Dan Loeb Retracts Call for Disney to Spin Off ESPN

Amid Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson‘s ongoing divorce, things got messier when the “Conversations” podcast host planned to spill the tea about his estranged wife and their Love Is Blind friends.

The Walt Disney Co., after some cage-rattling by activist investor Daniel Loeb, has added former Viacom and Facebook exec Carolyn Everson to its board of directors.

backed down from that recommendation. Disney said in a statement Friday that it has “agreed to customary standstill, voting and other provisions through Disney’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders” with Third Point.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek is opening up about ESPN as activist investor Daniel Loeb had been pressuring the company to spin off the sports network.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Activist investor Daniel S. Loeb of Third Point has backed off his proposal from last month for Disney to divest itself of ESPN in order to devote even more resources to content creation for streaming platforms. Loeb sent two Twitter messages early Sunday morning that amounted to an olive branch to Disney and its CEO Bob Chapek. Loeb said he had gained a “better understanding” of Disney’s plans to more deeply integrate ESPN into its direct-to-consumer operations and the emerging Disney bundle of channels. The social media missive signals that Loeb will not step up his public pressure on Disney and seek to field an alternative slate of directors at the company’s annual meeting next spring.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor “You should see the backstage,” actor Diego Luna told the D23 Expo crowd Saturday morning as he talked up his new “Star Wars”-branded Disney+ series “Andor” to the 5,000 faithful fans who packed the Anaheim Convention Center. The assembly of boldface names that were brought out at the three-day Disney fan event for a wave and brief chat about upcoming projects was a visual representation of the breadth of content produced by the studio these days. The list of boldface names included Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston, Don Cheadle, Owen Wilson, Zoe Saldana, Giancarlo Esposito, Christian Slater, Pedro Pascal, Gael Garcia Bernal, Anthony Ramos and more.The star power on display was impressive and so was the brand power that Disney flexed during D23 Expo by releasing dozens of trailers, teasers and first looks at content bound for Disney+ and theaters in the coming year. The rapid-fire delivery of “Coming Soon” messages was music to the ears of Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who has been telling investors and others that Disney+’s has yet to fully hit its stride in content delivery because of pandemic disruptions.

Dua Lipa is once again showing she is an honorary Latina, after collaborating with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, and showing her skills in Spanish on a viral video with her Venezuelan friends. Now the singer is sharing her dance moves, enjoying a fun night and showing her dance moves to the rhythm of Marc Anthony.

Love Island OG Luis Morrison, 28, has found himself in the middle of a child maintenance row after his ex accused him of owing money for their son. Luis appeared in the first season of the rebooted Love Island in 2015, where he came in fourth place alongside Cally Jane Beech, 30. After leaving the villa the pair remained together until their split in 2018.They share one child together.

Disney’s chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said today, “We like the hand we have with ESPN,” calling the sports network and streamer an important piece of the broader portfolio.

It’s been quite a summer, with celebrities making the most of the weather as heatwave has followed heatwave. But with the summer of 2022 now drawing to a close, we take a look at just how the stars have kept it "real" with their bodies while sunning themselves – whether on family holidays or by getting away for a “reboot” before the onset of autumn.

Love Island lovebirds Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti are back in each other's arms after their busy new work schedules kept them apart. Since being crowned winners of the ITV2 dating show, the pair have been busy planning their next business moves, meaning they haven't had much time for one another.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent MK2 Films has scored key territory deals on Japanese director Koji Fukada’s “Love Life,” which makes its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Set in contemporary Japan, “Love Life” is a character-driven film revolving around Taeko and her husband, Jiro, who are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita. When a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park, back into her life, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man to cope with the pain and guilt. Popular Japanese actress Fumino Kimura (“The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill”) headlines the film. MK2 Films has now sold the movie to Teodora (Italy), Imagine (Benelux), Leopardo (Portugal), Demiurg (Ex Yugoslavia), New Cinema (Israel), Swallow Wings (Taiwan), Edko (Hong Kong), Impact Films (India) and Encore Inflight (Airlines).

Millie Court posed with her former Love Island co-star Chloe Burrows in snaps posted to Instagram from their very lavish Ibiza getaway together. Newly single Millie, 25, posted the snaps on Saturday to her account and looked incredible in a hot pink top and matching bikini bottoms are she posed away for the cameras. While Chloe, who is celebrating her 27th birthday on the trip ahead of her big day later this month, kicked out her legs in a black miniskirt which she combined with a brown bikini top.