分类： entertainment

Twenty years after the original *The Devil Wears Prada* cemented its status as a beloved modern cultural classic, the film’s iconic original cast gathered under the bright lights of Manhattan’s red carpet Monday night for the global premiere of the long-anticipated sequel, *The Devil Wears Prada 2*.

Oscar-winning leading lady Meryl Streep, who reprises her career-defining role as the sharp-tongued, intimidating Runway Magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, was joined by her original co-stars: Anne Hathaway, who returns as grown-up former assistant Andy Sachs; Emily Blunt, who reprises the iconic role of Miranda’s quick-witted former assistant Emily Charlton; and Stanley Tucci, who is back as art director Nigel Kipling.

When quizzed about the 20-year gap between the first installment and the sequel, Streep questioned the delay in an on-camera interview with Disney Plus, the streamer behind the project. Co-star Tucci echoed her sentiment, comparing stepping back into his familiar role to riding a bicycle — a skill that never truly fades with time.

The new film picks up years after the original story’s conclusion: a now professionally established Andy Sachs has returned to the iconic fashion publication Runway, where Miranda Priestly is grappling with the rapid decline of print media in the digital age. The veteran editor finds herself in a high-stakes professional showdown with her former assistant Emily, who has climbed the ranks to become a powerful media executive controlling the advertising budget Miranda desperately needs to keep her magazine afloat. The sequel also adds several notable new cast members, including Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s latest husband, plus rising star Simone Ashley and veteran actor Lucy Liu in undisclosed roles.

True to the franchise’s fashion-focused roots, high-end couture took center stage at the premiere. Three-time Academy Award winner Streep turned heads in a bold red custom Givenchy ensemble, while Hathaway wore a design from Louis Vuitton and Blunt donned a creation from Schiaparelli. In a surprising philanthropic twist, Streep announced that every garment, piece of jewelry, handbag and shoe featured in the sequel will be auctioned off following the film’s release, with 100% of proceeds going to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Hathaway and Blunt both emphasized that the sequel would never have come to fruition without the enduring love of fans, who have kept the original film a staple of pop culture for two decades. “We’re literally here because of you, because you took us into your hearts and kept us there for 20 years and said ‘we want more.’ That’s why this whole dream has continued for us,” Hathaway told reporters.

Other notable A-listers in attendance on the red carpet included Anna Wintour, the former longtime editor-in-chief of *Vogue*, who has long been cited as the real-life inspiration for Streep’s iconic Miranda Priestly character.

*The Devil Wears Prada 2* is set to hit theaters worldwide on May 1. The 2006 original is widely regarded as one of the sharpest satires of the American fashion industry ever committed to film, celebrated for its nuanced exploration of power, ambition and the allure of high fashion that still resonates with audiences two decades later.

A high-stakes defamation trial has commenced in a Sydney court, pitching Hollywood star Rebel Wilson against rising Australian actress Charlotte MacInnes, the lead of Wilson’s recently released musical comedy *The Deb*. At the center of the legal clash are a series of Instagram posts Wilson published in 2024 and 2025, which MacInnes’ legal team argues are baseless, malicious lies that have permanently damaged her professional reputation.\n\nThe events under scrutiny trace back to September 2023, when MacInnes and *The Deb* producer Amanda Ghost spent an afternoon at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach. After Ghost experienced a sudden allergic reaction to the cold ocean water — a condition called cold urticaria that triggered painful red welts and uncontrollable shaking — the pair retreated to Ghost’s nearby beachfront apartment. MacInnes ran a hot bath to help Ghost warm up, with both women remaining in their swimsuits while sharing the oversized tub, the court heard. Ghost’s assistant even stayed in the bathroom preparing hot drinks for part of the time, and the two never made physical contact, according to MacInnes’ senior counsel Sue Chrysanthou.\n\nWilson has claimed that MacInnes originally told her she felt sexually uncomfortable following the shared bath, filed an implicit complaint, then later retracted the claim in exchange for a plum lead theater role and a major record deal. But MacInnes’ legal team refutes every part of this narrative, arguing the actress never made any complaint of sexual harassment at all. Instead, they say Wilson twisted a passing comment about the situation being “bizarre” into a false harassment narrative to gain leverage in a separate dispute with *The Deb* producers over budget and contract terms. The defamation claims, Chrysanthou told the court, are nothing more than “completely false, fantasy, malicious concoctions.”\n\nOpening arguments on the first day of the trial included the presentation of private text exchanges between Wilson, Ghost and MacInnes, as well as email chains detailing the competing accounts of the 2023 incident. Court documents show Wilson even acknowledged in an early text to Ghost that “Charlotte says all good. She just meant ‘it was a bizarre situation’ not that she personally felt uncomfortable.” The three women even attended a Boy George concert together the same night the text was sent, the court confirmed.\n\nWilson’s legal team has pushed back against MacInnes’ claims, arguing that the young actress deliberately lied about ever making an initial complaint to win professional favor from Ghost. Since the incident, Wilson’s lawyer Dauid Sibtain noted, MacInnes has landed the lead role in a Boston production of *Gatsby* and secured a record deal, with new music expected to release imminently. “She’s suffered no harm to her reputation, indeed, her career has progressed,” Sibtain told the court, adding that MacInnes’ changed story was a calculated move to advance her career by aligning with Ghost’s version of events.\n\nFor MacInnes, a 2021 graduate of a Western Australian acting academy who rose to prominence through the stage version of *The Deb* before landing the film role, the allegations have destroyed her core reputation for honesty and integrity, and she is seeking unspecified damages in the case. *The Deb* premiered in Australian theaters earlier this month, marking Wilson’s latest project following her breakout roles in *Pitch Perfect* and *Bridesmaids*. This trial is not the only legal trouble Wilson is currently navigating: she is already involved in a separate contract dispute with *The Deb* producers in an Australian court, and faces another defamation lawsuit from the same producers in the U.S., where she has also filed a countersuit. The Sydney trial, which opened Monday, is scheduled to run for nine days as the court hears full arguments from both sides.

Decades after Japan’s iconic 1980s delinquent subculture faded from the streets, a surprise global hit reality dating series on Netflix has sparked a resurgence of fascination with the ‘yankii’ counterculture, drawing both new fans and enduring criticism across the country. Today, young Japanese enthusiasts like 15-year-old Reona are embracing the iconic aesthetic of the original yankii movement: towering Elvis-inspired pompadours, altered school uniforms that emphasize a rebellious silhouette, and baggy trousers designed to project an imposing, tough persona. For Reona, the allure lies in the unapologetic boldness of the 1980s generation of rebels. ‘I think their hardcore manliness on full display is so cool,’ he told reporters, drawing a sharp contrast between the original yankii movement and the shallow, online-focused delinquency that dominates modern youth culture. Born from the economic boom and social unrest of 1980s Japan, the original yankii movement was defined by hot-blooded teens who rejected rigid social conformity through reckless motorcycle rides, inter-school clashes, and large-scale street brawls. The movement’s signature ‘bosozoku’ motorcycle gangs, flamboyant custom bikes, and embroidered military-style ‘tokkofuku’ jackets became cultural symbols, alongside widely celebrated traits like loyalty to friends, chivalry, and unfiltered straightforwardness. Despite longstanding disapproval from Japan’s generally conformist mainstream society, yankii culture has remained a staple of Japanese pop fiction, spanning hit anime, manga, and feature films. Now, Netflix has broken new ground by bringing the subculture out of fiction and into unscripted reality with its series *Badly in Love*, which follows 11 young people with past delinquent ties, including former bosozoku members, as they navigate dating. To coincide with the show’s viral success, a yankii-themed exhibition is currently running in Tokyo, recreating the chaotic energy of the 1980s movement through displays of custom motorcycles and authentic tokkofuku garments. The resurgence of interest in classic yankii culture comes as many young Japanese people openly dismiss modern youth delinquency as cowardly and unprincipled. Unlike the 1980s rebels, who fought openly and faced consequences for their actions, modern delinquents are often criticized for chasing TikTok clout through petty pranks, engaging in online bullying, and running ‘black market part-time jobs’ that scam vulnerable elderly citizens. High-profile incidents like the so-called ‘sushi terrorism’ pranks, where teen customers posted viral videos of unhygienic stunts at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, have drawn particular condemnation from classic yankii fans. ‘Getting arrested for riding around your motorcycle may have some honour, but getting arrested for those sushi pranks is plain lame,’ Reona said. Even many parents of young yankii enthusiasts draw clear lines between embracing the subculture’s aesthetic and endorsing harmful behavior. Hirotaka Sotooka, a 43-year-old Tokyo resident whose 8-year-old son has developed a fascination with gangster-style yankii fashion, says he tolerates the aesthetic and even appreciates the culture’s focus on loyalty, but sets firm boundaries. ‘I don’t want him to bully the weak, be violent toward women or do anything purely evil,’ Sotooka explained during a February visit to the Tokyo yankii exhibition, where he watched his son pose for photos in front of a vintage bosozoku-style motorcycle. ‘Otherwise it’s his life to enjoy.’ While interest in the yankii aesthetic has grown, the actual bosozoku biker gangs that defined the 1980s movement have all but disappeared. Official Japanese police data shows the total number of bosozoku members has plummeted nearly 90% from the 1982 peak, dropping to just 5,880 active members in 2024. Kenichiro Iwahashi, a former bosozoku biker who now works as a delinquency researcher, says widespread surveillance is the biggest driver of the decline. ‘Surveillance cameras are now everywhere and everyone films you on an iPhone and leaves proof of your act,’ he explained. As a result, the hardcore, unlicensed, helmet-free bosozoku gangs that dominated 1980s streets are ‘almost non-existent today.’ In mainstream Japanese society, real-world yankii culture still remains deeply stigmatized, with many critics arguing that it normalizes rule-breaking and can lead to lifelong criminal activity. Satoru Saito, a popular 33-year-old comedian who performs under a yankii persona complete with a towering quiff, shaved eyebrows, and authentic tokkofuku, says he regularly faces online harassment from people who condemn his ‘anti-social’ aesthetic. ‘For some people, this is a hard no,’ he said. ‘Most of these yankii folks are doing things like fighting or committing crimes, and the act of riding motorcycles at midnight can be extremely noisy, so I get why they are hated.’ That stigma makes *Badly in Love* a particularly audacious project that no mainstream Japanese TV network would have agreed to produce, according to veteran entertainment journalist Motohiko Tokuriki. While yankii-themed fiction like *Tokyo Revengers* and *Crows* has long been popular as escapist fantasy, airing unscripted content featuring real former delinquents would have ‘risked exposing TV stations to criticism from the public that they are endorsing the yankii culture,’ Tokuriki explained. Aware of the public backlash risk, Netflix took extra steps to avoid sensationalizing or glorifying delinquency, going far beyond basic legal compliance to contextualize cast members’ past mistakes. ‘We had extensive internal discussions… to ensure the production would not be perceived as glorifying or condoning the violence,’ said Dai Ota, the show’s executive producer. The gamble has paid off: *Badly in Love* has spent weeks on Netflix’s global top 10 most-watched list, earning large audiences across South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other international markets, with a second season set to premiere later this year. Ota says the show’s core goal is not to celebrate delinquency, but to humanize young people who have long been marginalized as social outcasts. ‘Our hope was to show that these young people — who have often been marginalised or labelled as ‘social outcasts’ — are simply youths who worry, struggle and genuinely grow,’ he explained. For many cast members, that framing aligns with their own perspective on their pasts. Otoha, a 23-year-old Season 1 participant who has the tough, heavily tattooed exterior stereotypical of yankii culture, says she is actually an introvert who now sees her past delinquent behavior as embarrassing. ‘I’d like people not to admire us, but take us as their anti-role model,’ she told reporters.

The highly anticipated big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, *Michael*, is set to hit cinemas worldwide this week, bringing the story of the King of Pop’s iconic rise to the big screen — but the tightly curated narrative has sparked intense backlash over its deliberate exclusion of the child sexual abuse allegations that shadowed the singer’s final decades.

Produced by Graham King, the creative force behind the record-breaking Queen biopic *Bohemian Rhapsody*, the film tracks Jackson’s journey from his working-class childhood in Gary, Indiana, as part of the Jackson 5, through his evolution into a global pop phenomenon, culminating in showstopping performance footage from his legendary 1987 Bad World Tour. The $200 million production is backed by Lionsgate, which has set ambitious box office targets, hoping the film can approach the $910 million global haul of *Bohemian Rhapsody* — the current highest-grossing musical biopic of all time — and hit $700 million in worldwide ticket sales.

In a surprising casting choice, the lead role is filled by Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s 29-year-old nephew who had never appeared on screen before taking the part. Speaking to *The Tonight Show* host Jimmy Fallon earlier this month, Jaafar described the daunting experience of stepping into his uncle’s shoes: “They threw me right in the deep end.” He added that he trained closely with Jackson’s original choreographers to master the singer’s iconic moves, calling the role “a surreal, spiritual moment.” Early reviews praise Jaafar’s convincing performance, noting that the high-energy concert sequences are crafted to delight diehard fans of Jackson’s landmark albums *Thriller* and *Bad*.

The film’s close ties to the Jackson family have become its most contentious point. All of Jackson’s surviving siblings serve as executive producers, granting them full approval over the final cut ahead of the global release. Jackson’s sons Prince and Bigi, alongside brothers Jackie, Jermaine, and Marlon Jackson, turned out for the film’s red carpet premiere in Berlin on April 10, but one prominent family member has publicly disavowed the project: Jackson’s daughter Paris, who had no involvement in the production. Writing on Instagram last September, she argued that the narrative caters only to fans who refuse to confront the allegations against her father, saying: “The narrative is being controlled and there’s a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies.”

According to entertainment industry outlet *Variety*, the omissions are not just a creative choice driven by the family. A full third of the original cut that explored the abuse allegations had to be cut and reshot after lawyers for the Jackson estate discovered a legal clause in a 1990s settlement with accuser Jordan Chandler that prohibits any mention of Chandler in the film. While Jackson was never convicted in any criminal or civil trial related to the allegations, multiple new lawsuits from alleged victims have been filed since his 2009 death from an accidental overdose at age 50, and several of those cases remain active.

The production faced multiple delays, pushing its original 2025 release date forward by a full year to 2024. Critics of the film, including Duke University African and African American Studies professor Mark Anthony Neal, say the choice to whitewash the allegations fits a longstanding Hollywood pattern of sanitizing celebrity biographies to maximize commercial appeal. “I would love that the film would tell the most human story about Michael Jackson possible,” Neal told AFP. “But I also realise that we’re in a period of time where Hollywood does not deal with celebrities in that way.”

Regardless of the controversy, industry analysts expect *Michael* to be a major commercial success, and it will almost certainly add to the lucrative Jackson family entertainment franchise. The Broadway production *MJ: The Musical* opened in 2022 and has since launched international tours, while Cirque du Soleil’s *Michael Jackson ONE* has been a staple Las Vegas attraction since 2013, generating steady revenue for the estate for more than a decade.