This Week in Gossip #1

SAG-AFTRA end the strike, David Zaslav continues to be evil, Nicki Minaj has regrets...

Welcome to the newest edition to the Gossip Reading Club empire. This feature will be for paid subscribers in the future, but here’s a taster of what to expect.

There really is too much news out there, and even for a full-time pop culture hot-takes merchant like myself, keeping up with it is tough work. This week alone, we saw a lot of action, much of it embodying seismic shifts in the entertainment industry. Consider TWIG to be a helpful condensing of the previous seven days.

(Content Warning: This issue discusses domestic abuse and violence against women.)

1. SAG-AFTRA Strike Ends After 118 Days, AMPTP Still Suck

(Image of striking workers via Flickr - Creative Commons Licence.)

After close to four months, SAG-AFTRA finally reached a tentative agreement with AMPTP, leading to the strike ending one minute after midnight this past Thursday. This past year has seen some of the most drastic and wide-reaching union action in the entertainment industry, with the WGA leading the way. Many will undoubtedly follow in their footsteps. VFX and animation workers are probably next.

The 160,000-strong actors guild will still have to vote on ratifying this new agreement, but it seems likely that they will. Ratification voting on the agreement starts November 14th and runs until the first week of December for the eligible members. SAG-AFTRA said that the total deal negotiated is “valued at more than one billion dollars in new wages and benefit plan funding.” Their statement also highlighted the “meaningful protections” and consent rights around AI, which was a major sticking point for both them and the WGA. Mere days before reaching this agreement, we heard that the AMPTP wanted to gain ownership over actors' image rights in AI after their death, regardless of whether or not they consented to it. Yikes.

We’ve seen a lot of absolute jackassery from the studios over the past few months, from “sources” admitting they were waiting for strikers to go broke and lose their homes before negotiating to the endless on- and offline attempts at union-busting from the usual suspects. Reporting from the trades, obviously, leaned heavily pro-studio in tone, but they struggled to outbalance a) a bunch of talented and charismatic people with social media accounts bypassing traditional press, and b) the fact that audiences, in general, were on the strikers’ side. Shock horror, there didn’t seem to be a lot of enthusiasm for fans over the idea of their favourite actors being turned into CGI clones after their death. The workers’ cases were bolstered by insight into how little they received financially from streaming residuals, quickly puncturing the anti-union rhetoric over “whiny rich people wanting more.”

I am curious to see the full deal and how it offers better compensation for streaming. The studios really did not want to let anyone see those numbers. Either they’re so big that they reveal how deliberately underpaid their staff is, or they’re so low that they destroy the fantasy of the entire streaming model and kill the business. Frankly, my money is on the latter. I doubt we’ll see true transparency in terms of those viewership numbers, sadly.

One thing I think the strikes really drove home is how much audiences want actual human beings to make art. They want artists, not machines, and those people should be appropriately compensated for doing it. This certainly hits home to writers in my field, which is being strip-mined for parts by broey CEOs who seem to actively hate us (we’ll get to that.) Not that mass audience support matters to Hollywood. We’ve got Jeffrey Katzenberg bragging about how the future of animation means less actual animators, and studios desperate to implement the equivalent of chat bots into the creative process. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA have to keep this fight up for years, but any victory helps to set a benchmark for the future.

2. Warner Bros. Kills Coyote vs. Acme for Tax Write-Off, Continuing David Zaslav’s Reign of Terror

I’m not sure there’s a more callously inept person in Hollywood than David Zaslav, the head of Warner Bros. Discovery and active bully of the industry. Right around the time the SAG-AFTRA strike ended (coincidence, I'm sure), it was announced that Zaslav had unceremoniously axed Coyote vs. Acme, and upcoming hybrid animation/live-action movie starring John Cena. Produced and partly written by James Gunn and directed by Dave Green, the film was set to follow Wile E. Coyote of Looney Tunes fame and his plan to sue the Acme Corporation for their faulty gadgets.

According to every report I’ve seen on this, Coyote vs. Acme tested incredibly well and seemed like a slam-dunk for the company that has recently lamented not having enough family-friendly content (says the dude who spent 2022 cutting most of the classic Looney Tunes and Sesame Street episodes from HBO Max.) It also had a big star at its helm and the current head of DC Entertainment producing. The movie is complete, and had interest from other studios if W.B. felt like dropping it. But nope, instead, it’s being deleted, Batgirl style. And all for a $30 million tax write-off.

(Director Dave Green’s statement, via Twitter.)

David Zaslav is a cultural vandal. He’s not the only one in the business. Indeed, it’s run by them, but he is the most volatile and stupid of the bunch. What is the business acumen behind ditching a completed film, further pissing off your target audience, and slapping one of your most important team members in the face like this? Like, who benefits? Is that tax write-off really so important? It’s pennies by this company’s standards. Why would anyone want to work with Warner Bros. after this? They’d better be glad that Gunn is locked into a big contract right now because otherwise, I’m sure he would jump ship. Honestly, I’m stunned that Barbie ended up being released now that we know how little regard Zaslav has for every aspect of the business.

Everything is #content to Zaslav, a man who is petty beyond belief and doesn’t actually seem to like film, TV, or anything of even the vaguest artistic merit. Whatever short-term gains WBD gets from his mass destruction will only hurt them in the long term. Alas, when he is finally pushed out, he’ll still get a seven or eight-figure payday to cushion the blow while every filmmaker in town wonders if their hard work will be deleted next.

And while I’m at it, all the smarmy losers on social media who think that deleting any kind of project like this is fair should walk into the sea. It doesn’t matter if the film is good or bad. What matters is a corporation deciding it can erase from existence anything it wants, and not have to compensate the thousands of people who made it. This is anti-art.

3. Keke Palmers Gets Restraining Order Against Ex, Alleging Physical and Mental Abuse

Over the summer, Keke Palmer’s now ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson made headlines after he tried to publicly embarrass and slut-shame her when she attended an Usher concert. This week, Palmer filed a restraining order against Jackson, alleging that he physically and mentally abused her over the course of their relationship. Palmer has filed a protective order and requested sole custody of their son.

According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Palmer alleged that there have been “many instances of physical violence” with Jackson that include “destroying my personal property, including diaries and prescription eyeglasses, throwing my belongings into the street, throwing my car keys to prevent me from driving away, hitting [me] in front of our son, spewing profanities about me to our son, threatening to kill himself with a gun if I left him, harassment, and other physical and emotional abuse.” Soon thereafter, images of CCTV footage emerged that showed Jackson assaulting her. In one screenshot, it appears that Jackson is strangling her.

I’m so relieved that Palmer and her son are safe. Getting out of an abusive relationship is not easy, even for those with the financial resources to do so. Everyone got their jokes in when Jackson tried to drag Keke when she dared to enjoy herself in public, which cannot help but feel ghoulish in retrospect. Strangulation in the context of domestic violence is especially dangerous. According to a 2008 case study, women who are strangled by their partners are far more likely to be murdered by them. The odds of becoming a homicide victim increased eight-fold for women strangled by their partner. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 40% of Black women have experienced intimate partner physical violence, who also note that the criminal justice system in America means that "Law enforcement officials often arrest Black survivors, and police, jurors, and judges are less likely to believe Black survivors than white survivors."

What hasn’t surprised me, unfortunately, is the sheer volume of pick-mes, misogynists, and clickbait-driven creeps who have decided to target Palmer over this case. Palmer has long been a private individual who keeps her personal life and business separate from her extensive work as an actor, producer, singer, presenter, etc. She went through the courts, she offered her evidence, and she got ahead of any press speculation (an unfortunately necessary part of any celebrity’s life on matters as achingly personal as this.) None of that is enough for men who hate women, especially those who have turned it into a business. Look at Amber Heard, Megan Thee Stallion, Evan Rachel Wood, FKA Twigs, and too many others to count. They demand evidence of the abuse, but when they provide it, they’re told it’s not enough or it’s photoshopped or it’s too hazy to tell. They’re badgered over why they didn’t come forward sooner, why would they date a guy like that in the first place, why would they try to ruin a precious little boy’s life like that?

A hell of a lot of people made a ton of money turning Heard’s life and legal abuses into content. Many blogs did the same for Megan when she was literally shot. People made f**king Etsy merchandise of both women’s pain. I’m terrified the same thing will happen to Keke Palmer but hope I’m proven wrong. She deserves peace and justice.

The Safe Sisters Circle is a nonprofit that provides free culturally specific, holistic, and trauma-based services to Black women survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault primarily living in Washington, DC's Wards 7 and 8. Please consider making a donation.

4. Nicki Minaj Regrets Plastic Surgery (But Not Marrying the Convicted Rapist)

Nicki Minaj is the cover star for U.S. Vogue. Rob Haskell, one of their regular profilers, did the interview. As one would expect from a Vogue cover profile, it’s pretty soft stuff, promoting her upcoming album and reinforcing her status as the queen of rap. Interviewing Minaj is always a tricky one, especially if you don’t want to come into conflict with her notoriously ferocious fanbase (oh god, the Barbz.) These profiles are not intended to rock the boat with any subject, so Haskell plays it safe, aside from a weird Trump-related opening that has nothing to do with the story. It emphasizes that she’s “never recorded a rap that she did not author”, even if Remy Ma says differently. A lot of time is spent on her recording process and perfectionism, which is pretty interesting. Seeing artists at work is typically the best part of these profiles, at least when the subject isn’t telling all.

Perhaps the most candid moment came not from the actual profile but the magazine’s podcast, Run-Through With Vogue. Minaj sat down for an interview and admitted to regretting the cosmetic surgery she’d undergone over the years. She said:

“I guarantee you, if you change anything on your body and do anything surgical and all this, you’re going to — more than likely, not definitely, more than likely — look back one day and say, ‘I was fine just the way I was.’ That’s what happened to me. I could not believe even some of the photos that I didn’t love.”

She specifically mentions her breast and butt implants, which have been the subject of much speculation over the years. It’s become more common for celebrities to admit to regretting their work (hello, Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid), although it typically follows years of denying the procedures ever happened. It’s a tough bind for people in the public eye: look perfect but don’t ever admit the sheer amount of labour and money required to maintain it. The lack of transparency over such work has always irked me. I’d love to see more people be honest about it, like SZA discussing her BBL.

This confession from Minaj is a rare moment of candour, but it is interesting that it's not in the actual profile. Was the subject ever raised by Haskell? How much was cut from the first draft? Remember, these pieces ultimately exist to please the subject far more than the reader. If that wasn't the case, then Minaj's convicted rapist husband would be referred to in more detail than being described merely as "a high school flame with a checkered past." He is a level two registered sex offender in New York and spent several years in jail for both attempted rape in the first degree and first-degree manslaughter.

Minaj has frequently defended her husband. In October 2021, she and Petty were sued by his victim over an alleged campaign of threats and harassment. I feel like, under normal journalistic standards, you’d want to bring that up in an interview. But it’s Vogue. The balls are decidedly soft.

5. Jezebel Shut Down by G/O Media, Because The Industry Hates Itself

(Via Jezebel.com - RIP.)

My boss Dustin, over on Pajiba, said that "G/O Media has to be the worst-run web-publishing company in the business." The competition for that battered crown is tough, but I think G/O takes it because it's astonishing how much they've desecrated their own work. When the company bought the former Gawker sites, they lost all their Deadspin writers because they wouldn’t let them write about politics. The A.V. Club is a shadow of its former self, having pushed out all its star writers and left AI chatbots to churn out inaccurate clickbait. A number of Kotaku writers jumped ship to make their own site. Now, Jezebel is gone. Twenty-three staff members have reportedly been laid off. They’ve all been kicked out of their Slacks and reportedly lost access to their email. G/O claims it's because of the lack of synergy between advertising partners between its various sites. Essentially, those darn ladies were writing too much about feminism and politics for them to sell off ad space.

I hate how often this happens. A brilliant site builds a unique identity and fosters a dedicated readership. Some douchebag tech bros buy it and promise nothing will change. Then the work starts getting more derivative. Writers are pushed out. We hear whispers over terrible workplace conditions. The place becomes a shell of its former self. Then it’s gone, swallowed up by AI-created clickbait or simply dissolved altogether.

Jezebel was often messy and negative, but it also made an indelible impact on internet history. It deserved better than to be killed by a thousand cuts, driven by men who think that, unless something is making a million dollar a day, it’s worthless. So many women-driven sites are gone now, and a lot of the best writers struggling to make a living amid stagnating wages and decreasing opportunities. The internet is simply not democratic, if it ever was, but it will only get worse with this CEO mentality that looks at what David Zaslav does and says, “Hold my beer.” As 404 noted in an extensive piece, advertisers don’t want sites like Jezebel to exist. So, cling to your favourite independent sites, support your writers, and hope that G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller spends the rest of his life walking barefoot on Lego bricks.

6. Darren Aronofsky And A24 Are Making the Elon Musk Movie. No, Thank You

(Image via Wikimedia Commons.)

After directing the truly abysmal Oscar bait The Whale, Darren Aronofsky has signed on to make an Elon Musk film with A24. Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Apartheid Clyde will provide the basis for the screenplay, which doesn't exactly bode well for this movie. A24 is trying to get more into mainstream commercial fare after a solid decade as every Film Twitter person's favourite indie company. They need to make some actual money following a few big flops (justice for Beau is Afraid.)

My instinct with stuff like this is to say "too soon", but you can make excellent stories out of very recent history. But Musk's story isn't over yet. Twitter isn't quite dead and it feels like we have many years left to watch this loser destroy every iota of goodwill he built up selling himself as the real-life Tony Stark (I can't believe that worked.) Still, this project does feel kind of inevitable. You just know that the moment Musk bought Twitter (which I refuse to call X because I’m not a nine-year-old boy), every producer was preparing a pitch for a series akin to The Dropout or that WeWork thing.

But who to play Space Karen… Okay, here me out — Brendan Fraser. Seriously, I think he’d ace it. He’s so good at playing men who veer between charming, snivelling, and malicious. Just check out The Quiet American for proof of that.

That’s it for this week. Did you enjoy this feature? What else would you like this this newsletter. Let me know! You can find me on Twitter (I’m going down with that ship), BlueSky, and Instagram. Check my work out on Pajiba.com and a bunch of other places.