Lainey wrote about Cari B.’s courtroom style and yesterday I watched some of her testimony. Um, she is f-cking hilarious. We knew this about her but her timing!!! You can literally hear people in the gallery laughing. 

 

Also, people saying she should get a reality show please do your due diligence. She came from Love & Hip Hop: New York. She could go back, of course, but she’s too big for that now. I could see her having a talk show. 

https://x.com/belcardi11/status/1960779699946197094?s=46&t=6VVSf_bQmIUVa7d4OpNNLA
 

Lainey and Sarah can speak more to this (particularly heading into TIFF) but I’m pretty impressed with Austin Butler taking the time to meet with journalists after the schedule got mucked up and there was no time for red carpet interviews. “But it’s his job!” Well, if that’s the case, where was the rest of the cast? He went above and beyond, like covering for a coworker when you don’t have to do it. And maybe it’s self-serving but I’d also like to point out that this is what movie stars do really, really well when they are promoting a movie: make everyone in the room feel special. Channing Tatum does this. Julia Roberts does this. Tom Cruise does this. Angelina Jolie does this. Anne Hathaway does this. It’s not a coincidence. 

 

Last week Sarah mentioned that The Chicago Tribune has eliminated its film critic role. I hate this. Sometime in the last few decades, cultural critics became the enemy of fans (which directly correlates with the rise of powerful fandoms and influencers). It’s such a misunderstood role. I’ve never met a film critic who didn’t love movies. The role of the critic is to provide context and insight into the experience, but it’s also a pathway to being curious to art we don’t always have access to. As a kid, I couldn’t see every movie in theatres but I watched every episode of Siskel & Ebert. We need more film critics, theatre critics, art critics, food critics, music critics… and I don’t mean content creators. We need to read things we disagree with, that take us outside of our point of view. To partially quote Ebert, “A lot of fans are basically fans of fandom itself. It's all about them. They have mastered the Star Wars or Star Trek universes or whatever, but their objects of veneration are useful mainly as a backdrop to their own devotion. Anyone who would camp out in a tent on the sidewalk for weeks in order to be first in line for a movie is more into camping on the sidewalk than movies.”

 

 

I’m sorry Nurse Dana is married to Grant Show?! And no one thought to tell me this????? RUDE. 

 

I was not expecting an Ariana Grande tour announcement, only because she has Wicked: For Good coming out and we know that press junket is a full-time job. So far it’s a few dates in North America and one in London. The demand will be there for sure, just not sure if she has the desire or the time for a full-scale tour. 

 

Cardi B arrives for court in Alhambra, California, August 27, 2025
Photo credits: ShotbyNYP/ GuessWhoISaw/ BACKGRID

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