1. Aaron Sorkin drops agent over Israel post
Aaron Sorkin is saying C you later to CAA. The "West Wing" creator told The Hollywood Reporter he's dropping his talent agency, Creative Artists Agency, after the co-chief of its film department, Maha Dakhil, shared a post on Instagram slamming Israel for "genocide" amid its war with Hamas. "Maha isn't an antisemite, she's just wrong," Sorkin said. "She's a great agent, and I'm very proud of the work we did together over the last six years." Sorkin confirmed he'll be returning to WME, a rival of CAA. Dakhil, who also represents stars like Tom Cruise and Natalie Portman, has apologized for reposting the "hurtful language." She also resigned from CAA's internal board and stepped away from her leadership role. "I pride myself on being on the side of humanity and peace," Dakhil said. "I'm so grateful to Jewish friends and colleagues who pointed out the implications and further educated me. I immediately took the repost down. I'm sorry for the pain I have caused." The Hollywood Reporter
2. Meg Ryan explains why she took a 'giant break' from acting
Meg Ryan and rom-coms are finally getting back together. The actress is back with the new romantic comedy "What Happens Later," which she stars in opposite David Duchovny. The film, which she also directed, marks Ryan's first movie role in eight years, and in an interview with People, she explained why she stepped back from Hollywood. "I took a giant break because I felt like there’s just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop," she said. This includes being a mother to her two children, including actor Jack Quaid. "It's nice to think of it as a job and not a lifestyle," she said. "And that is a great way of navigating it for me." Ryan previously told The New York Times Magazine that before her break, "I was burned out. I didn’t feel like I knew enough anymore about myself or the world to reflect it as an actor. I felt isolated." People
3. Jennette McCurdy feels 'so much shame' about 'iCarly' and 'Sam & Cat'
Jennette McCurdy would really like to move on from "iCarly." The "I'm Glad My Mom Died" author has launched a new podcast called "Hard Feelings," and she devotes the first episode to reflecting on feeling ashamed of "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat," the shows she starred on as a teen. "I have so much shame around having been a part of them," she admitted, noting her "body tightens" when she says their titles. McCurdy, who is now 31, asked listeners to imagine how it would feel to be known for what they did at 13 despite thinking it "sucked," and she recalled how a fan shouting a reference to her "iCarly" character, Sam, at an event triggered a "trauma response." Ideally, McCurdy would prefer "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat" aren't even mentioned in articles about her podcast, and she expressed disappointment that people still associate her with the shows after the success of her memoir, wondering, "When is it gonna be enough for them to forget Sam?" Hard Feelings
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4. Olivia Rodrigo reveals 'Guts' songs' explicit original lyrics
#ReleaseTheRodrigoCut! Olivia Rodrigo told Jimmy Kimmel several of the songs on her album "Guts" originally had more explicit lyrics before she decided to rewrite them. "I love using a swear word when I think it's tasteful and necessary, but sometimes I try to tone it down," she explained. "There were a few times on the album where I was swearing all over them, and I kind of had to pare it back." In "Get Him Back!," for example, Rodrigo revealed the lyric "'cause I miss the way he kisses and the way he makes me laugh" was originally "'cause I miss the way he kisses and the way he grabbed my ass." In "All‐American Bitch," instead of singing about having "perfect all-American hips," Rodrigo originally sang about having "perfect all-American tits." But she went with the cleaner versions after remembering that "my mom listens to this." The folks at Kidz Bop would presumably like to thank Rodrigo for making their jobs easier. Jimmy Kimmel Live!
5. Apple TV+ is getting more expensive
Watching an Apple show a day is going to cost you. Apple TV+ has become the latest streaming service to raise prices, as a subscription will now cost $9.99 per month instead of $6.99. The change showed up on Apple’s website, which was updated to say that a "monthly subscription is just $9.99 per month." Apple TV+ previously raised prices for the first time a year ago, going from $4.99 to $6.99. This move comes after Amazon’s Prime Video recently announced that watching its content without ads will soon cost $3 more a month, though users can avoid that price hike if they don’t mind advertisements. Netflix is also raising prices on some of its subscriptions, so the basic plan has gone up from $9.99 a month to $11.99, and the premium plan went up from $19.99 to $22.99 a month. That obnoxious person in your life who "doesn't own a TV" may have been onto something. Apple
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