The Oscar-winning actor made the comments in a forthcoming episode of Tea With Judi Dench a Sky Arts programme in which she speaks with Sir Ian McKellen about their lives, careers and friendship.

“It’s a private matter, but nobody should ever feel that they can’t intrinsically be themselves,” Dench said in an excerpt reported ahead of the programme’s broadcast.

She added that nobody should be made to feel they had to declare anything about themselves, including their “sexuality, religion” or age.

“It’s not about what we do but as long as people can live authentically as themselves, I feel that that is quite important,” Dench said.

The remarks form part of a conversation between two longstanding friends, one of whom is openly gay and has spent decades speaking publicly about LGBTQ+ rights and the importance of personal freedom.

McKellen reflects on coming out and Section 28

McKellen is expected to discuss coming out as gay and his role in opposing Section 28, the policy introduced under the government of Margaret Thatcher that prohibited local authorities from “promoting” homosexuality.

The actor is also expected to speak about what he has described as one of his greatest regrets: not telling his parents the truth about his sexuality.

In the programme, McKellen also warns that rights that are established can still be removed.

“We should always be alert to the possibility that established rights can be removed,” McKellen said, according to the previewed interview.

He continued by saying that telling younger people how freedoms were won could, “one day, regrettably, come in handy.”

The discussion therefore connects McKellen’s personal experience of concealing his sexuality with the wider history of legal and political battles affecting LGBTQ+ people in the United Kingdom.

A friendship spanning the stage

Dench and McKellen have been friends for more than five decades and have appeared together in several stage productions.

Their shared theatrical work includes *The Promise* in 1967, *Too True To Be Good* in 1975 and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 1976 production of *Macbeth*.

A preview clip shows McKellen telling Dench that he had been “in the depths of stage fright” before receiving her support.

“What magic empathy you had,” McKellen tells her in the clip.

The programme’s wider conversation covers Shakespeare, performance anxiety and the insecurities associated with acting in major film franchises.

It also addresses their experiences of global fame through Dench’s work in the James Bond films and McKellen’s roles in *The Lord of the Rings* and the *X-Men* films.

The special was filmed at Dench’s home in Surrey.

Dench described the project as a privilege and said she was pleased to share the experience with McKellen.

She also said the programme would capture moments of friendship and continue the conversations begun in the series’ first instalment.

Broadcast details

*Tea With Judi Dench* is a one-hour special produced by Mindhouse for Sky Arts.

The programme is scheduled to air on Monday, August 31, on Sky Arts, Freeview and the streaming service NOW.

The preceding episode featured Sir Kenneth Branagh speaking with Dench at her Surrey home.

Sky said the new episode would continue the programme’s focus on conversation, storytelling and friendship.

The production’s executive producer is Nancy Strang, while Laurence Turnbull is credited as director and Suzy Burnet as production executive.

The programme’s discussion of sexuality is presented through McKellen’s own account of coming out and Dench’s support for the principle that people should neither be prevented from being themselves nor compelled to disclose private aspects of their identity.

Groff said that when Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) co-artistic director Daniel Evans emailed to ask whether he would consider playing Rosalind, he replied with the subject line “Holy f****** s***.”

The invitation followed Evans’s experience of seeing Groff perform as Bobby Darin in the Broadway musical Just in Time.

Groff’s casting places a Tony Award-winning Broadway performer in the central role of Rosalind for his first appearance with the company.

The RSC’s All-Male Production

The RSC has announced that every role in the production will be performed by men, including the play’s female characters.

Rosalind is one of Shakespeare’s most prominent roles. In the play, the character disguises herself as a young man named Ganymede after being banished from the court, creating a layered theatrical identity that continues through much of the comedy.

The RSC has described the production as a celebration of love in its different forms.

The casting announcement is significant because the staging marks the first all-male production under the RSC's current artistic leadership of Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey.

Daniel Evans is directing the production. Because Evans is also the RSC’s co-artistic director, this staging forms part of the company’s main artistic programme rather than a separately presented visiting project.

Cast and Creative Team

The production features Fisayo Akinade as Celia, Elliot Barnes-Worrell as Orlando, and Gary Wilmot in the dual roles of Duke Frederick and Duke Senior, alongside Richard McCabe as Jaques and Greg Haiste as Touchstone.

The full acting company also includes Giles Cooper, Jamal Franklin, Steffan Harri, Steffan Hughes, Rhys Parry Jones, Edward Judge, Gareth Kennerley, Luke McCall, Tim Preston, Caleb Roberts, and Gareth Snook.

The creative team includes set design by Anisha Fields, costumes by Colin Richmond, lighting by Ryan Day, and sound by Paul Groothuis, with composition by Theo Jamieson and movement direction by Michela Meazza. Voice direction is led by Patsy Rodenburg and Paula Stephens, with fight direction by Kev McCurdy and dramaturg Dr. Will Tosh.

Why the Casting Has Drawn Attention

The production combines a major British classical-theatre institution with a leading Broadway performer who is widely known for musical-theatre work and screen roles.

Groff has received particular recognition for his performances in Spring Awakening, Hamilton, and Merrily We Roll Along, as well as for voicing Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen films.

His role as Rosalind represents a move from his recent portrayal of Darin, a 1950s American singer and entertainer, into one of Shakespeare’s most demanding romantic-comedy parts.

The RSC’s production also revives a long-established theatrical convention in which men performed women’s roles on the Elizabethan stage.

That historical context does not define Groff’s personal identity, and the available reports describe the casting as a theatrical decision concerning the production’s company and artistic concept.

Performance Dates

The production is scheduled to run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from September 26 through November 7, 2026. The press night is scheduled for October 6.

The RSC’s announcement of the completed cast on August 17 supplied the most recent confirmed production information before Groff’s comments about his initial reaction were reported on August 24.

For Groff, the opportunity will mark his RSC debut and his first Shakespeare role with the company. His four-word email subject, as reported with profanity partially masked in published accounts, has become the clearest public expression of his enthusiasm for joining the production.

Introducing Harcourt during her opening monologue on Thursday, August 20, O’Donnell called him her “new man-crush” and joked, “Dear Lord, help me.”

O’Donnell said Harcourt had appeared in Hamilton and The Lion King, while also joking that he had occupied her dreams “every night for the past six weeks.”

She then clarified that her admiration was not a declaration of changed sexual orientation, saying, “I’m still a lesbian,” before adding the comic phrase, “Though tonight, I’m just a little less-bian.”

The segment followed earlier comments from O’Donnell about Harcourt during an interview with comedian Amy Poehler, in which she described him as exceptionally talented and said her admiration did not translate into wanting sexual intimacy with him.

Harcourt’s Role in CATS: The Jellicle Ball

Harcourt’s performance as Rum Tum Tugger was central to O’Donnell’s enthusiasm. The production reimagined Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1982 musical through the lens of New York City’s underground ballroom scene.

In this staging, Rum Tum Tugger was presented as a swaggering, frequently shirtless character, an interpretation that O’Donnell repeatedly referenced while discussing Harcourt’s performance.The production debuted Off-Broadway at the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) in Lower Manhattan. Following an incredibly successful, heavily extended run, the production officially closed on August 11, 2026.

The critically acclaimed show received nine Drama Desk Award nominations and won three, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical. The production was directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.

O’Donnell’s Five Visits

O’Donnell told Harcourt that she saw CATS: The Jellicle Ball five times during its run.

She said the performances were sold out and included standing ovations during the show.

O’Donnell also recalled seeing Harcourt perform up close after serving as a guest judge, saying she was not prepared for the effect of his performance and joking that she thought she might have a heart attack.

During the late-night appearance, she described her reaction as unexpectedly making her think that “maybe things are different than I already thought.”

Her remarks were framed as humor and admiration rather than a claim about her sexual identity.

Harcourt on Confidence and Representation

During the interview, O’Donnell told Harcourt that she could not take her eyes off him onstage and praised him as both a singer and a dancer.

Harcourt said he initially felt pressure to perform what he believed “the sexiest cat” should look like.

He said an associate encouraged him to stop trying so hard, after which he began experimenting with doing less rather than exaggerating the character’s sex appeal.

According to Harcourt, the audience response grew stronger as he relaxed into the role, leading him to realize that he could simply be himself.

He described the production as the kind of representational work he wanted to pursue and said the show could make a major impact.

Harcourt also said he had grown up painfully awkward and shy and had been bullied.

He connected his work as Rum Tum Tugger with developing greater confidence and discovering a sense of personal swagger.

The Interview’s Broader Context

The exchange aired during O’Donnell’s fourth and final night filling in for Jimmy Kimmel.

ABC’s schedule identified Harcourt as a guest on the August 20 episode alongside Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Shawn Hatosy.

Harcourt’s appearance was also promoted as an interview about CATS: The Jellicle Ball, the production’s closing and his appearance in Playgirl.

The actor also released his first single, “Deviant,” on August 20, according to the interview coverage.

For O’Donnell, the appearance combined a farewell to a recently closed Broadway production with a comic tribute to a performer whose work had made a strong impression on her.

For Harcourt, the conversation offered an opportunity to discuss the artistic choices behind Rum Tum Tugger and the personal confidence he said the role helped him develop.

The segment’s central joke remained consistent throughout: O’Donnell’s “man-crush” was presented as platonic, while her admiration for Harcourt’s stage presence was unmistakable.

The remarks became a subject of renewed attention after Kirk’s eviction and an interview in which Entertainment Weekly asked him to explain a conversation he had with fellow houseguest Rick Devens.

During that conversation, Kirk saw houseguest Drew wearing pajamas belonging to Mallory and said, “Miss me with the drag stuff, miss me with the women’s clothes. I’m still an MMA guy, and I have an image to uphold.”

The comment was criticized by viewers who interpreted it as homophobic or as suggesting that wearing clothing associated with women or drag was unacceptable.

Asked what he meant, Kirk rejected the characterization that he intended to express hostility toward drag or toward Jason De Puy, who performs in drag as Salina EsTitties.

“Oh, no, no, man,” Kirk said when asked about the criticism.

Kirk Says He Loves Jason Personally

Kirk said his relationship with Jason had been affected by the game but maintained that the dispute was not personal.

“With the whole comment, I love Jason,” Kirk said.

“On a personal level, I love Jason,” he added, while explaining that their interests in the competition had not aligned and that there had been tension between them in the game.

Kirk also referred to Jason’s eviction, saying he felt bad seeing him upset and had attempted to console him, although Jason did not accept the gesture at the time.

Kirk said he understood that emotions were high during the eviction and again described his feelings toward Jason as personal rather than strategic.

Gold Derby reported that Kirk said he had a “really good relationship” with Jason during the first two and a half weeks of the competition.

Kirk’s comments came after former Big Brother contestant Frankie Grande described the original remark as homophobic, according to Gold Derby.

Kirk told Gold Derby, “I was not trying to offend any community. I love Jason.”

A Statement About Personal Choice

In his Entertainment Weekly interview, Kirk framed his explanation around personal autonomy.

“And Jason and all those guys, they can dress however they wanna dress,” Kirk said. “And that’s cool with me.”

Kirk then said he wanted the same freedom to choose how he dressed without being pressured to adopt clothing or a presentation in which he did not feel comfortable.

“But I also wanna be able to dress the way that I wanna be able to dress and feel comfortable dressing without people putting pressure on me to dress a certain way either,” he said.

Kirk concluded that part of the interview by saying he loved Jason personally, that Jason could do whatever he wanted and that he was asking for the same respect in return.

The distinction Kirk drew was between his own unwillingness to participate in drag and what he described as his view that other people should be free to dress as they choose.

His explanation does not erase the wording of the original exchange, which specifically linked rejecting “drag stuff” and women’s clothes with maintaining an image as an MMA fighter.

That wording was the basis for the criticism reported by entertainment outlets and discussed by viewers online.

Jason’s Drag Persona and the House Controversy

Jason De Puy is identified in the coverage as a professional drag performer whose drag persona is Salina EsTitties.

The comments therefore drew particular attention because Jason was part of the season’s cast and because the conversation concerned gender expression while he was in the house.

Out reported that the conflict became more personal after Kirk was heard making additional comments about Jason, including, “I’m going to blow his whole spot up. I’m going to end that man’s whole career.”

Out also reported that Salina EsTitties responded to the controversy after Kirk’s comments circulated.

The available Entertainment Weekly interview did not include a response from Jason or Salina to Kirk’s explanation.

Kirk was asked whether he would attend a performance by Jason as Salina.

“I’m not sure,” Kirk replied, while saying he hoped to see Jason on the show’s finale night.

Kirk said he would like to hug Jason and make clear that he loved him “on a human level” and hoped they could become friends.

What Kirk’s Explanation Does—and Does Not—Establish

Kirk’s interview establishes his stated intention: he says he did not mean to offend an LGBTQ+ community, does not object to Jason or other people dressing as they wish and wants his own clothing choices respected.

It does not establish whether Jason accepted that explanation or whether the two have reconciled outside the house.

The account also does not change what Kirk said in the original exchange, which remains the central reason viewers and commentators characterized the remarks as anti-drag or homophobic.

For now, Kirk’s public position is that the comment was not intended as an attack on Jason, drag performers or LGBTQ+ people, while his critics continue to focus on the language he used and its implications.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle described O’Donnell as “a nasty woman and a total slob” and said that her “brain has been completely destroyed by Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

The statement followed O’Donnell’s recurring jokes about Trump during her appearances on the program, including remarks concerning Natalie Harp, identified in reports as a White House aide.

The White House response was reported on Friday, August 21, after O’Donnell’s final scheduled appearance in the guest-hosting series.

O’Donnell’s Guest-Hosting Run

O’Donnell began guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday, August 17, during a period when Jimmy Kimmel was away from the program.

National Public Radio reported that O’Donnell, a longtime Trump critic, referred to the president as “Mango Mussolini” during her opening monologue.

During the first episode, O’Donnell also joked that Trump was in the White House crying because she had not mentioned him.

USA Today reported that O’Donnell continued taunting Trump in subsequent monologues, sometimes avoiding his name and using alternative references such as “Velvito Corleone.”

On the second night of her run, O’Donnell credited Trump with helping make her famous again while accusing him of reviving “fascism and the measles,” according to Fox News.

Trump responded to that appearance by sharing a meme on Truth Social that portrayed O’Donnell in several everyday settings with Trump appearing in a thought bubble.

The meme carried the caption, “She is OBSESSED!”

Final Monologue

O’Donnell’s weeklong run concluded Thursday, August 20, with a musical parody directed at Trump. According to PEOPLE, she performed a satirical version of the Irish folk song “Danny Boy” and dedicated it to “a very special boy,” referring to the president.The White House response was issued the following morning, Friday, August 21, as a formal rebuttal to her entire hosting stint. In a follow-up inquiry by TheWrap later that afternoon, spokesperson Davis Ingle doubled down on the administration's stance, reiterating that the comedian was a “nasty woman” and a “total slob.”The exchange represents a continuation of a public dispute between Trump and O’Donnell that began long before Trump entered electoral politics.

A Long-Running Public Feud

The feud gained national attention in 2006, when O’Donnell criticized Trump during her time on The View.

Trump later referred to O’Donnell in insulting terms during the first Republican presidential primary debate in 2015.

The dispute has resurfaced repeatedly as both figures have commented on one another in television appearances, interviews and social media posts.

O’Donnell moved to Ireland in January 2025, according to earlier reporting by The Associated Press, which said she had discussed returning to the United States when she believed it was safe to do so.

Trump said in 2025 that he was considering taking away O’Donnell’s U.S. citizenship, a prospect legal experts described as outside presidential authority for a native-born American citizen.

That earlier episode is separate from the latest dispute, which centers on O’Donnell’s television appearances and the White House’s August 21 statement.

Political and Media Context

The response came amid continuing tensions between the Trump administration and late-night television.

The Associated Press reported that ABC had sued the Federal Communications Commission over a challenge to its broadcast licenses, with the dispute emerging after a joke by Jimmy Kimmel angered the president.

Trump has previously called for Kimmel to be fired, according to The Associated Press.

O’Donnell’s guest-hosting appearance therefore placed a longstanding Trump critic behind the desk of a program whose permanent host has also been a frequent target of presidential criticism.

The White House has not announced any further action against O’Donnell beyond the statements reported by entertainment and news organizations.

The latest exchange remained focused on personal attacks and late-night satire rather than a formal government policy announcement.

Johnston discussed the experience in a Cosmopolitan video interview published this week, reflecting on the overlap between his professional life and his private process of coming out.

“Back then, it was terrifying because I sort of came out to myself and then others around me during that time,” Johnston said, according to TheWrap.

He described himself as being “in complete and utter denial” while growing up in the South, adding that the prospect of coming out after moving to Los Angeles became more complicated when he immediately landed a role as a gay character.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna come out to L.A., and then all of a sudden I have ,’” Johnston recalled.

Playing Corey Bryant on *Teen Wolf*

Johnston joined Teen Wolf during the series’ later seasons and played Corey Bryant, a student whose storyline included a relationship with Mason Hewitt.

Corey was also portrayed as having supernatural abilities, including the power to become invisible, within the show’s fantasy narrative.

The role required Johnston to perform romantic scenes despite his discomfort with his sexuality and limited experience with on-screen intimacy at the time.

In a video interview published in July, Johnston said he was “still wasn’t comfortable with my sexuality at the time” he played Corey, and that he had not understood how strongly the character would affect viewers.

Johnston has said that he was initially anxious about filming scenes involving an on-screen boyfriend, including kissing, because he had not previously had that kind of experience on camera.

His recent comments place those professional anxieties alongside the personal pressure of coming to terms with his identity.

The response from LGBTQ+ viewers

Johnston has also recalled receiving messages from LGBTQ+ fans who said Corey’s story helped them feel seen during difficult periods in their lives.

Some viewers told him that the character helped them accept themselves or speak with their families about their sexuality, according to reporting on Johnston’s interviews.

Johnston has said that those responses also affected his own relationship with his identity, helping him recognize the value of portraying Corey authentically even while he was not yet fully comfortable being open about himself.

The account illustrates a distinction between performing a fictional character’s identity and publicly naming one’s own: Johnston could play a gay teenager while still privately negotiating what coming out meant for him.

From Teen Wolf to Obsession

Johnston is now receiving renewed attention for his leading role as Bear in Obsession, a 2026 psychological horror film directed by Curry Barker.

The film follows Bear, a music-store employee who is secretly in love with his friend Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, and who uses a supernatural object in an attempt to make her love him.

*Obsession* was released in cinemas on May 15, 2026, by Focus Features and Universal Pictures.

In interviews surrounding the film, Johnston has said that he would like to choose a more deliberate and meaningful queer role in a future project, potentially writing such a project himself.

He has also emphasized that a character’s sexuality does not necessarily determine whether he wants to play the role, while expressing interest in stories in which queer identity is treated with greater depth and intention.

A retrospective on representation

Johnston’s comments arrive as audiences continue to reassess the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in popular television and film.

For Johnston, Corey Bryant was both an acting opportunity and an unexpected part of his personal journey, although he has been clear that the circumstances were frightening rather than straightforward.

His reflections do not suggest that playing a queer character automatically resolves the challenges of coming out; instead, they describe how a role, its audience and an actor’s private understanding of self can intersect in complicated ways.

Johnston’s recent success with *Obsession* has brought that earlier work back into focus, linking his current visibility as an openly gay actor with the role he played before he was ready to be publicly open about his own sexuality.

Janney made the comments during the first episode of Coming Up, a CNN interview series hosted by Elizabeth Wagmeister.

The series features conversations with performers about the career experiences and pivotal moments that shaped their work.

In the interview, Janney said she was very young and trying to find an agent when she attended the meeting.

“‘What can you play? Aliens and lesbians,’” Janney recalled the agent asking and answering.

Janney said the agent’s remark was connected to her height.

“I’ve played lesbians,” Janney said in the interview.

“I haven’t played an alien yet,” she added, before joking that she might play one in the future.

CNN’s account of the interview described Janney as an Oscar-winning actor discussing her Emmy nomination and career with Wagmeister.

Height and typecasting

Janney is widely described as six feet tall, or approximately 1.83 metres.

In a separate portion of the CNN conversation, Janney said people assumed that being tall and imposing reflected her internal personality, although she said it did not.

The interview therefore connected the agent’s comment not only to a physical characteristic but also to the assumptions that can accompany an actor’s appearance.

CNN promoted the segment under the headline “How an agent completely misread the talent of this Oscar winner.”

The wording reflects the focus of the segment, but neither CNN nor Janney’s interview establishes how many roles the agent discussed or whether the remark represented a formal industry-wide assessment.

The comment also illustrates the use of “lesbian” as a role category rather than as a description of a person’s identity.

Janney’s wording was about the kinds of characters she was told she could portray, not a claim that lesbian people share a particular appearance or personality.

A career beyond the prediction

CNN said Janney’s major Hollywood breakthrough came when she was 40.

That account presents her career as developing later than the conventional path often associated with leading screen performers.

Janney became broadly known for playing C.J. Cregg on The West Wing, according to biographical material about her career.

She later received major recognition for film and television work, including an Academy Award for her performance in I, Tonya.

Her screen roles have included characters who were not defined by her height, including political figures, parents, professionals and other dramatic and comic parts.

The 2026 CNN interview was released while Janney was nominated for an Emmy for her role in The Diplomat.

CNN’s pre-Emmy series included Janney among a group of Emmy-nominated performers interviewed by Wagmeister.

The interviews began rolling out on CNN platforms during the Emmy voting period beginning August 17.

Lesbian roles and representation

Janney’s reference to lesbian roles has drawn attention because she has played LGBTQ+ characters during her career.

Her earlier work has included a lesbian character in The Hours, in which she appeared as a partner of Meryl Streep’s character.

Janney has also spoken publicly about LGBTQ+ themes and lesbian roles in past interviews.

In that 2017 conversation, she discussed her connection to LGBTQ+ audiences and her interest in playing women who love women.

Those earlier comments are separate from the 2026 CNN interview and do not establish that the agent’s prediction influenced the roles Janney ultimately accepted.

Coverage of the new interview has appeared in entertainment and LGBTQ+ media, including Variety, PinkNews, Attitude and Australia’s Star Observer.

The reports consistently identify the CNN interview as the immediate source of Janney’s recollection.

Janney’s response in the interview was lighthearted, but the recollection describes an early professional judgment that reduced her potential to a narrow set of stereotypes based on her appearance.

Her subsequent career, as documented by CNN and biographical sources, encompassed a much wider range of performances.

The full Janney episode of *Coming Up* is available through CNN’s digital platforms for subscribers.

Paulson appears near the end of the roughly two-minute preview, with shaved eyebrows, straggly blond hair, pale makeup and visibly damaged teeth as she adopts Wuornos’ appearance.

In the scene, a voice says that “no one really knows what happened that day,” referring to the 1892 murders associated with Lizzie Borden. Paulson’s Wuornos responds, “Oh, I fuckin’ know what happened.”

The trailer does not present Wuornos as the season’s central character; instead, her appearance connects Borden’s case to the series’ wider examination of women accused or convicted of extraordinary violence.

A Season Focused on Lizzie Borden

The new season stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, the Massachusetts woman whose father and stepmother were killed with an axe in Fall River in 1892.

The case became one of the most enduring criminal mysteries in United States history after Borden was accused of killing Andrew Borden and Abby Borden.

Borden was acquitted at trial, but the case continued to shape public fascination with women accused of violent crimes.

The trailer depicts Beatty’s Borden surrounded by blood, family conflict and suspicion as investigators attempt to determine who could have committed the killings.

One investigator says, “No way a woman could do this. This is the work of a man,” establishing the gendered assumptions that appear to shape the investigation in the dramatized story.

The preview also features Vicky Krieps in dual roles as Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, a Borden family maid, and Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th-century Hungarian noblewoman often described in popular history as a serial killer.

Paulson and Wuornos

Wuornos was a convicted serial killer who was executed in Florida in 2002 after being convicted of killing seven men between 1989 and 1990.

Her life and crimes were previously dramatized in the 2003 film Monster, in which Charlize Theron portrayed Wuornos and won the Academy Award for best actress.

Paulson’s casting marks a new screen portrayal of Wuornos, this time within an anthology series that places her alongside other historical figures associated with violence, criminal prosecution and public mythmaking.

The role reunites Paulson with Murphy, whose television projects have included American Horror Story, American Crime Story and earlier seasons of Monster.

Netflix’s Tudum describes Paulson as a recurring presence in Murphy’s creative universe and identifies Wuornos as her character in the new season.

The trailer’s brief scene leaves the precise nature of Wuornos’ involvement unclear, and Netflix has not said that the season will retell Wuornos’ life in full.

The Creative Framework

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is the fourth season of the anthology series created by Murphy and Ian Brennan.

The anthology previously dramatized the cases of Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez, and Ed Gein.

The new season shifts the focus to a woman at the center of a highly publicized 19th-century murder case.

The trailer uses familiar elements of the Borden case, including an axe, blood-covered clothing and the nursery-rhyme line commonly associated with the killings.

Netflix’s preview also emphasizes the language of power and freedom, with Krieps’ Sullivan declaring, “There’s nothing wrong with blood. Blood is power. Blood is freedom.”

Those lines are part of the series’ scripted dramatic presentation and do not establish historical facts about the real people portrayed.

The casting and trailer therefore position the season as a dramatization of Borden’s case rather than a documentary account.

Release Date and Cast

All eight episodes of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story are scheduled to premiere globally on Netflix on September 17, 2026.

In addition to Beatty, Paulson and Krieps, the announced cast includes Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden and Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden.

Billie Lourd is also listed among the season’s cast.

Netflix released an earlier teaser on August 11 before issuing the full trailer on August 20.

Paulson’s appearance is the full trailer’s most unexpected casting reveal, but the season’s narrative remains centered on Borden and the events surrounding the deaths of her father and stepmother.

The series will be available to stream when its scheduled September 17 premiere arrives.

The video used Grande’s 2024 single “we can’t be friends ” as its soundtrack while showing footage of Donald Trump walking toward a rally podium.

Text displayed over the footage began with a lyric from the song: “Me and my truth we sit in silence…”.

The message then stated, “Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.”

The post’s caption reportedly said, “This shouldn’t be controversial!” and included the hashtags “#trump,” “#arianagrande” and “#maga.”

Grande responded in the comment section with a direct demand: “Never use my music again.”

She added, “Also, your truth is false.”

Audio Removed From the Post

Grande’s response was reported after the video appeared on TikTok on Thursday, August 20.

Deadline reported that Republic Records, Grande’s label, was working to remove the song from the clip.

The song was subsequently removed from the post, according to reporting by Them and El País.

Them also reported that Grande’s comment was visible at one point but later appeared to have been deleted or removed by the account operating the post.

The available reports do not establish whether the music was removed following a formal copyright complaint, a licensing dispute or another platform action.

The incident therefore centers on two distinct issues: Grande’s rejection of the video’s political message and her objection to the use of her recording in that message.

A Message About Transgender People

The video’s language referred to transgender women through the claim that “men” should not compete in women’s sports.

News organizations described the post as anti-transgender or transphobic because it presented a political position opposing transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.

Grande did not issue a separate policy statement in the reporting reviewed for this article.

Her public response was directed at the use of her music and at the assertion presented in the video as “your truth.”

The wording of the post invoked Grande’s lyric about “truth” before attaching it to the statement about pregnancy and sports.

Grande’s Earlier Objection

The TikTok dispute follows another disagreement between Grande and the Trump administration over the use of her music.

In June, Grande criticized the White House after a video featuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used her song “Bye.”

Grande wrote in response to that earlier post, “Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense.”

The “Bye” audio was later removed from that video.

Variety reported in June that a representative for Grande confirmed her comment about the ICE video and that her team was working to remove the audio.

The latest dispute is therefore the second reported instance in two months in which Grande has challenged the Trump administration’s use of one of her recordings in social-media content.

Broader Debate Over Artists’ Music

The episode reflects a recurring conflict between political campaigns and musicians over the use of copyrighted songs in campaign-related videos.

Deadline listed Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Katy Perry, Kesha, Radiohead, Noah Kahan, Jess Glynne and Kenny Loggins among artists who have also objected to the Trump administration or its supporters using their music.

Those examples involve different artists, songs and circumstances, and the reporting reviewed does not establish that they share the same legal basis.

In Grande’s case, the immediate outcome reported by multiple outlets was the removal of “we can’t be friends ” from the Team Trump video.

Grande’s comments remain the clearest public indication in the reporting that she did not want her music associated with the video’s message about transgender people and women’s sports.