Bizarre behavior, abuse and obsession... Brian Wilson's former confidante reveals the dark reality of friendship with the Beach Boy and why he finally reached his breaking point
Just before the death of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson
Below is an edited excerpt from ' Crazy Lucky: Remarkable Stories from Inside the World of Celebrity Icons.'
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Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'Tears on the horizon' at CNN as insiders reveal stars on the chopping block after parent company's shock split
Warner Bros. Discovery's shock split into two distinctive companies is a sign the jobs and hefty salaries of CNN 's top talent are on the line, media insiders warn. The media giant announced last week it will halve into two publicly traded entities — Streaming & Studios and Global Networks — by mid-2026. Streaming & Studios' domain will be Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max. Global Networks, on the other hand, will be news focused, assuming CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery, among other programming. CEO David Zaslav will take on the leading role of the Streaming & Studios company, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become the President of Global Networks. This dramatic move could be detrimental to CNN, which is already grappling with plummeting ratings. 'Inevitably, Gunnar will look at CNN and decide he can maintain relatively similar profits at a mere fraction of the cost,' Dylan Byers, a former CNN reporter who now works for Puck, wrote in an opinion piece. 'This will have perceptible ramifications on the talent side. Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?' An anonymous source familiar with the state of the left-leaning news network spoke with Fox News, reiterating there are 'tears on the horizon.' They believe 'bean counter' Wiedenfels will go after high-salaried stars, going against the precedent set by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who was forced out before the 2022 merger. 'It's not just the overpriced talent. It's the overpriced producers. The overpriced executives. The superfluous reporters who barely are on the air,' the source said. 'All will either be exited or forced to take massive pay cuts.' Zucker was allegedly known for overpaying talent to keep them loyal to him, Fox reported. The result - CNN's first and second-tier talent now earn roughly five times what they are worth, the insider alleged. While Cooper earns an estimated $18 million every year, Jake Tapper, who hosts The Lead with Jake Tapper, brings in roughly $7 million a year. CNN veteran Wolf Blitzer's salary is about $15 million and Chris Wallace's is approximately $8 million. Collins earns about $3 million as a primetime anchor. In May, CNN had its second-worst month in its history in the essential 25 to 54-year-old age group in both daytime and primetime viewership, Fox reported. Since last year, the network ratings declined in all categories - and the matter may only get worse, experts believe. Over the upcoming year, Kagan, a research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, estimated CNN will lose subscribers and revenue despite the strategic split. Revenue is expected to plummet by $499.2 million, Variety reported. The insider source said the soon-to-be Global Networks CEO could slash CNN's costs by 50 to 60 percent with no impact on revenue or ratings. They believe Wiedenfels could 'start by making 70 percent cuts to all show teams for CNN US, bringing their staffing in line with that of their competition,' before slashing talent salaries. 'But it will be most devastating for the rank and file. With no union protections, there will be massive layoffs and those remaining will be asked to do the work of their departed colleagues,' they explained. Although no layoffs or budget cuts have been set in stone, uncertainty looms among CNN staffers. Byers told Fox he has 'received a deluge of text messages from addled employees at CNN' asking what the WBD split means for their futures. Despite skepticism, WBD higher-ups believe dividing into two companies is the best possible move. 'By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today's evolving media landscape,' Zaslav said. Wiedenfels agreed this is a strategic move that will strength the 'specific financial profiles' of each company. 'At Global Networks, we will focus on further identifying innovative ways to work with distribution partners to create value for both linear and streaming viewers globally while maximizing our network assets and driving free cash flow,' he asserted.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
My unexpected Pride icon: they were not cool, but bands like Mumford & Sons eased the turmoil of coming out
I am coming out again, this time as a lover of stomp and clap music. This will probably get me in trouble with my mother in a way that coming out as bisexual never did, because she believed that you should always be your authentic self, so long as you have good taste. Stomp clap music has often been the subject of much derision and a bit of a punchline. But despite the ridicule, I'm willing to defend my taste. The genre, sometimes referred to as stomp and holler or indie folk, peaked in the 2000s, with bands such as the Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men and, of course, Mumford & Sons – think a lot of guitars, banjos, the odd fiddle, literal stomping and clapping, with the occasional rousing 'hey!' in the background. It was largely associated with hipsters – the twirly moustached, braces and Henley-shirt-wearing kind – and with band members who all look like Sunday school preachers and youth pastors. I can't stand the aesthetic, but the music is undeniable. So how did a black queer woman – raised on jazz and soul – end up loving these bands? Mostly through a lot of late nights on Tumblr – the mainstay of any teenager figuring themselves out in the 2010s. I was obsessed with the Norwegian teen drama Skam and all its various iterations and adaptations. It's an obsession that led me to Tumblr, where there were tonnes of fan edits (short video tributes to the show's couples and characters), all set to an endless stream of stomp and clap such as the Lumineers' Ophelia or King and Lionheart by Of Monsters And Men. Though my music taste wasn't limited, it definitely wasn't cool (whatever that means). As my love for the genre grew, my friends, a small group of queer kids at a Catholic school, were very much live and let live with my choices – we were already on the outskirts anyway. It was never exactly something to bust out at a group sesh, though. I think the closest I could get was Ed Sheeran's Nancy Mulligan, which we could all agree was good 'straight white' music. Now 23, I am (nearly) past that phase, but at the time the music was always a comfort to me, as I wrestled with coming out. Against the joyful twang of the banjo, the music was melancholy, but never devastating – a contrast to the turmoil I felt inside. There was longing and regret and unrequited love, but also hope after heartbreak. Songs such as Cleopatra by the Lumineers spoke to the lifelong regret of not telling someone you love them out of fear. Others, such as The Night We Met by Lord Huron, portrayed the first intense heartache you feel after drifting out of a relationship, something that spoke to me as I drifted home, aged 16, after kissing a girl for the first time – not able yet to talk about it, music was my solace. My love for these bands (with the exception of Mumford & Sons, you know what you did) was as much about the self-discovery as it was the music. Growing up, I loved emo indie bands because my friends put me on to them, while jazz and soul were a part of my upbringing. My violin lessons are why you will find Beethoven next to Cowboy Carter on my playlists. But indie folk was all mine, music discovered in an online community almost as an antidote to the catholic guilt and self-loathing I was battling through. So for me stomp and clap was the soundtrack of my coming out and I'm willing to make the case for its inclusion on all Pride playlists this year. (Hear me out: fiddles at Pride!)
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Rupert Murdoch's 'wild child' granddaughter Charlotte Freud reveals she has finally found love after disaster 14-month marriage
Rupert Murdoch 's granddaughter Charlotte Freud has proclaimed her love for her new boyfriend following her disastrous marriage. In March, Charlotte hard launched her relationship with Hollywood actor Isaak Presley in a sexy, western-themed photo shoot. And now, the 25-year-old has made a big statement about her romance with the Fuller House star in a heartwarming social media post. Charlotte took to her Instagram story on Monday to wish her boyfriend a happy 23rd birthday alongside a series of sweet videos and photos. One clip showed the couple in a passionate embrace as they posed in front of the Eiffel Tower. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'I love you very much,' she captioned the clip, which showed the actor dipping Charlotte during a heated makeout session. The singer is currently living with her new beau - who goes by the nickname 'Cowboy' owing to his love of horse riding - in Los Angeles, where she is focusing on writing musicals. Friends say Isaak, who starred in Stuck in the Middle alongside rising star Jenna Ortega, is a really good match for Charlotte. They are both sober, having struggled with alcohol and drug addiction in the past - with Charlotte's former hedonistic lifestyle earning her the unsavoury 'wild child' label. Charlotte's budding relationship with the actor comes after her disaster 14-month marriage to Luke Storey. She previously married the British rapper - 15 years her senior - in 2022. They wed at St Mary's Church in Westwell, Oxfordshire, with her grandad Rupert flying in amid his divorce from his fourth wife, Texan supermodel Jerry Hall. However the pair split just 14 months later - though she claims it was over almost immediately after saying 'I do'. 'We had been married for 12 hours when our whole world fell apart,' she explained. 'He relapsed on the way to our honeymoon. It wasn't a great sign.' Charlotte met Luke – a self-confessed recovering drug and alcohol addict – when she was just 18 and he was 33. He encouraged Charlotte to join Narcotics Anonymous, helping to end her addiction to ketamine. Charlotte once admitted that she used ketamine so frequently during high school that peers nicknamed her 'K-angel' after the drug. She said she struggled to cope with the high-profile scandals involving her family and 'overcompensated' for her glamorous upbringing by rebelling at school. Charlotte said she soon realised that recovery would play a big part in her marriage. She said: 'It felt like there were three people in the relationship – me and him and our recovery. 'If our recovery was strong then we were strong, and if it wasn't we were falling apart. We had a great relationship when we were sober, but neither of us could stay sober.
