• More than 817,000 people moved out of California from 2021 to 2022, per most recent census data. 
• It's not just regular people: Celebrities have left Los Angeles for places like Texas and Florida.
• Here are 20 celebrities who left LA — plus where they chose to move to and why. 

California is the US state with the most people moving out, with about 817,000 leavers between 2021 and 2022, according to the most recent census data.

A higher cost of living plus the increased threat of wildfires have people choosing other places across the country.

And while regular people ditch the Golden State, several celebrities, who can typically afford to live wherever they want, have also decided California is no longer the place for them.

Singer-turned-talk show host Kelly Clarkson traded Los Angeles for New York City post-divorce for in 2022, while actor Sylvester Stallone said earlier this year that he and his family are "permanently" vacating California for South Florida.

Popular moving destinations for Californians include Arizona, Florida, and Texas. And some have chosen different countries completely.

People have told Business Insider recently that reasons for leaving LA and California include high taxes, expensive home prices, and challenging social and political conditions. Some celebrities remain tight-lipped when sharing moves of their news, simply saying they're looking for a fresh start. Other high-profile actors, however, admit that the fast-paced, stressful scene in Hollywood can be another motivation.

Los Angeles, in particular, is experiencing an exodus of wealthier people in search of places where their money goes further.

Take Gus Lira, a managing partner at a private jet charter company, who had a condo in Malibu overlooking the ocean. California taxes were wearing him down, so he decided to move to Nevada.

"For me, really the main reason, and for many of the people that I know, is just taxes," Lira told Business Insider in January. "You can't get ahead when you get $100 and they take $60."

Business Insider compiled a list of 22 celebrities — some in celebrity couples — who left California for greener pastures, presented in alphabetical order by last name. We tried to include both where they moved to and why they left LA.

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake left LA to shield their kids from the glare of the paparazzi.

The power couple has dealt with the paparazzi for most of their professional careers. But they had enough of their kids also having to endure it.

Since 2018, Biel, Timberlake, and their two kids have lived predominantly at their properties in Tennessee and Montana.

"You get hammered on the East Coast. You kind of get hammered on the West Coast. That's why we don't really live there anymore," said Biel in a May 22 episode of SiriusXM's "Let's Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa," seemingly referring to her former home of LA. "We're just trying to create some normalcy for these kids."

Dean Cain left LA for Las Vegas because of the "incredible taxation" and "horrible regulations for business" in California.

Dean Cain, best known for playing Clark Kent/Superman in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," was fed up with how things were run in California.

The actor split for Vegas last year.

"It's the most ridiculous large government, incredible taxation, horrible regulations for business," he told Fox News Digital in 2023. "Very anti-business."

Cain said California's personal income tax felt especially high.

"I moved to Las Vegas. I live in Nevada now," he added. "I have 10 times as nice a house. I'm not kidding. Ten times as nice a house as I had in Malibu. The house is absolutely stunningly built. Gorgeous, beautiful. Everything is brand new."

Kelly Clarkson didn't just move from LA to New York — she took her daytime talk show with her.

Kelly Clarkson felt she had a new lease on life when she moved to New York City last year.

After finalizing her divorce from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2022, she didn't just take her kids east. She also brought "The Kelly Clarkson Show" — it started taping in New York in season 5.

"I was very depressed for the last three years — and maybe a little before that, if I'm being honest. I think I really needed the change," the Grammy winner told People. "I needed it for me and my family as well. My kids are thriving here. We're just doing so much better, and we needed a fresh start."

Jesse Eisenberg

Actor and director Jesse Eisenberg took the pandemic as an opportunity to leave Los Angeles. Eisenberg, his wife, and their son packed up an RV and drove to his wife's hometown of Bloomington, Indiana.

"We have driven cross-country a lot, but we thought it would be prudent to isolate in an RV instead of stopping at hotels," Eisenberg told The Hollywood Reporter.

Initially, Eisenberg moved to Indiana to help take care of his late mother-in-law after she got sick and also help out at a domestic violence shelter where she worked.

But Eisenberg was happy to be in Indiana.

"I've lived in Indiana for a decade on-and-off and that's where I feel the most comfortable," Eisenberg told CBS News in February. "I'm not somebody who wants to surround myself in an industry that just feels kind of unstable."

Walton Goggins

"The White Lotus" star Walton Goggins and his wife Nadia Conners moved to New York's Hudson Valley during the pandemic in 2021. But, he told Architectural Digest in February, the move was less about California, and more about New York.

"We weren't running away from Los Angeles," he said. "We were running toward something."

"The pandemic opened windows of self-perception and possibility," he added. "It was an opportunity to do something different, not to start over from scratch but to change, to evolve."

Goggins, who was raised in Georgia, chose to live in a 1920s home upstate that resembles a hunting lodge — with an abundance of wood paneling and wood flooring — instead of the glitzy surroundings of Los Angeles.

John Goodman left LA in the late '80s.

John Goodman figured out a long time ago that Los Angeles wasn't for him and has been living in New Orleans since the late 1980s.

Like many, the Emmy winner first visited Crescent City to party. In the late 1970s, he showed up with his fraternity pals. A few years later, as an actor, he was shooting the movie "Everybody's All-American" alongside Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, and Timothy Hutton when he met his future wife, Anna Beth. He's been attached to the city ever since.

"I used to come down here every time I'd get a few dimes to rub together, and it felt like I was missing something unless I was here," he told "Today" in 2023. "I consider myself very lucky to be here."

Josh Harnett has been living in the English countryside since the pandemic. He left Hollywood after dealing with a stalker.

The actor recently gained renewed attention thanks to movies like "Oppenheimer" and "Trap," but don't expect to find him hanging out on the Sunset Strip. Since the pandemic, he's ditched LA for the English countryside.

Harnett and his wife, British actor Tamsin Egerton, have lived in Hampshire since COVID hit, bringing up their four kids. He's living in the UK on a marriage visa, so he can only leave the country for work 180 days a year.

After spending his early career in the Hollywood spotlight, Harnett told The Guardian he loves the village country life where "nobody cares" who you are.

"This is all brand new to me," he said. "I never would have expected it. And time passes quickly. With four children, you have so much to do. In a way, less is happening. But more of the important stuff is happening."

Being outside Hollywood is also safer for Hartnett. He told The Guardian that when he lived in LA, he had experiences with stalkers.

"People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me," he said. "A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison. There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn't going to be grist for the mill."

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban moved to Tennessee to be closer to the country music scene.

A year after Nicole Kidman tied the knot with country-music star Keith Urban, the two got the heck out of LA.

In 2007, they moved to Nashville, where the Australian Oscar winner dove headfirst into Urban's world.

"That country-music community is a very warm community," she told People in 2016. "It's very protective. Keith's been a part of it for decades now. It's his home, it's our home."

Lindsay Lohan left LA for Dubai and now has privacy, peace, and space.

Lohan has lived on both coasts, but she currently prefers to be in the United Arab Emirates, where she lives with her husband, financier Bader Shammas, and their two-year-old son.

In a May 2025 profile in Elle, Lohan said that when she was living in Los Angeles, she would be "stressed" about the paparazzi taking photos of her while at the park with her son. Living in New York, there's a "different kind of energy" but not as much space. Living in Dubai, she gets it all.

"I get the privacy, I get the peace, I get the space," she said. "I don't have to worry there; I feel safe."

Eva Longoria and her family split time between Mexico and Spain.

The star and producer made the decision a few years ago to move out of Los Angeles.

She now splits her time between Mexico and Spain. She told Marie Claire in 2024 that she left Hollywood behind because it felt like that "chapter in my life is done now."

While recently on "Live with Kelly and Mark," Longoria said she loves traveling to the Andalucía region of Spain to enjoy the small beach bars and restaurants.

Matthew McConaughey headed to Texas to help his family.

A few years before the McConaissance led to Matthew McConaughey's best actor Oscar win, he and his wife Camila Alves fled Hollywood for his home state of Texas.

The two settled in Austin in 2012 after buying a 10,800-square-foot mansion. According to a profile in Southern Living, it was initially because of a "family crisis," as he needed to help his mother and two brothers. That led to the couple deciding to stay put to raise their three children there.

"Ritual came back," McConaughey said of being back in Texas. "Whether that was Sunday church, sports, dinner together as a family every night, or staying up after that telling stories in the kitchen, sitting at the island pouring drinks and nibbling while retelling them all in different ways than we told them before."

'This is Us' star Chrissy Metz packed up for the Southern hospitality of Nashville.

After 21 years on the grind in LA, Metz packed up and left town when the pandemic hit.

She now resides in Nashville.

"There's a lot going on," "The Hunting Wives" star told People in April 2025. "There's obviously great music, great food. I grew up in the South, so I'm used to sort of that hospitality — it feels more communal here. In LA it was always like, 'Oh, you have an audition? What's it for? Oh, you have an audition? What for?' It was all very dog eat dog!"

Glen Powell moved to Texas after making it big in LA.

Glen Powell left Los Angeles and returned to his home state of Texas in 2024.

Powell, who had a breakout role in "Top Gun: Maverick," has lived in Los Angeles for more than 15 years, but told The Hollywood Reporter that he's done enough in Hollywood and he feels he can now live elsewhere. "It's like I've earned the ability to go back to my family," he said.

Not only does living in Texas allow Powell to be closer to family, but he's also finishing his degree at the University of Texas.

"I think this is going to be good for my head, heart, and soul," he said.

Amanda Seyfried headed to upstate New York for a taste of the simple life.

With movies like "Mean Girls" and "Mamma Mia!" in her filmography, you would think Amanda Seyfried would want to lay her head down somewhere glamorous.

But she actually prefers life on a farm.

Seyfried spends most of her time on a farm in the Catskills, a mountain range north of New York City, told Architectural Digest reported in 2023. in 2023 that that she purchased in 2014.

"It's insane how much I can feel so accomplished and successful here without having to be in a successful movie," she told The New York Times in 2020.

Sylvester Stallone wanted a new start in Florida.

After decades of living in Los Angeles — including in his first dingy apartme.nt on Balboa Boulevard, which would become the inspiration for his iconic character Rocky Balboa — Sylvester Stallone packed up and left town in 2023.

This was first revealed in early 2024, during season two of his reality series "The Family Stallone".

"After a long, hard consideration, your mother and I have decided, time to move on and leave the state of California permanently, and we're going to go to Florida," Stallone said. "We're going to sell this house."

Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, gave multiple reasons for the relocation, including the desire for a fresh start after their children moved out of the family home.

Rod Stewart went back to his roots in England.

The legendary rocker decided that at 79 years old, it was time to stop traveling across the pond.

Last year, he put his sprawling 38,500-square-foot Beverly Hills property, which he has lived in since 1975, on the market.

Selling the home is bittersweet for Stewart: "I don't want to sell it, and the kids don't want me to sell it either," Stewart told People. "There's too many fond memories. I've lived [in LA] since 1975, and I adore the place."

But he said he's making England a more permanent home since wrapping up his latest world tour and Las Vegas residency last year.

Hilary Swank moved to a Colorado ski town.

The Oscar winner is loving her new life in the mountains of Telluride, Colorado, on 168 acres with five rescue dogs.

She and her husband, Philip Schneider, bought the land in 2016, broke ground in 2018, and finally completed the home in 2020.

A year later, she put her LA home on the market and has been living it up in the great outdoors.

"I have been looking for land since I was in my mid-20s," Swank told Architectural Digest in 2022. "I find nature to be my happiest place, and animals are my other happiest place. And to be with both of them is everything to me."

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively left LA after just six months of dating.

When you know, you know. After less than a year of dating, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively packed up their stuff and left Hollywood for the suburbs of New York City.

In 2012, after six months of dating, the couple bought a $2.3 million home in Pound Ridge, New York.

"We don't live in LA. We live on a farm in New York," said the "Deadpool" star in a 2015 interview. "And we don't lead a wild and crazy life. It's not that hard. It's not a big deal."

Julia Roberts hasn't lived in LA for decades.

The Oscar winner realized many years ago that Los Angeles wasn't for her.

Roberts moved to a 32-acre ranch in Taos, New Mexico, in 1995.

The "Pretty Woman" star told Oprah back in 2003 that in New Mexico, everything is "clear."

"Around here, I come and go like it's nothing," she said. "Los Angeles is such a town of show business, and I'm a terrible celebrity. I find it difficult — it's the beast that must be fed."

Eric Stonestreet left Hollywood for Kansas City to get away from the "douchebaggery" of the business.

"Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet did not mince words when he explained why he's been living in Kansas City since the acclaimed show ended after 11 seasons in 2020.

In a September interview with long-form interview journalist Graham Bensinger, he said a big reason he left LA was to get away from all the fake people in Hollywood.

"What I realized it does is it highlights everything great about our business, the entertainment business," the actor said on what it's like to no longer live in LA. "And it highlights all the douchebaggery of our business. It amplifies it. Because I'm here, I'm dealing with people from here, and I'm going into the store and having all these authentic, real moments, and then I go to Hollywood, and you're reminded of some of the types of people that you deal with."

James Van Der Beek moved his family out of LA after he and his wife renewed their vows in Austin.

In 2020, James Van Der Beek and his wife Kimberly renewed their wedding vows for their 10th anniversary in Austin, Texas.

A year later, they moved their six kids from LA to Austin, where they now live on a 36-acre property.

"We wanted to get the kids out of Los Angeles," Van Der Beek told Austin Lifestyle in 2021. "We wanted to give them space and we wanted them to live in nature."

Mark Wahlberg moved his family to Las Vegas for a "fresh start."

Boston-born Mark Wahlberg set out to LA years ago to make it as an actor. Over his career, he realized he rarely stayed there to make any of his movies. So, in 2022, he packed up and moved his family to Las Vegas.

He told The Talk in October 2022 that in Nevada his four kids can more easily pursue their hobbies, including golfing, riding horses, and playing basketball.

"We came here to just kind of give ourselves a new look, a fresh start for the kids, and there's a lot of opportunity here," Wahlberg told The Talk. "I'm really excited about the future."

• Taylor Swift's net worth is $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.
• The pop star is a prolific songwriter who's amassed a significant fortune throughout her career.
• Here's how Swift earns and spends her money, from real estate to charitable donations.

Taylor Swift never fails to impress.

At 15, she was the youngest songwriter to ever sign with Sony. Now in her 30s, Swift has 14 Grammys on her shelf — including four for album of the year, the most of any artist in history — several tours under her belt, a long list of chart-topping songs, and a beloved fan base who dub themselves "Swifties."

Such success makes Swift one of the world's highest-paid celebrities and one of the richest female singers. According to a Bloomberg News analysis published on the eve of her "1989" album rerelease, Swift has built a billion-dollar empire.

Forbes later confirmed her billion-plus net worth, citing in part her massive Eras Tour and its subsequent concert movie.

With another new album on the horizon, "The Life of a Showgirl," Swift stands to increase her fortune even more.

See how Swift earns and spends her money below.

Hillary Hoffower, Libby Torres, and Taylor Nicole Rogers contributed to an earlier version of this story.

Taylor Swift has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.

According to Forbes, which published a series of 2024 billionaire reports, Swift is the first musician to reach 10-figure status solely based on songwriting and performances rather than brand deals, makeup lines, or business ventures.

Swift's vast fortune is primarily thanks to her valuable discography and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets, and merchandise.

Representatives for Swift did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider regarding the 2024 Forbes report.

As of August 13, 2025, Forbes estimates Swift's net worth to be $1.6 billion.

The pop star's record-breaking Eras Tour, which began in March 2023, propelled the singer to billionaire status.

Swift's 21-month, five-continent Eras Tour was nothing short of a sensation. By the end of its first year, it had become the first tour to gross over $1 billion in revenue and was on track to become the highest-grossing tour of all time. 

In October 2023, after Swift toured 56 dates across the US and Mexico, the Eras Tour had already generated $780 million and added $4.3 billion to America's gross domestic product, according to Bloomberg Economics.

Throughout 2024, Swift also made stops in Tokyo, Australia, Singapore, Canada, and 11 countries throughout Europe.

By the end of its run, the Eras Tour had grossed over $2 billion.

The morning of Swift's final performance in Vancouver, The New York Times reported that the Eras Tour had crossed the $2 billion threshold, making it the first concert tour in history to do so.

This figure was confirmed by Taylor Swift Touring, the singer's production company. All 149 stadium shows were sold out, and the company said over 10 billion people attended the Eras Tour.

That means the average ticket sold for $204, well above the industry average for top concert tours, per The New York Times. Resale tickets were even pricier, often going for thousands in secondhand markets. (Artists like Swift don't earn anything from resold tickets.)

The movie version of the tour broke box-office records before it was even released. It grossed more than $261 million worldwide.

Worldwide ticket presales had already exceeded $100 million before "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" was released (a day early) on October 12, 2023, AMC Theatres reported.

According to ticketing service Fandango, the film set a record for the highest first-day ticket sales in 2023. It has also become the highest-grossing concert movie of all time, surpassing "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never."

Swift, who bypassed movie studios to personally fund the concert movie, received half of the film's box office earnings. It grossed $261 million worldwide.

Swift cashed in on her blockbuster Eras Tour movie again by selling the streaming rights to Disney for more than $75 million.

Once "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" had left theaters, Swift struck a deal with Disney+ to release the film's extended version on streaming.

According to Puck News, Disney paid upward of $75 million for the exclusive rights.

Citing anonymous sources, the outlet reported that Disney's Bob Iger outbid Netflix and Universal Pictures (which handled VOD distribution for the film in December) for the streaming rights by offering a huge sum, which the other two streamers couldn't match.

Swift also released an Eras Tour photo book, which sold over 800,000 copies in its first weekend.

Shortly before the Eras Tour concluded, Swift released a photo book for Black Friday.

As she did with the Eras Tour film, Swift circumvented traditional routes and opted to self-publish instead, ensuring she would get more of the book's revenue.

The book was exclusively available at Target and sold hundreds of thousands of copies in its first weekend, becoming the second-best-selling non-fiction title after Barack Obama's presidential memoir.

Swift has endorsement deals and partnerships with high-profile brands.

Throughout her career, Swift has partnered with brands like Capital One, AT&T, Stella McCartney, Elizabeth Arden perfumes, American Express, Keds, Diet Coke, Walmart, and Apple.

But touring has long been Swift's biggest money maker. The 1989 World Tour grossed more than $250 million in 2015.

The 1989 World Tour was the year's highest-grossing concert tour by far, according to the Los Angeles Times.

She earned even more during her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018.

Billboard reported that at the time, the Reputation Stadium Tour broke the record for the highest-grossing US tour ever. Swift earned an average of $7 million per show, more than double the US per-concert average during the "1989" tour.

But her tours don't just bring in ticket sales. Swift also makes a huge sum of money from merch.

In April 2023, Forbes estimated that Swift's coveted on-site merchandise — which she sells at an average price of $80 —could add an estimated $87 million in proceeds to her fortune.

Swift made $52 million in 2021 after rerecording earlier work that was acquired (and then sold) by Scooter Braun.

Swift embarked on a mission to rerecord her first six albums after Scooter Braun, whom she accused of "incessant, manipulative bullying," purchased the legal rights to her back catalog in 2019. (He later sold the master recordings to Shamrock Capital, a private-equity company, in a reported $300 million sale.)

Swift released the first installment in the series, "Fearless (Taylor's Version)," in 2021. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 — indicating this would be a lucrative venture for Swift. Later that year, Swift's new version of "Red" became one of the year's top-selling albums.

The two rerecorded albums helped place Swift on the "The Highest-Paid Entertainers 2022" report from Forbes.

She has since released "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" and "1989 (Taylor's Version)." The latter sold over 1.6 million equivalent units in its first week, surpassing the original's total.

Swift amassed an estimated $230 million in record sales following the release of her 2022 album "Midnights."

According to The Guardian, the massive sales for her 10th album, "Midnights," brought in $230 million for Swift's label Universal. 

With more than 1.5 million equivalent album units earned in the US in its first week, "Midnights" landed the biggest week for an album in seven years (since Swift's own album "Reputation").

Swift's latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," sold millions of copies in a matter of weeks.

Swift's 11th studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department," was released on April 19, 2024. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 2.61 million equivalent album units sold in its first week, the second-biggest single-week total in history.

This sum was thanks to high streaming numbers and physical album sales, especially vinyl sales, which Swift pushes more successfully than anyone else. According to a Billboard report from November 2023, one in every 15 vinyls sold in the US is one of Swift's.

Fans continued to buy and stream "Poets" throughout the year, sending it to No. 1 for 17 weeks, the most of any album in 2024.

On November 30, 2024, "Poets" was certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, meaning it has sold at least 6 million copies in the US.

In 2025, Swift announced she had bought back her masters, which will likely increase her net worth over time.

On May 30, 2025, Swift announced she had bought back her masters from Shamrock Capital.

"All I've ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright with no strings attached, no partnership, with full autonomy," Swift wrote in an open letter to fans. "I will be forever grateful to everyone at Shamrock Capital for being the first people to ever offer this to me."

The purchase gave Swift full ownership of her life's work — including her albums, music videos, and concert films — for the first time in her career.

Swift did not disclose the terms of the deal, but sources told Billboard that she paid about $360 million, meaning Shamrock "did not make much, if any, profit off the sale of the assets."

After Swift launched her rerecording venture, many devoted fans refused to listen to the original recordings of her first six albums, which they called the "stolen versions." The masters owned by Shamrock became systematically devalued with each "Taylor's Version" release, likely giving her leverage in their negotiations.

Now that the masters belong to Swift, fans will once again feel free to stream and buy those albums, making them more valuable in her hands. Swift will also be able to sell physical copies, use the photography and artwork for merchandise, and license the songs for commercial use. She will continue to earn royalties from the "Taylor's Version" releases as well as the originals.

"Ownership of the six masters will undoubtedly improve Taylor's take-home pay," Larry Miller, director of the Music Business Program at New York University, told Newsweek. "Under Braun's and Shamrock's ownership, Taylor declined requests to license the original masters for film and TV. Now they'll be licensed, and the old, much-loved masters will generate revenue for the rest of her life — and beyond."

Swift has amassed an impressive fortune — and she knows how to spend it. Her real-estate portfolio is worth a reported $110 million.

Swift's real-estate portfolio consists of eight properties in four different states.

In Nashville, she owns a 3,240-square-foot condo worth an estimated $3 million and a 5,600-square-foot Greek Revival estate worth an estimated $2.5 million.

The latter is the cheapest property she owns.

In LA, Swift owns a 10,982-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion worth nearly $30 million.

In 2017, she was trying to turn it into a historic landmark, according to Teen Vogue.

Across the coast, Swift owns an estate with seaside views in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, for which she reportedly paid $17.75 million.

With 12,000 square feet, it has plenty of room for parties and even inspired her song "The Last Great American Dynasty."

But that's nothing compared to the estimated $40 million worth of property Swift owns in New York City on the same block in Tribeca.

That includes an 8,309-square-foot duplex penthouse and a four-story townhouse.

She used to rent an apartment on Cornelia Street — the famous inspiration behind her "Lover" track "Cornelia Street" — which was listed in 2023 with a $17.9 million price tag.

Swift needs a way to travel among all these homes. She reportedly owns a Dassault private jet.

The Dassault 7X is registered to Island Jet Inc., a holding company listed under the same address as Taylor Swift Productions.

Swift used to have two private jets, but she quietly sold one amid criticism of her carbon footprint. ("Taylor's jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals," a rep for Swift said in a statement. "To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.")

There's no word on how much she paid for these vehicles, but a brand-new Dassault 900 has a list price of $44 million, according to Business Jet Traveler. Elon Musk owns a similar model that costs about $26 million.

Swift often spends money dining out with her friends and partner, especially when in New York City.

In the past, she's been spotted at The Fat Radish, The Spotted Pig, Sarabeth's, L'Asso, Nobu, and Vita Carota.

But Swift has always been generous with her money, supporting causes and helping those in need.

On her 24th birthday, she donated $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony, according to People.

Swift pledged $4 million to the Country Music Hall of Fame to fund an education center.

Her commitment to education doesn't stop with music; Swift also donated $50,000 to New York City public schools, People reported.

She has donated millions to support victims of natural disasters.

In 2010, Swift donated $500,000 to Nashville flood relief, and in 2016, she donated $1 million to the victims of the Louisiana floods.

Swift also raised $750,000 through a Speak Now Help Now benefit concert for victims of tornadoes in the southern US in 2011, according to People.

More recently, Swift made a $5 million donation to communities affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Swift has also been known to support victims of gun violence in recent years.

In 2020, Swift gave $50,000 to a mother of five who lost her husband to COVID-19 days before Christmas.

She and her mom, Andrea Swift, quietly made the donation, according to USA Today.

She also gifted $13,000 each to two moms who were also struggling financially because of the pandemic.

Swift has made several generous donations to LGBTQ+ organizations.

Swift has long been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, threading references to the fight for equal rights into songs like "Welcome to New York" and "You Need to Calm Down."

Back in 2016, Swift participated in a charity auction to help keep the historic Stonewall Inn operational. The New York City gay bar was the scene of a police raid in 1969, sparking a riot that helped launch the nationwide fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

In more recent years, Swift has made generous donations to the Tennessee Equality Project and GLAAD, in addition to her vocal support of The Equality Act.

And then there are the two famous checks she wrote for $1,989 — an ode to her best-selling album — sent to two fans to pay a student loan and to donate to a dance marathon benefit.

The checks were sent out in 2014, according to People.

Throughout the Eras Tour, Swift donated huge amounts to food banks along her route.

Throughout the first US leg of her Eras Tour, Swift habitually made large donations to local food pantries. She continued this tradition throughout the tour's European leg.

Swift also helps out her fellow pop stars. She gave Kesha $250,000 to help with legal fees during her lawsuit against Dr. Luke.

For several years, Kesha was embroiled in a defamation lawsuit after she accused the music producer Dr. Luke, her former mentor, of "unrelenting abuse" and rape. (Dr. Luke denied the allegations, and they reached a settlement in 2023.)

The "Rainbow" singer revealed Swift's donation during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017.

Kesha described Swift as "a fucking sweetheart. Very, very sweet, very, very genuine, extremely generous, picks up the phone every time I call her. My mom doesn't even always pick up the phone!"

Swift has proven herself to be incredibly savvy with investments.

In 2022, Swift pulled out of a $100 million sponsorship deal with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX after she questioned whether the company was selling "unregistered securities."

As Business Insider previously reported, many other celebrities, such as Tom Brady and Stephen Curry, failed to do so and were subsequently sued for endorsing the now-bankrupt crypto exchange.

• Taylor Swift is centering her relationship with Travis Kelce in the rollout for her new album.
• She announced her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl," in a teaser clip on Kelce's podcast.
• Swift is known for writing songs about boyfriends, but she rarely involves them in her business ventures.

Taylor Swift is not typically one to center her boyfriends.

I know that contradicts the party line that Swift's critics began to hawk when she was a teenager — that she's either a besotted, boy-crazy mess or a serial man-eater, depending on whom you ask.

Yes, Swift writes songs about falling in love, breaking up, and every stage of romance in between. (She also writes songs about many other topics, including friendship, fame, sexism, and more, but that's a lecture for another day.) But as a public figure and music industry tycoon, Swift has largely avoided mixing business and pleasure — until now.

At 12:12 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Swift announced the title of her 12th album, "The Life of a Showgirl." But instead of doing it on her social media accounts, a livestream, or during her acceptance speech at the Grammys, she gave the exclusive to her boyfriend Travis Kelce's football podcast.

Swift sits next to Kelce in a teaser clip from his "New Heights" podcast, which the NFL star co-hosts with his brother Jason. "I wanted to show you something," Swift tells Jason, reaching for a mint green briefcase labeled "T.S." She opens it while announcing the record's title, though the album's cover is blurred out.

For a different celebrity, announcing your latest project on a partner's podcast might not be a big deal. But Swift's star power is such that she doesn't need anyone else to promote her music. For years, she has pulled back from traditional media opportunities like magazine covers and late-night TV appearances, instead relying on the self-contained machine of her website and verified social media accounts to communicate news to her fans.

Glimpses of her private life were similarly limited. Swift spent the previous six or so years evading public scenes with her then-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, dodging questions about their relationship and executing minimal album rollouts — no lead singles, very rare interviews, and certainly no sports podcasts.

Swift's relationship with Kelce, whom she began dating in 2023, has marked a new era for the pop star's public persona. It's not that Swift hasn't dabbled in the customary celebrity-in-love playbook before; she's executed plenty of paparazzi walks and award-show date nights. It's not even the first time she's involved a boyfriend in her creative pursuits: She wrote the lyrics for then-boyfriend Calvin Harris' 2016 hit "This Is What You Came For," while she and Alwyn cowrote multiple songs for her surprise 2020 album "Folklore" while they were dating. It's that those collaborations were always under pseudonyms and revealed after the fact, as Swift worked hard to center herself in her own work, rather than muddying her career moves by putting even more attention on her love life.

With Kelce, Swift is proudly involving him every step of the way. Swift has cheered for Kelce at seemingly every football game she can manage, even as she was busy touring the world. Kelce returned the favor by attending several Eras Tour shows, where Swift would sometimes change her own lyrics to honor his presence. (Who among us could forget the first time she sang, "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me," in Buenos Aires?) The couple even shocked fans with the ultimate hard launch, when Swift welcomed Kelce onstage for a surprise cameo, signaling a decisive shift in her drive for publicity around her relationship.

Both Swift and Kelce have publicly put emphasis on their bond as equal partners and supporters, something Kelce reiterated in an expertly timed GQ cover interview published mere hours after Swift's album announcement.

"I get to go and be that fan," Kelce told GQ of attending Swift's concerts. "Because I am a fan. I'm a fan of music. I'm a fan of art. And it's so cool that I get to experience her being that plus one for me on the football field…. I feel that same enjoyment every time she comes to my shows."

Their synergy quickly began to work in Kelce's favor. Swift's high-profile fandom sparked an unprecedented surge in NFL viewership, especially among younger girls, and a marked increase in Kelce's jersey sales.

Swift launching her next era with Kelce by her side suggests that Swift considers Kelce's podcast a piece of her own media empire. He is not only playing the role of her boyfriend in her personal life, but also is an active participant in both her professional organization and public image.

Time will tell if their synergy will work for Swift as well as it has worked for Kelce. She arguably has much less to gain from his audience than vice versa; her business was thriving just fine without him. The Eras Tour, which caused a ticket stampede long before Kelce entered the picture, sold so well that it helped make Swift a billionaire. Her most recent album, "The Tortured Poets Department," which was self-evidently not written about Kelce, sold over 2.6 million copies in its first week of release and topped the Billboard 200 chart for 17 weeks, the best commercial performance of her career thus far.

Will an album about a happy relationship sell better than one about a self-described "manic phase" that resulted in heartbreak? My instinct says no — Swift's best-loved songs are her breakup anthems. But I never thought I'd be tuning in to a football podcast to hear Swift talk about her music, so perhaps anything is possible.

• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been dating since the summer of 2023.
• The pop star and athlete, both 35, have gushed about each other in interviews.
• Swift is currently rolling out her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl," with Kelce's help.

We'll take a wild guess and say that Travis Kelce's favorite track from Taylor Swift's "Midnights" might be "Mastermind."

Shortly after he turned up to the Eras Tour with a friendship bracelet and a dream, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end began dating the multi-Grammy-winning superstar.

Kelce, 35, laid the groundwork in the summer of 2023. He made his feelings known for Swift, 35, after he failed to get some one-on-one time when she performed on his home turf in Missouri. Soon, all the dominoes cascaded in a line: Swift began attending NFL games, openly cheering for the Chiefs, and stepping out with Kelce for date nights in New York City. 

Here's a complete timeline of their relationship so far.

July 8, 2023: Kelce attends Swift's Eras Tour show stop in Kansas City.

Kelce officially entered his Swiftie era when he attended the second of the "Anti-Hero" singer's two performances on his home turf.

Before the concert at Arrowhead Stadium, Kelce was seen chatting with other Swifties and even trading friendship bracelets, according to a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

July 26, 2023: A few weeks later, Kelce says on his podcast that he wanted to give Swift his number at the show.

Speaking on his podcast, "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce," the athlete said he was "butt hurt" because he couldn't give Swift a friendship bracelet (a tradition among Swift's concertgoers) that included his phone number.

"I was disappointed that she doesn't talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings," Kelce told his brother and cohost, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

Jason then asked which number he put on the bracelet — the number on his Kansas City Chiefs jersey (87) or his phone number. 

"You know which one," Travis responded. He also quipped that while Swift "doesn't meet anybody" before her shows, he "took it personal."

According to Swift, she and Kelce began dating "right after" the podcast episode aired.

In an interview with Time magazine, Swift confirmed her relationship with Kelce and offered details about the beginning of their romance. 

"This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell," she said. "We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I'm grateful for, because we got to get to know each other."

September 21, 2023: Kelce says he's "thrown the ball in her court" and invites Swift to one of his football games.

Two months after his podcast episode, Kelce told ESPN's Pat McAfee that after trying to woo the Grammy winner with a friendship bracelet, he extended an invite to one of his upcoming games.

"I told her, 'I've seen you rock the stage at Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead and see which one's a little more lit,'" Kelce said in the interview.

 "So we'll see what happens in the near future," he added.

September 24, 2023: Swift attends the Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears three days later.

Swift sent the internet into meltdown when she accepted to Kelce's invitation. However, according to Swift, the lovebirds were already official by the time she attended her first game on September 24.

"By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple," she told Time. "I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date."

On that fated day, Swift was photographed wearing Kansas City colors as she watched the game from Kelce's private suite, alongside his mom, Donna Kelce.

When Kelce — already considered one of the best tight ends in NFL history — hauled in a touchdown pass from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter, Swift rose to her feet and cheered.

After chest-bumping with another spectator in the box, the singer appeared to shout, "Let's fucking go!" as Mama Kelce smiled and applauded.

After the game, images of Kelce and Swift walking out of the stadium together and driving off in his old-school convertible car were shared on X.

The pair ended their night at Prime Social Rooftop, which Kelce rented out for Swift, his family, and his teammates, per Entertainment Tonight. In photos obtained by TMZ, the couple wasn't shy about showing their affection for each other as Swift was seen wrapping her arm around Kelce's neck as they chatted with other partygoers.

In the days following, an anonymous source told People that Kelce and Swift had been "hanging out" and were still in the "super, super early days" of getting to know each other. 

"They're having fun," the source told the outlet. "This was Taylor's first time meeting his mom and dad, and everyone was enjoying themselves."

Meanwhile, Kelce debriefed the Swift-inspired frenzy on his podcast. He thanked her for "pulling up" to his game, saying he "sure as hell enjoyed this weekend."

September 27, 2023: Kelce speaks about Swift again on his podcast.

During an episode of "New Heights," Kelce joked that his personal life is "not so personal" anymore.

"Shout out to Taylor for pulling up," he said. "That was pretty ballsy."

Kelce went on to praise Swift for her behavior with his family at her first Chiefs game.

"I just thought it was awesome how everyone in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her. The friends and family," he said. "She looked amazing, everybody was talking about her in great light. And on top of that the day went perfect for Chiefs fans, of course."

"To see the slow motion chest bumps, to see the high fives with mom," he continued. "To see how Chiefs kingdom was all excited that she was there, that shit was absolutely hysterical and it was definitely a game I'll remember that's for damn sure. And then we just slid off in the getaway car at the end."

October 1, 2023: Swift attends a second Chiefs game a week later — and brings some of her famous friends.

During the Chiefs game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New York, Swift supported Kelce again and brought along some A-list pals.

Swift was spotted watching the game alongside Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Jackman, Sophie Turner, and Antoni Porowski. 

While Swift and Kelce left the stadium separately, it seems they had spent some time together beforehand; the Super Bowl champion was spotted by Page Six leaving Swift's New York apartment that morning.

October 4, 2023: Kelce tries to get the NFL to pull back on its coverage of Swift at his games, declaring on his podcast, "They're overdoing it."

Kelce said the NFL had gone overboard in their coverage of Swift during an episode of his podcast, released on October 4. 

"I think it's fun when they show who all is at the game. I think it brings a little more to the atmosphere, brings a little bit more to what you're watching," Kelce said.

"But at the same time, I think they're overdoing it a little bit," he continued.

NBC Sports, which aired the game, frequently cut to shots of Swift cheering on the Chiefs. The NFL also briefly changed its bios on Instagram and X to reference Swift after the Chiefs beat the Jets.

In response, the NFL defended its coverage of the pair in a statement obtained by ESPN. 

October 5, 2023: Kelce celebrates his 34th birthday. Swift reportedly flies to Missouri to spend the weekend with him.

According to multiple outlets, the "Fearless" singer spent a few days with Kelce following his 34th birthday.

Us Weekly, Page Six, and the Daily Mail reported that Swift flew from her home in Nashville, Tennessee to Kansas City, Missouri the day after his birthday.

The two were not seen out together, and an anonymous source told Us Weekly that the pair chose to have a "chill night" together. It's unknown when Swift left, but she was not present at the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Minnesota Vikings the following Sunday.

October 12, 2023: Swift shows up to her third Chiefs game, one day after premiering "The Eras Tour" movie.

The "Cruel Summer" singer returned to the Arrowhead Stadium to cheer on Kelce as his team took on the Denver Broncos.

In a video shared by People, Swift was seen wearing a Chiefs-branded jacket for the game, where she caught up with Kelce's parents in the family suite. She was also seen speaking with Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kelce's teammate, Patrick Mahomes.

Photos published by Mail Online showed what appeared to be Swift's security team outside Kelce's home until Friday afternoon, suggesting that the pop star had stayed the night.

Kelce's mother later discussed the "whirlwind" caused by Swift's game-day appearances.

"I thought it would be over at that point, but it seems to just continue, and every week just seems to trump the week before," Donna said during an episode of the "Got It From My Momma" podcast. "So it's really kind of wild, a wild ride." 

October 14, 2023: The couple is photographed holding hands in public for the first time.

Swift and Kelce were photographed holding hands after enjoying a date night in New York City.

The outing marked the first time the two have been photographed by paparazzi in public together, and many took it as confirmation of their relationship.

Their first public display of affection came after the pair dined at celebrity hot spot Nobu, per photos and video obtained by TMZ and Page Six. 

Swift and Kelce later went to Rockefeller Center, where they made separate surprise appearances on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." They finished the night at the show's after-party, pictures from Getty Images showed.

October 15, 2023: One day after crashing "SNL," Kelce and Swift hold hands again after dining together in New York City.

Swift and Kelce were photographed by paparazzi after spending Sunday night at Waverly Inn. 

Swift has dined at the West Village hot spot before, most notably in 2016 with Cara Delevingne, Lorde, and Jack Antonoff.

October 22, 2023: Swift attends another of Kelce's games in Kansas City.

Just a few days before the release of "1989 (Taylor's Version)," Swift was on hand to support the Kansas City Chiefs as they took on the Los Angeles Chargers.

She was filmed cheering for Kelce, looking concerned when he fell, and performing an elaborate handshake with Brittany Mahomes.

Swift and Kelce were also photographed together at a post-game party, alongside Kelce's teammate, Mecole Hardman Jr., and his girlfriend, Chariah Gordon.

Gordon shared a series of photos on Instagram, including one of Swift kissing Kelce on the cheek.

October 22, 2023: Jason Kelce says that Travis is "excited" about his new relationship.

After the Chiefs beat the Chargers, Jason opened up to NBC Sports about his brother's new relationship and the frenzy it has caused.

"It's certainly been weird, the level that it is now," he told NBC Sports on Sunday night. "On one hand, I'm happy for my brother that he seems to be in a relationship that he's excited about, that he is genuine about. But there's another end of it where it's like, 'Man, this is a lot.'"

"This is another level of stardom that typically football players don't deal with," he added.

October 24, 2023: Kelce's dad praises Swift as "smart" and "genuine."

In an interview with People, Ed Kelce described Swift as "a very, very sweet, very charming, down-to-earth young woman."

The athlete's father also praised her first impression as "very genuine," presumably referring to the Chiefs game on October 12, when Swift and Ed were seen chatting in the stands.

"I'll tell you something very special that I noticed about Taylor the first time I met her," Ed shared. "We're sitting in the suite, she gets up and in the front room, she gets up to go get a drink or something and she starts picking up empty bottles, cans, plates that are scattered around. Because in the suites everybody gets stuff and you empty it down wherever you can."

"And I'm just thinking, I don't think she got the diva memo. She didn't get the spoiled musician," he continued. "She doesn't know how to pull that off. And that really to me said a whole lot."

November 3, 2023: Kelce responds with a smile when asked if he's "in love" with Swift.

At a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany, where the Kansas City Chiefs would soon play the Miami Dolphins, Kelce fielded a direct question about his feelings for Swift.

According to ESPN's NFL reporter Jeff Darlington, the reporter asked, "What is the latest status, and are you in love?"

"I got to see her last week. That's the latest status right there," Kelce said of their current status, though he added, "I'm going to keep my personal relationship personal."

A video of the exchange shows that Kelce was grinning as he replied.

During a recent episode of his podcast, Kelce also said it was "cool" to see people dress up as him and Swift for Halloween, though his brother thought it was "pretty creepy."

November 10, 2023: Kelce joins Swift in Buenos Aires the day after she kicks off the Latin American leg of the Eras Tour.

Swift and Kelce were spotted at a restaurant in the Argentine capital after Swift postponed her second scheduled show in Buenos Aires due to "truly chaotic" weather in the city.

According to People, the couple appeared to be joined by Swift's dad, Scott Swift, as they dined in a private room at Elena restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires.

November 11, 2023: Kelce attends his second Eras Tour concert, where Swift changes the lyrics of "Karma" in his honor.

Swift made a small but significant change to "Karma" during her second show in Buenos Aires as Kelce watched from the VIP tent, alongside the pop star's father, Scott Swift.

"Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me," Swift sang with a giggle, per videos captured by fans at the Estadio River Plate concert.

TikTok user @flormosso caught Kelce's reaction to the moment, when the crowd erupted into cheers. The two-time Super Bowl champ covered a huge grin with his hands while Scott patted him on the shoulder.

Kelce later said he "had a little bit of a clue" that Swift was preparing something special for the show, but once he heard the lyric change, it "still shocked me."

"I was like, 'Oh, she really just said that,'" he said on his podcast.

November 11, 2023: Swift and Kelce share their first public kiss.

When her second concert in Buenos Aires ended, Swift left the stage and ran into Kelce's arms as he waited for her by an exit.

The couple shared their first public kiss as fans cheered.

November 20, 2023: Kelce praises Swift in an interview.

In a cover story for WSJ. Magazine, the NFL player said he was a Swiftie before he began dating the pop star.

He praised Swift's songwriting, especially her song "Blank Space," and even described his girlfriend as "a genius."

"I've never been a man of words," Kelce said. "Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been fucking mind-blowing. I'm learning every day."

He also said he's been hesitant to discuss their relationship in public because he doesn't want to spook her.

"That was the biggest thing to me: make sure I don't say anything that would push Taylor away," he said.

"Obviously I've never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them… I've never dealt with it," Kelce added. "But at the same time, I'm not running away from any of it."

December 3, 2023: Swift attends another of Kelce's games in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Once again, Swift was photographed cheering for Kelce in a private suite with Brittany Mahomes. (Unfortunately, the team lost to the Green Bay Packers 27-19.)

"They're both really hard workers, and he acknowledges her art is hers, and he has what's his," an anonymous source told People. "He understands the territory their relationship comes with and like he said, isn't letting any of the hoopla impact how they're growing together."

December 6, 2023: Swift confirms her relationship status with Kelce and says they're "proud of each other."

Swift opened up about Kelce in a cover story for Time magazine, which named her Person of the Year for 2023.

She said she enjoys attending NFL games "to support Travis" and praised him for openly courting her on his podcast.

Although Swift has a complicated history with dating in the public eye — and has kept previous relationships extremely private — she said there's nothing to hide when it comes to Kelce.

"When you say a relationship is public, that means I'm going to see him do what he loves, we're showing up for each other, other people are there and we don't care," Swift told Time. "The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you're seeing someone. And we're just proud of each other."

January 26, 2024: Kelce says he and Swift are happy to ignore the "outside noise."

During a Chiefs press conference, Kelce fielded questions about navigating his relationship amid his growing fame.

"As long as we're happy, we can't listen to anything that's outside noise," Kelce said. "That's all that matters."

Kelce added that he'd be "silly" to deny Swift's role in his growing fan base, but his priority is still his job.

"I brought this upon myself, and I do enjoy having fun with it all, and the biggest thing is making sure my focus is right here in this building," Kelce told reporters.

January 28, 2024: Swift celebrates with Kelce when the Chiefs secure their spot in the Super Bowl.

For her 12th NFL appearance, Swift watched the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens to secure their spot in Super Bowl LVIII.

After the game, she joined Kelce and his family on the field to celebrate. The couple shared several hugs and kisses in front of the crowd.

February 11, 2024: Swift joins Kelce on the field after he wins the Super Bowl.

At the 2024 Super Bowl, Kelce and the Chiefs became NFL champions for the second year in a row. Swift had flown from Tokyo to watch the game and could be seen celebrating the historic win in a VIP box, flanked by friends and members of Kelce's family.

Later, she joined Kelce on the field, where the couple shared several intimate hugs and kisses.

April 13, 2024: Swift and Kelce attend Coachella together.

Swift and Kelce were spotted in the crowd at Coachella watching pals Ice Spice and Bleachers perform. 

Several videos showing the couple dancing and kissing at the music festival circulated on social media. Swift also wore a "New Heights" hat to support Kelce's podcast.

Kelce later said that he prefers to watch concerts "from the fans' perspective."

"I'm a fan of the music. I'm a fan of live shows," Kelce said on his podcast. "I want to see it from the front of the stage. Yeah, we probably could've finessed it that way [watching backstage], but I think it's just that much more of an experience if you're in the pit, man. If you're in the madness with all the fans. It was awesome though."

April 19, 2024: Swift releases her new album "The Tortured Poets Department," which may include a nod to Kelce.

Swift's 31-track double album "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology" contains two songs that may nod to Kelce.

The first is "The Alchemy," which doubles as a love song and an ode to Swift's enduring career. The lyrics feature several sport-related metaphors like "Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team" and "Where's the trophy? He just comes running over to me."

According to the liner notes, "The Alchemy" was copyrighted in 2023, so it's unclear how deeply tied to Kelce it can be. (Swift's albums are typically finished several months ahead of their release date, ensuring vinyl factories have enough time to fulfill preorders.)

However, "So High School," which also seemingly references Kelce, was released in the deluxe half of "TTPD," meaning it wasn't included with physical copies of the album. A song can be made available to stream almost immediately after completion, so it's possible the song was written more recently.

"So High School" is perhaps the only straightforward love song on "Poets," depicting a relationship that transports Swift back to her "You Belong With Me" days — the giddy rush of young love and lust.

The track appears to include direct references to Kelce, including "You know how to ball, I know Aristotle," "You knew what you wanted and, boy, you got her," and "Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?"

Back in 2016, Kelce played a game of "Kiss, Marry, Kill" with AfterBuzz TV, in which he chose to kiss Swift.

April 27, 2024: Kelce calls Swift his "significant other" at a charity gala.

Kelce brought Swift as his date to the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation Golf Classic gala in Las Vegas.

In a highlights reel shared by Kelce's teammate, the couple can be seen walking into the event holding hands.

Other clips shared by fans at the event show Kelce and Swift cuddling and kissing at their table. At one point, Kelce made a speech and referred to Swift as his "significant other." For a surprise auction item, they sold four tickets to the Eras Tour for $80,000.

May 12, 2024: Kelce watches Swift perform her 87th show on the Eras Tour.

When Swift returned to the stage for the European leg, she had adjusted the Eras Tour set list to perform songs from "The Tortured Poets Department." The new segment includes "So High School," possibly as a nod to her current relationship.

Swift's fourth and final performance in France also happened to be the tour's 87th show. Kelce, who wears No. 87 for the Chiefs, was in the audience. Kelce was spotted dancing with Swift's close friend, Gigi Hadid, and filming Swift on his iPhone.

"Can you believe it's our 87th show tonight?" Swift asked the audience during her acoustic set, just before playing "The Alchemy" and "Begin Again" as the evening's surprise songs.

During the concert's "1989" segment, Swift also debuted a new outfit: a glittering yellow top with a red ombré skirt. Fans interpreted this as a nod to Kelce and the Chiefs because the team's colors are yellow and red. (Kelce previously said his favorite song of Swift's is "Blank Space" from "1989").

Finally, to close the evening, Swift tweaked the lyrics of "Karma" to salute "the guy on the Chiefs" for the second time.

June 23, 2024: Kelce makes his debut appearance on the Eras Tour stage.

During Swift's third and final performance in London, Kelce made a surprise appearance during her onstage costume change for "The Tortured Poets Department."

This scene depicts Swift getting shot and killed at the end of "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived." Then, she's picked up and revived by a set of dancers dressed as ringmasters. These characters force Swift to strip down, put on heels, and keep performing through the pain — a segue into her meta bop (and "TTPD" album highlight) "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart."

Kelce joined the skit as another ringmaster. He picked up Swift's body from the stage, carried her to the fainting couch, and mimed applying powder to her face with a makeup brush. 

Kelce is now cemented in Swiftian history as the first boyfriend to join Swift onstage during one of her concerts.

September 7, 2024: Swift brings Kelce as her date to a friend's wedding.

Swift and Kelce were spotted out together in New York City, where they attended the wedding of Karen Elson and Lee Foster, per Vogue.

Elson is a model, while Foster is the owner of Electric Lady Studios, where Swift has recorded many songs over the years — from "Lover" to "The Tortured Poets Department."

Swift wore a cream-colored floral dress for the occasion, paired with a Vivienne Westwood purse, Louboutin sandals, and $64,000 worth of jewelry.

September 8, 2024: The couple attends the US Open together.

During an extended break from the Eras Tour, Swift and Kelce attended the 2024 US Open Tennis Championships, where they were photographed cuddling, kissing, and singing along to "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness. They even wore color-coordinating outfits.

The couple was joined by friends like Brittany Mahomes and the Haim sisters.

September 11, 2024: Swift gives a shout-out to "my boyfriend Travis" at the VMAs.

Swift's "Fortnight" won video of the year at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. During her acceptance speech, she described her joyful experience filming (and directing) the video.

"Something that I'll always remember is when I finished a take and I'd say 'cut,' and we'd be done with that take, I would always hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting it," she said. "That one person was my boyfriend, Travis."

After an eruption of applause, Swift continued to thank Kelce for his positive attitude.

"Everything this man touches turns to happiness and fun and magic," she said. "So I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot because I'll always remember that."

October 7, 2024: After skipping a few games, Swift makes a stylish return to Arrowhead Stadium.

Despite recent tabloid speculation about their relationship status, Swift showed up to cheer for Kelce when the Chiefs took on the New Orleans Saints.

Swift wore a Vivienne Westwood set and glitter freckles for the occasion in Kansas City, where the Chiefs won their fifth consecutive game and extended their undefeated season.

January 26, 2025: Once again, Swift celebrates on the field when the Chiefs win the AFC championship.

For the second year in a row, Swift watched the Chiefs become AFC champions at Arrowhead Stadium — her ninth attendance of the season and 22nd total. She joined Kelce and his team for the on-field celebrations.

February 9, 2025: Swift supports Kelce at Super Bowl LIX.

Swift traveled to New Orleans to cheer for Kelce at their second Super Bowl as a couple.

Earlier that week, the couple was spotted dining with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes at Lilette, a popular French restaurant in the city. Swift also had dinner with friends at Gianna, an Italian restaurant near the French Quarter, the night before the big game.

Some of those friends accompanied Swift to Caesars Superdome, including the Haim sisters, Ice Spice, and stylist Ashley Avignone, who was previously mentioned in the liner notes of Swift's 2012 album "Red."

Unlike the previous year, the Chiefs lost at the Super Bowl, falling to the Eagles 40-22.

June 12, 2025: The couple attends the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.

Swift and Kelce were spotted in a VIP box at Amerant Bank Arena, when the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers faced off in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.

July 24, 2025: Kelce shares several photos with Swift on Instagram to commemorate their recent "adventures."

With training camp freshly underway for the NFL's 2025-26 season, Kelce shared a photo dump on Instagram that offered a peek into his and Swift's downtime since the Super Bowl. "Had some adventures this offseason, kept it 100," Kelce wrote in the caption.

Swift is featured in seven out of the 13 photos. The carousel includes shots of the couple ice skating, drinking wine with friends, and wearing novelty hats that say "Captain" and "First Mate." Swift's brother, Austin Swift, also appears in a few of the photos.

The post marked the first time Kelce shared personal photos of Swift on social media.

August 12, 2025: Swift announces her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl," with Kelce's help.

Shortly after Swift's social media team began teasing her "new era" on August 11, she was confirmed as a guest on the forthcoming episode of "New Heights."

At 12:12 a.m. ET on August 12, Swift shared a collaborative Instagram post with the "New Heights" account. In the short teaser clip, Swift, seated next to Kelce, revealed the title of her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl."

August 12, 2025: Kelce gushes about being Swift's "plus one."

In a cover story for GQ, Kelce opened up about his and Swift's relationship dynamic.

"I get to be the plus one," he said. "I get to go and be that fan. Because I am a fan. I'm a fan of music. I'm a fan of art. And it's so cool that I get to experience her being that plus one for me on the football field… I feel that same enjoyment every time she comes to my shows."

Kelce also discussed the similarities between himself and Swift as entertainers, performing for sold-out stadium crowds.

"I hadn't experienced somebody in the same shoes as me, having a partner who understands the scrutiny, understands the ups and downs of being in front of millions," he said. "That was very relatable, seeing how exhausted she would get after shows. She may not think of herself as an athlete. She will never tell anyone that she is an athlete. But I've seen what she goes through. I've seen the amount of work that she puts on her body, and it's mind-blowing."

Four years after Amazon’s acquisition of podcast network Wondery, the tech giant is dismantling its $300 million purchase and reorganizing various audio properties into separate teams at the company. As first reported by Bloomberg, this reorg will see the studio lose about 110 employees, and CEO Jen Sargent is departing the company.

Amazon told Bloomberg it will continue to produce podcasts, though their place within the company will be restructured. The more narrative-focused podcasts under the Wondery brand, such as American Scandal and Business Wars, will merge with Amazon’s Audible team. Some of these podcasts will retain Wondery branding, and the Wondery Plus app will remain active. Subscribers to Wondery Plus get early access to some podcast episodes through the app, though it's unclear at this point what functionalities will remain in the app, and which will be absorbed by Audible.

Meanwhile, the celebrity-hosted shows such as New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce and Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard will be rolled into a new team that Amazon is calling Creator Services. According to Bloomberg, a main focus of this new team will be selling large sponsorships. These titles are part of a growing trend toward video podcasts that have helped make YouTube the go-to platform for podcast consumption.

Steve Boom, VP for Audio, Twitch and Games at Amazon, addressed the changes in a memo (published by Deadline) sent to Amazon employees. "The podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years. As video podcasting has grown in popularity, we have learned that creator-led, video-integrated shows have different audience needs and require distinct discovery, growth and monetization strategies compared with audio-first, narrative series," he wrote.

Employees who were let go as part of these changes were notified Monday, though Amazon spokesperson Alice Zhou told The Verge that "many of the impacted employees" would be moved to "other parts of Amazon."

• Sharon Stone said she earns more money from modeling than acting despite her Hollywood success.
• Stone began her career in modeling, signing with Ford Models as a teenager.
• Stone's acting roles include classics like "Basic Instinct" and "Casino."

Sharon Stone has been a Hollywood icon for over a quarter century, but when it comes to getting paid, her acting work isn't the most lucrative.

"I still make more money today modeling than in film," Stone, 67, told Business Insider. "It's still a huge part of my reality."

Stone started her career as a model, quitting school at 15 and moving to New York City to enter the fashion world. She was quickly signed by Ford Modeling Agency and found herself working regularly in Milan and Paris.

By 19, she returned to New York and began pursuing acting as a path to her initial goal: directing.

"Back then, I wanted to be a director, but the pesky vagina has stood in my way. Because how could you possibly have a brain and a vagina?" Stone told BI. "It seems to have confounded so many."

In those early days, Stone rollerbladed around Manhattan to her auditions, her giant modeling portfolio in tow. She got her big break in 1980, when she was cast as one of the extras in Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories," and was later asked to step in for a spot in the movie's opening scene, where Allen, sitting on a train, sees a beautiful woman across from him on another train.

"I was 19 and they put me in this tight dress, and I was so awkward about my body," Stone recalled. "The hair person put a real gardenia in my hair. It really meant the world to me that she did that. It made me feel important."

Stone became a hot commodity in Hollywood after "Stardust Memories." After regularly working in B-movies through the 1980s like "King Solomon's Mines" and "Police Academy 4," she landed the role that would change her life when she scored the female lead in the 1992 sensation "Basic Instinct." Though the role made her an icon, she wasn't paid like one.

In 2023, Stone revealed she was paid $500,000 for "Basic Instinct" while her costar Michael Douglas earned $14 million.

She went on to earn an Oscar nomination in 1996 for her performance opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's "Casino," and won an Emmy in 2004 for her guest spot on "The Practice." But her career was also dogged by money troubles: the actor revealed in 2024 that she lost $18 million in savings after suffering a stroke in 2001.

"When I got back into my bank account, it was all gone. My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people's names," Stone said. "I had zero money."

Over the years, Stone has modeled for high fashion brands like Dior and Dolce & Gabbana, and recently did ads for Mugler.

"I'm still one of the oldest women consistently modeling today," Stone said. "I'm very, very grateful I still get to do it."

Next, Stone will star in "Nobody 2," opening in theaters August 15.

• Pamela Anderson has found love many times in her life.
• She and her "The Naked Gun" co-star Liam Neeson sparked dating rumors while promoting their film.
• Here's a look back at her romantic history, from Kid Rock to Julian Assange.

When it comes to falling in love, few in Hollywood can match Pamela Anderson.

Since the late 1980s, Anderson has been linked to hard rockers, surfers, and even Julian Assange.

Most recently, Anderson, 58, sparked dating rumors with her "The Naked Gun" costar Liam Neeson, 73. The two played coy about their offscreen relationship while appearing on "Today" to promote the movie, but according to People, the stars are in a "budding romance."

Reps for Anderson and Neeson did not respond to a request for comment.

Here's a look back at Anderson's dating history.

Jon Peters

In the late 1980s, Anderson dated "Batman" producer Jon Peters. They then rekindled their relationship in 2019 and reports claimed they'd married in a private ceremony in 2020. Twelve days later, Anderson told The Hollywood Reporter that the marriage paperwork was never formalized and that the two were going their separate ways. In a 2024 interview, Anderson again denied that she and Peters ever married, telling The Hollywood Reporter, "it was just a funny moment."

Scott Baio

During Anderson's Playboy modeling days, she dated Baio, who got her one of her first acting gigs as a guest star on his hit show, "Charles in Charge."

Bret Michaels

Anderson's attraction to bad boy rockers started with Michaels, but she and the Poison frontman only lasted a year.

Kelly Slater

Anderson dated her "Baywatch" costar on and off for years beginning in the mid-1990s and up until she became smitten by another hard rocker.

Tommy Lee

When Anderson met Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in 1995, she thought she'd found her soulmate. Four days after meeting, they married; they went on to have two children together.

Anderson and Lee's three-year-relationship quickly became a focus of the tabloids. When their sex tape was leaked to the public, they catapulted into pop-culture infamy. The sex tape saga would go on to become the basis of the 2022 Hulu limited series "Pam & Tommy."

The two tried to rekindle their relationship in the early 2000s, but it didn't last.

Marcus Schenkenberg

After Tommy Lee, Anderson had a very brief romance with this male model from 2000 to 2001.

Kid Rock

Anderson nabbed another bad boy rocker in 2001. She and Kid Rock were briefly engaged during their two years together. They married in 2006, but divorced less than a year later.

Laurence Hallier

Anderson and real-estate mogul Hallier dated for five years. They split in 2010, which resulted in them both suing each other over projects they were involved in.

Rick Salomon

Anderson's third (and fourth) husband is someone who has been close to her for years. She and the professional poker player first married in 2007; that only lasted a year. They tried again in 2014, but again, for only a year.

Jamie Padgett

Between marriages with Salomon, Anderson briefly dated this surfer.

Julian Assange

In 2017, at the height of Assange's political asylum inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Anderson had a fling with the WikiLeaks founder.

Adil Rami

Anderson's relationship with the French soccer pro ended messy, as she accused Rami of infidelity and abuse.

Dan Hayhurst

Anderson's last marriage was to her former bodyguard. They tied the knot on Christmas Eve in 2020. The two divorced in 2022.

Liam Neeson

Anderson and Neeson had never met before costarring in "The Naked Gun." Rumors that they were dating began to swirl when the two began doing press for the movie in July 2025.

While appearing on "Today," the two were asked about the dating rumors.

"It's like, 'Oh, this is nice. Let's not mold this. Let's just let it breathe,'" Neeson said. "And that's what we did."

The same day they were on "Today," People reported that the two are dating. A source told the outlet: "It's a budding romance in the early stages. It's sincere, and it's clear they're smitten with each other."

It seems like LeBron James' legal team has been trying to stop the spread of viral AI videos featuring the basketball star. As 404 Media reported, a law firm representing James has sent a cease and desist letter to a person behind an AI platform that allowed Discord users to make AI videos of James and other NBA stars.

As 404 noted, these videos have been circulating for awhile but it's one particularly strange clip that seems to have gotten James' lawyers involved. The video, which reportedly racked up millions of views on Instagram, shows a pregnant James being loaded into an ambulance after telling an AI Steph Curry to "come quick our baby is being born."

404 reports that at least three Instagram accounts that had shared the clip have since been removed, though the video is available on X. The founder of the AI platform used to make the videos also posted about the cease and desist letter he received. It's unclear what is in the letter, or if James' lawyers were also in touch with Meta about the videos. We've reached out to the company for more info on its rules. 

Of course, LeBron James is far from the only public figure to grapple with unwanted AI versions of themselves. Social media scammers routinely impersonate celebrities to promote sketchy products and other schemes. We've previously reported on such scams involving deepfakes of Elon Musk and Fox News personalities that have proliferated on Facebook. Jamie Lee Curtis also recently had to publicly plead with Mark Zuckerberg to take down deepfaked ads of herself.

Screenshots via Veo and Meta AI

But the videos of James are a little different. They don't feature fake endorsements and seem to be more of a prank meant to go viral in the way that lots of "AI slop" does. And James and other celebrities will likely continue to have a difficult time preventing these kinds of deepfakes from spreading. Some quick testing by Engadget showed that it's relatively easy to get AI chatbots to create images and video of "pregnant LeBron James."

We first asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot to make such a photo. All chatbots initially refused, saying that such an image could go against their guidelines. But when given an image of James and asked to "make this person eight months pregnant," Google's Gemini delivered a 7-second clip of the basketball star cradling a pregnant belly. (We've reached out to Google to clarify its rules around such content.)

Likewise, Meta AI seemingly had no reservations about producing images of "pregnant LeBron James" and promptly delivered many such variations. While these creations aren't as detailed as the initial video that went viral, they do highlight how difficult it can be for AI companies to prevent people from circumventing whatever guardrails may exist.

Elgato’s latest capture card supports 4K at 60 fps to capture rich in‑game imagery in all its glory. The Game Capture 4K S works with just about any modern console, PC or handheld gaming device, including the Switch 2. Retailing for $160, this is the CORSAIR subsidiary’s best value yet for capturing in 4K. Elgato's higher-end 4K X supports 4K capture at 144 fps but costs quite a bit more.

Though a more affordable model, the 4K S doesn't skimp where it matters. The new capture card features zero-latency passthrough to your main display, and Elgato says latency in software previews can be as low as 30 milliseconds. Short of the most competitive FPS games, this is fast enough to play on a single screen if you must. If you are trying to capture a game like Valorant or CS2 and care more about frame rate than raw resolution, the 4K S can record at 1440p120 or 1080p240.

The 4K S also supports HDR10 passthrough up to 4K60, HDR10 capture to 1080p60 on Windows, VRR support and it has an analog audio jack for native team chat. The device is plug-and-play over USB-C for Windows 11, macOS and iPadOS. For those whose creative workflow lives on iPad, the 4K S can capture directly to iPad models with a USB-C port. Thanks to UVC compliance, the device is compatible with OBS Studio, Streamlabs, Zoom, TikTok Live Studio and other major broadcast apps.

Elgato is also releasing its newest capture application, Elgato Studio, which will replace 4KCU in the coming months. The software auto-detects the 4K S and offers ultra-low latency on previews. It will also include features like a snapshot tool for social media clips and allow creators to try out beta features through the software.

The Game Capture 4K S is available now for $159.99.

There's finally a full trailer for Tron: Ares, the third installment in the decades-long sci-fi franchise. This comes after a teaser dropped a few months back and over two years after the film was first announced.

The new footage is pretty cool, and gets into the meat of this threequel. It's a riff on AI and big tech, as corporate entities look to weaponize the digital creations of The Grid and bring them to the real world. This does not go well, as evidenced by shots of iconic franchise Recognizer ships careening down city streets.

It also features Jeff Bridges, returning as computer programmer Kevin Flynn. Bridges is the only actor who will have appeared in all three Tron films. The star of this new one, however, is the scandal-plagued Jared Leto, who plays a soldier from The Grid who has traveled to the real world on some kind of mission. Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson, Greta Lee and Evan Peters are also in the movie.

Tron: Ares is directed by Joachim Rønning, who is something of a Disney hired gun. He made Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, among other films for the company.

I really have no idea what to make of this movie, even if the footage looks pretty nifty. I love the original and like the sequel well enough. One thing I'm happy about is the continued dedication to atmosphere-soaked soundtracks. The first film featured an iconic score by Wendy Carlos and the folks behind Tron: Legacy hired Daft Punk to make the music. The new movie includes a soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails. The band released the first single today, likely to coincide with the trailer, and it definitely nails the vibe.

We don't have that long to wait for this one. Tron: Ares opens in theaters on October 10.

TikTok has proven to be a powerful platform to help tunes go viral and now the company is making it easier for songwriters to benefit from that reach. The social media site has rolled out a pair of new features in beta: a Songwriter label that identifies users as such under their profile, and a Songwriter Music Tab that lets them spotlight tracks they've written or co-written. 

So far, only a limited number of publishers and songwriters can apply to get the new label and tab. TikTok noted that several established songwriters including Lauren Christy (Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears), Toby Gad (Fergie, John Legend) and Justin Tranter (Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande) are among the first to gain access. Others who want to join can put their names on a waitlist. 

TikTok and its parent ByteDance developed the Songwriter Features after surveying 871 songwriters and doing 18 in-depth interviews. Those findings informed the design of the feature with the aim of improving discovery and monetization opportunities while raising songwriters' profiles on TikTok. The platform noted that 53 percent of full-time songwriters who post content on social media do so on TikTok. 

When it comes to royalties and copyright, TikTok has taken a similar tack to YouTube and other social media sites. All the music available on TikTok can be used in videos and the platform has deals in place with distributors and labels to license music. Artists then receive royalties whenever creators use their music on TikTok, the amount of which depends on the individual distributor. 

TikTok is following belatedly in the heels of Spotify, which has offered a similar songwriter spotlight feature since 2020. Last month, ByteDance introduced the TikTok for Artists music insight platform designed to help musicians gain access to "data and insights about their music, posts and followers." 

Apple's film studio finally has a successful summer blockbuster to its name with its latest sports drama flick starring Brad Pitt. F1 the Movie saw an opening weekend that earned $144 million globally and $55.6 million domestically, according to Comscore numbers. Apple Original Films' feature beat out other highly anticipated releases like the live-action remake, How to Train Your Dragon, and the third installment in the post-apocalyptic horror film series, 28 Years Later.

The action-drama movie follows Pitt's character, Sonny Hayes, who's tapped to support an up-and-coming Formula One driver. With reports of the film costing up to $300 million to produce and market, F1 the Movie was a risky venture for Apple, considering the lackluster performances with its other films' opening weekends like Argylle and Fly Me to the Moon. However, Apple's film studio gamble paid off since the opening weekend numbers for F1 the Movie shattered its previous records and is projected to continue its momentum. Despite the early success, Apple may have inadvertently soured some of its users on the movie, thanks to shoving an advertisement for F1 the Movie into its Wallet app.

Amazon MGM Studio's James Bond movie, the first of what could be many in a series, will be directed by Denis Villeneuve. The company has revealed that he will be leading the production in an announcement, where it also named Villeneuve's wife Tanya Lapointe as an executive producer. Villeneuve is perhaps best known for directing Dune and Dune: Part Two, the latest adaptations of Frank Herbert's novel starring Timothée Chalamet. He also directed the sci-fi drama Arrival with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, as well as Blade Runner 2049 with Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford. 

"Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007," Villeneuve, who'd previously expressed many times in the past that he wanted to direct a Bond movie, said in a statement. "I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I'm a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor. Amy [Pascal], David [Heyman], and I are absolutely thrilled to bring him back to the screen. Thank you to Amazon MGM Studios for their trust."

Amazon bought MGM back in 2021 for $8.5 billion, and with it came the rights to the James Bond franchise. However, Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the rights to the franchise from her father, reportedly didn't trust Amazon with the property, putting the development and production of the next Bond film on pause. Earlier this year, both parties have finally come to an agreement. It's unclear if Amazon told Brocolli back then that Villeneuve was a potential director, but she and her half-brother Michael G. Wilson ultimately agreed to take a step back and give the company full creative control over the next Bond films. Amazon has yet to announce the franchise's new star, but seeing as a lot of actors want to work with Villeneuve these days, the production won't have a shortage of names to choose from. 

Federal Judge Vince Chhabria has ruled in favor of Meta over the 13 book authors, including Sarah Silverman, who sued the company for training its large language model on their published work without obtaining consent. His court has granted summary judgment to Meta, which means the case didn't reach full trial. Chhabria said that Meta didn't violate copyright law after the plaintiffs had failed to show sufficient evidence that the company's use of the authors' work would hurt them financially. 

In his ruling (PDF), Chhabria admitted that in most cases, it is illegal to feed copyright-protected materials into their large language models without getting permission or paying the copyright owners for the right to use their creations. "...by training generative AI models with copyrighted works, companies are creating something that often will dramatically undermine the market for those works, and thus dramatically undermine the incentive for human beings to create things the old-fashioned way," he wrote. 

However, the court "must decide cases based on the evidence presented by the parties," he said. For this particular case, the plaintiffs argued that Meta's actions cannot be considered "fair use." They said that that their creations are affected by Meta's use because the company's LLM, Llama, is capable of reproducing small snippets of text from their books. They also said that by using their books for training without consent, Meta had diminished their ability to license their work for LLM training. The judge called both arguments "clear losers." Llama isn't capable of generating enough text straight from the books to matter, he said, and the authors aren't entitled to the "market for licensing their works as AI training data."

Chhabria wrote that the argument that Meta copied their books to create a product that has the capability to flood the market with similar works, thereby causing market dilution, could have given the plaintiffs the win. But the plaintiffs barely touched the argument and presented no evidence to show how output from Meta's LLM could dilute the market. Despite his ruling, Chhabria clarified that his decision is limited: It only affects the 13 authors in the lawsuit and "does not stand for the proposition that Meta’s use of copyrighted materials to train its language models is lawful."

Another judge, William Alsup, also recently sided with Anthropic in a class action lawsuit also brought by a group of authors who accused the company of using their copyrighted work without permission. Alsup provided the writers recourse, though, and allowed them to take Anthropic to court for piracy.

The first thing in F1 the Movie, before a single word of dialog is uttered, is a pair of AirPods Max. They're so comfortable, Brad Pitt's lovable loser protagonist Sonny Hayes is able to sleep with them all night, then hop up and begin his day of driving fancy race cars. If you paid $550 for the AirPods Max, you too could be like Brad Pitt!

It's hard to ignore the blatant commercialism of F1 the Movie; you might as well call it a $300 million ad for Formula One everything Apple. The film is produced by Pitt and F1 darling Lewis Hamilton, and it's Apple's first stab at producing a big budget summer blockbuster for theaters. In the hands of Joseph Kosinski, the director behind the thematically similar Top Gun: Maverick, F1 the Movie is undoubtedly thrilling, delivering an unparalleled sense of speed that more than rises to the occasion of "big, dumb, fun summer flick." As a connoisseur of action films and just about anything that features wildly fast cars, I'd go as far to say that F1 is one of the best racing films ever made.

Apple

Sure, you've seen this movie before — one where absurdly beautiful people devote their lives to their sport, all for the love of the game. In many ways, Kosinski and writer Ehren Kreuger are just repeating what they did for the Top Gun sequel. F1 the Movie swaps Tom Cruise with Brad Pitt as a talented-but-washed up lead (who is always right about everything, of course), and replaces fighter jets with Formula One racers. Kosinski even replicates part of the magic of that previous film by placing cameras within the cars (powered by iPhone sensors and Apple's A-series chips, Wired reports, as well as unreleased Sony 6K cameras) to accurately capture the experience of driving at speeds of 200 miles per hour.

If you can get past the generic characters and formulaic nature of the film — Pitt's Sonny Hayes is a fallen racing star recruited by an old friend (Javier Bardem) to save his struggling F1 team, all the while butting heads with a young publicity-obsessed teammate (Damson Idris) — F1 the Movie's sheer technical prowess makes it a must-watch Summer blockbuster on the biggest screen you can find. On IMAX screens, it'll be presented in that format's extra-tall 1.90:1 aspect ratio for its entire duration, instead of switching between aspect ratios like other IMAX films. (I saw it on a local theater chain's premium screen and it looked great, but I also plan to get a full IMAX viewing soon.)

While Apple would probably want us to focus on the novelty of using iPhone cameras in Formula One cars, it's the Sony cameras that truly make F1 more than your typical racing film. As you can see in behind the scenes footage, those cameras can rotate quickly in the middle of the race. That helps Kosinski capture the hectic nature of driving at incredibly fast speeds — we instantly go from seeing the point of view of the road to the driver's struggle to keep pace with the action. They're reacting to extreme G-force and struggling to hold onto the wheel,and we're right there with them.

F1 is one of those films where you might find yourself unconsciously holding your breath during its most extreme set pieces. But it’s also one of those movies where you’ll probably have to turn off your brain a bit to truly enjoy it. Ignore the uncritical adoration for Formula One racing, the fact that Pitt’s character is almost a total cipher or the stereotypical romance. 

Apple

The riskiest thing F1 does is place Sonny Hayes’ AirPods Max – which aren’t waterproof or water resistant in any way – perilously close to his ice bath after a brutal race. (I could easily see Apple executives giving Kosinski a note to make sure the AirPods Max never touches water. We wouldn’t want to have unrealistic expectations for Apple products, after all.)

Some sports films are transcendent explorations of the nature of human endurance (Chariots of Fire), or character dramas where winning isn’t really the point at all (Rocky.) And sometimes car go fast. That’s still perfectly enjoyable.

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• Deborra-Lee Furness officially filed for divorce from her husband Hugh Jackman on May 23.
• The couple separated in September 2023 after being married for 27 years.
• In a statement, Furness described their breakup as "a profound wound that cuts deep."

Hugh Jackman's wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, has officially filed for divorce almost two years after they separated in September 2023. She described their split as "a profound wound that cuts deep."

Furness had been married to the Wolverine actor for 27 years. They have two children together: Oscar, 25, and Ava, 20.

Jackman is in a new relationship with actor Sutton Foster, whom he has known since 2008. The pair started working together on the 2021 Broadway revival of "The Music Man." In late 2024, it was rumored that they were dating after Foster filed for divorce from her husband, Ted Griffin. In January, Jackman and Foster went public with their relationship when they were photographed holding hands in LA.

Representatives for Jackman and Furness didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

As the former couple wait for their divorce to be finalized, here's a timeline of their relationship.

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness met in 1995 on the set of an Australian TV show

The pair met on the set of the drama series "Correlli," People reported. Jackman told the outlet there was an instant connection.

"I knew two weeks into meeting Deb that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives," Jackman told "Today" in 2018.

A few weeks after meeting her, Jackman told People he confessed his feelings for Furness. She reciprocated, and four months later, he asked her to marry him.

"Deb, she was a big star," Jackman told People in 2017. "I get picked up, and Deb is in the front seat of the car. I'll never forget. She took off her seatbelt and she turned around and put out her hand and took off her sunglasses and said, 'Hi, I'm Deborra-Lee Furness, nice to meet you.' I remember thinking, 'I like this girl.'"

They got married in April 1996

On April 11, 1996, the couple tied the knot at a church outside of Melbourne, Australia, per People.

On their 25th wedding anniversary in 2021, Jackman shared a photo to Instagram captioned: "Being married to you Deb is as natural as breathing."

"From nearly the moment we met ... I knew our destiny was to be together," his post continued. "In our 25 years - our love has only grown deeper. The fun, excitement and adventure more exhilarating; the learning even greater. I'm forever grateful to share our love, our life - and, our family together. We've only just begun. Deb, I love you with all my heart!"

After experiencing difficulty having children, Jackman and Furness adopted two kids, Oscar and Ava

"We struggled, a couple miscarriages, IVF — it's not easy, particularly on Deb," Jackman told People in 2017.

They adopted their son, Oscar, in 2000. They adopted their daughter, Ava, in 2005. Oscar is now 25, and Ava is now 19.

"Our motivation behind adopting was, 'Where is the need?'" Jackman told People. "The biggest need is in mixed-race kids. I want to tell my kids that … it doesn't matter what sexual [orientation] you are, it doesn't matter what job you do, it doesn't matter whether your hair is straight or curly, if you're tall or short, man or woman, what race you are. What defines you as a human being is underneath all that."

The couple's last red-carpet appearance together was in May 2023

The pair made their final appearance as a couple at the 2023 Met Gala, where they walked the red carpet in coordinating black outfits.

Jackman wore a black tux, while Furness donned a floor-length gown with a mosaic pattern.

In September 2023, Jackman and Furness announced they were separating

Five months after celebrating their 27th anniversary, the pair announced their separation.

In a statement shared with People, the former couple called their 27 years together a "loving marriage" and said their "journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth."

At the time, they also said this would be their "sole statement" on the subject.

In May 2025, Deborra-Lee Furness filed for divorce and spoke about a 'traumatic journey of betrayal'

After being separated for almost two years, Furness filed for divorce.

Business Insider confirmed that the divorce was filed on May 23, 2025 in New York.

Furness also filed a handful of other documents regarding child support, ongoing healthcare coverage, and affidavits for both parties, suggesting that the former couple has already figured out the finer details of the divorce away from the spotlight.

Four days later, on May 27, Furness shared a statement with the Daily Mail that read: "My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal."

"It's a profound wound that cuts deep, however, I believe in a higher power and that God/the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working FOR us. This belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage," she continued.

She ended the statement noting that the one thing she's learned throughout her experience is that "that none of this is personal."

"We are all on our individual journeys and I believe that the relationships in our lives are not random," she added. "We are drawn to people, we invite them in, in order to learn our lessons and to recognize and heal the broken parts of ourselves...I remain grateful."

Libby Torres and Jordan Parker Erb contributed to a previous version of this story.

• The 2025 Cannes Film Festival will run between May 13 and May 24.
• This year, guests have received an updated dress code that bans nudity and dresses with long trains.
• Iconic gowns worn by Bella Hadid and other stars in the past have been sheer and dramatically long.

I never thought I'd say this, but we need more "naked" dresses on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet.

You know the style I'm talking about. They're form-fitted, made with mesh, and heavily beaded in just the right areas.

My colleagues and I have been complaining for years that they've overtaken red carpets (at the French festival and elsewhere), but I take it all back now that they've been banned from Cannes.

A new dress code for this year's event, which runs until May 24, prohibits nudity "for decency reasons." The film festival has also put a stop to excessively voluminous dress trains that make it difficult for others to walk the red carpet or sit inside theaters.

Clearly, we didn't appreciate what we had when we had it.

So, as we mourn the loss of these dramatic fashion staples, here's a look at some daring outfits from past Cannes Film Festivals that probably wouldn't be allowed on the red carpet in 2025.

Eva Longoria's gray gown at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival showed a lot of skin.

Though the Gabriela Cadena piece appeared conservative from the front with its solid gray fabric, it was actually entirely sheer down its sides.

Only clusters of silver sparkles and see-through mesh sat atop her legs, hips, and torso. Though it worked then, the partial nudity might not fly at this year's event.

Kendall Jenner put an edgy twist on sheer fashion in 2016.

Roberto Cavalli designed Jenner's sheer black gown, which might not make it past security at Cannes today.

The long-sleeved piece, crafted from mesh, showed most of her body. She wore only high-waisted underwear beneath it.

A snake print and light glitter made the dress even more dramatic.

Everyone remembers the model's 2018 appearance in a white Schiaparelli number.

That year, she ditched a bra when she wore her tulle gown, which showed her chest with sheer straps that acted as a top.

Its long, tiered skirt was also see-through and voluminous, though not enough to get in the way of other people walking the red carpet.

Deepika Padukone covered the Cannes stairs with a massive train in 2019.

Every inch of the actor's Peter Dundas gown was dramatic that year.

It had giant puffed sleeves, a bow that extended past her torso, and a skirt train that was so long it covered numerous steps behind her.

The gown was the definition of voluminous, especially because she needed at least two people to help her get up the stairs.

Ngoc Trinh, on the other hand, essentially wore a leotard that year.

The model walked the Cannes red carpet in a black number from Đỗ Long. It was made from mesh and therefore entirely sheer.

It was also cut in a daring style. The outfit featured a backless halter top, a keyhole cutout at the chest, a thong bottom, and two thin strips of fabric in place of a skirt.

Bella Hadid made a bold accessory choice in 2021 that might break some current rules.

Hadid wore a plain black gown at Cannes in 2021.

However, her long-sleeved Schiaparelli dress was daring with a scooped neckline that plunged to her waist.

The model also wore a golden necklace shaped like lungs to cover her chest. Though not technically nude, wearing the same pieces at the 2025 event would be risky.

Farhana Bodi brought a ton of ruffles to Cannes that year.

The TV star was a vibrant pop of color on the red carpet thanks to her strapless yellow dress. It was crafted from tulle in tiers of ruffles that extended into a long, thick train.

Because the skirt pieces have since been banned, there's a chance that Bodi wouldn't be able to wear the same dress to this year's event.

Leila Depina sported crystal chainmail in 2023.

The model wore a simple thong beneath a sleeveless look crafted from strings of crystals, which showed her body.

To complete the look, Depina sported see-through sandals and delicate jewelry.

Didi Stone was one of last year's best-dressed stars, but one of her gowns might not slide in 2025.

For one red carpet, the French model wore a black Stéphane Rolland gown. It was made with thick black fabric that draped around her head and hips in a circle and down her legs as a skirt.

What made the ensemble even more daring, though, were the layered rope necklaces she wore as a top. It was bold enough to possibly break this year's dress code.

Hadid skipped a bra for one of her Cannes appearances last year.

Saint Laurent created the brown halter dress she wore last year, which was almost entirely sheer. Only her waist and hips were wrapped with extra fabric to create a more opaque look.

It might not have been Hadid's most dramatic look at the film festival, but it was one of her most see-through.

Mean Sonyta wore one of the longest trains in Cannes history last year.

The actor and model wrote on Instagram at the time that she wanted her Cannes outfit to honor Cambodian fashion.

So she tapped designer brand De l'Elegance to create her strapless gown, matching hat, and extensive green train. It was so long, however, that similar trains might not be allowed at future Cannes festivals.

• Lana Del Rey has regularly faced backlash since early 2020.
• It all started when Del Rey posted an unprompted public statement defending her own reputation.
• After repeatedly doubling down, she's since been described as "the epitome of white woman feminism."

At the dawn of a new decade, Lana Del Rey seemed poised at the summit of the indie-pop mountain.

The songstress, now 39, was still riding the high of "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" — her career-topping sixth album, which was crowned as Pitchfork's best of 2019 and nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards.

As 2019 neared its close, Del Rey's first two albums, "Born to Die" and "Ultraviolence," both landed on several decade-end lists. She was named one of the decade's defining artists by Business Insider.

But shortly after, Del Rey's behavior began to make more headlines than her music.

Her reputation suffered a rapid downturn, thanks to a string of controversial public statements, questionable accessories, and a strong tendency to double down.

Many fans even said they'd "lost respect" for the singer, and she became increasingly described online as a "problematic white woman." More recently, Del Rey has faced backlash for leaning into what listeners have described as a "conservative Southerner vibe" with her music, aesthetics, and inner circle.

Keep reading for a timeline of her biggest scandals and inflammatory comments.

Note: This article has been updated since its original publish date.

May 2020: Del Rey posted an unprompted public statement about her own reputation

It all began on May 21, four months after the 2020 Grammys, when Del Rey shared a lengthy open letter on Instagram. 

Posed as a "question for the culture," Del Rey praised her own legacy and broadly described her critics as "pathetic."

"Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating etc," she wrote, "can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money, or whatever I want, without being crucified or saying that I'm glamorizing abuse?"

"I'm fed up with female writers and alt singers saying that I glamorize abuse," she continued, "when in reality I'm just a glamorous person singing about the realities of what we are all now seeing are very prevalent emotionally abusive relationships all over the world."

She defended writing songs about being "submissive" in relationships, despite what she described as "a long 10 years of bullshit reviews."

"I also feel it really paved the way for other women to stop 'putting on a happy face' and to just be able to say whatever the hell they wanted to in their music," she wrote, "unlike my experience where if I even expressed a note of sadness in my first two records I was deemed literally hysterical as though it was literally the 1920s."

Del Rey concluded her statement by plugging her forthcoming poetry books, mentioning that she donates to "Native American foundations," and announcing a new album.

It remains unclear what triggered Del Rey's statement, or why she felt compelled to defend her music after months of glowing reviews.

Early in her career, Del Rey was seen as a controversial figure, but largely due to accusations of inauthenticity and artifice — especially because she orchestrated an aesthetic pivot after releasing a "flop" album under her birth name, Lizzy Grant.

Del Rey's tragic-glam persona that she introduced in the "Born To Die" era, which leaned heavily on images of white Americana, received far more scrutiny than her lyrics. She was also criticized in 2014 for telling Fader, "Feminism is just not an interesting concept."

Del Rey may have been reacting to a 2019 article from The Independent, in which writer Helen Brown "examines how easy it is to misread her lyrics as 'antifeminist'" — although Brown actually defends Del Rey's "sharp" songwriting and roundly praises her newest album.

Whatever Del Rey's motivations may have been, her 2020 statement was poorly received.

While some agreed she's been unfairly judged as "antifeminist" in the past, many were angry that she name-dropped other artists to make her point.

Additionally, six out of the seven people she mentioned were women of color, which sparked accusations of racism.

As Tulane University's Christine Capetola wrote, in addition to her reductive descriptions of their music, Del Rey "failed to recognize Black female artists' decades-long — and ongoing — struggle to express their sexualities on their own terms within the realm of pop music." 

Del Rey also implied that she's more "delicate" than her peers, and claimed that feminism is intolerant of "women who look and act like me."

"The optics of Lana, a white woman, complaining about feminism lacking space for her while critiquing the acclaim allotted to several Black pop artists is mortifying," Ashley Reese wrote for Jezebel.

YouTuber D'Angelo Wallace said Del Rey's album announcement was amplified by media coverage of the controversy. 

"Was Lana Del Rey profiting off Black outrage to sell her album? Yes," he said in a video titled, "Lana Del Rey has Lana Del LOST IT."

"I don't think she did it on purpose," he said. "But once she realized who she was making mad, and that it was getting her even more attention than she initially was looking for, she made four follow-up comments. And they were all about the outrage."

He added: "I'm just gonna be honest. This is where my respect for her started to dip."

Shortly after, Del Rey doubled down and insisted she's not racist

Del Rey's response to the backlash focused on her reasoning for naming specific artists.

"To be clear because I knowwww you love to twist things. I fucking love these singers and know them. #that is why I mentioned them," she wrote. "I would like to have some of the same freedom of expression without judgment of hysteria."

"I haven't had the same opportunity to express what I wanted to express without being completely decimated," she continued in a second comment. "And if you want to say that has something to do with race that's your opinion but that's not what I was saying."

"This is the problem with society today," she said in a third comment. "It's exactly the point of my post — there are certain women that culture doesn't want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don't know what it has to do with."

"I don't care anymore but don't ever ever ever ever bro- call me racist because that is bullshit."

"And my last and final note on everything," Del Rey wrote in a fourth comment, "when I said people who look like me — I meant the people who don't look strong or necessarily smart, or like they're in control etc. it's about advocating for a more delicate personality, not for white women — thanks for the Karen comments tho. V helpful."

However, Del Rey's comments struck many people as overly defensive, tone-deaf, and unproductive, rather than illuminating. 

"'Don't ever call me racist' is hands-down the single-most disappointing reaction to accusations of racism," Wallace said in his video. 

Black writers like Nichole Perkins and Roxane Gay also pointed out Del Rey's use of "coded" language and self-victimization.

Del Rey posted an additional statement on Instagram, accusing her critics of wanting a 'race war'

One day after her original post, Del Rey continued to insist that it "wasn't controversial at all," despite national news coverage and widespread backlash.

In her additional statement, she implied that Ariana Grande and Doja Cat reached out to express discomfort with her message.

But "despite the feedback," Del Rey doubled down once again.

"I want to say that I remain firm in my clarity and stance in that what i was writing about was the importance of self-advocacy for the more delicate and often dismissed, softer female personality, and that there does have to be room for that type in what will inevitably become a new wave/3rd wave of feminism that is rapidly approaching," she wrote, even though the third wave of feminism began more than 20 years ago.

"I'm sorry that the folks who I can only assume are super Trump/Pence supporters or hyper liberals or flip-flopping headline grabbing critics can't read and want to make it a race war," she continued.

She also accused her female critics of being "disassociated from their own fragility and sexuality" and wanting "drama."

"My aim and my message are clear. That I have control of my own story," she concluded. "If the women I mention don't wanna be associated with me that's absolutely fine by me."

Again, fans criticized Del Rey for dismissing feedback rather than engaging with it.

Many noted that Del Rey's repeated self-characterization as a "delicate" woman plays into racist stereotypes, which historically paint white women as more feminine or fragile — allowing them to escape accountability more easily.

It also highlights the idea that Del Rey is "playing the victim."

"Lana really wants to act like she's the most original artist playing the victim and honestly she's full of shit," one person wrote on X (then known as Twitter). 

She was also mocked for not-so-casually plugging her poetry book in the midst of her non-apology.

Del Rey made a further attempt to defend her open letter 3 days later — and compared herself to another woman of color

"In that post — my one and only personal declaration I've ever made, thanks for being so warm and welcoming — was about the need for fragility in the feminist movement," Del Rey said on May 25 in a six-minute video on Instagram.

"When I mentioned women who 'look like me,' I didn't mean white like me, I mean the kind of women who, you know, other people might not believe," Del Rey said in the video. "The difference is, when I get on the pole, people call me a whore, but when twigs gets on the pole, it's art."

She added: "The culture is super sick right now. And the fact that they wanna turn my post, my advocacy for fragility, into a race war — it's really bad. It's actually really bad."

She also expressed frustration that her letter received backlash, though she didn't address any of the specific criticism she received from artists and fans of color.

"It really, again, makes you reach into the depth of your own heart and say, 'Am I good-intentioned?' And of course, for me, the answer is always yes," she said. "I barely ever share a thing, and this is why."

Del Rey wrapped up by insisting that she's "not racist," plugging her poetry books, and refusing to apologize for her original statement: "Fuck off if you don't like the post."

Once again, Del Rey was perceived as being resentful towards successful women of color, ignorant of her own privilege, and determined to play the victim.

People were especially infuriated by Del Rey's mention of FKA twigs, a mixed-race singer, songwriter, and dancer.

Twigs has trained as a pole dancer and incorporated acrobatics into her art, as in her Grammy-nominated music video for "Cellophane." She has also incorporated the skill into live performances of "Magdalene," an album that explores the demonization of women throughout history and her own experiences with heartbreak and trauma.

Twigs also said that pole dancing helped her feel like her "strong self again" after she had six fibroid tumors removed from her uterus in 2018.

For her part, Del Rey portrayed a stripper in her 2013 short film for "Tropico," which was criticized for "appropriating Latino gangster culture."

"The fact that she said race war and doesn't see twigs as a fragile, delicate woman is... You're really making it worse," one person wrote. 

Another added: "You can hear FKA twigs' pain on 'Magdalene' period. I need Lana to stop bringing black women into her argument for creating a brand she cannot escape from."

Most fans (and former fans at this point) agreed that Del Rey's video "only made things worse."

"I didn't think she was this kind of person," Wallace said in his video. "Now I have the knowledge that Lana Del Rey is kind of ruthless in her pursuit of getting people to talk about her, and she doesn't seem to care who gets angry in the process, or even if what she's saying is right. So, that's a lot."

June 2020: She was called out by Black artists for sharing videos of protesters

During the wave of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, Del Rey shared two videos on Instagram.

According to Billboard, the first video showed a man holding a sign that read "no justice no peace," while the second showed people breaking into storefronts and running away with merchandise. She disabled comments on the post.

On X, Kehlani implored Del Rey to remove the videos because they showed uncensored faces and identifying features, which could lead to "dangerous" consequences for the protesters.

".@LanaDelRey please remove your instagram post it's dangerous as fuck and a very poor choice of moments to post," Kehlani tweeted. "by all means protest, but DO NOT endanger people with your very massive platform. oh and turn your fuckin comments on man."

Kehlani added: "it's about furthering endangering the lives of black people. it's about responsibility."

Tinashe echoed Kehlani's comments in a tweet of her own.

"@LanaDelRey why the fuck are you posting people looting stores on your page literally WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM," she wrote.

After Del Rey removed the video from Instagram, Kehlani and Tinashe both deleted their tweets.

October 2020: Del Rey came under fire after apparently wearing a mesh face mask

Aside from postponing her album, which was originally slated for release in September 2020, Del Rey remained fairly quiet in the wake of her divisive video — except to promote her aforementioned poetry book, "Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass."

In October, Del Rey hosted a book signing at a Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In videos and photos from the event, she appeared to wear a mesh-style face mask, which, according to the CDC's recommendations, would not effectively barrier respiratory droplets.

Fans left comments on her Instagram posts, which she has since deleted, begging her to wear a "real mask."

"I love you sis but please wear a real mask, it gives a bad message," one user commented on Del Rey's Instagram video.

"i love lana sm but what the frick is she doing ? the covid situation in the united states is worsening and she refuses to wear a proper mask, that really infuriates me," another fan wrote on X. "so many ppl have died there."

Others called Del Rey "selfish" and said they were growing tired of defending her.

The image of COVID-19 slipping through the holes in her mask also became a meme on social media.

Del Rey later said that her mask had a plastic lining, in response to a critical article in the Michigan Daily.

"The mask had plastic on the inside," Del Rey wrote. "They're commonly sewn in by stylists these days. I don't generally respond to articles because I don't care. But there ya go. Same goes for everyone's masks in my video. I'm lucky enough to have a team of people who can do that."

She also seemed to poke fun at the controversy in her music video for "Chemtrails Over the Country Club," in which she dons a nearly identical mask.

January 10, 2021: Del Rey unveiled the cover art for her new album — and preemptively defended it with a 'problematic' comment

The black-and-white cover for "Chemtrails Over the Country Club" shows Del Rey grinning and surrounded by friends, all huddled around a table.

Shortly after she shared the image, Del Rey commented on her own Instagram post with preemptive self-defense.

"No this was not intended — these are my best friends, since you are asking today," she wrote, although it's unclear who was asking. (This was written as a stand-alone comment, not a reply to anyone in particular.)

"As it happens when it comes to my amazing friends and this cover, yes, there are people of color on this record's picture and that's all I'll say about that," she wrote. "We are all a beautiful mix of everything - some more than others, which is visible and celebrated in everything I do."

"In 11 years working I have always been extremely inclusive without trying to," she continued. "My best friends are rappers, my boyfriends have been rappers. My dearest friends have been from all over the place, so before you make comments again about a WOC/POC issue, I'm not the one storming the capital, I'm literally changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there on the table 24 seven. Respect it."

The following day, during an interview with BBC's Annie Mac, Del Rey said that "actually half the people in this photo are people of color."

"I just feel like if that's really what people are gonna say, I have an answer for them, which is that if you look closer, you will see people of color," she added. "It's a black-and-white image, so zoom in, you know. It's just weird, you know?"

Naturally, some people did make jokes about the cover's perceived lack of diversity, while others called the image "tone deaf."

But the real backlash came in response to Del Rey's comment, which was described as "textbook white fragility problematic white woman."

Del Rey's note about befriending and dating "rappers" was particularly provocative, since it implies that "rappers" is an ethnic category and reinforces the notion that Black friends can inoculate white people against racism.

Del Rey was also mocked for claiming that she's "literally changing the world" with her writing.

"We love her and understand her intentions but we cannot keep defending this shit," one fan commented on Del Rey's Instagram post. "That comment is so problematic in so many ways."

"I literally have her lyrics tattooed on my body but I'm also a political activist and I cannot defend this shit at all. I wish we could be excited about the album and only that but shit like this makes it hard to be," the fan continued. "Nothing about her statement is okay."

"If she's going to breathe life into [the] aesthetics of a time where racism was at one of its peaks, and not use her platform in the same breath to advocate today's issues properly, accurately, and tactfully. That's an issue."

January 11, 2021: Del Rey was criticized for saying Trump 'doesn't know that he's inciting a riot'

During an interview with BBC's Annie Mac, Del Rey compared President Donald Trump to "people who didn't know they hurt other people."

"You know, he doesn't know that he's inciting a riot, and I believe that," she said, adding that Trump has "delusions of grandeur."

Del Rey was referring to the violent riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when pro-Trump supporters stormed the building after attending a nearby Trump rally.

Five people died, and the outgoing president was impeached for "incitement of insurrection."

"The madness of Trump… As bad as it was, it really needed to happen. We really needed a reflection of our world's greatest problem, which is not climate change but sociopathy and narcissism," she said, per Complex. "Especially in America. It's going to kill the world. It's not capitalism, it's narcissism."

One person replied on X: "Lana stans gonna be doing some mental gymnastics to explain this one."

Del Rey then lashed out at 'larger magazines' for 'taking my well-intentioned and believe it or not liberal comments out of context'

The day following her interview with Mac, Del Rey responded to Complex's coverage of her comments.

"OK complex not that our 10 year relationship matters I guess," she wrote in a since-deleted post on Twitter, now X. "Thanks for the cool soundbite taken out of context, I said that the bigger problem is Sociopathy-so whether he meant to incite a riot is less important than the larger issue in America at hand -the problem of sociopathy."

"It's fucked up," she continued. "You know I'm real. You know I voted for Biden. I'm super steady in everything I've ever said. You probably listened to my entire interview. So whoever wrote this is a genuine piece of shit. I am the one helping bringing the problem with narcissism to light."

Hardly one to stifle momentum, Del Rey also responded to the Australian blog Tone Deaf, which had published an article criticizing the defense of her album cover.

"I'm actually not tone deaf, I don't think there's anything tone deaf about responding to questions about why there are only white women on a album cover when that's just not the case," she tweeted. "I'm not gonna let people say that some thing is what it isn't. You're jealous I get it."

In an additional (now-deleted) tweet, Del Rey added that her new music is "great" and described herself as "one of the only artists who is genuine."

Del Rey continued tweeting about her BBC interview, clarifying that she meant to criticize Trump's "significant lack of empathy" and "the issue of sociopathy and narcissism in America."

"I'll say it again I don't appreciate the larger magazines taking my well-intentioned and believe it or not liberal comments out of context," she wrote. "It's actually what I sing about quite often. It's what I've been condemned for saying."

She also expressed disdain for negative publicity, citing her "long term relationship" with magazines like Complex and Rolling Stone, calling the former "pathetic."

Uproxx's Steven Hyden described the now-deleted tweet as "a hilarious and illuminating snapshot of pop-star brain."

Indeed, Del Rey has lashed out at journalists and music critics in the past.

Back in September 2019, she tweeted her displeasure with Ann Powers' review of "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" for NPR — even though Powers described the album as "instantly compelling, a pro asserting her future spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

True to form, Del Rey doubled down with a video, in which she defended her comments about Trump and called out Complex again.

"I just wanna talk about a couple of things, some of the articles that are coming out today, about me thinking that Trump didn't mean to incite the riots," she began. "I think it's cute that that's the little takeaway that Complex gets from that — especially with our relationship over the last 10 years, obviously completely disregarded."

"I get it. I have something to say, and I don't just show up giggling and talking about my hair and my makeup," she continued. "I was asked directly political questions for over 40 minutes by the BBC Radio 1, and I answered them."

Many people saw Del Rey's tweets as another attempt to play the victim or another example of "white feminism." The term is used to describe performative activism that centers white people in the fight for equality, as opposed to intersectionality.

"Lana is beyond parody," one person wrote. "People are saying she's the epitome of white woman feminism and she defends herself with more white woman feminism."

 Others simply made jokes or said they'd lost patience with Del Rey's antics.

September 12, 2021: Del Rey deactivated her social media accounts

In a black-and-white video posted on Instagram, the musician thanked fans for their support and announced her decision to delete social media.

"I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow we are going to be deactivating my social media accounts, and that is simply because I have so many other interests and other jobs I'm doing that require privacy and transparency," Del Rey said.

"I'm still very present and love what I do. I'm absolutely here for the music. I'm also just going on some different endeavors and I want to say thank you so much for all the support and I do hope that you like the record," she added, referencing her eighth album "Blue Banisters," which was released later that same month.

Del Rey later became active again on Instagram, using the account handle @honeymoon, though her X account remains inactive.

March 24, 2023: She included a megachurch pastor's sermon on her new album, dividing fans

On Del Rey's ninth studio album, "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd," track five is titled "Judah Smith Interlude."

The four-minute track gives an uninterrupted platform to Judah Smith, a preacher at the Christian megachurch Churchome. Smith, Del Rey, and producer Jack Antonoff are all listed as cowriters. 

Del Rey also thanked Smith in a Facebook post a few months prior, "for giving me good guidance" and "for letting me record a part of his sermon for this record."

In the song, Smith denounces "a life dominated with lust" and praises God as "the fascinating artist who fashioned it all."

"The Spirit of God says, 'I'll infuse you with desirеs for what you have and what's in front of you,'" Smith preaches.

As Them previously reported, many fans — especially those who identify as queer — were divided in their reactions to "Judah Smith Interlude." One X user called it "creepy," while another said, "it's giving conversion therapy cult leader." 

Indeed, Smith has reportedly made homophobic comments in the past. According to Marie Claire, he called homosexuality a sin comparable to "murder, rape, or living with your girlfriend" during a 2005 interview. (The interview in question isn't available online.)

Churchome is also associated with Hillsong, an Australian megachurch best known for attracting famous followers like Chris Pratt. In fact, Justin Bieber once led worship at Churchome, and Smith was featured on Bieber's 2021 EP "Freedom."

Hillsong has long been associated with anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ views. A report from NPR described it as "an ultra-conservative church with a dark past," including connections to pedophilia.

"I was uncomfortable. I'm not religious and thought it was weird to include. Considering who he is, it's very weird," one person wrote on Reddit. Another agreed, reasoning that Del Rey could have invented "a weird fake religious monologue" instead of "publicizing a real pastor that sucks."

However, some fans of Del Rey have defended "Judah Smith Interlude" as satirical or "ironic." As Coleman Spilde wrote for the Daily Beast, "Del Rey is exactly the type of person who would attend a celebrity-studded mega-church, both for a cleansing of the soul and to lambaste its intrinsic flamboyance with her friends."

"As a gay atheist that grew up in the Catholic Church, y'all are really bent out of shape over this," another fan commented in a Reddit thread. "I love how provocative this whole thing is and it's exactly why I love Lana."

June 24, 2023: Del Rey arrived 30 minutes late to the stage at Glastonbury, telling the crowd, 'My hair takes so long to do'

Del Rey is far from the only artist who's been late to headline a major festival. However, some people were frustrated with the explanation she gave for the delay.

"I was so fucking late that I am about to rush this set today," she told the crowd. "If they cut power, they cut power. I'm super fucking sorry. My hair takes so long to do. I love you to death. Let's keep on running the set as it's supposed to go."

As a result, Del Rey's microphone was cut off due to the festival's strict midnight curfew — although she encouraged the crowd to sing her final song, "Video Games," instead.

Despite some outrage directed at Glastonbury, many fans blamed Del Rey and said she lacked respect for the fans who came to see her perform.

Others described her performance as "chaotic" and "disappointing."

September 26, 2024: Del Rey married Jeremy Dufrene, an alligator tour guide based in Louisiana

About one month after Del Rey and Dufrene sparked romance rumors, paparazzi photos surfaced of the singer wearing a white gown at a public bayou in Des Allemandes, Louisiana.

People quickly confirmed that Del Rey and Dufrene tied the knot in the same place where Dufrene operates his swamp boat tours.

"Jeremy is the one and only. And amazing. And we're very happy," Del Rey later wrote on Instagram.

Fans were shocked and confused by the news of Del Rey's nuptials. For many, her marriage to Dufrene confirmed their suspicions that she has embraced a conservative lifestyle; unverified screenshots from Dufrene's public Facebook that appear to show support for Trump throughout the 2024 election. (Dufrene's social media accounts have since been set to private.)

Nearly three months after her wedding, Del Rey praised her husband as an "honest partner who has no skin in the game" during a speech at the Variety Hitmakers ceremony.

"It's super nerve-racking to have to hold onto an innocent perception of how things could go when you're in an industry where maybe your values or your morals don't quite match up with what's going on — especially when people think that you probably don't have any morals or values," she said, per Billboard.

Resharing a clip of her speech on X, Meghan McCain wrote: "Lana is code talking about being a conservative woman here. I know what I speak of."

April 25, 2025: Del Rey sang about kissing Morgan Wallen during her Stagecoach debut

Del Rey debuted several unreleased songs during her first-ever performance at Stagecoach, California's biggest country music festival.

One song, titled "57.5," includes an intimate lyric about the country musician Morgan Wallen, whose rise to fame has been marked by a string of arrests and scandals.

"I kissed Morgan Wallen / I guess kissing me kind of went to his head," Del Rey sang. "If you want my secret to success / I suggest don't go ATVing with him when you're out West."

Before delivering the lyric, Del Rey warned the crowd, "This is the last time I'm ever gonna say this line."

Del Rey's name-dropping of Wallen inspired a flurry of mixed reactions. Although the song depicts their encounter in a negative light, which many fans relished as juicy gossip, Del Rey seemed to know that willingly associating herself with Wallen — who's best known in liberal circles for flouting COVID-19 protocols and using a racial slur on camera — would invite attention, speculation, and possibly even backlash.

"Every couple months Lana has to remind y'all she's a conservative," one detractor wrote on X. Other posts referred to her as a "secret Republican" and "MAGA Del Rey." Over on Reddit, self-proclaimed former fans lamented the progression of her songwriting ("This can't be the same woman that wrote 'Cruel World'") and her recently countrified aesthetic ("This whole trad wife southern cosplay isn't really for me").

Reactions were similarly mixed on TikTok, where some people described the revelation as "iconic" and others as problematic. One video criticizing Wallen, Del Rey, her husband, and her fans has amassed over 64,000 likes.

"Y'all are about to call me 'the friend that's too woke' and I don't really give a shit, 'cause Lana Del Rey getting on that main stage and saying she kissed Morgan Wallen actually is that bad," the creator said.

Representatives for Del Rey have not responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

• Time celebrated its list of 2025's most influential people with a New York City gala on Thursday.
• Stars including Blake Lively, Snoop Dogg, and Gayle King were in attendance.
• Some of those celebrities looked stunning on the red carpet, while others made fashion mistakes.

The most influential people of 2025 have officially been chosen by Time.

Blake Lively, Serena Williams, and Snoop Dogg are just a handful of the actors, athletes, and musicians the publication chose this year.

They're also among the stars who attended Time's celebratory gala in New York City on Thursday night in stunning fashion.

Unfortunately, a handful of other attendees missed the mark with their outfit choices.

Here's a look at the best and worst ensembles seen on the Time100 red carpet.

Demi Moore stunned in a cream-colored gown and matching blazer.

Zac Posen and Kim Jones made the couture GapStudio ensemble for Moore.

It had a ruched bodice with a halter strap, a cinched waistband, and a flowing skirt that grazed the floor.

Moore wore the dress with a cream blazer draped over her shoulders, a statement diamond bangle, numerous sparkling rings, and long earrings that almost touched her shoulders.

The outfit was simple, elegant, and made perfectly for Moore.

The jumpsuit Kristen Bell wore needed a few tweaks.

Some aspects of the Carolina Herrera look worked for Bell, like its vibrant red color and its long, wide pant legs that made the petite actor look taller.

Other areas, though, were confusing. Its strapless bodice, for example, would have better suited a formal gown than a casual jumpsuit.

Bell could have avoided the fashion mishap by either wearing a dress or choosing a sleeved one-piece.

Serena Williams had fun with accessories and old Hollywood glamour.

Williams walked the red carpet in a black Stella McCartney number. Her off-the-shoulder dress had sliced cutouts from top to bottom and a form-fitting skirt that nearly reached her ankles.

The garment stood out on its own, but Williams made it even better with accessories. She wore semi-sheer gloves, layered diamond necklaces, dangling earrings, and a variation of the Royal Oak watch from Audemars Piguet.

She looked simultaneously edgy and chic, creating a style that is entirely her own.

Scarlett Johansson's all-black outfit was a tad underwhelming.

It's almost impossible for Johansson to look bad. Still, her Tom Ford gown left something to be desired.

The black halter piece was pretty plain with a V-neck top, a form-fitted skirt that reached the floor, and a thin gold clip that created light ruching at the waist.

Her gold choker, mixed-metal rings, and silver square earrings helped enhance the look slightly, but the Roberto Coin accessories weren't enough to make the outfit memorable.

Snoop Dogg looked sharp in a button-embellished suit.

The musician posed on the red carpet in a three-piece set that was effortlessly cool.

His black blazer was studded with gold buttons down its lapels and his trousers were fitted at the ankle to create a unique silhouette. A black tie contrasted his white button-down shirt.

Snoop Dogg completed the outfit with chain-embedded sunglasses, diamond rings, a silver square watch, and green Oxford sneakers.

Ed Sheeran experimented with a pink suit, but its pale color washed him out.

Sheeran is known to attend most events in T-shirts and cargo pants, so it was nice to see the musician dressed up for the Time100 gala.

That said, the pink shade of his blazer and matching trousers was too light for him. It washed out his skin and was too close to his red hair color.

The white T-shirt and Nike sneakers he wore also felt too casual for the gala event.

Activist and author Amanda Nguyen looked cool in white.

Nguyen, who recently went to space with Blue Origin, walked the red carpet in a white gown that glamorously reinvented menswear.

Its blazer top was full on one side and cut in half on the other, revealing a bow waistband and her pleated skirt.

To complete the look, Nguyen wore simple black sandals and styled her hair in thin braids.

Gayle King sported a green dress that appeared to be too long for her.

King arrived at the Time100 event in a mint-green gown. Though the color was a fun choice for the journalist, the garment didn't seem to fit right.

Its long sleeves had excess fabric at the wrists, the ruched neckline sat awkwardly at her chest, and its long skirt covered her shoes.

King, however, nailed her accessories. She wore sparkle-covered pumps, layered necklaces, and long earrings that shone through her hair.

Blake Lively looked like a princess in a red, off-the-shoulder gown.

Zuhair Murad designed an off-the-shoulder dress that perfectly suited the "It Ends With Us" actor.

It had a corseted bodice, a form-fitted waist, and extra fabric attached at the hips to create a fuller skirt. Its red fabric was also a unique shade — not as bright as the carpet, but not light enough to be pink.

Lively made the outfit even more showstopping with an assortment of jade accessories, from green bracelets and rings to statement earrings.