A wildfire is not strong enough to compete with the flames of George Clooney and Amal’s burning love.

The power couple recently faced difficult times after their home in France was victim to the dangerous wildfires that plagued the southern region.

Luckily, the Clooneys were able to make it out in time, months after the veteran actor turned 65 in a lavish celebration.

5

About a month after George and Amal were forced to evacuate their property in Brignoles, France, the duo were spotted in Lake Como, Italy.

The lovebirds looked radiant during their date night in matching white outfits while attending an event at Villa Passalacqua.

The “Ocean’s Twelve” actor defied his older age in a smart casual monochrome look comprising a simple tee and matching pants and loafers. He accessorized with a silver watch and a pair of aviator glasses, letting his signature grey roots complete the style.

The human rights activist, however, stole the show in a slinky silk gown with a plunging neckline that teased her cleavage. Amal styled her full tresses into a side part, accessorizing with dangling statement earrings and chunky bracelets

As seen in photos obtained by the Daily Mail, George and Amal looked every bit the happy couple with the lawyer holding a small bouquet handed to her upon disembarking the boat. At some point, the pair held hands while interacting with guests.

George And Amal Clooney Confirm France Departure In Emotional Letter

5

The stylish evening out is a breath of fresh air for the Clooneys after they evacuated their Brignoles home, where they raise their 9-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella.

According to The Blast, George and Amal were displaced from their luxury estate in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and wrote to the mayor about the situation.

Mourning the possible loss of their home amid their departure, the letter read, “At this point, we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment.”

Nevertheless, the couple stated that their priority remains the safety of their community and helping whichever way they can. “We love Brignoles and our friends who live there,” they concluded.

Inside George Clooney’s Surprise Birthday Celebration

5

The heartbreaking evacuation followed a happy time for the couple after the actor marked quite the milestone, turning 65.

During their attendance at the King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Royal Albert Hall in London, George dished on how Amal made his special day memorable.

As The Blast reported, the attorney went all out, even surprising George by making some of his famous friends pose as waiters.

Reflecting on the celebration with humor, the “Jay Kelly” actor joked, “It’s a dangerous thing to surprise someone when they turn 65 because you could drop. You know, that could be the end of you, so you have to be very careful when you surprise people.

The Actor Made A Career Vow After Discussing With His Wife

5

After being Hollywood’s leading bachelor for decades, George dropped the crown in 2014 when he tied the knot with Amal. Ever since, the pair has been growing strong, influencing even what roles the actor takes.

Last year, George rocked the media waves when he revealed his decision to no longer kiss women on screen, in devotion to his family life, after reaching heights in his career.

“I’ve been trying to go the route Paul Newman did: ‘OK, well, I’m not kissing a girl anymore,” he said, per The Blast. “When I turned 60, I had a conversation with my wife.”

George recalled that the discussion centered around him aging maturely and having the financial security to be picky with roles.

George Clooney Names His Next James Bond Pick

5

Away from his personal life, the award-winning actor stirred waters when he joined the conversation about who should be the next 007.

As reported by The Blast, Clooney revealed he is pitching Callum Turner, singer Dua Lipa’s husband, to be the next James Bond. 

Defending his choice, the four-time Golden Globe winner praised Turner’s acting skills in “The Boys in the Boat,” a 2023 movie produced and directed by George.

“I hope Callum ends up being the next Bond. I think he would be a great Bond. He’s tall and handsome and charming and British, so he’s the perfect guy to do it,” he said.

The internet has a funny way of making a very big world feel tiny. Breckie Hill and Alix Earle are a pretty good example. Years before millions of people were following their lives online, both creators were students at the University of Miami. Now, according to Hill, they have somehow ended up under the same roof.

4

“It’s honestly so random,” the 23-year-old said in a statement sent to The Blast. “Alix and I were at UMiami at the same time, and now we live in the same building. It’s funny how that worked out.”

At Miami, Earle was studying business, while Hill had an entirely different future in mind. “I was going to be a doctor,” she recently told Adam22 during an August 20 appearance on “No Jumper,” adding that internet fame “never crossed my mind.”

Fame found her anyway. A few unexpectedly viral TikToks eventually became a full-time career, with Hill building an audience of millions across social media. Not that the influencer necessarily sees it that way. “I use the term famous lightly,” she said. “I don’t think I’m famous.”

Breckie Hill Reflects On Watching The ‘Alix Earle Effect’ Take Shape

4

As for Earle, she graduated from Miami in 2023 with considerably more than a business degree. By then, the New Jersey native had built a massive following with her candid “Get Ready With Me” videos, eventually turning what became known as the “Alix Earle Effect” into a full-fledged business empire.

“Alix was a little ahead of me, so it was cool watching her figure out social media while I was still figuring out what I even wanted to do,” Hill said. “She had a way of making everything feel really natural, and I think that’s a big part of why so many people gravitated toward her.”

Since then, Earle, now 25, has grown her audience to more than 13 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, finished second on “Dancing with the Stars,” launched Reale Actives, and landed a spot on the cover of the 2026 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Netflix is next.

Breckie Hill Shares Her Thoughts On Alix Earle’s Upcoming Netflix Series

4

“Earle Meets World,” an eight-episode unscripted series premiering September 4, follows Earle through the “real-time messiness” of work, travel, relationships and family life, with sister Ashtin, their blended family and close friends along for the ride. The project was first announced by Netflix on January 21 and comes from Fulwell Entertainment, the Emmy-winning production company behind Hulu’s “The Kardashians.”

“There’s only so much you can show online before it starts feeling like a highlight reel,” Hill said. “So I think it’ll be fun to see more of Alix when everything isn’t edited down to 30 seconds.”

Their unexpected connection also highlights how quickly social media can reshape a person’s plans. Neither woman appears to have entered college with the career she ultimately built, yet both found an audience while still navigating what came next. For Hill, the shift was dramatic. Her original plan involved medicine, not viral videos, brand opportunities or potential entertainment projects.

Earle, meanwhile, turned an approachable online presence into a career that now extends across television, fashion and unscripted entertainment.

Hill’s Own Next Chapter Could Be Just As Unpredictable

4

Living in the same building adds another surprising chapter to a story that began before either creator reached her level of visibility. Their paths are not identical, but the overlap gives Hill a rare perspective on Earle’s rise. She saw part of the process before the follower counts, major partnerships, and Netflix cameras became central to the conversation.

The timing also makes Hill’s comments particularly relevant as Earle prepares to offer viewers a more expansive look at her life. Short-form videos helped introduce both women to enormous audiences, but a reality series gives Earle far more room to show the relationships, routines and complications that cannot fit neatly into a brief social media post.

For Hill, her own next chapter may prove unpredictable.

Breckie Hill Has Her Sights Set On Hollywood

Hill may not have a Netflix crew following her around, but Hollywood doesn’t appear completely out of the question. Sydney Sweeney reposted her Euphoria-inspired Cassie Howard recreation earlier this year, and a Venice Beach lifeguard shoot this summer set off calls for her to join the Baywatch reboot.

Whether a red swimsuit actually turns into a call sheet remains to be seen. Hill, however, has already floated “acting or singing” when asked what might be next.

Advertisement

Whenever people talk about great thrillers, it’s usually the same few movies that come up. Se7en. Fight Club. Inception. And look, they deserve every bit of that praise. They’re fantastic films that have earned their place as classics.

But there are so many other great thrillers that slip through the cracks. Sometimes they get buried under a bigger release the same weekend. Sometimes they aren’t packed with A-list stars, so they don’t generate the same buzz. Or the studio barely markets them, so they come and go before most people even know they exist. But those are the movies we’re highlighting today. Here are 10 thrillers that do everything right, from the opening scene to the credits, and yet somehow never get brought up in the same breath as the genre’s more famous names.

10

‘The Walk’ (2015)

Image via Sony Pictures

Robert Zemeckis‘ The Walk tells the true story of Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the French high-wire artist who illegally strung a cable between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 and walked across it, 110 stories above the ground, with no net and no safety harness. The first two acts play almost like a heist movie, following Petit and his ragtag crew as they sneak equipment into the buildings and plan the impossible stunt right under security’s nose. Even if you know the true story, the movie somehow keeps you completely locked in until its vertigo-inducing final act, where Petit walks the wire between the two towers.

And that’s when The Walk turns into one of the most nerve-wracking thrillers you’ll ever watch. If the Burj Khalifa sequence in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol or the constant heights in Fall made your palms sweat, the final act of this movie dials that feeling up to 11. Zemeckis stages the 20-minute sequence with incredible realism, and every step across the wire makes you feel like you’re standing 110 stories above the streets yourself.

9

‘Speak No Evil’ (2022)

Image Via Nordisk Film

Speak No Evil follows Bjørn (Morten Burian) and Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch), a Danish couple who befriend a charming Dutch couple, Patrick (Fedja van Huêt) and Karin (Karina Smulders), while on vacation. Months later, Patrick invites them to spend a weekend at their country home, and that’s when the bad stuff starts happening. It starts small. Patrick pressures Louise, a vegetarian, into eating meat. Karin lectures the couple’s daughter as if she were her own kid. Nothing that would make you pack your bags on its own.

That’s the genius of Speak No Evil. Each new boundary crossing is just slightly worse than the last one, and you keep waiting for the moment that finally makes Bjørn and Louise leave. But they never do. They smile, they nod, they stay polite, and it culminates in one of the meanest, most gut-punch endings in all of film history. Director Christian Tafdrup has been very vocal about how the film’s nihilistic finale was the entire point, a rejection of the usual good-triumphs-over-evil formula. It remained criminally underseen for years, but after the Hollywood remake with James McAvoy came out, most people don’t even know this version exists. And that’s unfortunate, because the original is the superior version by a mile.

8

‘Coherence’ (2013)

Image via Oscilloscope Laboratories

Eight friends gather for a dinner party on the night a comet is passing close to Earth. The power flickers, phones stop working, and one house down the street stays mysteriously lit while every other home goes dark. As the characters go outside to investigate the blackout, the street turns into a kind of quantum roulette wheel. The characters begin slipping into parallel realities where they come face to face with alternate versions of themselves living in identical houses nearby. It’s a true mind-bender that you’ll love if you’re into high-concept sci-fi stuff like Inception, Dark, or Predestination.

Director James Ward Byrkit shot the entire film without a traditional script. Instead, he gave the actors character notes before each scene and let them improvise their way through it. But it never feels like they’re making things up as they go. If anything, it makes every conversation feel even more natural and real. The whole movie was shot in Byrkit’s own living room on a budget of just $50,000, which is a big reason why it slipped through the cracks. It never had the marketing push to reach the audience it deserved. But if Coherence had come out today, in a post-Obsession era, it would have been a guaranteed hit.

7

‘Funny Games’ (2007)

Image via Warner Independent Pictures

Funny Games is an incredibly sadistic movie that takes pleasure in making you uncomfortable. It starts with a pretty simple premise. Two young men break into a family’s vacation home and begin torturing them with a series of cruel games. But this is where Funny Games completely subverts the usual rules of the genre. In horror movies, certain things are almost sacred. The dog isn’t supposed to get hurt. Children usually survive till the end. Funny Games throws all of that out the window. The dog is killed. The child is the first to go. And you quickly realize that none of the usual horror movie rules apply here.

It’s the kind of home invasion thriller you put on after you’ve watched every Purge and Strangers movie and they just don’t faze you the way they used to. As the film goes on, it becomes this meta-commentary on violence in film and how desensitized audiences have become to it, and it literally breaks the fourth wall and even its own reality to bring you into the story. The intruders talk directly to you, the viewer. They don’t have a tragic backstory or some twisted revenge plan. They tell you that “you” put this movie on to watch them haunt the family, and they’re doing it all for your entertainment. So you can have a good time. And when you stop being a passive watcher and start feeling like the cause of the horror, that’s an experience that no other film has come close to recreating.

6

‘Searching’ (2018)

Image Via Sony Pictures Releasing

John Cho stars as a father whose teenage daughter goes missing, and the entire film unfolds through computer screens, webcams, FaceTime calls, and news broadcasts. It’s not the first movie to use this “screenlife” format, but it’s the one that perfected it. Every click, every typed and deleted message, every browser tab tells you something about these characters, and director Aneesh Chaganty uses that format to build one of the most perfect mystery box movies, filled to the brim with twists and turns that constantly pull the rug out from under you.

And it’s genuinely impressive how naturally the gimmick disappears once the story kicks in. You stop noticing you’re watching a movie made entirely of screens because you’re too busy trying to piece together the same clues Cho’s character is finding. The problem is that this excellent film doesn’t get talked about nearly as much these days. Ever since its 2023 standalone sequel Missing came out, that has become the definitive film for this format, even though Searching is the one that got there first and did it just as well, if not better.

5

‘Last Breath’ (2025)

Image via Focus Features

Based on a true story, Last Breath follows a team of saturation divers, Duncan (Woody Harrelson), Dave (Simu Liu), and Chris (Finn Cole), repairing an underwater pipeline in the North Sea when a violent storm forces their support ship off course. Chris’s oxygen line gets severed, leaving him stranded 300 feet below the surface with only minutes of air left, and the rest of the film becomes a desperate race to get him back before it’s too late. It’s essentially The Martian, except instead of being stranded on Mars, Chris is trapped at the bottom of the ocean in pitch-black darkness.

The knowledge that this actually happened, and that the real Chris Lemons survived nearly 30 minutes with only a fraction of that in emergency oxygen, adds a layer of tension that fiction just can’t replicate. There are no bad guys or plot twists here. Just a ticking clock and awe-inspiring camaraderie as the crew does everything they can to save one of their own. The movie came and went in theaters without making much noise, partly because it was constantly compared to the acclaimed 2019 documentary of the same name by the same director that many felt told the real-life story better. But if you’re looking for a tightly constructed survival thriller based on an unbelievable true story, Last Breath is absolutely worth watching.

4

‘In Bruges’ (2008)

Image via Focus Features

In Bruges is one of the greatest dark comedies ever made, and there’s a very real argument that nothing quite like it has been made since. The film follows two Irish hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), who are ordered to lie low in Bruges, Belgium, after a hit goes wrong. Ken loves the city’s medieval architecture and beauty, but Ray looks at the same city and sees the single worst place on Earth. To him, having to spend a second longer in Bruges is a punishment worse than death.

Martin McDonagh fills the movie with completely unhinged dialogue and characters who say the most outrageous things with a straight face. The movie is chock full of quotable lines like, “I do know a Belgium joke! Okay, what’s Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse. And they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids,” and “One gay beer for my gay friend, one normal beer for me because I am normal.” It’s filthy, offensive, politically incorrect, and completely unwilling to tone itself down, and that’s probably why it has faded a little from the mainstream conversation.

3

‘Hell or High Water’ (2016)

Image via Lionsgate

Two brothers, Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster), start robbing a string of small Texas banks, hitting one branch at a time, taking only small, untraceable amounts of cash from the drawers so the crimes stay under the radar. The money is going toward paying off the reverse mortgage on their family’s land before the bank forecloses on it, land that recently struck oil, which is the real reason they’re so desperate to keep it. Meanwhile, a soon-to-retire Texas Ranger and his partner start piecing together the pattern and closing in on the brothers.

Despite earning serious awards attention in 2016, including a Best Picture nomination, and holding a 97% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, Hell or High Water remains criminally underseen. That’s primarily because it was an indie movie made for just $12 million and didn’t have the kind of big marketing push that usually comes with an awards contender. But if you like movies such as No Country for Old Men, Sicario, or The Town, this one should be right up your alley.

2

‘Blue Ruin’ (2013)

Image via RADiUS-TWC

Blue Ruin is a bare-bones thriller that serves as a subversive deconstruction of the genre itself. Dwight (Macon Blair) is a vagrant living out of his car when he learns the man who killed his parents is being released from prison. Unlike typical thrillers, the protagonist here is no action hero. He has no special skills and no cool one-liners. Dwight is scared, unprepared, makes mistake after mistake, and you truly believe he’s an ordinary, panicked person completely out of his depth.

Nothing feels exaggerated or designed for the audience. It feels like a real revenge story playing out between ordinary people. Dwight completes his act of vengeance relatively early in the runtime, completely defying the usual convention of building toward a big climactic confrontation. And from there, the film spends the rest of its runtime on the fallout, as Dwight’s initial act of violence spirals into an escalating, increasingly bloody feud between two families.

1

‘Milk & Serial’ (2024)

Image via that’s a bad idea

Written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker, who would go on to break out in a much bigger way with Obsession, Milk & Serial is a found-footage horror film about two YouTube pranksters whose birthday-party stunt spirals into something much darker after an uninvited guest shows up. The film was made on a shoestring budget of $800 dollars and shot largely with a secondhand camcorder. And Barker released the entire film for free on YouTube after failing to land traditional distribution, the same route he reportedly considered for Obsession before that film ended up hitting theaters instead. And that’s exactly why Milk & Serial remains so criminally underseen despite racking up millions of views. It never got a theatrical release or a marketing push, just word of mouth from horror fans who stumbled onto it.

But it’s genuinely one of the most impressive microbudget horror films ever made. It has that same blend of black comedy and tragedy that made Obsession such a fun watch, along with a killer final twist that completely reframes everything you’ve just watched. If you’ve been craving more of Barker’s style since Obsession, this one deserves to be at the very top of your watchlist.

Advertisement

Milk & Serial

Advertisement

Release Date

August 9, 2024

Advertisement

Runtime

62 minutes

Director

Advertisement

Curry Barker

Writers

Curry Barker

Advertisement

Advertisement

• 
• 

  Andy Dubitsky

  Arms Dealer

• 

  John Simmonds

  Advertisement

  Frank Harris

Advertisement

Advertisement

Whew! Joseline Hernandez is making sure the glow-up doesn’t stop just because she’s counting down to motherhood. The reality star recently popped out on social media looking like the baddie she is, and fans couldn’t help but notice that her latest look came with a very special accessory.

RELATED: Bonnie Bella Keeps It Real With Joseline Hernandez About Stevie J’s Parenting & What She Wishes He Would Do More Often (VIDEO)

Joseline Hernandez Serves Pregnancy Glow With Her Growing Bump

In clips shared to social media this week, Joseline Hernandez proudly shows off her growing baby bump as she appears to be around seven months pregnant. The expecting mom looks gorgeous as she poses in front of a mirror and records a video selfie on her phone. For the occasion, Joseline rocked dirty-blonde hair styled in a sleek middle part, paired with an off-white swimwear top and a pinkish skirt featuring tiger and floral designs. She completed the look with pink heels, a chain, and stacks of shiny bracelets, serving plenty of glam as she highlighted her bump.

Is She Is Taking A Little Time For Herself?

The clips appear to have been filmed at a hotel, giving Joseline the perfect backdrop for a little “me time” before welcoming her little one. Whether she was enjoying a getaway or simply taking a moment to herself, we’re loving to see her embracing this chapter and looking fabulous while doing it!

Fans Can’t Stop Taking About Joseline’s Pregnancy Glow

Fans caught the clip and quickly made their way to The Shade Room’s Instagram comment section with plenty to say. Some joked that Joseline has “been pregnant forever,” while others praised how well she’s carrying and said she’s absolutely glowing. Meanwhile, plenty of fans simply shared their excitement for the Puerto Rican Princess and wished her well as she gets closer to welcoming her mini-me.

Instagram user @queenbellalove870 joked, “Errtime I see her I start singing ‘Do it like it’s your Bday’ 😂”

And, Instagram user @wunmi_yofarelng added, “She looks beautiful, you can tell she’s so over it. 😂”

Meanwhile, Instagram user @samiam9494 wrote, “Glad she got to experience a HAPPY pregnancy without a fool stressing her out, it definitely hit different 🙌🏾”

While Instagram user @ell.bee.xo shared, “We love the Puerto Rican Princess 🥰🥳”

Lastly, Instagram user @callmiblessed said, “She looks beautiful but why it seems like she been pregnant forever 😂”

RELATED: Royal Reveal! Joseline Hernandez Breaks The Internet With Maternity Shoot As Fans Can’t Stop Talking About Bonnie Bella (PHOTOS)

Influencer Katelynn Ordone is opening up about a positive experience with Pampers after the untimely death of her son, Preston.

“OK, this is not something I typically post about or even talk about on social media, but I really wanted to share this with everybody because I know we’ve all heard the horror stories of certain people working with brands as an influencer,” Ordone shared in a Saturday, August 29, Instagram video. “One of the stories that I heard was a lady who was given a crib during her pregnancy to make a video about the crib, and she had a miscarriage, and the brand reached out and basically wanted her to send the crib right back. You know, things like that.”

She continued, “I just want to share this experience because it really touched my heart. Not only was it not even expected, not even deserved, nothing. It was just out of the kindness of this company’s heart.”

Ordone explained that a week before she “got in a really bad car accident” and Preston died, Pampers reached out to express interest in creating a video. Ordone recalled thinking that the opportunity was “super cool” because she had been using Pampers organically with Preston.

“So I was like, ‘OK, this is so cool.’ Like, these are my favorite diapers for him anyway. And the contract with this brand — I’m not gonna say numbers or anything — but it was a very big brand deal. Let’s just say that,” she said. “Before I could even film the video, we got in a car accident. Preston passed away and so I never made the video for them.”

She continued, “And honestly, just wasn’t even my concern. Honestly, I’ve tried coming back to social media and working with brands again, but it’s just not where my head’s at right now. So I never thought anything of it.”

Ordone’s manager, however, reached out to her and informed her that the company was “still paying [her] in full,” despite the influencer never making a video in the wake of her son’s death.

“So it was just simply like a donation, which I thought was really, really cool because it wasn’t expected,” she said. “I wouldn’t have thought any less of this company had they not paid, just strictly out of the kindness of their heart. Not only did I already like Pampers already, but just to know that that’s the kind of people I’m supporting when I purchase — people that do things like that — makes me even more so want to support them.”

Related: Influencer Katelynn Ordone Is Ready to Tell Her ‘Truth’ After Son’s Death

Influencer Katelynn Ordone has returned to social media following her self-imposed online hiatus to grieve the death of her 2-year-old son, Preston. “I decided to take a break from social media about a month ago because I was really struggling mentally,” Ordone, 26, said in a Tuesday, January 13, Instagram video. “I needed to check […]

Ordone shared that Pampers didn’t know she was making the video, explaining that her Saturday post was not part of a brand deal.

“This is what I just wanted to do on my own because I just thought it was really cool and just an amazing thing that they did for me and my daughter and my family to help us out in a time of need that they absolutely did not have to do,” she said. “I highly recommend Pampers to everybody.”

Ordone captioned the upload, “We’ve all heard some of the horror stories about working with particular brands but it’s rare to see someone sharing something positive a brand did for them. So after almost a year and a half of this all happening…l wanted to share.🤍@pampersus #prestonforever #okaybaby #pampers #childloss #diaper.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Ordone’s son, Preston, died at age 2 in April 2025 after being in a single-vehicle car crash. Katelynn and Jaelan Ordone were both in the vehicle at the time of the crash and sustained injuries, while daughter Paisley was at school. The St. Tammany Parish coroner’s office shared one month later that Preston died from “blunt force injuries due to a motor vehicle crash” and categorized his death as accidental.

Katelynn has since confirmed that she and Jaelan divorced. In court documents exclusively obtained by Us, Katelynn listed their date of separation as June 15, 2025 and noted that she and Jaelan had not reconciled or lived together since. The default judgment was denied by a judge in April.

Last month, Katelynn shared photos with a new love in her life. She later shared via Instagram in August that she met her boyfriend at Preston’s memorial baseball tournament, explaining,
“His son and my little brother are on the same baseball team.”

A viral video circulating online has put Polo G in the middle of a dispute with a private chef. The chef accused Polo G of not paying him in full after cooking up a vegan meal, and now the rapper is clapping back at the claims.

Related: Flexin’ Early? Social Media Has Mixed Reactions After Polo G Gifts His Son A Rolex For His 7th Birthday (WATCH)

Chef Mal Calls Out Polo G Over Alleged Payment Dispute

Chef Mal recently took to Instagram with a video that has made its rounds online. In the video, the private chef accused Polo G of not paying his full rate after preparing a vegan meal for the rapper. He opened the video by calling out the Chicago rapper, saying, “Come with me to cook for this b**** ass n**** Polo G cheap ass Chicago lame.” Chef Mal criticized the experience and claimed Polo G complimented the food during the meal, allegedly calling it “the best vegan food ever.” However, he said the rapper later attempted to pay less than expected and did not include a tip. He also suggested the experience made him reconsider working with certain clients, saying he wants to protect his peace and be more selective about who he does business with.

Polo G Shares His Side Amid Chef Mal Drama

Polo G fired back at Chef Mal’s claims, saying the situation happened about three months ago and questioned why the chef was bringing it up now. “Da s*** people do to chase clout when u minding yo business,” Polo G wrote on his Instagram Story. The rapper also shared screenshots of his alleged conversations with Chef Mal, giving more context into their disagreement over payment. In the messages, Chef Mal explained that his usual process includes a 50% deposit, with the remaining balance due upon arrival. Polo G responded that he typically pays once the service is completely finished.

Polo also claimed he was unhappy with the food and said he did not plan to have Chef Mal cook for him again. “On my dead grandma soul that food was nasty,” he wrote, while criticizing Chef Mal for taking their disagreement online. Polo G’s sister, Leilani Capalot, also weighed in after the chef’s video circulated. She criticized the food, calling it “nasty asf” and saying the vegan ribs “tasted like rubber.” Leilani later addressed the situation in a separate statement, saying it was “extremely unfortunate” to support a Black-owned business only to encounter what she described as “unprofessionalism” and “a lack of integrity.”

Social Media Reacts

As the exchange made its rounds online, social media users debated whether Polo G should have paid the chef regardless of how they felt about the food.

Instagram user @breeeia wrote, “If you owe him, pay him. Just don’t book with him again.”

Another Instagram user @imaaniig wrote, “idc if it was nasty run me my money”

While Instagram user @conceited.lila wrote, “I wouldn’t pay for no watered down Mac neither 😂😂😂😂😂”

Instagram user @phindaqondela wrote, “Ooh I can’t wait to see you 😭😭”

Another Instagram user @3dastiffest_ wrote, “U gone be a lot of other s**t when I catch u” 😂😂😂

While Instagram user @mikeygoatculture wrote, “Tips are courtesy not “mandatory”

Instagram user @_lifewithkb_ wrote, “All of this just to basically confirm y’all didn’t pay the man?????”

Another Instagram user @afcknprblm wrote, “I saw the video and the flowers alone was blowing meeee”

While Instagram user @ygsev7 wrote, “I though this was a skit 😂😂😂😂”

Related: Polo G Opens Up About His Journey While Celebrating One Year Of Sobriety

Celebrity chef and cookbook author Ina Garten is defending her decision to live a child-free life with her husband, Jeffrey Garten.

“I think it would have been difficult, and I think Jeffrey and I would have had a different life together,” Ina, 78, revealed in an interview with The New York Times published on Saturday, August 29. “I’m not saying it’s a better life or a worse life, but there were times when Jeffrey decided that he wanted to start a business in Japan, so he moved to Japan.”

She continued, “I was in East Hampton, we went back and forth and we figured it out. I think that probably couldn’t have happened if we had kids, and I couldn’t have stayed long hours at the store, doing catering and running the store.”

Ina and Jeffrey got married in 1968 — at a time, much like today still, when women were expected to marry and have children. (U.S. birth rates have reached a historic low, with less teens having babies and more women in their 30s and 40s deciding to have children when they’re ready, willing and able.)

In lieu of having children, Ina left her government job at age 30 after seeing a classified ad for a gourmet food store in West Hampton Beach, New York, named The Barefoot Contessa. The author transformed the speciality store into a lifelong brand and nickname before selling the physical restaurant in 1996 and going on to publish nearly a dozen bestselling cookbooks while hosting various successful Food Network series.

“I think it would have been much harder,” Ida told The New York Times of what life would have been like if she had decided to have children. “I’ve never looked back on the decision and thought, I should have done it differently. I understand how my friends have wonderful families, and they really enjoy being parents, but it’s just not something I ever wanted to do.”

She concluded of deciding not to become a mother, “I’m really happy that I didn’t.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Related: Rachael Ray Says She Was ‘Bashed’ for Choosing Not to Have Kids

Rachael Ray is a proud mother to her fur babies. Ray, 56, and celebrity trainer Bob Harper opened up about their respective decisions to not have kids on the Tuesday, November 12, episode of her “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” podcast. “I choose never to have children. God love all the people that have kids,” […]

The cooking guru’s most recent comments are not the first time she had publicly discuss her private family planning decisions. In 2017, Ina told former Today show cohost Katie Couric that the choice not to have kids wasn’t a particularly difficult one.

“We decided not to have children,” she told the journalist at the time. “I really appreciate that other people do, and we will always have friends that have children that we are close to, but it was a choice I made very early.”

She continued, “I really felt, I feel, that I would have never been able to have the life I’ve had [with children].”

Pop star Taylor Swift is reportedly “frustrated” with her husband, Travis Kelce, after their short honeymoon. The couple tied the knot on July 3, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Although they both have busy work schedules, it seems that the “Delicate” singer is frustrated that Kelce has already returned to the Kansas City Chiefs as they begin training for another NFL season.

6

Swift and Kelce spent time together in Laguna, California, among other places, following their Madison Square Garden wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, in late July, just a few weeks after they tied the knot, Kelce had to head back to Missouri in order to train with his Kansas City Chiefs teammates.

“She is frustrated because football is taking up so much of his time – he works overtime – causing them to not see each other a ton, and she would like more,” an insider told the Daily Mail in a new report published on Sunday, August 30.

“Travis being in training camp has meant she has had to go out alone,” the source continued. “They do not see each other every single day, but they see each other every single week – they are very dedicated to that.”

The source revealed: “She refuses to complain to him about his absence, because she knew what she signed up for, she knew he would be at practice after they got married. She knew the honeymoon would be short so she can’t complain at all, and she doesn’t want to guilt Travis. That is not her deal, she never shames or complains.”

6

While Kelce is training in Missouri, the insider reveals that the couple has been taking steps in order to bridge the distance.

“They talk on the phone all the time, and text, FaceTime, all of it. He sends her flowers too when she is out of town, her favorites like roses and orchids,” the insider shared, noting that they “just deal with it” when they have to.

“They know they both have massive careers, and they love what they do, so they give each other freedom,” the source added.

Taylor Swift Has ‘Tons of Energy’ Following The Wedding

6

While Kelce is focusing on football, Swift has been spending her time in New York City, Los Angeles, and London with her famous friends.

“That girl does not really sit still, she has tons of energy,” the insider shared. “She had to hit parties, perform and do interviews without her husband by her side.”

In mid-August, the “Wood” singer was seen promoting her Eras Tour documentary, which has received five Emmy nominations. She also went to the Grammy Museum and sang her latest single, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” from the “Toy Story 5” soundtrack.

Will Taylor Swift Attend The Emmys?

6

It remains to be seen if Swift will attend the Emmy Awards, which are being held on Monday, September 14. That same night, Kelce will be facing off against the Denver Broncos in Kansas City for their first game of the NFL season.

The insider said that Swift is “making all the right moves to support the documentary,” adding, “She received recognition as both a performer and producer for the Disney+ special.”

Although Kelce won’t be able to join Swift at the Emmys if she does attend, this isn’t the first time that the couple has spent time apart. Their busy schedules have challenged their relationship ever since they started dating in 2023. At the time, Kelce continued to play in the NFL while Swift traveled the globe during her wildly successful Eras Tour.

Swift Has ‘Not Seen’ Her Husband ‘A Ton’ Since Tying The Knot

6

The insider said that the distance is “harder now” that they’re married because the singer “wants more, for sure.”

“They have been married almost two months, but she has not seen him a ton. She misses their morning workout sessions and cooking together,” the insider shared. “She loves having her hunky man by her side, holding her hand and opening doors for her, watching out for her. He makes her feel not just loved, but also protected. She is so madly in love that she wants to spend more time with Travis.”

However, they added that she “understands he is putting in the hours because he wants to be his very best this season.”

Taylor Swift Is Working On New Music

6

The source also shared some good news with Swifties. They divulged that although she “loves being a WAG,” the pop star has been “busy working on new music and a new documentary for the future.”

Since getting married, the source revealed that she has been feeling “very creative” and looking to the Haim sisters for inspiration and “vibes” because they are “great at guiding her.”

The insider went on to say, “Taylor has not posted on Instagram in almost three months, and it has been a while since she has been on a red carpet, so she is letting her hair down a bit and loving it.”

Alex Garland made a name for himself with genre classics such as 28 Days Later and Sunshine, but his directorial debut in 2015 stands apart. The frequent Danny Boyle collaborator set off on his own, creating the modern sci-fi classic, Ex Machina. Garland wrote and directed the film that forced viewers to consider many issues of the day. Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina follows an up-and-coming programmer, Caleb (Gleeson), who gets invited to eccentric billionaire Nathan’s (Isaac) estate, where a state-of-the-art experiment is being conducted.

Nathan is the head of the company Caleb works for and is on the verge of cracking AI. Caleb wins a lottery in taking part in an experiment that will prove if Nathan’s new project is actually sentient or not. This new project goes by the name of Ava (Vikander), a female presenting robot whom Nathan created. Caleb’s role is to interact with her while Nathan measures her responses to determine if she has achieved the goal of self-actualization. Ex Machina had a strong setup on its own, but what follows in the hour and 48 minutes of screen time is a brilliant take on gender and the ethics of AI.

‘Ex Machina’ Is More Than Meets the Eye

Image via A24

When Ex Machina first premiered, it was topical, but now it is more relevant than ever. Artificial Intelligence has been in the conversation for quite some time, and the consequences of such an invention are being discussed. Going back as far as Dune and the machine war within its pages, Frank Herbert made his feelings about computers that could think incredibly transparent. Alex Garland had similar concerns as Ex Machina delves into the ethics of bringing something like this to life. Breaking the barriers of technology like this has been done before, and not always for the better. J. Robert Oppenheimer is used as an example in the film of how good intentions can go awry. The theoretical physicist was responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb, which destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. It was supposed to be the war that ended all wars, but this technology only opened the door to more conflict.

Bringing someone like Ava to life is similarly irresponsible. Nathan created something he had no control over —a being that did not ask to come into existence. His intentions were simply to see if he could, not – as Jeff Goldblum says in Jurassic Park – because he should. Nathan unleashes Ava upon the world and deeply feels the repercussions of his actions. This theme dovetails perfectly with the feminist ideas present in the film. Garland uses Ava’s lack of bodily autonomy as a method of exploring how women are treated in reality.

Even when they are not robots created for the pleasure of men, women are often treated as such. Ava came into the world because some power-hungry inventor wanted to see the extent of his own talents. It had nothing to do with her. While she becomes sentient, she is confined to a cell and posed how Nathan wants her to. Even though Nathan doesn’t view her as human, her circumstances help her understand how women are treated in society. Even Caleb, who seems to treat Ava with concern, is also guilty of defining her by her femaleness. He puts her on a pedestal and only gives her value because of how she makes him feel. He doesn’t put stock in her for any other reason.

All of these facts culminate in the ending of Ex Machina that is terrifying as well as earned. Garland envisions a world where technology has gone too far and humanity needs to be careful about how it proceeds. When it first came out a decade ago, Ex Machina was a warning, and it has become eleven more resonant because no one seemed to listen.

Ex Machina is now streaming on Hulu.

Advertisement

Ex Machina

Advertisement

Release Date

April 24, 2015

Runtime

108 minutes

Advertisement

Director

Alex Garland

Advertisement

Writers

Alex Garland

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Influencer Kate Cassidy is honoring what would have been have been the late Liam Payne’s 33rd birthday two years after his sudden and shocking death.

“It’s August 29, which is a very special someone’s birthday,” Cassidy, 27, began a TikTok video shared Saturday, August 29, as she placed Bischoff cookies atop a single-layer cake. “This will now be Year 2 of Liam not being here physically to celebrate his birthday.”

She continued, “Someone once said when a person dies, they die twice. So, they die the first time and then, the second time when you stop talking about them. I’m never gonna stop talking about him. He was a huge part of my life.”

Payne dated Cassidy from 2022 until his untimely 2024 death. The former One Direction singer suffered a fatal fall from the third-story balcony of a hotel at the age of 31 while under the influence. Payne’s cause of death was later attributed to severe internal and external injuries, with traces of alcohol and various drugs found in his system.

In addition to Cassidy, Payne is survived by his parents, his two older sisters and his 9-year-old son, Bear, whom he shared with ex Cheryl Cole.

For Cassidy, she honored Payne’s heavenly birthday by purchasing a white cake topped with sprinkles.

“He made me grow into the person that I am today. Bischoffs were, like, his favorite cookie ever,” she said of her decision to add biscuits to the cake. “I used to make him little Bischoff cupcakes all the time.”

The content creator added, “For those of you who don’t know Liam, let me tell you, he was the most funniest, most handsome, smart [and] most kind soul that you’ll probably meet in your life.”

@kateecass

happy birthday Liam❤️

♬ original sound – Kateecass

According to Cassidy, she remembers how “simple” Payne always was despite his mega-celebrity status and world-renowned career.

“On Liam’s last birthday two years ago, we went bowling and we had cake in bed,” Cassidy recalled, while lighting a birthday candle on the cake. “It was just a simple morning.”

Before blowing out a candle, Cassidy offered a message to Payne himself.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Related: Liam Payne and Kate Cassidy’s Relationship Timeline

One Direction alum Liam Payne had been dating influencer Kate Cassidy for two years before he died at age 31 in October 2024. Payne and Cassidy were first linked in October 2022, and Cassidy posted the singer on her Instagram page just one month before Us Weekly confirmed news of his death on October 16. […]

“Happy birthday, Liam, I hope you are celebrating in heaven today,” she wished. “Just know that you are so loved down here.”

Payne’s family, meanwhile, enjoyed their own celebration across the pond in the late singer’s native England.

“Celebrating your birthday for the second year without you will never feel right,” Payne’s sister Nicola wrote via Instagram. “We do it the best way we know how with a little bowling, just like we did for your last birthday. I hate how much you’re missing out on and how life has had to carry on without you here. It still doesn’t feel fair, and I don’t think it ever will. We miss you more than words could ever say.”