Taylor Swift vs AI Scams; Epstein Friendship w Peter Thiel; Andrew Tate Loses Lawsuit

The week's news roundup opens with host Bridget Todd fielding listener requests about whether she'll cover Lena Dunham's new memoir Fame Sick — and asking the audience to decide between a deep-dive episode without the author or an interview with Dunham herself, which Todd says she thinks she could land. But the bulk of the episode moves through five distinct developments, from AI-powered celebrity scams to a heartbreaking academic suicide, new reporting on Jeffrey Epstein's influence network, and a rare legal loss for Andrew Tate.

Taylor Swift Trademarks Her Voice Against AI Scams

Taylor Swift filed three trademark applications this week: one covering a recognizable concert photo, and two for the phrases "Hey, it's Taylor Swift" and "Hey, it's Taylor." The move is explicitly defensive. According to a new report from the AI detection company CopyLeaks, scammers on TikTok have been running sponsored ads using deepfake versions of celebrities — Swift, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian — to promote fake rewards programs. The ads show AI-generated celebrities on talk shows or red carpets pitching a TikTok pay program that promises money for watching videos. Clicking through directs users to third-party sites that harvest personal information.