Steve Pond's Blog, page 144

Kanye West Says He’s ‘Done With Antisemitism,’ Asks to Be Forgiven for ‘Pain I Caused’

Kanye “Ye” West said on Thursday that he’s “done with antisemitism,” and asked forgiveness for “the pain I’ve caused” in a series of X posts.

In a separate message, he wrote, “God forgive me for the pain I’ve caused.” He also shared the reason behind his change of heart: “I simply got a FaceTime from my kids and I wanna save the world again…” The rapper shares four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian: North West, Saint West, Chicago West and Psalm West.

Ye shared the news to X, where other users were skeptical that he’d stick to this new path. One user, @WesternDecline, amended the post to say, “I am done with antisemitism… for today.”

I am done with antisemitism

— ye (@kanyewest) May 22, 2025

Another user named Ricardo replied, “bruh you say this every 4 months and get worse every time.”

Ye has been banned or suspended multiple times for social media messages including “I am a Nazi” in February, the same month he also called Adolf Hitler “fresh,” and his e-commerce website was taken down because he was selling swastika sweatshirts

In 2022, he lost all his fashion sponsors, including Adidas and Balenciaga, for tweets such as one where he threatened to “go [Def] Con 3 on Jewish people.”

In March 2023, he said he “likes Jewish people again” after watching Jonah Hill in “21 Jump Street.”

The rapper, who previously stated that he was bipolar, said in February that he is actually autistic.

“I haven’t taken the medication since I found out that bipolar wasn’t the right diagnosis,” West said on “The Download” podcast at the time. “It’s finding stuff that doesn’t block the creativity, obviously that’s what I bring to the world. It’s worth the ramp-up, as long as y’all get the creativity.”

The post Kanye West Says He’s ‘Done With Antisemitism,’ Asks to Be Forgiven for ‘Pain I Caused’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Jennifer Aniston Stalker Who Crashed Into Her Gate Found Mentally Incompetent to Stand Trial

The man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car into the front gate of her Bel Air home was found mentally incompetent to stand trial on Thursday.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle appeared in a Hollywood courthouse specializing in mental health cases. He was examined by a county psychiatrist who found him incompetent, according to Deputy Public Defender Robert Krauss. The defendant asked for a new psychiatrist to come and give a second opinion following the announcement.

A reevaluation was ordered by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maria Cavaluzzi and another hearing scheduled for May 29.

Carwyle was charged with two felony counts – one for stalking, one for vandalism – after he drove a car into the “Friends” star’s front gate May 5. The act was preceded by years of Carwyle filling Aniston’s voicemail, email and social media with messages.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges in his initial hearing. That prompted the judge to pause criminal proceedings until Carwyle underwent a psychological examination.

“Stalking is a crime that can quickly escalate from harassment to dangerous, violent actions, threatening the safety of victims and our communities,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said after Carwyle was charged. “My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who stalk and terrorize others, ensuring they are held accountable.”

Aniston was home the Sunday that Carwyle drove his car into her home’s front gate, but the two never interacted. Carwyle was detained by her private security until the police arrived. In addition to the felony charges, Carwyle faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm.

The post Jennifer Aniston Stalker Who Crashed Into Her Gate Found Mentally Incompetent to Stand Trial appeared first on TheWrap.

‘The Studio’ Stars Break Down Their Favorite Season 1 Cameos

Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Studio” Season 1.

You can’t make an authentic show about Hollywood without some celebrity cameos. That’s something that “The Studio,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s comedy for Apple TV+, knows too well and delivers in spades. By the season’s end, the industry satire features everyone from Ramy Youssef and Ice Cube to Adam Scott and Netflix head Ted Sarandos, all not-so-subtly mocking their public personas.

But out off all the celebrities, there were a select few that stood out to this very talented — and very funny — ensemble.

“[Martin] Scorsese was very impressive and a very funny performer, like legitimately funny,” Rogen, who plays the new head of Continental Studios Matt Remnick, told TheWrap in an interview that included the comedy’s five leads. “He was really firing on all cylinders and was saying stuff that was making me and Ike [Barinholtz] laugh so hard as we were filming these scenes. He really wanted to improvise a lot, which was very difficult, considering how we were shooting things. But you can’t tell him not to. We just found a way to make it work.”

Barinholtz, who plays Continental vice president of production Sal Saperstein, also praised the legendary director. But his pick was Dave Franco.

“We were really exhausted shooting the last couple episodes in Las Vegas and having Dave Franco show up with so much energy was a real delight,” Barinholtz said.

The cast of “The Studio” (Photo Credit: Apple TV+)

Like Rogen, both Catherine O’Hara and Kathryn Hahn highlighted directors as guest stars who impressed them. For O’Hara, who plays Matt’s mentor Patty Leigh, the former Continental head who’s ousted from the studio at the beginning of the series, filmmaker Sarah Polley came to mind.

The “Women Talking” director appears in Episode 2 as a version of herself. The “Studio” version of Polley is desperate to capture a one-shot for her upcoming movie “The Silver Lake” despite Matt’s clumsy efforts.

“She’s so cool. She’s so talented, and I love the power she had on the set. She maintained that power, but in a lovely, gracious Canadian way,” O’Hara said.

“Ron Howard,” Hahn added.

Matt’s entire team, including Hahn’s confident and unpredictable head of marketing Maya, are forced to confront Howard in “The Note.” In the episode, Howard turns in a cut of his latest film that everyone agrees is perfect, save for a far too long ending sequence. When they learn that the bad scenes actually mean the most to Howard, the Continental team has to give a hard note to one of the nicest guys in Hollywood.

“He really committed to it, and there’s a rage under there that I hadn’t anticipated, which was really a delight,” Hahn said.

Last but certainly not least is Chase Sui Wonders’ pick: David Krumholtz, whom she said “has not gotten enough love.” Though Wonders’ junior assistant Quinn doesn’t share the screen with Krumholtz’s talent agent Mitch Weitz often, the “Oppenheimer” and “10 Things I Hate About You” actor is a standout. Every time Krumholtz appears in “The Studio” he makes Matt increasingly uncomfortable with his jokes about Judaism.

“There’s just a distinct moment in Vegas — you would have some breaks when the camera panned off of you. You had to be locked in, but you could fall into the background. But David Krumholtz, I remember looking over to him in the wings behind a curtain — definitely off camera — and he was going full throttle at Seth’s character the hardest I’ve ever seen, like whipping him, slapping him,” Wonders said. “He had no business committing that hard off camera.”

As many deep cut cameos as “The Studio” featured throughout its first season, Rogen was never worried about his show feeling too inside baseball.

“If you have no idea who Ted Sarandos is, all you need to get is there’s another guy who keeps getting thanked, and [my character] is jealous of him,” Rogen explained. “They were really filling specific character roles and serving certain jokes in the episode. The fact that we were able to get the real people who would be doing that in real life was very exciting, but we always tried to contextualize them comedically.”

“The Studio” is now streaming on Apple TV+.

The post ‘The Studio’ Stars Break Down Their Favorite Season 1 Cameos appeared first on TheWrap.

Aaron Paul Relives His ‘Price Is Right’ Failure on ‘Hot Ones,’ Incorrectly Guesses the Price of a New Car | Video

“Hot Ones” host Sean Evans forced Aaron Paul to relive the embarrassment of overbidding on a car when he was a contestant on “The Price of Right,” and then asked him to repeat the experience as if a Chevy 2024 were actually on the line.

“How would you distill the experience of being a contestant on ‘The Price Is Right,’ because when I watch the 2000 appearance, which has millions of views on YouTube, it seems like such an emotional roller coaster,” Evans began.

“How dare you bring that up?” the actor, who was beginning to sweat profusely, replied, pretending to be insulted.

Paul explained, “I was struggling. I needed money, and we could use that sports car. I could have used that car, right? And I was so depressed when I bid $132 over and then my buddy actually stayed. They did two tapings that day, and he won the Showcase Showdown. He won a trip to Fiji, New Orleans and London.

However, it wasn’t a total loss for Paul, “I went to New Orleans with him.”

Then Evans upped the ante by producing a photo of a 2024 Chevy, once again asking Paul to come close to the MSRP without going over.

Paul guessed $34,695 and was dismayed to learn that, once again, he had bid too high, as the actual MSRP is $30,000.

Evans also played clips from the time when Bryan Cranston was on the show and asked Paul to respond to “pull quotes” his “Breaking Bad” costar dished out at the time.

“If a character cries easily, the audience doesn’t have to, but if a character tries not to cry, that’s when the audience will [cry],” Evans read from the Cranston transcript.

Before Paul could reply to that, he noted that the hotness of the sauces was getting to him. “It’s hitting me. This is actually… it’s creeping up. It’s one of those things that you feel like you’ve accomplished something victorious. And then your face is on fire.”

Paul confirmed that he encouraged Cranston to snack on the fake meth on the award-winning show.

“I would sling that meth to anyone that walked onto that set,” he laughed. “Now, I gotta be honest, I actually stole as much met from that show as possible. But I wish I stole more things, you know… the rule of thumb when you’re doing you know, work in this industry, just steal sh–t.”

He continued, “Don’t ask, because they’ll say no. Just steal it and they’ll get over it.”

Watch the segment in the embedded video above.

Paul’s new sci-film “Ash,” is now on VOD and digital platforms.

The post Aaron Paul Relives His ‘Price Is Right’ Failure on ‘Hot Ones,’ Incorrectly Guesses the Price of a New Car | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Lisa Ann Walter, Iliza Shlesinger, Bridget Everett and More Join TheWrap’s Women of Comedy Emmy Showcase

Lisa Ann Walter (“Abbott Elementary”), Brenda Song (“Running Point”), Iliza Shlesinger (“Iliza Shlesinger: A Different Animal”), Christa Miller (“Shrinking”), Sasheer Zamata (“Agatha All Along”), Julianne Nicholson (“Hacks”), Bridget Everett (“Somebody Somewhere”), Abby Elliott (“The Bear”) and Wendy McLendon-Covey (“St. Denis Medical”) will come together for TheWrap’s Women of Comedy Emmy Showcase, a vibrant celebration of today’s leading female voices in comedy on June 4.

The Emmy-season event will be hosted by acclaimed comedian, actress, writer and producer Whitney Cummings, who will moderate candid panel conversations with the featured performers. These discussions will delve into the comedians’ creative journeys, influences and the evolving landscape for women in the comedy industry.

Taking place at The Crescent Theater in Beverly Hills, the invite-only evening will begin with a welcome reception at 4:00 p.m., followed by two panel conversations at 5:00 p.m. featuring some of today’s most influential comedic voices.

“We’re thrilled to honor these incredible performers whose work continues to redefine comedy and captivate audiences,” said Sharon Waxman, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheWrap. “This event is a celebration of their unique voices and the impact they’re making across television and entertainment.”

The Women of Comedy Emmy Showcase is part of TheWrap’s ongoing commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices and celebrating creative excellence throughout awards season.

The event is presented in partnership with Comedy Gives Back — the safety net for the comedy community — offering financial crisis relief, mental health and substance abuse treatment sponsorship, and ongoing community support.

Request to attend here. Attendance is reserved for industry professionals, with priority given to members of the Television Academy (ATAS), affiliated guilds, and WrapPRO.

TheWrap’s Women of Comedy: An Emmy Season Showcase is sponsored by Prime Video, NBC, FX, ABC, Apple TV+, Max, Warner Bros. TV and Disney+.

The post Lisa Ann Walter, Iliza Shlesinger, Bridget Everett and More Join TheWrap’s Women of Comedy Emmy Showcase appeared first on TheWrap.

Alix Earle Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 34

Social media star Alix Earle has been tapped to tango for “Dancing With the Stars” Season 34.

Earle has hinted that she would want to join the series and even attended a live taping of the show last season. The 24-year-old social media star’s partner has yet to be announced, and the full cast of stars and their professional dancer partners will be revealed at a later date. She joins the previously announced wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin.

“Dancing With the Stars” ranked No. 1 this past fall among Adults 18-49 in live and same day viewing, marking the first time the series ranked in first place for the broadcast season in its history, according to ABC. The viral season culminated with the highest Total Viewer audience (7.95 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.55 rating) in over three years.

A premiere date for Season 34 has not yet been revealed, but traditionally new seasons debut in September.

The influencer is one of the leading social media personalities in the U.S. across platforms. Just last year she appeared in three Super Bowl campaigns for Carl’s Jr., Poppi and Hellman’s as well as this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue after becoming the magazine’s first digital cover star last year.

Earle grew up dancing competitively in New Jersey, but she has not put her skills on the national stage quite yet. The social media star gained popularity for her “Get Ready With Me” videos and for her transparency surrounding her struggles with acne.

Beyond being the face of several beauty advertising campaigns, Earle also has made investments into Poppi and Sip Margs, earning her a spot on the Forbes’ Top Creators list. The social media star previously had a podcast with Alex Cooper’s Unwell network but has since split with the media mogul and ditched her podcast completely to focus on YouTube vlogs and other digital content.

“Dancing With the Stars” is produced in front of a live audience by BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions. The series will air on ABC and Disney+ and stream next day on Hulu.

The post Alix Earle Joins ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 34 appeared first on TheWrap.

Jimmy Kimmel Says Trump Will Pardon Diddy Because ‘He’d Hate to Lose One of His Best Customers’ | Video

Jimmy Kimmel was amused during his monologue on Wednesday night’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” by the unexpected ties Sean “Diddy” Combs has to Donald Trump that have come out as part of his trial.

To be clear, Trump isn’t implicated in any of the crimes Diddy is accused of. But according to testimony in said trial, it turns out one of Diddy’s most preferred places to hold one of his so-called “freak offs” was the Trump International Hotel. And this reveal made Kimmel suspect Trump might just pardon Diddy after all.

“The trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs is happening in New York. Yesterday, they put his former assistant on the stand, who said a lot of interesting things, including that he was given a list of items Diddy required in his hotel rooms. [Which] included his clothes, toiletries, a medicine bag, Fiji Water, applesauce and Jell-O,” Kimmel said.

“Wow, first Cosby, now Diddy. These people at Jell-O really can’t catch a break, can they?” Kimmel joked. “I think applesauce, Jell-O and water are the only things they feed Diddy in prison, right?”

“The assistant also said Diddy would send him to the drugstore to buy baby oil and lube, which he had him pay for in cash so it wouldn’t be linked to his credit cards,” Kimmel continued. “That’s smart! That way the only evidence he was buying large quantities of lube was a three-foot-long receipt from CVS with eleven coupons for lube printed on them.”

“He also told the court Diddy used to carry around a pouch that contained Viagra, sperm count pills, ecstasy and Percocet. all part of what Charlie Sheen used to call a complete and well-balanced breakfast,” Kimmel quipped. 

But, he continued, “it also so happens that Diddy’s favorite place to stay in New York, we learned yesterday, was the Trump International Hotel. Of course it was. It’s like the pool filter of the world.”

“Maybe Trump will sell Diddy a pardon after all. He’d hate to lose one of his best customers. Would anybody be surprised by that?” Kimmel asked.

Watch the whole monologue below:

The post Jimmy Kimmel Says Trump Will Pardon Diddy Because ‘He’d Hate to Lose One of His Best Customers’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Planètes’ Review: Delightful Animated Odyssey Finds Hope in Nuclear Armageddon

“Planètes” or “Dandelion’s Odyssey,’ a delightful dialogue-free animated tale of a group of adorable dandelion seeds, adrift in space and seeking a new home after Earth is obliterated by nuclear war, doesn’t initially sound like the most hopeful of stories.

But at a Cannes Film Festival that has been defined by the sense that the world is going to hell with haunting films that take on everything from the reverberations of abuse to the perils of postpartum depression and the devastation of losing those you love, Momoko Seto’s small, often silly, little gem of a film still stands apart. It’s more than a bit scrappy — the animation can be somewhat crude at times — but it wins you over with just enough earned charm as it sets forth on a small-scale, interplanetary adventure. 

In “Planètes,” a nuclear bombardment swallows the world in fire and sends the humble dandelion seeds floating through space. This instills the film with a less grounded and more expansive sci-fi element, though it also relies on you again going with a group of non-human characters that utter not a word. It doesn’t have quite the same cute factor as, say, the cat from the Oscar-winning “Flow” — due to the whole them not having faces thing — but damn it if you don’t come to care for these little dandelion seeds all the same. 

Premiering Wednesday in the Critics Week sidebar at the festival, this begins with a glimpse of the entire universe that fades into the vast stars becoming the parts of the dandelion. Living peacefully by the water in a beautiful valley, this is not to last as nuclear projectiles almost immediately begin falling in the distance. As the explosions rock their world and fire begins to burn through everything, a group of seeds launch themselves off from their stem to begin floating away… And floating… And floating until they leave behind the now desolate carcass of a planet, go past the moon, on through a black hole, and arrive at a new potential home. 

It’s there that we get to meet the seeds Dendelion, Baraban, Léonto and Taraxa (at least that’s what the festival description says which we’ll just have to take the word of). They don’t speak, instead making little almost chirping sounds to each other, and are distinguished primarily by their size difference. As they encounter one challenge after another on this strange yet familiar new planet, from hazardous elements to other creatures, they’ll repeatedly be put at risk of being destroyed before they can arrive at a safe place.

The result is a film that isn’t particularly groundbreaking in terms of its narrative, which is a simple and straightforward survival story, though it still thrives in the textures of the animation. The landscapes that the seed squad skates, bounces, or flies through are all varied, with slippery ice dominating one part of the planet while a vast ocean dominates another. As we get further and further along on the journey, each stage inflicting more harm on the seeds until there may be none left, the more there is usage of striking stop-motion techniques for some of the natural world that it brings to life beautifully.

It’s almost like watching a nature documentary, but if the camera were launched to another planet that we may not have fully learned about yet. There are still some familiar life forms, like a group of slugs that the seeds hitch a ride on, but this also precedes a sequence that feels ripped right out of Dune with enormous sand creatures bursting up from the ground and threatening to take them under. Frequently, these creatures will prove successful and the dandelion seed family will start to grow rather small. 

All of this is mostly silly and sweet with growing notes of a slight somberness that benefits from the loving attention given to every well-crafted detail. Even when the moves of the seeds can look a little stiff and awkward, it’s the meticulously well-crafted environment around them that ensures everything takes flight when it needs to. Though still more than a little slight, only running 77 minutes despite feeling like it had more gas in the tank and playing out pretty much exactly as you’d expect it to, that suits the film just fine.

It’s also a film that lives in the shadow of “Flow.” Not just because both premiered at the festival, part of only a handful of animated films to do so. They also share a lack of dialogue and people as their nonhuman protagonists confront the end of the world — in the case of “Flow,” a steadily rising flood threatening to consume everything.

“Planètes” may not resonate as much as “Flow,” as it’s a great deal weirder. But it still finds moments of the sublime, of hope and sweetness that make you more than willing to go along with it.

The post ‘Planètes’ Review: Delightful Animated Odyssey Finds Hope in Nuclear Armageddon appeared first on TheWrap.

Martina McBride Urges Congress to Protect Artists From ‘Terrifying’ AI Tech, Says Deepfakes Are a ‘Betrayal’

Martina McBride urged Congress to support the NO FAKES Act to help protect artists from certain AI advancements on Wednesday.

The country music star testified on Capitol Hill, saying that AI deepfakes were “just terrifying” and asking for help defending musicians, actors and other artists from becoming victims to the latest tech.

“AI technology is amazing and can be used for so many wonderful purposes,” McBride said. “But like all great technologies, it can also be abused, in this case by stealing people’s voices and likenesses to scare and defraud families, manipulate the images of young girls in ways that are shocking to say the least, impersonate government officials or make phony recordings posing as artists like me.”

She added: “I’m pleading with you to give me the tools to stop that kind of betrayal. [The NO FAKES Act could] set America on the right course to develop the world’s best AI while preserving the sacred qualities that make our country so special: authenticity, integrity, humanity and our endlessly inspiring spirit … I urge you to pass this bill now.”

The NO FAKES Act seeks to provide federal protections for artists’ voice, likeness and image being used in AI-generated deepfakes. It also looks to hold platforms that knowingly feature these deepfakes liable. The act also plans to create a federal right of publicity that does not expire at death but rather continues under a person’s heir for no more than 70 years following death.

“It provides a remedy to victims of invasive harms that go beyond the intimate images addressed by that legislation, protecting artists like Martina from non-consensual deepfakes and voice clones that breach the trust she has built with millions of fans,” Mitch Glazier, CEO of Recording Industry Association of America, also said in hearing testimony. “[It] empowers individuals to have unlawful deepfakes removed as soon as a platform is able without requiring anyone to hire lawyers or go to court.”

The testimony in support of the NO FAKES Act comes on the heels of the Human Artistry Campaign’s open letter advocating for responsible AI use that was signed by over 400 entertainers back in March. Among the names were LeAnn Rimes, Bette Midler, Missy Elliott, Scarlett Johansson and Sean Astin.

The post Martina McBride Urges Congress to Protect Artists From ‘Terrifying’ AI Tech, Says Deepfakes Are a ‘Betrayal’ appeared first on TheWrap.

PBS Chief Says Trump Defunding Will Have Permanent Local Impact: ‘Stations Would Likely Be Sold, and That’ll Be the End’ | Video

PBS chief Paula Kerger on Wednesday said President Donald Trump’s push to defund public broadcasters would spell the end for a number of local news stations.

Kerger, in an interview with Katie Couric, lamented that “there are stations that will go off the air” in rural areas if the president is successful, without projecting a specific number of PBS member stations that would cease to operate.

“I think we’ll figure out a way, through digital, to make sure there is some PBS content,” Kerger said. “But there won’t be anyone in the community creating local content. There won’t be a place for people to come together.”

She added: “Once broadcast licenses are gone, they’re gone. It’s a finite commodity. The stations would likely be sold and that’ll be the end.”

Trump signed an executive order on May 1 calling for the end of taxpayer subsidization of PBS and NPR, via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse and innovative news options,” the order said.  “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.”

The president has also called NPR and PBS “radical left monsters” that Republicans must defund in recent social media posts.

Whether Trump achieves his goal is to be determined, however. Congress has already allocated $535 million for public broadcasters this fiscal year, and he is facing a lawsuit from CPB over a related issue — his decision to fire three of its board members.

You can watch Kerger’s full interview with Couric below; her comments mentioned above are made around the 37-minute mark.

The post PBS Chief Says Trump Defunding Will Have Permanent Local Impact: ‘Stations Would Likely Be Sold, and That’ll Be the End’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.