Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 2.

House of the Dragon tells an epic story about the Dance of the Dragons based on George R.R. Martin‘s book Fire & Blood, but the series doesn’t look exactly like the book. With the added prophecies, characters cut, and characters’ ages changed, the HBO series has taken its own path, and nowhere is that clearer than in Season 3. In one of its biggest deviations from the novel, House of the Dragon removes the character of Nettles. This mysterious dragonrider builds on the lore with her unconventional claiming of a wild dragon and distinctly non-Valyrian look. Instead of introducing a new character, HBO’s adaptation has replaced Nettles with Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), as she claimed Sheepstealer and rode into battle in Season 3. Yet, as the change continues, it spells trouble for the young Targaryen.

In Fire & Blood, Rhaena is among the few Targaryens who make it out relatively unscathed. Though she loses much of her family, she not only survives but also becomes a member of a much smaller royal line, making her more important. However, it doesn’t seem as though the show will allow her the same fate, because Rhaena’s story merges with Nettles’. Just two episodes into Season 3, and things don’t look good for Rhaena, who has lost her allies, privilege, and safety, and things are only going to get worse for her.

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Gives Rhaena a Tragic Story

While it is just starting, Season 3 has been eventful for Rhaena. Season 2 set her up as Nettles’ replacement, but only in Season 3 does this arc begin to unfold as she claims the wild dragon Sheepstealer, fulfilling a long-held dream of hers. However, it turns bad fast when she takes the untrained dragon to war, causing chaos in the Battle of the Gullet. Unfortunately, this tragedy puts a target on Rhaena’s back, and it’s not the Greens who are after her. Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) doesn’t know that Rhaena claimed Sheepstealer, and not only does she see the giant dragon as a threat, but she blames him and his rider for Jacaerys’ (Harry Collett) death. Out of revenge, Rhaenyra asks Daemon (Matt Smith) to find the rider. As Daemon’s own daughter, Rhaena isn’t in as much danger as it sounds, yet this sets her up to follow Nettles’ storyline in the rest of the season.

The more immediate threat to Rhaena is that she has lost all her allies. She cannot return home because Rhaenyra would be furious, and even Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin) sends her away in Season 3, Episode 2, “Queen’s Landing,” despite Rhaena’s pleas. This leaves Rhaena on her own in an increasingly volatile Westeros. Though she is used to the life of a noble, Rhaena’s new circumstances make her more like the lowborn Nettles as she must fend for herself. Now, Rhaena must deal with her own guilt over Jace’s death and sudden isolation, throwing her into a desperate situation.

More Struggles Are in Store for Rhaena in ‘House of the Dragon’

As Rhaena’s story becomes more like Nettles’, things will not improve for her. And House of the Dragon has already set up the next stage of the story. In Fire & Blood, Nettles and Daemon hunt for Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) together, growing close. In fact, the most common rumor is that Daemon had an affair with Nettles, which makes Rhaenyra jealous. However, for House of the Dragon, their connection will be less problematic. As Rhaena is Daemon’s daughter, the series will offer a different explanation for their connection, more closely following the rumor that Nettles is Daemon’s bastard daughter. Their relationship will bring out the best in Daemon rather than the worst as he chooses to protect Rhaena rather than pursue Rhaenyra’s vengeance.

However, that doesn’t mean Rhaena will have a happy ending. In fact, if Rhaena’s story truly follows Nettles, she won’t. With Rhaenyra out for her blood, Nettles is forced to flee, disappearing into the Vale, where there are occasional sightings of Sheepstealer. Though there is little information about Nettles herself after that point, the Vale mountain clans develop legends of a “fire witch” living in a hidden valley with her dragon, which is likely inspired by Nettles. While Rhaena’s story could go many different ways as House of the Dragon combines her and Nettles, there are certainly some twists ahead.

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max with new episodes on Sundays.

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Release Date

August 21, 2022

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HBO

Showrunner

George R.R. Martin

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Directors

Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel

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Writers

Gabe Fonseca

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  Fabien Frankel

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  Ser Criston Cole

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By Robert Scucci
| Published 2 minutes ago

My wife and I finally gave in and took the kids to see Toy Story 5 at the drive-in, and now I’m depressed. It’s fine, and my kids had fun revisiting the characters, but I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t feel completely empty and devoid of hope for humanity after watching it. Namely because I work as hard as I can throughout the week to enjoy a day that’s not wall-to-wall screen time, only for the film to remind me that there’s really no escape, thanks to the source of the film’s conflict, a frog-shaped tablet known as Lily (Greta Lee).

On one hand, I understand. The central crew of toys in the Toy Story franchise were already dated in the ’90s. They were all hand-me-downs from decades past, but they still had their charm. It’s only natural for the franchise to keep up with the times by introducing new technology in the form of tablets, but really it just made me ask, “Why make this movie at all?”

I’m not sure what the lesson learned in Toy Story 5 is, but my main takeaway as a 38-year-old millennial with kids is, “My knees and back hurt, this full-sugar soda is going to give me a headache tomorrow, and now I’m afraid to give my kids screen time when I’ll probably need it the most.

Conform Or Be Cast Out 

Toy Story 5 centers on Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), who is gifted a Lilypad tablet by her parents, who hope she’ll fit in with other technologically inclined girls her age. Naturally, this incenses Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the gang because Bonnie is no longer spending time with them or using her imagination. Of course, Woody (Tom Hanks) is called into action, and the toys butt heads with the new device before realizing they’re all part of Bonnie’s life and need to work together to help make her a whole person, developmentally speaking.

Kids need to express themselves through imaginative play. And given how AI-driven the world has become in just a few short years, mastering technology and integrating it across multiple touchpoints is essentially a necessary life skill at this point.

Right away, I questioned my own parenting because my kids sometimes favor their tech over their actual toys. But I’m a working-class dad who needs to fold laundry and cook dinner, and sometimes you just need to get the little rascals out of your hair so a five-minute task like emptying the dishwasher remains a five-minute task.

We’re told a story about a little girl desperately trying to fit in with kids her age, who gets ripped to shreds and cyberbullied as the toys and Lily try to set aside their differences, course-correct, and make things right.

Your Parents Are Supposed To Be On Your Side

What’s unnerving about Toy Story 5 isn’t Bonnie, her relationship with her toys, or even her feelings of rejection when she learns that simply having a tablet won’t be a viable way to form any meaningful friendships. It’s how much her parents absolutely suck here. They buy her a tablet, give her an entire day to get familiar with it, and then tell her they’ll be limiting her screen time throughout the week moving forward. They don’t. 

Immediately, Bonnie locks in and glazes over. It’s a look that’s all too familiar when you forget that you tossed your kid the Nintendo Switch an hour ago, and now they’re basically nonverbal. It happens to the best of us, and I don’t think it’s anything to be ashamed of. It’s my generation’s version of getting plunked down in front of the TV while your parents lose track of time schmoozing with the neighbors.

In Toy Story 5, however, this behavior continues pretty much unchecked. Bonnie very quickly forms an unhealthy relationship with Lily, and it almost immediately leads to cyberbullying. While Bonnie walks around the house on the verge of tears, her parents barely intervene to find out what’s going on with her. I fully understand that young adult fiction tends to rely heavily on incompetent adults, but their lack of attention toward their own child in Toy Story 5 was so hard to get through.

As a parent, I get that it’s easy to tune your kids out sometimes, especially when you’re trying to get work done or finish a project around the house. Your kids will scream, cry, plead, and 99 percent of the time you know they’re making a mountain out of a molehill. You get on their level, break up whatever scuffle they’re having, and they’re usually pretty good at self-regulating if you do those things consistently.

Bonnie, though, isn’t bickering, crying, or screaming. She’s walking around with the kind of heaviness that would make any reasonable parent sit down with her, ask what’s wrong, and refuse to budge until they got some sort of reasonable answer, or at least enough information to work with. Their behavior here is borderline neglectful, and it made me really sad because a studio spending $250 million to get this point across tells me they knew people would resonate with it because they’ll probably identify with the parents. 

The adventure the toys and Lily have in Toy Story 5 is fine, and I know Bonnie’s story is supposed to pull at your heartstrings because everybody has trouble fitting in at some point in their life, and it does have a happy ending. And it makes sense that the parents would have a sparse presence in an adventure movie about toys, but the whole thing just makes me want to hug my kids and lock the TV up in the closet.

For decades, Batman: Knightfall has stood as one of the most influential storylines in the Dark Knight’s history. Now, DC and Warner Bros. Animation are finally bringing the legendary comic arc to life with a multi-part animated film series, and longtime fans have every reason to be excited.

Originally published between 1993 and 1994, Batman: Knightfall redefined Batman by pushing Bruce Wayne to his absolute limits. Rather than relying on brute strength alone, Bane orchestrates a calculated campaign to wear Batman down, releasing the inmates of Arkham Asylum and forcing the Caped Crusader into an endless battle before delivering one of the most iconic moments in comic book history—breaking Batman’s back.

While that shocking image has been referenced in films, television, and games over the years, the complete Knightfallsaga has never received a faithful screen adaptation. That is finally changing.

According to Collider, the upcoming animated project has the opportunity to become the definitive adaptation of one of DC’s greatest comic stories. The publication praised Warner Bros. Animation’s recent success with comic-faithful adaptations and suggested that the multi-part format is exactly what Knightfall needs to properly tell its sprawling story.

Batman Nightfall [credit: Warner Bros. Animation]

Unlike a single feature film, the multi-part approach allows the adaptation to cover the full scope of the original event. Beyond Bane’s victory over Batman, the story follows Jean-Paul Valley (Azrael) as Gotham’s new Batman, whose increasingly violent methods tarnish the symbol Bruce Wayne spent years building. Eventually, Bruce returns to reclaim the mantle, leading to one of the most compelling redemption arcs in Batman history.

The animated adaptation is being directed by Jeff Wamester from a screenplay by Jeremy Adams. Warner Bros. has confirmed that the project is envisioned as a multi-part animated event rather than a standalone movie, giving the creative team room to faithfully adapt the massive comic storyline.

The first trailer, released this week, showcases the brutal confrontation between Batman and Bane while teasing the emotional journey ahead. Fans also received a first look at several iconic moments pulled directly from the comics, suggesting the filmmakers are embracing the source material rather than reinventing it.

Warner Bros. Animation has earned praise over the years for adaptations such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and many fans hope Knightfall will join that list as another faithful translation of a beloved comic classic. Given the scale of the original story and the creative team’s commitment to preserving its biggest moments, this could become one of DC’s most ambitious animated projects to date.

If the finished film delivers on what fans have seen so far, Batman: Knightfall may not simply adapt one of Batman’s greatest stories—it could become the definitive animated Batman epic for a new generation.

Bow Wow was in attendance at the BET Awards on Sunday (June 28), and he brought along his 15-year-old daughter, Shai Moss, to witness the evening of Black excellence.

                  RELATED: Growin’ Up! Bow Wow & Joie Chavis Celebrate Shai Moss’ 15th                                          Birthday With Designer Bags & Dinner Party (VIDEOS)

Bow Wow Shared Why He’s So Proud Of Shai With His Fans

Rapper Bow Wow arrived at the award show sporting a plum tuxedo paired with a black bow tie while his mini-me was decked out in a red dress, sparkly high heels, and a high ponytail.

The rapper, whose birth name is Shad Moss, told E! News on the red carpet that he is proud of Shai for learning how to drive.

“My daughter is driving,” said the rapper. “That’s a proud moment right there… Both of them, my son and my daughter, they know who dad is. They know what I do. The good thing is that now that they’re of age, I get to bring them along for these moments. Like, Shai is here. She’s in her own glam room…. My daughter’s about to come down here and hang out with dad.”

Fans React To Him Bringing Shai To The BET Awards

Bow Wow and Shai spoke with The Shade Room on the red carpet, and fans ate it up as the daddy-daughter duo joked around.

“What up? It’s Shai’s dad,” he said. “106 & Park,” added Shai.

“We steppin’ into The Shade Room, you know what I’m sayin’?”

Roomies were ecstatic to see the rapper with his daughter at the awards’ show, and the duo’s daddy-daughter banter did not go unnoticed. Fans also noticed that the teen is nearly grown and had no trouble walking in high heels.

Bow Wow Surprised Shai As She Celebrated Her 15th Birthday In April

Bow Wow popped up on Shai as she celebrated her 15th birthday at a restaurant in Dallas, Texas, last April. The artist had been on a tour stop in Memphis, Tennessee, and he shared a video of the moment he surprised his baby girl.

The rapper gifted Shai two Balenciaga handbags — one in black and one white — as well as a Louis Vuitton charm bracelet.

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Prime Video has increasingly embraced its identity as the streaming destination for swoon-worthy content. From Off Campus to Every Year After, the platform has been touting its lineup of sizzling summer YA and romance series and films as titles worth obsessing over, to the point that it even played host to its own in-person Obsessed Fest dedicated to the creatives, cast, books, and fandoms that have made these projects possible. At the top of its list of most-anticipated love stories, however, is undoubtedly The Love Hypothesis, the feature adaptation of Ali Hazelwood‘s surprisingly Star Wars-inspired novel following a Ph.D student whose faux relationship with an intimidating professor turns into something much more real. Prime Video is so confident they have a red-hot hit on their hands that, three months before its premiere, they’re doubling down on Hazelwood.

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According to a new report, the New York Times bestselling author’s follow-up novel, Love, Theoretically, is now also getting the feature treatement at the Amazon-owned streamer. It’s quite the romantic concoction, too, landing It Ends With Us author and all-around romance novel titan Colleen Hoover as a producer alongside her Heartbones Entertainment partner Lauren Levine and Magic Hour Entertainment duo Max Siemers and Tanner Anderson. Also on board is Sofia Alvarez, who will take the reins of the adaptation after spearheading Netflix’s take on Sarah Dessen‘s novel, Along for the Ride. She and Hazelwood both executive produce.

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Release Date

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September 23, 2026

Director

Claire Scanlon

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Writers

Sarah Rothschild

Producers

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Elizabeth Cantillon

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  Lili Reinhart

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  Tom Bateman

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This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Hilary Duff may have just delivered the Disney Channel crossover moment that millennials never knew they needed. During a recent stop on her “Lucky Me” Tour, the former “Lizzie McGuire” star took the stage wearing a vintage-inspired Hannah Montana T-shirt, instantly sending fans into a nostalgic frenzy online. Photos from the performance quickly made their way across social media, where fans celebrated the unexpected nod to one of Disney Channel’s most beloved franchises.

While performing for fans during her latest tour stop, Duff appeared on stage in a Hannah Montana graphic tee featuring Miley Cyrus‘ iconic Disney alter ego. The playful fashion choice immediately caught the attention of concertgoers and social media users alike, many of whom grew up watching both “Lizzie McGuire” and “Hannah Montana” during Disney Channel’s golden era.

For many fans, seeing one Disney icon publicly embrace another felt like a full-circle moment. “Core memory unlocked! This is peak millennial happiness!” one person wrote. “My whole childhood,” another fan commented.

Others described the moment as “so iconic” and “everything,” while one fan summed up the collective reaction by writing, “What a time to be alive.”

Duff Previously Said She’d Be Open To A Disney Channel Crossover

Interestingly, Duff has already addressed the possibility of her Disney Channel world colliding with Miley Cyrus’ years ago. During a 2020 interview with Cosmopolitan, the actress and singer admitted that a crossover between Lizzie McGuire and Hannah Montana had never really crossed her mind, but she was completely on board with the idea.

Duff also had nothing but praise for Cyrus, revealing that the two had maintained a supportive relationship over the years. “I love Miley, I recently was on her show that she created during the quarantine, and she’s just awesome,” Duff said at the time. “She’s always showing me so much love and it kind of embarrasses me in a way. I’m like, come on, you’re like the epitome of cool, and it’s really sweet that she’s just so vocal about being a fan growing up with me and I love her.”

Hilary Duff Recently Addressed The Possibility Of Revisiting Lizzie McGuire

While Duff’s Hannah Montana shirt sent fans down memory lane, the singer and actress has also been looking toward the future of another beloved Disney character.

More recently, Duff thrilled fans by releasing “Luck… Or Something,” her first album in more than a decade. But during an appearance on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast, she addressed a question that has remained at the forefront of many fans’ minds: whether she would ever return as Lizzie McGuire.

The actress revealed that she’s not completely ruling out another reboot, though it may not happen anytime soon. “I was really excited thinking about her at 30 and going through 30-year-old things, and now I can’t really see her at 40. Maybe I could start to see her around like 55, 60?” Duff explained.

The Beloved ‘Lizzie McGuire’ Reboot Ultimately Never Made It To Screen

The comments come years after a planned “Lizzie McGuire” revival was ultimately scrapped despite significant fan excitement. In 2020, Duff was set to reprise her breakout role, but the project was canceled amid behind-the-scenes creative disagreements.

Reflecting on the character’s impact, Duff has previously said she remains grateful for what Lizzie brought to her life and career. “I’ve been so honored to have the character Lizzie in my life,” she said at the time, noting that the role left a “lasting impact” on her.

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When announcing the reboot’s cancellation, Duff acknowledged the extensive efforts that went into trying to make it work. “I know the efforts and conversations have been everywhere trying to make a reboot work, but, sadly & despite everyone’s best efforts, it isn’t going to happen,” she wrote.

Hilary Duff Recently Mourned The Loss Of Her ‘Lizzie McGuire’ Dad

Duff’s reflections on “Lizzie McGuire” come just months after the actress paid an emotional tribute to one of her beloved co-stars.

Earlier this year, Robert Carradine, who portrayed Lizzie’s father, Sam McGuire, in the Disney Channel series and “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” died at the age of 71. Carradine was also known for his work in films including “Revenge of the Nerds,” “The Cowboys,” and “Escape from L.A.”

Following news of his death, Duff shared a heartfelt message on social media alongside photos of Carradine and fellow Lizzie McGuire cast members Hallie Todd and Jake Thomas.

“This one hurts,” Duff wrote. “It’s really hard to face this reality about an old friend. There was so much warmth in the McGuire family, and I always felt so cared for by my on-screen parents. I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

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The actress went on to express her sadness over learning about Carradine’s health struggles in the years leading up to his death. “I’m deeply sad to learn Bobby was suffering. My heart aches for him, his family, and everyone who loved him.”

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 minute ago

One of my favorite guilty pleasure movies is 2004’s Without a Paddle, starring Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard. The film follows the same kind of beats you’d find in any coming-of-age story, except it’s about a bunch of 30-year-olds having an early midlife crisis while hunting for a long-lost treasure their recently deceased friend spent his life trying to locate. It’s stupid, slapstick, and the furthest thing from what most people would call good cinema, but it’s entertaining, and I love it. 

A worthy spiritual successor to Without a Paddle, 2012’s Nature Calls offers a lot of the same kind of humor, but with an R-rating. That means more cussing, fighting, and even some good old-fashioned lost-in-the-wilderness nakedness to keep things interesting. It also doesn’t hurt that the cast is absolutely stacked with talent, including, but not limited to, Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville, Rob Riggle, Patrice O’Neal, and Maura Tierney.

Everybody in Nature Calls reliably does what you know them to do, and their chemistry is exactly what you’d expect. I enjoyed watching it play out because I’m a fan of everybody involved. The story itself, though? There’s really not much going on, and you’ll soon realize the initial conflict is just a launching pad for joke after joke, some of which land better than others.

Watch This One For The Talent, Not The Plot

I’m not so much of a curmudgeon that I can’t appreciate a movie that doesn’t do much but still manages to be funny. But I’m still going to call Nature Calls what it is: a giant nothingburger.

Here’s the story: Randy Stevens (Patton Oswalt) is a loyal Boy Scout who wants to make his elderly father, a former troop leader now living in assisted living, proud. He wants to take all of the neighborhood kids on an epic camping trip, but his brother Kirk (Johnny Knoxville) is basically a tech bro who wouldn’t be caught dead camping in the woods. Randy, in a moment of passion, kidnaps all of the kids sleeping over at Kirk’s house and takes them camping anyway.

Kirk doesn’t want to go down without a fight, so he brings his trigger-happy security guard, Gentry (Rob Riggle), and Mr. Caldewell (Patrice O’Neal) to the campgrounds to collect the boys and bring them back to their sleepover party, complete with dozens of TVs and video games, at his McMansion. Hilarity ensues.

You Can Choose To Vibe With This One

The rest of Nature Calls involves Randy getting into a series of accidents despite his immense knowledge of the outdoors, Kirk getting his ass handed to him in ways only Johnny Knoxville can endure, Rob Riggle making that face he always makes before saying something he thinks is funny, and, my favorite part, Patrice O’Neal being highly inappropriate because he doesn’t know how to carry himself around kids.

The combination of funny people is enough to carry a movie like Nature Calls from start to finish, to the point that the setting and conflict barely matter. This could have taken place at a bowling alley or a theme park, or the characters could have been kidnapped and needed to escape. Anything, really. It just so happens they’re lost in the woods and braving the elements here.

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, but any movie with Patton Oswalt getting way in over his head despite his good intentions, Johnny Knoxville getting set on fire, Patrice O’Neal dropping F-bombs in front of innocent children, and Rob Riggle waving around a gun even though nobody feels threatened by him is going to get some laughs. It’s R-rated Little Giants humor, and it’s inherently funny if that’s exactly the kind of humor you’re looking for, regardless of the context. The problem is, I think they all knew this and decided that after the initial setup everybody could just do their thing.

If you’re a fan of the comedic talent found in Nature Calls, you’ll probably enjoy it more than you’d care to admit. Just be warned: there’s not much storytelling here, just a bunch of funny people working their schtick with varying levels of success.

As of this writing, you can stream Nature Calls for free on Tubi.

Nia Long‘s look for the 2026 BET Awards has social media users saying she’s “giving these young girls” a run for their money.

RELATED: She Gets It From Her Mama! Nia Long Shares Rare Photo & Video Of Her Mom Talita

More On Nia Long’s Look For The BET Awards

On Sunday, June 28, Nia Long appeared on the carpet for the 2026 BET Awards. Specifically, she graced the carpet donning a high ponytail, gold Chanel jewelry, and a brown, deep V-cut maxi dress.

See footage of her look below.

Nia Long’s Look For The BET Awards Has Social Media Users Saying She’s “Giving These Young Girls A Run For They Money”

Social media users slid into TSR’s comment section with reactions to Nia Long’s BET Awards look.

While Instagram user @therealmarcmendez added, “Giving these young girls a run for they money 😍”

Her Recent Repost Sparked Reactions

Before Nia Long popped out at the 2026 BET Awards, she already had the internet talking. As The Shade Room previously reported, earlier this month, Long took to Instagram and re-posted a message via her Story. Furthermore, the post read, “Call me old fashioned but I like my men without wives, girlfriends, or personality disorders”

The message prompted social media users to slide into TSR’s comment section with their thoughts.

RELATED: Say Less! Nia Long Gets Real About What She Won’t Tolerate From Men & The Internet Has Thoughts (PHOTO)