Category: 5. Entertainment

  • Anna Weyant’s secret? Knowing when to kill her paintings

    Anna Weyant’s secret? Knowing when to kill her paintings

    Anna Weyant shares her home with a ghost. Not the metaphorical kind; not the ghost of painters before her, nor the ghost of her early, soaring success. Just the standard issue, after-life sort of ghost. 

    “When I first moved in, I just felt this presence of a spirit and started researching the building — more and more things were happening and I thought: somebody’s here. There were certain areas that I didn’t want to go into. I ended up finding out that somebody had passed away in my bedroom. And so I actually found out where his widow lived,” she tells me as we enter the studio space of her apartment.

    To be in touch with her, I ask?

    “No, I read him the address one night to see if he might want to go there, because it’s just down the street.”

    Anna Weyant’s ‘Slumber’ (2020) © Anna Weyant

    Weyant, aged just 30, is one of the most successful and spoken about young painters in the world. She lives with her elderly King Charles spaniel, Sprout, in a sedate, beautiful space uptown, which strikes me as I enter it as notably old New York, dark wood and low lighting, not fussy or self-consciously sophisticated, but definitively adult. Everything uptown feels a little more permanent, the residents older, more fixed, less subject to the temporal shifts of the city, and it makes sense to me as we speak that she has chosen to exist here rather than in a trendier neighbourhood or apartment. Despite some caustic dismissals about the nature of her career, Weyant is in it for the long haul. 

    We are meeting in advance of her first major museum show, which opens at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid this month. This will be the first exhibition to draw from her entire output, through 26 paintings, predating her first New York solo show in 2019, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and past her most recent in London, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves? in 2024. Particularly appealing about the exhibition, according to Weyant, was the opportunity to select works from the Thyssen’s collection to be presented alongside her own, including a Magritte, a Balthus and a beguiling portrait by the German painter Christian Schad. One senses that the opportunity not only to show the growth of her own work, but also to declare some influences not typically ascribed to Weyant, is important to her. 

    “There’s only one work that I really was insistent on having, this big painting called ‘Feted’ [2020] that I’ve never shown before which was in a private collection in New York, and we had to talk somewhere into loaning it, and they did,” she says. “And then my most recent painting. Actually, no — it doesn’t have my most recent painting. It was going to have my most recent painting, but last night I killed it.”

    A young girl with long hair and wearing a pearl earring and necklace hangs out of a pink tiered cake
    ‘Feted’ (2020) © Anna Weyant

    Killed it for this show, I ask, or will you never return to it?

    “I’ll cut it up,” she says easily. “I’ve killed the last three.”

    Weyant is aware that she could easily sell this and more or less anything else she might choose — “I’m sure I could just send it out and it would be fine, but at this point, if it’s not exciting, it’s not worth it for me to let it out into the world” — but her market value has become something of an albatross around the neck of her career, as has much of the lore surrounding her beginnings. 

    Weyant’s origins are so well established that her publicist is able to succinctly list them in one brief parenthesis as items to avoid focusing on: high auction prices, Instagram, comparisons to Botticelli, selling paintings on beach towels in the Hamptons. It’s unusual for an artist to have such widely known bullet points, the kind your average person would ordinarily be able to cite about a Real Housewife or pop star, but Weyant has the unusual confluence of undeniable generational gifts as a painter and the sort of personal star power and beauty that is bait to tabloids (the Daily Mail comes in for particular outrage when we discuss her relationship to her media coverage — they published photographs of the interior of her old apartment).

    A woman dressed in a black top and white trousers pets her small dog
    Weyant and her King Charles spaniel Sprout photographed at home for the FT by Kana Motojima

    Although the attention was partly to do with the spurious claim that her meteoric success began with “being discovered on Instagram”, it rocketed after Weyant began dating Larry Gagosian, the immensely successful gallerist who now represents her. The relationship has since ended, and Weyant is now with the musician Jason Isbell; she and I debrief for a bit about dating men who have children. 

    Before meeting Weyant I had worried that I did not have the sufficient ruthlessness to bring up the relationship with Gagosian, what I assumed would be a source of tiresome displeasure for her. Luckily she does it for me, with the same gentle openness she communicates with all afternoon. I asked about how her work has formally developed in recent years. 

    “In the past few years, as I started to have more market attention and wider attention, that’s when I decided I needed to step it up again. I also had entered into a relationship with my art dealer at the time. There was a lot of talk that maybe the success had come from that, and I’m not denying that at all, but I felt like if that was going to be the narrative, then I was just gonna have to go full speed ahead and make the best fucking work I could.”

    Three pots on a yellow table. There is a reflection on the pans showing a figure with a knife
    ‘She Drives Me Crazy’ (2022) © Anna Weyant

    It’s easy to see why the shorthand (if somewhat lazy) narrative of Weyant as a “millennial Botticelli” worked. Her early paintings do often have a jarring wit and juxtaposition that could be read as frivolous — she paints many pretty women, many of them her friends and muses, in a style often likened to the Dutch or Renaissance masters, but with knowing contemporary details (I love 2018’s “Sip n’ Paint”, a woman painting a gaudy Paris skyline with a glass of wine). But her work has always been more destabilising and surreal than caricature, her pony-ponytail meeting in 2019’s “My Pony” bringing inexorably to mind the sumptuous mercurial womanhood of Twin Peaks

    When I ask about the initial development of what would become her style, Weyant refers to a year she spent studying in China after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design. “I had nothing to lose and kind of nothing to gain. It was a really weird, dark, lonely time, but also so beautiful and poetic. I was alone a lot, I didn’t speak the language. I didn’t know how to get around. I was just sort of jogging and painting, and so lonely and so homesick. Which was so good for me, and shaped my practice.”

    Her more recent work has, as often as the gorgeous soft wide-faced women, the kind of euphoric unsettling discord that makes the Magritte selection in her Thyssen show so relevant. And further, as I spent time with her monograph, I found that who I was thinking of most often was not any Dutch master but Philip Guston. The work of hers I love the most (and what I would be acquiring if I found myself with a few million to spare) is the disturbing cartoon mask-like figure of “A Disaster, Such A Catastrophe” (2022). 

    A painting of two women. One is looking up and the other has a cartoon-like face
    ‘A Disaster, Such a Catastrophe’ (2022) © Rob McKeever; Gagosian; © Anna Weyant

    The novelist Emma Cline, a friend and subject of Weyant’s, told me: “She’s a true artist — her involvement with her work is total. It’s like life comes second to her art practice. She’d rather be painting than doing anything else.”

    As we conclude, Weyant is eager to show me the painting she will soon destroy, in that studio space that looks more like the room for a character in Succession to swill brown liquor and brood. She unveils it, a portrait of her friend Ariana, a painter in LA, obscured by a window frame. 

    “I just wasn’t vibing with it, I wasn’t getting the face, so I thought, I’m going to cover it up with the window and then it looked shittier and so I’m throwing [in] the towel.”

    How does that feel? She shrugs.

    “Today I’ll move on.” 

    July 15-October 12, museothyssen.org

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  • CD Projekt Red Reveals ‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2’ for Netflix

    CD Projekt Red Reveals ‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2’ for Netflix

    CD Projekt Red is returning to the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners universe with a new stand-alone entry, which the game developer announced alongside the anime series’ showrunner during a panel at Anime Expo on Friday. 

    The video game developer will once again partner with the animation studio Trigger for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, which, like its predecessor, will stream on Netflix. An official logo and poster art were shared as part of CD PROJEKT RED’s “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners — Behind the Scenes With its Creators,” with a promise that later in the day, Trigger would tease new footage for the series at the Peacock Theater as part of its own panel. 

    The series will serve as a new 10-episode stand-alone story set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077, and asks the question: in a city that thrives in the spotlight of violence and when the world is blinded by spectacle, what extremes will you go to in order to make your story matter? Described as a raw chronicle of redemption and revenge, Edgerunners 2 will, according to the series’ story writer and producer Bartosz Sztybor, not only be a sadder and darker take, but “more bloody, and more raw.” 

    “Night City has a lot of stories to tell. I have a dream that it won’t end with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. There’s more stories, more characters,” he added about his decision to pursue another series. “I wasn’t satisfied with the sadness I received from the audience so I want you to be even more sad now.”

    Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 will feature a new story and fresh characters, and while the series does not currently have a release date, it will be directed by Kai Ikarashi. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners director Hiroyuki Imaishi made a special appearance during the panel to pass the baton for Ikarashi’s directorial debut on the series, after working together on the 2022 entry. Voice actors Emi Lo (Lucy Kushinada) and Zach Aguilar (David Martinez) also appeared on the panel, which saw cast and creatives take fans behind the scenes of the 2022 anime.  

    Sztybor and Ikarashi will be joined on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 by lead character designer Kanno Ichigo and Masahiko Otsuka, who will be responsible for the screenplay adaptation. 

    “[Cyberpunk: Edgerunner’s] David [Martinez’s] story might be over, but there’s plenty more to discover in Night City. And to again have the legendary animation studio Trigger along for the ride makes us at CD Projekt Red so excited to introduce a raw, real chronicle of redemption and revenge, something unlike what we’ve done before,” Sztybor said in a statement. 

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  • Behind Golden Globes’ New Turmoil and Unresolved Issues

    Behind Golden Globes’ New Turmoil and Unresolved Issues

    What is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association without the Golden Globes? We may soon find out.

    For 80 years, dozens of Los Angeles-based print and photo journalists for non-American publications comprised and ran the HFPA, a nonprofit best known for its annual awards ceremony. But in 2023, the HFPA — having faced widespread criticism for its ethics, financial practices and lack of diversity since a 2021 Los Angeles Times exposé, which resulted in the loss of the TV broadcasting deal that provided the organization with most of its revenue — sold the Globes to Dick Clark Productions (which shares a parent company, PMC, with The Hollywood Reporter) and Eldridge (a holding company owned by Todd Boehly).

    The deal, which was approved by a majority of the HFPA’s roughly 90 members, dictated that the HFPA would be dissolved and its members, many of whom had collected salaries from the HFPA (totaling $5.2 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2023, per an IRS filing), would become employees of a new for-profit Golden Globes organization (and would be paid either $250,000 up-front or $75,000 per year for five years). Helen Hoehne, who had been the president of the HFPA, would become president of the Golden Globes organization. And, as part of an effort to increase the diversity of the voting body, hundreds of other journalists from all around the world would be invited to become unpaid members.

    Over the two years since that deal was finalized — during which the Golden Globes organization has implemented bylaws and policies that have helped to regain the industry’s confidence and landed its awards ceremony back on network TV — the number of former HFPA members within the organization, or “legacy voters,” has decreased to about 60, mostly as a result of expulsions and terminations for cause (e.g. former HFPA president Philip Berk) and deaths (e.g. longtime HFPA member Judy Solomon).

    Meanwhile, those remaining legacy voters have become increasingly unhappy, particularly since Hoehne informed them earlier this year that the Golden Globes organization would be discontinuing the $75,000-per-year payments out of concern that they “could add to a perception of bias in voting.” Legacy voters were offered a severance of $102,500 — which, a spokesperson for the Globes organization later said, fulfilled its contractual obligation to them — and were invited to reapply for Globes membership moving forward.

    In recent weeks, as was first reported by The Ankler, the remaining legacy voters began taking steps to reconstitute the HFPA, angered by DCP and Eldridge’s decision to terminate their compensation, as well as DCP and Eldridge’s failure to honor other assurances that they say they were provided related to travel allowances, seats at the award ceremony and lifetime voting privileges.

    The legacy members who had served on the HFPA’s board congregated in late May and passed a vote to hire a new attorney, Reynolds Cafferata; to halt the process of shutting down the HFPA in order to give them time to review the original deal; and to reinstate the legacy voters as HFPA members. They subsequently called on the office of California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta, which oversees nonprofits and charities and has yet to provide final signoff on the 2023 deal, to refrain from doing so.

    Then, last Monday, almost all of the legacy voters gathered for further discussion. After considerable venting about their predicament, they decided to take a vote on ousting Hoehne — who was one of their own, but who they now regard with suspicion — from the reconstituted HFPA’s board. As TheWrap first reported, that measure passed on Thursday. (Hoehne remains president of the Golden Globes organization.)

    Not everyone associated with the legacy voters supports their current efforts. Jeff Harris and Dr. Joanna Dodd Massey, two of the three non-members who the HFPA appointed to its board in 2021 as part of an effort to reform itself in the wake of the Times exposé, and who negotiated the HFPA’s sale on behalf of its members, resigned from the board this week. Massey, in a letter obtained by THR, wrote to the board, “We approved and executed a binding legal agreement to sell the Golden Globes and dissolve the HFPA — an action I believe the membership supported in order to preserve the Golden Globes and continue their admirable charitable work. That decision reflected a difficult but undeniable reality: the Hollywood community made clear it would not support the Globes as long as the HFPA members remained involved. The transaction was conducted with full transparency and due process, as all of the paperwork, notes/recordings and emails demonstrate.”

    Massey continued, “The current effort to reverse it — by questioning the deal, reviving the HFPA, and reinstating memberships — is, in my view, fundamentally flawed and legally without merit. I had hoped to remain on the board to support a good-faith examination of the facts. However, based on what I’ve been told about [Monday’s] meeting, it is clear that exploration is not the goal and reversing the deal is.” She added, “In my experience as an Independent Director on several public and private company boards, the actions now being taken by the board represent a clear breach of fiduciary duty.”

    The question now is whether or not ownership of the Golden Globes awards ceremony is actually in question.

    The office of California’s Attorney General wrote to DCP and Eldridge attorneys in a May 17, 2023 missive obtained by THR: “The Attorney General has no authority to review and therefore takes no position on Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s proposed transaction except with respect to the assets subject to a charitable trust (5% of the net profits of the Golden Globe Awards).” In other words, the only aspect of the 2023 deal that even required or requires approval by the State is the transfer of the HFPA’s charitable trust, now known as the Golden Globe Foundation. And according to numerous sources, the only reason that signoff hasn’t yet been provided is because individual legacy voters have been flooding the AG’s office with complaints, which has delayed the process.

    If the newly reconstituted HFPA were to convince the AG to not sign off on the deal, would that derail only the charitable trust component, or the entire pact? If the former, then again, the question is, what is the HFPA without the Golden Globes, which is what generated the funds for its charitable trust prior to the deal? If the latter, then would the Golden Globes — the next edition of which has already been set to air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 — once again be boycotted by the industry? And would legacy voters also have to return the compensation that they have received over the last two years from DCP and Eldridge?

    We may never find out the answers to these questions, some are speculating, because if a financial settlement can be reached to make the HFPA’s legacy voters drop any and all grievances that they have with the Golden Globes organization, then the office of California’s Attorney General would not have any reason to intervene.

    DCP and Eldridge representatives declined comment. Cafferata and the office of California’s AG did not immediately respond to comment.

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  • Young Noble, who worked with Tupac Shakur, dead in Atlanta at 47

    Young Noble, who worked with Tupac Shakur, dead in Atlanta at 47

    Young Noble, a member of rap group the Outlawz and a Tupac Shakur affiliate, has died at the age of 47.

    The emcee, whose real name is Rufus Lee Cooper III, reportedly took his own life in Atlanta, according to fellow Outlawz member E.D.I. Mean who shared the news of his death on social media.

    “Today I got some of the worst and unexpected news imaginable,” he wrote.

    “My brother and partner for over 30 years took his life this morning. Rest in Power Rufus Young Noble Cooper. I obviously am in no shape to talk about this right now so PLEASE give his family and I some time to process this. Mental illness is a real battle being fought by so many.” Shakur’s Instagram account, managed by his estate, reposted the message.

    The rapper was best known for his work with the Outlawz and appearances on Shakur tracks including “Hail Mary” and the posthumous “Baby Don’t Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II).” Throughout his career, he released five solo albums and numerous collaborative projects with artists including Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone and Dead Prez’s Stic.Man.

    Cooper was born in Sierra Madre, CA, and moved to New Jersey when he was eight years old. It was there that he met fellow Outlawz members Yaki Kadafi and Hussein Fatal and started recording music.

    He connected with Shakur after moving back to California and made his debut on the rapper’s 1996 album “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory,” appearing on the opening track “Bomb First (My Second Reply)” and as part of the Outlawz on “Just Like Daddy” and “Hail Mary.”

    Over the years, Cooper amassed a sizable discography following his solo debut “Noble Justice” in 2002. He released his most recent album “Outlaw University” in 2023.

    Following news of his death, several of his associates posted on social media in his remembrance. “RIP to my Thug Brother @young_noble just got the devastating news,” wrote Layzie Bone.

    “I think of Edi and his whole family. My condolences to his family Wife and kids and friends and fans rest up eternal bro. This mental health is a scary thing.”

    If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

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  • Megyn Kelly slams Charlize Theron for ‘vulgar’ admission: ‘Have some class’

    Megyn Kelly slams Charlize Theron for ‘vulgar’ admission: ‘Have some class’



    Megyn Kelly on Charlize Theron’s relationship admission

    Megyn Kelly didn’t hold back when reacting to Charlize Theron’s recent comments about her personal life. 

    The former Fox News anchor shared strong criticism during the latest episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, where she labeled the actress’s podcast appearance as “vulgar” and “off-putting.”

    “She decided to go on a podcast tour, for some reason, sat down with Call Her Daddy, the s*x podcaster who interviewed Kamala Harris, all about how much they love abortions,” Kelly said. 

    “And this is Charlize Theron trying to sound like [a] super cool girl, and I’m gonna let you decide for yourself whether that’s what she accomplished…”

    Theron, 49, had opened up during her interview with host Alex Cooper, saying, “I did just recently f–k a 26-year-old, and it was really amazing… I’ve never done that.

    And I was like, ‘Oh, this is great.’ Women should be the ones that are like, ‘F–k you, I’m going to have an orgasm.’”

    Kelly questioned the tone and intention behind the actress’s remarks. 

    “She’s 49 years old. She’s trying to sound like she’s 26 years old, and it’s inappropriate. It feels weird. She’s one of our biggest stars, that’s true. Act like it… Have some class.”

    Later in the episode, Kelly went further, suggesting Theron may not be fully truthful about the relationship. 

    “I kind of call bulls–t, because I believe that Charlize Theron probably prefers women. That’s my belief. Okay, I’m entitled to my opinion, and there’s no reason to get into the details as to why I believe it, but I believe it,” she said. 

    “And I don’t think that she’s telling the truth about the 26-year-old.”

    Theron is currently promoting her upcoming Netflix action film The Old Guard 2, and her comments have stirred a wave of reaction online and across media.

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  • ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ Actor Was 56

    ‘Nip/Tuck,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ Actor Was 56

    Julian McMahon, the Australian actor known for his roles in Nip/Tuck and two Fantastic Four movies from 2005 and 2007, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 56.

    McMahon died Wednesday in Clearwater, Florida, his rep David Schiff, founder of MGMT Entertainment, told The Hollywood Reporter.

    McMahon, born in Sydney on July 27, 1968, was the son of former Australian prime minister William McMahon and Lady Sonia McMahon.

    He began acting on Australian soaps The Power, the Passion as well as Home and Away and appeared on the U.S. soap Another World in 1993. He transitioned to primetime TV with a role on NBC’s Profiler and spent three seasons on the WB’s Charmed.

    He memorably starred alongside Dylan Walsh in Ryan Murphy’s FX plastic surgery drama, Nip/Tuck, which ran for six seasons and earned him a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Dr. Christian Troy.

    On the film side, he played Dr. Doom in Tim Story’s two Fantastic Four movies, 2025’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer. His other film credits include roles in Premonition, Red, Paranoia and, last year, The Surfer and The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat.

    His other TV credits include roles on FBI: Most Wanted, Runaways and the recently canceled murder mystery comedy The Residence.

    Reflecting on being an Australian in Hollywood, McMahon told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2017, “It’s a funny town and there’s a bit of a last man standing theory to it sometimes.” Early on, he recalled, often feeling “like you’re not cutting it, you’re never going to and nothing is happening for you and you’re just the wrong person and maybe you should go and do something else or go home to Australia, which a lot of people did.”

    Of his role in FBI: Most Wanted, McMahon told Soap Opera Digest that the part was a “really fascinating character.”

    “I was thinking of going back to network television at the time, and I had read a lot of scripts and I was quite surprised, to be honest, that this is the one that stuck with me the most, but it was and here I am,” he said of joining the CBS series, which had a backdoor pilot in the first season of FBI.

    Reflecting on his career with Soap Opera Digest, McMahon credited the “commitment” he picked up from working on The Power, The Passion and Nip/Tuck.

    “I’ve never lost my passion for what I do,” he said. “And so I think that is something that I’ve carried throughout my whole career and I think it’s been an important facet of what I consider being successful, that I’ve stayed committed to my craft and evolving that craft, and enjoying working in that space.”

    Survivors include his third wife, Kelly, who he married in 2014, and his daughter, Madison, with his second wife, American game show host Brooke Burns. His first wife was Australian singer-actress Dannii Minogue, sister of Kylie Minogue.

    McMahon even had a funny moment with his ex-sister-in-law, filming a scene in which he and Kylie Minogue kiss, when he returned to Australia to make Swinging Safari in 2018.

    “That was an impromptu moment,” McMahon told the Herald Sun. “[Director] Steph [Elliott] said ‘Do what you want, Julian!’ and I thought, ‘Bugger it, I’ll get up and snog my ex sister-in-law’ … She had this great reaction, like she was being attacked by some kind of creature. It was very funny.”

    Mike Barnes contributed to this report.

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  • Katy Perry ‘disappointed and sad’ over Orlando Bloom’s post-split behavior

    Katy Perry ‘disappointed and sad’ over Orlando Bloom’s post-split behavior

    Katy Perry fumes over Orlando Bloom’s party spree post split

    Katy Perry is feeling hurt and disappointed after her split from former fiance Orlando Bloom, as he was seen partying in Italy just weeks after their breakup.

    During Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s star-studded wedding that came right after Katy and Bloom’s split news broke, the 48-year-old actor was spotted enjoying his single life and partying on a yacht.

    On the other hand, the 40-year-old pop star is miles away on the Australian leg of her Lifetimes world tour, was seen fighting back her tears while performing on stage.

    “It’s disappointing,” an insider close to Katy told the outlet how she feels about Orlando behaviour. “It’s hurtful and annoying. If he’s going to behave like an acting-up adolescent, that’s on him. She’s going to continue to work and take care of Daisy.”

    It is pertinent to mention that Katy and Orlando share a four-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove.

    “Katy knows that he’s free to do whatever the hell he wants to do, she hoped he’d do it a little more discreetly and thoughtfully,” the source continued. “So she’s disappointed and sad.”


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  • Text therapy: study finds couples who use emojis in text messages feel closer | Relationships

    Text therapy: study finds couples who use emojis in text messages feel closer | Relationships

    The secret to a good relationship may be staring smartphone users in the face.

    A new study published in the journal Plos One found that using emojis in text messages makes people feel closer and more satisfied in their personal lives.

    Researchers at the University of Texas spoke to 260 people aged between 23 and 67 and asked them to read 15 text message exchanges that varied only in the presence or absence of emojis.

    Participants were instructed to imagine themselves as the sender of each message while focusing on the recipient’s replies to evaluate responsiveness, likability, closeness and relationship satisfaction.

    The study revealed that people who send emojis combined with text are seen to be more responsive in their relationships than people who send text alone.

    It also found emojis serve as nonverbal cues that signal attentiveness and emotional engagement.

    Luke McGregor, 42, and Amy Thunig-McGregor, 37, say being able to use emojis helps their family communicate better.

    Luke said he wasn’t a regular emoji sender at the start of their relationship and had to learn to start incorporating them into text messages to Amy.

    “I traditionally didn’t use emojis that much but when I first got [together] with Amy, I noticed them using them a lot, so there was a vulnerability or a hurdle I had to get over to start using them myself,” McGregor said.

    Emojis help Amy Thunig-McGregor and partner Luke McGregor ‘really be clear with tone and intention’

    “I wanted Amy to know that they were loved, and so to become a regular sender of emojis to Amy in order to communicate affection was at least initially a big deal for me.”

    Amy said emojis were a good tool to enhance their communication.

    “We’re both autistic as well for context … it helps us really be clear with tone and intention in a way that isn’t possible with just written text,” they said.

    Senior lecturer in psychology at Central Queensland University Dr Raquel Peel, who was not involved in the study, said sending emojis can be a creative alternative when people are unable to see their partner face to face.

    “I don’t think we can replace face-to-face interactions because we are talking about intimate partnerships and relationships, but we have to be realistic that this isn’t always possible,” Peel said.

    “So if you can’t meet face to face with your partner for whatever reason staying connected is important.

    “Using emojis is then an effective alternative.”

    Her advice was to not underestimate the value of communication in a relationship and to always try and stay connected to your partner in whatever way you communicate.

    “One thing that people also forget when I’m talking to them about relationships is the value of humour and having a bit of fun,” Peel said.

    “So if emojis can serve a purpose that way, which we know they can, it adds to the element of fun and connection through humour and that is really important.”

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  • ‘X-Files,’ ‘Blue Bloods’ Composer Was 78

    ‘X-Files,’ ‘Blue Bloods’ Composer Was 78

    Mark Snow, the Emmy-nominated composer behind the beloved X-Files theme song, has died. He was 78. 

    Snow died Friday at his home in Connecticut, a representative confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Sean Callery, a fellow composer and friend of Snow’s, also announced his death on Facebook.

    “Mark Snow, and one of the most wonderful and talented people I’ve ever known, has passed away,” he wrote in the Friday post. “33 years ago he began mentoring me as an artist. Who knew that I was also at the beginning of a deep friendship that would only grow and evolve over 3 decades along with our graying hair and tighter deadlines.” 

    Callery continued. “I am so grateful to him for his sage counsel and his laugh-out-loud biting wit. My career got started by an act of generosity on his part 33 years ago – period, full stop. I love you my friend. There will never ever be another like you. I send love to Glynnis and all his children and grandchildren during this time.” 

    Snow notably composed the iconic opening theme for The X-Files. He worked on the crime drama series during its full time on-air from 1993 until its end in 2018.

    Aside from the theme song, he worked on the rest of the show’s music, earning six Emmy nominations throughout his X-Files tenure. Snow, too, served as the composer of the franchise’s 1998 film, The X Files.

    A 15-time Emmy-nominated composer, Snow lent his talents to a slew of shows, including Blue Bloods, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Children of the Dust and Ghost Whisperer, among others. His work has also appeared across film, including features in The New Mutants, Ernest Saves Christmas and Crazy in Alabama

    Snow also frequently worked on TV movies. Some of his past credits include The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, one of his first projects he worked on in 1976 that starred John Travolta, Overboard, Casino, Angel City, Malibu, California Girls, The Lost Capone, An American Story, A Stranger in Town, Trial by Fire, The Perfect Mother, Paradise and Strange Calls. 

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  • Julian McMahon, star of ‘Nip/Tuck’ and ‘Fantastic Four,’ dies at 56

    Julian McMahon, star of ‘Nip/Tuck’ and ‘Fantastic Four,’ dies at 56

    LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 12: The cast and executive producer of the CBS series FBI: MOST WANTED at the TCA WINTER PRESS TOUR 2020 on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, CA. Pictured (L-R): Julian McMahon. (Photo by Francis

    Julian McMahon, the Australian actor who starred in hit series like “Nip/Tuck,” “Charmed,” and “FBI: Most Wanted,” has died at the age of 56.

    His wife, Kelly Paniagua McMahon, confirmed his death in a statement to Deadline on Friday, saying the actor died peacefully on July 2 in Clearwater, Florida, following a private battle with cancer. Warner Bros. Television also acknowledged his passing in a tribute post shared to the official “Nip/Tuck” Facebook page.

    What happened to Julian McMahon?

    The backstory:

    McMahon had not publicly disclosed his illness. His wife revealed in her statement that he had spent his final days surrounded by love.

    “With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer,” Kelly McMahon told Deadline.

    “Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans,” she continued. “His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible.”

    She asked for privacy during this time and expressed gratitude “for the memories” they shared together.

    What we know:

    McMahon passed away on Wednesday, July 2, in Clearwater, Florida. His death was confirmed publicly by Warner Bros. Television in a message on the “Nip/Tuck” Facebook page, which read: “Warner Bros. Television mourns the loss of our friend Julian McMahon. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues, and fans.”

    He is survived by his wife, Kelly, and his daughter, Madison, from a previous marriage.

    What we don’t know:

    No details have been released about the specific type of cancer McMahon battled or whether a public memorial will be held. It’s also unclear if McMahon had any unreleased projects at the time of his death.

    Big picture view:

    McMahon gained widespread recognition in the early 2000s for his role as Dr. Christian Troy on FX’s “Nip/Tuck,” a dark medical drama that became a cultural touchstone. He later portrayed FBI agent Jess LaCroix on “FBI: Most Wanted,” and played the demon Cole Turner on “Charmed.”

    His film roles included Victor Von Doom in the 2005 and 2007 “Fantastic Four” movies, where he played one of Marvel’s most iconic villains.

    Born in Sydney in 1968, McMahon was the son of former Australian Prime Minister Sir William McMahon. He began his career as a model and actor in Australian soaps before finding long-term success in American television and film. Across genres—from supernatural thrillers to procedurals and comic book blockbusters—McMahon became known for his intensity, range, and charm.

    The Source: This report is based on a statement from Kelly McMahon published by Deadline on July 4, 2025, confirming the death of her husband, Julian McMahon. Additional confirmation came from Warner Bros. Television in a public tribute posted to the official “Nip/Tuck” Facebook page. Background information was gathered from Deadline, Variety, and publicly available records of McMahon’s film and television career.

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