EXCLUSIVE: DIDDY FURIOUS OVER LACK OF SUPPORT OUTSIDE COURT — NOW PAYING FANS TO SHOW UP?
PLUS: GAYLE KING EYES CBS EXIT — AND BLAKE LIVELY WILL NOT BE A TAYLOR SWIFT SONG
EXCLUSIVE: DIDDY PAYS FANS TO FILL COURTROOM STEPS
Sean “Diddy” Combs is not just on trial in a courtroom — he’s battling a brutal reality check outside it.
Sources tell #ShuterScoop that Diddy is livid over the embarrassingly small turnout of supporters outside his ongoing sex trafficking and racketeering trial in New York. While the music mogul expected waves of loyal fans, the crowds have been dismal, forcing his team to take desperate measures.
“He thought people would be chanting his name,” says one insider. “Instead, he got crickets — and Cassie.”
Now, in a stunning twist, folks claim they are being offered money to pose as protestors, wearing “FREE PUFF” and “FREE DIDDY” T-shirts.
A woman told TikToker Emile Hagen she was offered $20 to wear a shirt, but declined. “He told me it’s for a Diddy coin,” she said, referencing the cryptocurrency $DIDDY, reportedly run by Combs’ sons Justin and King. “I don’t even know what that is.”
Another so-called supporter claimed they earned $60 for three hours of standing around holding a sign.
“It’s a rented movement,” scoffs a courtroom observer. “You don’t need a subpoena to see that no one is showing up for Diddy anymore .”
The trial is expected to last several more weeks — and if Diddy wants a crowd, it looks like he’ll have to buy one.
#ShuterScoop
EXCLUSIVE: CBS NEWS MELTDOWN: GAYLE KING EXPECTED TO JUMP SINKING SHIP NEXT
“She didn’t sign up for this mess,” says insider. “It’s over.”
The turmoil at CBS News has hit a boiling point — and sources tell Straight Shuter that Gayle King is preparing to make her exit before the whole ship goes under.
“This is not what Gayle signed up for,” a senior insider confides. “She’s still one of the most respected names in news, and she’s being dragged down by chaos she can’t control.”
King’s contract expires at the end of the year — and morale inside the building is at an all-time low following a string of high-profile disasters, including the ouster of CBS News president Wendy McMahon, the “60 Minutes” legal nightmare involving Donald Trump, and the total implosion of the newly revamped CBS Evening News.
“Gayle doesn’t want her legacy tied to these ratings or this mess,” another source adds. “She’s weighing her next move carefully, but don’t expect her to stay loyal to a network that can’t even get a morning show off the ground anymore.”
McMahon’s exit came just weeks after “60 Minutes” Editor-in-Chief Bill Owens stepped down. And while Norah O’Donnell is now at “60 Minutes,” her former CBS Evening News chair has been reduced to rubble, now helmed by John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois — a pairing insiders call “a total miss.”
“There’s no direction, no momentum, and no buzz,” the source says. “If Gayle’s smart — and she is — she’ll get
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EXCLUSIVE: BLAKE LIVELY ADDED TO TAYLOR SWIFT’S BURN BOOK — BUT DON’T EXPECT A TRACK ON THE NEXT ALBUM
Best friend betrayal leaves Swift ‘floored,’ but sources say the pop queen is choosing silence over song
Blake Lively may have once been one of Taylor Swift’s closest confidantes — but that era is officially over.
According to sources close to the singer, Taylor feels “exploited and blindsided” after court documents revealed that Lively allegedly threatened to release private text messages — some reportedly involving Swift’s romantic history and current boyfriend Travis Kelce — if Swift refused to publicly support her in the Justin Baldoni legal war over It Ends With Us.
Lively has denied the allegations, but insiders say the damage is done.
“Taylor was completely floored,” one source tells #ShuterScoop. “She’s furious. There’s no going back from this.”
While fans might expect a searing track on Swift’s next album, insiders say that’s not happening.
“This won’t be immortalized in lyrics,” the source insists. “Taylor is choosing to handle this privately. She’s cut Blake out — full stop.”
The rift comes after years of what appeared to be bestie bliss: the matching glam nights out, NFL luxury suite hangs, and public praise fests. But now, insiders say it was always a mutual PR strategy.
“They used each other,” says one music industry exec. “Blake got cool cred with Swifties. Taylor got a Hollywood buddy image boost. But Taylor doesn’t play when it comes to loyalty — and this was betrayal.”
With Swift deep in tour mode and Lively facing mounting fallout from the Baldoni battle, sources say the friendship is on ice — permanently.
“Taylor’s already moved on,” the insider adds. “She’s not giving Blake any more oxygen — or album space.”
#ShuterScoop
EXCLUSIVE: CANNES MAY REWRITE THE RULES — TO LET NETFLIX (AND ITS BILLIONS) IN
Cannes is cracking under the weight of its own tradition.
The once-untouchable film festival is now quietly considering a seismic rule reversal: letting Netflix — and its deep pockets — in.
For the past seven years, Cannes has banned the streamer from competition over France’s rigid theatrical window laws. Netflix’s refusal to release films in French cinemas kept it blacklisted, no matter how acclaimed its titles — Roma, The Power of the Dog, Maestro — may have been.
But that wall may soon come down.
“There’s just not enough money anymore,” one veteran film exec tells #ShuterScoop. “Cannes used to be where studios came to flex. Now it’s where they come to cut corners. Netflix still has cash — and Cannes is feeling the pinch.”
According to well-placed sources, festival leadership is actively exploring new options: special sidebar showcases, out-of-competition premieres, or a full-blown rewrite of competition rules that would allow streamers a shot at the Palme d’Or.
“This isn’t just a loophole,” a Cannes insider explains. “It’s a complete rethinking of what Cannes stands for.”
And the timing tracks. The festival’s golden glow has dimmed. The iconic amfAR Gala is gone. Vanity Fair didn’t throw its signature bash this year. While A-listers are still posing on the red carpet, the mega-budget soirées that once lit up the Croisette disappeared with disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein — whose wallet powered much of the festival’s after-dark glamor.
Netflix has declined to comment, but the message is clear: if Cannes wants to stay relevant in today’s media economy, it may have to open the velvet rope for the very platform it once treated as an outsider.
#ShuterScoop