TheWrap https://www.thewrap.com/ Your trusted source for breaking entertainment news, film reviews, TV updates and Hollywood insights. Stay informed with the latest entertainment headlines and analysis from TheWrap. Tue, 19 Mar 2024 06:17:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://i0.wp.com/www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/thewrap-site-icon-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 TheWrap https://www.thewrap.com/ 32 32 Jimmy Kimmel Jokes the Closer the Election Is, The More Trump ‘Talks Like Thanos’ | Video https://www.thewrap.com/jimmy-kimmel-trump-bloodbath-thanos-monologue/ https://www.thewrap.com/jimmy-kimmel-trump-bloodbath-thanos-monologue/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 04:57:22 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7515040 The ABC host was dumbfounded by the ex-president's recent "bloodbath" remarks

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Jimmy Kimmel admitted he’s a bit disturbed by the increasingly blatant language Donald Trump is using, like the “bloodbath” Trump talked up in a speech over the weekend.

In part, Kimmel is concerned because “the issue is that he’s such a lunatic. we actually have to debate if he meant it literally.” But Kimmel also bleakly joked that the closer we get to the election, the more Trump “talks like Thanos.”

Watch Kimmel’s Monday night monologue above.

Kimmel started by playing a clip from the rally, held Saturday in Ohio, in which Trump had the crowd singing the national anthem in tribute to the Jan. 6 “hostages,” referring to criminals who participated in the insurrection he incited on Jan. 6, 2021.

“And I guess it’s OK to wear a hat during the national anthem now too,” Kimmel commented.

“Trump told the crowd that if he doesn’t win in November, he’s not sure we’ll ever have another election in this country. And if he does win in November, we definitely won’t have another election. But of all the very disturbing things he said, this was probably most disturbing,” Kimmel said as he cued up the “bloodbath” comments.

“The longer this election goes, the more he talks like Thanos,” Kimmel said before turning his attention to Trump’s defense of the comments.

“He’s saying ‘bloodbath.’ So, after the bloodbath remark, people went like, ‘oh that’s not great,’ so Trump went into spin mode, saying he was only talking about a bloodbath in the auto industry.”

“The truth is, the context we should be considering, isn’t whether or not Trump meant ‘bloodbath’ literally,” Kimmel continued. “What the issue is that, he’s such a lunatic, we actually have to debate if he meant it literally. We have to ask, ‘was that totally crazy or just kind of crazy?'”

Kimmel also discussed former Vice President Mike Pence, who has now publicly said he will not endorse Donald Trump for president this year.

The “former Vice Poodle is not being a good boy,” Kimmel said, adding, “it does kind of come as a little bit of a surprise but I guess the Stockholm syndrome finally wore off.”

Kimmel then called for Pence to be added to the cast of “Dancing With the Stars.”

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‘The Bachelor’ Star Rachel Nance Says Breakup With Joey Happened in ‘Best Way Possible’ https://www.thewrap.com/the-bachelor-rachel-nance-breakup-interview/ https://www.thewrap.com/the-bachelor-rachel-nance-breakup-interview/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 03:03:00 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514831 "I had a feeling going into fantasy suites that it wasn't going to be me," the former contestant tells TheWrap

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Note: The following story contains spoilers for “The Bachelor” Women Tell All episode.

Despite being sent home ahead of “The Bachelor” finale, contestant Rachel Nance said her breakup with Joey Graziadei happened in the “best way possible.”

“I had a feeling going into fantasy suites that it wasn’t going to be me,” Nance told TheWrap. “I can say confidently that it ended in the best way possible for Joey and I. We still care for each other and we still have that love and adoration that won’t go away.”

Nance was one of the three remaining women that Graziadei courted through Fantasy Suites, and felt confident putting herself out there despite knowing she might not be Graziadei’s final rose pick from the start.

“I was freaking out, like ‘what if it’s not me at the end, but I’m just happy with how it ended,” Nance said. “I’m happy for him, and same for me.”

Below, Nance unpacks her final date with the ABC reality dating show’s leading man, and whether she might be interested in continuing her time in “Bachelor” nation, whether on “The Bachelorette” or on the beaches of “Bachelor in Paradise.”

TheWrap: Going back to your Fantasy Suite date, it got a bit derailed by your injury. Why were you hesitant to tell Joey something was wrong?

Rachel Nance: That’s always just been my personality since I was a kid. My mom always told me I was so hard-headed. I always try to tough everything out. I used to joke with my dad that I’m his favorite son because he has all girls. I didn’t want to “ruin the date” by saying I was injured. But I’m not gonna lie, it was so painful. I’m glad Joy was able to really see that be like, “Girl, something’s wrong — Let’s get you checked out,” and that I was able to let him take care of me, which is what I should have done from the beginning.

What’s it been like watching your journey back? Do you wish you would have opened up a bit sooner?

The Rachel while filming did amazing. Now, I’m able to open up way more because I’ve learned so much, but I’m so proud of what I shared in the moment. I shared things at my pace. I opened up when I was able to — I didn’t force anything. And if that was leaving a slow burn and I took too long to open, it was on my accord, and that’s how it should always be.

Going into the “Tell All,” was there anything you wanted to tell Joey?

I just wanted to let him know that I’m here for him. I also wanted to know if he’s happy, because if he’s happy that’s all I wanted. When you look back, the respect we have for each other is so evident when we’re speaking to each other. The calmness we both had when we sat next to each other — It just felt like we hung out yesterday, and that’s the beautiful part. Sometimes with exes, it doesn’t work like that. This is a sad breakup but such a beautiful ending to to our relationship.

Joey was also very complimentary of you as well. What did it feel like to be on the receiving end of that?

That’s just Joey — He’s such a sweetheart. His parents should be so proud of proud of him. He’s so genuine and just hearing him reassure me through all of this just goes to show that he does care about me.

Would you be up for being the next “Bachelorette?”

Honestly, I don’t know if I would do it, but it’d be an interesting season because I’d be like, “I don’t like you — you gotta go home.” But as of right now, I’m really enjoying things calming down, and I’m gonna go home and hang out with my family and enjoy this peace because things on social media have been crazy for me and I think I need some time to recuperate and decompress from all of it.

What about “Bachelor in Paradise?” Would you be up for going to the beach and who would you be excited to see from other seasons?

I felt like I wouldn’t like anybody on “Paradise,” but again, I’m never gonna say no to something right now. I’m just gonna see how I feel in the moment when asked.

You got to spend some time with Susan from “The Golden Bachelor” ahead of your Fantasy Suite date. What was it like meeting her?

I feel like I’ve known her for years. She’s like an auntie to me. We still talk to this day. She’s gone through so much and she has so much advice to give and such a beautiful range makes you feel seen and heard. She’s someone that everyone should get a chance to meet in my opinion.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The finale of “The Bachelor” premieres Monday, March 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

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‘Bachelor’ Star Maria Georgas Says Being ‘The Bachelorette’ Would Be the ‘Opportunity of a Lifetime’ https://www.thewrap.com/the-bachelor-maria-georgas-bachelorette-interview/ https://www.thewrap.com/the-bachelor-maria-georgas-bachelorette-interview/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 03:01:00 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514772 "I would be stupid to turn it down," the fan-favorite contestant tells TheWrap after Joey Graziadei's Women Tell All episode

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Note: The following story contains spoilers for “The Bachelor” Women Tell All episode.

Although Maria Georgas’ time on “The Bachelor” has come to an end, the fan-favorite contestant sees the chance to lead her own season of “The Bachelorette” as an enticing gig.

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” Georgas told TheWrap of potentially becoming “The Bachelorette.” “I would be stupid to turn it down. It’s not something that I was thinking about doing — I never even thought I would even get the chance.”

With no official decisions made for the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” which is still slated to premiere this summer on ABC, Georgas hesitated on whether she would be in consideration for the job.

“I don’t know until I’m in the moment, I guess, that I’ll know if I would do it or not,” she said.

Despite having a flirtatious and chemistry-filled relationship with Joey Graziadei on “The Bachelor,” Georgas did not receive a rose ahead of the fantasy suite dates, which she said left her feeling “caught off guard.”

“When I was trying to leave in Jasper, he really did fight for me to stay,” Georgas said. “[During] hometowns, he was all in — he was talking to my dad about asking for his blessing and talking to my friend about how he still wants to fight for me, so I was a little caught off guard with the whole ending at that moment.”

Ahead of being sent home during the post-hometown rose ceremony, Georgas pulled Graziadei aside in a last-ditch effort to share her feelings after holding in her emotions throughout the season.

“I always felt like I was being left behind in the connection — I was just constantly trying to fight for us as well,” she said. “Even though my instincts were telling me, ‘Don’t say I love you, or don’t do that.’ I was like, ‘No, I want to give it my all so that I leave with no regrets.'”

However, Georgas also noted that her elimination was the “right decision,” saying, “Our relationship took its toll, and it was meant to end when it ended.”

Georgas and Graziadei saw each other for the first time since their breakup during Monday’s “Women Tell All” episode, and Georgas said seeing the leading man was easier than she expected.

“We were like friends, honestly, so it was just nice to see him at this point,” she said. “I think that feeling is way better than hating seeing him or being still upset and needing closure. I was just happy to see him, and he looked good. If he’s happy, then I’m happy.”

The finale of “The Bachelor” premieres Monday, March 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

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‘The Bachelor’ Joey Graziadei ‘Went Dark’ After Seeing Kelsey’s Post-Fantasy Suites Note https://www.thewrap.com/the-bachelor-joey-graziadei-women-tell-all-kelsey-note/ https://www.thewrap.com/the-bachelor-joey-graziadei-women-tell-all-kelsey-note/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 03:00:00 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514591 ABC's leading man breaks down his decision to send Rachel Nance home, and whether he regrets letting Maria Georgas go

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Note: The following story contains spoilers for “The Bachelor” Women Tell All episode.

After receiving an ominous note from one of his three remaining women on “The Bachelor,” Joey Graziadei said he went “dark” and immediately thought of the worst-case scenario.

Following three fantasy suite dates with Kelsey Anderson, Daisy Kent and Rachel Nance, Graziadei arrived to a note at his door from Anderson, which read, “We need to talk.”

“I went dark very quickly — I thought that she was leaving, I thought something went wrong,” Graziadei told TheWrap. “I think any guy that ever gets a text or anything from a girl that says, ‘We need to talk,’ you assume the worst.”

While Graziadei noted that his assumption was “understandable,” he also admitted he wished he was able to be a “little bit more understanding in that time,” saying that his reaction was “raw and real emotion.”

Despite the note prompting a moment of concern for Graziadei, Anderson cleared up any confusion when she told the leading man she missed spending time with him and wanted to be honest about her emotions.

“I wish she used some different words — I wish it didn’t have to be in a note in that way,” Graziadei said, adding that Anderson’s attempt at honesty was “sweet” at its core. “For her to want to get more time and talk to me, I think people can see now that it didn’t really change where we were at.”

Below, Graziadei unpacks his decision to send Nance home, revisits his relationship with fan-favorite Maria Georgas and looks ahead towards next week’s finale.

TheWrap: During the Tell All, we also saw that you chose to send Rachel home after fantasy suites. Why did you decide your connection wasn’t there yet?

Joey Graziadei: I go back to the conversation we had on the bench when I said goodbye — we both agreed we had so much love for each other, but I was at the point where there were people sharing things with me, and it was time for me to be able to see if I could express if I was falling in love with them. When Rachel said that, I realized that I wasn’t ready to express that — I didn’t feel like I was there. As always, the most honest and real thing I could do was take time to think about it, but once I came to the conclusion that I knew that we weren’t at the same point, I had to say goodbye.

You saw Rachel for the first time tonight. What message did you want to share with her?

It’s always great seeing Rachel again, we have so much appreciation and respect for one another. It was just nice to be able to have even more closure — to not have that conversation be in a moment where we had so many emotions, because when that happens suddenly, it’s so tough to be sitting on that bench and be able to share how you’re truthfully feeling. I am happy that I got to say what I did, and I’m really happy that she got to see the moment after where I was talking to the camera and I said, “I know she’s gonna be OK, but I want her to know how much I want her to be OK.” All of that was very special.

You also said goodbye to Maria before fantasy suites. What was it like to see her again and do you have any regrets about sending her home before fantasy suites?

We had a great connection — we had so much fun. There’s no point of me now of having regrets because I knew I did the best that I could at that time, and I led with my gut. It’s not like I didn’t believe that Maria had feelings for me — I knew that she was truthfully falling in love with me and I have so much appreciation that she decided to tell me that — but I think a lot of people also saw that she struggled with the whole entire idea of the show with other women being there and letting go and trusting that if you really want this to work, you have to trust the connection, and not all the other things that are going on around you.

I got to that point where I knew the three other women were accepting — they knew it was hard, but they were willing to keep pushing forward, and I just didn’t know if Maria was going to be able to do that going into the next week. It’s nothing to do with how much I care and have respect for her, it just was making the choice I thought that was the best to move forward with.

During the Tell All, Maria said she wished that she had done things a little bit differently. Do you think any of that would have impacted what happened between you two?

It’s possible. It’s always hard to know. These women sometimes are a lot harder on themselves than they need to be. This is such a tough experience — there’s so many things that come from this that no one should have to deal with or go through and you see different sides of yourself. I think it’s more important for people to be given grace and realize that anyone in this position is not going to do it perfectly. They all can be a lot more kind to themselves.

Headed into the finale, you have to a choice between a life with Kelsey or Daisy. How did you prepare to make this decision?

That day, as everyone can see, was so hard for me. What’s really important is to know that those emotions are real, and there’s a lot to uncover in that finale.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The finale of “The Bachelor” premieres Monday, March 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

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Trump Press Flack Who Resigned Over Jan. 6 Warns ‘Bloodbath’ Remarks Are ‘Marching Orders’ for His Supporters | Video https://www.thewrap.com/sarah-matthews-jen-psaki-trump-bloodbath/ https://www.thewrap.com/sarah-matthews-jen-psaki-trump-bloodbath/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 02:41:21 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514929 Sarah Matthews tells MSNBC's Jen Psaki Trump is deliberately tempting his voter base to "act on" his messaging

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On Saturday Donald Trump told a crowd of supporters in Dayton, Ohio, that a loss in the 2024 election would result in a “bloodbath.” His campaign was quick to claim his warning only applied to the US auto industry, but as former Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, who worked in the Trump administration for 7 months, said, the comment is “a warning call to his supporters he’s telling them kind of marching orders almost.”

Matthews was a guest on “Inside Jen Psaki” Monday night when she was asked about her former boss’ behavior. Psaki and Matthews agreed the comment deserves to be considered carefully—and taken very seriously.

Matthews, who resigned from her post after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, explained, “This one comment they’re [The Trump campaign] saying is overblown, but it does follow a proven track record of these kinds of unhinged comments from him, and increasingly violent rhetoric and apocalyptic rhetoric almost.”

She went on to imply that Trump could be calling his supporters to stage another insurrection. “When he says things like there’s going to be ‘death and destruction,’ if he’s charged in these criminal cases. That is, I think, a warning call to his supporters he’s telling them kind of marching orders almost and we saw this happen in the lead-up from the election in 2020 to January 6, where he told them to come to the Capitol, he said it was going to be a wild day that we needed to save our country,” Matthews added.

“So, he’s putting these kinds of messages out there, hoping that they’ll act on them.”

Matthews also spoke to the Trump campaign’s official line that the “bloodbath” he referred to is merely economic in nature. She said, “And in my eyes—yeah, sure, he could have been talking about the economy but I think when you’re looking at who the messenger was of this message, this is a man who helped incite a deadly insurrection on our nation’s Capitol. So when he’s using terms like bloodbath, it’s really hard for me to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

The former Trump employee also admitted that she “couldn’t imagine going to him or even cast a vote for him, given everything that’s transpired,” primarily because of the events of Jan. 6 and Trump’s lack of “remorse for what happened that day.”

Trump defended himself via Truth Social Monday morning, claiming as he has after previous, ambiguously violent rhetoric that he was being taken out of context and was speaking only about the U.S. auto industry.

Trump’s language has grown increasingly dark as it’s become apparent he will be the Republican Party’s candidate against President Biden in November. He has been particularly preoccupied with undocumented immigrants, whom he described as “animals,” as well as with his political opponents, whom he labeled “vermin.”

Watch the interview with Sarah Matthews in the video above.

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‘An Enemy of the People’ Broadway Review: Jeremy Strong Makes a Great Dr. Fauci https://www.thewrap.com/an-enemy-of-the-people-broadway-review-jeremy-strong/ https://www.thewrap.com/an-enemy-of-the-people-broadway-review-jeremy-strong/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 02:00:00 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514357 The "Succession" star returns to the Gotham boards in an Ibsen revival that's short, swift and politically pointed

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It’s the Covid pandemic all over again at the Circle in the Square, where a radically pared-down version of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” opened Monday.

Best of all is Jeremy Strong’s Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who vividly recalls Dr. Anthony Fauci, especially when this good Norwegian doctor is warning a town about the dangers of an impending epidemic.

The only problem with making “Enemy” a blow-by-blow retelling of Trump and Fauci’s battles is that what we all endured in real life a few years ago was so much more dramatic than what’s being offered onstage under the direction of Sam Gold.

“An Enemy of the People” typically runs three hours or more. At Circle in the Square, the playwright Amy Herzog delivers a swift two hours with an intermission at which drinks are served gratis onstage. Pre-pandemic, Daniel Fish’s radical rethinking of the musical “Oklahoma!” offered similar refreshments at intermission in the same theater, but Gold doesn’t make a habit of repeating what other directors do.

In fact, his recent interpretations on Broadway of “The Glass Menagerie,” “King Lear” and “Macbeth” have taken their knocks for being far too eccentric. Gold’s “Enemy,” on the other hand, sticks to the Norwegian locale and the late 19th century time frame of Ibsen’s play. Isabella Byrd’s very atmospheric lighting even features a lot of gas lamps, the set design by Dots delivered in rough-hewn wood.

In a sweet directorial touch, standees are offered seats on the stage after intermission to rest their feet and witness up-close Strong’s speech to the townspeople that they not believe his brother the mayor (Michael Imperioli, being very Trumpian) or those jerks at the newspaper (Caleb Eberhardt and Thomas Jay Ryan, being very Giulianian), because “we’re going to have an epidemic,” the doctor warns.

Back in 1882, Ibsen cautioned his publisher that he wasn’t sure if they should call “An Enemy of the People” a drama or a comedy, because he thought the Dr. Stockmann character exhibits perhaps a bit too much zeal in wanting to close down the town’s contaminated spa. What Ibsen never worried about is anyone calling his play “agitprop,” which is what Herzog and Gold have turned it into.

Has there ever been a more pure hero and a more abused victim on stage than Strong’s wonderful doctor? Of all the vipers on “Succession,” Strong was able to imbue his capitalist with the most humanity. Here in “Enemy,” without the shackles of greed and ambition, he achieves beatification. Strong last appeared on Broadway as Richard Rich in the 2008 revival of “A Man for All Seasons.”

Herzog’s rewriting of “Enemy” (they’re calling it a “new version”) is a vast improvement on her rewriting of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” last season, in which 19th century characters were heard saying stuff like “he’s wasted” and “I’ll take you up on that” and “what’s going on with you?” With “Enemy,” Herzog turns on the automatic pilot of modern slang only once, when someone cracks, “She was messing with me.” Not that this writer doesn’t occasionally flex her creativity.

In Herzog’s version, Dr. Stockmann momentarily contemplates leaving Norway so he can say, after the doctor has nearly been stoned to death by ice cubes left over from the bar at intermission, “In America we won’t have to worry about anything like this!” This line might get the biggest laugh ever recorded in a theater serving up a play purported to have been written by Ibsen.

Hitting even closer to these shores is Stockmann’s daughter, Petra (Victoria Pedretti), who toys with opening a school at play’s end. She tells her father about his young son, “I can actually teach him something if I don’t have to follow the ridiculous standards.”

If this good doctor gets his way and the family actually moves to America, let’s hope the Stockmanns don’t make the mistake of ending up in Florida.

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‘Game of Thrones’ Creators Say They Cast John Bradley in ‘3 Body Problem’ After Seeing Him Flirt in a Belfast Pub https://www.thewrap.com/3-body-problem-john-bradley-casting-game-of-thrones/ https://www.thewrap.com/3-body-problem-john-bradley-casting-game-of-thrones/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:47:22 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514798 "Not to say that he is quite as much of a dick as Jack, but he's just wildly funny," David Benioff says

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“Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss warned Sunday night that fans shouldn’t expect the John Bradley we know and love as Samwell Tarly in their new Netflix series “3 Body Problem” — and that was their goal all along.

Recounting a night out in a Belfast pub while filming “Game of Thrones” some years ago, Benioff told the sold-out crowd at the Los Angeles debut of “3 Body Problem” that they got the idea to cast Bradley as a snarkier, harsher role after seeing him flirt with a tourist.

Benioff said Bradley was “incredibly sarcastic” and dry in his banter, and he and Weiss were inspired.

“He’s nothing like the Samwell that people know from ‘Game of Thrones,’ and we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun someday to work with John and see him play a character kind of closer to the actual John?'”

Benioff, who cocreated the new sci-fi series based on Liu Cixin’s trilogy of books with Weiss and Alexander Woo, quickly clarified that Bradley isn’t quite as cutting as his character, Jack Rooney.

“So not to say that he is quite as much of a dick as Jack, but he’s just wildly funny and we wanted to see, you know, we wanted to see that,” he said.

“3 Body Problem” didn’t just reunite Bradley with the “Game of Thrones” team, either. Also costarring on the series — and present at the Sunday night event in Hollywood — were Jonathan Pryce and Liam Cunningham.

“And then, you know, Jonathan Pryce, if you’re lucky enough to work with Jonathan Pryce once, you live a blessed life in Hollywood” Benioff said. “To get to work with him twice is kind of beyond the pale. So we’re just very fortunate.”

Cunningham, who played Davos Seaworth in 42 episodes of “Game of Thrones,” stars in “3 Body Problem” as Thomas Wade. As Weiss put it, the books the series is based on describe the character as “being 40 years old, devastatingly handsome, resembling Hugh Jackman … so of course, we thought Liam Cunningham immediately.”

“He was the perfect comp,” Weiss said. “Liam is just somebody that we — another one of those people that we just love being around and his work truly speaks for itself. Just looking at everything, not just what he did on our show, but what he’s done far and wide with many of the greatest directors who’ve ever lived. So we were lucky that he agreed to quit the job that he committed to and come join us instead.”

“3 Body Problem” is based on the Chinese novel “The Three-Body Problem” by Cixin. The show’s tagline reads, “Across continents and decades, five brilliant friends make earth-shattering discoveries as the laws of science unravel and an existential threat emerges.”

Benjamin Lindsay contributed to this report.

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Michael Cohen Warns of Foreign Powers Paying Trump’s Legal Bills: ‘This Is No Joke’ | Video https://www.thewrap.com/michael-cohen-trump-legal-bills-interference-clip/ https://www.thewrap.com/michael-cohen-trump-legal-bills-interference-clip/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:25:29 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514871 "We should be very concerned about where the money is coming from," the ex-president's former attorney says

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Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, said on Monday that Trump’s inability to find funding for his $454 million judgment in his New York civil fraud case “places our national security in jeopardy” if that money comes from, say, Russia or Qatar.

As the Washington Post reported earlier on Monday, Trump’s current lawyers have come up empty-handed after approaching 30 or more suretors.

“As Americans, we should be very concerned about where that money is coming from,” Cohen told MSNBC’s Michael Steele. “What if, hypothetically, the money is coming from Saudi Arabia or from Qatar? Or through a backdoor channel of Russia? That now leaves a potential presidential candidate owing a foreign entity, all at the expense of America’s national security. This is no joke.”

As the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Trump will be given security briefings by U.S. intelligence agencies, despite the fact that he is facing a separate trial in Florida for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and mishandling classified documents, NBC News reported earlier this month.

Added Cohen, “This places our national security in jeopardy and continues to make Donald Trump the single most dangerous thing in America to our national security and democracy.”

Steele speculated that Trump could be selling state secrets to foreign powers to cover his own legal expenses: “That could potentially make him dangerous. Is he going to be out there looking at how he can backdoor some cash?”

“He doesn’t care where the money comes from as long as he gets it, even if that places our national security in risk,” Cohen said. “He’s already shown documents to individuals over at Mar-a-Lago who did not have clearance to view them.

“I will tell you that making Trump president was the absolute worst idea that I ever had. Bar none,” the lawyer said.

Watch the full MSNBC segment in the video above.

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Kate Middleton Shopping Video Raises More Questions on Well-Being, Royals’ Secrecy: ‘I’m Losing My Mind’ https://www.thewrap.com/kate-middleton-shopping-video-royals/ https://www.thewrap.com/kate-middleton-shopping-video-royals/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 01:04:48 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514835 Not everyone sees the footage released Monday as proving the Princess of Wales is happy and recovering from a January surgery

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Prince William and Kate Middleton took a trip to the Windsor Farm Shop on Saturday, a move that wouldn’t typically raise eyebrows — but instead shocked social media, as the Princess of Wales hasn’t been spotted in public in nearly three months due to what Kensington Palace said was a “planned abdominal surgery” announced in January. TMZ released a video Monday that purportedly shows the pair speedily walking through the market… but social media users aren’t quite convinced.

As Stephanie Soteriou put it on X (formerly Twitter), comparing images from the video and another recent blurry image with an earlier photo of Middleton, “I might have to tap out of this whole Kate Middleton thing because I genuinely, hand on heart, do not think these pics look like the same woman & it’s making me feel like I’m losing my mind. Like, I’m not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but that is not her??”

X user @MediumSizeMeech pointed out that Middleton appears to be recovering quite well. He tweeted, “My thing is — if this is indeed ‘Kate Middleton’ why would a woman who JUST GOT abdominal surgery that needed such a long recovery be carrying a large bag like this???”

Quite a few people used popular memes to express their disbelief. X user @toops99 wrote, “The whole world right now analysing the video of Kate and William” alongside memes including the famous “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” red string board.

@IBZDRAGON invoked Andrew Garfield’s emotional graveyard scene from “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and captioned it, “The entire internet after seeing Kate Middleton without makeup for the first time.”

Some also pointed out that practically speaking, it doesn’t make sense that a high-quality photo or video of Middleton out and about isn’t available. After all, as @yolanda_parody put it, “you‘re telling me somebody was able to zoom in and get this footage of rihanna yet we can’t get a single high quality image of kate Middleton.”

Andy Cohen isn’t buying it either:

For others, the publication of the video and the immediate skepticism that followed online is an indication of just how steep of a climb Kensington Palace has to convince the public to trust them again, following their lack of communication about Middleton’s status and the release of a photo that had been digitally altered.

@SmoothDunk wrote, “‘these Kate Middleton pics will silence internet critics’ I don’t think u understand how badly you’ve f–ked this. there are now people on the internet who could SHAKE HER HAND and still claim she’s four cats in a wig.”

This was more seriously echoed by Ellie Hall, a correspondent who covers the royal family and previously worked for BuzzFeed. She tweeted, pointing to an earlier interview she’d done, “This @EliotHiggins quote proved prescient: ‘At this point, I think if there was a video of Kate holding a paper with today’s date on it published, we’d still have an online army explaining how you can tell it’s an AI-generated fake from the pixels.'”

Despite the potentially serious nature of the situation Middleton and Kensington Palace are engulfed in, plenty of people are still having fun. As Teen Vogue columnist Rainesford Stauffer tweeted, “One thing I do appreciate about the Kate Middleton conspiracy is that everything they do to try to make it better and less weird actually makes it worse, which is something I absolutely relate to.”

Hear, hear.

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Exercise Guru Richard Simmons Apologizes for Scaring People Into Thinking He Was Dying https://www.thewrap.com/richard-simmons-apologizes-scares-fans-dying-post/ https://www.thewrap.com/richard-simmons-apologizes-scares-fans-dying-post/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:37:39 +0000 https://www.thewrap.com/?p=7514808 "I am not dying. It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have," the "Sweatin' to the Oldies" star wrote on Monday

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Exercise guru Richard Simmons apologized on Monday for a social media post that led people to think he was dying.

“I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am … dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death,” he wrote on X early Monday.

When fans took those words literally, he posted a follow-up note: “Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today. Even the press has gotten in touch with me. I am not dying. It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have. Sorry for this confusion.”

The 75-year-old is best known for his ’80s exercise video series, “Sweatin’ to the Oldies.” He has been out of the public eye for the last decade or so, prompting sporadic, Kate Middleton-esque searches, as well as a podcast called “Missing Richard Simmons” from 2014.

In 2016, Simmons called into the Today show to refute the rumor that he was being held hostage by his housekeeper. He explained that he “sort of wanted to be a little bit of a loner for a little while” after hurting his knee.

His rep then told Entertainment Tonight in 2018, when Simmons turned 70, “He’s doing very well. He’s his jovial self. He spends most of his time at home and in his yard. He keeps up with his reading and does what he wants to do. He deserves this time to himself.”

In January, Simmons wrote on Facebook that he never gave comedian Pauly Shore permission to play him in either the short film “The Court Jester” or the upcoming biopic being produced by Mark Wolper of The Wolper Organization 

“While we would love to have [Simmons] involved, we respect his desire to privacy and plan to produce a movie that honors him, celebrates him and tells a dramatic story,” Wolper told Variety when the feature was announced.

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