Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford and brother of actress Kaia Gerber, died while receiving treatment at a rehabilitation facility; his cause of death remains unknown; in recent years, he had spoken openly about his mental health struggles and his dependence on prescription medication and drugs Omer Daniel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/21/rkFEiOAFMg/rkFEiOAFMg_0_46_2729_1536_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/pjj3ddi7k Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:58:04 +03:00 Tragedy struck Cindy Crawford’s family last night (Sunday): Presley Gerber, her son with Rande Gerber and the brother of Kaia Gerber (25), died at the age of 27 while receiving treatment at a rehabilitation facility. The cause of death remains unknown. The family confirmed his death and said: “The family asks for privacy during this difficult and painful time.” Presley had a long history of dependence on prescription medication, mental health crises and stays at mental health facilities. Just a month ago, his sister, model and actress Kaia Gerber (“The Shards”), spoke about him in an interview with Vogue. “I think he’s the reason I started defining myself as ‘the easy child,’ and I never wanted to ask for help. Because it felt like too much to have two children who needed help,” she said. In recent years, Presley frequently shared his struggles and what he was going through with his followers. Last December, he said he was taking several types of medication to cope with anxiety and panic attacks, with dosages varying depending on how he was feeling. He described experiencing “a lot of loss in a lot of different forms” and said he takes Xanax when he feels that everything around him is “really, really bad,” and takes “a little Valium in the morning, depending on how I feel.” “To be honest, I don’t even know anymore if it’s a little or a lot — because who the hell knows anything at this point,” he added. He also spoke about the confusion and fear surrounding his use of medication and about receiving different answers from different doctors. “Every doctor tells me something different, and it’s pretty scary.” He described his concerns about anti-anxiety medication, which, ironically, left him dependent on it and created further anxiety: “The things that scare you the most are the things you have to take… and if you don’t take them, something bad will happen. There’s a wide spectrum of severity when it comes to withdrawal symptoms.” Despite having seen 15 psychiatrists, Presley said he still did not have “as clear a direction as I would like to have.” “I want someone to tell me: ‘Take this three times a day.’ But every psychiatrist I’ve ever seen has told me: ‘Here are 20 medications. Take this one if you feel this way or that way.’ And I’m like: No! Don’t give me that much freedom. I need guidance.” On another post in which Presley opened up about his struggles, his family responded with messages of support. “That’s my brother I am so damn proud,” Kaia wrote. His mother, Cindy, 60, wrote: “You are a warrior! Walked thru the fire to find yourself! So proud!” His father, Rande, 64, wrote: “I’m so proud of you and your courage. Facing what’s hard takes real strength and watching you find your way back to yourself is everything. I love you so much.” message rkpyl116yzl In forthcoming memoir Swan Song, Earl Spencer says Princess Diana tried to abandon the engagement, struggled with an eating disorder and later repeatedly drove to Beachy Head while contemplating suicide; Buckingham Palace challenges his recollection Inabl Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2022/09/09/HJP11ytOgj/HJP11ytOgj_0_0_650_366_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/rkpyl116yzl Sun, 20 Sep 2026 10:21:21 +03:00 Nearly three decades after Princess Diana’s death, her younger brother is reopening some of the most painful chapters of her life and marriage, publishing a memoir that makes a series of deeply personal claims about King Charles, Diana’s mental health and the turmoil surrounding her funeral. Charles Spencer’s Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published worldwide on Sept. 22. Extracts released ahead of publication have already prompted an unusually pointed response from Buckingham Palace, while Spencer has publicly insisted his recollections are accurate. The book comes nearly four years after Prince Harry published Spare, his own account of life inside the royal family and of the morning his father told him Diana had died after the 1997 Paris car crash. Harry recalled Charles telling him: “They tried, darling boy. I’m afraid she didn’t make it.” He also wrote that “Pa didn’t hug me,” describing his father as uncomfortable with displays of emotion even under normal circumstances. Now it is Spencer, who delivered one of the defining speeches of Diana’s funeral at Westminster Abbey, offering his version of what happened inside the family before and after her death. ‘Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough’ One of Spencer’s most contentious claims concerns the decision to have Princes William and Harry, then 15 and 12, walk behind their mother’s coffin. Spencer writes that he opposed the idea and believed Diana would not have wanted her sons placed in such a public and emotionally punishing position. According to his account, the disagreement led to a furious telephone conversation with the then-Prince Charles. Spencer says Charles vented his anger while he listened without interrupting. Then, according to the memoir, Charles stopped and delivered the line Spencer says has remained with him ever since: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough!” Spencer says he was so stunned that he replied that he could not believe what Charles had just said and ended the call. He also writes that discussions were underway among senior royal officials over who should join the funeral procession. According to Spencer, Charles wanted to walk behind the coffin, while palace officials feared the public reaction if he did so alone. William and Harry ultimately joined their father, grandfather Prince Philip and Spencer in the procession. Buckingham Palace has challenged Spencer’s account without issuing a point-by-point denial. A spokesperson said the King was mindful that “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise,” adding that such effects can endure long after a loss. Spencer has rejected that suggestion. Speaking to the BBC, he said he had had only two telephone calls with Prince Charles in his life and had therefore been particularly attentive during the exchange. “I was hyper alert to what he was saying and those are precisely the words that he said,” Spencer said, later adding: “I’m telling the truth.” Charles was ‘very happy’ to marry her, but ‘not actually in love with her’ Spencer’s account also goes back to the beginning of Diana’s relationship with Charles. He writes that as Diana’s brother, he initially took comfort in how clearly she appeared to love the heir to the throne. Diana, he says, had grown up determined to marry for love, in part because of the painful divorce of their own parents. Only years later, Spencer writes, did he learn that Diana had told a close friend about a devastating conversation on the eve of her wedding. According to Spencer, Charles told Diana that he was “very happy” to marry her, but was “not actually in love with her.” On the morning of the July 29, 1981 wedding, Spencer recalls finding his sister already dressed, sitting quietly in front of a mirror. Only in retrospect, he writes, did he understand what she may have been carrying with her into St. Paul’s Cathedral. The signs of doubt, according to Spencer, had appeared earlier. Diana had discovered a bracelet Charles had bought for Camilla Parker Bowles, Spencer writes, and became increasingly distressed about his relationship with Camilla. He also recounts an evening at a royal birthday celebration for Prince Andrew at Windsor Castle when Diana had eagerly expected to spend time with Charles after his return from an overseas trip, only to feel largely ignored. Spencer says Diana then went to their father, John Spencer, and told him she could not marry a man who plainly did not love her. Their father, he writes, was appalled by the idea of abandoning such a major commitment and discouraged her from ending the engagement. Spencer now wonders whether his father’s lifelong devotion to the monarchy made it harder for him to put his role as Diana’s father ahead of what he saw as duty to the royal family. ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ The memoir also revisits Diana’s eating disorder, an issue she later discussed publicly herself. Spencer writes that Diana told him that by the time of her wedding she had already been struggling with the disorder for about five months. After seeing photographs from the engagement announcement, Diana felt unhappy with her appearance, Spencer says. Days later, he claims, Charles squeezed her waist and remarked: “Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?” Spencer says Diana found the remark devastating. She later told him, he writes, that her waist had fallen from 29 inches to 23.5 inches between the engagement and the wedding. At the same time, he says, the machinery of royal life began taking control of decisions that previously had belonged to Diana and her family. According to Spencer, longtime family doctor Mike Bloomer was informed that royal doctors would now oversee Diana’s care. Bloomer objected, arguing that he had known her for most of her life, but was replaced by Dr. John Batten, then the Queen’s physician. Spencer describes that decision as a serious mistake. The basic account of the change in doctors is also reflected in reporting on the memoir extracts. Spencer says Diana’s problems with food and weight intensified again after William’s birth. She later told him, he writes, that she initially felt well after becoming a mother but soon grew isolated and trapped. She felt Charles was often too busy for her and, at other times, overly critical. Advice he may have intended as helpful, about clothing, public behavior or interests, could feel to Diana like criticism, Spencer writes. The earl also speculates in the memoir that his sister may have had ADHD and what he calls rejection sensitive dysphoria. That is Spencer’s retrospective interpretation, not a medical diagnosis presented in the material. He stresses that he does not claim to be an impartial judge of his sister’s marriage and says both Diana and Charles eventually reached points of despair with one another. The deeper problem, he writes, was that they were trapped inside a marriage the world expected them to present as a fairy tale even as their private relationship deteriorated. ‘Her love for her sons stopped her from going further’ Among the memoir’s darkest claims is Spencer’s account of Diana’s mental state later in her life. He writes that she drove herself to Beachy Head, the towering chalk cliffs on England’s southern coast, “more than once” while “contemplating ending it all.” “Her love for her sons stopped her from going further,” he writes. Diana had previously spoken publicly about self-harm, depression and bulimia during her years inside the royal family. Spencer’s new account adds what he says were private episodes she never disclosed publicly. On another occasion, Spencer writes, Diana asked him at short notice to join her for lunch at San Lorenzo, one of her favorite London restaurants. Looking down at the table, she told him: “Carlos, I’m going to get divorced.” Spencer says he was taken aback. He knew the marriage was in serious trouble but had not understood that she had reached that decision. He told her she had his support, he writes, but warned that the public had invested heavily in the fairy-tale image of the marriage and could blame her for destroying it. According to Spencer, Diana then made another striking claim about her husband, telling him that Charles was “in love with his valet.” Spencer does not identify the valet in that passage or provide independent evidence for the allegation, and the claim should be understood strictly as his account of what Diana told him. Spencer says the remark convinced him that, from Diana’s perspective, the marriage was beyond repair. Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and finalized their divorce in 1996. Diana died the following year, aged 36, after the car carrying her crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. The fallout from Spencer’s memoir shows that almost 30 years later, disputes over what happened inside the royal family during Diana’s life and immediately after her death remain far from settled. Buckingham Palace has made clear that it questions Spencer’s memory of those events. Spencer, for his part, says he told close friends and relatives about the disputed telephone conversation at the time because of how shocking he found it and insists that his account has not changed. “I’m telling the truth,” he said. message skxymz2ffe The producer and co-creator of the hit sitcom toured Sderot, the Nova festival site and Kfar Aza, meeting survivors featured in ‘The Bridge,’ a documentary about an initiative that brought 10 October 7 survivors to a US music camp ynet Global https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/rkmVOzG2tGl/rkmVOzG2tGl_1_9_523_295_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/skxymz2ffe Sat, 19 Sep 2026 16:52:29 +03:00 Kevin S. Bright, a producer and co-creator of the hit television series “Friends,” visited communities and sites in southern Israel devastated in the October 7 attack, saying the experience had strengthened his Jewish identity and left him “prouder than before.” Bright toured Sderot, the site of the Nova music festival massacre and Kibbutz Kfar Aza alongside American producer David Fishof and Sam Grundwerg, world chairman of Keren Hayesod, who is nearing the end of his tenure. The three were involved in an initiative that brought 10 survivors of the October 7 attack to a music camp in the United States, intended to help them cope with the trauma they experienced. Their visit was documented in the American film “The Bridge,” which is scheduled to be screened Tuesday at 9 p.m. at Hangar 11 in Tel Aviv. The delegation began its tour at the Sderot Lookout overlooking the Gaza Strip, before receiving a briefing at the nearby visitors center on the October 7 attack. Videos and audio recordings from the day were shown during the presentation. The group then traveled to the Nova festival site, where Bright met three October 7 survivors who appear in the documentary: Sagi Arad, Bar Rodaeff and Valery Dvorkin. Bright lit a memorial candle and spoke with one of the Nova festival’s producers, who told him that the survivors continue to dance and live in memory of those who were murdered. “When you come here, to the Nova site, there is an immense feeling of great sadness, and when you leave here, there is a powerful feeling of immense hope that such a thing will never happen again, as well as hope for the healing and recovery of the families who suffered so much,” Bright said. Eshkol Regional Council head Michal Uziyahu also spoke to the delegation about the impact of October 7 on the region and the resilience of communities along the Gaza border. She described life there as “99 percent paradise and only one percent fear and terror,” saying the strength of the local communities remained a source of optimism. The delegation later traveled to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Orit Tsadikvitz, the daughter of the kibbutz’s founders, guided them through the community and described what residents of Kfar Aza, Be’eri and Nahal Oz endured during the attack. Survivors from the three communities have still not fully returned to their homes. Bright entered homes destroyed during the attack and said the physical remains should be preserved as testimony to what happened. “Standing here, in this place, seeing it up close is so powerful, and it must be preserved so it continues to be evidence of what happened,” he said. “I feel that October 7 strengthened my Jewish identity, and I am prouder than before, because I need to be proud. Antisemitism in the world is a call for all Jews to be stronger.” message sj9795jkgx The obsession with her street style shows no signs of fading; and as if that weren’t enough, Harry Styles has now entered the picture as her boyfriend Liora Shuster https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/15/HkXo2ZcUFGx/HkXo2ZcUFGx_0_86_2469_1390_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sj9795jkgx Sat, 19 Sep 2026 08:35:36 +03:00 Recently, Zoë Kravitz stepped out onto the streets of New York wearing low-rise, ankle-length jeans, a white cropped T-shirt and ballet flats. I would not normally dwell on such an esoteric event if it hadn’t flooded my feed from every possible direction. Fashion lovers went wild trying to figure out where the jeans were from, setting off a frenzy of speculation. Eventually, the mystery was solved: They were a vintage Alexander Wang style. “I bought this pair 10 years ago,” one blogger announced, while another quickly sent her followers a link to an almost identical pair available in stores. “This is the denim formula everyone will want to wear this fall,” she declared. The obsession with the everyday looks of Kravitz, 37, an actor, director and someone who practically owns the word “cool,” has been overflowing for some time. Kravitz, who is also the daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz and actor Lisa Bonet, runs errands around her Brooklyn neighborhood, the paparazzi start snapping and the internet erupts. British Vogue recently even published an article titled “How to Dress Like Zoë Kravitz This Autumn.” On the surface, the looks are extremely simple: Adidas shorts, a white or black T-shirt, sunglasses, a baseball cap and flip-flops, all accompanied by a phone in hand and earbuds tucked into her ears. At first glance, who put any effort into this at all? It’s basically just: I stepped out to buy coffee. But of course, that is the illusion. Every Kravitz look is carefully constructed, a precise mix of New York chic, a touch of rock ’n’ roll, a hint of luxury and just the right amount of sex appeal, never too much. Beneath a faded T-shirt, a diamond necklace will casually appear. The baseball cap is really a nostalgic wink. The bag and sunglasses come from luxury labels Saint Laurent, for which Kravitz is an ambassador, or The Row. Everything blends together organically and seems to reflect her personality authentically rather than any particular trend. The dreadlocks, tattoos and indifferent expression complete the picture perfectly. As if all that were not enough, since last April Zoë has officially been engaged to Harry Styles, one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, and the relationship has naturally sent interest in her soaring. The two were immediately declared a power couple, with their style described as coordinated not through matching pieces but through a shared vibe. I am already looking forward to seeing what the two of them wear to their wedding. Kravitz, incidentally, has been married before. The look was stunning, the marriage apparently less so. Until they say “I do,” there is always another disposable coffee cup-and-headphones look to follow. message sj9jnsjtgg Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s film has sold out both New York Film Festival screenings and will open in Manhattan before expanding to Los Angeles and other US cities, despite having no American distributor Amir Bogen https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/12/B1S0Af7tzg/B1S0Af7tzg_422_173_1972_1109_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sj9jnsjtgg Sat, 19 Sep 2026 02:08:41 +03:00 As controversy over the documentary “NAZA” continues in Israel, the new film by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor is moving toward a much wider public audience abroad, with a U.S. theatrical release set to begin immediately after its appearance at the New York Film Festival. Following its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a lengthy ovation and won the Special Jury Prize, “NAZA” is scheduled to screen at the prestigious New York festival later this month. Both festival screenings have already sold out. The film will then begin a commercial run at Manhattan’s IFC Center on Sept. 30, before expanding to Los Angeles and potentially other U.S. cities depending on ticket sales and audience interest. No American distributor has acquired the documentary. Instead, its U.S. rollout will be handled independently with backing from British newspaper The Guardian and France’s MK2, which are assembling a team of American and international partners and advisers to bring the film to audiences as quickly as possible. The unusual distribution strategy carries obvious risks. Politically charged documentaries are often difficult to sell to American audiences, and the absence of an established U.S. distributor means the film will have to build momentum largely through reviews, media attention and word of mouth. But the filmmakers have reason to believe the model can work. Their previous film, the Oscar-winning “No Other Land,” which Abraham and Szor made with Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, also struggled to secure a conventional U.S. distribution deal before ultimately being released independently. Despite the reluctance of established distributors, concerns over the film’s political sensitivity following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the war in Gaza, and offers the filmmakers considered too low, “No Other Land” became one of the year’s most commercially successful documentaries. It has grossed about $2.55 million in the United States and $3.65 million worldwide to date, turning what initially appeared to be a risky distribution strategy into a significant commercial success. The team behind “NAZA” is now hoping to recreate that trajectory. Publicity surrounding the film has grown considerably since Venice, particularly following the fierce reaction it triggered in Israel and threats to revoke the filmmakers’ Israeli citizenship. The film features Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel discussing their experiences and perspectives from behind the scenes of the war in Gaza. Abraham and Szor have said the documentary was conceived first and foremost for Israeli viewers. Alongside the U.S. release, “NAZA” is also expected to screen in Europe, although no organized theatrical rollout has yet been announced there. Whether Israeli audiences will be able to see the film remains uncertain. No local theatrical release has been confirmed, and it is still unclear where, or whether, the documentary will ultimately be screened in Israel. Desk verification: The filmmakers’ English-language spelling is Rachel Szor, and official listings confirm the New York Film Festival engagement and Sept. 30 opening at IFC Center. message rkoz11vtkze In his memoir, the brother of the late Princess Diana revealed the conversation he had with King Charles shortly after her death: He lashed out with 'his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death' Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2025/06/16/BJTV7iTXex/BJTV7iTXex_1_34_1024_576_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/rkoz11vtkze Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:21:16 +03:00 King Charles is probably accustomed by now to appearing in tabloid headlines, but we imagine he was not expecting this: In August, it emerged that Earl Charles Spencer, 62, the brother of the late Princess Diana, is publishing a new book in which he promises to reveal new details about her life and, above all, her death. On Wednesday, excerpts from the book, "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister," leaked ahead of publication and revealed a heated phone call Spencer says he had with Charles in 1997, shortly after the princess’s death. In the book, Spencer recalls the debate over whether Princes William and Harry, then 15 and 12, should walk behind their mother’s coffin during the funeral procession. Spencer says he opposed the idea, after which he received a phone call from Charles, who was still the Prince of Wales at the time. ““Prince Charles continued his stream of anger, without me interrupting. Then he stopped,” Spencer wrote. “I assumed the pause signaled an effort to bring himself under control, but then he unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough!’” Spencer wrote. Spencer added that he was “so stunned” it took him several seconds to respond before saying, “I can’t believe you just said that,” and hanging up. Buckingham Palace responded to the claims, saying: “While as a matter of principle we do not generally comment on books, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of grieving a family member can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others may not recognize, even many years after such a loss.” Spencer’s memoir is expected to be published in the coming days and promises to offer a deeply personal account of his relationship with his sister, one he has never previously shared in such detail. Overseas, the book is already being described as historic, and Spencer has said it will address his sister’s unhappy marriage and the turbulent days following her death. “As the 30th anniversary of Diana’s tragic death approaches, I have once again been inundated with interview requests about my sister,” he said. “That convinced me to put my thoughts and memories in writing, once and for all, rather than again endure the discomfort of reading other people’s views, many of which are based on falsehoods that over time have come to be accepted as fact.” As of this writing, the book is expected to be published in 12 languages and offer an unprecedented glimpse behind the scenes of a tumultuous week in which the House of Windsor was shaken by a global wave of grief and public anger. Earlier this month, Spencer published a post in which he called it “the most personal book” he has ever written and shared his feelings after spending three days recording the audiobook version. “When I finished the recording, I thought to myself: ‘That is exactly what I wanted and needed to say — and I think Diana would have approved of every word.’” On September 15, it was reported that four copies of "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" were stolen from a truck in the Netherlands shortly before the book’s publication. According to the report, the truck was transporting copies of the book to a Dutch warehouse for distribution to bookstores, and the driver parked overnight to sleep. When he woke, he discovered the truck had been broken into, but only several copies of Spencer’s memoir were missing. Dutch police are reportedly investigating the theft. “Nothing like this has ever happened before. This is probably the biggest book of the year, and security around it was incredibly tight,” a source told the Daily Mail. “Every possible precaution was taken to prevent it from leaking before the serialized excerpts were published. That is why this unprecedented incident is being taken extremely seriously.” message h1nwjltyze In an interview with ynet, Michael Rapaport says Israelis need laughter after Oct. 7, why performing in Israel recharges him, how he found an ‘Israeli soul’ in his New York bluntness and why artists should not have to explain or apologize for appearing in Israel Smadar Shiloni https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/15/HJK56pUtfl/HJK56pUtfl_0_211_961_541_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/h1nwjltyze Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:05:11 +03:00 Three years after Oct. 7, Michael Rapaport has found himself confronting a question Israeli comedians know well: How do you make people laugh when so many in the audience have been living through grief, anxiety and war? The outspoken Jewish New Yorker first visited Israel after Oct. 7 and has since become one of the country’s most visible celebrity supporters, but he admits he initially wondered whether stand-up was appropriate at all. “I felt almost disrespectful or concerned about doing comedy with everything that's been going on since October 7th,” Rapaport told ynet. But his Israeli friends had a simple answer: “You have to come. We love laughing. We must laugh.” “And it's a blessing and a mitzvah to be able to even perform in front of the people of Israel for me,” he said. “And if I can make people laugh, that's just, it's beyond something I'm proud of.” For Rapaport, laughter has become part of the resilience he sees in Israelis. “They love to laugh and I don't think anything is indicative of shining our light as much as laughter.” Rapaport will return during Sukkot as part of the Comedy for Koby tour, performing Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Herzliya. The tour, organized by the Koby Mandell Foundation, comes as the foundation marks 25 years since its establishment in memory of Koby Mandell, who was murdered in a terrorist attack in 2001 at age 14. Asked whether an Israeli audience forces him to rethink his material, Rapaport said the changes are minimal. “No, just do my regular thing. I mean, the only thing, you know, language stuff. But, you know, the people that come to see me, you know, understand me. And if they don't understand me, they get my sentiment.” The emotional benefit, he said, may be greater for him than for the audience. “I get more probably than anybody gets. I get more out of it than probably anybody who comes to see me. I really look at it as an honor.” Asked whether the performances recharge him, he replied: “It's charging me, I think.” He added: “I wish more comedians were coming to Israel to perform,” noting that streaming and social media have made comedy far more international than it once was. ‘I definitely have an Israeli soul inside me’ Rapaport’s podcasts, social media accounts and stand-up appearances have become platforms for his outspoken support for Israel and the hostages since Oct. 7. His combative style, blunt delivery and aversion to small talk have also made him feel increasingly at home in Israel. “I think I definitely have an Israeli soul inside me,” he said. “I love the bluntness.” The adjustment was not immediate. “It took a little time to get used to like the bluntness and the lack of small talk,” he said. “But I understand it now and I'm not taken aback by it. I understand the pushiness and all of it. I get it and I understand it.” “If you're not used to it could throw you off,” he added. “Once you understand where it comes from and it's not malicious, it's well-intentioned, it's just cultural. It's just a cultural thing. I think it's fine. I like it. I think it's funny.” Israeli audiences, Rapaport said, also give him license to tease the country in ways he would be more cautious about with an American crowd. “Israeli audience, you can talk about how crazy Israel is. Israel is an insane place. It's insane.” He compares Israelis’ willingness to laugh at themselves to New Yorkers. “I think Israelis, I find them to have very good sense of humor about themselves, similar to like New Yorkers,” he said. “You could, I call it breaking balls, you know, you could talk shit. They get it.” His upcoming trip will be his 10th to Israel, all of them coming after Oct. 7. “I came in the worst of times and continued coming back. And I felt the need to be there and the need to continue to come,” he said. “As little bit of time that I spent in the first half of my life in Israel, I feel like I'm gonna make up for it in the second half of my life. I have so much to explore about the state and get to know it more.” During the war, he deliberately avoided some of the more conventional tourist experiences because they did not feel appropriate. “My trips have been so life-changing and meaningful and just, I feel like very blessed to have gone as many times as I've gone and to see what I've seen, the good, the bad and the horrible during that time.” The reception from Israelis has only strengthened that connection. “The people are very nice, they're very loving, they're very funny,” he said. “I feel like at home and very comfortable in Israel.” ‘The only place the world wants explanation about is Israel’ Rapaport was cautious when asked about John Malkovich, who canceled a planned Tel Aviv performance after an Israeli public relations firm circulated comments falsely attributed to him about solidarity with Israel. “I don't know enough about that situation as to why he would cancel it. I'm not sure why,” Rapaport said. “I think it could have been corrected without pulling out of it. I think it could have been corrected.” He stressed that artists have a right to set their own terms, while saying he did not think the episode needed to end with a cancellation. Later in the interview, he added: “I would love for him to reconsider coming.” More broadly, Rapaport argued that online outrage and cancel culture have been granted too much influence. “People are giving it more credit and more power than it deserves,” he said. He also rejected the idea that an artist performing in Israel should have to issue a political disclaimer. “Where I'm from New York is not perfect. The United States is not perfect. Israel's not perfect. I am not perfect as a person. My wife, she's not perfect. And my kids aren't perfect. I'm not a perfect dad. My dad and mother are not perfect. No person, no state, no city, no place is perfect,” he said. “And I don't think that you should have to explain that everywhere you go. But the only place that it seems like the world wants explanation about is Israel. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous.” Rapaport was considerably less restrained when the conversation turned to Macklemore. “I think he has absolutely no talent. I think he's uneducated,” he said, also accusing the rapper of having a history of being anti-Jewish. Still, his prescription was for Macklemore to see the region firsthand. “He should come to Israel,” Rapaport said. “And if he doesn't want to perform to explore and get to know the Israel.” “He should go to Jenin and he should go to Ramallah and he should do everything,” he continued. “He should be in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He should go to the North and the South and he should absolutely go to the West Bank and, you know, he should see everything for himself.” For Rapaport, the issue goes beyond individual performers. “I wish more people came. I wish more performers were coming,” he said. “I know that there's so much misinformation about Israel and anti-Semitism and anti-zionism and all this bullshit and, you know, the people of Israel deserve a lot better.” Despite jokes about acquiring an Israeli soul, he sees the connection as a natural extension of his New York personality. “I think I have a New York attitude that fits well with with Israel,” he said. “My attitude is very New York and and and you know, I'm myself and you know, and I feel comfortable being myself.” And his Jewish identity, he said, is not something he feels any need to justify. “I feel very proud as a Jew,” Rapaport said. “I don't debate with people about that. I'm just very comfortable with who I am and I'm very comfortable with what I know.” Asked about voting in Israel’s elections, Rapaport was equally clear about the limits of his expertise. “I don't know enough about the politics of Israel to really understand it, to be honest with you,” he said. “I'm not an expert on it and I understand enough and I know a good amount. I don't vote in Israel, obviously, and I just want what's best for the people. I really do.” message hktangfkfl 71-year-old megastar was spotted grocery shopping with a 40-year-old woman; this is how she responded when asked about their relationship Omer Daniel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/rkejs3J00Fzl/rkejs3J00Fzl_0_91_944_531_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hktangfkfl Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:35:46 +03:00 Nearly a year has passed since Kevin Costner’s ex-wife married his former best friend. If he finds himself feeling down on their anniversary, he may now have someone by his side to comfort him. And in true Hollywood fashion, she is several decades younger than he is. The Daily Mail reports that the 71-year-old Costner was spotted spending time with Jennifer Milburn, a 40-year-old lifestyle coach. The two were seen together near his estate in Santa Barbara, California, and even stopped at a grocery store to pick up supplies — cereal, grapefruit juice, steaks and vegetables, in case you were wondering. The outlet says it went a step further and contacted Milburn, who confirmed her identity. But when she was asked about the nature of her relationship with Costner, she hung up. Milburn, a former model and flight attendant, lives in Colorado, where Costner owns a large luxury ranch. In photos posted on her social media accounts, she can be seen horseback riding at local ranches. Costner and his second wife, Christine Baumgartner, divorced in 2023 after 20 years of marriage and three children together. He has three additional children with his first wife, Cindy Silva, whom he divorced in 1994 after 16 years of marriage. As may be apparent, Costner tends to date women younger than himself. Since his divorce from Baumgartner, 52, he has been linked to singers Jewel, 52, and Jennifer Lopez, 57, as well as filmmaker Kelly Noonan Gores, 47. message sjsgd11kfge Berlin-born Max lived in China and Israel before settling in New York, where his cosmic colors, peace symbols and celebrity portraits became fixtures of 1960s counterculture and later a vast commercial empire Reuters https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/17/Sy1dv11KFze/Sy1dv11KFze_0_0_1549_873_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sjsgd11kfge Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:05:58 +03:00 Peter Max, the pop artist whose vivid colors, cosmic landscapes and psychedelic imagery became part of the visual language of the 1960s, died Monday at a Manhattan hospital after a long illness. He was 88. Max’s work was nearly inescapable at the height of the counterculture era. His posters and paintings featured starbursts, floating peace signs, butterflies, clouds and surreal cosmic scenes, while his portraits included some of the era’s biggest musical stars, among them the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger. A 1967 Village Voice review described him as “a visionary fascinated by time, space and evolution.” His art also attracted prominent admirers. Former President Ronald Reagan was a fan, and Max donated a painting of the Statue of Liberty to the Reagan Presidential Library. Bill Clinton later told Max that his posters had hung on the walls of his college dorm room; decades later, portraits of Clinton by Max were displayed at the Clinton Presidential Library. Max is survived by his daughter, Libra, and son, Adam. “My father was my best friend,” Libra said in a statement. “I feel incredibly blessed to have been so deeply loved and to be his daughter. I hope that alongside his remarkable artistic legacy, people will remember his kindness, his gentleness, and how much he genuinely cherished putting joy into the world.” Art, commerce and a cultural phenomenon At the height of his fame, Max embraced commercial success on a scale few artists of his generation matched. He licensed his work for roughly 70 products, placing his designs on everything from airplanes and cruise ships to bedsheets, eyeglasses, swimsuits and chessboards. “Such an explosion was monumental,” Max told Reuters in 2007. “I could have never gotten that kind of explosion just being in galleries.” Critics accused him of selling out, but Max rejected the idea that commercial success compromised artistic integrity. “In our era, if an artist is not seen in the media, he doesn't exist,” he told The New York Times. “The myth that an artist is not pure if he makes money is the wrong myth... What have I got to apologize for? I make art people can afford. And that makes them happy.” Max largely withdrew from public life as the 1960s ended, focusing on private work and travel. He returned with a New York gallery show in 1987 and soon rebuilt his business into another major commercial operation. His later work became more impressionistic, while his subjects expanded to include presidents, world leaders and major sporting events. He was named official artist for five Super Bowls, the 1994 World Cup, the 2000 Kentucky Derby and the U.S. team at the 2006 Winter Olympics. His designs also appeared on a Continental Airlines Boeing 777, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship and a NASCAR race car driven by Dale Earnhardt. By the 2000s, his New York studio employed more than 100 people and generated annual sales estimated at $80 million to $100 million, according to The New York Times. From Berlin to China, Israel and New York Peter Max Finkelstein was born in Berlin on Oct. 19, 1937. His family later lived in China and Israel before eventually settling in New York City. He trained in realism at art school, although little of that style would remain visible in the psychedelic work that made him famous, and began his career in an award-winning design studio before striking out on his own. His career also included controversy. In 1997, Max pleaded guilty to tax evasion after being accused of concealing $1.1 million in art sales. He was sentenced to two months in a halfway house and community service, including work helping children with art projects. In 2019, The New York Times reported that Max had been diagnosed with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and had advanced dementia. By then, the newspaper said, he had not painted seriously in four years. Max, a longtime vegan and yoga devotee, was married twice. message hjmv5ibffx The nine-time Emmy winner dressed generations of stars, from Marilyn Monroe, Carol Burnett and Cher to Madonna and Diana Ross, turning sequins, feathers and theatrical excess into an unmistakable style that still shapes celebrity fashion News Agencies https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/14/H1fBPsSKfg/H1fBPsSKfg_0_0_850_478_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hjmv5ibffx Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:12:12 +03:00 Bob Mackie, the legendary fashion and costume designer whose dazzling creations helped define Hollywood glamour for more than six decades, died Monday at 87. His death was announced in a statement on his social media accounts. No cause was immediately disclosed. “He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do,” the statement said, adding that his designs would continue “to bring beauty into this world.” Known as the “Designer to the Stars,” Mackie built a visual language of sequins, rhinestones, feathers, sheer fabrics and unapologetic theatricality. He won nine Emmy Awards, earned three Academy Award nominations and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2019, he won a Tony Award for his costume design for the Broadway musical “The Cher Show.” His career began in 1961, when the Southern California native worked as a sketch artist for leading Hollywood costume designers including Edith Head and Jean Louis. Among his earliest brushes with fashion history was the sketch for the sheer, crystal-covered gown Marilyn Monroe famously wore while singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy in 1962. Mackie’s breakthrough came through television and live entertainment. Mitzi Gaynor hired him to design costumes for her Las Vegas show and television specials, work that caught the attention of Carol Burnett and producer Joe Hamilton. Mackie was subsequently hired for “The Carol Burnett Show” and remained its costume designer throughout its 11-season run. With Burnett, Mackie showed that costume design could deliver a punchline as effectively as it delivered glamour. With Cher, he pushed celebrity style toward something bolder and more provocative, creating revealing, feathered and heavily embellished looks for her television appearances, concerts and red carpets. But Cher was only one name on a client list that stretched across generations and included Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Liza Minnelli and others. The designer accumulated a string of nicknames over the years, including the “Sultan of Sequins,” the “Rajah of Rhinestones” and the “Guru of Glitter.” Yet behind the excess was a straightforward philosophy. “You don’t try to change anybody, you just try to make them look better than ever,” Mackie told The Associated Press in 2018. His work extended well beyond television and red carpets. Mackie designed for Broadway, ballet and opera and launched a ready-to-wear collection and collectible Barbie dolls in the 1980s. A major Fashion Institute of Technology retrospective in 1999 brought together more than 125 examples of his costumes, sketches, photographs and videos. And his aesthetic never became merely a relic of old Hollywood. Archival Mackie pieces continued to appear on a younger generation of stars, including Zendaya, Miley Cyrus and Anya Taylor-Joy. Zendaya wore one of his gowns while honoring Cher at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, while Taylor Swift turned to Mackie originals for the imagery surrounding her 2025 album “The Life of a Showgirl.” Mackie’s clothes were rarely designed to disappear into the background. They were built for entrances, spotlights and performers who wanted to be seen. From classic Hollywood and television variety shows to arena concerts and modern red carpets, his work helped establish the visual vocabulary of the superstar. For generations of performers, wearing Bob Mackie meant more than putting on a dress. It meant becoming the show. message h100qwobtfl Filmmaker Diane Kurys revisits Simone Signoret and Yves Montand’s turbulent marriage, the Marilyn Monroe affair that left a lasting wound, and an extraordinary life shaped by cinema, Jewish roots, Israel, politics and an Oscar-winning comeback Amir Kaminer https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/09/S1UKm9Aufl/S1UKm9Aufl_1_73_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/h100qwobtfl Mon, 14 Sep 2026 20:03:45 +03:00 On Aug. 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead at her Brentwood home in California at the age of 36. Before the headlines, conspiracy theories and decades of mythology that would follow, French actor and singer Yves Montand called his wife, Simone Signoret, to tell her the news. Two years earlier, Montand and Monroe had conducted one of Hollywood’s most publicized affairs while filming George Cukor’s “Let’s Make Love.” Signoret was having dinner in Toulouse with two friends from the film industry when the call came. She returned to the table and said simply: “Marilyn is dead.” “I was very sad, but not surprised,” she later wrote in her autobiography, “Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be.” Within half an hour, journalists were already trying to find her. Signoret remained grateful to the hotel manager who refused to tell them where she was, sparing her from being thrust once again into a story the press had exhausted two years earlier. Signoret may have dismissed the affair as a “simple event,” but there was nothing simple about the spectacle surrounding it. By the end of the 1950s, Montand had arrived in Hollywood to star opposite Monroe while Signoret was at the height of her own career, winning at Cannes and later becoming the first French actress to win the Academy Award for best actress for “Room at the Top.” Montand and Signoret stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel in a bungalow next to Monroe and her husband, playwright Arthur Miller. The couples became friends, and Signoret wrote warmly about Monroe, whom she fiercely defended against press portrayals she considered cruel and false. More than six decades later, French Jewish filmmaker Diane Kurys has returned to the marriage, and particularly to the damage caused by the Monroe affair, in her feature “Yours, Always.” The film, starring Roschdy Zem as Montand and Marina Foïs as Signoret, premiered at Cannes and is being screened at the 17th Epos International Art Film Festival at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. “The big, big wound that she got, their wound that never cauterized, was Marilyn’s story in Los Angeles,” Kurys told Ynet. “You cannot compete with Marilyn, and she couldn’t. But she won in the end because he stayed with her. I think it was a very important point in their life.” The affair the whole world knew about Kurys said the relationship was impossible to separate from the intense publicity surrounding it. Montand was repeatedly unfaithful during his marriage, she said, but Monroe was different because the humiliation became global. “She was known all of a sudden in the world for being betrayed by her husband with Marilyn Monroe, the biggest star in the world,” Kurys said. “It’s something that you don’t recoup from very fast, very easily.” The filmmaker was particularly struck by a famous series of black-and-white photographs by Bruce Davidson showing Montand, Signoret, Monroe and Miller dining together at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “The pictures are just insane,” she said. “The look they give one another tells everything, everything that is going to happen, or that has already happened.” Montand never seriously concealed what happened, Kurys noted. “It was common knowledge. Everybody knew.” He later spoke about the connection he felt with Monroe, saying they had both come from poor families. Monroe helped him with his shaky English, while he supported her at a time when she was deeply frightened. Kurys said Monroe also wrote about the relationship in her letters and was “very much in love with him.” Signoret eventually left Los Angeles to make a film in Italy, knowing that Montand and Monroe would remain in neighboring bungalows. Kurys suspects the affair had already begun before then. Signoret nevertheless stayed with Montand, despite his later affairs with other actresses and women. Why? “Because she loved him,” Kurys said. She believes Signoret was, in many respects, the stronger of the two. “She was his conscience. She was more of an intellectual than him. They made each other. She made him read and learn, and he made her a better actress, maybe.” For Kurys, that is ultimately the real subject of the film: “Couples are complex. Why people leave, why people stay, that’s the subject of the film. Why do you stay? Why do you decide to change your life? It’s a question that is never easy to answer.” A life far beyond Marilyn Monroe That complexity is also why reducing Signoret to the wronged wife in a famous Hollywood triangle misses most of her story. Born Simone Henriette Charlotte Kaminker in Wiesbaden in 1921, she was the daughter of André Kaminker, a French Jew of Polish origin, and Georgette Signoret, a French Catholic. The family returned to France when she was young, and during the Nazi occupation she adopted her mother’s surname, both for her acting career and to conceal her Jewish background. Signoret later described herself as having grown up in an entirely agnostic environment, with an assimilated Jewish father. During the war, she also became involved in activities connected to the French Resistance, at times without fully understanding what she was being asked to carry or deliver. Kurys originally wrote a scene for “Yours, Always” that would have addressed Signoret’s Jewish identity directly. Set after the 1982 terrorist attack on the Jo Goldenberg restaurant in Paris, it had Signoret and Montand traveling toward the site and discussing her Jewish roots. Kurys ultimately decided not to shoot it. “Maybe I sort of escaped that for some reason,” she said. Her view of Signoret’s identity is deliberately nuanced. “She had and she didn’t,” Kurys said of her connection to Judaism. “Her father was Jewish, her mother was not. She was concerned about Israel, she was concerned about Jewishness, but she was not religious.” Signoret nevertheless supported Jewish causes, including the struggle for Soviet Jewry, maintained ties with Israeli leaders and criticized antisemitism within the French Communist movement. In 1959, she accompanied Montand on a visit to Israel that she later described in detail in her autobiography. The couple dined in Tel Aviv with prime minister David Ben-Gurion and his wife, Paula. Signoret recalled Paula suddenly asking her in English: “And what kind of actress are you? A good actress or a bad actress?” Before she could answer, Ben-Gurion intervened: “Mama, Mama, please. I’m sure she is a good actress.” Paula shot back: “How do you know?” They also visited a kibbutz populated by French-speaking Jews from Morocco, ate in the communal dining hall and watched Montand dance the hora with residents “as though he had danced the hora since childhood,” Signoret wrote. The Israeli director behind her great comeback One Israeli connection does play a significant role in Kurys’ film: Signoret’s collaboration with director Moshé Mizrahi. The pair made two films together in France, most famously “Madame Rosa,” Mizrahi’s 1977 adaptation of Romain Gary’s “The Life Before Us.” Signoret played an aging, ailing Jewish former sex worker and Auschwitz survivor living in Paris and caring for the children of other sex workers. Her character forms a deep bond with Momo, a Muslim boy. The film represented France at the Academy Awards and won the Oscar for best foreign-language film. Mizrahi later recalled that Signoret had disliked the novel and previously rejected offers to appear in an adaptation. She agreed to meet him because she admired one of his earlier films. Their conversation wandered far beyond “Madame Rosa,” but by the end she had been persuaded. At the 1978 Oscars, Mizrahi thanked everyone involved before adding: “Above all I want to thank Madame Rosa herself, Simone Signoret.” Kurys sees the film as one of the great late surprises of Signoret’s career. “At the point where we start my film, she’s completely down. She has no offers. She doesn’t work,” she said. Signoret had gained weight, was drinking and smoking heavily and had stopped caring about maintaining the image of her younger self. Kurys does not see that entirely as self-destruction. “I think she loved life. She loved a glass of wine and good food.” Montand, however, did not want her to play Madame Rosa, according to Kurys. “He wanted to keep the image of the young girl he met when she was 29, who was the stunning beauty.” Signoret went ahead anyway, accepting a role in which she appeared significantly older than she actually was at a time when major actresses rarely did so. “She was very brave in that sense,” Kurys said. Kurys believes Signoret deserved both greater respect as an actress and a stronger career than she ultimately received. She had begun as an extra, graduated to roles as prostitutes and “bad girls,” then became one of France’s leading actresses before enduring periods without work. “Madame Rosa” was a final dramatic resurgence. ‘There’s no equivalent today’ Signoret and Montand were also something that Kurys believes barely exists today: celebrities who functioned as political and moral reference points for a large part of French society. “There’s no equivalence today to what they represented,” she said. Both were once close to the French Communist Party, although neither formally joined it. Their visit to the Soviet Union changed their view of communism, and their willingness to say so angered friends who remained committed to the movement. They participated in strikes, signed petitions, raised money and were constantly asked to lend their names to political causes. “They were mainly a political couple,” Kurys said. “People would follow their opinion very much.” It is one reason she wanted to make the film. Signoret and Montand belonged to the world Kurys grew up in, a world in which artists were not merely entertainers but public intellectuals whose positions mattered. Signoret also reminded Kurys of her own mother: They were born in the same year and died in the same year. Signoret died of cancer in 1985 at just 64. Montand died in 1991. Their marriage had survived fame, political battles, career reversals and his repeated betrayals. Marilyn Monroe remained the most famous of those betrayals, and perhaps the deepest wound. But Signoret’s story was never only about being the woman whose husband cheated with the biggest star in the world. She was an Oscar-winning actress, a politically engaged public figure, a woman whose Jewish roots and relationship with Israel remained part of her life, and an artist willing to dismantle her own glamorous image on screen. The affair made her a headline. Her life made her Simone Signoret. message hkfgp5hyfx Inspired by ‘We Are the World,’ Mike Evans’ new project unites voices from 17 countries in remembrance of Oct. 7 and solidarity with Israel and Jews worldwide ynet Global https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/14/Hk11LPcBKGe/Hk11LPcBKGe_0_0_1500_844_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hkfgp5hyfx Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:54:00 +03:00 A new international song is bringing together voices representing 17 countries and cultures with a message of solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people as the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack approaches. Mike Evans, founder of Friends of Zion, created and produced “The Whole World Sings Together,” a song and music video featuring voices representing communities from the United States, Israel, China, India, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Hungary, Iran, Yemen, Germany, Argentina, South Korea, Britain, Italy, Russia and Mexico. The project seeks to bring together people from different cultures, languages and backgrounds around a central message: The Jewish people are not alone. Organizers are inviting people around the world to listen to the song and sing along Oct. 7, creating what they hope will become a global chorus of remembrance, solidarity and hope on the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. The project was inspired by “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity single written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. Recorded by more than 40 prominent American artists as USA for Africa, the song became an international symbol of collective action to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Evans said he hopes music can again bring people together around a cause he believes must not be forgotten. “In 1985, the world sang together for Africa. Now, the world must sing together for the Jewish people,” Evans said. “October 7 cannot become another date that fades from memory. We will remember the lives that were taken, the families that were shattered, the hostages who suffered, and the people who continue to carry wounds the world cannot see.” One song, a global chorus At the heart of “The Whole World Sings Together” is the idea that people from different backgrounds can come together through music and deliver a shared message. The lyrics focus on solidarity, recovery and hope, promising to “walk beside you always” and looking toward a future emerging “from the ashes.” The song features voices representing communities across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Organizers describe its message as one of remembrance over forgetting, solidarity over silence and hope over despair. World invited to sing together on Oct. 7 Evans and Friends of Zion are inviting people around the world to watch and share the music video and sing along Oct. 7. The goal, organizers said, is to create a moment in which millions of people, wherever they are, can join the same song in remembrance of the Oct. 7 attack and in solidarity with Israel and Jewish communities around the world. The project’s message is summed up by its organizers as: “One song. Seventeen countries. One global chorus.” message sjrkvtrygl The actress and musician reportedly met at Taylor Swift’s empty Tribeca home before leaving together for a nearby hotel, fueling romance speculation Omer Daniel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/14/ry11Q1LSKfl/ry11Q1LSKfl_0_0_640_360_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sjrkvtrygl Mon, 14 Sep 2026 17:55:06 +03:00 Dakota Johnson apparently has a type when it comes to romantic partners: musicians. After her long-term relationship with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and a shorter romance with singer Tucker Pillsbury, rumors are now linking Johnson to another musician: Machine Gun Kelly, the former partner of actress Megan Fox. According to celebrity gossip account Deuxmoi, Johnson arrived Friday at Taylor Swift’s home in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood. Machine Gun Kelly arrived shortly afterward and was reportedly escorted inside by Johnson’s security guard. There was one notable twist: Swift was apparently not home at the time. It is unclear what Johnson and Kelly did inside or whether Swift had offered up her home for a discreet date. But according to the same unverified reports, the pair later left together and went to a nearby hotel, where they spent the night. The claims remain firmly in the realm of rumor and are far from enough to establish that the two are romantically involved. Still, there are connections between their social circles. Johnson is a close friend of Swift, while Travis Kelce and Machine Gun Kelly are longtime friends. Both Johnson and Kelly were reportedly among the roughly 1,000 guests at Swift and Kelce’s wedding. Johnson is also newly single. Just last month, Pillsbury confirmed that the two had been dating following eight months of speculation. Johnson also appeared on a song from his new album, but the relationship appears to have ended shortly afterward. Before Pillsbury, Johnson was engaged to Martin during an eight-year, on-again, off-again relationship. Their latest — and potentially final — split came in June 2025. Kelly, meanwhile, was in a relationship with Fox for about 4½ years. The former couple share a daughter, Saga, who is about 1½ years old. She was born in March 2025, several months after the couple separated. message b1yxhhvtmx Bunny Yeager modeled bikinis in 1940s Miami before moving behind the camera to photograph Bettie Page and become a Playboy pioneer; a new documentary revisits the nearly forgotten woman who challenged convention and portrayed sexuality on her own terms Itay Yaacov https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/09/rJmE1F6AdGl/rJmE1F6AdGl_114_15_2509_1412_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/b1yxhhvtmx Sun, 13 Sep 2026 20:25:34 +03:00 When Bunny Yeager died in 2014, she left behind one of the most distinctive bodies of work in 20th-century American photography. Her images, particularly her iconic photographs of Bettie Page, helped redefine pin-up and erotic photography and continue to influence photographers today. Yeager began her career as a model in the 1940s before moving behind the camera and working for a range of publications, including Playboy, where she became its first female photographer. Her subjects ranged from wholesome “girl next door” pin-ups to burlesque dancers in nightclubs. More than a decade after her death, Yeager’s personal and professional life is revisited in the documentary Naked Ambition, directed by Dennis Scholl and Kareem Tabsch. The film, which will close Israel’s Epos International Art Film Festival next week, combines remarkable archival footage from Yeager’s early modeling career with interviews featuring figures from fashion and entertainment, including television host Larry King, burlesque performer Dita Von Teese and fashion photographer Bruce Weber. “I started working on this film back in 2012!” Scholl tells ynet. “Her legendary status in the photography world was only growing at the time, and I knew it was time to bring her story and her photographs to a much wider audience. She deserved that attention.” “I did extensive research and asked Bunny for permission to make the film, assuming she would easily say yes. She said, ‘Absolutely not. I’m too busy with book projects and photo shoots.’ She was 83 at the time. I kept approaching her for two years, and in 2014 my persistence paid off and she said yes.” Ultimately, she died before you were able to film her. As a filmmaker, is it easier or harder to make a film about someone who is no longer alive rather than interview them directly? “On the day we were scheduled to shoot, her daughter called and said Bunny was moving a little slowly that day, so our shoot, which had been planned for 10 in the morning, was postponed until noon. At noon she said, ‘Let’s make it two.’ At two she said, ‘Let’s move it to four.’ Then at four, with the entire crew already waiting, she called and told me Bunny had been taken to the hospital. She died a few days later, at 85.” “Although I interviewed her many times without a camera, I never got the chance to interview her on camera. Fortunately, so many moments throughout her career had been documented, and we were able to gain access to almost all of them. I believe that if you have the trust of the person whose story you are telling, it is almost always preferable to have access to them while they are alive. That trust takes time to build, and it is extraordinarily important to me in the filmmaking process.” Bikini in the jungle Bunny Yeager was born Linnea Eleanor Yeager in Pennsylvania and moved with her family to Miami as a teenager. By the 1940s, she had become a successful model and one of the most photographed women in the city. She entered numerous beauty contests, appeared in swimsuit magazines and developed an intimate understanding of the modeling business. It did not take long for her to realize that she wanted to be the person holding the camera. In 1953, she enrolled in a photography course for a practical reason: She wanted to shoot her own modeling portfolio. Moving from subject to photographer quickly became a new career, and the following year one of her photographs was sold to Eye magazine and appeared on its cover. A career spanning decades followed. Working primarily in Miami, Yeager photographed hundreds of women, from professional models to women she recruited from her own neighborhood, for men’s magazines, fashion publications and commercial assignments. She also designed and sewed bikini swimsuits herself. At a time when the bikini was still relatively new and controversial in the United States, her work helped shape the way the garment entered American popular culture. Her enduring collaboration with pin-up model Bettie Page made both women famous. The two met in 1954 after Page contacted Yeager and offered to model for her. Page was already known in New York’s fetish photography scene, but Yeager presented her differently, replacing darker studio imagery with something brighter, more playful and sensual under the Florida sun. Among their most famous images is the Jungle Bettie series, in which Yeager photographed Page with two live cheetahs, Mojah and Mbili, at the Africa USA wildlife park in Boca Raton, Florida. Page wore a leopard-print jungle-girl costume she had made herself. A photograph showing Yeager alongside Page and the cheetahs was itself an early self-portrait. Yeager positioned the camera so that she could enter the scene, turning the photographer behind the image into part of the image itself. That practice, along with the many self-portraits she created throughout her career, later helped earn Yeager a reputation as a pioneer of what would eventually become known as the selfie. Throughout the 1950s, Yeager repeatedly photographed herself, building scenes and carefully directing her own presence before the lens, practices that seem entirely familiar in the age of Instagram but were far less conventional at the time. Her 1964 book How I Photograph Myself directly explored the idea of photographing oneself and controlling how others would see the resulting image. Yeager later photographed actress Ursula Andress on a Jamaican beach around the making of Dr. No, the 1962 film that launched the James Bond movie franchise. Images of Andress in her famous white swimsuit became closely associated with one of cinema’s most enduring bikini moments. Yeager also shot covers for publications including Esquire, Women’s Wear Daily, Redbook and Cosmopolitan, while helping discover and promote numerous models. ‘The greatest pin-up photographer of all time’ Naked Ambition presents Yeager as a female photographer who helped shape not only how women were photographed, but how they could participate in constructing their own image. That raises a question that takes on particular weight when her work is viewed today: Did Yeager reproduce the objectifying male gaze dominant in pin-up photography, or did she bring a distinctly different female perspective to images of women and sexuality? “The photographs speak to the unique gaze Bunny brought, which was very different from what male photographers of that period usually did,” Tabsch says. “She was able to capture both the innocence and the sexiness of her models at the same time because there was something relaxed about posing for a friend.” “Although Bunny never defined herself as a feminist, she can undoubtedly be seen as one, not only because of how she photographed, but because of the way she worked and lived her life.” The fact that Yeager had been a model herself, Tabsch says, gave her an important advantage. “On one hand, it helped her make her models feel comfortable because she knew exactly what it was like to be on the other side of the camera. At the same time, it gave her a certain authority because she would never ask her models to do something she herself would not do.” “As Dita Von Teese told us, there was also something comforting about being photographed by a woman who understood what it was like to be an object of desire, who knew what looked good and could therefore help bring that out in the women standing in front of her lens.” What surprised you most about Bunny Yeager during your research? Was there a detail or story that fundamentally changed your original perception of her? Scholl: “As a filmmaker and creator, one thing that was a revelation for me was just how important it is to connect hard work with the creative impulse. Ideas are wonderful, but it is the difficult, grinding work that actually brings creation into being.” “Given the 13-year journey this film went through, I think understanding the level of effort, hard work and determination Bunny invested in her art had a profound effect on me and on my own creative work. I thank Bunny for that often.” Tabsch: “Bunny really tried to be everything: a model, artist, businesswoman, wife and mother. And she did all of that in an era when it was almost unimaginable for a woman to occupy so many roles.” “Her ambition and entrepreneurial spirit were incredible and inspiring, and enabled her to build a life for herself and her family that she perhaps could not have built in another way. At the same time, I think that at certain points in their lives, her daughters would have much preferred to have a ‘regular mom.’” Yeager worked at the height of the pin-up era. The documentary arrives roughly 70 years later, at a time when the male gaze, the objectification of women’s bodies and the representation of female sexuality are being reconsidered. For the filmmakers, it was important not to judge Yeager solely according to contemporary standards. “It is always difficult to look back at people from the past exclusively through the lens of today’s values without taking into account the time and place in which they lived,” Tabsch says. “Bunny broke ground, pushed against convention and did it on her own terms.” “I know there are people today who object to the fact that she photographed nude women for men to look at with desire. But at the same time, she also gave those women control over their bodies and their sexuality, something the era did not otherwise give them.” “In many ways, contemporary values, particularly those involving a woman’s right to define herself, her autonomy and her empowerment in every aspect of her life, including her body and sexuality, caught up decades later with Bunny’s pioneering efforts.” The film arrives at a time when the United States and other parts of the Western world are experiencing what many see as a return to more conservative values, from abortion restrictions in some states to the rise of the TradWife trend. Against that background, the sexual revolution represented by Yeager and Playboy can feel surprisingly distant. Did today’s cultural and political climate affect the way you approached the film, and do you see her story as particularly relevant now? “From the very beginning, we knew we wanted to make a film that celebrated Bunny as a pioneer,” Tabsch says. “But I think that during the making of the film we were reminded just how much of a pioneer she really was.” “As we find ourselves in the midst of a return toward more conservative values in America and the West, it only underscores how important stories like this are in reminding us that individuals can create change.” “They can resist social tides, create and shape culture and be revolutionary even if they don’t realize it at the time.” “In that sense, I hope the film, and Bunny’s life and work, can inspire others to forge their own path, especially in a period like the one we are living through, when it sometimes feels as though being different is being vilified.” Yeager was highly successful in her lifetime, yet for many years she was nearly forgotten. Why do you think she faded from the history of photography and popular culture? Did being a woman play a role? “I wrestled with that question for some time,” Scholl says. “The easy answer is that she was a woman in a male-dominated field. But I think there was more to it than that.” “Society changed dramatically when it came to sexuality, and Bunny’s work came to seem almost outdated when measured against the development of pornography that took over American society.” “What Bunny did, creating photographs of the ‘girl next door’ that showed the pride and empowerment of the women she photographed, was eventually recognized, and recognized very significantly.” “In the end, Bunny received the recognition she deserved as an artist and as the greatest pin-up photographer of all time.” message hye9zvzyfg The Grammy-winning singer, 40, has welcomed her first child with fiancé Michael Polansky after repeatedly speaking about her hopes of becoming a mother and calling motherhood her ‘next starring role’  ynet https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/12/rylFqmfKfe/rylFqmfKfe_210_0_755_425_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hye9zvzyfg Sat, 12 Sep 2026 05:01:29 +03:00 Lady Gaga has become a mother for the first time. The Grammy-winning singer, 40, and her fiancé, Michael Polansky, have welcomed their first child together, a source told PEOPLE. Representatives for Gaga did not respond to the magazine’s request for comment. Page Six first reported the news. For years, Gaga has spoken openly about wanting children and eventually making motherhood part of her life. In a December 2019 YouTube video discussing where she hoped to be over the following decade, Gaga said she wanted children alongside continuing her career. “I want to do more movies, I want to have babies,” she said at the time. A few months later, in a March 2020 interview with InStyle, Gaga returned to the subject and described her excitement about becoming a mother. “I will say I am very excited to have kids,” she said. “I look forward to being a mom. Isn’t it incredible what we can do? We can hold a human inside and grow it. Then it comes out, and it’s our job to keep it alive.” Gaga, whose fans have long called her Mother Monster, also joked that she had already developed something of a maternal role within the community around her. “It’s so funny — everyone works out of my house every day. When they come in, I always say, ‘Welcome to the Womb!’ ” she said. More recently, Gaga made clear that motherhood remained one of her biggest personal ambitions. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in October 2025, she was asked about what she wanted from the next stage of her life. “I would like to do many things,” she said of her future plans. “All of these things are open. But what I really want is to be a mom. That’s my next starring role, I hope.” Gaga and Polansky were first romantically linked in 2020 after they were photographed kissing at a New Year’s Eve party in Las Vegas. They made their relationship public soon afterward, appearing together around the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami and later sharing their relationship on Instagram. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the couple quarantined together, spending an extended period at Gaga’s home. A source close to the singer told PEOPLE in April 2020 that they had “been hanging out at her house” and “ordering delivery food” while isolating. Over the following years, the pair largely kept their relationship out of the spotlight while continuing to support one another professionally and through their philanthropic work. Polansky serves as executive director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, while Gaga has long worked on mental health advocacy through her Born This Way Foundation. “Michael is very sweet and supportive,” a source told PEOPLE in 2021. “He is hardworking as well, so he appreciates her focus. They are a great team.” Their engagement became public in July 2024 during the Paris Olympics, when Gaga introduced Polansky as “my fiancé” while speaking with then-French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at a swimming event. Two years later, Gaga has now entered the role she had repeatedly said she hoped would come next: motherhood. message rjf5ffrugx A new Design Museum Holon exhibition explores creative solutions to the climate crisis, from producing drinking water from air to recycling discarded clothing, while some international designers declined to participate Dar Moussafir https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/07/rJ711iEh00fe/rJ711iEh00fe_0_58_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/rjf5ffrugx Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:33:41 +03:00 “The Circle – Designing New Realities,” a new exhibition opening at the Design Museum Holon on Thursday and running through May 2027, sets a fairly ambitious bar with its title alone. And “The Circle” is indeed an impressive and thought-provoking exhibition. That is true not only of the objects on display but also of the approach it takes: an exploration of ecology and humanity’s impact on the environment — and the environment’s impact on humanity. But this time, instead of the familiar narrative of global disaster and biblical-scale catastrophe, the exhibition invites visitors to follow a more optimistic scenario. Can technological advances help us design objects that will lead to a better future? The museum spent about 2 and a half years working on “The Circle,” a large-scale exhibition that spans all of its galleries. It features dozens of projects from Israel and abroad across a range of design fields, including industrial design, fashion design, architecture and visual communication. It also presents developments by startup companies, as well as projects created in collaboration with leading Israeli research institutions, including the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Shenkar. Some of the projects on display are already in use or are expected to enter use soon. Others offer conceptual proposals — ideas intended to open the imagination and encourage visitors to believe in a different reality, perhaps even to embrace a word that has become almost taboo in Israel: hope. 'We don’t get discouraged by the ‘no’ we receive' And if hope is what we are talking about, the exhibition’s international dimension cannot be ignored. While creators from abroad are taking part, bringing them on board appears to be becoming increasingly difficult. There are quite a few international names in the exhibition. How complicated was that in the current circumstances? Liraz Cohen Mordechai, the museum’s acting chief curator: “There are local designers and creators here alongside international ones — from Spain, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Germany and other countries. And this is indeed a very nontrivial thing during the period we are in. As a museum, we have the ability to bring an international perspective, as we have done in almost every exhibition presented here in the past. (Maarten Baas, Patricia Urquiola, Oki Sato, Marcel Wanders, Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh are among the names) “As a museum, we don’t get discouraged by the ‘no’ we receive from one creator or another. As the only design museum in Israel, it is important for us to exhibit creators from abroad alongside supporting local creators, and to do everything we can to bring things from outside in. That is part of our role.” Talia Yanover, who curated the exhibition with Lior Hermoni, manager of the Design Museum’s Aharon Feiner Eden Materials Library, adds: “It was definitely complicated. We had conversations that began and then came back to us with the news that partners or colleagues thought it wasn’t a good idea to participate in the exhibition, or conversations that began and then simply disappeared…” Cohen Mordechai: “Many times, it isn’t necessarily because the creator themselves has a problem with exhibiting in Israel, but because they are concerned about how they will be perceived by the international community of creators if they exhibit at a museum in Israel.” The waste left behind by an exhibition It is not only the exhibits themselves that embody the principles of sustainable design. In an admirable effort, the museum has also sought to apply the exhibition’s principles to the way it is presented. “Exhibition design, at its core, is also something that isn’t very sustainable. In the end, you produce all kinds of display elements and when the exhibition ends, they become waste,” Cohen Mordechai explains as we meet her and the exhibition’s curators during installation. “Throughout the process, we tried to think about what options, alongside the aesthetics and appearance expected at museum standards, would also embody these principles,” she says. “We are the only design museum in Israel, and we take this role and our desire to be at the forefront and bring innovation very seriously. “The idea behind the exhibition is circular design. It is about trying to take from nature what nature knows how to do best and most effectively, combined with innovation, technology and science. We are used to talking about climate in ways that are very frightening and overwhelming. This exhibition is asking not to create fear, but to talk about solutions. Instead of talking about what the problem is, talk about what can be done.” “We don’t want to be afraid to dream — it’s a very significant tool in design and innovation,” Yanover says. “We realized during our research for this exhibition that we are part of a closed system.” What does that mean? “In the world, there is actually no waste. Waste is a fiction. It isn’t a real thing, because it remains with us. It doesn’t disappear from the planet. Everything is one system. We are proposing that design be viewed as something that can encompass the entire system.” Active optimism, despite everything Cohen Mordechai was appointed to the position following the resignation of Mia Dvash, the legendary curator of the Design Museum Holon, amid tensions and disagreements between Holon’s cultural institutions and the municipality that led to the closure or downsizing of several institutions. Among them are the Center for Puppetry and the Center for Digital Art, an institution that produced significant projects in Israel’s art scene and whose operations are set to be significantly reduced. The move led Udi Edelman, who headed the center for years, to resign. For now, the Design Museum’s budgets appear to have remained unchanged, and the municipality continues to recognize the museum’s importance to Israel’s visual and material culture. Cohen Mordechai, who also serves as acting curator of the Israel Cartoon Museum, as her predecessor did, acknowledges the weight on her shoulders and those of the museum but is not afraid. “The burden of proof is enormous. We feel it and we know it. All eyes are on us. The museum has an incredible team, which is a blessing, and from our perspective, we are continuing to be at the forefront of design in Israel,” she says. Yanover agrees: “This is a very complicated period in the country. There will be elections soon, and we don’t know what will happen here, from the outside or within. Part of our mission, all of us, as we really felt it, was to try to create an exhibition with some kind of positive message amid all this chaos. This is active optimism.” Five projects not to miss at 'The Circle' GENNY+ by Watergen There could hardly be a more relevant time, amid the current water crisis at Israel’s desalination facilities, to present Watergen’s device — a home or office water dispenser that produces drinking water from humidity in the air while using minimal resources. The device extracts drinking water from the air and subjects it to carbon filtration and mineralization, restoring minerals to make it high-quality drinking water. The process was demonstrated for us during installation of the exhibition. The company also produces industrial-scale devices that are not displayed at the Design Museum Holon. One can only hope that exposure through the exhibition will help advance such solutions among the Israeli public. 'Orchard' — Ofer Assaf and the MTRL Laboratory at the Technion The first work visitors encounter on the exhibition’s entrance floor is “Orchard,” a kind of architectural pavilion built from bricks 3D-printed from earth. The bricks are made with no waste and are designed to protect young trees while they are still vulnerable to the elements. The design incorporates shelter and habitats for elements of the ecosystem, including bees, birds and fungi. The project examines how contemporary digital tools can be combined with local materials and principles of ecological architecture. To uphold the exhibition’s principles, the olive tree standing inside the pavilion is a real olive tree. It is monitored by the creators and provided with optimal conditions for growth even within the enclosed exhibition space. 'Mitumba' — Merav Gazit and Maya Arazi No fewer than 200 pieces of clothing destined for burial are displayed as blocks in the exhibition, much as they are transported in huge containers to developing countries for disposal. Most of the clothes are still wearable and some have never been worn. According to the exhibition’s curators, data indicate that even if the entire fashion industry — one of the world’s most polluting industries — were to stop producing clothing immediately, there are currently enough garments in existence to meet humanity’s needs for another 50 to 70 years without producing additional items. Beyond the visual impact, the shock created by the sheer mass of clothing piles echoes the iconic installation “Venus of the Rags” by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, in which a marble statue of Venus bows her head before a huge pile of discarded textiles. There is also a technological punchline. The garments destined for disposal are transformed through artificial intelligence into colorful and bizarre clothing systems that treat clothes as data and begin to move beyond the human, generating what can be perceived as “glitches” or as an expansion of our understanding. TOMGROW TECH Tomgrow is an Israeli agtech startup that produces gel-like cubes containing nutrients for plants, replacing the need for soil. Instead of regular watering, the plants can be watered twice a year while still maintaining a thriving green space. Beyond saving water and resources in large spaces such as offices and hotels, the technology could also be a potential lifesaver for home users who cannot seem to stop killing their plants by failing to water them. “Solarpunk” — Gilad Rozenkof, Replica A speculative futuristic video work that explores what Israel’s urban environment might look like in a future where technology is also harnessed to serve ecological goals. In a sense, Rozenkof’s commissioned work encapsulates the idea behind the entire exhibition: to create a fantasy that is neither childish nor implausible or excessively wild about a possible path for humanity, one in which it chooses to apply tools to improve the climate situation. message hkfbxbpogx Sportswear giant says it 'never intended to cause offense' after pro-Palestinian activists targeted an Israeli campaign featuring amputee runner Shalev Biton, who lost his leg to anti-tank fire near Gaza in 2021 Itay Yaacov https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/04/H1gSfitOuGx/H1gSfitOuGx_1_493_1080_608_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hkfbxbpogx Tue, 08 Sep 2026 11:01:46 +03:00 Adidas has apologized for “offense” caused by an Israeli campaign featuring wounded IDF veteran Shalev Biton, after pro-Palestinian activists launched boycott calls over his participation in a promotion for the company’s Single Shoe service. “We recognize that an image used in a recent local activation by the local team has raised concerns and strong reactions. It was never our intent to cause offense and we apologize for anyone affected,” Adidas said in a statement from its global headquarters. “We acknowledge the concerns that have been raised and are taking the feedback seriously.” The company added that it has a “long-standing commitment” to communities across the Middle East and said it would “continue to listen, learn and work to ensure that our actions reflect the inclusive values we stand for.” The apology followed several days of backlash over Biton’s appearance in the Israeli campaign. Biton, an amputee runner, was among a group of disabled athletes promoting Adidas’ Single Shoe service, which allows customers who need only one shoe to purchase a single shoe rather than a pair. Boycott calls spread rapidly on social media, with some posts drawing millions of views. Several accounts accused Adidas of featuring an Israeli soldier who had lost his leg while fighting in Gaza during the current war. Biton, however, lost his leg in 2021, not during the current Gaza war. He served as a combat soldier in Battalion 931 of the IDF’s Nahal Brigade and was seriously wounded on May 12, 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, when an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck a military vehicle on the Israeli side of the border. Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib was killed in the attack. After several surgeries, Biton’s left leg was amputated. He later underwent rehabilitation and returned to running with a prosthetic limb. Biton announced his collaboration with Adidas on Instagram on August 26, saying that after returning to running he repeatedly had to buy full pairs of shoes despite using only one. He described the arrival of Single Shoe in Israel as part of a broader effort to make sports more accessible to people with disabilities. One of the most widely circulated posts against the campaign came from the Land Palestine account on X and drew nearly 4 million views. Other activists circulated images comparing Biton with Palestinian children who lost limbs in Gaza and accused Adidas of ignoring Palestinian amputees. Before issuing its apology, Adidas stressed that Single Shoe was a global accessibility initiative and had not been developed specifically for Israeli soldiers. The company said the service launched in Europe in January 2026 and was developed with communities and professional organizations, including the British Paralympic Association. “We are aware that interpretations in recent days have misrepresented the purpose of the service,” Adidas said in its earlier response. “It is important to clarify that this is a global initiative intended to expand choice and accessibility for athletes and consumers around the world.” Adidas said Single Shoe is now expanding across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including the UAE, Palestine, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt. message ryz00lmh00fx The 59-year-old actress arrived at the Venice Film Festival event with a completely natural face, continuing the makeup-free look that has become one of her signature in recent years Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/07/SkEXV11ndzg/SkEXV11ndzg_0_74_683_385_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/ryz00lmh00fx Tue, 08 Sep 2026 02:46:23 +03:00 Mention Pamela Anderson and most people immediately picture the red swimsuit she wore on the hit series “Baywatch,” along with the rescue buoy that became almost as iconic as she did. In recent years, however, Anderson has ditched the makeup, cosmetic injections and hair extensions, embracing a more natural look. Call us crazy, but in her case, she really doesn’t need any of it. The 59-year-old actress attended the amfAR gala on Sunday night as part of the Venice Film Festival, turning heads in a vivid orange satin gown paired with a matching floor-length shawl. Pamela Anderson is probably one of the last women anyone would have expected to walk a red carpet without a trace of makeup, especially after years as the embodiment of over-the-top ’90s glamour, with pencil-thin brows, heavily lined eyes, defined lips, voluminous blond hair and revealing outfits that left little to the imagination. In recent years, however, the star has done something that once would have seemed completely out of character: She stopped trying to look younger. Anderson now regularly attends events with a completely bare face, allowing wrinkles, pigmentation and other signs of aging to show, and has turned her natural appearance into one of her most recognizable statements. She has said it felt right to go without makeup, describing the decision as a kind of “rebellion,” one that freed her from the expectation that she should always look like the sex symbol the world had grown accustomed to seeing. message s1oobf200gl After seven months abroad, the former Duchess of York is reportedly preparing to rent a six-bedroom home near London for £10,000 a month, hoping intense attention on the Sussexes will allow her to return quietly Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/02/23/HkUILjK00be/HkUILjK00be_0_22_1024_577_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/s1oobf200gl Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:10:58 +03:00 If there was already plenty happening in Britain’s royal orbit, things may be about to get even busier. Less than two weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to the UK with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Sarah Ferguson is reportedly preparing to make her own return after spending the past seven months abroad. The 66-year-old former Duchess of York is expected back in Britain within days after being seen in several European countries, including Switzerland and Austria, during her extended absence. Ferguson is reportedly planning to rent a six-bedroom house in a gated community in the counties surrounding London, for around £10,000 a month. “She’s had her eyes on a return for some time but it takes time to find the right new house,” a source told The Sun. “She hasn’t had to worry about accommodation for 20 years as she had Royal Lodge with Andrew. Now’s the right time to get back to her life.” The timing may be deliberate. A source close to Ferguson told The Sun that with so much attention currently focused on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, she hopes to “slip back under the radar.” The move could reportedly take place as early as Monday. Removal vans tasked with collecting Ferguson’s belongings were seen at the Sandringham home of her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. message h11ftin00fg In a letter to senior UK officials, King Charles clarified Harry and Meghan’s status after their return to Britain: 'Their position is akin to private citizens. Their royal titles remain suspended and are not in use' Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2024/04/30/r14KQN0ZC/r14KQN0ZC_0_26_1024_576_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/h11ftin00fg Mon, 07 Sep 2026 19:13:28 +03:00 Exactly 12 days have passed since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Britain with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, and after endless speculation, King Charles — Harry’s father — has finally addressed their return and clarified their status: Harry and Meghan remain members of the royal family but are not working royals. King Charles approved a letter sent to senior British government officials reaffirming that his younger son and daughter-in-law remain nonworking members of the royal family following their return to Britain, the BBC and other British media outlets reported Monday. In a guidance letter sent to “senior interested parties” in the government, military and organizations representing the royal family across the country, Charles said Harry and Meghan’s royal styles remain suspended and that they should be treated as private individuals. The king also made clear that “any operational security issues should continue to be directed to the relevant police authorities.” The guidance was issued on the king’s instructions by the most senior official in his royal household, the Lord Chamberlain. Palace officials said the letter was sent in full coordination with the Sussexes’ stated wish to remain private citizens while in Britain and in accordance with what has become known as the “Sandringham agreement,” which remains in effect. The letter stated: “Following the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to relocate to the U.K., we have received a number of requests for guidance. To help avoid doubt or confusion, the King has directed that the following information be shared. It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the Sovereign, and are no longer working members of the Royal Family. “This position, distinct from the state and royal duties undertaken by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected.” The letter continued: “There is no change to the current status of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Their ‘His Royal Highness’ and ‘Her Royal Highness’ styles remain suspended and are not in use. The duke and duchess’ work on behalf of charitable organizations is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.” message sjy00iq5oze Petition says rapper used his MetLife Stadium opening set to call for ‘Free Palestine’ and perform ‘Hind’s Hall’ against Gaza imagery, arguing Sheeran’s stage should not be used for one-sided political messaging ynet Global https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/06/Hyqliq9ufe/Hyqliq9ufe_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sjy00iq5oze Sun, 06 Sep 2026 10:53:20 +03:00 An Israeli-American advocacy group is calling on Ed Sheeran to remove rapper Macklemore from the remaining dates of his Loop Tour after accusing the opening act of using Sheeran’s MetLife Stadium concert in New Jersey to promote a one-sided anti-Israel political message. The Israeli-American Council, or IAC, launched a petition addressed to Sheeran, tour organizers and the venues hosting the remaining shows after Macklemore used his opening set before more than 80,000 people to call for “Free Palestine” and perform his song “Hind’s Hall” while images from Gaza and other political messaging appeared on the stadium’s giant screens. “This was an Ed Sheeran concert, not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the petition says. “The issue is not whether Macklemore has the right to hold political views. The question is where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.” The group argues that the presentation relied on “selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity.” The petition also singles out Macklemore’s decision to perform “Hind’s Hall,” a song written in support of the pro-Palestinian campus protest movement. The title refers to the name protesters gave Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall after demonstrators broke into and occupied the building during campus protests. The IAC said the song’s inclusion made the political nature of the performance unmistakable. “The decision to perform ‘Hind’s Hall’ was not incidental,” the petition says, arguing that some of the campus protests involved trespassing, building occupations, vandalism and other violations of the law. The IAC is demanding that Macklemore be removed from the remaining tour dates and that organizers establish clear boundaries on the use of the concert stage for political messaging. “Freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility. Your show. Your stage. Your responsibility,” the petition says. The group is also urging supporters to contact Live Nation directly and demand action. The Israeli-American Council, founded in Los Angeles in 2007, describes itself as the largest Israeli-American community organization in the United States, with operations in 100 communities and on 58 campuses. Since October 7, the organization says it has expanded its activity around antisemitism, efforts to support the hostages, leadership programs and partnerships with pro-Israel groups across the United States. message sjghmycugx British-Nigerian influencer Igo 'Tiny' Obiribwo, 43, died less than 24 hours after the cosmetic procedure; an inquest found hyaluronic acid reached his lungs and caused a fatal pulmonary embolism ynet https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/06/SkX1vuuqOze/SkX1vuuqOze_0_287_1440_811_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sjghmycugx Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:10:20 +03:00 A wealthy British-Nigerian influencer known for showcasing luxury homes and lavish vacations died during one of those trips after undergoing a cosmetic penis enlargement procedure in Bangkok, an inquest has found. Igo “Tiny” Obiribwo, 43, received injections of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine intended to increase the girth of his penis at an unnamed clinic in Thailand on March 5. Less than a day later, he died from a pulmonary embolism while vacationing with his wife, fashion designer and celebrity Danielle Simba Allen. According to the investigation into his death, doctors injected 40 milliliters of the substances during the procedure. Obiribwo and his wife were staying at the Marriott hotel in Bangkok at the time. After the treatment, the couple went for a massage. There, Obiribwo complained of chest pain and lost consciousness twice. He was taken by ambulance to Sukumvit Hospital, where he was initially alert enough to answer medical staff’s questions. His wife told doctors about the filler injection, but he lost consciousness before they were able to perform a CT scan. Doctors diagnosed a pulmonary embolism, a blockage in a blood vessel in the lungs, and transferred him to intensive care. Hospital staff attempted to resuscitate him for more than 100 minutes, but he died in the early hours of March 6, about a day after the procedure. His death was examined in an inquest at West London Coroner’s Court, the public legal process used in Britain to establish the circumstances of sudden or unusual deaths. Because Obiribwo died in Thailand, his body was returned to Britain for a postmortem examination and the inquest. The British autopsy found cellular material in his lungs consistent with the hyaluronic acid that had been injected into his penis. Pathologist John du Parc told the hearing that the finding was consistent with a pulmonary embolism and also matched the conclusions of the postmortem examination carried out in Thailand. London coroner Jean Harkin ruled this week that Obiribwo died as a result of a cosmetic procedure carried out abroad and recorded the cause of death as a pulmonary embolism caused by the hyaluronic acid injection. Obiribwo’s family doctor in London told the hearing that he had previously undergone joint surgery, was prediabetic and suffered from gout, but was otherwise healthy. Medical experts have repeatedly warned that penis filler injections can cause serious complications. Prof. Vaibhav Modgil, a consultant urological surgeon and andrology specialist in Britain’s National Health Service, has warned that the procedure can have devastating consequences. Hyaluronic acid injections for penis enlargement can cost thousands of shekels and sometimes tens of thousands, depending on the amount of filler used. Their effect typically lasts only six to nine months. Possible complications include loss of sensation, erectile dysfunction, infection, inflammation and deformity caused by scarring. Obiribwo, who was also known as “Denisy” or “Ego,” had around 185,000 Instagram followers and was known for his extravagant lifestyle. He owned a home valued at about $1.1 million in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw neighborhood and an apartment worth roughly $600,000 in London. He and Allen married in Zimbabwe in 2022 in a lavish ceremony reported to have cost $473,000. In May, Obiribwo was buried in London in a gold-colored coffin that reports said cost more than $745,000. Among those attending the funeral were his friend, Nigerian singer Davido, and Cubana Chief Priest, also known as the “Celebrity Barman.” Cubana Chief Priest paid tribute to him in an emotional message: “Rest in peace, my brother. Even in death, we kept up the lifestyle for you. Today London stood still for you, Tiny. We love you, celebrate your life and will never forget you, my brother. We lived life, my brother, good memories.” message byhqrr500gx  'The Darkest Light' examines the sexual misconduct allegations that have shadowed his legacy, as his daughter Neshama and filmmaker Simon Mendes confront how to reconcile his spiritual influence with claims of profound harm Ayala Or-El https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/06/S18fPSqOMe/S18fPSqOMe_0_89_1980_1115_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/byhqrr500gx Sun, 06 Sep 2026 05:04:05 +03:00 “To me my dad was just so famous. Everywhere we went, there were just throngs of people. He was larger than life, we were best friends,” says Neshama Carlebach of her dad, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, in the new documentary, "The Darkest Light." Then she continues: “I thought I knew him but now as I look back, I realize I didn’t know him at all. What do you do when there’s someone that you really love and then you find out they did something, or some things, that were really terrible? What do you do with that?” For Carlebach’s devoted followers, the film, directed by Simon Mendes, may come as a shock. But the allegations against the beloved singing rabbi are not new. In 1998, "Lilith", an American Jewish feminist magazine, published an extensive investigation into what it described as Carlebach’s “shadow side,” reporting allegations of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances and sexual abuse. The article included accounts from women who said they were as young as 12 and 14 when the alleged incidents occurred, as well as adult women who described sexually charged late-night phone calls, unwanted attention and sexual advance. Yet a documentary is another thing. "The Darkest Light" brings the allegations and the complicated legacy of Carlebach back into public view, forcing those who grew up loving his music and teachings to confront a question that Neshama herself is now asking: How do you reconcile the person you loved with the possibility that he caused profound harm to others? Mendes developed the film while serving as a filmmaker-in-residence at the Jewish Film Institute in 2022. In the film, several women tell their stories of meeting Carlebach, a man they admired and looked up to, and how devastated they were when he allegedly made sexual advances toward them. This was not just any man. Carlebach was a rabbi who supported women’s rights and encouraged women to sing publicly, something that was frowned upon in much of the Orthodox community at the time. Neshama began singing in synagogue after he invited her to perform with him. It took Neshama some time to acknowledge the women who made allegations against her father. She struggled to reconcile their accounts with the loving father she knew. That changed after the #MeToo movement gained momentum. In January 2018, she published a blog in The Times of Israel titled “My Sisters, I Hear You,” in which she expressed solidarity with women who had come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Her decision to speak out came at a professional cost. Some synagogues and Jewish communities that revered her father were angry with Neshama for publicly acknowledging the allegations against him, and invitations for her to perform began to dry up. By speaking out, Neshama found herself facing the anger of some of the very communities that had embraced her for years. Mendes first approached Neshama after reading her blog and listening to interviews in which she spoke about her father and his legacy. In an interview with Ynet from his home in New York, he said he was struck by the two realities of Shlomo Carlebach: the beloved teacher and extraordinary musician, and the man accused by women of sexual abuse. “I called Neshama and I got the sense that it was very important for her to try to acknowledge both realities of her dad at once,” said Mendes. For Mendes, Neshama’s willingness to confront both sides of her father’s legacy became the starting point for a film about the difficult process of reconciling love and admiration with allegations of profound harm. Mendes said Neshama has lost much of the community she grew up with, particularly among those who believe she “threw her father under the bus.” Despite this, she agreed to participate in the film, a decision Mendes described as “courageous.” He believes Neshama’s decision to publicly acknowledge the women’s accounts has changed the conversation, even among some who remain skeptical of the allegations. “By her putting herself out there and stating that she believes the women, it adds a certain legitimacy to it,” he said. “I’ve seen people, even those in the denial camp, when it’s revealed that Neshama talks about this too, it kind of changes the conversation.” Mendes has gotten his share of pushbacks and criticism for making the film. “People say, ‘Why bring this up? This is just pure lashon hara. He’s not alive to defend himself. There’s no evidence. You’re going to ruin Shlomo for all the followers and younger generation. What’s the point? What’s this going to accomplish?’” Some critics also argue that Carlebach did far more good than harm and that bringing these stories to light only fuels further antisemitism. Mendes sees the backlash as part of a pattern that has resurfaced at different points over the years — during Carlebach’s lifetime, after the Lilith investigation, during the #MeToo movement and now with the release of his film, which premiered at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 19. Each time, he says, the same fundamental question returns: What should a community do with the legacy of a man whose music and teachings brought so much light to people’s lives while women were coming forward with deeply troubling allegations about his behavior? To understand why Carlebach’s legacy is so complicated, it is important to understand just how influential he was. Born in Berlin in 1925, Carlebach came to the United States with his father in 1939, as the Nazi threat was engulfing Europe. He went on to become one of the most influential figures in modern Jewish music and became known as “The Singing Rabbi.” In the late 1950s, Carlebach began composing melodies, mostly setting verses from the Bible and Jewish prayer to his own music. He eventually wrote thousands of melodies. His soulful, Hasidic-influenced songs crossed religious and denominational boundaries and became staples in synagogues, prayer groups and Jewish communities around the world. Carlebach performed extensively across the United States and in Israel, building a devoted following with his guitar, his music and his charismatic performances. Songs such as "Am Yisrael Chai", "Esa Einai" and "Od Yishama" became part of the broader Jewish musical repertoire. His influence is perhaps most evident in the fact that his melodies have become so deeply embedded in Jewish prayer that they are often sung by people who may not even realize they are singing a Carlebach composition. His music continues to be performed across denominations and in synagogues around the world, decades after his death in 1994. Can the music be separated from the man? For Mendes, the answer is yes. He can still listen to and enjoy his music, much like one of the alleged victims featured in the film. “I really love Shlomo’s music,” he said. “To this day, it’s the music that makes me feel kind of most Jewish. I love to sing his melodies.” At the same time, Mendes believes enjoying the music does not mean ignoring the darker side of Carlebach’s legacy. “I think we have to make space to talk about his abuses,” he said. “I can separate it and I feel that I can still sing his music, but it has to be done thoughtfully.” Mendes, who grew up Modern Orthodox on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, hopes the film will encourage people to have difficult conversations rather than shy away from them. “You may love a rabbi who did many things for your spiritual growth, but if there’s another side that needs to be talked about, we can’t just cover that up. We have to be willing to hold people accountable for the harm they caused.” message b1tkbxeufl As AI-powered cameras become better at identifying and tracking people, European designers are exploiting algorithmic weaknesses with prints, infrared lights and signal-blocking accessories Itay Yaacov https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/31/H1WQv1mdMx/H1WQv1mdMx_0_277_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/b1tkbxeufl Fri, 04 Sep 2026 21:59:18 +03:00 It is becoming increasingly difficult to disappear. Just ask Israeli mother and daughter Mali and Liel Yahalomi, who became the focus of a frantic search before they were found in Argentina and finally left alone. Security cameras watch streets, railway stations, airports, shopping centers and stadiums. All you have to do is look up and scan your surroundings. In many places, you will spot municipal signs warning that cameras are operating in the area, supposedly to protect us and keep us safe. But do they? In 2026, AI-powered systems are capable not only of recording people but of identifying them, tracking them and potentially linking appearances across different public spaces. In Britain, for example, police have expanded their use of Live Facial Recognition systems, including plans to install permanent cameras on Oxford Street, alongside deployment of the technology at London Underground stations. In Israel, meanwhile, the Knesset in May 2026 extended the temporary order governing the country’s biometric database. As the technology spreads, so does anxiety about its use. Studies have found that in some systems, Black and Asian people face a higher risk of being misidentified than white people. In Britain, public concern is already significant: a recent poll cited by The Guardian found that about 60% of respondents viewed facial recognition technology as “another step toward turning Britain into a surveillance society.” Now, a new generation of British designers is positioning privacy as fashion’s next big trend, using clothing to weaken facial recognition systems through “adversarial clothing”, incorporating sophisticated combinations of shapes, colors and repeating motifs designed to exploit weaknesses in computer vision systems and disrupt its ability to identify faces. Experts caution, however, that their effectiveness varies depending on the surveillance system and the conditions in which they are used. Nick Tidball, co-founder of tech-focused fashion brand Vollebak, does not currently produce clothing designed to hinder recognition, but he believes “anti-surveillance fashion” is on the verge of breaking into the mainstream. “Anti-surveillance feelings are so widespread that all it would take is for a single celebrity to wear one of these garments to a high-profile event for it to take off,” he told The Guardian. Currently it is “popular in the countercultural fashion world,” he said. One of the most prominent brands in the field is Urban Privacy, based in Leipzig, Germany. The label was founded in 2017 by designer Nicole Scheller as part of her fashion design graduation project, and product designer Daniel Preuß later joined her. On its website, the brand says it has developed a range of clothing and accessories intended to protect users’ privacy by disrupting data transmission. Among its products is OFLAIN, a smart smartphone pouch that promises to “make you disappear from the network whenever you want.” In practice, it works like a Faraday cage, using conductive material to surround the device to block or weaken electromagnetic signals. When the phone is inside the pouch, it should no longer be able to communicate normally with cellular networks, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS. Preuß explained that no garment can guarantee immunity from surveillance systems, but the company’s designs use oversized prints and asymmetrical cuts to confuse facial recognition algorithms. The Urban Ghost coat, for example, incorporates LED lights into its hood that emit infrared light intended to disrupt surveillance cameras equipped with night vision. Preuß said the designs exploit a relatively simple weakness in facial recognition systems. “Facial recognition systems freak out when they see multiple faces at once,” he told The Guardian. “Our patterns play with that chaos, confuse algorithms and make it way harder to pin you down,” he explained. Another brand operating in this space is Cap_able, which offers colorful clothing covered in abstract prints. “When I started doing this in 2018, people thought I was designing masks to rob banks,” founder Rachele Didero said, according to The Guardian. “But now these concerns are no longer niche. New generations are increasingly afraid of AI and concerned for their privacy. Those wearing these products are the vanguard. The mainstream is quickly coming up behind them,” she added. Social media has already embraced the aesthetic of surveillance cameras. British fashion figure Alexa Chung recently shared an Instagram post showing her look through the security camera outside her London home. She joins other influencers and celebrities who have adopted the camera’s point of view as part of their visual language, but the next step may no longer be simply posing in front of a surveillance camera; it may be wearing one. In June, Meta and eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica unveiled Meta Glasses, a new range of AI-enabled smart glasses starting at $299. The lineup includes several frame designs as well as a collection created with Kylie Jenner and inspired by her personal style. Behind what looks like a conventional fashion accessory is a system incorporating a camera, microphones and speakers connected to Meta’s AI technology. Surveillance technology thus becomes harder to recognize as surveillance: instead of being mounted on a street pole or at a building entrance, it is worn on the face, making it seem less threatening and therefore less likely to provoke resistance. message hjr0rkoume Avi Issacharoff challenged the Hollywood star’s repeated Gaza ‘genocide’ claims during a London panel, as Ruffalo faces renewed controversy over comments tied to the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal ynet https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/04/HkTydOuuGe/HkTydOuuGe_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hjr0rkoume Fri, 04 Sep 2026 20:59:49 +03:00 “Fauda” co-creator Avi Issacharoff sharply criticized Mark Ruffalo’s interpretation of the Israel-Hamas war, including the Hollywood actor’s repeated claims that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza. According to Variety, Issacharoff made the remarks during a panel in London. “Mark Ruffalo saying ‘Genocide, genocide.’ Then you know that there’s a kind of people that are ignorant, there are some people that are stupid. He’s a rare combination of those two,” Issacharoff said. “I’m sorry to say that,” the Middle East analyst and producer continued. “Do you understand what it means ‘genocide’? Do you, as a lead actor in Hollywood, understand that when Israel allows every day 600 trucks of food and supply to go into Gaza, they are not intending or planning to kill the people of Palestine?” He continued: “Do you understand if more people were born during the war in Gaza than died, so no one was trying to eliminate those people and the only ones that were trying to commit genocide were Hamas people? And that guy and many other people don’t get it.” Issacharoff, a journalist and security affairs commentator for ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth, co-created the hit Israeli series “Fauda” with actor Lior Raz. The show’s fourth season is set to return to Netflix next week. In recent weeks, Ruffalo has emerged as one of the most prominent opponents of the roughly $111 billion deal under which David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The controversy intensified after Ruffalo moved beyond criticism of potential layoffs and media consolidation and directly connected the proposed acquisition to his views on Israel and the war in Gaza. In a social media post, Ruffalo accused a Jewish member of Paramount’s board of “reveling” in “genocide.” Paramount responded forcefully, accusing Ruffalo of invoking antisemitic imagery in the context of a corporate dispute and saying that using terms such as “genocide” and “apartheid” in connection with the business deal crossed a line. Ruffalo responded that the accusation was “appalling and fundamentally dishonest.” “Criticism of the actions of Israel’s Prime Minister, a military tech contract or the executives supplying it is not the same as criticism of Jewish people,” he said. Earlier this week, more than 170 Jewish figures from the entertainment industry signed a letter supporting Ruffalo and denouncing what they described as a smear campaign against him. The letter followed a post Ruffalo shared with his 20.5 million Instagram followers featuring a video of Safra Catz, the Holon-born former Oracle CEO who now serves as the company’s executive vice chair and sits on Paramount’s board. Ruffalo claimed that the company operates an “apartheid system of oppression” and is involved in “genocide.” He also described Larry Ellison, whose wealth is financing his son’s acquisition, as a “classic oligarch.” message b1o5jzdomg Amid renewed tensions over Iran and the Middle East, the US president finds time for the Sussexes, saying they treated the royal family ‘with great disrespect’ Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2025/09/08/Syzu78mnqxx/Syzu78mnqxx_0_73_2736_1541_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/b1o5jzdomg Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:22:07 +03:00 At a time when tensions in the Middle East are once again rising, and Israelis are hanging on every statement from US President Donald Trump as they try to work out whether another escalation with Iran is coming, Trump has still found time for another pressing subject: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s departure from the United States. Trump said Wednesday that he was “happy” Harry and Meghan had left California and returned to Britain, adding that, had he been in the royal family’s position, he would not have welcomed them back. “I’m happy about it,” Trump told reporters during a question-and-answer session following a White House press conference. “I was not a fan.” Trump then turned to his own relationship with Britain’s royal family. “I had a very good relationship with the queen, really good. I got to know her very well,” he said. “A really good relationship with King Charles. I knew him as Prince Charles and King Charles. I’ve known him for a long time.” Trump described Charles as a “great, great guy” and said he believed Harry and Meghan “treated the royal family with great disrespect.” “I didn’t like it,” he said. “If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back.” Trump has never tried to hide the fact that he is no admirer of the couple, and Meghan in particular has repeatedly drawn his criticism. In 2020, nine months after the couple’s highly publicized split from royal duties, Trump wished Harry “a lot of luck” after Harry and Meghan urged Americans to vote in that year’s presidential election. “I’m not a fan of hers,” Trump said at the time. “I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he’s going to need it.” Trump has also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Harry’s US immigration status. After previously suggesting the prince could face consequences if he had not been truthful on his visa application, Trump later said: “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.” His latest remarks again focused on what he sees as the couple’s treatment of the monarchy, while emphasizing his affection for Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles. Trump said Harry and Meghan had treated the royal family “with great disrespect,” making clear that their conduct toward the monarchy was at the heart of his criticism. “I didn’t like it,” he said. Harry and Meghan returned to Britain last week, six years after leaving the UK for North America. They had lived in California since 2020 and have not publicly detailed their long-term plans, amid speculation over how long they intend to remain in Britain and where they will live. The couple stepped away from official royal duties in 2020 and are expected to remain private individuals. They are also not expected to be offered the hybrid “half-in, half-out” arrangement they sought at the time, which Queen Elizabeth rejected. Their return has also revived questions over security arrangements and whether British taxpayers could ultimately bear any of the cost. message hyevo0luzl Guests at Dan Carmel and Dan Panorama can book festival packages that include admission to opening ceremony or passes for four screenings; opening event programl includes Yuval Raphael, Iranian-British singer Gola and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra  ynet Global https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/03/HJP1AR8dfg/HJP1AR8dfg_0_49_924_521_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hyevo0luzl Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:35:29 +03:00 Dan Hotels will sponsor this year’s Haifa International Film Festival and is offering special accommodation packages tied to the event at its Dan Carmel and Dan Panorama properties in the city. The packages include either admission to the festival’s opening night or a pass for four festival screenings, along with an overnight stay. Guests booking a night at either hotel on September 26 will receive an invitation to the festival’s opening event at Haifa’s Auditorium complex. The evening is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception in Hecht Garden, followed by an 8 p.m. opening ceremony hosted by actor Lior Ashkenazi. The program will include performances by Yuval Raphael, Iranian-British singer Gola and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eran Rami. Director Avi Nesher is set to receive a lifetime achievement award during the ceremony, which will conclude with a screening of the opening film, “Our Loves,” attended by Nesher and members of the cast. The opening-night package at Dan Panorama Haifa starts at 849 shekels for two, including breakfast, for members of the hotel chain’s e-dan club. A second package, available for stays between September 26 and October 3 at either Dan Carmel or Dan Panorama Haifa, includes a four-film festival pass. That package starts at 912 shekels for two at Dan Panorama Haifa, including breakfast, for e-dan members. The Haifa International Film Festival is one of Israel’s leading annual film events, drawing local and international filmmakers, actors and audiences to the city each year. message r1mkn5zdgx An abandoned car, a fur coat and a cheating husband: Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance gripped Britain and baffled investigators; as Hollywood revisits the mystery, we look back at the drama and the trauma reflected in her writing Smadar Shiloni https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/05/26/HJCNA6fxze/HJCNA6fxze_0_0_3000_1688_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/r1mkn5zdgx Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:23 +03:00 In an age when the ability to come up with an original story is becoming increasingly rare, it is hardly surprising that Hollywood is once again rummaging through history’s junkyard. This time, the subject is a mystery writer who was becoming the hottest name in the British market when, one fine day, she vanished for 11 days and drove an entire kingdom into a frenzy. The writer was Agatha Christie, then at the beginning of her commercial ascent, and the fact that it happened exactly a century ago has not stopped Hollywood from officially announcing a film based on the story of her disappearance. British actress Felicity Jones (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) will play Christie, alongside French actor Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan”), who will portray a retired Belgian police detective drawn into the investigation — a none-too-subtle nod to Christie’s most famous character, Hercule Poirot. The thriller, titled “Eleven Missing Days,” will be based on Jared Cade’s book and will approach the disappearance much as the press did at the time: as a classic whodunit in which life imitates art and everyone around Christie immediately becomes a suspect. But the casting of Jones offers hope that Hollywood may also manage to view, with compassion and through contemporary eyes, the real story behind the disappearance: the spectacular psychological collapse of a woman trying to escape reality in order to survive. Personal tragedy, national circus Dec. 4, 1926. Interwar England wakes to an exceptionally cold morning in Surrey. On the edge of a steep, frost-covered slope just above a deep chalk quarry hangs a car, half suspended in the air and half on the ground. Its hood is buried deep in the bushes, the driver’s door is open and the headlights are still on. When sleepy local police officers approached the vehicle, they found several items inside — pieces of a puzzle that would occupy all of England in the days ahead. There was an expensive fur coat, a toiletry bag containing women’s clothing and an expired driver’s license bearing the name Agatha Christie. The driver, however, was nowhere to be found. Today, we are accustomed to reality sometimes outdoing fiction, but in this case the boundary between Christie’s books and her life did not merely blur — it vanished altogether. Christie, the writer who helped invent the modern mystery plot, simply disappeared. Not for one evening, but for 11 full days, bringing an entire kingdom to a standstill. There was no shortage of speculation: She had been murdered by her cheating husband. It was a publicity stunt to promote her new book. Perhaps it was a failed suicide attempt. The truth may have been out there somewhere, but unlike in Christie’s novels, there was no cathartic solution. The story of her disappearance remains largely unexplained. In 1926, Christie was hardly a picture of psychological well-being. Her mother, with whom she shared a relationship described as “devotion that became obsessive,” had died shortly before, and months spent caring for her had left the writer physically and emotionally exhausted. Her publisher was pressuring her to move forward with her next books, and the night before her disappearance came the final blow that made her life unbearable: Her husband, Col. Archibald Christie, told her he was having an affair with a younger woman named Nancy Neele and wanted a divorce. Immediately after the argument, Archibald left the house to spend the weekend with friends and his desired mistress, leaving Christie behind, devastated and lost. At about 9:45 that evening, Christie wrote a note to her secretary, Carlo, saying she was going to Yorkshire “to recuperate,” then went upstairs to the room of her 7-year-old daughter, Rosalind. The girl was asleep. Christie kissed her, left the house, got into the Morris Cowley she had bought with the proceeds from her first books — whose flattened front had earned it the nickname “Bullnose” — and drove off without telling anyone where she was going. A local worker named Edward McAllister later went to police and said that at about 6:20 the following morning he had helped a woman matching Christie’s description start the car. She was wearing only light clothing in the freezing cold, he said, and was shivering, confused and frightened. The condition of Christie’s car and the objects found inside puzzled police. Once news of her disappearance spread, hundreds of thousands of worried members of the public were drawn in as well, all eager to take part in what amounted to the era’s version of a crowdsourced detective investigation. The theories ranged from a failed suicide attempt and losing control of the car to suspicion that her husband had murdered her, or that Agatha had coldly tried to frame him for murder — or at least prevent him from spending the weekend with his mistress. Either way, the case became a national circus on a scale that is difficult to imagine today. British police reports reveal mass hysteria: 1,000 police officers and more than 15,000 volunteers set out to search the hills and forests of Surrey, while Home Secretary William Joynson-Hicks pressured police to accelerate the search. Even Christie’s colleagues in the world of detective fiction were swept up in the case and felt compelled to put their sleuthing talents to use. Dorothy L. Sayers, creator of Lord Peter Wimsey, went to the site where Christie’s car had been abandoned to examine the clues herself. And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — the man who gave the world Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate symbol of scientific and analytical rationalism — took a glove belonging to Christie and brought it to a famous medium in the hope that the supernatural might solve the case. The 1920s were the golden age of Britain’s tabloid press, and drama, sensation and preferably a little blood were the fish and chips of the newspapers. Christie’s story had every ingredient they could have asked for: a wealthy and famous woman, a husband with a formidable military background, a young mistress in the wings and a crime scene that seemed lifted from a Hercule Poirot novel. Every newspaper wanted a piece of the drama, and some even tried to steer the investigation, including by suggesting that nearby Silent Pool be drained in case Christie had drowned there. Some spread rumors that police had scrambled a fleet of aircraft and complained that the operation was costing taxpayers the fantastic sum of 12,000 pounds. But a police report in Britain’s National Archives showed that the search itself had cost just 25 pounds. The planes circling overhead did not belong to police but were privately hired by newspapers seeking exclusive aerial photographs. Agatha Christie was finally discovered 11 days later in the one place no one had thought to look. While thousands of volunteers froze in the forests and mediums sniffed gloves, Christie had boarded a train, traveled about 300 kilometers north and checked into the luxurious Old Swan spa hotel in the resort town of Harrogate. And make no mistake: She was not hiding in her room behind drawn curtains. She chatted casually with other guests, attended dances, played billiards and enjoyed everything the hotel had to offer. She came down for meals, leafed through the morning papers and, in one particularly eerie moment, even remarked to a hotel employee that she looked a little like the woman everyone was searching for. The person who finally recognized her was a banjo player in the hotel band named Bob Tappin, who noticed that the face staring out from the pages of the daily newspapers was sitting every evening at the hotel’s dining tables. The investigation revealed that Christie had arrived at the hotel on the day she disappeared and registered under the assumed identity Teresa Neele of Cape Town. Her decision to use the surname of her husband’s mistress led some police officers to believe that the disappearance had been an ingenious revenge plot designed to humiliate Archie and expose his affair before the entire nation. But it could also be read as disturbing evidence of the depth of Christie’s psychological trauma: The trauma had become embedded in her new identity. When police received the confirmed report, they summoned Archibald to the hotel. Anyone expecting a dramatic scene when the two met was disappointed. Witnesses said Christie treated him like a distant acquaintance, remaining polite but detached. At one point, she said she would be happy to speak with him, but he would have to wait in the lobby because she needed to go upstairs and change into an evening dress before dinner. The theory that the disappearance was a publicity stunt for her new book was equally flimsy. Christie was an introverted woman who disliked publicity and fought fiercely to preserve her privacy. Her publisher was furious about the entire incident, viewing it as embarrassing publicity rather than a marketing opportunity. Later explanations focused on a nervous breakdown and memory loss, or more specifically a condition known as “dissociative fugue,” in which psychological stress becomes so overwhelming that a person effectively disconnects from their previous identity while remaining capable of functioning. The theory was that the enormous pressure Christie was under caused her to lose her sense of identity and flee reality. Doctors who examined her said she had suffered a mild concussion and complete amnesia. Christie eventually returned home and to her daughter. Her divorce from Archie became final in 1928. He married Nancy Neele, while Agatha continued writing and went on to become the most successful novelist of all time. In 1930, she traveled alone to Baghdad on a one-way ticket, seeking to escape the gossip and the pain that would not let go. There she met Max Mallowan, an archaeologist 14 years her junior. A few weeks later, he proposed and she refused. It took several months before Christie realized he was not going anywhere. They married, and she finally found happiness and stability. She was later credited with the line, “An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her.” Christie joined Mallowan on expeditions through the Middle East, journeys that inspired some of her later novels. For decades, the accepted narrative was that Christie refused to speak about the 11 missing days and omitted them entirely from her autobiography. But historian Lucy Worsley uncovered a lengthy and candid interview Christie gave the Daily Mail in February 1928, less than two years after the event, apparently in an effort to change the damaging public image that had formed around her and was hurting her efforts to secure custody of Rosalind. In the interview, Christie described how she “left home that night in a state of extreme nervous strain, intending to do something desperate.” She said that on the afternoon before her disappearance she had visited a relative in a nearby town and, on the way back, the thought entered her mind to “drive straight into the building.” She changed her mind because Rosalind was in the car with her. She went on to say that she felt miserable that night and left home, driving aimlessly. She considered drowning herself in a river but decided she was too good a swimmer. From there she drove to London and other places before turning the car toward the quarry. Before the car could plunge over the edge, however, it struck something and Christie’s head hit the steering wheel. From there, she said, she wandered in a dazed state to a train station and boarded a train for Harrogate, a town where she had previously received treatment for neuritis. “I read about Agatha Christie in the newspapers while I was there,” she recalled, “and thought that woman had behaved very foolishly.” According to Worsley, Christie gave the interview to demonstrate that she was not a “bad mother” who had abandoned her daughter and checked herself into a spa for 10 days, but a mother suffering from an illness. The public, Worsley argues, preferred to ignore Christie’s version, in part because British society and culture in the 1920s were simply not equipped to accept the idea of dissociation from one’s identity as a psychological defense mechanism. It was not a rare phenomenon. A considerable number of soldiers returning from World War I struggled with memory loss or fugue states. But psychological trauma without an accompanying physical injury — including what was then called shell shock — was often treated as weakness of character, self-indulgence or deliberate deception. Amnesia or psychological collapse could be viewed as an attempt to avoid military service or responsibility. The fact that Christie was what today might be called an empowered woman did not work in her favor in that conservative society either. Women who crossed gender boundaries and worked in “men’s jobs” often provoked hostility, and the press portrayed her as cold and manipulative. When she disappeared, her daughter was left behind — a fact that further damaged Christie in the public eye. People preferred a narrative of revenge or an elaborate hoax to an explanation rooted in mental illness. Add Christie’s profession — mystery writer — and it was only a short leap to assume she was simply staging the plot of her next novel. The charming, handsome, irresistible man became a red flag But writers have their own way of using information and processing trauma. If it did not work in an interview, no problem — it could work in a book. The subconscious throws nothing away. Those 11 days in December 1926 became a powerful creative engine for Christie, who had already explored the idea of changing identities in books published before her disappearance. But what she experienced split her later writing into two channels: an almost ruthless form of psychological self-examination under a pseudonym and a profound, sobering change in the narrative codes of her famous mysteries. The name she invented this time was Mary Westmacott. The press categorized those books as romances, but anyone looking for a sugary love story instead encountered something closer to a post-mortem examination of the female psyche. In “Unfinished Portrait” (1934), the protagonist, Celia, not only contemplates suicide after her mother dies and her husband leaves her, but is saved at the last moment by a strange man. Yet Celia has little use for melodrama and chooses not to pursue a romance with him because she understands that she does not really know him. It was an expression of Christie’s own regret over marrying, at a young age, an impressive and dazzling man — Archie — whom she barely knew, a marriage that ended disastrously. Westmacott’s next novel appeared in 1944. Christie wrote “Absent in the Spring” in a feverish burst over three consecutive days without sleep. Its protagonist, Joan Scudamore, is a bourgeois woman convinced that she is a perfect wife and mother. She becomes stranded alone for several days at an isolated railway station in the desert, with no books and nothing to occupy her. The enforced silence and absolute isolation compel her to do the most frightening thing known to humankind: look inward. She discovers that her life and her perception of herself are a complete fabrication. It is perhaps the most precise reflection of what may have happened to Christie during those 11 days in Harrogate. The change also reached the detective novels Christie published under her own name. In her early thrillers, before 1926, the heroines were often adventurous young women who fell in love with charismatic, daring, thrill-seeking men. That formula died on the Surrey cliff. In the books that followed, the charming, handsome, irresistible man became almost invariably a red flag — and not infrequently the murderer himself. Male charisma, in Christie’s world, was transformed from a social asset into grounds for suspicion. Her heroines learned from her own experience. They knew to choose the solid, quiet and reliable man, and understood that personal charm is often one of a sociopath’s weapons. In Christie’s later books, changes of identity also frequently evolved from a trick employed by a criminal or detective into a means of psychological survival. In the thriller “Destination Unknown” (1954), the heroine, Hilary Craven, experiences a series of tragedies that echo Christie’s own life: Her young daughter dies and her husband leaves her for another woman. Hilary travels to Morocco with the stated intention of killing herself, but at the last moment she is recruited for a secret espionage mission that requires her to assume another woman’s identity. Buried beneath the detective narratives is the insight that characters’ ability to change identities, adopt false names or fake emotions demonstrates, above all, how blurred and fragile the boundary between truth and fiction can be within the human psyche. Dame Agatha Christie died on Jan. 12, 1976, at the age of 85, leaving behind an almost unimaginable literary legacy: 66 detective novels that made her the best-selling fiction writer in history, surpassed in sales only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She was buried in a quiet, private funeral in Oxfordshire. Mallowan died two years later and was buried beside her. Christie never lost her relevance. The way she defined how Western culture understands suspense, along with the enduring figure of her famous detective Poirot, left a clear trail for generations of creators in the genre who followed her — one that remains visible today, 50 years after her death. message bkxvqesufl Photos and videos showed scratches and dark marks across Parton’s name; Hollywood officials said the star was already scheduled for repairs because of earlier cracks ynet https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/02/BkEWjNS00zg/BkEWjNS00zg_0_40_1448_816_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/bkxvqesufl Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:59:51 +03:00 Dolly Parton’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be replaced after it was vandalized about a week after the country music legend died of cancer at age 80. Photos and videos posted on social media showed dark marks and scratches across Parton’s name. One fan wrote that she had gone to the site with her daughter to leave flowers in Parton’s memory when a cleaning worker told her that a woman had kicked candles placed beside the star and then used one of the broken pieces to scratch it. According to the fan, another man later arrived and took flowers that other visitors had left at the site. Anna Martinez, a spokesperson for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, told TMZ that repair work on Parton’s star had already been scheduled for Tuesday because of cracks that had developed earlier. However, she said fans reported Monday night that the star had also been vandalized. Parton, known as the Queen of Country, was one of the most recognizable and influential figures in American music for more than six decades. Born in Tennessee in 1946, she rose to fame in the 1960s and went on to record a long list of hits including “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You.” She received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. message bkvoafvoze Joel Coen, Hannah Einbinder and Tony Kushner are among signatories rejecting Paramount’s accusations after Ruffalo linked its Warner Bros. takeover to Israel and Gaza ynet https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/01/HJoSu00N00zg/HJoSu00N00zg_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/bkvoafvoze Tue, 01 Sep 2026 20:40:24 +03:00 More than 170 Jewish figures from entertainment, academia and other fields have signed a letter defending Mark Ruffalo against what they describe as a “smear campaign” and “false accusations of antisemitism” directed at the actor. Signatories include Joel Coen, Todd Haynes, Ilana Glazer, Hannah Einbinder, James Schamus, Emma Seligman, Wallace Shawn and Tony Kushner, as well as Israeli creators Einat Weizman, Udi Aloni, Itamar Ziegler and Rachel Leah Jones. “We are Jewish artists, writers, creative professionals, religious leaders and thinkers, and we have a simple message to the world in response to the outrageous smear campaign against our admired colleague Mark Ruffalo: Enough!” the letter said. The signatories argued that allegations of antisemitism were being improperly used against critics who draw a connection between the war in Gaza and political and economic developments in the United States. They said making such a connection was not antisemitic and described speaking out as part of their Jewish moral responsibility. The letter comes after Ruffalo intensified his opposition to the roughly $111 billion deal under which David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, expanding his criticism beyond concerns over layoffs and media consolidation to include his views on Israel and the war in Gaza. In a post to his 20.5 million Instagram followers, Ruffalo shared a video featuring Safra Catz, the Holon-born former Oracle CEO who now serves as the company’s vice chair and sits on Paramount’s board. He accused the company of involvement in what he called an “apartheid system of oppression” and “genocide,” while describing Larry Ellison, whose wealth is financing his son’s acquisition, as a “classic oligarch.” Paramount responded sharply, accusing Ruffalo of employing “purported antisemitic tropes in service of a business dispute.” The company said invoking terms such as “genocide” and “apartheid” in connection with a corporate transaction crossed a line. Ruffalo rejected the accusation Saturday as “shocking and fundamentally dishonest.” “Criticism of the actions of the prime minister of Israel, a military technology contract or the executives who provide it is not the same as criticism of Jews,” he said. The new letter also argues that the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger should not be viewed solely as an ordinary corporate transaction, portraying it instead as part of what the signatories describe as a broader technology and media power project associated with Larry Ellison. “Pointing out the connections between what is happening in Gaza and what is happening in Hollywood is the exact opposite of antisemitism,” the letter said. “For us, it is the very essence of Jewish moral responsibility.” The signatories cited a Washington Post poll that found 61% of American Jews believe Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, asking whether those respondents, too, should be branded antisemitic. The dispute places Ruffalo’s long-standing criticism of Israel at the center of an increasingly contentious Hollywood battle over one of the entertainment industry’s largest proposed corporate transactions, with the argument now extending beyond media consolidation to questions of Gaza, antisemitism and the political influence of some of the technology industry’s wealthiest figures. message rkyeufqozl From confronting racist stereotypes at 18 to ‘Euphoria,’ ‘Dune,’ ‘Spider-Man’ and a fiercely private life with Tom Holland, Zendaya built a rare career on control, patience and near-perfect image management Tzipi Shmilovitz, New York https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/04/09/ryyw61H2Zg/ryyw61H2Zg_0_128_2214_1246_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/rkyeufqozl Mon, 31 Aug 2026 22:16:34 +03:00 In 2015, when she was just 18, Zendaya arrived at the Oscars in a white dress and with striking dreadlocks. As happens almost every time she leaves the house, the attention was immediate. The next day, on E!’s fashion commentary show “Fashion Police,” host Giuliana Rancic said: “Zendaya’s hair looks too heavy for her. She looks like she smells like patchouli oil, or maybe marijuana.” The response was swift: A huge storm erupted on social media, the kind that, years later, can already be described as iconic. Zendaya responded in a post in which she made clear that such descriptions were based on an old, lazy racist stereotype about Black hair. "To say that an 18-year-old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or 'weed' is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive," she wrote, and even included a list of celebrities from various fields who proudly wear dreadlocks. According to her, she chose this hairstyle on purpose - precisely to present it on the most prestigious red carpet of all. That response completely changed the conversation around the incident, shifting it from fashion gossip to a serious discussion of double standards. After all, Kylie Jenner was also wearing dreadlocks around the same time, and the very same “Fashion Police” described her look as “edgy and fashionable.” The fallout from the controversy continued for quite some time. Kelly Osbourne, who was a member of the show’s panel, threatened to resign and later did leave. Rancic was forced to apologize live on E!, saying she had learned a hard lesson about stereotypes and understood the harm she had caused. Zendaya accepted the apology and said she hoped the incident would serve as a learning opportunity for others. Years later, she said in interviews that this was the moment she realized the true extent of her influence. In hindsight, it can also be seen as the moment Hollywood began to understand that it was dealing with much more than just another former child star: A serious star was emerging. Eleven years later, Zendaya turns 30 on Tuesday, as what some would call the biggest star in the world — and in any case certainly one of the biggest. This year, she was simply everywhere: “The Drama”, “The Odyssey”, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, another season of “Euphoria”, and in December she will also return with “Dune: Part Three.” She is a fashion icon, a cultural symbol and one half of a Hollywood power couple everyone seems to love, alongside Tom Holland. She did all of it by following a path that is practically a master class in how to take all the natural cards you were dealt — beauty, charisma, 5-foot-10 height and still somehow the aura of a popular high school student — and combine them with hard work and a smart head, on the way to a status worth $10 million to $15 million per film, at least another $10 million a year from fashion contracts and an image so flawless that it probably has to crack at some point. Just not now. The road out of child stardom Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in an environment that combined loving but strict parenting with the world of performance. Both of her parents, Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu, worked as teachers in public schools in disadvantaged areas of Oakland. At home, the emphasis was on education, values and self-discipline. The name “Zendaya” comes from Shona, a language spoken in Zimbabwe, and means “to give thanks.” Early in her career, she dropped most of her full name and kept only Zendaya as her stage name because she thought it was “a cool name like Prince.” Today, it is hard to believe that Zendaya was so shy as a child that she had to repeat kindergarten for another year just to develop basic social skills. That shyness was also the reason her parents decided to try pushing her toward the performing arts. Zendaya, for her part, loved dressing up from an early age, and when her mother took a second job managing a small theater in California, 7-year-old Zendaya spent her summers there: helping seat the audience, selling raffle tickets and memorizing lines from classic plays. At age 8, she joined a dance troupe specializing in hip-hop, while also beginning work as a child model for major fashion chains. In 2009, at age 13, she auditioned for a Disney series called “Shake It Up.” By then, she already knew a thing or two about what character, drama and costumes could do. When she got the part, her father left his teaching job and moved with her to Los Angeles, while her mother stayed behind to work in Oakland. “Shake It Up” became a huge hit, and Zendaya starred alongside Bella Thorne, who today can be found, among other places, on OnlyFans. But for Zendaya, early success also came at a cost. She has said in the past that she has “a complicated relationship with the idea of working as a child actor,” and that becoming her family’s main breadwinner at just 14 placed enormous pressure on her — above all, taking away her freedom to make mistakes like a normal teenager. The meat grinder that is a Hollywood child-actor career can be extremely brutal. Hayden Panettiere, who died in a terrible tragedy about two weeks ago, is only the latest example of children sent into that world before they really have any say in the matter — and many of them collapse along the way. Even those who survive it, with Selena Gomez perhaps one of the most prominent examples, carry plenty of trauma with them. Somehow, Zendaya managed to make it through that system, in part thanks to a strong family safety net: parents who set clear boundaries with the industry and tried to prevent her from falling into the familiar traps of exploitation and overexposure. When Disney offered her the lead in its next series, “K.C. Undercover,” Zendaya already came with demands of her own. At age 16, she insisted on receiving a co-producer credit and changing the show’s title, which had originally been intended to be “Super Awesome Katy.” She demanded that the family at its center be Black and that her character not be yet another singer or dancer, but a girl skilled in martial arts. Hollywood began to notice that the beautiful Disney girl also had an adult head on her shoulders, and Zendaya began carefully planning her way out of child stardom and into an adult career. 'I just can’t leave my house' Zendaya’s patience was especially impressive. She did not rush immediately into leading roles, but instead took smaller supporting parts, like in “Dune,” and somewhat larger ones, like in “Spider-Man,” while building the connections necessary for the kind of career she wanted. Amy Pascal, who produced the “Spider-Man” films featuring Zendaya together with Kevin Feige, told Vogue: “When she first auditioned for M.J., neither Kevin Feige nor I knew who she was. She wasn’t wearing makeup and was dressed like a normal girl, and we thought, ‘Oh my God, she’s amazing. She has to be in the movie.’ Only then did we discover that she was already a very famous person and we felt like complete idiots.” On HBO’s “Euphoria,” Zendaya got the chance to prove that she could truly act. Her portrayal of Rue Bennett in the exceptionally dark series earned her two Emmy Awards before she turned 27 and finally distanced her from her Disney-star image. The price of that breakthrough was damage to her ability to live a normal life. “When we started working, I realized pretty quickly just how famous she was. She said, ‘Oh, I just can’t leave my house,’” said Mike Faist, who starred alongside her in “Challengers.” If all of that raised doubts for Zendaya about this kind of life, they were difficult to detect from the outside. Quite the opposite: She proved to the major studios that she could be relied on and quickly became one of their favorites. Not only because every project she joins immediately receives special attention, but also because of her extraordinary commitment to it. Even before reaching her current status in film, Zendaya was already a global fashion icon, so every red carpet appearance became a marketing tool in itself. For example, she worked extremely hard to promote the first “Dune”, even though she had a very small role in it. She traveled the world in spectacular futuristic outfits, turned every red carpet appearance into an event and provided the film with enormous exposure that helped secure approval for “Dune: Part Two” — where a much larger and more significant role was already waiting for her. The next step was to make another leap and show that she could truly carry films herself. The first attempt, “Challengers” in 2024, was only a partial success. It grossed $96 million, which was not bad for an adult-oriented film of that kind, but not enough to cover its budget and substantial publicity expenses. On the other hand, the film still helped Zendaya establish herself as an actress for an audience much older than the children who watched “Spider-Man.” The second attempt, “The Drama,” hit the bull’s-eye. The dark romantic drama, alongside Robert Pattinson, was a huge success. Made on a budget of $28 million, it grossed more than $130 million. And there is really nothing more to add about the success of “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man” this summer. Somewhere between the first and second seasons of “Euphoria” and the three “Spider-Man” films, Zendaya became a brand on such a level that no matter what she does, she draws people in. As an actress, she will probably never be Meryl Streep, but she is climbing into the territory occupied in the 1990s by Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock, movie stars who drew audiences simply to see them on the big screen. Hollywood has not had a star like that in a very long time. Jennifer Lawrence almost got there, but unlike Zendaya — who was media-trained from a very young age and for whom it is hard to recall a single controversial quote — Lawrence never learned how to play the game. Which of them is happier is another question. A large diamond ring Zendaya met Tom Holland in 2016 on the set of “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Despite nonstop rumors, the two insisted for years that they were only good friends. In July 2021, paparazzi photographed them kissing in a car in Los Angeles, and a few months later Holland made the relationship Instagram official — which, as everyone knows, is what counts these days. Last June, AI-generated images purporting to show the two at a wedding circulated online, and when no official confirmation followed, it seemed everyone had resigned themselves, brokenhearted, to the fact that it still had not happened. But in an interview with Esquire, when Holland was asked whether he had updated his family about the AI images, he replied: “No, because they were all there, and that’s all you’re getting on that.” Although each of them has a fandom numbering in the tens of millions — and in Zendaya’s case, hundreds of millions — they somehow manage to keep their relationship private. When they are not appearing together in a film, they also generally do not attend each other’s premieres; they rarely go to parties together, and while they are occasionally caught by paparazzi cameras, it never looks like the kind of Hollywood romance studios once would have been eager to cultivate for publicity purposes. At least for now, they are also very far from the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie model of selling their relationship to anyone who wanted it. Even the engagement became public almost by accident: Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes wearing a large diamond ring on her finger and let it do all the talking. Zendaya was already on the runway when Holland was just beginning his journey as Spider-Man in 2017. “We were both very, very young,” she said. “But my career was already in motion and his changed overnight. One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and the next day you’re Spider-Man. I watched his life change, and he handled it really beautifully.” Perhaps because of that, both of them have a fairly good understanding of the price that comes with this level of fame. On a trip together to Paris in the fall of 2022, they planned to visit the Louvre like any other tourists, but museum officials were not thrilled: It was already extremely crowded, and the arrival of two stars of that magnitude would only make things worse. “As I got older, I always felt that when somebody asked for a picture, I had to do it, all the time,” Zendaya told Vogue. “You have to say ‘yes,’ because you have to be grateful that you’re here. And even though I still feel that way, I’ve also learned that I can say no, and I can politely say that I have a day off, or I’m just trying to have a day to myself, and I don’t really have to perform all the time. You just get used to the fact that now I’m also one of these works of art that you yourself go to photograph in a museum. I just have to be completely at peace with that and live my life.” In the end, the Louvre approved a private visit for them after closing time so they could be alone with the Mona Lisa. After all, he is Spider-Man and she is, well, Zendaya. message sys9jbqufg The 2027 show was scrapped after mounting criticism in New York; Galliano said he remains accountable for the pain caused by his past remarks and did not want the controversy to overshadow the museum Itay Yaacov https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/03/17/HkFGnRL9Zl/HkFGnRL9Zl_1_0_850_478_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sys9jbqufg Mon, 31 Aug 2026 21:43:12 +03:00 A month after New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that its major spring 2027 fashion exhibition would be devoted to controversial designer John Galliano, the museum said Monday that the exhibition had been canceled. In recent weeks, opposition had grown to honoring the designer, who was filmed 15 years ago making antisemitic remarks — an incident that led to his dismissal as chief designer at Christian Dior in 2011. After he was dropped by Dior, Galliano spent several years involved in public and private efforts to rehabilitate. The Met, when it announced the show at the end of July, had taken pains to say the exhibit would forthrightly examine Galliano's past mistakes. It also held discussions with Jewish community leaders before announcing the show, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to ward off anticipated backlash. On Sunday, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin criticized the plan to honor Galliano at the Met Gala and said that “our cultural institutions, especially those that receive city funding, have a responsibility to show that hatred and intolerance have consequences.” In an almost incomprehensible irony, the exhibition’s opening night had been scheduled for May 3, 2027, which is also the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. At first there was consideration of moving the opening night, but in the end the decision was made Monday to cancel the exhibition altogether. “I am profoundly grateful to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and particularly to Max Hollein, Andrew Bolton, and Anna Wintour, for the extraordinary honor of proposing an exhibition devoted to my work," Galliano said Monday. "To have my creative journey considered by an institution that I have admired throughout my life moved me more deeply than I can express. I will remain forever grateful for the confidence, care and scholarship that Max, Andrew, Anna and the entire Met team brought to this project.” “After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it," Galliano said in a statement. "I understand that meaningful meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.” The designer also addressed the damage to the museum itself, which in recent weeks had come under fire for choosing to devote an exhibition to Galliano. “I do not want the debate surrounding me to place The Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute,” he added. “I also recognize and respect that an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some." Max Hollein, director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, said in a statement: “Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition.” In the statement, Anna Wintour said, “John’s decision to ask the Museum to postpone the exhibition devoted to his work is very courageous and a measure of the man he is. I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support. His soaring imagination, fed by a lifetime of curiosity and research, is matched by his exceptional craft." For now, the exhibition has been canceled and no information has been given on when, if ever, it might take place. Galliano’s racist remarks were recorded during a well-known incident at the La Perle café in Paris in 2011. According to testimony published during the trial, he turned to a man of Asian descent and said: “Fucking Asian bastard, I will kill you.” To the man’s partner, who was Jewish, he said: “Dirty Jewish face, you should be dead.” When news of the Met exhibition was first announced, parts of the Jewish community in New York and across the United States rallied in support of rehabilitating Galliano’s reputation. Even so, in recent weeks opposition grew to an exhibition devoted to his work in the current climate in the United States, particularly in New York, where Jews have recently been attacked. “The concern was that the exhibition could face significant opposition — not just skepticism, but a sense that it was wrong,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in North America, told The New York Times about a month ago. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote Monday on X: “With antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done from the start. This was the wrong move at the wrong moment. Timing matters." message skncn3zdzl Aharon Bar-Oz wrote to Naomi Shemer 59 years ago to thank her for ‘Jerusalem of Gold’; after his daughter unexpectedly spotted the postcard at Israel’s National Library, the family donated Shemer’s handwritten reply Gilad Cohen https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/30/SkYnWw11dfx/SkYnWw11dfx_0_0_1280_853_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/skncn3zdzl Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:33:36 +03:00 On June 6, 1967, in the middle of the Six-Day War, Israeli soldier Aharon Bar-Oz sat down to write a few words to songwriter Naomi Shemer. “Bravo! And bravo again,” he wrote. “Your song 'Yerushalayim Shel Zahav' (Jerusalem of Gold) has become part of our lives at the outposts. Our guys can’t stop singing it and marveling at it, because a song like this means something special precisely in these days, when the nation is fighting and winning.” Bar-Oz, writing on behalf of a reconnaissance unit in northern Israel, added: “At this very moment our aircraft are bombing the Golan Heights, and your song is playing on the radio. Tuesday, 9:35.” Nine days later, Shemer replied from Tel Aviv. “I am glad that it is already possible to congratulate you and the entire unit on your victory,” she wrote, “and I am pleased to hear that I could help you from afar, at least through song.” The postcard Bar-Oz sent Shemer was preserved in her personal archive and has been displayed for roughly three years as part of the permanent exhibition at Israel's National Library. But until recently, the soldier behind the emotional message remained almost entirely unknown, even though his name appeared on the postcard. That changed during a tour of the library’s visitor center. As a guide showed the letter to a group, one of the visitors suddenly recognized the handwriting on display as her father’s, identifying the long-anonymous soldier as Aharon Bar-Oz The discovery led the library to make contact with the family. It also revealed another piece of the story: Bar-Oz had preserved Shemer’s handwritten reply for nearly six decades. His family has now decided to deposit that letter at the National Library as well. “My sister was there on a work tour, listening through headphones, when she suddenly told the guide, ‘That’s my father,’” said Bar-Oz’s daughter, Inbar. “A week later, I visited as well and already knew what she had discovered. I told the guide to let me know when we reached the Naomi Shemer section because I had something to add. “When we got there, I explained that we also had Naomi Shemer’s reply to my father. It was important to us that it be preserved at the National Library for future generations. This is part of our national heritage.” A song already living among soldiers “Jerusalem of Gold,” one of the best-known songs in Israeli music, was written by Shemer at the request of Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek and performed publicly for the first time at Israel’s national song festival on May 15, 1967, just three weeks before the Six-Day War. After Jerusalem was reunified, the song became a national symbol within days, and Shemer even added a new verse. Bar-Oz’s postcard captures a remarkable moment between two eras: it was written just one day before Jerusalem was reunified, when the song was already part of soldiers’ lives in the field but had not yet become a symbol of victory. “There wasn’t even a table or chair,” Bar-Oz, now 89, recalled. “I had another soldier stand in front of me and used his back as a writing surface. That’s how I wrote the postcard and sent it to Naomi Shemer’s home community Kvutzat Kinneret, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. “What surprised me was that out of hundreds of thousands of mobilized soldiers, everyone was singing ‘Jerusalem of Gold,’ and nobody had written Naomi Shemer a letter of thanks and appreciation. I wrote it simply because it felt right, as we were singing the song all the time.” Bar-Oz, who was also wounded during the war, remembers receiving Shemer’s reply on pink paper, handwritten and dated “Shavuot Eve.” “I framed the letter and hung it on the wall, and I showed it to everyone who came to our home,” he said. “Now the time has come for it to be at the National Library. It must be there, especially for the grandchildren and for those who say, ‘We'd rather die than enlist.’” message h100hmaguzl Less than a week after returning to Britain, the Sussexes are reportedly weighing a sprawling Cotswolds property, with Harry prioritizing privacy and Meghan said to want a home studio as the couple maps out work, school and family life Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2022/09/04/ByC396bgi/ByC396bgi_0_57_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/h100hmaguzl Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:43:25 +03:00 Less than a week after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Britain, reports suggest the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are already thinking big when it comes to where they might live. The couple are reportedly searching for a home in the Cotswolds, the picturesque countryside region west of London, and potential neighbors are already talking. “The neighborhood WhatsApp group is working overtime, and the conversations between the shelves at the deli are buzzing too,” one local resident said. Harry and Meghan have not signed a deal on a new property. According to people familiar with their situation, they are currently staying at a wealthy friend’s home on the outskirts of the Cotswolds. “They’re staying there now, in one of his empty houses, indefinitely,” one source said. Reports have linked the couple to a lavish property priced at around 12 million pounds, but three separate sources said they have not reached that stage. Journalist Alison Boshoff said there are several possibilities under consideration “because there are so many properties on the market right now.” What does appear clear is that the Sussexes are looking at homes at the very top end of the market. Friends in California have reportedly questioned whether the scale of the purchase could force them to sell their Montecito home. “They’ll have to sell the Montecito house,” one U.S.-based source said after being shown details of a property the couple were said to be considering. After hearing the asking price and seeing the size of the estate, the source reportedly responded: “What?! That can’t be!” Other friends, however, insist Harry and Meghan intend to keep their Montecito estate, valued at around 11.1 million pounds, and use it during school vacations. They are also reportedly planning to retain their vacation property in Portugal, valued at around 6.3 million pounds. Friends say the couple currently expect to spend Christmas in California rather than with Harry’s family in Britain. So what exactly are Harry and Meghan looking for? According to reports, Meghan wants a home with nine bedrooms and a film studio, while Harry is focused on privacy and space. His preference is said to be for a large estate without public footpaths crossing or running alongside the property. “They’re going all in when it comes to the British dream,” one source said. The idea of starting over in Britain comes with an obvious irony. When the couple left royal life and moved to California, their decision was presented as an opportunity to build a new life away from the pressures of the monarchy, a story later chronicled in Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie. At the time, California was supposed to be the place where they would thrive rather than merely survive. Now, friends describe the couple as embracing a different vision. “They have a dream of life in the English countryside,” one source said. “This will be the first time Harry has lived in Britain as a private citizen, where nobody can demand access to him.” The source contrasted that with Harry’s previous life at Frogmore Cottage while he was still a working member of the royal family. “This will be very different from when he was an active royal and lived at Frogmore Cottage,” the source said. “Back then, ultimately, the state was funding the roof over his head. Now he’ll have the chance to enjoy all the things he loves about this country, but as a private citizen. There will be more freedom. It’s almost like finding freedom all over again.” Despite the speculation, the couple reportedly have not yet toured any of the properties they are considering. “There’s an agent involved in the process, but they haven’t viewed anything yet, so they haven’t bought anything,” another source said. “Looking at properties online is all very well, but the houses they’re considering are so large that you really have to go inside them. It’s also a huge commitment. I know they have quite a few requirements.” The source said a property of that scale cannot be judged from photographs alone. “When you’re talking about a house of the size they’re looking for, you don’t know until you walk through it,” the source said. “Is this the house where they want to raise their children? Is this the cozy room where they’ll turn on the heater and watch a movie? Is this the kitchen where they’ll cook meals during the next 10 formative years of their children’s lives?” The couple are expected to begin viewing properties in person in the coming weeks. Their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are also central to the decision. According to people close to the couple, academic prestige is not their only concern when choosing schools. “It’s not about the academic side of Britain,” one source said. “In fact, the local school here ranks quite low, but a supportive and nurturing atmosphere ranks very high.” The couple are reportedly prioritizing schools with a strong emphasis on nature, sport and community. “They want to put them into a kind of small, safe countryside world so they can have as normal a childhood as possible.” Friends believe Harry’s own childhood experience may be influencing that thinking. Harry attended Ludgrove School, a private preparatory school in Berkshire, where he and Prince William were reportedly treated much like other pupils. One source described Harry’s years there as among the happiest of his life before the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. “Being at Ludgrove was a source of comfort for him during difficult periods,” the source said. “That’s what Harry and Meghan are looking for for their children, a sense of community.” Meghan, meanwhile, is reportedly still adjusting to some aspects of British school life. “Right now, Meghan is a little shocked that there is school on Saturdays,” one source said. “But other than that, she’s looking forward to it. They both believe this is the best decision for the family.” The couple’s return also raises questions about how they intend to balance private life in Britain with their commercial ventures. Friends say neither Harry nor Meghan is expected to pursue significant commercial activity in Britain in the coming years. That could allow them to remain broadly within the boundaries established when they stepped back as working royals, under which they were free to earn money provided they did not present themselves as active members of the Royal Family. Harry is expected to take on additional roles with charities, particularly organizations connected to the military. “The expectation at this stage is that Prince Harry will take on several more patronages, probably related to military causes,” one royal commentator said. “However, he will not take on commercial deals in Britain.” Meghan, meanwhile, is expected to continue developing her lifestyle brand, As Ever. Friends say any material she films in Britain would be intended for her U.S.-focused operation. As Ever does not currently ship to Britain, and there are reportedly no plans to change that. One source nevertheless believes Meghan could eventually bring some of her content production into the couple’s future British home. “Meghan won’t be able to resist building a film studio in their new house, once they buy it,” the source said, predicting that she could eventually create home and lifestyle content in Britain. For now, that remains speculation. The Sussexes appear to be trying to draw a narrow line: living in Britain as private citizens while keeping much of their celebrity and commercial life focused on the United States. Friends also continue to insist that the move should not be interpreted as an attempt to return to life as working royals. Whether that balance can hold may become clearer only after they choose a house, a school and, perhaps most importantly, how much of their new British life they are willing to make public. message rykkh3mozx Some ditched their shoes to challenge gendered dress codes, others for comfort or fashion: from Cannes rebels to Kesha’s freedom-inspired Grammys look, these stars proved glamour does not always require heels Itay Yaacov https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/31/ryXrka5Gufg/ryXrka5Gufg_0_9_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/rykkh3mozx Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:53:31 +03:00 Last week, actress Margaret Qualley arrived at the London premiere of The Dog Stars wearing a black fringed Chanel dress and the French fashion house’s new Barefoot sandals. The unusual design, first unveiled at Chanel’s cruise show in April, consists of a sole beneath the heel tied around the ankle with thin straps, leaving most of the foot exposed. For now, the shoes are not available to the general public and are reserved for Chanel stars and VIP clients who, quite literally, want to stay close to the ground in style. But Qualley is far from the first celebrity to bring bare feet onto the red carpet. Over the years, stars have kicked off their shoes in front of the cameras for very different reasons. Some were making a fashion statement. Others were protesting expectations that women wear heels. And sometimes, it was simply about comfort. The clearest battleground has been the Cannes Film Festival, where high heels became a symbol of one of the entertainment industry’s most controversial gendered dress-code debates. In 2015, reports emerged that women had been denied entry to screenings because they were wearing flat shoes. Festival director Thierry Frémaux later denied that there was any official rule requiring women to wear heels. A year later, Julia Roberts famously walked barefoot up the Cannes red-carpet steps. In 2018, Kristen Stewart followed suit after repeatedly criticizing expectations that women conform to a particular dress code. Men, of course, are also subject to formal dress requirements at Cannes. They are simply not expected to navigate the festival stairs in stilettos. Ahead of the Venice Film Festival, here are some of the stars who decided the shoes could stay behind. Julia Roberts at Cannes, 2016 One of the most memorable barefoot red-carpet moments came at the Cannes premiere of Money Monster. Roberts arrived in a black Armani Privé gown, accessorized with a Chopard emerald necklace. She initially wore heels but removed them while climbing the festival’s famous staircase and continued barefoot. The move was widely interpreted as a response to the controversy surrounding Cannes’ unofficial footwear expectations for women the previous year. Roberts never explicitly said she was protesting the policy, but that did little to stop the moment from being celebrated as an elegant act of rebellion. Sasha Lane at Cannes, 2016 The same year, American Honey introduced audiences to Sasha Lane, then 20 and making her film debut. Whether Lane intended to join Roberts’ apparent protest is less clear. But after spending the day navigating the festival in formal clothes, she decided practicality mattered more. “I was dressed in an elegant dress, and there are a lot of stairs, and I’m walking around all day,” she explained at the time. “So I decided to go barefoot. Why would anyone have a problem with that? I’m still here and I’m dressed well.” Kristen Stewart at Cannes, 2018 Two years later, it was Kristen Stewart’s turn. Stewart arrived at the premiere of BlacKkKlansman wearing a Chanel miniskirt and silver top with a pair of black Christian Louboutin stilettos. Just before heading up the stairs, she took off the shoes and continued barefoot. For Stewart, the move could hardly be separated from her previous criticism of the festival’s dress expectations. “If you’re not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, then you can’t ask me either,” she had said. Yet Stewart has continued to work within formal red-carpet dress codes, often bending them to fit her own style rather than rejecting them altogether. Cameron Diaz at a premiere, 2003 Sometimes, there is no protest involved at all. Cameron Diaz arrived at the premiere of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle alongside co-stars Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu when one of her heels broke during the event. Diaz simply took off both shoes and carried on barefoot. Her ability to roll with the mishap helped turn what could have been an awkward wardrobe malfunction into one of her more memorable red-carpet moments. Thomas Jane at a premiere, 2009 Actor Thomas Jane arrived barefoot at the premiere of his HBO series Hung, reflecting a preference that extended well beyond the red carpet. “I like the feeling of my body connected to the ground, whereas with shoes your feet are just imprisoned all day,” he explained in a 2016 interview. His choice stands out because it removes much of the gender politics associated with women going barefoot at formal events. For Jane, it was less an act of rebellion than a physical and emotional preference for feeling grounded. Doechii at the Met Gala, 2026 Rapper Doechii became one of the latest stars to embrace the barefoot look when she attended this year’s Met Gala wearing an asymmetric eggplant-colored Marc Jacobs gown with henna-style decoration on her feet. She chose to skip shoes entirely. The singer said the look was intended to feel “human, vulnerable and grounded.” “It’s very comfortable, but it’s also very vulnerable,” she told Variety. “I feel like bare feet symbolize being grounded. I’m not afraid of the floor.” Kesha at the Grammys, 2026 A few months earlier, Kesha exposed her toes on the Grammys red carpet. The singer wore a dramatic pale feathered gown by Russian label Atelier Biser, designed by Ksenia Podvalnaya, and chose to forgo both shoes and additional accessories. Unlike Stewart and Roberts at Cannes, Kesha’s barefoot appearance was not framed primarily as a protest against a dress code. It was part of a look built around freedom and independence. Speaking to E! News, she said the inspiration was Athena, the Greek goddess associated with wisdom and warfare. “I wanted to look like Athena. I’ve been very inspired by her lately, and I wanted to bring this feeling of freedom,” she said. “This is my first Grammys in eight years as a free woman, as the owner of a record label and as someone who is in control of her voice. I wanted what I looked like on the outside to match how I feel on the inside.” message skafd5gofx Michelle Obama says she is happily embracing life as an empty nester after daughters Malia and Sasha moved out, joking that her reaction was very different from her husband’s: 'Barack cried when they went to college. I was like, ‘Bye!’' Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2020/09/07/10225573/10225573_66_82_1069_602_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/skafd5gofx Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:15:45 +03:00 Michelle Obama has no problem admitting that she is enjoying life as an empty nester. The former first lady spoke candidly about daughters Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25, and the adjustment to having them out of the family home during an episode of IMO, the podcast she hosts with her brother, Craig Robinson. “I don’t miss ’em,” Obama told comedian Jon Stewart on the Aug. 26 episode. “I don’t. I love them. I’m going to see them tonight for dinner.” Her reaction, she acknowledged, was markedly different from that of her husband, former President Barack Obama. “Barack cried when they went to college. I was like, ‘Bye!’” she joked. For Michelle, having two adult daughters living independently has removed some of the constant anxiety that came with raising them. “Now, Friday nights aren’t wrecked with terror and fear about, ‘Where are you?’” she said. She made clear, however, that her reaction is less about wanting distance from her daughters than enjoying the stage of life they have reached. “I love their emancipation and growth,” she said. When Stewart, himself a father of two adult children, asked whether she missed the “job” of parenting, Obama’s answer was equally direct. “No.” Stewart said parenthood had given “meaning and pattern” to his life. Obama was unmoved. “I’m good,” she replied, pointing to the life she has built since leaving the White House. “I have a wonderful pattern.” And while Stewart and Robinson said they enjoyed being involved in their children’s schedules, Obama had another preference. “I love my schedule,” she said. “I have a great schedule, and it’s all mine.” Obama also suggested that mothers and fathers can experience the empty nest differently because of how parenting responsibilities are often divided. “I think fathers can be that way because you weren’t there from 6:00 to 9:00 at night, you missed a lot of it,” she said. “I mean, I’ve had so much quality time with my children, so much. I know them inside and out.” It is not the first time Obama has spoken openly about the transition. Earlier this year, she described how she and Barack were rediscovering their relationship after years in which raising their daughters dominated their daily lives. “Our girls are grown. They’re out in the big world,” she said on her podcast at the time. “Barack and I are trying to figure out life now that we’re empty nesters.” She said the change had allowed the couple to see one another outside the demands of parenting. “We sometimes look at each other and I think to myself, ‘Hey, I remember you,’” she said. When children are at home, Obama explained, their needs inevitably become the organizing force of family life, creating schedules, responsibilities and pressures that parents must manage together. Now, with Malia and Sasha building lives of their own, Michelle appears perfectly comfortable with the next chapter. She still sees her daughters. She still speaks about them with obvious affection. She simply does not miss wondering where they are every Friday night. message byzk9trwgl Influencer Danielle Amit and former Hamas hostage Emily Damari married Thursday in Tel Aviv, seven months after their engagement and more than a year after going public with their relationship Yoni Froim https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/27/r1mY6p6PGx/r1mY6p6PGx_0_64_1087_612_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/byzk9trwgl Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:35:25 +03:00 Seven months after their engagement, it finally happened: On Thursday evening, Danielle Amit and Emily Damari got married. The food influencer and former Hamas hostage celebrated their moving love story at a wedding held at Sheva Hall in Tel Aviv, surrounded by close friends and family who were invited to share in their big day. Among those who came to celebrate were Aviv Geffen, Maya Wertheimer, Omer Shem Tov and Asaf Zamir. In the invitation sent to guests, the brides made one request: Do not wear red. The specific request came from Damari, who is also known as a devoted fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club. The invitation itself was designed in blue and yellow, the colors associated with the team. The love story between the successful influencer and the former hostage was revealed in June 2025, on the eve of the Shavuot holiday, when Amit decided to take matters into her own hands and reveal their relationship on Instagram, surprising quite a few people. "I didn't want there to be paparazzi and I didn't want rumors to start. I wanted it to come from me to you, the way I wanted to present it and tell it," she wrote at the time alongside a photo of herself with Damari. "For a while now, I've been going to sleep with a smile. For a while now, I've been dying to tell you what's happening in my life, because you're such a big part of it. You wake up with me, go to sleep with me, eat with me and laugh and cry with me. And you're probably asking yourselves, 'Wait, but what's going on here?' Right now, I'm not really able to talk, and what a mess it is to drop such a bomb here and then want to disappear. But very soon, there will be one good story here, and I'll tell my friends everything." Eight months after they went public with their relationship, Damari got down on one knee and proposed to Amit at a celebratory event marking one year since her release from Hamas captivity in Gaza. message hkn1jrtvml After several lackluster years, fashion’s key month is reviving the magazine cover wars with major stars and ambitious shoots; from Rihanna and Celine Dion to Harry Styles, Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere, who shines — and who tries too hard? Itay Yaacov https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/26/SJZbzLnvfg/SJZbzLnvfg_32_26_2943_1657_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hkn1jrtvml Thu, 27 Aug 2026 20:27:54 +03:00 September issues have been filling newsstands in recent weeks and, ironically, even more so Instagram feeds and social media, where they are generating a flood of tags, debates for and against and behind-the-scenes videos. Print products in fashion publishing have faded in recent years as the industry shifted toward digital. But now, precisely when the printed magazine can no longer be taken for granted, there are signs that it is becoming desirable again. Not necessarily on the scale of past issues that stretched to as many as 916 pages, as with Lady Gaga's 2012 cover, but in terms of status. Rihanna, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Cate Blanchett and even designer Marc Jacobs himself appear on September covers this year in productions that look more elaborate than those of recent years. One example is the four covers and striking accompanying shoot featuring Celine Dion in Harper's Bazaar ahead of her major run of shows in Paris. Although the magazines have not grown thicker this year — averaging around 250 to 300 pages, most of them advertisements — the casting of major stars and original stories, such as a joint interview with Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere for American Vogue, seem to be generating renewed interest even among those born into the digital age who have never licked a finger to turn the page of a magazine. This renaissance stems partly from the renewed status of print, but not only that. Independent magazines such as System, 032c, Self Service, Purple, Re-Edition and AnOther have shown that print still has an audience, and often a young one. A 2024 report by the International News Media Association identified renewed interest in print among Gen Z, driven in part by a desire for a nondigital experience and concerns about trust in online content. In an era when nearly every piece of content is instantly available on a cellphone screen, the exclusivity offered by magazines with limited print runs, the breadth of long-form articles and photo shoots and the inability to simply scroll on all contribute to the product's desirability. And fashion has always been a realm of exclusivity. The phenomenon is also evident in Israel with magazines such as Nivdal, OFF/NA and ARE, which extends the digital platform on which it is based. These are this year's standout September covers. American Vogue: Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere Vogue's new U.S. editor, Chloe Malle, who took up the role last September, is launching the first September issue under her direction. Anyone expecting a radical shift in Malle's artistic choices will be disappointed: the result is more of the same. The September issue shows that Vogue is not trying to reinvent itself, but rather to recycle the legendary moments that helped establish its status. The September cover features Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere, the daughter of Cindy Crawford and the son of Richard Gere, respectively. Their parents were once a glamorous couple in fashion and entertainment circles, and the choice of their children is no coincidence — it is designed to strike precisely at the chords of nostalgia. In 1992, their parents appeared together on the magazine's cover. Now Vogue returns to the same reference point with the next generation, who are appearing together in Ryan Murphy's television adaptation of "Shards." British Vogue: Nicole Kidman Actress Nicole Kidman has a history with magazine covers on which she looks almost otherworldly. That is, not quite like herself. Or, put another way, subjected to aggressive retouching that makes her appear increasingly removed from her biological age: 59. This month, she stars on the September cover of British Vogue, where she is once again almost unrecognizable, wearing Stella McCartney clothing, Hermès and Chloé accessories and Yvonne Léon jewelry. Her hair was styled, as usual, by Israeli hairstylist Adir Abergel, son of Reuven Abergel, forever associated with Israel's Black Panthers movement. The interview comes against the backdrop of her split from Keith Urban after 19 years of marriage, and Kidman speaks about the need to move forward without giving up on the possibility of love. "I’ve always wanted to live a well-examined life, so what does that entail? Trying things," she says. Rather than portray the breakup as the end of an era, Kidman seeks to frame it as the beginning of a new chapter. "I can just go forward with an enormous amount of hope," she said. Vogue Spain: Penélope Cruz Another standout cover this month features Penélope Cruz, the star of Vogue Spain's September issue ahead of the release of "The Black Ball," the much-discussed film by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, in which she plays a singer from the 1930s. The film also won the directing prize at the latest Cannes Film Festival and was co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar's El Deseo. Although her role is relatively small, at about 15 minutes of screen time, Cruz told the magazine she does not measure the significance of a role by its length. Preparing for the part also forced her to confront one of her greatest fears. "Singing is one of the things that scares me most," she admitted, "so we worked on it a lot." Vanity Fair: Marc Jacobs Fashion designer Marc Jacobs lands an unusual cover of the American edition of Vanity Fair with a painted portrait by artist Anna Weyant, depicting him in a Chanel tweed suit, floral earrings and silver hair clips. In the accompanying article, he discusses the deal he recently made after French luxury giant LVMH agreed to sell the fashion brand bearing his name in a transaction valued at about $850 million to a joint venture between brand management company WHP Global and G-III Apparel Group. Jacobs, who remains creative director, also reflects on his place in the fashion world. "All I've ever been is a fashion victim. I don’t think of that as a bad thing," he said. On the future of the brand, he added: "There’s no yes or no. It could be this, it could be that. Where am I now? Where are we now? What do we mean to this generation of people? That generation of people? There’s so many questions." Elle: Rihanna Rihanna stars on the September cover of Elle in a photograph by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, wearing a feathered headpiece emblazoned with the Dior name. It is difficult to imagine a more blatant advertisement, and unlike Rihanna's usually groundbreaking style, the final result lacks character and creativity. Unlike other September issues, there is no traditional interview. Author Roxane Gay — and anyone who has not read her 2017 book "Hunger" should seek it out — wrote a personal essay about meeting Rihanna and the singer's status as one of the most influential figures in popular culture. Gay discusses the way Rihanna changed the conversation around beauty, makeup and the body through Fenty Beauty. In the essay, which is available in full online, Gay also addresses the 38-year-old singer's presence. "More than her music and her business endeavors, how Rihanna moves through the world intrigues me most. She seems to live in her body unapologetically, and she does so with confidence and verve," Gay writes. "It’s no easy feat given that women are, generally, punished for aging visibly and having any kind of curves. But instead of making herself smaller or living in her body according to the whims of a fickle and ever-changing audience, she lives in her body on her own terms." Harper's Bazaar U.S.: Celine Dion Celine Dion returns with four different Harper's Bazaar covers ahead of her return to the stage in Paris in September for a five-week run, following a six-year hiatus amid her battle with stiff-person syndrome, which she has discussed openly. The interview addresses not only her illness and rehabilitation, but also her decision to perform again despite the physical and emotional toll. Her hair was styled by successful Israeli hairstylist Shay Ashual. W Magazine: Harry Styles Musician Harry Styles takes over the cover of W Magazine's fashion issue in a striking Miu Miu jacket that reveals his tattoos, paired with Calvin Klein underwear bearing the word "Disco" on the waistband. The underwear was designed especially for him as a nod to his fourth album, "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally." In the shoot, photographed in London by David Sims, Styles switches among designs by Chanel, Miu Miu, Burberry and Dior — when he is not displaying his bare torso and showing off his physique. In the accompanying interview, Styles continues the personal exposure while keeping his much-discussed relationship with Zoë Kravitz to himself. "One of the best things anyone has told me is that comments, the bad and good, neither of them are true," he says. "Some people will tell you you’re the best thing in the world, and that’s not true. Some people will tell you you’re terrible, and that’s also not true. When you’re younger, there’s this want to be great, and it’s harder to negate the positive stuff. When people say, 'Oh, this is great!' you want to be like, 'Really? You think I’m great?'" Dazed: North West The most surprising and refreshing thing about North West's new cover for British magazine Dazed is the identity of the photographer: acclaimed filmmaker Gus Van Sant, the man behind masterpieces including "My Own Private Idaho" and "Good Will Hunting." Sixty-one years separate Van Sant, 74, and West, 13, the eldest daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. She looks older than her age, due in no small part to her facial piercings, ever-changing hair colors and provocative wardrobe. Never mind that she still wears braces like other girls her age. The cover has not gone over smoothly with social media users, drawing a barrage of reactions since it was published this week. Many questioned its relevance to the magazine's readership, largely adults 30 and older who grew up with the edgy publication of the 1990s. "There is no way anything a 13-year-old says should be of interest to adults. Why the hell isn't this in Teen Vogue?" read one of the most prominent Instagram comments, echoed in various forms by other users. At the same time, many pointed to the nepo-baby phenomenon that helped land North West on the cover. After all, her contribution to the world so far is being "the daughter of." "It seems that these days, when it comes to talent, simply being the child of someone famous is enough to make you an idol," one commenter wrote. "It has nothing to do with reality, and these kids have nothing to offer. The whole thing is one huge publicity stunt and a slap in the face to artists who actually have something to say about the reality in which we, as human beings, live." V Magazine: Slayyyter Only recently, we wrote here about Slayyyter, one of the most prominent electronic pop stars of the moment, and now she appears on the cover of V Magazine's Winter 2026 issue under the playful headline "Sooner Or Slayyyter." The cover caps a year in which her career underwent a significant shift, in part following her performance at Coachella, which she described as a turning point. "I feel very blessed that any of these opportunities are even coming at all," she told the magazine. "But I’m so not a celebrity-type person; I feel like there are people who do the celebrity song and dance very well. But even if things get bigger and bigger and bigger, I don’t ever feel like a famous person." Vogue Germany: Karen Mulder Supermodel Karen Mulder returns to the cover of Vogue Germany after more than three decades. Mulder, one of the most prominent runway models of the 1990s, speaks candidly in the interview about the years she spent away from the fashion industry and the difficult experiences she endured within it, including a suicide attempt. Now she is reconsidering the possibility of returning to the runway. Harper's Bazaar UK: Cate Blanchett What a beautiful cover. Actress Cate Blanchett stars on the September issue of British Harper's Bazaar in a dramatic black Louis Vuitton look. Blanchett is promoting her return to the stage in the National Theatre's production of "Electra/Persona" in London. All tickets through the beginning of October have already sold out, underscoring the confidence audiences continue to place in her. Much like her versatile, intelligent wardrobe on the red carpet and beyond, the cover shoot highlights Blanchett's artistic side. message sypakrawze The Canadian actor voiced Optimus Prime across films, TV and games for decades, played Eeyore in ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and created the Predator’s signature clicking sound Dennis Bihler https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/27/BkXsh6pPfx/BkXsh6pPfx_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sypakrawze Thu, 27 Aug 2026 17:56:52 +03:00 Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor best known for bringing Optimus Prime to life across decades of Transformers films, television series and video games, has died at 85. Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his agent Kevin Motley told The Hollywood Reporter. He “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide,” his family said in a statement. They asked fans to honor his legacy by “serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity and loyalty” and to remember one of his most famous lines: “be strong enough to be gentle.” Born in Montreal in 1941, Cullen became one of the most recognizable voices in animation. He first voiced Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, in the 1984-87 animated series The Transformers. He would return to the character repeatedly over the next four decades, including in the Michael Bay film franchise beginning with Transformers in 2007. Cullen once said he approached the role with little idea of what producers wanted. “I auditioned like everybody else,” he told NPR in 2014. “I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.” The role became inseparable from him. When Optimus Prime was killed in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, the backlash from fans was so intense that the character was brought back, along with Cullen, soon afterward. Two decades later, when the franchise returned to theaters, Cullen resumed the role almost effortlessly. “I describe it as kind of slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn for a while,” he said in 2007. “I just slipped right into them, and they felt as good as the last time I put them on.” With Cullen voicing Optimus, Transformers became one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. He returned for Revenge of the Fallen, Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction, The Last Knight, Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts. His performance in the animated series Transformers: Prime also earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination. Cullen said the voice of Optimus was inspired by his older brother Larry, a decorated U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam. “When he came home, I could see a change. He was quieter and he was a man and a superhero to me,” Cullen said in 2006. “I watched him and listened to him. I’d never had an opportunity to do a superhero, and when that came, [that voice] just came right out of me, and I sounded like Optimus.” More than Optimus Prime Cullen’s career stretched far beyond Transformers. He voiced Eeyore on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and in numerous other Winnie the Pooh productions. “I get an awful lot of reactions from, especially, young kids, when I go up and just say [in Eeyore’s voice], ‘Hello. Thanks for noticing me,’” he once said. He also voiced King Kong for the 1976 remake, the villainous K.A.R.R. on Knight Rider and characters in Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers, Voltron, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One of his most unusual contributions came in Predator in 1987, where he created the alien creature’s distinctive clicking sound. Cullen said he insisted on seeing the creature before recording because he needed a visual reference. “If I can’t see the character, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I have to have something to relate to, to put myself inside of,” he said. “I saw this ugly, ugly face and these tentacles [moving around]. It reminded me of an upside-down horseshoe crab dying in the sun on a beach when I was a kid. Nasty.” From theater training to Hollywood Cullen graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963 and trained as a stage actor before moving into radio, television and voice work. Early in his career, he appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and other variety programs. He later built a vast voice-acting career that spanned animation, live-action projects, commercials and video games. Cullen is survived by his children Angus, Claire, Pilar and Clay. Reflecting on the lasting reach of Transformers, Cullen once said: “The phenomenon of Transformers itself is mind-shaking.” “Being a part of it is not only historical, it’s a part of your life that says, ‘Gee, I’m glad.’ I did something in my life that stood out, and I’m really grateful for that. Humbled by it.” message bkidcpadml Royals return to Britain with Archie and Lilibet aboard a private jet, reviving scrutiny of the Sussexes’ environmental messaging after years of public calls to reduce carbon emissions and protect the planet Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2024/09/11/SJC461yTR/SJC461yTR_0_37_1913_1077_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/bkidcpadml Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:49:31 +03:00 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Britain with their children on Wednesday, more than six years after stepping back from royal life in a departure widely dubbed “Megxit.” But the mode of travel quickly drew attention. Despite years of public comments urging greater environmental responsibility, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly flew to Britain aboard a private jet. According to reports, the couple chartered the aircraft through Planet 9, an international private aviation company, at a cost of about $12,000 per flight hour. With the journey estimated to have lasted around 10 hours, the total cost would come to roughly $120,000. The aircraft, a Bombardier Global Express XRS, can carry up to 13 passengers and includes two bathrooms, five sleeping berths capable of accommodating six people and storage for 12 to 15 medium-sized suitcases. Planet 9 says the jet was refurbished in 2023. The trip comes against the backdrop of reports about financial pressure facing the couple following Harry’s legal defeat in a case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. The court reportedly ordered him to pay around £9.5 million within a week. At the same time, the couple’s decision to fly private has revived scrutiny of their past environmental statements. In a 2019 interview with Vogue, Harry said he and Meghan planned to have no more than two children, citing concerns about the planet. He said that avoiding another child could reduce the couple’s carbon footprint by 58.5 tons. In another interview, Harry said: “We can all do better. None of us are perfect. We all have a responsibility to make an impact and look after our own environment. The question is what we do to change and balance things out.” The Sussexes’ latest journey is estimated to have generated around 40 tons of carbon emissions over the roughly 10-hour flight. Their return to Britain is also fueling speculation over where they plan to stay. Their exact base has not yet been disclosed, but people familiar with the situation say the couple are looking for a home in the Cotswolds, near Highgrove, the private residence associated with King Charles and Queen Camilla. message sku11gspvfl Japanese artist famed for her polka dots, pumpkins and immersive mirrored rooms dies in Tokyo after a career spanning eight decades; her studio said she painted until her final days Amir Bogen https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2021/12/13/rJvhVhWBqY/rJvhVhWBqY_0_0_1300_732_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sku11gspvfl Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:45:41 +03:00 Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, whose hypnotic polka dots and immersive mirrored rooms made her one of the most recognizable figures in contemporary art, has died at the age of 97. Kusama died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, her studio announced Thursday. No cause of death was given. The Yayoi Kusama Museum and Yayoi Kusama Foundation said she continued painting until her final days and “never put down her paintbrush.” Her death and the date were confirmed in official statements released Thursday. Born in Matsumoto, Japan, in 1929, Kusama began painting as a child and drew inspiration from hallucinations of flashing lights, flowers and fields of dots that she said had followed her from an early age. She transformed those visions into a distinctive visual language of repeated patterns, nets and polka dots, later adding the pumpkins and dazzling Infinity Mirror Rooms that became among her best-known works. Kusama left Japan for the United States in 1957, seeking greater artistic freedom than she felt was available to her in the conservative society of postwar Japan. In New York, she emerged as a distinctive figure in the city's experimental art scene, working across painting, sculpture and performance and staging provocative anti-war happenings during the Vietnam War era. She also wrote novels and poetry. After returning to Japan in the 1970s, Kusama voluntarily entered a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo, where she lived for decades. Each day, she would travel to her nearby studio to work. “I still see hallucinations, even now,” she said in 2017. “Dots fly everywhere — on my dress, on the floor, on the things I carry, throughout the house and on the ceiling. And I paint them.” Although Kusama had established herself as an avant-garde innovator in the 1960s, her transformation into a global cultural phenomenon came much later. Her brightly colored installations and Infinity Mirror Rooms attracted huge crowds, while her trademark red wig and polka-dot clothing became almost as recognizable as the art itself. The rise of social media introduced her work to an even broader audience, with visitors lining up to photograph themselves inside her mirrored installations. Major museums around the world exhibited her work, and collaborations with fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton extended her reach far beyond the traditional art world. Kusama's work also became a major cultural phenomenon in Israel. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art presented “Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective” in 2021 and 2022, her first large-scale exhibition in the country. Hundreds of thousands of visitors attended the exhibition, which brought together about 200 works spanning roughly eight decades of her career. It included paintings, sculptures and installations as well as four of her signature Infinity Mirror Rooms. One of the mirrored rooms was created specifically for the Tel Aviv exhibition and remained on display at the museum after the retrospective ended. Kusama continued working into her final days. In announcing her death, the museum and foundation said her career had encompassed visual art, performance, fiction and poetry and pledged to carry forward her belief in art as a source of hope. For an artist whose work repeatedly returned to ideas of infinity, repetition and eternity, creation remained a constant until the end. message hjh76o2wzg The Sussexes landed in Birmingham with Archie and Lilibet, who are set to begin school in Britain next week, as the couple explores a limited return to public royal life Inbal Hananel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/04/15/ryby633nbg/ryby633nbg_0_0_1024_727_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/hjh76o2wzg Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:05:00 +03:00 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Britain on Wednesday with their two children, marking the family’s first move back to the UK together in six years and eight months. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed at Birmingham Airport with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. According to reports, the family will live in a privately owned residence outside London rather than on a royal estate. Their children have already been enrolled in British schools and are expected to begin classes next week. News of the move emerged last week, when reports said Harry and Meghan had decided to return to Britain. King Charles, Harry’s father, was reportedly informed only a few days before the decision became public. The return comes as the couple explores what sources have described as a “private-plus” royal role: remaining private citizens while occasionally appearing alongside working members of the royal family at public or family events. “This is the ideal scenario for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” a source close to the couple said. Any such arrangement, however, would require agreement from other senior royals, particularly Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, whose relationship with Harry and Meghan has remained strained. “All sides have to agree on a framework for ‘private-plus royals,’” the source said. “They would need to be much more ‘private’ than ‘working,’ appearing at family events such as Christmas at Sandringham.” The source added that securing William and Catherine’s support could prove difficult. “It requires William and Kate to say, ‘Yes, please,’ and how on earth is that supposed to happen? Just saying it out loud sounds unlikely.” The move also comes amid reports that Meghan had been in advanced talks to appear in the third season of “The Gentlemen.” Those discussions were reportedly dropped following criticism surrounding the proposed role. Harry and Meghan stepped back from official royal duties in 2020 and moved to North America, eventually settling in California. Their return to Britain with Archie and Lilibet signals a significant shift after years of distance from the royal family and repeated public tensions with senior members of the monarchy. message byedeq3vge The singer marked her birthday with friends, beach photos and some unexpected animal companions, while husband Jordan Lutes missed the trip  Omer Daniel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/26/HyIA3bhPMg/HyIA3bhPMg_115_149_713_402_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/byedeq3vge Wed, 26 Aug 2026 12:23:24 +03:00 While some people mark their birthdays with a slice of cake and a candle at the neighborhood café, others use the occasion as an excuse for a picture-perfect vacation abroad. And when you are a wealthy Hollywood star, that option is considerably easier. That is exactly what singer Demi Lovato did for her 34th birthday, packing her swimsuits, gathering a group of friends and heading to the Bahamas. Lovato celebrated her birthday last week and this week shared photos from the getaway with her 147 million Instagram followers. The post featured plenty of bikini shots, along with some considerably cuter appearances by a dog and a pig. She also shared a short TikTok video of herself lying on the sand with the caption, “Do not disturb except for making TikToks.” In the background, Lovato can be heard saying: “I don’t want anyone to call me, I don’t want anyone to text me, I don’t want to talk to anybody.” One person noticeably absent from the vacation was Lovato’s husband, singer Jordan Lutes, who is currently on tour and was therefore unable to join the celebrations. Instead, he dedicated an Instagram post to her featuring photos of the couple together. Lovato responded: “I love you more than words could ever express, and I can’t wait to kiss you again. Thank you for being my rock, my safe place and my everything. I have never felt more loved in my life. I love you I love you I love you and I miss you more than anything!” Lovato has spoken openly in the past about difficult periods in her life, including struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and an overdose that nearly killed her. She later entered recovery. She and Lutes met while working together, became a couple in 2022 and married last year. message sjbjly2dze The country music icon behind 'Jolene,' '9 to 5' and 'I Will Always Love You' built a six-decade career spanning music, film and philanthropy ynet https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/25/SkeV6UsPfx/SkeV6UsPfx_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/sjbjly2dze Wed, 26 Aug 2026 07:15:03 +03:00 Country music legend Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, ending a six-decade career that made her one of the most recognizable and influential figures in American music. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death Tuesday in an Instagram video on behalf of the Parton and Owens families. “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens,” Seaver said. Only four days before her death, Parton spoke to People Magazine about her declining health, saying she had neglected some medical problems while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025. “But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’! You know me — as I’ve often said — I’ve dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve, so I’m gonna keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life.” Born in Tennessee in 1946, Parton grew up in a poor family with 11 siblings and began singing in church as a child. She moved to Nashville after high school and initially found success as a songwriter before becoming a regular on The Porter Wagoner Show. Her solo breakthrough came in the early 1970s with songs including “Joshua,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene.” When she decided to leave Wagoner’s show in 1974, she wrote “I Will Always Love You” as a farewell to him. The song later became an international phenomenon when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Parton expanded beyond country music in the late 1970s and 1980s, becoming a major crossover star. Her film debut came in 1980 with 9 to 5, alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The movie’s title song became Parton’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She later appeared in films including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias and Joyful Noise. Over her career, Parton won 11 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association awards and seven Academy of Country Music awards, as well as an Emmy. She received two Academy Award nominations and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. She was also known for extensive philanthropic work. Her Imagination Library, inspired in part by her father’s inability to read or write, has distributed books to children around the world. Parton married Dean in 1966, and the couple remained together for nearly 60 years until his death. Despite her public life, Dean largely stayed out of the spotlight. “Ours is a great old love story. Most people don’t stay that close that long,” Parton told People Magazine in 2025. “That’s a loss. Nobody can ever know that unless you’ve experienced it yourself. He will always be in my heart and in my memories.” Parton had increasingly struggled with health problems in her final year. A planned Las Vegas residency was postponed and later canceled, though in May she said she was “responding really well to meds and treatments” and “improving every day.” Even late in life, she remained focused on future projects. “I just hope I live long enough to do more things,” she once said. “That’s the only thing that worries me, that I may run out of time before I see so many of my dreams come true. I wake up with new dreams all the time. But I put them in a place where they can continue, even after I’m gone.” message skvwtl9pfl Sources close to the 64-year-old actor tell the Daily Mail that Cruise wants a lasting relationship but puts filmmaking first and remains deeply committed to Scientology; they also reveal which ex he refuses to discuss and who they call ‘the one that got away’ Omer daniel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2024/12/30/SyaivlxUJl/SyaivlxUJl_0_0_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/article/skvwtl9pfl Tue, 25 Aug 2026 03:01:09 +03:00 Tom Cruise may be one of the world’s biggest movie stars, a multimillionaire and one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men, but according to people close to him, there is one part of his life that remains frustratingly unresolved: romance. Sources close to the 64-year-old actor told the Daily Mail that Cruise has grown tired of being alone. “Tom is frustrated that he can’t find love because he feels lonely,” one source said, while stressing that he is not desperate for a relationship. The source added that Victoria Beckham has been trying to introduce him to younger women. Cruise certainly does not have a thin romantic résumé. He has been married three times, to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, with whom he has two children, and Katie Holmes, with whom he shares a daughter. Over the years, he has also been linked to several other women. Most recently, he was rumored to have been involved with actress Ana de Armas, 38, though Cruise is not known to have been in a serious long-term relationship for some time. De Armas has since moved on to another relationship. “It was hard for Tom to see her move on, but he’s happy for her if she’s happy,” the source said. Another former partner who has recently entered a new relationship is Cruise’s third wife, Katie Holmes, though his feelings toward her are reportedly much more complicated. “His split from Katie Holmes was a public humiliation,” the source claimed. “I think it was hard for him to see her move on, but the truth is no one knows what he feels. He doesn’t like to talk about her, and everyone close to him knows not to bring her up around him.” Cruise remains close to Connor and Isabella, his two children with Kidman. The pair are widely reported to have little contact with their mother. His relationship with Suri, his daughter with Holmes, is very different. The two have reportedly been estranged for years, and Suri has dropped Cruise from the surname she uses publicly. It is not known whether Cruise has attempted to rebuild their relationship. They were last photographed together in 2012. “It was difficult for him to hear that she had removed his last name,” the source claimed. “It broke his heart.” The source also discussed Kidman, who recently divorced her second husband, Keith Urban, and has reportedly begun a new relationship. According to the source, Cruise had once hoped things would work out between them, but their marriage became increasingly combative. “Tom would have loved for things to work out with her, but they fought a lot and became very competitive,” the source said. “Nicole was determined to succeed and did a lot to make that happen. You don’t get in her way.” The source claimed their arguments became so loud that neighbors in their New York building could hear them. But Cruise reportedly looks back on Kidman’s subsequent career with admiration. “He’s impressed by what she’s accomplished and by her Oscar,” the source said. “In a strange way he’s proud of her, but he definitely doesn’t miss her.” There is another famous former girlfriend who reportedly occupies a very different place in Cruise’s romantic history: Penélope Cruz. Cruise dated the Spanish actress in the early 2000s after the two starred together in Vanilla Sky. According to the source, Cruise had seriously considered a future with her. “He really was in love with her and wanted to get married and have children with her,” the source said. “She left him because he was too famous. They couldn’t have a normal life. He was heartbroken. She was the one who got away.” So why does one of Hollywood’s most successful stars reportedly struggle to maintain a relationship? One source offered a straightforward explanation: Cruise puts his career ahead of almost everything else. “Tom has difficulty sustaining relationships because he puts his career first,” the source said. “Everything revolves around making movies. He’s obsessed with the industry.” The source also pointed to Cruise’s longstanding commitment to the Church of Scientology. “He’s also very devoted to Scientology, which can be an issue for women who don’t share that religion,” the source said. A second source echoed that assessment. “Tom’s main love is making movies, and that gets in the way of everything else he does, whether it’s relationships, friendships or business,” the source said. “Being romantically involved with Tom is something many women simply can’t or don’t want to deal with.” Still, those close to Cruise say he has not given up on the idea of finding a lasting partner. “I know Tom would like to get married again and have it last this time,” the source said. “He wants a stable relationship and, like everyone else, he wants to fall in love.” Cruise will soon begin another intensive publicity campaign for his upcoming film Digger, likely involving red carpets and, if things go according to plan, awards-season appearances. And according to the source, Cruise would be more than happy not to attend them alone. “Hopefully he’ll have a new girlfriend when the movie comes out,” the source said, “because it really does help with publicity.” message