“Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul has been granted visitation rights for the 2-year-old son she shares with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, but only under supervision.
The exes had their first hearing on Tuesday, during which Utah Third District Court Commissioner Russell Minas expressed concerns about the behavior of both parents. He described Paul’s conduct as egregious.
“I’m concerned about her volatility,” the judge said, according to <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/04/07/celebrity-news/taylor-frankie-paul-faces-custody-blow-in-court-as-judge-is-concerned-over-her-volatile-behavior/">Page Six</a>. “When she snaps, there is significance to it.”
&#8220;Even if [Mortensen] was trying to provoke a response, the actions that occurred are very troubling,&#8221; Minas added, responding to Paul&#8217;s attorney&#8217;s argument that she had been goaded.
“Dakota pushes buttons, he’s excellent at that,” her attorney said. “As long as they stay apart, then there is no risk to the child … the child is safe with Taylor, the child thrives with Taylor.”
Minas referenced the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-frankie-paul-caught-on-camera-attacking-boyfriend-what-it-says-about-who-we-believe">video footage</a> from a 2023 incident that went viral and ultimately led to Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” being yanked from the air days before it was scheduled to premiere. The judge said Paul’s apparent failure to recognize that the child was in danger contributed to his decision to allow only supervised visits.
“She did not realize that the child was being exposed,” he said. “That’s one of the concerns I have.”
Paul was granted up to six hours of supervised visits per week with her son, Ever, which can be broken up into two or three-hour increments. The ruling will stand until the next hearing later this month.
The 31-year-old reality star filed a temporary restraining order request against Mortensen ahead of the April 7 hearing, alleging a &#8220;pattern of abusive conduct and coercive control&#8221; during their relationship between 2022 and 2025, according to <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/03/19/celebrity-news/taylor-frankie-paul-allegedly-choked-ex-dakota-mortensen-he-claims-in-restraining-order-filing/">People</a>.
Paul shares Ever, 2, with Mortensen. She is also the mother of Indy, 8, and Ocean, 5, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Tate Paul. Indy was allegedly injured in the previously reported barstool-throwing incident. 
Mortensen gained temporary custody of Ever on March 20 after he filed a restraining order against Paul. The former couple is scheduled to battle it out in court on April 30, when Minas is expected to evaluate both petitions for protective orders. 
&#8220;We&#8217;ll have a showdown on the 30th,&#8221; Paul&#8217;s lawyer Eric Swinyard said.
&#8220;Hopefully it won&#8217;t be a showdown,&#8221; Minas <a href="https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/salt-lake-county/taylor-frankie-paul-faces-protective-order-hearing-in-utah-after-bachelorette-cancellation">said</a>. &#8220;I&#8217;m hoping you can come to some resolution.&#8221;

Taylor Frankie Paul

Taylor Frankie Paul Allowed To See Her Son Again But Must Follow New Rule

Abuse

Entertainment

Hearings

Reality TV

taylor frankie paul

Television

CBS will reportedly replace &#8220;The Late Show with Stephen Colbert&#8221; with a new late-night program block led by comedian Byron Allen.
Beginning May 22, the network will air “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen” at 11:35 p.m., followed by the comedy game show “Funny You Should Ask” at 12:35 a.m., according to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/cbs-late-show-replacement-byron-allen-comics-unleashed-1236556475/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>. The lineup debuts the day after Colbert&#8217;s show airs its final episode on May 21.
Both programs are produced by Allen, who has emphasized a focus on apolitical, family-friendly comedy.
&#8220;I tell the comedians we&#8217;re shooting &#8216;I Love Lucy,'&#8221; Allen <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-08-11/byron-allen-comics-unleashed-cbs-late-night">told</a> The Los Angeles Times in 2025 while petitioning to become Colbert’s replacement. &#8220;Something that&#8217;s evergreen. So I don&#8217;t want to hear any political humor. Just be funny, family-friendly, and advertiser-friendly.&#8221;
&#8220;Comics Unleashed&#8221; originally ran in syndication from 2006 to 2016 and later had a brief run on CBS from mid-September 2023 to mid-January 2024, filling the former slot of &#8220;The Late Late Show with James Corden.&#8221; The format features a rotating panel of comedians performing stand-up and engaging in talk show-style banter. 
“I created and launched Comics Unleashed 20 years ago so my fellow comedians could have a platform to do what we all love — make people laugh,” Allen said in a statement, per THR. “I truly appreciate CBS’ confidence in me by picking up our two-hour comedy block of Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask, because the world can never have enough laughter.”
CBS announced last summer that “The Late Show,” which began in 1993, would conclude this year and not be replaced with a traditional late-night format.
“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount,” the network said at the time.
Colbert followed the announcement with an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-trump-late-night-host-stephen-colbert-reveals-date-of-final-show?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Anti-Trump+Late-Night+Host+Stephen+Colbert+Reveals+Date+Of+Final+Show">expletive-laced monologue</a> in which he blasted President Donald Trump and CBS. During the segment, Colbert referenced Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, noting that it paid Trump a $16 million settlement after being accused of election interference.
CBS Entertainment CEO George Cheeks later reiterated that the show had been losing “significant” amounts of money, describing the losses as being in the “tens of millions of dollars.”
“At the end of the day, it just wasn’t sustainable to continue,” Cheeks acknowledged.

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert’s Replacement Expected To Bring A Different Vibe To Late-Night Slot

comedian

Comedy

“Saturday Night Live” mocked HBO’s upcoming “Harry Potter” television series over the weekend for race-swapping the villain, Severus Snape.
Paapa Essiedu, a black British actor, is set to play the role, a character described in J.K. Rowling&#8217;s books as having pale, yellow skin. 
During the &#8220;Weekend Update&#8221; segment on Saturday&#8217;s show, “SNL” cast member Kam Patterson portrayed a black version of Snape and joked about how the character might be perceived. 
“Good evening, Mr. Jost — nah, I’m playing. I don’t talk like that, bro. It’s called code-switching. Codio switchio!” Patterson said after being introduced by host Colin Jost.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Weekend Update: Professor Snape Addresses New Spin on Harry Potter Role - SNL" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JNaf-skJpzo?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>
Jost asked how things were going at Hogwarts, inspiring Patterson to reply, “Not great. We got this new kid. His name is Harry Potter, and he’s racist as hell. Harry Potter — or, the Proud Boy Who Lived — spent the whole year telling everybody that the school’s only black teacher was secretly evil.”
Jost interjected, “I think he’s just worried because he knows someone’s trying to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone.” 
“So somebody stole something, and the number one suspect is Black Snape? They didn’t even look at the white guy in the turban. So offensive. He’s got a wizard on the back of his head,” Patterson shot back.
“I’m really sorry that he just jumped to conclusions like that,” Jost said. 
Snape replied, “All good. It happens all the time. I showed up at Hogwarts, and on the first day, they looked at me and said, ‘You’re the professor of the Dark Arts.’ I never even studied that! I majored in African Muggle Studies.”
“The whole wizarding world is racist,” Patterson went on in the bit. “There’s one other black guy, Kingsley Shacklebolt, a name I’m guessing they got out of the Wu-Tang name generator … why they got to put ‘shackle’ in his name? That’s crazy, man. Shackle? Shackle!”
The skit went on, with a reference to Rowling being “problematic.”
Essiedu claimed that haters have been out in force since his casting for “Harry Potter” was announced. The British star <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/paapa-essiedu-harry-potter-snape-interview-3hqkzzmlk">told</a> The Times last month that he’s been told, “Quit or I’ll murder you.”
“It really matters,” he says. “The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ …nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
“But the abuse fuels me,” he went on. “And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid. I would imagine myself at Hogwarts on broomsticks, and the idea that a kid like me can see themselves represented in that world? That’s motivation to not be intimidated by someone saying they’d rather I died instead of doing work I’m going to be really proud of.”

Paapa Essideu

SNL Wrecks New ‘Harry Potter’ Series For Racially Profiling Fan-Favorite

Harry Potter

Racism

Saturday Night Live

Sharon Stone, who may have cemented her own status as a sex symbol after her role in 1992&#8217;s &#8220;Basic Instinct&#8221; — said in a recent interview that she now fast-forwards through &#8220;blatant, harsh&#8221; sex scenes when she watches television.
<a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/04/01/celebrity-news/sharon-stone-calls-out-harsh-sexuality-in-modern-tv/">Stone</a> spoke with &#8220;CBS Mornings&#8221; host Gayle King about her acting career, the split-second that made her an icon, and how what is acceptable onscreen when it comes to sex has changed over the years — and the actress argued that the change wasn&#8217;t necessarily for the better.
King referenced the famous scene from &#8220;Basic Instinct,&#8221; saying, &#8220;Sharon, when you look at your legendary career, what do you think about — I remember when ‘Basic Instinct’ came out? Cross the legs, uncross the legs. And I remember — ‘Is she wearing panties?’ — that’s how crazy it all became, right?”
&#8220;Right. It was a third of a frame. It wasn’t even an entire frame of film,&#8221; Stone replied, saying that to her, the real attraction was tied up in the mystery.
&#8220;And, so, people were desperately trying to figure it out,&#8221; Stone continued, adding, &#8220;So often now, when sex scenes come on TV — I fast-forward. I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to have to go through all of this blatant, harsh sexuality. For me, it steals from my own imagination. And I prefer my yearning, mystery, desire. I want to keep that alive inside myself.&#8221;
Stone went on to say that while that film had certainly opened a lot of doors for her career, she felt it also typecast her in a way that hurt her personal life.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“Basic Instinct” changed the trajectory of Sharon Stone’s career — but she told <a href="https://twitter.com/GayleKing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gayleking</a> that she also felt like she was being “punished for the behavior of others.” <a href="https://t.co/UHGTfe5ZXn">pic.twitter.com/UHGTfe5ZXn</a>
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSMornings/status/2039037539982491748?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;In many ways, I feel like I wasn’t protected and taken care of. And then, in many ways, I feel I was punished for the behavior of others,&#8221; Stone said, adding that it had played out when she lost custody of her son, Roan, in 2008.
&#8220;I lost custody of my child,&#8221; Stone told King. &#8220;My child was put on the stand in custody court and asked if his mother did sex movies. I mean, things that were bizarrely inappropriate &#8230; People treated me in ways that were … very cruel and unkind, as if I was some sort of slatternly, vulgar person.&#8221;
&#8220;Like you were wearing a scarlet A on your head,&#8221; King interjected.
&#8220;Yeah, I mean, you know, I played a character — 30 years ago. Like, grow up,&#8221; Stone added.
Reports indicate that Stone&#8217;s then-8-year-old son was asked about his mother&#8217;s films, and that the perceived stability of his father Phil Bronstein&#8217;s home also <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/papers-sharon-stones-ex-has-sole-physical-custody-of-child/">factored</a> into the custody dispute.

The Fashion Awards 2025

Sharon Stone Became A Sex Symbol Overnight. Now She Doesn’t Linger.

Celebrities

Movies

Sharon Stone

“Summer House” stars Amanda Batula and West Wilson just confirmed that the rumors about their secret relationship are true.
The couple shared a joint statement to Instagram on Tuesday, noting that they never expected something like this to happen.
“We’ve seen the growing online speculation, so while this is still very new, we wanted to provide some clarity,” the reality stars posted to Stories.
“It was never our intention to purposely hide anything. Given the complicated relationship dynamics involved and the scrutiny that comes with being on a reality show, we needed a little space to process things privately before speaking on it,” the statement continued.
“We’ve shown up for each other as friends over the years, through all the highs and lows, and what’s developed recently was the last thing either of us expected.”
Batula and Wilson said their friendship developed into something more, and they opted to take the public reveal slowly.
“As our feelings evolved, we wanted to take time to understand exactly what we were feeling. We also recognize that this has had an impact beyond just us and never wanted our actions to cause any hurt or be perceived as careless,” the social media update went on.
Making matters especially complicated is the fact that Batula separated from her husband, fellow “Summer House” star Kyle Cooke, in January after four years of marriage, as Page Six <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/03/31/celebrity-news/summer-house-stars-amanda-batula-and-west-wilson-confirm-secret-romance-in-shocking-statement/">noted</a>. Wilson used to date Batula’s best friend Ciara Miller, who also appears on the popular Bravo series.
Several “Summer House” co-stars have shown their support for Miller in the wake of the scandal. Miller hasn’t released a public statement, but she did unfollow both Batula and Wilson on Instagram, the outlet noted.
The news comes as Season 10 of “Summer House” airs on Bravo, marking the tenth season for Batula and the third for Wilson.
“Summer House” follows a group of friends who share a house together on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The reunion special, moderated by Andy Cohen, is coming up in a few weeks and promises to be especially dramatic in light of these new revelations.

Amanda Batula West Wilson

‘Summer House’ Stars Amanda Batula, West Wilson Finally Address Relationship Rumors

Reality stars

More details have emerged about the aftermath of reality star Taylor Frankie Paul throwing metal barstools as she raged against her boyfriend and accidentally hit her young daughter with one of the stools in 2023.
Video footage of the incident went viral earlier this month, and fans were so outraged that it led to Paul&#8217;s season of “The Bachelorette” getting yanked from ABC just days before it was scheduled to air. 
Paul’s ex-husband Tate Paul, the father of the child allegedly struck by a flying stool, called the police several times after the domestic violence incident. Those recordings were released by <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/03/27/taylor-frankie-paul-ex-tate-phone-calls-with-police/">TMZ</a> on Friday.
One recording includes audio of Tate expressing concern for his daughter. He also told law enforcement that Taylor’s mother, Liann, had been coaching her daughter on what to say. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Tate Paul &#8212; Taylor Frankie Paul&#8217;s ex-husband and father of 2 of her kids &#8212; talked to cops over the phone following Taylor&#8217;s infamous on-camera fight with her other ex Dakota Mortensen in 2023.
🔊 Herriman City Police Department <a href="https://t.co/guSInTj7oB">pic.twitter.com/guSInTj7oB</a>
— TMZ (@TMZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/2037697876898513404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
By the time stools started flying, Tate and Taylor were divorced and Taylor was in a relationship with Dakota Mortensen, who is seen on video bearing the brunt of the reality star’s rage. Tate was involved because his daughter was present during all the drama, and he filed for full custody shortly after it all went down.
During one of the call recordings, Tate confirmed that his daughter had a “small” goose egg on her head, which allegedly was the result of being struck by the chair. 
Taylor, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-frankie-paul-assault-video-fallout-just-took-a-worse-turn-with-custody-drama">claimed</a> during an episode of “The Viall Files” podcast last year that her daughter didn’t have any injuries. She admitted that she was out of control on the evening in question.
“I was feeling so low I went and drank that night,” the reality star said on the podcast. “…and Dakota picks me up and he’s angry that I drank.”
Taylor said she was “so sad” at the time. “I remember, like, throwing things, and I don’t know my daughter is on the couch,” she went on. “We had babysitters there, so I think they’re upstairs sleeping.”
“I’m, like, so gone I don’t care, and I throw another chair,” she said, also telling the podcast host, “We didn’t know if it hit her or not, it might have not hit her at all…” Taylor also claimed the child had no “noticeable injuries” and insisted “everything was good.” 
Tate and Taylor were married from 2016 until 2022. TMZ previously reported that Taylor earned back shared custody about six months after the incident. The “Secret Live of Mormon Wives” star pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in that case and later had two more cases brought against her following additional domestic assault accusations.

Listen to Taylor Frankie Paul Ex’s Desperate Calls With Cops After Domestic Violence Arrest

Domestic Violence

We’ve seen this playbook before.
Hollywood went all-in on behalf of illegal immigration over the past decade. Documentaries. Feature films. TV show plots. The messaging proved consistent and one-sided.
We need open borders, even if they never said those words aloud.
Now, Hollywood is tag-teaming more specifically against ICE and any attempt to arrest illegal immigrants. And if what’s past is prologue, reality will prove superior to Hollywood fiction.
<div id="attachment_1067967" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067967" class="size-large wp-image-1067967" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266673336-864x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 15: Malgosia Turzanska, pin detail, attends the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266673336-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266673336-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266673336-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266673336.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Mike Coppola/Getty Images</div>
First, a quick review of how aggressively Tinsel Town promoted the open-border madness under Democrats.
Take Fox’s hit series “Party of Five.” The show centered on a tight-knit family surviving after the loss of their parents. The 2020 reboot on Freeform followed a similar storyline, except the parents in question were deported to Mexico.
And, yes, the messaging was as heavy as possible. Newsbusters dubbed the pilot episode pure “<a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/lindsay-kornick/2020/01/08/illegal-immigrant-party-five-reboot-whats-matter-country">parody</a>,” while the saga got a jump on the current anti-ICE mania.
HBO uncorked not one but <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/hbo-torn-apart-liberty-open-borderstorn-apart/">two open-borders documentaries</a> in 2019, and the titles spoke volumes — “Torn Apart: Separated at the Border” and “Liberty: Mother of Exiles.”
More examples? The final season of “Orange Is the New Black” <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/open-borders-hollywood-immigration/">pushed family separation plot lines</a>, while the villain in the third “Descendants” film for kids tried to ban immigration. 
Selena Gomez used her clout to promote the docuseries “<a href="https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/selena-gomez-netflix-docuseries-1203338879/">Living Undocumented</a>.”
<div id="attachment_1067903" style="width: 799px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067903" class="size-large wp-image-1067903" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1178702372-789x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 02: Rosario Dawson (L) and Selena Gomez attend the LA Screening for Netflix Doc Series &quot;Living Undocumented&quot;, produced by Selena Gomez at Netflix Offices on October 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix)" width="789" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1178702372-789x576.jpg 789w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1178702372-300x219.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1178702372-768x561.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-1178702372.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 789px) 100vw, 789px" />Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix</div>
Subtle? Hardly. And what happened next?
Donald Trump got re-elected by promising to slam the southern border shut. And when he did just that, by sheer coincidence, America celebrated its <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/murders-plummet-crime-trends-2025/">lowest national murder rate in more than a century.</a> 
Hollywood’s all-powerful messaging machine had failed. So why not try it again, but this time directly targeting ICE?
It started with “One Battle After Another,” a cinematic love letter to violent revolutionaries. Leonardo DiCaprio played a stoner rebel cosplaying as an anti-ICE warrior. His fiery gal pal (Teyana Taylor) was the real deal, using any means necessary to free illegal immigrants and attack U.S. officials.
Films take much longer than TV shows to produce and release, but writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson somehow grasped his industry’s zeitgeist with Kreskin-like accuracy.
Just days ago, Hollywood gave it the Best Picture Oscar.
<div id="attachment_1067923" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067923" class="size-large wp-image-1067923" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2268276413-864x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 25: Noah Wyle and Harriet Rose speak onstage during the Q&amp;A for 'The Pitt' to celebrate the launch of HBO Max at Rosewood London on March 25, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for HBO Max)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2268276413-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2268276413-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2268276413-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2268276413.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for HBO Max</div>
TV show productions happen faster, allowing small screen scribes to indoctrinate on demand. That allowed HBO’s hit series “The Pitt” to pick up the “OBAA” propaganda baton. A second season story arc follows an illegal immigrant being treated for a shoulder injury in the show’s Pittsburgh emergency room.
The ICE agents are portrayed as aggressive and unfeeling, while patients and workers alike recoil at their presence.
<div id="attachment_1067931" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067931" class="size-large wp-image-1067931" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/The-Pitt-II-1024x576.jpg" alt="Source: HBO Max/The Pitt" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/The-Pitt-II-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/The-Pitt-II-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/The-Pitt-II-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/The-Pitt-II-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/The-Pitt-II.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Source: HBO Max/The Pitt</div>
Then, according to The Hollywood Reporter, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-pitt-ice-episode-scott-gemmill-interview-1236514931/">things get personal</a>:
<blockquote>…at the end of the episode, nurse Jesse (Ned Brower) gets detained for stepping in to protect the patient when the ICE agents get too aggressive.</blockquote>
Over at CBS, the “Matlock” reboot <a href="https://www.primetimer.com/features/matlock-season-2-episode-9-matty-s-high-risk-collateral-move-leaves-julian-with-the-ultimate-truth-bomb">concocted its own anti-ICE narrative</a>. An episode dubbed “Collateral,” during the show’s second season, finds Kathy Bates’ character defending a client detained by ICE agents. That bleeds into a larger story with both the client and his family trying to stay in the country despite their illegal status.
The government’s “deal” is cruel, including a demand that the client pay up to $6 million in restitution with zero path to citizenship. Boo! Hiss!
Meanwhile, the just-released second season of “Daredevil: Born Again” tackles ICE in a less heavy-handed, but equally negative fashion. The villainous Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), now the Big Apple&#8217;s mayor, begins rounding up citizens without due process. That’s been the Left’s battle cry against ICE arrests across the nation.
<div id="attachment_1067935" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1067935" class="size-large wp-image-1067935" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267624335-864x576.jpg" alt="Vincent D'Onofrio at the &quot;Daredevil: Born Again&quot; Season 2 Launch Event held at Drai's Supper Club New York on March 23, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267624335-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267624335-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267624335-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267624335.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images</div>
D’Onofrio’s character is an obvious stand-in for President Donald Trump, or at least the cartoonish version Hollywood holds dear.
The show’s creative team has been coy about any real-world comparisons, but that may be a case of artists trying not to steamroll a show that hasn’t lit up the ratings world upon its belated return.
“Daredevil: Born Again” co-star Michael Gandolfini didn’t follow that advice. He <a href="https://x.com/Variety/status/2036625364890628459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2036625364890628459%7Ctwgr%5E22e967c30af443b7a7cea49a0a08d23ed1a607a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodintoto.com%2Fcolberts-lord-of-the-rings-gig-reveals-ugly-hollywood-truth%2F">praised his show</a> for speaking, wait for it, truth to power.
<blockquote>We do a lot of safe things in film now. To do something risky that says something is rare.</blockquote>
More shows will likely follow. These stories aren’t isolated incidents. Late-night TV hosts routinely rage against ICE efforts in their monologues. 
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has done the same via its <a href="https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/snl-slams-ice-weekend-update-1236640253/">Weekend Update faux news desk</a>.
<blockquote>“I get that ICE agents are people, allegedly, and they have a job to do. But at some point while you’re pepper-spraying old ladies or shooting at a nurse, do you ever stop to ask yourself, ‘Are we d*cks?&#8217;”</blockquote>
Stars have been raging against all things ICE from their favorite bully pulpits — <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/celebs-slam-ice-independent-spirit-awards-2026-1236506162/">awards season stages</a>. &#8220;White Lotus&#8221; alum Natasha Rothwell expressed her feelings at the recent Spirit Awards:
<blockquote>I’m gonna go to the prompter, but I just want to say, ‘F*** ICE.&#8217;</blockquote>
“ICE Out” buttons have been the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/celebrities/2026/03/15/ice-out-ceasefire-pins-2026-oscars-photos/89172466007/">fashion accessory of the season</a> at these events, and stars have used their red carpet remarks to blast any attempt to uphold the law.
Just don’t expect any shows reflecting heinous illegal immigrant murders, like the deaths of Laken Riley or Sheridan Gorman. Nor will a star or starlet name-drop either victim as they collect their new shiny trophies.
Their names won’t be found on any chic Hollywood buttons, either.
The facts behind their tragic deaths are chilling and undeniable, but they’re inconvenient to the narrative in play. And Hollywood is all about narratives, especially the fictional ones.
* * *
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>.

“Daredevil: Born Again” Season 2 Launch Event

Hollywood’s Biggest Shows Have A New Propaganda Mission: Eliminate ICE

Hollywood Keeps Pushing This Narrative But Ignores What Follows

actors

Democrats

Film

Hollywood

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Leftists

Actor and producer Vince Vaughn might have cultivated a certain reputation based on his popular roles as the “Vegas, Baby!” wingman, frat boy who never grew up, or any number of smart-mouthed, fast-talking bros who always seem to land on their feet. It wasn’t a surprise, then, to hear him talking earlier this week with outspoken candidness about the sorry state of entertainment with podcaster and comedian Theo Von on his <a href="https://www.theovon.com/podcast">show</a>, “This Past Weekend with Theo Von.”
Most of the post-podcast focus centered on Vaughn’s criticism of late-night talk shows, with the Swingers actor telling Von they are becoming “the same show” and “really agenda-based.” The Wedding Crashers star continued, “They all became so about their politics and who’s good and who’s bad.”
But his main point, an overarching observation about the current state of American culture in the wake of cruelly divisive politics permeating every facet of entertainment, is that we have lost a deep, authentic sense of commonality. When we can’t share laughter, what can we share?
Vaughn has the secret sauce:
<blockquote>
The truth is most people, they want to laugh. They don&#8217;t want to see stuff be precious that you can&#8217;t talk or joke about. Most people can make fun of themselves. You know, in the real world, if you don&#8217;t have a sense of humor about yourself, then it&#8217;s a lonely experience. You got to be able to laugh at yourself. You can look back at stuff that you believed so strongly a few years ago and laugh about it. So, I think you got to have that quality and comedy is that: being able to laugh at stuff.
</blockquote>
Vaughn’s observation, so simple and truthful that it was easy to overlook, earns him the title of Everyman Hero — especially in an industry increasingly dominated by shallow moral preening and risk-averse, viewpoint-reinforcing clique hierarchies that make junior high cheer squads look like bastions of meritocracies and courageous champions of individuality (no offense to junior high cheer squads).
Vaughn, who grew up in the Midwest and never went to college and put his career on the back burner after getting married and having kids, is the heir apparent to the late actor and comedian John Candy. What these two share is an unapologetic view of the good in people and a refusal to engage in the chest-thumping applause mills that get attention from bobble-heads at award shows, glossy write-ups, and fawning interviews by mainstream media outlets. These hacks would rather rattle their tin cups for pennies like an organ grinder’s monkey than find some connection with the average working-class American.
You’d never hear Kimmel, Steven Colbert, or Jimmy Fallon echoing Vaughn’s sentiments about the Pledge of Allegiance: “We were super pro-America, too. Everything was. It was taught in that way. I thought it [The Pledge of Allegiance] was good. Hell, yes. I liked it. By the way, I love it … I still feel the same way. I still feel like [America] it&#8217;s the best out there. Not that it&#8217;s perfect.”
Instead, we get television “stars” who trash half of America so they can keep paying their kids’ private school tuition. Just after Vaughn’s truth bomb, Jimmy Kimmel illustrated his point by targeting Sen. Markwayne Mullin in his sermon monologue, not for any gaffe or silly political grandstanding on the senator’s part, but because he used to be a plumber. Gee, hard not to find the laughter in that.
Jimmy Kimmel had to keep his career afloat somehow. You didn’t think he was coasting along on his…talent, did you?
The late-night shows had one rule: be funny. To participate, you didn’t have to be a part of the Cool Kids Comedy Club, which isn’t about comedy at all but about signaling your superior intellect or esteemed opinion over the hoi polloi knuckle who (gasp) just want to enjoy some lighthearted entertainment and honest fun before a night’s sleep ahead of a backbreaking or mind-numbing job the next day.
Vaughn understands this concept — that comedy works when shots are taken at everyone and comedians are actually doing comedy. Ratings for these shows are tanking because the people in charge of them aren’t doing their jobs. “You don&#8217;t want to become part of a group and feel like you&#8217;re now a champion for one ideology. You want to make fun of everybody.” What Colbert, Kimmel, and Fallon are selling is “the same show,” but in the sense that it’s entirely predictable. People are tuning out because they know exactly what they’re going to see, night after night: basically, an MS NOW show with a studio audience. People don’t want to turn on a comedy show and get an hour’s worth of condescension and mean-spirited, mindless snark. If they did, Joy Reid might still have a TV gig.
What defined the golden era of late-night was that it offered Americans equal opportunity to laugh, no matter one’s race, sex, religion, socioeconomic status, or political persuasion. “Ultimately,” says Vaughn, “comedy is a big tent.” It used to be. “We used to be a proper country,” the saying goes. We will be again when we can all laugh about it.

West Coast Premiere of “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” With Beyond Fest and American Cinematheque

Vince Vaughn Is The Everyman Hero Comedy Needs

Culture

Politics

Theo Von

Vince Vaughn

Actor Vince Vaughn just publicly called out what conservatives have been saying for years: late-night shows gave up being funny long ago in favor of pushing a hyper-partisan agenda.
The 55-year-old “Dodgeball” star made his thoughts known during a recent appearance on Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Vince Vaughn | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #648" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XDlj_6Ik7tQ?start=3049&#038;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>
“Podcasts have gotten so much more popular with less production, less writers, less staff,” Vaughn said. He went on to explain how people seem to prefer podcasts because they’re looking for “authenticity.”
“I think that the talk shows, to a large part, became really agenda-based,” the celeb went on. “They were going to evangelical [sic] people to what they thought. And so, people just rejected it because it didn’t feel authentic. It felt like they had an agenda. It stopped being funny and it started feeling like I was in… f***ing a class I didn’t want to take… I’m getting scolded.”
Vaughn said it was a mistake to blame technology or other external factors for late night’s downfall, saying he believed it was a catastrophe of their own making.
“If you look at what happened to the talk shows and why their ratings are low, it’s got only to do with the fact of what you just said… they all became the same show,” Vaughn added. “And they all became so about their politics and who’s good and who’s bad. And it’s like, imagine sitting next to someone like that on a f***ing plane.”
As for his own politics, Vaughn has said in the past that he most closely identifies with the Libertarian Party and doesn’t land cleanly on the right or the left.
“I got along with people for the most and always was, you know, always try to be honest about who I am,” the actor told Von. “But yeah, there’s times you felt like it would have been easier. It’s almost like a career move. You know what I mean? But I was always the other way, too. Like, I’m not jumping on 100% this or this because I have opinions on both sides. There’s sh** I don’t agree with at all, and then there’s sh** I don’t agree with at all.”
Vaughn’s comments come on the heels of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” being canceled due to poor performance, with insiders saying the show lost millions every year. The liberals cried censorship, but average viewers appear to be fed up with the heavily biased, unfunny program and others like it.
A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/late-night-hosts-targeted-conservatives-92-of-the-time-made-more-than-7000-trump-jokes-in-2025">report</a> published by the New York Post last December found that 92% of jokes on mainstream late-night shows over the previous year have been targeted at conservatives.
The analysis of 818 episodes focused on major mainstream late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers.
Those shows included 197 liberal guests and only two who were conservative.

Vince Vaughn Drops Truth Bomb About Why Late-Night Television Is Dead

Leftism

United States

“Bridgerton” Season 5 will feature an interracial “queer love story,” and fans have thoughts.
The popular historical drama has a cult following of fans obsessed with the overall look and feel of the show, but since it airs on Netflix, it was only a matter of time before progressive themes were jammed into Regency-era England. 
The short teaser trailer for Season 5 shows Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) and her cousin-in-law, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), standing side by side, almost holding hands. “Next season love begins again,” the text of the video says. 
“Do not fret, dearest readers, for a certain countess shall find love again &#8230; Bridgerton Season 5 is now in production,” the YouTube description says. This will be the first major storyline of a same-sex relationship on the series. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Bridgerton Season 5 | Official Announcement | Netflix" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qb79JSVmOJc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Reactions on social media questioned the decision, especially in terms of historical accuracy.
“Netflix is gonna Netflix …,” one person <a href="https://x.com/TimelessTrvlr/status/2036592179703935153">observed</a>. 
“This show absolutely ruined the books,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/pitdesi/status/2036525279548788999?s=43">agreed</a>.
“I am sick and tired of Netflix turning everything woke. It really didn’t have to be this way,” a third commenter <a href="https://x.com/AetherRev/status/2036489190251307159">shared</a>.
“The fifth season of Bridgerton spotlights introverted middle daughter Francesca. Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Fran decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons,” the press release says. 
“But when John’s cousin Michaela returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran’s complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions.”
The series is based on books written by Julia Quinn, and in the source material, Francesca’s new flame is a man named Michael. Quinn’s books don’t include same-sex relationships. But because it’s Netflix, that changed in the television adaptation.
“It feels groundbreaking. Obviously, there are a lot of great shows that have depicted queer love. We’re not the first by any means,” series showrunner Jess Brownell said in an <a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/bridgerton-season-5-news-photos-premiere-date">interview</a> published on Tudum. “But to make an entire &#8216;Bridgerton&#8217; season about a sapphic relationship feels huge.”
She added, “It’s going to be a season about queer joy. It is not going to be a season about queer trauma. … We’re having so much fun!”
The actresses also weighed in on the storyline. “[Queer love stories] have traditionally been excluded from things like period dramas — and queer people did exist, have always existed, and will always exist,” Dodd said.
Prior to this, another character, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson), was portrayed as bisexual. He spent last season in a romantic relationship with a woman, however.

Bridgerton

Netflix Jams Interracial Queer Love Story Into Beloved Period Drama

LGBT

Netflix

The unpopular spinoff series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” has been canceled after airing just one season, per <a href="https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/star-trek-starfleet-academy-canceled-season-2-1236696816/">Variety</a>.
The show was picked up by Paramount+ in 2023 and was renewed for a second season before the first one premiered, the outlet noted. “Starfleet Academy” earned high praise from critics but was largely trashed by the audience, in part due to its outlandish leftist elements.
This included the first-ever gay Klingon in “Star Trek” history and a drag queen, among other elements that made it off-the-charts woke. 
Unsurprisingly, the series never gained traction and failed to capture the audience it needed to survive. Variety noted that “Starfleet Academy” never cracked Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming rankings during its debut season earlier this year. The second season is already filmed and will be released on an undisclosed date.
“People hated it because it was an attempt to shove more woke nonsense down our throats. It takes a special kind of stupid to ruin Star Trek,” one commenter on X <a href="https://x.com/h2av8tor/status/2036280551137747082">wrote</a> in response to the cancellation news.
“Damn, they managed to check all of the woke boxes, which of course creates a show few people will want to watch. And no, it&#8217;s not because people are racists or don&#8217;t like gay people, it&#8217;s because these types of shows are contrived, preachy, and insult the intelligence of millions of viewers. Why anyone invests in this garbage is beyond me,” a second person agreed.
Even some leftists said it was terrible. 
“I&#8217;m a dirty woke liberal and I didn&#8217;t watch it/am glad it&#8217;s dead for one simple reason: It&#8217;s just not Trek,” another reply <a href="https://x.com/isthisnessicary/status/2036444933658198431">said</a>. “Trek has always been woke: first interracial kiss, the right/left black side racists, Riker and Soren, Measure of a Man. The fact that it&#8217;s ‘luxury gay space communism.’”
Series co-showrunners and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau reacted to the cancellation with an open letter. 
“Whether you’re working on ‘Star Trek’ or part of the marvel that is ‘Star Trek’ fandom — its very heart, soul, and conscience —the joy comes from adventuring across boundaries of time, space, and the humanly possible in service to Roddenberry’s transformative vision of the future,” they wrote in part. 
“That incomparable vision was fueled by an inexhaustible optimism. ‘Star Trek’ places its bet on the best in human nature. It dares to imagine a society of ‘infinite diversity in infinite combinations,’ free of war, hate, poverty, disease, and repression, and dedicated to the spirit of scientific inquiry and respect for all life, whether carbon or silicon-based, green-skinned or blue.”
CBS Studios and Paramount+ also released a joint statement. “We’re incredibly proud of the ambition, passion, and creativity that went into bringing ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ to life,” it said. 
“The series introduced audiences to a bold new group of characters, welcomed familiar faces, and expanded the ‘Star Trek’ universe in exciting new ways. We’re grateful to Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau, Gaia Violo, and the entire cast and crew who pushed storytelling boundaries in the spirit of Gene Roddenberry’s vision. We look forward to sharing the upcoming second and final season with everyone, and continuing to celebrate the cast, crew, and all that was accomplished with this series.”

Starfleet Academy

Another Ultra-Woke Spinoff Series Just Got Canceled

Paramount

Star Trek

U.S.

Wokeness

Reality star Taylor Frankie Paul’s baby daddy Dakota Mortensen has been granted a temporary protective order against his ex and has reportedly gotten temporary custody of their child.
The order states that Taylor cannot have contact with Mortensen and is not allowed to “abuse or threaten to abuse” him. The “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” celeb has been ordered to stay at least 100 feet away from her ex and is forbidden from contacting him, per <a href="https://people.com/dakota-mortensen-granted-temporary-custody-of-taylor-frankie-paul-son-ever-11931147">People</a>.
Taylor will be able to plead her case at a scheduled hearing on April 7, and won’t be able to see her youngest child, Ever, prior to that point.
Dakota alleged that Taylor choked him during an incident on February 23, and attacked him again the next day, February 24. 
&#8220;I was unable to safely leave while this was happening, and my child had been left inside the home during the chaos under her watch due to our custody agreement,&#8221; Dakota stated in documents obtained by TMZ.
The reality star was slated to be “The Bachelorette” beginning Sunday evening, but her season, which has already been filmed, was abruptly canceled when a video of her fighting with Dakota and throwing metal bar stools was leaked to TMZ earlier this week.
Taylor had already pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2023 immediately after the incident, but the video footage was not released until now.
TMZ also <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/03/20/taylor-frankie-paul-kids-not-taken-away-after-assault/">reported</a> that an anonymous source said Taylor&#8217;s ex-husband, Tate Paul, had not seen the video before its release. Tate shares two children with Taylor, including the child in the video who was allegedly struck by the bar stool. A child can be heard crying in the video after the stool is thrown, and the police report from 2023 allegedly said the child had a goose egg on her head.
Taylor, meanwhile, claimed during an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE1ykz4fryI">episode</a> of “The Viall Files” podcast last year that her daughter didn’t have any injuries. She admitted that she was out of control on the evening in question.
“I was feeling so low I went and drank that night,” the reality star said on the podcast. “&#8230;and Dakota picks me up and he’s angry that I drank.”
Taylor said she was “so sad” at the time. “I remember, like, throwing things, and I don&#8217;t know my daughter is on the couch,” she went on. “We had babysitters there, so I think they’re upstairs sleeping.”
“I’m, like, so gone I don’t care, and I throw another chair,” she said, also telling the podcast host, “We didn’t know if it hit her or not, it might have not hit her at all…” Taylor also claimed the child had no “noticeable injuries” and insisted “everything was good.” 
Tate and Taylor were married from 2016 until 2022. TMZ <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/03/20/taylor-frankie-paul-kids-not-taken-away-after-assault/">reported</a> that Tate responded to the domestic incident in 2023 by having his lawyer seek full custody of the children, and that after meeting several demands including alcohol education classes, the reality star earned back shared custody about six months later.

Taylor Frankie Paul Assault Video Fallout Just Took A Worse Turn With Custody Drama

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