Willie Colón, a legendary trombonist and pioneer of salsa music, has died. He was 75.
His death on Saturday was confirmed in a Facebook post by his longtime manager, Pietro Carlos.
News of the singer’s condition circulated on the web in recent days. Yonkers Voice News reported Colón was admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester hospital in Bronxville, N.Y., on Tuesday with respiratory problems and he appeared fragile.
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Born William Anthony Colón Román on April 28, 1950, to Puerto Rican parents in New York City, Colón first picked up the trumpet in school. It seemed like a natural choice for the former bugle-playing Boy Scout, who attended the youth program at the suggestion of his grandmother.
“So I could learn how to be a good boy,” said Colón in a 1988 interview with Associated Press.
By age 13, Colón had started a band and played at some weddings and in the bustling nightclubs of New York City. At one point, he forged a cabaret card, a mandated ID for musicians and entertainers between 1940 and 1967 who worked in establishments serving alcohol, which required individuals to be 18 years and older.
The thrilling 1960s Latin music scene in New York consumed Colón, who was deeply inspired by Latin jazz pioneer and bandleader Eddie Palmieri, once part of a main act at the Palladium Ballroom who went on to form La Perfecta, a Cuban conjunto that revolutionized the New York Latin music scene with its inclusion of two trombones, played by Barry Rogers and Jose Rodriguez, instead of the costly four-set trumpets.
But Colón’s instrumental preference changed once he heard the bodied timbre of Mon Rivera’s all-trombone brass lineup marching to a bomba beat. “It would knock my socks off,” said Colón in a 1988 interview with Associated Press, leading the singer to teach himself how to play the instrument.
By age 15, Colón was signed to Fania Records. Two years later at age 17, he went on to release his debut album, “El Malo,” a record that defined the fierce sounds of New York’s salsa scene, which Colón later described as the Latin equivalent of rap.
According to his former label, the name of “El Malo” was bestowed upon Colón by older musicians who sought to mock his trombone range at the time, though the young bandleader would find a way to use the label to his advantage.
On the LP, Colón’s sound moved away from the polished mambo sounds of orchestral bands decades prior, in large part due to Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoe, whose vocals can be heard in tracks like the gritty “El Malo” that vows to knock out any wanna-be street phony.
The pair would go on to record a total of 14 albums through 1973, with Lavoe’s talents for improvisation complementing Colón’s raw, aggressive trombone.
“Salsa came from the same kind of situation that rap does,” Colon said in a 1992 interview with The Times. “It was kind of a hybrid of a bunch of different elements. Hector had just come from Puerto Rico and didn’t speak English. I didn’t speak much Spanish, I was a little New York kid. We got together and just started with the same kind of irreverent, rebellious attitude, writing songs about the baddest guy on the block, drugs and sex. Before that, the lyrics and whole attitude of Latin music was, ‘Look at me dance, listen to those drums, I’m cutting sugar cane.’ It was a rural, folkloric emphasis; we changed it to an inner-city kind of culture.”
Colón’s impact went beyond live music. The album cover of “El Malo,” which showed two serious profiles of Colón, depicted the singer as a sly bad boy, and ultimately gave rise to his gangster persona, which would be a throughline in future projects, including his sophomore 1968 album, “The Hustler” which featured the band with fitted suits, smoking cigars and placing bets in a pool hall. His 1970 album “Cosa Nuestra” featured Colón smoking a cigar while overlooking a dead body in broad daylight in Manhattan’s East River Bikeway. Most famously, his 1971 album, “La Gran Fuga,” depicted the singer on a fake FBI “Most Wanted” poster.
These mob-like depictions occurred long before cult-favorite films like Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 “The Godfather” and Brian De Palma 1983’s “Scarface” became the prominent gangster storylines various male acts venerate in their music.
By 1973, Colón and Lavoe split — allegedly due to Lavoe’s drug addiction leading to many missed concert performances — although the two would remain frequent collaborators until the latter’s death in 1993 due to complications of AIDS.
The Nuyorican musician would introduce Blades as the new singer of his orchestra, whom he had met years prior while visiting Panama during carnivals. They collaborated briefly on Colón’s 1975 LP “The Good, the Bad, the Ugly,” cementing their partnership in the 1977 album “Metiendo Mano,” which delved into socio-political themes, notably in their track “Pablo Pueblo,” which shares the story of a working class man with broken dreams halted by toils of daily life. Other tracks like “Plantación Adentro,” detailed the story of Camilo Manrique, a fictionalized enslaved character who died at the hands of a Spanish colonizer in 1745.
Many considered this album Colón’s first foray into intellectual salsa — in large part because of Blades, who had a knack for storytelling and political interests (he unsuccessfully ran for president of Panama in 1994) — that addressed colonialism and class disparities. Together they released three albums, including their 1978 “Siembra,” one of the bestselling salsa albums at that time; from the start, their track “Plastico” fused the popular disco music of the moment while addressing superficial beauty standards and colorism in Latin America.
According to 1996 reporting by The Times, “Siembra” delivered pulsating salsa rhythms that “carried messages of freedom at a time when most of Latin America was oppressed by military dictatorships.”
By 1982, Blades and Colón parted ways, but they collaborated again on projects like their 2005 LP “Tras La Tormenta” — which led the bandleader to sing for the first time in his career, “I had to start from zero, and it took me many years to feel comfortable,” Colón said.
This newfound independence gave rise to some of Colón’s most famous songs, including his 1995 track “Talento de Televisión,” an upbeat song with his signature trombone wailing in the backdrop as he sang about an attractive woman with a lack of talent.
Many across Latin America might be familiar with his 1989 song “El Gran Varon” — which narrated the story of a trans woman who is rejected by her father and presumably dies of AIDS — a landmark salsa song that brought awareness to LGBTQ+ themes during the AIDS crisis. Colón would later serve as a member of the Latino Commission on AIDS. “El Gran Varon” is an anthem to this day.
Colón released more than 40 albums in all.
He also acted, taking roles in films including 1982’s “Vigilante,” the 1983 sports drama “The Last Fight,” as well as one-episode stints in TV shows like “Miami Vice” and “The Cosby Show.” He was even featured in Bad Bunny’s “Nuevayol” music video, cutting a slice of cake; the 31-year-old superstar pays homage to the singer in its lyrics: “Willie Colón, me dicen el malo, ey. Porque pasan los años y sigo dando palo”/ “Willie Colón, they say I’m bad, because the years come and I’m still hitting.”
In his later years, he became more involved in politics. In 1994, he unsuccessfully went up against U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel of the Bronx in the Democratic primary. He also ran as a Democrat for Public Advocate in 2001, focusing on community issues, education and AIDS awareness, but failed to gain the popular vote. In 2008, he endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton over Barack Obama in the primary election.
On May 26, 2014, after graduating from Westchester County Police Academy, Colón was sworn in as a deputy sheriff for the Department of Public Safety, later becoming deputy lieutenant.
As President Trump took office in his first term, Colón’s politics shifted in support of the right-wing candidate, and he said he would be open to performing at his inauguration in 2017.
WASHINGTON — President Trump can’t seem to stop talking about Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
He refused to invite him to a White House dinner later this week with state leaders from both parties, saying he was “not worthy” of the event. And he has castigated Moore for a sewage spill that has spoiled the Potomac River, even though the faulty pipe is part of a federally regulated utility.
There could soon be more reasons for Trump to complain about Moore, the nation’s only Black governor currently in office. Moore is trying to redraw Maryland’s congressional map to boost Democrats, part of a nationwide redistricting battle that Trump started to help Republicans in the midterm elections.
If Moore can overcome resistance from a key member of his own party in the state legislature, the tide could continue to shift in Democrats’ favor.
Moore, who is frequently floated as a potential Democratic presidential candidate, is the vice chair of the National Governors Assn., which is meeting in Washington this week for its annual conference. He sat down with the Associated Press on Wednesday at the start of his visit. Here is a transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity.
Redistricting
Q: You met with Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries to talk about redistricting. Can you tell me what your understanding was leaving that meeting and whether there will be an up-and-down vote in the Maryland legislature?
A: All we’re asking for is a vote. And however the vote goes, however the vote goes. But that’s democracy.
Q: What do you see as your role in the party?
A: I don’t look at it as I’m doing it because I’m trying to help a party per se. I’m doing it because I think we have an unchecked executive and right now Congress does not seem interested in actually doing its job and establishing real checks and balances.
And I’m watching what Donald Trump is doing. This would not be an issue had it not been for Donald Trump saying, you know what, let me come up with every creative way I can think of to make this pain permanent. And one of the ways he did was he said, let’s just start calling states — the states I choose — to say let’s have a redistricting conversation mid-decade.
This would not even be an issue had Donald Trump not brought this up and introduced this into the ecosystem.
Trump relationship
Q: Speaking of the president, do you have thoughts on why he’s been stepping up his criticism of you on everything from not inviting you to the dinner to his criticism of the Potomac River sewage spill?
A: This one would actually be comical if it weren’t so serious. This is a Washington, D.C., pipe that exists on federal land. How this has anything to do with Maryland, I have no idea. I think he just woke up and just said, I hate Maryland so I’m just going to introduce them into a conversation. This literally has nothing to do with us, with the exception of the fact that when we first heard about what happened, that I ordered our team to assist Washington, D.C.
The short answer is I don’t know. I cannot get into the president’s psyche.
Q: Do you think it’s personal?
A: I know it’s not for me. I have no desire to have beef with the president of the United States. I didn’t run for governor like, man, I can’t wait so me and the president can go toe to toe. I have no desire on that. But the fact that he is waking up in the middle of the night and tweeting about me, I just, I pray for him and I just feel bad for him because that has just got to be a really, really hard existence.
Trump and Black History Month
Q: The White House is holding an event right now commemorating Black History Month. Could you share your thoughts on the president’s relationship with the Black community?
A: Listen, I think the president has long had a very complicated history with the Black community. We’re talking about a person who has been sued from his earliest days from his treatment of Black tenants. We’re talking about a person who is one of the originators of birtherism. We’re talking about a person who has now spent his time trying to ban books about Black history, a person who has spent his time now doing the greatest assault on unemployment of Black women in our nation’s history. You know, so, I’m not sure what anyone is going to gain from an event by Donald Trump about Black history.
2028
Q: Do you think the next presidential nominee on both sides might come from this group of governors?
A: I see the governors as in many ways the final line of defense because I think it’s never mattered more who your governor is.
Q: The country is so polarized. How do we break the fever?
A: You stay consistent with who you are. I think if you’re a polarizing person or polarizing personality, then that’s just who you are. That’s just never been me.
Cappelletti and Sloan write for the Associated Press.
Few places in Ukraine have been spared from the impact of the Ukraine war, including the radioactive exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Al Jazeera’s Nils Adler has been seeing how the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster has been affected by the war.
From his first day attending classes at Harvard-Westlake’s middle school campus, which includes seventh- and eighth-graders, Louis Lappe was being recognized as a celebrity.
“A few of the seventh graders I guess they know me kind of,” Lappe said humbly.
Not kind of.
“Every day, I hear them,” freshman teammate Nate Englander said. “‘Are you Louis Lappe, the kid who hit the walk-off home run in the Little League World Series?’ Every grade, seriously.”
It’s time for the Louis Lappe Show to hit the high school ranks. The national hero as a 12-year-old who led El Segundo to the Little League world championship in 2023 is now 15 and set to begin his first year of high school baseball. He’ll be starting at third base for the Wolverines. He’s 6 feet 2 and is joined by two other top freshmen on Harvard-Westlake’s varsity team, the 6-2 Englander, an outfielder-pitcher, and the 6-2 Mateo Mier, a pitcher.
This reminds scouts of the spring of 2021, when Bryce Rainer, Tommy Bridges and Duncan Marsten started on the Wolverines’ varsity team as freshmen. Rainer became a first-round draft pick, Marsten is a standout pitcher at Wake Forest and Bridges went to Northwestern.
Englander still hasn’t forgiven Lappe for eliminating him and Sherman Oaks Little League in the 2023 regional playoffs.
El Segundo’s Louis Lappe celebrates as he rounds second after hitting a solo walk-off home run off Curacao’s Jay-Dlynn Wiel during the sixth inning of the Little League World Series championship game in 2023.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
“Obviously, it was difficult at the time,” Englander said. “We’re boys now. It’s amazing to reconnect. It’s going to be fun.”
During fall and winter ball, Lappe displayed occasional power, similar to what he did as a 12-year-old that allowed him to hit five home runs at the 2023 Little League World Series, including his walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Venezuela.
He had a .445 batting average in winter ball, second only to Vanderbilt-bound senior James Tronstein.
It’s still going to be a transition season for Lappe.
“It’s a whole new game. A whole new chapter I have to get used to,” he said. “The main thing will be getting used to the speed of the game. It’s much faster than 14-, 15-year-old travel ball. Everyone runs faster, throws harder. When we get used to that, we’ll be just fine.”
Lappe and Mier won gold medals during the summer playing for the USA 15U national team.
Mier is going to be placed immediately on the mound as part of a three-man starting pitching rotation used by pitching coach Joe Guntz to deal with some of the best hitters in the Southland.
“I think it’s more about finding your spot on the team,” Mier said. “It’s a team game. Travel ball is very self-centered. The challenge is learning how to pitch and not be a thrower. I feel coach Guntz is the right person to teach me that.”
All three look like they could be playing basketball or football with their physical statures. That will mark them early on as no ordinary freshmen.
“We’re in the Mission League, which is one of the most difficult and prestigious leagues in the country,” Englander said. “There’s a lot more talent, whether it’s guys throwing harder, hitting the ball farther.”
The Mission League has had an influx of outstanding players from the class of 2029, including Jordan Leon at Sierra Canyon and Brody Brooks at Loyola.
“I think we’ll hold our own,” Englander said. “We look the part. Hopefully we can play the part.”
Mark down Harvard-Westlake’s games against Loyola because the Cubs have four former El Segundo players on their team, including the manager, Danny Boehle. Imagine the trash talk that might be transpiring with Lappe on second base talking to Brooks, one of his best friends who plays shortstop.
“It will be fun to mess with them and also beat them,” Lappe said.
It’s going to be a memorable four years of high school baseball for Lappe and his fellow class of 2029 players.
As a child, I spent nearly every weekend with my best friend shooting hoops and jumping fences throughout Hollywood.
It was always amusing seeing tourists — especially foreigners — line up around buildings and outside nightclubs and lounges that held no meaning to me, at the time.
These monuments I ignored as a youngster became the must-see places of my teenage years and early 20s.
It was at the Viper Room where a 20-year-old me was tossed out of line trying to crash the same venue where Pearl Jam had played.
I was first scandalized by the price of a drink for a date’s $10 cocktail at the Troubadour in West Hollywood (I think I was making $6.50 an hour at the time). But I had to visit one of Jim Morrison’s favorite haunts.
It was fun to see favorites, but more importantly, to read about new places and legends.
Hopefully, there’s a spot that intrigues you. Let’s take a look at a few selections.
Capitol Records (Hollywood)
The most famous tower in all of music was never overtly intended to look like a stack of LPs and a stylus needle.
“The building was not designed as a cartoon or a giggle. To have it trivialized with the stack-of-records myth is annoying and dismaying,” architect Louis Naidorf has said of his Capitol Records Building. “There’s not a thing on the building that doesn’t have a solid purpose to it.”
That was no obstacle for it becoming emblematic of both Los Angeles and the record business. It’s still home to one of the most renowned recording studios on Earth, and its silhouette remains a Hollywood icon and a symbol of Los Angeles on par with the Hollywood sign nearby.
(Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times)
Elliott Smith Wall (Silver Lake)
The beloved singer-songwriter Elliott Smith posed at the swooping mural outside Solutions speaker repair in Silver Lake for the cover of his LP “Figure 8” in 2000.
After he died by suicide in 2003, the wall became an unofficial memorial for Smith, where fans left touching notes, song lyrics and nips of liquors mentioned in his songs.
While the wall has been cut out in spots to make room for various restaurants — and it’s often covered in more flagrant tagging — it’s still a living connection to one of the city’s most cherished voices.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Chaplin Studio (Hollywood)
John Mayer calls it “adult day care”: the historic recording studio behind the arched gates on La Brea Avenue where famous musicians have been keeping themselves — and one another — creatively occupied since the mid-1960s.
Known for decades as Henson Studios — and as A&M Studios before that — the 3-acre complex in the heart of Hollywood has played host to the creation of some of music’s most celebrated records, among them Carole King’s “Tapestry,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion” and D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah.”
Charlie Chaplin, who was born in London, began building the lot in 1917 in a white-and-brown English Tudor style; he went on to direct some of his best-known films, including “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator,” on the property.
The Lighthouse Cafe (Hermosa Beach)
The Lighthouse Cafe might seem familiar from its cameo in the Oscar-winning movie “La La Land,” but this jazz cafe was once instrumental in shaping the West Coast jazz scene.
The beachside spot first opened as a restaurant in 1934 and was changed into a bar by the 1940s. It first started to play jazz in 1949 when the owner let bassist Howard Rumsey host a recurring jam session. The jams quickly began to draw both a vivacious crowd of listeners and a core group of budding jazz musicians.
Over the years, musicians like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis and Max Roach all made regular appearances at the Lighthouse. Today, the venue still hosts jazz brunches every Sunday and other musical gigs throughout the week.
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Casey Wasserman, the embattled sports and entertainment mogul who is the face of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, is preparing to sell his talent agency.
In a memo to his staff Friday, Wasserman acknowledged his appearance in a recently released batch of documents related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, had “become a distraction.”
In his memo, which was reviewed by The Times, Wasserman said he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.”
Representatives for Wasserman did not immediately return for requests for comment.
“I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort,” Wasserman wrote to his staff. “It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.”
“I know what I know, and I am following my gut and my values,” Wambach wrote on Instagram. “I will not participate in any business arrangement under his leadership…He should leave, so more people like me don’t have to.”
Wasserman told his staff that Mike Watts, a longtime company executive, would assume day-to-day management of the firm while he begins the process of selling it.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Wasserman’s staff memo.
Wasserman’s grandfather, Lew Wasserman, was a Hollywood titan who built the studio MCA into a powerhouse that acquired Universal Pictures. Casey Wasserman’s sports and talent agency, also built through a series of savvy acquisitions, has about 4,000 employees.
Wasserman plans to stay in his position leading the LA28 Olympic Committee, which has stood by him. In a recent statement, LA28 noted that the racy emails with Maxwell were sent following a humanitarian mission to Africa two decades “before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein and Maxwell’s deplorable crimes…This was his single interaction with Epstein.”
“The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games,” LA28 concluded.
The messages to Maxwell were part of a massive trove of Epstein-related documents made public by the Department of Justice this month.
In them, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell, who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors, “I thought we would start at that place that you know of, and then continue the massage concept into your bed … and then again in the morning … not sure if or when we would stop.”
She responded: “Umm — all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”
Wasserman released a statement saying: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” could only have been created by a true fan. The British filmmaker wanted to evoke her youthful experience reading Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel when she was 14, which she describes as “the most physical emotional connection I’ve ever had to anything.” Her bodice-ripping, visually sumptuous version, in theaters Friday, incorporates some essential literary elements, but also imagines what’s in between the lines of Brontë’s writing, including sultry moments between the protagonists.
“I’m fanatical about the book,” Fennell says. She’s speaking over Zoom alongside Margot Robbie, who stars as Catherine Earnshaw (and who also produced the film), and Jacob Elordi, who plays Heathcliff. “I’m as obsessive about Emily Brontë as everyone else. She gets inside you.”
The director, 40, recalls going to the Brontë Festival of Women’s Writing in West Yorkshire, England, in 2025 and feeling completely at home. “I was like, ‘These are my chicks,’” Fennell says. “We all want to sleep in a coffin.” Robbie laughs, despite likely having heard the story before.
“We are, all of us, breathless, up against a rock,” Fennell continues, referencing a particularly evocative scene she imagined for her film. “I care so deeply about this that I couldn’t hope to ever make a perfect adaptation because I know my own limits.”
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
What she could do is make a film that recalled the visceral feeling of reading the novel as a teen. “That would mean it had a certain amount of wish fulfillment,” she admits. The novel is famously austere, with mere glimmers of physical intimacy. “The Gothic, to me, is emotional and it’s about the world reflecting everyone’s interior landscape. This is my personal fan tribute to this work.”
“Wuthering Heights” marks the third collaboration between Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, and Fennell. Robbie, 35, produced Fennell’s 2020 feature debut “Promising Young Woman,” which earned Fennell the Oscar for original screenplay, and 2023’s class-envy thriller “Saltburn.” Her style is confrontational and seemingly fearless, often provoking hugely divergent reactions from critics and fans. She’s a filmmaker who goes full-on.
Despite their history, however, Robbie had never acted in one of Fennell’s films.
“When I read this script, I did find I was putting myself in Cathy’s shoes and reading the lines and thinking, ‘How would I play it?’” Robbie says. “I do that often when reading scripts, but my heart sank when thinking about the casting. So I threw my hat in the ring.”
Margot Robbie in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
“It’s a bit like asking your friend to date you,” Fennell chimes in. “It’s taking something a step in a different direction. You don’t want to be the person who blows up the thing that you have that works so well. But I was desperate for Margot to play Cathy. I was so relieved that it was her who made the first move.”
Fennell did make the first move with Elordi, 28, recently Oscar-nominated for his monster in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein.”
“Emerald texted me and said, ‘Do you want to be Heathcliff?’” Elordi recalls. “That was it. I said, ‘Yeah.’ And then when she gave the screenplay, I read it and wept. That’s how you dream of making movies.”
Not only did Elordi look like the version of Heathcliff on the cover of Fennell’s edition of the novel, but she had witnessed his potential for the role while making “Saltburn.”
Jacob Elordi in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Felix is a character who does something awful in every scene,” Fennell explains of Elordi’s charismatic rich boy in “Saltburn.” “But it needed somebody who could make everyone in the audience forget that. And Jacob was the only person who came in and did that. Heathcliff is an extreme antihero. He’s cruel and he’s violent and he’s relentless and he’s vengeful and he’s spiteful. Jacob has a sensitivity and tenderness and groundedness that makes us forgive all that.”
Fennell knew the film hinged on the casting of Cathy and Heathcliff, two iconic literary characters who have been portrayed by a multitude of actors over the years, including Laurence Olivier, Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes. It’s been broadly debated whether the novel actually is a love story between the snobbish Cathy and the glowering Heathcliff. For some, it’s a tale of toxic fixation, for others a revenge plot or a tragedy. But Fennell’s version is undeniably a big-screen romance.
“We were looking for outsized charisma and outsized talent, people like Burton and Taylor,” director Emerald Fennell says. “A combination of actors who are explosively brilliant. And it’s these two.”
(Shayan Asgharnia / For The Times)
“We were looking for outsized charisma and outsized talent, people like Burton and Taylor,” Fennell says of the classic onscreen pairing of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, famously tumultuous. “A combination of actors who are explosively brilliant. And it’s these two.”
“That’s the coolest thing to say,” Elordi says, covering his face with his hands. “This after years of hearing nothing,” he quips. (Fennell says she is sparing with praise.)
“Wuthering Heights” reunites several of Fennell’s repeat collaborators. Actor Alison Oliver, who appeared in “Saltburn,” plays Isabella Linton, Edgar’s ward who becomes a problematic fixation for Heathcliff, and the filmmaker reteamed with cinematographer Linus Sandgren, production designer Suzie Davies and editor Victoria Boydell. Fennell also brought in new faces, including Hong Chau as Nelly Dean, Cathy’s companion, and Shazad Latif as wealthy businessman Edgar Linton. She and Robbie aimed to create a creatively safe set.
“It’s very exposing, especially for the actors,” Fennell says of making an audacious film like this. “You need to be able to forget that and feel that you have the ability to make mistakes and try something different.”
Fennell’s direction was often unexpected.
“I remember she prepped us for the long table scene and said, ‘It needs to come to life,’” Elordi says. “Heathcliff was brooding but she said, ‘What if he wasn’t brooding?’ All of a sudden there was this electricity at the table. As an actor, that pushes me out of my comfort zone. And every time it works.”
“What I like about working with Emerald is: I like going too far,” Robbie agrees. “My instinct is to go really hard and then have someone tell me to pull it back. She rarely tells me to pull it back. She wants the maximalist version and I relish that. She would say, ‘Now you’re in a sensible period film.’ And then she’d say ‘Now do it like you’re Ursula the sea witch.’”
That was the take that made the final cut. “Part of it is there,” Fennell confirms. “Usually I use only a little moment of something but that’s the crucial one. Because we’re all so crazy in life, aren’t we?”
“And Cathy so is Ursula the sea witch,” Robbie says.
“She’s such a little sea witch,” Fennell agrees.
Fennell’s reimagining of “Wuthering Heights” amps up the existing emotions in the novel. She abridges its plot, removing the second-generation narrative that bookends Brontë’s writing. The torment of Cathy’s abusive brother shifts to the hands of her father, played by Martin Clunes.
Meanwhile, the longing between Cathy and Heathcliff, who can’t be together due to his lowly station and her spiteful decision to marry the wealthy Linton, accelerates dramatically into fervid sex scenes. The doomed couple erotically embrace on the Yorkshire Moors, in the back of a carriage and even inside her bedroom at Thrushcross Grange — all moments that are not part of the book.
Margot Robbie in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
“They’re part of the book of my head,” Fennell says, adamantly. “I think they’re part of the book of all of our heads. With all the love and respect and adoration I have for the book, I also wanted to make my own version that I needed to see.”
“It is totally that wish fulfillment,” Robbie says. “And if you can’t have the wish fulfillment in movies, where are you going to get it?”
Fennell imbued the film with tactile visuals that evoke the sexual tension between Cathy and Heathcliff. There are close-ups of hands kneading dough, a snail sliming its way up a window and Cathy prodding a jellied fish with her finger. The director tested numerous fish before selecting the one that is seen onscreen.
“Why I love working with these guys so much is we’re all detail perverts,” Fennell says. “I am obsessed with every single thing. That fish that Margot fingered — I fingered about 50 different fish before then. Tiny fish, big fish, fake fish, jelly that was wet, jelly that was soft, jelly that was firm.”
“You think she’s joking but she’s not,” Robbie says.
“My finger smelled so bad the whole time that we were making this movie,” Fennell adds.
Ultimately, though, it was the best possible fish. “We did the takes with a couple of fish, but we all knew the right one when it happened,” Robbie says of the scene, which mirrors the sexual disappointment in Cathy’s marriage. “We all felt it in the same moment. Everyone went, ‘That’s it.’”
Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in the movie “Wuthering Heights.”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
The film’s aesthetic is bold and brash, featuring brilliantly hued red floors and walls designed to look like Cathy’s freckled skin. It lands somewhere between Disney fairy tale, ’80s romance paperback art and old Hollywood glamour. Atmospheric mist pours across every scene. The estate of Wuthering Heights is foreboding and dark, with rocks splintering through the walls, while Linton’s Thrushcross Grange bears a Victorian aesthetic, containing the outside world. “It’s nature coming in and nature being kept out,” Fennell says. “And it’s about what that means emotionally and metaphorically for the story and for these characters.”
There is purposefully no adherence to historical accuracy, particularly in the costumes. Designed by Jacqueline Durran, the wardrobe was elaborately wild to underscore emotional truths rather than period relevancy.
“You couldn’t not scream,” Robbie says about trying on each piece. “And then Emerald would come up with a platter of jewels and start decorating me like a Christmas tree.”
“There was so much screaming every day,” Fennell says. “I always want people to have permission to go too far, to do something that’s in bad taste, that’s not subtle. I’m really interested in pushing until that squeaking point where you’re like, ‘OK, that’s too far.’ It takes a lot of bravery to do that.”
Even Elordi joined in the excitement. “I was screaming at all the dresses,” he says. “Margot and Alison’s dressing rooms flanked me so I’d often get caught in the hallway.”
Although the world of the movie is heightened and beautifully garish, the romance is more grounded. You can feel how desperate Cathy and Heathcliff are for each other in their own twisted way, and despite their horrible machinations you want them to be together. The film ends differently from the novel, but it shares with it a sad inevitability.
Fennell inherently understood what makes these characters so desirable.
“I was led by my own feelings,” she says. “On set, we were all trying to find that thing that made us get goosebumps. One of the earliest scenes we shot was where Heathcliff breaks the chair to build Cathy a fire.”
To help a shivering Cathy, Heathcliff rises from his wooden seat, smashes it on the floor and tosses the pieces into the fireplace. It’s a moment of devotion from Heathcliff, but triggers a lustful response in Cathy.
“I looked around and all of these professionals, women and men, were agape. Everyone felt the same way as Cathy. That’s what I was looking for every day.”
“He actually broke the chair,” Robbie says. “Cathy’s reaction is my genuine reaction.”
Elordi understood the challenge of embodying such an iconic character, who has existed both on the page and on the screen for generations. He also didn’t want to let Fennell down.
“I knew how personal the story was to Emerald and I knew the screenplay that she had written was extremely good, but I was like ‘What makes you think I can do this?’” Elordi remembers. “I had a lot of nerves but I jumped into it. This is a director you’re really able to give everything to. The images that come from her head are so unique and singular. The first time I watched ‘Saltburn’ with her, I sat back and I realized I was in the presence of something truly great and original. To be able to investigate with her two times is a gift.”
Says Robbie, “My hope is always: There’s got to be one person that watches this movie and thinks ‘That’s my favorite of all time.’ I want to make a movie that is someone’s favorite movie of all time and I’ll know how much that means to them. That it might save them in whatever ways movies can save you.”
Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” shudders with feeling. And however audiences perceive it, its maker has done exactly what she intended.
Chappell Roan has left her booking agency, Wasserman Music, over its founder Casey Wasserman’s ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein and convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
“As of today, I am no longer represented by Wasserman, the talent agency led by Casey Wasserman,” Roan wrote on Monday in a post to social media. “I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well. No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values. I have deep respect and appreciation for the agents and staff who work tirelessly for their artists and I refuse to passively stand by. Artists deserve representation that aligns with their values and supports their safety and dignity. This decision reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.”
Roan had been represented by Jackie Nalpant, Kiely Mosiman, Adele Slater and Anna Bewers at Wasserman. It’s unclear whether her agents will follow her out the door of the embattled agency; representatives for Roan did not immediately return a request for comment.
Roan is the highest-profile act to leave Wasserman after the release of the most recent batch of Epstein documents. Billie Eilish previously left the agency in 2024 after separate allegations of Wasserman’s sexual misconduct surfaced. For now, the agency still represents other A-list talent including Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay and Tyler, the Creator, though many in the industry suspect a wave of departures is coming.
Casey Wasserman — a powerful figure in sports and entertainment who leads Los Angeles’ 2028 Olympics committee and his eponymous talent agency — came under fresh scrutiny after he surfaced in a new batch of federal documents released as part of an investigation into the late sex trafficker Epstein and his associate Maxwell.
Wasserman has said in a statement to media: “I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light. I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
Wasserman has previously admitted to flying with Epstein on the financier’s private plane on a trip to Africa with Maxwell and former President Clinton. In newly surfaced messages to Maxwell, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence for sex trafficking of minors, Wasserman wrote: “I thought we would start at that place that you know of, and then continue the massage concept into your bed … and then again in the morning … not sure if or when we would stop.” She responded: “Umm — all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”
Local politicians have called for Wasserman to leave the Olympic committee. “I think Casey Wasserman needs to step down,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”
Last week, Bethany Cosentino, the solo artist and founder of the band Best Coast, left the agency over Wasserman’s Epstein ties, saying: “We are tired of learning, over and over, that men who control access, resources, money and so-called safety in our industry are given endless grace. We are tired of being asked to treat proximity to something horrific as an unfortunate situation we should simply move past — especially when the person involved still holds all the power.”
WASHINGTON — Ever since a racist video was posted on President Trump’s social media account, the White House has offered shifting responses.
First it dismissed “fake outrage” by those denouncing it as racist, then it deleted the post and blamed a staff member.
Trump later told reporters Friday that “I didn’t make a mistake.” The Republican president claimed that before the video was posted, he did not see the part that depicted former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus was unsparing in her criticism when she spoke to the Associated Press.
“It’s very clear that there was an intent to harm people, to hurt people, with this video,” Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said.
The AP interviewed Clarke, who leads the group of more than 60 Black House and Senate members, hours after the video was deleted Friday.
Here is an interview transcript, edited for length and clarity.
What was your reaction when you saw that the post?
We’re dealing with a bigoted and racist regime. … Every week we are, as the American people, put in a position where we have to respond to something very cruel or something extremely off-putting that this administration does. It’s a part of their MO at this point.
Do you buy the White House explanation that this was an aide’s mistake?
They don’t tell the truth. If there wasn’t a climate, a toxic and racist climate within the White House, we wouldn’t see this type of behavior regardless of who it’s coming from…. Here we are, in the year 2026, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, the 100th anniversary of the commemoration of Black history, and this is what comes out of the White House on a Friday morning. It’s beneath all of us.
Has there been any contact between the White House and the Congressional Black Caucus on this? Could there be any good-faith exchange?
There has been no outreach from the White House. We certainly didn’t expect there to be. The outreach has to happen prior to these type of juvenile antics.
Republican criticism built more quickly Friday than it has during previous Trump controversies. What do you make of that?
It’s not lost on them, our communities that we represent, that elections are coming up. So it’s not lost on my colleagues, either. If they want to align themselves with this type of really profane imagery, this type of bigoted and racist attack on a former sitting president and his wife, they are throwing their lot in with an individual who has shown himself to be a disgrace.
It’s not common for President Trump to retract anything. What does that indicate to you that he did?
I think it’s more of a political expediency than it is any moral compass. … As my mother would say, “Too late. Mercy’s gone.”
What more do you hope to see from the White House about this?
My hope is that we can contain the harm that they’re doing. There are Black children who are listening to their president … seeing what he’s posting on Truth Social, [and] it will have an impact on how they view leadership of their own country. … I think that this administration has an opportunity to change course. They always do. We leave room for that. But, unfortunately, Donald Trump is hardwired this way.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
As a democracy, we have to stand up together against this type of racism, this type of bigotry, this kind of hatred that is coming from the president of the United States and those who surround him. … It’s very clear that there was an intent to harm people, to hurt people, with this video. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have stayed up for 12 hours.
Barrow and Zhang write for the Associated Press and reported from Atlanta and Washington, respectively.
President Trump posted a video Thursday to his social media site that contains animated images depicting former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
The White House took down the post Friday, and after first calling it nothing more than a meme, they dubbed it a mistake by a staffer. Sure.
But while the justifiable outrage over this overt racism spins itself into a brief media circus (because we all know something else will come along is about three minutes), let’s look a bit deeper into why this video is more than an affront to everything America stands for, or should stand for, anyway.
It’s no accident that the images of the Obamas are embedded deep inside a video about voter fraud conspiracies from the 2020 election (which are untrue, if I need to say it again). This video is an escalation in the assault that is likely to come on voting rights and voting access in the midterms.
“Absolutely, there’s a connection to the vote,” Melina Abdullah told me Friday. She’s a professor at Cal State Los Angeles and co-founder of Black Lives Matter-LA.
“This is about more than just about the Obamas,” added Brian Levin, a professor Emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino, and founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. “It’s about people that are (perceived as) undermining our elections and our democracy.”
I caught Levin the day after he turned in a chapter about authoritarianism for a new book, which happens to look at how discrimination and the imposition of social hierarchies ties in with power.
Let me summarize. Vulnerable groups are smashed down as dangerous and not fit to be full citizens, so a smaller group of elites can justify power by any means to protect society from these lowly and nasty influences.
Let me make that messaging even simpler: Black and brown people are bad and shouldn’t be allowed to participate in democracy because they don’t deserve the right.
How does that play out at the ballot box?
All that talk about voter identification and election integrity is really about stopping people from voting — people who legally have the right to vote. Those who are least likely to be able to obtain proof of citizenship — which might require a passport, or birth certificate along with the money and know-how to get such documents — are often Black or brown people. They are often also poor, or poorer, and therefore have less time and money to put into obtaining documents, and also live in urban areas where they share polling places.
Is it such a stretch to imagine some kind of federal oversight at those types of polling places, turning away — or simply intimidating away — legal voters who have long made up a strong block of the Democratic base?
Let’s hope that never happens. But the current undermining of the legitimacy of Black and brown voters is, said both Levin and Abdullah, systemic and concerning.
Trump’s latest video is “part of a floodgate of bigotry and conspiracy that relates to elections and immigrants and Black people and it’s important to condemn the manner in which these puzzle pieces are put together to label African Americans and immigrants as a threat to democracy with respect to the vote,” Levin said.
The premise of the video in question is that Democrats have engaged in a complicated and decades-long scheme to steal elections. It’s presented as a documentary, and the images of the Obamas have been weirdly inserted as almost a subliminal flash near the end.
If you’ve missed the white supremacist postings that have now become commonplace on official government communications such as those from the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security, let me assure you that Levin is right and this primate video is indeed part of a “firehose” of white nationalist rhetoric coming not just from Trump but from the federal government as a whole.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, for example, has turned its focus toward punishing diversity, equity and inclusion. Just this week, another federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, began a probe against Nike for allegedly discriminating against white people in hiring.
“It has been not even a dog whistling, but a Xeroxing of the exact kind of terms that that I’ve been looking at on white supremacists and neo Nazi websites for decades,” Levin said.
It’s not my place or intent to warn Black people about racism, because that would be ludicrous and insulting, but I’ll warn the rest of us because in the end, authoritarianism targets everyone. This video is a clear statement that Trump’s vision of America is one in which every non-white group, every vulnerable group really, is a second class citizen.
“He’s enabling an entire group of people who want to take this country back to a time when rampant violent white supremacy was enabled in the law,” Abdullah said. “What they mean is recapturing an old school, oppressive racism that is pre-1965 pre-Voting Rights Act.”
That message, Levin said, has “a resonance with a decent part of his base,” and when fed ceaselessly into the system, can have violent outcomes.
Levin uses the example of when Trump tweeted during the protests over the killing of George Floyd, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase with a violent and racist history.
Levin said Black people have always been the primary targets of hate crimes in the United States, but after that tweet, it was some of the “worst days” for violence aimed by race.
“When a high transmitter, like a president, circulates imagery with regard to prejudice, it creates these stereotypes and conspiracy theories, which then are the groundwork for further conspiracy theories and aggression,” he added.
Abdullah said she worries that even if the voter crackdown isn’t officially sanctioned, those empowered conspiracy theorists will take action anyway.
“So the people who are so-called ‘monitoring,’ self-appointed monitors … this is who’s going to be pulling people out of voter lines, and so this is what he’s whipping up intentionally,” she said.
Keep your eye on the ball, folks, because the far-right Republicans running the show are laser-focused on it. The midterm elections have to go their way for them to remain in power.
The easiest way to ensure that outcome is to only allow voters who see things their way.
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina and the United States said they reached an expansive trade deal Thursday, boosting President Javier Milei as he moves to open up the South American nation’s notoriously protectionist economy and reflecting the close alliance between the radical libertarian and President Trump.
Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, posted a selfie on social media showing him and several diplomats beaming after emerging from a meeting in Washington where he said they’d signed the pact.
“Congratulations to our team and thanks to the U.S. Trade Representative’s team for building this great agreement together,” Quirno wrote. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative also confirmed the deal.
The countries announced a framework for the agreement in November, saying Argentina would ease restrictions on a range of American imports, including cattle, dairy products, medicines, chemicals, machinery, medical devices and vehicles. Those were key concessions for Argentina, where local industries long protected by steep tariffs have expressed concern about their ability to compete with American manufacturers.
The U.S., for its part, would remove reciprocal tariffs on imports of “certain unavailable natural resources” and ingredients for pharmaceutical goods from Argentina, according to the framework.
At the time, the White House reached similar frameworks with Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador — part of what it described as an effort to improve the ability of American firms to sell industrial and agricultural products in Latin American countries and bring down food prices for U.S. consumers.
Officials did not immediately offer details about the final version of the U.S.-Argentina deal signed Thursday.
The agreement marks the latest development in the close alliance between Trump and Milei, who has reshaped Argentine foreign policy to align with the U.S., earned Trump’s praise for stabilizing his nation’s crisis-prone economy and traveled to the U.S. more than a dozen times in the last two years. Milei is scheduled to appear at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate next week to speak at a gala.
Trump supported Milei’s fiscal program last year with a $20-billion credit line that succeeded in calming markets and boosting Milei’s prospects in a crucial midterm election in October. The U.S. Treasury also directly purchased U.S. dollar-denominated Argentine bonds that ratings agencies were classifying as “junk” at the time and snapped up the volatile local currency that Argentines were dumping in droves.
The extraordinary intervention drew backlash from across the U.S. political spectrum.
Trump’s MAGA base questioned the need to bail out a far-flung country that’s not only of little importance to the U.S. but also directly competes with its exports of corn, wheat, meat and oil.
Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage that Trump was staking taxpayer money on a political gift to an ideological soulmate.
That criticism has continued, with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, on Thursday appealing to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to end the $20-billion lifeline.
In a letter, she wrote that even though the Treasury promised its credit line for Argentina “was for an acute, short-term, and urgent purpose, it appears … to have left open the possibility of continued use.”
Debre writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
The Rams, who last year were designated the home team for the first NFL game in Australia, will play the NFC West-rival San Francisco 49ers, the league announced Thursday during “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. Australian actor and conservationist Robert Irwin, son of the late Steve Irwin of “Crocodile Hunter” fame made the announcement.
The NFL has not announced a date for the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but it almost certainly will be in the first week because of the 19-hour time difference and the length of travel for both teams.
“As we make history with the NFL and bring the first regular season game to Australia, we are pleased to take our annual matchup against our NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers to the MCG,” said Rams president Kevin Demoff in a statement. “Since we first secured marketing rights to the country in 2021 and more recently since the announcement of this game last year, we have seen tremendous excitement for our team from fans both in Australia and also across the world. We look forward to spending this offseason continuing to deepen our connection with the Melbourne community leading up to the game this fall.”
As part of the process for International Series games, the NFL allows designated home teams to protect two of its scheduled home games from being played abroad.
With the game against the 49ers, which annually draws tens of thousands of 49ers fans, being played in Australia, the Rams’ home opponents at SoFi Stadium next season will be the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and the Chargers.
As part of the NFL’s Global Markets Program, the Rams in the last decade were granted rights in Mexico, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
Since returning to Los Angeles in 2016, the Rams have played four International Series games, all in London, including a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last October.
In 2026, in addition to the game in Australia, the NFL has confirmed three games in London and one each in Rio de Janeiro, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
Before hitting the stage, the comedians of the TV series “Jokes with JoySauce” have an on-camera ritual of exchanging immigrant stories about growing up with their families. There is no audience during these moments, just comics being vulnerable with one another.
The tales give insight into the lives they live offstage and their perspectives as Asian Americans that inspire so much of their material. It lets the audience know more about these up-and-coming comedians without the generic stage introductions.
The series is part of the original program curated for JoySauce, available on Amazon Prime. It premiered in early January as part of the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms.
Season 1 of “Jokes with JoySauce” is currently airing as part of the launching programming for the channel. Director and creator of the series Ana Tuazon Parsons is excited to watch it grow.
Narumi Inatsugu, from left, Cat Ce, Ana Tuazon Parsons and Jonathan Sposato at The Times’ office in El Segundo.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“I’m still definitely going for that underground punk rock, like, let’s-find-some-cool-people kind of thing for Season 2,” Parsons said. “Bigger and better venue, and more budget, more budget, please.”
While Parsons focuses on cultivating new comedic voices, JoySauce wants to create its own opportunities for people in the community by broadening its mission of ownership and representation.
“We won’t really get the full spectrum of the representation that I believe that we deserve unless we own the pipeline and the platforms and the carriers and really the gateways,” Jonathan Sposato, creator of Joysauce, said.
He decided to bring the platform to the masses in 2022 after growing sick and tired of how much hate his community was going through and wanting to fill in a gap in the media. Media representation was also low for Asian American actors, with only 6% of all Asian characters in 100 titles on streaming platforms in 2022 in leading roles, according to a study by USC Annenberg Gold House.
“I do think positivity wins,” Sposato said. “Comedy is a very necessary tool, a necessary ingredient in the overall mix of what we’re trying to offer.”
His goal is to broaden the concept of Asian American culture through storytelling that would display what the U.S. has to offer while staying rooted in Asia.
“A win for JoySauce is a win for anybody who feels underrepresented, who doesn’t feel like they’re considered the normative mainstream,” he said.
At a time when attention is a currency, creating a space that’s focused on elevating AAPI voices will help diversify the media landscape.
“A win for JoySauce is a win for anybody who feels underrepresented, who doesn’t feel like they’re considered the normative mainstream,” JoySauce creator Jonathan Sposato, left, said.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“As a comedian, you cannot complain,” Cat Ce, a comedian whose special “Perfect Chinglish” was licensed by JoySauce, said. “Nowadays, you want it on so many different platforms, you never know which kind of audience you may reach.”
Her work reflects the kind of storytelling JoySauce hopes to amplify. The comedy hour by Ce deals with the cultural differences when dealing with family, friends and romantic relationships as a Chinese American. For Narumi Inatsugu, that universality is the point.
As the chief creative officer of JoySauce, Inatsugu wants to create a space where Asian Americans do not feel outnumbered.
“For so long I thought nobody cared about Asian American stories,” he said.
As a curator of the channel, and host of the upcoming “Chopsticks and Chill,” an interview show where he shares a meal with influential members of the AAPI community, Inatsugu wants to create a platform where the younger generation can see the many opportunities life can offer, regardless of your cultural background.
“It’s community building, it’s letting people know they can be whatever they want, do whatever they want,” he said.
Season 1 of “Jokes with JoySauce” is currently airing and is part of the first free, ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to highlighting Asian American voices across comedy, film, reality TV and sitcoms.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Throughout his years in the entertainment industry and in production meetings, Inatsugu felt like he couldn’t pitch certain stories because they were aimed at his Asian community. He hopes an outlet like JoySauce can create a safe space for creative minds to feel like they can be themselves and not feel outnumbered, the way he once did.
Everything in the details of a show will make people feel welcomed, from the people making it to the food that’s made available for the cast and crew.
During production of the first season of “Jokes with JoySauce,” Parsons made sure every aspect of the production was AAPI, including the food. Her production team made sure to fill the craft table with food that can be found at any Asian market. The sense of belonging is exactly the reason she built “Jokes with JoySauce” and why JoySauce exists.
“When I’d see the comics come up into the greenroom and their faces, it was like ‘Oh, I feel so like they were just reverted to their childhoods,’” she said. “It was just like they felt like they were at home with their families, and it was so important for me, it made me cry a little bit.”
Former Baltimore slugger and cancer survivor Trey Mancini is taking another shot at a major league comeback after agreeing to a minor league contract with the Angels that includes an invitation to big league spring training.
The Angels on Wednesday listed the infielder among their 27 non-roster invitees to camp in Tempe, Ariz.
The 33-year-old Mancini has batted .263 with 129 homers and 400 RBIs over parts of seven seasons, but he hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2023. He began his career by playing parts of six seasons with the Orioles, hitting a career-high 29 homers in 2019.
Mancini then missed the 2020 season after surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. He made a successful return to the Orioles in 2021, and he won a World Series ring in 2022 after Baltimore traded him to the Houston Astros.
He spent part of the 2023 season with the Chicago Cubs. He has since played in the minor-league systems of the Reds, Marlins and Diamondbacks.
Mancini opted out of a minor-league deal with Arizona last July after batting .308 with 16 homers for triple-A Reno.
“Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie will not head to Milan for NBC’s 2026 Winter Olympics coverage as she deals with the ongoing police investigation into the suspected abduction of her mother.
“Savannah will not be joining us at the Olympics as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time,” an NBC News representative said Tuesday in a statement. “Our hearts are with her and the entire Guthrie family as the search continues for their mother.”
Guthrie was scheduled to co-host NBC’s telecast of the Friday opening ceremonies for the Milan Cortina Games alongside Terry Gannon of NBC Sports. The network representative said alternative plans will be announced shortly.
June 2023 photo of Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie. (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
(Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
Law enforcement officials believe Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home outside of Tuscon, Ariz. on Saturday night. Police were called after relatives were told she missed the Sunday church service she regularly attends and did not find her at home.
Police found Nancy Guthrie’s cell phone, wallet, car and medication were left behind, indicating she did not leave voluntarily. She has no cognitive issues, but has limited physical mobility and could not walk far on her own, family members have told police.
On Tuesday, Lima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said at press briefing that authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. He also said the department is aware of “reports circulating about possible ransom note(s)” in the case. TMZ reported on the existence of an alleged ransom note Tuesday, but Nanos did not verify the account,
According to law enforcement sources not authorized to speak about the case publicly, there was blood at the scene and someone appeared to have forced their way inside.
Guthrie, a “Today” co-host since 2012, has been off the program since Monday. She was scheduled to head to Milan early this week.
Guthrie’s mother, who lived on her own, has been an occasional on-air guest at “Today.” Her appearances made her a favorite of Guthrie’s co-workers and staff at the program.
Thousands of cheering fans surround the ice at the Honda Center. The arena is loud, packed with fans in Anaheim Ducks jerseys. As the puck drops and the action starts, players zoom back and forth until — boom! A shot, and the Ducks score. But when the music hits for the first goal of the game, it’s not the typical “We Will Rock You” by Queen. It’s “Come Out and Play” by local heroes, and one of Orange County’s most influential punk bands, the Offspring.
To celebrate the third annual Come Out and Play Night, the Ducks have once again collaborated with the band for an evening of hockey, music and special exclusive merchandise for fans. The event will take place Tuesday at the Honda Center against the Vancouver Canucks. The collaborative effort began in 2024, but at the time, no one knew if it would last, including the Offspring’s guitarist, Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, who told The Times in a phone interview from Canada while on tour with Bad Religion that he and the band hoped it would be more than a one-time event. “This was the first time we’d ever teamed up with an organized sports team, and the fact that it’s an Orange County team, where we grew up, made it feel right,” Noodles said. “It’s been really fun, but we had no idea how long it would last. Now it’s three years later.”
Merrit Tully, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Ducks said that the concept for the collaboration between the club and the Offspring came organically as part of an evolution the organization was going through.
“We started putting a lot more emphasis on the in-arena experience a little over three years ago. That gave us the opportunity to rethink music, not just as something played between periods, but as something that could really elevate the experience for fans and players alike,” Tully said. “As this was happening, we approached our 30th season, and we were really leaning into our Orange County roots. We looked at collaborating with the Offspring, since they grew up just a few miles from here, and their rise happened at the same time our franchise was starting. This just felt authentically Orange County in a way that was hard to ignore.”
Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal and Noodles hold albums by the Offspring.
(Jordan Bathe)
For Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal, who was recently named NHL Third Star of the Week, having a collaboration with a band like the Offspring has special sentimental meaning. “I remember growing up hearing rock music a lot back in my home country, the Czech Republic,” Dostal said. “My parents would play punk rock and metal when they were driving me to the rink for practice, so hearing the Offspring now kind of brings me back to that.”
Dostal said that he loves many rock and alternative bands he remembers hearing back in his home country, such as Linkin Park. He also said that, as an athlete, music is part of his daily regimen, and it is the same with the Ducks. “We listen to music every day, before practice, before games. It’s a big part of how we get ready,” he said. “I grew up listening to this kind of music, so whenever I hear these songs, it just pumps me up.”
For fans who attended the two previous Come Out and Play Nights, people should expect lots of enthusiasm and high energy, mixing the intensity of a concert and a hockey game. “Those nights definitely had a different vibe. You can feel it from the ice,” Dostal said. “The fans are excited, the music is louder, and it just feels like something special for everyone in the building.”
Noodles said he agreed with Dostal and added that he thinks the collaboration makes sense because there are a lot of parallels between punk rock and sports like surfing, skating and ice hockey. “With surfing and skating, there’s always been that mix of flow and violence. You’re carving, you’re gliding, and then sometimes you take a wave on the head,” he said. “Hockey has that same thing. It can be really violent, but then there are moments where it’s all speed and movement.”
With a band having a successful career for over three decades, Noodles said there have been instances of being approached by professional athletes who are fans of the Offspring. “Over the years, we’ve had professional athletes come up to us as fans for sure. One time, Dennis Rodman came out onstage with us and did ‘Come Out and Play,’” he said. “Our producer, Bob Rock, is a huge hockey fan and really got us into going to the Ducks and Kings games.”
Members of the band the Offspring pose for a photo during a pre-game puck ceremony of the game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 27, 2025, at Honda Center.
(Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images)
Noodles said he appreciates that a band like the Offspring has generations of fans and values how much the OC music scene is still thriving. “We’ve always had late teens and early 20s kids in the front row, but now we’re seeing younger kids and their parents, too. There’s a really wide age range at our shows now, and that’s been pretty cool to see,” he said. “The Orange County scene is still really alive. You see a mix of people from the old bands, but there are also a lot of younger bands coming up. I actually love going to see younger bands because nobody cares who I am. I can just stand in the pit and watch the show.”
This idea of generations of fans is also seen in the NHL, and Dostal agrees it can be seen with fans of the Ducks. He said this is one of the reasons he loves working with an OC band. “The Offspring are local, the Ducks represent Orange County, and I’m really happy I can be part of something that connects the two,” he said. Dostal also said that a custom collaborative design on a mask will be revealed at the Come Out and Play Night against the Canucks. “I worked with the guys in the Offspring, we threw around ideas together, and I told them they could basically do whatever they wanted. I’m really excited for fans to see it,” Dostal said.
Fans of the Ducks and the Offspring can expect a night to remember. It’s all about connection, and giving fans of the music and the team a chance to bring the worlds of sports and punk together for one special night. “Beyond ticket sales, we look at how fans respond in the building,” Tully said. “When we score and the arena reacts together to an Offspring song, that tells us the connection is real.”
Dostal agreed with the sentiment and said he is humbled by the collaborative event, which he said is fan emphasized. “The Offspring is a huge band all over the world, so being able to work with them and represent that on the ice is something I really appreciate.”
The latest cache of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein released Friday include personal emails exchanged more than 20 years ago between Casey Wasserman, chairman of the LA28 Olympics organizing committee, and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former romantic partner.
In emails sent in March and April 2003, Wasserman — who was married at the time — writes about wanting to see Maxwell in a tight leather outfit, she offers to give him a massage that can “drive a man wild,” and the pair discuss how much they miss each other, according to files released and posted online by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Representatives for Wasserman did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Friday.
In an email sent on March 14, 2003, Maxwell describes a “tight leather flying outfit” she wore recently and said she was thinking of Wasserman in inappropriate moments. He wrote back, “I think of you all the time … So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?”
She then promises him, “Casey — I will be coming back to NY tom late afternoon. I shall be wearing a tight leather flying suit …”
Newly released Epstein files show emails exchanged between Casey Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in March and April 2003.
(U.S. Department of Justice)
The exchange, part of a trove of documents about Epstein released on Friday, reveal that Wasserman was at one time friendly with Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on five counts related to sex trafficking and the abuse of minors in partnership with Epstein.
Other documents show that Wasserman and his then wife flew on Epstein’s private jet in September 2002 alongside Maxwell, Epstein, former President Clinton, actor Kevin Spacey and several others as part of a 10-day trip to explore the problems of HIV in Africa. (That trip had been documented in a 2003 Vanity Fair story).
During her trial, federal prosecutors established that Maxwell and Epstein — who died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019 — were engaged in a sex-trafficking scheme involving minors from the late 1990s through the early 2000s.
In an April 2, 2003, email to Wasserman, Maxwell offers to “continue the massage concept into your bed … and then again in the morning … not sure if or when we would stop.”
Newly released Epstein files show emails exchanged between Casey Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in March and April 2003.
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Later that day she writes, “Umm — all that rubbing — are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild — I suppose I could practice them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”
A few days later, Maxwell tells Wasserman that “JE” says she should pick a week to go to Los Angeles and look at properties they can rent in Malibu that summer and offers to bring Wasserman something from Paris.
Wasserman wrote back, “I think you picking a week to be in LA is a really good idea … The only thing i want from paris is you”
The pair continue their exchange on April 6, with Maxwell then offering to bring him food from London such as KitKats, cheddar and baked beans to which he says, “Among all my desires, that combination is pretty low on the list … xoxo”
She asks him what combination would do it for him and he says “You, me, and not else much …”
Wasserman then explains the concept of June gloom, California’s famous seasonal fog, and Maxwell inquires whether it would be foggy enough “so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?”
He responds, “or something like that …”
Newly released Epstein files show emails exchanged between Casey Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell in March and April 2003.
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Wasserman, a UCLA alumnus, is the grandson of Hollywood mogul Lew Wasserman. He built his own fortune through his sports marketing and talent agency Wasserman, which represents more than 30 No. 1 overall picks in major sports leagues including the MLB, NFL, NBA and WNBA. In 2023, the agency acquired Brillstein Entertainment Partners, a management production company that represents stars such as Adam Sandler and Brad Pitt and launched hit shows that included “The Sopranos.”
Wasserman was recruited by former Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2017 to help Los Angeles win its Olympic host bid. While Garcetti completed his mayoral term and faded from the Olympic spotlight, Wasserman remains the face of the city’s push to host a successful Games in 2028. He has led every major Olympic update presented to the IOC and met multiple times with President Trump to secure his support.
Wasserman is expected to join an LA28 delegation in Italy for the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, the final Games before L.A.
Epstein, 66, was once a well-connected financial consultant who rubbed shoulders with many prominent politicians and celebrities, including Trump and Clinton. He was arrested and taken into federal custody in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.
The indictment alleged that, between 2002 and 2005, Epstein sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls at his homes in Manhattan, N.Y., and Palm Beach, Fla., and other locations, by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him for cash. It also alleged Epstein paid several of his victims to recruit other underage girls to engage in similar sex acts.
The latest documents were disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was enacted after months of public and political pressure and requires the government to open its files on the late financier and Maxwell. Deputy Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche said the Justice Department was releasing more than 3 million pages of documents in the latest disclosure, as well as more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
Times staff writer Jenny Jarvie and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
This time 36 years ago, Fabrice Morvan was preparing for his first Grammy Awards. It had been a wild few years for the 23-year-old Parisian and his best friend Robert Pilatus from Germany. The duo known as Milli Vanilli had rocketed to fame, going from obscure dancers in Munich to dominate the pop music scene. Not only were they nominated for best new artist, but they were expected to perform live. Underneath it all, the pair were quickly reaching their breaking point.
Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence” was nominated for both song and record of the year. Indeed, for the tens of millions of Milli Vanilli fans who bought their records, the 1990 Grammy ceremony marked an end of innocence of sorts. To this day, Milli Vanilli are the only artists in the history of the Grammys to have their award revoked.
L-R: The pop duo Milli Vanilli comprised of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, the subject of the Paramount+ documentary Milli Vanilli, streaming on Paramount+ beginning October 24, 2023.
(Ingrid Segeith/Ingrid Segeith/Paramount+)
“Rob and Fab,” as they were known, never sang — live or in studio — on any of the smash hit singles from their 6x platinum debut North American album, “Girl You Know It’s True.” Their Grammy performance was them lip-synching to a playback.
The real singing was done by paid session vocalists John Davis, Brad Howell and Charles Shaw while Rob and Fab captivated with their charisma, athletic dance moves and eye for style. In the wake of the fallout, Milli Vanilli remained steadfast that what they did was wrong. There was, in fact, plenty of blame to go around even if Rob and Fab suffered the brunt of it.
“They removed the platinum records from the wall at Arista,” says Morvan, now 59. He is perched on the edge of a poolside lounge chair from a boutique hotel in the heart of Hollywood. It’s a sunny December day, but he’s dressed all in black with glasses to match, slim fingers adorned with a custom silver skull ring. He loves the sunshine, but offers for my sake to move somewhere in the shade. Able to pass for decades younger, he now basks in life on the other side of infamy.
“They say the truth will set you free. The truth takes the stairs while the lies take the elevators. And that is true,” Morvan said. “So finally, after 35 years, my truth comes to the surface.”
(Stephen Shadrach)
Now, in a redemption as astounding as his rise, Morvan is back in the running for the 2026 Grammys as the only person in Recording Academy history nominated after a prior revocation.
This time, the voice is unmistakably his. Nominated in the audio book, narration, and storytelling recording category for his memoir “You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli,” Morvan’s lilting French dialect and soft tone are hypnotizing and he has a natural knack for storytelling. The recording was performed alone in his home studio.
“They say the truth will set you free. The truth takes the stairs while the lies take the elevators. And that is true. So finally, after 35 years, my truth comes to the surface,” he contends. “And people, they get it, they understand that.”
Sadly, Rob Pilatus isn’t here to see it. Unable to handle the fallout and struggling in addiction, he died in 1998. In one of the more moving parts of his memoir, Morvan speaks to his former partner, laying bare for the first time some of the more unhealthy aspects of their relationship but in a way that makes clear his love for Pilatus runs deep.
After Pilatus’ death, Morvan tried his best to move on. He taught French at a Berlitz school for a while when not performing at small venues. “I’m not even looking at becoming big,” he told Times journalist Carla Rivera in a 1997 profile. He even had a stint on radio hosting “Fabrice’s Fabulous Flashbacks” for KIIS-FM. But he always returned to making music.
“Music was always there with me,” he says, his excitement building. So when it came to moving forward in life, and, I said, ‘OK, what am I going to do?’ Music kind of popped up and said, ‘Hey, show me how much you love me.’ And then I worked on that, and I learned how to play guitar, and I learned how to produce, and I learned how to write … it allowed me to take the pain away, to remove it.”
But after 20 years in Los Angeles, Morvan felt it was time to leave “Hotel California,” as he calls it, for opportunities in Europe. In a follow-up Zoom call from his home in Amsterdam, he confides that he almost felt like giving up, but figured maybe a change of scenery was what he needed.
“I was very disillusioned,” he says, headphones crowning his dreadlocked updo. “I found a producer that I could work with and build something with, but due to certain circumstances, it didn’t come together. So I met some Dutch people that wanted to launch a fashion line. And I heard that Holland was a place where dance music was evolving.”
Becoming a DJ, he played festivals and kept Milli Vanilli’s legacy alive, performing with a live band.
Morvan with his wife Tessa van der steen and their four children
While preparing for a project about 15 years ago, Morvan met his current partner, Tessa van der Steen, who is Dutch and works as a health and fitness coach and alternative medicine practitioner. Together, they have four children: a 12-year-old boy, 9-year-old girl, and a set of 4-year-old twin boys.
During Milli Vanilli’s heyday, powerful male (mostly white) figures held the cards, but in this phase of his life it’s women who play big roles. Not mentioned in his book is Kim Marlowe, who Morvan says, in the 1997 Times article was his manager and best friend. They at one point married; Marlowe quietly filed for divorce in L.A. in 2024.
Van der Steen, however, is the love of his life. She had no idea who he was when they first met, he was simply “Fabrice.” And according to Morvan, she is fiercely protective. “Fab is the most loving partner and father I could ever imagine,” Van der Steen writes over email. “We are soulmates. We have been together for more than 15 years. We understand each other, and it happens often that we are thinking of the same things, without saying a word.” She champions his efforts to release original music and continue performing.
In recent years, changes in culture, technology and the music industry have opened up conversations casting Rob and Fab in a more sympathetic light. Morvan himself took part in the well-received 2023 Paramount+ documentary “Milli Vanilli.” That same year, “Girl You Know It’s True,” a well-made biopic directed by Simon Verhoeven, came out.
And Morvan was caught off guard when Ryan Murphy featured Milli Vanilli prominently in his 2024 series on the Menendez brothers, a move introducing the group to new generations unfamiliar with the story. Motivated by the renewed interest, he recorded a stripped down, acoustic version of the Diane Warren-penned hit “Blame It on the Rain.”
As recently as November, Milli Vanilli came up in the zeitgeist, sparked by a comment on X by veteran producer Jermaine Dupri commenting on AI “artists” charting on Billboard.
Of course there are still detractors, but in an era in which public cancellations abound and apologies are scrutinized for any whiff of inauthenticity, Milli Vanilli’s wrongdoings can now seem quaint.
Benjamin Matheson, assistant professor at the University of Bern’s Institute on Philosophy, studies collective shame and writes on celebrity apology. He offers the startling thought that certain fans might be more willing to forgive a moral wrong, even an egregious one like unlawful intercourse with a minor in the example of director Roman Polanski, as opposed to artistic deception because it can be seen as more authentic.
“I think that perhaps,” Matheson writes over email, “Milli Vanilli suffered because they were an early ‘created’ pop band, and the public hadn’t been acclimatized to this kind of music. Whereas now I think people are much more comfortable with autotuning, AI music, and so on — though I’d love it if there was a bit more push back on this kind of thing.”
Morvan has plenty of thoughts on the state of the music industry past and present. He welcomes the change in perspective, and while he doesn’t live in regret, looking back, he would give his younger self a little advice.
“Keep working on your craft now. No matter what, and don’t ever start drugs. And don’t let your buddy Rob start with that. With those two, things would have been different.”
The pop duo Milli Vanilli comprised of Rob Pilatus(left) and Fab Morvan are the subject of the Paramount+ documentary Milli Vanilli, streaming on Paramount+ beginning October 24, 2023.
(Paul Cox/Paramount+/Paul Cox/Paramount+)
When the Los Angeles Tribune editorial staff selected “Girl You Know It’s True” as its movie of the year, Morvan met Parisa Rose, his co-writer and executive producer for the recording of the memoir. Rose, a first-time author and mother of two, first met Morvan when she interviewed him for the quirky paper — now in its fourth revival. She is now chief operating officer of the Tribune, which has expanded to include a publishing house.
Rose, who grew up in Pasadena, helped Morvan reckon with parts of his background he had long buried. One of the most compelling parts of the memoir is when he breaks the fourth wall, narrating letters to individuals from his past.
“You need to say everything you have never said before to them that you’ve always wanted to say,” she says of the exercise they conducted for the interludes. “You need to know that this is the last conversation you will ever have with them. And you need to imagine they are sitting across from you now.” Reached over the phone, Rose said she also helped with research, uncovering details on the seaside sanatorium in France where Morvan spent much of his early childhood.
A great part of Morvan’s motivation for the memoir was to leave a legacy for his kids. His oldest son is getting into music and recently found an old Milli Vanilli vinyl and plays it along with Daft Punk and Michael Jackson. Remaining “zen” about the idea of winning, he’s enjoying the moment. And the big dreams never die. He plans to tour in the next year and come back to perform in America. And who knows? Maybe one day he can play Coachella.
He’s particularly thrilled over his Grammy outfit, a collaboration with Spanish designer Helen López, whom he previously worked with on a Milli Vanilli-inspired line. “When you’ll see what I’m wearing … you’ll see that I don’t play,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. “No matter what the outcome in life, you have to just be, be in the moment. Enjoy the moment. Whatever happens will lead you to something else. I have no expectations.”
The brief preview clip, shown after viewers complete season four, episode four, reunites audiences with fan favourites Anthony (portrayed by Jonathan Bailey) and Kate Bridgerton (Simone Ashley), reports the Manchester Evening News.
The couple are shown relaxing on a bed with their newborn baby, following confirmation that Kate had given birth in India during the Viscount and Viscountess’s travels abroad.
The pair, affectionately dubbed ‘Kanthony’ by devoted fans, appear utterly content with their precious bundle nestled between them.
Fans have already flocked to Reddit to share their reactions to the heartwarming scene, particularly after some had expressed disappointment about the limited Kanthony content in Netflix’s earlier season four trailer.
Watch Bridgerton on Netflix for free with Sky
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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.
This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Bridgerton.
One delighted viewer shared a screenshot of the adorable infant on Reddit, writing: “Makes me broody for another one”, accompanied by two crying emojis.
Another commented: “Looks like a little girl with those eyelashes.”
A third gushed: “THAT KANTHONY BABY IS GORGEOUSSSSSS OMMMMGGG [sic]”, whilst a fourth fan remarked: “I devoured the first part. Absolutely incredible. So glad Kanthony have finally made an appearance as well. But oh my the chemistry between Benophie [sic].”
The newly released trailer reveals Benedict Bridgerton (portrayed by Luke Thompson) proposing that maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) become his mistress, prompting her to storm off in bewilderment and revulsion.
Yet the sneak peek at season four, part two, hints that Benedict may choose to defy society’s strict conventions and pursue his true feelings.
In a pivotal moment, Benedict confides in Will Mondrich (Martins Imhangbe): “There is a woman. She is not a person of any rank, and I have upset her.”
Will responds with crucial advice: “No matter her rank, no woman truly desires to be hidden.”
These words could prove the catalyst for Benedict’s transformation.
Nevertheless, the preview teases plenty of tension, with Sophie and Benedict sharing longing yet strained looks as they navigate society’s expectations.
Sophie appears determined to depart Bridgerton House, attempting to convince Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell) that her choice isn’t influenced by “anyone” in the residence.
Yet Violet clearly senses there’s something deeper to Sophie’s story and is intent on uncovering the truth – but will she manage before the maid departs?
The trailer builds to a crescendo with Lady Whistledown’s words: “Dearest Gentle reader, there are moments in our lives when we arrive at a crossroads.”
However, her words aren’t solely aimed at Benedict’s predicament, but also touch upon Violet’s blossoming romance with Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), Francesca Bridgerton’s (Hannah Dodd) emerging feelings for Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza), and Lady Danbury’s (Adjoa Andoh) choice to embark on travels rather than continuing as a lady’s maid to Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel).
There’s also an exchange between Violet and Benedict, where she questions her son: “Will you sacrifice your family? Whatever you choose, you must live with it forever. We all will.”
Considering Violet’s steadfast conviction in love above everything else, she may be encouraging Benedict to pursue his heart whilst ensuring he understands the ramifications of his choice.
Bridgerton season 4, part 2 will be released on Netflix on February 26
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“This is what you can expect from Lockheed Martin: continued significant investment to advance technology development and produce proven major weapon systems at ever greater scale. We build on this momentum with a powerful start to 2026,” CEO Jim Taiclet said during a quarterly earnings call this morning. “Lockheed Martin products, once again, proved critical to the U.S. military’s most demanding missions. The recent Operation Absolute Resolve [in Venezuela] included F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones, and Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters, which helped ensure mission success while bringing the men and women of our armed forces home safely.”
After the conclusion of Operation Absolute Resolve on January 3, video footage had emerged showing at least one, and possibly two, RQ-170s arriving at the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico. This was a major hub for aircraft employed in the operation and had already offered very strong evidence of the Sentinel’s involvement.
The U.S. military subsequently confirmed that F-35s, F-22s, and Black Hawks – the latter belonging to the U.S. Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Night Stalkers – among many other types of aircraft had taken part in the operation. While mention was also made of the use of drones, the RQ-170 was not explicitly named.
F-22s and F-35s, among other aircraft, seen in Puerto Rico after the conclusion of Operation Absolute Resolve. USAF
A now-deleted post in December 2025 from Air Forces Southern (AFSOUTH) on X, which included a picture of an individual wearing a name patch with an RQ-170 silhouette and the sleeve insignia of the 432nd Wing, had prompted earlier questions about whether the drones were operating in the region. The only units known to fly Sentinel are the 30th and 44th Reconnaissance Squadrons, both of which are assigned to the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. A total of between 20 and 30 RQ-170s are said to be in the Air Force’s inventory.
The exact role the RQ-170 played in Operation Absolute Resolve remains unclear, and Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet offered no further details. TWZhas previously detailed how the mission and the lead-up to it are exactly what the Sentinel was designed for. As we wrote:
“RQ-170s would have provided a valuable way to discreetly track Maduro’s movements and otherwise establish his ‘patterns of life,’ as well as those of the forces guarding him, for an extended period of time in the lead-up to the actual launch of the operation to capture him. During the mission itself, having one of the drones orbiting overhead would have provided an indispensable source of real-time information, including to help spot threats that might unexpectedly appear. Those same feeds would also have given senior leaders, including President Donald Trump, a way to watch the operation as it happened.”
…
“With all this in mind, RQ-170s could also have surveilled Venezuelan military bases and other sites that U.S. forces struck as part of the operation overnight, and helped with post-strike assessments. The Air Force has disclosed having at least conducted tests in the past of the Sentinel in the bomb damage assessment role in combination with B-2 bombers.”
Since then, it has also emerged that the U.S. military planning for the mission included preparations to destroy three airfields in the country if it appeared that fighters belonging to the Venezuelan Air Force were attempting to scramble and intercept the raiding force. That threat did not materialize, and none of those facilities were ultimately struck, but it would have been necessary to closely monitor them to be sure.
Multiple Venezuelan air defense assets were also struck at various locations in the country during the operation. TWZhas also highlighted previously how suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD) would have been a key mission for the F-22s and F-35s in the force package. U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers, and likely at least one U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call aircraft, also contributed electronic warfare support to this mission and other aspects of the operation.
The RQ-170’s participation in Operation Absolute Resolve adds to the still relatively limited publicly available information (and even less that is officially confirmed) about the use of these drones over the years. The U.S. Air Force only officially acknowledged the Sentinel’s existence in 2009, two years after it was first spotted in Afghanistan and had been dubbed the “Beast of Kandahar.”
RQ-170s were used to monitor aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, something that was thrust into the public eye after one of the drones went down in that country in 2011, a major intelligence loss. RQ-170s likely also played a role in relation to the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last year, where they could have provided direct overhead coverage and intelligence for post-mission bomb damage assessments.
Sentinels are understood to have surveilled Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan in the lead-up to the raid that led to his death, which also occurred in 2011. This, as well as operations over Iran, are prime examples of the Sentinel’s ability to persistently surveil key sites even in denied areas. The preparations for and execution of Operation Absolute Resolve also followed a playbook with direct parallels, as well as notable differences, to the Bin Laden mission.
Between 2022 and 2023, Sentinels may have flown missions in the Black Sea region, gathering intelligence on Russian forces on the heavily-defended occupied Crimean Peninsula. A satellite image available through Apple Maps showing an RQ-170 at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy has lent some further credence to those reports. Sigonella has been and continues to be a hub for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea. It is unclear when the image was taken, but it looks to be from a relevant timeframe based on the visible state of construction elsewhere at the base.
A satellite image showing an RQ-170 at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy. Apple MapsConstruction seen at Naval Air Station Sigonella in the same Apple Maps image that shows the RQ-170s. A review of other imagery shows a similar degree of construction throughout much of 2023. The physical break seen here between the taxiway extension work and the existing taxiways to the north was still present until at least April 2024. Apple Maps
Though much still remains to be learned, the remarks today from Lockheed Martin CEO Taiclet have added a small, but notable addition to the story of the RQ-170.
DENVER — Donald Trump lost his bid for reelection in 2020. But for more than five years, he’s been trying to convince Americans the opposite is true by falsely saying the election was marred by widespread fraud.
Now that he’s president again, Trump is pushing the federal government to back up those bogus claims.
On Wednesday, the FBI served a search warrant at the election headquarters of Fulton County, Georgia, which includes most of Atlanta, seeking ballots from the 2020 election. That follows Trump’s comments earlier this month when he suggested during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that charges related to the election were imminent.
“The man has obsessions, as do a fair number of people, but he’s the only one who has the full power of the United States behind him,” said Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor.
Hasen and many others noted that Trump’s use of the FBI to pursue his obsession with the 2020 election is part of a pattern of the president transforming the federal government into his personal tool of vengeance.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, compared the search to the Minnesota immigration crackdown that has killed two U.S. citizen protesters, launched by Trump as his latest blow against the state’s governor, who ran against him as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024.
“From Minnesota to Georgia, on display to the whole world, is a President spiraling out of control, wielding federal law enforcement as an unaccountable instrument of personal power and revenge,” Ossoff said in a statement.
It also comes as election officials across the country are starting to rev up for the 2026 midterms, where Trump is struggling to help his party maintain its control of Congress. Noting that, in 2020, Trump contemplated using the military to seize voting machines after his loss, some worry he’s laying the groundwork for a similar maneuver in the fall.
“Georgia’s a blueprint,” said Kristin Nabers of the left-leaning group All Voting Is Local. “If they can get away with taking election materials here, what’s to stop them from taking election materials or machines from some other state after they lose?”
Georgia has been at the heart of Trump’s 2020 obsession. He infamously called Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, asking that Raffensperger “find” 11,780 more votes for Trump so he could be declared the winner of the state. Raffensperger refused, noting that repeated reviews confirmed Democrat Joe Biden had narrowly won Georgia.
Those were part of a series of reviews in battleground states, often led by Republicans, that affirmed Biden’s win, including in Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. Trump also lost dozens of court cases challenging the election results and his own attorney general at the time said there was no evidence of widespread fraud.
His allies who repeated his lies have been successfully sued for defamation. That includes former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who settled with two Georgia election workers after a court ruled he owed them $148 million for defaming them after the 2020 election.
Voting machine companies also have brought defamation cases against some conservative-leaning news sites that aired unsubstantiated claims about their equipment being linked to fraud in 2020. Fox News settled one such case by agreeing to pay $787 million after the judge ruled it was “CRYSTAL clear” that none of the allegations were true.
Trump’s campaign to move Georgia into his column also sparked an ill-fated attempt to prosecute him and some of his allies by Fulton County District Atty. Fani Willis, a Democrat. The case collapsed after Willis was removed over conflict-of-interest concerns, and Trump has since sought damages from the office.
On his first day in office, Trump rewarded some of those who helped him try to overturn the 2020 election results by pardoning, commuting or vowing to dismiss the cases of about 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He later signed an executive order trying to set new rules for state election systems and voting procedures, although that has been repeatedly blocked by judges who have ruled that the Constitution gives states, and in some instances Congress, control of elections rather than the president.
As part of his campaign of retribution, Trump also has spoken about wanting to criminally charge lawmakers who sat on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, suggesting protective pardons of them from Biden are legally invalid. He’s targeted a former cybersecurity appointee who assured the public in 2020 that the election was secure.
During a year of presidential duties, from dealing with wars in Gaza and Ukraine to shepherding sweeping tax and spending legislation through Congress, Trump has reliably found time to turn the subject to 2020. He has falsely called the election rigged, said Democrats cheated and even installed a White House plaque claiming Biden took office after “the most corrupt election ever.”
David Becker, a former Department of Justice voting rights attorney and executive director of The Center for Election Innovation & Research, said he was skeptical the FBI search in Georgia would lead to any successful prosecutions. Trump has demanded charges against several enemies such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York’s Democratic Atty. Gen., Letitia James, that have stalled in court.
“So much this administration has done is to make claims in social media rather than go to court,” Becker said. “I suspect this is more about poisoning the well for 2026.”
This article contains spoilers for Part 1 of Season 4 of “Bridgerton.”
Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha are lounging on a blue velvet couch in a swanky green room inside of Netflix’s offices in New York, bracing for the whirlwind that inevitably envelops every pair of actors who become the central couple in a season of the popular romance drama “Bridgerton.” And they’re still settling into the idea of being romantic leads.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Ha says fresh into their first press day in early December. “Because for a very long time, I didn’t think that it was possible for me — maybe I should have dreamed bigger. To keep saying that I’m the lead of a season feels really bizarre.”
“But maybe that’s a way of coping with it,” Thompson says. “I remember in Season 1, I just finished a Zoom call and I just sat in my living room and it was the first time I really touched into the idea that millions of people are watching this thing. Millions of people. And I never did it again.”
“You just did it for me now,” Ha says with a smidgen of dread that launches the pair into laughter. “That’s not really helping.”
Thompson, though, isn’t feeling the pressure of keeping the romance alive and extremely meme-able as they take up the mantle of the Regency-era fairy tale.
“It’s a show that’s proven time and time again that there’s huge appetite for romance,” he says. “It was a genre that might have been, not looked down on, but not really taken very seriously. To be able to incarnate some projection of romance for people, particularly in January and February, when people are feeling a bit miserable, maybe, it’s lovely to be part of that.”
The duo play Benedict and Sophie, affectionately dubbed #Benophie, a couple whose story gives the classic Cinderella tale a bit of steam and is one that readers of Julia Quinn’s “An Offer From a Gentleman,” which inspired this season, know well. Thompson’s Benedict, whom “Bridgerton” viewers have come to know as the artistic, pansexual second-oldest son of the Bridgerton clan, has long shown disinterest in settling down or adhering to societal norms. But then in Part 1 of Season 4, released Thursday, he meets Sophie Baek, a maid in her abusive stepmother’s home, at a masquerade ball hosted by his mother. Viewers eventually learn Sophie’s servitude is forced after her parentage is revealed — she’s the illegitimate daughter of an earl.
Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek and Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton during their masquerade ball meet-cute in Season 4.
(Liam Daniel / Netflix)
Showrunner Jess Brownell says this season, they were is interested in prodding the wish-fulfillment fantasy many of us were introduced to at a young age.
“We learn about them as children from Disney movies,” she says. “For us, though, in interacting with this trope, it was really important to interrogate it a little bit. I think what our interrogation hopefully reveals is that oftentimes it’s the prince figure or the man of a ‘higher station’ who … needs to do some work on himself, to step out of his fantasy life a little bit and step more into reality to be worthy of the love of a Cinderella-type. It’s not to say that the Sophie character doesn’t have her own journey to go on, I think that she absolutely has to let her walls down and has to allow herself to dream of and believe in the possibility of love.”
Over a video call from that cozy couch inside Netflix’s offices, Thompson and Ha discussed navigating the spotlight as the newest “Bridgerton” couple, this season’s very unromantic declaration of love and trying to capture a swoon-worthy meet-cute behind an oversized mask.
The excitement for this season is already in full effect. How are you feeling about Benophie as the couple name? Am I even pronouncing it right?
Thompson: I don’t know!
Ha: I think that is right. I initially said Ben-off-ee like Banoffee pie, but then I realized it wouldn’t make sense because it’s So-fee. So Ben-o-fee would make more sense.
Thompson: There’s been a couple of fun AI pictures.
Ha: I actually just got one yesterday from my mom about our kids, our future kids. [Thompson laughs.] And I was like, “Mom, why are you on the internet looking at these things?” So it’s really out there, and I’m really being fed it out of my own will, but it’s amazing to see people already so excited about it and wanting to create things and future possibilities. It’s quite amazing. And the fans are actually so lovely.
Thompson: I think that’s one of the best things about social media, actually; that whole aspect of people projecting or imagining themselves or creating stuff sometimes. That’s something that we never used to be able to really get a handle on, but to be able to see the amount of energy and thought that people put into it is kind of amazing.
Ha: Also creative artistry. So many fans are drawing, sketching. It’s incredible. The amount of talent that people just share with us, it’s really beautiful.
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1.The “Bridgerton” couples over the seasons: Simon Basset (Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) in Season 1.2.Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) in Season 2.3.Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) in Season 3.4.Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) and Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha) in Season 4.(Liam Daniel / Netflix)
Luke, you’ve had three seasons to observe how others have taken on this mantle. Did Jonathan or Luke impart any words of wisdom as you stepped into lead duties? Did you have any observations in watching them navigate the spotlight and the intensity of this?
They were always very, very open to offering advice — Regé[-Jean Page, who led the first season as Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings], as well; all three of them. That’s been really, really helpful to know that it’s there. In terms of observing them, that’s why I’ve had a bit of a lucky ride, really, because I got to watch them. I mean this in a positive way — Regé is very serious. There’s something about the nature of the show that could encourage you to be a bit more light about it, but I think he really took it very seriously. Johnny [Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony Bridgerton] has this amazing energy that’s extremely contagious. I watched that and how that affects the atmosphere on set. And then Luke [Newton, who plays Colin Bridgerton] is very sensitive and he’s very careful and clued in terms of how and when he expresses himself. I’m so lucky I got to watch all of them do it and admire them and think about them and think also about how it would work for me.
What about you, Yerin? You’re a newcomer to this fictional world being thrown into the deep end. Did you get any useful feedback from Nicola Coughlan or Simone Ashley?
I didn’t have the years of looking at the other leads actually experience it. But Nicola and Simone, from the get-go when I was cast, they offered to give me advice and be like, “We’re here for you if you need it.” But the thing about it is, everyone is so different and unique with what they actually struggle with and what is going to be their challenge. I didn’t really know what I wanted advice about, but it was just always so nice and supportive to know that they were there if I needed them. But also, Luke, who was my main scene partner, was in “Bridgerton” for years, so I was able to also lean on him and also the other fellow castmates if I felt insecure or if I didn’t really know how to go about things.
Luke Thompson on “Bridgerton”: “It’s a show that’s proven time and time again that there’s huge appetite for romance,” he says. “To be able to incarnate some projection of romance for people, particularly in January and February, when people are feeling a bit miserable, maybe, it’s lovely to be part of that.”
(Tyler Twins / For The Times)
This being “Bridgerton,” the chemistry between Benedict and Sophie is so crucial to the magic of their story and how it develops over time. Tell me about the chemistry read. What do you remember about meeting each other?
Thompson: It was like this.
Ha: You’re third wheeling with us.
Thompson: It was on Zoom.
Ha: I was in Korea. It was 11 p.m. and I was trying to manage my nerves the entire day, which was quite stressful. And then I logged on, you [Thompson] were there. You had a striped shirt on, I remember — quite vividly, actually. I said that he looked quite tired. Maybe it was me projecting, thinking that he was having lots of auditions, reading with lots of people by then.
Thompson: I’m trying to think how many; we hadn’t auditioned that many people because it’s a very particular part. What we were asking or looking for was fairly particular. That’s the other thing I thought: How are we going to be able to do a chemistry read on Zoom? With all the awkwardness of doing it on Zoom — having to pretend that you’re turning your back and there’s a lake and having to sort of mime in front of the camera is so, so cheesy — despite all of that, I just remember reading scenes with you and feeling very relaxed. You know it when you see it. As soon as the Zoom call ended, I told you, Tom Verica [an executive producer and a director of the series] was a bit teary, and we were like, “Well, obviously it’s her.”
Ha: Obviously the stakes are so high on my end, because he’s already in the show, so I was so focused on just trying to be present and not trying to force anything. I think that’s when it gets a little bit weird. I just remember looking at you in the screen, and Luke’s such an open person anyways, and so it was quite easy to do the scene, despite that there was lots of interjections in the audition scene that we had to do, but we just pushed through.
What were the scenes that you had to do together that day? The lake scene —
Thompson: The lake scene and the tea scene. Just two.
In Season 4, viewers know Sophie (Yerin Ha) is the lady whom Benedict (Luke Thompson) meets at the masquerade ball, but he hasn’t connected the dots when they meet again later.
(Liam Daniel / Netflix)
In the world of romance, how two characters meet is often as important as how they get together. And the masquerade ball holds a lot of excitement and expectations for fans of the book. How did you feel tackling that scene? Did the masks help alleviate any nerves?
Ha: For me, it was a bit more pressure in the sense that my mask is so big [Thompson laughs], it’s hard to actually be quite expressive when your cheekbones are hidden under this mask. I just remember sometimes Tom would be like, “You got to express more with your eyes and your lips.”
Thompson: It’s basically like you were wearing a paper bag.
Ha: Yes! So, that was a challenge, but also, in a way, sometimes masks make you feel a little bit invincible … Sophie, especially in that night, the mask makes her brave and courageous; when she takes off the physical mask, that’s when the metaphorical mask actually comes into play.
Thompson: You’re right. The mask thing is integral to how they both meet. They even talk about it when they’re on the gazebo, the terrace; they have that whole scene where it is all about asking questions, not answering questions. To Benedict, [with] Sophie you’re constantly like, “Is she in earnest? Does she actually not know how to dance? Is she joking that she doesn’t know how to dance? Is she playing the role of someone?” There’s so many different questions about it — and I think that’s what’s so romantic about it. It’s so recognizable because that’s always what love at first sight is. It’s not that in that moment, two people completely see each other; there’s a game that starts happening. It’s all about what they allow the other to see or not, and sometimes there’s these really nice bits where they keep missing each other. There’s that amazing bit … when she’s spying through the door, and then just as she leaves, Benedict looks. It’s the pattern of their relationship, it’s how it’s always been — and it starts in this amazing little dream.
I imagine there was there a lot of discussions on what these masks should look like?
Ha: Yes. The costume team are incredible; they had, like, five different versions of it. Some of it was just completely covering my face with material. And then they were like, “Maybe not.” Because obviously Benedict sees her later as Sophie, and so why doesn’t he recognize her? They had to play this really fine line. But they are so creative and quick to change and adapt and bring in new designs. It turned out really beautifully.
Thompson: One of my fears actually reading the book was, “Oh, is it going to seem a little silly [that] Benedict doesn’t recognize her?” But actually, it’s so ornate, the mask is such a thing. When I since watched the episodes, I was like, yeah, I buy that he can see and feel something. He just can’t put it together.
Yerin Ha on becoming a leading lady in “Bridgerton”: “It doesn’t feel real,” she says. “Because for a very long time, I didn’t think that it was possible for me — maybe I should have dreamed bigger.”
(Tyler Twins / For The Times)
Yerin, our first glimpse of you as Sophie was as she’s putting on the mask — she’s a mystery to both Benedict and the viewers in that first episode, but we come to learn her story, which has echoes of Cinderella. What excited you about Sophie?
Ha: The thing for me is Sophie’s character and morals; it’s the fact that despite all the obstacles and the challenges, she’s still able to lead and live the world with a really caring heart. She’s still witty and she still has a bit of humor to her. But to be honest with you, the thing for me that I really connected with Sophie was her journey and discovery into self-love and knowing that she’s also deserving of it. That’s something I, at least, talk about a lot with my friends — and what does self-love look like and feel like and mean to me? I learned a lot through Sophie, as well, and knowing that it’s who you decide to bring into your life. Love is not just in someone, it’s about the people in the community that you created.
Benedict’s sexuality, his fluidity, has been something the writers have explored in building his overall arc. How will that be discussed or addressed as his relationship with Sophie develops?
Thompson: It’s a tricky one, right? Benedict is quite striking as a character — I can understand why people see all sorts of identities and words that would apply to him in a modern context. A lot of particularly male sexuality, generally, can be portrayed in quite a box-y, angsty way — where it’s like, “Oh, you’re either gay or you’re straight, or this or that.” What’s nice about a character is that it’s a unique construction. It’s not a representation of any particular experience. It seems like, for him, his sexuality isn’t necessarily a big determiner of his identity; it is a symptom of him wanting to explore. He’s curious and he’s open. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you’re truly open, that means you can form a connection with anyone. You could argue that it’s a force that has kept him, so far, at least, in a relentless chase for freedom and dodging the falling in love part, and I think I’m more interested in that.
About that — let’s get into his misguided declaration of love at the end of Part I. You read the books, you knew it was coming. It was the moment we‘ve come to expect from this show — until the last line where he asks her to be his mistress. How did you decide to play that moment?
Thompson: It is contextual, historically. There’s that scene in the Gentleman’s Club where, clearly, he can see that there are people who have that arrangement and do love each other. But I also think that’s a cop-out. That’s maybe trying to soften what is essentially Benedict’s main flaw. He’s been shown to be caring in many ways. But I also think the problem with someone like that is, if you’re charming to everyone, how can you develop something specific with one person? All of his front makes it very difficult for him to fall for someone, and to really engage and really commit to someone. Him saying that thing can be seen as him trying to have his cake and eat it — like, I’m going to splice the sort of fantasy I’ve got and the real world, and just mash it together and that will work.
He’s a bit blind. Season 4 is about his blindness, literally, in terms of recognizing her, but also that he can’t see that that wouldn’t be a perfect solution. He is maybe a bit blind about it and doesn’t necessarily consider how that might feel for Sophie. I would also say that he doesn’t have the information he needs from Sophie at that stage about being the lady in silver, which is an interesting tension. It’s fascinating because it’s a really dumb move from a character that you wouldn’t necessarily think would come from a character like that, but actually, to me, it makes complete sense that it would come from him. Benedict’s dad died very early, so he has an image of a loving relationship as something pretty terrifying, so you can understand why he’d want to avoid that, or want to find his way to escape the real commitment … but also have his cake.
Yerin, how did you feel about it?
Ha: I was so disappointed. I remember when we were doing the scene, I did actually feel genuinely angry. Benedict lives more in the fantasy realm, and Sophie definitely lives in more of the reality realm, but in that moment, it’s almost like she’s getting drunk on his words. She’s almost imagining as if there’s going to be a proposal, even though she knows that back in those days, that wouldn’t even really work. But she’s hoping and dreaming. But the minute he says that, she wakes up and she realizes, “Actually, this can never be”; her walls are back up. It almost takes her back to a place of her childhood and how she feels as a kid … It brings a lot of trauma back for her. I just remember doing that scene and feeling like I wanted to slap Benedict.
Thompson: We should have tried it. One take. I think people would have loved that.
At the end of Part 1, Thompson’s and Ha’s characters share a declaration of love gone wrong: “I remember when we were doing the scene, I did actually feel genuinely angry,” Ha says.
(Tyler Twins / For The Times)
Did you work with an intimacy coordinator for that scene? How was it to film that first moment of intimacy between the characters?
Ha: It was really hot on the set — literally, metaphorically. It was hot. It was the candles, and the air traveled up and it was a tiny, narrow set. But Lizzie, our intimacy coordinator, she is the best, she is incredible. There’s different ways that you can kind of go about it, where it’s paint by numbers or a blueprint, and just find your way to like A, B and C, which is more the vibe that we went through. She’s so amazing in the energy and space that she creates. She guides us and listens to each of us and what we need and how to make it maybe look a little bit nicer or rougher or whatever it is. I really lean on her as an intimacy coordinator, and felt very safe in those scenes because it is quite vulnerable and exposing.
Thompson: It was a security blanket, isn’t it? It’s just nice having someone to monitor it, so you’re not just stuck, just you two, or you and the director, who sometimes, in my previous … experience, directors are often quite embarrassed about those scenes, which drives me mad because I’m like, “You’re not the one that has to do this.” It’s all about trust. It’s very important to have that person there to facilitate and to have an outside eye on it because what feels good doesn’t necessarily look good. You need to have them choreographed because the actors can only really relate from the inside out, so they don’t know what stories being told outside.
This season’s story has hints of “Cinderella” in it. Did you channel any classic romance heroes, heroines or stories as you prepped?
Thompson: The masquerade ball made me think about Romeo and Juliet a lot. It’s Romeo and Juliet-coded, the way they meet and just going off somewhere private. I don’t think consciously, I thought about that, but when we were doing it, it really brought that into my head.
Ha: I guess because it’s the constant “Cinderella” nod, I really relied heavily on “Cinderella.” It does veer off from the “Cinderella” story. And I do want to acknowledge that it’s a starting point, not the actual plot line. She was my favorite princess growing up. I had a full dress with a Cinderella icon on it. I would wear that every second day.
Thompson: That’s so sweet.
Ha: I just wanted to meet my prince.
The first half ends with Benedict and Sophie at a crossroads, an impasse.
Thompson: Benedict and Sophie meet in dream scenarios. They meet in the masquerade ball, which is Sophie’s dream. Then they meet in [Benedict’s] cottage, which is sort of Benedict’s dream place. Then in [Episode] 4, they have to go back to the ton and the real world. It’s a struggle that everyone knows very well, when you fall for someone, and there’s the honeymoon period where you’re spinning this story together. Then it’s like, how do you deal with the real world, and how do you deal with getting bored with each other or getting angry with one another? It’ll be interesting to see how they find each other again.
Ha: Even reading the scripts, I was like, how are they going to make this work, especially acknowledging the class difference as well, nobility and her being a servant. Fans will really want to see how it all plays out. When society tells you can’t be with someone, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to surrender to that or are you going to fight for it? That’s going to be the journey for Part 2.
With any fandom, parasocial relationships form. There’s an attachment and shipping of fictional characters, but it can sometimes extend to the actors outside of the characters. How do you navigate that?
Ha: I think we’re just being us. What’s really lovely about Luke is that I have so much love for him as a human being, but I can’t control what people project and I can’t control what people will think and create a narrative and story. But I know my truth, and I know that I respect Luke as a human, as an actor, as a colleague, as a friend. We’re very professional, but we’re also good friends.
Thompson: That’s right. It’s nice to have stuff projected on you — that’s the joy of being an actor. You want people to look at you, want them to get lost in some idea of you. My point of view is always to absolutely welcome that and also say, but I don’t have to set the record straight for anyone. It’s their show. Even when I meet fans in the street, I don’t really think, “Oh, they’re coming for me.” They’re seeing the show. It’s a slightly overused word, but it is just about getting those boundaries straight in your head. You can’t really enjoy the attention that you get from fans because you think it’s coming for you. But actually, if you’ve got that nice boundary, you get to enjoy the attention from the fans.
