Steve Pond's Blog, page 48

Fox News’ Dana Perino Insists Newsom’s Trump Trolling Is ‘Cringe’ and ‘Just Not Funny’ | Video

Fox News personality Dana Perino was adamant on Tuesday’s episode of “The Five” that she gets what the joke is with Gavin Newsom’s parodies of Donald Trump social media posts. She thinks “it’s just not funny.”

Newsom has recently started doing ALL CAPS parodies of Donald Trump’s social media posts, only from his own POV, which has drawn a lot of attention to the California governor. On Monday, Perino dismissed Newsom’s efforts to mock the president and promote his own agenda in this way, saying in part that he is “making a fool of yourself, stop it,” and that “he has to be a little bit more serious” if he wants to be President of the United States.

Setting aside the fact that the current president didn’t have to “be a little bit more serious” to get his job, people mocked Perino for those comments, accusing her among other things of not getting the joke. And so it is on Tuesday’s “The Five” she waded into it again.

“California’s got a huge amount of problems. And if you think about Mamdani, his authenticity is what rocketed him to the top. And now you have Cuomo trying to copy him, and it’s just cringe. And that was my point. Is that if you’re doing this and it’s not authentic and you’re trying to do somebody else who you say is Hitler and you think that we don’t get the joke, oh no, we get the joke, it’s just not funny,” Perino said in part.

Watch part of that below:

Perino: You think we don't get the joke — we get the joke. It's just not funny. pic.twitter.com/7eRGfpmG0Z

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 19, 2025

Shortly after the episode aired, Newsom clapped back with another Trump parody.

“DANA “DING DONG” PERINO (NEVER HEARD OF HER UNTIL TODAY!) IS MELTING DOWN BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM! FOX HATES THAT I AM AMERICA’S MOST FAVORITE GOVERNOR (“RATINGS KING”) SAVING AMERICA — WHILE TRUMP CAN’T EVEN CONQUER THE “BIG” STAIRS ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE!!! TRUMP HAS “LOST HIS STEP” AND FOX IS LOSING IT BECAUSE WHEN I TYPE, AMERICA NOW WINS!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. — GCN,” Newsom said.

We’ll keep you updated if this disagreement goes into day three.

Meanwhile, Newsom explained last week in a press conference what his strategy is. “I hope it’s a wakeup call. The President of the United States — I’m sort of following his example. And if you’ve got issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as president,” he said in part.

He continued: “So to the extent it’s gotten some attention, I’m pleased. But I think the deeper question is: How have we allowed the normalization of his tweets, Truth Social posts over the course of the last many years to go without similar scrutiny and notice?”

The post Fox News’ Dana Perino Insists Newsom’s Trump Trolling Is ‘Cringe’ and ‘Just Not Funny’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘The Map That Leads to You’ Review: Ship This Amazon Romance Back Home

“The Map That Leads to You” is a romantic movie. Allegedly. Sort of. It gets to the lovey-dovey stuff eventually, but half of it plays like a “Hostel” sequel. A group of conventionally pretty college graduates travel across Europe, meeting strange men who stalk them, split them up, and refuse to be photographed. At one point the handsome lead says he tracked the heroine down just to mansplain Ernest Hemingway’s fourth wife to her, and she promises never to forget again.

I haven’t seen this many red flags since the factory that makes red flags exploded. And these guys might have been the arsonists. Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallström (nominated, notably, for better films) seems oblivious to the weirdness on display in “The Map That Leads to You.” He only sees a sweet romance between an American, who travels to Europe before accepting a big banking job, and a dashing young man with worldly opinions, who sweeps her off her feet and changes her life while hiding a tragic secret. To those paying attention, yes, that’s the same story as “My Oxford Year,” which came out only a few weeks ago. To quote Dr. Doofenshmirtz: “It’s weird that it happened twice.”

There’s something to be said about a good romantic travelogue. “The Map That Leads to You” doesn’t say it. It’s bright and crisp to a fault, careening past the realm of escapist fantasy and crashing in unbelievable territory. Watching these Americans in Europe without a care in the world, whose biggest problems are whether they want to throw away their financially lucrative careers in exchange for [checks notes] romantic bliss in picture perfect locales isn’t dramatically riveting. It’s so divorced from reality that it’s practically grounds for divorce.

There’s not much plot to speak of but let’s speak about it anyway. “The Map That Leads to You” stars Madelyn Cline (the scene-stealer from “I Know What You Did Last Summer”) as Heather, who just graduated college and is totally getting a sweet banking job. But first, a European tour with her best pals Connie (Sofia Wylie) and Amy (Madison Thompson)! Heather wants to see the sights, Connie wants to eat the food — which we never see her doing — and Amy wants to boink studly men, one of whom gets her hopped up on hallucinogens and steals everything she owns.

Fortunately (?), Heather just met Jack, played by KJ Apa (“Riverdale”). It’s a good thing he stalked her and wanted to mansplain Hemingway’s life story, I guess, because he helps them track down Amy’s thief and he steals all that guy’s money instead. Because screw that guy, obviously. They take his giant wad of cash on a spending spree and you’d think that would be important later, like that criminal might be mad about having all his money stolen and want to do something about it, but apparently he’s cool with being robbed. Our affluent heroes must have wanted it more!

Then they all split up and Heather spends the last leg of her European tour with Jack, and Europe is very pretty and they’re very pretty and they fall in love. It would be lovely to fall in love along with them, captivated by their charms and/or inspired by their personalities. But Jack and Heather are generic creations: a starry-eyed tragic young man and a young woman whose only personality flaw is that she’s not very impulsive, which barely even qualifies. He’s an ideal, she’s a cypher. Together they’re a blank slate mounted in a shiny frame.

There’s so little to “The Map That Leads to You” that it makes “My Oxford Year” look profound by comparison, which is pretty impressive since “My Oxford Year” is “My Oxford Year.” Hallström’s film is an Amazon Original and “Oxford” is a Netflix Original, so maybe these two rivals were trying to one-up each other, “Armageddon” vs. “Deep Impact”-style. But in this case it’s more like “Alien vs. Predator,” since whoever wins, we lose.

Look, romance lovers are a bit like slasher fans, in that we don’t need every movie to be brilliant, we just want them to hit the beats we love, and hit them hard. “The Map That Leads to You” barely finds its rhythm, and never really connects. There’s nothing amazin’ about it. It’s merely Amazon.

The post ‘The Map That Leads to You’ Review: Ship This Amazon Romance Back Home appeared first on TheWrap.

Penske Cuts Work-From-Home Employment With In-Office Mandate, Forced Resignations

Remote workers across Penske Media Corporation will soon be forced to make a major change to their lives, or lose their jobs entirely, as owner Jay Penske has ordered all employees to work at least 4 days per week at one of the company’s offices starting in October.

Penske informed staff in a memo, sent Friday and published Monday by Oliver Darcy, that they have until Oct. 4 to decide if they will comply, with the clear implication being that those who do not have effectively tendered their resignation. Indeed, according to Darcy, an FAQ attached to the memo explicitly states that those who refuse will be eligible for severance benefits, indicating the company already expects there will be refusals.

The mandate also appears to affect not just staff working for the larger PMC but at all of PMC’s publications and brands. These include Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Deadline, the Golden Globes and South by Southwest. Many Penske properties do not require staff to work on site at all and employ people who live nowhere near Los Angeles, New York, Austin or Miami, where PMC maintains offices.

Representatives for PMC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

In the memo, Penske suggested the move was related to corporate culture and productivity and not to larger financial or business concerns, suggesting outright that remote workers are less devoted to the job and less productive. “At a time we need to be solving problems faster, we find ourselves foregoing quick ad hoc brainstorming meetings, taking longer to find workable meeting times, and seeing uneven engagement from remote participants,” the memo said in part.

(It’s worth noting that multiple studies since 2020 have found the precise opposite to be true, and that remote workers are more productive and happier, and generate more money for their employers.)

Penske also referred vaguely to so-called artificial intelligence, writing that A.I. is “driving unprecedented changes and challenges in our industry,” and, he added, “we are living through one of the most dynamic periods in media and publishing history.”

The post Penske Cuts Work-From-Home Employment With In-Office Mandate, Forced Resignations appeared first on TheWrap.

Where to Watch ‘Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson’: Is the Special Streaming?

If there’s one thing Kelly “Because of You” Clarkson is going to do, it’s sing the house down, and she’s bringing along some huge musical stars for a special event.

“Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson,” which premieres on Tuesday, first came about as a fun segment on her hit daytime talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” But now, the three-time Grammy award-winner has made it an entire occasion for fans to tune into for a four-day event.

Here are all the details about when, where, and how to watch the show. Plus, who all will be making a guest appearance.

When does “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson” premiere?

“Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson” premieres on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. PST on NBC.

How many episodes will “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson” have?

There are four episodes in the “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson” series. The first episode premieres on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. PST. Here’s the episode release schedule below.

Episode 1: Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. PSTEpisode 2: Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. PSTEpisode 3: Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. PSTEpisode 4: Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. PSTWill “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson” be streaming?

Yes, “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson” will be available to stream on Peacock the day after it airs on NBC. So tune in on Peacock on Wednesdays!

What is “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson”?

“Songs & Stories” originated as a segment on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” and it consisted of interviews and musical performances.

Here’s Peacock’s description of the series: “In ‘Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson,’ Clarkson will merge her interviewing and musical background to engage in heartfelt and unfiltered conversations with celebrities to examine their music and lives off the stage. The three-time Grammy winner will sit down with today’s top artists to chat about their musical inspirations as well as their personal lives, giving viewers a front-row pass. The show will also dive deeper into the artists‘ lives and how their art has shaped them. The four-episode special will also feature musical performances in an intimate, unplugged setting.”

Who will appear in “Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson”?

There will be several musical stars joining Clarkson for the event, including Gloria Estefan (Aug. 27), Teddy Swims (Sept. 3) and Lizzo (Sept. 10).

The post Where to Watch ‘Songs & Stories With Kelly Clarkson’: Is the Special Streaming? appeared first on TheWrap.

‘South Park’: Towelie Returns to Visit Trump’s White House, Militarized DC in Episode 3 Trailer

“South Park” dropped its first trailer for Wednesday’s new episode — Season 27, Episode 3, titled “Sickofancy” — and we’re pleased to report that Towelie is making his grand return.

This time, the fan-favorite sentient talking towel is hitting Washington, D.C. Apparently in a militarized state under President Donald Trump, the trailer ends with Towelie exiting the bus into the big city and standing in front of the White House.

“This seems like the perfect place for a towel,” he exclaims.

Watch the trailer below:

“Sickofancy”: Towelie goes to Washington, D.C.

South Park’s 27th season continues this Wednesday, August 20 at 10/9c on Comedy Central and next day on Paramount+. pic.twitter.com/HVzao5ii4D

— South Park (@SouthPark) August 20, 2025

“South Park” returned to Comedy Central and Paramount+ last month and in typical fashion, it took big swings and made headlines out of the gate. Season 27’s premiere episode, “Sermon on the ‘Mount,” pulled no punches, taking aim at Trump — and at parent company Paramount for their recent dealings with him.

It’s a premiere that made a statement, and earned an official response from the Trump White House. The series carried that heat over to the ICE-centric Episode 2, which debuted to a massive ratings bump and itself earned the ire of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who railed against the animated series for mocking her physical appearance.

Alsop in typical “South Park” fashion? New episodes are dropping intermittently rather than weekly. Episode 3, “Sickofancy,” drops on Wednesday on Comedy Central at 7 p.m. PST.

For future episodes, viewers can expect to watch them on Paramount+ on Thursdays after they premiere on Comedy Central on Wednesday. The first two episodes are streaming now.

“South Park” follows a group of uncivil 10-year-old boys, Stan, Cartman, Kyle and Kenny, as they navigate quirky and wild adventures in South Park, Colorado. The series is based on the VHS-shared animated short “The Spirit of Christmas.”

Towelie made his “South Park” debut in Season 5 back in 2001. He did not appear in Season 26 and was last seen on the series in Season 25.

The post ‘South Park’: Towelie Returns to Visit Trump’s White House, Militarized DC in Episode 3 Trailer appeared first on TheWrap.

Watch: ‘Severance’ Director Ben Stiller Shares Britt Lower’s Audition Tape, Praises It as ‘The Best I’ve Seen’

Ben Stiller shared Britt Lower’s “Severance” audition tape and praised it as “the best I’ve seen.”

Lower’s self-tape audition for her eventual role as Helly in the Apple TV+ hit started making the rounds Tuesday. The scene – which is one of the first in the entire series and one that is shockingly similar to how Lower played it in the episode – earned heaps of praise for Lower’s skill working from the floor of her apartment.

One of the loudest praisers was “Severence” executive producer and director Ben Stiller, who posted about the tape on X.

“This and @MrEricLange self self-tape for ‘Escape at Dannemora’ are the best I’ve seen,” Stiller wrote. “It’s so amazing when you see someone nail a character like that at home. The hard work that goes into it for actors on a daily basis, with no guarantee they will even get a call back.”

This and @MrEricLange self tape for Escape at Dannemora are the best I’ve seen. It’s so amazing when you see someone nail a character like that at home. The hard work that goes in to it for actors on a daily basis, with no guarantee they will even get a call back.… https://t.co/YzjFeQV17H

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) August 19, 2025

The scene depicts the opening of the series where Helly R. wakes up on a board room table after undergoing the severance procedure for the first time. Initially, she panics but after a bit submits to an initial questionnaire being performed by Adam Scott’s character Mark S..

In the audition tape, Lower puts all her effort in – and at one point was not afraid to leave scuff marks from kicking her own door during the performance. What is seen in the tape is eerily close to how the final product turned out. The major difference is Lower was able to tap into that same energy at home and without any sets, directors or costumes.

An impressive display to be sure.

The post Watch: ‘Severance’ Director Ben Stiller Shares Britt Lower’s Audition Tape, Praises It as ‘The Best I’ve Seen’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Jasmine Crockett a ‘Fraud’ Who Mistreats Staff and Fakes Knowing ‘The Black American Struggle’ | Video

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn’t think much of Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett, and during a recent appearance on “The Megyn Kelly Show” she complained about her congressional colleague at length.

According to Greene, who is white, Crockett is a “massive fraud” who “treats her staff like they are beneath her” and is only pretending to understand “the Black American struggle.”

“She’s not a real person,” Greene said. “Some interesting things I’ve always observed about her is how she treats her staff. She treats her staff like they are just beneath her. She always has one of her young male staffers carry her big, heavy handbag for her. She just hands it off. It’s like, who does that? I remember one time on oversight, she called one of her staff over and whispered something in their ear and they ran off and then they came back with this big white fluffy pillow that they put behind her back and I’m going ‘what is this?'”

Kelly, who was fired from NBC in 2018 just four days after igniting a national controversy by defending blackface, added, “Who are you, Beyoncé?”

Greene continued saying that because of this treatment, it shows Crockett does not understand the “Black American struggle.”

“She claims to be from her people,” Greene finished. “She puts on this image that she understands the Black American struggle, but let’s face it, the girl went to private school. She went on to I don’t know what college and law school. She’s a complete fake. She’s as fake as her eyelashes. She’s as fake as her hair. She’s as fake as her fingernails. And she is such a massive fraud.”

Watch the full conversation between Greene and Kelly above.

The post Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Jasmine Crockett a ‘Fraud’ Who Mistreats Staff and Fakes Knowing ‘The Black American Struggle’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Alien: Earth’ Premiere Episodes Score 9.2 Million Views Globally in 6 Days

“Alien: Earth” is off to a strong start in viewership. Noah Hawley’s TV spinoff of the Ridley Scott film franchise scored 9.2 million views globally in the first six days since its premiere, according to internal data provided by Disney.

The series, starring Sydney Chandler and Timothy Olyphant, premiered Aug. 12 with its first two episodes. The third installment premieres Tuesday night on FX, Hulu and Disney+ internationally. Disney defines a view as total stream time divided by runtime.

The two-episode premiere introduced viewers to Wendy (Chandler) and the band of hybrid tactical soldiers representing humanity’s next evolution in the year 2120. The team — made up of humanoid robots with a human consciousness — embarks on a rescue mission after a space ship crashes on Earth, carrying dangerous extraterrestrial forms that pose a threat to humankind. The issue sets the stage for a battle between humans, synthetic beings and cyborgs. Not to mention the many monsters awaiting discovery on the crashed ship.

Along with Chandler and Olyphant, “Alien:Earth” stars Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adrian Edmondson, David Rysdahl, Essie Davis, Lily Newmark, Erana James, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Kit Young, Diêm Camille, Moe Bar-El and Sandra Yi Sencindiver.

The show is created for television and executive produced by Hawley. Scott, David W. Zucker, Joseph Iberti, Dana Gonzales and Clayton Krueger also serve as executive producers. It’s produced by FX Productions.

“Alien: Earth” airs new episodes Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FX and streams on Hulu.

The post ‘Alien: Earth’ Premiere Episodes Score 9.2 Million Views Globally in 6 Days appeared first on TheWrap.

Austin Butler ‘Genuinely Thought I Was Dying’ After Going Temporarily Blind Before ‘The Bikeriders’

Austin Butler thought he was dying after losing his eyesight while traveling to shoot “The Bikeriders.”

In an interview with Men’s Health published Tuesday, Butler explained that he went temporarily blind on the way to shoot the 2024 film about a biker gang. He explained that he was jolted awake by a sudden headache that led to his eyesight vanishing for several minutes and only returned after he willed it.

“It felt like the life was being sucked from my body,” Butler said. “I suddenly felt a euphoric sensation, and I actually genuinely thought I was dying.”

That’s only one from the list of ailments Butler revealed he juggled while working on sets. He had a grain-sized piece of glass removed from his foot eight months after first experiencing pain at the tail-end of working on “Dune: Part Two.” He said he was forced to walk with his toes curled under to deal with it. Upon wrapping “Elvis” he got slammed with a virus that put him briefly in the hospital and left him bedridden for a week.

He chalked most of the maladies up to sleep deprivation and exhaustion from how he prepares for his roles. Butler told the publication that he is getting better at not sacrificing his health for his craft thanks to working and speaking with Hollywood heavyweight Laura Dern.

“She’s helping me more and more to see that you can come out the other side, and maybe bits of you have healed, and synthesized, and metabolized,” he said of Dern. “It can be therapeutic, in a way.”

He finished: “You don’t have to destroy the light.”

Butler’s upcoming film looks to be as taxing as his previous roles but hopefully have been less of a burden on his body. He will appear in Darren Aronofsky’s latest film “Caught Stealing” where he plays an ex-baseball player who gets embroiled in the dealings of a New York City gang thanks to his next door neighbor.

“Caught Stealing” lands in theaters Aug. 29.

The post Austin Butler ‘Genuinely Thought I Was Dying’ After Going Temporarily Blind Before ‘The Bikeriders’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Joy Reid Says She Was Paid 10% of What Male MSNBC Hosts Made, Despite Higher Ratings

Nearly six months after her firing from MSNBC, Joy Reid claimed that during her tenure at the network she made a tenth of what her male counterparts did, despite higher ratings.

The former host of “The ReidOut” was interviewed at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival’s C-Suite Soirée by Jotaka Eaddy, founder of social impact consulting firm Full Circle Strategies. There she unpacked pay disparities she experienced at MSNBC and got candid about her departure.

“I worked in a business where I was paid a 10th of the salary of people who did literally my same job, the whole time I worked there,” she said of the network, since renamed to MS NOW. “We knew that any man that was doing what I was doing was going to make more than me. And that they were going to be able to negotiate higher salaries, even at lower ratings.”

Ahead of her firing post-election, there were whispers that “The ReidOut” host and other anchors were offered pay cuts to keep costs in check at the network.

Reid went on to note that even though she worked “the hardest,” putting in the overtime hours that her male, oftentimes white, counterparts did not, her salary did not reflect that.

MSNBC did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

“They get the sort of presumption of brilliance,” she said. “The Elon Musk presumption, where people are like ‘You look like a genius, you must be a genius.’ But they’re not. They work less hours and make more than us, get bigger raises, more opportunities and more grace. This is the world we live in.”

Since leaving the news network, Reid has decided to launch a YouTube podcast called “The Joy Reid Show.” There the former anchor uploads daily, giving her takes on politics, news and culture. Reid launched the video podcast June 9.

MSNBC replaced “The ReidOut” with a new show hosted by “The Weekend” anchors Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez. MSNBC host Alex Wagner was also replaced for his 9 p.m. spot Tuesday-Friday, but has remained with the network as a correspondent.

The post Joy Reid Says She Was Paid 10% of What Male MSNBC Hosts Made, Despite Higher Ratings appeared first on TheWrap.