Entertainment
A-Rod Explains ‘Only Condition’ for Daughter Studying Theater in College on August 6, 2023 at 6:57 pm Us Weekly

Alex Rodriguez is preparing to send eldest daughter Natasha off to college at the University of Michigan — after making specific demands about her class selection.
“My only condition is because all these young actors want to bypass college and I’m always saying, like, ‘You can [study] drama, you can do whatever you want, but as long as you’re taking your business classes at Michigan; they have a great business school,’” Rodriguez, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, August 4, of Natasha’s interest in the university’s prestigious musical theater program. “And that was [the] deal.”
Natasha — whom the retired baseball player shares with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis, along with 15-year-old daughter Ella — graduated from high school earlier this year after committing to Michigan’s BFA program to study performing arts. The 18-year-old is set to move onto the midwestern campus later this month.
“I can’t believe it. I’m gonna drop her off in a few weeks in Ann Arbor, and I’m both incredibly proud of Natasha but also incredibly sad that my first baby is leaving us,” Rodriguez said on Friday, while promoting his partnership with OraPharma. “And you know, for us dads, they’re always our babies — even if they’re 30 years old.”
The MLB icon has already started to see how different this home life will be with Natasha away at school during a recent overnight trip. “I had the first moment where I went to wake up my little one, Ella, and [their] rooms are right across from each other. And, you know, habitual — I’ve been doing this for 18 years — I go and knock in Natasha’s room and she’s not there,” he recalled to Us. “I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a preview of the next four years.’”
Rodriguez — who is currently dating fitness trainer Jaclyn “Jac” Cordeiro — further opened up about how Ella is coping with her big sister leaving home.
Alex Rodriguez with daughter Natasha Rodriguez. Frank Micelotta/Fox Sports/Picturegroup/Shutterstock
“I think there’s parts of her that are excited because she gets to be, like, the alpha in the house now [since] she has a younger stepsister, Cami,” he explained, referring to Scurtis and husband Angel Nicolas’ 7-year-old daughter. “But I think, for the most part, she’s definitely like all of us: Very sad and proud that Natasha’s going to Michigan.”
One of the ways Natasha is making her dad, in particular, proud is through her mindset about pursuing a career in the arts. “I think she’s crystal clear on what she wants. I mean, she’s such a hard worker and doesn’t expect any free rides [and] wants to work for everything she gets,” Rodriguez gushed. “She’s [a] special young lady and I think her goal is to perform in one of those big [shows] like a Hamilton or something like that.”
She’s going to the right place to get the training. U of M’s notable alumni include Darren Criss (Glee), Ashley Park (Emily in Paris), Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (composers, The Greatest Showman) and James Earl Jones, just to name a few.
When Rodriguez isn’t cheering on his girls’ accomplishments — and watching them “wear [him] out” at nightly family dinners — he is working with OraPharma to raise awareness for gum disease.
“I was shocked when I received the news in one of my regular visits and I was more surprised and quite honestly a little nervous and realizing how prevalent it was in the U.S. and especially with my community,” he told Us of his own early-stage diagnosis. “From afar it looks like, ‘Oh, everything’s good, everything’s perfect, blah, blah, blah.’ But … you see that it can happen to anybody.”
He added: “I know me personally, I’m not someone that looks forward to going to the dentist, but I think what I learned is it’s something that’s a must and something that all of us should take more seriously.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
Alex Rodriguez is preparing to send eldest daughter Natasha off to college at the University of Michigan — after making specific demands about her class selection. “My only condition is because all these young actors want to bypass college and I’m always saying, like, ‘You can [study] drama, you can do whatever you want, but
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Entertainment
South Park’s Christmas Episode Delivers the Antichrist

A new Christmas-themed episode of South Park is scheduled to air with a central plot in which Satan is depicted as preparing for the birth of an Antichrist figure. The premise extends a season-long narrative arc that has involved Satan, Donald Trump, and apocalyptic rhetoric, positioning this holiday episode as a culmination of those storylines rather than a stand‑alone concept.
Episode premise and season context
According to published synopses and entertainment coverage, the episode frames the Antichrist as part of a fictional storyline that blends religious symbolism with commentary on politics, media, and cultural fear. This follows earlier Season 28 episodes that introduced ideas about Trump fathering an Antichrist child and tech billionaire Peter Thiel obsessing over prophecy and end‑times narratives. The Christmas setting is presented as a contrast to the darker themes, reflecting the series’ pattern of pairing holiday imagery with controversial subject matter.
Public and political reactions
Coverage notes that some figures connected to Donald Trump’s political orbit have criticized the season’s portrayal of Trump and his allies, describing the show as relying on shock tactics rather than substantive critique. Commentators highlight that these objections are directed more at the depiction of real political figures and the show’s tone than at the specific theology of the Antichrist storyline.
At the time of reporting, there have not been widely reported, detailed statements from major religious leaders focused solely on this Christmas episode, though religion-focused criticism of South Park in general has a long history.
Media and cultural commentary
Entertainment outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Slate, and USA Today describe the Antichrist arc as part of South Park’s ongoing use of Trump-era and tech-world politics as material for satire.
Viewer guidance and content advisory
South Park is rated TV‑MA and is intended for adult audiences due to strong language, explicit themes, and frequent use of religious and political satire. Viewers who are sensitive to depictions of Satan, the Antichrist, or parodies involving real political figures may find this episode particularly objectionable, while others may view it as consistent with the show’s long‑running approach to controversial topics. As with previous episodes, individual responses are likely to vary widely, and the episode is best understood as part of an ongoing satirical series rather than a factual or theological statement.
Entertainment
Sydney Sweeney Finally Confronts the Plastic Surgery Rumors

Sydney Sweeney has decided she is finished watching strangers on the internet treat her face like a forensic project. After years of side‑by‑side screenshots, “then vs now” TikToks, and long comment threads wondering what work she has supposedly had done, the actor is now addressing the plastic surgery rumors directly—and using them to say something larger about how women are looked at in Hollywood and online.

Growing Up on Camera vs. “Before and After” Culture
Sweeney points out that people are often mistaking normal changes for procedures: she grew up on camera, her roles now come with big‑budget glam teams, and her body has shifted as she has trained, aged, and worked nonstop. Yet every new red‑carpet photo gets folded into a narrative that assumes surgeons, not time, are responsible. Rather than walking through a checklist of what is “real,” she emphasizes how bizarre it is that internet detectives comb through pores, noses, and jawlines as if they are owed an explanation for every contour of a woman’s face.
The Real Problem Isn’t Her Face
By speaking up, Sweeney is redirecting the conversation away from her features and toward the culture that obsesses over them.
She argues that the real issue isn’t whether an actress has had work done, but why audiences feel so entitled to dissect her body as public property in the first place.
For her, the constant speculation is less about curiosity and more about control—another way to tell women what they should look like and punish them when they do not fit. In calling out that dynamic, Sweeney isn’t just defending herself; she is forcing fans and followers to ask why tearing apart someone else’s appearance has become such a popular form of entertainment.
Entertainment
Netflix’s $82.7 Billion Warner Bros Deal Signals the Rise of a New Hollywood Power

For years, Netflix was the outsider—the tech disruptor knocking on the studio gates.
With its $82.7 billion move to acquire Warner Bros, it is no longer knocking; it is taking the keys and changing the locks.
The deal transforms Netflix from pure‑play streamer into a full‑scale studio‑streamer hybrid, fusing Silicon Valley’s data obsession with a century of Hollywood storytelling muscle.
From red envelopes to studio gates
Netflix’s journey from DVD‑by‑mail upstart to owner of a legacy studio is not just a growth story; it is a generational power shift. Warner Bros once embodied the old studio system, with backlots, soundstages, and iconic franchises like DC, “Harry Potter,” and “Game of Thrones.” By absorbing that machine, Netflix is effectively buying time—decades of brand equity and infrastructure it could never build from scratch at the same speed.

The move also closes a chaotic chapter for Warner Bros Discovery, which has wrestled with streaming strategy, debt, and identity since its last megamerger. Selling the studio and streaming assets while spinning off cable networks is a tacit admission that the future of this business is on‑demand, not in linear bundles.
What this new giant actually controls
Once the ink is dry, Netflix will not just host Warner content; it will own the pipes that create it. That means control of blockbuster IP, a deep catalog, HBO’s prestige engine, and global distribution to hundreds of millions of subscribers. In practical terms, one company will decide where and how a massive portion of premium film and TV reaches audiences worldwide.
This is where the “new Hollywood power” language earns its weight.
Disney may still be the benchmark for franchise dominance, but Netflix plus Warner tilts the axis of competition. The question is no longer whether streaming can rival studios; it is whether any traditional studio can rival a platform that has become a studio.
The upside—and the anxiety
For viewers, the upside is obvious: more of what they love in one place, fewer log‑ins, and the thrill of seeing HBO‑level shows and Warner‑scale films flowing through Netflix’s global pipeline. For creators and competitors, the mood is more complicated. Labor groups are already warning about reduced competition for scripts and talent, while regulators eye the merger as another test case in how far media consolidation can go.

The Trump administration’s stance on large media deals adds another layer of uncertainty, with analysts openly debating whether political pressure could reshape or stall the transaction. In other words, this is not just a business story; it is a power story, with cultural, economic, and political stakes colliding in one headline‑ready package.
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