UK. Time to pass a law eliminating free speech on the internet, I guess. But the point here is not to mock the UK, as entertaining as that would be. The point is that this kind of embarrassing spectacle is not very surprising for them. There aren’t very many people left in that country to speak out against it. There isn’t much of a &#8220;right wing&#8221; in the UK, or almost anywhere else in the western world outside of the United States.
And if you don&#8217;t believe that, look at the election that just <a href="https://barsoom.substack.com/p/post-mortem-for-the-canadian-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took place</a> in Canada. After ten years of destroying Canada&#8217;s economy and opening the borders to hordes of foreign nationals, the Liberal Party was just re-elected. Voters once again handed the Liberal Party control of government, even after the Liberals froze the bank accounts of peaceful protesters, arrested journalists in the street, trampled old ladies with horses, disarmed the entire population, and effectively banned independent journalists from posting their content on social media platforms. Canadians saw the government declare martial law over a bunch of truckers who didn&#8217;t want to be compelled to take an experimental shot, and they said, &#8220;we want more of that.&#8221; And also, of course, they want more taxes so that they can stop the weather from changing.
I&#8217;m not going to pretend to be an expert on the ins-and-outs of Canadian politics. If you&#8217;re interested in a more granular breakdown, there&#8217;s a Substack <a href="https://barsoom.substack.com/p/post-mortem-for-the-canadian-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> from someone named John Carter that goes into some detail about what happened in this week&#8217;s election. Here&#8217;s how it begins.
<blockquote>Have you ever noticed how election results are regularly broken down geographically, as well by the demographic categories of age, sex, and – depending on the country – race, yet we almost never see the results separated into taxpayer vs tax-eater status? &#8230; It is absolutely no surprise that Ottawa voted solidly for the Liberal Party of Canada, whose base consists of three primary groups: migrants, public sector workers, and baby boomers, all of whom are regime client groups, and all of whom are tightly packed into the nation’s capital. Perhaps it’s that it’s tax season and I’m in a grumpy mood because I just got the bad news, but I can’t help but wonder about how electoral politics would change if only taxpayers were allowed to vote.</blockquote>
That&#8217;s a useful framework to look at what just happened in Canada, especially as you hear a lot of people blaming Donald Trump and tariffs and so on. In Canada, very few young people can afford homes. There aren&#8217;t many good jobs. The only really viable aspects of Canadian society are the public sector — which is sustained through taxes and borrowed money — and retirees. The public-sector employees are the ones who celebrated when truckers were beaten by the police in Ottawa a few years ago. They resent the working-class. Their only interest is seeing their pensions vest. Meanwhile, older Canadians have made their money, and they don&#8217;t seem to care about what happens to their country going forward.
Take a look at this chart, which is making the rounds:
<div id="attachment_914325" style="width: 692px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-914325" class="wp-image-914325 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/e5df823e-f7b0-4335-ad69-cdc16a1a914e_1240x1048-682x576.webp" alt="Abacus Data. Substack, John Carter." width="682" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/e5df823e-f7b0-4335-ad69-cdc16a1a914e_1240x1048-682x576.webp 682w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/e5df823e-f7b0-4335-ad69-cdc16a1a914e_1240x1048-300x254.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/e5df823e-f7b0-4335-ad69-cdc16a1a914e_1240x1048-768x649.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/e5df823e-f7b0-4335-ad69-cdc16a1a914e_1240x1048.webp 1240w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px" />Abacus Data. Substack, John Carter.</div>
It shows the &#8220;most important factors&#8221; in people&#8217;s votes, broken out by age. It&#8217;s from Abacus Data, which is a Canadian polling firm. Notice that, for most young people under the age of 44, &#8220;reducing the cost of living&#8221; is the top issue. But for Canadians over the age of 60, the top issue was &#8220;dealing with Donald Trump.&#8221;
In other words, Canadian seniors are not even pretending to be interested in the internal affairs of their own country. They&#8217;re not concerned about the fact that young people are overdosing at increasing rates, or that many of them are well into their 30s, sharing tiny apartments with roommates just to make ends meet. What they care about, instead, is &#8220;dealing with Donald Trump&#8221; — an elected official from a different country, who hasn&#8217;t caused a single ounce of the misery that Canada has been enduring for the past decade.
In this country, by contrast, older voters were mostly <a href="https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2024/election-analysis-older-voters.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concerned</a> about the economy in the last election. In Michigan, for example, the AARP found that &#8220;24 percent of older voters cited the economy and jobs, and another 24 percent cited inflation, as top concerns.&#8221; So nearly half of these voters are interested in things that every American should be interested in — which is creating a stable and functioning economy so that people can buy homes and raise children.
But in Canada, as in the UK, the priorities are different. That&#8217;s why these countries are spending their time talking about Netflix shows, and electing globalists who promise to send mean tweets to Donald Trump or whatever.
It&#8217;s a sobering realization, but it&#8217;s true: These countries, which are supposed to be great allies who we have a lot in common with, do not have a functioning conservative movement at all. One that respects the sanctity of life from the moment of conception, one that values the importance of economic growth for everyone, and one that understands the distinction between fiction and reality. With every election that takes place in Canada, and every humiliating hearing on &#8220;Adolescence&#8221; that the UK is subjected to, the truth becomes clearer by the day. It&#8217;s time to admit it, because it&#8217;s unavoidable at this point: The future of conservatism, and thus of Western civilization, is in our hands — and our hands alone.

“Adolescence” Special Screening – Arrivals

UK Parliament Hosts Incredibly Embarrassing Hearing Over Netflix Show ‘Adolescence’

England

Great Britain

Matt Walsh

Migrants

Opinion

Stabbing

Teenagers

MixCollage-14-Apr-2025-05-21-PM-3053

Matt Walsh Breaks Down The Deceptive Propaganda In ‘Adolescence’ Netflix Show

Crime

Murder

United Kingdom

Violent Crime

To be true to yourself and stand firm on your values takes courage. I would argue that this is especially true if your values are more based in nature — and even more so the case in the world of Hollywood.
When actors and actresses rise through the ranks of Hollywood, they often conform to the woke social and political image that Hollywood has not only deemed worthy but also silently required of celebrity status. Typically, if an actor’s beliefs aren’t aligned with Hollywood’s, they’ll either be cast out of that world or not even get a starting chance to climb the ranks. But a new actor rising to stardom is defying that preset narrative. Gabriel Basso upleveled to celebrity status after starring in the hit Netflix show “The Night Agent,” and during the 2024 election, he proved he’s not going to be a carbon copy of every other celebrity in the industry.
<div id="attachment_905181" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905181" class="size-large wp-image-905181" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 13: (L-R) Noah Centineo and Gabriel Basso attends The Recruit and The Night Agent Photo Call at The Plaza on January 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2195095897.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix</div>
Basso played JD Vance in the 2020 film “Hillbilly Elegy,” based on the book Vance wrote about his upbringing in rural Appalachia. The film was nominated for two Oscars, but this was before Vance ran as vice president. When Trump announced Vance as his running mate, everyone in Hollywood expected Basso to denounce having played Vance — but he didn’t. In fact, he <a href="https://ew.com/gabriel-basso-says-it-was-weird-to-play-cool-dude-jd-vance-8778261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> him a “cool dude” in <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/gabriel-basso-night-agent-season-2-jd-vance-quitting-acting-1236277805/">an interview</a> with Variety after the second season of “The Night Agent” was released. Variety <a href="https://www.instagram.com/variety/p/DFGX53lvVzg/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Instagram that in their feature, “Basso opens up about starring in ‘The Night Agent,’ why he&#8217;s ‘not really a political person’ and playing JD Vance in 2020&#8217;s ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’”
Now, anytime someone says they are not political or don’t care to delve into politics, you can expect a large swath of people to swarm. Sure enough, the comments on Variety’s post proved as much, with some claiming privilege to be the key indicator as to why Basso doesn’t want to discuss politics. But connecting Basso to privilege is incredibly ironic because, as he makes quite clear in all his interviews, he intentionally avoids a privileged lifestyle. Variety writes of Basso:
<blockquote>There’s something fundamentally paleo about Basso, from his out-of-another-era firm handshake to his not carrying a cellphone. (His publicist and I text one another to triangulate his location as he arrives.) “I’m a medieval peasant,” he says. “I reject what I see in society. If a guy was to come into my village and peddle these black mirrors that everyone stares into all day, I’m trying to get this guy out of my village.”</blockquote>
Variety paints Basso as a very different kind of guy, honing in on what they seem to view as out-of-fashion characteristics. The interview reads as though a firm handshake is of a past time and maintaining eye contact is bizarrely uncommon. But these are just basic manners — a few of the exact ones my dad taught me growing up — yet Variety repeatedly mentions Basso’s eye contact and makes him seem like he’s some kind of anomaly.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-comments-section-with-reagan-conrad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Comments Section with Reagan Conrad</a></h3>
What is anomalous is Basso’s commentary; he’s saying what no other actor is saying. Take, for example, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubf19RcB8yw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> he did with Good Morning America earlier this year. In it, Lara Spencer praised “The Night Agent” as an amazing, addictive show, drawing in staggering numbers of viewers. 
Then, she asked Basso, “What do you think it is about your character, Peter, and the premise of the show that has caught on like this?” 
And Basso responded, “An inherent distrust for government.” 
An audible gasp ripped through the studio. That’s certainly not a statement you hear out of Hollywood, but it’s definitely a statement we all can relate to. With answers like that, he maintains a public-facing apolitical presence. While I don’t actually think he is apolitical, I do know he despises when actors talk as though they are experts in the political field, which he has made clear in other interviews. When Jamie Laing of Great Company <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/great-company-with-jamie-laing/id1735702250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Basso about his fame, he said:
<blockquote>I don’t believe that actors should be famous. We’re saying words that we’re told to say, we’re told how to say them, we’re told where to stand, and then we’re telling people how to vote? You should be quiet, you should do your job, you should be a jester, entertain people, then shut the f*** up. You know, we’re the court jesters. We’re there to perform a job, to entertain, and then all the sudden the jester, because he’s in the court room starts to be like, ‘I might want to go sit on the throne.’</blockquote>
He acknowledges the role of an actor and follows that up by acknowledging what evolves with celebrity status: The court jesters suddenly have the power of a king, and that shouldn’t be the case. He’s kept this same energy going on social media, like when he called out Instagram on his story for offering “overpaid actors” ways to “farm” their “audience for money” to then “morally lecture them about donating to causes that you are told to care about.” Then, he told people to buy seeds, chickens, or absolutely anything else. Last week, he deleted his Instagram entirely, a move he made in the middle of the most fame he’s ever experienced in his life.
<div id="attachment_905169" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-905169" class="size-large wp-image-905169" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-864x576.jpg" alt="THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 2078 -- Pictured: (l-r) Actor Gabriel Basso during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2193411076.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images</div>
When he went on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@fallontonight/video/7460168448124095790?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Late Night</a>, he couldn’t have seemed less unimpressed by the fact he was sitting in the chair next to Jimmy Fallon. Fallon asked him about doing his own stunts, giving Basso a perfect opportunity to talk openly about his talents. (Let’s be real: It’s objectively cool he doesn’t have a stunt double.) Instead, Basso turned the answer to be about the audience, saying, “I enjoy acting. I don’t like lying. There’s just a difference. And for the sake of audience immersion, for the sake of believability, they like Peter, to watch him take hits, is important.” It’s a simple premise, but it caught Fallon totally off guard. That’s obviously not the kind of answer he’s used to getting from the seat reserved for actors who normally take every opportunity to boast about themselves. But that’s clearly not what Basso’s about. Much of the art of acting is being able to pretend and to deceive, and Basso likes acting, but he doesn’t want to lie if he doesn’t have to. It’s such a refreshing take.
Even though “The Night Agent” soared to number one on Netflix, Basso still thinks it’s important to have a day job. He shared with the hosts of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05XkWKJKoVw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This Morning</a> that he has his DSWA walling license (as in, drystack walls) because he thinks “actors are insulated from reality in a lot of ways” — and he is intentionally choosing to actively engage in reality when we all know he really doesn’t have to. He’s been an actor since childhood, so he’s going out of his way to get these side jobs as his fame is increasing. He told This Morning, “There is something that I think is wrong in today’s day and age where I can retire at 30 years old. I don’t think I should be able to. I think that it’s my responsibility to work, as a man. You know, you get a trade, you become self-sufficient, and it feels wrong to go through life with people getting me water. It feels wrong. I’ll do that when I’m old and can’t get up from the couch.” Again, it’s just refreshing to see an actor who believes that as an actor, his place in society is to act — nothing more. That is why he sees the value in serving his community in other ways, not the value in just being served.
Basso is one of the exceptionally few actors whose mind has broken out of the Hollywood matrix, or perhaps it was never drawn into it in the first place. He will, of course, get pushback from people who want the jesters to entertain and tell us peasants what we should believe. But plenty of people are picking up on it and <a href="https://x.com/friedman_yitz/status/1891935051761303894" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appreciating</a> what Basso is doing — me being one. Americans at large are loving his takes, and I would love to see more of this same behavior from other actors. He appreciates the art of acting, but he isn’t obsessed with the popularity that comes with success. That’s precisely why I hope he has 10 times more success in the future and can serve as a lesson to Hollywood to bring more people like him into the industry.

The Kelly Clarkson Show – Season 6

The Star Of ‘Night Agent’ Offers A Glimmer Of Hope In Hollywood

The Star Of 'Night Agent' Offers A Glimmer Of Hope In Hollywood

actors

JD Vance

Reagan Conrad

There are reports that actress Meryl Streep is one of the names being floated to portray the character of Aslan in Netflix’s adaptation of the classic “Chronicles of Narnia” series.
“Barbie” director Greta Gerwig has already been announced as both writer and director for the project. The streaming service announced in 2018 that they had acquired the rights to all seven books of the series. They are reportedly beginning with the first in the C.S. Lewis series, “The Magician’s Nephew.”
In the novels, Aslan is a talking lion who serves as Narnia’s guardian and a guide for the human children. The character is a male and is considered an allegory for Jesus Christ.
Deadline <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/04/meryl-streep-aslan-greta-gerwig-netflix-narnia-movie-1236358278/">confirmed</a> with their sources that the Oscar-winning actress was a contender to take on the role in the Netflix update. This led to a lot of strong reactions online.
“They’re destroying Narnia on purpose,” one person observed.
Another agreed, <a href="https://x.com/1000HolyPlaces/status/1907863824830738826">writing</a> on X, “Aslan is a representation of Christ — he’s male. Hollywood truly despises Christians.”
“No. Aslan is what the character is,” echoed another. “Gender swapping makes the character a different character. Stop demeaning women by treating them as men.”
“Aslan is not ‘generally portrayed’ as a male,” another reaction <a href="https://x.com/arch_aer/status/1907852887432085968">noted</a>. “He is a male.”
One person reacted by saying,“Very predictable Hollywood behavior.”
Another echoed that sentiment, writing, “Hollywood&#8217;s insistence on endless narrative/cultural subversion is simple yet baffling self-destruction.”
Someone else predicted that the “Narnia” films would flop as hard as Disney’s recent disaster, “Snow White.”
“Snow White wasn&#8217;t a big enough loss. The entertainment industry wants to lose bigger by offending the only people who might have been really excited about this production,” another reaction <a href="https://x.com/NMTimMcGrew/status/1907925526091841921">said</a>.
The Daily Wire’s Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro also gave his <a href="https://x.com/benshapiro/status/1907920976735773089">take</a>, expressing his disdain with a single word, “Noooooooooope.”
Deadline previously reported that recording artist Charli XCX was in talks for the role of the white witch and Daniel Craig was also in talks to be involved. They noted that shooting for the first “Narnia” film from Netflix is slated to begin later this year.

Meryl Streep

‘Narnia’ Fans React To Rumors That Meryl Streep Might Portray Aslan: ‘Baffling Self-Destruction’

'Narnia' Fans React To Rumors That Meryl Streep Might Portray Aslan: 'Baffling Self-Destruction'

C.S. Lewis

According to reports, Brad Pitt is in for the “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” sequel heading to Netflix.
David Fincher is rumored to be directing the project, which was written by Quentin Tarantino, according to <a href="https://theplaylist.net/david-fincher-to-direct-brad-pitt-in-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-sequel-written-by-quentin-tarantino-exclusive-20250401/">The Playlist</a>. Pitt will be reprising his role as Cliff Booth in the as-yet-unnamed follow-up to the 2019 comedy-drama. The actor took home a Best Supporting Actor award for the role that year.
Fincher and Pitt have worked together on some major projects in the past, including “Seven” (1995), “Fight Club” (1999), and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008).
The outlet noted that Tarantino negotiated a deal that turned over ownership of the film copyright from Sony Pictures to him after a set number of years. This announcement has led to speculation that this has since transpired as the sequel is now associated with Fincher’s first-look deal with Netflix.
Last year, Tarantino abandoned what was said to be his tenth and final film, which was called “The Movie Critic.” As The Hollywood Reporter <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/quentin-tarantino-movie-critic-what-happened-1235879479/">noted</a> at the time, multiple rewrites and changes made the story of a writer working for a fictional porn magazine in the late 1970s into something that seemed like a “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” follow-up. Brad Pitt was attached to star, though the project never took off.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It grossed more than $392 million worldwide and received critical acclaim. 
The film follows fading TV actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his loyal stunt double, Cliff Booth (Pitt), as they navigate the changing Hollywood landscape of 1969, which includes tangling with real-life figures like Sharon Tate and the Manson Family. The film culminates in a violent, revisionist climax where Rick and Cliff interrupt the Manson cult’s planned attack, altering the real tragedy forever.
Tarantino, now 62, had previously vowed to retire by age 60.
“I like the idea of giving it my all for 30 years and then saying, ‘OK, that’s enough.’ And I don’t like working to diminishing returns. And I mean, now is a good time because I mean, what even is a motion picture anyway anymore? Is it just something that they show on Apple? That would be diminishing returns,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/director-quentin-tarantino-reveals-one-thing-he-wont-do-in-movies-thats-a-bridge-i-cant-cross">told</a> Deadline in May 2023.
“I mean, and I’m not picking on anybody, but apparently for Netflix, Ryan Reynolds has made $50 million on this movie and $50 million on that movie and $50 million on the next movie for them,&#8221; Tarantino continued. &#8220;I don’t know what any of those movies are. I’ve never seen them. Have you?”

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Brad Pitt To Star In Netflix’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ Sequel: Report

Brad Pitt Set To Star In 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Sequel On Netflix: Report

Brad Pitt

Quentin Tarantino

Hollywood director Carl Rinsch was indicted on fraud and money laundering charges and accused of defrauding Netflix out of millions of dollars for a science-fiction series he never completed.
The director of the 2013 movie “47 Ronin” was arrested on Tuesday in West Hollywood and accused of embezzling $11 million dollars from the streaming giant, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-03-19/director-arrested-carl-erik-rinsch-netflix-fraud-money-laundering">Los Angeles Times</a> reported. He later appeared in court, but was not yet asked to enter a plea. 
He was indicted on two counts of money laundering, one count of wire fraud, and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions related to illegal activity, the Times noted.
According to the indictment, Rinsch used the money from Neftlix to make “extremely risky investments,” to pay for stays at the Four Seasons, and for other lavish purchases, crypto currency, and to hire lawyers to sue Netflix, instead of on the creation of the new science fiction series initially called “White Horse,” but later changed to “Conquest,” <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/carl-rinsch-indicted-netflix-white-horse-conquest-fraud-1236341650/">Variety</a> reported.
“Carl Rinsch allegedly stole more than $11 million from a prominent streaming platform to finance lavish purchases and personal investments instead of completing a promised television series,” FBI Assistant Director Leslie Backschies said in a statement.
The show was reportedly to be about a group of super intelligent clones “banished to a walled area in a Brazilian city, where they began developing advanced technology and came into conflict with humans and each other,&#8221; the report noted.
Rinsch and Netflix reportedly entered the deal for the series “in or about 2018,” per the indictment. Netflix then paid “approximately $44 million” to Rinsch’s production company for the show’s production between 2018 and 2019.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Director Carl Rinsch Indicted on Charges of Defrauding $11 Million From Netflix <a href="https://t.co/jUseUUPxdb">https://t.co/jUseUUPxdb</a>
— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1902182009004273975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
The director later requested an additional $11 million to finish the project and reportedly “quickly transferred” most of the funds from the Rinsch Co. account to his brokerage account, according to the indictment.
The director proceeded to lose more than half of that money in less than two months via risky investments in the stock market, the indictment added. At the same time, Rinsch was reportedly telling the streaming giant that the show was “awesome and moving forward really well,” per the indictment.
The funds were reportedly used to not only buy five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, costing a little over $2.4 million, but also things like clothing, watches, luxury bedding, and more, per the Times.
“The FBI will continue to reel in any individual who seeks to defraud businesses,” Backschies said.
If convicted, the filmmaker could face decades behind bars.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/then-she-wouldnt-leave-anna-delvey-allegedly-scammed-billy-mcfarland-before-his-fyre-festival-debacle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Then She Wouldn’t Leave’: Anna Delvey Allegedly Scammed Billy McFarland Before His Fyre Festival Debacle</a>

Director Indicted On Money Laundering Charges For Allegedly Defrauding Netflix Out Of Millions

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