By Mark Gray
9:30am PDT, Jun 13, 2023
Unauthorized 'Air' use
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are taking the air out of a Donald Trump fundraising video. The duo is making it clear that they did not consent to the former POTUS using a monologue from their film "Air" in his new campaign ad, which was posted to Truth Social over the weekend. "We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from 'Air' being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use," a spokesperson for Artists Equity told Variety. "Specifically in terms of any and all rights available to us under U.S. copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from 'Air' by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent." Ben and Matt head the Artists Equity production company. In the unauthorized clip, Trump posted images from his life while a narrator reads, "Money can buy you almost anything, but it can't buy you immortality, that you have to earn…" In the film, Matt's character, Sonny Vaccaro, tells this to Michael Jordan. Over the years, many musical acts, actors and artists have denounced the presidential candidate for using their intellectual property without consent.
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Report fallout
Britney Spears and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, are slamming a report that claims she's using crystal meth. Over the weekend, the Daily Mail and The Sun attributed comments to Kevin in which he allegedly said she's on "meth" and fears for Britney's life. Kevin quickly condemned the story. "It saddens our family that Daphne Barak and Erbil Gunasti have decided to fabricate lies and publish the heart ache our family has endured, along with the trauma of our minor children in the Daily Mail and The Sun," he said in a statement to TMZ. "We did allow Daphne & Bill into our home because we trusted them, but that trust was lost and we severed ties back in March for many reasons we choose not to go into here." He argued that the writer, Daphne, "continues to harass our family" and dubbed her attempts to "exploit minors" as "click bait." Britney slammed the report, as did her lawyer, who sent a legal letter to the Mail. "The Daily Mail, through Daphne Barak, posted a story yesterday containing numerous false and defamatory fabrications concerning my client Britney Spears that are attributed to Kevin Federline and his children, in particular regarding 'crystal meth,'" Mathew Rosengart, the pop star's lawyer, said in the letter, which was reviewed by Page Six. The lawyer also brought up the fact that Kfed labeled the story as false. "I have separately learnt that on several occasions, Ms. Barak sought to contact Britney under false pretenses, again using her minor children, which is exploitative, harassing, and outrageous," the letter continued. "And moreover, Britney's representatives were never contacted prior to the publication of the story, further demonstrating actual malice and reckless disregard for the truth." The letter concluded, "Britney is indeed a public figure, but this conduct is beyond the pale and completely unacceptable. It is shoddy even by today's standards of 'journalism' and the unfair scrutiny she has faced." Matthew asked for a retraction and that the stories be taken down, but they both remain up. The journalist for the story is standing my her work. On Monday, June 12, a rep for the Mail said in statement that Kevin "made it clear to Daphne that he hoped someone would expose the situation, as he saw it, because that would be the way to get help for Britney."
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More the merrier…
Chris Pratt thinks people should "rush" to have children so they can have more time with the kids while still youthful. "People say all the time, 'Don't rush to have kids.' I personally disagree. Rush. Have them. Of course, make sure you find a great partner, but don't wait," he told Men's Journal. Recalling a conversation with another A-lister, he said, "I was talking to Adam Sandler a while back and he said, 'Every day you wait is a day they don't get to have you in their life.' The younger you have kids, the more time they get to have with you." Chris has three kids: son Jack, 10, with his ex-wife Anna Faris, and daughters Lyla Maria, 2, and Eloise Christina, 1 with current wife Katherine Schwarzenegger. "It's wild. Having kids is incredible. The things you normally take for granted in life are new. As they grow up, it becomes more about connecting with them as individuals and what makes them unique. The softness of their hearts. How their minds work. How they're the same as you. How they're different," he said. "In the same way that being a father changes the kind of actor you are, it can definitely change the kinds of roles you want to be involved in. I've found myself wanting to do more PG movies. I see a lot because my kids want to watch them, and to be honest, some of them are bad. And I'm sitting there thinking, This is terrible." He added, "So at the same time as wanting to make movies that would entertain my kids, I'm also thinking about creating movies that are merciful on the parents."
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Condemning a 'clout chaser'
Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are eviscerating a man who claimed the former couple makes their sons "wear girls dresses." "i really don't want to give you this attention because clearly youre a clout chaser," Megan wrote via Instagram, alongside a screenshot of the former US Congress candidate's tweet. "but let me teach you something… irregardless of how desperate you may become at any given time to acquire wealth, power, success, or fame – never use children as leverage or social currency. especially under malevolent and erroneous pretense." She told the self-proclaimed "free thinker," "exploiting my child's gender identity to gain attention in your political campaign has put you on the wrong side of the universe. i have been burned at the stake by insecure narcissistic impotent little men like you many times and yet i'm still here you f***** with the wrong witch." Brian also scolded the politician for speaking about his children, hinting that it's all done to fit a political narrative. "There are only a few people in their world that can actually verify wether [sic] or not a story like this is true and I can tell you with absolute certainty it is not," the "Beverly Hills, 90210 alum" told TMZ on Saturday. "This person trying to claim this is true is a perfect example of someone with selfish motives that does not care about negatively affecting a parent child relationship."
Feuding costars
Although a feud between Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker still exits, their "Sex and the City" costar Kristin Davis isn't trying to mend fences because it seems like a lost cause. "You have to respect people's wishes. I'm not gonna waste energy on it. I can't change anybody," she told The Telegraph. "I do understand fans' feelings – that they're upset… I wish I could fix it, but I can't, it's not in my power." The comments come just days after Kim confirmed that she's making a cameo in SATC spinoff "And Just Like That." Variety reported that Kim shot just one scene for the episode back in March.
Scary surgery
"Selling Sunset" star Amanza Smith is recovering from spine surgery. The reality TV star spoke about her health on social media on Sunday, June 11. "Over a month ago and all of this started I thought that I had a bulging disk or a slipped disc or something wrong with my lower back that was regular," she said on her Instagram Story. "I laid in pain in my house for several days. I cried. I took Tylenol. I went to urgent care. I didn't know what it was but after over a month of excruciating pain I finally started to get some answers." Following an MRI and a CT scan, she was told to go to the hospital. There, she assumed she'd have another scan and be sent on her way. "Instead, I was admitted and they immediately started testing me for things in my blood," Amanza explained. "Come to find out I had an infection in my blood that had caused, a great deal of infection to be spread to the bones of my spine and it's called osteomyelitis …the good thing about all of this I'm in the best hospital and quite possibly the world and every doctor and every nurse has been right on top of everything to get the answers that we need to get me to where I need to be, which is better." Amanza had been treated for 10 days before getting surgery.
Name change
Khloe Kardashian has already played the name game with her son. While the reality star settled on Tatum Thompson as the tot's legal name, sources told TMZ that Tatum wasn't the original first name she gave the boy. And, his original last name was Kardashian, not Thompson. It's believed that "The Kardashians" star was upset about the NBA player fathering a love child with another woman after Khloe and Tristan decided to go forward with a surrogate to carry Tatum. Tatum was born about eight months after the love child. Khloe's decision to let Tatum carry the Thompson last name shows that the duo is back on the same page.
