We’ve got a Gossip with Celebitchy podcast coming out this weekend, and in this week’s episode, we talk about the stupidity around all of the “who leaked all of this information about King Charles’s birthday party and phone call” drama. To be clear: Buckingham Palace started the entire drama by lying to the Times about Charles inviting Harry to his birthday party, a lie which Harry’s spokesperson corrected on the record, saying that Charles had not invited Harry to the party and there was no snub, but Harry would try to call his father on his birthday. Which then led to a series of PALACE briefings about how Harry would call, and then Harry did call and the king also spoke to Meghan and something about a video of Archie and Lili as well. In my opinion, that entire briefing spree came from the palace, not Montecito. The palace then tried to cover their tracks by blaming everything on the Sussexes. Once again, this all started because of the palace’s lies. So, of course, Richard Eden is here to underline the palace’s bullsh-t cover story.

According to Richard Eden, this apparent briefing ‘may have heightened the royals’ suspicions about the loose-lipped couple in California.

‘The fact that details of a private conversation were published so quickly might serve as a warning ahead of any possible future invitations,’ he concludes. Eden, editor of The Daily Mail’s Eden Confidential, suggests that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have form for revealing intimate details of private conversations with other members of the Royal Family, citing their interview with Oprah Winfrey, their Netflix series and Prince ‘Harry’s tawdry memoir,’ Spare.

‘One of the major factors preventing the two privacy campaigners from resuming friendly relations with the Windsors is their refusal to respect other people’s expectation of privacy,’ he writes. ‘While Buckingham Palace officials have adamantly refused to disclose any details of King Charles’s private birthday celebrations “sources” with knowledge of Harry’s intentions briefed the BBC that he would telephone his father on his birthday. Then The Daily Telegraph, which is one of the few British newspapers to be spoken of favourably by Harry, managed to obtain details of the phone conversation between His Majesty and his younger son.

‘Within hours of the chat, the Telegraph reported that the pair “enjoyed a warm conversation” after Harry had rung his father to wish him a happy birthday. It asserted that the King and his son would “speak again next week” after a phone call for the Monarch’s 75th birthday marked a “turning point” in their relationship.’

The Telegraph suggested that King also spoke to Meghan while Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were understood to have recorded a video of themselves singing happy birthday to their grandfather.

‘While it’s a good thing if the King’s relationship with his son is improving, it’s clear that Harry and Meghan are not welcome at family events,’ concludes Eden. ‘Although family members including the Duke of Gloucester, the King’s first cousin once removed, and Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Chatto, attended the birthday party, no invitation arrived in Montecito.’

[From The Daily Mail]

These people are brain-dead, istg. It’s perfectly obvious – and stay with me on this – that Buckingham Palace has now sent out a series of talking points to certain reporters that all of their palace briefings must have come straight from Montecito, and shame on Harry and Meghan! And the same reporters who got the palace briefings just toe the line. “Yes, evil Harry and Meghan made Buckingham Palace lie to Roya at the Times! How dare Harry correct the lie, how dare he force the palace to leak all of these details about the phone call, it’s all the fault of Those People In Montecito!!” The entire reason Eden knows that “no invitation arrived in Montecito” is BECAUSE HARRY CORRECTED THE PALACE’S LIE.

Photos courtesy of Instar.

It’s cold & flu season again, which means if you haven’t already gotten your flu shot, it’s time to get on it! It’s also around the time for most of us to get our latest Covid boosters as well. I know a lot of people who took advantage of getting both shots at the same time. I’ve also talked to people who were reluctant to do both shots on the same day because they tend to have negative reactions to one or both, especially the Covid one. You should always talk to your doctor and do what’s best for yourself. There is good news, though, for anyone who is getting both vaccines at once. According to a new study, getting both your flu and Covid shots together produces a stronger antibody response.

A major study shows that giving the COVID and flu shots together produces a stronger antibody response.

The research was presented on Monday at the Vaccines Summit Boston, an annual scientific conference. It measured the antibody levels of 42 health care workers in Massachusetts.

Twelve received a bivalent COVID booster and seasonal flu shot on the same day. 30 others got shots on different days. The study found those who received the shots together had higher antibody levels against COVID.

It’s important to note that the research has not been published in a scientific journal.

Scientists say they want to try to replicate this data with this year’s vaccines as well.

[From NBC Boston]

As they point out in the article, this was just a small study done on 42 people, but those results sound really promising. I hope further research yields similar results because getting both at the same visit would save so much time. It’s such a pain to have to take the time out of your already busy day, or even to have to take time off of work, to get one vaccine, let alone having to do it twice within a short amount of time. This year, our pediatrician did a family flu shot clinic on a Saturday back in September, which was great because it meant I didn’t have to take the kids out of school early and if they did have any mild reactions like being tired and cranky, we could deal with it over the weekend. The only downside to getting the shots so early was that the office didn’t have the latest Covid booster yet, so we ended up getting boosted at a local pharmacy. I’m going to keep an eye out for other studies that come out about this subject.

Unai Huizi / ImageBROKER / Avalon, Unai Huizi / ImageBROKER / Avalon, Oleksandr Latkun / ImageBROKER / Avalon

In the first excerpts of Omid Scobie’s Endgame, Scobie writes that multiple sources within Prince William’s camp have told him for years that William despises Harry, that William still believes Harry and Meghan “blindsided the family” with the Sussexit (which is a lie) and that William often bitches and whines about the Sussexes “oh so California” self-importance. In addition to all of that, Scobie’s sources say that wannabe mental-health advocate William believes Harry has been “brainwashed by an army of therapists.” All of this reporting on William’s “perspective” rang true to me because sources truly have been saying similar things for years now. Whenever Harry and Meghan do anything, “sources close to William” furiously stomp their feet and, with an incandescent rage, tell everyone far and wide that William loathes his brother for going to therapy, living in America, having a hot wife and making his own money. The Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes has reported that perspective for years now. And wouldn’t you know, Sykes has an update:

William’s friends confirm everything Scobie reports is accurate: Friends of Prince William were quick to confirm the accuracy of Scobie’s insights to The Daily Beast. “He absolutely f–king hates him,” one old friend of William’s said, succinctly, when asked about the status of his relationship with Harry. The why is no mystery to William’s circle and can be simply summed up by one word: betrayal. “Harry sold his family out to the media for millions of dollars, and William can’t forgive that breach of trust,” the friend said.

But Charles is genuine in his attempts to reconcile: A friend of the king told The Daily Beast that there was nothing cynical about Charles’ wish to build bridges with his son, and that he would be “delighted” about the renewal of contact with Harry. But the friend also said they doubted William would be minded to follow his father’s example, saying: “Charles has kept the door open to Harry. He has been very explicit about that, saying he loves him. That’s what parents do. William doesn’t have the same forgiving attitude. That dynamic is not unique in family arguments.”

William will only see Harry at their father’s funeral: A second friend of William’s, who used also to be friendly with Harry but has not had contact with him since Harry left the country, told The Daily Beast that there was “zero prospect” of a rapprochement between the two, and that they believed the next time they would meet would be at a family funeral. “There are some relatives whose deaths would bring Harry and William together under one roof but other than that, realistically it’s probably Charles’ funeral. And if things stay as they are, which is basically mutual loathing, you would have to say William would be unlikely to invite Harry to his coronation.”

Why William is still so incandescent: Asked for the specific reasons why William has developed a “loathing” of the brother he was once so close to, this friend also cited “betrayal.” They said: “I think it’s exactly because the bond was so deep that the betrayal has been so wounding. They were the only people who actually knew what each other had been through. How would you feel if your best friend decided to reveal all your personal secrets to the newspapers? Well, multiply that by a thousand. Harry is never going to apologize, at least not while he is married to Meghan, and William is never going to apologize either. So that’s that.” Asked if Scobie’s book was likely to worsen relations, the friend said: “No, but only because you can’t get lower than absolute zero.”

[From The Daily Beast]

At some point, hopefully soon, larger questions will be asked of both Charles and William and what their attitudes about Harry say about their leadership and family. William was incandescent with rage long before Harry “sold his family out to the media for millions of dollars.” In fact, the whole “incandescent with rage” story came from a report in January 2020, when Harry and Meghan were simply trying to exit the institution. This is the root of William’s violent rage towards Harry – William can’t control Harry, can’t boss him around, can’t bully him. William has been seething with contempt for Harry because… Harry left. Harry decided his wife and son were more important to him than service to an abusive family (and even then, he offered to continue to serve part-time). Of course, William’s violent abuse of Harry predates the Sussexit, but that also was about control and about… Meghan.

As for “William will see Harry at their father’s funeral” – it’s chilling. William is a f–ing psycho, but I’ve known that for a while. Ten bucks says that William will actually throw a tantrum about not wanting to invite Harry to their father’s funeral.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.

Yesterday, the Telegraph tried to make the premiere of The Crown’s Season 6 all about Prince Harry. No matter how many times Harry says that he really doesn’t care and he has nothing to do with The Crown, people still try to attach him to the show or make it sound like he’s secretly providing scripts or what have you. Harry has said he’s watched some of it – probably the early seasons – but there’s no indication that he’s watched more recent episodes. This is what the Telegraph’s Victoria Ward reported:

The Duke of Sussex is expected to watch his final conversation with his mother dramatised in the final series of The Crown, but his brother, the Prince of Wales, will not tune in. The first four episodes of the sixth series will strike a devastatingly personal note for both Princes William and Harry, being almost wholly concerned with Diana, Princess of Wales’s final weeks, her death and its immediate aftermath. The drama depicts the final time Diana saw her sons and imagines their final conversation on the telephone.

Despite the decision by writer Peter Morgan to devote the best part of four episodes to the build up and aftermath of the tragedy, Harry is still likely to watch the show. Prince Harry, 39, has admitted that he watches and fact checks the Netflix series.

However, one source close to him said they may watch it first in order to save him from anything he may not wish to see.

His elder brother, meanwhile, has never watched it and is not expected to watch this series, sources close to him confirm. Prince William was also said to have been “frustrated” that the show raked over the circumstances surrounding his mother’s Panorama interview with the disgraced BBC journalist Martin Bashir, which he has said holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. Some close to him have expressed surprise that The Crown has edged so far towards the present day, depicting events that many acutely remember.

[From The Telegraph]

The stuff about William having never watched it is a blatant lie – all of the royals watched the early seasons and they had really positive things to say about Matt Smith and Claire Foy’s performances. The problems only began for the royals when the show entered the Diana years. Suddenly, they despised the show and wanted everyone to know that the whole thing was fiction! Well, anyway, would it surprise you to know that the Telegraph has zero knowledge of what Harry thinks about the Crown?

Prince Harry has distanced himself from a report that claimed he would watch his mother’s last moments in the final season of The Crown on Netflix.

A source close to the Duke of Sussex told Deadline that he would not stream the final season of Peter Morgan’s show due to the “sensitive nature” of its content.

Deadline understands that Prince Harry has no ill feelings towards The Crown’s creators or Netflix about the direction of Season 6. He was not consulted over the show and had no advanced sight of episodes.

Earlier on Thursday, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Prince Harry would be tuning in having viewed previous seasons of The Crown.

[From Deadline]

I’m sure there will be Sussex squad folks screaming about not believing unnamed sources in either direction, but my guess is that Harry didn’t believe the Telegraph’s false report rose to the level of denying something on the record, so he had some Archewell comms person send a quick email denial to a trade paper and there you go. The fact that Deadline reported this is fascinating to me too – it shows that Harry is perfectly capable of using the American media as a way to fact-check the lies in the British media.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Netflix.

To quote Whitney Houston, I believe the children are our future. The children of the UK keep on brutalizing Prince William’s ego and reputation. I would be shocked if they hadn’t already nicknamed Prince Oldhead. Just a few weeks ago, William asked a group of schoolkids to guess his age. They guessed “57.” Then, on Thursday, William was in Manchester to introduce yet another baroque scheme of “donating” a small amount of money while saddling several charities with a lot of rules and bureaucracy. This time, the Royal Foundation is putting up part of a £100,000 charitable scheme spread out over three years. This is… not a lot of money, especially given that it’s spread out over multiple charities, over three years. One of the children at William’s event must have done the math on it and the child started asking the right questions:

The Prince of Wales has said he “doesn’t know” how much money is in his bank account after a question from an 11-year-old boy.

The Prince was visiting Manchester’s Moss Side to learn about a project tackling youth violence with Andy Burnham, the city’s mayor. He announced a £100,000 scheme, funded jointly by the Royal Foundation and the Labour politician’s office, which will bolster the work of the Manchester Peace Together Alliance.

As he met young people and volunteers at the Hideaway Youth Project, which is a lead partner of the Manchester Peace Together Alliance, the Prince sat down with some schoolchildren working on a collage.

Amir Hassan, 11, made the Royal laugh when he asked him: “How much do you have in your bank account?”

The schoolboy said afterwards the future king had quipped he “didn’t know”.

Prince William was also asked whether he wanted to join the art project, where the children were cutting out hairstyles they thought were empowering and positive, and replied: “I’m literally the last person you should ask. My hair is disappearing.” He also briefly joined a game of pool and produced groans from the watching guests when he twice failed to pot a yellow ball.

[From The Telegraph]

William was overheard stage-whispering “seize him” to an aide and the child was quickly taken to the Tower of London. I jest, but you know that William probably wasn’t happy at the peasant child’s impertinence. If an 11-year-old boy questions why a rich prince is donating such a small amount, imagine what the adults think. And by the way, William inherited the Duchy of Cornwall tax-free. The Duchy is a vast real estate empire worth around $1.5 billion, and William gets an annual income of around $7.5 million from the duchy. He also has money that his mother left him, plus whatever he’s embezzled from the Royal Foundation, plus everything else. The child was right to ask him about his bank account.

He truly went Full Lurch on Thursday.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Sean Combs’ love life has been extremely complicated, to put it mildly. Combs likes to have an official girlfriend or partner, someone with whom he cheats on openly and treats like sh-t publicly. For a while, that person was Kim Porter, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 47. In 2005, he met Cassie Ventura, who was then just 19 years old, and they likely began “dating” around then as well, only he didn’t make Cassie his official girlfriend until 2012. They ended things – she ended things – circa 2018. Cassie has just sued Combs for years of abuse, rape and human trafficking.

Sean Combs, the producer and music mogul who has been one of the most famous names in hip-hop for decades, was sued in federal court on Thursday by Cassie, an R&B singer once signed to his label, who accused Mr. Combs of rape, and of repeated physical abuse over about a decade.

In the suit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura — and who had long been Mr. Combs’s romantic partner — says that not long after she met him in 2005, when she was 19, he began a pattern of control and abuse that included plying her with drugs, beating her and forcing her to have sex with a succession of male prostitutes while he filmed the encounters. In 2018, the suit says, near the end of their relationship, Mr. Combs forced his way into her home and raped her.

“After years in silence and darkness,” Ms. Ventura said in a statement, “I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships.”

In response, a lawyer for Mr. Combs, Ben Brafman, said: “Mr. Combs vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations. For the past six months, Mr. Combs has been subjected to Ms. Ventura’s persistent demand of $30 million, under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship, which was unequivocally rejected as blatant blackmail. Despite withdrawing her initial threat, Ms. Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr. Combs’s reputation and seeking a payday.”

Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer for Ms. Ventura, said the parties had spoken before the suit was filed. “Mr. Combs offered Ms. Ventura eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit,” he said. “She rejected his efforts.”

[From The NY Times]

You can read more about the lawsuit at the Times link. I’ll admit, I did not have the stomach to read all of it. I believe Cassie. While I don’t visit certain message boards where these issues have been discussed for years, even I was aware that there have always been rumors about Sean Combs’ propensity for violence towards his intimate partners. Especially when Kim Porter passed away, a lot of that stuff got brought up again, how Sean treated her and what he might have done to her.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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Last night, Variety held their annual Power of Women event. Last year, the Duchess of Sussex was one of the Power of Women honorees, but then QEII passed away and Meghan didn’t go to the event (although Variety still released their cover interview with her). So this year, Meghan attended and here she is! We didn’t know she was going to this, so it was such a pleasant surprise to see her fly solo.

Meghan wore a customized Proenza Schouler dress which would probably retail for $1400 or more. The original look was tea-length and made of leather, and Meghan had it turned into a gown. Like… this is far from my favorite thing I’ve ever seen her wear. In fact, it definitely feels like she’s not beating the Sad Beige allegations anytime soon. She paired the look with what some have identified as a Proenza Schouler minibag, plus her favored slicked-back tight chignon. Her heels are likely Aquazzura.

On the red carpet (I actually think it was a blue or black carpet), Meghan spoke to several media outlets, including the Variety reporter. She confirmed that she’s working on exciting new projects and Variety asked her about the absolutely bonkers streaming numbers for Suits. Variety said that over 45 billion minutes of Suits have been streamed, which surprised Meghan. She said:

“Isn’t that wild? It was great to work on, such a great cast and crew. We had a really fun time. I was on it for seven seasons, so quite a bit. But it’s hard to find a show you can binge-watch that many episodes of these days, so that could have something to do with it. But good shows are everlasting. Things that make people feel– I was going say ‘good,’ but it’s more than that, things that make people feel something, right?. And feel a sense of community. But we have so many exciting things on the slate. I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re creating. My husband is loving it, too. It’s really fun.”

[From Variety]

I’m glad she went out solo – while it would have been amazing to see Harry at this event too – and he’s super-popular within these kinds of crowds, it was an event honoring women.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex talks about the success of #Suits and the projects she hopes to make. | Variety #PowerOfWomen presented by @lifetimetv https://t.co/oGSpRQ4GyP pic.twitter.com/KV0kmvZjYV

— Variety (@Variety) November 17, 2023

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Photos courtesy of Variety’s IG and Getty.

Silken-voiced, dreamy eyed LeVar Burton has been advocating against book bans in partnership with PEN America. Now, in the middle of her Trustfall tour, Pink has also joined forces with PEN America, a group that fights for literary and human rights. Fans at her Florida concerts this week were treated to tote bags filled with banned books, coming in at 2,000 total free books for the week. And not a moment too soon, as PEN’s charts have Florida at more than double the number of book bans than the next highest state on the list, Texas. #BeLikableRon2024 might want to take some notes.

Pink on teaming up with PEN: “It’s confusing, it’s infuriating, it is censorship,” Pink said in an Instagram video announcing her action on Monday. The video, which also featured PEN America president Suzanne Nossel, has been liked more than 33,000 times. “Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,” Pink said in a PEN statement about the giveaway. “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color. We have made so many strides toward equality in this country and no one should want to see this progress reversed. This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.”

Florida surpasses everyone in banned books: According to PEN America’s latest research, Florida surpassed Texas over the past academic year: There are more books banned in public school classrooms and libraries in the Sunshine State than any other state in the union. PEN America said it recorded 1,406 book ban cases in Florida, followed by 625 bans in Texas, 333 bans in Missouri, 281 bans in Utah, and 186 bans in Pennsylvania.” PEN also reported a 33% spike in book bans nationally.

Ron DeSantis lies: “Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination… In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards. Florida is the education state and that means providing students with a quality education free from sexualization and harmful materials that are not age appropriate.”

[From NPR]

Florida is the education state??Florida is the education state!! Reader, I fell out of my office wheelie chair reading that (and not in a home office, an office office, with people watching). It takes balls to lie like that, and I honestly did not think the twerp had ‘em. Florida, where students and teachers are fleeing en masse in what’s being called the great “brain drain.” Florida, where they’re implementing the offensive curriculum: “enslaved people developed skills for personal benefit.” Florida, where TV hosts are calling for the eradication of raccoons! That’s our education state! I’m in the hysterical laughter phase before the crash and sobbing commences.

Brava to Pink for spotlighting this crisis. And I don’t use that word carelessly. Cutting off access to knowledge and ideas is fundamental to authoritarian takeovers. PEN America has a Pink page up on their site with helpful info on the book titles being banned, the numbers by states, and how to press your elected officials to do something. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m dying to check out the over-sexualized content of one of these banned kids’ books: Girls Who Code.

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Dakota Johnson is trending on social media solely because of the completely amazing line reading of “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” in the first Madame Web trailer. [LaineyGossip]
Why “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” has become this week’s funniest meme. [The Mary Sue]
Anne Hathaway’s Bulgari campaign. [Tom & Lorenzo]
The Friends cast posted their tributes to Matthew Perry. [Pajiba]
Some cool stocking stuffers for kids. [Buzzfeed]
Travis Kelce talked about his trip to Argentina on his podcast. [JustJared]
How is Matt Bomer still this ageless and beautiful? [GFY]
Khloe Kardashian is still talking about Jordyn Woods. [Hollywood Life]
Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars. [Seriously OMG]

‘Forget it, Jake. He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.’ pic.twitter.com/abtNZ85S4K

— Tom Reagan’s Hat (@RufusTSuperfly) November 15, 2023

he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died pic.twitter.com/xJ4HSc1iXx

— alex (@alex_abads) November 15, 2023

he was in the amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died pic.twitter.com/DkzYSFhKaH

— alex (@alex_abads) November 15, 2023

David Zaslav became CEO of Warner Bros. in May 2021 when it merged with Discovery, where he was already stationed. Since his takeover, Zaslav shelved the $90 million-already-filmed Batgirl for a tax write off, rebranded HBO Max to just Max, decimated the ranks at TCM to the point where Scorsese and Spielberg demanded to speak with him, and cost the studio a reported $200 million by going ahead with the release of Summer 2023’s big flop The Flash. He’s doing well. The New York Times ran a profile on Zaslav this week, and his comments did not go unnoticed by the Hollywood community. Which is how we got this piece from The Hollywood Reporter on the irony of Zaslav now saying, comfortably post-strike, that the WGA was right in all their contract requests. Of course as a studio head, Zaslav was represented in strike negotiations by AMPTP. Hey Mr. WBD CEO: GMAFB.

Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav now admits that striking writers were correct in their demands for sweeping changes in how creatives are compensated in Hollywood.

Zaslav told The New York Times in a lengthy new profile that he has no regrets about the deal struck between studios and the Writers Guild of America for a new three-year contract on Sept. 24.

“They are right about almost everything,” Zaslav said. “So what if we overpay? I’ve never regretted overpaying for great talent or a great asset.”

In the deal, writers received an increase in pay, minimum show staffing requirements and protections against artificial intelligence, among other gains. Yet studios resisted the writers’ demands for months, resulting in a strike that lasted a brutal 148 days and brought the industry to a near halt. In July, Disney chief Bob Iger called the writers’ proposed changes in compensation “unrealistic.”

Zaslav’s suggestion that writers might now be overpaid will likely strike some detractors as ironic given that the executive reportedly earned $246 million in compensation in 2021. WGA board member Adam Conover previously countered, “That’s about the same level as 10,000 writers are asking him to pay us collectively, all right?” For further context, if combining the Writers Guild, SAG-AFTRA and Directors Guild contracts, the total cost is “closer to the high end of our $450 million to $600 million yearly cost estimate,” Moody’s Investor Service detailed on Nov. 10.

The Times profile points out that the writers and actors strikes ultimately saved WBD plenty of money, but suggested the studio has been sluggish to greenlight new projects that could bolster the company’s bottom line amid his extremely aggressive, and controversial, cost cutting (the company disputes this, noting Warner Bros. has announced many titles for its new DC Universe, streaming projects and first-look deals). Even with executing $3 billion in cuts, the company lost $400 million in the third quarter. The board’s confidence in the executive, the story notes, remains firm.

The story follows the latest in Warners’ self-inflicted headaches: the announced shelving, then un-shelving, of another movie, Coyote vs. Acme — a live-action and animation hybrid that briefly seemed doomed to follow the same fate as last year’s Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which were dumped for tax write-offs. After creative community outcry, the company has since reversed course and plans to shop the film to studios and streamers, though one congressman, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, is now calling for the studio to be investigated for “predatory and anti-competitive” practices.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Wait, Coyote vs. Acme is back on? Carina was talking about its getting shelved only a few days ago! How quickly Zaslav crumbles amid criticism. To quote the epitome of Warner Bros. characters, the inimitable Bugs Bunny, “what a maroon!” The most asinine part, though, is Zaslav claiming he’s “never regretted overpaying for great talent.” For one thing, your record is public, sir. We see you slashing jobs at beloved networks and canning finished movies with built-in fanbases. But what really stings is the word “overpaying.” He may think he’s being subtle (he’s not). Or he thinks it will fly right over our heads (it won’t) that he’s still essentially saying writers/creatives/anyone-but-hims are getting paid too much. They’re not, Zaslav. You are. How long until the WBD Board starts to regret overpaying for their current CEO?

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