A creepy friendship statue and a Simpsons movie sequel

Bisa Butler’s Glorious Empathetic Art

We were about to spotlight the impromptu placement (and quick removal) of a Trump/Epstein friendship sculpture on the National Lawn (more on that below), but then we saw Bisa Butler’s latest incredible textile art and thought, why highlight that when there’s so much art that warms our hearts?

Butler, whom we’ve admired for years, opened a stellar show at Jeffrey Deitch Los Angeles that runs until November 1. Hold Me Close is everything we love about Butler and her signature style — incredible color, stunning fabrics, and pieces full of deep meaning about the Black experience. In an increasingly fractured world, her textile art is rife with empathy.

This particular exhibition is a tribute to trailblazing Black photographers such as Gordon Parks, whose photography forms the basis for Butler’s portraits. If you aren’t already following Butler, go over and give the artist a follow on Instagram and listen to the interview our dear friend Sara Barnes conducted several years ago for the Top Artist Podcast, where she explains her creative process and inspiration.

Tilly Norwood: The AI Actor All Human Actors Are Rejecting

Last week, we discovered an AI-generated R&B singer named Xania Monet; this week, an AI actor named Tilly Norwood was introduced at the Zurich Summit. She is the first creation from AI talent studio Xicoia (launched by UK production company Particle 6), and in the next few months they’ll be announcing an agency to represent her. (Apparently several talent agents have already shown interest in representing Norwood.) Particle 6’s founder Eline Van der Velden says, “We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.” Umm…WHAT?!

Understandably, this is causing real, living, human actors to react and ultimately reject the rise of AI-generated actors. While some are flat-out demanding to boycott and call out any agencies showing interest in representing an AI actor, others are taking a creative approach to dismiss the non-human Norwood. Actor Lukas Gage humorously commented on social media, stating, “She was a nightmare to work with!!!!” After all, human actors have been blacklisted for far less.

With each passing day since Tilly’s introduction, more and more human actors are speaking up. Emily Blunt was, well, quite blunt in saying, “Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.” Whoopi Goldberg agrees, saying, “If you stick with this, with AI, you won't have any connection to anything but your phone.”

Van der Velden responded to the backlash over the weekend, saying, “Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art…I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool — a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”

This issue with Van der Velden’s statement… sighhh, where do I even begin? It’s all well and good to say that Tilly is not a replacement, but everything about this AI-generated actor says otherwise. And you can’t compare AI-generated actors to animated characters and puppets. CGI, stop-motion animation, puppetry — these all involve human actors to voice the characters and other professionals to compose the appearance. AI-generated “talent” takes countless jobs away. There is no need for human actors (live-action or voice), costume designers, or makeup artists.

If we continue to go down this path, soon Tilly’s agent will also be AI. Talent agents, keep that in mind before you vie for representing AI actors. Your job will be next.

• 🏴 Last week, we discussed the changing dynamics of free speech in America, and the quick removal without prior notice of a permitted Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein friendship sculpture is just another warning that we’re headed in the wrong direction.

• 🪡 Giorgio Armani may have just left us, but his fashion legacy lives on with a groundbreaking exhibition at Milan’s Pinacoteca Brera, where more than 150 archival pieces are on display among the collection’s display of Caravaggio and other Old Masters. It’s a groundbreaking first for the Brera to host a fashion exhibit, and a fitting tribute to the legendary designer.

• 📖 You may be familiar with Venice’s acqua alta, the regular flooding that persists in this lagoon city, but until you see the tangible consequences, it’s hard to imagine the damage. That’s why one photographer’s look at 100-year-old books salvaged from a flood is so fascinating (and heartbreaking). These broken and wrinkled pages are a reminder of Mother Nature’s ability to erase our cultural heritage.

• 🎨 If you love color — or just want to look at something visually pleasing — check out Marc Newson’s pixelated set design for FENDI’s SS 26 show, which ran at Milan Fashion Week. Watching how the fashions matched the runway, whether in hue or pixelated accents, is a total treat.

• 🧱 The Hills Have Eyes may be a fictional film, but there’s a real tower that has a face. Designed by engineering firm Leva, there’s a kinetic face installation embedded within a tower at an amusement park in France that takes shape thanks to 206 custom-designed modules.

• 🦴 Ever wanted to own a Triceratops? It could be yours when it comes up for auction at Philips in November. Valued at a cool $3.5 million, the fossil, which was dug up in South Dakota in 2016, is the first full juvenile triceratops ever discovered.

• 🛥️ Pete Davidson and Colin Jost made headlines in 2022 for buying a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry, but did you know that one couple has actually been living on a ferry (albeit an Ellis Island Ferry). Check out this fascinating documentary on a couple who have called a ferry their home for the last 25 years.

• 🍻 Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers joined Seth Meyers on his beloved Day Drinking segment, and something unexpected happened — Seth went sleeveless…and the Las Culturistas duo was super into it. The sparkly tank top really unleashed the zaddy in Seth. He made the perfect thirst trap for their drinking escapade.

• 🏈 There were rumors that Taylor Swift would headline the Super Bowl halftime show, but it’s just been announced that it will actually be Bad Bunny. It seems Swift was in talks but turned it down because she wanted “to retain ownership of her performance and secure slots promoting her own projects,” and the NFL declined. Now, with Bad Bunny set to perform, the halftime show is sure to stir up more controversy as the artist has been a vocal critic of MAGA and the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Plus, he’ll be singing in Spanish, which is sure to rile up some NFL fans.

• 🍄 Super Mario is 40! To celebrate, Nintendo held events in New York and San Francisco for fans to meet Mario and snap a picture with our favorite Italian plumber who eat mushrooms to grow double in size. Now that the beloved Super Mario Bros.™ game has officially celebrated its 40th anniversary, perhaps it’s time for the mustachioed man to start introducing himself by saying, “It’s-a-me, middle-aged Mario!”

• 🎬 The Simpsons is getting another movie! Disney announced that the Simpsons sequel will release in theaters on July 23, 2027. That means it’ll be a full 20 years since the first movie premiered in July 2007. Wow… if Mario didn’t make us feel old, this definitely does.

• 🫦 Penn Badgley shared an excerpt from his book Crushmore (co-authored with fellow Podcrushed podcast hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari). In this sensual snippet, Badgley shares a day in the life of the You actor as he prepares for a scintillating sex scene. The most important takeaway from how he does it: “I look in camera. And I hump my ass off.”

• 🎙️ Soap opera star Kate Mansi revealed she’s been the victim of a podcast casting scam, and it turns out she isn’t the only one. There’s apparently a slew of mainly influencers who have been approached by scammers pretending to be part of a wide range of popular podcasts, including Amy Poehler’s Good Hang. Though Mansi has expressed her great humiliation, she’s actually helped get the word out by exposing this rampant scam.

• 🐻 It’s Fat Bear Week! Each year, the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska celebrates the burly brown bears that have spent all summer chunkifying themselves by feasting on salmon by crowning the fattest of them all (as determined by the public). Today is the final day for voting, so cast your ballot any time between 12 p.m. - 9 p.m. EST.