• "Fast and the Furious" star Tyrese Gibson thanked Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith for giving him $5 million, in an Instagram post.
• Gibson said that the money is helping keep him "afloat," and that now his "daughter's legal fees will be paid." 
• Gibson is in the midst of a heated custody battle with his ex-wife.

Tyrese Gibson thanked Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith for giving him $5 million, in an Instagram post Monday.

Gibson said the couple sent him the money to help keep him "afloat," and that they told him to "get off and stay off the Internet" now that his "daughter's legal fees will be paid." 

Gibson has been in the midst of a heated, ongoing custody with his ex-wife Norma Mitchell Gibson, according to People.

Last Wednesday, Gibson shared a video on Facebook pleading with Mitchell Gibson not to keep his daughter from him.

In his video, the "Fast and the Furious" star also brought up his financial woes saying, “I’m at $13,000 a month, what more do you want from me?”

According to court documents obtained by People in September, full custody of Shayla was temporarily granted to Mitchell Gibson, and Gibson was ordered to say 100 yards away from both his ex-wife, his daughter, and his ex-wife's home.

Mitchell Gibson alleged that on August 19, Gibson "pinned" Shayla's face down, "put his knees on her back, grabbed her hands with one arm and beat her with the other,” People reported.

Last week, Gibson also said that he had been upset with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's spinoff "Fast and The Furious" film with Jason Statham, as it would delay the next release in the main franchise by a year, which would hurt him financially. But it seems that Gibson has put his feud with Johnson to bed, after having a "real heart to heart" with one of Johnson's close associates.

SEE ALSO: Tyrese has ended his 'Fast and Furious' feud with The Rock after a 'heart to heart'

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• The ACLU of Northern California has fired back at Taylor Swift's legal team's attempt to force a retraction of a blog post about the singer.
• The piece, published by the blog PopFront, discussed the alt-right's embrace of Swift's music.
• Swift's attorney said the post was "provably false and defamatory."
• The ACLU responded by saying that the piece represents "constitutionally protected speech."

On Monday, the ACLU of Northern California sent a letter to Taylor Swift's attorney, firing back at her legal team's attempt to force a retraction of a blog post about Swift. 

The left-leaning blog PopFront published the post in question in September. Written by Meghan Herning, the piece, titled "Swiftly to the alt-right: Taylor subtly gets the lower case kkk in formation," discussed the alt-right's recent embrace of Swift's music.

On October 25, Herning received a threatening letter about the article, from Swift's attorney, William J. Briggs, II. The letter threatened legal action against Herning and PopFront unless the site retracted the article and removed it from social media. 

The post commented on how the alt-right and neo-Nazis have seized on Swift's recent single, "Look What You Made Me Do," and its accompanying music video for what they deemed to be subtle white supremacist imagery. 

Briggs wrote that Herning's post was "provably false and defamatory." He added that Herning could not publicize his letter because of copyright law, and that Swift was "prepared to proceed with litigation" if Herning and PopFront did not comply. 

In response, the ACLU wrote a letter Monday saying that Briggs and Swift had no case, and that the opinion piece could not be defamatory because it contained "protected speech."

"This is a completely unsupported attempt to suppress constitutionally protected speech," ACLU attorney Michael Risher wrote in the letter.

ACLU attorney Matt Cagle added, "Intimidation tactics like these are unacceptable. Not in her wildest dreams can Ms. Swift use copyright law to suppress this exposure of a threat to constitutionally protected speech."

Swift's sixth album, "Reputation," is set for release on November 10.

Swift's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift may have just bought a townhouse for $18 million in New York City

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• George Clooney hasn't been acting much these days, and he recently said in an interview that it's because he doesn't need the money. 
• He made a lot of money from his tequila company, which just sold for $1 billion. 
• Casamigos, Clooney's tequila company, started as an idea between Clooney and his friend Rande Gerber while they were in Mexico.

You might have noticed that George Clooney hasn't been acting that much lately. Instead, he's spent his time directing movies like "Suburbicon," and on efforts in political activism and humanitarian work.

The last movies Clooney was in were "Money Monster" and "Hail Caesar!" both of which came out in 2016.

“Look, I acted for a long time and, you know, I’m 56. I’m not the guy that gets the girl anymore," Clooney recently told The Sunday Times. "Well, yeah, I shouldn’t be the guy that gets the girl. But, look, if somebody’s got Paul Newman in 'The Verdict,' I’d jump. But there aren’t that many like that. Acting used to be how I paid the rent, but I sold a tequila company for a billion f---ing dollars. I don’t need money.”

The actor founded one of the fastest-growing tequila brands in the world by accident in 2013 with two friends. Clooney's tequila company, Casamigos, was sold this year to Diageo for up to $1 billion.

Diageo is set to pay $700 million initially, with the potential of another $300 million based on the tequila's performance over 10 years, according to CNBC.

In an email to CNBC, Clooney said: "If you asked us four years ago if we had a billion dollar company, I don't think we would have said yes. This reflects Diageo's belief in our company and our belief in Diageo. But we're not going anywhere. We'll still be very much a part of Casamigos. Starting with a shot tonight. Maybe two."

It all started in Casamigos

Clooney came up with the tequila idea with nightclub owner Rande Gerber — who also happens to be the husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford — while the two were spending time at their houses in Mexico.

They had met nearly 30 years ago while George was shooting one of his first films in New York.

"He was coming into one of my bars called Morgan's at the time... so I met him at the bar over a tequila," Gerber told Business Insider. "He was spending three months in New York, and every night we would hang out at the bar and we became great friends."

The two would go on golf trips around the country with other friends — "It was called 'the Golf trip,' but we played maybe nine holes now and then" — which is where they met real estate guru Mike Meldman.

"A mutual friend connected us, saying we should play at one of Mike's golf courses," Gerber said. "He took care of us and we developed a friendship through that, then we built our homes in Mexico in Mike's development."

Clooney and Gerber's houses sat beside each other on the piece of property, which was called Casamigos.

"It felt like one compound," Gerber said. "We'd have a bunch of our friends there — breakfast at our place, lunch at his, dinner at ours. It felt like one big house."

And their meal times often involved sipping tequila.

"Casamigos really started by accident as far as a company," he said. "As you do in Mexico, we would drink a lot of tequila. We'd go out to bars and restaurants and bartenders would recommend them. Some were good, some not so good, and some expensive. There came a point where George turned to me and said, 'Why don't we create one that's perfect for us?'"

"We wanted one that didn't burn going down, that was super smooth, and had the right flavor profile. One that we didn't have to mix — typically we drink it straight or on the rocks – that we could drink all day long and not be hungover in the morning."

Tequila pilgrimage

The duo began their tequila pilgrimage. They did research, met with distillers, tried samples, and did blind taste tests with their friends and family until they found a recipe with no burn at all.

"It ended up being almost two years and 700 samples later — it was perfect," Gerber said. "There was a point where we all chose one, and it was ours. Not only did we know we had something great that we loved, but all of our friends loved it as well."

Bottles were ordered, served, and drank at their homes in Casamigos, which fittingly means "House of Friends."

While the pair may claim they can drink it all day and not be hungover the next, it's probably not recommended for inexperienced tequila drinkers — the average bottle contains 40% alcohol.

Without even realizing it, Gerber said he and Clooney were bringing in about 1,000 bottles to the UK, and were told by the distiller that they needed to get licensed.

They met with a distributor in the US who wanted to get on board, and launched the tequila as "Casamigos" along with the help from their well-connected friend Meldman.

"He's wonderful at marketing, and caters to the high-end market," Gerber said. "He's smart, and has incredible relationships."

The tequila gold rush

The ultra-premium small batch tequila is aged and barreled, Gerber said, while a master distiller "chooses the right moment to take it from the barrel to the bottle." He added: "We use old brick ovens, and the Blue Weber Agaves are grown for seven to nine years — it’s a long process."

They use a simple stick-on label on an unfussy bottle, with a plain cork to seal it. The brand sells reposado, anejo, and blanco tequilas, which range from $32 (£26) to $42 (£34), depending on where you buy them, according to Gerber.

Partly due to having George's name attached, the brand "immediately took off" through word of mouth, according to Gerber.

"We started winning awards, which legitimizes you," he said. The brand has won gold medals at the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, The New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, The Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition, and from The Beverage Testing Institute. "From then on it gained momentum."

The brand doubled its volume of sales from 38,000 nine-litre cases in 2014 to 80,000 in 2015, according to Ad Age, which said it was part of a tequila "gold rush." Casamigos says it more than doubled its volume again in 2016.

It is sold in 20 countries including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Spain, Italy, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.

Gerber, who now works full-time running Casamigos, declined to provide exact sales figures for last year and would not discuss the company's earnings.

Everything is done in-house in offices in LA, were Rande is based, as well as New York and Arizona. He added that George and Mike are still heavily involved, and CNBC reported that Clooney, Gerber and Meldman are expected to stay with the company after its acquisition.

"We all contribute an equal amount. Even though I run the company, we all play our own role," Gerber said in March. "George is very involved in the business. He's in LA this week, and he’ll be in the office when he’s here to go over ideas."

The two also make sure they taste every batch.

"We have our master distiller, and he's so great that we know they're all consistent, but when a new batch comes out he'll send a bottle and George and I will taste it," Gerber said. "We always want to be the first or the second one to taste it. It’s kind of a tradition. We open the bottle, toast, and take a sip."

"It's always perfect. If you have a great master distiller, they have this palette and sense of smell and taste that has almost been passed down from generation to generation," he said. "We want to be part of that process."

Join the conversation about this story »

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• A Disney/Fox combination would create lots of leverage when negotiating with cable distributors, advertisers, and increasingly tech giants like Apple, Netflix, and Amazon.
• But the limitations of the deal reportedly floated by Disney, which wouldn't include the Fox network and Fox sports, would limit its impact.
• In either case, Disney & Fox would still be reliant on other companies' distribution, whether through broadband pipes (e.g. Comcast) or digital platforms (e.g. Facebook, Netflix).

As the headlines flashed across Twitter earlier today  – Disney might by Fox! - the easy first reaction was, 'holy crap, is that really possible?

Ten — even five — years ago, such a deal would've been unimaginable for two reasons. Two of the biggest TV and movie companies on the planet wouldn't be interested in merging when they still had the clout to beat each other's brains in. Also, they wouldn't be allowed to anyway, right? That would give one media entity way too much power.

But if the past half-decade has taught us anything, it's that media giants don't have the power they used to. Not in a world where they are suddenly battling Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google for people's entertainment time, and for advertisers' wallets.

A huge merger now might actually be necessary for big media survival.

"It's a signal that all deals are possible," said Dave Morgan, CEO of the data-centric TV ad company Simulmedia. "With Google and Amazon, and soon AT&T buying Time Warner, everybody in media is suddenly sub-scale. What would have been totally unthinkable and unnecessary is actually the only way to go for these companies."

Thus, the potential deal (which according to CNBC and Bloomberg was is not actively being discussed) could make sense for lots of reasons. Let's run through a few:

• Disney + Fox would own a cadre of movie and TV studios (from Marvel to 21st Century Fox), which would be a big help when trying to get movies in theaters and more importantly, for launching a direct to consumer streaming service to compete with Netflix – something Disney is already planning
• The same clout would prove powerful when trying to negotiate with cable distributors like Comcast and Charter as well as newer 'skinny bundle' players like Hulu Live and YouTube TV to make sure Disney and Fox's channels carried.
• Ditto for making distribution deals with newer, could-be-huge-someday outlets like Facebook Watch and Snapchat and Amazon Video and of course, Netflix.
• The combined entity would also theoretically be better positioned for making content, as Netflix is planning to spend $8 billion on content and Apple a cool billion next year.
• From an ad sales front, the combination of Disney and Fox's collection of networks would be a must buy for pretty much any TV advertiser, which could help command big pricing.
• If the two companies merge, the X-Men (which have been licensed from Marvel by Fox) might be able to start appearing in Marvel movies.

But, there are reasons to be underwhelmed with what's reportedly on the table now:

• At first glance, you might think that the Disney/Fox entity would command a huge chunk of the broadcast TV market. But the deal wouldn't include Fox Network, reported CNBC. What does it say about broadcast TV's place when that's seemingly not the crux of the merger?
• Same deal for sports. Before you start thinking of the potential clout formed by ESPN and Fox Sports negotiating with the NFL or the World Cup, Fox's sports assets wouldn't be part of the acquisition, according to CNBC– nor would cable TV heavyweight Fox News. Does Disney want to make this kind of deal just to get its hands on FX and National Geographic?
• This doesn't get Disney/Fox distribution in people's homes in the U.S. While Fox does own a chunk of the satellite service Sky in the U.K., neither Fox nor Disney own the pipes that push content into people's homes in the states.
• That's still where lots of the power lies. Consider Comcast, which purchased NBCUniversal last decade. Even as more people cut the cord, Comcast still sells broadband to millions, which means companies still have to make deals with it, not necessarily the other way around. 

"If nothing else, this is Disney saying to the world, 'I'm a buyer," said Morgan. "And Fox is saying, 'I'm listening.'"

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• Former Hollywood bigwig Harvey Weinstein hired private firms staffed by former intelligence operatives to investigate and squash allegations of sexual harassment against him.
• The operatives assumed fake identities and posed as other people to convince several accusers to talk.
• Weinstein also, through one of the firms, hired a freelance journalist to interview accusers and report findings back to him.

Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein hired private security companies staffed with former foreign intelligence officials to investigate and cover up sexual-harassment allegations against him when they first started emerging in the fall of 2016, The New Yorker reported on Monday. 

As part of that effort, Weinstein hired Kroll, a corporate-intelligence firm, and Black Cube, a company operated primarily by former Israeli intelligence officers, per the report. The film mogul also "directed" journalists to find out and tell him which women were making allegations against him. 

The New York Times first reported on the claims against Weinstein last month, and The New Yorker followed up with several new detailed allegations shortly after. In all, nearly 60 women have accused Weinstein of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. 

When trying to extract information from his accusers, operatives working for the firms Weinstein hired typically created false identities designed to gain the accusers' trust.

An investigator working for Black Cube, for example, pretended to be a women's rights advocate when she met with Rose McGowan, one of the actresses who has accused Weinstein of rape. McGowan is a women's rights advocate as well, and she told The New Yorker that the operative, who posed as a woman named Diana Filip who worked at a fictional wealth-management firm, was "very nice" and met with her multiple times to extract information. 

The operative also assumed a separate fake identity and met twice with one journalist chasing down the Weinstein story, while posing as an accuser named "Anna," in an effort to find out which other women had made allegations about Weinstein to the media. She also emailed Jodi Kantor of The Times, who first broke news of the allegations along with reporter Megan Twohey. 

As it turned out, the operative was a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces and used "Diana Filip" as an alias during her time serving in the IDF.  

Black Cube said in a statement to The New Yorker that it would "never discuss its clients with any third party," nor would it confirm or deny "speculation made with regard to the company's work." The company added that it applied "high moral standards" to its work and functions in compliance with the law. 

Weinstein also reportedly asked Black Cube to hire a journalist to "conduct ten interviews a month for four months and be paid forty thousand dollars," as well as report back their findings to the firm, which would in turn relay the information to Weinstein. 

The journalist subsequently got in touch with McGowan, recorded their conversation without her consent, and provided Black Cube with details of their interactions. He also contacted two other women with allegations against Weinstein, as well as two reporters following the story. 

"It struck me as B.S.," Annabella Sciorra, who accused Weinstein of rape, told The New Yorker of her conversation with the journalist Weinstein hired. "And it scared me that Harvey was testing to see if I would talk."

The reporter claimed that he was working on his own story about Weinstein when he was contacted by The New Yorker, and said he was using Black Cube to get information. 

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• An executive for a company that publishes the National Enquirer reportedly shared information from one of its reporters with disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein.
• The information obtained by the reporter included an unflattering interview with actress Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape.

An executive for a company that publishes the National Enquirer reportedly shared with disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein incriminating statements about actress Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape, in another stunning development of a scandal that has rocked the entertainment industry.

A series of emails in December 2016 revealed that Dylan Howard, the chief content officer of American Media Inc., the publisher of the tabloid, shared information about McGowan from one of his reporters, according to a New Yorker report published Monday.

McGowan has been a vocal critic of Weinstein, whose career was brought to a halt after numerous people in the entertainment industry accused him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct over the years. McGowan was the fourth woman to formally accuse Weinstein of rape after the New Yorker's bombshell report was published last month.

A spokesperson for Weinstein said that he "unequivocally denied" McGowan's allegations.

Howard reportedly discussed a phone call one his reporters conducted with Elizabeth Avellan, the former wife of a director who reportedly had a relationship with McGowan.

According to the New Yorker's story, Avellan said that the reporter "kept calling and calling and calling," and suggested she felt pressured into talking with the reporter. During the call which Avellan said she believed was off the record, the reporter sought damning statements about McGowan.

Avellan told the publication that had she known the call was an attempt to discredit McGowan, she would not have agreed to the interview. Despite the agreement to remain off the record, the conversation between Avellan and the reporter was allegedly recorded, the New Yorker said. A recording of the conversation was reportedly given to Howard. 

Howard continued to email Weinstein and mentioned he had "something AMAZING" that "laid into Rose pretty hard,"  the New Yorker reported.

"This is the killer," Weinstein wrote, according to the publication. "Especially if my fingerprints r not on this."

Although Howard denied sending recordings to Weinstein, the New Yorker magazine said that the emails Howard sent suggested otherwise.

"And the conversation . . . is RECORDED," one of Howard's emails to Weinstein said. "Audio file to follow."

Howard suggested in the report that he did not violate professional guidelines during his correspondence with Weinstein or during the investigation.

"I had an obligation to protect AMI's interests by seeking out — but not publishing — truthful information about people who Mr. Weinstein insisted were making false claims against him," a statement from Howard reportedly said. 

"To the extent I provided 'off the record' information to Mr. Weinstein about one of his accusers — at a time when Mr. Weinstein was denying any harassment of any woman — it was information which I would never have allowed AMI to publish on the internet or in its magazines," Howard's statement continued.

A statement from Weinstein's spokesperson also added that Howard was pursuing a news tip from Weinstein that "might make a good story," only to eventually decline to publish the story. 

SEE ALSO: Rose McGowan shared the intense cover art for her new memoir 'Brave'

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• A South Korean student standing next to First Lady Melania Trump had an explosive reaction after seeing a Korean pop-star behind her.
• Trump took notice and laughed at her reaction.

A South Korean middle school student standing next to first lady Melania Trump had an explosive reaction after seeing Korean pop-star and actor Choi Minho at a sports event during President Donald Trump's visit to the country Tuesday.

Unbeknownst to the student who was talking with Melania, standing behind her was Korean heart-throb Choi, who appeared in several Korean dramas and movies. Prior to his acting career, Choi was a member of Shinee, a wildly popular Korean musical group.

After noticing a fellow student react to the celebrity behind her, the student next to Melania turned back and appeared to scream after seeing Choi.

Melania, who noticed the reaction, smiled and gestured at Choi.

Melania attended the government-sponsored event, which encouraged female participation in sports and promoted the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, according to the Associated Press.

Watch the video here:

SEE ALSO: 6 total misconceptions about living in South Korea

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• Power couples balance successful marriages with high-powered careers.
• From entertainment to politics to tech, these happily married pairs span many industries.
• They're not just powerful — they also have a combined fortune of over $260 billion.
  

Some people seem to have it all.

Juggling a successful career or marriage has its challenges, but doing both well can quickly launch you into power couple status.

Devoting time to the relationship may be harder for power couples. But across many industries, from entertainment to politics to tech, these duos have managed to stay happily married while building empires together.

Scroll through to see seven of the richest power couples in the world.

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg and his college-sweetheart wife, Priscilla Chan, are worth $74 billion — see their houses, cars, and travels

DON'T MISS: Inside the decade-long relationship of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who met at a networking lunch and once broke up because of religious differences

Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen

Combined net worth: $540 million

Both halves of this tanned and toned power couple, who have been married for eight years, are in the top earners of their respective industries. Supermodel Gisele Bündchen is the highest-paid model in the world, raking in $30.5 million in 2016, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the third-highest paid player in NFL history. His endorsement deals earn him about $8 million annually.

Perhaps the most telling example of their wide-ranging influence is the viral news of their insane diet, which is composed of 80% vegetables and 20% lean meats.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner

Combined net worth: Between $207 million and $762 million

The eldest daughter of President Donald Trump and unpaid adviser in the White House, Ivanka Trump just celebrated her eighth wedding anniversary with husband Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to the president and owner of a real-estate empire.

Their estimated net worth was revealed earlier this year in public filings that document the couple's assets, including a $25 million art collection, and income from the Ivanka Trump lifestyle brand and various investments.

Kushner suggests the couple, who are parents to three children, have their roles figured out: "I would say she is definitely the CEO of our household, whereas I’m more on the board of directors."

Beyoncé and Jay-Z

Combined net worth: $1.16 billion

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are entertainment royalty. The couple — who has been married since 2008 and have three children — earn their wealth primarily from music producing credits, album sales, live performances, and worldwide tours, as well as stakes in streaming service Tidal, a private jet company, and a luxury champagne brand.

This summer, they bought an $88 million mansion in Los Angeles — for which they took out a $59 million mortgage — making it the sixth priciest home purchase in LA history. Not bad for the highest-paid celebrity couple in the world.

• Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were recently spotted spending a Sunday together and attending a church service at the megachurch Hillsong, where they are both congregants.
• Hillsong is a fairly conservative Pentecostal church that retains a hip aesthetic and appeals to many celebrities.
• I attended a service at Hillsong's New York City chapter to see what it was like.

Last Sunday, shortly before reports surfaced that Selena Gomez and The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) had broken up, TMZ reported that Gomez and Justin Bieber spent the day together. The pair reportedly grabbed breakfast and attended a church service together — sparking rumors that they're back together.

Bieber and Gomez are both congregants of the megachurch Hillsong and reportedly used to frequent church services there when they were together. According to The Daily Beast, Bieber is known for bringing his love interests to services at Hillsong, making Bieber and Gomez's recent appearance there intriguing.

Hillsong has chapters all around the world and is known for its casual, concertlike approach to traditional church services.

Hillsong has attracted numerous A-listers like Vanessa Hudgens, Hailey Baldwin, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner, earning it a reputation as the celebrity church du jour.

Carl Lentz, the pastor of Hillsong in New York City, told Business Insider that despite the church's celebrity following, Hillsong was just a normal church. And although Hillsong puts forth a savvy rebranding of Christianity, it is, at its heart, a conservative Pentecostal church.

Hillsong has openly opposed same-sex relationships and abortion rights, and it used to refer members "struggling" with their sexuality to conversion therapy, according to The Daily Beast. Though Hillsong stopped that practice in 2011, some gay congregants have continued to feel unwelcome.

So how does a Pentecostal church with traditional Christian values rebrand the church experience?

Curious about what one of Hillsong's services was like, I attended a Sunday service at its New York City location.

Here's what it was like:

SEE ALSO: Everything you need to know about Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber's on-and-off-again romance

Waiting to get into a Hillsong service is like waiting to get into a concert.

There were four services to choose from on Sunday: 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. I opted to attend the 12:30 p.m. service in the Hammerstein Ballroom.

I was last there 10 years ago for a Death Cab for Cutie concert, which should give you an idea of the events that usually take place at the venue.

The long line to get in — and the churchgoers' casual dress — confused me; I could not believe I was walking into a church service and not a concert. I had to ask the volunteers shepherding people into the building several times whether I was at the right place. A friendly "Yup!" and a "Welcome!" followed every time.

Bags were meticulously checked, metal-detector wands were waved over every single body, and gum was vigilantly confiscated.

The feel of a Hillsong service is incredibly concertlike.

From the moment I walked into the Hammerstein Ballroom, I could hear music blaring.

As I made my way up to the second-story balcony — all orchestra seating had been taken by the time I arrived — I was overwhelmed by the number of people climbing up the stairs alongside me. (In 2014, CBS News estimated that 7,000 people attended Hillsong's services every Sunday.)

When I entered the theater, I was again taken aback by how concertlike the church was. It was honestly very impressive.

The church band looked and sounded like a pop band you might see at the Panorama or Coachella music festivals — only, they were singing about God.

Hillsong is increasingly perceived as a cool, celebrity, rock 'n' roll church, and it's not hard to see why. But that's not how Lentz says he views the church.

"I think the bigger picture of our church is just normal, faithful people who love Jesus, who want to help others with their lives," Lentz told Business Insider. "And sometimes they happen to be famous."

Hillsong's promotional materials are ultrachic.

A pamphlet about the post-church services and an envelope for donations were on the armrest of every seat.

On the back of the envelope was a list of several ways to donate: check, cash, credit card, online, or via the Hillsong app.

The design of the pamphlet and donation envelope was chic and modern, reminiscent of posh advertising campaigns for brands like Urban Outfitters and Paper Source.

The materials felt like another indicator of the modern vibe Hillsong projects.

The new $500 Xbox One X is the most powerful home video-game console ever made. With its beefy internals, the Xbox One X is more powerful than most home computers. It can power 4K and HDR gaming — the next major graphical step up after HD.

It's also one of the most expensive home game consoles ever made, matched in price in recent years by the original Xbox One, which came with an expensive Kinect peripheral, and the original PlayStation 3.

It's not just you — $500 is a tremendously high asking price for a game console in 2017. The Nintendo Switch, launched earlier this year, costs $300. The next best version of the Xbox One, the S model, costs $250. Even Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro model, which touts the ability to produce 4K and HDR games, costs $100 less than the Xbox One X.

In short, it's a hard sell.

Whether it's worth your money is a more complicated question. Do you have an Xbox One already? Do you own a 4K/HDR-capable television? Do you consider $500 to be a major expense?

For me, the Xbox One X isn't worth it. Here's why.

SEE ALSO: 6 reasons you should buy a $250 Xbox instead of the new $500 one

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Here's how I tested the Xbox One X.

I bought a 4K/HDR television about a month ago. It was A Big Deal™, officially.

I read up on TVs at my favorite review-focused publications like CNET and The Wirecutter. I spoke with colleagues who know more about displays than I do. (Thanks, Tony and Jeff!) I went back and forth over whether to wait for OLED TV prices to come down. I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube.

In the end, I went with the TCL P-series you see above. It's Wirecutter's highest-rated TV, period.

"It's the best value we have ever seen in a TV," Wirecutter's Chris Heinonen said. "It produces images with more detail, brightness, and color than most TVs that cost hundreds more. Even when viewed side-by-side with TVs that cost 250 percent more, our viewing panel picked the TCL."

All of which is to say two things:

1. The TV I am using with the Xbox One X is high-quality, highly rated, and tuned (yes, I did that too) specifically for 4K/HDR. I went from a 720p, 42-inch Vizio HD TV to this.

2. I probably spent too much time being neurotic about buying a TV and should've just trusted the Wirecutter suggestion from the start.

If you're wondering what the Xbox One X looks like on a $3,500 Samsung OLED 4K TV, assuredly one of the excellent publications mentioned above can help you out. I'm the average consumer, and even then, I kind of splashed out for this TV.

4K, HDR Blu-ray footage looks excellent.

Microsoft included a copy of "Planet Earth 2," a documentary I assumed was about the sequel to the planet we live on but is actually about regular old Earth 1.

Hilarious jokes aside, "Planet Earth 2" is considered a 4K/HDR showcase title. It's an "ultra HD" Blu-ray used to demonstrate how dazzling this new, higher-resolution video format can be on the right set. It sets a standard for expectations of fidelity, in so many words, and I used it as such.

"Planet Earth 2" is also a delightfully charming British documentary that doubles as a highlights reel of nature's craziest s---. As both an animal lover and a person who loves to be dazzled, I can indeed confirm that "Planet Earth 2" is a visual showcase. It is ridiculously impressive because of how dazzling the image quality and range is — in addition to the absurdity of its content.

But this isn't a review of "Planet Earth 2." (If it were, I would suggest you check it out.)

The Xbox One X is intended to power 4K and HDR gaming. The ability to play 4K/HDR Blu-ray discs like "Planet Earth 2" is something that the standard Xbox One S can do, and it costs just $250.

To this end, the Xbox One X makes some games look very nice.

Two games that stand out on the Xbox One X are "Gears of War 4" and "Forza Motorsport 7." Both have full 4K/HDR support, and both look excellent as a result.

More than just very pretty games, they look noticeably different on the Xbox One X — more like high-end PC games than home-game-console games. If you're looking for something to show off the new Xbox One X and your 4K/HDR TV, these are the games.

But those are just two big games — one is a racing simulation and the other is a year-old shooter. If you've already played "Gears of War 4" and aren't a hardcore racing fan, there isn't much to play at launch.

To be clear: There is no "big launch game" for the Xbox One X.

Of note: When games are updated with 4K visuals, they sometimes swell in size to over 100 GB. "Gears of War 4," "Forza Motorsport 7," and "Halo 5: Guardians" come in at over 100 GB apiece. Apiece! That's gigantic — significantly larger than the largest non-4K games.

• Four film critic groups have denounced Walt Disney Studios and banned the studio from awards consideration following its media blackout on the Los Angeles Times.
• Disney prevented the Times staff from attending screenings of Disney films after the paper wrote critical coverage of Disney's business dealings in Anaheim, California.
• A number of news outlets, and director Ava DuVernay, have announced that they will boycott Disney screenings until the Times ban is lifted.

Four of the most prominent film critic groups in the country have jointly denounced Walt Disney Studios and banned the studio from year-end awards consideration until it "publicly rescinds" a media blackout on the Los Angeles Times.

On November 3, the L.A. Times announced that its staff had been barred from attending advance screenings of Disney films in response to the paper's critical news coverage of Disney's business dealings in the city of Anaheim.

In response, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and the National Society of Film Critics on Tuesday issued the following joint statement regarding Disney's ban on the Times:

"It is admittedly extraordinary for a critics' group, let alone four critics' groups, to take any action that might penalize film artists for decisions beyond their control. But Disney brought forth this action when it chose to punish The Times' journalists rather than express its disagreement with a business story via ongoing public discussion. Disney’s response should gravely concern all who believe in the importance of a free press, artists included."

A number of entertainment news outlets, including The A.V. Club and Flavorwire, and The Washington Post's film critic-at-large have also announced that they will not attend Disney screenings until the Times ban is lifted. 

On Monday, Ava DuVernay, the director of Disney's upcoming film adaptation of "A Wrinkle In Time," took to Twitter to say that she would stand in solidarity with the Post's film critic, Alyssa Rosenberg, and all journalists who are boycotting Disney screenings. 

With the exception of the its upcoming animated film, "Coco," Disney is not expected to make a significant awards season push. The studio is set to release its latest blockbuster, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," on December 15.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best movies of all time, according to critics

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• Nicki Minaj posted an Animoji video to her Instagram account. 
• The video features a unicorn Animoji rapping her verse on Migos' "MotorSport."

Animoji just got its first big celebrity endorsement.

Nicki Minaj used the new iPhone X feature to rap her verse on the new Migos song, "MotorSport." Her Animoji of choice: the unicorn. 

Minaj posted the video to her Instagram account on Monday (Warning: This is not the radio version and does contain expletives):

Minaj warned in the caption that her fans should practice the verse, since "someone will get chosen to do the fast part on tour every night."

Animojis are one of the more unique features of the iPhone X, which arrived last week. The feature transforms emojis into animated digital characters that speak in their owners' voices and mimic their facial expressions. Animojis are only available on the iPhone X because the new phone has built-in facial recognition technology.

Minaj isn't the first to use the new feature for lip-syncing. Other iPhone X owners have begun posting videos of "Animoji Karaoke," which Fast Company reporter Harry McCracken takes credit for inventing.

But I think it's safe to say that Minaj's version wins, hands-down.

SEE ALSO: Here's how to use Apple's Animoji —the new talking emoji that has your voice and facial expressions

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Snapchat cofounder and CEO Evan Spiegel, 27, is one of the richest millennial billionaires in America, with a fortune around $3.4 billion.

In May, he married Miranda Kerr, an Australian supermodel and owner of cosmetics line Kora Organics. The 34-year-old is wealthy in her own right, with an estimated net worth of $45 million.

Like any good power couple, Spiegel and Kerr purportedly share interests in each others' endeavors. He's graced the cover of Vogue Italy, and she's active on Snapchat and has come to the defense of the company— and her husband — in interviews.

Here's how the newlyweds spend their billions.

SEE ALSO: How Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, makes and spends his $20 billion fortune

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Spiegel and Kerr began dating during the summer of 2015 after first meeting at a dinner for Louis Vuitton the year before.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

In July 2016, Spiegel proposed to Kerr with a a 1.75 to 2.5 carat diamond that cost an estimated $75,000 to $100,000.

Source: E! News

A few months before the engagement, the couple purchased a 7,164-square-foot home in Brentwood, a wealthy Los Angeles neighborhood, for $12 million. The home was previously owned by Harrison Ford and has a gym, pool, and guest house.

Source: Business Insider

• Christopher Nolan apologized to Netflix's head of content Ted Sarandos after calling Netflix's movie strategy "mindless."
• Netflix has clashed with many movie traditionalists over its release strategy.
• Netflix will release 80 new movies in 2018.

Director Christopher Nolan revealed that he wrote Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos an apology after calling Netflix's movie strategy "mindless," in an interview with Variety.

“I should have been more polite,” Nolan said. “I said what I believe, but I was undiplomatic in the way I expressed it. I wasn’t giving any context to the frankly revolutionary nature of what Netflix has done. It’s extraordinary. They need appropriate respect for that, which I have.”

In July, the director heavily criticized the streaming company's movie strategy and its resistance to the theatrical window, during an interview with IndieWire, and even accused Netflix of trying to shut down theaters.

“I think the investment that Netflix is putting into interesting filmmakers and interesting projects would be more admirable if it weren’t being used as some kind of bizarre leverage against shutting down theaters,” Nolan said at the time. “It’s so pointless. I don’t really get it.”

But Nolan isn't the only one that's criticized Netflix's strategy: Netflix has clashed with the theater industry thanks in large part to its release strategy.

Netflix releases its films both in theaters and on its site simultaneously, without waiting the traditional 90-day theatrical window. This stands in contrast to the theater-friendly policy of Amazon, which respects the traditional window. As a result, Netflix has been blacklisted from releasing its films in most major theater chains.

Netflix achieved a major film milestone this year when two of its films — "Okja" and "The Meyerowitz Stories" — were admitted into the Festival de Cannes. But criticism from the old guard prompted the festival to add a new rule dictating that any films that wished to be included in the festival next year would have to have a theatrical release in France.

In a Facebook post, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings responded to the festival's ruling saying that he felt theater chains were trying to "block" Netflix from entering the "festival competition."

Despite criticisms of Netflix's methods, the streaming giant seems to be moving onward and upward, and is planning on releasing 80 films in 2018, according to Variety.

SEE ALSO: A historian described what Christopher Nolan got right in 'Dunkirk,' and it's almost everything

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YouTube Kids, which is essentially a stripped down version of YouTube that curates kid-friendly content, is surfacing videos with inappropriate content to some of its young viewers, according to The New York Times.

Parents have complained about seeing content that includes popular Nick Jr. characters being burst into flames, and Disney Jr. characters turning into monsters, for example.

Google argues the amount of objectionable content on YouTube Kids is negligible, but backlash from parents has been swift. Less than .005% of the millions of videos viewed on YouTube Kids in the past 30 days had inappropriate content, according to YouTube’s global head of family and learning content Malik Ducard.

Regardless, many parents have posted on Facebook about YouTube Kids’ inappropriate content, which paints the app negatively and makes even this small figure a high-priority problem for the company.

The objectionable content issue with YouTube Kids highlights Google’s shortcomings in moderating content on its platform, and comes about seven months after many advertisers pulled their ads from YouTube due to brand safety concerns. Though Google has stepped up its brand safety measures since April, the objectionable YouTube Kids content is likely due to the vast amount of content uploaded to YouTube.

Over 400 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute, which equates to a staggering 576,000 hours of content per day, likely making the task of content moderation arduous.

Objectionable content hurts YouTube Kids' chances of becoming the go-to digital platform for kids content. This is problematic as kids increasingly look to consume content on digital platforms and turn away from traditional TV — Disney Channel has lost nearly 4 million subscribers over the past three years, for example.

Additionally, hosting unfavorable content hurts YouTube Kids’ chances of capitalizing on lucrative digital ad spend directed toward young viewers under 13, which is projected to reach $1.2 billion in 2019, up from $600 million in 2016, according to a PwC study commissioned by youth-focused ad tech firm Super Awesome.

If the problem persists, parents may start to substitute YouTube Kids with other digital platforms that are heavily investing into kids content. In this year alone, Netflix, Starz, and BBC have all invested into content aimed at younger children, and these offerings may become increasingly attractive should YouTube Kids' content moderation issues continue.

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• "Shameless" star Ethan Cutkosky was arrested last week on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence, The Associated Press reports.
• The 18-year-old actor was reportedly released Thursday morning on $5,000 bail. 
• The eighth season of "Shameless" began airing on Sunday.

Ethan Cutkosky, the actor who plays Carl Gallagher on the Showtime series "Shameless," was arrested last week on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence, according to an Associated Press report. 

Burbank police Sgt. John Pfrommer told the AP that the 18-year-old actor was pulled over last Wednesday night after police saw him "straddling lanes."

Cutkosky was arrested and, according to records from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, released early Thursday morning on $5,000 bail.

Pfrommer told the AP that the actor's blood-alcohol tests were "still pending."

Cutksoky has starred on "Shameless" for all eight of its seasons. He began working on the show's pilot when he was 10 years old. 

The eighth season of "Shameless" began airing Sunday on Showtime.

Showtime representatives did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 

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• A prominent Democratic lawyer representing Harvey Weinstein worked to crush an explosive New York Times story about his conduct while simultaneously representing the paper.
• The lawyer, David Boies, said he doesn't believe his work posed any conflict of interest.
• The Times called the revelation a "grave betrayal of trust" and said it was "intolerable conduct."
• Boies admitted that if Weinstein's inappropriate behavior continued past 2015, then he bore some responsibility for it.

David Boies, a prominent Democratic lawyer who represented former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, worked to suppress The New York Times' reporting on Weinstein while representing the paper in other matters, The New Yorker reported on Monday.

Weinstein reportedly hired private security companies staffed with former foreign intelligence officials to investigate and cover up sexual-harassment allegations against him when they first started emerging in the fall of 2016.

Boies was part of that effort, according to The New Yorker, and "personally directed" one of the firms, Black Cube, to find information that would stop The Times from publishing its story.

The Times first broke the Weinstein allegations in October.

Boies' firm ultimately owed Black Cube $600,000 as part of a contract which outlined a project whose main goal was to "provide intelligence which will help the Client's efforts to completely stop the publication of a new negative article in a leading NY newspaper," according to The New Yorker. Sources confirmed to the magazine that the "Client" referred to in the contract was Weinstein and the "leading NY paper" was The Times.

After The Times published its investigation last month, The New Yorker followed up with several new detailed allegations shortly after. In all, nearly 80 women have accused Weinstein of varying degrees of sexual misconduct.

Boies confirmed to The New Yorker that his law firm, Boies Schiller Flexner, worked with two of the companies Weinstein hired to investigate his accusers, and that he forwarded Weinstein information that investigators from one of the companies extracted from the women. Though he denied that his actions — trying to squash a Times story while representing the outlet — created a conflict of interest, Boies said his firm's interaction with the private investigators was "a mistake at the time."

Responding to questions about whether there was any conflict of interest regarding his working simultaneously to crush The Times' story while representing the paper in a libel lawsuit, Boies implied that his work was to The Times' benefit. "If evidence could be uncovered to convince The Times the charges should not be published, I did not believe, and do not believe, that that would be averse to The Times' interest," Boies told The New Yorker.

'A grave betrayal of trust'

The Times released a statement following The New Yorker's revelations, calling Boies' and his firm's conduct "intolerable," "a grave betrayal of trust," and "a breach of the basic professional standards that all lawyers are required to observe."

"It is inexcusable and we will be pursuing appropriate remedies," the Times statement said.

When trying to extract information from his accusers, operatives working for the firms Weinstein hired typically created false identities designed to gain the accusers' trust.

An investigator working for Black Cube, for example, pretended to be a women's rights advocate when she met with Rose McGowan, one of the actresses who has accused Weinstein of rape. McGowan is a women's rights advocate as well, and told The New Yorker that the operative, who posed as a woman named Diana Filip who worked at a fictional wealth-management firm, was "very nice" and met with her multiple times to extract information.

The operative also assumed a separate fake identity and met twice with one journalist chasing down the Weinstein story, while posing as an accuser named "Anna," in an effort to find out which other women had made allegations about Weinstein to the media. She also emailed Jodi Kantor of The Times, who first broke news of the allegations along with reporter Megan Twohey.

Boies expressed regret regarding Weinstein's behavior toward women. "Although he vigorously denies using physical force, Mr. Weinstein has himself recognized that his contact with women was indefensible and incredibly hurtful," he told The New Yorker. He said that in retrospect, he "knew enough" in 2015 to be "on notice of a problem," and should have done something about it.

Boies added that he didn't know if Weinstein's behavior continued past 2015, but if it did, he bore some responsibility.

SEE ALSO: 23 powerful men accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of Harvey Weinstein

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• Actress Kristina Cohen accused actor Ed Westwick of raping her three years ago.
• Westwick denied the accusation, and said he does not know Cohen.
• Multiple outlets wrote about the accusation before any comment had been made by Westwick, and IndieWire and BuzzFeed News retracted their stories Tuesday morning, before publishing them again later in the day. 
• This accusation raises questions about journalistic responsibility in the social-media age. 

On Monday, actress Kristina Cohen wrote in a Facebook post that actor Ed Westwick raped her three years ago.

Westwick, who gained fame for his role as Chuck Bass on The CW's "Gossip Girl," and currently stars on the BBC series "White Gold," denied Cohen's allegation in a tweet Tuesday.

"I do not know this woman," Westwick wrote. "I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape." Cohen's representative told Business Insider she had "no comment at this time" about Westwick's denial.

In Cohen's Facebook post, she wrote that Westwick raped her in his home, which she visited with her then-boyfriend.

"I was woken up abruptly by Ed on top of me, his fingers entering my body," Cohen said. "I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me, telling me he wanted to f--- me. I was paralyzed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me."

But there's another story within this accusation: the question of journalistic responsibility, particularly in the social-media age.

Retractions and republications

With allegations of sexual harassment and assault pouring out of Hollywood against powerful men, often posted on social media, what is the correct level of scrutiny before reporting on claims that are already out in the open, proliferating on the internet?

On Monday and Tuesday, many publications posted stories about the rape accusation before Westwick or his representatives had made a comment, including Vanity Fair, HuffPost, Rolling Stone, Glamour, and Vulture.

But two publications, IndieWire and BuzzFeed News, ended up temporarily retracting their stories, in a move that shows how tricky navigating this situation can be for a media company.

Late Monday night, IndieWire was the first outlet to report Cohen's accusation, with a note that his representatives weren't available for comment. On Tuesday morning, however, IndieWire deleted the article from the site. The page where the article existed now said, "Sorry, we couldn't find this page."

In response to a question about the removal of the story, IndieWire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris told Business Insider via email, "We took down the story because I wasn't comfortable publishing until we'd made our own calls for comment." Harris also specified that the reporter who wrote the story is based on the East Coast, and she's based on the West Coast, so she didn't see the story until it was already live on the site.

Indiewire republished the story with Westwick's comment on Tuesday afternoon. 

BuzzFeed News also temporarily retracted its article on the accusation against Westwick, after the post was originally published at 1:52 a.m. on Tuesday morning. BuzzFeed left a note on the article page that it had been removed for "failing to meet editorial standards."

Matt Mittenthal, spokesperson for Buzzfeed News, responded to Business Insider's request for comment with the following:

"The original version of this post did not meet the editorial standards we expect for stories about serious allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, including our bombshell reporting on Kevin Spacey, R Kelly, and other powerful individuals. We're continuing to investigate all sides of this story, and will update the post once we believe it is fair and rigorous."

BuzzFeed republished the article with Westwick's comment on Tuesday at 12:26 p.m.

SEE ALSO: 23 powerful men accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of Harvey Weinstein

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• Walt Disney Studios has decided to lift its media blackout of the Los Angeles Times.
• Major film critic groups denounced Disney and banned the studio from award show consideration until it publicly announced the reversal of its original decision.

Walt Disney Studios has decided to lift its media blackout of the Los Angeles Times after a major backlash, Disney told The New York Times.

"We’ve had productive discussions with the newly installed leadership at the Los Angeles Times regarding our specific concerns, and as a result, we’ve agreed to restore access to advance screenings for their film critics,” Disney said in a statement.

Disney's original blackout followed the Times' publication of a two-part investigative series that explored Disney's Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks' business ties with Anaheim. 

Major film critic groups, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, denounced Disney's blackout and banned the studio from award show consideration until it publicly announced a reversal of its decision.

The Washington Post, The New York Times, A.V. Club, and others also announced they would be boycotting screenings of Disney films, until the studio lifted its blackout.

“A powerful company punishing a news organization for a story they do not like is meant to have a chilling effect. This is a dangerous precedent and not at all in the public interest,” The New York Times said in a statement to Variety.

Even some on Disney's payroll were not happy. Ava DuVernay, who is directing the film adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time" for Disney, spoke out against the media blackout, and tweeted that she would be "standing with" the Los Angeles Times.

SEE ALSO: Critics groups are banning Disney films from awards over the studio's blackout of the L.A. Times

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• Taylor Swift will reportedly keep her upcoming album, "Reputation," off of streaming services during its first week of sales.
• Swift kept her last album, "1989," off of Spotify for several years after removing her entire catalog from the service in late 2014.
• "Reputation" will be available in retail outlets and online stores on November 10.

Representatives for Taylor Swift have told streaming services that the pop star's upcoming album, "Reputation," will be kept off streaming during its first week of sales, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw.

Bloomberg's sources said that the streaming services are still negotiating with Swift to determine when "Reputation" will be available. 

Swift has had a back-and-forth relationship with streaming services in recent years.

The singer kept her last album, "1989," off of Spotify upon its release in 2014, when she removed her entire back catalog from the service.

In July 2014, months prior to the album's release, Swift wrote an op-ed condemning Spotify's free tier in the Wall Street Journal, writing, "It's my opinion that music should not be free." 

Swift allowed "1989" to stream on Apple Music, which does not offer a free tier, upon that service's launch in January 2015.

She eventually made her back catalog and "1989" available to stream on Spotify in June, after "1989" had sold over 10 million copies.  

"Reputation" will be available for sale in retail outlets and online stores like the iTunes on November 10.

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