00:00Hey everyone, I'm Brandi Victorian and this is The Hollywood Reporter News.
00:03Hollywood gave us plenty to talk about this week, so before you head into the weekend,
00:06here are five stories worth knowing.
00:09First up, Sidney Sweeney is once again at the center of an advertising controversy.
00:14The Euphoria star partnered with sports trading platform Novig for a new campaign built around
00:18the idea of just sports. But the ad, which features Sweeney mostly nude and strategically
00:22covered by sports balls and uniforms, has some people asking, how much sports are we really
00:27talking about here? The campaign is facing backlash online, particularly from women working in sports
00:32who say the imagery reinforces the sexualization they've worked to overcome in a male-dominated
00:37industry. Sweeney says the idea was simply to have fun and put the focus entirely on sports.
00:42Safe to say the internet has focused on other things. Next, Paramount may be packing its bags.
00:49CEO David Ellison is exploring moving the studio's headquarters out of California and Texas would
00:54very much like the forwarding address. According to records obtained by THR, Ellison met with Texas
01:00Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick as state officials worked to lure Paramount away from Hollywood.
01:05Tennessee and Georgia have also been in the conversation. Ellison has set an October 1 deadline
01:09tied to the legal battle surrounding Paramount's and Warner Bros. Discovery deal. And if Paramount does
01:13move, nearly 2,500 Los Angeles area jobs could be at risk. Now from Hollywood to a very different kind
01:19of
01:19million-dollar story, McLemore says he's donating $1 million in net earnings from his time on Ed
01:25Sheeran's Loop Tour to organizations supporting Palestinian people. And he's publicly challenged
01:29New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match it. Kraft responded by alleging he'll do one better,
01:35pledging $2 million to a humanitarian aid in the region. The exchange follows McLemore being dropped
01:40from Sheeran's tour after controversy surrounding his pro-Palestinian speeches. Sheeran says the decision
01:46to remove McLemore was made by the tour promoter and not by him. Now over in Mobland, Pierce Brosnan
01:53and Helen Mirren are making one thing very clear, they're team Tom. The two stars tell THR they were
01:58blindsided by reports of tension surrounding co-star Tom Hardy during season two. Brosnan called the
02:03controversy, quote, a storm in a teacup, while Mirren said she never contemplated the series continuing
02:09without Hardy. Brosnan put it even more simply, quote, Tom is Mobland. And apparently Paramount Plus agrees,
02:16because Hardy is officially returning for season three. Now finally, the Giggly Squad is laughing
02:21all the way to SiriusXM. Hannah Brunner and Paige DeSorbo have signed a four-year deal with SiriusXM
02:27following a competitive bidding process. Sources tell THR the deal is worth around $160 million.
02:34SiriusXM will handle exclusive global sales for audio and video episodes of the podcast
02:39with additional Giggly Squad programming expected in 2027. That's a lot of giggling and a whole lot of
02:45money. And that's your THR News. I'm Brandi Victorian and for all the latest entertainment news and the
02:50full stories, head to thehollywoodreporter.com. See you next time.
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