Category: Entertainment

The Indigo Girls have been receiving an outpouring of support and love from fans and famous admirers, after the duo released a video statement in which Emily Saliers got exceptionally frank about how two incurable physical conditions she’s experiencing will adversely affect her vocals on their upcoming tour.

In a clip posted to their Instagram account, with Amy Ray sitting beside her, Saliers talked about how she has been diagnosed with cervical dystonia and an essential tremor — both of which have hampered her ability to sing in a clear and constant tone. Nonetheless, they are forging ahead with the tour, but with full advance warning to the audience that they will notice the difference.

“Unfortunately there’s no cure for these, so the honest fact is that my voice will not be what it was,” Saliers said, briefly becoming tearful amid the otherwise matter-of-fact explanation of what she is dealing with. “That’s really hard for me. … I hate that I’m only 62 and it’s happened to me, but we are both aging. People age. We are trying to look at this organically as a process of our own aging. … I just hope that you can have some grace with my struggles for this particular touring year. We’re gonna work hard to make it good, and then whatever the future holds, we’ll see. … We want to bring you the best show that we possibly can.”

Saliers talked about the medical treatment she has been getting to mitigate the effects of these two conditions on her singing. For the upcoming tour, she said they have been working on altering arrangements, boosting the support they already got from background singers like band mainstay Lucy Wainwright Roche, and making use of “all the modern digital tools that front-of-house engineers use to help singers sound better.” (A huge percentage of modern pop artists use live tuning as part of their concert arsenal, though very few have ever owned up to it.)

Reaction to this revelation was as emotional and positive as might be expected. And their fellow performing artists were among the first to chime in in the comments with applause for how boldly and proactively the Indigo Girls were handling this tough situation.

“What you offer the world is beyond bodies,” wrote Sara Bareilles on Instagram. “Thank you for sharing whatever you have to share. It will be received with so much love and gratitude.”

Posted superfan Brandi Carlile: “This is why these two have been my heroes and the only reason I ever picked up a guitar. Being an @indigogirls fan is a life-long privilege. Indigo Girls fans already have an evolved perspective on aging and a deeper understanding of how badass vulnerability really is. This is because of the music they have given us. Wisdom breeds wisdom.

“To say we have Emily’s back is the understatement of the century,” Carlile continued. “If you love to sing, Emily, sing. We will be there singing with you. We are the luckiest fans in the world – we know our verses, and we know the words to every song. Let’s sing them back at the Indigo Girls louder than ever.”

The Indigo Girls’ video begins with Saliers saying:

“We’re coming to you from Atlanta where we’re been practicing and looking forward to our tour dates that we have for 2026, and we needed to make y’all aware of something. To those of you in our community who have supported us all these years, we’re so grateful for you, and I wanted to be completely forthcoming. We both have talked about this and are in support of each other…

“Many of you have noticed that my voice — maybe all of you have noticed, it’s pretty noticeable — that my voice is not what it once was. So I wanted to share with you that I’ve been diagnosed with two movement disorders. One is called cervical dystonia with torticollis, which basically is in the part of my brain that controls movement. And in other people with this condition, the brain sends signals to tighten muscles… So because of the cervical dystonia, my, head twists to the right and is misaligned. It can cause shaking of the head. It’s impossible for me to hold my head centrally without shaking, things like that. So structurally, obviously, that is problematic for this whole throat area.

“But the other diagnosis, which is harder in fact for me, is an essential tremor. And the essential tremor causes involuntary shakes or movement, and it affects all the parts of my singing apparatus, the larynx, the pharyngeal muscles, my jaw and my diaphragm from which I get all the air for singing. So I’m unable to make the connections muscularly and structurally because of the essential tremor. What else the essential tremor does is give me this — I am gonna call it horrible, because it’s horrible to me — vibrato that I never used to have. I am completely physically unable to hold a straight tone the way I used to.

“And this is what you, our community, have come to, I think, appreciate and love about some of our harmonies is the way we can hold long straight tones together. So I want to give you a heads up about that, in full transparency. I’m doing everything that I can know and that the medical community has advised me to mitigate the symptoms of these two disorders. So that includes therapeutic massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture…. I get Botox shots in my neck and shoulders every three months. That’s sort of the standard line of treatment for these disorders. And I’m also seeing a vocal coach who is an expert in movement disorders for singers, particularly essential tremor.

“Unfortunately there’s no cure for these, so the honest fact is that my voice will not be what it was. That’s really hard for me. Amy’s been super supportive, and we want you to know that as we get ready for these shows, we are doing everything we can to make the songs sound as good as they can possibly sound or ever sound, which includes all the modern digital tools that front-of-house engineers use to help singers sound better. So we’ll be using those and we’ll be working on harmony parts”. Lucy, Wayne, Wright Roach and Lyric and Jeff Fielder will be joining us. We’ll be singing some harmonies.” with the backup-singing musicians. “There may be some new arrangements…

“We wanted together to let you know that this has been going on. I’ve had this diagnosis for a while, but as I say, the conditions get incrementally worse over time. … I hate that I’m only 62 and it’s happened to me, but we are both aging. People age. We are trying to look at this organically as a process of our own aging.

“There are no words to articulate our gratitude for you, our community, who has been with us through our activism and through all the albums and through even our personal struggles through all the years. I just hope that you can have some grace with my struggles for this particular touring year. We’re gonna work hard to make it good, and then whatever the future holds, we’ll see. … We want to bring you the best show that we possibly can. And unfortunately this is a condition that can’t be reversed or mitigated unless there’s some medical breakthrough that hasn’t happened yet. So that’s where we are.”

At this point, Ray added her thoughts.

“We’re just reviewing all the songs. It’s interesting because there’s a lot of things I need to work on, too, and so we’re picking out the strongest songs… You know,we’re not changing things drastically. Basically, we’re bringing Lucy (Wainwright Roche) in a little bit more and that helps support us. And then we are just practicing together to make sure we’re singing together and blending as much as we can in the best way. So we’re doing the work because we love the music and we love you guys. And we don’t wanna just say, ‘Oh, we’re not gonna do it anymore because of this.’ We just want to keep playing and do our best, and I feel like y’all are the best audience ever. And we’re sort of as a community, you know, all going through things. So, so we’re gonna hang together, you know, and just do our thing. And the central message of love and self-esteem and activism and all that, it’s therem and that’s what we want to share.”

“It’s heavy and it’s life,” said Saliers. “We are just telling you because we’re gonna go through this year touring, and we don’t want it to be this thing that people are talking about, that we’re not talking about. Because we expect you guys to believe in yourself. and we want to believe in ourselves. So if we can’t play all your requests, it’s not because we don’t want to, we’re just picking the songs, as Amy said, that work the best. And we hope we can bring you joy and that we can all enjoy these. I mean, I know we all need the bonding, galvanizing power of music together.”

From the response, it seems clear that few if any fans will hold the alteration of arrangements in these shows against them. The message was met with a torrent of enthusiasm for the Indigo Girls carrying on. And some of their contemporaries led the way in the online onset of praise for their honesty and perseverance.

Wrote singer Chely Wright: “You are the definition of authenticity, courage and grace.”

Said Jennifer Nettles: “Forever in both of your corners! Forever a fan! Forever your friend. Your whole community of fans and friends are with you and I will be in the front row clapping the loudest and singing to the top of my lungs!! Your music sings and grows and evolves right along with life. Ever transforming. Thank you for your hearts and support of each other. You are inspiration to us all. See you on the road!!!”

And, posted Glennon Doyle: “Your audience has been aging too, Emily and Amy. We’re entering our Indigo Crones era with you. So much has changed – around us and on us and in us. But you haven’t. You’ve been with us the whole time- writing us through, leading us forward, singing us home. We’re not home yet, so you can’t stop singing. We won’t either. Lead the way Emily- show us how to sing while we shake. There might not be a more important thing to show us in this moment. We love you, Amy and Emily. See you on stage.”

The tour, announced three weeks ago, begins April 24 in Athens, Ohio, and runs through a Sept. 13 closer in Evanston, Illinois. One of the early dates is a May 14 gig in Los Angeles at the Bellwether. They will be opening for Brandi Carlile at the Gorge in Washington state on May 29 as part of a star-studded bill their famous acolyte has put together.

I don’t think we appreciate Oscar Isaac enough.

That thought lingers while watching Season 2 of Netflix’s “Beef,” which arrives to positive reviews and, once again, widespread praise for its performances. It’s safe to say that creator Lee Sung Jin has built a knack for giving actors rich and layered material. But even within an ensemble primed for Emmy attention, Isaac stands apart.

And yet, somehow, this evokes a feeling from the industry and on social media that this is “business as usual” – another great Oscar Isaac performance, another moment that will be admired. Still, it doesn’t seem like a collective “unanimous” sentiment that the industry must reward.

Hollywood has no shortage of actors we collectively agree are underappreciated. Bring up names like Ben Foster, Margo Martindale, Paul Giamatti, Keith David, Nia Long or James McAvoy (and hundreds more), and you’ll find near-universal consensus: How are they not bigger? How are they not more awarded?

Isaac is among those names, too.

It would be easy to reduce this to a familiar truth: Latino actors remain undervalued in Hollywood. That’s part of the story, but it’s not the whole story.

I keep thinking back to a Variety Awards Circuit Podcast conversation I had with Isaac in October 2021, when he was promoting Paul Schrader’s “The Card Counter.” It was still the height of COVID-19, and like many conversations at the time, it drifted between the personal and the philosophical — life, art and representation.

At the time, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” was rolling out in theaters and on streaming, in the hybrid format that studios adopted during the height of the pandemic. Naturally, it prompted a broader discussion about visibility and Isaac offered a perspective that didn’t make the cut. Still, I went and revisited, and it has stayed with me ever since:

“It’s a challenging time because representation is important,” he said at the time. “But for me, what I found really moving wasn’t necessarily my personal story being represented. What moved me was seeing someone Latino being allowed to do everything. That meant everything to me. Like when I found out Raúl Juliá originated ‘Betrayal’ on Broadway as an Englishman — Harold Pinter’s play. The first time it premiered in the United States, a Puerto Rican actor played that role. That meant so much to me — much more than seeing a play about Cuban refugees, which is important, too.”

That idea — the freedom to do everything — is the key to understanding the true representation that the underrepresented seek, and to Isaac’s career.

Yes, Latino stories matter. Latino characters matter. They are not mutually exclusive. Isaac’s artistry has never been confined to identity. His career has been defined by range and a refusal to be boxed in.

For many, the first real jolt came with Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” (2011), where Isaac played Standard, a recently released ex-con who could have easily been reduced to a one-note archetype. Instead, Isaac infused him with vulnerability and desperation, turning a small supporting role into something memorable.

Then came Joel and Ethan Coen’s underrated masterpiece “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013), where Isaac delivered what remains one of the greatest unrecognized performances of the 21st century — a portrait of artistic failure that felt so raw and lived-in. By any reasonable metric, it should have earned him an Oscar nomination, if not the win.

He followed with J.C. Chandor’s crime drama “A Most Violent Year” (2014) and Alex Garland’s sci-fi flick, “Ex Machina” (2015), the latter reinventing the “mad scientist” archetype into something seductive, terrifying, and killer dance moves.

Still, the Oscars looked away.

Television tried to correct the course. In HBO’s 2015 miniseries “Show Me a Hero,” Isaac portrayed Yonkers Mayor Nick Wasicsko, who fought to desegregate public housing. He steered the man with an aching humanity, earning a Golden Globe trophy. The Emmys, however, would shut out the series entirely.

And yet, Isaac has continued to adapt. He moved fluidly between prestige and blockbuster fare — from Poe Dameron in the contemporary  “Star Wars” trilogy, beginning with “The Force Awakens” (2015), to the villainous turn in “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016), to Marvel’s “Moon Knight” (2022) on Disney+. His only Primetime Emmy nomination would come in 2022, alongside his longtime friend Jessica Chastain in the miniseries adaptation of “Scenes From a Marriage.”

The resumé is there. The respect is there. But the awards, consistently, are not.

Which brings us back to “Beef.”

The first season of Lee’s anthology series swept the 2023 ceremony, winning eight Emmys, including outstanding limited or anthology series, along with acting prizes for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong (the first Asians to win their respective categories). Season 2 enters the year with similar ambitions.

The story centers on a young couple (Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny) whose lives become entangled with their volatile boss and his wife (Isaac and Carey Mulligan) after witnessing a disturbing incident at an elite country club. What unfolds is a tightly wound spiral of power, resentment and control.

Isaac plays Josh Martín, a man driven by insecurity and status anxiety, constantly performing a version of himself for those he believes hold power. It’s a slippery, psychologically complex role and one that requires both restraint and explosion. Isaac does deliver both.

Across the sophomore season — and especially in the final two episodes, “The Hour of Separation” and “It Will Stay This Way and You Will Obey” — Isaac peels back Josh’s layers with surgical precision. And while the performance is undoubtedly funny at times and unsettling in others, it ultimately becomes deeply tragic and, honestly, redemptive.

Even in moments of dark absurdity (his sexual “activities” at the laptop), Isaac never loses the character’s core. That’s what separates him in the show. And that’s what has always separated him from his peers in the business.

Best of all, he’s a Latino actor playing a character where we can see that he is Latino, but it’s not the crux of why Josh exists in this story. He just simply — is — in the story.

And still, there’s a lingering question: Will it matter?

Because if history is any indication, Isaac’s work in “Beef” may be admired, even celebrated — but not fully recognized. Only one Latino actor has won the lead actor (limited) award – Jharrel Jerome for the 2019 Ava DuVernay crime drama “When They See Us.” Since then, the only Latino performers recognized in the category have been Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton”) and, coincidentally, Isaac with his 2022 nomination.

His final moment in the series, staring directly into the camera, is among the most compelling reasons why he’s so great. It’s as if he’s asking the audience — and the industry — to finally see him.

The truth is, Oscar Isaac has been doing this level of work for more than a decade. Since his 2022 Emmy-nominated year, Isaac has been quietly creating, and no one has noticed we hadn’t seen him on our screens for three years (he had two voice roles in between). We wouldn’t see him until he took on the titular role in Guillermo Del Toro’s monster epic “Frankenstein.” We shouldn’t have Isaac’s three-year hiatuses. This is a guy who does the work and is ready to do it, but somehow the industry hasn’t caught up.

I hope with “Beef,” that will force them to look, and realize: There’s more meat on that bone.

The Emmy Awards timeline begins with nomination-round voting from June 11–22, followed by the announcement of nominees on July 8.

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” easily retained its box office crown in its third weekend of release, topping the charts with $35 million. The Universal and Illumination release is already the year’s highest-grossing film, having earned $355.2 million domestically and $747.5 million globally, and seems destined to eclipse the $1 billion mark worldwide. At the rate, expect the studios to get more Mario into production as fast as they can level up and Nintendo will allow it.

Amazon MGM Studios’ “Project Hail Mary” also shone brightly in its fifth weekend of release, picking up $20.5 million for a second place finish. That brings the sci-fi adventure’s domestic gross to a stellar $285.1 million. However, the continued success of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and “Project Hail Mary” made it difficult for newcomers to gain much traction.

“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” had to settle for third in its debut weekend, earning a so-so $13.5 million. The Warner Bros. and New Line release didn’t cost much to make, carrying a budget of $22 million, but its final tally will be a far cry from the nearly $150 million that Cronin’s 2023 film “Evil Dead Rise” collected. Horror maestros James Wan and Jason Blum produced “The Mummy” through their production banners, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Productions, and it continues their run of monster movies, falling somewhere between 2020’s well-received “The Invisible Man” ($144.5 million globally) and 2025’s lamentable “Wolf Man” ($35.2 million globally).

The weekend’s other new wide release, Magnolia’s “Normal,” took seventh place, earning $2.5 million. The action film stars Bob Odenkirk as a small town sheriff who stumbles on a larger conspiracy following a local bank robbery. Ben Wheatley, who has developed a reputation for boundary pushing ultra-violence with the likes of “Free Fire” and “High Rise,” directs.

In its third weekend of release, A24’s buzzy relationship comedy “The Drama” took fourth place, earning $4.8 million. The indie film, which stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, has earned an impressive $39.7 million. That’s good news, because Zendaya and Pattinson will appear together in three films this year, popping up in “Dune: Part Three” and “The Odyssey,” not that those blockbuster films will rise or fall on their chemistry alone.

Rounding out the top five, Universal’s rom-com “You, Me & Tuscany” picked up $3.8 million to bring its haul to $14.4 million after two weeks in theaters. In limited release, Focus Features’ “Lorne,” a documentary about “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels, debuted to $270,000 from 415 theaters, while A24’s “Mother Mary, earned $168,063 from just five locations.

The Strokes ended their performance on weekend 2 of Coachella on a note of political protest, capping the set with a video montage that accused the CIA of enacting regime change in foreign countries over the decades, finally concluding with footage of Israel bombing Gaza and the United States bombing Iran.

These several minutes of video commentary came as a surprise to audiences viewing at home as well as in the desert, since it bore no resemblance to how the group rounded out its set the previous weekend. The song that accompanied this statement, “Oblivius,” had not been performed by the Strokes in concert at all since 2016; it included singer Julian Casablancas repeating the statement in the chorus, “What side you standing on?”

As the Strokes wrapped up their final number Saturday night, performing in front of an illuminated mosque backdrop, the footage on the huge LED screens behind them portrayed recent American bombings in the Middle East with the large caption “Over 30 universities destroyed in Iran” — followed by another video clip of a large building in Gaza being destroyed in a controlled explosion, with the caption: “Last university standing in Gaza.”

Most of the long montage took issue with what the band presented as America’s historic misdeeds, from the era of slavery up through America’s missile strikes in Iran. But bringing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict into it at the end was notable, given how the biggest controversy at last year’s Coachella had to do with the group Kneecap using its set to condemn Israel for military actions in the Middle East, albeit in more profane terms.

A fan who posted video of the climax on X wrote: “This was the moment the Strokes ensured they’ll never set foot in Coachella again! I’m so proud of them.” But it seems like a long shot the group will be subject to any such blacklisting, with the Strokes already booked to headline Goldenvoice’s next Southern California festival in August.

Unlike the Kneecap proclamations and video that appeared to take Coachella organizers aback in 2025, the festival appeared to be ready for and accepting of presenting the Strokes’ political statement, with long shots in the live video feed on YouTube making all of the group’s footage clearly visible.

The bulk of the Strokes’ video montage had to do with assertions that the CIA has been responsible for overthrowing governments in South America or even assassinating leaders — along with giving voice to the conspiracy theory that the U.S. was involved domestically in the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. After showing an image of King, a caption read: “US govt found guilty of his murder in civil trial.” (The trial referenced took place in 1999, and was followed by the Justice Department declaring in 2000 that there was no evidence to lend validity to the jury’s verdict.)

Among the other accusations of secret U.S. intervention over the years, the Strokes’ video asserted that the CIA was suspected of involvement in the 1981 plane crashes that killed Panamanian president Omar Torrijos and the president of Ecuador (spelled “Equador” on screen), Jaime Rondos, as well as involved in the overthrow of figures from Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 to Chilean president Salvador Alende in 1973 and Bolivian president Juan Torres in 1976.

Following the climactic portrayal of bombings in Iran and Gaza, the Strokes’ video montage ended with a shot of a bomber plane in the air, as the song abruptly ended.

Much of the reaction to the band’s video commentary at Coachella among their fans was initially positive, with statements on their Instagram posts like “Thank you so much for using your stage to highlight Gaza and Iran and Latin America” and “Amazing show and a bombshell of reality at the end!”

Reaction among pro-Israel music fans and conservative U.S. fans may grow as clips of the performance are further disseminated on social media Sunday. Most followers of the Strokes, however, are likely to be aware of Casablancas’ past support for Palestine, as he signed a 2021 “Musicians for Palestine” letter.

Following the group’s Weekend 1 appearance, the Strokes announced a world tour that will begin in June and run through the fall. It includes an L.A.-area headlining appearance in August at the Just Like Heaven festival at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, produced by Goldenvoice, which also produces Coachella.

Hollywood legends gathered at the Dolby Theater on Saturday night to celebrate Eddie Murphy as he received the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Film Institute.

Spike Lee presented Murphy with the 51st AFI Life Achievement Award, commending the comedian and actor for having been true to himself, prioritizing his family and for being a “great artist” throughout his esteemed career. 

In addition to Lee, an A-list roster of stars turned out to celebrate Murphy’s achievement; Tracy Morgan, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Chris Rock, Arsenio Hall, Judge Reinhold, Kenan Thompson, Robert Townsend, Eva Longoria and Da’Vine Joy Randolph all made speeches over the course of the night, sharing anecdotes about Murphy and what his work and legacy means to them. 

Chappelle, who co-starred with Murphy in “The Nutty Professor,” recalled Murphy as one of his “heroes” growing up. “When I was 14 years old, ‘Raw’ came out and I would go and I would watch it every day after school like I was taking a class,” Chappelle said. “I knew, somehow, this was something really important in my life.”

The comedian also worked with Murphy’s late brother, Charlie, on “Chappelle’s Show.”

“A couple weeks ago, on a whim, I reached out to Eddie and asked if I could come by and visit him… and me and Eddie, for the first time, talked about Charlie since he passed,” said Chappelle. “In the midst of conversation, Eddie was doing this, ‘Man, you should do a ‘Chappelle’s Show’ movie or something like that.’ And I said, ‘Man, that would be tough without your brother.’ So Eddie, if I do it man, do Charlie’s part. And let’s fucking go.” 

A surprise appearance from Stevie Wonder stunned audiences, as the musician recounted how he first learned of Murphy because of his imitations of him on “Saturday Night Live” early in his career.  As the artist joked: “He made fun of a blind man!” Though it was clear there’s no animosity there: “It’s not easy to make people smile, trying to get them to look on the brighter side, but Eddie has a way of getting in our head and hearts to create a belly laugh that eases the pain, builds the bridge and diffuses a situation which makes a real difference. That is power, that is courage and that is the funny man, my friend.” 

The surprises didn’t stop with Wonder — Mike Myers appeared on stage in green “Shrek” makeup, an homage to the 2001 hit film he co-starred in with Murphy, who lent his voice to Donkey, the ogre’s sidekick. “Eddie is one of the greatest,” Myers said. “I never got to work with Charlie Chaplin, I never got to work with Alec Guinness, I never got to work with Peter Sellers, but it is my absolute honor to say and to be able to tell my kids that I got to work with Eddie Murphy.”

Jennifer Hudson also delighted the audience with a “Dreamgirls” musical medley, a tribute to the 2006 film she starred in alongside Murphy — and which earned him a Golden Globe and SAG Award for best supporting actor. 

When Murphy took to the stage to accept his honor, he noted that it couldn’t be coming at a better time — he’s just welcomed his first grandson, third granddaughter and celebrated his 65th birthday earlier this month. “I feel like it’s raining blessings on me,” he said. 

In classic Murphy fashion, things got humorous quick as the comedian cracked a joke about what would’ve happened if AFI had made him wait until he was in his 90s to receive the achievement award: “If you made me wait until I was 92, I would’ve came out here and said fuck everybody… and then I’d get down and shit on the floor,” the comedian said to raucous laughter. “We staved off that happening by getting this award tonight.” 

“I wish y’all could feel what I’m feeling and see what I’m seeing… I’d like to thank everybody for giving me this night that I will remember forever and ever and ever,” Murphy concluded, getting emotional. “I almost, almost teared up. I’m going to get backstage and cry.” 

Over the course of his career, Murphy has appeared in hit films including “48 Hrs.,” “Trading Places,” “Dr. Dolittle,” “Coming to America,” and the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise. Murphy began his career as a stand-up in the 1980s, joining the cast of “Saturday Night Live” at 19-years-old and giving viewers a number of unforgettable characters, like Velvet Jones, Buckwheat and Gumby.

Earlier in the evening, Oscar-winning cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw received the Franklin J. Schaffner alumni medal, an honor she described as “really beautiful.” “The last time I was here was for the Oscars, and then to receive this honor with someone I grew up with watching on television before I even knew that I was going to be in the film industry, before I knew I wanted to be a cinematographer,” Arkapaw told Variety on the red carpet. “He was so important in my trajectory of enjoying films on the big screen and just feeling like the theater was a place for me to go to and escape. And so now to be here with him, it’s really cool.”

Most recently, AFI presented the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award to Francis Ford Coppola in 2025. Previous recipients include Julie Andrews, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

As previously announced, “The 51st AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Eddie Murphy,” will premiere on Netflix on May 31, marking the first year the AFI special will be available to stream on the platform.

The Strokes ended their performance on weekend 2 of Coachella on a note of political protest, capping the set with a video montage that accused the CIA of enacting regime change in foreign countries over the decades, finally concluding with footage of Israel bombing Gaza and the United States bombing Iran.

These several minutes of video commentary came as a surprise to audiences viewing at home as well as in the desert, since it bore no resemblance to how the group rounded out its set the previous weekend. The song that accompanied this statement, “Oblivius,” had not been performed by the Strokes in concert at all since 2016; it included singer Julian Casablancas repeating the statement in the chorus, “What side you standing on?”

As the Strokes wrapped up their final number Saturday night, performing in front of an illuminated mosque backdrop, the footage on the huge LED screens behind them portrayed recent American bombings in the Middle East with the large caption “Over 30 universities destroyed in Iran” — followed by another video clip of a large building in Gaza being destroyed in a controlled explosion, with the caption: “Last university standing in Gaza.”

Most of the long montage took issue with what the band presented as America’s historic misdeeds, from the era of slavery up through America’s missile strikes in Iran. But bringing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict into it at the end was notable, given how the biggest controversy at last year’s Coachella had to do with the group Kneecap using its set to condemn Israel for military actions in the Middle East, albeit in more profane terms.

A fan who posted video of the climax on X wrote: “This was the moment the Strokes ensured they’ll never set foot in Coachella again! I’m so proud of them.” But it seems like a long shot the group will be subject to any such blacklisting, with the Strokes already booked to headline Goldenvoice’s next Southern California festival in August.

Unlike the Kneecap proclamations and video that appeared to take Coachella organizers aback in 2025, the festival appeared to be ready for and accepting of presenting the Strokes’ political statement, with long shots in the live video feed on YouTube making all of the group’s footage clearly visible.

The bulk of the Strokes’ video montage had to do with assertions that the CIA has been responsible for overthrowing governments in South America or even assassinating leaders — along with giving voice to the conspiracy theory that the U.S. was involved domestically in the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. After showing an image of King, a caption read: “US govt found guilty of his murder in civil trial.” (The trial referenced took place in 1999, and was followed by the Justice Department declaring in 2000 that there was no evidence to lend validity to the jury’s verdict.)

Among the other accusations of secret U.S. intervention over the years, the Strokes’ video asserted that the CIA was suspected of involvement in the 1981 plane crashes that killed Panamanian president Omar Torrijos and the president of Ecuador (spelled “Equador” on screen), Jaime Rondos, as well as involved in the overthrow of figures from Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 to Chilean president Salvador Alende in 1973 and Bolivian president Juan Torres in 1976.

Following the climactic portrayal of bombings in Iran and Gaza, the Strokes’ video montage ended with a shot of a bomber plane in the air, as the song abruptly ended.

Much of the reaction to the band’s video commentary at Coachella among their fans was initially positive, with statements on their Instagram posts like “Thank you so much for using your stage to highlight Gaza and Iran and Latin America” and “Amazing show and a bombshell of reality at the end!”

Reaction among pro-Israel music fans and conservative U.S. fans may grow as clips of the performance are further disseminated on social media Sunday. Most followers of the Strokes, however, are likely to be aware of Casablancas’ past support for Palestine, as he signed a 2021 “Musicians for Palestine” letter.

Following the group’s Weekend 1 appearance, the Strokes announced a world tour that will begin in June and run through the fall. It includes an L.A.-area headlining appearance in August at the Just Like Heaven festival at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, produced by Goldenvoice, which also produces Coachella.