Lara Cohen, Who Led Twitter’s Celebrity and Influencer Team, Joins Linktree as VP of Partners and Biz Dev (EXCLUSIVE)

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amazon, in the midst of paring back its workforce, topped Wall Street forecasts with better-than-expected revenue growth for the first quarter of 2023. The company reported Q1 revenue of $127.4 billion, up 9% year over year, improving over a 7% rise in the year-earlier quarter but still off its historical pace of top-line growth. Net income was $3.2 billion, or 31 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $3.8 billion in Q1 2022 (which included a $7.8 billion loss on its stake in electric-vehicle maker Rivian). The results come as the ecommerce colossus is in the middle of laying off 9,000 workers, on top of the 18,000 job cuts announced in January. On Thursday, the company laid off about 100 employees at Amazon Studios and Prime Video.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney+ subscribers will be able to jump into the Quantum Realm next month when “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” hits the streaming service. The film, starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Jonathan Majors, will come to Disney+ worldwide on May 17. That’s 89 days after “Quantuamania” opened wide in the U.S. on Feb. 17. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” has been one of the worst-reviewed Marvel movies to date. It hauled in $213 million at the domestic box office during its theatrical run and grossed $261.6 million worldwide; the movie had an estimated production budget of $200 million.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In today’s podcast news roundup: Buzzy Cohen gives “Jeopardy!” fans an insider’s look at the popular game show; “Real Housewives” alum Ramona Singer launches a podcast with her daughter, Avery; CNN Audio debuts “The Prince Mixtape,” exploring the Purple One’s life and legacy; the New York Times’ The Athletic preps a deep dive on LeBron James’ basketball career; OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network renews its SiriusXM podcast deal; Tribeca Festival sets 2023 podcast programming lineup; and more. Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television launched “This Is Jeopardy! America’s Favorite Quiz Show,” a new podcast that goes behind the scenes of the long-running game show hosted by former “Jeopardy!” champion and guest host Buzzy Cohen. The podcast, which premiered Wednesday (April 26) promises listeners “an exciting journey through the history of the quiz show,” featuring notable guests including contestants and producers. “I am so excited for the opportunity to give listeners a never-before-seen look at the show,” Cohen, who won the “Jeopardy!” 2017 Tournament of Champions, said in a statement. “This is Jeopardy!” is produced by Somethin’ Else and Sony Music Entertainment. Lizzie Jacobs, Tom Koenig and Sarah Kramer are the executive producers; Mia Warren is senior producer; and Julia Doyle and Sylvie Lubow are producers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk’s Twitter has stirred up a new wave of confusion. After the multibillionaire tech baron made good on his threat to yank Twitter blue check-marks from celebrities who weren’t paying him $8 per month last week, the social network has reinstated the badge for many — including on accounts of people who have died. The Musk-owned social network on April 20 revoked verified blue check-mark status from thousands of accounts belonging to celebrities, athletes, politicians and other “notable” figures granted under the company’s previous ownership. The hope was that taking away the “free” Twitter blue check-mark would boost revenue from subscriptions to Twitter Blue, while Musk has also framed it as democratizing the user-verification process.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitter is no longer labeling any accounts as “state-affiliated media” or “government-funded media,” a change that comes after organizations including NPR and PBS objected to the descriptions from the Elon Musk-owned social network and have suspended their activity on Twitter in protest. According to NPR reporter Bobby Allyn, when he emailed Musk to inquire about the decision to drop media labels, the CEO replied, “This was Walter Isaacson’s suggestion.” Isaacson, who has penned biographies of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin, is working on a book about Musk. As of this writing, NPR (8.8 million followers) and PBS (2.2 million) have not resumed posting to their Twitter accounts since suspending activity earlier this month.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Chloe Sims, star of British reality show “The Only Way Is Essex,” last year moved to L.A. with her three siblings to try to break into Hollywood — an experience they’ve documented in an original show for OnlyFans’ free streaming service. OnlyFans generates billions of dollars in revenue, much of it from sexually explicit content. But the social platform also is working to build out the non-porn side of its business, including through OFTV, its free-to-view, safe-for-work streaming platform and app. The company inked a multiyear deal with Chloe, Frankie, Demi and Charlie Sims, starting with the five-episode first season of “House of Sims,” billed as reality series in the vein of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” OFTV this week unveiled the trailer for “House of Sims” (watch below) whose premiere episode will debut May 3. The remaining episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays on OFTV.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor If you want to run ads on Elon Musk’s Twitter from here on out, you apparently will need to pay for verified status — or buy at least $1,000 worth of advertising each month. Twitter said advertisers must subscribe to either Twitter Blue ($8/month and up) or Verified Organizations ($1,000/month) to be eligible to buy ads on the service, according to a notice titled “Building a better Twitter through verification,” shared by social media consultant Matt Navarra early Friday. A request for comment sent Friday to Twitter’s press email account received no response. According to the notice, businesses that spend at least $1,000 monthly in advertising will be automatically verified and receive a gold check-mark badge.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The squeaky wheel gets the Twitter blue check-mark, it seems. After Twitter’s mass revocation Thursday of thousands of “legacy” verified blue check-marks, carrying out owner Elon Musk’s long-promised purge of the “corrupt” system, several high-profile accounts still had the iconic blue badges… even though they evidently aren’t paying for Twitter Blue (the subscription service whose perks now include a blue check-mark). Those included NBA superstar LeBron James, actor William Shatner and author Stephen King — each of whom had tweeted that they wouldn’t pay for Twitter Blue or had complained about Musk’s switch in the verification program.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk’s purge of blue check-marks from Twitter accounts verified under the company’s previous regime has begun. Now a blue check-mark badge on Twitter primarily signifies that it’s an account belonging to someone who’s paying Musk, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, for the perk. On April 20, as Musk had announced, Twitter started un-checking thousands of “legacy” verified accounts — those which the company had previously deemed to be “active, notable and authentic” — unless those users were subscribers to Twitter Blue, which starts at $8 per month.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix doesn’t want Hollywood writers to go on strike — but the streamer has a “pretty robust slate of releases” that will help it weather a walkout better than others, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said. His comments, on the company’s first quarter 2023 earnings interview, come a day after Writers Guild of America members overwhelmingly passed a strike authorization vote, giving union leadership the power to call a strike once the contract expires on May 1. “We respect the writers, and we respect the WGA,” he said. “We couldn’t be here without them. We don’t want a strike. The last time there was a strike, it was devastating to creators. It was really hard on the industry. It was painful for local economies that support productions. And it was very, very, very bad for fans.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix said it would stage a “broad rollout” of its paid-sharing plan in the second quarter of 2023, including in the U.S. The streamer announced the news as part of its first quarter 2023 earnings report. As part of Netflix’s crackdown on customers sharing passwords with people outside their household, the company plans to start blocking devices (after a certain period of time) that attempt to access a Netflix account without properly paying. “In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results,” Netflix said in its Q1 letter to shareholders. “We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the U.S., in Q2.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A new podcast from Audible and Wondery investigates Michael Jackson’s staying power as a pop-culture force in the face of disturbing allegations. “Think Twice: Michael Jackson” is hosted by journalist and podcaster Leon Neyfakh and hip-hop radio veteran Jay Smooth. The 10-episode audio series is a co-production from Audible and podcast network Wondery (which are both part of Amazon), Prologue Projects and Jigsaw Productions. All episodes of “Think Twice” are slated to drop Thursday, April 27, exclusively on Audible (at this link) and ad-free for Prime members on the Amazon Music app (at this link).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor PBS said it has suspended posting to Twitter after Elon Musk’s social network pinned a “government-funded media” descriptor to its primary account. The public TV broadcaster joins NPR in ceasing Twitter activity following the Twitter changes, which the organizations say inaccurately represent them. “PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time,” a rep said in a statement to Variety. “We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely.” PBS, which currently has 2.2 million Twitter followers, says that U.S. federal funding provides about 15% of the revenue for the public television system. According to the org, over the course of a year, 86% of all U.S. television households — representing more than 230 million people — watch PBS programming.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s unclear how many people were hungrily anticipating this, but here it is: Peacock subscribers can now watch the streaming service while strapped in to one of Meta’s virtual-reality headsets. Peacock as of Wednesday (April 12) is available on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro devices, the first time the NBCUniversal streamer is available on a VR headset. Consumers in the U.S. can sign up to watch Peacock content on what Meta calls “a giant personal screen.” The launch of Peacock on Meta Quest 2 (currently $400 and up) and Quest Pro (which starts at $1,000) is part of a broader three-year partnership between NBCU and Meta to adapt a range of the media company’s intellectual property — including “Universal Monsters,” “Halloween Horror Nights” and “The Office” — for virtual environments including Meta Horizon Worlds and the Meta Avatars Store.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk has set a deadline for purging legacy blue check-marks from Twitter accounts verified under the company’s previous regime — maybe. On Tuesday, the billionaire owner of Twitter tweeted, “Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20.” Musk is notorious for his love of memes and jokes, including those involving 420 (i.e., the unofficial day/time for toking up). So it’s not fully clear if April 20 is actually the cutoff date for revoking verification from accounts unless they’ve signed up for a Twitter Blue subscription. Twitter previously announced that starting April 1, it would begin removing the blue check-mark badges from legacy verified accounts — those which the company had previously deemed to be notable and/or authentic — unless users have signed up for the Twitter Blue subscription service, which starts at $8 per month. That doesn’t appear to have begun in a widespread way at this point.

Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix had dueling events over the weekend. Sandoval took the stage on Friday and Saturday to perform with his band, Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, in Los Angeles and Montclair, California. The musician went shirtless for both performances and wore black low-rise sequin pants.A post shared by Natalia Loren Blassio (@houseofloren)Meanwhile, Madix, Scheana Shay, and Katie Maloney hosted an «Emo Nite» party held at the Avalon in Hollywood, California, on Friday night. reports that Shay was heard saying, «F**k Tom!» and, «I said, 'f**k Tom,' in case you didn’t hear me,» as a hard rock version of Kelly Clarkson’s «Since U Been Gone» played.The ladies were also seen on stage, wearing «Every Nite is Nite» sweaters while dancing and singing. A post shared by Scheana Shay (@scheana)The outlet adds that Madix then stuck her middle finger up in the air while The All-American Rejects' song, «Gives You Hell,» played in the background.As many know, Madix and her reality TV cast members have been embroiled in an affair scandal, now dubbed «Scandoval.» Last month, news broke that Madix and Sandoval, her boyfriend of nearly 10 years, called it quits after she discovered he was having an ongoing affair with Raquel Leviss. Sandoval and Leviss' affair began over the summer, in July 2022, but it wasn't until March that she saw an inappropriate video of Leviss pop up on her then-boyfriend's phone.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk is now using the design of Twitter itself to make hilarious (?) jokes. On Monday, without warning, the iconic Twitter bird logo on the home button of the social network’s web version changed to the “doge” of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency. (Twitter’s mobile apps weren’t changed.) The doge image (of a Shiba Inu) is part of the logo of the Dogecoin blockchain and cryptocurrency, which was created as a joke in 2013 — to mock other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Musk, who bought Twitter last fall in a $44 billion deal, is a well-known superfan of the Doge meme and he has promoted Dogecoin both on Twitter and during his appearance last year hosting “Saturday Night Live.” After the change to Twitter’s web logo Monday, the value of Dogecoin rose more than 20%.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor NBCUniversal’s Peacock has announced a hot new reality dating show — but, you know, not really. In an early April Fool’s Day stunt, Peacock announced a new show with language-learning app Duolingo: “Love Language,” purportedly following 10 “confident and flirty singles” from across the globe coming together “to share a house in paradise in hopes of finding true love.” The catch: None of them speaks the same language. But the only thing real about the show is the trailer, which is available on the Peacock and Duolingo apps and on social channels (watch below).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor If nothing else, $44 billion has bought Twitter power-user Elon Musk status as the No. 1 most-followed account on the social network. As of Thursday morning, Musk had 133.088 million users — up more than 20% since he closed the Twitter deal last October. That pushed the billionaire ahead of the previously most-followed account, that of Barack Obama, who currently has about 133.042 million followers. (To be sure, this is according to the public counters operated by Twitter, which Musk controls.) Musk, a self-proclaimed free-speech “absolutist,” is notoriously fond of posting memes and jokes on Twitter. (Prior to his acquisition, according to Twitter’s legal team, Musk also used the service to disparage the company and its employees.) Musk has claimed he did not buy the company “to make more money” but to “try to help humanity, whom I love.” He also has said he was “obviously overpaying” for Twitter.

A bromance for the ages. Endless friendships have come and gone throughout Vanderpump Rules — but Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval’s bond has remained unbreakable.