Latest news with #Dorfman
Graziadaily
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
Tommy Dorfman Reveals 'Beautiful' Secret Affair With 13 Reason Why Co-Star
13 Reasons Why took audiences by storm when it debuted on Netflix back in 2017. Produced by Selena Gomez, the show ran for four seasons and prompted countless conversations about bullying and self-harm- and also came under fire for some particularly graphic scenes about suicide and abuse. Now, almost a decade later audiences still remember the controversial storylines as well as the talented cast- which included Tommy Dorfman as Ryan Shaver. Tommy- who came out as a transgender woman in the summer of 2021- recently released her memoir, Maybe This Will Save Me , and with it came a bombshell for fans of the show. Tommy, now 33, revealed that when the show first began filming, she had a 'short-lived' romance with Brandon Flynn, who played fellow high school student Justin Foley on the show. In her book, she detailed the second night the fresh-faced cast- which included Dylan Minette, Katherine Langford and Alisha Boe- all got together at her house. She stepped outside to smoke a cigarette when suddenly she felt an 'undeniable charge' between her and Flynn. She wrote, 'Within a few puffs, I looked over to find that Brandon had joined me. His boyish tipsy charm was intoxicating, he carried confidence with ease, and his blue eyes sparkled, perhaps this is what people meant when they said star quality. Whatever it was, Brandon embodied it.' 'We held each other's gaze for what felt like forever, and next thing I knew, we were up in his bedroom, ripping each other's clothes off,' the passage continued. 'It was lusty and fun in the most beautiful, magical of ways.' According to Dorfman, Flynn ended their romance because he was seeking 'something more serious,' while Dorfman 'couldn't offer more than casual fun.' Dorfman later married Peter Zurkuhlen in 2016, but the pair split in 2021. Later that year, Dorfman met Elise Williams on a dating app and the pair tied the knot in a secret ceremony in 2023, although she filed for divorce earlier this month. Meanwhile, Brandon had a year-long relationship with singer Sam Smith before marrying his now-husband Jordan Tannahill last year. Dorfman and Flynn's relationship wasn't the only secret affair revealed in her memoir. Although it was denied by their reps at the time, according to Dorfman's book Flynn also briefly dated their 1_3 Reasons Why_ co-star Miles Heizer- a relationship which the actress found difficult at the time. She wrote, 'Seeing Miles and Brandon so in love sparked an unexpected jealousy in me, a yearning for that excitement and fire, perhaps even more serious feelings lingered for Brandon at that time, but I couldn't do anything about it. My bed was made, and I needed to focus on the task at hand: memorising my lines.' Sarah O'Byrne has worked for Bauer Media since May 2023. She writes for Grazia, heat, Closer, Bella and Yours.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tommy Dorfman files for divorce from Elise Williams after nearly two years of marriage
Tommy Dorfman and Elise Williams are going their separate ways. According to online records obtained by PEOPLE, Dorfman, 33, filed for divorce from Williams in New York City on Friday, May 16, after nearly two years of marriage. In 2021, the former couple met using the dating app Hinge. In a 2024 Vogue piece, the 13 Reasons Why alum disclosed that the couple became engaged after only two months of dating, a milestone she originally announced in August 2022 during an interview on Rachel Bilson's Broad Ideas podcast. At the time, she kept Williams' identity a mystery, revealing only that she had fallen in love with "a gay girl" after previously marrying her ex-husband, Peter Zurkuhlen. Despite their quick engagement, Dorfman stated in her Vogue column that the former couple "waited a full year before moving in together," albeit they adopted a Great Dane puppy after six months of knowing each other. "That's the thing about falling in love: your responsibility barometer isn't always where it should be. "Love, for us, required that nauseating combination of naiveté, delusion, and fate," she wrote back then. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Topánky, ktoré si zamiluje každá žena Nakupovať teraz Undo In May 2024, the Love, Victor actress disclosed in a now-deleted Instagram post and Vogue that the two secretly eloped at the end of 2023. "I married my best friend and didn't tell anyone except @hunterabrams, who came and photographed us towards the end of last year," she said in the description of her Instagram post. "We got our own dresses at Dover Street Market in New York, where I used to work before acting, and they were amazing. She also thanked @liamnhess and @guiducci ♡" on Instagram. Dorfman subsequently wrote in Vogue that she and Williams were "sitting perched above the shoreline in Malibu," laughing about same-day marriages, when the idea to elope got serious. After a short Google search, they discovered that California offered same-day wedding services and confidential marriage records, so they married before driving to a concert later that evening. "I fell in love with someone who doesn't fetishise me," Dorfman said about her fiancée and the pressures of dating as a trans woman. Dorfman appeared to hint at their breakup in an Instagram post less than five months ago, and now they have split. The actress captioned a carousel of photographs emphasising some of her "random memories" in 2024, providing some "vague context" to the associated snaps. "1: heartbreak feels good in a place like this (i wrote this entirely original line)," Dorfman captioned a bare-faced selfie, citing Nicole Kidman's famed AMC commercial. In another slide, she included a photo of her dog Fiona and stated that her pet was "managing better than I" in their new home, where they lived "just the two of us." Other photographs included a mirror selfie in which Dorfman displayed her leg. In reference to the picture, she said, "I sent this to a boy and got no response, so that's good."
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
David Dorfman Dance looks for peace with ‘truce songs,' at the ICA
The dancers stroll on from various offstage points, help one another remove their backpacks (the baggage we bring), stretch and warm up. Eventually a voiceover announces 'The Battles.' The live score from Sam Crawford and Lizzy de Lise pounds and pulses, throbs and blips, suggests raindrops and falling water. The core group of six dancers hop on the balls of their feet, ready for action. As de Lise wails 'You can't hurt me,' Lily Gelfand and Claudia-Lynn Rightmire push and shove, wrestle and hug, circle each other in a show of intimacy and intimidation. David Dorfman leads the David Dorfman Dance company during their performance of 'truce songs' at the ICA. JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE The piled-up fabric is unfolded into a long narrow swath and stretched across the stage like a border, on either side of which Advertisement She's still supine when the voiceover announces part two, 'The Players.' Everyone is exaggeratedly polite: 'You'll be most welcome over here.' 'No, over here.' Gelfand gets up and tells us, 'My name is the wind. Tonight I'll be playing the role of . . . the wind.' Rightmire agonizes about memory and time. The dancers are frozen at the back as if they were in a police line-up; then they fall down. Dorfman breaks into a loose-jointed, indefatigable solo much like his threatening one from 'The Battles,' but comic this time. He kicks, shadowboxes, lip-synchs to his own song ' David Dorfman Dance performs 'truce songs' at the ICA, presented by Global Arts Live. JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Told that it's 'time to get together and surrender any and all grudges,' everyone lines up to address the audience. Corinne Lohner has the part of 'Surrender'; a giddy Nik Owens plays 'the waiter . . . the one who waits'; Melissa Ellingson is 'the kisser . . . and the kissee.' Jack Blackmon as 'the interrupted' is interrupted by the voiceover announcing part three, 'The Fantasy.' Advertisement It's hardly a fantasy of peace to start. The backpacks are retrieved and everyone's in 'Battle' mode, doing martial exercises. Race and Dorfman reprise their headstand pose, which again collapses. Holding hands, the group flings 'You can't hurt me' back at de Lise, who sings 'You can't escape me' in response. The lighting turns white; the score grinds into a deafening hum. The core of six primp and gush in front of mobile TV cameras, then fall out with one another; Race and Dorfman come to the rescue. Trust and support moves fail; Lohner and Ellingson square off the way Gelfand and Rightmire did earlier. At length that overhead white sheet—the flag of truce?—descends. Squeezed flat on the floor, the dancers crawl out from under as the sheet touches down. They sit on its edge and attach their backpacks to the metal structure, then watch as it slowly rises. All eight dancers stand, walk past one another without taking notice, and exit going their separate ways. The little white square in my hand looks gauzier than ever. 'truce songs' Conceived and directed by David Dorfman. Choreography and text by David Dorfman Dance. Music composed and performed by Sam Crawford and Lizzy de Lise. Performed by David Dorfman Dance. Presented by Global Arts Live. At: Institute of Contemporary Art, Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater, Friday May 16. Remaining performance: May 17. Tickets $51-$55. 617-876-4275, Jeffrey Gantz can be reached at
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Pro Padel Raises $10 Million, Pushing Sport To New Heights In U.S.
Pro Padel League is North America's premier padel competition, with teams in major markets in the ... More U.S. Canada, and Mexico. First Mexico, then Spain and Argentina, and now the United States. Padel continues to capture market after market around the globe as it grows in popularity. In North America, Pro Padel League (PPL), the continent's professional competition, recently capitalized on a successful second season by securing $10 million in seed funding from Left Lane Capital, Kactus Capital, Gary Vaynerchuk, and other investors. The ten-team upstart league boasts some of the best players in the world, including women's world number one player Ariana Sanchez Fallada and men's world number three player Federico Chingotto. It is also backed by celebrities like Daddy Yankee, Ella Emhoff, and Andrew Schultz. In just two years, PPL has established a strong foundation across the continent with clubs from Cancun to Toronto, and in most of the major U.S. markets, including L.A., Las Vegas, New York, Miami, and Houston. The league's first-ever institutional investment will help it professionalize its operations and guide it toward the heights of the other major sporting leagues in North America. The funds are expected to be put toward hiring a commissioner, a CRO, a CFO, and establishing a permanent headquarters. Harley Miller, CEO of Left Lane Capital said 'Having seen the explosion of padel globally, we recognized a chance to partner early with PPL to own the market for one of the fastest-growing emerging sports." He added that "PPL's differentiated team-based format allows fans and players to rally behind city-based teams in North America, featuring world-class talent. This is one of the many reasons we're excited to support PPL's growth as they build a new era for Padel.' Mike Dorfman, CEO of PPL, says the recent investment will 'further accelerate' the explosive rise of the fastest-growing sport in America. Speaking to me ahead of the investment announcement, Dorfman admitted he got into Padel after the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many people, Dorfman was looking for a way to stay active and socialize while maintaining a safe distance. In New York, it was impossible to play tennis, but Padel was the perfect solution for the former tennis player. At Padel Haus, Brooklyn's most well-known club, Dorfman fell in love with Padel, so much so that he exited the tech company he founded and became CEO of the nascent Padel league. Now guiding PPL, Dorfman is looking to grow the league into a highly professional and exhilarating spectator sport. Despite obvious competition from North America's traditional sports, and other Padel competitions like Premier Padel and Hexagon Cup, Dorfman strongly believes the U.S. market is open for business. In fact, he thinks 'the potential is unlimited in the States.' With the major markets already in play, Dorfman is looking to secondary and tertiary cities that are opening their first Padel clubs. While the expansion of Padel in the U.S. is almost a guarantee — the United States Padel Association estimates the country will have 15 million active players and 20,000 courts in five years — exactly where the league establishes new teams is a different story. Dorfman says that will depend on which markets mature the quickest. Padel's appeal goes beyond the competitive element. It is a social sport, played in pairs, that allows people of all walks of life to meet each other, socialize, and break a sweat. It is more dynamic than pickleball, but just as easy to play without any experience. It is also a cultural force that continues to draw in celebrity investors from the entertainment industry and other major sports like soccer and F1. Padel's cultural appeal is one of the reasons Jolene Delisle agreed to work with PPL. Delisle is the founder and creative director of the creative agency The Working Assembly. Her team was charged with designing the PPL brand. However, to them it was about more than just developing a brand, 'it was about helping build a community around it,' and crafting the sport's identity in the U.S. The challenge was establishing PPL's American identity while honoring the game's global roots. Delisle says the bold typography and dynamic color palette symbolize the sport's speed, sharp angles, and fluid movement. They created an instantly recognizable brand that feels bold, energetic, and inclusive. Despite its sleek branding and recent cash injection, PPL remains a challenger league in a market full of sharks. To become a top-tier spectator sport in the U.S. Padel needs to create development pathways for kids. According to Dorfman, this requires infrastructure and school programs. Creating more courts and clubs, and offering children the chance to begin playing in school and continue playing through college will guarantee that North American children are well-educated in Padel. Moreover, new investment will increase the probability of homegrown stars. Delisle is convinced that Padel will become a premier sport and brand. She says it 'has everything going for it—it's fast, social, and incredibly fun to play and watch.' However, to elevate to the next level, in her eyes, it needs to become 'an experience.' She says if PPL and the wider Padel ecosystem get the storytelling right, Padel can transform from a global sport into a lifestyle movement. For now, PPL will settle for expanding to new cities and establishing a new HQ. Dorfman says the 2025 season will go ahead with the same ten teams, but the league is looking to expand to twelve teams ahead of 2026. New franchises were sold for $200,000 in 2024, but as the sport's popularity continues to skyrocket, potential investors can expect that number to increase exponentially. In 2025, fans can expect a highly consumable and digital product. PPL will continue using the AI camera it piloted last season to create player heatmaps. It will also place additional microphones and cameras around the courts to help deliver more sounds and viewing angles. Dorfman is particularly excited about PPL's attempts to merge sports with arts and culture. Live events, food experiences, and uniquely designed uniforms and paddles are all in store for the 2025 Pro Padel League season. Fans in North America can enjoy all the action on over 16 different broadcasters that make the sport accessible to over 300 million households.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brex sees procurement push onto its card
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. At expense-management company Brex, business travel and its attendant expenses remains a critical aspect for companies using Brex's software to oversee their spending. However, procurement – the routine invoices for a variety of corporate needs like advertising, parcel shipping, cloud computing, coffee – represents a new growth area for Brex's charge card, said Erica Dorfman, a Brex executive vice president and head of global financial products. Procurement involves 'so many different avenues,' for a large company, she said Monday in an interview. Brex competes with several fintech startups that overlap in some areas of spend management, payments, accounting and automation, including Ramp, Mercury and Expensify. The goal is to facilitate both the purchase and the subsequent tracking of those transactions, including ways to supervise, analyze, optimize and ultimately improve a company's spending. Revenue among large, enterprise customers has grown 80%, San Francisco-based Brex said in February, when it touted amassing more than 150 major companies, including Anthropic, Robinhood Markets and Sonos. Brex expects to turn cash flow positive this year, 14 months after a major restructuring that involved cutting 20% of its workforce. The overhaul aimed to reduce cash burn, improve its corporate responsiveness and begin laying the fiscal groundwork to become a public company. Brex began embedding its spend-management and payments solutions last year, and in October rolled out an integrated travel-payment solution with Navan, a travel-management provider, marrying Brex's payment tools with its own travel platform. Brex plans to announce additional embedding partners in the coming months, with several of them focused on corporate procurement, Dorfman said. Editor's note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. ERICA DORFMAN: This is really about how we spend and what's important for us to make investments in, but I think we'll be able to balance that and reach cash flow profitability before the end of the year, which we're really proud of and excited about. When we think about what that means for an IPO and IPO readiness, there's a lot beyond just 'are you profitable?' that goes into that IPO question. No. 1, do you want to be a public company? I think we definitely aspire to be a public company. We feel like we'll be in a good position within sort of the next two or so years to be a public company. And then it's really about what is the best fit for Brex as a business, whether or not we desire to be a public company. The travel and entertainment for sales trips and things like that is definitely a big part of what we intend to capture and what's important to our teams, but you hit the nail on the head: Procurement is also really, really important for these customers and it's a really large share of the business that we already do, well over 50%. Depending on what type of company you're looking at it can be anything from shipping to equipment to software purchases. Everything that you're basically going to have a negotiated contract on, or buy in bulk, any of that comes down to procurement. And it's not just about what they can get back in cashback or points. The ability to reconcile that (spending) and automate everything on their back ends is so much better for them to do that on a card and actually manage those expenses in a really controlled way, versus doing that on ACH where you have to give out your bank account information, you're pushing payments. It's actually really painful to do it that way. No, you cannot push that onto your card. Although you could, in theory, put rent on a card. It really depends on if the merchant is going to accept (the) card. We have many customers who do $10 million of spend per month, some customers do $20-$30 (million) and some even up to $50 million of spend. A lot of that depends on the type of business that they do and what their input costs are and can they put that on card? But if you're a company and you can put a lot of your input costs on (a) card, you're going to get a 1% discount on that, or a 1.5% discount on that. That's a huge benefit to you versus putting that on ACH. A lot of times, it's ad spend, but you know that could be cloud (computing) spend. It could be equipment spend. It could be products that they're buying from a supplier, and then manufacturing and reselling that as well. It does vary a lot by the customer type, and they would have to negotiate that with the merchants. Networks definitely help us a lot there. But I think the reason why we see customers actually asking us to help them get payments more onto card is both because they want the rebate, but also because it's much, much, much better for them to manage that spend. So when they're thinking about, OK, I have a procurement manager, and I have an AP (accounts payable) team of X number of people. I want to just have one payment instruction so that I'm not worried about giving 30 people access to my bank instructions. Or I'm not worried about, hey, if someone's out on vacation, this doesn't get paid. Or I don't want to have this (spending) grow and not have visibility into it. I want to have controls and approvals and all these workflows that come with digital payments that are so much better on a card than they are with traditional bank payments. That's the primary benefit that we see customers saying (they'd) really rather have more things happen on card. Cashback is typically what we offer from a negotiated standpoint with our enterprise customers, but we are the pioneer of the corporate points program. We actually think our points program is really compelling and probably honestly, higher value than cash back. For example, billboard rewards will give our customers access to our proprietary billboard inventory, and working with our team to actually go out and book billboards, we work with them on the design. This is great for early-stage companies who might not have either the expertise or the ability to pay for this type of a contract, because it doesn't come in this level of increment. We view our own expertise (being) expense management, card and payments and money movement and banking. And where we love working with partners is where those worlds intersect. Navan is a great example. They're amazing at travel management and travel booking, and that's where their expertise lies, and they wanted to work with us because they knew that our card product is best in class. And so putting those two things together just creates a much better experience for our mutual customers' employees. Recommended Reading Brex strives for predictability after operational overhaul Sign in to access your portfolio
