producer

ACTRESS Alexandra Daddario has split from her hubby after their marriage “fizzled out”.

The White Lotus star, 39, has a 15-month-old son with film producer Andrew Form, 57.

New York court records show she filed for divorce on Friday.

Her rep said: “They have made the decision to end their marriage.

“The decision was made with love and respect.”

Insiders claimed their marriage started “hot and heavy” but cooled due to work schedules, eventually suffering a “consistent loss of love”.

A source said: “Alexandra and Andrew slowly grew apart.

“Raising a child was a reason to carry on but they weren’t even doing that together often and their married life slowly disintegrated.”

Alexandra was nominated for an Emmy for her role in The White Lotus alongside Sydney Sweeney.

She has also appeared in Baywatch and True Detective.

She and Form met by chance in New York before marrying in 2022.

Form’s movies include Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Purge and A Quiet Place.

Alexandra slammed critics of her acting last year, saying: “Sometimes I’m lit poorly, but I’m not a bad actress.

“I got an Emmy nomination.”

Jennifer Hudson raised more then a few eyebrows in 2022 when she was close to realizing her dream — becoming a daytime talk show host.

At the time, she had just become the youngest member of the small elite group of artists who are EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award — winners. She was also aware that the highly competitive daytime talk show arena had been a notorious minefield for several top stars, leading to quick failure.

But she was unfazed. Just days before the premiere of the “Jennifer Hudson Show,” she called it the perfect birthday present.

“This is going to be such a gift,” she said near the set of the show at Warner Bros., which produces the series. “If I were not working on my birthday, that is what I would be wishing for — performing on a stage or a platform … I love a challenge … It is a difficult arena. You will always see me try.”

The entertainer expressed even more excitement Thursday after her syndicated show was renewed for a fifth season, bringing some welcome sunlight to the afternoon landscape which has been shaken in the last several weeks by the upcoming departures of popular hosts Kelly Clarkson and Sherri Shepherd.

Hudson and Drew Barrymore, who has hosted her own eponymous show since 2020, are now the sole survivors in the celebrity-oriented afternoon talk genre. (The talk show hosted by Tamron Hall is more focused on topical issues and trends.)

Insiders say the continuing economic difficulties in Hollywood and the explosion of video podcasts hosted by stars such as Amy Poehler, Conan O’Brien, Dax Shepard and the “Smartless” trio consisting of actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes has substantially crippled the traditional daytime talk format.

Shock waves have resonated through the daytime TV industry since early February when Clarkson said she would be ending her Emmy-winning talk show at the conclusion of its current seventh season for personal reasons. Just hours later, producers of “Sherri” announced they were pulling the plug on that series, attributing the cancellation to “the evolving daytime television landscape.” Shepherd in recent days has said she was fighting to save the show.

Rumors about the future of Hudson’s show have been circulating since those announcements. Although some insiders considered Hudson an unlikely entrant in daytime, she has established herself as an engaging and warm host, connecting with her enthusiastic studio audience and highlighting the show with musical performances and duets with her guests.

The show has also aggressively employed social media to promote its “Spirit Tunnel,” where staff members lining a corridor greet celebrities with chants on their way to the stage. Producers say the ritual has surpassed 6 billion views.

“The Jennifer Hudson Show” replaced Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, which ended in 2022, had run for nearly 20 years and was produced by Warner Bros.

Experts say the current landscape is indicative of the cyclical nature of daytime talk, recalling the era of “trash talk” during the 1990s when afternoon talk shows such as “Sally,” “Jerry Springer” and others emphasized fierce confrontations and provocative, often sexually oriented topics.

“Daytime has always gone through these cycles, so this is nothing new,” said Rachel Schwartz, head of the Daytime Emmys and Children & Family Emmy. And video podcasts appear to be part of this latest cycle.

“Now audiences are proving that they are really hungry for podcasts, which is impacting the landscape of daytime TV,” she said. “The podcast can be narrowly focused on one celebrity. It’s like the listener is sitting down with a friend. And the guest can be more comfortable.”

Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center, which explores the psychology of human interaction with media and technology, said that while daytime talk shows offer familiarity with the same host, tone and daily presence, podcasts give celebrities more control, intimacy and influence without the constraints and pressures of broadcast TV.

“Podcast hosts tend to be partners in conversation, not ‘hosts’ or moderators,” she said. “Talk shows are in the middle of the voyeurism spectrum — too curated by time, pacing and commercial interruptions to feel really intimate and too restrained to be thrilling.”

Rutledge added that maintaining TV studios, crews and accommodating large audiences is becoming increasingly costly for producers, who are looking more to other types of digital and social platforms that are more attractive to advertisers.

Finalists and honorees for the 46th Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced Wednesday.

Writer-curator Ekow Eshun is among the biography finalists for “The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them,” which parses Black masculinity as embodied by various civil rights activists, philosophers and other visionaries. Contenders in the fiction categories ranged from seasoned novelists like Michael Connelly to breakouts including Saou Ichikawa, whose debut novel, “Hunchback,” was longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize.

Many selected books evoke the greatest anxieties of our time, from government-sanctioned historical revisionism to the ongoing proliferation of AI.

“The Joy Luck Club” author Amy Tan will be honored with this year’s Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement. Nonprofit We Need Diverse Books and novelist Adam Ross will receive the Innovator’s Award and Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, respectively.

Winners in the remaining categories will be revealed at the 46th L.A. Times Book Prizes on April 17 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. The ceremony is a prelude to the annual L.A. Times Festival of Books, which this year runs April 18-19.

The Oakland-born Tan will be given the marquee Robert Kirsch Award, which celebrates literature with regional and thematic connections to the Western United States, for her highly awarded body of work exploring multicultural identity and its complex effects on familial bonds.

“Throughout her extraordinary career, Amy Tan has transformed American literature by shining a light on the emotional complexities of family, identity and cultural inheritance,” said Times senior editor for Books Sophia Kercher. “Her work confronts the social and cultural legacies of the American West with rich details of the immigrant experience.”

Tan’s 1989 debut novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” which interweaves the stories of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their American-born daughters in San Francisco, is a staple of the modern literary canon and was previously a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. “The Joy Luck Club,” along with the essays, memoirs and novels Tan has since penned — most recently 2024’s “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” — have also led her to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters and earned her a National Humanities Medal from President Biden.

We Need Diverse Books, a viral 2014 Twitter campaign turned nonprofit, is being honored with the Innovator’s Award for its efforts toward promoting diversity and inclusion in children’s and young adult publishing.

According to the WNDB website, upon the nonprofit’s launch more than a decade ago, only 8% of children’s books published in the U.S. were written by authors of color. In 2023, that figure rose to 47%, in no small part due to WNDB’s grants, library partnerships and other advocacy work, per the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“We Need Diverse Books has played an important role in publishing by championing stories that reflect our world, and opening doors for writers and readers,” said Times Executive Editor Terry Tang. “We are thrilled to recognize them with this year’s Innovator’s Award, honoring their unwavering commitment to access and representation in literature.”

Ross rounds out the L.A. Times Book Prize honorees as the winner of the Christopher Isherwood Prize for “Playworld,” a semi-autobiographical novel about a teen growing up in 1980s New York that is described as “less a bildungsroman than a story of miseducation.”

In addition to the achievement awards, the Book Prizes recognize titles in 13 categories: audiobooks, autobiographical prose (the Christopher Isherwood Prize), biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award), graphic novel/comics, history, mystery/thriller, poetry, science fiction, science and technology and young adult literature. Each category’s finalists and winners are chosen by panels of writers specializing in that genre.

For more information about the Book Prizes, including the complete list of finalists, visit latimes.com/BookPrizes.

Robert Kirsch Award

Amy Tan

Innovator’s Award

We Need Diverse Books

The Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose

Adam Ross, “Playworld: A Novel”

The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

Andy Anderegg, “Plum”

Krystelle Bamford, “Idle Grounds: A Novel”

Addie E. Citchens, “Dominion: A Novel”

Justin Haynes, “Ibis: A Novel”

Saou Ichikawa translated by Polly Barton, “Hunchback: A Novel”

Achievement in Audiobook Production, presented by Audible

Molly Jong-Fast (narrator), Matie Argiropoulos (producer); “How to Lose Your Mother”

Jason Mott, Ronald Peet, and JD Jackson (narrators), Diane McKiernan (producer); “People Like Us: A Novel”

James Aaron Oh (narrator), Linda Korn (producer); “The Emperor of Gladness: A Novel”

Imani Perry (narrator), Suzanne Mitchell (producer); “Black in Blues”

Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler, Steve West, and Jim Seybert (narrators), Kelly Gildea (producer); “The Correspondent: A Novel”

Biography

Joe Dunthorne, “Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance”

Ekow Eshun, “The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them”

Ruth Franklin, “The Many Lives of Anne Frank”

Beth Macy, “Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America”

Amanda Vaill, “Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution”

Current Interest

Jeanne Carstensen, “A Greek Tragedy: One Day, a Deadly Shipwreck, and the Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis”

Stefan Fatsis, “Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary”

Brian Goldstone, “There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America”

Gardiner Harris, “No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson”

Jordan Thomas, “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World”

Fiction

Tod Goldberg, “Only Way Out: A Novel”

Stephen Graham Jones, “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”

Mia McKenzie, “These Heathens: A Novel”

Andrés Felipe Solano translated by Will Vanderhyden, “Gloria: A Novel”

Bryan Washington, “Palaver: A Novel”

Graphic Novel/Comics

Eagle Valiant Brosi, “Black Cohosh”

Jaime Hernandez, “Life Drawing: A Love and Rockets Collection”

Michael D. Kennedy, “Milk White Steed”

Lee Lai, “Cannon”

Carol Tyler, “The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief”

History

Char Adams, “Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore”

Bench Ansfield, “Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City”

Jennifer Clapp, “Titans of Industrial Agriculture: How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why It Matters”

Eli Erlick, “Before Gender: Lost Stories from Trans History, 1850-1950”

Aaron G. Fountain Jr., “High School Students Unite!: Teen Activism, Education Reform, and FBI Surveillance in Postwar America”

Mystery/Thriller

Megan Abbott, “El Dorado Drive”

Ace Atkins, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World: A Novel”

Lou Berney, “Crooks: A Novel About Crime and Family”

Michael Connelly, “The Proving Ground: A Lincoln Lawyer Novel”

S.A. Cosby, “King of Ashes: A Novel”

Poetry

Gabrielle Calvocoressi, “The New Economy”

Chet’la Sebree, “Blue Opening: Poems”

Richard Siken, “I Do Know Some Things”

Devon Walker-Figueroa, “Lazarus Species: Poems”

Allison Benis White, “A Magnificent Loneliness”

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction

Stephen Graham Jones, “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”

Jordan Kurella, “The Death of Mountains”

Nnedi Okorafor, “Death of the Author: A Novel”

Adam Oyebanji, “Esperance”

Silvia Park, “Luminous: A Novel”

Science & Technology

Mariah Blake, “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals”

Peter Brannen, “The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World”

Karen Hao, “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI”

Laura Poppick, “Strata: Stories from Deep Time”

Jordan Thomas, “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World”

Young Adult Literature

K. Ancrum, “The Corruption of Hollis Brown”

Idris Goodwin, “King of the Neuro Verse”

Jamie Jo Hoang, “My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser”

Trung Le Nguyen, “Angelica and the Bear Prince”

Hannah V. Sawyerr, “Truth Is: A Novel in Verse”

ATHENS, Greece — Israeli producer Dana Eden, best known for co-creating the International Emmy-winning espionage thriller “Tehran,” has died suddenly in Greece, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Monday.

Eden, 52, was found dead in a hotel in the Greek capital, Athens, a Greek police official said, adding that initial indications suggested she had taken her own life and there was no suspicion of foul play. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as Greek police do not comment publicly in such cases.

KAN said Eden was in Greece for the filming of the hit series’ fourth season.

“Dana was among the leading figures in Israel’s television industry and played a central role in the creation and leadership of some of the most prominent and influential productions within the corporation,” KAN said in a statement. It did not give a cause of death.

“Her professional work, uncompromising dedication, and love for creation left a deep mark on the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. KAN shares in the deep sorrow of her family, friends and colleagues,” the broadcaster said.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, Eden’s production company, Donna and Shula productions, sought to dispel rumors that the producer had been killed.

“The production company wishes to clarify that the rumors of a criminal or nationally motivated death are false and unfounded,” it said.

“This is a moment of great pain for the family, friends and colleagues. We ask that Dana’s dignity and the privacy of her loved ones be respected,” the production company said.

Israel Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, in a social media post on X, said it was “with great sadness” that he had received the news of Eden’s death, describing her as “one of the most prominent and influential producers in the Israeli television industry.”

“Dana left a deep mark on Israeli creation and brought our story to international stages with pride, talent and courage,” Zohar said.

“Tehran,” which premiered in Israel and on Apple TV in 2020, tells the story of Tamar Rabinyan, a young Mossad operative tasked with hacking into and disabling the Iranian nuclear reactor so the Israeli military can carry out an airstrike. The show was named best drama series at the 49th International Emmy Awards in November 2021.

Eden started working in TV production in Israel in the 1990s, working on shows including comedy “Yom Haem” and crime drama “Magpie,” before finding international success with “Tehran.”

In 2018, her show “Saving the Wildlife” won best TV magazine for children and youth at the Awards of the Israeli Television Academy.

Kantouris and Becatoros write for the Associated Press. Kantouris contributed from Thessaloniki. Matt Kemp in London contributed.

In a smoothly run show peppered with sharp humor but, for the most part, a dearth of pointed political commentary — save for one unscripted expression of anti-ICE sentiment from “The White Lotus” star Natasha Rothwell — the 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards celebrated its 41st edition on Sunday in Hollywood.

The ceremony has long served as a counterpoint to the Oscars: looser, more unpredictable, typically mounted in a beach tent by the Santa Monica Pier. For over three decades, it was held the Saturday afternoon right before the Academy Awards.

But this year, due to coastal planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Spirit Awards relocated to the Hollywood Palladium (where they were last held in 1994), a venue decked out in the show’s signature blue and pink signage and decor — a pivot that proved effective.

“We don’t have a permit,” cracked host Ego Nwodim, riffing on scrappy independent tactics in her monologue. Her athletic hosting duties had her doing everything from cornering attending celebs such as Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons via a “sexual tension cam” to picking up her falafel order at the main entrance on Sunset Boulevard.

Last year’s event played more like a coronation for a widely favored front-runner, Sean Baker‘s “Anora.” That film would go on to sweep at the Oscars a little over a week later. The mood today was more tenuous, the industry crowd mulling in the lobby with cocktails, discussing the tail end of awards season and the controversy coming out of the Berlin Film Festival concerning politically cautious juror statements.

The movies that would be honored here, by contrast, were bolder than the Spirits usually go, resulting in a truly independent raft of winners. Rose Byrne won the lead actor prize (the Spirits have gone gender-neutral since 2022) for her commanding, ruinous turn in “If I Legs I’d Kick You.” Accepting the award, Byrne half-joked, “This character of Linda really could only exist in an independent film — she’s fierce and she’s gracious and she’s a middle-aged woman.”

Other awardees included the subtly wrought academia drama “Sorry, Baby,” honored for director Eva Victor‘s screenplay and its supporting actor Naomi Ackie; the star-stalking thriller “Lurker,” which took both the first feature and first screenplay awards; and Brazil’s “The Secret Agent,” claiming the prize for international film.

The afternoon’s big winner was “Train Dreams,” the little movie that could, one that emerged 13 months ago at Sundance 2025 and is now proving itself to be one of Netflix’s sturdiest Oscar contenders. It took prizes for best feature, director and cinematography, the kind of haul that suggests real momentum.

A complete list of today’s Spirit winners

FILM CATEGORIES

Best Feature
“Train Dreams” (Netflix)
Producers: Michael Heimler, Will Janowitz, Marissa McMahon, Ashley Schlaifer, Teddy Schwarzman

Director
Clint Bentley, “Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Screenplay
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby” (A24)

First Feature
“Lurker” (Mubi)
Director: Alex Russell
Producers: Galen Core, Archie Madekwe, Marc Marrie, Charlie McDowell, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, Olmo Schnabel, Jack Selby

First Screenplay
Alex Russell, “Lurker” (Mubi)

John Cassavetes Award
For the best feature made under $1,000,000
“Esta Isla (This Island)”
Writers/Directors/Producers: Cristian Carretero, Lorraine Jones Molina
Writer: Kisha Tikina Burgos

Breakthrough Performance
Kayo Martin, “The Plague” (Independent Film Company)

Supporting Performance
Naomi Ackie, “Sorry, Baby” (A24)

Lead Performance
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)

Robert Altman Award
For a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast
“The Long Walk” (Lionsgate)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Casting Director: Rich Delia
Ensemble Cast: Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Garrett Wareing

Cinematography
Adolpho Veloso, “Train Dreams” (Netflix)

Editing
Sofía Subercaseaux, “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures)

International Film
“The Secret Agent” (Neon)
Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Documentary
“The Perfect Neighbor” (Netflix)
Director/Producer: Geeta Gandbhir
Producers: Sam Bisbee, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne

Someone to Watch
Given to a talented filmmaker not yet widely recognized
Tatti Ribeiro, “Valentina”

Truer Than Fiction
Given to an emerging director of nonfiction features
Rajee Samarasinghe, “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible”

Producers Award
For an emerging producer of quality independent films with limited resources
Tony Yang

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

New Scripted Series
“Adolescence” (Netflix)
Creators/Executive Producers: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
Executive Producers: Philip Barantini, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Nina Wolarsky, Hannah Walters, Mark Herbert, Emily Feller
Co-Executive Producers: Carina Sposato, Niall Shamma, Peter Balm

New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
“Pee-wee as Himself” (HBO Max)
Executive Producers: Matt Wolf, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Paul Reubens, Candace Tomarken, Kyle Martin, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez

Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Owen Cooper, “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series
Erin Doherty, “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series
Stephen Graham, “Adolescence” (Netflix)

Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series
“Chief of War” (Apple TV)
Ensemble Cast: Charlie Brumbly, Luciane Buchanan, Cliff Curtis, Brandon Finn, Moses Goods, Te Ao o Hinepehinga, Benjamin Hoetjes, Siua Ikale’o, Keala Kahuanui-Paleka, Mainei Kinimaka, Kaina Makua, Jason Momoa, Temuera Morrison, Te Kohe Tuhaka, James Udom

MARK RONSON is going to be the man of the moment at the Brit Awards when he is honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize.

And I have been told organisers are going all-out to make it a moment to remember for Mark — with Dua Lipa, Raye and Lily Allen in the mix to perform a medley of his hits.

All three women have teamed up with Mark on songs before, with Mark and Dua winning a Grammy for their 2018 hit Electricity.

Lily’s 2007 track Oh My God was produced by Mark, while he helped write and produce Raye’s song Suzanne last summer.

A music industry insider told me: “The Outstanding Contribution to Music gong is massive for Mark and the Brits want to celebrate his impact on the music industry.

“He has worked on so many incredible songs with some massive artists, and they’ve been reaching out to try to get something very special lined up.

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“Dua, Lily and Raye have all been approached about performing a medley of Mark’s songs, including their own tracks he worked on.

“The Brits love a big moment and want this tribute to be one of the most impactful moments of the night.

“It’s all still a massively moveable feast, with the finer details being ironed out.”

I revealed last week that Mark was getting the prestigious award, which has previously been handed to acts including Sir Elton John, The Beatles and Oasis.

Mark said: “This is the most meaningful honour of my career.

“I think of the times I’ve watched artists I revere accept this same award.

“The idea that I’m now standing in that lineage feels impossible.

“I left England as a kid, but this country runs through everything I’ve made.

“The UK artists I’ve worked with — their brilliance and refusal to compromise — shaped not just my work but how I understand what music should do.

“And, more than anything, it’s the crowds here who’ve sustained and showed up for me.

“The fans, the festival crowds, the record buyers and streamers, the love has always been overwhelming.

“I’m beyond grateful for all of it.”

The ceremony, at Manchester’s Co-op Live on February 28, is looking like it’s going to be a corker, with Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Wolf Alice and Rosalia all confirmed to be performing, too.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the after parties are just as good.

Capaldi please Tay yes

LEWIS CAPALDI is hoping to hit the studio with Taylor Swift after starring in her Opalite music video.

He took to social media to reply to fans after making a surprise cameo in Taylor’s latest clip.

After one fan asked about the prospect of Taylor and him recording a duet together, the Wish You The Best singer replied: “I can but dream.”

Last night Official Charts UK revealed Opalite is on track to give Taylor her sixth No1 this Friday.

Meanwhile, Myles Smith and Niall Horan are eyeing up a Top 20 debut, with their new song Drive Safe in an No20.

Niall’s One Direction bandmate Zayn Malik is also back in the charts.

His single, Die For Me, the lead track on upcoming fifth album Konnakol, is currently at No39.

Cardi’s wet and wild

CARDI B appears to have ditched standard red carpet dresses for a trusty wetsuit.

The WAP rapper wore this funky red and yellow jumpsuit as she attended the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party.

The VIP event at Pier 48 in San Francisco saw a host of stars take to the stage before last night’s Super Bowl halftime show by Bad Bunny at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

As well as Cardi, SZA and Nelly also took to the stage during the evening.

Keen to make the most of her time in the city, Cardi was also spotted backstage at Uber’s The One Party.

She sported a tight white jumpsuit as she hung out with British sensation Olivia Dean who, fresh from winning her first Grammy last weekend, performed at the bash.

Jason channels his inner Slater

JASON DERULO may have finished the UK leg of his tour last night, but we’ve clearly made a lasting impression.

The Whatcha Say singer, channelled his inner Kat Slater from EastEnders in this leopard print coat at his final show at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.

After performing in Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham and London, Jason is now taking his The Last Dance World Tour across Europe.

Once he ties up the tour, Jason has promised it’s the start of a new era.

He told Bizarre’s Howell: “It is a retirement of one version of me and the start of a new one.”

PERRIE EDWARDS has moved the release of her new track, Woman In Love, to tomorrow at 5pm.

The move thrilled fans after she made the announcement on social media, after bringing it forward from Friday.

It also does Perrie’s ex Little Mix co-star Jesy Nelson a favour too.

Jesy’s new Prime Video TV series is expected to drop on February 13, and Perrie’s decision to move the release appears to allow Jesy to bask in the limelight without any talk of competition between the old bandmates.

After everything that went down between the Little Mixers, it’s good to see they’re finally starting to move on.

I’M hoping Madonna’s twin daughters Estere and Stella could be Tottenham’s next Lucky Pappe Sars.

Madge has revealed the pair have made it through to the Spurs’s Women’s Academy.

She was pitchside over the weekend to watch Estere and Stella smash another team 5-0, and joked she had been in an Uber for the second time in her life to make it to the game.

Madge has form when it comes to having kids with footballing prowess.

Her son David Banda joined Benfica’s youth academy in Portugal aged 11 and played with their youth squad for a number of seasons, with Madge relocating to Lisbon to support his career.

David ended up leaving the beautiful game to pursue a career in music like his famous mum.

I’ve got high hopes for Estere and Stella – and they picked the perfect team to join.

Let’s just not talk about our recent run of form, OK?

HEARTSTOPPER star Kit Connor looked completely unrecognisable when he posed for a photo with his new mate Elton John.

The British Netflix actor attended a dinner at the singer’s house alongside actor Russell Tovey and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears among others, but I almost didn’t even realise it was him.

At only 21, he sported a full beard – a drastic change from his clean shaven look in the teen drama which made him famous.

If it’s for a role, no one will be recognising you, Kit.

PRINCESS SUPERSTAR had a handful of hits in the Noughties, including the 2007 dance classic Perfect (Exceeder), before falling out of the music business.

But almost two decades later, she is well and truly back, having just released her new single Yum-Me after the 2023 movie Saltburn featured her music and returned her to the charts.

In an exclusive chat, she explained: “It’s been wild. I lost my career and I got it back after Saltburn propelled Perfect back into the limelight.

“All of a sudden, after pretty much a ten-year hiatus, I found myself in recording studios all over again. It’s just been a really surreal experience.”

And the new tune is the first taste of a full length album.

She added: “I’m working on it as we speak and it’s about half done. I’ve recorded probably like 30 songs but only six are good enough for the album.”

During her time away from the charts, she became a mum, a mentor, and worked in social media.

But she also helped discover Lana Del Rey, when she was singing under her real name Lizzy Grant.

The singer and rapper explained: “Around 2008 I was producing artists, local people in New York, and my husband actually was like, ‘Oh you’ve got to meet this singer Lizzy Grant.’

“I was sort of dubious because my husband sometimes will bring home the worst people. But I was like, ‘Oh my god, she’s amazing’.

“We recorded songs in my apartment in New York.”

And after almost three decades in music, she’s ready to tell plenty more showbiz anecdotes.

She added: “I’m also about to potentially write a memoir. I’m really excited, it’s something I always wanted to do and so I’m talking to a UK publisher right now.”

Eva Longoria, John Leguizamo and Xochitl Gomez are among the 100-plus Latino actors, artists and creatives who have signed an open letter calling for accountability in Hollywood — citing longtime discrimination in casting and storytelling.

The public statement follows the controversy surrounding Odessa A’zion, who dropped her role as a Latina character in Sean Durkin’s “Deep Cuts,” following online backlash over the actor herself not being Latina.

“Recent casting decisions around the character Zoe Gutierrez in A24’s ‘Deep Cuts’ have exposed a troubling pattern,” the letter states. “We acknowledge and commend Odessa A’zion for listening, reflecting and deciding to exit the project and become an ally. Yet how did this happen?”

Earlier this week, the Wrap revealed that the “I Love L.A.” and “Marty Supreme” breakout star was cast as Zoe Gutierrez in the A24 film adaptation of Holly Brickley’s music-filled coming-of-age novel. The character’s identity plays an important role in the book, as she is written as a half-Mexican and half-Jewish lesbian.

Though the 25-year-old announced Wednesday night that she had dropped the role — admitting through her Instagram stories that she had not yet read the book, nor learned of all the character’s traits — the incident has unearthed questions about Latino representation in Hollywood.

“This isn’t about Odessa,” said Xochitl Gomez to The Times on Friday. “It’s about the executives, the producers and the whole system at the top. They thought it was OK to not even audition Latinas for the role in the first place. Latinas were pitched, including me, but we were told that there was an actress with an exclusive offer. This role never showed up on the casting grid because it was already gone.”

Xochitl Gomez attends “REBBECA” LA Premiere on November 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images for State of the Art)

(JC Olivera / Getty Images for State of the Art)

According to UCLA’s 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report, Latinos were cast in only 1% of the leading roles in the top 104 English-language films released theatrically in 2024, despite constituting roughly 20% of the total U.S. population.

In TV, representation is just as stark. Latinos are cast in only 6% of all roles across the top U.S. broadcast series, as per a recent study by ¡Pa’lante! — a Latino representation initiative from the USC Norman Lear Center — which also found that 1 in 4 Latino characters are depicted as career criminals.

“The absence of Latina audition opportunities, and the choice to replace a clearly Latina character with a non-Latina actress, signals a broader, ongoing erasure of our community from the stories that define our culture,” the letter continues. “This is not about any one actor or project. It is about a system that repeatedly overlooks qualified Latino talent even as our identities, histories, and experiences fuel the most enduring stories.”

The signatories request that Latino actors be hired for a diverse range of roles, including non-stereotypical leads. There is also a demand for more Latino executives to be involved in green-lighting projects and the inclusion of Latino consultants, writers and producers from the earliest stages of development. Finally, there is a call on Hollywood to create mentorship, scholarships and opportunities that expand access on all levels of the ecosystem.

This plea by marginalized creatives is not the first pushback — nor likely the last — against a stagnant Hollywood machine.

As early as the 1920s, the portrayal of Latinos was so negative that the Mexican government, and even Woodrow Wilson reportedly told Hollywood producers to “please be a little kinder to the Mexicans.”

In 1999, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called for the boycott of broadcast networks’ 26 new fall series because they did not feature a non-white lead, sparking dialogue over the diversity of Hollywood at the time.

Comedian Chris Rock blasted the industry in a 2014 essay for its omission of Mexicans in Los Angeles, where nearly half of the population is Latino: “You’re in L.A., you’ve got to try not to hire Mexicans.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) — who in recent years has nominated several Latino-focused films to the Library of Congress National Film Registry — also penned a 2020 column in Variety, underscoring the dearth representation of Latinos in entertainment and the consequences of omission. “Prejudice has existed in the United States for generations, but the image of our community created by film and television has done little to counter bigoted views, and too often has amplified them.”

Another letter published in October 2020 with over 270 showrunners, creators, television and film writers signatures — including Lin-Manuel Miranda and “One Day at a Time” co-creator Gloria Calderón Kellett — called for systemic change in the industry. “We are tired,” they wrote.

The pushback continued in 2022, when actor Leguizamo penned an open letter in The Times about the history of Latino representation and the co-option of Latino stories — including that of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who was portrayed by a brownface Marlon Brando in the 1952 film “Viva Zapata!,” and Al Pacino, who played the fictional Cuban character Tony Montana in the 1983 film “Scarface.”

Wrote Leguizamo, “There’s a fix for this: Cast more Latinos!”

Read the full open letter below.

Dear Casting Directors, Creative Executives, Writers, Producers, and Hollywood Leaders,

We write to you with urgency, because storytelling is humanity’s compass and Hollywood wields all the power. The stories you choose to tell, and how you tell them, shape public perception, cultural understanding, and who gets to see themselves reflected on screen. In these challenging moments that power comes with real responsibility.

Recent casting decisions around the character Zoe Gutierrez in A 24’s Deep Cuts have exposed a troubling pattern. We acknowledge and commend Odessa A’zion for listening, reflecting and deciding to exit the project and become an ally. Yet how did this happen? The absence of Latina audition opportunities, and the choice to replace a clearly Latina character with a non-Latina actress, signals a broader, ongoing erasure of our community from the stories that define our culture. This is not about any one actor or project. It is about a system that repeatedly overlooks qualified Latino talent even as our identities, histories, and experiences fuel the most enduring stories.

Latino communities are already underrepresented and misrepresented in ways that distort reality and harm real people. Casting decisions carry real weight: they influence who is seen as worthy of authentic storytelling and who gets to tell those stories with care, nuance, and authority.

We are calling for accountability, intentionality, and equity in casting and storytelling. Authentic representation means more than casting a performer who looks like the character; it means involving the communities being portrayed not just in front of the camera, but in the decisions that shape these stories from their inception. Our stories deserve to be shaped with the input, guidance, and leadership of Latino creators, consultants, writers, and performers at every stage.

We implore you to join us in concrete action:

• Audition and hire more Latino actors for a diverse range of roles, including non-stereotypical leads
• Hire Latino executives in your greenlighting rooms
• Include Latino voices as consultants, writers, and producers from the earliest stages of development
• Create and support pipelines: mentoring, scholarships, and opportunities that expand access all levels of the ecosystem

The world is watching.

Aaron Dominguez

Aitch Alberto

Alex Lora

Alma Martinez

Amanda Diaz

Ana Navarro Cardenas

Andrea Chignoli

Angel Manuel Soto

Angelique Cabral

Anna Terrazas

Annie Gonzalez

Antonio Negret

Becky G

Benjamin Odell

Brandon Guzman

Brandon Perea

Bricia Lopez

Camila Baquero

Carla Gutierrez

Carla Hool

Carlo Siliotto

Carlos Eric Lopez

Carlos Gutierrez

Carlos Lopez Estrada

Chrissie Fit

Christian Serratos

Cierra Ramirez

Cristina Rodlo

Cyria Fiallo

Daniella Pineda

Danny Ramirez

David Castenada

Desi Perkins

Diego Boneta

Edgar Ramirez

Edher Campos

Eiza Gonzalez

Elisa Capai

Elsa Collins

Emilie Lesclaux

Ennio Torresan

Enrique Melendez

Eva Longoria

Fabrizio Guido

Felipe Vargas

Fernando Garcia

Flavia Amon

Flavia De Sousa

Francia Raisa

Gabriela Maire

Gina Rodriguez

Gloria Calderon Kellett

Gregory Diaz IV

Ilda Santiago

Isabella Gomez

Isabela Merced

Isabella Ferria

Isis Mussenden

Ismael Cruz Cordova

Ivette Rodriguez

Jacob Scipio

Javier Munoz

Jazmin Aguilar

Jesse Garcia

Jessica Alba

Jesus Pimental-Melo

Jillian Mercado

John Leguizamo

Jose Velazquez

Juan Pa Zurita

Julio Macias

Justina Machado

Karrie Martin Lachney

Kate Del Castillo

Klaudia Reynicke

Kylie Cantrall

Leo Gonzalez

Lisette Olivera

Lorenza Munoz

Luca Castellani

Lucila Moctezuma

Lucy Barreto

Lynette Coll

Maia Reficco

Marcel Ruiz

Maria Legarda

Mariana Oliva

Mariem Perez Riera

Marvin Lemus

Mauro Mueller

Mayan Lopez

Melissa Barrera

Melissa Fumero

Melissa Martinez

Michael Cimino

Michael Pena

Miguel Mora

Mishel Prada

Monica Villarreal

Natalia Boneta

Natalie Chaidez

Natalie Morales

Nava Mau

Naz Perez

Nezza (Vanessa Hernandez)

Neysa Bove

Nicolas Celis

Nicole Betancur

Orlando Pineda

Patricia Cardosa

Patricia Riggen

Patty Rodriguez

Paulina Garcia

Petra Costa

Rafael Agustin

Rafael Cebrian

Ramon Rodriguez

Rene G. Boscio

Robin De Jesus

Rodrigo Teixeira

Rudy Mancuso

Ruy Garcia

Sierra Ornellas

Stephanie Beatriz

Tonatiuh Elizarrarz

Tony Revolori

Victoria Alonso

Xochitl Gomez

Xolo Mariduena

Yareli Arizmendri