• Beyoncé and Jay-Z purchased a Bel Air estate for $88 million.
• They put 40% down and financed the rest with a $52.8 million mortgage from Goldman Sachs.
• With historically low mortgage rates, taking out a loan allows them to put their cash to better use.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the billion-dollar power couple, have finally put down roots in Los Angeles.

The entertainment moguls bought a 2-acre hillside estate in Bel Air earlier this year for $88 million, making it the sixth-priciest home purchase in the history of Los Angeles.

In addition to 30,000 square feet of living space housed in six glass-walled structures, the ultramodern property has four outdoor pools, a spa and wellness center, a full-sized basketball court, and a 15-car garage.

Despite holding Forbes' title of the highest-paid celebrity couple in the world, with a combined fortune of $1.16 billion, Beyoncé and Jay-Z took out an eye-popping $52.8 million mortgage from Goldman Sachs for the purchase, The Los Angeles Times first reported.

That leaves the couple with a huge monthly payment of $149,600, according to the loan document, which is public record. The national median home value, for comparison, is $200,700.

Keeping their mounds of cash liquid could be a smart business decision. For starters, it helps to maintain their lavish lifestyle. But it could also allow them to continue investing heavily in tech companies, presumably earning returns greater than the amount of interest they'll pay, considering mortgage rates are still historically low in the US.

"Depending on how their portfolio looks — what they've invested in — I think there could be a huge benefit [to Beyoncé and Jay-Z]. It gives them flexibility, and they could pay the mortgage off anytime," Robert Cohan, a managing director at Carlyle Financial in Los Angeles, told Business Insider.

Based on mortgage applications for new home purchases in July from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the average American applied for a loan of $329,483. At 4% interest over 30 years, that's a monthly payment of $1,573. Beyoncé and Jay-Z will be paying about 95 times as much for their new abode.

Cohan said they most likely had a prior relationship with Goldman Sachs, making it easier to secure the massive loan at a low interest rate.

"In regards to a mortgage this size — $15 million and up — you get into a position where a lender will only look at a mortgage this size if there is a relationship there," Cohan said. "They won't look at it on a transaction basis."

The couple put down 40% of the purchase price — $35.2 million — in cash and financed the mortgage through two separate trusts, public record shows. Their loan is a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage with an initial rate of 3.4%, meaning the rate will stay the same for the first five years and then adjust annually based on Libor, a benchmark rate used by the world's leading banks. Until then, they'll be making interest-only payments.

In Los Angeles and a handful of other pricey markets across the country, jumbo mortgages are issued for loans greater than $636,150. Supersized mortgages are the norm in Bel Air, the ritzy LA neighborhood the couple will soon call home, where the median home value is $3.25 million, according to Zillow.

For a homebuyer looking to secure a jumbo mortgage, at least two years of tax documentation proving steady income is required, as well as a credit score above 720, a favorable debt-to-income ratio, and enough cash in the bank to cover a year of payments. Cohan said Beyoncé and Jay-Z may have had to provide more documents as proof of cash flow if the bank didn't already manage their money.

Ultimately, while there's some risk associated with lending a mortgage this size, he said, the potential benefit to the bank is high if Beyoncé and Jay-Z park their other assets there as well.

"Large financial institutions — Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs — are fighting for these types of clients to manage their money where they can have access to this opportunity," Cohan said.

SEE ALSO: A guide to how Beyoncé and Jay Z spend their billions

DON'T MISS: The salary you need to earn to buy a home right now in 23 of the most expensive US housing markets

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NOW WATCH: Here's how Jay Z and Beyoncé spend their $1.16 billion

• NBC reportedly received two new complaints about Matt Lauer, the former "Today" show co-host who was fired on Wednesday.
• One of the complaints is from a woman who said Lauer invited her to his office in 2001, locked the door from the inside, then sexually assaulted her.
• Multiple current and former NBC staffers also told Variety that Lauer had engaged in rampant sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior during his decades at the network.

A former NBC employee filed a complaint to the network on Wednesday, accusing longtime "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer had summoned her to his office in 2001, locked the door, and sexually assaulted her, The New York Times reported.

The woman told the Times that after Lauer locked the door, using a button under his desk, he asked her to unbutton her blouse, which she did, then pulled down her pants, bent her over a chair, and assaulted her. She said she eventually passed out, woke up on the floor of Lauer's office, and was taken to a nurse by Lauer's assistant.

The former employee told the Times that Lauer had made inappropriate comments to her since she began working as a producer on "Today" in the late 1990s, including asking her whether she had ever cheated on her husband. She said Lauer also once sat uncomfortably close to her in a car while the pair were traveling for a story, then said, "You're no fun" when she moved away.

The woman told the Times that she did not report the assault earlier because she felt helpless and ashamed, she believed she could have done more to stop the assault, and she feared losing her job. She added that Lauer never spoke of the alleged assault, nor made another advance toward her after it occurred. She left NBC roughly a year after the incident.

Multiple women come forward

The allegation was one of two new complaints lodged with NBC against Lauer on Wednesday, after he was fired over an initial complaint from an employee alleging "inappropriate sexual behavior" from Lauer.

NBC News chairman Andy Lack said in a statement on Wednesday morning that the network had reviewed the woman's complaint and had "reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident."

Lack reportedly told NBC staff in a subsequent meeting that the initial complaint stemmed from encounters Lauer and the woman had in Sochi, Russia, during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Lack reportedly said the pair's involvement continued after they returned to New York, two people briefed on the meeting told the Times.

Details from the women's complaints are similar to others reported in a Variety investigation on Wednesday. The outlet published multiple allegations from current and former NBC employees alleging Lauer had engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior during his time at the network.

Two women told Variety that Lauer had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock the door from the inside, which he sometimes used after inviting in women. NBC staffers have since said that many high-level executives at the network had the same buttons in their offices.

NBC insiders also told Variety that Lauer regularly invited women to his hotel room during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

According to Variety, Lauer also allegedly gifted a sex toy to one female colleague, accompanied by a note about how he wanted to use it on her. He was also accused of exposing himself to another female employee after summoning her to his office, then reprimanding her for not participating in a sexual act.

The current and former staffers told Variety that Lauer would frequently partake in crude behavior, including quizzing female employees about who they had slept with, and playing the game "f---, marry, kill," in which he would name female co-hosts he wanted to sleep with.

Several staffers told Variety they had complained about Lauer's behavior to network executives, who they say ignored them.

Lauer issued a statement on Thursday morning, apologizing to the people he hurt.

"There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions," he said. "Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed."

SEE ALSO: The 'Today' show cast mocked workplace sexual harassment in a cringeworthy 2012 segment in which Matt Lauer pretended to be a victim

DON'T MISS: Matt Lauer breaks his silence on sexual-misconduct allegations: 'There are no words'

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NOW WATCH: Megyn Kelly heard rumors about Matt Lauer and 'hoped it wasn't true'

• Music industry titans Jay-Z and Beyoncé have been married since 2008.

• According to Forbes, the couple's net worth comes out to a total of $1.16 billion.

• The pair now have three children: Blue Ivy, and twins Rumi and Sir.

Ever since they collaborated on the song "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" back in 2002, Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been a match made in musical heaven.

Tabloids were quick to speculate whether or not the duo had more than a professional relationship. But even after they tied the knot in 2008, the couple has largely kept quiet about their romance.

But that doesn't mean it's always been smooth sailing for the "Crazy in Love" couple.

In a recent interview with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, Jay-Z opened up about his infidelity, which Beyoncé alluded to in her acclaimed visual album Lemonade.

"You shut down all emotions," the rapper told Baquet. "So even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can't connect... In my case, like it's, it's deep. And then all the things happen from there: infidelity."

Jay-Z went on to reveal the couple used their craft "like a therapy session," making music together in order to heal. The sessions ultimately resulted in reconciliation, along with Lemonade and Jay-Z's album 4:44.

Here's a look back on the relationship of Jay-Z and Beyoncé:

SEE ALSO: A guide to how Beyoncé and Jay Z spend their billions

DON'T MISS: Inside the marriage of billionaire Spanx founder Sara Blakely and entrepreneur Jesse Itzler, who met at a poker game and slow dance to make up after fights

While "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" dropped in 2002, Vulture reported the couple might have initially met as early as 1997.

Source: Vulture

The pair graced the red carpet together for the first time at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. Still, they stayed mum about their relationship.

Source: Vulture

Beyoncé later told Essence the couple both decided they didn't want their romance to be in the spotlight: "What Jay and I have is real. It's not about interviews or getting the right photo op. It's real."

Source: Essence, Vulture

• A prenuptial agreement (or prenup) is a legal agreement couples enter into before they get married.
• Many involve what will happen to the couple's finances should they divorce.
• However, relationship contracts, whether they be a prenup, postnup, or other agreement, can stipulate more than simply who gets what in case of a breakup.

Successful power couples agree upon important issues from the get go.

And whether it's with a legally-binding prenup, or postnup, or a more flexible relationship agreement, they often put it in writing.

"Two egos in a marriage can be great if all the important issues are agreed upon up front," Handel Group co-president and life coach Laurie Gerber previously told Business Insider.

While prenups are traditionally thought of as worst-case-scenario financial planning, relationship agreements aren't always all about the money.

Some of the most important issues couples should agree upon early on include sexual and romantic needs, family boundaries, and who pays for what, and putting it into writing can give a marriage a better chance of success.

Most breakups happen because of cheating, Gerber says: "Couples who face the reality of this threat head-on and deal with it stand the most chance of success."

"Don't be afraid to put it all in writing to refer back to as a living breathing document," she says. "And plan to have meetings about how you are running your marriage and family just as you would for your company or any other project you care about profoundly."

Here are some of the less conventional things successful power couples have put into writing:

SEE ALSO: Successful power couples that stay together have 8 things in common

DON'T MISS: Why successful people get divorced

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan agreed to spend more time together

Before marrying in 2012, when Priscilla Chan moved to Palo Alto, California, she and Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg drew up a relationship agreement.

In it, Zuckerberg agreed to take her on a date once a week and spend 100 minutes of alone time each week with her outside the office or his apartment.

The couple are worth an estimated $74.5 billion.

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake have a clause about cheating

Actors Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake reportedly have an infidelity clause in their prenup that states Biel will receive $500,000 if Timberlake cheats.

The couple are worth an estimated $248 million. 

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban agreed not to tolerate drug or alcohol abuse

Actress Nicole Kidman and singer songwriter Keith Urban reportedly signed a prenup stipulating that Urban, who struggled with alcoholism and cocaine abuse, would receive $600,000 a year for every year they are together, but only if Urban refrained from using illegal narcotics or drinks excessively.

The couple married in June 2006, and in October 2006 Urban checked into rehab for an alcohol addiction.

"Definitely we both met each other exactly at the right time," Urban told People magazine in 2007. "She said early on that she wanted to be brave with me. I feel there was something else at work, bringing us together and then just continuing to watch over us." 

The couple are worth an estimated $205 million.

• Conservative street artist Sabo altered a Los Angeles billboard on Thursday to show Senator Al Franken reaching toward a woman.
• Sabo told Business Insider that he altered the billboard in response to Franken's "refusing to step down" following multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
• Franken was accused by a fifth and sixth woman of sexual misconduct on Thursday. 

A large image of Senator Al Franken reaching for a woman appeared on a Los Angeles billboard Thursday, as The Hollywood Reporter first noted. 

It turns out the billboard is the work of a conservative street artist named Sabo, who told Business Insider in an email that he altered the billboard for the upcoming film "The Greatest Showman" in response to Franken's "refusing to step down" following numerous sexual misconduct allegations against the Minnesota senator.

"The hypocrisy is staggering," he wrote.

Franken was accused of sexual misconduct by two more woman on Thursday, one an Army veteran and the other a former New England elected official, both of whom said Franken inappropriately touched them. Six women in total have now accused Franken of sexual misconduct.

Franken has refused to resign his Senate seat but has repeatedly apologized to the women who have felt disrespected by his behavior and promised to "cooperate completely" with any investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee into his past behavior.

SEE ALSO: Two more women — an Army veteran and a former elected official — have accused Al Franken of inappropriate touching

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Sean Astin describes one thing you probably never knew about 'The Goonies'

CNN's President Jeff Zucker weighs in after "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer was fired amid sexual misconduct allegations. Following is a transcript of the video.

Jeff Zucker: Obviously it's incredibly, incredibly disturbing, what we've learned in the last 24 hours from the reporting from The New York Times and Variety. And incredibly, incredibly sad. First of all, you know you have to feel for the women who endure this and lived with it and have come forward. And you know, obviously I've known Matt for 25 years and I didn't know this Matt.

Mike Shields: You didn’t see this coming?

Zucker: No, look I mean, what's chronicled incredibly well and in Variety and the New York Times is deviant and predatory behavior. And you know, obviously, that is not something that I was ever aware of or had even heard of or had ever been suggested or anything like that. And it's just incredibly, incredibly heartbreaking.

Shields: When you were there at the "Today" show was it, it’s been depicted as a real boys club. A ruckus kind of place, is that a fair characterization?

Zucker: Yeah, so I had been gone from the "Today" show for 17 years. I was at the "Today" show, I was the executive producer at the "Today" show from 1992 to 2000 and that's not the way that I would have characterized the show at all at the time. And you know, obviously, in that time that I was there, I was at NBC for 25 years. For five years in my career, you know, no one ever brought to me or to my knowledge, there was never a complaint about Matt, there was never a suggestion of that kind of deviant, predatory behavior, not even a whisper of it. Nothing like that. So you know I can't say that that's the culture that we lived in.

Shields: What about at CNN right now? I imagine every company in the country is reconciling with this or trying to figure out, “Do we have a problem? What’s going on?” I know that at Jake Tapper’s show there was an announcement yesterday, what’s been going on at CNN in the midst of all this?

Zucker: Yeah look I don’t think it’s just the media world either, right? Obviously. But clearly, the media world is not immune. We had a producer on one of our programs in Washington, “State of the Union,” where there were, there was a behavior that was completely inconsistent with our standards and culture. And we dismissed him last week. And you know look, like the way that NBC was when I was there, the way CNN is today if we are aware of any of that. If any of that is brought to our attention will investigate immediately, and that's what we did last week. And I think that you know, I'm sure that's what's going on everywhere.

Join the conversation about this story »

• A "follow-up" to Vine is being developed by the app's ex-CEO, Dom Hofmann.
• Hofmann said he's personally funding the project.
• Twitter acquired Vine in 2012 and killed the video app roughly one year ago.

Former Vine cofounder and CEO Dom Hofmann is working on a successor to the six-second video app, which Twitter bought in 2012 for roughly $30 million and shut down last year.

Hofmann revealed that he's working on a "follow-up" to Vine in a series of tweets Thursday. He said he would personally fund the app's development as a side project and that his "first priority" is still running a mysterious startup he recently created called Interspace.

Hofmann stepped down from his lead role at Vine in 2014 and more recently worked on an odd app called Byte that quickly fizzled. He declined to comment on Business Insider's request for additional information about how his forthcoming Vine successor would work or when it will be released.

While beloved by its users, Vine struggled to grow its business and retain its most popular creators under Twitter's watch. The app's growth slowly withered until Twitter announced it would shut the app down altogether in October 2016.

Vine's two other cofounders, Colin Kroll and Rus Yusupov, currently run HQ Trivia, the new and increasingly popular live game show app.

You can read Hofmann's tweets about creating a successor to Vine below:

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Vine has officially shut down — we unearthed Trump's deleted account from 2013

• Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle and e-commerce website Goop is the latest entrant on Snapchat Discover.
• Goop will publish a weekly digital magazine on women's lifestyle on the platform every Friday starting December 1.
• Goop was launched  as a newsletter in 2008, and has since expanded into its own brand, which includes e-commerce, product lines and books but says it will not sell products on its channel.

Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle and e-commerce website has found a new home: Snapchat.

Goop is the latest entrant with its own channel on Snapchat Discover, where it will publish a weekly digital magazine  every Friday starting December 1. Discover is Snapchat's content hub, and features a mosaic of content from over 80 publishers, and will soon also include content from individual locations and communities and what it calls "popular accounts."

"Opportunities like Snapchat Discover are a great way for us to bridge the gap with readers who might have heard of Goop, but not actually experienced our content," Elise Loehnen, Goop's chief content officer, told Business Insider. 

True to the brand, each weekly issue will focus on women's lifestyle content — including beauty, fashion and wellness — and will be produced exclusively for Snapchat while reflecting Goop’s editorial perspective and voice. The first edition, which hits Snapchat tomorrow, will for example include stories focusing on relationship advice, tips to achieve emotional wellness, tasty vegan recipes and holiday gift and style guides.

Goop was launched  as a newsletter in 2008, carrying lifestyle and wellness recommendations on food, fitness, fashion and beauty. Since then, it has expanded into its own brand, which includes e-commerce, product lines, books, summits and even an upcoming print publication with Condé Nast. But Goop's Discover channel is an editorial endeavor and will not include shoppable links to its products, said Loehnen.

Instead, the aim is to extend Goop's audience base and target a younger audience. Goop's typical readers tend to be between the ages of 26 and 50, according to Loehnen. Snapchat's audience tends to skew younger.

"We are hoping to tap into a new, younger demographic," Elise Loehnen, Goop's chief content officer, told Business Insider. "And also test new formats for our content that are shorter and more snackable."

Still, Goop is the first-of-its-kind brand to get its own Discover channel, and theoretically other marketing-centric companies dabbling in publishing (like Casper for instance) could follow suit. But Snapchat maintains that it has no plans to let advertisers run their own branded Discover channels.

Goop's weekly Discover issues are initially being rolled out to Snapchat users across the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. But Goop could publish more frequently and broadly if the audience responds.

"We will primarily be paying attention to time spent and completion rates, as we want to be sure that our content is resonating and engaging," said Loehnen. "If it makes sense, we will move to publishing two issues per week, which mirrors our current publishing cadence on the site."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Korean parents are having their kids get plastic surgery before college

• Rapper Jay-Z told The New York Times he's gone to therapy and benefitted from it.
• He started to understand where his difficult emotions were coming from.
• He also learned to depersonalize others' aggression, because he realized they're dealing with their own difficult emotions.

Rapper Jay-Z says he's gone to therapy and benefitted from the process.

In an interview with New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet, Jay-Z said he "grew so much from the experience."

He went on: "The most important thing I got is that everything is connected. Every emotion is connected and it comes from somewhere. And just being aware of it. Being aware of it in everyday life puts you at such a ... you're at such an advantage."

What's more, Jay-Z said he learned how to deal with other people's aggression or difficult behavior:

"You realize that if someone's racist toward you, it ain't about you. It's about their upbringing and what happened to them, and how that led them to this point. You know, most bullies bully. It just happen. Oh, you got bullied as a kid so you trying to bully me. I understand.

"And once I understand that, instead of reacting to that with anger, I can provide a softer landing and maybe, 'Aw, man, is you O.K.?' I was just saying there was a lot of fights in our neighborhood that started with 'What you looking at? Why you looking at me? You looking at me?' And then you realize: 'Oh, you think I see you. You’re in this space where you’re hurting, and you think I see you, so you don’t want me to look at you. And you don’t want me to see you.'"

Jay-Z added that many young men, in order to survive, "shut down all emotions." Possibly alluding to troubles in his own marriage, he said "even with women, you gonna shut down emotionally, so you can't connect," and from there, things like infidelity happen.

Understanding the genesis of your emotions — something Jay-Z said he learned through therapy — is no small feat.

In her 2003 book "Radical Acceptance," psychologist and Buddhist meditation teacher Tara Brach uses the metaphor "dogs in the cellar" to describe how our past experiences continue to influence our behavior today. If you ignore those experiences and try to push them back down — i.e. locking the dogs in the cellar — they only get more powerful. The key is to accept and even embrace the pain, allowing it to dissipate.

The next step is understanding that others are necessarily dealing with their own dogs in the cellar — that, as Jay-Z says, "it's about their upbringing and what happened to them."

Empathy for yourself and for the people you interact with makes life a lot easier.

Read the full New York Times interview here »

SEE ALSO: Inside the marriage of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who sport matching ring finger tattoos, weathered a cheating scandal, and are worth over $1 billion

SEE ALSO: Beyoncé and Jay-Z bought an $88 million house — here's why their $52 million mortgage might be a smart business decision

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how Jay Z and Beyoncé spend their $1.16 billion

• A veteran Spanish-language media executive and a celebrity chef are launching Cocina, a digital media venture focused on Latin food and culture.
• The two executives believe that the timing is right for this publication, given the explosion of Latin influence on culture and the growing US multicultural population.

Social media feeds are already saturated with high-speed food-prep videos, live cooking shows, and endless close-ups of sexy deserts. Time Inc. has even launched a website focused entirely on breakfast.

In all this, is there room for a digital-born publication focused solely on Latin cuisine and culture? A celebrity chef and a Spanish language media veteran think so.

Emiliano Saccone, who previously ran Fox's Spanish language network MundoFox and also headed up global content development for Fox's International channels, has teamed up with restaurateur Aarón Sánchez, a regular on shows like Food Network's "Chopped" and Fox's "MasterChef" to launch a venture called Cocina.

The new media venture is aimed at elevating Latin food and culture at a moment where the U.S. Hispanic population is exploding.

The two entrepreneurs believe that young, digital-savvy Hispanic consumers are looking for an outlet to celebrate their food and heritage.  Moreover, they think a broader set of Americans are ready to graduate from 'Taco Tuesday' to sampling cooking from Argentina, Columbia and other parts of South America.

"As a business guy, when I think about launching something, I start with a gut feeling and vet that against hard data," said Saccone, who is Cocina's CEO. "Right now, there’s both a strong hunch that it's the right cultural moment and there's enough data to prove it." 

Saccone pointed to the music industry as a model for where American tastes are heading (see this past summer's Spanish/English radio smash "Despacito.")

Thus, Cocina will feature a mix of recipe videos and articles, series featuring top Latin chefs and lifestyle content. Think lists like"Five Venezuelan Dishes You Need to Know About" and videos on "Turkey Leftover Quesadillas."  The content will be distributed on Facebook and YouTube, as well as on Wearecocina.com.

As for the business case for the new company (which is launched during a period of digital media consolidation and uncertainty), Sánchez said that all the major food brands in the U.S. are pushing into 'Latin-tinged' products, and as a result advertisers' multicultural budgets are on the rise compared to a few decades ago. 

"Plus, marketers are realizing that in general Latinos are extremely loyal customers," he said.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How couples improved their sex lives in just one week

• Bette Midler took to Twitter to share a video of a 1991 interview, in which she alleges that Geraldo Rivera drugged and "groped" her in the 1970s. 
• In her tweet, Midler asked Rivera to apologize for the alleged incident.
• Rivera drew controversy for defending Matt Lauer's alleged sexual misconduct on Twitter, which Rivera has since apologized for.

On Thursday, Bette Midler shared a video of a 1991 interview she did with Barbara Walters, in which Midler alleges that Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera and a producer drugged and "groped" her in a bathroom in the 1970s. 

"Tomorrow is my birthday. I feel like this video was a gift from the universe to me," Midler tweeted.  "Geraldo may have apologized for his tweets supporting Matt Lauer, but he has yet to apologize for this. #MeToo"

"He and his producer left the crew in the other room, they pushed me into my bathroom, they broke two poppers [the drug amyl nitrite] and pushed them under my nose and proceeded to grope me," Midler told Walters in the interview. 

Rivera's representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

This week, after reports of Matt Lauer's alleged sexual misconduct broke, Rivera took to Twitter to defend Lauer and the "flirty business" of news. 

Five hours later, after the tweet drew controversy and led Fox News to issue a statement distancing itself from Rivera's comments, Rivera apologized for the tweet and called sexual harassment "a horrendous problem
long hidden." 

SEE ALSO: 36 powerful men accused of sexual misconduct after Harvey Weinstein

Join the conversation about this story »

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2017 has been a prolific year for Netflix's original programming.

After starting the year out with a cultural conversation-starter in "13 Reasons Why," the streaming service followed with a string of critically acclaimed new shows, including the serial-killer procedural "Mindhunter" and women's wrestling comedy "GLOW."

To find out which new Netflix original shows released this year are worth your time, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to rank the shows by their composite critical reception.

We excluded any show that did not have enough reviews to receive a designation of "Fresh" or "Rotten." We also did not include docu-series, children's shows, or talk shows, and we used audience scores to break any ties. 

Here are the 26 notable Netflix original shows that debuted in 2017, ranked from worst to best, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: All 54 of Netflix's notable original shows, ranked from worst to best

26. "Disjointed" — 17%

Critic score: 17%

Audience score: 74%

Netflix description: "Pot activist Ruth Whitefeather Feldman runs a medical marijuana dispensary while encouraging her loyal patients to chill out and enjoy the high life."

25. "Marvel's Iron Fist" — 17%

Critic score: 17%

Audience score: 77%

Netflix description: "Danny Rand resurfaces 15 years after being presumed dead. Now, with the power of the Iron Fist, he seeks to reclaim his past and fulfill his destiny."

24. "Gypsy" — 25%

Critic score: 25%

Audience score: 85%

Netflix description: "Therapist Jean Holloway develops dangerous and intimate relationships with the people in her patients' lives in this simmering psychological thriller."

• Jimmy Kimmel and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore exchanged words on Twitter Thursday afternoon after Kimmel's show filmed a segment at a Moore event in Alabama. 
• Kimmel continued to hash the feud out on Thursday night's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" 
• Kimmel agreed to meet Moore "man to man" to discuss "Christian values," which Moore requested on Twitter.
• Moore is running for a US Senate seat in Alabama amid accusations of sexual assault and allegedly pursuing relationships with underage girls.

Jimmy Kimmel got into a Twitter fight Thursday with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore over "Christian values," sparked by a segment Kimmel's show orchestrated on Wednesday at one of Moore's campaign events. Kimmel continued to respond to Moore on Thursday night's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

The feud started after Kimmel sent a "Kimmel Live!" writer to disrupt Moore's speech at an Alabama church on Wednesday night, by shouting phrases like "Does that look like the face of someone who hits on teenage girls," and "Does that look like the face of a molester," while Moore spoke.

Moore is running for an open US Senate seat in Alabama amid accusations of sexual assault and allegations that he pursued relationships with teenage girls while in his 30s. He has denied those allegations.

".@jimmykimmel If you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man. #ALSen," Moore tweeted Thursday afternoon.

"Sounds great Roy - let me know when you get some Christian values and I’ll be there!," Kimmel tweeted back at Moore.

Kimmel read the Twitter exchange during his opening monologue on Thursday night: "And I responded, and he responded back, and I responded again. It's all on Twitter, but the bottom line is this: I accept the invitation. I will come down there."

Kimmel went on to reference a rumor that Moore was banned from an Alabama mall for his interactions with underage girls, and he agreed to meet Moore at that same mall with a group of cheerleaders.

"If you can somehow manage to keep little Roy in your little cowboy pants when those nubile cheerleaders come bounding in," Kimmel said, "we'll have a little Panda Express and we'll talk about Christian values."

Kimmel considered whether Moore's request to "do it man to man" meant that Moore wanted to fight him.

"If you are, I accept by the way. I accept that invitation," Kimmel said. "There is no one I would love to fight more than you. I will put my Christian values aside just for you and for that fight."

Watch the segment below:

SEE ALSO: Steve Bannon plans to hit the campaign trail for Roy Moore in Alabama

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• According to Deadline, Michael Moore is trying to get out of his deal with The Weinstein Company for the release of his next movie, "Fahrenheit 11/9," about Donald Trump.
• Harvey and Bob Weinstein reportedly want back the $2 million they've put into the movie already before allowing him to shop it.
• Moore reportedly believes giving the money back would be morally compromising the movie and could take the brothers to court.

Since allegations of Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct over three decades became public in October, many in Hollywood have wondered what will become of his company, The Weinstein Company, which he cofounded with his brother Bob in the early 2000s after leaving Miramax (which they also founded).

As the ripple effect of the Weinstein allegations has spread to the fields of entertainment, news media, and politics, The Weinstein Company has completely cleared its movie slate for the rest of 2017 and there are reports that it will be sold (though Bob Weinstein denies it).

Now there's news that one of its most coveted projects in production is looking for the exit as well.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore is reportedly trying to find a way to get out of his deal with The Weinstein Company to release "Fahrenheit 11/9," his upcoming documentary on Donald Trump that's also a sequel to his 2004 doc, "Fahrenheit 9/11," about then-president George W. Bush. The first movie holds the record for highest grossing documentary of all time.

According to Deadline, the filmmaker and his reps at WME have been blocked by The Weinstein Company from making a deal with another distributor or premium broadcast outlet.

In May, Moore announced that he was currently in production on "Fahrenheit 11/9," and boasted that the film was "expected to be key in dissolving Trump's 'teflon' shield and, in turn, his presidency." The announcement also stated that The Weinstein Company would release the movie, the title of which refers to the month and day Trump was declared president.

According to Deadline, the Weinsteins put in just over $2 million to date out of the $6 million they pledged for the new Moore movie. If Moore wants to go to another company with the movie, the brothers want the $2 million back first. Moore and his reps believe giving the money back would morally compromise the film and that the Weinsteins should see it as collateral damage from the Harvey scandal, according to Deadline.

Moore and the Weinsteins have a lot of history — both good and bad.

A big reason why the Weinsteins left Miramax was because its parent company, Disney, refused to release "Fahrenheit 9/11," which looked at how Bush allegedly used the tragic events of September 11, 2001 to push his agenda for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Harvey and Bob Weinstein released the movie on their own (with the help of Lionsgate), and later formed the company The Weinstein Company.

The move paid off, as "Fahrenheit 9/11" won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 and went on to make over $200 million worldwide (on a $6 million budget).

But, Moore also had to sue the brothers in 2011 to get unpaid profits from "Fahrenheit 9/11." And now Moore may have to take them to court again.

Deadline believes the filmmaker's best option to get "Fahrenheit 11/9" back would be to go to court and allege fraud against Harvey Weinstein. Basically Moore would have to make the case that Weinstein agreed to be involved with the film though he knew his alleged misconduct was being investigated at the time by the likes of Ronan Farrow at NBC and eventually The New Yorker. 

Moore spoke out against Weinstein's alleged misconduct in a lengthy Facebook post.

Business Insider contacted Moore's rep and The Weinstein Company for comment but did not get a response. However, Bob Weinstein gave this statement to Deadline: "Michael Moore and I always have and still enjoy a good personal and business relationship. With regards to commenting on his future film, I think he would be the best person to speak with."

"Fahrenheit 11/9" should be completed next year.

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• Meghan Markle may have encouraged Procter & Gamble to change the tagline to an advertisement for dishwashing liquid when she was 11.
• The tagline inspired jokes from her male classmates about how women "belong" in the kitchen.
• After Markle wrote letters to Hillary Clinton, lawyer Gloria Allred, journalist Linda Ellerbee, and Procter & Gamble, the tagline was changed.
• Inside Edition resurfaced a 1993 Nick News segment that chronicles the incident.

Meghan Markle may have encouraged Procter & Gamble to change the tagline to an advertisement for dishwashing liquid when she was 11, according to a speech she gave for UN Women on International Women's Day in 2015.

In the speech, she described seeing a TV commercial in school for Procter & Gamble dishwashing soap, whose tagline claimed, "Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans." After two male classmates made a joke about how women "belong" in the kitchen, Markle became frustrated.

"I remember feeling shocked and angry and also just feeling so hurt. It just wasn't right and something needed to be done," she said in the speech.

She told her father about the incident, and he encouraged Markle to make her voice heard. 

"He encouraged me to write letters, so I did, to the most powerful people I could think of," she said, which included Hillary Clinton, civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred, journalist Linda Ellerbee, and Procter & Gamble.

About a month later, Procter & Gamble made the tagline gender-neutral, changing "Women all over America" to, "People all over America."

A young Markle explains the incident in a 1993 Nick News segment on Nickelodeon, which was recently resurfaced by Inside Edition.

The video shows Markle and her classmates watching the commercial as part of a social studies assignment.

You can watch Markle's full UN speech here.

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• "Game of Thrones" actor Jason Momoa said that he believes the final season of the hit series will be the "greatest thing ever aired."
• He said it was also "f--- up a lot of people."
• Momoa played Khal Drogo on the series, and was killed off in the first season.

Former "Game of Thrones" star Jason Momoa told Entertainment Weekly that the final season of "Game of Thrones" will be the "greatest thing ever aired."

Momoa, who played Khal Drogo and was killed off in the first season of the series, recently visited the "Game of Thrones" set in Belfast, Ireland, to meet up with some of his former castmates and buddies on the series. While there Momoa said he was given a rundown of what would happen in the final season of  "Game of Thrones" — and according to Momoa it's going to be "amazing."

"It’s going to be the greatest thing that’s ever aired on TV," Momoa told EW. "It’s going to be unbelievable. It’s going to f--- up a lot of people. And it was a bummer because I’m a huge fan and I didn’t want to know what’s going on. I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t want to know that!'"

There's a never-ending number of theories circulating through the internet, trying to predict what will happen next season. But it's impossible to know for sure what's in store for fans — especially since the series has already run past the books.

Unfortunately fans of the series are going to have to wait a long time, possibly until 2019, before the eighth and final season airs.

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The holiday season is a wasteland for network television, but luckily there will be plenty to watch on Netflix in December.

Netflix has 14 brand-new original shows, documentaries, stand-up comedy specials, and films arriving in December, just in case you get sick of Hallmark Christmas movies. 

There will be a new season of "The Crown," stand-up specials from Judd Apatow and Dave Chappelle, and a sci-fi fantasy crime movie starring Will Smith.

Here's the full list:

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"Dark," season 1 — available December 1

Netflix description: A family saga with a supernatural twist, is set in a German town in present day where the disappearance of two young children exposes the double lives and fractured relationships among four families. In ten, hour-long episodes, the story takes on a supernatural twist that ties back to the same town in 1986.

"Voyeur" — available December 1

Netflix description: "Voyeur" follows Gay Talese -- the 84-year-old giant of modern journalism -- as he reports one of the most controversial stories of his career: a portrait of a Colorado motel owner, Gerald Foos.

"Craig Ferguson: Tickle Fight" — available December 5

Netflix description: Comedian and Emmy-winning television host Craig Ferguson brings his quick wit and offbeat humor to the stage as he returns with his second Netflix original one-hour stand-up special.

Nintendo's mini Super Nintendo is a delightful little box, packed with over a dozen classic SNES games.

It's just got one big problem: The Super NES Classic Edition has wired gamepads, just like the original Super Nintendo. And who wants wires stretching across their living room, from TV to sofa? Nobody. 

Thankfully, there's an amazingly simple, elegantly retro solution from 8bitdo in these wireless Super Nintendo gamepads that cost just $25 apiece.

After playing several different games with 8bitdo's wireless SNES gamepad, I was sold. Check it out:

SEE ALSO: The 5 best games on Nintendo's new $80 mini Super Nintendo

For $25, you get everything below (except for the SNES console itself, of course):

After opening the box, I found four things inside:

- A wireless gamepad

- A micro USB charging cable

- A wireless receiver to plug into your Super NES Classic Edition console

- A bare-bones instruction manual.

Setup is a cinch. All I did was plug the receiver into my SNES Classic Edition, push the Start button on the gamepad, and that was it. It took less than 20 seconds.

Here's a closer look at the wireless receiver:

Nintendo's been using the same controller ports on its consoles since the Nintendo Wii. The bizarre-looking plug you see above is the same one found in everything from the Wii to, now, the Super NES Classic Edition.

You simply open the front face of the console, like you would normally to plug in gamepads:

Only, instead of plugging in the SNES gamepads that comes with the console, you plug in the wireless receiver. Simple!

The wireless gamepad itself is an excellent facsimile of the real SNES gamepad.

From the way the buttons squish to the uncomfortable stiffness of the d-pad, 8bitdo's wireless gamepad is a near-perfect stand-in for the Super Nintendo's classic gamepad. Perhaps you're an absolute purist and want the same colored buttons from the original US Super Nintendo? That's an option!

Even better: Though the Super Nintendo's quad-colored gamepad was exclusive to Europe and Japan, you can get the wireless 8bitdo version in the US. As you can tell from my photos, I prefer the quad-color version.

And yes, both versions cost the same $25.

When an actor gets Oscar consideration it means the person did a performance that was extraordinary, and challenged the audience as much as entertained them. It’s hard to think of anything that can be more of an effort by an actor than intentionally acting poorly. But James Franco’s transformation into Tommy Wiseau should not be ignored.

Who is Tommy Wiseau? He’s only the star, producer, writer, and director behind the cult hit, “The Room.” Released in 2003, the movie made for (legend has it) around $6 million of Wiseau’s money, has since been regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. But in Hollywood, a group of stars championed the movie, showing their appreciation for the effort that went into making the indie and applauding Wiseau’s unique filmmaking choices. That led to Franco having the idea to adapt the book recounting the making of “The Room,” written by Wiseau’s best friend and “The Room” costar Greg Sestero.

“The Disaster Artist” is an extremely entertaining look at two friends (Franco playing Wiseau and Dave Franco as Sestero) who decide to make their own movie after the constant rejection at acting auditions. With incredible detail by James Franco of not just playing Wiseau, but making the reenactments of “The Room” — from the crappy set design and costumes to how awful lines were delivered — is incredible. And you don’t have to be a superfan of “The Room” to appreciate it.

I’m not even going to attempt to explain the plot of “The Room,” or what the heck Wiseau was trying to accomplish with it. All I can tell you is that if you are a superfan, Franco gives you a movie that in no way makes fun of it, but cherishes what it has become: a piece of entertainment that people come together in groups so they can collectively enjoy.

And that’s how “The Disaster Artist” should be experienced. There’s no better example of a movie coming out this year that should be seen with a full theater audience. The energy of the room just heightens the experience. And it doesn’t hurt that Franco brought along the talents of his brother and friends like Seth Rogen and Alison Brie to also star in the movie.

I’m not saying “The Disaster Artist” is the best movie you’ll see this year, but it’s certainly the most fun.

“The Disaster Artist” opens in theaters in limited release Friday and December 8 nation wide.

Here's the trailer:

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This week, Miguel featured J. Cole on an album version of a previous single, Neil Young released his 39th studio album, and rapper DMX dropped an absurd cover of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

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Miguel — "Come Through and Chill" (feat. J. Cole)

Miguel added two emotionally and politically charged J. Cole verses to his previously released, Salaam Remi-produced single "Come Through and Chill." The spare, guitar-led track appears on Miguel's new album, "War & Leisure." 

Wilco — "Myrna Lee"

Wilco released a deluxe edition of its debut album, "A.M.," on Friday, and it features a number of previously unreleased songs. The standout bonus track, "Myrna Lee," has a wistful, country-twang sound that's unlike any of the band's subsequent material. 

The Orwells — "Vanilla"

Illinois-based rock band The Orwells crafts a traditional punk track with "Vanilla," a satirical takedown of the prejudices and "S.U.V.-vanilla" values of "Middle America."