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Chapter 1: What trouble is brewing at Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network?
Two big headlines in the Beckham family this week. Have we seen them?
Are we talking about the letter? The letter. And the DoorDash ad? Correct.
This, oh, I have so many feelings. All right, let me quickly run you through them because this is a pre-dinner mint. So this is meant to be. There should have been a segment in the show. I know, it probably should have been. I actually even have, I wrote notes for this. That's so much detail there. And so it's definitely like an extra pre-dinner mint.
But, okay, so the Beckham family were in LA this week because David randomly was on like that Walk of Fame thing. I'm pretty sure he got a star or something like it.
I think that they've synced up him getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the World Cup happening, which kind of makes sense.
Yeah, but I thought this, I know this, we don't have time for this. I thought the stars were for the actors. Anywho.
I know reality stars have got, like, I'm pretty sure Lisa Vanderpump has a star.
Yeah, understandably. Everyone gets a star. Queen of Hollywood. Well, yeah, true. Okay, so pap photos showed that immediately after the ceremony, Harper Seven travelled to Brooklyn and Nicola's house and hand-delivered a letter saying,
But they weren't home. Because, of course, they're estranged. Brooklyn, not speaking to any of the members of his family. It seems like little 14-year-old Harper Seven has done the olive branch extension and said, I've written you a note. I've written you a letter. Let's be friends again. But. Well, that's.
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Chapter 2: Why is Gwyneth Paltrow facing backlash for her latest ad?
He's now doing exactly the same fucking thing.
Yeah, DoorDash commented, we have a guess on why you're watching from home. The pay packet for this would have been astronomical.
He's literally married to the heiress of like a billion dollar fortune.
Yeah. Who needs the cash? Not Brooklyn. I'm not a fan of the letter. I'm not a fan of the ad. Who's the bigger, what's the bigger crime? The ad.
The letter, the ad is the bigger crime, I agree. Yeah. Okay, great. That's segment one done. Hello and welcome to Shameless, the pop culture podcast for smart people who love dumb stuff. You're joined, as always, by Melbourne writers, Michelle Andrews, that would be me, and Zazie MacDonald, that would be you. Hello, Michelle Andrews, and hello, producer Annabelle Lee. Hello. Hello.
Coming up on today's show. What have we got? Quite a bit. All right, so there's a big expose again about Alex Cooper's Unwell Network.
Yes.
So 2.0. We then need to talk about Gwyneth Paltrow's baffling cash grab. Did Selena Gomez shade Taylor Swift for being a new Knicks fan? Tyra Banks is suing for defamation after that America's Next Top Model doco that we spoke about on Netflix. And finally, the actress Sarah Pigeon is getting rinsed on Twitter for not knowing a very famous name. Yes, and also she's dating Joe Alwyn.
Which naturally we need to talk about. We need to talk about all of it. Before we get into it, a shout out to today's sponsor, Odoo, an all-in-one platform that manages your admin, sales, invoicing, inventory and website apps under one affordable subscription. Thank you, Odoo.
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Chapter 3: Did Selena Gomez throw shade at Taylor Swift for being a Knicks fan?
I am hot in the studio. It's randomly warm in Melbourne today, but I didn't check the forecast, unlike me.
Yeah. We're all, there's four of us in the studio right now. Producer Mon. We couldn't be in more different vibes. Producer Mon in a singlet. You in like three layers of top.
LAUGHTER
Me, mini skirt, belly, jeans, socks, jacket, the whole works.
Yeah.
Do you know this top? Sorry, just very quickly. This top, one time I saw my dad wearing a top and I complimented him on the top, so he bought me the same one.
Oh! That's what this top is. And now you're wearing it. And now I'm wearing it. That's so sweet.
It's very cute. Your bond with your dad is really fucking wholesome.
Yeah. Yeah, notice to my dad if I compliment your top.
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Chapter 4: What is Tyra Banks' defamation lawsuit about?
Yeah, so what I read from this story is that Team Unwell, whoever it was, were linking to Page Six about the fact this story was coming and then also trying to undermine the journal itself as someone that was too junior to be writing this story and someone who was too tied to Alex Earle.
Yeah, so this page six piece came out and it alleged that Clara, the journo, was on, and I quote, Team Earl because she had once edited a piece that had portrayed Alex Earl in a positive or neutral light in the past.
Yeah, no, I would say positive, not neutral, for sure. I think here's another quote from that page six piece. Maybe Clara Muller upped her journalism game over the last two years, but some on Team Cooper are sceptical given that she's only been a reporter for five minutes. Yeah. So those quotes were attributed to someone from Team Cooper.
I also think this part is probably, to me, the most interesting part of this story. The day after the page six piece went out, Vanity Fair received a legal letter from none other than Brian Friedman. Now, if that name sounds familiar, it's because he comes up far too often on this show. Brian Friedman is truly that cockroach of a lawyer. Sorry.
And I'm not allowed to say that. Cockroach of a lawyer. He was Justin Baldoni's lawyer. Oh, no, don't get me wrong. I agree. Not just Justin Baldoni.
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Chapter 5: Why is Sarah Pidgeon being criticized on Twitter?
Johnny Depp's. Johnny Depp. Rebel Wilson's. I don't like his style. Generally, if Brian Friedman is involved in a legal case, we are on the opposite side, rooting for the opposite side.
Yeah, and so I think he has such a... A specific, fine, I'll be more delicate, a specific reputation in Hollywood that if you're hiring Brian Friedman, in my opinion, you're hiring someone to intimidate.
Yeah, well, here's a snippet from the Vanity Fair piece about this. That letter, sent on behalf of Cooper, Kaplan and the Underworld Network, accused Vanity Fair of assigning this story to a novice journalist, alleging that I have connections to Earl, a direct competitor of our clients in the podcasting and influencer spaces. That letter included a threat.
If the story so much as suggests any sexual impropriety on Mr Kaplan's part, I will make it my life's mission to ensure Vanity Fair's days are numbered.
Sorry. Brian Friedman has no power on whether Vanity Fair's numbers. Vanity Fair. Who's been around since the dawn of time.
Who is this man?
Who is this man?
I imagine having so much inner confidence and bravado that you think you can single-handedly bring down.
Yeah, but Brian Friedman is all sizzle, no sausage, in my opinion. Yeah. Hopefully I'm protected by just the constant, in my opinion. Okay, so on the specific allegations in this story, we'll very quickly move through them. But look... In terms of how Alex Earle comes to play into this story, there is not a lot about the relationship between Alex Cooper, Alex Earle and how it fell apart.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of Brooklyn Beckham's family drama?
would occasionally put his hand on employees in front of Alex and they'd be like, oh, God, don't do that. Alex is around, which is also strange. Yeah, there was one story about that. It was a bit of a weird one.
Why? Yeah. Why? Yeah. There were several sources who claimed that one employee had to go by an alias because this employee shared the name of one of his exes.
This employee's name is – her government name is Claire. Yeah. But he was married to, was it Claire Holt? Yeah. The Australian. He was married to the actress Claire Holt. And so he made this employee, allegedly, go by a different name. It's so... That is Machiavellian. I can imagine cracking a joke about it once. Yeah, being like, ha-ha, Zara, you can't go by Zara. Zara broke my heart once.
Oh, yeah, like Zara's are cancelled. Anyway, yeah. Something like that. Not being like, anyway, so now you're Lucy.
It's like, yeah. Look, I think it's fair to say I'm interested in what you think about this, but I would say Matt Kaplan comes off quite poorly in this story. Mm, yep. Absolutely. And maybe like the maybe most troubling character here.
I agree with that. The final paragraph from the piece was quite interesting. It pulled on that mean girl narrative that we roll our eyes at all the time. Again, here's how it read. One former employee recalls a particularly telling anecdote from when Earl was on her way out of the company and refused to participate in an unwell event.
Matt Kaplan, maybe joking, maybe not, suggested they bring Alex Earl's college nemesis to the event instead. Isn't that a little mean girl? Employees remember a colleague asking Kaplan, we're all mean girls at this company. A source recalls Kaplan responding, I'm the biggest mean girl of anyone.
And there's something beautifully feminist about that. Just kidding.
Yeah, I feel allergic.
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Chapter 7: How does the World Cup impact celebrity culture?
Here it is in full. Who decided morning should be so early?
Even my coffee needs a coffee. Waking up for a morning run can be brutal. But it's a price I'm willing to pay. Because once I hit the park, pure energy takes over. It's hard to explain. There's a reason the world's most iconic buildings are by a park. 51 Park. New York? Herzliya. Israel. 51 Park.
Okay, to be clear, the entire ad that she's done is shot in New York.
She's not in... Which probably should have been her first major red flag that she couldn't actually get there. Yeah. To film it.
Yeah, like... Anyway, so the building that she shot in or the spot she shot in is Central Park, but she is obviously advertising a building from a completely different part of the world. People are calling this move Gwinnicide.
As per The Guardian this week, just a few miles away from 51 Park, Palestinians are being killed and displaced by settlers and the Israeli military at record levels. As this land grab continues, more Palestinians have been killed in the last three years than in the previous 17 years combined. analysis from Oxfam has found. How much money does Gwyneth Paltrow need? You don't need it.
You simply don't. Why would like this is just such a baffling decision on a million different levels. I cannot wrap my head around why she said yes. No me either. why would you do this? And then why would you feel like it's not just saying yes initially without maybe like the analysis that's required. You then go through the whole process of shooting it.
At what point do you turn around and go, what am I doing?
Yeah, completely. I also think this has blown up not just because of the decision that she's made, but because of quotes that have also gone viral from her podcast this week. And you put these two things together and it tells
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Chapter 8: What are the latest updates on Joe Alwyn and Sarah Pidgeon's relationship?
She tends to put her foot in her mouth and make really clunky decisions, which means unfortunately, announcement, she's out of my passport.
Well, this is the thing, she keeps falling out.
Why? Like, what's going on? It's a big why. It's a big why. It's really yuck. And I agree with you. I think benefit of the doubt, she was saying, I don't feel anything about either major political party members But do better.
I also wouldn't argue this is necessarily centrist either. I think the way you're self-identifying doesn't feel super accurate to me.
Somehow as well interviewing the co-founder of an AI defence company doesn't feel super centrist either.
I don't know. That feels like something.
Just something. Our third story. No, Spurs fan Selena Gomez did not shade Knicks fan Taylor Swift. That is from Vulture. One of my personal favourite stories of the week.
Let's finally talk about it because before we sat down to record, you shared a fun fact with Belly and you insisted it's too old, but I don't think it is too old and I think the average listener will care about this.
What, about Jalen Brunson? Yes. All right, so. No, well, can I just say from the top very quickly? I... I love a bandwagon. So do you. We particularly love a sporting bandwagon. We love sport that makes people happy. And I would like to apologise in advance to the Lifetime Knicks fans that we are jumping on the bandwagon at this point. But we acknowledge we haven't been here from the start.
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