It’s good to be back. The pop culture gods have blessed my return with news of Kelly Clarkson’s animatronic bird saga.

The Grammy winner recently visited Brooklyn-based novelty shop Art of Play, where she asked about buying a dancing mechanical bird. The singer claimed she was “looked at as if I couldn’t afford” its $US15,000 ($AU21,570 😮) price tag.

“Y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman,” Clarkson wrote.

Art of Play denied the claims, explaining the bird (government name: ‘Molly’) is a permanent display fixture and not for sale. Clarkson clapped back on X, saying, “So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar. Got it” and attached a photo showing a price tag next to the definitely-not-for-sale Molly…

The store claims Clarkson was told she could order a near-identical version from the artist behind the original bird. Molly, meanwhile, has a new price tag: $15 million.

“To receive two Michelin Stars is an extraordinary honour and a proud moment for our team,”
Director/Chef of South Australia’s Magill Estate Restaurant, Scott Huggins, after his kitchen made history as the first Australian restaurant to win two Michelin stars.

$AU350 million.
How much the film Digger, starring Tom Cruise, is projected to lose in its theatrical run, after ticket sales dropped 60% in its second weekend.

Almost a decade after the Girls finale aired, the show’s core cast (creator Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Andrew Rannells) appeared in a mock Zoom to announce a five-episode Girls revival, with production to begin next year.

Russell Brand has appeared in a London court for the start of his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault against six women.

The prosecution opened its case by describing Brand as someone who could be funny and charming, yet “calculating” and “manipulative”.

The British actor and comedian has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of rape, sexual assault and indecent assault relating to alleged offences between 1999 and 2009.

Here’s the latest.

In 2023, the UK’s Sunday Times and Channel 4 jointly published reports alleging Brand had sexually assaulted and emotionally abused at least four women.

In April 2025, police charged Brand over allegations made by four other women, who came forward after the reports. In a video statement posted to social media, Brand said the charges were a demonstration of the law being used as “a kind of weapon” against him.

Then, in December, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised two further charges of rape and sexual assault against Brand relating to alleged offences against two additional women.

Brand denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault, made by six women.

London’s Southwark Crown Court determined the additional charges (laid in December) should be brought into the existing case.

Arriving at court ahead of proceedings, 51-year-old Brand said, “Today I feel blessed. I feel of course concerned but hopeful that this process will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.”

The prosecution, led by Riel Karmy-Jones KC, opened its case on Wednesday, alleging that Brand was a ruthless predator.

“His desire, his strong desire, for some form of sexual contact was indiscriminate and voracious,” Karmy-Jones said.

The first complainant claimed Brand raped her in her hotel room after she saw him perform at a Labour Party conference in 1999.

Brand’s co-performer and former friend Mark Pinheiro appeared as a witness, telling the court that a few months after the conference, Brand admitted he had met a woman and things “may have gone a bit too far”. Pinheiro also said Brand bragged about a goal to have sex with 5,000 women in his lifetime.

The maximum penalty for rape in the UK is life imprisonment. Sexual assault and indecent assault each carry maximum sentences of 10 years.

The trial continues.

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Reporting by Emma Gillespie

Two years before Bridesmaids, Rebel Wilson won Best Actress at a short film festival in Sydney.

That festival is Tropfest, and it’s had a hand in launching Sam Worthington, Rose Byrne and the Edgerton brothers too. It grew from a Darlinghurst cafe screening into the world’s largest short film festival, and you can enter for 2027. The TLDR: a brand-new film, seven minutes or less, featuring this year’s Signature Item, a necklace.

Entries open Tuesday 1 December, so start making your film now.

This week, a clip of comedian Shane Gillis has been doing the rounds. In his opening monologue while hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL), he said: “I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now.”

At the same time, a 2022 podcast has resurfaced in which a group of Melbourne comedians joked about the murder of American travel vlogger Gabby Petito.

While Gillis is facing backlash around the world, the Aussie podcast clip has drawn a massive reaction here. It comes as advocates say violence against women in Australia has reached crisis levels.

Together, the two incidents have sparked an online debate: Does comedy have a misogyny problem?

Gillis is an American comedian. He was announced as an SNL cast member in September 2019, but was fired just days later after old podcast clips surfaced featuring offensive and anti-Asian remarks.

He has since built a successful stand-up career and has hosted SNL three times, including last week.

He opened that episode with a lengthy bit about his experience returning to the gym after a long break, including comments about women’s attire.  

The monologue gained widespread attention when actor and producer Dan Levy (of Schitt’s Creek fame) posted a video to Instagram.

“Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them ‘whores’,” he said. “It makes the men calling them ‘whores’ misogynists.”

In the comments, several celebrities and comedy heavyweights praised Levy’s take, including Hannah Einbinder, Viola Davis and Jessica Williams.

“Nailed it,” filmmaker and actor Elizabeth Banks said.

While discussing Gillis on The View, co-host Sara Haines said: “I believe there has to be an area where comedians are able to walk right up to that line.” But she also pointed out that the “joke” came amid major public focus on the alleged gang rape of a 20-year-old woman at Cornell University in 2024.

A 2022 episode of Melbourne-based comedian Nick Trapani’s podcast ‘Trapanischoice’ resurfaced last week when it was shared to social media by anti-violence campaigner Sherele Moody.

In the clip, Trapani and three guests joked about the murder of 22-year-old American influencer Gabby Petito, who was killed by her fiancé in 2021.

One guest said the killing was justified. Another called her “hot-ish” and said he’d “give her one in an emergency”. The episode has since been removed.

The podcast clip gained more attention when comedian Peter Helliar posted a four-minute Instagram video with the message: “men in comedy, be better”.

“What kind of cave are you living in where you’re not aware that we have a major crisis in this country where women are being murdered, not only by strangers… but also people they trust,” he said.

Helliar also referenced Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon, who was murdered on her way home from a gig in 2018, saying, “We lost one of our own.”

The video has attracted over a million views, with comments of support from Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and local female comedians including Amy Ruffle and Melanie Bracewell.

Trapani posted a lengthy apology on Instagram. He said the comments weren’t his, but acknowledged that he “laughed along”.

According to Australian Femicide Watch, 56 women have been killed in 2026 so far. In 2025, 80 women were murdered.

Advocates argue flippant remarks like the ones making headlines this week negatively contribute to broader attitudes towards women.

TDA reached out to ANROWS, a non-profit research organisation established by the federal, state and territory governments to study women’s safety in Australia.

Its CEO, Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine, said: “When violence is treated as something to laugh at, it minimises the violence and the harm it caused.”

“Jokes can signal that violence is acceptable or excusable, and condoning violence is a recognised driver of violence against women in Australia.”

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.