Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon capsule of Puck’s best new reporting. First up today, Eriq Gardner digs into a trio of fresh Hollywood legal dramas: Blake Lively publicist Leslie Sloane’s bid to extricate herself from Baldonigate, the latest twist in Francis Ford Coppola’s defamation lawsuit against Variety, and how Jay-Z flipped the tables in a Diddy-adjacent “extortion” case. Plus, below the fold: Peter Hamby taps into exclusive focus group surveys to uncover what swing state voters really think about Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn DOGE campaign. Sarah Shapiro assesses whether Madewell can reclaim its cool. And Marion Maneker previews the auction of Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio’s $250 million historic art collection at Christie’s. Meanwhile, on the pods: John Ourand rings up The Athletic’s Evan Drellich on The Varsity for a behind-the-scenes look at how MLB owners are processing the league’s divorce from ESPN. And on The Powers That Be, Lauren Sherman joins Peter to dissect the luxury brand collaborations embedded in HBO’s The White Lotus before unraveling the bombshell Nike-Skims alliance.

HOLLYWOOD

Eriq picks apart three legal thrillers consuming Hollywood. First, the latest developments in Baldonigate, as Blake Lively publicist Leslie Sloane became the first person to attempt to extricate herself from the Lively-Baldoni legal quicksand. Then, Eriq takes a close look at the escalating feud between Tony Buzbee and Jay-Z, following the dismissal of the sexual assault lawsuit against the rapper, and Buzbee’s filing of a motion asserting that Jay-Z infringed on his constitutionally protected speech. Finally, Eriq reports that Francis Ford Coppola’s defamation lawsuit against Variety is moving forward, thanks to a judge’s determination that the legendary filmmaker might actually have a case. Read Now

WASHINGTON

Despite the abundance of public polling about the administration since Trump took office just over a month ago, we haven’t seen many focus groups, which lend useful texture that polls don’t capture. Herewith, Peter pores over a new series of responses from voters in battleground states, convened in recent days by Unite the Country, the Democratic super PAC. In extracting the most pressing themes from the listening sessions, Peter reveals that voters found reserves of goodwill for Trump—perceived as a man of action compared to “feckless” Democrats—but deep distrust toward Musk, widely viewed as “weird,” “radical,” and “selfish.” Mostly, however, they just wanted to talk about the astounding price of eggs. Read Now

FASHION

Madewell took off in 2006 after J.Crew C.E.O. Mickey Drexler acquired the trademark and positioned it for style-conscious, urbane Millennial women. These days, across the U.S. and Canada, Madewell has about 150 stores, which, in addition to online sales, generate upward of $700 million a year in sales according to our analysis. But as the brand approaches the tender age of 20, it seems that Madewell—J.Crew’s ostensibly cooler, objectively younger sister brand—is neither new nor cool. Indeed, Madewell built their business selling mom jeans to young women. Can it sell jeans to those same women now that they are actual moms, especially in a far more competitive retail environment? Read Now

ART

At this stage in the art market cycle, we should probably be witnessing a new level of interest in high-quality historical work. Now Christie’s will have a chance to test this proposition, after winning the opportunity to auction works from Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio’s $250 million collection. The auction house will offer 30 works owned by the late entrepreneur in their own dedicated evening sale, slated for May. The first seven pieces revealed from the collection—which is filled with historical work—offer some clues about the estimates. But will the sale manage to draw reluctant buyers out of hibernation? Read Now

SPORTS

The Athletic’s Evan Drellich joins John to weigh in on the imminent ESPN-MLB divorce and offer a behind-the-scenes snapshot of how owners are coming to grips with the split. Evan also explains why he doesn’t think this is truly the end of the ESPN-MLB relationship, previews baseball’s upcoming labor negotiations, discusses the financial fallout from the R.S.N. collapse, and hints at potential rule changes for this upcoming season. Listen Now

FASHION

Lauren Sherman joins Peter to delve into the slew of brand collaborations tied to HBO’s hit series The White Lotus, highlighting the mass-market partnerships that come across to many as distasteful and inorganic. Are these collabs actually driving sales or just diluting the show’s luxury allure? Plus, Lauren discusses the Nike-Skims alliance and the broader “woman problem” that the iconic athletic brand is aiming to solve. Listen Now

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