Quick Hits

• Channing Tatum has entered the chat to deny viral claims he's been running a secret Instagram to mock ex Zoë Kravitz and Harry Styles — and per Variety, he finds the whole theory "f—ing hilarious."
• The 2026 VMAs are stacking up: Madonna leads all nominees with 13 and announced a new Charli xcx remix, while Taylor Swift will receive the show's inaugural Artist Director honor (Billboard, Rolling Stone).
• Looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular has been charged with rape and drugging in Massachusetts, per online court records viewed by Variety; his rep is disputing the case (TMZ).
• Carrot Top remains hospitalized after what TMZ reports was a suspected overdose involving prescription pills; his Luxor shows are canceled through Monday. Hoping for a full recovery.
• Apple is opening Apple Music Hall, a new state-of-the-art live venue at London's Battersea Power Station (Variety, Billboard).

What's Trending

The Channing saga, decoded for your group chat: alleged screenshots went viral claiming a burner account tied to Channing was mocking Zoë and her fiancé Harry Styles — and BuzzFeed notes the timing echoes the "cringe" IG Stories he went viral for after their engagement. His response, per Variety: "Yo I truly can't believe y'all think this is what I'm doing with my free time." A denial and a gentle roasting of us all. At this point the burner-account rumor mill is basically its own awards category.

Meanwhile, BuzzFeed declares Feral Girl Winter is coming for Lock-In Season — and even BuzzFeed admits it's "torn." Do we frolic or do we color-code our five-year plans? Per the piece, it's all about balance. Sure, Jan.

Music

• Madonna x Charli xcx is happening. The Queen of Pop announced Monday that the pair have put together a remix, "Danceteria Afterhours," with a release date set (Billboard) — and she's heading into the VMAs with a leading 13 nominations.
• Taylor Swift gets the first-ever Artist Director honor at the 2026 VMAs. Rolling Stone notes she's a four-time Best Direction winner, and the award celebrates "a sustained and influential body of work" from artists with "a clear directorial voice." The directorial era is officially canon.
• NCT 127 opened their fifth headlining tour, 'Neo City: The Redline,' with a sold-out three-night Seoul run doubling as a 10th-anniversary celebration (Billboard). A decade in and still selling out the opener.
• Rolling Loud returns to California Dec. 10–12, 2027, at NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, with co-founder Matt Zingler talking to Billboard about the comeback.
• Garth Brooks is doing a "Walmart Live" stream tonight to unveil the first-ever vinyl release of 'Double Live' — songs, stories, and presumably epic unit sales (Rolling Stone).
• Sending love to Holly Humberstone, who canceled the remainder of her European tour after a member of her touring party suffered a "serious, life-threatening medical emergency" (Billboard).

Movies & TV

• Susan Sarandon will be honored at the Rome Film Festival's Alice in the City sidebar, where 'The Accompanist' makes its international bow (Variety).
• Egypt's Oscar entry is 'The Stories,' Abu Bakr Shawky's drama inspired by his Egyptian father and Austrian mother falling in love as pen pals (Variety). Pen-pal romance to awards race — hello.
• AI discourse, film edition: Goodfellas CEO Vincent Maraval says Michel Hazanavicius cut eight days of production on his WWI film 'The Third Hand' by using AI (Variety, via San Sebastián). Elsewhere at the same conference, U.S. producers mused that a record summer box office won't save indie cinema alone — "but Cannes might."
• Midsommar producer Patrik Andersson's Mylla Films unveiled a slate featuring a 'V/H/S Mixtape' segment from Tobias Forge, Swedish horror 'Trespassers,' and 'The End' from Midsommar's production designer (Variety).
• The UK's National Film and TV School is partnering with the Sean Connery Foundation to open a Scottish filmmaking center in Edinburgh (Variety).
• The Red Sea Film Festival canceled its 2026 edition — set for Dec. 3–12 — with plans to return next year (Variety).
• Also in the trades: Finland's Helsinki-filmi and Iceland's Glassriver are teaming on 'Tango Metal,' and Juliet Stevenson and Olivia Williams join Tim Crouch's 'An Oak Tree' at the Other Palace.
• For the couch-bound: BuzzFeed rounded up 19 stars who turned down massive roles — "Imagine a world in which Matt Damon is in Avatar." Cannot. Will not.

Celebrity Tea

• Alan Ritchson is getting painfully honest amid his divorce from wife Catherine, telling Us Weekly he doesn't feel "worthy of love." Big guy, big feelings — be gentle out there.
• Ian Somerhalder is now selling hair growth supplements AND 'Vampire Diaries' daylight rings on Instagram, per r/popculturechat. From Damon Salvatore to the wellness aisle; the pipeline is real.
• TMZ's latest baby-pic guessing game points to Bravo's Michelle Saniei — once a SoCal kid flipping around in gymnastics, now selling real estate and serving the drama.

TikTok & Internet

• More on the Clavicular case: Variety viewed online court records showing charges filed Sept. 8, including one count of rape; TMZ reports the influencer's rep has fired back and that the case appears connected to earlier similar allegations. Serious stuff — worth following the reporting, not the speculation.
• BuzzFeed's quiz desk is fully stocked: a Taylor Swift finish-every-song mega-quiz ("Calling all Swifties"), a classics quiz where anything under 9/17 means you "have no respect for the classics," an Abbott Elementary character sorter, a Barbie outfit picker, and a candy-ranking one that guesses your generation off your feelings about Bottle Caps. Choose your fighter and clear your afternoon.