TL;DR
There’s a Name for What Diddy Did to Cassie
Brad Pitt Is Fooling You
Paramount Cowers To Trump’s Demands
KPop Demon Hunters Is A Success Few Predicted
ICE Raids Designed to Evoke Fear
Wrapping up the week with some hot takes alongside the brilliant Rebecca Sun.
Rebecca is a journalist and editor. Her bylines have also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Esquire China and New York. Most recently, she was the senior editor of diversity and inclusion at The Hollywood Reporter.
The last time she stopped by AOP, we channeled our awe with the Netflix series #Adolescence into a dialogue exploring the challenges of raising children, particularly boys, in today's complex digital landscape and economic pressures.
Here’s the chat if you missed it.
Keep crushing it. Keep creating. And as always, thanks for doing this life thing with me!
🎞️ YouTube / 🎧 Spotify / 🍏 Apple Podcasts
“There’s a Name for What Diddy Allegedly Did to Cassie – But You Won’t Hear It At Trial”
Aja Romano, Vox, June 9, 2025
Rebecca’s Take: Romano’s explainer came out a month before the Diddy trial’s July 2 verdict, but it proved to be prescient in explaining a key reason why the rap mogul was acquitted of the most serious charges against him. Lady Justice is an imperfect adjudicator of interpersonal dynamics like coercive control: How do you prosecute a reality that exists between the lines of saccharine text messages? There are obviously more ways to compel a person’s behavior than an immediate threat at gunpoint, but the legal system – and the culture that it reflects – have a long ways to go toward accounting for that.
Carolina’s Take: I'll let Rebecca handle the professional analysis on this one. As someone who was working on a documentary about the rapped Shyne when all of this blew up, I find it hard to be objective. This verdict is absolutely absurd and a gut punch to every woman who's ever tried to speak truth to power. It’s huge loss The Diddy trial verdict is a devastating blow for women everywhere - despite harrowing testimony about systematic sexual abuse and coercive "freak offs," Sean Combs was acquitted of the most serious charges that could have meant life in prison and only convicted on lesser prostitution-related counts under the Mann Act. This outcome sends a chilling message to survivors: even when you find the courage to testify, even when there's evidence of a pattern of exploitation, the legal system will still find ways to minimize the harm and protect powerful men.
“Brad Pitt is Fooling You”
Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, July 3, 2025
Rebecca’s Take: Speaking of dismissing the alleged abuse of women, Bastién refuses to go along with the rest of the entertainment industry complex in uncritically embracing Pitt’s celebrity image. The consensus on the actor’s latest blockbuster, F1: The Movie (feels like a ™ should be part of its official title), is that it’s an effective vehicle for his old-school movie stardom, but only Bastién exposes the machinations that allow a man like Brad Pitt to walk away from a detailed account of alleged domestic abuse without a scratch.
As she writes in her damning gut-punch of a kicker:
“It isn’t that people don’t believe in what happened to Jolie on that plane – they just don’t care.”
Carolina’s Take: Honestly, no notes here, just continued sacral rage on behalf of women everywhere and in perpetuity.
“Paramount’s Trump Settlement Hands CBS News a Black Eye”
Tom Jones and Angela Fu, Poynter, July 3, 2025
Rebecca’s Take: If the Diddy trial is a story about the legal system’s weaknesses, this is a story about its weaponization. Hollywood insiders already understand Paramount’s $16 million settlement payment to Donald Trump over CBS News’ editing of a Kamala Harris interview in the context of the federal government’s pending approval of the company’s merger with Skydance: The plaintiff not only happens to be the head of said government, he also gleefully threatens those who fail to bend the knee, much like a mob boss (former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft called the whole debacle a “shakedown”). But I’m sharing Poynter’s take here – Columbia Journalism Review’s roundup of reactions is also worth reading – in order to emphasize the journalism angle about how dangerous and dispiriting Paramount’s capitulation (following the precedent set by ABC News) is to the survival of a free press, which ultimately presages the viability of a free society.
Carolina’s Take: What is “Corporate cowardice disguised as business strategy” for 500, please. Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit that legal experts universally agreed was "meritless," all because they need Trump's FCC to approve their Skydance merger. Insane. The entire dispute was over showing 21 seconds of Kamala Harris's answer on one show versus 7 seconds on another. Therapy would have been much cheaper. Add this to the list of further evidence that Trump will stop at nothing to intimidate major news organizations into submission through frivolous lawsuits and regulatory threats. It sets a devastating precedent.
“Inside the Viral Success of KPop Demon Hunters: ‘Fashion, Weird Girls and Great Pop Music’”
Katcy Stephan, Variety, July 1, 2025
Rebecca’s Take: If I still had an outlet to write for, I would investigate why exactly this Kpop project – out of the handful in development at any given time – not only hit, but scored big, becoming the kind of sleeper success that transcends its niche genre and attracts mainstream attention. I suspect it has a lot to do with co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans’ uncynical and authentic approach to their world-building – both are legitimate Hallyu fans, yet Kpop was simply a device to serve the story, not the other way around. I would also ask industry experts to speculate, in hindsight, how the film (which has remained in Netflix’s global Top 10 since its June 20 release, topping the worldwide chart in its first full week) might have fared if Sony Pictures Animation had given it a traditional theatrical release.
Carolina’s Take: Though I understand the appeal of K-pop, I admit I’m more of a Spice Girls and Chiquititas (IYKYK) generation. The fact that this animated film about demon-fighting K-pop idols has not only topped Netflix charts in 33 countries but is also the third most-streamed K-pop act globally shows what happens when creators trust audiences to embrace something bold and weird. Director Maggie Kang fought to let her female characters be genuinely funny and messy - complete with "cavernous nostrils" and unfilled eyebrows - after being told on a previous project that female characters couldn't be the funniest ones in the room. Audiences are hungry for unique stories and I love that it dared to challenge "conventional wisdom" about what an animated film should be.
“‘Afraid’: ICE Raids Shake Hollywood’s Immigrant Workforce”
Elaine Low, The Ankler, June 23, 2025
Rebecca’s take: This story is a great demonstration of how the political is personal, and everything is connected. If nothing else, the state-sponsored terror campaign that continues to invade L.A. is showing just how much immigrants of color, regardless of legal status, are woven into the fabric of our communities – as neighbors, family members and colleagues, including the entertainment industry. I applaud our fellow mom Low, a veteran trade reporter, for her courage in sharing her own past as an undocumented person, which adds an undeniable poignancy to her reporting.
Carolina’s Take: As an immigrant, this issue strikes at the heart of who I am. Immigrants form the backbone of Hollywood's ecosystem, even when the industry prefers to look the other way. I commend Rafael Augustin for his courage in sharing his truth.
While undocumented workers may not appear on studio payrolls, a vast network of legal immigrants keeps this industry running—from construction crews to maintenance staff. These workers are now paralyzed by fear, afraid to show up because they worry about being targeted based on how they look or sound.
Hollywood's uncomfortable truth: it was built on immigrant labor, yet now those same essential workers are too terrified to come to work. Meanwhile, the studios that depend on them remain conspicuously silent about a crisis devastating their own workforce. The hypocrisy is glaring, and the human cost is real.
ICYMI: I’m brewing up something special this summer by combining two of my favorite things: exceptional coffee and inspiring conversations.
There will be 3 coffee meetups for paid Patreon and Substack peeps at some of my favorite LA coffee spots. Think of it as your chance to connect, collaborate, and caffeinate with fellow producers while exploring different neighborhoods across the city.
The first one is July 27th!
Why These Meetups Matter: Sure, you'll get to chat with me about producing, filmmaking, and whatever's on your mind. But honestly? The real magic happens when you connect with the other incredible people in our community. I've watched friendships form and collaborations bloom from these gatherings.
You're not just meeting me — you're plugging into a network of passionate, talented filmmakers who genuinely support each other's success.
Our community is filled with producers, writers, directors, actors, and creatives at every stage of their journey, from emerging talents to seasoned professionals. These intimate coffee meetups create the perfect environment for authentic connections that extend far beyond a single conversation.
While we'll continue hosting our larger community mixers in the fall, I've been reflecting on how to be more intentional with my time and energy. These smaller, curated gatherings for paid subscribers allow for deeper conversations and more meaningful connections.