trade roundup

Spoiler Alert: The Winner in Monsters vs. Aliens is...Dreamworks!

Chopping Block gets chopped, J.J. Abrams gets extended, and Ricky Gervais' next film will be unlike anything he's ever done before except for The Office. More »

03/27/09

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7

By John Cook

Comment by Inhaler: "NBC has killed the now-ironically named Chopping Block..." Shouldn't they know by now that reality competition shows based around subjects that... more » | Other threads

denzel washington

Gated Community, Nannies' Shortcuts in Turmoil as A-Listers Go to War

To hell with the SAG strike: The real feud set to engulf Hollywood's acting community is simmering in the tony enclave of Beverly Park. There, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington and Sylvester Stallone are just a few of the heavy-hitters embroiled in what has come to be known simply as GateGate.

11/28/08

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6

By STV

Comment by Forest4theTrees: "High-powered, super-classified dinner at Redstone's"...I heard secret decoder rings were given out as party favors. more » | Other threads

moguls

Sumner Redstone Divorce Confirmed

It's official: Sumner Redstone's second marriage is finished, confirming our exclusive from Friday. Court papers were filed at the end of last week, according to the Los Angeles Times, and now the Viacom chief has issued a statement saying the split is "amicable" and that "we remain close and supportive friends." In other words, wife Paula Fortunato has finally, 14 months after divorce rumors surfaced, agreed to leave, perhaps because she got something beyond her "iron-clad prenup," once thought to be worth a flat $1 million, or because she's actually now earned $5 million, with the prenup now pegged at $1 million per year of marriage. Or maybe the former public school teacher is just tired of living with the mean mogul, 40 years her elder, and of hearing rumors he's been calling some famous comedian's wife. Whatever happened, Redstone is reaching into his pocket at a time when he can least afford it. Writes the LA Times: More »

10/21/08

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16

By Ryan Tate

Comment by Weegee's bored: A guy for Madonna! They can join together and see if kaballah can cure turkey neck. 2 Responses | Other threads

sumner redstone

Sumner Redstone Separating From His Wife?

We hear from a good source that Sumner Redstone, the 85-year-old media mogul who controls Viacom (which includes MTV, BET, Paramount, and Dreamworks), is separating from Paula Fortunato, his wife of five years. Fortunato will be moving out this weekend, our source says. Redstone married Fortunato—a former public school teacher who is 40 years his junior—in 2003, several years after he divorced his first wife. Redstone's finances are currently under a significant strain thanks to the recent economic meltdown, causing him a good deal of stress. Fortunato's biggest moment in the spotlight came when she reportedly forced her husband to break with Tom Cruise in 2006. There were rumors a year ago that the marriage was not happy; now, according to our source, it's all but over. Anyone with more information can email us. This may be the first sign that relationships based on anything other than love or sexual attraction will be sorely tested by this financial crisis. More »

10/17/08

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By Hamilton Nolan

Comment by American Dreamer: This reminds me very clearly of the Leslie Wexner story (the multibillionaire who owned the Limited department store group). Leslie was... 5 Responses | Other threads

sumner redstone

Paging Dr. Redstone: Viacom president Philippe Dauman was optimistic Tuesday in Cannes, where he downplayed Sumner Redstone's move this week to sell off $233 million in stock to help pay down the company's debt. We guess it is better than last week's estimate of $400 million, but Dauman isn't letting numbers get in the way: "If you have a life-threatening crisis," he said, "there is no one on the planet you would more want to have by your side, helping you figure out how to get out of it, than Sumner Redstone." Oh, please, Philippe — we love Sumner, too, but everyone knows that nobody assuages A-list panic better than Werner Herzog. [Variety]

10/14/08

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By STV

viacom

Semi-mummified Viacom overlord Sumner Redstone explains how he managed to work an immortality clause into his 8-trillion-year contract: "I don't want to die. I love what I'm doing. I love Viacom. I love CBS. And so I don't want to die. I have a will to live. The same will to win that I've always had. And, I'm gonna fight death as long as I can. I like it here. I don't want to go anywhere else." And with that, the eternally youthful media titan gave a mischievous wink—causing his lower jaw to shake loose and fall to the ground, evaporating into a small cloud of dust upon impact. [Page Six]

07/08/08

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By Seth

Comment by Good Crazy...: ... he'd want to get a tooth scrub 1st, sorry for double-posting... more » | Other threads

top

Media Bitchery: The Definitive Bibliography

Think of how easy it might have been to understand Arianna Huffington's bloggy animus toward Tim Russert if there were a book out chronicling all the sordid details of their decade-and-a-half-long secret feud. (There is.) Every gossip-mongering gadabout should know the full backstory on every spat, falling out, and long-running mutual antagonism in media. Below are the volumes no shelf should be without. More »

06/18/08

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By Michael Weiss

Comment by raincoaster: @Phyllis Nefler: Oh, Phyllis, he certainly got the reading list right. more » | Other threads

defamer

New Paramount Theme Park in Korea to Offer 'The Norbit Adventure' and Other Fine Attractions

There has been no shortage of potential cross-pollenation opportunities for Paramount Pictures over its 90 years in business, but for sheer monolithic stature and creative promise, nothing tweaks our loins quite like the just-announced Paramount Movie Park Korea. While we're mildly disappointed to hear that the park is slated for Seoul and not Pyongyang (tell us you wouldn't have been first in line for "Kim Jong Il's Marathon Man Experience"), we're glad to see the studio back in the theme-park business and eager to have a go at the 30-plus attractions planned for a 2011 opening. More »

05/20/08

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By STV

Comment by brilliantmistake: It's a Mean Girls' World: Tiny animatronic dolls representing many cultures take turns criticizing your clothing and refusing to let... more » | Other threads

come to papa

Sumner Redstone Apparently Finds Right Price to Forgive 'Good Friend' Tom Cruise

The Tom Cruise Image Rehabilitation Tour rolls on today with a public pardon from Viacom kingpin Sumner Redstone, who followed his prodigal son's subdued Oprah stint with a reassurance that, you know, all that erratic-behavior outrage from a couple years back? Just kidding! And Mission: Impossible 4? It's "up to Brad Grey." Or, loosely translated, "Are we on number four? Already? Well, I'll be": More »

05/06/08

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By STV

Comment by FlangeSqueal: What a creepy pic of the Teeny One with the Super-Annuated, Liver-Spotted, Red-Hair Dyed King-Maker! If ONLY little Tommy could just... more » | Other threads

family feuds

defamer

Future galactic dictator Les Moonves, having once again tricked antediluvian corporate overlord Sumner Redstone into believing that his plans of world domination will not include the kind of clumsy assassination attempts being plotted by his traitorous daughter, has earned a new contract that will keep him atop CBS Corp through at least 2011. So convincing was the wily Moonves in renewing his pledge of fealty that Redstone willingly handed over the key that opens the chest housing the enchanted dagger imbued with the power to end his immortal life, telling his trusty lieutenant to make sure it never falls into the hands of his scheming, murderous offspring. [THR]

10/16/07

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By Mark

defamer

Getting To Know Philippe Dauman, Sumner Redstone's Right-Hand Hatchetman

Sunday's LAT provides the world with the fascinating backstory of Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, the proudly uncool corporate kamikaze responsible for carrying out the public relations suicide missions Sumner Redstone dreams up while partially hypnotized by staring too intently at his collection of exotic fish, such as suing Google for copyright infringement, replacing a wildly popular executive, or blaspheming a Hollywood deity. But more impressive than the French-speaker's childhood language-acquisition skills (he learned English from Saturday morning cartoons!) and stunning promotion from kindergarten to Columbia Law School (there may have been a stop in college we're forgetting, but we don't have time to go back and double-check that part of the bio) is Dauman's uncanny ability to stay in the good graces of his notoriously prickly boss: More »

10/08/07

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By Mark

Comment by Sweet Panda Love: Executor of his estate...are they suggesting that Redstone is, in point of fact, actually already dead? I mean, that would explain... more » | Other threads

defamer

Catching Up With The Feuding Redstones

With the once-boiling conflcit between cold-hearted Viacom CEO Phillippe Dauman and the insufficiently treasured DreamWorks team he offended with those two now-infamous little words (indeed, "completely immaterial" will soon totally replace "fuck you" in the Hollywood vernacular) momentarily reduced to a public simmer, there's now time to check in on the status of another intramural corporate spat that recently made headlines. According to today's LAT, Sumner and Shari Redstone, the feudingist first family in all of show business, called a truce in their ongoing succession battle long enough to celebrate a happy occasion over Labor Day: More »

10/01/07

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By Mark

Comment by Ringles: I think there should be a pornstar named Summer Redstone. more » | Other threads

defamer

DreamWorks Ani Extends Bird Viacomward, Takes On Tom Freston

· Thumbing its nose at coldhearted, Spielberg-disrespecting corporate partner Viacom, DreamWorks Animation names legendary Sumner Redstone shitcanee Tom Freston to its board of directors. That'll teach you not to fuck with a national treasure, unfeeling new CEO Phillppe Dauman! [Variety] More »

09/25/07

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By Mark

Comment by gwendolyn: @scroll_lock: David Leisure is the new black... more » | Other threads

defamer

Redstone, Geffen, Spielberg Again Make Forbes' List Of The Obscenely Wealthy

As we can think of no better way to kick off a sunny Friday morning than by contemplating the staggering wealth of the Hollywood multibillionaires who can buy and sell all of us like so much cattle, we spent some time with The Forbes 400, the magazine's ranking of the absolute richest of the American rich, to check in on how some of the industry's best-monied overlords are growing their intimidating cash hoards. More »

09/21/07

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By Mark

Comment by Lysergic Asset: While I admire Sumner Redstone's fortitude and business acumen (and his wife's seeming devotion), $7.6 trillion couldn't get me to... more » | Other threads

defamer

Battle Between Sumner Redstone And Daughter Fizzling, But Bar Fight With God Could Be Brewing

While we were secretly hoping that the ongoing feud between filicidal Viacom overlord Sumner Redstone and traitorous offspring Shari would end with an executive futilely attempting to pry the ageless patriarch's bony fingers from his rebellion-fomenting daughter's throat, it now seems that their battle might end without a death in the family. Slate's Kim Masters reports that the conflict seems like it may "blow over," but gets some company insiders to handicap how the fight might've turned out had it continued: More »

08/02/07

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By Mark

Comment by nick_r: Don't forget the exciting showdown that's destined to result when a vengeful Xenu arrives to claim Sumner's soul for eternal... more » | Other threads

defamer

Inside The Redstones' Battle For Control Of Viacom

Having dispatched nearly all of the greedy blood relations looking to get their filthy little hands on the staggering fortune he's accumulated over centuries of hard work, immortal Viacom pharaoh Sumner Redstone may now find himself locked in battle with his most formidable foe to date. Failing to show adequate appreciation for the precious gift of life he bestowed upon her decades ago, daughter Shari Redstone is reportedly resisting her father's efforts to oust her from the corporate empire she hoped to one day inherit. The LAT reports on the rumored Viacom succession fight: More »

07/20/07

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By Mark

Comment by Little Mintz Sunshine: So this is how unattractive heiresses spend their time, huh? more » | Other threads

trade roundup

The Emmys Didn't Totally Ignore 'Studio 60'

· While underappreciated Aaron Sorkin masterwork Studio 60 was not, as we falsely represented earlier, a nominee for the Best Drama Emmy, the show did pull in a respectable five nods, including one for Eli Wallach in the role of Blacklisted, Alzheimer's Afflicted Writer Who Tries to Steal a Photograph That Has Meaning to Him. [Variety] More »

07/19/07

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By Mark

Comment by thehmsbeagle: How the fuck did Studio 60 get more than twice the nominations Friday Night Lights did? It's almost as though... more » | Other threads

defamer

Paramount's Brad Grey Back On The Market On A Trial Basis

While the Grazers opted for the somewhat noisier method of announcing the end of their marriage in Page Six last Thursday, today Paramount emperor Brad Grey and his wife of 25 years whispered news of a trial separation to gossip dowager Liz Smith, perhaps hoping that the superannuated columnist would become distracted by filling various dishes placed around her home with hard candy and forget to publish the item. Unfortunately for the Greys, professionalism prevailed, and now all the industry mourns the loss of yet another high-profile relationship: More »

06/19/07

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By Mark

Comment by Miss d: @SteamyMcFirecrotch: *natch!* more » | Other threads

hollywood privacywatch

Vince Vaughn Enjoys Kirsten Dunst's 'Spider-Man 3' Singing For All The Wrong Reasons

PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our readers, and are posted several times a week, so if lady luck should happen to gift you with one, don't squander it: Write it up and send it in! Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line) and tell everyone about the time you took silent inventory of Ryan Gosling's Downtown YMCA workout routine. More »

05/08/07

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By Seth

Comment by Trackback: Here we have a short and sweet StarWatch, uncovering celebrities for the eaters they really are. See a famous person... more » | Other threads

trade

Trade Round-Up: Viacom's Healthy Q4 Only Deepens Sumner's Love For Brad

· With a successful Dreamgirls and World Trade Center DVD release in the year's fourth quarter, Viacom has Paramount and DreamWorks to thank for coming out $86 million in the black. To celebrate, Sumner Redstone ordered Brad Grey to follow the trail of rose petals leading down the hall and into his candle-lit office, where, inside, the scantily clad Viacom overlord lay splayed over his desk for the taking. [Variety] More »

03/01/07

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By Seth

Comment by raincoaster: Seconded. My admiration for the near-perfection of the metaphor is negated by the sheer projectile vomiting ICK FACTOR. more » | Other threads

sumner redstone

Brad And Sumner: Their Passion Still Smolders

More »

02/14/07

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By Mark

Comment by SugarTits: Dear Sumner and Brad, Since LOVE is in the air, give your dedicated lot employees a special valentine and lose Huntsberry... more » | Other threads

mtv

Irresponsible Rumormongering: MTV President Canned

Continuing our long tradition of posting first and then asking questions later (or, you know, in the post), we're going to put this one up there:

A reliable inside source just confirmed that [MTV President & COO] Michael Wolf was fired this morning.

Further details or angry denials go to the usual address. More »

01/11/07

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By abalk2

Comment by lorne bialystok: Yeah, Music Television...kinda like Utah Jazz. more » | Other threads

paramount

Gail BermanWatch: Berman Gone, Won't Be Replaced; Brad Grey Given Lifetime Appointment

More »

01/11/07

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By Mark

Comment by Double Banger: Is it just me, or does the Sumner Redstone public vote of confidence seem just as assuring as getting a... more » | Other threads

sumner redstone

Sumner Redstone's Hand Frightens Small Children, Large Adults

We're constantly trying to think of new and exciting features here at Gawker. At a recent brainstorming session someone came up with the idea of showing the hands of various media figures. We nodded along at the time and filed it away for future use, but after seeing this picture of Viacom's Sumner Redstone, we're pretty much gonna bin it. This is creeping us out. We can only imagine the trauma that the poor WireImage photog is going through. More »

11/16/06

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By abalk2

Comment by actrizsublim: good for stuffing all the ginies. more » | Other threads

viacom

Even In Difficult Times, Redstone's Love For Moonves Still Smolders

More »

11/03/06

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By Mark

Comment by nojo: Oh god -- is that what Julie Chen sees late at night? more » | Other threads

sumner redstone

Sumner Redstone Not Done Kicking Around Tom Cruise Quite Yet

These days, there seems to be no more reliable way to elicit a sensational media mogul sound-bite than by placing a tape recorder on the desk of antediluvian Viacom potentate Sumner Redstone, prompting, "Tom Cruise...go!" and waiting to see what angry words pour out once the mere mention of the actor's name starts to heat up the blood-dust pumping through the executive's desiccated circulatory system. Page Six reports that Redstone's anti-Cruise campaign will continue in the pages of an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair (you can read the entire article here), where he confirms his wife's rumored role in Paramount's public dissociation with the sofa-stomping star, then throws out a ballpark, nine-figure estimate of what he thinks Cruise's antics cost M:i:III: More »

10/31/06

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By Mark

Comment by raincoaster: OT: Xenu, this is your week, and it's only Tuesday! If Defamer doesn't give you some kind of gold-filled tinsel... more » | Other threads

tom cruise

Brad Grey Characterizes Paramount-Tom Cruise Affair As A Stalemate Between 'Showbiz Friends'

Yesterday's Tom Freston-kebabing powwow was an event the likes of which we rarely see, with the world's greatest media titans gathered beneath the roof of the Pierre Hotel in New York to toast their associate with a steady stream of laughter and uncensored ribaldry, interrupted only by the occasional jab at the lukewarm Cornish game hen taunting them blandly from a luncheon plate. We return now to Variety's coverage of the historic event, with a detailed account of how the crucial rook of Sumner Redstone's expertly plotted chessboard—Paramount head Brad Grey—told a group of executives about the strategy behind his savage capture of Tom Cruise's vulnerable queen: More »

10/26/06

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By Seth

Comment by chocomel: Is "showbiz friends" the new "frenemies"? No, it's the new "friends with privileges". more » | Other threads

sumner redstone

Sting Of Tom Freston Roast Remarks Muted By Secure Knowledge That He Is Richer Than God

It was less than two months ago that ex-Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston exited the company, forcefully nudged out the doors by a doggedly determined Sumner Redstone applying steady pressure to the joystick of his luxuriously appointed mobility scooter. Yesterday, some of Freston's greatest allies gathered to pay irreverent homage to their fallen (if you call a $59 million severance package "falling") idol with one of those outrageous "roasts" those kids who run 99.7% of the world's mass media love so much: More »

10/26/06

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By Seth

Comment by Cutting Makes You Sexy: Xenu, I do. And Seth, thanks for noticing a girl's fetishes. It really makes me feel like... more » | Other threads

trade roundup

Trade Round-Up: Iffy Nicolas Cage And Nancy Grace Impressions Fail To Lift 'Studio 60' In Ratings

The Weinstein Co.'s Genius Products makes a deal with the WWE to distribute home videos, collaborate on straight-to-video movies, and potentially use the wrestling league's stars to intimidate any filmmakers who stubbornly resist Harvey Weinstein's gentle suggestions about helpful edits. [Variety] More »

10/17/06

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By Mark

Comment by Sir Winston Thriller: Studio 60 will be history by Thanksgiving. It's flirting with worse ratings that Medium and it ain't the talk over... more » | Other threads

universal

Universal's Meyer Finds Redstone's Recent Executive Moves A Little Asshole-y

Each time we petition our TiVo to record Sunday Morning Shootout, in which Variety's Peter Bart and producer Peter Guber loudly discuss matters of incredible, industry-centric import, we are met with the same error message, sweetly delivered by the machine's adorably homuncular, bipedal-TV mascot: "Why not watch some football, pussy?" Inevitably, we succumb to the taunt, and miss out on worthwhile exchanges like the one from yesterday's show involving Universal nice-guy potentate Ron Meyer's evaluation of Sumner Redstone's recent, pinkslip-happy reign of terror at Viacom. The Corsair blog summarizes: More »

10/16/06

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By Mark

Comment by The Gen X Eurotrash Jetsetter Club: If he's so softspoken, then why is his daughter so loud? more » | Other threads

sightings

Hollywood PrivacyWatch: Jack Nicholson Seen Not Taking Shit From The Grove Trolley

PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our readers, and are now posted several times a week—so start sending them in more often. Send yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line) and let the world hear all about the time Aaron Sorkin betrayed his high-minded comic tastes for the hilarious, acorn-hoarding hijinks of a prehistoric squirrel. More »

10/10/06

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By Seth

Comment by Heinz The Baron Krauss Von Espy: Peter Dinklage would be towering over Brad Gray, he's that small! In fact Brad should try to convince Sumner to... more » | Other threads

sumner redstone

Sumner Redstone: How I Got Myself Into That Whole Freston-Moonves Mess

Variety finally offers some insight into how recently pinkslip-happy Viacom executive mummy Sumner Redstone decided to cleave his corporate kingdom in twain and install yingy MTV builder Tom Freston and yangy CBS despot Les Moonves as the twin CEOs of his newly split companies, a move that stoked a highly entertaining feud between Redstone's vassals. Notes Var: More »

10/06/06

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By Mark

dreamworks

Blogger To Swap Used iPod For DreamWorks

Inspired by the guy who executed a chain of trades that turned a single, red paper clip into a house, blogger Matthew Tobey has a grand plan for his used, 20GB iPod Photo. Figuring that if a half-cent paper clip could fetch a Saskatchewan home worth about $119,000, his $150 iPod should net an eventual value of over $3 billion, leaving him to decide on an appropriately pricey final target for his serial swaps: More »

09/21/06

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By Mark

Comment by raincoaster: If the guy just waits another few months, he can probably cut out most of the trades and do a... more » | Other threads

sumner redstone

The Fresh Blood Of Trophy Wives Keeps Aging Moguls Feeling Young

Today's LAT celebrates seemingly immortal media moguls Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch as "the last of the titans," two old-school autocrats who will be separated from the empires they've built only by the unlikely occurrence of corporeal death. And what's the secret to their impressive twilight-year vigor? Wives young enough to withstand the pharmaceutical-powered assault of reproductive organs that lesser, weaker men might have retired decades ago: More »

09/18/06

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By Mark

Comment by raincoaster: Norma, you're too smart for your own good. You'll never be a trophy wife now. Oh wait, there's always Stephen... more » | Other threads

defamer

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