Latest news with #UpperEastSide
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Shocking extent of Gwyneth Paltrow's privileged upbringing laid bare
Growing up with Hollywood royalty means Gwyneth Paltrow was privy to a luxurious lifestyle most cannot fathom, including extravagant dinners, elite private schools and preference for flying first class. Details of the 52-year-old actress' opulent childhood have now been laid bare in a new book, titled Gwyneth: The Biography, by biographer Amy Odell. In the tome, released on July 29, Odell recounted moments from the Goop founder's childhood, writing that her father, Bruce Paltrow, had a penchant for luxury goods - more than mom Blythe Danner - which trickled down to Gwyneth. 'Bruce was the indulger,' Odell noted in the book. 'Blythe the moderating influence.' Odell said the director and producer, who died in 2002, 'showed Gwyneth and [her younger brother] Jake a world that would bend to your will if you knew how to ask.' Meanwhile, the biographer noted that her mother, actress Blythe, was 'attuned to fragility, mortality, and the importance of manners.' Gwyneth moved to New York City with her family when she was 11 years old, in 1984, where she attended the exclusive Spence School. The future Academy Award winner moved into a five-story brownstone on the Upper East Side just steps from Central Park as she spent her days with the daughters of some of the country's most elite - and wealthy - families. However, Gwyneth, along with her Jake, continued to travel around with their parents for work - with Bruce opting to book first class while Blyth tended to book coach - much to Gwyneth's chagrin. According to Odell, when Bruce flew with his two kids, he booked first-class seats. 'When Bruce flew with the kids, he booked first-class seats. He would joke that Gwyneth didn't know how to turn right on an airplane (toward the coach seats),' the biographer wrote. 'Blythe tended to book coach,' it continued. '"You mean — we're not flying first-class?" Gwyneth would protest. "We're flying no class?"' According to the biography, the Paltrow family were never without a grand vacation or famous dinner guest - suggesting it is a trait Gwyneth picked up from her father. '[Bruce] liked to ski in Aspen with his family and his buddies during the winter, and, unsatisfied with the dining options, convinced Gordon Naccarato, a chef at Michael's in Los Angeles, to move there and open a restaurant, writing him a $125,000 check,' the biography reported. Odell also spoke of Bruce's indulgences in his every day life. 'His briefcase was Bottega Veneta, his stationery was Tiffany. He loved the luxury brands Asprey and Zegna. His socks were cashmere. He dressed in soft colors and soft fabrics, and clothes hung beautifully on him,' she wrote. According to the biography, the Paltrow family were never without a grand vacation or famous dinner guest - suggesting it is a trait Gwyneth picked up from her father 'In Los Angeles, he drove a black Mercedes with tan interior that he had bought one summer in Europe and decided to import, even though few gas stations pumped the leaded fuel it required.' Daily Mail has reached out to Gwyneth's representative for comment. Elsewhere, the biography also revisits Paltrow's discomfort while filming 1998 crime thriller A Perfect Murder opposite co-star Michael Douglas, who was cast as her husband despite being almost 30 years her senior. Paltrow, then 25, was reportedly uneasy with their romantic scenes, finding the experience 'creepy.' Odell's unauthorized biography of Paltrow has already seen explosive revelations about her previous relationships, including those with Brad Pitt and ex-husband Chris Martin, which Daily Mail has exclusively reported. But the book also delves into her ruthless climb to fame and petty grudges with fellow Hollywood heavyweights. In the late 90s, Paltrow's acclaim was on the rise although she had not yet starred in the role that would earn her the Oscar for Best Actress - Shakespeare in Love. Yet Odell writes that she had a habit of burning through friends on her way to the top, and that included Ryder. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Odell revealed whether or not she had heard from Paltrow or her 'people' about the upcoming tell-all. 'I was in touch with her team over the course of the three-year process, pretty much most of that time,' Odell shared. She explained that she asked Paltrow's team over the course of those three year if the actress wanted to speak with her. 'Right around the time I finished, I got a no,' Odell said. The author also admitted that she had 'no idea' if Paltrow had read the book, responding: 'You would have to ask he.'
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Self-belief and sex eggs: 10 things we learned about Gwyneth Paltrow from an explosive new biography
When the author Amy Odell approached Gwyneth Paltrow's publicist about her plans for a biography of the actor, Goop founder and wellness pioneer, she was told that Paltrow would be glad to participate – if she was allowed to 'factcheck' the book. Odell didn't agree. Her line to Paltrow eventually fell silent, and her book, Gwyneth, has just been published to much buzz, without the star's participation. Paltrow, a source claimed to Odell, 'invented ghosting'. Now, post-publication, you can picture dozens more being cast out of her golden glow. Odell spoke to more than 220 people for her book, on and off the record; more rebuffed her. 'Many were terrified to talk about Gwyneth,' she writes. The result is nonetheless thoughtful, fair and fastidiously researched – even without Paltrow's oversight. It is also brimming over with gossip. Here are 10 standout topics. Paltrow's pedigree makes many of the 'nepo babies' (lately singled out for having been given a leg-up into Hollywood) look like competition winners. Her mother, Blythe Danner, is a critically acclaimed actor of stage and screen (best known to a younger generation as the mother in Meet the Parents). She met Bruce Paltrow when he was producing one of her plays. Gwyneth and her younger brother, Jake, grew up in a five-storey brownstone close to Central Park in New York. She attended the Spence school, a private girls' school on the Upper East Side, along with Mick Jagger's daughter Jade and the princesses Alexandra and Olga of Greece ('their last name just 'of Greece',' adds Odell). Her parents' connections came into play before she had even finished school. For her senior project, she covered a Bonnie Raitt song – accompanied by Steely Dan's singer, Donald Fagen. Soon after, at 19, she landed a speaking part in Hook, directed by Steven Spielberg – her godfather, 'Uncle Morty'. (He called her 'Gwynnie the Pooh'.) Many years later, Paltrow would tell Vanity Fair that fame had felt to her 'like a predestined thing' – that she had known her 'whole life that this was going to happen'. Blythe and Bruce weren't as confident that acting would work out, Odell writes: they wanted their daughter to have 'a backup plan'. After Paltrow was rejected from Vassar College, her parents asked their friend, two-time Academy Award-winner Michael Douglas, to put in a word at his alma mater. She was accepted by the University of California, Santa Barbara (Douglas gets it done!), but ended up dropping out. Studying film, she had been dismayed to find Uncle Morty on the syllabus. 'I'm sitting here learning about people I know,' another aspiring actor recalls Paltrow complaining. Bruce cut her off financially, and she was forced to get a waitressing gig (though again, through her parents' connections). 'I remember she was so mad about it,' the actor told Odell. Years later – after she had won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, broken off her engagement to Brad Pitt and gone, according to one account, 'totally Hollywood' – Bruce sought again to keep his daughter humble, telling her she'd become 'kind of an asshole'. Paltrow was 'devastated', she said, but eventually grateful for the course correction. Fame had gone to her head, she admitted: 'There is nothing worse for the growth of a human being than not having obstacles and disappointments.' Pitt and Paltrow met in 1993, auditioning for Legends of the Fall. She was passed over for the part but made an impression on Pitt, who went on to suggest she play his character's wife in David Fincher's Se7en. Paltrow had also been offered Feeling Minnesota alongside Keanu Reeves. As she dithered, a helpful friend suggested: 'Who do you want to date, Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves?' Paltrow said yes to Se7en. Not long into filming, she and Pitt were together – delighting her father, who reportedly crowed to a friend: 'Can you believe my daughter? It's fucking Brad Pitt!' According to Odell, Paltrow was never so certain, finding Pitt – from a southern, conservative, religious background – a bit beneath her. 'When we go to restaurants and order caviar, I have to say to Brad, 'This is beluga and this is oscietra,'' she told an interviewer. After two years together, they broke off their engagement. She went on to date Ben Affleck, who she found to be more her intellectual match (not to mention – as she disclosed only in 2023 – a 'technically excellent' lover). But Affleck's addiction issues, penchant for video games and what one of Paltrow's friends remembers as his 'kind of miserable' vibe prevented the relationship from progressing. Cigarettes may have been Paltrow's first love. She started smoking in her first year at Spence, much to Bruce's displeasure. Seeking to get his teenage daughter to quit, he once again leaned on his connections, calling in a favour with his friend's son's new wife – AKA Madonna – asking her to 'write a note to Gwyneth to discourage her'. According to Odell, Madonna happily played model, describing her average day: 'I wake up, I don't smoke … And I go home a happy healthy me. … PS: Good girls live longer.' Gwyneth showed the letter off at school, then displayed it, framed, in her bedroom – and continued to smoke 'a pack a day, probably' until she was 25. She eventually quit in September 1997 after spending three days marooned on a deserted island in Belize. Paltrow had requested the experience as a condition of guest-editing an issue of Marie Claire. Magazine budgets were bigger back then. Odell describes Paltrow as being ambivalent about fame – and scornful of 'tacky, pointless, big, fluffy, unimportant movies'. She found her professional home in Miramax Films, Harvey Weinstein's production company, after being cast in the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. Odell describes Weinstein working hard to make Paltrow a star, throwing his formidable weight and influence behind her Oscar bid for Shakespeare in Love. Her 1999 triumph over Cate Blanchett (nominated for Elizabeth) was later attributed to Weinstein's intense campaign. Even Paltrow had her doubts, betting a pair of CAA agents $10,000 she wouldn't win. (She made good, going to the bank the morning after the ceremony.) But being Weinstein's 'golden girl' didn't come without costs, least of all pressure to do lacklustre parts or press. As Paltrow told the New York Times for their seismic #MeToo report, early in her working relationship with Weinstein, he made a pass at her at a Beverly Hills hotel. (Weinstein disputed her account.) In their book She Said, the journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey describe Paltrow's pivotal role in their investigation. 'When so many other actresses were reluctant to get on the phone and scared to tell the truth … Gwyneth was actually one of the first.' As well as having been born rich, beautiful and well connected, Paltrow is described by Odell as possessing some 'exceptional, if hard to define' X-factor, registering as far back as her school days. This worked against her as much as it did in her favour. Even before becoming an Oscar winner aged 26, Paltrow feared overexposure in the press. Her tearful acceptance speech, coupled with news that her father bought her the diamond necklace she'd been loaned for the ceremony, turned the public against her. Building women up before tearing them down is now a well-worn cycle, Odell notes, pointing to Anne Hathaway and Blake Lively (you might also add Jennifer Lawrence and Taylor Swift). Paltrow was one of the first victims, if not the blueprint. In 2013, she was named Star magazine's most hated celebrity, 19 spots above Chris Brown, who had been arrested for assaulting Rihanna four years earlier. 'Gwyneth would never manage to outrun' the contempt, Odell writes – perhaps influencing her subsequent decision to make it work for her with Goop. Paltrow was ahead of the curve with many modern movements and trends; body positivity was emphatically not one of them. Schoolmates recall her evident 'disdain for fat people'. One remembered changing into swimsuits next to the 'naturally skinny' Gwyneth, and her comment: 'Isn't it interesting how different people's bodies are?' In her senior yearbook, alongside Gwyneth's chosen quote from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, editors specified her nightmare: 'Obesity'. Later, when she was famous, she allegedly paid for a school friend to undergo an abdominoplasty (or 'tummy tuck'). Paltrow's defining interest in healthy eating, alternative medicine and 'wellness' began after her father was diagnosed with throat cancer. While caring for Bruce, she began researching preservatives, pesticides and environmental toxins; she started following a macrobiotic diet and doing nearly two hours of yoga before dawn, six days a week. Meanwhile, she was also shooting Shallow Hal, 'spending her working hours in a fat suit', Odell observes. Doing press, Paltrow described the film as a 'love letter', and the experience of making it as edifying. 'I got a real sense of what it would be like to be that overweight, and every pretty girl should be forced to do that.' Along with her passion for 'alternative' ideas of health, the seeds for Goop had been sown years earlier, on the sets of Jefferson in Paris and The Talented Mr Ripley. In Paris and Ischia, Paltrow tapped local crew for their recommendations for the best hotels, restaurants and shopping on location – insider info around which she would later build a lifestyle brand. In 2007, she shot a public television show about Spanish cuisine – 'a novel premise' at the time, Odell notes (and one that riled the late Anthony Bourdain, who said of the series: 'Why would you go to Spain with the one bitch who refuses to eat ham?'). Paltrow was married to Coldplay's Chris Martin by then, with two young children, and she was beginning to tire of acting. After the success of Iron Man in 2008, she turned to her side project: an online newsletter. Goop sought to 'nourish the inner aspect', but timing was not on its side. The website launched the week after the stock market crash; Jezebel declared Paltrow 'about as publicly savvy as Marie Antoinette'. Yet she was proved right in her instinct to let them eat banana-nut muffins (her inaugural recipe). In 2008, the wellness industry 'was barely even measured', Odell writes; today it is valued in the trillions. Paltrow was probably one of the first celebrities to conceive of herself as a brand, paving the way for today's saturation of product lines and endorsement deals – and shaping consumer culture. Among the trends and treatments she helped to popularise were Spanx, cupping, gluten-free diets and, more recently, mouth-taping. Even the bonkers ones took off with Goop's endorsement. After a 'vaginal steaming' treatment featured in its 2015 Santa Monica city guide, bookings doubled. Odell describes Paltrow being unfazed by controversy, and even relishing it as good for business. In 2017, Goop went viral for featuring an egg-shaped stone, designed to be inserted vaginally and worn (?) overnight (!) so as to 'balance the cycle' and 'invigorate our life force'. In a staff meeting, Paltrow was reportedly staunch in the face of ridicule: 'Goop defined the concept of modern wellness … Let's own it.' Once again, she was right. The company had ordered 600 'Yoni' eggs; after the backlash, the waiting list to buy them, for about $60 each, was 2,000 names long. When Goop was sued the next year by regulators for making allegedly unlawful health claims, Paltrow chose to pay $145,000 to settle, without admitting wrongdoing; the claims about the eggs disappeared from Goop's website, but they were still on sale earlier this year. Odell notes the irony: for all Paltrow's enthusiasm to factcheck her biography, she was not so exacting or hands-on with the articles published on Goop. Among the famously dubious claims platformed by the site were the healing powers of celery juice and raw (unpasteurised) goat milk, a possible link between bras and breast cancer, and every word uttered by Anthony William, the so-called 'medical medium'. ('We used him when we needed page views,' one former Goop employee admitted to Odell.) Odell makes a valiant effort to factcheck every claim she references in her book, quoting medical experts and Paltrow's many critics to counterbalance all the Goop. But, at a certain point in the narrative, you sense it become futile: wellness is no longer a celebrity foible, a trapping of 'Gwyneth's extravagant and eccentric life', but the water we are all drowning in. On social media, influencers – many in Paltrow's image – spread advice with little oversight or regulation, while trends have had to become more extreme to cut through the noise. After 20 years of Goop, the world has become harder to shock, more receptive to 'alternative' ideas of health and medicine, and even sceptical of science. Today the wellness industry is as big as the US pharmaceutical and agricultural industries combined. By stoking fear about 'toxins', encouraging people to 'do their own research' and seeding distrust in the medical establishment, Paltrow – Odell suggests – paved the way for the conspiratorial, anti-expert, post-truth thinking now embedded in Donald Trump's White House. Both Paltrow and Robert F Kennedy Jr – Trump's vaccine sceptic secretary for health and human services – are avowed fans of raw milk; the real harbinger of end-times will be if she starts eating red meat. Meanwhile, Paltrow continues to sail through with the seemingly untouchable self-belief that has made her such a compelling celebrity to adore, abhor and emulate. 'She is fucking borderline brilliant,' Odell quotes a former Goop executive as saying. 'GP knows exactly what she's doing.'
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Thom Browne Opens Two New Boutiques In New York City, Side By Side
Inside Thom Browne's latest boutiques on Madison Avenue thom browne On July 16, Thom Browne opened the doors of his latest location on Madison Avenue in New York City, two stores, in fact. One is an accessories store, focusing on his noteworthy handbags, eyewear and shoes, while the other is a boutique devoted to his latest jaw-dropping ready-to-wear collections. The store is already getting a lot of buzz. The private opening party had VIP guests like Christine Baranski, Walton Goggins, Cristin Millioti, Louisa Jacobson and more posking alongside the designer who swooped them in and showed them around as guests sampled small cups of ice cream. Just look for a hedge shaped like a giant dachshund outside and you know you've found the right place. Both of Browne's new stores are on a clean, dapper corner of the Upper East Side, right off 72nd Street. The neighboring boutiques focus on accessories and attire. The accessories store features Browne's iconic animal-shaped bags, from the original Hector bag, which was first released in 2016, to collections of foxes, sheep, bears and even giraffe handbags in this accessories store. It is like walking into an art gallery, a grey stone one, that is. Thom Browne Celebrates The Opening of Madison Avenue and 72nd Street Stores Bre Johnson/ Everything is laid out on sparse shelves like contemporary art, as it should be. This includes footwear, eyewear and more. The stores are located at 898 Madison Ave. The brand is currently offered in over 300 leading department stores and specialty boutique doors across 40 countries and 118 retail stores. But these stores are special. This marks Browne's first accessories store. The walls are covered in a cool grey travertine in both stores (only the New York store and the Palm Beach store have it). The New York store has wooden blinds; the same Browne has in his own home. Inside the accessories store in NYC. thom browne The design of the stores was created by Studio Albanese, an Italian design firm, as the firm founder Flavio Albanese has a long-standing partnership with the brand designing their retail spaces across the world, which is inspired by retro office design from the 1950s. However, Browne has a strong creative hand in the store design, as well. The accessories shop is a dream for any Browne fan. There is a collection of new soft leather handbags, including a soft leather Mr. Tom luggage bag. They also have rare items, like their black tie-friendly Limousine Clutch with Swarovski crystals, which is from the brand's glitzy Fall 2021 collection. The store also features Browne's eyewear collection. Previously, they had a contract with eyewear brand Dita. Now, they have brought all of their eyewear production in-house and their eyewear is made in Japan. Their Wayfair-like styles are a classic chunky frame that brings us back to the 1950s. Outside Thom Browne on Madison Ave. thom browne Among the latest animal bags, the Browne accessories boutique sells a selection of black leather handbags in the shape of a hippo. a pig, a sheep and a giraffe. They also have full-sized bags of the hippo and the bear. Yes, they even have an alligator-shaped bag. Each animal keeps on becoming more and more unique. Browne's animal bags are works of art in themselves which have gone viral several times since first launching in various forms in 2020 as part of the Noah's Ark series, though the original Hector bag dates back to 2015. They're a conversation starter at any event, drawing public interest. The Hector is based on Browne's own dachshund dog, who is named Hector. Last year, the dog even got his own Vogue photo shoot. Thom Browne at Thom Browne Celebrates The Opening of Madison Avenue and 72nd Street Stores Bre Johnson/ The accessories store also features their Bermuda bag series, which has adjustable sleeves to change up the design. It's a versatile bag to keep restyling instead of buying an entire new bag. Now, Browne's animal bags can be custom ordered in up to 20 different leather colors. The new custom color program launched a few months ago and is rolling out globally. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the original Hector bag, so 2025 will be all about Hector at Thom Browne. Stay tuned for their special items coming out this fall. Follow @thombrowne on Instagram. Walton Goggins at Thom Browne Celebrates The Opening of Madison Avenue and 72nd Street Stores Bre Johnson/
ABC News
24-07-2025
- ABC News
Jeffrey Epstein survivor says it's time for the truth to finally be told
Danielle Bensky was waiting for the bathroom at a New York nightclub when a woman asked if she'd be interested in massaging her client — a wealthy financier named Jeffrey Epstein. The then 17-year-old was an aspiring ballerina working odd jobs to get herself through ballet school and hoping to earn some extra cash. "He's lovely, he has a big mansion, he's very wealthy," Ms Bensky recalled being told. With the impression there was nothing untoward about the opportunity, the teenager and a friend headed to Epstein's Upper East Side mansion. What began as a "casual meeting" within a couple months spiralled into Ms Bensky being sexually abused multiple times a week for more than a year by the notorious paedophile. Now 38, Ms Bensky, one of hundreds of women to have suffered abuse by the convicted sex offender, is speaking out as the Epstein scandal dogs the White House and grips the nation. At the time of the abuse in 2004, Ms Bensky's mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumour and "the survival rate was not great", Ms Bensky said. Under the impression that Epstein had an understanding of neuroscience, she showed him her mother's brain scans, hoping he could help. Instead, he gave her an ultimatum. "He sat me down and said, 'OK, so what will you do for this?' And my heart sank and I asked him what he meant. "He's like, 'You have two choices, basically you can recruit and bring me more girls or … you're going to have to do something for this,' and that's when the sexual abuse started." Ms Bensky says Epstein used her mother's diagnosis as leverage to repeatedly sexually abuse her and threatened to withhold treatment if she told anyone. She said he also pressured her to recruit other girls for him, something she said she refused to do. "He had made a comment about, 'Well I know all the top surgeons, I know the anaesthesiologists, I know all these people and I can do something wonderful, and I can make sure she gets the best care, or I can make sure that that doesn't happen for her and I can actually take the care away.'" Epstein never followed through with helping her mum receive treatment. In 2005, her mother had a 19-hour brain operation. Once she was recovering at home, Ms Bensky stopped going to Epstein's New York mansion. The disgraced financier died in a prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial charged with sex trafficking minors. His death has been the subject of myriad conspiracy theories and has caused a furore among many of Donald Trump's most loyal supporters, who have long demanded answers surrounding Epstein's death and criminal operation. Mr Trump, who committed to releasing the Epstein files during his presidential campaign, has lashed out at some of his supporters, accusing them of falling for the "Epstein hoax". Survivors like Ms Bensky find those comments, and the ensuing politicisation of the case, offensive. "It's a circus, it's become this show on the world stage." Ms Bensky wants to see more information made public. "The files are a representation of the trial … and we didn't get that. But we do have the files," she said. "So that feels like the piece of closure that we're lacking right now. "He had a full staff, and you just knew that there were people watching you at all times. "I'd love to know what this whole structure was, and how he got away with it for so long." For years, supporters and allies of the president have amplified scepticism and claims of a government cover-up to protect those associated with Epstein. Factions of the president's MAGA base, as well as some of his Republican colleagues, have maintained calls for classified documents and a rumoured "client list" to be released to the public. US Attorney-General Pam Bondi invited a group of conservative influencers to the White House in February where they were handed binders labelled "The Epstein Files Phase I". But much of what was inside the binders was already on the public record. One of those influencers who visited Washington DC was conservative podcaster Liz Wheeler. "I was one of the 'new media' figures … who have been put through the ringer for Attorney-General Pam Bondi's gross incompetence and her severe lack of judgement in the way that she rolled that out," Ms Wheeler said. The Department of Justice and FBI later released a memo that said their investigation had concluded there was "no incriminating "client list" and that "further disclosure would not be appropriate or warranted". Now Ms Wheeler wants to see the president sack the attorney-general for her "botched rollout" of the Epstein files. "It's time to rectify this issue, which is why I said [the president] should not tolerate Pam Bondi's behaviour anymore," she said. "The base feels stung because we have not been told the truth and we associate the Epstein files now with the question of, are we going to get the justice we voted for? "The American people feel that this is injustice. They feel that they are being played. They feel there is dishonesty afoot. And of course that triggers us because we have been harmed by politicians doing this before. "What we do as President Trump's base is, a true friend tells you the truth, even when that truth is uncomfortable, even when that truth might have consequences." Author and Washington Post reporter Sarah Ellison described the current Epstein controversy as "an own goal by the Trump administration". "To say there's nothing to see here and you're not going to see anything else … That created an absolute sense of betrayal and that people had been lied to," Ms Ellison said. The president has faced growing political backlash with mounting calls for greater transparency coming from some Republican colleagues, and his own daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. With Democrats animated on the issue, the president reversed course — directing Ms Bondi to seek the release of grand jury testimony stemming from the prosecution of Epstein. But the move was blocked by a federal judge in Florida, citing legal guidelines governing grand jury secrecy. The Justice Department is continuing a push for grand jury transcripts to be released in the state of New York. Officials have also reached out to the lawyers for Epstein's co-conspirator and enabler Ghislaine Maxwell to see if she would speak with prosecutors. In a move that has split Republicans and outraged Democrats, the Republican leadership also moved to close Congress early to prevent a vote on releasing more files relating to Epstein. Ms Wheeler said only "radical transparency" will satisfy the president's base. "They owe it to the American people to give us every bit of Epstein file information that they have, period," she said. "There should not be any more gatekeeping on this. "I don't care about the political implications of anything else in those files, release them all." Mr Trump has escalated his legal attacks on the news media and recently settled lawsuits with CBS and America's ABC for tens-of-millions of dollars. The president also turned on Rupert Murdoch, suing the media mogul and his newspaper The Wall Street Journal for $US10 billion ($15 billion) after it published a story scrutinising his years-long friendship with Epstein. The Wall Street Journal reported Maxwell had collated a series of letters for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003 which included one bearing Mr Trump's name. The article also stated the letter included a lewd drawing of a naked woman which was signed "may every day be a wonderful secret". Mr Trump, who only in February called Mr Murdoch a "legend", denies ever writing the letter and claims it is a fake. Ms Ellison, who previously worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal before publishing a book that detailed the inside politics at the Murdoch-owned paper, said the legal action sends a message. "It's the most significant media lawsuit that he brought because Rupert Murdoch is the most significant media mogul in this era," she said. "This is a sometimes ally, this is someone who has essentially, from a media perspective, delivered Donald Trump to us, and now for this to be the person and the institution that Trump is suing, it means that no-one's really safe." Despite being hit with a multi-million-dollar lawsuit, Ms Ellison said the paper was showing no signs of backing away from its coverage of Mr Trump and Epstein. "I think Rupert is one of these people who loves nothing more than talking about the news with his editors … but I don't think that he dictates the coverage to them at the Journal." The WSJ has since published another exclusive story reporting that Ms Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, told the president his name was among many mentioned in files about Epstein. The White House has labelled it another fake news story. Away from the dizzying pace of news developments surrounding the case, survivors at the centre of it, like Ms Bensky, persist. She returned to dancing as a choreographer after taking a hiatus to cope with the trauma of her abuse. "It was really a struggle for me to come back to the leotard for a while," she said. "This is a human story. It's not about politics, it's not divisive, it's just to be seen and heard and finding accountability." Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Can This Buzzy Bistro Make the Upper East Side Cool?
Anthony Bourdain once called the Upper East Side of Manhattan 'a wasteland for food.' The man who would eat anything, anywhere, drew the line there. (He lived at the time on East 87th Street.) Was that fair? No neighborhood is a monolith. But this one has long been equated with its most privileged residents — not the flaunt-it rich but the even richer, who have no need to. Like many affluent enclaves, it's not particularly hospitable to exciting restaurants. Much of the housing stock is too pricey, the clientele too assured of its own tastes (and perhaps reluctant to invite in the hordes). Yet somehow Chez Fifi, a low-lit hideaway at the bottom of an Italianate rowhouse in the placid 70s, has managed to distract New Yorkers from downtown haunts and become one of the most lusted-after reservations. It's part of a new coterie of intimate, Parisian-styled bistros — like Le Chêne and Zimmi's in the West Village and Le Veau d'Or on the Upper East Side's southern edge — that seem to have bewitched the city. Months after Chez Fifi opened last December, the calendar of availability was still grayed out, save for the stray 10:45 p.m. slot. When I finally secured a table at a less European hour, I was dubious. I do not like being a victim of mimetic desire, wanting what everyone wants. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
