Jurassic Park is one of the best movies of the ‘90s, and that's completely understandable. Steven Spielberg's sci-fi epic not only features superb practical and digital effects, but it also presents a story about what happens when too much power falls in human hands. Thus far, we haven't reached the point in which revived dinosaurs are a possibility. However, businessman Elon Musk has expressed thoughts on making Jurassic Park a reality, and fans have plenty of thoughts to share on that.

Back in 2021, Elon Musk’s business partner, Max Hodak, expressed his belief that Jurassic Park could happen in real life after 15 years of breeding and genetic engineering. After @nitikabier took to X to say a dinosaur-based startup would be fundable now, the Tesla CEO posted his optimistic take on that possibility:

Is this something we should hope for? Sure, dinosaurs like the Gastonia can be five feet tall. But there's also T. Rex, which is said to have been 20 feet tall, and the Lusotitan, which was 35 feet! As the movies have shown, things can get pretty dicey when dinosaurs and humans co-exist.

Elon Musk’s hope for a real Jurassic Park left me feeling shocked, and others had plenty to say as well. @AutismCapital sarcastically asked a four-word question that the scientists of the world, hopefully, pay attention to:

As all of the Jurassic Park movies have demonstrated, plenty! Imagine having to worry about a security system shutting down on a rainy day and having dinosaurs run amok. Unless we're dealing with Bracciosaurus that feasts solely on plants, I'd be quite concerned about crossing paths with a meat-eating dino of any kind.

In each Jurassic film, viewers see humans venturing into genetically engineered dinosaurs’ habitats and paying the price. @zacodil explained perfectly why a startup like this could be a bad idea:

Exactly. Life could find a way, but it doesn’t mean we should explore that opportunity. One of its stars, Jeff Goldblum, previously had the perfect response to real-life scientists trying to clone dinosaurs. And, in the words of his character, Dr. Ian Malcolm, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” Remember, these sci-fi movies are spectacles, but they're also cautionary tales.

It’s possible that as the years go by, geneticists will have exactly what they need to revive dinosaurs. According to the scientists who revived the extinct dire wolf species, Jurassic World Rebirth’s technology could work through mutations that occur through over-experimenting with DNA. @TheAuraLens got real about what the real problem would be with an actual dinosaur park:

It’s true that the reality of a dinosaur park would be pretty cool if we saw these prehistoric animals live behind secure fences. And, of course, it could also be a viable business venture.

However, Steven Spielberg's OG Jurassic flick alone proved why the fictional InGen company would be an awful place to work. If a minor technical glitch or a blown fuse ruins its security system, it’s an open buffet. Not to mention, do we really have to worry about a disgruntled or tired employee forgetting to leave the gate unlatched or a vengeful employee like Dennis Nedry sparking chaos through corporate sabotage?

Elon Musk has already achieved big accomplishments like the reuse of orbital rocket boosters and leading the charge with electric vehicles. So it doesn’t surprise social media users like @antibearthesis that maybe an actual dino park could be the billionaire’s next goal:

This may all sound far-fetched but, if the past several years have shown us anything, it's that anything is possible. So, if we’ve already seen dire wolves making a comeback, will dinosaurs be next? @DogecoinNorway has another idea:

I think we can maybe live without fire-breathing dragons. Honestly, it's somewhat wild to be having this conversation at all. If anything, it's a testament to the impact that pop culture can have on society as a whole.

If Elon Musk ends up being the next John Hammond and creates a real Jurassic Park I'd tell you all to “hold onto your butts.” Let's hope that if Musk somehow succeeds in doing this (and that feels like a long shot), it's built in a location that's more secure than Fort Knox. For now, catch the latest film in the Jurassic franchise, Jurassic World Rebirth, which is streaming with a Netflix subscription.

A new Star Trek series hit the 2026 TV schedule and caused quite a stir among viewers in recent weeks, as is often the case. Though Starfleet Academy received lots of praise from critics, other prominent names like Elon Musk and United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller bemoaned the show for pushing a "woke" agenda. Amidst their comments, The View's Whoopi Goldberg fired back with a big response.

Goldberg knows a lot about Trek, having been a longtime fan who played the mysterious bartender Guinan in The Next Generation. She made the jump to join the series after winning an Oscar, which was an unprecedented move at the time, so it's safe to say the actress has a lot of passion for the franchise. For that reason, she filled in The View audience on the discourse surrounding Starfleet Academy, Musk and Miller's comments, and why she felt they were out of line:

It's true, Star Trek is more than just space travel and exploration. It was built on the foundation of IDIC (Infinite Diversity Infinite Combinations) and has always pushed progressive ideals since the original series. Lest we forget the brouhaha it caused over its interracial kiss, which led to stations in the southern United States refusing to air it.

Despite that, Elon Musk and others have publicly expressed their distaste for elements of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, including the fact that the series features an openly lesbian couple. It's not the first Trek show to feature a same-sex couple either, as Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber were an openly gay married couple in Discovery.

Whoopi Goldberg wasn't having it, and questioned the motive of Musk and others in powerful positions being so concerned about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy:

Others enjoying Star Trek: Starfleet Academy have a similar sentiment, though not quite as specific. I openly wondered after the trailer dropped why some Trekkies were adamant on speaking out about the trailer feeling "woke" almost a decade into the relaunch of the franchise. The franchise isn't doing anything different than it did back when Discovery launched in 2017, so those staying tuned in should know the deal by now.

I will say that Star Trek is facing an issue in its fandom, as many other long-running sci-fi shows like Star Wars and Doctor Who face. There are now fans across multiple generations invested in seeing new shows, but they all have different ideals on what is and isn't progressive, and what does and doesn't have a place in its franchise. It sets up an impossible task for the showrunners of these franchises, who can't create something that everyone will enjoy.

Maybe it's a unique problem in pop culture, or maybe it's just a reality that, because Star Trek is a series built on showing a progressive future, it will always have critics talking it down. In any case, the franchise celebrates 60 years in 2026, so I would expect to see a lot more headlines about it as the year continues, and maybe even some new show announcements.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streams new episodes over on Paramount+ on Thursdays. The series is already returning for Season 2, so those watching likely don't have to worry about debate about the show impacting a renewal for now.

Just days before the debut of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on the 2026 TV schedule, billionaire Elon Musk evoked its name during a recent press conference. He's hoping humanity can "boldly go" where no man has gone before. Yet these sentiments make his recent comments about the upcoming series itself unexpected.

Musk was with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the SpaceX Starbase for a planned visit recently, and the two spoke about plans for the future and how the government and Musk's SpaceX could collaborate in the future. Musk seemed to summarize his goals as to make Star Trek a reality, suggesting he's a fan of the franchise. However, I'm not sure he'll be tuning in for the upcoming premiere with a Paramount+ subscription.

Elon Musk Discusses His Desire To Make Star Trek And Starfleet Academy Real

Musk took the stage before the Secretary of War and shared his hopes for what he hopes SpaceX can achieve the longer it exists. Here's the bit where he mentioned Star Trek, and his goal to take humanity into the far reaches of space, as the billionaire said (via Bloomberg):

Though he looks older in the best Star Trek movie of all time, First Contact, Zefram Cochrane was around 33 years old when he perfected human warp travel. Musk is 54, so he'll have to play catch-up if he's hoping the Vulcans will reveal themselves to the world once we prove we're capable of intergalactic travel.

Jokes aside, this isn't the first time Musk has mentioned Star Trek, as he's frequently expressed his wish to colonize Mars. Years ago, he even mentioned the strong possibility of losing lives in pursuit of the cause. As of this writing, no one has actually attempted that Mars mission. That said, could that happen if Starfleet Academy becomes a real thing?

Elon Musk Recently Mocked Star Trek: Starfleet Academy On X

Star Trek fans may be confused to hear Elon Musk champion the franchise, considering he recently gained the fandom's attention due to his comments about the upcoming Starfleet Academy series. The Tesla CEO shared a post on X, mocking the show, and added a comment that referred to the characters played by Gina Yashere and Holly Hunter:

Musk's comments seem to match the sentiments of those critical of Star Trek over the past few years. Some have criticized the modern representation and diversity of the franchise, claiming it rejects the premise of what the franchise stands for. Starfleet Academy, which is modeled to mirror the world young adults face today, has received such blowback. Fans specifically seem to be upset about it appearing to be a "teen drama" (as suggested by a poster) with a much younger cast compared to other Trek shows.

Perhaps Elon Musk will change his tone about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy once the series is out, as I enjoyed the first six episodes I received in advance. Of course, the Starfleet in the 32nd Century has a whole different set of problems than what we're currently dealing with when it comes to space travel. But, who knows, the show could end up being a good source of reference if or when when we ever catch up and potentially encounter other species. Maybe we should get started on developing replicators and other world-changing technology in the meantime.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres on Paramount+ with a two-episode debut on Thursday, January 15th. I'm thrilled to see what the fandom at large thinks when the episodes are actually out, because I think this series may surprise a number of people.

On the surface, Kanye West and Elon Musk may not seem to have too much in common, but there are similarities between the two men. They’re both obviously public figures and have amassed considerable wealth over the years due to their respective professional endeavors. In addition to that, though, both Musk and West have made headlines due to their love lives with Grimes and Kim Kardashian, respectively. Those relationships came up when the pair of moguls caught up for a chat that was filmed for a documentary.

How Is Kanye West’s Relationship With Kim Kardashian Referenced In The Doc?

48-year-old Ye is the subject of a new documentary, In Whose Name?, which is directed by first-time director Nico Ballesteros. The film chronicles the polarizing rapper’s life and career, promising to provide insight into the man behind the music. Interestingly enough Ballesteros and co. captured footage of Ye with 54-year-old Elon Musk, as seen in an exclusive clip shared with THR. All of this takes place following one of West’s live shows in Miami, which Musk attends.

Later that evening, Musk and West enter a space that the latter describes as “an idea of a bedroom.” The two proceed to lie down and look up at the ceiling, at which point they have an intimate conversation. Musk the proceeds to ask the following of the “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” performer:

Before they became romantically involved, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were friends, and they eventually became engaged in 2013. The couple tied the knot in May 2014 and, in early 2021, Kardashian formally filed for divorce. Subsequently, the legal proceedings took a while and it was reported that West was causing issues for Kardashian. In November 2022, though, the divorce was finalized and, since then, reports have alleged that West and Kardashian now have a tense relationship that’s impacted his relationship with their four kids.

Similarly complex relationship dynamics also seemed to impact Elon Musk and former partner Grimes. With that, Musk opened up to Ye about his own personal experiences with a lover.

Elon Musk Gets Real About Having Been In A Relationship With Grimes

Just to note, it’s unclear exactly when the footage for Nico Ballesteros’ documentary was filmed, so it’s hard to say exactly what had or happened yet within Musk and Ye’s respective relationships. For Elon Musk’s part, he went on to share details of the relationship he's had with Grimes (whose real name is Claire Boucher):

Kanye West then asked the Tesla CEO how he handles the dynamics with his partner, leaving the tech magnate to hesitate before admitting he doesn’t have the “answers.” On that note, Musk and Grimes began dating in 2018 and, during that relationship, she gave birth to three of 14 children Musk has fathered. The pair reportedly continued to date off and on through 2023.

It’s interesting to hear Elon Musk get candid about his dynamic with his ex and relate those experiences to someone like Kanye West. At this point, West is now married to Bianca Censori, while Musk has reportedly been linked to other partners. Whether or not the two learn from their experiences with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Grimes moving forward remains to be. As for In Whose Name?, that film will be released in theaters on September 19.

Ashley St. Clair wants it to be known that Elon Musk, who is the father of multiple children with unusual names, is also the father of her child. However, if St. Clair is to be believed, Musk's fixer, Jared Birchall, intervened to try to keep that information a secret. Now, she’s revealed her baby’s name and opened up about this experience, the reveal of her child's existence and what she was allegedly offered to her to keep this whole situation out of the public eye.

Birchall manages “the financial and privacy deals Musk wants for the women raising the world’s richest man’s babies,” the WSJ reported, and he worked directly with St. Clair. According to the report, the Tesla CEO offered St. Clair $15 million and $100,000 per month to stay quiet about their baby, Romulus. Apparently, other deals like this are in place with women who've also had kids with Elon Musk.

At one point, according to the story, Birchall told St. Clair the following about Musk and them having children:

Reportedly, Musk asked St. Clair not to reveal their relationship and, according to texts the outlet saw, “Birchall texted her about leaving Musk’s name off the birth certificate.” She didn’t put his name on the certificate, yet she did hire a lawyer.

According to the story, Musk wanted this to stay a secret because he thought it was dangerous. In a text, he apparently said that revealing the baby and their relationship could be bad. He also noted that he was “#2 after Trump for assassination.” Apparently, the tech magnate also declared, “Only the paranoid survive.”

She was then given documents that would force her to keep all this a secret. Going back to those first numbers stated, the $15 million would be for “a home and living expenses.” Meanwhile, she’d also get $100,000 per month until their kid turned 21.

However, this agreement would have made it so St. Clair couldn’t speak in retaliation or in a disparaging way about Musk and, if she broke it, she’d have to pay back the $15 million. It also didn’t stop Musk from speaking negatively about her.

Apparently, the agreement also wouldn’t have provided support if her song got really sick. Also, if Musk died before the kid turned 21, he wouldn’t get a trust fund or life insurance.

So she didn’t sign.

This has led to another legal battle for Musk. Over the last few years, he’s been wrapped up in a lawsuit involving Blade Runner 2049, and he was involved in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard On top of that, Mush has quite the history with Disney. Collectively, these are only three issues he’s been involved in. His ex, Grimes, has also sued him over paternal rights, and they share three kids.

The point is made over and over that St. Clair didn’t want her child to feel “illegitimate,” which is why she didn’t want this story to stay private. As she said:

Now, this whole issue is being battled out in court. The New York Supreme Court ordered a paternity test, and the results stated that “Probability of Paternity” was 99.9999%.

Meanwhile, the financial offers made to St. Clair have been diminished. After she posted about the situation on X, the $15 million offer was taken away. Then, he lowered the monthly payments to $40,000 as the legal battle began. Most recently, his team sent her $20,000, cutting the payment in half. Overall, St. Clair laid out what she went through in detail and shared her side of this story involving her baby and Elon Musk.

There have been lots of behind-the-scenes stories coming out about Saturday Night Live as the 2025 TV schedule marks its milestone 50th season, including a deep dive into the “More Cowbell” sketch and a look at the terrifying SNL audition process. However, one story seems to remain at the forefront of people’s minds that’s not directly related to the show’s big anniversary — how Elon Musk made cast members cry when he hosted in 2021. The issue came up again this week after Musk made a controversial gesture during a speech at Donald Trump’s inauguration, with Chloe Fineman saying she has “no regrets” about calling out the billionaire.

Elon Musk has come under fire for doing a gesture in which he put his right hand on his chest before stretching his arm out straight, palm down, which many have interpreted as a Nazi salute. SNL cast member Chloe Fineman, whose father is Jewish, was among those to comment, posting an Instagram Story (via Daily Beast) that said:

Despite some people defending Elon Musk, who made the gesture while saying, “My heart goes out to you,” in thanks to those who helped Donald Trump get elected, Chloe Fineman doesn’t appear to have changed her opinion on the SpaceX founder.

Bowen Yang was actually the first to bring attention to the host's reported bad behavior, though when he mentioned the Saturday Night Live guest who “made multiple cast members cry” on Watch What Happens Live in August 2024, Yang did not name Elon Musk. That came in November, when Chloe Fineman posted a now-deleted TikTok video that identified the X (Twitter) owner as the person Yang was talking about. She continued:

Bowen Yang provided similar context for why the guest host’s reaction caused such an emotional response from Chloe Fineman and possibly other cast members, saying:

Elon Musk responded to being called out by Chloe Fineman in November, admitting that he was “worried” when he first read the sketch, but that it worked out in the end. He wrote on X (Twitter):

While the two did apparently make everything work on the show, Chloe Fineman had no problem revealing his behavior afterward, and especially following Elon Musk’s controversial gesture this week, it seems like the comedian stands by her decision to do that. You can catch Fineman alongside Saturday Night Live Season 50’s hosts at 11:30 p.m. ET Saturdays on NBC and with a Peacock subscription.

Saturday Night Live pulled out all the stops for Election Season this year. Maya Rudolph returned to play Kamala Harris alongside fellow series alum Andy Samberg, who played Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff. Another exciting surprise was Dana Carvey returning to the show to play a perfect Joe Biden, and SNL also utilized the impressionist to do other characters, with one being Elon Musk. Now, Carvey is sharing an honest take on his performance as the tech mogul, and one point he made could potentially resonate with Musk himself.

In the post-election cold open, SNL kicked off with the cast glibly expressing their support for former President Trump after he was re-elected. Towards the end of the sketch, Dana Carvey came out as Elon Musk in his signature blazer with an ironic T-shirt under it and a MAGA hat. He started jumping around the stage, imitating Musk’s actions at a rally and doing his unmistakable voice. Carvey admitted that his impression isn't that solid and told David Spade on their Superfly podcast just why it's so challenging:

Due to the various places Elon Musk has lived, his accent is a mix of a bunch of different regions, making his voice very unique. He’s from South Africa, but his parents are from other areas as well, and Musk has lived in the States for a large part of his life. The Wayne's World alum noting the singular nature of Musk’s speaking voice and calling it “incredible” would likely flatter the famous billionaire, and it may not be the only point he'd agree with the comic on.

As the Master of Disguise star mentioned, he can't impersonate the businessman "very well," and Musk disliked Carvey’s impression of him. In Musk's estimation, "Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey." Via another social media post, the Space X founder then insulted the late-night show for its inclusion of Kamala Harris herself on the pre-election installment. Given that, it's possible that Musk would co-sign the shortcomings of Carvey's impersonation.

This can be included in the line of conflicts that the NBC mainstay has had with Musk over the years. For example, most recently, series cast member Bowen Yang claimed a guest host made some cast members cry. Sometime later, Chloe Fineman said it was Elon Musk who made her cry when hosted back in 2021. Musk didn’t deny the accusation and responded by saying the writing was not funny at the time.

Despite the conflict surrounding Dana Carvey's impression, the bit seems to have been received well by a number of viewers, based on the social media reactions. While the accent may not have been spot on, one could argue that it was apparent what Carvey was going for. Given the comedian's latest thoughts, it's hard not to wonder tell whether the Tesla bigwig will feel compelled to weigh in.

You can revisit Dana Carvey’s impression of Elon Musk by checking out Saturday Night Live's post-election episode, which is now streamable with a Peacock subscription. The late night show is also bringing back more former cast members, as well as exciting hosts and musical guests for its 50th anniversary season. So make sure to check out new episodes when they air on NBC on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Elon Musk and Saturday Night Live have been quite synonymous as of late, with the latter sharing less-than-glowing thoughts about Dana Carvey’s impression of him on the show last weekend. Now, a new can of worms has seemingly been opened, as cast member Chloe Fineman made a significant allegation against Musk this week. Fineman alleged that when Musk guest hosted the show back in 2021, he made multiple members of the ensemble cry. Now, the Tesla head honcho has issued a response to the actress’ accusation.

Months ago, cast member Bowen Yang recalled a guest host bringing cast members to tears before a table read because “he hated the ideas.” Yang later provided further context but again, would not say who the person was. Well, in a since-deleted TikTok video, which was captured by Chris Gardner of THR on X, Chloe Fineman claimed that the host in question was Elon Musk. The comedian’s video began with her discussing Musk’s disdain for the aforementioned impression, before she shared her version of the events:

Per the actress, the sketch eventually made it to air, and that she “had a really good time” working on it and thought the businessman was “really funny in it.” Sometime after the post was taken down, Elon Musk posted his response to X. While he admitted that “It worked out in the end,” it would seem he did have reservations early on:

One constant variable here seems to be that there was indeed some kind of friction in the lead-up to that specific SNL episode, which represented just one of Elon Musk’s TV credits. Aside from that, both parties also seem to agree that everything turned out for the best. Musk’s hosting stint proved to be somewhat polarizing, with even some members of the long-running sketch show’s cast expressing mixed feelings about it at the time. The installment saw Musk dress up as Wario, play a cowboy and more.

This all effectively puts an end to the mystery revolving around the guest host who reportedly made some of the show’s actors cry. Considering that Chloe Fineman deleted her video, it’s hard to say whether she might speak on the matter further. In any case, it appeared that Elon Musk wanted to make his position on the subject clear as well.

Saturday Night Live Season 50 returns on November 16 with Charli XCX as host and musical guest. You can also stream episodes using a Peacock subscription.

Saturday Night Live Season 50 has welcomed a number of special guests amid the 2024 TV schedule, with one being Dana Carvey. This year, SNL tapped Carvey for a new political role, as the series veteran has been playing U.S. President Joe Biden. However, during the latest episode, he introduced an impression of another notable figure – Elon Musk. Carvey played the tech magnate during the cold open, and Musk himself took notice. With that, the businessman didn’t hold back his thoughts.

This week’s episode of SNL 50, which featured host Bill Burr and musical guest Mk.gee, was the first installment to air after the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. Its cold open saw cast members – like Kenan Thompson, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman – address the audience. The group started with a somber address before joking about how they’ve always supported President-Elect Donald Trump. After the quips and before “hot, jacked Trump” came the enthusiastic impression of Elon Musk – a supporter of Trump – which is below:

As you can see in the clip, this version of the Tesla owner jumps up and down (which is a play on a viral moment from a Trump rally), musing that he now runs the country and dubbing himself “dark MAGA.” The impression seemed to generate laughs and cheers from the audience, but the mogul himself was not pleased. The 53-year-old South Africa native took to X (the platform he owns) to share his displeasure with the sketch. Not only did he state that “Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey” but he added these sentiments in another post:

What Elon Musk is referring to in that latter sentence is referring to a conflict that surfaced a week ago, after Vice President and former Presidential candidate Kamala Harris appeared during SNL’s cold open last week. A Federal Communications Commission official argued that Harris’ surprise appearance was a method of evading the FCC’s Equal Time Rule. With that, NBC collaborated with the Trump campaign and later allowed an election spot to air during its Sunday Night Football block as noted by Variety.

This latest Saturday Night Live cold open didn’t mark the first time that the show has addressed the result of a presidential election. For instance, in 2016, after Donald Trump’s first win, Kate McKinnon – while dressed as Hilary Clinton – played “Hallelujah” on the piano. (The sketch meant a lot to McKinnon, who discussed it years later). And, in 2020, Kamala Harris, who was played by Maya Rudolph, and Joe Biden – played by Jim Carrey – celebrated their victory. And, in the process, Carrey channeled Ace Ventura.

It should be mentioned that Elon Musk – who’s made TV and movie appearances – also hosted Saturday Night Live in 2021. His appearance on the show – which saw him dress up as Wario and more – was met with mixed reviews. Considering his reaction to the latest episode, it seems reasonable to assume that Musk has no plans to return to the show.

Saturday Night Live’s next episode airs on November 16 at 11:30 p.m. ET, at which point Charli XCX will serve as host and musical guest. Those who’d like to watch the latest episode can do so by streaming it with a Peacock subscription.

Elon Musk has been involved in several pop culture-related matters, from his beef with Disney to his assertion that Friends isn't funny. The Tesla CEO occasionally takes to social media to share his personal insights into films and TV shows of the modern era. Now, though, Musk finds himself wrapped up in a situation involving an acclaimed science fiction film. The producers of Blade Runner 2049 are suing his aforementioned corporation for allegedly using images for the film for promotional purposes.

It was on Monday that Alcon Entertainment formally filed suit against Tesla in a California federal court. Per the lawsuit, the automotive brand used an artificial intelligence generator to transform stills from Blade Runner 2049 into unlicensed promotional materials for its robotaxi. Said advertisements were used when the self-driving vehicle was unveiled earlier this year, according to THR. Alcon also does not want to be associated with Elon Musk due to his “extreme political and social views.” The suit also reads:

The car manufacturer isn’t the only entity that’s named in the entity that’s named in the suit. Warner Bros. Discovery (which distributed 2049) is also involved, as the brand supposedly oversaw the use of the images. As part of the alleged partnership, the robotaxi reveal was held on a studio lot. Amid the presentation, there was also an image that showed a male sporting a trench coat as he looked over the remains of a city. It’s Alcon’s contention that the shot was taken from a scene in which Ryan Gosling’s K explores the last of Las Vegas.

Alcon – which produced films like Insomnia and The Blind Side – alleged that it wasn’t aware of the deal between WBD and Tesla until the same day the unveiling was held. It’s also been said that once Elon Musk reached out to Warners about a Blade Runner-adjacent collaboration for the robotaxi, an employee sent a request for clearance to the production company, which apparently denied the appeal due to the use of A.I.-generated imagery. On the whole, Alcon is suing on the grounds of copyright infringement and false endorsement and is seeking unspecified damages.

Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 opened in theaters in 2017 and was met with rave reviews. The film, which is streamable with a Max subscription, didn’t ignite a new era for the franchise, though it’s since garnered a cult following. (Per the recent lawsuit, Elon Musk expressed his admiration for the franchise at the robotaxi event.) There are currently plans for the IP, as the upcoming Blade Runner 2099 show is in development at Amazon Prime Video. That show is supposedly another reason why Alcon wants no association with Musk.

As it stands, this is just one Hollywood-related legal matter that Elon Musk is involved in. Musk is also funding a lawsuit on behalf of Gina Carano, who’s suing Disney over her firing from The Mandalorian. It remains to be seen what will happen with that case, and the same is also true as far as Musk’s legal entanglement with Alcon Entertainment goes.

Tom Cruise is a guy who is willing to perform incredible feats for the sake of his movies. He insists on doing his own stunts, which has resulted in Cruise free climbing buildings and jumping off cliffs. At this point, it seems the only thing Cruise hasn’t done is spacewalk, and that's potentially in the cards.There has been talk in the past about Tom Cruise filming a movie in space, but for that to happen, somebody has to be able to get him up there. On that note, Elon Musk has been linked to the production for a while and has now provided an update on its status.

The SpaceX CEO recently caught up with ET at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony and discussed a few topics with the news outlet. Eventually, he provided some thoughts on Tom Cruise's proposed space movie. The tech magnate revealed that he's spoken to the A-lister, but the latter half of his update may disappoint some people:

While Elon Musk calls it “Mission: Impossible in space,” he’s likely conflating the actor's major franchise with the space movie idea, which as far as we know are separate projects. There have been no indications, at this point, that the Oscar nominee's plans to film a movie in space also involve the M:I franchise. Still, Musk, or somebody like him, is going to be key to a project like this. The most complex part of the whole endeavor would be figuring out how to get the Top Gun icon, any other needed actors, and all the necessary equipment, from Earth into orbit, and that's where Space X would come in. 

We don’t know what the upcoming Tom Cruise movie set in space would be about, and it's not even clear just how many people within his inner circle are aware of that info. While the expectation is that only part of the Cruise movie would occur in space, there are a lot of unknowns here. 

Per reported details on the space movie, frequent Cruise collaborator Doug Liman is working on a script and plans to direct the project as well. Perhaps, now that Liman’s done with Road House, which he wanted a theatrical release for, he’ll have more time to dedicate to Cruise's cosmic movie.

It’s maybe not surprising that there hasn’t been a lot of movement on the actor's feature. He’s been pretty busy filming two back-to-back Mission: Impossible movies, one of which had to struggle through a global pandemic. He’s had a lot going on and probably hasn’t had the time to focus on his potential movie in outer space. His film aimed to be the first to be shot in outer space. However, a Russian production ended up winning that space race, becoming the first to shoot scenes outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. 

Generally speaking, what Tom Cruise wants, Tom Cruise gets, so it seems likely that if the actor wants to shoot a movie in space, it will happen eventually. When any of this could actually happen is still very much an open question. We know that Top Gun 3 is also in development and, if Cruise does go to work on that after finishing the (now-untitled) Mission: Impossible sequel, then his dreams of heading to space (with the help of Elon Musk) will have to wait even longer. 

It has been a bumpy year for Don Lemon. After a wave of sexist comments about politician Nikki Haley, among others, put the anchor's future at CNN in jeopardy, Lemon was officially fired from the news network in April 2023 after nearly two decades as one of the channel's most high-profile personalities. (The media pundit has since gone on to claim that those misconduct allegations weren't the real reason for his dismissal.) Now, he has another issue on his hands as his X show has been canceled by Elon Musk.

For some context, after rumors of exactly how Lemon would professionally move on from the CNN firing (remember that time we all really thought he would be joining The View?) spread, word hit that he had scored a contract with tech billionaire Elon Musk to start a new show on X. However, it looks like both that contract for The Don Lemon Show and the content partnership with Musk are kaput, as the former CNN host revealed on social media on Wednesday, March 13. 

In a video posted to his Twitter, the 57-year-old journalist seemed to insinuate that Musk terminated the deal following an interview between the two men, which was planned to air during the first edition of The Don Lemon Show on X on Monday, March 18. Lemon said: 

Lemon continued to discuss his reasonings for why he initially decided to collaborate with a controversial figure like Elon Musk, much to the chagrin of the anchor's loyal fans. Around the same time Lemon's show pick-up, it was announced that X would also be supporting content from former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and sports commentator Jim Rome, along with a show hosted by former Fox News-er Tucker Carlson. 

Continuing to speak about his decision, the former CNN anchor said:

However, despite previously believing that Musk was a "free speech absolutist," Lemon alleged that the tech boss wasn't pleased by his line of questioning during the interview:

It's not the first time Elon Musk has canceled a planned business partnership last minute. Per The Hill, the X mogul said in a statement that, while Lemon's show is "welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else," he was displeased with its approach, which was "basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying." 

Despite no longer being backed by Musk, The Don Lemon Show will reportedly move forward with its debut episode on March 18, which will include the tense interview with Elon. 

Although Gina Carano’s Cara Dune was an important character in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, there are no plans for the character to appear in the Star Wars franchise again. That’s because in early 2021, Lucasfilm announced that Carano was no longer employed at the company in response to the controversy surrounding her social media activity. Two years later, Carano is now suing both Lucasfilm and Disney, the former’s parent company, over the firing from the Star Wars TV show, and X owner Elon Musk is involved in this legal affair.

Per THR, Carano has filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination and wrongful termination on Disney and Lucasfilm’s part. In a complaint filed in California federal court today, the actress alleged that she was let go from The Mandalorian for “voicing right-wing opinions on social media.” She’s also seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her as Cara Dune, as well as at least $75,000 in punitive damages. Elon Musk is helping fund the lawsuit through X, with Joe Benarroch, the social media company’s head of business operations, writing in a statement:

For those who weren’t following along with the controversy when it was originally unfolding, among the social media posts for which Gina Carano received flak included comparing being a conservative in the United States to being Jewish during the Nazi regime, seemingly criticizing people for wearing masks during the pandemic, and making comments that seemingly mocked people’s choice of pronouns, among other things. Carano shared shortly after her firing that Disney asked her to issue an apology, but she declined. After the firing, Carano announced she was partnering with The Daily Wire to make a Western movie, with Terror on The Prairie being released in June 2022.

Now, however, Carnao is looking to hold Disney and Lucasfilm legally accountable for them firing her from The Mandalorian. The complaint alleges that the companies defamed her for “refusing to conform with their viewpoints on issues relating to Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns and disproven claims of election interference.” Carano is also arguing that a “blind eye” was turned to her male costars, who’ve allegedly made “offensive and denigrating posts directed towards Republicans.”

The lawsuit also mentioned that after the social media controversy started getting attention, Gina Carano was required to meet with a representative from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination, with said representative allegedly demanding an apology. As it’s written:

When Gina Carano refused to issue that apology, the lawsuit Staes she was instructed to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+. When Carano turned down that meeting too, that’s when the firing happened. It had also previously been reported that Carano had been expected to lead The Mandalorian spinoff Rangers of the New Republic, but that project looked to have been scrapped several months after she was let go.

We’ll keep you apprised about how Gina Carano’s Elon Musk-aided lawsuit against Disney is going as more updates come in. As far as The Mandalorian goes, its three seasons can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, and while it remains unclear if Season 4 will still happen, a tie-in movie called The Mandalorian & Grogu has been announced. 

When Bob Iger became the CEO of The Walt Disney Company for the second time he did so with a clear intention to try and get the company out of its public political battles. However, the feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has only gotten worse, with multiple lawsuits between the theme park company and the state brewing. And now it seems that Iger is embroiled in another public battle, this time with Elon Musk.

Elon Musk is one of the most prominent public figures in the world, so when you get on his bad side, people know it. Iger has found himself in Musk’s crosshairs following a decision by Disney to cease doing business on Twitter, which has resulted in a variety of different responses by Musk. Here’s a complete rundown of the ongoing beef between Bob Iger and Elon Musk.

 Disney Pulls Advertising From Twitter 

On November 15, 2023, Elon Musk responded to a tweet that promoted an anti-semitic conspiracy theory, calling it the “actual truth.” In doing so Musk caused a firestorm of controversy. Multiple companies, including Comcast, and its subsidiary NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros. Discovery pulled their advertising from the platform in response, but the company that seemed to get noticed the most for the decision to pull advertising was The Walt Disney Company.

When asked about the decision to pull advertising from X (née Twitter) at the New York Times Dealbook Summit, on November 29, Iger said that he “had a lot of respect” for Elon, but that he felt Disney simply had no choice but to part ways with the platform. Iger said…

Disney still uses Twitter as a promotional tool, but no longer advertises on it. A move like this might have been temporary, with Disney and other companies eventually returning to the platform if and when the heat died down, but in Disney's case that has become less likely based on what followed. 

Musk Tosses an F-Bomb At Bob Iger

As coincidence would have it, Elon Musk was also being interviewed at the same New York Times Dealbook Summit. When asked about the decision of Bob Iger and others to stop advertising, Musk suggested the decision could kill the platform, but then also took a combative tone, calling out Iger specifically with some pretty harsh language, saying… 

While Disney certainly wasn’t the only company to end its advertising relationship, Bob Iger has apparently become the figure head for all of it. As with the DeSantis battle, Disney is a massive company with global name recognition, which makes them an easy target in public. It certainly makes avoiding these battles, as Iger has said he wants to do, more difficult. 

Elon Called For Bob Iger’s Removal As CEO 

After the war of words between the two, things might have been expected to calm down, but that hasn’t been the case. About a week later, on December 7, Musk, on Twitter, called for Iger to be fired as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, claiming that Walt Disney would not appreciate what Walt had done to his company… 

The "What Would Walt Do" mantra is one of those things brought out by everybody who doesn't like what Disney does, from supporting marginalized groups to closing a theme park attraction. It's also technically impossible as Walt Disney was cremated.  

While there is an attempt by activist investor Nelson Peltz to get himself on the Disney Board of Directors, claiming that the company needs to make drastic changes to become more profitable, there seems to be little dissatisfaction within Disney when it comes to Iger. Iger was the one the Board turned to when it was decided former CEO Bob Chapek wasn’t working out. As such, Iger's getting fired seems unlikely. He has a contract that keeps him on as CEO through the end of 2026.

Tesla Pulls Disney+ App From Vehicles 

But wait, there’s more. In a move that is not officially connected to the Musk/Disney battle, but seems likely to be related due to the timing. Electrek reported on December 18, 2023, that Disney+ was informed by Tesla that it would remove the streaming service from its in-vehicle dashboard entertainment systems. Disney+ was reportedly told initially that the app would be removed entirely. A few days later Tesla said that Disney+ would only be removed in vehicles where the app had not been used.

The fact that this move was done now, and with reportedly no explanation as to why, certainly leaves the impression that it is an act of retribution against Iger made by Elon Musk’s other big company. Disney+ is the only app being removed like this. Netflix has been available in Teslas for years. Hulu, which Disney is in the process of buying outright from minor shareholder Comcast, is also in Tesla vehicles and is reportedly staying.

Musk Funds A Lawsuit Against Lucasfilm

As 2023 came to an end, it looked like whatever was going on between Elon Musk and The Walt Disney Company was ending as well. However, in February 2024, Gina Carrano, who had been fired from her role in Star Wars series The Mandalorian in 2021 after tweets that Lucasfilm called "abhorrent," filed a lawsuit against Lucasfilm, asking not only for financial damages but that she rehired by the show. Because the inciting incident took place on Twitter, Elon Musk is funding the lawsuit.

While we certainly can't say for sure that this lawsuit is related to other issues that Elon Musk has with Bob Iger, the fact that Lucasfilm's parent company is Disney certainly can't be overlooked.

What’s Next For Bob Iger And Elon Musk? 

Overall this has been a very one-sided "feud." Beyond Bob Iger’s initial comments about the decision to pull advertising, he hasn’t said anything publicly about Elon Musk or the situation. 

It seems unlikely he will volunteer any public comment, though he could get asked about it in a future interview. The most recent Disney Quarterly Earnings Call covered a lot of ground, but the Lucasfilm lawsuit never came up. The Tesla situation probably won't have a significant bottom-line impact, though it's probably annoying for some Disney+ subscribers who will lose easy access to the app in one place.

Beyond that, Elon Musk likes to challenge people to cage fights, so Bob Iger may want to be on the lookout for that. 

If you want to engage a Friends fan in a passionate debate, ask them if Ross and Rachel were on a break, or if Monica and Chandler were better off not together. But if you really want to get under their skin, throw out the audacious claim that the iconic sitcom isn’t even funny. X CEO Elon Musk poured fuel on that fire in one of his recent posts, and while I get that Friends isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (or rather, Central Perk coffee), I’m a little surprised at how many haters there are for a decades-old TV show.

For seemingly no reason at all, Elon Musk decided to get people all riled up with what I would have imagined was an unpopular opinion on one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time (and yes, as a Friends fan myself, I am a little biased in calling it that, but also, it is objectively true). The billionaire posted: 

It’s actually not surprising that a man worth hundreds of billions of dollars doesn’t relate to six 20-somethings who are barely scraping by in 1990s New York City. Rachel and Monica’s apartment would actually cost way more than Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox’s characters could afford at an estimated $6,500 a month, but that’s likely pocket change to the SpaceX founder.

Turns out, though, it’s not just billionaires who don’t find Friends funny, as more than 700,000 X users liked the post, and plenty of them weighed in with their own opinions of the show. The comments included: 

• Friends is one of the least funny shows out there. Take away the laughing track and the ‘humour’ goes with it – THOMP_edits
• Never got the appeal at the time. Still don't get it now. – TheCriticalDri2
• Searching high and low, and yet struggling to find someone who genuinely enjoyed 'Friends'? What does that say about the show's so-called 'popularity'? – Michael73561485
• I don't think anyone actually enjoyed watching Friends – Biscuitsbubble
• Indeed. Friends was boring and pointless. I couldn't stand watching for more than ten minutes. The overall idea revolved around attempts to come up with half-decent jokes, and the situations presented were entirely uninteresting. – Panterabch

Although I admit to being one of “those” die-hard Friends fans who has seen every episode multiple times, I am not unreasonable, and I agree there are valid arguments to be made about the sitcom, especially when it comes to the series’ lack of diversity. That’s not new, and the cast and crew have even copped to it. 

Also, it’s been 29 years since Friends premiered, and comedy has evolved a ton since 1994. I honestly don’t know how I’d feel about it either, if I were to watch it for the first time today. However, to suggest that people who actually enjoyed the sitcom don’t exist is simply ridiculous.

Elon Musk and everyone else are absolutely entitled to their opinion, and obviously if they think Friends isn’t funny, I assume no one’s forcing them to watch it. I would just say that the fact that Musk is even bringing it up, and there is debate over whether or not it’s worth watching — nearly two decades after its final episode aired on NBC — only proves its pop culture relevance. 

If you do want to watch (or rewatch) Friends, all 10 seasons are available to stream with a Max subscription. 

It may be hard to believe it, but it’s been almost a full year since a verdict was reached in Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s defamation case. The pair of actors made countless headlines as they clashed in court, and made serious allegations against each other. But Depp wasn’t the only high profile relationship that’s been surrounding the Aquaman actress, as she also had a notable connection with Elon Musk. Musk’s bombshell biography commented on Heard, and the author calls that period “hellacious” and more. Let’s break it all down.

Musk’s new biography was written by Walter Isaacson, and is appropriately titled Elon Musk. Reviews have started rolling in, and excerpts are already circulating online. The LA Times pulled quotes related to Musk’s relationship with Heard, and they’re sure to quickly go viral. The book alleges that from the summer of 2018 to the fall of 2018 it was a “hellacious” part of his life, which is the period of time he was involved with the 37 year-old actress. The book describes his mental state during this time with:

According to Issacson, this mental state occurred thanks to familial issues, as well as his now infamous relationship with Amber Heard. She had only recently split from Johnny Depp during this time (see a timeline of Heard and Depp’s relationship here). As we know, Musk would end up getting involved in their litigation, and famously challenged Depp to a cage fight.

Later in that book (via the LA Times), writer Walter Isaacson addressed Elon Musk and Amber Heard’s relationship, and made some allegations about how the pair functioned. The biography pulls no punches, and claims that Heard…

Well, there you have it. Assuming that this information is true, it paints a picture of what it was like when Amber Heard and Elon Musk were romantically involved. There have been a number of wild rumors about that time, with Musk even denying a 3-way relationship with Heard and Cara Delevigne. We’ll just have to see if the new biography helps to quell certain rumors or begins new ones entirely. The former couple has continued to make headlines, like when Heard deleted her Twitter when Musk took over.

As previously mentioned, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard absolutely dominated the new cycle when they were facing off in court, partly because the public could watch it all go down on TV. In the end Depp was largely the victor in court, and both actors would go abroad to live their lives with some anonymity. As for Elon Musk, he eventually took over Twitter (aka X) and has been making sweeping changes to the social media outlet.

Amber Heard can be seen in Aquaman 2 on December 20th, and Elon Musk’s biography will hit shelves on September 12th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Time is a funny thing. One moment, the world finds itself inexplicably taken by the holiday movie phenomenon that is Love Actually and, the next thing you know, we’re all on the cusp of celebrating its 20th anniversary. That little factoid might have you wondering where the time went, and it’s part of the reactions to actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s engagement to fellow thespian Talulah Riley, ex-wife of businessman Elon Musk.

The tech magnate and tons of others have been responding on social media, and quite a few seem shocked by the news. Let’s start with the announcement itself, as Thomas Brodie-Sangster took to his personal Instagram to share his excitement, with the help of the following photo and caption: 

Even I, a person who is still very much aware of Thomas Brodie-Sangster’s role on Game of Thrones and his voice work on Disney’s Phineas and Ferb, can still find some shock in this photo. I mean, look at it again! The man’s piloting a gondola, all grown up and ready to get married! Where has the time gone?

Anyway, let's move onto the reactions to this coupling. We’ll start with Elon Musk’s tweet. Don’t worry, no one’s being challenged to cage matches here, as the X CEO used his own platform to share a quite brief stamp of approval:

That’s a pretty simple and sweet response from the Telsa CEO, and it’s nice to see Ms. Riley’s ex-husband being so supportive of her new chapter in life. Now, let's get to the more hysterical responses to this coupling. 

As it turns out, most people can’t get over seeing the now-33-year-old Thomas Brodie-Sangster all grown up, as they best remember his character Sam -- the young lovesick boy who’s trying to impress an American girl in Love Actually. User “maidensheildio” conveyed that very sentiment, as they posted a photo of Brodie-Sangster from that very Richard Curtis-directed picture, along with this message: 

Again, one would think that the public is aware of the fact that the actor is now a full-fledged adult and has Game of Thrones, a stint as a member of The Queen’s Gambit cast and more credits under his belt. (I mean, that Anya Taylor Joy-led series, which is streamable with a Netflix subscription, was a prolific hit.) Apparently, all roads lead to Love Actually in this case, though, as evidenced by ex-New York Post writer Helen Kennedy’s contribution to the conversation: 

If you happen to know a fan of the 2003 rom-com who's currently using the internet, you may want to reach out to them and see if they're ok. I say that, because here's another example of someone's brain being broken by the development. "Feistyfrank" rounds out this chorus of disbelief with a pretty extensive dive into Mr. Brodie-Sangster's CV: 

To the credit of "feistyfrank," at least they cited other roles I've mentioned. Honestly, when you take the entire Brodie-Sangster body of work into account with this news, it's even more of a supposed mind-blower. Particularly when you remember that he was, in fact, the voice of Disney's Ferb of Phineas and Ferb fame.

Thankfully, someone else shares my continued confusion as how so many people have the character of Sam as their reference point. User "kaytaylorrea" was truly doing the work of the gods when they posted a series of photos from the star's other projects, asking this simple question: 

Considering these reactions to this engagement news, people might still find themselves shocked at the age gap between Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Keira Knightly when they actually filmed Love, Actually. But allow me to blow your mind in a nerdier way, as there’s a connection between Brodie-Sangster and Talulah Riley that most may not realize. They were both guest stars on Doctor Who. Season 3’s two-parter “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood” saw Thomas playing a young man at boarding school, preparing to ship off to World War I. Not to be outdone, Talulah had her own two-episode arc in Season 4, courtesy of “Silence in the Library” and “Forest of the Damned.” 

Ok, so it might not be as shocking as comparing his growth through the ages, but it’s still another sweet thread that binds these lovebirds. In any case, we here at CinemaBlend send our congratulations to the happy couple! 

You can rent or buy Love Actually using Prime Video, and read up about the movie on our list of holiday-themed films that aren't technically Christmas movies.

“Who would win in a fight?” is a classic thought experiment traditionally played among fans as they pit their favorite fictional characters from different universes against each other. Who would win in a fight between Neo and John Wick? Who would win in a fight between Thor and Wonder Woman? These are jokes not meant to be taken seriously. And yet, it seems the question may play out in reality among a couple of tech billionaires. Who would win in a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk? We may learn the answer in the middle of a UFC Octagon.

This week has been wild as what initially seemed to be nothing more than an attempt at posturing by Musk now appears to be looking more and more like we could see a sanctioned fight between him and META CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It all started when it was reported that META was working on a competitor to Twitter, which resulted in Musk insulting Zuckerberg, and then challenging him to a “cage fight” if he took offense. Zuckerberg responded with “send me location,” to which Musk then in turn sent a location, a UFC Octagon in Las Vegas.

It would be easy to still just chalk this up to a couple of super-rich people trying to look tough, but now UFC President Dana White has told TMZ that he has spoken directly to both men and neither one is joking around. White explained...

So is this actually happening? While White isn’t saying for certain that it is going down, he says he’s taking it very seriously and it sounds like the first steps toward making it a reality are happening. White thinks this would be the biggest PPV fight in history, outdoing the Mayweather/McGregor battle from 2017, raising hundreds of millions of dollars. One piece of good news is that whatever money raised is apparently already set to go to charity, but the fact that both men are talking about what to do with the money does indicate that they are seriously considering all this.

As far as what sort of a fight it would be, it might be better than we expect. Zuckerberg has been studying ju-jitsu, and Musk apparently has also studied martial arts, and claims he got in a lot of fights growing up in South Africa, so while the fight certainly wouldn’t be what UFC fans are used to seeing, it might be a case of putting two fairly evenly matched amateurs in the ring together, which could still make for a solid battle. 

As far as when Zuckerberg v. Musk: Billionaire Brawl might happen, that’s one question White wasn’t ready to answer. It’s unclear how much training time the two would need, so whether this is a late 2023 fight or early 2024 one, we’ll have to wait and see. And of course, until deals are signed this whole thing could still fall apart, but right now, we can’t count this one out.

Are you ready to, uh, rumble? Get ready folks, because we may be in for the billionaire cage fight of the century just a few months after Elon Musk challenged Johnny Depp to a similar match. I can’t believe I’m writing these words but the Twitter guy has challenged the Facebook guy to a cage fight and there is a non-zero chance that such a fight could actually happen. 

This isn’t the first time the Twitter head honcho has challenged somebody to a fight, but it seems as if Mark Zuckerberg is more interested in following through than Johnny Depp ever was. How did we get to the point where a couple of billionaires are considering beating each other up?  

How Elon Musk Challenged Mark Zuckerberg To A Fight 

Our story begins with the news that Facebook is working on adding a new feature that would functionally work as a competitor to Twitter. Unsurprisingly, Musk is not a fan of this idea, and he took a verbal swipe at the META CEO. When somebody, jokingly, pointed out that Zuckerberg has been studying ju-jitsu of late, Musk said on Twitter he was up for a fight. 

Under most circumstances, that would be the end of things as we would expect Mark Zuckerberg to just ignore the situation. However, that’s not what happened. When Zuckerberg caught wind of Musk’s “challenge” he dropped an Instagram post telling Musk to name a place.

Once again, this could be seen as posturing, but it’s allegedly…not. It’s being claimed that Zuckerberg is entirely serious and he’s absolutely willing to fight Elon Musk, and Musk has now followed up by naming a location. He’s apparently willing to fight Zuckerberg in Las Vegas. 

Musk once told Joe Rogan that he does study martial arts as well, so perhaps this fight might actually be more interesting than it would appear at first glance? Needless to say, this whole situation is strange. The idea of a couple of tech billionaires beating the heck out of each other seems patently absurd, but here we are. Of course, it’s not like this is the first time Musk has challenged somebody to a fight, so maybe it was only a matter of time before he found a willing opponent.

The Time Elon Musk Challenged Johnny Depp To A Fight 

Last year during the seemingly never-ending legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Elon Musk became a part of the drama. Musk and Amber Heard began a relationship shortly after she split from Depp, but the Pirates of the Caribbean actor accused his ex of having an affair with Musk while they were still together. This included a text where Depp apparently threatened violence against Musk, and in an interview, the then-future Twitter owner offered to fight Depp if that’s what the actor wanted.

In this case, the whole thing did blow over, but now one has to wonder what might have happened if Depp had actually expressed interest in fighting Elon Musk. Certainly, there’s no guarantee it would have happened, just as we still can’t be sure that this new fight will happen, but one has to wonder if the egos involved this time around might actually lead somewhere. PPV anyone?

It’s not often the home entertainment release plans of documentaries generate much attention, but the one for The Daily Wire’s controversial film What Is A Woman? was the source of much conversation this week after the specifics of a deal with Twitter went public. The two sides allegedly agreed to a plan to make the film available for a twenty-four hour period on the social media site, but a battle over the content of the film resulted in it being labeled as hateful conduct. The war of words that followed eventually led all the way up to owner Elon Musk, as well as numerous executives from The Daily Wire.

The back-and-forth started yesterday morning when The Daily Wire Co-CEO Jeremy Boreing dropped a sixteen tweet thread saying Twitter agreed to platform What Is A Woman? for twenty-four hours on the first anniversary of its initial release. The conservative brand wanted to “expand” the viewerbase and generate conversation. Twitter allegedly agreed to the paid package and said it would host the movie and promote it to every user for the first ten hours, but after seeing the film, the social media service canceled the planned rollout over content concerns, specifically that the movie misgenders participants. It said it would label the documentary as “hateful conduct” and limit its reach if The Daily Wire posted it organically. 

The Daily Wire did post the film organically, along with the sixteen tweet thread and numerous other comments from star Matt Walsh, talking head Ben Shapiro and more. Twitter quickly responded by putting the hateful label on it and adding a note that it was “limiting visibility.” Twitter’s owner Elon Musk, however, then jumped into the conversation and said limiting the movie’s reach was a “mistake” and it should be allowed on the platform without restrictions.

Hours later, however, the warnings were still on the movie, which led to another round of angry comments from those involved with The Daily Wire. Musk responded that the issue was being fixed. Then news broke that Twitter’s Head Of Trust And Safety Ella Irwin resigned. It’s unclear if her departure was directly related to this specific issue, and many online have been arguing about it. Eventually, the restrictions on the video were mostly taken off, and this morning, Musk quote tweeted the movie itself from his own profile.

What Is A Woman? explores questions of gender and transgender theory. Critics have called the movie transphobic and said it conspires to paint many of those it interviews and transgender people in a negative light. Supporters have argued there’s nothing illegal in the documentary and The Daily Wire and those involved should be allowed to talk about their perspectives on transgenderism. 

Exactly what happened behind the scenes at Twitter yesterday is unclear. Different departments clearly reacted in a disjointed and uncoordinated way, and at this point, it’s unclear how Twitter might handle a similar situation in the future. Would they be willing to partner with another movie to release it free on the platform for a certain amount of time? If so, would they avoid films that are espousing certain viewpoints? We don’t know. But given all the attention this has attracted, it’s likely we may see additional movies, specifically those looking to advocate for a certain position, try to work out a deal with Twitter in the future.

Twitter has been going through some significant changes as of late, thanks to some polarizing decisions made by CEO Elon Musk. The most heavily discussed initiative as of late has been Twitter Blue, which requires users to pay $8 per month for the highly coveted blue check. A number of public figures, including major celebrities, were vocal about not planning to pay the fee but, in a surprise move, some of their checks returned. This is because Musk is personally footing the bill for a select number of stars. While some have criticized the tech magnate for this move and the service overall, Charlie Sheen is singing a different tune. 

One of the most high-profile stars to take issue with the subscription-based service and his restored check is Stephen King, whose viral brouhaha with Elon Musk made headlines. King has since said that Musk should give his blue check to a charity. Aside from this situation, even Universal Studios poked fun at Musk when he announced plans to charge for verification. All the while, Charlie Sheen has gotten in on the discussion as well. The typically outspoken actor didn’t really chastise Musk when learning that his check would be taken away, though. Instead, he actually tried to implore him to let him keep his social media distinction. You can check out his appeal in the following Twitter post:

While it’s sometimes hard to gather tone from a social media post, that message actually seemed pretty sincere. And not only that, but it seems to have worked, as you can see. The Two and a Half Men alum now has his check back and, once it was returned, he went back to the platform to comment. If you look at the update below, you may get the impression that the 57-year-old actor is pleased as punch with how things worked out:

Well, I suppose the Tesla exec can chalk up that little piece of praise as a slight victory. Though some have critiqued him, it makes sense that someone like the Anger Management star would be happy with his aim to cover the costs of some checks. A check, after all, does help to verify a person’s identity on social media and can also help establish organizations as legitimate sources of information. As the star praises Twitter’s leader, there’s still an interesting pattern to make note of in this situation. 

Charlie Sheen, Stephen King, LeBron James and William Shatner spoke out on Elon Musk’s decision to take away checks for those who didn’t subscribe. And interestingly enough, they’re among the stars to have received theirs. It can’t be said with certainty that Musk chose to cover these individuals based on their comments, yet it’s an interesting coincidence nonetheless.

Elsewhere on the platform, other stars seem content without their badges, with celebrated Olympian Simone Biles joking about starting a new trend. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman icon Lynda Carter shared a funny joke about the controversy. Others, however, have opted to get rid of their accounts in the time since the new CEO stepped in. One such person to hit “delete” is Amber Heard, who used to date the billionaire.

This latest message from Charlie Sheen, who’s preparing to return to TV, has me thinking that he won’t be leaving the platform anytime soon. I’m interested in seeing whether he’ll continue to be one of those people singing Elon Musk’s praises, as he continues to make changes to Twitter.

While Twitter's blue check mark used to be a key distinction for those who made it through the verification process, this week, tons of verified accounts -- even those of big names like Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé and Justin Bieber -- lost the icon. This major development followed CEO Elon Musk’s decision to only give the badge to those who subscribe to Twitter Blue. After celebs like William Shatner called Musk out on the brouhaha, Stephen King had a (now-viral) exchange with the exec, and fans are reacting.

While tons of celebrities lost their blue check mark on Thursday, Stephen King shared on Twitter that he's apparently subscribed to Twitter Blue -- even though he didn't actually set it up himself. Elon Musk then replied “You’re welcome namaste,” before sharing that he’s “personally” paying for verifications for King, LeBron James and William Shatner. Check it: 

What all three celebrities have in common is that they’ve all spoken out about not being interested in paying for the subscription. It's interesting that the company head opted to extend complimentary Twitter Blue subscriptions to them following their comments. Meanwhile, the Internet is having a field day with the viral moment between him and the horror writer. One user comically recapped the situation: 

One joke that's been going around the Internet this week -- amid the tides turning on the blue check mark -- is how now people are going to steer away from those with it as opposed to coveting it. This is because some are heavily opposed to the notion of someone paying Elon Musk $8 a month. On that note though, one user can see the irony in Musk putting it upon himself to ensure that certain individuals have it:

You can't help but wonder how this system is going to work and how it'll affect the platform as a whole moving forward. Some people are simply leaving the social media platform like Amber Heard, who deleted her Twitter account, (and actually dated the CEO years ago). All in all, with what's been going on with the platform as of late, users aren't holding back their thoughts, like the following:

In October 2022, it was reported that the Twitter Blue service was reported to cost $20 per month. At the time, Stephen King said “fuck that, they should pay me” before saying he would leave the platform if that system were to be instituted. While taking note of the best-selling author's current situation, one fan seemed sympathetic -- but humorously so:

On that note, at least one person does see a funny silver lining to this situation. They seem to think that the celebrated writer now has some fodder for a scary new book:

Stephen King typically uses Twitter to share thoughts on upcoming horror movies and other pop culture tidbits. For recently, he recently took to the platform to share his approval of an incredible The Shining reference in Evil Dead Rise. Following his exchange with Elon Musk, King took to Twitter to reveal what he thinks the Twitter CEO should do with the blue check mark he’s bestowed upon him:

I'm interested in seeing if Stephen King and Elon Musk's situation escalates any further. Until then, you can get excited for the next King adaptation, The Boogeyman, which hits theaters on June 2 and is reportedly getting extreme reactions from early audiences. Also, check out what you need to build the ultimate King book collection. 

Twitter has always been sort of the wild west, but things have been even crazier in the months since Elon Musk took over the social media site. One of the major points of contention has been how Twitter should handle Verified status. Musk had previously announced that those who had been verified prior to his takeover were going to lose that status unless they paid for the Twitter Blue service. Many verified users didn’t love this, including celebrities like William Shatner.

Shatner used Twitter to ask Twitter owner Elon Musk directly what was going on with the verified status issue. He made it clear that he didn’t love the decision to remove the blue check mark from “legacy” verified users on April 1. Shatner didn’t understand why he would be expected to pay for something that had previously been free.

Elon Musk responded to Shatner’s criticism, explaining that the goal was equality and that celebrities should not get special treatment. And while the Star Trek star said that he appreciated that idea, the problem for somebody in his position is that somebody else could set up a fake account that could look like the real thing because the check mark is available to anybody willing to pay the money.

Shatner’s position is at least understandable. We’ve already seen people, either in an intentional move to mislead or in an attempt to point out how easily it can be done, do exactly this. Lots of Twitter-verified people probably don’t run such a risk, but bigger celebrities do. Other friends and fans of William Shatner showed support for the actor’s position. 

In the end, Shatner decided he would not become a Twitter Blue subscriber. The actor explained that he was fairly certain that something else would need to be done. At some point, there would be an “incident” that would cause Twitter to change these rules, and he’d just wait until we got there. He explained...

Of course, we now know that, at least for time being, blue check marks aren’t going away. On April 1, instead of legacy accounts losing the check mark, a note was added to accounts that simply doesn’t differentiate between legacy and paid accounts. While not everybody loves this compromise, it works for Shatner. 

One has to wonder if it was the response of Shatner and others that led to this apparent compromise. Whether this will be the new standard, or even more changes are still on the way remains to be seen. What’s clear is that a lot of people, and a lot of celebrities do like using Twitter, and they want to keep doing so, but if the goal of Twitter is now to find ways to get people to pay for it, a new strategy is going to be needed

Rick and Morty co-creator and actor Justin Roiland has been making a lot of headlines lately, but not because of his work voicing the titular characters on the animated Adult Swim series. News broke earlier in January that he was facing two charges for an alleged domestic violence incident that occurred back in 2020. Now, Roiland's attorney has spoken up, and Twitter CEO Elon Musk contributed his two cents on the matter.

Justin Roiland's Lawyer Releases A Statement

Just days after Justin Roiland was fired from Rick and Morty despite his status as co-creator and voice actor, he attended a pre-trial hearing in court on January 26. The development comes after he pleaded "not guilty" to the charges back in 2020, which include one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit. Attorney T. Edward Welbourn, who is one of the lawyers representing Roiland, wrote a statement in defense (via NBC News):

The criminal complaint alleges that the incident that resulted in the two charges occurred in mid-January of 2020, making this pre-trial hearing (and Roiland's firing from Rick and Morty) almost exactly two years later. He wouldn't be formally charged until May 2020 and arrested in August of that year before being released on a bond of $50,000. He was arraigned in October 2020. This week's pre-trial hearing is only the latest, and no date has been set for trial at the time of writing. 

According to the outlet, Justin Roiland's lawyer revealed that there is a plea offer on the table, although no details about the offer are available. Relatively few details are actually publicly known at this point due to a protective order. What has been confirmed in no uncertain terms is that while Adult Swim is moving forward with more seasons of Rick and Morty after the sixth wrapped ahead of the 2023 TV season, Roiland will not be involved... and Elon Musk has thoughts.

Elon Musk Weighed In

Billionaire Elon Musk made plenty of headlines himself over the past year, with his purchase of Twitter landing him on CinemaBlend's list of the biggest pop culture moments of 2022. Unsurprisingly, it was on the social media platform that Musk spoke up with his thoughts on Justin Roiland being fired. In response to the Adult Swim post that announced the end of its association with Roiland and Rick and Morty continuing without him, Musk wrote on Twitter:

Roiland was certainly key to Rick and Morty's first six seasons as the voice actor behind the two main characters (and fans already have an idea of somebody who could replace him), but there has been no indication since his firing or Musk's tweet on January 25 that Adult Swim will reverse its decision. In fact, another platform has made moves to cut ties, with Hulu announcing the end of their association with Justin Roiland on Solar Opposites and Koala Man. Roiland co-created and acted in the former, and is credited as an executive producer on the latter.

Only time will tell what Justin Roiland's professional future looks like, how the legal case against him will proceed, and whether any further details become available despite the protective order.

It’s been a full year since comedian Bob Saget passed away at age 65. The Full House father was found dead in his hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Florida, following a show, with the cause of death later determined to be head trauma. His friends, family, and fellow entertainers have spent the past year sharing memories of the actor, in hopes of allowing his spirit to carry on. On the anniversary of his death, his wife Kelly Rizzo made a plea to Twitter CEO Elon Musk to help in that endeavor by reinstating the blue check mark on his account.

Kelly Rizzo shared a number of touching posts with fans in the months following his death, including stories of their vacations together and even the last words they shared with each other on the night he died. She continued to fight for her late husband’s memory, as she tweeted a plea for Bob Saget’s Twitter account to be re-verified, writing: 

Kelly Rizzo called on her friends and Bob’s Saget’s fans to lend their support, and the post racked up thousands of likes. She said she imagined the actor and comedian would be disappointed that it might be harder for fans to find his old jokes without the blue check mark verification. In another tweet, she continued: 

Elon Musk has been experimenting with different changes to the social media platform since taking ownership in October (which was one of the biggest pop culture moments of 2022). In December, Musk announced plans to delete up to 1.5 billion inactive Twitter accounts, but it does seem like there should be some kind of caveat for notable users who have passed away, as Kelly Rizzo noted. Some fans in the comments suggested the site adapt a memorial feature of some sort or legacy check mark of a different color. 

As of this writing, the billionaire had yet to respond to Bob Saget’s widow with a solution or an explanation as to why the blue check mark was removed. It’s hard to believe a year has passed since Bob Saget’s tragic death. His Full House family mourned his loss as they celebrated the show’s 35th anniversary — honoring him with lots of throwback pics — and Candace Cameron Bure joined Kelly Rizzo in celebrating his birthday in May. 

Hopefully the family gets some answers from Elon Musk. For anyone looking to revisit the comedian’s work, you can check out these movies and shows to watch to remember Bob Saget. Our hearts go out to the actor’s loved ones as they mark one year without him. 

2022 was quite the year—we saw the first ever big-budget gay rom-com, watched Pete Davidson date yet ANOTHER of the most beautiful women in the world, and had “Running Up That Hill” playing on a loop in the background. 

I want to take a moment to remember the most important moments in the cultural zeitgeist of 2022 — basically, to quote the Tik Tok trend, 2022 pop culture moments that permanently altered my brain chemistry.

We’re breaking down 12 iconic moments from the past year that we won’t be forgetting any time soon. 

The Oscars Slap

Starting us off was the slap heard ‘round the world—a.k.a. The Oscars Slap. 

Following a joke from host Chris Rock that poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, her husband (and the evening’s winner for Best Actor in a Leading Role), Will Smith, marched on stage and slapped Rock across the face.

Collectively, I don’t know if the world has ever been more unified in a moment of “is this a bit or not?” immediately followed by, “Oh shit, it’s not.”

Much of the resulting exchange between Rock and Smith was censored out of live broadcasts, but the unedited footage had already been immortalized online. This story captured the real news cycle for days, but it also gave birth to some of the best memes from 2022.

The Don’t Worry Darling Drama

The drama behind the scenes of Don't Worry Darling was a huge point of celebrity gossip in 2022, thanks to director Olivia Wilde’s romance with leading man, Harry Styles. Their relationship was always the subject of scrutiny, since public favor tended to side with Wilde’s ex, Jason Sudeikis.

The drama took a hard left turn when Wilde shared that she felt forced to fire Shia LaBeouf, who had been the original star of her film. LaBeouf came back with receipts: a video from Wilde to himself, practically begging him to continue filming and speaking kind of unfavorably about costar Florence Pugh. Rumors, of course, began to swirl about tension on set between Wilde and Pugh.

The whole circus came to a head at the Venice Film Festival, where “spitgate” had the whole world wondering if Styles actually spit on co-star Chris Pine. All that drama for a movie that only has 39% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Kim & Pete

A newly-single Kim Kardashian first met Pete Davidson while hosting an October 2021 episode of Saturday Night Live. The two shared their first kiss during a sketch as Jasmine and Aladdin—and much to everyone’s surprise, were photographed spending time together off set soon after.

Kardashian and Davidson attended the Met Gala Together, and he was even featured on episodes of The Kardashians on Hulu. They’ve since broken up, but their relationship was iconic mostly because everyone loved seeing the SKIMS founder smiling and having fun during a messy divorce.

Eras Tour Broke Ticketmaster

The Eras tour fiasco wasn’t the first time Ms. Taylor Alison Swift came under fire this year—this past summer, we learned that her private-jet use essentially makes her an eco-terrorist. But, more drama found the singer/songwriter after the release of her most recent studio album, Midnights.

The album was a hit with fans, who hadn’t been able to see Swift live in concert since her Reputation tour in 2018—that’s four new albums and two re-records ago. So when Swift announced Eras, a tour that would serve as a celebration of her entire discography, it’s safe to say public interest was high.

Swifties flocked to Ticketmaster to claim presale tickets—but the site was forced to announce later in the day that traffic to the site had essentially “broken” their Verified Fan system and there were no tickets left for the general public sale (other than the ones resellers are currently asking thousands and thousands of dollars for).

The event literally caused Congress to launch an antitrust investigation on Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, making the Eras tour presale a tragic but iconic 2022 moment.

Amber Heard & Johnny Depp’s Lawsuit

A courtroom in Virginia became the focal point of the entire country during the lawsuit and countersuit between Johnny Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard.

So many juicy details came out of this trial, but the real spectacle was some of the unusual lines of questioning used by Heard’s lawyers during the trial (the Amicream line of questioning was wild).

Everyone and their mom became a legal expert during this trial, but it was another weirdly unifying moment of “schadenfreude” that brought us all together.

Rihanna’s Baby Bump

I think the world collectively held our breath when Rihanna announced her pregnancy with A$AP Rocky—if anyone is going to absolutely rock maternity, it’s Rhi. 

As expected, Rihanna showed off her baby bump proudly in 2022 until her son was born in June. Rather than disguise her tummy, the singer and beauty mogul basically treated her bump as the world’s best accessory.

Rihanna’s pregnant energy completely matched a quote from Alexa Demie’s character in Euphoria: “I wouldn't wear any of those nasty maternity clothes. I would just be me, plus pregnant.”

J-Lo And Ben Affleck Got Married

Capping off a decades-long saga with a happy ending, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck rekindled their relationship and tied the knot in 2022.

This A-list marriage is a perfect dose of nostalgia for people who were fans of the couple when they first dated in 2003—plus I think everyone just likes to see two people finding their way back together.

Kim Wore Marilyn Monroe’s Dress To The Met Gala

Come on, of course Kimmy was responsible for two of the most iconic moments of 2022!

The Kardashians star made her aforementioned appearance with Pete Davidson at the 2022 Met Gala wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress—not a copy of her dress, but the actual piece Monroe herself wore to JFK’s birthday party in 1962.

The look sparked controversy, with some saying the dress is a piece of history that should be preserved and others still calling out the crash diet she had to go through to fit into the garment. 

Love the idea or hate it, you have to admit: We’re still talking about it. And isn’t that the whole point anyway?

Lea Michele’s Return To Broadway

If you weren’t online for the Funny Girl drama, strap in. Beanie Feldstein was cast as Fanny Brice in 2021 for the revival of the Broadway show—but after the production was snubbed at the Tony Awards, Feldstein announced in June that her final show would be on September 25.

However, Feldstein later took to Instagram to share that she wouldn’t actually be staying until September: she was leaving the show earlier than expected, and her last show would be at the end of July. Almost immediately following her announcement, the production came forward to announce that Lea Michele would be taking over the role of Fanny Brice.

Michele came under fire a little bit when people started to suggest she had “Rachel Berry-ed” her way into the part—after all, she previously worked with Funny Girl’s director on Spring Awakening, and shared in an interview that she and the director had discussed Feldstein’s role in the show over drinks. We obviously don’t know what was said behind the scenes, but the whole thing felt like an IRL replay of Michele’s Broadway-hungry character on Glee.

Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Dance

Completely dominating everyone’s FYP this December was Jenna Ortega’s dance routine in Tim Burton’s Wednesday. The show has been a huge hit (especially with YA viewers), and it’s clear that Ortega’s charming-but-creepy portrayal of Wednesday Addams is the secret to Wednesday’s popularity.

Ortega choreographed Wednesday’s now-iconic dance to The Cramps’ Goo Goo Muck herself, drawing inspiration from goth culture, Fosse, and past iterations of Wednesday’s dance stylings. The scene went totally viral, with basically everyone feeling the need to recreate Ortega’s spooky choreography.

Even other celebs got in on the trend too, like Lady Gaga:

She slayed that, of course.

Heidi Klum’s Worm Costume

Supermodel Heidi Klum is known for her unusual Halloween costumes—in the past, she’s dressed as Princess Fiona from Shrek, Jessica Rabbit, and an old lady, all complete with prosthetics and makeup that make her unrecognizable. But the former Project Runway judge really outdid herself this year with a larger-than-life worm costume.

But, it gets better: it’s a COUPLES costume, with Klum’s husband, Tom Kaulitz, dressed as the fisherman with the worm on his hook:

Every year Heidi Klum’s Halloween costumes remind me that you don’t have to take yourself too seriously, and the worm costume was no exception. It also gives a whole new meaning to the “would you still love me if I were a worm” trend.

Elon Musk Bought Twitter

In one of the more cringe-worthy moments of 2022, billionaire Elon Musk made the decision to buy Twitter. Then unmade the decision. Then made it again. Seriously, I got whiplash from all the back and forth.

Ultimately Musk did go through with buying Twitter and immediately went to work making “improvements” to the site. For example, there was a period of several lawless days where any Twitter user could pay to be verified, leading to a frenzy of users impersonating celebrities, corporations, and Musk himself.

All in all, Musk’s net worth fell by $9 billion—yes, that’s BILLION—as a result of his quest to “make Twitter funny again.” And honestly? That is pretty funny to me.

Did we miss any of your favorite defining pop culture moments from 2022? For a look at what’s coming up in the early months of the new year, check out our 2023 TV schedule.

Elon Musk has been in the news a lot lately, though it’s mostly tied to stories like Seth Rogen's decision to leave Twitter or Jimmy Fallon wondering why people believed he'd died. This latest bit of news on Musk is a little more suprising, as the businessman was booed at Dave Chappelle’s recent comedy show when he came out on stage. Musk tried to win the audience over by quoting Chappelle’s Show, and it didn’t go well. 

Dave Chappelle welcomed Elon Musk onto the stage during his performance at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday night. A YouTube video of the ordeal showed that Musk received a mixed response from those in attendance. There was a wave of boos emanating from the crowd, while Chappelle cracked some jokes about the audience's reaction. Sometime after, Musk tried to pay homage to Chappelle’s Show by reciting a line often heard during the sketch series' end credits. Check out Musk’s attempt to replicate it below: 

That line was made iconic by comedian Donnell Rawlings, who uttered the phrase during the Chappelle’s Show Season 1 episode “Reparations & NY Boobs.” In the scene, Rawlings’ character tells the reporter “I’m rich biatch” and honks the horn of his semi twice. The horns were probably played at the show for that reason -- and not to drown out any boos intended for Elon Musk. (What's also awkward is that he botched the delivery by saying “bitch” and not "biatch.") 

While there’s no outright denial of booing by those who were at the event, there does seem to be a discrepancy in how much heckling occurred. When Elon Musk replied to a Twitter user who seemingly referenced the event, he appeared to be under the impression that the response to his appearance was more well-received than not:

Clearly, the Tesla founder believes the San Francisco-based crowd was more for him than against him but acknowledged that he still received a good deal of jeering. Perhaps he was expecting a response more akin to when he hosted Saturday Night Live and did a pretty solid Wario impression?  Anyone who rewatches that sketch with a Peacock Premium subscription will see that he, at the very least, has some comedic chops. 

Sketch comedy and stand-up are two entirely different things, however. Repeating a line from a popular show, especially a piece of dialogue that might be as obscure as the one Elon Musk uttered, can be met with mixed results. In Musk's case, it was taken a specific way. It's hard to ignore the optics when the world's wealthiest person makes a reference to their riches in such a way. Perhaps had he made a joke about verified accounts on Twitter like others have, it might’ve been better received. 

As the tech magnate gets his bearings, you can stream Chappelle’s Show on both Netflix and HBO Max. The classic show is worth a watch as television dies down for the year, especially if you're looking for a chuckle or two during these colder months. 

Despite what Twitter seems to think, Jimmy Fallon is for sure alive, and definitely not dead, despite #RIPJimmyFallon trending on Twitter. While yesterday’s trending topics revolved mostly around one of Taylor Swift’s upcoming projects, the Eras Tour, and frustrated Swifties who were having issues with Ticketmaster, a viral photo sent #RIPJimmyFallon up onto the trending page right next to the popstar's flustered fans. Now, the Tonight Show host has responded to the hashtag.  

While it’s unclear what exactly started this trend, there was a photo that went viral with #RIPJimmyFallon. Notably, as you can clearly see, the photo is not of Jimmy Fallon…check it out for yourself here: 

So, people were posting RIP messages for the SNL alum with photos of the two other late-night hosts with similar names to his. Both James Cordon and Jimmy Kimmel were mocked. This led to Fallon tweeting at Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, for help: 

And while Musk’s partner Grimes was being asked for advice about elf ears from Megan Fox on Instagram, Fallon reached out to the Twitter owner for help. To which Musk responded, saying: 

The new owner of Twitter then followed up his reply with: 

This kerfuffle comes after, and I think is related to, Musk’s plan to make it so anyone can get verified on Twitter. The initiative has caused many users to poke fun at and complain to the owner, including Universal Orlando, who posted an on-brand joke about raising the price of churros. Also, based on the amount of mockery over this issue, and the real problem of users impersonating public figures it seems likely Fallon's trend would be related to this.

Speaking of this joke, one person mocked the entire situation by posting what looks like a real Fallon Tonight post. However, the birth date is wrong, as it says he was born in 1923 when he was actually born in 1974.

The joke continued after Fallon responded to the chaotic trend, as one user quote tweeted the talk show host’s post, saying: 

Meanwhile, this post seems to encapsulate how Fallon might have actually felt when he saw this silly trend: 

As someone who finds goofy Twitter trends incredibly amusing, this one got me good. I was both simultaneously confused and laughing when scrolling through the ridiculous tweets. It reminded me of how social media hilariously reacted to other shows like She-Hulk when Daredevil appeared, or the worked-up House of the Dragon fans whenever Criston Cole does something dumb. 

While the Swift memes were frustratingly funny, this Fallon fluke was a welcome intermission to the Swifties’ frustration and the people ranting about the new verification rules. 

If you would rather watch the very much alive Jimmy Fallon on TV instead of social media, you can watch The Tonight Show Mondays through Fridays on NBC at 11:35 p.m. ET or with a Peacock subscription. 

One of the biggest pieces of news currently dominating conversations online and IRL is Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter. Half of the social media outlet’s staff is expected to be fired, as he makes changes to the way the site is used. And fans noticed that Amber Heard has deleted her Twitter account as Musk’s takeover pushes through.

Amber Heard has been making countless headlines over the last few years, thanks to her ongoing legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp. Elon Musk’s name has also been associated with the former pair, as he dated the Aquaman star shortly after her split from Depp. Which is why so many folks turned their heads when Heard’s Twitter was suddenly deleted, just as Musk took power at the popular social media platform.

Obviously we’re not privy to the decision that went behind Amber Heard’s twitter being deleted. While some folks online gossiped and thought that Musk might have made this decision himself, it seems more logical that the actress would have scrapped her own account. People reached out to Heard’s reps for a comment about the situation, but they reportedly didn’t respond. 

Prior to Amber Heard’s Twitter being deleted, it was sitting pretty dormant. Indeed, the 36 year-old actress has been largely absent from social media since the verdict for defamation case against Johnny Depp came in. She was found guilty on three counts, while her ex was found guilty on one. Heard posted a response on her Instagram, before going dark across social media. So perhaps deleting the bird app wasn’t too much of a sacrifice.

Elon Musk’s name was brought up consistently throughout both the defamation case and Johnny Depp’s libel case in the U.K., related to his former relationship with Amber Heard. The public wondered if he might actually have to testify, which didn’t end up coming to fruition. Still, we learned more about their brief romance through texts that were submitted as evidence.

While Amber Heard’s legal team has filed an appeal regarding the defamation verdict, she’s largely stepped away from the public eye. She’s reportedly been spending her time abroad in Spain under the pseudonym Martha Jane Cannary. And as previously mentioned, she was staying off of social media before her Twitter account mysteriously disappeared before our eyes. It remains to be seen if the appeals made by her or Johnny Depp end up moving forward or changing things in a significant way.

Elon Musk taking over Twitter has gotten quite the reaction online, with some folks quitting the social media platform altogether. Some of the reported changes coming to the app include revamping the verification process, firing half the staff, and reviewing how/why accounts are suspended. 

Amber Heard is expected to appear in Aquaman 2 on December 25th, 2023, although she might have a smaller role this time around. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Fluffy is back! Gabriel Iglesias, the stand-up comedy superstar, filled Dodger’s Stadium for the recording of his latest Netflix special, Stadium Fluffy. As a Southern California native, bringing his jokes to the iconic sports venue is a feat that he never could have dreamed of. So where to go from here? Well, Iglesias has his sights set on another venue, and not only is it a little “out there,” it involves Elon Musk.

I recently caught up with Gabriel Iglesias to discuss the special, and given that he feels as if he’s peaked on Earth, the only place to go from here is up. He said this:

Obviously, the comic is being cheeky in classic Fluffy fashion, but who knows? Space might not be the most unrealistic of goals. Arguing the logistics of pop-culture in space isn’t something that Elon Musk is above doing, so for all we know, it could happen. Less worthy folks have recently made the trek to the final frontier, and maybe they would be better off with a few less billionaires and little more Fluffy.

Gabriel Iglesias is the first comic to play Dodger’s Stadium in the venue’s 60-year history. While the comedian has accomplished plenty in the entertainment industry outside of stand-up, live comedy has always been his primary gig. He’s an accomplished voice actor, having recently appeared in Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank alongside a star-studded cast that includes Michael Cera and the legend that is Mel Brooks. The new special isn’t his first time working with Netflix, either, as his show Mr. Iglesias ran for three seasons before meeting its bitter end during a Netflix content purge. However, he’s back doing what he does best and reaching heights that no comic ever has before.

Exploring uncharted comedic territory seems to be important to Fluffy, as he went on to explain:

The special is as delightful as the man himself, and although it might take him a while to get to space, you can watch Stadium Fluffy on Netflix right now! If stand-up comedy isn’t your jam, not to worry, as there's a stellar list of Netflix movies and Netflix TV shows left to premiere in 2022.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s official job is the director of the Hayden Planetarium; however, most people on social media probably know Tyson as the guy who is a total buzzkill about movies. He spends a lot of his time on Twitter explaining why your favorite movie doesn’t make scientific sense, and now he’s turned his sights on the biggest movie of the year Top Gun: Maverick, and he’s getting help from Elon Musk.

The fact that Neil DeGrasse Tyson is only just now getting around to tell us what was wrong with Top Gun: Maverick would seem to indicate that he is one of the few people who never got around to watching it in theaters when it was busy becoming one of the biggest box office successes of all-time. 

The particular issue that Tyson has decided to tweet about is the scene at the beginning of the movie, where Tom Cruise’s Maverick is test piloting a supersonic jet. IN the end the plane breaks apart and Maverick has to eject. However, according to your favorite movie buzzkill, Maverick would never have survived the ejection.

I mean, I’m not an astrophysicist, but once that’s said out loud, it certainly makes some sense. Maverick has exceeded the speed of sound by a factor of 10, and it’s not hard to believe that an unprotected human body is going to have trouble moving at that speed, and then stopping suddenly, which is essentially what happens when Maverick pulls the ejection handle. Even jets themselves can have trouble with those speeds, which is something Tyson explains in a follow-up tweet.

It’s enough to make one wonder why Maverick’s plane even had an ejection option, since technically at the speeds the plane was designed to go, it would never have been much use. It seems that Elon Musk had a similar feeling, as he replied to one of Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s tweet’s to suggest a different mechanism should have been used for ejection, as it might have meant actual survival. 

Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s movie criticism encompasses Gravity and more (there is a lot of it), is at least interesting. It does often make you consider things in movies from a scientific perspective that most people probably don’t usually take into account. Sometimes, however, the guy can just get picky at a  CinemaSins level of ridiculousness. Tyson doesn’t stop his critical comments with the supersonic light, he also goes after the end of the movie, being critical of the plan for no real reason.

In the end, I doubt Neil DeGrasse Tyson is going to ruin Top Gun: Maverick for anybody. Knowing the science is interesting, but I’m not sure anybody was expecting perfect scientific accuracy from the action movie.

Lord of the Rings' new series may have been expensive to produce, but it's certainly gotten people talking, including popular author Neil Gaiman. After being an absolute savage in his response to Elon Musk’s Tweet about the Lord of the Rings prequel Rings of Power, the author was blamed by a confused person for some problems they have with the LOTR prequel. The issue here is Gaiman is not behind the new Amazon series and never has been; this Twitter troll simply got his fantasy authors mixed up, and subsequently, fans were having a field day over it.

For some backstory, Rings of Power has been positively reviewed by critics and viewed by 25 million. However, there is a group bombing the LOTR show's reviews, criticizing the casting of people of color and women. This has caused an outcry on social media from both sides. While people continue to hate on the show, some of the original Lord of the Rings movies cast have spoken out in support of the new series' choices. 

What started this pocket of mostly confusion and a bit of drama over the Amazon Prime Video series was the tweet from the billionaire and Tesla CEO that said “Tolkien is turning in his grave,” noting that every male character is a “coward,” “jerk” or “both” in the prequel. That triggered a response from the popular author. 

After this, Twitter users grew a little louder and, in some cases, more confused. From this came the tweet from Henrik Anderson blaming Gaiman for ruining Lord of the Rings. 

Being blamed for dream-crushing is a pretty serious claim, but this user is also blaming the wrong person. Neil Gaiman is the creator behind the Netflix show The Sandman, and while he may have seen some Rings Of Power episodes early, he didn’t have a say in how it was made. This was made abundantly clear by fans of Rings of Power, as well. In fact, another fan, Minerva Blex, responded on Twitter with an equally confused response: 

That poor Twitter user was so confused! Luckily, Gaiman was able to provide some clarity, with a healthy dose of humor. 

Meanwhile, Cory Barlog, a video game designer best known for God of War, jokingly mocked the Twitter user by citing his own project as something he will never “forgive” Gaiman for.

Other fans of Gaiman tweeted back by mocking and joking about The Sandman creator not being involved in projects that he would never, in a 1,000 years, be involved in. For example, dorotheasvintage referenced a soap opera: 

Some are confused by the joke – one person asked if this was true to which the user who tweeted about Passions said “Sarcasm, love.” Others jokingly blamed Gaiman for the Game of Thrones ending, Supernatural, and mike m. blamed him for War and Peace, you know the book by Leo Tolstoy from the mid-1800s.  

While fans are having fun with the topic, the trolling of Rings of Power has been a serious issue for Amazon. Among this fall’s TV shows, it has been highly viewed and scrutinized. Gaiman has been a big advocate for diverse casting and has stood up for Rings of Power on social media, along with many others, to fight off the trolls hating on it. He has also implemented diverse casting in his own shows, especially in his newest one The Sandman. 

Rings of Power drops new episodes every Friday and can be watched with an Amazon Prime subscription. With all the support for the Rings of Power cast from many and Gaiman’s presence on Twitter battling trolls, the discourse surrounding the next few episodes of the prequel is bound to be interesting. 

Neil Gaiman has been making TV headlines again thanks to the debut of The Sandman on Netflix, and didn't hold back from calling people out for their critical and rude comments regarding casting. Now, he's doing the same thing for Amazon's Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and he's not just calling out any old random fan. No, he's (quite savagely) calling out billionaire Elon Musk for his comments.

There has been a lot of criticism toward Amazon Prime’s newest show. It was being review bombed so much that Amazon had to take action, despite the show being positively reviewed by critics and viewed by 25 million people. One of the major reasons for the review bombing revolves around The Rings of Power cast (which has many people of color in it) and the depiction of female characters. Musk’s comments also have to do with the way women and men are represented on the show and Gaiman was having none of it, posting on Twitter: 

This response comes after Gaiman was tagged by a fan asking his thoughts on Musk’s post, and he didn't hold back in his commentary of what Elon Musk had to say.

Musk wasn't the only billionaire to share thoughts on the new fantasy show, as Amazon owner Jeff Bezos gave notes on The Rings of Power, although he was self-deprecating about it. Musk, however, was not as self-aware about it. He tweeted about the male characters being cowards and that because of this adaptation “Tolkien is turning in his grave.” Take a look:

It’s no surprise that the author clapped back with such force. Gaiman is an advocate for diverse casting, doing so in the adaptation of his seminal work The Sandman. In his show, Death – who is white in the comics – is played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, a Black actor. Gaiman said she gave a performance that moved him to the point of tears. He has also praised the performances of Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar and Jenna Colman as Johanna Constantine, both of whom play characters that were men in the comics.

Gaiman has been very involved in the adaptation of his works from page to screen. He made it very clear to the Tesla CEO that he would not ask him how to do his job, therefore Musk should not make comments on a job he doesn't know how to do. 

Earlier, Gaiman posted about his approval of the LOTR series, saying it was what he had hoped for since he was a child and that he would watch the series “with enthusiasm.” So adding up his love for Lord of the Rings, his appreciation of its new prequel, and his disapproval of people who complain about diverse casting, his passionate response should have been expected. 

Many have since clapped back at trolls who bombed the show’s score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a recent op-ed published in THR has been widely shared saying the widespread criticism “misses the spirit of the author entirely.”

According to the 2022 TV schedule, new episodes of Rings of Power come out every Friday and can be watched with an Amazon Prime subscription. It will be interesting to see how fans react to the show moving forward and if it will continue to be bombed by trolls. If so, hopefully Neil Gaiman has some more clapbacks ready in his arsenal. Who am I kidding? I'm sure he does. 

It’s not uncommon for some people to have larger families than what might be considered the norm, though Nick Cannon and Elon Musk have somewhat “unique” familial situations. The two public figures each not only have a slew of kids but have had them with multiple women, and their respective circumstances have drawn thoughts from many across social media. Musk and Cannon don’t seem to mind any of their detractors, however. In fact, the two actually bro’d out about their large broods on Twitter – resulting in what may be one of the most surprising celebrity exchanges I’ve ever witnessed.

Elon Musk kicked things off when he tweeted about underpopulation in the United States, with the 51-year-old father of 10 claiming that he was doing his part to help combat it. The post garnered plenty of reactions, one of which came from Nick Cannon. The TV personality responded with a brief message of solidarity, which you can see for yourself down below: 

The 41-year-old Masked Singer host has eight kids himself and a ninth on the way. The former richest person on the planet, in turn, acknowledged the message in a now-deleted tweet. In it, he sent some love to the media mogul and shared additional thoughts on underpopulation

I’m honestly still wrapping my head around the fact that this conversation actually happened as are fans, many of which chimed in with some cheeky posts. Elon Musk and Nick Cannon definitely aren’t two celebrities one might expect to see casually chopping it up on social media. However, anything can happen when people bond over shared life experiences. 

This exchange comes shortly after it was reported that the SpaceX founder welcomed two kids near the end of 2021. According to Insider, the tech giant had twins with Shivon Zillis, a high-ranking exec at Neuralink (one of his companies). Their births came just one month before he and singer Grimes welcomed their second child after son X Æ A-Xii (one of several unusual celebrity baby names). With this, the billionaire has three baby mothers, though that doesn’t quite stack up to his new Twitter pal’s resume.

Nick Cannon had his eight children with five different women and is expecting the ninth with DJ Abby De La Rosa (who’s already the mother of two of his kids). The former talk show host has been very candid about his circumstances, even going as far as to joke about who his favorite baby mama is and dropping a rap about his partners and their kids. In June, he got candid about just how involved he is in his kids’ lives and claimed that he’s “probably engaged throughout my children’s day, more often than the average adult can be.” And while he does have another little one on the way, Cannon has made some vasectomy-related moves so that he doesn’t “populate the Earth completely.” 

I guess we can say, at the very least, that both Nick Cannon and Elon Musk are men of their word and are doing what they can to push back against what they see as underpopulation. Whether their efforts are practical in the long run remains to be seen. But if things get too tough, they can always start up a virtual support group for dads with various kids and baby mamas, right?

A lot of people have plenty of opinions about the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, which went into jury deliberations on Friday following closing arguments. As a seven-person jury works to reach a unanimous verdict on the actor’s $50 million lawsuit and the actress’ $100 million countersuit, public discussion continues over whether or not Heard was lying about multiple allegations of physical abuse, including accusations that her ex-husband tried to kill her. With public sentiment leaning heavily toward the former Fantastic Beasts actor, Elon Musk has thrown in his two cents regardding his hopes for what comes next.

Elon Musk, who briefly dated Amber Heard following her divorce from Johnny Depp, was expected to play a part in the defamation trial, as he was subpoenaed in October in relation to communication records regarding the Aquaman actress’ claims of abuse. However, the billionaire never took the stand, despite being listed as a potential witness. The Tesla CEO responded to a tweet Friday night, expressing kind words to both parties:

While Elon Musk has history with Amber Heard, it’s unclear if he’s met or spent any time with Johnny Depp. However, after reports got back to the CEO that Depp had allegedly threatened in a text message to slice off Musk’s penis, Musk jokingly challenged the actor to a cage fight. Depp has repeatedly claimed that his ex-wife’s relationship with “mollusk,” as the actor apparently referred to him, started before the former couple split up — a claim both Heard and Musk have denied. 

It seems the business magnate doesn’t harbor any real ill will toward the actor, however, considering the tweet called both sides of the antics-filled trial “incredible.” His sentiments were made in response to a post from podcaster Lex Fridman, who shared his takeaways from the six-week ordeal, including opinions on fame, the skill level of lawyers and the ability to lie to millions of people:

Over the past six weeks, Johnny Depp and Amber’s Heard’s trial has produced over 100 hours of testimonies in front of the Virginia court and attracted a public audience via broadcast on CourtTV. It’s often been a media circus, with fans of the actor showing up with alpacas outside the courthouse and one spectator being kicked out for screaming that she and Depp were soulmates and telling him “this baby is yours” during testimonies. 

Amber Heard said the criticism she’s received online has been “agonizing,” as Johnny Depp fans have started a petition asking that Warner Bros. remove the actress from her upcoming film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, garnering over 4.4 million supporters as of this writing. Depp supporters would also like to see the actor return as Jack Sparrow in another Pirates of the Caribbean movie, with a separate petition raising more than 850,000 signatures so far.

Closing arguments were suspended Friday evening after only a couple of hours but will resume on Tuesday, June 1, following the Memorial Day holiday. Hopefully, as Elon Musk said, whatever the verdict brings allows both parties to move forward.

Amber Heard is set to be cross-examined in court as part of her continued testimony in the defamation trial against Johnny Depp this week. Ahead of that, however, new information came to light regarding Heard’s divorce from the Pirates of the Caribbean actor and what actually happened to the money from the settlement that she had vowed to donate. We’d previously heard she donated in the seven-figure range, but that’s a far cry from the millions of dollars she had seemingly pledged around the time of her high-profile divorce. Now, the ACLU has commented in court, her legal team is ramping up for Heard to retake the stand and be cross-examined, and there’s been a deep dive into the money situation. Oh and Heard’s legal team has some comments about Depp’s. What a way to kick off a Monday. 

Just a few weeks ago, a spokesperson for the ACLU took the stand as part of the defamation trial. During the course of testimony, it came out that Amber Heard had donated less than half of the 3.5 million she had pledged to that organization, with ACLU Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Terence Dougherty admitting in a video testimony (via NPR)  that Amber Heard had only donated $1.3 million of the pledged amount – and hadn't donated since 2018 despite owing millions more.

She had, however, reeled former beau Elon Musk in as a donor during this period. Musk confirmed on Twitter in 2018 he was on of the ACLU’s biggest donors. 

You may remember the headlines. When Amber Heard and Johnny Depp first split, the actress had vowed to donate half of the money she earned in the divorce to non-profits. In 2016, this was big news, as Heard had stated publicly that her comments about her ex-husband had nothing to do with gaining money and everything to do with abuse she said she had endured during her marriage to Depp. She noted in her announcement then:

A deep dive report over at Rolling Stone looked into these finances. Published this week, it found the only direct payment Ms. Heard had made to the ACLU came around the time of her announcement. That payment was for $350,000 and Heard received a thank you for her donation, per the report. But the outlet’s dive into tax forms that year reveals she had not made a donation of that specific amount in 2016, though the ACLU responded to this, noting Heard’s donation would have been a part of a “donor fund” to keep the actress anonymous and would have been ties with other donation amounts in its ledgers. 

This isn’t the first time these payments have come into question, not only in regards to the missing money Heard was supposed to donate but also where the money that did get donated came from. During the libel trial that occurred in the UK against The Sun’s parent company before the defamation trial began playing out in the U.S., Depp’s legal team attempted to figure out what had actually gone on with this money, with the Rolling Stone article mentioning they were “repeatedly stonewalled.” 

Meanwhile, Amber Heard’s testimony is expected to continue on Monday, May 16. This is significant, because once she takes the stand, she’s going to be cross-examined this week. Quite probably, all of these questions about donations and what money went where are going to come up. Ahead of the actress taking the stand, her legal team spoke out this morning, sharing with TMZ: 

As a reminder, Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation after she alleged he had abused her in an Op Ed that ran in the Washington Post. He says the statement isn't accurate and cost him work. He is suing for $50 million and Heard is countersuing for $100 million. The trial took a hiatus in the middle of the Aquaman 2 actress' testimony last week. 

Celebrity divorces are known for capturing the attention of the public, and Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s split is certainly no exception. Their legal battle has already lasted years, and is showing no signs of slowing down. But could Elon Musk, who once challenged Depp to a cage fight, end up testifying in the court case with Heard?

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s divorce has made countless headlines over the years, as the two both allege abuse against the other. Along the way Elon Musk was brought into the conversation, as he dated Heard after the former couple’s split. He also ended up challenging Depp to a cage fight, and now it looks like Musk was once again brought into the court.

This latest update comes to us from Us Weekly, with the outlet citing legal documents they procured. Both Elon Musk and actor James Franco were reportedly subpoenaed on October 26 with relation to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s case. Regarding their correspondence with the Aquaman actress, they’re required to “produce the books, record, electronically stored information and tangible things designated and described.” Specifically, the courts are looking for communication about Heard’s alleged abuse of physical harm by Depp. 

It remains to be seen if Elon Musk will have to actually testify in court. But with both he and James Franco seemingly becoming more crucial to the ongoing litigation, it doesn’t seem totally out of the question. As for the cage fight, that seems a bit more unlikely. Musk and Franco reportedly have until January 17th, 2022 to cooperate with the investigation.

The situation with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's is ever changing, as both have legal teams that are making great efforts to discredit the other. Depp’s lawyers seem to be zeroing in on the claims Heard made of physical abuse, specifically photos of the actress with a bruised face. They’ve alleged that the photo might have been digitally altered. And the information from Elon Musk and James Franco will seemingly help to establish a timeline.

As previously mentioned, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been sparring in the courtroom for a number of years now. They famously faced off across the pond when Depp sued The Sun for referring to him as a “wife beater.” The Pirates of the Caribbean actor lost that battle, and was promptly asked to step down from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.

But now the former couple are in court stateside, and things seem to be heating up. It remains to be seen if Elon Musk has a significant role to play in the proceedings, but all eyes are on the litigation between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. 

Amber Heard is currently filming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom which is set to arrive in theaters on December 16th, 2022. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

If you're a fan of something then sometimes all you want is to talk about that thing you love with other people who are fans of the same thing. And while social media can be kind of a mess a lot of the time, it is good at connecting people with like interests together. Whether you like to discuss Harry Potter or theme parks or classic movies, or Star Wars. And it turns out that even multimillionaires and billionaires sometimes just want to geek out on Twitter about Star Wars, as Elon Musk and Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger recently did.

It started with Elon Musk posting a meme. This particular one joked about the humanity of the Stormtrooper. They're usually seen in the movies as faceless drones who are only really there to get killed, but the meme saw them as real people with their own families, which might make you feel bad the next time you see one get cut in half by a lightsaber. Even Bob Iger thought it was funny.

That would have been cute, and also bizarre, enough on its own, to see Bob Iger responding to Elon Musk about a Star Wars meme, but that wasn't the end of it. Musk showed that he isn't just a fan of Star Wars memes, but of the new content as well. He told Bob Iger he's been watching The Bad Batch on Disney+ and is looking forward to seeing more.

While this whole thing honestly feels a bit corny, that's sort of the charm of it all. So often we see the worst sides of social media and so it's enjoyable to, every once in a while, see something that's just...nice. Whatever you may think of Elon Musk or Bob Iger, in this moment they're just a couple of guys having fun with Star Wars. They could be any two people on social media They're not, of course, Elon Musk is a billionaire with nearly 60 million followers, and Bob Iger isn't far behind, but that's not important here.

If you're also a fan of The Bad Batch or Star Wars in general then you've probably had similar conversations on social media, maybe with people you knew, maybe with people you've never met in person. It is nice to see that anybody can have that sort of reaction to something like Star Wars. Millions of people have become fans in the 40 years the franchise has existed. The people who are making Star Wars movies and TV today both in front of and behind the camera, are the people who grew up with it, who maybe went into their profession because of it.

So often social media ends up being the place where lines are drawn, but sometimes it can used for good. I suppose that's what understanding the difference between the dark side and light is all about.

There’s been a ton of space talk among the rich and famous the past few years, with Elon Musk and his huge tech empire heading the conversation. With Amazon’s Jeff Bezos recent trip into space fresh in the mind, the entertainment world has looked into launching celebrities into space. Apparently, Fatherhood star and comedian Kevin Hart isn’t on board with strapping himself into a space-bound rocket ship, because he turned down an offer to boldly go. Now, he has explained exactly why he was unwilling to explore the cosmos.

Kevin Hart came forward with the fact that he was offered a seat on a rocket headed to space during an episode of his own show on Sirius XM, Straight From The Hart,. In addition to being one of Hollywood’s nicest guys, he may just be one of the smartest too, because the reason why he won’t go to space makes a ton of sense. Here’s the very logical reasoning behind his refusal to go to space, in Hart’s own words:

There are plenty of people who would kill to go to space, especially if they were even being paid to do so like in Hart's case. While Kevin Hart seems to be blatantly on the side that does not have the overwhelming desire to go to space themselves, he does say that maybe if he were older he would be more on board. And also throws out another very personal point. Here it is in his own words:

Apparently, no amount of money would be worth the chance of leaving his children without him to support them. Maybe once they’ve grown and left the nest Kevin Hart will revisit the idea. The offer may no longer be there, but he certainly has the means to get himself to space if he really wanted to.

But it's honestly hard not to consider what sending Kevin Hart to space would like like. I’ve got to say, seeing Hart react to space would probably be one of the most enjoyable comedic experiences I have ever seen, and I’m semi-bummed that he turned it down. I totally get Hart’s reasoning, though, and I can’t say I would do anything differently there. Still, missing out on some of the comedic gold that would have resulted in a Hart special about his experience in space is a hole fans will now likely have in their hearts.

Business mogul Elon Musk took to the Saturday Night Live stage this weekend to host the popular late night show, and while no one is going to confuse him with a trained actor anytime soon, he actually did a really solid job in a Charles Barkley just-go-with-it kind of way. His opening monologue was candid and at times even a little touching. He opened up about being the first host with Asperger’s syndrome and even brought his mom on stage. Later, he played a variety of characters including a doctor who only speaks in Gen Z slang, a cowboy who wants to tunnel under the earth for a surprise attack and of course, Mario villain Wario.

The last of those characters generated a lot of conversation online, both because the sketch was pretty funny and because there was something really jarring and amusing about seeing Musk dressed up as a Mario Kart character. That was essentially the point of the sketch. Wario was on trial for having killed Mario, but it all went off the rails when he took the stand to testify. He accused Mario of taking mushrooms and revealed a torrid affair between Luigi and Princess Peach. You can watch the madness below…

The above sketch is a great example of what, I think, makes Saturday Night Live so fun to watch. Who the host is has such a dramatic effect on the tone of the show, and even the same sketch can play very differently based on who is in it. Elon Musk might not be a comedian or even a particularly good actor, but when he’s hosting Saturday Night Live, that’s not really the point, at least not to me. The point is to watch someone without any experience jump into the deep end and try to swim. It adds to the excitement of the live element, and it lets us get to know people in a very different way.

Of course Musk is far from the first non-actor to spend the week at Studio 8H. Saturday Night Live has a long history of bringing in celebrities from other fields to host the popular late night show. From athletes like Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Peyton Manning to politicians like Donald Trump, Al Gore and Ralph Nader to musicians like Miley Cyrus and Adele, the show has never limited itself to trained professionals. I would imagine a lot of people have different criteria for what makes a good athlete or politician or business mogul host, but I think the most important quality is a willingness to jump in and just go with it. Elon Musk certainly did that last night.

It remains to be seen whether we’ll see Elon Musk on SNL again in the future. A lot of it will likely depend on the ratings, how well he got along with the cast and whether he wants to return, but regardless, we’ll always have him dressed up as Wario, smiling and trying not to laugh as he slanders the other Mario characters. Good times.

The next Saturday Night Live host is getting ready and it’s not in a way you might think. Tesla inventor and multi-billionaire Elon Musk is set to host the long-running sketch series this Saturday, May 8. He took to social media to ask around for ideas, and one cast member has some advice for the upcoming host.

Elon Musk posted on Twitter asking for “skit ideas” for SNL and cast member Chris Redd, who joined SNL in 2017, responded to Musk with just one hilarious, but relevant, piece of advice:

Chris Redd’s tweet clues Elon Musk in on "skit" versus "sketch" when it comes to Saturday Night Live. SNL is known as a sketch comedy series, not "skit," and if you host the series, you really need to know the terminology. Especially if the show has been around for more than a few decades. Saturday Night Live is in Season 46, after all!

When it was announced that the Tesla CEO would host an upcoming episode of the sketch comedy show, there was a mix of reactions from the general public and even some members of the SNL cast. While cast members will not be forced to appear alongside Elon Musk, as is the case with every host on the series, there's still the question of if any members will decline to appear in the episode or in a sketch alongside Elon Musk.

Among the reasoning for the backlash is his spreading of false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and his involvement in some legal situations. Most hosts for SNL range from musicians to actors to comedians to professional athletes, which is why it was so surprising when it was announced that Elon Musk would be hosting an episode.

It will be interesting to see what this episode will consist of, and if it will take any jabs at Elon Musk’s past allegations. It seems the cast is trying to get through these next several days the best way they know how when it comes to Saturday Night Live: with humor. Musk did tweet out a couple of ideas following his mention of "skits," including "Irony Man" who defeats villains with the power of irony and Baby Shark and Shark Tank merging.

In any case, the episode will also include musical guest Miley Cyrus, an SNL veteran who has appeared in a total of seven episodes, and even hosted once. Maybe Cyrus will give Musk some hosting advice and they appear in a sketch together. Elon Musk will host Saturday Night Live this Saturday, May 8 on NBC.

Over the years, Saturday Night Live has welcomed a number of hosts to its stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. While some guests seem like obvious candidates for hosts, others can be a bit more surprising. This was definitely the case when it was announced that Tesla CEO Elon Musk would host an upcoming episode of the sketch comedy show. The choice to have Musk appear on the show was met with mixed to negative reactions from the general public and even a few members of the SNL cast. This led some to wonder if the cast would actually boycott the episode in question.

We recently learned that Saturday Night Live cast members will not be forced to appear alongside Elon Musk when he hosts the show. In Page Six’s initial report, a source alleged that this doesn’t just refer to the situation with Musk, this is a rule that has apparently been in place for years:

Following Page Six’s story, TheWrap also reported on the matter, confirming that no cast members are planning to boycott Elon Musk’s episode of Saturday Night Live. The trade also corroborated Page Six’s claim that the unwritten rule regarding cast members feeling uncomfortable in certain situations exists.

After it was confirmed that Elon Musk would be hosting the show, the eccentric magnate posted a message to Twitter, saying, ‘Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is.’ SNL cast member Bowen Yang posted a snapshot of the tweet to Instagram and, in his caption, he wrote, ‘Let’s find out how live Saturday Night Live really is. What the fuck does this even mean?’ Cast member Aidy Bryant also retweeted a message from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, which appeared to be a dig at Musk. Both posts have since been deleted.

Elon Musk has become a polarizing figure, in large part because of his presence on social media. Musk has most recently received considerable backlash for spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s found himself pulled into a few legal situations as well.

Nevertheless, the businessman has managed to maintain a steady foot in the world of entertainment. At present, he’s even developing a space film with Tom Cruise.

Elon Musk’s spontaneous nature makes it difficult to predict how things will pan out when he appears on Saturday Night Live. Preparation for the episode is sure to be a bit awkward, to say the least. Still, it sounds like producer Lorne Michaels won’t have to worry about any of his cast members skipping out on this particular show. Elon Musk is set to host SNL on May 8, and will be joined by musical guest Miley Cyrus.

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This Saturday night (May 8, 2021), viewers can tune in to see Elon Musk on Saturday Night Live, which may sound like an irreverent choice for hosting duties on the sketch comedy show at first. That is likely because some may not realize how often the wealthy South African-born tech innovator and aspiring Martian settler has shown off his sense of humor (even including times he was the butt of the joke) on various occasions on the big and small screen. So, in honor of his SNL debut, we present all of Elon Musk’s previous acting performances, starting with the time he shared the screen with his comic book doppelgänger.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

At roughly half an hour into Iron Man 2, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) attend a party where they bump into Elon Musk, who congratulates Pepper on her promotion to Stark Industries CEO. Tony then compliments the SpaceX founder on a line real-life rocket engines he developed and nicknamed Merlin before Musk mentions plans he has for an electric jet, which the Avenger promises he can "make work." On top of being one of the funniest superhero movie cameos ever, in my opinion, this casual, seconds-long conversation between two tech billionaires about their business plans is probably the one moment from the 2010 Marvel movie sequel that is most firmly grounded in plausibility.

Machete Kills (2013)

Elon Musk’s presence is also the one thing that just barely grounds director Robert Rodriguez’s over-the-top exploitation movie sequel Machete Kills in some semblance of reality. In the final sequence, meant to set up the still unmade third installment Machete Kills… In Space, President Rathcock (Charlie Sheen) asks Danny Trejo’s badass former Federale to follow the evil Luther Voz (Mel Gibson) into space. The vessel he is given for this mission: aFalcon 9 rocket by SpaceX, whose founder is there to wish Machete good luck in getting "the bastard" right before his departure.

The Simpsons (2015)

Of course, the more believable scenario is that Elon Musk would board the rocket too and fly it himself, which is how he ends up in Springfield in an episode of The Simpsons from Season 26 called "The Musk Who Fell To Earth." Musk, voicing himself, literally lands his spacecraft in the titular family’s backyard and becomes inspired by Homer’s incoherent rambling to develop a slew of ideas to improve their community. Unfortunately, these eco-friendly innovations end up costing Mr. Burns a lot money and Musk his welcoming in the town.

South Park (2016)

The following year, Elon Musk would once again voice his own animated counterpart in three episodes of South Park Season 20 - a rarity for a series that is famous for how brutally it pokes fun at celebrities. With things not going so well on for the rest of the world following the election of Mr. Garrison in the presidential race, Cartman (co-creator Trey Parker), Butters (co-creator Matt Stone), and their classmate Heidi Turner (Jessica Makinson) come up with a plan to escape the Earth for a new life on Mars. This leads them onto a tour of the SpaceX facility that is conducted by the founder himself.

The Big Bang Theory (2015)

While a SpaceX tour with the Elon Musk as your guide is a pretty cool thing to imagine, how about the opportunity to wash dishes with the man? Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) gets that chance on The Big Bang Theory’s Season 9 Thanksgiving episode when his wife, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), drags him to a soup kitchen for some volunteer work, which he agrees to reluctantly, at first. Yet, after Musk pops up at the dishwashing station offering Howard a potential future at SpaceX and some half-eaten pumpkin pie, it becomes the greatest decision he ever made.

Young Sheldon (2017)

However, we learned that washing dishes at the same soup kitchen is not the only connection that Elon Musk had to The Big Bang Theory cast of characters in 2017. In the first season of the single-camera prequel spin-off Young Sheldon, Jim Parsons’ onscreen childhood counterpart (Iain Armitage) develops an idea to use rocket boosters as landing gear which is immediately dismissed by a NASA scientist, but would attract the attention of another innovator. A flash-forward to 2016 reveals that Musk stole the plans for the Falcon 9’s rocket booster landing right from 10-year-old Sheldon Cooper’s notebook.

Why Him? (2016)

The tech industry meets the drug industry (well, not exactly) in Why Him? when Elon Musk crosses paths with Breaking Bad cast lead Bryan Cranston in the rom-com. Cranston’s Ned Fleming is already having a hard time getting along with his daughter, Stephanie’s (Zoey Deutch), tech millionaire boyfriend, Laird Mayhew (James Franco), when fellow tech industrialist Musk seems to give him another reason to be apprehensive. At a party hosted by Laird, Musk asks Ned how he knows him and when he mentions he is dating his daughter, Musk replies, "Uh oh," before briskly grabbing his drink and walking away.

Men In Black: International (2019)

So, I am technically cheating with this one, but I think it is worth mentioning simply by how appropriately this "cameo" reflects Elon Musk’s personality and aspirations. In Men in Black: International, the newly appointed Agent M (Tessa Thompson, reuniting with Thor: Ragnarok’s Chris Hemsworth) glances at the Alien Surveillance System, which features a rotation of celebrities who are revealed to be extra-terrestrials in disguise. Among them are singer and actress Ariana Grande, singer and actor Donald Glover, and Musk, which makes his obsession with Mars much clearer.

Rick And Morty (2020)

So far, there has only been one onscreen appearance by Elon Musk in which he does not play himself, technically speaking. Instead, he stars as Elon Tusk, a version of the tech billionaire who exists on an alternate reality in which every person is born with walrus-like tusks and most things, including his company Tuskla, have something to do with the protrusive dental appendage. Of all the hilarious surprises that would come about during the first half of Rick and Morty Season 4, this cross-dimensional vocal cameo was one of the more memorable.

I wonder if we will see more of Elon Tusk on Rick and Morty Season 5 if Elon Musk has any extra time to spare. Given how he was able to take a week off to stretch his comedic skills a bit further on Saturday Night Live, it would not rule out the possibility.

Elon Musk’s goal has been to get to Mars, and he has become rich and famous for his contributions to science. Although he has had some fun along the way and is actually taking up the role as host on Saturday Night Live in the near future, there’s not much to laugh at with his recent words on future fatalities that may occur on his way to getting the human race to Mars. The billionaire and future SNL host has now openly acknowledged the possibility of deaths occurring on any future missions to Mars.

Elon Musk has been known to throw around a joke or two, seeing as the lineup of his famous Tesla car models basically spells out “Sexy Car” in what is probably the most expensive joke ever made. However, his recent insight into the dangers of the Mars missions he is working towards are no laughing matter. In an interview with XPRIZE, he owns up to the facts that there will probably be “a bunch” of fatalities in the beginning, saying:

While that sounds horrifying, I would almost say that it is a given in the dangerous nature of what Elon Musk is trying to accomplish. While your everyday person may not know the exact dangers and obstacles a real life astronaut on a groundbreaking mission must be, we have plenty of films to be able to form some kind of an idea of what could happen on a mission to Mars, even if based on Hollywood science rather than anything from NASA.

After all, we have a whole genre of films dedicated to horrors that can be encountered in space, and a lot of films about space exploration don’t even touch on what can go wrong mechanically or physically with a rocket launch and the people inside of it. While it may get to the point where commuting via rocket is normal, the first few trips to Mars will definitely be full of danger and unknown obstacles.

If this was enough to make you say a big “no thanks” to space travel, you aren’t alone. However, there are plenty of people who aren’t put off by the possibility - or even probability - of dying in the process. The space crew going to Mars would only be made up of volunteers, and Elon Musk undoubtedly has plenty ready to go.

That number may start to decrease once more information comes out about the dangers of the trip, but I honestly don't think it's likely. The people who want to go are probably just like Elon Musk in that they have a dream of space exploration. Even though death is a very real possibility, there will always be those who hold their dreams in a place worth risking all for, and it sounds like these are just the passionate people that Musk will need for such an important mission to humankind.

When Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm said “life finds a way” did it really sink in? 1993’s Jurassic Park is filled with fun and dinos but, beneath it all, the movie franchise based on Michael Crichton's novel also serves as a cautionary tale about taking a step back and thinking about if new scientific and technological advancements should be done even if it's technically possible. And well, Elon Musk’s Neuralink co-founder Max Hodak claims it’s possible.

Elon Musk’s business partner took to Twitter this week to share his thoughts about the potential of Jurassic Park and fans of the movies were putting him in check. Here’s what Max Hodak said:

The American entrepreneur and technologist is thinking about recreating Jurassic Park and decided to let everyone know it is somewhat possible. To follow up his initial comments, Max Hodak shared the importance of biodiversity and conservation of species, commenting “why do we stop there?” and posed the idea of “intentionally” trying to “generate novel diversity.” Uhhh… has he seen the whole movie? In response, a number of people posted commentary, a lot of which revolved around getting Jeff Goldblum involved:

Hey, as long as the beloved Jurassic Park star is involved, fans might be ready for this to play out. Or as this Twitter user so aptly said:

Memorably so, once Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm arrives at Jurassic Park, he spends the rest of the movie roasting John Hammond for his decision to recreate dinosaurs for entertainment and turns out to be dead-on when the extinct species start to get violent in the theme park. Another fan pulled the perfect quote to match the situation:

Now, Max Hodak’s comments are kind of mysterious. I’m unsure what he means when he refers to “we”? Would that be him and Elon Musk specifically or “we” as humans and scientists? His company Neuralink has demonstrated a chip implanted into the brain of a pig and a monkey that Elon Musk believes someday could telepathically summon self-driving Teslas, solve blindness, paralysis and connect your brain to your smartphone.

In terms of the science behind Jurassic Park, animals have been cloned before, but extinct species have not yet been recreated. Apparently, small insects can in fact be used to extract DNA, and there have been findings before in amber. But there are some missing pieces in the genetic material to fully recreate something like a dino. In the franchise, scientists fill the gaps with DNA from frogs but, in truth, they don’t know all the holes in their genetic makeup to know what part of the genome to fill, per the Natural History Museum.

I guess time will tell if Jurassic Park becomes real. Until then, fans really want Elon Musk and Max Hodak to watch the second half of Steven Spielberg’s movie. Meanwhile, here’s where the richest man on the planet’s head is at:

Jeff Goldblum is returning to his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm as Jurassic World: Dominion, alongside Sam Neill and Laura Dern. It’s set to come to theaters June 10, 2022. What do you think? Do you want to visit a real-life Jurassic Park? Vote in the poll below.

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Remember earlier in 2021 when industrialist/transportation magnate Elon Musk was named the richest person in the world? Ever focused on his work, the man just kind of shrugged it off and said, “Back to work,” and it was a hell of a thing to behold. Well, it looks like he was right to treat the moment as flippantly as he did, as Musk is no longer at the top of the money bin. But if you expected anything other words of wisdom or even trolling in light of this news, you’re out of luck, as Elon Musk’s Twitter remains quiet.

The loss was all in Tesla Inc. stock values, as the brand dropped 8.6% during yesterday’s trading, per Bloomberg. Now, here’s where the irony comes in, as the man who could be called the “real” Tony Stark kind of shot himself in the foot when it came to his financial position. The apparent cause of this huge loss is due to Elon Musk speculating that Bitcoin’s stock price did “seem high,” only weeks after Tesla was revealed to have $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency’s shares.

It happens to the best genius billionaire playboy philanthropists out there, but Mr. Musk’s newfound losses do return the title of the richest person in the world to its previous holder: Amazon’s retiring CEO/media mastermind Jeff Bezos. If this were a contest and Elon Musk sits as the Tony Stark of this competition, that would probably make Jeff Bezos the Justin Hammer of this financial fracas. Then again, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is the one that went out into the world with their own JARVIS, so this Marvel analogy might be something we’ll have to work on for the next update.

To be fair, Elon Musk might not have the time to put out a statement in reference to his latest losses, as he’s being subpoenaed to provide potential information in Johnny Depp’s libel lawsuit against Amber Heard. Whether this request will yield the results that those involved in the legal proceedings are looking for, it will be interesting to see where Musk’s fortunes head in the near future. Let’s just hope that actual cage fighting, or the invention of a flight suit, don’t preoccupy Elon Musk too much in the pursuit to take his mind off of recent events.

Although, if we were recently named the richest person on the Earth only to see that title stripped rather quickly, we’d probably still be looking for something to watch in times of success or defeat. And even in the age of COVID-19, there's still plenty of content for one to watch.

So Elon Musk, if you’re out there reading this, we’d like to send you the 2021 release schedule, which lays out this year’s big entertainments, in the hopes of giving you some quality viewing options.

There hasn’t been as much forward momentum on the upcoming Johnny Depp and Amber Heard suit and countersuit in recent weeks, though there have been moves made by both actors’ legal teams. While we wait for various people involved to be deposed, one new piece of information that has seemingly come down the pipeline is a new report that indicates Elon Musk may be roped back into the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard court drama. The news comes just a few months after Musk jokingly challenged Depp to a “cage fight” related to his U.K. libel case.

Now, Johnny Depp’s lawyers in the U.S. have subpoenaed Elon Musk related to the Virgina-based defamation lawsuit that has Depp suing for $50 million and Amber Heard suing for $100 million. Elon Musk isn’t the only person or persons Depp’s lawyers are attempting to have sit down and be deposed in relation to the case. The ACLU’s First Amendment group and its Foundation have also been subpoenaed.

Per documentation Deadline encountered, Depp’s lawyers want all relevant documentation to be turned over to the court and also want all parties to be deposed as part of the new lawsuit. In particular, there are reportedly 24 requests in the subpeona for Elon Musk to divulge any information he may have about the relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

How Are The Nonprofit And Elon Musk Connected And How Does Johnny Depp Factor In?

In short, these things really aren’t connected. Elon Musk has only been brought up time and time again in Johnny Depp’s legal matters this year because he dated Amber Heard following the demise of her marriage to the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. For his part, Depp has maintained that Heard was cheating on him during their marriage and thereby wants Elon Musk to be deposed to get to the bottom of that matter.

These allegations came up time and time again during the libel case, causing Elon Musk to become one of the famous names connected to the case. He never seems to have taken any of it particularly seriously, however, as back as the summer of 2020, Elon Musk publicly denied the allegations he ever had an affair with Amber Heard and even went so far as to joke about a “cage fight” after learning Depp may have made threatening remarks in a text. Following his relationship with Heard, Musk is now with singer Grimes and they have a child, X AE A-XII, together.

The nonprofit organization has seemingly been drawn in after actions on Amber Heard’s end. She had declared years ago that she would donate the money from her divorce settlement with Johnny Depp, but it was recently revealed that she had only donated a portion of the funds she had said would be going to charity. A representative later cited money woes from ongoing court cases as the issue behind why the full amount of monetary donations had failed to materialize. Depp's team seemingly wants more information about this as well.

These are not the only deposition requests recently, as Amber Heard’s own legal team has requested that various documentation related to the last few years of correspondence between Johnny Depp and the House of Mouse be released. Her team has also requested someone from Disney be deposed on the matter. One of the incidents that came up during the libel case was Amber Heard claiming she had been held “hostage” by Depp during a weekend he’d had off from playing Captain Jack Sparrow, so that may be the connection.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens in regards to each of these subpoenas as the suit continues forward. Meanwhile, Johnny Depp’s most recent movie Minamata has been delayed. Amber Heard can next be seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max, which streams on March 18.

Actress Jamie Lynn Spears had the internet all sorts of confused recently after she publicly went after Elon Musk for the deaths of an untold number of her cats. Now, the actress is clarifying her original statement and assuring fans that while she still has some valid gripes, the first statement may need some things expounded upon.

In a since-expired Instagram Story, the Sweet Magnolias actress better explained her argument with how Tesla vehicles are dangerous to the lives of cats and other animals. She also conceded that it's not entirely the car or Elon Musk's fault that she keeps losing cats to Tesla's, as well as some other key points:

Perhaps the most important point clarified for me was that Jamie Lynn Spears did not run over any cats because the original post had me really wondering just how many times someone can accidentally back over a cat. Overall, it sounds like Spears was more or less calling attention to a legitimate issue to Tesla makers about animal safety. She wouldn't be the first either, as government regulations have required Tesla to now release models that emit noise at low speeds to warn pedestrians and animals.

Jamie Lynn Spears' amended statement is much better than the original statement. Spears has since deleted the video from her social media platforms but, as we all know, nothing is ever permanently deleted from the internet.

Jamie Lynn Spears didn't get a ton of sympathy for her post on social media, as memes began to surface that she was pointing the finger at Tesla for the deaths of many of her cats instead of at herself. It seemed the implication in the original video was that Spears was hitting her own cats with a Tesla though, as Spears went on to clarify in her follow-up, she was not the one who hit the cats. She also pointed out she may need to keep a closer eye on her cats, which may be why she still hasn't clarified how many cats were claimed in these accidents. Obviously, we know the number is at least one, but how much further does that number climb?

All we know is that Sweet Magnolias Season 2 is in development over at Netflix. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend in the meantime for updates on its development and the latest news happening in television and movies.

Elon Musk can be called a lot of things. He’s an industrialist with a keen interest in rockets, a potential cage fighter ready to go against Johnny Depp and even a partner in Tom Cruise’s next film… that just happens to be going to space. But as of now, Musk has just landed a pretty large honor: he’s now the richest person on the planet, and he’s responding with quite a bit of reserve and stoicism.

The Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley Twitter feed reported this news for all to hear far and wide, and naturally the man himself was going to respond. But if you were hoping for an Oscar night acceptance speech, or a video thanking his fans for helping him get there, you’d be wrong. Rather, Elon Musk’s reaction to becoming the richest person on the planet is the following, simple tweet:

“Well… back to work” is a response that’s begging to be put on a t-shirt, especially considering this response is in reference to Elon Musk’s personal wealth surpassing $185 billion. For reference, it took roughly $4 billion each for Disney to purchase Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm. If Musk wanted to make a generous offer to take those properties off of the studio’s hypothetical hands, he’d be able to easily cut a Mickey and Minnie-brand check and still have at least $177 billion left over. So more than likely, Mr. Musk would be able to buy himself an annual pass to any Disney Parks establishment he chooses; provided, of course, they’re still a thing in 2021.

The work certainly doesn’t end for someone like Elon Musk, no matter how much is reflected on those balance sheets. As mentioned before, his company, Space-X, will be assisting Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman in their latest action-adventure movie; the first Hollywood movie to be filmed past the surly bonds of Earth. Getting that production into space and back is obviously only part of the work that Musk will be putting his mind to, as his work innovating other projects in his portfolio is still ongoing.

But just imagine how cool it has to be to able to say, “Well… back to work,” the moment you found out you were the richest person in the world? You could probably purchase the rights to No Time To Die and never show the film unless some sort of demands were met. Elon Musk probably has enough money that he could purchase the entire Fox/Disney line of films set to be released this year and pass them off to the streaming service of his choice. The sky’s the limit, but that’s probably where Musk’s eyes are currently trained. Which means it’s a good time for him, and the rest of us, to get back to work.

No one in their right mind would refute Stan Lee’s title as the ultimate king of cameos, having showed up in more superhero movies than anyone else can claim - including the rare DC adaptation once. While the late comic book mogul’s traditional appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe never failed to make us chuckle or bring a smile to our faces, due to the common expectation of his cameos, I almost find it more more memorable and hilarious when a celebrity shows up in a comic book flick when you least expect it.

Sometimes a superhero movie cameo is played earnestly and to served the story directly, such as when Hugh Jackman showed up in X-Men: Apocalypse as “Weapon X” or Neil DeGrasse Tyson providing his cosmic expertise to a deep discussion of the Man of Steel in Batman v. Superman. However, it is always more fun when those brief appearances are played for laughs, such as the Russo Brothers’ many no-longer-so-covert attempts at sneaking as many Community cast alums into their Marvel movies as possible.

Personally, I would not consider those particular superhero movie cameos as ones truly turned out a laugh riot, but there are countless others I that would count as such - not just in their execution but also in the underlying pop culture reference they brilliantly poke fun at. I believe that the following 12 actors and their appearances in films inspired by the pages of Marvel, DC, and even beyond, do fall under that criteria - such as this actor, who was actually the first to play Ant-Man in a live action setting.

Garrett Morris - Old Man In Car (Ant-Man)

In a 1979 episode of Saturday Night Live, host Margot Kidder reprised her role as Lois Lane, who invited fellow superheroes to a party at her and Superman’s apartment, including Ant-Man (Garrett Morris). It was this sketch that inspired Paul Rudd to tap the Not Ready For Primetime Player and for a brief role in his 2015 Ant-Man movie as a man whose car Scott Lang puts a huge dent in during a bewildering test run of Hank Pym’s shrink suit.

Lou Ferrigno - Security Guard (The Incredible Hulk)

The first live action appearance of The Incredible Hulk was also on TV in the late 1970s, as played by Lou Ferrigno, who would not only voice the big, green hero for the MCU, but would appear on camera in both of his solo movies - each time as a security guard. His cameo in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk (which also pays subtle tribute to Bill Bixby, who played Ferrigno’s human alter ego on the original series) is arguably funnier, in which the bodybuilder gets bribed by Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) with pizza for access to Culver University’s lab.

Jennifer Connelly - Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming)

A fellow alum of 2003’s Hulk who would make a brief, and far more subtle, MCU appearance is Jennifer Connelly as Karen - Peter Parker’s nickname for his Spidey suit’s built-in AI, courtesy of Tony Stark. The banter between Tom Holland and Connelly’s disembodied voice is already one of the most endearingly funny moments in Spider-Man Homecoming, but what really makes this cameo is the fact that the Oscar winner’s real-life husband is Paul Bettany, who voiced Stark’s virtual assistant JARVIS before upgrading to Vision.

Adam Brody - Super Hero Freddy (Shazam!)

Years before the behind-the-scenes drama of 2017’s Justice League, Warner Bros. hired George Miller for an adaptation of the DC superhero team, featuring Adam Brody as The Flash, that never happened. It became one of the most infamous let-downs of the former OC star’s career, which is why his appearance as a grown-up, super-powered Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) in 2019’s Shazam! is especially satisfying, albeit snicker-inducing.

Billy Dee Williams - Two Face (The LEGO Batman Movie)

Speaking of actors who were robbed of a comic book role opportunity, Billy Dee Williams was cast in Tim Burton’s Batman as Harvey Dent - who was later recast in 1995’s Batman Forever with Tommy Lee Jones as the Gotham DA’s villainous alter ego. The Star Wars actor finally received justice in 2017 when he voiced Two-Face in The LEGO Batman Movie - which I think is at least tied with Killer Croc’s proud declaration to have done “something” (an indictment on his Suicide Squad portrayal) as the animated film’s funniest cameo.

Elon Musk - Himself (Iron Man 2)

A lot of people like to have fun thinking of billionaire tech industrialist Elon Musk as the real-life counterpart of Tony Stark (save the whole superhero thing, of course). The comparison is so on-the-nose, really (even beyond the reality within the MCU), that you cannot help but just laugh at the plausibility of witnessing Stark and the South African-born Tesla founder casually discuss plans for “an electric jet” at a party, just as they do in Iron Man 2 in 2010.

Hugh Jackman - Wolverine (X-Men: First Class)

At a time when no X-Men film felt complete without Wolverine, in 2011, director Matthew Vaughn and co. managed to squeeze Hugh Jackman into the 1960s-set prequel X-Men: First Class for an uncredited appearance that, while extremely brief, remains one of his most memorable in the franchise. When a younger Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) approach the cigar-chomping mutant in a bar, before they can even announce the purpose of their visit, he dismisses them with a tease of the racy language he would use more frequently in Logan.

Brad Pitt - Vanisher (Deadpool 2)

Logan was also heavily ridiculed in Deadpool 2 - the sequel to star Ryan Reynolds' apology for his original portrayal of the Merc with a Mouth (or, more accurately, without one) in X-Men Origins: Wolverine - and was also home to a slew of amazing cameos. Among of the most pleasant surprise appearances in the 2018 action-comedy is the literally, blink-and-you-miss-it reveal of Brad Pitt as invisible X-Force member Vanisher, which was achieved by buying the Fight Club actor some Starbucks coffee, as Reynolds later claimed.

Matt Damon - Redneck #2 (Deadpool 2), Actor Loki (Thor: Ragnarok)

Another Deadpool 2 cameo many did not catch on their first viewing was Matt Damon as a hillbilly explaining his strange toilet tissue aversion to an equally well-disguised Alan Tudyk before a deadly interruption by Cable (Josh Brolin). The Oscar-winner’s more overt, and arguably more hilarious, surprise appearance months earlier in Thor: Ragnarok (as an actor hired by Loki to reenact his “death” in Thor: The Dark World) was also a group effort with Chris Hemsworth’s brother, Luke, playing the God of Thunder and Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill as their father, Odin.

Most Of The X-Men Cast (Deadpool 2)

Speaking of group efforts, just about, the most epic cameo that Deadpool 2 had to offer required the participation of several additional other Marvel movie actors whose absence was jokingly acknowledged in the previous film. That joke was recalled to perfection when Wade Wilson, once again, complains about the lack of X-Men characters in his presence at the Xavier Mansion, unwitting to the fact that Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and others are right behind him, but Beast (Nicolas Hoult) closes the door to Xavier’s office before he can notice.

Lynda Carter - Principal Powers (Sky High)

Calling Lynda Carter’s role in Sky High a cameo is honestly a bit of a reach, but she does make a pretty funny reference at one point to her years leading the Wonder Woman TV show in the late 1970s. Not to mention, she does get less screen time in the 2005 Disney flick as Principal Powers, head of the titular school for young superheroes in training, than her co-star Bruce Campbell, who essentially made his superhero character debut as Coach Boomer (a.k.a., Sonic Boom) despite a few earlier, small comic book movie appearances.

Bruce Campbell - Ring Announcer, Snooty Usher, And Maître D’ (Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy)

I bet director Sam Raimi even agrees that no movie of his feels truly genuine without the presence of his iconic Evil Dead franchise star in some capacity, which is why we are hoping to see Bruce Campbell in the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel and why he cameos in all three of Raimi’s Spider-Man movies. From a wrestling host who names Peter Parker’s alter ego in the first film, to an usher who refuses to let him into Mary Jane’s play in Spider-Man 2, and a French restaurant maître d’ in the final installment, you could make an argument for why each of Campbell’s appearances is better than the rest, or even that they get funnier with each movie.

What do you think? Is Bruce Campbell the primary reason you still re-watch Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy often, or do you find the B-movie king’s cameos to be an unwanted distraction in your favorite comic book movie franchise? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on some of the other funny moments that tend to pop up in superhero movies, here on CinemaBlend.