Month: February 2022

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Wednesday, February 2, 2022 Focus on the fundamentals, ignore the outrage brigades Since Neil Young noisily departed Spotify in protest over its hosting of Joe Rogan, the platform has endured a slow drip of chart-toppers from a bygone era opting to join Young, and a torrent of bad press. Meanwhile, related Google searches have spiked dramatically in the last few days. Within the last few days, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, Graham Nash, India Arie (a personal favorite) have also pulled their music off Spotify (SPOT) in solidarity in an effort to oust the podcaster — by far Spotify’s most popular personality, with 11 million listeners.  On Sun...

Global survival expert and adventurer, Bear Grylls, has told CNBC that role models including his own father taught him that there was more to life than just top grades. "I feel in many areas, I stand on the shoulders of giants like that in my career and some of the early teachers and later teachers were inspirational for me. I think my late father was a great influence as well," Grylls said. Grylls, speaking ahead of the International Day of Education on Jan. 24, said that he wasn't a straight-A student during his time at school in England, explaining that he didn't always return home with brilliant school reports. But what Grylls also remembers was the reaction he received from his father. "I was never at the top of anything whether its sports or academics, when I came...

Michael Jackson’s estate is calling the ‘Leaving Neverland’ documentary a ‘character assassination’ after it debuts at the Sundance Film Festival. Janet Jackson's celebrity may seem to ebb and flow at times, but her impact on the world of music is undeniable. The 55-year-old pop star is the subject of the eponymous four-part Lifetime docuseries that aired at the end of January, chronicling her career from its earliest days until very recently. The first part last Friday was seen by 2.8 million people on live TV, and another 1.2 million in the next few days either digitally or on demand, the Nielsen company said. Part two had a similar viewership of 4.3 million, Part three had 3.7 million and the final part had 3.8 million. Those numbers were expected to grow with dela...

Amid the mounting pressure on Spotify over allegations of Covid misinformation presented on its Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the show’s host made an apology of sorts — “if I pissed you off, I’m sorry” — and garnered support from Dwayne Johnson, Kevin James, Jewel, Jamie Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, Troy Aikman, Kat Von D, Domanic Monaghan, Candice Owens, Jillian Michaels, Tomi Lahren and Andrew Dice Clay. All of those boldfaced names responded in the comments section of the Instagram video that Rogan posted Monday in which he said he just likes to have “interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions,” but admitted he doesn’t “always get it right” and promised to “do better.” He did so in response to criticism from Neil Young and Joni Mitchell aover what...

Two days after the tragic passing of Cheslie Kryst, the official cause of death of the former Miss USA has been revealed. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to People on Feb. 1 that she died by suicide, according to the autopsy. Per CNN, the 30-year-old beauty queen suffered multiple blunt impact injuries. The lawyer and Extra TV correspondent fell from a "higher elevation" of a 60-story condominium in New York City just after 7 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30, and was pronounced dead at the scene, a NYPD spokesperson previously told E! News.  "In devastation and great sorrow, we share the passing of our beloved Cheslie," her family said in a statement to Extra. "Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength. She cared, ...

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Michael Jackson's children Paris, Prince, and Blanket turned out in support during the star-studded opening night of Broadway's MJ: The Musical at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City. MJ: The Musical follows Jackson, played by Broadway newcomer Myles Frost, as he prepares to embark on his now-iconic Dangerous world tour, which spanned from 1992 to 1993. Paris, 23, dazzled on the red carpet in a gorgeous red patterned wrap dress that fell just below the knee.  Opening night: Michael Jackson's daughter Paris and son Prince turned out in support during the star-studded opening night of Broadway's MJ: The Musical at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City Bond: Their youngest sibling Jackson's youngest son Prince Michael Jackson II A...