Entertainment

Kevin Costner ‘Will Outplay’ Christine Baumgartner Amid Messy Divorce on August 23, 2023 at 12:00 pm Us Weekly

Published

3 years ago

August 23, 2023

Ever since Kevin Costner’s wife, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce from the A-list actor on May 1, the estranged couple have been at war over everything from the validity of their prenuptial agreement to who gets to keep the former couple’s pots and pans.

According to a source, Costner, 68, is now ready to pump the brakes on the drama. “Kevin and his lawyers have made a concerted effort to lower the temperature and stop the tide of bad publicity,” explains the source. “He doesn’t want this to be a drawn-out [divorce.]”

The Yellowstone star was said to be blindsided when Baumgartner, 49, pulled the plug on their relationship after 18 years of marriage. “Kevin feels betrayed by Christine, but he wants to take the high ground,” adds the source, noting that the actor has been focused on his children (he and Baumgartner share Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13) and his upcoming film, Horizon: An American Saga. “Kevin doesn’t want to waste more time fighting with Christine.”

By most accounts, Baumgartner was unhappy with how much time Costner devoted to work over the past few years. Filming his hit series, Yellowstone, in Montana kept him away from home for months at a time. “Their marriage seemed solid and like they were in it for the long term, but the time apart clearly took a toll,” says a second source. “Christine just couldn’t cope.”

Jaguar PS/Shutterstock

Things got ugly fast. In mid-June, court docs revealed that Baumgartner was refusing to leave the family’s $145 million Santa Barbara compound, despite their prenup stating she had to vacate the property within 30 days of the divorce filing. (She left in late July after their lawyers duked it out over who could keep certain household items like kitchen cutlery.)

They fought over child support (Baumgartner requested $248,000 per month; a judge ordered Costner to fork over temporary monthly payments of $129,755), and in court documents from Aug. 10, Costner’s attorneys accused Baumgartner’s legal team of “gamesmanship of the worst sort” in light of her claims she “felt pressured” to sign their premarital agreement. (They are due in court in November to hash out child support and the terms of their prenup.)

Lester Cohen/Getty Images for Omnipeace Foundation

The first source says Costner — whose 1994 divorce from his first wife, Cindy Silva, reportedly resulted in an $80 million settlement — is now taking a step back and “letting his lawyers figure it all out” while he and Baumgartner keep their distance. “They are only speaking through intermediaries,” notes the source. “Kevin would rather use the silent treatment than deal with Christine directly anymore.”

The Oscar winner feels he’s been more than reasonable. “Kevin sees himself as having all the class and integrity in this situation,” says the first source, insisting that “Christine will get a fair deal.” Costner — who owns another property in Santa Barbara and a 160-acre ranch in Colorado, along with a multimillion-dollar art collection — has a “what’s mine is mine” attitude regarding the division of assets, says the source.

Adds a third source: “Kevin doesn’t hate Christine, but he does want a clean break. Of course, there are resentments and animosity, but that comes with the territory, and he’s trying not to make it personal.”

While the first source notes there are some concerns that Baumgartner still has ammo “she can throw at Kevin,” the actor feels confident things will work out in his favor. “Kevin is a chess player,” says the source, “and he will outplay Christine.”

Costner and Baumgartner posed with their three children at the 2019 premiere of The Art of Racing in the Rain. PAPIX/INSTARimages.com

As he recovers from the split, Costner’s been leaning on friends and his daughter Lily, 37, from his marriage to Silva. (They also share Annie, 39, and Joe, 35; and Costner shares Liam, 27, with ex Bridget Rooney.) “Lily is the ‘Kevin whisperer’ in the family and the one who keeps him calm and sane,” explains the first source. The second source says Costner’s younger kids with Baumgartner are handling the split “surprisingly well,” adding, “They’re sad, but they’re being very levelheaded and mature about it all.”

Work has been a welcome reprieve. After five seasons of Yellowstone, he’s ready for what’s next. (In a June interview, showrunner Taylor Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter he was “disappointed” that Costner wanted to exit the series before filming the second half of season 5, with the publication reporting there are still ongoing discussions to try to convince the star to film a few scenes.)

“Yellowstone was a huge success, but Kevin hated not having enough input, and that’s what caused the friction with Taylor,” says the second source. “He wants to challenge himself.”

Costner is putting it all on the line for his upcoming four-part Western, Horizon: An American Saga — even taking out a mortgage to fund it himself. “I’ve mortgaged 10 acres on the water in Santa Barbara where I was going to build my last house. But I did it without a thought,” the writer-director recently told Deadline. “It’s thrown my accountant into a f**king conniption fit. But it’s my life, and I believe in the idea and the story.”

The first source tells Us he’s happy to risk it all. “Directing Horizon has been an A-plus experience,” the source says, noting Costner, who’s also starring in the film series, is working alongside his longtime collaborators. “During his years on Yellowstone, he had none of his loyalists around him, which was the big reason why he left that show.”

The source says that the first two installments of Horizon are about 75 percent done. (The on-location scenes were filmed before the Hollywood strikes began.) “Kevin won’t settle for anything less than perfection when it comes to Horizon,” adds the source. “He wants it to be his biggest success since the days of Dances With Wolves. He’s thrown everything he has into making it.”

Baumgartner was seen carrying boxes of clothing from her storage until on Aug. 15. GP/MEGA

Costner is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “Kevin’s been to hell and back, but the feeling you get from people in his circle is that he’s finally coming out the other side,” says the second source. “He’s throwing himself into his work and surrounding himself with people he can trust. Divorce sucks, but he’s toughing it out.”

Adds the source: “Kevin has a lot of confidence in his attorneys, and he’s staying busy with his career and continues to have a very special relationship with his kids. He firmly believes that brighter times are ahead.”

Ever since Kevin Costner’s wife, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce from the A-list actor on May 1, the estranged couple have been at war over everything from the validity of their prenuptial agreement to who gets to keep the former couple’s pots and pans. According to a source, Costner, 68, is now ready to pump

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Entertainment

Jay-Z Locked In Tyla. The Industry Is Shaking.

Published

1 week ago

July 3, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

By Bolanle Media | July 2, 2026

Photo: Tyla at the 2026 Met Gala in custom Valentino — days before making the biggest business move of her career.

There are career moves, and then there are statements. Tyla just made a statement that will be studied in music business classrooms for years.

The South African superstar — born Tyla Laura Seethal, 24 years old, and already the proud owner of two Grammy Awards — has officially signed a multi-million dollar global deal with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s powerhouse entertainment company, walking away from Epic Records to align herself with the most influential roster in the music business. The signing was confirmed across social media with a major digital announcement this week, and the reaction from industry insiders was immediate — shock, admiration, and the quiet acknowledgment that someone just changed the trajectory of African music forever.

From “Water” to a Global Phenomenon

Let’s not forget where this all started. In 2023, a 21-year-old from Johannesburg released a song called “Water” that nobody could quite categorize and everybody needed to hear. Within weeks, it had sparked one of the most viral TikTok dance challenges of the decade, charted simultaneously across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Africa, and earned Tyla a Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance — the first year that category even existed.

That win wasn’t just personal. It was a signal. African music — Afrobeats, Amapiano, and now what Tyla herself calls A*Pop — was no longer knocking at the door of the global mainstream. It had walked through it. And Tyla had handed it the key.

What followed was a whirlwind two years of sold-out shows, magazine covers, red carpet domination, and a growing reputation as one of the most stylistically fearless artists on the planet. She attended the 2026 Met Gala — her third consecutive appearance — wearing a custom Valentino gown dripping in diamond chains with a sweeping teal skirt, styled by the legendary Law Roach, with beauty by Pat McGrath. The look was breathtaking. But it was also strategic. Every Met Gala appearance, every fashion moment, every carefully placed interview has been building toward exactly this: the infrastructure to match the vision.

What Roc Nation Actually Means

To understand why this deal matters, you have to understand what Roc Nation actually is — because it is not simply a record label.

Founded by Jay-Z in 2008, Roc Nation is a full-service entertainment company with divisions spanning artist management, touring, brand partnerships, film and television, sports management, and philanthropy. Its roster has included Rihanna, Alicia Keys, J. Cole, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert, and Megan Thee Stallion — artists who didn’t just sell records, but built multi-decade cultural empires that extended into fashion, film, business, and beyond. The through-line isn’t genre. It’s scale.

For Tyla specifically, the Roc Nation deal unlocks a completely different level of access. We’re talking about premium budgets for music videos and live production, top-tier brand partnership pipelines with luxury and lifestyle companies, film and television placement relationships that most artists spend a decade trying to build, and the kind of media weight that gets you on the cover of Vogue, Time, and Billboard in the same calendar year. Roc Nation doesn’t just manage artists — it engineers icons.

On the African music side, Tyla joins fellow Roc Nation signee Ayra Starr, the Nigerian pop star who inked her deal in 2025, deepening the label’s clear and deliberate strategic investment in African pop as the next dominant global genre. Jay-Z is not betting on a trend. He is betting on a generation.

The Album That Could Rewrite the Playbook

The timing of this signing is not accidental — it is surgical.

Tyla’s highly anticipated sophomore album, A*POP, is officially set to drop July 24, 2026, just three weeks away — a 14-track project that she has described as unapologetic, globally ambitious, and deeply rooted in her South African identity while simultaneously reaching for something universal. The lead single “She Did It Again” features Swedish pop titan Zara Larsson, a collaboration that announces in no uncertain terms that Tyla is not staying in any lane she didn’t build herself.

With Roc Nation’s full machine now behind the album rollout — promotional infrastructure, media relationships, tour routing, brand activations — A*POP arrives with a runway that Epic Records simply could not have provided at this scale. The industry is already paying attention. For music supervisors, film and TV executives, brand marketers, and entertainment investors reading this right now — put A*POP on your radar immediately. This is the kind of release that shapes culture, not just charts.

The Bigger Picture Nobody Is Talking About

Here is what gets lost in the excitement of a big announcement: the systemic significance of what Tyla just did.

The music industry’s historical relationship with African artists has been, at best, transactional — major labels slow to invest, quick to cash in on a viral moment, and consistently reluctant to build the kind of long-term infrastructure that turns an artist into a brand. Tyla has navigated that system with remarkable intelligence, refusing to be reduced to a trend, building her artistic identity on her own terms, and now — at 24 — arriving at the negotiating table with enough leverage to choose Roc Nation on her terms.

That matters. Not just for Tyla, but for every African artist watching this unfold from Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Houston. It is proof that the path from regional phenomenon to global superstar is not only possible — it is being paved right now, in real time, by a young woman from Johannesburg who refused to shrink.

For media companies, content platforms, entertainment executives, and brand strategists operating in the African diaspora space — this is your data point. African pop is not a niche. It is not a trend. It is not a moment. It is a movement, and Tyla just secured the most powerful co-sign available in the global music business to lead it.

Watch this space. Very closely.

Follow @bolanlemedia on Instagram for real-time music, film, and entertainment industry news. Read more at bolanlemedia.com

Entertainment

DJ Shinski Brings AfriqueFest To Life

Published

4 weeks ago

June 16, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

AfriqueFest: Pan-African Musical Experience — World Cup Edition is set to take over Noto Houston on Sunday, June 28, bringing together East, South, and West African sounds in one immersive celebration of music, culture, and connection. Presented by Experience Noir and Bolanle Media, the event is designed as a cinematic night for the culture, blending global energy with Houston nightlife in a way that feels elevated, intentional, and deeply rooted in African creativity.

Spotlight on DJ Shinski

At the heart of this year’s experience is DJ Shinski. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and now based in Houston, DJ Shinski has built an international name off high-energy sets that move effortlessly across Afrobeats, Amapiano, hip‑hop, dancehall, reggae, and electronic sounds.

He has also become Africa’s most‑subscribed DJ on YouTube, crossing the 2‑million‑subscriber mark and turning his mixes into a global destination for music lovers.

DJ Shinski’s style is precise but unpredictable: one moment it’s classic Afrobeats, the next it’s East African anthems, then a run of throwback hip‑hop or R&B that still feels fresh. That ability to read a room and connect multiple worlds in a single set is exactly why AfriqueFest is building so much of the night’s energy around him.

At AfriqueFest, DJ Shinski helps drive the Safari Grooves segment, representing East and Central Africa from 4 PM to 6 PM. Expect a journey that moves from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam, Kampala, Addis, and beyond, all filtered through his signature “vibes on vibes” approach behind the decks.

DJ Tunez and the rest of the night

Supporting that energy, DJ Tunez leads the Gold Coast Beats chapter from 8 PM to 10 PM, bringing his own Nigerian‑American Afrobeats pedigree to the stage. Together with the Diamond Rhythms segment (South) and a curated roster of DJs, the night stretches across the continent in three distinct musical chapters, all connected by a single dance floor.

Hosted by @chris_gone_crazy, @kingdrewwskyy, @roselynomaka, and @samsnewleaf, AfriqueFest is positioned as more than a party—it’s a celebration of sound, style, and Pan‑African identity in Houston, with DJ Shinski anchoring the experience from the moment doors open.

Brought to you by Bolanle Media & Experience Noir

Brought to you by Bolanle Media and Experience Noir, this World Cup edition of AfriqueFest is crafted as a night where global DJs, storytellers, and music lovers collide and create a shared cultural memory. With DJ Shinski front and center—and DJ Tunez helping close the night—guests can expect a show that reflects both the future of African nightlife and the power of the diaspora to create unforgettable live moments.

If you want to experience DJ Shinski live at AfriqueFest, now is the time to lock in your spot. Purchase your tickets now at AfriqueFest.com and get ready for a night of music, movement, and culture at Noto Houston.

Entertainment

STREAMING PREMIERE · JUNE 13, 2026

Published

4 weeks ago

June 13, 2026

Bolanle Media Staff

Laughter Meets Inspiration: Our Ladies Show Lands on The Roku Channel

A bold new sketch comedy series for women premieres June 13 across the U.S., U.K., and Canada — arriving on the back of a festival-winning run that has critics and audiences already paying attention.

It isn’t every day a brand-new comedy arrives already wearing a row of trophies. Our Ladies Show does. The seven-episode inspirational sketch comedy series — created, written by, and starring Christin Jezak — begins streaming on The Roku Channel on Friday, June 13, 2026, available free to viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

Produced in partnership with global media services leader Encompass Digital Media, the series sets out to do something rare in today’s streaming landscape: make women laugh out loud and leave them lifted. In a media moment crowded with noise and cynicism, Our Ladies Show is a deliberate counterweight — comedy with a conscience, built for women of every age and background.

A Show Built Around Real Life — and Real Laughs

Each of the seven episodes opens with a monologue from one of the cast members introducing the theme, then rolls into three or more sketches that hit the subject from every comedic angle. The series tackles the things women actually carry: holding grudges, comparison, beauty, patience, gift giving, the importance of community, and dealing with anxiety.

The comedy comes from a place of warmth rather than mockery — a “laugh at ourselves” spirit that runs through a gallery of unforgettable characters: a nosey neighbor, an overwhelmed mom, relentlessly optimistic flight attendants, beauty pageant winners past their prime, and a crew of unruly campers with a counselor who simply cannot hold it together.

Then the show does something most sketch series don’t. In the final segment of every episode, the cast gathers in a living-room setting and invites the audience in — sharing real inspiration drawn from the theme, the sketches, and their own personal stories. It’s the moment the laughter turns into something that stays with you.

The Women Behind the Show

Our Ladies Show brings together three performers with serious range:

Christin Jezak — creator, writer, and star (Miracle at Manchester, Raising Hope, Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
Hillary Hawkins — (Primal, Nick Jr.’s Play Along, Gullah Gullah Island)
Sarah Hernandez — (Nefarious, Unplanned, House of Payne)

“In a world with so much division and depression, I hope women of all ages and backgrounds will watch this show, laugh, be reminded of how beautiful, unique, and loved they are, and remember how much we need each other.”— Christin Jezak, Creator & Star

Already a Festival Favorite

The series’ recurring long-form sketch, Neighborhood Watch, didn’t arrive quietly. Originally released as a web series and revamped for Our Ladies Show with new footage, sound, and music, it has been sweeping the festival circuit:

🏆 Best Webseries — 2026 New Media Film Festival (Los Angeles)
🏆 Best Web/TV Series — Paris Film Awards
🏆 Best Web Series — Dallas Movie Awards
🏅 Additional wins at the London Movie Awards, Florence Film Awards, and Hollywood Gold Awards
🎬 Official Selection — 2026 Harvard Divinity School Film Fest
⭐ Finalist — Houston Comedy Film Festival
📣 Three nominations — 2025 Content Christian Media Conference, including Best Actress in a TV and Web Series nods for both Christin Jezak and Sarah Hernandez

Where and When to Watch

Our Ladies Show premieres Friday, June 13, 2026, streaming on The Roku Channel — the home of premium and free entertainment — in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. All seven episodes deliver the series’ signature blend of sharp sketch comedy and genuine encouragement.

Watch the trailer now on your platform of choice:

For more information, visit www.ourladiesshow.com and follow @ourladiesshow on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

About Christin Jezak

Christin Jezak has worked for over 15 years in the entertainment industry. She created and stars in Our Ladies Show and the award-winning web series Neighborhood Watch. She produced the EWTN TV program For the Sake of the Gospel and the all-women web series Ladies Keepin’ It Real, played Dr. Sam in Miracle at Manchester (starring Dean Cain, Daniel Roebuck, and Eddie McClintock), and voices Agnes in the podcast Confessions of a Catholic Single. She held a lead role in a short film for NTT Data directed by Academy Award–winning cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, has co-starred on Raising Hope, and appeared in Jimmy Kimmel sketches and a Grubhub Super Bowl commercial.

About The Roku Channel

Roku pioneered streaming on TV and is the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec. 2025). The Roku Channel is the home of premium and free entertainment, alongside Roku’s Howdy and Frndly TV services. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Encompass Digital Media

Encompass Digital Media is a global managed services company — technology-driven, software-defined, and people-powered. Trusted by world-leading broadcasters, networks, sports rights-holders, and OTT platforms, it processes over 25,000 hours of content daily, serves 850 channels to 84 countries, distributes over 243,000 live events annually, and reaches 400 million radio listeners weekly worldwide. Learn more at www.encompass.tv.

Media & Interview Requests: To interview creator Christin Jezak or the cast, contact Christin at cjezak@p2ptheatre.com.