From the poster that may have taken down Spider-Man to new rules for the Grammy Awards, here's what's happening in entertainment.
No Spider-Man in UAE
Despite the global success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the film was recently removed from several theaters across the United Arab Emirates.
No explanation was offered from Empire Entertainment, the Middle East distributor of the project, for the abrupt removal of the movie but some are speculating that the film's brief inclusion of a poster that says "Protect Trans Kids" in the background of a scene was the reason, according to the Associated Press. The official Saudi Cinema Twitter account posted a picture of the poster with a statement that said the organization does not approve of films that oppose the nation's content regulations.
Across the Universe is just the latest film to meet this fate. Disney's Lightyear was banned in several Muslim-majority countries because of a scene that showed two women kissing.
Royal Podcast Ends
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's short-lived run at Spotify has come to an end.
The audio streaming giant, along with the couple's podcast production company, Archewell Audio, announced that the two entities are parting ways. While the split was mutual, Variety reports couple has wanted out of the deal for some time and is considering other partnerships.
On the other hand, the outlet also reported that Spotify was not satisfied with the number of podcasts they produced. The pair delivered just one series since they struck the deal in 2020.
The royals took a hiatus from producing shows after Queen Elizabeth II died in September. The cancellation comes at the same time Spotify declined to re-up other notable deals, including Barack and Michelle Obama. The company announced last week that it is laying off 200 people as it restructures its podcast division.
Grammy Rules
The Recording Academy continues to implement changes as it looks to tweak the Grammy Awards.
The latest changes are coming to the most prestigious awards of the night: Best New Artist, Song, Album and Record of the Year. Instead of each category featuring ten nominees, they have been reduced to eight, which was standard prior to the 2022 ceremony.
Another interesting change, the Recording Academy announced that only human creators will be eligible for awards. This comes as music created by artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace. Earlier this week the organization also announced the addition of three new categories.
