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NEED TO KNOW

Whitney Leavitt spoke about her rumored feud with her costar Jen Affleck on Call Her Daddy
Leavitt clarified her viral reaction to Jen's elimination on Dancing with the Stars after fans speculated she was throwing shade
Season 3 of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives picks up with the two women no longer close, showing a disconnect that began before filming DWTS

Whitney Leavittis setting the record straight about her time onDancing With the Stars.

On theCall Her Daddypodcast,The Secret Lives of Mormon Wivesstar, 32, addressedthe drama that followed heroff the dancefloor, including rumored tensions with her costarJen Affleck.

"Jen said the minute there's an opportunity, you say you've always wanted it," Alex Cooper began, referencing Affleck's implication that Leavitt only auditioned for DWTS because she did. "What was your response to that?""That's wild," Leavitt said with a laugh, adding that she's always wanted to be a part of the dancing competition show. "I think everybody can have the same dream."Rumors of a feud between the costars first sparked after Affleck's elimination onDWTSduring the Oct. 28 episode. At the time, cameras caught Leavitt seemingly smiling before quickly covering her mouth as they announced that Affleck had been voted off.

While fans assumed she was throwing shade in the clip, Leavitt clarified there was "no excitement whatsoever" aboutAffleck's elimination.The reality star said she spent every week convinced she'd be the one sent home. "I thought I was getting eliminated every Tuesday. Every single Tuesday, I was like mentally preparing myself," she shared.But in that split second on camera, she said she felt two things at once: relief that her name wasn't called and the immediate sting of realizing her friend was the one leaving.Though she insisted shewasn't celebrating Affleck's exit, she admitted the relationship had already been strained. Leavitt was especially hurt when her costar said she wouldn't be voting for her to win during a TikTok Live.

"Jen understands what it's like being in the public eye, being in the reality space, getting the hate — she's experienced it," she said."It didn't feel great that she fed into that, that she decided to go on a live and say, 'Yeah, I'm not going to vote for her.' I mean, she could have just said who she was voting for."But theDWTSmoment was only the tip of the iceberg. As season 3 ofThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wivesreveals, their once-solid friendship shifted before Affleck's elimination.The third season of the Hulu series picks up with thecostars experiencing a distancethat neither quite understands.

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"I'm really conflicted with my relationship with Whitney because a couple of months ago, she really was the only person that was there for me during the lowest point of my life, but the minute I left MomTok, I never heard from her," Affleck shares in a confessional.

"She became best friends with Demi, the one person who was bullying me during that time."

Leavitt doesn't understand what Demi ever did to Affleck, and the two keep going back and forth, ultimately getting nowhere.In a confessional, Affleck says, "I definitely think Whitney is only here for herself and her own opportunities, and that our friendships within the group were actually never real or genuine to her."

Leavitt was later eliminated fromDWTSahead of the season 34 finale.She addressed her exitin a tearful Instagram post shared on Nov. 20.

"When you're casted onDancing with the Stars, you are seeing these people hours every single day. Then it just stops. It genuinely feels like a breakup. It feels like I'm, like, going through withdrawals right now. Today just felt so weird," she said.

"It made me sad," she continued. "You grow real friendships and, like, real connections with these people, and you learn so much about yourself and people who lift you constantly, and you challenge yourself, like, you just feel so loved."

She then shared "some key takeaways," saying, "It's so important to surround yourself with people who believe in you, who want to see you, achieve your delusional dreams, as cheesy as that sounds."The ladies of MomTok will return as the fourth season ofThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wivesis set to debut in early 2026.

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November 27, 2025

“Mormon Wives” Star Whitney Leavitt Speaks Out on Rumored Feud with Jen Affleck

Kevin Winter/Getty; Kevin Winter/Getty NEED TO KNOW Whitney Leavitt spoke about her rumored feud with her costar Jen Affleck on Call Her ...

Netflix Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in 'Stranger Things' season 5

Warning: This post contains spoilers forStranger Thingsseason 5, Volume 1.

NEED TO KNOW

Noah Schnapp revealed how he reacted when he learned what happens to his character in Stranger Things' final season
He explained that he shouted for his assistant after discovering the surprise at the end of Volume 1
Stranger Things Volume 2 drops on Dec. 25, and the finale streams on Dec. 31

The dramatic ending of Volume 1 ofStranger Things'final season was a shock to starNoah Schnapp.

The first four episodes dropped on Netflix on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and left fans with a huge surprise that took Schnapp, 21, time to process. During an interview withEntertainment Weekly,the actor explained that the crew and executive producer Shawn Levy, teased what was to come before he saw the final script.

"You've got good stuff coming up. Be excited," Schnapp recalled being told, although he admitted that he didn't make much of it. "Whatever that means," he thought.

Courtesy of Netflix

Before the table read, Schnapp, who joined the show in its debut season a decade ago at just 11 years old, finally looked through his storyline (he previouslytold PEOPLEthis hilariously occurred while he was taking a shower).

"I was like, 'I have to make sure I see all my parts and know what to say,'" Schnapp explained. "I don't wanna sound stupid at the table read."

When he reached the ending — where Will reveals he can telekinetically destroy demogorgons to save his friends — Schnapp said he called out to his assistant and declared, "I have powers!"

"It was a whiplash of a reveal for me," Schnapp said.

Creator Matt Duffer explained Will really doesn't have powers himself, instead he's channeling Vecna's. "He's not a new Eleven, and that was important to us," the co-creator told the outlet. "In fact, he doesn't really have powers himself. He's channeling Vecna's powers. Because he's, since season 1, been connected to him and, in part, connected to the Mind Flayer, that is allowing him to tap into and use these powers if he's in close enough proximity."

In the final fight scene of Volume 1, Vecna finally appears. He summons Will into the air to approach him face to face and asks, "Can you see them, William? Can you see the children?"

Vecna revealed he chose middle school-age children to steal into the Upside Down to "reshape the world" because they're "weak in body and mind."

They are "easily broken, easily reshaped, controlled, the perfect vessel," Vecna tells Will. "And you, Will, you were the first. And you broke so easily. You showed me what was possible, what I could achieve. Some minds, it turns out, simply do not belong in this world. They belong in mine."

He lets go of Will and walked back into his realm in the Upside Down.

Meanwhile, Will has visions of his friends about to be attacked by demogorgons. After his childhood flashes before his eyes, he stops the monsters mid-attack with his newfound powers. Then, he kills each creature with his mind. The episode ends with him wiping blood away from his nose.

The Duffer brothers, Matt and Ross, who created the iconic series, explained in a recent interview withVarietywhy Vecna left Will instead of killing him.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

"You'll see as it goes on, but he completely underestimates Will," Matt said. "He perceives him in the way that so many others have in his life, which is as weak, as nothing, as incapable of achieving anything great. So he completely underestimates him in that moment."

"Whether that's going to happen again, you'll have to watch Volume 2," he continued.

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They also revealed how long it took to film the lengthy battle that took place at the end of the episode.

"Forever," Matt shared. "It wasn't originally written that way. We wanted it to feel very immersive, like you were in the middle of it. Ross and I hadn't done anything like that before. The finale's insane, but that sequence was logistically the most difficult thing we ever did."

Ross added: "It was definitely the hardest thing we've ever done ever in terms of filmmaking."

Stranger Thingsseason 5 Volume 1 is available to stream on Netflix. Volume 2 drops on Dec. 25, and the finale airs on Dec. 31.

Read the original article onPeople

byNeo

in

November 27, 2025

Noah Schnapp Reacts to His Surprising “Stranger Things” Volume 1 Ending: 'A Whiplash of a Reveal'

Warning: This post contains spoilers forStranger Thingsseason 5, Volume 1. NEED TO KNOW Noah Schnapp revealed how he reacted when he lear...

Michelle Pfeiffer plans to 'slow down a little' in her grandma era

Michelle Pfeifferhas a couple of reasons to celebrate the holiday season this year. (Hint: It's not two turtle doves.)

Her new Christmas comedy "Oh. What. Fun." streams Dec. 3 onAmazon's Prime Video, and Pfeiffer is getting to enjoy another round of yuletide cheer with her granddaughter.

The three-time Oscar nomineeannounced in Septemberthat her daughter Claudia Rose had a child last year, and for that first Christmas with the baby, "she was barely crawling" but it was "special all the same," Pfeiffer, 67, tells USA TODAY. "This year, she'll be 22 months and she'll be more aware of what's going on. Still maybe a little on the young side, probably.

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Michelle Pfeiffer plays a Texas mom let down by her family at Christmas in the holiday comedy

"The extravaganza of the whole thing might be a bit overwhelming," the actress adds. "You always have to watch out for that. But you forget what it's like watching them experience every little thing as discovery. And that look of wonderment they just have all the time. I love being able to experience that, so that'll be really fun."

Pfeiffer, who has two children – Claudia, 32, and John, 31 – with her TV producer/writer husband David E. Kelley, reveals that her granddaughter was born just before she filmed "Oh. What. Fun." in Atlanta. "So I was dying," Pfeiffer says. "I was just pining for her. Anytime I got any few days off, I'd fly back to New York to see her."

The new addition has Pfeiffer rethinking her career. "It made me really want to experience her," she says. "I really want to be there and watch her grow up. And so it's made me want to work less. It's made me want to slow down a little bit and really, really take it in."

Pfeiffer stars in two TV series next year, her husband's Apple TV drama "Margo's Got Money Troubles" and Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" spinoff "The Madison." While "I loved the projects," they filmed back-to-back with "Oh. What. Fun.," which features Pfeiffer as a Christmas-loving mom who's let down by her family at the holidays.

Cynthia Erivo takes flight again as the magical Elphaba in "Wicked: For Good." Check out our exclusive peeks at the anticipated movie musical sequel and all the other new films you need to see this holiday season in theaters and on streaming services.