The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees is striking against “CoComelon: The Melon Patch” in protest over wages and working conditions.
The union representing crew members working on the live-action YouTube series said the workers are being overworked and that the production is understaffed.
The crew, which consists of 22 workers, recently signed cards seeking the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE, to represent them in collective bargaining. The production’s management refused to bargain, according to the workers.
“The crew on this project experienced firsthand what working conditions can be like on a non-union production and organized for fair wages and industry-standard benefits after they started the second season,” IATSE said in a statement to The Times.
The strike began on Wednesday, halfway through the series’ shoot. The workers are currently picketing outside the Stage This studio in Sun Valley.
Moonbug Entertainment, the company behind the “CoComelon” franchise, declined to comment on the matter.
Several previous “CoComelon” productions have successfully been unionized and covered by IATSE’s contract, including the Netflix series.
Chris Roberts worked as an art director on the first season, but says he was initially offered a lower rate for season two. Though the project is non-union, he said it’s ironic to have to picket a company that makes kids’ content, as he’s unable to support his own family.
“It’s a little disheartening to be offered less money than we were paid in the first season and then have less staff, a heavier workload, and not be able to provide for my kids,” said Roberts, who has been a member of IATSE since 2016.
Everything we know about Alex Cora during his rudely interrupted tenure as manager of the Boston Red Sox lines up almost perfectly with everything we knew about him as a Dodgers player more than 20 years ago.
He communicates exceptionally well. He quietly makes a positive contribution. He handles failure admirably. Win or lose, he exhibits class.
Nothing has tested those traits more than what Cora, 50, endured over the last week. The man known throughout baseball as AC was fired by Boston on April 26, turned down an offer to manage the Philadelphia Phillies a day later, then while home in Puerto Rico saw that an ultimatum he made last season to general manager Craig Breslow was reported by the Boston Globe.
Cora somehow found time to pen an expression of gratitude to the Red Sox organization and fans.
“Thank you for treating me with respect and most importantly accept me as AC,” he wrote. “I’m grateful for this experience, it made me better….
“Thank you for the hard work, sleepless nights, professionalism and effort to help me lead this great organization.”
Communication and class until the end, no doubt. Yet the single blemish on his resume is eternally painful to Dodgers fans.
Alex Cora was fired as manager of the Boston Red Sox on April 26.
(Nick Wass/AP)
Cora was the Houston Astros bench coach in 2017 when the Dodgers were victimized by a sign-stealing scheme during the World Series, which the Astros won in seven games.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a report in January 2020 that detailed how in 2017 and 2018 the Astros illegally used electronic equipment to steal signs. Cora was central to the scheme, the report saying he “arranged for a video-room technician to install a monitor displaying the center-field camera feed immediately outside of the Astros dugout.”
By 2020, though, Cora was beloved in Boston for piloting the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series championship over the Dodgers in his first season as manager. Nevertheless he was fired a day after the report was released and suspended by MLB for the 2020 season.
Dodgers second baseman Alex Cora during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers in May 2004.
(Morry Gash / Associated Press)
The mea culpa was well-received by the trio and underscored Cora’s ability to smooth over even the most awkward situations.
“I’m going to be 100% honest with you — I just felt like I wanted to cry at that moment when he said that,” Jansen told a Boston radio station. “I felt like a weight came off.”
It’s now known that Cora backed his coaches when Breslow wanted to fire several of them last season. The Globe reported that Cora told the general manager that the Red Sox would have to fire him as well.
Breslow backed down then but not last week, firing five coaches along with Cora.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombroski responded swiftly, making Cora an offer even before firing manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday. The well-traveled Dombroski has led four franchises to a World Series — an MLB record — including one alongside Cora with the Red Sox in 2018, and the offer to jump to the Phillies was tempting.
But Cora put family first, telling Dombroski he wanted to take time with his fiancée, Angelica, and twin 8-year-old sons, Xander and Isander. After all, he is still under contract with the Red Sox through 2027, and is owed $14 million.
That’s about what he earned in 14 seasons as an infielder properly labeled as a good-field, no-hit, great clubhouse presence. Cora was the Dodgers’ primary shortstop in 2000 and 2001, then moved to second base through 2004.
The Dodgers’ center fielder from 2002 to the 2004 midseason was Dave Roberts, the current Dodgers manager who remains a close friend of Cora. The 2018 World Series was the first to feature two minority managers — a point of pride for the Puerto Rican-born Cora and Roberts, who is half-black and half-Japanese.
Cora won a World Series as a Red Sox reserve in 2007 and finished with a career batting average of .243 with a paltry 35 home runs in 3,825 plate appearances — the most memorable of which came May 12, 2004.
Cora capped an 18-pitch at-bat that included 14 foul balls with a home run against Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Clement.
“What a moment! 9:23 on the scoreboard, if you want to write it down for history. What an at-bat!” Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed. “That’s one of the finest at-bats I’ve ever seen, and to top it off with a home run, that is really shocking.”
Cora took a curtain call from the Dodger Stadium crowd and Scully said, “Yeah take a bow, Alex! You deserve it and then some!”
What Cora almost undoubtedly has earned now is another shot at managing. His 620-541 record is well above average. His reputation — sign-stealing scandal notwithstanding — is glowing.
The Phillies hired former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly on an interim basis and likely will circle back to Cora after the season. If not, other teams are expected to come calling.
The Kings looked nothing like a playoff team heading into the NHL’s trade deadline. They had lost six of their last eight games, had just fired their coach and had saw their second-leading scorer go down with a broken leg in the Olympic tournament.
They were backing away from the playoffs, not heading toward them. So general manager Ken Holland did the prudent thing and largely stood pat, trading a couple of veterans for draft picks and making only a pair of minor acquisitions.
Turns out he wasn’t waving a white flag but rather a green one because the Kings hit the gas after that, gathering points in 16 of their final 20 games, finishing the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. That earned them a fifth straight trip to the playoffs and a first-round meeting with the Colorado Avalanche, the league’s winningest team, beginning Sunday in Denver.
The Ducks, meanwhile, advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2018 but they stumbled in, losing eight of their last 10 and blowing a five-point lead in the Pacific Division and the home-ice advantage that went with it over the final three weeks. The Ducks, the third-place team in the Pacific Division, will start on the road in Edmonton on Monday.
Kings interim coach D.J. Smith during a game in March in Boston.
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
“It’s been a climb. Probably didn’t look very good a while ago,” said Kings interim coach D.J. Smith, who could lose the interim part of that title after going 11-6-6 after replacing Jim Hiller behind the bench with 23 games to play. “It’s a credit to the guys, the leadership. They played playoff hockey for a while now. And it’s allowed us this opportunity.”
Actually, crediting the Kings with playing playoff hockey isn’t necessarily a compliment since the team hasn’t won a postseason series since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2014. But it’s been more than a decade since the Kings have entered the playoffs carrying this kind of momentum and they have a few people to thank for that.
Anton Forsberg has been key for the Kings down the stretch.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Journeyman goaltender Anton Forsberg, who spent most of his first season in Los Angeles backing up Darcy Kuemper, won five straight starts in April to key the Kings’ fast finish. Russian winger Artemi Panarin, acquired from the New York Rangers just before the Olympic break and a month before the trade deadline, contributed nine goals and 18 assists in 26 games, helping make up for the loss of forwards Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko to injuries. And Quinton Byfield scored 10 times in his final 13 games to set a career high with 24 goals.
“Since the break I feel like we’ve really come together as a group,” Byfield said.
The team displayed uncommon grit as well, going to overtime an NHL-record 33 times. (They lost 20 of those games; if they have gotten the second point in just a third of those, they would have won the division.)
And finally, the Kings were also fueled by a desire to give captain Anze Kopitar one more chance at a title. Kopitar, who announced in September that this season would be his last, gave an emotional good-bye speech to the fans after the final regular-season home game. His teammates were determined to give him an encore in the playoffs.
“That had a lot to do with it,” Smith said. “Guys were playing for him. He gets one more chance to play at home.
“We found a way.”
Kopitar, however, credited his coach for the team’s fast finish.
“Once Smithy came in, he just changed the energy a little bit and we’re trying to be a little more aggressive versus sitting back,” said Kopitar, the Kings’ all-time leader in games, points and assists.
Cutter Gauthier is the first Duck to score 40 goals in a season since Corey Perry in 2013-14.
(Melissa Majchrzak / Associated Press)
For the Ducks, they’re not only returning to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons — only the Detroit Red Wings have a longer active postseason drought — but they also posted a winning record for the first time since 2018.
Troy Terry, who played two games as a rookie that season, is the only Duck remaining from that team.
“This year has just felt different from the start,” he said. “It was less question marks about the potential of the team. We knew what we could be.”
Which isn’t to say it’s been easy. The team had two seven-game winning streaks but also weathered losing streaks of nine and six games.
“We had a couple of roller coasters there, starting and then slowing down and getting back on it,” said coach Joel Quenneville, who has taken five teams to the NHL playoffs, winning three Stanley Cups in Chicago.
The Ducks’ 273 goals this season are the most in franchise history but the 288 they allowed is third-worst all time, leaving the team with the second-highest goal differential of any playoff team. (Only the Kings are worse at -22.)
Speaking of history, winger Cutter Gauthier, with 18 goals in the final 23 games, is the first Duck to score 40 goals in a season since Corey Perry in 2013-14. At 22, he’s also the second-youngest to get there, trailing only Paul Kariya.
Amid allegations of three domestic violence incidents involving reality TV star Taylor Frankie Paul, fans are worried about whether MomTok can survive this.
Paul, who gained an online following after founding MomTok — a loosely connected group of TikTokers who made content about their lives as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — previously pleaded guilty in abeyance to a third-degree felony count of aggravated assault following a fight with former boyfriend Dakota Mortensen in 2023.
MomTok inspired the Hulu reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” which follows eight women in Salt Lake City who grapple with their relationship with the church. The first season explored the fallout of the group’s “soft swinging” scandal, which Paul exposed on TikTok prior to filming.
Throughout its four seasons, “Mormon Wives” has featured lighthearted content like the moms’ love of the soda shop Swig and more weighty topics, including gender roles within the Mormon church. “Mormon Wives” has also crossed over with various Disney reality shows, including “Dancing With the Stars,”“The Bachelorette” and “Vanderpump Villa.”
However, filming on Season 5 of “Mormon Wives” was paused and Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” was shelved in the wake of domestic abuse allegations. A second investigation, which began in late February, gained even more attention when a video from Paul’s 2023 domestic dispute with Mortensen was made public. The footage showed Paul putting Mortensen in a headlock and throwing metal barstools while the couple fought. Paul’s daughter can be heard crying and was injured during the incident, according to the police report.
2020: The birth of MomTok
Paul, Whitney Leavitt, Mayci Neeley and Mikayla Matthews begin making videos together on TikTok. Their content focuses on motherhood and their relationship with the church mixed with dancing and skits.
May 2022: The Pauls split
Paul posts a video on TikTok announcing her divorce from her husband, Tate Paul. Fans begin speculating what led to their divorce.
May 25, 2022: ’Soft swinging’ scandal emerges
On TikTok Live, Paul explains that she and her husband had been in an open relationship and were part of a “soft swinging” group with other members of MomTok. Paul says she had violated the group’s rules by meeting with a partner without her husband’s knowledge, which contributed to their divorce.
Feb. 17, 2023: Paul is arrested
Hulu begins filming the first season of “Mormon Wives.” After a fight with Mortensen, Paul is arrested and charged with assault, criminal mischief and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child, according to the Herriman Police Department. Filming of the show is put on hold during the investigation.
August 2023: Paul enters a plea deal
Paul enters a plea in abeyance to a third-degree felony count of aggravated assault. The agreement allows charges to be reduced after three years, if Paul meets the requirements of her plea deal.
Dakota Mortensen and Taylor Frankie Paul share 2-year-old son Ever.
(Fred Hayes / Disney)
March 19, 2024: Paul and Mortensen welcome a son
Paul has a son, Ever, with Mortensen. While the pair had been dating throughout Paul’s pregnancy, they choose to end their relationship and co-parent their son.
Sept. 6, 2024: ‘Mormon Wives’ debuts
The first season of “Mormon Wives” is released on Hulu. The series follows cast members Jen Affleck, Jessi Draper, Demi Engemann and Layla Taylor, as well as Leavitt, Neeley, Matthews and Paul from the original group of MomTokers. The pilot episode, “The First Book of Taylor,” explores the fallout of the swinging scandal and ends with Paul’s 2023 arrest. The second episode picks up nearly a year after the incident.
The show is Hulu’s most-watched unscripted season premiere of 2024 and is renewed just a month after its premiere.
October 2024: On again
Mortensen and Paul seemingly reconcile their relationship.
December 2025: Off again
Paul and Mortensen break up. On Christmas, Paul posts on TikTok that she “wouldn’t wish this pain upon anyone.”
Demi Engemann, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Layla Taylor, Whitney Leavitt, Miranda Hope and Taylor Frankie Paul in Season 2 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”
(Fred Hayes / Disney)
May 15, 2025: Season 2 premieres
Season 2 of “Mormon Wives” is released. Miranda Hope joins the cast.
Sept. 10, 2025: Paul gets her roses
During an episode of Alex Cooper’s hit podcast “Call Her Daddy,” Paul announces she will star as “The Bachelorette.” Paul is the first-ever Bachelorette to have not competed on “The Bachelor.”
Fall 2025: Mortensen‘s mea culpa
While FaceTiming Paul before she begins filming “The Bachelorette,” Mortensen apologizes for his behavior and tells Paul “save a rose for me.” This conversation is shown in the fourth season of the show in March 2026.
Nov. 13, 2025: Season 3 debuts
”Mormon Wives” Season 3 premieres.
Feb. 24-25, 2026: A second investigation opens
The Draper City Police Department makes contact with Paul and Mortensen regarding an open “domestic assault investigation” between the two, with allegations being made in both directions.
March 12, 2026: Season 4 drops
Season 4 of “Mormon Wives” is released.
March 16, 2026: ‘Mormon Wives’ filming halts
Filming for Season 5 of “Mormon Wives” is paused as the new investigation involving Paul and Mortensen becomes public.
Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” was canceled three days before it was set to premiere.
(Michael Kirchoff / Disney)
TMZ publishes a previously unreleased video taken by Mortensen during his February 2023 altercation with Paul. It shows Paul throwing barstools at Mortensen as her then-5-year-old daughter cries. After the video’s release, ABC cancels Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette.”
March 20, 2026: The court intervenes
Mortensen is granted temporary custody of Ever, his 2-year-old son with Paul, according to documents obtained by People.
March 24, 2026: A third investigation opens
The West Jordan Police Department in Utah begins investigating a third incident of domestic abuse between Paul and Mortensen, which occurred in “early-mid 2024.” No charges have been filed as the investigation is ongoing.
Paul has been denied visitation until their protective order hearing on April 7, which may determine whether a final protective order is granted by the court.
One month into the high school baseball season, it’s clear that junior third baseman and relief pitcher Troy Randall of Corona Santiago is headed to standout status.
So far, he’s batting .444 with 20 hits and only two strikeouts in 45 at-bats. As a pitcher, he’s given up no earned runs in eight innings with 13 strikeouts.
“He’s just been maturing,” coach Ty De Trinidad said.
Randall showed up as a 6-foot freshman and played junior varsity. Now he’s 6-2 and healthy after a broken foot last year interrupted his first season on varsity.
He made two terrific defensive plays on Wednesday in a loss to Corona and also had two hits.
His development has been important for Santiago, which is 10-3.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
PHOENIX — After a few days away, Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts returned to Camelback Ranch over the weekend, now a father of three after his wife, Brianna, gave birth.
The 33-year-old Betts said earlier in camp he was looking to ease into spring training ahead of his 13th major league season in an effort to turn the page from a career-worst statistical year in 2025. There have been encouraging signs as he’s hitting .316 in Cactus League play, which includes a home run in Sunday’s split-squad win over the Chicago Cubs.
“I just want to get better,” Betts said. “I’m not content with being where I’m at. I want to continue to get better in life and everything, and you know, be able to kind of teach my son how to be great. You know, I’ve got to go through it first. When you’re open-minded, there’s endless possibilities.”
Betts kept an open mind when he first learned of teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s unique workout routine, which includes javelin throwing, yoga, and working with personal trainer Osamu Yada. Betts credits his improved defense at shortstop to the new training methods that he’s adopted.
“I’m not fully in his whole routine,” Betts said of Yada, who is often referred to as Yada Sensei. “But I wake up every morning and do my stretch routine that Sensei showed me, throwing the javelins every day. I think throwing javelins is the reason why I can make a play in the hole like that and throw it in the air on a line. I’m really grateful for Yoshi and Sensei, because they have definitely changed my perspective, changed my life, changed my game.”
Betts graded as a below-average defender in his first season at the shortstop position in 2024, posting a minus-6 in Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-3 in Outs Above Average. Last season, he saw a sizable improvement, leading MLB shortstops in DRS (+17) and placing in the top-third in OAA (+6).
It wasn’t hard for Betts to look at Yamamoto and think that the Japanese superstar may have been onto something.
“So I mean, Yoshi came over and [got] $300 million, and he hadn’t even thrown a pitch over here,” Betts said. “So, I’m pretty sure he does something right.”
Betts has yet to see the workouts translate offensively, but expects that to come in due time.
“He said eventually I’ll feel where it helps me hitting, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet,” Betts said. “I think he should be back, so you’ll see us back working, and eventually I’ll get it, but he said it will take a little time.”
In the meantime, Betts believes he’s found an easy fix that should return him to the MVP-caliber player he had been for close to a decade. Betts says he lost 10 mph in bat speed last season.
“I think the most important part is now that I think I’m 178 [pounds] now, almost 180 [pounds], so I’m able to just have speed,” Betts said. “When I lost all the weight, I was down 10 mph in speed. You’ve got guys throwing 100 mph with a slow bat, it’s going to be hard to do. It’s not an excuse, but it’s a fact. So, now I’ve got my speed back, I don’t have to hurry up and make decisions so fast.”
Said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: “I like where he’s at physically. He looks stronger.”
A stomach illness prompted Betts to lose 15 to 20 pounds . last spring, putting him behind the eight-ball, and he never quite caught up after that.
“[I was] down 10 mph in bat speed,” Betts said. “Do you know how hard it is for somebody that weighs 160 lbs. to gain bat speed, to gain strength and play a game all at the same time during the season? It’s tough to do. I tried it. I failed at it. But we’re in a new spot now, and we’ll try to stay here.”
