First up, the legal battle around Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni over It Ends With Us is still not fully over. Even after a broader settlement talk, Lively is still pushing to recover legal fees tied to that massive $400 million defamation case that was filed by Baldoni’s side and later tossed. Her argument? It was allegedly a retaliatory move to shut her up. Baldoni’s team says her new demands go too far, while her side says there should be consequences for what they call abuse of the legal system. In other words: the movie might be done, but the sequel is still in court.
Meanwhile, Will Smith just scored a legal win after a judge dismissed a sexual harassment lawsuit tied to an alleged 2025 incident in Las Vegas. The judge basically said the claims didn’t meet the legal threshold for harassment and pointed out there wasn’t solid proof Smith or his team were even the only ones who could’ve accessed the hotel room. The case is dismissed for now, but the door is technically still cracked open for a refile.
Over in pop culture legal land, Taylor Swift is pushing back hard against a trademark lawsuit over her album The Life of a Showgirl. A cabaret performer claims the branding overlaps with her trademark, but Swift’s team says that’s a stretch and basically argues you can’t trademark “showgirl energy” and then act surprised when someone uses it differently. They also warn blocking the title could cost tens of millions and mess with artistic expression.
On the late-night front, Stephen Colbert is lining up a big farewell stretch for The Late Show before it wraps May 21. We’re talking a reunion of the “Strike Force Five” crew—Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers—plus a Broadway performance, and even a visit from David Letterman for a symbolic torch-passing moment. Basically, it’s turning into late-night Avengers: Endgame.
TV drama continues too, with Yellowstone expanding its universe in the new spin-off Dutton Ranch. Beth and Rip are trying to start fresh in Texas, but of course… peace doesn’t last long when your last name is Dutton.
On the movie side, Illumination dropped the final trailer for Minions & Monsters, where the Minions attempt to make a Hollywood monster movie… and accidentally summon a real one. The cast includes Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, and Trey Parker, with director Pierre Coffin back voicing the Minions. Chaos is basically guaranteed.
And finally at the box office, Mortal Kombat 2 is looking at a strong opening around 40 to 45 million, while The Devil Wears Prada 2 is still holding steady in its second weekend. Meanwhile Michael is expected to keep dancing its way to another solid haul in week three.
