Latest news with #YouTubers
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Blake Lively DROPS her controversial investigation into small-time content creators amid Justin Baldoni legal war
Blake Lively has withdrawn subpoenas issued to three independent content creators who had covered the lawsuit amid her ongoing legal dispute with Justin Baldoni. In court documents, obtained by Us Weekly, Lively's legal team informed the court of the decision on July 26, days after the YouTubers asked the judge to intervene. The surprising development is the latest update in the 37-year-old Gossip Girl star's legal battle against her former It Ends With Us co-star and director, who she accused of sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni has vehemently denied these claims. The now-withdrawn subpoenas were initially sent to Google and X (formerly Twitter), requesting personal data from creators Kassidy O'Connell, McKenzie Folks, and Lauren Neidigh. The content creators pushed back, with O'Connell writing to the court, 'There is no evidence or sound legal basis whatsoever to have issued this subpoena in the first place,' and calling the broader effort a 'witch hunt for discovery.' Neidigh echoed the sentiment, describing the subpoena as 'unduly burdensome,' and accusing Lively's team of attempting to 'harass' and 'intimidate' small creators. The subpoenas reportedly requested sensitive information, including credit card and bank account details. Daily Mail has reached out to Lively's representatives for comment, but they have not yet responded. In a letter submitted to the judge, Lively's attorneys stated, 'Based on the Third-Parties' representations made in meet and confers, public statements, and/or information provided in their moving papers, there is no further information required from the Subpoenas as to these specific Third-Parties at this time.' They continued, 'Ms. Lively has therefore withdrawn the Subpoenas as to them.' While Lively's legal team is no longer pursuing these three individuals, they made it clear that the broader investigation into the online smear campaign allegedly orchestrated by Baldoni's team is ongoing. The letter highlighted a text message allegedly sent by someone affiliated with Baldoni's PR effort that described plans for an 'untraceable' digital media campaign to discredit Lively. Lively's rep also explained to Us Weekly, 'Subpoenas are not accusations of wrongdoing. They are tools for gathering admissible evidence in federal court. There is no silencing of content creators, they are obviously making their views known. This is a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Justin Baldoni and a number of other Wayfarer defendants and we are simply seeking information to aid in our fact gathering.' Her spokesperson further emphasized, 'Remember [Baldoni's crisis PR rep's] own words: to shield Justin Baldoni from the possibility that Blake Lively might publicly reveal he sexually harassed her and others, [Baldoni's rep] planned an 'untraceable' media campaign designed to 'bury' Ms. Lively. The subpoenas to social media companies are one piece of the puzzle to connect the evidentiary dots of a campaign that was designed to leave no fingerprints.' Lively's lawyers have also sent subpoenas to outspoken critics of hers, including Perez Hilton and Candace Owens. As for the next steps, Lively's scheduled deposition has been delayed and she will no longer be questioned by Baldoni's attorneys on July 31. The case is set to proceed to trial on March 9, 2026, where both sides will finally have their day in court. Earlier this week, Folks, one of the small creators that used her tiny platform to weigh in on the Lively–Justin legal saga, opened up to Variety about her experience. 'It's baffling,' the stay-at-home mom admitted. 'I never talked to anybody in the industry. I'm from Kansas.' She continued: 'I feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone... This is totally a scene out of a movie — some millionaire actress coming after someone. It's very daunting.' John Genga, who represents entertainment journalist Kjersti Flaa, claimed to the outlet that Lively's subpoenas were 'designed to intimidate these people, many of whom don't have the means to fight it.' 'They're just offering their opinions like anyone else has the right to do,' the attorney stated. 'We think it's invasive.'
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Influencers, rappers, YouTubers and fans: AC Milan and Liverpool's modern media
The days of football clubs travelling abroad accompanied only by a familiar press pack have been consigned to history. Advertisement And it is not just the extra TV cameras, pundits, worldwide media and club legends – a term liberally applied in some cases – that jump on the travelling bandwagon. No, space these days is found for YouTubers, fan channels, bloggers and, in the case of AC Milan, a Chinese rapper. Simba Siiviba, who boasts almost 800,000 followers on mainland social media platform Weibo, routinely incorporates AC Milan into his lyrics. One of his songs, El Capitano, was written in tribute to ex-Milan skipper Massimo Ambrosini. 'I put so many AC Milan posts on Weibo and TikTok,' Simba told the Post. Simba Siiviba (right) with former AC Milan player Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Photo: Weibo 'We want to grow bigger and connect more with AC Milan … and publish more and more stuff. It's my goal to have AC Milan as a big part of my identity, and my performances.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tragic reason why £3m overgrown mansion was left abandoned with TWO sports cars and rooms full of luxury belongings still inside
An abandoned mansion which went viral after YouTubers broke in is owned by a grieving and reclusive multi-millionaire, MailOnline can reveal. Dozens of urban explorers and ghost hunters posted videos inside the £3.3 million property after word spread the house and all its contents had been 'frozen in time' for a decade. After influencers peddled unverified theories about the owner, it can be revealed the once-jet set executive, who we are not naming, lives a solitary existence in a multi-million pound mansion in London as he struggles to come to terms with a family death. A neighbour told MailOnline: 'He had a partner, she passed away. There was a child, but she is now gone. He doesn't want anyone to understand what has happened to him. 'He is a rich person, he never gets visitors. He is very intelligent and well educated but he sleeps until three in the afternoon, the blinds spend most of their time closed. 'His house here is full of papers, letters, we believe he is in a deep depression, great sadness. In almost three years he has not had any person visit, we have barely seen him. If you don't know him, he won't open the door. He doesn't care.' When we visited the abandoned mansion an hour's drive outside London, the driveway was totally overgrown and a vintage BMW 3 series was covered in vegetation. The grand entrance at the top of the driveway is sealed with a chain lock and high brick walls make it impenetrable. Neighbours claim YouTubers broke down a fence on a nearby footpath and trespassed across private land in order to access the mansion. They alleged the content creators prized open a downstairs window to enter the home. One group allegedly 'had their van towed', a neighbour said. Videos of the property have been made by influencers including 'The Bearded Explorer', who, with 231,000 subscribers, boasts of exploring 'anything abandoned & derelict across the world'. Once inside, the home has a frozen-in-time feel to it with its contents such as furniture, TVs, clothes and bed linen still in situ. There is food and wine still in the working fridge and YouTubers note how it is as if the owner 'left in a rush'. Some rooms such as the lounge, kitchen and dining room appear to be in surprisingly good and dust-free condition, albeit with the odd bit of ivy pushing through cracks in the windows, yet an upstairs bedroom has a caved-in ceiling and mould throughout. The property's interior is of late 2000s or early 2010s style and is packed with trinkets like oil samples and a BP-branded coat which evidence a successful career in deep sea oil prospecting. There is also an impressive film poster collection including James Bond's From Russia with Love starring Sean Connery and James Dean's The Great Escape. Some items offer a glimpse into the owner's interests, including several 2007/08 Chelsea season tickets for the Harris Suite hospitality section when the club was managed by José Mourinho and later, Avram Grant. There are also vintage Chelsea kits alongside Boston Red Sox baseball replica shirts in an upstairs bedroom. The owner also owns an impressive war time memorabilia collection including a poem written by a WW2 RAF pilot while a didgeridoo is propped up against the fireplace. Standouts in the home include a dust covered Jaguar XJ sports car in a garage. Strangely, its tires have not deflated. A door into the garage has had a hole cut out of it. But shameless urban explorers, who partake in 'Urbex', have gone a step further by brazenly filming deeply personal items like compensation documents which reveal the owner's name. They even gawk at old family holiday snaps, school photos of young children and even a framed handwritten note from a child clearly learning to write. With power still feeding the home, trespassers are able to turn on lights and even a kitchen radio which ghost hunters have used in lowlife videos to pretend the home is haunted. One neighbour of the mansion, who said the home has been ransacked by burglars thanks to videos posted online, said they believe the home was abandoned in around 2013 but a calendar which features in one video dates to around 2015. The neighbour said they do not know why the home was abandoned and noted how the alarm never goes off, but revealed: 'He continues to pay his subs for the road, we have tried to contact him but he doesn't reply. 'Several people have tried to buy it from him and he's just not been interested or responded in any way. 'It's not a cheap property, it will be worth something to him to sell it. 'It's huge, it goes from here all the way down to the main road. His is a nice house, he paid £2million for it in around 2011. 'His email he doesn't respond to, I've sent him registered post with a forward and it's never come back. He just doesn't seem to want to do anything about it. 'When we moved in he had this other half with a daughter and then she left.' Neighbours paint a picture of a successful and wealthy man who used to jet around the world to New York, Australia and the Far East on work. Hotel cards from across the world found in the abandoned property corroborate this. The executive has held senior roles in London and Boston, USA, according to his LinkedIn, and neighbours say he 'always travelling' up until 2021 when his partner became ill with a terminal condition. They say he plunged into a deep depression after her death in 2023, which he notes on his LinkedIn profile. He is said to now rarely leave his house and has few visitors. Those that do knock on his property, his neighbours say, are not answered to. His garden is overgrown and the home, is a mess, with letters in the hallway piled high. Locals believe the owner will not have a clue what has happened to his property. Another said: 'Shame on those who have exploited him. This will come back to bite them, I can assure you, he is not someone to mess with.'
New York Post
5 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Post
Teen saves $1.3K on driving lessons by watching YouTube tips — and passes first time
A savvy teenager saved over $1,346 on driving lessons by watching YouTube tips — and passed first time. Ollie Bird, 17, ditched professional lessons after taking one which cost him $54 and started surfing the web for cheaper alternatives. He started watching YouTube tutorials posted by driving instructors and put the lessons into practice using a computer driving simulator. 5 Ollie Bird practices driving on a simulator in his home. Courtesy of Oliver Bird / SWNS After clocking up 30 hours of lessons which his original instructor had suggested he needed, he took his test on June 6 and was stunned when he passed first time. Ollie, from Scotby village in Cumbria, England ditched his L-plates just three weeks after his 17th birthday. 'I was hearing horror stories from my friends about all the money people were spending on driving lessons — I didn't want to be getting into all of that,' he said. 'The instructor estimated that I would need 25-30 hours of tuition, if not more if I failed the first time round. That's at least $1,600 which is a lot of money. 'I do a lot of things my own way, so I told my mum and dad that I wanted to research on YouTube instead of cramming in lessons. 'When examiner said I passed, I was shocked I also felt very lucky.' 5 Ollie Bird sits in the driver's seat of his car after passing his driver's test. Courtesy of Oliver Bird / SWNS 5 Ollie Bird races in an F1 video game on the simulator he used to learn how to drive. Courtesy of Oliver Bird / SWNS Ollie, who is a keen go kart rider, also aced his driving theory test the day after his birthday on May 16. In the two weeks before his test Ollie watched 30 hours of dedicated driving instructor YouTubers who he said 'taught him the ins and out of how to drive'. He also used his racing simulator computer game to practice steering, gears and braking. The teen added: 'I've took part in go-kart racing for a couple of months last year and I also have my simulator — they both helped. 5 Ollie, who is a keen go kart rider, also aced his driving theory test the day after his birthday on May 16. Courtesy of Oliver Bird / SWNS 'YouTube, along with all of the indirect driving experience, were definitely useful in my eventual success.' Ollie also went driving with his parents near his home to become familiar with road signs and perfecting parking and reversing. He said: 'The main thing that I learned from driving with my parents was not the theory of it and the strategy of driving well. 5 He also used his racing simulator computer game to practice steering, gears and braking. Courtesy of Oliver Bird / SWNS 'It was more of the gears, the car control, clutch control and handling an actual car and being on an actual road which became more natural. 'I wasn't going to go into it and just stress out and mess up — I had nothing to lose. 'The actual test was really enjoyable, me and the examiner had really good conversations about school and random stuff, it was quite relaxed. 'When the instructor ended the test and I found out I had passed I was shocked more than anything. 'It was also really satisfying as a couple of people including my parents as they didn't think I was going to. 'I felt very lucky after hearing how hard to process can be from friends and family. I'm super chuffed I passed and in the way I did was just great.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
'I taught myself to drive using YouTube and passed first time'
Ollie Bird, 17, ditched professional lessons after taking one that cost him £40 and started surfing the web for cheaper alternatives A clever teenager managed to save more than £1,000 on driving tuition by turning to YouTube for guidance – and sailed through his test on the first go. Ollie Bird, 17, abandoned conventional instruction after a single £40 lesson and began hunting online for budget-friendly options. The resourceful lad discovered YouTube videos created by qualified driving instructors and practised the techniques using a computer-based driving simulator. Having accumulated 30 hours of preparation – the amount his original tutor had recommended – he sat his examination on June 6 and was amazed to succeed at the first attempt. Ollie, who is from Scotby village near Carlisle in Cumbria, discarded his L-plates merely three weeks following his 17th birthday. The teenager said: "I was hearing horror stories from my friends about all the money people were spending on driving lessons - I didn't want to be getting into all of that. "The instructor estimated that I would need 25-30 hours of tuition, if not more if I failed the first time round. That's at least £1,200, which is a lot of money. "I do a lot of things my own way, so I told my mum and dad that I wanted to research on YouTube instead of cramming in lessons. When examiner said I passed, I was shocked. I also felt very lucky." Ollie, an avid go-kart enthusiast, impressively passed his driving theory test the day following his birthday on May 16. In preparation for his test, Ollie dedicated 30 hours over two weeks to watching specialist driving instructor YouTubers, who "taught him the ins and outs of how to drive". He also honed his skills using a racing simulator computer game to practise steering, gear changes, and braking. The teen said: "I've taken part in go-kart racing for a couple of months last year and I also have my simulator - they both helped. YouTube, along with all of the indirect driving experience, were definitely useful in my eventual success." Additionally, Ollie practised driving with his parents around his local area to get to grips with road signs and master parking and reversing techniques. He said: "The main thing that I learned from driving with my parents was not the theory of it and the strategy of driving well. It was more of the gears, the car control, clutch control and handling an actual car and being on an actual road which became more natural. "I wasn't going to go into it and just stress out and mess up - I had nothing to lose. The actual test was really enjoyable, me and the examiner had really good conversations about school and random stuff, it was quite relaxed. "When the instructor ended the test and I found out I had passed, I was shocked more than anything. It was also really satisfying as a couple of people, including my parents, as they didn't think I was going to. "I felt very lucky after hearing how hard to process can be from friends and family."
