Quick Hits

• Gregg Popovich got remarried — to the ex-wife of Mike Budenholzer, his own former assistant coach. TMZ has the marriage docs, and the internet has put Coach Pop on trial for bro code violations.
• The George Michael tribute at the 2026 MTV VMAs is getting torched before it even airs. Fans are calling the performer lineup "disrespectful as hell" and demanding the show be canceled.
• Ryan Murphy says the "Glee" reboot is very much alive, and millennials are reacting like it's a found-footage horror film: "we need a phrase stronger than recession indicator."
• America's Got Talent crowned its Season 21 winner: Nene Royal, the 16-year-old Thai singer and guitarist. Dreams do come true, etc.
• Lionel Richie is back in the hospital amid ongoing heart issues, per TMZ, forcing him and Earth, Wind & Fire to cancel their next three shows. Sending all the love to a legend. 💛

What's Trending

The VMAs haven't even happened and the George Michael tribute is already the most contested two minutes of the night. BuzzFeed rounded up the backlash, and the mood is grim — "out of anyone that could really speak to the importance of george michael in culture... these are the acts you choose??" is the polite version. People are straight-up saying "cancel the show," which is a wild energy to bring to a tribute. We'll see if MTV blinks.

Meanwhile, Ryan Murphy gave a "major update" on the "Glee" reboot — script progress is happening, whether we asked for it or not — and the millennial internet responded with something adjacent to grief. The recurring reaction, per BuzzFeed: "we need a phrase stronger than recession indicator." Between this and every other reboot, we may need to invent that phrase as a society.

And in wholesome TV news, 16-year-old Nene Royal — who Billboard says has been electrifying audiences all season — took the AGT crown. A teen singer-guitarist from Thailand winning America's vote is the feel-good hit of the week.

Music

• New Found Glory dropped their Aftershock Festival slot and announced shows at EPCOT instead, honoring late bandmate Chad Gilbert, who they call a "massive Disney fan." Genuinely the sweetest thing you'll read today. (Rolling Stone has details.)
• The ARIA Awards nominations are out, and it's a two-horse race: Tame Impala and Genesis Owusu lead with eight noms each for the 40th annual ceremony, with Ecca Vandal right behind at seven, per Billboard.
• The Strokes are heading to Australia in early 2027 for a three-city east coast run behind Reality Awaits. Julian Casablancas, always on his own schedule.
• Australia's NRL Grand Final is currently entertainment-less: Tones And I had to bail on the pre-show over a "prior commitment" with Macklemore, and talks fell through. A national sports final ghosted by scheduling conflicts — brutal.
• KATSEYE's Lara Raj posted a sweet selfie with Camila Cabello captioned "My big sissy forever." Pop girls supporting pop girls, we love to see it.
• The situation we're all watching: TMZ reports Lionel Richie was hospitalized again over heart issues and canceled three shows with Earth, Wind & Fire. Hoping he takes all the time he needs.

Movies & TV

• Disney+ is taking "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" Season 3 to Italy's Lucca Comics and Games, with Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri on the ground. The demigods do fashion week-adjacent appearances now, apparently.
• The inaugural Nordic Film and TV Awards (a.k.a. the Freyas) crowned winners: "Nightborn" — the Finnish horror with Seedi Haarla and Rupert Grint — took best film, with "The Danish Woman" also winning big, per Variety.
• The BBC has started production on "Baile," an Irish-language comedy film starring Marion O'Dwyer and Hazel Doupe — a co-commission between BBC Gaeilge and Ireland's national Irish-language broadcaster.
• The BFI London Film Festival's Industry Forum lineup adds Danny Boyle, PC Williams, and Akinola Davies Jr. to its conversation slate.
• In heavier news: Rolling Stone reports new details in Hayden Panettiere's death, including that she'd recently been in rehab before being found unresponsive last month, per the report. Just a genuinely sad one — thinking of her family, friends, and fans.

Celebrity Tea

Let's linger on Coach Pop, because this story is doing numbers. Per TMZ, the Spurs legend married the ex-wife of Mike Budenholzer — the man who was literally his assistant coach in San Antonio. TMZ's framing: "definitely knows ball, but does he know bro code?" The locker room conversation we're not privy to must be electric.

• Ciara says her 9-year-old daughter nearly blew the surprise of baby No. 5 with Russell Wilson before they could tell the kids — "She's got this sixth sense." That kid is destined for interrogation work or stardom, no in-between.
• Dolly Parton's sister Freida is shutting down the family drama narrative: "There is no feud," she says, calling the brewing legal battle a "beat-up" — "no fight, no drama, just love," per Billboard. The Partons would like the discourse to exit politely.
• The Blueface–Nevaeh saga gets messier: the grandparents of Nevaeh's first son are publicly pleading for visitation — all this just weeks after she had a baby with Blueface and got dumped on his livestream. There is not a single calm paragraph in this story.
• Steelers co-owner Robert Citrone is in a nasty child support court battle over his disabled son, per court docs obtained by TMZ. Billionaire custody wars: never not bleak.
• And for the unserious crowd: TMZ's "Cheek of the Week" guessing game features a mystery woman in a blue thong bikini, with clues pointing to a "Are We There Yet?" sitcom alum. Thirsty Thursday arrives early.

TikTok & Internet

The iced coffee discourse has entered its job interview era: a viral TikTok debate about iced coffee and job interviews is splitting Gen Z from, well, everyone else, per BuzzFeed. One side calls it a red flag, the other calls it hydration. There is no third position.

• BuzzFeed also turned you into a pumpkin for 24 hours in an interactive survival game involving "battling influencers" and kids with "odd carving ideas." Seasonal content is fully unwell and I respect it.
• If you need to laugh: a roundup of the funniest internet insults ever posted includes the all-timer "he has the mind of someone whose single brain cell bounces around their skull like a DVD screensaver but it never quite manages to touch the corners." Frame it. Hang it in the Louvre.
• And the new Map Ranker geography game is humbling everyone who claims to touch grass — two geography rankers dropped this week alone, and both are talking trash.