The Olsen Twins are splitting with their longtime business partner, Robert Thorne, who helped them build the empire that has permanently melted the prefrontal lobes of a generation of 'tweens:

"The decision was to respect their desire to take the helm perhaps a few years earlier than I had anticipated," Thorne told Reuters. "But I didn't want to stand in their way provided that I was taken care of, as I was handsomely."

Before your mind is filled with disturbing images of two baby birds pecking greedily at a worm, we're pretty sure he's talking about money, and not, um, favors. It seems that Mary-Kate and Ash were anxious to take full control of Dualstar, allowing them to devote a greater percentage of the company's resources to the highly lucrative "blow-binge-and-rehab" line of business.

• Olsen Twins Split With Partner in Media Empire [Reuters]


• Ashley Olsen Unleashes Her Inner Slash [Defamer]

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