As we discussed, Donald Trump has chosen Matt Gaetz as his nominee for Attorney General. Gaetz has long been on the national radar as a credibly accused statutory rapist and human trafficker who has been investigated by federal authorities, state authorities and the House Ethics Committee. In fact, it looks like Gaetz’s nomination to DOJ came at just the right moment, because the Ethics Committee was going to release their findings in their years-long investigation today, Friday. That was the plan before Gaetz’s nomination, and he’s already resigned his seat in the House. So, is the Ethics Committee still going to release their report? Because Republican Senators are actually interested in vetting Gaetz.

Republican senators are preparing for a robust vetting of Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, with a keen interest in details from a House Ethics Committee investigation into the former congressman from Florida.

The ethics panel has been investigating Gaetz off and on since 2021, most recently focusing on alleged sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, accepting improper gifts, obstruction and other allegations. But the results of that probe may not become public because Gaetz resigned from the House at noon on Thursday. The Ethics Committee has jurisdiction only over sitting House members.

Trump’s choice of Gaetz was a surprise to nearly everyone, including members of his own party and officials at the Justice Department — in part because of the Ethics investigation, his past legal problems and his reputation as a rabble-rouser in Congress.

A source familiar with the process told NBC News that Gaetz had been consulting Trump on who would be best to run the Justice Department. Gaetz did not ask for the role, that person said, but Trump asked him to take on the job Wednesday morning, just hours before the decision was made public. Many Republican senators, including members of the GOP-led Judiciary Committee that will oversee Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general, said they’ll want to see the details of the House Ethics investigation into Gaetz.

“I think it would be helpful,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah, said he would “absolutely” like to see the findings of the House Ethics Committee investigation, saying, “I don’t know the technicalities, or whether or not we would see that, but I think that would be very relevant.”

[From NBC News]

The House Ethics Committee is meeting today, and it’s widely assumed that they’ll privately debate whether or not they’ll still release their report. Meanwhile, someone on the committee has already leaked some of the testimony The committee heard testimony from a woman, now in her 20s, who said that Matt Gaetz had sex with her when she was only 17 years old.

The woman who was at the center of a yearslong Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations surrounding Rep. Matt Gaetz testified to the House Ethics Committee that the now-former Florida congressman had sex with her when she was 17 years old, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

Over the summer, the House Ethics Committee subpoenaed the woman at the center of the probe — who is now in her 20s — and she sat for multiple days of testimony where she testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was a minor in high school, sources close to the investigation said.

“These allegations are invented and would constitute false testimony to Congress,” Gaetz said in response to ABC News’ reporting. “This false smear following a three-year criminal investigation should be viewed with great skepticism.”

The Justice Department spent years probing the allegations against Gaetz, including allegations of obstruction of justice, before informing Gaetz last year that it would not bring charges. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing related to the Justice Department probe. In September, he released a detailed response to questions sent to him by the House Ethics Committee, which has been investigating allegations of alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, reiterating his denial of the allegations.

[From ABC News]

Again, I seriously doubt anything will come from all of these reports of nervous Republicans, reluctant to confirm Gaetz. Gaetz will either be confirmed or Trump will push Congress into recess and he’ll get Gaetz as a recess appointment. Those are the only two options here – Matt Gaetz, a man widely known to have a penchant for drugs, Botox and teenagers, is absolutely going to be Attorney General.

Fox News contributor Ben Domenech weighs in on Matt Gaetz and commits a brutal murder. pic.twitter.com/ImGKUWKYs6

— i/o (@eyeslasho) November 14, 2024

Photos courtesy of YouTube thumbnails, Cover Images.

Every single day, we’re being terrorized by Donald Trump’s appointment announcements. From the white nationalist Fox News bro as Secretary of Defense to a credibly accused statutory rapist and trafficker for Attorney General, Donald Trump is truly going balls to the walls to find the worst people for his cabinet. Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet was famously “the team of rivals.” Trump’s cabinet is the Team of Degenerates. That being said, I expected it to be really bad. All of this has met my expectations thus far. There hasn’t been one name, one appointment, where I’ve been like “whoa, that’s shocking!” Trump literally told everyone what he was going to do and now he’s doing it. Speaking of, Trump will nominated Robert Kennedy Jr. for the head of Health and Human Services.

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former presidential candidate and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The pick, which will roil many public health experts, comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild” with health and food policy in his administration after Kennedy dropped his own presidential bid to endorse the now-president-elect. It’s also a sign of the opening Trump sees after he scored a decisive electoral victory and Republicans won a comfortable majority in the Senate.

“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump posted on X. “The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.”

Kennedy, 70, may still face a steep slope to confirmation after his years of touting debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, written a book accusing former National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci of conspiring with tech mogul Bill Gates and drugmakers to sell Covid-19 vaccines and said regulatory officials are industry puppets who should be removed.

[From Politico]

Since we’re in the darkest f–king timeline, I guess it’s okay to admit something: I actually thought it was a smart political move for Trump to publicly court Kennedy and ask for his endorsement when it was clear Kennedy was hurting Republicans and not Democrats. As a purely political move – I’m not talking about science, morality or ethics – the way Trump positioned his political alliance with Kennedy was one of the few smart decisions he made this year. A lot of absolutely batsh-t people were going to vote for Kennedy. Trump ensured that those batsh-tters voted for him, with the guarantee that he would put Kennedy in his cabinet and put him in charge of everything health-related. Anyway, yeah, the whole thing is predictably bonkers. I actually think Trump will get tired of Elon Musk and Matt Gaetz much sooner than he’ll get tired of Kennedy. Unless Kennedy starts decapitating animals in and around the White House (but I’m not sure that would be a dealbreaker for Trump). Brain Worm: 1, Science: 0.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

Prince William made a “surprise visit” to Belfast, Northern Ireland on Thursday. For a second, I wondered if this trip was something thrown together at the last minute because William has been loudly criticized in some quarters after his Cape Town trip bombed so badly. But then I remembered… royal visits to Northern Ireland are almost always a “surprise.” They’re rarely announced ahead of time, although some reporters were obviously given a heads up, and some rota people even traveled with William. It’s just the way it is and probably always will be – the Windsors have to take extra precautions whenever they’re in Northern Ireland.

Still, I doubt many people in Belfast knew the heir would be in town on Thursday. So while there were few crowds, there were also no large-scale protests. And yet, there was one small-scale protest at Ulster University. William was booed entering and leaving a building on campus, and apparently the protest was made about of about thirty pro-Palestinian protesters. GB News claimed there were about 100 students waiting for a glimpse of him, but that he still got a “muted response” from them. Still, nothing beats the reception given to William whenever he’s in Aberdeen. I swear, the Scottish people in Aberdeen simply refuse to give him one iota of attention.

As for why William even went to Belfast… he visited some homelessness project or shelter and he visited the university, where he did a photo-op with a motorcycle. It was actually a staged thing at the Virtual Production Studio at Ulster- students basically learn how to greenscreen and such. The background was supposed to look like Arizona, and William was especially keen, because he loves motorcycles. He also loves hanging out with college coeds, doesn’t he?

The Prince of Wales, Prince William has arrived at @UlsterUni Belfast. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/q6Ksgwj77A

— Kurtis Reid (@kurtisreid_) November 14, 2024

A less than warm reaction to Prince William as he departs @UlsterUni in Belfast this afternoon. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/jTJ2cLmUri

— Kurtis Reid (@kurtisreid_) November 14, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Lady Gaga joins the cast of Wednesday Season 2. Sigh… [JustJared]
Lupita Nyong’o has been cast in Christopher Nolan’s new film?? [LaineyGossip]
Angelina Jolie wore Saint Laurent in NYC. [RCFA]
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor & Mike Faist have a group chat. [Jezebel]
I am an Agatha Christie Autumn Girl. [Pajiba]
Jay-Z launched a financial literacy program for HBCUs. [Buzzfeed]
We’re also opting out of the icky Liam Payne reports. [Socialite Life]
Matt Gaetz met his wife at Mar-a-Lago. [Hollywood Life]
Whoopi Goldberg made a scandalous joke on The View. [Seriously OMG]
Dua Lipa teams up with… Pokemon. [OMG Blog]

Melania Trump formally declined Dr. Jill Biden’s invitation to the White House this week. Tradition dictated that Melania and Donald Trump would be invited together, then the outgoing and incoming First Ladies would have peeled off to speak and have tea in the East Wing. Melania said NOPE. While this can be and should be read as an insult to Dr. Biden, let’s be clear: this was mostly about how much Melania hates her husband and doesn’t want to be anywhere near him. When Mel declined Dr. Biden’s invitation, Mel’s office publicly declared: “Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success.” Sounds like Gisele Bundchen speaking about Tom Brady. All of which to say, Ol’ Mel is not coming back to the White House.

Melania Trump is unlikely to move to Washington full time in her second go-round as first lady, multiple sources told CNN, once more showing signs of her willingness to buck tradition as she returns to her high-profile but unelected role on the world stage. Discussions about how and where she’ll spend her time are ongoing, the sources said.

One of her first official decisions is to skip the traditional and symbolic meeting with outgoing first lady Jill Biden at the White House as President Joe Biden hosts the president-elect in the Oval Office on Wednesday. After Jill Biden extended the invitation, there was discussion about the incoming first lady’s attendance, with members of Donald Trump’s team making clear that it was important for her to go. Sources cited a prior scheduling conflict for Melania Trump related to her book, and the office of the incoming first lady confirmed on X Wednesday morning that she would not attend the meeting.

Trump is expected to spend a majority of her time over the next four years not at the White House, but between New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, sources familiar with the thinking told CNN. However, they insisted she would still be present for major events and would have her own platform and priorities as first lady. Melania Trump has developed a life and circle of friends in Florida over the past four years and is likely to continue to spend a lot of her time there, sources said.

After the 2016 election, Trump delayed her move to Washington, opting to move into the White House months after the inauguration as son Barron, then 10, finished the school year. Barron Trump, now 18, is attending New York University. Sources suggested the incoming first lady would also spend a significant amount of time at Trump Tower in New York to be close to her son, Barron. She was seen in the city Sunday, returning with him from Florida aboard the president-elect’s private plane.

“I could not say I’m an empty nester. I don’t feel that way,” Melania Trump told Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt last month. “It was his decision to come here, that he wants to be in New York, study in New York, and live in his home and I respect that. … He’s enjoying his college days. I hope he will have a great experience because his life is very different than any other 18-, 19-year-old child,” she said.

[From CNN]

In Trump’s first term, Ivanka often filled in as “First Lady” for various events, which was easier because Ivanka actually moved full time to DC with Jared Kushner and their kids. That’s not going to happen this time, and now Melania won’t be around either. That means there will be more unhinged right-wing women flocking to be this grotesque old man’s mistresses. Laura Loomer and her ilk. Oh well, this is what people wanted – not an aspirational or wholesome family dynamic, but a husband and wife who can’t stand to be in the same city.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, White House, Backgrid.

People Magazine’s 2024 Sexiest Man Alive is John Krasinski. No disrespect to John, but I’m not sure he was on most people’s radars for this “honor.” As I said yesterday, people were expecting someone like Glen Powell, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal or Jonathan Bailey, the last three because they all have huge films coming out (Gladiator II and Wicked). Glen Powell has arguably had the biggest heat score in the past year, with successful films like Twisters and Anyone But You. Glen would have been the really obvious choice. So obvious, in fact, that there’s a rumor going around that People’s editors “begged” Glen to accept the SMA title but he refused.

Glen Powell and Pedro Pascal turned down People’s Sexiest Man Alive before John Krasinski, 45, was ultimately crowned the coveted title, according to an insider. A source told DailyMail.com that the magazine ‘begged both of them to accept,’ but were ‘continuously shut down.’

‘Every year the magazine has dreams of who to get, but the person they want doesn’t always agree to be a part of it. Do you really think that they wanted Patrick Dempsey last year?’ they said. ‘And for this year, just like Patrick, John is a great guy but in no way was he their number-one choice. This year, the magazine asked Glen Powell and Pedro Pascal on a handful of occasions to be the pick, but they continued to say no. They both had their reasons to turn it down, but People Magazine begged both of them to accept and they were continuously shot down.’

The source went on to say being Sexiest Man alive wasn’t ‘important’ to the Twisters actor, 36, or the Gladiator II star, 49, ‘at this point in their careers.’

‘Glen wants to make more of an impact in acting now that he is finally getting amazing roles and becoming more of a star and Pedro doesn’t feel like it was ever something he wanted to entertain,’ they added. ‘He sees the gimmick of it all and though there is a flattery to it, his ego doesn’t need it.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I have no idea if Pedro was really offered it, but I can completely understand why he would turn down something like this. His vibe is definitely more arty/serious actor, and he has shown time and time again that he’s not down with the babygirlification from fans. As for Glen… I don’t know. It’s completely believable that People wanted Glen. I just have a hard time believing that a guy as thirsty as Glen would turn it down?? Deuxmoi’s sources say the same thing though. Also – Glen does appear on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue, which is a much bigger honor in general. You might even say that his VF photos are sexier than any People Mag SMA shoot.

Glen Powell photographed by Gordon von Steiner for Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue. pic.twitter.com/xstW7f3uKc

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 13, 2024

Glen… GLEN… pic.twitter.com/5pJxLc7FNS

— sylvia (@newromantics02) November 13, 2024

People Magazine’s last 10 Sexiest Men Alive

People Magazine’s last 10 Sexiest Men Alive have ranged from popular choices like Idris Elba to baffling ones like Blake Shelton. Get stories and photos about the last 10 Sexiest Men Alive when you sign up for our mailing list!

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Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

When Justin Welby resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury this week, the British tabloids rushed to bizarrely connect Welby to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. While Welby had been friendly with Prince Harry and Meghan, and he officiated their 2018 wedding, anyone would have been able to draw similar connections with Welby and the rest of the Windsor clan. Welby officiated King Charles’s coronation, he has officiated several of the royal baby christenings and he’s made a point of advising various royals. Overall, Welby is much closer to King Charles in particular. So after the Mail tried to make Welby’s association with the Sussexes into a thing, the Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle pointed out that Charles made a point of giving Welby a knighthood, even though red flags were raised.

Justin Welby’s past association with serial abuser John Smyth could have jeopardised the royal knighthood he was awarded for presiding at King Charles’ Coronation. My well-placed source whispers that Welby’s former links to Smyth and the ongoing inquiries into his abusive behaviour led courtiers to red-flag the King’s nomination of Welby to the Knight of the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in the New Year Honours.

The unanswered questions would probably have caused any other gong to be at least paused by the honours scrutiny committee. However, the King doesn’t need to consult anyone about handing-out the RVO and decided to ignore courtiers’ warnings.

Tradition dictates that departing Welby will be garlanded with the Royal Victorian Chain, a rarely awarded honour usually given to retiring archbishops. It’s also entirely in the King’s gift. But Welby isn’t the only tainted prelate to receive it. George Carey was awarded it in 2002 despite his long involvement protecting disgraced abuser Bishop Peter Ball. When Welby became archbishop he ordered an independent inquiry. Ironically, given how Welby clung on, he ordered Carey to resign as an honorary assistant bishop in Oxford.

[From The Daily Mail]

The larger issues of church abuses and coverups are being lost here, so let me just focus on why Welby actually resigned: it’s because there’s definitive proof that he stayed silent for YEARS when a rampant, serial child abuser used Christian camps to hunt for victims. While Welby’s role in and knowledge of the coverup has been widely rumored for years, the actual report was only recently released. That being said, King Charles obviously has no problem with Welby, or coverups or hanging around people who abuse children. The way the media gleefully connected Welby to the Sussexes shows that Charles was the one with more sh-t to hide.

Incidentally, the photos below are from today – King Charles, a slumlord who profiteers from Britain’s public services and taxpayers, visited a food bank on his 76th birthday. Interesting that Camilla wasn’t feeling well enough to do this either.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

By all accounts, Denzel Washington has a scene stealing supporting (yet pivotal!) role in Gladiator II. Denzel plays Macrinus, an arms dealer who’s probably/definitely plotting the fall of the Roman Empire. The promotional campaign has been steadily ramping up, and one talking point Denzel keeps returning to is how he’s selective with his projects these days. As a young 70-year-old, Denzel wants to work on films, and perhaps more importantly with filmmakers who excite him, challenge, take him to places he’s never been before. And apparently, one of those new places will be Wakanda. While talking to an Australian network during a big press junket, Denzel revealed that “Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.’”

Marvel Studios has not officially confirmed that a third film in the Black Panther franchise is in the works, but actor Denzel Washington on Tuesday indicated that there is, and that he will have a role.

Speaking to the Today show on Australia’s Channel 9 as part of a Gladiator II press junket, Washington said that director Ryan Coogler is writing a part for him in the next Black Panther film.

When asked about his future plans, Washington said that “at this point in my career, I’m only interested in working with the best, I don’t know how many more films I will make, probably not that many. I want to do things that I haven’t done.”

“I played Othello at 22, I’m now going to play it at 70,” he continued. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther.”

Black Panther has become one of the MCU’s signature franchises, with the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan garnering not only critical acclaim but a massive box office haul, earning more than $1.3 billion.

Boseman died at age 43 in 2020.

The 2022 sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, functioned as a tribute to the late actor, and a way to continue the story of Wakanda and its people. It also launched to success at the box office.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

I really liked both Black Panther movies. They were each so visually and musically sumptuous! Losing Chadwick Boseman was devastating — he was a lovely, honorable, empathic human. The impact of his death was obviously bigger than how it affected a movie, but I thought Coogler found a way to make Wakanda Forever a thinking, feeling piece on how we process grief. Was it a perfect film? No. But it was pretty impeccable what Coogler created after the tragedy of losing their hero.

All that being said, and bearing in mind that I’m not well-versed in the original comic book lore, I can’t imagine where Black Panther is headed for a third film! Or how Denzel will be fitting into that world. Based on his comments, I’m guessing Denzel wouldn’t settle for being anything other than a Wakandan himself, right? So who could he play — the late Queen Ramonda/Angela Bassett’s brother? M’Baku/Winston Duke’s father? Or maybe a leader from one of the five tribes that hasn’t been so prominent in the previous movies. So many possibilities! Also, who else but Denzel Washington could get away with casually breaking Marvel casting news? Was he supposed to share that with the world now? I think not! But what can they do — if we know anything about Denzel at this moment, it’s that he could easily plot the downfall of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Empire.

Photos credit: Jimmy James/Avalon, Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon, IMAGO/mpi099/MediaPunch/Avalon, Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon, Jerry Perez/Avalon

Prince William gave several interviews to royal rota reporters when he was in Cape Town, South Africa. He complained about how 2024 has been “brutal” and “the hardest year of my life.” He also spoke to Roya Nikkhah at the Times of London, and he was asked specifically about his royal work and whether he would ever work more. He claimed that he wants to approach his work with “a smaller r in the royal” and how he’s “trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation.” Because William rarely gives interviews, his comments actually garnered some international headlines. I was skimming NBC News’ coverage of his interview, and I ended up barking with laughter because NBC spoke to Republic’s Graham Smith, and they included his comments within their coverage. Like… the American media is not buying anything to do with the Incandescent Egg.

Elaborating on what [small-r royal work meant to him], Prince William said that “it’s more about impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people. And I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impact people’s lives. And I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.”

William has thought about how he might make his mark and approach things differently in both his current role as the Prince of Wales and, one day, as king, NBC News royal commentator Daisy McAndrew said. “He will be all too aware of how dangerous it is for the royal family to be seen to be out of touch or aloof and hence the emphasis on empathy and emotional intelligence,” she said.

British tabloids offered positive coverage, with The Mirror describing William’s comments as a “huge royal shake-up” and The Sun splashing: “MONARCHY WITH EMPATHY.”

But the comments have not received a universally warm response. Graham Smith, CEO of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, told NBC News of the heir to the throne: “His ‘r’ couldn’t get any smaller, to be honest. He barely does anything at all. He’s an incredibly lazy man who manages to get a pretty small splashing of engagements to look like he is busy.”

Prince Harry’s decision to step away from royal duties and his subsequent move to the United States has fueled a public conversation about the monarchy’s relevance and future in Britain.

“What Harry has done is shown that royals can walk away and do the right thing under their own steam. They can fund their own lifestyles and get celebrity endorsements and do just fine,” Smith said. “So why his brother feels that he needs to hang on to the titles and the status and the public money, I think, is a question that is only highlighted by Harry’s departure.”

[From NBC News]

LMAO. “His ‘r’ couldn’t get any smaller, to be honest. He barely does anything at all. He’s an incredibly lazy man…” Graham Smith is getting bolder in his critiques of the Windsors. I like that he name-checked Harry too, using Harry as an example of someone who walked away from the royal trappings and did just fine. In my previous story, I even said that William sounded like his idea of “small-r royal work” sounds a lot like what Harry does right now, as a Montecito-based philanthropist and humanitarian. Which is interesting, isn’t it? Because for William, the whole point of *everything* is that he wants to lord it over Harry. William wanted the status, the slumlord money, the royal trappings, but he only wanted that stuff because he thought Harry would be jealous. Instead, William is the jealous one and desperately trying to copy everything Harry does.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

No Yellowstone storyline has been more dramatic or enduring than star Kevin Costner walking away from his rumored $3 million an episode gig as Josh Dutton — the frickin’ lead! I’ll try to pare it down to the basics: the fifth season of Yellowstone was supposed to be the final of the series, and it was split into two parts. The last episode of the first part of Season 5 aired in January 2023. Then the Hollywood strikes happened, and Kevin hit the horizon to film his passion project. Last Sunday, the first episode of the second part of Season 5 aired, and right off the bat they dealt with the exit of Kevin’s character. A day later, Kevin appeared on The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM, and he was more than a bit shady with the way Taylor Sheridan & Co. wrote off Josh Dutton. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

“Sometimes I’m like just a passenger in my life, you know, there’s a lot going on,” he told host Michael Smerconish. “So no, I found out about it this morning actually.”

He explained that he was not aware that the shocking death was in store for his character, though he suggested “a couple” of “possible endings” for John over the years.

“No, I didn’t see it. I heard it’s a suicide, so that doesn’t make me want to rush to go see it,” Costner said.

But he did defend the team behind Yellowstone despite the fan backlash to his character’s passing.

“Listen, they’re smart people. Whatever they’re doing, they’ll figure it out,” he said.

As Smerconish pressed Costner over whether or not he was “displeased” with John’s fate, Costner simply said, “Maybe it’s a red herring. Who knows? They’re very good. And they’ll figure that out.”

He later denied that he quit Yellowstone at all. He explained that he tried to stay on the show despite it undergoing several changes after Season 5, Part 1. But he said he eventually had to back out because he had his own “obligations” to the crew of “300 people” working on his passion project, Horizon: An American Saga.

“I didn’t really have to leave anything behind,” he said. “There was room, but it was difficult for them to keep their schedule. It seemed to be, it was just too difficult for them to do it.”

“I didn’t leave. I didn’t quit the show,” he outrightly clarified at one point of the interview. He said he “accommodated” them on the unspecified changes they wanted to make to the contracts, but, “finally when they wanted to change it a third time, because I had my obligations to do, I had 300 people waiting for me, I couldn’t help them anymore. I just simply couldn’t help them. But I didn’t quit the show.”

[From Decider]

Full disclosure: I have never seen an episode of Yellowstone. I do, however, follow the dramatic plot points that have been playing out off screen by the show’s main characters. Like Taylor Sheridan suing Cole Hauser over similar coffee brand logos, or Forrie J. Smith (what a name!) getting himself kicked off a flight for refusing to sit next to a passenger wearing a mask. So all that plus Kevin Costner’s tense, drawn out exit, and oh my gosh these cowboys are such drama queens! On his character’s death: “They’ll figure it out.” Dude, they killed off your character. What is there to figure out? And I can’t even get into that whole “I’m just a passenger in my own life” malarkey. But I think my favorite moment is Kevin insisting that he did not quit the show, you guys! He simply decided to stop physically showing up and receive a paycheck for the series he was starring in — see the difference?! Look, Kevin may be entirely right that they kept switching contracts and schedules so he decided to honor a prior commitment. But the actions he took are still the definition of quitting.

And of course, lest we forget, the passion project he left Yellowstone for was Horizon: An American Saga, eleventy hours of Civil War-era westward expansion. Boy, did Kevin show them. He had 300 people waiting on him to direct it; if only there had been 300 people who wanted to see it in theaters.

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