Afroman Wins Lawsuit; Buffy Reboot Slain by Hulu; Nicole Kidman Steals Bezos' Spotlight; Zuckerberg's Metaverse Shut Down - NEWS ROUNDUP!

Hosts Bridget Todd and Mike Amato, fresh from SXSW, discuss a range of entertainment and tech stories tied loosely to Oscars buzz, including celebrity run-ins, reboot drama, free speech victories, journalism missteps, AI relationships, and a major VR retreat. The episode blends cultural critique with updates on media power dynamics.

Tech Moguls Face Hollywood Shade

At the Vanity Fair Oscars party, Nicole Kidman effortlessly upstaged Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez on the red carpet. Cameras shifted instantly from the couple's try-hard poses—described as tacky and effortful—to Kidman's floating, ethereal presence, amplified by her AMC "We come to this place for magic" ads tying her to cinema itself. Hosts saw it as tech wealth failing to buy cultural belonging: "Money can't buy you class," and richness alone doesn't grant Hollywood access.

The same event saw playwright Jeremy O. Harris confront OpenAI's Sam Altman, calling him "the Goebbels of the Trump administration" (later corrected to Nazi industrialist Fritz Flick via email) over OpenAI's Defense Department deal for AI in military systems. Altman stayed calm amid witnesses like Zendaya. OpenAI has hired Instagram's ex-celebrity whisperer as VP of global creative partnerships to woo skeptical Hollywood, signaling tech's push for creative legitimacy.