Benzinga Buzz: Don And Tucker Lawyer Up, Disney V. DeSantis, Jerry Springer & More

Each week, Benzinga Buzz compiles the latest entertainment news into a cohesive column for your consideration. Read on for the latest updates — both useful and irreverent.

Ronnie Gets Served

• In recent years, Walt Disney Co. DIS donated almost $300,000 to right-wing legislators who would go on to sign the Parental Rights in Education Act (aka the "Don't Say Gay" bill). Shrewd! Protests ensued.
• When Disney spoke up and opposed the law, Florida Governor and guy-who-definitely-rooted-for-Sid-in-"Toy Story" Ron DeSantis got really upset and stripped the company of its corporate privileges. "Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end ... There’s a new sheriff in town," DeSantis said in a total non-villainy way.
• Ronald didn't stop there. He quashed Disney's plans to develop 40-square acres of Florida land. Disney clapped back with a 77-page lawsuit. So now, the House That Mickey Built is taking DeSantis to court and likely wishing upon a star that a judge throws the book at him. Ah, books. Those are the things DeSantis doesn't mind banning.

Lemon Squeezed Out

• CNN's new boss, Chris Licht, made a name for himself running shows like MSNBC's “Morning Joe” and “CBS This Morning” — clearly a morning person. Don Lemon? Not a morning person. Lemon is a 17-year prime-time vet and a solo act who relished in back-and-forth debate after 10 p.m.
• Then, suddenly, Lemon was miscast in a trio with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. He had to be perky, share the spotlight and wake up at an ungodly hour to chat with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. What size coffee can prepare you for that?
• At one point, Lemon's heated exchange with Ramaswamy got so awkward, Harlow checked out of the conversation entirely and started scrolling on her phone. Now, Lemon is out of a job, Poppy is happy and viewers still don't care who Ramaswamy is.
• What's weird is Lemon and Tucker Carlson — the recently-extinguished torchbearer over at Fox Corp FOX FOXA — both hired the same lawyer to handle their respective exits. That's like if The Flash and his arch nemesis Captain Cold both called Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, for legal counsel after getting kicked out of the Super Friends and Legion of Doom on the same day. Yes, reader, I did watch Hanna-Barbera cartoons as a kid.

Swift Rebuttal

• FTX managed to dupe "Shark Tank" star/investor Kevin O’Leary. Taylor Swift was smart enough not to fall for it. O'Leary, whose ego isn't at all bruised, recently suggested that the only reason Swift didn't invest in FTX was that the exchange "blew up first." But FTX was in talks with the pop star months before it went bankrupt. Nice try, Kev.

Jerry Springer

• When I was a kid and home from school for the summer, breakfast was usually spent with "The Jerry Springer Show" blasting on the kitchen TV. This week, chants of "Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry!" and lines like "Let's bring 'em out!" echoed in my brain when I heard that Springer died at age 79.
• I was so captivated by the characters Springer featured on stage. They revealed secrets, lashed out at each other, threw chairs, shouted expletives and revisited past indiscretions — like Andy Cohen's Bravo reunion shows, but dialed up to an 11.
• But whereas Cohen's shtick is ending each show with a shot of alcohol, Springer was pensive. He always concluded with a "Final Thought" segment that offered sage advice, and signed off with a motto we should all live by: "Take care of yourselves... and each other."

Other Benzinga Celebrity Coverage.

• Will Smith. Facebook is "Keeping His Wife's Name Out Of Their Mouth..." by Chris Katje
• Lady Gaga. "How The Fame Monster Went Bankrupt Before Growing Her $150M Fortune" by Adam Eckert
• Kevin Durant. The Phoenix Sun star is "A 'Shoe-In' For This Exclusive Club That Includes Michael Jordan & Lebron James" by AJ Fabino
• Erykah Badu. "How The Star Rolls Her Massive Spliffs" by Javier Hasse
• Michael B. Jordan. "Championing Financial Literacy For Black Students And Athletes" by Bibhu Pattnaik

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