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When Amy Winehouse released her sophomore album, Back to Black, in 2006, its vintage ’60s-inspired sound, brassy horn sections and her unmistakable soulful delivery helped propel her to international stardom.

Twenty years later, the album’s influence was on full display in London, where producer Mark Ronson reunited with the Amy Winehouse Band and an all-star lineup of female vocalists to celebrate the record that changed both their lives. Mark Ronson, who co-produced Back to Black with Salaam Remi, led the 20th anniversary concert on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Roundhouse in Camden, the London neighborhood Winehouse called home.

Their story began with a meeting in New York in March 2006. The two bonded over their love of ’60s music, and Ronson was so inspired that he came up with the piano riff for the album’s title track overnight, People reported. They went on to make a record that would win Winehouse five Grammys and earn Ronson the Grammy for Producer of the Year.

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Ronson has since become one of music’s most in-demand hitmakers, working on Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” Lady Gaga’s Oscar-winning “Shallow” and the Barbie soundtrack. But at the tribute, he made it clear who the real genius was. Before performing “Love Is a Losing Game” with Yebba, he admitted that the song’s chords were so complex that he asked Winehouse to play it herself. “Amy’s musicality, she was like a monster, and I definitely want everybody to know that.” he told the crowd.

Backed by the Amy Winehouse Band, which included the original musicians who once toured with her, an all-female lineup served vocals and sang the album from start to finish. Ronson chose Jessie Reyez to close with “Rehab,” saying she reminded him of Winehouse because her writing is so raw.

The night ended with “Valerie,” the Zutons cover Winehouse recorded for Ronson’s 2007 album, Version. It never appeared on Back to Black, but it became one of the songs fans tie most closely to her, a reminder that the partnership produced more than one album’s worth of magic.

“I can’t believe I got to be involved with that record,” Ronson said.

Winehouse died in 2011 at just 27. As Back to Black turns 20 on Oct. 27, the people who knew her best are still making sure the world hears her voice. 

Some red carpet moments are pure magic for movie fans, and seeing Ellen Barkin and Rosanna Arquette together celebrating their long friendship was an absolute showstopper.

Stepping out side-by-side, the duo exuded effortless confidence as they posed for photographers. Their joint appearance brought a refreshing dose of cool, sophisticated star power to the event, leaving pop culture lovers buzzing over the unforgettable reunion of two of cinema’s most magnetic talents.

While Arquette shared a candid look at their reunion on her Instagram account, strict privacy settings on the post keep it from being embedded directly. However, the energy of the special evening was unmistakable as the longtime friends gathered in New York City to mark the major milestone.

Her caption read, “I was truly honored to receive the inaugural Mary Dunn Award, presented last night by RestoreNYC. And especially touched to be introduced by my dear friend, Ellen Barkin.”

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She concluded, “It was a powerful and deeply meaningful evening honoring the courage and resilience of Epstein survivors. Being surrounded by so many dedicated advocates, activists, supporters, and good men who stand as allies in the fight for justice made the evening all the more inspiring. An unforgettable evening of courage, solidarity, and a shared commitment to making a difference.”

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for NAMI

The women last reunited for a photo op at a performance of THIS IS CRAZY! to benefit The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on October 13, 2026, in Beverly Hills, California.

Both Arquette and Barkin carved out distinct paths that set them apart in Hollywood. Barkin captivated audiences with her fierce, sharp intellect and unmistakable magnetic presence in films like Sea of Love and The Big Easy. Meanwhile, Arquette brought an effortless, bohemian cool and emotional depth to defining favorites like Desperately Seeking Susan and After Hours.

Posing together years later, they celebrate enduring female friendship in an industry that rarely gives female-led bonds the spotlight they deserve. Fans and followers celebrated their enduring friendship.

RELATED: ‘Titanic’ Star, 74, Stuns With Waist-Length Gray Hair in New Interview

“That’s fantastic, Rosanna. Huge congrats. What a wonderful evening and what a wonderful honor,” wrote one Instagram follower.

“Double beauties,” exclaimed a second fan.

A third admirer noted, “Congratulations and thank you for your continued advocacy. I’m a huge fan of your work since Baby It’s You, a fave of mine, but your work for community and justice is inspiring, and I love Ellen too. Much love to you both!”

Ellen Barkin and Rosanna Arquette continue to know how to command a room with effortless poise and cool charisma. Arquette’s Mary Dunn Award victory was a major milestone, but having her longtime friend right by her side made the night an absolute win for her and for movie fans.

Related: ’80s Screen Icons Look Ageless as Star Rocks Stunning Platinum Blonde Hair in Rare Reunion Photo

We could all use a little more magic in our lives, and sometimes the best way to do that is to create it ourselves by decorating our space. This includes our outdoor areas, too, and solar lights are a fantastic way to add whimsy and wonder. Right now, Costco is selling one of the most charming sets of mushroom solar lights that do just that.

Infinity X1’s Glass Solar Mushroom Landscape Lights transform your garden into a wonderland. The magical yellow and red mushroom variations bring brightness and color to your backyard, garden or patio. It’s like stepping into a page from your favorite storybook. If red and yellow really are your vibe, they also come in a multi-colored white, blue, red and orange splatter design.

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Infinity X1 Glass Solar Mushroom Landscape Lights, 2-pack, $64.99 at Costco

These charmingly whimsical outdoor lights are solar-powered, meaning they charge by sunlight. When installing them in your yard or garden, place the solar panel in direct sunlight for best results. When fully charged, each mushroom emits five lumens of light and lasts 10 hours on a full charge.

Related: Target’s ‘Fresh and Modern’ 8-Piece Glass Mixing Bowl Set Rivals Pyrex

What the Reviews Say

Costco

Shoppers love these mushroom solar lights, giving them an average rating of 4.6 stars on Costco.com.

“I am obsessed with these glass mushroom lights. They give off a beautiful Alice in Wonderland feel without looking cheesy or clownish. The hand-blown glass is gorgeous, and each mushroom has its own unique character. During the day they’re colorful garden art, and at night they glow with a warm, whimsical light that makes my landscape look straight out of a fairy tale. The solar charging works great, and they were easy to set up. I placed them among my rock bed and flowers, and they’ve become one of my favorite features in the yard. I’ve already had neighbors ask where I got them! If you’re looking for something fun, artistic, and a little magical for your garden, these are absolutely worth it. Highly recommend!” raved one fan in a five-star review on Costco’s website.

You can find these enchanting mushroom solar lights on Costco.com or in select stores. They come in two-packs for $64.99.

Related: Aldi’s Stand Mixer Is Giving Major KitchenAid Vibes for Less

When Sam Simon was told that he only had three months to live in 2012, he wanted to give back to what mattered most to him.

Best known as the co-creator of The Simpsons, Simon was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer that later metastasized to his liver and kidneys. He was given three to six months to live, and he immediately arranged for his fortune to be left to various charity causes.

“The truth is, I have more money than I’m interested in spending. Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013.

Simon ended up living for another three years, before passing away in his home in Los Angeles on March 8, 2015 at 59 years old.

Grave of television producer and writer Sam Simon at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, Los Angeles, California.

Walter Cicchetti / Getty Images

On top of being an amazing writer and producer, Simon was a huge advocate for animal rights and veganism. In 2000, he joined PETA and eventually self-funded The Sam Simon Foundation two years later, which has a mobile clinic that provides free surgeries for cats and dogs, as well as rescuing and retraining shelter dogs who might otherwise be euthanized. He explains that the foundation aims to rescue dogs and train them to be service dogs to eventually help people with disabilities.

He told Maria Shriver of NBC in an interview months before his death that most of his fortune will go to The Sam Simon Foundation, and thought his reasons for that were “selfish.”

“A lot of it’s selfish. I get to watch these animals that have been in concrete bunkers their whole life. I get to watch them take their first steps on grass,” he said.

Producers Gavin Polone and Sam Simon protest against NBC’s ‘Animal Practice’ on September 19, 2012 in Burbank, California. 

Imeh Akpanudosen / Getty Images

Simon started his career as a writer quickly after he graduated from Stanford University. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was produced and he ended up serving as the comedy’s showrunner. Over the next few years, Simon wrote and produced for Cheers, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, The Super and other film and TV shows.

Simon co-developed the animated series The Simpsons, an animated sitcom that satirizes American life through the misadventures of the Simpson family — Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie — who are living in the fictional town of Springfield. The show first premiered on the Fox network in 1989 and has remained on air since.

The Simpsons has won 37 Emmy Awards out of over 100 nominations, as well as 34 Annie Awards and two Peabody Awards. Simon himself has nine Emmys: seven from The Simpsons and two for The Tracey Ullman Show, which he worked on as a writer and executive producer from 1987 to 1989.

The Simpsons is currently airing its 38th season, which premiered on Sept. 27. New episodes air weekly on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on Fox during broadcast season, and Disney+.

Related: In 1995, Dolly Parton began mailing free books to kids in her home Tennessee county; by 2026, her Imagination Library had gifted over 330 million books

Inside Graceland, few people knew Elvis Presley’s everyday world better than Nancy Rooks, who served as his personal cook for a decade.

Before her own passing in 2022, Rooks looked back on her special bond with the icon, sharing the touching last conversation she had with him before his death in August 1977. The archival interview was conducted by Gary James for the website Classic Bands.

Rooks recalled the last time she saw Presley alive on the morning of August 16, 1977, just hours before his passing. Though decades have passed, the poignant memory of that final morning stayed with her for the rest of her life.

She shared, “I worked there ’til ’77 when Elvis passed. I was there. I was the only one of the maids that was there, because one of them was sick and the other one was at home because she worked nights. The other one had left me that morning to go home so she could get some rest, so she could come back that evening.”

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Rooks continued, “I was really left there alone that day, that Tuesday. But I told her that I could handle it, which I could. If he needed anything, his Auntie [Delta Presley Briggs] and I was both gonna fix it anyway.”

Then, she shared her last interaction with the King of Rock and Roll. Rooks explained, “So, he came in early that morning from the racquet club, him and one of the other bodyguards. He stood on the steps waiting to go upstairs, in the kitchen.”

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

She continued, “I said, ‘You want some breakfast Mr. Elvis?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t want anything to eat now. I just want to get some sleep. But what I would like to have is some water.'”

“I said, ‘Well, OK. That’s no problem.’ So, I told Pauline [Nicholson] to take him some water upstairs. Pauline said, ‘I ain’t never known him to grab that water and drink it like he drank it this morning.’ I said, ‘He’s probably just tired. He just came from playing racquetball and probably was hot. That’s why he was probably drinking the water like he drank it.’ She said ‘But I ain’t never seen him do that before,'” Rooks concluded of their last interaction.

Before returning home, Presley, his girlfriend Ginger Alden, his cousin Billy Smith, and Billy’s wife Jo played racquetball in a court located on Graceland’s property.

RELATED: Elvis Presley: The Mystery of One of Graceland’s Most Iconic Features Explained

Additionally, Rooks added that she would have gone up to check on the entertainer after he retired, but did not because his girlfriend, Ginger Alden, was there with him. She claimed, “If she had not been up there, I would’ve been checking on him. His Auntie would’ve gone up there and checked on him. We don’t let him be up by himself without anybody checking on him.”

Additionally, Rooks recounted her working relationship with Elvis in a video interview with The Spa Guy in 2019.

Rooks continued working at Graceland after Presley’s death in August 1977 for six years. She revealed, “I was still working there. We were all cooking and cleaning for his grandmother. We’d go upstairs and clean up there properly maybe once or twice a month to make sure it didn’t get too dusty up there.”

Nancy Rooks and Elvis Presley’s Uncle, Vester Presley, authored the Presley Family Cookbook. Additionally, she wrote an account of her time working for the King of Rock and Roll in the book Inside Graceland.

Related: Graceland Unveils Touching Vintage Photo Capturing Elvis Presley in His Favorite Role as Lisa Marie’s Dad

Cracker Jack, the classic American snack food, became one of the most recognizable popcorn brands in the market thanks to an invention by the Rueckheim brothers in the 1890s.

Known for its caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts, the beloved treat built a lasting place in American snack history.

Frederick “Fritz” William Rueckheim, a German immigrant and his brother, Louis, introduced a different kind of finger food consisting of popcorn, caramel and peanuts, along with molasses, corn syrup, sugar, salt, vegetable oil and soy lecithin.

With its initial brand name, Candied Popcorn and Peanuts, the brothers combined common ingredients to create a distinctive snack with its own flavor, texture and identity.

In 1893, they reportedly introduced an early version of the snack, specifically the famous peanut and popcorn mixture at the Chicago World’s Fair.

Three years later, the Rueckheim brothers adopted the name “Cracker Jack,” along with the slogan “The More You Eat, The More You Want.”

Boxes of Cracker Jack are stacked at a Costco Wholesale store on April 27, 2025 in San Diego, California.

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

In 1896, they officially trademarked the product in Chicago, Illinois, where they operated their candy and popcorn business.

As The Cracker Jack Company grew, the brothers launched Cracker Jack’s first mascots, Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo, in 1916 and registered them three years later.

Interestingly, the sailor boy’s image had a personal touch as it was inspired by Robert Rueckheim, the grandson of Frederick Rueckheim, while the now-famous dog was based on a real stray dog named Russell.

Nearly seven decades after the Rueckheim brothers introduced their signature snack, the Cracker Jack brand became the center of a corporate bidding war.

In 1964, the family sold The Cracker Jack Company to Borden, which outbid Frito-Lay to acquire the popular snack maker.

In the late 1990s, Borden shifted its focus toward grain products and pasta, leading the company to sell Cracker Jack to Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, in 1997.

From selling more than 137,754,000 boxes of Cracker Jack in 1927, the business grew into a multimillion-dollar brand, generating $68 million in sales in the United States.

“We are proud of every one of our products and their fifty-year records of purity and reliability,” Frederick Rueckheim wrote in the company’s 50th anniversary book.

Related: In 1948, Marie Callender sold her family’s only car to start a wholesale pie bakery; 46 years later, ConAgra paid $140 million for her recipes

Imagine this all-too-common parenting scene: Your child walks through the front door after school, eyes brimming with tears and shoulders slumped in defeat. They lost their favorite jacket on the playground, or perhaps their best friend chose to sit with someone else at lunch. Every protective, loving instinct inside you immediately kicks into overdrive. You want to erase their pain, wrap them in reassurance and make everything better right away. So, you reach for a quick, comforting phrase that feels like second nature: “Look on the bright side, honey—it’s not that big of a deal!” or “At least you still have your other friends!”

It sounds gentle, supportive and completely well-meaning. But mental health experts warn that these knee-jerk platitudes may actually be doing subtle, long-term damage to a child’s emotional development.

When parents default to immediate optimism in the face of a child’s distress, they engage in a phenomenon known as “brightsiding“—a form of toxic positivity disguised as empathy. While intended to console, this relentless push toward silver linings sends an unintended message: uncomfortable emotions like sadness, disappointment, anger and anxiety are unacceptable to express.

Over time, children internalize this cue and learn to mask their true internal states to protect their parents’ comfort, effectively training them to bottle up their feelings when they need support the most. Understanding why this behavior happens—and how to cultivate authentic emotional validation instead—can fundamentally transform your parent-child connection and build genuine resilience that lasts a lifetime.

Related: This Label That Well-Meaning Parents Give to Their Kids Can Actually Be Detrimental, Child Psychologists Warn

Why ‘Brightsiding’ Backfires on Developing Minds

Parenting is an inherently emotional journey, and watching a child experience emotional pain often triggers a parent’s own discomfort or anxiety. As a result, brightsiding usually isn’t an intentional effort to dismiss a child, but rather an automatic coping mechanism adults use to regulate their own stress in the moment.

According to Dr. Max Doshay, CEO and Co-Founder of Monima Wellness in San Diego, CA, brightsiding frequently stems from an adult’s desire to maintain emotional balance.

“At its core, brightsiding often comes from a desire to maintain emotional balance—but more so for the comfort of the person offering it rather than the individual experiencing the distress,” he stated in a past Parade article on brightsiding phrases.

He then explained that brightsiding becomes a way “to sidestep uncomfortable emotions or conversations by clinging [to] or focusing exclusively on relentless optimism.”

When a child’s genuine grief or frustration is met with phrases like “everything happens for a reason” or “at least,” it oversimplifies their complex experience and leaves them feeling deeply isolated in their struggle.

Related: 35 Common Toxic Positivity Phrases To Stop Using—Plus, What To Say Instead

Similarly, Dr. Lienna Wilson, PsyD, a licensed psychologist in Princeton, NJ, emphasized in the same Parade feature that brightsiding acts as a form of invalidation masquerading as support when a listener hesitates to sit with heavy emotions.

“From that perspective, it can be viewed as gaslighting or toxic positivity,” she said

Using silver-lining phrases can teach kids that their innate emotional reactions are incorrect, dramatic, or unwanted. When children repeatedly hear statements like “just cheer up” or “look on the bright side,” they absorb the belief that their painful feelings make the adults around them uncomfortable, prompting them to hide their vulnerability moving forward.

Moving Beyond ‘Look on the Bright Side’ To Build Real Resilience

The subtle pressure to suppress negative emotions often originates from one of the most common statements in modern parenting: “I just want my kids to be happy.” While it sounds like the ultimate goal of loving parenthood, experts urge parents to examine the hidden burden behind it.

In another Parade article on this unhelpful parenting phrase, Dr. Robyn Koslowitz, PhD, a licensed psychologist and trauma-informed parenting expert, explained that treating happiness as the primary benchmark sets up an unrealistic standard.

Related: We Asked 4 Child Psychologists What Parenting Style Is Best—They All Said the Same Thing

“Happiness is not a natural human state. Happiness is a fleeting emotion,” she pointed out.

When parents frame constant happiness as the goal, uncomfortable emotions begin to feel like personal failures rather than normal, informative parts of the human experience.

Dr. Koslowitz highlighted key categories of phrases that parents frequently use that inadvertently teach children to avoid processing their feelings. And while she doesn’t call them “brightsiding” phrases, they do something similar:

• “Erasing the feelings” phrases: Saying “You’re fine,” “It’s not a big deal” or “Big kids don’t cry” directly tells a child that their emotional reaction is incorrect or excessive.
• “Minimizing the feelings” phrases: Platitudes starting with “At least…” or “It could be worse” offer cognitive reframing when the child actually needs empathy and presence.
• “Rushing the feelings” phrases: Statements such as “You’ll get over it” or “It’ll be OK” push children to fast-forward through discomfort instead of learning to sit with it.
• “Replacing the feelings” phrases: Demands like “Look on the bright side” or “Think positive” insist on swapping out a heavy emotion for a pleasant one before the child has processed what happened.

Instead of rushing to fix every tear or setback, parents can build true emotional capacity by expanding their child’s ability to tolerate discomfort. Rather than forcing a silver lining, try stepping into their world with a validating response: “I know this feels really hard right now, and I am right here with you.”

By creating space for sadness, frustration, and worry, you teach your child that no emotion is dangerous—and that they never have to carry hard feelings alone.

Adapted from Parade’s “Why You Shouldn’t Ignore These 6 Common ‘Brightsiding’ Phrases, Psychologists Warn” by Shelby Deering and “‘I’m a Psychologist, and I’m Begging Parents to Stop Using This 1 Common Phrase’” by Dr. Robin Koslowitz, PhD.

Up Next:

Related: ‘I’m a Positive Psychology Researcher—This Is the 1 Thing I’m Begging People To Stop Doing During Hard Times’

Sources:

• Dr. Max Doshay is the CEO and Co-Founder of Monima Wellness in San Diego, CA.
• Dr. Lienna Wilson, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist in Princeton, NJ.
• Dr. Robyn Koslowitz, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and trauma-informed parenting expert.

In October 2006, Amy Winehouse handed the world an album that felt less like a collection of pop songs and more like an open wound set to music.

Back to Black was messy, vulnerable, and completely uncompromising, capturing the devastating aftermath of Winehouse’s split from Blake Fielder-Civil in real time. Led by sharp-witted songwriting and a voice that sounded like it had lived a hundred lives, Winehouse took her deepest heartbreak and transformed it into a cultural phenomenon.

Twenty years later, the album’s raw emotional power hasn’t faded. Winehouse’s songs hit every bit as hard as they did the day Back to Black was released. The LP stands as a powerful reminder of just how brilliant a songwriter and singer she really was.

Apple Music recently ranked Back to Black at No. 8 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of All Time, cementing its place alongside the most celebrated records in music history. Official Charts ranked the LP at No. 11, one of the biggest in British chart history.

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On Oct. 27, 2006, Winehouse released Back to Black three years after her debut album, Frank, which had earned her critical acclaim in the U.K. as a rising jazz singer. But while Frank showed off her jazz sensibilities, Back to Black was a completely different animal. It was darker, raw, and heavily steeped in 1960s girl-group soul.

Winehouse traded sleek jazz chords for heavy Motown beats and lyrics that felt like private diary entries. Almost overnight, the album turned her into a global pop culture force.

Songs like “Rehab,” “You Know I’m No Good,” “Back to Black,” and “Tears Dry on Their Own” quickly became modern classics. Winehouse proved her ability to make deep personal pain completely magnetic.

Producer and composer Paul O’Duffy told Billboard, “Amy loved all the old girl groups and how their songs captured young love as all-consuming: either the most wonderful thing in the world or complete devastation, with nothing in between. She was drawn to that kind of music, but it also seemed to reflect who she was and how she approached affairs of the heart.”

By February 2008, the album’s impact reached a historic peak when Winehouse became the first British female artist to win five Grammys in a single night, taking home Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Rehab,” as well as Best New Artist. Her record stood for four years until Adele picked up six Grammys in 2012.

Two decades on, Back to Black remains magical. It’s a quiet reminder of a brilliant singer who poured her real life into her music. Amy Winehouse died at age 27 on July 23, 2011, but her brief discography changed modern music for a generation of fans.

Related: 2006 Fiery No. 1 Country Smash Named Ultimate Breakup Song by Fans—and It Still Hits Hard

The night before Christmas Eve came close to being the last night of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx’s life.

On December 23, 1987, after a night out in Los Angeles with members of Guns N’ Roses, he overdosed on heroin. His heart stopped, and he was pronounced dead for two minutes before paramedics brought him back.

Sixx has long credited a paramedic who injected adrenaline into his heart with saving him. Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler remembers it differently, saying Sixx was dragged into a cold shower before paramedics performed CPR.

Whatever happened in that room, Sixx walked away with the seed of a song. During sessions for the band’s 1989 album Dr. Feelgood, he picked up an acoustic guitar and wrote “Kickstart My Heart,” turning the night he nearly died into a full-throttle rocker.

The band’s former manager was the one who encouraged him to share the lyric with the rest of the group.

Released as the album’s second single, the track climbed to No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1990. Dr. Feelgood became the band’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.

The music video added its own bit of chaos. It was filmed live at the Whisky a Go Go on October 5, 1989, during a warmup gig where the band played under the name the Foreskins. Comedian Sam Kinison makes a cameo as the limo driver.

Fans still put it near the top of the genre. In a Rolling Stone readers’ poll of the greatest hair metal songs, it landed at No. 7, one of four Mötley Crüe entries in the top 10.

Nearly four decades on, it’s still a fixture of the band’s shows, including the summer tour that wrapped in September. Sixx has said the band plans to take real time off next year.

Not bad for a song that started with a stopped heart.

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The farmhouse aesthetic has been having a moment in 2026, and it’s not hard to see why. The design and decor trend brings a level of nostalgic warmth to spaces that you don’t always get from more modern pieces. Think rustic wooden furniture, soothing colors, inviting textures, and nature-inspired patterns with major heirloom vibes. If you’re looking to try out the trend, Amazon has a piece on sale right now that brings both practical storage and a touch of farmhouse style to any space.

The $80 Vasagle Farmhouse Floor Cabinet is currently on sale for just $70 for a limited time, and it’s a great addition to kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, and anywhere else you need a little extra storage. It’s equally rustic and charming, doubling as an organizational tool and statement-making piece of farmhouse decor.

Vasagle Farmhouse Floor Cabinet, From $70 (was $80) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

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The cabinet comes in a deep slate-blue hue that’s eye-catching but still natural and subtle enough to fit in perfectly with the farmhouse aesthetic. It’s divided into two cupboards sporting a total of four paneled doors that also lean into the rustic feel. It measures nearly 43 inches tall, close to 2 feet wide, and nearly 12 inches deep. That gives you plenty of space to stash everything from extra towels and cleaning supplies to your ever-growing mug collection.

The cabinet has adjustable shelves that allow you to fit tall vases, stacks of cookbooks, or baskets of pantry snacks without a struggle. Whether you are wrangling pots and pans in the kitchen or compiling your skincare product collection, this cabinet adapts to whatever your space and style demands.

The piece’s timeless silhouette, classic lines, recessed panels, and calming hue bring a hint of countryside right into your home. It’s made from sturdy medium-density fiberboard that can withstand everyday use and channels the look of vintage wooden farmhouse furniture. The included anti-tip kit adds an extra layer of safety, which is especially important in homes with little ones or curious pets. While you’ll have to assemble it yourself, the cabinet kit comes with labeled parts and clear instructions to guide you through the process.

Shoppers said it’s the “perfect small storage cabinet” for “adding more storage space.” “I love this little cabinet,” one shopper stated. “It was not hard to put together at all. It looks really nice.”

Shop More Deals

• Sicotas Farmhouse Sideboard Buffet Cabinet, 160 at Amazon
• Manhancris 3-Tier Bar Cart, $43 (was $52) at Amazon
• Safavieh Samantha Console Table, $97 (was $112) at Amazon

Related: Amazon’s Whimsical Table Lamps Add Instant ‘Joy’ to Any Space, Starting at Just $15

Shop this Vasagle Farmhouse Floor Cabinet while it’s only $70 and bring effortless farmhouse style to any home! We don’t often see cabinets of this size (and with so many useful features) available for this low, so don’t miss your chance to add it to your space at this price.

Don’t miss future deals! Sign up for Parade Picks to receive our team’s curated selection of discounts and sales twice a week.

Charming dinnerware can make even an ordinary Tuesday night dinner feel like a special occasion. I’m a big fan of pieces that look elegant without feeling overly formal and there’s something about a scalloped edge that instantly makes a table setting feel more thoughtful. Add a classic white finish, and you’ve got dinnerware that works for just about any occasion, from a casual brunch to a holiday gathering.

Target seems to understand the assignment with its latest tabletop find—a 12-piece scalloped stoneware dinnerware set from Threshold that blends timeless style with a fresh, modern feel. Honestly, it’s the kind of set that makes me want to plan a dinner party just to have an excuse to set the table.

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Threshold 12-Piece Stoneware Maribelle Scallop Dinnerware Set in White, $60 at Target

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The Maribelle set‘s biggest selling point is right there in the name—those lovely scalloped edges. Instead of plain, perfectly round dishes that fade into the background, these pieces have a soft, decorative silhouette that gives them a little extra personality. The crisp white finish keeps the look fresh and understated, so the detailing can shine without making the dinnerware feel fussy.

To me, that’s the sweet spot for tabletop design. I love a piece that looks special enough for guests but doesn’t feel so precious that I’d hesitate to use it for a regular family meal. There’s no need to save these plates for a once-a-year dinner party when they can make weeknight pasta look a little more put together.

And don’t underestimate the versatility of white dinnerware. Whether your style leans toward cozy farmhouse, modern minimalism, romantic cottagecore or something in between, a neutral set is an easy foundation to build on. Pair these scalloped pieces with linen napkins and fresh flowers for an elegant tablescape, or add colorful placemats and playful glassware for a more casual look. Come the holidays, they’ll work beautifully alongside seasonal greenery, patterned napkins and your favorite festive serving pieces.

Related: Aldi’s $8 Acacia Cutting Board Has a Clever Feature That Makes Hosting Easier

A Classic White Set With a Pretty Little Twist

Of course, good looks only go so far if dinnerware is a pain to maintain. Thankfully, Target’s set checks a few practical boxes, too. Each piece is stoneware, and the full collection is dishwasher- and microwave-safe, so reheating leftovers and tackling the post-dinner cleanup should be refreshingly straightforward.

My favorite part is this dinnerware doesn’t rely on a trendy color or an elaborate pattern to make a statement. Its charm comes from a simple, classic detail that feels just as at home at a laid back weekend brunch as it does at a dressed-up dinner. The secret to a pretty place setting like this isn’t an elaborate menu or a complicated centerpiece. It’s simply serving your favorite meal on a plate that makes you smile.

Related: Target’s Gorgeous $25 Stoneware Holiday Appetizer Plates Have the Look of Hand-Painted Heirlooms

Today co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager is hopeful that the new show she’s executive-producing, Line of Fire, will be renewed for Season 2—in fact, NBC just ordered five more episodes to make a full 18 for Season 1.

This week, the former first daughter spoke with Parade about Line of Fire, which premiered on Sept. 21. Hager explained that the idea for the series came from a conversation with writer and creator Josh Safran at her niece’s birthday party.

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“He said to me, ‘I had a friend who was from a family of a lot of different members of protective services,'” Bush Hager recalled. “And he said, ‘And it was so interesting, because how that affected the dynamics across the family, I always was fascinated with it.'”

Of course, Bush Hager has a unique perspective on this, as she and her twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, had U.S. Secret Service agents following them around for eight years when their father, George W. Bush, was president.

“As a mother, at this kid’s birthday party, now, my appreciation for them and the scope of what that type of sacrifice does, hit me in a totally different way,” Bush Hager explained. “So we had this long conversation, and he texted me two days later, and he’s like, ‘I think this is a show.'”

Fast-forward three years later, and five episodes of Line of Fire have aired (so far) through Bush Hager’s production company Thousand Voices. The show stars Peter Krause, Hope Davis, Tommy O’Brien, Kat Cunning, and Taylor Bloom, among others.

The Today With Jenna & Sheinelle co-host said she receives “texts on the daily from the writers’ room,” to weigh in on the logistics of protective service. She also brought her and her sister’s “former Secret Service man” on as a consultant to help make the show “as authentic as possible.”

For those curious, Bush Hager—who has made cameos in The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Five-Star Weekend—said she is definitely open to appearing in Line of Fire.

“Yeah. Why not? I mean, it hasn’t happened yet. It might be a little strange, but why wouldn’t I?” she told Parade. “There’s nothing in the works yet, but I feel like I’m the cameo queen. Don’t make it any more than a cameo, though, because then I can bust.”

Taylor Bloom as Russ Hollingsworth, Kat Cunning as Clare Hollingsworth, Tommy O’Brien as Mike “Micah” Hollingsworth Jr, Hope Davis as Jane Hollingsworth, Peter Krause as Mike Hollingsworth in ‘Line of Fire’

Courtesy of NBC

As of writing, Line of Fire has not been officially renewed for Season 2—but Bush Hager thinks “there’s definitely hope” for a second season.

“A lot of people are into the show. Our ratings are really great,” she pointed out. “And we’re up against Monday Night Football. So the fact that people are choosing to tune in to us and then watch us the next day on Peacock is great.”

Additionally, Bush Hager revealed, “The studio did just pick up five episodes. So we’re now an 18-episode for this year for the season. So now we went from 13 episodes to 18.”

She added, “I will just say that every time I get a script, I’m like, OK we’ve already hit like max twist. We’ve already hit max suspense and sort of like cliffhangers. And every single week as I’m reading along, I’m like, oh my gosh, Josh, you’re going to kill the people because it is just the twistiest unexpected turns that people can expect as the season continues.”

New episodes of Line of Fire air on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC and are available to stream the next day on Peacock.

Next: Jenna Bush Hager Jokes She Needs “Help” Over “Problem” Habit With Husband

In 1904, Lizzie Magie received a patent for a board game with an unusual purpose.

She wanted to show players what could happen when landlords accumulated property, charged rent and grew richer at everyone else’s expense. Thirty-one years later, Magie received $500 for the rights to her game.

Another man became a millionaire selling a remarkably similar game called Monopoly.

Magie’s creation was called The Landlord’s Game, and its history turns one of America’s most famous board games into an extraordinary tale of money, inequality and an inventor who was nearly written out of her own creation.

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Magie was a writer, stenographer, inventor and follower of the economic theories of Henry George, who argued that people should benefit from what they created while the economic value of land should belong to society.

Magie wanted to make those ideas easier to understand. So she turned them into a game. On Jan. 5, 1904, Magie was granted U.S. Patent No. 748,626 for The Landlord’s Game. The square board may look startlingly familiar to anyone who has ever passed Go.

Players moved around it, bought property, paid rent and encountered spaces with names including “Go to Jail” and “Public Park.” But Magie’s larger purpose wasn’t to celebrate the accumulation of enormous fortunes.

She wanted players to see the consequences of it.

The game eventually included two approaches to play. Under one set of rules, players competed to create monopolies and crush their opponents. Under another, wealth created during the game was shared more broadly. Magie hoped the contrast would demonstrate what she viewed as the dangers of a system that allowed individual landowners to profit at everyone else’s expense.

The game spread.

It was played among supporters of George’s economic ideas, Quaker communities and college students. As players copied boards and taught the game to others, they altered it along the way. Eventually, a version reached Charles Darrow, an unemployed salesman during the Great Depression.

Darrow began making his own boards and selling the game under a different name: Monopoly. Parker Brothers initially rejected it in 1934, but Darrow continued producing copies himself. After he reportedly sold 5,000 homemade games, the company reconsidered.

In 1935, Parker Brothers bought the rights to Darrow’s Monopoly. But there was a problem. Darrow hadn’t created the game from scratch. As Monopoly became a sensation, Parker Brothers learned about earlier versions and Magie’s patents. George Parker visited Magie in 1935 and struck a deal for the rights to The Landlord’s Game.

The price was $500. There were no royalties.

Magie initially had reason to be pleased. She believed Parker Brothers would finally bring her game, and the economic ideas behind it, to a much larger audience. The company did publish The Landlord’s Game, but it never approached Monopoly’s success.

Monopoly, meanwhile, exploded.

According to the British Library, 278,000 copies were sold in 1935. The following year, sales soared to more than 1.75 million. Darrow became the first board-game millionaire.

Magie did not share in that fortune.

By 1936, she was publicly fighting to reclaim her place in the game’s history. She spoke to newspapers about The Landlord’s Game and pointed out the similarities between the game she had patented decades earlier and the phenomenon then being sold as Darrow’s invention.

Her efforts did little to change the popular story.

For generations, Monopoly sets told players that Darrow had invented the game during the Depression. Magie’s role remained largely forgotten until a legal fight over a different game, Anti-Monopoly, helped bring the complicated history back into public view in the 1970s.

Magie died in 1948. Her 1940 census entry listed her occupation as “maker of games.” Her reported income was $0.

Today, Monopoly is one of the most recognizable board games in the world. The Library of Congress says more than 250 million sets had been sold by 2010 and more than half a billion people had played the game. The story has an irony that would be difficult for even a game designer to invent.

Lizzie Magie created The Landlord’s Game to demonstrate the dangers of monopolies and the unequal accumulation of wealth. She received $500.

The man celebrated for turning it into Monopoly became a millionaire.

Related: In 1943, Richard James Watched a Spring Fall Off a Shelf and Invented the Slinky; 17 Years Later, He Left His Wife and 6 Kids for a Cult in Bolivia, and She Saved the Company

After sailing on more than 100 cruises, I’ve eaten my way through just about every type of cruise line. From Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line to Disney and Regent Seven Seas, I’ve experienced everything from casual poolside burgers to upscale, multi-course dinners. But my recent sailing aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 was my first time experiencing the cruise line, and I was especially curious to see how the food would stack up.

One thing that made this trip different was that I was crossing the Atlantic from New York to Southampton, England, with no port days along the way. That meant all my meals were eaten onboard, giving me plenty of time to experience the different dining options. Overall, I found some real standouts, including one afternoon tea experience I’m still thinking about, along with a few things that didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Related: The 10 Best New Cruise Ship Restaurants to Book Right Now, According to Cruise Experts

The Main Dining Room And Afternoon Tea Were The Highlights

I ate dinner in the Britannia dining room every single night of my Queen Mary 2 sailing, and I genuinely looked forward to it each evening. The food was delicious, and I appreciated that the menu changed daily while still offering a few dependable staples for anyone who preferred to stick with a familiar favorite.

From tender cuts to delicate sauces, evening meals balance traditional ocean liner heritage with modern culinary standards.

Melissa Cabey

My go-to was the New York strip steak with fries. The steak was great, but the gravy was what really won me over. I could have eaten it with just about anything! The beef bourguignon was another favorite, and I had a lot of fun exploring the appetizers, too. There were some particularly delicious soups that felt just right during a chilly transatlantic crossing. Even dessert was a treat, with a gluten-free carrot cake becoming my favorite sweet ending to each meal.

But if I had to pick one food experience that really stood out, it would be afternoon tea. Served daily in the Queens Room, afternoon tea felt like an event in itself. Guests are seated at their tables while waiters circulate with trays of tea sandwiches, scones, and cakes, all accompanied by live music. The tea keeps coming, too, with servers regularly refilling your cup. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon at sea, and the food was genuinely delicious.

As someone who eats gluten-free, I was especially happy to find that the staff could accommodate me with gluten-free versions of the afternoon tea offerings. The sandwiches were a particular highlight. In fact, they were so good that I found myself thinking about them long after tea was over.

A serene alternative to the main Queens Room tea service, the Corinthia Lounge offers a beautifully curated spread for a mid-afternoon treat.

Melissa Cabey

There was also a more casual alternative in the Corinthia Lounge, where I could pick up gluten-free afternoon tea items and order a pot of tea from the bartender. Regular afternoon tea items were also available in the Kings Court buffet area. I loved having options, whether I wanted the full afternoon tea experience in the Queens Room or something a little more relaxed.

Related: Carnival Announces a Massive Overhaul to Onboard Dining—Here’s What’s Changing

The Buffet Was Underwhelming, But Room Service Made Up For It

While I loved the dining room and afternoon tea, I can’t say every dining experience aboard the Queen Mary 2 was equally impressive. The Kings Court buffet was probably my least favorite food option on the ship. For breakfast and lunch, I found that the selections felt very similar from one day to the next. Compared with other cruise lines I’ve sailed on, I was hoping for more variety and a few more exciting options. The food wasn’t necessarily bad, but the repetitive selection meant the buffet wasn’t somewhere I particularly looked forward to eating. Fortunately, room service was a different story.

One of my favorite perks was the complimentary breakfast room service. Each evening, my room steward left a breakfast order form during turndown service. I could fill it out, select the time I wanted breakfast delivered and hang it on my door before bed. I ended up doing this every single morning, and it was such a convenient way to start the day. There’s something pretty great about enjoying breakfast in your cabin while crossing the Atlantic!

The ultimate luxury on a sea day: hot room service breakfast delivered straight to the cabin for a quiet start to the morning.

Melissa Cabey

I also ordered room service for lunch a few times, which came with an additional charge. My favorite was a burger from the Golden Lion Pub menu. It was as good as a burger you’d get in a proper steakhouse. I could have also gone to the pub myself to sit and eat it–but having it delivered to my room was a nice option when I wanted a more relaxed meal.

Ultimately, I found that the Queen Mary 2’s food experience was strongest when I leaned into what the ship did particularly well: leisurely dining room dinners, a proper afternoon tea and the convenience of breakfast delivered to my cabin. The buffet wasn’t my favorite, but it didn’t overshadow the meals and experiences I genuinely loved throughout the crossing.

Related: How I Packed for a 7-Day Transatlantic Cruise in Just One Carry-On

Chelsea Handler is known for her unfiltered comedy and her response to Reese Witherspoon’s birthday tribute to her son Deacon is no exception. According to Entertainment Weekly, the comedian commented on an Instagram carousel post Witherspoon shared to celebrate Deacon’s 23rd birthday and claimed the mother-son duo looked more like they were in a romantic relationship than a familial one.

“Happy Birthday, Deacon,” Handler wrote. “You two look like a couple in the first slide.”

The photo Handler referred to shows Witherspoon and Deacon side by side, with the actress leaning on her son’s shoulder, on what appears to be the beach. The post also included several selfies of the mother-son duo.

“Happy Birthday to my son Deacon, who is turning 23 today,” Witherspoon wrote in the caption. “The year you were born, there was a fire in LA. Raging all around us. Somehow that fire forged you.”

She added, “You were born into the light, you carry it inside you, and you help us see it in ourselves. I love you so much, so lucky to be your mom.”

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In addition to Handler, other celebrities, including Nina Dobrev, Kristin Chenoweth, Tara Strong, Mindy Kaling and Gwyneth Paltrow, wished Deacon a happy birthday in the comments.

Deacon is one of Witherspoon’s two sons. She shares 14-year-old Tennessee Toth with ex-husband Jim Toth. The actress also has a daughter, 27-year-old Ava, whom she shares with ex-husband and Cruel Intentions co-star Ryan Phillippe.

Witherspoon’s now 23-year-old son has followed in his famous mother’s footsteps, pursuing a career in acting and, more recently, music. He recorded a song, “Slow Down,” with Magnus Ferrell, the son of Will Ferrell. The song was included in the soundtrack for You’re Cordially Invited, which starred the Step Brothers alum and Witherspoon. Deacon has also acted in several projects, including Netflix’s Never Have I Ever in 2022 and Prime Video’s Motorheads.

News that Ainsley Earhardt and Sean Hannity are preparing to say “I do” has the internet doing what it does best: delivering brutal one-liners, questioning the couple’s taste, and wondering who asked for the wedding announcement in the first place.

From age-gap jabs to “who cares?” dismissals, commenters on X wasted no time turning the couple’s big moment into a roast.

The Fox & Friends co-host and the longtime Hannity host celebrated their upcoming nuptials with a rehearsal dinner at President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday, October 23. Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended the festivities ahead of the couple’s wedding on Saturday, according to CNN.

While the couple celebrated with family, friends, and prominent political figures, commenters on X had plenty to say about the relationship — and their reactions weren’t all congratulatory.

One commenter delivered a particularly pointed jab at the couple’s age difference, writing, “He looks like her grandpa.”

Others weren’t interested in celebrating the big news. “Who gives AF?” one person asked, and another echoed the sentiment: “Absolutely, nobody cares.”

The criticism didn’t stop there. One commenter dragged Earhardt’s choice of partner, writing, “She has LOW taste as he’s a bum.” Another offered a less-than-enthusiastic assessment of the couple, calling them a “💩 couple!”

Some commenters also questioned the couple’s public image. One person invoked religion with the sarcastic remark “Christian values 🤡,” while another simply responded with a string of nauseated-face emojis.

Not everyone joining the conversation was negative, however. One commenter complimented Earhardt’s appearance, writing, “Looking so gorgeous.”

The online commentary comes as the Fox News personalities prepare for their next chapter together. Their relationship was first reported in 2019, and they announced their engagement in December 2024 after Hannity proposed over Christmas.

The couple has generally kept their relationship private, despite their prominent positions at Fox News. Hannity has hosted a primetime program since the network launched in 1996—originally co-hosting Hannity & Colmes before launching his solo show in 2009—while Earhardt joined Fox News in 2007 and became a co-host of Fox & Friends in 2016.

Hannity also explained why the couple chose Trump’s resort for their pre-wedding celebration. He said their longtime personal relationship with the president made his attendance important and emphasized that they paid “fair market value” for the venue, according to Fox News.

Christine Brown Woolley may be happily married to David Woolley, but there is one hypothetical scenario she would rather not entertain. The Sister Wives star recently discovered that she and her husband have very different feelings about the idea of a celebrity hall pass.

In a preview of the Sunday, October 25, episode of the TLC reality series, the couple discusses celebrity crushes while playing Let’s Get Deep, a card game designed to spark conversations between partners. 

What begins as a question about doing something without worrying about the consequences soon turns into an unexpected discussion about romantic interests.

According to People, Christine initially answers that she would go on vacation immediately if she could do anything without worrying about the consequences.

David, however, reveals that he interpreted the question differently. He explains that he thought Christine was being asked which movie star she would want a pass to be with.

When Christine asks him to answer the question himself, David names actress Elizabeth Hurley.

“Oh, a hall pass. Wow,” Christine responds after realizing what her husband means.

The reality star then admits that the concept is unfamiliar to her and that she does not find it particularly appealing.

“This whole hall pass term, that’s new,” Christine says in her confessional. “A hall pass is just a fun scenario, but it’s not fun to me. I don’t like that kind of thing.”

Interestingly, Christine acknowledges that she also finds Hurley attractive, suggesting that the actress could be her own celebrity crush.

David jokes that they would end up competing for the same person. During their joint confessional, he compares the hypothetical arrangement to polygamy, saying it would be “like polygamy.”

Christine, however, makes it clear that sharing a celebrity crush does not mean she would want to live with Hurley.

The conversation comes after Christine ended her spiritual marriage to Kody Brown in November 2021. She married David in October 2023.

Every October, awareness campaigns turn the spotlight on a brain disease that hides in plain sight, and few families know its toll better than Susan Schneider Williams.

Her husband, Robin Williams, died in August 2014 at age 63. In the months before, the Oscar winner behind Good Will Hunting and Mrs. Doubtfire was battling symptoms no one could explain.

It started small at first, with insomnia, constipation and a fading sense of smell. Then came severe anxiety, tremors and trouble reasoning. He’d also swing back and forth between clear-headed moments and confusion.

While filming Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb in spring 2014, he had a panic attack and struggled to remember even a single line.

Doctors diagnosed him with Parkinson’s disease a few months before he died. The real answer only came afterward, when the coroner’s report revealed Lewy body dementia, a disease that attacks thinking, movement, mood and sleep.

When Susan later had four doctors review his records, she said they each told her it was one of the worst pathologies they had seen.

In 2016, she described his ordeal in an essay for the journal Neurology titled “The terrorist inside my husband’s brain.”

Rather than step back from it all, she turned her grief into a mission. Now vice chair of the American Brain Foundation’s board, she helped create its Lewy Body Dementia Fund, which supports the hunt for a biomarker that could lead to earlier diagnosis, plus research by early-career scientists and programs for patients and caregivers.

By 2020, the fund had raised more than $3.25 million. That same year, the documentary Robin’s Wish told his story from her perspective, tracing the path from his death to the discovery that changed everything she understood about his final year.

For fans, it reframed those last months. For Susan, it’s become the work of a lifetime.

Holland Taylor is opening up about her Two and a Half Men departure after earning several Emmy nominations for her role. According to People, the 83-year-old, who played Evelyn Harper, mother to Charlie (Charlie Sheen) and Alan (Jon Cryer), claimed she did not receive a pay raise after the accolades.

“I stopped being under contract. So, in other words, they would say, ‘Can you do a guest appearance at the end of March?’ And I would say, ‘No, I cannot.’ I only did it if I wanted to do it,” she explained on the Oct. 21 episode of Alchemy with Anythony Mason. 

Holland clarified that leaving the contract was “absolutely” her choice.

“In fact, they were astonished because when your contract runs out is when people usually back up the truck,” she said. “And they never paid me very well on that show. I was paid on that show what I had made on a series like eight years before or something.”

Holland added, “And I got four Emmy nominations and they never gave me a raise. They usually do.”

Despite the snub, Holland said that she enjoyed being on the show, but confessed the team “ were not full of courtesies.”

“In any case, when the six years was up, I said, ‘I don’t want to be on a contract anymore but I will visit the show occasionally if you want.’ I mean I did play the boys’ mother,” she said. 

According to E! Online, the Legally Blonde actress said the team thought her response was an effort to negotiate her salary. She recalled them saying, “We can’t pay you any more money.”

“I said, ‘You could actually pay me the cost of this building, but don’t bother because I don’t want to continue on under contract,’” she told them. “And they said, ‘But we can’t afford to give you more.’ I said, ‘I’m cool with it. I just will come back as a guest from time to time.’”

Holland was nominated for four Emmys for her work onTwo and a Half Men in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Bravo fans are getting louder about their feelings over the new show Small Town Trouble: Texas, and the reaction is giving Nobody Wants This energy all over social media.

Amid the second Bravo Fan Fest in Charleston, South Carolina, the network’s upcoming reality series is already facing backlash over its casting of former Big Brother contestant Aaryn Williams, with viewers criticizing Bravo for bringing her back to reality TV more than a decade after her controversial stint on the CBS competition show. Some social media users are even urging others to boycott the series before it premieres.

“This is nasty NASTY work from Bravo!” one user wrote on X on October 22, reacting to the announcement. Another questioned Williams’ casting, writing, “Wait Aaryn is bisexual and was homophobic to Andy on Big Brother are you serious.”

Other viewers expressed frustration with the network’s decision to give Williams another reality TV platform. “No one is ever really cancelled. You can be blatantly, disgustingly racist on television, and eventually, they’ll just give you another show,” one X user wrote.

Why Are Bravo Fans Upset About Aaryn Williams’ Casting?

Williams, formerly known as Aaryn Gries, appeared on Season 15 of Big Brother in 2013, where she faced widespread criticism for racist and homophobic remarks about fellow houseguests. Her comments included telling Asian American contestant Helen Kim to “go make some rice” and using a gay slur when referring to fellow contestant Andy Herren.

Following her eviction, Williams addressed the controversy in an interview with host Julie Chen Moonves. She said some of her comments had been taken out of context and apologized to anyone she had offended. When Chen cited specific remarks, Williams said she did not remember making them and added that she felt horrible and regretted them if she had.

What Is ‘Small Town Trouble: Texas’ About?

Set in Boerne, Texas, the series follows five women and their partners as conservative small-town values collide with complicated relationships, forbidden attraction and messy friendships. The cast also includes Alli McAnelly, Annari Uys, Gabby Hernandez Huffman and Hailey Head.

Bravo’s official cast description calls Williams “polarizing, magnetic and often at the center of the drama,” adding that she has reckoned with her complicated past and is focused on personal growth.

Small Town Trouble: Texas premieres Wednesday, November 18, at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo, with episodes streaming on Peacock the following day.